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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. III,
-No. XVII, October 1851, 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: Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. III, No. XVII, October 1851
-
-Author: Various
-
-Release Date: November 19, 2012 [EBook #41411]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY, OCTOBER 1851 ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Maria Grist and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
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-   HARPER'S
-
-   NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE.
-
-   No. XVII.--OCTOBER, 1851.--Vol. III.
-
-
-
-
-NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.
-
-BY JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.
-
-
-III. FIRST CAMPAIGN IN ITALY.
-
-The discomfiture of the insurgent sections at Paris, and the energy,
-tact, and humanity which Napoleon displayed in the subsequent government
-of the tumultuous city, caused his name to be as familiar as a household
-word in all parts of the metropolis. His slight and slender figure, so
-feminine and graceful in its proportions; his hand, so small and white
-and soft that any lady might covet it; his features, so mild and
-youthful in their expression, and all these combined in strange alliance
-with energies as indomitable, and a will as imperious as were ever
-enshrined in mortal form, invested the young general with a mysterious
-and almost supernatural fascination.
-
-Famine was rioting in the streets of Paris. All industry was at an end.
-The poor, unemployed, were perishing. The rich were gathering the wrecks
-of their estates, and flying from France. There was no law but such as
-was proclaimed by the thunders of Napoleon's batteries. The National
-Guard he immediately reorganized, and soon efficient order was
-established. Napoleon was incessantly occupied in visiting all parts of
-the city, and words of kindness and sympathy with suffering he combined
-with the strong and inexorable arm of military rule. More than a hundred
-families, says the Duchess of Abrantes, were saved from perishing by his
-personal exertions. He himself climbed to the garrets of penury, and
-penetrated the cellars of want and woe, and, with a moistened eye, gazed
-upon the scenes of fearful wretchedness with which Paris was filled. He
-caused wood and bread to be distributed to the poor, and totally
-regardless of ease or self-indulgence, did every thing in his power to
-alleviate suffering.
-
-One day when alighting from his carriage to dine at Madame Permon's, he
-was addressed by a woman who held a dead infant in her arms. Grief and
-hunger had dried up the fountain of life in her bosom, and her unweaned
-child had perished of starvation. Her husband was dead, and five
-children were mourning for food at home. "If I can not obtain relief,"
-said the famished mother, "I must take my remaining five children and
-drown myself with them." Napoleon questioned her very minutely,
-ascertained her place of residence, and giving her some money to meet
-her immediate wants, entered the house and sat down with the guests at
-the brilliant entertainment. He was, however, so deeply impressed with
-the scene of wretchedness which he had just witnessed, that he could not
-obliterate it from his mind, and all were struck with his absent manner
-and the sadness of his countenance. Immediately after dinner he took
-measures to ascertain the truth of the statements which the poor woman
-had made to him, and finding all her assertions verified, he took the
-family immediately under his protection. He obtained employment for the
-girls in needlework among his friends, and the family ever expressed the
-most profound gratitude for their preserver. It was by the unceasing
-exhibition of such traits of character that Napoleon entwined around him
-the hearts of the French people.
-
-There was, at this time in Paris, a lady, who was rendered quite
-prominent in society, by her social attractions, her personal
-loveliness, and her elevated rank. She was a widow, twenty-eight years
-of age. Her husband, the Viscount Beauharnais, had recently perished
-upon the scaffold, an illustrious victim of revolutionary fury.
-Josephine Tascher Beauharnais, who subsequently became the
-world-renowned bride of Napoleon, was born on the island of Martinice in
-the West Indies. When almost a child she was married to the Viscount
-Beauharnais, who had visited the island on business and was captivated
-by the loveliness of the fair young Creole. Upon entering Paris she was
-immediately introduced to all the splendors of the court of
-Maria-Antoinette. The revolutionary storm soon burst upon her dwelling
-with merciless fury. She experienced the most afflictive reverses of
-friendlessness, bereavement, imprisonment, and penury. The storm had,
-however, passed over her, and she was left a widow, with two children,
-Eugene and Hortense. From the wreck of her fortune she had saved an
-ample competence, and was surrounded by influential and admiring
-friends.
-
-Napoleon, in obedience to the orders of the Convention, to prevent the
-possibility of another outbreak of lawless violence, had proceeded to
-the disarming of the populace of Paris. In the performance of this duty
-the sword of M. Beauharnais was taken. A few days afterward Eugene, a
-very intelligent and graceful child, twelve years of age, obtained
-access to Napoleon, and with most engaging artlessness and depth of
-emotion, implored that the sword of his father might be restored to him.
-Napoleon had no heart to deny such a request. He sent for the sword, and
-speaking with kind words of commendation, presented it with his own
-hand to Eugene. The grateful boy burst into tears and, unable to
-articulate a word, pressed the sword to his bosom, bowed in silence and
-retired. Napoleon was much interested in this exhibition of filial love,
-and his thoughts were immediately directed to the mother who had formed
-the character of such a child. Josephine, whose whole soul was absorbed
-in love for her children, was so grateful, for the kindness with which
-the distinguished young general had treated her fatherless Eugene, that
-she called, in her carriage, the next day, to express to him a mother's
-thanks. She was dressed in deep mourning. Her peculiarly musical voice
-was tremulous with emotion. The fervor and the delicacy of her maternal
-love, and the perfect grace of manner and of language, with which she
-discharged her mission, excited the admiration of Napoleon. He soon
-called upon her. The acquaintance rapidly ripened into an unusually
-strong and ardent affection.
-
-[Illustration: NAPOLEON AND EUGENE.]
-
-Josephine was two years older than Napoleon. But her form and features
-had resisted the encroachments of time, and her cheerfulness and
-vivacity invested her with all the charms of early youth. Barras, now
-one of the five Directors, who had been established in power by the guns
-of Napoleon, was a very ardent friend of Josephine. He warmly advocated
-the contemplated connection, deeming it mutually advantageous. Napoleon
-would greatly increase his influence by an alliance with one occupying
-so high a position in society and surrounded by friends so influential.
-And Barras clearly foresaw that the energetic young general possessed
-genius which would insure distinction. Josephine thus speaks, in a
-letter to a friend, of her feelings in view of the proposed marriage.
-
-"I am urged to marry again. My friends counsel the measure, my aunt
-almost lays her injunctions to the same effect, and my children entreat
-my compliance. You have met General Bonaparte at my house. He it is who
-would supply a father's place to the orphans of Alexander Beauharnais,
-and a husband to his widow. I admire the general's courage, the extent
-of his information, for on all subjects he talks equally well, and the
-quickness of his judgment, which enables him to seize the thoughts of
-others almost before they are expressed. But I confess that I shrink
-from the despotism he seems desirous of exercising over all who approach
-him. His searching glance has something singular and inexplicable, which
-imposes even upon our Directors; judge if it may not intimidate a woman.
-
-"Barras gives assurance that if I marry the general, he will secure his
-appointment to the command of the army of Italy. Yesterday, Bonaparte
-speaking of this favor, said to me, 'Think they then, that _I_ have need
-of _their_ protection to arrive at power? Egregious mistake! They will
-all be but too happy, one day, should I condescend to grant them mine.'
-
-"What think you of this self-confidence? Is it not a proof of excess of
-vanity? A general of brigade protect the heads of government! That truly
-is an event highly probable! I know not how it is, but sometimes this
-waywardness gains upon me to such a degree, that almost I believe
-possible whatever this singular man may take into his head to attempt.
-And with his imagination, who can calculate what he will not undertake."
-
-Though the passion with which Josephine had inspired Napoleon, was
-ardent and impetuous in the highest degree, it interfered not in the
-least with his plans of towering ambition. During the day he was
-vigorously employed in his professional duties and in persevering study.
-But each evening found him at the mansion of Josephine, where he met,
-and dazzled by his commanding genius and his brilliant conversational
-powers, the most distinguished and the most influential men of the
-metropolis. In these social entertainments, Josephine testified that
-Napoleon possessed unlimited powers of fascination, whenever he saw fit
-to employ them. His acquaintance and his influence was thus extended
-among those who would be most available in the furtherance of his plans.
-On the 6th of March, 1796, Napoleon and Josephine were married, Napoleon
-being then twenty-five years of age. It was a union of very sincere
-affection on both sides. It can not be doubted that next to ambition,
-Josephine was to Napoleon the dearest object of his admiration and
-homage. Marriage had then ceased to be regarded in infidel France as a
-religious rite. It was a mere partnership which any persons could form
-or dissolve at pleasure. The revolutionary tribunals had closed the
-churches, banished the clergy, and dethroned God. The parties,
-contemplating marriage, simply recorded their intention in the state
-register of Paris, with two or three friends to sign the record as
-witnesses. By this simple ceremony Napoleon was united to Josephine. But
-neither of the parties approved of this mercantile aspect of a
-transaction so sacred. They were both, in natural disposition serious,
-thoughtful, and prone to look to the guidance of a power higher than
-that of man. Surrounded by infidelity, and by that vice with which
-public infidelity is invariably accompanied, they both instinctively
-reverenced all that is grand and imposing in the revelations of
-Christianity.
-
-"Man, launched into life," said Napoleon, "asks himself, whence do I
-come? What am I? Whither do I go? Mysterious questions which draw him
-toward religion; our hearts crave the support and guidance of religious
-faith. We believe in the existence of God because every thing around us
-proclaims his being. The greatest minds have cherished this
-conviction--Bossuet, Newton, Leibnitz. The heart craves faith as the
-body food; and, without doubt, we believe most frequently without
-exercising our reason. Faith wavers as soon as we begin to argue. But
-even then our hearts say, 'Perhaps I shall again believe instinctively.
-God grant it. For we feel that this belief in a protecting deity must be
-a great happiness; an immense consolation in adversity, and a powerful
-safeguard when tempted to immorality.
-
-"The virtuous man never doubts of the existence of God, for if his
-reason does not suffice to comprehend it, the instinct of his soul
-adopts the belief. Every intimate feeling of the soul is in sympathy
-with the sentiments of religion."
-
-These are profound thoughts and it is strange that they should have
-sprung up in the mind of one educated in the midst of the violence, and
-the clangor, and the crime of battle, and accustomed to hear from the
-lips of all around him, every religious sentiment ridiculed as the
-superstition of the most weak and credulous.
-
-When at St. Helena, Napoleon, one evening, called for the New Testament,
-and read to his friends the address of Jesus to his disciples upon the
-mountain. He expressed himself as having been ever struck with the
-highest admiration in view of the purity, the sublimity, and the beauty
-of the morality which it contained. Napoleon seldom spoke lightly even
-of the corruptions of the church. But he always declared his most
-exalted appreciation of the religion of Jesus Christ.
-
-When Napoleon was crowned Emperor he was privately married again by
-Cardinal Fesch, in accordance with the forms of the church which the
-Emperor had re-established. "Josephine," said Napoleon, "was truly a
-most lovely woman; refined, affable, and charming. She was the goddess
-of the toilet. All the fashions originated with her. Every thing she put
-on appeared elegant. She was so kind, so humane--she was the most
-graceful lady and the best woman in France. I never saw her act
-inelegantly during the whole time we lived together. She possessed a
-perfect knowledge of the different shades of my character, and evinced
-the most exquisite tact in turning this knowledge to the best account.
-For example, she never solicited any favor for Eugene, or thanked me for
-any that I conferred upon him. She never showed any additional
-complaisance or assiduity when he was receiving from me the greatest
-honors. Her grand aim was to assume that all this was _my_ affair--that
-Eugene was _our_ son, not hers. Doubtless she entertained the idea that
-I would adopt Eugene as my successor."
-
-Again, he said, of Josephine, "we lived together like honest citizens in
-our mutual relations, and always retired together till 1805, a period in
-which political events obliged me to change my habits, and to add the
-labors of the night to those of the day. This regularity is the best
-guarantee for a good establishment. It ensures the respectability of the
-wife, the dependence of the husband, and maintains intimacy of feelings
-and good morals. If this is not the case, the smallest circumstances
-make people forget each other. A son by Josephine would have rendered me
-happy, and would have secured the reign of my dynasty. The French would
-have loved him very much better than they could love the son of Maria
-Louisa; and I never would have put my foot on that abyss covered with
-flowers, which was my ruin. Let no one after this rely upon the wisdom
-of human combinations. Let no one venture to pronounce, before its
-close, upon the happiness or misery of life. My Josephine had the
-instinct of the future when she became terrified at her own sterility.
-She knew well that a marriage is only real when there is an offspring;
-and in proportion as fortune smiled her anxiety increased. I was the
-object of her deepest attachment. If I went into my carriage at midnight
-for a long journey, there, to my surprise, I found her, seated before
-me, and awaiting my arrival. If I attempted to dissuade her from
-accompanying me, she had so many good and affectionate reasons to urge,
-that it was almost always necessary to yield. In a word she always
-proved to me a happy and affectionate wife, and I have preserved the
-tenderest recollections of her.
-
-"Political motives induced me to divorce Josephine, whom I most tenderly
-loved. She, poor woman, fortunately for herself, died in time to prevent
-her from witnessing the last of my misfortunes. After her forcible
-separation from me, she avowed, in most feeling terms, her ardent desire
-to share with me, my exile and extolled, with many tears, both myself
-and my conduct to her. The English have represented me as a monster of
-cruelty. Is this the result of the conduct of a merciless, unfeeling
-tyrant? A man is known by his treatment of his wife, of his family, and
-of those under him."
-
-Just before his marriage, Napoleon received the appointment, to him most
-gratifying, of Commander-in-chief of the army of Italy. His predecessor
-had been displaced in consequence of excessive intemperance. Napoleon
-was but twenty-five years of age when placed in this responsible post.
-"You are rather young," said one of the Directors, "to assume
-responsibilities so weighty, and to take the command over veteran
-generals." "In one year," Napoleon replied, "I shall be either old or
-dead." "We can place you in the command of men alone," said Carnot, "for
-the troops are destitute of every thing, and we can furnish you with no
-money to provide supplies." "Give me only men enough," Napoleon replied,
-"and I ask for nothing more. I will be answerable for the result."
-
-A few days after Napoleon's marriage, he left his bride in Paris, and
-set out for Nice, the head-quarters of the army of Italy. He passed
-through Marseilles, that he might pay a short visit to his mother, whose
-love he ever cherished with the utmost tenderness, and on the 27th of
-March arrived at the cold and cheerless camps, where the dejected troops
-of France were enduring every hardship. They were surrounded by numerous
-foes, who had driven them from the fertile plains of Italy into the
-barren and dreary fastnesses of the Alps. The Austrian armies, quartered
-in opulent cities, or encamped upon sunny and vine-clad hill-sides, were
-living in the enjoyment of security and abundance, while the troops of
-the distracted and impoverished republic were literally freezing and
-starving. But here let us pause for a moment to consider the cause of
-the war, and the motives which animated the contending armies.
-
-France, in the exercise of a right which few in America will question,
-had, in imitation of the United States, and incited by their example,
-renounced the monarchical form of government, and established a
-republic. For centuries uncounted, voluptuous kings and licentious
-nobles had trampled the oppressed millions into the dust. But now these
-millions had risen in their majesty, and driving the king from his
-throne and the nobles from their wide domains, had taken their own
-interests into their own hands. They were inexperienced and
-unenlightened in the science of government, and they made many and
-lamentable mistakes. They were terrified in view of the powerful
-combination of all the monarchs and nobles of Europe to overwhelm them
-with invading armies, and in their paroxysms of fear, when destruction
-seemed to be coming like an avalanche upon them, they perpetrated many
-deeds of atrocious cruelty. They simply claimed the right of
-self-government, and when assailed, fell upon their assailants with
-blind and merciless fury.
-
-The kings of Europe contemplated this portentous change with
-inexpressible alarm. In consternation they witnessed the uprising of the
-masses in France, and saw one of their brother monarchs dragged from his
-palace and beheaded upon the guillotine. The successful establishment of
-the French Republic would very probably have driven every King in Europe
-from his throne. England was agitated through all her countries. From
-the mud cabins of Ireland, from the dark and miry mines, from the
-thronged streets of the city, and the crowded workshops all over the
-kingdom, there was a clamorous cry ascending for liberty and equality.
-The spirit of democracy, radiating from its soul in Paris, was assailing
-every throne in Europe. There was no alternative for these monarchs but
-to crush this new power, or to perish before it. There can be no
-monarchist whose sympathies will not beat high with the allied kings in
-the fearful conflict which ensued. There can be no republican who will
-not pray, "God speed the Eagles of France." Both parties believed that
-they were fighting in self-defense. The kings were attacked by
-_principles_ triumphant in France, which were undermining their thrones.
-The French were attacked by bayonets and batteries--by combined armies
-invading their territories, bombarding their cities, and endeavoring by
-force of arms, to compel a proud nation of thirty millions of
-inhabitants to reinstate, at foreign dictation, the rejected Bourbons
-upon the throne. The allies called upon all the loyalists scattered over
-France to grasp their arms, to rally beneath the banner of friends
-coming to their rescue, and to imbrue their country in the blood of a
-civil war. The French, in trumpet tones, summoned the _people_ of all
-lands to hail the tri-colored flag, as the harbinger of their
-deliverance from the servitude of ages. From every city in Europe which
-Napoleon approached, with his conquering armies, the loyalists fled,
-while the republicans welcomed him with an adulation amounting almost to
-religious homage. And the troops of the allies were welcomed, in every
-city of France which they entered, with tears of gratitude from the eyes
-of those who longed for the restoration of the monarchy. It was a
-conflict between the spirit of republicanism on the one side, and of
-monarchical and ecclesiastical domination upon the other.
-
-England, with her invincible fleet, was hovering around the coasts of
-the republic, assailing every exposed point, landing troops upon the
-French territory, and arming and inspiriting the loyalists to civil war.
-Austria had marched an army of nearly two hundred thousand men upon the
-banks of the Rhine, to attack France upon the north. She had called into
-requisition all her Italian possessions, and in alliance with the
-British navy, and the armies of the king of Sardinia, and the fanatic
-legions of Naples and Sicily had gathered eighty thousand men upon the
-Alpine frontier. This host was under the command of experienced
-generals, and was abundantly provided with all the munitions of war.
-These were the invading foes whom Napoleon was to encounter in fields of
-blood. It was purely a war of self-defense on the part of the French
-people. They were contending against the bullets and the bayonets of the
-armies of monarchical Europe, assailing them at every point. The allied
-kings felt that they also were engaged in a war of self-defense--that
-they were struggling against _principles_ which threatened to undermine
-their thrones. Strange as the declaration to some may appear, it is
-extremely difficult for a candid and an impartial man severely to
-censure either side. It is not strange, contemplating frail human nature
-as it is, that the monarchs of Europe, born to a kingly inheritance,
-should have made every exertion to retain their thrones, and to secure
-their kingdoms from the invasion of republican principles. It is not
-strange that republicanized France, having burst the chains of an
-intolerable despotism, should have resolved to brave all the horrors of
-the most desperate war rather than surrender the right of choosing its
-own form of government. The United States were protected from a similar
-onset, on the part of allied Europe, only by the wide barrier of the
-ocean. And had the combined armies of monarchical Europe crossed that
-barrier, and invaded our shores, to compel us to replace George III.
-upon his American throne, we should have blest the Napoleon, emerging
-from our midst, who, contending for the liberties of his country, had
-driven them back into the sea.
-
-When Napoleon arrived at Nice he found that he had but thirty thousand
-men with whom to repel the eighty thousand of the allies. The government
-was impoverished, and had no means to pay the troops. The soldiers were
-dejected, emaciate, and ragged. The cavalry horses had died upon the
-bleak and frozen summits of the mountains, and the army was almost
-entirely destitute of artillery. The young commander-in-chief,
-immediately upon his arrival, summoned his generals before him. Many of
-them were veteran soldiers, and they were not a little chagrined in
-seeing a youth, whom they regarded almost as a beardless boy, placed
-over them in command. But in the very first hour in which he met them,
-his superiority was recognized; and he gained a complete and an
-unquestioned ascendency over all. Berthier, Massena, Augereau,
-Serrurier, and Lannes were there, men who had already attained renown,
-and who were capable of appreciating genius. "This is the leader," said
-one, as he left this first council, "who will surely guide us to fame
-and fortune."
-
-The French were on the cold crests of the mountains. The allies were
-encamped in the warm and fertile valleys which opened into the Italian
-plains. The untiring energy of the youthful general, his imperial mind,
-his unhesitating reliance upon his own mental resources, his perfect
-acquaintance with the theatre of war, as the result of his previous
-explorations, his gravity and reserve of manners, his spotless morality,
-so extraordinary in the midst of all the dissipated scenes of the camp,
-commanded the reverence of the dissolute and licentious, though brave
-and talented generals who surrounded him. There was an indescribable
-something in his manner which immediately inspired respect and awe, and
-which kept all familiarity at a distance.
-
-Decres had known Napoleon well in Paris, and had been on terms of
-perfect intimacy with him. He was at Toulon when he heard of Napoleon's
-appointment to the command of the army of Italy. "When I learned," said
-he, "that the new general was about to pass through the city, I
-immediately proposed to introduce my comrades to him, and to turn my
-acquaintance to the best account. I hastened to meet him full of
-eagerness and joy. The door of the apartment was thrown open, and I was
-upon the point of rushing to him with my wonted familiarity. But his
-attitude, his look, the tone of his voice suddenly deterred me. There
-was nothing haughty or offensive in his appearance or manner, but the
-impression he produced was sufficient to prevent me from ever again
-attempting to encroach upon the distance which separated us."[1]
-
-[1] Decres was afterward elevated by Napoleon to a dukedom, and
-appointed Minister of the Marine. He was strongly attached to his
-benefactor. At the time of Napoleon's downfall, he was sounded in a very
-artful way as to his willingness to conspire against the Emperor.
-Happening to visit a person of celebrity, the latter drew him aside to
-the fire-place, and taking up a book, said, "I have just now been
-reading something that struck me very forcibly. Montesquieu here
-remarks, 'When the prince rises above the laws, when tyranny becomes
-insupportable, the oppressed have no alternative but--'" "Enough,"
-exclaimed Decres, putting his hand before the mouth of the reader, "I
-will hear no more. Close the book." The other coolly laid down the
-volume, as though nothing particular had occurred, and began to talk on
-a totally different subject.
-
-A similar ascendency, notwithstanding his feminine stature and the
-extreme youthfulness of his appearance, he immediately gained over all
-the soldiers and all the generals of the army. Every one who entered his
-presence was awed by the indescribable influence of his imperial mind.
-No one ventured to contend with him for the supremacy. He turned with
-disgust from the licentiousness and dissipation which ever disgraces the
-presence of an army, and with a sternness of morality which would have
-done honor to any of the sages of antiquity, secured that respect which
-virtue ever commands. There were many very beautiful and dissolute
-females in Nice, opera singers and dancing girls, who, trafficking in
-their charms, were living in great wealth and voluptuousness. They
-exhausted all their arts of enticement to win the attention of the young
-commander-in-chief. But their allurements were unavailing. Napoleon
-proved a Samson whom no Delilah could seduce. And this was the more
-extraordinary, since his natural temperament was glowing and impetuous
-in the extreme, and he had no religious scruples to interfere with his
-indulgences. "My extreme youth," said he, afterward, "when I took
-command of the army of Italy, rendered it necessary that I should evince
-great reserve of manners and the utmost severity of morals. This was
-indispensable to enable me to sustain authority over men so greatly my
-superiors in age and experience. I pursued a line of conduct in the
-highest degree irreproachable and exemplary. In spotless morality I was
-a Cato, and must have appeared such to all. I was a philosopher and a
-sage. My supremacy could be retained only by proving myself a better man
-than any other man in the army. Had I yielded to human weaknesses I
-should have lost my power."
-
-He was temperate in the extreme, seldom allowing himself to take even a
-glass of wine, and never did he countenance by his presence any scene of
-bacchanalian revelry. For gaming, in all its branches, he manifested
-then, and through the whole of his life, the strongest disapproval. He
-ever refused to repose confidence in any one who was addicted to that
-vice. One day at St. Helena, he was conversing with Las Casas, when some
-remark which was made led Napoleon to inquire, "Were you a gamester?"
-"Alas, sire!" Las Casas replied, "I must confess that I was, but only
-occasionally." "I am very glad," Napoleon rejoined, "that I knew nothing
-of it at the time. You would have been ruined in my esteem. A gamester
-was sure to forfeit my confidence. The moment I heard that a man was
-addicted to that vice I placed no more confidence in him."
-
-From what source did this young soldier imbibe these elevated
-principles? Licentiousness, irreligion, gambling had been the trinity of
-revolutionary France--the substitute which rampant infidelity had
-adopted, for a benignant Father, a pleading Saviour, a sanctifying
-Spirit. Napoleon was reared in the midst of these demoralizing
-influences. And yet how unsullied does his character appear when
-compared with that of his companions in the camp and on the throne!
-Napoleon informs us that to his mother he was indebted for every pure
-and noble sentiment which inspired his bosom.
-
-Letitia, the mother of Napoleon, was a woman of extraordinary
-endowments. She had herself hardly passed the period of childhood, being
-but nineteen years of age, when she heard the first wailing cry of
-Napoleon, her second born, and pressed the helpless babe, with
-thanksgiving and prayer, to her maternal bosom. She was a young mother
-to train and educate such a child for his unknown but exalted destiny.
-She encircled, in protecting arms, the nursing babe, as it fondled a
-mother's bosom with those little hands, which, in after years, grasped
-sceptres, and uphove thrones, and hewed down armies with resistless
-sword. She taught those infant lips to lisp "papa"--"mamma"--those lips
-at whose subsequent command all Europe was moved, and whose burning,
-glowing, martial words fell like trumpet-tones upon the world, hurling
-nation upon nation in the shock of war. She taught those feeble feet to
-make their first trembling essays upon the carpet, rewarding the
-successful endeavor with a mother's kiss and a mother's caress--those
-feet which afterward strode over the sands of the desert, and waded
-through the blood-stained snow-drifts of Russia, and tottered, in the
-infirmities of sickness and death, on the misty, barren, storm-swept
-crags of St. Helena. She instilled into the bosom of her son those
-elevated principles of honor and self-respect, which, when surrounded by
-every temptation earth could present, preserved him from the degraded
-doom of the inebriate, of the voluptuary, and of the gamester, and which
-made the court of Napoleon, when the most brilliant court this world has
-ever known, also the most illustrious for the purity of its morals and
-the decorum of its observances. The sincere, unaffected piety of Letitia
-rose so high above the corruptions of a corrupt and profligate church,
-that her distinguished son, notwithstanding the all but universal
-infidelity of the times, was compelled to respect a religion which had
-embellished a beloved mother's life. He was thus induced, in his day of
-power, to bring back a wayward nation of thirty millions from cheerless,
-brutalizing, comfortless unbelief, to all the consoling, ennobling,
-purifying influences of Christianity. When at the command of Napoleon
-the church bells began again to toll the hour of prayer, on every
-hill-side, and through every valley in France, and the dawn of the
-Sabbath again guided rejoicing thousands in the crowded city and in the
-silent country to the temples of religion--when the young, in their
-nuptials, and the aged in their death were blessed by the solemnities of
-gospel ministrations, it was a mother's influence which inspired a
-dutiful son to make the magic change, which thus, in an hour,
-transformed France from a pagan to nominally a Christian land. It was
-the calm, gentle, persuasive voice of Letitia which was embodied in the
-consular decree. Honor to Letitia, the mother of Napoleon!
-
-The first interview between this almost beardless youth and the veteran
-generals whom he was to command, must have presented a singular scene.
-These scarred and war-worn chiefs, when they beheld the "stripling,"
-were utterly amazed at the folly of the Directory in sending such a
-youth to command an army in circumstances so desperate. Rampon undertook
-to give the young commander some advice. Napoleon, who demanded
-obedience not advice, impatiently brushed him away, exclaiming,
-"Gentlemen! the art of war is in its infancy. The time has passed in
-which enemies are mutually to appoint the place of combat, advance hat
-in hand and say, '_Gentlemen, will you have the goodness to fire_.' We
-must cut the enemy in pieces, precipitate ourselves like a torrent upon
-their battalions, and grind them to powder. Experienced generals conduct
-the troops opposed to us! So much the better, so much the better. It is
-not their experience which will avail them against me. Mark my words;
-they will soon burn their books on tactics and know not what to do. Yes,
-gentlemen! the first onset of the Italian army will give birth to a new
-epoch in military affairs. As for us, we must hurl ourselves on the foe
-like a thunderbolt, and smite like it. Disconcerted by our tactics, and
-not daring to put them into execution, they will fly before us as the
-shades of night before the uprising sun."
-
-The commanding and self-confident tone in which Napoleon uttered these
-glowing sentences, silenced and confounded the generals. They felt that
-they had indeed a master. "Well," said Augereau, as he left the council,
-nodding very significantly to Massena, "we have a man here who will cut
-out some work for government, I think." "It was necessary for me,"
-Napoleon afterward remarked, "to be a little austere, to prevent my
-generals from slapping me upon the shoulder."
-
-[Illustration: NAPOLEON AND HIS GENERALS.]
-
-The objects which Napoleon had in view in this campaign were, first, to
-compel the King of Sardinia to abandon the alliance with Austria;
-secondly, to assail the Austrians with such vigor as to compel the
-Emperor to call to his aid the troops upon the Rhine, and thus weaken
-the powerful hosts then marching against the Republic; and, thirdly, to
-humble the Pope, who was exerting all his spiritual power to aid the
-Bourbons in fighting their way back to the throne of France. The Pope
-had offered an unpardonable insult to the Republic. The French
-embassador sent to Rome, had been attacked in the streets, and chased
-home. The mob broke into his house and cruelly assassinated him, unarmed
-and unresisting. The murderers remained unpunished, and no atonement had
-been made for the atrocious crime. But how, with thirty thousand troops,
-unpaid, dejected, famished, and unprovided with the munitions of war,
-was mortal man to accomplish such results in the face of a foe eighty
-thousand strong, living in abundance, and flushed with victory!
-
-Napoleon issued his first proclamation. It was read to every regiment in
-the army, and rang, like trumpet-tones, upon the ears of the troops.
-"Soldiers! you are hungry and naked; the government owes you much, and
-can pay you nothing. Your patience, your courage, in the midst of these
-rocks, are admirable, but they reflect no splendor upon your arms. I
-come to lead you into the most fertile plains the sun beholds. Rich
-provinces, opulent cities will soon be at your disposal. There you will
-find abundant harvests, honor, and glory. Soldiers of Italy, will you
-fail in courage?" It is not strange that such words, from their young
-and fearless leader, should have inspired enthusiasm, and should have
-caused the hearts of the desponding to leap high with hope and
-confidence. The simple plan which Napoleon adopted, was to direct his
-whole force against detached portions of the Austrian army, and thus by
-gaining, at the point of attack, a superiority in numbers, to destroy
-them by piecemeal. "War," said the young soldier, "is the science of
-barbarians; and he who has the heaviest battalions will conquer."
-
-The whole army was instantly on the move. The generals, appreciating the
-wisdom and the fearlessness of their indomitable leader, imbibed his
-spirit and emulated his zeal. Napoleon was on horseback night and day.
-He seemed to take no time to eat or to sleep. He visited the soldiers,
-sympathized with them in their sufferings, and revealed to them his
-plans. It was early in the spring. Bleak glaciers and snow-covered
-ridges of the Alps were between Napoleon and the Austrians. Behind this
-curtain he assembled his forces. Enormous sacrifices were required to
-enable the soldiers to move from point to point with that celerity which
-was essential in operations so hazardous. He made no allowance for any
-impediments or obstacles. At a given hour the different divisions of the
-army, by various roads, were to be at a designated point. To accomplish
-this, every sacrifice was to be made of comfort and of life. If
-necessary to the attainment of this end stragglers were to be left
-behind, baggage abandoned, artillery even to be left in the ruts, and
-the troops were to be, without fail, at the designated place at the
-appointed hour. Through storms of rain and snow, over mountain and moor,
-by night and by day, hungry, sleepless, wet, and cold, the enthusiastic
-host pressed on. It seems incredible that the young Napoleon, so
-instantaneously as it were, should have been enabled to infuse his
-almost supernatural energy into the whole army. He had neither mules
-with which to attempt the passage of the Alps, nor money to purchase the
-necessary supplies. He therefore decided to turn the mountains, by
-following down the chain along the shores of the Mediterranean, to a
-point where the lofty ridges sink almost to a plain.
-
-The army of Beaulieu was divided into three corps. His centre, ten
-thousand strong, was at the small village of Montenotte. The night of
-the 11th of April was dark and tempestuous. Torrents of rain were
-falling, and the miry roads were almost impassable. But through the long
-hours of this stormy night, while the Austrians were reposing warmly in
-their tents, Napoleon and his soldiers, drenched with rain, were toiling
-through the muddy defiles of the mountains, wading the swollen streams,
-and climbing the slippery cliffs. Just as the day began to dawn through
-the broken clouds, the young general stood upon the heights in the rear
-of Montenotte, and looked down upon the encamped host whom he was now
-for the first time to encounter in decisive conflict. He had so
-man[oe]uvred as completely to envelop his unsuspecting enemy. Allowing
-his weary troops not an hour for repose, he fell upon the allied
-Austrians and Sardinians like a whirlwind, attacking them, at the same
-moment, in front, flank, and rear. The battle was long and bloody. The
-details of these horrid scenes of carnage are sickening. The shout of
-onset, the shriek of agony; the mutilated and the mangled forms of the
-young and the noble, trampled beneath the iron hoofs of rushing
-squadrons; the wounded crushed into the mire, with their bones ground to
-powder as the wheels of ponderous artillery were dragged mercilessly
-over them, and the wailing echo of widows and orphans in their distant
-homes, render these battle-fields revolting to humanity. At length the
-Austrians were broken and completely routed. They fled in dismay,
-leaving three thousand dead and wounded upon the field, and their cannon
-and colors in possession of the French. This was the first battle in
-which Napoleon had the supreme command; the first victory in which the
-honor redounded to himself. "My title of nobility," said he proudly to
-the Emperor of Austria, "dates from the battle of Montenotte." The
-Austrians fled in one direction to Dego, to meet reinforcements coming
-to their aid and to protect Milan. The Sardinians retreated in another
-direction to Millesimo, to cover their own capital of Turin. Thus the
-two armies were separated as Napoleon desired. The indefatigable
-general, allowing his exhausted and bleeding army but a few hours of
-repose, and himself not one, resolved, while his troops were flushed
-with victory, and the enemy were depressed by defeat and loss, to attack
-both armies at once. The 13th and the 14th of April were passed in one
-incessant conflict. The Austrians and Sardinians intrenching themselves
-in strong fortresses and upon craggy hill-sides, and every hour
-receiving reinforcements pressing on to their aid, cast showers of
-stones and rolled heavy rocks upon their assailants, sweeping away whole
-companies at a time. Napoleon was every where, sharing the toil,
-incurring the danger, and inspiring his men with his own enthusiastic
-ardor and courage. In both battles the French were entirely victorious.
-At Dego, the Austrians were compelled to abandon their artillery and
-baggage, and escape as they could over the mountains, leaving three
-thousand prisoners in the hands of the conqueror. At Millesimo, fifteen
-hundred Sardinians were compelled to surrender. Thus like a thunderbolt
-Napoleon opened the campaign. In three days, three desperate battles had
-been fought, and three decisive victories gained. Still Napoleon's
-situation was perilous in the extreme. He was surrounded by forces
-vastly superior to his own, crowding down upon him. The Austrians were
-amazed at his audacity. They deemed it the paroxysm of a madman, who
-throws himself single-handed into the midst of an armed host. His
-destruction was sure, unless by almost supernatural rapidity of
-marching, he could prevent the concentration of these forces and bring
-superior numbers to attack and destroy the detached portions. A day of
-inaction, an hour of hesitancy, might have been fatal. It was in the
-battle at Dego that Napoleon was first particularly struck with the
-gallantry of a young officer named Lannes. In nothing was the genius of
-this extraordinary man more manifest, than in the almost intuitive
-penetration with which he discovered character. Lannes became
-subsequently Duke of Montebello and one of the marshals of the
-Empire.[2]
-
-[2] "The education of Lannes had been much neglected but his mind rose
-to the level of his courage. He became a giant. He adored me as his
-protector, his superior being, his providence. In the impetuosity of his
-temper he sometimes allowed hasty expressions against me to escape his
-lips, but he would probably have broken the head of any one who had
-joined him in his remarks. When he died he had been in fifty-four
-pitched battles and three hundred combats of different kinds."--Napoleon.
-
-In the midst of these marches and counter-marches and these incessant
-battles, there had been no opportunity to distribute regular rations
-among the troops. The soldiers, destitute of every thing, began to
-pillage. Napoleon, who was exceedingly anxious to win the good-will of
-the people of Italy and to be welcomed by them as their deliverer from
-proud oppressors, proceeded against the culprits with great severity,
-and immediately re-established the most rigid discipline in the army.
-
-He had now advanced to the summit of Mt. Zemolo. From that eminence the
-troops looked down upon the lovely plains of Italy, opening, like a
-diorama beneath them. The poetic sensibilities of Napoleon were deeply
-moved by the majestic spectacle. Orchards and vineyards, and fertile
-fields and peaceful villages lay spread out, a scene of perfect
-enchantment, in the extended valley. Majestic rivers, reflecting the
-rays of the sun like ribbons of silver, meandered through meadow and
-forest; encircling the verdant hill-sides, and bathing the streets of
-opulent cities. In the distance stupendous mountains, hoary with eternal
-ice and snow, bounded and seemed to embrace in protecting arms this land
-of promise. Napoleon, sitting upon his horse, gazed for some time in
-silent and delighted admiration upon the scene. "Hannibal," he
-exclaimed, "forced the Alps; but we have turned them."
-
-[Illustration: NAPOLEON ON MOUNT ZEMOLO.]
-
-There was, however, not a moment to be lost in rest or reverie. From
-every direction the Austrians and Sardinians were hurrying to their
-appointed rendezvous, to combine and destroy this audacious band, which
-had so suddenly and fatally plunged into their midst. The French troops
-rushed down the declivities of the mountains and, crossing the Tanaro,
-rejoiced with trembling as they found themselves in the sunny plains of
-Italy. Dispatching Augereau to pursue the Austrian army, now effectually
-separated from their allies, Napoleon, with indefatigable perseverance,
-pursued the Sardinians in their flight toward Turin. He came up with
-them on the 18th at Ceva, where they had intrenched themselves, eight
-thousand strong.
-
-He immediately attacked them in their intrenchments, and during the
-remainder of the day the sanguinary battle raged without any decisive
-result. The flash and the roar of artillery and of musketry did not
-cease, till the darkness rendered it impossible to distinguish friend
-from foe. The French slept upon their arms, ready to resume the combat
-in the earliest dawn of the morning. In the night the Sardinians fled,
-and again took a strong position behind the deep and foaming torrent of
-the Carsuglia. On the evening of the ensuing day, Napoleon again
-overtook them. A single bridge crossed the rapid torrent. The Sardinians
-were so strongly posted that it seemed impossible that they could be
-dislodged. Large detachments were hastening to reinforce them. The
-Austrians were accumulating in great strength in Napoleon's rear, and
-notwithstanding all these brilliant victories the situation of the
-French was perilous in the extreme. A council of war was held in the
-night, and it was decided, regardless of the extreme exhaustion of the
-troops, to make an assault upon the bridge as soon as the morning
-should dawn. Before the first gray of the morning the French, in battle
-array, were moving down upon the bridge, anticipating a desperate
-struggle. But the Sardinians, in a panic, had again fled during the
-night, and Napoleon, rejoicing at his good fortune, passed the bridge
-unobstructed. The indefatigable victor pressed onward in the pursuit,
-and before nightfall again overtook his fugitive foes, who had
-intrenched themselves upon some almost inaccessible hills near Mondovi.
-The French immediately advanced to the assault. The Sardinians fought
-with desperation, but the genius of Napoleon triumphed, and again the
-Sardinians fled, leaving two thousand men, eight cannon, and eleven
-standards in the hands of the conqueror, and one thousand dead upon the
-field. Napoleon pursued the fugitives to Cherasco, and took possession
-of the place. He was now within twenty miles of Turin, the capital of
-the kingdom of Sardinia. All was commotion in the metropolis. There were
-thousands there, who had imbibed the revolutionary spirit, who were
-ready to welcome Napoleon as their deliverer, and to implore him to aid
-them in the establishment of a republic. The king and the nobles were in
-perfect consternation. The English and Austrian ministers entreated the
-king to adhere to the alliance, abandon his capital, and continue the
-conflict. They assured him that the rash and youthful victor was rushing
-into difficulties from which he could by no possibility extricate
-himself. But he, trembling for his throne and his crown, believing it to
-be impossible to resist so rapid a conqueror, and fearing that Napoleon,
-irritated by a protracted conflict, would proclaim political liberty to
-the people, and revolutionize the kingdom, determined to throw himself
-into the arms of the French, and to appeal to the magnanimity of the
-foe, whose rights he had so unpardonably assailed. By all human rules he
-deserved the severest punishment. He had united with two powerful
-nations, England and Austria, to chastise the French for preferring a
-republic to a monarchy, and had sent an invading army to bombard the
-cities of France and instigate the royalists to rise in civil war
-against the established government of the country.
-
-It was with lively satisfaction that Napoleon received the advances of
-the Sardinian King, for he was fully aware of the peril in which he was
-placed. The allied armies were still far more numerous than his own. He
-had neither heavy battering cannon, nor siege equipage to reduce Turin,
-and the other important fortresses of the kingdom. He was far from home,
-could expect no immediate reinforcements from France, and his little
-army was literally in destitution and in rags. The allies, on the
-contrary, were in the enjoyment of abundance. They could every day
-augment their strength; and their resources were apparently
-inexhaustible. "The king of Sardinia," says Napoleon, "had still a great
-number of fortresses left; and in spite of the victories which had been
-gained, the slightest check, one caprice of fortune, would have undone
-every thing." Napoleon, however, with the commissioners who had been
-sent to treat with him, assumed a very confident and imperious tone. He
-demanded, as a preliminary to any armistice, that the important
-fortresses of Coni, Tortona, and Alexandria, "the keys of the Alps,"
-should be surrendered to him. The commissioners hesitated to comply with
-these requisitions, which would place Sardinia entirely at his mercy,
-and proposed some modifications. "Your ideas are absurd," exclaimed
-Napoleon, sternly; "it is for me to state conditions. Listen to the laws
-which I impose upon you, in the name of the government of my country,
-and obey, or to-morrow my batteries are erected, and Turin is in
-flames." The commissioners were overawed, and a treaty was immediately
-concluded, by which the King of Sardinia abandoned the alliance,
-surrendered the three fortresses, with all their artillery and military
-stores, to Napoleon, sent an embassador to Paris to conclude a
-definitive peace, left the victors in possession of all the places they
-had already taken, disbanded the militia, and dispersed the regular
-troops, and allowed the French free use of the military roads, to carry
-on the war with Austria. Napoleon then issued to his soldiers the
-following soul-stirring proclamation:
-
-"Soldiers! you have gained in fifteen days six victories, taken
-one-and-twenty standards, fifty-five pieces of cannon, many strong
-places, and have conquered the richest part of Piedmont. You have made
-fifteen thousand prisoners, and killed or wounded ten thousand men.
-Hitherto you have fought on sterile rocks, illustrious, indeed, by your
-courage, but of no avail. Now you rival by your services the armies of
-Holland and of the Rhine. You were utterly destitute; you have supplied
-all your wants. You have gained battles without cannon; passed rivers
-without bridges; made forced marches without shoes, bivouacked without
-bread. The phalanxes of the Republic, the soldiers of liberty were alone
-capable of such sacrifices. But, soldiers! you have accomplished nothing
-while any thing remains to be done. Neither Turin nor Milan is in your
-hands. I am told that there are some among you whose courage is failing,
-who wish to return to the summits of the Alps and the Apennines. No! I
-can not believe it. The conquerors of Montenotte, of Millesimo, of Dego,
-of Mondovi burn to carry still further the glories of the French name.
-But ere I lead you to conquest there is one condition you must promise
-to fulfill: that is to protect the people whom you liberate and to
-repress all acts of lawless violence. Without this you would not be the
-deliverers, but the scourges of nations. Invested with the national
-authority, strong in justice and law, I shall not hesitate to enforce
-the requisitions of humanity and of honor. I will not suffer robbers to
-sully your laurels. Pillagers shall be shot without mercy.
-
-"People of Italy! The French army advances to break your chains. The
-French people are the friends of all nations. In them you may confide.
-Your property, your religion, your customs shall be respected. We will
-only make war as generous foes. Our sole quarrel is with the tyrants who
-enslave you."
-
-A large majority of Napoleon's soldiers and officers severely condemned
-any treaty of peace with a monarchical government, and were clamorous
-for the dethronement of the king of Sardinia, and the establishment of a
-Republic. The people thronged Napoleon with the entreaty that he would
-lend them his countenance that they might revolutionize the kingdom.
-They urged that, by the banishment of the king and the nobles, they
-could establish a free government, which should be the natural and
-efficient ally of Republican France. He had but to say the word and the
-work was done. The temptation to utter that word must have been very
-strong. It required no common political foresight to nerve Napoleon to
-resist that temptation. But he had a great horror of anarchy. He had
-seen enough of the working of Jacobin misrule in the blood-deluged
-streets of Paris. He did not believe that the benighted peasants of
-Italy possessed either the intelligence or the moral principle essential
-to the support of a well-organized republic. Consequently,
-notwithstanding the known wishes of the Directory, the demands of the
-army, and the entreaties of the populace, with heroic firmness he
-refused to allow the overthrow of the established government. He
-diverted the attention of his soldiers from the subject, by plunging
-them into still more arduous enterprises, and leading them to yet more
-brilliant victories.
-
-Napoleon had no desire to see the reign of terror re-enacted in the
-cities of Italy. He was in favor of reform, not of revolution. The kings
-and the nobles had monopolized wealth and honor, and nearly all the most
-precious privileges of life. The people were merely hewers of wood and
-drawers of water. Napoleon wished to break down this monopoly and to
-emancipate the masses from the servitude of ages. He would do this,
-however, not by the sudden upheaving of thrones and the transfer of
-power to unenlightened and inexperienced democracy, but by surrounding
-the thrones with republican institutions, and conferring upon all people
-a strong and well-organized government, with constitutional liberty.
-Eloquently he says, "It would be a magnificent field for speculation to
-estimate what would have been the destinies of France and of Europe, had
-England satisfied herself with denouncing the murder of Louis XVI.,
-which would have been for the interests of public morality, and listened
-to the councils of a philanthropic policy, by accepting revolutionized
-France as an ally. Scaffolds would not then have been erected over the
-whole country, and kings would not have trembled on their thrones; but
-their states would all have passed, more or less, through a
-revolutionary process, and the whole of Europe, without a convulsion,
-would have become constitutional and free."
-
-The kingdom of Sardinia was composed of the provinces of Nice, Piedmont,
-Savoy, and Montferrat. It contained three millions of inhabitants. The
-king, by extraordinary efforts and by means of subsidies from England,
-had raised an army of sixty thousand men, trained to service in long
-continued wars. His numerous fortresses, well armed and amply
-provisioned, situated at the defiles of all the mountains, placed his
-frontier in a state which was regarded as impregnable. He was the
-father-in-law of both of the brothers of Louis XVI.; which brothers
-subsequently ascended the throne of France as Louis XVIII. and as
-Charles X. He had welcomed them, in their flight from France to his
-court in Turin; and had made his court a place of refuge for the
-emigrant noblesse, where, in fancied security, they matured their plans
-and accumulated their resources for the invasion of France, in
-connection with the armies of the allies. And yet Napoleon, with thirty
-thousand half-starved men, had, in one short fortnight, dispersed his
-troops, driven the Austrians from the kingdom, penetrated to the very
-heart of the state, and was threatening the bombardment of his capital.
-The humiliated monarch, trembling for his crown, was compelled to sue
-for peace at the feet of an unknown young man of twenty-five. His
-chagrin was so great, in view of his own fallen fortunes and the
-hopelessness of his sons-in-law ever attaining the throne of France,
-that he died, a few days after signing the treaty of Cherasco, of a
-broken heart.
-
-Napoleon immediately dispatched Murat, his first aid-de-camp, to Paris,
-with a copy of the armistice, and with twenty-one standards taken from
-the enemy. The sensation which was produced in France by this rapid
-succession of astonishing victories was intense and universal. The
-spirit of antique eloquence which imbued the proclamations of the young
-conqueror; the modest language of his dispatches to the Directory; the
-entire absence of boasting respecting his own merits, and the glowing
-commendation of the enthusiastic bravery of his soldiers and of his
-generals, excited profound admiration. _Bonaparte_ was a foreign, an
-Italian name. Few in France had ever heard it, and it was not easily
-pronounced. Every one inquired, Who is this young general, whose talents
-thus suddenly, with such meteoric splendor, have blazed upon Europe? His
-name and his fame were upon every lip, and the eyes of all Europe were
-concentred upon him. Three times in the course of fifteen days, the
-Council of Ancients and The Five Hundred had decreed that the army of
-Italy deserved well of their country, and had appointed festivals to
-victory in their honor. In very imposing ceremony Murat presented the
-captured standards to the Directory. Several foreign embassadors were
-present on the occasion. The Republic, thus triumphant, was invested
-with new dignity, and elevated, by the victories of the young general,
-to a position of respect and consideration which it had never attained
-before.
-
-While these scenes were transpiring Napoleon did not forget the bride he
-had left in Paris. Though for seven days and nights he had allowed
-himself no quiet meal, no regular repose, and had not taken off either
-his coat or his boots, he found time to send frequent and most
-affectionate, though very short, notes to Josephine. Immediately after
-the victory of Montenotte, while the thunders of the cannonade were
-still ringing in his ears, he dispatched a courier to Josephine with the
-following lines, written in such haste and under such circumstances as
-to be scarcely legible.
-
-    "My beloved Friend,
-
-     "My first laurel is due to my country. My second shall be yours.
-     While pursuing the enemy I thought of France. When he was beaten I
-     thought of Josephine. Your son will send you a scarf surrendered to
-     him by Colonel Morback, whom he took prisoner with his own hand.
-     You see, Madame, that our Eugene is worthy of his father. Do not
-     deem me altogether undeserving of having succeeded to that brave
-     and unfortunate general, under whom I should have felt honored to
-     have learned to conquer. I embrace you.           Bonaparte."
-
-This delicacy of attention Napoleon ever manifested toward Josephine,
-even after their unhappy divorce, and until the hour of her death.
-
-Napoleon having, by an advantageous treaty with Sardinia, secured his
-rear from assault, without a day's delay, commenced the pursuit of the
-discomfited remains of the Austrian army. Under their
-commander-in-chief, Beaulieu, they had retreated behind the Po, where
-they strongly intrenched themselves, awaiting the reinforcements which
-were hurrying to their aid.
-
-Upon leaving the kingdom of Sardinia Napoleon first entered the states
-of Parma. The Duke of Parma, who had united with his more powerful
-neighbors, in the alliance against France, reigned over a population of
-but about five hundred thousand, and could furnish to the allies but
-three thousand troops. He was of course powerless, and sent envoys to
-solicit the clemency of the conqueror. Napoleon granted him an armistice
-upon his paying five hundred thousand dollars in silver, sixteen hundred
-artillery horses, and a large supply of corn and provisions. And here
-commenced one of those characteristic acts of the young general which
-have been greatly admired by some, and most severely censured by others.
-Napoleon, a lover and connoisseur of the arts, conscious of the addition
-they contribute to the splendor of an empire, and of the effect which
-they produce upon the imagination of men, demanded twenty of the
-choicest pictures in the galleries of the duke, to be sent to the Museum
-at Paris. To save one of these works of art, the celebrated picture of
-St. Jerome, the duke offered two hundred thousand dollars. Napoleon
-declined the money, stating to the army, "the sum which he offers us
-will soon be spent; but the possession of such a master-piece, at Paris,
-will adorn that capital for ages, and give birth to similar exertions of
-genius." No one objects, according to the laws of war, to the extortion
-of the money, the horses, the corn, and the beef, but it is represented
-by some as an unpardonable act of spoliation and rapacity to have taken
-the pictures. If conquest confers the right to the seizure of any
-species of property, it is difficult to conceive why works of art, which
-are subject to barter and sale, should claim exemption. Indeed, there
-seems to be a peculiar propriety in taking luxuries rather than
-necessaries. The extortion of money only inflicted a tax upon the
-_people_ who were the friends of Napoleon and of his cause. The
-selection of the paintings and the statuary deprived not the people of
-their food, but caused that very class in the community to feel the
-evils of war, who had originated the conflict. It was making requisition
-upon the palace and not upon the cottage. But war, with its extortion,
-robbery, cruelty, and blood, involves all our ideas of morality in
-confusion. Whatever may be the decision of posterity respecting the
-propriety of including works of genius among the trophies of war, the
-occurrence surely exhibits Napoleon as a man of refined and elevated
-tastes. An ignoble spirit, moved by avarice, would have grasped the
-money. Napoleon, regardless of personal indulgence, sought only the
-glory of France. There is at least grandeur in the motive which inspired
-the act.
-
-The Austrians were now reinforced to the amount of forty thousand men,
-and had intrenched themselves upon the other side of the Po, having this
-magnificent stream flowing between them and the French. It is one of the
-most difficult operations in war to cross a river in the face of an
-opposing army. It was difficult to conceive how Napoleon could effect
-the enterprise. He, however, marched resolutely on toward Valenza,
-making every demonstration of his intention to cross at that point, in
-defiance of the foe, arrayed in vastly superior numbers to contest the
-passage. The Austrians concentrated their strength to give him a warm
-reception. Suddenly by night Napoleon turned down the river, and with
-amazing celerity made a march of eighty miles in thirty-six hours,
-seizing every boat upon the stream as he passed along. He had timed the
-march of the several divisions of his army so precisely, that all of his
-forces met at the appointed rendezvous within a few hours of each other.
-Rapidly crossing the river in boats, he found himself and his army,
-without the loss of a single man, in the plains of Lombardy.
-
-This beautiful and productive country had been conquered by the
-Austrians, and was governed by an archduke. It contained one million two
-hundred thousand inhabitants, and was one of the most fertile and rich
-provinces in the world. Its inhabitants were much dissatisfied with
-their foreign masters, and the great majority, longing for political
-regeneration, were ready to welcome the armies of France. As soon as
-Beaulieu, who was busily at work upon his fortifications at Valenza,
-heard that Napoleon had thus out-generaled him, and had crossed the
-river, he immediately collected all his forces and moved forward to meet
-him. The advanced divisions of the hostile armies soon met at Fombio.
-The Austrians stationed themselves in the steeples and at the windows
-and upon the roofs of the houses, and commenced a destructive fire upon
-the French, crowding into the streets. They hoped to arrest their
-progress until the commander-in-chief could arrive with the main body of
-the army. The French, however, rushed impetuously on with their
-bayonets, and the Austrians were driven before them, leaving two
-thousand prisoners in the hands of Napoleon, and the ground covered with
-their dead.
-
-The French pursued closely upon the heels of the Austrians, from every
-eminence plunging cannon balls into their retreating ranks, and
-assailing them with the most destructive fire at every possible point of
-attack. In the evening of the same day, the exhausted and bleeding
-columns of the enemy arrived at Lodi, a small town upon the banks of the
-Adda. Passing directly through the town they crossed the river, which
-was about two hundred yards in width, by a narrow wooden bridge, about
-thirty feet wide. They were there received by the main body of the army
-of Beaulieu, which was strongly intrenched upon the opposite banks. The
-whole French army rushed into the town, and sheltering themselves behind
-the walls of the houses, from the incessant fire of the Austrian
-batteries, awaited the commands of their youthful leader, whom they now
-began to think invincible.
-
-Napoleon's belief in _destiny_ was so strong that he was an entire
-stranger to bodily fear. He immediately sallied from the town and
-reconnoitred the banks of the river, amidst a perfect shower of balls
-and grape-shot. The prospect before him would have been to most persons
-perfectly appalling. The Austrians, sixteen thousand strong, with twelve
-thousand infantry and four thousand cavalry, and thirty pieces of heavy
-artillery were posted upon the opposite banks in battle array, with
-their batteries so arranged as to command the whole length of the bridge
-by a raking fire. Batteries stationed above and below also swept the
-narrow passage by cross fires, while sharp-shooters, in bands of
-thousands, were posted at every available point, to drive a perfect
-storm of musket balls into the face of any who should approach the
-structure. Beaulieu conceived his position so utterly impregnable that
-he had not thought it necessary to destroy the bridge, as he easily
-could have done. He desired nothing more earnestly than that the French
-might attempt the passage, for he was confident that their discomfiture
-would be both signal and awful. Napoleon immediately placed as many guns
-as possible in opposition to the Austrian batteries, directing with his
-own hands, in the midst of the hottest fire, some cannon in such a
-manner as to prevent the Austrians from approaching to blow up the
-arches. He then entered the town, assembled his general officers, and
-informed them that he had resolved immediately to storm the bridge. The
-bravest of them recoiled from the undertaking, and they unanimously
-disapproved of the plan as impracticable. "It is impossible," said one,
-"that any men can force their way across that narrow bridge, in the face
-of such an annihilating storm of balls as must be encountered." "How!
-impossible!" exclaimed Napoleon, "that word is not French." The
-self-reliant mind of the young conqueror was seldom moved by the
-opinions of others. Regardless of the disapproval of his generals, he
-assembled six thousand picked troops, and addressing them in those
-marked tones of martial eloquence most eminently at his command, so
-effectually roused their pride and enthusiasm that they were clamorous
-to be led to the assault. He unfolded to them fully the peril which
-attended the enterprise, and animated them by reference to the
-corresponding glory which would attend the achievement. He knew that
-thousands must perish. But placing only a slight value upon his own
-life, he regarded as little the lives of others, and deemed the object
-to be gained worthy of the terrible price which was to be paid. There
-probably was not another man in either of those armies who would have
-ventured upon the responsibility of an enterprise apparently so
-desperate.
-
-Secretly dispatching a large body of cavalry to cross the river at a
-very difficult ford, about three miles above the town, which by some
-inconceivable oversight the Austrians had neglected to protect, he
-ordered them to come down the river and make the most desperate charge
-upon the rear of the enemy. At the same time he formed his troops in a
-line, under the shelter of one of the streets nearest the point of
-attack. It was the evening of the 10th of May. The sun was just sinking
-behind the Tyrolean hills, enveloping in soft twilight the scene of
-rural peace and beauty and of man's depravity. Not a breath of air
-rippled the smooth surface of the water, or agitated the bursting
-foliage of the early spring. The moment that Napoleon perceived, by the
-commotion among the Austrians, that the cavalry had effected the passage
-of the river, he ordered the trumpets to sound the charge. The line
-wheeled instantly into a dense and solid column, crowding the street
-with its impenetrable mass. Emerging from the shelter, upon the full
-run, while rending the air with their enthusiastic shouts, they rushed
-upon the bridge. They were met by a murderous discharge of every missile
-of destruction, sweeping the structure like a whirlwind. The whole head
-of the column was immediately cut down like grass before the scythe, and
-the progress of those in the rear was encumbered by piles of the dead.
-Still the column passed on, heedless of the terrific storm of iron and
-of lead, until it had forced its way into the middle of the bridge. Here
-it hesitated, wavered, and was on the point of retreating before
-volcanic bursts of fire too terrible for mortal man to endure, when
-Napoleon, seizing a standard, and followed by Lannes, Massena, and
-Berthier, plunged through the clouds of smoke which now enveloped the
-bridge in almost midnight darkness, placed himself at the head of the
-troops, and shouted, "Follow your General!" The bleeding, mangled
-column, animated by this example, rushed with their bayonets upon the
-Austrian gunners. At the same moment the French cavalry came dashing
-upon the batteries in the rear, and the bridge was carried. The French
-army now poured across the narrow passage like a torrent, and debouched
-upon the plain. Still the battle raged with unmitigated fury. The
-Austrians hurled themselves upon the French with the energy of despair.
-But the troops of Napoleon, intoxicated with their amazing achievement,
-set all danger at defiance, and seemed just as regardless of bullets and
-of shells, as if they had been snow-balls in the hands of children.
-
-In the midst of the thunders of the terrific cannonade a particular
-battery was producing dreadful havoc among the ranks of the French.
-Repeated attempts had been made to storm it, but in vain. An officer
-rode up to Napoleon in the midst of all the confusion and horror of the
-battle, and represented to him the importance of making another effort
-to silence the destructive battery. "Very well," said Napoleon, who was
-fond of speaking, as well as acting the sublime, "let it be silenced
-then." Turning to a body of dragoons near by, he exclaimed, "follow your
-General." As gayly as if it were the pastime of a holiday, the dragoons
-followed their leader in the impetuous charge, through showers of grape
-shot dealing mutilation and death into their ranks. The Austrian gunners
-were instantly sabred, and their guns turned upon the foe.
-
-Lannes was the first to cross the bridge and Napoleon the second. Lannes
-in utter recklessness and desperation, spurred his maddened horse into
-the very midst of the Austrian ranks and grasped a banner. At that
-moment his horse fell dead beneath him, and half a dozen swords
-glittered above his head. With Herculean strength and agility he
-extricated himself from his fallen steed, leaped upon the horse of an
-Austrian officer, behind the rider, plunged his sword through the body
-of the officer, and hurled him from his saddle; taking his seat he
-fought his way back to his followers, having slain in the mêlée six of
-the Austrians with his own hand. This deed of demoniac energy was
-performed under the eye of Napoleon, and he promoted Lannes upon the
-spot.
-
-[Illustration: THE TERRIBLE PASSAGE OF THE BRIDGE OF LODI.]
-
-The Austrians now retreated, leaving two thousand prisoners and twenty
-pieces of cannon in the hands of the victors, and two thousand five
-hundred men and four hundred horses dead upon the plain. The French
-probably lost, in dead and wounded, about the same number, though
-Napoleon, in his report of the battle, acknowledged the loss of but four
-hundred. The Austrians claimed that the French won the victory at the
-expense of four thousand men. It was, of course, the policy of the
-conqueror to have it understood that his troops were the executors not
-the victims of slaughter. "As false as a bulletin," has become a
-proverb. The necessity of uttering falsehood and practicing deception in
-all their varied forms, is one of the smallest of the innumerable
-immoralities attendant upon war. From time immemorial it has been
-declared that the weapons of deception and of courage are equally
-allowable to the soldier; "_an virtus, an dolos, quis ab hoste
-requirat_." If an enemy can be deceived by a false bulletin, there are
-few generals so conscientious as to reject the stratagem. Napoleon
-certainly never hesitated to avail himself of any artifice to send
-dismay into the hearts of his foes. Truthfulness is not one of the
-virtues which thrives in a camp.
-
-"It was a strange sight," says a French veteran, who was present at
-this battle, "to see Napoleon that day, on foot on the bridge, under an
-_infernal_ fire, and mixed up with our tall grenadiers. He looked like a
-little boy." "This beardless youth," said an Austrian general,
-indignantly, "ought to have been beaten over and over again; for who
-ever saw such tactics. The blockhead knows nothing of the rules of war.
-To-day he is in our rear, to-morrow on our flank, and the next day again
-in our front. Such gross violations of the established principles of war
-are insufferable."
-
-When Napoleon was in exile at St. Helena, some one read an account of
-the battle of Lodi, in which it was stated that Napoleon displayed great
-courage in being the first to cross the bridge, and that Lannes passed
-it after him. "Before me! before me!" exclaimed Napoleon, earnestly.
-"Lannes passed first and I only followed him. It is necessary to correct
-that error upon the spot." The correction was made in the margin. This
-victory produced a very extraordinary effect upon the whole French army,
-and inspired the soldiers with unbounded confidence in their young
-leader. Some of the veterans of the army, immediately after the battle,
-met together and jocosely promoted their General, who had so
-distinguished himself by his bravery, and who was so juvenile in his
-appearance, to the rank of corporal. When Napoleon next appeared upon
-the field, he was greeted with enthusiastic shouts by the whole army,
-"Long live our little Corporal!" Ever after this he was the perfect idol
-of the troops, and never lost, even in the dignity of Consul and
-Emperor, this honorary and affectionate nickname. "Neither the quelling
-of the sections," said Napoleon, "nor the victory of Montenotte induced
-me to think myself a superior character. It was not till after the
-_terrible passage of the bridge of Lodi_, that the idea shot across my
-mind that I might become a decisive actor in the political arena. Then
-arose, for the first time, the spark of great ambition."
-
-Lombardy was now at the mercy of Napoleon, and the discomfited Austrians
-fled into the Tyrol. The Archduke Ferdinand and his duchess, with tears
-in their eyes, abandoned to the conqueror their beautiful capital of
-Milan, and sought refuge with their retreating friends.
-
-As the carriages of the ducal pair, and those of their retinue passed
-sadly through the streets of the metropolis, the people looked on in
-silence, uttering not a word of sympathy or of insult. But the moment
-they had departed, republican zeal burst forth unrestrained. The
-tricolored cockade seemed suddenly to have fallen, as by magic, upon the
-hats and the caps of the multitude, and the great mass of the people
-prepared to greet the French Republicans with every demonstration of
-joy. A placard was put upon the palace--"This house to let; for the keys
-apply to the French Commissioner."
-
-On the fifteenth of May, just one month after the opening of the
-campaign at Montenotte, Napoleon entered Milan in triumph. He was
-welcomed by the great majority of the inhabitants as a deliverer. The
-patriots, from all parts of Italy, crowded to the capital, sanguine in
-the hope that Napoleon would secure their independence, and confer upon
-them a Republican government, in friendly alliance with France. A
-numerous militia was immediately organized, called the National Guard,
-and dressed in three colors, green, red, and white, in honor of the
-tri-colored flag. A triumphal arch was erected, in homage of the
-conqueror. The whole population of the city marched out to bid him
-welcome; flowers were scattered in his path; ladies thronged the windows
-as he passed, and greeted him with smiles and fluttering handkerchiefs,
-and with a shower of bouquets rained down at his feet. Amidst all the
-pomp of martial music, and waving banners, the ringing of bells, the
-thunders of saluting artillery, and the acclamations of an immense
-concourse of spectators, Napoleon took possession of the palace from
-whence the duke had fled. "If you desire liberty," said the victor to
-the Milanese, "you must deserve it by assisting to emancipate Italy
-forever from Austria." The wealthy and avaricious Duke of Modena, whose
-states bordered upon those of Parma, dispatched envoys to sue for peace.
-Napoleon granted him an armistice, upon the payment of two millions of
-dollars, twenty of his choicest pictures, and an abundant supply of
-horses and provisions. When in treaty with the Duke of Modena, the
-Commissary of the French army came to Napoleon and said, "The brother of
-the duke is here with eight hundred thousand dollars in gold, contained
-in four chests. He comes, in the name of the duke, to beg you to accept
-them. And I advise you to do so. The money belongs to you. Take it
-without scruple. A proportionate diminution will be made in the duke's
-contribution, and he will be very glad to have obtained a protector." "I
-thank you," replied Napoleon, coolly. "I shall not, for that sum, place
-myself in the power of the Duke of Modena." The whole contribution went
-into the army-chest, Napoleon refusing to receive for himself a single
-dollar.
-
-Napoleon now issued another of those spirit-stirring proclamations,
-which roused such enthusiasm among his own troops, and which so
-powerfully electrified the ardent imagination of the Italians.
-"Soldiers! you have descended like a torrent from the Apennines. You
-have overwhelmed every thing which opposed your progress. Piedmont is
-delivered from the tyranny of Austria; Milan is in your hands, and the
-Republican standards wave over the whole of Lombardy. The Dukes of Parma
-and Modena owe their existence to your generosity. The army which
-menaced you with so much pride, can no longer find a barrier to protect
-itself against your arms. The Po, the Ticino, the Adda have not been
-able to stop you a single day. These boasted bulwarks of Italy have
-proved as nugatory as the Alps. Such a career of success has carried joy
-into the bosom of your country. Fêtes in honor of your victories have
-been ordered in all the communes of the Republic. There your parents,
-your wives, your sisters, your lovers rejoice in your achievements, and
-boast with pride that you belong to them. Yes, soldiers! you have indeed
-done much, but much remains still to be done. Shall posterity say that
-we knew how to conquer, but knew not how to improve victory? Shall we
-find a Capua in Lombardy? We have forced marches to make, enemies to
-subdue, laurels to gather, injuries to revenge. Let those who have
-whetted the daggers of civil war in France, who have assassinated our
-ministers, who have burned our ships at Toulon--let those tremble. The
-hour of vengeance has struck. But let not the _people_ be alarmed. We
-are the friends of the people every where; particularly of the Brutuses,
-the Scipios, and the great men whom we have taken for our models. To
-re-establish the Capitol; to replace the statues of the heroes who
-rendered it illustrious; to rouse the Romans, stupefied by centuries of
-slavery--such will be the fruit of our victories. They will form an
-epoch with posterity. To you will pertain the immortal glory of changing
-the face of the finest portion of Europe. The French people, free and
-respected by the whole world, will give to Europe a glorious peace. You
-will then return to your homes, and your fellow-citizens will say,
-pointing to you, _He belonged to the army of Italy_."
-
-Such were the proclamations which Napoleon dashed off, with
-inconceivable rapidity, in the midst of all the care, and peril, and
-clangor of battle. Upon reading these glowing sentences over at St.
-Helena, twenty years after they were written, he exclaimed, "And yet
-they had the folly to say that I could not write." He has been
-represented by some as illiterate, as unable to spell. On the contrary,
-he was a ripe and an accomplished scholar. His intellectual powers and
-his intellectual attainments were of the very highest order. His mind
-had been trained by the severest discipline of intense and protracted
-study. "Do you write orthographically?" said he one day to his
-amanuensis at St. Helena. "A man occupied with public business can not
-attend to orthography. His ideas must flow faster than his hand can
-trace. He has only time to place his points. He must compress words into
-letters, and phrases into words, and let the scribes make it out
-afterward." Such was the velocity with which Napoleon wrote. His
-handwriting was composed of the most unintelligible hieroglyphics. He
-often could not decipher it himself.
-
-Lombardy is the garden of Italy. The whole of the extensive valley, from
-the Alps to the Apennines, is cultivated to the highest degree,
-presenting in its vineyards, its orchards, its waving fields of grain,
-its flocks and herds, one of the most rich and attractive features earth
-can exhibit. Milan, its beautiful capital, abounding in wealth and
-luxury, contained a population of one hundred and twenty thousand souls.
-Here Napoleon allowed his weary troops, exhausted by their unparalleled
-exertions, to repose for six days. Napoleon himself was received by the
-inhabitants with the most unbounded enthusiasm and joy. He was regarded
-as the liberator of Italy--the youthful hero, who had come with almost
-supernatural powers, to re-introduce to the country the reign of Roman
-greatness and virtue. His glowing words, his splendid achievements, his
-high-toned morals so pure and spotless, the grace and beauty of his
-feminine figure, his prompt decisions, his imperial will, and the
-antique cast of his thoughts, uttered in terse and graphic language,
-which passed, in reiterated quotation, from lip to lip, diffused an
-universal enchantment. From all parts of Italy the young and the
-enthusiastic flocked to the metropolis of Lombardy. The language of
-Italy was Napoleon's mother tongue. His name and his origin were
-Italian, and they regarded him as a countryman. They crowded his
-footsteps, and greeted him with incessant acclamations. He was a Cato, a
-Scipio, a Hannibal. The ladies, in particular, lavished upon him
-adulations without any bounds.
-
-But Napoleon was compelled to support his own army from the spoils of
-the vanquished. He could not receive a dollar from the exhausted
-treasury of the French Republic. "It is very difficult," said he, "to
-rob a people of their substance, and at the same time to convince them
-that you are their friend and benefactor." Still he succeeded in doing
-both. With great reluctance he imposed upon the Milanese a contribution
-of four millions of dollars, and selected twenty paintings from the
-Ambrosian Gallery, to send to Paris as the trophies of his victory. It
-was with extreme regret that he extorted the money, knowing that it must
-check the enthusiasm with which the inhabitants were rallying around the
-Republican standard. It was, however, indispensable for the furtherance
-of his plans. It was his only refuge from defeat and from absolute
-destruction. The Milanese patriots also felt that it was just that their
-government should defray the expenses of a war which they had provoked;
-that since Lombardy had allied itself with the powerful and wealthy
-monarchies of Europe, to invade the infant Republic in its weakness and
-its poverty, Napoleon was perfectly justifiable in feeding and clothing
-his soldiers at the expense of the invaders whom he had repelled. The
-money was paid, and the conqueror was still the idol of the people.
-
-His soldiers were now luxuriating in the abundance of bread, and meat,
-and wine. They were, however, still in rags, wearing the same war-worn
-and tattered garments with which they had descended from the frozen
-summits of the Alps. With the resources thus obtained, Napoleon clothed
-all his troops abundantly, filled the chests of the army, established
-hospitals and large magazines, proudly sent a million of dollars to the
-Directory in Paris, as an absent father would send funds to his helpless
-family; forwarded two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to Moreau, who,
-with an impoverished army, upon the Rhine, was contending against
-superior forces of the Austrians. He also established an energetic and
-efficient municipal government in Milan, and made immediate
-arrangements for the organization and thorough military discipline of
-the militia in all parts of Lombardy. This was the work of five days,
-and of five days succeeding a month of such toil of body and of mind as,
-perhaps, no mortal ever endured before. Had it not been for a very
-peculiar constitutional temperament, giving Napoleon the most
-extraordinary control over his own mind, such Herculean labors could not
-have been performed. "Different affairs are arranged in my head," said
-he, "as in drawers. When I wish to interrupt one train of thought, I
-close the drawer which contains that subject, and open to that which
-contains another. They do not mix together, and do not fatigue me or
-inconvenience me. I have never been kept awake by an involuntary
-pre-occupation of the mind. If I wish repose, I shut up all the drawers
-and I am asleep. I have always slept when I wanted rest, and almost at
-will." After spending several successive days and nights without sleep,
-in preparation for a decisive conflict, he has been known repeatedly to
-fall asleep in the midst of the uproar and horror of the field of
-battle, and when the balls of the enemy were sweeping the eminence upon
-which he stood. "Nature has her rights," said he, "and will not be
-defrauded with impunity. I feel more cool to receive the reports which
-are brought to me, and to give fresh orders when awaking in this manner
-from a transient slumber."
-
-While in Milan, one morning, just as he had mounted his horse, a dragoon
-presented himself before him, bearing dispatches of great importance.
-Napoleon read them upon the saddle; and, giving a verbal answer, told
-the courier to take it back with all possible dispatch. "I have no
-horse," the man replied, "the one I rode, in consequence of forced
-speed, fell dead at the gate of your palace." "Take mine then," rejoined
-Napoleon, instantly alighting. The man hesitated to mount the
-magnificent charger of the general-in-chief. "You think him too fine an
-animal," said Napoleon, "and too splendidly caparisoned. Never mind,
-comrade, there is nothing too magnificent for a French soldier."
-Incidents like this, perpetually occurring, were narrated, with all
-conceivable embellishments, around the camp-fires, and they conferred
-upon the young general a degree of popularity almost amounting to
-adoration.
-
-[Illustration: NAPOLEON AND THE COURIER.]
-
-The lofty intellectual character of Napoleon was also developed at the
-same time, in the midst of all the cares, perplexities, and perils of
-these most terrible conflicts, in a letter publicly addressed to Oriani,
-the celebrated mathematician. "Hitherto," he writes, "the learned in
-Italy have not enjoyed the consideration to which they were entitled.
-They lived secluded in their libraries, too happy if they could escape
-the persecution of kings and priests. It is so no longer. Religious
-inquisition and despotic power are at an end. Thought is free in Italy.
-I invite the literary and the scientific to consult together and propose
-to me their ideas on the subject of giving new life and vigor to the
-fine arts and sciences. All who desire to visit France will be received
-with distinction by the government. The citizens of France have more
-pride in enrolling among their citizens a skillful mathematician, a
-painter of reputation, a distinguished man in any class of letters, than
-in adding to their territories a large and wealthy city."
-
-Napoleon having thus rapidly organized a government for Lombardy, and
-having stationed troops in different places to establish tranquillity,
-turned his attention again to the pursuit of the Austrians. But by this
-time the Directory in Paris were thoroughly alarmed in view of the
-astonishing influence and renown which Napoleon had attained. In one
-short month he had filled Europe with his name. They determined to check
-his career. Kellerman, a veteran general of great celebrity, they
-consequently appointed his associate in command, to pursue the Austrians
-with a part of the army, while Napoleon, with the other part, was to
-march down upon the States of the Pope. This division would have insured
-the destruction of the army. Napoleon promptly but respectfully tendered
-his resignation, saying, "One bad general is better than two good ones.
-War, like government, is mainly decided by tact." This decision brought
-the Directory immediately to terms. The commander-in-chief of the Army
-of Italy was now too powerful to be displaced, and the undivided command
-was immediately restored to him.
-
-In the letter he wrote to the Directory at this time, and which must
-have been written with the rapidity of thought, he observes, with great
-force of language and strength of argument. "It is in the highest degree
-impolitic to divide into two the army of Italy; and not less adverse to
-place at its head two different generals. The expedition to the Papal
-States is a very inconsiderable matter, and should be made by divisions
-in echelon, ready at any moment to wheel about and face the Austrians.
-To perform it with success both armies must be under one general. I have
-hitherto conducted the campaign without consulting any one. The result
-would have been very different if I had been obliged to reconcile my
-views with those of another. If you impose upon me embarrassments of
-various kinds; if I must refer all my steps to the commissaries of
-government; if they are authorized to change my movements, to send away
-my troops, expect no further success. If you weaken your resources by
-dividing your forces, if you disturb in Italy the unity of military
-thought, I say it with grief, you will lose the finest opportunity that
-ever occurred of giving laws to that fine peninsula. In the present
-posture of the affairs of the Republic it is indispensable that you
-possess a general who enjoys your confidence. If I do not do so I shall
-not complain. Every one has his own method of carrying on war. Kellerman
-has more experience, and may do it better than I. Together we should do
-nothing but mischief. Your decision on this matter is of more importance
-than the fifteen thousand men the Emperor of Austria has sent to
-Beaulieu."
-
-On the 22d of May Napoleon left Milan, in pursuit of the Austrians.
-Beaulieu, in his retreat to the mountains of the Tyrol, had thrown
-fifteen thousand men into the almost impregnable fortress of Mantua, to
-arrest the progress of the conqueror. He knew that Napoleon could not
-follow him leaving such a fortress in the possession of his enemies in
-his rear. Austria was raising powerful reinforcements, and the defeated
-general intended soon to return with overwhelming numbers, and crush his
-foe. Napoleon had hardly advanced one day's march from Milan when a
-formidable insurrection broke out. The priests, incited by the Pope, had
-roused the peasants, who were very much under their influence, to rise
-and exterminate the French. They appealed to all the motives of
-fanaticism which the papal church has so effectually at its command, to
-rouse their military ardor. They assured the ignorant peasants that
-Austria was pouring down an overwhelming army upon the invader; that all
-Italy was simultaneously rising in arms; that England, with her powerful
-fleet, was landing troops innumerable upon the coasts of Sardinia; that
-God, and all his angels, were looking down from the windows of Heaven to
-admire the heroism of the faithful, in ridding the earth of the enemies
-of the true religion, and that the destruction of Napoleon was sure. The
-enthusiasm spread from hamlet to hamlet like a conflagration. The
-friends of republicanism were, for the most part, in the cities. The
-peasantry were generally strongly attached to the church, and looked up
-with reverence to the nobles. The tocsin was sounded in every village.
-In a day thirty thousand peasants, roused to frenzy, grasped their arms.
-The danger was most imminent.
-
-Napoleon felt that not an hour was to be lost. He took with him twelve
-hundred men and six pieces of cannon, and instantly turned upon his
-track. He soon came up with eight hundred of the insurgents, who were
-intrenching themselves in the small village of Banasco. There was no
-parleying. There was no hesitancy. The ear was closed to all the appeals
-of mercy. The veteran troops, inured to their work, rushed with bayonet
-and sabre upon the unwarlike Italians, and, in a few moments, hewed the
-peasants to pieces. The women and children fled in every direction,
-carrying the tidings of the dreadful massacre. The torch was applied to
-the town, and the dense volumes of smoke ascending into the serene and
-cloudless skies, from this altar of vengeance, proclaimed, far and wide
-over the plains of Italy, how dreadful a thing it was to incur the wrath
-of the conqueror.
-
-Napoleon and his troops, their swords still dripping in blood, tarried
-not, but moving on with the sweep of a whirlwind, came to the gates of
-Pavia. This city had become the head-quarters of the insurgents. It
-contained thirty thousand inhabitants. Napoleon had left there a
-garrison of three hundred men. The insurgents, eight thousand strong,
-had thrown themselves into the place, and, strengthened by all of the
-monarchical party, prepared for a desperate resistance. Napoleon sent
-the Archbishop of Milan, with a flag of truce, offering pardon to all
-who would lay down their arms. "May the terrible example of Banasco,"
-said he, "open your eyes. Its fate shall be that of every town which
-persists in revolt." "While Pavia has walls," the insurgents bravely
-replied, "we will not surrender." Napoleon rejoined in the instantaneous
-thunders of his artillery. He swept the ramparts with grape shot, while
-the soldiers, with their hatchets, hewed down the gates.
-
-[Illustration: THE BURNING OF BANASCO.]
-
-They rushed like an inundation into the city. The peasants fought with
-desperation from the windows and roofs of the houses, hurling down upon
-the French every missile of destruction. The sanguinary conflict soon
-terminated in favor of the disciplined valor of the assailants. The
-wretched peasants were pursued into the plain and cut down without
-mercy. The magistrates of the city were shot; the city itself given up
-to pillage. "The order," said Napoleon to the inhabitants, "to lay the
-city in ashes, was just leaving my lips, when the garrison of the castle
-arrived, and hastened, with cries of joy, to embrace their deliverers.
-Their names were called over and none found missing. If the blood of a
-single Frenchman had been shed, my determination was to erect a column
-on the ruins of Pavia, bearing this inscription, '_Here stood the city
-of Pavia!_'" He was extremely indignant with the garrison for allowing
-themselves to be made prisoners. "Cowards," he exclaimed, "I intrusted
-you with a post essential to the safety of an army; and you have
-abandoned it to a mob of wretched peasants, without offering the least
-resistance." He delivered the captain over to a council of war, and he
-was shot.
-
-This terrible example crushed the insurrection over the whole of
-Lombardy. Such are the inevitable and essential horrors of war. Napoleon
-had no love for cruelty. But he never hesitated to adopt any measures,
-however decisive and sanguinary, which he deemed essential for the
-accomplishment of his purposes. In such dreadful scenes he claimed to be
-acting upon the same principle which influences the physician to cut,
-with an unflinching hand, through nerves and tendons, for the humane
-design of saving life.
-
-If war is right this was right. This bloody vengeance was necessary for
-the salvation of Napoleon's army. He was about to pursue the Austrians
-far away into the mountains of the Tyrol, and it was necessary to his
-success that, by a terrible example, he should teach those whom he left
-behind, that they could not rise upon him with impunity. War is
-necessarily a system of cruelty and of blood. Napoleon was an energetic
-warrior. He recoiled not from any severities which he deemed
-indispensable to the success of his horrible mission. "A man of refined
-sensibilities," says the Duke of Wellington, "has no right to meddle
-with the profession of a soldier." "Pavia," said Napoleon, "is the only
-place I ever gave up to pillage. I promised that the soldiers should
-have it, at their mercy, for twenty-four hours. But after three hours I
-could bear such scenes of outrage no longer, and put an end to them.
-Policy and morality are equally opposed to the system. Nothing is so
-certain to disorganize and completely ruin an army."
-
-It is wonderfully characteristic of this most extraordinary man, that in
-the midst of these terrible scenes, and when encompassed by such perils
-and pressed by such urgent haste, he could have found time and the
-disposition to visit a literary institution. When the whole city of
-Pavia was in consternation, he entered the celebrated university,
-accompanied by his splendid military suite. With the utmost celerity he
-moved from class to class, asking questions with such rapidity that the
-professors could hardly find time or breath to answer him. "What class
-is this?" he inquired, as he entered the first recitation room. "The
-class of metaphysics," was the reply. Napoleon, who had but little
-respect for the uncertain deductions of mental philosophy, exclaimed,
-very emphatically, "Bah!" and took a pinch of snuff. Turning to one of
-the pupils, he inquired, "What is the difference between sleep and
-death?" The embarrassed pupil turned to the professor for assistance.
-The professor plunged into a learned disquisition upon death. The
-uncourteous examiner left him in the midst of his sentences, and
-hastened to another room. "What class is this?" he said. "The
-mathematical class," he was answered. It was his favorite science. His
-eye sparkled with pleasure, and seizing a book from one of the pupils,
-he hastily turned over the leaves and gave him a very difficult problem
-to solve. He chanced to fall upon an excellent scholar, who did the work
-very promptly and correctly. Napoleon glanced his eye over the work and
-said, "You are wrong." The pupil insisted that he was right. Napoleon
-took the slate and sat down to work the problem himself. In a moment he
-saw his own error, and returning the slate to the pupil, with
-ill-concealed chagrin, exclaimed, "Yes? yes! you are right." He then
-proceeded to another room, when he met the celebrated Volta, "the Newton
-of electricity." Napoleon was delighted to see the distinguished
-philosopher, and ran and threw his arms around his neck, and begged him
-immediately to draw out his class. The President of the University, in a
-very eulogistic address to the young general, said, "Charles the Great
-laid the foundations of this University. May Napoleon the Great give it
-the completion of its glory."
-
-Having quelled the insurrection, in flames and blood, the only way in
-which, by any possibility it could have been quelled, Napoleon turned
-proudly again, with his little band, to encounter the whole power of the
-Austrian empire, now effectually aroused to crush him. The dominions of
-Venice contained three millions of souls. Its fleet ruled the Adriatic,
-and it could command an army of fifty thousand men. The Venetians though
-unfriendly to France preferred neutrality. Beaulieu had fled through
-their territories, leaving a garrison at Mantua. Napoleon pursued them.
-To the remonstrances of the Venetians he replied: "Venice has either
-afforded refuge to the Austrians, in which case it is the enemy of
-France, or it was unable to prevent the Austrians from invading its
-territory, and is consequently too weak to claim the right of
-neutrality." The government deliberated in much perplexity, whether to
-throw themselves as allies into the arms of France or of Austria. They
-at last decided, if possible, to continue neutral. They sent to Napoleon
-twelve hundred thousand dollars, as a bribe or a present to secure his
-friendship. He decisively rejected it. To some friends who urged the
-perfect propriety of his receiving the money, he replied:
-
-"If my commissary should see me accept this money, who can tell to what
-lengths he might go." The Venetian envoys retired from their mission
-deeply impressed with the genius of Napoleon. They had expected to find
-only a stern warrior. To their surprise they met a statesman, whose
-profoundness of views, power of eloquence, extent of information, and
-promptness of decision excited both their admiration and amazement. They
-were venerable men, accustomed to consideration and power. Napoleon was
-but twenty-five. Yet the veterans were entirely overawed by his
-brilliant and commanding powers. "This extraordinary young man," they
-wrote to the senate, "will one day exert great influence over his
-country."
-
-No man ever had more wealth at his disposal than Napoleon, or was more
-scrupulous as to the appropriation of any of it to himself. For two
-years he maintained the army in Italy, calling upon the government for
-no supplies whatever. He sent more than two millions of dollars to Paris
-to relieve the Directory from its embarrassments. Without the slightest
-difficulty he might have accumulated millions of dollars for his own
-private fortune. His friends urged him to do so, assuring him that the
-Directory, jealous of his fame and power, would try to crush rather than
-to reward him. But he turned a deaf ear to all such suggestions, and
-returned to Paris, from this most brilliant campaign, comparatively a
-poor man. He had clothed the armies of France, and replenished the
-impoverished treasury of the Republic, and filled the Museum of Paris
-with paintings and statuary. But all was for France. He reserved neither
-money, nor painting, nor statue for himself. "Every one," said he
-afterward, "has his relative ideas. I have a taste for founding not for
-possessing. My riches consist in glory and celebrity. The Simplon and
-the Louvre were in the eyes of the people and of foreigners more my
-property than any private domains could possibly have been." This was
-surely a lofty and a noble ambition.
-
-Napoleon soon overtook the Austrians. He found a division of the army
-strongly intrenched upon the banks of the Mincio, determined to arrest
-his passage. Though the Austrians were some fifteen thousand strong, and
-though they had partially demolished the bridge, the march of Napoleon
-was retarded scarcely an hour. Napoleon was that day sick, suffering
-from a violent headache. Having crossed the river and concerted all his
-plans for the pursuit of the flying enemy, he went into an old castle,
-by the river's side, to try the effect of a foot-bath. He had but a
-small retinue with him, his troops being dispersed in pursuit of the
-fugitives. He had but just placed his feet in the warm water when he
-heard the loud clatter of horses' hoofs, as a squadron of Austrian
-dragoons galloped into the court-yard. The sentinel at the door shouted,
-"To arms! to arms! the Austrians!" Napoleon sprang from the bath,
-hastily drew on one boot, and with the other in his hand, leaped from
-the window, escaped through the back gate of the garden, mounted a horse
-and galloped to Massena's division, who were cooking their dinner at a
-little distance from the castle. The appearance of their
-commander-in-chief among them in such a plight roused the soldiers from
-their camp-kettles, and they rushed in pursuit of the Austrians, who, in
-their turn, retreated. This personal risk induced Napoleon to establish
-a body guard, to consist of five hundred veterans, of at least ten
-years' service, who were ever to accompany him. This was the origin of
-that Imperial Guard, which, in the subsequent wars of Napoleon, obtained
-such a world-wide renown.
-
-Napoleon soon encamped before the almost impregnable fortress of Mantua.
-About twenty thousand men composed its garrison. As it was impossible to
-surmount such formidable defenses by assault, Napoleon was compelled to
-have recourse to the more tedious operations of a siege.
