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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/4728-0.txt b/4728-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..31bcf95 --- /dev/null +++ b/4728-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5980 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Memoir of John Lothrop Motley, Complete +by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. + +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: Memoir of John Lothrop Motley, Complete + +Author: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. + + +Release Date: August 16, 2006 [EBook #4728] +Last Updated: February 18, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIR OF JOHN LOTHROP *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY. + +A MEMOIR, Complete + +By Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. + + + +Volume I. + + +NOTE. + +The Memoir here given to the public is based on a biographical sketch +prepared by the writer at the request of the Massachusetts Historical +Society for its Proceedings. The questions involving controversies into +which the Society could not feel called to enter are treated at +considerable length in the following pages. Many details are also given +which would have carried the paper written for the Society beyond the +customary limits of such tributes to the memory of its deceased members. +It is still but an outline which may serve a present need and perhaps be +of some assistance to a future biographer. + + + + +I. + +1814-1827. To AEt. 13. +BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS. + +John Motley, the great-grandfather of the subject of this Memoir, came in +the earlier part of the last century from Belfast in Ireland to Falmouth, +now Portland, in the District, now the State of Maine. He was twice +married, and had ten children, four of the first marriage and six of the +last. Thomas, the youngest son by his first wife, married Emma, a +daughter of John Wait, the first Sheriff of Cumberland County under the +government of the United States. Two of their seven sons, Thomas and +Edward, removed from Portland to Boston in 1802 and established +themselves as partners in commercial business, continuing united and +prosperous for nearly half a century before the firm was dissolved. + +The earlier records of New England have preserved the memory of an +incident which deserves mention as showing how the historian's life was +saved by a quickwitted handmaid, more than a hundred years before he was +born. On the 29th of August, 1708, the French and Indians from Canada +made an attack upon the town of Haverhill, in Massachusetts. Thirty or +forty persons were slaughtered, and many others were carried captive into +Canada. + +The minister of the town, Rev. Benjamin Rolfe, was killed by a bullet +through the door of his house. Two of his daughters, Mary, aged thirteen, +and Elizabeth, aged nine, were sleeping in a room with the maid-servant, +Hagar. When Hagar heard the whoop of the savages she seized the children, +ran with them into the cellar, and, after concealing them under two large +washtubs, hid herself. The Indians ransacked the cellar, but missed the +prey. Elizabeth, the younger of the two girls, grew up and married the +Rev. Samuel Checkley, first minister of the “New South” Church, Boston. +Her son, Rev. Samuel Checkley, Junior, was minister of the Second Church, +and his successor, Rev. John Lothrop, or Lathrop, as it was more commonly +spelled, married his daughter. Dr. Lothrop was great-grandson of Rev. +John Lothrop, of Scituate, who had been imprisoned in England for +nonconformity. The Checkleys were from Preston Capes, in +Northamptonshire. The name is probably identical with that of the +Chicheles or Chichleys, a well-known Northamptonshire family. + +Thomas Motley married Anna, daughter of the Rev. John Lothrop, +granddaughter of the Rev. Samuel Checkley, Junior, the two ministers +mentioned above, both honored in their day and generation. Eight children +were born of this marriage, of whom four are still living. + +JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, the second of these children, was born in +Dorchester, now a part of Boston, Massachusetts, on the 15th of April, +1814. A member of his family gives a most pleasing and interesting +picture, from his own recollections and from what his mother told him, of +the childhood which was to develop into such rich maturity. The boy was +rather delicate in organization, and not much given to outdoor +amusements, except skating and swimming, of which last exercise he was +very fond in his young days, and in which he excelled. He was a great +reader, never idle, but always had a book in his hand,--a volume of +poetry or one of the novels of Scott or Cooper. His fondness for plays +and declamation is illustrated by the story told by a younger brother, +who remembers being wrapped up in a shawl and kept quiet by sweetmeats, +while he figured as the dead Caesar, and his brother, the future +historian, delivered the speech of Antony over his prostrate body. He was +of a most sensitive nature, easily excited, but not tenacious of any +irritated feelings, with a quick sense of honor, and the most entirely +truthful child, his mother used to say, that she had ever seen. Such are +some of the recollections of those who knew him in his earliest years and +in the most intimate relations. + +His father's family was at this time living in the house No. 7 Walnut +Street, looking down Chestnut Street over the water to the western hills. +Near by, at the corner of Beacon Street, was the residence of the family +of the first mayor of Boston, and at a little distance from the opposite +corner was the house of one of the fathers of New England manufacturing +enterprise, a man of superior intellect, who built up a great name and +fortune in our city. The children from these three homes naturally became +playmates. Mr. Motley's house was a very hospitable one, and Lothrop and +two of his young companions were allowed to carry out their schemes of +amusement in the garden and the garret. If one with a prescient glance +could have looked into that garret on some Saturday afternoon while our +century was not far advanced in its second score of years, he might have +found three boys in cloaks and doublets and plumed hats, heroes and +bandits, enacting more or less impromptu melodramas. In one of the boys +he would have seen the embryo dramatist of a nation's life history, John +Lothrop Motley; in the second, a famous talker and wit who has spilled +more good things on the wasteful air in conversation than would carry a +“diner-out” through half a dozen London seasons, and waked up somewhat +after the usual flowering-time of authorship to find himself a very +agreeable and cordially welcomed writer,--Thomas Gold Appleton. In the +third he would have recognized a champion of liberty known wherever that +word is spoken, an orator whom to hear is to revive all the traditions of +the grace, the address, the commanding sway of the silver-tongued +eloquence of the most renowned speakers,--Wendell Phillips. + +Both of young Motley's playmates have furnished me with recollections of +him and of those around him at this period of his life, and I cannot do +better than borrow freely from their communications. His father was a man +of decided character, social, vivacious, witty, a lover of books, and +himself not unknown as a writer, being the author of one or more of the +well remembered “Jack Downing” letters. He was fond of having the boys +read to him from such authors as Channing and Irving, and criticised +their way of reading with discriminating judgment and taste. Mrs. Motley +was a woman who could not be looked upon without admiration. I remember +well the sweet dignity of her aspect, her “regal beauty,” as Mr. Phillips +truly styles it, and the charm of her serene and noble presence, which +made her the type of a