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diff --git a/42412-8.txt b/42412-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index de46989..0000000 --- a/42412-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9556 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 401, -March 1849, by Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 401, March 1849 - -Author: Various - -Release Date: March 25, 2013 [EBook #42412] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE, MARCH 1849 *** - - - - -Produced by Brendan OConnor, Jonathan Ingram, JoAnn -Greenwood, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team -at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Library of Early -Journals.) - - - - - - - - - - BLACKWOOD'S EDINBURGH MAGAZINE. - - NO. CCCCI. MARCH, 1849. VOL. LXV. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - SCIENTIFIC AND PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE, 255 - - THE SYCAMINE. BY [Delta], 274 - - AFTER A YEAR'S REPUBLICANISM, 275 - - THE CAXTONS. PART XI., 287 - - M. PRUDHON.--CONTRADICTIONS ECONOMIQUES, 304 - - THE GREEN HAND.--A "SHORT" YARN. PART II., 314 - - MÉRIMÉE'S HISTORY OF PETER THE CRUEL, 337 - - THE OPENING OF THE SESSION, 357 - - - EDINBURGH: - WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, 45, GEORGE STREET; - AND 37, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. - -_To whom all Communications (post paid) must be addressed._ - - SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. - - PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH. - - - - - BLACKWOOD'S - EDINBURGH MAGAZINE. - - NO. CCCCI. MARCH, 1849. VOL. LXV. - - - - -SCIENTIFIC AND PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE.[1] - - -There are three reasons why the second edition of a good book, upon an -advancing branch of knowledge, should be better than the first. The -author, however conversant he may have been with the subject when he -wrote his book, is always more thoroughly read in it--supposing him a -worthy instructor of the public--his opinions more carefully digested, -and more fully matured, when a second edition is called for. Then he -has had time to reconsider, and, if necessary, remodel his -plan--adding here, retrenching there--introducing new subject-matter -in one place, and leaving out, in another, topics which he had -previously treated of with more or less detail. And, lastly, the -knowledge itself has advanced. New ideas, which in the interval have -established themselves, find a necessary place in the new issue; facts -and hypotheses which have been proved unsound drop naturally out of -his pages; and, on the whole, the later work exhibits a nearer -approach to that truthful summit, on which the eyes of all the -advancers of knowledge are supposed evermore to rest. - -For all these reasons, the second edition of the _Book of the Farm_ is -better than the first. The opinions of the author have been -reconsidered and materially improved--especially in reference to -scientific points; the arrangement has been simplified, and the whole -book condensed, by the exclusion of those descriptions of machinery -which properly belong to the department of agricultural mechanics, and -which we believe are about to be published as a separate work; and the -strides which practical agriculture has taken during the last ten -years, and the topics which have chiefly arrested attention, are -considered with the aid of the better lights we now possess. - -Of all the arts of life, there is none which draws its knowledge from -so great a variety of fountains as practical agriculture. Every branch -of human knowledge is mutually connected--we may say interwoven -with--and throws light upon, or is enlightened by, every other. But -none of those which largely contribute to the maintenance of social -life, and conduce to the power and stability of states, is so varied -in its demands upon the results of intellectual inquiry, as -husbandry,--or rural economy in its largest sense. - -Look at that magnificent ship, which cleaves the waters, now trusting -to her canvass and wafted by favouring breezes; now, despite the -fiercest gales, paddling her triumphant way over hill and valley, -precipice and ravine, which the raging sea, out of her fertile -materials, is every moment fashioning beneath her feet. Is there any -product of human art in which more intellect is embodied than in this -piece of living mechanism? The timber can tell of the axe of the -woodman on far-distant hills, and of the toils of many craftsmen in -fitting it for its present purpose. The iron of the researches of the -mineralogist, the laborious skill of the miner, the alchemy of the -smelter, the wonders of the tilt-hammer, the ingenuity of the -mechanist, and the almost inconceivable and mathematical nicety by -which its various portions are fitted to each other, and, like the -muscles and sinews of the human body, made to play together for a -purpose previously contemplated--an uninstructed man might almost say, -previously agreed upon among themselves. The steam, of what hidden -secrets of nature!--the mysteries of heat, which could not hide -themselves from the searching genius of Black,--the chemistry of -water, which the ever-pondering mind of Watt compelled from unwilling -nature,--the endless contrivances by which its fierce power was tamed -to most submissive obedience in the workshops of Soho. The compass may -for a moment carry us back to the fabled mountains of our infancy, in -which the hidden loadstone attracted the fated vessel to its ruin; but -it brings us forward again to the truer marvels of modern magnetism, -and to the intellect which has been expended in keeping the needle -true to the pole-star in the iron boat, where, surrounded by metallic -influences, countless attractions are incessantly soliciting it to -deviate. And when, as the mid-day sun mounts to the zenith, the -sextant and the quicksilver appear, how does it flash upon us that -modern navigation is the child of astronomy; and that the mind -embodied in the latest Rossian telescope is part and parcel of the -inappreciable mass of thought to which, "walking the waters as a thing -of life," that huge steam-frigate owes its being! - -What a concentration of varied knowledge is seen in this single work -of art! From how many sources has this knowledge come!--how many -diverse pursuits or sciences have yielded their necessary quota to the -common stock!--how many varied talents have been put under -contribution to contrive its many parts, and put them fittingly -together! - -But, to the pursuits of the humble farmer, more aids still contribute -than to those of the dauntless navigator. His patient and quiet life -on land is as dependent upon varied knowledge, draws its instruction -from as many sources, and is more bound up in visible union with all -the branches of human science, than even the active and stirring life -of the dweller on the sea. - -Some of our journal writers are accustomed to ridicule the results of -agricultural skill; to undervalue our successful field improvements; -to laugh at Smithfield Christmas cattle, and at the exhibitions of our -great annual shows. In thoughtlessness, often in ignorance, they -write, and always for a temporary effect, which our progressing -agriculture can well afford to pass by. - -But we ask our rural reader to turn up the first volume of the _Book -of the Farm_, and to cast his eye for a moment on the triad of -beautiful shorthorns represented in the sixth plate; or on the -magnificent stallion of the fourth plate, or on the graceful sheep of -the seventh. We pass over the _points_ in which, to the educated eye, -their beauty consists; we dismiss, for the present, all consideration -of their perfection as well-bred animals, and their fitness for the -special purposes for which they have been reared. We wish him to tell -us, if he can, how much mind has gone to the breeding, rearing, and -feeding of these animals--how many varied branches of knowledge have -lent their aid to this apparently simple and un-imposing result. - -The food on which they have been brought up has been gathered from the -soil--the grass, the hay, the root crops, the linseed, the barley, the -oats. And how much intellect, from the earliest dawn of civilisation, -has been lavished upon the soil!--how many branches of knowledge are -at this moment uniting their strength to develop its latent -capabilities! Geology yields the raw materials upon which, in after -ages, the toils of the husbandman are expended. She explains what are -the variations in the natural quality of these materials; how such -variations have arisen; where they lead to increased, and where to -diminished fertility; how and where the still living rocks may -contribute to the improvement of the dead earth which has been formed -from them; and how, in some apparently insecure regions, the -unsleeping volcano showers over the land, at varying periods, the -elements of an endless fertility. Mineralogy lends her aid to unravel -the origin, and nature, and wants, and capabilities of the soil; and, -as the handmaid and willing follower of geology, dresses and classes -the fragments which geology has let fall from her magnificent -formations. But chemistry, especially, exhausts herself in the cause -of the husbandman. No branch of rural art, as we shall see, is beyond -her province and control. All that the soil originally derives from -geologic and mineral materials, chemistry investigates; all that these -substances naturally become, all that they ought to yield, how they -may be persuaded to yield it; by what changes this is to be brought -about; by means of what agencies, and how applied, such changes are to -be induced:--chemistry busies herself with all this, and labours in -some sense to complete, for the purposes of rural art, the information -which geology and mineralogy had begun. - -Upon the soil the plant grows. What a wonder and a mystery is the -plant! A living, and growing, and breathing existence, that speaks -silently to the eye, and to the sense of touch, and to the sense of -smell--speaks kindly to man, and soothingly, and appeals to his -reasoning powers--but is mute to the most open and wakeful of all his -senses, and by no verbal speech reveals the secrets with which its -full vessels are bursting. How many wise heads have watched, and -tended, and studied it--the humble plant--interpreting its smallest -movements, the meaning of every change of hue upon its leaves and -flowers, and gathering profoundest wisdom from its fixed and voiceless -life! To what new sciences has this study led the way! Botany never -wearies in gathering and classifying; and of modern giants, Linnæus, -and Jussieu, and Decandolle, and Brown, and Lindley, and Hooker, and -Schleiden, have given their best years to unfold and perfect it. -Alongside of descriptive and systematic botany has sprung up the -allied branch of Structural Physiology, and the use of the microscope -has added to this the younger sister Histology; while these two -together, calling in the aid of chemistry, have built up the further -departments of Chemical Physiology and Chemical Histology--departments -too numerous, too profound in their research, and too special in their -several niceties of observation, for one head clearly to comprehend -and limit them. - -And on the plant as it grows, and as a perfect whole, chemistry -expends entire and most gifted intellectual lives. Of what the plant -consists, whence it draws its subsistence, how it takes it in--in what -form, in what quantity, at what period of the day--how the air feeds -it, how the soil sustains it, why it grows well here and badly -there--what are the nature, composition, action, and special -influences of manures--where and when, and of what kind, they should -be applied to the plant--how this or that effect is to be produced by -them, and this or that defect remedied. - -But the life of the plant is an unravelled thread. The steam-frigate -appears to live, and thunders as she moves, breathing fire and smoke. -But the still life of the plant awes and subdues more than all this. -Man may forcibly obstruct the path of the growing twig, but it turns -quietly aside and moves patiently on. The dead iron and wood, and the -forceful steam, all obey man's will--his intellect overmasters their -stubbornness, and tames them into crouching slaves--but the life of -the plant defies him. That life he can extinguish; but to use the -living plant he must obey it, and study its wants and tendencies. How -vastly easier to achieve a boastful triumph over the most stubborn -mineral matter, than to mould to man's will the humblest flower that -grows! - -And each new plant brings with it new conditions of life, new wants, -new virtues, new uses, new whims, if we may so speak, to be humoured. -The iron, and the timber, and the brass are always one and the same to -the mechanist; but with the constitution of each new plant, and its -habits, a new series of difficulties opens up to the cultivator, which -only time and experience, and much study, can overcome. - -But mechanics also exert much influence upon the culture of the soil, -and the rearing of useful plants. And though the greatest achievements -of mechanical skill were not first made on her behalf, yet even the -steam-engine may be said to have become auxiliary to agriculture; and -the thousand ingenious implements which Northampton and York exhibited -at their recent anniversaries, showed in how many quarters, and to how -large an extent, the purely mechanical and constructive arts are -expending their strength in promoting her cause. - -On meteorology, which studies the aërial meteors--registers, -tabulates, and gives even a local habitation and a form to winds, -hurricanes, and typhoons--the progress of the navigator much depends. -They hinder or hasten his progress; but he overcomes them at last. But -atmospheric changes are vital things to the plant and to the soil. -Where no rain falls, the plant withers and dies. If too much falls, it -becomes sickly, and fails to yield a profitable crop. If it falls too -frequently, though not in too large quantity on the whole, one plant -luxuriates and rejoices in the genial season, while another with -difficulty produces a half return. If it falls at unseasonable times, -the seed is denied admission into the ground in spring, or the harvest -refuses to ripen in the autumn. - -So the warmth and the sunshine, and the evening dews and the fogs, and -the electric condition of the air--its transparency and its varying -weight--and prevailing winds and hoar-frosts, and blights and -hail-storms, and the influence of the heavenly bodies on all these -conditions--with all these things the interests of the plant and the -soil demand that scientific agriculture should occupy herself. On -every single branch of knowledge to which we have alluded, the power -and skill profitably to influence the plant are dependent. - -And for what purpose does the plant spring up, the soil feed and -nourish it, and the blessed sun mature its seeds? To adorn, no doubt, -the surface of the beautiful earth, and to keep alive and propagate -its species; but principally to nourish the animal races which supply -food and yield their service to man. And, upon the study of this -nurture and feeding of the animal races, how much intellect has been -expended! Has the stoker who heaps coals upon the engine fire, and -turns one tap occasionally to maintain the water-level in the boiler, -or another to give passage to the steam--and thus keeps the -pile-driver, or the coal-drawer, or the tin mine, or the locomotive, -or the steam-boat, or the colossal pumps of the Haarlem lake, in easy -and continuous operation--has he, or has the man who curiously watches -his operations--have either of them any idea of the long days of -intellectual toil--of the sleepless nights, during which invention was -on the rack--of the mental dejection and throes of suffering, under -which new thoughts were born--of the lives of martyred devotion which -have been sacrificed, while, or in order that the machine, which is so -obediently simple and easily managed, was or might be brought to its -present perfection? Yet all this has been, and has been suffered by -men now gone, though the ignorance of the humble workman, little more -thoughtful than the iron he works with, fails either to feel or to -understand it. - -And so too often it is with you who feed, and with you who look at the -simple process of feeding stock. As the turnip and the barley, and the -oats and the linseed, and the beans, are placed before the almost -perfect short-horn, or the graceful Ayrshire, or the untamed West -Highlander, or the stately stallion, or the well-bred Leicester or -Cheviot ram, or the cushioned and padded Berkshire porker--how little -do you know or think of the science, and long skill, and intellectual -labour, which have been expended in preparing what is to you so -simple! It is not without and beyond the ranks of the agricultural -community only that we need look for those who lessen the intellectual -character of rural industry, and of the rural life. Too many of our -practical men, even of high pretensions, are themselves only the -stokers of the agricultural machine; and, like ungrateful and -degenerate children, in their ignorance deny the head of the mother -that bred and fed them.[2] - -What are the functions of the animals you rear--what the composition -of their several parts--what the nature of the food they require--what -the purposes it serves--what the proportions in which this or that -kind of food ought to be given--what the changes, in the kind and -proportion, to adapt it to the special habits and constitution of the -animal, and the purposes for which it is fed? Are these questions -deep? Yet they have all been thought over and long considered, and -discussed and disputed about, and volumes have been written upon them; -and the chemist, and the physiologist, and the anatomist have, unknown -to you, all laboured zealously and without wearying, in your service. -And what you now find so simple only proves how much their sciences -have done for you. _They_ have fitted the machinery together, _you_ -but throw in the fuel and keep up the steam. - -With the rearing of stock, and the improving of breeds, practical men -are, or fancy themselves, all more or less conversant. How much warm -and persevering genius, guided by purely scientific principles, has -been expended upon our improved shorthorns and Leicesters! Are the -whole lives of a Collins, or a Bakewell, or a Bates, nothing to have -been devoted to pursuits like this? That these were practical men, and -not scientific, and that what they have done is not a debt due by -agriculture to science, is the saying of many. Men who have never read -a book can do, by imitation, what the patient services and skill of -other men discovered, and perfected, and simplified. But in this they -are only stokers. The improvers were sound and cautious experimental -physiologists, guided by the most fixed and certain principles of -animal physiology; and it is the results at which these men arrived -that have become the household words of the stokers of our day, who -call them _practice_ in opposition to _science_. If science could -forget her high duties to the Deity, and to the human race, she might -leave you and your art to your own devices. - -Need we allude to the conditions of animal life--in a state of health, -and in a state of disease; to the varied constitutions of different -races and varieties; to the several adaptations of food, warmth, and -shelter which these demand; and to the extensive course of study which -is now required to furnish the necessary resources to the accomplished -veterinary surgeon? Yet would any breeder be safe for a moment to -invest his money in stock, in a country and climate like ours, had he -not, either in books, or in his own head, or in that of a neighbouring -veterinarian, the results at which the long study of these branches of -knowledge, in connexion with animal health, had discovered and -established? - -We pursue this topic no further at present. We fearlessly assert--we -believe that we have shown--that as much intellect has been -scientifically expended in elucidating and perfecting the various -operations of rural life, by which those magnificent cattle have been -produced by art, as has gone to the elaboration of that wonderful -wave-subduing ship. The vulgar mind, awed by bulk and sound, and -visible emblems of thought, may dissent--may say that we have not so -much to show for it. But the laws of life are sought for and -studied--they are not made by science. The Deity has forbidden human -skill to develop a sheep into an elephant. Living materials, as we -have said, are not plastic like wood and iron; and to change the -constitution and character of a breed of animals may require as great -and as long-continued an exercise of inventive thought as to perfect -an imposing piece of machinery. The real worth of a scientific result -is the amount of mind expended in arriving at it, as the real height -of an animal in the scale of organisation is measured by the -proportionate size of its brain. - -But we have our more palpable and sense-satisfying triumphs too. Look -at that wide valley, with its snow-clad summits at a distance on -either hand, and its glassy river flowing, cribbed and confined, in -the lowest bottom. Smiling fields, and well-trimmed hedge-rows, and -sheltering plantations, and comfortable dwellings, and a busy -population, and abundant cattle, cover its undulating slopes. For -miles industrious plenty spreads over a country which the river -formerly usurped, and the lake covered, and the rush tufted over, and -bog and mossy heath and perennial fogs and drizzling rains rendered -inhospitable and chill. But mechanics has chained the river, and -drained the lakes, and bogs, and clayey bottoms; and giving thus scope -to the application of all the varied practical rules to which science -has led, the natural climate has been subdued, disease extirpated, and -rich and fertile and happy homes scattered over the ancient waste. - -Turn to another country, and a river flows deeply through an arid and -desolate plain. Mechanics lifts its waters from their depths, and from -a thousand artificial channels directs them over the parched surface. -It is as if an enchanter's wand had been stretched over it--the green -herbage and the waving corn, companied by all the industries of rural -life, spring up as they advance. - -Another country, and a green oasis presents itself, busy with life, in -the midst of a desert and sandy plain. Do natural springs here gush -up, as in the ancient oasis of the Libyan wilderness? It is another of -the triumphs of human industry, guided by human thought. Geology, and -her sister sciences, are here the pioneers of rural life and fixed -habitations. The seat of hidden waters at vast depths was discovered -by her. Under her directions mechanics has bored to their sources, and -their gushing abundance now spreads fertility around. - -Such are more sensible and larger triumphs of progressing rural -economy--such as man may well boast of, not only in themselves, but in -their consequences; and they may take their place with the gigantic -vessel of war, as magnificent results of intellectual effort. - -But it is after these first ruder though more imposing conquests over -nature have been made, that the demand for mind, for applied science, -becomes more frequent, and the results of its application less -perceptible. And it is because, in ordinary husbandry, we have not -always before us the striking illustrations which arrest the vulgar -eye, that prevailing ignorance persists in denying its obligations to -scientific research. - -The waters which descend from a chain of hills become a striking -feature in the geography of a country, when they happen to unite -together into a large and magnificent river: they escape unseen and -unnoticed if, keeping apart, they flow in countless tiny streamlets to -the sea. Yet, thus disunited, they may carry fertility over a whole -region, like the Nile when it overflows its banks, or as the river of -Damascus straying among its many gardens; while the waters of the -great river may only refresh and fertilise its own narrow margins, as -the Murray and the Darling do in South Australia, or the deep-bedded -rivers of Southern Africa. - -Thus much we have devoted to the introductory portion of the _Book of -the Farm_. Those of our readers who wish to follow up farther these -scientific views may study _Johnston's Lectures, and Elements, of -Agricultural Chemistry and Geology_: and by the way we would commend, -for applied science, these works of Johnston's, and for practical -knowledge, the book of Stephens, to the special attention of our -emigrating fellow-countrymen, of whom so many in their foreign homes -are likely to regret the overflowing sources of information on every -conceivable topic with which their home literature and home neighbours -supplied them. - -Let us now take a look at the body of Mr Stephens' work. These are the -days of pictorial embellishment--of speaking directly, and plainly, -and palpably to the eye. We have accidentally opened the book at the -217th page. What letterpress description could--so briefly we do not -say, for that is out of the question--but so graphically and fully, -explain the practice of eating off turnips with sheep, and all its -appliances of hurdles and nets, and turnip shears, and feeding -troughs, and hay racks, as the single woodcut which this page -exhibits? And so the practice of bratting and of stelling sheep is -illustrated, and all the forms and fashions of stells in high and low -countries (pp. 231 to 236;) the pulling, dressing, and storing of -turnips, (190 to 195;) the various modes of ploughing, with their ups -and downs, and turnings, and crossings, and gatherings, and feerings, -and gore furrows, and mould furrows, and broad furrows, and cross -furrows, and samcastings, and gaws, and ribs, and rafters, and slices, -and crowns, and centres, and a host of other operations and things -familiar to the farmer, but the very names and designations of which -are Greek to the common English reader. All these the woodcuts explain -beautifully and familiarly to the uninitiated readers, and most -usefully to the incipient farmer. How is the rural economy of Great -Britain and Ireland, in its best forms, stored up, not only for modern -and immediate use, but for the understanding of future ages, by these -illustrations! We would specify, in addition to those already referred -to, the steam-boiling apparatus in page 320; and the taking down of a -stack of corn in page 401; and the feeding of the threshing machine in -page 406; and the hand-sowing of corn in page 553; and the pickling of -wheat, (_chaulage_ of our Gallic neighbours,) page 536; and the -measuring of the grain in the barn, &c., page 419; and the full sacks, -_as they should be_, in the barn, in page 423. To the foreigner, how -do these pictures speak of English customs, costumes, and usages; to -our Trans-atlantic brethren, of the source of those modes and manners -which have at once placed them on an elevation in agricultural art, to -which 800 years of intellectual struggle had barely sufficed to lift -up their fathers and cousins at home; and to the still British -colonial emigrant the precise practices, and latest rural -improvements, which it will be his interest, at once, and his pride, -to introduce into his adopted land! - -How would the _Scriptores Rei Rusticæ_ have gained in usefulness in -their own time, how immensely in interest in ours, had they been -accompanied by such illustrations as these! The clearness of Columella -would have been made more transparent, the obscurity of Palladius -lessened; and Cato and Varro would have preserved to us the actual -living forms, and costumes, and instruments of the ancient Etruscan -times, more clearly than the painted tombs are now revealing to the -antiquarian the fashions of their feasts, and games, and funereal -rites. We have before us the singularly, richly, and extravagantly, -yet graphically and most instructively illustrated book of Georgius -Agricola, _De Re Metallica_ (Basil, 1621.) The woodcuts of the _Book -of the Farm_ have induced us to turn it up, and it is with ever new -admiration that we turn over its old leaves. It has to us the interest -of a child's picture-book; and though, as a _chef-d'oeuvre_ of -illustrative art, the three hundred woodcuts of Stephens do not -approach the book of Agricola, yet what a treasure would the work of -Ausonius Popma on the rural implements of the ancients--their -_instrumenta_ in its widest sense--have been to us, could it have been -illustrated when he wrote (1690) in the style of Agricola, and with -the minuteness and fulness of Stephens! - -The same desire to render minutely intelligible the whole subject -treated of, which these woodcuts show, is manifested in the more solid -letterpress of the book. It was said of Columella, by Matthew Gessner, -that he discoursed "non ut argumentum simplex quod discere amat, -dicendo obscuret, sed ut clarissimâ luce perfundat omnia." Such, the -reader feels, must have been the aim of the author of this book. In -his descriptions, nothing appears to be omitted; nothing is too minute -to be passed over. His book exposes not merely the every-day life, but -the very inmost life--the habits, and usages, and instruments of the -most humble as well as the most important of the operations of the -domestic, equally with the field economy of rural life. We do not -know if its effects upon our town population will ever be such as Beza -ascribes to that of Columella-- - - Tu vero, Juni, silvestria rura canendo, - Post te ipsas urbes in tua rura trahis; - -but certainly, with a few more woodcuts, it would, in minute and -graphic illustration, by prints and letterpress be a most worthy -companion to the work of Agricola. - -The plan of the book is to give a history of the agricultural year, -after the manner of the Roman Palladius and our own old Tucker; and -the present volume embraces the operations of the skilful farmer in -every kind of husbandry during the winter and spring. But, before we -come to the heart of the book, hear what Mr Stephens says about the -agricultural learning of our landed gentry:-- - - "Even though he devote himself to the profession of arms or - the law, and thereby confer distinction on himself, if he - prefer either to the neglect of agriculture he is rendering - himself unfit to undertake the duties of a landlord. To - become a soldier or a lawyer, he willingly undergoes - initiatory drillings and examinations; but to acquire the - duties of a landlord before he becomes one, he considers it - quite unnecessary to undergo initiatory tuition. These, he - conceives, can be learned at any time, and seems to forget - that the conducting of a landed estate is a profession, as - difficult of thorough attainment as ordinary soldiership or - legal lore. The army is an excellent school for confirming, - in the young, principles of honour and habits of discipline; - and the bar for giving a clear insight into the principles - upon which the rights of property are based, and of the - relation betwixt landlord and tenant; but a knowledge of - practical agriculture is a weightier matter than either for a - landlord, and should not be neglected. - - "One evil arising from studying those exciting professions - before agriculture is, that, however short may have been the - time in acquiring them, it is sufficiently long to create a - distaste to learn agriculture afterwards practically--for - such a task can only be undertaken, after the turn of life, - by enthusiastic minds. But as farming is necessarily _the - profession_ of the landowner, it should be learned, - theoretically and practically, before his education is - finished. If he so incline, he can afterwards enter the army - or go to the bar, and the exercise of those professions will - not efface the knowledge of agriculture previously acquired. - This is the proper course, in my opinion, for every young man - destined to become a landowner to pursue, and who is desirous - of finding employment as long as he has not to exercise the - functions of a landlord. Were this course invariably pursued, - the numerous engaging ties of a country life would tend in - many to extinguish the kindling desire for any other - profession. Such a result would be most advantageous for the - country; for only consider the effects of the course pursued - at present by landowners. It strikes every one as an - incongruity for a country gentleman to be unacquainted with - country affairs. Is it not strange that he should require - inducements to learn his hereditary profession,--to become - familiar with the only business which can enable him to - enhance the value of his estate, and increase his income? - Does it not infer infatuation to neglect becoming well - acquainted with the condition of his tenants, by whose - exertions his income is raised, and by which knowledge he - might confer happiness on many families, and in ignorance of - which he may entail lasting misery on many more? It is in - this way too many country gentlemen neglect their moral - obligations. - - "It is a manifest inconvenience to country gentlemen, when - taking a prominent part in county matters without a competent - knowledge of agriculture, to be obliged to apologise for not - having sufficiently attended to agricultural affairs. Such an - avowal is certainly candid, but is anything but creditable to - those who have to make it. When elected members of the - legislature, it is deplorable to find so many of them so - little acquainted with the questions which bear directly or - indirectly on agriculture. On these accounts, the tenantry - are left to fight their own battles on public questions. Were - landowners practically acquainted with agriculture, such - painful avowals would be unnecessary, and a familiar - acquaintance with agriculture would enable the man of - cultivated mind at once to perceive its practical bearing on - most public questions." - -And what he says respectively of the ignorant and skilful factor or -agent is quite as deserving of attention. Not merely whole estates, -but in some parts of the island, whole counties lag in arrear through -the defective education and knowledge of the agents as a class:-- - - "A still greater evil, because less personal, arises on - consigning the management of valuable estates to the care of - men as little acquainted as the landowners themselves with - practical agriculture. A factor or agent, in that condition, - always affects much zeal for the interest of his employer. - Fired by it, and possessing no knowledge to form a sound - judgment, he soon discovers something he considers wrong - among the poorer tenants. Some rent perhaps is in arrear--the - strict terms of the lease have been deviated from--the - condition of the tenant seems declining. These are favourable - symptoms for a successful contention with him. Instead of - interpreting the terms of the lease in a generous spirit, the - factor hints that the rent would be better secured through - another tenant. Explanation of circumstances affecting the - actual condition of the farm, over which he has, perhaps, no - control,--the inapplicability, perhaps, of peculiar covenants - in the lease to the particular circumstances of the farm--the - lease having perhaps been drawn up by a person ignorant of - agriculture,--are excuses unavailingly offered to a factor - confessedly unacquainted with country affairs, and the result - ensues in disputes betwixt him and the tenant. To - explanations, the landlord is _unwilling_ to listen, in order - to preserve intact the authority of the factor; or, what is - still worse, is _unable_ to interfere, because of his own - inability to judge of the actual state of the case betwixt - himself and the tenant, and, of course, the disputes are left - to be settled by the originator of them. Thus commence - actions at law,--criminations and recriminations,--much - alienation of feeling; and at length a proposal for the - settlement of matters, at first perhaps unimportant, by the - arbitration of practical men. The tenant is glad to submit to - an arbitration to save his money; and in all such disputes, - being the weaker party, he suffers most in purse and - character. The landlord, who ought to have been the - protector, is thus converted into the unconscious oppressor - of his tenant. - - "A factor acquainted with practical agriculture would conduct - himself very differently in the same circumstances. He would - endeavour to prevent legitimate differences of opinion on - points of management from terminating in disputes, by skilful - investigation and well-timed compromise. He would study to - uphold the honour of both landlord and tenant. He would at - once see whether the terms of the lease were strictly - applicable to the circumstances of the farm, and, judging - accordingly, would check improper deviations from proper - covenants, whilst he would make allowances for inappropriate - ones. He would soon discover whether the condition of the - tenant was caused more by his own mismanagement than by the - nature of the farm he occupies, and he would conform his - conduct towards him accordingly--encouraging industry and - skill, admonishing indolence, and amending the objectionable - circumstances of the farm. Such a factor is always highly - respected, and his opinion and judgment are entirely confided - in by the tenantry. Mutual kindliness of intercourse, - therefore, always subsists betwixt such factors and the - tenants. No landlord, whether acquainted or unacquainted with - farming, especially in the latter case, should confide the - management of his estate to any person less qualified." - -These extracts are long, but we feel we are rendering the public a -service by placing them where they are likely to be widely read. - -We have mentioned above that the _Book of the Farm_ is full of that -kind of clear home knowledge of rural life which the emigrant in -foreign climes at all resembling our own will delight to read and -profit by; but it will not supply the place of previous agricultural -training. There is much truth and sound practical advice in the -following observations:-- - - "Let _every_ intending settler, therefore, _learn agriculture - thoroughly_ before he emigrates; and, if it suits his taste, - time, and arrangements, let him study in the colony the - necessarily imperfect system pursued by the settlers, before - he embarks in it himself; and the fuller knowledge acquired - here will enable him, not only to understand the colonial - scheme in a short time, but to select the part of the country - best suited to his purpose. But, in truth, he has much higher - motives for learning agriculture here; for a thorough - acquaintance will enable him to make the best use of - inadequate means--to know to apply cheap animal instead of - dear manual labour,--to suit the crop to the soil, and the - labour to the weather;--to construct appropriate dwellings - for himself and family, live stock, and provisions; to - superintend every kind of work, and to show a familiar - acquaintance with them all. These are qualifications which - every emigrant may acquire here, but not in the colonies - without a large sacrifice of time--and time to a settler thus - spent is equal to a sacrifice of capital, whilst eminent - qualifications are equivalent to capital itself. This - statement may be stigmatised by agricultural settlers who may - have succeeded in amassing fortunes without more knowledge - of agriculture than what was picked up by degrees on the - spot; but such persons are incompetent judges of a statement - like this, never having become properly acquainted with - agriculture; and however successful their exertions may have - proved, they might have realised larger incomes in the time, - or as large in a shorter time, had they brought an intimate - acquaintance of the most perfect system of husbandry known, - to bear upon the favourable circumstances they occupied." - -The early winter is spent in ploughing, which we pass over, and -mid-winter chiefly in feeding stock, in threshing out the corn, and in -attending to composts and dunghills. Preparing and sowing the seed is -the most important business of the spring months, to which succeeds -the tending of the lambs and ewes, and the preparation of the land for -the fallow or root crops. These several operations are treated of in -their most minute details, and the latest methods adopted in reference -to every point are fully explained. - -In the husbandry of the most advanced portions of our island, the -turnip occupies a most important place in the estimation of the -skilful farmer, whether his dependence for the means of paying his -rent be placed upon the profits of his corn crops or of his cattle. - -Of the turnip we have now many varieties--though it is only seventy or -eighty years since it was first introduced into field culture--at -least in those districts of the island in which its importance is most -fully recognised. The history of its introduction into Scotland is -thus given by Mr Stephens-- - - "The history of the turnip, like that of other cultivated - plants, is obscure. According to the name given to the swede - in this country, it is a native of Sweden; the Italian name - _Navoni di Laponia_ intimates an origin in Lapland, and the - French names _Chou de Lapone_, _Chou de Suède_, indicate an - uncertain origin. Sir John Sinclair says, 'I am informed that - the swedes were first introduced into Scotland _anno_ 1781-2, - on the recommendation of Mr Knox, a native of East Lothian, - who had settled at Gottenburg, whence he sent some of the - seeds to Dr Hamilton.' There is no doubt the plant was first - introduced into Scotland from Sweden, but I believe its - introduction was prior to the date mentioned by Sir John - Sinclair. The late Mr Airth, Mains of Dunn, Forfarshire, - informed me that his father was the first farmer who - cultivated swedes in Scotland, from seeds sent him by his - eldest son, settled in Gottenburg, when my informant, the - youngest son of a large family, was a boy of about ten years - of age. Whatever may be the date of its introduction, Mr - Airth cultivated them in 1777; and the date is corroborated - by the silence preserved by Mr Wight regarding its culture by - Mr Airth's father when he undertook the survey of the state - of husbandry in Scotland, in 1773, at the request of the - Commissioners of the Annexed Estates, and he would not have - failed to report so remarkable a circumstance as the culture - of so useful a plant, so that it was unknown prior to 1773. - Mr Airth sowed the first portion of seed he received in beds - in the garden, and transplanted the plants in rows in the - field, and succeeded in raising good crops for some years, - before sowing the seed directly in the fields." - -The weight of a good turnip crop--not of an extraordinary crop, which -some persons can succeed in raising, and the accounts of which others -only refuse to credit--is a point of much importance; and it is so, -not merely to the farmer who possesses it, but to the rural community -at large. The conviction that a certain given weight is a fair average -crop in well-farmed land, where it does not exceed his own, will be -satisfactory to the industrious farmer; while it will serve as a -stimulus to those whose soil, or whose skill, have hitherto been -unable to raise so large a weight. According to our author-- - - "A good crop of swede turnips weighs from 30 to 35 tons per - imperial acre. - - "A good crop of yellow turnips weighs from 30 to 32 tons per - imperial acre. - - "A good crop of white globe turnips weighs from 30 to 40 tons - per imperial acre." - -Of all kinds of turnips, therefore, from 30 to 40 tons per imperial -acre are a good crop. - -The readers of agricultural journals must have observed that, of late -years, the results of numerous series of experiments have been -published. Among those that have been made upon turnips, he will have -noticed also that the crop, in about nine cases out of ten, is under -twenty tons; that these crops vary, for the most part, between nine -and sixteen tons; and that some farmers are not ashamed to publish to -the world, that they are content with crops of from seven to ten tons -of turnips an acre. Where is our skill in the management of turnip -soils, if, in the average of years, such culture and crops satisfy any -considerable number of our more intelligent tenantry? We know that -soil, and season, and locality, and numerous accidents, affect the -produce of this crop; but the margin between the _actual_ and the -_possible_ is far too wide to be accounted for in this way. More -skill, more energy, more expenditure in draining, liming, and -manuring--a wider diffusion of our practical and scientific -agricultural literature--these are the means by which the wide margin -is to be narrowed; by which what is in the land is to be brought _out_ -of the land, and thereby the farmer made more comfortable, and the -landlord more rich. - -The subject of sheep and cattle feeding is very important, and very -interesting, and our book is rich in materials which would provoke us -to discuss it at some length, did our limits admit of it. We must be -content, however, with a few desultory extracts. - -The following, in regard to sheep feeding upon turnips, is curious, -and, in our opinion, requires repetition:-- - - "A curious and unexpected result was brought to light by Mr - Pawlett, and is thus related in his own words,--'Being aware - that it was the custom of some sheep-breeders to wash the - food,--such as turnips, carrots, and other roots,--for their - sheep, I was induced also to try the system; and as I usually - act cautiously in adopting any new scheme, generally bringing - it down to the true standard of experience, I selected for - the trial two lots of lambs. One lot was fed, in the usual - manner, on carrots and swedes _unwashed_; the other lot was - fed exactly on the same kinds of food, but the carrots and - swedes were _washed_ very clean every day: they were weighed - before trial, on the 2d December, and again on the 30th - December, 1835. The lambs fed with the unwashed food gained - each 7-1/2 lb., and those on the washed gained 4-3/4 lb. - each; which shows that those lambs which were fed in the - usual way, without having their food washed, gained the most - weight in a month by 2-3/4 lb. each lamb. There appears to me - no advantage in this method of management--indeed animals are - fond of licking the earth, particularly if fresh turned up; - and a little of it taken into the stomach with the food must - be conducive to their health, or nature would not lead them - to take it.'" - -Another experiment on the fattening properties of different breeds of -sheep, under similar treatment, quoted from the _Journal of the Royal -Agricultural Society of England_, is also deserving the attention of -our readers:-- - - "Experiments were made in 1844-5 on the Earl of Radnor's farm - at Coleshill, on the comparative fattening properties of - different breeds of sheep under the same treatment. The sheep - consisted of Leicesters, South-downs, half-breds,--a cross - between the Cotswold and South-down--and Cotswolds. The - sheep, being then lambs, were divided into lots of three each - of each breed, and were grazed four months, from 29th August - 1844 to 4th January 1845, when they were put on hay and - swedes for three months, from 4th January to the 31st of - March following. While on grass, the different breeds gained - in weight as follows:-- - - lb. lb. - The Leicesters being 46 each, gained 10-1/2 each. - South-downs 47 " 11 - Half-breds 44-1/2 " 12 - Cotswolds 56-1/2 " 10-1/2" - -It is one of the most delicate qualifications connected with the -stock-feeder's art to be able to select that stock, and that variety -of it, which, under all the circumstances in which he is placed, will -give him the largest return in money--hence every experiment like the -above, if well conducted, is deserving of his close attention. At the -same time, in rural experiments, more almost than in any other, the -number of elements which interfere with the result, and may modify it, -is so great, that too much confidence ought not to be placed upon -single trials. Repeated results _of one kind_ must be obtained, before -a farmer can be justified in spending much money on the faith of them. - -In turning to the winter feeding of cattle upon turnips and other -food--a subject important enough to justify Mr Stephens in devoting -forty of his closely printed pages to it--we are reminded of a -character of this book which we like very much, which squares -admirably with our own idea of neatness, order, and method, and which -we heartily commend to the attention of our farming friends: this is -the full and minute description he gives of the duties of every class -of servants upon the farm, of the necessity of having these duties -regularly and methodically performed, and of the way in which the -master may bring this about. - -The cattle-man is an important person in the winter feeding of cattle; -he therefore commences this section with an account of the duties and -conduct of this man. Even his dress he describes; and the following -paragraph shows his reason for drawing the young farmer's attention to -it:-- - - "The _dress_ of a cattle-man is worth attending to, as - regards its appropriateness for his business. Having so much - straw to carry on his back, a bonnet or round-crowned hat is - the most convenient head-dress for him; but what is of more - importance when he has charge of a bull, is to have his - clothes of a sober hue, free of gaudy or strongly-contrasted - colours, especially _red_, as that colour is peculiarly - offensive to bulls. It is with red cloth and flags that the - bulls in Spain are irritated to action at their celebrated - bull-fights. Instances are in my remembrance of bulls turning - upon their keepers, not because they were habited in red, but - from some strongly contrasted bright colours. It was stated - that the keeper of the celebrated bull Sirius, belonging to - the late Mr Robertson of Ladykirk, wore a red nightcap on the - day the bull attacked and killed him. On walking with a lady - across a field, my own bull--the one represented in the plate - of the Short-horn Bull, than which a more gentle and generous - creature of his kind never existed--made towards us in an - excited state; and for his excitement I could ascribe no - other cause than the red shawl worn by the lady, for as soon - as we left the field he resumed his wonted quietness. I - observed him excited, on another occasion, in his hammel, - when the cattle-man--an aged man, who had taken charge of him - for years--attended him one Sunday forenoon in a new red - nightcap, instead of his usual black hat. Be the cause of the - disquietude in the animal what it may, it is prudential in a - _cattle_-man to be habited in a sober suit of clothes." - -Then, after insisting upon _regularity of time_ in everything he does, -following the man through a whole day's work, describing all his -operations, and giving figures of all his tools,--his graip, his -shovel, his different turnip choppers, his turnip-slicer, his -wheel-barrow, his chaff-cutters, his linseed bruisers, and his -corn-crushers,--he gives us the following illustration of the -necessity of regularity and method, and of the way to secure them:-- - - "In thus minutely detailing the duties of the cattle-man, my - object has been to show you rather how the turnips and fodder - should be distributed relatively than absolutely; but - whatever hour and minute the cattle-man finds, from - experience, he can devote to each portion of his work, you - should see that he performs _the same operation at the same - time every day_. By paying strict attention to time, the - cattle will be ready for and expect their wonted meals at the - appointed times, and will not complain until they arrive. - Complaints from his stock should be distressing to every - farmer's ears, for he may be assured they will not complain - until they feel hunger; and if allowed to hunger they will - not only lose condition, but render themselves, by - discontent, less capable of acquiring it when the food - happens to be fully given. Wherever you hear lowings from - cattle, you may safely conclude that matters are conducted - there in an irregular manner. The cattle-man's rule is a - simple one, and easily remembered,--_Give food and fodder to - cattle at fixed times, and dispense them in a fixed routine_. - I had a striking instance of the bad effects of irregular - attention to cattle. An old staid labourer was appointed to - take charge of cattle, and was quite able and willing to - undertake the task. He got his own way at first, as I had - observed many labouring men display great ingenuity in - arranging their work. Lowings were soon heard from the stock - in all quarters, both in and out of doors, which intimated - the want of regularity in the cattle-man; whilst the poor - creature himself was constantly in a state of bustle and - uneasiness. To put an end to this disorderly state of things, - I apportioned his entire day's work by his own watch; and on - implicitly following the plan, he not only soon satisfied the - wants of every animal committed to his charge, but had - abundant leisure to lend a hand to anything that required his - temporary assistance. His old heart overflowed with gratitude - when he found the way of making all his creatures happy; and - his kindness to them was so undeviating, they would have done - whatever he liked." - -And the money profit which this attention to regularity will give, in -addition to the satisfaction which attends it, is thus plainly set -down:-- - - "Let us reduce the results of bad management to figures. - Suppose you have three sets of beasts, of different ages, - each containing 20 beasts--that is, 60 in all--and they get - as many turnips as they can eat. Suppose that each of these - beasts acquires only half a pound less live weight every day - than they would under the most proper management, and this - would incur a loss of 30 lbs. a-day of live weight, which, - over 180 days of the fattening season, will make the loss - amount to 5400 lbs. of live weight; or, according to the - common rules of computation, 3240 lbs., or 231 stones, of - dead weight at 6s. the stone, £69, 6s.--a sum equal to more - than five times the wages received by the cattle-man. The - question, then, resolves itself into this--whether it is not - for your interest to save this sum annually, by making your - cattle-man attend your cattle according to a regular plan, - the form of which is in your own power to adopt and pursue?" - -We must pass over the entire doctrine of prepared food, which has -lately occupied so much attention, and has been so ably advocated by -Mr Warner, Mr Marshall, Mr Thompson, and which, among others, has been -so successfully practised by our friend Mr Hutton of Sowber Hill in -Yorkshire. We only quote, by the way, a curious observation of Mr -Robert Stephenson of Whitelaw in East-Lothian: - - "'We shall conclude,' he says, 'by relating a singular - fact'--and a remarkable one it is, and worth - remembering--'that _sheep_ on turnips will consume nearly in - proportion to _cattle_, weight for weight; that is, 10 sheep - of 14 lbs. a-quarter, or 40 stones in all, will eat nearly - the same quantity of turnips as an ox of 40 stones; but turn - the ox to grass, and 6 sheep will be found to consume an - equal quantity. This great difference may perhaps,' says Mr - Stephenson, and I think truly, 'be accounted for by the - practice of sheep cropping the grass much closer and oftener - than cattle, and which, of course, prevents its growing so - rapidly with them as with cattle.'" - -The treatment of farm horses in winter is under the direction of the -ploughman, whose duties are first described, after which the system of -management and feeding of farm and saddle horses is discussed at a -length of thirty pages. - -Among other pieces of curious information which our author gives us is -the nomenclature of the animals he treats of, at their various ages. -This forms a much larger vocabulary than most people imagine, and -comprises many words of which four-fifths of our population would be -unable to tell the meaning. - -Thus, of the sheep he informs us-- - - "A new-born sheep is called a _lamb_, and retains the name - until weaned from its mother and able to support itself. The - generic name is altered according to the sex and state of the - animal; when a female it is a _ewe-lamb_, when a male - _tup-lamb_, and this last is changed to _hogg-lamb_ when it - undergoes emasculation. - - "After a lamb has been weaned, until the first fleece is - shorn from its back, it receives the name of _hogg_, which is - also modified according to the sex and state of the animal, a - female being a _ewe-hogg_, a male a _tup-hogg_, and a - castrated male a _wether-hogg_. After the first fleece has - been shorn, another change is made in the nomenclature; the - ewe-hogg then becomes a _gimmer_, the tup-hogg a - _shearling-tup_, and the wether-hog a _dinmont_, and these - names are retained until the fleece is shorn a second time. - - "After the second shearing another change is effected in all - these names; the gimmer is then a _ewe_ if she is _in lamb_, - but if not, a _barren gimmer_ and if never put to the ram a - _eild gimmer_. The shearling tup is then a _2-shear tup_, and - the dinmont is a _wether_, but more correctly a _2-shear - wether_. - - "A ewe three times shorn is a _twinter ewe_, (_two-winter - ewe_;) a tup is a _3-shear tup_; and a wether still a - _wether_, or more correctly a _3-shear wether_--which is an - uncommon name among Leicester sheep, as the castrated sheep - of that breed are rarely kept to that age. - - "A ewe four times shorn is a _three winter ewe_, or _aged - ewe_; a tup, an _aged tup_, a name he retains ever after, - whatever his age, but they are seldom kept beyond this age; - and the wether is now a _wether_ properly so called. - - "A _tup_ and _ram_ are synonymous terms. - - "A ewe that has borne a lamb, when it fails to be with lamb - again is a _tup-eill_ or _barren ewe_. After a ewe has ceased - to give milk she is a _yeld-ewe_. - - "A ewe when removed from the breeding flock is a _draft ewe_, - whatever her age may be; gimmers put aside as unfit for - breeding are _draft gimmers_, and the lambs, dinmonts or - wethers, drafted out of the fat or young stock are - _sheddings_, _tails_, or _drafts_. - - "In England a somewhat different nomenclature prevails. Sheep - bear the name of _lamb_ until eight months old, after which - they are _ewe_ and _wether teggs_ until once clipped. Gimmers - are _theares_ until they bear the first lamb, when they are - _ewes of 4-teeth_, next year _ewes of 6-teeth_, and the year - after _full-mouthed ewes_. Dinmonts are called _shear hoggs_ - until shorn of the fleece, when they are _2-shear wethers_, - and ever after are _wethers_." - -The names of cattle are a little less complicated. - - "The _names_ given to cattle at their various ages are - these:--A new-born animal of the ox-tribe is called a _calf_, - a male being a _bull-calf_, a female a _quey-calf_, - _heifer-calf_, or _cow-calf_; and a castrated male calf is a - _stot-calf_, or simply a _calf_. Calf is applied to all young - cattle until they attain one year old, when they are - _year-olds_ or _yearlings_--_year-old bull_, _year-old quey_ - or heifer, _year-old stot_. _Stot_, in some places, is a bull - of any age. - - "In another year they are _2-year old bull_, _2-year-old - quey_ or _heifer_, _2-year-old-stot_ or _steer_. In England - females are _stirks_ from calves to 2-year-old, and males - _steers_; in Scotland both young male and females are - _stirks_. The next year they are _3-year-old bull_, in - England 3-year-old female a _heifer_, in Scotland a - _3-year-old quey_, and a male is a _3-year-old stot_ or - _steer_. - - "When a quey bears a calf, it is a _cow_, both in Scotland - and England. Next year the _bulls_ are _aged_; the _cows_ - retain the name ever after, and the _stots_ or _steers_ are - _oxen_, which they continue to be to any age. A cow or quey - that has received the bull is _served_ or _bulled_, and is - then _in calf_, and in that state these are in England - _in-calvers_. A cow that suffers abortion _slips_ its calf. A - cow that has either _missed_ being in calf, or has _slipped_ - calf, is _eill_; and one that has gone dry of milk is a - _yeld-cow_. A cow giving milk is a _milk_ or _milch-cow_. - When two calves are born at one birth, they are _twins_; if - three, _trins_. A quey calf of twins of bull and quey calves, - is a _free martin_, and never produces young, but exhibits no - marks of a hybrid or mule. - - "_Cattle_, _black cattle_, _horned cattle_, and _neat - cattle_, are all generic names for the ox tribe, and the term - _beast_ is a synonyme. - - "An ox without horns is _dodded_ or _humbled_. - - "A castrated bull is a _segg_. A quey-calf whose ovaries have - been obliterated, to prevent her breeding, is a _spayed - heifer_ or _quey_." - -Those of the horse are fewer, and more generally known-- - - "The names commonly given to the different states of the - horse are these:--The new-born one is called a _foal_, the - male being a _colt foal_, and the female a _filly foal_. - After being weaned, the foals are called simply _colt_ or - _filly_, according to the sex, which the colt retains until - broken in for work, when he is a _horse_ or _gelding_ which - he retains all his life; and the filly is then changed into - _mare_. When the colt is not castrated he is an _entire - colt_; which name he retains until he serves mares, when he - is a _stallion_ or _entire horse_; when castrated he is a - _gelding_; and it is in this state that he is chiefly worked. - A mare, when served, is said to be _covered by_ or _stinted - to_ a particular stallion; and after she has borne a foal she - is a _brood mare_, until she ceases to bear, when she is a - _barren mare_ or _eill mare_; and when dry of milk, she is - _yeld_. A mare, while big with young, is _in foal_. Old - stallions are never castrated." - -Those of the pig are as follows-- - - "When new-born, they are called _sucking pigs_, or simply - _pigs_; and the male is a _boar pig_, the female _sow pig_. A - castrated male, after it is weaned, is a _shot_ or _hog_. Hog - is the name mostly used by naturalists, and very frequently - by writers on agriculture; but, as it sounds so like the name - given to young sheep, (hogg,) I shall always use the terms - pig and swine for the sake of distinction. The term _hog_ is - said to be derived from a Hebrew noun, signifying 'to have - narrow eyes,' a feature quite characteristic of this species - of animal. A spayed female is a _cut sow pig_. As long as - both sorts of cut pigs are small and young, they are - _porkers_ or _porklings_. A female that has not been cut, and - before it bears young, is an _open sow_; and an entire male, - after being weaned, is always a _boar_ or _brawn_. A cut boar - is a _brawner_. A female that has taken the boar is said to - be _lined_; when bearing young she is a _brood sow_; and when - she has brought forth pigs she has _littered_ or _farrowed_, - and her family of pigs at one birth form a _litter_ or - _farrow_ of pigs." - -The diseases of cattle, horses, pigs, and poultry, are treated -of--their management in disease, that is, as well as in health. And it -is one of the merits of Mr Stephens that he has taken such pains in -getting up his different subjects--that he seems as much at home in -one department of his art as in another; and we follow him with equal -confidence in his description of field operations, of servant-choosing -and managing, of cattle-buying, tending, breeding, feeding, -butchering, and even cooking and eating--for he is cunning in these -last points also. - -His great predecessor Tucker prided himself, in his "_Five hundred -points_," in mixing up huswifry with husbandry:-- - - "In husbandry matters, where _Pilcrow_[3] ye find, - That verse appertaineth to Huswif'ry kind; - So have ye more lessons, if there ye look well, - Than huswif'ry book doth utter or tell." - -Following Tucker's example, our author scatters here and there -throughout his book much useful information for the farmer's wife; and -for her especial use, no doubt, he has drawn up his curious and -interesting chapter on the treatment of fowls in winter. To show how -minute his knowledge is upon this point, and how implicitly therefore -he may be trusted in greater matters, we quote the following:-- - -"Every yellow-legged chicken should be used, whether male or -female--their flesh never being so fine as the others." "Young fowls -may either be roasted or boiled, the male making the best roasted, and -the female the neatest boiled dish." "The criterion of a fat hen, when -alive, is a plump breast, and the rump feeling thick, fat, and firm, -on being handled laterally between the finger and thumb." - -"Of a fat goose the mark is, plumpness of muscle over the breast, and -thickness of rump when alive; and in addition, when dead and plucked, -of a uniform covering of _white_ fat under a fine skin on the breast." -"Geese are always roasted in Britain, though a boiled goose is not an -uncommon dish in Ireland; and their flesh is certainly much heightened -in flavour by a stuffing of onions, and an accompaniment of apple -sauce." - -We suppose a boiled goose must be especially tasteless, as we once -knew an old schoolmaster on the North Tyne, whose very stupid pupils -were always christened _boiled geese_. - -The threshing and winnowing of grain, which forms so important a part -of the winter operations of a farm, naturally lead our author to -describe and figure the different species of corn plants and their -varieties, and to discuss their several nutritive values, the -geographical range and distribution of each, and the special uses or -qualities of the different varieties. - -Widely spread and known for so many ages, the home or native country -of our cereal plants is not only unknown, but some suppose the several -species, like the varieties of the human race, to have all sprung from -a common stock. - - "It is a very remarkable circumstance, as observed by Dr - Lindley, that the native country of wheat, oats, barley, and - rye should be entirely unknown; for although oats and barley - were found by Colonel Chesney, apparently wild, on the banks - of the Euphrates, it is doubtful whether they were not the - remains of cultivation. This has led to an opinion, on the - part of some persons, that all our cereal plants are - artificial productions, obtained accidentally, but retaining - their habits, which have become fixed in the course of ages." - -Whatever may be the original source of our known species of grain, and -of their numerous varieties, it cannot be doubted that their -existence, at the present time, is a great blessing to man. Of wheat -there are upwards of a hundred and fifty known varieties, of barley -upwards of thirty, and of oats about sixty. While the different -species--wheat, barley, and oats--are each specially confined to large -but limited regions of the earth's surface, the different varieties -adapt themselves to the varied conditions of soil and climate which -exist within the natural geographical region of each, and to the -different uses for which each species is intended to be employed. - -Thus the influence of variety upon the adaptation of the oat to the -soil, climate, and wants of a given locality, is shown by the -following observations:-- - - "The Siberian oat is cultivated in the poorer soils and - higher districts, resists the force of the wind, and yields a - grain well adapted for the support of farm-horses. The straw - is fine and pliable, and makes an excellent dry fodder for - cattle and horses, the saccharine matter in the joints being - very sensible to the taste. It comes early to maturity, and - hence its name." - -The Tartarian oat, from the peculiarity of its form, and from its -"possessing a beard, is of such a hardy nature as to thrive in soils -and climates where the other grains cannot be raised. It is much -cultivated in England, and not at all in Scotland. It is a coarse -grain, more fit for horse-food than to make into meal. The grain is -dark coloured and awny; the straw coarse, harsh, brittle, and rather -short." - -The reader will see from this extract that the English "food for -horses" is, in reality, not the same thing as the "chief o' Scotia's -food;" and that a little agricultural knowledge would have prevented -Dr Johnson from exhibiting, in the same sentence, an example of both -his ignorance and his venom. - -Variety affects appearance and quality; and how these are to be -consulted in reference to the market in which the grain is to be sold, -may be gathered from the following:-- - - "When wheat is quite opaque, indicating not the least - translucency, it is in the best state for yielding the finest - flour--such flour as confectioners use for pastry; and in - this state it will be eagerly purchased by them at a large - price. Wheat in this state contains the largest proportion of - fecula or starch, and is therefore best suited to the - starch-maker, as well as the confectioner. On the other hand, - when wheat is translucent, hard, and flinty, it is better - suited to the common baker than the confectioner and starch - manufacturer, as affording what is called _strong_ flour, - that rises boldly with yeast into a spongy dough. Bakers - will, therefore, give more for good wheat in this state than - in the opaque; but for bread of finest quality the flour - should be fine as well as strong, and therefore a mixture of - the two conditions of wheat is best suited for making the - best quality of bread. Bakers, when they purchase their own - wheat, are in the habit of mixing wheat which respectively - possesses those qualities; and millers who are in the habit - of supplying bakers with flour, mix different kinds of wheat, - and grind them together for their use. Some sorts of wheat - naturally possess _both_ these properties, and on that - account are great favourites with bakers, though not so with - confectioners; and, I presume, to this mixed property is to - be ascribed the great and lasting popularity which Hunter's - white wheat has so long enjoyed. We hear also of '_high - mixed_' Danzig wheat, which has been so mixed for the - purpose, and is in high repute amongst bakers. Generally - speaking, the purest coloured white wheat indicates most - opacity, and, of course, yields the finest flour; and red - wheat is most flinty, and therefore yields the strongest - flour: a translucent red wheat will yield stronger flour than - a translucent white wheat, and yet a red wheat never realises - so high a price in the market as white--partly because it - contains a larger proportion of refuse in the grinding, but - chiefly because it yields less fine flour, that is, starch." - -In regard to wheat, it has been supposed, that the qualities referred -to in the above extract, as especially fitting certain varieties for -the use of the confectioner, &c., were owing to the existence of a -larger quantity of gluten in these kinds of grain. Chemical inquiry -has, however, nearly dissipated that idea, and with it certain -erroneous opinions, previously entertained, as to their superior -nutritive value. Climate and physiological constitution induce -differences in our vegetable productions, which chemical research may -detect and explain, but may never be able to remove or entirely -control. - -The bran, or external covering of the grain of wheat, has recently -also been the subject of scientific and economical investigation. It -has been proved, by the researches of Johnston, confirmed by those of -Miller and others, that the bran of wheat, though less readily -digestible, contains more nutritive matter than the white interior of -the grain. Brown, or household bread, therefore, which contains a -portion of the bran, is to be preferred, both for economy and for -nutritive quality, to that made of the finest flour. - -Upon the economy of mixing potato with wheaten flour, and of home-made -bread, Mr Stephens has the following:-- - - "It is assumed by some people, that a mixture of potatoes - amongst wheaten flour renders bread lighter and more - wholesome. That it will make bread whiter, I have no doubt; - but I have as little doubt that it will render it more - insipid, and it is demonstrable that it makes it dearer than - wheaten flour. Thus, take a bushel of 'seconds' flour, - weighing 56 lbs. at 5s. 6d. A batch of bread, to consist of - 21 lbs., will absorb as much water, and require as much yeast - and salt, as will yield 7 loaves, of 4 lbs. each, for 2s. - 4d., or 4d. per loaf. 