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diff --git a/40397-8.txt b/40397-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f12a6c9..0000000 --- a/40397-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9654 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 65, -No. 403, May, 1849, 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 65, No. 403, May, 1849 - -Author: Various - -Release Date: August 3, 2012 [EBook #40397] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE, MAY 1849 *** - - - - -Produced by Brendan OConnor, Jonathan Ingram, JoAnn -Greenwood and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Library of Early -Journals.) - - - - - - - - - - BLACKWOOD'S EDINBURGH MAGAZINE. - - NO. CCCCIII. MAY, 1849. VOL. LXV. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - COLONISATION--MR WAKEFIELD'S THEORY, 509 - - THE REACTION, OR FOREIGN CONSERVATISM, 529 - - MADAME D'ARBOUVILLE'S "VILLAGE DOCTOR," 542 - - NATIONAL EDUCATION IN SCOTLAND, 567 - - ARARAT AND THE ARMENIAN HIGHLANDS, 577 - - LEGITIMACY IN FRANCE, 590 - - THE COLLEGE. A SKETCH IN VERSE, 601 - - JACK MOONLIGHT, 606 - - MOONLIGHT MEMORIES. BY B. SIMMONS, 613 - - AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY, 614 - - - - -EDINBURGH: - -WILLIAM BLACKWOOD & SONS, 45, GEORGE STREET; AND 37, PATERNOSTER ROW, -LONDON. - -_To whom all communications (post paid) must be addressed._ - -SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. - -PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH. - - - - - BLACKWOOD'S EDINBURGH MAGAZINE. - - NO. CCCCIII. MAY, 1849. VOL. LXV. - - - - -COLONISATION--MR WAKEFIELD'S THEORY.[1] - - -We agree with those, and they are the majority of reflective minds, -who, taking a survey of our half-peopled globe, and considering the -peculiar position which England occupies on it--her great maritime -power, her great commercial wants, her overflowing numbers, her -overflowing wealth--have concluded that colonisation is a work to -which she is especially called. She is called to it by her marked -aptitude and capability for the task, as well as by an enlightened -view of her own interests. Without too much national partiality, -without overlooking our own faults, and that canker of a too -money-loving, too money-making morality, which has eaten into our -character, (though perhaps not more so than it has corroded the -character of other European nations, who have quite as strong a -passion for gold, without the same industry in obtaining it,) we may -boldly say that the best seed-plot of the human race that now exists -(let the best be estimated as it may by the moralist and the divine) -is to be found in this island of Great Britain. To plant the -unoccupied regions of the earth, or regions merely wandered over by -scattered tribes of savages, who cannot be said to possess a soil -which they do not use, by off-sets from this island, is itself a good -work. It is laying no ill foundation for the future nations that shall -thus arise, to secure to them the same language, the same literature, -the same form of religion, the same polity, or, at all events, the -same political temper (the love and obedience to a constitution) that -we possess; to make native to them that literature in which the great -Christian epic has been written, in which philosophy has spoken most -temperately, and poetry most profusely, diversely, and vigorously. Nor -will England fail to reap her own reward from this enterprise. In -every part of the world an Englishman will find a home. It will be as -if his own native soil had been extended, as if duplicates of his own -native land had risen from the ocean. A commercial intercourse of the -most advantageous character will spring up; the population and the -wealth of the old country will find fresh fields of employment in the -new; the old country will itself grow young again, and start in the -race with her own children for competitors. Neither will the present -age pass by without participating in the benefit, since its -overcrowded population will be relieved by the departure of many who -will exchange want for plenty, and despondency for hope. Whatever -opinion may be held of the remedial efficacy against future pauperism -of a system of emigration, it must be allowed that this present relief -arrives most opportunely, as a balance to that extraordinary pressure -produced by the distress in Ireland, and the influx of its -famine-stricken peasantry into other parts of the kingdom. - -On this subject--the measure of permanent relief which colonisation -will afford to this country by carrying off its surplus -population--the degree in which emigration may be calculated upon as -the future antagonist of pauperism--we would speak with caution. We -are so far hopeful that we see here a great resource against the -national evil of an unemployed population, but it is a resource which -must be rightly understood and wisely taken advantage of; it is a -great resource for an intelligent people; it comes in aid of that -fundamental remedy, a good sound education for the people, moral and -religious, but is no substitute for that most necessary of all -measures. Misunderstood, and vaguely relied on by those who know not -how properly to avail themselves of it, the prospect of emigration may -even prove mischievous, by rendering the thoughtless and improvident -still more reckless, still more improvident. - -Granted, it may be said, that emigration supplies an outlet annually -for a certain excess of population, it supplies, by that very reason, -an additional and constant impulse to an increase of population. The -old country may overflow, but it is always kept full, and to the brim. -The restraint of prudence is relaxed. "We can feed ourselves; and, as -to our children, are there not the colonies?" may be said by many an -improvident pair. People even of the better sort, who would shrink -from the idea of their children sinking into a lower grade of society -than they themselves occupied, would find in emigration a vague -provision for the future family--a provision which would often -disappoint them, and which they would often fail in resolution to -embrace. - -Let it be borne in mind that, when we speak of the duty of restraining -from improvident marriage, we are not inculcating any new morality -founded upon the recent science of political economy. It is a duty as -old as the love of a parent to his child, and needs only for its -enforcement an anticipation of this parental affection. No man who -_has_ married, and become a father, ever doubted of the existence of -such a duty, or spoke slightingly of it. Ask the Scotch peasant, ask -the simplest Switzer, who knows nothing of reading-clubs or mechanics' -institutes--who has perhaps never quitted his native valley, and all -whose knowledge is the growth of his own roof-tree--what he thinks of -the morality of him who becomes the father of a family he cannot rear, -or must rear like wild beasts more than men--he will give you an -answer that would satisfy the strictest Malthusian. The prudence that -would avoid famine, the just and righteous fear of having hungry -children about our knees--this is no new wisdom in the world, though, -like all our old wisdom, it continually cries in vain in our streets. -Now the operation of this, in every respect, moral restraint would be -materially interfered with, if the notion should prevail, that in the -colonies there existed (without any distinct knowledge how it was to -be secured) an inexhaustible provision for human life. Numbers would -marry, trusting to this resource, yet the offspring of such marriages -might never reach their destined refuge, or reach it only after much -suffering, and in the degraded condition of uneducated paupers. And -men who have calculated that, at all events, without seeking aid from -Government or the parish, they shall be able to send their child -abroad, when the child has grown up, will hesitate to part with it. -They had calculated what they would do, when parents, before they -became such. They had not been able to anticipate that bond of -parental affection which, we may observe in passing, is by no means -weakest in the humblest ranks, but, on the contrary, until we reach -the very lowest, seems to increase in strength as we descend in the -social scale. - -The fact is, that it is not as a distant provision for their children -that the youthful pair should be taught to look on emigration. If it -comes at all into their calculation, they should embrace it as a -provision for themselves, and, through them, for their future -offspring. They should carry their hopes at once to the climate which -is to realise them. Marriage should be the period of emigration. At -this period a man can readily leave his country, for he can leave his -home. The newly married couple, as it is commonly said, and with no -undue exaggeration, are all the world to each other. It is at this -period that men have double the strength, for they have twice the -hope, and exhilaration, and enterprise, that they have at any other -epoch of their lives. That slender hoard, too, which will so soon be -wasted in this country, which a few pleasures will drain, would carry -them creditably into another, and lay the foundation for the utmost -prosperity their birth and condition has led them to wish for. To the -distant colony let them not devote their ill-fed and ill-taught -children; but, going thither themselves, rear a healthy race for whom -they will have no cares. If at this period of life it should become -the fashion of the humbler classes to emigrate, it would be difficult -to say how far our colonies might become a real, and effectual, and -permanent resource against overpopulation. At all events, the -mischievous influence we have been describing could never arise. We -see not why England, if she learns rightly to use them, may not reap -from her colonies all those advantages which the United States have -been so frequently felicitated upon in their territories in the Far -West. Much will depend on the current which public opinion takes. -Presuming that Government discontinues entirely the old system of -transportation, which must always render emigration extremely -unpalatable; presuming that a steady, equitable rule is adopted in -dealing with the unappropriated land, so that a moderate price, a -speedy possession, and a secure title may be depended upon--we think -it highly probable that colonisation will become very popular amongst -us. The more that is learnt about the colonies, the more the -imagination is familiarised with them by accounts of their climate, -products, and the mode of life pursued in them, the less apparent, and -the less fearful will their distance become, and the more frequently -will men find themselves carrying their hopes and enterprises in that -direction. If, therefore, an intelligent and practicable view is taken -of colonisation, we may re-echo, without scruple, the words of our -thoughtful poet-- - - "Avaunt the fear - Of numbers crowded in their native soil, - To the prevention of all healthful growth - Through mutual injury! Rather in the law - Of increase, and the mandate from above, - Rejoice!--and ye have special cause for joy. - For, as the element of air affords - An easy passage to the industrious bees, - Fraught with their burdens, and a way as smooth, - For those ordained to take their sounding flight - From the thronged hive, and settle where they list, - In fresh abodes--their labour to renew; - So the wide waters open to the power, - The will, the instincts, and the appointed needs - Of Britain; do invite her to cast off - Her swarms, and in succession send them forth - Bound to establish new communities - On every shore whose aspect favours hope - Or bold adventure; promising to skill - And perseverance their deserved reward." - - _Excursion_, book 9. - -How best to colonise; how far Government should undertake the -regulation and control of the enterprise; how far leave it to the -spirit and intelligence of private individuals, separate or banded -together in groups, or companies; and especially under what terms it -shall permit the occupation of the unappropriated soil--all these have -become highly interesting topics of discussion. - -For ourselves, we will at once frankly confess that we have no faith -in any model colonies, in ideals of any description, or in any "_Art_ -of colonisation." What has been done, may be done again; what America -is doing every day on the banks of the Mississippi, England may do in -her Australian continent. With regard more particularly to the last -and most important matter that can affect a new settlement, the mode -of dealing with the land, it appears to us that the duties of -Government are few, simple, and imperative--as simple in their -character as they are indispensable. A previous survey, a moderate -price, lots large and small to suit all purchasers--these are what we -should require. The land-jobber, who interposes between Government -and the emigrant, to make a cruel profit of the latter, must be kept -out, either by laying a tax (as they do in America, under the -denomination of the "Wild-land Tax,") on all land not reclaimed within -a certain time, or by declaring the purchase forfeited, if, within -that time, the soil is not cultivated. Government also must restrain -its own hands from large grants to favoured individuals, who are no -better than another species of land-jobbers. This, though a merely -negative duty, will probably be the last performed, and the most -imperfectly. Few readers are perhaps aware of the criminal ease with -which the Government has been persuaded into lavish grants of land to -persons who had, and could have, no immediate prospect of making use -of it; enormous grants unjust to other settlers, and ruinous to the -young colony, by dispersing the emigrants, interposing between them -wide tracts of barren property. We ourselves read with no little -surprise the following statement, which we extract from the work -before us, Mr Wakefield's _Art of Colonisation_:-- - - "There are plenty of cases in which mischievous dispersion - has taken place, but not one, to my knowledge, in which the - great bulk of settlers had a choice between dispersion and - concentration. In the founding of West Australia there was no - choice. In disposing of the waste land, the Government began - _by granting 500,000 acres (nearly half as much as the great - county of Norfolk) to one person_. _Then came the governor - and a few other persons, with grants of immense extent._ The - first grantee took his principality at the landing-place; and - the second, of course, could only choose his outside of this - vast property. Then the property of the second grantee - compelled the third to go further off for land; and the - fourth again was driven still further into the wilderness. At - length, though by a very brief process, an immense territory - was appropriated by a few settlers, who were so effectually - dispersed, that, as there were no roads or maps, scarcely one - of them knew where he was. Each of them knew, indeed, that he - was where he was positively; but his relative position--not - to his neighbours, for he was alone in the wilderness, but to - other settlers, to the seat of government, and even to the - landing-place of the colony--was totally concealed from him. - This is, I believe, the most extreme case of dispersion on - record. In the founding of South Africa by the Dutch, the - dispersion of the first settlers, though superficially or - _acreably_ less, was as mischievous as at Swan River. The - mischief shows itself in the fact, that two of the finest - countries in the world are still poor and stagnant colonies. - _But in all colonies, without exception, there has been - impoverishing dispersion, arising from one and the same - cause._"--(P. 433.) - -Two very different _ideals_ of colonisation have often haunted the -imaginations of speculative men, and coloured very diversely their -views and projects on this subject. Both have their favourable -aspects; neither is practicable. As is usual, the rough reality rides -zig-zag between your ideals, touching at both in turns, but running -parallel with neither. - -With one party of reasoners, the ideal of a colony would be a -miniature England, a little model of the old country, framed here, at -home, and sent out (like certain ingeniously-constructed houses) to be -erected forthwith upon the virgin soil. A portion of all classes would -sally forth for their New Jerusalem. The church, with tower and -steeple, the manor-house, the public library, the town-hall, the -museum, and the hospital, would all simultaneously be reproduced. -Science would have its representatives. Literature with its light -luggage, thoughts and paper, would be sure to hover about the train. -Nobility would import its antique honours into the new city, and, with -escutcheon and coat of arms, traditionally connect it with knighthood -and chivalry, Agincourt, and the Round Table. There would be -physicians and divines, lawyers, and country gentlemen "who live at -ease," as well as the artisan and ploughman, and all who work in wood -and in iron. Dr Hind, the present Dean of Carlisle, in an elegantly -written essay, incorporated in Mr Wakefield's book, proposes and -advocates this mode of colonisation. After remarking on the greater -success which apparently accompanied the schemes of the Greeks and -Romans to found new communities, Dr Hind thus proceeds.--The italics, -it may be as well to say, are his, not ours. - -"The main cause of this difference may be stated in few words. We send -out colonies of the limbs, without the belly and the head; of needy -persons, many of them mere paupers, or even criminals; colonies made -up of a _single class_ of persons in the community, and that the most -helpless, and the most unfit to perpetuate our national character, and -to become the fathers of a race whose habits of thinking and feeling -shall correspond to those which, in the mean time, we are cherishing -at home. The ancients, on the contrary, sent out _a representation of -the parent state--colonists from all ranks_." And further on, after -insisting on the propriety of appointing to the colony educated and -accomplished clergymen, he says--"The same may be urged in respect of -men of other professions and pursuits. The desirable consummation of -the plan would be, that a specimen, or sample, as it were, of all that -goes to make up society in the parent country, should _at once_ be -transferred to its colony. Instead of sending out bad seedlings, and -watching their uncertain growth, let us try whether a perfect tree -will not bear transplanting." - -We apprehend that this project of "transplanting a perfect tree" is -none of the most feasible. However the Greeks managed matters, we -moderns find it absolutely necessary to begin "at the beginning," and -with somewhat rude beginnings. If the Greeks had the art in the -colony, as in the epic poem, of rushing _in medias res_--of starting -with and from maturity--then indeed must colonisation be reckoned, as -Dr Hind seems half to suspect, amongst the _artes perditæ_. Anything -more lamentable than a number of cultivated men--"samples" of all -kinds, physicians, and divines, and lawyers, with, of course, their -several ladies--set down upon the uncultivated soil, on the long green -grass, we cannot imagine. It seems to us quite right and unavoidable -to send out "a single class," first--good stout "limbs," without much -of "the belly"--which must mean, we presume, the idle folks, or much -of "the head," which must mean the thinkers. That class, or those -classes which cultivate the soil, and render the place somewhat -habitable, had better surely precede, and act as pioneers, before the -gentry disembark from their ships. Other classes must follow as they -are wanted, and find room and scope. What would the physician do with -his elaborate skill and courtesy, without that congregation of idlers -on whose ailments he rides and dines? What need yet of eloquent -barrister, or are his fees forthcoming, when a new estate could be -purchased with less money than would serve to defend the old one by -his pleading? Who would attend to the man of science, and his latest -experiments on magnetic currents, when every one is trying over again -the very first experiment--how to live?--where corn will grow, and -what the potato will yield? Even your clergy must be of a somewhat -different stamp from the polished ecclesiastic, the bland potentate of -our drawing-rooms. He must have something more natural--"some -rough-cast and a little loam" about him, be serviceable, accessible. -And the fair "sample" partners of all these classes, what is to become -of them? As yet, pin-money is not. There is nothing refined and -civilised; men talk of marriage as if for prayer-book purposes. Very -gross ideas! - -The ancients, says Dr Hind, "began by nominating to the honourable -office of captain, or leader of the colony, one of the chief men, if -not the chief man of the state--like the queen bee leading the -workers. Monarchies provided a prince of the blood royal; an -aristocracy its choicest nobleman; a democracy its most influential -citizen." In order to entice some one of our gentry--some one of -wealth, station, and cultivated mind, to act as "queen bee" of the -colony--seeing that a prince of the blood royal, or a Duke of -Northumberland, would be hard to catch--the Doctor proposes to bestow -upon him a patent of nobility. Wealth he has already, and wealth would -not bribe him, but honour might. We see nothing ridiculous whatever in -the suggestion. A patent of nobility might be much worse bestowed; -but, unless we err greatly in our notion of what colonisation really -is, the bribe would be lamentably insufficient. The English gentleman -of fortune and of taste, who should leave his park and mansion in the -county of Middlesex, to share the squabbles and discomforts of a crowd -of emigrants--too often turbulent, anxious, and avaricious--would have -well earned his earldom. He would be a sort of hero. Men of such a -temper you may decorate with the strawberry leaf, but it is not the -coronet, nor any possible bribe--nothing short of a certain thirst for -noble enterprise can prompt them. - -The other ideal of what colonisation might be is quite the reverse, -presents a picture every way opposite to this of our classical dean. -Many energetic and not uncultured spirits, wearied with the endless -anxieties, cares, hypocrisies, and thousand artificialities of life, -are delighted with the idea of breaking loose from the old trammels -and conventionalities of civilisation. Their romance is to begin life -afresh. Far from desiring to form a part of the little model-England, -they would take from the Old World, if possible, nothing more than -knowledge, seeds, and tools. To a fresh nature they would take a fresh -heart, and a vigorous arm. Fields rescued by themselves from the waste -should ripen under their own eyes. Thus, with a rude plenty, care and -luxury alike cut off, no heartburnings, no vanity, a cultivated temper -and coarse raiment--they and their families, and some neighbours of -kindred dispositions, would really enjoy the earth, and the being God -had given them. Not theirs the wish to see a matured society spring -from the new soil. They regret to think that their own rustic -community must inevitably advance, or decline, into some one of the -old forms of civilisation; but they and their children, and perhaps -their grandchildren, would be partakers of a peculiar and envied state -of social existence, where the knowledge and amenity brought from the -old country would be combined with the healthy toil and simple -abundance of the new; where life would be unanxious, laborious, free; -where there would be no talk of wars, nor politics, nor eternal -remediless distress; but a disciplined humanity, in face of a kindly -nature whose bounty had not yet been too severely taxed. - -A charming ideal! which here and there is faintly and transiently -realised. Here and there we catch a description of this simple, -exhilarating, innocuously enterprising life, either in some Canadian -settlement, or in the forests of America, or even in _the Bush_ of -Australia. There is rude health in all the family; housekeeping is a -sort of perpetual pic-nic, full of amusing make-shifts; there is -rudeness, but not barbarism; little upholstery, but wife and child are -caressed with as much amenity and gentle fondness as in carpeted and -curtained drawing-rooms. If the tin can should substitute the china -cup, the tea is drunk with not the less urbanity. Such scenes we have -caught a glimpse of in this or that writer. But alas! that which -generally characterises the young settlement, let it be young as it -may--that which would so wofully disappoint our pastoral and romantic -emigrant, is precisely this: that, instead of leaving care behind -them, the care to get rich, _to get on_, as it is disgustingly -called--our colonists take a double portion of this commodity with -them. Comparatively few seem to emigrate simply to live then and there -more happily. They take land, as they would take a shop, to get a -profit and be rich. And then, as for the little community and its -public or common interests, it is the universal remark that, if -politics in England are acrid enough, colonial politics are bitterness -itself. The war is carried on with a personal hatred, and attended by -personal injuries, unknown in the old country. - -One would indeed think that people, fatigued with this anxious passion -which plays so large a part in English life--this desire to advance, -or secure, their social position--would seize the opportunity to -escape from it, and rejoice in their ability to live in some degree of -freedom and tranquillity. But no. The man commerce bred cares not to -enjoy life and the day. He must make a profit out of himself; he must -squeeze a profit out of others; he toils only for this purpose. If he -has succeeded, in the new colony, in raising about him the requisite -comforts of life--if he has been even rescued from threatened famine -in England, and is now living and well housed, he and his family--you -find him full of discontent because of the "exorbitant wages" he has -to pay to the fellow emigrants who assist him in gathering in his -corn--full of discontent because he cannot make the same profit of -another man's labour _there_ that he could have done in the old -country--in that old country where he could not for his life have got -so much land as the miserable rag upon his back would have covered. -Such men carry out a heart to work, none to enjoy: they have not been -cultivated for that. The first thing the colonist looks for is -something _to export_. It was in vain that Adelaide boasted its -charming climate and fruitful fields; it was on the point of being -abandoned--so we hear--by many of its inhabitants, when some mines -were discovered. There was then something that would sell in England, -something to get rich with; so they that would have left the soil, -stayed to work in the bowels of the earth. In _the Bush_ you hear of -the shepherds and small owners of sheep living, the year round, on -"salt beef, tea, and damper," which last is an extemporised bread, an -unleavened dough baked in such oven as the usual fire-place supplies. -But fresh mutton, you exclaim, is plentiful enough; what need to diet -themselves as if they were still in the hold of that vessel which -brought them over? True, plentiful enough--it sells in Sydney at some -three-halfpence a pound; but while the sheep lives it grows wool upon -its back. For this wool it is bred. Sometimes it is boiled down bodily -for its tallow, which also can be exported. Mutton-chops would be a -waste; it would be a sin to think of them. - -Set sail from England in whichever direction you will, East or West, -over whichever ocean, the first thing you hear of, in respect to -colonial society, is its proverbial "smartness"--an expression which -signifies a determination to cheat you in every possible manner. The -Old World, and the worst of it, is already there to welcome you. Nay, -it has taken possession of the very soil before the spade of the -emigrant can touch it. There lies the fresh land, fresh--so geologists -say of Australia--as it came up at its last emergence from the ocean. -You are first? No. The land-jobber is there before you. This foulest -harpy from the stock exchange has set its foot upon the greensward, -and screeches at you its cry for _cent per cent_! - -There is yet a third and later ideal of colonisation--the ideal of the -political economist. With him colonisation presents itself under the -especial aspect of a great _exploitation_ of the earth. He is desirous -that capital and labour should resort to those spots where they will -be most productive. Thus the greatest possible amount of production -will be generated between man and his terraqueous globe; capital and -labour are with him the first elements of human prosperity; and to -transfer these in due proportions, and as quickly as possible, to the -new land, when they may be most profitably employed, is the main -object of his legislation. Hitherto, it may be observed, the political -economist has limited his efforts to the _undoing_ what he conceives -has been very unskilfully done by previous legislators. In this matter -of emigration he steps forward as legislator himself. It is no longer -for mere liberty and _laissez-faire_ that he contends; he assumes a -new character, and out of the theory of his science produces his -system of rule and regulation. He knows how a small village becomes a -great city; he will apply his knowledge, and by positive laws expedite -the process. Let us see with what success he performs in this new -character. - -Mr Wakefield's system--for it is he who has the honour of originating -this politico-economical scheme--consists in putting a price upon -unoccupied land, and with the proceeds of the sale raising a _fund for -the transmission of emigrant labourers_. This is, however, but a -subordinate part of his project, which we mention thus separately, -because, for a purpose of our own, we wish to distinguish it from the -rest. This price must, moreover, (and here is the gist of the matter,) -be that "sufficient price" which will _debar the labourer from -becoming too soon a proprietor of land_, and thus deserting the -service of the capitalist. - -The object of Mr Wakefield, it will be seen at once, is to procure the -speedy transmission in due proportion of capital and labour. The -capitalist would afford the means of transferring the labourer to the -scene of action; the labourer would be retained in that condition in -order to invite and render profitable the wealth of the capitalist. -The twofold object is good, and there is an apparent simplicity in the -means devised, which, at first, is very captivating. There is nothing -from which the colonial capitalist suffers so much as from the want of -hired labour. He purchases land and finds no one to cultivate it; the -few he can engage he cannot depend upon; the project of agricultural -improvement which, if it be not completed, is utterly null and -useless, is arrested in mid progress by the desertion of his workmen; -or his capital is exhausted by the high wages he has paid before the -necessary works can be brought to a termination. The capitalist has -gone out, and left behind him that class of hired labourers without -which his capital is useless. Meanwhile, in England, this very class -is super-abundant; but it is not the class which spontaneously leaves -the country, or can leave it. Mr Wakefield's scheme supplies the -capitalist with the labour so essential to him, and relieves our -parishes of their unemployed poor. But these emigrant labourers would -soon extend themselves over the new country, as small proprietors,--Mr -Wakefield checks this natural tendency by raising the price of land. - -There is, we say, an apparent and captivating simplicity in the -scheme; but we are persuaded that, the more closely it is examined, -the more impracticable and perplexing it will reveal itself to be. As -Mr Wakefield's system has made considerable progress in public -opinion, and obtained the approval, not only of eager speculative -minds, but of cool and calculating economists--as it has already -exerted some influence, and may exert still more, upon our colonial -legislation--and as we believe that the attempt to carry it out will -give rise to nothing better than confusion and discontent, we think we -shall be doing no ill service to the cause of colonisation by entering -into some investigation of it. - -We are compelled to make a division, or what to Mr Wakefield will -appear a most unscientific _fracture_, of the two parts of his scheme. -We acquiesce in fixing _a_ price upon unappropriated land, and with -the proceeds of the sale forming a fund for the transmission and -outfit of the poor emigrant. We do not say that these proceeds must -necessarily supply _all_ the fund that it may be thought advisable to -spend in this matter, or that the price is to be regulated solely -according to the wants of this emigration fund. But we do _not_ -acquiesce in the proposal to fix a price for the specific purpose of -retarding the period at which the labourer may himself become a -proprietor. The doctrine of "a sufficient price" (as it has been -called, and for brevity's sake we shall adopt the name) we entirely -eschew. To the imposing of an artificial value upon the land, for this -purpose, we will be no parties. Simply to transport the labourer -hence, shall be the object of our price, beyond such other reasons as -may be given for selling at a certain moderate sum the waste land of -the colonies, instead of disposing of it by free grant. This object -may be shown to be equitable; it appeals to the common justice of -mankind. But as to the longer or shorter term the hired labourer -remains in the condition of hired labourer, for this the capitalist -must take his chance. This must be determined, as it is in the old -country, and as alone it can be determined amicably, by that current -of circumstances over which neither party can exercise a direct -control. To such collateral advantage as may accrue to the capitalist -from even the price we should impose, he is welcome; only we do not -legislate for this object--we neither give it, nor take it away. - -The wild unappropriated land of our colonies belongs to the crown, to -the state--it is, as Mr Wakefield says, "a valuable national -property." In making use of this land, one main object would be to -relieve the destitute of the old country; to give them, if possible, a -share of it. What more just or more rational? To give, however, the -soil itself to the very poor would be idle. They cannot reach it, they -cannot travel to their new estate--they have no seeds, no tools, no -stock of any kind wherewith to cultivate it. The gift would be a mere -mockery. We will sell it, then, to those who can transport themselves -thither, and who have the necessary means for its cultivation, and the -purchase-money shall be paid over to the very poor. By far the best -way of paying over this purchase-money, which as a mere gift of so -much coin would be all but worthless, and would be spent in a week, is -by providing them with a free passage to the colony where they will -permanently improve their condition; obtaining high wages, and -probably, after a time, becoming proprietors themselves; and assisting -in turn, by the purchase-money their own savings will have enabled -them to pay, to bring over other emigrants to the new field of labour, -and the new land of promise. - -This is an equitable arrangement, and, what is more, the equity of it -is level to the common sense of all mankind. It effects also certain -desirable objects, though not such as our theorist has in view. It -places the land in the possession of men who will and can cultivate -it, and who, by paying a certain moderate price, have shown they were -in earnest in the business; and it has transmitted, at their expense, -labourers to the new soil. With the question, how long these shall -continue labourers, it interferes not. It is a question, we think, no -wise man would meddle with. Least of all does it represent that the -capitalist has obtained any claim upon the services of the labourer, -by having paid for his passage out: this payment was no gift of his; -it was the poor man's share of the "national property." They meet in -the colony as they would have met in England, each at liberty to do -the best he can for himself. - -Observe how the difficulties crowd upon us, when we enter upon the -other and indeed the essential part of Mr Wakefield's scheme. The -emigrant is not "too soon" to become a proprietor. What does this "too -soon" mean? How long is he to be retained in the condition of hired -labourer? How many years? Mr Wakefield never fixes a period. He could -not. It must depend much upon the rapidity of immigration into the -colony. If the second batch of immigrants is slow of coming in, the -first must be kept labourers the longer. If the stream of labour flow -but scantily into this artificial canal, the locks must be opened the -more rarely. But how is the "sufficient price" to be determined until -this period be known? It is the sum the labourer can save from his -wages, during this time, which must constitute the price of so much -land as will support him and his family, and enable him to turn -proprietor. Thus, in order to regulate the sufficient price, it will -be necessary to find the average rate of wages, the average amount of -savings that a labourer could make (which, again, must depend upon the -price of provisions, and other necessaries of life) during an unknown -period!--and, in addition to this, to determine the average produce of -so many acres of land. The apparent simplicity of the scheme resolves -itself into an extreme complexity. The author of it, indeed, proposes -a short method by which his sufficient price may be arrived at without -these calculations: what that short method is, and how fallacious it -would prove, we shall have occasion to show. - -But granting that, in any manner, this "sufficient price" could be -determined, the measure has an unjust and arbitrary character. It is -not enough that such a scheme could be defended, and shown to be -equitable, because for the general good, before some committee of -legislators; if it offends the popular sense of justice it can never -prosper. "I know," the humble emigrant might say--"I know there must -be rich and poor in the world; there always have been, and always will -be. To what is inevitable one learns to submit. If I am born poor -there is no help for it, except what lies in my own ability and -industry. But if you set about, by artificial regulations, in a new -colony, where fruitful land is in abundance, to keep me poor, because -I am so now, I rebel. This is not just. Do I not see the open land -before me unowned, untouched? I well enough understood that, in old -England, I could not take so much of any field as the merest shed -would cover--not so much as I could burrow in. Long before I was born -it had been all claimed, hedged, fenced in, and a title traced from -ancestor to ancestor. Here, I am the ancestor!" - -Tell such a man that a price is put upon the land in order that some -companions whom he left starving in England may come over and partake -the benefit of this unbroken soil,--he will see a plain justice here. -He himself was, perhaps, brought over by the price paid by some -precursor. What he received from one more prosperous, he returns to -another less prosperous than himself. But tell him that a price is put -upon the land, in order that he may serve a rich master the -longer,--in order that he may be kept in a subordinate station, from -which circumstances now permit him to escape--he will see no justice -in the case. He will do everything in his power to evade your law; he -will look upon your "sufficient price" as a cruel artificial barrier -raised up against him; he will go and "squat" upon the land, without -paying any price at all. - -Indeed, the objection to his scheme, which Mr Wakefield seems to feel -the strongest,--to which he gives the least confident reply, is just -this--that, equitable or not, it would be impossible to carry out his -law into execution; that if the price were high enough to answer his -purposes, the land, in colonial dialect, would be "squatted" -on,--would be taken possession of without any payment whatever. A -moderate price men will cheerfully pay for the greater security of -title: Englishmen will not, for a slight matter, put themselves -wittingly on the wrong side of the law. But, if coupled with a high -price, there is a rankling feeling of injustice: they will be very apt -to satisfy themselves with actual possession, and leave the legal -title to follow as it may. It is true, as Mr Wakefield urges, the -richer capitalists will by no means favour the squatter; they will be -desirous of enforcing a law made for their especial benefit. But they -will not form the majority. Popular opinion will be against them, and -in favour of the squatter. It would not be very easy to have a police -force, and an effective magistracy, at the outskirts of a settlement -stretching out, in some cases, into an unexplored region. Besides, it -is a conspicuous part of Mr Wakefield's plan to give municipal or -local governments to our colonies: these, as emanating from the -British constitution, must need be more or less of a popular -character; and we are persuaded that no such popular local government -would uphold his "sufficient price," or tolerate the principle on -which it was founded. - -But, even if practicable, if carried out into complete execution, it -remains to be considered whether the measure proposed would really -have the effect contemplated by our theorist--that of supplying the -capitalist with the labour he needs. With a certain number of -_labourers_ it might,--but of what character? It is not a remote -possibility that will influence a common day-labourer to save his -earnings. It is one of the terms of the proposition that high wages -are to be given; for without these there would be no emigration, and -certainly no fear of a too speedy promotion to the rank of proprietor. -It follows, therefore, that you have a class of men earning high -wages, and not under any strong stimulus to save--a class of men -always found to be the most idle and refractory members of the -community. A journeyman who has no pressing motive for a provident -economy, and who earns high wages, is almost invariably a capricious -unsteady workman, on whom no dependence can be placed; who will -generally work just so many days in the week as are necessary to -procure him the enjoyments he craves. One of these enjoyments is -indolence itself,--a sottish, half-drunken indolence. Drinking is the -coarse pleasure of most uneducated men: it is so even in the old -country; and in a colony where there are still fewer amusements for -the idle hour, it becomes almost the sole pleasure. How completely it -is the reigning vice of our own colonies is known to all. Imagine a -labourer in the receipt of high wages, little influenced by the remote -prospect of becoming, by slow savings, a proprietor of land--and -feeling, moreover, that he was retained in a dependent condition, -arbitrarily, artificially, expressly for the service of the -capitalist--what amount of _work_ think you the capitalist-farmer -would get from such a labourer? Not so much in seven years as he -would have had from him in two, if, at the end of that two, the man -had calculated upon being himself a farmer. - -Recollect that it is not slave labour, or convict labour, that we are -here dealing with: it is the free labour of one man working for -another man, at wages. He gets all the wages he can, and gives as -little labour as he can. If the wages are high, and the inducement to -save but feeble, he will probably earn by one day's work what will -enable him to pass the two next in idleness and debauchery. What boon -will Mr Wakefield have conferred upon the capitalist? - -The theory of a "sufficient price" is, therefore, placed in this -hopeless predicament:--1. It would be almost impossible to enforce it; -and, 2. If enforced, it would fail of its purpose. It would supply the -capitalist with inefficient, profligate, and idle workmen, on whose -steady co-operation and assistance he could never calculate. - -That it may be desirable to tempt the capitalist abroad by securing -him an abundance of hired labour, something like that which lies at -his door in England, we do not dispute. But the thing is impossible. -You cannot manage this by direct legislation. You cannot combine in -one settlement the advantages of a new and of an old country. It is -not in the wit of man to bring together these two stages of society. -Our political economist is in too great a haste to be rich: he forgets -the many lessons he has given to others against bootless and -mischievous intermeddling with the natural course of things. Meanwhile -"the attempt will confound us,"--it will throw an unpopularity over -the whole subject of emigration in the minds of the working classes. -Already we hear it murmured that the land is to be made a monopoly for -the rich; that the man of small substance is to be discouraged; that -the sole object of the moneyed class is to make profit of the labours -of others; and that they are bent upon creating, artificially, in the -colony, those circumstances which put the workmen in their power in -the old country. We would earnestly counsel those who are interested -in the subject of emigration, to consider well before they teach or -practise this new "_art_ of colonisation." - -Those who have not perused Mr Wakefield's book may, perhaps, entertain -a suspicion that, in thus separating the objects for which a price is -to be laid on land, admitting the one and rejecting the other, we are -only engaging ourselves unnecessarily in a theoretical debate. If a -price is to be affixed, the result, it may seem to them, is -practically the same, whatever the object may be. But the practical -result would be very different; for a very different price would be -exacted, according to the object in view, as well as a very different -motive assigned for imposing it. The price at which a considerable -fund would be raised for the purpose of emigration, would be too low -to answer the purpose of restraining the labourer from soon becoming a -proprietor of land. Those, however, who are familiar with Mr -Wakefield's book, know well that this last purpose forms the very -substance of the plan it proposes; and that hitherto no -price--although it has ranged as high as 40s. per acre--has been -considered sufficiently high to effect the object of the theorist. - - "There is but one object of a price," says Mr Wakefield, (p. - 347,) "and about that there can be no mistake. The sole - object of a price is to prevent labourers from turning into - landowners too soon: the price must be sufficient for that - one purpose, and no other." "The sufficient price," he says, - (p. 339,) "has never yet been adopted by a colonising - government." And a little further, (p. 341,) he thus - continues: "There are but three places in which the price of - new land has had the least chance of operating beneficially. - These are South Australia, Australia Felix, and New Zealand. - In none of these cases did the plan of granting with - profusion precede that of selling; but in none of them did - the price required prevent the cheapest land from being cheap - enough to inflict on the colony all the evils of an extreme - scarcity of labour for hire. In these cases, moreover, a - large portion of the purchase-money of waste land was - expended in conveying labourers from the mother-country to - the colony. If this money had not been so spent, the - proportion of land to people would have been very much - greater than it was, and the price of new land still more - completely inoperative. More facts might be cited to show the - insufficiency of the highest price yet required for new - land." - -We will continue our first quotation from p. 347. The manner in which -Mr Wakefield himself exposes the difficulties of fixing the -"sufficient price," and the very inadequate expedient he points out -for obviating, or avoiding, these difficulties, may throw some further -light upon the matter. - - "The sole object of a price is to prevent labourers from - turning into landowners too soon: the price must be - sufficient for that one purpose, and no other. The question - is, What price would have that one effect? That must depend, - first, on what is meant by 'too soon;' or on the proper - duration of the term of the labourer's employment for hire; - which again must depend upon the rate of the increase of - population in the colony, especially by means of immigration, - which would determine when the place of a labourer, turning - out a landowner, would be filled by another labourer; and the - rate of labour-emigration again must depend on the popularity - of the colony at home, and on the distance between the - mother-country and the colony, or the cost of passage for - labouring people. Secondly, what price would have the desired - effect, must depend on the rate of wages and cost of living - in the colony, since according to these would be the - labourer's power of saving the requisite capital for turning - into a landowner: in proportion to the rate of wages, and the - cost of living, would the requisite capital be saved in a - longer or a shorter time. It depends, thirdly, on the soil - and climate of the colony, which would determine the quantity - of land required (on the average) by a labourer, in order to - set himself up as a landowner. If the soil and climate were - unfavourable to production, he would require more acres; if - it were favourable, fewer acres would serve his purpose: in - Trinidad, for example, ten acres would support him well; in - South Africa, or New South Wales, he might require fifty or a - hundred acres. But the variability in our wide colonial - empire, not only of soil and climate, but of all the - circumstances on which a sufficient price would depend, is so - obvious, that no examples of it are needed. It follows, of - course, that different colonies, and sometimes different - groups of similar colonies, would require different prices. - To name a price for all the colonies, would be as absurd as - to fix the size of a coat for mankind. - - "'But, at least,' I hear your Mr Mother-country say, 'name a - price for some particular colony--a price founded on the - elements of calculation which you have stated.' I could do - that, certainly, for some colony with which I happen to be - particularly well acquainted, but I should do it doubtingly, - and with hesitation; for, in truth, the elements of - calculation are so many, and so complicated in their various - relations to each other, that in depending on them - exclusively there would be the utmost liability to error. A - very complete and familiar knowledge of them in each case - would be a useful general guide, would throw valuable light - on the question, would serve to inform the legislator how far - his theory and his practice were consistent or otherwise; - but, in the main, he must rely, and if he had common sagacity - he might solely and safely rely, upon no very elaborate - calculation, but on experience, or the facts before his eyes. - _He could always tell whether or not labour for hire was too - scarce or too plentiful in the colony. If it were too - plentiful, he would know that the price of new land was too - high--that is, more than sufficient: if it were hurtfully - scarce, he would know that the price was too low, or not - sufficient. About which the labour was--whether too plentiful - or too scarce--no legislature, hardly any individual, could - be in doubt_, so plain to the dullest eye would be the facts - by which to determine that question. If the lawgiver saw that - the labour was scarce, and the price too low, he would raise - the price; if he saw that labour was superabundant, and the - price too high, he would lower the price; if he saw that - labour was neither scarce nor superabundant, he would not - alter the price, because he would see that it was neither too - high nor too low, but sufficient." - -Admirable machinery! No steam-engine could let its steam on, or off, -with more precision. The legislature or governor "could always tell -whether or not labour for hire was too scarce or too plentiful," and -open or close his value accordingly. "No legislature, hardly any -individual could be in doubt" about the matter! Indeed! when was hired -labour ever thought too cheap--in other words, too plentiful--by the -capitalist? When was it ever thought too dear--in other words, too -scarce--by the labourer? Could the most ingenious man devise a question -on which there would be more certainly two quite opposite and -conflicting opinions? And suppose the legislature to have come to a -decision--say that the labour was too scarce--there would still be this -other question to decide, whether to _lower_ the price, in order to -tempt emigrants, might not be as good a means of rendering labour more -plentiful, as to _raise_ the price in order to render it still more -difficult for labourers to become landowners? Here there is surely -scope for the most honest diversity of opinion. One party might very -rationally advise to entice thither the stream of emigration:--"Let it -flow more copiously," they might exclaim, "though we retain the waters -for a shorter time;" while the party thoroughly imbued with the -doctrine of the "sufficient price" would devise fresh dikes and dams, -and watch the locks more narrowly. - -In his "sufficient price," Mr Wakefield has discovered the secret -spring that regulates the economical relations of society. He has his -hand upon it. He, or his lawgiver, will henceforward regulate the -supply of labour, and the remuneration of labour, upon scientific -principles. Unenviable post! We should infinitely prefer the task of -the philosopher in _Rasselas_, who fancied himself commissioned to -distribute rain and sunshine, in just proportions, to all the farmers -in the neighbourhood. - -It is quite curious to observe how strong a faith our projector has in -his theory of a sufficient price, and how singular a bias this has -exerted on his mind in some other matters of speculation. He finds -that slavery, both in olden and modern times, has been all owing to -"cheapness of land." Could he have fixed his sufficient price upon the -arable land in Chaldea, or about the cities of Athens and Rome, -neither the patriarchs, nor the Greeks, nor the Romans, would have -known the institution of slavery. "Slavery is evidently," he says, "a -make-shift for hiring; a proceeding to which recourse is had only -where hiring is impossible, or difficult. Slave labour is, on the -whole, much more costly than the labour of hired freemen; and slavery -is also full of moral and political evils, from which the method of -hired labour is exempt. Slavery, _therefore_, is not preferred to the -method of hiring: the method of hiring would be preferred if there was -a choice."--(P. 324.) Most logical "_therefore_!" The mode of hiring -is preferred by those to whom experience has taught all this; but -slavery, so far from being the "make-shift," is the first expedient. -It is the first rude method which unscrupulous power adopts to engross -the produce of the earth. The stronger make the weaker labour for -them. "It happens," he continues, "wherever population is scanty in -proportion to land." It happens wherever people prefer idleness to -work, and have been able to coerce others to labour for them, whether -land has been plentiful or not. Was it abundance of land, or the -military spirit, that produced the amiable relationship between the -Spartan and the Helot?--or was there any need of a "sufficient price" -to limit the supply of good land in Egypt, which lay rigidly enough -defined between the high and low margin of a river? Or could any -governor, with his tariff of prices, have performed this duty more -effectually than the Nile and the desert had done between them? - -But the most amusing instance is still to follow. "It was the -cheapness of land that caused Las Casas (the Clarkson or Wilberforce -of his time, as respects the Red Indians of America) to invent the -African slave-trade. It was the cheapness of land that brought African -slaves to Antigua and Barbadoes."--(P. 328.) It was the cheapness of -land! If land had been dearer, the Spaniards would have worked for -themselves, and not have asked the Red Indians for their assistance! -If land had been dearer in Antigua and Barbadoes, the climate would -have lost its influence on European frames, and Englishmen would have -laboured in their own sugar plantations! - -Doubtless the difficulty of obtaining hired labour has been sometimes -a reason, and sometimes an excuse, for the continuance of slavery. It -is also true that the willingness of the discharged slave to work, as -a hired labourer, is almost a necessary condition to the extinction of -slavery. But, losing sight of all our amiable passions and -propensities, to describe slavery as originating altogether in the -scarcity of hired labour, (as if the slave had first had the offer -made to him to work for wages, and had refused it,) and then to -resolve this cause again into no other circumstance than the -"cheapness of land," is something like monomania. - -In America, those states which have colonised so rapidly have not been -the slave-holding states, nor have they needed slaves; nor has land -been scarce; nor has much been done by the mere capitalist who goes to -hire labour; but almost all by the man who goes there to labour -himself, upon property of his own. And who, after all, we would ask, -are the best of emigrants, in every new country where the land has yet -to be reclaimed? Not those who seek the colony with an intention of -making a fortune there, and returning to England; nor even those who -go with some feeling that they shall be the Cæsars of the village; nor -the easy capitalist, who expects, from the back of his ambling nag, to -see his fields sprout with corn and grow populous with cattle. The -best of emigrants, as pioneers of civilisation, are those who intend -to settle and live on the land they shall have reduced to cultivation, -who go to labour with their own hands on property they shall call -their own. It is the labour of such men that has converted into -corn-fields the dark forests of America. That ardent and indefatigable -industry which has been so often admired in the peasant -proprietor--the man who has all the hardy habits of the peasant and -all the pride of proprietorship--is never more wanted, never more at -home, than in the new colony. We have a sympathy with these men--we -like their hearty toil, their guiltless enterprise. This is not the -class of men we would disgust; yet it is precisely this class who go -forth with their little store of wealth in their hand, or with hope -soon to realise it, whom the "sufficient price" of Mr Wakefield would -deter from entering the colony, or convert, when there, into -unwilling, discontented, uncertain labourers. - -The rights of every class must, of course, be determined by a -reference to the welfare of the whole community. The poorer settler -must have his claims decided, and limited, according to rules which -embrace the interest of the empire at large. We hope we shall not be -misunderstood on so plain a matter as this. We do not contemplate the -settler as arriving on the new land unfettered by any allegiance he -owes to the old country. He belongs to civilised England; carries with -him the knowledge and the implements which her civilisation has -procured him; lives under her protection, and must submit to her laws. -But in limiting the rights of the settler in a land spreading open -before him--where nothing has taken possession of the soil but the -fertilising rain, and the broad sunshine playing idly on its -surface--you must make out a clear case, a case of claims paramount to -his own, a case which appeals to that sense of justice common to the -multitude, which will bear examination, which readily forces itself -upon an honest conviction. It must not be a mere speculative measure, -a subtle theory, hard for a plain man to understand--benevolently -meant, but, intricate in its operation, and precarious in its -result--that should come betwixt him and the free bounty of nature. -Not of such materials can you make the fence that is to coop him up in -one corner of a new-found continent. Laudable it may be, this -experiment to adjust with scientific accuracy the proportion of -capital and labour; but a man with no peculiar passion for political -economy, will hardly like to be made the subject of this experiment, -or that a scientific interest should keep his feet from the -wilderness, or his spade from the unowned soil. It would be an -ungracious act of parliament, to say the least of it, whose preamble -should run thus--"Whereas it is expedient that the labouring -population emigrating from England should be 'prevented from turning -too soon into landowners,' and thus cultivating the soil for -themselves instead of for others, Be it enacted," &c. &c. - -Although this theory of a "sufficient price" is the chief topic of Mr -Wakefield's book, yet there are many other subjects of interest -discussed, and many valuable suggestions thrown out in it; and if we -have felt ourselves compelled to enter our protest against his main -theory, we are by no means unwilling to confess our share of -obligation to one who has made colonisation the subject of so much -study, and who has called to it the attention of so many others. It -was he who, struck with the gross error that had been committed of -stocking certain of our colonies with too large a proportion of the -male sex, first pointed out that the period of marriage was the most -appropriate period for emigration. Do not wait till want drives out -the half-famished children, but let the young married couple start -whilst yet healthy and vigorous, and not broken down by poverty. Some -might be disposed to object that these will do well enough in England. -They might, but their children might not. It is wise to take the -stream of population a little higher up, where it yet runs clear; not -to wait till the waters have become sluggish and polluted. - -In a literary point of view, Mr Wakefield's book is an extremely -entertaining one. It is difficult to believe what we are told in the -preface, and hear with regret, that it was written in ill health, so -elastic a spirit is observable throughout. The work assumes the form -of letters passing between a statesman, who is in search of -information and theory on the subject of colonisation, and a colonist -who has both to give. One would naturally conclude, from the letters -themselves, that both sets were written by the same author, and that -the correspondence was but one of those well-understood literary -artifices by which the exposition of certain truths or opinions is -rendered more clear or interesting. The letters of the statesman have -that constrained fictitious aspect which responses framed merely for -the carrying on of the discussion are almost sure to acquire. At all -events, it was hardly necessary for Mr Wakefield to describe himself -in the title-page as "_one_ of the writers;" since the part of the -statesman, in the correspondence, is merely to ask questions at the -proper time, to put an objection just where it ought to be answered, -and give other the like promptings to the colonist. - -With many readers it will add not a little to the piquancy of the -work, that a considerable part is occupied in a sharp controversy with -the Colonial Office and its present chief. Mr Wakefield does not spare -his adversaries; he seems rather to rejoice in the wind and stir of -controversy. What provocation he has received we do not know: the -justice of his quarrel, therefore, we cannot pretend to decide upon; -but the manner in which he conducts it, is certainly not to our taste. -For instance, at p. 35 and p. 302, there is a littleness of motive, a -petty jealousy of him (Mr Wakefield) attributed to Lord Grey as the -grounds of his public conduct--a sort of imputation which does not -increase our respect for the person who makes it. But into this -controversy with the Colonial Office we have no wish to enter. So far -as it is of a personal character, we can have no motive to meddle with -it; and so far as the system itself is attacked, of governing our -colonies through this office, as at present constituted, there appears -to be no longer any controversy whatever. It seems admitted, on all -hands, that our colonies have outgrown the machinery of government -here provided for them. - -In the extract we lately made from Mr Wakefield's book, some of our -readers were perhaps startled at meeting so strange an appellation as -_Mr Mothercountry_. It is a generic name, which our writer gives to -that gentleman of the Colonial Office (though it would seem more -appropriate to one of the female sex) who for the time being really -governs the colony, and is thus, in fact, the representative of the -mother country. The _soubriquet_ was adopted from a pamphlet of the -late Mr Charles Buller, in which he very vividly describes the sort of -government to which--owing to the frequent change of ministry, and the -parliamentary duties of the Secretary of State--a colony is -practically consigned. We wish we had space to quote enough from this -pamphlet, to show in what a graphic manner Mr Buller gradually narrows -and limits the ideas which the distant colonist entertains of the -ruling mother country. "That mother country," he finally says, "which -has been narrowed from the British isles into the Parliament, from the -Parliament into the Executive Government, from the Executive -Government into the Colonial Office, is not to be sought in the -apartments of the Secretary of State, or his Parliamentary -under-secretary. Where are we to look for it?" He finds it eventually -in some back-room in the large house in Downing Street, where some -unknown gentleman, punctual, industrious, irresponsible, sits at his -desk with his tape and his pigeon-holes about him. This is the -original of Mr Mother-country. - -That which immediately suggests itself as a substitute and a remedy -for the inefficient government of Downing Street, is some form of -local or municipal government. As Mr Wakefield justly observes, a -local government, having jurisdiction over quite local or special -matters, by no means implies any relinquishment by the imperial -government of its requisite control over the colony. Neither does a -municipal government imply a republican or democratic government. Mr -Wakefield suggests that the constitution of a colony should be framed, -as nearly as possible, on the model of our own--that there should be -two chambers, and one of them hereditary. The extreme distance of -many, of most of our colonies, absolutely precludes the possibility of -their being efficiently governed by the English Colonial Office, or by -functionaries (whether well or ill appointed) who have to receive all -their instructions from that office. Throughout our colonies, the -French system of centralisation is adopted, and that with a very -inadequate machinery. And the evil extends with our increasing -settlements; for where there is a "seat of government" established in -a colony, with due legislative and executive powers, every part of -that colony, however extensive it may be, has to look to that central -power for the administration of its affairs. - - "In our colonies," says Mr Wakefield, "government resides at - what is called its seat; every colony has its Paris, or 'seat - of government.' At this spot there is government; elsewhere - little or none. Montreal, for example, is the Paris of - Canada. Here, of course, as in the Paris of France, or in - London, representatives of the people assemble to make laws, - and the executive departments, with the cabinet of ministers, - are established. But now mark the difference between England - on the one hand, and France or Canada on the other. The laws - of England being full of delegation of authority for local - purposes, and for special purposes whether local or not, - spread government all over the country; those of Canada or - France in a great measure confine government to the capital - and its immediate neighbourhood. If people want to do - something of a public nature in Caithness or Cornwall, there - is an authority on the spot which will enable them to - accomplish this object, without going or writing to a distant - place. At Marseilles or Dunkerque you cannot alter a high - road, or add a gens-d'arme to the police force, without - correspondence with Paris; at Gaspé and Niagara you could - not, until lately, get anything of a public nature done, - without authority from the seat of government. But what is - the meaning, in this case, of a correspondence with Paris or - Montreal? It is doubt, hesitation, and ignorant objection on - the part of the distant authority; references backwards and - forwards; putting off of decisions; delay without end; and - for the applicants a great deal of trouble, alternate hope - and fear, much vexation of spirit, and finally either a rough - defeat of their object or evaporation by lapse of time. In - France, accordingly, whatever may be the form of the general - government, improvement, except at Paris, is imperceptibly - slow; whilst in Old, and still more in New England, you can - hardly shut your eyes anywhere without opening them on - something new and good, produced by the operation of - delegated government specially charged with making the - improvement. In the colonies it is much worse than in France. - The difficulty there is even to open a correspondence with - the seat of government; to find somebody with whom to - correspond. In France, at any rate, there is at the centre a - very elaborate bureaucratic machinery, instituted with the - design of supplying the whole country with government--the - failure arises from the practical inadequacy of a central - machinery for the purpose in view: but in our colonies, there - is but little machinery at the seat of government for even - pretending to operate at a distance. The occupants of the - public offices at Montreal scarcely take more heed of Gaspé, - which is five hundred miles off and very difficult of access, - than if that part of Canada were in Newfoundland or Europe. - Gaspé, therefore, until lately, when, on Lord Durham's - recommendation, some machinery of local government was - established in Canada, was almost without government, and one - of the most barbarous places on the face of the earth. Every - part of Canada not close to the seat of government was more - or less like Gaspé. Every colony has numerous Gaspés. South - Africa, save at Cape Town, is a Gaspé all over. All Australia - Felix, being from five hundred to seven hundred miles distant - from its seat of government at Sidney, and without a made - road between them, is a great Gaspé. In New Zealand, a - country eight or nine hundred miles long, without roads, and - colonised, as Sicily was of old, in many distinct - settlements, all the settlements, except the one at which the - government is seated, are miserable Gaspés as respects - paucity of government. In each settlement, indeed, there is a - meagre official establishment, and in one of the settlements - there is a sort of lieutenant-governor; but these officers - have no legislative functions, no authority to determine - anything, no originating or constructive powers: they are - mere executive organs of the general government at the - capital, for administering general laws, and for carrying - into effect such arbitrary instructions, which are not laws, - as they may receive from the seat of government. The - settlers, therefore, are always calling out for something - which government alone could furnish. Take one example out of - thousands. The settlers at Wellington in New Zealand, the - principal settlement of the colony, wanted a light-house at - the entrance of this harbour. To get a light-house was an - object of the utmost importance to them. The company in - England, which had founded the settlement, offered to advance - the requisite funds on loan. _But the settlement had no - constituted authority that could accept the loan and - guarantee its repayment._ The company therefore asked the - colonial office, whose authority over New Zealand is supreme, - to undertake that the money should be properly laid out and - ultimately repaid. But the colonial office, charged as it is - with the general government of some forty distinct and - distant communities, was utterly incapable of deciding - whether or not the infant settlement ought to incur such a - debt for such a purpose; it therefore proposed to refer the - question to the general government of the colony at Auckland. - But Auckland is several hundred miles distant from - Wellington, and between these distant places there is no road - at all--the only way of communication is by sea; and as there - is no commercial intercourse between the places, - communication by sea is either so costly, when, as has - happened, a ship is engaged for the purpose of sending a - message, or so rare, that the settlers at Wellington - frequently receive later news from England than from the seat - of their government: and moreover the attention of their - government was known to be, at the time, absorbed with - matters relating exclusively to the settlement in which the - government resided. Nothing, therefore, was done; some ships - have been lost for want of a lighthouse; and the most - frequented harbour of New Zealand is still without one."