perfect motherhood. Her character corresponded to +the promise of her gracious aspect. She was one of the fondest of +mothers, but not thoughtlessly indulgent to the boy from whom she hoped +and expected more than she thought it wise to let him know. The story +used to be current that in their younger days this father and mother were +the handsomest pair the town of Boston could show. This son of theirs was +“rather tall,” says Mr. Phillips, “lithe, very graceful in movement and +gesture, and there was something marked and admirable in the set of his +head on his shoulders,”--a peculiar elegance which was most noticeable in +those later days when I knew him. Lady Byron long afterwards spoke of him +as more like her husband in appearance than any other person she had met; +but Mr. Phillips, who remembers the first bloom of his boyhood and youth, +thinks he was handsomer than any portrait of Byron represents the poet. +“He could not have been eleven years old,” says the same correspondent, +“when he began writing a novel. It opened, I remember, not with one +solitary horseman, but with two, riding up to an inn in the valley of the +Housatonic. Neither of us had ever seen the Housatonic, but it sounded +grand and romantic. Two chapters were finished.” + +There is not much remembered of the single summer he passed at Mr. +Green's school at Jamaica Plain. From that school he went to Round Hill, +Northampton, then under the care of Mr. Cogswell and Mr. Bancroft. The +historian of the United States could hardly have dreamed that the +handsome boy of ten years was to take his place at the side of his +teacher in the first rank of writers in his own department. Motley came +to Round Hill, as one of his schoolmates tells me, with a great +reputation, especially as a declaimer. He had a remarkable facility for +acquiring languages, excelled as a reader and as a writer, and was the +object of general admiration for his many gifts. There is some reason to +think that the flattery he received was for a time a hindrance to his +progress and the development of his character. He obtained praise too +easily, and learned to trust too much to his genius. He had everything to +spoil him,--beauty, precocious intelligence, and a personal charm which +might have made him a universal favorite. Yet he does not seem to have +been generally popular at this period of his life. He was wilful, +impetuous, sometimes supercilious, always fastidious. He would study as +he liked, and not by rule. His school and college mates believed in his +great possibilities through all his forming period, but it may be doubted +if those who counted most confidently on his future could have supposed +that he would develop the heroic power of concentration, the +long-breathed tenacity of purpose, which in after years gave effect to +his brilliant mental endowments. “I did wonder,” says Mr. Wendell +Phillips, “at the diligence and painstaking, the drudgery shown in his +historical works. In early life he had no industry, not needing it. All +he cared for in a book he caught quickly,--the spirit of it, and all his +mind needed or would use. This quickness of apprehension was marvellous.” + I do not find from the recollections of his schoolmates at Northampton +that he was reproached for any grave offences, though he may have +wandered beyond the prescribed boundaries now and then, and studied +according to his inclinations rather than by rule. While at that school +he made one acquisition much less common then than now,--a knowledge of +the German language and some degree of acquaintance with its literature, +under the guidance of one of the few thorough German scholars this +country then possessed, Mr. George Bancroft. + + + + +II. + +1827-1831. AEt. 13-17. +COLLEGE LIFE. + +Such then was the boy who at the immature, we might almost say the +tender, age of thirteen entered Harvard College. Though two years after +me in college standing, I remember the boyish reputation which he brought +with him, especially that of a wonderful linguist, and the impression +which his striking personal beauty produced upon us as he took his seat +in the college chapel. But it was not until long after this period that I +became intimately acquainted with him, and I must again have recourse to +the classmates and friends who have favored me with their reminiscences +of this period of his life. Mr. Phillips says: + + “During our first year in college, though the youngest in the class, + he stood third, I think, or second in college rank, and ours was an + especially able class. Yet to maintain this rank he neither cared + nor needed to make any effort. Too young to feel any + responsibilities, and not yet awake to any ambition, he became so + negligent that he was 'rusticated' [that is, sent away from college + for a time]. He came back sobered, and worked rather more, but with + no effort for college rank thenceforward.” + +I must finish the portrait of the collegian with all its lights and +shadows by the help of the same friends from whom I have borrowed the +preceding outlines. + +He did not care to make acquaintances, was haughty in manner and cynical +in mood, at least as he appeared to those in whom he felt no special +interest. It is no wonder, therefore, that he was not a popular favorite, +although recognized as having very brilliant qualities. During all this +period his mind was doubtless fermenting with projects which kept him in +a fevered and irritable condition. “He had a small writing-table,” Mr. +Phillips says, “with a shallow drawer; I have often seen it half full of +sketches, unfinished poems, soliloquies, a scene or two of a play, prose +portraits of some pet character, etc. These he would read to me, though +he never volunteered to do so, and every now and then he burnt the whole +and began to fill the drawer again.” + +My friend, Mr. John Osborne Sargent, who was a year before him in +college, says, in a very interesting letter with which he has favored me: + + “My first acquaintance with him [Motley] was at Cambridge, when he + came from Mr. Cogswell's school at Round Hill. He then had a good + deal of the shyness that was just pronounced enough to make him + interesting, and which did not entirely wear off till he left + college. . . I soon became acquainted with him, and we used to take + long walks together, sometimes taxing each other's memory for poems + or passages from poems that had struck our fancy. Shelley was then + a great favorite of his, and I remember that Praed's verses then + appearing in the 'New Monthly' he thought very clever and brilliant, + and was fond of repeating them. You have forgotten, or perhaps + never knew, that Motley's first appearance in print was in the + 'Collegian.' He brought me one day, in a very modest mood, a + translation from Goethe, which I was most happy to oblige him by + inserting. It was very prettily done, and will now be a curiosity. + . . . How it happened that Motley wrote only one piece I do not + remember. I had the pleasure about that time of initiating him as a + member of the Knights of the Square Table,--always my favorite + college club, for the reason, perhaps, that I was a sometime Grand + Master. He was always a genial and jovial companion at our supper- + parties at Fresh Pond and Gallagher's.” + +We who live in the days of photographs know how many faces belong to +every individual. We know too under what different aspects the same +character appears to those who study it from different points of view and +with different prepossessions. I do not hesitate, therefore, to place +side by side the impressions of two of his classmates as to one of his +personal traits as they observed him at this period of his youth. + + “He was a manly boy, with no love for or leaning to girls' company; + no care for dress; not a trace of personal vanity. . . . He was, + or at least seemed, wholly unconscious of his rare beauty and of the + fascination of his