'If, instead of 7 lbs. of the flour, - the same weight of raw potatoes be substituted, with the hope - of saving by the comparatively low price of the latter - article, the quantity of bread that will be yielded will be - _but a trifle more than would have been produced from 14 lbs. - of flour only_, without the addition of the 7 lbs. of - potatoes; for the starch of this root is the only nutritive - part, and we have proved that but one-seventh or one-eighth - of it is contained in every pound, the remainder being water - and innutritive matter. Only 20 lbs. of bread, therefore, - instead of 28 lbs., will be obtained; and this, though white, - will be comparatively flavourless, and liable to become dry - and sour in a few days; whereas, without the latter addition, - bread made in private families will keep _well_ for 3 weeks, - though, after a fortnight, it begins to deteriorate, - especially in the autumn.' The calculation of comparative - _cost_ is thus shown:-- - - Flour, 14 lbs., say at 1-1/4d. per lb., = 1s. 5-1/2d. - Potatoes, 7 lbs., say at 5s. per sack, = 0 2 - Yeast and fuel, = 0 4-1/2 - ------ - 2s. 0d. - - The yield, 20 lbs., or 5 loaves of 4 lbs. each, will be - nearly 5d. each, which is dearer than the wheaten loaves at - 4d. each, and the bread, besides, of inferior quality. - - "'There are persons who assert--for we have heard them--that - there is no economy in baking at home. An accurate and - constant attention to the matter, with a close calculation of - every week's results for several years--a calculation induced - by the sheer love of investigation and experiment--enables us - to assure our readers, that a gain is invariably made of from - 1-1/2d. to 2d. on the 4 lb. loaf. If _all_ be intrusted to - servants, we do not pretend to deny that the waste may - neutralise the _profit_; but, with care and investigation, we - pledge our veracity that the saving will prove to be - considerable.' These are the observations of a lady well - known to me." - -In the natural history of barley the most remarkable fact is, the high -northern latitudes in which it can be successfully cultivated. Not -only does it ripen in the Orkney and Shetland and Faroe Islands, but -on the shores of the White Sea; and near the North Cape, in north -latitude 70°, it thrives and yields nourishment to the inhabitants. In -Iceland, in latitude 63° to 66° north, it ceases to ripen, not because -the temperature is too low, but because rains fall at an unseasonable -time, and thus prevent the filling ear from arriving at maturity. - -The oat is distinguished by its remarkable nutritive quality, compared -with our other cultivated grains. This has been long known in practice -in the northern parts of the island, where it has for ages formed the -staple food of the mass of the population, though it was doubted and -disputed in the south so much, as almost to render the Scotch ashamed -of their national food. Chemistry has recently, however, set the -matter at rest, and is gradually bringing oatmeal again into general -favour. We believe that the robust health of many fine families of -children now fed upon it, in preference to wheaten flour, is a debt -they owe, and we trust will not hereafter forget, to chemical science. - -On oatmeal Mr Stephens gives us the following information:-- - - "The portion of the oat crop consumed by man is manufactured - into _meal_. It is never called flour, as the millstones are - not set so close in grinding it as when wheat is ground, nor - are the stones for grinding oats made of the same material, - but most frequently only of sandstone--the old red sandstone - or greywacke. Oats, unlike wheat, are always kiln-dried - before being ground; and they undergo this process for the - purpose of causing the thick husk, in which the substance of - the grain is enveloped, to be the more easily ground off, - which it is by the stones being set wide asunder; and the - husk is blown away, on being winnowed by the fanner, and the - grain retained, which is then called _groats_. The groats are - ground by the stones closer set, and yield the meal. The meal - is then passed through sieves, to separate the thin husk from - the meal. The meal is made in two states: one _fine_, which - is the state best adapted for making into bread, in the form - called oat-cake or bannocks; and the other is coarser or - _rounder_ ground, and is in the best state for making the - common food of the country people--porridge, _Scottice_, - parritch. A difference of custom prevails in respect to the - use of these two different states of oatmeal, in different - parts of the country, the fine meal being best liked for all - purposes in the northern, and the round or coarse meal in the - southern counties; but as oat-cake is chiefly eaten in the - north, the meal is there made to suit the purpose of bread - rather than of porridge; whereas, in the south, bread is made - from another grain, and oatmeal is there used only as - porridge. There is no doubt that the round meal makes the - best porridge, when properly made--that is, seasoned with - salt, and boiled as long as to allow the particles to swell - and burst, when the porridge becomes a pultaceous mass. So - made, with rich milk or cream, few more wholesome dishes can - be partaken by any man, or upon which a harder day's work can - be wrought. Children of all ranks in Scotland are brought up - on this diet, verifying the poet's assertion-- - - "The halesome parritch, chief o' Scotia's food." - - BURNS. - - Forfarshire has long been famed for the quality of its brose - and oat-cake, while the porridge of the Borders has as long - been equally famous. It is so everywhere, the sharp soil - producing the finest cake-meal, and clay land the best meal - for boiling. Of meal from the varieties of the oat - cultivated, that of the common Angus oat is the most thrifty - for a poor man, though its yield in meal is less in - proportion to the bulk of corn." - -Much valuable information is given on the management of manure-heaps, -and the forming of composts in winter. We especially recommend to the -reader's attention section 2043, which is too long to extract. -Railways have done much to benefit the farmer: in speaking of -composts, our author gives us the following example of a local injury -produced by them:-- - - "In the vicinity of villages where fish are cured and smoked - for market, refuse of fish heads and guts make an excellent - compost with earth. Near Eyemouth and Burnmouth, on the - Berwickshire coast, 30 barrels of fish refuse, with as much - earth from the head-ridges as will completely cover the heap, - are sufficient for an imperial acre. The barrel contains 30 - gallons, and 4 barrels make a cart-load, and the barrel sells - for 1s. 6d. From 400 to 600 barrels may be obtained for each - farm in the neighbourhood, in the course of the season. Since - the opening of the North British railway, the curing of the - fish is given up, much to the loss of the farmers in that - locality; and the fishermen now send, by the railway, the - fish in a fresh state to the larger towns at a distance. - Thus, railways produce advantage to some, whilst they cause - loss to others. In the northern counties of Scotland, fish - refuse is obtained in large quantities during the herring - fishing season. On the coast of Cornwall, the pilchard - fishing affords a large supply of refuse for composts." - -In regard to the calving of cows, to milking, and to the rearing of -calves, we have information as full, as minute, and as easily -conveyed, as on any of the other subjects which have hitherto engaged -our attention. When treating of the diseases to which cows, on -calving, are subject, we have been interested with the following -case:-- - - "I may here mention an unaccountable fatality which overtook - a short-horn cow of mine, in Forfarshire, immediately after - calving. She was an extraordinary milker, giving not less - than thirty quarts a-day in summer on grass; but what was - more extraordinary, for two calvings the milk never dried up, - but continued to flow to the very day of calving, and after - that event returned in increased quantity. In the third year - she went naturally dry for about one month prior to the day - of reckoning; every precaution, however, was taken that the - milk should dry up without giving her any uneasiness. She - calved in high health, the milk returned as usual in a great - flush after calving, but it was impossible to draw it from - the udder; not a teat would pass milk, _all the four being - entirely corded_. Quills were first introduced into the - teats; and then tubes of larger size were pushed up into the - body of the udder. A little milk ran out of only one of - them--hope revived; but it soon stopped running, and all the - art that could be devised by a skilful shepherd proved - unavailing to draw milk from the udder; rubbing and softening - the udder with goose-fat, making it warmer with warm - water--all to no purpose. To render the case more - distressing, there was not a veterinary surgeon in the - district. At length the udder inflamed, mortified, and the - cow died in the most excruciating agony on the third day, - from being in the highest state of health, though not in high - condition, as her milking propensity usually kept her lean. - No loss of the kind ever affected my mind so much--that - nothing _could_ be done to relieve the distress of an animal - which could not help itself. I was told afterwards by a - shepherd, to whom I related the case, that I should have cut - off all the teats, and although the horrid operation would, - of course, have destroyed her for a milk cow, she might have - been saved for feeding. He had never seen a _cow_ so operated - on; but it suggested itself to him in consequence of having - been obliged at times to cut off the teats of ewes to save - their lives. The suggestion I think is good. The cow was bred - by Mr Currie, when at Brandon in Northumberland." - -Is there really no remedy for so distressing a case as this but that -which his shepherd recommended? He might, for the benefit of his -readers, have consulted our friend Professor Dick, whose opinions he -so frequently and so deservedly quotes. - -The following paragraph is very striking, as showing the cruel -absurdities which ignorance will sometimes not only perpetrate, but -actually establish, as a kind of custom in a country. - - "_Tail-ill or Tail-slip._--A very prevalent notion exists in - Scotland amongst cattle-men, that when the tail of an ox or - of a cow feels soft and supple immediately above the tuft of - hair, there is disease in it; and it is called the tail-ill, - or tail-slip. The almost invariable remedy is to make large - incision with the knife along the under side of the soft - part, stuff the wound full of salt and butter, and sometimes - tar, and roll it up with a bandage for a few days, and when - the application is removed, the animal is declared quite - recovered. Now, this notion is an absurdity. There is no such - disease as that imputed; and as the poor animal subjected to - its cure is thus tormented, the sooner the absurd notion is - exposed the better. The notion will not soon be abandoned by - the cattle-men; but the farmer ought to forbid the - performance of such an operation on any of his cattle without - his special permission, and the absurd practice will fall - into desuetude." - -We have not space for the remainder of this paragraph, which contains -Professor Dick's _demonstration_ that no such disease exists as the -so-called _Tail-ill_. Mr Stephens' narrations are more like a tale -from the times of witchcraft, when old women were supposed to have the -power of bringing disease upon cattle, than of those days of general -enlightenment. - -In sections 2268 and 2269, there is a recipe for making a cow which -has once calved give a _full_ supply of milk all the rest of her life, -and which recipe is said to be infallible. This is a _bon-bouche_, -however, which we shall leave our readers to turn up for themselves; -and we hope the desire to learn it will induce many of our dairy -friends to buy the book. - -The following is the mode adopted in fattening calves at Strathaven, -in Scotland, where the famous veal has been so long grown, chiefly for -the Glasgow market:-- - - "Strathaven in Scotland has long been famed for rearing good - _veal_ for the Glasgow and Edinburgh markets. The dairy - farmers there retain the quey calves for maintaining the - number of the cows, while they feed the male calves for veal. - Their plan is simple, and may be followed anywhere. Milk only - is given to the calves, and very seldom with any admixture, - and they are not allowed to suck the cows. Some give milk, - but sparingly at first, to whet the appetite, and prevent - surfeit. The youngest calves get the first drawn milk, or - _fore-broads_, as it is termed, and the older the - _afterings_, even of two or three cows, being the richest - portion of the milk. After being three or four weeks old, - they get abundance of milk twice a-day. They get plenty of - dry litter, fresh air, moderate warmth, and are kept nearly - in the dark to check sportiveness. They are not bled during - the time they are fed, and a lump of chalk is placed within - their reach. They are fed from 4 to 6 weeks, when they fetch - from £3 to £4 a-piece; and it is found more profitable to - fatten the larger number of calves for that time, to succeed - each other, of from 25 lb. to 30 lb. per quarter, than to - force a fewer number beyond the state of marketable veal." - -The Caledonian Railway now puts this choice veal within the reach of -English mouths; and we hope it will, at the same time, add to the -prosperity and profits of the Strathaven breeders. - -The lambing of ewes, the care of the mothers and offspring, the -diseases to which they are subject, as well as the other operations -which demand the farmer's care in the months of spring, we must pass -by. We could go on commenting and quoting from this book, as we have -already done, till an entire number of Maga was filled up. But as this -would be preposterous, we stop, earnestly pressing upon our readers to -place a copy of this storehouse of rural information in the hands of -every practical husbandman, in whose professional skill they are at -all interested. - -Those who, like ourselves, take an interest in the diffusion of -improved agriculture, scientific, and practical--and especially of our -own agricultural literature in other countries--will be pleased to -learn, not only that the work of which the title is prefixed to the -present article, as well as the others upon agricultural chemistry to -which we have referred, have made their way into the common stock of -the book-stores of the United States, but that the editing of the -American reprint of the second edition of the _Book of the Farm_ has -been undertaken by our friend Professor Norton, of Yale College, (may -his shadow never be less!) so well known and esteemed in Scotland, -where he obtained the Highland Society's £50 prize for a chemical -examination of our native oat, which was published in their -Transactions. He is a worthy representative of the "country of steady -habits" to which he belongs; and we hope his countrymen will be -discriminating enough to appreciate his own character and scientific -labours, as well as the value of the books he undertakes to bring -before them. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Stephens' _Book of the Farm_, Second Edition, vol. I. - -[2] In a recent number of the _North British Agriculturist_, it is -stated that an agricultural stoker, who thought himself qualified to -discourse on the uses of science to agriculture, had astonished a late -meeting of the Newcastle Farmers' Club by telling them that the only -thing science had yet done for agriculture was to show them how to -dissolve bones in sulphuric acid; and that chemistry might boast of -having really effected something if it could teach him to raise long -potatoes, as he used to do, or to grow potato instead of Tartary oats, -as his next-door neighbour could do. No wonder the shrewd Tyne-siders -were astonished. - -[3] Where ¶ (_pilcrow_,) or paragraph, is placed at the side of the -verse. - - - - -THE SYCAMINE. - - - I. - - The frail yellow leaves they are falling - As the wild winds sweep the grove; - Plashy and dank is the sward beneath, - And the sky it is gray above. - - II. - - Foaming adown the dark rocks, - Dirge-like, the waterfall - Mourns, as if mourning for something gone, - For ever beyond its call. - - III. - - Sing, redbreast! from the russet spray; - Thy song with the season blends: - For the bees have left us with the blooms, - And the swallows were summer friends. - - IV. - - The hawthorn bare, with berries sere, - And the bramble by the stream, - Matted, with clay on its yellow trails, - Decay's wan emblems seem. - - V. - - On this slope bank how oft we lay - In shadow of the sycamine tree; - Pause, hoary Eld, and listen now-- - 'Twas but the roaring of the sea! - - VI. - - Oh, the shouts and the laughter of yore-- - How the tones wind round the heart! - Oh, the faces blent with youth's blue skies-- - And could ye so depart! - - VII. - - The crow screams back to the wood, - And the sea-mew to the sea, - And earth seems to the foot of man - No resting-place to be. - - VIII. - - Search ye the corners of the world, - And the isles beyond the main, - And the main itself, for those who went - To come not back again! - - IX. - - The rest are a remnant scatter'd - Mid the living; and, for the dead, - Tread lightly o'er the churchyard mounds; - Ye know not where ye tread! - - [Delta] - - - - -AFTER A YEAR'S REPUBLICANISM. - - -The revolutionary year has almost closed; the anniversary of the days -of February is at hand. A Year's Republicanism has run the course of -its unchecked experience in France: to believe its own boast, it has -ridden boldly forward, seated upon public and popular opinion, in the -form of the widest, and, upon republican principle, the honest basis -of universal suffrage; it has been left to its own full career, -unimpeded by enemies either at home or abroad. And what has been the -result of the race?--what has been the harvest which the republican -soil, so carefully turned over, tilled, and manured, has produced? - -It would be a useless task to recapitulate all the different stages of -the growth of the so-called fair green tree of liberty, and enumerate -all the fruits that it has let drop from time to time, from the -earliest days of last spring, to the tempestuous summer month of June; -and then, through the duller, heavier, and gloomy months of autumn, to -those of winter, which brought a president as a Christmas-box, and -which have shown a few scattered gleams of fancied sunshine, cold at -the best, and quickly obscured again by thick-coming clouds of -dis-accord, misapprehension, and startling opposition of parties. All -the world has had these fruits dished up to it--has handled them, -examined them, tasted them; and, according to their opinions or -prejudices, men have judged their savour bitter or sweet. All that can -be said on the subject, for those who have digested them with -pleasure, is, that "there's no accounting for tastes." In calculating -the value of the year's republicanism which France has treasured up in -its history, it is as well, then, to make no further examination into -the items, but to look to the sum-total as far as it can be added up -and put together, in the present aspect of affairs. In spite of the -openly expressed detestation of the provinces to the capital--in spite -of the increasing spirit of decentralisation, and the efforts made by -the departments to insure a certain degree of importance to -themselves--it is still Paris that reigns paramount in its power, and -as the influential expression, however false in many respects it may -be, of the general spirit of the country. It is upon the aspect of -affairs in Paris, then, and all its numerous conflicting elements, -that observation must still be directed, in order to make a _résumé_, -as far as it is practicable, of this sum-total of a year's republican -rule. The account must necessarily be, more or less, a confused one, -for accounts are not strictly kept in Republican Paris--are -continually varying in their results, according as the political -arithmeticians set about their "casting up"--and are constantly -subject to dispute among the accountants: the main figures, composing -the sum-total, may, however, be enumerated without any great error, -and then they may be put together in their true amount, and according -to their real value, by those before whom they are thus laid. - -One of the most striking figures in the row, inasmuch as the lateness -of the events has made it one of the most prominent, is to be derived -from the position and designs of those who declare themselves to be -the only true and pure republicans in the anomalous Republic of -France, as exemplified by that revolutionary movement which, although -it led to no better result than a _révolution avortée_, takes its date -in the history of the Republic beside the more troublous one of May, -and the more bloody one of June, as "the affair of the 29th of -January." Paris, after the removal of the state of siege, had done its -best to put on its physiognomy of past years, had smeared over its -wrinkles as best it might, and had made sundry attempts to smile -through all this hasty plastering of its poor distorted face. Its -shattered commerce still showed many rags and rents; but it had pulled -its disordered dress with decency about it, and set it forth in the -best lights; it had called foreigners once more around it, to admire -it; and they had come at the call, although slowly and with mistrust. -It had some hopes of mending its rags, then, and even furbishing up a -new fresh _toilette_, almost as smart as of yore; it danced and sang -again, although faintly and with effort. The National Assembly -clamoured and fought, it is true; but Paris was grown accustomed to -such discordant music, and at most only stopped its ears to it: -ministers held their portfolios with ticklish balance, as if about to -let them fall; but Paris was determined not to care who dropped -portfolios, or who caught them: there were clouds again upon the -political horizon, and distant rumblings of a crisis-thunderstorm; but -Paris seemed resolved to look out for fine weather. All on a sudden, -one bright morning, on the 29th of January, the smile vanished: the -troubled physiognomy was again there; the revolutionary air again -pervaded it; and foreigners once more, not liking the looks of the -convulsed face, began to start back in alarm. The _rappel_ was again -beaten, for the turning out of the national guards at the earliest -hour of the morning: that drumming, which for many months had filled -the air incessantly, again deafened sensitive ears and harassed -sensitive nerves. The streets were thronged with troops, marching -forwards in thick battalions; while before them retreated some -hundreds of those nameless beings, who come no one knows whence, and -go no one knows whither--those mysterious beings, peculiar to -revolutionary cities, who only appear like a cloud of stinging dust -when the wind of the revolution-tempest begins to blow, and who in -Paris are either brigands or heroes of barricades, according as the -language of the day may go--back, back, grumbling and threatening, -into the faubourgs, where they vanished until the gale may blow -stormier again, and meet with less resistance. The garden of the -Tuileries was closed to the public, and exhibited an armed array once -more among its leafless trees; the Champs Elysées had again become a -camp and a bivouac; cannon was again posted around the National -Assembly. Formidable military posts surrounded every public building; -the streets were crowded with the curious; thick knots of men again -stood at every corner; people asked once more, "What's on foot now?" -but no one at first could answer: they only repeated from mouth to -mouth the mysterious words of General Changarnier, that "he who should -venture to displace a paving-stone would never again replace it;" and -they knew what that meant. Paris was, all at once, its revolutionary -self again; and, in some degree, so it remained during the ensuing -weeks--with cannon displayed on hazardous points, and the great -railway stations of the capital filled with battalions of soldiers, -bivouacking upon straw in courts and _salles d' attente_; and huge -military posts at every turn, and thick patrols parading gloomily at -night, and palaces and public buildings closed and guarded, just as if -retrograde monarchy were about to suppress fervent liberalism, and a -"glorious republic" had not been established for a country's happiness -wellnigh a year already; just as if republicans, who had conspired -darkly a year before, had not obtained all they _then_ clamoured -for--a republic based upon institutions resulting from universal -suffrage--and were conspiring again. And so it was. A deep-laid -conspiracy--a conspiracy of republicans against a republic, which they -chose to call deceptive and illusory--was again on foot. They had -possessed, for nigh a year, the blessing for which they had conspired, -intrigued, and fought; and they conspired, intrigued, and would have -fought again. One of the figures, then, to form the total which has to -be summed up as the result of a year's republicanism, is--conspiracy; -conspiracy more formidable than ever, because more desperate, more -bloody-minded in its hopes, more destructive in its designs to all -society. - -In spite of the denegations of the Red-republican party, and the -counter-accusations of their allies the _Montagnards_ in the Assembly, -the question of all Paris, "What's on foot now?" was soon answered; and -the answer, spite of these same denegations, and counter-accusations, -was speedily understood and believed by all France. A conspiracy of the -ultra-democrats, Red republicans and Socialists, (all now so shaken up -together in one common dark bag of underhand design, that it is -impossible to distinguish the shades of such parties,) was on the -point of breaking out in the capital: the 29th of January had been -fixed upon by the conspirators for their general insurrection. The Red -republicans (to include all the factions of the anarchist parties under -that title, in which they themselves rejoice, although the designation -be derived from "blood") had felt how strong and overpowering had -become the clamour raised throughout the land against that National -Assembly which had run its course, and was now placed in constant -opposition, not only to the president of the republic, as represented -by his ministers, but to the general spirit and feeling of the country -at large; they were aware, but too feelingly, that, should the Assembly -give way before this clamour, in spite of its evidences of resistance, -and decree its own dissolution, the elections of a new Legislative -Assembly by that universal suffrage which had once been their idol, and -was now to be scouted and despised, would inevitably produce what they -termed a reactionary, and what they suspected might prove, a -counter-revolutionary and monarchic majority; and they had determined, -in spite of their defeat in June, to attempt another revolution, in the -hope of again surprising the capital by a _coup-de-main_, and seizing -the reins of power into their own hands at once. This conspiracy was -affiliated together, in its various branches, by those formidable -_sociétés secrètes_, which, long organised, had been again called into -service by the persevering activity of the party, not only in Paris, -but in all the larger provincial towns, and for which fresh recruits -had been zealously drummed together. A general outbreak all over the -country was regulated to explode simultaneously on the 29th of January, -or during the following night: that monomania, which has never ceased -to possess the minds of the frantic chiefs of the Red-republican party, -and which still entertains the vain dream that, if they rise, all the -lower classes, or what they call "the people," must rise at their call, -to fight in their wild cause, gave them support in their designs. -Pretexts for discontent, at the same time, were not wanting. The -project of the government for a general suppression of the clubs--a -measure which they declared unconstitutional, gave a colour to -disaffection and revolt; and hopes that fresh allies would join the -insurrection gave the party a bold confidence, which it had not -possessed since the days of June. The _garde mobile_, in fact, had been -tampered with. The spirit of these young janissaries of the capital, -for the most part but a year ago the mere _gamins de Paris_, always -vacillating and little to be relied upon, spite of their deeds in June, -had already been adroitly worked upon by the fostering of that jealousy -which subsisted between them and the regular army into a more decided -hatred, when a decree of the government for the reorganisation of the -_corps_ was interpreted by the designing conspirators into an insult -offered to the whole institution, and a preparatory measure to its -total dissolution. Such insinuations, carefully fomented among these -young troops, led to tumultuous demonstrations of disaffection and -discontent. This ferment, so opportune for the designs of the Red -republicans, induced them to believe that their hour of struggle and of -approaching triumph was at hand: they counted on their new allies; all -was ready for the outbreak. But the government was alive to the tempest -rising around it; it was determined to do its duty to the country in -_preventing_ the storm, rather than in suppressing it when once it -should have broken forth. Hence the military preparations which, on the -morning of the 29th of January, had once more rendered all Paris a -fortress and a camp; hence the warning sound of the _rappel_, which at -an early hour had once more roused all the citizens from their beds, -and called alarmed faces forth at windows and upon balconies in the -gloom of the dawn; hence the stern commanding words of General -Changarnier, and the orders to the troops and the national guards, that -any man attempting to raise a stone from the streets should be shot -forthwith, and without mercy; hence the consternation with which the -outpost allies of the Red republicans hurried back growling to their -mysterious dens, wherever such may exist. Prevention was considered -better than cure, in spite of the misinterpretations and -misapprehensions to which it might be exposed, and by which it was -subsequently assailed by the disappointed faction. Arrest then followed -upon arrest; upwards of two hundred of the suspected chiefs of the -conspiracy were hurried off to prison. Among them were former delegates -to the once famous committee of the Luxembourg, whose conduct gave -evidence of the results produced by the dangerous utopian theories set -forth under the lectureship of M. Louis Blanc, and his noble friend the -_soi-disant ouvrier_ Albert. Chiefs of the clubs bore them company in -their incarceration; and the ex-Count D'Alton Shee, the _ex-élégant_ of -the fashionable _salons_ of Paris, but now the socialist-atheist and -anarchist, suffered the same penalty of his actions as leading member -of the club "_De la Solidarité Républicaine_." Turbulent officers of -the Garde Mobile underwent a similar fate. Even the national guard was -not spared in the person of one of its superior officers, whose -agitation and over-zealous movements excited suspicion; and, by the -way, in the general summing up, arrest, imprisonment, restriction of -liberty, may also take their place in the row as another little figure -in the total. - -The conspiracy, however, was suppressed; the insurrection failed -entirely for the time; and Paris was told that it might be perfectly -reassured, and doze quietly again upon its pillow, without any fear -that Red-republicanism should again "murder sleep." But Paris, which -has not learned yet to recover its old quiet habit of sleeping calmly, -and has got too much fever in its system to close its eyes at will, is -not to be lulled by such mere sedatives of ministerial assurance. Once -roused in startled hurry from its bed again, and seeing the opiate of -confidence which was beginning to work its effect in very small doses -snatched from its grasp, it cannot calm its nerves at once. It will -not be persuaded that the crisis is over, and has passed away for -ever; like a child awakened by a nightmare, it looks into all sorts of -dark holes and corners, thinking to see the spectre lurking there. It -knows what it had to expect from the tender mercies of its pitiless -enemies, had they succeeded in their will; what was the _programme_ of -a new Red-republican rule--a _comité du salut public_, the _régime_ of -the _guillotine_, the _épuration_ of suspected aristocrats, the -confiscation of the property of emigrants, a tax of three _milliards_ -upon the rich, a spoliation of all who "possess," the dissolution of -the national guard, the exclusive possession of all arms by the -_soi-disant_ people, and--but the list of such new-old measures of -ultra-republican government would be too long; it is an old tale often -told, and, after all, only a free translation from the measures of -other times. Paris, then, knows all this; it knows the fanatic and -inexpressible rage of its antagonist, to which the fever of madness -lends strength; it allows itself to be told all sorts of fearful -tales--how Socialists, in imitation of their London brethren, have -hired some thousand apartments in different quarters of the capital, -in order to light a thousand fires at once upon a given signal. It -goes about repeating the old vague cry--"_Nous allons avoir quelque -chose_;" and, however foolishly exaggerated its alarm, the results it -experiences are the same--again want of confidence arising from -anxiety, again suspension of trade, again a renewal of misery. The -fresh want of confidence, then, with all the attendant evils in its -train, may again, as the year of republicanism approaches to its -close, be taken as another figure in the sum-total that is sought. - -In the midst of this sudden ferment, which has appeared towards the end -of the republican year like a _tableau final_ at the conclusion of an -act of a drama--hastily thrust forward when the interest of the piece -began to languish,--how stands the state of parties in that Assembly -which, although it is said--and very correctly, it would appear--no -longer to represent the spirit of the country at large, must still be -considered as the great axis of the republic, around which all else -moves? Always tumultuous, disorderly, and disdainful of those -parliamentary forms which could alone insure it the aspect of a -dignified deliberative body, the National Assembly, as it sees its -last days inevitably approaching--although it retards its dissolution -by every quack-doctoring means within its grasp--seems to have plunged, -in its throes, into a worse slough of triple confusion, disorder, and -uncertainty than ever. Jealous of its dignity, unwilling to quit its -power, unwilling--say malicious tongues--to quit its profit, and yet -pressed upon by that public opinion which it would vainly attempt to -deny, to misinterpret, or to despise, it has shown itself more -vacillating, capricious, and childish than ever. It wavers, votes -hither and thither, backwards and forwards--now almost inclined to fall -into the nets spread for it by the ultra-democratic party, that -supports its resistance against all attempts to dissolve it, and upon -the point of throwing itself into that party's arms; and now, again, -alarmed at the allies to whom it would unite itself, starting back from -their embrace, turning round in its majority, and declaring itself -against the sense of its former decisions. Now, it offers an active and -seemingly spiteful opposition to the government; and now, again, it -accepts the first outlet to enable it to turn back upon its course. Now -it is sulky, now alarmed at its own sulkiness; now angry, now begging -its own pardon for its hastiness. It is like a child that does not know -its own mind or temper, and gives way to all the first vagaries that -spring into its childish brain: it neglects the more real interests of -the country, and loses the country's time in its service, in its -eternal interpellations, accusations, recriminations, jealousies, -suspicions, and offended susceptibilities; it quarrels, scratches, -fights, and breaks its own toys--and all this in the midst of the most -inextricable confusion. To do it justice, the Assembly, as represented -by its wavering majority, is placed between two stools of apprehension, -between which it is continually coming to the ground, and making -wofully wry faces: and, between the two, it is not very easy to see how -it should preserve a decent equilibrium. On the one hand, it suspects -the reactionary, and perhaps counter-revolutionary designs of the -moderate party on the right, whose chiefs and leaders have chosen to -hold themselves back from any participation in the governmental posts, -which they have otherwise coveted and fatally intrigued for, as if they -had an _arrière-pensée_ of better and more congenial opportunities in -store, and whose reliance in this respect seems equivocal; and it looks -upon them as monarchists biding their time. On the other hand, it -dreads the _Montagnards_ on the extreme left, with their frantic -excesses and violent measures, however much it has looked for their -support in the momentous question of the dissolution of the Assembly. -It bears no good-will to the president, whose immense majority in the -elections has been mainly due to the hopes of the anti-republicans that -his advent might lead to a total change of government: it bears still -less good-will to the ministers of that president's choice. Between its -two fears, then, no wonder that it oscillates like a pendulum. The -approach of its final dissolution, which it has at last indefinitely -voted, and yet endeavours to retard by fresh obligations for remaining, -gives it that character of bitterness which an old coquette may feel -when she finds her last hope of conquest slipping indubitably away from -her. Without accusing the majority of that desperate clinging to place -from interested motives--which the country, however, is continually -casting in its teeth--it may be owned that it is not willing to see -power wrested from it, when it fears, upon its return to its -constituents, it may never find that power placed in its hands again, -and seeks every means of prolonging the fatal hour under the pretence -of serving the best interests of that country to which it fears to -appeal: and to this state of temper, its waspishness, uncertainty, and -increasing disorder, may be in some degree attributed. - -Of the hopes and designs of the extreme moderate and supposed -reactionary party, little can be said, inasmuch as it has kept its -thoughts to itself, and not permitted itself to give any open -evidences whatever upon the point. But the ardent and impetuous -_Montagnards_ are by no means so cautious: their designs, and hopes, -and fears, have been clearly enough expressed; and they flash forth -continually, as lightnings in the midst of the thunder of their -incessant tumult. The allies and representatives, and, if all tales be -true, the chiefs of the Red-republican party out of the Assembly--they -still cherish the hope of establishing an ultra-democratic republican -government, by some means or other--"by foul if fair should fail"--a -government of despotic rule by violence--of propagandism by -constraint--of systematic anarchy. They still form visions of some -future Convention of which they may be the heroes--of a parliamentary -tyrannical oligarchy, by which they may enforce their extravagant -opinions. Driven to the most flagrant inconsistencies by their false -position, they declare themselves also the true and supreme organ--not -only of those they call "the people," but of the nation at large; -while, at the same time, they affect to despise, and they even -denounce as criminal, the general expression of public opinion, as -evidenced by universal suffrage. They assume the attitudes of -_sauveurs de la patrie_; and in the next breath they declare that -_patrie traitre_ to itself. They vaunt themselves to be the _élus de -la nation_; and they openly express their repugnance to meet again, as -candidates for the new legislative assembly, that majority of the -nation which they now would drag before the tribunal of republicanism -as counter-revolutionary and reactionary. In short, the only universal -suffrage to which they would appeal is that of the furious minority of -their perverted or hired bands among the dregs of the people. They -have thus in vain used every effort to prolong to an indefinite -period, or even to render permanent, if possible, the existence of -that Assembly which their own party attacked in May, and which they -themselves have so often denounced as reactionary. It is the rock of -salvation upon which they fix their frail anchor of power, in default -of that more solid and elevated foundation for their sway, which they -are well aware can now only be laid for them by the hands of -insurgents, and cemented by the blood of civil strife in the already -blood-flooded streets of Paris. With the same necessary inconsistency -which marks their whole conduct, they fix their hopes of advent to -power upon the overthrow of the Assembly of which they are not -masters, together with the whole present system of government; while -they support the principle of the inviolability and immovability of -that same Assembly, under such circumstances called by them "the holy -ark of the country," when a fresh appeal is to be made to the mass of -the nation at large. During the waverings and vacillations of the -majority--itself clinging to place and power--they more than once -expected a triumph for themselves in a declaration of the Assembly's -permanence, with the secret hope, _en arrière pensée_, of finding fair -cause for that insurrection by which alone they would fully profit, if -a _coup-de-main_ were to be attempted by the government, in obedience -to the loudly-expressed clamour of popular opinion, to wreck that -"holy ark" in which they had embarked their lesser hopes. When, -however, they found that the crew were disposed to desert it, on -feeling the storms of public manifestation blowing too hard against -it--when they found that they themselves must in a few weeks, or at -latest months, quit its tottering planks, their rage has known no -bounds. Every manoeuvre that can be used to prolong life, by -prolonging even the daily existence of the Assembly, is unscrupulously -put into practice. They clamour, they interrupt discussion--they -denounce--they produce those daily "_incidents_" of French -parliamentary tradition which prevent the progress of parliamentary -business--they invent fresh interpellations, to create further delays -by long-protracted angry quarrel and acrimony. Part of all this system -of denunciation, recrimination, and acrimonious accusation, belongs, -it is true, to their assumed character as the _dramatis personæ_ of an -imaginary Convention. They have their cherished models of old, to copy -which is their task, and their glory; the dramatic traditions of the -old Convention are ever in their winds, and are to be followed in -manner, and even costume, as far as possible. And thus Ledru Rollin, -another would-be Danton, tosses back his head, and raises his nose -aloft, and pulls up his burly form, to thunder forth his angry -Red-republican indignation; and Felix Pyat, the melodramatic -dramatist, of the _boulevard du crime_--fully in his place where -living dramas, almost as extravagant and ranting as those from his own -pen, are to be performed--rolls his large round dark eyes, and swells -his voice, and shouts, and throws about his arms, after the fashion of -those melodrama actors for whose noisy declamation he has afforded -such good stuff, and because of his picturesque appearance, fancies -himself, it would seem, a new St Just. And Sarrans, _soi-disant_ "the -young," acts after no less melodramatic a fashion, as if in rivalry -for the parts of _jeune premier_ in the drama, but cannot get beyond -the airs of a provincial groundling; and Lagrange, with his ferocious -and haggard countenance, and his grizzled long hair and beard, yells -from his seat, although in the tribune he affects a milder language -now, as if to contradict and deny his past deeds. And Proudhon shouts -too, although he puts on a benevolent _air patelin_, beneath the -spectacles on his round face, when he proposes his schemes for the -destruction of the whole fabric of society. And Pierre Leroux, the -frantic philosopher, shakes his wild greasy mane of hair about his -heavy greasy face, and raves, as ever, discordantly; and old -Lammenais, the renegade ex-priest, bends his gloomy head, and snarls -and growls, and utters low imprecations, instead of priestly -blessings, and looks like another Marat, even if he denies the moral -resemblance to its full extent. And Greppo shouts and struggles with -Felix Pyat for the much-desired part of St Just. And gray-bearded -Couthons, who have not even the ardour of youth to excuse their -extravagancies, rise from their curule chairs to toss up their arms, -and howl in chorus. And even Jules Favre, although he belongs not to -their party, barks, bites, accuses, and denounces too, all things and -all men, and spits forth venom, as if he was regardless where the -venom fell, or whom it blistered; and, with his pale, bilious face, -and scrupulously-attired spare form, seems to endeavour to preserve, -as far as he can, in a new republic, the agreeable tradition of -another Robespierre. And let it not be supposed, that malice or -prejudice attaches to the _Montagnards_ these names. The men of the -last republican era, whom history has execrated, calumniously and -unjustly they will say, are their heroes and their demi-gods; the sage -legislators, whose principles they vaunt as those of republican -civilisation and humanity; the models whom they avowedly, and with a -confessed air of ambition, aspire to copy in word and deed. Part, -however, of the systematic confusion, which it is their evident aim to -introduce into the deliberations of the Assembly, is, in latter days, -to be attributable to their desire to create delays, and lead to -episodical discussions of angry quarrel and recrimination, which may -prolong the convulsive existence of the Assembly to an indefinite -period, or by which they may profit to forward their own designs. Thus -the day is rare, as a ray of sunshine in a permanent equinoctial -storm, when the _Montagnards_ do not start from their seats, upon the -faintest pretext for discontent or accusation of reactionary -tendencies; and, either _en masse_ or individually, fulminate, -gesticulate, clamour, shout, denounce, and threaten. The thunder upon -the "Mountain's" brow is incessant: if it does not burst forth in -heavy peals, it never ceases to growl. Each _Montagnard_ is a Jupiter -in his own conceit, and hurls his thunderbolt with what force he may. -Not a word can be spoken by a supposed reactionary orator without a -murmur--not a phrase completed without a shout of denegation, a -torrent of interruptions, or peeling bursts of ironical laughter. The -"Mountain" is in perpetual labour; but its produce bears more -resemblance to a yelping pack of hungry blood-hounds, than to an -innocent mouse: it is in perpetual movement; and, like crushing -avalanches from its summit, rush down its most energetic members to -the tribune, to attempt to crush the Assembly by vehemence and -violence of language. These scenes of systematic tumult have -necessarily increased in force, since the boiling spite of -disappointment has flowed over in hot reality, in place of the -affected and acted indignation: the rage and agitation no longer know -the least control. The affair of the abolition of the clubs had -scarcely lent an excellent pretext for this violence, when the -suppression of the insurrection, and the arrests consequent upon the -discomfiture of the conspiracy on the 29th of January, gave a wide -field for the exercise of the system of denunciation commonly pursued. -To be beforehand with accusation by counter-accusation, has been -always the tactics of the party: when the party-chiefs find themselves -involved in the suspicion of subversive attempts, they begin the -attack. The _Montagnards_ have burst forth, then, to declare that the -military precautions were a systematic provocation on the part of the -ministry and General Changarnier, to incite the population of Paris to -civil discord; that the only conspiracy existed in the government -itself, to suppress liberty and overthrow the republic--at least to -cast a slur upon the only true republicans, and have an excuse for -tyrannical oppression towards them. They closed their eyes to the fact -that the insurrection, of the proposed reality of which no doubt can -remain, spite of these angry denegations, would have produced a crisis -to which the real reactionary anti-republicans looked as one that -_must_ produce a change in the detested government of the country, -should the moderate party triumph in the struggle, as was probable; -and that by the suppression of the insurrection the crisis was -averted, and the republic evidently consolidated for a time, not -weakened. With their usual inconsistency, and want of logical -deduction, at the same time that they accused the minister of a -useless and provocative display of the military force, they denounced -the conspiracy as real, but as proceeding from "infamous royalists," -and not anarchist Red republicans. And then, to follow up this -pell-mell of self-contradictions--while, on the one hand, they denied -any insurrectionary movement at all, and, on the other, attributed it -to royalists--they called, in their language at the rostrum, the -commencement of the street demonstration on the morning of the 29th of -January--which could not be denied, and which had come down as usual -from the faubourgs, ever ripe for tumult--"the sublime manifestation -of the heroic people." Propositions couched in furious language, for -"_enquêtes parlementaires_," and for the "_mise en accusation des -ministres_"--every possible means of denunciation and intimidation -were employed, to increase the agitated hurly-burly of the Assembly, -and subvert, as far as was possible, the few frail elements of order -and of confidence that still subsisted in it. In marking thus, in -hasty traits, the position of parties in the Assembly, called together -to establish and consolidate the republic upon a basis of peace and -order, what are the figures which are so noted down as forming part of -the sum-total, as the approaching conclusion of the revolutionary year -is about to make up its accounts? As regards the Assembly, increased -confusion, disunion, bitter conflict of exasperated parties, -suspicion, mistrust, disaffection, violence. - -How stands the government of the country after the year's -republicanism? At its head is the Republican President, elected by the -immense majority of the country, but elected upon a deceptive -basis--elected neither for his principles, which were doubtful; nor -for his qualities, which were unknown or supposed to be null; nor even -for his name, (although much error has been founded upon the subject,) -which, after all, dazzled only a comparatively small minority--but -because he was supposed to represent the principle opposed to -republicanism--opposed to the very _régime_ he was elected to -support--opposed to that spirit of which the man who had once saved -the country from anarchy, and had once received the country's -blessings, was considered to be the type--because hopes were founded -on his advent of a change in a system of government uncongenial, and -even hateful, to the mass of the nation; whether by the _prestige_ of -his name he attempted to re-establish an empire, or whether, as -another Monk, he formed only a stepping-stone for a new monarch. -Elected thus upon false principles, the head of the government stands -in an eminently false position. He may have shown himself moderate; -inclined to support the republic upon that "honest" basis which the -better-thinking republicans demand; firm in the support of a cabinet, -the measures of which he approves; and every way sincere and -straightforward, although not in all his actions wise: but his -position remains the same--placed between the ambitious hope of a -party which might almost be said to exist no longer, and which has -become that only of a family and a few old adherents and connexions, -but which attempts to dazzle a country vain and proud of the word -"glory," like France, by the somewhat tarnished glitter of a name, and -the prospect of another which calls itself legitimate;--the _point de -mire_ of the army, but, at the same time, the stalking-horse of a -nation miserably wearied with the present hobby, upon which it has -been forced unwillingly to ride, with about as much pleasure and -_aplomb_ as the famous tailor of Brentford--and, on the other hand, -suspected, accused, and denounced by those who claim to themselves the -only true and pure essence of veritable republicanism. It is a -position placed upon a "see-saw"--placed in the centre, it is true, -but liable, in any convulsive crisis, to be seriously compromised by -the violent and abrupt elevation of either of the ends of the plank, -as it tosses up and down: for the feet of the president, instead of -directing the movements of this perpetually agitated "see-saw," and -giving the necessary steadiness, without which the whole present -republican balance must be overturned, seem more destined to slip -hither and thither in the struggle, at the imminent risk of losing all -equilibrium, and slipping off the plank altogether. As yet, the -president, whenever he appears in public, is followed by shouting and -admiring crowds, who run by his horse, clap their hands, call upon his -name, greet him with noisy cries of "_vive_," grasp his hands, and of -course present some hundreds of petitions; but these demonstrations of -respect must be attributed far less to personal consideration, or -popular affection, or even to the _prestige_ of the name of Napoleon, -than to the eagerness of the Parisian public, even of the lowest -classes--spite of all that may be said of their sentiments by their -would-be leaders, the ultra-democrats--to salute with acclamation the -personage who represents a head, a chief, a _point d'appui -quelconque_--a leading staff, a guiding star, a unity, instead of a -disorderly body--in one word, a resemblance of royalty. It is the -_president_, and not the _man_, who is thus greeted. The usual -curiosity and love of show and parade of the Parisian _badauds_, at -least as "cockney" as the famed Londoner, may be much mixed up again -in all this, but the sentiment remains the same; nor do these -demonstrations alter the position of the man who stands at the head of -the government of France. The ministry, supported in _principle_ by -the country, although not from any personal respect or liking, stands -in opposition to an Assembly, elected by that country, but no longer -representing it. The army shows itself inclined to protect the -government, on the one hand, and is said to be ready, on the other, to -follow in the cry of "_vive l'Empereur!_" should that cry be raised. -The _garde mobile_, although modified by its late reorganisation, is -suspected of versatility and unsoundness, if not exactly of -disaffection: it stands in instant collision with the dislike and -jealousy of the army, and, spite of its courageous part in June, is -looked upon askance by the lovers of order. What aspect, then, have -the figures which may be supposed to represent all this in the -sum-total of the year's republicanism? They bear the forms of -instability, suspicion, doubt, collision, want of confidence in the -future, and all the evils attendant upon the uncertainty of a state of -things which, spite of assurances, and spite of efforts, the greater -part of France seems inclined to look upon merely as provisionary. - -Under what form, then, does the public spirit exhibit itself in -circumstances of so much doubt and instability? The attitude of the -working classes in general, of the very great majority, in fact--for -those still swayed by the delusive arguments, and still more delusive -and destructive promises of the Socialists and Republicans are -comparatively few, although formidable in the ferocity of their -doctrines and their plans, and in the active restlessness of their -feverish and excited energies, which resemble the reckless, -sleepless, activity of the madman--the attitude of the working classes -in Paris is calm, and even expectant; but calm from utter -weariness--calm from the convictions, founded on the saddest -experience, in the wretched results of further revolutions--calm from -a sort of prostrate resignation, and almost despair, in the midst of -the miseries and privations which the last fatal year has increased -instead of diminishing, and written with a twofold scourge upon their -backs: an attitude reassuring, inasmuch as it implies hatred and -opposition to the subversive doctrines of the anarchists, but not -without its dangers, and, to say the least, heartrending and -afflicting--and expectant in the hope and conviction of change in the -cause of stability and order. The feeling which, after a few months of -the rule of a reckless provisionary government, was the prevailing one -among the _majority_ of the working classes--the feeling, which has -been already noted, that king Log, or even king Stork, or any other -concentrated power that would represent stability and order, would be -preferable to the uncertainties of a vacillating republican rule--has -ever gained ground among them since those hopes of re-established -confidence, and a consequent amelioration of their wretched position, -which they first founded upon the meeting of the National Assembly, -and then upon the election of a president, have twice deceived them, -and left them almost as wretched as ever in the stagnation of trade -and commercial affairs. The feeling thus prevalent among the working -classes in the capital, is, at the same time, the feeling of the -country at large, but to an even far wider extent, and more openly -expressed. The hatred of the departments to Paris, as the chief seat -of revolution and disorder, has also increased rather than diminished; -and everywhere the sentiments of utter weariness, disaffection to the -Republic, and impatience under a system of government of which they -are no longer inclined to await the promised blessings, are displayed -upon all possible occasions, and by every possible organ. The upper -classes among moneyed men, and landed proprietors, remain quiet and -hold their tongue. They may be expectant and desirous of change also, -but they show no open impatience, for _they can afford to wait_. It is -they, on the contrary, who more generally express their opinions in -the _possibility_ of the establishment of a prosperous republic--a -possibility which the working classes in their impatience deny. In -spite of all that ultra-democratic journals may say, in their raving -denunciations, borrowed of the language of another Republic, some of -the most eager and decided of those they term "reactionary," and -denounce as "aristocrats," are thus to be found among the lower -working classes. To do justice to the truth of the accusations brought -by the Red republican party, in another respect, it is in the -_bourgeois_ spirit that is to be found the strongest and most openly -avowed reactionary feeling. It is impossible to enter any shop of the -better order in Paris, and speak upon the position of affairs, without -hearing not only the hope, but the expectation openly expressed, of a -monarchic restoration, and that restoration in favour of the elder -branch of the Bourbons. The feeling is universal in this class: the -name of "Henri V.," scarce mentioned at all, and never under this -title, during the reign of Louis Philippe, except in the exclusive -circles of the Faubourg St Germain, is now in every shopkeeper's -mouth. Louis Philippe, the Regency, all the members of the Orleans -family, the Empire, a Bonapartist rule--all are set aside in the minds -of these classes for the now-desired idol of their fickle choice, the -Duke of Bordeaux. In these classes a restoration in favour of Henri V. -is no longer a question of possibility; it is a mere question of time: -it is not "_L'aurons-nous?_" that they ask; it is "_Quand -l'aurons-nous?_" In this respect the real and true republicans, in the -"honest" designation of the term, have certainly every reason to raise -an angry clamour; if sedition to the existing _régime_ of the country -is not openly practised, it is, at all events, openly and generally -expressed. Nor are their accusations brought against the government -entirely without justice; for while, on the one hand, a measure of a -nature altogether arbitrary, under the freedom of a republican rule, -is exercised against a well-known artist, by seizing in his _atelier_ -the portraits of the Duke of Bordeaux, or, as he is called, the Count -of Chambord, and of the Countess, as seditiously exhibited, -lithographed likenesses of the Bourbon heir are to be seen on all -sides at print-shop windows, and in popular temporary print-stalls; in -galleries, arcades, and upon street walls; in _vignettes_, upon -ballads, with such titles, as "_Dieu le veut_," or "_La France le -veut_," or in busts of all dimensions. Again, the _Henri-quinquiste_ -feeling, as it is called, is universal among the fickle _bourgeoisie_ -of Paris--the rock upon which Louis Philippe founded his throne, and -which sank under him in his hour of need: and the _bourgeois_, eager -and confident in their hopes, wilfully shut their eyes to the fact -that, were their detested republic overthrown, there might arise -future convulsions, and future civil strife, between a Bonapartist -faction--which necessarily grows, and increases, and flourishes more -and more under the rule, however temporary, of a chief of the -name--and the legitimist party: for the Orleanists, whether fused by a -compromise of their hopes with the Legitimists, as has been said, or -fallen into the obscurity of forgetfulness or indifference in the -majority of the nation, hold forth no decided banner at the present -moment. In regarding, then, the public spirit among the majority of -all classes in Paris, without consulting the still more reactionary -feeling of the departments, the figures to be added to the sum-total -of the year's republican account will be again found similar to those -already enumerated, in the shape of disaffection, abhorrence of the -republican government, want of confidence in its stability, -expectation and hope of a change, however it may come, and although it -may be brought about by a convulsion. - -Meanwhile the uncertainty and anxiety are increased by the continued -expectation of some approaching crisis, which the explosion of the -insurrection, destined for the 29th of January, would have hastened, -and which the precautions taken for the suppression of the outbreak -have evidently averted for the time. But what confidence can be -expressed in the stability of this temporary state of order in a -country so full of excitement and love of change, and in a state of -continual revolution, in which such conspiracy ceases not to work in -darkness, with the hope of attaining despotic power, and in which -disaffection to the state of things is openly expressed? Events have -run their course with such fearful rapidity, and the unexpected has -been so greatly the "order of the day," in the last year's history of -France, that who can answer for the future of the next months, or even -weeks? Political prophets have long since thrown up the trade of -oracle-giving in despair; and the tripod of the oracle has been left -to the occupation of the chances of the _imprévu_. In spite, then, of -the temporary reassurance of peace given by the last measures of the -government, which have been denounced by the ultra-democrats as -arbitrary, subversive, and unconstitutional, the underground agitation -still continues. Paris dances once more, repeating to itself, however, -the often-repeated words, "_Nous dansons sur un volcan_." The carnival -pursues its noisy pleasures, under the protection of the forests of -bayonets that are continually glittering along the gay sunlit streets, -and to the sound of the drum of the marching military, who still give -Paris the aspect of a garrison in time of war. Gay _salons_ are -opened, and carriages again rattle along the streets on moonlit -nights; but the spirit of Parisian gaiety reposes not upon confidence, -and is but the practical application of the epicurean philosophy that -takes for its maxim, "_Carpe diem_." - -Whatever may be the reality of an approaching crisis, which, however -feeble the symptoms at present, the Parisians insist upon regarding as -near at hand,--whatever may be the hopes of some that the crisis, -however convulsive, must produce a desired change, and the fears of -others of the civil strife,--whatever thus the desires of the -sanguine, the expectations of the hopeful, the apprehensions of the -peaceful, and the terrors of the timorous, the result is still the -same--the uncertainty, the want of confidence, the evils attendant -upon this feeling of instability, so often already enumerated. The -violence and struggling rage of the ultra-democratic and socialist -journals, increasing in denunciation to the death, and positively -convulsive in their rage, as the anti-republican reactionary spirit -grows, and spreads wider, and every day takes firmer root, and even -dares to blossom openly in the expression of public opinion, are -looked upon as the throes of dying agony by the bold, but are regarded -with dread by the less courageous, who know the force of the party's -exaggerated violence, and have already felt the miseries of their -fanatic subversive attempts. Meanwhile, the moderate or honest -republic, which vainly attempts a _juste milieu_ of republicanism, -between extravagance and disaffection, limps sadly forwards; or, as -one of the late satirical pieces, which openly attack the republic on -the stage, expresses it--amidst the applause and shouts of deriding -laughter, which hail it nightly in crowded houses, not so much from -the boxes as from the galleries thronged with types of the -"people"--"_Elle boîte! elle boîte!