-
-The Austrian government, dissatisfied with the generalship of Beaulieu,
-withdrew him from the service and sent General Wurmser to assume the
-command, with a reinforcement of sixty thousand men. Napoleon's army had
-also been reinforced, so that he had about thirty thousand men with whom
-to meet the eighty thousand which would compose the Austrian army when
-united. It would require, however, at least a month before Wurmser could
-arrive at the gates of Mantua. Napoleon resolved to improve the moments
-of leisure in disarming his enemies in the south of Italy.
-
-The kingdom of Naples, situated at the southern extremity of the
-peninsula, is the most powerful state in Italy. A Bourbon prince,
-dissolute and effeminate, sat upon the throne. Its fleet had been
-actively allied with the English in the attack upon Toulon. Her troops
-were now associated with the Austrians in the warfare against France.
-The king, seeing the Austrians, and his own troops united with them,
-driven from every part of Italy except the fortress of Mantua, was
-exceedingly alarmed, and sent to Napoleon imploring peace. Napoleon, not
-being able to march an army into his territory to impose contributions,
-and yet being very anxious to detach from the alliance the army of sixty
-thousand men which Naples could bring into the field, granted an
-armistice upon terms so easy as to provoke the displeasure of the
-Directory. But Napoleon was fully aware of the impending peril, and
-decided wisely. The Pope, now abandoned by Naples, was in perfect
-consternation. He had anathematized republican France. He had preached a
-crusade against her, and had allowed her embassador to be assassinated
-in the streets of Rome. He was conscious that he deserved chastisement,
-and he had learned that the young conqueror, in his chastisings,
-inflicted very heavy blows. Napoleon, taking with him but six thousand
-men, entered the States of the Pope. The provinces subject to the Pope's
-temporal power contained a population of two and a half millions, most
-of whom were in a state of disgraceful barbarism. He had an inefficient
-army of four or five thousand men. His temporal power was nothing. It
-was his spiritual power alone which rendered the Pope formidable. The
-Pontiff immediately sent an embassador to Bologna, to implore the
-clemency of the conqueror. Napoleon referred the Pope to the Directory
-in Paris for the terms of a permanent peace, granting him however an
-armistice, in consideration of which he exacted the surrender of Ancona,
-Bologna, and Ferrara to a French garrison, the payment of four millions
-of dollars in silver and gold, and the contribution of one hundred
-paintings or statues and five hundred ancient manuscripts for the Museum
-in Paris. The Pope, trembling in anticipation of the overthrow of his
-temporal power, was delighted to escape upon such easy terms. The most
-enlightened of the inhabitants of these degenerate and wretchedly
-governed states welcomed the French with the utmost enthusiasm. They
-hated the Holy See implacably, and entreated Napoleon to grant them
-independence. But it was not Napoleon's object to revolutionize the
-states of Italy, and though he could not but express his sympathy in
-these aspirations for political freedom, he was unwilling to take any
-decisive measures for the overthrow of the established government. He
-was contending simply for peace.
-
-Tuscany had acknowledged the French Republic, and remained neutral in
-this warfare. But England, regardless of the neutrality of this feeble
-state, had made herself master of the port of Leghorn, protected by the
-governor of that city, who was inimical to the French. The frigates of
-England rode insultingly in the harbor, and treated the commerce of
-France as that of an enemy. Napoleon crossed the Apennines, by forced
-marches proceeded to Leghorn, and captured English goods to the amount
-of nearly three millions of dollars, notwithstanding a great number of
-English vessels escaped from the harbor but a few hours before the
-entrance of the French. England was mistress of the sea, and she
-respected no rights of private property upon her watery domain. Wherever
-her fleets encountered a merchant ship of the enemy, it was taken as
-fair plunder. Napoleon, who regarded the land as his domain, resolved
-that he would retaliate by the capture of English property wherever his
-army encountered it upon the Continent. It was robbery in both cases,
-and in both cases equally unjustifiable. And yet such is, to a certain
-degree, one of the criminal necessities of war. He seized the inimical
-governor, and sent him in a post-chaise to the Grand Duke at Florence,
-saying, "The governor of Leghorn has violated all the rights of
-neutrality, by oppressing French commerce, and by affording an asylum to
-the emigrants and to all the enemies of the Republic. Out of respect to
-your authority I send the unfaithful servant to be punished at your
-discretion." The neutral states were thus energetically taught that they
-must respect their neutrality. He left a garrison at Leghorn, and then
-proceeded to Florence, the capital of Tuscany, where the duke, brother
-of the emperor of Austria, received him with the greatest cordiality,
-and gave him a magnificent entertainment. He then returned to Mantua,
-having been absent just twenty days, and in that time, with one
-division of his army, having overawed all the states of southern Italy,
-and secured their tranquillity during the tremendous struggles which he
-had still to maintain against Austria. In these fearful and bloody
-conflicts Napoleon was contending only to protect his country from those
-invading armies, which were endeavoring to force upon France the
-despotism of the Bourbons. He repeatedly made the declaration, that he
-wished only for peace; and in every case, even when states, by the right
-of conquest, were entirely in his power, he made peace, upon the most
-lenient terms for them, simply upon condition that they should cease
-their warfare against France. "Such a rapid succession of brilliant
-victories," said Las Cases to Napoleon at St. Helena, "filling the world
-with your fame, must have been a source of great delight to you." "By no
-means," Napoleon replied. "They who think so know nothing of the peril
-of our situation. The victory of to-day was instantly forgotten in
-preparation for the battle which was to be fought on the morrow. The
-aspect of danger was continually before me. I enjoyed not one moment of
-repose."
-
-We must now leave Napoleon and his army, until our next Number, encamped
-before the walls of Mantua.
-
-
-
-
-LIMA AND THE LIMANIANS.
-
-
-When Pizarro had completed the conquest of Peru, one of his first cares
-was to select a site for the capital of his new empire. The situation of
-Cuzco, far withdrawn in the depths of the Cordilleras, which admirably
-adapted it for the metropolis under the centralizing system of the
-Incas, rendered it unsuited for the capital of a commercial people, who
-were to be bound to another nation by the strict ties of colonial
-dependency. All the requisites of a central position, a good harbor, a
-fertile soil, and a delightful climate were found combined in the valley
-of Lurigancho, through which, emptying into the Bay of Callao, flowed
-the river Rimac, affording abundant facilities for irrigation, and
-producing exuberant fertility. Here, on the 6th day of January, 1535,
-the festival of the Epiphany, the conqueror of the Incas resolved to
-establish his capital city. He gave to it the name of _La Ciudad de los
-Reyes_--"The City of the Kings," in honor of the "wise men from the
-east," whom Catholic tradition has invested with regal dignity, who on
-that day, more than fifteen centuries before, had followed the star till
-it "stood over where the young child was." Twelve days afterward, the
-Spaniards having been gathered to the valley, the work was solemnly
-inaugurated by Pizarro laying with his own hand the foundation of the
-cathedral, which was dedicated to _Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion_--"Our
-Lady of the Assumption." The work of building was pushed on with an
-energy characteristic of Pizarro. From an hundred miles around the
-Indians were collected, and forced to build the hated city. The stern
-soldiers of the conquest laid aside their armor, and assumed the
-character of laborious artisans. The foundations of the public edifices
-were laid with a solidity capable of defying the attacks of time; and
-almost sufficient to resist the shocks of the earthquake, which at
-length taught the successors of the first builders that security was
-only to be attained by the use of slighter materials, and a more humble
-and fragile mode of erection.
-
-In accordance with the old usage, which delighted to place a great city
-at some distance from its seaport, the spot chosen by Pizarro for his
-capital was about two leagues from the bay, whose waters were to be
-whitened with the sails of its commerce. From this point the plain
-descends westward to the sea-shore with a gentle slope. The city was
-laid out in the form of a semicircle or triangle, of which the Rimac
-formed the base. In order to secure as much shade as possible, the
-direction of the streets, instead of coinciding with that of the points
-of the compass, was made from northeast to southwest, so that both in
-the morning and the afternoon the shade of the buildings should fall
-upon the streets. Lying within twelve degrees of the equator, the
-buildings could of course cast no shadow, at any season, from the
-vertical noonday sun. These principal streets were crossed at right
-angles by others, so that each group of houses formed a quadrangle, all
-of nearly equal size. The general direction of the main streets nearly
-coinciding with the slope of the plain and the course of the Rimac,
-allowed the waters of the river to be conveyed through them in stone
-conduits, furnishing irrigation to the gardens, abundant spaces for
-which were left within the city.
-
-The growth of Lima (for the name given by Pizarro to the city was early
-laid aside in favor of its present appellation, derived, by a change of
-letters to which the Limanians are still much addicted, from the name of
-the river upon which it stands) was as rapid as that of a tropical
-plant. In half a century from its foundation it is said to have
-contained 100,000 inhabitants; a rate of increase then unexampled in the
-history of colonization, and offering a striking contrast to the slow
-and almost imperceptible growth of the cities planted a century later
-upon the Atlantic shores of North America, though outdone by the marvels
-wrought in our own days upon the Pacific coasts. Is their speedy rise to
-be followed by a like speedy decline? As the mother country declined,
-the prosperity of Lima in like manner waned, though it is impossible,
-among the contradictory statements made, to arrive at any certain
-conclusion as to the population at different periods. But the large
-number of ruinous and uninhabited buildings shows a decrease of
-population. It is asserted upon competent authority that during the
-first thirty years of the present century not a single new building was
-erected within the walls; and it is doubtful if within the succeeding
-twenty years, as many buildings have been added to the city.
-
-The distant view of Lima, as one approaches it from the sea is very
-magnificent. Entering the harbor of Callao, upon the right lies the
-bare and rugged island of San Lorenzo. In front are the noble but
-dilapidated castles, and the white houses of Callao, presenting a gay
-and somewhat grotesque appearance, with the flags of the foreign consuls
-fluttering before their residences. In the rear stretches a broad plain,
-sloping upward toward a crescent-shaped range of barren hills, which
-inclose the fertile valley of the Lurigancho. At the foot of the
-mountains, apparently, rise the countless spires and towers of Lima,
-drawn up in relief against their dark sides. Still further in the
-distance are seen the giant ranges of the Andes, whose snowy summits are
-usually vailed by thick and sombre clouds. The harbor of Callao is
-magnificent; and the landing, at a fine mole built of stone, and
-surrounded by a substantial iron railing, is good. The town itself,
-though displaying some commercial activity, is mean and insignificant.
-Leaving Callao for Lima, we pass the little village of Buena Vista; then
-half way to the city we come to a place called Magdalena, consisting of
-a _pulperia_ or dram-shop, a convent, and a splendid church. Here in the
-olden time the Spanish viceroys, at the expiration of their five years'
-term of office, used to meet their successors, and deliver up their
-authority to them. The convent has been suppressed, and the church is
-deserted, but in front of it stands a ragged monk, with a tin dish in
-his hand, soliciting alms from the passers-by.
-
-When within about half a league from Lima, we enter upon the fine road
-called the _Alameda del Callao_. It is beautifully shaded with poplars
-and willows, with a handsome promenade upon each side, furnished at
-regular distances with stone seats, and bordered with the _quintas_, or
-country houses of the wealthy Limanians, embowered in luxuriant gardens,
-and surrounded with fruit-trees. By this broad avenue, we enter, through
-an arched gateway, into the city of Lima. This _Alameda_ was opened in
-1800, on the 6th of January, the anniversary of the foundation of the
-city. It was laid out by a man who filled the post of viceroy of Peru,
-under the title of Marques de Osorno. The history of this man is
-somewhat singular. About the middle of the last century, a petty Irish
-shopkeeper, bearing the somewhat incongruous name of Don Ambrosio
-O'Higgins, occupied a little shop, which is still shown under the area
-of the cathedral. Times went hard with Don Ambrosio; he failed in his
-petty traffic, abandoned the little shop by the cathedral, bade farewell
-to his old friend and brother tradesman, La Reguera, and wandered to
-Chili. It was a time of Indian hostilities, and all other occupations
-failing, there was at least a demand for men to be shot. Don Ambrosio
-entered the army, showed himself brave and capable, gained promotion,
-distinguished himself, discovered the Indian city of Osorno, and was
-honored with the title of the Marques of Osorno. In 1786, he returned to
-Lima in the capacity of Viceroy, where, as archbishop, he found none
-other than his old friend, La Reguera. Trade had prospered with him; he
-had returned to Spain, studied, embraced the clerical profession, and
-was sent back to Lima as archbishop five years before O'Higgins came as
-viceroy.
-
-The first impression which the traveler receives upon entering Lima, by
-no means fulfills the anticipations he had been led to form from its
-appearance at a distance. The entrance is by the periphery of the
-semicircle, upon the side furthest from the Rimac. This quarter contains
-only dilapidated squares and filthy houses. But as he advances toward
-the _Plaza Mayor_, the appearance of the city becomes greatly improved.
-The general aspect of the houses strikes an American as somewhat novel,
-from the fact that a large proportion of them consist of but one story,
-very few exceeding two. This mode of building is rendered necessary by
-the frequency of earthquakes, which render buildings of a more imposing
-architecture extremely insecure. The houses of two stories have usually
-two doors in front, opening upon the street. One of these is the
-_azaguan_, which constitutes the main entrance to the house; the other
-leads to the _cochera_ or coach-house. The _azaguan_ opens into a
-spacious _patio_ or court-yard. Directly opposite this entrance are two
-large folding-doors, which open into the _sala_ or hall of the
-dwelling-house, beyond which is the _cuadro_ or reception-room,
-furnished as splendidly as the means of the occupant will allow.
-Adjoining the cuadro are the various rooms appropriated to the use of
-the family. The sala and cuadro are of the full height of the house, and
-the flat roof of these two apartments forms a sort of terrace, called
-the _azotea_, which is paved, surrounded with a railing, and covered
-with an awning. The second story of the remainder of the building
-contains rooms which open into a balcony projecting over the street.
-This balcony is boarded up to the height of about three feet, the
-remainder being composed of lattices or glazed windows, and forms the
-favorite lounging place of the inhabitants, where they can watch the
-passers-by in the streets. The peculiarity of the domestic architecture
-of Lima, by which, with the exception of the balcony, the rooms open not
-upon the street, but upon the court-yard, gives the city much the
-appearance of an Oriental town. Where the houses are of but one story,
-the almost entire absence of windows and openings gives the street a
-mean and gloomy appearance, almost like continuous lines of dead walls.
-But where the dwellings are of two stories, the long lines of balconies
-and verandas gayly ornamented and trellised, projecting far over the
-foot-pavements, present a gay and festive aspect. In some parts of the
-city are houses of much greater height, and of a far more imposing
-architecture. But they are to a great extent ruinous and dilapidated,
-having been abandoned by their ancient occupants, for fear of being
-overwhelmed in them by earthquakes. When tenanted at all, it is
-principally by the poorer classes, who are willing to brave the
-insecurity for the sake of the saving in the rents. The outer walls are
-usually of _adobes_, or sun-dried brick, as far as the first floor. The
-second story is usually composed of a wooden frame-work, upon both
-sides of which canes are nailed, or fastened by leather thongs, and the
-whole is then plastered over, and painted to imitate stone, the
-deception being aided by the apparent massiveness of the construction.
-The division walls are also made of canes plastered over. The roofs are
-flat, composed of rafters, covered with mats or cane, with a layer of
-clay spread above them, sufficient to exclude the rays of the sun and
-the heavy dews. A single prolonged shower would be sufficient to
-dissolve the whole city; but as it never rains there, these slight walls
-and roofs are all that is required. Lima is justified in placing her
-dependence in architecture upon a reed, rather than upon stone. The more
-solid and massy the walls, the less protection do they afford against
-the terrible earthquakes which are of periodical occurrence, and by
-which more than once the city has been reduced to a heap of ruins; while
-these light cane fabrics yield to the shock, and when it has passed
-resume their places, with little apparent injury; and even if demolished
-they do not occasion that fearful peril of life which results from the
-overthrow of more stable fabrics.
-
-There are few places the inhabitants of which present so great a
-diversity of complexion and physiognomy as in Lima. There is every
-gradation and intermixture of race, from the fair Creoles of unmixed
-European descent, who pride themselves upon the purity of their Spanish
-blood, to the jet black negro of Congo, whose unmitigated ebony hue
-bears testimony equally unequivocal to his pure African lineage. Between
-these two extremes is an almost innumerable variety of mixed races, each
-having its own peculiar designation, indicating the precise proportion
-of European, Indian, and negro blood in their veins, each marked with
-its own peculiar physical, intellectual, and moral characteristics; and
-each finding its chief boast in the nearness of its relation to the
-white race, and looking down with contempt upon those a shade darker
-than its own.
-
-[Illustration: PERUVIAN CAVALIER.]
-
-In 1836, when the population of the city was a little more than 54,000,
-it was composed of about the following proportion of the different
-races: white _Creoles_, all of European, and mostly of Spanish descent,
-20,000; _Negroes_, 10,000; of whom a little less than one half were
-slaves; Indians, 5000; mixed races, 19,000; these are of every shade of
-complexion, from the _Mestizo_, the child of a white father and an
-Indian mother, whom only a keen and practiced eye can distinguish from a
-White, and to whom no higher compliment can be paid than to inquire
-whether he is not a Spaniard, to the _Zambo_ who can only show claim to
-a portion of white blood, on the ground that to all the vices of the
-negro race, he adds others peculiar to the Whites.
-
-The white Creoles are of slender figure, and of middling height, with
-features strongly marked, fair complexion, and black hair. Like the
-descendants of the Spanish race throughout all the Western World, they
-have degenerated from the parent stock. The males have even in youth a
-look of premature age; as though the powers of nature were exhausted,
-and insufficient to develop a vigorous manhood. Indolence is their
-predominant characteristic. They are utterly indisposed to any
-continuous exertion, whether of body or of mind. If poverty compels them
-to pursue an occupation for a livelihood, they select some petty
-traffic, in which, if the gains are small, there is ample leisure to
-gossip and smoke their perpetual cigars. Those who are able abandon
-themselves to idleness, lounging about the streets or in the shops, at
-the coffee-houses or the gaming-table. The education of the Creole of
-Lima is very defective; the system of instruction pursued does little to
-develop his powers, and his innate indolence presents an insuperable bar
-to any efforts at self-cultivation. Riding is a universal custom, and
-almost every person keeps one or more horses; these are trained by the
-_chalanes_ or professional horse-breakers to perform feats of every
-kind; one to which great value is attached, is to turn around upon the
-hind legs rapidly, when in full gallop. Tschudi, a recent German
-traveler, relates an instance which came under his own observation,
-which shows the certainty and dexterity with which the feat is
-performed. A friend of his rode full gallop up to the city wall, which
-at the spot is about nine feet broad, leaped his horse upon it, and made
-him describe a segment of a circle with his fore feet beyond the edge of
-the wall, while standing balanced upon his hind feet. The feat was
-performed a number of times in rapid succession.
-
-The riding costume of a Peruvian cavalier is extremely picturesque and
-convenient. Its most striking feature is the _poncho_. This is a large
-fringed shawl with an opening in the centre, through which the head of
-the wearer passes; it then hangs gracefully over the shoulder, and falls
-nearly to the knee, leaving the hands and arms less embarrassed than any
-other species of cloak. These ponchos frequently display great
-brilliancy and variety; the color is often a snowy white, sometimes it
-is richly and fancifully embroidered; but the prevailing taste is for
-broad stripes of brilliant colors, such as orange, scarlet, blue, green,
-rose color, or combinations of all hues intermingled and diversified in
-every conceivable manner. The spurs used by the Peruvians are of
-enormous magnitude; old custom ordains that they should contain a pound
-and a half of silver; the rowels sometimes stand out four or five inches
-from the heel, with spikes of one or two inches in length, or even more.
-A broad-brimmed sombrero of fine Guayaquil grass is usually worn by
-equestrians. The trappings of the horses are often of a very costly
-description. Head-gear, bridle, and crupper are sometimes seen formed of
-finely-wrought silver rings linked into each other. The stirrups are
-massy blocks of wood of a triangular shape, quaintly carved, and
-ornamented with silver. The saddle is frequently adorned with rich
-embroidery in gold, and the holster inlaid with the same precious
-metal.
-
-A cigar is the almost unvarying accompaniment of a Peruvian of any
-class. Basil Hall relates an odd expedient made use of to reconcile the
-free-and-easy habit of smoking in public places, with the stately
-requirements of Spanish etiquette of olden time, in the presence of the
-representatives of royalty. In the days when Peru was a Spanish colony,
-the vice-regal box at the theatre projected out somewhat into the pit,
-in full view of the Commonalty of the City of the Kings. As soon as the
-curtain fell between the acts of the piece, the viceroy was in the habit
-of retiring from the front to the rear of the box. No sooner was his
-back turned than, by a very convenient figure of thought, he was
-considered to be constructively absent. Every man in the pit would then
-draw forth his flint and steel (this was long before the days of
-Lucifers and loco-focos), light his cigar, and "improve" the time by
-puffing away at the fragrant weed. At the tinkling of the bell which
-announced the rising of the curtain, the representative of royalty
-returned to the front of the box, his constructive absence was ended,
-and every smoker paused in mid-puff.
-
-Nothing indicates the decadence of a race more unerringly and decisively
-than the progressive change which comes over its tastes in its modes of
-amusement. Indolence and brutality go together. Displays of skill and
-courage cease to afford excitement to the jaded sensibilities; the
-stronger stimulus of suffering must be supplied. Thus as the Roman race
-declined, the shows of the arena grew more and more brutal. Cock-fights
-and bull-fights are the favorite amusements of the Limanians. A fondness
-for the latter is characteristic of the Spanish race every where; but in
-Peru the chief attraction is not the dexterity and courage of the
-performers, but the agony of the victims. Bull-fights in Spain may
-almost be characterized as humane exhibitions compared with those of
-Lima. At one witnessed by Hall in 1821, the _matador_, who should have
-given the death-stroke to an animal of extraordinary strength and
-courage, missed the mortal spot, and merely buried his sword in the body
-of the bull; in an instant he was tossed, apparently dead, into the air,
-by the maddened beast, who turned upon a horseman, whom he dismounted,
-goring the horse so that his bowels hung upon the ground. All this threw
-the spectators into an agony of delight; which was still further
-enhanced when the sinews of the bull, having been cut from behind by a
-crescent-shaped instrument fixed to a long pole, the poor beast dragged
-himself around the arena upon his mutilated stumps. But their ecstasy
-amounted to frenzy when a man mounted upon the back of the bull and
-spurred him around the arena with strokes of a dagger, until he fell
-exhausted by loss of blood.
-
-Bull-fights are only an occasional luxury, but cock-fights are a daily
-standing dish. The cock-pit (_coliseo de gallos_) is a very handsome
-building; here cock-fights take place every day. The natural weapons of
-the fowls are not sufficiently deadly to satisfy the Limanian
-spectators; and in place of the spur of the right foot, which is cut
-off, is put a sharp curved blade of steel or _gaff_. Whatever else may
-be lacking, Lima can justly boast the finest amphitheatre in the world
-for the purpose of cock-fighting.
-
-In Lima, as throughout the whole of Spanish America, the females are,
-both intellectually and physically, far superior to the males. All
-visitors at Lima speak in terms of warm admiration of the Limeñas, as
-the most charming and graceful women of South America. In figure they
-are usually slender, and somewhat above the middle height, with fair
-complexions, destitute of color, large, dark brilliant eyes, and
-abundant black hair. The charming Spanish epithet _hechicera_, by which
-they are designated, belongs to them in the full extent of its
-significance, not only on account of their rare personal beauty, but
-also by reason of the captivating grace of their deportment, and the
-natural amiability of their dispositions.
-
-The first thing which attracts one's regard in Lima, is the singular and
-picturesque costume of the females. This costume, which resembles that
-of the Moors, to whom it owes its origin, takes the name of the two
-principal parts of which it is composed--it is called the _saya y
-manto_. It is worn only in Lima, and there only in the day time, as a
-walking-costume. The _saya_, as formerly worn, was a skirt or petticoat
-made of an elastic black silk, plaited at the top and bottom in small
-folds, and fitting so closely as to display the outlines of the figure,
-and every motion of the limbs. It was made so narrow at the bottom that
-the wearers were forced to take steps extremely short, which gave to
-their gait a mincing character more striking than modest. This, which is
-called the _saya ajustada_ is now rarely seen. As now worn it forms a
-very graceful and elegant costume; the bottom plaits are taken out, so
-as to cause the skirt to stand out from the figure, which is not
-displayed. This is called the _saya desplegada_. It is always made of a
-dark-colored material. The _manto_ is a thick vail of black silk,
-joining the saya at the back of the waist. It is brought up over the
-shoulders and head, and drawn over the face in such a manner as to
-conceal the features entirely, with the exception of one eye, which is
-visible through a small triangular space left open for the purpose. One
-hand retains the folds of the manto in their places while the other
-displays a richly embroidered handkerchief. Over the shoulders is thrown
-a shawl, usually of embroidered China crape. The Limeñas, effectually
-disguised in this national dress, to which they are enthusiastically
-attached, go out every where unattended. Any one can address them, and
-they violate no usage in accosting any one. The uniformity of the
-costume, in materials, shape, and color, and the perfect concealment of
-the features, makes identification impossible, so that the street
-becomes a perpetual masquerade. The costume which owes its origin to
-marital jealousy has in Lima become a most efficient aid to intrigue.
-
-[Illustration: LIMEÑA AT HOME.]
-
-The Limeña in the street, shrouded in the saya y manto, differs as
-widely from the same Limeña at home, as the butterfly wrapped up in its
-chrysalis does from the same insect with wings fully expanded. At home,
-at the theatre, in the carriage, every where except when walking in the
-streets, or in church, the Limeña appears dressed in the newest French
-fashions. There is, however, one article of European costume which they
-uniformly refuse to adopt, and that is the bonnet. With here and there
-an exception, they obstinately reject any other head-dress than a light
-vail and their own abundant tresses. An inordinate fondness for flowers
-and perfumes is also a striking characteristic of a Limeña, whose
-presence is almost invariably announced by a vase of flowers and a
-flaçon of perfume, placed upon a table near which she reclines swinging
-in a hammock during the sultry hours of the day, amusing herself, now
-with examining a book of engravings, now with music, of which she is
-passionately fond, perhaps with embroidery--and not unfrequently with a
-cigar.
-
-[Illustration: CHOLITAS OR INDIAN WOMEN OF PERU.]
-
-If man or woman were only an animal being--and if she could always be
-young and physically charming--this life of the Limeña might not seem so
-undesirable. But with her a thing of beauty is not a joy forever. If her
-reign is brilliant, it is brief. When her beauty fades she ceases to be
-a coquette, and becomes a _beata_ or devotee. She renounces the vanities
-of the world, attends mass several times a day, makes frequent
-confessions, and takes up her abode during Lent in a house of penitence.
-She selects a confessor to whom she unburdens her conscience, and sends
-presents of sweetmeats and delicacies. At home she sinks into a cipher,
-scarcely more regarded than a piece of worn-out furniture. If a
-stranger, paying a visit to a young Limeña, respectfully rises to make a
-place for an aged woman who enters the _cuadro_, nothing is more common
-than for the daughter to say, with the utmost coolness, _No se incommoda
-usted, es ma mamita_ "Don't incommode yourself, it's my mamma." Habit
-becomes a second nature, and the Limeña accommodates herself to her lot
-without a murmur. Such, with exceptions few and rare, is the lot of the
-_hechiceras Limeñas_, so highly endowed by nature, and worthy of a
-better fate.
-
-Besides these Limeñas of European origin there is another class,
-descendants of the ancient Peruvians, who, though not beautiful like
-their fair neighbors, present some remarkable characteristics. Their
-complexion approaches the color of copper, with a pale tinge of gold.
-Their whole aspect has in it something bizarre, but at the same time not
-altogether unattractive. In dress they are fond of strange combinations.
-A balloon-like garment of white muslin or gaudy calico; a Guayaquil hat
-with high crown and immense brim, decorated with huge bows of ribbon
-on the "company side" of the head; their abundant hair carefully divided
-and pouring down their backs in sable cascades; and, foremost and above
-all, a well-fitting stocking and shoe upon a foot unimpeachably small,
-form their favorite costume. These _cholitas_ are admirable horsewomen,
-usually riding astride, cavalier fashion, and wearing the formidable
-Peruvian spur.
-
-[Illustration: COMING FROM MASS.]
-
-The saya y manto is always worn when going to church. There the absence
-of seats obliges each female to kneel upon the flags, unless she be
-provided with a servant to carry a piece of carpet upon which to kneel.
-To look upon them reclining immovably against the walls or the base of a
-column, the eyelids drooping upon the pale cheek, or the look fixed upon
-the tracery of the roof overhead (for in church the manto is not
-rigorously closed) one might imagine the Limeñas to be statues of
-meditation. Only the sign of the cross rapidly traced over the forehead
-shows them to belong to the breathing world. In the sanctuary no sound
-disturbs the harmony of the sacred offices. The incense, the pious
-hymns, the soft breathing of the organ, and in some of the churches, the
-notes of numerous birds of song caged among the crystal lustres of the
-candelabra, are mingled with the solemn chant of the monks. Service
-over, and what a change! Life seems to reanimate those marble limbs;
-those fixed looks become lively and sparkling; and noise and bustle take
-the place of the former silence. As the fair Limeña leaves the cathedral
-the black musicians fill the air with the sound of their drums and
-clarinets, the lottery-men cry their tickets upon one side of the
-entrance, and upon the other a fat ecclesiastic vends the effigy of the
-saint who chances to be in fashion. The Limeña, restored to her proper
-character, draws the shrouding manto over her features; makes gay and
-lively answers to the insipid compliments paid her by the young men
-lounging under the portico; and buys with one hand a lottery ticket, and
-with the other a relic or an image which she hopes will make her number
-a lucky one.
-
-The Indians in Lima number some 5000; they are active and industrious,
-in moral qualities far surpassing the mixed races, and fully equaling
-the whites, to whom, however, they are decidedly inferior in
-intellectual powers. They look upon Europeans with the feelings always
-entertained by a subjugated race toward their conquerors; a compound of
-fear, dislike, and mistrust. In 1781, under the lead of some of the
-descendants of the ancient Incas, an insurrection of the Indians took
-place in Peru, which was marked by the utmost atrocities. They defeated
-the whites in several engagements, burned a number of towns and
-villages, and captured the city of Sorrato, in which the surrounding
-inhabitants had taken refuge; of the prisoners who numbered 23,000, only
-87 priests and monks were preserved alive. Their leaders were finally
-betrayed into the power of the whites, and put to death. The Indians
-then disbanded. The most rigorous measures of repression were thereupon
-adopted. Their language, dress, music, and dances were strictly
-forbidden, and every effort made to extinguish their national feelings.
-When the war of Independence broke out, the Indians took part against
-Spain, but with the secret design of reinstating the dynasty of their
-ancestors, and raising to the throne one of the race of the Incas. In
-many cases they directed their hostilities against the whites
-indiscriminately, without distinction of parties. In one place they
-vowed not to leave alive so much as a dog or a fowl who bore the hated
-color, and even scraped the whitewash from the walls of their houses in
-sign of utter detestation. Since the war of Independence they have made
-great advances, especially in the military art, and have used every
-means to secure as many fire-arms as possible. At as late a period as
-1841, Tschudi, discovered by accident eighteen muskets hidden in the hut
-of an Indian in Central Peru, and upon asking for what purpose they were
-concealed was told that the time would come when they would be of use.
-The same writer also mentions incidents showing that many of the Indians
-are in possession of the secret of the existence of silver mines, far
-richer than any which are now known; and that the secret is handed down
-inviolably from father to son, until the time when their ancient dynasty
-shall be restored. Years of oppression and wrong under Spanish rule,
-only partially remedied since the Revolution, have wrought a great
-change in the character of the Indians of Peru. A settled distrust and
-melancholy have taken the place of the confiding and joyous disposition
-of the race who welcomed their Spanish visitors. Their songs, their
-dances, the whole tenor of their domestic life, wear a dark and sombre
-shade. Even in dress their favorite color is dark blue, which is with
-them the hue of mourning. These characteristics of the Indian race
-throughout the country, appear, though more or less modified, in the
-Indians in Lima.
-
-The negroes in Lima number not far from 10,000 of whom less than half
-are slaves. The charter of Independence provides that no person in Peru
-shall be born a slave, but this provision has been modified by law, so
-as to allow a term of servitude varying from 25 to 50 years. Slaves
-brought from any other country, become free the moment they touch the
-soil of Peru. Hence if a master take his slave into Chili, the slave may
-claim his freedom on his return. Runaways, however, are liable to be
-reclaimed. The treatment of slaves in Lima is very gentle. A tribunal is
-erected having the special duty to protect the slaves from
-ill-treatment. A slave may claim his liberty upon paying his value; and
-in case he and his master are unable to agree upon the sum, it is fixed
-by the court; or he may sell himself to any other master who will pay
-the determined price, in spite of any opposition on the part of the
-owner. As the introduction of negroes from Africa has been for many
-years prohibited, the great majority of the slaves are born in Peru.
-These, though intellectually and physically superior to those born in
-Africa, are held of less value; their superior intelligence rendering
-them less docile, and more discontented with their condition. The free
-negroes of Lima are represented as a plague and a pest to society.
-
-As a general rule the mixed races, which constitute about a third of the
-population of Lima, inherit the vices without the virtues of the pure
-races from which they sprung. Perhaps the sole exceptions to this are
-the _Mestizos_, the offspring of a white father and an Indian mother.
-They are of mild and gentle dispositions, but are also timid and
-irresolute. There are few Mestizos in Lima; but in the interior they are
-numerous. There they constitute the entire population of many villages,
-and call themselves whites, keeping aloof from the Indians. The most
-prominent characteristic of the Mulattos, the offspring of a white and a
-negro, is their remarkable imitative talent, and their consequent
-aptitude for mechanical pursuits; but they are extremely sensual and
-animal in all their tastes and instincts. The _Zambos_, sprung from an
-intermixture of the different castes of the colored race, and the
-_Chinos_, the offspring of the colored and Indian races intermixed in
-various degrees, are the most miserable and degraded of all the
-half-castes in Lima. They commit the most inhuman barbarities with the
-utmost indifference. Four-fifths of the prisoners in Lima are Zambos.
-They are usually athletic and muscular, with sunken eyes, thick lips,
-and noses much less depressed than that of the negro. The Chinos are
-morally about on a level with the Zambos; but physically they are much
-inferior. The mixed races of fairer complexion resemble the whites in
-moral and intellectual qualities in about the same degree that they
-approach them in color.
-
-The general condition of morals in Lima, especially among the colored
-races, may be inferred from the following statement given by Tschudi. In
-ten months of the year 1841, the number of births was 1682, of which
-860, more than one half, were born out of wedlock. The number of dead
-children exposed during the same time was 495, almost one third of the
-whole number of births. Of the illegitimate children nearly two thirds,
-and of those exposed a still larger proportion, were Mulattos. Though
-there can be no positive evidence of the fact, there is every reason to
-conjecture that the greater number of the children exposed, were
-murdered by their mothers. During the same period the number of deaths
-in the city was 2244, exceeding the births by 562. It has been found
-that for a long series of years the deaths have exceeded the births by
-about 550 a year.
-
-There is an old Spanish proverb which styles Lima the Paradise of women,
-the Purgatory of men, and the Inferno of asses; but during the time of
-the carnival all claims to be considered a Purgatory even, to say
-nothing of Paradise, to man or woman, disappear. One of the favorite
-amusements of the season is to besprinkle passers by, from the
-balconies, with water, of which the purity is by no means above
-suspicion. The colored population assume the license of rolling the
-passers who do not choose to pay for exemption, in the street gutters,
-which offer remarkable facilities for this pleasantry, as they are
-ill-paved, and unswept, with a stream of water running through them.
-These gutters are used by the lower classes of the Limanian señoras in a
-manner peculiar to that city; they are accustomed to wash in them the
-plates, glasses, and dishes from their dinner tables. Another favorite
-amusement during the carnival is to suspend from the balconies a strong
-bag filled with fragments of glass and pottery. This is attached to a
-rope of such a length as to suffer it to fall within a few inches of the
-heads of the passengers. This sack is drawn up into the balcony; and
-when a person who has been selected as a victim passes underneath, it is
-flung just over his head. The rope prevents it from falling upon him,
-but the deafening crash which ensues within a few inches of his ears, is
-nowise soothing to the nerves. This practice is regularly prohibited by
-the police, but all attempts to suppress it have proved as unavailing as
-the efforts to prevent the use of fire-crackers upon our own Fourth of
-July.
-
-There is a public lottery drawn every week in the Plaza Mayor, directly
-opposite the Cathedral, where a temporary platform is erected for the
-purpose. A ticket costs an eighth of a dollar, and the highest prize is
-1000 dollars. As the hour for drawing approaches, the square begins to
-fill with a motley crowd of men, women, and children; armed soldiers,
-shovel-hatted priests, barefoot monks, bright-eyed tapadas (so a Limeña
-with her manto drawn over her face is called), spurred cavaliers, and
-ragged negroes. The numbers are placed in the wheels, and drawn out by
-boys belonging to the foundling hospital. To every ticket is attached a
-motto, which is usually an invocation to some favorite saint to accord
-good luck to that ticket; and when the fortunate one is ascertained this
-motto is read aloud for the edification of the bystanders. The lottery
-belongs to a society called the "Beneficencia," by whom it is farmed
-out, and the profits appropriated to the support of hospitals and
-charitable institutions. It is the usual practice of the Limanians to
-purchase tickets regularly; the negroes in particular, as elsewhere, are
-particularly addicted to trying their luck. Instances are not uncommon
-in which slaves have purchased their freedom with prizes drawn in the
-lottery of the "Beneficencia." In a small chapel belonging to the church
-of St. Dominic, were formerly exhibited relics of St. Rose, the
-patroness of Lima. Among them was a pair of dice, with which it was
-gravely said that, when the fair saint was exhausted by prayer and
-penance, the Saviour would appear and revive her drooping spirits with a
-friendly game. Of late years these uncanonical relics are not exhibited,
-but Stevenson, the author of a standard work on South America, relates
-that they were shown to him in 1805, when he kissed them with as much
-devotion as he would have manifested to any other pair.
-
-Every morning at a quarter to nine o'clock, when the Host is elevated in
-the Cathedral, and in the evening at the hour of the Angelus, the great
-bell of the Cathedral tolls three measured strokes, which are repeated
-from all the many belfries of Lima. Every occupation is at once
-suspended, every hat is reverentially raised; every lip moves, uttering
-its whispered prayer. The evening prayer being ended, each one makes the
-sign of the cross, and bids the person next him _buenas
-noches_--"good-night." It is an act of courtesy to insist that one's
-neighbor shall take the precedence in the salutation; and he, not to be
-outdone in politeness, must waive the proffered honor. The courteous
-contest--"You say it," and "No, sir, you say it," is sometimes not a
-little amusing.
-
-Lima is surrounded by a wall, now in a state of extreme dilapidation,
-and altogether unavailable for any purposes of defense. It is built of
-adobes, and dates originally from 1685, though much of that now existing
-is of more recent construction. A fine stone bridge crosses the Rimac,
-uniting the city with the suburb of San Lazaro. It consists of six
-circular arches rising thirty-six feet from the surface of the water.
-The piers are of brick, resting upon stone foundations of great
-solidity, of which no better proof is needed than that they survived the
-earthquakes of 1687 and 1746, by which almost every edifice in Lima was
-shattered. The entrance to the bridge is through a broad arch crossing
-the street, used for carriages, with smaller arches on each side for
-foot-passengers. This archway is surmounted with turrets and spires, and
-presents an imposing appearance. In the parapets are semi-circular
-recesses provided with stone seats which furnish a favorite resort in
-summer evenings. The view from the bridge is of great beauty. Westward
-the eye follows the silvery course of the Rimac, its left bank lined
-with convents, and splendid mansions of the more wealthy Limanians. The
-view closes with the broad Pacific. In the opposite direction the view
-is bounded by the range of hills, beyond the avenues of the Alameda del
-Acho; while beyond and above all, when the shrouding vail of clouds is
-lifted, so as to permit the sight, are beheld the snowy summits of the
-distant Cordilleras. The bridge was built in 1640, at an expense of
-400,000 dollars, from designs by Villegas, an Augustin monk.
-
-The Cathedral is situated on the eastern side of the Plaza Mayor. The
-foundation stone was laid by Pizarro himself on the 18th of January,
-1534, twelve days after the choice of the site of the city. Ninety years
-after, the edifice was completed, and was solemnly dedicated on the 19th
-of October, 1625. It has a light, ornamented façade with large folding
-doors in the centre, and smaller ones upon each side. From each of the
-two corners rises an octagonal tower to the height of about two hundred
-feet, exclusive of the base, which is forty feet. These towers were
-thrown down by the great earthquake of 1746, by which almost the whole
-city was laid in ruins. They were rebuilt in 1800. The interior is
-singularly magnificent. The roof, which is beautifully paneled, rests
-upon arches supported by a double row of square stone pillars. The grand
-altar is adorned with seven Ionic columns, twelve feet in height, cased
-with pure silver, an inch and a half thick, and is surmounted with a
-massy crown of silver richly gilt. The tabernacle, seven feet high, is
-of wrought gold, studded with precious stones. On high festival days
-service is performed with a pomp and splendor not surpassed in any
-temple in Christendom. Many of the churches are ornamented with a
-profusion of silver even yet, though it is said that during the
-revolution a ton and a half of silver was taken in a single year from
-the ornaments of the churches, to supply the necessities of the state;
-yet such was the abundance with which the precious metal had been
-lavished, that this amount was hardly missed; a tale which would be
-incredible if related of any city other than the one which at a certain
-time paved with solid ingots of silver the streets through which a new
-viceroy was to make his entrance.
-
-In the convent of San Francisco, is a small chapel containing an image
-of the Virgin, called _del milagro_, "of the miracle." It is related
-that during the great earthquake of 1630, this image, which then stood
-over the porch of the church looking toward the street, turned
-completely round, so as to face the high altar, and raised her hands in
-the attitude of supplication, and then implored mercy for the city, and
-thus saved it from utter destruction. A monk who conducted a recent
-traveler over the convent, related to him this miracle, and very naïvely
-expressed his wonder that the Madonna did not repeat her gracious
-interposition at the time of the earthquake of 1746, when it was no less
-needed.
-
-The Oratorio de San Felipe Neri, formerly the convent of San Pedro, was
-the principal college of the Jesuits, who, at the time of their
-expulsion, possessed immense wealth. In 1773 a secret order was
-dispatched from the King of Spain, directing the viceroys to arrest all
-the Jesuits in the South American provinces, in a single night, and ship
-them to Spain. So secret was the order that the viceroy and those
-officers whose assistance was to be employed, were supposed to be the
-only ones who knew any thing of it. The viceregal council was summoned
-at 10 o'clock on the appointed night, and the royal order read to them.
-No one was allowed to leave the room, for fear that intelligence might
-be communicated to the Jesuits. At midnight the officers were sent to
-the convent to arrest the members of the order. The door was opened at
-the first summons, and the officer was conducted to the great hall of
-the convent, where all the brethren were assembled, each with a bag
-containing a few requisites for the voyage. So in all the other convents
-of the order. The same vessel which had conveyed the royal decree, had
-brought instructions from the Superior of the Jesuits in Madrid, who had
-gained intelligence of the secret, directed to the vicar-general at
-Lima, commanding him to be in readiness when the arrest should be made.
-The brethren were sent to Callao under a strong guard, and as soon as
-possible were put on shipboard. But when the eager officials made search
-for the immense wealth which was known to be in the treasury of the
-order in San Pedro, the keys of which were laid out in readiness for
-them in the apartment of the Superior, only a few thousand dollars were
-discovered. The rest had vanished like a vision. And to this day it has
-eluded the most vigilant search. An old negro, who was in the service of
-the convent, testified that for several nights he and his
-fellow-servants, with their eyes closely bandaged, were employed in
-conveying bags of treasure to the convent vaults, attended by two of the
-brethren of the order. He could give no clew to the place of
-concealment, except that he thought there was a subterranean spring near
-the spot.
-
-The palace of the Inquisition stands upon what was formerly called the
-_Plaza de la Inquisicion_, now the Square of Independence (_Plazuela de
-la Independencia_). Upon this same square were also situated the
-University and the Hospital of _La Caridad;_ whence it was sometimes
-styled the Square of the three Cardinal Virtues: the Inquisition
-typifying Faith; the University, Hope, and the Hospital, Charity. Few
-traces remain to denote the fearful uses to which the edifice of the
-Inquisition was devoted. It is now used in part as a storehouse for
-provisions, and in part as a prison. In the palmy days of Spanish
-dominion, Lima was the ecclesiastical metropolis of the whole Pacific
-coast of South America, and the Inquisition exercised its functions with
-a rigor hardly exceeded by that of Spain. When the Cortes abolished this
-tribunal in Spain and its dependencies, the building was thrown open to
-the populace, who speedily ransacked the apartments, and destroyed the
-implements of the Holy Office. Among those present was Stevenson, author
-of a standard work on South America, who has given a detailed account of
-the transaction. The customary array of racks, pillories, scourges,
-gags, thumbscrews, and other instruments of torture was found. The
-crucifix in the principal hall having been accidentally thrown down, it
-was discovered that the head was movable, and so arranged that a man
-concealed behind the curtains could cause it to move in token of assent
-or dissent. How many a trembling victim, overawed, confounded, and
-bewildered at seeing the movement of the lifeless head of the Redeemer,
-has confessed whatever the officials demanded, almost believing himself
-guilty of crimes he never committed. One article found was somewhat
-ludicrous. In one room was a large quantity of printed cotton
-handkerchiefs upon the centre of which was a pictorial representation of
-Religion, bearing a cross in one hand and a chalice in the other. The
-manufacturer had introduced these pious devices in the hope of
-facilitating the sale of his wares. But the Holy Office discovered gross
-impiety in the act of blowing the nose or spitting upon the symbol of
-the true faith; and to guard against temptation to such a profanation,
-had seized upon the whole consignment.
-
-On the north side of the Plaza Mayor stands an unsightly edifice, now
-occupied by courts of justice and various government offices. This was
-formerly the palace of the Viceroys of Peru. The principal apartment
-bore the name of the Hall of the Viceroys. Here were arranged forty-four
-panels, each destined to receive the full-length portrait of a viceroy,
-as he entered upon his government, commencing with Pizarro. The last of
-these panels had been filled by the portrait of Pezuela, who held the
-office at the time when the insurrection broke out which severed Peru
-from the Spanish dominion. There was no room in the hall for the
-portrait of another viceroy. A similar coincidence is recorded in
-Venetian history. The effigy of the Doge who was in office at the time
-when the revolution took place which overthrew the Venetian oligarchy,
-filled the last of the niches which had been constructed to receive the
-effigies of the successive magistrates.
-
-This is not the palace erected by Pizarro for himself. That stood on the
-opposite side of the square, and some remains of it are still shown in
-an obscure lane called the Mat-sellers' Alley. Here, on Sunday, the 26th
-of June, 1546, eleven and a half years from the time when the foundation
-of the City of the Kings was laid, its founder was assassinated. Pizarro
-had been warned that a plot was formed to assassinate him on his way to
-mass; but he took no further precaution against it than to absent
-himself from divine service that day. The conspirators then resolved to
-murder him in his own house. As they were crossing the Plaza one of them
-turned a little aside to avoid a pool of water. "What! afraid of wetting
-your feet, when you are to wade up to your knees in blood!" exclaimed
-the veteran Juan de Rada, the leader of the band. The dainty conspirator
-was ordered to return to his quarters as not worthy of a share in the
-enterprise. Pizarro was sitting with his friends after dinner, when the
-assassins rushed into the palace, through the open gate. The guests made
-their escape through the corridors, by climbing down into the gardens.
-Among them was Velasquez the Judge, who had boasted that Pizarro could
-receive no harm from traitors, while he "held in his hands the rod of
-justice." As Velasquez climbed down in making his escape, he needed both
-hands to aid his descent, and held his official wand in his mouth; thus
-verifying his boast, to the letter, if not in spirit. For a moment the
-assailants were held at bay by the attendants, but these were speedily
-dispatched. Pizarro, who had vainly attempted to assume his defensive
-armor, wrapping a cloak about his arm, sprang against the assassins,
-sword in hand, with the cry, "What ho, traitors! have ye come to kill
-me in mine own house?" Though more than three score years of age, he
-defended himself with desperate vigor, and had slain two of the
-assailants, when Rada, seizing one of his own comrades, flung him
-against Pizarro, who instantly ran him through the body. But while his
-weapon was thus entangled, Pizarro received a stab in the throat, and
-fell, and the swords of several of his enemies were at once sheathed in
-his body. He traced a cross with his finger in the blood upon the floor,
-and was in the act of bending down his head to kiss the symbol of his
-faith, when, with the name of "Jesu" upon his lips, he received a stroke
-which put an end to his life.
-
-No place upon the globe enjoys a climate more equable than that of Lima.
-Not only are there no sudden and violent alternations of temperature,
-but the variations of the seasons are hardly known. Extremes of heat and
-cold are never experienced. The temperature at noon, in the shade in an
-open room, never rises above 80, and never falls below 60 degrees. The
-rays of a vertical sun are intercepted by a thin canopy of mist, called
-_garuas_, which for a considerable portion of the year hang over the
-city, resembling in appearance the canopy of smoke above a large town.
-The winds blow almost constantly from points between the southwest and
-the southeast. When they come from the former quarter they are cooled by
-passing over the immense expanse of the Pacific; when from the latter
-they have swept the vast forests toward Brazil and the frozen ranges of
-the Cordilleras. A northerly wind alone, which is of unfrequent
-occurrence, produces an oppressive sensation of heat. During the year,
-there are about 45 days when the sun is entirely unclouded, about 190 in
-which it is visible during no part of the day, and the remainder are
-usually cloudy in the morning, and clear in the afternoon. A shower of
-rain is a thing altogether unknown, but during February and March, a few
-large straggling drops occasionally fall about five o'clock in the
-afternoon. The _garuas_ overhang the city almost without intermission
-from April to October. During June, July, and August there will not
-probably be a single unclouded day, and not more than three days in each
-month in which the sun can be seen at all. The gray canopy begins to
-lift in October, and gradually becomes thinner and thinner till April,
-when it again begins to gather. But this equable climate, apparently so
-desirable, is found to be productive of great physical lassitude, and to
-be unfavorable to health. It has been already noticed that the number of
-deaths constantly and greatly exceeds that of births. Among adults the
-most fatal disease is dysentery; then comes fever, usually intermittent;
-then consumption, inflammation of the lungs, and dropsy, the latter
-usually the result of intermittent fever.
-
-Another fearful compensation for the mildness of the elements above the
-surface of the earth, is found in the frequency of subterranean
-disturbances. On an average, there are 45 shocks of earthquakes in the
-course of a year. These usually occur in the months from October to
-January, and again in May and June. But at intervals of from 40 to 60
-years, the valley of the Rimac experiences an earthquake of far more
-desolating force, and by which Lima has several times been reduced to a
-heap of rubbish. The most destructive of these, since the European
-conquest were those of 1586, 1630, 1687, 1713, 1746, 1806--two in each
-completed century; so that the experience of the past gives us every
-reason to anticipate that many years will not elapse before Lima will
-once more become a mass of ruins.
-
-The most destructive of this regular series of great earthquakes was
-that of October 26, 1746. A little more than an hour before midnight,
-the earth began to tremble, and in three minutes from the time of the
-first shock, the city lay in ruins. Of more than 3000 houses, only 21
-escaped entire. The towers of the Cathedral were overthrown. The bridge
-across the Rimac was almost the only public work which escaped, and of
-that one arch, upon which stood an equestrian statue of Philip V., was
-destroyed. But if Lima was sorely shattered, Callao was annihilated. The
-sea receded suddenly from the shore, and as suddenly rolled back with
-irresistible force, overwhelming the devoted city, with all its
-inhabitants, 5000 in number. Of these, it is popularly related, that
-only one escaped. A Spanish corvette which lay at anchor, was lifted
-sheer over the walls of the fortress, and deposited a full mile inshore,
-at a spot still designated by a cross erected to commemorate the fact.
-All the other vessels in the harbor were sunk. The modern town of Callao
-stands at the distance of two miles from the site of the old town, of
-which not a vestige remains. It is popularly affirmed that in a clear
-day the ruins of the old town may still be seen beneath the waves; but
-travelers, whose imagination is not keener than their vision, have
-vainly strained their sight to discover a trace of the lost city.
-
-No familiarity with earthquakes is sufficient to do away with their
-terrors. The Limanian who has known them from childhood, no sooner feels
-the first shock, than he rushes from his apartment, with the cry of
-"_misericordia_" upon his trembling lips, no less than the foreigner who
-has never before witnessed these convulsive throes of nature. The moment
-a shock is felt the Cathedral bell begins to toll, all the belfries in
-Lima take up the sound, and summon the affrighted population to their
-devotions. A change has been wrought even in the form of church service,
-by the ever-present apprehension of these convulsions: the word "famine"
-being omitted and "earthquake" inserted among the evils from which
-deliverance is implored. The very architecture of Lima--its houses of a
-singly story--its plastered upper walls, its cane roofs, its towers and
-steeples of stuccoed wicker work--is a perpetual prayer against an evil
-which no human foresight can avoid, and no mortal power avert, and in
-respect to which the utmost that man can do, is in some degree to
-mitigate its consequences.
-
-
-
-
-ALLY SOMERS.--A TALE OF THE COAST-GUARD.
-
-
-When I joined the _Scorpion_ sloop of war, then (1810) on the West India
-station, there were a father and son among the crew whose names, as
-borne on the ship's books, were John Somers and John _Alice_ Somers. The
-oddity in this country of giving a boy a female baptismal name had been
-no doubt jestingly remarked upon by those who were aware of it, but with
-the sailors the lad passed as _Ally_ Somers. The father was approaching
-fifty, the son could not have been more than seventeen years of age. The
-elder Somers, who had attained to the rating of a boatswain, was a
-stern, hard, silent man, with a look as cold and clear as polished
-steel, and a cast-iron mouth, indicative of inflexible, indomitable
-firmness of will and resolution. The son, on the contrary, though
-somewhat resembling his father in outline of feature, had a mild,
-attractive, almost feminine aspect, and a slight graceful frame. I was
-not long in discovering that, obdurate and self-engrossed as the man
-appeared, the boy was really the idol-image in which his affections and
-his hopes were centred. His eye constantly followed the motions of the
-lad, and it appeared to be his unceasing aim and study to lighten the
-duties he had to perform, and to shield him from the rough usage to
-which youngsters in his position were generally subjected by the motley
-crews of those days. One day a strong instance in proof of this
-master-feeling occurred. Ally Somers some time previously, when on shore
-with a party dispatched to obtain a supply of water, had, during the
-temporary absence of the officer in command, been rather severely
-rope's-ended by one of the seamen for some trifling misconduct, and a
-few slight marks were left on the lad's back. The rage of the father,
-when informed of the circumstance, was extreme, and it was with
-difficulty that he was restrained from inflicting instant chastisement
-on the offender. An opportunity for partially wreaking his hoarded
-vengeance occurred about six weeks afterward, and it was eagerly
-embraced. The sailor who had ill-used young Somers was sentenced to
-receive two dozen lashes for drunkenness and insubordination. He was
-ordered to strip, placed at the gratings, and the punishment began.
-Somers the boatswain, iron or sour-tempered as he might be, was by no
-means harsh or cruel in his office, and his assistants, upon whom the
-revolting office of flogging usually devolved, influenced by him, were
-about the gentlest-handed boatswain's-mates I ever saw practice. On this
-occasion he was in another and a very different mood. Two blows only had
-been struck, when Somers, with an angry rebuke to the mate for not doing
-his duty, snatched the cat from his hand, and himself lashed the culprit
-with a ferocity so terribly effective, that Captain Boyle, a merciful
-and just officer, instantly remitted half the number of lashes, and the
-man was rescued from the unsparing hands of the vindictive boatswain.
-
-Other instances of the intensity of affection glowing within the stern
-man's breast for his comparatively weak and delicate boy manifested
-themselves. Once in action, when the lad, during a tumultuous and
-murderous struggle in beating off a determined attempt to carry the
-sloop by boarding, chanced to stumble on the slippery deck, he was
-overtaken before he could recover himself, and involved in the fierce
-assault which at the forecastle was momently successful. I was myself
-hotly engaged in another part of the fight; but attention being suddenly
-called to the forepart of the ship by the enemy's triumphant shouts, I
-glanced round just in time to see the boatswain leap, with the yell and
-bound of a tiger, into the _mêlée_, and strike right and left with such
-tremendous ferocity and power as instantly to check the advancing rush.
-Our men promptly rallied, and the deck was in a few minutes cleared of
-every living foe that had recently profaned it. Ally Somers, who had
-received a rather severe flesh wound, and fainted from loss of blood,
-was instantly caught up by his father, and carried with headlong
-impatience below. When the surgeon, after a brief look at the hurt,
-said, "There is no harm done, Somers," the high-strung nerves of the
-boatswain gave way, and he fell back upon a locker, temporarily
-prostrate and insensible from sudden revulsion of feeling. Several times
-I was an unintentional auditor of scraps of conversation between the two
-while the lad was on the sick-list, from which I gathered that Ally was
-the sole issue of a marriage which had left bitter memories in the mind
-of the father; but whether arising from the early death of his wife, or
-other causes, I did not ascertain. Somers was, it appeared a native of
-the west of England, and it was quite evident had received a much better
-education than usually falls to individuals of his class.
-
-At the close of the war Somers and his son were, with thousands of
-others, turned adrift from the royal service. Some months after my
-appointment to the command of the revenue-cutter, I chanced to meet the
-father in the village of Talton, about four miles out of Southampton, on
-the New Forest Road. He had, I found re-entered the navy, but chancing
-to receive a hurt by the falling of a heavy block on his right knee, had
-been invalided with a small pension, upon which he was now living at
-about a hundred yards from the spot where we had accidentally met. Ally,
-he informed me, was the skipper of a small craft, trading between
-Guernsey and Southampton. There was little change in the appearance of
-the man except that the crippled condition of his leg appeared to have
-had an effect the reverse of softening upon his stem and rugged aspect
-and temper. When paid off he was, I knew, entitled to a considerable sum
-in prize-money, the greater part of which he told me he had recently
-received.
-
-About two months after this meeting with the father I fell in with the
-son. I was strolling at about eleven in the forenoon along the front of
-the Southampton custom-house, when my eye fell upon a young man in a
-seaman's dress, busily engaged with three others in loading a cart with
-bundles of laths which had been landed shortly before from a small
-vessel alongside the quay. It was Ally Somers sure enough; and so much
-improved in looks since I last saw him, that but for a certain air of
-fragility--inherited probably from his mother--he might have been
-pronounced a handsome fine young fellow. The laths, upward of two
-hundred bundles, which he was so busily assisting to cart, he had
-brought from Guernsey, and were a very common importation from that
-island: Guernsey possessing the right of sending its own produce customs
-free to England, a slight duty, only tantamount to what the foreign
-timber of which the laths were made would have been liable to, was
-levied upon them, and this was ascertained by the proper officer simply
-measuring the length and girth of the bundles. This had been done, and
-the laths marked as "passed." It struck me that the manner of Ally
-Somers was greatly flurried and excited, and when he saw me approaching,
-evidently with an intention to accost him, this agitation perceptibly
-increased. He turned deadly pale, and absolutely trembled with
-ill-concealed apprehension. He was somewhat re-assured by my frank
-salutation; and after a few common-place inquiries I walked away,
-evidently to his great relief, and he with his sailors continued their
-eager work of loading the cart. I could not help suspecting that
-something was wrong, though I could not make up my mind to verify the
-surmise his perturbed and hurried manner excited. Once in a skirmish on
-shore his father, the boatswain, had saved my life by sending a timely
-bullet through the head of a huge negro who held me for the moment at
-his mercy. Besides I might be wrong after all, and I had no right to
-presume that the officer who had passed the laths had not made a
-sufficient examination of them. The flurry of the young man might arise
-from physical weakness and the severe labor he was performing in such
-hot weather. These reasons, or more truly these excuses for doing
-nothing, were passing through my brain, when I observed the hasty
-approach of the collector of customs himself toward the cart, followed
-by several of his subordinates. Young Somers saw him as quickly as I
-did, and the young man's first impulse, it was quite plain, was flight.
-A thought, no doubt, of the hopelessness of such an attempt arrested his
-steps, and he stood quaking with terror by the side of the cart, his
-right hand grasping for support at one of the wheel-spokes.
-
-"One of you lend me a knife," said the collector, addressing the
-officers of customs.
-
-A knife was quickly opened and handed to him: he severed the strong
-cords which bound one of the bundles of laths together, and they flew
-asunder, disclosing a long tin tube of considerable diameter, closely
-rammed with tobacco! All the other bundles contained a similar deposit;
-and so large was the quantity of the heavily-taxed weed thus
-unexpectedly made lawful prize of, that a profit, I was assured, of not
-less than £500 or £600 would have been made by the audacious smuggler
-had he succeeded in his bold and ingenious attempt. The ends of the
-bundles had been filled up with short pieces of lath, so that, except by
-the process now adopted, it was impossible to detect that the cargo was
-not _bonâ fide_ what it had been declared to be. The penalties to which
-Somers had rendered himself liable were immense, the vessel also was
-forfeited, and the unfortunate young man's liberty at the mercy of the
-crown. He looked the very picture of despair, and I felt assured that
-ruin, utter and complete, had fallen upon him.
-
-He was led off in custody, and had gone some dozen paces when he stopped
-shortly, appeared to make some request to the officers by whom he was
-escorted, and then turning round, intimated by a supplicatory gesture
-that he wished to speak to me. I drew near, and at my request the
-officers fell back out of hearing. He was so utterly prostrated by the
-calamity by which he had been so suddenly overtaken, that he could not
-for several moments speak intelligibly. I felt a good deal concerned for
-so mere a boy, and one too so entirely unfitted by temperament and nerve
-to carry through such desperate enterprises, or bear up against their
-failure.
-
-"This is a bad business," I said; "but the venture has not, I trust,
-been made with your own or your father's money?
-
-"Every penny of it," he replied, in a dry, fainting voice, "was our own.
-Father lent me all his prize-money, and we are both miserable beggars."
-
-"What in the name of madness could induce you to venture your all upon a
-single throw in so hazardous a game?"
-
-"I will tell you," he went on hurriedly to say in the same feeble and
-trembling tone; "I am not fitted for a sea-life--not strong, not hardy
-enough. I longed for a quiet, peaceful home ashore. A hope of one
-offered itself. I made the acquaintance of Richard Sylvester, a miller
-near Ealing. He is a good man, but griping as far as money is concerned.
-I formed an attachment for his eldest daughter Maria; and he consented
-to our union, and to taking me as a partner in his business, if I could
-pay down five hundred pounds. I was too eager to wait long; besides I
-thought that perhaps--but it boots not to speak of that now; I set more
-than life upon this cast; I have lost, and am now bankrupt of resource
-or hope! Will you break this news to my father, and see--" His remaining
-firmness gave way as the thought he would have uttered struggled to his
-lips, and the meek hearted young man burst into tears, and wept
-piteously like a girl. A number of persons were collecting round us, and
-I gently urged him to walk on to the custom-house. A few minutes
-afterward I left him there, with a promise to comply with his request
-without delay.
-
-I found John Somers at home, and had scarcely uttered twenty words when
-he jumped at once at the true conclusion.
-
-"Out with it, sir!" exclaimed the steel-nerved man. "But you need not; I
-see it all. Ally has failed--the tobacco has been seized--and he is in
-prison."
-
-Spite of himself his breath came thick and short, and he presently added
-with a fierce burst, while a glance of fire leaped from his eyes; "He
-has been betrayed, and I think I know by whom."
-
-"Your suspicion that he has been informed against is very likely
-correct, but you will, I think, have some difficulty in ascertaining by
-whom. The custom-house authorities are careful not to allow the names of
-their informants to leak through their office-doors."
-
-"I would find him were he hidden in the centre of the earth!" rejoined
-the ex-boatswain with another vengeful outcry which startled one like an
-explosion. "But," added the strong and fierce-willed man after a few
-moments' silence, "it's useless prating of the matter like a wench. We
-must part company at once. I thank you, sir, and will tell Ally you have
-called." I mentioned the other request made by his son. "That is a
-rotten plank to hold by," he said. "Ally's chance is over there, and it
-would be mere waste of time to call on the old man; his resolution is
-hard and unyielding as his own millstones. Maria Sylvester is gone with
-the five hundred pounds her father bargained for; and the girl's tears,
-if she shed any, will soon be dry. I warned Ally of the peril of
-steering his course in life by the deceptive light of woman's capricious
-smiles and vanities; but he, poor, flexile, gentle-minded boy, heeded me
-not. I may not longer delay: he will be anxious to see me. Good-day,
-sir."
-
-The consequence which I chiefly feared came to pass, even more speedily
-than I had apprehended. It being impossible to liquidate the penalties
-incurred, Ally Somers was imprisoned as a crown debtor; and at that
-period, whatever may be the case now, revenue penalties could not be got
-rid of by insolvent-court schedules. The prospect of an indefinite term
-of imprisonment, with other causes of grief and depression, broke down
-the always fragile health of the prisoner, and he died, ere yet his
-youth was well begun, after about six months' confinement only.
-
-The tidings were brought me by the old man himself. I was seated in the
-cabin of the _Rose_ cutter when it was announced that John Somers was
-alongside in a boat, and wished to see me. I directed that he should be
-allowed to come aboard, and presently the old man, with despair visible
-in every line of his countenance, in every glance of his restless,
-flaming eyes, entered the cabin.
-
-"I am come to tell you, sir, that Ally is dead."
-
-"I was somewhat prepared for this bad news, Mr. Somers," I answered.
-"It's hard upon you, but it should be bravely borne with."
-
-He laughed strangely. "To be sure, to be sure," he said, "that is wise
-counsel--very wise; but that which I want now more than wise counsel is
-ten pounds--ten pounds, which I shall never be able to repay."
-
-"Ten pounds!"
-
-"Yes: you may remember that I once saved your life. If that piece of
-service was worth the sum I have mentioned, you can now discharge the
-obligation. I have parted with every thing, and Ally's last prayer was
-to be buried beside his----Beside a grave, an early and untimely one,
-like his own, many miles away."
-
-"I understand; it is a natural and pious wish, and you shall have the
-money."
-
-"Thank you. The funeral over, I have but one more thing to do in life,
-and that is to assist you in securing Cocquerel while running one of his
-most valuable cargoes."
-
-"Cocquerel, the Guernseyman you mean?"
-
-"Ay, so he calls himself; but I fancy he at one time hailed from another
-port. He is the man who sold Ally's secret to the revenue-officers!"
-
-"Are you sure?"
-
-"As death! He was Ally's only confidant, and Ally's father is now in
-Cocquerel's confidence. It is but natural," added Somers, and a bitter,
-deadly sneer curled his ashy lips--"it is but natural, you know, that I
-should be eager to assist in pillaging a government which caged my son,
-and held him under its iron bars till life had fled. Cocquerel
-understands this, and trusts me fully; but that which he does _not_
-understand, know, or suspect," continued the fierce old man, sinking his
-voice to a whisper, and leaning forward with his face close to mine, "is
-that John Somers has found out _who_ it was that sold his boy's life!
-Did he know that, and know _me_ too, there would be sounder sleepers
-than he in these dark nights."
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"Nothing more, of course," he replied in a more checked and guarded
-tone, "than to retort the trick he played Ally something after his own
-fashion."
-
-"That is a fair revenge enough, and I'll not balk you. Now, then, for
-your plan."
-
-Various details were discussed, and it was settled that on that day-week
-Somers was again to communicate with me. He then took leave.
-
-At the appointed time Somers returned, and appeared to be in high but
-flighty spirits. Every thing was, he said, arranged, and success all but
-certain. His scheme was then canvassed and finally agreed upon, and he
-again left the vessel.
-
-The arrangement for the surprise and capture of Cocquerel was
-this:--That notorious smuggler intended running a large cargo on the
-coast of Dorsetshire, on the north of Portland, at a place where the
-cliffs are high, precipitous, and abrupt, and at that time very
-inefficiently watched by the shore-force. Near the spot selected is or
-was a kind of cavern worn by the action of the sea in the chalky
-stratum, which at neap-tides was partially dry, and at the time of our
-enterprise would effectually conceal a boat from the observation of any
-one who did not actually peer in directly at its mouth. Cocquerel was to
-leave Guernsey the next day in a large boat, with two lug-sails, but
-chiefly depending for speed upon its sweeps. It was calculated that he
-would reach his destination about midnight. Somers had undertaken the
-duty of shore-signalman, and if danger were apprehended, was to warn the
-smugglers that hawks were abroad by burning a blue-light. The manner of
-running the cargo was to be this:--Somers was provided with a windlass
-and sufficient length of rope, with a kind of rope-cradle at the end of
-it, in which a man could sit, or a couple of kegs be slung, to reach the
-boat. The windlass he was to secure firmly at the edge of the cliff, and
-two or three of the men having been drawn up, other windlasses were to
-be fixed, by means of which it was calculated that in about half an hour
-the entire cargo would be safely carried off by the carts which Somers
-had undertaken to have ready on the spot. The signal for our appearance
-on the scene of action, the positive old man persisted, should be that
-agreed upon for the warning of the smugglers--the sudden ignition of a
-blue-light. This did not seem the cleverest possible mode of procedure;
-but as the cavern in which we were to conceal ourselves was but a few
-yards northward of the spot marked out for the landing, and Somers
-promised he would only give the signal when the smugglers were in full
-work, I had little fear that, if other accidents did not capsize our
-scheme, they would be able to escape us.
-
-The next afternoon the largest boat belonging to the _Rose_ was fully
-manned; and leaving the cutter quietly at anchor in the Southampton
-river just above Calshot, we pulled with the tide--for there was but a
-light air, and that favorable for the smugglers, not for us--to our
-hiding-place, which we reached about eight o'clock in the evening.
-
-The hours crept very slowly and dismally away, amid the darkness and
-hoarse echoes and moanings of the cavern, into which the sea and wind,
-which were gradually rising, dashed and howled with much and increasing
-violence. Occasional peeps at my watch, by the light of a lantern
-carefully shaded seaward, warned us that ten, eleven, twelve, one
-o'clock had passed, without bringing the friends we so anxiously
-expected, and fears of ultimate disappointment were chilling us far more
-than the cold night-breeze, when a man in the bow of the boat said in a
-whisper that he could hear the dash of oars.
-
-We all instantly listened with eager attention; but it was not till we
-had brought the boat to the entrance of the opening that the man's
-assertion was verified. There it was clear enough: and the near
-approach of a large boat, with the regular jerk of the oars or sweeps,
-was distinctly audible. The loud, clear hail of their shore-signalman,
-answered by the "All right" of the smugglers, left no doubt that the
-expected prey was within our grasp; and I had a mind to pounce upon them
-at once, but was withheld by a promise which I had been obliged several
-times to repeat, that I would not under any circumstances do so till the
-signal-flame sent its light over the waters.
-
-As soon as the noise and bustle of laying in the sweeps, lowering the
-sails, and unstepping the masts, had subsided, we heard Somers hail the
-boat, and insist that the captain should come up before any of the
-others, as there was a difficulty about the carts which he alone could
-settle. The reply was a growl of assent, and we could hear by the click
-of the check to the cog-wheel of the windlass that Somers was paying out
-the rope. Presently Cocquerel was heard to get into the cradle I have
-spoken of, to which a line was fastened in order to steady his ascent
-from below. The order was given to turn away, and the renewed click,
-click, announced that he was ascending the face of the cliff. I could
-hardly comprehend this man[oe]uvre, which seemed to indicate the escape
-of the man we were the most anxious to secure, and the order to shove
-off was just on my lips when a powerful blue-light flamed suddenly
-forth, accompanied by a fierce but indistinct shout, or roar rather,
-from Somers. The men replied by a loud cheer, and we shot smartly out;
-but having, to avoid a line of reef, to row in a straight direction for
-about a cable's length, the smugglers, panic-stricken and bewildered as
-they were, had time to get way upon their lugger, and were plying their
-sweeps with desperate energy before the revenue-boat was fairly turned
-in direct pursuit. The frantic effort to escape was vain, and so was the
-still more frantic effort at resistance offered when we ran alongside.
-We did not hurt them much; one or two were knocked down by the sailors'
-brass-butted pistols; and after being secured, they had leisure to vent
-their rage in polyglot curses, part French, part English, and part
-Guernsey _patois_, and I to look round and see what had become of
-Cocquerel.
-
-The blue-light still shed a livid radiance all around, and to my
-inexpressible horror and dismay, I saw that the unfortunate man was
-suspended in the rope cradle, within about a fathom's length of the brow
-of the cliff, upon which Somers was standing and gazing at his victim
-with looks of demoniac rage and triumph. The deadly trap contrived by
-the inexorable old man was instantly apparent, and to Cocquerel's
-frenzied screams for help I replied by shouting to him to cut himself
-loose at once, as his only chance, for the barrel of a pistol gleamed
-distinctly in the hands of Somers.
-
-"Lieutenant Warneford," cried the exulting maniac--he was nothing
-less--"I have caught this Cocquerel nicely for you--got him swinging
-here in the prettiest cradle he was ever rocked in in his life--Ha! ha!
-ha!
-
-"Cut loose at once!" I again shouted; and the men, as terribly impressed
-as myself, with the horror of the wretched smuggler's position, swept
-the boat rapidly toward the spot. "Somers, if you shoot that man you
-shall die on the gallows."
-
-"Cut himself loose, do you say, lieutenant?" screamed Somers, heedless
-of my last observation. "He can't! He has no knife--ha! ha! ha! And if
-he had, this pistol would be swifter than that; but I'll cut him loose
-presently, never fear. Look here, Jacques Cocquerel," he continued
-laying himself flat down on the cliff, and stretching his right arm over
-it till the mouth of his pistol was within a yard of Cocquerel's head,
-"this contains payment in full for your kindness to Ally Somers--a debt
-which I could in no other manner completely repay."
-
-At this moment the blue-light suddenly expired, and we were involved in
-what by contrast was total darkness. We could still, however, hear the
-frantic laughter and exulting gibes of the merciless old man in answer
-to Cocquerel's shrieking appeals for mercy; and after a while, when the
-figures of the two men had become partially visible, we could
-distinguish the words, "One, two, three," followed by the report of a
-pistol, and a half minute afterward a dark body shot down the white face
-of the cliff, and disappeared beneath the waters!
-
-The body of Cocquerel never reappeared, and the only tidings I ever
-heard of Somers were contained in the following paragraph which I read
-some years afterward in the "Hampshire Telegraph," a journal at that
-time published at Portsmouth:
-
-"The body of an aged, wretched man was found frozen to death in the
-church-yard on Wednesday morning last, near two adjoining graves, one of
-which, that of Alice Maynard, recalls the painful circumstances
-connected with the sad story of the death of that ill-fated, and, as we
-believe, entirely innocent person. At the inquest holden on Friday, it
-was ascertained beyond a doubt that the deceased is John Maynard, who,
-after his wife's untimely death, assumed the name of Somers, and was, we
-believe, the person who shot a French smuggler, with whom he had
-quareled, at the back of the Isle of Wight, under somewhat peculiar
-circumstances, about seven years ago. He was buried in the grave that
-contains the body of his son, John Alice Maynard, which was interred
-there shortly before the commission of the homicide just alluded to.
-There has never been to our knowledge any regular investigation of that
-affair, but we believe that then, as before, Maynard's pistol was
-pointed by a frantic and causeless jealousy." [_Plymouth Paper._]
-
-There are several mistakes sufficiently obvious to the reader in this
-paragraph, but of the main fact that John Somers, _alias_ Maynard,
-perished as described in the Devonshire journal, there can be no
-reasonable doubt.
-
-
-
-
-MISERS.
-
-BY F. SOMNER MERRYWEATHER.
-
-
-Some years ago there lived in Marseilles an old man of the name of
-Guyot; he was known to every inhabitant, and every urchin in the streets
-could point him out as a niggard in his dealings, and a wretch of the
-utmost penury in his habits of life. From his boyhood, this old man had
-lived in the city of Marseilles; and, although the people treated him
-with scorn and disgust, nothing could induce him to leave it. When he
-walked the streets he was followed by a crowd of boys, who, hating him
-as a grasping miser, hooted him vociferously, insulted him with the
-coarsest epithets, and sometimes annoyed him by casting stones and filth
-at his person. There was no one to speak a kind word in his favor, no
-one to bestow an act of friendship, or a nod of recognition upon Guyot.
-He was regarded by all as an avaricious, griping old miser, whose whole
-life was devoted to the hoarding up of gold. At last this object of
-universal scorn died, and it was found that, by his parsimony, he had
-amassed an ample fortune. What was the surprise of his executors, on
-opening his will, to find these remarkable words: "Having observed, from
-my infancy, that the poor of Marseilles are ill-supplied with water,
-which can only be procured at a great price, I have cheerfully labored
-the whole of my life to procure for them this great blessing, and I
-direct that the whole of my property shall be expended in building an
-aqueduct for their use!"
-
-When it was proposed to build Bethlehem Hospital, many benevolent
-individuals volunteered to solicit contributions by calling upon the
-inhabitants of London. Two of these gentlemen went to a small house in
-an impoverished neighborhood; for the pence of the poor were solicited
-as well as the pounds of the rich. The door was open, and, as they drew
-nigh, they overheard an old man scolding his female servant for having
-thrown away a match, only one end of which had been used. Although so
-trivial a matter, the master appeared to be much enraged, and the
-collectors remained some time outside the door, before the old man had
-finished his angry lecture. When the tones of his voice were somewhat
-subdued, they entered, and, presenting themselves to this strict
-observer of frugality and saving, explained the object of their
-application; but they did not anticipate much success. The miser,
-however, for such he was reputed in the neighborhood, no sooner
-understood their object, than he opened a closet, and bringing forth a
-well-filled bag, counted therefrom four hundred guineas, which he
-presented to the astonished applicants. They expressed their surprise
-and thankfulness, and could not refrain from telling the old gentleman
-that they had overheard his quarrel with his domestic, and how little
-they expected, in consequence, to have met with such munificence from
-him. "Gentlemen," replied the old man, "your surprise is occasioned by
-my care of a thing of such little consequence: but I keep my house, and
-save my money in my own way; my parsimony enables me to bestow more
-liberally on charity. With regard to benevolent donations, you may
-always expect most from prudent people who keep their own accounts, and
-who pay attention to trifles."
-
-Audley was a celebrated miser of the time of the Stuarts; he amassed his
-wealth during the reign of the first Charles, and flourished amazingly
-under the protectorate of Cromwell. Audley was originally a clerk, with
-only six shillings a week salary, and yet out of this scanty sum he
-managed to save more than half. His dinner seldom cost him any thing,
-for he generally made some excuse to dine with his master's clients;
-and, as to his other meals, a crust of bread or a dry biscuit was
-regarded as fare sufficient after an ample dinner. In one circumstance
-he was somewhat different from other misers: he was clean, if not neat,
-in his outward appearance. But he was thus scrupulous in his apparel
-from principle; for Audley often asserted, that, to be thrifty, it was
-necessary to pay some respect to such matters. He was remarkably
-industrious, even when a young man. At an age when others were seeking
-pleasure, he was busy in lending out, and increasing his early savings.
-He was always ready to work when the usual hours of business were over,
-and would willingly sit up the whole night to obtain some trifling
-remuneration. He was never above soliciting trifles, and touching his
-hat to his master's clients. So rigid was he in his economy, and so
-usurious in his dealings, that in four years, during which time,
-however, he had never received more than a salary of six or eight
-shillings a week, he managed to save and amass five hundred pounds. The
-salary of the remaining years of his apprenticeship he sold for sixty
-pounds, and after a while, having made up six hundred pounds in all, he
-lent the whole to a nobleman for an annuity of ninety-six pounds for
-nineteen years, which annuity was secured upon property producing eight
-hundred a year. The nobleman soon died, and his heir neglected to pay
-the annuity. Audley had execution upon the property, and by legal
-trickery, in which he was well versed, he managed to obtain, in the way
-of fines and forfeitures, about four thousand pounds' profit upon his
-original six hundred. His master being one of the clerks of the Compter,
-Audley had many opportunities of practicing his disreputable cunning,
-and of obtaining vast sums by deluding insolvent debtors, and in
-deceiving their creditors. He would buy bad debts for a mere trifle, and
-afterward compound with the poor insolvent. One instance of his avarice
-and villainy is so curious, that we can not refrain from giving the
-anecdote to our readers. A tradesman, named Miller, unfortunately got
-into arrears with his merchant, whose name was White. Many fruitless
-applications were made for the debt, and at last Miller was sued by the
-merchant for the sum of two hundred pounds. He was unable to meet the
-demand, and was declared insolvent. Audley goes to White, and offers him
-forty pounds for the debt, which the merchant gladly accepts. He then
-goes to Miller, and undertakes to obtain his quittance of the debt for
-fifty pounds, upon condition that he entered into a bond to pay for the
-accommodation. The drowning man catches at a straw, and the insolvent,
-with many protestations of thanks, eagerly signs a contract which,
-without consideration, he regarded as one so light, and so easy in its
-terms, as to satisfy him that the promptings of benevolence and
-friendship could only actuate his voluntary benefactor. The contract
-was, that he should pay to Audley some time within twenty years from
-that time, one penny progressively doubled, on the first day of twenty
-consecutive months; and, in case he failed to fulfill these easy terms,
-he was to pay a fine of five hundred pounds. Thus acquitted of his debt
-of two hundred pounds, Miller arranged with the rest of his creditors,
-and again commenced business. Fortune turned, and he participated
-liberally in her smiles. Every month added largely to his trade, and at
-last he became firmly established. Two or three years after signing the
-almost forgotten contract, Miller was accosted one fine morning in
-October by old Audley, who politely demanded the first installment of
-the agreement. With a smile, and many renewed expressions of
-thankfulness, the hopeful tradesman paid his penny. On the first of the
-succeeding month, Audley again called, and demanded twopence, and was as
-politely satisfied as before. On the first of December, he received a
-groat; the first of February, one shilling and fourpence. Still Miller
-did not see through the artifice, but paid him with a gracious smile;
-perhaps, however, there was something cynical in the look of Audley as
-he left the shop this time, for the poor tradesman's suspicions were
-aroused, and he put his pen to paper, as he ought to have done years
-before, to ascertain the amount of his subsequent payments. Reader, what
-think you would have been the amount of the payment due on the first of
-the twentieth month? What sum, think ye, the little penny had become? No
-less than two thousand one hundred and eighty pounds! And what was the
-aggregate sum of all these twenty monthly payments? Why, the enormous
-sum of four thousand three hundred and sixty-six pounds, eleven
-shillings, and threepence? It sounds incredible; but, if you think it a
-fable, do as Miller did, and reckon for yourselves. Of course Miller
-refused the payment of his bond, and forfeited five hundred pounds by
-the benevolence and charity of the miser.
-
-Vandille is one of the most remarkable characters, as a miser, that is
-to be found among the eccentric biographies of France. His riches were
-immense, and his avarice and parsimony extreme. He hired a miserable
-garret in one of the most obscure parts of Paris, and paid a poor woman
-a sou a day to wait upon him. Excepting once a week, his diet was never
-varied; bread and milk for breakfast; the same for dinner, and the same
-for supper, all the week round. On a Sunday he ventured to indulge in a
-glass of sour wine, and he strove to satisfy the compunctions of
-conscience by bestowing, in charity, a farthing every Sabbath. This
-munificence, which incurred an expenditure of one shilling and a penny
-per annum, he carefully noted down; and just before his death he found,
-with some degree of regret, that during his life he had disbursed no
-less than forty-three shillings and fourpence. Forty-three shillings and
-fourpence! prodigious generosity for the richest man in France! Vandille
-had been a magistrate at Boulogne, and while in that office he partly
-maintained himself, free of cost, by constituting himself milk-taster
-general at the market. He would munch his scrap of bread, and wash it
-down with these gratuitous draughts. By such parsimonious artifices, and
-a most penurious course of life, he succeeded in amassing an enormous
-fortune, and was in a position to lend vast sums of money to the French
-government. When he had occasion to journey from Boulogne to Paris, he
-avoided the expence of coach-fare by proceeding on foot; and, lest he
-should be robbed, he never carried more than threepence in his pocket,
-although he had a distance of a hundred and thirty miles before him. If
-he found this sum insufficient, he would profess poverty, and beg from
-the passengers on the road a trifle to help him on. In the year 1735,
-Vandille, the miser, was worth nearly eight hundred thousand pounds! He
-used to boast that this vast accumulation sprang from a single shilling.
-The winter of the year 1734 had been very cold and bitter, and the miser
-felt inclined to purchase a little extra fuel in the summer time, to
-provide, to some extent, against the like severity in the ensuing
-winter. He heard a man pass the street with wood to sell; he haggled for
-an unconscionable time about the price, and at last completed his
-bargain, at the lowest possible rate. Avarice had made the miser
-dishonest, and he stole from the poor woodman several logs. In his
-eagerness to carry them away, and hide his ill-gotten store, he
-overheated his blood, and produced a fever. For the first time in his
-life, he sent for a surgeon. "I wish to be bled," said he; "what is your
-charge?" "Half a livre," was the reply. The demand was deemed
-extortionate, and the surgeon was dismissed. He then sent for an
-apothecary, but he was also considered too high; and he at last sent for
-a poor barber, who agreed to open the vein for threepence a time. "But,
-friend," said the cautious miser, "how often will it be requisite to
-bleed me?" "Three times," replied the barber. "Three times! and pray,
-what quantity of blood do you intend to take from me at each operation?"
-"About eight ounces each time," was the answer. "Let me see," said the
-possessor of three-quarters of a million, "that will be ninepence; too
-much; too much! I have determined to go a cheaper way to work; take the
-whole twenty-four ounces at once, and that will save me sixpence." The
-barber remonstrated, but the miser was firm; he was certain, he said,
-that the barber was only desirous to extort an extra sixpence, and he
-would not submit to such scandalous imposition. His vein was opened,
-and four-and-twenty ounces of blood were taken from him. In a few days,
-Vandille the miser was no more. The savings of his life, the wages of
-his vice and avarice, he left to the King of France.
-
-A similar anecdote is related of Sir William Smyth, of Bedfordshire. He
-was immensely rich, but most parsimonious and miserly in his habits. At
-seventy years of age he was entirely deprived of his sight, unable to
-gloat over his hoarded heaps of gold; this was a terrible affliction. He
-was persuaded by Taylor, the celebrated oculist, to be couched; who was,
-by agreement, to have sixty guineas if he restored his patient to any
-degree of sight. Taylor succeeded in his operation, and Sir William was
-enabled to read and write, without the aid of spectacles, during the
-rest of his life. But no sooner was his sight restored, than the baronet
-began to regret that his agreement had been for so large a sum; he felt
-no joy as others would have felt, but grieved and sighed over the loss
-of his sixty guineas! His thoughts were now how to cheat the oculist; he
-pretended that he had only a glimmering, and could see nothing
-distinctly; for which reason, the bandage on his eyes was continued a
-month longer than the usual time. Taylor was deceived by these
-misrepresentations, and agreed to compound the bargain, and accepted
-twenty guineas, instead of sixty. Yet Sir William was an old bachelor,
-and had no one to care or provide for. At the time Taylor attended him,
-he had a large estate, an immense sum of money in the stocks, and six
-thousand pounds in the house.
-
-Many years ago, there lived in a large, cheerless, and dilapidated old
-house in St. Petersburg, a wretched miser. He confined himself to one
-room, and left the rest of the rambling edifice to moulder into ruin; he
-cared for no comfort, and deprived himself even of those things which
-the poorest regard as the necessaries of life; he seldom lit a fire to
-repel the dampness, which hung on the walls of his solitary chamber, and
-a few worthless objects of furniture was all that the room contained.
-Yet to this singular being the Empress Catherine the Second owed a
-million of rubles. His cellar, it was said, contained casks full of
-gold, and packages of silver were stowed away in the dismal corners of
-his ruinous mansion. He was one of the richest men in Russia. He relied
-for the safety of his hoards upon the exertions of a huge mastiff, which
-he had trained to bark and howl throughout the night, to strike terror
-into the hearts of thieves. The miser outlived the dog; but he disliked
-to part with any portion of his treasure in the purchase of another cur,
-and he resolved to save his money by officiating as his own watch-dog.
-Every morning, and every evening, would that insane old man wander about
-his dismal habitation, barking and howling in imitation of his recent
-sentinel.
-
-A miser of the name of Foscue, who had amassed enormous wealth, by the
-most sordid parsimony, and the most discreditable extortion, was
-requested by the government to advance a sum of money, as a loan. The
-miser, to whom a fair interest was not inducement sufficiently strong to
-enable him to part with his treasured gold, declared his incapacity to
-meet this demand; he pleaded severe losses, and the utmost poverty.
-Fearing, however, that some of his neighbors, among whom he was very
-unpopular, would report his immense wealth to the government, he applied
-his ingenuity to discover some effectual way of hiding his gold, should
-they attempt to institute a search to ascertain the truth or falsehood
-of his plea. With great care and secrecy, he dug a deep cave in his
-cellar; to this receptacle for his treasure he descended by a ladder,
-and to the trap-door he attached a spring lock, so that, on shutting, it
-would fasten of itself. By-and-by the miser disappeared; inquiries were
-made; the house was searched; woods were explored, and the ponds were
-dragged; but no Foscue could they find; and gossips began to conclude
-that the miser had fled, with his gold, to some part where, by living
-incognito, he could be free from the hands of the government. Some time
-passed on; the house in which he had lived was sold, and workmen were
-busily employed in its repair. In the progress of their work they met
-with the door of the secret cave, with the key in the lock outside. They
-threw back the door, and descended with a light. The first object upon
-which the lamp was reflected was the ghostly body of Foscue the miser,
-and scattered around him were heavy bags of gold, and ponderous chests
-of untold treasure; a candlestick lay beside him on the floor. This
-worshiper of Mammon had gone into his cave, to pay his devoirs to his
-golden god, and became a sacrifice to his devotion!