--(P. - 212.) - -This is a long extract, but it could not be abridged, and the -importance of the subject required it. Mr Wakefield has some remarks -upon the necessity of supplying religious instruction and the means of -public worship to our colonies, with which we cannot but cordially -agree. But we rubbed our eyes, and read the following passage twice -over, before we were quite sure that we had not misapprehended it: "I -am in hopes of being able, when the proper time shall come for that -part of my task, to persuade you that it would now be easy for England -to plant _sectarian colonies_--that is, colonies with the strong -attraction for superior emigrants, of a peculiar creed in each -colony"--(P. 160.) We thought that it was one of the chief boasts, and -most fortunate characteristics of our age, that men of different -sects, Presbyterians and Episcopalians, Independents and Baptists, had -learned to live quietly together. It is a lesson that has been slowly -learnt, and through much pain and tribulation. What is the meaning of -this retrograde movement, this drafting us out again into separate -corps? Possibly the fact of the whole settlement being of one sect of -Christians may tend at first to promote harmony--although even this -cannot be calculated upon; but differences of opinion are sure, in -time, to creep in; and the ultimate consequence would be, that such a -colony, in a future generation, would be especially afflicted with -religious dissensions, and the spirit of persecution. It would have to -learn again, through the old painful routine, the lesson of mutual -toleration. We suspect that Mr Wakefield is so engrossed with his -favourite subject of colonisation, that, if the Mormonites were to -make a good settlement of it, he would forgive them all their -absurdities; perhaps congratulate them on their harmony of views. - -We have hitherto regarded colonisation in its general, national, and -legislative aspect: the following passage takes us into the heart of -the business as it affects the individuals themselves, of all classes, -who really think of emigrating. It is thus Mr Wakefield describes -"the charms of colonisation:"-- - - "Without having witnessed it, you cannot form a just - conception of the pleasurable excitement which those enjoy - who engage personally in the business of colonisation. The - circumstances which produce these lively and pleasant - feelings are, doubtless, counteracted by others productive of - annoyance and pain; but, at the worst, there is a great deal - of enjoyment for all classes of colonists, which the fixed - inhabitants of an old country can with difficulty comprehend. - The counteracting circumstances are so many impediments to - colonisation, which we must examine presently. I will now - endeavour to describe briefly the encouraging circumstances - which put emigrants into a state of excitement, similar to - that occasioned by opium, wine, or winning at play, but with - benefit instead of fatal injury to the moral and physical - man. - - "When a man, of whatever condition, has finally determined to - emigrate, there is no longer any room in his mind for thought - about the circumstances that surround him: his life is for - some time an unbroken and happy dream of the imagination. The - labourer--whose dream is generally realised--thinks of light - work and high wages, good victuals in abundance, beer and - tobacco at pleasure, and getting in time to be a master in - his trade, or to having a farm of his own. The novelty of the - passage would be a delight to him, were it not for the ennui - arising from want of occupation. On his arrival at the - colony, all goes well with him. He finds himself a person of - great value, a sort of personage, and can indulge almost any - inclination that seizes him. If he is a brute, as many - emigrant labourers are, through being brutally brought up - from infancy to manhood, he lives, to use his own expression, - 'like a fighting cock,' till gross enjoyment carries him off - the scene. If he is of the better sort, by nature and - education, he works hard, saves money, and becomes a man of - property--perhaps builds himself a nice house, glories with - his now grand and happy wife in counting the children, the - more the merrier, and cannot find anything on earth to - complain of, but the exorbitant wages he has to pay. The - change for this class of men being from pauperism, or next - door to it, to plenty and property, is indescribably, to our - apprehensions almost inconceivably, agreeable. - - "But the classes who can hardly imagine the pleasant feelings - which emigration provides for the well-disposed pauper, have - pleasant feelings of their own when they emigrate, which are - perhaps more lively in proportion to the greater - susceptibility of a more cultivated mind to the sensations of - mental pain and pleasure. Emigrants of cultivated mind, from - the moment when they determine to be colonists, have their - dreams, which, though far from being always, or ever fully - realised, are, I have been told by hundreds of this class, - very delightful indeed. They think with great pleasure of - getting away from the disagreeable position of anxiety, - perhaps of wearing dependence, in which the universal and - excessive competition of this country has placed them. But it - is on the future that their imagination exclusively seizes. - They can think in earnest about nothing but the colony. I - have known a man of this class, who had been too careless of - money here, begin, as soon as he had resolved on emigration, - to save sixpences, and take care of bits of string, saying - 'everything will be of use _there_.' There! it is common for - people whose thoughts are fixed 'there,' to break themselves - all at once of a confirmed habit--that of reading their - favourite newspaper every day. All the newspapers of the old - country are now equally uninteresting to them. If one falls - in their way, they perhaps turn with alacrity to the shipping - lists, and advertisements of passenger ships, or even to an - account of the sale of Australian wool, or New Zealand flax; - but they cannot see either the parliamentary debate, or the - leading article which used to embody their own opinions, or - the reports, accidents, and offences, of which they used to - spell every word. Their reading now is confined to letters - and newspapers from the colony, and books relating to it. - They can hardly talk about anything that does not relate to - 'there.'"--(P. 127.) - -A man is far gone, indeed, when he has given up his _Times_! This zeal -for emigration amongst the better classes, and especially amongst -educated youths, who find the avenues to wealth blocked up in their -own country, is, we apprehend, peculiar to our day, and amongst the -most novel aspects which the subject of colonisation assumes. How many -of these latter find their imaginations travelling even to the -antipodes! _Where_ shall we colonise? is a question canvassed in many -a family, sometimes half in jest, half in earnest, till it leads to -the actual departure of the boldest or most restless of the circle. -Books are brought down and consulted; from the ponderous folio of -Captain Cook's voyages--which, with its rude but most illustrative of -prints, was the amusement of their childhood, when they would have -thought a habitation in the moon as probable a business as one in New -Zealand--to the last hot-pressed journal of a residence in Sydney; and -every colony in turn is examined and discussed. Here climate is so -delicious you may sleep without hazard in the open air. Sleep! yes, if -the musquitoes let you. Musquitoes--oh! Another reads with delight of -the noble breed of horses that now run wild in Australia, and of the -bold horsemanship of those who drive in the herd of bullocks from -their extensive pasturage, when it is necessary to assemble in order -to number and to mark them. The name of the thing does not sound so -romantic as that of a buffalo-hunt; but, armed with your tremendous -whip, from the back of a horse whom you turn and wind at pleasure, to -drive your not over-tractable bullocks, must task a good seat, and a -steady hand, and a quick eye. A third dwells with a quieter delight on -the beautiful scenery, and the pastoral life so suitable to it, which -New Zealand will disclose. Valleys green as the meadows of Devonshire, -hills as picturesque as those of Scotland, and the sky of Italy over -all! and the aborigines friendly, peaceable. Yes, murmurs one, until -they eat you. Faugh! but they are reformed in that particular. -Besides, Dr Dieffenbach says, here, that "they find Europeans salt and -disagreeable." Probably they had been masticating some tough old -sailor, who had fed on junk all his life, and they found him salt -enough. But let no one in his love of science suggest this explanation -to them; let us rest under the odium of being salt and disagreeable. - -These aborigines--one would certainly wish they were out of the way. -Wild men! Wild--one cannot have fellowship with them. Men--one cannot -shoot them. In Australia they are said to be not much wiser than -baboons--one wishes they were altogether baboons, or altogether men. -In New Zealand they are, upon the whole, a docile, simple people. The -missionaries are schooling them as they would little children. A very -simple people! They had heard of horses and of horsemanship; it was -some tradition handed down from their great discoverer, Captain Cook. -When lately some portly swine were landed on the island, they -concluded _these_ were the famous horses men rode upon in England. -"They rode two of them to death." Probably, by that time, they -suspected there was some error in the case. - -Hapless aborigines! How it comes to pass we cannot stop to inquire, -but certain it is they never prosper in any union with the white man. -They get his gin, they get his gunpowder, and, here and there, some -travesty of his religion. This is the best bargain they make where -they are most fortunate. The two first gifts of the white man, at all -events, add nothing to the amenity of character, and happen to be -precisely the gifts they could most vividly appreciate. Our -civilisation seems to have no other effect than to break up the sort -of rude harmony which existed in their previous barbarism. They -imitate, they do not emulate; what they see of us they do not -understand. That ridiculous exhibition, so often described, which they -make with our costume--a naked man with hat and feathers stuck upon -his head; or, better still, converting a pair of leathers into a -glistening helmet, the two legs hanging down at the back, where the -flowing horse-hair is wont to fall--is a perfect emblem of what they -have gained in mind and character from our civilisation. - -These poor New Zealanders are losing--what think you says Dr -Dieffenbach?--their digestion; getting dyspeptic. The missionaries -have tamed them down; they eat more, fight less, and die faster. One -of the "brethren," not the least intelligent to our mind, has -introduced cricket as a substitute for their war-dances and other -fooleries they had abolished. - -When we want the soil which such aborigines are loosely tenanting, we -must, we presume, displace them. There is no help for it. But, in all -other cases, we could wish the white man would leave these dark -children of the earth alone. If there exists another Tahiti, such as -it was when Cook discovered it, such as we read of it under the old -name of Otaheite, we hope that some eternal mist, drawn in a wide -circle round the island, will shroud it from all future navigators. -Were we some great mariner, and had discovered such an island, and had -eaten of the bread-fruit of the hospitable native, and reclined under -their peaceful trees, and seen their youths and maidens crowned with -green boughs, sporting like fishes in their beautiful clear seas, no -mermaid happier--we should know but of one way to prove our -gratitude--to close our lips for ever on the discovery we had made. If -there exist in some untraversed region of the ocean another such spot, -and if there are still any genii, or jins, or whatever sea-fairies may -be called, left behind in the world, we beseech of them to protect it -from all prying circumnavigators. Let them raise bewildering mists, or -scare the helmsman with imaginary breakers, or sit cross-legged upon -the binnacle, and bewitch the compass--anyhow let them protect their -charge. We could almost believe, from this moment, in the existence of -such spirits or genii, having found so great a task for them. - -We have no space to go back to other graver topics connected with -colonisation which we have passed on our road. On one topic we had -not, certainly, intended to be altogether silent. But it is perhaps -better as it is; for the subject of transportation is so extensive, -and so complicate, and so inevitably introduces the whole review of -what we call secondary punishments--of our penal code, in short--that -it were preferable to treat it apart. It would be very unsatisfactory -merely to state a string of conclusions, without being able to throw -up any defences against those objections which, in a subject so full -of controversy, they would be sure to provoke. - -In fine, we trust to no ideals, no theory or art of colonisation. -Neither do we make any extraordinary or novel demands on Government. A -great work is going on, but it will be best performed by simple means. -We ask from the Government that it should survey and apportion the -land, and secure its possession to the honest emigrant, and that it -should delegate to the new settlement such powers of self-government -as are necessary to its internal improvement. These, however, are -important duties, and embrace much. The rest, with the exception of -such liberality as may be thought advisable, in addition to the fund -raised by the sale of waste land, for the despatch and outfit of the -poor labourer or artisan--the rest must be left to the free spirit of -Englishmen, whether going single or in groups and societies. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] _A View of the Art of Colonisation, with present reference to the -British Empire; in Letters between a Statesman and a Colonist._ Edited -by (one of the writers) EDWARD GIBBON WAKEFIELD. - - - - -THE REACTION, OR FOREIGN CONSERVATISM. - - - BOSTON, _February 1849_. - -It is the sage remark of Montesquieu, that, under a government of -laws, liberty consists simply in the power of doing what we ought to -will, and in freedom from any constraint to do what we ought not to -will. The true conservative not only accepts this maxim, but he gives -it completeness by prescribing a pure religion as the standard of what -a people ought to will, and as the only sober guide of conscience. And -this may be added as a corollary, that so long as a free people is -substantially Christian, their conscience coinciding with absolute -right, their liberty, so far as affected by popular causes, will -preserve itself from fatal disorders. Such a people, possessed of -liberty, will know it and be content. But where the popular conscience -is morbid, they may have liberty without knowing it. They will fancy -that they ought to will what they are not permitted to will, and the -most wholesome restraints of wise laws will appear tyrannical. For -such a people there can be no cure, till they are restored to a -healthy conscience. A despotism successfully established over them, -and then moderately maintained, and benevolently administered, is the -only thing that can save them from self-destruction. - -I was not writing at random, then, my Basil, when I said in my last -letter that the first want of France is a national conscience. As a -nation, the French lack the moral sense. What sign of moral life have -they shown for the last fifty years? The root of bitterness in the -body politic of France, is the astonishing infidelity of the people. -Whatever be the causes, the fact is not to be denied: the land whose -crown was once, by courtesy, _most Christian_, must draw on courtesy -and charity too, if it be now called Christian at all. The spirit of -unbelief is national. It is the spirit of French literature--of the -French press--of the French academy--of the French senate; I had -almost added of the French church; and if I hesitate, it is not so -much because I doubt the corrupting influences of the French -priesthood, as because they are no longer Gallican priests, but simply -the emissaries of Ultramontanism. There is no longer a French church. -The Revolution made an end of that. When Napoleon, walking at -Malmaison, heard the bells of Ruel, he was overpowered with a sense of -the value of such associations as they revived in his own heart, and -forthwith he opened the churches which had so long been the sepulchres -of a nation's faith, convinced that they served a purpose in -government, if only as a cheap police. He opened the churches, but he -could not restore the church of France. He could do no more than -enthrone surviving Ultramontanism in her ancient seats, and that by a -manoeuvre, which made it a creature and a slave of his ambition. When -it revolted, he talked of Gallican liberties, but only for political -purposes. Nor did the Restoration do any better. The church of St -Louis was defunct. Gallican immunities were indeed asserted on paper; -but, in effect, the Jesuits gained the day. The Orleans usurpation -carried things further; for the priesthood, severed from the state, -became more Ultramontane from apparent necessity, and lost, -accordingly, their feeble hold on the remaining respect of the French -people. Who was not startled, when the once devout Lamartine talked of -"the new Christianity" of Liberty and Equality over the ruins of the -Orleans dynasty, and thus betrayed the irreligion into which he had -been repelled by the Christianity of French ecclesiastics! Thus always -uncongenial to the national character, Ultramontanism has coated, like -quicksilver, and eaten away those golden liberties which St Louis -consecrated his life to preserve, and with which have perished the -life and power of Christianity in France. - -The history of France is emphatically a religious history. Every -student must be struck with it. To understand even the history of its -court, one must get at least an outline of what is meant by Jansenism -and Molinism, and Ultramontanism, and the whole tissue of isms which -they have created. No historian gives us an exemption from this amount -of polemical information. The school of Michelet is as forward as that -of de Maistre, in claiming a "religious mission" for France among the -nations; and de Stael and Chateaubriand are impressed with the same -idea. Her _publicists_, as well as her statesmen, have been always, in -their own way, theologians; and, from Louis IX. to Louis XVI., the -spirit of theology was, in some form or other, the spirit of every -reign. Not only the Mazarins, but the Pompadours also, have made -religion part of their craft; and religion became so entirely -political under Louis XV., that irreligion was easily made political -in its stead. In the court of France, in fact, theology has been the -common trade; the trade of Condé and of Guise, of Huguenot and Papist, -of Jansenist and Jesuit, of philosopher and poet, of harlots, and -almost of lap-dogs. Even Robespierre must legislate upon the -"consoling principle of an _Etre Suprême_," and Napoleon elevates -himself into "the eldest son of the church." "A peculiar -characteristic of this monarchy," says de Maistre, "is that it -possesses a certain theocratic element, special to itself, which has -given it fourteen centuries of duration." This element has given its -colour to reigns and revolutions alike; and if one admit the necessity -of religion to the perpetuity of a state, it deserves our attention, -in the light of whatever contending parties have advanced upon the -subject. - -Let us begin with the revolutionists themselves. In the month of June -1844, Monsieur Quinet, "of the college of France," stood in his -lecture-room, venting his little utmost against the "impassioned -leaven of Reaction," which he declared to be fermenting in French -society. His audience was literally the youth of nations; for, as I -gather from his oratory, it embraced not only his countrymen, but, -besides them, Poles, Russians, Italians, Germans, Hungarians, -Spaniards, Portuguese, and a sprinkling of negroes. Upon this -interesting assembly, in which black spirits and white must have -maintained the proportion, and something of the appearance, of their -corresponding ebony and ivory in the key-board of a pianoforte, and -which he had tuned to his liking by a series of preparatory exercises, -he played, as a grand _finale_, a most brilliant experimental -quick-step, which satisfied him that every chord vibrated in harmony -with his own sweet voice. He was closing his instructions, and -addressed his pupils, not as disciples, but as friends. His great -object seems to have been to convince them of their own importance, as -the illuminated school of a new gospel of which he is himself the -dispenser, and through which, he promised them, they would become, -with him, the regenerators of the world. Having fully indoctrinated -them with his new Christianity, it was necessary to work them into -fury against the old. He had already established the unity of politics -and religion; he had shown, very artfully, that Christianity had -identified itself with Ultramontanism, and that France must perish if -it should triumph; and he had only to convince them of danger from -that quarter, to influence the combustible spirits of his credulous -hearers to the heat which his purpose required. This he did by -bellowing _Reaction_, and anathematising Schlegel and de Maistre. - -You were mistaken then, my Basil, in supposing this word _Reaction_ -altogether a bugbear, and in understanding it with reference only to -the counter-spirit in favour of legitimacy, which has been generated -by the revolution of last year. You see it was the hobgoblin of a -certain class of fanatics, long before Louis Philippe had received his -notice to quit. It was an "impassioned leaven" in French society five -years ago, in the heated imagination, or else in the artful theory, of -Quinet. What was really the case? There was, in his sober opinion, as -much danger from the reaction at that time as from the Great Turk, and -no more. He merely used it as an academic man-of-straw to play at -foils with. He held it up to contempt as an exploded folly, and then -pretended it was a living danger, only to increase his own reputation -for daring, and to quicken the development of antagonist principles. -He little dreamed the manikin would come to life, and show fight for -the Bourbons and legitimacy. He cried _Wolf_ for his own purposes, and -the actual barking of the pack must be a terrible retribution! The -reaction of 1848 must have come upon the professors like doomsday. I -can conceive of him, at present, only as of Friar Bacon, when he -stumbled upon the discovery of gunpowder. A moment since, he stood in -his laboratory compounding the genuine elixir of life, and assuring -his gaping disciples of the success of his experiment; but there has -been a sudden detonation, and if the professor has miraculously -escaped, it is only to find chaos come again, his admiring auditors -blown to atoms, and nothing remaining of his philosophical -trituration, except his smutty self, and a very bad smell. I speak of -him as the personification of his system. Personally, he has been a -gainer by the revolution. Guizot put him out of his place, and the -Republic has put him back; but the Reaction is upon him, and his -theories are already resolved into their original gases. "The college -of France" may soon come to a similar dissolution. - -Let us look for a while at foreign conservatism through Monsieur -Quinet's glasses. I have introduced you to de Maistre, and de Maistre -is to him what the Pope was to Luther. Quinet is, in his own way, -another reformer; in fact, he announces his system, in its relations -to Protestantism, as another noon risen upon mid-day. The theological -character of foreign politics is as prominent in his writings as in -those of his antagonists. Thus, to illustrate the character of the -French Revolution, he takes us to the Council of Trent; and to -demolish French Tories, he attacks Ultramontanism. This is indeed -philosophical, considering the actual history of Europe, and the -affinities of its Conservative party. Action and reaction are always -equal. The cold infidelity of Great Britain was met by the cool reason -of Butler, and sufficiently counteracted by even the frigid apologies -of Watson, and the mechanical faith of Paley. But the passionate -unbelief of the Encyclopædists produced the unbalanced credulity of -the reaction; and Diderot, d'Alembert, and Voltaire, have almost, by -fatality, involved the noble spirits of their correctors in that -wrongheaded habit of believing, which shows its vigorous weakness in -the mild Ballanche and the wavering Lamennais, and develops all its -weak vigour in de Maistre and de Bonald. Thus it happens that Mons. -Quinet gives to his published lectures the title of _Ultramontanism_; -for he prefers to meet his antagonists on the untenable field of their -superstition, and there to win a virtual victory over their -philosophical and political wisdom. His book has reached me through -the translation of Mr Cocks,[2] who has kindly favoured the literature -of England with several similar importations from "the College of -France," and who seems to be the chosen mouthpiece of the benevolent -author himself, in addressing the besotted self-sufficiency of John -Bull. So far, indeed, as it discusses _Ultramontanism_ in itself, the -work may have its use. It shows, with some force and more -vociferation, that it has been the death of Spain, and of every state -in which it has been allowed to work; and that, moreover, it has been -the persevering foe of law, of science, and of morality. This is a -true bill; but of him, as of his master Michelet, it may be said with -emphasis, _Tout, jusqu' à la vérité, trompe dans ses écrits_. It does -not follow, as he would argue, that political wisdom and Christian -truth fall with Ultramontanism; nor does he prove it be so, by proving -that de Maistre and others have thought so. The school of the Reaction -are convicted of a mistake, into which their masters in Great Britain -never fell. That is all that Quinet has gained, though he crows -lustily for victory, and proceeds to construct his own political -religion, as if Christianity were confessedly defunct. As to the -style of the Professor, so far as I can judge it from a tumid and -verbose translation, it is not wanting in the hectic brilliancy of -rhetoric raised to fever-heat, or of French run mad. Even its -argument, I doubt not, sounded logical and satisfactory, when its -slender postulate of truth was set off with oratorical sophistry, -enforced with professorial shrugs of the shoulders, or driven home -with conclusive raps upon the auxiliary _tabatière_. But the inanimate -logic, as it lies coffined in the version of Mr Cocks, looks very -revolting. In fact, stripped of its false ornament, all its practical -part is simply the revolutionism of the Chartists. Worse stuff was -never declaimed to a subterranean conclave of insurgent operatives by -a drunken Barabbas, with Tom Paine for his text, and a faggot of pikes -for his rostrum. The results have been too immediate for even Mons. -Quinet's ambition. From hearing sedition in the "College of France," -his motley and party-coloured audience has broken up to enforce it -behind the barricades. They turned revolutionists against reaction _in -posse_, and reaction _in esse_ is the very natural consequence. - -"Every nation, like every individual, has received a certain mission, -which it must fulfil. France exercises over Europe a real magistracy, -which cannot be denied, and she was at the head of its religious -system." So says de Maistre, and so far his bitter enemy is agreed. -But, says de Maistre, "She has shamefully abused her mission; and -since she has used her influence to contradict her vocation, and to -debauch the morals of Europe, it is not surprising that she is -restored to herself by terrible remedies." Here speaks the spirit of -Reaction, and Quinet immediately shows fight. In his view she has but -carried out her vocation. The Revolution was a glorious outbreak -towards a new universal principle. In the jargon of his own sect, "it -was a revolution differing from all preceding revolutions, ancient or -modern, precisely in this, that it was the deliverance of a nation -from the bonds and limits of her church, into the spirit of -universality." The spirit of the national church, he maintains, had -become Ultramontane; had lost its hold on men's minds; had made way -for the ascendency of philosophy, and had tacitly yielded the sceptre -of her sway over the intelligence and the conscience to Rousseau and -Voltaire. Nor does the Professor admit that subsequent events have -restored that sceptre. On the contrary, he appeals to his auditors in -asserting that the priesthood have ceased to guide the French -conscience. His audience applauds, and the enraptured Quinet catches -up the response like an auctioneer. He is charmed with his young -friends. He is sure the reaction will never seduce them into -travelling to heaven by the old sterile roads. As for the -_réactionnaires_, no language can convey his contempt for them. "After -this nation," says he, "has been communing with the spirit of the -universe upon Sinai, conversing face to face with GOD, they propose to -her to descend from her vast conceptions, and to creep, crestfallen, -into the spirit of sect." Thus he contrasts the catholicity of -Pantheism with the catholicity of Romanism; and thus, with the -instinct of a bulldog, does he fasten upon the weak points of foreign -Conservatism, or hold it by the nose, a baited victim, in spite of its -massive sinews and its generous indignation. This plan is a cunning -one. He sinks the Conservative principles of the Reaction, and gives -prominence only to its Ultramontanism. He shows that modern -Ultramontanism is the creature of the Council of Trent, and reviews -the history of Europe as connected with that Council. He proves the -pernicious results of that Council in every state which has -acknowledged it; shows that not preservation but ruin has been its -inevitable effect upon national character; and so congratulates France -for having broken loose from it in the great Revolution. He then -deprecates its attempted resuscitation by Schlegel and de Maistre, -and, falling back upon the "religious vocation" of France, exhorts his -auditors to work it out in the spirit of his own evangel. This new -gospel, it is almost needless to add, is that detestable impiety which -was so singularly religious in the revolution of last February, -profaning the name of the Redeemer to sanctify its brutal excesses, -and pretending to find in the spirit of his gospel the elements of its -furious Liberty and Equality. In the true sentiment of that -revolution, an ideal portrait of the Messiah is elaborately engraved -for the title-page of Mr Cock's translation! So a French quack adorns -his shop with a gilded bust of Hippocrates! It is a significant hint -of the humble origin of a system which, it must be understood, owes -its present dignity and importance entirely to the genius of Mons. -Quinet. - -That the Reaction is thus identified with Ultramontanism, is a fact -which its leading spirits would be the very last to deny. The -necessity of religion to the prosperity of France is their fundamental -principle; and religion being, in their minds, inseparable from -Romanism, they will not see its defects; and their blind faith, like -chloroform, makes them absolutely insensible to the sharp point of the -weak spear with which Quinet pierces them. And it is but fair to -suppose that Quinet and his colleagues are equally honest in -considering Christianity and Ultramontanism synonymous. They see that -the old religion of France has become, historically, a corrupt thing, -and they propose a fresh Christianity in its place. Of one thing I am -sure--they do not over-estimate the political importance of the -Council of Trent. Let it be fairly traced in its connexions with -kingdoms, with science, with letters, and with the conscience of -nations, and it will be seen that Quinet is not far from correct, in -taking it as the turning-point of the history of Europe. It produced -Ultramontanism, or rather changed it from an abstraction into an -organised system; and Ultramontanism, in its new shape, gave birth to -the Jesuits. Christendom saw a new creed proposed as the bond of -unity, and a new race of apostles propagating it with intrigue and -with crime, and, in some places, with fire and sword. In proportion as -the states of Europe incorporated Ultramontanism with their political -institutions, they withered and perished. Old Romanism was one thing, -and modern Ultramontanism another. Kingdoms that flourished while they -were but Romanised, have perished since they became Tridentine. - -Among English writers this distinction has not been generally made. -Coleridge seems to have observed it, and has incidentally employed it -in treating of another subject. But foreign literature is full of it, -either tacitly implied or openly avowed, in different ways. -Ultramontanism is, in Europe, a political and not merely a theological -word,--its meaning results from its history. Before the Tridentine -epoch, the national churches of Europe were still seven candle-sticks, -in which glittered the seven stars of an essential personality and -individual completeness. The "Church of Rome" still meant the Roman -See, and, vast as were its usurpations over the national churches, it -had neither reduced them to absolute unity in theology, nor absorbed -their individuality into its own. The Roman Church, as we now -understand it, was created by the Council of Trent, by a consolidation -of national churches, and the quiet substitution of the creed of Pius -IV. for the ancient creeds, as a test of unity. This fact explains the -position of the Reformed before and after that extraordinary assembly. -Till its final epoch, they had never fully settled their relations to -the Papal See. The history of England is full of illustrations of this -fact. Old Grostete of Lincoln spurned the authority of the Pope, but -continued in all his functions as an English bishop till his death, in -the thirteenth century. Wycliffe, in the fourteenth, was still more -remarkable for resisting the papal pretensions, yet he died in the -full exercise of his pastoral office, while elevating the host at -Childermas. Henry VIII. himself had the benefit of masses for his -pious soul at Notre Dame; and his friend Erasmus lived on easy terms -with the Reformed, and yet never broke with the Vatican. Even the -English prayer-book, under Elizabeth, was sanctioned by papal -authority, with the proviso of her recognition of the supremacy, and -for twelve years of her reign the popish party lived in communion with -the Reformed Church of England. During all this period the dogmas of -popes were fearlessly controverted by Cisalpine theologians, who still -owned their supremacy in a qualified sense, and who boldly appealed -to a future council against the decisions of the See of Rome. -Ultramontanism had then, indeed, its home beyond the mountains, and -when it came bellowing over its barrier, it was often met as "the -Tinchel cows the game." But modern Ultramontanism is another thing. It -is an organised system, swallowing up the nationalities of constituent -churches, and giving them the absolute unity of an individual Roman -church, in which Jesuitism is the circulating life-blood, and the -Italian consistory the heart and head together. Such was the prodigy -hatched during the seventeen years of Tridentine incubation. It -appeared at the close of those interminable sessions, so different -from all that had been anticipated, that it startled all Europe. It -had quietly changed everything, and made Rome the sole church of -Southern Europe. Quinet has not failed to present this fact very -strongly. "That Council," says he, "had not, like its predecessors, -its roots in all nations; it did not assemble about it the -representatives of all Christendom. Its spirit was to give full -sanction to the idea, which certain popes of the middle ages had -established, of their pre-eminence over oecumenical assemblies. -Thenceforward, what had been the effect of a particular genius, became -_the very constitution of the church_. The great adroitness consisted -_in making the change without anywhere speaking of it_. The church -which was before tempered by assemblies convoked from all the earth, -became an absolute monarchy. From that moment the ecclesiastical world -is silent. The meeting of councils is closed, no more discussions, no -more solemn deliberations; everything is regulated by bulls, letters, -and ordinances. Popedom usurps all Christendom; the book of life is -shut; for three centuries not one page has been added." One would -think the school of the Reaction would feel the force of facts so -efficiently urged, even in spite of their towering disgust at the -purposes for which they are employed. In fact, their own maxims may be -turned against them with great power, in this matter of -Ultramontanism. De Maistre, in his argument for unwritten -constitutions, speaks of the creeds of the church as furnishing no -exception to his rule; for these, he argues, are not _codes of -belief_, but they partake the nature of hymns--they have rhythmical -beauty, they are chanted in solemn services, they are confessed to GOD -upon the harp and organ. Now this is indeed true of those three -ancient creeds which are still chanted in the service of the Church of -England; but the creed of Pius IV., which is the distinguishing creed -of the Roman church, is absolutely nothing else than a _code of -belief_, and is the only creed in Christendom which lacks that -rhythmical glory which he considers a test of truth! Even Quinet -notices this liturgic impotence of the Ultramontane religion. "The -Roman church," he says, "has lost in literature, together with the -ideal of Christianity, the sentiment of her own poetry. What has -become of the burning accents of Ambrose and Paulinus? Urban VIII. -writes pagan verses to the Cavalier Berni;[3] and instead of _Stabat -mater_ or _Salutaris hostia_, the princes of the church compose -mythological sonnets, at the very moment when Luther is thundering -_Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott_, that Te Deum of the Reformation." - -No wonder France was reluctant to acknowledge a Council which had thus -imposed a new creed on Christendom, and which dictated a new -organisation to the ancient churches of Southern Europe. While other -nations subscribed with artful evasions, she hesitated and submitted, -but gave no formal assent. Rome had come over the Alps to absorb her, -and she was loth to yield her birthright. She stood long in what -Schlegel calls "a disguised half-schism," struggling against -dissolution, the last lump to melt away in the Tridentine element. But -where now is the church which St Louis left to France, strong in her -anti-papal bulwarks? Where now are those bulwarks, the labour of his -life, and the chief glory of a name which even Rome has canonised? As -for Spain, Ultramontanism was riveted upon her by the Inquisition, -and she is twice dead. One sees no more the churches of Western -Christendom, fortified by Pragmatic Sanctions, and treated with as -younger sisters, even by domineering Rome! They have disappeared; and -the only light that lingers in their places is the sad sepulchral -flame that owes its existence to decay. - -Such is Ultramontanism. Follow its history, in connexion with -political events in France, and you cannot fail to charge it with all -the responsibility of French infidelity, and, consequently, of the -present lamentable condition of the nation. Thrice has the spirit of -France been in deadly collision with it--in the fire, in the wind, and -in the earthquake. Its first antagonists were the Huguenots, and over -them it triumphed by the persecutions of Louis XIV., following up the -policy of Catherine de Medicis. It was next confronted by Jansenism -under Louis XV., and that it overcame by intrigue and by ridicule. -Under Louis XVI. it was obliged to meet the atheism of the -Encyclopædists, which it had itself produced, and which terribly -visited upon its head its own infernal inventions. To overwhelm the -Port-Royalists, it had resorted to low caricatures and epigrams, and -to philosophical satires upon their piety. Voltaire took from these -the hint of his first warfare against Christianity. This was first a -joke and a song, and then _Ca Ira_ and _A la lanterne_; first the -popguns of wit, then the open battery of _Ecrasez l'infâme_, and then -the exploding mine of revolution. It merely reversed the stratagems of -Ultramontanism, which began in massacre, and finished its triumphs -with a jest; and both together have stamped the nation with its -indelible character of half tiger and half monkey. The origin of such -an issue of infamy cannot be concealed. France owes it all to her -conduct in the crisis of the Reformation. Had the Gallic Church, under -Henry of Navarre, fully copied the example of England, or had she even -carried out her own instincts, repudiating the Council of Trent, and -falling back upon the Pragmatic Sanction for a full defence of her -independence, how different would have been her history, and that of -the monarchy to which she would have proved a lasting support! Let the -difference between Henri Quatre and Louis Quatorze, between Sully and -Richelieu, illustrate the reply. Or it may be imagined, by comparing -the campaigns of Cevennes with the peaceful mission of Fenelon to the -Huguenots of Saintonge. Where now both church and state appear the -mere materials of ambition to such as Mazarin and Dubois, or where -even the purer genius of such as Bossuet and Massillon is exhibited in -humiliating and disgraceful associations, the places of history might -have been adorned by such bright spirits as were immured at -Port-Royal, or such virtue as sketched the ideal kingdom of -_Télémaque_, and rendered illustrious a life of uncomplaining sorrow -in the pastoral chair of Cambray. Where the court can boast one -Bourdaloue, there would have been, beside him, not a few like Pascal; -and in the rural parishes there would have been many such as Arnauld -and Nicole, training in simple piety and loyal worth the successive -generations of a contented people. As for the palace, it would never -have been haunted by the dark spirit of Jesuitism, which has so often -hid itself in the robes of royalty, and reigned in the sovereign's -name; and the people would have known it only as a fearful thing -beyond the Pyrenees, whose ear was always in the confessional, and -whose hand was ever upon the secret wires of the terrible Inquisition. -The capital would have been a citadel of law, and the kingdom still a -Christian state. Its history might have lacked a "Grand Monarque," and -certainly a Napoleon; but then there would have been no _dragonnades_, -and possibly no Dubarrydom; no _Encyclopædie_, and no _Ca Ira_! The -bell of St Germain l'Auxerrois would have retained its bloody memory -as the tocsin of St Bartholomew's massacre, but it would never have -sounded its second peal of infamy as the signal for storming the -Tuileries, and for opening those successive vials of avenging woe, in -which France is expiating her follies and her crimes. - -Bossuet, in his funeral oration upon Queen Henrietta, unhappily for -his own cause, has challenged a comparison between the histories of -France and England, which, if he were living in our days, he would -hardly renew with pleasure. The Anglican Reformation was rashly -charged by him with all the responsibility of the Great Rebellion; but -facts have proved that revolutions are by no means confined to -anti-papal countries, while history may be safely appealed to by -Englishmen, in deciding as to the kind of religion which has best -encountered the excesses of rebellion, and most effectually cured the -disease. The Anglican Church survived the Great Rebellion, with -fidelity to itself: the Gallic Church perished in the Revolution. -Before the vainglorious taunt of Bossuet had passed from the memory of -living men, all those causes were at work in France, which bred the -whirlwind of infidelity, and which insured a revolution, not of -fanaticism, but of atheism. The real power of the two churches, in -moulding the character of a people, and retaining the loyalty of its -noblest intellect, became, then, singularly apparent. In France, it -was superstition to believe in GOD. In France, philosophers were -afraid to own a great First Cause. In France, noblemen were ashamed to -confess a conscience. In France, bishops and cardinals were foremost -in apostasy, and claimed their sacerdotal rank only to become the -high-priests of atheistic orgies. It is needless to cite, in -comparison, the conduct of parallel classes during the Great Rebellion -in England; while, at the very moment in which these things were -transacting, the brightest genius in her Imperial Parliament could -proclaim himself not only a believer, but a crusader for Christianity. -It was a noble answer to the ghost of poor Bossuet, when such a man as -Burke, addressing a gentleman of France, declared the adhesion of -England to her Reformed religion to be not the result of indifference -but of zeal; when he proudly contrasted the intelligent faith of his -countrymen with the fanatical impiety of the French; and when, with a -dignity to which sarcasm has seldom attained, he reminded a nation of -atheists, that there was a people, every whit its peer, which still -exulted in the Christian name, and among whom religion, so far from -being relegated to provinces, and the firesides of peasants, still sat -in the first rank of the legislature, and "reared its mitred front" in -the very face of the throne. The withering rebuke of such a boast must -be measured by the standard of the time when it was given. In Paris, -the mitre had just been made the ornament of an ass, which bore in -mockery, upon its back, the vessels of the holy sacrament, and dragged -a Bible at its tail. - -Thus the colossal genius of Burke stood before the world, in that war -of elements, trampling the irreligion of France beneath his feet, like -the Archangel thrusting Satan to his bottomless abyss. The spectacle -was not lost. It was that beautiful and sublime exhibition of moral -grandeur that quickened the noblest minds in Europe to imitative -virtue, and produced the school of the Reaction. It was rather the -spirit of British faith, and law, and loyalty, personified in him. The -same spirit had been felt in France before: it had moulded the genius -of Montesquieu, abstractly; but Burke was its mighty concrete, and he -wrote himself like a photograph upon kindred intellect throughout the -world. Before his day, the character of English liberty had been -laboriously studied and mechanically learned; but he, as its living -representative and embodiment, made himself the procreant author of an -intellectual family. I fear you will regard this as a theory of my -own, but I would not have ventured to say this on my mere surmise. One -whose religion identifies him with Ultramontanism has made the -acknowledgment before me. I refer to the English editor and translator -of Schlegel's _Philosophy of History_. According to him, Schlegel at -Vienna, and Goerres at Munich, were "the supreme oracles of _that -illustrious school of liberal conservatives_, which numbered, besides -those eminent Germans, a Baron von Haller in Switzerland, a Viscount -de Bonald in France, a Count Henri de Merode in Belgium, and a Count -de Maistre in Piedmont."[4] From the writings of these great men, in a -greater or less degree, he augurs the future political regeneration of -Europe; and yet, strongly warped as he is away from England, and -towards Rome, as the source of all moral and national good, he does -not conceal the fact that this splendid school of the Reaction was -"founded by our great Burke." My hopes from the writings of these men -are not so sanguine: but, so far as they are true to their original, -they have been already of great service. They may hereafter be made -still more powerful for good; and if, at the same time, the rising -school of Conservatism, which begins to make itself felt in America, -shall impart its wholesome influences to an off-shoot of England, so -vast already, and of such grand importance to the future, then, and -not till then, will be duly estimated the real greatness of those -splendid services which Burke was created to perform, not for his -country only, but for the human race. - -Perhaps it could hardly have been otherwise; but it must always be -deplored that the Conservatism of England was reproduced on the -Continent in connexion with the Christianity of Ultramontanism. The -conservatism of de Stael and of Chateaubriand, though repudiated by -the _réactionnaires_, is indeed worthy of honourable mention, as their -characters will ever be of all admiration; yet it must be owned to be -deficient in force, and by no means executive. It was the Conservatism -of impulse--the Conservatism of genius, but not the Conservatism of -profound philosophy and energetic benevolence. The spirit that -breathes in the _Génie du Christianisme_ is always beautiful, and -often devout, yet it has been justly censured, as recommending less -the truth than the beauty of the religion of Jesus Christ; and though -it doubtless did something to reproduce the religious sentiment, it -seems to have effected nothing in behalf of religious principle. Its -author would have fulfilled a nobler mission had he taught his -countrymen, in sober prose, their radical defects in morality, and -their absolute lack of a conscience. The Conservatives of the Reaction -have at least attempted greater things. They have bluntly told the -French nation that they must reform; they have set themselves to -produce again the believing spirit: their mistake has been, that they -have confounded faith with superstition, and taken the cause of the -Jesuits into the cause of their country and their God. Nothing could -have been more fatal. It arms against them such characters as -Michelet,[5] with his _Priests, Women, and Families_, and makes even -Quinet formidable with his lectures on "the Jesuits and -Ultramontanism." Yet it must be urged in their behalf, that they have -been pardonably foolish, for they drew their error with their mother's -milk; and when even faith was ridiculed as credulity, it was an -extravagance almost virtuous to rush into superstition. Such is the -dilemma of a good man in Continental Europe: his choice lies between -the extremes of corrupt faith and philosophic unbelief. This was the -misfortune of poor Frederick Schlegel; and, disgusted with the hollow -rationalism of Germany, he became a Papist, in order to profess -himself a Christian. The mistake was magnanimously made. We cannot but -admire the man who eats the book of Roman infallibility, in his hunger -for the bread of everlasting life. Even Chateaubriand must claim our -sympathies on this ground. Our feelings are with such errorists--our -convictions of truth remain unaltered; and we cannot but lament the -fatality which has thus attended European Conservatism like its -shadow, and exposed it to successful assaults from its foes. I have -shown how they use their opportunity. And no wonder, when this -substitution of Ultramontanism for Christianity has involved de -Maistre in an elaborate defence of the Inquisition--debased the -Conservatism of de Bonald to slavish absolutism;[6] and when true to -its deadening influence upon the conscience, it implicated von Haller -in the infamous perjury which, though committed under the sanction of -a Romish bishop, led to his ignominious expulsion from the sovereign -council at Berne. Chateaubriand has not escaped an infection from the -same atmosphere. It taints his writings. In such a work as the _Génie -du Christianisme_, denounced as it is by the Ultramontanists -generally, there is much that is not wholesome. The eloquent champion -of faith wields the glaive as stoutly for fables as for eternal -verities. The poet makes beauty drag decay in her train, and ties a -dead corpse to the wings of immortality. Truth itself, in his apology, -though brought out in grand relief, is sculptured on a sepulchre full -of dead men's bones; and, unhappily, while we draw near to examine the -perfection of his ideal, we find ourselves repelled by a lurking scent -of putrefaction. - -The career of de Maistre is, in epitome, that of his school. Disgusted -with Jacobinism, and naturally delighting in paradox, it seemed to -afford him relief to avow himself a papist, in an age of atheism. He -was not only the author of the reactionary movement, but his character -was itself the product of Reaction. Driven with his king to Sardinia, -in 1792, by the invasion of Piedmont, his philosophical contempt for -the revolutionists was exhibited in his _Considerations sur la -France_, from which, in a former letter, I have made so long a -quotation. In this work--in some respects his best--his Ultramontanism -is far from extravagant: and not only his religious principles as they -were then, but also the effect which everything English was then -producing on his mind, is clearly seen in a comment upon the English -Church, which, as it passed his review, and was printed again in 1817 -with no retractation, must be regarded as somewhat extraordinary. "If -ever Christians reunite," says he, "as all things make it their -interest to do, it would seem that the movement must take rise in the -Church of England. Calvinism was French work, and consequently an -exaggerated production. We are pushed too far away by the sectarians -of so unsubstantial a religion, and there is no mean by which they may -comprehend us: but the Church of England, which touches us with one -hand, touches with the other a class whom we cannot reach; and -although, in a certain point of view, she may thus appear the butt of -two parties, (as being herself rebellious, though preaching -authority,) yet in other respects _she is most precious_, and may be -considered as one of those chemical _intermèdes_, which are capable of -producing a union between elements dissociable in themselves." He -seldom shows such moderation; for the Greek and Anglican churches he -specially hates. In 1804 he was sent ambassador to St Petersburg; and -there he resided till 1817, fulfilling his diplomatic duties with that -zeal for his master, and that devotion to conservative interests, -which are the spirit of his writings. There he published, in 1814, the -pithy _Essai sur le principe générateur des Constitutions_, in which -he reduced to an abstract form the doctrines of his former treatise on -France. His style is peculiarly relishable, sometimes even sportive; -but its main maxims are laid down with a dictatorial dignity and -sternness, which associate the tractate, in the minds of many, with -the writings of Montesquieu. This essay, so little known in England, -has found an able translator and editor in America, who commends it to -his countrymen as an antidote to those interpretations which are put -upon our constitutional law by the political disciples of Rousseau. I -commend the simple fact to your consideration, as a sign of the more -earnest tone of thinking, on such matters, which is beginning to be -felt among us. The fault of the essay is its practical part, or those -applications into which his growing Ultramontanism diverted his sound -theories. His principles are often capable of being turned upon -himself, as I have noticed in the matter of creeds. His genius also -found a congenial amusement in translating Plutarch's _Delays of -Divine Justice_, which he accompanied with learned notes, illustrating -the influence of Christianity upon a heathen mind. On his return from -St Petersburg in 1817, appeared his violent Ultramontane work, _Du -Pape_, in which he most ingeniously, but very sophistically, uses in -support of the papacy an elaborate argument, drawn from the good which -an overruling Providence has accomplished, by the very usurpations and -tyrannies of the Roman See. As if this were not enough, however, he -closes his life and labours with another work, the _Soirées de St -Petersbourg_, in which, with bewitching eloquence, he expends all his -powers of varied learning, and pointed sarcasm, and splendid -sophistry, upon questions which have but the one point of turning -everything to the account of his grand theory of church and state. -Thus, from first to last, he identifies his political and moral -philosophy with religious dogmas essentially ruinous to liberty, and -which, during three centuries, have wasted every kingdom in which they -have gained ascendency. To the direct purpose of uprooting the little -that remained of Gallicanism, he devoted a treatise, which accompanies -his work _Du Pape_, and of which the first book is entitled, _De -l'Esprit d'opposition nourri en France contre le Saint-Siège_. Its -points may be stated in a simple sentence from the works of his -coadjutor, Frederick Schlegel, who, in a few words, gives the theory -which has been the great mistake of the Reaction. "The disguised -half-schism of the Gallican church," says he,--"_not less fatal in its -historical effects than the open schism of the Greeks_--has -contributed very materially towards the decline of religion in France, -down to the period of the Restoration."[7] He illustrates it by the -disputes of Louis XIV. with the court of Rome, but forgets to say -anything of his extermination of the Huguenots. In one sense, however, -he is right. It was precisely the _half_-schism to which the mischief -is attributable. This half-way work it was that enabled Louis XIV. to -assert the Gallican theory against a semi-Protestant pope, for the -very purpose of fostering genuine Ultramontanism and favouring the -Jesuits; while under another pontiff he could repudiate Gallicanism, -and force the clergy to retract what he had forced them to adopt! The -schism of England was doubtless "an open schism," in the opinion of -Schlegel, and if so, it should have been followed, on his theory, by -worse effects; but Schlegel lives too long after the days of Bossuet -to bring her example into view. The natural appeal would have been to -that example, as its history is cotemporary; but he adroitly diverts -attention from so instructive a parallel, and cunningly drags in "the -open schism _of the Greeks_!" Thus, against a bristling front of -facts, he drives his theory that France has not been Romish enough, -and lends all his energies to render her less Gallican and more -Tridentine. Were he now alive, he might see reason to amend his -doctrine in the condition of Rome itself! But the condition of France -is quite as conclusive. Since the Restoration, the French Church has -been growing more and more Ultramontane, and the people are worse and -worse. Gallicanism is extinct, but results are all against the -Reactionary theory. France has no more a la Vendée; there will be no -more Chouans; the present Church is incapable of reviving such things. -It makes the infidels. I know there is less show of rampant atheism -just now than formerly; but if there is less of paroxysm, there is -less of life. France dies of a chronic atheism. The Abbé Bonnetat, -writing in 1845 on _The Religious and Moral Wants of the French -Population_, expresses nothing but contempt for the alleged -improvement in religious feeling. According to him, almost a tenth of -the male population, in any given district, not only do not believe in -GOD, but glory in their unbelief. Half of all the rest make no secret -of their infidelity as to the immortality of the soul; and their wives -are equally sceptical, to the curse of their children's children! "The -residue believe," says the Abbé, "only in the sense of not denying. -They affirm nothing, but, as compared with the others, they lack the -science of misbelief." To go on with his melancholy picture, the -divine and salutary institution of the Lord's day no longer effects -its purpose. In towns, the working classes and tradespeople scarcely -ever enter the churches. In the rural districts, a tenth of the people -never go to church at all; and of the rest, one half may hear a mass -on the five great festivals, while the other half, though more -frequent in attendance, are very irregular. One Sunday they perform -the duty perfunctorily; the next they work in the fields; the next -they stay at home, amuse themselves, and forget religion as part of -"dull care." The young folk, in many places, receive their first and -last communion at twelve or fourteen, and that is the end of their -conformity. A worse feature yet in the domestic manners, resulting -from this state of religion, is the fact that girls and boys are -brought up very much in the same way, and are thrown promiscuously -together, spending their evenings where they choose. Parents have -ceased to ask their children--_Why were you not at church? Were you at -vespers? Were you at mass?