manner; not a trace of pretence, the simplest and + most natural creature in the world.” + +Look on that picture and on this:-- + + “He seemed to have a passion for dress. But as in everything else, + so in this, his fancy was a fitful one. At one time he would excite + our admiration by the splendor of his outfit, and perhaps the next + week he would seem to take equal pleasure in his slovenly or + careless appearance.” + +It is not very difficult to reconcile these two portraitures. I recollect +it was said by a witty lady of a handsome clergyman well remembered among +us, that he had dressy eyes. Motley so well became everything he wore, +that if he had sprung from his bed and slipped his clothes on at an alarm +of fire, his costume would have looked like a prince's undress. His +natural presentment, like that of Count D'Orsay, was of the kind which +suggests the intentional effects of an elaborate toilet, no matter how +little thought or care may have been given to make it effective. I think +the “passion for dress” was really only a seeming, and that he often +excited admiration when he had not taken half the pains to adorn himself +that many a youth less favored by nature has wasted upon his unblest +exterior only to be laughed at. + +I gather some other interesting facts from a letter which I have received +from his early playmate and school and college classmate, Mr. T. G. +Appleton. + + “In his Sophomore year he kept abreast of the prescribed studies, + but his heart was out of bounds, as it often had been at Round Hill + when chasing squirrels or rabbits through forbidden forests. + Already his historical interest was shaping his life. A tutor + coming-by chance, let us hope--to his room remonstrated with him + upon the heaps of novels upon his table. + +“'Yes,' said Motley, 'I am reading historically, and have come to the +novels of the nineteenth century. Taken in the lump, they are very hard +reading.'” + +All Old Cambridge people know the Brattle House, with its gambrel roof, +its tall trees, its perennial spring, its legendary fame of good fare and +hospitable board in the days of the kindly old bon vivant, Major Brattle. +In this house the two young students, Appleton and Motley, lived during a +part of their college course. + + “Motley's room was on the ground floor, the room to the left of the + entrance. He led a very pleasant life there, tempering his college + duties with the literature he loved, and receiving his friends + amidst elegant surroundings, which added to the charm of his + society. Occasionally we amused ourselves by writing for the + magazines and papers of the day. Mr. Willis had just started a slim + monthly, written chiefly by himself, but with the true magazine + flavor. We wrote for that, and sometimes verses in the corner of a + paper called 'The Anti-Masonic Mirror,' and in which corner was a + woodcut of Apollo, and inviting to destruction ambitious youths by + the legend underneath,-- + + 'Much yet remains unsung.' + + “These pieces were usually dictated to each other, the poet recumbent + upon the bed and a classmate ready to carry off the manuscript for + the paper of the following day. 'Blackwood's' was then in its + glory, its pages redolent of 'mountain dew' in every sense; the + humor of the Shepherd, the elegantly brutal onslaughts upon Whigs + and Cockney poets by Christopher North, intoxicated us youths. + + “It was young writing, and made for the young. The opinions were + charmingly wrong, and its enthusiasm was half Glenlivet. But this + delighted the boys. There were no reprints then, and to pass the + paper-cutter up the fresh inviting pages was like swinging over the + heather arm in arm with Christopher himself. It is a little + singular that though we had a college magazine of our own, Motley + rarely if ever wrote for it. I remember a translation from Goethe, + 'The Ghost-Seer,' which he may have written for it, and a poem upon + the White Mountains. Motley spoke at one of the college exhibitions + an essay on Goethe so excellent that Mr. Joseph Cogswell sent it to + Madam Goethe, who, after reading it, said, 'I wish to see the first + book that young man will write.'” + +Although Motley did not aim at or attain a high college rank, the rules +of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which confine the number of members to the +first sixteen of each class, were stretched so as to include him,--a +tribute to his recognized ability, and an evidence that a distinguished +future was anticipated for him. + + + + +III. + +1832-1833. AEt. 18-19. +STUDY AND TRAVEL IN EUROPE. + +Of the two years divided between the Universities of Berlin and Gottingen +I have little to record. That he studied hard I cannot doubt; that he +found himself in pleasant social relations with some of his +fellow-students seems probable from the portraits he has drawn in his +first story, “Morton's Hope,” and is rendered certain so far as one of +his companions is concerned. Among the records of the past to which he +referred during his last visit to this country was a letter which he took +from a collection of papers and handed me to read one day when I was +visiting him. The letter was written in a very lively and exceedingly +familiar vein. It implied such intimacy, and called up in such a lively +way the gay times Motley and himself had had together in their youthful +days, that I was puzzled to guess who could have addressed him from +Germany in that easy and off-hand fashion. I knew most of his old friends +who would be likely to call him by his baptismal name in its most +colloquial form, and exhausted my stock of guesses unsuccessfully before +looking at the signature. I confess that I was surprised, after laughing +at the hearty and almost boyish tone of the letter, to read at the bottom +of the page the signature of Bismarck. I will not say that I suspect +Motley of having drawn the portrait of his friend in one of the +characters of “Morton's Hope,” but it is not hard to point out traits in +one of them which we can believe may have belonged to the great +Chancellor at an earlier period of life than that at which the world +contemplates his overshadowing proportions. + +Hoping to learn something of Motley during the two years while we had +lost sight of him, I addressed a letter to His Highness Prince Bismarck, +to which I received the following reply:-- + + FOREIGN OFFICE, BERLIN, March 11, 1878. + + SIR,--I am directed by Prince Bismarck to acknowledge the receipt of + your letter of the 1st of January, relating to the biography of the + late Mr. Motley. His Highness deeply regrets that the state of his + health and pressure of business do not allow him to contribute + personally, and as largely as he would be delighted to do, to your + depicting of a friend whose memory will be ever dear to him. Since + I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Mr. Motley at + Varzin, I have been intrusted with communicating to you a few + details I have gathered from the mouth of the Prince. I enclose + them as they are jotted down, without any attempt of digestion. + + I have the honor to be + Your obedient servant, + LOTHAIR BUCHER. + + “Prince Bismarck said:-- + + “'I met Motley at Gottingen in 1832, I am not sure if at the + beginning of Easter Term or Michaelmas Term. He kept company with + German students, though more addicted to study than we members of + the fighting clubs (corps). Although not having mastered yet the + German language, he exercised a marked attraction by a conversation + sparkling with wit, humor, and originality. In autumn of 1833, + having both of us migrated from Gottingen to Berlin for the + prosecution of our studies, we became fellow-lodgers in the house + No. 161 Friedrich Strasse. There we lived in the closest intimacy, + sharing meals and outdoor exercise. Motley by that time had arrived + at talking German fluently; he occupied himself not only in + translating Goethe's poem “Faust,” but tried his hand even in + composing German verses. Enthusiastic admirer of Shakespeare, + Byron, Goethe, he used to spice his conversation abundantly with + quotations from these his favorite authors. A pertinacious arguer, + so much so that sometimes he watched my awakening in order to + continue a discussion on some topic of science, poetry, or practical + life, cut short by the chime of the small hours, he never lost his + mild and amiable temper. Our faithful companion was Count Alexander + Keyserling, a native of Courland, who has since achieved distinction + as a botanist. + + “'Motley having entered the diplomatic service of his country, we + had frequently the opportunity of renewing our friendly intercourse; + at Frankfort he used to stay with me, the welcome guest of my wife; + we also met at Vienna, and, later, here. The last time I saw him + was in 1872 at Varzin, at the celebration of my “silver wedding,” + namely, the twenty-fifth anniversary. + + “'The most striking feature of his handsome and delicate appearance + was uncommonly large and beautiful eyes. He never entered a + drawing-room without exciting the curiosity and sympathy of the + ladies.'” + +It is but a glimpse of their young life which the great statesman gives +us, but a bright and pleasing one. Here were three students, one of whom +was to range in the flowery fields of the loveliest of the sciences, +another to make the dead past live over again in his burning pages, and a +third to extend an empire as the botanist spread out a plant and the +historian laid open a manuscript. + + + + +IV. + +1834-1839. 2ET. 20-25. + +RETURN TO AMERICA.--STUDY OF LAW.--MARRIAGE.--HIS FIRST NOVEL, “MORTON'S +HOPE.” + +Of the years passed in the study of law after his return from Germany I +have very little recollection, and nothing of importance to record. He +never became seriously engaged in the practice of the profession he had +chosen. I had known him pleasantly rather than intimately, and our +different callings tended to separate us. I met him, however, not very +rarely, at one house where we were both received with the greatest +cordiality, and where the attractions brought together many both young +and old to enjoy the society of its charming and brilliant inmates. This +was at No. 14 Temple Place, where Mr. Park Benjamin was then living with +his two sisters, both in the bloom of young womanhood. Here Motley found +the wife to whom his life owed so much of its success and its happiness. +Those who remember Mary Benjamin find it hard to speak of her in the +common terms of praise which they award to the good and the lovely. She +was not only handsome and amiable and agreeable, but there was a cordial +frankness, an openhearted sincerity about her which made her seem like a +sister to those who could help becoming her lovers. She stands quite +apart in the memory of the friends who knew her best, even from the +circle of young persons whose recollections they most cherish. Yet hardly +could one of them have foreseen all that she was to be to him whose life +she was to share. They were married on the 2d of March, 1837. His +intimate friend, Mr. Joseph Lewis Stackpole, was married at about the +same time to her sister, thus joining still more closely in friendship +the two young men who were already like brothers in their mutual +affection. + +Two years after his marriage, in 1839, appeared his first work, a novel +in two volumes, called “Morton's Hope.” He had little reason to be +gratified with its reception. The general verdict was not favorable to +it, and the leading critical journal of America, not usually harsh or +cynical in its treatment of native authorship, did not even give it a +place among its “Critical Notices,” but dropped a small-print +extinguisher upon it in one of the pages of its “List of New +Publications.” Nothing could be more utterly disheartening than the +unqualified condemnation passed upon the story. At the same time the +critic says that “no one can read 'Morton's Hope' without perceiving it +to have been written by a person of uncommon resources of mind and +scholarship.” + +It must be confessed that, as a story, “Morton's Hope” cannot endure a +searching or even a moderately careful criticism. It is wanting in +cohesion, in character, even in a proper regard to circumstances of time +and place; it is a map of dissected incidents which has been flung out of +its box and has arranged itself without the least regard to chronology or +geography. It is not difficult to trace in it many of the influences +which had helped in forming or deforming the mind of the young man of +twenty-five, not yet come into possession of his full inheritance of the +slowly ripening qualities which were yet to assert their robust +independence. How could he help admiring Byron and falling into more or +less unconscious imitation of his moods if not of his special +affectations? Passion showing itself off against a dark foil of cynicism; +sentiment, ashamed of its own self-betrayal, and sneering at itself from +time to time for fear of the laugh of the world at its sincerity,--how +many young men were spoiled and how many more injured by becoming bad +copies of a bad ideal! The blood of Don Juan ran in the veins of Vivian +Grey and of Pelham. But if we read the fantastic dreams of Disraeli, the +intellectual dandyisms of Bulwer, remembering the after careers of which +these were the preludes, we can understand how there might well be +something in those earlier efforts which would betray itself in the way +of thought and in the style of the young men who read them during the +plastic period of their minds and characters. Allow for all these +influences, allow for whatever impressions his German residence and his +familiarity with German literature had produced; accept the fact that the +story is to the last degree disjointed, improbable, impossible; lay it +aside as a complete failure in what it attempted to be, and read it, as +“Vivian Grey” is now read, in the light of the career which it heralded. + +“Morton's Hope” is not to be read as a novel: it is to be studied as an +autobiography, a prophecy, a record of aspirations, disguised under a +series of incidents which are flung together with no more regard to the +unities than a pack of shuffled playing-cards. I can do nothing better +than let him picture himself, for it is impossible not to recognize the +portrait. It is of little consequence whether every trait is an exact +copy from his own features, but it is so obvious that many of the lines +are direct transcripts from nature that we may believe the same thing of +many others. Let us compare his fictitious hero's story with what we have +read of his own life. + +In early boyhood Morton amused himself and astonished those about him by +enacting plays for a puppet theatre. This was at six years old, and at +twelve we find him acting in a play with other boys, just as Motley's +playmates have already described him. The hero may now speak for himself, +but we shall all perceive that we are listening to the writer's own +story. + + “I was always a huge reader; my mind was essentially craving and + insatiable. Its appetite was enormous, and it devoured too greedily + for health. I rejected all guidance in my studies. I already + fancied myself a misanthrope. I had taken a step very common for + boys of my age, and strove with all my might to be a cynic.” + +He goes on to describe, under the perfectly transparent mask of his hero, +the course of his studies. “To poetry, like most infants, I devoted most +of my time.” From modern poetry he went back to the earlier sources, +first with the idea of systematic reading and at last through Chaucer and +Gower and early ballads, until he lost himself “in a dismal swamp of +barbarous romances and lying Latin chronicles. I got hold of the +Bibliotheca Monastica, containing a copious account of Anglo-Norman +authors, with notices of their