-
-
-
-
-THE CRICKET.
-
-    "Far from all resort of mirth,
-    Save the cricket on the hearth."--_Milton._
-
-
-As it is very possible that many of our readers, who have listened with
-delight to the pleasant chirp of the cricket, may be ignorant of its
-habits and history, we purpose in the present article giving some
-account of them.
-
-The cricket belongs to the same family as the grasshopper and the
-locust, and all three are distinguished by having four wings, with the
-first pair leathery throughout, overlapping at the edges only, and
-concealing the second pair, which are folded lengthwise.
-
-There are three descriptions of cricket common in Great Britain--the
-house-cricket, the field-cricket, and the mole-cricket; of these the two
-first are very similar, but that the former is of a somewhat yellow
-shade, and the latter rather brown. Their heads are very large in
-proportion to their bodies, and are round. They are furnished with two
-large eyes and three small ones, of a light yellow color, placed rather
-high in their heads. The female has a hard, long spine at the extremity
-of her body, thick at the end, and composed of two sheaths, which
-contain two laminæ; this implement is made use of by the cricket to
-enable her to sink and deposit her eggs in the ground. Their hinder
-feet are much longer than the others, and serve them to leap. Unlike
-mice, crickets are oftenest to be found in new houses, as they like the
-damp, soft mortar, which saves them much trouble, when they feel
-inclined to burrow and mine between the joints of the bricks or stones,
-and to open communications from one room to another. They are very fond
-of warmth, and their favorite place of resort is by the kitchen fire. In
-the warm, long days of summer, however, they often venture out, and
-appear to enjoy the heat of the mid-day sun, as may be supposed from the
-heated atmosphere they inhabit. Crickets are a thirsty race, and,
-indeed, are so anxious to satisfy their inclination, that they are
-constantly found drowned in pans of water, milk, &c. They will even
-destroy damp clothes for the sake of their moisture, and woe be to the
-wet woolen stockings or aprons hung to dry within their reach. But the
-cricket is hungry as well as thirsty, and will eat voraciously any
-crumbs of bread, scummings of pots, &c., which happen to fall in their
-way.
-
-Crickets are, in general, very inactive insects, and seldom use their
-wings, except when they are about to migrate from one habitation to
-another. The time they generally select for an excursion of this kind is
-the dusk of a summer evening, when they fly out of the windows, and over
-the neighboring roofs, no one knows whither; and this habit will account
-for the sudden manner in which they often disappear from an old haunt,
-as well as for their equally mysterious appearance in a new one--why
-they left and why they came being equally unaccountable. When flying,
-they move in wavelike curves, like woodpeckers, opening and shutting
-their wings at every stroke; they are, therefore, always either rising
-or falling.
-
-They often increase to such a degree as to become a perfect nuisance in
-a house, and then they have to be destroyed, either by gunpowder being
-discharged into their haunts, or else by drowning, like wasps. Crickets
-are not fond of light; and on a candle being brought into a room where
-they are running about, they will just give two or three shrill chirps,
-as if to warn their companions of impending danger, and then quickly
-retreat to their lurking-holes for safety. Many strange ideas are
-entertained concerning these insects. Some imagine that they bring good
-luck to any house where they take up their abode, and will not on any
-account allow them to be killed. It is imagined, too, that they can
-prognosticate events, such as the death of a near relative, or the
-return of an absent lover. In Spain, crickets are held in such
-estimation, that they are kept in cages like birds.
-
-The field-cricket is such a shy and timid insect, that it is exceedingly
-difficult to make its acquaintance, as it cautiously rejects all
-advances, and prudently retires backward into its burrow, where it
-remains until it fancies that all danger is over. In France, children
-amuse themselves by hunting the field-cricket. This they do by putting
-into its hole an ant, secured by a long hair; and, as they slowly draw
-it out again, it is always followed by the hapless cricket, which
-ventures out to know the reason of this unwarrantable intrusion into its
-domicile. But Pliny tells us of a more easy way of capturing them. He
-says, that, if we thrust a long slender piece of stick into its burrow,
-the insect would immediately get on it for the purpose of discovering
-the cause of the disturbance. From this fact arose the old proverb,
-"_stultior grillo_," or "more foolish than a cricket," applied to any
-one who upon light grounds provokes his enemy, and falls into the snare
-laid to entrap him.
-
-It is strange that although the field-cricket is furnished with a
-curious apparatus of wings, and provided with long legs behind, and
-brawny thighs for leaping, like grasshoppers, yet they never make use of
-them when we would imagine they were most wanted, but suffer themselves
-to be captured without making any struggle for liberty, crawling along
-in a dull, shiftless manner. They satisfy their hunger with such herbs
-as happen to grow near their burrows, and rarely stir from home. They
-generally sit at the entrance of their caverns, and chirp away night and
-day, from the middle of May to the middle of July. And who does not love
-their pleasant song, shrill though it be? But harsh sounds are not
-necessarily disagreeable. Much depends on the association of ideas; and
-the summer song of the field-cricket recalls to us our childhood's days,
-long since, it may be, gone by, and fills our mind with happy thoughts
-of our wanderings in quest of them, when all nature appeared bright, and
-gay, and joyous. In very hot weather, the field-cricket is most
-vigorous, and then the hills echo their notes, while the evening breeze
-carries them to a great distance, making their melody heard in the
-stilly hours of night.
-
-About the 10th of March, the crickets appear at the mouth of their
-cells, which they then open for the approaching summer. At that time
-they are all in the pupa state, and have only the rudiments of wings,
-which lie under a skin or coat, which must be cast off before the insect
-arrives at maturity. This circumstance makes naturalists believe that
-they seldom live a second year. They cast their skins in April, and
-great quantities of them may be seen at the mouth of their cells. Their
-eggs are long and narrow, of a yellowish color, and covered with a very
-tough skin. The male field-cricket has a golden stripe across the
-shoulders of its shining coat. The female is of a brighter color, and,
-besides this, may be distinguished by the long, sword-shaped instrument
-for laying her eggs beforementioned.
-
-They always live singly, male or female, as the case may be; and when
-the males meet they fight fiercely. Once, when Mr. White of Selborne
-placed some in a stone wall, where he was anxious to have them settle,
-although they appeared distressed at being removed to a new habitation,
-yet the first that got possession of the chinks, seized any that
-intruded on them, with their powerful jaws, furnished with a row of
-serrated fangs, formed something like the shears of a lobster's claw.
-If field-crickets are confined in a paper cage, placed in the sun, and
-supplied with plants well moistened with water, they will thrive as well
-as in their more natural resorts, and become so merry and noisy as to be
-troublesome to any one sitting in the same room. Should the plants
-become dry, they will soon die.
-
-The mole-cricket, so called from the similarity of its habits to those
-of the mole, is an ugly, but very curious-looking insect. Unlike the
-house and field-cricket, its head is very small, and of an oblong form.
-But the chief peculiarity of the insect is its two forefeet or
-legs--screws, as they are sometimes not very inappropriately called.
-They are very large and flat, ending outwardly in four large serrated
-claws, and inwardly with only two. The four claws point somewhat
-obliquely outward, that being the direction in which the insect digs,
-throwing out the earth on each side of its course. How wonderfully does
-He, who "preserves both man and beast," provide for the wants of each
-insect! The breast of the field-cricket is formed of a thick, hard,
-horny substance, which is further strengthened within by a double
-framework of strong gristle, in front of the extremities of which the
-shoulder-blades of the arm are firmly pointed--a structure evidently
-intended to prevent the breast from being injured by the powerful
-muscular motion of the arms in digging.
-
-While the house and field-cricket rejoice in dry and sunny banks, or
-revel in the glowing heat of a kitchen-hearth, the mole-cricket haunts
-damp meadows and marshy grounds by the river banks, where they perform
-all their most curious functions. They burrow and work under ground,
-like the mole, but raise a ridge as they proceed, instead of throwing up
-hillocks. They are very fond of taking up their abode in gardens
-situated near canals, but they are always unwelcome visitors, as they
-disturb the walks in making their subterranean passages, and besides
-this, they devour whole beds of cabbage, legumes, and other vegetables,
-and sometimes even commit great ravages among flowers.
-
-The nest the female mole-cricket constructs for her eggs is exceedingly
-curious, and well repays the trouble of hunting for them. They are about
-the size of an egg, neatly smoothed and rounded inside. The way leading
-to them is through a variety of caverns and winding passages. Within the
-inner chamber, or nursery, are deposited about a hundred eggs, of a
-dirty yellow color, enveloped in a tough skin. Sometimes, however, they
-are of a lightish green, and translucent and gelatinous. They are not
-placed deep under ground, but near the surface, so as to be within the
-genial influence of the sun. The mound of fresh-moved earth, within
-which they are carefully deposited, looks very like that raised by ants.
-
-Like the eggs and young of most other insects those of the mole-cricket
-are exposed to depredation, especially from the black beetle, which
-burrows in similar localities. The anxious and provident mother,
-therefore, does not think her progeny secure, until she has defended
-her nest in the manner of a regularly fortified town, with ramparts,
-intrenchments, and covert-ways. "In some part of these defenses she
-posts herself as an advanced guard; and, should a beetle venture to
-intrude within her fortifications, she pounces on him, and, giving no
-quarter, kills him without mercy." When disturbed out of their nests,
-the mole-crickets appear dull and helpless; and during the day time they
-seldom use their wings, but, as night advances, they become very
-sprightly, and often wander on long excursions. When the weather is very
-fine, about the middle or end of April, as the evening draws on, they
-amuse themselves by making a low, dull, jarring noise, which is not very
-unlike the chattering of the fern-owl or goat-sucker, and which they
-continue without intermission for a long time.
-
-Anatomists tell us, that _all_ crickets, when carefully examined, are
-found to possess three stomachs; a small one; behind that, a large one,
-wrinkled and furrowed inside; and lower down, a third. They, therefore,
-think it not improbable that they chew the cud, or ruminate, like the
-cow and many other quadrupeds. They are not, however, satisfied entirely
-to subsist on vegetable diet, but prey upon underground insects, and
-sometimes even _undermine_ plants to get at them.
-
-Before taking leave of the cricket family, it may not be amiss to
-mention that, in various parts of England, they are called
-fern-crickets, churr-worms, and wee-churrs--all very appropriate names.
-
-
-
-
-THE RIGHT ONE.--A LESSON FOR LOVERS.
-
-
-"Do you know, with any certainty, in what language Adam declared his
-love to Eve?" inquired I, one day, from a philologist of my
-acquaintance. I put my question with so much earnestness, that he
-answered, quite seriously, "Yes, to be sure, he made his declaration of
-love in precisely the same language as that in which she accepted him."
-
-A profound answer! The only pity is, that I was not much wiser for it.
-But it is altogether a pity--a very great pity--that we know so little
-about the love-makings before the Flood. If any body could meet with a
-love-story of that date, it would have more freshness and novelty in it
-than can be found in any of our modern novels. And really that
-love-making in the morning of time, in the groves of Paradise, it must
-have been quite out of the common way!
-
-Ah, there breathes still in this world--several thousand years old
-though it be--a gentle gale of the spring-time of Paradise, through the
-life of every man, at the moment when he says, "I love! I am beloved!"
-
-Yes. It thrills through every happy son of Adam at the moment when he
-finds his Eve. But Adam himself was, in one respect, better off than any
-of his sons; for as there was only one Eve, he could make no mistake;
-neither could she, on her side, have either choice or repentance. But
-we--our name is Legion, and it is not easy for us to discover who, in
-the swarm of the children of Adam, is the right partner for us. If every
-one would seriously confess his experience in this respect, it would no
-doubt be both instructive and amusing. And as I know no other way in
-which I can instruct or amuse the world, I will now sincerely confess
-what mistakes I made when I searched for my Eve, whom I first adored in
-the person of Rose Ervan.
-
-I want words to describe her. She had fascinated me when I was but a
-cadet; she bewitched me before I had left the fourth class. And, of a
-truth, there never did exist a young lady more dangerous to a youth of
-lively imagination. Her coquetry was so natural, so mixed with goodness
-and childish grace, that it was impossible to regard it as any thing
-more than the most angelic innocence. At the Military Academy, I saw in
-my books her name and nothing besides. If I drew plans of fortifications
-and fortresses, Rose stood in the middle of my circles and quadrants,
-and the only line that I perceived clearly was the road that led to her
-home: the verdurous Greendale.
-
-Greendale was a cheerful place, where there were always guests and
-parties. And when the young people wished to have an excursion on the
-water, or any other entertainment, I it was who always planned every
-thing, and proposed it to the old baroness, the mother, for whom all the
-children entertained a very considerable and wholesome respect. On these
-occasions she used to say, "My dear sir, if you are with the children, I
-will permit it; for I trust to you, and I know that you will take care
-of them."
-
-"Yes, to be sure," I replied, though the truth was, I could not take
-care of myself; and never took notice of any body, or of any thing,
-excepting Rose.
-
-Many a one was fascinated just as I was fascinated; but I persuaded
-myself that I was the only lucky fellow who had her preference. Once I
-was terribly jealous. A certain Mr. T. (a professor of languages, I
-believe) came to Greendale, played, sung, and chattered French; and
-immediately Rose forgot me, to chat, and play, and sing with Mr. T.,
-making herself altogether as charming to him as she had hitherto been to
-me. I was desperate; went away over meadows and fields; saw neither
-hedges nor gates, stumbled into ditches and brooks, and reached home
-furious as a blunderbuss. But, behold! Mr. T. was gone, and Rose was
-again charming to me, and I was instantly as much under her fascination
-as ever, fully convinced that it was all my fault, and that I was a
-Turk, a monster--nay, quite an Othello of jealousy.
-
-After I had sighed and burned a considerable time, I made up my mind to
-proceed to the declaration of my love. It is true I was still very
-young, not three-and-twenty; but I thought myself quite old enough,
-being a lieutenant, the son of a father who always spoke of "my wife" as
-the greatest happiness of his life; besides which I had derived from my
-home the most beautiful impressions of domestic life. Hence I always
-represented to myself the highest good in the world under the image of
-"my wife."
-
-Having duly considered the various forms of love proposals, I went one
-fine day to Greendale, carrying with me, and near to my heart, a
-moss-rose in a garden-pot. The roads were execrable, and I was well-nigh
-shaken to pieces; but the smile of my beautiful Rose would, I was well
-assured, reward me for all my trouble. In imagination I heard myself
-constantly asseverating "I love you!" and heard her as constantly
-replying, "I love you!" As regarded our domestic establishment, I had
-not as yet thought as much about it as one of our favorite bards, who,
-before he married, provided himself with a cask of flour, a coffee-pot,
-and a frying-pan. I thought only of "a cottage and a heart." I saw
-around my cottage multitudes of roses, and within it, my Rose and
-myself. As for every thing else, all would be provided for by my
-excellent father.
-
-As soon as I arrived at Greendale, I found there two other gentlemen
-quite as much in love, and quite as much enchanted by the fascinating
-young lady, as I was. I pitied the unfortunate youths, because they had
-infatuated themselves with the hope of a happiness which no one, I
-believed, should aspire to but myself. We were all old acquaintances;
-and, as it is not our habit to put our light under a bushel, I was
-determined to give my rivals a little hint of my advantageous prospects.
-
-I raised, therefore, somewhat the vail which had concealed my modest
-confidence. But then came curious revelations! My rivals, animated by my
-example, lifted likewise the vail from their respective prospects; and,
-behold, we all three stood in precisely the same position. We all
-sighed; we all hoped; we all had _souvenirs_ that we kissed in secret;
-and they all were, as it were, serpents, and bit their own tails.
-
-At these unexpected revelations we all exclaimed, "Ah!" and left
-Greendale together, each going his own way. My father was a little
-surprised to see me return so soon.
-
-"My dear Constantine," said he, "I thought you intended to stay at
-Greendale a much longer time?"
-
-"Yes," I replied with a pensive air, taking at the same moment, a large
-mouthful of bread-and-butter; "yes; but I altered my mind when I got
-there."
-
-With this the conversation ended, and the charm was broken, once and
-forever. But with it was also broken one link out of the rosy time of my
-life. I began to regard all roses whether real or typified, with angry
-and suspicious looks, and to speak of the "illusions of life," and of
-"giving them up," &c., &c. I made a solemn vow with myself that the next
-object of my affections, the next choice I would make for "my wife,"
-should, in all respects, be the very reverse of the fascinating but
-traitorous Rose. I had been deceived, as I imagined, by the poetry of
-life; now I would keep to the sober prose.
-
-Ah! in what a noble form did my new ideal present herself to my eyes,
-as one evening I entered the hospitable saloon of Mrs. A., the wife of
-the celebrated judge. Abla, her daughter, stood ready to officiate at
-the tea table; her features, her figure, her manners were dignified and
-full of propriety. She looked like personified Truth, in
-contra-distinction to the fantastical bewitching Rose. I instantly fell
-in love with this beautiful image of Minerva, and thought of "my wife."
-
-Abla, however, seemed only to think of the tea, and looked neither to
-the left nor the right. When tea was poured into all the cups she slowly
-turned her splendid head, and I heard, at the same moment, a bass-voice
-exclaim, "Sundholm!"
-
-Ah, Heavens! was that her voice? Was it not rather that of the Angel of
-Judgment, who, in the middle of Mrs. A.'s evening party, summoned the
-sinner Sundholm to hear his final doom? I could have believed any thing
-rather than that such a voice could issue from the beautiful lips of
-Abla. But, when I beheld Sundholm advance to the tea-table and receive
-the tea-cups on his tray, I saw that the resounding bassoon-voice
-belonged to no other than the sweet lady whom I had just adored, and
-whom I had, in my heart, already called "my wife."
-
-It required some little time before I could reconcile my mind on this
-point. "Sundholm!" sounded awfully through my ears for many a long hour.
-I began to reason on the subject. If, said I, Nature has bestowed a
-bass-voice on this beautiful young lady, is it not noble and excellent
-of her not to try to conceal or embellish it? Does it not prove her love
-of truth; her strength of character, and her greatness of soul? How easy
-it would have been for her to cry "Sundholm!" in falsetto; but she would
-not be false, even in this! Not willing to assume a disguise, even for
-the sake of winning admiration, she summons Sundholm in the voice which
-God has given her. Is there not something grand in all this? One who
-thus calls out "Sundholm," will not deceive an honest fellow with hollow
-words or pretended feeling, but will play an open game with him, and let
-him understand the truth at once.
-
-I was introduced to the handsome Abla. There was no denying that the
-voice was not fine; but, when you were accustomed to it, it ceased to be
-so very disagreeable; besides which, her words were so simple and
-candid, and her face so beautiful, that by-and-by I was completely
-dazzled. My ears crept, as it were, into my eyes, and gazing, day after
-day, on Abla's faultless profile, I was conveyed at once into the realms
-of love, and, ravished by my sense of sight, asked Abla if she would be
-"my wife." She answered "Yes," with a force of utterance that nearly
-frightened me. We were betrothed, and the nearer I gazed on her fine
-profile the more I was satisfied. This, however, did not last very long.
-
-The period of betrothal is a very singular one; a period of halfness and
-incompleteness; nevertheless it is a sensible institution--when it does
-not continue too long. It is the prelude to a union that nothing but
-death _ought_ to dissolve; and, if it should appear impossible to
-execute harmoniously the duet which has now commenced, there is yet time
-to break it off calmly.
-
-The first discord that disturbed the duet between "my wife elect" and
-myself, was--not her deep voice, but, alas! precisely that very thing
-which, at first, had reconciled me to it; viz., her love of truth, or
-rather, I should say, her unmerciful way of uttering it.
-
-That we all are sinners in thought, word, and deed, is a matter of fact,
-and nobody was more willing to admit it than myself; but to be reminded
-of it every moment by one's best friend is by no means agreeable; nor
-does it do any good, especially when the plain-speaking friend never
-fancies himself, or herself, capable of sinning, or being faulty in the
-slightest degree. And the worst of it was, that apparently Abla had no
-faults. Ah! if she had had but one; or, better still, if she would but
-have admitted the possibility of it, then I should have been ready to
-throw myself at her feet! But she was in temper and in character as
-unimpeachable, as regular, as perfect, as she was in figure; she was so
-correct and proper, that, sinner as I was, it drove me into a rage. I
-felt that Abla's righteousness, and especially her mode of educating me,
-would, in time, make me a prodigious sinner; more particularly, as she
-would never yield to my wishes. It dawned upon me, before long, that her
-self-righteousness and want of charity to others was, indeed, one of the
-greatest conceivable faults. One fine day, therefore, I told her my
-mind, in good earnest terms, and the following duet occurred between us:
-
-_She._ I can not be otherwise than I am. If you do not like me, you can
-let it alone.
-
-_I._ If you will not be amiable toward me, I must cease to love you.
-
-_She._ That is of no consequence. I can go my own way by myself.
-
-_I._ So can I.
-
-_She._ Good-by, then, sir.
-
-_I._ Good-by, Miss A.
-
-"Thank Heaven, it was not too late!" thought I to myself, as, after my
-dismissal, I hastened to my little farm in the country. Although this
-abrupt termination of my second love affair caused but little pain to my
-heart, I felt considerable mortification, and a secret hostility sprung
-up in my soul toward the whole female sex. It happened, however, very
-luckily for me, that while I remained in this state of mind I met with
-one of my neighbors who was precisely in the same condition. He had been
-for some time divorced from a wife with whom he had lived very
-unhappily, and he drove about in his sulky, upon which he had had a
-motto inscribed in golden letters:
-
-    "It is better to be alone than to be ill-accompanied."
-
-The sentiment struck me as very excellent; and my neighbor and I often
-met, and agreed admirably in our abuse of the ladies. In the mean time,
-I occupied myself with books and agriculture.
-
-I have a great esteem for books, and I bow myself to the dust before
-learning, but, I know not how it is, further than that I can not go;
-esteem and veneration I feel, but assuredly my affections never grew in
-that soil. My love for agriculture took me forth into Nature, and Nature
-is lovely. But Adam was uneasy in Paradise, and did not wake to life and
-happiness until Eve came; and I, who did not possess a paradise, found
-myself very lonely and melancholy at "Stenbacke." Trees, after all, are
-wooden and dull things, when we crave for human sympathies; and echo,
-the voice of the rocks, is the most wearisome voice I know. No! heart to
-heart, eye to eye, that is the life; and to live together, a happy and
-healthy rural life, to work for the happiness of those who depend upon
-us--to regulate the home, to live, to think, to love, to rejoice
-together. Ah! "my wife" still stood vividly before my imagination.
-
-My experience in the realms of love had, however, made me suspicious. I
-feared that I could never be happy, according to my ideas of happiness,
-which my neighbor-friend characterized as "reposing in the shade of a
-pair of slippers." I was in low spirits; and accordingly, one day, after
-having finished the last of six dozen of cigars, and quarreled with my
-neighbor, who bored me with his everlasting and doleful tirades against
-the ladies, I set off in my own sulky to amuse myself by a drive.
-
-I drove a considerable distance to the house of an old friend, who had
-been a fellow-student with me at the Military College at Carlberg, and
-who had often invited me to visit him. He was now married, and was, in
-fact, the father of eight children. A large family, I thought, at first;
-but not one too many, said I to myself, after a single day spent in this
-family, which had given me the impression of a heaven upon earth.
-
-The mistress of the house, the wife and mother, was the silent soul of
-all. "It is she--it is she, who is my happiness!" said the fortunate
-husband; but she said, "It is he! it is he!"
-
-"My dear friend," said I to him one day, "how have you managed to be so
-happy in your marriage?"
-
-"Oh," replied he, smiling, "I have a secret to tell you."
-
-"A secret! for goodness sake, what is it?"
-
-"From my youth upward," he replied, "I have prayed God to give me a good
-wife."
-
-"Yes," thought I to myself, "that is it! Here am I unmarried, because I
-have never discovered this secret, without God's especial direction I
-may not venture to choose 'my wife.'"
-
-A younger sister of my friend's wife lived in the family. No one would
-have been attracted to her for her external charms, but a short time
-brought you completely under the spell of her kindness, the intellectual
-expression of her countenance, and the cheerful friendliness of her
-manners. All the household loved her; she was kind and amiable to all.
-To myself, however, it seemed that there was an exception: I thought her
-somewhat cold and distant. I was almost sorry when I perceived that I
-was grieved by this; a short time convinced me that I had really fallen
-in love with this young lady.
-
-There was, however, a great difference between this and my former love
-affairs. Formerly, I had permitted external charms to lead and blind me:
-now, on the contrary, I was attracted to the soul, and its beauty alone
-had captivated my heart. But why then was so excellent a soul so cold
-toward me?
-
-My friend said that it was because Maria had heard me represented as a
-fickle young fellow; one who amused himself with broken affiances.
-Righteous Heaven! was that indeed one of my faults? _I_ fickle! _I_, who
-felt myself created as a model of fidelity. It was impossible for me to
-bear patiently so cruel an injustice. No! as truly as my name was
-Constantine, must Maria do me justice.
-
-From that time, as she retired from me, so began I to walk after her. I
-was determined to convince her that I was not the fickle, inconstant
-being that I had been described. It was not, however, very easy to
-succeed in this, but at length I did succeed. After having put me to a
-trial, from which I came with flying colors, she accepted my proposals,
-and agreed to try me still further in--a union for life.
-
-During the period of our betrothal, she said several times, quite
-rapturously, "I am so glad to see that you also have faults; I feel now
-less humiliated, less unhappy from my own."
-
-This pleased me very much, and all the more as I perceived that Maria,
-while she showed me my faults with kindness, did not at all fondle her
-own.
-
-Our wedding-day was fixed; and I ordered a carriage for two persons.
-Company was invited, and Maria and I were married. Nothing can be more
-commonplace than all this, excepting, perhaps, it be, that my wife and I
-agreed to understand the ceremony in an earnest and real sense, and to
-live accordingly. The result has been, that now, after having been
-married five-and-twenty years (we celebrate our _silver nuptials_
-to-morrow), we love each other better, and are happier together than we
-were in the first hour of our union. We have, therefore, come to the
-conclusion, that unhappiness in marriage does not proceed from the
-indissolubility of marriage, as some say, but because the
-wedding-service is not realized in the marriage.
-
-Do not speak to me of the felicity of the honey-moon. It is but the
-cooing of doves! No! we must walk together along thorny paths, penetrate
-together the most hidden recesses of life, live together in pleasure and
-pain, in joy and in sorrow; must forgive and be forgiven; and afterward
-love better and love more. And as time goes on, something marvelous
-occurs; we become lovely to each other, although wrinkles furrow the
-cheek and forehead; and we become more youthful, though we add year to
-year. Then no longer have worldly troubles, misfortunes, and failings
-any power to dim the sun of our happiness, for it radiates from the eye
-and the heart of our friend; and when our earthly existence draws to
-its close, we feel indeed that our life and our love are eternal. And
-this supernatural feeling is quite natural after all, for the deeper and
-the more inwardly we penetrate into life, the more it opens in its depth
-of eternal beauty. Many happy husbands and wives will testify to this.
-
-But, observe, husband or wife! To qualify as such a witness, you must
-have been at some little pains to find--"the right one." Don't take the
-wrong one, inconsiderately.
-
-
-
-
-LORD BROUGHAM AS A JUDGE.
-
-
-Lord Brougham, as a judge, gave much greater satisfaction than was
-generally expected. It was thought that his constitutional precipitancy,
-joined to a deficiency of Chancery knowledge, would have incapacitated
-him for the important office. In this, however, people were mistaken. He
-was not so hot and hasty on the bench as he had been at the bar and in
-the senate--though his constitutional infirmities in this respect did
-occasionally show themselves even on the seat of justice. He carefully
-applied himself to the merits of every case which came before him, and
-soon showed with what rapidity he could acquire the quantity of Chancery
-knowledge requisite to enable him to discharge the duties of his office
-as judge, in at least a respectable manner.
-
-Perhaps no Lord Chancellor ever presided in Chancery who applied himself
-more assiduously and unremittingly to the discharge of the duties which
-devolved upon him, than did Lord Brougham. The amount of physical, not
-to speak of mental labor, he underwent during the greater part of his
-chancellorship was truly astonishing. For many consecutive months did he
-sit from ten till four o'clock in that court, hearing and disposing of
-the cases before it; and, on returning home from the House of Lords,
-after having sat four hours on the woolsack, he immediately applied all
-the energies of his mind to the then pending cases before the court. The
-best proof of this is to be found in the fact, that, though possessing,
-in a degree seldom equaled, and certainly never surpassed, the power of
-extemporaneous speaking, he wrote, on particular occasions, his
-judgments, and then read them in the court. I might also advert, in
-proof of Lord Brougham's extraordinary application to the duties of his
-office, to the fact of his having, in two or three years, got rid of the
-immense accumulation of arrear cases which were in the Court of Chancery
-when he was first intrusted with the great seal. It is not, however,
-necessary to allude particularly to this fact, as it is already so well
-known.
-
-Lord Brougham's irritable temper often led him, when Lord Chancellor,
-into squabbles with the counsel at the bar. The furious attack he made
-on Sir Edward Sugden must be fresh in the memory of every body. No
-person can justify that attack. It was as unwarrantable in principle as
-it was unseemly in a court of law, and especially as coming from the
-highest legal authority in the country. It is but due, however, to Lord
-Brougham to say, that he often regretted these unbecoming outbreaks of
-temper, and that he did so in this particular case. It consists with my
-own private knowledge that he afterward, on pretext of speaking on
-matters of public business, called Sir Edward one day into his private
-room, and made a most ample apology for the attack he had made on him.
-Sir Edward was generous enough to accept the apology, thus privately
-given, though the offense was a public one.
-
-I may here, however, mention that, during the interval between the
-attack and this apology, Lord Brougham, on several occasions, aggravated
-the outrage by further annoyances of Sir Edward while practicing before
-him. I do not say that such annoyances were intentional--possibly they
-may have been accidental--but, whichever way the fact lay, it is not to
-be wondered at if Sir Edward, in the peculiar circumstances in which he
-was placed, was predisposed to regard them as intentional. On one
-occasion, while the learned gentleman was pleading before his lordship
-in a very important cause, and just in the middle of what he conceived
-to be the most essential part of his speech, Lord Brougham suddenly
-threw back his head on his chair, and, closing both eyes, remained in
-that position for some time, as if he had been asleep. Sir Edward Sugden
-abruptly paused, waiting, no doubt, till his lordship should resume an
-attitude which would be more encouraging for him to proceed with his
-speech. On this, Lord Brougham suddenly started up from his reclining
-position, and, resuming that in which he usually sat when on the bench,
-apostrophized Sir Edward after the manner so peculiar to himself--"Go
-on, Sir Edward; proceed, Sir Edward; what's the cause of the stoppage?"
-
-"My lord," answered the latter, "I thought your lordship was not
-attending to my argument."
-
-"You have no right to think any such thing, Sir Edward; it's highly
-improper in you to do so; go on, if you please."
-
-Sir Edward resumed his speech, but had not addressed the court above two
-or three minutes, when Lord Brougham, addressing the officer, said, in
-his usual hasty manner, "Bring me some sheets of _letter_-paper
-directly."
-
-Of the folio size always used in court, his lordship had an abundant
-supply before him.
-
-"Yes, my lord," said the obedient officer, withdrawing for a moment to
-execute his lordship's commands. He returned in a few seconds, and
-placed some half-dozen sheets on the desk. His lordship immediately
-snatched up a pen, and commenced writing, as if he had been inditing a
-letter to some private friend. Sir Edward again paused in his address to
-the court, and leaned with his elbows on the bench before him, as if
-willing to wait patiently until his lordship should finish his
-epistolary business.
-
-"Sir Edward!" exclaimed the Lord Chancellor, in angry and ironical
-accents, after the learned gentleman had been silent for a few
-moments--"Sir Edward! pray, what's the matter now?"
-
-"I thought, my lord, that your lordship was temporarily engaged with
-some matter of your own."
-
-"Really, Sir Edward, this is beyond endurance."
-
-"I beg your lordship's pardon; but I thought your lordship was writing
-some private letter."
-
-"Nothing of the kind, Sir Edward," said his lordship, tartly; "nothing
-of the kind. I was taking a note of some points in your speech. See,
-would you like to look at it?" said he, sarcastically, at the same time
-holding out the sheet of paper toward Sir Edward.
-
-"Oh, not at all, your lordship; I do not doubt your lordship's word. I
-must have been under a mistake."
-
-Sir Edward again resumed; and Lord Brougham, throwing his head back on
-his chair, looked up toward the ceiling.
-
-Lord Brougham had a great horror of hearing the interminable speeches
-which some of the junior counsel were in the habit of making, after he
-conceived every thing had been said which could be said on the real
-merits of the case before the court by the gentlemen who preceded them.
-His hints to them to be brief on such occasions were sometimes extremely
-happy. I recollect that, after listening with the greatest attention to
-the speeches of two counsel on one side, from ten in the morning till
-half-past two, a third rose to address the court on the same side. His
-lordship was quite unprepared for this additional infliction, and
-exclaimed, "What, Mr. A----, are _you_ really going to speak on the same
-side?"
-
-"Yes, my lord; I mean to trespass on your lordship's attention for a
-short time."
-
-"Then," said his lordship, looking the orator significantly in the
-face--"then, Mr. A----, you had better cut your speech as short as
-possible, otherwise you must not be surprised if you see me dozing; for
-really this is more than human nature can endure."
-
-The youthful barrister took the hint; he kept closely to the point at
-issue--a thing very rarely done by barristers--and condensed his
-argument into a reasonable compass.
-
-
-
-
-THE HOUSEHOLD OF SIR THO^S. MORE.[3]
-
-[3] Continued from the September Number.
-
-LIBELLUS A MARGARETA MORE, QUINDECIM ANNOS NATA, CHELSEIÆ INCEPTVS
-
-"Nulla dies sine linea."
-
-
-                                                     April, 1534.
-
-A heavier charge than either of y^e above hath been got up, concerning
-the wicked woman of Kent, with whom they accuse him of having tampered,
-that, in her pretended revelations and rhapsodies, she might utter words
-against the king's divorce. His name hath, indeed, been put in the bill
-of attainder; but, out of favor, he hath been granted a private
-hearing, his judges being, the new archbishop, the new chancellor, his
-grace of Norfolk, and Master Cromwell.
-
-He tells us that they stuck not to y^e matter in hand, but began
-cunningly enow to sound him on y^e king's matters; and finding they
-could not shake him, did proceed to threats, which, he told 'em, might
-well enow scare children, but not him, and as to his having provoked his
-grace the king to sett forth in his book aught to dishonour and fetter a
-good Christian, his grace himself well knew the book was never shewn him
-save for verbal criticism when y^e subject matter was completed _by the
-makers of y^e same_, and that he had warned his grace not to express soe
-much submission to the pope. Whereupon they with great displeasure
-dismissed him, and he took boat for Chelsea with mine husband in such
-gay spiritts, that Will, not having been privy to what had passed,
-concluded his name to have beene struck out of y^e bill of attainder,
-and congratulated him thereupon soe soone as they came aland, saying, "I
-guess, father, all is well, seeing you thus merry."
-
-"It is indeed, son Roper," returns father steadilie, repeating
-thereupon, once or twice, this phrase, "All is well."
-
-Will, somehow mistrusting him, puts the matter to him agayn.
-
-"You are then, father, put out of the bill?"
-
-"Out of the bill, good fellow?" repeats father, stopping short in his
-walk, and regarding him with a smile that Will sayth was like to break
-his heart.... "Wouldst thou know, dear son, why I am so joyful? In good
-faith, I have given the devil a foul fall, for I have with those lords
-gone so far, as that without great shame I can ne'er go back. The first
-step, Will, is the worst, and that's taken."
-
-And so, to the house, with never another word, Will being smote at the
-heart.
-
-But, this forenoon, deare Will comes running in to me, with joy all
-bright, and tells me he hath just heard from Cromwell that father's name
-is in sooth struck out. Thereupon, we go together to him with the news.
-He taketh it thankfully, yet composedly, saying, as he lays his hand on
-my shoulder, "In faith, Meg, quod differtur non aufertur." Seeing me
-somewhat stricken and overborne, he sayth, "Come, let's leave good Will
-awhile to the company of his own select and profitable thoughts, and
-take a turn together by the water side."
-
-Then closing his book, which I marked was Plato's Phædon, he steps
-forthe with me into the garden, leaning on my shoulder, and pretty
-heavilie too. After a turn or two in silence, he lightens his pressure,
-and in a bland, peaceifying tone commences Horace his tenth ode, book
-second, and goes through the first fourteen or fifteen lines in a kind
-of lulling monotone; then takes another turn or two, ever looking at the
-Thames, and in a stronger voice begins his favorite
-
-    "Justum, ac tenacem propositi virum
-    Non civium ardor," etc.
-
-on to
-
-    "Impavidum ferient ruinæ;"
-
---and lets go his hold on me to extend his hand in fine, free action.
-Then, drawing me to him agayn, presentlie murmurs, "I reckon that the
-sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with y^e
-glory which shall be revealed in us.... Oh no, not worthy to be
-compared. I have lived; I have laboured; I have loved. I have lived in
-them I loved; laboured for them I loved; loved them for whom I laboured;
-my labour has not been in vayn. To love and to labour is the sum of
-living, and yet how manie think they live who neither labour nor love.
-Again, how manie labour and love, and yet are not loved; but I have
-beene loved, and my labour has not been in vayn. Now, the daye is far
-spent, and the night forecloseth, and the time draweth nigh when man
-resteth from his labours, even from his labours of love; but still he
-shall love and he shall live where the Spiritt sayth he shall rest from
-his labours, and where his works do follow him, for he entereth into
-rest through and to Him who is Life, and Light, and Love."
-
-Then looking stedfastlie at the Thames, "How quietlie," sayth he, "it
-flows on! This river, Meg, hath its origin from seven petty springs
-somewhither amongst y^e Gloucestershire hills, where they bubble forthe
-unnoted save by the herd and hind. Belike, they murmur over the pebbles
-prettily enough; but a great river, mark you, never murmurs. It murmured
-and babbled too, 'tis like, whilst only a brook, and brawled away as it
-widened and deepened and chafed agaynst obstacles, and here and there
-got a fall, and splashed and made much ado, but ever kept running on
-towards its end, still deepening and widening; and now towards the close
-of its course look you how swift and quiet it is, running mostly between
-flats, and with the dear blue heaven reflected in its face." ...
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-'Twas o' Wednesdaye was a week, we were quietly taking our dinner, when,
-after a loud and violent knocking at y^e outer door, in cometh a
-poursuivant, and summoneth father to appear next daye before y^e
-commissioners, to take y^e newly coined oath of supremacy. Mother utters
-a hasty cry, Bess turns white as death, but I, urged by I know not what
-suddain impulse to con the new comer's visage narrowly, did with
-eagerness exclaim, "Here's some jest of father's; 'tis only Dick
-Halliwell!"
-
-Whereupon, father burst out a laughing, hugged mother, called Bess a
-silly puss, and gave Halliwell a grout for 's payns. Now, while some
-were laughing, and others taking father prettie sharplie to task for soe
-rough a crank, I fell a muzing, what c^d be y^e drift of this, and could
-only surmize it mighte be to harden us beforehand, as 'twere, to what
-was sure to come at last. And the preapprehension of this so belaboured
-my alreadie o'erburthened spiritts, as that I was fayn to betake myself
-to y^e nurserie, and lose alle thought and reflection in my little
-Bill's prettie ways. And, this not answering, was forct to have recourse
-to prayer; then, leaving my closett, was able to return to y^e
-nurserie, and forget myselfe awhile in the mirth of the infants.
-
-Hearing voyces beneathe y^e lattice, I lookt forthe, and behelde his
-Grace of Norfolk (of late a strange guest) walking beneath y^e window in
-earnest converse with father, and, as they turned about, I hearde him
-say, "By the mass, master More, 'tis perilous striving with princes. I
-could wish you, as a friend, to incline to the king's pleasure; for,
-indignatio principis mors est."
-
-"Is that all?" says father; "why then there will be onlie this
-difference between your grace and me, that I shall die to-daye, and you
-to-morrow;"--which was the sum of what I caught.
-
-Next morning, we were breaking our fast with peacefullness of heart, on
-y^e principle that sufficient for the daye is the evill thereof, and
-there had beene a wordy war between our two factions of the Neri and
-Bianchi, Bess having defalked from y^e mancheteers on y^e ground that
-black bread sweetened the breath and settled the teeth, to the no small
-triumph of the cob-loaf party; while Daisy, persevering at her crusts,
-sayd "No, I can cleave to the rye bread as steddilie as anie among you,
-but 'tis vayn of father to maintain that it is as toothsome as a
-manchet, or that I eat it to whiten my teeth, for thereby he robs
-self-deniall of its grace."
-
-Father, strange to say, seemed taken at vantage, and was pausing for a
-retort, when Hobson coming in and whispering somewhat in his ear, he
-rose suddainlie and went forthe of the hall with him, putting his head
-back agayn to say, "Rest ye alle awhile where ye be," which we did,
-uneasilie enow. Anon he returns, brushing his beaver, and says calmlie,
-"Now, let's forthe to church," and clips mother's arme beneathe his owne
-and leads the way. We follow as soon as we can, and I, listing to him
-more than to y^e priest, did think I never hearde him make response more
-composedlie, nor sing more lustilie, by the which I founde myself in
-stouter heart. After prayers, he is shriven, after which he saunters
-back with us to the house, then brisklie turning on his heel, cries to
-my husband, "Now, Will, let's toward, lad," and claps the wicket after
-him, leaving us at t'other side without so much as casting back a
-parting look. Though he evermore had been advised to let us companie him
-to the boat, and there kiss him once and agayn or ever he went, I know
-not that I s^d have thoughte much of this, had not Daisy, looking after
-him keenly, exclaymed somewhat shortlie as she turned in doors, "I wish
-I had not uttered that quip about the cob-loaf."
-
-Lord, how heavilie sped y^e day! The house, too big now for its master's
-diminished retinue, had yet never hitherto seemed lonesome; but now a
-somewhat of dreary and dreadfull, inexpressible in words, invisible to
-the eye, but apprehended by the inner sense, filled the blank space alle
-about. For the first time, everie one seemed idle; not only disinclined
-for businesse, but as though there were something unseemlie in
-addressing one's self to it. There was nothing to cry about, nothing to
-talk over, and yet we alle stoode agaze at each other in groups, like
-the cattle under y^e trees when a storm is at hand. Mercy was the first
-to start off. I held her back and said, "What is to do?" She whispered,
-"Pray." I let her arm drop, but Bess at that instant comes up with
-cheeks as colourless as parchment. She sayth, "'Tis made out now. A
-poursuivant _de facto_ fetched him forthe this morning." We gave one
-deep, universal sigh; Mercy broke away, and I after her, to seek the
-same remedie, but alack, in vayn....
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-How large a debt we owe you, wise and holie men of old! How ye counsel
-us to patience, incite us to self-mastery, cheer us on to high emprize,
-temper in us the heat of youth, school our inexperience, calm the
-o'erwrought mind, allay the anguish of disappointment, cheat suspense,
-and master despair.... How much better and happier ye would make us, if
-we would but list your teaching!
-
-Bess hath fallen sick; no marvell. Everie one goeth heavilie. All joy is
-darkened; the mirthe of the house is gone.
-
-Will tells me, that as they pushed off from y^e stairs, father took him
-about the neck and whispered, "I thank our Lord, the field is won!"
-Sure, Regulus ne'er went forthe with higher self-devotion.
-
-Having declared his inabilitie to take y^e oath as it stoode, they bade
-him, Will tells me, take a turn in the garden while they administered it
-to sundrie others, thus affording him leisure for reconsideration. But
-they might as well have bidden the neap-tide turn before its hour. When
-called in agayn, he was as firm as ever, so was given in ward to y^e
-Abbot of Westminster till the king's grace was informed of the matter.
-And now, the fool's wise saying of vindictive Herodias came true, for
-'twas the king's mind to have mercy on his old servant, and tender him a
-qualifyed oath; but queen Anne, by her importunate clamours, did
-overrule his proper will, and at four days end, y^e full oath being
-agayn tendered and rejected, father was committed to y^e Tower. Oh,
-wicked woman, how could you?... Sure, you never loved a father....
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-In answer to our incessant applications throughout this last month past,
-mother hath at length obtayned access to dear father. She returned, her
-eyes nigh swollen to closing with weeping ... we crowded round about,
-burning for her report, but 'twas some time ere she coulde fetch breath
-or heart to give it us. At length Daisy, kissing her hand once and
-agayn, draws forthe a disjoynted tale, somewhat after this fashion.
-
-"Come, give over weeping, dearest mother; 'twill do neither him, you,
-nor us anie goode.... What was your first speech of him?"
-
-"Oh, my first speech, sweetheart, was, 'What, my goodness, Mr. More! I
-marvell how that you, who were always counted a wise man, s^d now soe
-play the fool as to lie here in this close, filthy prison, shut up with
-mice and rats, when you mighte be abroade and at your liberty, with y^e
-favour of king and council, and return to your righte fayr house, your
-books and gallery, and your wife, children, and household, if soe be you
-onlie woulde but do what the bishops and best learned of the realm have,
-without scruple, done alreadie.'"
-
-"And what sayd he, mother, to that?" ...
-
-"Why, then, sweetheart, he chucks me under the chin and sayeth, 'I
-prithee, good mistress Alice, to tell me one thing.' ... Soe then I say,
-'What thing?' Soe then he sayeth, 'Is not this house, sweetheart, as
-nigh heaven as mine own?' Soe then I jerk my head away and say
-'Tilly-valley! tilley-valley.'"
-
-Sayth Bess, "Sure, mother, that was cold comfort.... And what next?"
-
-"Why, then I said, 'Bone Deus, man! Bone Deus! will this gear never be
-left? Soe then he sayth, 'Well then, Mrs. Alice, if it be soe, 'tis
-mighty well, but, for my part, I see no greate reason why I shoulde much
-joy in my gay house, or in aniething belonging thereunto, when, if I
-shoulde be but seven years buried underground, and then arise and come
-thither agayn, I shoulde not fail to find some therein that woulde bid
-me get out of doors, and tell me 'twas none o' mine. What cause have I
-then, to care so greatlie for a house that woulde soe soone forget its
-master?'" ...
-
-"And then, mother? and then?"
-
-"Soe then, sweetheart, he sayth, 'Come, tell me, Mrs. Alice, how long do
-you think we might reckon on living to enjoy it?' Soe I say, 'Some
-twenty years, forsooth.' 'In faith,' says he, 'had you said some
-thousand years, it had beene somewhat; and yet he were a very bad
-merchant that woulde put himselfe in danger to lose eternity for a
-thousand years ... how much the rather if we are not sure to enjoy it
-one day to an end?' Soe then he puts me off with questions, How is Will?
-and Daisy? and Rupert? and this one? and t'other one? and the peacocks?
-and rabbits? and have we elected a new king of the cob-loaf yet? and has
-Tom found his hoop? and is y^e hasp of the buttery-hatch mended yet? and
-how goes the court? and what was the text o' Sunday? and have I
-practised the viol? and how are we off for money? and why can't he see
-Meg? Then he asks for this book and t'other book, but I've forgot their
-names, and he sayth he's kept mighty short of meat, though 'tis little
-he eats, but his man John a Wood is gay an' hungry, and 'tis worth a
-world to see him at a salt herring. Then he gives me counsell of this
-and that, and puts his arm about me and says, 'Come, let us pray;' but
-while he kept praying for one and t'other, I kept a-counting of his gray
-hairs; he'd none a month agone. And we're scarce off our knees, when I'm
-fetched away; and I say, 'When will you change your note, and act like a
-wise man?' and he sayth, 'When? when!' looking very profound; 'why, ...
-when gorse is out of blossom and kissing out of fashion.' Soe puts me
-forthe by the shoulders with a laugh, calling after me, 'Remember me
-over and over agayn to them alle, and let me se Meg.'"
-
-... I feel as if a string were tied tight about my heart. Methinketh
-'twill burst if we goe on long soe.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-He hath writ us a few lines with a coal, ending with "Sursum corda, dear
-children! up with your hearts." The bearer was dear Bonvisi.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The Lord begins to cut us short. We are now on very meagre commons, dear
-mother being obliged to pay fifteen shillings a-week for the board, poor
-as it is, of father and his servant. She hath parted with her velvet
-gown, embroidered overthwart, to my lady Sand's woman. Her mantle edged
-with coney went long ago.
-
-But we lose not heart; I think mine is becoming annealed in the furnace,
-and will not now break. I have writ somewhat after this fashion to
-him.... "What do you think, most dear father, doth comfort us at
-Chelsea, during this your absence? Surelie, the remembrance of your
-manner of life among us, your holy conversation, your wholesome
-counsells, your examples of virtue, of which there is hope that they do
-not onlie persevere with you, but that, by God's grace, they are much
-increast."
-
-I weary to see him.... Yes, we shall meet in heaven, but how long first,
-oh Lord? how long?
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Now that I've come back, let me seek to think, to remember.... Sure, my
-head will clear by-and-by? Strange, that feeling shoulde have the
-masterdom of thought and memory, in matters it is most concerned to
-retayn.
-
-... I minded to put y^e haircloth and cord under my farthingale, and one
-or two of y^e smaller books in my pouch, as alsoe some sweets and
-suckets such as he was used to love. Will and Bonvisi were awaiting for
-me, and deare Bess, putting forthe her head from her chamber door, cries
-piteously, "Tell him, dear Meg, tell him ... 'twas never soe sad to me
-to be sick ... and that I hope ... I pray ... the time may come ..."
-then falls back swooning into Dancey's arms, whom I leave crying
-heartilie over her, and hasten below to receive the confused medley of
-messages sent by every other member of y^e house. For mine owne part, I
-was in such a tremulous succussion as to be scarce fitt to stand or goe,
-but time and the tide will noe man bide, and, once having taken boat,
-the cool river air allayed my fevered spiritts; onlie I coulde not for
-awhile get ridd of y^e impression of poor Dancey crying over Bess in her
-deliquium.
-
-I think none o' the three opened our lips before we reached Lambeth,
-save, in y^e Reach, Will cried to y^e steersman, "Look you run us not
-aground," in a sharper voyce than I e'er heard from him. After passing
-y^e Archbishop's palace, whereon I gazed full ruefullie, good Bonvisi
-beganne to mention some rhymes he had founde writ with a diamond on one
-of his window-panes at Crosby House, and would know were they father's?
-and was't y^e chamber father had used to sleep in? I tolde him it was,
-but knew nought of y^e distich, though 'twas like enow to be his. And
-thence he went on to this and that, how that father's cheerfulle, funny
-humour never forsook him, nor his brave heart quelled, instancing his
-fearlesse passage through the Traitor's Gate, asking his neighbours
-whether _his_ gait was that of a traditor; and, on being sued by the
-porter for his upper garment, giving him his _cap_, which he sayd was
-uppermost. And other such quips and passages, which I scarce noted nor
-smiled at, soe sorry was I of cheer.
-
-At length we stayed rowing: Will lifted me out, kissed me, heartened me
-up, and, indeede, I was in better heart then, having been quietlie in
-prayer a good while. After some few forms, we were led through sundrie
-turns and passages, and, or ever I was aware, I found myselfe quit of my
-companions, and in father's arms.
-
-We both cried a little at first; I wonder I wept noe more, but strength
-was given me in that hour. As soone as I coulde, I lookt him in the
-face, and he lookt at me, and I was beginning to note his hollow cheeks,
-when he sayd, "Why, Meg, you are getting freckled:" soe that made us
-bothe laugh. He sayd, "You shoulde get some freckle-water of the lady
-that sent me here; depend on it, she hath washes and tinctures in
-plenty; and after all, Meg, she'll come to the same end at last, and be
-as the lady all bone and skin, whose ghastlie legend used to scare thee
-soe when thou wert a child. Don't tell that story to thy children;
-'twill hamper 'em with unsavory images of death. Tell them of heavenlie
-hosts a-waiting to carry off good men's souls in fire-bright chariots,
-with horses of the sun, to a land where they shall never more be
-surbated and weary, but walk on cool, springy turf and among myrtle
-trees, and eat fruits that shall heal while they delight them, and drink
-the coldest of cold water, fresh from y^e river of life, and have space
-to stretch themselves, and bathe, and leap, and run, and, whichever way
-they look, meet Christ's eyes smiling on them. Lord, Meg, who would
-live, that could die? One mighte as lief be an angel shut up in a
-nutshell as bide here. Fancy how gladsome the sweet spirit would be to
-have the shell cracked! no matter by whom; the king, or king's
-mistress.... Let her dainty foot but set him free, he'd say, 'For this
-release, much thanks.' ... And how goes the court, Meg?"
-
-"In faith, father, never better.... There is nothing else there, I hear,
-but dancing and disporting."
-
-"Never better, child, sayst thou? Alas, Meg, it pitieth me to consider
-what misery, poor soul, she will shortlie come to. These dances of hers
-will prove such dances that she will spurn our heads off like footballs;
-but 'twill not be long ere her head will dance the like dance. Mark you,
-Meg, a man that restraineth not his passions hath always something cruel
-in his nature, and if there be a woman toward, she is sure to suffer
-heaviest for it, first or last.... Seek scripture precedent for't ...
-you'll find it as I say. Stony as death, cruel as the grave. Those
-Pharisees that were, to a man, convicted of sin, yet haled a sinning
-woman before the Lord, and woulde fain have seen the dogs lick up her
-blood. When they lick up mine, deare Meg, let not your heart be
-troubled, even though they shoulde hale thee to London Bridge to see my
-head stuck on a pole. Think, most dear'st, I shall then have more reason
-to weep for thee than thou for me. But there's noe weeping in heaven,
-and bear in mind, Meg, distinctlie, that if they send me thither, 'twill
-be for obeying the law of God rather than of men. And after alle, we
-live not in the bloody, barbarous old times of crucifyings and flayings,
-and immersings in cauldrons of boiling oil. One stroke, and the affair's
-done. A clumsy chirurgeon would be longer extracting a tooth. We have
-oft agreed that the little birds struck down by the kite and hawk suffer
-less than if they were reserved to a naturall death. There is one
-sensible difference, indeed, between us. In our cases, preparation is
-a-wanting."
-
-Hereon, I minded me to slip off y^e haircloth and rope, and give the
-same to him, along with the books and suckets, all which he hid away
-privatelie, making merry at the last.
-
-"'Twoulde tell well before the council," quoth he, "that on searching
-the prison-cell of Sir Thomas More, there was founde, flagitiouslie and
-mysteriouslie laid up ... a piece of barley-sugar!"
-
-Then we talked over sundry home-matters; and anon, having now both of us
-attayned unto an equable and chastened serenitie of mind, which needed
-not any false shows of mirth to hide y^e naturall complexion of, he
-sayth, "I believe, Meg, they that have put me here ween they have done
-me a high displeasure; but I assure thee on my faith, mine own good
-daughter, that if it had not beene for my wife, and you, my dear good
-children, I would faine have beene closed up, long ere this, in as
-straight a room, and straighter too."
-
-Thereon, he shewed me how illegal was his imprisonment, there being noe
-statute to authorize the imposition of y^e oath, and he delivered
-himself, with some displeasure, agaynst the king's ill counsellors.
-
-"And surelie, Meg," quoth he, "'tis pitie that anie Christian prince
-shoulde, by a flexible council readie to follow his affections, and by a
-weak clergy lacking grace to stand constantly to the truth as they
-learned it, be with flattery so constantly abused. The lotus fruit
-fabled by the ancients, which made them that ate it lose alle relish for
-the daylie bread of their own homes, was flattery, Meg, as I take it,
-and nothing else. And what less was the song of the Syrens, agaynst
-which Ulysses made the sailors stop their ears, and which he, with all
-his wisdom, coulde not listen to without struggling to be unbound from
-the mast? Even praise, Meg, which, moderately given, may animate and
-cheer forward the noblest minds, yet too lavishly bestowed, will
-decrease and palsy their strength, e'en as an overdose of the most
-generous and sprightlie medicine may prove mortiferous. But flattery is
-noe medicine, but a rank poison, which hath slayn kings, yea, and mighty
-kings; and they who love it, the Lord knoweth afar off; knoweth
-distantlie, has no care to know intimatelie, for they are none of his."
-
-Thus we went on, from one theme to another, till methinketh a heavenlie
-light seemed to shine alle about us like as when the angel entered the
-prison of Peter. I hung upon everie word and thought that issued from
-his lips, and drank them in as thirsty land sucks up the tender rain....
-Had the angel of death at that hour come to fetch both of us away, I
-woulde not have sayd him nay, I was soe passivelie, so intenselie happy.
-At length, as time wore on, and I knew I shoulde soone be fetcht forthe,
-I coulde not but wish I had the clew to some secret passage or
-subterreneal, of which there were doubtless plenty in the thick walls,
-whereby we might steal off together. Father made answer, "Wishes never
-filled a sack. I make it my businesse, Meg, to wish as little as I can,
-except that I were better and wiser. You fancy these four walls
-lonesome; how oft, dost thou suppose, I here receive Plato and Socrates,
-and this and that holy saint and martyr? My jailors can noe more keep
-them out than they can exclude the sunbeams. Thou knowest, Jesus stood
-among his disciples when the doors were shut. I am not more lonely than
-St. Anthony in his cave, and I have a divine light e'en here, whereby to
-con the lesson 'God is love.' The futility of our enemies' efforts to
-make us miserable was never more stronglie proven to me than when I was
-a mere boy in Cardinal Morton's service. Having unwittinglie angered one
-of his chaplains, a choleric and even malignant-spirited man, he did, of
-his owne authoritie, shut me up for some hours in a certayn damp vault,
-which, to a lad afeard of ghosts and devilish apparitions, would have
-been fearsome enow. Howbeit, I there cast myself on the ground with my
-back sett agaynst the wall, and mine arm behind my head, this fashion
-... and did then and there, by reason of a young heart, quiet
-conscience, and quick phansy, conjure up such a lively picture of the
-queen o' the fairies' court, and alle the sayings and doings therein,
-that never was I more sorry than when my gaoler let me goe free, and
-bade me rise up and be doing. In place, therefore, my daughter, of
-thinking of me in thy night watches as beating my wings agaynst my cage
-bars, trust that God comes to look in upon me without knocking or
-bell-ringing. Often in spiritt I am with you alle; in the chapel, in the
-hall, in the garden; now in the hayfield, with my head on thy lap, now
-on the river, with Will and Rupert at the oar. You see me not about your
-path, you won't see my disembodied spiritt beside you hereafter, but it
-may be close upon you once and agayn for alle that: maybe, at times when
-you have prayed with most passion, or suffered with most patience, or
-performed my hests with most exactness, or remembered my care of you
-with most affection. And now, good speed, good Meg, I hear the key turn
-in the door.... This kiss for thy mother, this for Bess, this for Cecil,
-... this and this for my whole school. Keep dry eyes and a hopeful
-heart; and reflect that nought but unpardoned sin should make us weep
-forever."
-
-
-
-
-BOOKWORMS.
-
-"Like caterpillar, eating his way in silence!"
-
-
-The natural history of the bookworm has escaped the observation of
-Cuvier. Yet the bookworm shares his habitat in common with the student,
-and no doubt has often rubbed shoulder with the naturalist. The haunts
-of the bookworm are the national libraries, the old booksellers' shops
-about Holborn and Great Queen-street, Long-acre, and the bookstalls
-generally. One will be sure to meet with him--a weary, worn, and faded
-personage--in the reading-room of the Museum. The goodly morocco-bound
-tome in folio is the bookworm's _bonne bouche_. Its scented binding and
-odorous pages form the choicest of his meals. The atmosphere of the
-national reading-room is close and redolent of strange smells; the
-bookworm, however, enjoys it with the readier zest. Worm-like, he is a
-reproducer, and capable of spinning words by the myriad, which he
-deposits upon the surfaces of foolscap.
-
-The bookworm's natural disposition is gentle; but his temper is
-irritable. His nature is indolent. He loves to doze over a Harleian
-manuscript, or a dusty Elzevir or black letter. It is legendary that his
-mission upon earth is occult--_videlicet_, to discover those lost
-treasures the Sibylline Leaves, supposed to be embedded and fossilized
-somewhere in the forest of leaves monastic. The hiding-place of the
-Sibyl's precious autograph, albeit, remains, like the philosopher's
-stone, a secret yet.
-
-It is not intended in this paper to be satirical upon bibliographical
-pursuits. On this point our motto is the text recorded by the learned
-and indefatigable Mr. Lowdes, in his "Manual." "Mankind are disposed to
-remember the _abuse_ rather than the _utility_ of pursuits in which few
-are deeply interested. And in the ridicule which the enthusiastic zeal
-of bibliomaniacs has cast on bibliography, they lose sight of the fact
-that all accurate knowledge is in a greater or less degree absolutely
-dependent thereon."
-
-But the eccentricities and peculiarities of bookworms are left to us to
-notice, without our incurring the displeasure of any liberal-minded
-student or book-collector. Our task at present is merely to throw
-together some information personally relating to bookworms, hitherto
-hidden within the mouldering pages of cumbrous volumes, offering little
-inducement for the perusal of the ordinary reader. Nevertheless we are
-not unmindful what a field of scholastic romance we have traveled
-through, at the cost of a somewhat dusty journey.
-
-Who were the original bookworms? From what point shall our
-bibliographical notices date?--beyond or in advance of the monasticism?
-The old clerks or copyists of the convents were the primitive bookworms
-indubitably. Their occupation has been elevated by writers to a position
-of moral philosophy. Dr. Dibdin, in his "Bibliomania," says, "Copying
-excited insensibly a love of quiet, domestic order, and seriousness. I
-am willing to admit every degree of merit to the manual dexterity of the
-cloistered student. I admire his snow-white vellum missals, emblazoned
-with gold, and sparkling with carmine and ultra-marine blue. By the help
-of the microscopic glass I peruse his diminutive penmanship, executed
-with the most astonishing neatness and regularity; his ink so glossy
-black! Now and then, for a guinea or two, I purchase a specimen of such
-marvelous legerdemain, but the book to me is a sealed book! Surely the
-same exquisite and unrivaled beauty would have been exhibited in copying
-an ode of Horace or a dictum of Quinctilian." With reference to this
-allusion to the missal, it may be here worth while mentioning that the
-most splendidly executed book of devotion known is the MS. volume, the
-Bedford missal. It passed from the library of Harley, Earl of Oxford,
-through various fortunes, until it finally found a resting-place in the
-library of the Duchess of Portland. This antiquity is valued at 500
-guineas.
-
-As early as the sixth century, commenced the custom in some monasteries
-of copying ancient books and composing new ones. In the fifteenth
-century, the custom of keeping up monkish libraries had ceased, at least
-in England.
-
-The illustrious progenitors of bookworms were such personages as the
-venerable Bede, Alfred the Great, and Theodore, Archbishop of
-Canterbury. Friar Roger Bacon was also an intense bookworm. The noble
-book-spirit by which the lives of the Oxford Athenians are recorded and
-preserved, is now probably forgotten by the world. The student, however
-reveres the name of old Anthony à Wood. The remembrance of his
-researches amidst paper and parchment documents, stored up in chests and
-desks, and upon which the moth was "feeding sweetly," is perpetuated in
-bibliography. We follow in imagination his cautious step, and head
-bowing from premature decay, and solemn air, and sombre visage, with
-cane under the arm, pacing from library to library, through Gothic
-quadrangles, or sauntering along the Isis on his way to some neighboring
-village, where, may be, with some congenial Radcliffe, he would recreate
-with pipe and pot. While the Bodleian and Ashmolean collections remain,
-so long will the memory of his laudable exertions continue unimpaired.
-Anthony à Wood was in person of a large, robust make, tall and thin, and
-had a sedate and thoughtful look, almost bordering upon a melancholy
-cast. Beneath a strange garb and coarse exterior, lay all that acuteness
-of observation and retentiveness of memory, as well as inflexible
-integrity, which marked his intellectual character. After he had by
-continual drudging worn out his body, he left this world contentedly,
-A.D. 1695.
-
-In the early part of the seventeenth century, lived that very curious
-collector of ancient popular little pieces, as well as lover of sacred,
-secret soul soliloquies, that "melancholy Jaques," yclept Robert Burton.
-He gave a multitude of books to the Bodleian Library. This original,
-amusing, and _now popular_ author was an arrant book-hunter--a "devourer
-of authors." Old Burton's constant companion was, we read, the eccentric
-"Harry" Hastings, a bibliomaniac, yet also an ardent sportsman. Just
-alighted from the toils of the chase, Harry Hastings, then in his
-eightieth year, would partake of a substantial dinner, tipple his
-tankard of ale dry, take his customary nap, wake up, rub his eyes, and
-behold the "Anatomy of Melancholy" seated before the fire, his visage
-buried in an opened folio! A rare old boy must have been this Hastings.
-He is described as low of stature, but strong and active, of a ruddy
-complexion, with flaxen hair. His clothes were always of Lincoln green.
-His house was of the old fashion, in the midst of a large park well
-stocked with game. He kept his hounds, and his great hall was commonly
-strewed with marrow bones. He lived to be an hundred, and never lost his
-eyesight nor used spectacles.
-
-Richard Ashmole, the founder of the Ashmolean Museum, was an intimate of
-the astrologer Lilly, and one of the queerest of bookworms. His life was
-grotesquely checkered by family jars. He had a termagant wife, who, it
-appears, was continually "taking the law of him in return for neglect,
-cruelty," &c. Whether Ashmole was proof or not proof against this
-peculiar kind of henpecking, we can not report; but it is certain that
-his bodily health failed him in the course of his wife's persecution; he
-sought to tinker up his constitution with quack medicines, of which he
-became the victim.
-
-The Bodleian and Ashmolean collections are emulated by the Harleian.
-Harley, Earl of Oxford's attachment to books, and the large sums he
-expended in forming the collection of MSS., have rendered the name
-celebrated. The Harleian collection of MSS. was purchased by government
-for the National Library; the purchase-money amounted to £10,000. Harley
-lived in the middle of the seventeenth century.
-
-A remarkable individual of the order of bookworm, was the musical
-bibliomaniac, Thomas Britton. This curious character lived in the
-Augustan age of Queen Anne. He came to London from a northern county,
-and, after serving an humble apprenticeship, embarked in business as a
-kind of costermonger; he was in the habit of actually crying his coals
-about the street. His attire was a Guernsey frock; he carried a black
-sack on his shoulders, and a coal measure in his hands. In this style he
-was painted by Woollaston. Britton lived in Aylesbury-street,
-Clerkenwell, where he fitted up a concert-room, the progenitor of the
-great philharmonic and ancient nobility concerts of the present day. Sir
-Robert l'Estrange was one of Britton's first patrons, and by his
-reputation and example induced the fashionable world of those days to
-patronize Britton's concerts, at which Handel, Phil Hart, Banister,
-Dubourg the violinist, and others, performed to the genteelest of
-audiences. The concert-room was literally but one floor over a
-coal-shed; and the visitors had to climb up to it by a ladder fixed
-outside of the house, and to sit under a low roof, against which they
-could not avoid knocking their heads soundingly. Britton was no
-composer, only a musician and book-collector. He collected works on the
-occult art chiefly, and on music; his library sold for a large sum of
-money in those times. He was quite a notoriety on account of the humble
-trade he so openly followed, and the refined tastes he was known to
-cultivate. One day passing nigh the house of Woollaston the painter, in
-Warwick-lane, Britton, being in his work-a-day attire, gave out lustily
-his well-known cry of "Small-coal." Woollaston's attention was
-attracted, and he recognized in the voice that of his musical
-acquaintance Britton, whom he had never seen in the pursuit of his
-ordinary trade. The artist at once beckoned Britton in, and there and
-then took his portrait as he sat, a veritable itinerant coal-dealer. The
-portrait is most characteristic, and is now to be seen in the collection
-of paintings of the British Museum. But we must notice the small-coal
-man under his bibliopolic phase. A bibliomania raged among Queen Anne's
-nobility. The Earls of Oxford, Pembroke, Sunderland, and Winchelsea, and
-the Duke of Devonshire, were among the smitten. These personages, on
-Saturdays, during the winter season, used to resort to the city, and,
-there separating, take several routes to the booksellers' shops in
-different parts of the town, to search out old volumes and MSS. Some
-time before noon, they would assemble at the shop of Christopher
-Bateman, a bookseller, at the corner of Ave Maria-lane, in
-Paternoster-row (query, Little Britain?), where they were frequently met
-by other persons engaged in the same pursuits, and a conversation
-commenced on the subject of their inquiries. As nearly as possible to
-the hour of twelve by St. Paul's clock, Britton (uniquely, the "Literary
-Dustman" of his age), who by that time had finished his round, clad in
-his blue frock, and pitching his sack of small coal on the bulk of Mr.
-Bateman's shop window, used to go in and join them. After about an
-hour's chat, the noblemen adjourned to the Mourning Bush Tavern at
-Aldersgate (probably the site of the present Albion Tavern), where they
-dined, and spent the remainder of the day. Poor Britton was indeed a
-singular character, and died a death as singular as his life. He was, we
-are told, of an excessively nervous temperament, which rendered him the
-object occasionally of villainous practical jokes. Unfortunately he
-incurred the enmity of Honeyman, the ventriloquist. On a certain day,
-when Britton gave one of his nobility concerts in Aylesbury-street,
-Honeyman attended. An opportunity occurring, a voice was heard at a
-distance, which announced that Thomas Britton's hour was near and that
-he had but a short time to remain in this world. Poor Britton was not
-proof against the art of the malicious mimic. He felt the
-ventriloquist's words as though they were a sacred augur; so deep an
-impression did the incident make upon him, that he died, almost as
-predicted, in a brief period, aged fifty-eight, 1714.
-
-Browne Willis was another original of whom we are enabled to furnish a
-few whimsical anecdotes. But we would reserve this respectful remark,
-that the doctor was, notwithstanding oddities in externals and manners,
-nevertheless a learned antiquary, and a good man. So were they all, all
-learned antiquaries, and excellent men. His tastes led him chiefly to
-the study of ecclesiastical relics. He visited every cathedral in
-England and Wales. To these journeys he himself gave the name of
-pilgrimages. Browne Willis lived in the latter part of the seventeenth
-century. He was grandson of Dr. Thomas Willis, a celebrated physician,
-and the first to reduce the theory of phrenology to order and system.
-His person and dress are described by one who knew him well; they were
-"so singular that, though a gentleman of £1000 per annum, he was often
-taken for a beggar. An old leathern girdle or belt always surrounded the
-two or three coats he wore, and over them an old blue cloak. He wrote
-the worst hand of any man in England, such as he could with difficulty
-read himself. His boots, which he almost always appeared in, were not
-the least singular part of his dress. I suppose it would not be falsity
-to say they were forty years old, patched and vamped up at various
-times. They were all in wrinkles, and did not come up above half-way of
-his legs. He was often called, in the neighborhood of Buckingham, 'Old
-Wrinkle Boots.' The chariot of Mr. Willis was so singular, that from it
-he was called himself, the 'Old Chariot.' It was his wedding chariot,
-and had his arms on brass plates about it, not unlike a coffin, and
-painted black." This rare antiquary was satirized by Dr. Darrell, in
-some humorous and highly descriptive verses, of which the subjoined
-couplets are a specimen:
-
-    "High on a hill his mansion stood
-      But gloomy dark within.
-    Here mangled books, as bones and blood,
-      Lie in a giant's den:
-
-    "Crude, undigested, half-devoured,
-      On groaning shelves they're thrown;
-    Such manuscripts no eye could read,
-      Nor hand write, but his own."
-
-His wife having written a serious book, Browne Willis wrote on his own
-copy of the work, "All the connection in this book is owing to the
-book-binder." He delighted to joke upon Mrs. Willis's book and her
-authorship.
-
-
-
-
-INCIDENTS OF DUELING.
-
-
-Dueling has fallen into desuetude, and very properly. Times have changed
-marvelously. Fifty years ago, gentlemen by descent, by property, or by
-profession, were only _esquired;_ now, if you _mistered_ an attorney's
-clerk, the letter would be sent repudiated to the dead office. To him
-only who was entitled to bear arms, an appeal to arms was allowed; and
-had a man in trade, though worth a plum, in those days presumed to send
-a message to a gentleman not in trade, nor worth a penny, the odds would
-be considerable that the bearer of the cartel would have been
-horsewhipped on the spot. Even liberty to share in certain amusements
-was considered great condescension on the part of the aristocracy to men
-who had founded their own fortunes, and accidental meetings at the
-cover-side were never supposed to warrant aught beyond a field
-acquaintance. A brutal, but striking anecdote which marked this then
-prevailing feeling of exclusiveness, is told of the too-celebrated
-George Robert Fitzgerald. One hunting day, when drawing a fox cover, he
-observed a well-mounted and smartly-dressed young man join the company;
-and on inquiring his name from the whipper, was informed that the
-stranger was a neighboring apothecary.
-
-"An apothecary!" exclaimed the master of hounds. "By Heaven! men's
-impudence every day becomes more audacious! Why, it would not surprise
-me after this, that an attorney should join our meeting next. Come, it
-is time that this dealer in drugs should be taught that fox-hunting is a
-trade practiced only by gentlemen;" and riding up to the unoffending
-dabbler in Galenicals, he savagely flogged him off the field.
-
-That dueling has been employed too frequently for bad purposes, by brave
-men--and for bloody ones, by blackguards, has never been denied. The
-page of history, in the fatal meeting between Buckingham and Shrewsbury,
-strikingly exemplifies the former assertion. For the seduction of his
-wife--Buckingham, by the way, had seduced his _own_--the injured earl
-demanded, and obtained satisfaction. In accordance with the barbarous
-custom of the times, the seconds--two on either side--engaged; on the
-duke's side, Jenkins was left dead; on the earl's, Sir John Talbot was
-severely wounded. Buckingham, however, received no hurt beyond a
-scratch, and ran his antagonist through the body, thus adding murder to
-seduction. The fair frail one was worthy of the ducal ruffian she had
-attached herself to. Disguised as a page, from a neighboring coppice she
-watched the combat, and slept with the murderer of her husband the same
-night, although the shirt he wore bore bloody evidence of the foul
-assassination he had just committed. It is reported that the last hours
-of the adulteress were miserable, and the felon blow that relieved the
-world of such an unscrupulous villain as the duke, in our poor thinking,
-was nothing beyond simple retribution.
-
-Another, and an opposite case, both in its results and causes, occurred
-many years ago, when the writer of these pages was in Paris. The worst
-and most dangerous companion upon earth is a gamester. "Nemo repente
-fuit turpissimus;" which, according to Irish translation, meaneth, that
-a man must be articled for five years to an attorney. As regards play,
-we hold a different opinion, and believe that the course of
-demoralization may be more rapidly effected by the _alea damnosa_ than
-by law. To the proof:--even at the distance of a quarter of a century,
-we must hold the name sacred; but there are old guardsmen who will
-remember "Little Joe." A stouter soldier never headed a company. He was
-kind, well-tempered, too generous probably, and every body liked him. In
-money matters he was careless; had an early itch for play, and a sojourn
-with the Army of Occupation confirmed a disease already rooted. In a
-word, he abandoned a profession he could no longer continue in, and
-became a regular gambler.
-
-Joe was a first-rate shot, and also constitutionally pugnacious. He felt
-his own degradation keenly, when to remedy it was too late; and a temper
-naturally excitable, had now become most dangerous. Is there one
-gamester out of twenty who, in a very few years, does not
-go--circumstances only considered--to ruin? Joe formed no exception. He
-lost _caste_, and fell, and fell, "deeper and deeper still," until he
-reached that last degrading _status_ in society--a _chevalier
-d'industrie_.
-
-While engaged in his base vocation, a young citizen fell into the hands
-of the gang with whom Joe, now a member of the body, regularly
-confederated. The victim was a Londoner, and one, as it was represented,
-who would stand plucking; and that very extensively. He had crossed the
-Channel, like the thousand and one fools who flock annually to the
-French capital to view Parisian lions, and, as a countryman, Little Joe
-kindly undertook to play Mentor to this Cockney Telemachus. It was not a
-difficult task for one who knew the world so well as Captain K---- to
-worm himself into the confidence of a raw youth, and he easily
-succeeded. In every point but one the intended victim was as pliant as
-could be wished--but on that one he was most obstinate. He had a horror
-of play. He would drink, racket about, dissipate, but name a game of
-chance, and he started like a frightened steed. The period allotted by
-"the governor at home," as he, in London parlance, termed his father,
-had almost expired; and as plump a pigeon as ever a gambler dropped
-upon, was about to return to the country-house he had quitted to see the
-world, without losing a single feather. To the villainous confederation
-that thought was maddening; and, as a last resource, a decoy duck was
-tried--and one of the loveliest and most artful of the class, was
-accidentally introduced by the gallant captain to Monsieur Callico, as
-he derisively called the citizen.
-
-To describe the progress of this gambling conspiracy would be a waste of
-time. It was managed with consummate ability. The devoted youth became
-desperately enamored of this friend, of the captain; he "told his love,"
-and then came proof positive, that Greek and Roman friendship are not
-comparable to the tremendous sacrifice of personal feeling, which you
-may expect from a _café_ acquaintance. Damon returned in time to
-substitute his own neck, and stay the execution of a gentleman called
-Pythias, while
-
-                        "Cato the sententious
-    Lent his fair lady to his friend Hortensius."
-
-Now Captain K----, on learning the state of the young Londoner's
-affections, although himself a secret worshiper at the shrine of the
-same divinity, resigned his own pretensions, and actually undertook to
-plead with the fair enslaver for his friend. Great was the intimacy, of
-course, that succeeded; and at the apartments of Madame La C----,
-morning, noon, and night, the young Englishman might have been found.
-
-Play was cautiously introduced--nothing was staked excepting a mere
-_bagatelle_--beyond the hazard of a trifle, it was evident that any
-experiment would be dangerous. The day for the citizen's departure was
-fixed, and it was pretty certain the bird would escape the net of the
-fowler. Could he have been but led to play he would have been cheated
-scientifically. That was not to be done, and nothing could succeed but
-bold and downright felony.
-
-Madame's birthday returned, as it did some twenty times a year; and she
-gave a _petit souper_. K---- sent in the wine, and the citizen provided
-the viands. A merrier evening could not be spent. Two or three ladies,
-and as many gentlemen of high honor, favored La C---- with their
-company. There was play, limited to a few francs, and on the
-Englishman's part to gloves and garters. Supper was served--all was
-hilarious--the wine circulated freely, and all the Londoner remembered
-in the morning when he awoke with a burning head was, that he had become
-unaccountably drunk, and got home he knew not how.
-
-He strove to get up, but his temples throbbed almost to bursting. An
-excess in wine had never affected him so before: could this arise from
-simple drunkenness? The sensation was altogether new. The truth was he
-had not been drunk, but drugged!
-
-While rolling his aching head from side to side upon the pillow his
-_lacquey de place_ announced his dear friend, the captain; and next
-minute "Little Joe" was standing at his bedside.
-
-"Good heaven!" exclaimed the citizen; "how awfully drunk I must have
-been last night! My very brain's on fire."
-
-"Drunk!" returned his companion; "you were not drunk but mad--what devil
-possessed you to play? D--n it, you always swore you hated it, and every
-score of _naps_ you lost you would, though I warned you, lay it on
-thicker."
-
-"Naps! play!" exclaimed the sick man with a stare; "why, what do you
-mean? I am but in sorry mood for jesting. I do remember playing for and
-losing some gloves and garters to the ladies."
-
-"And let me tell you, I am in still less joking humor than yourself,"
-returned the captain, in high dudgeon; "through your cursed obstinacy, I
-played against my better judgment--and was cleaned by Count F---- out of
-eighteen thousand francs. How shall I come to book? In the devil's name
-how can I face my creditor this evening at Madame's réunion? The three
-hundred naps I won from you will go but a short way to meet my losses. I
-think I shall go mad."
-
-"And I fancy that I am mad already," groaned the sufferer from the bed;
-"do end this folly, K----."
-
-"Did I not know you, I should fancy you intended me offense," replied
-the captain, rather angrily; "what, have you such a conveniency of
-memory as to forget that you lost three hundred naps to me, eight
-hundred to the count, and five-and-forty to Madame La C----?"
-
-Before the unhappy youth could find words to respond, the valet
-announced another visitor, and Count F---- was shown in.
-
-"Monsieur le Comte," pursued the gallant captain, "are you, too, in a
-jesting mood? My young friend here can not be persuaded that we had a
-little play last night. Excuse me paying but half my loss till evening;
-and, in the mean time, accept these _billets de banque_," and "Little
-Joe" handed the chevalier a roll of bank notes; "you will find there ten
-thousand francs."
-
-"Gentlemen," cried the astonished citizen, "I pray you end this farce. I
-know I am indebted to madame heavily in gloves and ribbons."
-
-"Why, fiends and furies!" exclaimed the captain, "do you pretend, sir,
-to assert, that you did not lose three hundred naps to me?"
-
-"Or that this acknowledgment for eight hundred was not given?"
-
-The youth, astounded as he was, took the paper. It purported to be an
-I.O.U., but the forgery was clumsy.
-
-"That is not my writing--nor do I owe either of you a _sou_."
-
-The scene that followed may be imagined. Instant payment, or a legal
-security for the alleged debts was demanded--or the alternative--a
-meeting in the Bois de Boulogne within two hours. Half bewildered, the
-young dupe assented to give the latter--and at the time appointed he
-alighted, without friend or weapon, at the place named for the duel, by
-these infamous men.
-
-Several other persons were on the ground, all strangers to the
-unfortunate young man. Another attempt was made to induce him to admit
-the debt of honor, and it was proposed that a reconciliation should take
-place between him and his former friend, the captain. To do them
-justice, the gentlemen unknown were ardent in their endeavors to
-accommodate the matter, and persuade the citizen to pay the money, and
-they were perfectly sincere in mediation on the occasion, for they were
-all members of the same dishonest clique. But nothing could shake the
-youth's determination to repudiate the infamous demand. Captain K----,
-irritated to madness at his total failure, demanded that the duel should
-instantly proceed--and the gang, as furious from the unexpected
-disappointment, determined to murder one who could not be persuaded to
-submit to bare-faced spoliation.
-
-Never were two combatants more unequally opposed, than the young
-merchant and the desperate gambler--the one, probably, had never
-discharged a pistol in his life--the other, and within six months, had
-killed his man on the very spot the doomed youth was standing.
-
-Other and fouler circumstances went to render the result of the
-impending duel almost a certainty. K---- fought with his own
-pistols--with the firing signal he was particularly familiar--his back
-was to the sun, and an open sky behind him. The scoundrel second, who
-had volunteered his services, placed the young Englishman in a position
-where the trunk of a large beech formed a leading line of fire, and the
-stream of sunshine through the vista in the trees, was almost blinding.
-To the intentional murderer and the intended victim, the loaded weapons
-were delivered--a preparatory word was spoken, the signal fell. K----
-coolly raised his pistol, while, by a snap-shot, the flurried Englishman
-anticipated his executioner by a second. On that momentary advantage
-life or death depended. The bully, shot directly through the heart, fell
-on the sward, a dead man. While the bullet destined for the breast of
-his antagonist, cut the grass harmlessly at the foot of the fortunate
-survivor. Never was a thoughtless youth more providentially delivered by
-accident from certain murder--nor a scoundrel sent to his account so
-justly and unexpectedly as Captain K----.
-
-In riding an hour after the affair had terminated in the forest, I met
-the body of the dead gambler on a stretcher, _en route_ to the _Morgue_.
-
-The decline of dueling, from the period it was made ancillary to
-swindling, or to the settlement of disputes between vulgar scoundrels,
-who could not lay the slightest claims to the title or privileges of
-gentlemen, has been rapid and progressive, and its gross abuse did more
-to remedy its own mischief, than moral appeals and legal enactments.
-What but disgust can be created against a system when prostituted to the
-purposes of sheer murder? When two drunken blackguards stagger from the
-billiard-room to the field, and, by the scoundrels who attend them, are
-permitted to carry a dispute, emanating in a question of scoring or not
-scoring a point or two, to an extent that the most flagitious injury
-would not warrant?
-
-A more recent case which occurred in the neighborhood, and must be still
-fresh in general recollection, may be adduced to prove how sadly the law
-of honor is brought to the lowliest estimation. I allude to the case of
-M----, killed by E----. A quarrel takes place in that sink of infamy, a
-saloon--and the parties adjourn to Wimbledon to commit murder. One fire
-is not enough, and, though a bullet passes through the hat of M----, the
-seconds provide them with fresh weapons, and the wretched blackguard is,
-on the next fire, shot dead. The ruffian who commits the murder, sees
-the expiring wretch heaving his last sigh--and remarks to a casual
-spectator, "I have done for the ----," using an epithet too disgusting to
-be named. He, and the well-selected seconds, hurry off, without even
-taking a parting glance at the prostrate victim. The surgeon, with his
-friends, lugs the dead body into a cab. An inquest is held--"willful
-murder" is returned, and thus ends, what the papers termed "an affair of
-honor." And who were the blackguard actors in this cold-blooded tragedy?
-E---- was son of a Taunton publican, and M---- a broken linen-draper.
-Their companions were men of similar _caste_--for, unless gentility is
-attached to brick-making, Y---- had no other claim.
-
-The first duel I ever witnessed was one which, at the expiration of
-forty years, is too vividly engrafted upon memory to be forgotten. I was
-then a satcheled schoolboy; and before six o'clock on a beautiful summer
-morning, was wending my way, slowly, of course, to the abiding place of
-the country pedagogue at whose feet I was being indoctrinated. A
-gentleman was sitting on a log of timber, and in him I recognized
-Lieutenant V---- of the--th, a frequent visitor and guest at my father's
-house. He spoke to me, and I sate down upon the beam, and a bullet he
-had been rolling carelessly on the log of timber, was interchanged
-between him and me for five minutes. He started suddenly on perceiving
-three gentlemen advance from an opposite direction, put the ball in his
-waistcoat pocket, and bade me hastily "good-morning." I watched him--saw
-him join the strangers, and the whole party turned into a rope-yard. I
-rose from the beam--shouldered my satchel, and as I passed the place
-where the gentlemen had disappeared, I looked through the open gate.
-Although not more than three or four minutes had elapsed, the
-preliminary preparations for a duel had been completed, and my late
-companion on the log of timber confronted his antagonist at the
-customary distance of a dozen paces. At the moment I peeped in, the
-seconds delivered a pistol to each combatant--stepped two or three yards
-back--and the words "Ready, fire!" were rapidly pronounced. The reports
-were so simultaneous that it seemed as if one shot only had been
-discharged; and as, for a second or two afterward, both gentlemen
-remained standing, I fancied all was right; but I was fatally
-mistaken--the discharged weapon dropped from V----'s hand, and he
-tottered and fell forward. The seconds raised him to a sitting posture,
-and a little man hitherto concealed behind the hedge, came forward
-hastily. He laid his finger on V----'s pulse, and then looked at the
-pupil of the eye, and in a low voice muttered, "All is over!" For many a
-month afterward that brief sentence sounded in my ear, and the falling
-man was present in imagination. But before manhood came, an intimacy
-with some amiable young Galway gentlemen at the Dublin University, and a
-short probation in a Southern militia regiment wrought a happy change.
-The organ of hearing, as Byron says, became
-
-    "More Irish and less nice"
-
-and a twelvemonth's sojourn in that land of promise, which lieth between
-the Shannon and Atlantic, completed the cure.
-
-Like many an unnecessary appeal to arms, this fatal affair, in which a
-young and gallant officer lost his life, originated in a trifling
-misunderstanding.
-
-In the same barrack, and at a very short time after this fatal meeting
-(spring of 1807) one of the most lamentable affairs, which in the annals
-of dueling is recorded, unfortunately took place. I allude to the fatal
-encounter between Boyd and Campbell. The sad story is simply told.
-
-The 21st were quartered in the town of Newry, and the half-yearly
-inspection of the regiment had been made by General Kerr--when, as is
-customary, the general and staff were entertained by the Fusileers. The
-dinner was soon over--the staff retired--the officers went to the
-play--and none remained in the mess-room, excepting Major Campbell and
-Captain Boyd, the assistant-surgeon, and a lieutenant. Campbell, in
-right of brevet rank, had commanded the regiment in the absence of the
-colonel--and an argument took place between him and Captain Boyd,
-whether a word of command that day used was correctly given. The latter
-was a person of disagreeable manner--the former a man whose temper was
-highly excitable--and each personally disliked the other, and were
-tenacious equally of their own opinions. Campbell repudiated the charge
-of incorrectness and Boyd as warmly maintained it. At last a crisis
-came, "Heated with wine, and exasperated by what he conceived a
-professional insult, Campbell left the table, hastened to his
-apartments, loaded his pistols, returned, sent for Captain Boyd, brought
-him to an inner mess-room, closed the door, and without the presence of
-a friend or witness, demanded instant satisfaction. Shots were promptly
-interchanged, and by the first fire Boyd fell, mortally wounded."
-
-Thank God! for human nature--Buckinghams and T----s are not common.
-Before five minutes passed the tornado of wild passion was over, and
-rushing to the room where the dying man was laid, "a sorry sight!" in
-Macbeth's words, surrounded by his frantic wife and infant family, the
-homicide knelt at his bed-side, implored forgiveness, and wrung from him
-a qualified admission that "all was fair." No attempt was made to arrest
-him, and that night Campbell left the town and remained at Chelsea with
-his lady and family for several months, under an assumed name. When the
-summer assizes were approaching, he determined to surrender and stand
-his trial; and although his legal advisers warned him that the step was
-most perilous, he would not be dissuaded, and unhappily persevered.