_ and in fact are the first to corrupt their -offspring, by their brutal irreligion, and coarse language, and -shameless behaviour.[8] - -Such is the moral picture of France. The Abbé has brightened his mass -of shadow with here and there a reflection of light, but there is no -mistaking his work for a Claude Lorraine. France is in a moral -eclipse, and her portrait presents, of necessity, the _chiaro 'scuro_ -of a Rembrandt. One needs no more than these confessions of a French -ecclesiastic to account for her false and fickle notions of liberty, -and for her interminable _émeutes_ and revolutions. Yet if Quinet has -not wholly invented his assertions, the Conservatism of France is -pledged to prescribe as remedies the same old poison from which the -disease results. It would take the Christianity of the nation, at its -last gasp, and dose it anew with Ultramontanism. They have adopted the -sound principle, that Christianity moulds a people to enlightened -notions of liberty, but they seem not to know that it does this by -acting directly upon the conscience; and hence their political system -is spoiled by their fatal substitution, for pure Christianity, of that -spurious religion whose great defect is precisely this, that it does -not undertake to cleanse and cure the conscience, but only to subject -it, mechanically, to irrational authority. Montesquieu, in asserting -the importance of Christianity, without question failed to detect this -essential defect in Popery, but he instinctively taught his -countrymen, by memorable example, to eschew Ultramontanism. In the -closing scene of a life which, with all its blemishes, was a great -life, and, in comparison with his times, a good one, he accepted with -reverence the ministrations of his parish priest, but repulsed from -his deathbed, with aversion and disgust, the officious and intrusive -Jesuits.[9] De Maistre is more devout than Montesquieu, but he is less -jealous of liberty, and his ideas of "what a people ought to will" are -limited, if not illiberal. His more moderate ally, Ballanche, has not -unjustly characterised him as "not, like Providence, merciful, but, -like destiny, inexorable." It is impossible that a Conservatism, of -which such is the sovereign genius, should achieve anything for the -restoration of such a country as France. I have, indeed, predicted the -restoration of the Bourbons, according to de Maistre's principles, by -the sheer tenacity of life which belongs to a hereditary claim, and by -which it outlasts all other pretensions. But I cannot think that -either he or his disciples have done much to bring it about; and still -less do I imagine that their system, as a system, can give permanence -to the monarchy or prosperity to the state. On the contrary, let Mons. -Berryer, or the Comte de Montalembert, attempt the settlement of the -kingdom on the theory of the _réactionnaires_, and they will speedily -bring it to that full stop which Heaven at last adjudges to princes as -well as to people, "who show themselves untutored by calamity, and -rebels to experience." They will, at best, prolong the era of -revolutions to some indefinite epoch of futurity, and consign the -nation to a fever, which will return periodically, like a tertian, and -wear it out by shakings. - -It will be well, then, if the imperial farce that must precede "the -_legitimate_ drama" shall prove somewhat protracted. The Legitimists, -meantime, may become convinced of the blunder of the Reaction, and -resolve upon a wiser and more sound conservatism. De Maistre hazards -some predictions in his works, on which he stakes the soundness of his -theories, and for which he challenges derision and contempt to his -doctrines, if they fail. The position of _Pio Nono_, from the very -outset of his career, has stultified those theories already; and if he -remains permanently where he now is, it will be to good-breeding alone -that de Maistre will owe his preservation from the contempt he has -invoked, by staking his reputation on the conservative character of -that very court of Rome, from which the democratic wildfire, that has -inflamed all Europe, has proceeded! In any conceivable settlement of -the Roman States, the Pontiff will hardly be to Europe what he has -been during the former years of this century; and if he is to sink to -a mere patriarchal primate, the grand dream of ultramontanism is -dissipated.[10] It is to be hoped, then, that the restoration may be -deferred till the Legitimists have been effectually taught the grand -fallacy of ultramontane conservatism; and that Henry V. will ascend -the throne, cured of the hereditary plague of his immediate ancestors, -and willing to revert, for his example, to his great name-sake, Henri -Quatre. He will need another Sully to restore France to a sound mind. -His cause demands a minister who will not trust it to the tide of -impulse on which it will come in, but who will labour with prudence -and with foresight, to gain an anchorage before the ebb. Give but a -minister to the restoration capable of that kind of patient and -practical forecast, which sent Peter to the dock-yards; and let him -begin with the parochial schools, to mould a new race of Frenchmen -under the influences of true religion; and let him have the seventeen -years which Louis Philippe wasted on steam-ships and bastions, and -Montpensier marriages; and then, if it be "men that constitute a -state," there is yet a future of hope for France. And forgive me for -adding, Basil, that if England shall reverse this policy, and make the -national schools the sources of disaffection to the national -religion--then may she expect to see her Oxford and Cambridge degraded -to such seats of sedition as "the College of France," and their -ingenuous youth converted from gownsmen into blousemen, under such -_savans_ as Quinet. Remember, too, in connexion with what I have -written, that Ireland is the most ultramontane of all nations under -heaven, and you will be able to estimate the value of government -measures for its relief! May God open the eyes of all who seek the -prosperity of the British empire to the primary importance of a -wholesome national religion, retaining its hold on the national heart, -and moulding the national conscience to the grand political wisdom of -the proverb--"My son, fear the Lord and the king, and meddle not with -them that are given to change." Yours, - - ERNEST. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[2] _Ultramontanism; or the Roman Church and Modern Society._ By E. -QUINET, of the College of France. Translated from the French. Third -edition, with the author's approbation, by C. COCKS, B.L. London: John -Chapman. 1845. - -[3] He surely means _Bernini_, and is a _ninny_ for not saying so. But -Mr Cocks' translation says _Berni_--p. 144. - -[4] _Literary Life of Frederick von Schlegel._ By James Burton -Robertson, Esq. - -[5] See _Blackwood_ for August 1845. - -[6] Mr Robertson says of de Bonald, "As long as this great writer -deals in general propositions, he seldom errs; but when he comes to -apply his principles to practice, then the political prejudices in -which he was bred lead him sometimes into exaggerations and errors." -For "political prejudices" substitute _Ultramontanism_, and Mr -Robertson has characterised the whole school of the Reaction. - -[7] _Philosophy of History._ - -[8] _De l'Etat et des besoins Religieux et Moraux des Populations en -France_: par M. L'ABBÉ J. BONNETAT. Paris. 1845. - -[9] See _Blackwood_, October 1845. - -[10] "Le Souverain Pontife est la base nécessaire, unique, et -exclusive du Christianisme.... Si les évènements contrarient ce que -j'avance, j'appelle sur ma mémoire le mépris et les risées de la -postérité."--_Du Pape_, chap. v. p. 268. - - - - -MADAME D'ARBOUVILLE'S "VILLAGE DOCTOR." - - -The readers of _Blackwood_ can hardly have forgotten a charming French -tale, of which an abridged translation appeared, under the title of -"_An Unpublished French Novel_," in the number of the Magazine for -December 1847. In the brief notice prefixed to it, we mentioned the -existence of a companion story by the same authoress, which had -obtained wider circulation than its fellow, through arbitrary transfer -to the pages of a French periodical; and which, on that account, -although of more convenient length than the _Histoire Hollandaise_, we -abstained from reproducing. Having thus drawn attention to one of the -most pleasing tales we in any language are acquainted with, we fully -expected speedily to meet with it in an English version. Not having -done so, our vivid recollection of the great merits of "_Le Médecin du -Village_" now induces us to revoke our first decision--the more -readily that we have repeatedly been solicited to give the English -public an opportunity of appreciating a tale unprocurable in the form -in which it was originally printed, and which few persons in this -country are likely to have read in the _Revue des Deux Mondes_. The -exquisite delineation of the erring, but meekly penitent Annunciata, -and of the long-suffering and enthusiastically pious Christine, may -well inspire a wish to become acquainted with other productions of the -same delicate and graceful pen. The simple story of the _Village -Doctor_ will not disappoint expectation. We ourselves, deeply sensible -of the fascinations of the Countess d'Arbouville's style, consider it -her happiest effort; and although we once hinted a doubt of the -probability of its crowning incident, we forget to play the critic -when under the influence of her touching pathos and delightful -diction. In our present capacity of translators we feel but too -strongly the impossibility of rendering the artless elegance of her -style, which flows on, smooth, fresh, and sparkling, like a summer -streamlet over golden sands. And, with all her apparent simplicity, -Madame d'Arbouville is a cunning artist, playing with skilful hand -upon the chords of the heart, which vibrate at her lightest touch. The -effects she produces are the more striking because seemingly unsought. -But her merits will be better exhibited by this second specimen of her -writings than by any praise we could lavish; and we therefore proceed, -without further preamble, to the narrative of Eva Meredith's sorrows, -as given by her humble friend, - - -THE VILLAGE DOCTOR. - -"What is that?" exclaimed several persons assembled in the dining-room -of the château of Burcy. - -The Countess of Moncar had just inherited, from a distant and slightly -regretted relation, an ancient château which she had never seen, -although it was at barely fifteen leagues from her habitual summer -residence. One of the most elegant, and almost one of the prettiest -women in Paris, Madame de Moncar was but moderately attached to the -country. Quitting the capital at the end of June, to return thither -early in October, she usually took with her some of the companions of -her winter gaieties, and a few young men, selected amongst her most -assiduous partners. Madame de Moncar was married to a man much older -than herself, who did not always protect her by his presence. Without -abusing the great liberty she enjoyed, she was gracefully coquettish, -elegantly frivolous, pleased with trifles--with a compliment, an -amiable word, an hour's triumph--loving a ball for the pleasure of -adorning herself, fond of admiration, and not sorry to inspire love. -When some grave old aunt ventured a sage remonstrance--"_Mon Dieu!_" -she replied; "do let me laugh and take life gaily. It is far less -dangerous than to listen in solitude to the beating of one's heart. -For my part, I do not know if I even have a heart!" She spoke the -truth, and really was uncertain upon that point. Desirous to remain -so, she thought it prudent to leave herself no time for reflection. - -One fine morning in September, the countess and her guests set out for -the unknown château, intending to pass the day there. A cross road, -reputed practicable, was to reduce the journey to twelve leagues. The -cross road proved execrable: the travellers lost their way in the -forest; a carriage broke down; in short, it was not till mid-day that -the party, much fatigued, and but moderately gratified by the -picturesque beauties of the scenery, reached the château of Burcy, -whose aspect was scarcely such as to console them for the annoyances -of the journey. It was a large sombre building with dingy walls. In -its front a garden, then out of cultivation, descended from terrace to -terrace; for the château, built upon the slope of a wooded hill, had -no level ground in its vicinity. On all sides it was hemmed in by -mountains, the trees upon which sprang up amidst rocks, and had a dark -and gloomy foliage that saddened the eyesight. Man's neglect added to -the natural wild disorder of the scene. Madame de Moncar stood -motionless and disconcerted upon the threshold of her newly-acquired -mansion. - -"This is very unlike a party of pleasure," said she; "I could weep at -sight of this dismal abode. Nevertheless here are noble trees, lofty -rocks, a roaring cataract; doubtless, there is a certain beauty in all -that; but it is of too grave an order for my humour," added she with a -smile. "Let us go in and view the interior." - -The hungry guests, eager to see if the cook, who had been sent forward -upon the previous day, as an advanced guard, had safely arrived, -willingly assented. Having obtained the agreeable certainty that an -abundant breakfast would soon be upon the table, they rambled through -the château. The old-fashioned furniture with tattered coverings, the -arm-chairs with three legs, the tottering tables, the discordant -sounds of a piano, which for a good score of years had not felt a -finger, afforded abundant food for jest and merriment. Gaiety -returned. Instead of grumbling at the inconveniences of this -uncomfortable mansion, it was agreed to laugh at everything. Moreover, -for these young and idle persons, the expedition was a sort of event, -an almost perilous campaign, whose originality appealed to the -imagination. A faggot was lighted beneath the wide chimney of the -drawing-room; but clouds of smoke were the result, and the company -took refuge in the pleasure grounds. The aspect of the gardens was -strange enough; the stone-benches were covered with moss, the walls of -the terraces, crumbling in many places, left space between their -ill-joined stones for the growth of numerous wild plants, which sprung -out erect and lofty, or trailed with flexible grace towards the earth. -The walks were overgrown and obliterated by grass; the parterres, -reserved for garden flowers, were invaded by wild ones, which grow -wherever the heavens afford a drop of water and a ray of sun; the -insipid bearbine enveloped and stifled in its envious embrace the -beauteous rose of Provence; the blackberry mingled its acrid fruits -with the red clusters of the currant-bush; ferns, wild mint with its -faint perfume, thistles with their thorny crowns, grew beside a few -forgotten lilies. When the company entered the enclosure, numbers of -the smaller animals, alarmed at the unaccustomed intrusion, darted -into the long grass, and the startled birds flew chirping from branch -to branch. Silence, for many years the undisturbed tenant of this -peaceful spot, fled at the sound of human voices and of joyous -laughter. The solitude was appreciated by none--none grew pensive -under its influence; it was recklessly broken and profaned. The -conversation ran upon the gay evenings of the past season, and was -interspersed with amiable allusions, expressive looks, covert -compliments, with all the thousand nothings, in short, resorted to by -persons desirous to please each other, but who have not yet acquired -the right to be serious. - -The steward, after long search for a breakfast-bell along the -dilapidated walls of the château, at last made up his mind to shout -from the steps that the meal was ready--the half-smile with which he -accompanied the announcement, proving that, like his betters, he -resigned himself for one day to a deviation from his habits of -etiquette and propriety. Soon a merry party surrounded the board. The -gloom of the château, its desert site and uncheery aspect, were all -forgotten; the conversation was general and well sustained; the health -of the lady of the castle--the fairy whose presence converted the -crazy old edifice into an enchanted palace, was drunk by all present. -Suddenly all eyes were turned to the windows of the dining-room. - -"What is that?" exclaimed several of the guests. - -A small carriage of green wicker-work, with great wheels as high as -the body of the vehicle, passed before the windows, and stopped at the -door. It was drawn by a gray horse, short and punchy, whose eyes -seemed in danger from the shafts, which, from their point of junction -with the carriage, sloped obliquely upwards. The hood of the little -cabriolet was brought forward, concealing its contents, with the -exception of two arms covered with the sleeves of a blue _blouse_, and -of a whip which fluttered about the ears of the gray horse. - -"_Mon Dieu!_" exclaimed Madame de Moncar, "I forgot to tell you I was -obliged to invite the village doctor to our breakfast. The old man was -formerly of some service to my uncle's family, and I have seen him -once or twice. Be not alarmed at the addition to our party: he is very -taciturn. After a few civil words, we may forget his presence; -besides, I do not suppose he will remain very long." - -At this moment the dining-room door opened, and Dr Barnaby entered. He -was a little old man, feeble and insignificant-looking, of calm and -gentle countenance. His gray hairs were collected into a cue, -according to a bygone fashion; a dash of powder whitened his temples, -and extended to his furrowed brow. He wore a black coat, and steel -buckles to his breeches. Over one arm hung a riding-coat of -puce-coloured taffety. In the opposite hand he carried his hat and a -thick cane. His whole appearance proved that he had taken unusual -pains with his toilet; but his black stockings and coat were stained -with mud, as if the poor old man had fallen into a ditch. He paused at -the door, astonished at the presence of so many persons. For an -instant, a tinge of embarrassment appeared upon his face; but -recovering himself, he silently saluted the company. The strange -manner of his entrance gave the guests a violent inclination to laugh, -which they repressed more or less successfully. Madame de Moncar -alone, in her character of mistress of the house, and incapable of -failing in politeness, perfectly preserved her gravity. - -"Dear me, doctor! have you had an overturn?" was her first inquiry. - -Before replying, Dr Barnaby glanced at all these young people in the -midst of whom he found himself, and, simple and artless though his -physiognomy was, he could not but guess the cause of their hilarity. -He replied quietly: - -"I have not been overturned. A poor carter fell under the wheels of -his vehicle; I was passing, and I helped him up." And the doctor took -possession of a chair left vacant for him at the table. Unfolding his -napkin, he passed a corner through the buttonhole of his coat, and -spread out the rest over his waistcoat and knees. At these -preparations, smiles hovered upon the lips of many of the guests, and -a whisper or two broke the silence; but this time the doctor did not -raise his eyes. Perhaps he observed nothing. - -"Is there much sickness in the village?" inquired Madame de Moncar, -whilst they were helping the new comer. - -"Yes, madam, a good deal." - -"This is an unhealthy neighbourhood?" - -"No, madam." - -"But the sickness. What causes it?" - -"The heat of the sun in harvest time, and the cold and wet of winter." - -One of the guests, affecting great gravity, joined in the -conversation. - -"So that in this healthy district, sir, people are ill all the year -round?" - -The doctor raised his little gray eyes to the speaker's face, looked -at him, hesitated, and seemed either to check or to seek a reply. -Madame de Moncar kindly came to his relief. - -"I know," she said, "that you are here the guardian genius of all who -suffer." - -"Oh, you are too good," replied the old man, apparently much engrossed -with the slice of pasty upon his plate. Then the gay party left Dr -Barnaby to himself, and the conversation flowed in its previous -channel. If any notice was taken of the peaceable old man, it was in -the form of some slight sarcasm, which, mingled with other discourse, -would pass, it was thought, unperceived by its object. Not that these -young men and women were generally otherwise than polite and -kind-hearted; but upon that day the journey, the breakfast, the -merriment and slight excitement that had attended all the events of -the morning, had brought on a sort of heedless gaiety and -communicative mockery, which rendered them pitiless to the victim whom -chance had thrown in their way. The doctor continued quietly to eat, -without looking up, or uttering a word, or seeming to hear one; they -voted him deaf and dumb, and he was no restraint upon the -conversation. - -When the guests rose from table, Dr Barnaby took a step or two -backwards, and allowed each man to select the lady he wished to take -into the drawing-room. One of Madame de Moncar's friends remaining -without a cavalier, the village doctor timidly advanced, and offered -her his hand--not his arm. His fingers scarcely touched hers as he -proceeded, his body slightly bent in sign of respect, with measured -steps towards the drawing-room. Fresh smiles greeted his entrance, but -not a cloud appeared upon the placid countenance of the old man, who -was now voted blind, as well as deaf and dumb. Quitting his companion, -Dr Barnaby selected the smallest, humblest-looking chair in the room, -placed it in a corner, at some distance from everybody else, put his -stick between his knees, crossed his hands upon the knob, and rested -his chin upon his hands. In this meditative attitude he remained -silent, and from time to time his eyes closed, as if a gentle slumber, -which he neither invoked nor repelled, were stealing over him. - -"Madame de Moncar!" cried one of the guests, "I presume it is not your -intention to inhabit this ruin in a desert?" - -"Certainly I have no such project. But here are lofty trees and wild -woods. M. de Moncar may very likely be tempted to pass a few weeks -here in the shooting season." - -"In that case you must pull down and rebuild; clear, alter, and -improve!" - -"Let us make a plan!" cried the young countess. "Let us mark out the -future garden of my domains." - -It was decreed that this party of pleasure should be unsuccessful. At -that moment a heavy cloud burst, and a close fine rain began to fall. -Impossible to leave the house. - -"How very vexatious!" cried Madame de Moncar. "What shall we do with -ourselves? The horses require several hours' rest. It will evidently -be a wet afternoon. For a week to come, the grass, which overgrows -everything, will not be dry enough to walk upon; all the strings of -the piano are broken; there is not a book within ten leagues. This -room is wretchedly dismal. What can we do with ourselves?" - -The party, lately so joyous, was gradually losing its gaiety. The -blithe laugh and arch whisper were succeeded by dull silence. The -guests sauntered to the windows and examined the sky, but the sky -remained dark and cloud-laden. Their hopes of a walk were completely -blighted. They established themselves as comfortably as they could -upon the old chairs and settees, and tried to revive the conversation; -but there are thoughts which, like flowers, require a little sun, and -which will not flourish under a bleak sky. All these young heads -appeared to droop, oppressed by the storm, like the poplars in the -garden, which bowed their tops at the will of the wind. A tedious hour -dragged by. - -The lady of the castle, a little disheartened by the failure of her -party of pleasure, leaned languidly upon a window-sill, and gazed -vaguely at the prospect without. - -"There," said she--"yonder, upon the hill, is a white cottage that -must come down: it hides the view." - -"The white cottage!" cried the doctor. For upwards of an hour Dr -Barnaby had been mute and motionless upon his chair. Mirth and -weariness, sun and rain, had succeeded each other without eliciting a -syllable from his lips. His presence was forgotten by everybody: every -eye turned quickly upon him when he uttered these three words--"The -white cottage!" - -"What interest do you take in it, doctor?" asked the countess. - -"_Mon Dieu, madame!_ Pray forget that I spoke. The cottage will come -down, undoubtedly, since such is your good pleasure." - -"But why should you regret the old shed?" - -"I--_Mon Dieu!_ it was inhabited by persons I loved--and--" - -"And they think of returning to it, doctor?" - -"They are long since dead, madam; they died when I was young!" And the -old man gazed mournfully at the white cottage, which rose amongst the -trees upon the hill-side, like a daisy in a green field. There was a -brief silence. - -"Madam," said one of the guests in a low voice to Madame de Moncar, -"there is mystery here. Observe the melancholy of our Esculapius. Some -pathetic drama has been enacted in yonder house; a tale of love, -perhaps. Ask the doctor to tell it us." - -"Yes, yes!" was murmured on all sides, "a tale, a story! And should it -prove of little interest, at any rate the narrator will divert us." - -"Not so, gentlemen," replied Madame de Moncar, in the same suppressed -voice. "If I ask Dr Barnaby to tell us the history of the white -cottage, it is on the express condition that no one laughs." All -having promised to be serious and well-behaved, Madame de Moncar -approached the old man. "Doctor," said she, seating herself beside -him, "that house, I plainly see, is connected with some reminiscence -of former days, stored preciously in your memory. Will you tell it us? -I should be grieved to cause you a regret which it is in my power to -spare you; the house shall remain, if you tell me why you love it." - -Dr Barnaby seemed surprised, and remained silent. The countess drew -still nearer to him. "Dear doctor!" said she, "see what wretched -weather; how dreary everything looks. You are the senior of us all; -tell us a tale. Make us forget rain, and fog, and cold." - -Dr Barnaby looked at the countess with great astonishment. - -"There is no tale," he said. "What occurred in the cottage is very -simple, and has no interest but for me, who loved the young people: -strangers would not call it a tale. And I am unaccustomed to speak -before many listeners. Besides, what I should tell you is sad, and you -came to amuse yourselves." And again the doctor rested his chin upon -his stick. - -"Dear doctor," resumed the countess, "the white cottage shall stand, -if you say why you love it." - -The old man appeared somewhat moved; he crossed and uncrossed his -legs; took out his snuff-box, returned it to his pocket without -opening it; then, looking at the countess--"You will not pull it -down?" he said, indicating with his thin and tremulous hand the -habitation visible at the horizon. - -"I promise you I will not." - -"Well, so be it; I will do that much for them; I will save the house -in which they were happy. - -"Ladies," continued the old man, "I am but a poor speaker; but I -believe that even the least eloquent succeed in making themselves -understood when they tell what they have seen. This story, I warn you -beforehand, is not gay. To dance and to sing, people send for a -musician; they call in the physician when they suffer, and are near to -death." - -A circle was formed round Dr Barnaby, who, his hands still crossed -upon his cane, quietly commenced the following narrative, to an -audience prepared beforehand to smile at his discourse. - -"It was a long time ago, when I was young--for I, too, have been -young! Youth is a fortune that belongs to all the world--to the poor -as well as to the rich--but which abides with none. I had just passed -my examination; I had taken my physician's degree, and I returned to -my village to exercise my wonderful talents, well convinced that, -thanks to me, men would now cease to die. - -My village is not far from here. From the little window of my room, I -beheld yonder white house upon the opposite side to that you now -discern. You certainly would not find my village handsome. In my eyes, -it was superb; I was born there, and I loved it. We all see with our -own eyes the things we love. God suffers us to be sometimes a little -blind; for He well knows that in this lower world a clear sight is not -always profitable. To me, then, this neighbourhood appeared smiling -and pleasant, and I lived happily. The white cottage alone, each -morning when I opened my shutters, impressed me disagreeably: it was -always closed, still and sad like a forsaken thing. Never had I seen -its windows open and shut, or its door ajar; never had I known its -inhospitable garden-gate give passage to human being. Your uncle, -madam, who had no occasion for a cottage so near his château, sought -to let it; but the rent was rather higher than anybody here was rich -enough to give. It remained empty, therefore, whilst in the hamlet -every window exhibited two or three children's faces peering through -the branches of gilliflower at the first noise in the street. But one -morning, on getting up, I was quite astonished to see a long ladder -resting against the cottage wall; a painter was painting the -window-shutters green, whilst a maid-servant polished the panes, and a -gardener hoed the flower-beds. - -"All the better," said I to myself; "a good roof like that, which -covers no one, is so much lost." - -From day to day the house improved in appearance. Pots of flowers -veiled the nudity of the walls; the parterres were planted, the walks -weeded and gravelled, and muslin curtains, white as snow, shone in the -sun-rays. One day a post-chaise rattled through the village, and drove -up to the little house. Who were the strangers? None knew, and all -desired to learn. For a long time nothing transpired without of what -passed within the dwelling. The rose-trees bloomed, and the fresh-laid -lawn grew verdant; still nothing was known. Many were the commentaries -upon the mystery. They were adventurers concealing themselves--they -were a young man and his mistress--in short, everything was guessed -except the truth. The truth is so simple, that one does not always -think of it; once the mind is in movement, it seeks to the right and -to the left, and often forgets to look straight before it. The mystery -gave me little concern. No matter who is there, thought I; they are -human, therefore they will not be long without suffering, and then -they will send for me. I waited patiently. - -At last one morning a messenger came from Mr William Meredith, to -request me to call upon him. I put on my best coat, and, endeavouring -to assume a gravity suitable to my profession, I traversed the -village, not without some little pride at my importance. That day many -envied me. The villagers stood at their doors to see me pass. "He is -going to the white cottage!" they said; whilst I, avoiding all -appearance of haste and vulgar curiosity, walked deliberately, nodding -to my peasant neighbours. "Good-day, my friends," I said; "I will see -you by-and-by; this morning I am busy." And thus I reached the -hill-side. - -On entering the sitting-room of the mysterious house, the scene I -beheld rejoiced my eyesight. Everything was so simple and elegant. -Flowers, the chief ornament of the apartment, were so tastefully -arranged, that gold would not better have embellished the modest -interior. White muslin was at the windows, white calico on the -chairs--that was all; but there were roses and jessamine, and flowers -of all kinds, as in a garden. The light was softened by the curtains, -the atmosphere was fragrant; and a young girl or woman, fair and fresh -as all that surrounded her, reclined upon a sofa, and welcomed me with -a smile. A handsome young man, seated near her upon an ottoman, rose -when the servant announced Dr Barnaby. - -"Sir," said he, with a strong foreign accent, "I have heard so much of -your skill that I expected to see an old man." - -"I have studied diligently, sir," I replied. "I am deeply impressed -with the importance and responsibility of my calling: you may confide -in me." - -"'Tis well," he said. "I recommend my wife to your best care. Her -present state demands advice and precaution. She was born in a -distant land: for my sake she has quitted family and friends. I can -bring but my affection to her aid, for I am without experience. I -reckon upon you, sir. If possible, preserve her from all suffering." - -As he spoke, the young man fixed upon his wife a look so full of love, -that the large blue eyes of the beautiful foreigner glistened with -tears of gratitude. She dropped the tiny cap she was embroidering, and -her two hands clasped the hand of her husband. I looked at them, and I -ought to have found their lot enviable, but, somehow or other, the -contrary was the case. I felt sad; I could not tell why. I had often -seen persons weep, of whom I said--They are happy! I saw William -Meredith and his wife smile, and I could not help thinking they had -much sorrow. I seated myself near my charming patient. Never have I -seen anything so lovely as that sweet face, shaded by long ringlets of -fair hair. - -"What is your age, madam?" - -"Seventeen." - -"Is the climate of your native country very different from ours?" - -"I was born in America--at New Orleans. Oh! the sun is far brighter -than here." - -Doubtless she feared she had uttered a regret, for she added-- - -"But every country is beautiful when one is in one's husband's house, -with him, and awaiting his child!" - -Her gaze sought that of William Meredith; then, in a tongue I did not -understand, she spoke a few words which sounded so soft that they must -have been words of love. - -After a short visit I took my leave, promising to return. I did -return, and, at the end of two months, I was almost the friend of this -young couple. Mr and Mrs Meredith were not selfish in their happiness; -they found time to think of others. They saw that to the poor village -doctor, whose sole society was that of peasants, those days were -festivals upon which he passed an hour in hearing the language of -cities. They encouraged me to frequent them--talked to me of their -travels, and soon, with the prompt confidence characterising youth, -they told me their story. It was the girl-wife who spoke:-- - -"Doctor," she said, "yonder, beyond the seas, I have father, sisters, -family, friends, whom I long loved, until the day when I loved -William. But then I shut my heart to those who repulsed my lover. -William's father forbade him to wed me, because he was too noble for -the daughter of an American planter. My father forbade me to love -William, because he was too proud to give his daughter to a man whose -family refused her a welcome. They tried to separate us; but we loved -each other. Long did we weep and supplicate, and implore the pity of -those to whom we owed obedience; they remained inflexible, and we -loved! Doctor, did you ever love? I would you had, that you might be -indulgent to us. We were secretly married, and we fled to France. Oh -how beautiful the ocean appeared in those early days of our affection! -The sea was hospitable to the fugitives. Wanderers upon the waves, we -passed happy days in the shadow of our vessel's sails, anticipating -pardon from our friends, and dreaming a bright future. Alas! we were -too sanguine. They pursued us; and, upon pretext of some irregularity -of form in our clandestine marriage, William's family cruelly thought -to separate us. We found concealment in the midst of these mountains -and forests. Under a name which is not ours we live unknown. My father -has not forgiven--he has cursed me! That is the reason, doctor, why I -cannot always smile, even with my dear William by my side." - -How those two loved each other! Never have I seen a being more -completely wrapped up in another than was Eva Meredith in her husband! -Whatever her occupation, she always so placed herself, that, on -raising her eyes, she had William before them. She never read but in -the book he was reading. Her head against his shoulder, her eyes -followed the lines on which William's eyes were fixed; she wished the -same thoughts to strike them at the same moment; and, when I crossed -the garden to reach their door, I smiled always to see upon the gravel -the trace of Eva's little foot close to the mark of William's boot. -What a difference between the deserted old house you see yonder, and -the pretty dwelling of my young friends! What sweet flowers covered -the walls! What bright nosegays decked the tables! How many charming -books were there, full of tales of love that resembled their love! How -gay the birds that sang around them! How good it was to live there, -and to be loved a little by those who loved each other so much! But -those are right who say that happy days are not long upon this earth, -and that, in respect of happiness, God gives but a little at a time. - -One morning Eva Meredith appeared to suffer. I questioned her with all -the interest I felt for her. She answered me abruptly. - -"Do not feel my pulse, doctor," she said; "it is my heart that beats -too quick. Think me childish if you will, but I am sad this morning. -William is going away. He is going to the town beyond the mountain, to -receive money." - -"And when will he return?" inquired I, gently. - -She smiled, almost blushed, and then, with a look that seemed to say, -Do not laugh at me, she replied, "_This evening!_" - -Notwithstanding her imploring glance, I could not repress a smile. -Just then a servant brought Mr Meredith's horse to the door. Eva rose -from her seat, went out into the garden, approached the horse, and, -whilst stroking his mane, bowed her head upon the animal's neck, -perhaps to conceal the tear that fell from her eyes. William came out, -threw himself lightly into the saddle, and gently raised his wife's -head. - -"Silly girl!" said he, with love in his eyes and voice. And he kissed -her brow. - -"William, we have never yet been so many hours apart!" - -Mr Meredith stooped his head towards that of Eva, and imprinted a -second kiss upon her beautiful golden hair; then he touched his -horse's flank with the spur, and set off at a gallop. I am convinced -that he, too, was a little moved. Nothing is so contagious as the -weakness of those we love; tears summon tears, and it is no very -laudable courage that keeps our eyes dry by the side of a weeping -friend. I turned my steps homeward, and, once more in my cottage, I -set myself to meditate on the happiness of loving. I asked myself if -an Eva would ever cheer my poor dwelling. I did not think of examining -whether I were worthy to be loved. When we behold two beings thus -devoted to each other, we easily discern that it is not for good and -various reasons that they love so well; they love because it is -necessary, inevitable; they love on account of their own hearts, not -of those of others. Well, I thought how I might seek and find a heart -that had need to love, just as, in my morning walks, I might have -thought to meet, by the road-side, some flower of sweet perfume. Thus -did I muse, although it is perhaps a wrong feeling which makes us, at -sight of others' bliss, deplore the happiness we do not ourselves -possess. Is not a little envy there? and if joy could be stolen like -gold, should we not then be near a larceny? - -The day passed, and I had just completed my frugal supper, when I -received a message from Mrs Meredith, begging me to visit her. In five -minutes I was at the door of the white cottage. I found Eva, still -alone, seated on a sofa, without work or book, pale and trembling. -"Come, doctor, come," said she, in her soft voice; "I can remain alone -no longer; see how late it is!--he should have been home two hours -ago, and has not yet returned!" - -I was surprised at Mr Meredith's prolonged absence; but, to comfort -his wife, I replied quietly, "How can we tell the time necessary to -transact his business? They may have made him wait; the notary was -perhaps absent. There were papers to draw up and sign." - -"Ah, doctor, I was sure you would find words of consolation! I needed -to hear some one tell me that it is foolish to tremble thus! Gracious -heaven, how long the day has been! Doctor, are there really persons -who live alone? Do they not die immediately, as if robbed of half the -atmosphere essential to life? But there is eight o'clock!" Eight -o'clock was indeed striking. I could not imagine why William was not -back. At all hazards I said to Mrs Meredith, "Madam, the sun is hardly -set; it is still daylight, and the evening is beautiful; come and -visit your flowers. If we walk down the road, we shall doubtless meet -your husband." - -She took my arm, and we walked towards the gate of the little garden. -I endeavoured to turn her attention to surrounding objects. At first -she replied, as a child obeys. But I felt that her thoughts went not -with her words. Her anxious gaze was fixed upon the little green gate, -which had remained open since William's departure. Leaning upon the -paling, she suffered me to talk on, smiling from time to time, by way -of thanks; for, as the evening wore away, she lacked courage to answer -me. Gray tints succeeded the red sunset, foreshadowing the arrival of -night. Gloom gathered around us. The road, hitherto visible like a -white line winding through the forest, disappeared in the dark shade -of the lofty trees, and the village clock struck nine. Eva started. I -myself felt every stroke vibrate upon my heart. I pitied the poor -woman's uneasiness. - -"Remember, madam," I replied, (she had not spoken, but I answered the -anxiety visible in her features,) "remember that Mr Meredith must -return at a walk; the roads through the forest are not in a state to -admit fast riding." I said this to encourage her; but the truth is, I -knew not how to explain William's absence. Knowing the distance, I -also knew that I could have gone twice to the town and back since his -departure. The evening dew began to penetrate our clothes, and -especially Eva's thin muslin dress. Again I drew her arm through mine -and led her towards the house. She followed unresistingly; her gentle -nature was submissive even in affliction. She walked slowly, her head -bowed, her eyes fixed on the tracks left by the gallop of her -husband's horse. How melancholy it was, that evening walk, still -without William! In vain we listened: there reigned around us the -profound stillness of a summer night in the country. How greatly does -a feeling of uneasiness increase under such circumstances. We entered -the house. Eva seated herself on the sofa, her hands clasped upon her -knees, her head sunk upon her bosom. There was a lamp on the -chimney-piece, whose light fell full upon her face. I shall never -forget its suffering expression. She was pale, very pale--her brow and -cheeks exactly the same colour; her hair, relaxed by the night-damp, -fell in disorder upon her shoulders. Tears filled her eyes, and the -quivering of her colourless lips showed how violent was the effort by -which she avoided shedding them. She was so young that her face -resembled that of a child forbidden to cry. - -I was greatly troubled, and knew not what to say or how to look. -Suddenly I remembered (it was a doctor's thought) that Eva, engrossed -by her uneasiness, had taken nothing since morning, and her situation -rendered it imprudent to prolong this fast. At my first reference to -the subject she raised her eyes to mine with a reproachful expression, -and the motion of her eyelids caused two tears to flow down her -cheeks. - -"For your child's sake, madam," said I. - -"Ah, you are right!" she murmured, and she passed into the -dining-room; but there the little table was laid for two, and at that -moment this trifle so saddened me as to deprive me of speech and -motion. My increasing uneasiness rendered me quite awkward; I had not -the wit to say what I did not think. The silence was prolonged; "and -yet," said I to myself, "I am here to console her; she sent for me for -that purpose. There must be fifty ways of explaining this delay--let -me find one." I sought, and sought--and still I remained silent, -inwardly cursing the poverty of invention of a poor village doctor. -Eva, her head resting on her hand, forgot to eat. Suddenly she turned -to me and burst out sobbing. - -"Ah, doctor!" she exclaimed, "I see plainly that you too are uneasy." - -"Not so, madam--indeed not so," replied I, speaking at random. "Why -should I be uneasy? He has doubtless dined with the notary. The roads -are safe, and no one knows that he went for money." - -I had inadvertently revealed one of my secret causes of uneasiness. I -knew that a band of foreign reapers had that morning passed through -the village, on their way to a neighbouring department. - -Eva uttered a cry. - -"Robbers! robbers!" she exclaimed. "I never thought of _that_ danger." - -"But, madam, I only mention it to tell you it does not exist." - -"Oh! the thought struck you, doctor, because you thought the -misfortune possible! William, my own William! why did you leave me?" -cried she, weeping bitterly. - -I was in despair at my blunder, and I felt my eyes fill with tears. My -distress gave me an idea. - -"Mrs Meredith," I said, "I cannot see you torment yourself thus, and -remain by your side unable to console you. I will go and seek your -husband; I will follow at random one of the paths through the forest; -I will search everywhere and shout his name, and go, if necessary, to -the town itself." - -"Oh, thanks, thanks, kind friend!" cried Eva Meredith, "take the -gardener with you and the servant; search in all directions!" - -We hurried back into the drawing-room, and Eva rang quickly and -repeatedly. All the inhabitants of the cottage opened at the same time -the different doors of the apartment. "Follow Dr Barnaby," cried Mrs -Meredith. - -At that moment a horse's gallop was distinctly heard upon the gravel -of the garden. Eva uttered a cry of happiness that went home to every -heart. Never shall I forget the divine expression of joy that -illumined her face, still inundated with tears. She and I, we flew to -the house-door. The moon, passing from behind a cloud, threw her full -light upon a riderless and foam-covered horse, whose bridle dragged -upon the ground, and whose dusty flanks were galled by the empty -stirrups. A second cry, this time of intensest horror, burst from -Eva's breast; then she turned towards me, her eyes fixed, her mouth -half open, her arms hanging powerless. - -The servants were in consternation. - -"Get torches, my friends!" cried I, "and follow me! Madam, we shall -soon return, I hope, and your husband with us. He has received some -slight hurt, a strained ancle, perhaps. Keep up your courage. We will -soon be back." - -"I go with you!" murmured Eva Meredith in a choking voice. - -"Impossible!" I cried. "We must go, fast, perhaps far, and in your -state--it would be risking your life, and that of your child--" - -"I go with you!" repeated Eva. - -Then did I feel how cruel was this poor woman's isolation! Had a -father, a mother been there, they would have ordered her to stay, they -would have retained her by force; but she was alone upon the earth, -and to all my hurried entreaties she still replied in a hollow voice: -"I go with you!" - -We set out. The moon was again darkened by dense clouds; there was -light neither in the heavens nor on the earth. The uncertain radiance -of our torches barely showed us the path. A servant went in front, -lowering his torch to the right and to the left, to illumine the -ditches and bushes bordering the road. Behind him Mrs Meredith, the -gardener, and myself followed with our eyes the stream of light. From -time to time we raised our voices and called Mr Meredith. After us a -stifled sob, murmured the name of William, as if a heart had reckoned -on the instinct of love to hear its tears better than our shouts. We -reached the forest. Rain began to fall, and the drops pattered upon -the foliage with a mournful noise, as if everything around us wept. -Eva's thin dress was soon soaked with the cold flood. The water -streamed from her hair over her face. She bruised her feet against the -stones of the road, and repeatedly stumbled and fell upon her knees; -but she rose again with the energy of despair, and pushed forwards. It -was agonising to behold her. I scarcely dared look at her, lest I -should see her fall dead before my eyes. At last--we were moving in -silence, fatigued and discouraged--Mrs Meredith pushed us suddenly -aside, sprang forward and plunged into the bushes. We followed her, -and, upon raising the torches--alas! she was on her knees beside the -body of William, who was stretched motionless upon the ground, his -eyes glazed and his brow covered with blood which flowed from a wound -in the left temple. - -"Doctor?" said Eva to me. That one word expressed--"Does William -live?" - -I stooped and felt the pulse of William Meredith; I placed my hand on -his heart and remained silent. Eva still gazed at me; but, when my -silence was prolonged, I saw her bend, waver, and then, without word -or cry, fall senseless upon her husband's corpse. - -"But, ladies," said Dr Barnaby, turning to his audience, "the sun -shines again; you can go out now. Let us leave this sad story where it -is." - -Madame de Moncar approached the old physician. "Doctor," said she, "I -implore you to continue; only look at us, and you will not doubt the -interest with which we listen." - -There were no more smiles of mockery upon the young faces that -surrounded the village doctor. In some of their eyes he might even -distinguish the glistening of tears. He resumed his narrative. - -"Mrs Meredith was carried home, and remained for several hours -senseless upon her bed. I felt it at once a duty and a cruelty to use -every effort to recall her to life. I dreaded the agonising scenes -that would follow this state of immobility. I remained beside the poor -woman, bathing her temples with fresh water, and awaiting with anxiety -the sad and yet the happy moment of returning consciousness. I was -mistaken in my anticipations, for I had never witnessed great grief. -Eva half opened her eyes and immediately closed them again; no tear -escaped from beneath their lids. She remained cold, motionless, -silent; and, but for the heart which again throbbed beneath my hand, I -should have deemed her dead. Sad is it to behold a sorrow which one -feels is beyond consolation! Silence, I thought, seemed like a want of -pity for this unfortunate creature: on the other hand, verbal -condolence was a mockery of so mighty a grief. I had found no words to -calm her uneasiness; could I hope to be more eloquent in the hour of -her great suffering? I took the safest course, that of profound -silence. I will remain here, I thought, and minister to the physical -sufferings, as is my duty; but I will be mute and passive, even as a -faithful dog would lie down at her feet. My mind once made up, I felt -calmer; I let her live a life which resembled death. After a few -hours, however, I put a spoonful of a potion to her lips. Eva slowly -averted her head. In a few moments I again offered her the drug. - -"Drink, madam," I said, gently touching her lips with the spoon. They -remained closed. - -"Madam, your child!" I persisted, in a low voice. - -Eva opened her eyes, raised herself with effort upon her elbow, -swallowed the medicine, and fell back upon her pillow. - -"I must wait," she murmured, "till another life is detached from -mine!" - -Thenceforward Mrs Meredith spoke no more, but she mechanically -followed all my prescriptions. Stretched upon her bed of suffering, -she seemed constantly to sleep; but at whatever moment I said to her, -even in my lowest whisper, "Drink this," she instantly obeyed; thus -proving to me that the soul kept its weary watch in that motionless -body, without a single instant of oblivion and repose. - -There were none beside myself to attend to the interment of William. -Nothing positive was ever known as to the cause of his death. The sum -he was to bring from the town was not found upon him; perhaps he had -been robbed and murdered; perhaps the money, which was in notes, had -fallen from his pocket when he was thrown from his horse, and, as it -was some time before any thought of seeking it, the heavy rain and -trampled mud might account for its disappearance. A fruitless -investigation was made and soon dropped. I endeavoured to learn from -Eva Meredith if her family, or that of her husband, should not be -written to. I had difficulty in obtaining an answer. At last she gave -me to understand that I had merely to inform their agent, who would do -whatever was needful. I hoped that, at least from England, some -communication would arrive, decisive of this poor creature's future -lot. But no; day followed day, and none seemed to know that the widow -of William Meredith lived in utter isolation, in a poor French -village. To endeavour to bring back Eva to the sense of her existence, -I urged her to leave her bed. Upon the morrow I found her up, dressed -in black; but she was the ghost of the beautiful Eva Meredith. Her -hair was parted in bands upon her pale forehead, and she sat near a -window, motionless as she had lain in bed. - -I passed long silent evenings with her, a book in my hand for apparent -occupation. Each day, on my arrival, I addressed to her a few words of -sympathy. She replied by a thankful look; then we remained silent. I -waited an opportunity to open a conversation; but my awkwardness and -my respect for her grief prevented my finding one, or suffered it to -escape when it occurred. Little by little I grew accustomed to this -mute intercourse; and, besides, what could I have said to her? My -chief object was to prevent her feeling quite alone in the world; and, -obscure as was the prop remaining, it still was something. I went to -see her merely that my presence might say, "I am here." - -It was a singular epoch in my life, and had a great influence on my -future existence. Had I not shown so much regret at the threatened -destruction of the white cottage, I would hurry to the conclusion of -this narrative. But you have insisted upon knowing why that building -is hallowed to me, and I must tell you therefore what I have thought -and felt beneath its humble roof. Forgive me, ladies, if my words are -grave. It is good for youth to be sometimes a little saddened; it has -so much time before it to laugh and to forget. - -The son of a rich peasant, I was sent to Paris to complete my studies. -During four years passed in that great city, I retained the -awkwardness of my manners, the simplicity of my language, but I -rapidly lost the ingenuousness of my sentiments. I returned to these -mountains, almost learned, but almost incredulous in all those points -of faith which enable a man to pass his life contentedly beneath a -thatched roof, in the society of his wife and children, without caring -to look beyond the cross above the village cemetery. - -Whilst contemplating the love of William and of Eva, I had reverted to -my former simple peasant-nature. I began to dream of a virtuous, -affectionate wife, diligent and frugal, embellishing my house by her -care and order. I saw myself proud of the gentle severity of her -features, revealing to all the chaste and faithful spouse. Very -different were these reveries from those that haunted me at Paris -after joyous evenings spent with my comrades. Suddenly, horrible -calamity descended like a thunderbolt upon Eva Meredith. This time I -was slower to appreciate the lesson I daily received. Eva sat -constantly at the window, her sad gaze fixed upon the heavens. The -attitude, common in persons of meditative mood, attracted my attention -but little. Her persistence in it at last struck me. My book open upon -my knees, I looked at Mrs Meredith; and well assured she would not -detect my gaze, I examined her attentively. She still gazed at the -sky--my eyes followed the direction of hers. "Ah," I said to myself -with a half smile, "she thinks to rejoin him _there_!" Then I resumed -my book, thinking how fortunate it was for the weakness of women that -such thoughts came to the relief of their sorrows. - -I have already told you that my student's life had put evil thoughts -into my head. Every day, however, I saw Eva in the same attitude, and -every day my reflections were recalled to the same subject. Little by -little I came to think her dream a good one, and to regret I could not -credit its reality. The soul, heaven, eternal life, all that the old -priest had formerly taught me, glided through my imagination as I sat -at eventide before the open window. "The doctrine of the old _curé_," -I said to myself, "was more comforting than the cold realities science -has revealed to me." Then I looked at Eva, who still looked to heaven, -whilst the bells of the village church sounded sweetly in the -distance, and the rays of the setting sun made the steeple-cross -glitter against the sky. I often returned to sit opposite the poor -widow, persevering in her grief as in her holy hopes. - -"What!" I thought, "can so much love address itself to a few particles -of dust, already mingled with the mould; are all these sighs wasted on -empty air? William departed in the freshness of his age, his -affections yet vivid, his heart in its early bloom. She loved him but -a year, one little year--and is all over for her? Above our heads is -there nothing but void? Love--that sentiment so strong within us--is -it but a flame placed in the obscure prison of our body, where it -shines, burns, and is finally extinguished by the fall of the frail -wall surrounding it? Is a little dust all that remains of our loves, -and hopes, and passions--of all that moves, agitates, and exalts us?" - -There was deep silence in the recesses of my soul. I had ceased to -think. I was as if slumbering between what I no longer denied, and -what I did not yet believe. At last, one night, when Eva joined her -hands to pray, beneath the most beautiful starlit sky possible to -behold, I know not how it was, but I found my hands also clasped, and -my lips opened to murmur a prayer. Then, by a happy chance, and for -the first time, Eva Meredith looked round, as if a secret instinct had -whispered her that my soul harmonised with hers. - -"Thanks," said she, holding out her hand, "keep him in your memory, -and pray for him sometimes." - -"Oh, madam!" I exclaimed, "may we all meet again in a better world, -whether our lives have been long or short, happy or full of trial." - -"The immortal soul of William looks down upon us!" she replied in a -grave voice, whilst her gaze, at once sad and bright, reverted to the -star-spangled heavens. - -Since that evening, when performing the duties of my profession, I -have often witnessed death; but never without speaking, to the -sorrowing survivors, a few consoling words on a better life than this -one; and those words were words of conviction. - -At last, a month after these incidents, Eva Meredith gave birth to a -son. When they brought her her child,--"William!" exclaimed the poor -widow; and tears, soothing tears too long denied to her grief, escaped -in torrents from her eyes. The child bore that much-loved name of -William, and a little cradle was placed close to the mother's bed. -Then Eva's gaze, long directed to heaven, returned earthwards. She -looked to her child now, as she had previously looked to her God. She -bent over him to seek his father's features. Providence had permitted -an exact resemblance between William and the son he was fated not to -see. A great change occurred around us. Eva, who had consented to live -until her child's existence was detached from hers, was now, I could -plainly see, willing to live on, because she felt that this little -being needed the protection of her love. She passed the days and -evenings seated beside his cradle; and when I went to see her, oh! -then she questioned me as to what she should do for him, she explained -what he had suffered, and asked what could be done to save him from -pain. For her child she feared the heat of a ray of sun, the chill of -the lightest breeze. Bending over him, she shielded him with her body, -and warmed him with her kisses. One day, I almost thought I saw her -smile at him. But she never would sing, whilst rocking his cradle, to -lull him to sleep; she called one of her women, and said, "Sing to my -son that he may sleep." Then she listened, letting her tears flow -softly upon little William's brow. Poor child! he was handsome, -gentle, easy to rear. But, as if his mother's sorrow had affected him -even before his birth, the child was melancholy: he seldom cried, but -he never smiled: he was quiet; and at that age quiet seems to denote -suffering. I fancied that all the tears shed over the cradle froze -that poor little soul. I would fain have seen William's arms twined -caressingly round his mother's neck. I would have had him return the -kisses lavished upon him. "But what am I thinking about?" I then said -to myself; "is it reasonable to expect that a little creature, not yet -a year upon the earth, should understand that it is sent hither to -love and console this woman?" - -It was, I assure you, a touching sight to behold this young mother, -pale, feeble, and who had once renounced existence, clinging again to -life for the sake of a little child which could not even say "Thanks, -dear mother!" What a marvel is the human heart! Of how small a thing -it makes much! Give it but a grain of sand, and it elevates a -mountain; at its latest throb show it but an atom to love, and again -its pulses revive; it stops for good only when all is void around it, -and when even the shadow of its affections has vanished from the -earth! - -Time rolled on, and I received a letter from an uncle, my sole -surviving relative. My uncle, a member of the faculty of Montpellier, -summoned me to his side, to complete in that learned town my -initiation into the secrets of my art. This letter, in form an -invitation, was in fact an order. I had to set out. One morning, my -heart big when I thought of the isolation in which I left the widow -and the orphan, I repaired to the white cottage to take leave of Eva -Meredith. I know not whether an additional shade of sadness came over -her features when I told her I was about to make a long absence. Since -the death of William Meredith such profound melancholy dwelt upon her -countenance that a smile would have been the sole perceptible -variation: sadness was always there. - -"You leave us?" she exclaimed; "your care is so useful to my child!" - -The poor lonely woman forgot to regret departure of her last friend; -the mother lamented the loss of the physician useful to her son. I did -not complain. To be useful is the sweet recompense of the devoted. - -"Adieu!" she said, holding out her hand. "Wherever you go, may God -bless you; and should it be His will to afflict you, may He at least -afford you the sympathy of a heart compassionate as your own." - -I bowed over the hand of Eva Meredith; and I departed, deeply moved. - -The child was in the garden in front of the house, lying upon the -grass, in the sun. I took him in my arms and kissed him repeatedly; I -looked at long, attentively, sadly, and a tear started to my eyes. -"Oh, no, no! I must be mistaken!" I murmured, and I hurried from the -white cottage. - -"Good heavens, doctor!" simultaneously exclaimed all Dr Barnaby's -audience, "what did you apprehend?" - -"Suffer me to finish my story my own way," replied the village doctor; -"everything shall be told in its turn. I relate these events in the -order in which they occurred." - -On my arrival at Montpellier, I was exceedingly well received by my -uncle; who declared, however, that he could neither lodge nor feed me, -nor lend me money, and that as a stranger, without a name, I must not -hope for a patient in a town so full of celebrated physicians. - -"Then I will return to my village, uncle," replied I. - -"By no means!" was his answer. "I have got you a lucrative and -respectable situation. An old Englishman, rich, gouty, and restless, -wishes to have a doctor to live with him, an intelligent young man who -will take charge of his health under the superintendence of an older -physician. I have proposed you--you have been accepted; let us go to -him." - -We betook ourselves immediately to the residence of Lord James -Kysington, a large and handsome house, full of servants, where, after -waiting some time, first in the anteroom, and then in the parlours, we -were at last ushered into the presence of the noble invalid. Seated in -a large arm-chair was an old man of cold and severe aspect, whose -white hair contrasted oddly with his eyebrows, still of a jet black. -He was tall and thin, as far as I could judge through the folds of a -large cloth coat, made like a dressing-gown. His hands disappeared -under his cuffs, and his feet were wrapped in the skin of a white -bear. A number of medicine vials were upon a table beside him. - -"My lord, this is my nephew, Dr Barnaby." - -Lord Kysington bowed; that is to say, he looked at me, and made a -scarcely perceptible movement with his head. - -"He is well versed in his profession, and I doubt not that his care -will be most beneficial to your lordship." - -A second movement of the head was the sole reply vouchsafed. - -"Moreover," continued my relation, "having had a tolerably good -education, he can read to your lordship, or write under your -dictation." - -"I shall be obliged to him," replied Lord Kysington, breaking silence -at last, and then closing his eyes, either from fatigue, or as a hint -that the conversation was to drop. I glanced around me. Near the -window sat a lady, very elegantly dressed, who continued her -embroidery without once raising her eyes, as if we were not worthy her -notice. Upon the carpet at her feet a little boy amused himself with -toys. The lady, although young, did not at first strike me as -pretty--because she had black hair and eyes; and to be pretty, -according to my notion, was to be fair, like Eva Meredith; and -moreover, in my inexperience, I held beauty impossible without a -certain air of goodness. It was long before I could admit the beauty -of this woman, whose brow was haughty, her look disdainful, and her -mouth unsmiling. Like Lord Kysington, she was tall, thin, rather pale. -In character they were too much alike to suit each other well. Formal -and taciturn, they lived together without affection, almost without -converse. The child, too, had been taught silence; he walked on -tiptoe, and at the least noise a severe look from his mother or from -Lord Kysington changed him into a statue. - -It was too late to return to my village; but it is never too late to -regret what one has loved and lost. My heart ached when I thought of -my cottage, my valley, my liberty. - -What I learned concerning the cheerless family I had entered was as -follows:--Lord James Kysington had come to Montpellier for his health, -deteriorated by the climate of India. Second son of the Duke of -Kysington, and a lord only by courtesy, he owed to talent and not to -inheritance his fortune and his political position in the House of -Commons. Lady Mary was the wife of his youngest brother; and Lord -James, free to dispose of his fortune, had named her son his heir. - -Towards me his lordship was most punctiliously polite. A bow thanked -me for every service I rendered him. I read aloud for hours together, -uninterrupted either by the sombre old man, whom I put to sleep, or by -the young woman, who did not listen to me, or by the child, who -trembled in his uncle's presence. I had never led so melancholy a -life, and yet, as you know, ladies, the little white cottage had long -ceased to be gay; but the silence of misfortune implies such grave -reflections, that words are insufficient to express them. One feels -the life of the soul under the stillness of the body. In my new abode -it was the silence of a void. - -One day that Lord James dozed and Lady Mary was engrossed with -embroidery, little Harry climbed upon my knee, as I sat apart at the -farther end of the room, and began to question me with the artless -curiosity of his age. In my turn, and without reflecting on what I -said, I questioned him concerning his family. - -"Have you any brothers or sisters?" I inquired. - -"I have a very pretty little sister." - -"What is her name," asked I, absently, glancing at the newspaper in my -hand. - -"She has a beautiful name. Guess it, Doctor." - -I know not what I was thinking about. In my village I had heard none -but the names of peasants, hardly applicable to Lady Mary's daughter. -Mrs Meredith was the only lady I had known, and the child repeating, -"Guess, guess!" I replied at random, - -"Eva, perhaps?" - -We were speaking very low; but when the name of Eva escaped my lips, -Lord James opened his eyes quickly, and raised himself in his chair, -Lady Mary dropped her needle and turned sharply towards me. I was -confounded at the effect I had produced; I looked alternately at Lord -James and at Lady Mary, without daring to utter another word. Some -minutes passed: Lord James again let his head fall back and closed his -eyes, Lady Mary resumed her needle, Harry and I ceased our -conversation. I reflected for some time upon this strange incident, -until at last, all around me having sunk into the usual monotonous -calm, I rose to leave the room. Lady Mary pushed away her embroidery -frame, passed before me, and made me sign to follow. When we were -both in another room she shut the door, and raising her head, with the -imperious air which was the most habitual expression of her features: -"Dr Barnaby," said she, "be so good as never again to pronounce the -name that just now escaped your lips. It is a name Lord James -Kysington must not hear." She bowed slightly, and re-entered her -brother-in-law's apartment. - -Thoughts innumerable crowded upon my mind. This Eva, whose name was -not to be spoken, could it be Eva Meredith? Was she Lord Kysington's -daughter-in-law? Was I in the house of William's father? I hoped, but -still I doubted; for, after all, if there was but one Eva in the world -for me, in England the name was, doubtless, by no means uncommon. But -the thought that I was perhaps with the family of Eva Meredith, living -with the woman who robbed the widow and the orphan of their -inheritance, this thought was present to me by day and by night. In my -dreams I beheld the return of Eva and her son to the paternal -residence, in consequence of the pardon I had implored and obtained -for them. But when I raised my eyes, the cold impassible physiognomy -of Lord Kysington froze all the hopes of my heart. I applied myself to -the examination of that countenance as if I had never before seen it; -I analysed its features and lines to find a trace of sensibility. I -sought the heart I so gladly would have touched. Alas! I found it not. -But I had so good a cause that I was not to be discouraged. "Pshaw!" I -said to myself, "what matters the expression of the face? why heed the -external envelope? May not the darkest coffer contain bright gold? -Must all that is within us reveal itself at a glance? Does not every -man of the world learn to separate his mind and his thoughts from the -habitual expression of his countenance?" - -I resolved to clear up my doubts, but how to do so was the difficulty. -Impossible to question Lady Mary or Lord James; the servants were -French, and had but lately come to the house. An English -valet-de-chambre had just been despatched to London on a confidential -mission. I directed my investigations to Lord James Kysington. The -severe expression of his countenance ceased to intimidate me. I said -to myself:--"When the forester meets with a tree apparently dead, he -strikes his axe into the trunk to see whether sap does not still -survive beneath the withered bark; in like manner will I strike at the -heart, and see whether life be not somewhere hidden." And I only -waited an opportunity. - -To await an opportunity with impatience is to accelerate its coming. -Instead of depending on circumstances we subjugate them. One night -Lord James sent for me. He was in pain. After administering the -necessary remedies, I remained by his bedside, to watch their effect. -The room was dark; a single wax candle showed the outline of objects, -without illuminating them. The pale and noble head of Lord James was -thrown back upon his pillow. His eyes were shut, according to his -custom when suffering, as if he concentrated his moral energies within -him. He never complained, but lay stretched out in his bed, straight -and motionless as a king's statue upon a marble tomb. In general he -got somebody to read to him, hoping either to distract his thoughts -from his pains, or to be lulled to sleep by the monotonous sound. - -Upon that night he made sign to me with his meagre hand to take a book -and read, but I sought one in vain; books and newspapers had all been -removed to the drawing-room; the doors were locked, and unless I rang -and aroused the house, a book was not to be had. Lord James made a -gesture of impatience, then one of resignation, and beckoned me to -resume my seat by his side. We remained for some time without -speaking, almost in darkness, the silence broken only by the ticking -of the clock. Sleep came not. Suddenly Lord James opened his eyes. - -"Speak to me," he said. "Tell me something; whatever you like." - -His eyes closed, and he waited. My heart beat violently. The moment -had come. - -"My lord," said I, "I greatly fear I know nothing that will interest -your lordship. I can speak but of myself, of the events of my -life,--and the history of the great ones of the earth were necessary -to fix your attention. What can a peasant have to say, who has lived -contented with little, in obscurity and repose? I have scarcely -quitted my village, my lord. It is a pretty mountain hamlet, where -even those not born there might well be pleased to dwell. Near it is a -country house, which I have known inhabited by rich people, who could -have left it if they liked, but who remained, because the woods were -thick, the paths bordered with flowers, the streams bright and rapid -in their rocky beds. Alas! they were two in that house--and soon a -poor woman was there alone, until the birth of her son. My lord, she -is a countrywoman of yours, an Englishwoman, of beauty such as is -seldom seen either in England or in France; good as, besides her, only -the angels in heaven can be! She had just completed her eighteenth -year when I left her, fatherless, motherless, and already widowed of -an adored husband; she is feeble, delicate, almost ill, and yet she -must live;--who would protect that little child? Oh! my lord, there -are very unhappy beings in this world! To be unhappy in middle life or -old age, is doubtless sad, but still you have pleasant memories of the -past to remind you that you have had your day, your share, your -happiness; but to weep before you are eighteen is far sadder, for -nothing can bring back the dead, and the future is dim with tears. -Poor creature! We see a beggar by the roadside suffering from cold and -hunger, and we give him alms, and look upon him without pain, because -it is in our power to relieve him; but this unhappy, broken-hearted -woman, the only relief to give her would be to love her--and none are -there to bestow that alms upon her! - -"Ah! my lord, if you knew what a fine young man her husband -was!