works, and set seriously to reading every +one of them.” One profit of his antiquarianism, however, was, as he says, +his attention to foreign languages,--French, Spanish, German, especially +in their earliest and rudest forms of literature. From these he ascended +to the ancient poets, and from Latin to Greek. He would have taken up the +study of the Oriental languages, but for the advice of a relative, who +begged him seriously to turn his attention to history. The paragraph +which follows must speak for itself as a true record under a feigned +heading. + + “The groundwork of my early character was plasticity and fickleness. + I was mortified by this exposure of my ignorance, and disgusted with + my former course of reading. I now set myself violently to the + study of history. With my turn of mind, and with the preposterous + habits which I had been daily acquiring, I could not fail to make as + gross mistakes in the pursuit of this as of other branches of + knowledge. I imagined, on setting out, a system of strict and + impartial investigation of the sources of history. I was inspired + with the absurd ambition, not uncommon to youthful students, of + knowing as much as their masters. I imagined it necessary for me, + stripling as I was, to study the authorities; and, imbued with the + strict necessity of judging for myself, I turned from the limpid + pages of the modern historians to the notes and authorities at the + bottom of the page. These, of course, sent me back to my monastic + acquaintances, and I again found myself in such congenial company to + a youthful and ardent mind as Florence of Worcester and Simeon of + Durham, the Venerable Bede and Matthew Paris; and so on to Gregory + and Fredegarius, down to the more modern and elegant pages of + Froissart, Hollinshed, Hooker, and Stowe. Infant as I was, I + presumed to grapple with masses of learning almost beyond the + strength of the giants of history. A spendthrift of my time and + labor, I went out of my way to collect materials, and to build for + myself, when I should have known that older and abler architects had + already appropriated all that was worth preserving; that the edifice + was built, the quarry exhausted, and that I was, consequently, only + delving amidst rubbish. + + “This course of study was not absolutely without its advantages. + The mind gained a certain proportion of vigor even by this exercise + of its faculties, just as my bodily health would have been improved + by transporting the refuse ore of a mine from one pit to another, + instead of coining the ingots which lay heaped before my eyes. + Still, however, my time was squandered. There was a constant want + of fitness and concentration of my energies. My dreams of education + were boundless, brilliant, indefinite; but alas! they were only + dreams. There was nothing accurate and defined in my future course + of life. I was ambitious and conceited, but my aspirations were + vague and shapeless. I had crowded together the most gorgeous and + even some of the most useful and durable materials for my woof, but + I had no pattern, and consequently never began to weave. + + “I had not made the discovery that an individual cannot learn, nor + be, everything; that the world is a factory in which each individual + must perform his portion of work:--happy enough if he can choose it + according to his taste and talent, but must renounce the desire of + observing or superintending the whole operation. . . . + + “From studying and investigating the sources of history with my own + eyes, I went a step further; I refused the guidance of modern + writers; and proceeding from one point of presumption to another, I + came to the magnanimous conviction that I could not know history as + I ought to know it unless I wrote it for myself. . . . + + “It would be tedious and useless to enlarge upon my various attempts + and various failures. I forbear to comment upon mistakes which I + was in time wise enough to retrieve. Pushing out as I did, without + compass and without experience, on the boundless ocean of learning, + what could I expect but an utter and a hopeless shipwreck? + + “Thus I went on, becoming more learned, and therefore more ignorant, + more confused in my brain, and more awkward in my habits, from day + to day. I was ever at my studies, and could hardly be prevailed + upon to allot a moment to exercise or recreation. I breakfasted + with a pen behind my ear, and dined in company with a folio bigger + than the table. I became solitary and morose, the necessary + consequence of reckless study; talked impatiently of the value of my + time, and the immensity of my labors; spoke contemptuously of the + learning and acquirements of the whole world, and threw out + mysterious hints of the magnitude and importance of my own project. + + “In the midst of all this study and this infant authorship the + perusal of such masses of poetry could not fail to produce their + effect. Of a youth whose mind, like mine at that period, possessed + some general capability, without perhaps a single prominent and + marked talent, a proneness to imitation is sure to be the besetting + sin. I consequently, for a large portion of my earlier life, never + read a work which struck my fancy, without planning a better one + upon its model; for my ambition, like my vanity, knew no bounds. + It was a matter of course that I should be attacked by the poetic + mania. I took the infection at the usual time, went through its + various stages, and recovered as soon as could be expected. I + discovered soon enough that emulation is not capability, and he is + fortunate to whom is soonest revealed the relative extent of his + ambition and his powers. + + “My ambition was boundless; my dreams of glory were not confined to + authorship and literature alone; but every sphere in which the + intellect of man exerts itself revolved in a blaze of light before + me. And there I sat in my solitude and dreamed such wondrous + dreams! Events were thickening around me which were soon to change + the world, but they were unmarked by me. The country was changing + to a mighty theatre, on whose stage those who were as great as I + fancied myself to be were to enact a stupendous drama in which I had + no part. I saw it not; I knew it not; and yet how infinitely + beautiful were the imaginations of my solitude! Fancy shook her + kaleidoscope each moment as chance directed, and lo! what new, + fantastic, brilliant, but what unmeaning visions. My ambitious + anticipations were as boundless as they were various and + conflicting. There was not a path which leads to glory in which I + was not destined to gather laurels. As a warrior I would conquer + and overrun the world. As a statesman I would reorganize and govern + it. As a historian I would consign it all to immortality; and in my + leisure moments I would be a great poet and a man of the world. + + “In short, I was already enrolled in that large category of what are + called young men of genius,--men who are the pride of their sisters + and the glory of their grandmothers,--men of whom unheard-of things + are expected, till after long preparation comes a portentous + failure, and then they are forgotten; subsiding into indifferent + apprentices and attorneys' clerks. + + “Alas for the golden imaginations of our youth! They are bright and + beautiful, but they fade. They glitter brightly enough to deceive + the wisest and most cautious, and we garner them up in the most + secret caskets of our hearts; but are they not like the coins which + the Dervise gave the merchant in the story? When we look for them + the next morning, do we not find them withered leaves?” + +The ideal picture just drawn is only a fuller portraiture of the youth +whose outlines have been already sketched by the companions of his +earlier years. If his hero says, “I breakfasted with a pen behind my ear +and dined in company with a folio bigger than the table,” one