-
-He was, on the 13th of August, 1808, arraigned for "willful murder,"
-pleaded "not guilty" in the usual form--the fact of the homicide was
-admitted--and a number of officers, high in rank, attended, and gave the
-prisoner the highest character for humanity. I did not hear the
-evidence, and when I came into the court-house the jury for some time
-had been considering their verdict. The trial had been tedious; twilight
-had fallen, and the hall of justice, dull at best, was rendered gloomier
-still from the partial glare of a few candles placed upon the bench,
-where Judge Fletcher was presiding. A breathless anxiety pervaded the
-assembly, and the ominous silence that reigned throughout the court was
-unbroken by a single whisper. I felt an unusual dread--a sinking of the
-heart--a difficulty of respiration, and as I looked round the melancholy
-crowd, my eye rested on the judge. Fletcher was a thin, billious-looking
-being, and his cold and marble features had caught an unearthly
-expression from the shading produced by the accidental disposition of
-the candles. I shuddered as I gazed upon him, for the fate of a fellow
-creature was hanging upon the first words that would issue from the lips
-of that stern and inflexible old man. From the judge my eyes turned to
-the criminal, and what a subject the contrast offered to the artist's
-pencil! In the front of the bar, habited in deep mourning, his arms
-folded and crossed upon his breast, the homicide was awaiting the word
-that should seal his destiny. His noble and commanding figure thrown
-into an attitude of calm determination, was graceful and dignified; and
-while on every countenance besides a sickening anxiety was visible,
-neither the quivering of an eyelash, nor a motion of the lip, betrayed
-on the prisoner's face the appearance of discomposure or alarm. Just
-then a slight noise was heard--a door was slowly and softly opened--one
-by one the jury returned to their box--the customary question was asked
-by the clerk of the crown--and--"Guilty" was faintly answered,
-accompanied with a recommendation to mercy. An agonizing pause
-succeeded--the court was as silent as the grave--the prisoner bowed
-respectfully to the jury, then planting his foot firmly on the floor, he
-drew himself up to his full height and calmly listened to his doom.
-Slowly Judge Fletcher assumed the fatal cap, and all unmoved, he
-pronounced, and Campbell listened to, his sentence.
-
-While the short address which sealed the prisoner's fate was being
-delivered, the silence of the court was only broken by smothered sobs;
-but when the sounds ceased, and, "Lord have mercy on your soul!" issued
-from the ashy lips of the stern old man, a groan of horror burst from
-the auditory, and the Highland soldiers, who thronged the court,
-ejaculated a wild "Amen," while their flashing eyes betrayed how
-powerfully the fate of their unhappy countryman had affected them. He
-was removed from the bar--a doomed man--but no harsh restrictions were
-imposed upon him, nor was he conducted to the gloomy apartment to which
-condemned criminals after sentence were then consigned. From the moment
-the unfortunate duelist had entered the prison gates, his mild and
-gentlemanly demeanor had won the commiseration of all within; and the
-governor, confident in the honor of his prisoner, subjected him to no
-restraint. He occupied the apartments of the keeper, went over the
-building as he pleased--received his friends--held unrestricted
-communication with all that sought him--and, in fact, was a captive but
-in name.
-
-No man impersonated the grandeur of Byron's beautiful couplet so happily
-as Campbell: when the hour of trial came,
-
-    "He died as sinful man should die
-    Without parade--without display,"
-
-while, during the painful interval when the seat of mercy was appealed
-to, and when, as it was generally considered, mercy would have been
-extended, the most unmoved of all, as post after post brought not the
-welcome tidings, was Campbell.
-
-One anecdote is too characteristic to be omitted.
-
-The commiseration of all classes was painfully increased by the length
-of time that elapsed between the trial and death of Major Campbell. In
-prison, he received from his friends the most constant and delicate
-attention; and one lady, the wife of Captain ----, seldom left him. She
-read to him, prepared his meals, cheered his spirits when he drooped,
-and performed those gentle offices of kindness, so peculiarly the
-province of a woman. When intelligence arrived that mercy could not be
-extended, and the law must take its course, she boldly planned an escape
-from prison; but Campbell, when she mentioned it, recoiled from a
-proposition that must compromise his honor with the keeper. "What," he
-exclaimed, when assured that otherwise his case was hopeless, "shall I
-break my faith with him who trusted it? I know my fate, and am prepared
-to meet it manfully; but never will I deceive the person who confided in
-my honor."
-
-Two evenings before he suffered, Mrs. ---- was earnestly urging him to
-escape. The clock struck twelve, and Campbell hinted that it was time
-she should retire. As usual, he accompanied her to the gate; and on
-entering the keeper's room, they found him fast asleep. Campbell placed
-his finger on his lip.
-
-"Poor fellow," he said in a whisper, to his fair companion, "would it
-not be a pity to disturb him?" then taking the keys softly from the
-table, he unlocked the outer wicket.
-
-"Campbell," said the lady, "this is the crisis of your fate; this is the
-moment for your deliverance! Horses are in readiness, and--"
-
-The convict put his hand upon her mouth. "Hush," he replied, as he
-gently forced her out. "Would you have me violate my word of honor?"
-
-Bidding her "good night," he locked the wicket carefully, replaced the
-keys, and retired to his chamber without awakening the sleeping jailer!
-
-His last hour was passed in prayer, and at noon he was summoned to pass
-the grand ordeal which concludes the history of the hero and the
-herdsman.
-
-The drop, as it was called, was, in the Irish jails, attached to the
-upper story of the building, a large iron-studded door, which hung
-against the wall, and was only raised to a parallel position with the
-door from which the criminal made his last exit, when that concluding
-ceremony of the law was to be performed. Attended by the jail
-chaplain--one who, in the last bitter trial, clave to the condemned
-soldier closer than a brother--he steadily mounted the stairs, and
-entered the execution room. The preliminaries of death were undergone
-composedly; he bade a long farewell to those around, and stepped firmly
-on the board. Twenty-thousand lookers-on filled the green in front of
-the prison; and, strange accident! the Highland regiment with whom,
-shoulder to shoulder, he had charged "the Invincibles" in Egypt, formed
-a semicircle round the prison. In the north of Ireland, all is
-decorously conducted. When he appeared, a deep and solemn silence awed
-the multitude; and until he addressed the Highlanders in Gaelic, a
-whisper might have been heard in the crowd. To the simple request of
-"Pray for me!" a low deep groan responded, and every bonnet was removed.
-He dropped a cambric handkerchief--down came the iron-bound door--it
-sounded over the heads of the silent concourse like a thunder-clap; and,
-in one minute, as brave a heart as ever beat upon a battle-field, had
-ceased to throb.
-
-Peace to the ashes of the brave! If a soldier's life, a Christian's end,
-can atone for the sad consequences of unreining an ungovernable temper,
-both can be honestly pleaded in extenuating poor Campbell's crime.
-
-
-
-
-MAURICE TIERNAY, THE SOLDIER OF FORTUNE.[4]
-
-[4] Continued from the September Number.
-
-
-CHAPTER XL.
-
-"THE CHATEAU OF ETTENHEIM."
-
-I now come to an incident in my life, of which however briefly I may
-speak, has left the deepest impression on my memory. I have told the
-reader how I left Kuffstein fully satisfied that the Count de Marsanne
-was Laura's lover, and that in keeping my promise to see and speak with
-him, I was about to furnish an instance of self-denial and fidelity that
-nothing in ancient or modern days could compete with.
-
-The letter was addressed, "the Count Louis de Marsanne, Chateau
-d'Ettenheim, à Bade," and thither I accordingly repaired, traveling over
-the Arlberg to Bregenz, and across the Lake of Constance to Freyburg. My
-passport contained a very few words in cipher, which always sufficed to
-afford me free transit and every attention from the authorities. I had
-left the southern Tyrol in the outburst of a glorious spring, but as I
-journeyed northward I found the rivers frozen, the roads encumbered with
-snow, and the fields untilled and dreary-looking. Like all countries
-which derive their charms from the elements of rural beauty, foliage,
-and verdure, Germany offers a sad-colored picture to the traveler in
-winter or wintry weather.
-
-It was thus then that the Grand Duchy, so celebrated for its picturesque
-beauty, struck me as a scene of dreary and desolate wildness, an
-impression which continued to increase with every mile I traveled from
-the high road. A long unbroken flat, intersected here and there by
-stunted willows, traversed by a narrow earth road, lay between the Rhine
-and the Taunus Mountains, in the midst of which stood the village of
-"Ettenheim." Outside the village, about half a mile off, and on the
-border of a vast pine forest, stood the Chateau.
-
-It was originally a hunting-seat of the dukes of Baden, but, from
-neglect and disuse, gradually fell into ruin, from which it was
-reclaimed, imperfectly enough, a year before, and now exhibited some
-remnants of its former taste, along with the evidences of a far less
-decorative spirit; the lower rooms being arranged as a stable, while the
-stair and entrance to the first story opened from a roomy coach-house.
-Here some four or five conveyances of rude construction were gathered
-together, splashed and unwashed as if from recent use; and at a small
-stove in a corner was seated a peasant in a blue frock smoking, as he
-affected to clean a bridle which he held before him.
-
-Without rising from his seat he saluted me, with true German phlegm, and
-gave me the "Guten Tag," with all the grave unconcern of a "Badener." I
-asked if the Count de Marsanne lived there. He said yes, but the "Graf"
-was out hunting. When would he be back? By nightfall.
-
-Could I remain there till his return? was my next question, and he
-stared at me, as I put it, with same surprise. "Warum nicht," "Why not,"
-was at last his sententious answer, as he made way for me beside the
-stove. I saw at once that my appearance had evidently not entitled me to
-any peculiar degree of deference or respect, and that the man regarded
-me as his equal. It was true I had come some miles on foot, and with a
-knapsack on my shoulder, so that the peasant was fully warranted in his
-reception of me. I accordingly seated myself at his side, and, lighting
-my pipe from his, proceeded to derive all the profit I could from
-drawing him into conversation. I might have spared myself the trouble.
-Whether the source lay in stupidity or sharpness, he evaded me on every
-point. Not a single particle of information could I obtain about the
-count, his habits, or his history. He would not even tell me how long he
-had resided there, nor whence he had come. He liked hunting, and so did
-the other "Herren." There was the whole I could scan, and to the simple
-fact that there were others with him, did I find myself limited.
-
-Curious to see something of the count's "interior," I hinted to my
-companion that I had come on purpose to visit his master, and suggested
-the propriety of my awaiting his arrival in a more suitable place; but
-he turned a deaf ear to the hint, and dryly remarked that the "Graf
-would not be long a-coming now." This prediction was, however, not to
-be verified; the dreary hours of the dull day stole heavily on, and
-although I tried to beguile the time by lounging about the place, the
-cold ungenial weather drove me back to the stove, or to the dark
-precincts of the stable, tenanted by three coarse ponies of the mountain
-breed.
-
-One of these was the Graf's favorite, the peasant told me, and indeed
-here he showed some disposition to become communicative, narrating
-various gifts and qualities of the unseemly looking animal, which, in
-his eyes, was a paragon of horse flesh. "He could travel from here to
-Kehl and back in a day, and has often done it," was one meed of praise
-that he bestowed; a fact which impressed me more as regarded the rider
-than the beast, and set my curiosity at work to think why any man should
-undertake a journey of nigh seventy miles between two such places and
-with such speed. The problem served to occupy me till dark, and I know
-not how long after. A stormy night of rain and wind set in, and the
-peasant, having bedded and foraged his cattle, lighted a rickety old
-lantern and began to prepare for bed; for such I at last saw was the
-meaning of a long crib, like a coffin, half-filled with straw and sheep
-skins. A coarse loaf of black bread, some black forest cheese, and a
-flask of Kleinthaler, a most candid imitation of vinegar, made their
-appearance from a cupboard, and I did not disdain to partake of these
-delicacies.
-
-My host showed no disposition to become more communicative over his
-wine, and, indeed, the liquor might have excused any degree of reserve;
-and no sooner was our meal over than, drawing a great woolen cap half
-over his face, he rolled himself up in his sheep-skins, and betook
-himself to sleep, if not with a good conscience, at least with a sturdy
-volition that served just as well.
-
-Occasionally snatching a short slumber, or walking to and fro in the
-roomy chamber, I passed several hours, when the splashing sound of
-horses' feet, advancing up the miry road, attracted me. Several times
-before that I had been deceived by noises which turned out to be the
-effects of storm, but now, as I listened, I thought I could hear voices.
-I opened the door, but all was dark outside; it was the inky hour before
-daybreak, when all is wrapped in deepest gloom. The rain, too, was
-sweeping along the ground in torrents. The sounds came nearer every
-instant, and, at last, a deep voice shouted out, "Jacob." Before I could
-awaken the sleeping peasant, to whom I judged this summons was
-addressed, a horseman dashed up to the door and rode in; another as
-quickly followed him, and closed the door.
-
-"Parbleu, D'Egville," said the first who entered, "we have got a rare
-peppering!"
-
-"Even so," said the other, as he shook his hat, and threw off a cloak
-perfectly soaked with rain; "à la guerre comme, à la guerre."
-
-This was said in French, when, turning toward me, the former said in
-German, "Be active, Master Jacob; these nags have had a smart ride of
-it." Then, suddenly, as the light flashed full on my features, he
-started back, and said, "How is this--who are you?"
-
-A very brief explanation answered this somewhat uncourteous question,
-and, at the same time, I placed the marquise's letter in his hand,
-saying, "The Count de Marsanne, I presume?"
-
-He took it hastily, and drew nigh to the lantern to peruse it. I had now
-full time to observe him, and saw that he was a tall and well-built man,
-of about seven or eight-and-twenty. His features were remarkably
-handsome, and, although slightly flushed by his late exertion, were as
-calm and composed as might be; a short black mustache gave his upper lip
-a slight character of scorn, but the brow, open, frank, and
-good-tempered in its expression, redeemed this amply. He had not read
-many lines when, turning about, he apologized in the most courteous
-terms for the manner of my reception. He had been on a shooting
-excursion for a few days back, and taken all his people with him, save
-the peasant who looked after the cattle. Then, introducing me to his
-friend, whom he called Count d'Egville, he led the way up-stairs.
-
-It would be difficult to imagine a greater contrast to the dark and
-dreary coach-house than the comfortable suite of apartments which we now
-traversed on our way to a large, well-furnished room, where a table was
-laid for supper, and a huge wood fire blazed brightly on the hearth. A
-valet, of most respectful manner, received the count's orders to prepare
-a room for me, after which my host and his friend retired to change
-their clothes.
-
-Although D'Egville was many years older, and of a graver, sterner
-fashion than the other, I could detect a degree of deference and respect
-in his manner toward him, which De Marsanne accepted like one
-well-accustomed to receive it. It was a time, however, when, in the
-wreck of fortune, so many men lived in a position of mere dependence
-that I thought nothing of this, nor had I even the time, as Count de
-Marsanne entered. From my own preconceived notions as to his being
-Laura's lover, I was quite prepared to answer a hundred impatient
-inquiries about the marquise and her niece, and as we were now alone, I
-judged that he would deem the time a favorable one to talk of them. What
-was my surprise, however, when he turned the conversation exclusively to
-the topic of my own journey, the route I had traveled. He knew the
-country perfectly, and spoke of the various towns and their inhabitants
-with acuteness and tact.
-
-His royalist leanings did not, like those of the marquise, debar him
-from feeling a strong interest respecting the success of the republican
-troops, with whose leaders he was thoroughly acquainted, knowing all
-their peculiar excellences and defaults as though he had lived in
-intimacy with them. Of Bonaparte's genius he was the most enraptured
-admirer, and would not hear of any comparison between him and the other
-great captains of the day. D'Egville at last made his appearance, and we
-sat down to an excellent supper, enlivened by the conversation of our
-host, who, whatever the theme, talked well and pleasingly.
-
-I was in a mood to look for flaws in his character, my jealousy was
-still urging me to seek for whatever I could find fault with, and yet
-all my critical shrewdness could only detect a slight degree of pride in
-his manner, not displaying itself by any presumption, but by a certain
-urbanity that smacked of condescension; but even this, at last, went
-off, and before I wished him good-night, I felt that I had never met any
-one so gifted with agreeable qualities, nor possessed of such
-captivating manners, as himself. Even his royalism had its fascinations,
-for it was eminently national, and showed, at every moment, that he was
-far more of a Frenchman than a monarchist. We parted without one word of
-allusion to the marquise or to Laura! Had this singular fact any
-influence upon the favorable impression I had conceived of him, or was I
-unconsciously grateful for the relief thus given to all my jealous
-tormentings? Certain is it that I felt infinitely happier than I ever
-fancied I should be under his roof, and, as I lay down in my bed,
-thanked my stars that he was not my rival!
-
-When I awoke the next morning I was some minutes before I could remember
-where I was, and as I still lay, gradually recalling myself to memory,
-the valet entered to announce the count.
-
-"I have come to say adieu for a few hours," said he; "a very pressing
-appointment requires me to be at Pfortzheim to-day, and I have to ask
-that you will excuse my absence. I know that I may take this liberty
-without any appearance of rudeness, for the marquise has told me all
-about you. Pray, then, try and amuse yourself till evening, and we shall
-meet at supper."
-
-I was not sorry that D'Egville was to accompany him, and, turning on my
-side, dozed off to sleep away some of the gloomy hours of a winter's
-day.
-
-In this manner several days were passed, the count absenting himself
-each morning, and returning at nightfall, sometimes accompanied by
-D'Egville, sometimes alone. It was evident enough, from the appearance
-of his horses at his return, as well as from his own jaded looks, that
-he had ridden hard and far; but except a chance allusion to the state of
-the roads or the weather, it was a topic to which he never referred,
-nor, of course, did I ever advert. Meanwhile our intimacy grew closer
-and franker. The theme of politics, a forbidden subject between men so
-separated, was constantly discussed between us, and I could not help
-feeling flattered at the deference with which he listened to opinions
-from one so much his junior, and so inferior in knowledge as myself.
-Nothing could be more moderate than his views of government, only
-provided that it was administered by the rightful sovereign. The claim
-of a king to his throne he declared to be the foundation of all the
-rights of property, and which, if once shaken or disputed, would
-inevitably lead to the wildest theories of democratic equality. "I
-don't want to convert you," would he say, laughingly, "the son of an old
-_Garde du Corps_, the born gentleman, has but to live to learn. It may
-come a little later or a little earlier, but you'll end as a good
-monarchist."
-
-One evening he was unusually late in returning, and when he came was
-accompanied by seven or eight companions, some younger, some older than
-himself, but all men whose air and bearing bespoke their rank in life,
-while their names recalled the thoughts of old French chivalry. I
-remember among them was a Coigny, a Grammont, and Rouchefoucauld--the
-last as lively a specimen of Parisian wit and brilliancy as ever
-fluttered along the sunny Boulevards.
-
-De Marsanne, while endeavoring to enjoy himself and entertain his
-guests, was, to my thinking, more serious than usual, and seemed
-impatient at D'Egville's absence, for whose coming we now waited supper.
-
-"I should not wonder if he was lost in the deep mud of those
-cross-roads," said Coigny.
-
-"Or perhaps he has fallen into the Republic," said Rouchefoucauld, "it's
-the only thing dirtier that I know of."
-
-"Monsieur forgets that I wear its cloth," said I in a low whisper to
-him; and low as it was De Marsanne overheard it.
-
-"Yes, Charles," cried he, "you must apologize, and on the spot, for the
-rudeness."
-
-Rouchefoucauld reddened and hesitated.
-
-"I insist, sir," cried De Marsanne, with a tone of superiority I had
-never seen him assume before.
-
-"Perhaps," said he, with a half-sneer, "Monsieur de Tiernay might refuse
-to accept my excuses?"
-
-"In that case, sir," interposed De Marsanne, "the quarrel will become
-mine, for he is _my_ guest, and lives here under the safeguard of _my_
-honor."
-
-Rouchefoucauld bowed submissively and with the air of a man severely but
-justly rebuked; and then advancing to me, said, "I beg to tender you my
-apology, monsieur, for an expression which should never have been
-uttered by _me_ in _your_ presence."
-
-"Quite sufficient, sir," said I, bowing, and anxious to conclude a scene
-which for the first time had disturbed the harmony of our meetings.
-Slight as was the incident, its effects were yet visible in the
-disconcerted looks of the party, and I could see that more than one
-glance was directed toward me with an expression of coldness and
-distrust.
-
-"Here comes D'Egville at last," said one, throwing open the window to
-listen; the night was starlit, but dark, and the air calm and
-motionless. "I certainly heard a horse's tread on the causeway."
-
-"I hear distinctly the sound of several," cried Coigny; "and, if I
-mistake not much, so does M. de Tiernay." This sudden allusion turned
-every eye toward me, as I stood still, suffering from the confusion of
-the late scene.
-
-"Yes; I hear the tramp of horses, and cavalry, too, I should say, by
-their measured tread."
-
-"There was a trumpet call!" cried Coigny; "what does that mean?"
-
-"It is the signal to take open order," said I, answering as if the
-question were addressed to myself. "It is a picket taking a
-'reconnaissance.'"
-
-"How do you know that, sir?" said Grammont, sternly.
-
-"Ay! how does he know that?" cried several, passionately, as they closed
-around me.
-
-"You must ask in another tone, messieurs," said I calmly, "if you expect
-to be answered."
-
-"They mean to say how do you happen to know the German trumpet-calls,
-Tiernay," said De Marsanne, mildly, as he laid his hand on my arm.
-
-"It's a French signal," said I; "I ought to know it well."
-
-Before my words were well uttered the door was thrown open, and
-D'Egville burst into the room, pale as death, his clothes all
-mud-stained and disordered. Making his way through the others, he
-whispered a few words in De Marsanne's ear.
-
-"Impossible!" cried the other; "we are here in the territory of the
-margrave?"
-
-"It is as I say," replied D'Egville; "there's not a second to lose--it
-may be too late even now--by heavens it is!--they've drawn a cordon
-round the chateau."
-
-"What's to be done, gentlemen?" said De Marsanne, seating himself
-calmly, and crossing his arms on his breast.
-
-"What do _you_ say, sir?" cried Grammont, advancing to me with an air of
-insolent menace, "_you_, at least, ought to know the way out of this
-difficulty."
-
-"Or, by Heaven, his own road shall be one of the shortest, considering
-the length of the journey," muttered another, and I could hear the sharp
-click of a pistol cock as he spoke the words.
-
-"This is unworthy of _you_, gentlemen, and of _me_," said De Marsanne,
-haughtily; and he gazed around him with a look that seemed to abash
-them, "nor is it a time to hold such disputation. There is another and a
-very difficult call to answer. Are we agreed"--before he could finish
-the sentence the door was burst open, and several dragoons in French
-uniforms entered, and ranged themselves across the entrance, while a
-colonel, with, his sabre drawn, advanced in front of them.
-
-"This is brigandage," cried De Marsanne, passionately, as he drew his
-sword, and seemed meditating a spring through them; but he was
-immediately surrounded by his friends and disarmed. Indeed nothing could
-be more hopeless than resistance; more than double our number were
-already in the room, while the hoarse murmur of voices without, and the
-tramp of heavy feet, announced a strong party.
-
-At a signal from their officer, the dragoons unslung their carbines, and
-held them at the cock when the colonel called out, "Which of you,
-messieurs, is the Duc d'Enghien?"
-
-"If you come to arrest him," replied De Marsanne, "you ought to have his
-description in your warrant."
-
-"Is the descendant of a Condé ashamed to own his name?" asked the
-colonel, with a sneer. "But we'll make short work of it, sirs; I arrest
-you all. My orders are peremptory, messieurs. If you resist, or attempt
-to escape--" and he made a significant sign with his hand to finish. The
-"Duc"--for I need no longer call him "De Marsanne"--never spoke a word,
-but with folded arms calmly walked forward, followed by his little
-household. As we descended the stairs, we found ourselves in the midst
-of about thirty dismounted dragoons, all on the alert, and prepared for
-any resistance. The remainder of the squadron were on horseback without.
-With a file of soldiers on either hand we marched for about a quarter of
-a mile across the fields to a small mill, where a general officer and
-his staff seemed awaiting our arrival. Here, too, a picket of
-gens-d'armes was stationed; a character of force significant enough of
-the meaning of the enterprise. We were hurriedly marched into the court
-of the mill, the owner of which stood between two soldiers, trembling
-from head to foot with terror.
-
-"Which is the Duc D'Enghien?" asked the colonel of the miller.
-
-"That is he with the scarlet vest," and the prince nodded an assent.
-
-"Your age, monsieur?" asked the colonel of the prince.
-
-"Thirty-two--that is, I should have been so much in August, were it not
-for this visit," said he, smiling.
-
-The colonel wrote on rapidly for a few minutes, and then showed the
-paper to the general, who briefly said, "Yes, yes; this does not concern
-you nor me."
-
-"I wish to ask, sir," said the prince, addressing the general, "do you
-make this arrest with the consent of the authorities of this country, or
-do you do so in defiance of them?"
-
-"You must reserve questions like that for the court who will judge you,
-Monsieur de Condé," said the officer, roughly. "If you wish for any
-articles of dress from your quarters, you had better think of them. My
-orders are to convey you to Strassburg. Is there any thing so singular
-in the fact, sir, that you should look so much astonished?"
-
-"There is, indeed," said the prince, sorrowfully. "I shall be the first
-of my house who ever crossed that frontier a prisoner."
-
-"But not the first who carried arms against his country," rejoined the
-other, a taunt the duke only replied to by a look of infinite scorn and
-contempt. With a speed that told plainly the character of the
-expedition, we were now placed, two together, on country cars, and
-driven at a rapid pace toward Strassburg. Relays of cattle awaited us on
-the road, and we never halted but for a few minutes during the entire
-journey. My companion on this dreary day was the Baron de St. Jacques,
-the aid-de-camp to the duke; but he never spoke once--indeed he scarcely
-lifted his head during the whole road.
-
-Heaven knows it was a melancholy journey; and neither the country nor
-the season were such as to lift the mind from sorrow; and yet, strange
-enough, the miles glided over rapidly, and to this hour I can not
-remember by what magic the way seemed so short. The thought that for
-several days back I had been living in closest intimacy with a
-distinguished prince of the Bourbon family, that we had spent hours
-together discussing themes and questions which were those of his own
-house; canvassing the chances and weighing the claims of which he was
-himself the asserter--was a most exciting feeling. How I recalled now
-all the modest deference of his manner--his patient endurance of my
-crude opinions--his generous admissions regarding his adversaries--and,
-above all, his ardent devotion to France, whatever the hand that swayed
-her destinies; and then the chivalrous boldness of his character,
-blended with an almost girlish tenderness--how princely were such
-traits?
-
-From these thoughts I wandered on to others about his arrest and
-capture, from which, however, I could not believe any serious issue was
-to come. Bonaparte is too noble minded not to feel the value of such a
-life as this. Men like the prince can be more heavily fettered by
-generous treatment than by all the chains that ever bound a felon. But
-what will be done with him?--what with his followers?--and lastly, not
-at all the pleasantest consideration, what is to come of Maurice
-Tiernay, who, to say the least, has been found in very suspicious
-company, and without a shadow of an explanation to account for it? This
-last thought just occurred to me as we crossed over the long bridge of
-boats, and entered Strassburg.
-
-
-CHAPTER XLI.
-
-AN "ORDINARY" ACQUAINTANCE.
-
-The Duc D'Enghien and his aid-de-camp were forwarded with the utmost
-speed to Paris; the remainder of us were imprisoned at Strassburg. What
-became of my companions I know not; but I was sent on, along with a
-number of others, about a month later, to Nancy, to be tried by a
-military commission. I may mention it here, as a singular fact
-illustrating the secrecy of the period, that it was not till long after
-this time I learned the terrible fate of the poor Prince de Condé. Had I
-known it, it is more than probable that I should have utterly despaired
-of my own safety. The dreadful story of Vincennes--the mock trial, and
-the midnight execution--are all too well known to my readers; nor is it
-necessary I should refer to an event, on which I myself can throw no new
-light. That the sentence was determined on before his arrest--and that
-the grave was dug while the victim was still sleeping the last slumber
-before "the sleep that knows not waking"--the evidences are strong and
-undeniable. But an anecdote which circulated at the time, and which, so
-far as I know, has never appeared in print, would seem to show that
-there was complicity, at least, in the crime, and that the secret was
-not confined to the First Consul's breast.
-
-On that fatal night of the 20th March, Talleyrand was seated at a
-card-table at Caulaincourt's house at Paris. The party was about to rise
-from play, when suddenly the "pendule" on the chimney-piece struck two.
-It was in one of those accidental pauses in the conversation when any
-sound is heard with unusual distinctness. Talleyrand started, as he
-heard it, and then turning to Caulaincourt, whispered, "Yes; 'tis all
-over now?" words which, accidentally overheard, without significance,
-were yet to convey a terrible meaning when the dreadful secret of that
-night was disclosed.
-
-If the whole of Europe was convulsed by the enormity of this crime--the
-foulest that stains the name of Bonaparte--the Parisians soon forgot it,
-in the deeper interest of the great event that was now approaching--the
-assumption of the imperial title by Napoleon.
-
-The excitement on this theme was so great and absorbing, that nothing
-else was spoken or thought of. Private sorrows and afflictions were
-disregarded and despised, and to obtrude one's hardships on the notice
-of others seemed, at this juncture, a most ineffable selfishness. That
-I, a prisoner, friendless and unknown as I was, found none to sympathize
-with me or take interest in my fate, is, therefore, nothing
-extraordinary. In fact, I appeared to have been entirely forgotten; and
-though still in durance, nothing was said either of the charge to be
-preferred against me, nor the time when I should be brought to trial.
-
-Giacourt, an old lieutenant of the marines, and at that time
-deputy-governor of the Temple, was kind and good-natured toward me,
-occasionally telling of the events which were happening without, and
-giving me the hope that some general amnesty would, in all likelihood,
-liberate all those whose crimes were not beyond the reach of mercy. The
-little cell I occupied--and to Giacourt's kindness I owed the sole
-possession of it--looked out upon the tall battlements of the outer
-walls, which excluded all view beyond, and thus drove me within myself
-for occupation and employment. In this emergency I set about to write
-some notices of my life--some brief memoirs of those changeful fortunes
-which had accompanied me from boyhood. Many of those incidents which I
-relate now, and many of those traits of mind or temper that I recall,
-were then for the first time noted down, and thus graven on my memory.
-
-My early boyhood, my first experiences as a soldier, the campaign of the
-"Schwarzwald," Ireland, and Genoa, all were mentioned, and, writing as I
-did, solely for myself and my own eyes, I set down many criticisms on
-the generals, and their plans of campaign, which, if intended for the
-inspection of others, would have been the greatest presumption and
-impertinence, and in this way Moreau, Hoche, Massena, and even
-Bonaparte, came in for a most candid and impartial criticism.
-
-How Germany might have been conquered; how Ireland ought to have been
-invaded; in what way Italy should have been treated, and lastly, the
-grand political error of the seizure of Duc D'Enghein, were subjects
-that I discussed and determined with consummate boldness and
-self-satisfaction. I am almost overwhelmed with shame, even now, as I
-think of that absurd chronicle, with its rash judgments, its crude
-opinions and its pretentious decisions.
-
-So fascinated had I become with my task, that I rose early to resume it
-each morning, and used to fall asleep, cogitating on the themes for the
-next day, and revolving within myself all the passages of interest I
-should commemorate. A man must have known imprisonment to feel all the
-value that can be attached to any object, no matter how mean or
-insignificant, that can employ the thoughts, amuse the fancy, or engage
-the affections. The narrow cell expands under such magic, the barred
-casement is a free portal to the glorious sun and the free air; the
-captive himself is but the student bending over his allotted task. To
-this happy frame of mind had I come, without a thought or a wish beyond
-the narrow walls at either side of me, when a sad disaster befell me. On
-awaking one morning, as usual, to resume my labor, my manuscript was
-gone! the table and writing materials, all had disappeared, and, to
-increase my discomfiture, the turnkey informed me that Lieutenant
-Giacourt had been removed from his post, and sent off to some inferior
-station in the provinces.
-
-I will not advert to the dreary time which followed this misfortune, a
-time in which the hours passed on unmeasured and almost unfelt. Without
-speculation, without a wish, I passed my days in a stupid indolence akin
-to torpor. Had the prison doors been open, I doubt if I should have had
-the energy to make my escape. Life itself ceased to have any value for
-me, but somehow I did not desire death. I was in this miserable mood
-when the turnkey awoke me one day as I was dozing on my bed. "Get up and
-prepare yourself to receive a visitor," said he. "There's an officer of
-the staff without, come to see you;" and, as he spoke, a young,
-slightly-formed man entered, in the uniform of a captain, who, making a
-sign for the turnkey to withdraw, took his seat at my bedside.
-
-"Don't get up, monsieur; you look ill and weak, so, pray, let me not
-disturb you," said he, in a voice of kindly meaning.
-
-"I am not ill," said I, with an effort, but my hollow utterance and my
-sunken cheeks contradicted my words, "but I have been sleeping; I
-usually doze at this hour."
-
-"The best thing a man can do in prison, I suppose," said he, smiling
-good-naturedly.
-
-"No, not the best," said I, catching up his words too literally. "I used
-to write the whole day long, till they carried away my paper and my
-pens."
-
-"It is just of that very thing I have come to speak, sir," resumed he.
-"You intended that memoir for publication!"
-
-"No; never."
-
-"Then for private perusal among a circle of friends."
-
-"Just as little. I scarcely know three people in the world who would
-acknowledge that title."
-
-"You had an object, however, in composing it?"
-
-"Yes; to occupy thought; to save me from--from--" I hesitated, for I was
-ashamed of the confession that nearly burst from me, and, after a pause,
-I said, "from being such as I now am?"
-
-"You wrote it for yourself alone, then?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Unprompted; without any suggestions from another?"
-
-"Is it here?" said I, looking around my cell, "Is it here that I should
-be likely to find a fellow-laborer?"
-
-"No; but I mean to ask, were the sentiments your own, without any
-external influence, or any persuasions from others?"
-
-"Quite my own."
-
-"And the narrative is true?"
-
-"Strictly so, I believe."
-
-"Even to your meeting with the Duc D'Enghien. It was purely accidental?"
-
-"That is, I never knew him to be the duke till the moment of his
-arrest?"
-
-"Just so; you thought he was merely a royalist noble. Then, why did you
-not address a memoir to that effect to the minister?"
-
-"I thought it would be useless; when they made so little of a Condé,
-what right had I to suppose they would think much about me?"
-
-"If _he_ could have proved his innocence"--he stopped, and then in an
-altered voice said--"but as to this memoir, you assume considerable airs
-of military knowledge in it, and many of the opinions smack of heads
-older than yours."
-
-"They are, I repeat, my own altogether; as to their presumption, I have
-already told you they were intended solely for my own eye."
-
-"So that you are not a royalist?"
-
-"No."
-
-"Never were one?"
-
-"Never."
-
-"In what way would you employ yourself, if set at liberty to-day."
-
-I stared, and felt confused; for however easy I found it to refer to the
-past, and reason on it, any speculation as to the future was a
-considerable difficulty.
-
-"You hesitate; you have not yet made up your mind, apparently?"
-
-"It is not that; I am trying to think of liberty, trying to fancy myself
-free--but I can not!" said I, with a weary sigh; "the air of this cell
-has sapped my courage and my energy--a little more will finish the
-ruin!"
-
-"And yet you are not much above four or five-and-twenty years of age?"
-
-"Not yet twenty!" said I.
-
-"Come, come, Tiernay--this is too early to be sick of life!" said he,
-and the kind tone touched me so that I burst into tears. They were
-bitter tears, too; for while my heart was relieved by this gush of
-feeling, I was ashamed at my own weakness. "Come, I say," continued he,
-"this memoir of yours might have done you much mischief--happily it has
-not done so. Give me the permission to throw it in the fire, and,
-instead of it, address a respectful petition to the head of the state,
-setting forth your services, and stating the casualty by which you were
-implicated in royalism. I will take care that it meets his eye, and, if
-possible, will support its prayer; above all, ask for reinstatement in
-your grade, and a return to the service. It may be, perhaps, that you
-can mention some superior officer who would vouch for your future
-conduct."
-
-"Except Colonel Mahon."
-
-"Not the Colonel Mahon who commanded the 13th Cuirassiers?"
-
-"The same!"
-
-"That name would little serve you," said he, coldly, "he has been placed
-'en retraite' some time back; and if your character can call no other
-witness than him, your case is not too favorable." He saw that the
-speech had disconcerted me, and soon added, "Never mind--keep to the
-memoir; state your case, and your apology, and leave the rest to
-fortune. When can you let me have it?"
-
-"By to-morrow--to-night, if necessary."
-
-"To-morrow will do well, and so good-by. I will order them to supply you
-with writing materials;" and slapping me good-naturedly on the shoulder,
-he cried, "Courage, my lad," and departed.
-
-Before I lay down to sleep that night, I completed my "memoir," the
-great difficulty of which I found to consist in that dry brevity which I
-knew Bonaparte would require. In this, however, I believe I succeeded at
-last, making the entire document not to occupy one sheet of paper. The
-officer had left his card of address, which I found was inscribed
-Monsieur Bourrienne, Rue Lafitte, a name that subsequently was to be
-well known to the world.
-
-I directed my manuscript to his care, and lay down with a lighter heart
-than I had known for many a day. I will not weary my reader with the
-tormenting vacillations of hope and fear which followed. Day after day
-went over, and no answer came to me. I addressed two notes respectful,
-but urgent, begging for some information as to my demand--none came. A
-month passed thus, when, one morning, the governor of the Temple entered
-my room with an open letter in his hand.
-
-"This is an order for your liberation, Monsieur de Tiernay," said he;
-"you are free."
-
-"Am I reinstated in my grade?" asked I, eagerly.
-
-He shook his head, and said nothing.
-
-"Is there no mention of my restoration to the service?"
-
-"None, sir."
-
-"Then, what is to become of me--to what end am I liberated?" cried I,
-passionately.
-
-"Paris is a great city, there is a wide world beyond it, and a man so
-young as you are must have few resources, or he will carve out a good
-career for himself."
-
-"Say, rather, he must have few resentments, sir," cried I, bitterly, "or
-he will easily hit upon a bad one;" and with this, I packed up the few
-articles I possessed, and prepared to depart.
-
-I remember it well; it was between two and three o'clock of the
-afternoon, on a bright day in spring, that I stood on the Quai Voltaire,
-a very small packet of clothes in a bundle in one hand, and a cane in
-the other, something short of three louis in my purse, and as much
-depression in my heart as ever settled down in that of a youth not full
-nineteen. Liberty is a glorious thing, and mine had been periled often
-enough, to give me a hearty appreciation of its blessing; but at that
-moment, as I stood friendless and companionless in a great thoroughfare
-of a great city, I almost wished myself back again within the dreary
-walls of the Temple, for somehow it felt like home! It is true one must
-have had a lonely lot in life before he could surround the cell of a
-prison with such attributes as these! Perhaps I have more of the
-cat-like affection for a particular spot than most men; but I do find
-that I attach myself to the walls with a tenacity that strengthens as I
-grow older, and like my brother parasite, the ivy, my grasp becomes more
-rigid the longer I cling.
-
-If I know of few merely sensual gratifications higher than a lounge
-through Paris, at the flood-tide of its population, watching the varied
-hues and complexions of its strange inhabitants, displaying, as they do
-in feature, air, and gesture, so much more of character and purpose than
-other people, so also do I feel that there is something indescribably
-miserable in being alone, unknown, and unnoticed in that vast throng,
-destitute of means for the present, and devoid of hope for the future.
-
-Some were bent on business, some on pleasure; some were evidently bent
-on killing time till the hour of more agreeable occupation should
-arrive; some were loitering along, gazing at the prints in shop-windows,
-or half-listlessly stopping to read at book-stalls. There was not only
-every condition of mankind, from wealth to mendicancy, but every frame
-of mind from enjoyment to utter "ennui," and yet I thought I could not
-hit upon any one individual who looked as forlorn and cast away as
-myself; however, there were many who passed me that day who would gladly
-have changed fortune with me, but it would have been difficult to
-persuade me of the fact, in the mood I then was.
-
-At the time I speak of, there was a species of cheap ordinary held in
-the open air on the quay, where people of the humblest condition used to
-dine; I need scarcely describe the fare; the reader may conceive what it
-was, which, wine included, cost only four sous; a rude table without a
-cloth; some wooden platters, and an iron rail to which the knives and
-forks were chained, formed the "equipage," the cookery bearing a due
-relation to the elegance of these "accessories." As for the company, if
-not polite, it was certainly picturesque; consisting of laborers of the
-lowest class, the sweepers of crossings, hackney-cab men out of employ,
-that poorest of the poor who try to earn a livelihood by dragging the
-Seine for lost articles, and finally, the motley race of idlers who
-vacillate between beggary and ballad singing, with now and then a dash
-at highway robbery for a "distraction;" a class, be it said without
-paradox, which in Paris includes a considerable number of tolerably
-honest folk.
-
-The moment was the eventful one, in which France was about once more to
-become a monarchy, and as may be inferred from the character of the
-people, it was a time of high excitement and enthusiasm. The nation,
-even in its humblest citizen, seemed to feel some of the reflected glory
-that glanced from the great achievements of Bonaparte, and his elevation
-was little other than a grand manifestation of national self-esteem.
-That he knew how to profit by this sentiment, and incorporate his own
-with the country's glory, so that they seemed to be inseparable, is not
-among the lowest nor the least of the efforts of his genius.
-
-The paroxysm of national vanity, for it was indeed no less, imparted a
-peculiar character to the period. A vainglorious, boastful spirit was
-abroad; men met each other with high sounding gratulations about French
-greatness and splendor, the sway we wielded over the rest of Europe, and
-the influence with which we impressed our views over the entire globe.
-Since the fall of the monarchy there had been half-a-dozen national
-fevers! There was the great Fraternal and Equality one; there was the
-era of classical associations, with all their train of trumpery
-affectation in dress and manner.
-
-Then came the conquering spirit, with the flattering spectacle of great
-armies; and now, as if to complete the cycle, there grew up that
-exaggerated conception of "France and her Mission," an unlucky phrase
-that has since done plenty of mischief, which seemed to carry the nation
-into the seventh heaven of overweening self-love.
-
-If I advert to this here, it is but passingly, neither stopping to
-examine its causes nor seeking to inquire the consequences that ensued
-from it, but, as it were, chronicling the fact as it impressed me as I
-stood that day on the Quai Voltaire, perhaps the only unimpassioned
-lounger along its crowded thoroughfare.
-
-Not even the ordinary "à quatre sous" claimed exemption from this
-sentiment. It might be supposed that meagre diet and sour wine were but
-sorry provocatives to national enthusiasm, but even they could minister
-to the epidemic ardor, and the humble dishes of that frugal board
-masqueraded under titles that served to feed popular vanity. Of this I
-was made suddenly aware as I stood looking over the parapet into the
-river, and heard the rude voices of the laborers as they called for
-cutlets "à la Caire," potatoes "en Mamelouques," or roast beef "à la
-Montenotte," while every goblet of their wine was tossed off to some
-proud sentiment of national supremacy.
-
-Amused by the scene, so novel in all its bearings, I took my place at
-the table, not sorry for the excuse to myself for partaking so humble a
-repast.
-
-"Sacre bleu," cried a rough-looking fellow with a red night-cap set on
-one side of the head, "make room there, we have the 'aristocrates'
-coming down among us."
-
-"Monsieur is heartily welcome," said another, making room for me; "we
-are only flattered by such proofs of confidence and esteem."
-
-"Ay, parbleu," cried a third. "The Empire is coming, and we shall be
-well-bred and well-mannered. I intend to give up the river, and take to
-some more gentlemanlike trade than drudging for dead men."
-
-"And I, I'll never sharpen any thing under a rapier or a dress-sword for
-the court," said a knife-grinder; "we have been living like 'cannaille'
-hitherto--nothing better."
-
-"À l'empire, à l'empire," shouted half-a-dozen voices in concert, and
-the glasses were drained to the toast with a loud cheer.
-
-Directly opposite to me sat a thin, pale, mild-looking man, of about
-fifty, in a kind of stuff robe, like the dress of a village curate. His
-appearance, though palpably poor, was venerable and imposing--not the
-less so, perhaps, from its contrast with the faces and gestures at
-either side of him. Once or twice, while these ebullitions of enthusiasm
-burst forth, his eyes met mine, and I read, or fancied that I read, a
-look of kindred appreciation in their mild and gentle glance. The
-expression was less reproachful than compassionate, as though in pity
-for the ignorance rather than in reprobation for the folly. Now,
-strangely enough, this was precisely the very sentiment of my own heart
-at that moment. I remembered a somewhat similar enthusiasm for
-republican liberty, by men just as unfitted to enjoy it; and I thought
-to myself the Empire, like the Convention, or the Directory, is a mere
-fabulous conception to these poor fellows, who, whatever may be the
-regime, will still be hewers of wood and drawers of water, to the end of
-all time.
-
-As I was pondering over this, I felt something touch my arm, and on
-turning perceived that my opposite neighbor had now seated himself at my
-side, and, in a low, soft voice, was bidding me "Good-day." After one or
-two commonplace remarks upon the weather and the scene, he seemed to
-feel that some apology for his presence in such a place was needful, for
-he said:
-
-"You are here, monsieur, from a feeling of curiosity, that, I see well
-enough; but I come for a very different reason. I am the pastor of a
-mountain village of the Ardêche, and have come to Paris in search of a
-young girl, the daughter of one of my flock, who, it is feared, has been
-carried off by some evil influence from her home and her friends, to
-seek fortune and fame in this rich capital; for she is singularly
-beautiful and gifted too, sings divinely, and improvises poetry with a
-genius that seems inspiration."
-
-There was a degree of enthusiasm, blended with simplicity, in the poor
-curé's admiration for his "lost sheep" that touched me deeply. He had
-been now three weeks in vain pursuit, and was at last about to return
-homeward, discomfited and unsuccessful. "Lisette" was the very soul of
-the little hamlet, and he knew not how life was to be carried on there
-without her. The old loved her as a daughter; the young were rivals for
-her regard.
-
-"And to me," said the père, "whom, in all the solitude of my lonely lot,
-literature, and especially poetry, consoles many an hour of sadness or
-melancholy--to me, she was like a good angel, her presence diffusing
-light as she crossed my humble threshold, and elevating my thoughts
-above the little crosses and accidents of daily life."
-
-So interested had I become in this tale, that I listened while he told
-every circumstance of the little locality; and walking along at his
-side, I wandered out of the city, still hearing of "La Marche," as the
-village was called, till I knew the ford where the blacksmith lived, and
-the miller with the cross wife, and the lame schoolmaster, and Pierre
-the postmaster, who read out the _Moniteur_ each evening under the elms,
-even to Jacques Fulgeron the "tapageur," who had served at Jemappes,
-and, with his wounded hand and his waxed mustache, was the terror of all
-peaceable folk.
-
-"You should come and see us, my dear monsieur," said he to me, as I
-showed some more than common interest in the narrative. "You, who seem
-to study character, would find something better worth the notice than
-these hardened natures of city life. Come, and spend a week or two with
-me, and if you do not like our people and their ways, I am but a sorry
-physiognomist."
-
-It is needless to say that I was much flattered by this kind proof of
-confidence and good-will; and, finally, it was agreed upon between us
-that I should aid him in his search for three days, after which, if
-still unsuccessful, we should set out together for La Marche. It was
-easy to see that the poor curé was pleased at my partnership in the
-task, for there were several public places of resort--theatres,
-"spectacles," and the like--to which he scrupled to resort, and these he
-now willingly conceded to my inspection, having previously given me so
-accurate a description of La Lisette, that I fancied I should recognize
-her among a thousand. If her long black eyelashes did not betray her,
-her beautiful teeth were sure to do so; or, if I heard her voice, there
-could be no doubt then; and, lastly, her foot would as infallibly
-identify her as did Cinderella's.
-
-For want of better, it was agreed upon that we should make the
-Restaurant à Quatre Sous our rendezvous each day, to exchange our
-confidences and report progress. It will scarcely be believed how even
-this much of a pursuit diverted my mind from its own dark dreamings, and
-how eagerly my thoughts pursued the new track that was opened to them.
-It was the utter listlessness, the nothingness of my life, that was
-weighing me down; and already I saw an escape from this in the pursuit
-of a good object. I could wager that the pastor of La Marche never
-thought so intensely, so uninterruptedly, of Lisette as did I for the
-four-and-twenty hours that followed! It was not only that I had created
-her image to suit my fancy, but I had invented a whole narrative of her
-life and adventures since her arrival in Paris.
-
-My firm conviction being that it was lost time to seek for her in
-obscure and out-of-the-way quarters of the city, I thought it best to
-pursue the search in the thronged and fashionable resorts of the gay
-world, the assemblies and theatres. Strong in this conviction, I changed
-one of my three gold pieces, to purchase a ticket for the opera. The
-reader may smile at the sacrifice; but when he who thinks four sous
-enough for a dinner, pays twelve francs for the liberty to be crushed in
-the crowded parterre of a play-house, he is indeed buying pleasure at a
-costly price. It was something more than a fifth of all I possessed in
-the world, but, after all, my chief regret arose from thinking that it
-left me so few remaining "throws of the dice" for "Fortune."
-
-I have often reflected since that day by what a mere accident I was
-present, and yet the spectacle was one that I have never forgotten. It
-was the last time the First Consul appeared in public, before his
-assumption of the imperial title; and at no period through all his great
-career was the enthusiasm more impassioned regarding him. He sat in the
-box adjoining the stage--Cambaceres and Lebrun, with a crowd of others,
-standing, and not sitting, around and behind his chair. When he
-appeared, the whole theatre rose to greet him, and three several times
-was he obliged to rise and acknowledge the salutations. And with what a
-stately condescension did he make these slight acknowledgments!--what
-haughtiness was there in the glance he threw around him. I have often
-heard it said, and I have seen it also written, that previous to his
-assumption of the crown, Bonaparte's manner exhibited the mean arts and
-subtle devices of a candidate on the hustings, dispensing all the
-flatteries and scattering all the promises that such occasions are so
-prolific of. I can not, of course, pretend to contradict this statement
-positively; but I can record the impression which that scene made upon
-me as decidedly the opposite of this assumption. I have repeatedly seen
-him since that event, but never do I remember his calm, cold features
-more impassively stern, more proudly collected, than on that night.
-
-Every allusion of the piece that could apply to him was eagerly caught
-up. Not a phrase nor a chance word that could compliment, was passed
-over in silence; and if greatness and glory were accorded, as if by an
-instinctive reverence, the vast assemblage turned toward him, to lay
-their homage at his feet. I watched him narrowly, and could see that he
-received them all as his rightful tribute, the earnest of the debt the
-nation owed him. Among the incidents of that night, I remember one which
-actually for the moment convulsed the house with its enthusiasm. One of
-the officers of his suite had somehow ambled against Bonaparte's hat,
-which, on entering, he had thrown carelessly beside his chair. Stooping
-down and lifting it up, he perceived to whom it belonged, and then
-remarking the mark of a bullet on the edge, he showed it significantly
-to a general near him. Slight and trivial as was the incident, it was
-instantly caught up by the _parterre_. A low murmur ran quickly around,
-and then a sudden cheer burst forth, for some one remembered it was the
-anniversary of Marengo! And now the excitement became madness, and
-reiterated shouts proclaimed that the glory of that day was among the
-proudest memories of France. For once, and once only, did any trait of
-feeling show itself on that impassive face. I thought I could mark even
-a faint tinge of color in that sallow cheek, as in recognition he bowed
-a dignified salute to the waving and agitated assembly.
-
-I saw that proud face, at moments when human ambition might have seemed
-to have reached its limit, and yet never with a haughtier look than on
-that night I speak of. His foot was already on the first step of the
-throne, and his spirit seemed to swell with the conscious force of
-coming greatness.
-
-And Lisette, all this time? Alas, I had totally forgotten her! As the
-enthusiasm around me began to subside, I had time to recover myself, and
-look about me. There was much beauty and splendor to admire. Madame
-Junot was there, and Mademoiselle de Bessieres, with a crowd of others
-less known, but scarcely less lovely. Not one, however, could I see that
-corresponded with my mind-drawn portrait of the peasant-beauty; and I
-scanned each face closely and critically. There was female loveliness of
-every type, from the dark-eyed beauty of Spanish race, to the almost
-divine regularity of a Raffaelite picture. There was the brilliant
-aspect of fashion, too; but nowhere could I see what I sought for!
-nowhere detect that image which imagination had stamped as that of the
-beauty of "La Marche." If disappointed in my great object, I left the
-theatre with my mind full of all I had witnessed. The dreadful event of
-Ettenheim had terribly shaken Bonaparte, in my esteem; yet how resist
-the contagious devotion of a whole nation--how remain cold in the midst
-of the burning zeal of all France? These thoughts brought me to the
-consideration of myself. Was I, or was I not, any longer a soldier of
-his army? or was I disqualified for joining in that burst of national
-enthusiasm which proclaimed that all France was ready to march under his
-banner? To-morrow I'll wait upon the Minister of War, thought I, or I'll
-seek out the commanding officer of some regiment that I know, or, at
-least, a comrade; and so I went on, endeavoring to frame a plan for my
-guidance, as I strolled along the streets, which were now almost
-deserted. The shops were all closed; of the hotels, such as were yet
-open, were far too costly for means like mine; and so, as the night was
-calm and balmy with the fresh air of spring, I resolved to pass it out
-of doors. I loitered then along the Champs Elysees; and, at length,
-stretching myself on the grass beneath the trees, lay down to sleep. "An
-odd bedroom enough," thought I, "for one who has passed the evening at
-the opera, and who has feasted his ears at the expense of his stomach."
-I remembered, too, another night, when the sky had been my canopy in
-Paris, when I slept beneath the shadow of the guillotine and the Place
-de Grève. "Well," thought I, "times are at least changed for the better,
-since that day; and my own fortunes are certainly not lower."
-
-This comforting reflection closed my waking memories, and I slept
-soundly till morning.
-
-
-CHAPTER XLII.
-
-THE "COUNT DE MAUREPAS," ALIAS ----
-
-There is a wide gulf between him who opens his waking eyes in a splendid
-chamber, and with half-drowsy thoughts speculates on the pleasures of
-the coming day, and him, who, rising from the dew-moistened earth,
-stretches his aching limbs for a second or so, and then hurries away to
-make his toilet at the nearest fountain.
-
-I have known both conditions, and yet, without being thought
-paradoxical, I would wish to say that there are some sensations
-attendant on the latter and the humbler lot which I would not exchange
-for all the voluptuous ease of the former. Let there be but youth and
-there is something of heroism, something adventurous in the notion of
-thus alone and unaided breasting the wide ocean of life, and, like a
-hardy swimmer, daring to stem the roughest breakers without one to
-succor him, that is worth all the security that even wealth can impart,
-all the conscious ease that luxury and affluence can supply. In a world
-and an age like ours, thought I, there must surely be some course for
-one young, active, and daring as I am. Even if France reject me there
-are countries beyond the seas where energy and determination will open a
-path. "Courage, Maurice," said I, as I dashed the sparkling water over
-my head, "the past has not been all inglorious, and the future may prove
-even better."
-
-A roll and a glass of iced water furnished my breakfast, after which I
-set forth in good earnest on my search. There was a sort of
-self-flattery in the thought that one so destitute as I was could devote
-his thoughts and energies to the service of another, that pleased me
-greatly. It was so "unselfish"--at least I thought so. Alas, and alas!
-how egotistical are we when we fancy ourselves least so. That day I
-visited St. Roche and Notre Dame at early mass, and by noon reached the
-Louvre, the gallery of which occupied me till the hour of meeting the
-curé drew nigh.
-
-Punctual to his appointment, I found him waiting for me at the corner of
-the quay, and although disappointed at the failure of all his efforts,
-he talked away with all the energy of one who would not suffer himself
-to be cast down by adverse fortune. "I feel," said he, "a kind of
-instinctive conviction that we shall find her yet. There is something
-tells me that all our pains shall not go unrewarded. Have you never
-experienced a sensation of this kind--a species of inward prompting to
-pursue a road, to penetrate into a pass, or to explore a way, without
-exactly knowing why or wherefore?"
-
-This question, vague enough as it seemed, led me to talk about myself
-and my own position; a theme which, however much I might have shrunk
-from introducing, when once opened, I spoke of in all the freedom of old
-friendship.
-
-Nothing could be more delicate than the priest's manner during all this
-time; nor even when his curiosity was highest did he permit himself to
-ask a question or an explanation of any difficulty that occurred; and
-while he followed my recital with a degree of interest that was most
-flattering, he never ventured on a word or dropped a remark that might
-seem to urge me to greater frankness. "Do you know," said he, at last,
-"why your story has taken such an uncommon hold upon my attention. It is
-not from its adventurous character, nor from the stirring and strange
-scenes you have passed through. It is because your old pastor and guide,
-the Père Delamoy, was my own dearest friend, my school companion and
-playfellow from infancy. We were both students at Louvain together; both
-called to the priesthood on the same day. Think, then, of my intense
-delight at hearing his dear name once more; ay, and permit me to say it,
-hearing from the lips of another the very precepts and maxims that I can
-recognize as his own. "Ah, yes! _mon cher_ Maurice," cried he, grasping
-my hand in a burst of enthusiasm, "disguise it how you may, cover it up
-under the uniform of a 'Bleu,' bury it beneath the shako of the soldier
-of the Republic, but the head and the heart will turn to the ancient
-altars of the Church and the Monarchy. It is not alone that your good
-blood suggests this, but all your experience of life goes to prove it.
-Think of poor Michel, self-devoted, generous, and noble-hearted; think
-of that dear cottage at Kuffstein, where, even in poverty, the dignity
-of birth and blood threw a grace and an elegance over daily life; think
-of Ettenheim and the glorious prince--the last Condé--and who now sleeps
-in his narrow bed in the fosse of Vincennes!"
-
-"How do you mean?" said I, eagerly, for up to this time I knew nothing
-of his fate.
-
-"Come along with me and you shall know it all," said he; and, rising, he
-took my arm, and we sauntered along out of the crowded street, till we
-reached the Boulevards. He then narrated to me every incident of the
-midnight trial, the sentence, and the execution. From the death-warrant
-that came down ready-filled from Paris, to the grave dug while the
-victim was yet sleeping, he forgot nothing; and I own that my very blood
-ran cold at the terrible atrocity of that dark murder. It was already
-growing dusk when he had finished, and we parted hurriedly, as he was
-obliged to be at a distant quarter of Paris by eight o'clock, again
-agreeing to meet, as before, on the Quai Voltaire.
-
-From that moment till we met the following day the Duc D'Enghien was
-never out of my thoughts, and I was impatient for the priest's presence
-that I might tell him every little incident of our daily life at
-Ettenheim, the topics we used to discuss, and the opinions he expressed
-on various subjects. The eagerness of the curé to listen stimulated me
-to talk on, and I not only narrated all that I was myself a witness of,
-but various other circumstances which were told to me by the prince
-himself; in particular an incident he mentioned to me one day of being
-visited by a stranger who came, introduced by a letter from a very
-valued friend; his business being to propose to the duke a scheme for
-the assassination of Bonaparte. At first the prince suspected the whole
-as a plot against himself, but on further questioning he discovered that
-the man's intentions were really such as he professed them, and offered
-his services in the conviction that no price could be deemed too high to
-reward him. It is needless to say that the offer was rejected with
-indignation, and the prince dismissed the fellow with the threat of
-delivering him up to the government of the French Consul. The pastor
-heard this anecdote with deep attention, and, for the first time,
-diverging from his line of cautious reserve, he asked me various
-questions as to when the occurrence had taken place, and where? If the
-Prince had communicated the circumstance to any other than myself, and
-whether he had made it the subject of any correspondence. I knew little
-more than I had already told him: that the offer was made while residing
-at Ettenheim, and during the preceding year, were facts, however, that I
-could remember.
-
-"You are surprised, perhaps," said he, "at the interest I feel in all
-this, but, strangely enough, there is here in Paris at this moment one
-of the great 'Seigneurs' of the Ardèche; he has come up to the capital
-for medical advice, and he was a great, perhaps the greatest friend of
-the poor duke. What if you were to come and pay him a visit with me,
-there is not probably one favor the whole world could bestow he would
-value so highly. You must often have heard his name from the prince; has
-he not frequently spoken of the Count de Maurepas?" I could not remember
-having ever heard the name. "It is historical, however," said the curé,
-"and even in our own days has not derogated from its ancient chivalry.
-Have you not heard how a noble of the court rode postillion to the
-king's carriage on the celebrated escape from Varennes? Well, even for
-curiosity's sake, he is worth a visit, for this is the very Count Henry
-de Maurepas, now on the verge of the grave!"
-
-If the good curé had known me all my life he could not more successfully
-have baited a trap for my curiosity. To see and know remarkable people,
-men who had done something out of the ordinary route of every-day life,
-had been a passion with me from boyhood. Hero-worship was indeed a great
-feature in my character, and has more or less influenced all my career,
-nor was I insensible to the pleasure of doing a kind action. It was
-rare, indeed, that one so humbly placed could ever confer a favor, and I
-grasped with eagerness the occasion to do so. We agreed, then, on the
-next afternoon, toward nightfall, to meet at the quay, and proceed
-together to the count's residence. I have often reflected, since that
-day, that Lisette's name was scarcely ever mentioned by either of us
-during this interview; and yet, at the time, so preoccupied were my
-thoughts, I never noticed the omission. The Chateau of Ettenheim, and
-its tragic story, filled my mind to the exclusion of all else.
-
-I pass over the long and dreary hours that intervened, and come at once
-to the time, a little after sunset, when we met at our accustomed
-rendezvous.
-
-The curé had provided a "fiacre" for the occasion, as the count's
-residence was about two leagues from the city, on the way to Belleville.
-As we trotted along, he gave me a most interesting account of the old
-noble, whose life had been one continued act of devotion to the
-monarchy.
-
-"It will be difficult," said he, "for you to connect the poor, worn-out,
-shattered wreck before you, with all that was daring in deed and
-chivalrous in sentiment; but the 'Maurepas' were well upheld in all
-their glorious renown, by him who is now to be the last of the race! You
-will see him reduced by suffering and sickness, scarcely able to speak,
-but be assured that you will have his gratitude for this act of true
-benevolence." Thus chatting we rattled along over the paved highway, and
-at length entered upon a deep clay road which conducted us to a spacious
-park, with a long straight avenue of trees, at the end of which stood
-what, even in the uncertain light, appeared a spacious chateau. The door
-lay open, and as we descended a servant in plain clothes received us,
-and, after a whispered word or two from the curé ushered us along
-through a suite of rooms into a large chamber furnished like a study.
-There were book shelves well filled, and a writing table covered with
-papers and letters, and the whole floor was littered with newspapers and
-journals.
-
-A lamp, shaded by a deep gauze cover, threw a half light over every
-thing, nor was it until we had been nearly a couple of minutes in the
-room that we became aware of the presence of the count, who lay upon a
-sofa covered up in a fur pelisse, although the season was far advanced
-in spring.
-
-His gentle "good evening, messieurs," was the first warning we had of
-his presence, and the curé, advancing respectfully, presented me as his
-young friend, Monsieur de Tiernay.
-
-"It is not the first time that I hear that name," said the sick man,
-with a voice of singular sweetness. "It is chronicled in the annals of
-our monarchy. Ay, sir, I knew that faithful servant of his king, who
-followed his master to the scaffold."
-
-"My father," cried I, eagerly.
-
-"I knew him well," continued he. "I may say, without vaunting, that I
-had it in my power to befriend him, too. He made an imprudent marriage;
-he was unfortunate in the society his second wife's family threw him
-among. They were not his equals in birth, and far beneath him in
-sentiment and principle. Well, well," sighed he, "this is not a theme
-for me to speak of, nor for you to hear; tell me of yourself. The curé
-says that you have had more than your share of worldly vicissitudes.
-There, sit down, and let me hear your story from your own lips."
-
-He pointed to a seat at his side, and I obeyed him at once, for,
-somehow, there was an air of command even in the gentlest tones of his
-voice, and I felt that his age and his sufferings were not the only
-claims he possessed to influence those around him.
-
-With all the brevity in my power, my story lasted for above an hour,
-during which time the count only interrupted me once or twice by asking
-to which Colonel Mahon I referred, as there were two of the name? and
-again, by inquiring in what circumstances the _emigré_ families were
-living as to means, and whether they appeared to derive any of their
-resources from France? These were points I could give no information
-upon, and I plainly perceived that the count had no patience for a
-conjecture, and that, where positive knowledge failed, he instantly
-passed on to something else. When I came to speak of Ettenheim his
-attention became fixed, not suffering the minutest circumstance to
-escape him, and even asking for the exact description of the locality,
-and its distance from the towns in the neighborhood.
-
-The daily journeys of the prince, too, interested him much, and once or
-twice he made me repeat what the peasant had said of the horse being
-able to travel from Strassburg without a halt. I vow it puzzled me why
-he should dwell on these points in preference to others of far more
-interest, but I set them down to the caprices of illness, and thought no
-more of them. His daily life, his conversation, the opinions he
-expressed about France, the questions he used to ask, were all matters
-he inquired into, till, finally, we came to the anecdote of the
-meditated assassination of Bonaparte. This he made me tell him twice
-over, each time asking me eagerly whether, by an effort of memory, I
-could not recall the name of the man who had offered his services for
-the deed? This I could not; indeed I knew not if I had ever heard it.
-
-"But the prince rejected the proposal?" said he, peering at me beneath
-the dark shadow of his heavy brow; "he would not hear of it?"
-
-"Of course not," cried I; "he even threatened to denounce the man to the
-government."
-
-"And do you think that he would have gone thus far, sir?" asked he,
-slowly.
-
-"I am certain of it. The horror and disgust he expressed when reciting
-the story were a guarantee for what he would have done."
-
-"But yet Bonaparte has been a dreadful enemy to his race," said the
-count.
-
-"It is not a Condé can right himself by a murder," said I as calmly.
-
-"How I like that burst of generous royalism, young man!" said he,
-grasping my hand and shaking it warmly. "That steadfast faith in the
-honor of a Bourbon is the very heart and soul of loyalty!"
-
-Now, although I was not, so far as I knew of, any thing of a
-Royalist--the cause had neither my sympathy nor my wishes--I did not
-choose to disturb the equanimity of a poor sick man by a needless
-disclaimer, nor induce a discussion which must be both unprofitable and
-painful.
-
-"How did the fellow propose the act? had he any accomplices? or was he
-alone?"
-
-"I believe quite alone."
-
-"Of course suborned by England? Of that there can be no doubt."
-
-"The prince never said so."
-
-"Well, but, it is clear enough, the man must have had means; he traveled
-by a very circuitous route; he had come from Hamburg, probably?"
-
-"I never heard."
-
-"He must have done so. The ports of Holland, as those of France, would
-have been too dangerous for him. Italy is out of the question."
-
-I owned that I had not speculated so deeply on the matter.
-
-"It was strange," said he, after a pause, "that the duke never mentioned
-who had introduced the man to him."
-
-"He merely called him a valued friend."
-
-"In other words, the Count D'Artois," said the count; "did it not strike
-you so?"
-
-I had to confess it had not occurred to me to think so.
-
-"But reflect a little," said he. "Is there any other living who could
-have dared to make such a proposal but the count? Who, but the head of
-his house, could have presumed on such a step? No inferior could have
-had the audacity! It must have come from one so highly placed, that
-crime paled itself down to a mere measure of expediency, under the
-loftiness of the sanction. What think you?"
-
-"I can not, I will not think so", was my answer. "The very indignation of
-the prince's rejection refutes the supposition."
-
-"What a glorious gift is unsuspectfulness," said he, feelingly. "I am a
-rich man, and you, I believe, are not so; and yet, I'd give all my
-wealth, ay, ten times told, not for your vigor of health, not for the
-lightness of your heart, nor the elasticity of your spirits, but for
-that one small quality, defect though it be, that makes you trustful and
-credulous."
-
-I believe I would just as soon that the old gentleman had thought fit to
-compliment me upon any other quality. Of all my acquisitions, there was
-not one I was so vain of as my knowledge of life and character. I had
-seen, as I thought, so much of life! I had peeped at all ranks and
-conditions of men, and it was rather hard to find an old country
-gentleman, a "Seigneur de Village," calling me credulous and
-unsuspecting!
-
-I was much more pleased when he told the curé that a supper was ready
-for us in the adjoining room, at which he begged we would excuse his
-absence; and truly a most admirable little meal it was, and served with
-great elegance.
-
-"The count expects you to stop here; there is a chamber prepared for
-you," said the curé, as we took our seats at table. "He has evidently
-taken a fancy to you. I thought, indeed I was quite certain, he would.
-Who can tell what good fortune this chance meeting may lead to, Monsieur
-Maurice! A votre sante, mon cher!" cried he, as he clinked his champagne
-glass against mine, and I at last began to think that destiny was about
-to smile on me.
-
-"You should see his Chateau in the Ardêche; this is nothing to it! There
-is a forest, too, of native oak, and a 'Chasse' such as royalty never
-owned!"
-
-Mine were delightful dreams that night; but I was sorely disappointed on
-waking to find that Laura was not riding at my side through a
-forest-alley, while a crowd of "Piqueurs" and huntsmen galloped to and
-fro, making the air vibrate with their joyous bugles. Still, I opened my
-eyes in a richly-furnished chamber, and a Jaques handed me my coffee on
-a silver stand, and in a cup of costliest Sèvres.
-
-(TO BE CONTINUED.)
-
-
-
-
-RECOLLECTIONS OF COLTON, THE AUTHOR OF "LACON."
-
-
-Colton was remarkable for the extent and profundity of his talents, the
-various mutations of fortune, self-entailed, which he underwent, and for
-his inordinate addiction to a vice of all others the most degrading and
-destructive to intellectual strength--who was yet great in intellect and
-purpose amidst all the strange vicissitudes of which he was the
-self-constituted victim, and beneath the pressure of moral and physical
-degradation which he would never have undergone but for the influence of
-one fatal and overwhelming passion. One of the very first objects of my
-boyish reverence and veneration was, as might be expected with a child
-religiously educated, the parson of the parish in the market town where
-I was brought up. Parson C----, who, I believe, held the benefice of St.
-Peter's in my native place, was a man whom, having once known, it was
-not very easy to forget. I could have been hardly six years of age when
-I first saw him without his canonical garb, on which occasion he was
-playing a trout on the end of his line under one of the weirs in the
-river Exe. At that time the town was pretty well stocked with French
-prisoners. The jails were crammed with the miserable soldiery of
-Napoleon's generals, captured in the Peninsular war, then raging, and
-numbers of French officers on parole were installed with the
-housekeepers of the place in the capacity of lodgers. With these our
-all-accomplished divine was almost the only man in the place who could
-hold converse. A part of my father's house was occupied by a couple of
-Gallic strangers, to whom the parson's visits were many and frequent. As
-they dined at the common table, their society, together with that of the
-reverend gentleman, was shared by the whole family, and we thus became
-more intimate with him than we otherwise should. It is said that
-familiarity breeds contempt. Certain it is that my father's veneration
-for the character of his and our spiritual guide and instructor suffered
-considerable declension from his closer acquaintance. Still, what he
-lost in reverence he perhaps gained in another way. His kind, agreeable,
-and social manners won the admiration and good-will of the whole family,
-and though he had a good many enemies in the town, we could not be of
-the number. He was a man of eccentric manners and fine genius, and,
-though then but young, had given proofs of talent of no mean order. He
-had published a rather bulky poem on the subject of Hypocrisy, a subject
-with which his detractors were not slow to observe he ought to be very
-well acquainted. But he was not really a hypocrite in the true sense of
-the word, if indeed, as may be questioned, he deserved the imputation at
-all. He was rather the subject of ever-varying impulses, under the
-instigation of which, were they good or bad, he would instinctively
-proceed to act without consideration and without restraint. He would be
-eloquent as Demosthenes in the pulpit in praise of the Christian
-virtues, and would work himself into a passion of tears on behalf of
-some benevolent or charitable purpose, the claims of which he would
-enforce with the most irresistible appeals to the conscience; and the
-next day he would gallop after the fox with a pack of hounds, fish,
-shoot, or fight a main, in company with sporting blacklegs, bruisers,
-dicers, _et hoc genus omne_. But he never made any personal pretensions
-to religious sentiment that I am aware of, except on one occasion,
-which, as it tends greatly to illustrate the true character of the man,
-I shall relate.
-
-Among the companions of his sporting pursuits was a country squire of
-the neighborhood, a dissolute and drunken specimen of a class of men of
-which, fortunately for humanity, the present generation knows but
-little. He had ruined his fortune and nearly beggared his family by
-extravagance and intemperance, when, after a long course of
-uninterrupted and abused health and vigor, he was laid by the heels upon
-a sick bed, from which the doctors had no hopes of ever releasing him.
-In this dilemma he sent for Parson C----, who appeared forthwith in the
-chamber of the sick man, and was beginning to mutter over the service
-for the visitation of the sick, when the latter, belching forth a volley
-of oaths and curses, swore that he did not send for him for any such
-purpose; that what he wanted was an acknowledgment from the parson's own
-lips of the fact which all parsons' lives declared--that their religion,
-and all religion was a lie. This was an admission which C---- declined
-to make. A horrible scene ensued, of impotent rage and blasphemy on one
-part, and shame and confusion on the other. It ended in the death of the
-frantic and despairing drunkard, in the very presence of his ghostly
-adviser, whom he cursed with his last breath. This deplorable climax to
-such a scene of horror, it may be readily imagined, had a powerful
-effect upon the impulsive and excitable nature of poor C----. He left
-the chamber of such a death an altered man, and, proceeding homeward,
-shut himself up in his closet. On the following Sunday morning he took
-occasion to preach impressively, from the most solemn text he could
-select, upon the uncertainty of life. In the course of his sermon, he
-called upon all present to prepare for the doom which none could
-escape--which, inexorable to all, might be immediate to any, and
-therefore demanded instant and energetic preparation. He wound up his
-discourse with the extraordinary declaration that he, for one, had made
-up his mind upon the subject; that he had seen the error of his ways,
-and determined to abandon them; and that he was resolved thenceforth,
-with God's help, to devote the rest of his remaining life to his own
-preparation, and theirs, for the dreaded hour. He then called upon his
-auditors to bear witness to the resolution he had expressed, and to aid
-him in carrying it out. There was something like a commotion even in the
-church when this announcement was concluded; and the sensation and
-excitement it occasioned in the town, for some time after, only subsided
-as the parson's resolution waned in strength, and its effects became
-less and less observable. For some months he held fast to his purpose
-with the most laudable tenacity. It was in the spring of the year that
-he made his public declaration; and though the old friends of his
-follies laughed at it, and laid heavy wagers against his perseverance,
-he held on his way steadily--He began a course of pastoral
-visitation--sought out and relieved the poor and afflicted--parted with
-his fishing-tackle, and commenced an enthusiastic canvass for a
-dispensary for the poor. Of his old friends among the "ungodly," and his
-old enemies among the pious, few knew what to make of it. The Parson
-C---- of old time was no more; but, in his place, a new man with the
-same face was every where active in the cause of charity and Christian
-benevolence. Those who knew him best doubted most of his stability and
-among these, I remember my father's expressing his conviction that the
-reformation was "too hot to hold." So it turned out in the end. Three,
-four, five months of exemplary conduct, and then came the first symptom
-of declension, in the shape of the parson's gray horse harnessed to a
-dog-cart, with his gun and brace of pointers, in charge of a groom, the
-whole "turn-out" ready for starting, and waiting at the entrance of the
-church-yard on Sunday evening, the last night of August, to carry the
-parson, so soon as service was over, to a celebrated shooting-ground,
-five-and-twenty miles off, that he might be on the spot, ready by dawn
-for the irresistible 1st of September. Those who prophesied from this
-demonstration a return to old habits had speedy occasion to pride
-themselves upon their augury.
-
-The Sampford Ghost soon after came upon the stage, with his mysterious
-knockings and poundings; and defied all objurgations and exorcisms, save
-and except those of Parson C----, at the sound of whose classical Greek,
-or gibberish, as it might happen, he absconded to the bottom of the Red
-Sea, as in duty bound. Here was food for wonder and gaping superstition,
-to which the reverend divine condescended to pander, by the publication
-of a pamphlet supporting the supernatural view of the subject, which,
-being on a marvelous topic, sold marvelously well, and brought grist to
-the clerical mill.
-
-Of the subsequent career of this eccentric genius, from the time I
-ceased to reside in Devonshire to that when I encountered him in Paris I
-have no personal knowledge. I only know that he afterward obtained a
-benefice in the neighborhood of London; that in the year 1820 he
-published a work which has run through many editions, is in high repute
-with a certain class of readers, and is said by competent judges to
-manifest a profound practical acquaintance with the philosophy of the
-mind, and to contain more original views in relation to that science
-than any other work of equal dimensions.
-
-I have already hinted that my vocation as a teacher of English
-introduced me to a new order of French humanity. Among the various
-pupils who sought my cheap assistance in the promotion of their studies
-was one Maubert, a young fellow of four or five and twenty, who was
-contemplating a removal to London in the exercise of his profession,
-which was neither more nor less than that of a gambler. He had a
-relative in one of the hells at St. James's, who had offered him a
-lucrative engagement so soon as he was sufficiently master of English to
-be enabled to undertake it. I was astonished to find a person of such
-mild, meek, and almost effeminate manners engaged in such a pursuit, and
-still more to hear that he had been brought up to it from boyhood, and
-was but following in the steps of his father, who was employed in the
-same establishment in a situation of great trust and responsibility.
-
-In the course of our bilingual conversations, I made no scruple of
-expressing my perfect horror of gambling, at which he appeared to be
-heartily amused, and attributed the feeling I manifested not so much to
-moral principle as to constitutional peculiarity. It soon became
-apparent to me that he had not himself the slightest idea of disgrace or
-discredit as attachable to the profession of a gambler, so long as it
-was carried on upon principles of honesty and fair-play. "What is
-gambling," said he, "after all, but a species of exchange, skill for
-skill, or chance for chance? It is true, there is no solid merchandise
-in question; but, since you are determined to consider it in a moral
-point of view, what, let me ask, does the merchant or the shopkeeper
-care for the goods that pass through his hands? Is not his sole object
-to profit by the transfer? Does he not speculate to gain? and is not all
-speculation, morally considered, gambling? Now, all the professed
-gamester does is to get rid of the lumbering medium of
-trading-speculations--to clear the game, which all men are willing to
-play, of the cumbrous machinery that clogs its movements when played
-upon commercial principles, and to bring it to a crisis and a close at
-once. You talk of the misery and ruin entailed upon families by
-gambling; but depend upon it the same men who ruin themselves and
-families by play would do precisely the same thing were there no such
-thing as play. For one Frenchman ruined by hazard, ten Englishmen are
-ruined by commerce. In fact, as a people, you gamble much more than we
-do, though in a different way; and when you choose to gamble _as_ we do,
-you do it to much greater extent, and with a recklessness to which our
-habits in that respect afford no parallel. There is an Englishman now in
-Paris who has repeatedly won and lost ten thousand francs at a sitting,
-and whom you may see, if you choose to come with me, any evening you
-like."
-
-"What is his name?" I demanded.
-
-"C----. He is a priest, too, I have heard, and of course, when at home,
-a preacher of morality."
-
-"Well," said I, "with your permission, I shall be glad to have a look at
-him."
-
-"Very well; you shall dine with me to-morrow at the Salon Français. Meet
-me there at six, and then, after dinner, I will accompany you."
-
-"Agreed."
-
-And so it came to pass that, about nine o'clock on the following
-evening--for we had dined at most gentlemanly leisure, and followed up
-the dinner with a complete debauch of sugared water--I entered, for the
-first time, one of the saloons devoted to gambling on the first floor of
-the Palais Royal. There was not so great and gorgeous display of taste
-and expenditure as I had expected to see; though every thing was
-substantial and elegant, nothing was pretentious or superb. Tables
-arranged with a view to convenience rather than order or regularity, and
-covered with the means and materials of gaming, were surrounded, on
-three sides, by persons already engaged at the sport. We passed through
-several rooms thus furnished, and more or less tumultuously filled.
-Hazard appeared to be the most favorite game; as I noticed during my
-stay that the tables where that was played were first in full
-occupation, and throughout the evening were more crowded than others.
-Maubert led me to a room, which must have been the fifth or sixth we
-entered, and, pointing to a table at the further end, upon the centre of
-which rose a brazen dragon, with a pair of emerald eyes, a yawning,
-cavernous jaw, and a ridgy tail, whose voluminous folds coiled round a
-column of polished steel--told me that there I should find my man in the
-course of the evening, though I should have to wait for him, as he had
-not yet arrived. He informed me that I could act as I chose, without
-being questioned; and then took his leave, as his services were wanted
-in his own department. I amused myself for nearly a couple of hours in
-contemplating, _en philosophe_, the scene before me. I had heard and
-read much of gamblers and gambling, and here they were in multitudes to
-test the truth or falsity of my impressions. I noticed particularly
-that, while the younger players acted throughout as though gaming were a
-frolic, and welcomed both their gains and losses with a joke or a laugh,
-the older hands maintained a perfect silence, and accepted the decrees
-of fortune without betraying the least emotion. The table near which I
-stood was appropriated to the following purpose: A ball, or rather solid
-polygon, of near a hundred sides, each side colored blue, red, or black,
-was dropped into the mouth of the dragon; and while it was rolling
-audibly through the long folds of its tail, the players placed what sums
-they chose upon red, blue, or black-colored spaces on the table.
-Whatever color the ball, upon emerging from the tail and finally
-resting, showed uppermost, was the winning color; the rest lost. The
-first operation of the manager, after each throw, was to rake into the
-bank in front of him the several amounts placed on the losing colors,
-after which he paid the winners, doubling the stake for black, trebling
-it for red, and multiplying it by five for the blue. Most of the young
-players began upon the black; but whether they won or lost, and the
-chance was equal for either fate, they invariably migrated to the other
-colors; or, in other words, doubled or quintupled their stakes as their
-passions became heated by play. The old ones, on the contrary, kept
-mostly to one color; and, in pursuance of some cunningly-concocted plan,
-frequently consulted pricked or penciled cards, upon which they had
-perhaps made previous calculations, or chronicled the course of play as
-it went on. The physiognomy of these old stagers certainly afforded a
-rich variety of exceedingly ugly faces. Disappointment, however, was not
-the prevailing expression; and, from what I observed of the general
-manifestation of their hardened visages, I was led to the conclusion
-that your calculating gambler, who has his passions under control, is
-_not_, in the long-run, a loser, but the contrary; and that the support
-of the bank, and the whole establishment, is derived from the swarming
-flights of raw, inexperienced, and uncalculating pigeons which every day
-brings to be plucked. One old fellow walked off with a bag of five-franc
-pieces, which could not have been worth less than twenty pounds English,
-accumulated in little more than half an hour; and others pocketed
-various smaller sums, and then withdrew. An English gentleman lost
-several five-pound notes in succession on the blue, and, continuing the
-stake, recovered them all with a profit. An Irishman who had been
-playing for silver on the black, attempted to do the same; but his heart
-failed him, or else his pocket, after the loss of his second note, and
-with a guttural oath, he retired in a rage. To win at gaming, it would
-seem from such examples, requires but a large amount of courage and
-capital; and it must be from this fact alone that, where the game,
-whatever it be, is fairly played, the bank which has the courage to
-challenge all the world, and unlimited capital to support the challenge,
-is so largely the gainer. The natural advantage of the bank may,
-however, be met by calculation and cautious adherence to system in
-playing; and instances are not wanting where the bank, though well
-stocked, has been broken, and the whole funds carried off, through the
-success of a deep-laid scheme.
-
-While I was indulging in these speculations, in which I have no desire
-that the reader should place implicit faith, the personage whom my
-curiosity had led me hither to meet, entered the room, and made toward
-the place where I stood. The long interval that had elapsed since I last
-saw him had effected such an alteration in his appearance that it is
-probable, that, had I not been expecting him, he would have passed
-unrecognized. As it was, the first glance assured me of his identity.
-From added years, or from long-enduring sedentary habits, he had
-acquired a slight stoop, and the old sprightly elasticity of step had
-given place to the sober foot-fall of mature age; but the face, though
-of a somewhat darker hue, and now lined with faint furrows, bore the
-same contour and much of the same expression as of yore. There was the
-same classic and intellectual profile, and the same commonplace and
-rather sordid indications in the full face, which had formerly given
-rise to the saying among his flock, that "The parson had two faces, one
-for Sundays and one for working days." He took his seat at the left-hand
-of the money-raker, and, presenting a paper, probably a check or foreign
-note, received a pile of gold and silver, which he spread before him. I
-had intended to watch his game, and perhaps, if occasion offered, to
-speak to him; but the sight of the very man from whose lips my infant
-ears had caught the first accents of public worship, preparing to take
-part in the debasing orgies of the pandemonium in which I stood, so
-revolted my feelings--and his action, as he bent over his pocket-book in
-search of something he wanted, brought so forcibly to my recollection
-his old gestures in the pulpit--that I resolved to spare myself the
-witnessing of his degradation, and accordingly walked away, and out of
-the accursed den, to the side of the fountain in the quadrangle, in the
-cool spray of which I sat for an hour, _not_ enjoying my reflections
-upon the past.
-
-I learnt from Maubert subsequently, that, though C---- played the
-boldest game, he was far from being a welcome guest at some of the
-tables he chose to patronize. He won, occasionally, large sums; and, if
-he lost them again, as from his known difficulties at certain seasons it
-is pretty sure he did, he did not lose them at the public tables, but at
-some of the private gaming-houses of the nobility which he was known to
-frequent. That he was occasionally reduced to unpleasant straits I have
-reason to think; because, long after the encounter above related, I met
-him at a place whither I had resorted for a cheap dinner, and where we
-dined together on a deal table from soup and _bouilli_, for a sum not to
-be mentioned in connection with the repast of a gentleman. On this
-occasion, I somewhat alarmed him by inquiring, in a broad Devonshire
-accent, if he could inform me of the address of M. V----, naming one of
-the French prisoners with whom the parson had been especially intimate
-in the time of the war. He stared at me fixedly for a minute, and then,
-with a voice like one apostrophizing a spirit, said, "You are ----, the
-son of Thomas ----. I know you from your likeness to your father. Do not
-know me here. Let me have your address; I should like to talk to you. M.
-V---- is dead--dead! And your father, is he yet living?"
-
-I was going to reply to his queries, but, snatching the card I
-presented, he bade me hastily adieu, and disappeared.
-
-It was rumored about that he won a large sum of money previous to the
-breaking out of the Revolution, and that, having accomplished his
-object, he withdrew from the gaming-table. But he had played the game of
-life too fast, and, in desperately acquiring the means of expenditure,
-had lost those of enjoyment. In the published work, to which allusion
-has been made, is the following sentence: "The gamester, if he die a
-martyr to his profession, is doubly ruined. He adds his soul to every
-other loss, and, by the act of suicide, renounces earth to forfeit
-heaven." It is wretched to think that the writer put an end to his own
-existence, after a life devoted to the very vice he so powerfully
-deprecated. He blew out his brains at Fontainbleau, in 1832--it was
-said, to escape the pain of a surgical operation from which no danger
-could be apprehended.
-
-
-
-
-NEVER DESPAIR.
-
-
-    The opal-hued and many-perfumed Morn
-            From Gloom is born;
-    From out the sullen depth of ebon Night
-            The stars shed light;
-    Gems in the rayless caverns of the earth
-            Have their slow birth;
-    From wondrous alchemy of winter-hours
-            Come summer-flowers;
-    The bitter waters of the restless main
-            Give gentle rain;
-    The fading bloom and dry seed bring once more
-            The year's fresh store;
-    Just sequences of clashing Tones afford
-            The full accord;
-    Through weary ages, full of strife and ruth,
-            Thought reaches Truth;
-    Through efforts, long in vain, prophetic Need
-            Begets the Deed:
-
-    Nerve then thy soul with direst need to cope;
-            Life's brightest Hope
-    Lies latent in Fate's deadliest lair--
-            Never despair!
-
-
-
-
-INCIDENT DURING THE MUTINY OF 1797.
-
-
-The nineteenth century may now be said to have attained middle age, and
-in the brilliant noonday of its intellect and science the important
-events that marked the close of its predecessor are becoming dim and
-indistinct, like the vanishing images of a dissolving view. Progress has
-been so rapid since the peace that a wider chasm intervenes between 1799
-and 1851 than any dividing the preceding centuries: much more than half
-a century appears to separate us from the eighteenth. But a stirring and
-troublous period lies before this interval. Life, doubtless, was more
-rife with interest and excitement to those whose youth belonged to it
-than it is in this calmer age. One feels that the "old people" of to-day
-have more of a "history in their lives" than our age will have; and even
-while we acknowledge with devout gratitude the blessing of peace, it is
-pleasant to listen to stories of "the War-time." One evening, while
-sitting with a relative of our own, gazing on the waters of the Channel,
-which were trembling and quivering beneath the rosy sunset, we expressed
-some such sentiments, and after agreeing in our opinion that life in
-those days was more animated by hope and fear than at present, he added,
-smiling, "For instance, in '97 I narrowly escaped hanging!"
-
-We were much surprised at such a declaration from one who, at the time
-he spoke, was a brave and distinguished admiral, and eagerly asked the
-"how and why" of the adventure; and he told us. We regret that we can
-not recall the exact words of the animated relation, but we will try to
-give the substance as nearly as possible.
-
-In 1797 mutiny broke out among the seamen at Spithead--an inexcusable
-crime in the opinion of naval men, but which he who related the story
-palliated in some degree, by candidly acknowledging that in those days
-the poor fellows who were guilty of it had great and just cause for
-complaint. They were not only ill-paid, but their food was of very bad
-quality; many captains in the navy were harsh and tyrannical--as, in
-consequence of the perversity of human nature, will always be the case;
-and the men whose blood was freely poured out in the defense of their
-native land were, to say the least, neglected and uncared-for by their
-rulers. Oh happy consequence of peace and advancing knowledge! these men
-are now well-fed, have the means of instruction afforded them, and homes
-provided for them when, returning from "the dangers of the sea," they
-are discharged and sent on shore. The poor mutineers at Spithead dreamed
-not of such advantages as these.