--hardly three-and-twenty; a noble countenance, a lofty brow--like -your own, intelligent and proud; dark blue eyes, rather pensive, -rather sad. I knew why they were sad. He loved his father and his -native land, and he was doomed to exile from both! And how good and -graceful was his smile! Ah! how he would have smiled at his little -child, had he lived long enough to see it. He loved it even before it -was born: he took pleasure in looking at the cradle that awaited it. -Poor, poor young man!--I saw him on a stormy night, in the dark -forest, stretched upon the wet earth, motionless, lifeless, his -garments covered with mud, his temple shattered, blood escaping in -torrents from his wound. I saw--alas! I saw William--" - -"You saw my son's death!" cried Lord James, raising himself like a -spectre in the midst of his pillows, and fixing me with eyes so -distended and piercing, that I started back alarmed. But -notwithstanding the darkness, I thought I saw a tear moisten the old -man's eyelids. - -"My lord," I replied, "I was present at your son's death, and at the -birth of his child!" - -There was an instant's silence. Lord James looked steadfastly at me. -At last he made a movement; his trembling hand sought mine, pressed -it, then his fingers relaxed their grasp, and he fell back upon the -bed. - -"Enough, sir, enough: I suffer, I need repose. Leave me." - -I bowed, and retired. - -Before I was out of the room, Lord James had relapsed into his -habitual position; into silence and immobility. - -I will not detail to you my numerous and respectful representations to -Lord James Kysington, his indecision and secret anxiety, and how at -last his paternal love, awakened by the details of the horrible -catastrophe, his pride of race, revived by the hope of leaving an heir -to his name, triumphed over his bitter resentment. Three months after -the scene I have described, I awaited, on the threshold of the house -at Montpellier, the arrival of Eva Meredith and her son, summoned to -their family and to the resumption of all their rights. It was a proud -and happy day for me. - -Lady Mary, perfect mistress of herself, had concealed her joy when -family dissensions had made her son heir to her wealthy brother. Still -better did she conceal her regret and anger when Eva Meredith, or -rather Eva Kysington, was reconciled with her father-in-law. Not a -cloud appeared upon Lady Mary's marble forehead. But beneath this -external calm how many evil passions fermented! - -When the carriage of Eva Meredith (I will still give her that name) -entered the court-yard of the house, I was there to receive her. Eva -held out her hand--"Thanks, thanks, my friend!" she murmured. She -wiped the tears that trembled in her eyes, and taking her boy, now -three years old, and of great beauty, by the hand, she entered her new -abode. "I am afraid!" she said. She was still the weak woman, broken -by affliction, pale, sad, and beautiful, incredulous of earthly hopes, -but firm in heavenly faith. I walked by her side; and as she ascended -the steps, her gentle countenance bedewed with tears, her slender and -feeble form inclined towards the balustrade, her extended arm -assisting the child, who walked still more slowly than herself, Lady -Mary and her son appeared at the door. Lady Mary wore a brown velvet -dress, rich bracelets encircled her arms, a slender gold chain bound -her brow, which in truth was of those on which a diadem sits well. She -advanced with an assured step, her head high, her glance full of -pride. Such was the first meeting of the two mothers. - -"You are welcome, madam," said Lady Mary, bowing to Eva Meredith. - -Eva tried to smile, and answered by a few affectionate words. How -could she forbode hatred, she who only knew love? We proceeded to Lord -James's room. Mrs Meredith, scarcely able to support herself, entered -first, took a few steps, and knelt beside her father-in-law's -arm-chair. Taking her child in her arms, she placed him on Lord James -Kysington's knee. - -"His son!" she said. Then the poor woman wept and was silent. - -Long did Lord James gaze upon the child. As he gradually recognised -the features of the son he had lost, his eyes became moist, and their -expression affectionate. There came a moment when, forgetting his age, -lapse of time, and past misfortune, he dreamed himself back to the -happy day when he first pressed his infant son to his heart. "William, -William!" he murmured. "My daughter!" added he, extending his hand to -Eva Meredith. - -My eyes filled with tears. Eva had a family, a protector, a fortune. I -was happy; perhaps that was why I wept. - -The child remained quiet upon his grandfather's knees, and showed -neither pleasure nor fear. - -"Will you love me?" said the old man. - -The child raised its head, but did not answer. - -"Do you hear? I will be your father." - -"I will be your father," the child gently repeated. - -"Excuse him," said his mother; "he has always been alone. He is very -young; the presence of many persons intimidates him. By-and-by, my -lord, he will better understand your kind words." - -But I looked at the child; I examined him in silence; I recalled my -former gloomy apprehensions. Alas! those apprehensions now became a -certainty; the terrible shock experienced by Eva Meredith during her -pregnancy had had fatal consequences for her child, and a mother only, -in her youth, her love, and her inexperience, could have remained so -long ignorant of her misfortune. - -At the same time with myself Lady Mary looked at the child. I shall -never forget the expression of her countenance. She stood erect, and -the piercing gaze she fixed upon little William seemed to read his -very soul. As she gazed, her eyes sparkled, her mouth was half-opened -as by a smile--she breathed short and thick, like one oppressed by -great and sudden joy. She looked, looked--hope, doubt, expectation, -replaced each other on her face. At last her hatred was clear-sighted, -an internal cry of triumph burst from her heart, but was checked ere -it reached her lips. She drew herself up, let fall a disdainful glance -upon Eva, her vanquished enemy, and resumed her usual calm. - -Lord James, fatigued by the emotions of the day, dismissed us and -remained alone all the evening. - -Upon the morrow, after an agitated night, when I entered Lord James's -room, all the family were already assembled around him, and Lady Mary -had little William on her knees: it was the tiger clutching its prey. - -"What a beautiful child!" she said. "See, my lord, these fair and -silken locks! how brilliant they are in the sunshine! But, dear Eva, -is your son always so silent? does he never exhibit the vivacity and -gaiety of his age?" - -"He is always sad," replied Mrs Meredith. "Alas! with me he could -hardly learn to laugh." - -"We will try to amuse and cheer him," said Lady Mary. "Come, my dear -child, kiss your grandfather! hold out your arms, and tell him you -love him." - -William did not stir. - -"Do you not know how? Harry, my love, kiss your uncle, and set your -cousin a good example." - -Harry jumped upon Lord James's knees, threw both arms round his neck, -and said, "I love you, uncle!" - -"Now it is your turn, my dear William," said Lady Mary. - -William stirred not, and did not even look at his grandfather. - -A tear coursed down Eva Meredith's cheek. - -"'Tis my fault," she said. "I have brought up my child badly." And, -taking William upon her lap, her tears fell upon his face: he felt -them not, but slumbered upon his mother's heavy heart. - -"Try to make William less shy," said Lord James to his -daughter-in-law. - -"I will try," replied Eva, in her submissive tones, like those of an -obedient child. "I will try; and perhaps I shall succeed, if Lady Mary -will kindly tell me how she rendered her son so happy and so gay." -Then the disconsolate mother looked at Harry, who was at play near his -uncle's chair, and her eyes reverted to her poor sleeping child. "He -suffered even before his birth," she murmured; "we have both been very -unhappy! but I will try to weep no more, that William may be cheerful -like other children." - -Two days elapsed, two painful days, full of secret trouble and -ill-concealed uneasiness. Lord James's brow was care-laden; at times -his look questioned me. I averted my eyes to avoid answering. On the -morning of the third day, Lady Mary came into the room with a number -of play-things for the children. Harry seized a sword, and ran about -the room, shouting for joy. William remained motionless, holding in -his little hand the toys that were given to him, but not attempting to -use them; he did not even look at them. - -"Here, my lord," said Lady Mary to her brother, "give this book to -your grandson; perhaps his attention will be roused by the pictures it -contains." And she led William to Lord James. The child was passive; -he walked, stopped, and remained like a statue where he was placed. -Lord James opened the book. All eyes turned towards the group formed -by the old man and his grandson. Lord James was gloomy, silent, -severe; he slowly turned several pages, stopping at every picture, and -looking at William, whose vacant gaze was not directed to the book. -Lord James turned a few more pages; then his hand ceased to move; the -book fell from his knees to the ground, and an irksome silence reigned -in the apartment. Lady Mary approached me, bent forward as if to -whisper in my ear, and in a voice loud enough to be heard by all-- - -"The child is an idiot, doctor!" she said. - -A shriek answered her. Eva started up as if she had received a blow; -and seizing her son, whom she pressed convulsively to her breast-- - -"Idiot!" she exclaimed, her indignant glance flashing, for the first -time, with a vivid brilliance; "idiot!" she repeated, "because he has -been unhappy all his life, because he has seen but tears since his -eyes first opened! because he knows not how to play like your son, who -has always had joy around him! Ah! madam, you insult misfortune! Come, -my child!" cried Eva, all in tears. "Come, let us leave these pitiless -hearts, that find none but cruel words to console our misery!" - -And the unhappy mother carried off her boy to her apartment. I -followed. She set William down, and knelt before the little child. "My -son! my son!" she cried. - -William went close to her, and rested his head on his mother's -shoulder. - -"Doctor!" cried Eva, "he loves me--you see he does! He comes when I -call him; he kisses me! His caresses have sufficed for my -tranquillity--for my sad happiness! My God! was it not then enough? -Speak to me, my son, reassure me! Find a consoling word, a single word -for your despairing mother! Till now I have asked nothing of you but -to remind me of your father, and leave me silence to weep. To-day, -William, you must give me words! See you not my tears--my terror? Dear -child, so beautiful, so like your father, speak, speak to me!" - -Alas! alas! the child remained motionless, without sign of fear or -intelligence; a smile only, a smile horrible to behold, flitted across -his features. Eva hid her face in both hands, and remained kneeling -upon the ground. For a long time no noise was heard save the sound of -her sobs. Then I prayed heaven to inspire me with consoling thoughts, -such as might give a ray of hope to this poor mother. I spoke of the -future, of expected cure, of change possible--even probable. But hope -is no friend to falsehood. Where she does not exist her phantom cannot -penetrate. A terrible blow, a mortal one, had been struck, and Eva -Meredith saw all the truth. - -From that day forwards, only one child was to be seen each morning in -Lord James Kysington's room. Two women came thither, but only one of -them seemed to live--the other was silent as the tomb. One said, "My -son!" the other never spoke of her child; one carried her head high, -the other bowed hers upon her breast, the better to hide her tears; -one was blooming and brilliant, the other pale and a mourner. The -struggle was at an end. Lady Mary triumphed. It was cruel how they let -Harry play before Eva Meredith's eyes. Careless of her anguish, they -brought him to repeat his lessons in his uncle's presence; they -vaunted his progress. The ambitious mother calculated everything to -consolidate her success; and, whilst abounding in honeyed words and -feigned consolation, she tortured Eva Meredith's heart each moment in -the day. Lord James, smitten in his dearest hopes, had resumed the -cold impassibility which I now saw formed the foundation of his -character. Strictly courteous to his daughter-in-law, he had no word -of affection for her: only as the mother of his grandson, could the -daughter of the American planter find a place in his heart. And he -considered the child as no longer in existence. Lord James Kysington -was more gloomy and taciturn than ever, regretting, perhaps, to have -yielded to my importunities, and to have ruffled his old age by a -painful and profitless emotion. - -A year elapsed; then a sad day came, when Lord James sent for Eva -Meredith, and signed to her to be seated beside his arm-chair. - -"Listen to me, madam," he said, "listen with courage. I will act -frankly with you, and conceal nothing. I am old and ill, and must -arrange my affairs. The task is painful both for you and for me. I -will not refer to my anger at my son's marriage; your misfortune -disarmed me--I called you to my side, and I desired to behold and to -love in your son William, the heir of my fortune, the pivot of my -dreams of future ambition. Alas! madam, fate was cruel to us! My son's -widow and orphan shall have all that can insure them an honourable -existence; but, sole master of a fortune due to my own exertions, I -adopt my nephew, and look upon him henceforward as my sole heir. I am -about to return to London, whither my affairs call me. Come with me, -madam--my house is yours--I shall be happy to see you there." - -Eva (she afterwards told me so) felt, for the first time, her -despondency replaced by courage. She had the strength that is given by -a noble pride: she raised her head, and if her brow was less haughty -than that of Lady Mary, on the other hand it had all the dignity of -misfortune. - -"Go, my lord," she answered, "go; I shall not accompany you. I will -not witness the usurpation of my son's rights! You are in haste to -condemn, my lord. Who can foresee the future! You are in haste to -despair of the mercy of God!" - -"The future," replied Lord James, "at my age, is bounded by the -passing day. What I would be certain to do I must do at once and -without delay." - -"Act as you think proper," replied Eva. "I return to the dwelling -where I was happy with my husband. I return thither with your -grandson, William Kysington; of that name, his sole inheritance, you -cannot deprive him; and though the world should know it but by reading -it on his tomb, your name, my lord, is the name of my son!" - -A week later, Eva Meredith descended the stairs of the hotel, holding -her son by the hand, as she had done when she entered this fatal -house. Lady Mary was a little behind her, a few steps higher up: the -numerous servants, sad and silent, beheld with regret the departure of -the gentle creature thus driven from the paternal roof. When she -quitted this abode, Eva quitted the only beings she knew upon the -earth, the only persons whose pity she had a right to claim--the world -was before her, an immense wilderness. It was Hagar going forth into -the desert. - -"This is horrible, doctor!" cried Dr Barnaby's audience. "Is it -possible there are persons so utterly unhappy? What! you witnessed all -this yourself?" - -"I have not yet told you all," replied the village doctor; "let me get -to the end." - -Shortly after Eva Meredith's departure, Lord James went to London. -Once more my own master, I gave up all idea of further study; I had -enough learning for my village, and in haste I returned thither. Once -more I sat opposite to Eva in the little white house, as I had done -two years before. But how greatly had intervening events increased her -misfortune! We no longer dared talk of the future, that unknown moment -of which we all have so great need, and without which our present joys -appear too feeble, and our misfortunes too great. - -Never did I witness grief nobler in its simplicity, calmer in its -intensity, than that of Eva Meredith. She forgot not to pray to the -God who chastened her. For her, God was the being in whose hands are -the springs of hope, when earthly hopes are extinct. Her look of faith -remained fixed upon her child's brow, as if awaiting the arrival of -the soul her prayers invoked. I cannot describe the courageous -patience of that mother speaking to her son, who listened without -understanding. I cannot tell you all the treasures of love, of -thought, of ingenious narrative she displayed before that torpid -intelligence, which repeated, like an echo, the last of her gentle -words. She explained to him heaven, God, the angels; she endeavoured -to make him pray, and joined his hands, but she could not make him -raise his eyes to heaven. In all possible shapes she tried to give him -the first lessons of childhood; she read to him, spoke to him, placed -pictures before his eyes--had recourse to music as a substitute for -words. One day, making a terrible effort, she told William the story -of his father's death; she hoped, expected a tear. The child fell -asleep whilst yet she spoke: tears were shed, but they fell from the -eyes of Eva Meredith. - -Thus did she exhaust herself by vain efforts, by a persevering -struggle. That she might not cease to hope, she continued to toil; but -to William's eyes pictures were merely colours; to his ears words were -but noise. The child, however, grew in stature and in beauty. One who -had seen him but for an instant would have taken the immobility of his -countenance for placidity. But that prolonged and continued calm, that -absence of all grief, of all tears, had a strange and sad effect upon -us. Suffering must indeed be inherent in our nature, since William's -eternal smile made every one say, "The poor idiot!" Mothers know not -the happiness concealed in the tears of their child. A tear is a -regret, a desire, a fear; it is life, in short, which begins to be -understood. Alas! William was content with everything. All day long he -seemed to sleep with his eyes open; anger, weariness, impatience, were -alike unknown to him. He had but one instinct: he knew his mother--he -even loved her. He took pleasure in resting on her knees, on her -shoulder; he kissed her. When I kept him long away from her, he -manifested a sort of anxiety. I took him back to his mother; he showed -no joy, but he was again tranquil. This tenderness, this faint -glimmering of William's heart, was Eva's life. It gave her strength -to strive, to hope, to wait. If her words were not understood, at -least her kisses were! How often she took her son's head in her hands -and kissed his forehead, as long and fervently as if she hoped her -love would warm and vivify his frozen soul! How often did she dream a -miracle whilst clasping her son in her arms, and pressing his still -heart to her burning bosom! Often she lingered at night in the village -church. (Eva Meredith was of a Roman Catholic family.) Kneeling upon -the cold stone before the Virgin's altar, she invoked the marble -statue of Mary, holding her child in her arms, "O virgin!" she said, -"my boy is inanimate as that image of thy Son! Ask of God a soul for -my child!" - -She was charitable to all the poor children of the village, giving -them bread and clothes, and saying to them, "Pray for him." She -consoled afflicted mothers, in the secret hope that consolation would -come at last to her. She dried the tears of others, to enjoy the -belief that one day she also would cease to weep. In all the country -round, she was loved, blessed, venerated. She knew it, and she offered -up to Heaven, not with pride but with hope, the blessings of the -unfortunate in exchange for the recovery of her son. She loved to -watch William's sleep; then he was handsome and like other children. -For an instant, for a second perhaps, she forgot; and whilst -contemplating those regular features, those golden locks, those long -lashes which threw their shadow on his rose-tinted cheek, she felt a -mother's joy, almost a mother's pride. God has moments of mercy even -for those he has condemned to suffer. - -Thus passed the first years of William's childhood. He attained the -age of eight years. Then a sad change, which could not escape my -attentive observation, occurred in Eva Meredith. Either that her son's -growth made his want of intelligence more striking, or that she was -like a workman who has laboured all day, and sinks at eve beneath the -load of toil, Eva ceased to hope; her soul seemed to abandon the task -undertaken, and to recoil with weariness upon itself, asking only -resignation. She laid aside the books, the engravings, the music, all -the means, in short, that she had called to her aid; she grew silent -and desponding; only, if that were possible, she was more affectionate -than ever to her son. As she lost hope in his cure, she felt the more -strongly that her child had but her in the world; and she asked a -miracle of her heart--an increase of the love she bore him. She became -her son's servant--his slave; her whole thoughts were concentrated in -his wellbeing. If she felt cold, she sought a warmer covering for -William; was she hungry, it was for William she gathered the fruits of -her garden; did she suffer from fatigue, for him she selected the -easiest chair and the softest cushions; she attended to her own -sensations only to guess those of her son. She still displayed -activity, though she no longer harboured hope. - -When William was eleven years old, the last phase of Eva Meredith's -existence began. Remarkably tall and strong for his age, he ceased to -need that hourly care required by early childhood: he was no longer the -infant sleeping on his mother's knees; he walked alone in the garden; -he rode on horseback with me, and accompanied me in my distant visits; -in short the bird, although wingless, left the nest. His misfortune was -in no way shocking or painful to behold. He was of exceeding beauty, -silent, unnaturally calm--his eyes expressing nothing but repose, his -mouth ignorant of a smile: he was not awkward, or disagreeable, or -importunate: it was a mind sleeping beside yours, asking no question, -making no reply. The incessant maternal care which had served to occupy -Mrs Meredith, and to divert her mind from dwelling on her sorrows, -became unnecessary, and she resumed her seat at the window, whence she -beheld the village and the church-steeple--at that same window where -she had so long wept her husband. Hope and occupation successively -failed her, and nothing was left her but to wait and watch, by day and -by night, like the lamp that ever burns beneath cathedral vaults. - -But her forces were exhausted. In the midst of this grief which had -returned to its starting-point, to silence and immobility, after -having in vain essayed exertion, courage, hope, Eva Meredith fell into -a decline. In spite of all the resources of my art, I beheld her grow -weak and thin. How apply a remedy, when the sickness is of the soul? - -The poor foreigner! she needed her native sun and a little happiness -to warm her; but the ray of sun and the ray of joy were alike wanting. -It was long before she perceived her danger, because she thought not -of herself; but when at last she was unable to leave her arm-chair, -she was compelled to understand. I will not describe to you all her -anguish at the thought of leaving William without a guide, without -friend or protector--of leaving him alone in the midst of strangers, -he who needed to be cherished and led by the hand like a child. Oh, -how she struggled for life! with what avidity she swallowed the -potions I prepared! how many times she tried to believe in a cure, -whilst all the time the disease progressed! Then she kept William more -at home,--she could no longer bear to lose sight of him. - -"Remain with me," she said; and William, always content near his -mother, seated himself at her feet. She looked at him long, until a -flood of tears prevented her distinguishing his gentle countenance; -then she drew him still nearer to her, and pressed him to her heart. -"Oh!" she exclaimed, in a kind of delirium, "if my soul, on leaving my -body, might become the soul of my child, how happy should I be to -die!" No amount of suffering could make her wholly despair of divine -mercy, and when all human possibility disappeared, this loving heart -had gentle dreams out of which it reconstructed hopes. But how sad it -was, alas! to see the poor mother slowly perishing before the eyes of -her son, of a son who understood not death, and who smiled when she -embraced him. - -"He will not regret me," she said: "he will not weep: he will not -remember." And she remained motionless, in mute contemplation of her -child. Her hand then sometimes sought mine: "You love him, dear -doctor?" she murmured. - -"I will never quit him," replied I, "so long as he has no better -friends than myself." God in heaven, and the poor village doctor upon -earth, were the two guardians to whom she confided her son. - -Faith is a great thing! This woman, widowed, disinherited, dying, an -idiot child at her side, was yet saved from that utter despair which -brings blasphemy to the lips of death. An invisible friend was near -her, on whom she seemed to rest, listening sometimes to holy words, -which she alone could hear. - -One morning she sent for me early. She had been unable to get up. With -her wan, transparent hand she showed me a sheet of paper on which a -few lines were written. - -"Doctor," she said, in her gentlest tones, "I have not strength to -continue; finish this letter!" - -I read as follows:-- - -"My Lord,--I write to you for the last time. Whilst health is restored -to your old age, I suffer and am about to die. I leave your grandson, -William Kysington, without a protector. My Lord, this last letter is -to recall him to your memory; I ask for him a place in your heart -rather than a share of your fortune. Of all the things of this world, -he has understood but one--his mother's love; and now she must leave -him for ever! Love him, my Lord,--love is the only sentiment he can -comprehend." - -She could write no more. I added:-- - -"Mrs William Kysington has but few days to live. What are Lord James -Kysington's orders with respect to the child who bears his name? - - "The Doctor Barnaby." - -This letter was sent to London, and we waited. Eva kept her bed. -William, seated near her, held her hand in his: his mother smiled -sadly upon him, whilst I, at the other side of the bed, prepared -potions to assuage her pains. Again she began to talk to her son, as -if no longer despairing that, after her death, some of her words might -recur to his memory. She gave the child all the advice, all the -instructions she would have given to an intelligent being. Then she -turned to me--"Who knows, doctor," she said, "one day, perhaps, he -will find my words at the bottom of his heart!" - -Three more weeks elapsed. Death approached, and submissive as was the -Christian soul of Eva, she yet felt the anguish of separation and the -solemn awe of the future. The village priest came to see her, and when -he left her I met him and took his hand. - -"You will pray for her," I said. - -"I have entreated _her_ to pray for _me_!" was his reply. - -It was Eva Meredith's last day. The sun had set: the window, near -which she so long had sat, was open: she could see from her bed the -landscape she had loved. She held her son in her arms and kissed his -face and hair, weeping sadly. "Poor child! what will become of you? -Oh!" she said, with tender earnestness, "listen to me, William:--I am -dying! Your father is dead also; you are alone; you must pray to the -Lord. I bequeath you to Him who watches over the sparrow upon the -house-top; He will shield the orphan. Dear child, look at me! listen -to me! Try to understand that I die, that one day you may remember -me!" And the poor mother, unable to speak longer, still found strength -to embrace her child. - -At that moment an unaccustomed noise reached my ears. The wheels of a -carriage grated upon the gravel of the garden drive. I ran to the -door. Lord James Kysington and Lady Mary entered the house. - -"I got your letter," said Lord James. "I was setting out for Italy, -and it was not much off my road to come myself and settle the future -destiny of William Meredith: so here I am. Mrs William?----" - -"Mrs William Kysington still lives, my lord," I replied. - -It was with a painful sensation that I saw this calm, cold, austere -man approach Eva's chamber, followed by the haughty woman who came to -witness what for her was a happy event--the death of her former rival! -They entered the modest little room, so different from the sumptuous -apartments of their Montpellier hotel. They drew near the bed, beneath -whose white curtains Eva, pale but still beautiful, held her son upon -her heart. They stood, one on the right, the other on the left of that -couch of suffering, without finding a word of affection to console the -poor woman who looked up at them. They barely gave utterance to a few -formal and unmeaning phrases. Averting their eyes from the painful -spectacle of death, and persuading themselves that Eva Meredith -neither saw nor heard, they passively awaited her spirit's -departure--their countenances not even feigning an expression of -condolence or regret. Eva fixed her dying gaze upon them, and sudden -terror seized the heart which had almost ceased to throb. She -comprehended, for the first time, the secret sentiments of Lady Mary, -the profound indifference and egotism of Lord James; she understood at -last that they were enemies rather than protectors of her son. Despair -and terror portrayed themselves on her pallid face. She made no -attempt to soften those soulless beings. By a convulsive movement she -drew William still closer to her heart, and, collecting her last -strength-- - -"My child, my poor child!" she cried, "you have no support upon earth; -but God above is good. My God! succour my child!" - -With this cry of love, with this supreme prayer, she breathed out her -life: her arms opened, her lips were motionless on William's cheek. -Since she no longer embraced her son, there could be no doubt she was -dead--dead before the eyes of those who to the very last had refused -to comfort her affliction--dead without giving Lady Mary the -uneasiness of hearing her plead the cause of her son--dead, leaving -her a complete and decided victory. - -There was a moment of solemn silence: none moved or spoke. Death makes -an impression upon the haughtiest. Lady Mary and Lord James Kysington -kneeled beside their victim's bed. In a few minutes Lord James arose. -"Take the child from his mother's room," he said, "and come with me, -doctor; I will explain to you my intentions respecting him." - -For two hours William had been resting on the shoulder of Eva -Meredith, his heart against her heart, his lips pressed to hers, -receiving her kisses and her tears. I approached him, and, without -expending useless words, I endeavoured to raise and lead him from the -room; but he resisted, and his arms clasped his mother more closely. -This resistance, the first the poor child had ever offered to living -creature, touched my very soul. On my renewing the attempt, however, -William yielded; he made a movement and turned towards me, and I saw -his beautiful countenance suffused with tears. Until that day, William -had never wept. I was greatly startled and moved, and I let the child -throw himself again upon his mother's corpse. - -"Take him away," said Lord James. - -"My lord," I exclaimed, "he weeps! Ah, check not his tears!" - -I bent over the child, and heard him sob. - -"William! dear William!" I cried, anxiously taking his hand, "why do -you weep, William?" - -For the second time he turned his head towards me; then, with a gentle -look, full of sorrow, "My mother is dead," he replied. - -I have not words to tell you what I felt. William's eyes were now -intelligent: his tears were sad and significant; and his voice was -broken as when the heart suffers. I uttered a cry; I almost knelt down -beside Eva's bed. - -"Ah! you were right, Eva!" I exclaimed, "not to despair of the mercy -of God!" - -Lord James himself had started. Lady Mary was as pale as Eva. - -"Mother! mother!" cried William, in tones that filled my heart with -joy; and then, repeating the words of Eva Meredith--those words which -she had so truly said he would find at the bottom of his heart--the -child exclaimed aloud, - -"I am dying, my son. Your father is dead; you are alone upon the -earth; you must pray to the Lord!" - -I pressed gently with my hand upon William's shoulder; he obeyed the -impulse, knelt down, joined his trembling hands--this time it was of -his own accord--and, raising to heaven a look full of life and -feeling: "My God! have pity on me!" he murmured. - -I took Eva's cold hand. "Oh mother! mother of many sorrows!" I -exclaimed, "can you hear your child? do you behold him from above? Be -happy! your son is saved!" - -Dead at Lady Mary's feet, Eva made her rival tremble; for it was not I -who led William from the room, it was Lord James Kysington who carried -out his grandson in his arms. - -I have little to add, ladies. William recovered his reason and -departed with Lord James. Reinstated in his rights, he was -subsequently his grandfather's sole heir. Science has recorded a few -rare instances of intelligence revived by a violent moral shock. Thus -does the fact I have related find a natural explanation. But the good -women of the village, who had attended Eva Meredith during her -illness, and had heard her fervent prayers, were convinced that, even -as she had asked of Heaven, the soul of the mother had passed into the -body of the child. - -"She was so good," said they, "that God could refuse her nothing." -This artless belief took firm root in the country. No one mourned Mrs -Meredith as dead. - -"She still lives," said the people of the hamlet: "speak to her son, -and she will answer you." - -And when Lord William Kysington, in possession of his grandfather's -property, sent each year abundant alms to the village that had -witnessed his birth and his mother's death, the poor folks -exclaimed--"There is Mrs Meredith's kind soul thinking of us still! -Ah, when she goes to heaven, it will be great pity for poor people!" - -We do not strew flowers upon her tomb, but upon the steps of the altar -of the Virgin, where she so often prayed to Mary to send a soul to her -son. When taking thither their wreaths of wild blossoms, the villagers -say to each other--"When she prayed so fervently, the good Virgin -answered her softly: 'I will give thy soul to thy child!'" - -The _curé_ has suffered our peasants to retain this touching -superstition; and I myself, when Lord William came to see me, when he -fixed upon me his eyes, so like his mother's--when his voice, which -had a well-known accent, said, as Mrs Meredith was wont to say--"Dear -Doctor, I thank you!" Then,--smile, ladies, if you will--I wept, and -I believed, like all the village, that Eva Meredith was before me. - -She, whose existence was but a long series of sorrows, has left behind -her a sweet, consoling memory, which has nothing painful for those who -loved her. - -In thinking of her we think of the mercy of God, and those who have -hope in their hearts, hope with the greater confidence. - -But it is very late, ladies--your carriages have long been at the -door. Pardon this long story: at my age it is difficult to be concise -in speaking of the events of one's youth. Forgive the old man for -having made you smile when he arrived, and weep before he departed." - -These last words were spoken in the kindest and most paternal tone, -whilst a half-smile glided across Dr Barnaby's lips. All his auditors -now crowded round him, eager to express their thanks. But Dr Barnaby -got up, made straight for his riding-coat of puce-coloured taffety, -which hung across a chair back, and, whilst one of the young men -helped him to put it on--"Farewell, gentlemen; farewell, ladies," said -the village doctor. "My chaise is ready; it is dark, the road is bad; -good-night: I must be gone." - -When Dr Barnaby was installed in his cabriolet of green wicker-work, -and the little gray cob, tickled by the whip, was about to set off, -Madame de Moncar stepped quickly forward, and leaning towards the -doctor, whilst she placed one foot on the step of his vehicle, she -said, in quite a low voice-- - -"Doctor, I make you a present of the white cottage, and I will have it -fitted up as it was when you loved Eva Meredith!" - -Then she ran back into the house. The carriages and the green chaise -departed in different directions. - - - - -NATIONAL EDUCATION IN SCOTLAND. - - -The subject of the Parochial School System of Scotland claims some -attention at the present moment. Following up certain ominous -proceedings of other parties high in authority, Lord Melgund, M. P. -for Greenock, has given notice of a motion for the appointment of a -select committee of the House of Commons to consider the expediency of -a fundamental revision of that system. The question here involved is -one of national importance; and the family and other ties by which -Lord Melgund is connected with the Government, are likely, we fear, to -secure for his proposed innovations on that institution which has been -hitherto, perhaps, the pre-eminent glory of Scotland, a certain degree -of favour. - -It may be of some use to preface the few observations we have to offer -on the Scottish system, and the proposed alterations of it, by a brief -recapitulation of some of the more prominent methods and statistics of -popular education in other countries, taken chiefly from a very -carefully prepared and important Appendix to the Privy Council -committee's _Minutes_ for 1847-8. The information was obtained through -the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, from the Governments of -the principal states of Europe and America. - -The _cost_ of public instruction is defrayed by different means in -different countries--means varying, however, more in detail than in -principle. In Prussia, a regular school-rate, varying from 3d. to 6d. -per month, according to circumstances, is levied upon all who have -children; but this is supplemented by a grant from the state budget -which, for elementary schools alone, amounted in 1845 to £37,000. A -similar practice prevails not only in the other countries of Central -Europe, but in Pennsylvania, where it was introduced by the German -emigrants, and, of late years, also in some other parts of the United -States. The income of schools in the Austrian Empire is derived from a -variety of sources, of which school-money constitutes little more -than one-third; the remainder, as far as we can understand the -technical phraseology of the report, being partly derived from old -endowments, partly from provincial revenues, and partly from the -imperial treasury. In Holland, the governments of the towns and -provinces are charged with the cost of maintaining their own schools, -aided by grants from the state. On the first year that separate -accounts were kept for the northern provinces, after their separation -from Belgium, the sum raised in this way amounted (in a population of -2,450,000) to no less than £76,317. In Belgium, where the funds are -derived from old foundations and local endowments, aided by the -government, two-fifths of the scholars received, in 1840, their -education gratuitously; but the provision seems to be not very -complete, for in that year, out of 2510 communes, 163 were without any -school. - -As to _management_, there appears to be no country in Europe in which -public instruction is not directed by a department of the government. -No regular system of superintendence, however, has yet been -established in the United States. In Prussia, there is a minister of -public instruction, who is also at the head of church affairs, and -under whom are local consistories and school inspectors, one of the -latter being always the superintendent or bishop of the district. In -Würtemberg, each school is inspected by the clergyman of the -confession to which the schoolmaster belongs, and is subject to the -control of the presbytery. In the Grand-duchy of Baden, the minister -of the interior has charge of the department of education. The local -school authority is commonly a parochial committee, consisting of -clergy and laymen combined. The parish clergyman is the regular school -inspector, but where there are different confessions, each clergyman -inspects the school of his own church. Certain functionaries, called -"Visitors" and "County Authorities," are also intrusted with special -powers. In Lombardy, the direction is committed to a chief inspector, -with a number of subordinates, and the parish clergy. (By _clergy_, of -course, throughout these details, must usually be understood Roman -Catholic priests.) In Holland, every province was in 1814 divided into -educational districts, with a school inspector for each district, and -provincial school commissions chosen from the leading inhabitants, to -which were afterwards added provincial "juries." In Russia, public -instruction is superintended by the government. - -The details regarding _religious instruction_ are not so full as we -should have wished. The great difficulty as regards this appears, -however, in most of the European states to be met by the establishment -of separate schools for the different sects. In Würtemberg, "if, in a -community of different religious confessions, the minority comprises -sixty families, they may claim the establishment and support of a -school of their own confession, at the expense of the whole -community." The ecclesiastical authorities of the various sects are -not, however, independent of, but merely associated with, the state -functionaries, whose sanction is indispensable for the catechisms and -school-books in use in every school. Such, at least, is said to be the -case in Würtemberg; and, as far as we can judge from the not very -precise statements made on this subject, the rule appears to be -universal. Roman Catholic, Protestant, Greek Church, and Jewish -schools are, in the Austrian empire, alike established by law, -according to the necessities of each province and district. But in the -state of New York (and we believe a like practice prevails in other -parts of the Union) the sectarian difficulty is overcome in a -different way. By a recent act of the legislature, it is provided that -"no school shall be entitled to a portion of the school-moneys, in -which the religious sectarian doctrine or tenet of any particular -Christians, or other religious sect, shall be taught, inculcated, or -practised." - -The only other particulars we shall notice relate to school -attendance. It must be premised that, in the countries of central -Europe, the attendance of every child at the elementary schools is -compulsory--the only alternative being private instruction. _Fines and -imprisonment are employed to enforce this regulation._ Free education -is also provided, at the general expense, for those unable to pay the -school fees. - -In Prussia, the proportion of those enjoying school education was to -the population, in 1846, as 1 to 6. - -In Bavaria, in 1844, nearly as 1 to 4. - -In the Austrian empire, as 1 to 9 for boys, and as 1 to 12 for girls; -but in Upper and Lower Austria, as 1 to 6 for boys, and as 1 to 7 for -girls. - -In Holland, 1 in 8 received, in 1846, public instruction. - -In Sweden, in 1843, the proportion was no more than as 1 to 165 of the -population. - -In Belgium, in 1840, it was as 1 to 9. - -In Russia, the number attending schools of all kinds, including the -universities, amounted, in 1846, to 195,819, which, in a population of -60,000,000, gives a proportion of less than 1 to 300 of the -inhabitants. - -In Pennsylvania, in 1840, 1 in 5 of the population had the advantage -of instruction in common schools; in New York, on the first of January -1847, nearly 1 in 16; in Massachusetts, about 1 in 6-1/2 of the -population. - -It is impossible to read these details without two reflections -especially being immediately suggested to the mind. One of these is -the necessary connexion between the success of any system of national -education and the special circumstances of each individual state to -which it may be applied. To introduce the Prussian system into -Scotland, with any prospect of its working here as well as it does -there, one would require to change the whole character of the -government, and the whole habits, nay, the very nature of the people, -to make Scotchmen Prussians and Scotland Prussia. - -But there is a still more important reflection forced upon us. How -little mere secular education, apart from that which we hold to be an -indispensable accompaniment to it--sound religious education--avails -for the elevation of the people, let these statistics, read in the -light of recent events, tell! The murderers of Count Latour were all -well-educated persons, after that fashion which it has been proposed -to introduce into this country as the national system. They had all -been at schools--at schools from which religious instruction, however, -was either excluded, or worse than excluded. - -But, to come to National Education in Scotland. On this subject there -are two questions wholly distinct from each other, which at present -occupy some attention. The one relates to the long-tried and approved -parochial system, the other to the plans, professedly of a -supplementary character, recently introduced by a committee of the -Privy Council, which constitutes a government board for the -application of the parliamentary grant, now voted annually for some -years, for educational purposes. In a pamphlet[11] lately published by -Lord Melgund, which is of some importance now, as indicating the views -with which his motion in parliament is introduced, these two questions -have, we think, been unfairly confounded: with the former we have -particular concern at present. - -We agree, however, with Lord Melgund in condemning utterly the -procedure of the Privy Council in regard to those schools which are at -this moment rising up in almost every parish in Scotland, not for the -purpose, even ostensibly, of supplying destitute localities with the -means of education, but as parts of an ecclesiastical system, whose -avowed object is to supersede in all its departments the Established -Church. These schools receive much the greater part (in fact nearly -two-thirds) of the whole sum voted for education in Scotland; that is -to say, about two-thirds of the parliamentary grant, intended to -promote general education in this part of the kingdom, is by the Privy -Council diverted altogether from its proper object, and applied to -purposes exclusively and avowedly sectarian. - -This is an abuse which cannot be too severely reprobated. Lord -Melgund, in his pamphlet, with some justice calls attention to the -strictly exclusive character of the Free Church--an exclusiveness to -which the Established Church affords no parallel--to the fact that it -is an irresponsible body, with whose affairs no man not a member has -any more right to interfere, than he has with those of a railway -company to which he does not belong. It is not, however, on this -ground alone, or chiefly, that the Privy Council's proceedings in -regard to the Free Church schools are objectionable. - -Out of the sum of £5463 granted, according to the committee's minutes -last issued, to Scotland in 1847, no less than £3485 was apportioned -to Free Church schools. Let us inquire on what conditions, in what -circumstances, so large a proportion of the fund at the disposal of -the committee has been thus expended. If this sum had been -appropriated _bonâ fide_ for educational purposes, to aid in building -schools in localities previously unprovided with them, perhaps no very -serious exception could have been taken to the, in that case, -comparatively trivial circumstance, that the persons by whom the money -was to be applied happened to be dissenters from the Established -Church,--dissenters whose doctrinal standards are the same as those -recognised by law. In this case, it might with some reason have been -said by defenders of the Privy Council, "Why should these localities -remain without schools of any kind, merely because the Free Churchmen -have been the only parties zealous enough to obtain for them this -boon?" - -But what are the facts? Even on the face of the minutes of council -themselves, it appears that at least the greater part of the large -grant in question has been given _to aid in erecting schools where -there was no pretence at all of destitution_--in localities already -amply supplied with the means of education, including both parochial -and non-parochial schools; and has been given, therefore, not for the -purpose of supplementing, but for the purpose of SUPPLANTING existing -institutions; not for the advancement of education, but for the -advancement of Free Churchism. - -An assertion of so serious a nature as this requires proof, and proof -is easily given. - -In the return in the minutes of council for 1847-8, of the grants for -education in Scotland, sixteen of the schools aided are marked F. C. -S., (Free Church of Scotland;) and there is, in the case of most of -these, a return as to the existing school accommodation of the -district, an inquiry on this subject being always and very properly -made--oftener, as appears, however, made than attended to. The -following are some of the returns, taken almost at random:-- - -_Brigton in Polmont._--Population of school district, 3584: existing -schools--"The parish school, Establishment, (attended by 150 -scholars;) Redding Muir, Establishment, (100;) Redding village, -Establishment and Free Church, (80;) Redding Muir, Methodist, -(40.)"[12] Grant to Free Church, £143. - -_Dalkeith._--Population, 6000: existing school accommodation--"The -parochial or grammar school, and _other schools_, partially supported -by the Duke of Buccleuch." No further particulars. Grant to Free -Church, £248.--In the following instance, a notable attempt is made to -manufacture a case of crying destitution:-- - -_Ellon._--Population, 3000: existing schools--"The parochial school is -situate about a quarter of a mile distant, at the eastern extremity of -the old town; the new school will be at the western extremity of the -new town!" In consideration, however, of the "one-fourth mile," -coupled with the interesting topographical information that this is -the exact distance between the eastern extremity of the old and the -western extremity [or "west-end"] of the new town of Ellon, and, -doubtless, for other grave reasons not expressed, £162 is subscribed -to the funds of the Free Church. - -These are average examples of all the cases. Everybody, indeed, knows -what the practice of the Free Secession has been in choosing sites, -alike for their churches and for their schools. Their endeavour has -been to plant both as near as possible to the parish church and the -parish school,--a most natural, and, for their purposes, wise -arrangement; but an arrangement, one would imagine, which ought not to -have been countenanced by the Privy Council. That body might have been -expected to reply to such an application as that from Polmont -parish--"The funds at our disposal are intended to supply deficiencies -in the means of education. We cannot recognise your case as one of -destitution. As a public body, administering public money, it is not -permitted to us to agree with you in setting aside the parochial -schools, and the other schools in the district as of no account, -merely because they are not under your sectarian control. You are -applying for our aid, not to supplement, but to supersede existing -educational institutions; and this is an object to which we could not -contribute without a gross misappropriation of the national funds." In -having, instead of returning this answer to the promoters of the -proposed new school in Polmont, sent them £143, the Privy Council's -committee have, be it noticed, established a precedent which is not -likely to be left unimproved: indeed the Free Church are said to have -about 500 similar applications ready.[13] - -The practical evils of such a course are obvious. "Suppose," (say -the parish schoolmasters, in their memorial to Lord John -Russell,)--"suppose the people of the parishes where these schools -shall be established wished to be divided betwixt the parochial -schools and those of the Free Church, instead of resorting -exclusively to the former, _are they likely to be better educated in -consequence of the change_? Is it not rather to be feared that, -instead of one efficient, two comparatively inefficient schools will -in consequence be established in a great number of parishes?... At -all events, the loss resulting from the injury done to the old and -tried system is certain; the advantages of the new system are -problematical; and the sacrifice of the former to the latter, -therefore, seems to us to be inexpedient and unwise."[14] - -That "old and tried system" is, however, exposed to other perils. Lord -Melgund not only finds fault with the above and other abuses of the -Privy Council's scheme of education, but with the original parochial -system; and not only suggests that that recent scheme should be -re-organised, but that the whole system of national education in -Scotland should undergo a thorough revisal. Let us come at once to -that reform which it appears to be the chief aim of his pamphlet to -recommend, and of his motion to effect; which is of a very sweeping -and fundamental character, and which, in a word, consists in the -severance of the subsisting connexion between the parochial schools -and the Established Church. - -It is not necessary at present to go back to the origin of the -ecclesiastical institutions Of Scotland. The question is, not what -the law _is_, but what the law ought to be; and we shall here assume -that, whatever may be the vested interests of the Church in the parish -schools, it is competent for parliament to consider the propriety, in -existing circumstances, of introducing a new national system of -education, irrespective altogether of historical considerations. By -thus arguing the question on its merits, to the exclusion of -historical associations, we deprive ourselves of many pleas against a -change which appear relevant and cogent to friends of the Church whose -judgment is entitled to the highest respect. But we take the ground -which, if the matter be discussed at all, will doubtless be taken by -most of those who engage in the controversy, and on which, doubtless, -the result will be made ultimately to depend. - -The parish-school system of Scotland may be described in a few words. -In every parish, at the present day, there is (except in the case of -some of the large towns) at least one school,[15] which, with the -teacher's house, has been erected, and is kept up by the heritors, or -landed proprietors, of each parish; by whom also a salary is provided -for the schoolmaster, which, exclusive of house and garden, at present -varies, according to circumstances, from £25 the minimum, to £34 the -maximum allowance. This certainly most inadequate remuneration is -supplemented partly by school fees--which, however, are fixed at a low -rate, and always dispensed with in cases of necessity--partly by the -schoolmaster being allowed to hold, in conjunction with his school, -the offices of heritors' and session clerk, which yield, on an -average, to each about £14 more, (_Remarks_, p. 15;) and partly, -though in comparatively few parishes, by local foundations. In 1834, -the number of parochial schools was 1,047; and the emoluments of the -teachers amounted for the whole (excluding the augmentations from the -Dick Bequest) to £55,339: of this sum £29,642 being salaries, £20,717 -school fees, and £4,979 other emoluments.[16] - -With regard to management: the election of the teacher is vested in -the heritors (_the sole rate-payers_) and minister of the parish. -Before admission to his office, however, the schoolmaster-elect must -pass a strict examination before the presbytery of the bounds, as to -his qualifications to teach the elementary branches of education, and -such of the higher branches as either the heritors on the one hand, or -the presbytery[17] on the other hand, may think necessary in every -case; and must profess his adherence to the Established Church by -signing the Confession of Faith and formula. The parish minister acts -as the regular school-inspector: and every presbytery is bound to hold -an annual examination of all the schools within its jurisdiction, -usually conducted in the presence of the leading inhabitants, and to -make returns to the supreme ecclesiastical court of the attendance, -the branches taught, the progress of the scholars, and the efficiency -of the teachers. It must be here added that, although thus placed -under the superintendence of the national church, and although based -on the principles of the national faith, the parish schools are -acknowledged to be free from anything which, in Scotland at least, -could be called a _sectarian_ character. Lord Melgund frankly admits -that "the teachers and presbyteries appear to have dealt liberally by -all classes of Dissenters in religious matters, and certainly cannot -be reproached with having given offence by dogmatical teaching, or by -attempts to proselytise"--(_Remarks_, p. 24;) and adduces some proofs -in support of this view, with which we shall content ourselves, -though they might easily be multiplied. About twelve years ago, a -series of queries was sent to all the parish schools, containing, -among many others, the following,--"Do children attend the school -without reference to the religious persuasion of their parents?" and, -as quoted by Lord Melgund, out of 924 answers, 915 were in the -affirmative.--(_Remarks_, p. 27.) "It is but justice to the present -teachers," said the Rev. Dr Taylor of the Secession Church to the -House of Lords' Committee, in 1848, (_Remarks_, p. 34,) "to say that, -as far as my knowledge goes, they do not generally attempt to -proselytise or interfere with the religious opinions of the children." -Mr John Gibson, the Government inspector, states, that not only the -children of orthodox Dissenters, but even Roman Catholic children, -find these schools non-sectarian. "Roman Catholic children (he says) -have been wont to attend the schools of the Church of Scotland in the -Highlands and Islands. This they seem to have done in consequence of -the manner in which these schools have been conducted in reference to -the Roman Catholic population."--(_Remarks_, p. 32.) With respect, -indeed, to the great body of dissenters from the Established Church, -there can be no difficulty. The Catechism taught in the parish -schools, and, with the exception of the Bible, the only textbook -insisted upon by the church, is a religious standard acknowledged by -them all, and is taught almost as generally in the non-parochial as in -the parochial schools. - -Our answer to Lord Melgund's principal reason for a fundamental -revisal of this the present parochial school system of Scotland is, -that that reason is founded on a great delusion. The reason may be -thus stated, that while the parish schools, however useful as far as -they go, are confessedly inadequate to the increased population, their -present constitution stands in the way of the introduction into -Scotland of a general system of national education.