_" Republicans may thus clamour -against the culpable laxity of a government, which permits these -much-applauded attacks upon the Republic, in accordance with the -principle of freedom of opinion, and in pursuance of the abolition of -a theatrical censorship which they themselves condemned: but so it is; -and therein may be sought and found one of the strongest popular -evidences of popular disaffection. And satires too, and caricatures, -abound, in which the unhappy Republic is still more soundly -scourged--demonstrations not less lively, although they call not forth -the evident approbation of a congregated multitude. Now, then, that -the revolutionary year has almost closed there--now that the -anniversary of the days of February is at hand--let people take the -figures enumerated, and justly enumerated, as they will, and place -them as they fancy in the sum-total, and cast them up as they please, -or deduce what value they may from the amount of the first year of new -republicanism in France. Another question. What _fêtes_ are to greet -the anniversaries of the "glorious" days of the "glorious" revolution -which established a "glorious" Republic? Assuredly the _fête_ will not -be in the people's hearts: no, not even in the hearts of those whom -their mis-named, self-appointed friends choose to call, _par -excellence_, "the people." - - - - -THE CAXTONS--PART XI. - - -CHAPTER LII. - -The next day, on the outside of the Cambridge Telegraph, there was one -passenger who ought to have impressed his fellow-travellers with a -very respectful idea of his lore in the dead languages; for not a -single syllable, in a live one, did he vouchsafe to utter from the -moment he ascended that "bad eminence," to the moment in which he -regained his mother earth. "Sleep," says honest Sancho, "covers a man -better than a cloak." I am ashamed of thee, honest Sancho! thou art a -sad plagiarist; for Tibullus said pretty nearly the same thing before -thee,-- - - "Te somnus fusco velavit amictu."[4] - -But is not silence as good a cloak as sleep?--does it not wrap a man -round with as offusc and impervious a fold? Silence--what a world it -covers!--what busy schemes--what bright hopes and dark fears--what -ambition, or what despair! Do you ever see a man in any society -sitting mute for hours, and not feel an uneasy curiosity to penetrate -the wall he thus builds up between others and himself? Does he not -interest you far more than the brilliant talker at your left--the airy -wit at your right, whose shafts fall in vain on the sullen barrier of -the silent man! Silence, dark sister of Nox and Erebus, how, layer -upon layer, shadow upon shadow, blackness upon blackness, thou -stretchest thyself from hell to heaven, over thy two chosen -haunts--man's heart and the grave! - -So, then, wrapped in my greatcoat and my silence, I performed my -journey; and on the evening of the second day I reached the -old-fashioned brick house. How shrill on my ears sounded the bell! How -strange and ominous to my impatience seemed the light gleaming across -the windows of the hall! How my heart beat as I watched the face of -the servant who opened the gate to my summons! - -"All well?" cried I. - -"All well, sir," answered the servant, cheerfully. "Mr Squills, -indeed, is with master, but I don't think there is anything the -matter." - -But now my mother appeared at the threshold, and I was in her arms. - -"Sisty, Sisty!--my dear, dear son!--beggared, perhaps--and my -fault,--mine." - -"Yours!--come into this room, out of hearing--your fault?" - -"Yes, yes!--for if I had had no brother, or if I had not been led -away,--if I had, as I ought, entreated poor Austin not to--" - -"My dear, dearest mother, _you_ accuse yourself for what, it seems, -was my uncle's misfortune--I am sure not even his fault! (I made a -gulp _there_.) No, lay the fault on the right shoulders--the defunct -shoulders of that horrible progenitor, William Caxton the printer; -for, though I don't yet know the particulars of what has happened, I -will lay a wager it is connected with that fatal invention of -printing. Come, come,--my father is well, is he not?" - -"Yes, thank Heaven." - -"And you too, and I, and Roland, and little Blanche! Why then, you are -right to thank Heaven, for your true treasures are untouched. But sit -down and explain, pray." - -"I cannot explain. I do not understand anything more than that he, my -brother,--mine!--has involved Austin in--in--" (a fresh burst of -tears.) - -I comforted, scolded, laughed, preached, and adjured in a breath; and -then, drawing my mother gently on, entered my father's study. - -At the table was seated Mr Squills, pen in hand, and a glass of his -favourite punch by his side. My father was standing on the hearth, a -shade more pale; but with a resolute expression on his countenance, -which was new to its indolent thoughtful mildness! He lifted his eyes -as the door opened, and then, putting his finger to his lips, as he -glanced towards my mother, he said gaily, "No great harm done. Don't -believe her! Women always exaggerate, and make realities of their own -bugbears: it is the vice of their lively imaginations, as Wierus has -clearly shown in accounting for the marks, moles, and hare-lips which -they inflict upon their innocent infants before they are even born. My -dear boy," added my father, as I here kissed him and smiled in his -face, "I thank you for that smile! God bless you!" He wrung my hand, -and turned a little aside. - -"It is a great comfort," renewed my father, after a short pause, "to -know, when a misfortune happens, that it could not be helped. Squills -has just discovered that I have no bump of cautiveness; so that, -craniologically speaking, if I had escaped one imprudence, I should -certainly have run my head against another." - -"A man with your development is made to be taken in," said Mr Squills, -consolingly. - -"Do you hear that, my own Kitty! and have you the heart to blame Jack -any longer--a poor creature cursed with a bump that would take in the -Stock Exchange? And can any one resist his bump, Squills?" - -"Impossible!" said the surgeon authoritatively. - -"Sooner or later it must involve him in its airy meshes--eh, Squills? -entrap him into its fatal cerebral cell. There his fate waits him, -like the ant-lion in its pit." - -"Too true," quoth Squills. "What a phrenological lecturer you would -have made!" - -"Go, then, my love," said my father, "and lay no blame but on this -melancholy cavity of mine, where cautiveness--is not! Go, and let -Sisty have some supper; for Squills says that he has a fine -development of the mathematical organs, and we want his help. We are -hard at work on figures, Pisistratus." - -My mother looked broken-hearted, and, obeying submissively, stole to -the door without a word. But as she reached the threshold she turned -round, and beckoned to me to follow her. - -I whispered to my father, and went out. My mother was standing in the -hall, and I saw by the lamp that she had dried her tears; and that her -face, though very sad, was more composed. - -"Sisty," she said, in a low voice which struggled to be firm, "promise -me that you will tell me all,--the worst, Sisty. They keep it from me, -and that is my hardest punishment; for when I don't know all that -he--that Austin suffers, it seems to me as if I had lost his heart. -Oh, Sisty! My child, my child, don't fear me! I shall be happy -whatever befalls us, if I once get back my privilege--my privilege, -Sisty, to comfort, to share!--do you understand me?" - -"Yes, indeed, my mother! And with your good sense, and clear woman's -wit, if you will but feel how much we want them, you will be the best -counsellor we could have. So never fear, you and I will have no -secrets." - -My mother kissed me, and went away with a less heavy step. - -As I re-entered, my father came across the room and embraced me. - -"My son," he said in a faltering voice, "if your modest prospects in -life are ruined--" - -"Father, father, can you think of me at such a moment! Me!--Is it -possible to ruin the young, and strong, and healthy! Ruin me, with -these thews and sinews!--ruin me, with the education you have given -me--thews and sinews of the mind! Oh no! there, Fortune is harmless! -And you forget, sir,--the saffron bag!" - -Squills leapt up, and, wiping his eyes with one hand, gave me a -sounding slap on the shoulder with the other. - -"I am proud of the care I took of your infancy, Master Caxton. That -comes of strengthening the digestive organs in early childhood. Such -sentiments are a proof of magnificent ganglions in a perfect state of -order. When a man's tongue is as smooth as I am sure yours is, he -slips through misfortune like an eel." - -I laughed outright, my father smiled faintly; and seating myself, I -drew towards me a paper filled with Squills' memoranda, and said, "Now -to find the unknown quantity. What on earth is this? 'Supposed value -of books, £750.' Oh, father! this is impossible. I was prepared for -anything but that. Your books--they are your life!" - -"Nay," said my father; "after all, they are the offending party in -this case, and so ought to be the principal victims. Besides, I -believe I know most of them by heart. But, in truth, we are only -entering all our effects, to be sure (added my father proudly) that, -come what may, we are not dishonoured." - -"Humour him," whispered Squills; "we will save the Books." Then he -added aloud, as he laid finger and thumb on my pulse, "One, two, -three, about seventy--capital pulse--soft and full--he can bear the -whole: let us administer it." - -My father nodded--"Certainly. But, Pisistratus, we must manage your -dear mother. Why she should think of blaming herself, because poor -Jack took wrong ways to enrich us, I cannot understand. But, as I have -had occasion before to remark, Sphinx and Enigma are nouns feminine." - -My poor father! that was a vain struggle for thy wonted innocent -humour. The lips quivered. - -Then the story came out. It seems that, when it was resolved to -undertake the publication of the _Literary Times_, a certain number of -shareholders had been got together by the indefatigable energies of -Uncle Jack; and, in the deed of association and partnership, my -father's name figured conspicuously as the holder of a fourth of this -joint property. If in this my father had committed some imprudence, he -had at least done nothing that, according to the ordinary calculations -of a secluded student, could become ruinous. But, just at the time -when we were in the hurry of leaving town, Jack had represented to my -father that it might be necessary to alter a little the plan of the -paper; and, in order to allure a larger circle of readers, touch -somewhat on the more vulgar news and interests of the day. A change of -plan might involve a change of title; and he suggested to my father -the expediency of leaving the smooth hands of Mr Tibbets altogether -unfettered, as to the technical name and precise form of the -publication. To this my father had unwittingly assented, on hearing -that the other shareholders would do the same. Mr Peck, a printer of -considerable opulence, and highly respectable name, had been found to -advance the sum necessary for the publication of the earlier numbers, -upon the guarantee of the said act of partnership, and the additional -security of my father's signature to a document, authorising Mr -Tibbets to make any change in the form or title of the periodical that -might be judged advisable, concurrent with the consent of the other -shareholders. - -Now it seems that Mr Peck had, in his previous conferences with Mr -Tibbets, thrown much cold water on the idea of the _Literary Times_, -and had suggested something that should "catch the moneyed -public,"--the fact being, as was afterwards discovered, that the -printer, whose spirit of enterprise was congenial to Uncle Jack's, had -shares in three or four speculations, to which he was naturally glad -of an opportunity to invite the attention of the public. In a word, no -sooner was my poor father's back turned than the _Literary Times_ was -dropped incontinently, and Mr Peck and Mr Tibbets began to concentre -their luminous notions into that brilliant and comet-like apparition -which ultimately blazed forth under the title of _The Capitalist_. - -From this change of enterprise the more prudent and responsible of the -original shareholders had altogether withdrawn. A majority, indeed, -were left; but the greater part of those were shareholders of that -kind most amenable to the influences of Uncle Jack, and willing to be -shareholders in anything, since as yet they were possessors of -nothing. - -Assured of my father's responsibility, the adventurous Peck put plenty -of spirit into the first launch of _The Capitalist_. All the walls -were placarded with its announcements; circular advertisements ran -from one end of of the kingdom to the other. Agents were engaged, -correspondents levied _en masse_. The invasion of Xerxes on the Greeks -was not more munificently provided for than that of _The Capitalist_ -upon the credulity and avarice of mankind. - -But as Providence bestows upon fishes the instrument of fins, whereby -they balance and direct their movements, however rapid and erratic, -through the pathless deeps, so to the cold-blooded creatures of our -own species--that may be classed under the genus MONEY-MAKERS--the -same protective power accords the fin-like properties of prudence and -caution, wherewith your true money-getter buoys and guides himself -majestically through the great seas of speculation. In short, the -fishes the net was cast for were all scared from the surface at the -first splash. They came round and smelt at the mesh with their shark -bottle-noses, and then, plying those invaluable fins, made off as fast -as they could--plunging into the mud--hiding themselves under rocks -and coral banks. Metaphor apart, the capitalists buttoned up their -pockets, and would have nothing to say to their namesake. - -Not a word of this change, so abhorrent to all the notions of poor -Augustine Caxton, had been breathed to him by Peck or Tibbets. He ate, -and slept, and worked at the great Book, occasionally wondering why he -had not heard of the advent of the _Literary Times_, unconscious of -all the awful responsibilities which _The Capitalist_ was entailing on -him;--knowing no more of _The Capitalist_ than he did of the last loan -of the Rothschilds. - -Difficult was it for all other human nature, save my father's, not to -breathe an indignant anathema on the scheming head of the -brother-in-law who had thus violated the most sacred obligations of -trust and kindred, and so entangled an unsuspecting recluse. But, to -give even Jack Tibbets his due, he had firmly convinced himself that -_The Capitalist_ would make my father's fortune; and if he did not -announce to him the strange and anomalous development into which the -original sleeping chrysalis of the _Literary Times_ had taken -portentous wing, it was purely and wholly in the knowledge that my -father's "prejudices," as he termed them, would stand in the way of his -becoming a Croesus. And, in fact, Uncle Jack had believed so heartily -in his own project, that he had put himself thoroughly into Mr Peck's -power, signed bills in his own name to some fabulous amount, and was -actually now in the Fleet, whence his penitential and despairing -confession was dated, arriving simultaneously with a short letter from -Mr Peck, wherein that respectable printer apprised my father that he -had continued, at his own risk, the publication of _The Capitalist_, as -far as a prudent care for his family would permit; that he need not say -that a new daily journal was a very vast experiment; that the expense -of such a paper as _The Capitalist_ was immeasurably greater than that -of a mere literary periodical, as originally suggested; and that now, -being constrained to come upon the shareholders for the sums he had -advanced, amounting to several thousands, he requested my father to -settle with him immediately--delicately implying that he himself might -settle as he could with the other shareholders, most of whom, he -grieved to add, he had been misled by Mr Tibbets into believing to be -men of substance, when in reality they were men of straw! - -Nor was this all the evil. The "Great Anti-Bookseller Publishing -Society,"--which had maintained a struggling existence--evinced by -advertisements of sundry forthcoming works of solid interest and -enduring nature, wherein, out of a long list, amidst a pompous array -of "Poems;" "Dramas not intended for the Stage;" "Essays by -Phileutheros, Philanthropos, Philopolis, Philodemus, and Philalethes," -stood prominently forth "The History of Human Error, Vols. I. and II., -quarto, with illustrations,"--the "Anti-Bookseller Society," I say, -that had hitherto evinced nascent and budding life by these -exfoliations from its slender stem, died of a sudden blight, the -moment its sun, in the shape of Uncle Jack, set in the Cimmerian -regions of the Fleet; and a polite letter from another printer (O -William Caxton, William Caxton!--fatal progenitor!) informing my -father of this event, stated complimentarily that it was to him, "as -the most respectable member of the Association," that the said printer -would be compelled to look for expenses incurred, not only in the very -costly edition of the History of Human Error, but for those incurred -in the print and paper devoted to "Poems," "Dramas, not intended for -the stage," "Essays by Phileutheros, Philanthropos, Philopolis, -Philodemus, and Philalethes," with sundry other works, no doubt of a -very valuable nature, but in which a considerable loss, in a pecuniary -point of view, must be necessarily expected. - -I own that, as soon as I had mastered the above agreeable facts, and -ascertained from Mr Squills that my father really did seem to have -rendered himself legally liable to these demands, I leant back in my -chair, stunned and bewildered. - -"So you see," said my father, "that as yet we are contending with -monsters in the dark--in the dark all monsters look larger and uglier. -Even Augustus Cæsar, though certainly he had never scrupled to make as -many ghosts as suited his convenience, did not like the chance of a -visit from them, and never sate alone _in tenebris_. What the amount -of the sums claimed from me may be, we know not; what may be gained -from the other shareholders is equally obscure and undefined. But the -first thing to do is to get poor Jack out of prison." - -"Uncle Jack out of prison!" exclaimed I: "surely, sir, that is -carrying forgiveness too far." - -"Why, he would not have been in prison if I had not been so blindly -forgetful of his weakness, poor man! I ought to have known better. But -my vanity misled me; I must needs publish a great book, as if (said Mr -Caxton, looking round the shelves,) there were not great books enough -in the world! I must needs, too, think of advancing and circulating -knowledge in the form of a journal--I, who had not knowledge enough of -the character of my own brother-in-law to keep myself from ruin! Come -what will, I should think myself the meanest of men to let that poor -creature, whom I ought to have considered as a monomaniac, rot in -prison, because I, Austin Caxton, wanted common sense. And (concluded -my father resolutely) he is your mother's brother, Pisistratus. I -should have gone to town at once; but, hearing that my wife had -written to you, I waited till I could leave her to the companionship -of hope and comfort--two blessings that smile upon every mother in the -face of a son like you. To-morrow I go." - -"Not a bit of it," said Mr Squills firmly; "as your medical adviser, I -forbid you to leave the house for the next six days." - - -CHAPTER LIII. - -"Sir," continued Mr Squills, biting off the end of a cigar which he -pulled from his pocket, "you concede to me that it is a very important -business on which you propose to go to London." - -"Of that there is no doubt," replied my father. - -"And the doing of business well or ill entirely depends upon the habit -of body!" cried Mr Squills triumphantly. "Do you know, Mr Caxton, that -while you are looking so calm, and talking so quietly--just on purpose -to sustain your son and delude your wife--do you know that your pulse, -which is naturally little more than sixty, is nearly a hundred? Do you -know, sir, that your mucous membranes are in a state of high -irritation, apparent by the _papillæ_ at the tip of your tongue? And -if, with a pulse like this, and a tongue like that, you think of -settling money matters with a set of sharp-witted tradesmen, all I can -say is, that you are a ruined man." - -"But--" began my father. - -"Did not Squire Rollick," pursued Mr Squills--"Squire Rollick, the -hardest head at a bargain I know of--did not Squire Rollick sell that -pretty little farm of his, Scranny Holt, for thirty per cent below its -value? And what was the cause, sir?--the whole county was in -amaze!--what was the cause, but an incipient simmering attack of the -yellow jaundice, which made him take a gloomy view of human life, and -the agricultural interest? On the other hand, did not Lawyer Cool, the -most prudent man in the three kingdoms--Lawyer Cool, who was so -methodical, that all the clocks in the county were set by his -watch--plunge one morning head over heels into a frantic speculation -for cultivating the bogs in Ireland, (his watch did not go right for -the next three months, which made our whole shire an hour in advance -of the rest of England!) And what was the cause of that nobody knew, -till I was called in, and fund the cerebral membranes in a state of -acute irritation, probably just in the region of his acquisitiveness -and ideality. No, Mr Caxton, you will stay at home, and take a -soothing preparation I shall send you, of lettuce leaves and -marshmallows. But I," continued Squills, lighting his cigar and taking -two determined whiffs--"but _I_ will go up to town and settle the -business for you, and take with me this young gentleman, whose -digestive functions are just in a state to deal safely with those -horrible elements of dyspepsia--the L. S. D." - -As he spoke, Mr Squills set his foot significantly upon mine. - -"But," resumed my father mildly, "though I thank you very much, -Squills, for your kind offer, I do not recognise the necessity of -accepting it. I am not so bad a philosopher as you seem to imagine; -and the blow I have received has not so deranged my physical -organisation as to render me unfit to transact my affairs." - -"Hum!" grunted Squills, starting up and seizing my father's pulse, -"ninety-six--ninety-six if a beat! And the tongue, sir!" - -"Pshaw!" quoth my father, "you have not even seen my tongue!" - -"No need of that, I know what it is by the state of the eyelids--tip -scarlet, sides rough as a nutmeg grater!" - -"Pshaw!" again said my father, this time impatiently. - -"Well," said Squills solemnly, "it is my duty to say, (here my mother -entered, to tell me that supper was ready,) and I say it to you, Mrs -Caxton, and you, Mr Pisistratus Caxton, as the parties most nearly -interested, that if you, sir, go to London upon this matter, I'll not -answer for the consequences." - -"Oh! Austin, Austin!" cried my mother, running up and throwing her -arms round my father's neck; while I, little less alarmed by Squills' -serious tone and aspect, represented strongly the inutility of Mr -Caxton's personal interference at the first moment. All he could do on -arriving in town would be to put the matter into the hands of a good -lawyer, and that we could do for him; it would be time enough to send -for him when the extent of the mischief done was more clearly -ascertained. Meanwhile Squills griped my father's pulse, and my mother -hung on his neck. - -"Ninety-six--ninety-seven!" groaned Squills in a hollow voice. - -"I don't believe it!" cried my father, almost in a passion--"never -better nor cooler in my life." - -"And the tongue--look at his tongue, Mrs Caxton--a tongue, ma'am, so -bright that you could see to read by it!" - -"Oh! Austin, Austin!" - -"My dear, it is not my tongue that is in fault, I assure you," said my -father, speaking through his teeth; "and the man knows no more of my -tongue than he does of the mysteries of Eleusis." - -"Put it out then," exclaimed Squills, "and if it be not as I say, you -have my leave to go to London, and throw your whole fortune into the -two great pits you have dug for it. Put it out!" - -"Mr Squills!" said my father, colouring--"Mr Squills, for shame!" - -"Dear, dear Austin! your hand is so hot--you are feverish, I am sure." - -"Not a bit of it." - -"But, sir, only just gratify Mr Squills," said I coaxingly. - -"There, there!" said my father, fairly baited into submission, and -shyly exhibiting for a moment the extremest end of the vanquished -organ of eloquence. - -Squills darted forward his lynx-like eyes. "Red as a lobster, and -rough as a gooseberry-bush!" cried Squills, in a tone of savage joy. - - -CHAPTER LIV. - -How was it possible for one poor tongue, so reviled and persecuted, so -humbled, insulted, and triumphed over--to resist three tongues in -league against it? - -Finally, my father yielded; and Squills, in high spirits, declared -that he would go to supper with me, to see that I eat nothing that -could tend to discredit his reliance on my system. Leaving my mother -still with her Austin, the good surgeon then took my arm, and, as soon -as we were in the next room, shut the door carefully, wiped his -forehead, and said--"I think we have saved him!" - -"Would it really, then, have injured my father so much?" - -"So much!--why, you foolish young man, don't you see that, with his -ignorance of business, where he himself is concerned--though, for any -other one's business, neither Rollick nor Cool has a better -judgment--and with his d--d Quixotic spirit of honour worked up into a -state of excitement, he would have rushed to Mr Tibbets, and exclaimed -'How much do you owe? there it is!'--settled in the same way with -these printers, and come back without a sixpence; whereas you and I -can look coolly about us, and reduce the inflammation to the minimum!" - -"I see, and thank you heartily, Squills." - -"Besides," said the surgeon, with more feeling, "your father has -really been making a noble effort over himself. He suffers more than -you would think--not for himself, (for I do believe that, if he were -alone in the world, he would be quite contented if he could save fifty -pounds a-year and his books,) but for your mother and yourself; and a -fresh access of emotional excitement, all the nervous anxiety of a -journey to London on such a business, might have ended in a paralytic -or epileptic affection. Now, we have him here snug; and the worst news -we can give him will be better than what he will make up his mind for. -But you don't eat." - -"Eat! How can I? My poor father!" - -"The effect of grief upon the gastric juices, through the nervous -system, is very remarkable," said Mr Squills, philosophically, and -helping himself to a broiled bone; "it increases the thirst, while it -takes away hunger. No--don't touch Port!--heating! Sherry and water." - - -CHAPTER LV. - -The house-door had closed upon Mr Squills--that gentleman having -promised to breakfast with me the next morning, so that we might take -the coach from our gate--and I remained alone, seated by the -supper-table, and revolving all I had heard, when my father walked in. - -"Pisistratus," said he, gravely, and looking round him, "your -mother!--suppose the worst--your first care, then, must be to try and -secure something for her. You and I are men--_we_ can never want, -while we have health of mind and body; but a woman--and if anything -happens to me"-- - -My father's lip writhed as it uttered these brief sentences. - -"My dear, dear father!" said I, suppressing my tears with difficulty, -"all evils, as you yourself said, look worse by anticipation. It is -impossible that your whole fortune can be involved. The newspaper did -not run many weeks; and only the first volume of your work is printed. -Besides, there must be other shareholders who will pay their quota. -Believe me, I feel sanguine as to the result of my embassy. As for my -poor mother, it is not the loss of fortune that will wound her--depend -on it, she thinks very little of that; it is the loss of your -confidence." - -"My confidence!" - -"Ah yes! tell her all your fears, as your hopes. Do not let your -affectionate pity exclude her from one corner of your heart." - -"It is that--it is _that_, Austin,--my husband--my joy--my pride--my -soul--my all!" cried a soft, broken voice. - -My mother had crept in, unobserved by us. - -My father looked at us both, and the tears which had before stood in -his eyes forced their way. Then opening his arms--into which his Kitty -threw herself joyfully--he lifted those moist eyes upward, and, by the -movement of his lips, I saw that he thanked God. - -I stole out of the room. I felt that those two hearts should be left -to beat and to blend alone. And from that hour, I am convinced that -Augustine Caxton acquired a stouter philosophy than that of the -stoics. The fortitude that concealed pain was no longer needed, for -the pain was no longer felt. - - -CHAPTER LVI. - -Mr Squills and I performed our journey without adventure, and, as we -were not alone on the coach, with little conversation. We put up at a -small inn at the city, and the next morning I sallied forth to see -Trevanion--for we agreed that he would be the best person to advise -us. But, on arriving at St James's Square, I had the disappointment of -hearing that the whole family had gone to Paris three days before, and -were not expected to return till the meeting of Parliament. - -This was a sad discouragement, for I had counted much on Trevanion's -clear head, and that extraordinary range of accomplishment in all -matters of business--all that related to practical life--which my old -patron pre-eminently possessed. The next thing would be to find -Trevanion's lawyer, (for Trevanion was one of those men whose -solicitors are sure to be able and active.) But the fact was, that he -left so little to lawyers, that he had never had occasion to -communicate with one since I had known him; and I was therefore in -ignorance of the very name of his solicitor; nor could the porter, who -was left in charge of the house, enlighten me. Luckily, I bethought -myself of Sir Sedley Beaudesert, who could scarcely fail to give me -the information required, and who, at all events, might recommend me -some other lawyer. So to him I went. - -I found Sir Sedley at breakfast with a young gentleman who seemed -about twenty. The good baronet was delighted to see me; but I thought -it was with a little confusion, rare to his cordial ease, that he -presented me to his cousin, Lord Castleton. It was a name familiar to -me, though I had never before met its patrician owner. - -The Marquis of Castleton was indeed a subject of envy to young idlers, -and afforded a theme of interest to gray-beard politicians. Often had -I heard of "that lucky fellow Castleton," who, when of age, would step -into one of those colossal fortunes which would realise the dreams of -Aladdin--a fortune that had been out to nurse since his minority. -Often had I heard graver gossips wonder whether Castleton would take -any active part in public life--whether he would keep up the family -influence. His mother (still alive) was a superior woman, and had -devoted herself, from his childhood, to supply a father's loss, and -fit him for his great position. It was said that he was clever--had -been educated by a tutor of great academic distinction, and was -reading for a double first class at Oxford. This young marquis was -indeed the head of one of those few houses still left in England that -retain feudal importance. He was important, not only from his rank and -his vast fortune, but from an immense circle of powerful connections; -from the ability of his two predecessors, who had been keen -politicians and cabinet-ministers; from the _prestige_ they had -bequeathed to his name; from the peculiar nature of his property, -which gave him the returning interest in no less than six -parliamentary seats in Great Britain and Ireland--besides that -indirect ascendency which the head of the Castletons had always -exercised over many powerful and noble allies of that princely house. -I was not aware that he was related to Sir Sedley, whose world of -action was so remote from politics; and it was with some surprise that -I now heard that announcement, and certainly with some interest that -I, perhaps from the verge of poverty, gazed on this young heir of -fabulous El-Dorados. - -It was easy to see that Lord Castleton had been brought up with a -careful knowledge of his future greatness, and its serious -responsibilities. He stood immeasurably aloof from all the -affectations common to the youth of minor patricians. He had not been -taught to value himself on the cut of a coat, or the shape of a hat. -His world was far above St James's Street and the clubs. He was -dressed plainly, though in a style peculiar to himself--a white -neckcloth, (which was not at that day quite so uncommon for morning -use as it is now,) trowsers without straps, thin shoes and gaiters. -There was nothing in his manner of the supercilious apathy which -characterises the dandy introduced to some one whom he doubts if he -can nod to from the bow-window at White's--none of such vulgar -coxcombries had Lord Castleton; and yet a young gentleman more -emphatically coxcomb it was impossible to see. He had been told, no -doubt, that, as the head of a house which was almost in itself a party -in the state, he should be bland and civil to all men; and this duty -being grafted upon a nature singularly cold and unsocial, gave to his -politeness something so stiff, yet so condescending, that it brought -the blood to one's cheek--though the momentary anger was -counterbalanced by something almost ludicrous in the contrast between -this gracious majesty of deportment, and the insignificant figure, -with the boyish beardless face, by which it was assumed. Lord -Castleton did not content himself with a mere bow at our introduction. -Much to my wonder how he came by the information he displayed, he made -me a little speech after the manner of Louis XIV. to a provincial -noble--studiously modelled upon that royal maxim of urbane policy -which instructs a king that he should know something of the birth, -parentage, and family, of his meanest gentleman. It was a little -speech, in which my father's learning, and my uncle's services, and -the amiable qualities of your humble servant, were neatly -interwoven--delivered in a falsetto tone, as if learned by heart, -though it must have been necessarily impromptu; and then, reseating -himself, he made a gracious motion of the head and hand, as if to -authorise me to do the same. - -Conversation succeeded, by galvanic jerks and spasmodic starts--a -conversation that Lord Castleton contrived to tug so completely out of -poor Sir Sedley's ordinary course of small and polished small-talk, -that that charming personage, accustomed, as he well deserved, to be -Coryphæus at his own table, was completely silenced. With his light -reading, his rich stores of anecdote, his good-humoured knowledge of -the drawing-room world, he had scarce a word that would fit into the -great, rough, serious matters which Lord Castleton threw upon the -table, as he nibbled his toast. Nothing but the most grave and -practical subjects of human interest seemed to attract this future -leader of mankind. The fact is that Lord Castleton had been taught -everything that relates to _property_--(a knowledge which embraces a -very wide circumference.) It had been said to him "You will be an -immense proprietor--knowledge is essential to your self-preservation. -You will be puzzled, bubbled, ridiculed, duped every day of your life, -if you do not make yourself acquainted with all by which property is -assailed or defended, impoverished or increased. You have a vast stake -in the country--you must learn all the interests of Europe--nay, of -the civilised world--for those interests react on the country, and the -interests of the country are of the greatest possible consequence to -the interests of the Marquis of Castleton." Thus the state of the -Continent--the policy of Metternich--the condition of the Papacy--the -growth of Dissent--the proper mode of dealing with the general spirit -of Democracy, which was the epidemic of European monarchies--the -relative proportions of the agricultural and manufacturing -population--corn-laws, currency, and the laws that regulate wages--a -criticism on the leading speakers of the House of Commons, with some -discursive observations on the importance of fattening cattle--the -introduction of flax into Ireland--emigration--the condition of the -poor--the doctrines of Mr Owen--the pathology of potatoes; the -connexion between potatoes, pauperism, and patriotism; these, and -suchlike stupendous subjects for reflection--all branching, more or -less intricately, from the single idea of the Castleton property--the -young lord discussed and disposed of in half-a-dozen prim, poised -sentences--evincing, I must say in justice, no inconsiderable -information, and a mighty solemn turn of mind. The oddity was, that -the subjects so selected and treated should not come rather from some -young barrister, or mature political economist, than from so gorgeous -a lily of the field. Of a less man, certainly, one would have -said--"Cleverish, but a prig;" but there really was something so -respectable in a man born to such fortunes, and having nothing to do -but to bask in the sunshine, voluntarily taking such pains with -himself, and condescending to identify his own interests--the -interests of the Castleton property--with the concerns of his lesser -fellow-mortals, that one felt the young marquis had in him the stuff -to become a very considerable man. - -Poor Sir Sedley, to whom all these matters were as unfamiliar as the -theology of the Talmud, after some vain efforts to slip the -conversation into easier grooves, fairly gave in, and, with a -compassionate smile on his handsome countenance, took refuge in his -easy-chair and the contemplation of his snuff-box. - -At last, to our great relief, the servant announced Lord Castleton's -carriage; and with another speech of overpowering affability to me, -and a cold shake of the hand to Sir Sedley, Lord Castleton went his -way. - -The breakfast parlour looked on the street, and I turned mechanically -to the window as Sir Sedley followed his guest out of the room. A -travelling carriage, with four post-horses, was at the door; and a -servant, who looked like a foreigner, was in waiting with his master's -cloak. As I saw Lord Castleton step into the street, and wrap himself -in his costly mantle lined with sables, I observed, more than I had -while he was in the room, the enervate slightness of his frail form, -and the more than paleness of his thin, joyless face; and then, -instead of envy, I felt compassion for the owner of all this pomp and -grandeur--felt that I would not have exchanged my hardy health, and -easy humour, and vivid capacities of enjoyment in things the slightest -and most within the reach of all men, for the wealth and greatness -which that poor youth perhaps deserved the more for putting them so -little to the service of pleasure. - -"Well," said Sir Sedley, "and what do you think of him?" - -"He is just the sort of man Trevanion would like," said I, evasively. - -"That is true," answered Sir Sedley, in a serious tone of voice, and -looking at me somewhat earnestly. "Have you heard?--but no, you cannot -have heard yet." - -"Heard what?" - -"My dear young friend," said the kindest and most delicate of all fine -gentlemen, sauntering away that he might not observe the emotion he -caused, "Lord Castleton is going to Paris to join the Trevanions. The -object Lady Ellinor has had at heart for many a long year is won, and -our pretty Fanny will be Marchioness of Castleton when her betrothed -is of age--that is, in six months. The two mothers have settled it all -between them!" - -I made no answer, but continued to look out of the window. - -"This alliance," resumed Sir Sedley, "was all that was wanting to -assure Trevanion's position. When parliament meets, he will have some -great office. Poor man! how I shall pity him! It is extraordinary to -me," continued Sir Sedley, benevolently going on, that I might have -full time to recover myself, "how contagious that disease called -business is in our foggy England! Not only Trevanion, you see, has the -complaint in its very worst and most complicated form, but that poor -dear cousin of mine, who is so young, (here Sir Sedley sighed) and -might enjoy himself so much, is worse than you were when Trevanion was -fagging you to death. But, to be sure, a great name and position, like -Castleton's, must be a very heavy affliction to a conscientious mind. -You see how the sense of its responsibilities has _aged_ him -already--positively, two great wrinkles under his eyes. Well, after -all, I admire him, and respect his tutor: a soil naturally very thin, -I suspect, has been most carefully cultivated; and Castleton, with -Trevanion's help, will be the first man in the peerage--prime-minister -some day, I dare say. And, when I think of it, how grateful I ought to -feel to his father and mother, who produced him quite in their old -age; for, if he had not been born, I should have been the most -miserable of men--yes, positively, that horrible marquisate would have -come to me! I never think over Horace Walpole's regrets, when he got -the earldom of Orford, without the deepest sympathy, and without a -shudder at the thought of what my dear Lady Castleton was kind enough -to save me from--all owing to the Ems waters, after twenty years' -marriage! Well, my young friend, and how are all at home?" - -As when, some notable performer not having yet arrived behind the -scenes, or having to change his dress, or not having yet quite -recovered an unlucky extra tumbler of exciting fluids--and the green -curtain has therefore unduly delayed its ascent--you perceive that the -thorough-bass in the orchestra charitably devotes himself to a prelude -of astonishing prolixity, calling in _Lodoiska_ or _Der Freischutz_ to -beguile the time, and allow the procrastinating histrion leisure -sufficient to draw on his flesh-coloured pantaloons, and give himself -the proper complexion for a Coriolanus or Macbeth--even so had Sir -Sedley made that long speech, requiring no rejoinder, till he saw the -time had arrived when he could artfully close with the flourish of a -final interrogative, in order to give poor Pisistratus Caxton all -preparation to compose himself, and step forward. There is certainly -something of exquisite kindness, and thoughtful benevolence, in that -rarest of gifts,--_fine breeding_; and when now, remanned and -resolute, I turned round and saw Sir Sedley's soft blue eye shyly, but -benignantly, turned to me--while, with a grace no other snuff-taker -ever had since the days of Pope, he gently proceeded to refresh -himself by a pinch of the celebrated Beaudesert mixture--I felt my -heart as gratefully moved towards him as if he had conferred on me -some colossal obligation. And this crowning question--"And how are all -at home?" restored me entirely to my self-possession, and for the -moment distracted the bitter current of my thoughts. - -I replied by a brief statement of my father's involvement, disguising -our apprehensions as to its extent, speaking of it rather as an -annoyance than a possible cause of ruin, and ended by asking Sir -Sedley to give me the address of Trevanion's lawyer. - -The good baronet listened with great attention; and that quick -penetration which belongs to a man of the world enabled him to detect, -that I had smoothed over matters more than became a faithful narrator. - -He shook his head, and, seating himself on the sofa, motioned me to -come to his side; then, leaning his arm over my shoulder, he said in -his seductive, winning way-- - -"We two young fellows should understand each other, when we talk of -money matters. I can say to you what I could not to my respectable -senior--by three years; your excellent father. Frankly, then, I -suspect this is a bad business. I know little about newspapers, except -that I have to subscribe to one in my county, which costs me a small -income; but I know that a London daily paper might ruin a man in a few -weeks. And as for shareholders, my dear Caxton, I was once teased into -being a shareholder in a canal that ran through my property, and -ultimately ran off with £30,000 of it! The other shareholders were all -drowned in the canal, like Pharaoh and his hosts in the Red Sea. But -your father is a great scholar, and must not be plagued with such -matters. I owe him a great deal. He was very kind to me at Cambridge, -and gave me the taste for reading, to which I owe the pleasantest -hours of my life. So, when you and the lawyers have found out what the -extent of the mischief is, you and I must see how we can best settle -it. - -"What the deuce! my young friend--I have no 'encumbrances,' as the -servants, with great want of politeness, call wives and children. And -I am not a miserable great landed millionnaire, like that poor dear -Castleton, who owes so many duties to society that he can't spend a -shilling, except in a grand way and purely to benefit the public. So -go, my boy, to Trevanion's lawyer: he is mine too. Clever -fellow--sharp as a needle. Mr Pike, in Great Ormond Street--name on a -brass plate; and when he has settled the amount, we young scapegraces -will help each other, without a word to the old folks." - -What good it does to a man, throughout life, to meet kindness and -generosity like this in his youth! - -I need not say that I was too faithful a representative of my father's -scholarly pride, and susceptible independence of spirit, to accept -this proposal; and probably Sir Sedley, rich and liberal as he was, -did not dream of the extent to which his proposal might involve him. -But I expressed my gratitude, so as to please and move this last relic -of the De Coverleys, and went from his house straight to Mr Pike's -office, with a little note of introduction from Sir Sedley. I found Mr -Pike exactly the man I had anticipated from Trevanion's -character--short, quick, intelligent, in question and answer; -imposing, and somewhat domineering, in manner--not overcrowded with -business, but with enough for experience and respectability; neither -young nor old; neither a pedantic machine of parchment, nor a jaunty -off-hand coxcomb of West End manners. - -"It is an ugly affair," said he, "but one that requires management. -Leave it all in my hands for three days. Don't go near Mr Tibbets, nor -Mr Peck; and on Saturday next, at two o'clock, if you will call here, -you shall know my opinion of the whole matter." With that Mr Pike -glanced at the clock, and I took up my hat and went. - -There is no place more delightful than a great capital, if you are -comfortably settled in it--have arranged the methodical disposal of -your time, and know how to take business and pleasure in due -proportions. But a flying visit to a great capital, in an unsettled, -unsatisfactory way--at an inn--an inn in the city, too--with a great -worrying load of business on your mind, of which you are to hear no -more for three days; and an aching, jealous, miserable sorrow at the -heart, such as I had--leaving you no labour to pursue, and no pleasure -that you have the heart to share in--oh, a great capital then is -indeed forlorn, wearisome, and oppressive! It is the Castle of -Indolence, not as Thomson built it, but as Beckford drew in his Hall -of Eblis--a wandering up and down, to and fro--a great awful space, -with your hand pressed to your heart; and--oh for a rush on some -half-tamed horse, through the measureless green wastes of Australia! -That is the place for a man who has no home in the Babel, and whose -hand is ever pressing to his heart, with its dull, burning pain. - -Mr Squills decoyed me the second evening into one of the small -theatres; and very heartily did Mr Squills enjoy all he saw, and all -he heard. And while, with a convulsive effort of the jaws, I was -trying to laugh too, suddenly, in one of the actors, who was -performing the worshipful part of a parish beadle, I recognised a face -that I had seen before. Five minutes afterwards, I had disappeared -from the side of Squills, and was amidst that strange world--BEHIND -THE SCENES. - -My beadle was much too busy and important to allow me a good -opportunity to accost him, till the piece was over. I then seized hold -of him, as he was amicably sharing a pot of porter with a gentleman in -black shorts and a laced waistcoat, who was to play the part of a -broken-hearted father in the Domestic Drama in Three Acts, that would -conclude the amusements of the evening. - -"Excuse me," said I apologetically; "but, as the Swan pertinently -observes,--'Should auld acquaintance be forgot?'" - -"The Swan, sir!" cried the beadle aghast--"the Swan never demeaned -himself by such d--d broad Scotch as that!" - -"The Tweed has its swans as well as the Avon, Mr Peacock." - -"St--st--hush--hush--h--u--sh!" whispered the beadle in great alarm, -and eyeing me, with savage observation, under his corked eyebrows. -Then, taking me, by the arm, he jerked me away. When he had got as far -as the narrow limits of that little stage would allow us, Mr Peacock -said-- - -"Sir, you have the advantage of me; I don't remember you. Ah! you need -not look!--by gad, sir, I am not to be bullied,--it was all fair play. -If you will play with gentlemen, sir, you must run the consequences." - -I hastened to appease the worthy man. - -"Indeed, Mr Peacock, if you remember, I refused to play with you; and, -so far from wishing to offend you, I now come on purpose to compliment -you on your excellent acting, and to inquire if you have heard -anything lately of your young friend, Mr Vivian. - -"Vivian?--never heard the name, sir. Vivian! Pooh, you are trying to -hoax me; very good." - -"I assure you, Mr Peac"-- - -"St--st--How the deuce did you know that I was once called Peac--that -is, people called me Peac--A friendly nickname, no more--drop it, sir, -or you 'touch me with noble anger!'" - -"Well, well; 'the rose, by any name, will smell as sweet,' as the -Swan, this time at least, judiciously observes. But Mr Vivian, too, -seems to have other names at his disposal. I mean a young, dark, -handsome man--or rather boy--with whom I met you in company by the -roadside, one morning." - -"O--h!" said Mr Peacock, looking much relieved, "I know whom you mean, -though I don't remember to have had the pleasure of seeing you before. -No; I have not heard anything of the young man lately. I wish I did -know something of him. He was a 'gentleman in my own way.' Sweet Will -has hit him off to a hair!-- - - 'The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's eye, tongue, sword.' - -Such a hand with a cue!--you should have seen him seek 'the bubble -reputation at the _cannon's_ mouth!' I may say, (continued Mr Peacock, -emphatically,) that he was a regular trump--trump!" he reiterated with -a start, as if the word had stung him--"trump! he was a BRICK!" - -Then fixing his eyes on me, dropping his arms, interlacing his -fingers, in the manner recorded of Talma in the celebrated "Qu'en -dis-tu?" he resumed in a hollow voice, slow and distinct-- - -"When--saw--you--him,--young m--m--a--n--nnn?" - -Finding the tables thus turned on myself, and not willing to give Mr -Peac-- any clue to poor Vivian--who thus appeared, to my great -satisfaction, to have finally dropped an acquaintance more versatile -than reputable--I contrived, by a few evasive sentences, to keep Mr -Peac--'s curiosity at a distance, till he was summoned in haste to -change his attire for the domestic drama. And so we parted. - - -CHAPTER LVII. - -I hate law details as cordially as my readers can, and therefore I -shall content myself with stating that Mr Pike's management, at the -end, not of three days, but of two weeks, was so admirable that Uncle -Jack was drawn out of prison, and my father extracted from all his -liabilities, by a sum two-thirds less than was first startlingly -submitted to our indignant horror--and that, too, in a manner that -would have satisfied the conscience of the most punctilious formalist, -whose contribution to the national fund, for an omitted payment to the -Income Tax. the Chancellor of the Exchequer ever had the honour to -acknowledge. Still the sum was very large in proportion to my poor -father's income; and what with Jack's debts, the claims of the -Anti-Publisher Society's printer--including the very expensive plates -that had been so lavishly bespoken, and in great part completed, for -the _History of Human Error_--and, above all, the liabilities incurred -on _The Capitalist_; what with the _plant_, as Mr Peck technically -phrased a great upas-tree of a total, branching out into types, cases, -printing-presses, engines, &c., all now to be resold at a third of -their value; what with advertisements and bills, that had covered all -the dead walls by which rubbish might be shot, throughout the three -kingdoms; what with the dues of reporters, and salaries of writers, -who had been engaged for a year at least to _The Capitalist_, and -whose claims survived the wretch they had killed and buried; what, in -short, with all that the combined ingenuity of Uncle Jack and printer -Peck could supply for the utter ruin of the Caxton family--even after -all deductions, curtailments, and after all that one could extract in -the way of just contribution from the least unsubstantial of those -shadows called the shareholders--my father's fortune was reduced to -little more than £8000, which being placed at mortgage, at 4 per cent, -yielded just £372, 10s. a-year--enough for my father to live upon, but -not enough to afford also his son Pisistratus the advantages of -education at Trinity College, Cambridge. The blow fell rather upon me -than my father, and my young shoulders bore it without much wincing. - -This settled, to our universal satisfaction, I went to pay my farewell -visit to Sir Sedley Beaudesert. He had made much of me, during my stay -in London. I had breakfasted and dined with him pretty often; I had -presented Squills to him, who no sooner set eyes upon that splendid -conformation, than he described his character with the nicest accuracy -as the necessary consequence of such a development for the rosy -pleasures of life, and whose philosophy delighted and consoled Sir -Sedley. We had never once retouched on the subject of Fanny's -marriage, and both of us tacitly avoided even mentioning the -Trevanions. But in this last visit, though he maintained the same -reserve as to Fanny, he referred without scruple to her father. - -"Well, my young Athenian," said he, after congratulating me on the -result of the negotiations, and endeavouring again in vain to bear at -least some share in my father's losses--"well, I see I cannot press -this farther; but at least I _can_ press on you any little interest I -may have, in obtaining some appointment for yourself in one of the -public offices. Trevanion could of course be more useful, but I can -understand that he is not the kind of man you would like to apply to." - -"Shall I own to you, my dear Sir Sedley, that I have no taste for -official employment? I am too fond of my liberty. Since I have been at -my uncle's old tower, I account for half my character by the -Borderer's blood that is in me. I doubt if I am meant for the life of -cities, and I have odd floating notions in my head, that will serve to -amuse me when I get home, and may settle into schemes. And now, to -change the subject, may I ask what kind of person has succeeded me as -Mr Trevanion's secretary?" - -"Why, he has got a broad-shouldered, stooping fellow, in spectacles -and cotton stockings, who has written upon 'Rent,' I believe--an -imaginative treatise in his case, I fear, poor man, for rent is a -thing he could never have received, and not often been trusted to pay. -However, he is one of your political economists, and wants Trevanion -to sell his pictures, as 'unproductive capital.' Less mild than Pope's -Narcissa, 'to make a wash,' he would certainly 'stew a child.' Besides -this official secretary, Trevanion trusts, however, a good deal to a -clever, good-looking young gentleman, who is a great favourite with -him." - -"What is his name?" - -"His name?--oh, Gower--a natural son, I believe, of one of the Gower -family." - -Here two of Sir Sedley's fellow fine gentlemen lounged in, and my -visit ended. - - -CHAPTER LVIII. - -"I swear," cried my uncle, "that it _shall_ be so;" and with a big -frown, and a truculent air, he seized the fatal instrument. - -"Indeed, brother, it must not," said my father, laying one pale, -scholar-like hand mildly on Captain Roland's brown, bellicose, and -bony fist; and with the other, outstretched, protecting the menaced, -palpitating victim. - -Not a word had my uncle heard of our losses, until they had been -adjusted, and the sum paid; for we all knew that the old tower would -have been gone--sold to some neighbouring squire or jobbing -attorney--at the first impetuous impulse of Uncle Roland's -affectionate generosity. Austin endangered! Austin ruined!--he would -never have rested till he came, cash in hand, to his deliverance. -Therefore, I say, not till all was settled did I write to the Captain, -and tell him gaily what had chanced. And, however light I made of our -misfortunes, the letter brought the Captain to the red brick house the -same evening on which I myself reached it, and about an hour later. My -uncle had not sold the tower, but he came prepared to carry us off to -it _vi et armis_. We must live with him, and on him--let or sell the -brick house, and put out the remnant of my father's income to nurse -and accumulate. And it was on finding my father's resistance stubborn, -and that hitherto he had made no way,--that my uncle, stepping back -into the hall, in which he had left his carpet-bag, &c., returned with -an old oak case, and, touching a spring roller, out flew--the Caxton -pedigree. - -Out it flew--covering all the table, and undulating, Nile-like, till -it had spread over books, papers, my mother's work-box, and the -tea-service, (for the table was large and compendious, emblematic of -its owner's mind)--and then, flowing on the carpet, dragged its slow -length along, till it was stopped by the fender. - -"Now," said my uncle solemnly, "there never have been but two causes -of difference between you and me, Austin. One is over; why should the -other last? Aha! I know why you hang back; you think that we may -quarrel about it!" - -"About what, Roland?" - -"About it, I say--and I'll be d--d if we do!" cried my uncle, -reddening, (I never heard him swear before.) "And I have been thinking -a great deal upon the matter, and I have no doubt you are right. So I -brought the old parchment with me, and you shall see me fill up the -blank, just as you would have it. Now, then, you will come and live -with me, and we can never quarrel any more." - -Thus saying, Uncle Roland looked round for pen and ink; and, having -found them--not without difficulty, for they had been submerged under -the overflow of the pedigree--he was about to fill up the _lacuna_, or -hiatus, which had given rise to such memorable controversy, with the -name of "William Caxton, printer in the Sanctuary," when my father, -slowly recovering his breath, and aware of his brother's purpose, -intervened. It would have done your heart good to hear them--so -completely, in the inconsistency of human nature, had they changed -sides upon the question--my father now all for Sir William de Caxton, -the hero of Bosworth; my uncle all for the immortal printer. And in -this discussion they grew animated: their eyes sparkled, their voices -rose--Roland's voice deep and thunderous, Austin's sharp and piercing. -Mr Squills stopped his ears. Thus it arrived at that point, when my -uncle doggedly came to the end of all argumentation--"I swear that it -shall be so;" and my father, trying the last resource of pathos, -looked pleadingly into Roland's eyes, and said, with a tone soft as -mercy, "Indeed, brother, it must not." Meanwhile the dry parchment -crisped, creaked, and trembled in every pore of its yellow skin. - -"But," said I, coming in, opportunely, like the Horatian deity, "I -don't see that either of you gentlemen has a right so to dispose of my -ancestry. It is quite clear that a man has no possession in posterity. -Posterity may possess him; but deuce a bit will he ever be the better -for his great great-grandchildren!" - -SQUILLS.--Hear, hear! - -PISISTRATUS--(_warming_.)--But a man's ancestry is a positive property -to him. How much, not only of acres, but of his constitution, his -temper, his conduct, character, and nature, he may inherit from some -progenitor ten times removed! Nay, without that progenitor would he -ever have been born--would a Squills ever have introduced him into the -world, or a nurse ever have carried him _upo kolpo_? - -SQUILLS.--Hear, hear! - -PISISTRATUS--(_with dignified emotion_)--No man, therefore, has a -right to rob another of a forefather, with a stroke of his pen, from -any motives, howsoever amiable. In the present instance, you will say, -perhaps, that the ancestor in question is apocryphal--it may be the -printer, it may be the knight. Granted; but here, where history is in -fault, shall a mere sentiment decide? While both are doubtful, my -imagination appropriates both. At one time I can reverence industry -and learning in the printer; at another, valour and devotion in the -knight. This kindly doubt gives me two great forefathers; and, through -them, two trains of idea that influence my conduct under different -circumstances. I will not permit you, Captain Roland, to rob me of -either forefather--either train of idea. Leave, then, this sacred void -unfilled, unprofaned; and accept this compromise of chivalrous -courtesy--while my father lives with the Captain, we will believe in -the printer; when away from the Captain, we will stand firm to the -knight." - -"Good!" cried Uncle Roland, as I paused, a little out of breath. - -"And," said my mother softly, "I do think, Austin, there is a way of -settling the matter which will please all parties. It is quite sad to -think that poor Roland, and dear little Blanche, should be all alone -in the tower; and I am sure that we should be much happier -altogether." - -"There!" cried Roland, triumphantly. "If you are not the most -obstinate, hardhearted, unfeeling brute in the world--which I don't -take you to be--brother Austin, after that really beautiful speech of -your wife's, there is not a word to be said farther." - -"But we have not yet heard Kitty to the end, Roland." - -"I beg your pardon, a thousand times, ma'am--sister," said the -Captain, bowing. - -"Well, I was going to add," said my mother, "that we will go and live -with you, Roland, and club our little fortunes together. Blanche and I -will take care of the house, and we shall be just twice as rich -together as we are separately." - -"Pretty sort of hospitality that!" grunted the Captain. "I did not -expect you to throw me over in that way. No, no; you must lay by for -the boy there,--what's to become of him?" - -"But we shall _all_ lay by for him," said my mother simply; "you as -well as Austin. We shall have more to save, if we have both more to -spend." - -"Ah, save!--that is easily said: there would be a pleasure in saving, -then!" said the Captain mournfully. - -"And what's to become of me?" cried Squills, very petulantly. "Am I to -be left here, in my old age--not a rational soul to speak to, and no -other place in the village where there's a drop of decent punch to be -had! 'A plague on both your houses'! as the chap said at the theatre -the other night." - -"There's room for a doctor in our neighbourhood, Mr Squills," said the -Captain. "The gentleman in your profession who _does for us_, wants, I -know, to sell the business." - -"Humph!" said Squills--"a horrible healthy neighbourhood, I suspect!" - -"Why, it has that misfortune, Mr Squills; but with your help," said my -uncle slily, "a great alteration for the better may be effected in -that respect." - -Mr Squills was about to reply, when ring--a-ting--ring--ting! there -came such a brisk, impatient, make-one's-self-at-home kind of -tintanabular alarum at the great gate, that we all started up and -looked at each other in surprise. Who could it possibly be? We were -not kept long in suspense; for, in another moment, Uncle Jack's voice, -which was always very clear and distinct, pealed through the hall; and -we were still staring at each other when Mr Tibbets, with a bran-new -muffler round his neck, and a peculiarly comfortable, greatcoat--best -double Saxony, equally new--dashed into the room, bringing with him a -very considerable quantity of cold air, which he hastened to thaw, -first in my father's arms, next in my mother's. He then made a rush at -the Captain, who ensconced himself behind the dumb waiter with a "Hem! -Mr--sir--Jack--sir--hem, hem!" Failing there, Mr Tibbets rubbed off -the remaining frost upon his double Saxony against your humble -servant; patted Squills affectionately on the back, and then proceeded -to occupy his favourite position before the fire. - -"Took you by surprise, eh?" said Uncle Jack, unpeeling himself by the -hearth-rug. "But no--not by surprise; you must have known Jack's -heart: you at least, Austin Caxton, who know everything--you must have -seen that it overflowed, with the tenderest and most brotherly -emotions; that, once delivered from that cursed Fleet, (you have no -idea what a place it is, sir,) I could not rest, night or day, till I -had flown here--here, to the dear family nest--poor wounded dove that -I am!" added Uncle Jack pathetically, and taking out his -pocket-handkerchief from the double Saxony, which he had now flung -over my father's arm-chair. - -Not a word replied to this eloquent address, with its touching -peroration. My mother hung down her pretty head, and looked ashamed. -My uncle retreated quite into the corner, and drew the dumb waiter -after him, so as to establish a complete fortification. Mr Squills -seized the pen that Roland had thrown down, and began mending it -furiously--that is, cutting it into slivers--thereby denoting, -symbolically, how he would like to do with Uncle Jack, could he once -get him safe and snug under his manipular operations. I leant over the -pedigree, and my father rubbed his spectacles. - -The silence would have been appalling to another man: nothing appalled -Uncle Jack. - -Uncle Jack turned to the fire, and warmed first one foot, then the -other. This comfortable ceremony performed, he again faced the -company--and resumed musingly, and as if answering some imaginary -observations-- - -"Yes, yes--you are right there--and a deuced unlucky speculation it -proved too. But I was overruled by that fellow Peck. Says I to -him--says I--'_Capitalist!