-
-Admiral R---- was a junior lieutenant on board the _Saturn_ when the
-mutiny broke out; but promotion was very rapid then, and though bearing
-that rank he was still only a youth in his teens. Probably the mutineers
-had discovered, and in a measure appreciated the kindliness of his
-nature, for, exempting him from the thralldom of his companions, whom
-they had confined in the ward-room, they fixed on him to bear their
-propositions and their threats to the port-admiral--swearing at the same
-time, that if he did not bring them back a favorable answer they would
-hang him on the yard-arm! He was obliged to obey their will, of course,
-secretly resolving, however, not to give them the opportunity of
-fulfilling their kind intentions by returning to the ship; but the young
-officer calculated too much upon being his own master. He was put on
-shore at the Point, and proceeded at once to the admiral's house in the
-High-street. The naval chief gave him a good-natured and cordial
-reception, and listened patiently to the message he delivered from the
-mutineers, which was to the effect that they must have an immediate
-advance of wages, good biscuit, pork, &c., or that they would carry
-their ship over to the French.
-
-"Go on board again, sir," was his reply, "and tell these gentlemen that
-none of their demands can be listened to till they return to their duty:
-inform them also that the moment they attempt to weigh anchor hot shot
-will be fired on them from the Isle of Dogs, and their vessel and
-themselves sent to the bottom."
-
-The lieutenant bowed and left the office. Outside he paused. He was
-going, in obedience to his superior, to certain death. It was a fearful
-trial of courage and professional discipline. A mother whom he idolized
-lived at no great distance: he would at least bid her a last farewell!
-But the admiral, aware of the sacrifice he exacted, so much greater than
-that of periling life by mounting "the deadly breach," had followed the
-poor boy, and lightly tapping his shoulder, told him he would walk with
-him to the beach. Thus, even the last look at home, for which he longed,
-was denied him. A waterman's wherry conveyed him to the ship. It was
-May--a bright, glorious May, such as England used to enjoy "once upon a
-time;" and very sad were the feelings with which the young officer
-looked back upon the retreating town, and round on the glad, sunny
-waters and blue-tinted Isle of Wight, deeming that he beheld them for
-the last time. Occasionally, also, he told us, his eyes would revert, in
-spite of his endeavors to forget it, to the fatal yard-arm, distinct
-with all its tracery of cordage against the clear blue sky. He gained
-the ship, was received on board, and conducted to the forecastle, where
-the chief mutineers had assembled. Here he delivered his message. They
-were greatly enraged, and commanded him not to repeat the admiral's
-threat of sinking the ship to the crew. He replied simply that it was
-his duty to obey the orders of his superior officer. Their looks and
-words threatened him at first with instant and summary vengeance; but
-after a short consultation they agreed to try him by a court-martial,
-and proceeding aft, ordered him to be brought before them. It was a
-fearful scene; the men were terribly excited, frightfully ignorant, and
-believed that their cause required a victim.
-
-The courage of the youth bore him through the trial, however, bravely.
-He ventured boldly to reproach them with their guilt in confounding the
-innocent with those whom they looked upon as their enemies; taunted them
-with the cowardly injustice of the deed they contemplated; and
-persisted, in opposition to the ringleaders' commands, in repeating the
-admiral's message to the crew. He was heard by the officers in the
-ward-room, and their loud cheers when he spoke probably gave him fresh
-courage. The ringleaders becoming alarmed at the effect his words and
-bearing might have on the British instincts of the ship's company,
-condemned him to be hung in two hours' time, and ordered him to prepare
-for death meantime in his cabin. There a new and singular scene awaited
-him: one of the seamen had taken possession of it, opened his lockers,
-and finding some brandy, had been drinking till he was perfectly
-intoxicated, and lay in the sleep of drunkenness on the floor, which was
-strewed and littered with the lieutenant's clothes, books, &c. A deep
-oath escaped the lips of the ringleaders at this sight. Throughout the
-fleet the mutineers had forbidden drunkenness on pain of death; for,
-fully aware of the peril of their position, they kept up among
-themselves a terribly severe discipline. They were raising their
-insensible comrade in their arms, and coolly preparing to throw him
-overboard, when, aware from their words of their intentions, the
-condemned officer struck one of them to the floor, and standing over the
-again prostrate drunkard, declared that while he lived he would not see
-men who had sailed beneath the British flag guilty of murder! The
-mutineers paused, touched probably by this generous defense of a
-foe--for the insensible seaman had been peculiarly bitter against the
-officers--and after a muttered oath or two they left the cabin.
-
-The lieutenant remained alone with his disgusting and unwelcome
-visitant, and the two hours following he described as the most painful
-of his life. It was less the fear of death than the destined mode of it
-which tortured him: not that he was insensible or indifferent to the
-blessing of life, for he was by nature of a happy, joyous temperament,
-and fair prospects of advancement were before him; but in "war-time"
-existence was held on such a precarious tenure that the idea of death in
-battle would scarcely have troubled his equanimity. Two hours waiting to
-be hanged, however, is a far different trial for courage, and we have
-never read or imagined any thing more painful than the description which
-the aged admiral gave us of that (to him) endless period of time. As if
-to add to the horror of his position, the silence on board was so great
-that it appeared as if he could hear the pulsation of his own heart,
-while the low snoring of the drunken man struck with painful
-distinctness on his ear. At last the bell struck the fatal hour, and
-steps were heard on the ladder. His door opened; he rose prepared to
-show no symptoms of faltering courage, when the leaders of the party
-advancing, told him "that the people had taken his case into
-consideration, and as they believed he individually had no ill-feeling
-toward them, and as he had recently given proof that he cared for the
-men, they had changed his sentence from death to _flogging!_ He must
-therefore prepare to receive three dozen on the following morning."
-
-My kinsman, with the ready humor that never deserted him, returned
-thanks with mock gravity for their clemency, and begged them to carry
-his compliments to the gentlemen who sent them, and assure them that he
-could not have believed he should ever have felt so much satisfaction at
-the prospect of a whipping. The men, always susceptible of fun, laughed.
-From that moment he was safe! Falstaff wisely despairs of gaining the
-love of Prince John, "because he could not make him laugh;" the young
-lieutenant acted as if he possessed Shakspeare's knowledge of human
-nature when he awoke by his jest the slumbering sympathies of the
-sailors. He was detained a prisoner, but no further notice was taken of
-the threatened flogging.
-
-The mutiny subsided on the 16th of May, when Parliament passed an act to
-raise the seamen's wages, and the royal pardon was bestowed on the
-mutineers; not, however, before some sacrifice of human life had ensued,
-as Admiral Colpoys, on the recommencement of the mutiny on board the
-_London_, had ordered the marines to fire on the people, and three
-seamen fell. The funeral of these unfortunates was described to us as a
-singularly impressive and touching spectacle. The townspeople were
-fearful of some violence or riot on the part of the sailors when they
-landed to bury their dead, and consequently closed their shutters and
-retired into their houses. The mournful procession moved therefore
-through deserted and silent streets on its way to the village
-church-yard, in which the victims were to be interred. But there was no
-cause for alarm. The men walked silently and solemnly, two and two,
-after their slain comrades, a stern, quiet sorrow legible on their
-weather-beaten faces; and nothing could exceed the reverence and
-propriety of their conduct beside the grave. It is a quiet, pretty
-village church-yard in which these most pardonable rebels have their
-resting-place, not far from which is the large grave where three hundred
-bodies of those who perished in the _Royal George_ are buried.
-
-One can scarcely forbear wondering at the little real mischief which
-proceeded from this alarming mutiny. It afforded, on the whole, a noble
-display of the principal characteristics of the British seaman--the
-frolic-spirit peculiar to him manifesting itself even when he is most
-sadly and seriously in earnest. A captain of marines, who was especially
-the object of the mutineers' aversion, was brought on shore by them, and
-compelled to parade up the High-street to the "Rogue's March," which was
-drummed before him. He was a tall, gaunt old man, with a singularly long
-neck. The day after his expulsion from his ship, the crew sent a man to
-his house with a message, ordering him to "come on board again and be
-hanged!" The unpopular veteran sent back his compliments; but
-considering his throat unbecomingly long _naturally_, he did not wish to
-have it stretched: he declined, therefore, accepting their invitation.
-The men went away laughing. The people and the times were both
-extraordinary.
-
-
-
-
-WOMAN'S OFFICES AND INFLUENCE.
-
-BY PROF. J. H. AGNEW, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN.
-
-
-Ours is an age of stirring life, an age of notions and novelties, of
-invention and enterprise, of steam-motives and telegraph-wires. The
-ocean, for passage, has become a river. The air a medium for the flight,
-not only of birds, but of thoughts. Distance scarce any more lends
-enchantment to the view, for 'tis annihilated. The ends of the earth
-meet, and the watchmen on her walls see eye to eye. Even worlds long
-buried in the deep unknown are now revealed to human vision, and we
-almost penetrate the arcana of our own fair satellite, as she nightly
-looks down upon us in her beauty. And man would fain believe, too, in
-his wisdom, or his folly, that e'en the rappings of spirits are heard in
-this nether planet of ours.
-
-But what of all this? Why, we live in this whirl of galvanic motion: we
-breathe this excited atmosphere: we revolve on this stirring sphere.
-And, think you, without feeling aught of its forces?
-
-We have our being, too, amid the busy scenes of a new world, a free
-world, a forming world. Our geologic species is a conglomerate. Whether
-it shall be of rude, unshapen masses, or of polished gems, fit not only
-for the pillars of this republican edifice, but for its adornment also,
-will depend much on the present generation, more on the women of that
-generation.
-
-Believing that woman not only takes impressions from the age, but
-emphatically makes them on it too, I select for my theme WOMAN'S OFFICES
-AND INFULUENCE.
-
-_To make home happy_ is one of the offices of woman. Home, blessed word.
-Thanks to our Saxon fathers for it. Not the name merely, but the
-realities it expresses. An English, an American home is a Bethlehem-star
-in the horizon of earth's sorrows, the shadow of a great rock in a weary
-land.
-
-    "There is a magic in that little word:
-    It is a mystic circle that surrounds
-    Comforts and virtues never known beyond
-    The hallowed limit."
-
-    "The tabernacle of our earthly joys
-    And sorrows, hopes and fears--this Home of ours
-    Is it not pleasant?"
-
-Yes, home is the centre of all that is sweet in the sympathies, dear in
-the affections of the soul. There the kiss of love is impressed in its
-purity, the warm pressure of the hand knows no betrayal, the smile of
-joy plays no deceiver's part. All is candid, cordial, sincere. The
-faults and failings which belong to humanity fallen, are there covered
-by the mantle of charity, and the feeling of every member of the family
-is, "With all thy faults I love thee still."
-
-How the traveler climbing Alpine summits, looking forth on the sublime
-creations of Jehovah, thinks of home, and wishes the loved ones there
-could share his rapture. How the wrecked mariner on some desert isle
-longs for a mother's fond endearment, a sister's kindly care. Home is in
-all his thoughts.
-
-It is worth the while, then, to strive to make _home_ happy; to do each
-his part toward rendering it the spot of all pleasant associations. In
-the several relations of child, sister, wife, mother, let kindness and
-cheerfulness reign.
-
-Kindness comes over the spirit like the music of David's harp over the
-passion of Saul. It softens and subdues. It manifests itself in a
-thousand nameless forms, but all beautiful. It is a crown of glory on
-the head of old age, a jewel on the breast of childhood. The light it
-diffuses is soft, the rays it emits are melting.
-
-    "And oh, if those who cluster round,
-      The altar and the hearth,
-    Have gentle words and loving smiles,
-      How beautiful is earth."
-
-Cheerfulness is another attribute of character tending to the happiness
-of home: and let me commend it to woman's cultivation. Some there are,
-ever disposed to look on the dark side of life; and thus they not only
-becloud their own spirits, but cast a shadow over the smiling precincts
-of home. Every single sour grape portends a cluster; every flash of
-lightning a riving thunderbolt. Earth's actual cares are not enough;
-troubles must be borrowed. The present does not fill their heart with
-sadness; the future must be laid under contribution.
-
-All this is just the opposite of cheerfulness. That scatters wide over
-the soil of the household the seeds of many little joys, that the weeds
-of small vexations may be kept under, and ever and anon the sickle be
-thrust in and a harvest of good fruits be garnered for daily use. It
-gazes on the bright side of the picture, and throws its delighted
-glances upon every eye. And thus it not only augments present bliss, but
-in hoary years the memory of other days around the family hearth will be
-sweeter, and the influence on ourselves better.
-
-"Cheerfully to bear thy cross in patient strength is duty." "Not few nor
-light are the burdens of life: then load it not with heaviness of
-spirit; sickness, and penury, and travail--these be ills enow: the tide
-is strong against us: struggle, thou art better for the strife, and the
-very energy shall hearten thee."
-
-"In thy day of grief let nature weep; leave her alone; the freshet of
-her sorrow must run off; and sooner will the lake be clear, relieved of
-turbid floodings. Yet see, that her license hath a limit."
-
-"For empty fears, the harassings of possible calamity, pray and thou
-shalt prosper: trust God and tread them down." "The stoutest armor of
-defense is that which is worn within the bosom, and the weapon which no
-enemy can parry is a bold and cheerful spirit."
-
-Beautiful in the family is this spirit of cheerfulness; and surely it
-is an office of woman to cherish it. It can be wooed and won. Wherever
-woman goes, and especially at home, let it be as an halo of light around
-her head, and then shall she be a blessing to the circle in which she
-moves. Despondency is death, cheerfulness life. But remember that levity
-and boisterous mirth are no essential ingredients of this wholesome
-cordial. Its chief element is rather that which Paul spake of when he
-said, "I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be
-content."
-
-Another office of woman is, _to check the utilitarianism, the
-money-loving spirit of the day_. There is something beside bread and
-water to be cared for in this probationary world of ours, inhabited by
-living _spirits_. And yet one is almost compelled to the conclusion that
-the whole race, at the present day, has given itself up to the worship
-of Mammon.
-
-That which is a _physical_ fact, which is capable of being _used_, is
-the _summum bonum. Cui bono_, in a terrene sense, is the great question.
-"Will it pay," the grand idea of the age. And men are hurrying along,
-life in hand, breathless and bootless, over the highways and byways to
-the Great Mogul's temple, where there is no spiritual Divinity to
-revere.
-
-We almost wish the return of the old Grecian's faith, who enveloped
-himself with a spiritual world, and this, at least, elevated his
-intellect, if it did not renovate his heart. To him the majestic
-mountain was peopled with august entities. To us it is of no account, if
-it do not contain in its bowels buried stores of wealth, though it may
-awaken the feeling of the sublime, and lift the soul up to God. To him
-the shady tree was the habitation of dryads, the rippling brook of
-naïads: to us, neither has beauty, unless the one can turn a mill, and
-the other furnish us fire-wood or lumber.
-
-We have made the soul slave to the body; have stripped the Universe of
-its glory, as a reflecting mirror, pouring down upon us such rays of
-Heaven's brilliancy as our vision can endure. God's sun is only to
-lighten us on our pathway of business; His mighty ocean only to bear the
-burden of our commerce; His magnificent lakes to carry our trade; His
-beautiful hills and smiling vales but to grow our corn, feed our cattle,
-and be the substratum for our railways.
-
-This utilitarianism of the day, too, has but little sympathy with the
-fine arts. It laughs at music and painting, poetry and sculpture, as
-things of naught, although they may tend mightily to the culture of the
-spirit and the refinement of humanity. Classical learning it discards,
-because with its dusty eyes it can not just see how that can qualify man
-or woman for the better enjoyment of life, or how it will help us plow
-or measure our fields, grind our grain, or churn our butter.
-
-The mere discipline of the mind, the symmetrical development of man's
-higher powers, the æsthetic evolution of himself; all this, though it
-expand his intellect and enlarge his heart, though it impress on him
-more of the lineaments of the skies, and bring him nearer to his great
-Original, is but waste of time and thought, because it falls not within
-the described circle of the utilitarian. Shades of Bacon and Locke, of
-Shakspeare and Milton, of Goethe and Schiller, come and alight at least
-on the daughters of our land!
-
-Here is a wide field of influence for woman. You are the vestal virgins
-to watch the fires on the altar of the fine arts. Yours it is to check
-the sensuousness of man, to recall him from his ceaseless toil after the
-mammon of this life, his restless ambition to turn every thing to
-account in available funds, in bank-stocks, copper-stocks,
-railroad-stocks. Tell your sons and your sires that there are higher
-sources of joy. Point them away from earth's sordid gold to the brighter
-gems of literature. Direct their energies to the intellectual and moral
-advancement of their age. Help them to slake their quenchless thirst at
-the pure fountains of knowledge and religion.
-
-There is a poetry of life worth cultivating. There are spiritual
-entities around us to which we are linked by ethereal chains. Let us not
-struggle to throw off those chains, but rather to bind them faster about
-us. And when you see a link broken, and others likely to drop, mend it.
-
-Woman's office is it also _to soften political asperities in the other
-sex, and themselves to shun political publicity_. Not that woman need be
-ignorant of the great questions of the age; better be familiar with
-them. But let her not become absorbed in them: rather keep so aloof from
-exciting occasions as to be better qualified to form and express a
-deliberate and unbiased judgment on men and measures. Let her opinions
-be well matured, and always uttered with calmness and caution. When her
-dearest friends of the other sex seem embittered toward others, and in
-danger of forgetting the sweet charities of life amid the chafings of
-party rivalry, let her pour out the milk of human kindness into the cup
-of courtesy, and ask them to drink of it. When the waters are troubled
-and the billows roar, let her diffuse over them the oil of love to still
-the waters into a great calm. Surely this is an office higher, better
-far, than to be pressing on, as some would have her, into the busy
-bustle of out-door politics. Here is _influence_, and it is better than
-_power_.
-
-Who that loves woman, that really admires her worth as _woman_, that
-thinks of her as the delicate, refined, tasteful, sensitive development
-of humanity, the incarnation of all that is lovely, gentle, modest,
-peaceful, and pure, the highest earthly manifestation of God as _love;_
-who that remembers her as the "help-meet," can bear the thought of
-hurrying her out upon the theatre of politics, the platform of
-legislation?
-
-"Woman's rights," they cry, and so loud the cry, that even woman's
-ambition has conquered her judgment and her delicacy, and she has gone
-forth, out of her appointed and fitting sphere, to be gazed on by a
-curious crowd, and perhaps to hear the plaudits of a noisy populace. _O
-tempora! O mores!_ Save us from such a race of women!
-
-Now woman has rights, many rights, and let them be well guarded; but she
-has no right to be a _man_. Yet, no wonder 'tis, if amid the stirring
-enterprises and new discoveries of the age, some half-amazon should defy
-the customs of social life, and assume the right of leveling all
-distinctions between the sexes, walking forth _à la Turk_, and becoming
-the gazing-stock of the street. Oh, let beauteous, winning woman wear
-the gracefully-flowing robes of modesty; let her not be met by us "up to
-the eyes" in politics, nor at the ballot-box, nor the caucus, nor in the
-legislative hall, nor on the judicial bench, surrounded, perchance, by
-tobacco-chewing barristers, nor as the public haranguer, addressing
-promiscuous multitudes.
-
-Let us rather see her in the quiet retirement of home, not doomed to the
-busy drudgery of hard housekeeping merely, but there the refined woman,
-whose pure sensibilities are shocked at the thought of a public
-notoriety; who shuns the wistful gaze of the crowd, and finds in her own
-family circle her kingdom and her _rights_, and seeks to adorn that with
-all that is lovely and of good report. Thus will she win our admiration
-and secure our love. Were her intellect and her eloquence displayed at
-the bar or on the platform, we might indeed wonder with deep amazement,
-but we should not love; and wanting this, both she and we were unhappy.
-
-While sensible, then, of her equality with man in the possession of a
-soul like his own, capable of the highest enterprises in science and
-literature, may she yet recognize, as the appointment of her all-wise
-Creator, subordination to man in power, superordination in influence. Be
-content to be _woman_. It is a province high enough. If not cherubic, it
-is seraphic. It is that phase of humanity we think most godlike; for if
-Jehovah's highest expression of himself is _Love_, then that form of
-humanity expressing most of it, is most like Him. That form, in our
-opinion, is woman.
-
-Let her not, then, strip herself of her chief glory, and depart further
-from her God and Saviour, by shooting out from her own feminine orbit,
-and aiming to revolve in that of the other sex, under the false
-impression that it is a higher one. Even if it were, it is not hers, and
-by thus battling with the order of nature, and swinging loose from the
-proper relations of her being, she might become a wandering star in the
-blackness of darkness forever.
-
-Another evident office of woman is, _to regulate the forms and control
-the habits of social life_. In this land, especially, do the "lords of
-creation" bow with due deference to their ladies. We give them our arms,
-'tis true, and we ask them to lean upon us, yet do we take step with
-them, and in turn lean on them, amid the trying times of life, and look
-to them for many of our joys, for most of our happiness. He is vulgar,
-even barbarous, we think, who does not appreciate her worth and respect
-her character. Hence, every where, hers is the first place, the best
-place; and an American gentleman would rather suffer an agony than
-subject women to a discomfort.
-
-Such being her relative position, hers it must be to prescribe the
-customs of social life, and say to man, "hitherto shalt thou go and no
-further." The tone of morals will be such as she makes it. Man will be
-conformed to the model she exhibits. He seldom, if ever, rises above the
-level of his female associates. Surround him with the vulgar, the
-thoughtless, the impure, and you shall not see him pure, thoughtful,
-refined. Place him ever in the society of intelligent, dignified,
-Christian women, and their virtues will be reflected on him.
-
-And is it so, that woman is responsible, in a great measure, for the
-fashions and habits of the community in which she lives? It is even so.
-If she discard that foolish frippery and passion for display, which
-occasionally characterize her own sex, it will not long live. It must be
-buried in its own foibles, and have no resurrection. If she frown upon
-him who robs woman of her jewel, he is a fugitive on the face of the
-earth. If she discountenance the use of intoxicating beverages, the
-young man will learn that abstinence on his part is the price of respect
-and love on hers. Her office here is magnified: her influence has become
-a power. The other offices were guiding and directory; this is
-reformatory. Society looks to her for its type. Its virtues and its
-vices are of her moulding. _It is what she bids it be._
-
-What a potency! Let her wield it for her country's welfare. Then shall
-it be a beacon light to other lands now in darkness and degradation,
-because there woman is still the slave of man's passions, and has never
-risen, under Christianity, to know her dignity, and make her brutal
-master feel her moral equality in the scale of being.
-
-Only one other office of woman shall we notice at present--_the
-exemplification and diffusion of Christianity_--of Christianity, not so
-much in its forms and dogmas, as in its spirit; not solely as a
-redeeming scheme, but also as a reforming power.
-
-To Christianity woman is emphatically a debtor. It has breathed into her
-its breath of life, and she has become a living soul. Else had she been
-but a dead manikin. To it she owes her present advanced position, her
-commanding influence. Even all the literature and refinement of Greece
-and Rome could not confer on woman the boon which the religion of Jesus
-has brought her. He was woman's son, and his religion tells it. Go where
-that religion is not, and there woman is naught.
-
-Christianity has not only broken down the wall of partition between male
-and female, but has opened the sealed fountains of her soul, and caused
-them to send forth rills of gentleness and love, which have refreshed
-humanity and poured out gladness on a dark and dreary world. Let the
-cross, then, be woman's standard, Jesus woman's trust, Christianity
-woman's charter. That thrown overboard, we are wrecked. Its principles
-abandoned, the world sinks again into barbarism, and woman to brute
-degradation. "The last at the cross and earliest at the sepulchre,"
-must remember to cling to Christianity as her hope, her life. Let _her_
-never be ashamed to confess it her ruling principle, her source of joy,
-nor be hesitant in disseminating its seeds, that she may every where
-behold its lily-flowers.
-
-Can it ever be well said of woman, "she careth not if there be a God, or
-a soul, or a time of retribution; pleasure is the idol of her heart: she
-thirsteth for no purer heaven." Let such an one be decked in all the
-gorgeous trappings of wealth, let her brow be crowned with the coronet
-of rank, let her girdle hold the key which unlocks the treasures of
-California, and yet she wants that which ennobles her sex, and would
-render her an object of love and a source of joy to others.
-
-    "Oh, what is woman, what her smile,
-      Her lip of love, her eyes of light.
-    What is she, if her lips revile
-      The lowly Jesus? Love may write
-    His name upon her marble brow,
-      And linger in her curls of jet:
-    The light spring-flower may scarcely bow
-      Beneath her step--and yet--and yet--
-    Without that meeker grace she'll be
-    A lighter thing than vanity."
-
-Never, then, let the sneer of the infidel, nor the scorn of the skeptic
-drive woman from compounding the spices to embalm her crucified Master,
-nor make her ashamed to be seen early at his sepulchre. Rather let her
-glory in the cross, and make the most of her high mission here to send
-its healing influences to every sick and sorrowing creature on this
-green earth. Why should any poor, perishing mortal be left in all the
-degradation of idolatry, when there is in our possession a power that
-would lift him to heights of bliss, temporal and eternal? Why should the
-world be left to its wailings and its woes, when Christianity diffused,
-in its benign spirit, would convert those woes into joys, those wailings
-into hallelujahs? How can woman, owing her all to the religion of the
-Bible, refrain from exerting her energies to place this word of life in
-the hands of every pilgrim over the deserts of time? And may she so
-breathe its spirit and feel its power, that it shall never again be thus
-written of her:
-
-                          "There came
-    A stranger bright and beautiful
-      With steps of grace, and eye of flame,
-    And tone and look most sweetly blent
-    To make her presence eloquent;
-    Oh, then I looked for tears. She stood
-      Before the prisoner of Calvary.
-    I saw the piercing spear--the blood--
-      The gall--the writhe of agony.
-    I saw his quivering lips in prayer,
-      'Father, forgive them'--all was there!
-    I turned in bitterness of soul,
-      And spake of Jesus. I had thought
-    Her feelings would refuse control:
-      For woman's heart I knew was fraught
-    With gushing sympathies. She gazed
-      A moment on it carelessly,
-    Then coldly curl'd her lip, and praised
-      The high priest's garment! Could it be
-    That look was meant, dear Lord, for thee!"
-
-A few words on _Influence_. This is woman's power. That distinctively
-belongs to man, and is exercised by authority. Law and penalty grow out
-of it. It regulates actions, it punishes crime. Influence, on the other
-hand, awakens feeling, generates opinions, implants sentiments in the
-soul, silently yet emphatically; and thus it crushes vice, promotes
-virtue, and avoids the necessity of penal infliction.
-
-Now this is pre-eminently the potent lever in the hands of woman for
-regenerating and reforming the political and moral world. We may stand
-in awe, indeed, before the exhibition of _power_, whether physical or
-moral, but we are not won by them to the love of truth and goodness,
-while _influence_ steals in upon our hearts, gets hold of the springs of
-action, and leads us into its own ways. It is the _inflowing_ upon
-others from the nameless traits of character which constitute woman's
-idiosyncracy. Her heart is a great reservoir of love, the water-works of
-moral influence, from which go out ten thousand tubes, conveying off the
-ethereal essences of her nature, and diffusing them quietly over the
-secret chambers of man's inner being.
-
-Even the weakness of woman softens and subdues, and thus unseals the
-soul for the infusion of her own sentiments. Her winning smiles, her
-tender sympathies, her sensible expressions, her gentle ways, all
-influence us, flow in upon our spirits. Who can be long boisterous in
-the presence of woman? No more can the yeasty waves dash and foam when
-superinfused by the mollifying touch of oil, than can the passions of
-man rage with impetuosity in contact with the oleaginous serenity of
-gentle woman.
-
-Let man, then, exercise power; woman exert influence. By this will she
-best perform her offices, discharge her duties. Thus will she most
-effectually make home happy, restrain utilitarianism, allay party
-asperities, regulate the habits of social life, and both exemplify and
-diffuse Christianity. Thus will she become _vanqueur des vanqueurs de la
-terre_--"conqueror of the conquerors of earth," and do more to bless the
-world, and make it truly happy, than all political institutions, fiscal
-agencies, and merely intellectual educations.
-
-Surely this is a mission exalted. Let no woman despise it, though it
-exclude her from the senator's seat and the chair of state. Let her
-rather remember that she honors herself more, glorifies her God better,
-and elevates her race higher, by adorning the sphere which her very
-physical organization prescribes. Never will she be improved in her
-nature, elevated in her influence, happier in her own spirit, or more
-potent in effecting the happiness of the world, by aiming at the proper
-dignities of _man_, throwing herself out upon the arena of public life,
-meddling and mingling in its chafings and chances. Ah no! let us still
-hope that woman will have good sense enough to discern the wisdom of God
-in her proper relation, and that man shall still and ever have the
-privilege and the joy of admiring and loving her as gentle, retiring,
-delicate, yet influential _woman_.
-
-
-
-
-THE TOWN-HO'S STORY.[5]
-
-[5] From "The Whale." The title of a new work by Mr. Melville, in the
-press of Harper and Brothers, and now publishing in London by Mr.
-Bentley.
-
-BY HERMAN MELVILLE.
-
-
-The Cape of Good Hope, and all the watery region round about there, is
-much like some noted four corners of a great highway, where you meet
-more travelers than in any other part.
-
-It was not very long after speaking the Goney that another
-homeward-bound whaleman, the Town-Ho, was encountered. She was manned
-almost wholly by Polynesians. In the short gam that ensued she gave us
-strong news of Moby Dick. To some the general interest in the White
-Whale was now wildly heightened by a circumstance of the Town-Ho's
-story, which seemed obscurely to involve with the whale a certain
-wondrous, inverted visitation of one of those so called judgments of God
-which at times are said to overtake some men. This latter circumstance,
-with its own particular accompaniments, forming what may be called the
-secret part of the tragedy about to be narrated, never reached the ears
-of Captain Ahab or his mates. For that secret part of the story was
-unknown to the captain of the Town-Ho himself. It was the private
-property of three confederate white seamen of that ship, one of whom, it
-seems, communicated it to Tashtego with Romish injunctions of secresy,
-but the following night Tashtego rambled in his sleep, and revealed so
-much of it in that way, that when he was awakened he could not well
-withhold the rest. Nevertheless, so potent an influence did this thing
-have on those seamen in the Pequod who came to the full knowledge of it,
-and by such a strange delicacy, to call it so, were they governed in
-this matter, that they kept the secret among themselves so that it never
-transpired abaft the Pequod's mainmast. Interweaving in its proper place
-this darker thread with the story as publicly narrated on the ship, the
-whole of this strange affair I now proceed to put on lasting record.
-
-For my humor's sake, I shall preserve the style in which I once narrated
-it at Lima, to a lounging circle of my Spanish friends, one saint's eve,
-smoking upon the thick-gilt tiled piazza of the Golden Inn. Of those
-fine cavaliers, the young Dons, Pedro and Sebastian, were on the closer
-terms with me; and hence the interluding questions they occasionally
-put, and which are duly answered at the time.
-
-"Some two years prior to my first learning the events which I am about
-rehearsing to you, gentlemen, the Town-Ho, Sperm Whaler of Nantucket,
-was cruising in your Pacific here, not very many days' sail eastward
-from the eaves of this good Golden Inn. She was somewhere to the
-northward of the Line. One morning, upon handling the pumps, according
-to daily usage, it was observed that she made more water in her hold
-than common. They supposed a sword-fish had stabbed her, gentlemen. But
-the captain, having some unusual reason for believing that rare good
-luck awaited him in those latitudes; and therefore being very averse to
-quit them, and the leak not being then considered at all dangerous,
-though, indeed, they could not find it after searching the hold as low
-down as was possible in rather heavy weather, the ship still continued
-her cruisings, the mariners working at the pumps at wide and easy
-intervals; but no good luck came; more days went by, and not only was
-the leak yet undiscovered, but it sensibly increased. So much so, that
-now taking some alarm, the captain, making all sail, stood away for the
-nearest harbor, among the islands, there to have his hull hove out and
-repaired.
-
-"Though no small passage was before her, yet, if the commonest chance
-favored, he did not at all fear that his ship would founder by the way,
-because his pumps were of the best, and being periodically relieved at
-them, those six-and-thirty men of his could easily keep the ship free;
-never mind if the leak should double on her. In truth, well nigh the
-whole of this passage being attended by very prosperous breezes, the
-Town-Ho had all but certainly arrived in perfect safety at her port
-without the occurrence of the least fatality, had it not been for the
-brutal overbearing of Radney, the mate, a Vineyarder, and the bitterly
-provoked vengeance of Steelkilt, a Lakeman and desperado from Buffalo.
-
-"'Lakeman!--Buffalo! Pray, what is a Lakeman, and where is Buffalo?'
-said Don Sebastian, rising in his swinging mat of grass.
-
-"On the eastern shore of our Lake Erie, Don; but--I crave your
-courtesy--may be, you shall soon hear further of all that. Now,
-gentlemen, in square-sail brigs and three-masted ships, well nigh as
-large and stout as any that ever sailed out of your old Callao to far
-Manilla; this Lakeman, in the land-locked heart of our America, had yet
-been nurtured by all those agrarian free-booting impressions popularly
-connected with the open ocean. For in their interflowing aggregate,
-those grand fresh-water seas of ours--Erie, and Ontario, and Huron, and
-Superior, and Michigan--possess an ocean-like expansiveness, with many
-of the ocean's noblest traits; with many of its rimmed varieties of
-races and of climes. They contain round archipelagoes of romantic isles,
-even as the Polynesian waters do; in large part, are shored by two great
-contrasting nations, as the Atlantic is; they furnish long maritime
-approaches to our numerous territorial colonies from the East, dotted
-all round their banks; here and there are frowned upon by batteries, and
-by the goat-like craggy guns of lofty Mackinaw; they have heard the
-fleet thunderings of naval victories; at intervals, they yield their
-beaches to wild barbarians, whose red painted faces flash from out their
-peltry wigwams; for leagues and leagues are flanked by ancient and
-unentered forests, where the gaunt pines stand like serried lines of
-kings in Gothic genealogies; those same woods harboring wild Afric
-beasts of prey, and silken creatures whose exported furs give robes to
-Tartar Emperors; they mirror the paved capitals of Buffalo and
-Cleveland, as well as Winnebago villages; they float alike the
-full-rigged merchant ship, the armed cruiser of the State, the steamer,
-and the beech canoe; they are swept by Borean and dismasting blasts as
-direful as any that lash the salted wave; they know what shipwrecks are,
-for out of sight of land, however inland, they have drowned full many a
-midnight ship with all its shrieking crew. Thus, gentlemen, though an
-inlander, Steelkilt was wild-ocean born, and wild-ocean nurtured; as
-much of an audacious mariner as any. And for Radney, though in his
-infancy he may have laid him down on the lone Nantucket beach, to nurse
-at his maternal sea; though in after life he had long followed our
-austere Atlantic and your contemplative Pacific; yet was he quite as
-vengeful and full of social quarrel as the backwoods seaman, fresh from
-the latitudes of buck-horn handled Bowie-knives. Yet was this
-Nantucketer a man with some good-hearted traits; and this Lakeman, a
-mariner, who though a sort of devil indeed, might yet by inflexible
-firmness, only tempered by that common decency of human recognition
-which is the meanest slave's right; thus treated, this Steelkilt had
-long been retained harmless and docile. At all events, he had proved so
-thus far; but Radney was doomed and made mad, and Steelkilt--but,
-gentlemen, you shall hear.
-
-"It was not more than a day or two at the furthest after pointing her
-prow for her island haven, that the Town-Ho's leak seemed again
-increasing, but only so as to require an hour or more at the pumps every
-day. You must know that in a settled and civilized ocean like our
-Atlantic, for example, some skippers think little of pumping their whole
-way across it; though of a still, sleepy night, should the officer of
-the deck happen to forget his duty in that respect, the probability
-would be that he and his shipmates would never again remember it, on
-account of all hands gently subsiding to the bottom. Nor in the solitary
-and savage seas far from you to the westward, gentlemen, is it
-altogether unusual for ships to keep clanging at their pump-handles in
-full chorus even for a voyage of considerable length; that is, if it lie
-along a tolerably accessible coast, or if any other reasonable retreat
-is afforded them. It is only when a leaky vessel is in some very out of
-the way part of those waters, some really landless latitude, that her
-captain begins to feel a little anxious.
-
-"Much this way had it been with the Town-Ho; so when her leak was found
-gaining once more, there was in truth some small concern manifested by
-several of her company; especially by Radney the mate. He commanded the
-upper sails to be well hoisted, sheeted home anew, and every way
-expanded to the breeze. Now this Radney, I suppose, was as little of a
-coward, and as little inclined to any sort of nervous apprehensiveness
-touching his own person as any fearless, unthinking creature on land or
-on sea that you can conveniently imagine, gentlemen. Therefore when he
-betrayed this solicitude about the safety of the ship, some of the
-seamen declared that it was only on account of his being a part owner
-in her. So when they were working that evening at the pumps, there was
-on this head no small gamesomeness slily going on among them, as they
-stood with their feet continually overflowed by the rippling clear
-water; clear as any mountain spring, gentlemen--that bubbling from the
-pumps ran across the deck, and poured itself out in steady spouts at the
-lee scupper-holes.
-
-"Now, as you well know, it is not seldom the case in this conventional
-world of ours--watery or otherwise; that when a person placed in command
-over his fellow-men finds one of them to be very significantly his
-superior in general pride of manhood, straightway against that man he
-conceives an unconquerable dislike and bitterness; and if he have a
-chance he will pull down and pulverize that subaltern's tower, and make
-a little heap of dust of it. Be this conceit of mine as it may,
-gentlemen, at all events Steelkilt was a tall and noble animal with a
-head like a Roman, and a flowing golden beard like the tasseled housings
-of your last viceroy's snorting charger; and a brain, and a heart, and a
-soul in him, gentlemen, which had made Steelkilt Charlemagne, had he
-been born son to Charlemagne's father. But Radney, the mate, was ugly as
-a mule; yet as hardy, as stubborn, as malicious. He did not love
-Steelkilt, and Steelkilt knew it.
-
-"Espying the mate drawing near as he was toiling at the pump with the
-rest, the Lakeman affected not to notice him, but unawed, went on with
-his gay banterings.
-
-"'Ay, ay, my merry lads, it's a lively leak this; hold a cannikin, one
-of ye, and let's have a taste. By the Lord, it's worth bottling! I tell
-ye what, men, old Rad's investment must go for it! he had best cut away
-his part of the hull and tow it home. The fact is, boys, that sword-fish
-only began the job; he's come back again with a gang of ship-carpenters,
-saw-fish, and file-fish, and what not; and the whole posse of 'em are
-now hard at work cutting and slashing at the bottom; making
-improvements, I suppose. If old Rad were here now, I'd tell him to jump
-overboard and scatter 'em. They're playing the devil with his estate, I
-can tell him. But he's a simple old soul--Rad, and a beauty, too. Boys,
-they say the rest of his property is invested in looking-glasses. I
-wonder if he'd give a poor devil like me the model of his nose.'
-
-"'Damn your eyes! what's that pump stopping for?' roared Radney,
-pretending not to have heard the sailors' talk. 'Thunder away at it!'
-
-"'Ay, ay, sir,' said Steelkilt, merry as a cricket. 'Lively, boys,
-lively, now!' And with that the pump clanged like fifty fire-engines;
-the men tossed their hats off to it, and ere long that peculiar gasping
-of the lungs was heard which denotes the fullest tension of life's
-utmost energies.
-
-"Quitting the pump at last, with the rest of his band, the Lakeman went
-forward all panting, and sat himself down on the windlass; his face
-fiery red, his eyes bloodshot, and wiping the profuse sweat from his
-brow. Now what cozening fiend it was, gentlemen, that possessed Radney
-to meddle with such a man in that corporeally exasperated state, I know
-not; but so it happened. Intolerably striding along the deck, the mate
-commanded him to get a broom and sweep down the planks, and also a
-shovel, and remove some offensive matters consequent upon allowing a pig
-to run at large.
-
-"Now, gentlemen, sweeping a ship's deck at sea is a piece of household
-work which in all times but raging gales is regularly attended to every
-evening; it has been known to be done in the case of ships actually
-foundering at the time. Such, gentlemen, is the inflexibility of
-sea-usages and the instinctive love of neatness in seamen; some of whom
-would not willingly drown without first washing their faces. But in all
-vessels this broom business is the prescriptive province of the boys, if
-boys there be aboard. Besides, it was the stronger men in the Town-Ho
-that had been divided into gangs, taking turns at the pumps; and being
-the most athletic seaman of them all, Steelkilt had been regularly
-assigned captain of one of the gangs; consequently he should have been
-freed from any trivial business not connected with truly nautical
-duties, such being the case with his comrades. I mention all these
-particulars so that you may understand exactly how this affair stood
-between the two men.
-
-"But there was more than this: the order about the shovel was almost as
-plainly meant to sting and insult Steelkilt, as though Radney had spat
-in his face. Any man who has gone sailor in a whale-ship will understand
-this; and all this and doubtless much more, the Lakeman fully
-comprehended when the mate uttered his command. But as he sat still for
-a moment, and as he steadfastly looked into the mate's malignant eye and
-perceived the stacks of powder-casks heaped up in him and the slow match
-silently burning along toward them; as he instinctively saw all this,
-that strange forbearance and unwillingness to stir up the deeper
-passionateness in any already ireful being--a repugnance most felt, when
-felt at all, by really valiant men even when aggrieved--this nameless
-phantom feeling, gentlemen, stole over Steelkilt.
-
-"Therefore, in his ordinary tone, only a little broken by the bodily
-exhaustion he was temporarily in, he answered him, saying that sweeping
-the deck was not his business, and he would not do it. And then, without
-at all alluding to the shovel, he pointed to three lads as the customary
-sweepers; who, not being billeted at the pumps, had done little or
-nothing all day. To this, Radney replied with an oath, in a most
-domineering and outrageous manner unconditionally reiterating his
-command; meanwhile advancing upon the still seated Lakeman, with an
-uplifted cooper's club hammer which he had snatched from a cask near by.
-
-"Heated and irritated as he was by his spasmodic toil at the pumps, for
-all his first nameless feeling of forbearance the sweating Steelkilt
-could but ill brook this bearing in the mate; but somehow still
-smothering the conflagration within him, without speaking he remained
-doggedly; rooted to his seat, till at last the incensed Radney shook the
-hammer within a few inches of his face, furiously commanding him to do
-his bidding.
-
-"Steelkilt rose, and slowly retreating round the windlass, steadily
-followed by the mate with his menacing hammer, deliberately repeated his
-intention not to obey. Seeing, however, that his forbearance had not the
-slightest effect, by an awful and unspeakable intimation with his
-twisted hand he warned off the foolish and infatuated man; but it was to
-no purpose. And in this way the two went once slowly round the windlass;
-when, resolved at last no longer to retreat, bethinking him that he had
-now forborne as much as comported with his humor, the Lakeman paused on
-the hatches and thus spoke to the officer:
-
-"'Mr. Radney, I will not obey you. Take that hammer away, or look to
-yourself.' But the predestinated mate coming still closer to him, where
-the Lakeman stood fixed, now shook the heavy hammer within an inch of
-his teeth; meanwhile repeating a string of insufferable maledictions.
-Retreating not the thousandth part of an inch; stabbing him in the eye
-with the unflinching poniard of his glance, Steelkilt, clenching his
-right hand behind him and creepingly drawing it back, told his
-persecutor that if the hammer but grazed his cheek he (Steelkilt) would
-murder him. But, gentlemen, the fool had been branded for the slaughter
-by the gods. Immediately the hammer touched the cheek; the next instant
-the lower jaw of the mate was stove in his head; he fell on the hatch
-spouting blood like a whale.
-
-"Ere the cry could go aft Steelkilt was shaking one of the backstays
-leading far aloft to where two of his comrades were standing their
-mast-heads. They were both Canalers.
-
-"'Canalers!' cried Don Pedro. 'We have seen many whaleships in our
-harbors, but never heard of your Canalers. Pardon: who and what are
-they?'
-
-"Canalers, Don, are the boatmen belonging to our grand Erie Canal. You
-must have heard of it.
-
-"'Nay, Senor; hereabouts in this dull, warm, most lazy, and hereditary
-land, we know but little of your vigorous North.'
-
-"Ay? Well, then, Don, refill my cup. Your chicha's very fine; and, ere
-proceeding further I will tell you what our Canalers are; for such
-information may throw side-light upon my story.
-
-"For three hundred and sixty miles, gentlemen, through the entire
-breadth of the state of New York; through numerous populous cities and
-most thriving villages; through long, dismal, uninhabited swamps, and
-affluent, cultivated fields, unrivaled for fertility; by billiard-room
-and bar room; through the holy-of-holies of great forests; on Roman
-arches over Indian rivers; through sun and shade; by happy hearts or
-broken; through all the wide contrasting scenery of those noble Mohawk
-counties; and especially by rows of snow-white chapels, whose spires
-stand almost like milestones, flows one continual stream of Venetianly
-corrupt and often lawless life. There's your true Ashantee, gentlemen;
-there howl your pagans; where you ever find them, next door to you;
-under the long-flung shadow, and the snug patronizing lee of churches.
-For by some curious fatality, as it is often noted of your metropolitan
-freebooters that they ever encamp around the halls of justice, so
-sinners, gentlemen, most abound in holiest vicinities.
-
-"'Is that a friar passing?' said Don Pedro, looking downward into the
-crowded plaza, with humorous concern.
-
-"'Well for our northern friend, Dame Isabella's Inquisition wanes in
-Lima,' laughed Don Sebastian. 'Proceed, Senor.'
-
-"'A moment! Pardon!' cried another of the company. 'In the name of all
-us Limeese, I but desire to express to you, sir sailor, that we have by
-no means overlooked your delicacy in not substituting present Lima for
-distant Venice in your corrupt comparison. Oh! do not bow and look
-surprised; you know the proverb all along this coast--"Corrupt as Lima."
-It but bears out your saying, too; churches more plentiful than
-billiard-tables, and forever open--and "Corrupt as Lima." So, too,
-Venice; I have been there; the holy city of the blessed evangelist, St.
-Mark!--St. Dominic, purge it! Your cup! Thanks: here I refill; now, you
-pour out again.'
-
-"Freely depicted in his own vocation, gentlemen, the Canaler would make
-a fine dramatic hero, so abundantly and picturesquely wicked is he. Like
-Mark Antony, for days and days along his green-turfed, flowery Nile, he
-indolently floats, openly toying with his red-cheeked Cleopatra,
-ripening his apricot thigh upon the sunny deck. But ashore, all this
-effeminacy is dashed. The brigandish guise which the Canaler so proudly
-sports; his slouched and gayly-ribboned hat betoken his grand features.
-A terror to the smiling innocence of the villages through which he
-floats; his swart visage and bold swagger are not unshunned in cities.
-Once a vagabond on his own canal, I have received good turns from one of
-those Canalers; I thank him heartily; would fain be not ungrateful; but
-it is often one of the prime redeeming qualities of your man of
-violence, that at times he has as stiff an arm to back a poor stranger
-in a strait, as to plunder a wealthy one. In sum, gentlemen, what the
-wildness of this canal life is, is emphatically evinced by this; that
-our wild whale-fishery contains so many of its most finished graduates,
-and that scarce any race of mankind, except Sydney men, are so much
-distrusted by our whaling captains. Nor does it at all diminish the
-curiousness of this matter, that to many thousands of our rural boys and
-young men born along its line, the probationary life of the Grand Canal
-furnishes the sole transition between quietly reaping in a Christian
-corn-field, and recklessly ploughing the waters of the most barbaric
-seas."
-
-"'I see! I see!' impetuously exclaimed Don Pedro, spilling his chicha
-upon his silvery ruffles. 'No need to travel! The world's one Lima. I
-had thought, now, that at your temperate North the generations were cold
-and holy as the hills. But the story.'
-
-"I left off, gentlemen, where the Lakeman shook the backstay. Hardly had
-he done so, when he was surrounded by the three junior mates and the
-four harpooners, who all crowded him to the deck. But sliding down the
-ropes like baleful comets, the two Canalers rushed into the uproar, and
-sought to drag their man out of it toward the forecastle. Others of the
-sailors joined with them in this attempt, and a twisted turmoil ensued;
-while standing out of harm's way, the valiant captain danced up and down
-with a whale-pike, calling upon his officers to manhandle that atrocious
-scoundrel, and smoke him along to the quarter-deck. At intervals, he ran
-close up to the revolving border of the confusion, and prying into the
-heart of it with his pike, sought to prick out the object of his
-resentment. But Steelkilt and his desperadoes were too much for them
-all; they succeeded in gaining the forecastle deck, where, hastily
-slewing about three or four large casks in a line with the windlass,
-these sea-Parisians entrenched themselves behind the barricade."
-
-"'Come out of that, ye pirates!' roared the captain, now menacing them
-with a pistol in each hand, just brought to him by the steward. 'Come
-out of that, ye cut-throats!'
-
-"Steelkilt leaped on the barricade, and striding up and down there,
-defied the worst the pistols could do; but gave the captain to
-understand distinctly, that his (Steelkilt's) death would be the signal
-for a murderous mutiny on the part of all hands. Fearing in his heart
-lest this might prove but too true, the captain a little desisted, but
-still commanded the insurgents instantly to return to their duty.
-
-"'Will you promise not to touch us, if we do?' demanded their
-ringleader.
-
-"'Turn to! turn to!--I make no promise; to your duty! Do you want to
-sink the ship, by knocking off at a time like this? Turn to!' and he
-once more raised a pistol.
-
-"'Sink the ship?' cried Steelkilt. 'Ay, let her sink. Not a man of us
-turns to, unless you swear not to raise a rope-yarn against us. What say
-ye, men?' turning to his comrades. A fierce cheer was their response.
-
-"The Lakeman now patrolled the barricade, all the while keeping his eye
-on the Captain, and jerking out such sentences as these: 'It's not our
-fault; we didn't want it; I told him to take his hammer away; it was
-boys' business: he might have known me before this; I told him not to
-prick the buffalo; I believe I have broken a finger here against his
-cursed jaw; ain't those mincing knives down in the forecastle there,
-men? look to those handspikes, my hearties. Captain, by God, look to
-yourself; say the word; don't be a fool; forget it all; we are ready to
-turn to; treat us decently, and we're your men; but we won't be
-flogged.'
-
-"'Turn to! I make no promises: turn to, I say!'
-
-"'Look ye, now,' cried the Lakeman, flinging out his arm toward him,
-'there are a few of us here (and I am one of them) who have shipped for
-the cruise, d'ye see; now as you well know, sir, we can claim our
-discharge as soon as the anchor is down; so we don't want a row; it's
-not our interest; we want to be peaceable; we are ready to work, but we
-won't be flogged.'
-
-"'Turn to!' roared the Captain.
-
-"Steelkilt glanced round him a moment, and then said: 'I tell you what
-it is now, Captain, rather than kill ye, and be hung for such a shabby
-rascal, we won't lift a hand against ye unless ye attack us; but till
-you say the word about not flogging us, we don't do a hand's turn.'
-
-"'Down into the forecastle then, down with ye, I'll keep ye there till
-ye're sick of it. Down ye go.'
-
-"'Shall we?' cried the ringleader to his men. Most of them were against
-it; but at length, in obedience to Steelkilt, they preceded him down
-into their dark den, growlingly disappearing like bears into a cave.
-
-"As the Lakeman's bare head was just level with the planks, the Captain
-and his posse leaped the barricade, and rapidly drawing over the slide
-of the scuttle, planted their group of hands upon it, and loudly called
-for the steward to bring the heavy brass padlock belonging to the
-companionway. Then opening the slide a little, the Captain whispered
-something down the crack, closed it, and turned the key upon them--ten
-in number--leaving on deck some twenty or more, who thus far had
-remained neutral.
-
-"All night a wide-awake watch was kept by all the officers, forward and
-aft, especially about the forecastle scuttle and fore hatchway; at which
-last place it was feared the insurgents might emerge, after breaking
-through the bulkhead below. But the hours of darkness passed in peace;
-the men who still remained at their duty toiling hard at the pumps,
-whose clinking and clanking at intervals through the dreary night
-dismally resounded through the ship.
-
-"At sunrise the Captain went forward, and knocking on the deck summoned
-the prisoners to work; but with a yell they refused. Water was then
-lowered down to them, and a couple of handfuls of biscuit were tossed
-after it; when again turning the key upon them and pocketing it, the
-Captain returned to the quarter-deck. Twice every day for three days
-this was repeated; but on the fourth morning a confused wrangling, and
-then a scuffling was heard, as the customary summons was delivered; and
-suddenly four men burst up from the forecastle, saying they were ready
-to turn to. The fetid closeness of the air, and a famishing diet, united
-perhaps to some fears of ultimate retribution, had constrained them to
-surrender at discretion. Emboldened by this, the Captain reiterated his
-demand to the rest, but Steelkilt shouted up to him a terrific hint to
-stop his babbling and betake himself where he belonged. On the fifth
-morning three others of the mutineers bolted up into the air from the
-desperate arms below that sought to restrain them. Only three were left.
-
-"'Better turn to, now!' said the Captain with a heartless jeer.
-
-"'Shut us up again, will ye!' cried Steelkilt.
-
-"'Oh! certainly,' said the Captain, and the key clicked.
-
-"It was at this point, gentlemen, that enraged by the defection of seven
-of his former associates, and stung by the mocking voice that had last
-hailed him, and maddened by his long entombment in a place as black as
-the bowels of despair; it was then that Steelkilt proposed to the two
-Canalers, thus far apparently of one mind with him, to burst out of
-their hole at the next summoning of the garrison; and armed with their
-keen mincing knives (long, crescentic, heavy implements with a handle at
-each end) run a muck from the bowsprit to the taffrail; and if by any
-devilishness of desperation possible, seize the ship. For himself, he
-would do this, he said, whether they joined him or not. That was the
-last night he should spend in that den. But the scheme met with no
-opposition on the part of the other two; they swore they were ready for
-that, or for any other mad thing, for any thing, in short, but a
-surrender. And what was more, they each insisted upon being the first
-man on deck, when the time to make the rush should come. But to this
-their leader as fiercely objected, reserving that priority for himself;
-particularly as his two comrades would not yield, the one to the other,
-in the matter; and both of them could not be first, for the ladder would
-but admit one man at a time. And here, gentlemen, the foul play of these
-miscreants must come out.
-
-"Upon hearing the frantic project of their leader, each in his own
-separate soul had suddenly lighted, it would seem, upon the same piece
-of treachery, namely: to be foremost in breaking out, in order to be the
-first of the three, though the last of the ten, to surrender; and
-thereby secure whatever small chance of pardon such conduct might merit.
-But when Steelkilt made known his determination still to lead them to
-the last, they in some way, by some subtle chemistry of villainy, mixed
-their before secret treacheries together; and when their leader fell
-into a doze, verbally opened their souls to each other in three
-sentences; and bound the sleeper with cords, and gagged him with cords;
-and shrieked out for the Captain at midnight.
-
-"Thinking murder at hand, and smelling in the dark for the blood, he and
-all his armed mates and harpooners rushed for the forecastle. In a few
-minutes the scuttle was opened, and, bound hand and foot, the still
-struggling ringleader was shoved up into the air by his perfidious
-allies, who at once claimed the honor of securing a man who had been
-fully ripe for murder. But all three were collared, and dragged along
-the deck like dead cattle; and, side by side, were seized up into the
-mizen rigging, like three quarters of meat, and there they hung till
-morning. 'Damn ye,' cried the Captain, pacing to and fro before them,
-'the vultures would not touch ye, ye villains!'
-
-"At sunrise he summoned all hands; and separated those who had rebelled
-from those who had taken no part in the mutiny, he told the former that
-he had a good mind to flog them all around--thought, upon the whole, he
-would do so--he ought to--justice demanded it; but, for the present,
-considering their timely surrender, he would let them go with a
-reprimand, which he accordingly administered in the vernacular.
-
-"'But as for you, ye carrion rogues,' turning to the three men in the
-rigging--'for you, I mean to mince ye up for the try-pots;' and, seizing
-a rope, he applied it with all his might to the backs of the two
-traitors, till they yelled no more, but lifelessly hung their head
-sideways, as the two crucified thieves are drawn.
-
-"'My wrist is sprained with ye!' he cried, at last; 'but there is still
-rope enough left for you, my fine bantam, that wouldn't give up. Take
-that gag from his mouth, and let us hear what he can say for himself.'
-
-"For a moment the exhausted mutineer made a tremulous motion of his
-cramped jaws, and then painfully twisting round his head, said, in a
-sort of hiss, 'What I say is this--and mind it well--if you flog me, I
-murder you!'
-
-"'Say ye so? then see how ye frighten me'--and the Captain drew off with
-the rope to strike.
-
-"'Best not,' hissed the Lakeman.
-
-"'But I must'--and the rope was once more drawn back for the stroke.
-
-"Steelkilt here hissed out something, inaudible to all but the Captain;
-who, to the amazement of all hands, started back, paced the deck rapidly
-two or three times, and then suddenly throwing down his rope, said, 'I
-won't do it--let him go--cut him down: d'ye hear?'
-
-"But as the junior mates were hurrying to execute the order, a pale man,
-with a bandaged head, arrested them--Radney the chief mate. Ever since
-the blow, he had lain in his berth; but that morning, hearing the tumult
-on the deck, he had crept out, and thus far had watched the whole scene.
-Such was the state of his mouth, that he could hardly speak; but
-mumbling something about _his_ being willing and able to do what the
-Captain dared not attempt, he snatched the rope and advanced to his
-pinioned foe.
-
-"'You are a coward!' hissed the Lakeman.
-
-"'So I am, but take that.' The mate was in the very act of striking,
-when another hiss stayed his uplifted arm. He paused: and then pausing
-no more, made good his word, spite of Steelkilt's threat, whatever that
-might have been. The three men were then cut down, all hands were turned
-to, and, sullenly worked by the moody seamen, the iron pumps clanged as
-before.
-
-"Just after dark that day, when one watch had retired below, a clamor
-was heard in the forecastle; and the two trembling traitors running up,
-besieged the cabin-door, saying they durst not consort with the crew.
-Entreaties, cuffs, and kicks could not drive them back, so at their own
-instance they were put down in the ship's run for salvation. Still, no
-sign of mutiny re-appeared among the rest. On the contrary, it seemed,
-that mainly at Steelkilt's instigation, they had resolved to maintain
-the strictest peacefulness, obey all orders to the last, and, when the
-ship reached port, desert her in a body. But in order to insure the
-speediest end to the voyage, they all agreed to another thing--namely,
-not to sing out for whales, in case any should be discovered. For, spite
-of her leak, and spite of all her other perils, the Town-Ho still
-maintained her mast heads, and her captain was just as willing to lower
-for a fish that moment, as on the day his craft first struck the
-cruising-ground, and Radney the mate was quite as ready to change his
-berth for a boat, and with his bandaged mouth seek to gag in death the
-vital jaw of the whale.
-
-"But though the Lakeman had induced the seamen to adopt this sort of
-passiveness in their conduct, he kept his own counsel (at least till all
-was over) concerning his own proper and private revenge upon the man who
-had stung him in the ventricles of his heart. He was in Radney the
-chief-mate's watch; and as if the infatuated man sought to run more than
-half way to meet his doom, after the scene at the rigging, he insisted,
-against the express counsel of the captain, upon resuming the head of
-his watch at night. Upon this, and one or two other circumstances,
-Steelkilt systematically built the plan of his revenge.
-
-"During the night, Radney had an unseaman-like way of sitting on the
-bulwarks of the quarter-deck, and leaning his arm upon the gunwale of
-the boat which was hoisted up there, a little above the ship's side. In
-this attitude, it was well known, he sometimes dozed. There was a
-considerable vacancy between the boat and the ship, and down between
-this was the sea. Steelkilt calculated his time, and found that his next
-trick at the helm would come round at two o'clock, in the morning of the
-third day from that in which he had been betrayed. At his leisure, he
-employed the interval in braiding something very carefully in his
-watches below.
-
-"'What are you making there?' said a shipmate.
-
-"'What do you think? what does it look like?'
-
-"'Like a lanyard for your bag; but it's an odd one, seems to me.'
-
-"'Yes, rather oddish,' said the Lakeman, holding it at arm's length
-before him; 'but I think it will answer. Shipmate, I haven't enough
-twine--have you any?'
-
-"But there was none in the forecastle.
-
-"'Then I must get some from old Rad;' and he rose to go aft.
-
-"'You don't mean to go a-begging to _him!_' said a sailor.
-
-"'Why not? Do you think he won't do me a turn, when it's to help himself
-in the end, shipmate?' and going to the mate, he looked at him quietly,
-and asked him for some twine to mend his hammock. It was given
-him--neither twine nor lanyard was seen again; but the next night an
-iron ball, closely netted, partly rolled from the pocket of the
-Lakeman's monkey-jacket, as he was tucking the coat into his hammock for
-a pillow. Twenty-four hours after, his trick at the silent helm--nigh to
-the man who was apt to doze over the grave always ready dug to the
-seaman's hand--that fatal hour was then to come; and in the
-fore-ordaining soul of Steelkilt, the mate was already stark and
-stretched as a corpse, with his forehead crushed in.
-
-"But, gentlemen, a fool saved the would-be murderer from the bloody deed
-he had planned. Yet complete revenge he had, and without being the
-avenger. For by a mysterious fatality, Heaven itself seemed to step in
-to take out of his hands into its own the damning thing he would have
-done.
-
-"It was just between daybreak and sunrise of the morning of the second
-day, when they were washing down the decks, that a stupid Teneriffe man,
-drawing water in the main-chains, all at once shouted out, 'There she
-rolls! there she rolls! Jesu! what a whale!' It was Moby Dick.
-
-"'Moby Dick!' cried Don Sebastian; 'St. Dominic! Sir sailor, but do
-whales have christenings? Whom call you Moby Dick?'
-
-"A very white, and famous, and most deadly immortal monster, Don; but
-that would be too long a story.
-
-"'How? how? cried all the young Spaniards, crowding.
-
-"Nay, Dons, Dons--nay, nay! I can not rehearse that now. Let me get more
-into the air, sirs.
-
-"'The chicha! the chicha!' cried Don Pedro; 'our vigorous friend looks
-faint; fill up his empty glass!'
-
-"No need, gentlemen; one moment, and I proceed. Now, gentlemen, so
-suddenly perceiving the snowy whale within fifty yards of the
-ship--forgetful of the compact among the crew--in the excitement of the
-moment, the Teneriffe man had instinctively and involuntarily lifted his
-voice for the monster, though for some little time past it had been
-plainly beheld from the three sullen mast-heads. All was now a frenzy.
-'The White Whale--the White Whale!' was the cry from captain, mates, and
-harpooners, who, undeterred by fearful rumors, were all anxious to
-capture so famous and precious a fish; while the dogged crew eyed
-askance, and with curses, the appalling beauty of the vast milky mass,
-that lit up by a horizontal spangling sun, shifted and glistened like a
-living opal in the blue morning sea. Gentlemen, a strange fatality
-pervades the whole career of these events, as if verily mapped out
-before the world itself was charted. The mutineer was the bowsman of the
-mate, and when fast to a fish, it was his duty to sit next him, while
-Radney stood up with his lance in the prow, and haul in or slacken the
-line, at the word of command. Moreover, when the four boats were
-lowered, the mate's got the start; and none howled more fiercely with
-delight than did Steelkilt, as he strained at his oar. After a stiff
-pull, their harpooner got fast, and, spear in hand, Radney sprang to the
-bow. He was always a furious man, it seems, in a boat. And now his
-bandaged cry was, to beach him on the whale's topmost back. Nothing
-loath, his bowsman hauled him up and up, through a blinding foam that
-blent two whitenesses together; till of a sudden the boat struck as
-against a sunken ledge, and keeling over, spilled out the standing mate.
-That instant, as he fell on the whale's slippery back, the boat righted,
-and was dashed aside by the swell, while Radney was tossed over into the
-sea, on the other flank of the whale. He struck out through the spray,
-and, for an instant, was dimly seen through that vail, wildly seeking to
-remove himself from the eye of Moby Dick. But the whale rushed round in
-a sudden maelstrom--seized the swimmer between his jaws; and rearing
-high up with him, plunged headlong again, and went down.
-
-"Meantime, at the first tap of the boat's bottom, the Lakeman had
-slackened the line, so as to drop astern from the whirlpool; calmly
-looking on, he thought his own thoughts. But a sudden, terrific,
-downward jerking of the boat, quickly brought his knife to the line. He
-cut it; and the whale was free. But, at some distance, Moby Dick rose
-again, with some tatters of Radney's red woolen shirt, caught in the
-teeth that had destroyed him. All four boats gave chase again; but the
-whale eluded them, and, finally, wholly disappeared.
-
-"In good time, the Town-Ho reached her port--a savage, solitary
-place--where no civilized creature resided. There, headed by the
-Lakeman, all but five or six of the foremast-men deliberately deserted
-among the palms; eventually, as it turned out, seizing a large double
-war-canoe of the savages, and setting sail for some other harbor.
-
-"The ship's company being reduced to but a handful, the Captain called
-upon the Islanders to assist him in the laborious business of heaving
-down the ship to stop the leak. But to such unresting vigilance over
-their dangerous allies was this small band of whites necessitated, both
-by night and by day, and so extreme was the hard work they underwent,
-that upon the vessel being ready again for sea, they were in such a
-weakened condition that the captain durst not put off with them in so
-heavy a vessel. After taking counsel with his officers, he anchored the
-ship as far off shore as possible; loaded and ran out his two cannon
-from the bows; stacked his muskets on the poop; and warning the
-Islanders not to approach the ship at their peril, took one man with
-him, and setting the sail of his best whale-boat, steered straight
-before the wind for Tahiti, five hundred miles distant, to procure a
-reinforcement to his crew.
-
-"On the fourth day of the sail, a large canoe was descried, which seemed
-to have touched at a low isle of corals. He steered away from it; but
-the savage craft bore down on him; and soon the voice of Steelkilt
-hailed him to heave to, or he would run him under water. The captain
-presented a pistol. With one foot on each prow of the yoked war-canoes,
-the Lakeman laughed him to scorn; assuring him that if the pistol so
-much as clicked in the lock, he would bury him in bubbles and foam.
-
-"'What do you want of me?' cried the captain.
-
-"'Where are you bound? and for what are you bound?' demanded Steelkilt;
-'no lies.'
-
-"'I am bound to Tahiti for more men.'
-
-"'Very good. Let me board you a moment--I come in peace.' With that he
-leaped from the canoe, swam to the boat; and climbing the gunwale, stood
-face to face with the captain.
-
-"'Cross your arm, sir; throw back your head. Now, repeat after me. As
-soon as Steelkilt leaves me, I swear to beach this boat on yonder
-island, and remain there six days. If I do not, may lightnings strike
-me!'
-
-"'A pretty scholar,' laughed the Lakeman. 'Adios, Senor!' and leaping
-into the sea, he swam back to his comrades.
-
-"Watching the boat till it was fairly beached, and drawn up to the roots
-of the cocoa-nut trees, Steelkilt made sail again, and in due time
-arrived at Tahiti, his own place of destination. There, luck befriended
-him; two ships were about to sail for France, and were providentially in
-want of precisely that number of men which the sailor headed. They
-embarked; and so forever got the start of their former captain, had he
-been at all minded to work them legal retribution.
-
-"Some ten days after the French ships sailed, the whale-boat arrived,
-and the captain was forced to enlist some of the more civilized
-Tahitans, who had been somewhat used to the sea. Chartering a small
-native schooner, he returned with them to his vessel; and finding all
-right there, again resumed his cruisings.
-
-"Where Steelkilt now is, gentlemen, none know; but upon the island of
-Nantucket, the widow of Radney still turns to the sea which refuses to
-give up its dead; still in dreams sees the awful white whale that
-destroyed him....
-
-"'Are you through?' said Don Sebastian, quietly.
-
-"I am, Don.
-
-"'Then I entreat you, tell me if to the best of your own convictions,
-this your story is, in substance, really true? It is so passing
-wonderful! Did you get it from an unquestionable source? Bear with me if
-I seem to press.'
-
-"'Also bear with all of us, sir sailor; for we all join in Don
-Sebastian's suit,' cried the company, with exceeding interest.
-
-"Is there a copy of the Holy Evangelists in the Golden Inn, gentlemen?
-
-"'Nay,' said Don Sebastian; 'but I know a worthy priest near by, who
-will quickly procure one for me. I go for it; but are you well advised?
-this may grow too serious.'
-
-"'Will you be so good as to bring the priest also, Don?'
-
-"'Though there are no Auto-da-Fés in Lima now,' said one of the company
-to another; 'I fear our sailor friend runs risk of the archiepiscopacy.
-Let us withdraw more out of the moonlight. I see no need of this.'
-
-"Excuse me for running after you, Don Sebastian; but may I also beg that
-you will be particular in procuring the largest sized Evangelists you
-can....
-
-"'This is the priest; he brings you the Evangelists,' said Don
-Sebastian, gravely, returning with a tall and solemn figure.
-
-"Let me remove my hat. Now, venerable priest, further into the light,
-and hold the Holy Book before me that I may touch it.
-
-"So help me Heaven, and on my honor, the story I have told ye,
-gentlemen, is, in substance and its great items, true. I know it to be
-true; it happened on this ball; I trod the ship; I knew the crew; I have
-seen and talked with Steelkilt since the death of Radney."
-
-
-
-
-MY NOVEL, OR, VARIETIES IN ENGLISH LIFE.[6]
-
-[6] Continued from the September Number.
-
-Book VII.--INITIAL CHAPTER.
-
-
-"What is courage?" said my uncle Roland, rousing himself from a reverie
-into which he had fallen after the Sixth Book in this history had been
-read to our family circle.
-
-"What is courage?" he repeated more earnestly. "Is it insensibility to
-fear? _That_ may be the mere accident of constitution; and, if so, there
-is no more merit in being courageous than in being this table."
-
-"I am very glad to hear you speak thus," observed Mr. Caxton, "for I
-should not like to consider myself a coward; yet I am very sensible to
-fear in all dangers, bodily and moral."
-
-"La, Austin, how can you say so?" cried my mother, firing up; "was it
-not only last week that you faced the great bull that was rushing after
-Blanche and the children?"
-
-Blanche at that recollection stole to my father's chair, and, hanging
-over his shoulder kissed his forehead.
-
-Mr. Caxton (sublimely unmoved by these flatteries).--"I don't deny that
-I faced the bull, but I assert that I was horribly frightened."
-
-Roland.--"The sense of honor which conquers fear is the true courage of
-chivalry: you could not run away when others were looking on--no
-gentleman could."
-
-Mr. Caxton.--"Fiddledee! It was not on my gentility that I stood,
-Captain. I should have run fast enough, if it had done any good. I stood
-upon my understanding. As the bull could run faster than I could, the
-only chance of escape was to make the brute as frightened as myself."
-
-Blanche.--"Ah, you did not think of that; your only thought was to save
-me and the children."
-
-Mr. Caxton.--"Possibly, my dear--very possibly I might have been afraid
-for you too--but I was very much afraid for myself. However, luckily I
-had the umbrella, and I sprang it up and spread it forth in the animal's
-stupid eyes, hurling at him simultaneously the biggest lines I could
-think of in the First Chorus of the 'Seven against Thebes.' I began with
-ELEDEMNAS PEDIOPLOKTUPOS; and when I came to the grand howl of Iô, iô,
-iô, iô--the beast stood appalled as at the roar of a lion. I shall never
-forget his amazed snort at the Greek. Then he kicked up his hind legs,
-and went bolt through the gap in the hedge. Thus, armed with Æschylus
-and the umbrella, I remained master of the field; but (continued Mr.
-Caxton, ingenuously), I should not like to go through that half minute
-again."
-
-"No man would," said the Captain, kindly. "I should be very sorry to
-face a bull myself, even with a bigger umbrella than yours, and even
-though I had Æschylus, and Homer to boot, at my fingers' ends."
-
-Mr. Caxton.--"You would not have minded if it had been a Frenchman with
-a sword in his hand?"
-
-Captain.--"Of course not. Rather liked it than otherwise," he added,
-grimly.
-
-Mr. Caxton.--"Yet many a Spanish matador, who doesn't care a button for
-a bull, would take to his heels at the first lunge _en carte_ from a
-Frenchman. Therefore, in fact, if courage be a matter of constitution,
-it is also a matter of custom. We face calmly the dangers we are
-habituated to, and recoil from those of which we have no familiar
-experience. I doubt if Marshal Turenne himself would have been quite at
-his ease on the tight rope; and a rope-dancer, who seems disposed to
-scale the heavens with Titanic temerity, might possibly object to charge
-on a cannon."
-
-Captain Roland.--"Still, either this is not the courage I mean, or there
-is another kind of it. I mean by courage that which is the especial
-force and dignity of the human character, without which there is no
-reliance on principle, no constancy in virtue--a something," continued
-my uncle, gallantly, and with a half bow toward my mother, "which your
-sex shares with our own. When the lover, for instance, clasps the hand
-of his betrothed, and says, 'Wilt thou be true to me, in spite of
-absence and time, in spite of hazard and fortune, though my foes malign
-me, though thy friends may dissuade thee, and our lot in life may be
-rough and rude?' and when the betrothed answers, 'I will be true,' does
-not the lover trust to her courage as well as her love?"
-
-"Admirably put, Roland," said my father. "But _apropos_ of what do you
-puzzle us with these queries on courage?"
-
-Captain Roland (with a slight blush).--"I was led to the inquiry
-(though, perhaps, it may be frivolous to take so much thought of what,
-no doubt, costs Pisistratus so little), by the last chapters in my
-nephew's story. I see this poor boy, Leonard, alone with his fallen
-hopes (though very irrational they were), and his sense of shame. And I
-read his heart, I dare say, better than Pisistratus does, for I could
-feel like that boy if I had been in the same position; and, conjecturing
-what he and thousands like him must go through, I asked myself, 'What
-can save him and them?' I answered, as a soldier would answer,
-'Courage!' Very well. But pray, Austin, what is courage?"
-
-Mr. Caxton (prudently backing out of a reply).--"_Papæ!_ Brother, since
-you have just complimented the ladies on that quality, you had better
-address your question to them."
-
-Blanche here leant both hands on my father's chair, and said, looking
-down at first bashfully, but afterward warming with the subject, "Do you
-not think, sir, that little Helen has already suggested, if not what is
-courage, what at least is the real essence of all courage that endures
-and conquers, that ennobles, and hallows, and redeems? Is it not
-Patience, father?--and that is why we women have a courage of our own.
-Patience does not affect to be superior to fear, but at least it never
-admits despair."
-
-Pisistratus.--"Kiss me, my Blanche, for you have come near to the truth
-which perplexed the soldier and puzzled the sage."
-
-Mr. Caxton (tartly).--"If you mean me by the sage, I was not puzzled at
-all. Heaven knows you do right to inculcate patience--it is a virtue
-very much required in your readers. Nevertheless," added my father,
-softening with the enjoyment of his joke--"nevertheless, Blanche and
-Helen are quite right. Patience is the courage of the conqueror; it is
-the virtue, _par excellence_, of Man against Destiny--of the One against
-the World, and of the Soul against Matter. Therefore this is the courage
-of the Gospel; and its importance, in a social view--its importance to
-races and institutions--can not be too earnestly included. What is it
-that distinguishes the Anglo-Saxon from all other branches of the human
-family, peoples deserts with his children, and consigns to them the
-heritage of rising worlds? What but his faculty to brave, to suffer, to
-endure--the patience that resists firmly, and innovates slowly. Compare
-him with the Frenchman. The Frenchman has plenty of valor--that there is
-no denying; but as for fortitude, he has not enough to cover the point
-of a pin. He is ready to rush out of the world if he is bit by a flea."
-
-Captain Roland.--"There was a case in the papers the other day, Austin,
-of a Frenchman who actually did destroy himself because he was so teased
-by the little creatures you speak of. He left a paper on his table,
-saying that 'life was not worth having at the price of such
-torments.'"[7]
-
-[7] Fact. In a work by M. Gibert, a celebrated French physician, on
-diseases of the skin, he states that that minute troublesome kind of
-rash, known by the name of _prurigo_, though not dangerous in itself,
-has often driven the individual afflicted by it to--suicide. I believe
-that our more varying climate, and our more heating drinks and aliments,
-render the skin complaint more common in England than in France, yet I
-doubt if any English physician could state that it had ever driven one
-of his _English_ patients to suicide.
-
-Mr. Caxton (solemnly).--"Sir, their whole political history, since the
-great meeting of the Tiers État, has been the history of men who would
-rather go to the devil than be bit by a flea. It is the record of human
-impatience, that seeks to force time, and expects to grow forests from
-the spawn of a mushroom. Wherefore, running through all extremes of
-constitutional experiment, when they are nearest to democracy they are
-next door to a despot; and all they have really done is to destroy
-whatever constitutes the foundation of every tolerable government. A
-constitutional monarchy can not exist without aristocracy, nor a
-healthful republic endure with corruption of manners. The cry of
-Equality is incompatible with Civilization, which, of necessity,
-contrasts poverty with wealth, and, in short, whether it be an emperor
-or a mob that is to rule, Force is the sole hope of order, and the
-government is but an army.
-
-"Impress, O Pisistratus! impress the value of patience as regards man
-and men. You touch there on the kernel of the social system--the secret
-that fortifies the individual and disciplines the million. I care not,
-for my part, if you are tedious so long as you are earnest. Be minute
-and detailed. Let the real human life, in its war with Circumstance,
-stand out. Never mind if one can read you but slowly--better chance of
-being less quickly forgotten. Patience, patience! By the soul of
-Epictetus, your readers shall set you an example!"
-
-
-CHAPTER II.
-
-Leonard had written twice to Mrs. Fairfield, twice to Riccabocca, and
-once to Mr. Dale; and the poor proud boy could not bear to betray his
-humiliation. He wrote with as cheerful spirits--as if perfectly
-satisfied with his prospects. He said that he was well employed, in the
-midst of books, and that he had found kind friends. Then he turned from
-himself to write about those whom he addressed, and the affairs and
-interests of the quiet world wherein they lived. He did not give his own
-address, nor that of Mr. Prickett. He dated his letters from a small
-coffee-house near the bookseller, to which he occasionally went for his
-simple meals. He had a motive in this. He did not desire to be found
-out. Mr. Dale replied for himself and for Mrs. Fairfield, to the
-epistles addressed to these two. Riccabocca wrote also. Nothing could be
-more kind than the replies of both. They came to Leonard in a very dark
-period in his life, and they strengthened him in the noiseless battle
-with despair.
-
-If there be a good in the world that we do without knowing it, without
-conjecturing the effect it may have upon a human soul, it is when we
-show kindness to the young in the first barren footpath up the mountain
-of life.
-
-Leonard's face resumed its serenity in his intercourse with his
-employer; but he did not recover his boyish ingenuous frankness. The
-under-currents flowed again pure from the turbid soil and the splintered
-fragments uptorn from the deep; but they were still too strong and too
-rapid to allow transparency to the surface. And now he stood in the
-sublime world of books, still and earnest as a seer who invokes the
-dead. And thus, face to face with knowledge, hourly he discovered how
-little he knew. Mr. Prickett lent him such works as he selected and
-asked to take home with him. He spent whole nights in reading; and no
-longer desultorily. He read no more poetry, no more Lives of Poets. He
-read what poets must read if they desire to be great--_Sapere principium
-et fons_--strict reasonings on the human mind; the relations between
-motive and conduct, thought and action; the grave and solemn truths of
-the past world; antiquities, history, philosophy. He was taken out of
-himself. He was carried along the ocean of the universe. In that ocean,
-O seeker, study the law of the tides; and seeing Chance nowhere--Thought
-presiding over all--Fate, that dread phantom, shall vanish from
-creation, and Providence alone be visible in heaven and on earth!
-
-
-CHAPTER III.
-
-There was to be a considerable book-sale at a country house one day's
-journey from London. Mr. Prickett meant to have attended it on his own
-behalf, and that of several gentlemen who had given him commissions for
-purchase; but, on the morning fixed for his departure, he was seized
-with a severe return of his old foe, the rheumatism. He requested
-Leonard to attend instead of himself. Leonard went, and was absent for
-the three days during which the sale lasted. He returned late in the
-evening, and went at once to Mr. Prickett's house. The shop was closed;
-he knocked at the private entrance; a strange person opened the door to
-him, and in reply to his question if Mr. Prickett was at home, said with
-a long and funereal face--"Young man, Mr. Prickett senior has gone to
-his long home, but Mr. Richard Prickett will see you."
-
-At this moment a very grave-looking man, with lank hair, looked forth
-from the side-door communicating between the shop and the passage; and
-then stepped forward--"Come in, sir; you are my late uncle's assistant,
-Mr. Fairfield, I suppose?"
-
-"Your late uncle! Heavens, sir, do I understand aright--can Mr. Prickett
-be dead since I left London?"
-
-"Died, sir, suddenly last night. It was an affection of the heart; the
-doctor thinks the rheumatism attacked that organ. He had small time to
-provide for his departure, and his account books seem in sad disorder: I
-am his nephew and executor."
-
-Leonard had now followed the nephew into the shop. There, still burned
-the gas lamp. The place seemed more dingy and cavernous than before.
-Death always makes its presence felt in the house it visits.
-
-Leonard was greatly affected--and yet more, perhaps, by the utter want
-of feeling which the nephew exhibited. In fact, the deceased had not
-been on friendly terms with this person, his nearest relative and
-heir-at-law, who was also a bookseller.
-
-"You were engaged but by the week I find, young man, on reference to my
-late uncle's papers. He gave you a £1 a week--a monstrous sum! I shall
-not require your services any further. I shall move these books to my
-own house. You will be good enough to send me a list of those you bought
-at the sale, and your account of traveling expenses, &c. What may be due
-to you shall be sent to your address. Good evening."
-
-Leonard went home, shocked and saddened at the sudden death of his kind
-employer. He did not think much of himself that night; but, when he rose
-the next day, he suddenly felt that the world of London lay before him,
-without a friend, without a calling, without an occupation for bread.
-
-This time it was no fancied sorrow, no poetic dream disappointed. Before
-him, gaunt and palpable, stood Famine.
-
-Escape!--yes. Back to the village; his mother's cottage; the exile's
-garden; the radishes and the fount. Why could he not escape? Ask why
-civilization can not escape its ills and fly back to the wilds and the
-wigwam?
-
-Leonard could not have returned to the cottage, even if the Famine that
-faced had already seized him with her skeleton hand. London releases not
-so readily her fated stepsons.
-
-
-CHAPTER IV.
-
-One day three persons were standing before an old book-stall in a
-passage leading from Oxford-street into Tottenham-court-road. Two were
-gentlemen; the third, of the class and appearance of those who more
-habitually halt at old book-stalls.
-
-"Look," said one of the gentlemen to the other, "I have discovered here
-what I have searched for in vain for the last ten years--the Horace of
-1580, the Horace of the Forty Commentators--a perfect treasury of
-learning, and marked only fourteen shillings!"
-
-"Hush, Norreys," said the other, "and observe what is yet more worth
-your study;" and he pointed to the third bystander, whose face, sharp
-and attenuated, was bent with an absorbed, and as it were, with a
-hungering attention over an old worm-eaten volume.
-
-"What is the book, my lord?" whispered Mr. Norreys.
-
-His companion smiled, and replied by another question, "What is the man
-who reads the book?"
-
-Mr. Norreys moved a few paces, and looked over the student's shoulder.
-"Preston's translation of Boethius, _The Consolations of Philosophy_,"
-he said, coming back to his friend.
-
-"He looks as if he wanted all the consolations Philosophy can give him,
-poor boy."
-
-At this moment a fourth passenger paused at the book-stall, and,
-recognizing the pale student, placed his hand on his shoulder and said,
-"Aha, young sir, we meet again. So poor Prickett is dead. But you are
-still haunted by associations. Books--books--magnets to which all iron
-minds move insensibly. What is this? Boethius! Ah, a book written in
-prison, but a little time before the advent of the only philosopher who
-solves to the simplest understanding every mystery of life--"
-
-"And that philosopher?"
-
-"Is Death!" said Mr. Burley. "How can you be dull enough to ask? Poor
-Boethius, rich, nobly born, a consul, his sons consuls--the world one
-smile to the Last Philosopher of Rome. Then suddenly, against this type
-of the old world's departing WISDOM, stands frowning the new world's
-grim genius, FORCE--Theodoric the Ostrogoth condemning Boethius the
-Schoolman; and Boethius, in his Pavian dungeon, holding a dialogue with
-the shade of Athenian Philosophy. It is the finest picture upon which
-lingers the glimmering of the Western golden day, before night rushes
-over time."
-
-"And," said Mr. Norreys abruptly, "Boethius comes back to us with the
-faint gleam of returning light, translated by Alfred the Great. And,
-again, as the sun of knowledge bursts forth in all its splendor, by
-Queen Elizabeth. Boethius influences us as we stand in this passage; and
-that is the best of all the Consolations of Philosophy--eh, Mr. Burley?"
-
-Mr. Burley turned and bowed.
-
-The two men looked at each other; you could not see a greater contrast.
-Mr. Burley, his gay green dress already shabby and soiled, with a rent
-in the skirts, and his face speaking of habitual night-cups. Mr.
-Norreys, neat and somewhat precise in dress, with firm lean figure, and
-quiet, collected, vigorous energy in his eye and aspect.
-
-"If," replied Mr. Burley, "a poor devil like me may argue with a
-gentleman who may command his own price with the booksellers, I should
-say it is no consolation at all Mr. Norreys. And I should like to see
-any man of sense accept the condition of Boethius in his prison, with
-some strangler or headsman waiting behind the door, upon the promised
-proviso that he should be translated, centuries afterward, by Kings and
-Queens, and help indirectly to influence the minds of Northern
-barbarians, babbling about him in an alley, jostled by passers-by who
-never heard the name of Boethius, and who don't care a fig for
-philosophy. Your servant, sir--young man, come and talk."
-
-Burley hooked his arm within Leonard's, and led the boy passively away.
-
-"That is a clever man," said Harley L'Estrange. "But I am sorry to see
-yon young student, with his bright, earnest eyes, and his lip that has
-the quiver of passion and enthusiasm, leaning on the arm of a guide who
-seems disenchanted of all that gives purpose to learning, and links
-philosophy with use to the world. Who, and what is this clever man whom
-you call Burley?"
-
-"A man who might have been famous, if he had condescended to be
-respectable! The boy listening to us both so attentively interested _me_
-too--I should like to have the making of him. But I must buy this
-Horace."
-
-The shopman, lurking within his hole like a spider for flies, was now
-called out. And when Mr. Norreys had bought the Horace, and given an
-address where to send it, Harley asked the shopman if he knew the young
-man who had been reading Boethius.
-
-"Only by sight. He has come here every day the last week, and spends
-hours at the stall. When once he fastens on a book, he reads it
-through."
-
-"And never buys?" said Mr. Norreys.
-
-"Sir," said the shopman, with a good-natured smile, "they who buy seldom
-read. The poor boy pays me two-pence a day to read as long as he
-pleases. I would not take it, but he is proud."
-
-"I have known men amass great learning in that way," said Mr. Norreys.
-"Yes, I should like to have that boy in my hands. And now, my lord, I am
-at your service, and we shall go to the studio of your artist."
-
-The two gentlemen walked on toward one of the streets out of
-Fitzroy-square.
-
-In a few minutes more Harley L'Estrange was in his element, seated
-carelessly on a deal table, smoking his cigar, and discussing art with
-the gusto of a man who honestly loved, and the taste of a man who
-thoroughly understood it. The young artist, in his dressing robe, adding
-slow touch upon touch, paused often to listen the better. And Henry
-Norreys, enjoying the brief respite from a life of great labor, was
-gladly reminded of idle hours under rosy skies; for these three men had
-formed their friendship in Italy, where the bands of friendship are
-woven by the hands of the Graces.
-
-
-CHAPTER V.
-
-Leonard and Mr. Burley walked on into the suburbs round the north road
-from London, and Mr. Burley offered to find literary employment for
-Leonard--an offer eagerly accepted.
-
-Then they went into a public house by the wayside. Burley demanded a
-private room, called for pen, ink, and paper; and placing these
-implements before Leonard, said, "Write what you please, in prose, five
-sheets of letter paper, twenty-two lines to a page neither more nor
-less."
-
-"I can not write so."
-
-"Tut, 'tis for bread."
-
-The boy's face crimsoned.
-
-"I must forget that," said he.
-
-"There is an arbor in the garden under a weeping ash," returned Burley.
-"Go there, and fancy yourself in Arcadia."
-
-Leonard was too pleased to obey. He found out the little arbor at one
-end of a deserted bowling-green. All was still--the hedgerow shut out
-the sight of the inn. The sun lay warm on the grass, and glinted
-pleasantly through the leaves of the ash. And Leonard there wrote the
-first essay from his hand as Author by profession. What was it that he
-wrote? His dreamy impressions of London? an anathema on its streets, and
-its hearts of stone? murmurs against poverty? dark elegies on fate?
-
-Oh, no! little knowest thou true genius if thou askest such questions,
-or thinkest that there, under the weeping ash, the taskwork for bread
-was remembered; or that the sunbeam glinted but over the practical
-world, which, vulgar and sordid, lay around. Leonard wrote a fairy
-tale--one of the loveliest you can conceive, with a delicate touch of
-playful humor--in a style all flowered over with happy fancies. He
-smiled as he wrote the last word--he was happy. In rather more than an
-hour Mr. Burley came to him, and found him with that smile on his lips.
-
-Mr. Burley had a glass of brandy and water in his hand; it was his
-third. He too smiled--he too looked happy. He read the paper aloud, and
-well. He was very complimentary. "You will do!" said he, clapping
-Leonard on the back. "Perhaps some day you will catch my one-eyed
-perch." Then he folded up the MS., scribbled off a note, put the whole
-in one envelope--and they returned to London.