--(See _Remarks_, -p. 35 and _passim_.) - -It may be here noticed, in passing, that rather more than enough is -perhaps sometimes said as to the inadequacy of the provision for -education made in the parish schools. The population has certainly -enormously increased since 1696; but so has the wealth of the country, -and so also, along with the power, has the desire increased, of -compensating, by voluntary efforts, for the growing disproportion -between the legal provision and the actual wants of the people in -regard to education. In a great measure, the parish schools continue -to serve efficiently some of the main purposes contemplated in their -institution. In a great measure, they still afford a legal provision -for education, _as far as legal provision is absolutely -necessary_.[18] - -That a strictly national system of education is on many accounts -desirable, no one will doubt, any more than that the connexion between -the parish schools and the National Church is, in the present state of -opinion in the country, an insuperable obstacle to any such material -extension of the present machinery, as would constitute a strictly -national educational system. But whether the necessity or propriety -of an alteration of the present system be an inference from these -premises is a different question. Our answer to Lord Melgund here is, -that to remove the parish schools from the superintendence of the -Church would not have the smallest effect in facilitating arrangements -for the purpose which Lord Melgund and others profess--doubtless, -sincerely--to have so much at heart, and that, upon the whole, a -national system of education for Scotland, of a more general -description than the one already in operation, is, at least in present -circumstances, _wholly impracticable_ on any conditions or terms, -after any fashion, or mode, or plan whatsoever. It is right that this -should be distinctly understood. If Lord Melgund believes that the -only or even the principal difficulty in the way of his utopian scheme -of a strictly national system for this country, which shall unite all -sects and parties, is the connexion between the parish school and the -parish church, he must be extremely ignorant of the state of public -opinion in Scotland, where, in fact, any such scheme is, on every -account, notoriously out of the question. - -Whether, with all its defects, the present system is not better than -no system at all, is therefore a question deserving the serious -consideration even of those who are most inimical to it. We would -venture here to suggest, that if the existing system is to be -interfered with, that interference should not at least be attempted -until a _strictly national substitute_ for it has been actually agreed -upon. But it is vain to talk thus. The education system of 1696, -already established, to which the people have long been habituated, -and whose value they have had the best means of appreciating, is the -only approximation to a national system which would now be tolerated -for a moment, and, if it were set aside, could not be replaced by any -other. - -In the first place, the Church herself would not consent to any scheme -which deprived her of her present securities for the "godly -upbringing" of the children of her own communion. Abolish in the -parish schools the tests and rights of supervision which she now -possesses, and she must seek, in schools raised by voluntary -contribution, the means of carrying out her principles on the subject -of education. - -It is equally well known, that neither would the dissenters agree -among themselves as to a national system of education. Of these -members of the community, a large proportion would object to any -system which excluded the Bible and the Shorter Catechism from the -schools; and another large proportion--all who are voluntaries--would -be equally bound, on their own principles, to oppose any plan which -did NOT exclude the Bible and the Shorter Catechism--the latter class -holding that the state cannot, without sin, interfere in any way in -the religious instruction of the people, as strongly as the former -class holds such interference to be the duty of the state. But this is -not all. Thus, for instance, the Free seceders have shown, in the most -unequivocal manner, that their objection is not only to the parish -schools, as at present organised, but to all schools not under their -own special superintendence. - -What the views of the present rate-payers would be remains to be seen. -The endowment of the parish schools cannot be called national. It -comes exclusively out of the pockets of the landed gentry and other -heritors of the country, who, as far as we are aware, have never as a -class expressed any dissatisfaction with its present application, or -any wish to interfere at all with the general ecclesiastical system -with which it is connected. How far their concurrence to a radical -alteration in the appropriation of funds, for which they originally -consented to assess themselves on specified conditions, could be -secured, we do not know; but we have strong suspicions that not the -least of the difficulties would arise from this quarter, which is not -usually taken into account. In short, let the question be put to the -test. Propose a substitute for the enactment of 1696. Draw up a bill -in which the details of a workable national system of education are -intelligibly set forth, and let that system be what it will, liberal -or illiberal, exclusive or catholic--a system in which all sects are -endowed, as in many of the German states, or from which all religious -instruction is excluded, as in America--let it be the wisest, most -comprehensive, most flexible scheme ever devised--and see the result: -see whether the true difficulty in setting in motion a more extended -and more strictly national system of education than at present exists, -lies in the connexion between the parish schools and the Established -Church, which an act of parliament might remedy any day, or in causes -which no strong-handed measure of the legislature can reach--in the -irremediable differences of opinion on the subject of education, and -on the subject of religion, and on the subject of national endowments, -prevalent at this day in Scotland, to a degree, and with -complications, perhaps, nowhere else to be found in the world. - -We consider it unnecessary to say anything as to the only other reason -alleged by Lord Melgund for an interference with the present -management of the parish schools--namely, the practical injustice -suffered by dissenters from the Established Church, by the exclusive -character of that management. We almost hope we misinterpret his -lordship's statement, in attributing to him an objection which is -nowhere announced in explicit terms, but which seems to us to be not -the less obviously suggested. The objection, however, is a common one. -Thus, as quoted by Lord Melgund himself, the Rev. Dr Taylor stated -before the Lords' Committee, that the "Dissenters desired the reform -of the parish schools less on account of the education of the -children, than to open a field of employment for persons who wish to -be schoolmasters, and are members of congregations not belonging to -the Established Church;" and that "Dissenters consider it a grievance, -or badge of inferiority, and an act of injustice, that they should be -excluded from holding office in schools which are national -institutions." - -We think it needless to enter upon this topic, for if the reason here -alleged be valid as against the parish schools, it is also valid as -against the parish churches--against, in a word, the whole system of -the national religious Establishment; and we trust that the time is -not yet come when the propriety of overthrowing that institution, -and--for all must stand or fall together--those of the sister -kingdoms, admits of serious discussion. It is worthy of notice, -however, in passing, not only that such is at bottom the true state of -the question, but that, with almost the whole of the advocates of a -change, it is acknowledged to be so; and that that change, like the -similar proposed innovations in the universities, and like the Lord -Advocate's Marriage and Registration Bills, is mainly desired, when -desired at all, as an important step towards the gradual -accomplishment of an ulterior object, which it is not yet expedient to -seek by open and straightforward means. - -Before concluding this protest against the sweeping measures proposed -by Lord Melgund and the party which he represents, it is right to take -some notice of another question. Is the school system of Scotland -incapable of any alteration whatever for the better? Granting that its -fundamental principles ought to remain intact, may it not, and should -it not, be rendered more efficient in the details of its -administration, by the aid of the legislature? - -One matter of detail which has been often pointed out as calling for -legislative interference, is the difficulty, under the present law, of -relieving parishes from the burden of incompetent schoolmasters, and -particularly of schoolmasters who have become unfit for their duties -by age or infirmity. Unhappily there are no retiring allowances -provided in the parochial school system of Scotland. The consequence -is, that it depends upon the mere liberality of the heritors--who -however, to their honour, are seldom found wanting in such -cases--whether a man who has outlived his usefulness shall continue to -exercise his functions. For this evil it is very desirable that the -obvious remedy should be furnished; and we think that there are no -insurmountable practical difficulties to arrangements on the subject -being carried into effect. It might also be proper to give greater -facilities to presbyteries in dismissing teachers for wilful neglect -of duty--a contingency which it is right to mention is both of very -rare occurrence, and is best provided against by care in the -selection, on the part of the heritors, and in the rigorous exercise -by presbyteries of their large powers of examination and rejection, -when the appointments are originally made. - -With regard to the existing salaries, their inadequacy has been -already insisted upon. Nor, for many reasons, can we accept the -recently propounded--if it can be said to be propounded, for its terms -are not a little ambiguous--plan of the Privy Council's Committee for -their augmentation as any remedy whatever. That plan--not to speak of -more serious objections to it--includes certain conditions which are -so framed, as practically to exclude from participation in the grant -all parishes except the wealthiest and most liberal, which, of course, -least need it. It is enough to mention here, that one of the -conditions on which this grant, in every case, depends, is the -_voluntary_ concurrence of the heritors themselves in the payment of a -considerable proportion of any addition to the present salary. We, of -course, wish, that eventually some truly practicable means may be -adopted to secure for the parish schoolmasters, throughout the -country, allowances more in proportion than their present pittances to -the importance--which can hardly be overrated--of their duties, and, -we may add, to their merits. - -These matters of detail admit, we repeat, of improvement. It is -desirable that something should be done in the case of both. Better, -however, a hundredfold, that things should remain altogether as they -are, than that the principles lying at the foundation of the system -should be shaken. It is to be hoped that the Church will be true to -herself in regard to the question of pecuniary aid either from -government, or by government legislation; refusing for its sake to -compromise in the least degree her sacred rights--or let us rather -call them her sacred duties--of superintendence; Better to be poor -than not pure. - -One word more. Alarming as is the proposal of the member for Greenock, -we have to state, with great regret, that it does no more than confirm -apprehensions for the safety of a system hitherto found to work well, -which have been awakened by actual proceedings already adopted. It is -impossible that any one can have watched the gradual development of -the plan, in regard particularly, though not exclusively, to Scotland, -of that anomalous board, the Privy Council's Committee on Education, -without being persuaded that they are, we do not say intended, but, at -least, most nicely adapted to the eventual attainment of the very same -object which Lord Melgund would accomplish _per saltum_. The every-day -increasing claims of the Board to a right of interference with the -internal management of all schools, its assumption of apparently -unlimited legislative powers, and its continual indications of special -hostility to the parochial school system, constitute an ominous -combination of unfavourable circumstances. Even in the act of -ostensibly aiding, it is secretly undermining that system. It is not -only weakening its efficiency by the encouragement of rival -schools--_rival_ in the strictest sense of the term--but, by its -grants to the parish schools themselves, on the conditions now -exacted, it is purchasing the power, and preparing the way, for an -eventual absorption of these schools in a comprehensive system to be -under its own exclusive control, and to be regulated by principles at -direct variance with those under the influence of which, in the -schools of Scotland, have been for nearly two centuries brought up a -people--we may say it with some pride--not behind any other in -intelligence, or in moral and religious worth. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[11] _Remarks on the Government Scheme of National Education in -Scotland_, 1848. - -[12] We observe, however, that by the Parliamentary Returns of 1834, -the school accommodation was even then considerably greater than is -here stated. The greatest number attending the parish school was 246, -and non-parochial schools 443; which, to the population there given of -3210, was nearly a proportion of 1 in 5 of the inhabitants--a larger -proportion than in Prussia! - -[13] They have taken care to sound the committee on the subject, and -have received an answer encouraging enough. The following extract is -from their report of a deputation to the Lord President:--"2. In -regard to applications for annual grants under the minutes, it was -asked--What evidence will ordinarily be required to satisfy the -Committee of the Privy Council that any particular school is needed in -the district in which it stands, and that it ought to be recognised as -entitled to its fair share of the grant equally with others similarly -situated? Supposing, in any given school, all the other conditions, as -to pecuniary resources, the qualifications of teachers, &c., -satisfactorily complied with, will it be held enough to have the -report of the Government inspector or inspectors that a sufficient -number of children (say 50 or 60 in the country, and 90 or 100 in -towns) either are actually in attendance upon the school, or engaged -to attend, _without the question being raised as to the contiguity of -other schools_ of a different denomination, or the amount of vacant -accommodation in such schools? In reply, it was stated that the -Committee of Privy Council could not limit their discretion in judging -of the comparative urgency of applications; their lordships were -disposed to receive representations, and to inquire as to the -sufficiency of the existing school accommodation; and they would also -consider any other ground which might be urged for the erection of a -new school where a school or schools had been previously -established."--_Minutes for 1847-8_, vol. l, p. lxiv. - -[14] _Schoolmasters' Memorial_, p. 3. - -[15] In many parishes side schools are built and endowed, in addition -to the parish school, from the same funds: the salary in these cases -being fixed by the Act at about £17. - -[16] _Parliamentary Inquiry_, 1837, _Appendix_. - -[17] That the presbytery has the power of insisting upon -qualifications supplementary to those prescribed by the heritors, was -decided, we think about a dozen years ago, in the case of Sprouston. - -[18] The Church herself, to a considerable extent, supplements -deficiencies in the legal school provision by means of her "Education -Scheme," whose object and efficiency may be partly gathered from the -two first sentences of the last report of the managing committee:-- - -"The schools under the charge of your committee (as has often been -stated) are intended to form auxiliaries to the parish schools, not to -compete or interfere with these admirable institutions; and, -accordingly, are never planted except where, owing to local -peculiarities, it is impossible that all the youth of the district -requiring instruction can be gathered into one place. While much -needed, your schools continue to be most useful; and, indeed, by the -divine blessing, they appear to have been rendered eminently -beneficial. - -"The number of schools under the care of your committee may be -reported of thus:--Those situated in the Highlands and Islands, 125; -those in the Lowlands, 64; and those planted at the expense of the -Church of Scotland's Ladies' Gaelic School Society, and placed under -your committee's charge, 20; in all, 209." - - - - -ARARAT AND THE ARMENIAN HIGHLANDS.[19] - - -It were a worthy and novel undertaking for a man of science, -enterprise, and letters, to explore and describe in succession the -most celebrated of the earth's mountains. And we know of no person -better fitted for such a task, and likely to accomplish it with more -honour to himself and advantage to the world, than the persevering -traveller and able writer, the title of whose latest work heads this -page. Has he allotted himself that task? We cannot say; but what he -has already done looks like its commencement, and he has time before -him to follow the path upon which he has so successfully and -creditably entered. In Dr Moritz Wagner we have an instance of a -strong natural bent forcing its way in defiance of obstacles. -Compelled by the pressure of peculiar circumstances to abandon his -academical studies at Augsburg before they were completed, and to -devote himself to commercial pursuits, he entered a merchant's house -at Marseilles. Business took him to Algiers, and his visit to that -country, then in the early years of French occupation, roused beyond -the possibility of restraint the ardent thirst for travel and -knowledge which had always been one of his characteristics. Abandoning -trade, he returned to Germany and devoted himself to the study of -natural history, and especially to that of zoology, which he had -cultivated in his youth. In 1836, being then in his twenty-ninth year, -he started from Paris for Algeria, where he travelled for two years, -sharing, in the capacity of member of a scientific commission, in the -second and successful expedition to Constantina. It is a peculiarity, -and we esteem it laudable, of many German travellers of the more -reflective and scientific class, that they do not rush into type -before the dust of the journey is shaken from their feet, but take -time to digest and elaborate the history of their researches. Thus it -was not until three years after his return to Europe, that Dr Wagner -sent forth from his studious retirement at Augsburg an account of his -African experiences, in a book which still keeps the place it at once -took as the best upon that subject in the German language.[20] The -work had not long been issued to the public, when its author again -girded himself for the road. This time his footsteps were turned -eastwards; Asia was his goal: he passed three busy and active years in -Turkey and Russia, Circassia and Armenia. The strictly scientific -results of this long period of observant travel and diligent research -are reserved for a great work, now upon the anvil. To the general -reader Dr Wagner addressed, a few months ago, two volumes of -remarkable spirit and interest, which we recently noticed; and he now -comes forward with a third, in its way equally able and attractive. -The apparent analogy between the subjects of the two books, as -treating of contiguous countries and nations, but slightly cloaks -their real contrast. The two mountain ranges, whose world-renowned -names figure on their title-pages, are, although geographically -adjacent to each other, as far apart as the antipodes in their history -and associations, and in the character of their inhabitants. Of the -one the traditions are biblical, of the other pagan and mythological. -Upon a crag of Caucasus Prometheus howls, and Medea culls poison at -its base; upon Ararat's summit the ark reposes, and Noah, stepping -forth upon the soaked and steaming earth, founds the village of -Arguri, and plants the first vine in its valley. In modern days the -contrast is not less striking. Amongst the Caucasian cliffs the rattle -of musketry, the howl of warlike fanatics, the glitter of Mahomedan -mail, the charging hoofs of chivalrous squadrons, the wave of rich -robes and the gleam of costly weapons purchased with the flesh and -blood of Circassia's comely daughters. "Curse upon the Muscovite! -Freedom or death!" is here the cry. Upon Ararat's skirts how different -the scene and sounds! Cloisters and churches, monks and bishops, -precious relics and sainted sites, the monotonous chant of priests and -the prayer-bell's musical clang, the holy well of Jacob and the -vestiges of Noah's floating caravan.[21] Dr Wagner esteems his journey -to Armenia one of the most interesting episodes of his three years' -Asiatic wanderings. In the preface to its record, he pays a handsome -and well-deserved tribute to the enterprise of English travellers--to -the names of Ker Porter, Wilbraham, Fraser, Hamilton, Ainsworth, and -many others--who have contributed more, he says, to our geographical -knowledge of Asia, than the learned travellers of all the other -nations of Europe. He himself, he modestly and truly intimates, has -added in the present volume to the store of information. - - "When I undertook, in the year 1843, a journey to Russian - Armenia, Mount Ararat was the object I had particularly in - view. Various circumstances then compelled me to content - myself with a visit to the north side of that mountain. But - in the following year, during my journey to Turkish Armenia - and Persia, it was vouchsafed me to explore the previously - entirely unknown south side of the Ararat group, and to abide - upon Turkish and Persian territory, in the vicinity of the - mighty boundary-stone of three great empires. The striking - position of Ararat, almost equidistant from China and from - the Iberian peninsula, from the ice-bound Lena in the high - northern latitudes of Siberia, and from the slimy current of - the Ganges in Southern Hindostan, has at all periods - attracted the attention of geographers. For years I had - harboured the ardent wish to visit the mysterious mountain. - Towering in the centre of the Old Continent, an image of the - fire whose mighty remains extend to the regions of eternal - ice, Ararat is indicated by Jewish and Armenian tradition as - the peak of refuge, round which the deluge roared, unable to - overflow it. From the summit of the gigantic cone descended - the pairs of all creatures, whose descendants people the - earth." - -On Ararat, as in many other places, tradition and science disagree. -Diluvial traces are sought there in vain. On the other hand, evidences -of volcanic devastation on every side abound; and a wish to -investigate this, and to ascertain the details of the subterranean -commotion that had destroyed Arguri three years previously, was one of -the principal motives of Dr Wagner's visit to Armenia. Towards the -middle of May he started from Tefflis, the most important town of the -Russian trans-Caucasian provinces, accompanied by Abowian, a -well-educated Armenian and accomplished linguist, and attended by -Ivan, the doctor's Cossack, a sharp fellow, and a faithful servant -after his kind, but, like all his countrymen, an inveterate thief. -Their vehicle was a Russian _telega_, or posting carriage, springless, -and a perfect bone-setter on the indifferent roads of Armenia. They -travelled in company with that well-known original and indefatigable -traveller, General Baron Von Hallberg,[22] of whose appearance, and of -the sensation it excited in the streets of Erivan, Dr Wagner gives an -amusing account:-- - - "Amongst the travellers was a strange figure, around which - the inquisitive mob assembled, with expressions of the utmost - wonderment. It was that of an old man, hard upon eighty, but - who, nevertheless, sprang into the carriage, and took his - seat beside a young Russian lady, with an air of juvenile - vigour. From his chin and furrowed cheeks fell a venerable - gray beard, half concealing the diamond-studded order of St - Anna, which hung round his neck, whilst upon his left breast - four or five other stars and crosses glittered from under the - black Russian caftan, and his bald head was covered by a red - Turkish fez, to the front of which a leathern peak was sewn. - 'Who can he be?' murmured the curious Armenians and Tartars, - who could not reconcile the old gentleman's brilliant - decorations with his coachman's caftan and Turkish cap. - 'Certainly a general, or perhaps a great lord from the - emperor's court--a man of the first _tschin_!'--'Or mayhap a - foreign ambassador!' quoth others. 'Since he wears the fez, - he must come from Stamboul.' A Munich _gamin_ would have - enlightened the good folks of Erivan. The interesting - stranger, as some of my readers may already have conjectured, - was no other than Baron Von Hallberg of Munich, (known also - as the Hermit of Gauting,) my much-respected countryman. I - made the acquaintance of this remarkable man, and great - traveller, in 1836, at Algiers, where we passed many a - cheerful day together, in the society of some jovial - fellow-countrymen. After a lapse of seven years, I again met - him at Tefflis, and we travelled together to Armenia. Since - our parting at the foot of Atlas, he had visited the pyramids - of Egypt, and the ruined temples of Heliopolis, and now the - unwearied traveller thirsted after a sight of the capital of - Persia's kings. He had come down the Wolga, and over the - Caucasus, and was about to cross the Persian frontier." - -At Pipis, the chief town of a circle, and residence of its captain, Dr -Wagner was struck by the appearance of a handsome modern building; and -soon he learned, to his astonishment, that it was a district-school -erected by the former governor, General Von Rosen. A school in this -wild district, scantily peopled with rude Tartars and Armenians, -seemed as much out of place as a circulating library in an Ojibbeway -village. He proceeded forthwith to visit the seminary, whose -folding-doors stood invitingly open. The spacious halls were -unfurnished and untenanted; over the mouldy walls spiders spread their -webs with impunity; the air was damp, the windows were broken, and a -great lizard scuttled out of sight upon the traveller's intrusion. -There were neither benches nor desks, teachers nor pupils. Nor had -there ever been any of these, said a Cossack lieutenant, whose horses -were feeding in the court-yard. The school-house was a mere impromptu -in honour of the Russian emperor. In many countries, when the -sovereign travels, his progress is celebrated by triumphal arches, -garlands, and illuminations. In Russia it is different. Nicholas is -known to prefer use to ornament, and when he visits the remote -provinces of his vast dominions, his lieutenants and governors strain -their ingenuity to make him credit the advance of civilisation and the -prosperity of his subjects. The property-men are set to work, and -edifices spring up, more solid, but, at present, scarcely more useful -than the pasteboard mansions on a theatrical stage. On his approach to -Tefflis, the school was run up in all haste, and plans and schemes -were shown for the education of Tartar and Armenian. Languages and -every branch of knowledge were to be taught, and money was to be -given to the people to induce them to send their children to the hall -of learning. "The project was splendid," said the Cossack officer to -Dr Wagner, "but there the matter rested. No sooner had the Emperor -seen the school-house, and expressed his satisfaction, than the hands -of masons and carpenters seemed suddenly crippled. Not another ruble -reached Pipis for the prosecution of the philanthropical work, the -architect took himself off, and we took possession of the empty house. -The court-yard is convenient for our horses, and in the hot summer -days my Cossacks find pleasant lying in the large cool halls." Not all -the acuteness, foresight, and far-sightedness, and many kingly -qualities, which combine to render Nicholas the most remarkable of -existing monarchs, can protect from such impositions as this the -sovereign of so extensive a country as Russia. In vain may the czar, -indefatigable upon the road, visit the remotest corners of his -dominions; unless he do so incognito, after the fashion of Haroun -Alraschid, he will still be cheated. The governing part of the -population, the civil and military officials, conspire to deceive him; -and the governed dare not reveal the truth, for their masters have -abundant means at their disposal to punish an indiscretion. "Life is -delightful in this country," said Mr Ivanoff, a Russian district -overseer in Armenia, as he reclined upon his divan, wrapped in a -silken caftan, sipping coffee and smoking a cigar; "how absurd of -people in Russia to look upon Caucasus as a murder-hole, and to pity -those who have to cross it, as if they were going straight to -purgatory! I reckon one vegetates here very endurably, and he who -complains is either an ass, a rascal, or a liar. You see, my house is -tolerably comfortable, my table not bad: I have four-and-twenty -saddle-horses in my stable, superb beasts, fit for a prince's stud, -and to crown all, I am loved and honoured by the twenty thousand human -beings over whom I rule as the sardar's representative." Ivanoff's -frank avowal of his satisfaction contrasted with the hypocritical -complaints of many of his colleagues, who, whilst filling their -pockets and consuming the fat of the land, affect to consider -residence in trans-Caucasus the most cruel of inflictions. "Truly," -says Dr Wagner, "nothing was wanting to the comfort of life in Mr -Ivanoff's dwelling: convenient furniture, a capital kitchen, wine from -France, cigars from the Havannah, horses of the best breeds of Arabia, -Persia, and Turkistan--all these things have their value, and yet, to -procure them, Mr Ivanoff had a salary of only six hundred paper -rubles, (about six-and-twenty pounds sterling!) He had a tolerably -pretty wife, on whom he doated, and to whom he brought all manner of -presents whenever he returned from the Erivan bazaar, which he visited -generally once a-week. Trinkets and silken stuffs and rich -carpets--whatever, in short, the little woman fancied--she at once -got, and if not to be had at Erivan, it was written for to Tefflis.... -When Ivanoff rode forth in his official capacity, it was with a -following of twenty horsemen, all belonging to his household, and with -a banner waving before him. What a life! comfort, riches, oriental -pomp, and despotic power! Who would not be chief of a Russian district -in Armenia?" All this upon ten shillings a-week! It was more -astounding even than the school-house at Pipis. Abowian, as yet -inexperienced in Russian ways, regarded the riddle as unsolvable. -Ivanoff confessed he had nothing beside his salary. How then did he -maintain this princely existence? He assured the travellers he was -beloved by his people, and the Armenian peasants confirmed the -assurance. Extortion and violent plunder could not therefore be the -means employed. It was not till some days later, and in another -district, that Dr Wagner elucidated the mystery. He saw a long -procession of Armenian and Tartar peasants proceeding to the house of -Ivanoff's official brother. They were gift-laden; one led a horse, -another a sheep, a third dragged a stately goat by the horns, and -forced the bearded mountaineer to kneel before the Russian's corpulent -wife, who received the animals, the eggs, milk, cakes, and other -offerings, as well in coin as in kind, quite as matter of course. Nay, -she even looked sour and sulky, as though the tribute were scanty; -and Dr Wagner, who was an unobserved witness of the scene, heard her -say to the leader of the deputation, (probably the mayor of some -Armenian village:) "Think yourselves lucky to get off so cheaply, for -if it were known that the _tschuma_ is amongst you!..." The shrewd -doctor caught at this menacing phrase, as a possible key to what had -so greatly puzzled him. The meaning of the Russian word _tschuma_, -which, upon the man to whom it was addressed, seemed to have the -effect of a thunderbolt, being unknown to him, he inquired it of his -companion. _Tschuma_ means the PLAGUE. This frightful disease the -governor of the trans-Caucasian provinces, stimulated by stringent -orders from St Petersburg, makes it his constant effort to extirpate at -any price from the territory under his rule. Let a district-overseer -report a village infected, and forthwith it is placed in the most rigid -quarantine by means of a circle of Cossack pickets; for months the -unlucky inhabitants are deprived of communication with the surrounding -country; their agriculture is suspended, their crops rot in the ground, -and they lack the necessaries of life. All their clothes, bedding, -blankets, everything capable of conveying infection, are burned without -reserve, and the compensation allowed does not repay a tithe of the -loss. Hence the terrible power of the district overseer: a word -suffices; he will declare the village infected! The first death from -fever, or any other endemic, furnishes him with a pretext. At the least -threat of this nature, the peasants, apprehending ruin, hasten to -sacrifice part of their substance, and to avert the evil by gifts to -the great man, who is maintained in opulence and luxury by these -illegitimate imposts. Here was the secret of Ivanoff's five-and-twenty -horses and other little comforts. Nevertheless he was liked in the -country, for he did not over-drive the willing brute he lived upon, -neither did he hoard like his colleagues, but spent his money freely -and generously. And the poor peasants brought him their contributions -unasked and almost gladly, eager to keep him in good humour, and -fearful of changing him for a severer task-master. Suppose Czar -Nicholas on a visit to his Armenian provinces, and how can it be -expected that the poor ignorant wretches who offer up their sheep and -chickens as ransom from the plague-spot, will dare carry to his august -feet a complaint against their tyrants? They may have heard of his -justice, and feel confidence in it--for it is well known that the -emperor is prompt and terrible in his chastisement of oppressive and -unjust officials, when he can detect them--and yet they will hesitate -to risk greater evils by trying to get rid of those that already -afflict them. The _esprit-de-corps_ of Russian _employés_ is notorious, -and a disgraced governor or overseer may generally reckon pretty -confidently on his successor for vengeance upon those who denounced -him. The corruption, according to Dr Wagner, extends to the very -highest; and men of rank and birth, princes and general officers, are -no more exempt from it than the understrapper with a few hundred rubles -per annum. "One crow does not pick out another's eyes," says the German -proverb. But in spite of his officers' cunning and caution, the emperor -can hardly visit his distant provinces without detecting abuses and -getting rid of illusions. One of these was dispelled when he, for the -first time, beheld, upon his journey to Russian Armenia in 1837, the -much-vaunted fortifications of Erivan's citadel. Count Paskewitch's -pompous bulletins had led him to expect something very different from -the feeble walls, composed of volcanic stones, loosely cemented with -mud and straw, upon whose conqueror a proud title had been bestowed. -The result of all the emperor's observations at that time had great -influence--so says Dr Wagner--upon his subsequent policy. His love of -peace, and his moderation with respect to Asiatic conquest, were -confirmed by the impression he then received. Of this the doctor was -assured by many well-informed and trustworthy persons in the -trans-Caucasus. "This country needs much improvement," said Nicholas to -a high official who accompanied him through the monotonous, -thinly-peopled, and scantily-tilled wildernesses, and through the -indigent towns and villages of Armenia. His desire for conquest was -cooled, and his wish to consolidate and improve what he already -possessed was strengthened tenfold. Everywhere upon the south-eastern -frontier of Russia Dr Wagner traced evidence of this latter feeling. -But he also beheld forts on a scale and of a construction hinting -offensive as well as defensive projects on the part of their builder. -One of them was in process of erection at Erivan, to replace the crazy -edifice already referred to. In 1843, the progress of the works was -slow, for another expensive citadel was building on the Turkish -frontier, and it was desirable to limit the annual outlay for this -item. And a hostile demonstration against Russia, from Persians beyond -the river Araxes, was the last thing to be apprehended. - - "The great new fortress is far less intended for a defence - than for a storehouse and place of muster for a Russian army - of operations against the Persian frontier provinces, whose - conquest the Emperor Nicholas undoubtedly bequeaths to his - successors. The formidable constructions at Sevastopol, - Nicolajeff, and Gumri, are to answer the same end against - Turkey as that of Erivan against Persia. These frontier forts - are the sword of Damocles, which the emperor--not greedy of - conquest himself, but far-calculating for the - future--suspends over the heads of his Moslem neighbours, to - be drawn from its scabbard under more favourable - circumstances by a warlike son or grandson." - -The appearance of the forts in question gives a show of reason to Dr -Wagner's prognostications. Gumri--or Alexandropol, as the Russians -have re-baptised the contiguous town--is built on a rocky eminence, -whose crags serve it in some measure for walls. It contains barracks, -case-mates, storehouses, and hospitals, all as strong as they are -spacious, and which could be defended as detached citadels, supposing -an enemy to have mastered the walls and rocky out-works. It is adapted -for an army of sixty thousand men, and is so roomy, that in case of a -sudden inroad of the Pasha of Kars--who, if war broke out, could -probably bring an army to the river Arpatschai before the Russians -could assemble one at Tefflis, and march to the frontier--not only the -whole population of Alexandropol, (in 1843 about 6000 souls,) but the -entire peasantry of the surrounding country would find shelter within -its walls. Its natural and artificial strength is so great, that a -small garrison might laugh at the attacks of Turks and Persians. - - "'From these turrets,' said the mustached Russian major who - showed me all that was worth seeing in the fortress of Gumri, - 'our eagle will one day wing its victorious flight.' If the - Russians ever conquer Asiatic Turkey, the first step will - undoubtedly be taken from this spot, and therefore has the - sagacious emperor commanded no expense to be spared in the - perfection of the works. 'The power of Russia is patient as - time, vast as space,' once exclaimed a renowned orator in the - tribune of the French Chamber. Persons who assert that - Nicholas has no ambition, that all thirst of conquest is - foreign to his character, are perhaps right; but greatly do - those err who believe that he contents him with playing the - part of the first Tory in Europe, and thinks only of closing - the Russian frontier to liberal ideas, of drilling his guards - and passing brilliant reviews. The works done, doing, and - planned, at Nicolajeff, Sevastopol, Gumri, Erivan, prove the - potent monarch to have ulterior views. For himself, he may be - content not to enlarge the enormous territory within whose - limits his voice is law. So long as he lives, perhaps, no - ukase will silence the Hatti-scherif of the padishad beyond - the Arpatschai. But under the shadow of this much-vaunted - moderation and love of peace, the prudent emperor forgets not - to clear the road of conquest into Asia, and to leave it - broad, smooth, and convenient for some succeeding Romanoff." - -Such speculations as these, proceeding from a man who has travelled, -with slow step and observant eye, every inch of the ground to which he -refers, and to whom a clear head, reflective habits, and much -communion with the people of the country, have given peculiar -facilities for the formation of a sound judgment, are of high interest -and value. Dr Wagner is no dogmatist, but a close and candid reasoner, -abounding in facts to support what he advances, and having at his -fingers' ends all that has been written not only in his own country, -but in England and elsewhere, on the subject of Russia and her -emperor, of her policy and her eastern neighbours. And it is to the -credit of his impartiality that his writings afford no clue to his own -political predilections. He stigmatises abuses wherever he meets -them, and from whatever cause proceeding; but whilst showing due -sympathy with the gallant Circassians and long-suffering Armenians, he -wholly eschews the insane propagandism so rife in the writings of many -of his countrymen. He is evidently not of opinion that autocrat and -oppressor are always synonymous, and that absolutism is essentially -the worst tyranny. - -A preferable site having been found for the new fort of Erivan, the -old one was still standing at the period of Dr Wagner's visit. He -gives an amusing account of its interior, and especially of the -apartments of the ex-sardar, Hussein Khan, whose walls were painted in -fresco, an art still quite in its infancy amongst the Persians. The -pictures, as might be expected, were rather grotesque than graceful in -their execution. - - "The subject of one of them is the history of Jussuf (Joseph) - in Egypt, based upon the Arabian tradition. Zuleikha, the - wife of Potiphar--so runs the Moslem legend--had become the - laughing-stock of the ladies of Pharaoh's court, by the - failure of her attempt to seduce the beautiful Joseph. To - revenge herself, she invited all those court-dames to visit - her, and commanded Joseph to hand them fruit and sherbet. But - when the women beheld him, they were so bewitched by his - beauty, that they bit their fingers instead of the - pomegranates. This is the moment selected by the Persian - artist. One of the ladies is seen to swoon from surprise, and - Zuleikha triumphs at this incident, and at the confusion of - the scoffers." - -There was considerable license in the subjects of some of the other -pictures, one of which was intended to turn the Armenian Christians -into ridicule, by representing their priests and bishops in profane -society and riotous revel. Amongst the portraits, one of the last -sardar of Erivan represented him with a gloomy and forbidding -countenance--an expression which, if true to life, was by no means in -conformity with his character. - - "Hussein Khan was esteemed, even by the Armenians, as an able - ruler. He was a brave warrior, a great protector of the fine - arts, and tolerably moderate and just in his actions. In the - struggle with the Russians he exhibited the utmost personal - gallantry, but his example had no effect upon his cowardly - soldiery. Without his knowledge his brother had attempted to - have the Russian general murdered. When, after the surrender - of the citadel, they both fell into the hands of the - Russians, Count Paskewitch was inclined to take his revenge, - by excluding the sardar's brother, as an assassin, from the - benefits of the capitulation. But the firm bearing and cold - resignation of the Persian, when brought before his - conqueror, moved the latter to mercy. 'Every nation,' said - the prisoner to Count Paskewitch, (the words were repeated to - Dr Wagner by an eye-witness of the interview,) 'has its own - way of making war. With us Persians, all means are held good - and praiseworthy by which we can injure our foe. Thy death - would have profited us, by spreading confusion and alarm - amongst thy troops, and we should have availed ourselves of - the circumstance for an attack. And if I sought to kill thee, - it was solely in the interest of my sovereign's cause. If you - desire revenge, you are free to take it. I am in your power, - and shall know how to meet my fate.' This calm courage made a - great impression upon the staff of general Paskewitch, - (although the Persian noble was a man of very bad - reputation,) and the Russian commander generously gave his - enemy his life, and ultimately his freedom." - -The sardar's harem has less decoration than the state apartments. -Formerly its walls were covered with frescos, mosaic work, and -porcelain ornaments of many colours; but since the Russians took -possession all these have disappeared, leaving the walls bare and -white. During the czar's short stay at Erivan, he inhabited one of -these rooms, and wrote, with his own hand, in firm, well-formed -characters, his name upon the wall. The signature is now framed and -glazed. In many houses where the emperor passed a night, when upon his -travels, he left a similar memento of his presence, sometimes adding a -few friendly words for his host. - -From Erivan Dr Wagner started for the far-famed Armenian convent of -Eshmiadzini; his journey enlivened, or at least saved from complete -monotony, by the eccentricities of his Cossack attendant. Ivan, warmed -by a glass of _wodha_, and no way affected by the jolting, which to -his master was martyrdom, basked in the morning sun, and chanted a -ditty of the Don, from time to time turning round his mustached -physiognomy, and looking at the doctor as for applause. An active, -cunning fellow, with a marvellous facility for making himself -understood, even by people of whose language he knew not a syllable, -Dr Wagner was, upon the whole, well contented with him, although -utterly unable to break him of stealing. He never left his night's -quarters without booty of some kind, although his master always warned -the host to keep a sharp eye upon his fingers. But when anything was -to be pilfered, the Don-Cossack's sleight of hand threw into the shade -that of the renowned Houdin himself. Even from the wretched Jesides, -who have scarcely anything to call their own, he carried off a pot of -buttermilk rather than depart empty-handed. - - "Carefully as I locked away from him my little stock of - travelling money, he nevertheless found some inexplicable - means of getting at it. At last I adopted the plan of - counting it every evening before his eyes, and making him - answerable for all deficiencies. Still, from time to time, - something was missing, and Ivan employed his utmost eloquence - to convince me of the culpability of the Armenian drivers - whom I occasionally had in my service. I never could catch - him in the fact; but one evening I examined his clothes, and - found a packet of silver rubles in a secret pocket. Whereupon - the Cossack, with a devout grimace, which sat comically - enough upon his sly features, held up his ten fingers in the - air, and swore, by all the saints of the Russian calendar, - that he had economised the sum out of his wages, and had - hidden it for fear of an attack by robbers." - -The doctor pardoned his servant's peculations more easily than his -blunders--one of which, that occurred upon the road to Erivan, was -certainly provoking enough to so eager a naturalist. On the lonely -banks of a canal, apparently the work of nature rather than of man, -(although local traditions maintain the contrary,) one of the outlets -of the alpine lake of Chenk-sha, or Blue Water, Dr Wagner encountered -some Armenian anglers, who had secured a rich store of extremely -curious fish. He purchased a dozen specimens, and on arriving at the -next posting station, he bade his Cossack put them in a leathern -bottle of spirits of wine, whilst he himself, armed with the -geological hammer, availed himself of the short halt to explore some -adjacent rocks. On his return, he found Ivan hard at work executing -his orders, in obedience to which this Fair-service from the Don had -duly immersed the icthyological curiosities in alcohol, but had -previously _cut them in pieces_, "in order that on arriving at Erivan, -they might taste more strongly of the pickle." - -Eshmiadzini is about fifteen miles from Erivan, across the plain of -the Araxes, a monotonous stony flat, offering little worthy of note. -Dr Wagner had expected, in the church and residence of the chief of -the Armenian Christians, a stately and imposing edifice, something -after the fashion of Strassburg cathedral; and he wondered greatly not -to behold its turrets or spire rising in the distance long before he -came within sound of its bells. In this, as in various other instances -during his travels, by indulging his imagination, he stored up for -himself a disappointment. A clumsy stunted dome, a mud-walled convent, -ugly environs, a miserable village, black pigs wallowing in a pool of -mud--such was the scene that met his disgusted vision. The people were -worthy of the place, but from them he had not expected much. He had -seen enough of the Armenian priesthood at Tefflis, in Constantinople, -and elsewhere, to appreciate them at their just value. Some dirty, -stupid-looking monks lounged about the convent entrance, gossiping and -vermin-hunting. The travellers were conducted into a large room, where -the archbishops held their conclaves. Five of these dignitaries were -seated at a long table, dressed in blue robes with loose sleeves, and -with cowls over their heads. The one in a red velvet arm-chair, at the -head of the table, represented the absent patriarch. He was a handsome -man, with an imposing beard, of which he was very vain. Laying his -hand upon his heart, with an assumption of great dignity, he addressed -a few words of flattering welcome to Dr Wagner, of whose coming he had -been forewarned by the Russian general Neidhardt. "We have long -expected you," he said. "The whole of our clergy rejoice to welcome -within their walls a man of your merit and reputation." The -compliment, although laconic, was not ill turned, but it was -thoroughly insincere. An eruption of Ararat, or a troop of Kurdish -robbers at their gates, were scarcely a more unwelcome sight to the -reverend inmates of Eshmiadzini than is the arrival of a literary -traveller. They well know that little good can be written about them, -and that even Parrot, habitually so lenient in his judgments, gave but -an unflattering sketch of the Armenian priesthood. European learning -is an evil odour in their nostrils, and naturalists, especially, they -look upon as freethinkers and unbelievers, condemned beyond redemption -to an eternal penalty. Moreover, the holy fraternity are accustomed to -measure the importance of their visitors by the Russian standard of -military rank and decorations, and Dr Wagner's plain coat excited not -their respect. With wondering eyes they examined the unassuming -stranger, and asked each other in whispers how the governor-general -could possibly have taken the trouble to announce the advent of an -individual without epaulets or embroidered uniform, without _tschin_ -or orders. "When I at last left the room, to visit the church and -other buildings, Archbishop Barsech (the patriarch's substitute) -accompanied me, and seemed disposed to act as my cicerone, but -suddenly bethinking himself, he deemed it perhaps beneath his dignity, -for he hastily retired. I was escorted by an archimandrite, and -Abowian by a young Russian official. Barsech's absence was doubly -agreeable to me, as permitting me to examine at leisure all parts of -the convent, and to ask many questions which the patriarch's reverend -vicar might have deemed scarcely becoming." - -The attention of the various English travellers who have written about -Armenia has been chiefly directed to its southern portion, to the -regions adjacent to the great alpine lakes of Urmia and Van. The -northern parts of Upper Armenia, north of Mount Ararat, and adjacent -to Caucasus, have received the notice of several French and German -writers. But most of these took travellers' license to embellish the -places they wrote about; or else the change for the worse since their -visits, now of rather ancient date, has been most grievous. In the -second half of the seventeenth century, three Frenchmen, Tavernier, -Chardin, and Tournefort, gave glowing accounts of the prosperity and -opulence of Eshmiadzini. At the time of Tavernier's visit, (1655,) -large caravans of traders and merchandise were frequently upon the -road, bringing wealth to the country and numerous pilgrims to the -church, many of these being opulent Armenian merchants, whose generous -offerings enriched the shrine. Tavernier was astonished at the -treasures of Eshmiadzini, which apparently had then not suffered from -the spoliating attacks of Turks and Persians. The church was fitted up -with the utmost luxury, and the conventual life was not without its -pleasures and diversions, relieving the wearisome monotony that now -characterises it. In honour of Monsieur Tavernier and of his -travelling companions, the Christian merchants of the caravan, the -patriarch gave a grand bull-fight, in which eight bulls were exhibited -and two killed. Tournefort wrote in raptures of the fertility and -excellent cultivation of the environs of the convent, dividing his -praise between the rich adornments of the church and the blooming -parterres of the garden, and winding up by declaring Eshmiadzini a -picture of paradise. Dr Wagner, who, before visiting a country, makes -a point of reading all that has been written of it, had perused these -glowing descriptions, and was duly disappointed in consequence. - - "Good heavens!" he exclaims, in intense disgust, "how little - do those enthusiastic descriptions agree with what is now to - be seen! To-day the convent garden is small, run to waste, - miserably stocked. Instead of pinks and amaranths, which - rejoiced the senses of the lucky Tournefort, I could discern - in this Armenian 'paradise' naught besides turnips and - cabbages, with here and there a stunted, unhealthy-looking - mulberry or apricot tree, and the melancholy wild olive, with - its flavourless fruits. No shade from the sun, nothing - pleasant to the eye. And neither the interior of the convent - nor that of the church exhibit any traces of the splendour - vaunted by the old travellers. In the patriarch's - reception-chamber, the windows are prettily painted in the - Persian style; and here my guide expected, but in vain, to - see me struck with wonder and admiration. In the same room is - a bust of the Emperor Nicholas, dating, doubtless, from the - early years of his reign, for it has no mustaches, and the - breast wants breadth. In the next apartment, where the - patriarch daily receives the higher clergy of the - establishment, is a Madonna, after Raphael, so exquisitely - embroidered in silk, that at a short distance it appears a - painting. This piece of needlework was sent to the patriarch - from Hindostan, by a pious Armenian woman. Then there is an - ivory bass-relief of Abraham's sacrifice; and on the walls - are depicted horrible scenes of martyrdom, especially the - sufferings of St Gregory, buried alive in a deep well. A most - artistically carved arm-chair, occupied by the patriarch upon - state occasions, was also sent, only a few years ago, from - Hindostan, whence, and from other foreign communities of - Armenian Christians, far more gifts are received than from - Tefflis and other neighbouring places inhabited by many rich - Armenians. Behind this arm-chair is a full-length portrait of - the Czar of all the Russias, of whom the prelates never speak - but in a tone of anxious humility." - -The church of Eshmiadzini is rich in monkish legends and precious -relics. It contains an altar, through which is a passage into -subterranean excavations, and which stands on the exact spot where the -Saviour is said to have appeared to St Gregory, armed with a club, and -to have hurled the heathen gods and evil spirits into the chasm. To -this day, when, as often happens, the wind whistles through the -vaults, the bigoted and ignorant monks believe they hear the howling -of the tortured demons. Eshmiadzini's relics are renowned far and wide -amongst the scattered Armenian congregations of the East. - - "The chamber of relics, situated on the south-east side of - the church, contains, besides the right hand of St Gregory, - (with the possession of this relic, the dignity of the - Catholicos is indissolubly connected,) and a portion of the - skull of St Hripsime, a bit of Noah's ark, and the lance with - which Christ's side was pierced. I expressed a wish to see - these relics, to which the archimandrite replied that their - exhibition could take place only with great ceremonies, with - prayers and choral singing, for which a small pecuniary - sacrifice was necessary. 'Two ducats,' he whispered in my - ear. Curious though I was to have a close view of the lance - and the piece of the ark, and to ascertain what effect the - lapse of so many centuries had had upon them, I thought the - price too high, and as the worthy archimandrite looked - inquiringly in my face, I told him dryly, that for the sight - of a piece of wood, however old and holy, a poor German - naturalist had no ducats to spare." - -The first stone of the church of Eshmiadzini was laid by St Gregory in -the year 302, since which date it has frequently been partially -restored, and more than once entirely rebuilt, and now exhibits a very -motley architecture. The convent library would doubtless afford an -Armenian scholar much curious information concerning its history. This -library long lay in dusty heaps in a dark hole, probably to protect it -from the Vandalic outrage of Persian, Kurd, and Turkish plunderers. -When Erivan was annexed to Russia, and law restored to the land, a -room was cleared for it, and a good many volumes were ranged upon -shelves; but a large number, Dr Wagner informs us, still are heaped in -frightful disorder upon the floor. At the time of his visit, the -confusion in this celebrated library was as great as if French -marauders had had the run of it. - - "I can aver, as an eye-witness," says the doctor, who gladly - reverts to his African adventures, "that after the storming - of Constantina, when the scientific commission visited the - house of Ben-Aissa, the library of that wealthy _Kurugli_, - which had been ransacked by the conquerors, presented not a - picture of worse desolation than the library of the patriarch - of Armenia's residence. I asked the monk-librarian, who - accompanied me, to show me amongst the historical works the - book of Moses of Chorene. The answer was, he could not find - it. The learned guardian of the library knew not where to - seek even this best-known and most popular of Armenian books - of history! I then inquired the number of the manuscripts. - The monk replied shortly, he did not know it!" - -Well might the vicegerent of the Armenian pope--which the Catholicos -in fact is, although his title is improperly rendered by foreigners as -patriarch--and his brother archbishops, feel misgivings at sight of -the quiet-looking German, who replied to their welcome by a gravely -ironical compliment on their many virtues and distinguished -reputation; and who now, having got them upon paper, draws, quarters, -and dissects them with a merciless scalpel. Whatever their previous -experience of note-taking travellers, it was insufficient to guard -them from imprudence, and they allowed Dr Wagner to witness an -examination of the pupils in their clerical seminary. Here proof was -quickly elicited of the almost incredible ignorance of scholars and -teachers. The oldest lad in the school, which included young men -eighteen and twenty years old, was unable to decline the Russian noun -_matj_, (mother,) although, for years past, an archimandrite had -officiated as professor of that language. The professor came to the -assistance of his embarrassed pupil, (whom Abowian questioned,) and -managed to prove beyond possibility of doubt, that he himself did not -know the Russian declensions. - - "I now requested Mr Abowian to ask the boys the simplest - possible questions, as, for instance, how many days the year - has. Not one of them could answer, although many were already - bearded men. And from these dunces are selected archbishops - for all Armenia! The instruction in this convent-seminary is - limited to mechanical learning by rote, and to a heedless and - unmeaning repetition of prayers and Scripture passages. The - scholars are well drilled in respect of fasts; and for the - slightest offence against external order, for unsteadiness - during mass, or the like, they are cruelly chastised with - blows. It is not surprising if such treatment extinguishes - all vivacity of intellect. It needs but a glance at the pale, - thin, stolid countenances of the lads, to discern the hideous - effects of their slavish, mind-destroying education. With - deep disgust I left the school." - -The absurd hours kept in the convent doubtless contribute to the -unhealthy appearance of these nursling priests. Nothing can be more -ridiculous and ill-judged, or more indicative of barbarous stupidity -and bigotry, than the system adopted at Eshmiadzini. At one in the -morning church-service begins, attended by every one but the -patriarch. The archbishops and bishops read prayers and portions of -Scripture; the archimandrites, deacons, and seminarists sing. This -service lasts from three to four hours, and as every one stands during -its whole duration, it is productive of no slight fatigue. On -returning to their cells and dormitories, those priests who have -private resources take refreshment before retiring to sleep; but the -younger portion of the congregation, who have greatest need of such -sustenance, are generally penniless, and must wait till ten in the -forenoon before obtaining a scanty meal of soup or milk, followed by -rice or fish. During the long fasts even the fish is suppressed. To -break a fast in Armenia is a most heinous sin, far exceeding theft in -enormity. In the day-time, school; in the afternoon and evening, more -chanting and praying; then to bed, to be again roused at -midnight--such is the joyless wearisome life of the inmates of -Eshmiadzini. No study of science or history, no cultivation of the -fine arts, varies the monotony of their tedious existence. -Instrumental music is unknown amongst them. Whatever contributes to -the cheerfulness or elegance of seclusion is rigidly banished and -prohibited. "Nowhere," says Dr Wagner, "does an educated European find -life so tiresome as amongst Armenian monks, in comparison with whom -even Italy's monachism appears genial and agreeable." - -The election of the patriarch occurred in April 1843, and Dr Wagner, -in Tefflis at the time, had fully intended witnessing the ceremony; -but a sudden outbreak of the plague, in the province of Erivan, -delayed his visit to Eshmiadzini, as he had no wish to risk a forty -days' quarantine before he should be allowed to re-enter Georgia. He -gives some account of the ceremony at second-hand, which is less -interesting, however, than his narrative of preceding circumstances. -The choice of the Gregorian congregations fell upon Narses, archbishop -of Kischenew, a prelate noted for piety, intelligence, and patriotism, -and so popular, both with priests and laymen, by reason of his mild -and amiable character, that he would have been elected ten years -previously, on the death of old Jephrem (Ephraim)--the venerable -patriarch of whom Parrot and Dubois make mention--but for a serious -dispute with Count Paskewitch. - - "In the time of the war between Russia and Persia, when the - crooked sabres of Aderbidjan's Tartars had driven the Cossack - lances across the Araxes, a short pause ensued in the - operations of the campaign, Count Paskewitch awaiting - reinforcements from the interior of Russia before crossing - the Araxes and marching upon Tauris. A division of the - Persian army, chiefly Kurds and Tartars, attempted to - surprise Eshmiadzini; but the reverend tenants were on their - guard, and intrenched themselves behind their lofty earthen - walls. Besieged and sorely pressed by the wild hordes, Narses - (then archbishop of Eshmiadzini) sent a courier to a Russian - colonel, who lay, with a few battalions, a short day's - journey distant. This colonel was an Armenian by birth, and - entertained a child-like veneration for Archbishop Narses. - Unable to resist the latter's earnest entreaty for - assistance, he made a forced march upon the convent, although - he had been strictly forbidden by his general to quit his - position without express orders. Meanwhile the Persians had - been reinforced by a detachment of Abbas Mirza's regular - troops, and were five times the strength of their advancing - foe. In front of Eshmiadzini the Russians suffered a defeat, - and the fault was imputed to Archbishop Narses, whose - priestly influence had moved the colonel to disregard the - orders of his chief. By imperial command, Narses was removed - from Eshmiadzini, and sent as archbishop to Kischenew. But in - 1843, when, in spite of his disgrace with the emperor, the - venerated prelate received the unanimous suffrages of the - electors, convoked at Eshmiadzini, Nicholas would not oppose - the manifest wish of priests and laymen, but confirmed the - election. Once more the sun of imperial grace and favour - shone full upon Narses. He was sent for to St Petersburg, was - received with the utmost distinction, and soon the star of - the first class of the order of St Anna glittered upon his - blue caftan. In the autumn of 1844 he crossed the Caucasus, - met a joyful reception at Tefflis, and, amidst sound of bells - and song of priests, re-entered, as spiritual chief of - Armenian Christendom, the old convent upon the Araxes, which, - sixteen years previously, he had quitted almost as an exile. - Narses is eighty years old; his intellects, which long - preserved their healthy tone, have latterly, it is said, - become weakened." - -The election here referred to was one of particular significance and -importance. There has been no lack of schism in the Armenian church. -Ambitious priests and false patriarchs have at various periods started -up and found adherents. For several centuries, one of these sham -patriarchates had its seat on an island in the lake of Van, and -maintained itself independent of the Eshmiadzini synod. These Armenian -anti-popes never, however, obtained a very widely-spread influence, -and latterly that which they did enjoy sensibly dwindled. "The -mother-church of Ararat gradually resumed its undivided authority and -privileges, and, in 1843, Eshmiadzini witnessed, what for many years -it had not seen, the presence within its walls of deputies from almost -all the Gregorian congregations of the East, united at the historical -centre of their country for the choice of a spiritual shepherd." - -With his usual shrewdness Dr Wagner analyses Russian policy in -Armenia, and for a moment dwells admiringly on its depth, foresight, -and activity. We have already heard him express his conviction that -under the emperor's present moderation, lurk vast designs of future -conquest, which he will bequeath as a legacy to his descendants, -should time and circumstances prevent their execution by himself. This -is the doctor's fixed idea, and he certainly makes out a good case in -its support. He has shown us the extensive forts that are to serve as -depots and places of muster for the Russian armies, which, according -to his theory and belief, will sooner or later assail Turkey and -Persia. He now turns to the consideration of the support the Russians -may expect beyond their own frontier. He extols the wisdom of the -emperor's conduct towards his Armenian subjects, and points out the -ulterior advantages to be derived from it by Russia. We shall conclude -our article by an extract from this curious chapter of a very -interesting book. - - "In Asia, the Islam nations and governments daily decline, - whilst the Christian elements daily assume greater weight; - these are not yet strong enough to found a dominion of their - own; but, as auxiliaries to a conquering European power, they - would be of high importance. When, after the triumphant - entrance of Paskewitch's army into the capital of Aderbidjan, - Feth Ali Shah trembled on his throne, and submissively - subscribed the conditions of peace dictated to him by the - Russian general, many thought that Russia had been - extraordinarily generous to her humbled foe: she might just - as easily have kept the conquered district of Aderbidjan for - herself, or have compelled the Persian king to give up the - beautiful provinces of Gilan and Masendran. The portion of - Armenia with which she contented herself is no very enticing - possession, either for its size or for its fertility, but it - includes within its limits the Gregorian mother-church; and - its temporal ruler disposes of the spiritual weapons of the - Catholicos and of the synod, whose religious influence - extends whithersoever Armenians dwell. In its last treaty of - peace with Turkey and Persia, the Russian government tacitly - but fully recognised the value of this territory, so sacred - to all Armenians. It was also prudent enough to annex to the - country on the left bank of the Araxes, where Eshmiadzini is - situated, a portion of the territory on the right bank of - that stream, and to secure a part of Ararat itself--the north - side of the mountain, viewed with such holy reverence by the - Armenian people, with the convent of St Jacob, since - overwhelmed by the eruption of 1840. These districts compose - the really classic ground of the Armenian-Gregorian church - history. No spot in the entire Orient is more attractive and - hallowed to the religious feelings of the Armenians--not even - the grave of the Redeemer at Jerusalem, or the renowned - convent of John the Baptist on the eastern Euphrates. The - annual number of pilgrims to Eshmiadzini, although not so - great as when Tavernier and Chardin explored that - neighbourhood, is still very considerable; and at Easter it - is by no means rare to find collected there pious travellers - from the Ganges, the Indus, the Don, the Jordan, and the - Nile. Both the Shah and the Porte well know the importance of - Russian occupation of that territory, as the point where all - the religious sympathies of the Armenians concentrate. As - viceroy of Aderbidjan, Abbas Mirza always made much of the - Catholicos and the synod, and sought to win them to the - Persian interest. And long did the warlike prince urge his - royal father rather once more to try the fortune of arms, - than to suffer a territory to be wrenched from him, less - valuable from the revenue it yielded than from the religious - power it gave over the Christian subjects of Persia." - -The treaty of cession concluded, the Shah did all in his power to -discourage the emigration of Armenian Christians into Russian Armenia, -and his example was followed by the Porte; but the labour of both was -in vain. Permission for such emigration was stipulated by the treaty, -and the only real check upon it was mistrust of Russia, whose -intolerant reputation made many Armenian priests suspect an intention -of proselytising. But Russia, cruel and unsparing to her Roman -Catholics, whose spiritual chief is out of the reach of her direct -influence, showed herself tolerant and considerate towards the -Armenian church, in which she discerned, according to Dr Wagner, a -most useful instrument for her projects of future aggrandisement: and, -on occasion of the election of 1843, the Russian government -particularly insisted that the new patriarch should be named by the -voices of all the Armenian congregations in the entire East. Flattered -by this invitation to direct co-operation, the Armenian priesthood of -Constantinople, who, last of all, still recused the authority of the -Eshmiadzini synod, suffered themselves to be won over, and sent their -delegates to the convocation. For Russia it was another triumph, for -Turkey a fresh vexation. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[19] _Reise nach dem Ararat und dem Hochland Armenien_, von Dr MORITZ -WAGNER. Mit einem Anhange: Beiträge zur Naturgeshichte des Hochlandes -Armenien. Stuttgart und Tübinger, 1848. - -[20] _Reise in der Regentschaft Algier in den Jahren 1836-8._ 3 -volumes. Leipzig, 1841. - -[21] The Armenian Christians abound in traditions respecting Noah and -his ark. We have already mentioned the one relating to Arguri, which -he is said to have founded, and which should therefore have been the -oldest village in the world, up to its destruction in 1840 by an -earthquake and volcanic eruption, of which Dr Wagner gives an -interesting account. The simple and credulous Christians of Armenia -believe that fragments of the ark are still to be found upon Ararat. - -[22] This eccentric old soldier and author, who calls himself the -Hermit of Gauting, from the name of an estate he possesses, is not -more remarkable for the oddity of his dress and appearance, than for -the peculiarities and affected roughness of his literary style, and -for the overstrained originality of many of his views. In his own -country he is cited as a contrast to Prince Puckler Muskau, the -dilettante and silver-fork tourist _par excellence_, whose -affectation, by no means less remarkable than that of the baron, is -quite of the opposite description. Von Hallberg's works are numerous, -and of various merit. One of his most recent publications is a -"_Journey through England_," (Stuttgard, 1841.) The chief motive of -his travels is apparently a love of locomotion and novelty. When -travelling with Dr Wagner, he took little interest in his companion's -geological and botanical investigations, and directed his attention to -men rather than to things. After passing the town of Pipis, three -days' journey from Tefflis, the country and climate assumed a very -German aspect, strongly reminding the travellers of the vicinity of -the Hartz Mountains. "It is folly," exclaimed old Baron Hallberg, -almost angrily, "perfect folly, to travel a couple of thousand miles -to visit a country as like Germany as one egg is to another." "I -really pitied the old man, who had daily to support the rude jolting -of the Russian _telega_, besides suffering greatly from the assaults -of vermin, and who found so little matter where with to fill his -journal."--_Reise nach dem Ararat, &c._, p. 15. - - - - -LEGITIMACY IN FRANCE.[23] - - -Under the circumstances of the strange anomaly presented by the actual -condition of France, which never better deserved its title of a -republic without republicans, it may fairly become a matter of -speculation, in how much a return to monarchical institutions -possesses a degree of probability in the future, and, more especially, -how far the principles of legitimacy stand a chance of assuming, -hereafter, a supremacy in France. We say "a matter of speculation," in -as much as the _uncertain_ must ever remain the presiding genius of -the chances of a revolutionary epoch: and, in such times, it would be -more than presumption to attempt to prophesy upon a nation's -destinies. But still there are signs of the times in France, which are -of sufficient importance to be chronicled; curious facts, that cannot -but attract attention; and revelations that possess a deep -interest--all bearing upon the possible restoration of the exiled -prince of the elder branch of the Bourbons; and, as far as regards -this eventuality--and who can any more say it shall not be than they -can say it shall?--the chances appear not so unequal in the balance -held by the hand of fate--they may be considered worthy of notice and -comment. - -It would be scarcely correct, however, to speak of such a _possible_ -eventuality as the realisation of the prospects of a Legitimate party. -As a _party_, properly so called, in the language of political and -revolutionary struggle, the legitimists of France can scarcely be said -to exist, even although a stanch but small nucleus, professing -decidedly legitimist principles, may be found among a certain body of -men, chiefly belonging to the old families of France, in private life. -During the reign of the Orleans branch, the legitimists gradually -dwindled into comparative obscurity--almost every family which -professed to entertain legitimist opinions having attached itself, -openly or in an underhand manner, to the existing order of things, by -means of some one of its members: and even in the present day they -have pursued the same line of policy--a policy which wears now, -however, a more respectable garb, inasmuch as it is professedly based -upon the seemingly patriotic and disinterested maxim, "_Français avant -tout_," which, in declaring the revolution that caused the fall of -Louis Philippe the work of the "finger of God," and in accepting a -government founded upon a nation's universal suffrage, as preferable -to that of a "usurping king," they have adopted as the device of -chivalry, to influence every action of their lives in such a juncture. -In fact, with this appearance of more straightforward patriotism, they -bide their time in faith and patience, and, with a feeling almost -allied to superstition, repudiate every idea of political intrigue, -much more of any conspiracy against the existing order of things. - -But, if this passive position of the old legitimists does not permit -them to assume the attitude of a decided _party_, or even of bearing -properly such a designation, it must not be supposed that the cause of -legitimacy is dead, or even dormant, in France. Far from it. The -present state of legitimacy in France, however, must be studied less -among the avowed legitimists, who have long given themselves the name, -than in the dispersed and floating elements pervading the mass of the -nation. The preference of the great majority of the country for -monarchical institutions, or, at all events, its strong -anti-revolutionary feeling, and aversion to the republican rule, after -the sad experience of much misery and misfortune--and from its despair -of the realisation of that "hope deferred," in the restoration of -confidence and prosperity, which "maketh the heart sick"--are facts -which cannot be denied by any man of unprejudiced feelings and sincere -convictions. By degrees, then, feelings have been latterly assuming a -form favourable to the cause of legitimacy: and that such sentiments -now notoriously exist in the hearts of a great proportion of the -country at large can scarcely be disputed. They are based, it is true, -in no ways, among the mass, upon any political opinions or -philosophical principles--they spring up from a desire of having a -"something" at the head of the state which may be the type of -stability, and thus the representative of confidence, peace, and -restored prosperity: and this "something" is best embodied, in the -minds of men, in the person of a young prince, who represents the -apparently most stable form of monarchical government--that founded on -legitimacy. They arise from no personal attachment to the elder branch -of the Bourbons, or to the Duke of Bordeaux individually, but solely -from a desire to return to monarchical government, and from the -growing conviction that, among the many pretenders to the supreme -power in France, were a monarchy to be established, the sole one who -presents a firmer hope of stability--who represents a principle, and -who thus best offers to be pilot to the _terra firma_ of a "promised -land" to those who are still tossing hither and thither upon the waves -of revolution, with storms eternally menacing a still more complete -shipwreck on the horizon--is he who bases his pretensions upon the -long-scouted theory of legitimacy. To this form of hoped-for -stability, then, men now begin to attach themselves more and more, in -their aspirations for the future; and thus legitimist expectations, -predilections, sympathies--call them what you will--grow, increase, -spread like a banian tree, which still ever plants its dropping -branches, and takes root farther and farther still; and they thus -implant themselves more and more, on all sides, on the soil of the -revolution. We speak here of a great proportion of men _of all -classes_ in France. At the same time, it is very clear that a -conviction is daily gaining more ground, that, in the possible or -probable revolutionary chances, spite of the popularity of the -President in the capital, the _prestige_ more or less attached to his -name, and the party supposed to be connected with his interests, the -balance chiefly lies between the republic as it is and Henry V. Even -the ultra-republicans and Socialists appear to feel this so strongly, -that, in a pamphlet entitled "_La République ou Henri V.--quelques -mots à Bonaparte_," a certain Monsieur Pertus, a violent Socialist and -adherent of the so-called democratic and social republic, has given, -in powerful language, the reasons of the party why the destinies of -France may be supposed to lie between these two alternatives only, and -why Louis Napoleon, should he put forward his pretensions to an -ultimate permanency of power, would probably meet with an utter defeat -from the nation at large. The immediate interests of the younger -Bourbon branch are entirely set out of sight in the political -combinations upon which men speculate in France: adherents they have -none: they exist not in men's minds, much less in their hearts: they -are never spoken of. - -It is evident, then, to every observing eye, that the cause of -legitimacy is daily gaining ground in France; although it must be -admitted that, with all this, attachment to the person of the exiled -prince of the elder branch of the Bourbons, to the family, or even to -legitimist principles in theory, has as yet had little to do. But that -even this personal attachment has been growing gradually and steadily -in men's minds, as a natural consequence, may also be seen. To this -latter feeling two men have contributed by their writings--the one a -friend, the other an avowed enemy to the ancient dynasty--and perhaps -the latter far the most powerfully. The strange circumstances, which -have produced results that may have a powerful influence on the future -destinies of the country, are worthy of record. A singular fate has -been attached to the two small books here alluded to, more especially -in the case of that written by a stanch republican, naturally hostile -to monarchies and princes; and, on that account, although it is -posterior in date of publication, it may be as well first to direct -our attention to this latter. - -In sight of the struggle, which is continually going on in newspapers, -pamphlets, printed notices, and every other form of publication, -between the Socialists and Red-Republicans on the one hand, and the -"friends of order" on the other--a struggle carried on by the former -not only with the utmost violence and virulence, but with every most -desperate weapon of calumny, falsehood, distorted fact, and perverted -reasoning--in sight of the propagandising efforts, made by these same -men, to demoralise and debauch the army from its allegiance to the -country by every underhand corrupting poison--it is quite "refreshing" -to the spirit, to use a hackneyed phrase, to greet a few words of -conviction in favour of those considered the enemies of the republic, -penned, in spite of previous prepossessions and firm opinions, by an -honest-hearted republican. To men of real and genuine convictions all -honour is due, more especially in the confusion of party intrigue and -reckless personal ambition of these revolutionary times, even although -they be our adversaries: respect may be shown them, even if they -appear to us mistaken. Unhappily, such men seem in France to be but -few. But if we find them firm and honest in the expression of their -convictions, even when in open _opposition_ to their preconceived -notions, and to the direct tendency of their political opinions, a -tribute of especial admiration may be given them. And such a tribute -may be frankly and willingly bestowed upon M. Charles Didier, for his -little book entitled _Une visite au Duc de Bordeaux_,--a book which -has lately excited considerable sensation in France, not so much as a -curious historical document, giving a simple but charming account of -the life, manners, appearance, and attitude in exile of such prominent -historical figures as the Duke of Bordeaux, and that patient and pious -victim of revolutions, the Duchess d'Angoulême; but, in the eyes of -the legitimists, as a striking refutation of various calumnies -attached to the person, as well as the education and opinions of the -young prince, and the highest eulogium of their monarch--in the eyes -of all, as a "feeler," (in spite of the intentions of the author,) in -the obscure chances of the future. - -Had not the character of Monsieur Charles Didier stood so high, and -had not his almost rough honesty, and perhaps _naiveté_ of nature, -been so generally acknowledged by rightly-thinking men, doubts might -have been entertained, on the one hand, whether he was really acting -in good faith in his character as a republican; had not his talent, -discernment, and good sense been sufficiently appreciated in public as -well as private life--in his literary and lately political career, as -well as among his acquaintances--suspicions might have been excited, -on the other, that he had been led into delusions by artful manoeuvre. -But neither of these suppositions are admissible. Due credit must be -given to his good faith in the one respect, and to his enlightenment -of mind and clear-sightedness in the other. Such an explanation -becomes necessary for a full appreciation of the contents of this -remarkable little book. To a French reader it would be needless, for -M. Didier is well known. - -As has already been said, the sensation produced by this work has been -great: and there can be little doubt that the effect which the -publication will produce must necessarily have a very considerable -influence upon a great portion of the nation, in the present state of -France. - -Under such circumstances, and with such probable results, which could -not but be partly apparent to the author himself, the production of -such a book by a well-known, stanch, and honest republican, such as M. -Charles Didier, requires some explanation. It was well known among the -party that M. Didier had been sent upon a _quasi_-diplomatic mission -to Germany, in the first days of the French revolution; it was -afterwards rumoured that, upon some occasion, he had paid a visit to -the members of the exiled family of France in their retreat in -Austria--and, upon these _data_, M. Didier became the object of -various calumnies and misrepresentations. His enemies declared that he -had been sent expressly as a spy upon the ex-royal family. But it was -more especially his _soi-disant_ friends and allies, the republicans -_de la veille_, who attached a host of unfounded misrepresentations to -the objects and results of his journey. While some attacked him as a -traitor, who had betrayed his trust, and deserted his cause, by -caballing with the exiled family, others published accounts in their -journals, as if emanating from his mouth, which affixed not only the -greatest ridicule and scorn to the person and manners of the Duke of -Bordeaux, but the hatred and contempt of all "true patriots" to his -supposed opinions. It was to refute these calumnies, then, and to deny -these perversions of truth, that M. Didier at last found himself -reluctantly compelled to publish a simple account of his "_Visite au -Duc de Bordeaux_." He complains, with much _naiveté_, in a species of -preface, that he has been forced to this step, which he himself looks -upon as an indiscretion, by his own party, since, although the whole -affair appears in his eyes little more than "much ado about nothing," -by such means alone, in declaring the whole truth, he can establish -simple facts. The very same sentiment, he says--that, probably, of -delicacy--which enjoined his silence at first, now, combined with a -love of truth, enjoins his giving publicity to an account in which he -affirms that all is truth, simple truth, and no more nor less than the -truth. It was as a republican that he presented himself, he goes on to -say, and as a republican that he was received. In support of his -words, although refuting all pretensions to discuss politics, he gives -his republican "_profession de foi_." "I have been thus driven," he -continues, "to paint, from nature, an interior of an exiled family, -which struck me by its politeness and dignity. Such was the task -before me; and I have accomplished it conscientiously, without any -regard for persons, and without any sacrifice of opinion. The prestige -of rank has exercised no influence on me. I have been simply true." -And what has been the result? The supposed friends of M. Didier, the -arch-republicans, have _forced_ him, an ardent republican himself--a -republican _de l'avant-veille_, as he calls himself, but genuine and -sincere--to forward the cause of legitimacy, to publishing an -eulogium, of the most striking description, of the young prince who -represents legitimacy in France. Dreamers might almost see the hand of -Providence in this result of factious calumny. - -It is needless, here, to follow M. Didier into the details of the -mission given him by Lamartine, when minister of foreign affairs, of -which he explains neither the cause nor the purposes, although he -dwells at some length upon the cause of his journey through Austria, -Hungary, Croatia, and a part of Germany, and more especially upon the -dates of his progress, probably with the intention of refuting the -calumny which asserted that he was officially sent as a spy upon the -ex-royal family of the elder branch. It may be remarked, however, _en -passant_, that he speaks not over-well of the Austrian revolutionists, -with whom he mixed, and that he readily acknowledges the veritable -anti-revolutionary spirit of the army and the masses. On the -conclusion of his mission, and his return to France by the north of -Italy, he heard by chance, on his passage to Trieste, for the first -time, he declares, that not far from his road lay the chateau of -Frohsdorf, and that this same chateau of Frohsdorf was inhabited by -the exiled family of France. It was only many months afterwards, -however, when he returned to Germany, for his own pleasure and -information, and as "_simple voyageur_," that having received, by -chance, a letter from a friend in Paris for the Duc de Lévis, one of -the faithful adherents attached to the little court of the exiled -Bourbons, he determined to profit by it, in order to visit Frohsdorf -on his way once more from Vienna to the north of Italy. Before -commencing the recital of this passage of his journey, M. Didier again -deprecates any purpose but that of interest and curiosity, and enters -into very minute details, to prove that he made no mystery or -concealment of his intention. - -It would lead to too great diffuseness also to enter into M. Didier's -description (however prettily written) of his journey through Baden, -(near Vienna,) Wiener Neustadt; of the deserted and abandoned railroad -from thence to Oldenburg in Hungary, on which "the station-houses -were closed, the signals motionless, and the grass grew between the -rails"--all communication having been cut off on account of the war. -The description, however, of the habitation of the exiled family of -French princes offers a more lively interest in an historical point of -view. We shall quote M. Didier:-- - - "Frohsdorf is an old feudal estate, which, from the hands of - some Austrian family, the name of which I do not know, - passed, under the Restoration, into those of Madame Caroline - Murat, the ex-queen of Naples. By her it was sold to the - Duchess d'Angoulême, under the name of the Duke of Blacas. - The domain administered by a steward, is not vast as a - princely domain; but the habitation is spacious, although - scarcely sufficing for the number of the inhabitants. It is - surrounded on all sides by a dry moat, which is, more - properly speaking, only a long area for the kitchen and - household offices, crossed by a stone bridge in face of the - principal entrance. I do not know whether any other exists: I - believe not. The chateau has nothing feudal, much less royal, - in appearance. It is a great white German house, the pointed - roof of which is crowned with chimneys and garret-windows, - and ornamented in the middle with a triangular gable. The - ground-floor is on a level with the bridge, and is surmounted - by two stories. The façade presents nine windows, those of - the second floor being small and square, the others of - reasonable dimensions: one alone, immediately above the - doorway, which is large and arched, is ornamented by a - balcony, and flanked by flattened pillars. These pillars, and - the gable above, are the only portions of the façade which - have the appearance of any architectural design. A great - round tower flanks the western side: it descends into the - moat; but, unfortunately, is truncated, and cut off at the - level of the roof. In this tower is the chapel: behind is the - park, terminated by a _jardin Anglais_, both of which are of - no considerable size. A little further is a broken hill, - planted with green trees, upon which is built the _Maison de - Garde_, a pretty little house, which any Parisian family - would occupy with pleasure. A little further, and as if to - terminate the view, is a ruin, which marks, I believe, the - limits of the estate. The site is stern, and impressed with a - certain melancholy. To the west lies a vast plain, at the - extremity of which rises, in all its magnificence, the chain - of mountains which separates Styria from the Archduchy of - Austria. The horizon was dentellated by the mountain points; - and the snow, with which the highest was covered, sparkled in - the sun with the frozen fire of its thousand diamonds. On the - east the aspect was different: on this side, and at - musket-shot distance, runs a long hill of no prepossessing - appearance, although wooded, upon the summit of which runs - the limit of the Hungarian frontiers, guarded, when I was - there, by armed peasants. The town of Oldenburg may be seen - from it.... Frohsdorf is thus very near the Hungarian - frontier--so near, that such an abode is not without its - dangers in the present war. In case of an attack, the few - troops in the village--the last in Austria on this - side--would prove a very insufficient defence. But, - accustomed to the vicissitudes of exile, hardened by - adversity, and with confidence in God, or their destinies, - the inhabitants of Frohsdorf appeared to me to pay no heed to - a peril, the possibility of which they could not deny.... The - entrance of the chateau is cold and sad as that of a convent; - and in the court, narrow and deep, is an air of dampness. - Such, at least, was my impression. On the right, in the - entrance-hall, is the porter's lodge, and near the door is - suspended a great bill indicating the hours of departure and - arrival of the trains--the only sign of communication between - this solitude and the world beyond. I asked, in French, for - the Duke of Levis; and it was in French I was answered; for, - from the cellars to the garrets, even to the veriest drudge, - all is French. I was conducted, with much politeness, to a - large bedroom looking on the country, where lay on the table - some French newspapers. M. de Levis joined me immediately." - -After some conversation, which naturally turned upon the position of -France, in which M. Didier was surprised to find the Duc de Levis "_si -bien au fait des choses et des hommes_,"--the Duke quitted him to ask -when it would please the Duc de Bordeaux to receive the stranger, and -returned shortly to say that it would immediately. The following is -curious in the mouth of the republican:-- - - "I was ignorant what title to give to the prince; and, having - come to seek him under his own roof, I was naturally desirous - to do what was customary, neither more nor less. I asked M. - de Levis. 'There is no etiquette here,' he replied; 'we are - exiles. We address the prince, however, as _Monseigneur_.' I - took the hint; and, although little accustomed to the - language of courts, I hope I did what was _convenable_ under - the circumstances. I ought to confess, at the same time, that - I was afterwards less happy with the Duchess of Bordeaux, and - the Duchess of Angoulême, to whom I sometimes gave the title - of 'Highness.' Now, it struck me afterwards, that this title, - which was a deference on my part, must have appeared to them - both a want of respect, and a direct denial of their supposed - rights; to the one, because she considers herself queen since - her marriage with the descendant of Henri IV., who, in her - eyes, is necessarily Henri V.; to the other, because she - considers herself to have been queen also in virtue of the - abdication of Charles X.; and the fact is, that, even in her - presence, the inhabitants of Frohsdorf call her, among - themselves, the Queen." - -The most remarkable part of the book, in a political point of -view--that, in fact, which has produced in France the sensation -already alluded to among all parties--now follows. We must quote M. -Didier verbally:-- - - "_Monsieur le Duc de Bordeaux_ occupies the ground-floor of - the chateau. He received me in a study simply furnished, - which looks out upon the distant hills of Hungary. I remarked - a collection of guns, and an arm-chair entirely made of - deer-skin, the horns forming the arms and back. The prince - was standing by a writing-table, placed in the middle of the - room, with one hand resting upon his arm-chair. He neither - sat down, nor bade me be seated, at first; and his reception - of me was not exempt from a sort of solemnity. In a word, he - received me _en roi_. Habituated to the visits of his - partisans, and of his partisans alone, I was a novelty to - him. He knew no more of me than my opinions, and some works, - the matter of which could evidently not be to his taste. - Perhaps he expected to find in me one of those furious - democrats, who, to use a common phrase, _mettent les pieds - dans les plats_, and supposed that I might attack him - coarsely. Hence his reserve at first. It was very evident - that he stood on the defensive, and waited to see me advance. - His inquiring and somewhat strained look expressed, at least - so I read it, what I have here said. After a few trivial - remarks, the necessary preamble of every visit, and - especially of such a one, he begged me to be seated, and the - conversation commenced. As far as I can recollect, the - following was the first serious remark I addressed to - him,--'_Monseigneur_, I am ignorant, and God alone can know, - what destinies are reserved for you in the future; but if you - have a chance of reigning one day in France, which, for my - own part, I do not desire, the chance is this: If, by any - impossibility, France, exhausted by her experiments, at the - end of her resources, no longer finds in the elective power - the stability she seeks--if discouragement and misreckoning - cause her to turn her eyes towards the hereditary principle - as the most stable basis of authority--it is you who - represent this principle; and in that case France herself - will seek you out. Till then you have but one thing to do--to - await events.' The Duke of Bordeaux listened to me with - attention; as I spoke, his rigidity visibly relaxed; the ice - was broken. He answered me without hesitation, that I had - interpreted his own thoughts; that he never would undertake - anything against the established powers; that he never would - put himself forward, and that he had no personal ambition; - but that he considered himself, in fact, the principle of - order and stability; and that he would leave this principle - untouched, were it only for the future peace of France; that - this principle constituted his whole power; that he had no - other; that he would always find sufficient force in himself - to fulfil his duty, whatever it might be, and that God would - then stand by him. 'If ever I return to France,' he added, - 'it would be to promote conciliation; and I believe that I - alone am able to effect that object fully.'" - -"There was a sincerity in the words of the young prince," pursues M. -Didier, "which brought conviction to the heart." - -Although frank and open in speaking of his personal opinions, the Duke -of Bordeaux seems to have been very reserved when speaking of _men_, -and he evidently appears to have made M. Didier talk more than he -talked himself. Upon this expression of opinions M. Didier makes the -following remarks:-- - -"The Duke of Bordeaux is far from entertaining the principles of -Charles X., and, to cite one example, the grandson repudiates all -those forms--that etiquette, and that extreme respect paid to the -royal person--which played so great a part in the House of Bourbon, -and on which the grandfather laid so much stress. He disregards all -these pompous inanities, and goes so far in this respect that he is -determined, should he ever mount upon the throne of France, to have -no court." And further, "The Duke of Bordeaux directs his attention to -all the questions of the day; he studies them all thoroughly; he is -acquainted with all the theories respecting labour. During his stay in -England, he carefully visited its chief manufactories." And -again--"Two questions principally occupy his mind--the administrative -organisation of France, by the commune, and the social problem of the -working classes. On this latter point he appeared to be imbued with -social errors, and labouring under illusions. He attributes religious -sentiments to the working classes of Paris, which they are far from -entertaining, at least in the sense he attached to the words, and is -not fully aware of the extent of their repugnance for the _drapeau -blanc_." It must not be forgotten, that M. Didier does not take into -account the progress of reactionary ideas in the few last months. M. -Didier states, that he told the Prince this bitter truth, and was -listened to with calmness and placidity. "He would have made, I am -convinced," continues the republican visitor, in a sort of _resumé_, -"an excellent constitutional monarch. The very disposition of his -mind, with his natural qualities, seem all adapted to such a -government; and his education has been directed with such ideas. -Party-spirit represents him as an _absolutist_; and such he appears to -the crowd in the distance of his exile. The truth is, that there is -not perhaps in Europe a more sincere constitutionalist than he--I -should call him also a religious liberal, without his devotion -degenerating, as has been said, into bigotry." He then proceeds with a -statement of his conviction in the moderate liberal ideas of the young -prince, "which his forefathers might have condemned as those of a -political heretic." "Many intrigues," continues the honest republican, -"have been set on foot in his name, but I would wager boldly that he -is mixed up in none, that he is ignorant of all, would disavow all. As -much as his mother (the Duchess of Berri) was fond of adventure, is he -averse to anything of the kind. He would not have a drop of blood shed -for him. I do not blame him, in this appreciation of his -character--quite the contrary; I only mean to say that this merit is -not great, perhaps, inasmuch as it is in him a matter of temperament." -"He possesses," pursues M. Didier, "good sense, candour, an excessive -kindliness of heart, and an uncontrollable, I may say, uncontested -natural generosity. He is an honest man, in the full force of the -expression." What greater eulogium could the republican pass on his -political adversary? The only words of blame which he let fall may be -comprised in the following remark. "He seems to want a directing -spirit; and perhaps wants resolution. His is a cultivated rather than -an inventive mind: he probably conceives more than he creates, and -receives more than he gives." - -In justice to Monsieur Didier, who might appear to arrogate to himself -a degree of discernment which went beyond all probable limits, we must -not omit to note his own remarks, when, in another passage, he speaks -of his own _impressions_. "It would be a ridiculous presumption, or -very idle to imagine, that I could have captivated the confidence of -the prince, or penetrated his secret character. I am far from putting -forward so ridiculous a pretension. What was I to him? A stranger; at -most a curious visitor. He evidently only said to me just what he -wished to say, went only as far as he intended to go, and made me -speak more than he spoke himself. I should have wished that it had -been the contrary; but I was, of course, not the master of the -conversation." And again he says, "God alone reads the heart! To him -alone belongs the secret of men's consciences. But still I think I can -take upon myself to affirm, that all the words of the prince were -sincere." - -On the person of the young prince M. Didier has the following--and -although there may be, in truth, something of the Lord Burleigh shake -of the head in the extreme complication of discernment contained in -the first phrase, yet the impression evidently made upon the mind of -the republican, by the appearance of the exiled heir of the throne of -France, bears none the less the stamp of truthfulness:--"His -physiognomy reveals an extreme uprightness of heart and mind, and a -lively sentiment of duty and justice, united to a love of all that is -good. In person he is of middle stature, and inclined to be stout; but -he is far from having that obesity with which he is generally -supposed, and I myself believed him, to be afflicted. The fall he had -from his horse at Kirchberg, some years ago, has left traces of the -accident. He walks heavily, and, when once seated, has difficulty in -rising; but they say that he looks well on horseback. He has silky -fair hair, and although rather full, and marked with the Bourbon type, -his face is agreeable, frank, open, sympathetic, with an air of youth -and health--the air, in fact, of his 28 years. He wears a _collier de -barbe_ and a slight mustache. His eyes are of a limpid blue, lively -and soft at the same time; he listens well, and inquires constantly: -he looks at you so straight and fixedly in the face, that I should -consider it impossible for any one to look _him_ in the face and lie. -As to himself, one look suffices to assure you of his veracity." - -The following remarks about the habits of the young prince are not -without their historical interest, and complete the eulogium forced -from the mouth of the republican. "His life is far from being an idle -one; before and after breakfast he reads several letters, several -newspapers, and reports, often of a very voluminous description, -relative to the different questions which are the order of the day in -France; then he gives a few hours of the afternoon to exercise. He -scrupulously observes his religious duties, attending divine service -two or three times a-week in the chapel of the chateau, and every -Sunday at the parish church. He writes with considerable grace, and -his letters are remarkable for their correctness and elegance." - -Perhaps the most striking, and certainly the most touching, part of -the book of M. Charles Didier, is that in which he speaks of the -Duchess d'Angoulême. It belongs not exactly to the subject of -legitimacy or its prospects in France; but the interest attached to it -is so full of pathos, and, in an historical point of view, so -considerable, that we cannot refrain from quoting a few words of the -author's account of his interview with this remarkable princess. - -M. Didier seems to have hesitated about being introduced to the aged -duchess. He was naturally scrupulous as to the effect which might be -produced upon the mind of this victim of revolutions, by the -presentation of one of those republicans, to the very name of whom, -the disastrous calamities of her early life must have inspired her -with an unconquerable horror. But he was led on by the Duc de Levis, -"not without a degree of uneasiness," and his reception by the austere -princess, in her plain dark attire, and in her severely simple room, -was as amiable as could be expected from one naturally stern, -reserved, and cold almost to harshness in manner. M. Didier appears to -have been inexpressibly touched by her appearance, as well as by her -kindly reception of him. It is thus that he speaks of the poor -"_orpheline du Temple_:"--"All party hatred must be extinguished in -the presence of the reverses of fortune she has undergone. I had -before me the woman who has suffered what woman never suffered here -below, can never suffer again. What matter that she be princess? She -is no less the daughter and the sister, thrice proscribed! She belongs -no less to a human family. This is certainly the most striking -historical figure in Europe. She produced the most profound impression -upon me, and I could not conceal the emotion that thrilled through me. -My heart was divided betwixt respect and pity. I seemed to see before -me one of those victims of fatality, immortalised by antique art. Only -Christian resignation has impressed upon the daughter of Louis XVI. a -more touching stamp, and raised her on this Christian elevation far -above the types of antiquity." What a homage is this, complete as it -is pathetic, from the mouth of the descendant of the enemies of her -race! The duchess seems to have questioned M. Didier much about that -country which he would have imagined she must have abhorred, but -which, he tells us, she cherishes with love resembling that of a -spaniel to the master whose hand has beaten him. He speaks more than -once of her extreme devotion, and indeed of that of the whole group -of exiles, to their fatherland. Another trait, which calls for respect -and admiration in the aged princess, lies in the moderation and -tolerance which M. Didier records of her. "She spoke of France with -tact and reserve, made inquiries as to the religious sentiments of the -people of Paris, and mentioned, with feelings of admiration, the death -of the Archbishop of Paris on the barricades of June. His was the only -name of which she proffered mention." And when the conversation was -made to turn upon the Orleans branch, now exiled in its turn, she was -silent about Louis Philippe, but spoke in kind and affectionate terms -of his family, and of the Duchess of Orleans; and when M. Didier -addressed her with the words, "It is impossible, Madame, but that you -must have seen, in the fall of Louis Philippe, the finger of God," she -replied in words characteristic of that type of Christian resignation, -"It is in all!" "The answer," pursues the narrator, "was given with -the utmost simplicity, and without my being able to discover in it the -least leaven of bitterness." "It may be boldly asserted that there was -no gall in this heart, which has offered, as holocaust to God, all its -griefs and all its passions. Religion is now the principal occupation, -the only consolation, of a life tried by unparalleled adversity." When -still further M. Didier--indiscreetly, it appears to us--pressed the -point by saying, "But you must own, Madame, that in spite of your -Christian magnanimity, the day you heard the news was not one of the -most unhappy of your life." "She held her peace, but with an air which -seemed to say, 'You ask too much.'" - -After giving his testimony as to the extreme politeness of the Duchess -d'Angoulême, and recording instances of her boundless charity, -"immense," he says, "for her present revenue," M. Didier has the -following touching description of the apartments of the aged princess. -"The Duchess of Angoulême, lives in the midst of the _souvenirs_ of -her youth--and yet what _souvenirs_! Far from flying from them, she -seems to cherish them; as if she found a strange funereal pleasure in -filling each day the cup of bitterness, in order each day to drain it -to the dregs. In her bedroom, which is of an austerity almost -cloistral, she has around her only objects which must recall to her -the tragic scenes of her childhood,--the portraits of her father, her -mother, and her mother's friend, the Princess of Lamballe; near her -bed, which is without curtains, a _prie-dieu_ filled with relics -sacred to her, such as the black waistcoat which her father wore in -going to the scaffold, and the lace kerchief which her mother was -forced to mend with her own hands before appearing at the -Revolutionary Tribunal. She alone has the key of these sad memorials; -and once a-year, on the 21st of January, she takes them out from the -shrine which encloses them, and lays them before her, as if in order -to live more nearly with the beloved dead who wore them. On that day -she sheds her tears in the most complete retirement: she sanctifies -the bloody anniversary by solitude and prayer." - -On this subject there is yet more touching matter, which would lead -us, however, too far. For the same reason we cannot follow the details -into which M. Didier enters respecting the Duke of Lévis, the young -Duke of Blacas, M. de Montbel, and other adherents of the exiled -family: they must be passed over, as not of immediate interest. The -following words, however, are sufficiently remarkable in the mouth of -the republican:--"I found them all not only polite and well-informed, -but most reasonable upon political topics. They are no democrats, -assuredly, but they are men of sense, who have advanced with the -progress of the age, and are fully aware of the new needs and new -interests of Europe in general, and of France in particular. They are -no conspirators; that I will answer for." - -M. Didier is pressed to stop the night; but, hurried in his journey, -only remains to dinner; and it is in the drawing-room, before dinner, -that he is presented to the young Duchess of Bordeaux. This figure in -the group of royal exiles, although of less importance as regards the -prosperity of legitimacy in France, and of the attachment which the -family may hereafter command, is worth recording also, as an -interesting historical portrait. - - "This princess," pursues M. Didier, "is daughter of the late - Duke of Modena. She speaks French with a mixed accent, half - Italian, half German, which reveals her double origin, as - German princess born in Italy. She is, I believe, two years - older than her husband. She is slim, and rather thin, but of - an elegant figure, with beautiful black wavy hair, dark eyes, - full of life and spirit. A natural defect slightly impairs - the effect of her mouth when she speaks, which is a pity, - for, with this exception, she is a very pretty woman. She - wore a white evening dress, with naked arms, and a velvet - scarf upon her shoulders. Her toilet was, perhaps, too - simple--a reproach rarely to be made--that is to say, with - too little of personal _coquetterie_ in it: it was easy to - see that no Parisian _femme de chambre_ had superintended the - arrangement. Hers is evidently a _nature distinguée_. I was - told she was of a kindly, easy disposition, and well - educated; she was evidently desirous of pleasing. Although a - princess of ancient race, she appeared to me to be timid; but - her embarrassment was not without its charm of grace. Proud - of her alliance with the descendant of Louis XIV., she has - the highest opinion of her husband; and her love for him - amounts, I was told, to adoration. She thinks him - irresistible; and, more impatient than he, but impatient far - more for him than for herself, she is firmly convinced that - he has but to show himself, in order to subjugate all the - world as he has subjugated her. In this lie all her political - opinions; that is to say, her politics are those of the - heart." - -It is to be regretted, perhaps, that we have not space for the -anecdotes of the moderation and good sense of the Duke of Bordeaux, -which M. Didier records, as collected from the mouths of his -adherents, and which must necessarily complete, upon the minds of the -great portion of the French nation, the impression made by the rest of -the book. But we must now hurry on. - -The dinner of the exiled princely family is described by the -republican visitor as simple, although served with a certain state. He -sits by the side of the Duchess of Angoulême, whose every word is one -of "politeness, courtesy, or forbearance." "The Duchess of Bordeaux," -he says, "continually fixed her eyes upon me, as with a look of -wonder. In truth, the position was a strange one--a French republican -sitting at the table of a prescribed French prince, and eating out of -plate engraved with the royal arms of France!" The evening passes, in -this little court, almost as in a private family in some French -chateau. Billiards, tapestry-work, conversation, occupy the various -personages. The republican again converses with the prince, who -listens to contradiction with the utmost good-humour. When he departs, -the whole family express, in their last words, their longing for that -country which he is about to revisit so soon, but from which they are -exiled. - -We have dwelt upon the book of M. Didier at considerable length, not -only on account of its historical interest, but on account of the -strange circumstances which induced its publication, its startling -result, the sensation it has created, and the ultimate effect it may -produce in France in paving the way for legitimacy, by attaching -interest and admiration to the person of its representative--perhaps, -also, because it does honour to the sincerity of the author, and to -the more honest republican party to which he belongs. But we have thus -excluded ourselves from the possibility of giving more than a brief -notice of the other book alluded to above, that of the Vicomte -d'Arlincourt, although, in truth, it merits, in all respects, a far -more extended observation, as a frank and straightforward expression -of the sentiments of the legitimists. We must confine ourselves, then, -principally to the circumstances which, independently of its merits, -have given the little book so great a notoriety in France, and carried -it on to the almost unexampled honours of a forty-eighth edition. They -are curious enough in themselves, and bear some analogy to those which -have determined the publication and the success of the book of M. -Didier, inasmuch as it was the ardency of republicanism which forced -upon the public notice a book, likely to forward the cause of -legitimacy in France. The little work of M. d'Arlincourt is written, -however, avowedly upon legitimist principles, and for the purpose of -awakening the attention of the nation to the cause of the man whom -the author looks upon as the ultimate saviour of the troubled country. -This legitimist book, under the title of "_Dieu le veut_," written -after the bloody days of June, might, in spite of the vigour of its -language, and the justice and good sense of most of its reasonings and -remarks, never have emerged so prominently from the inundation of -political pamphlets which floods republican France, had it not pleased -the government, pushed on by the clamours of a more violent party, to -seize the work, and bring the author to trial. The affair made a -considerable sensation in August last; the court of justice was -crowded: the interest excited was great. The passages more -particularly incriminated were, that which likened the republic to the -plague; that which said the sovereignty of the people, when not a -bloody truth, was a ridiculous mystification; and that which contained -the words, "the Republic will have proved to be the necessary -transition from a revolutionary tempest to a social regeneration. In -the general movement of men's minds is written the happy advent of the -chosen of Providence. He draws nearer! he will come!" After the -defence of his own counsel, M. d'Arlincourt himself rose and -supported, in a striking speech, the honesty of his intentions and his -designs as a _bon citoyen_, without bating one iota of his legitimist -principles. The result was a unanimous verdict of "not guilty" from -the jury. A burst of applause, which no authority could check, -resounded through the court. It was from the common classes, also, -that came the approbation: workmen shouted in the court, "_Dieu le -veut! Dieu le veut!_" to the rhythm of the famous "_des lampions!_" -and, on the morrow, delegates of the _dames de la Halle_, and of the -artisans of Paris came, with _bouquets_, to felicitate the author on -his acquittal. We will not lay an unnecessary weight upon this -movement of a portion of the lower classes, which may arise from the -sentiments of a small minority, although perhaps more considerable -than seems to be generally supposed. The result, however, of the trial -has been to spread the book through the country in its almost -interminable editions, and thus to spread more and more abroad those -legitimist feelings, which, we confidently assert are daily more and -more gaining ground throughout France, and which may one day, in case -of another revolution, that may be brought upon the country by the -excesses of the ultra party, bear their fruits. At all events the -destiny of these two books, in furthering the cause of legitimacy, in -the one case contrary to the opinions of the author, in the other by -the very means intended to check and even crush it, is singular -enough. - -Whatever may be written upon the dark pages of a nation's future, it -is very evident that "Legitimacy in France" has made considerable -ground among the masses. It cannot, certainly, be said to have been -from the influence of convictions, or, in the general herd, from any -reliance upon theories of legitimacy, properly speaking. It has arisen -from disgust and distrust of other governments; from the sad -experience of the miseries occasioned to the country by the present -revolution; from despair in the stability of a republican rule, with -insurrection always growling beneath the surface; from hope in a -greater stability and confidence under a legitimate monarchy. -Legitimacy, then, can but grow and flourish in France in the chances -of revolutions; and if it triumphs, it will be by the excesses of its -enemies, and the restless subversive attempts of the ultra-republican -party. But again: who can say confidently that it will triumph? Still -more: who shall dare, in the present state of France, to say that it -_shall not_? - -FOOTNOTE: - -[23] _Une Visite â Monsieur le Duc de Bordeaux._ Par CHARLES DIDIER. -Paris: 1849. _Dieu le Veut._ Par VICOMTE D'ARLINCOURT. Paris: 1848-9. - - - - -THE COLLEGE.--A SKETCH IN VERSE. - - "Scinditur incertum studia in contraria vulgus." - - Oft has some fair inquirer bid me say, - What tasks, what sports beguile the gownsman's day; - What cares are ours--by what light arts we try - To teach our sober-footed hours to fly. - List, then, ye belles, who, nursed in golden ease, - No arts need study, but the arts to please; - Who need no science, while with skill ye know - To wield the weapons which your charms bestow-- - With grace to thread the dance's mazy throng-- - To strike the tuneful chords, and swell the song-- - To rouse man's sterner spirit to his toil, - And cheer its harshness with a grateful smile. - Thus my weak muse a bolder flight shall raise, - Lured by the glorious hope of Beauty's praise. - - Soon as the clouds divide, and dawning day - Tints the quadrangle with its earliest ray, - The porter, wearied with his watchings late, - Half opes his eyelids and the wicket gate; - And many a yawning gyp comes slipshod in, - To wake his master ere the bells begin. - - Round yon gray walls, enchained by slumber's spell, - Each son of learning snores within his cell. - For though long vigils the pale student keep, - E'en learning's self, we know, must sometimes sleep-- - So morn shall see him, with a brightened face, - Fresh as a giant, to resume his race. - But hark! the chimes of yonder chapel-tower - Sound the arrival of the unwelcome hour. - Now drowsy Lentulus his head half rears, - To mumble curses on the Dean he fears. - What though his gyp exhort him, ere too late, - To seek the chapel and avert his fate? - Who, when secure his downy sheets between, - Recks of the threatenings of an angry Dean! - Slow rolling round he bids his mentor go - And bear his warnings to the shades below. - Soon shall he, summoned to the well-known room,[24] - Repent his recklessness and learn his doom, - Within the walls a dull constraint to know, - And many a midnight jollity forego. - Far happier he, to whom the harsh-tongued bell - Sounds, as it should, his murdered slumber's knell. - Cold he contemns, and, shuffling on his clothes, - Boldly stalks forth, nor heeds his redd'ning nose. - Straight o'er the grass-plot cuts his dewy line - In mad defiance of the College fine; - Breathless with hurry gains the closing grate, - And thanks his stars he was not just too late. - His name prick'd off upon the marker's roll, - No twinge of conscience racks his easy soul, - While tutor's wines and Dean's soft smiles repay - His prompt submission to the College sway. - - The service o'er, by Cam's dull bank of sedge - He strides, while hunger gains a keener edge; - (Though fasting walks I cannot loathe too much, - Since such my custom, my advice be such.) - For him, who straight returns, what horrors wait! - How chill and comfortless his chamber's state. - The crackling fuel only serves too well - To show the cold it vainly strives to quell; - While the grim bedmaker provokes the dust, - And soot-born atoms, which his tomes encrust: - Awhile suspended high in air they soar, - Then, sinking, seek the shelves on which they slept before. - Down bolt his commons and his scalding tea, - Then off to lectures in pedantic glee. - He notes each artifice and master-stroke-- - Each musty parallel and mustier joke; - Snaps up the driblets to his share consigned, - And as he cram'd his body crams his mind; - Then seeks at home digestion for his lore, - And slams in Folly's face the twice-barred door. - - This hour, perchance, sees Lentulus descend - To seek the chamber of some jovial friend-- - Yawn o'er the topics of the passing day, - Or damn the losses of his last night's play; - While well he augurs from the clattering plates, - The glad intelligence that breakfast waits. - - From Memory's store the sportive muse may glean - The charms that gild awhile the careless scene-- - The song, the anecdote, the bet, the joke, - The steaming viands, and the circling smoke-- - The racy cider-cup, or brisk champagne, - Long prompt the merriment and rouse the strain; - Till Pleasure, sated of the loaded board, - Seeks what amusement fresher scenes afford. - Some prove their skill in fence--some love to box-- - Some thirst for vengeance on the dastard fox; - Each by his fav'rite sport's enchanting power, - Cheats of its tediousness the flying hour. - - Now the dull court a short siesta takes, - For scarce a footstep her still echo wakes, - Save where the prowling duns their victim scout, - And seize the spendthrift wretch that dares steal out. - - Come, let us wander to the river's bank, - And learn what charm collects yon breathless rank; - The hope or horror pictured in each face - Marks the excitement of the coming race. - Hark! o'er the waters booms the sound of strife; - Now the hush'd voices leap at once to life; - Now to their toil the striving oarsmen bend; - Now their gay hues the flaunting banners blend; - Now leap the wavedrops from the flashing oar; - Now the woods echo to the madd'ning roar; - Now hot th' enthusiastic crowd pursue, - And scream hoarse praises on the unflinching crew; - Now in one last wild chance each arm is strained; - One panting struggle more--the goal is gained. - A scene like this, what stream can boast beside? - Scarce rival Isis on her fairer tide.[25] - But think not thus could live the rower's power, - Save long privation steeled him for the hour. - The couch relinquished at the voice of morn, - The toilsome exercise, the cup forsworn, - The frugal dinner, and scarce-tasted wine-- - Are these no sacrifice at glory's shrine? - Thus with new trophies shall his walls be graced-- - Each limb new strengthened, and each nerve new braced. - - Some idlers to the pavements keep their feet, - And strut and ogle all the passing street. - And if 'tis Sunday's noon, on King's Parade,[26] - See the smug tradesman too and leering maid; - See the trim shop-boy cast his envious eye - On Topling's waistcoat and on Sprightly's tie, - Bravely resolved to hoard his labour's fruit, - And ape their fancies in his next new suit. - - But now the sounding clocks in haste recall - Each hungry straggler to his College hall; - For Alma Mater well her nursling rears, - Nor cheats his gullet, while she fills his ears. - Heavens! what a clatter rends the steam-fraught air-- - How waiters jostle, and how Freshmen stare! - One thought here strikes me--and the thought is sad-- - The carving for the most part is but bad. - See the torn turkey and the mangled goose! - See the hack'd sirloin and the spattered juice! - Ah! can the College well her charge fulfil, - Who thus neglects the petit-maître's skill? - The tutor proves each pupil on the books-- - Why not give equal license to the cooks? - As the grave lecturer, with scrupulous care, - Tries how his class picks up its learned fare-- - From Wisdom's banquet makes the dullard fast-- - Denied admittance till his trial's past-- - So the slow Freshman on a crust should starve, - Till practice taught him nobler food to carve: - Then Granta's sons a useful fame should know, - And shame with skill each dinner-table beau. - - High on the daïs, and more richly stored, - Well has old custom placed the Fellow's board: - Thus shall the student feel his fire increased - By brave ambition for the well-graced feast-- - Mark the sleek merriment of rev'rend Dons, - And learn how science well rewards her sons. - But spare, my muse, to pierce the sacred gloom - That veils the mysteries of the Fellows' room; - Nor hint how Dons, their untasked hours to pass, - Like Cato, warm their virtues with the glass.[27] - - Once more, at sound of chapel chime, repairs - The surpliced scholar to his vesper prayers; - For discipline this tribute at his hands, - First and last duty of the day, demands. - Then each, as diligence or mirth invite, - Careful improves or thriftless wastes the night. - - Stand in the midst, and with observant eye - Each chamber's tenant at his task descry. - Here the harsh mandate of the Dean enthrals - Some prayerless pris'ner to the College walls, - Who in the novel's pages seeks to find - A brief oblivion for his angry mind. - Haply the smoke-wreathed meerschaum shall supply - An evenness of soul which they deny. - Charm! that alike can soothing pleasure bring - To sage or savage, mendicant or king; - Sov'reign to blunt the pangs of torturing pain, - Or clear the mazes of the student's brain! - Swift at thy word, amidst the soul's misrule, - Content resumes her sway, and rage grows cool. - - Here pores the student, till his aching sight - No more can brook the glimmering taper's light; - Then Slumber's links their nerveless captive bind, - While Fancy's magic mocks his fevered mind; - Then a dim train of years unborn sweeps by - In glorious vision on his raptured eye: - See Fortune's stateliest sons in homage bow, - And fling vain lustre o'er his toilworn brow! - Away, ye drivellers! dare ye speak to him - Of cheek grown bloodless, or of eye grown dim? - Who heeds the sunken cheek, or wasted frame, - While Hope shouts "Onward! to undying fame." - - Glance further, if thine eye can pierce the mist - Raised round the votaries of Loo and Whist; - Scarce such kind Venus round her offspring flung - To bear him viewless through the Punic throng;[28] - Scarce such floats round old Skiddaw's crown of snow, - And veils its grimness from the plains below. - Here, too, gay Lentulus conspicuous sits, - Chief light and oracle of circling wits. - Who with such careless grace the trick can take, - Or fling with such untrembling hand his stake? - But though with well-feigned case his glass he sips, - And puffs the balmy cloud from smiling lips, - Care broods within--his soul alone regards - His ebbing pocket and the varying cards; - While one resolve his saddened spirit fills-- - The diminution of his next term's bills. - - Lamp after lamp expires as night grows late, - And feet less frequent rattle at the gate. - The wearied student now rakes out his fire-- - The host grows dull, and yawning guests retire-- - Till, all its labours and its follies o'er, - The silent College sinks to sleep once more. - - Thus roll the hours, thus roll the weeks away, - Till terms expiring bring the long-feared day, - When rake and student equal terror know-- - That lest he's plucked, this lest he pass too low. - Though different epochs mark their wide careers, - And serve for reck'ning points through fleeting years-- - To this a tripos or a Senate's grace, - To that a fox-hunt, ball, or steeple-chase,-- - When three short years of toil or sloth are past, - This common bugbear scares them all at last. - - The doors flung wide, the boards and benches set, - The nervous candidates for fame are met. - See yon poor wretch, just shivering from his bed, - Gnaw at his nails and scratch his empty head; - With lengthened visage o'er each question pore, - And ransack all his memory for its store. - This Euclid argued, or this Newton taught-- - Thus Butler reasoned, or thus Paley thought; - With many a weapon of the learned strife, - Prized for an hour, then flung aside for life. - Ah! what avails him now his vaunted art, - To stride the steed, or guide the tandem-cart? - His loved ecarté, or his gainful whist? - What snobs he pommelled, or what maidens kissed? - His ball-room elegance, his modish air, - And easy impudence, that charmed the fair? - Ah! what avails him that to Fashion's fame - Admiring boudoirs echoed forth his name? - All would he yield, if all could buy one look, - Though but a moment's, o'er the once-scorned book. - --Enough, enough, once let the scene suffice; - Bid me not, Fancy, brave its horrors twice. - The wrangler's glory in his well-earned fame, - The prizeman's triumph, and the pluck'd man's shame, - With all fair Learning's well-bestowed rewards, - Are they not fitting themes for nobler bards? - Poor Lentulus, twice plucked, some happy day - Just shuffles through, and dubs himself B. A.; - Thanks heaven, flings by his cap and gown, and shuns - A place made odious by remorseless duns. - Not so the wrangler,--him the Fellows' room - Shall boast its ornament for years to come; - Till some snug rectory to his lot may fall, - Or e'en (his fondest wish) a prebend's stall: - Then burst triumphant on th' admiring town - The full-fledged honours of his Doctor's gown. - - Yes, Granta, thus thy sacred shades among - Join grave and thoughtless in one motley throng. - Forgive my muse, if aught her trifling air - Seems to throw scorn upon thy kindly care. - Long may thy sons, with heaven-directed hand, - Spread wide the glories of a grateful land-- - Uphold their country's and their sovereign's cause-- - Adorn her church, or wield her rev'rend laws; - By virtue's might her senate's counsel sway, - And scare red Faction powerless from his prey. - - And ye, who, thriftless of your life's best days, - Have sought but Pleasure in fair Learning's ways, - Though nice reformers of the sophists' school - Mock the old maxims of Collegiate rule, - Deem them not worthless, because oft abused, - Nor sneer at blessings, which yourselves refused.