_ pshaw--no popular interest there--it don't -address the great public! Very confined class the capitalists; better -throw ourselves boldly on the people. Yes,' said I, 'call it the -_anti_-Capitalist.' By Jove, sir, we should have carried all before us! -but I was overruled. The _Anti-Capitalist_!--what an idea! Address the -whole reading world then, sir: everybody hates the capitalist--everybody -would have his neighbour's money. The _Anti-Capitalist_!--sir, we should -have gone off, in the manufacturing towns, like wildfire. But what could -I do?"-- - -"John Tibbets," said my father solemnly, "capitalist or -anti-capitalist, thou hadst a right to follow thine own bent, in -either--but always provided it had been with thine own money. Thou -see'st not the thing, John Tibbets, in the right point of view; and a -little repentance, in the face of those thou hast wronged, would not -have misbecome thy father's son, and thy sister's brother!"-- - -Never had so severe a rebuke issued from the mild lips of Austin -Caxton; and I raised my eyes with a compassionate thrill, expecting to -see John Tibbets gradually sink and disappear through the carpet. - -"Repentance!" cried Uncle Jack, bounding up, as if he had been shot. -"And do you think I have a heart of stone, of pummy-stone!--do you -think I don't repent? I have done nothing but repent--I shall repent -to my dying day." - -"Then there is no more to be said, Jack," cried my father, softening, -and holding out his hand. - -"Yes!" cried Mr Tibbets, seizing the hand, and pressing it to the heart -he had thus defended from the suspicion of being pummy--"yes--that I -should have trusted that dunder-headed, rascally, curmudgeon Peck: that -I should have let him call it _The Capitalist_, despite all my -convictions, when the _Anti_----" - -"Pshaw!" interrupted my father, drawing away his hand. - -"John," said my mother gravely, and with tears in her voice, "you -forget who delivered you from prison,--you forget whom you have nearly -consigned to prison yourself,--you forg--" - -"Hush, hush!" said my father, "this will never do; and it is you who -forget, my dear, the obligations I owe to Jack. He has reduced my -fortune one half, it is true; but I verily think he has made the three -hearts, in which lie my real treasures, twice as large as they were -before. Pisistratus, my boy, ring the bell." - -"My dear Kitty," cried Jack, whimperingly, and stealing up to my -mother, "don't be so hard on me; I thought to make all your -fortunes--I did, indeed." - -Here the servant entered. - -"See that Mr Tibbets' things are taken up to his room, and that there -is a good fire," said my father. - -"And," continued Jack, loftily, "I _will_ make all your fortunes yet. -I have it _here_!" and he struck his head. - -"Stay a moment," said my father to the servant, who had got back to -the door. "Stay a moment," said my father, looking extremely -frightened; "perhaps Mr Tibbets may prefer the inn?" - -"Austin," said Uncle Jack with emotion, "if I were a dog, with no home -but a dog-kennel, and you came to me for shelter, I would turn out--to -give you the best of the straw!" - -My father was thoroughly melted this time. - -"Primmins will be sure to see everything is made comfortable for Mr -Tibbets," said he, waving his hand to the servant. "Something nice for -supper, Kitty, my dear--and the largest punch-bowl. You like punch, -Jack?" - -"Punch, Austin!" said Uncle Jack, putting his handkerchief to his -eyes. - -The Captain pushed aside the dumb waiter, strode across the room, and -shook hands with Uncle Jack; my mother buried her face in her apron, -and fairly ran off; and Squills said in my ear, "It all comes of the -biliary secretions. Nobody could account for this, who did not know -the peculiarly fine organisation of your father's--liver!" - -FOOTNOTE: - -[4] Tibullus, iii. 4, 55. - - - - -M. PRUDHON.--CONTRADICTIONS ECONOMIQUES.[5] - - -If we wished to convert some inveterate democrat--some one of those -eternal agitators of political and social revolutions--whose -reasonings, though perhaps unconsciously to themselves, are all based -on a far too sanguine view of the probable destinies of human -society--there is no text-book we should more willingly select than -this mad and apparently destructive work of M. Prudhon's. The bold -development of those fundamental truths which have hitherto determined -the framework of society, and, still more, the display it presents of -the utter impotence of the wit of man, and all his speculative -ingenuity, to reshape and reorganise the social world, must have, on -every mind accustomed to reflection, a most sobering and -_conservative_ influence. What it was intended to teach is another -matter; but to a mind well constituted it would convey this grave -lesson--to recognise and submit to the inevitable; to be content to -labour for partial remedies and limited results; to be satisfied with -doing good, though it be something short of organic change; to think -it sufficient ambition to be of that "salt of the earth" which -preserves whatever is pure and excellent, without aspiring to be that -consuming flame which is to fuse and recast the world. - -Such was the reflection with which we closed the perusal of the -_Contradictions Economiques_; and this reflection has led us to the -present notice of a work which was not originally taken up with the -intention of bringing it before our readers. We were referred to it as -the work in which a man who has obtained unenviable notoriety had most -systematically developed his ideas. Whether it is so, or not, we do -not pledge ourselves to decide: we have had enough of _Prudhonerie_. -But after a perusal, induced by mere curiosity, it occurred to us that -some brief account of the book, and of the train of thought which it -had suggested to us, and would probably suggest to most English -readers, would not be unacceptable. - -It is worthy of remark, that it is not uniformly from the most perfect -works that we derive the greatest stimulant to thinking, or the -largest supply of food for reflection. Many an important step in -intellectual progress has been due to an author, not one of whose -views have been finally adopted, or would have borne perhaps a -searching examination. The startling effect of paradox--the conflict -with it--the perplexing entanglement of known truth with manifest -error,--all this has supplied a more bracing and vigorous exercise for -the mind, than lucid tenets lucidly set forth by writers of -unimpeachable good sense. God forbid that any one should accuse us of -saying, that it is better to read a bad book than a good one; this -would be the greatest of all absurdities; but there are eras in our -mental progress when much is gained by the contest with bold and -subtle fallacies. There is not a book in our own language more replete -with paradox and sophistry, with half truths and tortuous reasonings, -than Godwin's _Political Justice_; yet we doubt not there are those -living who would acknowledge that the perusal of that once, and for a -short time, celebrated treatise, did more, by the incessant combat it -provoked, to make evident to them the real constitution of human -society, than the smooth sagacity of a hundred Paleys could have done. - -Indeed, when we compare the _Political Justice_ with the reveries of -Communism, so rife amongst our neighbours, we feel proud of our -English dreamer. Godwin's scheme was somewhat as if one of the ancient -stoics, not content with imposing upon his wise man rules of conduct -quite independent of all human passions and affections, had resolved -that the whole multitude of the species should demean themselves -according to the same impracticable rules, and should learn to live, -and labour, and enjoy, like reasoning automata. Under the light -diffused upon them by the author of the _Political Justice_, men were -to set aside all selfishness--all their natural, and even kindly -affections--and to act in unceasing conformity to certain abstractions -of the reasoning faculty; were, in short, neither to love nor to hate; -but, sitting in eternal judgment over themselves, were simply to -reason and to act. Like the iron figures that formerly stood elevated -above the living crowd of Fleet Street, on either side of the -venerable clock of St Dunstan's, they were to keep their eye fixed on -the dial-plate of a most well-regulated conscience; and ever, as the -hour came round, they were to rise and strike, and then subside into -their metallic repose. Still, however, the great sentiment of justice, -to which Godwin made his appeal, afforded him a far more noble and -manly topic than the affected philanthropy on which so many Frenchmen -have been descanting. Justice, though not understood after the manner -of Mr Godwin, is a sentiment which really lives and moves in the very -heart of society. Men respond to an appeal to their sense of justice; -they become ungovernable if that sense of justice is long outraged; -they work upon this sentiment; they can labour and endure according to -its dictates: but for this philanthropy, or fraternity, of which we -hear so much--what has it ever done? It never regulated the -transactions of a single day; never produced a grain of corn, or a -shred of apparel; produces nothing but theories. It is a vain, -importunate, idle, and clamorous sentiment: it is justice all on one -side; it demands incessantly, it gives never; it has hands to petition -with, to clutch with, to rob with, to murder with, but not to work -with; it has no hand that holds the plough, or strikes upon the anvil. - -The _Système des Contradictions Economiques_ may lay claim to the same -sort of praise we have accorded to the _Political Justice_: it prompts -reflection; and a man of intellect sufficiently robust to profit by -such rude gymnastics, will not regret its perusal. It also avoids, -like the work of Godwin, the pernicious cant of universal -philanthropy--pernicious when brought forward as a general motive of -human actions--and looks for a renovation of society in a more -enlightened sentiment of justice--determining anew the value of each -man's labour, and securing to him that value--property being -legitimate only (so far as we can understand our author) when it -contains in it the labour of the proprietor. How Justice is to execute -the task which M. Prudhon, in very vague and mysterious terms, imposes -upon her, we have not the least idea; nor has an attentive perusal of -his book given us the remotest conception of any practical scheme that -he would even make experiment of. But, at all events, it is better to -descant on the energetic sentiment of justice, which desires to earn -and keep its own, than on the idle sublimities of a universal -fraternity--a sentiment which relaxes the springs of industry, by -teaching every man to expect everything from his neighbours, or from -an omnipotent abstraction he calls the state. It is a difference of -some importance, because all these schemes for the renovation of -society do, in fact, end in a sort of moral or immoral preachment. - -When we have said thus much, and added that M. Prudhon attacks the -Communists, of all shades and descriptions, in a quite overwhelming -manner, utterly crushing and annihilating them,--we have said the -utmost that can be admitted, or devised, in praise of his work. It -would require a much longer paragraph to exhaust all that might be -justly said in its condemnation. It is strewed over, knee-deep, with -metaphysical trash. It is steeped in atheism, or something worse, and -infinitely more foolish; for there is a pretence of sustaining "the -hypothesis" of a God, for no other ostensible reason than to provide -an object for the blasphemy that follows. The rudest savages, in their -first conception of a God, regard him as an enemy, and offer -sacrifices to propitiate an unprovoked and wanton anger--the reflected -image of their own wild passions. M. Prudhon's philosophy has actually -brought him, in one respect, back to the creed of the savages. He -proves, by some insane process not worth following, that the Creator -of man is essentially opposed to the progress of human society, and is -to be utterly deserted, desecrated, defied. He does not, indeed, -sacrifice, like the savage; he rather talks rebellion, like Satan. No -one would believe, who had not read the book, with what a mixture of -outrage and levity he speaks of the most sacred of all beings: it is -the doctrine of the rebel-fiend taught with the gesticulation of a -satyr. - -We shall not quote a single passage to justify this censure, for the -same reason that we should not extract the indecencies of a volume in -order to prove the charge of obscenity. Why should the ear be wounded, -or the mind soiled and disgusted, when no end is answered except the -conviction of an offender who, utterly dead to shame, rejoices to see -his impurities or impieties pitched abroad? - -Notwithstanding that formidable appearance of metaphysics to which we -have alluded--his Kant and his Hegel, his thesis, antithesis, and -synthesis, and all his pretensions to extraordinary profundity--it so -happens that the very first elements of that science of political -economy, which he affects to look down upon as from a higher level, -are often miserably misapprehended; or--what is certainly not more to -his credit--they are thrown, for a season, into a wilful oblivion. If -he is discoursing upon the division of labour, and its effect upon the -remuneration of the workman, he ignores, for the time being, the -manifest relation between population and wages, and represents the -wages as decreasing only because the nature of the work required -becomes more and more simple and mechanical. If he is discoursing upon -population, and its pressure upon the means of subsistence, he can -venture to forget the very laws of nature. "You state," he says, "that -population increases in a geometrical ratio--1, 2, 4, 8, 16; well, I -will show that capital and wealth follow a law of progression more -rapid still, of which each term may be considered as the square of the -corresponding number of the geometrical series, as 1, 4, 16, 64, -256."[6] Since all our wealth is derived originally from the soil, man -must, therefore, have it in his power to increase the fertility of the -soil according to the above ratio. It will be something new to our -farmers to learn this. - -In compensation, we presume, for this occasional oblivion of the -truisms of political economy--truisms, in fact, of common sense--we -have, here and there, strange and novel definitions and explanations, -ushered in with that pomp which an egotistical Frenchman can alone -display, and turning out to be as idle verbiage as was ever penned. -Take, as the first specimen we can call to mind, the following -definition of labour. We cannot attempt to translate it: the English -language does not easily mould itself to nonsense of this -sort:--"Qu'est-ce donc que le travail? Nul encore ne l'a défini. Le -travail est l'émission de l'esprit. Travailler, c'est dépenser sa -vie; travailler, en un mot, c'est se dévouer, c'est mourir. Que les -utopistes ne nous parlent plus de dévoûment: c'est le travail, exprimé -et mesuré par ses oeuvres."--(Vol. ii., p. 465.) Labour needed to be -defined, it seemed; and this is the definition, "L'émission de -l'esprit!" And in play, then, as well as in work, is there no emission -of the spirits, or mind, or life of the man? Did M. Prudhon never run -a race, or handle a bat at cricket, or ride with the hounds? or can he -not remember that such things _are_, though not in his philosophy? But -dear, inexpressibly dear to M. Prudhon, is every idea of his own that -savours of paradox; and the more it violates common sense, the more -tenderly he clings to it, cherishes, and vaunts it. This, doubtless, is -one of his favourite children. His celebrated aphorism, "La Propriété -c'est le vol,"--he contradicts it himself in every page of his -writings, yet boasts and cherishes it as his greatest possession, and -the most remarkable discovery of the age. "La définition de la -propriété," he says, in answer to a sarcasm of M. Michelet, "est -mienne, et toute mon ambition est de prouver que j'en ai compris le -sens et l'étendue. _La propriété c'est le vol!_ il ne se dit pas, en -mille ans, deux mots comme celui-là. Je n'ai d'autre bien sur la terre -que cette définition de la propriété: mais je la tiens plus précieuse -que les millions des Rothschild, et j'ose dire qu'elle sera l'évènement -le plus considérable du gouvernement de Louis-Philippe."--(Vol. ii., p. -328.) - -Even in that tenebrous philosophy which he has imported from Germany, -and which he teaches with such caustic condescension to the political -economists, he is very much at fault. It is always, we know, an -adventurous matter to accuse any one who deals in the idealistic -metaphysics of modern Germany of obscurity, or of imperfect knowledge -of the theories taught in his own school. The man has but to dive into -deeper mud to escape from you. Follow him you assuredly cannot; he is -out of sight, and the thick sediment deters; and thus, in the eyes of -all who are not aware what the capture would cost to any hapless -pursuer, the fugitive is sure of his triumph. Nevertheless, we venture -to assert that M. Prudhon is but a young, and a not very promising -scholar in the philosophy of Kant and of Hegel. Two very manifest -blunders it will be enough to indicate: he assimilates his -_Contradictions Economiques_ to the _Antinomies of the Pure Reason_ -developed by Kant; and he confounds Kant with Hegel in a matter where -they are widely opposed, and speaks as if the same law of -contradiction were common to both. - -After alluding to some of his own "contradictions," he says, "Tel est -encore le problème de la divisibilité de la matière à l'infini, que -Kant a démontré pouvoir être nié et affirmé, tour-à-tour, par des -arguments également plausibles et irréfutables."--(Vol. i. p. 43.) It -is the object of Kant, in one of the most striking portions of the -_Critique of Pure Reason_, to show that, in certain problems, the mind -is capable of being led with equal force of conviction to directly -opposite conclusions. The pure reason, it seems, gets hold of the -forms of the understanding, and can extract nothing from them but a -series of antinomies, like that which M. Prudhon has alluded to, where -the infinite divisibility of matter is both proved and disproved with -equal success. Now what analogy is there between the contradictions -which M. Prudhon can develop, in any one of our social laws, and the -antinomies of Kant? In these last, two opposite conclusions of -speculative reason are arrived at, which destroy each other; in the -_Contradictions Economiques_, the good and evil flowing from the same -law may very easily co-exist. They affect different persons, or the -same persons at different times. Free competition, for instance, in -trade or manufacture, may be viewed on its bright side as the promoter -of industry and invention; on its dark side as the fomenter of strife, -and the inflicter of injury on those who lose in the game of wealth. -But the benefit and injury arising from this source do not destroy -each other, like the yes and no of an abstract proposition; they can -be balanced against each other; they co-exist, and, for aught we see, -will eternally co-exist. Let them be as strikingly opposed as you -will, they can have nothing in common with the antinomies of Kant. M. -Prudhon proves that there is darkness and brightness scattered over -the surface of society: he does not prove that the same spot, at the -same moment, is both black and white. - -From Kant he slides to Hegel, as if their tenets on this subject at -all resembled each other. Kant saw in his contradictions an arrest of -the reason, Hegel the very principle and condition of all thought. -Thought involves contradictions. In the simplest idea, that of being, -is involved the idea of no-being; neither can we think of no-being -without having the idea of being. Now as _thought_ and _thing_ are -identical in the absolute, (this every one knows,) whatever may be -said of the thought may be said of the thing, and hence the celebrated -formula, Being = no being--_sein_ = _nicht sein_--something and -nothing are identical. - -As thought and thing are identical in the absolute, logic is a -creation and creation is a logic; thus the metaphysics of Hegel became -a cosmogony in which all things proceed according to the laws of -thought, and are therefore developed in a series of contradictions. -Now let M. Prudhon be as thorough master of the Hegelian logic, or the -Hegelian cosmogony, as he desires to be esteemed, how, in the name of -common sense, can he hope to clear up the difficulties of political -economy by mixing them with a philosophy like this? How will his -thesis and his antithesis help us to adjust the claims between labour -and capital? If he has any adjustment to propose--if he has found what -he calls his synthesis--let us hear it. If the synthesis is only to be -developed in those future evolutions of time, which neither he nor we -can divine, of what use all this angry exposition of the inevitable -_Contradictions_ that mark and constitute the progress of humanity? - -Enough of these metaphysics. It was necessary to say this much of the -peculiar form into which M. Prudhon has chosen to cast his thoughts; -but there will be no occasion to allude to it again. Whatever there is -of truth or significance in his work, may easily be transferred into a -language familiar and intelligible to all. - -We have eaten, says one, of the forbidden fruit of the tree of the -knowledge of good and evil, and the taste of them has been thenceforth -invariably blended together. There is a law of compensation--thus -another expresses it--throughout the world, both moral and physical, -by which every evil is balanced by its good, and every good by its -besetting evil. Humanity, says a third, progresses without doubt, and -obtains at each stage a fuller and a higher life; but there is an -original proportion of misery in its lot, from which there is no -escape: this also swells and darkens as we rise. To use the language -of chemistry, you may increase the volume of this ambient life we -breathe, but still, to every one-hundred part of vital air there shall -be added twenty-five of mephitic vapour. All these are different modes -of expressing the homely truth, that a shadow of evil falls even from -the best of things; and it is this truth which is really developed in -the _Contradictions Economiques_. - -It is a truth which, at times, it may be very needful fully to -recognise. When men of sincere convictions are found agitating society -for some organic change, their errors may be always traced to an -over-sanguine and one-sided view of the capabilities of man for -happiness. The conservative and the movement parties, philosophically -considered, may be described as branching out of different opinions on -the probable or possible progress of society. The philosophical -conservative has accepted humanity as it is--as, in its great -features, it is exhibited throughout all regions of the earth, and in -the page of history: he hails with welcome every addition to human -happiness; he believes in progress, he derides the notion of -perfectibility,--it is a word he cannot use; he recognises much -happiness coming in to mankind from many and various sources, but -still believes that man will never find himself so content on earth as -to cease looking forward for the complement and perfection of his -felicity to another world. The philosopher of the movement party has -made a sort of religion of his hopes of humanity: he conceives some -ideal state, and anticipates its development _here_; he dismantles -heaven and immortality to furnish out his masquerade on earth; or, -with still vaguer notions, he rushes forward upon reforms that imply, -for their justification, the existence of what never yet was seen--a -temperate and enlightened multitude. - -It follows that the conservative has allotted to him the ungracious -and invidious task of discouraging the hopes of a too eager -philanthropy; he is compelled to show, of certain evils, that they are -constantly to be contended against, but never can be eradicated. -Society has been often compared to a pyramid; its broad basis on the -earth, and towering high or not, according as circumstances were -propitious to its formation; but always the broad basis lying on the -earth. He accepts the ancient simile; he recognises the unalterable -pyramid. Without aid of priest or legislator, society assumes this -form; it crystallises thus; higher and higher, broader and broader, it -rises, and extends, but still the lowest stratum is lying close upon -the earth. Will you disguise the fact? It is fruitless, and the -falsehood only recoils upon yourself, rendering what truth you utter -weak and suspicious. Will you strive to make the pyramid stand upon -its apex? It will _not_ stand; and what god or giant have you to hold -it there? Or will you join the madman, who, because the lowest stratum -cannot be made the highest, nor any other but the lowest, would level -the whole pyramid to the ground, and make every part touch the earth? -No; you will do all in your power for that lowest stratum, but you -will not consent that, because all cannot be cultivated and refined, -no one shall have a chance of becoming so. You accept the pyramid. - -When M. Prudhon criticises the laws which preside over the production -and distribution of wealth, and shows their twofold and antagonistic -influence, he is but illustrating the inevitable formation of our -pyramid. Let us follow him in a few instances. - -_The Division of Labour._--This is the first topic on which our author -descants--the first of our economic laws in which he finds his -contradictions--his two poles of good and evil. On the advantages of -the division of labour, we have but to call to mind the earlier -chapters of Adam Smith, wherein these are so truthfully and vividly -described. Indeed, the least reflection is sufficient to show that, if -each man undertook by his own labour to provide for all his wants, it -would be impossible for society to advance beyond the very rudest form -of existence. One man must be tailor, another shoemaker, another -agriculturist, another artist; and these trades or occupations, to be -brought to perfection, must again be subdivided into different -departments of industry--and one man makes the coat, and another -weaves the cloth, one man makes the shoe, and another dresses the -leather. It is needless to say that these departments are again -divided into an almost infinite number of separate occupations; till, -at length, we find that a man employs his whole day in turning one -thread over another, or in manufacturing the eighteenth part of a pin. - -But now, no sooner does this division of employments obtain in -society, than our pyramid begins to form. The man of manual labour -rests still at the basis; he of superior skill, the artist, or the -intellectual workman, rises permanently above him. The more minute -this division of labour, the more simple and mechanical becomes the -labour of the artisan; the education he receives from his employment -becomes more and more limited; he is wanted for so little; he is -esteemed, and, if other circumstances permit, remunerated accordingly. - -"Although," says the celebrated economist, J. B. Say, "a man who -performs one operation all his life comes to execute it better and -more rapidly than any other man, yet at the same time he grows less -capable of every other occupation, physical and moral; his other -faculties are extinguished, and there results a degradation to the -human being considered individually. It is a sad account to give of -one's-self to have accomplished nothing but the eighteenth part of a -pin.... In conclusion, it may be said that the separation of labours -is a skilful employment of the force of man--that it increases -prodigiously the products of society--but it destroys something of the -capacity of the individual man." - -That this inevitable division and subdivision of labour gives rise to, -and renders permanent, the distinction of classes in a community, is -clear enough. But we do not agree with M. Say, and other economists, -in representing that minute subdivision of labour which accompanies a -very advanced state of civilisation, as peculiarly injurious to the -workman. That degradation of the artisan, which might ensue from the -monotony and triviality of his employment, is counteracted by that -variety of interests which spring up in a civilised community. This -eighteenth part of a pin is not all that educates or engages his mind. -He is not a solitary workman. His file and his wire are not his sole -companions. He has the gossip of his neighbourhood, the politics of -his parish, of his town, of his country--whatever fills the columns of -a newspaper, or gives topic of conversation to a populous city--he -has, at least, all this for intellectual food. The man of handicraft -is educated by the city he lives in, not by his handicraft; and the -humblest artisan feels the influence of that higher civilisation from -which he seems at first to be entirely shut out. Hodge the countryman, -who can sow, and plough, and reap; who understands hedging and -ditching, and the management of sheep; who is accomplished in all -agricultural labours, ought to be, if his daily avocations alone -decided the matter, infinitely superior to the village cobbler, who -travels only from the sole to the upper leather, and who squats -stitching all day long. But the cobbler is generally the more knowing, -and certainly the more talkative man. Hodge himself is the first to -recognise it; for he listens to him at the ale-house, which sometimes -brings them together, as to an oracle of wisdom. - -_Machinery._--The benefit derived from machinery needs no explanation. -The more simple order of machines, or instruments--as the plough, the -axe, and the spindle--have never been otherwise considered than as -precious gifts to human industry; and the more complicated machines, -which have been invented in modern times, have no sooner established -themselves, so to speak, in society--have no sooner, at the expense of -some temporary evils, secured themselves a quiet recognised -position--than they, too, have been welcomed in the same character as -signal aids to human industry. But while the machine has added -immensely to the products of labour, it has done nothing to diminish -the class of manual labours. It has done nothing, nor does it seem -probable that it will ever effect anything, towards rendering that -class less requisite or less numerous. On the contrary, it has always, -hitherto, multiplied that class. The machine will not go of itself, -will not manufacture itself, nor keep itself in repair. The human -labourer becomes the slave of the machine. He created it for his -service, and it serves him, but on condition only that he binds -himself to a reciprocal bondage. You spin by a steam-engine, and some -complicated system of reels and pulleys, but the human finger is not -spared--the human volition is still wanted. To manufacture this -machine, to tend it, to govern it--in short, to use it--far more -manual labour is called into requisition than ever turned the simple -spinning-wheel, or teased the flax from the distaff. You have more -garments woven, but the better clad are not exactly those who weave -them. The machine has called into existence, for its own service, an -immense population, ill fed and ill clothed. Our pyramid is extending -at the basis: as it rises higher it is growing broader. - -_Money--Capital._--We class these together because they are intimately -connected. Capital is not money, but there would have been little -accumulation of capital but for the use of money. - -The youthful student of political economy meets with no chapter in his -books of science so amusing, and so thoroughly convincing, as that -which shows him the utility of money, and the reasons which have led -almost all nations to prefer the precious metals for their instruments -of exchange. Without some such instrument, what is to be done? A man -has made a hat, and wants a pound of butter. He cannot divide his hat: -what would be half a hat? Besides, the man who has the butter does not -want the hat. But the precious metals come in marvellously to his aid. -They are divisible into the smallest portions; they are durable, will -not spoil by keeping; they are of steady value, and will not much -depreciate: if the man of butter does not want them, he can always -find somebody that does; no fear but that they will easily pass from -hand to hand, as each one wishes to barter them for whatever he may -want. - -It is generally said, that it is the steadiness of their value that -constituted one chief reason for the selection of gold and silver for -the purposes of money. This is undoubtedly true; but it is also true -(and we do not remember to have heard this previously remarked) that -the use of the precious metals for money has tended to preserve and -perpetuate that steadiness of value. Had gold and silver remained as -simple articles of merchandise, they would probably have suffered -considerable fluctuations in their value from the caprice of fashion -and the altered taste of society. In themselves, they were chiefly -articles of luxury; the employment of them for money made them objects -of indispensable utility. - -Money there must be. Yet mark how its introduction tends to destroy -equality, to favour accumulation, to raise the hill and sink the -valley. If men bartered article against article, they would generally -barter in order to consume. But when one of them barters for gold, he -can lay it by; he can postpone at his pleasure the period of -consumption; he can postpone it for the benefit of his issue. The -piece of gold was bought originally with the sweat of his brow; who -shall say that a year, ten years, fifty years hence, he may not -traffic it again for the sweat of the brow? The pieces of gold -accumulate, his children possess them, and now a generation appears on -the face of the earth who have not toiled, who do not toil all their -lives, who are sustained in virtue of the labours of their ancestor. -Their fathers saved, and they enjoy; or they employ a part of the -accumulation in the purchase of the labour of others, by which means -their riches still further increase. The pyramid rises. But the -descendants of those fathers who had consumed the product of their -labour, they bring no postponed claim into the market. These are they -who must sell their labour. They must work for the children of those -who had saved. Our pyramid broadens at the base. This perpetual value -given to money has enabled the man of one generation to tax all -ensuing generations with the support of his offspring. Hence much -good; for hence the leisure that permits the cultivation of the mind, -that fosters art, and refinement, and reflection: we have to notice -here only how inevitably it builds the pyramid. - -And now two classes are formed, distinct and far asunder--the -capitalist, and he who works for wages. Comes the social reformer, and -he would restore the equality between them. But how? We will fuse, -says one, the two classes together: they shall carry on their -manufacture in a joint partnership: all shall be partners--all shall -be workmen. But even M. Prudhon will tell us that, if the profits of -the great capitalist were divided equally amongst all the artisans he -employs, each one would find his gains increased by a very little; and -it is morally certain that profits equal to those he had obtained -would never accrue from a partnership of many hundreds of workmen. The -wealth of the country would, therefore, be put in jeopardy, and all -the course of its industry and property deranged, for no end whatever. -At all events, exclaims another, we will reduce the inequality which -we cannot expunge, and put down the enormous and tyrannical -capitalist: we will have a law limiting the fortune of each individual -to so many hundreds or thousands; or, if we allow a man to earn and -appropriate unlimited wealth, we will take care that it shall be -dispersed at his death,--not even to his son shall he be permitted to -bequeath more than a certain sum. But all schemes of this kind can -tend only to equalise the fortunes of the first class--those who -employ labour; they do not affect, in the least, the condition of the -second class--the employed. These will not obtain better wages from -smaller capitalists than from larger. A third--it is M. Prudhon -himself--will have a new law of value established, and a new law of -property. It is labour only that shall give title to property, and the -exchangeable value of every article shall be regulated according to -the labour it may be said to contain: propositions, however, which do -not help us in the least degree, for capital is itself the produce of -labour; its claims, therefore, are legitimate; and the very problem -given is to arbitrate between the claims of capital and labour. - -_Rent and Property in Land._--This is the last topic we shall mention. -The absolute necessity of property in land, in order that the soil -should be cultivated, (that is, under any condition in which humanity -has hitherto presented itself,) is a palpable truism. Yet property in -land leads to the exaction of rent--leads to the same division which -we have seen marked out by so many laws between two classes of -society--those who may enjoy leisure, and those who must submit to -labour; classes which are generally distinguished as the rich and -poor, never, we may observe in passing, as the happy and unhappy, for -leisure may be as great a curse as labour. - -It is true that large estates in land exist before corresponding -accumulations of capital have been made in commerce, for land is often -seized by the mere right of conquest; but still these large -possessions would certainly arise as a nation increased its wealth. -The man who has cultivated land successfully will add field to field; -and he who has gained a large sum of money by commerce, or -manufacture, will purchase land with it. The fact therefore, that, in -the early period of a nation's history, the soil has been usurped by -conquest, or by the sheer right of the strongest, interferes not at -all with the real nature of that property; as, independently of this -accident of conquest, land would have become portioned in the same -unequal manner by the operation of purely economical causes. Just in -the same way, the fact that warlike nations have subjected their -captives to slavery--imposed the labours of life on slaves--cannot be -said to have had any influence in originating the existence, at the -present time, of a class of working people. - -Thus every law of political economy, having, as it were, its two -poles, upwards and downwards, helps to erect our pyramid. Religion, -education, charity, permeate the whole mass, and labour to rectify the -apparent injustice of fortune. Admirable is their influence: but yet -we cannot build on any other model than this. - -"Nay, but we can!" exclaim the Communists; and forthwith they project -a complete demolition of the old pyramid, and the erection of a series -of parallelogram palaces, all level with the earth, and palace every -inch of them. - -We have said that M. Prudhon is a formidable adversary of these -Communists--the more formidable from the having himself no great -attachment to "things as they are." His exposition of the manifold -absurdities and self-contradictions into which they fall, may possibly -render good service to his countrymen. Especially we were glad to see, -that on the subject of marriage he is quite sound. No one could more -distinctly perceive, or more forcibly state, the intimate connexion -that lies between property and marriage. "Mais, c'est surtout dans la -famille que se decouvre le sens profond de la propriété. La famille et -la propriété marchent de front, appuyées l'une sur l'autre, n'ayant -l'une et l'autre de signification, et de valeur, que par le rapport -qui les unit. Avec la propriété commence le rôle de la femme. Le -ménage--cette chose toute idéale, et que l'on s'efforce en vain de -rendre ridicule--le ménage est le royaume de la femme, le monument de -la famille. Otez le ménage, otez cette pierre du foyer, centre -d'attraction des époux, il reste des couples, il n'y a plus de -familles."--(Vol. ii. 253.) - -In this country, happily, it would be superfluous--a mere slaying of -the slain--to expose the folly of these Utopias. Utopias indeed!--that -would deprive men of personal liberty, of domestic affection, of -everything that is most valued in life, to shut them up in a strange -building which is to be palace, prison, and workhouse, all in one; -which must have a good deal of the workhouse, if it has anything of -the palace, and will probably have more of the prison in it than -either. - -Briefly, the case may be stated thus:--The _cost_ of such a community -would be liberty, marriage, enterprise, hope, and generosity--for, -under such an institution, what could any man have to give or receive? -The _gain_ would be task-work for all, board and lodging for all, and -a shameless sensuality; the working-bell, the dinner-bell, and the -curfew. It would be a sacrifice of all that is high, ennobling, and -spiritual, to all that is material, animal, and vile. - -But if men think otherwise of the fraternal community--if they think -that, because philanthropy presides, or seems to preside, over its -formation, that therefore philanthropy will continue to animate all -its daily functions--why do they not voluntarily unite and form this -community? They are fond of quoting the example of the early -Christians; these were really under the influence of a fraternal -sentiment, and _acted_ on it: let them do likewise, there is nothing -to prevent them. But no: the French Socialist sees in imagination a -whole state working for him; he has no idea of commencing by -practising the stern virtues of industry, and abstinence, and -fortitude. His mode of thinking is this--a certain being called -Society is to do everything _for him_--at the cost, perhaps, of some -slight service rendered upon his part. If he is poor, it is society -that keeps him so; if he is vicious, it is society that makes him -so--upon society rest all our crimes, and devolve all our duties. - -There lies the great mischief of promulgating these impracticable -theories of Communism. All is taught as being done for the individual. -The egregious error is committed of trusting all to a certain -organisation of society, which is to be a substitute for the moral -efforts of individual man. Patience, fortitude, self-sacrifice, a high -sense of imperative duty, are supposed to be rendered unnecessary in a -scheme of things which, if it were possible, would require these -virtues in a pre-eminent degree. The virtuous enthusiast would find -himself, indeed, utterly mistaken--the stage which he thought prepared -for the exhibition of the serenest virtues, would be a scene given up -to mere animal life: but still, if he limited himself to the teaching -of these virtues--of a godlike temperance, and a perpetual -self-negation--it is not probable, indeed, that he would find many -disciples; neither is it easy to see that any great mischief could -ensue. Every community, where possessions have been in common, which -has at all succeeded, has been sustained by religious zeal--the most -potent of all sentiments, and one extraneous to the framework of -society. French Communism is the product of idleness and sensuality, -provoked into ferocity by commercial distress; clamouring for means of -self-indulgence _from the state_, and prepared to extort its claim by -any amount of massacre. - -Thus we have shown that the work of M. Prudhon, with its -_contradictions_, or laws of good and of evil, tends but to illustrate -the inevitable rise and unalterable nature of our social pyramid. This -was our object, and here must end our present labours on M. Prudhon. -If our readers are disappointed that they have not heard more of his -own schemes for the better construction of society--that they have not -learned more of the mystery concealed under the famous paradox that -has been blown about by all the winds of heaven--_la propriété c'est -le vol!_--we can only say that we have not learned more ourselves. -Moreover, we are fully persuaded he has nothing to teach. All his -strength lies in exposing evils he cannot remedy, and destroying the -schemes of greater quacks than himself. That property itself is not -the subject of his attack, but the mode in which that property is -determined, is all that we can gather. The value of every object of -exchange is to be determined by the labour bestowed upon it; and the -property in it, we presume, is to be decreed to him whose labour has -been bestowed. But capital has been justly defined as accumulated -labour; he who supplies capital supplies labour. We are brought back, -therefore, to the old difficulty of adjusting (by any other standard -than the relative proportion which capital and labour bear at any time -in the market) the claims of capital and labour. Any such equitable -adjustment, by a legislative interference, we may safely pronounce to -be impossible. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[5] _Système des Contradictions Economiques; ou Philosophie de la -Misère._ Par J. P. PRUDHON. - -[6] Vol. ii., p. 461. - - - - -THE GREEN HAND. - -A "SHORT" YARN.--PART II. - - -We left the forecastle group of the "Gloucester" disappointed by the -abrupt departure of their story-teller, Old Jack, at so critical a -thread of his yarn. As old Jacobs went aft on the quarter-deck, where -the binnacle-lamp before her wheel was newly lighted, he looked in -with a seaman's instinct upon the compass-boxes, to see how the ship -headed; ere ascending to the poop, he bestowed an approving nod upon -his friend the steersman, hitched up his trousers, wiped his mouth -with the back of his hand in a proper deference to female society, and -then proceeded to answer the captain's summons. The passengers, in a -body, had left the grand cabin to the bustling steward and his boys, -previously to assembling there again for tea--not even excepting the -little coterie of inveterate whist-players, and the pairs of -inseparable chess-men, to whom an Indian voyage is so appropriately -the school for future nice practice in etiquette, war, and commerce. -Everybody had at last got rid of sea-sickness, and mustered for a -promenade; so that the lofty poop of the Indiaman, dusky as it was, -and exposed to the breeze, fluttered with gay dresses like the midway -battlement of a castle by the waves, upon which its inmates have -stolen out from some hot festivity. But the long heave from below, -raising her stern-end slowly against the western space of -clear-obscure, in the manner characteristic of a sea abaft the beam, -and rolling her to either hand, exhibited to the eyes on the -forecastle a sort of _alto-relievo_ of figures, amongst whom the male, -in their blank attempts to appear nautical before the ladies, were -distinguished from every other object by their variety of ridiculous -postures. Under care of one or two bluff, good-humoured young -mates--officers polished by previous opportunities of a kind unknown -either to navy-men or mere "cargo-fenders," along with several roguish -little quasi-midshipmen--the ladies were supported against the -poop-rail, or seated on the after-gratings, where their contented -dependence not only saved them from the ludicrous failures of their -fellow-passengers, but gained them, especially the young ones, the -credit of being better sailors. An accompaniment was contributed to -this lively exercise on the part of the gentlemen promenaders, which -otherwise, in the glimmering sea-twilight, would have been striking in -a different sense; by the efforts, namely, of a little band of amateur -musicians under the break of the poop, who, with flute, clarionet, -bugles, trombone, and violin, after sundry practisings by stealth, had -for the first time assembled to play "Rule Britannia." What, indeed, -with the occasional abrupt checks, wild flourishes, and fantastic -variations caused by the ship's roll; and what with the attitudes -overhead, of holding on refractory hats and caps, of intensely -resisting and staggering legs, or of sudden pausing above the slope -which one moment before was an ascent, there was additional force in -the designation quaintly given to such an aspect of things by the -fore-mast Jacks--that of "a cuddy jig." As the still-increasing -motion, however, shook into side-places this central group of cadets, -civilians, and planters adrift, the grander features of the scene -predominated: the broad mass of the ship's hull--looming now across -and now athwart the streak of sinking light behind--drawn out by the -weltering outline of the waters; the entire length of her white decks, -ever and anon exposed to view, with their parallel lines, their -nautical appurtenances, the cluster of hardy men about the windlass, -the two or three "old salts" rolling to and fro along the gangway, and -the variety of forms blending into both railings of the poop. High out -of, and over all, rose the lofty upper outline of the noble ship, -statelier and statelier as the dusk closed in about her--the expanse -of canvass whitening with sharper edge upon the gloom; the hauled-up -clues of the main-course, with their huge blocks, swelling and lifting -to the fair wind--and the breasts of the topsails divided by their -tightened bunt-lines, like the shape of some full-bosomed maiden, on -which the reef-points heaved like silken fringes, as if three sisters, -shadowy and goddess-like, trod in each other's steps towards the -deeper solitude of the ocean; while the tall spars, the interlacing -complicated tracery, and the dark top-hamper showing between, gave -graceful unity to her figure; and her three white trucks, far -overhead, kept describing a small clear arc upon the deep blue zenith -as she rolled: the man at the wheel midway before the doors of the -poop-cabin, with the light of the binnacle upon his broad throat and -bearded chin, was looking aloft at a single star that had come out -beyond the clue of the main-topsail. - -The last stroke of "six bells" or seven o'clock, which had begun to be -struck on the ship's bell when Old Jack broke off his story, still -lingered on the ear as he brought up close to the starboard -quarter-gallery, where a little green shed or pent-house afforded -support and shelter to the ladies with the captain. The erect figure -of the latter, as he lightly held one of his fair guests by the arm, -while pointing out to her some object astern, still retained the -attitude which had last caught the eyes of the forecastle group. The -musical cadets had just begun to pass from "Rule Britannia" to "Shades -of Evening;" and the old sailor, with his glazed hat in his hand, -stood waiting respectfully for the captain's notice. The ladies, -however, were gazing intently down upon the vessel's wake, where the -vast shapes of the waves now sank down into a hollow, now rose -seething up into the rudder-trunk, but all marked throughout with one -broad winding track, where the huge body of the ship had swiftly -passed. From foaming whiteness it melted into yesty green, that became -in the hollow a path of soft light, where the sparks mingled like -golden seed; the wave-tops glimmered beyond: star-like figures floated -up or sank in their long undulations; and the broad swell that heaped -itself on a sudden under the mounting stern bore its bells, and -bubbles, and flashes, upwards to the eye. When the ship rose high and -steady upon it, and one saw down her massy taffrail, it looked to a -terrestrial eye rather like some mystic current issuing from the -archway under a tall tower, whose foundations rocked and heaved: and -so said the romantic girl beside the captain, shuddering at the -vividness of an image which so incongruously brought together the -fathomless deep and the distant shores of solid old England. The eye -of the seaman, however, suggested to him an image more akin to the -profession, as he directed his fair companion's attention to the -trough of the ship's furrow, where, against the last low gleam of -twilight, and by the luminous wake, could be seen a little flock of -black petrels, apparently running along it to catch what the mighty -ploughshare had turned up; while a gray gull or two hovered aslant -over them in the blue haze. As he looked round, too, to aloft, he -exchanged glances with the old sailor who had listened--an expression -which even the ladies understood. "Ah! Jacobs,"--said the captain, -"get the lamp lighted in my cabin, and the tea-kettle aft. With the -roll she has on her, 'twill be more ship-shape there than in the -cuddy." "Ay, ay, sir," said the old seaman. "How does she head just -now, Jacobs?" "Sou'-west and by south, sir." "She'd lie easier for the -ladies though," said the captain, knowing his steward was a favourite -with them, "were the wind a point or two less fair. Our old -acquaintance Captain Williamson, of the Seringapatam now, Jacobs, -old-fashioned as he was, would have braced in his lee-yards only to -steady a lady's tea-cup." "Ay, your honour," replied Jacobs, and his -weather eye twinkled, "and washed the fok'sle under, too! But ye know, -sir, he'd got a reg'lar-built Nabob aboard, and a beauty besides!" -"Ah, Mr Jacobs!" exclaimed the romantic young lady, "what was that? Is -it one of your stories?" "Well, your ladyship, 'tis a bit of a yarn, -no doubt, and some'at of a cur'ous one." "Oh!" said another of the -captain's fair protégées, "I _do_ love these 'yarns,' as you call -them; they are so expressive, so--and all that sort of thing!" -"Nonsense, my love," said her mother; "you don't understand them, and -'tis better you should not,--they are low, and contain a great many -bad words, I fear." "But think of the imagination, aunt," rejoined -the other girl, "and the adventures! Oh, the ocean of all places for -that! Were it not for sea-sickness, I should dote upon it! As for the -_storm_ just now, look how safe we are,--and see how the dear old ship -rises up from the billows, with all her sails so delightfully -mysterious one over another!" "Bless your heart, ma'rm, yes," -responded Old Jack, chuckling; "you talks just like a seaman, beggin' -your pardon. As consarns the tea, sir, I make bould to expect the'll -be a shift o' wind directly, and a slant deck, as soon as we get fair -into the stream, rid o' this bit of a bubble the tail of it kicks up -hereabouts." "Bear a hand, then, Jacobs," said the captain, "and see -all right below for the party in the cabin,--we shall be down in a few -minutes." The captain stood up on the quarter-gallery, to peer round -into the dusk and watch the lifting of the main-royal; but the next -minute he called to the ladies, and their next neighbours, to look -towards the larboard bow, and see the moon rise. A long edge of gray -haze lay around the eastern horizon, on which the dark rim of the sea -was defined beyond the roll of the waves, as with the sweep of a soft -brush dipped in indigo; while to westward it heaved up, weltering in -its own watery light against the gloom. From behind this low fringe of -vapour was silently diffusing, as it were, a pool of faint radiance, -like a brook babbling from under ice; a thread of silver ran along the -line of haze, growing keener at one point, until the arch of the moon -shot slowly up, broad and fair; the wave-heads rising between were -crested here and there with light; the bow of the ship, the bellies of -her fore-canvass, her bowsprit with the jibs hanging idly over it, and -the figure-head beneath, were tinged by a gentle lustre, while the -hollow shadows stole out behind. The distant horizon, meanwhile, still -lay in an obscure streak, which blended into the dark side of the low -fog-bank, so as to give sea and cloud united the momentary appearance -of one of those long rollers that turn over on a beach, with their -glittering crest: you would expect to see next instant what actually -seemed to take place--the whole outline plashing over in foam, and -spreading itself clearly forward, as soon as the moon was free. With -the airy space that flowed from her came out the whole eastern -sea-board, liquid and distinct, as if beyond either bow of the lifting -Indiaman one sharp finger of a pair of compasses had flashed round, -drawing a semicircle upon the dull background, still cloudy, -glimmering, and obscure. From the waves that undulated towards her -stern, the ship was apparently entering upon a smoother zone, where -the small surges leapt up and danced in moonshine, resembling more the -current of some estuary in a full tide. To north-westward, just on the -skirts of the dark, one wing of a large, soft-gray vapour was newly -smitten by the moon-gleam; and over against it on the south-east, -where the long fog-bank sank away, there stretched an expanse of ocean -which, on its farthest verge, gave out a tint of the most delicate -opal blue. The ship, to the south-westward of the Azores, and going -large before the trade-wind, was now passing into the great Gulf -Stream which there runs to the south-east; even the passengers on deck -were sensible of the rapid transition with which the lately cold -breeze became warmer and fitful, and the motion of the vessel easier. -They were surprised, on looking into the waves alongside, to perceive -them struggling, as it were, under a trailing net-work of sea-weed; -which, as far as one could distinctly see, appeared to keep down the -masses of water like so much oil--flattening their crests, -neutralising the force of the wind, and communicating a strangely -sombre green to the heaving element. In the winding track of the -ship's wake the eddies now absolutely blazed: the weeds she had -crushed down rose to the surface again in gurgling circles of flame, -and the showers of sparks came up seething on either side amongst the -stalks and leaves: but as the moonlight grew more equally diffused it -was evident she was only piercing an arm of that local weed-bed here -formed, like an island, in the _bight_ of the stream. Farther ahead -were scattered patches and bunches of the true Florida Gulf-weed, -white and moss-like; which, shining crisp in the level moonlight, and -tipping the surges as it floated past, gave them the aspect of -hoary-bearded waves, or the garlanded horses of Neptune. The sight -still detained the captain's party on deck, and some of the ladies -innocently thought these phenomena indicative of the proximity of -land. - -"I have seldom seen the Stream so distinct hereabouts," said Captain -Collins to his first officer, who stood near, having charge of the -watch. "Nor I, sir," replied the chief mate; "but it no doubt narrows -with different seasons. There goes a flap of the fore-topsail, though! -The wind fails, sir." "'Tis only drawing ahead, I think," said the -captain; "the stream _sucks_ the wind with its heat, and we shall have -it pretty near from due nor'-west immediately." "Shall we round in on -the starboard hand, then, sir, and keep both wind and current _aft_?" -"I think not, Mr Wood," said the captain. "'Twould give us a good three -knots more every hour of the next twenty-four, sir," persisted the -first officer eagerly--and chief mates generally confine their theories -to mere immediate progress. "Yes," rejoined the captain, "but we should -lose hold of the 'trade' on getting out of the stream again. I intend -driving her across, with the nor'wester on her starboard beam, so as to -lie well up afterwards. Get the yards braced to larboard as you catch -the breeze, Mr Wood, and make her course south-west by west." "Very -well, sir." "Ladies," said the captain, "will you allow me to hand you -below, where I fear Jacobs will be impatient with the tea?" "What a -pity, Captain Collins," remarked the romantic Miss Alicia, looking up -as they descended the companion--"what a pity that you cannot have that -delicious moonlight to shine in at your cabin windows just now; the -sailors yonder have it all to themselves." "There is no favour in these -things at sea, Miss Alicia," said the captain, smiling. "Jack shares -the chance there, at least, with his betters; but I can promise those -who honour my poor suite this evening both fine moonshine and a -steadier floor." On reaching the snug little after-cabin, with its -swinging lamp and barometer, its side "state-room," seven feet long, -and its two stern-windows showing a dark glimpse of the rolling waters, -they found the tea-things set, nautical style, on the hard-a-weather, -boxed-up table--the surgeon and one or two elderly gentlemen waiting, -and old Jacobs still trimming up the sperm-oil light. Mrs St Clair, -presiding in virtue of relationship to their host, was still cautiously -pouring out the requisite half-cups, when, above all the bustle and -clatter in the cuddy, could be heard the sounds of ropes thrown down on -deck, of the trampling watch, and the stentorian voice of the first -officer. "Jacobs!" said the captain, a minute or two afterwards; and -that worthy factotum instantly appeared from his pantry alongside of -the door--from whence, by the way, the old seaman might be privy to the -whole conversation--"stand by to _dowse_ the lamp when she heels," an -order purposely mysterious to all else but the doctor. Every one soon -felt a change in the movement of their wave-borne habitation; the -rolling lift of her stern ceased; those who were looking into their -cups saw the tea apparently take a decided inclination to larboard--as -the facetious doctor observed, a "tendency to _port_." The floor -gradually sloped down to the same hand, and a long, wild, gurgling wash -was suddenly heard to run careering past the timbers of the starboard -side. "Dear me!" fervently exclaimed every lady at once; when the very -next moment the lamp went out, and all was darkness. Captain Collins -felt a little hand clutch his arm in nervous terror, but the fair owner -of it said nothing; until, with still more startling effect than -before, in a few seconds there shot through both stern-windows the full -rays of the moon, pouring their radiance into the cabin, shining on the -backs of the books in the hanging shelves by the bulkhead, on the faces -of the party, and the bald forehead of old Jacobs "standing by" the -lamp,--lastly, too, revealing the pretty little Alicia with her hand on -the captain's arm, and her pale terrified face. "Don't be alarmed, -ladies!" said the surgeon, "she's only hauled on the starboard tack!" -"And her counter to the east," said the captain. - -"But who the dev--old gentleman, I mean--put out the lamp?" rejoined -the doctor. "Ah,--I see sir!--'But when the moon, refulgent lamp of -night.'" "Such a surprise!" exclaimed the ladies, laughing, although -as much frightened for a moment by the magical illumination as by the -previous circumstances. "You see," said the captain, "we are not like -a house,--we can bring round our scenery to any window we choose." -"Very prettily imagined it was, too, I declare!" observed a stout old -Bombay officer, "and a fine compliment to the ladies, by Jove, sir!" -"If we had any of your pompous Bengal '_Quy hies_' here though, -colonel," said the doctor, "they wouldn't stand being choused so -unceremoniously out of the weather-side, I suspect." "As to the -agreeable little surprise I meant for the ladies," said Captain -Collins, "I fear it was done awkwardly, never having commanded an -_Indiaman_ before, and laid up ashore this half-a-dozen years. But -one's old feelings get freshened up, and without knowing the old -Gloucester's points, I can't help reckoning her as a lady too,--a very -particular old 'Begum,' that won't let any one else be humoured before -herself,--especially as I took charge of her to oblige a friend." "How -easily she goes now!" said the doctor, "and a gallant sight at this -moment, I assure you, to any one who chooses to put his head up the -companion." "Ah, mamma!" said one of the girls, "couldn't you almost -think this was our own little parlour at home, with the moonlight -coming through the window on both sides of the old elm, where we were -sitting a month ago hearing about India and papa?" - -"Ah!" responded her cousin, standing up, "but there was no track of -moonshine dancing beyond the track of the ship yonder! How blue the -water is, and how much warmer it has grown of a sudden!" - -"We are crossing the great Gulf Stream!" said the captain,--"Jacobs! -open one of the stern-ports." "'Tis the very place and time, this is," -remarked a good-humoured cotton-grower from the Deckan, "for one of -the colonel's tiger-hunts, now!" "Sir!" answered the old officer, -rather testily, "I am not accustomed to thrust my _tiger-hunts_, as -you choose to call my humble experiences, under people's noses!" -"Certainly not, my dear sir," said the planter,--"but what do you say, -ladies, to one of the captain's sea-yarns, then? Nothing better, I'm -sure, here and now, sir--eh?" Captain Collins smiled, and said he had -never spun a yarn in his life, except when a boy, out of -matter-of-fact old junk and tar. "Here is my steward, however," -continued he, "who is the best hand at it I know,--and I daresay he'll -give you one." "Charming!" exclaimed the young ladies; and "What was -that adventure, Mr Jacobs," said Miss Alicia, "with a beauty and a -Nabob in it, that you alluded to a short time ago?" "I didn't to say -disactly include upon it, your ladyship," replied old Jacobs, with a -tug of his hair, and a bow not just _à la maître_; "but the captain -can give you it better nor I can, seeing as his honur were the Nero on -it, as one may say." "Oh!" said the surgeon, rubbing his hands "a lady -and a rupee-eater in the case!" "Curious stories, there _are_, too," -remarked the colonel, "of those serpents of nautch-girls, and rich -fools they've managed to entangle. As for beauty, sir, they have the -devil's, and they'd melt the 'Honourable John's' own revenue! I know a -very sensible man,--shan't mention his name,--but made of rupees, and -a regular _beebee-hater_,--saw one of these--" "Hush, hush, my dear -sir!" interrupted the planter, winking and gesticulating; "very good -for the weather poop,--but presence of ladies!"--"For which I'm not -fit, you'd say, sir?" inquired the colonel, firing up again. "Oh! oh! -you know, colonel!" said the unlucky planter, deprecatingly. "But a -_godown_[7] of best 'Banda' to a cowrie now, the sailor makes his -beauty a complete Nourmahal, with rose-lips and moon-eyes,--and his -Nabob a _jehan punneh_,[8] with a _crore_, besides diamonds. 