-
-Mr. Burley disappeared within a dingy office near Fleet-street, on which
-was inscribed--"Office of the _Beehive_," and soon came forth with a
-golden sovereign in his hand--Leonard's first fruits. Leonard thought
-Peru lay before him. He accompanied Mr. Burley to that gentleman's
-lodging in Maida Hill. The walk had been very long; Leonard was not
-fatigued. He listened with a livelier attention than before to Burley's
-talk. And when they reached the apartments of the latter, and Mr. Burley
-sent to the cookshop, and their joint supper was taken out of the golden
-sovereign, Leonard felt proud, and for the first time for weeks he
-laughed the heart's laugh. The two writers grew more and more intimate
-and cordial. And there was a vast deal in Burley by which any young man
-might be made the wiser. There was no apparent evidence of poverty in
-the apartment--clean, new, well furnished; but all things in the most
-horrible litter--all speaking of the huge literary sloven.
-
-For several days Leonard almost lived in those rooms. He wrote
-continuously--save when Burley's conversation fascinated him into
-idleness. Nay, it was not idleness--his knowledge grew larger as he
-listened; but the cynicism of the talker began slowly to work its way.
-That cynicism in which there was no faith, no hope, no vivifying breath
-from Glory--from Religion. The cynicism of the Epicurean, more degraded
-in his style than ever was Diogenes in his tub; and yet presented with
-such ease and such eloquence--with such art and such mirth--so adorned
-with illustration and anecdote, so unconscious of debasement.
-
-Strange and dread philosophy--that made it a maxim to squander the gifts
-of mind on the mere care for matter, and fit the soul to live but as
-from day to day, with its scornful cry, "A fig for immortality and
-laurels!" An author for bread! Oh, miserable calling! was there
-something grand and holy, after all, even in Chatterton's despair!
-
-
-CHAPTER VI.
-
-The villainous _Beehive!_ Bread was worked out of it, certainly; but
-fame, but hope for the future--certainly not. Milton's _Paradise Lost_
-would have perished without a sound, had it appeared in the _Beehive_.
-
-Fine things were there in a fragmentary crude state, composed by Burley
-himself. At the end of a week they were dead and forgotten--never read
-by one man of education and taste; taken simultaneously and
-indifferently with shallow politics and wretched essays, yet selling,
-perhaps, twenty or thirty thousand copies--an immense sale; and nothing
-got out of them but bread and brandy!
-
-"What more would you have?" cried John Burley. "Did not stern old Sam
-Johnson say he could never write but from want?"
-
-"He might say it," answered Leonard; "but he never meant posterity to
-believe him. And he would have died of want, I suspect, rather than have
-written _Rasselas_ for the _Beehive!_ Want is a grand thing," continued
-the boy, thoughtfully. "A parent of grand things. Necessity is strong,
-and should give us its own strength; but Want should shatter asunder,
-with its very writhings, the walls of our prison-house, and not sit
-contented with the allowance the jail gives us in exchange for our
-work."
-
-"There is no prison-house to a man who calls upon Bacchus--stay--I will
-translate to you Schiller's Dithyramb. 'Then see I Bacchus--then up come
-Cupid and Ph[oe]bus, and all the Celestials are filling my dwelling.'"
-
-Breaking into impromptu careless rhymes, Burley threw off a rude but
-spirited translation of that divine lyric.
-
-"O materialists!" cried the boy, with his bright eyes suffused.
-"Schiller calls on the gods to take him to their heaven with him; and
-you would debase the gods to a gin palace."
-
-"Ho, ho!" cried Burley, with his giant laugh. "Drink, and you will
-understand the Dithyramb."
-
-
-CHAPTER VII.
-
-Suddenly one morning, as Leonard sate with Burley, a fashionable
-cabriolet, with a very handsome horse, stopped at the door--a loud
-knock--a quick step on the stairs, and Randal Leslie entered. Leonard
-recognized him and started. Randal glanced at him in surprise, and then,
-with a tact that showed he had already learned to profit by London life,
-after shaking hands with Burley, approached, and said, with some
-unsuccessful attempt at ease, "Unless I am mistaken, sir, we have met
-before. If you remember me, I hope all boyish quarrels are forgotten?"
-
-Leonard bowed, and his heart was still good enough to be softened.
-
-"Where could you two ever have met?" asked Burley.
-
-"In a village green, and in single combat," answered Randal, smiling;
-and he told the story of the Battle of the Stocks with a well-bred jest
-on himself. Burley laughed at the story. "But," said he, when this laugh
-was over, "my young friend had better have remained guardian of the
-village stocks, than come to London in search of such fortune as lies at
-the bottom of an inkhorn."
-
-"Ah," said Randal, with the secret contempt which men elaborately
-cultivated are apt to feel for those who seek to educate
-themselves--"ah, you make literature your calling, sir? At what school
-did you conceive a taste for letters? not very common at our great
-public schools."
-
-"I am at school now for the first time," answered Leonard, drily.
-
-"Experience is the best schoolmistress," said Burley; "and that was the
-maxim of Goethe, who had book-learning enough, in all conscience."
-
-Randal slightly shrugged his shoulders, and, without wasting another
-thought on Leonard, peasant-born and self-taught, took his seat, and
-began to talk to Burley upon a political question, which made then the
-war-cry between the two great Parliamentary parties. It was a subject in
-which Burley showed much general knowledge; and Randal, seeming to
-differ from him, drew forth alike his information and his argumentative
-powers. The conversation lasted more than an hour.
-
-"I can't quite agree with you," said Randal, taking his leave; "but you
-must allow me to call again--will the same hour to-morrow suit you?"
-
-"Yes," said Burley.
-
-Away went the young man in his cabriolet. Leonard watched him from the
-window.
-
-For five days consecutively, did Randal call and discuss the question in
-all its bearings; and Burley, after the second day, got interested in
-the matter, looked up his authorities--refreshed his memory and even
-spent an hour or two in the Library of the British Museum.
-
-By the fifth day Burley had really exhausted all that could well be said
-on his side of the question.
-
-Leonard, during these colloquies, had sate apart, seemingly absorbed in
-reading, and secretly stung by Randal's disregard of his presence. For
-indeed that young man, in his superb self-esteem, and in the absorption
-of his ambitious projects, scarce felt even curiosity as to Leonard's
-rise above his earlier station, and looked on him as a mere journeyman
-of Burley's. But the self-taught are keen and quick observers. And
-Leonard had remarked that Randal seemed more as one playing a part for
-some private purpose, than arguing in earnest; and that when he rose and
-said, "Mr. Burley, you have convinced me," it was not with the modesty
-of a sincere reasoner, but the triumph of one who has gained his end.
-But so struck, meanwhile, was our unheeded and silent listener, with
-Burley's power of generalization, and the wide surface over which his
-information extended, that when Randal left the room the boy looked at
-the slovenly, purposeless man, and said aloud--"True; knowledge is _not_
-power."
-
-"Certainly not," said Burley, drily--"the weakest thing in the world."
-
-"Knowledge is power," muttered Randal Leslie, as, with a smile on his
-lip, he drove from the door.
-
-Not many days after this last interview there appeared a short pamphlet;
-anonymous, but one which made a great impression on the town. It was on
-the subject discussed between Randal and Burley. It was quoted at great
-length in the newspapers. And Burley started to his feet one morning,
-and exclaimed, "My own thoughts! my very words! Who the devil is this
-pamphleteer?"
-
-Leonard took the newspaper from Burley's hand. The most flattering
-encomiums preceded the extracts, and the extracts were as stereotypes of
-Burley's talk.
-
-"Can you doubt the author?" cried Leonard, in deep disgust and ingenuous
-scorn. "The young man who came to steal your brains, and turn your
-knowledge--"
-
-"Into power," interrupted Burley, with a laugh, but it was a laugh of
-pain. "Well, this was very mean; I shall tell him so when he comes."
-
-"He will come no more," said Leonard. Nor did Randal come again. But he
-sent Mr. Burley a copy of the pamphlet with a polite note, saying, with
-candid but careless acknowledgment, that "he had profited much by Mr.
-Burley's hints and remarks."
-
-And now it was in all the papers, that the pamphlet which had made so
-great a noise was by a very young man, Mr. Audley Egerton's relation,
-and high hopes were expressed of the future career of Mr. Randal Leslie.
-
-Burley still attempted to laugh, and still his pain was visible. Leonard
-most cordially despised and hated Randal Leslie, and his heart moved to
-Burley with noble but perilous compassion. In his desire to soothe and
-comfort the man whom he deemed cheated out of fame, he forgot the
-caution he had hitherto imposed on himself, and yielded more and more to
-the charm of that wasted intellect. He accompanied Burley now where he
-went to spend his evenings, and more and more--though gradually, and
-with many a recoil and self-rebuke--there crept over him the cynic's
-contempt for glory, and miserable philosophy of debased content.
-
-Randal had risen into grave repute upon the strength of Burley's
-knowledge. But, had Burley written the pamphlet, would the same repute
-have attended _him?_ Certainly not. Randal Leslie brought to that
-knowledge qualities all his own--a style simple, strong, and logical; a
-certain tone of good society, and allusions to men and to parties that
-showed his connection with a cabinet minister, and proved that he had
-profited no less by Egerton's talk than Burley's.
-
-Had Burley written the pamphlet, it would have showed more genius, it
-would have had humor and wit, but have been so full of whims and quips,
-sins against taste, and defects in earnestness, that it would have
-failed to create any serious sensation. Here, then, there was something
-else besides knowledge, by which knowledge became power. Knowledge must
-not smell of the brandy bottle.
-
-Randal Leslie might be mean in his plagiarism, but he turned the useless
-into use. And so far he was original.
-
-But one's admiration, after all, rests where Leonard's rested--with the
-poor, shabby, riotous, lawless, big fallen man.
-
-Burley took himself off to the Brent, and fished again for the one-eyed
-perch. Leonard accompanied him. His feelings were indeed different from
-what they had been when he had reclined under the old tree, and talked
-with Helen of the future. But it was almost pathetic to see how Burley's
-nature seemed to alter, as he strayed along the banks of the rivulet,
-and talked of his own boyhood. The man then seemed restored to something
-of the innocence of the child. He cared, in truth, little for the perch,
-which continued intractable, but he enjoyed the air and the sky, the
-rustling grass and the murmuring waters. These excursions to the haunts
-of youth seemed to rebaptize him, and then his eloquence took a pastoral
-character, and Izaak Walton himself would have loved to hear him. But as
-he got back into the smoke of the metropolis, and the gas lamps made him
-forget the ruddy sunset, and the soft evening star, the gross habits
-reassumed their sway; and on he went with his swaggering, reckless step
-to the orgies in which his abused intellect flamed forth, and then sank
-into the socket quenched and rayless.
-
-
-CHAPTER VIII.
-
-Helen was seized with profound and anxious sadness. Leonard had been
-three or four times to see her, and each time she saw a change in him
-that excited all her fears. He seemed, it is true, more shrewd, more
-worldly-wise, more fitted, it might be, for coarse daily life; but, on
-the other hand, the freshness and glory of his youth were waning slowly.
-His aspirings drooped earthward. He had not mastered the Practical, and
-moulded its uses with the strong hand of the Spiritual Architect, of the
-Ideal Builder: the Practical was overpowering himself. She grew pale
-when he talked of Burley, and shuddered, poor little Helen! when she
-found he was daily and almost nightly in a companionship which, with her
-native honest prudence, she saw so unsuited to strengthen him in his
-struggles, and aid him against temptation. She almost groaned when,
-pressing him as to his pecuniary means, she found his old terror of debt
-seemed fading away, and the solid healthful principles he had taken from
-his village were loosening fast. Under all, it is true, there was what a
-wiser and older person than Helen would have hailed as the redeeming
-promise. But that something was _grief_--a sublime grief in his own
-sense of falling--in his own impotence against the Fate he had provoked
-and coveted. The sublimity of that grief Helen could not detect: she saw
-only that it _was_ grief, and she grieved with it, letting it excuse
-every fault--making her more anxious to comfort, in order that she might
-save. Even from the first, when Leonard had exclaimed, "Ah, Helen, why
-did you ever leave me?" she had revolved the idea of return to him; and
-when in the boy's last visit he told her that Burley, persecuted by
-duns, was about to fly from his present lodgings, and take his abode
-with Leonard in the room she had left vacant, all doubt was over. She
-resolved to sacrifice the safety and shelter of the home assured her.
-She resolved to come back and share Leonard's penury and struggles, and
-save the old room, wherein she had prayed for him, from the tempter's
-dangerous presence. Should she burden him? No; she had assisted her
-father by many little female arts in needle and fancy work. She had
-improved herself in these during her sojourn with Miss Starke. She could
-bring her share to the common stock. Possessed with this idea, she
-determined to realize it before the day on which Leonard had told her
-Burley was to move his quarters. Accordingly she rose very early one
-morning; she wrote a pretty and grateful note to Miss Starke, who was
-fast asleep, left it on the table, and before any one was astir, stole
-from the house, her little bundle on her arm. She lingered an instant at
-the garden-gate, with a remorseful sentiment--a feeling that she had
-ill-repaid the cold and prim protection that Miss Starke had shown her.
-But sisterly love carried all before it. She closed the gate with a
-sigh, and went on.
-
-She arrived at the lodging-house before Leonard was up, took possession
-of her old chamber, and, presenting herself to Leonard as he was about
-to go forth, said (story-teller that she was)--"I am sent away, brother,
-and I have come to you to take care of me. Do not let us part again. But
-you must be very cheerful and very happy, or I shall think that I am
-sadly in your way."
-
-Leonard at first did look cheerful, and even happy; but then he thought
-of Burley, and then of his own means of supporting her, and was
-embarrassed, and began questioning Helen as to the possibility of
-reconciliation with Miss Starke. And Helen said gravely, "Impossible--do
-not ask it, and do not go near her."
-
-Then Leonard thought she had been humbled and insulted, and remembered
-that she was a gentleman's child, and felt for her wounded pride--he was
-so proud himself. Yet still he was embarrassed.
-
-"Shall I keep the purse again, Leonard?" said Helen coaxingly.
-
-"Alas!" replied Leonard, "the purse is empty."
-
-"That is very naughty in the purse," said Helen, "since you put so much
-into it."
-
-"I?"
-
-"Did not you say that you made, at least, a guinea a-week?"
-
-"Yes; but Burley takes the money; and then, poor fellow! as I owe all to
-him, I have not the heart to prevent his spending it as he likes."
-
-"Please, I wish you could settle the month's rent," said the landlady,
-suddenly showing herself. She said it civilly, but with firmness.
-
-Leonard colored. "It shall be paid to-day."
-
-Then he pressed his hat on his head, and putting Helen gently aside,
-went forth.
-
-"Speak to _me_ in future, kind Mrs. Smedley," said Helen with the air of
-a housewife. "_He_ is always in study, and must not be disturbed."
-
-The landlady--a good woman, though she liked her rent--smiled benignly.
-She was fond of Helen, whom she had known of old.
-
-"I am so glad you are come back; and perhaps now the young man will not
-keep such late hours. I meant to give him warning, but--"
-
-"But he will be a great man one of these days, and you must bear with
-him now." And Helen kissed Mrs. Smedley, and sent her away half inclined
-to cry.
-
-Then Helen busied herself in the rooms. She found her father's box,
-which had been duly forwarded. She re-examined its contents, and wept as
-she touched each humble and pious relic. But her father's memory itself
-thus seemed to give this home a sanction which the former had not; and
-she rose quietly and began mechanically to put things in order, sighing
-as she saw all so neglected, till she came to the rose-tree, and that
-alone showed heed and care. "Dear Leonard!" she murmured, and the smile
-re-settled on her lips.
-
-
-CHAPTER IX.
-
-Nothing, perhaps, could have severed Leonard from Burley but Helen's
-return to his care. It was impossible for him, even had there been
-another room in the house vacant (which there was not), to install this
-noisy riotous son of the Muse by Bacchus, talking at random, and
-smelling of spirits, in the same dwelling with an innocent, delicate,
-timid female child. And Leonard could not leave her alone all the
-twenty-four hours. She restored a home to him, and imposed its duties.
-He therefore told Mr. Burley that in future he should write and study in
-his own room, and hinted with many a blush, and as delicately as he
-could, that it seemed to him that whatever he obtained from his pen
-ought to be halved with Burley, to whose interest he owed the
-employment, and from whose books or whose knowledge he took what helped
-to maintain it; but that the other half, if his, he could no longer
-afford to spend upon feasts or libations. He had another to provide for.
-
-Burley pooh-poohed the notion of taking half his coadjutor's earnings,
-with much grandeur, but spoke very fretfully of Leonard's sober
-appropriation of the other half; and, though a good-natured,
-warm-hearted man, felt extremely indignant against the sudden
-interposition of poor Helen. However, Leonard was firm; and then Burley
-grew sullen, and so they parted. But the rent was still to be paid.
-How? Leonard for the first time thought of the pawnbroker. He had
-clothes to spare, and Riccabocca's watch. No; that last he shrank from
-applying to such base uses.
-
-He went home at noon, and met Helen at the street-door. She too had been
-out, and her soft cheek was rosy red with unwonted exercise and the
-sense of joy. She had still preserved the few gold pieces which Leonard
-had taken back to her on his first visit to Miss Starke's. She had now
-gone out and bought wools and implements for work; and meanwhile she had
-paid the rent.
-
-Leonard did not object to the work, but he blushed deeply when he knew
-about the rent, and was very angry. He paid back to her that night what
-she had advanced; and Helen wept silently at his pride, and wept more
-when she saw the next day a woeful hiatus in his wardrobe.
-
-But Leonard now worked at home, and worked resolutely; and Helen sate by
-his side, working too; so that next day, and the next, slipped
-peacefully away, and in the evening of the second he asked her to walk
-out in the fields. She sprang up joyously at the invitation, when bang
-went the door, and in reeled John Burley--drunk:--And so drunk!
-
-
-CHAPTER X.
-
-And with Burley there reeled in another man--a friend of his--a man who
-had been a wealthy trader and once well to do, but who, unluckily, had
-literary tastes, and was fond of hearing Burley talk. So, since he had
-known the wit, his business had fallen from him, and he had passed
-through the Bankrupt Court. A very shabby-looking dog he was, indeed,
-and his nose was redder than Burley's.
-
-John made a drunken dash at poor Helen. "So you are the Pentheus in
-petticoats who defies Bacchus," cried he; and therewith he roared out a
-verse from Euripides. Helen ran away, and Leonard interposed.
-
-"For shame, Burley!"
-
-"He's drunk," said Mr. Douce, the bankrupt trader--"very drunk--don't
-mind--him. I say, sir, I hope we don't intrude. Sit still, Burley, sit
-still, and talk, do--that's a good man. You should hear him
-ta--ta--talk, sir."
-
-Leonard meanwhile had got Helen out of the room, into her own, and
-begged her not to be alarmed, and keep the door locked. He then returned
-to Burley, who had seated himself on the bed, trying wondrous hard to
-keep himself upright; while Mr. Douce was striving to light a short pipe
-that he carried in his button-hole--without having filled it--and,
-naturally failing in that attempt, was now beginning to weep.
-
-Leonard was deeply shocked and revolted for Helen's sake; but it was
-hopeless to make Burley listen to reason. And how could the boy turn out
-of his room the man to whom he was under obligations?
-
-Meanwhile there smote upon Helen's shrinking ears loud jarring talk and
-maudlin laughter, and cracked attempts at jovial songs. Then she heard
-Mrs. Smedley in Leonard's room, remonstrating, and Burley's laugh was
-louder than before, and Mrs. Smedley, who was a meek woman, evidently
-got frightened, and was heard in precipitate retreat. Long and loud talk
-recommenced, Burley's great voice predominant, Mr. Douce chiming in with
-hiccupy broken treble. Hour after hour this lasted, for want of the
-drink that would have brought it to a premature close. And Burley
-gradually began to talk himself somewhat sober. Then Mr. Douce was heard
-descending the stairs, and silence followed. At dawn, Leonard knocked at
-Helen's door. She opened it at once, for she had not gone to bed.
-
-"Helen," said he, very sadly, "you can not continue here. I must find
-out some proper home for you. This man has served me when all London was
-friendless, and he tells me that he has nowhere else to go--that the
-bailiffs are after him.--He has now fallen asleep. I will go and find
-you some lodging close at hand--for I can not expel him who has
-protected me; and yet you can not be under the same roof with him. My
-own good angel, I must lose you."
-
-He did not wait for her answer, but hurried down the stairs.
-
-The morning looked through the shutterless panes in Leonard's garret,
-and the birds began to chirp from the elm-tree, when Burley rose, and
-shook himself, and stared round. He could not quite make out where he
-was. He got hold of the water-jug which he emptied at three draughts,
-and felt greatly refreshed. He then began to reconnoitre the
-chamber--looked at Leonard's MSS.--peeped into the drawers--wondered
-where the devil Leonard himself had gone to--and finally amused himself
-by throwing down the fire-irons, ringing the bell, and making all the
-noise he could, in the hopes of attracting the attention of somebody or
-other, and procuring himself his morning dram.
-
-In the midst of this _charivari_ the door opened softly, but as if with
-a resolute hand, and the small quiet form of Helen stood before the
-threshold. Burley turned round, and the two looked at each other for
-some moments with silent scrutiny.
-
-Burley (composing his features into their most friendly
-expression).--"Come hither, my dear. So you are the little girl whom I
-saw with Leonard on the banks of the Brent, and you have come back to
-live with him--and I have come to live with him too. You shall be our
-little housekeeper, and I will tell you the story of Prince Prettyman,
-and a great many others not to be found in _Mother Goose_. Meanwhile, my
-dear little girl, here's sixpence--just run out and change this for its
-worth in rum."
-
-Helen (coming slowly up to Mr. Burley, and still gazing earnestly into
-his face).--"Ah, sir, Leonard says you have a kind heart, and that you
-have served him--he can not ask you to leave the house: and so I, who
-have never served him, am to go hence and live alone."
-
-Burley (moved).--"You go, my little lady?--and why? Can we not all live
-together?"
-
-Helen. "No sir. I left every thing to come to Leonard, for we had met
-first at my father's grave. But you rob me of him, and I have no other
-friend on earth."
-
-Burley (discomposed).--"Explain yourself. Why must you leave him because
-I come?"
-
-Helen looks at Mr. Burley again, long and wistfully, but makes no
-answer.
-
-Burley (with a gulp).--"Is it because he thinks I am not fit company for
-you?"
-
-Helen bowed her head.
-
-Burley winced, and after a moment's pause said--"He is right."
-
-Helen (obeying the impulse at her heart, springs forward and takes
-Burley's hand).--"Ah, sir," she cried, "before he knew you he was so
-different--then he was cheerful--then, even when his first
-disappointment came, I grieved and wept; but I felt he would conquer
-still--for his heart was so good and pure. Oh, sir, don't think I
-reproach you; but what is to become of him if--if--No, it is not for
-myself I speak. I know that if I was here, that if he had me to care
-for, he would come home early and--work patiently--and--and--that I
-might save him. But now when I am gone, and you with him--you to whom he
-is grateful, you whom he would follow against his own conscience (you
-must see that, sir)--what is to become of him?"
-
-Helen's voice died in sobs.
-
-Burley took three or four long strides through the room--he was greatly
-agitated. "I am a demon," he murmured. "I never saw it before--but it is
-true I should be this boy's ruin." Tears stood in his eyes, he paused
-abruptly, made a clutch at his hat, and turned to the door.
-
-Helen stopped the way, and taking him gently by the arm, said--"Oh, sir,
-forgive me--I have pained you;" and looked up at him with a
-compassionate expression, that indeed made the child's sweet face as
-that of an angel.
-
-Burley bent down as if to kiss her, and then drew back--perhaps with a
-sentiment that his lips were not worthy to touch that innocent brow.
-
-"If I had had a sister--a child like you, little one," he muttered,
-"perhaps I too might have been saved in time. Now--"
-
-"Ah, now you may stay, sir; I don't fear you any more."
-
-"No, no; you would fear me again ere night-time, and I might not be
-always in the right mood to listen to a voice like yours, child. Your
-Leonard has a noble heart and rare gifts. He should rise yet, and he
-shall. I will not drag him into the mire. Good-by--you will see me no
-more." He broke from Helen, cleared the stairs with a bound, and was out
-of the house.
-
-When Leonard returned he was surprised to hear his unwelcome guest was
-gone--but Helen did not venture to tell him of her interposition. She
-knew instinctively how such officiousness would mortify and offend the
-pride of man; but she never again spoke harshly of poor Burley. Leonard
-supposed that he should either see or hear of the humorist in the course
-of the day. Finding he did not, he went in search of him at his old
-haunts; but no trace. He inquired at the _Beehive_ if they knew there of
-his new address, but no tidings of Burley could be obtained.
-
-As he came home disappointed and anxious, for he felt uneasy as to the
-disappearance of his wild friend, Mrs. Smedley met him at the door.
-
-"Please, sir, suit yourself with another lodging," said she. "I can have
-no such singings and shoutings going on at night in my house. And that
-poor little girl too!--you should be ashamed of yourself."
-
-Leonard frowned, and passed by.
-
-
-CHAPTER XI.
-
-Meanwhile, on leaving Helen, Burley strode on; and, as if by some better
-instinct, for he was unconscious of his own steps, he took the way
-toward the still green haunts of his youth. When he paused at length, he
-was already before the door of a rural cottage, standing alone in the
-midst of fields, with a little farm-yard at the back; and far through
-the trees in front was caught a glimpse of the winding Brent.
-
-With this cottage Burley was familiar; it was inhabited by a good old
-couple who had known him from a boy. There he habitually left his rods
-and fishing-tackle; there, for intervals in his turbid, riotous life, he
-had sojourned for two or three days together--fancying, the first day
-that the country was a heaven, and convinced before the third that it
-was a purgatory.
-
-An old woman of neat and tidy exterior came forth to greet him.
-
-"Ah, Master John," said she, clasping his nerveless hand--"well, the
-fields be pleasant now--I hope you are come to stay a bit? Do; it will
-freshen you: you lose all the fine color you had once, in Lunnon town."
-
-"I will stay with you, my kind friend," said Burley, with unusual
-meekness--"I can have the old room, then?"
-
-"Oh yes, come and look at it. I never let it now to any one but
-you--never have let it since the dear beautiful lady with the angel's
-face went away. Poor thing, what could have become of her?"
-
-Thus speaking, while Burley listened not, the old woman drew him within
-the cottage, and led him up the stairs into a room that might have well
-become a better house, for it was furnished with taste, and even
-elegance. A small cabinet pianoforte stood opposite the fire-place, and
-the window looked upon pleasant meads and tangled hedgerows, and the
-narrow windings of the blue rivulet. Burley sank down exhausted, and
-gazed wistfully from the casement.
-
-"You have not breakfasted?" said the hostess anxiously.
-
-"No."
-
-"Well, the eggs are fresh laid, and you would like a rasher of bacon,
-Master John? And if you _will_ have brandy in your tea, I have some that
-you left long ago in your own bottle."
-
-Burley shook his head. "No brandy, Mrs. Goodyer; only fresh milk. I will
-see whether I can yet coax Nature."
-
-Mrs. Goodyer did not know what was meant by coaxing Nature, but she
-said, "Pray do, Master John," and vanished.
-
-That day Burley went out with his rod, and he fished hard for the
-one-eyed perch: but in vain. Then he roved along the stream with his
-hands in his pockets, whistling. He returned to the cottage at sunset,
-partook of the fare provided for him, abstained from the brandy, and
-felt dreadfully low. He called for pen, ink, and paper, and sought to
-write, but could not achieve two lines. He summoned Mrs. Goodyer, "Tell
-your husband to come and sit and talk."
-
-Up came old Jacob Goodyer, and the great wit bade him tell him all the
-news of the village. Jacob obeyed willingly, and Burley at last fell
-asleep. The next day it was much the same, only at dinner he had up the
-brandy bottle, and finished it; and he did _not_ have up Jacob, but he
-contrived to write.
-
-The third day it rained incessantly.
-
-"Have you no books, Mrs. Goodyer?" asked poor John Burley.
-
-"Oh, yes; some that the dear lady left behind her; and perhaps you would
-like to look at some papers in her own writing?"
-
-"No, not the papers--all women scribble, and all scribble the same
-things. Get me the books."
-
-The books were brought up--poetry and essays--John knew them by heart.
-He looked out on the rain, and at evening the rain had ceased. He rushed
-to his hat and fled.
-
-"Nature, Nature!" he exclaimed when he was out in the air, and hurrying
-by the dripping hedgerows, "you are not to be coaxed by me! I have
-jilted you shamefully, I own it; you are a female and unforgiving. I
-don't complain. You may be very pretty, but you are the stupidest and
-most tiresome companion that ever I met with. Thank heaven, I am not
-married to you!"
-
-Thus John Burley made his way into town, and paused at the first
-public-house. Out of that house he came with a jovial air, and on he
-strode toward the heart of London. Now he is in Leicester-square, and he
-gazes on the foreigners who stalk that region, and hums a tune; and now
-from yonder alley two forms emerge, and dog his careless footsteps; now
-through the maze of passages toward St. Martin's he threads his path,
-and, anticipating an orgy as he nears his favorite haunts, jingles the
-silver in his pockets; and now the two forms are at his heels.
-
-"Hail to thee, O Freedom!" muttered John Burley; "thy dwelling is in
-cities, and thy palace is the tavern."
-
-"In the king's name," quoth a gruff voice and John Burley feels the
-horrid and familiar tap on the shoulder.
-
-The two bailiffs who dogged have seized their prey.
-
-"At whose suit?" asked John Burley falteringly.
-
-"Mr. Cox, the wine-merchant."
-
-"Cox! A man to whom I gave a check on my bankers, not three months ago!"
-
-"But it warn't cashed."
-
-"What does that signify?--the intention was the same. A good heart takes
-the will for the deed. Cox is a monster of ingratitude; and I withdraw
-my custom."
-
-"Sarve him right. Would your honor like a jarvey?"
-
-"I would rather spend the money on something else," said John Burley.
-"Give me your arm, I am not proud. After all, thank heaven, I shall not
-sleep in the country."
-
-And John Burley made a night of it in the Fleet.
-
-
-CHAPTER XII.
-
-Miss Starke was one of those ladies who pass their lives in the direst
-of all civil strife--war with their servants. She looked upon the
-members of that class as the unrelenting and sleepless enemies of the
-unfortunate householders condemned to employ them. She thought they ate
-and drank to their villainous utmost, in order to ruin their
-benefactors--that they lived in one constant conspiracy with one another
-and the tradesmen, the object of which was to cheat and pilfer. Miss
-Starke was a miserable woman. As she had no relations or friends who
-cared enough for her to share her solitary struggle against her domestic
-foes; and her income, though easy, was an annuity that died with
-herself, thereby reducing various nephews, nieces, or cousins, to the
-strict bounds of a natural affection--that did not exist; and as she
-felt the want of some friendly face amidst this world of distrust and
-hate, so she had tried the resource of venal companions. But the venal
-companions had never staid long--either they disliked Miss Starke, or
-Miss Starke disliked them. Therefore the poor woman had resolved upon
-bringing up some little girl whose heart, as she said to herself, would
-be fresh and uncorrupted, and from whom she might expect gratitude. She
-had been contented, on the whole, with Helen, and had meant to keep that
-child in her house as long as she (Miss Starke) remained upon the
-earth--perhaps some thirty years longer; and then, having carefully
-secluded her from marriage, and other friendship, to leave her nothing
-but the regret of having lost so kind a benefactress. Agreeably with
-this notion, and in order to secure the affections of the child, Miss
-Starke had relaxed the frigid austerity natural to her manner and mode
-of thought, and been kind to Helen in an iron way. She had neither
-slapped nor pinched her, neither had she starved. She had allowed her
-to see Leonard, according to the agreement made with Dr. Morgan, and had
-laid out tenpence on cakes, besides contributing fruit from her garden
-for the first interview--a hospitality she did not think fit to renew on
-subsequent occasions. In return for this, she conceived she had
-purchased the right to Helen bodily and spiritually, and nothing could
-exceed her indignation when she rose one morning and found the child had
-gone. As it never had occurred to her to ask Leonard's address, though
-she suspected Helen had gone to him, she was at a loss what to do, and
-remained for twenty-four hours in a state of inane depression. But then
-she began to miss the child so much that her energies woke, and she
-persuaded herself that she was actuated by the purest benevolence in
-trying to reclaim this poor creature from the world, into which Helen
-had thus rashly plunged.
-
-Accordingly, she put an advertisement into the _Times_, to the
-following effect, liberally imitated from one by which, in former years,
-she had recovered a favorite Blenheim:
-
-    TWO GUINEAS REWARD.
-
-     Strayed, from Ivy Cottage, Highgate, a Little Girl, answers to the
-     name of Helen; with blue eyes and brown hair; white muslin frock,
-     and straw hat with blue ribbons. Whoever will bring the same to Ivy
-     Cottage, shall receive the above Reward.
-
-    _N.B._--Nothing more will be offered.
-
-Now, it so happened that Mrs. Smedley had put an advertisement in the
-_Times_ on her own account relative to a niece of hers who was coming
-from the country, and for whom she desired to find a situation. So,
-contrary to her usual habit, she sent for the newspaper, and, close by
-her own advertisement, she saw Miss Starke's.
-
-It was impossible that she could mistake the description of Helen; and,
-as this advertisement caught her eye the very day after the whole house
-had been disturbed and scandalized by Burley's noisy visit, and on which
-she had resolved to get rid of a lodger who received such visitors, the
-good-hearted woman was delighted to think that she could restore Helen
-to some safe home. While thus thinking, Helen herself entered the
-kitchen where Mrs. Smedley sate, and the landlady had the imprudence to
-point out the advertisement, and talk, as she called it, "seriously" to
-the little girl.
-
-Helen in vain and with tears entreated her to take no step in reply to
-the advertisement. Mrs. Smedley felt it was an affair of duty, and was
-obdurate, and shortly afterward put on her bonnet and left the house.
-Helen conjectured that she was on her way to Miss Starke's, and her
-whole soul was bent on flight. Leonard had gone to the office of the
-_Beehive_ with his MSS.; but she packed up all their joint effects, and,
-just as she had done so, he returned. She communicated the news of the
-advertisement, and said she should be so miserable if compelled to go
-back to Miss Starke's, and implored him so pathetically to save her from
-such sorrow that he at once assented to her proposal of flight. Luckily,
-little was owing to the landlady--that little was left with the
-maid-servant; and, profiting by Mrs. Smedley's absence, they escaped
-without scene or conflict. Their effects were taken by Leonard to a
-stand of hackney vehicles, and then left at a coach-office, while they
-went in search of lodgings. It was wise to choose an entirely new and
-remote district; and before night they were settled in an attic in
-Lambeth.
-
-
-CHAPTER XIII.
-
-As the reader will expect, no trace of Burley could Leonard find: the
-humorist had ceased to communicate with the _Beehive_. But Leonard
-grieved for Burley's sake; and, indeed, he missed the intercourse of the
-large wrong mind. But he settled down by degrees to the simple loving
-society of his child companion, and in that presence grew more tranquil.
-The hours in the day time that he did not pass at work he spent as
-before, picking up knowledge at bookstalls; and at dusk he and Helen
-would stroll out--sometimes striving to escape from the long suburb into
-fresh rural air; more often wandering to and fro the bridge that led to
-glorious Westminster--London's classic land--and watching the vague
-lamps reflected on the river. This haunt suited the musing melancholy
-boy. He would stand long and with wistful silence by the
-balustrade--seating Helen thereon, that she too might look along the
-dark mournful waters which, dark though they be, still have their charm
-of mysterious repose.
-
-As the river flowed between the world of roofs, and the roar of human
-passions on either side, so in those two hearts flowed Thought--and all
-they knew of London was its shadow.
-
-
-CHAPTER XIV.
-
-There appeared in the _Beehive_ certain very truculent political
-papers--papers very like the tracts in the Tinker's bag. Leonard did not
-heed them much, but they made far more sensation in the public that read
-the _Beehive_ than Leonard's papers, full of rare promise though the
-last were. They greatly increased the sale of the periodical in the
-manufacturing towns, and began to awake the drowsy vigilance of the Home
-Office. Suddenly a descent was made upon the _Beehive_, and all its
-papers and plant. The editor saw himself threatened with a criminal
-prosecution, and the certainty of two years' imprisonment: he did not
-like the prospect, and disappeared. One evening, when Leonard,
-unconscious of these mischances, arrived at the door of the office, he
-found it closed. An agitated mob was before it, and a voice that was not
-new to his ear, was haranguing the bystanders, with many imprecations
-against "tyrans." He looked, and, to his amaze, recognized in the orator
-Mr. Sprott the Tinker.
-
-The police came in numbers to disperse the crowd, and Mr. Sprott
-prudently vanished. Leonard learned then what had befallen, and again
-saw himself without employment and the means of bread.
-
-Slowly he walked back. "O, knowledge, knowledge!--powerless indeed!" he
-murmured.
-
-As he thus spoke, a handbill in large capitals met his eyes on a dead
-wall--"Wanted, a few smart young men for India."
-
-A crimp accosted him--"You would make a fine soldier, my man. You have
-stout limbs of your own." Leonard moved on.
-
-"It has come back, then, to this. Brute physical force after all. O
-Mind, despair! O Peasant, be a machine again."
-
-He entered his attic noiselessly, and gazed upon Helen as she sate at
-work, straining her eyes by the open window--with tender and deep
-compassion. She had not heard him enter, nor was she aware of his
-presence. Patient and still she sate, and the small fingers plied
-busily. He gazed, and saw that her cheek was pale and hollow, and the
-hands looked so thin! His heart was deeply touched, and at that moment
-he had not one memory of the baffled Poet, one thought that proclaimed
-the Egotist.
-
-He approached her gently, laid his hand on her shoulder--"Helen, put on
-your shawl and bonnet, and walk out--I have much to say."
-
-In a few moments she was ready, and they took their way to their
-favorite haunt upon the bridge. Pausing in one of the recesses or nooks,
-Leonard then began--"Helen we must part."
-
-"Part?--Oh, brother!"
-
-"Listen. All work that depends on mind is over for me; nothing remains
-but the labor of thews and sinews. I can not go back to my village and
-say to all, 'My hopes were self-conceit, and my intellect a delusion!' I
-can not. Neither in this sordid city can I turn menial or porter. I
-might be born to that drudgery, but my mind has, it may be unhappily,
-raised me above my birth. What, then, shall I do? I know not yet--serve
-as a soldier, or push my way to some wilderness afar, as an emigrant,
-perhaps. But whatever my choice, I must henceforth be alone; I have a
-home no more, but there is a home for you, a very humble one (for you,
-too, so well born), but very safe--the roof of--of--my peasant mother.
-She will love you for my sake, and--and--"
-
-Helen clung to him trembling, and sobbed out, "Any thing, any thing you
-will. But I can work; I can make money, Leonard, I do, indeed, make
-money--you do not know how much--but enough for us both till better
-times come to you. Do not let us part."
-
-"And I--a man, and born to labor, to be maintained by the work of an
-infant! No, Helen, do not so degrade me."
-
-She drew back as she looked on his flushed brow, bowed her head
-submissively, and murmured, "Pardon."
-
-"Ah," said Helen, after a pause, "if now we could but find my poor
-father's friend! I never so much cared for it before."
-
-"Yes, he would surely provide for you."
-
-"For _me!_" repeated Helen, in a tone of soft deep reproach, and she
-turned away her head to conceal her tears.
-
-"You are sure you would him remember if we met him by chance?"
-
-"Oh yes. He was so different from all we see in this terrible city, and
-his eyes were like yonder stars, so clear and so bright; yet the light
-seemed to come from afar off, as the light does in yours, when your
-thoughts are away from all things round you. And then, too, his dog,
-whom he called Nero--I could not forget that."
-
-"But his dog may not be always with him."
-
-"But the clear, bright eyes are! Ah, now you look up to heaven, and
-yours seem to dream like his."
-
-Leonard did not answer, for his thoughts were indeed less on earth than
-struggling to pierce into that remote and mysterious heaven.
-
-Both were silent long; the crowd passed them by unheedingly. Night
-deepened over the river, but the reflection of the lamplights on its
-waves was more visible than that of the stars. The beams showed the
-darkness of the strong current, and the craft that lay eastward on the
-tide, with sailless, spectral masts and black dismal hulks, looked
-death-like in their stillness.
-
-Leonard looked down, and the thought of Chatterton's grim suicide came
-back to his soul, and a pale scornful face with luminous haunting eyes
-seemed to look up from the stream, and murmur from livid lips, "Struggle
-no more against the tides on the surfaces--all is calm and rest within
-the deep."
-
-Starting in terror from the gloom of his reverie, the boy began to talk
-fast to Helen, and tried to soothe her with descriptions of the lowly
-home which he had offered.
-
-He spoke of the light cares which she would participate with his
-mother--for by that name he still called the widow--and dwelt, with an
-eloquence that the contrast round him made sincere and strong, on the
-happy rural life, the shadowy woodlands, the rippling corn-fields, the
-solemn lone church-spire soaring from the tranquil landscape.
-Flatteringly he painted the flowery terraces of the Italian exile, and
-the playful fountain that, even as he spoke, was flinging up its spray
-to the stars, through serene air untroubled by the smoke of cities, and
-untainted by the sinful sighs of men. He promised her the love and
-protection of natures akin to the happy scene: the simple affectionate
-mother--the gentle pastor--the exile wise and kind--Violante, with dark
-eyes full of the mystic thoughts that solitude calls from
-childhood--Violante should be her companion.
-
-"And oh!" cried Helen, "if life be thus happy there, return with me,
-return--return!"
-
-"Alas!" murmured the boy, "if the hammer once strike the spark from the
-anvil, the spark must fly upward: it can not fall back to earth until
-life has left it. Upward still, Helen--let me go upward still!"
-
-
-CHAPTER XV.
-
-The next morning Helen was very ill--so ill that, shortly after rising,
-she was forced to creep back to bed. Her frame shivered--her eyes were
-heavy--her hand burned like fire. Fever had set in. Perhaps she might
-have caught cold on the bridge--perhaps her emotions had proved too much
-for her frame. Leonard, in great alarm, called on the nearest
-apothecary. The apothecary looked grave, and said there was danger. And
-danger soon declared itself.--Helen became delirious. For several days
-she lay in this state, between life and death. Leonard then felt that
-all the sorrows of earth are light, compared with the fear of losing
-what we love. How valueless the envied laurel seemed beside the dying
-rose.
-
-Thanks, perhaps, more to his heed and tending than to medical skill, she
-recovered sense at last--immediate peril was over But she was very weak
-and reduced--her ultimate recovery doubtful--convalescence, at best,
-likely to be very slow.
-
-But when she learned how long she had been thus ill, she looked
-anxiously at Leonard's face as he bent over her, and faltered forth,
-"Give me my work! I am strong enough for that now--it would amuse me."
-
-Leonard burst into tears.
-
-Alas! he had no work himself; all their joint money had melted away; the
-apothecary was not like good Dr. Morgan; the medicines were to be paid
-for, and the rent. Two days before, Leonard had pawned Riccabocca's
-watch; and when the last shilling thus raised was gone, how should he
-support Helen? Nevertheless he conquered his tears, and assured her that
-he had employment; and that so earnestly that she believed him, and sank
-into soft sleep. He listened to her breathing, kissed her forehead, and
-left the room. He turned into his own neighboring garret, and, leaning
-his face on his hands, collected all his thoughts.
-
-He must be a beggar at last. He must write to Mr. Dale for money--Mr.
-Dale, too, who knew the secret of his birth. He would rather have begged
-of a stranger--it served to add a new dishonor to his mother's memory
-for the child to beg of one who was acquainted with her shame. Had he
-himself been the only one to want and to starve, he would have sunk inch
-by inch into the grave of famine, before he would have so subdued his
-pride. But Helen, there on that bed--Helen needing, for weeks perhaps,
-all support, and illness making luxuries themselves like necessaries!
-Beg he must. And when he so resolved, had you but seen the proud, bitter
-soul he conquered, you would have said--"This which he thinks is
-degradation--this is heroism. Oh strange human heart!--no epic ever
-written achieves the Sublime and the Beautiful which are graven, unread
-by human eye, in thy secret leaves." Of whom else should he beg? His
-mother had nothing, Riccabocca was poor, and the stately Violante, who
-had exclaimed, "Would that I were a man!" he could not endure the
-thought that she should pity him, and despise. The Avenels! No--thrice
-No. He drew toward him hastily ink and paper, and wrote rapid lines that
-were wrung from him as from the bleeding strings of life.
-
-But the hour for the post had passed--the letter must wait till the next
-day; and three days at least must elapse before he could receive an
-answer. He left the letter on the table, and, stifling as for air, went
-forth. He crossed the bridge--he passed on mechanically--and was borne
-along by a crowd pressing toward the doors of Parliament. A debate that
-excited popular interest was fixed for that evening, and many bystanders
-collected in the street to see the members pass to and fro, or hear what
-speakers had yet risen to take part in the debate, or try to get orders
-for the gallery.
-
-He halted amidst these loiterers, with no interest, indeed, in common
-with them, but looking over their heads abstractedly toward the tall
-Funeral Abbey--Imperial Golgotha of Poets, and Chiefs, and Kings.
-
-Suddenly his attention was diverted to those around by the sound of a
-name--displeasingly known to him, "How are you, Randal Leslie? coming to
-hear the debate?" said a member who was passing through the street.
-
-"Yes; Mr. Egerton promised to get me under the gallery. He is to speak
-himself to-night, and I have never heard him. As you are going into the
-House, will you remind him?"
-
-"I can't now, for he is speaking already--and well too. I hurried from
-the Athenæum, where I was dining, on purpose to be in time, as I heard
-that his speech was making a great effect."
-
-"This is very unlucky," said Randal. "I had no idea he would speak so
-early."
-
-"M---- brought him up by a direct personal attack. But follow me;
-perhaps I can get you into the House; and a man like you, Leslie, of
-whom we expect great things some day, I can tell you, should not miss
-any such opportunity of knowing what this House of ours is on a field
-night. Come on!"
-
-The member hurried toward the door; and as Randal followed him, a
-bystander cried--"That is the young man who wrote the famous
-pamphlet--Egerton's relation."
-
-"Oh, indeed!" said another. "Clever man, Egerton--I am waiting for him."
-
-"So am I."
-
-"Why, you are not a constituent, as I am?"
-
-"No; but he has been very kind to my nephew, and I must thank him. You
-are a constituent--he is an honor to your town."
-
-"So he is; enlightened man!"
-
-"And so generous."
-
-"Brings forward really good measures," quoth the politician.
-
-"And clever young men," said the uncle.
-
-Therewith one or two others joined in the praise of Audley Egerton, and
-many anecdotes of his liberality were told.
-
-Leonard listened at first listlessly, at last with thoughtful attention.
-He had heard Burley, too, speak highly of this generous statesman, who,
-without pretending to genius himself, appreciated it in others. He
-suddenly remembered, too, that Egerton was half-brother to the Squire.
-Vague notions of some appeal to this eminent person, not for charity,
-but employ to his mind, gleamed across him--inexperienced boy that he
-yet was! And while thus meditating, the door of the House opened, and
-out came Audley Egerton himself. A partial cheering, followed by a
-general murmur, apprised Leonard of the presence of the popular
-statesman. Egerton was caught hold of by some five or six persons in
-succession; a shake of the hand, a nod, a brief whispered word or two,
-sufficed the practiced member for graceful escape; and soon, free from
-the crowd, his tall erect figure passed on, and turned toward the
-bridge. He paused at the angle and took out his watch, looking at it by
-the lamp-light.
-
-"Harley will be here soon," he muttered "he is always punctual; and now
-that I have spoken, I can give him an hour or so. That is well."
-
-As he replaced his watch in his pocket, and re-buttoned his coat over
-his firm, broad chest, he lifted his eyes, and saw a young man standing
-before him.
-
-"Do you want me?" asked the statesmen, with the direct brevity of his
-practical character.
-
-"Mr. Egerton," said the young man, with a voice that slightly trembled,
-and yet was manly amidst emotion, "you have a great name, and great
-power--I stand here in these streets of London without a friend, and
-without employ. I believe that I have it in me to do some nobler work
-than that of bodily labor, had I but one friend--one opening for my
-thoughts. And now I have said this, I scarcely know how or why, but from
-despair, and the sudden impulse which that despair took from the praise
-that follows your success. I have nothing more to add."
-
-Audley Egerton was silent for a moment, struck by the tone and address
-of the stranger; but the consummate and wary man of the world,
-accustomed to all manner of strange applications, and all varieties of
-imposture, quickly recovered from a passing effect.
-
-"Are you a native of ----?" (naming the town he represented as member.)
-
-"No, sir."
-
-"Well, young man, I am very sorry for you; but the good sense you must
-possess (for I judge of that by the education you have evidently
-received) must tell you that a public man, whatever be his patronage,
-has it too fully absorbed by claimants who have a right to demand it, to
-be able to listen to strangers."
-
-He paused a moment, and, as Leonard stood silent, added, with more
-kindness than most public men so accosted would have showed--
-
-"You say you are friendless--poor fellow, in early life that happens to
-many of us, who find friends enough before the close. Be honest, and
-well-conducted; lean on yourself, not on strangers; work with the body
-if you can't with the mind; and, believe me, that advice is all I can
-give you, unless this trifle," and the minister held out a crown piece.
-
-Leonard bowed, shook his head sadly, and walked away. Egerton looked
-after him with a slight pang.
-
-"Pooh!" said he to himself, "there must be thousands in the same state
-in the streets of London. I can not redress these necessities of
-civilization. Well educated! It is not from ignorance henceforth that
-society will suffer--it is from over-educating the hungry thousands who,
-thus unfitted for manual toil, and with no career for mental, will some
-day or other stand like that boy in our streets, and puzzle wiser
-ministers than I am."
-
-As Egerton thus mused, and passed on to the bridge, a bugle-horn rang
-merrily from the box of a gay four-in-hand. A drag-coach with superb
-blood-horses, rattled over the causeway, and in the driver Egerton
-recognized his nephew--Frank Hazeldean.
-
-The young Guardsman was returning, with a lively party of men, from
-dining at Greenwich; and the careless laughter of these children of
-pleasure floated far over the still river.
-
-It vexed the ear of the careworn statesman--sad, perhaps, with all his
-greatness, lonely amidst all his crowd of friends. It reminded him,
-perhaps, of his own youth, when such parties and companionships were
-familiar to him, though through them all he bore an ambitious, aspiring
-soul--"_Le jeu, vaut-il la chandelle?_" said he, shrugging his
-shoulders.
-
-The coach rolled rapidly past Leonard, as he stood leaning against the
-corner of the bridge, and the mire of the kennel splashed over him from
-the hoofs of the fiery horses. The laughter smote on his ear more
-discordantly than on the minister's, but it begot no envy.
-
-"Life is a dark riddle," said he, smiting his breast.
-
-And he walked slowly on, gained the recess where he had stood several
-nights before with Helen; and dizzy with want of food, and worn out for
-want of sleep, he sank down into the dark corner; while the river that
-rolled under the arch of stone muttered dirge-like in his ear; as under
-the social key-stone wails and rolls on forever the mystery of Human
-Discontent. Take comfort, O Thinker, by the stream! 'Tis the river that
-founded and gave pomp to the city; and without the discontent, where
-were progress--what were Man? Take comfort, O THINKER! wherever the
-stream over which thou bendest, or beside which thou sinkest, weary and
-desolate, frets the arch that supports thee--never dream that, by
-destroying the bridge, thou canst silence the moan of the wave.
-
-                    (TO BE CONTINUED.)
-
-
-
-
-THE FORTUNES OF THE REVEREND CALEB ELLISON.
-
-
-CHAPTER THE FIRST.
-
-The Reverend Caleb Ellison had an odd way of doing every thing; but he
-was so good a man, and so adored a clergyman, that his being in love was
-an interesting circumstance to a large proportion of the inhabitants of
-the country town in which he lived. When he looked up at the
-chimney-pots as he walked the streets, or went slowly skipping along the
-foot-pavement to the Reading-room in the market-place, the elders of his
-congregation might wish that he would walk more like other men, and the
-children giggled at the sight; but the ladies, young and old, regarded
-these things as a part of the "originality" which they admired in him;
-and Joanna Carey would scarcely admit to herself that such freaks
-required forbearance.
-
-On Friday evening Mr. Carey returned before the rest of his party from a
-strawberry feast, to tell his wife that their dear girl had shown him by
-a look, that she must now decide on her lot for life. Ellison had
-certainly spoken. Joanna must decide for herself. If she was satisfied
-to have the greatest blessings that a woman could have--high moral and
-spiritual excellence in a man who loved her--and could, for these, make
-light of the daily drawbacks of his oddities, it was not for any one
-else to object. Mr. Carey could not say that his own temper would bear
-with so eccentric a companion; but perhaps he was narrow: perhaps his
-wife's nice household ways for twenty-five years had spoiled him. Joanna
-knew what she was undertaking. She knew that it was as much as the clerk
-and the deacons could do, to get the pastor into the pulpit in proper
-time every Sunday, and that this would be her business now. She knew
-that he seldom remembered to shave, and how he had burned his marble
-chimney-piece black; and--Well; perhaps these were trifles. Perhaps it
-was a fault not to regard them as such. If a father was fortunate enough
-to have a man of eminent single-mindedness for his son-in-law, and
-genius to boot, he ought not, perhaps, to require common sense also; but
-it had always been Mr. Carey's belief that good sense was the greatest
-part of genius.
-
-By Sunday evening Mr. Carey was little disposed to desire any thing more
-in his intended son-in-law than had appeared that day. Joanna had
-engaged herself to him on Saturday evening. On Sunday morning there was
-something in the tone of his pathetic voice so unusual, in the very
-first verses of the Psalm, that many hearers looked up; and then they
-saw something very unusual in his countenance. He so preached, that a
-stranger inquired earnestly who this Mr. Ellison was, and whence he
-came; and his admirers in the congregation said he was inspired.
-
-"Joanna behaved very well, did not she?" whispered Mrs. Carey to her
-husband, as they were returning from chapel.
-
-"Very well, indeed. And it was extremely fine, his preaching to-day.
-Extremely fine!"
-
-And this particular day, the father feared as little for Joanna as
-Joanna for herself.
-
-There was no reason for delay about the marriage. Mr. Ellison had three
-hundred pounds a year from his office, and was never likely to have any
-more. The interest of Joanna's portion--one thousand pounds--was hers
-whenever she married. She was four-and-twenty, and Mr. Ellison was five
-years older. They were no children; there was no reason for delay; so
-every body knew of the engagement immediately, and the preparations went
-on diligently.
-
-A pastor's marriage is always a season of great interest and amusement.
-In this case it was unusually diverting from the singular innocence of
-the gentleman about all household affairs. He showed all the solicitude
-of which he was capable to have every thing right and comfortable for
-Joanna; but his ideas were so extraordinary, that his friends suspected
-that he had been quizzed by certain youths of his congregation, who had
-indeed made solemn suggestions to him about dredging-boxes and
-rolling-pins, and spigots, and ball-irons, and other conveniences, the
-names of which were strange to him. He had promised to leave the whole
-concern of furnishing in the hands of a discreet lady and her daughters,
-with a power of appeal to Mrs. Carey in doubtful cases; but when these
-mysterious names had been lying on his mind for some days, he could not
-help making inquiries and suggestions, which brought nothing but
-laughter upon him. Mr. and Mrs. Carey thought the quizzing went rather
-too far; but Joanna did not seem to mind it.
-
-"His head should not be stuffed with nonsense," observed Mr. Carey to
-his wife, "when business that he really ought to be attending to is left
-undone."
-
-"You mean the Life Insurance," replied she. "Why do you not remind him
-of it?"
-
-"I believe I must. But it is not a pleasant thing to do. No man in his
-circumstances ought to need to be spoken to more than once. However, I
-have to suggest to him to insure all this pretty furniture that his
-friends are giving him; and while I am speaking about the Fire
-Insurance, I can easily mention the more important one."
-
-"I should feel no difficulty," observed Mrs. Carey. "He will be purely
-thankful to you for telling him what he ought to do."
-
-An opportunity soon occurred. The presents came in fast: the Careys were
-consulted about how to stow them all. One evening at supper, the
-conversation naturally turned--as it probably does in every house--on
-what should be saved first in case of fire. Mr. Carey asked Mr. Ellison
-whether his landlord had not insured the cottage, and whether he himself
-was not thinking of insuring the furniture from fire.
-
-Instant opposition arose from Mr. Carey's second daughter, Charlotte,
-who declared that she could not bear to think of such a thing. She
-begged that nobody would speak of such a thing. Indeed, she wondered
-that any body could. When induced to explain the emotions with which
-her mind was laboring, she declared her horror that any one belonging to
-her could feel that any money could compensate for the loss of the
-precious things, such as old letters, and fond memorials, which perish
-in a fire.
-
-"How old are you, my dear?" inquired her father.
-
-"Sixteen, papa."
-
-"Indeed! I should have taken you to be six years younger. I should
-wonder at a child of ten talking so sillily as you are doing."
-
-Mr. Ellison stared; for his sympathy with Charlotte's sentiment was so
-strong, that he was looking at her with beaming eyes, and softly
-ejaculating, "Dear Charlotte! dear child!"
-
-It took some time to convince both (for young ladies of sixteen
-sometimes see things less clearly than six years before and ten years
-after that age) that, if precious papers and gifts are unhappily lost in
-a fire, that is no reason why tables and chairs, and fish-kettles and
-dredging-boxes, and carpets and house linen should not be paid for by an
-Insurance Office; but at last both young lady and pastor saw this.
-Still, Charlotte did not look satisfied; and her father invited her to
-utter what was in her mind. After some fencing about whether her
-thoughts were silly, and whether it would be silly to speak them, out
-came the scruple. Was there not something worldly in thinking so much
-about money and the future?
-
-"Dear Charlotte! dear child!" again soliloquized Mr. Ellison.
-
-Mr. Carey did not think the apprehension silly; but, in his opinion, the
-danger of worldliness lay the other way. He thought the worldliness lay
-in a man's spending all his income, leaving wife and children to be
-maintained by their neighbors, in case of accidents which may happen any
-day to any body, and which do happen to a certain proportion of people,
-within an assigned time, as regularly as death happens to all. Charlotte
-had nothing to say against life insurance, because every man knows that
-he shall die; and there is no speculation in the case. But she was
-extremely surprised to hear that there is an equal certainty, though of
-a narrower extent, about fire, and other accidents; that it is a fact
-that, out of so many householders, such and such a number will have
-their houses burned down.
-
-"Is it indeed so?" asked Joanna.
-
-"It is indeed so. Moreover, out of so much property, such and such an
-amount will perish by fire. Every householder being bound in with this
-state of things for his share of the risk, he owes it equally to others
-and to himself to secure the compensation, in case of accident. Does he
-not?"
-
-"How to others?"
-
-"Because he should contribute his share to the subscription, if you like
-to call it so, by which the sufferer from fire, whoever he be, is to be
-compensated. Thus, you see, Charlotte, that which seems to you an act of
-worldliness is a neighborly act, as well as a prudent one."
-
-When reminded, Charlotte admitted that she had herself said so about
-the Cow Club at B----. She had told many people how the cottagers at
-B----, were now saved from all danger of ruin by the loss of a cow--a
-loss fatal to so many cottagers elsewhere. The farmers at B----, who
-could ill afford to lose from nine pounds to fifteen pounds at a stroke
-by the death of a cow, had joined with the cottagers in setting up a Cow
-Life-insurance. The club employed a skillful cow-doctor. The members
-paid in a small portion of the weekly profits of their milk-selling; and
-had the comfort of knowing that, whenever their cow died, they would be
-supplied with another, or with a part of the value of one, according to
-the length of time, or the yearly amount they had paid. Charlotte
-admitted that she had been delighted with the scheme, but now asserted
-that she was much more pleased about the Quakers and their ship.
-
-"Ha! Quakers?" said Mr. Ellison.
-
-Yes; those Quakers, now, were the sort of people whom Charlotte admired.
-So unworldly! so trusting! There was a rich India ship, belonging to
-some Quakers, lately wrecked in the Channel, very near her port. The
-whole cargo was lost. It had been a total loss to the owners, because
-their principles would not allow them to insure--to put themselves out
-of the hands of Providence, and speculate in "the stormy winds
-fulfilling his word." That had been their statement; and was there not
-something very beautiful in it? Charlotte looked at her father for an
-answer.
-
-"Tell me, first, my dear," he replied, "whether you admire Tasker, the
-shoemaker, for refusing to have his children vaccinated, saying that it
-was taking them out of the hands of the Lord?"
-
-Charlotte could not think of poor little Mary Tasker, disfigured and
-half blind, and not wish that she had been vaccinated; and yet Tasker
-had acted in a resigned spirit.
-
-"Well: exactly as much as you admire Tasker, I admire your Quakers. I
-honor their motive, but I am sorry for their mistake--sorry that they
-refuse one safeguard against worldliness."
-
-"Worldliness, papa!"
-
-Mr. Carey explained how the moral dangers of commercial pursuits are in
-proportion to their gambling character. Large gains and great hazards
-must be more engrossing to the mind, and more stimulating to the
-passions than small and secure profits. The great drawback upon commerce
-with very remote countries is, or was, its gambling character, from the
-variety and seriousness of the risks, and the largeness of the profits
-laid on to cover them. By means of insurance against sea risks and other
-dangers, the losses are spread over so large a number that they cease to
-be losses, and become a mere tax, such as men may willingly pay for
-security. When a man has so introduced moderation into his gains and his
-losses, as to detach himself from "the cares of the world and the
-deceitfulness of riches," he may listen with a quiet pulse (as far as
-his own affairs are concerned) to the wind roaring over the sea, and
-need not be "afraid of evil tidings." It was quite a new view to
-Charlotte that her Quakers had been gambling, in fact, when they should
-have been trading safely; but she could not deny that it was so. Nobody
-wished her to give them up, in regard to their spirit of faith and
-trust; but nobody could stand up for their prudence.
-
-The most striking view to Charlotte was that there is nothing accidental
-in storms and tempests; and that it is only our ignorance which makes us
-call them so. The realm of Meteorology is, no doubt, governed by laws as
-invariable as that of Astronomy. We know this fact, though we, as yet,
-know little of these laws. Something more we know: and that is, the
-average of shipwrecks and conflagrations, in a certain condition of
-society; in the same way that we know the average of men that will die,
-out of a certain number, in a certain time: and it is this knowledge of
-the averages which justifies the resource of insurance in all the three
-cases. When Mr. Ellison at length comprehended that there were thousands
-of prudent men now paying their mite to compensate him for the loss of
-his new furniture, in case of its being burned, on the simple condition
-of his paying his mite also, he was so struck by their neighborly
-conduct, that he could scarcely express his sense of it. The ladies
-considered it impossible that he should feel so strongly, and be
-heedless about the condition on his own part. Mr. Carey shook his head.
-
-Mr. Carey was right. The wedding-day came, and the insurance was not
-effected.--Joanna did not like to tease her betrothed about worldly
-affairs. If the subject was mentioned, and the train of thought revived,
-he went into an enthusiasm about the benevolent class of insurers: but
-he did not become one himself.
-
-
-CHAPTER THE SECOND.
-
-The wedding-day came and went. The young people were married and gone.
-Mr. Ellison's flock were assembled, almost entire, in the parish church,
-for the first and last time. In those days, dissenters could not marry
-in their own chapels, or any where but in church; and the present was an
-occasion when the clergyman of the parish appeared to great advantage,
-with his kind courtesy toward his dissenting neighbors. The whole affair
-was talked over from day to day, during the wedding-trip of the
-Ellisons, in the intervals of Charlotte's business in preparing their
-house for their return. Then began her sisterly relation toward the
-pastor beloved by so many. Her reverence for him, and her pride on
-Joanna's account, made her consider his dignity (in spite of himself) on
-all occasions; from the receiving him at his own door, on the evening of
-arrival, to the defending him in every trifle in which he vexed her
-orderly father. When Mr. Carey complained of his being found at
-breakfast unshaven, and wondered how he would like to see Joanna come
-down with her hair in papers, Charlotte contended that these things
-mattered less in a gentleman than a lady; and that it was from a
-meditative turn that he forgot to shave, even as Newton forgot to dine.
-If he fell over all his new furniture in turn, she declared it was
-because the affection of his friends had over-crowded his cottage with
-memorials of their love. If he was met half-way to the town without his
-hat, she looked with reverence in his face for a foretaste of his next
-Sunday's sermon. When it came out that Joanna had paid all the post boys
-and bills on the journey; that Joanna had to go with him to the
-tailor's, when he was to be measured for a new coat; that Joanna had to
-carve, because he did not know the wing of a fowl from the leg--But we
-will not dwell further on the foibles of a good man whose virtues were
-as uncommon in their degree, as his weaknesses, it may be hoped, in
-kind.
-
-Full as the cottage was of pretty things, it was destined to be yet
-fuller in another year. Never was there a prettier little wardrobe of
-tiny caps and robes, and the like, than room must be found for, the next
-autumn, in preparation for that prettiest of all things--a baby. Half
-the ladies in the congregation brought their offerings of delicate work,
-in cambric and the softest of flannel, and most fantastical of
-pincushions and baskets. It was a delightful season to the whole family;
-and Joanna was so well and bright! And when the great day was over,
-there were such rallyings of Mr. and Mrs. Carey, on their being so early
-a grand-papa and grand-mamma; and it was so droll to see Mr. Ellison,
-who seemed never to have seen a baby, but in baptizing the little
-creatures, whom he had always hitherto regarded as young Christians, and
-never as little infants! Mr. Carey was rather ashamed of the extent of
-his ignorance, shown on the first sight of his child in its sleep, by
-its mother's side.
-
-"Ha!" he exclaimed, "a baby!" in as much surprise as if it had been the
-last thing he expected to see.
-
-"Yes; there is your baby. How do you like her?"
-
-He gazed in silence, and at length said--"But can she walk?"
-
-"My dear Ellison! at a day old!"
-
-"But can she talk?"
-
-"All in good time. You will have enough of that by-and by."
-
-"Dear, dear! Ha!" said he, again and again, till he was sent off to
-dinner, at a friend's house.
-
-He dined at some friend's house every day. On the fourth day it was at a
-distance of three miles. Mrs. Carey had gone home, in the twilight of a
-November day. As soon as she was gone, the nurse stepped out, very
-improperly, for something that she wanted, the child being asleep beside
-Joanna. She desired the servant girl to carry up her mistress's gruel in
-a quarter-of-an-hour, if she was not back. The girl did so; and
-approached the bed, with the basin in one hand and a candle in the
-other. She poked the candle directly against the dimity curtains, and
-set the bed on fire. It was a large bed, in a small crowded room, close
-to two walls and near the window-curtain. The flame caught the tester
-instantly, and then the corner of the pillow, and the edge of the sheet.
-Before that, the girl had thrown down the basin of hot gruel on the
-baby, rushed to the window, thrown up the sash, and screamed; and she
-next rushed out at the door, leaving it wide open, and then at the
-house-door, leaving that wide open too. The air streamed up the
-staircase, and the bed was on fire all round.
-
-Poor Joanna crept off the bed, and took the child in one arm, while with
-the other she tried to pull off a blanket. She was found weakly tugging
-at it. He who so found her was a sailor, who had seen the light from the
-road, and run up the stairs.
-
-"I see how it is, madam," said he, in a cheerful voice. "Don't be
-alarmed; you are very safe. Come in here." And he carried her into the
-next room--the little drawing-room--and laid her, with her baby on her
-arm, on the sofa. He summoned a comrade, who was in the road. They
-pulled up the drugget from the floor, doubled it again, laid it over
-her, and tucked it nicely in, as if there was no hurry.
-
-"Now, madam," said he, "where shall we carry you?" She was carried
-through damp and dusk to her father's house. Her mother was not there.
-Such news spreads, nobody knows how. Her mother was then in the streets
-without her bonnet, imploring every body she met to save her child. She
-presently encountered one of the sailors, returning to the fire. He
-assured her the lady and child were safe, and sent her home. Mr. Carey
-was almost as much beside himself. His first idea was, that it was Mr.
-Ellison who had, by some awkwardness, set his house on fire; and he said
-so, very publicly; and very sorry he was for it afterward.
-
-Mr. Ellison was called from the dinner-table, and told he was wanted at
-home. He strode along, in a bewildered state, till he saw the flames
-from a distance. As he stood before the cottage, which was now one
-blaze, nobody could tell him where his wife was. He was trying to break
-from many hands, and enter the house, when some one at last came up with
-the news of the safety of his wife and babe. As for the servant, it was
-some days before she was heard of; and there were serious apprehensions
-about her, when her aunt came in from the country, to say that the poor
-creature had fled to her, and would never come near the town, or see any
-of the family again. Nobody wondered that she said she should never be
-happy again.
-
-Joanna seemed to be really no worse for the adventure; and for some days
-it was confidently believed that the infant would do well, though it was
-severely scalded. Every thing was lost--every article of clothing of all
-three, all the pretty gifts, all the furniture, two precious portraits,
-all Mr. Ellison's books and manuscripts. But he was so happy and
-thankful that his chief treasures were saved, that he never preached
-more nobly than on the next Sunday, without a scrap of notes;--he who
-took such pains with his sermons, and never preached extempore! It was
-from the abundance of his heart that he spoke.
-
-"I have to beg your pardon, Ellison," said Mr. Carey, "for what I said
-in the first moments of misery."
-
-"It was natural--it was not doing me wrong; for my mother used to say
-that I did awkward things sometimes; that I was not expert; and it
-appears to me that I really have erred." And the good man went on to
-blame himself for having no furniture and clothes to give Joanna, no
-piano, no books! His landlord was no loser by the fire, while he was
-destitute. In short, Mr. Ellison was full of remorse for not having
-insured. All the ladies of his acquaintance were stitching away in his
-and his wife's behalf; but this was rather an aggravation than a
-comfort; and he fully intended to effect an insurance, both against fire
-(when he should again be settled) and on his life. Still, Mr. Carey told
-his wife, with a shake of the head, that his impression was that it
-would never be done.
-
-All such thoughts were presently banished. The baby did not get through.
-After pining for ten days, she died. Then it was that the pastor's fine
-qualities manifested themselves. He surrendered so patiently a happiness
-and hope which had really become very dear to his heart; he supported
-Joanna so tenderly; he considered the whole family so much more than
-himself, that Mr. Carey vowed he would never more be vexed or ashamed at
-the peculiarities of such a man.
-
-
-CHAPTER THE THIRD.
-
-Nobody would hear of the pastor going into furnished lodgings. The
-pastor and his wife would not hear of Mr. Carey's furnishing another
-house for them. Joanna was allowed to draw half her little fortune to
-buy furniture and clothes, and a few indispensable books for her
-husband. Thus, their income was reduced by twenty-five pounds, and the
-half of the principal was gone. If that twenty-five pounds of lost
-income had been devoted to a life insurance, it would, at Mr. Ellison's
-present age, have secured one thousand pounds at his death. Thus he had,
-by neglect, in fact, thrown away one thousand five hundred pounds of
-future provision for his family. The present was not the easiest moment
-for contracting new obligations; but the duty was clear, even to the
-unpractical mind of the pastor. He went to London to effect his
-insurances, and his wife went with him partly for change of scene and
-thoughts, and partly because she knew that her husband could never get
-through the business by himself.
-
-It was not got through, after all. One pious friend had affected them
-with fears, that they would find it an ensnaring bondage to worldly
-things to have to think of the payment of the annual premium; another
-thought it was speculating in God's will; another assured them that they
-could not spare the money, and should provide for their own household,
-and hospitality to neighbors, to-day, instead of taking thought for the
-morrow. They returned without having been near an insurance-office at
-all. The Careys thought this a sad mistake, and pointed out to them the
-peace of mind they would lose by the precariousness of their fortunes,
-and the ease with which the business might be managed, by the trustees
-of the chapel being authorized to deduct the necessary sum from the
-pastor's salary, and the pastor's way of living being proportioned to an
-income of three hundred pounds a year. It was certain that Mr. Ellison
-would never lay by money in any other way than this; for he could never
-see a beggar without giving him whatever he had in his pocket.
-
-It may be observed, that insurance was a more onerous matter in those
-days than in ours. Science has introduced much ease and many varieties
-into the process of insurance. The rates of premium in Mr. Ellison's
-younger days were higher; the methods were restricted; middle-class men
-drank more, and taxed their brother insurers for their accelerated
-mortality, though precautions were taken against obviously fatal
-intemperance. The "bondage," that friends talked of, was greater, and
-the advantages were less, than at present. If Mr. Ellison was wrong in
-his delays and hesitation, much more are family men wrong who delay and
-hesitate now.
-
-Time went on, and Joanna was made happy by the birth of a son. During
-the whole period of her confinement, her husband refused to leave the
-house, except on Sundays; and he went about, many times in the day, from
-the attics to the cellars, with his nose in the air, trying to smell
-fire. There was none, however, to reward his anxious search. No accident
-happened. The mother and child throve without drawback; and a finer
-little fellow really was never seen.
-
-For two years--two precious years--all went well. Then came one of those
-seasons of unhealthiness which occur at intervals, as if to warn men of
-their ignorance of the laws on which their life depends, and to rebuke
-their carelessness about observing such conditions of health as they do
-understand. No town was less prepared to encounter an onset of autumnal
-fever than that in which the Ellisons lived. It had no right to expect
-health at any time: the history of the place told of plague in old
-times, and every epidemic which visited England became a pestilence amid
-its ill-drained streets, its tidal expanse of mud, and its crowded
-alleys. These were the times when the beloved pastor's fidelity shone
-out. For weeks he was, night and day, in close attendance on the poor of
-his flock; and any other poor who were needing help. He could not aid
-them in the way that a more practical man would have done; but Joanna
-supplied that kind of ability, while the voice of her husband carried
-peace and support into many a household, prostrated in grief and dread.
-He ran far greater risks all the while than he needed, if he could have
-been taught common prudence. He forgot to eat, and went into
-unwholesome chambers with an empty stomach and an exhausted frame. In
-spite of his wife's watchfulness, he omitted to give himself the easy
-advantages of freshened air, change of clothes, and a sufficiency of
-wholesome food; and, for one week, he hardly came home to sleep. It was
-no wonder that, at last, both were down in the fever. The best care
-failed to save Joanna. She died without having bidden farewell to
-husband and child. Her husband was in bed delirious, and her boy was in
-the country, whither he had been taken for safety when the fever entered
-the house.
-
-Mr. Ellison recovered slowly, as might be expected, from the weight upon
-his mind. There was something strange, it appeared to his physician, in
-his anxiety to obtain strength to go to London. He was extremely
-pertinacious about this. The Careys, glad to see that he could occupy
-himself with any project, humored this, without understanding it. They
-spoke as if he was going to London when he should be strong enough. They
-did not dream of his not waiting for this. But, in the dark, damp
-evening of the day when he dismissed his physician, after Mrs. Carey had
-gone home, leaving him on the sofa, and promising that her husband
-should call after tea, he was seen at the coach-office, in the
-market-place; and he made a night-journey to London.
-
-There were no railways in those days; and this journey of one hundred
-miles required twelve hours by the "Expedition," the "Highflyer," the
-"Express," or whatever the fastest coach might be called. As soon as he
-arrived, Mr. Ellison swallowed a cup of coffee in the bar of the inn,
-had a coach called, and proceeded to an insurance-office to insure his
-life. As he presented himself, emaciated and feeble, unwashed, unshaven,
-with a crimson handkerchief tied over his white lips, which quivered
-when he uncovered them; as he told his errand, in a weak and husky
-voice, the clerks of the office stared at him in pitying wonder; and the
-directors dismissed him from their parlor, under the gentlest pretexts
-they could devise.
-
-He returned home immediately, and told his adventure to Mr. Carey.
-
-"I could not rest till I had made the effort," he said. "When dear
-Joanna was gone, and I believed that I should follow her, it occurred to
-me that our child would be left destitute. I saw that I had neglected my
-duty; and I resolved that, if I recovered, it should be so no longer. I
-have made the effort; it has failed; and God's will be done!"
-
-Mr. Carey would not allow that the matter must be given up. In fact,
-there was no difficulty in effecting the insurance, in the next spring,
-when Mr. Ellison was restored to his ordinary state of health, and Mr.
-Carey was his guide and helper in the business. The interest of Joanna's
-little portion was appropriated for the purpose, with a small addition,
-rendered necessary by the lapse of three years. It is well known that
-the most unworldly and unapt persons are the most proud of any act of
-prudence or skill that they may have been able to achieve. So it was in
-this case. When the pastor sat gazing at his child, it appeared to him a
-marvelous thing that he, even he, should have endowed any human being
-with a fortune. He was heard to say to himself, on such occasions, in a
-tone of happy astonishment,
-
-"A thousand pounds! Ha! a thousand pounds!"
-
-We can not here follow out the curious process of that boy's rearing. We
-have not space to tell how tenderly he was watched by grand-mamma, and
-by Charlotte, till her marriage gave her cares of her own:--nor what a
-stroke it was when Mr. Ellison moved to a distant city, being invited to
-a higher post in the ministry of his sect; nor how curiously he and his
-child lived in a lodging, where, notwithstanding all his efforts to fill
-the place of both parents, his boy was too often seen in rags; nor how
-the child played leap-frog and other games with little beggars and
-ruffians in the streets, so cleverly, that his father might be seen
-gazing at him from the foot-pavement, in a rapture of admiration; nor
-how, on the great occasion of the little lad's first going to chapel, he
-told every body within reach, that it was "Pa" in the pulpit; nor how,
-when he was tired of the sermon, he was wont to scrape the sand from the
-floor, and powder with it the wigs of the old men who sat in the long
-pew before him; nor how, at length, the importunity of friends prevailed
-to get him sent to school; nor how comfortably his father was boarded in
-a private family when the lodging plan became too bad to be borne even
-by him. All this we must leave undescribed; and also his satisfaction
-when, in a later time--when his son was grown up, and prosperous, and
-well married--the good pastor found himself at liberty to do, if he
-should wish it, what he had always thought ministers had better do,
-leave the pulpit before they were worn out--before any body had begun to
-look for their wearing out. The "dear child," as he still calls the
-father of his grand-children, early persuaded his father to take
-advantage of that modern improvement by which his life insurance can be
-commuted into an annuity at sixty years of age, if he should attain it,
-or receivable in full, if that method should be preferred. A small
-independence being thus secured, if he lives to leave the pulpit at
-sixty, and a legacy to his son, if he dies before that time, Mr. Ellison
-feels more free from worldly cares than is often the case with
-dissenting ministers who begin the world without fortune, and with
-thoughts far above the lucre of gain.
-
-No one wonders that he never seemed to think of marrying again. Before
-his removal, the name of his "dear Joanna" was often on his lips. After
-his removal, it was never again heard, except on the rare occasions of
-his meeting old friends. He did not speak of her to those who had never
-known her; but not the less was her image understood to be ever in his
-thoughts.
-
-
-
-
-LAMARTINE ON THE RESTORATION.[8]
-
-[8] "History of the Restoration of Monarchy in France," by Alphonse De
-Lamartine. 12mo. Harper and Brothers.
-
-
-An able critic in a recent English journal, remarks as follows, on the
-last brilliant work of Lamartine on "The History of the Restoration:"
-Whatever may be said of the author of this volume as a politician, and
-however much his capabilities for legislation may be despised, he ranks
-as a first class historian, and as the most brilliant foreign writer of
-the present day, both of his country's annals, romance, and poetry. If
-M. Lamartine's "History of the Girondists" excited immense interest, his
-"History of the Restoration of the Monarchy" is calculated to produce a
-much greater enthusiasm. The manner in which he details the thrilling
-events which succeeded the conclusion of the Reign of Terror in the
-former work, and the opening of the Consulate, has been spoken of by
-critics of all shades of politics as unique, as perfect in style and
-comprehensive in detail; but we doubt very much whether it will not be
-universally acknowledged that in all these points the new effort
-surpasses the older. The praise of such a work is best accorded by
-extracts from its own pages. Such extracts speak for themselves, and
-award far more valuable encomiums than any which those whose office it
-is to sit in judgment upon their characteristics can do. We present the
-following account of the arrest and murder of the young Duke d'Enghien,
-a crime which Europe has very justly never forgiven, and by which the
-character of Napoleon has been forever blasted. We had thought that a
-more vivid picture of this act of treachery could not by any possibility
-have been written than that which appears in the tale of Maurice
-Tierney, the Soldier of Fortune; but every thing which has been there
-said, or has been elsewhere written concerning that event, gives place
-to this vivid picture drawn by Lamartine, while his opinion respecting
-the dark deed itself, and the villainy by which it was accomplished,
-will ever stamp him as a man of the most honorable mind, and as a truly
-noble-hearted Frenchman.
-
-ARREST AND MURDER OF THE DUKE D'ENGHIEN.
-
-"Ordener set out on the same night, that of the 10th and 11th of March,
-and arrived on the 12th at Strassburg. He held a council on his arrival
-with General Leval, Charlot, the colonel of gendarmes, and the
-commissary of police, and they resolved to precede and facilitate the
-nocturnal expedition by a minute reconnoitring of the scene of action.
-An agent of police named Stahl, and a non-commissioned officer of the
-gendarmerie, named Pfersdoff, were dispatched on the instant, and
-marching all night, arrived at eight o'clock in the morning at
-Ettenheim. They strolled with an affectation of indifference about the
-house of the Prince, in order to make themselves well acquainted with
-the approaches to it. The Prince's valet-de-chambre, concealed behind a
-window, observed these two strangers walking round the walls, and
-intently noting the objects of their mission. He called another of the
-servants, named Cannone, and communicated his anxieties to him. Cannone
-was an old soldier and companion of the Prince from his earliest
-infancy. He had fought with him in all his campaigns, and had saved his
-life in Poland, by covering him with his sabre and his person. He
-fancied that he remembered having somewhere seen the face of Pfersdoff,
-and thought he recognized in him a gendarme in disguise. He hastened to
-inform the Prince, who, with the thoughtlessness of his age, disdained
-to pay any attention to these symptoms of espionage. Nevertheless, an
-officer of his army, named Schmidt, went out and accosted Stahl and
-Pfersdoff, and questioned them with an appearance of unconcern,
-pretending that he was going their way, and accompanied them for more
-than a league; but at last seeing them take a road which led into the
-interior of Germany, instead of returning toward the Rhine, he felt
-re-assured, and returned to tranquilize the servants and retainers at
-Ettenheim. But the anxieties of love are not so easily set at rest as
-those of friendship. The Princess Charlotte de Rohan was filled with a
-presentiment of danger, and begged the Prince would absent himself for a
-few days from a residence where he was so evidently watched, and
-possibly with a criminal intention. Out of affection for her, rather
-than from uneasiness on his own account, the duke consented to absent
-himself for two or three days, and it was settled that he should set out
-the third morning after, on a long hunting excursion in the forests of
-the Grand Duke of Baden, during which the suspicions of his betrothed
-would be either dissipated or verified; but it was fated that, the third
-morning should not dawn on him in Germany.... On the evening of the
-14th, General Ordener, accompanied by General Fririon, chief of General
-Leval's staff, and by Charlot, colonel of gendarmes, set out in the dark
-toward the ferry of Rheinau on the Rhine, and found there, at the
-appointed hour, the 300 dragoons of the 26th, 15 ferrymen, the five
-large boats, and, lastly, the 30 mounted gendarmes destined to be
-employed in the violation of dwellings and seizure of persons, in an
-expedition more worthy of lictors than of soldiers. The Rhine was
-crossed in silence at midnight, and the column, unperceived during the
-sleep of the German peasants on the right bank, and guided by different
-roads, arrived, as the day was breaking, at Ettenheim. The spies, whom
-Ordener and Charlot had brought with them, pointed out to the gendarmes
-the houses which were to be invested.... The Duke d'Enghien, who had
-spent the evening before at the house of the Prince Rohan-Rochefort,
-with the Princess Charlotte, had promised her to absent himself for a
-few days, to allow time for the plots against his safety, of which she
-was apprehensive, either to evaporate or be unraveled. He was
-accordingly about to start at sunrise, with Colonel Grunstein, one of
-his friends, on his hunting excursion for several days. He had already
-left his bed, and was dressing himself, and preparing his arms.
-Grunstein, contrary to his usual custom, had slept under the same roof
-with the Prince, that he might be the sooner ready to escort him. This
-companion of his own, on the battle-field and in the chase, was also
-half-dressed, when the tramp of horses and the sight of dragoons and
-gendarmes made the rest of the household start from their sleep. Feron,
-the most familiar servant of the Prince, flew to the chamber of his
-young master, and announced to him that the court-yard and garden were
-surrounded at every outlet by French soldiers, and that the officer
-commanding them was loudly calling on the servants to open the doors,
-declaring that in case of refusal, he would have them broken open with
-hatchets. 'Well, then, we must defend ourselves,' exclaimed the
-undaunted young man, and saying these words, he seized his
-double-barreled fowling-piece, ready loaded with ball for the chase,
-while Cannone, his other servant, animated with the same determination
-as his master, possessed himself of another fowling-piece, and Grunstein
-entering the chamber at that moment, armed in a like manner, the whole
-then darted to the windows to fire. The Prince leveled at Colonel
-Chariot, who threatened the door, and was about to stretch him dead on
-the threshold, when Grunstein, perceiving on all sides a host of helmets
-and sabres, and seeing another detachment of gendarmes already masters
-of one of the wings of the chateau, seized the barrel of the Prince's
-fowling-piece, and throwing the gun upward, showed the Duke d'Enghien,
-by signs, the uselessness of resistance against such overwhelming
-numbers, and prevented his firing. 'My lord,' he said, 'have you in any
-way committed yourself?'--'No,' replied the duke. 'Well, then, that
-being the case, do not attempt a hopeless struggle. We are hemmed in by
-a complete wall of troops. See how their bayonets glisten on every
-side.' The Prince was turning round to reply to these words when he
-beheld Pfersdoff, whom he recognized as the spy of the day before,
-accompanied by gendarmes with presented carbines, rush into his room. He
-was followed by Col. Charlot, who, with his soldiers, seized and
-disarmed the Prince, together with Grunstein, Feron, and Cannone. The
-Duke, as we have seen, was ready to set out, and was thus lost by the
-delay of only a few moments. He was dressed in the costume of a Tyrolean
-hunter, wearing a handsome gold-laced cap, with long gaiters of chamois
-skin buckled at the knees; and the manly beauty and dauntless expression
-of his features, heightened by the excitement of the surprise, and
-determination to resist, struck the soldiers with astonishment. In the
-midst of such a scene, and the tramp of feet and clatter of arms in the
-house, the sound of a disturbance without for a moment inspired the
-Prince and his followers with a hope of deliverance. Loud cries of fire
-issued from the village, and these cries were re-echoed from house to
-house, like a tocsin of human voices. Windows were thrown open, and
-doorways filled with the inhabitants aroused by the invasion of the
-French. Half naked mechanics were seen running to the steeple to ring
-the bells, and summon the peasants to vengeance. Colonel Charlot,
-however, had them seized, and also arrested the master of the hounds of
-the Duke of Baden, who, on hearing of the disturbance, was hastening to
-the house of the Prince, and who was told by Charlot that what was
-taking place had been mutually agreed upon by the First Consul and his
-sovereign. On hearing this falsehood, the excitement of the inhabitants
-subsided, and they submitted, with looks of sorrow and expressions of
-grief, to the misfortune of a young man who had rendered himself an
-object of the deepest regard.... The Prince was dragged away from his
-residence, without being permitted to take a last farewell of her whom
-he left swooning and in tears."
-
-Bonaparte had determined on the duke's death, and his ministers and
-judges received their instructions to that effect. The midnight trial,
-the despicable meanness of the tribunal, the heroic attitude of the
-young Condé, are vividly depicted in this volume: but we pass on to the
-_dénouement_ of the plot.
-
-"As soon as the judgment was pronounced, and even before it was drawn
-up, Hullin sent to inform Savary and the Judge Advocate of the sentence
-of death, in order that they might take their measures for its
-execution. It seemed as if the time was equally pressing to the tribunal
-as to those who awaited their decision, and as if an invisible genius
-was hurrying along the acts, formalities, and hours, in order that the
-morning's sun might not witness the deeds of the night. Hullin and his
-colleagues remained in the hall of council, and drew up at random the
-judgment they had just given; and this short and unskillfully prepared
-document (summing up a whole examination in two questions and two
-answers) terminated with the order to execute the sentence forthwith.
-Savary had not waited for this order to be written before he prepared
-for its execution, and had already marked out the spot. The court and
-the esplanade being encumbered with troops, by the presence of the
-brigade of infantry, and the legion of gendarmes d'élite, no safe place
-could be found there in which the fire of a platoon did not run the risk
-of striking a soldier or a spectator. No doubt it was also feared that
-too great publicity would thus be given to the murder in the midst of an
-army; that the scene of the execution was too distant from the place of
-sepulture; and that feelings of pity and horror would pervade the ranks
-at the sight of this young man's mangled corpse. The moat of the
-chateau, however, offered the means of avoiding all these dangers, as it
-would conceal the murder as well as the victim. This place was
-accordingly chosen. Harel received orders to give up the keys of the
-steps and iron gateways, which descended from the towers and opened on
-the foundation of the chateau to point out the different outlets and
-sites, and to procure a gravedigger to commence digging a grave while
-the man for whom it was intended still breathed. A poor working gardener
-of the chateau, named Bontemps, was awakened, and his work pointed out
-to him. He was furnished with a lantern to guide him through the
-labyrinth of the moat, and light him while he dug it up. Bontemps
-descended with his shovel and pickax to the bottom of the moat, and
-finding the ground all about dry and hard, he recollected that they had
-begun to dig a trench the evening before, at the foot of the Queen's
-Pavilion, in the angle formed by the tower and a little wall
-breast-high, for the purpose, it was said, of depositing rubbish in it.