--U. T. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[24] _Videlicet_--the Dean's apartment; a visit to which frequently -concludes by the visitor's finding himself "gated," _i. e._, obliged -to be within the college walls by 10 o'clock at night; by this he is -prevented from partaking in suppers, or other nocturnal festivities, -in any other college or in lodgings. - -[25] Be not indignant, ye broader waves of Thames and Isis! In the -number of contending barks, and the excitement of the spectators of -the strife, Cam may, with all due modesty, boast herself unequalled. -To the swiftness of her champion galleys ye have yourselves often -borne witness. - -[26] The most fashionable promenade for the "spectantes" and -"spectandi" of Cambridge. - -[27] - - "Narratur et prisci Catonis - Sæpe mero caluisse virtus."--HORACE, _Odes_. - -[28] VIRGIL, _Æneid_, i. 415. - - - - -JACK MOONLIGHT. - - -Some time ago, on the way from Glasgow to Liverpool, amongst the -confusion and bustle in the railway terminus at Greenock, I was -interested by seeing what struck me more by contrast with the rest of -the scene, but, from old associations, would have drawn my attention -at any time. Passengers, porters, and trucks were meeting from both -directions; ladies and gentlemen anxious about their bandboxes and -portmanteaus; one engine puffing off its steam, and another screaming -as it departed. Through the midst of all, a group of six seamen, from -a third-class carriage, were lugging along their bags and hammocks, -dingy and odorous with genuine tar in all its modifications. Five of -the party, of different heights, ages, and sizes, were as dark-brown -mahogany-colour, in face, throat, and hands, as some long sea-voyage -had made them, evidently through latitudes where the wind blows the -sun, if the sun doesn't burn the wind. One was a fine, stout, -middle-aged man, with immense whiskers and a cap of Manilla grass, a -large blue jacket, with a gorgeous India handkerchief stuffed in its -capacious outside pocket, and brown trousers, with boots, whom I at -once set down for the boatswain of some good East-Indiaman. The sixth -was a woolly-pated negro lad, about nineteen or twenty, dressed in -sailor's clothes with the rest, but with his characteristically -shapeless feet cramped up in a pair of Wellingtons, in which he -stumped along, while his companions had the usual easy roll of their -calling. The fellow was black as a coal, thick-lipped and flat-nosed; -but if, like most negroes, he had only kept grinning, it would not -have seemed so ridiculous as the gravity of his whole air. Some young -ladies standing near, with parasols spread to save their fair -complexions from the sun, said to each other, "Oh, do look at the -foreign sailors!" I knew, however, without requiring to hear a single -word from them, that they were nothing else but the regular true-blue -English tars; such, indeed, as you seldom find belonging to even the -sister kingdoms. A Scotchman or an Irishman may make a good sailor, -and, for the theory of the thing, why, they are probably "six and -half-a-dozen;" but, somehow, there appears to be in the English -sea-dog a peculiar capacity of developing the appropriate ideal -character--that frank, bluff, hearty _abandon_, and mixture of -practical skill with worldly simplicity, which mark the oceanic man. -All dogs can swim, but only water-dogs have the foot webbed and the -hair shaggy. The Englishman is the only one you can thoroughly salt, -and make all his bread biscuit, so that he can both be a boy at fifty, -and yet chew all the hardships of experience without getting conscious -of his wisdom. - -So I reflected, at any rate, half joke, half earnest, while hastening -to the Liverpool steamer, which lay broadside to the quay, and, -betwixt letting off steam and getting it up, was blowing like a mighty -whale come up to breathe. The passengers were streaming up the plank, -across by her paddle-boxes, as it were so many Jonahs going into its -belly; amongst whom I was glad to see my nautical friends taking a -shorter cut to the steerage, and establishing themselves with a sort -of half-at-home expression in their sunburnt weatherly faces. In a -little while the "City of Glasgow" was swimming out of the firth, with -short quick blows of her huge fins, that grew into longer and longer -strokes as they revolved in the swells of the sea; the jib was set out -over her sharp nose to steady her, and the column of smoke from her -funnel, blown out by the wind, was left, in her speed, upon the -larboard quarter, to compare its dark-brown shadow with the white -furrow behind. At the beginning of the long summer evening the round -moon rose, white and beautiful, opposite the blue peaks of Arran, -shining with sunset. By that time the steamer's crowded and lumbered -decks had got somewhat settled into order; the splash of the paddles, -and the clank of the engine, leaping up and down at the window of its -house, kept up a kind of quiet, by contrast, in spite of the -different noises going on around. Amongst such, a nuisance apparently -inseparable from and peculiar to steamboats, is a blind fiddler, whose -everlasting infernal scrape, squeaking away on the foredeck, one -cannot help blending with the thump and shudder of those emetic -machines on a large scale, and considering it not the least element in -producing the disagreeable phenomena so well known on board of them. -One of these said floating musicians, who thus wander probably in -imitation of Arion, and in revenge for his fate, was now performing to -the groups near the paddle-boxes. Beyond them, however, by the -steamer's patent iron windlass, there was a quiet space at the bow, -where, in a short time, I perceived the figures of the sailors -relieved against the brisk sea-view above the insignificant bowsprit. -I went forward out of the privileged regions to smoke a cigar, and -found the two elder ones sitting over the windlass in conversation -with another seafaring passenger, evidently less thoroughbred, -however. The rest were walking backwards and forwards to a side, with -the quick rolling walk, limited in extent, so characteristic of the -genus _nauta_--the negro turning his head now and then to grin as he -heard the music, but otherwise above mixing in the rabble of already -disconsolate-looking people behind. He was plainly considered by his -shipmates, and considered himself, on a footing of perfect equality: -his skin was no odium to the men of the sea, whose lot he had no doubt -shared, whatever it might have been in the cabin. Their bedding was -already spread under shelter of the half top-gallant forecastle at the -heel of the bowsprit, amongst spars and coils of rope. Although -sailors are understood to go half-fare in steamers, they no doubt -preferred the accommodation thus chosen. It was amusing to notice how -the regular, long-sea, wind-and-canvass men seemed to look down upon -the hermaphrodites of the "funnel-boat," and were evidently regarded -by them as superior beings; nor did they hold much communication -together. - -While standing near, I made a remark or two to the eldest of the -seamen, whom I had marked down for the leader of the little nautical -band; and it was not difficult to break ice with the frank tar. He was -more intelligent and polished than is usual even with the superior -class of his vocation, having seen more countries of the globe, and -their peculiarities, than would set up a dozen writers of travels. -They had all sailed together in the same vessels for several voyages: -had been last to Calcutta, Singapore, and Canton, in a large Liverpool -Indiaman, to which they were returning after a trip, during the -interval, on some affair of the boatswain's at Glasgow; and, curiously -enough, they had made a cruise up Loch Lomond, none of them having -seen a fresh-water lake of any size before. In the mean time, while -the negro passed up and down with his companions before me, I had been -remarking that his naked breast, seen through the half-open check -shirt, was tattooed over with a singular device, in conspicuous red -and blue colours: indeed, without something or other of the sort he -could scarcely have been a sailor, for the barbarians of the sea and -those of the American forest have a good deal in common. This peculiar -ornament of the sable young mariner I at length observed upon to the -boatswain. "Jack Moonlight!" said the seaman, turning round, "come -here, my son: show the gentleman your papers, will ye?" The black -grinned, looked flattered, as I thought, and, opening his shirt, -revealed to me the whole of his insignia. In the middle was what -appeared meant for a broken ring-bolt; above that a crown; below an -anchor; on one side the broad arrow of the dock-yard, and on the other -the figures of 1838. "My sartif'cates, sar, is dat!" said the negro, -showing his white teeth. "That's his figure-head, sir," said one of -the younger sailors, "but he's got a different mark abaft, ye know, Mr -Wilson!" "Never mind, Dick," said the boatswain; "the one scores out -the other, my lad." The black looked grave again, and they resumed -their walk. "What's his name, did you say?" I inquired,--"Moonlight?" -"Yes, sir; Jack Moonlight it is." _Ut lucus a non lucendo_, thought I: -rather a preternatural moonlight--a sort of _dark_-lantern! "Why, who -christened him that?" I said. "Well, sir," replied the boatswain, "the -whole ship's company, I think: the second mate threw a ship's-bucket -of gulf-stream water over his head, too, for a blessing; and the black -cook, being skilled that way, gave him the marks. Jack is his christen -name, sir--_Moonlight_ is what we call his on-christen one." "There's -a entire yarn about it, sir," remarked the other sailor. "I wish you -would tell it me!" said I to the boatswain, seating myself on the -windlass, while his two companions looked to him with an expression of -the same desire. "Why, sir," said the bluff foremast officer, hitching -up his trousers, and looking first at one boot and then at the other, -"I'm not the best hand myself at laying up the strands of a matter; -but however, as I was first whistle in the concern, why, you shall -have the rights of it. You see, sir," continued he, "we were lying at -that time inside the Havannah, opposight the Mole--the Mary Jane of -Bristol, Captain Drew, a ship o' seven hundred tons. 'Twas in the year -'38, I think, Tom?" "Ay, ay, Mr Wilson," replied the other sailor, -"'tis logged correct enough on Jack Moonlight's breast." "She was -round from Jamaica for some little matter to fill up," continued the -boatswain, "so we didn't leave the cable long betwixt wind and water; -but, two nights before the Mary Jane sailed, a large Portugee schooner -came in, and brought up within thirty fathoms of our starboard -quarter, slam on to us, so as we looked into her cabin windows, but -nothing else. She'd got the American flag flying, and a Yankee mate -that answered sometimes, 'twas said, for the skipper; but by the looks -of her, and a large barracoon being a'most right in a line with her -bowsprit, we hadn't no doubt what she was after. The first night, by -the lights and the noise, we considered they landed a pretty few score -of blacks, fresh from the Guinea coast and a stew in the middle -passage. And all the time there was the Spanish guard-boats, and the -court sitting every few days to look after such tricks, and saying -they kept a watch the devil himself couldn't shirk. There was a -British cruiser off the Floridas, too, but we reckoned she'd been -blown up the Gulf by a hurricane the morning before. Next night was -bright moonlight, so they were all quiet till two bells of the third -watch; then they began to ship off their _bales_ again, as they call -'em--the moon being on the set, and the schooner in a shadow from the -ware-houses. 'Twas all of a sort o' smothered bustle aboard of her, -for the sailmaker and I was keeping our hour of the anchor-watch. I -was only rated able seaman at that time in the Mary Jane. Well, the -shadow of the schooner came almost as far as the currents about our -rudder, and I was looking over the quarter, when I thought I saw a -trail shining in it, as if something was swimming towards us. -'Sailmaker,' says I, 'is that the shark, d'ye think, that they say is -fed alongside of one o' them slavers here for a sentry?' 'Where?' said -the sailmaker, and 'Look,' says I. Just that moment what did I see but -the woolly black head of a nigger come out into the stroak of white -water, 'twixt our counter and the schooner's shadow, swimming as quiet -as possible to get round into ours! 'Keep quiet, mate,' I said; 'don't -frighten the poor fellow! He's contrived to slink off, I'll bet you, -in the row!' Next we heard him scrambling up into the mizen chains, -then his head peeps over the bulwarks, but neither of us turned about, -so he crept along to the forecastle, where the scuttle was off, and -the men all fast in their hammocks. Down he dives in a moment. The -sailmaker and I slipped along to see what he'd do. Right under the -fok'sle ladder was the trap of the cook's coal-hole, with a ring-bolt -in it for lifting; and just when we looked over, there was the nigger, -as naked as ye please, a heaving of it up to stow himself away, -without asking where. As soon as he was gone, and the trap closed, -'Why,' said the sailmaker, 'he's but a boy.' 'He's a smart chap, -though, sure enough, sailmaker!' says I. 'But what pauls me, is how -quick he picked out the fittest berth in the ship. Why, old Dido won't -know but what it's his wife Nancy's son, all blacked over with the -coals!' 'Well, bo',' says the sailmaker, laughing, 'we mustn't let -the black doctor get down amongst his gear, on no account, till the -ship's clear away to sea!' _Doctor_, you know, sir--that's what we -call the cook at sea. 'Never fear, mate,' says I, 'I'll manage old -Dido myself, else he'd blow the whole concern amongst them confounded -planters in the cabin.' This Dido, you must understand, sir, was the -black cook of the Mary Jane: his name, by rights, was Di'dorus -Thomson; but he'd been cook's mate of the Dido frigate for two or -three years before, and always called himself Dido--though I've heard -'twas a woman's name instead of a man's. He was a Yankee nigger, as -black as his own coals, and had married a Bristol woman. She had one -son, but he was as white as herself; so 'twas a joke in the ship -against old Dido, how he'd contrived to wash his youngster so clean, -and take all the dirt on himself. We run the rig on him about his -horns, too, and the white skin under his paint, till the poor fellow -was afraid to look in a glass for fear of seeing the devil. - -"Next morning, before we began to get up anchor, the cook turns out of -his hammock at six o'clock to light the galley fire, and down he comes -again to the forecastle to get coals out of his hold. 'Twas just -alongside of my hammock, so I looked over, and says I, 'Hullo, doctor! -hold on a minute till I give ye a bit of advice.' 'Mine yar own -bus'ness, Jack Wilson,' says the cross-grained old beggar, as he was. -'Dido,' says I, 'who d'ye think I see goin' down your trap last -night?' 'Golly!' says he, 'don't know; who was dat, Jack--eh?' and he -lets go of the trap-lid. 'Why, Dido,' I told him, ''twas the devil -himself!' 'O Lard!' says the nigger, giving a jump, 'what dat -gen'leman want dere? Steal coal for bad place! O Lard!--Hish!' says -he, whispering into my hammock, 'tell me, Jack Wilson, he black or -white--eh?' 'Oh, black!' I said; 'as black as the slaver astarn.' 'O -Lard! O Lard! black man's own dibble!' says old Dido; 'what's I to do -for cap'en's breakfast, Jack!' 'Why, see if you haven't a few chips o' -wood, doctor,' says I, 'till we get out o' this infernal port. Don't -they know how to lay the old un among your folks in the States, Dido?' -I said, for I'd seen the thing tried. 'Golly! yis!' says the nigger; -'leave some bake yam on stone, with little rum in de pumpkin--'at's -how to do!' 'Very good!' says I; 'well, whatever you've got handy, -Dido, lower it down to him, and I daresay he'll clear out by -to-morrow.' 'Why, what the dibble, Jack!' says he again, scratching -his woolly head, 'feed him in 'e ship, won't he stay--eh?' 'Oh, for -that matter, Dido,' says I, 'just you send down a sample of the ship's -biscuit, with a fid of hard junk, and d--me if he stay long!' A good -laugh I had, too, in my hammock, to see the cook follow my advice: he -daren't open his hatch more than enough to shove down a line with some -grub at the end of it, as much as would have provisioned half a dozen; -so I knew there was a stopper clapped on the spot for that day. - -"When we began to get up anchor, a boat belonging to the schooner -pulled round us, and they seemed to want to look through and through -us, for them slavers has a nat'ral avarsion to an English ship. They -gave a squint or two at old black Dido, and he swore at 'em in -exchange for it like a trooper: 'tis hard to say, for a good slack -jaw, and all the dirty abuse afloat, whether a Yankee nigger, or a -Billingsgate fishwoman, or a Plymouth Point lady, is the worst to -stand. I do believe, if we'd been an hour later of sailing, they'd -have had a search-warrant aboard of us, with a couple of Spanish -guardos, and either pretended they'd lost a fair-bought slave, or got -us perhaps condemned for the very thing they were themselves. However, -off we went, and by the first dog-watch we'd dropped the land to -sou'-west, with stunsails on the larboard side, and the breeze on our -quarter. - -"Next morning again the black cook gives me a shake in my hammock, and -says he, 'Mus' have some coal now, Jack; he gone now, surely--eh, -lad?' 'Go to the devil, you black fool,' says I, 'can't ye let a -fellow sleep out his watch without doing your work for you?' 'O -Golly,' says the cook in a rage, 'I sarve you out for dis, you damn -tarry black-guard! Don't b'lieb no dibble ever dere! I water you tea -dis blessed mornin' for dis!' 'Look out for squalls, then, doctor,' -says I; and he lifts the trap, and began to go down the ladder, -shaking his black fist at me. 'Good b'ye, Dido!' says I, 'make my -respects to the old un!' 'O you darty willain!' he sings out from the -hole; and then I heard him knocking about amongst his lumber, till all -of a sudden he gave a roar. Up springs the young nigger from under -hatches, up the ladder and through the trap, then up the fok'sle steps -again, and out on deck, and I heard him running aft to the -quarter-deck, where the mate was singing out to set another stunsail. -Down fell the trap-lid over the coal-hole, and old Dido was caught -like a mouse. If it hadn't been for our breakfast, I daresay we'd have -left him there for a spell; but when the doctor got out he was as -cowed as you please. 'Jack Wilson,' says he to me, 'you say quite -right--him black dibble dere sure 'naff, Jack! see him go up in flash -'o fire out of de coal, den all as dark as ---- Hullo, 'mates,' says -he, 'you laugh, eh? Bery funny though, too--ho-ho-ho!' so he turned to -grinning at it till the tears ran out of the big whites of his eyes. -'What does the parson say, doctor?' asks an old salt out of his -hammock--'stick close to the devil, and he'll flee from ye!' -'Ho-ho-ho!' roars old Dido; 'bery good--ho-ho-ho!' says he; 'old -dibble not so bery frightenful after all, now I see he right black!' -'I say, though, old boy,' puts in the foremastman again, 'I doesn't -like to hear ye laugh at the devil that way--ye don't know what may -turn up--'tis good seamanship, as I reckon, never to make an enemy of -a port on a lee-shore, cook!' 'Ay, ay, old ship,' said another; 'but -who looks for seaman's ways from a cook?--ye can't expect it!' 'I -tar'ble 'fraid of white dibble, though, lads,' said old Dido, giving -an impudent grin. 'Well, if so be,' says the old salt, 'take my word -for it, ye'd better keep a look-out for him--that's all. White or -black, all colours has their good words to keep, an' bad ones brings -their bad luck, mate!' - -"Well, sir, as for the young run-away, 'twas all of a kick-up on the -quarterdeck about him; he couldn't speak a word of English, but he -hung on the mate's feet like one for bare life. Just then the captain -came on deck with two lady passengers, to take a look of the morning; -the poor fellow was spar-naked, and the ladies made a dive below -again. The captain saw the slave-brand on his shoulder, and he twigged -the whole matter at once; so he told the mate to get him a pair of -trousers, and a shirt, and put him to help the cook. Dido laughed -louder than ever when he found out the devil wasn't so black as he was -painted; and he was for indopting the youngster, by way of a sort o' -jury son. However, the whole of the fok'sle took a fancy to him, -considering him a kind of right to all hands. He was christened Jack, -as I said before, and instead of hanging on, cook's mate, he was put -up to something more seaman-like. By the time the Mary Jane got home, -black Jack could set a stunsail, or furl a royal. We got Dido to give -him a regular-built sartificate on his breast, of his being free to -blue water, footing paid, and under the British union-jack, which -'twas the same as you saw just now, sir." - -"Well," said I, "but you haven't explained why he was called by such a -curious appellation as Moonlight, though?" - -"Hold on a bit, sir," said the boatswain, "that's not the whole affair -from end to end, yet. The next voyage I sailed again in the Mary Jane -to Jamaica, for I always had a way of sticking to the same ship, when -I could. I remember Dido, the cook, had a quarrel with his wife, -Nancy; and one of the first nights we were at sea, he told black Jack, -before all the fok'sle, how he meant to leave him all his savings, -which everybody knew was no small thing, for Dido never spent any of -his wages, and many a good cask of slush the old nigger had pocketed -the worth of. We made a fine run of it that time down the Trades, till -we got into the latitude of the Bahamas, and there the ship stuck like -a log, with blue water round her, as hot as blazes, and as smooth as -glass, or a bowl of oil. Once or twice we had a black squall that sent -her on a bit, or another that drove her back, with a heavy swell, and -now and then a light air, which we made the most of--setting -stunsails, and hauling 'em down again in a plash of rain. But, -altogether, we thought we'd never get out of them horse latitudes at -all, having run over much to west'ard, till we saw the line of the -Gulf Stream treading away on the sea line to nor'west, as plain as on -a chart. There was a confounded devil of a shark alongside, that stuck -by us all through, one of the largest I ever clapped eyes on. Every -night we saw him cruising away astarn, as green as glass, down through -the blue water; and in the morning, there he was under the counter, -with his back fin above, and two little pilot-fish swimming off and on -round about. He wouldn't take the bait either; and every man forud -said there was some one to lose his mess before long; however, the -cook made a dead set to hook the infernal old monster, and at last he -did contrive to get him fast, with a piece of pork large enough for -supper to the larboard watch. All hands tailed on to the line, and -with much ado we got his snout over the taffrail, till one could look -down his throat, and his tail was like to smash in the starn windows; -when of a sudden, snap goes the rope where it spliced to the chain, -down went the shark into the water with a tremendous splash, and got -clear off, hook, chain, bait an' all. We saw no more of him, though; -and by sunset we had a bit of a light breeze, that began to take us -off pleasantly. - -"We had had full moon nearly the night before, and this night, I -remember, 'twas the very pearl of moonlight--the water all of a ripple -sparkling in it, almost as blue as by day; the sky full o' white -light; and the moon as large as the capstan-head, but brighter than -silver. You might ha' said you saw the very rays of it come down to -the bellies of the sails, and sticking on the same plank in the deck -for an hour at a time, as the ship surged ahead. Old Dido, the cook, -had a fashion of coming upon deck of a moonlight night, in warm -latitudes, to sleep on top o' the spars; he would lie with his black -face full under it, like a lizard basking in the sun. Many a time the -men advised him against it, at any rate to cover his face; for, if it -wouldn't spoil, they said, he might wake up blind, or with his mouth -pulled down to his shoulder, and out of his mind to boot. It wasn't -the first time neither, sir, I've known a fellow moonstruck in the -tropics, for 'tis another guess matter altogether from your hazy bit -o' white paper yonder: why, if you hang a fish in it for an hour or -two, 'twill stink like a lucifer match, and be poison to eat. Well, -sir, that night, sure enough, up comes Dido with a rug to lie upon, -and turns in upon the spars under the bulwarks, and in five minutes he -was fast asleep, snoring with his face to the moon. So the watch, -being tricky inclined ways on account of the breeze, took into their -heads to give him a fright. One got hold of a paint-pot out of the -half-deck, and lent him a wipe of white paint with the brush all over -his face; Dido only gave a grunt, and was as fast as ever. The next -thing was to grease his wool, and plaster it up in shape of a couple -o' horns. Then they drew a bucket of water, and set it on the deck -alongside, for him to see himself. When our watch came on deck, at -eight bells, the moon was as bright as ever in the west, and the cook -stretched out like Happy Tom on the spars, with his face slued round -to meet it. In a little the breeze began to fall, and the light -canvass to flap aloft, till she was all of a shiver, and the topsails -sticking in to the masts, and shaking out again, with a clap that made -the boom-irons rattle. At last she wouldn't answer her wheel, and the -mate had the courses hauled up in the trails; 'twas a dead calm once -more, and the blue water only swelled in the moonlight, like one sheet -of rear-admiral's flags a-washing in a silver steep,--that's the -likest thing I can fancy. When the ship lay still, up gets the black -doctor, half asleep, and I daresay he had been laying in a cargo of -Jamaica rum overnight: the bucket was just under his nose as he looked -down to see where he was, and the moon shining into it. I heard him -roar out, 'O de dibble!' and out he sprang to larboard, over the -bulwarks, into the water. 'Man overboard, ahoy!' I sang out, and the -whole watch came running from aft and forud to look over. 'Oh Christ!' -says one o' the men, pointing with his finger--'Look.' Dido's head -was just rising alongside; but just under the ship's counter what did -we see but the black back-fin of the shark, coming slowly round, as -them creatures do when they're not quite sure of anything that gives -'em the start. 'The shark! the shark!' said every one; 'he's gone, by -----' 'Down with the quarter-boat, men!' sings out the mate, and he -ran to one of the falls to let it go. The young nigger, Jack, was -amongst the rest of us; in a moment he off with his hat and shoes, -took the cook's big carving-knife out of the galley at his back, and -was overboard in a moment. He was the best swimmer I ever chanced to -see, and the most fearless: the moonlight showed everything as plain -as day, and he watched his time to jump right in where the shark's -back-fin could be seen coming quicker along, with a wake shining down -in the water at both fins and tail. Old Dido was striking out like a -good un, and hailing for a rope, but he knew nothing at all of the -shark. As for young Jack, he said afterwards he felt his feet come -full slap on the fish's back, and then he laid out to swim under him -and give him the length of his knife close by the jaw, when he'd turn -up to bite--for 'twas what the youngsters along the Guinea coast were -trained to do every day on the edge of the surf. However, curious -enough, there wasn't another sign of this confounded old sea-tiger -felt or seen again; no doubt he got a fright and went straight off -under the keel; at any rate the boat was alongside of the cook and -Jack next minute, and picked 'em both up safe. Jack swore he heard the -chain at the shark's snout rattle, as he was slueing round his head -within half a fathom of old Dido, and just as he pounced upon the -bloody devil's back-bone; the next moment it was clear water below his -feet, and he saw the white bells rise from a lump of green going down -under the ship's bends, as large as the gig, with its belly glancing -like silver. If so, I daresay the cook's legs would have stuck on his -own hook before they were swallowed; but, anyhow, the old nigger was -ready to believe in the devil as long as he lived. The whole matter -gave poor Dido a shake he never got the better of; at the end of the -voyage he vowed he'd live ashore the rest of his days, to be clear of -all sorts o' devilry. Whether it didn't agree with him or not, I can't -say, but he knocked off the hooks in a short time altogether, and left -young Jack the most of his arnings, on the bargain of hailing by his -name ever after. 'Twas a joke the men both in the Mary Jane and the -old Rajah got up, when the story was told, to call the cook Dido -Moonlight, because, after all, 'twas the death of him: and when Jack -shipped with the rest of us here aboard of the Rajah, having seen Dido -to the ground, why, all hands christened him over again Jack -Moonlight; though to look at him now, I daresay, sir, you wouldn't -well fancy how such things as black Jack's face and moonlight was -logged together, unless the world went by contrairies!" - - - - -MOONLIGHT MEMORIES. - -BY B. SIMMONS. - - -I. - - They say Deceit and Change divide - The empire of this world below; - That, whelm'd by Time's resistless tide, - Love's fountain ebbs, no more to flow. - Dawn-brow'd MADONNA, deem not so, - While to my truth yon Moon in heaven - I loved thee by, so long ago, - Is still a faithful "witness" given! - -II. - - All brightly round, that mellow Moon - Rose o'er thy bright, serene abode, - When first to win thy smiles' sweet boon - My tears of stormy passion flowed. - Where Woodburn's larches veil'd our road, - I sued thy cheek's averted grace, - And, while its lustre paled and glowed, - Drank the blest sunshine of thy face. - -III. - - And when the darkening Fate, that threw - Its waste of seas between us, Sweet, - With refluent wave restored me to - The soundless music of thy feet, - How wild my heart's delighted beat, - Once more beneath the mulberry bough, - To see the branching shadows fleet - Before thy bright approaching brow! - -IV. - - Then rose again the Moon's sweet charm, - Not in her full and orbéd glow, - But young and sparkling as thy form - That moved a sister-moon below. - The rose-breeze round thee loved to blow-- - Blue Evening o'er thee bent and smiled-- - Rejoicing Nature seemed to know, - And own, her wildly-gracious child. - -V. - - Forth came the Stars, as if to keep - Fond watch along thy sinless way; - While thy pure eyes, through Ether deep, - Sought out lone Hesper's diamond ray, - Half shy, half sad, to hear me say, - That haply, mid the tearless bliss - Of that far world we yet should stray, - When we have burst the bonds of this. - -VI. - - Too short and shining were those hours - I loved, enchanted, by thy side! - Hoarding the wealth of myrtle-flowers - That in thy dazzling bosom died. - Sweet Loiterer by Glenarra's tide, - Dost thou not sometimes breathe a prayer - For Him who never failed to glide - At eve to watch and worship there? - -VII. - - Fate's storms again have swept the scene, - And, for that fair Moon's summer gleam, - Through winter's snow clouds drifting keen - I hail at midnight now her beam. - Soft may its light this moment stream, - My folded Flower! upon thy rest, - And, melting through thy placid dream, - This heart's unshaken faith attest. - -VIII. - - Yes--Rainbow of my ruined youth, - Now shining o'er the wreck in vain! - Thy rosy tints of grace and truth - Life's evening clouds shall long retain. - My very doom has less of pain - To feel that, ere from Time's dark river - Thy form or soul could take one stain, - Despair between us came for ever. - -IX. - - And if, as sages still avow, - The rites once paid on hill and grove - To Beings beautiful as thou, - To Dian, Hebe, and to Love, - Were so imperishably wove - Of fancies lovely and elysian, - Their spirit to this hour must rove - The earth a blest abiding vision;[29] - -X. - - Then surely round that mountain rude, - And Bridgeton's rill and pathway lone, - In years to come, when thon, the Wooed, - And thy fond Worshipper are gone, - Each suppliant prayer, each ardent tone, - Each vow the heart could once supply, - Whose every pulse was there thine own, - In many an evening breeze will sigh. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[29] It was the fanciful opinion of Hume that the purer Divinities of -pagan worship, and the system of the Homeric Olympus, were so -lastingly beautiful, that somewhere or other they must, to this hour, -continue to exist. - - - - -AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY. - - -We have been so much accustomed to regard the Austrian empire as one -German nation, that we sometimes forget of how many separate kingdoms -and principalities it consists, and of how many different and -disunited races its population is composed. It may not, therefore, be -unnecessary to recall attention to the fact that the Austrian -dominions of the last three hundred years--the Austrian empire of our -times--consists of three kingdoms and many minor principalities, -inhabited by five distinct races, whose native tongues are -unintelligible to each other, and who have no common language in which -they can communicate; who are divided by religious differences; who -preserve their distinctive characteristics, customs, and feelings; -whose sentiments are mutually unfriendly, and who are, to this day, -unmixed in blood. The Germans, the Italians, the Majjars or -Hungarians, the Sclaves, and the Wallacks, are distinct and alien -races--without community of origin, of language, of religion, or of -sentiments. Except the memory of triumphs and disasters common to them -all, their allegiance to one sovereign is now, as it was three -centuries ago, the only bond that unites them. Yet, in all the -vicissitudes of fortune--some of them disastrous--which this empire -has survived, these nations and races have held together. The -inference is inevitable--whatever may have been its defects, that form -of government could not have been altogether unfit for its purposes, -which so many different kingdoms and races united to support and -maintain. - -It would be a mistake, however, to assume that these various states -were under one form of government. There were almost as many forms of -government as there were principalities; but they were all -monarchical, and one sovereign happened to become the monarch of the -whole. The house of Hapsburg, in which the imperial crown of Germany, -the regal crowns of Hungary, Bohemia, and Lombardy, and the ducal -crowns of Austria, Styria, the Tyrol, and nearly a dozen other -principalities, became hereditary, acquired their possessions, not by -conquest, but by election, succession, or other legitimate titles[30] -recognised by the people. The descendants of Rodolph thus became the -sovereigns of many separate states, each of which retained, as a -matter of right, its own constitution. The sovereign, his chief -advisers, and the principal officers of state at his court, were -usually Germans by birth, or by education and predilection; but the -constitution of each state--the internal administration, and those -parts of the machinery of government with which the people came more -immediately into contact--were their own. In some we find the monarchy -elective, as in Hungary, Bohemia, and Styria; in all we find diets of -representatives or delegates, chosen by certain classes of the people, -without whose concurrence taxes could not be imposed, troops levied, -or legislative measures enacted; and we find municipal institutions -founded on a broad basis of representation. In none of them was the -form of government originally despotic. - -To the unquestionable titles by which they acquired their -crowns--titles by which the pride of nation or of race was not -wounded--and to the more or less perfect preservation, in each state, -of its national institutions and privileges--to the enjoyment by each -people of their laws, their language, customs, and prejudices--the -princes of the house of Hapsburg owed the allegiance of subjects who -had little else in common. There, as elsewhere in continental Europe, -the sovereign long continued to encroach upon the rights of his -subjects, and at length usurped an authority not recognised by the -laws of his different possessions, or consistent with the conditions -on which he had received their crowns. These usurpations were -frequently resisted, and not unfrequently by force of arms. Belgium -asserted her independence, and was permanently separated from Austria. -But, in such contests, the sovereign of many separate states had -obvious advantages. His subjects, divided by differences of race, -language, religion, and sentiment, were incapable of combining against -him; and however solicitous each people might be to preserve their own -liberties and privileges, they were not prepared to resist -encroachments on those of a neighbouring people, for whom they had no -friendly feeling. The Austrians and Italians were ready to assert the -emperor's authority in Hungary or Bohemia, the Hungarians and -Bohemians to put down resistance in Lombardy. Even in the same kingdom -the races were not united. In Hungary, the Sclave was sometimes ready -to aid the emperor against the Majjar, the German against the Sclave. -The disunion which was a source of weakness to the empire was a source -of strength to the emperor. - -Partly by compulsory changes, effected according to constitutional -forms, partly by undisguised usurpations, in which these forms were -disregarded, the emperors were thus enabled to extend the prerogative -of the crown, to abridge the liberties of their subjects in each of -their possessions, and, in some of them, to subvert the national -institutions. - -In the Hereditary States of Austria, the power of the emperor has long -been absolute. The strength of Bohemia was broken, and her spirit -subdued, by the confiscations and proscriptions that followed upon the -defeat of the Protestants, near Prague, in the religious wars of -Frederick II.; and for many years her diet has been subservient. -Lombardy, the prize of contending armies--German, Spanish, and -French--passing from hand to hand, has been regarded as a conquered -country; and, with the forms of a popular representation, has been -governed as an Austrian province. Hungary alone has preserved her -independence and her constitution. But these usurpations were not -always injurious to the great body of the people; on the contrary, -they were often beneficial. In most of these states, a great part of -the population was subject to a dominant class, or nobles, who alone -had a share in the government, or possessed constitutional rights, and -who exercised an arbitrary jurisdiction over the peasants. The crown, -jealous of the power of the aristocracy, afforded the peasants some -protection against the oppressions of their immediate superiors. A -large body of the people in each state, therefore, saw with -satisfaction, or without resentment, the increasing power of the -crown, the abridgment of rights and privileges which armed their -masters with the power to oppress them, and the subversion of a -constitution from which they derived no advantage. If the usurpations -of the crown threatened to alienate the nobles, they promised to -conciliate the humbler classes. - -On the other hand, every noble was a soldier. The wars in which the -emperor was engaged, while they forced him occasionally to cultivate -the good-will of the aristocracy, on which he was chiefly dependent -for his military resources, fostered military habits of submission, -and feelings of feudal allegiance to the sovereign. Military service -was the road to distinction--military glory the ruling passion. The -crown was the fountain of honour, to which all who sought it repaired. -A splendid court had its usual attractions; and the nobles of the -different races and nations, rivals for the favour of the prince, -sought to outdo each other in proofs of devotion to his person and -service. Thus it was, that, notwithstanding the usurpations of the -emperor, and the resistance they excited, his foreign enemies -generally found all classes of his subjects united to defend the -dignity of his crown, and the integrity of his dominions. - -Still there was nothing to bind together the various parts of this -curious fabric, except the accident of allegiance to one sovereign. -This was but a precarious bond of union; and the imperial government -has, therefore, been unremitting in its efforts to amalgamate the -different parts into one whole. The Germans were but a small minority -of the emperor's subjects, but the imperial government, the growth of -their soil, reflected their mind; and it does not appear to have -entered the Austrian mind to conceive that a more intimate union could -be accomplished in any other way than by extending the institutions of -the Hereditary States to all parts of the empire, and thus ultimately -converting the Italians, the Majjars, and the Sclaves, into Austrian -Germans. - -This policy has been eminently unsuccessful in Hungary, where it has -frequently been resisted by force of arms; but its failure is not to -be attributed solely to the freedom of the institutions of that -country, or to the love of independence, and the feelings of -nationality which have been conspicuous in her history. The imperial -government, while it resisted the usurpations of the see of Rome in -secular matters, asserted its spiritual supremacy with unscrupulous -zeal. Every one is acquainted with the history of the Reformation in -Bohemia--its early manifestations, its progress, its unsuccessful -contests, and its suppression by military force, by confiscations and -proscriptions, extending to half the property and the proprietors in -that kingdom; but perhaps it is not so generally known, or remembered, -that the Majjars early embraced the Reformed doctrines of the school -of Calvin, which, even now, when more than half their numbers have -become Roman Catholics, is known in Hungary as "the Majjar faith." The -history of religious persecution, everywhere a chronicle of misery and -crime, has few pages so revolting as that which tells of the -persecutions of the Protestants of Hungary, under her Roman Catholic -kings of the house of Austria. It was in the name of persecuted -Protestantism that resistance to Austrian autocracy was organised; it -was not less in defence of their religion than of their liberties that -the nation took up arms. Yet there was a time when the Majjars, at -least as tenacious of their nationality as any other people in the -empire, might perhaps have been Germanised--had certainly made -considerable advances towards a more intimate union with Austria. -Maria Theresa, assailed without provocation by Prussia--in violation -of justice and of the faith of treaties, by France, Bavaria, Saxony, -Sardinia, and Spain, and aided only by England and the United -Provinces--was in imminent danger of losing the greater part of her -dominions. Guided by the instinct of a woman's heart, and yielding to -its impulse, she set at naught the remonstrances of her Austrian -counsellors, and relied on the loyalty of the Hungarians. Proceeding -to Presburg, she appeared at the meeting of the diet, told the -assembled nobles the difficulties and dangers by which she was -surrounded, and threw herself, her child, and her cause, upon their -generosity. At that appeal every sabre leapt from its scabbard, and -the shout, "Moriamur pro rege nostro, Maria Theresâ!" called all -Hungary to arms. The tide of invasion was rolled back beyond the Alps -and the Rhine, and the empire was saved. - - "On avait vu," says Montesquieu, "la maison d'Autriche - travailler sans reláche à opprimer la noblesse Hongroise; - elle ignorait de quel prix elle lui serait un jour. Elle - cherchait chez ces peuples de l'argent, qui n'y était pas; - elle ne voyait pas les hommes, qui y étaient. Lorsque tant de - princes partagaient entre eux ces états, toutes les pièces de - la monarchie, immobiles et sans action, tombaient, pour ainsi - dire, les unes sur les autres. Il n'y avait de vie que dans - cette noblesse, qui s'indigna, oublia tout pour combattre, et - cru qu'il était de sa gloire de périr et de pardonner." - -The nobles of Hungary had fallen by thousands; many families had been -ruined; all had been impoverished by a war of seven years, which they -had prosecuted at their private charge; but their queen had not -forgotten how much she owed them. She treated them with a kindness -more gratifying than the highest distinction; acquired their -confidence by confiding in them; taught them to speak the language of -her court; made their residence in her capital agreeable to them; -promoted alliances between the noble families of Hungary and Austria; -obtained from their devotion concessions which her predecessors had -failed to extort by force; and prepared the way for a more intimate -union between two nations which had hitherto regarded each other with -aversion. - -M. A. de Gerando has discovered, in the portrait-galleries of the -Hungarian magnates, amusing traces of some of the means by which the -clever empress-queen extended Austrian influence and authority into -Hungary. - - "Il est curieux," (he says,) "de voir, dans les châteaux de - Hongrie, les galeries de portraits de famille. Aussi haut que - l'on remonte, ce ne sont d'abord que de graves figures - orientales. Les hommes out la mine heroïque, comme on se - représente ces hardis cavaliers, qui invariablement - finissaient par se faire tuer dans quelque action contre les - Turcs; les femmes sont austères et tristes ainsi qu'elles - devaient l'être en effet. A partir de Marie-Therèse, tout - change et la physionomie et l'expression des personnages. On - voit bien que ceux-là ont paru à la cour de Vienne, et y ont - appris les belles manières. Le contraste est frappant dans le - portrait du magnat qui le premier épousa une Allemande. Le - Hongrois, seul, occupe un coin de la toile. Il est debout, - digne, la main gauche sur la poignée de son sabre recourbée; - la droite tient une masse d'armes. De formidables éperons - sont cloués à ses bottines jaunes. Il porte un long dolman - galonné, et une culotte de hussard brodée d'or. Sur son - épaule est attachée une riche pelisse, ou une peau de tigre. - Sa moustache noire pend à la turque, et de grands cheveux - tombent en boucles sur son cou. Il y a du barbare dans cet - homme-là. Sa femme, assise, en robe de cour, est au milieu du - tableau. Elle règne et elle domine. Près de son fauteuil se - tiennent les enfants, qui ont déjà les yeux bleus et les - lèvres Autrichiennes. Les enfants sont à elle, à elle seule. - Ils sont poudrés comme elle, lui ressemblent, l'entourent, et - lui parlent. Ils parlent l'Allemand, bien entendu."--(Pp. - 17-18.) - -The son and successor of Maria Theresa, Joseph II., attempted, in his -summary way, by arbitrary edicts promising liberty and equality, to -subvert the constitution of every country he governed, and to extend -to them all one uniform despotic system, founded on that of Austria. -To him Hungary is indebted for the first gleam of religious -toleration; but his hasty and despotic attempts to suppress national -distinctions, national institutions and languages, provoked a fierce -and armed resistance in Hungary, and in other portions of his -dominions, and more than revived all the old aversion to Austria. His -more prudent successor made concessions to the spirit of independence, -and the love of national institutions, which Joseph had so deeply -wounded. Leopold regained the Hungarians; but Belgium, already -alienated in spirit, never again gave her heart to the emperor; and he -never lost sight of the uniformity of system that Maria Theresa had -done so much to promote, and which Joseph, in his haste to accomplish -it, had for the moment made unattainable. From the days of Ferdinand -I. until now, the attempt to assimilate the forms and system of -government, in every part of their possessions, to the more arbitrary -Austrian model, has been steadily pursued throughout the reigns of all -the princes of the house of Hapsburg. These persevering efforts to -extend the power of the crown by subverting national institutions, and -thus to obliterate so many separate nationalities, have aroused for -their defence a spirit that promises to perpetuate them. - -Feelings of community of race and language, which had slumbered for -many generations, have been revived with singular intensity. Italy for -the Italians--Germany for the Germans--a new Sclavonic empire for the -western Sclaves--the union of all the Sclave nations under the empire -of the Czar--are cries which have had power to shake thrones, and may -hereafter dismember empires. - -The separation between the different members of the Austrian empire, -which the havoc of war could not effect in three centuries, a few -years of peace and prosperity have threatened to accomplish. The -energies that were so long concentrated on war, have now, for more -than thirty years, been directed to the development of intellectual -and material resources. The ambition that sought its gratification in -the field, now seeks to acquire influence in the administration, and -power to sway the opinions of men. The love of national independence, -that repelled foreign aggression, has become a longing for personal -liberty, that refuses to submit to arbitrary power. The road to -distinction no longer leads to the court, but to the popular assembly; -for the rewards conferred by the voice of the people have become more -precious than any honours the sovereign can bestow. The duty of -allegiance to the crown has become a question of reciprocal -obligations, and has ceased to rest upon divine right. The only bond -that held the Austrian empire together has thus been loosened, and the -parts are in danger of falling asunder. - -Lombardy, which was united to the German empire nine hundred years -ago, renounced its allegiance, and refused to be Austrian. Bohemia, a -part of the old German empire, inhabited chiefly by a Sclavonic race, -has been dreaming of Pansclavism. Carried away by poetical rhapsodies, -poured forth in profusion by a Lutheran preacher at Pesth, and -calculated, if not designed, to promote foreign influence and -ascendency, she has awoke from her dreams to find herself engaged in a -sanguinary conflict, which was terminated by the bombardment and -submission of her capital. Vienna, after having twice forced her -emperor to fly from his capital, has been taken by storm, and is held -in subjection by a garrison, whose stragglers are nightly thinned by -assassins. Hungary, (to which we propose chiefly to direct our -attention,) whose blood has been shed like water in defence of the -house of Hapsburg--whose chivalry has more than once saved the -empire--whom Napoleon, at the head of a victorious army in Vienna, was -unable to scare, or to seduce from her allegiance to her fugitive -king--whose population is more sincerely attached to monarchy than -perhaps any other people in Europe, except ourselves, is in arms -against the emperor of Austria. All the fierce tribes by which the -Majjars are encircled have been let loose upon them, and, in the name -of the emperor, the atrocities of Gallicia, which chilled Europe with -horror, have been renewed in Pannonia. The army of the Emperor of -Austria has invaded the territories of the King of Hungary, occupies -the capital, ravages the towns and villages, expels and denounces the -constituted authorities of the kingdom, abrogates the laws, and boasts -of its victories over his faithful subjects, as if they had been -anarchists who sought to overturn his throne. - -The people of this country have long entertained towards Austria -feelings of kindness and respect. We may smile at her proverbial -slowness; we may marvel at the desperate efforts she has made to stand -still, while every one else was pressing forward; the curiously -graduated system of education, by which she metes out to each class the -modicum of knowledge which all must accept, and none may exceed--her -protective custom-houses, which destroy her commerce--her quarantines -against political contagion, which they cannot exclude--her system of -passports, with all its complications and vexations, and the tedious -formalities of her tardy functionaries,--may sometimes be subjects of -ridicule. But, though the young may have looked with scorn, the more -thoughtful amongst us have looked with complacency on the social repose -and general comfort--on the absence of continual jostling and -struggling in all the roads of life--produced by a system, unsuited to -our national tastes and tempers, no doubt, but which, till a few months -ago, appeared to be in perfect harmony with the character of the -Austrian German. We respect her courage, her constancy in adversity. We -admire the sturdy obstinacy with which she has so often stood up to -fight another round, and has finally triumphed after she appeared to be -beaten. We call to mind the services she rendered to Christian -civilisation in times past. We remember that her interests have -generally concurred with our own--have rarely been opposed to them. We -cannot forget the long and arduous struggles, in which England and -Austria have stood side by side, in defence of the liberties of -nations, or the glorious achievements by which those liberties were -preserved. It is because we would retain unimpaired the feelings which -these recollections inspire, because we consider the power and the -character of Austria essential to the welfare of Europe, that we look -with alarm on the course she has pursued towards Hungary. - -The time has not yet come when the whole course of the events -connected with this unnatural contest can be accurately known. The -silence maintained and imposed by Austria may have withheld, or -suppressed, explanations that would justify or palliate much of what -wears a worse than doubtful aspect. But the authentic, information now -accessible to the public cannot fail to cause deep anxiety to all who -care for the reputation of the imperial government--to all who desire -to see monarchy come pure out of the furnace in which it is now being -tried. The desire to enforce its hereditary policy of a uniform -patriarchal system would not justify, in the eyes of Englishmen, an -alliance with anarchy to put down constitutional monarchy in Hungary, -or an attempt to cover, with the blood and dust of civil war, the -departure of the imperial government from solemn engagements entered -into by the emperor. - -The nature of the relations by which Hungary is connected with -Austria--the origin and progress of their present quarrel, and the -objects for which the Hungarians are contending--appear to have been -very generally misunderstood, not in this country only, but in a great -part of Europe. Men whom we might expect to find better informed, seem -to imagine that Hungary is an Austrian province in rebellion against -the emperor, and that the origin and tendency of the movement was -republican. The reverse of all this is true. Hungary is not, and never -was, a province of Austria; but has been and is, both _de jure_ and -_de facto_, an independent kingdom. The Emperor of Austria is also -King of Hungary, but, as Emperor of Austria, has neither sovereign -right nor jurisdiction in Hungary. The Hungarians assert, and -apparently with truth, that they took up arms to repel unprovoked -aggression, and to defend their constitutional monarchy as by law -established; that their objects are therefore purely conservative, and -their principles monarchical; and that it is false and calumnious to -accuse them of having contemplated or desired to found a republic--a -form of government foreign to their sentiments, and incompatible with -their social condition. - -The kingdom of Hungary (Hungarey) founded by the Majjars in the tenth -century, had for several generations been distinguished amongst the -nations of Europe, when another pagan tribe from the same -stock--issuing like them from the Mongolian plains, and turning the -Black Sea by the south, as they had done by the north--crossed the -Bosphorus, overturned the throne of the Cæsars, and established on its -ruins an Asiatic empire, which became the terror of Christendom. The -Majjars, converted to Christianity, encountered on the banks of the -Danube this cognate race, converted to Islamism, and became the first -bulwark of Christian Europe against the Turks. The deserts of Central -Asia, which had sent forth the warlike tribe that threatened Eastern -Europe with subjugation, had also furnished the prowess that was -destined to arrest their progress. The court of Hungary had long been -the resort of men of learning and science; the chivalry of Europe had -flocked to her camps, where military ardour was never disappointed of -a combat, or religious zeal of an opportunity to slaughter infidels. -In 1526, Ludovic, King of Hungary and Bohemia, with the flower of the -Hungarian chivalry, fell fighting with the Turks at the disastrous -battle of Mohacs--the Flodden field of Hungary. The monarchy was then -elective, but when the late king left heirs of his body the election -was but a matter of form. When the monarch died without leaving an -heir of his body, the nation freely exercised its right of election, -and on more than one such occasion had chosen their king from amongst -the members of princely houses in other parts of Europe. In this -manner Charles Robert, of the Neapolitan branch of the house of Anjou -and Ladislas, King of Bohemia, son of Casimir King of Poland, and -father of Ludovic who fell at Mohacs, had been placed upon the throne. -Ludovic died without issue, and he was the last male of his line--it -therefore became necessary to choose a king from some other house. -Ferdinand, brother of the Emperor Charles V., had married his cousin -Anne, daughter of Ladislas, and sister of Ludovic the late King of -Hungary and Bohemia. His personal character, his connexion with the -royal family of Hungary, and the support he might expect from the -emperor in the war against the Turks, prevailed over the national -antipathy to Austria, and he was elected to the vacant throne, though -not without a contest. He was crowned according to the ancient customs -of Hungary, and at his coronation took the oath which had been -administered on similar occasions to his predecessors. He thereby -bound himself to govern according to the laws, and to maintain and -defend the constitution and the territory of Hungary. He was likewise -elected King of Bohemia, after subscribing a document, by which he -renounced every other claim to the crown than that which he derived -from his election. The emperor surrendered to him the crown of -Austria, and these three crowns were thus, for the first time, united -in a prince of the house of Hapsburg. These states were altogether -independent one of another, had their separate laws, institutions, and -customs, and had no other bond of connexion than the accidental union -of the crowns in one person--a union which might at any time, on the -demise of the crown, have been dissolved. It resembled, in this -respect, the union of the crowns of Great Britain and Hanover in the -persons of our own sovereigns, that it left the kingdoms both _de -jure_ and _de facto_ independent of each other. In 1558, Ferdinand was -elected Emperor of Germany; but as emperor he could claim no -jurisdiction in Hungary, which was not then, and never was, included -in the German empire. The monarchy of Hungary continued to be -elective, and the nation continued to give a preference to the heirs -of the late monarch. The princes of the house of Hapsburg, who -succeeded to the throne of Austria, were thus successively elected to -that of Hungary; were separately crowned in that kingdom, according to -its ancient customs; and at their coronation took the same oath that -Ferdinand had taken. - -In 1687 the states of Hungary decreed that the throne, which had -hitherto been filled by election, should thenceforward be hereditary -in the male heirs of the house of Hapsburg; and in 1723, the diet, by -agreeing to the Pragmatic sanction of Charles III. of Hungary, (the -Emperor Charles VI. of Germany,) extended the right of succession to -the female descendants of that prince. These two measures were -intended, and calculated, to perpetuate the union of the two crowns in -the same person. The order of succession to the crown of Hungary was -thus definitively settled by statute, and could not legally be -departed from, unless with the concurrence both of the diet and of the -sovereign. So long, therefore, as the crown of Austria was transmitted -in the same order of succession as that in which the crown of Hungary -had been settled, the union would be preserved; but any deviation in -Austria from the order fixed by law in Hungary would lead to a -separation of the crowns, unless the Hungarian diet could be induced -to consent to a new settlement. Thus we have seen the crowns of Great -Britain and Hanover united for four generations, and separated in the -fifth, because one was settled on heirs male or female, the other on -heirs male only. - -An attempt has been made, with reference to recent events, to found on -the Pragmatic Sanction pretensions that might derogate from the -absolute independence of Hungary; but the articles of the Hungarian -diet[31] of 1790 appear to be fatal to any such pretensions. By -Article 10 of that year it is declared, that "Hungary is a country -free and independent in her entire system of legislation and of -government; that she is not subject to any other people, or any other -state, but that she shall have her own separate existence, and her own -constitution, and shall consequently be governed by kings crowned -according to her national laws and customs." By Article 12 of the same -diet it was declared, that the power to enact, to interpret, and to -abrogate the laws, was vested conjointly in the king, legitimately -crowned, and the diet; and that no attempt should ever be made to -govern by edicts or arbitrary acts. By Article 13 it was decreed, that -the diet should be called together once every three years at the -least. By Article 19 it was declared, that imposts could not be levied -at the king's pleasure, but must be freely voted by the two tables -(houses) from one diet to another. All these acts received the formal -assent of Leopold II., and thus became statutes of the kingdom. - -The successors of Leopold--Francis II., and Ferdinand, who has -recently abdicated--received the crown of Hungary on the conditions -implied in the coronation oath, which was administered to them in the -usual manner, and by which they bound themselves to respect and -maintain the constitution as by law established, and to govern -according to the statutes. The question whether the late emperor -should be addressed Ferdinand I. or Ferdinand V. was a subject of -debate in the diet while Mr Paget was at Presburg, and he gives the -following account of the proceedings:-- - - "The bill now brought up from the deputies, and to which the - degree of importance attached by all parties appeared - ridiculous to a stranger, had reference to the appellation of - the new king.... The matter, however, was not so unimportant - as it may appear; the fact is, he is Emperor Ferdinand I. of - Austria, and King Ferdinand V. of Hungary; and unless Hungary - had ceased to be an independent country, which the greatest - courtier would not dare to insinuate, there could be no - question as to his proper title. The magnates, however, - thought otherwise: it was understood that the court desired - that the style of Ferdinand I. should be used, and the - magnates were too anxious to please not to desire the same - thing. The deputies had now for the fourth time sent up the - same bill, insisting on the title of Ferdinand V.; and for - the fourth time the magnates were now about to reject it.... - At the moment when the magnates were as firm as rocks on the - wrong side, the court took the wise course of showing its - contempt for such supporters, by sending down a proclamation - 'We Ferdinand V., by the grace of God, King of Hungary, &c. - &c.'" - -It must not be supposed that these articles of 1790 conferred upon the -diet any new powers, or implied any new concessions on the part of the -king. They were declaratory acts, framed for the purpose of exacting -from Leopold II. securities against a renewal of the arbitrary -proceedings to which Joseph had resorted; and they merely reasserted -what the Hungarian constitution had provided long before the election -of Ferdinand I.