'Twould -be worth hearing, especially from a lascar. For, 'twixt you and I, -colonel, we know how rare it is to hear of a man who saves his _lac_, -now-a-days, with Yankees in the market, no Nawaubs to fight, and -reform in _cutcheries_[9]!" "There seems something curious about this -said adventure of yours, my dear captain," said Mrs St Clair, -archly,--"and a Beauty too! It makes me positively inquisitive, but I -hope your fair lady has heard the story?" "Why, not exactly, ma'am," -replied Captain Collins, laughing as he caught the doctor looking -preternaturally solemn, after a sly lee-wink to the colonel; who, -having his back to the moonlight, stretched out his legs and indulged -in a grim, silent chuckle, until his royal-tiger countenance was -unhappily brought so far _flush_[10] in the rays as to betray a -singular daguerreotype, resembling one of those cut-paper -phantasmagoria thrown on a drawing-room wall, unmistakably black and -white, and in the character of Malicious Watchfulness. The rubicund, -fidgety little cotton-grower twiddled his thumbs, and looked modestly -down on the deck, with half-shut eyes, as if expecting some bold -revelation of nautical depravity; while the romantic Miss Alicia -coloured and was silent. "However," said the captain, coolly, "it is -no matrimonial secret, at any rate! We both think of it when we read -the Church Service of a Sunday night at home, with Jacobs for the -clerk." "Do, Mr Jacobs, oblige us!" requested the younger of the -girls. "Well, Miss," said he, smoothing down his hair in the doorway, -and hemming, "'Tan't neither for the likes o' me to refuse a lady, nor -accordin' to rules for to give such a yarn in presence of a supperior -officer, much less the captain,--with a midship helm, ye know marm, ye -carn't haul upon one tack nor the other. Not to say but next forenoon -watch----" "I see, Jacobs, my man," interrupted Captain Collins, -"there's nothing for it but to fore-reach upon you, or else you'll be -'Green-Handing' me aft as well as forward; so I must just make the -best of it, and take the _winch_ in my own fashion at once!" "Ay, ay, -sir--ay, ay, your honour!" said Old Jack demurely, and concealing his -gratification as he turned off into the pantry, with the idea of for -the first time hearing the captain relate the incidents in question. -"My old shipmate," said the latter, "is so fond of having trained his -future captain, that it is his utmost delight to spin out everything -we ever met with together into one endless yarn, which would go on -from our first acquaintance to the present day, although no ship's -company ever heard the last of it. Without falling knowingly to -leeward of the truth, he makes out every lucky coincidence, almost, to -have been a feat of mine, and puts in little fancies of his own, so as -to give the whole thing more and more of a marvellous air, the farther -it goes. The most amusing thing is, that he almost always begins each -time, I believe, at the very beginning, like a capstan without a -paul--sticking in one thing he had forgot before, and forgetting -another; sometimes dwelling longer on one part--a good deal like a -ship making the same voyages over again. I knew, now, this evening, -when I heard the men laughing, and saw Old Jack on the forecastle, -what must be in the wind. However, we have shared so many chances, and -I respect the old man so much, not to speak of his having dandled my -little girls on his knee, and being butler, steward, and -flower-gardener at home, that I can't really be angry at him, in spite -of the sort of every man's rope he makes of me!" "How very amusing a -character he is!" said one young lady. "A thought too tarry, perhaps?" -suggested the surgeon. "So very original and like a--seaman!" remarked -Miss Alicia, quietly, but as if some other word that crossed her mind -had been rejected, as descriptive of a different variety, probably -higher. "_Original_, by Jove!" exclaimed the colonel; "if my -_Khansa-man_, or my _Abdar_,[11] were to make such a dancing dervish -and _tumasha_[12] of me behind back, by the holy Vishnu, sir, I'd -rattan him myself within an inch of his life!" "Not an unlikely thing, -colonel," put in the planter; "I've caught the scoundrels at that -trick before now." "What did you do?" inquired the colonel, -speculatively. "Couldn't help laughing, for my soul, sir; the -_puckree bund_[13] rascals did it so well, and so funnily!" The -irascible East-Indian almost started up in his imaginative fury, to -call for his palkee, and chastise his whole verandah, when the doctor -reminded him it was a long way there. "Glorious East!" exclaimed the -medico, looking out astern, "where we may cane our footmen, and -whence, meanwhile, we can derive such Sanscrit-sounding adjurations, -with such fine moonlight!" - -The presence of the first officer was now added to the party, who came -down for a cup of tea, fresh from duty, and flavouring strongly of a -pilot cheroot. "How does she head, Mr Wood?" asked the captain. -"Sou'-west by west, sir,--a splendid night, under everything that will -draw,--spray up to the starboard cat-head!" - -"But as to this story, again, Captain Collins?" said Mrs St Clair, as -soon as she had poured out the chief mate's cup. "Well," said the -captain, "if you choose to listen till bedtime to a plain draught of -the affair, why I suppose I must tell it you; and what remains then -may stand over till next fine night. It _may_ look a little romantic, -being in the days when most people are such themselves; but at any -rate, we sailors--or else we should never have been at sea, you know: -and so you'll allow for that, and a spice to boot of what we used to -call at sea 'love-making;' happily there were no soft speeches in it, -like those in books, for then I shouldn't tell it at all. - -By the time I was twenty-four, I had been nine years at sea, and, at -the end of the war, was third lieutenant of a crack twenty-eight, the -saucy Iris--as perfect a sloop-model, though over-sparred certainly, as -ever was cased off the ways at Chatham, or careened to a north-easter. -The Admiralty had learnt to build by that day, and a glorious ship she -was, _made_ for going after the small fry of privateers, pirates, and -slavers, that swarmed about the time. Though I had roughed it in all -sorts of craft, from a first-rate to a dirty French lugger prize, and -had been eastward, so as to see the sea in its pride at the Pacific, -yet the feeling you have depends on the kind of ship you are in. I -never knew so well what it was to be fond of a ship and the sea; and -when I heard of the poor Iris, that had never been used to anything but -blue water on three parts of the horizon at least, laying her bones not -long after near Wicklow Head, I couldn't help a gulp in the throat. I -once dreamt I had gone down in her, and risen again to the surface with -the _loss of something_ in my brain; while, at the same moment, there I -was, still sitting below on a locker in the wardroom, with the arms of -her beautiful figure-head round me, and her mermaid's tail like the -best-bower cable, with an anchor at the end of it far away out of -soundings, over which I bobbed and dipped for years and years, in all -weathers, like a buoy. We had no Mediterranean time of it, though, in -the Iris, off the Guinea coast, from Cape Palmas to Cape Negro: looking -out to windward for white squalls, and to leeward for black ones, and -inshore for Spanish cattle-dealers, as we called them, had made us all -as sharp as so many marlin-spikes; and our captain was a man that -taught us seamanship, with a trick or two beyond. The slavers had not -got to be so clever then, either, with their schooners and clippers; -they built for stowage, and took the chance, so that we sent in _bale_ -after bale to the West India Admiral, made money, and enjoyed ourselves -now and then at the Cape de Verds. However, this kind of thing was so -popular at home, as pickings after the great haul was over, that the -Iris had to give up her station to a post-frigate, and be paid off. The -war was over, and nobody could expect to be promoted without a friend -near the blue table-cloth, although a quiet hint to a secretary's palm -would work wonders, if strong enough. But most of such lucky fellows as -ourselves dissipated their funds in blazing away at balls and parties, -where the gold band was everything, and the ladies wore blue ribbons -and anchor brooches in honour of the navy. The men spent everything in -a fortnight, even to their clothes, and had little more chance of -eating the king's biscuit with hopes of prize-money; I used to see -knots of them, in red shirts and dirty slops, amongst the fore-mast -Jacks in outwardbound ships, dropping past Greenwich, and waving their -hats to the Hospital. You knew them at once by one of them giving the -song for the topsail halliards, instead of the merchantmen's bull's -chorus: indeed, I could always pick off the dashing man-o'-war's men, -by face and eye alone, out from among the others, who looked as sober -and solitary, with their serious faces and way of going about a thing, -as if every one of them was the whole crew. I once read a bit of poetry -called the "Ancient Mariner," to old Jacobs, who by the bye is -something of a breed betwixt the two kinds, and his remark was--"That -old chap warn't used to hoisting all together with a run, your honour! -By his looks, I'd say he was bred where there was few in a watch, and -the watch-tackle laid out pretty often for an eke to drag down the -fore-tack." - -As I was riding down to Croydon in Surrey, where my mother and sister -had gone to live, I fell in with a sample of the hard shifts the -men-o-war's-men were put to in getting across from harbour to some -merchant port, when all their earnings were chucked away. It was at a -little town called Bromley, where I brought to by the door of a tavern -and had a drink for the horse, with a bottle of cider for myself at -the open window, the afternoon being hot. There was a crowd of -townspeople at the other end of the street, country bumpkins and -boys--women looking out at the windows, dogs barking, and children -shouting--the whole concern bearing down upon us. - -"What's all this?" said I to the ostler. - -"Don't know, sir," said he, scratching his head; "'tis very hodd, sir! -That corner _is_ rather a sharp turn for the coach, sir, and she do -sometimes run over a child there, or somethink. But 'taint her time -yet! Nothink else hever 'appens 'ere, sir." - -As soon as I could hear or see distinctly for the confusion, I observed -the magnet of it to be a party of five or six regular blue-jackets, a -good deal battered in their rig, who were roaring out sea-songs in -grand style as they came along, leading what I thought at first was a -bear. The chief words I heard were what I knew well. "We'll disregard -their tommy-hawks, likewise their scalping-knifes--and fight alongside -of our mates to save our precious lives--like British tars and -souldiers in the North Americay!" - -On getting abreast of the inn-door, and finding an offing with good -holding-ground, I suppose, they hove to and struck up the "Buffalo," -that finest of chaunts for the weather forecastle with a spanking -breeze, outward bound, and the pilot lately dropped-- - - "Come all you young men and maidens, that _wishes_ for to sail, - And I will let you hear of where you must a-roam! - We'll embark into a ship which her taups'ls is let fall, - And all unto an ileyand where we never will go home! - Especiallye you _ladies_ that's inclined for to rove-- - There's _fishes_ in the sea, my love--likewise the buck an' doe, - We'll lie down--on the _banks_--of yon pleasant shadye gro-ove, - Through the wild woods we'll wander and we'll chase the - Buffalo--ho--ho--we'll - Chase the BuffalO!" - -I really couldn't help laughing to see the slapping big-bearded -fellows, like so many foretopmen, showing off in this manner--one -mahogany-faced thorough-bred leading, the rest thundering in at the -chorus, with tremendous stress on the 'Lo-ho-ho,' that made the good -Bromley folks gape. As to singing for money, however, I knew no true -tar with his members whole would do it; and I supposed it to be merely -some 'spree ashore,' until the curious-looking object from behind was -lugged forward by a couple of ropes, proving to be a human figure -about six feet high, with a rough canvass cover as far as the knees. -What with three holes at the face, and the strange colour of the legs, -which were bare--with the pair of turned-up India shoes, and the whole -shape like a walking smoke-funnel over a ship's caboose--I was puzzled -what they would be at. The leading tar immediately took off his hat, -waved it round for a clear space, and gave a hem while he pointed to -the mysterious creature. "Now, my lads!" said he, "this here -wonderful bein' is a savitch we brought aboard of us from the Andyman -Isles, where he was caught one mornin' paddling round the ship in a -canoe made out of the bark of a sartain tree. Bein' the ownly spice of -the sort brought to this country as yet is, and we havin' run short of -the needful to take us to the next port, we expects every lady and -gemman as has the wherewithal, will give us a lift, by consideration -of this same cur'ous sight, and doesn't----" "Heave ahead, Tom, lad!" -said another encouragingly, as the sailor brought up fairly out of -breath--"Doesn't want no man's money for nou't d'ye see, but all fair -an' above board. We're not agoin' to show this here sight excep' you -makes up half-a-guinea amongst ye--arter that, all hands may see -shot-free--them's the articles!" "Ay, ay, Tom, well said, old ship!" -observed the rest; and, after a considerable clinking of coin amongst -the crowd, the required sum was poured, in pence and sixpences, into -Tom's hat. "All right!" said he, as soon as he had counted it,--"hoist -away the tarpaulin, mates!" For my part, I was rather surprised at the -rare appearance of this said savage, when his cover was off--his legs -and arms naked, his face streaked with yellow, and both parts the -colour of red boom-varnish; his red hair done up in a tuft, with -feathers all round it, and a bright feather-tippet over his shoulders, -as he stood, six feet in his yellow slippers, and looking sulkily -enough at the people. "Bobbery puckalow!" said the nautical -head-showman, and all at once up jumped the Andaman islander, dancing -furiously, holding a little Indian _punkah_ over his head, and -flourishing with the other hand what reminded me strongly of a ship's -top-maul--shouting "Goor--goor--gooree!" while two of the sailors held -on by the ropes. The crowd made plenty of room, and Tom proceeded to -explain to them very civilly, that "in them parts 'twas so hot the -natives wouldn't fight, save under a portable awning." Having -exhibited the points of their extraordinary savage, he was calmed -again by another uncouth word of command, when the man-o'-war's-man -attempted a further _traverse_ on the good Bromley folks, for which I -gave him great credit. "Now, my lads and lasses," said he, taking off -his hat again, "I s'pose you're all British subjects and Englishmen!" -at which there was a murmur of applause. "Very good, mates all!" -continued the foretopman approvingly.--"Then, in course, ye knows as -how whatsomever touches British ground is _free_!" "Britons never, -never shall be slaves!" sung out a boy, and the screaming and -hurrahing was universal. Tom stuck his tongue in his cheek to his -messmates, and went on,--"Though we was all pressed ourselves, and has -knocked about in sarvice of our king and country, an' bein' poor men, -we honours the flag, my lads!" "Hoorah! hoorah! hoorr-ray!" "So you -see, gemmen, my shipmates an' me has come to the resolve of lettin' -this here wild savidge go free into the woods,--though, bein' poor -men, d'ye see, we hopes ye'll make it up to us a bit first! What d'ye -say, all hands?--slump together for the other guinea, will ye, and off -he goes this minute,--and d---- the odds! Eh? what d'ye say, -shipmates?" "Ay, ay, Tom, sink the damage too!" said his comrades; -"we'll always get a berth at Blackwall, again!" - -"Stand by to ease off his tow-lines, then," said Tom,--"now look sharp -with the shiners there, my lads--ownly a guinea!" "No! no!" murmured -the townspeople,--"send for the constable!--we'll all be scalped and -murdered in our beds!--no, no, for God's sake, mister sailors!" A -grocer ran out of his door to beg the tars wouldn't think of such a -thing, and the village constable came shoving himself in, with the -beadle. "Come, come," said the constable in a soothing style, while -the beadle tried to look big and blustering, "you musn't do it, my -good men,--not on no desideration, _here_,--in his majesty's name! -Take un on to the next parish!--I horder all good subjects to resist -me!" "_What!_" growled the foretopman, with an air of supreme disgust, -"han't ye no feelin's for liberty hereaway? Parish be blowed! Bill, my -lad, let go his moorings, and give the poor devil his nat'ral -freedom!" "I'm right down ashamed on my country," said Bill. "Hullo, -shipmates, cast off at once, an' never mind the loss,--I hasn't slept -easy myself sin' he wor cotched!" "Nor me either," said another, "but -I'm feared he'll play the devil when he's loose, mate." - -I had been watching the affair all this time from inside, a good deal -amused, in those days, at the trick--especially so well carried out as -it was by the sailors. "Here, my fine fellows," said I at last, "bring -him in, if you please, and let me have a look at him." Next minute in -came the whole party, and, supposing from my dress that I was merely a -long-shore traveller, they put their savage through his dance with -great vigour. "Wonderful tame he's got, your honour!" said the -top-man; "it's nothing to what he does if you freshens his nip." "What -does he eat?" I asked, pretending not to understand the hint. "Why, -nought to speak on, sir," said he; "but we wonst lost a boy doorin' -the cruise, nobody know'd how--though 'twas thought he went o'board, -some on us had our doubts." "Curiously tatooed, too," I said; "I -should like to examine his arm." "A bit obstropolous he is, your -honour, if you handles him!" "Never mind," said I, getting up and -seizing the wrist of the Andaman islander, in spite of his grins; and -my suspicions were immediately fulfilled by seeing a whole range of -familiar devices marked in blue on the fellow's arm--amongst them an -anchor with a heart transfixed by a harpoon, on one side the word -"Sal," and on the other "R.O. 1811." "Where did you steal this -top-maul, you rascal?" said I, coolly looking in his face; while I -noticed one of the men overhauling me suspiciously out of his -weather-eye, and sidling to the door. "I didn't stale it at all!" -exclaimed the savage, giving his red head a scratch, "'twas Bill Green -there--by japers! whack, pillalew, mates, I'm done!" "Lord! oh Lord!" -said Bill himself, quite crestfallen, "if I didn't think 'twas him! -We're all pressed again, mates! It's _the_ leftenant!" "Pressed, bo'?" -said Tom; "more luck, I wish we was--but they wouldn't take ye now for -a bounty, ye know." Here I was fain to slack down and give a hearty -laugh, particularly at recognising Bill, who had been a shipmate of -Jacobs and myself in the old Pandora, and was nicknamed "Green"--I -believe from a little adventure of ours--so I gave the men a guinea -a-piece to carry them on. "Long life to your honour!" said they; and -said Tom, "If I might make so bould, sir, if your honour has got a -ship yet, we all knows ye, sir, and we'd enter, if 'twas for the North -Pole itself!" "No, my lad," said I, "I'm sorry to say I have not got -so far yet. Dykes, my man, can you tell me where your old messmate -Jacobs has got to?" "Why, sir," replied Bill, "I did hear he was -livin' at Wapping with his wife, where we means to give him a call, -too, sir." "Good day, your honour!" said all of them, as they put on -their hats to go, and covered their curiosity again with his -tarpaulin. "I'm blessed, Bill," said Tom, "but we'll knock off this -here carrivanning now, and put before the wind for Blackwall." "Won't -you give your savage his freedom, then," I asked. "Sartinly, your -honour," replied the roguish foretopman, his eye twinkling as he saw -that I enjoyed the joke. "Now, Mick, my lad, ye must run like the -devil so soon as we casts ye off!" "Oh, by the powers, thry me!" said -the Irishman; "I'm tired o' this cannible minnatchery! By the holy -mouse, though, I must have a dhrop o' dew in me, or I'll fall!" Mick -accordingly swigged off a noggin of gin, and declared himself ready to -start. "Head due nor'-east from the sun, Mick, and we'll pick you up -in the woods, and rig you out all square again," said the captain of -the gang, before presenting himself to the mob outside. "Now, gemmen -and ladies all," said the sailor coolly, "ye see we're bent on givin' -this here poor unfort'nate his liberty--an' bein' tould we've got the -law on our side, why, we means to do it. More by token, there's a -leftenant in the Roy'l Navy aboard there, as has made up the little -salvage-money, bein' poor men, orderin' us for to do it--so look out! -If ye only gives him a clear offing, he'll not do no harm. Steady, -Bill--slack off the starboard sheet, Jack--let go--all!" "Oh! -oh!--no! no!--for God's sake!" screamed the bystanders, as they -scuttled off to both hands--"shame! shame!--knock un down! catch -un!--tipstaff! beadle!" "Hurrah!" roared the boys, and off went Mick -O'Hooney in fine style, flourishing his top-maul, with a wild -"hullaloo," right away over a fence, into a garden, and across a field -towards the nearest wood. Everybody fell out of his way as he dashed -on; then some running after him, dogs barking, and the whole of the -seamen giving chase with their tarpaulins in their hands, as if to -drive him far enough into the country. The whole scene was extremely -rich, seen through the open air from the tavern window, where I sat -laughing, till the tears came into my eyes, at Jack-tars' roguishness -and the stupefied Kent rustics, as they looked to each other; then at -the sailors rolling away full speed along the edge of the plantation -where the outlandish creature had disappeared; and, lastly, at the -canvass cover which lay on the spot where he had stood. They were -actually consulting how to guard against possible inroads from the -savage at night, since he might be lurking near, when I mounted and -rode off; I daresay even their hearing that I was a live and real -lieutenant would cap the whole story. - -Croydon is a pretty, retired little town, so quiet and old-fashioned -that I enjoyed the unusual rest in it, and the very look of the canal, -the marketplace, the old English trees and people--by comparison with -even the Iris's white decks, and her circumference of a prospect, -different as it was every morning or hour of the day. My mother and my -sister Jane were so kind--they petted me so, and were so happy to have -me down to breakfast and out walking, even to feel the smell of my -cigar,--that I hardly knew where I was. I gave them an account of the -places I had seen, with a few tremendous storms and a frigate-fight or -two, instead of the horse-marine stories about mermaids and flying -Dutchmen I used to pass upon them when a conceited youngster. Little -Jane would listen with her ear to a large shell, when we were upon sea -matters, and shut her eyes, saying she could fancy the thing so -perfectly in that way. Or was it about India, there was a painted -sandal-wood fan carved in open-work like the finest lace, which she -would spread over her face, because the seeing through it, and its -scent, made her feel as if she were in the tropics. As for my mother, -good simple woman, she was always between astonishment and horror, -never having believed that lieutenants would be so heartless as to -masthead a midshipman for the drunkenness of a boat's crew, nor being -able to understand why, with a gale brewing to seaward, a captain -tried to get his ship as far as he could from land. The idea of my -going to sea again never entered her head, the terrible war being -over, and the rank I had gained being invariably explained to visiters -as at least equal to that of a captain amongst soldiers. To the -present day, this is the point with respect to seafaring matters on -which my venerated and worthy parent is clearest: she will take off -her gold spectacles, smoothing down her silver hair with the other -hand, and lay down the law as to reform in naval titles, showing that -my captain's commission puts me on a level with a military colonel. -However, as usual, I got tired by little and little of this sort of -thing; I fancy there's some peculiar disease gets into a sailor's -brain that makes him uneasy with a firm floor and no offing beyond; -certainly the country about Croydon was to my mind, at that time, the -worst possible,--all shut in, narrow lanes, high hedges and orchards, -no sky except overhead, and no horizon. If I could only have got a -hill, there would have been some relief in having a look-out from it. -Money I didn't need; and as for fame or rank, I neither had the -ambition, nor did I ever fancy myself intended for an admiral or a -Nelson: all my wish was to be up and driving about, on account of -something that was _within_ me. I enjoyed a good breeze as some do -champagne; and the very perfection of glory, to my thinking, was to be -the soul of a gallant ship in a regular Atlantic howler; or to play at -long bowls with one's match to leeward, off the ridges of a sea, with -both weather and the enemy to think of. Accordingly, I wasn't at all -inclined to go jogging along in one of your easy merchantmen, where -you have nothing new to find out; and I only waited to hear from some -friends who were bestirring themselves with the Board, of a ship where -there might be something to do. These were my notions in those days, -before getting sobered down, which I tell you for the sake of not -seeming such a fool in this said adventure. - -Well, one evening my sister Jane and I went to a race-ball at Epsom, -where, of course, we saw all the "beauty and fashion," as they say, of -the country round, with plenty of the army men, who were in all their -glory, with Waterloo and all that; we two or three poor nauticals being -quite looked down upon in comparison, since Nelson was dead, and we had -left nothing at the end to fight with. I even heard one belle ask a -dragoon "what uniform that was--was it the horse-artillery corps?" -"Haw!" said the dragoon, squinting at me through an eyeglass, and then -looking with one eye at his spurs and with the other at his partner, -"Not at all sure! I _do_ think, after all, Miss ----, 'tis the--the -marine body,--a sort of amphibious animals! They weren't with _us_, -though, you know,--_couldn't_ be, indeed, though it _was_ _Water_-loo! -Haw! haw! you'll excuse the joke, Miss ----?" "Ha! ha! how extremely -witty, Captain ----!" said the young lady, and they whirled away -towards the other end of the hall. But, had there been an opportunity, -by the honour of the flag, and nothing personal, I declare I should -have done--what the fool deserved,--had it been before all his brethren -and the Duke himself! It was not ten minutes after, that I saw what I -thought the loveliest young creature ever crossed my eyes, coming out -of the refreshment-room with two ladies, an old and an elderly one. The -first was richly dressed, and I set her down for an aunt, she was so -unlike; the other for a governess. The young lady was near sixteen to -appearance, dressed in white. There were many beauties in the ball-room -you would have called handsomer; but there was something about her -altogether I could compare to nothing else but the white figure-head of -the Iris, sliding gently along in the first curl of a breeze, with the -morning-sky far out on the bow,--curious as you may think it, ladies! -Her hair was brown, and her complexion remarkably pale notwithstanding; -while her eyes were as dark-blue, too, as--as the ocean near the line, -that sometimes, in a clear calm, gets to melt till you scarcely know it -from the sky. "Look, Edward!" whispered my sister, "what a pretty -creature! She can't be English, she looks so different from everybody -in the room! And such diamonds in her hair! such a beautifully large -pearl in her brooch! Who can she be, I wonder?" I was so taken up, -however, that I never recollected at all what Jane said till at night, -in thinking the matter over; and then a whole breeze of whisperings -seemingly came from every corner of the bedroom, of "Who is she!" "Who -can she be?" "Who's her father?" and so on, which I remembered to have -heard. I only noticed at the time that somebody said she was the -daughter of some rich East India Nabob or other, just come home. I had -actually forgot about the young dragoon I meant to find out again, -until a post-captain who was present--one of Collingwood's -flag-lieutenants--went up to the old _chaperone_, whom he seemed to -know, and got into talk with her; I found afterwards she was an -admiral's widow. In a little I saw him introduced to the young lady, -and ask her to dance; I fancied she hung back for a moment, but the -next she bowed, gave a slight smile to the captain's gallant -sea-fashion of deep respect to the sex, and they were soon gliding away -in the first set. Her dancing was more like walking with spread wings -upon air, than upon planks with one's arms out, as the captain did. I'd -have given my eyes, not to speak of my commission and chances to come, -to have gone through that figure with _her_. When the captain had -handed her to her seat again, two or three of the dragoons sauntered up -to Lady Somers's sofa: it was plain they were taken; and after -conversing with the old lady, one of them, Lord somebody I understood, -got introduced, in his turn, to the young beauty. As may be supposed, I -kept a look-out for his asking her to dance, seeing that, if she had -done so with one of the embroidered crew, and their clattering gear, -I'd have gone out that instant, found out the Waterloo fellow next day, -and, if not shot myself, shot him with an anchor button for a bullet, -and run off in the first craft I could get. The cool, easy, cursed -impertinent way this second man made his request, though--just as if he -couldn't be refused, and didn't care about it--it was as different from -the captain of the Diomede's as red from blue! My heart went like the -main-tack blocks, thrashing when you luff too much; so you may guess -what I felt to see the young lady, who was leaning back on the sofa, -give her head a pettish sort of turn to the old one, without a -word,--as much as to say she didn't want to. "My love!" I heard the old -lady say, "I fear you are tired! My lord, your lordship must excuse -Miss Hyde on this occasion, as she is delicate!" The dragoon was a -polite nobleman, according to his cloth; so he kept on talking and -smiling, till he could walk off without seeming as if he'd got his -sabre betwixt his feet; but I fancied him a little down by the head -when he did go. All the time, the young beauty was sitting with her -face as quiet and indifferent as may be, only there was a sparkle in -her blue eyes, and in nothing else but the diamonds in her hair, as she -looked on at the dancing; and, to my eye, there was a touch of the rose -came out on her cheek, clear pale though it was before the dragoon -spoke to her. Not long after, an oldish gentleman came out with a -gray-haired old general from the refreshment-room: a thin, -yellow-complexioned man he was, with no whiskers and a bald forehead, -and a bilious eye, but handsome, and his face as grand and solemn -looking as if he'd been First Lord, or had got a whole court-martial on -his shoulders for next day. I should have known him from a thousand for -a man that had lived in the East, were it nothing but the quick way he -looked over his shoulder for a servant or two, when he wanted his -carriage called--no doubt just as one feels when he forgets he's -ashore, like I did every now and then, looking up out to windward, and -getting a garden-wall or a wood slap into one's eyesight, as 'twere. I -laid down the old gentleman at once for this said Nabob; in fact, as -soon as a footman told him his carriage was waiting, he walked up to -the young lady and her companions, and went off with them, a steward -and a lady patroness convoying them to the break of the steps. The only -notion that ran in my head, on the way home that night with my sister, -was, "By heavens! I might just as well be in love with the bit of sky -at the end of the flying-jib-boom!" and all the while, the confounded -wheels kept droning it into me, till I was as dizzy as the first time I -looked over the fore-royal-yard. The whole night long I dreamt I was -mad after the figure-head of the Iris, and asked her to dance with me, -on which she turned round with a look as cold as water, or plain "No." -At last I caught firm hold of her and jumped overboard; and next moment -we were heaving on the blue swell in sight of the black old Guinea -coast--when round turned the figure, and changed into Miss Hyde; and -the old Nabob hauled us ashore upon a beautiful island, where I woke -and thought I was wanted on deck, although it was only my mother -calling me. - -All I had found out about them was, that Sir Charles Hyde was the name -of the East Indian, and how he was a Bengal judge newly come home; -where they lived, nobody at the ball seemed to know. At home, of -course, it was so absurd to think of getting acquaintance with a rich -Indian judge and his daughter, that I said no more of the matter; -although I looked so foolish and care-about-nothing, I suppose, that -my mother said to Jane she was sure I wanted to go to sea again, and -even urged me to "take a trip to the Downs, perhaps." As for going to -sea, however, I felt I could no more stir _then_, from where I was, -than with a best-bower down, and all hands drunk but the captain. -There was a favourite lazy spot of mine near the house, where I used -to lie after dinner, and smoke amongst the grass, at the back of a -high garden-wall with two doors in it, and a plank across a little -brook running close under them. All round was a green paddock for -cows; there was a tall tree at hand, which I climbed now and then -half-mast high, to get a look down a long lane that ran level to the -sky, and gave you a sharp gush of blue from the far end. Being a -luxurious dog in those days, like the cloth in general when hung up -ashore, I used to call it "The Idler's Walk," and "The Lazy Watch," -where I did duty somewhat like the famous bo'sun that told his boy to -call him every night and say the captain wanted him, when he turned -over with a polite message, and no good to the old tyrant's eyes. - -Well, one afternoon I was stretched on the softest bit of this -retreat, feeling unhappy all over, and trying to think of nothing -particular, as I looked at the wall and smoked my cheroot. Excuse me -if I think that, so far as I remember, there is nothing so -consolatory, though it can't of course cure one, as a fine Manilla for -the "green sickness," as our fore-mast fellows would say. My main idea -was, that nothing on earth could turn up to get me out of this scrape, -but I should stick eternally, with my head-sails shivering aback, or -flapping in a sickening dead calm. It was a beautiful hot summer -afternoon, as quiet as possible, and I was weary to death of seeing -that shadow of the branch lying against the white wall, down to the -keyhole of the nearest door. All of a sudden I heard the sweetest -voice imaginable, coming down the garden as it were, singing a verse -of a Hindostanee song I had heard the Bengal girls chant with their -pitchers on their heads at the well, of an evening,-- - - "'La li ta la, ta perisi, - La na comalay ah sahm-rè, - Madna, ca--rahm - Ram li ta, co-ca-la lir jhi! - La li ta la, vanga-la ta perisi.'" - -"Coc-coka-cokatoo!" screamed a harsh voice, which I certainly could -distinguish from the first. "Pretty cockatoo!" said the other -coaxingly; and next minute the large pink-flushed bird itself popped -his head over the top-stones above the door, floundering about with -his throat foul of the silver chain fast to his leg, till he hung by -his beak on my side of the wall, half choked, and trying to croak out -"Pretty--pretty cocky!" Before I had time to think, the door opened, -and, by heavens! there was my very charmer herself, with the shade of -the green leaves showered over her alarmed face. She had scarcely seen -me before I sprang up and caught the cockatoo, which bit me like an -imp incarnate, till the blood ran down my fingers as I handed it to -its mistress, my heart in my mouth, and more than a quarter-deck bow -in my cap. The young lady looked at me first in surprise, as may be -supposed, and then, with a smile of thanks that set my brain all -afloat, "Oh, dear me!" exclaimed she, "you are hurt!" "_Hurt!_" I -said, looking so bewildered, I suppose, that she couldn't help -laughing. "Tippoo is very stupid," continued she, smiling, "because he -is out of his own country, I think. You shall have no sugar to-night, -cockatoo, for biting your friends." - -"Were you--ever in India--madam?" I stammered out. "Not since I was a -child," she answered; but just then I saw the figure of the Nabob -sauntering down the garden, and said I had particular business, and -must be off. "You are very busy here, sir?" said the charming young -creature archly. "You are longing till you go to sea, I daresay--like -Tippoo and me." "You!" said I, staring at the keyhole, whilst she -caught my eye, and blushed a little, as I thought. "Yes, we are -going--I long to see India again, and I remember the sea too, like a -dream." - -Oh heavens! thought I, when I heard the old gentleman call out, "Lota! -Lota _beebee-lee_! _Kabultah, meetoowah?_"[14] and away she vanished -behind the door, with a smile to myself. The tone of the Judge's -voice, and his speaking Hindoo, showed he was fond of his daughter at -any rate. Off I went, too, as much confused as before, only for the -new thought in my head. "The sea, the sea!" I shouted, as soon as out -of hearing, and felt the wind, as 'twere, coming from aft at last, -like the first ripple. "Yes, by George!" said I, "outward bound for a -thousand. I'll go, if it was before the mast." All at once I -remembered I didn't know the ship's name, or when. Next day, and the -next again, I was skulking about my old place, but nobody -appeared--not so much as a shadow inside the keyhole. At last one -evening, just as I was going away, the door opened; I sauntered slowly -along, when, instead of the charming Lota, out came the flat brown -turban of an ugly _kitmagar_, with a mustache, looking round to see -who was there. "_Salaam_, sah 'b," said the brown fellow, holding the -door behind him with one paw. "_Burra judge sahib bhote bhote salaam_ -send uppiser[15] sah 'b--'ope not _dekhe_[16] after sahib cook-maid." -"_Joot baht, hurkut-jee_,"[17] said I, laughing. "Sah 'b been _my_ -coontree?" inquired the Bengalee more politely. "_Jee_, yes," I said, -wishing to draw him out. "I Inglitch can is-peek," continued the dark -footman, conceitedly; "ver well sah 'b, but one _damned_ misfortune us -for come i-here. Baud _carry_ make--plenty too much _poork_--too much -graug drink. Turmeric--chili--banana not got--not coco-tree got--pah! -Baud coontree, too much i-cold, sah 'b?" "Curse the rascal's -impudence," I thought, but I asked him if he wasn't going back. "Yis, -sah 'b, _such baht_[18] A-il-alàh! Mohummud _burra Meer-kea_. Bote too -much i-smell _my_ coontree." "When are you going?" I asked carelessly. -"Two day this time, sah 'b." "Can you tell me the name of the ship?" I -went on. The Kitmagar looked at me slyly, stroked his mustache, and -meditated; after which he squinted at me again, and his lips opened so -as to form the magic word, "_Buckshish?_" "_Jee_," said I, holding out -a crown-piece, "the ship's name and the harbour?" "Se," began he; the -coin touched his palm,--"ring;" his fingers closed on it, and -"Patahm," dropped from his leathery lips. "The Seringapatam?" I said. -"_Ahn_, sah 'b." "London, eh?" I added; to which he returned another -reluctant assent, as if it wasn't paid for, and I walked off. However, -I had not got round the corner before I noticed the figure of the old -gentleman himself looking after me from the doorway; his worthy -Kitmagar salaaming to the ground, and no doubt giving information how -the "cheep uppiser" had tried to pump him to no purpose. The Nabob -looked plainly as suspicious as if I had wanted to break into his -house, since he held his hand over his eyes to watch me out of sight. - -At night, I told my mother and sister I should be off to London next -day, for sea. What betwixt their vexation at losing me, and their -satisfaction to see me more cheerful, with talking over matters, we -sat up half the night. I was so ashamed, though, to tell them what I -intended, considering what a fool's chase it would seem to any one but -myself, that I kept all close; and, I am sorry to say, I was so full -of my love-affair, with the wild adventure of it, the sea, and -everything besides, as not to feel their anxiety enough. How it was to -turn out I didn't know; but somehow or other I was resolved I'd -contrive to make a rope if I couldn't find one: at the worst, I might -carry the ship, gain over the men, or turn pirate and discover an -island. Early in the morning I packed my traps, drew a cheque for my -prize-money, got the coach, and bowled off for London, to knock up Bob -Jacobs, my sea godfather; this being the very first step, as it seemed -to me, in making the plan feasible. Rough sort of confidant as he may -look, there was no man living I would have trusted before him for -keeping a secret. Bob was true as the topsail sheets; and if you only -gave him the course to steer, without any of the "puzzlements," as he -called the calculating part, he would stick to it, blow high, blow -low. He was just the fellow I wanted, for the lee brace as it were, to -give my weather one a purchase, even if I had altogether liked the -notion of setting off all alone on what I couldn't help suspecting -was a sufficiently hare-brained scheme as it stood; and, to tell the -truth, it was only to a straightforward, simple-hearted tar like -Jacobs that I could have plucked up courage to make it known. I knew -he would enter into it like a reefer volunteering for a cutting out, -and make nothing of the difficulties--especially when a love matter -was at the bottom of it: the chief question was how to discover his -whereabouts, as Wapping is rather a wide word. I adopted the expedient -of going into all the tobacco-shops to inquire after Jacobs, knowing -him to be a more than commonly hard smoker, and no great drinker -ashore. I was beginning to be tired out, however, and give up the -quest, when, at the corner of a lane near the docks, I caught sight of -a little door adorned with what had apparently been part of a ship's -figure-head--the face of a nymph or nereid, four times as large as -life, with tarnished gilding, and a long wooden pipe in her mouth that -had all the effect of a bowsprit, being stayed up by a piece of -marline to a hook in the wall, probably in order to keep clear of -people's heads. The words painted on its two head-boards, as under a -ship's bow, were "Betsy Jacobs," and "licensed" on the top of the -door; the window was stowed full of cakes of cavendish, twists of -negrohead, and coils of pigtail; so that, having heard my old shipmate -speak of a certain Betsey, both as sweetheart and partner, I made at -once pretty sure of having lighted, by chance, on his very dry-dock, -and went in without more ado. I found nobody in the little shop, but a -rough voice, as like as possible to Jacobs' own, was chanting the -sea-song of "Come, cheer up, my lads, 'tis to glory we steer," in the -back-room, in a curious sleepy kind of drone, interrupted every now -and then by the suck of his pipe, and a mysterious thumping sound, -which I could only account for by the supposition that the poor fellow -was mangling clothes, or gone mad. I was obliged to kick on the -counter with all my might, in competition, before an eye was applied -from inside to the little window; after which, as I expected, the head -of Jacobs was thrust out of the door, his hair rough, three days' -beard on his chin, and he in his shirt and trousers. "_Hisht!_" said -he, in a low voice, not seeing me distinctly for the light, "you're -not callin' the watch, my lad! Hold on a bit, and I'll sarve your -orders directly." After another stave of "Hearts of oak are our -ships," &c. in the same drawl, and a still more vigorous thumping than -before, next minute out came Bob again; with a wonderful air of -importance, though, and drawing in one hand, to my great surprise, the -slack of a line of "half-inch," on which he gave now and then a tug -and an ease off, as he came forward, like a fellow humouring a -newly-hooked fish. "Now, then, my hearty!" said he, shading his eyes -with the other hand, "bear a--" "Why, Jacobs, old ship," I said, -"what's this you're after? Don't you know your old apprentice, eh?" - -Jacobs looked at my cap and epaulette, and gave out his breath in a -whistle, the only other sign of astonishment being, that he let go his -unaccountable-looking piece of cord. "Lord bless me, Master Ned!" said -he--"I axes pardon, Lieutenant Collins, your honour!" "Glad you know -me this time, Bob, my lad," said I, looking round,--"and a comfortable -berth you've got of it, I daresay. But what the deuce _are_ you about -in there? _You_ haven't a savage _too_, like some friends of yours I -fell in with a short time ago! Or perhaps a lion or a tiger, eh, -Jacobs?" "No, no, your honour--lions be blowed!" replied he, laughing, -but fiddling with his hands all the while, and standing between me and -the room, as if half ashamed. "'Tis ownly the tiller-ropes of a small -craft I am left in charge of, sir. But won't ye sit down, your honour, -till such time as my old 'ooman comes aboard to relieve me, sir? -Here's a _cheer_, and maybe you'd make so free for to take a pipe of -prime cavendish, your honour?" "Let's have a look into your cabin, -though, Bob my man," said I, curious to know what was the secret; when -all at once a tremendous squall from within let me sufficiently into -it. The sailor had been rocking the cradle, with a fine little fellow -of a baby in it, and a line made fast to keep it in play when he -served the shop. "All the pitch 's in the fire now, your honour," -said he, looking terribly non-plussed; "I've broached him to, and he's -all aback till his mammy gets a hold of him." "A good pipe the little -rogue's got though," said I, "and a fine child he is, Jacobs--do for a -bo'sun yet." "Why, yes, sir," said he, rubbing his chin with a -gratified smile, as the urchin kicked, threw out his arms, and roared -like to break his heart; "I'm thinking he's a sailor all over, by -natur', as one may say. He don't like a calm no more nor myself; but -that's the odds of bein' ashore, where you needs to keep swinging the -hammocks by hand, instead of havin' it done for you, sir." In the -midst of the noise, however, we were caught by the sudden appearance -of Mistress Jacobs herself--a good-looking young woman, with a -market-basket full of bacon and greens, and a chubby little boy -holding by her apron, who came through the shop. The first thing she -did was to catch up the baby out of the cradle, and begin hushing it, -after one or two side-glances of reproach at her husband, who -attempted to cover his disgrace by saying, "Betsy, my girl, where's -your manners? why don't you off hats to the leftenant?--it's my wife, -your honour." Mrs Jacobs curtseyed twice very respectfully, though not -particularly fond of the profession, as I found afterwards; and I soon -quite gained her smiles and good graces by praising her child, with -the remark that he was too pretty ever to turn out a sailor; for, -sharp as mothers are to detect this sort of flattery to anybody else's -bantling, you always find it take wonderfully with respect to their -own. Whenever Jacobs and I were left to ourselves, I struck at once -into my scheme--the more readily for feeling I had the weather-hand of -him in regard of his late appearance. It was too ridiculous, the -notion of one of the best foretopmen that ever passed a weather-earing -staying at home to rock his wife's cradle and attend the shop; and he -was evidently aware of it as I went on. It was a little selfish, I -daresay, and Mrs Jacobs would perhaps have liked me none the better -for it; but I proposed to him to get a berth in the Indiaman, sail -with me for Bombay, and stand by for a foul hitch in something or -other. "Why, sir," said he, "it shan't be said of Bob Jacobs he were -ever the man to hang back where a matter was to be done that must be -done. I doesn't see the whole bearings of it as yet, but ounly you -give the orders, sir, and I'll stick to 'em." "'Tis a long stretch -between this and Bombay, Jacobs," said I, "and plenty of room for -chances." "Ay, ay, sir, no doubt," said he, "ye can _talk_ the length -of the best bower cable." "More than that, Bob my lad," said I, "I -know these Company men; if they once get out of their regular jog, -they're as helpless as a pig adrift on a grating; and before they grow -used to sailing out of convoy, with no frigates to whip them in, -depend upon it Mother Carey[19] will have to teach them a new trick or -two." "Mayhap, sir," put in Jacobs, doubtfully, "the best thing 'ud be -if they cast the ship away altogether, as I've seen done myself for -the matter of an insurance. Ye know, sir, they lets it pass at Lloyd's -now the war's over, seein' it brings custom to the underwriters, if so -be ounly it don't come over often for the profits. Hows'ever it needs -a good seaman to choose his lee-shore well, no doubt." "Oh!" answered -I, laughing, "but the chances are, all hands would want to be Robinson -Crusoe at once! No, no,--only let's get aboard, and take things as -they come." "What's the ship's name, sir?" inquired Jacobs, sinking -his voice, and looking cautiously over his shoulder toward the door. -"The Seringapatam,--do you know her?" I said. "Ay, ay, sir, well -enough," said he, readily,--"a lump of a ship she is, down off -Blackwall in the stream with two more--country-built, and tumbles home -rather much from below the plank-sheer for a sightly craft, besides -being flat in the eyes of her, and round in the counter, just where -she shouldn't, sir. Them Par_chee_ Bombay ship-wrights _does_ clap on -a lot of onchristien flummeries and gilt mouldings, let alone -quarter-galleries fit for the king's castle!" "In short, she's -tea-waggon all over," said I, "and just as slow and as leewardly, to -boot, as teak can make her?" "Her lines is not that bad, though, your -honour," continued Jacobs, "if you just knocked off her poop,--and -she'd bear a deal o' beating for a sea-boat. They've got a smart young -mate, too; for I seed him t'other day a-sending up the yards, and now -she's as square as a frigate, all ready to drop down river." The short -and long of it was, that I arranged with my old shipmate, who was -fully bent on the cruise, whether Mrs Jacobs should approve or not, -that, somehow or other, we should both ship our hammocks on board of -the Seringapatam--he before the mast, and I wherever I could get. On -going to the agent's, however--which I did as soon as I could change -my uniform for plain clothes--I found, to my great disappointment, -from a plan of the accommodations, that not only were the whole of the -poop-cabins taken, but those on the lower-deck also. Most of the -passengers, I ascertained, were ladies, with their children and -nurses, going back to India, and raw young cadets, with a few -commercial and civilian nondescripts; there were no troops or -officers, and room enough, except for one gentleman having engaged the -entire poop, at an immense expense, for his own use. This I, of -course, supposed was the Nabob, but the clerk was too close to inform -me. "You must try another ship, sir," said he, coolly, as he shut the -book. "Sorry for it, but we have another to sail in a fortnight. A.1, -sir; far finer vessel--couple of hundred tons larger--and sails -faster." "You be hanged!" muttered I, walking out; and a short time -after I was on board. The stewards told me as much again; but on my -slipping a guinea into the fingers of one, he suddenly recollected -there was a gentleman in state-room No. 14, starboard side of the main -skylight, who, being alone, might perhaps be inclined to take a chum, -if I dealt with him privately. "Yankee, sir, he is," said the steward, -by way of a useful hint. However, I didn't need the warning: at sight -of the individual's long nose, thin lips, and sallow jaw-bones, -without a whisker on his face, and his shirt-collar turned down, as he -sat overhauling his traps beside the carronade, which was tethered in -the state-room, with its muzzle through the port. He looked a good -deal like a jockey beside his horse; or, as a wit of a schoolboy cadet -said afterwards, the Boston gentleman calling himself Daniel Snout, -Esquire--like Daniel praying in the lion's den, and afraid it might -turn round or roar. I must say the idea didn't quite delight me, nor -the sight of a fearful quantity of luggage which was stowed up against -the bulkhead; but after introducing myself, and objecting to the first -few offers, I at last concluded a bargain with the American for a -hundred and twenty guineas, which, he remarked, was "considerable low, -I prognosticate, mister!" "However," said he, "I expect you're a -conversationable individual a little: I allowed for that, you know, -mister. One can't do much of a trade at sea--that's a fact; and I -calculate we'll swap information by the way. I'm water-pruff, I tell -you, as all our nation is. You'll not _settle_ at Bumbay, I reckon, -mister?" But though I meant to pay my new messmate in my own coin at -leisure afterwards, and be as frank and open as day with him--the only -way to meet a Yankee--I made off at present as fast as possible to -bring my things aboard, resolving to sleep at Blackwall, and then to -stow myself out of sight for sick, until there was somebody to take -off the edge of his confounded talk. - -Next afternoon, accordingly, I found myself once more afloat, the -Indiaman dropping down with the first breeze. The day after, she was -running through the Downs with it pretty strong from north-east, a -fair wind--the pilot-boat snoring off close-hauled to windward, with -a white spray over her nose; and the three _dungaree_ topsails of the -Seringapatam lifting and swelling, as yellow as gold, over her white -courses in the blue Channel haze. The breeze freshened, till she -rolled before it, and everything being topsy-turvy on deck, the lumber -in the way, the men as busy as bees setting her ship-shape--it would -have been as much as a passenger's toes were worth to show them from -below; so that I was able to keep by myself, just troubling my -seamanship so much as to stand clear of the work. Enjoy it I did, too; -by Jove, the first sniff of the weather was enough to make me forget -what I was there for. I was every now and then on the point of fisting -a rope, and singing out with the men; till at length I thought it more -comfortable, even for me, to run up the mizen shrouds when everybody -was forward, where I stowed myself out of sight in the cross-trees. - -About dusk, while I was waiting to slip down, a stronger puff than -ordinary made them clue up the mizen-royal from deck, which I took -upon myself to furl off-hand--quick enough to puzzle a couple of boys -that came aloft for the purpose, especially as, in the mean time, I -had got down upon the topsail-yardarm out of their notice. When they -got on deck again, I heard the little fellows telling some of the men, -in a terrified sort of way, how the mizen-royal had either stowed -itself, or else it was Dick Wilson's ghost, that fell off the same -yard last voyage,--more by token, he used always to make fast the -gaskets just that fashion. At night, however, the wind having got -lighter, with half moonlight, there was a muster of some passengers on -deck, all sick and miserable, as they tried to keep their feet, and -have the benefit of air,--the Yankee being as bad as the worst. I -thought it wouldn't do for me to be altogether free, and accordingly -stuck fast by Mr Snout, with my head over the quarter-deck bulwarks, -looking into his face, and talking away to him, asking all sorts of -questions about what was good for sea-sickness, then giving a groan to -prevent myself laughing, when the spray splashed up upon his -"water-pruff" face, he responding to it as Sancho Panza did to Don -Quixote, when the one examined the other's mouth after a potion. All -he could falter out was, how he wondered I could speak at all when -sick. "Oh! oh dear!" said I, with another howl. "Yes,--'tis merely -because I can't _think_! And I daresay you are thinking so much you -can't _talk_--the sea is so full of meditation, as Lord -Byron--Oh--oh--this water will be the death of me!" "I feel as if--the -whole--tarnation Atlantic was--inside of my bowls!" gasped he through -his nostrils. "Oh!" I could not help putting in, as the ship and Mr -Snout both gave a heave up, "and coming out of you!" - -During all this time I had felt so sure of my ground as scarcely to -trouble myself about the Bengal judge and his fairy treasure of a -daughter; only in the midst of the high spirits brought up by the -breeze, I hugged myself now and then at the thought of their turning -out by degrees as things got settled, and my having such openings the -whole voyage through as one couldn't miss in four or five months. -Nobody would suspect the raw chap I looked, with smooth hair and a -high collar, of any particular cue: I must say there was a little -vanity at the bottom of it, but I kept thinking more and more how snug -and quietly I'd enjoy all that went on, sailing on one tack with the -passengers and the old Nabob himself, and slipping off upon the other -when I could come near the charming young Lota. The notion looks more -like what some scamp of a reefer, cruising ashore, would have hit -upon, than suits my taste now-a-days; but the cockpit had put a spice -of the imp in me, which I never got clear of till this very voyage, as -you shall see, if we get through with the log of it. 'Twas no use, as -I found, saying what one should have to do, except put _heart_ into -it,--with wind, sea, and a love affair to manage all at once, after -making a tangled coil instead of one all clear and above-board. - -The first time I went down into the cuddy was that evening to tea, -where all was at sixes and sevens like the decks; the lamps ill -trimmed, stewards out of the way, and a few lads trying to bear up -against their stomachs by the help of brandy and biscuits. The main -figure was a jolly-looking East Indian, an indigo-planter as he turned -out, with a bald forehead, a hook nose, and his gills covered with -white whiskers that gave him all the cut of a cockatoo. He had his -brown servant running about on every hand, and, being an old stager, -did his best to cheer up the rest; but nothing I saw showed the least -sign of the party I looked after. I was sure I ought to have made out -something of them by this time, considering the stir such a grandee as -Sir Charles Hyde would cause aboard: in fact, there didn't seem to be -many passengers in her, and I began to curse the lying scoundrel of a -_Kitmagar_ for working "Tom Cox's traverse" on me, and myself for -being a greater ass than I'd fancied. Indeed I heard the planter -mention by chance that Sir Charles Hyde, the district judge, had come -home last voyage from India in this very Seringapatam, which no doubt, -I thought, put the Mahommedan rascal up to his trick. - -I was making up my mind to an Indian trip, and the pure pleasure of -Daniel Catoson Snout, Esquire's company for two blessed months, when -all of a sudden I felt the ship bring her wind a-quarter, with a -furious plunge of the Channel water along her bends, that made every -landsman's bowels yearn as if he felt it gurgle through him. One young -fellow, more drunk than sick, gave a wild bolt right over the cuddy -table, striking out with both arms and legs as if afloat, so as to -sweep half of the glasses down on the floor. The planter, who was -three cloths in the wind himself, looked down upon him with a comical -air of pity as soon as he had got cushioned upon the wreck. "My dear -fellow," said he, "what do you feel--eh?" "Feel, you--old blackguard!" -stammered the griffin, "de--dam--dammit, I feel _everything_! Goes -through--through my vitals as if--I was a con--founded _whale_! -C--can't stand it!" "You've drunk yourself aground, my boy!" sung out -the indigo man; "stuck fast on the coral--eh? Never mind, we'll float -you off, only don't flounder that way with your tail!--by Jove, you -scamp, you've ruined my toe--oh dear!" I left the planter hopping -round on one pin, and holding the gouty one in his hand, betwixt -laughing and crying: on deck I found the floating Nab Light bearing -broad on our lee-bow, with Cumberland Fort glimmering to windward, and -the half moon setting over the Isle of Wight, while we stood up for -Portsmouth harbour. The old captain, and most of the officers, were on -the poop for the first time, though as stiff and uncomfortable from -the sort of land-sickness and lumber-qualms that sailors feel till -things are _in_ their places, as the landsmen did until things were -_out_ of them. The skipper walked the weather side by himself and said -nothing: the smart chief officer sent two men, one after another, from -the wheel for "cows" that didn't know where their tails were; and as -for the middies, they seemed to know when to keep out of the way. In a -little, the spars of the men-of-war at Spithead were to be seen as we -rose; before the end of the first watch, we were running outside the -Spit Buoy, which was nodding and plashing with the tide in the last -slant of moonshine, till at last we rounded to, and down went the -anchor in five fathoms, off the Motherbank. What the Indiaman wanted -at Portsmouth I didn't know; but, meantime, I had given up all hopes -of the Nabob being in her, and the only question with me was, whether -I should take the opportunity of giving all hands the slip here, even -though I left my Yankee friend disconsolate, and a clear gainer by -dollars beyond count. - -Early next morning there were plenty of wherries looking out for -fares; so, as the Indiaman was not to sail before the night-ebb, when -the breeze would probably spring up fair again, I hailed one of them -to go ashore at the Point, for a quiet stroll over Southsea Common, -where I meant to overhaul the whole bearings of the case, and think if -it weren't better to go home, and wait the Admiralty's pleasure for a -ship. I hadn't even seen anything of Jacobs, and the whole -hotel-keeping ways of the Indiaman began to disgust me, or else I -should have at once decided to take the chance of seeing Lota Hyde -somehow or other in India; but, again, one could scarcely endure the -notion of droning on in a frigate without so much as a Brest lugger -to let drive at. It was about six o'clock; the morning gun from the -guard-ship off the Dockyard came booming down through the harbour, the -blue offing shone like silver, and the green tideway sparkled on every -surge, up to where they were flashing and poppling on the copper of -the frigates at Spithead. I noticed them crossing yards and squaring; -the farthest out hove up anchor, loosed fore-topsail, cast her head to -starboard, and fired a gun as she stood slowly out to sea under all -sail, with a light air freshening abeam. The noble look of her almost -reconciled me of itself to the service, were it for the mere sake of -having a share in driving such a craft between wind and water. Just -then, however, an incident turned up in spite of me, which I certainly -didn't expect, and which had more, even than I reckoned at the time, -to do with my other adventure; seeing that it made me, both then and -afterwards, do the direct opposite of what I meant to do, and both -times put a new spoke in my wheel, as we say at sea here. - -I had observed a seventy-four, the Stratton, lying opposite the Spit -Buoy; on board of which, as the waterman told me, a court-martial had -been held the day before, where they broke a first lieutenant for -insulting his captain. Both belonged to one of the frigates: the -captain I had seen, and heard of as the worst tyrant in the navy; his -ship was called "a perfect hell afloat;" that same week one of the -boys had tried to drown himself alongside, and a corporal of marines, -after coming ashore and drinking a glass with his sweetheart, had -coolly walked down to the Point, jumped in between two boats at the -jetty, and kept himself under water till he was dead. The lieutenant -had been dismissed the service, and as I recognised the name, I -wondered whether it could actually be my schoolfellow, Tom Westwood, -as gallant a fellow and as merry as ever broke biscuit. Two -sail-boats, one from around the Stratton's quarter, and the other from -over by Gosport, steering on the same tack for Southsea, diverted my -attention as I sauntered down to the beach. The bow of the nearest -wherry grounded on the stones as I began to walk quicker towards the -town-gates, chiefly because I was pretty ready for an early breakfast -at the old Blue Posts, and also because I had a slight notion of what -these gentlemen wanted on Southsea Beach at odd hours. Out they -jumped, however--one man in naval undress, another, a captain, in full -fig, the third, a surgeon--coming right athwart my course to bring me -to. The first I almost at once remembered for the notorious captain of -the Orestes, or N'Oreste, as the midshipmen called her, from her -French build and her character together. "Hallo, you sir!" said the -other captain decidedly, "you must stand still." "Indeed!" said I; -"and why so, if you please?" "Since you _are_ here, we don't intend -allowing you to pass for some few minutes." "And what if I should do -as I choose, sir?" I asked. "If you stir two steps, sir, I shall shoot -you!" replied the captain, who was one of the bullying school. "Oh, -very well," I said, rather confounded by his impertinence, "then I -shall stay;" and I accordingly stood stock-still, with my arms folded, -until the other boat landed its party of two. They were in plain -clothes; nor did I give them any particular attention till the seconds -had stationed their men, when the captain of the Orestes had his back -to me, and his antagonist stood directly facing. As his pale resolved -features came out before me with the morning sun on them, his lips -together, and his nostrils large, I recognised my old friend Westwood. -The captain had broke him the day before, and now he had accepted his -challenge, being a known dead shot, while the lieutenant had never -fired a bullet in cold blood: there was, no doubt, a settled purpose -in the tyrant to crush the first man that had dared to thwart his -will. Westwood's second came forward and mentioned to the other that -his friend was still willing to withdraw the words spoken in first -heat, and would accordingly fire in the air. "Coward!" shouted the -captain of the Orestes immediately; "I shall shoot you through the -heart!" "Sir!" said I to his second, "I _will not_ look on; and if -that gentleman is shot, I will be witness against you both as -murderers!" I dropped down behind a stone out of the line of fire, -and to keep my eyes off the devilish piece of work, though my blood -boiled to knock the fellow down that I was speaking to. Another -minute, and the suspense was too great for me to help looking up: just -at that moment I saw how _set_ Westwood's face was: he was watching -his enemy with an eye that showed to me what the other's must -be--seeking for his life. The seconds gave the word to each other in -the middle, and dropped two white handkerchiefs at once with their -hands together; I caught the flash of Westwood's pistol, when, to my -astonishment, I saw the captain of the Orestes next moment jerk up his -arm betwixt me and the sky, fire in the air, and slowly fall back--he -was dead!