-He accordingly went to the foot of the tower, marked out in paces the
-measure of a man's body extended at length, and dug in the earth that
-had been already moved a grave for the corpse they were preparing for
-it. The Duke d'Enghien could have heard from his window, over the
-humming noise of the troops below, the dull and regular sound of the
-pickax which was digging his last couch. Savary, at the same time,
-marched down and arranged slowly in the moat the detachments of troops
-who were to witness this military death, and ordered the firing party to
-load their muskets. The Prince was far from suspecting either so much
-rigor or so much haste on the part of his judges. He did not doubt that
-even a sentence of death, if awarded by the commission, would give
-occasion for an exhibition of magnanimity on the part of the First
-Consul. He had granted an amnesty to emigrants taken with arms in their
-hands; how could it be doubted, then, that he who pardoned obscure and
-culpable exiles, would not honor himself by an act of justice or
-clemency toward an illustrious prince, beloved by all Europe, and
-innocent of all crime? He had been taken back, after his interrogatories
-and his appearance before the military commission, into the room where
-he had slept. He entered it without exhibiting any of that fright which
-prisoners experience in the anxiety and uncertainty of their sentence.
-With a serene countenance and unoccupied mind, he conversed with his
-gendarmes, and played with his dog. Lieutenant Noirot who was on guard
-over him, had formerly served in a regiment of cavalry commanded by a
-colonel who was a friend of the Prince of Condé. He had also seen the
-Duke d'Enghien, when a child, sometimes accompany his father to reviews
-and field days of the regiment; and he reminded the Prince of that
-period and these circumstances of his youth. The duke smiled at these
-reminiscences, and renewed them himself by other recollections of his
-infancy, which mingled with those of Noirot. He inquired, with a
-curiosity full of interest, about the career of this officer since that
-epoch; of the campaigns he had made; of the battles in which he had been
-engaged; of the promotion he had received; of his present rank, his
-expectations, and his partiality for the service. He seemed to find a
-lively pleasure in this conversation on the past with a brave officer,
-who spoke to him with the accent and the heart of a man who would gladly
-indulge in pity, were it not for the severity of duty. A noise of
-footsteps, advancing slowly toward the chamber, interrupted this
-agreeable and last indulgence of captivity. It was the commandant of
-Vincennes, Harel, accompanied by the brigadier of the gendarmerie of the
-village, Aufort. This friend of Harel's had been permitted to remain in
-one of the commandant's rooms, after having ordered the Prince's supper,
-and from thence he had heard or seen all the events of the night. Harel,
-agitated and trembling at the mission he had to fulfill, had permitted
-Aufort to follow and assist him in his message to the prisoner. They
-saluted the Prince respectfully; but neither of them had the firmness to
-acquaint him with the truth. The dejected attitude and trembling voice
-of Harel alone revealed to the eye and to the heart of the Prince a
-fatal presentiment of the rigor of his judges. He thought they now came
-for him only to hear his sentence read. Harel desired him, on the part
-of the tribunal, to follow him, and he went before with a lantern in his
-hand, through the corridors, the passages, and the courts it was
-necessary to cross, to arrive at the building called the 'Devil's
-Tower.' The interior of this tower contained the only staircase and the
-only door descending to, and opening into, the lowest moat. The Prince
-appeared to hesitate two or three times on going into this suspicious
-tower, like a victim which smells the blood, and which resists and turns
-back its head on crossing the threshold of a slaughter-house. Harel and
-Aufort preceded the duke in silence down the steps of the narrow winding
-staircase, which descended to a postern through the massy walls of this
-tower. The Prince, with an instinctive horror of the place, and of the
-depth beneath the soil to which the steps were leading him, began to
-think they were not conducting him before the judges, but into the hands
-of murderers, or to the gloom of a prison. He trembled in all his limbs,
-and convulsively drew back his foot as he addressed his guides in front:
-'Where are you conducting me?' he demanded, with a stifled voice. 'If it
-is to bury me alive in a dungeon, I would rather die this instant.'
-'Sir,' replied Harel, turning round, 'follow me, and summon up all your
-courage.' The Prince partly comprehended him, and followed. They at
-length issued from the winding staircase, through a low postern which
-opened on the bottom of the moat, and continued walking for some time in
-the dark, along the foot of the lofty walls of the fortress, as far as
-the basement of the Queen's Pavilion. When they had turned the angle of
-this pavilion, which concealed another part of the moat behind its
-walls, the Prince suddenly found himself in front of the detachment of
-the troops drawn up to witness his death. The firing party selected for
-the execution was separated from the rest; and the barrels of their
-muskets, reflecting the dull light of some lanterns carried by a few of
-the attendants, threw a sinister glare on the moat, the massy walls,
-and the newly-dug grave. The Prince stopped at a sign from his guides,
-within a few paces of the firing party. He saw his fate at a glance, but
-he neither trembled nor turned pale. A slight and chilling rain was
-falling from a gloomy sky, and a melancholy silence reigned throughout
-the moat. Nothing disturbed the horror of the scene but the whispering
-and shuffling feet of a few groups of officers and soldiers who had
-collected upon the parapets above, and on the drawbridge which led into
-the forest of Vincennes. Adjutant Pelle, who commanded the detachment,
-advanced, with his eyes lowered, toward the Prince. He held in his hand
-the sentence of the military commission, which he read in a low, dull
-voice, but perfectly intelligible. The Prince, listened without making
-an observation or losing his firmness. He seemed to have collected in an
-instant all his courage, and all the military heroism of his race, to
-show his enemies that he knew how to die. Two feelings alone seemed to
-occupy him during the moment of intense silence which followed the
-reading of his sentence; one was to invoke the aid of religion to soothe
-his last struggle, and the other to communicate his dying thoughts to
-her he was going to leave desolate on the earth. He accordingly asked if
-he could have the assistance of a priest, but there was none in the
-castle; and though a few minutes would suffice to call the curé of
-Vincennes, they were too much pressed for time, and too anxious to avail
-themselves of the night which was to cover every thing. The officers
-nearest to him made a sign that he must renounce this consolation; and
-one brutal fellow from the midst of a group called out in a tone of
-irony, 'Do you wish, then, to die like a Capuchin?' The Prince raised
-his head with an air of indignation, and turning toward the group of
-officers and gendarmes who had accompanied him to the ground, he asked,
-in a loud voice, if there was any one among them willing to do him one
-last service. Lieutenant Noirot advanced from the group, and approached
-him, thus sufficiently evincing his intention. The Prince said a few
-words to him in a low voice, and Noirot, turning toward the side
-occupied by the troops, said, 'Gendarmes, have any of you got a pair of
-scissors about you?' The gendarmes searched their cartridge-boxes, and a
-pair of scissors was passed from hand to hand to the Prince. He took off
-his cap, cut off one of the locks of his hair, drew a letter from his
-pocket, and a ring from his finger, then folding the hair, the letter,
-and the ring in a sheet of paper, he gave the little packet, his sole
-inheritance, to Lieutenant Noirot, charging him, in the name of pity for
-his situation and his death, to send them to the young Princess
-Charlotte de Rohan, at Ettenheim. This love message being thus confided,
-he collected himself for a moment, with his hands joined, to offer up a
-last prayer, and in a low voice commended his soul to God. He then made
-five or six paces to place himself in front of the firing party, whose
-loaded muskets he saw glimmering at a short distance. The light of a
-large lantern containing several candles, placed upon the little wall
-that stood over the open grave, gleamed full upon him, and lighted the
-aim of the soldiers. The firing party retired a few paces to a proper
-distance, the adjutant gave the word to fire, and the young Prince, as
-if struck by a thunderbolt, fell upon the earth, without a cry and
-without a struggle. At that moment the clock of the castle struck the
-hour of three. Hullin and his colleagues were waiting in the vestibule
-of Harel's quarters for their carriage to convey them back to Paris, and
-were talking with some bitterness of Savary's refusal to transmit their
-letter to his master, when an unexpected explosion, resounding from the
-moat of the forest gate, made them start and tremble, and taught them
-that judges should never reckon upon any thing but justice and their own
-conscience. This still small voice pursued them through their lives. The
-Duke d'Enghien was no more. His dog, which had followed him into the
-moat, yelled when he saw him fall, and threw himself on the body of his
-master. It was with difficulty the poor animal could be torn away from
-the spot, and given to one of the Prince's servants, who took him to the
-Princess Charlotte--the only messenger from that tomb where slept the
-hapless victim whom she never ceased to deplore."
-
-
-
-
-THE CAPTAIN'S SELF-DEVOTION.[9]
-
-[9] Translated from a new volume of Tales by Fanny Lewald.
-
-
-Some twenty years ago my father had a new ship launched from the stocks.
-A large company had assembled at our house to witness the ceremony of
-christening the vessel, and afterward to celebrate the marriage of the
-captain who was to take command of her. He had been for a long time in
-my father's service, had been uniformly successful in his voyages, and
-was just the man to take charge of a new enterprise on the western coast
-of Africa.
-
-Captain Jan Evers, from the time when he first went to sea as cabin-boy,
-had lived but little at home, with the exception of the time which he
-subsequently passed with his parents, while he was attending his course
-at the Navigation School of Hamburg, in order to prepare for his
-examination as pilot. His parents owned a bit of ground in the village
-of Neumühlen, the long rows of houses of which stretch along the mouth
-of the Elbe, beyond Altona. After the death of the old people, the house
-stood for a long while uninhabited; until, in the year of which I now
-speak, the captain, who had returned from a voyage, concluded, at the
-desire of my father, not to go to sea again, until his new ship should
-be ready. This induced him to have the long-closed shutters of his house
-opened, in order to take up his own residence there; for he had never
-rented it.
-
-You must be aware of the extraordinary cleanliness of the northern
-sea-ports, and must have seen how the sailors love to have their houses
-as neat as their ships; and how in Neumühlen, where many captains and
-pilots have their little estates, the houses seem to shine with the
-incessant care bestowed upon them, in order to comprehend how vexed Jan
-Evers was when he found his long-deserted house to have suffered sadly
-from neglect. The little garden-plot before the door, which is never
-wanting, was full of weeds; the boughs of the fine linden had run wild
-all about, and shaded the chambers, which had thereby grown mouldy, so
-that the green paint on the walls had contracted ugly yellow stains. The
-whole aspect of the house made a melancholy impression, and even the
-Chinese mandarin which was still standing upon the walnut buffet, where
-Jan used to see it when a child, seemed to nod its head gloomily when
-Jan once more took possession of his paternal abode.
-
-The captain, who was a fresh jolly fellow of some forty years old, was
-no longer the same man after he had passed a couple of weeks there. He
-grew moody, peevish, and barely civil; and my father often lamented the
-impatience with which he awaited the completion of the ship, in order to
-be off again.
-
-One day Evers came to our house at an unusual hour, and desired to see
-my father, who at that time of day was not usually in his counting-room,
-but with his family. The captain was shown in, and after we children had
-been sent away, at his desire, he said:
-
-"I have something to say to you which it is best your good lady should
-hear, too. I have just come from the dock-yard, where I have been
-looking at the ship. It will be two months before she will be off the
-stocks. Then it will be too late to go to sea, even if you should have
-her rigged upon the stocks. I can't get off till spring; and I can't
-hold out so long as that. If I only had my fellows of the Fortune
-here"--(this was the name of the vessel he had last commanded)--"if I
-only had them with me in Neumühlen, it would be all right: but I grow
-down in the mouth there, it is so quiet. I'd rather be on a sand-island,
-alone with the seals and the sea-mews, under the open heavens, than
-among all those nicknacks of my little house, which must be used, and
-which I can't use. And so, I thought I'd ask you--"
-
-"If you couldn't be off!" interrupted my father. "Surely, Evers, you are
-not thinking of that in earnest, are you?"
-
-"No, I am not thinking of that. I have agreed to take command of the new
-ship; and I am in the habit of keeping my word. But I thought I would
-ask--" here he stopped, twirled his hat about in his hand, turned to my
-mother, and continued--"what you think about it--whether I hadn't better
-get married?"
-
-It seemed as though a great load was taken from his mind, when he had
-got out these words. He had his house, a pretty little property, and was
-a good-looking, noble fellow, and bid fair to make an excellent husband;
-and so my mother advised him earnestly to carry his design into
-execution; asking him whether he had yet found a girl whom he could wish
-to marry.
-
-"Will you give me Marie?" asked he.
-
-Marie was the daughter of a woman who had attended me and my sisters,
-and who had long been dead. My parents had brought Marie up, and she
-served my mother as chambermaid; but was looked upon as one of the
-family, and was very dear to us all. She was about four-and-twenty years
-old, and might be considered a very pretty girl. My mother said, that
-she thought a marriage between Marie and the captain would be altogether
-proper, notwithstanding he was considerably the older; and Evers begged
-her to be his spokeswoman with Marie.
-
-"Tell her," said he, "that I have liked her for many years; that always
-when I have returned from a voyage, I have been glad to look upon her
-again; that when I have been in foreign ports, and have seen other
-captains buying presents for their wives and children, I have often
-thought: Could you but do so, and make others happy--but for whom? I
-have grieved that I was unmarried; and at sea in stormy weather, I have
-fallen asleep imagining myself, some time or other, reposing with my
-wife and children. But as soon as I came into port, I have always been
-obliged to set sail again forthwith, and have forgotten all about
-getting married, as I had to be off so soon again, and must see to
-getting the cargo on board. But now I have time to think about it, and I
-like Marie very much? I will try to make her happy. You can assure her
-of that."
-
-Marie was asked, and very gladly said Yes. The captain had his house set
-in order; the rooms were newly painted, the garden attended to, the
-linden pruned; while Marie arranged the stores of linen and plate left
-by her deceased parents-in-law, with the pleasurable feeling of
-ownership. And so came the day when the ship was to be launched, and the
-pair were to be united.
-
-We all went to the dock; my parents conveyed the young pair in a
-carriage, and the guests followed. We went on board the ship, the young
-couple preceding, then my parents, and the guests. The vessel was
-christened by the name of "Young Couple." We all burst out into loud
-huzzas, swung our glasses and our hats, and hurried from the stern,
-where the ceremony took place, to the bows, to remain there during the
-launch. The steps were removed; the ways in which the keel was to run
-were slushed with soap and tallow; the sound of the ax was heard,
-knocking away the last blocks; the line was cast off; one blow of an ax,
-and amid the huzzas of the carpenters, sailors, and spectators, the
-noble vessel shot into the water. Suddenly a shriek was heard; the
-bow-line had parted, and the ship, freed from its check, shot across the
-river, with such momentum that it struck against the opposite shore, and
-stuck fast.
-
-In itself this was no great matter; for it cost little trouble or
-expense to tow the vessel back again. But the merriment of the occasion
-was interrupted by the shriek, and disturbed by the superstitious belief
-that any accident happening at a launch is a bad sign for the vessel. A
-silence fell upon the guests; Marie wept, and the captain looked
-anxious, for all sailors are more or less superstitious. However, after
-the wedding, we grew cheerful again; the young pair went on to
-Neumühlen, and the autumn and winter passed away quickly and happily.
-Sorrowfully they watched the approach of spring, for the ship was
-afloat, her cargo ready, and the anchor was to be weighed as soon as the
-Elbe was free from ice.
-
-This took place toward the end of March. For the first time in his life,
-the captain left Hamburg with tears in his eyes, after having heartily
-commended to my mother the care of his wife, who was expecting her first
-child to be born during the course of the summer. If all went well,
-tidings of his arrival on the coast of Africa might be looked for about
-the time of her confinement; and he had promised to write as soon as
-possible, as not only his wife, but our establishment were anxious to
-receive letters from him.
-
-But long after Marie had given birth to a boy, no tidings had come from
-her husband. Autumn came and was gone; winter came and went, and yet no
-intelligence reached us of the ship.
-
-No other vessel had spoken her; she had put in at no other port; not a
-trace of her could be discovered; and after a year and a day we were
-forced to conclude that she had gone down with all on board. The grief
-of the young wife was very deep, though the hope still remained that the
-crew might have been saved, and that her husband would return. Thus
-passed years, until finally when all imaginable inquiries had been made
-in vain, Marie began to grow accustomed to the idea of his loss, and to
-look upon herself as a widow.
-
-About this time she became acquainted with man who carried on a small
-business in Neumühlen, and who wished to make her his wife. As Evers had
-been absent eight years, my parents advised her to consent, especially
-as they perceived that such was her own inclination. But before a new
-marriage could be contracted, Evers must be judicially pronounced to be
-dead. In the present case, after the usual preliminaries, there was no
-difficulty; and in the year 1828, Marie was married a second time; her
-son by the first marriage being then in his ninth year.
-
-This marriage also proved to be a very happy one; and she had two
-children born in the first two years; both of whom survived.
-
-One evening in the autumn of 1830, Marie was holding her youngest child
-in her arms, while her husband sat by her upon the sofa, enjoying his
-pipe. The elder boy, the son of Evers, was busy at another table, near
-which his little sister was playing. A fierce storm was howling without;
-the rain and hail rattled against the windows; the night was unusually
-dark; and as some draught was felt, even in the well-secured apartment,
-Marie told her eldest son to close the shutters. The lad went to the
-window, but quickly returned, saying that a man was standing there.
-
-"Let him stand," replied the father, and the boy went back to the window
-to close the shutters, when he found that the man had gone. All was
-quiet in the room. The boy went back to his occupation; the mother laid
-her infant in the cradle, put the girl to bed, and had taken up her
-work-basket, when an old woman burst into the room half out of her wits
-with excitement, crying, "Madame! Madame! Jan Evers was out there!"
-
-Marie, her husband, and the boy sprang up, and ran to the door. No one
-was to be seen. Marie trembled in every limb; the boy stood near her in
-utter bewilderment; the husband at last so far recovered himself as to
-be able to inquire into the facts of the case.
-
-The old woman who had lived for some years in Neumühlen, and was well
-acquainted with all the inhabitants, was almost as much excited and
-confounded as her neighbors. Gazing hastily about her all the time, as
-though she expected every moment to see the apparition again, she said
-that she "was going by for to buy some stuff, and then she saw a man in
-a blue jacket, with a nor'wester on his head, a-staring in at your
-window, and then it came into my head to come and look in too; and when
-the stranger saw me he asked, 'Who lives in this house?' and then I told
-him Christian Veltlin did. Then the man went up to the window again and
-looked in again, and then he turned about and went away. And then I knew
-him by his size, and ran after him, and called out as loud as ever I
-could, 'Jan Evers! Jan Evers!' But he wouldn't turn his head round, but
-ran on as fast as he could, but I caught him at last at the stairs that
-lead from Neumühlen up to the _chaussée_. And then I took hold of him by
-the sleeve, and asked him, 'Jan Evers, Jan Evers, where have you come
-from?' And then he pushed me away, and growled, 'I don't know nothin'
-about your Jan Everses. I'm the bo's'n of the Greenlander over there!'
-and then he ran off and left me standing there. But 'twas him, and I ran
-over here to tell you all about it."
-
-You may imagine the terror, the agony, and the despair in that little
-house. Veltlin, however, in order to soothe his wife, argued with her
-how improbable was the return of Evers, and how easily the old woman
-might have been deceived. Yet he was himself greatly troubled, and on
-the following morning, as early as possible, he and his wife came to my
-father to lay the matter before him, and to ask his advice.
-
-My father advised them, first and foremost, to keep silent about the
-whole affair; but it was too late for that, for the old woman had told
-all Neumühlen what had happened. New inquiries were at once set on foot
-after the reputedly dead Jan Evers. But they were just as fruitless as
-the former ones had been; and after a while Marie and Veltlin began to
-grow composed, convinced that the old woman must have been deceived by
-some strange resemblance. Peace and joy returned to the little
-household, and the marriage was never disturbed up to the time of
-Marie's death, which took place last summer.
-
-After that event a document was transmitted to me by the magistracy of
-the capital, where, it seems, Jan had passed his last years, under an
-assumed name. By this document, executed upon his death-bed, he
-constituted all the children of Marie Veltlin heirs to his little
-property; but with the express provision that the will should not be
-made public till after the death of Marie. Then it was known, for the
-first time, that the old woman was right. Jan Evers had most
-magnanimously sacrificed himself for his wife, and had lived and died
-alone and among strangers, although he was fully aware that a son had
-been born to him, who had lived to grow up.
-
-
-
-
-THE EAGLE AND THE SWAN.
-
-(_From the German._)
-
-    THE SWAN.
-
-      My tranquil life is passed the waves among,
-      Light ripples tracing as I glide along,
-      And the scarce ruffled tide, as in a glass,
-      Reflects my form unaltered as I pass!
-
-    THE EAGLE.
-
-    In the clefts of the rocks my wild dwelling I form,
-    I sail through the air on the wings of the storm,
-    'Mid dangers and combats I dart on my prey,
-    And trust the bold pinion that bears me away!
-
-    THE SWAN.
-
-      Won by the charm of Ph[oe]bus, in the wave
-      Of heavenly harmony I dare to lave,
-      Couched at his feet, I listen to the lays,
-      In Tempè's vale, that echo to his praise!
-
-    THE EAGLE.
-
-    I perch at the right hand of Jove on his throne,
-    And the thunderbolt launch when his signal is shown,
-    And my heavy wings droop, when in slumber I lie,
-    O'er the sceptre that sways the wide earth from on high!
-
-    THE SWAN.
-
-      _Me_ charms the heaven's blue arch, serene and bland,
-      And odorous flowers attract me to the land
-      While basking in the sun's departing beams,
-      I stretch my white wings o'er the purpled streams!
-
-    THE EAGLE.
-
-    I exult in the tempest, triumphant and bold,
-    When the oaks of the forest it rends from their hold,
-    I demand of the thunder--the spheres when it shakes--
-    If, like me, a wild joy in destruction it takes!
-
-    THE SWAN.
-
-      Oft in the glassy tide the stars I view,
-      And that blue heav'n the waves give back anew.
-      And dim regret recalls me to the home
-      In higher spheres, reluctant whence I roam!
-
-    THE EAGLE.
-
-    With joy, from the hour that my young life begun,
-    I have soared to the skies--I have gazed on the sun.
-    I can not stoop down to the dust of the earth--
-    Allied to the gods, I exult in my birth!
-
-    THE SWAN.
-
-      When a calm death succeeds to tranquil life,
-      Its links detaching without pain or strife,
-      And to my voice restores its primal power,
-      Its dying tones shall hail the solemn hour!
-
-    THE EAGLE.
-
-    The soul, like the phoenix, springs forth from the pyre,
-    All free and unvailed, to the skies to aspire,
-    To hail the bright vision that bursts on its view,
-    And its youth at the dark torch of death to renew!
-
-
-
-
-Monthly Record of Current Events.
-
-
-UNITED STATES.
-
-A new invasion of Cuba, somewhat more formidable, but less successful
-even, than the former, has absorbed public attention during the past
-month. Immediately after the return of Lopez from his first expedition,
-rumors were rife that he was making preparations for another attempt.
-These reports, however, attracted comparatively little attention, and no
-effective measures were taken to put a stop to proceedings which were so
-palpably in violation of our treaty engagements with Spain. The reported
-rising of the inhabitants of Cuba at Puerto Principe, which was noticed
-in our last Number, and which was grossly exaggerated in public prints
-throughout the country, had evidently been regarded by the Cubans in the
-United States as eminently favorable to the prosecution of their
-purposes. A party of about 480 men, led by Lopez himself, and commanded
-by subordinate officers, accordingly embarked on board the steamer
-Pampero, at New Orleans, and set out for Cuba. They intended to land in
-the central department of the island upon the southern coast, where the
-disaffection had been represented as most rife, and where they were,
-therefore, most sure of a favorable reception. But on touching at Key
-West for supplies, they were informed that a revolt had taken place in
-the Vuelta de Abajo, and Lopez accordingly resolved to land in that
-district. By some mistake, the nature of which has not been clearly
-explained, they missed their point of destination, and landed on the
-northern coast of the western department of the Island on the night of
-the 11th of August. The shore was deserted and they met no opposition.
-
-General Lopez left Colonel Crittenden at this point with about 100 men
-in charge of the stores and unnecessary arms, and advanced with the
-remainder of his command to the town of Las Pozas: the inhabitants,
-however, fled as he approached, neither joining his standard nor
-furnishing him with provisions or encouragement of any sort. The day
-after landing, Col. Crittenden was attacked by the Spanish troops--two
-bodies of infantry and one company of horse. This force was too strong
-for them. After struggling as long as possible, they withdrew from the
-field, and finding that neither Lopez himself, who was only three miles
-off, nor any of the inhabitants came to their aid, they resolved to
-return to the United States. They procured small boats, and had just got
-to sea when they were followed and captured on the 15th by the Spanish
-steamer Habanero. They were taken to Havana, and, on the 17th, were
-shot. It was at first reported that they had no trial, but were shot
-immediately, and that their bodies were horribly mutilated and every
-possible insult offered to their remains by the Cuban populace. These
-statements were, however, afterward contradicted. It was stated that
-they were properly tried, and condemned, and that after their execution
-they were decently interred. Several of them, and Colonel Crittenden
-among the number, wrote letters to their friends at home, all of which
-agreed that they had been grossly deceived as to the state of public
-feeling in Cuba, and that, so far as could be perceived, not the
-slightest disposition prevailed among the inhabitants of the Island to
-overthrow the Spanish government.
-
-General Lopez was attacked on the 13th by a large body of Spanish troops
-at Las Pozas; the action was severe, and the Spaniards were repulsed.
-The loss of Lopez was considerable, and among those who fell was Colonel
-Pragay, an officer who had served with distinction in Hungary. He lost
-in all about fifty men, but retained possession of the place. He soon
-perceived that all his hopes of aid from the inhabitants were
-groundless, and that it would be impossible to maintain himself against
-the Spanish troops; and determined to conceal himself in the mountains.
-On their march thither they met several Spanish detachments with whom
-they had successive engagements, suffering severely in each, and
-inflicting losses more or less serious upon their opponents. Among the
-Spaniards who fell was General Enna, a distinguished officer, who was
-buried at Havana on the 21st, with military pomp. At Martitorena on the
-24th, while the remaining body of the invaders were breakfasting, they
-were surprised by an overwhelming Spanish force, and completely
-scattered; and from that time forward they seem to have been zealously
-hunted by the inhabitants of all classes, and by every means. The
-official reports of the Spanish officers state that the peasants pursued
-them with dogs, that the negroes aided in their capture, and that every
-part of the population evinced the most active and devoted loyalty to
-the Spanish government. On the 28th, Lopez with only six followers, was
-endeavoring to conceal himself and escape to the sea coast, and on the
-29th, he was captured in the Pinos de Rangel, by a guide named Jose
-Antonio Castañeda, with fifteen peasants. He was at once handed over to
-a military force under Colonel Ramon de Sago, who had him conveyed by a
-night march to Havana, where orders were immediately issued for his
-execution, which took place at 7 o'clock on the morning of September
-1st. He perished by the _garrote vil_, an instrument in common use among
-the Spaniards. It consists of an iron chair, with a back, upon which, at
-a point even with the head of the person sitting in it, is the
-instrument of death. This consists of iron clasps made to fit the sides
-of the head, and a clasp to pass round the throat. From behind is a long
-iron bar attached to a screw, which put in motion by the executioner
-giving it a single turn, draws the throat and side pieces tight and at
-the same time sends an iron rod into the spinal marrow at the neck from
-behind, causing instantaneous death. This machine was placed upon a
-scaffold about ten feet high, in the middle of a large square,
-surrounded by troops. An eyewitness has given an account of the
-execution. He states that Lopez behaved like a brave man throughout--and
-walked, surrounded by a guard, to the steps of the scaffold, as coolly
-as if he were at the head of his troops. He was dressed in a long white
-gown, and a white cap; his wrists were tied in front and above his
-elbows behind, with the cords held by soldiers. He ascended the steps
-with two civilians, friends, but without a priest. He faced round and
-looked upon the soldiers, and the immense throng of people outside of
-the square, and then turned round and knelt in prayer for about one
-minute. He then rose and turned toward the front, and in a clear, manly
-voice, and in tones loud enough to be heard by the thousands present
-(for it was still as night), spoke as follows:--"Countrymen, I most
-solemnly, in this last awful moment of my life, ask your pardon for any
-injury I have caused you. It was not my wish to injure any one, my
-object was your freedom and happiness;" here he was interrupted by the
-commanding officer in front. He concluded, by saying, "My intention was
-good, and my hope is in God." He then bowed, and turned round and took
-his seat, apparently with as much coolness as if he were taking a chair
-in a room with friends. He placed his head back, between the iron
-grasps, the negro hangman then adjusted the iron throat clasp and tied
-his feet to bolts on each side of the seat. During this preparation,
-Lopez was in conversation with his friends. The executioner, then took
-his place at the iron bar behind. Lopez kissed the cross handed to him
-by his friend; the negro then gave one turn of the wrench, and Lopez
-died instantly without the least struggle. The military at once returned
-to the city, the band playing a quick step; the thousands dispersed with
-little or no noise; and thus ended the second invasion of Cuba.
-
-The intelligence of these proceedings, as it reached the United States,
-caused an intense excitement throughout the country. In the Southern
-States, and especially in New Orleans, where the expedition had been
-planned and prepared, the popular agitation was overwhelming. When the
-news of the execution of the fifty men under Colonel Crittenden reached
-New Orleans, with the report of the indignities shown to their dead
-bodies, a mob destroyed the office of a Spanish newspaper in that city,
-menaced and injured the shops of sundry Spanish inhabitants, and even
-sacked the house of the Spanish consul. Large meetings were held in all
-the principal cities of the United States, at which the conduct of the
-Spanish authorities was denounced, and active preparations were made for
-sending fresh reinforcements to the invaders. Subsequent accounts,
-however, and the interference of the Government, prevented the execution
-of these designs. The failure of Lopez cooled the ardor of that class of
-our population whose opinions of the morality and legality of any
-action, depend upon its success or failure; while the slightest
-reflection was sufficient to show the great mass of our people, that
-without a declaration of war against Spain by our Government, we had no
-right to invade her colonies. If a revolution had existed there, our
-people, as in the case of Texas, could have emigrated thither, and after
-becoming Cubans and abandoning all claims to American citizenship, have
-taken such part as they might see fit in the affairs of the island. But
-no such revolution existed. Lopez and those who acted with him were
-undoubtedly deceived as to the state of public sentiment in Cuba. No one
-can fail to regret the loss of so many noble spirits; but they put their
-lives upon the hazard of the die, and expected, in case of failure, the
-fate which they met. About 150 prisoners still remain in the hands of
-the colonial government; it is understood that their punishment will be
-commuted to imprisonment and transportation.
-
-Political conventions have been held in several States during the past
-month, to nominate officers for the coming elections. In Massachusetts
-the Whigs assembled at Springfield on the 10th of September, above one
-thousand delegates being in attendance. Hon. Robert C. Winthrop was
-nominated for Governor, receiving 811 out of 1033 votes, and George
-Grinnell, of Greenfield County, was nominated for Lieutenant-Governor.
-Edward Everett, George Ashmun, and Seth Sprague were chosen delegates
-from the State at large to the National Convention. A series of
-resolutions was adopted, declaring substantially, that the Constitution
-of the United States and the laws made in pursuance thereof, are the
-supreme law of the land, any thing in the constitution or laws of any
-State to the contrary notwithstanding, and that no citizen or State has
-any right to resist their execution, except in such extreme cases as
-justify violent resistance to the laws, on the principle of the natural
-and indefeasible prerogative of self-defense against intolerable
-oppression;--that the preservation of the Union transcends in importance
-any and all other political questions;--that the Whigs of Massachusetts
-will faithfully perform every duty imposed upon them by the Constitution
-of the United States, and they call upon their brethren in every section
-of the State to respect and observe all its provisions;--that they
-"cordially support the national administration in all its just and
-patriotic measures; in its generous sympathy with oppressed nations
-struggling for liberty in every part of the world; in its able and
-vigorous management of our foreign affairs; in its unwavering purpose to
-maintain inviolate our public faith with all nations; and in its sworn
-resolve to vindicate the integrity of the Union against all assaults
-from whatever quarter;"--that they have undiminished confidence in the
-comprehensive statesmanship of Daniel Webster;--that they cordially
-approve the agreement entered into by the Whigs of New York;--that they
-disapprove very decidedly of the present administration of State affairs
-in Massachusetts, and that they will use every exertion to secure the
-election of the Whig candidates put in nomination. The Democratic party
-held their Convention on the 20th of August. A series of resolutions was
-adopted declaring that "the Democratic party is preëminently national,
-anti-sectional, and for the Union as a whole Union--that it has always
-sustained, and can only regain its supremacy in the Union, by adhering
-to its own men and measures; reposing on its fundamental principle of
-excluding all tests marked by sectional lines, South or North, East or
-West; and by leaving to the sound sense of the people of each State and
-Territory their domestic policy and institutions;"--that they recommend
-a National Democratic Convention to be held at Baltimore in May,
-1852;--that they "deprecate as disunion in its worst form the attempts
-of any party or class of men to stigmatize and denounce one portion of
-the Union for its domestic institutions with which the Constitution does
-not interfere, and of the propriety of which each State is its own
-independent judge;"--that they approve the resolutions adopted in the
-National Democratic Convention of 1848;--and that they "go for a
-faithful execution of and acquiescence in all the Compromise measures
-settled by the last Congress." Charles G. Greene, Henry H. Childs, and
-Isaac Davis were appointed delegates to the National Convention. George
-S. Boutwell was nominated for Governor, and Henry W. Cushman for
-Lieutenant-Governor.
-
-In New York the Whig Convention met on the 11th at Syracuse. Only part
-of the State officers are to be chosen at the election this fall. George
-W. Patterson was nominated for Controller, James M. Cook for Treasurer,
-Samuel A. Foote for Judge of the Court of Appeals, James C. Forsyth for
-Secretary of State, Daniel Ullman Jr. for Attorney-General, Henry
-Fitzhugh for Canal Commissioner, and A. H. Wells for State Prison
-Inspector. Four very brief resolutions were adopted, declaring that the
-action of the two Whig State Committees at Albany, which was sketched in
-our last, was "the result of honorable and patriotic devotion to the
-Constitution, and for the best interests of the whole people, and that
-it is adopted and approved by this Convention;"--that to the entire
-completion of the Erie Canal and kindred public works the Whig party is
-fully pledged;--that those who supported the canal bill rendered a
-service to the State of such eminent value, that it has obtained for
-them the gratitude of every friend of the true prosperity of the State;
-and that the candidates nominated for State offices deserve and will
-receive the united support of the whole Whig party.--The Democratic
-Convention met at the same place on the 10th. Two days were spent in
-effecting an organization. A series of resolutions was adopted
-reaffirming the views and principles set forth in the resolutions
-adopted by the State Convention at Syracuse last year. The following
-gentlemen were nominated as the Democratic candidates for the several
-state offices:--John C. Wright for Controller; Henry S. Randall for
-Secretary of State; Levi S. Chatfield for Attorney-General; Benjamin
-Welch Jr. for Treasurer; Horace Wheaton for Canal Commissioner; W. J.
-M'Alpine for State Engineer; Gen. Storms for Inspector of State Prisons;
-and A. S. Johnson for Judge of the Court of Appeals.--In Maryland P. F.
-Thomas was nominated for Controller, James Murray for Commissioner of
-the Land Office, and T. R. Stewart for Lottery Commissioner, by the
-Democratic State Convention held on the 12th of September.
-
-A very severe storm swept over the whole southern coast of the United
-States and the West India Islands on the 18th of August. The damage to
-vessels and other property was very great. In the island of Porto Rico a
-great number of plantations and an immense number of cattle were
-destroyed, and many persons lost their lives. In the middle of West
-Florida, Georgia, and Alabama the gale was terribly destructive. The
-tobacco crop is said to have suffered severely.
-
-Advices from Texas give encouraging accounts of the cotton crop in that
-State. In both quality and quantity it will exceed that of ordinary
-years. A new military post has been established in the Clear Fork of the
-Brazos; and in the immediate vicinity, it is said, very large deposits
-of iron ore and of coal have been discovered. A very large trade in
-cattle has sprung up of late between Texas and New Orleans; the net
-proceeds of the trade this year are estimated at $120,000. The Boundary
-Commission is progressing slowly. When last heard from it was at the
-copper mines. The survey had been temporarily suspended, owing to an
-error in running the Boundary, making it 60 miles above El Paso, instead
-of 16, as required by the treaty. About 130 persons are attached to the
-American Commission, while the Mexican Commission has only seven. From
-El Paso we learn that a conflict occurred early in June between a
-considerable body of Apache Indians and a party of twelve Americans, on
-their way to California. The affray took place near the copper mines.
-The Americans were defeated, with a loss of two men killed and two
-wounded. Writers in the Texas papers, who have passed over the route to
-California from San Antonio and El Paso, state that it is far preferable
-to the usual route by way of Independence, Missouri. It is said to be
-shorter, cheaper, and less dangerous.
-
-Two more cases of the surrender of fugitive slaves have occurred in the
-State of New York during the month. A colored person, living at
-Poughkeepsie, and named John M. Boulding, was arrested there and brought
-to New York. Evidence was submitted to Mr. Nelson, a Commissioner under
-the law of 1850, which showed him to be the slave of Mr. Anderson, of
-South Carolina, whither he was immediately sent. The other case occurred
-at Buffalo, where a negro called Daniel was brought before Commissioner
-H. K. Smith. He was claimed under the tenth section of the act of 1850,
-a certified copy of the records of a court of Kentucky being produced,
-as required by that section, to prove him the property of a Mr. Rust.
-The Commissioner decided that the evidence was sufficient, but a _habeas
-corpus_ was granted by Judge Conklin of the U. S. District Court, and
-the case was argued before him. He decided that the tenth section of the
-law of 1850, could not apply to slaves who had escaped previous to the
-passage of the law; and as Daniel was alleged to have fled before that
-time, the evidence provided for by that section was insufficient. He was
-therefore discharged. This decision is one of a good deal of importance,
-as it essentially modifies the operation of the law.
-
-An election was held in Mississippi, on the 1st and 2d of September, for
-delegates to a State Convention, to consider what action Mississippi
-ought to take in regard to the action of the last Congress on the
-question of slavery. The majority of _Union_ delegates returned was very
-large; so decisive, indeed, was the result regarded as to the feeling of
-the State upon the subject, that Gen. Quitman, who was running against
-Senator Foote, as the secession candidate, immediately withdrew from the
-canvass.
-
-The American Association for the Advancement of Education held, the last
-of August, a very interesting meeting at Cleveland, Ohio. Many of the
-most distinguished teachers and friends of Education from widely distant
-parts of the country were in attendance, and the discussions were of
-decided interest. The new system of collegiate education recently
-introduced in Brown University, and adopted in the new University at
-Cleveland (allowing students to select such studies as they may deem
-most important to prepare them for their several pursuits in life, and
-giving them certificates of their actual attainments, instead of the
-usual diplomas), was thoroughly canvassed, both by its friends and its
-opponents. The chief defenders of the new system were President Mahan of
-Cleveland, and Prof. Greene of Brown University. Many other important
-subjects were also discussed, and the proceedings of the Association
-generally were such as are adapted to exert a wide and beneficent
-influence upon the cause of education.
-
-J. E. Caldwell, executor of the will of Elihu Creswell, of New Orleans,
-has addressed a letter to Gov. Hunt, of New York, asking him for
-suggestions as to the most desirable locality for fifty-one slaves,
-emancipated by Mr. Creswell, with directions that they should be removed
-to a free State. Gov. Hunt has published the letter of Mr. Caldwell,
-with an extract from the will, in order to elicit the desired
-information.
-
-The United States Commissioner to the Western Indians, with his suite,
-recently arrived in Galena, Ill., from Mendota and St. Paul. The treaty
-with the Lower Sioux bands was signed on the 5th of August. These bands
-are to receive, when they have reached their destination, some $225,000,
-to pay their debts and expenses of removal, and an annuity in money of
-about $30,000, for fifty years. The lands treated for with the lower
-bands amount to some sixteen millions of acres. They lie along and west
-of the Mississippi, from the Iowa State line north to the Falls of St.
-Anthony, and above. The amount to be paid for this immense territory,
-when the treaties will have been fully carried out, will amount to the
-sum of nearly three millions.
-
-From _California_ we have news to the first of August. There is little
-intelligence of special interest. The excitement in regard to Lynch law
-executions had subsided, and it was believed that the courts of law
-would hereafter be left to the exercise of their functions. The reports
-from the mining districts continue to be encouraging and the shipments
-of gold for August and September were likely to exceed those of any
-previous month. Numerous canals are to be constructed for the purpose of
-diverting the water of streams known to be rich in gold, and abundant
-preparations had been made for mining the quartz rock with heavy
-machinery. The belief is general that this is hereafter to be the main
-source of profitable mining. Agriculture is attracting increased
-attention. Indian hostilities have ceased on the southern and eastern
-borders, and broken out on the northern frontier. A military expedition,
-under command of Gen. J. M. Estell, is to accompany the Indian
-Commissioners, in their tour of negotiation, to Clear Lake, thence to
-the sources of the Sacramento. After which they will proceed to Klamath
-River. The hostile Indians on Rogue's River have been dispersed but not
-subdued. Navigation on the upper rivers is suspended on account of the
-low state of water. The two political parties were holding conventions
-in the various counties to nominate for the Legislature and for county
-offices. The four candidates for Congress have been busily engaged in
-canvassing. The project of dividing the State is still urged in some of
-the southern counties, which were once the seat of nearly all the
-Spanish establishments in this State, but which have lost all their
-political importance under the new _regime_.
-
-Rev. Stephen Olin, D.D., President of the Wesleyan University, died at
-his residence in Middletown, Conn., on the 16th of August. His health
-had not been strong for many years, and an attack of epidemic dysentery
-proved too much for his enfeebled frame. Born in Vermont, on the 2d of
-March, 1797, he received his academical education at Middlebury College,
-where he graduated with the highest honor. In 1824, he entered upon the
-ministry of the Gospel, in South Carolina, and soon became eminent as a
-pulpit orator. In 1830, he was called to a professorship in Franklin
-College, Ga., and in 1832 to the Presidency of Randolph Macon College,
-Va. The years from 1837 to 1841, he passed in an extended career of
-travel through Europe and the East: and the fruit of his observations in
-the latter region, have appeared in his two excellent volumes of
-"Travels in Egypt, Arabia Petræa, and the Holy Land" (Harper and
-Brothers). In 1842, he was chosen President of the Wesleyan University,
-and filled that office to the time of his death.
-
-Dr. Olin's reputation as an author must depend upon his Travels, and
-upon his published Discourses, which, it is to be hoped, will be
-gathered together in permanent form. The Travels are marked by quick and
-sagacious observation, considerable power of graphic description, and
-sound judgment. Dr. Olin's account of Egypt is the best, on the whole,
-in the language. The Discourses are massive, full of thought, and yet
-glowing with fervor. In breadth and comprehensiveness they are perhaps
-equal to any thing that the American pulpit has produced. It was,
-indeed, as a pulpit orator that Dr. Olin shone pre-eminently. His power
-consisted, not in any single quality--in force of reasoning--or fire of
-imagination--or heat of declamation--but in all combined. His course of
-argument was always clear and strong, yet interfused throughout with
-passion--the two inseparably united in a torrent that overwhelmed all
-who listened to him. Dr. Olin's personal qualities were those of the
-highest style of man. His nature was imaginative--so full of genial
-kindness as to win all hearts. None could be in his company even for a
-few moments without feeling this fascination, and at the same time
-without imbibing a deep reverence for the intellectual majesty of the
-man. He had, in a very remarkable degree, what Coleridge calls one of
-the highest characteristics of genius: "the power to carry forward the
-fresh feelings of childhood on through youth, and manhood, and age:"
-there was no decay of feeling, no sign of senility in failing of human
-interest or sympathy. With these qualities, it is not strange that he
-was sought for to fill high places in literary institutions, and that as
-President of a University, he was eminently useful and successful. He
-would have been equally distinguished, we are sure, in the world of
-letters, had not his work been hindered by lifelong disease. As it was,
-it is wonderful indeed that he accomplished so much.
-
-The Hon. Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire, died at Portsmouth, N. H., on
-the 4th of September, where he had suffered for a long while, under a
-painful disease. Mr. Woodbury was born at Francestown, New Hampshire,
-about the year 1790, was graduated with a high reputation for
-scholarship at Dartmouth College in 1809, and was admitted to the bar in
-1812. He practiced his profession with distinguished success, and
-rapidly rose to a high rank in it. When the Democratic party acquired
-the ascendency in the State, in 1816, he was appointed Secretary of
-State; and at the commencement of the next year, a Judge of the Superior
-Court. In 1819 he removed to Portsmouth, the commercial capital of New
-Hampshire, where he resided the remainder of his life, with the
-exception of the intervals when his official duties called him to
-Washington. Mr. Woodbury was elected Governor of New Hampshire in 1822,
-and in 1825 a Senator of the United States. General Jackson appointed
-him Secretary of the Navy in 1831, and subsequently, on the rejection of
-Mr. Taney by the Senate, Secretary of the Treasury. He continued in the
-office till the close of Mr. Van Buren's presidency, when he resumed his
-seat in the Senate. During the administration of Mr. Polk, he was
-appointed one of the Judges of the Supreme Court, and had withdrawn from
-the more active scenes of political life.
-
-James Fenimore Cooper, the distinguished American novelist, died at his
-residence at Cooperstown, N. Y., on the 14th of September. He was born
-at Burlington, New Jersey, on the 15th of September, 1789. His father, a
-judge of some distinction, was a large landholder in Otsego County, and
-gave his name to one of its townships. Mr. Cooper received the rudiments
-of his education under a private tutor in Burlington, and entered Yale
-College in 1802. In 1805 he entered the navy of the United States as a
-midshipman, and remained in that service six years. No reader of his sea
-novels can fail to trace upon them the influence of this portion of his
-experience. In 1810 he left the navy, married, and settled in
-Westchester County, New York, whence he soon removed to Cooperstown and
-wrote his first novel, entitled Precaution. Although this work gave
-small promise of the brilliant literary career upon which he entered, he
-continued to write, and soon published that series of tales of early
-American life which have won for him such enviable distinction. In 1826
-he sailed for Europe, and remained there several years, where he wrote
-several of his best sea novels. Since his return he has written several
-tales, using them chiefly as a medium of political opinions, and of
-course sacrificing much of the success and distinction which his
-previous works had acquired. Some of his strictures upon the faults of
-American character and social life, subjected him for some years to a
-very warm and bitter hostility. His health had been seriously impaired
-for the last few months. Intelligence of his death will be received
-with profound regret throughout the world.
-
-Rev. Thomas H. Gallaudet, LL.D., well known as the pioneer of deaf-mute
-instruction in this country, died at Hartford, Conn., on the 10th of
-September, at the age of 64. Dr. G. first became interested in the cause
-to which his after life was devoted in 1807, having succeeded in
-conveying instruction to a deaf and dumb daughter of Dr. Cogswell in
-Hartford; and through the efforts of that gentleman he was commissioned
-to visit Europe for the purpose of qualifying himself to become a
-teacher of the Deaf and Dumb in this country. Seven gentlemen of
-Hartford subscribed a sufficient amount of funds to defray his expenses,
-and on the 25th of May, 1815, Mr. Gallaudet sailed for Europe.
-Meanwhile, the friends of the project employed the interval of time in
-procuring an act of incorporation from the Legislature of Connecticut,
-which was accomplished in May, 1816. In May, 1819, the name of "the
-American Asylum at Hartford for the Education and Instruction of the
-Deaf and Dumb," was bestowed by the Legislature on the first Institution
-for the deaf-mutes established in the United States. After spending
-several months in the assiduous prosecution of his studies, under the
-Abbé Sicard and others, Mr. Gallaudet returned to this country in
-August, 1816. He was accompanied by Mr. Laurent Clerc, a deaf and dumb
-Professor in the Institution of Paris, and well-known in Europe as a
-most intelligent pupil of the Abbé. Mr. Clerc is now living in a
-vigorous old age, and is still a teacher in the American Asylum at
-Hartford. The Asylum was opened on the 15th of April, 1817, and during
-the first week of its existence numbered seven pupils; it now averages
-220 annually. Mr. Gallaudet became the Principal of the Institution at
-its commencement, and held the office until April, 1830, when he
-resigned, and has since officiated as Chaplain of the Retreat for the
-Insane at Hartford. His interest in the cause of deaf-mute education has
-always continued unabated, and his memory will be warmly cherished by
-that unfortunate class of our fellow beings as well as by a large circle
-of devoted friends.
-
-Rev. Sylvester Graham, the founder and untiring advocate of the
-Vegetarian System of dietetics, died at Northampton, Mass., on Thursday,
-Sept. 11. Dr. Graham was chiefly known for his strict adherence to the
-system which, for some time, bore his name. His writings on the subject
-were numerous and popular, and his labors, as a lecturer, were
-incessant. The most important of his works are, _Lectures on the Science
-of Human Life_, first published in Boston in 1839; and _Lectures to
-Young Men on Chastity_. The "Science of Human Life," is a work in two
-large volumes, containing a systematic and in some degree, a scientific
-exposition of the author's peculiar views, and has had a rapid sale. It
-passed through several editions in this country, and has lately been
-reprinted in England, where its sale is quite extensive. Dr. Graham was
-a native of Suffield, Ct., and at the time of his death was aged about
-55. His character evinced energy and decision, and his influence on the
-public mind was rather beneficial than deleterious. Of his theories,
-each will form his own judgment; the projector, at least, was
-undoubtedly honest and sincere in sustaining them.
-
-Prof. Beverly Tucker, of William and Mary College, Virginia, died at
-Winchester on the 26th ult. Mr. Tucker was one of the Federal Judges of
-the Territory of Missouri before its admission as a State; and was
-subsequently State Judge in Virginia for a number of years, when he
-resigned, and accepted the chair of Professor of Law at William and Mary
-College. He was a member of the last Nashville Convention, and is known
-as the author of a work published fifteen years ago, entitled _The
-Partisan Leader_. Mr. Tucker's age was about 67.
-
-
-CANADA.
-
-The Canadian Parliament was prorogued by the Governor-General on the
-30th of August. The Royal Speech represents the revenue as in a
-satisfactory state, and refers to the grants for improving the
-navigation of the St. Lawrence, and to the reduction of the emigrant
-tax. Six bills were reserved for the approval of the Queen, three of
-which relate to churches and rectories, two to the reduction of
-salaries, and one to the incorporation of the Fort Erie and Buffalo
-Suspension Bridge Company. The reciprocity question was left unsettled.
-The reductions in the civil list authorized by the Imperial Government
-have been carried out by the Legislature. The salaries of the Chief
-Justices and that of the Chancellor are to be reduced from $4,800 to
-$3,600 a year, upon the departure of the present incumbents from office.
-The question of seignorial tenure was discussed at this session, and
-although no final action was taken upon it, a bill was introduced which
-will probably come up again. The subject is one of great interest to the
-people of Canada, and will not be allowed to drop. The law of
-promogeniture in the succession of real estate has been abolished in
-Upper Canada. This is the most democratic measure that has been passed
-during the present Parliament, and it can not fail to exert a highly
-beneficial influence on the future condition of the Province. A set of
-resolutions has been passed granting 50 acres of land each to certain
-companies of enrolled military pensioners from England, whom it is
-intended to station in different parts of the province. It is intended
-that they shall be ready to act as a local police, and also be employed
-on the public works.
-
-
-SOUTH AMERICA.
-
-The arrival of the steamer Georgia, on the 7th of September, put us in
-possession of later news from the Pacific coast of South America. In
-_Guayaquil_ a military outbreak, excited, so far as appears, solely by
-personal resentments, has resulted in a complete change of the
-administration. The President, Gen. Neuva, left Querto on the 17th of
-July for the purpose of visiting his family at Guayaquil. On approaching
-that city he was met by a military cavalcade, ostensibly for the purpose
-of escorting him in: but he was immediately seized by them, and hurried
-off to sea in a vessel lying in the river; the destination of the
-vessel, and the fate of the captive were unknown. Gen. Urbina
-immediately entered upon the administration of affairs. In _Chili_, Don
-Manual Montt has been elected President by an overwhelming majority. He
-was understood to be in favor of internal improvements and of a more
-effectual promotion of education. The Copiapo Railroad was to be opened
-in September. Congress was in session the last of July, but no important
-business engaged its attention. In 1850 the public revenue amounted to
-$4,334,314, and the expenditures to $3,610,837, including over three
-hundred thousand dollars remitted to England to pay interest on the loan
-contracted there. The whole English debt is now about seven millions of
-dollars. A very severe storm swept the harbor of Valparaiso in the early
-part of July. The damage to shipping, both Chilian and American, was
-very considerable. In _Bolivia_, the decree allowing foreign goods to be
-entered at a lower duty from vessels that had not touched at other
-ports, has been revoked. In _Peru_, Congress was still in session. The
-legislative and executive branches of the government are represented as
-being on the best of terms with each other, so that affairs are
-conducted with a good degree of promptness and efficiency. A bill has
-been urged in Congress for the greater extension of the freedom of
-trade, and another to prohibit the circulation in that Republic of
-Bolivian money. Several bills of decided local importance engaged the
-attention of Congress. There has been during the past year a very large
-export from Chili, chiefly of wheat and flour, amounting to two hundred
-thousand dollars more than during the previous year. In _New Grenada_,
-it is said there are new disturbances. The government levied a forced
-loan, and further decreed that the friends of the government should be
-exempted from its payment. In several provinces the decree had the
-effect of converting nearly the whole population into a government
-party; but in Bogota and Carthagena it had the opposite effect.
-Arrangements were in progress for an extensive revolt, and it was said
-that it had commenced at Bogota, but with what result is not clear.
-
-From _Mexico_ later advices have been received,--to August 22d from the
-capital and the 29th from Vera Cruz. The hostility of the government to
-the fulfillment of its treaty stipulations concerning the Tehuantepec
-Canal continues unabated; and it is stated that two vessels sent from
-New Orleans to commence the work were seized by the Mexican authorities.
-The financial condition of the country continues to engross attention,
-but no one of the numerous projects offered for its relief seems likely
-to be adopted. The ministerial plan calling a convention of the
-Governors of the several Provinces, meets with very little favor. The
-appropriation of the Church property to the necessities of the
-Government has been warmly recommended by some of the public journals.
-The estates of the clergy and of various religious incorporations amount
-to $50,000,000. This sum, which has been accumulating in unproductive
-hands for the last three centuries, it was maintained, would save the
-country from bankruptcy and ruin.
-
-The Mexican Senate has passed an act recommending a general
-Confederation among the Spanish American republics. A plan for
-accomplishing this object is detailed, of which the most marked features
-are a general Congress, a uniform political system, a general act of
-navigation and commerce, an alliance offensive and defensive, and a
-tribunal for the settlement of differences. The project is a good one,
-but there seems to be little chance of its being carried out. In
-Durango, a popular commotion occurred on the 17th of August, in
-consequence of the high price of corn, but it was quelled without
-bloodshed, by an order from the government compelling the holders of the
-article to reduce its price. In Vera Cruz, on the 21st, a very large
-number of the inhabitants, including some of the National Guard,
-assembled to ask of the local government relief from recent and very
-oppressive taxes. Some of the soldiers were ordered out to oppose them,
-when the people retired to their houses and prepared for defense. A
-brisk action ensued in which several were killed, but quiet was restored
-by the announcement that the local government had yielded to the popular
-demands. President Arista's birthday was celebrated on the 25th of July.
-He has dissolved a club formed for the purpose of regulating the annual
-celebration of Mexican Independence, as some of its regulations did not
-meet his approbation. An abortive attempt at a pronunciamiento in favor
-of Santa Anna has been made at Guanajuato. The plot, which probably had
-plunder for its chief object, was discovered before it had come to
-maturity, and the leaders were taken into custody. A revolution has
-broken out in Chiapas, aiming at the abolition of the internal Custom
-Houses. Col. Munoz, commanding the battalion of Guerrero in Tehuantepec,
-was ordered to proceed to Chiapas and aid the government party in the
-suppression of the rebellion. His men began to desert soon after the
-commencement of the march, and before he had advanced fifty miles from
-Tehuantepec he had not more then seventy men. The revolt is headed by
-Meldono, one of the wealthiest and most influential men in the State.
-
-A good deal of excitement has been produced in Mexico by the publication
-of the letters of Payno, to the President of the Committee of Mexican
-bond-holders in London. It seems that the assertion of Payno that he was
-Chargé d'Affaires of the Mexican Legation in London, and was
-commissioned to adjust certain matters pending in Europe, was entirely
-destitute of foundation. On the publication of the letter containing
-these statements, and others equally untrue, a resolution was introduced
-into the Chamber of Deputies, inquiring by what authority Payno had
-received the appointment of chargé, and how much money was appropriated
-to his mission. The Minister replied that Payno had never received the
-commission from the Government, but that $20,000 had been applied to
-defraying the expense of the voyage. In consequence of this information,
-a complaint was lodged against the former Minister of Finance, and of
-Foreign Relations. The affair was also taken up by the Senate, which has
-recommended Lacunza as Minister to England.
-
-From _Montevideo_ we have intelligence to the first of July. The aspect
-of affairs in Brazil and Buenos Ayres was by no means pacific. The
-Brazilian force under Admiral Grenfell, the Commander-in-chief, had
-penetrated the waters of the Uraguay, and were stationed at commanding
-points along the north bank of the river. The disaffection of the
-province of Entre Rios had been followed by that of Corrientes, warlike
-preparations were in train; and every thing threatened a general
-outbreak. The mediation of Great Britain had been accepted by Gen.
-Rosas. The slave-trade on the coast of Brazil was at a low ebb, a deep
-laid scheme for its revival having been defeated by the British
-squadron. Only 1000 slaves were landed during the first six months of
-1851, while no less than 20,000 were landed in the same period of 1848.
-
-From the island of _Hayti_ our advices are to the middle of August.
-Every thing was then quiet. The Emperor had returned to Cape Haytien
-from his tour, having crossed the Dominican frontier without being
-molested, and it was reported that the difficulties between the
-Dominican and Haytian governments have been amicably settled.
-
-An eruption of the long dormant volcanoes of the Pellée Mountain, in
-Martinique, took place on the night of August 5. It was accompanied with
-a noise similar to the approach of thunder, and with a strong vibration
-that was felt to a considerable distance. The town of St. Pierre, as
-well as all the surrounding country, was covered over with gray ashes.
-The population of Prêcheur were obliged to flee from their homes, and to
-take refuge in St. Pierre. There was no shock of an earthquake.
-
-
-GREAT BRITAIN.
-
-Parliament was prorogued on the 9th of August by the Queen in person,
-until the 4th of September. The speech of her Majesty contained nothing
-of special interest or importance.
-
-No event in England has created more excitement, or engaged more
-attention, during the past month than the visit and performances of the
-yacht _America_, built in New York, and owned by John C. Stevens, Esq.,
-who commands her. She arrived at Cowes early in July, and her commander
-immediately offered to sail her against any vessel of a similar
-construction in the world, for any wager up to $50,000. Public attention
-was instantly attracted to her by the reports of pilots and others who
-had seen her, and she was visited by thousands and thousands of people
-from every part of England, but her challenge was not accepted. On the
-18th there was a race of seventeen yachts, owned by gentlemen from every
-part of the kingdom, contending for the prize of the gold cup, which the
-Queen gives every year to the best yacht in the kingdom. The _America_
-was entered for the race, and won it so easily, as to excite the
-unbounded admiration and applause of the unsuccessful competitors. On
-the 25th there was another race, by the squadron; but the _America_ was
-not entered. The wind was light, and the last vessel of the squadron had
-been under weigh sixty-five minutes when the _America_ hoisted sail and
-followed. The race was round the Isle of Wight, and she came in only ten
-minutes behind the winner. Mr. Stephenson, the distinguished engineer,
-offered to sail his yacht, the _Titania_, for a small wager against the
-_America_. The offer was accepted, and the race came off on the 28th of
-Aug. The wind was fresh, and the course was forty miles out, and forty
-back. Earl Wilton was umpire. The _America_ won the race by a long
-distance. The Queen, with Prince Albert and the royal family, visited
-the yacht on the 20th. The spirit of England is thoroughly roused by
-this unlooked-for defeat; but they are unbounded in their expressions of
-admiration for the vessel which has conquered them. Several new cutters
-are to be built immediately for the express purpose of contending with
-the _America_.
-
-The Royal Commissioners of the Great Exhibition have resolved to close
-it on the 11th of October. A meeting of the Commissioners will be held
-on the 15th, for the purpose of taking leave of the exhibitors, and
-immediately after they will have permission to remove their goods. The
-number of visitors has fallen off considerably.
-
-A great meeting was held in Dublin on the 19th of August, of Roman
-Catholics from all parts of the kingdom, to protest against the
-Ecclesiastical Titles Bill just enacted. Immediately after the call was
-issued, a Protestant clergyman, named Tresham Gregg, issued a notice
-that he would be there to confront the Catholics, and summoned all true
-Protestants to his aid. This notice, and the general excitement which
-prevailed, led to anticipations of violence. An immense concourse of
-people was present. Admittance was refused to Mr. Gregg and his party,
-and the collision was thus avoided. A large number of Roman Catholic
-prelates were in attendance. The most Rev. Dr. Cullen, Archbishop of
-Armagh, and Primate of all Ireland, presided, and read a long address,
-urging Catholics every where to take measures to preserve their
-religion. Several speeches were made by distinguished Catholics,
-generally urging a political union of all Catholics, without reference
-to other political questions. An ostentatious disregard of the late law
-was shown in the constant use of the ecclesiastical titles prohibited by
-it.
-
-The condition of laboring men in parts of England finds striking
-exemplification in an incident which occurred at a colliery in
-Bedminster. Several persons had been killed by the breaking of the rope
-upon which the miners daily descended 240 feet to their work. It
-appeared upon the trial that the workmen knew that the rope was unsafe,
-but they had not dared to complain, lest they should lose their
-places--"poor men are tied down so tight now." One of the witnesses, a
-collier, after giving his testimony, said, "for the evidence I have
-given this day, I shall be out of work."
-
-The Exhibition, and the official visit to Paris, have aroused writers in
-England to a sense of their own clumsiness and artistic inferiority to
-the French. In all departments of art, and especially in the graces and
-elegancies of life, the English feel themselves to be far behind their
-neighbors. The _Times_ suggests, as one step toward remedying the evil,
-that Cleopatra's Needle should be brought to London, as the Luxor was to
-Paris, and erected as a monument to Sir Ralph Abercromby. It can be
-procured, and the cost of removal is estimated at £2500.
-
-The English Government has granted new pensions of £200 a year to Mr. J.
-Silk Buckingham, who is well known in this country, and the same amount
-to Col. Torrens, the author of several works on political economy. Mrs.
-Jamieson, whose admirable books upon Shakspeare's female characters are
-universally known, has received a pension of £100.
-
-Alderman Salomons, the Jewish representative of Greenwich, whose
-forcible exclusion from the House of Commons was noticed in our last,
-has been honored with a public dinner by his constituents. He declared
-his belief that public opinion would demand the rescinding of the
-obnoxious oath, but declared his purpose to commence a systematic
-canvass of the country for the purpose of hastening that event. He
-assures his constituents that, with their support, he "will not be got
-rid of" by the government.
-
-The management of English railways is generally supposed to be so nearly
-perfect that accidents never occur. Though their police is, as a general
-thing, superior to that of the American railways, recent accounts
-chronicle a very large number of serious mishaps. On the Great Western
-road, a train, having broken down in a tunnel, was run into by another
-which was not warned of the danger. On the Lancashire Railway, near
-Liverpool, part of a bridge had been taken down for the purpose of being
-repaired. A luggage-train was suffered to come up in the night without
-any notification, and of course ran into the gap. Several minor
-accidents in various parts of the kingdom are chronicled, showing very
-culpable negligence on the part of the railway police.
-
-The leading authors of England have petitioned the Master of the Rolls
-for leave to examine the records of the realm gratuitously. Their
-request has been granted. At a time when the historical records of the
-past enter so largely into the literary productions of the day, this is
-a boon of decided importance.
-
-Mr. Jerdan, who was for many years the editor of the London Literary
-Gazette, is said to be engaged in preparing his Reminiscences of
-Literary Men, and his Correspondence with them, for the press. His long
-connection with the literary circles of England must have given him
-unusual facilities for making such a work valuable and interesting.
-Among the London announcements of new books in press we observe a novel,
-entitled "Marian Withers," by Geraldine E. Jewsbury, the author of
-_Zoe;_ one of the most powerful novels of the day.
-
-The London _Examiner_ states that Haynau, the notorious Austrian
-General, has taken up his residence upon a large estate which he has
-just purchased in Hungary. It is said that he omits no opportunity of
-making himself popular with the Magyars; that he pays assiduous court to
-the nobility, many of whom were sentenced by his courts-martial; that he
-joins the Hungarians in denouncing the Austrian attempt to monopolize
-the sale of tobacco, and says that throughout the Hungarian war, he was
-only the tool of the Austrian government. He declares that there is no
-country in Europe he likes so well as England, and speaks of the beating
-he received there with perfect complacency. It is difficult to believe
-all these statements, though the _Examiner_ vouches for their accuracy.
-
-
-FRANCE.
-
-The French National Assembly met on the 9th for the last time of the
-session, and then adjourned until the 4th of November. A manifesto was
-at once issued by the Republican members, complaining that the sovereign
-power was in the hands of men opposed to all reforms, but predicting a
-certain victory as the fruit of union, perseverance, and devotedness on
-the part of the people. The document declares that the Constitution is
-the supreme law, and must be maintained inviolate; and that any attempt
-to re-elect Bonaparte, or to prolong existing powers, will not be a
-crisis, but a revolution; that resistance to all such attempts will be
-"legitimate as right, holy as justice, sacred as liberty;" and that the
-Republican members, under the flag of the Constitution, will not fail in
-any of the duties which the salvation of the Republic may impose upon
-them.
-
-Preparations for the coming Presidential election are in active
-progress. The Orleanists seem to be settling down upon the Prince de
-Joinville as their candidate, and several of the most distinguished
-among them, recently paid a visit to the Duke of Nemours to ascertain
-the feelings of the family in regard to it. The conversation seems not
-to have been very satisfactory: the most that the Duke would say was,
-that they would not be responsible for the action of their friends. The
-Republicans have not yet fixed upon a candidate.
-
-Public attention in France has been drawn to the trial at Lyons of a
-number of persons charged with conspiracy. It seems that in November
-last a club was discovered there, of which a person named Gent was a
-leading member. His plan is said to have been to give the southern
-provinces a thorough secret organization, so as to enable them to rise
-on a given signal, to secure the frontiers of Switzerland and Savoy as a
-means of assistance or retreat, and to take steps to inflame the whole
-country, and thus bring about a general republican movement. The trial
-had not been concluded at our last advices.
-
-A singular accident occurred at the funeral ceremonies of Marshal
-Sebastiani, at the Invalides in Paris, on the 13th. The flame of a wax
-candle was brought in contact with the hangings of the catafalque, and
-the whole splendid drapery of the church was speedily in a blaze. Before
-the fire could be extinguished, nearly one half of the magnificent
-collection of trophies taken by the French armies were destroyed.
-
-The grand fête given by the authorities of Paris to the Lord Mayor of
-London and the Commissioners of the great Exhibition, had a brilliant
-and successful termination. The mutual compliments of the visit were
-closed by a correspondence between M. Charles Dupin, the President of
-the French Commission, and Prince Albert. M. Dupin wrote to acknowledge
-the courtesies received by the Committee during their visit to the
-Exhibition, and to thank the Prince for the conspicuous part he had
-taken in it. The constant attendance of the Queen, and her success "in
-conquering suffrages and good wishes among the representatives of all
-nations, in favor of a work which she still cherished as that of the
-father of her children," are gracefully noticed. M. Dupin, after
-remarking that "Art, like Nature, loves to scatter her gifts among the
-children of great national families, and that they could thus honor, on
-different grounds, genius, taste, imagination, reason, in nations whose
-brilliant variety constitutes the riches and splendor of the human
-race," designates the real service which the Great Exhibition will
-render the world, by saying, that "each nation, without affecting its
-character, may add to its well-being, its riches, its power, by
-judiciously borrowing from the discoveries and improvements of other
-nations. Here," he says, "each people sees its products side by side
-with those of all others, and often sees them surpassed. Pride, which
-grows while favored by isolation, is here abased, and reason profits by
-the opportunity. Each nation, instead of dreaming of self-sufficiency
-and inborn superiority, vows to improve in the future. Thus we shall see
-new efforts attempted in every country, to ameliorate the productions of
-the human race." Prince Albert, in his reply, tendered his thanks to the
-President for his kind expressions, and to the Commissioners for their
-attention and care.
-
-
-GERMANY AND SOUTHERN EUROPE.
-
-The intelligence from Germany is neither interesting nor important. The
-Sovereigns of Austria and Prussia seem to be acting together for the
-entire suppression of every thing like constitutional rights and liberty
-in the German states. A proposition is about to be laid before the Diet
-by these two powers, declaring that "the so-called fundamental rights of
-the German people," proclaimed in the Constitutions of 1848 and 1849,
-are neither valid as a law of the Empire, nor binding on the several
-states, and they be therefore repealed, with all laws based upon
-them.--In the Italian dominions of Austria, the state of things is
-gloomy and ominous. Arrests of compromised persons are continually made
-in Milan and Verona. In the latter city, one of the new prisoners was a
-lady of rank, accused of forwarding a correspondence to Mazzini. A
-system of espionage has been adopted in the Venetian provinces of
-Austria, unparalleled for its inquisitorial and oppressive character, in
-the history of the most despotic states. Many persons belonging to the
-higher classes have been arrested in Verona, and nearly every night
-domiciliary visits are made by the police. The public mind throughout
-Austrian Italy is described as in a state of the most violent
-excitement, and insurrection is apprehended by government. Marshal
-Radetzky published a proclamation to the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom on
-the 9th of July, and from his head-quarters at Monga. The
-Lombardo-Venetian kingdom is declared to be in a state of siege; the
-communes are made responsible for all assassinations similar to that of
-Vandoni at Milan; and the inhabitants will be severely dealt with if
-they do not immediately surrender all such offenders to the military.
-
-Two musical artists have been made victims to the paltry prosecution of
-the Austrian government. Mdlle. Anna Zerr, for having visited two of the
-Hungarian exiles resident in London, and for having consented to sing at
-a concert for the relief of the Hungarian refugees, has, on her return
-to Vienna, been deprived of her place of Imperial Chamber-singer,
-prohibited from appearing on the stage of the Imperial Theatre, where
-she was one of the most distinguished performers, and placed under the
-surveillance of the police. And Leopold Iansa, an eminent violinist,
-who has been for many years in the Imperial Chapel, was dismissed for a
-similar offense.
-
-The Austrian authorities recently opened packages addressed to the
-United States consulate at Venice. Mr. Flagg, the American consul,
-remonstrated, and was told in reply, that the government claimed the
-right to examine all publications introduced into the Venetian States,
-no matter from what quarter or to what address. Several communications
-have passed upon the subject.
-
-In _Switzerland_ there have been heavy inundations which in the canton
-of Berne alone have caused losses to the amount of about £100,000.
-Active preparations are making for the coming election, in which it is
-supposed the radical party will resort to extreme measures, if
-necessary, for the accomplishment of their purposes.
-
-Dr. Paulus, a distinguished German scholar, died at Heidelberg, on the
-10th of August, at the advanced age of 94 years. In 1784 he was
-appointed Professor of Oriental Languages at Jena, and in 1793 succeeded
-to the chair of theology. His profound learning, penetrating judgment,
-marked courage, and unwearied assiduity, obtained for his numerous
-writings a very wide circulation. He was exceedingly amiable in private
-life and was always employed in endeavors to promote the interest of
-piety, virtue, and humanity.
-
-A terrible catastrophe took place at Moscow, on the 20th July. As the
-monks of the convent of Wladimir were setting out in procession to visit
-an image of the Virgin at a neighboring village, a wooden bridge thrown
-over the moat of the convent (formerly a fortress) gave way, and out of
-200 of the monks, 158 were drowned; the water being 45 feet deep, and
-the sides of the moat perpendicular.
-
-The Austrian authorities in Hungary are resorting to the most unheard-of
-cruelties in order to crush the spirit of the people. At a peasant's
-wedding lately, near Groswardein, the _gendarmes_ approached the bride
-and ordered her to take off the red, white, and green ribbons which she
-wore in her hair, as these colors were revolutionary. The reply was that
-it should be done after the ceremony. While the bride was kneeling at
-the altar the _gendarme_ rushed forward and cut her tresses from her
-head. The peasants resented the indignity, and an affray ensued, in
-which three of the _gendarmes_ and four of the peasantry, including the
-bridegroom, were killed.
-
-We mentioned last month the release of Mr. Brace, the American traveler
-in Hungary, who had been arrested and thrown into prison by the Austrian
-authorities upon the most frivolous grounds. His release was procured by
-Mr. McCurdy, who threatened to demand his own passports, if it was not
-conceded. It seems that further proceedings of interest may be expected.
-Mr. M. promised that Mr. Brace should present himself for trial. The
-London _Spectator_ remarks that "this trial will be watched with
-interest, it will take place in the sight of Europe and America, and
-also in the sight of Hungary. The oppressed subjects of Austria will see
-the right of personal freedom vindicated, in the person of a gentleman
-whose own government will do no more than insist on the strict
-fulfillment of the law, but will not be content with less. Austria will
-be obliged to submit to the law, and will be forced to that hateful
-submission at the dictation of a distant State. It will be brought to
-that submission, that dictation, before the eyes of Europe, even before
-its own subjects. It will be a very instructive trial."
-
-It is stated upon what is believed to be good authority, that the
-Turkish Government has definitively determined that Kossuth shall be set
-at liberty on the 1st of September. The Austrian Government has warmly
-and steadily protested against his release, but without effect. The
-government of the United States has sent a national vessel to receive
-him upon his liberation, and his arrival in the United States may be
-expected by the 1st of November. No man living would receive a warmer
-welcome.
-
-
-THE EAST.
-
-The English government has directed the seizure of another large
-_Indian_ territory, part of the Nizam's dominions, to enforce the
-payment of a large sum of money with interest. It is thought that the
-Nizam can and will pay at the last moment; but if not, it is not
-probable that his sway over his own dominions will hereafter be more
-than nominal. At Gobindpore on the 14th of June, seventy prisoners were
-chained together in a hut for safe keeping. During the night, the hut
-took fire and all but five perished.
-
-The news from _China_ represents the insurrection in the southern
-provinces as one of magnitude and great political importance. It is said
-that one of the leaders has assumed to himself the title of sovereign,
-and that the insurgents, numbering a hundred thousand, menace the city
-of Canton. The Chinese journals take very different views of the
-character of this disturbance, some considering it as merely the work of
-a few desperadoes, seeking only pillage, and others attributing to it
-the highest political consequence. The emperor is said to be
-considerably alarmed, and has sent against them his choicest troops.
-
-The London _Spectator_ thinks it highly probable that the malcontents
-are masters of all the provinces south of the Yellow River, and have
-seized upon the great entrepot of Canton. This, it adds, would be a
-revolution; for Pekin, which derives its supplies of provisions by the
-great canal from those southern provinces, would be starved into
-submission; and the principal seat of foreign commerce would fall into
-the hands of a party more bigotedly hostile to intercourse with
-foreigners than even the Celestial Government. Nor is such a revolution
-either impossible or improbable. Our knowledge of Chinese history is dim
-and obscure; yet enough appears to show that the Mantchoo authority has
-never been so firmly established to the south as to the north of the
-Yellow River--that the purely Chinese element of society has always
-preponderated in the southern provinces. In _Siam_, too, changes of
-policy appear to be impending. The king who refused to treat with Sir
-James Brooke is dead; and a contested succession has been temporarily
-avoided by the simultaneous nomination of a king and a vice-king. The
-new king has always been remarkable for his disposition to cultivate the
-acquaintance and friendship of foreigners, and he is said to understand
-and even to write English. The institutions of the Chinese and
-Hindu-Chinese nations are thus shaken and sapped at the very time when
-the traders of Europe and America are making more vigorous and
-continuous efforts than at any former period to obtain a footing in
-them.
-
-Twenty-three British seamen belonging to the ship Larpent, were wrecked
-over a year ago upon the coast of the Chinese island of Formosa. They
-were immediately set upon by the savage inhabitants, and all but three
-butchered in cold blood. These three were taken into servitude, and
-after about eight months' captivity made their escape in a boat to an
-American brig which happened to be passing.
-
-
-
-
-Editor's Table.
-
-
-In the extreme western portion of the North American continent, and of
-the North American National Confederacy, there are now to be found,
-growing side by side, two of the most singular phenomena of the age. We
-allude to the new social and political organization, constituting the
-State of California, and the new theocracy, as it is assumed to be, of
-the Mormon Commonwealth or Church--the one the most decidedly secular of
-all known modern enterprises, the other the only example of the rise of
-a new religion, and of a distinctly new religious people in the 19th
-century. Mormonism, it is true, has some decidedly secular elements. In
-this respect it easily assimilates itself to the gross spirit of worldly
-enterprise by which it is surrounded, and even finds itself at home in
-the midst of the most turbulent scenes. But this is far from accounting
-for its wonderful success. It is also true, on the other hand, that the
-present age has been marked by the division and subdivision of religious
-denominations. Yet still, none of these come up to that idea or
-pretension of Mormonism, which seems now to have presented itself in the
-world for the first time since the days of Mohammed. Although,
-therefore, acknowledging Christianity and the Old Scriptures, just as
-Mohammed did, it is distinctly a new religion. It claims a new
-revelation, and a new prophet. It has a new law, a new spiritual polity,
-and a new mission. Instead of being merely a new interpretation of an
-old theology, it professes to have renewed the long-suspended
-intercourse with Heaven and the supernatural. Instead of presenting a
-new dispensation growing out of an old ecclesiastical history, to which
-it assumes to impart a new life, it has actually created a past history
-of its own, which, though severed from the main current of our common
-traditional Christianity, connects it back, through passages never
-before suspected or explored, with the early Jewish revelation--or that
-original fountain from which the Gospel and Mohammedanism may be said to
-have derived, the one its reality and its purity, the other the
-materials for its fanatical perversions.
-
-Whatever may be the truth in respect to the real origin and authorship
-of the book of Mormon, there can be no doubt of its wonderful
-adaptedness to the purposes to which it has been applied. We can not
-agree with those who would deny to the work either genius or talent. The
-Koran bears with it that prestige of antiquity which always insures some
-degree of respect. It is written in a dead, and what is now regarded a
-learned language. It has its Oriental imagery, together with frequent
-allusions to what most interests us in Oriental romance. Above all, it
-has had its centuries of scholiasts and commentators, extracting the
-aroma as well as the dust of its assumed divinity. In short, there is
-about it a show of learning and "venerable antiquity," and yet, we do
-not hesitate to say it, Joe Smith, or whoever was its author, has made a
-book superior to that of the Arabian prophet; deeper in its philosophy,
-purer in its morality, and far more original. There are, doubtless, many
-faults both of style and language; but centuries hence may convert these
-into precious archaisms, and give to the bad Anglo-Saxon of the Mormon
-book all the interest which ages of scholiasts have imparted to what was
-once the irregular Arabic of the rude tribes of the desert.
-
-It may startle some to be told, that Mormonism has actually pressed
-itself more upon the attention of the world than Christianity had done
-at the same age. We carry back into the early days of the Gospel's
-progress the clear light and outline of its later history. We can hardly
-realize that even for a century, or more, after its first promulgation,
-it was an object of little interest to the world, and that when it first
-began to demand a passing paragraph from the historian, it was only as
-an "_execrabilis superstitio_," creating a disturbance barely visible on
-the surface of society. Of course there is no intention, by any such
-remark, to make any comparison between the intrinsic merits of the two
-systems. A true believer in Jesus, and of "the truth as it is in Jesus,"
-will never suffer himself to be disturbed by any parallel, real or
-seeming, between Christ and Socrates, or Christ and Mohammed, or
-Confucius, or the founder of any new religion, or of any pretended
-social reform, either in ancient or modern times. He can have no nervous
-fear of confounding the immeasurable difference between any such
-pretension and "that name which is above every other name." The strength
-and success of the counterfeit only adds lustre and assurance to the
-original. Neither does the great idea of a revelation suffer any
-detraction by being associated in thought with such attempts. The Koran
-only confirms the Gospel. It never would have been what it is without
-it. The false prophet never would have arisen had it not been for the
-true. All religious imposture and fanaticism may thus be regarded as
-involuntary witnesses to an absolute truth, of which they are but the
-frenzied caricatures. The grossest delusions only show, by their very
-extravagance, the indestructibleness of the religious principle in the
-human soul, and how it clings and ever must cling to the idea of some
-Divine revelation, some lifting of the vail, as the etymology of the
-word imports, which hangs so densely over man and nature.
-
-There is a more inexplicable phenomenon than Mormonism or any false
-religion. It is the disposition manifested in some parts of the
-philosophical, and even professedly religious world, to depreciate, if
-not directly to deny the supernatural--to put as far away as possible,
-or to receive as the last allowable explanation of any difficulty, the
-thought of any direct communication from Heaven to earth. It is on this
-principle some would even interpret, not only present phenomena, but
-also all that during countless ages have left their mark upon our globe.
-On this principle another class would unspiritualize as far as they
-could, even the acknowledged Scriptures. But why should it be so? Why
-this strange delight in believing in the omnipotence and
-unchangeableness of a blind and unrelenting nature? What comfort has it
-for the soul, or what enlargement even for the intellect? What happiness
-in the thought of being bound in such an adamantine chain, even if we
-are compelled to admit its stern reality! It may be, peradventure, that
-philosophy here is in the right, but, if we may employ the paradox, her
-reverence for nature must certainly seem most unnatural. Nature, even
-our nature, longs for some Divine or supernatural communications. For
-this "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth together until now."
-The wonder, then, is not that there have been in the world so many
-mythical accounts of Divine intercourse, but that there has been so
-little of the reality. Why does not God speak to us here? Why has "_He
-made darkness his pavilion round about him?_" Why "cometh He not out"
-more frequently "from the _hiding-place of his power?_" Why has He ever
-been called--by Homer, and Hesiod, and Orpheus, as well as in the
-Bible--"_The Dweller in the cloud?_" Why does not our Father's voice
-oftener break the fearful stillness of nature, and give us that evidence
-of His existence, His government, and His providence, without which
-nature is but a gloomy prison-house, while life is but a smothered
-effort to escape from its terrible immutability, and breathe the freedom
-of a spiritual and supernatural atmosphere? Is it said that He is always
-speaking--that the Great Cause of causes is always exhibiting itself in
-its effects? But what comfort in this? It speaketh not to us--it
-manifests no knowledge of our present thought, of our present individual
-wants. The voice that is alike _in_ all things, and comes alike _to_ all
-things, we can not distinguish from nature herself. The true ground for
-marvel, then, is not that men are led astray by false prophets, but that
-such vast multitudes should be so utterly immersed in nature and
-worldliness, "caring for none of these things," and finding in such
-phenomena as Millerism and Mormonism, only occasion for insane
-merriment, instead of deep religious and philosophical inquiry.
-
-The indestructibleness of the religious principle in the human soul!
-This is the great lesson read to us by such events. Even this nineteenth
-century with all its secularity, has not wholly drowned it. It breaks
-out in the midst of every form of worldliness. When untaught in respect
-to the true path, it follows the wildest imposture; and, as though in
-awful derision of the inability of the mere secular spirit ever to
-satisfy the deepest human wants, a Kingdom of the Saints settles itself
-in nearest contiguity to what would seem to be the exclusive territory
-of Mammon.
-
-We can only call attention to this strange phenomenon without going into
-any discussion of the causes of its remarkable success. As we have said,
-it is the only case of a distinctly new religion since the days of
-Mohammed. Yet still it may be compared with other anomalous religious
-movements that have characterized the present century. Most of these
-have already had their growth and decline. Some that started with more
-enthusiasm than has ever been claimed for the Mormons, have, for years,
-been dying out, or only manifesting an outward and formal existence. On
-the other hand, too, a similar fate has attended most of the schemes of
-Socialists, and of those reformers who have relied solely on some
-doctrine of political economy, while ignoring, as far as they could, any
-recognition of a supernatural religionism. In distinction from both
-these, Mormonism has flourished because it has possessed the element of
-vitality which was respectively wanting to each. The religious sects to
-which we have alluded (and we mean of course such as may be justly
-characterized as unscriptural delusions) have been too unworldly for
-success. They have lacked the secular element. Schemes of mere social
-reform, on the other hand, have been dead from the beginning. They have
-been wanting in that vitality which alone can come from a real or
-pretended connection with a future life, and a supernatural world.
-Mormonism professes to wield both powers. Whatever may be thought of the
-first founders of the sect, the multitudes who from all parts of the
-United States, and from England, and even from the Continent, are now
-crowding to the Salt Lake and the modern Canaan, give evidence of a
-power of tremendous reality, however much it may be above the
-comprehension of the shallow witling, or the mere secular political
-economist. The cause must have a universality in some way corresponding
-to the wide effect it is producing. But be it what it may, the lesson
-taught is most timely as well as important. It is, we repeat--and it
-will bear to be repeated--_the indestructibleness of the religious
-principle in the human soul_. If this have not the true nourishment, it
-will feed on falsehood; but nourishment and life of some kind it must
-have. The most secular age, instead of destroying, only causes it to
-burst out in some new and monstrous form. And even in this idea there is
-light and consolation for true faith. It derives new evidence from every
-spurious manifestation. The religious principle can not be wholly
-annihilated--
-
-    Merses profundo pulchrior evenit.
-
-Let all worldly causes combine to drive it seemingly from the earth--let
-the edifice of supernatural belief be leveled with the ground, it would
-only be the signal for reconstruction. Take away the true, or quench it
-in the worldly spirit, and some form of false belief will start up in
-its place. _There will be faith in the earth_--there will be a sacred
-book--there will be a ritual, or system of worship, ever maintaining
-itself as a symbol of the inextinguishable trust in the reality of
-"things unseen and eternal." The naturalizing philosophy may endure, and
-even be strong as the antagonist of a revealed supernaturalism. But take
-away the latter, and the former falls with it. Its success is suicidal.
-Its triumph is its own utter defeat. All true interest in nature and
-science must expire, when every where the soul ceases to acknowledge any
-thing higher than either. Without a return to a true faith, spiritual
-delusions, on the one hand, or the grossest secularity and sensualism,
-on the other, will be the only alternative. And, if we must come to
-this, can any thinking mind have difficulty in deciding where we should
-look for the truest exhibition of human dignity--in Utah or
-California--in the Land of the Saints, or in the Land of Gold?
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-And there was evening--_and there was morning--one day._ (Gen. i. 5.)
-Why has the inspired historian placed the night first? It must doubtless
-be because it actually came first in the order of our present creation.
-What was this first night but the long chaos of darkness that covered
-the face of the deep, and over which the Spirit brooded when the command
-came forth for the first morning to appear--when God said, _Let there be
-light_ on that dark world, and immediately _light was there?_ But still,
-night was first, and hence in all the traditions that have sprung from
-this account it has ever been an object of religious reverence. In the
-old mythologies Night is the mother of day; and hence the epithets that
-poetry has ever conferred upon her--Sacred Night, Divine Night, Holy
-Night, Most Venerable and Religious Night. But not only has she been
-regarded as the mythological _mother_ of creation, but as ever the
-_nurse_ of the purest emotion and the truest thoughts. On this account
-the Greek poets gave her that beautiful name _Euphrone_--indicating the
-season of good feeling--the hour of hope, of calm yet joyous
-contemplation. It is true, the inspired description of the heavenly
-state says, _There shall be no night there_. But in our present
-imperfect being, the idea of the highest earthly bliss would be marred
-by its absence from the picture. As yet we can not dispense with the
-shade. The
-
-    Sacred, high, eternal noon
-
-is for beings of another order, and another life; and however much we
-may admire the pure sublimity of this fine line of Doddridge, we feel
-that we must be endowed with new emotions before we could truly enjoy
-the never to be remitted splendor of such a state as it describes.
-
-Although affected by particular circumstances, and expressed with great
-variety of imagery, there has been a wonderful harmony in the spiritual
-conceptions which the contemplation of night has ever called forth. We
-have, therefore, thought that it might interest our readers to present a
-few of the most striking night scenes from ancient and modern poets. The
-first from our port-folio, of course, is Homer's. The selection is from
-the close of the eighth book of the Iliad. Its introduction partakes of
-the warlike character of the poem, but softened into that holy calmness
-which the scene ever assumes, whatever may be the circumstances in which
-it is presented. We give Pope's splendid translation, although some
-might prefer the more accurate version of Cowper.
-
-    As when the moon, refulgent lamp of night,
-    O'er heaven's clear azure spreads her sacred light,
-    When not a breath disturbs the deep serene,
-    And not a cloud o'ercasts the solemn scene;
-    Around her throne the vivid planets roll,
-    And stars unnumbered gild the glowing pole,
-    O'er the dark trees a yellower verdure shed,
-    And tip with silver every mountain's head;
-    Then shine the vales, the rocks in prospect rise,
-    A flood of glory bursts from all the skies.
-
-But neither Pope nor Cowper can be said to have caught the spirit of the
-original as well as the old ballad version of Chapman.
-
-    As when about the silver moon, when air is free from winde,
-    And stars shine cleare to whose sweet beams high prospects and
-    the brows
-    Of all steep hills and pinnacles thrust up themselves for shows;
-    And even the lowly vallies joy to glitter in their sight--
-    When the unmeasured firmament bursts to disclose her light,
-    And all the signs in heaven are seen that glad the shepherd heart.
-
-Apollonius Rhodius, in the _Argonautica_, presents a greater diversity
-of imagery. He has not in view, like Homer, the unity of a single scene,
-but calls up similar emotions by a dispersed variety of the most
-impressive pictures. We present a translation, which, if it have no
-other merit, may at least be said to be almost word for word--
-
-    Now Night had thrown her shadow o'er the earth.
-    Far out at sea the sailors stood and gazed,
-    On wheeling Arctos and Orion's stars.
-    The traveler longed to hear the warder's voice
-    Invite to rest; and even the mother's eyes
-    That drowsy hour pressed downward, as she watched
-    By her dead child--the watch-dog's voice was mute;
-    The city's thronging noise had died away,
-    And stillness reigned o'er all the shaded realm;
-    Save in Medea's restless soul--
-
-Virgil closely imitates the Greek poet in the designed contrast, if not
-in his scenery. As we have not troubled them with the Greek, our fair
-readers, and others, we hope, will pardon us for putting on our page the
-Latin. Even those may appreciate its exceedingly liquid flow, who are
-compelled to resort to the translation for its meaning.