--what had for several generations been the law of the -land. - -The Hungarians were not satisfied with having obtained from Leopold a -formal renunciation of Joseph's illegal pretensions. They felt, and -the cabinet admitted, that the ancient institutions of Hungary--which -had with difficulty been preserved, and which for some generations had -been deteriorating rather than improving under the influence of the -Austrian government--were no longer suited to the altered -circumstances of the country, to the growing intelligence and -advancing civilisation of its inhabitants. But they desired to effect -all necessary ameliorations cautiously and deliberately. They were -neither enamoured of the republican doctrines of France, nor disposed -to engage in destructive reforms for the purpose of framing a new -constitution. They desired to improve, not to destroy, that which they -possessed. They would probably have preferred to effect the necessary -ameliorations in each department successively; but they feared the -direction that might be given by the influence of the crown, to any -gradual modification of the existing institutions that might be -attempted. By the constitution of Hungary, the diet is precluded from -discussing any measures that have not been brought before it in the -royal propositions, or king's speech--unless cases of particular -grievances which may be brought before the diet by individual members. -To engage in a course of successive reforms would have exposed the -diet to the danger of being arrested in its progress, as soon as it -had passed such measures as were acceptable to the cabinet. They -therefore named a commission, including the most enlightened and the -ablest men in the country, to report on the whole legislation of -Hungary in all its branches. This great national commission was formed -of seven committees, or sub-commissions, each of which undertook to -report on one department. The committees were--1st, That on the -Urbarial code, or the condition of the peasants, and their relations -to the proprietors: 2d, On the army, and all that related to it: 3d, -On public policy, including the powers and jurisdiction of the diet, -and of its different component parts: 4th, On matters ecclesiastical -and literary, including education: 5th, On commerce: 6th, On the civil -and criminal codes: and 7th, On contributions, including the whole -system of taxation, and everything connected with the public revenue. -The reports of this national commission, which are known as the -"Operata systematica commissionis regnicolaris," recommended -comprehensive ameliorations of the laws, and were creditable to the -intelligence, science, statesmanship, and good sense of the -commissions. The reports upon the commercial and the criminal codes, -more especially, attracted the attention and the admiration of some of -the ablest men in Germany. - -From this time forward, each succeeding diet endeavoured to get the -recommendations of the commission introduced into the royal -propositions. The cabinet never refused--often promised to comply with -this demand, but always deferred the discussion. Probably it was not -averse to some of the measures proposed, or at least not unwilling to -adopt them in part. The projected reform of the Urbarial code would -have tended to increase the revenue, and to facilitate its collection; -but it would at the same time have imposed upon the nobles new -burdens, and required of them considerable sacrifices--and, before -submitting to these, they were desirous to secure a more efficient -control over the national expenditure, and ameliorations of the -Austrian commercial system, which, by heavy duties, had depreciated -the value of the agricultural produce that furnished their incomes. -The diet, therefore, desired to get the _operata systematica_ -considered as a whole; the cabinet, and the party in Hungary which -supported it, sought to restrict the diet to the discussion of such -changes only as were calculated to benefit Austria. - -When Francis II., who had for some years been Palatine of Hungary, -ascended the thrones of that kingdom and of Austria in 1792, there was -no question as to the independence of Hungary, which had been so fully -recognised by his father. The usual oath was administered to him at -his coronation, which was conducted in the usual manner; and in his -reply to the address of the Hungarian diet, on his accession, he -showed no disposition to invade the constitutional rights of the -Hungarians. "I affirm," he said, "with sincerity, that I will not -allow myself to be surpassed in the affection we owe to each other. -Tell your citizens that, faithful to my character, I shall be the -guardian of the constitution: my will shall be no other than that of -the law, and my efforts shall have no other guides than honour, good -faith, and unalterable confidence in the magnanimous Hungarian -nation." To these sentiments the diet responded by voting all the -supplies, and the troops, demanded of them by the king. - -In 1796, the diet was again called together, to be informed that, -"attacked by the impious and iniquitous French nation, the king felt -the necessity of consulting his faithful states of Hungary, -remembering that, under Maria Theresa, Hungary had saved the -monarchy." The diet voted a contingent of 50,000 men, and undertook to -provision the Austrian army, amounting to 340,000 soldiers. It urged -the government to propose the consideration of the _operata -systematica_; but the cabinet replied that it must consult and -reflect; and, in the mean time, the diet was dissolved after only -nineteen sittings. These proceedings produced a general feeling of -discontent in Hungary, which threatened to become embarrassing; but -the success of the French armies aroused the military spirit and -loyalty of the Hungarians, and the appointment, at the same time, of -the amicable and enlightened Archduke Joseph to the dignity of -Palatine of Hungary, in which he retained for fifty years the respect -and affection of all parties, tended to preserve their attachment, -though it did not silence their complaints. - -When the diet met in 1802, the peace of Amiens had been concluded. - - "Until now," (said the king in his answer to the address,) - "circumstances have not permitted my government to attend to - anything but the war, which has afforded you an occasion to - show your zeal and your fidelity. With commendable - generosity, you have voted the contingents and the subsidies - which the situation of the empire demanded; and the - remembrance of your devotion shall never be extinguished in - my heart, or in the hearts of my family. But, now that peace - is concluded, I desire to extend my solicitude to the kingdom - of Hungary--to the country which has most effectually aided - me in the wars I have had to sustain--which, by its extent, - its population, its fertility, the noble character and the - valour of its inhabitants, is the chief bulwark of the - monarchy. My desire is to arrange with the states of Hungary - the means of increasing her prosperity, and to merit the - thanks of the nation." - -But the peace of Amiens proved to be a hollow truce, and this -flattering communication became the prelude to renewed demands for men -and money. To hasten the votes on the supplies, the diet was informed -that it would be dissolved in two months. In the debate which ensued, -one of the members uttered the sentiments of the nation, when he -said--"It is plain that the king calls us together only when he wants -soldiers and supplies. He knows that, after all, we have too much -honour to allow the majesty of the King of Hungary to be insulted by -his enemies." The impost was increased, and the contingent raised to -64,000 men; but the consideration of the measures recommended by the -great national commission, though promised, was deferred by the king. -The diet of 1805 resembled that of 1802--the same promises ending in -similar disappointment. - -The diet of 1807 was more remarkable. To the usual demands was added -the royal proposition, that the "insurrection," or _levée en masse_, -should be organised, and ready to march at the first signal. The -patience of the nation was exhausted. The diet represented to the -king, in firm but respectful addresses, the disorder in the finances -produced by the amount of paper-money issued in disregard of their -remonstrances, and called upon the government to repair the evil. They -said that, during many years, the country had done enough to prove its -fidelity to the sovereign, whose royal promises had not been -fulfilled; and that henceforth the Hungarians could not expend their -lives and fortunes in the defence of his hereditary states, unless he -seriously took in hand the interests of their native country. They -demanded the revision of the commercial system, and liberty freely to -export the produce of the country, and freely to import the -productions of other countries. They complained of a new depreciation -of the currency, demanded a reduction of the duty on salt, (the -produce of their own mines,) which had recently been augmented, and -denounced "the injustice of paralysing the industry of a people, while -requiring of them great sacrifices." - -The justice of these representations was admitted, but no satisfactory -answer was returned; and the murmurs at Presburg became loud enough to -cause alarm at Vienna. The advance of Napoleon to the frontiers of -Hungary turned the current of the national feeling. It was now the -sacred soil of Hungary that was threatened with desecration, and the -diet not only voted all the subsidies and 20,000 recruits, but the -whole body of the nobles or freemen spontaneously offered one-sixth of -their incomes, and a _levée en masse_ was decreed for three years. -Napoleon's attempts to detach the Hungarians from the cause of their -king were unavailing, and their devotion to his person was never more -conspicuous than when he had lost the power to reward it. - -In 1811 the royal propositions, in addition to the usual demands, -requested the diet to vote an extraordinary supply of twelve millions -of florins, and to guarantee Austrian paper money to the amount of one -hundred millions, (about ten millions sterling.) The diet called for -the account of the previous expenditure, and were told that the -details of the budget were secrets of state. This answer excited the -greatest indignation, and they refused to vote any extraordinary -supply till the accounts were produced. They complained that the -finances of Hungary were administered by Austrians--foreigners, who -were excluded by law from a voice in their affairs--and that the -cabinet of the emperor had illegally mixed up the finances of Hungary -with those of the hereditary states of Austria. Some members of the -diet even threatened to impeach the ministers. In their addresses to -the throne, the financial administration of the imperial government -was roughly handled; and the cabinet, perceiving that the debates at -Presburg had inconveniently directed attention, even in the Hereditary -States, to financial questions, hastily withdrew their propositions. - -The peace of 1815 restored to Europe the repose she had long desired, -and to Hungary many of her sons who had long been absent. In the midst -of war, her diet had never ceased to attend to the internal -administration of the country, to the improvement of her resources, -and the advancement of her population in material prosperity and -intelligence. All the comprehensive measures prepared with this view -had been postponed or neglected by the king, acting by the advice of -his Austrian cabinet, and supported by a powerful party of the -magnates of Hungary. But though her hopes had been disappointed, -Hungary had never failed, in any moment of difficulty or danger, to -apply her whole power and resources to the defence of the empire. She -never sought, in the embarrassments, the defeat, and misfortunes of -Austria, an opportunity to extort from her king the justice he had -denied to her prayers. She never for a moment swerved from devoted -allegiance to her constitutional monarch. "After all, she had too much -honour to allow the majesty of the King of Hungary to be insulted by -his enemies." She forgave the frequent delays and refusals, by which -the most salutary measures had been frustrated or rejected, because -she knew that the thoughts and the energies of her sovereign and his -Austrian cabinet had been directed to the defence of the empire, and -the preservation of its independence. But now that these were no -longer threatened, that the good cause for which she had fought with -so much gallantry and devotion had triumphed, she had a right to -expect a grateful return for her services--or at least that the -promises, on the faith of which she had lavished her blood and her -treasure in defence of her king and of his Austrian dominions, would -be fulfilled. But the republican outbreak in France had led to long -years of war and desolation; the triumph of monarchy and order over -anarchy had at length been achieved, and men had not only abjured the -doctrines from which so much evil had sprung, but monarchs had learned -to look with distrust on every form of government that permitted the -expression of public opinion, or acknowledged the right of the people -to be heard. Even the mixed government of England, to which order owed -its triumph, was regarded as a danger and a snare to other countries. -The Holy Alliance was formed, and the Austrian cabinet, which for more -than twenty years had flattered the hopes of Hungary when it wanted -her assistance, now boldly resolved to govern that kingdom without the -aid of its diet. In vain did the county assemblies call for the -convocation of the national parliament, which the king was bound, by -the laws he had sworn to observe, to summon every three years. Their -addresses were not even honoured with an answer. In 1822, an attempt -was made to levy imposts and troops by royal edicts. The comitats -(county assemblies) refused to enforce them. In 1823, bodies of troops -were sent--first to overawe, and then to coerce them. The county -officers concealed their archives and official seals, and dispersed. -Royal commissioners were appointed to perform their functions, and -were almost everywhere resisted. The whole administration of the -country, civil and judicial, was in confusion; and, after an unseemly -and damaging contest, the cabinet found it necessary, in 1825, to give -way, and to summon the diet, after an interval of twelve years. One -personal anecdote will convey a more correct impression of the -feelings with which the Hungarians, who were most attached to the -emperor-king, viewed these proceedings, than any detail we could give. -John Nemet, Director Causarum Regalium of Hungary, at a personal -interview with the king, denounced the proceedings of the cabinet. "Do -you know," said the irritated monarch, "that I am emperor and king; -that you may lose your head?" "I know," replied Nemet, "that my life -is in your majesty's hands; but the liberty of my country, and the -honour of my sovereign, are dearer to me than my life." - -When the diet met in 1825, the king, in his reply to the address, -admitted that "things had happened which ought not to have occurred, -and which should not occur again." The diet did not conceal its -resentment. The comitat of Zala, through its representatives, demanded -the names of the traitors who had misled the king; and the -representatives of all the other counties supported the proposition. -One of the royal commissioners came in tears to apologise to the diet; -another, who attempted to justify himself on the ground of obedience -to the king, was told that a faithful subject honoured his sovereign -when he reminded him of his duty. The articles of 1790 were declared -to have been openly violated, and the diet complained that the public -security had been outraged by arrests and prosecutions, founded on -anonymous denunciations. The address to the king, in which they set -forth their grievances, concluded with the following petition:-- - - "Convinced that these acts do not emanate from your Majesty, - but that they proceed from a system constantly pursued for - several centuries, we entreat your Majesty henceforth not to - listen to evil counsels--to despise anonymous - denunciations--not to exact any impost or any levy of - soldiers without the concurrence of the diet--to reinstate - the citizens disgraced for having legally resisted the royal - commissioners, and regularly to convoke the states, with whom - you share the sovereign power." - -In his answer, Francis blamed the diet for their proceedings, but -wisely conceded their demands. By article 3d of 1825, he engaged to -observe the fundamental laws of the kingdom. By article 4th, never to -levy subsidies without the concurrence of the diet; by article 5th, to -convoke the diet every three years. - -The attempt of Francis II. to subvert the constitution of Hungary -terminated, as the similar attempt of Joseph II. had terminated -thirty-five years before--in renewed acknowledgments of the -independence of Hungary, and the constitutional rights of the -Hungarians. - -After three centuries of contention, the cabinet of Vienna now -appeared to have abandoned the hope it had so long entertained, of -imposing upon Hungary the patriarchal system of Austria. Relinquishing -the attempt to enforce illegal edicts, it relied upon means more in -accordance with the practice of constitutional governments. It could -command a majority at the table of Magnates, and it endeavoured, by -influencing the elections, to strengthen its party in the Deputies. -But in this kind of warfare the cabinet of an absolute monarch were -far less skilful than the popular leaders of a representative -assembly. The attempts to influence the elections by corrupt means -were generally unsuccessful, and, when exposed, exhibited the -government in a light odious to a people tenacious of their liberties -and distrustful of Austria. - -There had long been two parties in the diet, of which one, from -supporting the views of the court, was considered Austrian; the other, -from its avowed desire to develop the popular institutions and -separate nationality of Hungary, was considered Hungarian, and took -the designation of the patriotic party. There was thus a government -party and an opposition, which, in 1827, was systematically organised. -But as Hungary had not a separate ministry, responsible to the diet, -that could be removed from office by its votes, there was little -ground for the usual imputation of a struggle for place. The patriotic -party could expect no favour from the court; their opposition was, -therefore, so far disinterested, and was, in fact, founded upon the -instructions of the counties they represented. - -It must appear extraordinary that the majority of an assembly composed -of nobles, of which nine-tenths of the members were elected by -hereditary nobles or freeholders, should advocate opinions so liberal -as to alarm even the Austrian government. A great majority of the -electors, it is true, though rejoicing in the designation of nobles, -were men who tilled the soil with their own hands; but they are truly -described by Mr Paget as "generally a proud, unruly set of fellows, -with higher notions of privilege and power than of right and justice; -but brave, patriotic, and hospitable in the highest degree." After -describing the national character of the Majjars, he adds,-- - - "It is scarcely necessary to say that, with such - dispositions, the Majjar is strongly inclined to - conservatism; he hates new-fangled notions and foreign - fashions, and considers it a sufficient condemnation to say, - 'not even my grandfather ever heard of such things.'" - -To suppose that these men had republican tendencies would, of course, -be absurd; and as the patriotic party in the diet represented their -opinions, we may be well assured that they were not such as, to any -party in this country, would appear dangerous from excess of -liberality. - -To the government of Austria, however, nothing caused greater -uneasiness than attempts to consolidate and improve the popular -institutions of Hungary, or to foster feelings of separate -nationality, which it had been the constant aim of its policy to -obliterate. Determined to maintain, at all hazards, her own -patriarchal system, Austria saw Hungary already separated from the -Hereditary States by the form of her institutions and by national -feelings, and dreaded the wider separation which the onward march of -the one, and the stationary policy of the other, must produce. In -superficial extent, Hungary is nearly half the empire--in population, -more than one-third. The separation of the crowns would reduce Austria -to the rank of a second-rate power; and Hungary separated from -Austria, and surrounded by despotic governments jealous of her -constitutional freedom, could not be safe. Not only an Austrian, but a -patriotic Hungarian, might therefore resist, as perilous to his -country, any course of legislation that appeared to lead towards such -a result. If Hungary continued to advance in material prosperity and -intelligence, and succeeded in giving to her constitution a basis so -broad as to insure a just distribution of the public burdens, and to -unite all classes of her population in its support, she must -ultimately separate from Austria, or Austria must abandon her -stationary policy, and advance in the same direction. It was -impossible that two contiguous countries, of extent and resources so -nearly equal, governed on principles so different, and daily -increasing the distance between them, should long continue to have -their separate administrations conducted by one cabinet, or could long -be held together by their allegiance to the same sovereign. To give -permanence to their connexion, it was necessary that Austria should -advance, or that Hungary should stand still. But the condition and -circumstances of more than one-half of her population made it -indispensable to her safety--to her internal tranquillity, her -material prosperity, and social order--that Hungary should go forward. -The nobles, holding their lands by tenure of military service, bore no -part of the public burdens during peace. The peasants, though they -were no longer serfs, and had acquired an acknowledged and valuable -interest in the lands they held from the proprietors, for which they -were indebted to Maria Theresa, were yet subject to all manner of -arbitrary oppressions. They had been promised ameliorations of their -condition as early as 1790, but these promises had not yet been -fulfilled. In the mean time, the peasants had been left to endure -their grievances, and did not endure them without murmuring. The more -intelligent and enlightened nobles felt the danger, and sought to -remedy the evil, and hitherto without success. But it is unjust to -attribute to Austrian influence all the opposition encountered by -those who sought to ameliorate the condition of the peasants. Men who -had hitherto been exempted from all public imposts, and who considered -it humiliating to be taxed, resisted the equalisation of the burdens; -men who had been taught to consider the peasant as a creature of an -inferior race, shrank from giving him civil rights equal to their own. -Nevertheless, in 1835, measures were passed which greatly improved the -position of the oppressed classes. We cannot stop to trace the course -of legislation, or to point out the wisdom and disinterested humanity -that distinguished the leaders in this movement. Amongst them stands -conspicuous the name of Szechenyi, to whom his country owes an -everlasting debt of gratitude. Alas! that a mind like his, whose -leading characteristic was practical good sense, that rejected every -visionary project, should now be wandering amidst its own morbid -creations in an unreal world. Several of the wealthier nobles put -beyond all question the sincerity of the opinions they had maintained, -by voluntarily inscribing their names in the list of persons subject -to be taxed; and thus shared the public burdens with their peasants. - -Writing after the acts of 1835 had been passed, Mr Paget thus -describes the feelings of the peasants,-- - - "I know that the Hungarian peasant feels that he is - oppressed; and if justice be not speedily rendered him, I - fear much he will wrest it--perhaps somewhat rudely too--from - the trembling grasp of the factitious power which has so long - withheld it from him."--(Vol i., p. 313.) - -The elective franchise was still withheld from a man born a peasant, -whatever might be his stake in the country. He was not equal with the -noble before the law; and, what was perhaps still more grievous to -him, he continued to bear the whole burden of taxation, local and -national. The noble contributed nothing. Besides the labour and -produce he gave to his proprietor as rent for his land, the peasant -paid tithes to the church, and a head-tax and property-tax to the -government. He paid the whole charges for the administration of -justice, which he could rarely obtain; for the municipal government, -in the election of which he had no vote; for the maintenance of public -buildings, from many of which he was excluded; and by much the greater -part of the expenses of the army, in which he was forced to serve, -without a hope of promotion. He alone made and repaired the roads and -bridges, and he alone paid tolls on passing them. On him alone were -soldiers quartered, and he had to furnish them, not only with lodgings -in the midst of his family, but with fuel, cooking, stable-room, and -fodder, at about one halfpenny a-day, often not paid, and to sell his -hay to the government, for the use of the troops, at a fixed price, -not equal to one-fourth of its value in the market. At the same time, -a noble who tilled the ground like the peasant--who was perhaps not -more intelligent, not more industrious--had a hereditary privilege of -exemption from all these burdens, and enjoyed a share in the -government of the country. - -The revolt of the Ruthene peasants of Gallicia in 1846, who had -massacred whole families of the Polish nobles, and the belief that the -Austrian government had encouraged the revolt, had been slow to put it -down, and had rewarded its leaders, produced agitation amongst the -peasants in Hungary, and the greatest anxiety in the minds of the -nobles. They felt that the fate of Gallicia might be their own, if the -peasants should at any time lose hope and patience, or if the Austrian -government should be brought to adopt, in Hungary, the policy -attributed to it in Gallicia. In short, it was plain that, so long as -the grievances of the peasants remained unredressed, there could be no -security for Hungary. But these grievances could not be redressed -without imposing new burdens on the nobles, and, at the same time, -restricting their privileges. If they were to tax themselves, they -required an efficient control over the public expenditure, and a -relaxation of the Austrian commercial system, which prevented the -development of the country's resources. - -The diet had been summoned for November 1847; and in June of that -year, the patriotic party put forth an exposition of its views -preparatory to the elections, which, in Hungary, are renewed for every -triennial meeting of the diet. In that document, a translation of -which is now before us, they declare, that "our grievances, so often -set forth, after a long course of years, during which we have -demanded, urged, and endured, have to this day remained unredressed." -After enumerating some of these grievances, they proceed to state -their demands-- - - "1st, The equal distribution of the public burdens amongst - all the citizens; that the diet should decide on the - employment of the public revenue, and that it should be - accounted for by responsible administrators. - - "2d, Participation, by the citizens not noble, in the - legislation, and in municipal rights. - - "3d, Civil equality. - - "4th, The abolition, by a compulsory law, of the labour and - dues exacted from the peasants, with indemnity to the - proprietors. - - "5th, Security to property and to credit by the abolition of - _aviticite_, (the right of heirs to recover lands alienated - by sale.)" - -They go on to declare that they will endeavour to promote all that -tends to the material and intellectual development of the country, and -especially public instruction: That, in carrying out these views, they -will never forget the relations which, in terms of the Pragmatic -Sanction, exist between Hungary and the Hereditary States of Austria: -That they hold firmly to article 10, of 1790, by which the royal word, -sanctified by an oath, guarantees the independence of Hungary: That -they do not desire to place the interests of the country in -contradiction with the unity or security of the monarchy, but they -regard as contrary to the laws, and to justice, that the interests of -Hungary should be made subordinate to those of any other country: That -they are ready, in justice and sincerity, to accommodate all questions -on which the interests of Hungary and Austria may be opposed, but they -will never consent to let the interests and constitution of Hungary be -sacrificed to unity of the system of government, "which certain -persons are fond of citing as the leading maxim, instead of the unity -of the monarchy." - -"That unity in the system of government," they assert, "was the point -from which the cabinet set out when, during the last quarter of the -past century, it attacked our nationality and our civil liberty, -promising us material benefits in place of constitutional advantages. -It was to this unity in the system of government that the constitution -of the Hereditary States of Austria was sacrificed, and it was on the -basis of absolute power that the unity of the government was -developed." - -They declare that they consider it their first and most sacred duty to -preserve their constitution, and to strengthen it more and more by -giving it a larger and more secure basis; and they conclude by -expressing their persuasion "that, if the Hereditary States had still -enjoyed their ancient liberties, or if, in accordance with the demands -of the age, they were again to take their place amongst constitutional -nations, our interests and theirs, which now are often divided, -sometimes even opposed, would be more easily reconciled. The different -parts of the empire would be bound together by greater unity of -interests, and by greater mutual confidence, and thus the monarchy, -growing in material and intellectual power, would encounter in greater -security the storms to which times and circumstances may expose it." - -The diet which met in November 1847, had scarcely completed the -ordinary forms and routine business with which the session commences, -when all Europe was thrown into a revolutionary ferment, from the -Mediterranean to the Baltic, from the Atlantic to the Black Sea. The -revolution of February in Paris, was followed by that of March at -Vienna, by the expulsion of the Austrians from Milan, and by Sclavonic -insurrections in Prague and Cracow. Constitutional Hungary alone -remained tranquil. Surrounded by revolutions, incited by daily reports -of republican triumphs, Hungary preserved her composure, her -allegiance, and her internal peace. At a moment when republican -doctrines found favour with a powerful party in every other portion of -the emperor's dominions, the diet of Hungary, with the full -concurrence of the Archduke Palatine, peacefully and unanimously -passed those acts which the national party had prepared and announced -some months before the storms had arisen that shook the thrones of -Europe. At Paris, Berlin, Naples, Rome, Vienna, and in almost every -minor capital of Germany and Italy, it became a question whether -monarchy was to be preserved, or whether social order was to be -overthrown. In Hungary no such questions ever arose or could arise. -True to their conservative principles, and firm in their allegiance to -their king, the nobles of Hungary sought by constitutional means, in -the midst of general anarchy, the same ameliorations of their -constitution which, in the midst of general tranquillity, they had -already demanded. But the emperor had, in the mean time, conceded -constitutional government, and a responsible ministry, to the -revolutionary party in the Hereditary States, and the change which had -thus been effected required a modification of the relations between -Hungary and the imperial government. By the laws of Hungary, no -foreigner could hold office in her administration; and, by the same -laws, every Austrian was a foreigner. These laws had been respected; -Austrians had not been appointed to offices in the Hungarian -administration. No act of the government of Hungary, no communication -from the king to the diet, had ever been countersigned by an Austrian -minister. A ministry responsible to the parliament of Austria, and not -responsible to the parliament of Hungary, could not administer the -government of the latter country; and the same ministry could not be -responsible to both parliaments. If Hungary was not to be incorporated -with Austria, it was necessary that she should have a separate -ministry, responsible only to her own diet. An act providing such a -ministry was passed unanimously, in both houses of the diet, with the -full concurrence of the Archduke Palatine. - -To complete the administration of the kingdom, and to preserve and -maintain the due influence of the crown in the constitution, it was -demanded, on the part of the crown, that the powers of the Palatine or -viceroy should be extended; and having found a precedent--a -preliminary almost as necessary in the diet of Hungary as in the -parliament of Great Britain and Ireland--an act was passed without -opposition, giving the Palatine, in the absence of the king, full -powers to act in the name and on behalf of the sovereign. - -By unanimous votes of both houses, the diet not only established -perfect equality of civil rights and public burdens amongst all -classes, denominations, and races in Hungary and its provinces, and -perfect toleration for every form of religious worship, but, with a -generosity perhaps unparalleled in the history of nations, and which -must extort the admiration even of those who may question the wisdom -of the measure, the nobles of Hungary abolished their own right to -exact either labour or produce in return for the lands held by -urbarial tenure, and thus transferred to the peasants the absolute -ownership, free and for ever, of nearly half the cultivated land in -the kingdom, reserving to the original proprietors of the soil such -compensation as the government might award from the public funds of -Hungary. More than five hundred thousand peasant families were thus -invested with the absolute ownership of from thirty to sixty acres of -land each, or about twenty millions of acres amongst them. The -elective franchise was extended to every man possessed of capital or -property of the value of thirty pounds, or an annual income of ten -pounds--to every man who has received a diploma from a university, and -to every artisan who employs an apprentice. With the concurrence of -both countries, Hungary and Transylvania were united, and their diets, -hitherto separate, were incorporated. The number of representatives -which Croatia was to send to the diet was increased from three to -eighteen, while the internal institutions of that province remained -unchanged; and Hungary undertook to compensate the proprietors for the -lands surrendered to the peasants, to an extent greatly exceeding the -proportion of that burden which would fall on the public funds of the -province. The complaints of the Croats, that the Majjars desired to -impose their own language upon the Sclavonic population, were -considered, and every reasonable ground of complaint removed. -Corresponding advantages were extended to the other Sclavonic tribes, -and the fundamental laws of the kingdom, except in so far as they were -modified by these acts, remained unchanged. - -The whole of the acts passed in March 1848 received the royal assent, -which, on the 11th of April, the emperor personally confirmed at -Presburg in the midst of the diet. These acts then became statutes of -the kingdom, in accordance with which the new responsible Hungarian -ministry was formed, and commenced the performance of its duties with -the full concurrence of the emperor-king and the aid of the Archduke -Palatine. The changes that had been effected were received with -gratitude by the peasants, and with entire satisfaction, not only by -the population of Hungary Proper, but also by that of all the -Sclavonic provinces. From Croatia, more especially, the expression of -satisfaction was loud, and apparently sincere. - - "If," says Prince Ladeslas Teleki, "the concessions of the - emperor-king to the spirit of modern times had been sincerely - made, if his advisers had honestly abandoned all idea of - returning to the past, Hungary would now be in the enjoyment - of the peace she merited. The people who but yesterday held - out the hand of brotherhood, would have proceeded, in peace - and harmony, on the way of advancement which was opened to - them, and civilisation, in its glory and its strength, would - have established itself in the centre of Eastern Europe. But - the reactionary movement commenced at Vienna the very day - liberty was established there. The recognised rights of - Hungary were considered but as forced concessions, which must - be destroyed at any price--even at the price of her blood. - Could there be surer means of attaining that end than - dividing and weakening her by civil war? It was not - understood that honest conduct towards a loyal nation would - more certainly secure her attachment, than attempts to revive - a power that could not be re-established. Neither was it - understood _that the interests of Hungary demanded that she - should seek, in a cordial union with constitutional Austria, - securities for her independence and her liberties_." - -A party at the Austrian court, opposed to all concessions, and -desirous still to revert to the patriarchal system that had been -overturned, saw in the established constitutional freedom of Hungary -the greatest impediment to the success of their plans. Seeking -everywhere the means of producing a reaction, it found in Croatia a -party which had been endeavouring to get up a Sclavonic movement in -favour of what they called Illyrian nationality, and which was -therefore opposed to Majjar ascendency in Hungary. The peculiar -organisation of the military frontier, which extends from the Adriatic -to the frontiers of Russia, and which is in fact a military colony in -Hungary, under the immediate influence and authority of Austria, and -composed almost exclusively of a Sclavonic population, afforded -facilities for exciting disturbances in Hungary. But it was necessary -to provide leaders for the Sclavonic revolt against the Hungarians. -Baron Joseph Jellachich, colonel of a Croat regiment in the army of -Italy, was selected by the agitators for reaction as a man fitted by -his position, his character, and military talents, as well as by his -ambition, to perform this duty in Croatia. He was named Ban of that -province, without consulting the Hungarian ministry, whose -countersignature was necessary to legalise the nomination. This was -the first breach of faith committed by the imperial government; but -the Hungarian ministry, desirous to avoid causes of difference, -acquiesced in the appointment, and invited the Ban to put himself in -communication with them. His first act was to interdict the Croat -magistrates from holding any communication with the government of -Hungary, of which Croatia is a province, declaring that the Croat -revolt was encouraged by the king. On the representation of the -Hungarian ministry, the king, in an autograph letter, dated 29th May, -reprobated the proceedings of the Ban, and summoned him to Innspruck. -On the 10th of June, by a royal ordinance, he was suspended from all -his functions, civil and military; but Jellachich retained his -position, and declared that he was acting in accordance with the real -wishes and instructions of his sovereign, while these public -ordinances were extorted by compulsion. At the same time, and by -similar means, a revolt of the Serbes on the Lower Danube was -organised by Stephen Suplikacs, another colonel of a frontier -regiment, aided by the Greek patriarch. Several counties, some of -which were principally inhabited by Hungarians, Wallacks, and -Germans, were declared to have been formed into a Serbe Vayoodat or -government, which was to be in alliance with Croatia. The Serbes, -joined by bands from Turkish Servia, attacked the neighbouring -Hungarian villages, slaughtered the inhabitants, and plundered the -country. But this did not prevent Jellachich, who had been denounced -and charged with high treason, or the Greek patriarch Rajaesis, the -accomplice of Suplikacs, from being received by the emperor and his -brother, the Archduke Francis Charles, at Innspruck. In a letter, -dated the 4th of June, addressed to the frontier regiments stationed -in Italy, Jellachich declared that the imperial family of Austria -encouraged the insurrections against the Hungarians. Meanwhile the -Serbes were carrying on a war of extermination, massacring the -inhabitants, burning towns and villages, even when they encountered no -resistance; and a force was collected on the frontiers of Croatia with -the manifest intention of invading Hungary. - - "In such a crisis," says Count L. Teleki, "the Hungarian - government experienced the most painful feelings. Condemned - to inaction while entire populations were being exterminated, - it acquired the sad conviction that the Austrian ministry - only kept the national troops out of the country, and - abandoned Hungary to the protection of foreign troops, - through connivance with the enemy." - -The revolt continued to be pushed forward in the name of the -emperor-king, and the diet was about to be opened. The Hungarian -ministers, therefore, entreated his majesty to open the diet in -person, in order by his presence to prove the falsehood of the enemies -of Hungary; but the invitation had no effect. - -The new national assembly of Hungary, returned for the first time by -the suffrage of all classes of the nation, was opened at Pesth, when -it was found that, with scarcely an exception, all the members of the -diet, formerly elected by the nobles, had been again returned--so -calmly had the people exercised their newly-acquired privileges. On -the 2d of July the Archduke Palatine, who had been unanimously chosen -by the diet on the presentation of the king, alluded in his opening -speech to a revolt in Croatia, and to the proceedings of armed bands -in the counties of the Lower Danube. His Imperial Highness made the -following statement:-- - - "His majesty the king has seen with profound grief, after - having spontaneously sanctioned the laws voted by the last - diet, because they were favourable to the development of the - country, that agitators, especially in Croatia and the Lower - Danube, had excited against each other the inhabitants of - different creeds and races, by false reports and vain alarms, - and had urged them to resist the laws and the legislative - authority, asserting that they were not the free expression - of his majesty's will. Some have gone so far to encourage the - revolt, as to pretend that their resistance is made in the - interest of the royal family, and with the knowledge and - consent of his majesty. For the purpose, therefore, of - tranquillising the inhabitants of those countries, I declare, - in the name of his majesty, their lord and king, that his - majesty is firmly resolved to protect the unity and the - inviolability of the royal crown of Hungary, against all - attack from without or disturbance in the interior of the - kingdom, and to carry out the laws which he has sanctioned. - At the same time that his majesty would not allow any - infraction of the lawful rights of his subjects, he blames, - and in this all the members of the royal family agree with - him, the audacity of those who have dared to pretend that - illegal acts are compatible with the wishes of his majesty, - or were done in the interest of the royal family. His majesty - sanctioned, with the greatest satisfaction, the incorporation - of Transylvania with Hungary, not only because he thus - gratified the ardent desire of his beloved people--both - Hungarians and Transylvanians--but also because the union of - the two countries will give a more firm support to the throne - and to liberty, by the combined development of their power - and their prosperity." - -The diet, rejoiced by these assurances, immediately sent a deputation -to entreat the king to repair to Pesth, as the only means of -disabusing the minds of the Croats and Serbes, who were made to -believe that his public acts were the result of coercion. The prayer -of the deputation was refused. The Servian insurrection continued to -gain ground; the Austrian troops stationed in Hungary, for the defence -of the country, refused to obey the government, and at length a -communication to the Hungarian ministry, dated the 29th of June, three -days prior to the speech of the Archduke Palatine, announced the -intention of the Austrian ministry to put an end to the neutrality it -had hitherto observed, and to support Croatia openly. All the -Hungarians were then convinced that their constitution, and the -independence of the country, must be defended by force of arms. But -the ministry and the diet would not depart from the constitutional and -legal course. A levy of 200,000 men was decreed, as well as an issue -of bank-notes to cover the deficits; and the acts were presented for -the royal assent by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice: -but a long time elapsed before any reply could be obtained. In the -mean time the situation of the country every day became worse, and -another deputation was sent to the king, headed by the president of -the Chamber of Deputies, to obtain the royal assent to the laws -already presented; the recall of the Hungarian troops of the line, -quartered everywhere except in Hungary; and orders to the foreign -troops stationed in that country to discharge their duty faithfully. -Finally the king was again entreated to come into his kingdom, to -restore to her peace and order. The deputation received an evasive -reply. But at the same time, and while the two ministers were at -Vienna, the king, without acquainting them, despatched, on the 31st of -August, a letter to the Palatine, directing him to send several -members of the Hungarian ministry to Vienna, for the purpose of -concerting measures with the Austrian ministry, to consolidate and -insure the unity of the government and of the monarchy, and to open -negotiations with the Croats for the reconciliation of their -differences. But the king declared it to be an indispensable condition -that the Ban Jellachich--who in the end of May had been denounced as a -traitor--should take a part in the conferences; that all preparations -for war should cease on both sides; and that the districts of the -military frontier, which have always formed part of Hungary, should be -provisionally subject to the Austrian ministry. _In this same -document_ a communication was made to the Hungarian ministry, of a -note of the Austrian government, on the relations to be established -between Austria and Hungary. It was stated "that the provisions of the -law of 1848, by which the Archduke Palatine had been appointed -depository of the royal authority, and chief of the executive power in -the absence of the king--and by which a responsible ministry had been -conceded to Hungary, detaching from the central government of Vienna -the administration of war, finance, and commerce--were contrary to the -Pragmatic Sanction, opposed to the legal relations between Austria and -Hungary, and detrimental alike to the interests of Hungary and -Austria. These concessions were declared illegal and of none effect, -under the pretext that they had not been consented to by the -responsible Austrian ministry; and although they had been sanctioned -by the royal word on the 11th of April, and again formally recognised -in the speech from the throne on the 2d July, it was announced that -these laws were to be considerably modified, in order that a central -power might be established at Vienna." - -Never, we venture to say, was a discreditable breach of public faith -palliated on pretexts more futile. Hungary is as independent of the -Hereditary States as the Hereditary States are of Hungary; and, in -matters relating to Hungary, the ministers of Austria, responsible or -irresponsible, have no more right to interfere between the King and -his Hungarian ministers, or Hungarian diet, than these have to -interfere between the Emperor of Austria and his Austrian ministers, -in matters relating to the Hereditary States. The pretension to submit -the decisions of the Hungarian diet, sanctioned by the King, to the -approval or disapproval of the Austrian ministers, is too absurd to -have been resorted to in good faith. The truth appears to be, that the -successes of the gallant veteran Radetzki, and of the Austrian army in -Italy, which has so well sustained its ancient reputation, had -emboldened the Austrian government to retrace the steps that had been -taken by the emperor. Trusting to the movements hitherto successful in -Croatia and the Danubian provinces of Hungary,--to the absence of the -Hungarian army, and of all efficient preparation for defence on the -part of the Hungarian government, and elated with military success in -Italy,--the Austrian ministers resumed their intention to subvert the -constitution of Hungary, and to fuse the various parts of the -emperor's dominions into one whole. Their avidity to accomplish this -object prevented their perceiving the stain they were affixing to the -character of the empire, and the honour of the emperor; or the injury -they were thereby inflicting on the cause of monarchy all over the -world. "Honour and good faith, if driven from every other asylum, -ought to find a refuge in the breasts of princes." And the ministers -who sully the honour of their confiding prince, do more to injure -monarchy, and therefore to endanger the peace and security of society, -than the rabble who shout for Socialism. - -The Austrian ministry did not halt in their course. They made the -emperor-king recall, on the 4th September, the decree which suspended -Jellachich from all his dignities, as a person accused of high -treason. This was done on the pretext that the accusations against the -Ban were false, and that he had exhibited undeviating fidelity to the -house of Austria. He was reinstated in all his offices at a moment -when he was encamped with his army on the frontiers of Hungary, -preparing to invade that kingdom. In consequence of this proceeding, -the Hungarian ministry, which had been appointed in March, gave in -their resignation. The Palatine, by virtue of his full powers, called -upon Count Louis Bathianyi to form a new ministry. All hope of a -peaceful adjustment seemed to be at an end; but, as a last resource, a -deputation of the Hungarian deputies was sent to propose to the -representatives of Austria, that the two countries should mutually -guarantee to each other their constitutions and their independence. -The deputation was not received. - -Count Louis Bathianyi undertook the direction of affairs, upon the -condition that Jellachich, whose troops had already invaded Hungary, -should be ordered to retire beyond the boundary. The king replied, -that this condition could not be accepted before the other ministers -were known. - -But Jellachich had passed the Drave with an army of Croats and -Austrian regiments. His course was marked by plunder and devastation; -and so little was Hungary prepared for resistance, that he advanced to -the lake of Balaton without firing a shot. The Archduke Palatine took -the command of the Hungarian forces, hastily collected to oppose the -Ban; but, after an ineffectual attempt at reconciliation, he set off -for Vienna, whence he sent the Hungarians his resignation. - -The die was now cast, and the diet appealed to the nation. The people -rose _en masse_. The Hungarian regiments of the line declared for -their country. Count Lemberg had been appointed by the king to the -command of all the troops stationed in Hungary; but the diet could no -longer leave the country at the mercy of the sovereign who had -identified himself with the proceedings of its enemies, and they -declared the appointment illegal, on the ground that it was not -countersigned, as the laws required, by one of the ministers. They -called upon the authorities, the citizens, the army, and Count Lemberg -himself, to obey this decree under pain of high treason. Regardless of -this proceeding, Count Lemberg hastened to Pesth, and arrived at a -moment when the people were flocking from all parts of the country to -oppose the army of Jellachich. A cry was raised that the gates of Buda -were about to be closed by order of the count, who was at this time -recognised by the populace as he passed the bridge towards Buda, and -brutally murdered. It was the act of an infuriated mob, for which it -is not difficult to account, but which nothing can justify. The diet -immediately ordered the murderers to be brought to trial, but they had -absconded. This was the only act of popular violence committed in the -capital of Hungary. - -On the 29th of September, Jellachich was defeated in a battle fought -within twelve miles of Pesth. The Ban fled, abandoning to their fate -the detached corps of his army; and the Croat rearguard, ten thousand -strong, surrendered, with Generals Roth and Philipovits, who commanded -it. - -In detailing the events subsequent to the 11th of April 1848, we have -followed the Hungarian manifesto, published in Paris by Count Ladeslas -Teleki, whose character is a sufficient security for the fidelity of -his statements; and the English translation of that document by Mr -Brown, which is understood to have been executed under the Count's own -eye. But we have not relied upon the Count alone, nor even upon the -official documents he has printed. We have availed ourselves of other -sources of information equally authentic. One of the documents, which -had previously been transmitted to us from another quarter, and which, -we perceive, has also been printed by the Count, is so remarkable, -both because of the persons from whom it emanates, and the statements -it contains, that, although somewhat lengthy, we think it right to -give it entire. - - _The Roman-Catholic Clergy of Hungary to his Apostolic - Majesty, Ferdinand V., King of Hungary._ - - Representation presented to the Emperor-King, in the name of - the Clergy, by the Archbishop of Gran, Primate of Hungary, - and by the Archbishop of Erlaw. - - "Sire! Penetrated with feelings of the most profound sorrow - at the sight of the innumerable calamities and the internal - evils which desolate our unhappy country, we respectfully - address your Majesty, in the hope that you may listen with - favour to the voice of those, who, after having proved their - inviolable fidelity to your Majesty, believe it to be their - duty, as heads of the Hungarian Church, at last to break - silence, and to bear to the foot of the throne their just - complaints, for the interests of the church, of the country, - and of the monarchy. - - "Sire!--We refuse to believe that your Majesty is correctly - informed of the present state of Hungary. We are convinced - that your Majesty, in consequence of your being so far away - from our unfortunate country, knows neither the misfortunes - which overwhelm her, nor the evils which immediately threaten - her, and which place the throne itself in danger, unless your - Majesty applies a prompt and efficacious remedy, by attending - to nothing but the dictates of your own good heart. - - "Hungary is actually in the saddest and most deplorable - situation. In the south, an entire race, although enjoying - all the civil and political rights recognised in Hungary, has - been in open insurrection for several months, excited and led - astray by a party which seems to have adopted the frightful - mission of exterminating the Majjar and German races, which - have constantly been the strongest and surest support of your - Majesty's throne. Numberless thriving towns and villages have - become a prey to the flames, and have been totally destroyed; - thousands of Majjar and German subjects are wandering about - without food or shelter, or have fallen victims to - indescribable cruelty--for it is revolting to repeat the - frightful atrocities by which the popular rage, let loose by - diabolical excitement, ventures to display itself. - - "These horrors were, however, but the prelude to still - greater evils, which were about to fall upon our country. God - forbid that we should afflict your Majesty with the hideous - picture of all our misfortunes! Suffice it to say, that the - different races who inhabit your kingdom of Hungary, stirred - up, excited one against the other by infernal intrigues, only - distinguish themselves by pillage, incendiarism, and murder, - perpetrated with the greatest refinement of atrocity. - - "Sire!--The Hungarian nation, heretofore the firmest bulwark - of Christianity and civilisation against the incessant - attacks of barbarism, often experienced rude shocks in that - protracted struggle for life and death; but at no period did - there gather over her head so many and so terrible tempests, - never was she entangled in the meshes of so perfidious an - intrigue, never had she to submit to treatment so cruel, and - at the same time so cowardly--and yet, oh! profound sorrow! - all these horrors are committed in the name, and, as they - assure us, by the order of your Majesty. - - "Yes, Sire! it is under your government, and in the name of - your Majesty, that our flourishing towns are bombarded, - sacked, and destroyed. In the name of your Majesty, they - butcher the Majjars and Germans. Yes, sire! all this is done; - and they incessantly repeat it, in the name and by the order - of your Majesty, who nevertheless has proved, in a manner so - authentic and so recent, your benevolent and paternal - intentions towards Hungary. In the name of your Majesty, who - in the last Diet of Presburg, yielding to the wishes of the - Hungarian nation, and to the exigencies of the time, - consented to sanction and confirm by your royal word and - oath, the foundation of a new constitution, established on - the still broader foundation of a perfectly independent - government. - - "It is for this reason that the Hungarian nation, deeply - grateful to your Majesty, accustomed also to receive from her - king nothing but proofs of goodness really paternal, when he - listens only to the dictates of his own heart, refuses to - believe, and we her chief pastors also refuse to believe, - that your Majesty either knows, or sees with indifference, - still less approves the infamous manner in which the enemies - of our country, and of our liberties, compromise the kingly - majesty, arming the populations against each other, shaking - the very foundations of the constitution, frustrating legally - established powers, seeking even to destroy in the hearts of - all the love of subjects for their sovereign, by saying that - your Majesty wishes to withdraw from your faithful Hungarians - the concessions solemnly sworn to and sanctioned in the diet; - and, finally, to wrest from the country her character of a - free and independent kingdom. - - "Already, Sire! have these new laws and liberties, giving the - surest guarantees for the freedom of the people, struck root - so deeply in the hearts of the nation, that public opinion - makes it our duty to represent to your Majesty, that the - Hungarian people could not but lose that devotion and - veneration, consecrated and proved on so many occasions, up - to the present time, if it was attempted to make them believe - that the violation of the laws, and of the government - sanctioned and established by your majesty, is committed with - the consent of the king. - - "But if, on the one hand, we are strongly convinced that your - majesty has taken no part in the intrigues so basely woven - against the Hungarian people, we are not the less persuaded, - that that people, taking arms to defend their liberty, have - stood on legal ground, and that in obeying instinctively the - supreme law of nations, _which demands the safety of all_, - they have at the same time saved the dignity of the throne - and the monarchy, greatly compromised by advisers as - dangerous as they are rash. - - "Sire! We, the chief pastors of the greatest part of the - Hungarian people, know better than any others their noble - sentiments; and we venture to assert, in accordance with - history, that there does not exist a people more faithful to - their monarchs than the Hungarians, when they are governed - according to their laws. - - "We guarantee to your majesty, that this people, such - faithful observers of order and of the civil laws in the - midst of the present turmoils, desire nothing but the - peaceable enjoyment of the liberties granted and sanctioned - by the throne. - - "In this deep conviction, moved also by the sacred interests - of the country and the good of the church, which sees in your - majesty her first and principal defender, we, the bishops of - Hungary, humbly entreat your majesty patiently to look upon - our country now in danger. Let your majesty deign to think a - moment upon the lamentable situation in which this wretched - country is at present, where thousands of your innocent - subjects, who formerly all lived together in peace and - brotherhood on all sides, notwithstanding difference of - races, now find themselves plunged into the most frightful - misery by their civil wars. - - "The blood of the people is flowing in torrents--thousands of - your majesty's faithful subjects are, some massacred, others - wandering about without shelter, and reduced to beggary--our - towns, our villages, are nothing but heaps of ashes--the - clash of arms has driven the faithful people from our - temples, which have become deserted--the mourning church - weeps over the fall of religion, and the education of the - people is interrupted and abandoned. - - "The frightful spectre of wretchedness increases, and - develops itself every day under a thousand hideous forms. The - morality, and with it the happiness of the people, disappear - in the gulf of civil war. - - "But let your majesty also deign to reflect upon the terrible - consequences of these civil wars; not only as regards their - influence on the moral and substantial interests of the - people, but also as regards their influence upon the security - and stability of the monarchy. Let your majesty hasten to - speak one of those powerful words which calm tempests!--the - flood rises, the waves are gathering, and threaten to engulf - the throne! - - "Let a barrier be speedily raised against those passions - excited and let loose with infernal art amongst populations - hitherto so peaceable. How is it possible to make people who - have been inspired with the most frightful thirst--that of - blood--return within the limits of order, justice, and - moderation? - - "Who will restore to the regal majesty the original purity of - its brilliancy, of its splendour, after having dragged that - majesty in the mire of the most evil passions? Who will - restore faith and confidence in the royal word and oath? Who - will render an account to the tribunal of the living God, of - the thousands of individuals who have fallen, and fall every - day, innocent victims to the fury of civil war? - - "Sire! our duty as faithful subjects, the good of the - country, and the honour of our religion, have inspired us to - make these humble but sincere remonstrances, and have bid us - raise our voices! So, let us hope, that your majesty will not - merely receive our sentiments, but that, mindful of the - solemn oath that you took on the day of your coronation, in - the face of heaven, not only to defend the liberties of the - people, but to extend them still further--that, mindful of - this oath, to which you appeal so often and so solemnly, you - will remove from your royal person the terrible - responsibility that these impious and bloody wars heap upon - the throne, and that you will tear off the tissue of vile - falsehoods with which pernicious advisers beset you, by - hastening, with prompt and strong resolution, to recall peace - and order to our country, which was always the firmest prop - of your throne, in order that, with Divine assistance, that - country, so severely tried, may again see prosperous days; in - order that, in the midst of profound peace, she may raise a - monument of eternal gratitude to the justice and paternal - benevolence of her king. - - "_Signed at Pesth, the 28th Oct. 1848_, - - "THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH OF HUNGARY." - - -The Roman Catholic hierarchy of Hungary, it must be kept in mind, have -at all times been in close connexion with the Roman Catholic court of -Austria, and have almost uniformly supported its views. The Archbishop -of Gran, Primate of Hungary, possesses greater wealth and higher -privileges than perhaps any magnate in Hungary. - -In this unhappy quarrel Hungary has never demanded more than was -voluntarily conceded to her by the Emperor-King on the 11th of April -1848. All she has required has been that faith should be kept with -her; that the laws passed by her diet, and sanctioned by her king, -should be observed. On the other hand, she is required by Austria to -renounce the concessions then made to her by her sovereign--to -relinquish the independence she has enjoyed for nine centuries, and to -exchange the constitution she has cherished, fought for, loved, and -defended, during seven hundred years, for the experimental -constitution which is to be tried in Austria, and which has already -been rejected by several of the provinces. This contest is but another -form of the old quarrel--an attempt on the part of Austria to enforce, -at any price, uniformity of system; and a determination on the part of -Hungary, at any cost, to resist it. - -We hope next month to resume the consideration of this subject, to -which, in the midst of so many stirring and important events in -countries nearer home and better known, it appears to us that too -little attention has been directed. We believe that a speedy -adjustment of the differences between Austria and Hungary, on terms -which shall cordially reunite them, is of the utmost importance to the -peace of Europe--and that the complications arising out of those -differences will increase the difficulty of arriving at such a -solution, the longer it is delayed. We believe that Austria, -distracted by a multiplicity of counsels, has committed a great error, -which is dangerous to the stability of her position as a first-rate -power; and we should consider her descent from that position a -calamity to Europe. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[30] Chiefly by marriage with princesses who were heirs to these -kingdoms and principalities. It was thus that Hungary, Bohemia, and -the Tyrol were acquired. Hence the lines-- - - "Bella gerant alii; tu, felix Austria, nube: - Nam quæ Mars aliis, dat tibi regna Venus." - - You, Austria, wed as others wage their wars; - And crowns to Venus owe, as they to Mars. - -It was by marriage that the Saxon emperor, Otho the Great, acquired -Lombardy for the German empire. - -[31] The acts passed by the diet are numbered by articles, as those of -our parliament are by chapters. Each of these articles, when it has -received the royal assent, becomes a statute of the kingdom, in the -same manner as with us, and of course equally binds the sovereign and -his subjects. - - - _Printed by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh._ - - - * * * * * - -Transcriber's Notes: - -Obvious typographical errors were repaired. - -Hyphenation and accent variations retained as in original. - -Footnotes on p.509, 577 (first footnote), and 590 were unanchored in -the original. They have been anchored to the chapter headings on those -pages. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume -65, No. 403, May, 1849, by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE, MAY 1849 *** - -***** This file should be named 40397-8.txt or 40397-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/3/9/40397/ - -Produced by Brendan OConnor, Jonathan Ingram, JoAnn -Greenwood and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Library of Early -Journals.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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