--shot through the heart. One glance at his face gave you a -notion of the devilish meaning he had had; but what was my surprise -when his second walked up to Westwood, and said to him, "Sir, you are -the murderer of Captain Duncombe;--my friend fired in the air as you -proposed." "You are mistaken, sir," answered Westwood, coldly; -"Captain Duncombe sought my life, and I have used the privilege of -self-defence." "The surgeon is of my opinion," said the other; "and I -am sorry to say that we cannot allow you to depart." "I shall give -myself up to the authorities at once," said Westwood. "We have only -your word for that, which I must be permitted, in such a case, to -doubt," replied the captain, whose evident wish was to detain Westwood -by force or threats while he sent off his surgeon. The worst of it -was, as I now found, that since the court-martial and the challenge, -an admiralty order had arrived, in consideration of several gallant -acts during the war, as well as private representation, restoring him -to the service: so that he had in fact called out and shot his -superior officer. As for the charge now brought forward, it was too -absurd for any to believe it, unless from rage or prejudice; the case -was bad enough, at any rate, without it. - -In the mean time I had exchanged a word or two with Westwood's friend; -after which, lifting up a second pistol which lay on the sand, I went -up to the captain. "Sir," said I, "you used the freedom, a little ago, -of forcing me into your concerns, and I have seen the end of it. I -have now got to tell you, having watched your conduct, that either you -must submit to be made fast here for a bit, else, by the God that made -me, I'll shoot you through the head!" The captain looked at me, his -surgeon sidled up to him, and, being a man near my own size, he -suddenly tried to wrench the pistol out of my hands: however, I had -him the next moment under my knee, while Westwood's second secured the -little surgeon, and took a few round sea-turns about his wrists and -ancles with a neckerchief. My companion then gave me a hand to do the -same with his superior officer--the medico all the time singing out -like a bull, and the captain threatening--while the dead body lay -stark and stiff behind us, the eyes wide, the head down, and the -breast up, the hand clenching a pistol, just as he had fallen. -Westwood stood quite unconscious of everything we did, only he seemed -to be watching the knees drawn up as they stiffened, and the -sand-flies hovering about the mouth. "Shall we clap a stopper between -their teeth?" said the second to me--he had been at sea, but who he -was I never knew--"the surgeon will be heard on the walls, he bellows -so!" "Never mind," said I, "we'll just drop them beyond tide-mark--the -lee of the stones yonder." In fact, from the noise the tide was -making, I question if the shots could have been heard even by the -watermen, who had prudently sheered out of sight round a point. I -couldn't help looking, when we had done this, from the captain's body -to his own frigate, as she was sluing round head on to us, at single -anchor, to the turn of tide, with her buoy dancing on the brisk blue -sweep of water, and her figure-head shining in the sunlight. As soon -as we covered over the corpse with dulse-weed, Westwood started as if -we had taken something away from him, or freed him of a spell. -"Westwood!" said I, laying my hand on his shoulder, "you _must_ come -along with me." He said nothing, but followed us quietly round to the -wherries, where I told the watermen that the other party had gone a -different way to keep clear, and we wanted them to pull for Gosport. -At Gosport we had Westwood rigged out in black clothes, his hair -cropped, and whiskers shaved off--as I thought it the fittest thing -for his case, and what he could best carry out, to go aboard of the -Indiaman with me as if he were a missionary. Poor fellow! he didn't -know _what_ he was. So, having waited till dusk, to let the watermen -lose our track, and his friend having posted off for Dover, he and I -both got safe over to the Seringapatam, where I had him stowed in the -first empty state-room I found. I had actually forgot, through the -excitement, all about my missing my first chase: from one hour to -another I kept watching the tide-marks ashore, and the dog-vane on the -ship's quarter, all impatience to hear the word given for "all hands -up anchor," and hoping our worthy friends on Southsea Beach were still -within hearing of the Channel flood. At last the order did come; round -went the capstan merrily enough, till she had hove short and up; the -anchor was catted, and off went the lumbering old craft through the -Solent about midnight, before a fine rattling breeze, in company with -six or seven others, all running for the Needles. They were loosing -the Indiaman's royals when I heard a gun from the guard-ship in -harbour; and a little after up went a rocket, signalling to some -frigate or other at Spithead; and away they kept at it, with lights -from the telegraph to her masthead, for several minutes. "All's up!" -thought I, "and both Westwood and myself are in for it!" - -Next morning at daybreak, accordingly, no sooner did the dawn serve to -show us the Portland Light going out on the weather quarter, with a -whole fleet of Channel craft and Mediterranean brigs about us, we -surging through it as fast as the Indiaman could go,--than _there_ was -a fine forty-four standing off and on right in our course, in fact the -very identical Orestes herself! She picked us out in a moment--bore -up, stood across our weather-bow, and hailed. "What ship's that?" said -the first Luff in her mizen rigging. - -"The Seringapatam, Honourable Company's ship, Captain Williamson!" -sung out our first officer, with his cap off. "Heave to, till I send a -boat aboard of you!" hailed the naval man, and there we bobbed to each -other with mainyards backed. In a few minutes a master's mate with -gig's crew was under our lee-quarter, and the mate came on deck. -"Sir," said he, "the Port Admiral will thank you to deliver these -despatches for Sir Charles Hyde, who I believe is aboard." "Certainly, -sir," said the first officer, "they shall be given to him in an hour's -time." - -"Good morning, and a fine voyage," said the master's mate politely; -and I took the occasion of asking if Captain Duncombe were on board -the Orestes. "No, sir," answered the midshipman, "he happens to be -ashore at present." I have seldom felt so relieved as when I saw the -frigate haul round her mainyard, and go sweeping off to leeward, while -we resumed our course. By noon we had sunk the land about Start Point, -with a breeze which it was no use wasting at that season to take -"departures;" and as the afternoon set in hazy, we were soon out of -sight of Old England for good. For my part, I was bound Eastward at -last with a witness, and, like a young bear, again "all my troubles -before me."--"There is two bells though," interrupted the narrator, -starting. "Let us see what sort of night it is before the ladies -retire." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[7] Cellar for goods. - -[8] Asylum of the world. - -[9] District judicial courts. - -[10] _Flush_--_i.e._, level. - -[11] Steward and Butler. - -[12] Sport. - -[13] Turban-wearing. - -[14] Little Girl! Do you hear, sweet one? - -[15] Officer. - -[16] Look. - -[17] 'Tis a lie, you scoundrel. - -[18] That is true. - -[19] "_Mother Carey_,"--an obscure sea-divinity chiefly celebrated for -her "_chickens_," as Juno ashore for her peacocks. _Quere_,--a -personification of the providential _Care_ of Nature for her weaker -children, amongst whom the little stormy _petrels_ are conspicuous; -while, at the same time, touchingly associating the Pagan to the -Christian sea mythology by their double name--the latter, a diminutive -of Peter walking by faith upon the waters. In the nautical creed, -"Davy Jones" represents the abstract power, and "Mother Carey" the -practically developed experience, which together make up the life -Oceanic. - - - - -MÉRIMÉE'S HISTORY OF PETER THE CRUEL.[20] - - -The memoirs of a sovereign who had Alburquerque for a minister, Maria -Padilla for a mistress, Henry of Trastamare for a rival, and Edward -the Black Prince for an ally and companion in arms, must be worthy the -researches even of so elegant a scholar and learned an antiquarian as -Prosper Mérimée. When the nations are engrossed by their difficulties -and disasters, and the jarring discord of revolution and thundering -crash of monarchies on every side resound, the history of a -semi-barbarous period, and of a king now five hundred years in his -grave, should be set forth with surpassing talent to attract and -sustain attention. But M. Mérimée is the literary Midas of his day and -country: the subject he handles becomes bright and precious by the -magic of his touch. Though its interest be remote, he can invest it -with all the charm of freshness. Upon a former occasion[21] we noticed -his imaginative productions with well-merited praise; to-day, in the -historian's graver garb, he equally commands admiration and applause. -He has been happy in his selection of a period rich in dramatic -incident and fascinating details; and of these he has made the utmost -profit. In a previous paper, we quoted M. Mérimée's profession of -faith in matters of ancient and mediæval history. In his preface to -the _Chronique de Charles IX._, he avowed his predilection for -anecdotes and personal traits, and the weight he is disposed to attach -to them as painting the manners and character of an epoch, and as -throwing upon the motives and qualities of its prominent personages a -light more vivid and true, than that obtained from the tedious and -often partial narratives of grave contemporary chroniclers. In the -present instance, he has liberally supplied his readers with the fare -he himself prefers. His _History of Pedro the First of Castile_ -abounds in illustrations, in anecdotes and legends of remarkable -novelty and interest; historical flowerets, most agreeably lightening -and relieving the solid structure of a work for which the archives and -libraries of Madrid and Barcelona, the manuscripts of the old Spanish -and Portuguese chroniclers, and the writings of more modern historians -of various nations, have been with conscientious diligence ransacked -and compared. The result has been a book equal in all respects to Mr -Prescott's delightful _History of Ferdinand and Isabella_, to which it -forms a suitable companion. As a master of classic and antiquarian -lore, the Frenchman is superior to the American, to whom he yields -nothing in the vigour of his diction and the grace of his style. - -When Alphonso the Eleventh, king of Castile, died of the plague, in -his camp before Gibraltar, upon Good Friday of the year 1350, the -Iberian peninsula consisted of five distinct and independent -monarchies--Castile, Arragon, Navarre, Portugal, and Granada. The -first of the five, which extended from Biscay and Galicia to Tarifa, -the southernmost town in Europe, was by far the most extensive and -powerful; the second comprised Arragon, Catalonia, and Valencia; -Navarre, poor and scantily peopled, was important as commanding the -principal passes of the Pyrenees, which its monarch could throw open -to a French or English army; Portugal had nearly the same limits as at -the present day; the Moors, the boundary of whose European empire had -long been narrowing, still maintained a precarious footing in the -kingdom of Granada. Alphonso, upon his accession in 1308, had found -Castile a prey to anarchy, and groaning under feudal oppression. The -audacity of the _ricos hombres_, or nobles,[22] had greatly increased -during long minorities, and under the reign of feeble princes. Whilst -they fought amongst themselves for privilege of pillage, the peasantry -and inhabitants of towns, exasperated by the evils inflicted on them, -frequently rose in arms, and exercised bloody reprisals. A -contemporary author, quoted at length by M. Mérimée, represents the -nobility as living by plunder, and abetted by the king's guardians. -Certain towns refused to acknowledge these guardians, detained the -king's revenue, and kept men-at-arms to oppress and rob the poor. -Justice was nowhere in the kingdom; and the roads were impassable by -travellers, except in strong bodies, and well-armed. None dwelt in -unwalled places; and so great was the evil throughout the land, that -no one was surprised at meeting with murdered men upon the highways. -The king's guardians daily imposed new and excessive taxes; towns were -deserted, and the peasantry suffered exceedingly. Alphonso, a -courageous and intelligent prince, saw the evil, and resolved to -remedy it. Without a party of his own, he was compelled to throw -himself into the arms of one of the great factions desolating the -country. By its aid he destroyed the others, and then found himself -strong enough to rule in his own realm. Having proved his power, he -made an example of the most unruly, and pardoned the others. Then, to -give occupation to his warlike and turbulent nobility, he led them -against the Moors of Granada; thus turning to his glory, and to the -aggrandisement of his dominions, the arms which previously had been -brandished but in civil contest. The commons of Castile, grateful for -their deliverance from internal war, and from the exactions of the -rich men, sent him soldiers, and generously supplied him with money. -He compelled the clergy to make sacrifices which, at another period, -would have compromised the tranquillity of the kingdom.[23] But he was -valiant and generous, and had the love of the people; not a voice was -raised to oppose him. On the 29th October 1340, the army of Castile -encountered, near Tarifa, that of Granada, whose ranks were swelled by -prodigious reinforcements from the opposite shores of Barbary. The -battle of Rio Salado was fought; victory loudly declared herself for -the Christians: two hundred thousand Moors (it is said) remained upon -the field, and the power of the Mussulman in Spain was broken for -ever. Following up his success, Alphonso took Algesiras after a long -siege, and was besieging Gibraltar when he was carried off by the -famous black plague, which for several years had ravaged Europe. His -death was mourned by all Spain; and the mere terror of his name would -seem to have dictated the advantageous treaty of peace concluded soon -afterwards with the Saracen. - -Alphonso, a better king than husband, left behind him one legitimate -son, Don Pedro--who at his father's death was fifteen years old, and -whose mother, Doña Maria, was a Portuguese princess--and ten bastards, -a daughter and nine sons, children of his mistress Leonora de Guzman. -In 1350, the first-born of this illegitimate progeny, Don Henry, was -eighteen years of age; he had the establishment of a prince of the -blood, the magnificent domain of Trastamare, and the title of count. -His twin-brother, Don Fadrique, was grand-master of the Knights of -Santiago. The two young men had won their spurs at Gibraltar, whilst -the Infante Pedro, rightful heir to the crown, had been kept in -retirement at Seville, a witness of his mother's daily humiliations, -and himself neglected by the courtiers, always prompt to follow a -king's example. Idle in a deserted court, he passed his time in -weeping over his mother's injuries and his own. Youthful impressions -are ineffaceable. Jealousy and hatred were the first sentiments -experienced by Don Pedro. Brought up by a feeble and offended woman, -the first lessons he imbibed were those of dissimulation and revenge. - -The premature and unexpected death of Don Alphonso was the alarum of a -host of ambitions. Amongst the great patricians of Spain, two in -particular were designated, by public opinion, to take the chief -direction of affairs: these were--Juan Alonzo de Alburquerque, and -Juan Nuñez de Lara. The former, a Portuguese by birth, but holding -vast estates in Spain, had stood beside Don Alphonso during his -struggle with his nobles; had rendered him great, and, to all -appearance, disinterested services; and had been rewarded by the -king's entire confidence. Grand chancellor and prime minister, he had -also had charge of Don Pedro's education. He had great influence with -the queen-mother, and had always skilfully avoided collision with -Leonora de Guzman, who nevertheless feared and disliked him as a -secret and dangerous foe. All circumstances considered, Juan de Lara, -although connected by blood with the royal family, and possessing, as -Lord of Biscay, great power in the north of Spain, thought it -unadvisable to enter the lists with Alburquerque, who, on the other -hand, openly sought his alliance, and even offered to divide with him -the authority devolved upon him by the king's death. With all this -apparent frankness there was little real friendship; and it was well -understood that henceforward the leading characters on the political -stage divided themselves into two opponent parties. On the one hand -were the dowager-queen Maria, Pedro the First, and the astute and -prudent Alburquerque. Opposed to these, but with little union, and -with various views and pretensions, were Juan de Lara, his nephew, -(the lord of Villena)--whose sister was soon afterwards secretly -married to Henry of Trastamare--Leonora de Guzman, and her three -eldest sons. The third of these, Don Tello, was younger than Don -Pedro, but he was crafty and selfish beyond his years. - -Alphonso had hardly given up the ghost, when the reaction commenced. -Leonora fled before the angry countenance of the injured queen-mother. -Refused protection by Lara, from whom she first sought it, she -repaired to her strong fortress of Medina-Sidonia, a gift from her -royal lover. Its governor, her relative, Don Alonzo Coronel, although -reputed a valiant and loyal knight, and, moreover, personally attached -to the faction of the Laras, resigned his command, and would not be -prevailed with to resume it. And amongst all the nobles and -chevaliers, who during Alphonso's life professed themselves devoted to -her, she now could not find one to defend her castle. She saw that her -cause was desperate. Vague accusations were brought against her, of -conspiracy against the new king; and from all sides alarming rumours -reached her of her sons' arrest and probable execution. She lost -courage, and gave up her castle to Alburquerque, in exchange for a -safe-conduct to Seville, which was not respected; for, on her arrival -there, she was shut up in the Alcazar, and treated as a prisoner of -state. Meanwhile her two eldest sons endeavoured to stir up civil war. -They were totally unsuccessful, and finally esteemed themselves -fortunate in being allowed to make their submission, and do homage to -the king. Alburquerque affected to treat them as refractory boys, and -reserved his wrath for their mother, who, even in captivity, proved -herself formidable. By her contrivance, the marriage of Don Henry and -of the niece of Juan de Lara was secretly celebrated and consummated, -in the palace that served her as a prison. When informed, a few hours -subsequently, of the trick that had been played them, the queen-mother -and Alburquerque were furious. Doña Leonora was sent into strict -confinement, in the castle of Carmona. "As to the Count Don Henry, he -was on his guard, and did not wait his enemies' vengeance: he left -Seville by stealth, taking with him a quantity of jewels received from -his mother, and accompanied by two faithful knights--all three having -their faces covered with leathern masks, according to a custom of the -times. By forced marches, and with great fatigue, they traversed the -whole of Spain unrecognised, and reached the Asturias, where they -trusted to find safety amongst devoted vassals." - -The sudden and severe illness of Don Pedro gave rise to fresh -intrigues, and Juan de Lara and Don Fernando of Arragon stood forth as -pretenders to the crown in the event of the king's death. His recovery -crushed their ambitious hopes, but might not have prevented a civil -war between the factions of the two aspirants, had not Don Juan de -Lara and his nephew been suddenly carried off by the prevailing -epidemic. "At any other moment," M. Mérimée remarks, "the premature -death of these two men would doubtless have thrown odious suspicions -on their adversaries. But in no contemporary author do I find the -least insinuation against Alburquerque, thus rid in one day of the -chief obstacles to his ambition. This general respect for a man who -was the object of so many jealousies and hatreds, is an honourable -testimony, worthy of note, as a rare exception to the usage of the -times, and which it would be supremely unjust now to attempt to -invalidate." Alburquerque was now the virtual ruler of Castile: the -young king passed his time in hunting, and left all cares of state to -his sagacious minister, who worked hard to consolidate his master's -power. The Cortes were convoked at Valladolid, whither Pedro proceeded -to open them in person. He was accompanied by the queen-mother, -dragging in her train the unfortunate Leonora de Guzman. At Llerena, -in Estremadura, one of the principal commanderys of the Knights of -Santiago, Don Fadrique, grand-master of that powerful order, received -his half-brother Pedro with great respect, and offered him the -magnificent hospitality of his house. He then asked and obtained -permission to see his mother. - - "In presence of the jailers, mother and son, both so fallen - from their high fortune, threw themselves into each other's - arms, and during the hour to which their interview was - limited, they wept, without exchanging a word. Then a page - informed Don Fadrique that the king required his presence. - After a last embrace he left his mother, never again to - behold her. The unfortunate woman's doom was sealed. From - Llerena, by Alburquerque's order, she was conducted to the - castle of Talavera, belonging to the queen-mother, and - governed by Gutier Fernandez of Toledo, one of her liege men. - There Leonora did not long languish. A few days after her - arrival, a secretary of the queen brought the governor an - order for her death. The execution was secret and mysterious, - and it is certain Don Pedro had no cognisance of it. - Doubtless the queen had exacted from Alburquerque the - sacrifice of her rival, who was no longer protected by the - pity of Juan Nuñez de Lara. 'Many persons,' says Pero Lopez - de Ayala, a Spanish chronicler whom M. Mérimée has taken as - one of his principal authorities, and whose trustworthiness, - impugned by modern authors, he ably vindicates in his - preface, 'were grieved at this deed, foreseeing that from it - wars and scandal would spring, inasmuch as Leonora had sons - already grown up and well-connected.' - - "But the hour of vengeance was not yet come, and the sons of - Leonora bowed their heads before her assassins." - -One of them, whose youth might have been deemed incapable of such -dissimulation, went beyond mere submission. A few days after Leonora's -death, Don Pedro, during a progress through various provinces of his -kingdom, reached the town of Palencia, in whose neighbourhood Tello, -then hardly fifteen years old, and who, following the example of his -elder brothers, kept aloof from the court, had shut himself up in the -castle of Palenzuela. - - "As there was some fear he might prove refractory, Juan - Manrique, a Castilian noble, was sent to assure him of the - king's good will towards him, and at the same time to gain - over the knights, his counsellors. Manrique succeeded in his - mission, and brought Don Tello to Palencia. Instructed by his - guide, the youth hastened to kiss his brother's hand. 'Don - Tello,' said the king, 'do you know that your mother, Doña - Leonora, is dead?' 'Sire,' replied the boy-courtier, 'I have - no other mother or father than your good favour.'" - -The royal bastards humbled and subdued for a time, Alburquerque turned -his attention to more powerful adversaries. The death of its two -chiefs had not entirely dissipated the Lara faction, now headed by Don -Garci Laso de la Vega--a puissant Castilian noble, and an inveterate -enemy of the minister. Garci Laso was in the rich and disaffected city -of Burgos; and on the king's approach he issued some leagues forth to -meet him, escorted by a little army of vassals and retainers. His -enemies took care to call Pedro's attention to this martial retinue, -as indicative of defiance rather than respect. And the Manrique above -mentioned, a creature of Alburquerque's, and a private enemy of Garci -Laso's, took opportunity to quarrel with the latter, and would have -charged him with his troop but for the king's interference. The -commons of Burgos, hearing of these quarrels, and standing in mortal -fear of Alburquerque, sent a deputation to represent to Don Pedro the -danger the city would be in from the presence of rival factions within -its walls, and begged of him to enter with only a small escort. They -added an expression of regret at the arrival of Alburquerque, whom -they knew to be ill-disposed towards them. Although the formula was -respectful and humble, the freedom of these remonstrances incensed the -king, who at once entered the city with his whole force, spears raised -and banners displayed. The citizens made no resistance; a few of those -most compromised fled. Manrique, who commanded the advanced guard, -established himself in the Jews' quarter, which, separated by a strong -wall, according to the custom of the time, from the rest of the town, -formed a sort of internal citadel. Garci Laso, confiding in his great -popularity, and in the fidelity of his vassals, remained in Burgos, -taking up his lodging in one of the archbishop's palaces, of which -another was occupied by the king and his mother. Alburquerque had -quarters in another part of the town. Thus Burgos contained four -camps; and it seemed, says M. Mérimée, as if all the factions in the -kingdom had taken rendezvous there, to settle their differences. - -That night an esquire of the queen-mother secretly sought Garci Laso, -bearing him a strange warning from that princess. "Whatever invitation -he received, he was to beware of appearing before the king." The proud -noble despised caution, repaired next morning to the palace, was -arrested by the king's command, and in his presence, and suffered -death the same day.[24] This execution (murder were perhaps a fitter -word) was followed by others, and terror reigned in Burgos. "Whosoever -had lifted up his voice to defend the privileges of the commons, or -the rights of Don Juan de Lara, knew no retreat safe enough to hide -his head. Don Henry himself feared to remain in the Asturias, and took -refuge on Portuguese territory." The implacable Alburquerque was -determined utterly to crush and exterminate the faction of the Laras. -The possessions of that princely house were confiscated to the crown, -the orphan son of Don Juan de Lara died in Biscay, and his two -daughters fell into the hands of the minister, who detained them as -hostages. But the party, although vanquished, was not yet annihilated. -Alonso Coronel, the same who had abandoned Leonora de Guzman in her -misfortunes, and who had been rewarded with the banner and cauldron of -a _rico hombre_, with the vast lordship and strong castle of Aguilar, -aspired to become its leader. He opened a correspondence with Count -Trastamare and Don Fadrique, who, as enemies of Alburquerque, seemed -to him his natural allies. He attempted to treat with the King of -Granada, and even with the Moors of Africa. Alburquerque decreed his -ruin, assembled a small army round the royal standard, and marched -with Don Pedro to besiege Aguilar. Summoned to surrender, Coronel -replied by a volley of arrows, and was forthwith declared a rebel and -traitor. Leaving a body of troops in observation before Aguilar, which -was capable of a long defence, Alburquerque and his royal pupil set -out for the Asturias, seizing, as they passed, various castles and -fortified places belonging to Coronel, which surrendered without -serious resistance--excepting that of Burguillos, whose commander, -Juan de Cañedo, a liege man of Coronel, made an obstinate defence. -Taken alive, his hands were cut off by the cruel victors. Some months -afterwards, when the king and his vindictive minister, with a powerful -army and battering train, had effected, after a long siege, a breach -in the ramparts of Aguilar, "the mutilated knight, his wounds hardly -healed, suddenly appeared in the camp, and with incredible hardihood -demanded of Pedro permission to enter the fortress and die by the side -of his lord. His heroic fidelity excited the admiration of his -enemies, and the favour was accorded him. Many envied Coronel the -glory of inspiring such devoted attachment, and every one awaited with -thrilling interest the last moments of a man whom all Castile was -accustomed to consider as the model of an accomplished and valiant -knight." The assault was given, the castle taken, and Coronel was led -before Alburquerque. "What!" exclaimed the minister, on beholding his -foe, "Coronel traitor in a kingdom where so much honour has been done -him!" "Don Juan," replied Coronel, "we are sons of this Castile, which -elevates men and casts them down. It is in vain to strive against -destiny. The mercy I ask of you is to put me to a speedy death, even -as I, fourteen years ago to-day, put to death the Master of -Alcantara."[25] "The king, present at the interview, his visor -lowered, listened incognito to this dialogue, doubtless admiring -Coronel's coolness, but giving no orders, for he was unaccustomed to -interfere with his minister." Coronel and several distinguished -knights and gentlemen were led a few paces off, and there beheaded. - -The Lara faction scattered and weakened, circumstances seemed to -promise Alburquerque a long lease of power, when a fatal mistake -prepared his downfall. Pedro grew restless--his high spirit gave forth -flashes; his minister saw that, to check the desire of governing for -himself, it was necessary to provide him with pursuits of more -engrossing interest than the chase. - - "The reign of Don Alphonso had shown what power a mistress - might acquire, and the prudent minister would not leave to - chance the choice of the woman destined to play so important - a part. Fearing a rival, he wished an ally, or rather a - slave. He chose for the king, and blundered egregiously. He - thought to have found the person best suited to his designs, - in Doña Maria de Padilla, a young girl of noble birth, - brought up in the house of his wife, Doña Isabel de Meneses. - She was an orphan, issue of a noble family, formerly attached - to the Lara faction, and ruined by the last civil wars. Her - brother and uncle, poor and ambitious, lent themselves, it - was said, to the degrading bargain. Persuaded that Doña - Maria, brought up in his family, would always consider him as - a master, Alburquerque directed Don Pedro's attention to her, - and himself facilitated their first interview, which took - place during the expedition to the Asturias. Dona Maria de - Padilla, was small in stature, like the majority of Spanish - women, pretty, lively, full of that voluptuous grace peculiar - to the women of Southern Spain, and which our language has no - word exactly to express.[26] As yet the only indication of - talent she had given was her great sprightliness, which - amused the noble lady with whom she lived in an almost - servile capacity. Older than the king, she had over him the - advantage of having already mingled with the crowd, studied - men and observed the court. She soon proved herself worthy to - reign." - -Maria Padilla made little opposition to Alburquerque's project. Her -uncle, Juan de Hinestrosa, himself conducted her to Don Pedro, and -placed her, it may almost be said, in his arms. The complaisance was -royally rewarded. Hinestrosa and the other relations of the favourite -emerged from their obscurity, appeared at court, and soon stood high -in their sovereign's favour, although the pliant uncle was the only -one who retained it till the end of his career. Subsequently, before -the Cortes of 1362, Don Pedro declared that he had been, from the -first, privately married to Maria Padilla--thus invalidating his -public union with Blanche of Bourbon, with whom he had never lived, -and after whose death the declaration was made. He produced three -witnesses of the marriage--the fourth, Juan de Hinestrosa, was then -dead--who positively swore it had taken place in their presence. M. -Mérimée, examines the question minutely, quoting various writers on -the subject, and discussing it _pro_ and _con_; one of his strongest -arguments in favour of the marriage, being the improbability that so -faithful, loyal, and valiant a knight as Hinestrosa proved himself, -would have consented, under any temptation, to play the base part of a -pander. It would not be difficult, however, to trace contradictions -nearly as great in the code of honour and morality of the chevaliers -of the fourteenth century; and, very much nearer to our own times, it -has frequently been seen how large an amount of infamy of that kind -the royal purple has been held to cloak. - -In a very few months after the equivocal union he had brought about, -Alburquerque began to experience its bad effects. Maria Padilla -secretly incited the young king to shake off his leading-strings, and -grasp the reins of government. Afraid to do this boldly and abruptly, -Pedro conspired with the Padillas, and planned a reconciliation with -his brothers Henry and Tello, believing, in his inexperience, that he -could nowhere find better friends, or more disinterested advisers. The -secret of the plot was well kept: Alburquerque unsuspiciously accepted -a frivolous mission to the King of Portugal; during his absence, a -treaty of amity was concluded between the king and the two bastards. -Whilst these intrigues went on, Blanche of Bourbon, niece of the King -of France, waited at Valladolid, in company with the dowager queens of -Castile and Arragon, until it should please Pedro to go thither and -marry her. Pedro had established himself at Torrijos near Toledo, -holding tournaments and festivals in honour of his mistress, with whom -he was more in love than ever; and the French princess waited several -months, to the great indignation of her suite of knights and nobles. -Suddenly a severe countenance troubled the joy of Maria Padilla's -lover. It was that of Alburquerque, who, in grave and regretful words, -represented to the king the affront he put upon the house of France, -and the anxiety of his subjects, who awaited, in his marriage, a -guarantee of future tranquillity. It was of the utmost importance to -give a legitimate heir to the crown of Castile. Subjugated by the -voice of reason, and by the old ascendency of his austere counsellor, -Pedro set out for Valladolid, and was joined on his way by Count Henry -and Don Tello, who came to meet him on foot and unarmed; kissed his -foot and his right hand, as he sat on horseback; and were received by -him with all honour and favour, to the mortification of Alburquerque, -who saw in this reconciliation a proof of the credit of the Padillas, -and a humiliating blow to his authority. The mortification was all the -greater that he, a veteran politician, had been outwitted by mere -children. On the third day of June the king's marriage took place, the -royal pair being conducted in great pomp to the church, mounted upon -white palfreys, and attired in robes of gold brocade trimmed with -ermine--a costume then reserved for sovereigns. In their retinue, -Henry of Trastamare had the precedence of the princes of Arragon--an -honour held excessive by some, and attributed by others to the -sincerity of the reconciliation between the sons of Don Alphonso. A -tournament and bull-fight succeeded the ceremony, and were renewed the -next day. "But in the midst of these festivities, all eyes were fixed -upon the newly-married pair. Coldness, and even aversion for his young -bride, were visible upon the king's countenance; and as it was -difficult to understand how a man of his age, ardent and voluptuous, -could be insensible to the attractions of the French princess, many -whispered that he was fascinated by Maria Padilla, and that his eyes, -charmed by magic art, beheld a repulsive object in place of the young -beauty he led to the altar. Aversion, like sympathy, has its -inexplicable mysteries."[27] - -Upon the second day after his marriage, Don Pedro being alone at -dinner in his palace, (the dinner hour in those days was at nine or -ten in the morning,) his mother and aunt appeared before him, all in -tears, and, having obtained a private audience, taxed him with being -about to desert his wife, and return to Maria Padilla. The king -expressed his astonishment that they should credit idle rumours, and -dismissed them, repeating that he thought not of quitting Valladolid. -An hour afterwards he called for mules, saying he would go visit his -mother; but, instead of doing so, he left the city, accompanied only -by the brother of his mistress, Don Diego Padilla, and by two of his -most confidential gentlemen. Regular relays were in waiting, and he -slept that night at sixteen long leagues from Valladolid. The next day -Doña Maria met him at Puebla de Montalvan. This strange and indecent -escapade was simultaneous with a complete transfer of the king's -confidence from Alburquerque to his brothers and the Padillas. The -minister preserved his dignity to the last, and sent a haughty but -respectful message to his sovereign, by the mouth of his majordomo. -"You know, sire," concluded this knight, Rui Diaz Cabeza de Vaca, "all -that Don Juan Alonzo has done for your service, and for that of the -queen your mother. He has been your chancellor from your birth. He has -always loyally served you, as he served the late king your father. For -you he exposed himself to great perils, when Doña Leonora de Guzman, -and her faction, had all power in the kingdom. My master is still -ignorant of the crimes imputed to him: make them known to him, and he -will refute them. Nevertheless, if any knight do doubt his honour and -his loyalty, I, his vassal, am here ready to defend him with my body, -and with arms in hand." Thus did the arrogant _ricos hombres_ of the -fourteenth century dare address their sovereign, by the mouth of -their knightly retainers. What a contrast between these bold-spoken, -strong-armed magnates, and the puny degenerate grandees of the present -day, sunk in vice, effeminacy, and sloth, and to whom valour, -chivalry, and patriotism are but empty sounds! Alburquerque is a fine -type of the feudal lord--noble as a crowned king, and almost as -powerful. Receiving a cold and discouraging reply to Cabeza de Vaca's -lofty harangue, he retired, followed by an army of adherents and -vassals, to his vast domains and strong castle in Portugal. On their -passage, his men-at-arms pillaged and devastated the country, that -being then the most approved manner for a feudal lord to testify his -discontent. Don Pedro ill concealed his joy at being thus easily rid -of an importunate mentor, whose faithful services to himself and his -father rendered a positive dismissal a most ungraceful act, the shame -of which was saved the king by Alburquerque's voluntary retreat. The -reaction was complete: all the ex-minister's friends were dismissed, -and their places filled by partisans of the Padillas. Many of his acts -were annulled, and several sentences he had given were reversed. Pedro -had no rest till he had effaced every vestige of his wise and prudent -administration. Ingratitude has too often been the vice of kings; in -this instance it brought its own punishment. A few months later we -find Henry of Trastamare, and his brother Tello, leagued with -Alburquerque against the sovereign who had disgraced him in great -measure on their account. This perfidy of the bastards was perfectly -in keeping with the character of the age. "To characterise the -fourteenth century in Spain by its most prevalent vice," says M. -Mérimée, "one should cite, in my opinion, neither brutality of -manners, nor rapacity, nor violence. The most prominent feature of -that sad period is its falseness and deceit: never did history -register so many acts of treason and perfidy. The century, rude in all -other things, shows itself ingenious in the art of deception. It -revels in subtleties. In all agreements, and even in the code of -chivalrous honour, it conceals ambiguities, by which interest knows -well how to profit. The oaths lavished in all transactions, -accompanied by the most solemn ceremonies, are but vain formalities -and matters of habit. He who plights his word, his hand upon the holy -Scriptures, is believed by none unless he deliver up his wife and -children, or, better still, his fortresses, as hostages for his truth. -The latter pledge is held to be the only safe guarantee. Distrust is -general, and every man sees an enemy in his neighbour." The fidelity -of this gloomy picture is fully confirmed by the events of Don Pedro's -reign. Alburquerque set the example to his royal pupil, who was not -slow to follow it, and who soon, in his turn, suffered from the -dominant vice of the time. - -The necessity of pressing forward through a book whose every page -offers temptations to linger, prevents our tracing, in detail, the -subsequent events of Alburquerque's life. He died in the autumn of -1354, almost suddenly, at Medina del Campo, which he and his -confederates had taken by assault, and given up to pillage. His -physician, Master Paul, an Italian attached to the house of Prince -Ferdinand of Arragon, was suspected of having mixed a subtle poison in -the draught he administered to him for an apparently trifling -indisposition. Don Pedro, the person most interested in the death of -his quondam counsellor, and now bitter enemy, was accused of -instigating the deed, and magnificent presents subsequently made by -him to the leech, gave an air of probability to the suspicion. "In his -last moments, Alburquerque belied not the firmness of his character. -Near to death, he assembled his vassals, and made them swear to accept -neither peace nor truce with the king, till they had obtained -satisfaction for his wrongs. He ordered his body to be carried at the -head of their battalion so long as the war lasted, as if resolved to -abdicate his hatred and authority only after triumph. Enclosed in his -coffin, he still seemed to preside over the councils of the league; -and, when deliberations were held, his corpse was interrogated, and -his majordomo, Cabeza de Vaca, replied in the name of his departed -master." There is something solemn and affecting in this post-humous -deference, this homage paid by the living to the dead. Alburquerque -was unquestionably _the_ man of his day in the Peninsula: his grand -and haughty figure stands out upon the historical canvass, in imposing -contrast with the boy-brawlers and intriguing women by whom he was -surrounded. - -Deserted by all--betrayed even by his own mother, who gave up his last -stronghold whilst he was absent on a visit to his mistress--the king -had no resource but to throw himself into the hands of the rebels, -trusting to their magnanimity and loyalty to preserve him his crown. -With Hinestrosa, Simuel Levi his Jew treasurer, and Fernand Sanchez -his private chancellor, for sole companions--and followed by a few -lackeys and inferior officers, mounted on mules and unarmed--he set -out for Toro, then the headquarters of the insurgent league. "Informed -of the approach of this melancholy procession, the chiefs of the -confederates rode out to meet him, well mounted and in magnificent -dresses, beneath which their armour was visible, as if to contrast -their warlike equipage with the humble retinue of the vanquished king. -After kissing his hand, they escorted him to the town with great cries -of joy, caracoling about him, performing _fantasias_, pursuing each -other, and throwing reeds in the Arab manner. It is said that when Don -Henry approached his brother to salute him, the unfortunate monarch -could not restrain his tears. 'May God be merciful to you!' he said; -'for my part, I pardon you.'" There was no sincerity in this -forgiveness; already, in the hour of his humiliation, Pedro had vowed -hatred and vengeance against its authors. At present, however, -artifice and intrigue were the only weapons at his disposal. By the -assistance of Simuel the Jew, who was sincerely attached to him, and -who rendered him many and great services, he gained over a portion of -the revolted nobility, concluded an alliance with the royal family of -Arragon, and finally effected his escape from the sort of -semi-captivity in which he was held. "Profiting by dense fog, Don -Pedro rode out of Toro very early in the morning, a falcon on his -wrist, as though he went a-hawking, accompanied by Levi, and by his -usual escort of some two hundred cavaliers. Either these were bribed, -or the king devised means of detaching them from him, for he soon -found himself alone with the Jew. Then, following the rout to Segovia -at full speed, in a few hours they were beyond pursuit." During the -short period of Pedro's captivity, a great change had taken place in -public feeling. The king's misfortunes, his youth and firmness, -interested many in his behalf. The Cortes, which he summoned at -Burgos, a few days after his escape, granted all his demands of men -and money. M. Mérimée thinks it probable the commons obtained from -him, in return, an extension of their privileges and franchises; but -this is mere conjecture, no records existing of the proceedings of -this Cortes, which was, in fact, rendered irregular by the absence of -the clerical deputies, the Pope having just excommunicated Don Pedro -for his adulteries. "The excommunication, fulminated by a papal legate -at Toledo, the 19th January 1355, does not appear to have altered, in -any degree, the disposition of the people towards the king. On the -contrary, it excited indignation, now that he was reconciled with his -subjects; for Spaniards have always disliked foreign interference in -their affairs." The thunders of Avignon lost not Pedro a single -partisan. He replied to them by seizing the possessions of Cardinal -Gilles Albornoz, and of some other prelates; and, returning threat for -threat, he announced his intention of confiscating the domains of all -the bishops who should waver between him and the Pope. The rebellion -of his nobles, the treason of his mother and friends, the humiliation -he had suffered, had wrought a marked change in the still plastic -character of the young sovereign. Hitherto we have seen him violent -and impetuous; henceforward we shall find dissimulation and cruelty -his most prominent qualities. He had prided himself on chivalrous -loyalty and honour; now all means were good that led to a triumph over -his enemies. Full of hatred and contempt for the great vassals who, -after having insolently vanquished him, basely sold the fruits of -their victory for fair promises and for Simuel Levi's gold, he vowed -to destroy their power, and to build up his authority upon the ruins -of feudal tyranny. - -The angry king lost no time in commencing the work of vengeance. After -a fierce contest in and around Toledo, he routed the army of Count -Henry and Don Fadrique, slew all the wounded, put to death one of the -twenty leaguers, whom he caught in the town, (two had already been -massacred by his order at Medina del Campo,) imprisoned many nobles, -as well as the Bishop of Siguenza, whose palace was given up to -pillage. "Twenty burgesses of Toledo were publicly decapitated as -abettors of the rebellion. Amongst the unfortunate persons condemned -to death was a jeweller, upwards of eighty years old. His son threw -himself at the feet of Don Pedro, petitioning to die in place of his -father. If we may credit Ayala, this horrible exchange was accepted -both by the king and by the father himself." From Toledo, Pedro -marched on Toro, where the bastards, the queen-mother, and most of the -_ricos hombres_ and knights who adhered to the league, had -concentrated their forces, and prepared an obstinate resistance. He -established himself in a village near the town, but lacked the -engines, instruments, and stores necessary to invest the place -regularly. Money was scarce. Fortunately, Simuel Levi was at hand, the -pearl of finance ministers, compared to whom the Mons and Mendizabals -of the nineteenth century are bunglers of the most feeble description. - -"Don Pedro, in his quarters at Morales, was amusing himself one day by -playing at dice. Before him stood open his military chest, which was -also his play-purse. It contained 20,000 doubloons. 'Gold and silver,' -said the king, in a melancholy tone,--'here is all I possess.' The -game over, Simuel took his master aside: 'Sire,' he said, 'you have -affronted me before all the court. Since I am your treasurer, is it -not disgraceful for me that my master be not richer? Hitherto, your -collectors have relied too much upon your easiness and indulgence. Now -that you are of an age to reign for yourself, that all Castile loves -and fears you, it is time to put an end to disorder. Only be pleased -to authorise me to treat with your officers of the finances, and -confide to me two of your castles, and I pledge myself that, in a very -short time, you shall have in each of them a treasure of greater value -than the contents of this casket.'" The king gladly gave what was -required of him, and the Jew kept his word. His manner of doing so -paints the strange immorality of the times. It was customary to pay -all court-salaries and pensions by orders on the royal receivers of -imposts. These usually paid only a part of the amount of such orders, -and unless the demand for the balance were backed by force, it was -never honoured. Simuel Levi, having men-at-arms, jailers, and -executioners at his orders, compelled these reluctant paymasters to -disgorge all arrears; then sending for the king's creditors, he -offered them fifty per cent of their due against receipts for the -whole. Most of them, never expecting to recover a real of the sums -kept back by the dishonest stewards, caught eagerly at the offer. This -clumsy fraud, against which none found anything to say, brought -considerable wealth into the king's coffers, and gave him the highest -opinion of his treasurer, by whose careful administration he soon -found himself the richest monarch in Spain. - -Money removed the obstacles to the siege of Toro. Before the place was -invested, however, Henry of Trastamare, with his usual precocious -selfishness and prudence, found a pretext to leave it. A breach made, -and part of the exterior fortifications in the possession of the royal -troops, the Master of Santiago passed over to the king, who, from the -opposite bank of the Douro, had given him verbal promise of pardon. -The same night an officer of the civic guard opened the gates of the -town to Pedro and his army. At daybreak the garrison of the castle saw -themselves surrounded by overpowering forces, about to mount to the -assault. "None spoke of resistance, or even of capitulation; safety of -life was almost more than they dared hope. Fearing the king's fury, -all refused to go out and implore his clemency. At last a Navarrese -knight, named Martin Abarca, who in the last troubles had taken part -with the bastards, risked himself at a postern, holding in his arms a -child of twelve or thirteen years, natural son of King Alphonso and of -Doña Leonora. Recognising the king by his armour, he called to him and -said--'Sire! grant me pardon, and I hasten to throw myself at your -feet, and to restore to you your brother Don Juan!'--'Martin Abarca,' -said the king, 'I pardon my brother Don Juan; but for you, no -mercy!'--'Well!' said the Navarrese, crossing the ditch, 'do with me -as you list.' And, still carrying the child, he prostrated himself -before the king. Don Pedro, touched by this hardihood of despair, gave -him his life in presence of all his knights." This clemency was soon -obscured by the terrible scenes that followed the surrender of the -castle, when the robe of Pedro's own mother was stained with the blood -of the nobles struck down by her side. She fainted with -horror--perhaps with grief; for Martin Telho, a Portuguese, and her -reputed lover, was amongst the murdered; and, on recovering her -senses, "she saw herself sustained in the arms of rude soldiers, her -feet in a pool of blood, whilst four mangled bodies lay before her, -already stripped of their armour and clothes. Then, despair and fury -restoring her strength, she cursed her son, in a voice broken by sobs, -and accused him of having for ever dishonoured her. She was led away -to her palace, and there treated with the mockery of respect which the -leaguers had shown, the year before, to their royal captive." - -It were quite incompatible with the necessary limits of this paper, to -give even the most meagre outline of the numerous vicissitudes of Don -Pedro's reign, and to glance at a tithe of the remarkable events and -striking incidents his biographer has so industriously and tastefully -assembled. M. Mérimée's work does not bear condensing in a review; -indeed, it is itself a condensation: an ordinary writer would have -spread the same matter over twice the space, and still have deemed -himself concise. The impression left on the reader's mind by this -spirited and admirably written volume is, that not one page could be -omitted without being missed. Sparing as we have been of detail, and -although confining ourselves to a glance at prominent circumstances, -we are still at the very commencement of Don Pedro's reign--the -busiest and most stirring, perhaps, that ever was comprised within the -space of twenty years. Not a few of this warlike, cruel, and amorous -monarch's adventures have been handed down in the form of ballads and -heroic legends, still current in southern Spain, where many of them -have the weight of history--although the license of poetry, and the -transmission through many generations, have frequently greatly -distorted facts. Amongst the numerous objects of his fickle passion -was Doña Aldonza Coronel, who, after some show of resistance, and -taking refuge for a while in a convent where her sister was nun, -showed herself sensible to the solicitations of royalty. Popular -tradition has substituted for Aldonza her sister Maria, widow of Juan -de la Cerda, whom Pedro had put to death. The people of Seville the -Beautiful still believe and tell how "Doña Maria, chaste as lovely, -indignantly repulsed the king's addresses. But in vain did she oppose -the gratings of the convent of St Clara as a bulwark against the -impetuous passion of the tyrant. Warned that his satellites were about -to drag her from the sanctuary, she ordered a large hole to be dug in -the convent garden, in which she lay down, and had herself covered -with branches and earth. The fresh-turned soil would infallibly have -betrayed her, had not a miracle supervened. Scarcely had she entered -this manner of tomb, when flowers and herbage sprang up over it, so -that nothing distinguished it from the surrounding grass. The king, -discrediting the report of his emissaries, went in person to the -convent to carry off the beautiful widow; this time it was not a -miracle, but an heroic stratagem, that saved the noble matron. -Abhorring the fatal beauty that thus exposed her to outrage, she -seized, with a steady hand, a vase of boiling oil, and poured it over -her face and bosom; then, covered with horrible burns, she presented -herself to the king, and made him fly in terror, by declaring herself -afflicted with leprosy. 'On her body, which has been miraculously -preserved,' says Zuñiga, 'are still visible the traces of the burning -liquid, and assuredly it may with good reason be deemed the body of a -saint.'[28] I have dwelt upon this legend, unknown to the contemporary -authors," adds M. Mérimée, "to give an idea of the transformation Don -Pedro's history has undergone at the hands of tradition, and of the -poetical colours imparted to it by the lively imagination of the -people of Spain. After the marvellous narrative, comes the simple -truth of history." Ballads and traditions are echoes of the popular -voice; and, in many of those relating to Don Pedro, we may trace a -disposition to extenuate his faults, extol his justice, and bring into -relief his occasional acts of generosity. The truth is, that, although -harsh and relentless with his arrogant nobles, he was affable with the -people, who beheld in him their deliverer from oppression, and the -unflinching opponent of the iniquities of the feudal system. Facility -of access is a great source of popularity in Spain, where the -independent tone and bearing of the lower orders often surprise -foreigners. In no country in the world is the character of the people -more free from servility. In the poorest peasant there is an air of -native dignity and self-respect, which he loves to see responded to by -consideration and affability on the part of his superiors. Don Pedro -was very accessible to his subjects. When he met his first Cortes at -Valladolid, in 1351, he promised the deputies of the commons that -every Castilian should have liberty to appeal from the decisions of -the magistrates to the king in person. This promise he kept better -than was his wont. In the court of the Alcazar at Seville, near the -gate known as that of the Banners, are shown the remains of a -tribunal, in the open air, where he sat to give his judgments. He had -another habit likely to conciliate and please the people. In imitation -of the Eastern caliphs, whose adventures had doubtless amused his -childhood, he loved to disguise himself, and to ramble at night in the -streets of Seville--to listen to the conversation of the populace, to -seek adventures, and overlook the police. Here was a suggestive text -for balladists and romance writers, who have largely availed -themselves of it. The story of Don Pedro's duel with a stranger, with -whom he quarrelled on one of these expeditions, is well known. An old -woman, sole witness of the encounter, deposed that the combatants had -their faces muffled in their cloaks, but that the knees of one of them -made a cracking noise in walking. This was known to be a peculiarity -of Don Pedro's. Justice was puzzled. The king had killed his -adversary, and had thereby incurred the punishment of decapitation. -Pedro had his head carved in stone, and placed in a niche in the -street where the duel had taken place. The bust, which was -unfortunately renewed in the seventeenth century, is still to be seen -at Seville, in the street of the Candilejo, which takes its name, -according to Zuñiga, from the lamp by whose light the duel was fought. -Condemned at his own tribunal, we need not wonder at the lenity of his -sentence, more creditable to the royal culprit's invention than to his -justice. He appears to have been frequently ingenious in his -judgments. A rich priest had seriously injured a poor shoemaker, and, -for sole punishment, was condemned by the ecclesiastical tribunal to a -few months' suspension from his sacerdotal functions. The shoemaker, -deeming the chastisement inadequate, waylaid his enemy, and soundly -drubbed him. Arrested immediately, he was condemned to death. He -appealed to the king. The partiality of the ecclesiastical judges had -excited some scandal; Don Pedro parodied their sentence by condemning -the shoemaker to make no shoes for one year. Whether this anecdote be -true, or a mere invention, it is certain that a remarkable law was -added, about that time, to the code of the city of Seville, to the -effect that a layman, injuring an ecclesiastic, should thenceforward -be liable only to the same punishment that the priest would have -incurred by a like offence against the layman. - -The murder of the Grand-master of Santiago, slain by his brother's -order, and the death of the unfortunate French princess, who found a -tyrant where she expected a husband, are recorded in the Romances of -the Master Don Fadrique, and of Blanche de Bourbon. The fate of -Blanche, attributed by contemporary chroniclers and modern historians -to Don Pedro's orders, is one of the blackest of the stains upon his -character. The poor queen died in the castle of Jerez--some say by -poison, others by the mace of an arbalister of the guard. She had -lived but twenty-five years, ten of which she had passed in prison. -There is no appearance or probability that Maria Padilla instigated -her assassination. That favourite was kind-hearted and merciful, and -on more than one occasion we find her interceding with the king for -the lives of his enemies and prisoners, and weeping when her -supplications proved fruitless. The ballad makes free with fact, and -sacrifices truth to poetry. It was dramatically correct that the -mistress should instigate the wife's death. "Be not so sad, Doña Maria -de Padilla," says the king; "if I married twice, it was for your -advantage, and to show my contempt for this Blanche of Bourbon. I send -her to Medina Sidonia, to work me a banner--the ground, colour of her -blood, the embroidery, of her tears. This banner, Doña Maria, I will -have it made for you:" and forthwith the ruthless arbalister departs, -after a knight had refused to do the felon deed. "Oh France, my noble -country! oh my Bourbon blood!" cries poor Blanche; "to-day I complete -my seventeen years, and enter my eighteenth. What have I done to you, -Castile? The crowns you gave me were crowns of blood and sighs!" And -thus she laments till the mace falls, "and the brains of her head are -strewed about the hall." The song-writer, amongst other liberties, has -struck eight years off the victim's age, perhaps with the idea of -rendering her more interesting. The exact manner of her death seems -uncertain, although Ayala agrees with the ballad, and most subsequent -historians have followed his version. M. Mérimée is disposed to -exculpate Pedro, alleging the complete inutility of the murder, and -that ten years of captivity and ill treatment were sufficient to -account for the queen's death. Admitting the latter plea, we cannot -see in it a diminution of the crime. In either case Pedro was the -murderer of his hapless wife, who was innocent of all offence against -him; and his extraordinary aversion for whom might well give rise, in -that superstitious age, to the tales of sorcery and magic charms -already quoted. The details of Don Fadrique's death are more precise -and authentic, as it was also more merited. But, although the Master -of Santiago had been guilty of many acts of treason, and at the time -of his death was conspiring against the king, his execution by a -brother's order, and before a brother's eyes, is shocking and -repugnant. It was Don Fadrique's policy, at that moment, to parade the -utmost devotion to Pedro, the better to mask his secret plans. -Arriving one day at Seville, on a visit to the king, he found the -latter playing at draughts with a courtier. True to his habits of -dissimulation, Pedro, who only a few hours previously had decided on -the Master's death, received him with a frank air and pleasant smile, -and gave him his hand to kiss; and then, seeing that he was well -attended, bade him take up his quarters, and then return. After -visiting Maria Padilla, who gazed at him with tears in her -eyes,--knowing his doom, but not daring to warn him,--Fadrique went -down into the court, found his escort gone, and the gates shut. -Surprised and uneasy, he hesitated what to do, when two knights -summoned him to the king's apartments, in a detached building within -the walls of the Alcazar. - - "At the door stood Pero Lopez Padilla, chief of the - mace-bearers of the guard, with four of his people. Don - Fadrique, still accompanied by the Master of Calatrava (Diego - Padilla) knocked at the door. Only one of its folds opened, - and within appeared the king, who forthwith exclaimed, 'Pero - Lopez, arrest the Master!'--'Which of the two, sire?' - inquired the officer, hesitating between Don Fadrique and Don - Diego de Padilla. 'The Master of Santiago!' replied the king - in a voice of thunder. Immediately Pero Lopez, seizing Don - Fadrique's arm, said, 'You are my prisoner.' Don Fadrique, - astounded, made no resistance; when the king cried out, - 'Arbalisters, kill the Master of Santiago!' Surprise, and - respect for the red cross of St James, for an instant - fettered the men to the spot. Then one of the knights of the - palace, advancing to the door, said: 'Traitors! what do you? - Heard you not the king's command to kill the Master?' The - arbalisters lifted the mace, when Don Fadrique, vigorously - shaking off the grasp of Pero Lopez, sprang back into the - court with the intention of defending himself. But the hilt - of his sword, which he wore under the large mantle of his - order, was entangled with the belt, and he could not draw. - Pursued by the arbalisters, he ran to and fro in the court, - avoiding their blows, but unable to get his sword out. At - last one of the king's guards, named Nuño Fernandez, struck - him on the head with his mace, and knocked him down; and the - three others immediately showered their blows upon the fallen - man, who lay bathed in his blood when Don Pedro came down - into the court, seeking the knights of Santiago, to slay them - with their chief." - -In the very chamber of Maria Padilla, the assassin-king gave with his -own hand the first stab to his brother's esquire, who had taken refuge -there. Leaving the ensanguined boudoir, (Maria Padilla's apartments in -the Alcazar were a sort of harem, where much oriental pomp was -observed,) he returned to the Master, and finding he still breathed, -he gave his dagger to an African slave to despatch him. Then he sat -down to dinner in an apartment two paces distant from his brother's -corpse. - -It is a relief to turn from acts of such unnatural barbarity to the -traits of chivalrous generosity that sparkle, at long intervals, it is -true, upon the dark background of Pedro's character. One of these, -connected with a singularly romantic incident, is attested by Alonzo -Martinez de Talavera, chaplain of John II. of Castile, a chronicler M. -Mérimée is disposed to hold in high esteem. In one of his campaigns -against his rebellious brethren and their Arragonese allies, the king -laid siege to the castle of Cabezon, belonging to Count Trastamare; -and whose governor, summoned to yield, refused even to parley. - - "Yet the whole garrison of the castle consisted but of ten - esquires, Castilian exiles; but behind thick and lofty walls, - in a tower built on perpendicular rocks, and against which - battering engines could not be brought, ten resolute men - might defend themselves against an army, and need only yield - to famine. The place being well provisioned, the siege was - likely to be long. But the ten esquires, all young men, were - better able bravely to repulse an assault than patiently to - endure the tedium of a blockade. Time hung heavy upon their - hands, they wanted amusement, and at last they insolently - insisted that the governor should give them women to keep - them company in their eyrie. Now, the only women in Cabezon - were the governor's wife and daughter. 'If you do not deliver - them to us, to be dealt with as we list,' said the garrison - to the governor, 'we abandon your castle, or, better still, - we open its gate to the King of Castile!' In such an - emergency, the code of chivalrous honour was stringent. At - the siege of Tarifa, Alonzo Perez de Guzman, summoned to - surrender the town, under penalty of seeing his son massacred - before his eyes, answered the Moors by throwing them his - sword, wherewith to slay the child. This action, which - procured the governor of Tarifa the surname of Guzman the - Good, was a _fazaña_ (an exploit)--one of those heroic - precedents which everyman of honour was bound to imitate. - _Permittitur homicidium filii potius quam deditio castelli_, - is the axiom of a doctor in chivalry of that epoch. The - governor of Cabezon, as magnanimous in his way as Guzman the - Good, so arranged matters that his garrison no longer thought - of abandoning him. But two of the esquires, less corrupt than - their comrades, conceived a horror of their treason, and - escaped from the castle. Led before the king, they informed - him of the mutiny they had witnessed, and of its - consequences. Don Pedro, indignant, forthwith entreated the - governor to let him do justice on the offenders. In exchange - for those felons, he offered ten gentlemen of his army, who, - before entering Cabezon, should take a solemn oath to defend - the castle against all assailants, even against the king - himself, and to die at their posts with the governor. This - proposal having been accepted, the king had the traitors - quartered, and their remains were afterwards burned. Through - the colours with which a romantic imagination has adorned - this incident, it is difficult to separate truth from - fiction; but we at least distinguish the popular opinion of - the character of Don Pedro--a strange amalgamation of - chivalrous sentiments, and of love of justice, carried to - ferocity." - -There was very little justice, or gratitude either, in the king's -treatment of his Jew treasurer. Don Simuel el Levi,[29] Israelite -though he was, had proved himself a stancher friend and more loyal -subject than any Christian of Pedro's court. He had borne him company -in his captivity--had aided his escape--had renovated his -finances--had been his minister, treasurer, and confidant. Suddenly -Simuel was thrown into prison. On the same day, and throughout the -kingdom, his kinsmen and agents were all arrested. His crime was his -prodigious wealth. Pedro, ignorant of the resources of trade, could -not believe that his treasurer had grown rich otherwise than at his -expense. Simuel's property was seized; then, as he was suspected of -having concealed the greater part of his treasures, he was taken to -Seville and put to the torture, under which he expired. The king is -said to have found in his coffers large sums of gold and silver, -besides a quantity of jewels and rich stuffs, all of which he -confiscated. A sum of 300,000 doubloons was also found in the hands of -Simuel's relatives, receivers under his orders: this proceeded from -the taxes, whose collection was intrusted to him, and was about to be -paid into the king's exchequer. There is reason to believe, adds M. -Mérimée, that Levi, like Jacques Coeur a century later, was the victim -of the ignorance and cupidity of a master he had faithfully -served.