of his +family says of the boy Motley that “if there were five minutes before +dinner, when he came into the parlor he always took up some book near at +hand and began to read until dinner was announced.” The same unbounded +thirst for knowledge, the same history of various attempts and various +failures, the same ambition, not yet fixed in its aim, but showing itself +in restless effort, belong to the hero of the story and its narrator. + +Let no man despise the first efforts of immature genius. Nothing can be +more crude as a novel, nothing more disappointing, than “Morton's Hope.” + But in no other of Motley's writings do we get such an inside view of his +character with its varied impulses, its capricious appetites, its +unregulated forces, its impatient grasp for all kinds of knowledge. With +all his university experiences at home and abroad, it might be said with +a large measure of truth that he was a self-educated man, as he had been +a self-taught boy. His instincts were too powerful to let him work +quietly in the common round of school and college training. Looking at +him as his companions describe him, as he delineates himself 'mutato +nomine,' the chances of success would have seemed to all but truly +prophetic eyes very doubtful, if not decidedly against him. Too many +brilliant young novel-readers and lovers of poetry, excused by their +admirers for their shortcomings on the strength of their supposed +birthright of “genius,” have ended where they began; flattered into the +vain belief that they were men at eighteen or twenty, and finding out at +fifty that they were and always had been nothing more than boys. It was +but a tangled skein of life that Motley's book showed us at twenty-five, +and older men might well have doubted whether it would ever be wound off +in any continuous thread. To repeat his own words, he had crowded +together the materials for his work, but he had no pattern, and +consequently never began to weave. + +The more this first work of Motley's is examined, the more are its faults +as a story and its interest as a self-revelation made manifest to the +reader. The future historian, who spared no pains to be accurate, falls +into the most extraordinary anachronisms in almost every chapter. Brutus +in a bob-wig, Othello in a swallow-tail coat, could hardly be more +incongruously equipped than some of his characters in the manner of +thought, the phrases, the way of bearing themselves which belong to them +in the tale, but never could have belonged to characters of our +Revolutionary period. He goes so far in his carelessness as to mix up +dates in such a way as almost to convince us that he never looked over +his own manuscript or proofs. His hero is in Prague in June, 1777, +reading a letter received from America in less than a fortnight from the +date of its being written; in August of the same year he is in the +American camp, where he is found in the company of a certain Colonel +Waldron, an officer of some standing in the Revolutionary Army, with whom +he is said to have been constantly associated for some three months, +having arrived in America, as he says, on the 15th of May, that is to +say, six weeks or more before he sailed, according to his previous +account. Bohemia seems to have bewitched his chronology as it did +Shakespeare's geography. To have made his story a consistent series of +contradictions, Morton should have sailed from that Bohemian seashore +which may be found in “A Winter's Tale,” but not in the map of Europe. + +And yet in the midst of all these marks of haste and negligence, here and +there the philosophical student of history betrays himself, the ideal of +noble achievement glows in an eloquent paragraph, or is embodied in a +loving portrait like that of the professor and historian Harlem. The +novel, taken in connection with the subsequent developments of the +writer's mind, is a study of singular interest. It is a chaos before the +creative epoch; the light has not been divided from the darkness; the +firmament has not yet divided the waters from the waters. The forces at +work in a human intelligence to bring harmony out of its discordant +movements are as mysterious, as miraculous, we might truly say, as those +which give shape and order to the confused materials out of which +habitable worlds are evolved. It is too late now to be sensitive over +this unsuccessful attempt as a story and unconscious success as a +self-portraiture. The first sketches of Paul Veronese, the first patterns +of the Gobelin tapestry, are not to be criticised for the sake of +pointing out their inevitable and too manifest imperfections. They are to +be carefully studied as the earliest efforts of the hand which painted +the Marriage at Cana, of the art which taught the rude fabrics made to be +trodden under foot to rival the glowing canvas of the great painters. +None of Motley's subsequent writings give such an insight into his +character and mental history. It took many years to train the as yet +undisciplined powers into orderly obedience, and to bring the unarranged +materials into the organic connection which was needed in the +construction of a work that should endure. There was a long interval +between his early manhood and the middle term of life, during which the +slow process of evolution was going on. There are plants which open their +flowers with the first rays of the sun; there are others that wait until +evening to spread their petals. It was already the high noon of life with +him before his genius had truly shown itself; if he had not lived beyond +this period, he would have left nothing to give him a lasting name. + + + + +V. + +1841-1842. AEt. 27-28. + +FIRST DIPLOMATIC APPOINTMENT, SECRETARY OF LEGATION TO THE RUSSIAN +MISSION.--BRIEF RESIDENCE AT ST. PETERSBURG.--LETTER TO HIS MOTHER. +--RETURN. + +In the autumn of 1841, Mr. Motley received the appointment of Secretary +of Legation to the Russian Mission, Mr. Todd being then the Minister. +Arriving at St. Petersburg just at the beginning of winter, he found the +climate acting very unfavorably upon his spirits if not upon his health, +and was unwilling that his wife and his two young children should be +exposed to its rigors. The expense of living, also, was out of proportion +to his income, and his letters show that he had hardly established +himself in St. Petersburg before he had made up his mind to leave a place +where he found he had nothing to do and little to enjoy. He was homesick, +too, as a young husband and father with an affectionate nature like his +ought to have been under these circumstances. He did not regret having +made the experiment, for he knew that he should not have been satisfied +with himself if he had not made it. It was his first trial of a career in +which he contemplated embarking, and in which afterwards he had an +eventful experience. In his private letters to his family, many of which +I have had the privilege of looking over, he mentions in detail all the +reasons which influenced him in forming his own opinion about the +expediency of a continued residence at St. Petersburg, and leaves the +decision to her in whose judgment he always had the greatest confidence. +No unpleasant circumstance attended his resignation of his secretaryship, +and though it must have been a disappointment to find that the place did +not suit him, as he and his family were then situated, it was only at the +worst an experiment fairly tried and not proving satisfactory. He left +St. Petersburg after a few months' residence, and returned to America. On +reaching New York he was met by the sad tidings of the death of his +first-born child, a boy of great promise, who had called out all the +affections of his ardent nature. It was long before he recovered from the +shock of this great affliction. The boy had shown a very quick and bright +intelligence, and his father often betrayed a pride in his gifts and +graces which he never for a