-
-    Nox erat, et placidum carpebat fessa soporem
-    Corpora per terras, sylvæque et sæva quiêrant
-    Æquora: cum medio volvuntur sidera lapsu:
-    Cum tacet omnis ager, pecudes, pictæque volucres,
-    Quæque lacus late liquidos, quæque aspera dumis
-    Rura tenent, somno positæ sub node silenti,
-    Lenibant curas, et corda oblita laborum
-    At non infelix Dido--
-                            _Æneid, Lib._ iv.
-
-    'Twas dead of night when wearied bodies close
-    Their eyes in balmy sleep, and soft repose.
-    The winds no longer whisper through the woods,
-    Nor murmuring tides disturb the gentle floods.
-    The stars in silent order moved around,
-    And peace with downy wings was brooding on the ground.
-    The flocks, and herds, and particolored fowl,
-    Which haunt the woods, or swim the seedy pool,
-    Stretched on the quiet earth securely lay,
-    Forgetting the past labors of the day.
-    All but unhappy Dido--
-
-Dryden is very far from doing justice to Virgil in the translation of
-this passage, and yet, we must say, that the original, much as it has
-been praised, falls greatly short of the exquisite description by
-Apollonius. How much does that most impressive image in the sixth line
-of the Grecian poet exceed any effect produced by Virgil's _pictæ
-volucres_, or "particolored fowl," however ornate the language, and
-liquid the melody of his highly wrought lines.
-
-But Byron--shall we risk the criticism--Byron, in our judgment,
-surpasses every example we have quoted, and even had we added, as we
-might have done, Shakspeare and Milton to the list.
-
-    'Twas midnight--On the mountains brown
-    The cold round moon shone deeply down
-    Blue rolled the waters, blue the sky
-    Spread like an ocean hung on high;
-    Bespangled with those isles of light,
-    So widely, spiritually bright.
-    Who ever gazed upon them shining,
-    And turned to earth without repining!
-    The sea on either shore lay there,
-    Calm, clear, and azure as the air;
-    And scarce the foam the pebbles shook,
-    That murmured meekly as the brook.
-    The winds were pillowed on the waves;
-    The banners drooped along their staves;
-    And that deep silence was unbroke,
-    Save where the watch his signal spoke;
-    Save where the steed neighed oft and shrill,
-    And echo answered from the hill.
-                             _Siege of Corinth._
-
-Our concluding example is from the Scriptures. We challenge not for it a
-superiority simply on the ground of its inspiration. Every reader may
-judge for himself how immeasurably it excels any thing of the kind to be
-found in ancient or modern poetry. How full of _natural_ sublimity, and,
-at the same time, how profoundly impressive the _moral_ lesson of this
-night scene from Job!
-
-    In thoughts from visions of the night,
-    When deep sleep falleth upon men,
-    Fear came upon me, and trembling,
-    And made all my bones to shake.
-    Then a spirit passed before my face;
-    The hair of my flesh rose up.
-    It stood. An image was before mine eyes,
-    And yet I could not discern the form thereof.
-    There was silence--
-    And yet I heard a voice--saying--
-    Shall a mortal be more just than God?
-    Shall a man be more pure than his Maker?
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-We hear often of popular fallacies. Books have been written on them. But
-there are also learned fallacies, and among these we know of no one more
-common than that which prevails respecting the word _education_. It is
-quite usual with lecturers and essayists to derive a profound
-philosophical meaning from the bare etymology of the term. It is from
-_educo_, they tell us, to _lead or draw out_. It means the _drawing_ out
-or developing the faculties. It is the bringing out the unwrought man,
-like the polished statue from the rough block of marble. All sorts of
-changes are rung upon the word. With some it is the _educing_ of the
-individuality, with others, of the humanity. Others again talk much of
-_drawing out the ideas_, and that, too, without any previous exact
-_in_struction, or the furnishing of what might be styled the prepared
-material of thought--about as wise a course as to attempt to develop, or
-draw _out_ the faculties of a nail-making machine, without ever thinking
-of putting any well-wrought iron _into_ it. Now, all this is pedantic
-nonsense. The old Roman Roundheads, from whom the term is derived, never
-dreamed of any such transcendental conception. The word, in its primary
-sense, simply means _nursing_, _fostering_, _rearing_. Hence is it
-afterward applied to knowledge and discipline. It is educed from the
-simple conception of holding the child by the hand, and leading him
-forth when he first begins to walk. From the same primitive thought
-comes the word _pedagogue_, which simply means, _one who leads a boy_,
-and was first applied to the slave, or servant, who conducted the
-Athenian child to and from school. It would, however, be hardly worth
-our while to show the fallacy of this very common etymological
-deduction, were it not sometimes made the ground of very false ideas.
-The old view, although it have no great philosophy, will be found to be
-the true one. It is to hold a child up, and lead him forth by the hand,
-before you set him to walk alone by himself, under pretense of
-developing his _faculties_, either of thinking or of locomotion.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Every man has two parents, four grand-parents, eight
-great-grand-parents, sixteen great-great-grand-parents, &c., &c., &c. If
-we reckon 30 years to a generation, and carry on the above series to the
-time of the Norman conquest, it will be found that each one of us must
-have had at that period, no less than 32,000,000 of ancestors. Now,
-making all allowance for the crossing of genealogical lines, and
-consequently for the same person being in many of the intersections,
-still there will remain a number sufficient, at that period, to cover
-the whole Norman and Anglo-Saxon race. Whatever, therefore, was then
-noble, or pious, or princely, or even kingly, stands somewhere in the
-line of ancestry of the most ignoble and plebeian among us. Each man of
-the present day may be almost certain of having had, not only earls (and
-it may be bishops), but even crowned heads among his progenitors. And so
-also may we be almost assured that the highest families of that period
-have now lineal representatives in persons so low in the social scale,
-that all the sounding lines of heraldry would fail to fathom the depth
-of their obscurity. In less than a thousand years, the blood of Victoria
-inevitably mingles with that of some of the most ignoble of the earth.
-Carry the calculation further back, and we soon pass beyond any
-population that ever existed on our globe. A thousand years from the
-present time brings the number up to 1,024,000,000. Two or three
-centuries more carries it beyond a thousand billions, and long before we
-arrive at the period of our world's creation, it would have reached a
-number surpassing all powers of easy enumeration. It is a consequence,
-too, of the same view, that a thousand years hence, each man who has now
-an ordinary family of children, will probably have a representative some
-way of his blood in each one of 30,000,000 of persons; and that these
-will be of all conditions, high and low, rich and poor, unless, as may
-be the case, some system of social philosophy may long before that have
-swept all distinctions from our world.
-
-
-
-
-Editor's Drawer.
-
-
-The "monitory season" of Nature has come. The faded garniture of the
-fields; the many-colored, gorgeous woods; the fitful winds, sighing for
-the flowers "whose fragrance late they bore:" the peculiar yellow-green
-of the sky at the horizon, in the twilight gloaming; all these proclaim
-that "summer is ended" and autumn is here. Brainard, a poet of true
-tenderness and feeling, once asked, "What is there saddening in the
-autumn leaf?" Perhaps it would be difficult to tell _what_ it is, but
-that it _is_ saddening, in the midst of its dying beauty, most persons
-have felt. One of our own poets, too early called away,[10] wrote many
-years since, on the first day of October, the following sad and tender
-lines:
-
-    "Solemn, yet beautiful to view,
-      Month of my heart! thou dawnest here,
-    With sad and faded leaves to strew
-      The Summer's melancholy bier;
-    The moaning of thy winds I hear,
-      As the red sunset dies afar,
-    And bars of purple clouds appear,
-      Obscuring every western star.
-
-    "Thou solemn month! I hear thy voice,
-      It tells my soul of other days,
-    When but to live was to rejoice,
-      When earth was lovely to my gaze
-    Oh, visions bright--oh, blessed hours,
-      Where are their living raptures now?
-    I ask my spirit's wearied powers,
-      I ask my pale and fevered brow.
-
-    "I look to Nature, and behold
-      My life's dim emblems rustling round,
-    In hues of crimson and of gold--
-      The year's dead honors on the ground.
-    And sighing with the winds, I feel,
-      While their low pinions murmur by,
-    How much their sweeping tones reveal
-      Of life and human destiny.
-
-    "When Spring's delightsome moments shone,
-      They came in zephyrs from the West:
-    They bore the wood-lark's melting tone,
-      They stirred the blue lake's glassy breast
-    Through Summer, fainting in the heat,
-      They lingered in the forest shade;
-    But changed and strengthened now, they beat
-      In storm, o'er mountain, glen, and glade.
-
-    "How like those transports of the heart,
-      When life is fresh and joy is new;
-    Soft as the halcyon's downy nest,
-      And transient all as they are true!
-    They stir the leaves in that bright wreath
-      Which HOPE about her forehead twines,
-    Till Grief's hot sighs around it breathe,
-      Then Pleasure's lip its smile resigns.
-
-    "Alas, for Time, and Death, and Care,
-      What gloom about our way they fling
-    Like clouds in Autumn's gusty air,
-      The burial-pageant of the Spring
-    The dreams that each successive year
-      Seemed bathed in hues of brighter pride,
-    At last like withered leaves appear,
-      And sleep in darkness, side by side!"
-
-[10] Willis Gaylord Clark, for many years Editor of the Philadelphia
-Daily Gazette, and author of the "_Ollapodiana_" papers in the
-Knickerbocker Magazine.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Carlyle, in his "Sartor Resartus," gives a condensed, but exceedingly
-forcible picture of the "net purport and upshot of war," by taking
-thirty able-bodied men from a French and English village, and making
-them face each other on a pleasant morning, when they blow each other's
-souls out, and straightway become "shells of men." We were speaking of
-this the other evening with a friend, who was with our army in Mexico,
-and in the course of much chat, touching war and its accompaniments, he
-mentioned an anecdote of as brave a fellow as there was in his command,
-but who had an unfortunate and irresistible habit of occasional
-intoxication, whenever, by hook or by crook, he could procure a "horn"
-of brandy or whiskey. One evening, the day after an engagement, in which
-his coolness and determined bravery had won the admiration and warm
-commendation of his superior officers, he was brought before his
-commanding officer, who was on parade, in a state of beastly
-intoxication. Remembering his services of the day before, the officer
-was reluctant to punish him, at least without first trying to make him
-ashamed of his offense by exhortation and remonstrance. "Are you not
-ashamed of yourself?" he asked, "to be brought before me in this
-condition?--you that _can_ be so good a soldier? There was not a braver
-man in the regiment yesterday than you; and now you go and spoil all the
-honor you acquired, by disobeying orders, and coming before me drunk.
-Take him away!--I'm ashamed of him!" "Here--hello--hold on!" said the
-soldier--"hold on a minute: you've rep-rep-ri-_manded_ me some, and
-praised me a good deal: now look o' here, cap'n, do you expect to buy
-all the human virtues for seven dollars a month? It's too _cheap_,
-cap'n--too cheap!" He probably thought with Lowell's Yankee, writing
-from Saltillo after his first engagement:
-
-        "I wish that I was furder!
-    Ninepence a day for killin' folks
-      Comes kind o' low, for murder;
-    I worked out to slaughterin' some
-      For Deacon Cephas Billin's,
-    And in the hardest times there was,
-      I allers fetch'd ten shillins!"
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-As we sat looking at a conjurer or necromancer performing his tricks the
-other evening, at which were some hundreds of other lookers-on, we fell
-to meditate upon the influence which any thing that is at all mysterious
-has upon the human mind. "To him," says Dr. Chatfield, "who has been
-sated, and perhaps disappointed by the actual and the intelligible,
-there is an indefinable charm in the unattainable and inscrutable." And
-it is so. Infants stretch out their hands for the moon; children delight
-in puzzles and riddles, even when they can not discover their solution;
-and "children of a larger growth" desire, oftentimes, no better
-employment than to follow their example. Look at the fanaticism
-engendered by Rev. Edward Irving's "Unknown Tongues; at which," says the
-authority we have quoted, "we need not wonder, when we remember the
-confession of the pious Baxter, that in order to awaken an interest in
-his congregation, he made it a rule, in every sermon, to say something
-above their capacity." There are not wanting ministers nowadays who
-follow the Baxterian practice, with the difference only, that what they
-sometimes preach is as much above their _own_ comprehension as that of
-their audience.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Is it not a "little curious" that Harriet Martineau, an old maid, a
-"benign cerulean of the second sex," as Lord Byron calls her class, who
-"never loved," or if she did, yet who, if published accounts are true,
-shrunk from the nuptial bonds, and left her affianced lord in the lurch
-at the last moment--is it not a little curious, we say, that such a
-woman, should have written so exquisite a picture of true love as that
-which ensues? We once heard a distinguished American author remark,
-sitting by his "Dutchman's Fireside," that he kept for days out of the
-literary lady-traveler's way when she was trying to meet him. "There she
-was," said he, "going about with that long India-rubber ear-trumpet of
-hers, taking in every thing that was offered to it, just like an
-elephant going round with his trunk, drawing in here an apple, there a
-piece of cake, now a handful of nuts, and next, perhaps, a chew of
-tobacco. _I_ wasn't going to contribute to _her_ trunk, nor to the
-lining any others, when she had got home and printed her notes!" If the
-authoress, however, _had_ met this unwilling host, and had told this
-"tale of love," doubtless he would have listened in "mute admiration."
-But we are forgetting the passage: "There is no other such crisis in
-human life as the crisis of LOVE. The philosopher may experience
-uncontrollable agitation in verifying his principle of balancing systems
-of worlds, feeling perhaps as if he actually saw the creative hand in
-the act of sending the planets forth on their everlasting way; but he
-knows at such a moment no emotions so divine as those of the spirit
-becoming conscious that it is beloved; be it the peasant-girl in the
-meadow, or the daughter of the sage, or the artisan beside his loom, or
-the man of letters musing by his fire-side. The warrior about to strike
-the decisive blow for the liberties of a nation is not in a state of
-such lofty resolution as those who, by joining hearts, are laying their
-joint hands on the whole wide realm of futurity for their own. The
-statesman, in the moment of success, is not conscious of so holy and so
-intimate a thankfulness as they who are aware that their redemption has
-come in the presence of a new and sovereign affection. And these are
-many: they are in all corners of every land. The statesman is the leader
-of a nation; the warrior is the grace of an age; the philosopher is the
-birth of a thousand years; but the LOVER--where is he _not?_ Wherever
-parents look round upon their children, there he _has_ been: wherever
-children are at play together there he soon _will_ be; wherever there
-are roofs under which men dwell, wherever there is an atmosphere
-vibrating with human voices, there is the lover, and there is his lofty
-worship going on--unspeakable, perchance, but revealed in the brightness
-of the eye, the majesty of the presence, and the high temper of the
-discourse. Men have been ungrateful and perverse; they have done what
-they could to counteract it, to debate this most heavenly influence of
-their life; but the laws of their MAKER are too strong, the benignity of
-their FATHER is too patient and fervent, for their opposition to
-withstand; and true love continues, and _will_ continue, to send up its
-homage amidst the meditations of every eventide, and the busy hum of
-noon, and the song of the morning stars."
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Some lively French writer, whose name has quite escaped us, once wrote a
-vivid sketch, entitled, "_L'Homme Rouge_," or "The Red Man." There was
-an under-plot of sentiment in the story, we well remember, but the great
-feature of the romance was, that whenever there was a fire to happen in
-any part of Paris, whether by accident or design, there suddenly
-appeared "_L'Homme Rouge;_" sometimes in the midst of a party of
-revelers at a masked-ball; sometimes surprising nuns at their devotions,
-and not unfrequently where crime was hatching, or unnatural orgies
-making night hideous. But he was a good, benevolent deity, and always
-came to warn against or to suppress conflagration. Such, it would
-appear, and without fable, hereafter, will be the man who can command
-the great "Fire-Annihilator," which is making such a sensation, and
-proving so unerringly effective in England. A man, bearing one of these
-easily-carried machines, enters his blazing domicil, all a-glow with a
-bright flame, which is curling its forked tongues around every thing
-which resists its progress, and touching a spring, a cloud of smoke-like
-vapor issues forth, before which the flame flickers, grows pale, and at
-once fades entirely out, and the conflagration is stopped. It has been
-tested in so many instances, that its success is now considered wholly
-infallible. A company for the sale of the "Annihilator" has been formed
-in this country, the "central bureau" of which is in New York, the
-president being Hon. Elisha Whittlesey, of the American Congress. The
-age of rail-roads, magnetic telegraphs, and fire-exterminators, will
-signalize this era as one of the most remarkable in the world's history.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Seneca complains that the ancients had compelled him to borrow from them
-what they would have taken from him, had he been lucky enough to have
-preceded them! "Every one of my writings," says Goethe, in the same
-candid spirit, "has been furnished to me by a thousand different
-persons, a thousand different things: the learned and the ignorant, the
-wise and the foolish, infancy and old age have come in turn, generally
-without having the least suspicion of it, to bring me the offering of
-their thoughts, their faculties, their experience. Often have they sowed
-the harvest I have reaped. My works are an aggregation of human beings,
-taken from the whole of nature." It is in the power of any writer, says
-a commentator upon this passage, to be original, by deserting nature,
-and seeking the quaint and the fantastical. "When I was a young man,"
-says Goldsmith, "being anxious to distinguish myself, I was perpetually
-starting new propositions; but I soon gave this over, for I found that
-generally what was new was false."
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Dean Swift's remark at the close of a charity-sermon, from the text "He
-that giveth to the poor lendeth to the LORD," is well known--("If you
-like the security, down with your dust!") But the two following
-eccentricities of speech, which are attributed to him, we never saw
-before: "My brethren," said he, on one occasion, "there are three sorts
-of pride--pride of birth, of riches, and of talents. I shall not now
-speak of the latter, none of you being addicted or liable to that
-abominable vice!" "I fear," said he, on another occasion, to his flock,
-"I fear, when I explained to you, in my last charity-sermon, that
-philanthropy was the love of our species, you must have misunderstood me
-to say _specie_, which may account for the smallness of the collection.
-You will prove, I hope, by your present contributions, that you are no
-longer laboring under the same mistake!" A surer way of securing a good
-collection was recently adopted by a benevolent lecture-giver in a
-sister city. The audience were admitted _free;_ but when the lecture was
-closed, no one was permitted to pass out until he or she had disbursed
-twenty-five cents!
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Some fourteen years ago there appeared in one of the English magazines
-an amusing article, showing up the aristocratic stupidity of the large
-and costly English annuals, which were indebted almost exclusively to
-the nobility for their contents. Until then, we had not been made aware
-that the Duke of Wellington was a poet. But it seems that we were
-mistaken; the "noble Duke" is a master of the military sonnet, a
-specimen of which is subjoined. Its "terse composition," the "boldness
-of its character," its "laconic simplicity," and martial
-"determination," were very highly commended by the editor:
-
-    Halt! Shoulder arms! Recover! As you were!
-    Right wheel! Eyes left! Attention! Stand at ease!
-    O Britain! oh, my country! words like these
-    Have made thy name a terror and a fear
-    To all the nations. Witness Ebro's bank
-    Assays, Toulouse, Nivelle, and Waterloo,
-    Where the grim despot muttered, "_Sauve qui peut!_"
-    And Ney fled darkling. Silence in the ranks!
-    Inspired by these, amidst the iron crash
-    Of armies in the centre of his troop,
-    The soldier stands--immovable, not rash
-    Until the forces of the foemen droop;
-    Then knock the Frenchmen to eternal smash,
-    Pounding them into mummy. Shoulder, hoop!
-
-Thus the "Conquerer of Napoleon" conquers the stubborn rhyme!
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-"I suppose," writes a contemplative and elegant modern English author,
-now unnamed, but who can not long remain _stat nominis umbra_, "that it
-has happened to most men who observe their thoughts at all, to notice
-how some expression returns again and again in the course of their
-meditations, or, indeed, of their business, forming, as it were, a
-refrain to all they think or do, for any given hour. Sometimes, too,
-this refrain has no particular concern with the thought or business of
-the day, but seems as if it belonged to some under-current of thought
-and feeling. This at least is what I experienced to-day myself, being
-haunted by a bit of old Spanish poetry, which obtruded itself, sometimes
-inopportunely, sometimes not so, in the midst of all my work or play.
-The words were these:
-
-    'How quickly passes pleasure away
-    How, after being granted.
-            It gives pain:
-    How, in our opinion,
-    Any past time
-            Was better,'
-
-(than that we passed in pleasure). It was not that I agreed with the
-sentiment, except as applied to vicious pleasure; being rather of Sydney
-Smith's mind, that the remembrance of past pleasure is present pleasure;
-but I suppose the words chimed in with reflections on the past which
-formed the under-current of my thoughts, as I went through the wood of
-beeches which bounded my walk to day.... In a moment I went back, not to
-the pleasures, but to the ambitious hopes and projects of youth. And
-when a man does reflect upon the ambitions which are as characteristic
-of that period of life as reckless courage or elastic step, and finds
-that at each stage of his journey since, some hope has dropped off as
-too burdensome or too romantic, till at last it is enough for him to
-carry only himself at all upright in this troublesome world--what
-thoughts come back upon him! How he meditates upon his own errors and
-short-comings, and sees that he has had not only the hardness, oiliness,
-and imperturbability of the world to contend with; but that he himself
-has generally been his worst antagonist. In this mood I might have
-thrown myself upon the mound under a great beech-tree that was near, the
-king of the woods, and uttered many lamentations; but instead of doing
-any thing of the kind, I walked sedately by it; for, as we go on in
-life, we find we can not afford excitement, and we learn to be
-parsimonious in our emotions."
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-One of the Boston newspapers, in allusion to the great Railroad Festival
-which is about taking place, as the last sheets of our Magazine are
-passing through the press, observes: "The Canadian Judiciary Courts
-have adjourned for the whole of the next week, in order to give an
-opportunity to our Canadian friends to be present at the great Railroad
-Jubilee, to be celebrated in our city. They are expected to arrive in
-great numbers on Tuesday of next week. That day will be devoted to an
-examination of our city. On Wednesday there will be a formal reception;
-and the City Government will accompany their English guests to the
-Bunker Hill Monument and _other_ places of _interest_." Now we can not
-dissociate that word 'interest,' from the same word which forms the
-nucleus of an anecdote, which we will venture to relate, in illustration
-of the _kind_ of 'interest' which a loyal English subject might be
-supposed to feel in paying a visit to Bunker Hill. At Bladensburgh
-battle-field, there is a very non-committal guide who shows visitors
-over the ground, enlightening those who are ignorant as to the character
-of the ground, where the different forces lay, how they advanced, and
-the like. The guide, however, is a 'prudent man,' for his situation
-depends upon being 'all things to all men' who may chance to be obliged
-to avail themselves of his services. If he is showing an English party
-over the ground, he fancies that he knows it, and therefore 'governs
-himself accordingly;' if an American party, he throws his 'balance of
-power' in the other scale. But he was sadly puzzled _once_. He could get
-no 'cue' from the gentleman and his friend, who had secured his
-services, as to whether they were English or Americans--the conversation
-was so vague and so limited. "Why was it," said one of these visitors,
-"that the Americans _fled_ on this occasion?" "Fled!" he exclaimed, as
-if with impromptu dignity--"_fled!_" "Yes," said his interrogator, "why
-did the Americans retreat on that occasion?--why did they run away!"
-"Retreat!--run away!--guess _not!_ Yes: well--perhaps they did. Yes; I
-b'lieve they did. The reason was, that somehow or 'nother they _didn't
-seem to take no interest!_"
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Most readers have heard the story of the connoisseur in the fine arts
-who said one day to a friend, "I wish you would come down and see a
-picture I bought last week. I'd like to have you give me your _candid_
-opinion of it. A friend of mine had the impudence to say this morning
-that it was not an original! I should like to hear _another_ man say
-that it was not an original! But you come and see it, and tell me
-honestly what you think of its authenticity." It strikes us that a man
-would not be apt to give a _very_ "candid" opinion under those
-circumstances. This freedom of opinion is not unlike the liberty of
-action said to have been granted by Col. M'Lane to the troops under his
-command, before going into winter-quarters at Valley Forge. They were
-suffering for provisions and clothing, and Congress had been repeatedly
-petitioned for that relief which it was not in their power to bestow.
-Under this state of things, Colonel M'Lane paraded his band of suffering
-soldiers, and thus addressed them: "Fellow-soldiers, you have served
-your country faithfully and truly. We've fought hard fights together
-against our common enemy. You are in a bad way for comfortable clothes,
-it is true, and it grieves my very heart to see you tracking your feet
-in blood on the frozen ground. But Congress can not help it, nor can
-General Washington or I. But if any of you wish to return home, you can
-go. Let such of you as would like to go home step out four paces in
-front--_but_ the first man that steps out, if I don't shoot him my name
-is not M'Lane." It is perhaps needless to add, that not a solitary
-"volunteer" homeward was to be found.
-
-
-
-
-Editor's Easy Chair.
-
-
-After our more severe Editorial work is done--the scissors laid in our
-drawer, and the Monthly Record made as full as our pages will bear, of
-history, we have a way of throwing ourselves back into an old red-backed
-EASY CHAIR, that has long been an ornament of our dingy office, and
-indulging in an easy, and careless overlook of the gossiping papers of
-the day, and in such chit-chat with chance visitors, as keeps us
-informed of the drift of the town-talk, while it relieves greatly the
-monotony of our office hours.
-
-We have before now sailed over seas with some rollicking, red-faced
-captain, who, after a good day's run with his yards well braced to the
-wind, would, as evening began to fall, and the breezes to lull, rig out
-his studding-sail booms, and set new bits of canvas to catch every puff
-of the dying zephyrs. In like manner, we, having made our course good,
-out of mere whim, add to our sail, and mean to catch up in these few
-additional pages, those lighter whiffs from the great world of opinion,
-which come floating to us, as we sit here in our EASY CHAIR.
-
-Nor are we altogether bent on choosing mere gossip; but, rather, we
-shall be on the watch for such topics or incidents as give a handle to
-the conversation of the town; and instead of treating them in any such
-philosophic fashion, as most writing men think it necessary to do, we
-shall try and set them down with all that gloss, and that happy lack of
-sequence, which makes every-day talk so much better than every-day
-writing.
-
-There are hundreds of monthly occurrences which go into the journals as
-mere skeletons of facts; and yet, if a body had but the art of embalming
-by language, that fleshy covering which the every-day talk is sure to
-wrap about them, they would prove (these facts, we mean) the
-cheerfullest companions in the world.
-
-And this is just the thing that we shall try to do. If the Cubans, down
-in Havanna, shoot some fifty men, we shall not be content with entering
-it upon our record: we shall not take up what we consider (as the Daily
-Journals consider they do) some impregnable position, and thunder away
-at some one else who has an equally impregnable position of precisely
-the opposite character; but we shall try and get hold of the actual
-situation of this new provision for the town maw, in that great
-feeding-place of the town, viz.--Public Talk. We shall say who are the
-most voracious feeders, and may possibly comment, in an amiable humor,
-upon the different modes of consumption.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The French have a most happy way of commuting the dull coinage of
-every-day facts into the most mailable matter in the world: and as we
-sit in our EASY CHAIR, and catch up, as we sometimes do, a leaf of a
-Parisian journal, we find ourselves unconsciously creeping into the
-heart of some street-story, which, in any English journal, would have
-been the merest item of Police!
-
-Take, for instance, a single one--entered on all the commercial sheets
-after this fashion: "We understand that a suicide was committed under
-deplorable circumstances, not long since, in the Rue St. George. It
-appears that a French gentleman, owing to pecuniary embarrassments, had
-long been melancholy, and last evening killed himself with the fumes of
-charcoal. It is reported that he had been twice married, and (_horribile
-dictu_) that he exhumed his first wife, previous to committing the fatal
-deed. He leaves a very respectable property."
-
-Now look at our EASY CHAIR survey of such an unfortunate matter:
-
-"Monsieur B----, a widower of great respectability, was married to his
-second wife several years previous to the Revolution of 1848. The
-embarrassments which this event occasioned to several of the most
-considerable of his debtors, involved him in pecuniary difficulties of a
-serious character.
-
-"Being of a sensitive nature, and unable to meet at that period his more
-immediate engagements, he became the victim of an intense mortification,
-which no efforts of his friends could relieve, and which gradually
-settled into entire mental alienation.
-
-"He had still ample fortune, and lived in the enjoyment of his usual
-luxuries. His attentions to his new wife (who is represented as
-exceedingly beautiful) were, of course, less decided and punctilious
-than before, but there were observed no indications of any special
-hostility.
-
-"Things wore on in this way for a year or more, when it was observed
-that Monsieur B---- absented himself at a certain time of the day for
-many hours, from home, without allowing his wife to suspect his
-whereabouts. His man[oe]uvres to prevent pursuit, and avoid observation,
-were most adroit, and utterly forbade detection.
-
-"Meantime the guardians of the cemetery of _Père le Chaise_ had observed
-at a certain hour of the day a well-dressed individual make his
-appearance at the gates, and disappear upon the heights, within the
-inclosure of a little Gothic tomb, erected to the memory of Madame
-B----.
-
-"The guardians having ascertained that the visitor was the husband of
-the deceased lady, with true Parisian politeness, avoided any special
-observation.
-
-"It was ascertained afterward, however, that he employed these stolen
-hours in laboring upon the tomb--a pocket-knife, his only implement, and
-a single crazy hope--(which will appear in the sequel)--his only aim.
-Having, after four or five months of daily toil, finished his work, he
-waited only the absence of his wife to carry into execution his plan.
-For this he had not long to wait; she had promised a visit to the
-country; and upon the very day following her departure, Monsieur B----
-hurried to his old rendezvous at _Père le Chaise_, and with the same
-knife with which he had worked his way into the stone sarcophagus in
-which the body of his first wife reposed, he severed the head from the
-trunk, transported it under cover of his cloak to his home; placed it
-before him upon the table; kindled a brazier of charcoal; wrote a last
-word to his living partner, and then, with his pipe in his mouth, and in
-face of the ghastly head from the tomb--he died upon his chair!"
-
-There is in this story, insufferable as it may seem to delicate-minded
-readers, strong illustration of the French love of the horrible--of
-French passion--and of that French spirit of Dramatism, which would turn
-even the vulgarity of suicide into the heroism of a Tragedy.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Reading on, as we do, in our EASY CHAIR way, our eye falls upon another
-bit of French romance of a different style: it will probably never come
-to the eyes of half of our readers in its Paris shape, so we employ a
-lazy interval of our weightier duties to render it into old-fashioned
-English:
-
-Every body knows that the rage for gaming in Paris, specially in private
-circles, has been for the last eight or ten years--excessive. And if any
-weak-minded American has "dined out" there, within that time, he has
-very likely been mulcted in a very pretty sum (after coffee was removed)
-at _écarte_.
-
-But, this is not to our story, which, in translating, we shall take the
-liberty of vamping into the easiest possible shape--for ourselves.
-
-Monsieur X---- was some descendant (grandson, for aught we know) of a
-certain Marshal of the Empire of France, and inherited from him (if
-report spake true) a handsome fortune of some five hundred thousand
-francs; or, in American coinage, one hundred thousand dollars. This is
-quite enough to live on pleasantly in Paris, or, for that matter, any
-where else.
-
-Of course, Monsieur X---- was a mark for such mammas as had marriageable
-daughters; and as the French mothers always manage these affairs
-themselves, and are, beside, very thoroughly schooled in the ways of the
-world, Monsieur X---- stood a very poor chance of escape. In fact, he
-did not escape, but was married one fine morning to a very pretty
-mademoiselle, who had the credit of possessing rare virtues, and whom
-our hero (Monsieur X----), for a wonder, did really and truly love.
-
-We mention this as even a greater rarity on the other side of the water,
-than on this; and every body of ordinary observation knows that it is
-rare enough with us.
-
-They lived happily through the honey-moon, and much to the surprise of
-his friends, for a year or two afterward. But at length it was observed
-that he wore very long faces, and dined frequently by himself at the
-Café de Paris, and did not even smile at the broadest of Grassot's comic
-acting. As he was known to be a young man of very correct habits, the
-inference was (not always a just one, by the way) that the wife was in
-fault.
-
-The truth was, that with a disposition naturally amiable and yielding,
-she had been seduced by those married friends who knew of her husband's
-resources, into an intense love of cards. As a natural consequence she
-became ever eager for play, morose in her habit, and petulant of manner.
-
-The husband bore this all very quietly for a while, revolving in his own
-mind what could be done, and paying his wife's drafts upon him without a
-murmur. Days and weeks passed by, and the change wore grievously upon
-his spirits.
-
-At length, he chose his course, and pursued it--after this manner.
-
-He entered with apparent gayety into his wife's amusements, and
-introduced her, through the interposition of a friend, into one of the
-most famous gambling salons of Paris. As usual, she took her seat at the
-table where the stakes were largest. Her antagonist at the play was a
-stout old gentleman who wore a careless manner, but who after the first
-round or two played with remarkable success. When madame's losses had
-amounted to a considerable sum, he proposed "double or quits." Madame
-accepted and--lost.
-
-The gentleman proposed the same game: madame accepted and lost!
-
-The gentleman proposed the same trial a third and fourth time; and
-madame, supposing him to be an eccentric old gentleman, who was willing
-to furnish her with this opportunity of winning again the money,
-accepted each time his proposal, and uniformly--lost.
-
-Still the play went on, until madame's losses had amounted to the
-extraordinary sum of four hundred thousand francs, when the old
-gentleman pleaded an engagement, and retired.
-
-Madame X----, in an agony of trepidation gained her home, and throwing
-herself at her husband's feet, confessed and regretted the folly which
-had ruined them.
-
-The husband was naturally astounded: "But," said he, controlling his
-emotion, "the losses must be met. There will remain some seventy
-thousand francs of my estate, and with that we can live comfortably in
-the country. For myself, I do not at all regret this: but, my dear (for
-his old affection lingered), I fear that you may sink under the
-privations you must encounter."
-
-His goodness overcame her; she avowed not only her willingness but her
-great joy in becoming the companion of his exile.
-
-It was in an old town of Brittany (we believe, for the paper is not at
-hand) that they lived quietly and cosily together, in a mossy old
-chateau. Their table was frugally served, and their servants were of the
-neighboring peasantry: in place of the old joyous rides in the Bois de
-Boulogne, they now took strolls together under the wood that shaded the
-chateau. Thus, for ten years they lived, growing into each other's
-affections, and rejoicing in the loss which had won them to a real
-enjoyment of life, and of each other's love.
-
-"It was indeed a happy loss," said she.
-
-"It was none at all," said the husband, and with a caress he handed her
-the certificates for some five hundred thousand francs, in the most
-available of French funds!
-
-"Your antagonist," said he, "was a sure winner, but his services were
-purchased by your husband, and now that he has won you to his love, and
-to a sense of your own dignity, he makes over to you this recovered
-fortune."
-
-And the French chronicler goes on to paint a pretty scene as a hint for
-those dramatists who choose to put the affair on the stage. And he
-further says that the story is well authenticated, as he might prove by
-giving the parties' names; but upon consideration, he favors us only
-with an X.
-
-If the story is a lie, all we can say is, that Eugene Guinot must take
-the blame of it: and judging from his experience, we think the blame
-will sit lightly on him.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-We have wandered so far from the town, that we had half forgotten that
-there was any town at all. But, after all, there lies but a step
-nowadays between Paris and New York--a step over sea, and a step over a
-very narrow bridge of morals. True, we have not yet imported the salon
-gambling, except in a quiet club-way, where surely vagrant bachelors, it
-would seem, have as good right to stultify themselves, as they have in
-most other situations in life. It is to be doubted, however, if gaming
-does not presently come into the round of amusements. Old methods do not
-last long in our growing society: and as evidence, we may note the
-abandonment, the present year, of the fancy balls, which, for four or
-five seasons back, have made the very Elysium of a summer's festivities.
-
-What matter has been made of it under the new dispensation of
-undisguised ball costume, the papers have not much informed us: indeed
-it is richly observable, that when the fashions of the day withdraw from
-_outré_ action, and shed those enormities of feature which excite the
-stare of the vulgar--just so soon the public press respects their
-modesty, and gives them the award of silence. As a consequence (for the
-_sequitur_ may not appear, in the illogical order of our after-dinner
-arrangement) little has been said this year of the "dress balls" of
-Saratoga and Newport: and the catalogues of watering-place Deities have
-been transferred from the flash-papers, to the roll-books of the
-marriageable men. A few sharp days of early September (not far from the
-date of our writing) will have driven our city people away from those
-shores, where the eastern fogs come sailing in laden with agues, and
-dropped them down here and there, along those sheltered hill-sides of
-inland repute, which bask in a summer morning, and which, by and by,
-will smoke with the kindling glory of an Indian summer.
-
-As yet few have found their way to the town itself: and those few find
-the streets full of bustle, of strangers, of dust, and of Cuba. It
-strikes a man oddly, who has been taking his siesta the summer through,
-under the shadow of country-grown trees, and in the hearing of birds,
-until he has grown into a sort of assimilation with country habit and
-country talk, to rebound upon a sudden, from the hard, frosted
-hill-sides into the very centre of this great furnace of business--and
-to find it all sweltering and panting with its labor, just as it did six
-months gone by, and just as it will do in six months to come! Your
-country idler, with the conceit of the city on him, somehow conceives
-the idea, that without him there will be less noise, and less commotion:
-and yet he may go and come, and take his thousands, and bring his
-thousands, and shout at his loudest, and the great city, quite careless
-of it all, still sends up from her pebbled veins, and her sweeping
-quays, the same unceasing roar.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-We have forewarned our reader, or should have done it, that we shall
-shift our topic in these our after-dinner musings, as easy as the
-turning of a leaf. Our eyes have just now fallen upon a passage in Mr.
-Greeley's last letter from Europe, in which he speaks of the appearance
-of the English women, and commends, with a little more than his usual
-ardor of expression, their perfection of figure. He attributes this, and
-very justly, to the English lady's habit of out-of-door exercise. We had
-thought that this fact was known: that it was known years ago, and that
-our fair country-women would catch a hint from it, that would throw
-color into their cheeks and fullness into their forms. And yet, sadly
-enough, our ladies still coop themselves in their heated rooms, until
-their faces are like lilies, and their figures--like lily stems!
-
-We have alluded to the matter now, not for the sake of pointing a satire
-surely, but for the sake of asking those one or two hundred thousand
-ladies, who every month light our pages with their looks, if they do
-indeed prize a little unnatural pearliness of hue, and delicacy of
-complexion, beyond that ruddy flush of health (the very tempter of a
-kiss!) and that full development of figure, which all the poets, from
-Homer down, have made one of the chiefest beauties of a woman?
-
-If not, let them make of themselves horsewomen: or, bating that, let
-them make acquaintance with the sunrise: let them pick flowers with the
-dew upon them: let them study music of nature's own orchestra. Vulgarity
-is not essential to health: and a lithe, elastic figure does not grow in
-hot-houses.
-
-For ourselves, we incline heartily to the belief, that if American women
-have a wish to add to the respect, the admiration, the love, and (if
-need be) the fear of the men, they will find an easier road toward that
-gain, in a little vigorous out-of-door exercise and a uniform attention
-to the great essentials of health, than in any new-fangled costumes, or
-loudly applauded "Rights."
-
-We have grown unconsciously heated with the topic, and this added to the
-90° by Fahrenheit, which is steaming at our elbow, must cut short the
-first installment of gossip from our red-backed easy-chair.
-
-New York, _September, 1851_.
-
-
-
-
-Literary Notices.
-
-
-The Oration before the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard University, on
-_The American Mind_, by Rev. William B. Sprague, is superior to the
-average run of anniversary discourses. Chaste, vigorous, and eloquent in
-expression, eminently genial and catholic in spirit, pervaded equally
-with a genuine love of learning, and a glowing patriotism, it abounds in
-wise and generous counsels, adapted to the present times, and displays
-frequent touches of pathos and wit. The tribute to the memory of
-Buckminster, at the close of the oration, is an admirable specimen of
-classical eulogy.
-
-_The Farmer's Every-Day Book_, by Rev. John L. Blake (published by
-Derby, Miller, and Co., Auburn), is a unique collection of varieties by
-a veteran manufacturer of books, whose educational works have had an
-extensive influence on the youth of our country, and whose ripened
-experience is devoted to productions of practical utility for the adult
-mind. A mass of information is accumulated in this volume, which must be
-welcome to the cultivator of the soil, in his choice intervals of
-leisure, on a winter's evening or a rainy day. It is arranged under
-appropriate heads, expressed in lucid and attractive language, and
-combined with excellent moral suggestions. The author has derived his
-materials from every available source. He has shown a sound judgment in
-their selection. Nothing is admitted which has not a real claim on the
-attention of the reader, while there are few topics of interest to the
-farmer which are not discussed with more or less detail. The articles
-from Mr. Blake's own pen are distinguished for their liveliness and good
-sense. His book is equally adapted to the modest farm-houses of New
-England, and the log-cabins of the Western Prairie.
-
-Harper and Brothers have published a sumptuous edition of _The Nile
-Boat; or, Glimpses of the Land of Egypt_, by W. H. Bartlett--another
-agreeable volume on the manners and customs of the Orientals, with
-numerous sketches of their scenery. Mr. Bartlett's course was similar to
-that of which we have such a charming memorial in the "Nile Notes," by a
-Howadji; and it is interesting to compare the descriptions of two
-travelers, who look at the same objects from such entirely different
-points of view. Mr. Bartlett's first point is Alexandria, from which he
-departs for Cairo, whence he passes up the Nile, visits Thebes, Esneh,
-and Edfou, ascends the cataracts, and explores the weird ruins of
-Philae. The style of this volume is quiet and unpretending. It is
-illustrated with a profusion of engravings, from drawings made on the
-spot by the author, many of them with the camera lucida. They exhibit
-the principal monuments of the Pharonic period, as at Thebes, the later
-Ptolemaic style, as at Edfou and Philae, with some of the most beautiful
-specimens of the Arabian, at Cairo, besides many others of an
-interesting and instructive character. The volume is an admirable
-specimen of typography, and deserves a place in every library.
-
-Of the swarm of _Annuals_ for 1852, we have received _The Iris_, edited
-by John S. Hart, LL.D., and _The Dew-Drop_, a smaller volume, both
-published by Lippincott, Grambo, and Co. _The Iris_ is issued, with its
-usual splendor of embellishment and typography, with one especial
-feature for the present year, which can not fail to enhance its interest
-and value. This is a collection of drawings of some of the most
-remarkable objects connected with the Indian traditions on this
-continent, made by Capt. Eastman, of the United State's Topographical
-Corps, who was stationed for nine years on our northwestern frontier,
-among the Indian tribes in the vicinity of Fort Snelling. The traditions
-themselves have been wrought up into poems and tales by the wife of
-Capt. Eastman, depicting the vicissitudes of Indian life, and the
-passions of Indian character. A great part of the letter-press of the
-volume consists of these sketches, which, for the most part, are
-executed with a firm and graceful hand. Besides these there are several
-pieces which are gems of literary excellence. "The Cenotaph," by E. W.
-Ellsworth, in memory of Capt. Nathan Hale, who died nobly in the service
-of the Revolution, is a quaint ballad, displaying a strange union of
-pathos and Yankee humor. Edith May, Mrs. Mary E. Hewitt, and Alice Carey
-each contribute characteristic poetical pieces.
-
-_The Dew-Drop_ is exquisitely embellished, and contains selections from
-the writings of several of the best American authors. Among them we find
-the names of Longfellow, Boker, Tuckerman, Stoddard, Edith May, Miss
-Lynch, Miss Sedgwick, Mrs. Child, and other popular celebrities.
-
-_Uncle Frank's Willow-Lane Stories_ is a budget of pleasant narratives
-for children, from the pen of Francis C. Woodworth, whose contributions
-to juvenile literature are always distinguished for their cordial and
-lifesome sympathy with the young heart. These stories are taken from
-country life, and are full of juvenile adventure and incident. The
-volume is illustrated with neat wood-cuts. (Published by Charles
-Scribner).
-
-_Drayton_ (published by Harper and Brothers), is a new American novel,
-presenting several fine examples of character-painting, with a plot of
-more than common interest. The hero, who passes from the shoemaker's
-bench to a high place in the legal profession, is not a bad specimen of
-American go-ahead-itiveness, softened down by numerous redeeming traits.
-We think the anonymous author has displayed a degree of ability in this
-volume which promises a future career of decided brilliancy.
-
-_The Epoch of Creation_, by Eleazar Lord (published by Charles
-Scribner). An elaborate volume, devoted to the defense of Divine
-Revelation against the encroachments of modern science, with especial
-reference to the alleged results of geological research. The leading
-idea of the work is expressed in the following paragraph of the
-Introduction, of which, though by another hand, the whole treatise is an
-expansion and illustration. "The work of creation was necessarily a
-supernatural work; and hence all reasoning from the general laws of
-nature, which in their operation were subsequent to the work of
-creation, is as irrelevant in explanation of the Mosaic account, as the
-argument drawn from universal experience in disparagement of the
-miracles recorded in Holy Writ." Mr. Lord, accordingly, in explaining
-the teachings of Scripture on the work of creation, defends the literal
-sense of the Mosaic history. He maintains that the six days of the
-creation are to be understood in their most obvious acceptation, and
-that the attempt to reconcile them with the theory of a more ancient
-date of the material universe, is absurd in point of philosophy, and
-fatal to the interests of revealed truth. In the course of his argument,
-the author takes occasion to present several searching criticisms of
-Hitchcock, Miller, Pye Smith, and other eminent geologists, who have
-regarded the question in a different point of view. His work will be
-read with interest, at the present day, when so much attention has been
-drawn to the religious and scientific issues in controversy. Mr. Lord
-presents an earnest and able defense of the theological view, in
-opposition to what may be considered as the prevailing opinion of the
-scientific world. He writes with clearness and force. He is master of
-considerable logical skill. Without the vivacity of style, or the
-brilliancy of rhetoric which distinguishes the productions of many of
-his opponents, he aims mainly at the lucid expression of the arguments
-in the case, which he sustains with shrewdness and ability. No one can
-mistake his evident zeal for the interests of revelation; or accuse him
-of the slightest taste for scientific novelties.
-
-_The Theory of Human Progression_ (published by B. B. Mussey and Co.,
-Boston). The purpose of this book, which we should suppose was written
-by a Scotch Presbyterian, is to show the natural probability of a reign
-of justice on the earth. It is written in a hard, dry, ultra-logical
-style, tinctured with the spirit of Scotch and German metaphysics, and
-deducing the most stringent conclusions in regard to social justice from
-the language of the Bible. The author is an original thinker. He has
-little respect to custom or precedent. With great acuteness and
-discrimination, he points out the unavoidable inferences from the
-premises, which he assumes, and which, in most cases, he derives from
-the doctrines of Scripture. We rarely find such radical views of
-society, combined with such orthodox principles of theology. If the
-volume had been written with greater simplicity and liveliness of style,
-its effect would have been immeasurably enhanced.
-
-_Forest Life and Forest Trees_, by John S. Springer (published by Harper
-and Brothers). This is a genuine American work, redolent of the pine
-forests of Maine, and filled with fresh and glowing descriptions of the
-life of a New-England backwoodsman. The writer was reared in the midst
-of the scenes which he portrays with such distinct outlines and such
-natural coloring, and has spent several of what he regards as the most
-pleasant years of his life in the toils and adventures of a "down east"
-lumberman. Hence he moves among the "strange, eventful" incidents of his
-story, like one who is perfectly at home, jotting down his exciting
-narrations without the slightest effort or pretension, and introducing
-his readers by the simplest transitions to the very heart of the remote
-wilderness. His work is divided into three parts, namely, The Trees of
-America, The Pine Tree, or Forest Life, and River Life. The first part
-is a valuable compilation selected from the most authentic materials on
-the dendrology of New-England, accompanied with judicious original
-comments. In the remaining portions of the book, we have a variety of
-reminiscences of a residence among the wild mountains, forests, lakes,
-and rivers of Maine, adventures of lumbermen in the pursuit of their
-perilous calling, fresh pictures of the sublime scenery with which they
-are surrounded, and a fund of amusing anecdotes. Several instructive
-details are given in regard to the lumber trade. The volume is
-illustrated with numerous wood engravings, which will give a distinct
-idea of many of the localities and scenes described by the author.
-Although making no claims to literary excellence, in the technical sense
-of the term, we are sure this book will become a universal favorite with
-the "reading millions" of America, from Canada to California.
-
-_Service Afloat and Ashore, during the Mexican War_, by Lieut. Raphael
-Semmes (published by Wm. H. Moore and Co., Cincinnati), has already
-asserted a successful claim on the public favor, a large edition having
-been exhausted, and a second being on the eve of appearance. It is a
-work of standard merit, and does honor to the growing literature of the
-West. More substantial in its character than one would anticipate from
-its finical, book-making title, it presents a well-digested summary of
-the political history of Mexico, of her relations with the United
-States, and the various complications that led to the war of 1846. The
-author was personally engaged in the siege of Vera Cruz, of which
-terrible operation he gives a vivid description, drawn up both with
-military precision, and with appropriate poetical coloring. He afterward
-joined the army of Gen. Scott at Jalapa, was present at the battle of
-Churubusco as aid to Gen. Worth, and accompanied the victorious troops
-to the Mexican Capital. With an excellent opportunity for observation,
-and no small experience of military affairs, he has subjected the
-movements of the American army to a critical scrutiny, and presents his
-conclusions with soldier-like frankness and decision, though evidently
-aiming at impartiality. His remarks on the course of Gen. Scott are
-often severe, though he pays a warm tribute to the many admirable
-qualities of that eminent commander; but his deepest enthusiasm is
-called forth by the chivalrous and romantic character of Gen. Worth.
-Whatever opinion may be formed of the correctness of his comments on
-delicate military questions, it must be admitted that they are put forth
-in fairness and good faith, and if not to be regarded as conclusive,
-they afford a valuable aid in deciding the judgment of the impartial
-reader. The style of Lieut. Semmes is usually chaste and vigorous. In
-the mere narrative of historical events it sometimes flags, calling for
-the application of the whip and spur; but in the description of scenes
-of stirring interest, of battles, and marches, and shipwrecks, it
-kindles up with the occasion, and becomes glowing and vehement, often
-presenting passages of wild and startling beauty. We congratulate the
-noble-spirited author on the signal success of his work, and hope that
-we shall again hear of his name in the field of literature, as well as
-in the service of his country.
-
-_The Lady and the Priest_, is the title of a striking English novel,
-reprinted by Harper and Brothers, founded on the romantic history of the
-Fair Rosamond, Henry the Second, and Queen Eleanor. The wily priest,
-Thomas a Becket plays an important part in the plot, presenting an
-expressive contrast by his ambition and cunning to the innocent,
-confiding, and deeply injured Rosamond. As a specimen of the English
-historical novel, this work will compare favorably with the best recent
-productions of the London press. The development of the story is
-skillfully managed, and grows more and more interesting with each step
-of its progress.
-
-_Vagamundo; or, The Attaché in Spain_, by John Esaias Warren. (Published
-by Charles Scribner.) The title of this work is descriptive of its
-character. It is a good-humored record of a touch-and-go,
-genteel-vagabondish residence of several months in "old romantic Spain,"
-where the position of the author gave him access to much "good society,"
-and his tastes led him into a variety of odd, rollicking adventures,
-which he relates with an easy audacity that becomes quite fascinating
-before you arrive at the close of the volume. The strength of the author
-lies in his cordial, careless, jovial freedom. He shows such a
-quintessence of frankness, such a gay, contagious good-fellowship, as to
-disarm our habitual sternness as critics. His book contains little
-wisdom, and less wit, but for a dashing, effervescing, sparkling
-effusion of anecdote and adventure, commend us to its hilarious pages.
-There are trifles here and there, indeed, at which the over-fastidious
-may take offense, as in duty bound; but readers who are not frightened
-with a little exuberance of youthful frolic will find it a tempting
-volume.
-
-A neat reprint of Hugh Miller's _Scenes and Legends of the North of
-Scotland_, has been issued by Wm. H. Moore and Co., Cincinnati. It
-consists of a collection of interesting Scotch traditions, historical
-episodes, and personal anecdotes, presented in the garrulous,
-descriptive style, which has made the author popular among numerous
-classes of readers. Miller is a staunch, thorough-going Scotchman; in
-his opinion, there is no country like Scotland (and we too love
-Scotland); and no man in Scotland like himself (to which we demur); and
-this perennial self-complacency diffuses a kindly warmth over his
-writings, even when we find little to attract us in the dryness of his
-subjects.
-
-A. Hart, Philadelphia, has published an edition of Miss Benger's
-_Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots_, which portrays the history of the
-ill-fated queen in true and vivid colors. The work contains a variety of
-interesting anecdotes of the court of Henry II.
-
-Ticknor, Reed, and Fields have published an additional volume of William
-Motherwell's _Poems_, from the Glasgow edition. They include songs,
-fragments of verse, and other pieces not contained in the former
-volumes. They are distinguished for the characteristic simplicity,
-unction, and pathos of their gifted author.
-
-A new edition of the _Memoirs of the Buckminsters_, father and son, by
-Eliza Buckminster Lee, is issued by the same house--a volume of rare
-interest and beauty. Its pictures of rural life in New England are drawn
-with exquisite grace, as well as perfect fidelity, forming an
-appropriate embellishment to the affecting history of the subjects of
-the memoir.
-
-_Plymouth and the Pilgrims_, by Joseph Banvard (published by Gould and
-Lincoln, Boston), is a popular compend of the events in the colonial
-history of Plymouth, illustrated with numerous engravings. It is
-intended to form the first of a series, devoted to the history of the
-United States, and consisting of at least twelve volumes. The narrative
-in this volume is derived from authentic sources, but exhibits no
-remarkable skill in its construction.
-
-A new treatise on the _Elements of Geology_, by Samuel St. John, has
-been issued by George P. Putnam, adapted to the use of students in the
-higher seminaries of learning. It has evidently been prepared with great
-care and excellent judgment. Omitting the controverted and more abstruse
-points of theoretical geology, it aims at presenting a clear statement
-of the facts, which may be regarded as established in the present state
-of the science, and this is accomplished, we think, with the best
-success.
-
-_Sketches of European Capitals_, by William Ware. (Published by
-Phillips, Sampson, and Co., Boston). Rome, Florence, Naples, and London,
-are the capitals to which this admirable volume is devoted. Although
-passing over beaten ground, Mr. Ware has treated his subjects with
-freshness and originality. He copies no one; consults his own excellent
-taste in preference to any authorities; gives his impressions as they
-are made from his own point of view; and describes them with equal
-simplicity and boldness. His language is usually felicitous and choice.
-He is a keen dissecter of character, and has presented us with some
-highly-finished specimens of his skill in this kind. His remarks on the
-present condition of Italian society are discriminating and forcible.
-Coming from a genuine lover of freedom, they are entitled to great
-weight. The obstacles to the establishment of Italian independence,
-arising from internal jealousies, and the want of national unity are
-exhibited in a strong light. Mr. Ware was not favorably affected by the
-manifestations of English character, which he witnessed on English soil.
-On this point he expresses himself without the least reserve, in a vein
-of acute and biting criticism. Various other topics are handled in this
-volume, and all of them with freedom and manliness. Differing from the
-author in many of his artistic judgments, we like the prevailing tone of
-his work--its honesty, its unaffectedness, its vigor, its humane
-spirit--to say nothing of its language, which, as we have already
-hinted, is a model of classical and elegant English.
-
-Harper and Brothers have republished the first volume of Lamartine's
-_History of the Restoration_, from which we have given several extracts
-among our selections. It is decidedly the most important work of its
-prolific author since the "History of the Girondists." Bold in
-conception, abounding in lofty speculations, colored with a rich glow of
-moral emotion, it displays in the highest degree of perfection, the
-singular power of brilliant word-painting, and the felicitous artifices
-of rhetoric of which Lamartine is such a consummate master.
-
-_Rule and Misrule of the English in America_, by the author of "Sam
-Slick the Clock Maker" (published by Harper and Brothers). In the
-present work, Judge Haliburton leaves the field of humor and satire for
-grave political discussion. It is written in the interests of
-monarchical government, taking the United States as a warning against
-the evils of democracy. With this view, the writer traces the
-introduction of the popular principle into this continent, the means of
-its early establishment, and the provisions for its support and
-continuance. He endeavors to show that the success of republicanism in
-the United States has been owing no less to a wonderful combination of
-accidental causes, than to the ability, energy, and practical skill of
-the American people. Hence he argues that this form of government is not
-applicable to England or France, and still less to other European
-countries. Some of his speculations have the merit of ingenuity; they
-will awaken interest, as showing the effect of our institutions on an
-outside observer; but they can not be regarded as models of political
-acuteness or sagacity.
-
-Phillips, Sampson, and Co. have published the first number of a new
-_Life of Napoleon_, by Ben. Perley Poore, in which the author
-controverts the opinions of Scott and other tory writers on the subject.
-It shows a good deal of research, and is written in an animated style.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Tuckerman's _Characteristics of Literature_ is briefly noticed in the
-_London Athenæum_, as a "series of suggestive papers," whose "criticisms
-are for the most part sound and moderate, but exhibiting no great extent
-of reading, nor any profound and subtle appreciation of literary beauty.
-Sometimes they remind us of Channing--of whose style Mr. Tuckerman is
-evidently an admirer; but they lack his clearness of thought and
-brilliancy of color, his intensity of conviction, and continual
-reference to fixed canons and principles." The _Athenæum_ is
-systematically cold to American writers; nor does it do justice to Mr.
-Tuckerman in its criticism; yet it is right in tracing the influence of
-Channing both in his style and turn of thought. No one who was
-conversant with that "old man eloquent" in the latter years of his life
-could escape all tincture of the love of moral beauty which was the
-master principle of his nature. His contagious influence is seen in the
-harmonic proportions, the clearness of expression, the equilibrium of
-thought, and, we may add, the sensitive timidity of opinion which mark
-the writings of his unconscious disciple almost as decidedly as they did
-his own.--Dr. Ungewitter's _Europe, Past, and Present_, is spoken of in
-the same journal in terms of lukewarm approval.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The Copyright Question, so far as the English courts of law is
-concerned, stands thus.--The Court of Exchequer is at variance with the
-Court of Queen's Bench:--and the case on which the next decision will be
-made, is that of Murray _v._ Bohn with respect to the copyright of
-certain works of Washington Irving. Mr. Routledge, against whom Mr.
-Murray had brought the law to bear, has surrendered, and admitted that
-he has injured the plaintiff to the extent of two thousand pounds. Mr.
-Bohn, however, stands out; and the point which he has now to prove in an
-English court of law is, priority of publication of Mr. Irving's works
-in America. Plaintiff and defendant have each, we are informed, sent a
-special commissioner over to America on the subject.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The death of Mr. Gibbon, one of the most munificent patrons of modern
-British art, is announced. In the _genre_ school he has the credit of
-having called into existence some of the best efforts of many young
-artists of celebrity, by whom his liberality and protection will be
-gratefully remembered. To that and landscape pictures he principally
-confined himself as a collector, having little sympathy, so far as
-collection is a test, with the historical school of painting.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-At Clifton, on Friday the 1st of August, died the patriarch of English
-authoresses--we might add of English authors--Miss Harriet Lee, at the
-age of ninety-five. To most of the generation now busied with fiction,
-drama, and poetry, this announcement will be a surprise: so long
-protracted was Miss Lee's life, and so many years have elapsed since her
-last appearance in the world of imaginative creation took place. To
-readers of our time, Miss Lee is best known as having in her "German's
-Tale" of the "Canterbury Tales" (a miscellany of little romances by
-herself and her sister), furnished Lord Byron with the plot of his play
-of "Werner." More old-fashioned novel readers, who are given to weary at
-the philanthropy, philosophy, and preaching which threaten to turn our
-thousand and one tales into something more like "Evening Services" than
-"Arabian Nights," will find in her vigor and clearness of invention a
-merit which of itself deserves to keep the name of the novelist alive.
-Miss Lee's further title to mortuary honors is a play, or plays, acted
-with small success--and which has, or have, gone the way of Hannah
-More's triumphant "Percy," and Madame d'Arblay's withdrawn tragedy.
-Harriet Lee survived her sister Sophia twenty-seven years: Sophia having
-died at Clifton, in 1824.----In London on the 4th died Lady Louisa
-Stuart--aged nearly ninety-four--the youngest daughter of the Minister,
-Earl of Bute, and the grand-daughter of Lady Mary Wortley Montague--the
-lady to whom we owe the charming "Introductory Anecdotes," prefixed to
-the late Lord Wharncliffe's edition of Lady Mary's Works. Lady Louisa
-remembered to have seen her grandmother, Lady Mary--when at old
-Wortley's death that celebrated woman returned to London after her long
-and still unexplained exile from England. Lady Louisa herself was a
-charming letter-writer; and her correspondence with Sir Walter Scott
-will, it is said, fully sustain the Wortley reputation for wit, and
-beauty of style, while it will exhibit a poet in a very different
-character from that in which another poet figures in his celebrated
-correspondence with her grandmother, Lady Mary. Some of Scott's letters
-to Lady Louisa are included in Mr. Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-A pert English traveler, of a class which has shared too largely in the
-hospitalities of facile Americans, gives an amusing caricature of a New
-York Literary Soiree, to which he had by some chance gained
-admittance:--"I went to stay at a Mr. S.'s country house, about six
-miles out town, and was there introduced to his father, who has one of
-the best collections of pictures in New York. They were kind enough to
-take me to a literary réunion given by one Miss ----, an American
-authoress of some note, who always opens her house on that evening, and
-to point out to me many of the notabilities in the New York world of
-letters. Many of them were real 'lions,' and not a few only wore the
-skin. The latter classes made themselves undesignedly very amusing, and
-were mostly little men, who had published and circulated a novel or two
-largely among their friends, which in their own opinions entitled them
-to turn down their shirt collars, allow their hair and beards to grow at
-random, and to assume the appearance of men in whom mind had become so
-predominant over body, as to render the latter quite a minor
-consideration. They did not open their lips all the evening, but were to
-be seen in pensive attitudes with their arms leaning on chimney pieces,
-and looking pleasantly at vacancy, or seated on solitary ottomans,
-contemplating the company with a sort of cynical stare. They wished, in
-fact, to be considered as living in an atmosphere of dreams, and nobody
-offered to disturb them. Mr. N. P. Willis, to whom I was introduced,
-afforded a very pleasant contrast to these little lions, and laughed and
-talked on many subjects like an ordinary being. Miss ----, too, has
-nothing of the pedant, and very little of the professed 'blue' about
-her, and wound up the amusements of the evening by gracefully leading
-off in a polka. During the evening a 'hush' was circulated all round the
-room, and on inquiry I found that a Herr something, very like
-Puddlewitz, 'was going to play his thoughts,' and forthwith a foreign
-gentleman with as much hair as one face could conveniently carry, sat
-down at the piano. From the nature of the music, I should say that
-Puddlewitz's thoughts were of a remarkably mild and sentimental nature,
-and not at all in keeping with his ferocious aspect. After the polka the
-little lions began to rouse themselves and dispel the mental web which
-their thoughts had been working round them for the last two or three
-hours, and we all gradually dispersed."
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-A curious instance of LITERARY STRATEGY is presented in the London
-edition of _Vagamundo, or The Attaché in Spain_, the sprightly work of
-our countryman, Mr. Warren, which we have noticed above. It seems that
-he had made an arrangement with a London publisher to bring out an
-edition at the same time with its appearance in this country. Every
-thing from the manuscript that could betray its American origin is
-eliminated, and it is thus issued apparently as a native born English
-production, "dyed in the wool." A start is obtained on the American
-publisher, and the work is put into the market two or three months
-before its publication in New York. Our first impressions of it as a
-lively gossiping book were received from the English copy some time
-since, which surprised us as a remarkable specimen of the free and easy
-style, for English growth.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Of Andrews' Latin Lexicon, the _London Athenæum_ speaks as follows: "It
-can not now be said that there is any lack of good Latin and Greek
-Lexicons among us. Whatever our classical deficiencies may be, they must
-not hereafter be attributed to the want of such a _sine qua non_. Within
-the last twenty--even ten--years most valuable additions have been made
-to our lexicographical stores. Entick, Ainsworth, Schrevelius, and a
-host of other worthies who long reigned over us, have at length been
-banished to make room for their betters. Even Donnegan--after a brief
-but successful career--has met with an inglorious fall.
-
-"Besides our own dictionaries, we have those of our transatlantic
-brethren. Some few years ago they sent us over a large Latin Dictionary
-by Leverett; and now another of still higher pretensions (Freund's
-Latin-English Lexicon--edited by Dr. Andrews) has found its way here....
-Whatever time, attention, and care can do toward making the work
-complete and correct, seems to have been done, and we all know how much
-the excellence of a dictionary depends upon these points,--especially
-when they are accompanied by competent scholarship, as we have every
-reason to believe they are in the present case. The result is, what
-might be expected, a rich repository of philological information,
-clearly expressed and well arranged....
-
-"In conclusion, we are glad to have an opportunity of introducing so
-excellent a work to the notice of our classical and philological
-readers. It has all that true German _Grundlichkeit_ about it which is
-so highly appreciated by English scholars. Rarely, if ever, has so vast
-an amount of philological information been comprised in a single volume
-of the size. The knowledge it conveys of the early and later Latin is
-not to be gathered from ordinary Latin Dictionaries. With regard to the
-manner in which it is got up, we can speak most favorably. Never have we
-seen a better specimen of American typography. Every page bears the
-impress of industry and care. The type is clear, neat, and judiciously
-varied. A pretty close inspection has not enabled us to discover any
-errors worth mentioning."
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-A contributor to the _London Times_ has collected a mass of curious
-statistics in regard to the rise and progress of RAIL-ROAD LITERATURE in
-England. His essay in that journal has recently been issued in a
-separate pamphlet. Among other interesting statements, we find the
-following facts, which are singularly illustrative of English habits:
-
-"The gradual rise of the Railway book-trade is a singular feature of our
-marvellous Railway era. In the first instance, when the scope and
-capabilities of the Rail had yet to be ascertained, the privilege of
-selling books, newspapers, &c., at the several stations, was freely
-granted to any who might think proper to claim it. Vendors came and went
-when and how they chose, their trade was of the humblest, and their
-profits were as varying as their punctuality. When it became evident
-that the vendors of books and papers were deriving large sums of money
-from their business, the directors of the several companies resolved to
-make a charge for permission to carry it on; and tenders were duly
-advertised for, regard being had to the amount offered, and by no means
-to the mode in which it was proposed to prosecute the work. In some
-cases £200, and in others as much as £600 per annum have been deemed a
-fair rental for the book-stall at a London terminus. At one of the most
-important stations in the metropolis, a bookseller, who at one time
-professed himself unable to contribute £60 by way of rent to a benefit
-society established for the servants of the company, offered two years
-afterward £600 when the privilege was put up to public auction. The
-extent to which literary trash has been sold at these railway
-book-shops, may be conceived, when it is stated that a large profit has
-still remained for the bookseller after paying the very large
-rent-charge to the company.
-
-"A movement has, however, been made on the North-Western Railway to put
-an end to this unwholesome condition of things. The stalls have been
-taken by a spirited bookseller and news-agent, determined to supply none
-but works of sterling literature; and the leading publishers have
-responded to this movement by the reproduction of some of their most
-valuable copyrights in shilling and half-crown volumes. The little
-reprint of Lord Mahon's 'Narrative of the Insurrection of 1845,' appears
-to have been the first step to improvement. It caught our eye, as it had
-already fortunately arrested the attention at more than one railway
-station of Mr. Macaulay, the historian. The sight of it suggested to
-that brilliant writer the idea and title of a 'Traveller's Library,' and
-at his instigation--for which we here tender him our thanks--Messrs.
-Longman commenced the cheap and popular series known by this name, and
-adorned by Mr. Macaulay's own charming productions.
-
-"As we progressed north, a wholesome change, we rejoice to say, became
-visible in railway book-stalls. We had trudged in vain after the
-schoolmaster elsewhere, but we caught him by the button at
-Euston-square; and it is with the object of inducing him to be less
-partial in his walks that we now venture thus publicly to appeal to him.
-At the North-Western terminus we diligently searched for that which
-required but little looking after in other places, but we poked in vain
-for the trash. If it had ever been there, the broom had been before us
-and swept it clean away. We asked for something 'highly colored.' The
-bookseller politely presented us with Kugler's 'Handbook of Painting.'
-We shook our head and demanded a volume more intimately concerned with
-life and the world. We were offered 'Kosmos.' 'Something less
-universal,' said we, 'benefits the London traveler.' We were answered by
-'Prescott's Mexico,' 'Modern Travel,' and 'Murray's Handbook of France.'
-We could not get rubbish, whatever price we might offer to pay for it.
-There was no 'Eugene Sues' for love or money--no cheap translations of
-any kind--no bribes to ignorance or unholy temptations to folly. 'You'll
-soon be in the _Gazette_' we said commiseratingly to the bookseller. The
-bookseller smiled. 'You never sell those things,' we added mildly.
-'Constantly; we can sell nothing else.' 'What! have you nothing for the
-million?' 'Certainly; here is 'Logic for the Million,' price 6s.; will
-you buy it? 'Thank you, but surely books of a more chatty
-character----.' 'Chatty--oh, yes!' 'Coleridge's Table Talk' is a
-standard dish here, and never wants purchasers.
-
-"Every new work of interest as it appeared was furnished to the stalls,
-from Macaulay's 'England' down to Murray's 'Colonial Library,' and
-purchasers were not slow to come for all. Upon many good books, as well
-of recent as of more remote publication, there has been an actual run.
-'Macaulay' sold rapidly, 'Layard' not less so. 'Stokers and Pokers,' a
-sketch of the London and North-Western Railway, published in Murray's
-'Colonial Library,' sold to the extent of upwards of 2000 copies.
-Borrow's 'Bible' and 'Gypsies in Spain,' are always in demand, and St.
-John's 'Highland Sports' keep pace with them. Graver books have equally
-steady sale. Coleridge's works are popular on the rail. 'Friends in
-Council,' 'Companions of my Solitude,' and similar small books grasping
-great subjects, and written with high philosophical aim, are continually
-purchased. Poetry is no drug at the prosaic terminus if the price of the
-article be moderate. Moore's 'Songs and Ballads,' published at 5_s._
-each; Tennyson's works, and especially 'In Memoriam,' have gone off
-eagerly; the same remark applies to the Lays of Macaulay and to the
-Scotch Ballads of Aytoun.
-
-"The style of books sold depends more upon the salesman than on the
-locality; but there are exceptions to the rule. At Bangor, all books in
-the Welsh language must have a strong Dissenting and Radical savor.
-English books at the same station must be High Church and Conservative.
-School-boys always insist upon having Ainsworth's novels and any thing
-terrible. Children's books are disdained, and left for their sisters.
-'Jack Sheppard' is tabooed at the North-Western, and great is the wrath
-of the boys accordingly. Stations have their idiosyncracies. Yorkshire
-is not partial to poetry. It is very difficult to sell a valuable book
-at any of the stands between Derby, Leeds, and Manchester. Religious
-books hardly find a purchaser in Liverpool, while at Manchester, at the
-other end of the line, they are in high demand."
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-A writer in one of the London literary journals presents a severe
-criticism of the "Bateman children," who are now performing at St.
-James' Theatre, under the auspices of our widely-known compatriot, Mr.
-Barnum. A part of his strictures is as follows, of which there is much
-more of the same kind:
-
-"Mr. Barnum, the American monster-monger, has opened this theatre with
-an exhibition which it is disagreeable to witness and impossible to
-treat as a matter of art. Two American children, Ellen and Kate Bateman,
-stated to be six and eight years of age, are here produced in the
-respective characters of _Richard the Third_ and _Richmond_ in the fifth
-act of Colley Cibber's tragedy. Ellen, who performs the crooked-backed
-tyrant, carefully made up to look like Edmund Kean, has evidently been
-drilled by some one well acquainted with the style of that great actor,
-and elaborately wrought into a miniature resemblance of him. Not only
-the manner, but the voice has been tutored--tone and emphasis have been
-imparted, as well as gesture and deportment. To us, who recollect every
-phase of the style of the departed tragedian, this exact copy was
-something painful and revolting. Similar pains had been taken with the
-elder girl Kate--who, armed _cap-à-pie_, strutted and fretted as
-Richmond. The delivery of the children has been enormously exaggerated
-in their determination to produce effect. They are strained far beyond
-their natural powers--and the result is, an impression of caricature and
-burlesque."
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The Dublin literary circles have recently lost the Rev. Dr. Samuel
-O'Sullivan--a political writer of much force and activity, and one of
-the leading contributors to the _Dublin University Magazine_. "His style
-was close and consecutive--and of late years was marked by a vein of
-reflectiveness not often found among Irish writers. He was abler in
-attack than in defense--like most polemic authors. The most valuable of
-his writings are, a series of elaborate biographical essays on modern
-Irish statesmen; which apart from their literary talent have the merit
-of originality of matter. For his papers on Lord Chancellor Clare and
-Mr. Saurin he was furnished with special facts; and his Chaplaincy to
-the Ph[oe]nix Park Military School gave him access to several persons
-high in office, whose acquaintance he preserved. He was an entertaining
-and instructive companion--fertile in curious original anecdote. His pen
-exercised much influence on the Irish Conservative press for several
-years: but with the merits or demerits of political controversialists we
-meddle not. We hear that it was Dr. O'Sullivan's intention to reprint,
-with additional matter, his excellent essays on Flood and Grattan: the
-best pictures left us of these Irish statesmen."
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The Hakluyt Society have added to their very interesting publications,
-Richard Hakluyt's translation of the account of De Soto's _Discovery and
-Conquest of Florida_, with an additional account curiously corroborative
-of all its substantial details discovered and translated by the editor,
-Mr. Rye, of the British Museum. The expedition was not without valuable
-results of an accidental kind, though in its main objects it failed so
-lamentably; and the narrative now given is extremely vivid and striking.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Another volume curiously illustrative of the past, has been published
-with the uninviting title of _Consuetudines Kanciæ._ This is, in other
-words, a history of the Gavelkind, and other remarkable customs of the
-County of Kent. The author is a skilled antiquary, and gives many sound
-reasons for his belief that in not a few of those peculiar customs may
-be directly traced the famous and venerable laws of Edward the
-Confessor.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Doctor Latham has added to those researches and speculations as to races
-which have lately been found to explain so much of the peculiarities of
-national habits, customs, and laws, a sketch of the _Ethnology of the
-British Colonies and Dependencies_.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Dr. Lingard's valuable library has been bequeathed by the late learned
-historian to St. Cuthbert's College, Ushaw.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The _Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung_ has been seized and confiscated by the
-police at Leipzig, for having published, under the head of Great
-Britain, a notice, with translated extracts, of the two letters written
-by Mr. Gladstone to the Earl of Aberdeen on the treatment of the
-Neapolitan state prisoners.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The death of the famous naturalist, Dr. Lorenz Oken, whose theory of the
-Cranial Homologies effected a revolution in philosophical anatomy, and
-led the way to the admirable researches of Owen, has recently been
-announced. The name of Oken is most commonly associated by English
-readers with his "Physio-philosophy," a translation of which work, by
-Mr. Tulk, was published by the Ray Society. It abounds in admirable
-generalizations, unfortunately immersed in much that is false and
-fantastic, and clothed in the cloudiest phraseology of German
-transcendental metaphysics. Oken's researches and speculations (for he
-was as practical as he was dreamy) extended over all departments of
-natural history. Of the value he set upon facts, and the industry with
-which he collected them, a lasting monument exists in the volumes of the
-"Isis," a vast library of abstracts of the science of his time, founded
-and conducted by him as a periodical. Few men have had greater
-influence on European science than Oken. Until forced to quit Germany on
-account of his political opinions, he held a Professorship at Jena.
-Latterly he was Professor of Natural History at the University of
-Zurich, in which city he died about the last of August, at the advanced
-age of seventy-three years.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-From Halle, we hear of the death, a short time since, of a voluminous
-German writer, John Godfrey Gruber, founder and principal editor of the
-"Universal Encyclopædia of Sciences and Arts"--a work which was at first
-carried on by him conjointly with Herr Ersch. Herr Gruber was also a
-large contributor to the _Litteratur Zeitung_ and the
-_Conversations-Lexicon_. His separate works include: "The Destiny of
-Man," "The Dictionary of Esthetics and Archæology," "Researches into the
-Greek and Roman Mythology," "The Life of Wieland," and "The Dictionary
-of German Synonymes." These are but a few of his many writings.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-M. Dupaty, one of the forty French academicians, died a few days ago. He
-was one of the most obscure of that learned corps. His literary
-reputation, such as it was, was based almost exclusively on vaudevilles
-and on the libretti of comic operas. He was held in esteem in the days
-of Napoleon; but then literary distinction was very easily earned. The
-most notable event in the last twenty years of his life was being chosen
-(to his own great astonishment) an academician in preference to Victor
-Hugo, then at the height of his fame.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The 16th, 17th, and 18th volumes of the complete works of Frederick the
-Great have just been published at Berlin. They are entirely occupied
-with his correspondence. There are 4000 letters written by
-him--two-thirds are in French, the other third, chiefly on military
-operations, are in German, and were addressed to his generals. The whole
-letters belong to the state archives. The edition of the great
-Frederick's works, now in course of publication, was undertaken by order
-of the present King of Prussia, and at his expense.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The indefatigable Eugene Sue, notwithstanding his daily labors as one of
-the 750 law-givers of the Republic are, or ought to be, rather heavy,
-has found time to write another romance, of which the publication has
-been recently commenced in one of the daily Paris journals. It is called
-"Fernand Duplesis; or, the Memoirs of a Husband;" and is, it appears, to
-be an exposure of what in France it is the fashion to call the miseries
-and iniquities of married life. Written in great haste, it will (judging
-from the opening chapters) be slovenly in style and negligent in
-language; but, _en revanche_, it will (as it seems) be of great dramatic
-interest, and will throw new light on Parisian society--that strange and
-striking assemblage of intrigue and passion, of vanity and folly, of
-elegance and refinement, of chivalry and corruption, of much that is
-good, and of more that is bad.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Don Hannibal de Gasparis, the Neapolitan astronomer, who has, in the
-course of the last few years, discovered no less than five new planets,
-has, by a royal decree of the 4th, been named Professor of Astronomy at
-the University of Naples.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-In Hans Andersen's charming _Memoirs_ we find a graphic sketch of an
-interview with Reboul, the baker poet of Nismes, celebrated in
-"Lamartine's Journey to the East."--I found him at the house, stepped
-into the bakehouse, and addressed myself to a man in shirt sleeves who
-was putting bread into the oven; it was Reboul himself! A noble
-countenance which expressed a manly character greeted me. When I
-mentioned my name, he was courteous enough to say he was acquainted with
-it through the 'Revue de Paris,' and begged me to visit him in the
-afternoon, when he should be able to entertain me better. When I came
-again I found him in a little room which might be called almost elegant,
-adorned with pictures, casts, and books, not alone French literature,
-but translations of the Greek classics. A picture on the wall
-represented his most celebrated poem, 'The Dying Child,' from Marmier's
-_Chansons du Nord_. He knew I had treated the same subject, and I told
-him this was written in my school days. If in the morning I had found
-him the industrious baker, he was now the poet completely; he spoke with
-animation of the literature of his country, and expressed a wish to see
-the North, the scenery and intellectual life of which seemed to interest
-him. With great respect I took leave of a man whom the muses have not
-meanly endowed, and who yet has good sense enough, spite of all the
-homage paid him, to remain steadfast to his honest business, and prefer
-being the most remarkable baker in Nismes to losing himself in Paris,
-after a short triumph, among hundreds of other poets.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The Writings of Shakspeare would appear, from the following fact, to be
-read with as much avidity and delight in Sweden as in England and this
-country. A translation of his plays by Hagberg, Professor of Greek in
-the University of Lund, is now in course of publication. Of this, 12
-volumes have appeared; and although the first edition consisted of no
-less than 2000 copies, the whole have been sold off, and a second
-edition is in preparation. Professor Hagberg's translation is most
-favorably spoken of by those who are qualified to judge of its merits.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-A new theological work by Jonathan Edwards, printed from his own
-manuscript, is announced as soon to be issued. The fame of our
-illustrious American theologian attaches great interest, in the
-religious world, to this new production from his pen.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The Poem entitled "The Ship of Death," which floated into our Editor's
-Drawer from an unknown source, was written by Thomas H. Chivers, M.D.,
-author of a volume entitled "Eonchs of Rubies," and other poetical
-works.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Miss Catherine Hayes the celebrated Irish vocalist arrived in this
-country a few days since. Her first concert will be given while the
-sheets of our present Number are passing through the press. She is
-pronounced in her own sphere to be as unequaled as Jenny Lind in hers;
-brilliancy is the peculiar characteristic of the latter, pathos of the
-former. Those who have heard her abroad, predict for her a success not
-inferior to that achieved by her Swedish compeer. The fact of Ireland
-being her native land will of itself insure her a favorable hearing in
-America.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-We are reminded that the English work entitled "How to make Home
-Unhealthy," which was ascribed to Harriet Martineau, in a former Number
-of this Magazine, was written by Henry Morley, Esq.
-
-
-
-
-A Leaf from Punch.
-
-[Illustration: "Lor! What a most abominable Glass--I declare it makes
-one look a perfect Fright."]
-
-[Illustration: "There's a Bite! Pull him up, Charley, I've got the
-Landing Net."]
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-MUCH TOO CONSIDERATE.
-
-[Illustration: _Robinson._--"There, Brown, my Boy, that's as fine a
-Glass of Wine as you can get anywhere."
-
-_Mrs. Brown._--"A-hem! Augustus, My De-ar. You are surely never going to
-take Port Wine. You know it never agrees with you, my Love!"]
-
-[Illustration: _Angelina_ (_the Wife of his Bussom_).--"Well, Edwin, if
-you can't make the 'Things,' as you call them, meet, you need not swear
-so. It's really quite dreadful!"]
-
-[Illustration: _Uncle._--"So, you've been to the Crystal Palace--Have
-you, Gus?"
-
-_Gus._--"Yes, Uncle."
-
-_Uncle._--"Well, now, I'll give you Sixpence if you will tell me what
-you admired most in that Temple of Industry?"
-
-_Gus_ (_unhesitatingly._)--"Veal and 'Am Pies, and the Ginger Beer. Give
-us the Sixpence!"]
-
-
-
-
-Fashions for October.
-
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 1.--Walking and Riding Dress.]
-
-October, the beautiful month, standing like a mediator between summer
-and winter, is the season for exercise in the open air; especially for
-that healthful recreation, riding on horseback. It is the season, too,
-of the Indian Summer, when the pleasures of carriage riding and
-promenading are greater than at any other time of the year. For the
-ladies it should be an _out-of-door_ month; and for them we herald the
-decrees of fashion, touching their appearance in the open air.
-
-Walking Dress.--The figure on the left represents a very pretty costume
-for promenade. Bonnet, drawn _tulle_ with low crown. The poke is made on
-a skeleton of wire covered with yellow silk, and having four pieces
-across. Under the wires are fastened small bows of gauze ribbon so as to
-form three well-rounded rows. A similar row of bows trims the edge of
-the poke inside, and the ribbons composing it are continued along flat.
-A gathered ribbon is laid all round and fastens with bows. The crown is
-of _tulle_, slightly puffed, and ornamented with five ribbon _ruches_,
-supported by five wires covered with silk, which slope toward each
-other, and meet near the curtain. The curtain is _tulle_, trimmed with a
-plaited ribbon, from which proceed bows astride on the edge. The shawl
-is of silk or other light fabric. On the body there are five cross-bands
-of silk, goffered and cut at the edges. The top one reaches from one
-shoulder-seam to the other and is 2-1/2 inches wide, the other four
-gradually diminish down to the waist, where the last one is but little
-more than an inch. The trimmings goffered in small flutes are fixed
-under a narrow galloon; another galloon is placed a little higher,
-leaving an interval of about half an inch between them. A similar
-trimming runs round the waist and forms the lappets. The skirt has seven
-rows of goffered trimmings gathered like those on the body. The top one
-is an inch and a quarter deep, and all increase gradually down to the
-lowest, which is 3-1/4 inches. The sleeves are open under the arm from
-the elbow downward, and are held together by two goffered cross bands.
-The under-sleeves are lace, and form a large puff, which is fastened in
-a worked wristband.
-
-Riding Dress.--The figure on the right represents a riding dress. Felt
-hat with a terry velvet ribbon as binding for the edges, bows of the
-same, and a frosted feather. Body of white quilting, high and tight. The
-skirts hold to the body without seam at the waist. They are very round
-and full, owing to the cut of the side and the gores. They should come
-well over the hips, but not sit too tight. The middle of the body is
-open and leaves visible a rich lace shirt-frill very deep and full, and
-falling back on itself, owing to its fullness. The lace collar forms a
-ruff with two rows. The top and bottom of the body are hooked inside,
-but seem to be held by three gold double buttons; these twin buttons are
-attached together by a small gold chain. Those at bottom have a longer
-chain than the others. The sleeves are straight with a cuff turned up
-and standing out from the sleeve. Shirt of plain poplin, trimmed in
-front with velvet ribbons nearly half an inch wide, and continued all
-round the bottom.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 2.--Carriage Costume.]
-
-Carriage Costume.--Dress of _glacé_ silk; body half high, and open in
-front; waist long and slightly pointed; the body a tight fit and trimmed
-with a rich fancy trimming. The short skirt is very full, rounded at the
-corners _a la robes_, and trimmed to correspond with the corsage. The
-gathers at the waist are confined by narrow rows of _guimpe_. The skirt
-is long and very full, with a row of silk trimming laid on the hem at
-the bottom. Bonnet of _paille de riz;_ brim very open. Feathers are
-placed low at the right side. Lined with fulled _tulle_, ornamented
-with pink satin A shawl of white cachmere, with very deep fringe.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 3.--Caps and Undersleeve.]
-
-Caps.--The cap is almost universally worn as a part of morning costume.
-Nos. 1 and 2 represent two of the latest styles, adapted for the cool
-mornings of autumn. Those of a _negligé_ form are generally composed of
-muslin, embroidered _au plumetis_, or cambric, entirely covered with the
-richest kind of English embroidery, which sometimes resembles a splendid
-_guipure_. When the lappets are not formed of the same material, we see
-them of pink taffetas, attached to the cap, with a bunch of _coques_,
-composed of the same colored ribbon very full, and put on so as to
-replace the full bands of hair.
-
-Undersleeves, so elegant with open dress sleeves, are worn by all. The
-style as well as material has many varieties. No. 3 is a very neat
-style, made either of embroidered muslin, or lace.
-
-Pelisses are becoming very fashionable, made of plain Italian silk, and
-trimmed with a fancy ribbon three fingers in width, and bordered on
-either side with two narrow ones, appearing as if woven in the dress. We
-may cite, as a most elegant costume in this style, a redingote of
-pearl-gray, encircled with a ribbon of a pearl-gray ground, over which
-is quadrillé dark-blue velvet, having the narrow rows on either side.
-The front of the pelisse is closed with eight or ten rows of the same
-kind of ribbon, each end being turned back so as to form a point, from
-which depends a small blue and gray mixed tassel. The corsage is formed
-with broad facings, encircled to match the lower part of the sleeves.
-
-Jewelry.--The _châtelaine_ is now replaced, in a measure, by waistcoat
-chains, attached at both ends, the middle forming a festoon. _Brooches_
-are very rich; the finest are cameos set round with brilliants.
-_Ear-rings_ are composed of large stones mounted in plain rings, without
-pendants. _Bracelets_ are of enamel, sparkling stones, and gold. The
-waistcoat button is now a very elegant piece of jewelry.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-
-   Transcriber's Notes:
-
-   PUNCTUATION
-
-   Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
-   The oe ligature in the words manoeuvre, Phoenix, etc., has been
-   replaced with the separate letters in this text version.
-   Superscripted letters are indicated by a caret character, e.g. y^e.
-   Small capital text has sometimes been replaced with all capitals,
-   but not where it occurs in names of individuals, footnotes, or
-   illustrations.
-   Obvious punctuation errors have been repaired.
-   This text contains several examples of inconsistent hyphenation, e.g.
-   two thirds/two-thirds, and word spacing, e.g. mean time/meantime,
-   which have been retained in this version, except for "Good by" which
-   has been normalised to "Good-by".
-
-   Pg 582, question mark replaced with exclamation mark (Honor to
-   Letitia, the mother of Napoleon!)
-   Pg 680, question mark replaced with exclamation mark (Extremely fine!)
-
-   WORDS AND SPELLING
-
-   pg 579: "women" changed to "woman" (the best woman in France)
-   pg 588: "hunddred" changed to "hundred" (a population of but about
-   five hundred thousand)
-   pg 602: "Limana" normalised to "Limeña" (Limeña at home)
-   pg 606: "that" changed to "than" (much less depressed than that)
-   pg 616: "insted" changed to "instead" (twenty guineas, instead of
-   sixty)
-   pg 629: "grostesquely" changed to "grotesquely" (His life was
-   grotesquely checkered)
-   pg 631: "reched" changed to "reached" (he reached that last degrading
-   status in society)
-   pg 647: "guarrantee" changed to "guarantee" (a guarantee for what he
-   would have done)
-   pg 654: "massses" changed to "masses" (rude, unshapen masses)
-   pg 669: "tast" changed to "taste" (the taste of a man)
-   pg 675: "scluded" changed to "secluded" (having carefully secluded
-   her from marriage)
-   pg 695: duplicated word "been" removed (have been busily engaged)
-   pg 696: duplicated word "that" removed (It is intended that they shall)
-   pg 700: "it" changed to "its" (derives its supplies of provisions)
-   pg 715: "controversalists" changed to "controversialists" (merits or
-   demerits of political controversialists)
-   pg 720: "paile" changed to "paille" (paille de riz)
-
-
-
-
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