[30] - -We have dwelt so long upon the early pages of this history, and have -so often been led astray by the interest of the notes and anecdotes -with which they are thickly strewn, that we have left ourselves -without space for a notice of those portions of the bulky volume most -likely to rivet the attention of the English reader. When the _Grandes -Compagnies_--those formidable condottieri, who, for a time, may be -said to have ruled in France--crossed the Pyrenees to fight for Henry -of Trastamare, whilst the troops of England and Guyenne came to the -help of Pedro; when the great champions of their respective countries, -Edward the Black Prince and Bertrand du Guesclin, bared steel in the -civil strife of Spain,--then came the tug of war and fierce -encounter--then did the tide of battle roll its broad impetuous -stream. For even at that remote period, although Spain boasted a -valiant chivalry and stubborn men-at-arms, her wars were often a -series of skirmishes, surprises, treacheries, and camp-intrigues, -rather than of pitched battles in the field. The same sluggishness and -indolence on the part of Spanish generals, so conspicuous at the -present day, was then frequently observable. We read of -divisions--whose timely arrival would have changed the fate of a -battle--coming up so slowly that their friends were beaten before they -appeared; of generals marching out, and marching back again, without -striking a single blow; or remaining, for days together, gazing at -their opponents without risking an attack. Even then, the Spaniards -were a nation of guerillas. - - "Accustomed to a war of rapid skirmishes against the Moors, - they had adopted their mode of fighting. Covered with light - coats of mail, or with doublets of quilted cloth, mounted on - light and active horses, their _genetaires_ (light horsemen) - hurled their javelins at a gallop, then turned bridle, - without caring to keep their ranks. With the exception of the - military orders, better armed and disciplined than the - _genetaires_, the Spanish cavalry were unable to offer - resistance in line to the English or French men-at-arms." - -The infantry of Spain, afterwards esteemed the best in Europe, was at -that time so lightly considered as to be rarely enumerated in the -strength of an army. The English footsoldiers, on the other hand, had -already achieved a brilliant reputation. "Armed with tall bows of -yew," says M. Mérimée, "they sheltered themselves behind pointed -stakes planted in the ground, and, thus protected against cavalry, let -fly arrows an ell long, which few cuirasses could resist." The -equipment of the English cavalry was far superior to that of the -Spanish horsemen. Ayala recapitulates, with astonishment, the various -pieces of armour in use amongst those northern warriors. Plates of -steel and forged iron were worn over jerkins of thick leather, and -even over shirts of mail. The bull-dog courage of the men was not less -remarkable than the strength of their defensive arms. It is -interesting to read of the exploits of a handful of English soldiers -on the very ground where, four hundred and forty-six years later, an -army of that nation crushed the hosts of France. Sir Thomas Felton, -seneschal of Guyenne, was attacked, when at a considerable distance -from the English army, near Ariñiz, two leagues from Vitoria, by more -than three thousand French gendarmes and Spanish light horse. - - "Felton had but two hundred men-at arms, and as many archers. - He lost not courage, but dismounted his cavalry, and drew - them up on a steep hillock. His brother, William Felton, - alone refused to quit his horse. With lance in rest, he - charged into the midst of the Castilians, and at the first - blow drove his weapon completely through the body and iron - armour of a foe; he was immediately cut to pieces. His - comrades, closing round their banner, defended themselves, - for several hours, with the courage of despair. At last the - adventurers, headed by the Marshal d'Audeneham and the Bègue - de Vilaines, dismounted, and, forming column, broke the - English phalanx, whilst the Spanish cavalry charged it in - rear. All were slain in the first fury of victory, but the - heroic resistance of this scanty band of Englishmen struck - even their enemies with admiration. The memory of Felton's - glorious defeat is preserved in the province, where is still - shown, near Ariñiz, the hillock upon which, after fighting an - entire day, he fell, covered with wounds. It is called, in - the language of the country, _Ingles-mendi_, the English - Hill." - -This gallant but unimportant skirmish comprised (with the exception of -a dash made by Don Tello at the English foragers, of whom he killed a -good number) all the fighting that took place at that time upon the -plain of Vitoria; although some historians have made that plain the -scene of the decisive battle fought soon afterwards, between Edward of -England and Don Pedro on the one hand, and du Guesclin and Henry of -Trastamare on the other. Toreno correctly indicates the ground of this -action, which occurred on the right bank of the Ebro, between Najera -and Navarrete. It is true that the Prince of Wales offered battle near -Vitoria, drawing up his army on the heights of Santo Romano, close to -the village of Alegria, just in the line of the flight of the French -when beaten in 1813. The Prince did this boldly and confidently, -although anxious for the coming up of his rear-guard, which was still -seven leagues off. "That day," says Froissart, "the prince had many a -pang in his heart, because his rear-guard delayed so long to come." -But the enemy were in no haste to attack. Only a day or two -previously, Don Henry had assembled his captains in council of war, -"to communicate to them," says M. Mérimée, "a letter the King of -France had written him, urging him not to tempt fortune by risking a -battle against so able a general as the Prince of Wales, and such -formidable soldiers as the veteran bands he commanded. Bertrand du -Guesclin, Marshal d'Audeneham, and most of the French adventurers, -were of the same opinion--frankly declaring that, in regular battle, -the English were invincible. Du Guesclin's advice was to harass them -by continual skirmishes," &c., &c.; and the result of the council was, -that Don Henry resolved to keep as much as possible on the defensive, -and in the mountains, where his light troops had a great advantage -over their enemies, who were heavily armed, and unaccustomed to a -guerilla warfare. It had been well for him had he adhered to this -resolution, instead of allowing himself to be carried away by his -ardour, and by the confidence with which a successful skirmish had -inspired him. In vain du Guesclin, and the other captains, tried to -detain him in rear of the little river Najerilla: declaring his -intention of finishing the war by one decisive combat, he led his army -into the plain. When the Black Prince, who little expected such -temerity, was informed of the movement--"By St George!" he exclaimed, -"in yonder bastard there lives a valiant knight!" Then he proceeded to -take up his position for the fight that now was certain to take place. -"At sunrise, Count Henry beheld the English army drawn up in line, in -admirable order; their gay banners and pennons floating above a forest -of lances. Already all the men-at-arms had dismounted.[31]... The -Prince of Wales devoutly offered up a prayer, and, having called -heaven to witness the justice of his cause, held out his hand to Don -Pedro: 'Sir King,' he said, 'in an hour you will know if you are King -of Castile.' Then he cried out, 'Banners forward, in the name of God -and St George!" - -We will not diminish, by extract or abridgment, the pleasure of those -of our readers who may peruse M. Mérimée's masterly and picturesque -account of the battle, whose triumphant termination was tarnished by -an act of ferocious cruelty on the part of the Castilian king. Don -Pedro had proved himself, as usual, a gallant soldier in the fight; -and long after the English trumpets had sounded the recall, he spurred -his black charger on the track of the fugitive foe. At last, exhausted -by fatigue, he was returning to the camp, when he met a Gascon knight -bringing back as prisoner Iñigo Lopez Orozco, once an intimate of the -king's, but who had abandoned him after his flight from Burgos. In -spite of the efforts of the Gascon to protect him, Pedro slew his -renegade adherent in cold blood, and with his own hand. The English -were indignant at this barbarous revenge, and sharp words were -exchanged between Pedro and the Black Prince. Indeed, it was hardly -possible that sympathy should exist between the generous and -chivalrous Edward and his blood-thirsty and crafty ally, and this -dispute was the first symptom of the mutual aversion they afterwards -exhibited. From the very commencement, the Prince of Wales appears to -have espoused the cause of legitimacy in opposition to his personal -predilections. His admiration of Count Henry, and good opinion of his -abilities, frequently breaks out. After the signal victory of Najera, -which seemed to have fixed the crown of Castile more firmly than ever -upon Pedro's brow, Edward was the only man who judged differently of -the future. "The day after the battle, when the knights charged by him -to examine the dead and the prisoners came to make their report, he -asked in the Gascon dialect, which he habitually spoke: '_E lo bort, -es mort ó pres?_ And the Bastard, is he killed or taken?' The answer -was, that he had disappeared from the field of battle, and that all -trace of him was lost. '_Non ay res faït!_' exclaimed the prince; -'Nothing is done.'" - -The Black Prince spoke in a prophetic spirit: the sequel proved the -wisdom of his words. The battle of Najera was fought on the 3d April -1367. Two years later, less eleven days, on the 23d March 1369--Edward -and his gallant followers having in the interim returned to Guyenne, -disgusted with the ingratitude and bad faith of the king they had -replaced upon his throne--the Bastard was master of Spain, where Don -Pedro's sole remaining possession was the castle of Montiel, within -whose walls the fallen monarch was closely blockaded. Negotiations -ensued, in which Bertrand du Guesclin shared, and in which there can -be little doubt he played a treacherous part. It is to the credit of -M. Mérimée's impartiality, that he does not seek to shield the French -hero, but merely urges, in extenuation of his conduct, the perverted -morality and strange code of knightly honour accepted in those days. -By whomsoever lured, in the night-time Pedro left his stronghold, -expecting to meet, outside its walls, abettors and companions of a -meditated flight. Instead of such aid, he found himself a captive, and -presently he stood face to face with Henry of Trastamare. The brothers -bandied insults, a blow was dealt, and they closed in mortal strife. -Around them a circle of chevaliers gazed with deep interest at this -combat of kings. Pedro, the taller and stronger man, at first had the -advantage. Then a bystander--some say du Guesclin, others, an -Arragonese, Rocaberti--pulled the king by the leg as he held his -brother under him, and changed the fortune of the duel. What ensued is -best told in the words of Lockhart's close and admirable version of a -popular Spanish ballad:-- - - "Now Don Henry has the upmost, - Now King Pedro lies beneath; - In his heart his brother's poniard - Instant finds its bloody sheath. - - Thus with mortal gasp and quiver, - While the blood in bubbles well'd, - Fled the fiercest soul that ever - In a Christian bosom dwell'd." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[20] _Histoire de Don Pédre I^{er}, Roi de Castille._ Par PROSPER -MÉRIMÉE, de l'Académie Française. Pp. 586. Paris, 1848. - -[21] _Blackwood's Magazine_, No. CCCLXXX. - -[22] The _ricos hombres_, literally rich men, did not yet bear titles, -which were reserved for members of the royal family. Thus, Henry de -Trastamare was commonly designated as "the Count," he being the only -one in Castile. When crowned at Burgos, in 1366, he lavished the titles -of count and marquis, previously so charily bestowed, not only upon the -magnates of the land, but upon Bertrand Duguesclin, Sir Hugh Calverley, -Denia the Arragonese, and other foreign adventurers and allies. "Such -was the generosity, or rather the profusion of the new king, that it -gave rise to a proverbial expression long current in Spain: _Henry's -favours_ (_Mercedes Enriquenas_) was thenceforward the term applied to -recompenses obtained before they were deserved."--MÉRIMÉE, p. 451-2. A -_rico hombre_ was created by receiving at the king's hand a banner and -a cauldron (_Pendon y Caldera_)--the one to guide his soldiers, the -other to feed them. The fidalgos or hidalgos (from _hijodalgo_, the son -of somebody) were dependants of the _ricos hombres_, as these were of -the king. "Every nobleman had a certain number of gentlemen who did him -homage, and held their lands in fee of him. In their turn, these -gentlemen had vassals, so that the labourer had many masters, whose -orders were often contradictory. These mediæval institutions gave rise -to strange complications, only to be unravelled by violence. -Nevertheless, the laws and national usages directed the vassal, -whatever his condition, to obey his immediate superior. Thus, a mere -knight did not incur penalty of treason by taking arms against the king -by order of the rich-man to whom he paid homage."--MÉRIMÉE, p. 29. Some -curious illustrations are subjoined. In 1334, Alphonso took the field -against an insubordinate vassal, and besieged him in his town of Lerma. -Garcia de Padilla, a knight attached to the rebel, seeing an amicable -arrangement impossible, boldly demanded of Don Alphonso a horse and -armour, to go and fight under the banner of his liege lord. The king -instantly complied with his request, warning him, however, that if -taken, he should pay with his head for his fidelity to the lord of -Lerma. "I distinguish," says M. MÉRIMÉE, "in the action and words of -Don Alphonso, the contrast of the knight and the king united in the -same man. The one yields to his prejudices of chivalrous honour, the -other will have the rights of his crown respected. The customs of the -age and the dictates of policy contend in the generous monarch's -breast."--P. 30. - -[23] "It were a great error to attribute to Spain, in the 14th -century, the religious passions and intolerant spirit that animated it -in the 16th. In the wars between Moors and Christians, politics had -long had a far larger share than fanaticism.... Although the -Inquisition had been established more than a century, its power was -far from being what it afterwards became. As to Jews and Moors, they -were subject to the jurisdiction of the Holy Office only when they -sought, by word or writing, to turn Christians from the faith of their -fathers; and even then, royal authorisation was necessary before they -could be prosecuted. And the kings showed themselves, in general, -little disposed to let the clergy increase their influence. In 1350, -Peter IV. of Arragon rigorously forbade ecclesiastics to infringe on -secular jurisdiction.... There was much lukewarmness in matters of -religion; and to this, perhaps, is to be attributed the very secondary -part played by the clergy in all the political debates of the 14th -century. The inferior clergy, living and recruiting its ranks amongst -the people, shared the ignorance and rudeness of the latter. Such was -the prevalent immorality, that a great number of priests maintained -concubines, who were vain of the holy profession of their lovers, and -claimed particular distinctions. The conduct of these ecclesiastics -occasioned no scandal, but the luxury affected by their mistresses -often excited the envy of rich citizens, and even of noble ladies. -Repeatedly, and always in vain, the Cortes launched decrees intended -to repress the insolence of the _damoiselles de prétres_, (_barraganas -de clérigos_,) who formed a distinct class or caste, enjoying special -privileges, and sufficiently numerous to require the invention of laws -for them alone."--MÉRIMÉE, p. 34 to 38. These passages tend to explain -what might otherwise seem incomprehensible--the passive submission of -the Spanish priesthood to encroachments upon their temporal goods. -Since then they have rarely shown themselves so enduring; and the mere -hint of an attack upon their power or opulence has usually been the -signal for mischievous intrigue, and often for bloody strife. It is a -question, (setting aside the _barraganas_, although these, up to no -remote date, may be said to have been rather _veiled_ than -suppressed,) whether the Spanish priests of the 14th century were not -nearly as enlightened as their successors of the 19th. They certainly -were far more tolerant. "Arab language and literature," M. Mérimée -tells us, "were cultivated in schools founded under ecclesiastical -patronage." - -In the Cortes held at Valladolid, in 1351, we find Don Pedro rejecting -the petitions of the clergy, who craved restitution of the revenues -appropriated by the crown, to their prejudice, under his father's -reign. - -[24] In various details of Don Pedro's life and character we trace -resemblance to the eastern despot, although there seems no foundation -for the charges of infidelity brought against him towards the close of -his reign, and which may partly have originated, perhaps, in his close -alliance with the Granadine Moors, a body of whose light cavalry for -some time formed his escort. Contiguity of territory, commercial -intercourse, and political necessities, had assimilated to a certain -extent the manners and usages of Spaniards and Saracens, and given the -former an oriental tinge, of which, even at the present day, faint -vestiges are here and there perceptible. Don Pedro's orientalism was -particularly perceptible in the mode of many of the executions that -ensanguined his reign. He had constantly about him a band of -cross-bowmen who waited on his nod, and recoiled from no cruelty. -Occasionally we find him sending one of them to some distant place to -communicate and execute the doom of an offending subject. This recalls -the Turkish mute and bowstring. These death-dealing archers seem to -have employed mace and dagger more frequently than axe or cord. They -were assassins rather than executioners. They officiated in the case -of Garci Laso. "Alburquerque, impatient of delay, warned the king that -it was time to give final orders. Don Pedro, accustomed to repeat -those of his minister, bade two of Alburquerque's gentlemen go tell -the prisoner's guards to despatch him. The arbalisters, blind -instruments of the king's will, mistrusted an order transmitted to -them by Alburquerque's people, and desired to receive it from their -master's mouth. One of them went to ask him what was to be done with -Garci Laso. 'Let him be killed!' replied the king. This time duly -authorised, the arbalister ran to the prisoner, and struck him down -with a blow of a mace upon his head. His comrades finished him with -their daggers. The body of Garci Laso was thrown upon the public -square, where the king's entrance was celebrated, according to -Castilian custom, by a bull-fight. The bulls trampled the corpse, and -tossed it upon their horns. It was taken from them for exhibition upon -a scaffold, where it remained a whole day. At last it was placed upon -a bier, which was fixed upon the rampart of Camparanda. It was the -treatment reserved for the bodies of great malefactors."--MÉRIMÉE, p. -73. - -[25] "In 1339, Don Gonzalo Martinez, Master of Alcantara, having -rebelled against the king Don Alphonso, was besieged and taken in his -castle of Valencia, and Coronel presided at his execution."--_Chronica -de Don Alphonso XI._, p. 385. - -[26] The Castilian tongue is rich in words descriptive of grace in -women. Spain is, certainly, the country where that quality is most -common. I will cite only a few of those expressions, indicative of -shades easier to appreciate than to translate. _Garbo_ is grace -combined with nobility; _donayre_, elegance of bearing, vivacity of -wit; _salero_, voluptuous and provocative grace; _zandunga_, the kind -of grace peculiar to the Andalusians--a happy mixture of readiness and -nonchalance. People applaud the _garbo_ or _donayre_ of a duchess, the -_salero_ of an actress, the _zandunga_ of a gipsy of Jerez.--MÉRIMÉE, -p. 110. - -[27] The enchantment of Don Pedro by Maria Padilla is a popular -tradition in Andalusia, where the memory of both is vividly preserved. -It is further added, that Maria Padilla was a queen of the -gipsies--their _bari crallisa_--consequently consummate mistress of -the art of concocting philters. Unfortunately, the gipsies were -scarcely seen in Europe till a century later. The author of the -_Première Vie du Pape Innocent VI._ gravely relates that Blanche, -having made her husband a present of a golden girdle, Maria Padilla, -assisted by a Jew, a notorious sorcerer, changed it into a serpent, -one day that the king had it on. The surprise of the king and his -court may be imagined, when the girdle began to writhe and hiss; -whereupon the Padilla easily succeeded in persuading her lover that -Blanche was a magician bent upon destroying him by her arts.--MÉRIMÉE, -p. 120. - -[28] ZUÑIGA, _Anales de Sevilla_.--"The people say, that Maria -Coronel, pursued by Don Pedro, in the suburb of Triana, plunged her -head into a pan in which a gipsy was cooking fritters. I was shown the -house in front of which the incident occurred, and I was desired to -remark, as an incontrovertible proof, that it is still inhabited by -gipsies, whose kitchen is in the open street."--MÉRIMÉE, p. 247. - -[29] We have already adverted to the religious tolerance of the time, -and to the intermixture of Mussulmans and Christians: M. Mérimée gives -some curious details on this subject. The nobility of Castile made no -difficulty to grant the _Don_ to the Moorish cavaliers, and the rich -Jew bankers obtained the same distinction, then very rare amongst the -Christians themselves. Thus Ayala, the chronicler, speaks of Don -Farax, Don Simuel, Don Reduan, &c.; although of Spaniards he gives the -Don only to the princes of the blood, to a few very powerful _ricos -hombres_, to certain great officers of the crown, and to the masters -of the military orders of knights. The Andalusian Moors were -frequently treated as equals by the chevaliers of Castile; but this is -far less astonishing than that the Jews should have attained to high -honours and office. Pedro, however, seems always to have had a leaning -towards them, and the Israelites, on their part, invariably supported -him. He was more than once, in the latter part of his reign, heard to -say that the Moors and Hebrews were his only loyal subjects. At -Miranda, on the Ebro, in 1360, the populace, stirred up by Henry of -Trastamare, massacred the Jews, and pillaged their dwellings. The -object of the Count was to compromise the townspeople, and thus to -attach them indissolubly to his cause. When Pedro arrived, he had the -ringleaders of the riot arrested; and, in his presence, the unhappy -wretches were burned alive, or boiled in immense cauldrons. Obsolete -laws were revived, to justify these terrible executions; but the crime -of the offenders was forgotten in the horror excited by such barbarous -punishments. It was just after these scenes of cruelty that a priest, -coming from Santo-Domingo de la Calzada, craved private audience of -the king, 'Sire,' said he, 'my Lord Saint Dominick has appeared to me -in a dream, bidding me warn you that, if you do not amend your life, -Don Henry, your brother, will slay you with his own hand.' This -prophecy, on the eve of a battle between the brothers, was probably -the result of fanatical hatred, on the part of the priests towards a -king now generally accused of irreligion. Whatever dictated it, Pedro -was at first startled by the prophet's confident and inspired air, but -soon he thought it was a stratagem of his enemies to discourage him -and his troops. The priest, who persisted that his mission was from St -Dominick, was burned alive in front of the army.--MÉRIMÉE, pp. 35, -290, 299, &c. - -[30] "According to the interpolator of the chronicle of the -_Despensero Mayor_, Simuel Levi, whose death he erroneously fixes in -the year 1366, was denounced to the king by several Jews, envious of -his immense riches. Simuel, on being put to the torture, died of -indignation, '_de puro corage_,' says the anonymous author, whom I -copy, since I cannot understand him. There were found, in a vault -beneath his house, three piles of gold and silver lingots, so lofty -'that a man standing behind them was not seen.' The king, on beholding -this treasure, exclaimed--'If Don Simuel had given me the third part -of the smallest of these heaps, I would not have had him tortured. How -could he consent to die rather than speak?' _Sumario de los Reyes de -España_, p. 73. Credat Judæus Apella."--MÉRIMÉE, p. 317. - -Don Pedro was often accused of avarice, although it appears probable -that his fondness of money sprang from his experience of the power it -gave, and of its absolute necessity in the wars in which he was -continually engaged, rather than from any abstract love of gold. When, -after his flight from Spain in 1366, his treasures were traitorously -given up to his rival by Admiral Boccanegra, who had been charged to -convey them to Portugal, they amounted to thirty-six quintals of gold, -(something like fourteen hundred thousand pounds sterling--a monstrous -sum in those days,) besides a quantity of jewels. - -[31] The custom of the time, according to Froissart and others. On the -march, most of the soldiers, sometimes even the archers, were on -horseback; but when the hour of battle arrived, spurs were removed, -horses sent away, and lances shortened. When the time came for flight -and pursuit, the combatants again sprang into their saddles. - - - - -THE OPENING OF THE SESSION. - - -The British Parliament has again been summoned to resume its labours. -The period which intervened between the close of the last, and the -opening of the present session, was fraught with great anxiety to -those who believed that the cause of order and peace depended upon the -check that might be given to the democratic spirit, then raging so -fearfully throughout Europe. France, under the dictatorship of -Cavaignac, had emerged a little from the chaotic slough into which she -had been plunged by the wickedness, imbecility, and treason of a junta -of self-constituted ministers--men who held their commissions from the -sovereign mob of Paris, and who were ready, for that sovereign's sake, -to ruin and prostrate their country. Foremost among these ministers -was Lamartine, a theorist whose intentions might be good, but whose -exorbitant vanity made him a tool in the hands of others who had -embraced revolution as a trade. Of this stamp were Ledru-Rollin, Louis -Blanc, and, we may add, Marrast,--men who had nothing to lose, but -everything to gain, from the continuance of popular disorder. -Fortunately, the daring attempt of June--which, if it had succeeded, -would have surrendered Paris to be sacked--was suppressed with -sufficient bloodshed. Military domination took the place of helpless -democratic fraternity; the barricades went down amidst the thunder of -the cannon, and the rascaldom of the Faubourg St Antoine found, to -their cost, that they were not yet altogether triumphant. Of the -subsequent election of Louis Napoleon to the presidentship we need not -speak. It would be in vain, under present circumstances, to speculate -upon the probable destinies of France. All that we have to remark now -is her attitude, which, we think, is symptomatic of improvement. The -socialist theories are wellnigh exploded. Equality may exist in name, -but it is not recognised as a reality. The provinces have suffered -enough from revolution to abhor the thought of anarchy; and they long -for any government strong and resolute enough to enforce the laws, and -to stamp with its heel on the head of the Jacobin hydra. - -Austria, on the other side, has done her duty nobly. Astounded as we -certainly were at the outbreak of revolution in Vienna, we had yet -that confidence, in the spirit and loyalty of the old Teutonic -chivalry, that we never for a moment believed that the mighty fabric -of ages would be allowed to crumble down, or the imperial crown to -fall from the head of the descendant of the Cæsars. And so it has -proved. The revolt occasioned in the southern provinces by the -co-operation of Jacobinism, under the specious mask of nationality, -with the mean and selfish ambition of an intriguing Italian potentate, -has been triumphantly suppressed. Vienna, after experiencing the -horrors of ruffian occupation--after having seen assassination rife in -her streets, and the homes of her burghers delivered over to the lust -and pillage of the anarchists--has again returned to her fealty. The -insurrections in Bohemia and Hungary have been met by the strong arm -of power; the schemes of treason and of faction have been discomfited; -nor can modern history afford us nobler examples of heroism and -devotion than have been exhibited by Windischgrätz and Jellachich. -Whilst the democratic press, even in this country, was sympathising -with the insurgents--whilst treason, murder, and rapine were palliated -and excused, and fulsome and bombastic panegyrics pronounced upon the -leading demagogues of the movement--we have watched the efforts of -Austria towards the recovery of her equilibrium, with an anxiety which -we scarcely can express; because we felt convinced that, upon her -success or her defeat, upon the maintenance of her position as a -colossal united power, or her division into petty states, depended, in -a large measure, the future tranquillity of Europe. Most happily she -has succeeded, and has thereby given the death-blow to the hopes of -the besotted visionaries at Frankfort. The Central Power of Germany, -as that singular assemblage of mountebanks, with a weak old imbecile -at their head, has been somewhat facetiously denominated--that -pseudo-parliament, which, without power to enforce its decrees, or any -comprehensible scheme of action, has arrogated to itself the right of -over-riding monarchies--is gradually dwindling into contempt. Even -Frederick-William of Prussia, its chief supporter and stay, has found -out his vast mistake in yielding to the democratic principle as the -means of ultimately securing for himself the rule of a united Germany. -The attempt has already wellnigh cost him the crown which he wears. He -now sees, as he might have seen earlier, but for the mists of interest -and ambition, that the present movement was essentially a democratic -one, and that its leaders merely held out the phantom of resuscitated -imperialism in order to make converts, and to strike more effectually -at every hereditary constitution. The farce cannot, in the ordinary -nature of things, last much longer. Without Austria, Bavaria, and -Prussia, there is no central power at all. The Frankfort parliament, -as it at present exists, can be compared to nothing except a great -Masonic assemblage. In humble imitation of the brethren of the mystic -tie, it is solemnly creating grand chancellors, grand seneschals, and, -for aught we know, grand tylers also for an empire which is not in -existence; and, without a farthing in its treasury, is decreeing civil -lists and bounties to its imperial grand master! Unfortunately, the -state of Europe has been such that we cannot afford to laugh even at -such palpable fooleries. They tend to prolong excitement and disorder -throughout a considerable portion of the Continent; and already, -through such antics, we have been on the eve of a general war, -occasioned by the unjust attempts to deprive Denmark of her Schleswig -provinces. The sooner, therefore, that the parliament of Frankfort -ceases to have an existence the better. It hardly can exist if the -larger states do their duty, without jealousy of each other, but with -reference to the common weal. - -But though the democratic progress, under whatsoever form it appeared, -has thus received a check in northern Europe, it is still raging with -undiminished violence in the south. British diplomatic relations with -the See of Rome have received the _coup-de-grace_, in the forcible -expulsion of the Sovereign Pontiff from his territories! The leading -reformer of the age--the propagandist successor of St Peter--has -surrendered his pastoral charge, and fled from the howling of his -flock, now suddenly metamorphosed into wolves. There, as elsewhere, -liberalism has signalised itself by assassination. The star of -freedom, of which Lord Minto was the delegated prophet, has appeared -in the form of a bloody and terrific meteor. Even revolutionised -France felt her bowels moved by some latent Christian compunction, and -prepared an armament to rescue, if needful, the unfortunate patriarch -from his children. More recently, the Grand-duke of Tuscany--a prince -whose mild rule and kindly government were such that democracy itself -could frame no articulate charge against him, beyond the fact of his -being a sovereign--has been compelled to abandon his territory, and to -take refuge elsewhere. - -Such is the state of the continent of Europe at the opening of the new -session of Parliament--a state which, while it undeniably leaves great -room for hope, and in some measure indicates a return to more settled -principles of government, is very far from conveying an assurance of -lasting tranquillity. It is now just a year since the sagacious Mr -Cobden issued the second part of his prophecies to atone for the -failure of the first. The repeal of the corn laws, and the other -free-trade measures, having not only failed to enrich this country at -the ratio of a hundred millions sterling annually--the premium which -was confidently offered by the Manchester Association, as the price of -their experiment--but, having somehow or other been followed by a -calamitous deficit in the ordinary revenue, the member for the West -Riding bethought himself of a new agitation for the disbandment of the -British army, and the suppression of the navy, founded upon the -experiences which he had gathered in the course of his Continental -ovations. He told his faithful myrmidons that all Europe was in a -state of profound peace, and that war was utterly impossible. They -echoed the cry, and at once, as if by magic, the torch of revolution -was lighted up in every country save our own. Nor are we entitled to -claim absolute exemption. Chartism exhibited itself at home in a more -daring manner than ever before: nor do we wonder at this, since the -depreciation of labour in the home market, the direct result of Peel's -injudicious tariffs, drove many a man, from sheer desperation, into -the ranks of the disloyal. Ireland was pacified only by a strong -demonstration of military force; and, had that been withdrawn, -rebellion was the inevitable consequence. Still, though his promises -are thus shown to be utterly false, the undaunted Free-trader, in the -teeth of facts and logic, persists in maintaining his conclusions. -Again he shouts, raves, and agitates for an extensive military -reduction; and, lo! the next Indian mail brings tidings of the war in -the Punjaub! - -Public attention, during the recess, has been very generally directed -to the state of the finances of the country. No wonder. Last year, in -proposing the first of his abortive budgets, Lord John Russell -distinctly calculated the probable excess of the expenditure over the -income at the sum of three millions and a quarter; to balance which he -asked for an augmentation of the income tax--a proposal which the -nation very properly scouted. But, whilst we state now, as we stated -then, our determined opposition to the increase of the direct taxation -of the country, we must remark that the free-trade party were hardly -justified in withholding their support from a minister who had played -their game with such unimpeachable docility, in an emergency directly -resulting from the operation of their cherished system. The statement -of Sir Charles Wood, to the effect that, during the last six years, -the nation had remitted seven and a half millions of annual taxation, -ought surely to have had the effect of an argument upon these -impenetrable men. Seven millions and a half had been sacrificed before -the Moloch of free trade. Good, benevolent, plain-dealing Sir Robert, -and profound, calculating Lord John, had each, in preparing their -annual estimates, lopped off some productive branch of the customs, -and smilingly displayed it to the country, as a proof of their desire -to lessen the weight of the national burdens. That our revenue should -fall was, of course, a necessary consequence. Fall it did, and that -with such rapidity that Sir Robert Peel dared not take off the income -tax, which he had imposed upon the country with a distinct and solemn -pledge that it was merely to be temporary in its duration, but handed -it over as a permanent legacy to his successor, who coolly proposed to -augment it! Now it really required no reflection at all to see that, -if our statesmen chose, for the sake of popularity or otherwise, thus -to tamper with the revenue, and to lessen the amount of the customs, a -deficit must, sooner or later, occur. Not the least baneful effect of -the policy pursued by Sir Robert Peel has been the system of -calculating the estimates so low, and adapting the income so closely -to the national expenditure, that a surplus, to be handed over to the -commissioners for the reduction of the national debt, is now a -tradition. We have abandoned the idea of a surplus, nor can it ever -again be realised under the operation of the present system. Instead -of a surplus we have a permanent income tax, and, more than that, a -fresh debt incurred by us, under Whig management, of no less than ten -millions. - -Such being the state of our finances, the question naturally suggests -itself to the mind of every thinking man, how are we to find a remedy? -The Financial Reform Associations--which are nothing else than the -bastard spawn of the Anti-Corn-law League--are perfectly ready with -their answer. They see no difficulty about it at all. "Act," they say, -"upon the same principle which every man adopts in private life. Since -your income has fallen off, reduce your expenditure. Cut your coat -according to your cloth. Find out what are the most expensive items of -your estimates, and demolish these. If you can't afford to have an -army, don't keep one. Your navy is anything but a source of income; -put it down. In this way you will presently find that you can make -out a satisfactory balance-sheet." - -This is the pounds, shillings, and pence view of the case, and its -supporters are determined to enforce it. Dull statistical pamphlets, -inveighing against the enormous expense of our establishments, are -compiled by pompous pseudo-economists, and circulated by the million. -Looking to the past, it requires no familiarity to predict, that, as -sure as winter follows autumn, so certainly will the Whigs yield to -the pressure from without. Nay, it is not a prediction; for already, -in the Queen's speech, an intimation to that effect has been given. -Now this is a matter of vital moment to every one of us. We are now -verging towards the point which we have long foreseen, when the -effects of unprincipled legislation will be wrested into an argument -against the maintenance of the national greatness. We have a battle to -fight involving a more important stake than ever. We must fight that -battle under circumstances of great disadvantage; for not only has -treachery thinned our ranks, but the abandonment of public principle -by a statesman whose hairs have grown gray in office, has given an -example of laxity most pernicious to the morals of the age. But not -the less readily do we go forward at the call of honour and duty, -knowing that our cause is truth, and confident, even now, that truth -must ultimately prevail. - -In the first place, let us set ourselves right with these same -Financial Reform Associations, so that no charge may be brought -against us of factious opposition to salutary improvement. We have -perused several of their tracts with great care; but, being tolerably -familiar with their statistics already, we have not acquired any large -stock of additional information. They point, however, to many things -which are most undoubted abuses. That a reform is necessary in many -civil departments of the state, has long been our expressed opinion. -Money is not only misapplied, but the revenues which ought to be drawn -from some portions of the public property, find their way into private -pockets, and are not accounted for. We do not doubt that the dockyards -are largely jobbed, and that the nation suffers considerable loss by a -partial and nefarious system of private instead of public contracts. -We are no admirers of sinecures, of unnecessary commissionerships, or -the multiplication of useless offices. The department of Woods and -Forests is an Augean stable, which requires a thorough cleansing. It -is notoriously the most inefficient and the worst served of the public -boards, and it has permitted and winked at peculation to an extent -which is almost incredible. We desire to have the public accounts -better kept, and some security given that the officials will do their -duty. We wish to see patronage fairly and honourably exercised. We -wish to see abuse corrected, curbed, and abolished. - -And why is this not done? Simply for this reason--that we are cursed -with a government in every way unfit for their charge. The present -ruling family party have not among them a vestige of a public virtue. -Jobbing with the Whigs is not an exceptional case--it is a living -principle. It is more to them than the liberty of the press: it is -like the air they breathe; if they have it not, they die. They keep -their adherents together solely by the force of jobbing. Look at their -Irish Trevellyan jobs, their commissions, their unblushing and -unparalleled favouritism! Never, in any one instance, have they -attempted to save a shilling of the public revenue, when, by doing so, -they would interfere with the perquisites of some veteran servitor of -their order. We know this pretty well in Scotland, where jobbing -flourishes all the better because we are denied the superintendence of -a separate Secretary of State--an office which is imperatively called -for. The present is undeniably a time for the exertion of strict -economy in every department, and yet ministers will not vouchsafe to -commence it in their own. During the last two years, various offices -which are not hereditary, which are notorious sinecures, and which are -nevertheless endowed with large salaries, have become vacant; and, in -every case, these have been filled up by Lord John Russell, on the -broad ground that the government could not afford to dispense with -such valuable patronage. - -So far we are at one with the finance reformers. So long as their -object is to reform evident abuses, we are ready not only to applaud, -but to co-operate with them: but the correction of abuses is a very -different thing from that suicidal policy which has been over and over -again attempted in this country--that policy which, by saving -thousands, insures the loss of millions. - -Because our revenue has fallen off, is that any reason why we should -part with our army and navy? Let us assume that the army and navy are -necessary for three purposes--first, for the defence of the country; -secondly, for the maintenance of internal order; and thirdly, for the -retention of our colonies. Let us further assume, that, keeping these -three necessary points in view, it is impossible to effect a numerical -reduction of the force: and we then ask the economists whether, these -premises being allowed, they would push their doctrine of cloth-cutting -so far as still to insist upon a reduction? Not one political tailor of -them all will dare to say so! They know the overwhelming storm of -contempt that would arise in every corner of Great Britain, if they -dared to give vent to such a traitorous sentiment; they leave it -unuttered, but they aver the non-necessity.[32] Here we meet at once -upon fair and open ground; and we ask, whether they mean to aver that -the present force is greater than is required for the three purposes -above mentioned, or whether they mean to aver that any one of these -purposes is unnecessary? This, as we shall presently have occasion to -see, is a very important distinction. - -To the first question, as yet, we have only indefinite answers. We -hear a good deal about clothing allowances and abuses, with which we -have nothing whatever to do. It may be, that there exist some faults -in the army and navy department, and that these could be amended with -a saving of expense to the country: if so, let it be done. We -cordially echo the language of Lord Stanley, on moving his amendment -to the address: "I believe it is possible to effect some reductions in -the civil departments of the army, ordnance, and navy. I also think -that large reductions may be made by checking the abuses which exist -in the administration and management of the dockyards. But the -greatest security we could obtain for having the work well done in the -dockyards, would be the passing of an enactment to deprive all persons -in those yards from voting for members of parliament. I have heard at -least twenty naval officers express an opinion that, until persons -employed in the dockyards shall be prevented from voting for members -of parliament, it will be impossible to exercise efficient control -over the work performed in those establishments. If reductions can be -effected, in God's name let them be made; and, although one may wonder -how such a course has been so long delayed, I will applaud the -government which shall economise without prejudice to the permanent -interests of the empire. But when the country is in a position which -requires that she should have all her resources and powers at hand, I -cannot concur with those who, for the sake of economy, would largely -diminish the naval and military forces of the country." - -Mr Cobden, so far as we can gather from his orations, advocates the -propriety of disbanding the army on the score of peace. He thinks -that, if we were to dismiss our forces, all the other nations of the -earth would follow the example. There is something positively -marvellous in the calm audacity of the man who can rise up, as Cobden -did at Manchester, on the last day of January, and enunciate to his -enraptured audience, that, "notwithstanding all that had been said on -that subject, he reiterated there never was a time when Europe was so -predisposed to listen to advances made by the people of England, on -that subject, as now!" Where, in the name of the Seven Sleepers of -Ephesus, has the man been during the last twelvemonths? What does Mr -Cobden understand by Europe? We should like to know this, for it is -very easy to use a general term, as in the present instance, without -conveying any definite meaning. Does he refer to the governments or -the mobs of Europe--to the well-affected, who wish for order, or to -the Jacobins whose cause he adores? If he meant the latter class to -signify Europe, we can understand him readily enough. He is right: -great indeed would be the joy of the clubs in Paris, Berlin, and -Vienna, if there were not a soldier left. What jubilee and triumph -there would be in every Continental capital! Not the suppression of -the police would excite deeper exultation in the hearts of the -denizens of St Giles', than would the abolition of standing armies in -those of the bearded patriots of the Continent. No need then of -barricades--no fighting for the partition of property--no bloodshed, -preparatory to the coveted rape and pillage! The man who can talk in -this way is beneath the average of idiots; or, otherwise, he is -somewhat worse. Not only during the last year, but within the last -five months, we have seen that the whole standing armies of Europe -have been employed in the task of suppressing insurrection, and have -not been able to do it. Under these circumstances, what state would be -"predisposed" to surrender its citizens to the tender mercies of -democracy? Ignorant indeed must be the audience that could listen to -such pitiable drivelling as this! - -Until it can be shown or proved that our armaments, even in ordinary -times, are larger than are required for the purposes of defence, of -internal tranquillity, and of colonial occupation, there is no cause -for reduction at all. The troops at home are maintained for the first -two objects, since it would be as wise, in the time of peace, to -dismantle the fortifications of a town and to spike the cannon, as to -dispense with an army. Is there no necessity for the troops at home? -The experience of last year alone has shown us what we might expect if -Cobden's views were realised. Glasgow, the second largest city of the -empire, was for a time in the hands of the mob. We doubt whether the -stiffest free-trader in the West would now be disposed to renounce -military protection. Have the people of Liverpool already forgotten -that their shipping and warehouses were threatened with incendiarism, -and that such apprehensions of a rising were entertained, that, at the -earnest entreaty of the magistracy, a camp was established in their -vicinity? What would be the state of Ireland, at this moment, if the -troops were withdrawn, or their number so materially lessened as to -give a chance of success, however momentary, to insurrection? But it -is useless to ask such questions, for, in reality, there is hardly a -sane man in the British islands who does not know what the immediate -result would be, and the horrible penalty we should ultimately pay for -such weak and culpable parsimony. - -It is a very favourite topic, with finance reformers, to refer to the -state of the army and navy as it existed previous to the French -Revolution. "In 1792," they say, "the whole cost of these departments, -including the ordnance, amounted only to five millions and a half--why -should we not now reduce our expenditure to the same amount?" It is -wearisome to enter into the task of explanation with these gentlemen, -who, after all, are but slenderly acquainted with statistics, else -they would at once divine the answer: nevertheless we shall undertake -it. According to the nearest approximation which can be made, the -British islands, in the year 1792, contained a population of about -_fifteen and a half millions_. The census in 1841 showed a population -of _twenty-seven millions_, and at the present moment the number is -probably not short of _thirty_. So that, on the reasonable principle -that military establishments should bear a certain ratio to the -population, and excluding every other consideration, the annual -estimates ought, according to the standard of the financial reformers, -to be at least eleven millions. But then, be it observed, our colonial -possessions were comparatively small compared with their present -extent. Since 1792, we have received accession of the following -colonies and settlements:--Ceylon, Trinidad, St Lucia, Malta, -Heligoland, British Guiana, the Falkland Islands, Hong-Kong, Labuan, -Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius, Van Diemen's Land, Western and Southern -Australia, New Zealand, and the Ionian Islands. The area of these new -possessions is considerably more than _six times_ that of the whole -extent of the British islands; the surface of the new colonies being, -in square miles, no less than 828,408, whilst that of Britain proper -is merely 122,823. We purposely abstain from alluding to the extent -and increment of our older colonies, as our object is simply to show -the difference of our position now, from what it was in the year -immediately preceding the outbreak of the first French Revolution. - -In the mean time, however, let us keep strictly to our present point, -which is the necessity of maintaining a standing army at home. Within -the last fifty-seven years, the population at home has doubled--a fact -which, of itself, will account for many social evils utterly beyond -the reach of legislation. The enormous increase of the manufacturing -towns has not been attended with any improvement in the morals of the -people. The statistical returns of criminal commitments show that vice -has spread in a ratio far greater than the increase of population; and -along with vice has appeared its invariable concomitant, disaffection. -Every period of stagnation of trade is marked by a display of -Chartism: the example set by such associations as the League has not -been lost upon the greater masses of the people. Ireland is a volcano -in which the fires of rebellion are never wholly extinguished, and -every internal movement there is sensibly felt upon this side of the -Channel. - -But it is needless, perhaps, to enlarge upon the point, because there -are very few persons who maintain that our home force is greater than -the occasion requires. That admitted, the question is very -considerably narrowed. The reductions demanded would then fall to be -made in that portion of our armaments which is used for colonial -occupation and defence. - -First, let us see what we have to occupy and defend. In 1792, the area -of the British colonies which we still retain was about 565,700 square -miles. Subsequent additions have extended this surface to 1,400,000. -This calculation, be it remarked, is altogether exclusive of India. - -The free-traders themselves do not aver that we maintain a larger -force than is compatible with their magnitude for the occupation of -the colonies. "I am quite aware," says Cobden, "that any great -reduction in our military establishments _must depend upon a complete -change_ in our colonial system; and I consider such a change to be the -necessary consequence of our recent commercial policy." We are glad at -last to arrive at the truth. That one sentence contains the key to the -present crusade against armaments, and it is very well that we should -understand and consider it in time. Our readers must not, however, -understand the word "change" in the literal sense; the following -extract from the Edinburgh tract will put the matter in a clearer -light. "The possession of the colonies is supposed to add lustre to -the crown; but it may be doubted whether the honour is not purchased -at a price considerably beyond its value. The colonies pay no taxes -into the exchequer: we keep them, they do not keep us. An Englishman -may be told that he belongs to an empire on which the sun never sets; -but, as he pays dearly for this in taxation, and gets nothing but -sentiment in return, he may be inclined to question the value of that -vast dominion on his connexion with which he is congratulated. But if -the Englishman makes nothing by the colonial possessions, neither does -the colonist. As things are managed, the union is mutually -embarrassing, while the expenses we incur for maintaining the colonies -are ruinous." Were we right or wrong when we said, two years ago, that -the tendency of free trade was a deliberate movement towards the -dismemberment of the British empire, and the separation of the -colonies from the mother country? Here you have the principle almost -openly avowed. The colonies are said to cost us about four millions -a-year, and this opens too rich a field for the penny-wise economist -to be resisted. Nor are we in the slightest degree surprised at these -men availing themselves of the argument. If they are right in their -premises, they are also right in their conclusion. If the people of -this country are deliberately of opinion that our commercial policy -is, henceforward and for ever, to be regulated upon the principles of -free trade, the colonies should be left to themselves, and Earl Grey -immediately cashiered. This is what Cobden and his followers are -aiming at; this is the ultimate result of the measures planned, and -proposed, and carried by Sir Robert Peel. It is no figment or false -alarm of ours. The free-traders do not take the pains to disguise it: -their main argument for the reduction of our forces is the uselessness -and expense of the colonies, and they seem prepared to lower the -British flag in every quarter of the globe. Our fellow-citizen who has -compiled the last Financial tract speaks to the point with a calm -philosophy which shows the thoroughness of his conviction: he says, -"As foreigners now trade with our colonies on the same terms with -ourselves, it is evident that the colonists prefer our goods, only -because they are better and cheaper than those of foreigners; _it -therefore seems reasonable to suppose that the colonies would continue -to buy from us were the connexion dissolved, or greatly changed in -character_. The United States of America once were our colonies, and -the trade with them has vastly increased since they became -independent." According to this view, it would appear that Papineau -was not only a disinterested patriot, but also, an enlightened -economist! - -See, then, what great matters spring from petty sources!--how personal -ambition, and competition for power between two statesmen of no high -or exalted principle, can in a few years lead to a deliberate project, -and a large confederacy, for the dismemberment of the British empire! -To gain additional swiftness in the race for ascendency, Sir Robert -Peel and Lord John Russell alternately threw away, most uselessly and -recklessly, many of the surest items of the national income. They -sacrificed, until further sacrifice was no longer possible, without -conceding a broad principle. The principle was conceded; and the -bastard system of free trade, without reciprocity and without -equivalent, was substituted for the wiser system which had been the -foundation of our greatness. By this time, indirect taxation had been -reduced so low that the revenue fell below the mark of the -expenditure; the duties levied upon imports exhibited a marked -decline. Both Peel and Russell were committed to free trade, and -neither of them could, with any consistency, retrace their steps. -Russell, then in power, had no alternative except to propose -additional direct burdens, by augmenting the income-tax. This -proposition was rejected, and there was a dead-lock. Lord John was at -his wits' end. The free-traders now propose to relieve him from his -embarrassment, by cutting down the expenditure so as to meet the -diminished income. This can only be done by reducing the army and -navy, and the army and navy cannot be reduced except by sacrificing -the colonies; therefore, say the free-traders, get rid of the colonies -at once, and, the work is ready-done to your hands. - -We defy any man, be he Whig, Peelite, Free-trader, or Chartist, to -controvert the truth of what we have stated above. We anticipated the -result from the first hour that Sir Robert Peel yielded, not to the -expressed will of the nation, but to the clamour of a selfish and -organised faction; and every move since has been in exact concordance -with our anticipations. Last year, Lord John Russell showed some -spirit of resistance to the power which was dragging him downward: he -refused to tamper with the army. In an article which appeared in this -Magazine just twelve months ago, we said--"It is to the credit of the -Whigs that, far as they have been led astray by adopting the -new-fangled political doctrines--rather, as we believe, for the sake -of maintaining power than from any belief in their efficacy--they have -declined all participation with the Manchester crew, in their recent -attempts to lower the position and diminish the influence of Great -Britain." The country knows, by this time, that we cannot repeat the -encomium. Last year, _before there was a single disturbance abroad_, -before insurrection had arisen in Ireland, Lord John Russell brought -forward his budget, and, with the support of the great majority of the -House, not only peremptorily refused to accede to a diminution of our -forces, but actually proposed an augmentation. _This year_, we find in -the royal speech the following paragraph--"The present aspect of -affairs has enabled me to make large reductions on the estimates of -last year." - -"The present aspect of affairs!"