moment made apparent in regard to his own. + +Among the letters which he wrote from St. Petersburg are two miniature +ones directed to this little boy. His affectionate disposition shows +itself very sweetly in these touching mementos of a love of which his +first great sorrow was so soon to be born. Not less charming are his +letters to his mother, showing the tenderness with which he always +regarded her, and full of all the details which he thought would +entertain one to whom all that related to her children was always +interesting. Of the letters to his wife it is needless to say more than +that they always show the depth of the love he bore her and the absolute +trust he placed in her, consulting her at all times as his nearest and +wisest friend and adviser,--one in all respects fitted “To warn, to +comfort, and command.” + +I extract a passage from one of his letters to his mother, as much for +the sake of lending a character of reality to his brief residence at St. +Petersburg as for that of the pleasant picture it gives us of an interior +in that Northern capital. + + “We entered through a small vestibule, with the usual arrangement of + treble doors, padded with leather to exclude the cold and guarded by + two 'proud young porters' in severe cocked hats and formidable + batons, into a broad hall,--threw off our furred boots and cloaks, + ascended a carpeted marble staircase, in every angle of which stood + a statuesque footman in gaudy coat and unblemished unmentionables, + and reached a broad landing upon the top thronged as usual with + servants. Thence we passed through an antechamber into a long, + high, brilliantly lighted, saffron-papered room, in which a dozen + card-tables were arranged, and thence into the receiving room. This + was a large room, with a splendidly inlaid and polished floor, the + walls covered with crimson satin, the cornices heavily incrusted + with gold, and the ceiling beautifully painted in arabesque. The + massive fauteuils and sofas, as also the drapery, were of crimson + satin with a profusion of gilding. The ubiquitous portrait of the + Emperor was the only picture, and was the same you see everywhere. + This crimson room had two doors upon the side facing the three + windows: The innermost opened into a large supper-room, in which a + table was spread covered with the usual refreshments of European + parties,--tea, ices, lemonade, and et ceteras,--and the other opened + into a ball-room which is a sort of miniature of the 'salle blanche' + of the Winter Palace, being white and gold, and very brilliantly + lighted with 'ormolu' chandeliers filled with myriads of candles. + This room (at least forty feet long by perhaps twenty-five) opened + into a carpeted conservatory of about the same size, filled with + orange-trees and japonica plants covered with fruit and flowers, + arranged very gracefully into arbors, with luxurious seats under the + pendent boughs, and with here and there a pretty marble statue + gleaming through the green and glossy leaves. One might almost have + imagined one's self in the 'land of the cypress and myrtle' instead + of our actual whereabout upon the polar banks of the Neva. + Wandering through these mimic groves, or reposing from the fatigues + of the dance, was many a fair and graceful form, while the + brilliantly lighted ballroom, filled with hundreds of exquisitely + dressed women (for the Russian ladies, if not very pretty, are + graceful, and make admirable toilettes), formed a dazzling contrast + with the tempered light of the 'Winter Garden.' The conservatory + opened into a library, and from the library you reach the + antechamber, thus completing the 'giro' of one of the prettiest + houses in St. Petersburg. I waltzed one waltz and quadrilled one + quadrille, but it was hard work; and as the sole occupation of these + parties is dancing and card-playing--conversation apparently not + being customary--they are to me not very attractive.” + +He could not be happy alone, and there were good reasons against his +being joined by his wife and children. + + “With my reserved habits,” he says, “it would take a great deal + longer to become intimate here than to thaw the Baltic. I have only + to 'knock that it shall be opened to me,' but that is just what I + hate to do. . . . 'Man delights not me, no, nor woman neither.'” + +Disappointed in his expectations, but happy in the thought of meeting his +wife and children, he came back to his household to find it clad in +mourning for the loss of its first-born. + + + + +VI. + +1844. AEt. 30. +LETTER TO PARK BENJAMIN.--POLITICAL VIEWS AND FEELINGS. + +A letter to Mr. Park Benjamin, dated December 17, 1844, which has been +kindly lent me by Mrs. Mary Lanman Douw of Poughkeepsie, gives a very +complete and spirited account of himself at this period. He begins with a +quiet, but tender reference to the death of his younger brother, Preble, +one of the most beautiful youths seen or remembered among us, “a great +favorite,” as he says, “in the family and in deed with every one who knew +him.” He mentions the fact that his friends and near connections, the +Stackpoles, are in Washington, which place he considers as exceptionally +odious at the time when he is writing. The election of Mr. Polk as the +opponent of Henry Clay gives him a discouraged feeling about our +institutions. The question, he thinks, is now settled that a statesman +can never again be called to administer the government of the country. He +is almost if not quite in despair “because it is now proved that a man, +take him for all in all, better qualified by intellectual power, energy +and purity of character, knowledge of men, a great combination of +personal qualities, a frank, high-spirited, manly bearing, keen sense of +honor, the power of attracting and winning men, united with a vast +experience in affairs, such as no man (but John Quincy Adams) now living +has had and no man in this country can ever have again,--I say it is +proved that a man better qualified by an extraordinary combination of +advantages to administer the government than any man now living, or any +man we can ever produce again, can be beaten by anybody. . . . . It has +taken forty years of public life to prepare such a man for the +Presidency, and the result is that he can be beaten by anybody,--Mr. Polk +is anybody,--he is Mr. Quelconque.” + +I do not venture to quote the most burning sentences of this impassioned +letter. It shows that Motley had not only become interested most +profoundly in the general movements of parties, but that he had followed +the course of political events which resulted in the election of Mr. Polk +with careful study, and that he was already looking forward to the revolt +of the slave States which occurred sixteen years later. The letter is +full of fiery eloquence, now and then extravagant and even violent in +expression, but throbbing with a generous heat which shows the excitable +spirit of a man who wishes to be proud of his country and does not wish +to keep his temper when its acts make him ashamed of it. He is disgusted +and indignant to the last degree at seeing “Mr. Quelconque” chosen over +the illustrious statesman who was his favorite candidate. But all his +indignation cannot repress a sense of humor which was one of his marked +characteristics. After fatiguing his vocabulary with hard usage, after +his unsparing denunciation of “the very dirty politics” which he finds +mixed up with our popular institutions, he says,--it must be remembered +that this was an offhand letter to one nearly connected with him,-- + + “All these things must in short, to use the energetic language of + the Balm of Columbia advertisement, 'bring every generous thinking + youth to that heavy sinking gloom which not even the loss of + property can produce, but only the loss of hair, which brings on + premature decay, causing many to shrink from being uncovered, and + even to shun society, to