--Go to, then--let us see what the -phrase is worth--how far the context of the whole speech will justify -the choice of the expression? This is no time for shuffling or -weakness--no time for party-tricks. The atmosphere is dark around us. -By the help of Heaven we have stood the pelting of the storm, and yet -stand unscathed; but the clouds are still black and threatening. We -cannot take a vague assertion, even though it proceeded from a -minister a thousand times more able and trustworthy than the present -premier. We must have proofs before we loosen our cloak, and lessen -the security of our position. - -How stand we with regard to the Continental powers? For the first -time, for many years, the British Sovereign has been unable to state -"that she continues to receive from all foreign powers assurances of -their friendly relations." Instead of that we are simply told, what no -one doubts, that her Majesty is desirous to maintain the most friendly -relations with the other members of the European family. -Unfortunately, however, desire does not always imply possession. Are -we to attribute this omission of the usual paragraph to mere -inadvertence? or are we indeed to conclude that, abroad, there has -arisen a feeling so unfriendly that to hazard the assertion of former -relationship would really be equivalent to a falsehood? It is painful -to allow that we must arrive at the latter conclusion. The moral -weight and influence which Britain once exercised on the Continent has -utterly decayed in the hands of Whig administrations. Instead of -maintaining that attitude of high dignified reserve which becomes the -first maritime power of Europe, we have been exhibited in the light of -a nation of interfering intriguers, whose proffered mediation is -almost equivalent to an insult. Mediators of this kind never are, nor -can be, popular. The answer invariably is, in the language of holy -writ--"Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to -kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian?" and, in consequence, wherever -we have interfered we have made matters worse, or else have been -compelled to submit to an ignominious rebuff. Every one knows what -were the consequences of Lord Palmerston's impertinent and gratuitous -suggestions to the crown of Spain. "What," said Lord Stanley, "is the -state of our relations with that court? You have most unwisely, -through your minister, interfered in the internal administration of -the affairs of that country. That offence has been visited by the -Government of that country upon our ministers in a manner so offensive -that, great as was the provocation given by the British minister, no -man in your Lordship's House, with the information we possess, could -stand up and say that the Government of Spain was justified in the -course they had pursued, however much the magnitude of the offence -might have palliated it. But the state of affairs in Spain is this: -Your minister has been ignominiously driven from Madrid, and you have -quietly and tacitly acquiesced in the insult which the Spanish -Government have put upon you." The immediate consequences of Minto -negotiation in Italy have been assassination and rebellion, the flight -of the Pope from his dominions, and the surrender of the sacred city -to the anarchy of the Club propagandists. But perhaps the worst -instance of our interference is that with the Neapolitan and Sicilian -affairs. We have thus chosen openly to countenance rebellion: we have -gone the length of negotiating with insurgents, for securing them an -independent government. We held out a threat, which we did not dare to -fulfil. After menacing the King of Naples with a squadron off his own -shores, apparently to prevent the expedition then prepared from -setting sail for Sicily--and thereby encouraging the insurgents by the -prospect of British aid--we allowed the fleet to sail, the war to -begin, the city of Messina to be bombarded, and then, with a tardy -humanity, we interfered to check the carnage. In consequence, we are -blamed and detested by both parties. The Neapolitan Government feel -that we have acted towards them in a manner wholly inconsistent with -the character of an ally; that in negotiating with rebels, as we have -done, we have absolutely broken faith, and violated honour; and that -even our last interference was as unprincipled as our first. If the -plea of humanity were to be allowed in such cases, where would be the -end of interference? Durst we have said to Austria, after the -reoccupation of Vienna, "You have taken your city, and may keep it, -but you shall not punish the rebels. If you do, we shall interfere, to -prevent the horrors of military execution"? We think that even Lord -Palmerston, notwithstanding his itch for interposition, would have -hesitated in doing this. Lord Lansdowne, in touching upon the subject -of the Austrian and Hungarian relations, is positively conservative in -his tone. According to him, the British cabinet views rebellion in a -very different light, according as it appears in the centre or the -south of Europe--on the banks of the Danube, or on the shores of the -Mediterranean. "As regarded the administration of the internal affairs -of Austria and Hungary, the British Government had not been asked to -interfere, and had not desired to interfere. They contemplated, as all -Europe did, with that feeling which was experienced when men were seen -successfully struggling with difficulties, a contest which had led to -the display of so much lofty character on the part of individuals. Had -this been the place, he (the Marquis of Lansdowne) should have been as -ready as the noble lord to pay his tribute of respect to individuals -who had appeared in that part of the world, and had been most -successful in their efforts to restore the glories of the Austrian -army in her own dominions. _In the negotiations between the Emperor -and his subjects they had no right to interfere_, neither had they -been invited by either party." This is sound doctrine, we admit, but -why treat Naples otherwise than Austria? Had we any right to interfere -in the negotiations between the King of the Two Sicilies and _his_ -subjects? Not one tittle more than in the other case; and we beg to -suggest to Lord Palmerston, whether it is creditable that this country -should be considered in the light of a bully who hesitates not, in the -case of a lesser power, to take liberties, which he prudently abstains -from doing where one more likely to resent such unwarrantable conduct -is concerned. As for the Sicilians, they feel that they have been -betrayed. But for the prospect of British support, certainly warranted -by our attitude, they might not have gone so far, nor drawn upon their -heads the terrible retribution which overtook them. Such are the -results of Palmerstonian interference, at once dangerous, despicable, -and humiliating. - -We have read with much attention the speech of Lord John Russell, on -the first night of the Session, explanatory of the Italian -transactions; and we must say that his vindication of his -father-in-law is such as to inspire us with a devout hope that the -noble bungler may, in future, be forced to confine his talents for -intrigue to some sphere which does not involve the general -tranquillity of Europe. Considering the manner in which we are mulcted -for the support of the Elliots, we are fairly entitled to ask the -hoary chief of that marauding clan to draw his salary in peace, -without undertaking the task of fomenting civil discord between our -allied powers and their subjects. But even more important is the sort -of admission pervading the address of the Premier, that our -interference in the Sicilian business was regulated by the views -entertained by the French admiral. Sir W. Parker, it seems, did not -take the initiative; it was not his finer sense of humanity which was -offended; for, according to Lord John, "when that expedition reached -Messina, there took place, at the close of the siege of Messina, -events which appeared so horrible and so inhuman in the eyes of the -French admiral that he determined to interfere. It appeared to the -French admiral, that it was impossible such a warfare could continue -without an utter desolation of Sicily, and such alienation from the -Neapolitan Government, on the part of the Sicilians, that no final -terms of agreement could arise; he therefore determined to take upon -himself to put a stop to the further progress of such a horrible -warfare. _After he had so determined, he communicated_ with Sir W. -Parker. Sir W. Parker had a most difficult duty to perform; but, -taking all the circumstances into consideration, our former friendly -relations with the Sicilians--the accounts he had received from the -captain of one of her Majesty's ships then at Messina--the atrocities -he heard of, _and that the French admiral was about to act_--and that -it was important at that juncture that the two nations should act in -concert, his determination was to give orders similar to those which -had been given by the French admiral." Now, although we are fully -alive to the advantage of maintaining the best possible understanding -with the fluctuating French governments, and exceedingly anxious that -no untoward cause for jealousy should arise, we do not think that Lord -John's explanation will be felt as satisfactory by the country. It -appears by this statement, that, had there been no French fleet there, -Sir W. Parker would not have thought himself entitled to interfere. It -is _because_ the French admiral was about to move that he thought fit -to move likewise. If there was any honour in the transaction, we have -forfeited all claim to it by this avowal. If, on the contrary, there -was any wrong done, we excuse it only by the undignified plea, that we -were following the example of France. This is a new position for -Britain to assume--not, in our eyes, one which is likely to raise us -in Continental estimation, or to support the prestige of our maritime -supremacy. To quarrel with our allies is at all times folly; to -vindicate interference on the ground of maintaining a good -understanding with another power, is scarce consonant with principle, -and betrays a conscious weakness on the part of those who have no -better argument to advance. - -See, then, how we are situated with the foreign powers. Spain is -alienated from us--Austria not fervid in her love, for there too, it -would seem, we have most unnecessarily interfered. We are detested in -Naples and Sicily, unpopular elsewhere in Italy, mixed up with the -Schleswig dispute, and on no diplomatic terms with Central Germany. -Our understanding with France has fortunately remained amicable, but -we neither know the policy of France, nor can we foresee under what -circumstances she may be placed in a month from the present time. Is -this a peaceful prospect? Let us hear Lord John Russell, whose -interest it is to make things appear in as favourable a light as -possible:--"I do not contend that there is not cause for anxiety in -the present state of Europe. I am far from thinking that the -revolutions which took place last year have run their course, and that -every nation in which they occurred can now be said to be in a state -of solid security. I rejoice as much as any man that the ancient -empire of Austria, our old ally, is recovering her splendour, and is -showing her strength in such a conspicuous manner. Still I cannot -forget that there are many questions not yet settled with regard to -the internal institutions of Austria--that the question of the -formation of what the honourable gentleman (Mr D'Israeli) has called -an empire without an emperor, is still in debate, and that we cannot -be sure what the ultimate result of these events may be. It is also -true that there may have been, during last year, an excess of -apprehension, caused by the great events that were taking place, and -by the rising up of some wild theories, pretending to found the -happiness of the state and of mankind on visionary and unsound -speculations, on which the happiness of no people or country can ever -be founded. We have seen these opinions prevail in many countries to a -considerable extent; and no one can say that events may not, at some -unforeseen moment, take an unfortunate turn for the peace and -tranquillity of Europe." These are sensible views, moderately but -fairly stated; and we ask nothing more than that his lordship's -measures should be framed in accordance with a belief which is not -only his, but is entertained by every man of ordinary capacity -throughout the country. Experience has shown us that war is almost -invariably preceded by revolution. These are not days in which -potentates can assemble their armies, march across their frontiers -without palpable cause of offence, and seize upon the territory of -their neighbours. But for the spirit of innovation, restlessness, and -lust of change, never more generally exhibited than now amongst the -people, the world would remain at peace. It is only when, as in the -case of Germany and Italy, the sceptre is wrenched from the hands of -the constitutional authorities, and when the rule of demagogues and -experimentalists commences, that the danger of war begins. At such a -time, there are no settled principles of polity or of action. Crude -theories are produced, and, for a time, perhaps, acted upon as though -they were sound realities. Men adopt vague and general terms as their -watchwords, and strive to shape out constitutions to be reared upon -these utterly unsubstantial foundations. Laws are changed, and the -executive loses its power. All is anarchy and confusion, until, by -common consent of those who still retain some portion of their senses, -military despotism is called in to strangle the new-born license. This -is a state of matters which usually results in war. The dominant -authorities feel that their hold of public opinion is most precarious, -unless they can contrive to give that opinion an impulse in another -direction, and, at the same time, to employ, in some way or other, -those multitudes whom revolution has driven from the arts and -occupations of peace, and who, unless so provided for, immediately -degenerate into conspirators at home. War is sometimes resorted to as -the means of avoiding revolution. The disturbed state of the north of -Italy furnished Charles Albert with a pretext for marching his army on -Milan, as much, we believe, on account of the revolutionary spirit -rife within his own dominions, as from any decided hope of territorial -aggrandisement. This was the policy of Napoleon, who perfectly -understood the character of the people he had to deal with, and who -acted on the thorough conviction that war was the necessary -consequence of revolution. We do not say that, in the present -instances, such calamitous results are inevitable--we have hope that -France may this time achieve a permanent constitution without having -recourse to aggression. At the same time, it would be folly to shut -our eyes to the fact that, throughout a great part of Europe, the old -boundaries have been grievously disturbed; and that the modern system -of intervention has a decided tendency to provoke war, at periods when -the popular mind is raised to a pitch of extraordinary violence, and -when the passions are so keenly excited as to disregard the appeals of -reason. - -These considerations are not only directed towards the course of our -foreign policy; they are of vast moment in judging of the expediency -of reducing our forces at this particular time. Last year, with NO -revolutions abroad, the Whigs not only refused to lessen the amount of -our standing army, but increased it. This year, when the Continent is -still in a state of insurrection, and when war is pending in different -parts of Europe--when, moreover, an Indian contest, more serious in -its aspect than any other which we have recently seen, has -commenced--they propose to begin the work of reduction. Her Majesty is -made to say,--"The present aspect of affairs has enabled me to make -large reductions on the estimates of last year!" - -We never have suspected Lord John Russell of possessing much -accomplishment in the art of logic; but, really, in the present -instance, he has the merit of inventing a new system. According to his -own showing, according to his recorded admissions, his doctrine is -this: In time of peace, when there is no occasion for armaments, -increase them; in time of threatened war and actual disturbance, when -there may be every occasion for them, let them be reduced. Yet perhaps -we are wrong: Sir Robert Peel may possibly be admitted as the author -of this vast discovery--in which case, Lord John can merely rank as a -distinguished pupil. The astute baronet, in his zeal for commercial -convulsions, has taught us to expand our currency when there is no -money-famine, and to contract it in the case of exigency. Whether -Californian facts may not hereafter get the better of Tamworth -theories, we shall not at the present moment stop to inquire. In the -mean time let us confine our attention to the proposed reductions. - -We are therefore compelled--reluctantly, for we had hoped better -things from men styling themselves British statesmen--to adopt the -view of Lord Stanley, in his powerful and masterly estimate of the -policy of the present Government. "In the face of all this," said the -noble lord, after recapitulating the posture of affairs at home and -abroad, "ministers have had the confidence to place in the mouth of -their sovereign the astounding declaration, that the aspect of affairs -is such as to enable them to effect large reductions in the estimates. -I venture to state, openly and fearlessly, that it is not the aspect -of affairs abroad or in Ireland, but the aspect of affairs in another -place, which has induced the government to make reductions. _I believe -that they have no alternative but to do as they are ordered._" Here, -then, is the first yielding to the new movement--the first step taken, -at the bidding of the Leaguers, towards a policy which has for its -avowed end the abandonment of the colonies! The question naturally -arises--where is to be the end of these concessions? Are we in reality -ruled by a Manchester faction, or by a body of men of free and -independent opinions, who hold their commissions from the Queen, and -who are sworn to uphold the interests and dignity of their mistress -and of the realm? Let us see who compose that faction, what are their -principles, what are their interests, and what means they employ to -work out the ends which they propose. The splendid speech of Mr -D'Israeli, in moving his amendment to the address--a speech which we -hesitate not to say is superior to any of his former efforts, and -which displays an ability at the present time unequalled in the House -of Commons--a speech not more eloquent than true, not more glowing in -its rhetoric than clear and conclusive in its logical deductions--has -told with withering effect upon the new democratic faction, and has -exposed the ministry which bows before it to the contumely of the -nation at large. "I am told," said the honourable member, "that -England must be contented with a lesser demonstration of brute force. -I am not prepared to contradict that doctrine; but I should like to -have a clear definition of what brute force is. In my opinion, a -highly disciplined army, employed in a great performance--that of the -defence of the country, the maintenance of order, the vindication of a -nation's honour, or the consolidation of national wealth and -greatness--that a body of men thus disciplined, influenced and led by -some of the most eminent generals--by an Alexander, a Cæsar, or a -Wellesley--is one in which moral force is as much entered into as -physical. But if, for instance, I find a man possessing a certain -facility of speech, happily adapted to his cause, addressing a great -body of his fellow-men in inflammatory appeals to their passions, and -stirring them up against the institutions of the country, that is what -I call brute force--which I think the country would be very well -content to do without, and which, if there be any sense or spirit left -in men, or any men of right feeling in the country, they will resolve -to put down as an intolerable and ignominious tyranny! I have often -observed that the hangers-on of the new system are highly fond of -questioning the apothegm of a great Swedish minister, who said, 'With -how little wisdom a nation may be governed!' My observations for the -last few years have led me to the conclusion, not exactly similar, but -analogous to that remark; and if ever I should be blessed with -offspring, instead of using the words of the Swedish statesman, I -would rather address my son in this way, 'My son, see with how much -ignorance you can agitate a nation!' Yes! but the Queen's Ministers -are truckling to these men! That is the position of affairs. Her -Majesty's Ministers have yielded to public opinion. Public opinion on -the Continent has turned out to be the voice of secret societies; and -public opinion in England is the voice and clamour of organised clubs. -Her Majesty's Ministers have yielded to public opinion as a tradesman -does who is detected in an act of overcharge--he yields to public -opinion when he takes a less sum. So the financial affairs of this -country are to be arranged, not upon principles of high policy, or -from any imperial considerations, but because there is an unholy -pressure from a minority which demands it, and who have a confidence -of success because they know that they have already beaten two Prime -Ministers." No one who has perused the report of the proceedings at -the late free-trade dinner at Manchester can have failed to remark -that the League is still alive and active. It was not for mere -purposes of jubilation, for the sake of congratulating each other on -the accomplishment of their old object, that these men assembled. -Exultation there was indeed, and some not over-prudent disclosures as -to the nature and extent of the machinery which they had employed, and -the agencies they had used to excite one class of the community -against the other; their inveterate hatred towards the aristocracy and -landed gentry of Great Britain was shown in the diatribes of almost -every one of the commercial orators. "We cannot," says _The Times_, -"but regret that in those portions of the Manchester speeches which -refer to their corn-law achievements, the minds of the speakers appear -still imbittered with class hatred, and feelings of misplaced -animosity towards their fellow-countrymen." "As a people," quoth -Friend John Bright, "we have found out we have some power. We have -discovered we were not born with saddles on our backs, and country -gentlemen with spurs." Ulterior objects are not only hinted at, but -clearly and broadly propounded. The population of the towns is again -to be pitted against that of the counties, and the counties, if -possible, to be swamped by an inundation of urban voters. The banquet -of Wednesday was followed by the financial meeting of Thursday. George -Wilson, the ancient president of the Anti-Corn-Law League, occupied -the chair. Bright and Cobden, the Bitias and Pandarus of the -cotton-spinners, moved the first of a series of resolutions: and an -association was formed, "for maintaining an efficient care over the -registration of electors in boroughs and counties, and to promote the -increase of the county electors by the extension of the forty-shilling -freehold franchise." It was further agreed "that the association -should co-operate with similar associations throughout the country, -and that parties subscribing £10 annually shall be members of the -council, together with such persons, being members of the association, -as shall be elected by any vote of the council." We hope that these -announcements will open the eyes of those who thought that by yielding -to the former agitation they were adopting the best means of bringing -it to a close. Agitation never is so quieted. The experiment has been -made in Ireland until further yielding was impossible; and so will it -be in Britain, if a higher, a bolder, and a more steadfast line of -policy should not be adopted by future governments. From the present -Cabinet we expect nothing. Their invariable course is to yield; for -they neither have the ability to devise measures for themselves, nor -the public virtue to resist unconstitutional encroachments. For where -is the constitution of this country, if we are to be practically -governed by Leagues, by huge clubs with their ramifications extending, -as in France, throughout every town of the empire, and secretly worked -according to the will of an inscrutable and unscrupulous council? -Public opinion, as we understood the phrase in Britain, manifested -itself in Parliament; now, we are told, that it is something -else--that it is the voice of clubs and assemblies without. Very well, -and very powerfully did Mr D'Israeli allude to this system of -organisation in the close of his animated speech:-- - - "I have noticed the crude and hostile speculations that are - afloat, especially respecting financial reform, not only - because I consider them to be very dangerous to the country; - not only because, according to rumour, they have converted - the Government; but because, avowedly on the part of their - promulgators, they are only tending to ultimate efforts. This - I must say of the new revolutionary movement, that its - proceedings are characterised by frank audacity. They have - already menaced the church, and they have scarcely spared the - throne. They have denounced the constitutional estates of the - realm as antiquated and cumbrous machinery, not adapted to - the present day. No doubt, for the expedition of business, - the Financial Reform Association presents greater facilities - than the House of Commons. It is true that it may be long - before there are any of those collisions of argument and - intellect among them which we have here; they have no - discussions and no doubts; but still I see no part of the - go-a-head system which is likely to supersede the sagacity - and matured wisdom of English institutions; and so long as - the English legislature is the chosen temple of free - discussion, I have no fear, whatever party may be in power, - that the people of England will be in favour of the new - societies. I know very well the difficulties which we have to - encounter--the dangers which illumine the distance. The - honourable gentleman, who is the chief originator of this - movement, made a true observation when he frankly and freely - said, that the best chance for the new revolution lay in the - dislocation of parties in this House. I told you that, when I - ventured to address some observations to the house almost in - the last hour of the last session. I saw the difficulty which - such a state of things would inevitably produce. But let us - not despair; we have a duty to perform, and, notwithstanding - all that has occurred, we have still the inspiration of a - great cause. We stand here to uphold not only the throne, but - the empire; to vindicate the industrial privileges of the - working classes; to reconstruct the colonial system; to - uphold the church, no longer assailed by appropriation - clauses, but by vizored foes; and to maintain the majesty of - parliament against the Jacobin manoeuvres of Lancashire. This - is a stake not lightly to be lost. At any rate, I would - sooner my tongue were palsied before I counselled the people - of England to lower their tone. Yes, I would sooner quit this - House for ever than I would say to the people of England that - they overrated their position. I leave that delicate - intimation to the fervid patriotism of the gentlemen of the - new school. For my part, I denounce their politics, and I - defy their predictions; but I do so because I have faith in - the people of England, their genius, and their destiny!" - -Our views therefore are simply these--that while it is the duty of -government to enforce and practise economy in every department of the -public service, they are not entitled, upon any consideration -whatever, to palter with the public safety. We cannot, until the -estimates are brought forward, pronounce any judgment upon the merits -of the proposed reductions--we cannot tell whether these are to be -numerical, or effected on another principle. Needless expenditure we -deprecate as strongly as the most sturdy adherent of the League, and -we expect and hope that in several departments there will be a saving, -not because that has been clamoured for, but because the works which -occasioned the outlay have been completed. For example, the -introduction of steam vessels into our navy has cost a large sum, -which may not be required in future. But to assign, as ministers have -done, the position of affairs abroad as a reason for reducing our -armaments, is utterly preposterous. It is a miserable pretext to cover -their contemptible truckling, and we are perfectly sure that it will -be appreciated throughout the country at its proper value. It remains -to be seen whether these estimates can be reduced so low as to meet -the expenditure of the country. Our own opinion is, that they cannot, -without impairing the efficiency of either branch of the service; and -we hardly think that ministers will venture to go so far. - -Let us, at all events, hope that Lord John Russell and his colleagues -are not so lost to the sense of their duty, as to make the sweeping -reduction which the Manchester politicians demand--that they will not -consent to renounce the colonies, or to leave them destitute of -defence. Still the question remains--how are we to raise our revenue? -To this point we perpetually recur, for it is in this that the real -difficulty lies. What says her Majesty's Government to this? The -answer is quite short--Nothing. They have no scheme, so far as we are -given to understand. They cannot go back upon indirect taxation; the -country will not stand any increase of the direct burdens. The old -rule was, out of two evils choose the least: the new rule seems to be, -choose neither the one nor the other, but let matters go on as they -best can. We have that confidence in the good sense of the country, -that we cannot believe that this _laissez faire_ system will be much -longer tolerated. The family party, as the interwoven clique of -Russells, Mintos, Greys, and Woods, has not unaptly been designated, -was not placed in power merely to enjoy the sweets of office, or to -provide for their numerous kindred; they must either grapple with the -pressing difficulties of the state, or surrender their places to -others who are more confident and capable. - -Confidence is not wanting in certain quarters, though capability may -be a matter of more dubiety. Mr M'Gregor, M.P. for Glasgow, and -concocter of the famous free-trade tables, is ready at a moment's -notice to produce a new financial scheme, founded upon unerring data, -and promising a large increase of the revenue. Cobden has another -scheme on the irons with the same view, benevolently proposing to lay -the land of Great Britain under further contribution. We believe that, -after the experience of the past, few people will be likely to accept -either budget without considerable hesitation. Both gentlemen have -committed a slight mistake in imitating Joseph's interpretation of the -dream of Pharaoh; they should have inversed the order, and given the -years of famine the precedence of the years of plenty. - -The truth is, that it is a very simple matter to take off existing -taxes, but marvellously difficult to impose new ones. Granting that a -certain sum is required for the annual engagements and expenditure of -the country, no wise statesman would abolish any source of revenue, -without, at the same time, introducing another equivalent. Our error -has been abolition without any equivalent at all. It is all very well -to say, that by reducing import duties upon particular articles you -stimulate the power of production: that stimulus may be -given--individuals may in consequence be enriched--and yet still there -is a defalcation of revenue. This, however, is the best case which can -be pointed out for the reduction of duties, and can only apply, in any -degree, to imports of raw material. The greater part of Sir Robert -Peel's tariff is founded upon a principle directly opposite to this. -He removed import duties from articles which, so far from stimulating -the power of production at home, absolutely crushed that power, by -bringing in foreign to supersede British labour. Thus, in both cases, -there was a sacrifice. In the one there was, at all events, a direct -sacrifice of revenue; in the other, a sacrifice of revenue, and a -sacrifice of labour also. The imposition (and the word is appropriate -either in its plain or its metaphorical meaning) of the property and -income tax, which gave Sir Robert Peel the power of making his -commercial experiments, proved inadequate to replace the deficit. The -promised gain was as visionary as the dividends on certain railway -lines projected about the same period, and no new source of national -income has been opened to supply the loss. - -Lord Brougham, no bad judge of human nature, observed the other night, -that "such was the extent of the self-conceit of mankind, such the -nature and amount of human frailty, that it became no easy matter to -induce a nation to retrace its steps." People are ever loath to accept -as facts the most pregnant evidences of their own deliberate folly. -Perfectly aware of this metaphysical tendency, we are not surprised -that, for the last two or three years, every remonstrance against the -dangers of precipitate commercial legislation should have been treated -with scorn, both by the older advocates of the abolition system, and -by the younger disciples who were converted in a body along with their -master. They have been kind enough, over and over again, to entreat -us to relinquish our defence of what they called an antiquated and -worn-out theory. Their supplications on this score have been so -continuous as to become absolutely painful; nor could we well -understand why and wherefore they should be so very solicitous for our -silence. Our worst enemies cannot accuse us of advocating any -dangerous innovations: our preachment may be tedious, but, at all -events, we do not take the field at the head of an organised -association. Neither can we be blamed for solitary restiveness, for we -do not stand alone in the utterance of such opinions. The public press -of this country has nobly fought the battle. We have had to cope with -dexterous and skilled opponents; but never, upon any public question, -has a great cause been maintained more unflinchingly, more -disinterestedly, and more ably, than that of the true Conservative -party by the free Conservative press. We are now glad to see that our -denunciations of the new system have not been altogether without their -effect. The temporary failure of free trade has been conceded even by -its advocates; but we are referred to accidental causes for that -failure, and the entreaty now is, to give the system a longer trial. -We have no manner of objection to this, provided we are not asked to -submit to any further experiments. We desire nothing better than that -the people of Great Britain, be they agriculturists, or be they -tradesmen, should have the opportunity of testing by experience the -blessings of the free-trade system. The first class, indeed, do not -require any probationary period of low prices to strengthen their -conviction of the fallacy of the anti-reciprocity system, or of the -iniquity of the arrangement which compels them to support the enormous -amount of pauperism engendered by the over amount of population, -systematically encouraged by the manufacturers. "The manufacturers," -said Lord Brougham, "do not, perhaps, tell the world that they -manufacture other things besides cotton twist; but every one who knew -anything of them, knew that they _manufactured paupers_. Where the -land produced one pauper, manufacturers created half-a-dozen." Still -we can hardly expect to be thoroughly emancipated from the effects of -the great delusion, until men of every sort and quality are -practically convinced that their interests have been sacrificed to the -selfish objects of a base and sordid confederation. We have no wish to -hark back without occasion, or prematurely, to the corn laws: but, at -the same time, we are not of the number of those who think that -subsequent events have justified the wisdom of the measure. If the -loyalty of the people of Great Britain did really rest upon so very -narrow a point, that, even amidst the rocking and crashing of thrones -and constitutions upon the Continent, ours would have been endangered -by the maintenance of the former law, we should still have reason to -despair of the ultimate destinies of the country. Are we to understand -that, in such a case, the Jacobin faction would have had recourse to -arms--that the Manchester League would have preached rebellion, or -excited its adherents to insurrection? If not this, where would have -been the danger? Never was any question agitated in which the mass of -the operatives took less interest than in the repeal of the corn laws. -They knew well that no benefit was thereby intended to be conferred -upon them--that no philanthropic motives contributed to the erection -of the bazaars--that the millions of popular tracts were poured forth -from no cornucopia of popular plenty. The very fact, that the hard and -griping men of calico were so liberal with their subscriptions to -promote an agrarian change, was sufficient of itself to create a -strong suspicion in their minds; for when was the purse of the -taskmaster ever produced, save from a motive of selfish interest? We -will not do the masses of the British population the foul injustice to -believe that, under any circumstances, they would have emulated the -frantic example of the French. Cobden has not yet the power of his -friend and correspondent Cremieux: he is a wordy patriot, but nothing -more; and, even had he been inclined for mischief, we do not believe -that, beyond the immediate pale of his confederates, any considerable -portion of the nation would readily have rallied round the standard -of such a Gracchus, even though the tricolor stripes had been -displayed on a field of the choicest calico. - -"The corn law is a settled question!" so shout the free-traders daily, -in high wrath and dudgeon if any one even ventures to allude to -agricultural distress. We grant the fact. It is a settled question, -like every other which has been decided by the legislature, and it -must remain a settled question until the legislature chooses to reopen -it. We do not expect any such consummation for a long time. We agree -perfectly with the other party, that it is folly to continue -skirmishing after the battle is over, and we do not propose to adopt -any such tactics. We are content to wait until the experiment is -developed, to see how the system works, and to accept it if it works -well; but not on that account shall we less oppose the free-traders -when they advance to further innovations. The repeal of the corn laws -was not the whole, but a mere branch of the free-trade policy. It was -undoubtedly the branch more calculated than any other to depress the -agricultural interest, but the trial of it has been postponed longer -than the free-traders expected. They shall have the benefit of that -circumstance; nor shall we say one word out of season upon the -subject. But perhaps, referring again to the Queen's speech, and -selecting this time for our text those paragraphs which stated that -"commerce is reviving," and that "the condition of the manufacturing -districts is likewise more encouraging than it has been for a -considerable period," we may be allowed to offer a few observations. - -We do not exactly understand what her Majesty's ministers mean by the -revival of commerce. This is a general statement which it is very easy -to make, and proportionally difficult to deny. If they mean that our -exports during the last half year have increased, we can understand -them, and very glad indeed we are to learn that such is the case. For -although we have seen of late some elaborate arguments, tending, if -they have any meaning at all, to show that our imports and not our -exports should be taken as the true measure of the national prosperity, -we have that faith in the simple rules of arithmetic which forbids us -from adopting such reasoning. But our gladness at receiving such a -cheering sentiment from the highest possible authority is a good deal -damped by the result of the investigations which we have thought it our -duty to make. We have gone over the tables minutely, and we find that -the exports of the great staples of our industry--cotton, woollen, -silk, linen, hardware, and earthenware--were of less value than those -of 1847 by FOUR MILLIONS AND A HALF, and less than those of 1846 by a -sum exceeding FIVE MILLIONS AND A HALF. With such a fact before us, can -it be wondered at if we are cautious of receiving such unqualified -statements, and exceedingly doubtful of the good faith of the men who -make them? - -But, perhaps, this is not the sense in which ministers understand -commerce. They are entitled to congratulate the country upon one sort -of improvement, which certainly was not owing to any efforts upon -their part. We have at last emerged from the monetary crisis, induced -by the unhappy operation of the Banking Restriction Act, and, in this -way, commerce certainly has improved. The fact that such a change in -the distribution of the precious metals should have taken place whilst -our exports were steadily declining, is very instructive, because it -clearly demonstrates the false and artificial nature of our present -monetary system. The consequences, however, may be serious, as the -price of the British funds cannot now be taken as an index of the -prosperity of the country, either in its agricultural or its -manufacturing capacity, but has merely relation to the possession of a -certain quantity of bullion. The rise of the funds, therefore, does -not impress us with any confidence that there has been a healthy -revival in the commerce of the country. We cannot consider the -question of commerce apart from the condition of the manufacturing -districts; and it is to that quarter we must look, in order to test -the value of the free-trade experiments. - -We have already noticed the enormous decrease, during the last three -years, in the annual amount of our exports. This, coupled with the -immense increase of imported articles of foreign manufacture, proves -very clearly that the British manufacturer has as yet derived no -benefit from the free-trade measures. We do not, of course, mean to -say that free trade has had any tendency to lessen our exports, though -to cripple the colonies is certainly not the way to augment their -capabilities of consumption. We merely point to the fact of the -continued decrease, even in the staples of British industry, as a -proof of the utter fruitlessness of the attempt to take the markets of -the world by storm. We are told, indeed, of exceptional causes which -have interfered with the experiment; but these causes, even allowing -them their fullest possible operation, are in no way commensurate with -the results. For be it remarked, that the free-trade measures -contemplated this result,--that increased imports were to be -compensated by an enormous augmentation of exports: in other words, -that we were to meet with perfect reciprocity from every foreign -nation. Now, admitting that exceptional causes existed to check and -restrain this augmentation, can we magnify these to such an extent as -to explain the phenomenon of a steady and determined fall in our -staple exports, and that long before the occurrence of civil war or -insurrection on the continent of Europe? The explanation is just -this,--the exports fell because the markets abroad were glutted, and -because no state is disposed to imitate the suicidal example of -Britain, or to sacrifice its own rising industry for the sake of -encouraging foreigners. What inducement, it may be asked, has any -state in the world to follow in our wake? Let us take for example -Germany, to whose markets we send annually about six millions and a -half of manufactures. Germany has considerable manufactures of her -own, which give employment to a large portion of the population. Would -it be wise in the Germans, for the sake of reducing the price either -of linen, cotton, or woollen goods by an infinitesimal degree, to -throw all these people idle, and to paralyse labour in every -department, whenever they could be undersold by a foreign artisan? -Undoubtedly not. Germany has nothing whatever to gain by pursuing such -a course. The British market is open to her, but she does not on that -account relax her right of laying duties upon imports from Britain. -She shelters herself against our competition in her home market, -augments her revenue thereby, and avails herself to the very utmost of -our reduced tariffs, to compete in our country with the artisans of -Sheffield and Birmingham. Every new return convinces us more and more -that commercial interchange is the proper subject of international -treaty; but that no nation whatever, and certainly not one so heavily -burdened as ours, can hope for prosperity if it opens its ports -without the distinct assurance of reciprocity. - -Let us try distinctly to ascertain the real amount of improvement -visible in the manufacturing districts. In order to do this, we must -turn to the last official tables, which bring down the trade accounts -from 5th January to 5th December 1848, being a period of eleven -months. We find the following ominous result in the comparison with -the same period in former years:-- - - _Exports of British Produce and Manufactures from the United Kingdom._ - - 1846. 1847. 1848. - - Total, £47,579,413 £47,345,354 £42,158,194 - -FIVE MILLIONS, TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS of decreased exports in -eleven months!--and the manufacturing districts are improving! - -Let us see the ratio of decline on some of the principal articles -which are the product of these districts. We shall therefore omit such -entries as those of butter, candles, cheese, fish, soap, salt, &c., -and look to the staples only. The following results we hardly think -will bear out the somewhat over-confident declaration of the -ministry:-- - - _Export of Principal Manufactures from the United Kingdom._ - - 1846. 1847. 1848. - Cotton manufactures, £16,276,465 £16,082,313 £15,050,579 - Do. yarn, 7,520,578 5,547,943 5,443,800 - Linen manufactures, 2,553,658 2,690,536 2,475,224 - Do. yarn, 797,640 615,550 440,118 - Silk manufactures, 768,888 912,842 520,427 - Woollen yarn, 858,953 941,158 712,035 - Do. manufactures, 5,852,056 6,424,503 5,198,059 - Earthenware, 742,295 773,786 651,184 - Hardwares and cutlery, 2,004,127 2,138,091 1,669,146 - Glass, 241,759 272,411 216,464 - Leather, 307,336 327,715 244,663 - Machinery, 1,050,205 1,186,921 779,759 - ----------- ----------- ----------- - £38,973,920 £37,913,769 £33,401,758 - -Looking at these tables, we fairly confess that we can see no ground -for exultation whatever; on the contrary, there is in every article a -marked and steady decline. Some of the free-trade journals assert -that, although in the earlier part of the last year there certainly -was a marked falling off in our exports, yet that the later months -have almost redeemed the deficiency. That statement is utterly false -and unfounded. In September last, we showed that the exports of the -first seven commodities in the above table, exhibited a decline of -£3,177,370, for the six earlier months of the year, as compared with -the exports in 1847. We continue the account of the same commodities -for eleven months, and we find the deficiency rated at £3,370,603; so -that we still have been going down hill, only not quite at so -precipitate a rate as before. Free-trade, therefore--for which we -sacrificed our revenue, submitted to an income-tax, and ruined our -West India colonies--has utterly failed to stimulate our exports, the -end which it deliberately proposed. - -The diminution of exports implies of course a corresponding diminution -of labour. This is a great evil, but one which is beyond the remedy of -the statesman. You cannot force exports--you cannot compel the foreign -nations to take your goods. We beg attention to the following extract -from the speech of Mr D'Israeli, which puts the matter of export upon -its true and substantial basis:-- - - "Look at your condition with reference to the Brazils. Every - one recollects the glowing accounts of the late - Vice-president of the Board of Trade with respect to the - Brazilian trade--that trade for which you sacrificed your own - colonies. There is an increase in the trade with the Brazils - of 26,500,000 of yards in 1846 over 1845; and 18,500,000 - yards in 1847 over 1845; and this increase has so completely - glutted that market, that goods are selling at Rio and Bahia - at cost price. It is stated in the _Mercantile Journal_, that - 'It is truly alarming to think what may be the result of a - continuance of imports, not only in the face of a very - limited inquiry, but at a period of the year when trade is - almost always at a stand. Why cargo after cargo of goods - should be sent hither, is an enigma we cannot solve. Some few - vessels have yet to arrive; and although trade may probably - revive in the beginning of 1849, what will become of the - goods received and to be received? This market cannot consume - them. Stores, warehouses, and the customhouse are full to - repletion; and if imports continue upon the same scale as - heretofore, and sales have to be forced, we may yet have to - witness the phenomenon of all descriptions of piece goods - being purchased here below the prime cost in the country of - production!' Such is the state of matters in these markets; - and I do not see that your position in Europe is better. - Russia is still hermetically sealed, and Prussia is not yet - stricken. I know that there are some who, at this moment, - think that it is a matter of no consequence how much we may - export; who say that foreigners will not give their - productions for nothing, and that, therefore, we must just - manage things in the most favourable way we can for - ourselves. There is no doubt that foreigners will not give us - their goods without some exchange for them; but the question - which the people of this country are looking at is, to know - exactly what are the terms of exchange which it is beneficial - for us to adopt. That is the whole question. You may glut - markets, as I have shown you have succeeded in doing; but the - only effect of your system, of your attempting to struggle - against those hostile tariffs, by opening your ports, is - that you exchange more of your labour every year and every - month for a less quantity of foreign labour; that you render - British labour or native industry less efficient; that you - degrade British labour--necessarily diminish profits, and, - therefore, must lower wages; while the first philosophers - have shown that you will finally effect a change in the - distribution of the precious metals that must be pernicious - to this country. It is for these reasons that all practical - men are impressed with the conviction that you should adopt - reciprocity as a principle of your commercial tariff--not - merely from its practical importance, but as an abstract - truth. This was the principle of the negotiations at Utrecht, - which was copied by Mr Pitt in his commercial negotiations at - Paris, which formed the groundwork of the instructions to Mr - Eden, and which was wisely adopted and upheld by the cabinet - of Lord Liverpool; but which was deserted, flagrantly, and - openly, and unwisely, in 1846. There is another reason why - you can no longer defend your commercial system--you can no - longer delay considering the state of your colonies. This is - called an age of principles, and no longer of political - expedients--you yourselves are the disciples of economy; and - you have, on every occasion, enunciated it as a principle - that the colonies of England were an integral part of this - country. You ought, then, to act towards your colonies on the - principle you have adopted, but which you have never - practised. The principle of reciprocity is, in fact, the only - principle on which you can reconstruct your commercial system - in a manner beneficial to the mother country and advantageous - to the colonies. It is, indeed, a great principle, the only - principle on which a large and expansive system of commerce - can be founded, so as to be beneficial. The system you are - pursuing is one quite contrary--you go fighting hostile - tariffs with fixed imports; and the consequence is that you - are following a course most injurious to the commerce of the - country. And every year, at the commencement of the session, - you come, not to congratulate the House or the country on the - state of our commerce, but to explain why it suffered, why it - was prostrate; and you are happy on this occasion to be able - to say that it is recovering--from what? From unparalleled - distress." - -The labour market in this country, so far from improving, is, we have -every reason to believe, in a pitiable state. Let us take the one -instance of silk manufactures. Of these we exported, during eleven -months of last year, an amount to the value of £912,842; this year we -have only sent out £520,427, or nearly £400,000 less. But this decline -does not by any means express the amount of the curtailment of labour -in this important branch of industry. The home market has been -inundated with foreign silks, introduced under the tariffs of 1846, -and that to a degree which is wholly without precedent. Let us see the -comparative amount of importations. - - 1846. 1847. 1848. - Silk or satin broad stuffs, 115,292 lbs. 147,656 lbs. 269,637 lbs. - Silk ribbons, 180,375 " 182,978 " 217,243 " - Gauze or crape broad stuffs, 6,536 " 5,588 " 8,243 " - Gauze ribbons, 31,307 " 41,825 " 49,460 " - Gauze mixed, 18 " 8 " 39 " - Mixed ribbons, 1,842 " 3,094 " 2,466 " - Velvet broad stuffs, 26,798 " 27,494 " 29,669 " - Velvet embossed ribbons, 13,550 " 14,192 " 41,461 " - ------------ ------------ ------------ - 375,718 lbs. 422,835 lbs. 618,218 lbs. - -Is there any commentary required on these figures? We should hope that -no one can be dull enough to misapprehend their import. In one year -our exportation of silk goods has fallen to little more than a half: -in two years our importations from the Continent have nearly doubled. -Where ninety British labourers worked for the exporting trade, only -fifty are now employed; and if we suppose that the consumpt of silk -manufactures in this country is the same in 1848 as in 1846, the -further amount of labour which has been sacrificed, by the increased -importations, must be something positively enormous. It is in this way -that free trade beggars the people and fills the workhouses; whilst, -at the same time, it brings down the national revenue to such an ebb, -that it is utterly insufficient to balance the necessary expenditure. -It would be well if politicians would constantly keep in view this one -great truth--That of all the burdens which can be laid upon a people, -the heaviest is the want of employment. No general cheapness, no class -accumulations of wealth, can make up for this terrible want; and the -statesman who deliberately refuses to recognise this principle, and -who, from any motive, deprives the working man of his privilege, is an -enemy to the interests of his country. - -We cannot, and we do not, expect that men who have committed -themselves so deeply as Mr Cobden has done to the principles of free -trade in all its branches, should, under any development of -circumstances, be brought to acknowledge their error. No evidence -however overwhelming, no ruin however widely spread, could shake their -faith, or at any rate diminish the obstinacy of their professions. -They would rather sacrifice, as indeed they seem bent on doing, the -best interests of the British empire, than acknowledge the extent of -their error. Their motto avowedly is, _vestigia nulla retrorsum_. No -sooner is one interest pulled down than they make a rapid and -determined assault upon another, utterly reckless of the misery which -they have occasioned, and hopelessly deaf even to the warnings of -experience. They are true destructives; because they feel that they -dare not pause in their career of violence, lest men should have -leisure, to contemplate the ruin already effected, and should ask -themselves what tangible benefit has been obtained at so terrible a -cost. Mr Cobden knows better than to resume consideration of -free-trade principles, now that we have seen them in actual operation. -He is advancing on with his myrmidons towards the Moscow of free -trade; but, unless we are greatly mistaken, he may have occasion, some -day or other, to revisit his ancient battlefields, but not in the -capacity of a conqueror. There are, however, others, less deeply -pledged, who begin to perceive that in attempting to carry out free -trade without reciprocity, and in the face of hostile tariffs, we are -ruining the trade of Britain for the sole advantage of the foreigner. -Mr Muntz, the member for Birmingham, is not at one with ministers as -to the cheerful prospect of the revival among the manufacturers. - - "When I came here," said he characteristically, "I heard a - great deal about the improvement of trade in the country. But - I went home on Saturday, and there was not a man I met who - had experienced any of this improvement in trade. On the - contrary, every one said that trade was flat and - unprofitable, and that there was no prospect of improvement - because they were so much competed with by foreign - manufacturers. This very morning I met with one of my - travellers, who had just returned from the north of Germany; - and I asked him what was the state of trade. 'Oh,' said he, - 'there is plenty of trade in Germany, but not trade with - England. They manufacture goods so cheaply themselves, that, - at the prices you sell, low as they are, you cannot compete - with the Germans.' I will tell the House another curious - thing. About three or four years ago, the glassmakers of - Birmingham were very anxious for free trade, and, though I - warned them that I did not think they could compete with - foreigners, yet they were quite certain they could. Well, I - introduced them to the minister of the day--the right - honourable baronet the member of Tamworth--when, to my horror - and astonishment, they asked, not for free trade, but for - three years of protection. Why, I said to them, I thought you - were for free trade? 'Yes,' they replied, 'so we are; but we - want the three years of protection to prepare us for free - trade.' Now, on Saturday last, I received a letter from one - of the leading manufacturers, stating that the import duties - on flint-glass would expire very soon, and with those duties - the trade in this country, he feared, was also in great - danger of expiring, owing to the produce of manufactures - being admitted duty-free into this country, while they had - protective duties in their own, thus keeping up the price at - home by sending over the surplus stock here. The letter - concluded by requesting that the protective duties, which - were about to expire, might be renewed. The improvement in - trade, which was so much talked of, is not an improvement in - quality, but an improvement in quantity: there are half a - dozen other trades which have vanished from Birmingham, - because of the over-competition of the Continent. And, - strangely enough, the manufactures that have been the most - injured are those which last week were held up by the public - press as in a most flourishing condition!" - -This statement furnishes ample ground for reflection. The truth is, -that the whole scheme of free trade was erected and framed, not for -the purpose of benefiting the manufacturers at the expense of the -landed interest, but rather to get a monopoly of export for one or -two of the leading manufactures of the empire. Those who were engaged -in the cotton and woollen trade, along with some of the iron-masters, -were at the head of the movement. No influx of foreign manufactured -produce could by possibility swamp _them_ in the home market, for they -are not exposed to that competition with which the smaller trades must -struggle. The Germans will take shirtings, but they will not now take -cutlery from us. The articles which they produce are certainly not so -good as ours, but they are cheaper, and protected, and it is even -worth their while to compete with us in the home markets of Britain. -The same may be said of the trade in brass, gloves, shoes, hats, -earthenware, porcelain, and fifty others. They are not now exporting -trades, and at home, under the new tariffs, we are completely -undersold by the foreigners. As for the glass trade, no one who is -acquainted with the present state of that manufacture on the -Continent, can expect that it will ever again recover. This, in -reality, is the cause of the present depression; and until this is -thoroughly understood by the tradesmen who are suffering, there can be -no improvement for the better. What advantage, we ask, can it be to a -man who finds his profits disappearing, his trade reduced to -stagnation, and his capability of giving employment absolutely -annihilated, to know that, in consequence of some sudden impulse, -twenty million additional yards of calico have been exported from -Great Britain? The glass-blower, the brazier, and the cutler, have not -the remotest interest in calico. They may think, indeed, that part of -the profit so secured may be indirectly advantageous in the purchase -of their wares, but they find themselves lamentably mistaken. The -astute calico-master sells his wares to the foreigner abroad, and he -purchases with equal disinterestedness from the manufacturing -foreigner at home. This is the whole tendency of free trade, and it is -amazing to us that the juggle should find any supporters amongst the -class who are its actual victims. If they look soberly and -deliberately into the matter, they cannot fail to see that the -adoption by the state of the maxim, to sell in the dearest and buy in -the cheapest market, more especially when that market is the home one, -and when cheapness has been superinduced by the introduction of -foreign labour, must end in the consummation of their ruin. Can we -really believe in the assertion of ministers, that manufactures are -improving, when we find, on all hands, such pregnant assurances to the -contrary? For example, there was a meeting held in St James's, so late -as the 11th of January, "to consider the unprecedented number of -unemployed mechanics and workmen now in the metropolis, and to devise -the best means for diminishing their privations and sufferings, by -providing them with employment." Mr Lushington, M.P. for Westminster, -a thorough-paced liberal, moved the first resolution, the tendency of -which was towards the institution of soup kitchens, upon this -preamble, "that the number of operatives, mechanics, and labourers now -thrown out of employment is unusually great, and the consequent -destitution and distress which exist on all sides are painfully -excessive, and deeply alarming." And yet, Mr Lushington, like many of -his class and stamp, can penetrate no deeper into the causes of -distress, than is exhibited in the following paragraph of his -speech:--"The great majority of those whose cases they were now met to -consider, were the victims of misfortune, and not of crime, and, on -that account, they had a legitimate claim upon their sympathy and -commiseration. But private sympathy was impotent to grapple with the -gigantic evil with which they had to contend; isolated efforts and -voluntary alms-giving were but a mere drop in the ocean, compared with -the remedy that the case demanded. They must go further and deeper for -their remedy; and the only efficacious one that could effectually be -brought to bear upon the miseries of the people, was the reduction of -the national expenditure--the cutting down of the army, navy, and -ordnance estimates, and the removal of those taxes that pressed so -heavily upon the poorer portions of the community." This is about as -fine a specimen of unadulterated senatorial drivel as we ever had the -good fortune to meet with; and it may serve as an apt illustration of -the absurd style of argument so commonly employed by the members of -the free-trade party. Suppose that the army were disbanded to-morrow, -and all the sailors in the navy paid off, how would that give -employment to the unfortunate poor? Nay, would it not materially -contribute to increase the tide of pauperism, since no economist has -as yet condescended to explain what sort of employment is to be given -to the disbanded? As to the taxes spoken of by Mr Lushington, what are -they? We really cannot comprehend the meaning of this illustrious -representative of an enlightened constituency. Supposing there was not -a single tax levied in Britain to-morrow, how would that arrangement -better the condition of the people, who are simply starving because -they can get no manner of work whatever? It is this silly but -mischievous babbling, these false and illogical conclusions enunciated -by men who either do not understand what they are saying, or who, -understanding it, are unfit for the station which they occupy, which -tend more than anything else to spread disaffection among the lower -orders, to impress them with the idea that they are unjustly dealt -with, and to stimulate them in their periodical outcry for organic -changes. The remedy lies in restoring to the labouring man those -privileges of which he has been insidiously robbed by the operation of -the free-trade measures. It lies in returning to the system which -secured a full revenue to the nation, whilst, at the same time, it -prevented the minor trades from being swamped by foreign competition. -It lies in refusing to allow one class of the community to extinguish -others, and to throw the burden of the pauperism which it creates upon -the landed interest, already contending with enormous difficulties. -Until this be done, it is in vain to expect any real improvement in -the condition of the working-classes. Each successive branch of -industry that is pulled down, under the operation of the new system, -adds largely to the mass of accumulating misery; and the longer the -experiment is continued, the greater will be the permanent injury to -the country. - -Not the least evil resulting from the free-trade agitation is the -selfishness and division of classes which it has studiously -endeavoured to promote. So long as the agriculturists alone were -menaced, the whole body of the manufacturers were against them. The -tariffs of 1846 struck at the small traders and artisans, and the -merchants looked on with indifference. Now the question relates to the -Navigation Laws, and the shipmasters of Britain complain that they -cannot rouse the nation to a sense of the meditated wrong. Every one -has been ready to advocate free trade in every branch save that with -which he was personally connected; and it is this shortsighted policy -which has given such power to the assailing party. Deeply do we -deplore the folly as well as the wickedness of such divisions. No -nation can ever hope to prosper through the prosperity of one class -alone. It is not the wealth of individuals which gives stability to a -state, but the fair distribution of profitable labour throughout the -whole of the community. In contending for the support of the -Navigation Laws, we are not advocating the cause of the shipmasters, -but that of the nation; and yet we feel that if the principle of free -trade be once fully admitted, no exception can be made, even in this -vital point. If we intend to retain our colonies, we must do justice -to them one way or another. We cannot deprive them of the advantages -which they formerly enjoyed from their connexion with the parent -country, and yet subject them to a burden of this kind, even although -we hold that burden necessary for the effectual maintenance of our -marine. We await the decision of this matter in parliament with very -great anxiety indeed, because we look upon the adoption or the -rejection of Mr Labouchere's bill as the index to our future policy. -If it receives the royal assent, we must perforce prepare for organic -changes far greater than this country has ever yet experienced. The -colonies may still, indeed, be considered as portions of the British -empire, but hardly worth the cost of retention. Free trade will have -done its work. The excise duties cannot be suffered to continue, for -they too, according to the modern idea, are oppressive and unjust; and -the period, thus foreshadowed by Mr Cobden at the late Manchester -banquet, will rapidly arrive: "It is not merely protective duties that -are getting out of favour in this country; but, however strong or weak -it may be at present, still there is firmly and rapidly growing an -opinion decidedly opposed, _not merely to duties for protection, but -to duties for revenue at all_. I venture to say you will not live to -see another statesman in England propose any customs-duty on a raw -material or article of first necessity like corn. I question whether -any statesman who has any regard for his future fame will ever propose -another excise or customs-duty at all." The whole revenue will then -fall to be collected directly: and how long the national creditor will -be able to maintain his claim against direct taxation is a problem -which we decline to solve. The land of Great Britain, like that of -Ireland, will be worthless to its owner, and left to satisfy the -claims of pauperism; and America, wiser than the old country, will -become to the middle classes the harbour of refuge and of peace. - -We do not believe that these things will happen, because we have faith -in the sound sterling sense of Englishmen, and in the destinies of -this noble country. We are satisfied that the time is rapidly -approaching when a thorough reconstruction of our whole commercial and -financial policy will be imperatively demanded from the government--a -task which the present occupants of office are notoriously incapable -of undertaking, but which must be carried through by some efficient -cabinet. Such a measure cannot be introduced piecemeal after the -destructive fashion, but must be based upon clear and comprehensive -principles, doing justice to all classes of the community, and showing -undue favour to none. - -Our observations have already extended to such a length, that we have -little room to speak of that everlasting topic, Ireland. "Ireland," -says Lord John Russell, "is undergoing a great transition." This is -indeed news, and we shall be glad to learn the particulars so soon as -convenient. Perhaps the transition may be explained before the -committee, to which, as usual, Whig helplessness and imbecility has -referred the whole question of Irish distress. The confidence of the -Whigs in the patience of the people of this country must be boundless, -else they would hardly have ventured again to resort to so stale an -expedient. It is easy to devolve the whole duties of government upon -committees, but we are very much mistaken if such trifling will be -longer endured. As to the distress in Ireland, it is fully admitted. -Whenever the bulk of a nation is so demoralised as to prefer living on -alms to honest labour, distress is the inevitable consequence; and the -only way to cure the habit is carefully to withhold the alms. -Ministers think otherwise, and they have carried a present grant of -fifty thousand pounds from the imperial exchequer, which may serve for -a week or so, when doubtless another application will be tabled. This -is neither more nor less than downright robbery of the British people -under the name of charity. Ireland must in future be left to depend -entirely upon her own resources; situated as we are, it would be -madness to support her further; and we hope that every constituency -throughout the United Kingdom will keep a watchful eye on the conduct -pursued by their representatives in the event of any attempt at -further spoliation. From all the evidence before us, it appears that -our former liberality has been thrown away. Not only was no gratitude -shown for the enormous advances of last year, but the money was -recklessly squandered and misapplied, no doubt in the full and -confident expectation of continued remittances. And here we beg to -suggest to honourable members from the other side of the Channel, -whether it might not be well to consider what effect free trade has -had in ameliorating the condition of Ireland. If on inquiry at -Liverpool they should chance to find that pork is now imported direct -from America, not only salted, but fresh and preserved in ice, and -that in such quantities and at so low a rate as seriously to affect -the sale of the Irish produce, perhaps patriotism may operate in -their minds that conviction which reasoning would not effect. If also -they should chance to learn that butter and dairy produce can no -longer command a remunerative price, owing to the increased imports -both from America and the Continent, they will have made one further -step towards the science of political economy, and may form some -useful calculations as to the prospect of future rentals. Should they, -however, still be of opinion that the interests of the Irish people -are inseparably bound up with the continuance of free trade--that -neither prices nor useful labour are matters of any consequence--they -must also bear in mind that they can no longer be allowed to intromit -with the public purse of Britain. The Whigs may indeed, and probably -will, make one other vigorous effort to secure their votes; but no -party in this nation is now disposed to sanction such iniquitous -proceedings, and all of us will so far respond to the call for -economy, as sternly to refuse alms to an indolent and ungrateful -object. - -In conclusion, we shall merely remark that we look forward with much -interest to the financial exposition of the year, in the hope that it -may be more intelligible and satisfactory than the last. We shall then -understand the nature and the amount of the reductions which have been -announced under such extraordinary circumstances, and the state of the -revenue will inform those who feel themselves oppressed by excise -duties, of the chances of reduction in that quarter. Meanwhile we -cannot refrain from expressing our gratitude to both Lord Stanley and -Mr D'Israeli for their masterly expositions of the weak and -vacillating policy pursued by the Whig government abroad, and of the -false colour which was attempted to be thrown upon the state and -prospect of industry at home. Deeply as we lamented the premature -decease of Lord George Bentinck at the very time when the value of his -public service, keen understanding, and high and exalted principle, -was daily becoming more and more appreciated by the country, we are -rejoiced to know that his example has not been in vain; that his noble -and philanthropic spirit still lives in the councils of those who have -the welfare of the British people at heart, and who are resolute not -to yield to the pressure of a base democracy, actuated by the meanest -of personal motives, unscrupulous as to the means which it employs, -impervious to reason, and utterly reckless of consequences, provided -it may attain its end. Against that democracy which has elsewhere not -only shattered constitutions but prostrated society, a determined -stand will be made; and our heartfelt prayer is, that the cause of -truth may prevail. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[32] We find that we have given the leaguers rather too much credit in -the above paragraph. Some of them appear to think that, whether -necessary or not, our forces should be dispensed with; at least so we -gather from the following expressions contained in a dull ill-written -tract, purporting to emanate from the "Edinburgh Financial Reform -Association," which has just come into our hands. Let us hear the -patriotic economists. "If there be any other cause for maintaining a -huge and expensive force, it must be found in the desire to provide -for the scions of the nobility and landed gentry, with a view to -secure votes in both houses of parliament. As is well known, -commissions in the army and navy are held almost entirely by these -classes. No doubt, officers in active service may be said to give work -for their pay, while their gallantry as soldiers is beyond dispute; -but this, unfortunately, does not mend the matter. Their services we -hold to be for the greater part unnecessary; _at all events, they are -services for which the nation cannot afford to pay any longer, and -they_ THEREFORE _ought to be relinquished_." This is intelligible -enough; but we hardly think there are many reasoners of this calibre. - - - - -_Printed by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh._ - - - * * * * * - - -Transcriber's Notes: - -Obvious typographical errors have been repaired. Accepted older -spellings were retained (for example, "wofully," "bran-new," "lingot," -etc.). - -Text file only: [Delta] refers to the Greek letter, which was the -only signature for "The Sycamine." - -Text file only: Footnote 20, ^{er} refers to superscript "er." - -P. 287, "as offusc and impervious a fold"--unable to verify an -alternate spelling for "offusc." - -P. 299, "the Income Tax. the Chancellor"--period after Tax present in -original; possibly an abbreviation for Taxation. - -P. 321, last line of poem: "Chase the BuffalO!"--capitalization of -final "O" is true to original. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. -401, March 1849, by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE, MARCH 1849 *** - -***** This file should be named 42412-8.txt or 42412-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/4/1/42412/ - -Produced by Brendan OConnor, Jonathan Ingram, JoAnn -Greenwood, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team -at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Library of Early -Journals.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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