avoid the jests and sneers of their + acquaintances. The remainder of their lives is consequently spent + in retirement.'” + +He continues:-- + + “Before dropping the subject, and to show the perfect purity of my + motives, I will add that I am not at all anxious about the + legislation of the new government. I desired the election of Clay + as a moral triumph, and because the administration of the country, + at this moment of ten thousand times more importance than its + legislation, would have been placed in pure, strong, and determined + hands.” + +Then comes a dash of that satirical and somewhat cynical way of feeling +which he had not as yet outgrown. He had been speaking about the general +want of attachment to the Union and the absence of the sentiment of +loyalty as bearing on the probable dissolution of the Union. + + “I don't mean to express any opinions on these matters,--I haven't + got any. It seems to me that the best way is to look at the + hodge-podge, be good-natured if possible, and laugh, + + 'As from the height of contemplation + We view the feeble joints men totter on.' + + “I began a tremendous political career during the election, having + made two stump speeches of an hour and a half each,--after you went + away,--one in Dedham town-hall and one in Jamaica Plain, with such + eminent success that many invitations came to me from the + surrounding villages, and if I had continued in active political + life I might have risen to be vote-distributor, or fence-viewer, or + selectman, or hog-reeve, or something of the kind.” + +The letter from which the above passages are quoted gives the same +portrait of the writer, only seen in profile, as it were, which we have +already seen drawn in full face in the story of “Morton's Hope.” It is +charged with that 'saeva indignatio' which at times verges on +misanthropic contempt for its objects, not unnatural to a high-spirited +young man who sees his lofty ideals confronted with the ignoble facts +which strew the highways of political life. But we can recognize real +conviction and the deepest feeling beneath his scornful rhetoric and his +bitter laugh. He was no more a mere dilettante than Swift himself, but +now and then in the midst of his most serious thought some absurd or +grotesque image will obtrude itself, and one is reminded of the lines on +the monument of Gay rather than of the fierce epitaph of the Dean of +Saint Patrick's. + + + + +VII. + +1845-1847. AEt. 31-33. + +FIRST HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL ESSAYS.--PETER THE GREAT.--NOVELS OF +BALZAC.--POLITY OF THE PURITANS. + +Mr. Motley's first serious effort in historical composition was an +article of fifty pages in “The North American Review” for October, 1845. +This was nominally a notice of two works, one on Russia, the other “A +Memoir of the Life of Peter the Great.” It is, however, a narrative +rather than a criticism, a rapid, continuous, brilliant, almost dramatic +narrative. If there had been any question as to whether the young +novelist who had missed his first mark had in him the elements which +might give him success as an author, this essay would have settled the +question. It shows throughout that the writer has made a thorough study +of his subject, but it is written with an easy and abundant, yet +scholarly freedom, not as if he were surrounded by his authorities and +picking out his material piece by piece, but rather as if it were the +overflow of long-pursued and well-remembered studies recalled without +effort and poured forth almost as a recreation. + +As he betrayed or revealed his personality in his first novel, so in this +first effort in another department of literature he showed in epitome his +qualities as a historian and a biographer. The hero of his narrative +makes his entrance at once in his character as the shipwright of Saardam, +on the occasion of a visit of the great Duke of Marlborough. The portrait +instantly arrests attention. His ideal personages had been drawn in such +a sketchy way, they presented so many imperfectly harmonized features, +that they never became real, with the exception, of course, of the +story-teller himself. But the vigor with which the presentment of the +imperial ship-carpenter, the sturdy, savage, eager, fiery Peter, was +given in the few opening sentences, showed the movement of the hand, the +glow of the color, that were in due time to display on a broader canvas +the full-length portraits of William the Silent and of John of Barneveld. +The style of the whole article is rich, fluent, picturesque, with light +touches of humor here and there, and perhaps a trace or two of youthful +jauntiness, not quite as yet outgrown. His illustrative poetical +quotations are mostly from Shakespeare,--from Milton and Byron also in a +passage or two,--and now and then one is reminded that he is not +unfamiliar with Carlyle's “Sartor Resartus” and the “French Revolution” + of the same unmistakable writer, more perhaps by the way in which phrases +borrowed from other authorities are set in the text than by any more +important evidence of unconscious imitation. + +The readers who had shaken their heads over the unsuccessful story of +“Morton's Hope” were startled by the appearance of this manly and +scholarly essay. This young man, it seemed, had been studying,--studying +with careful accuracy, with broad purpose. He could paint a character +with the ruddy life-blood coloring it as warmly as it glows in the cheeks +of one of Van der Helst's burgomasters. He could sweep the horizon in a +wide general outlook, and manage his perspective and his lights and +shadows so as to place and accent his special subject with its due relief +and just relations. It was a sketch, or rather a study for a larger +picture, but it betrayed the hand of a master. The feeling of many was +that expressed in the words of Mr. Longfellow in his review of the +“Twice-Told Tales” of the unknown young writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne: +“When a new star rises in the heavens, people gaze after it for a season +with the naked eye, and with such telescopes as they may find. . . . This +star is but newly risen; and erelong the observation of numerous +star-gazers, perched up on arm-chairs and editor's tables, will inform +the world of its magnitude and its place in the heaven of”--not poetry in +this instance, but that serene and unclouded region of the firmament +where shine unchanging the names of Herodotus and Thucydides. Those who +had always believed in their brilliant schoolmate and friend at last felt +themselves justified in their faith. The artist that sent this unframed +picture to be hung in a corner of the literary gallery was equal to +larger tasks. There was but one voice in the circle that surrounded the +young essayist. He must redeem his pledge, he can and will redeem it, if +he will only follow the bent of his genius and grapple with the heroic +labor of writing a great history. + +And this was the achievement he was already meditating. + +In the mean time he was studying history for its facts and principles, +and fiction for its scenery and portraits. In “The North American Review” + for July, 1847, is a long and characteristic article on Balzac, of whom +he was an admirer, but with no blind worship. The readers of this great +story-teller, who was so long in obtaining recognition, who “made twenty +assaults upon fame and had forty books killed under him” before he +achieved success, will find his genius fully appreciated and fairly +weighed in this discriminating essay. A few brief extracts will show its +quality. + + “Balzac is an artist, and only an artist. In his tranquil, + unimpassioned, remorseless diagnosis of morbid phenomena, in his + cool method of treating the morbid anatomy of the heart, in his + curiously accurate dissection of the passions, in the patient and + painful attention with which, stethoscope in hand, finger on pulse, + eye everywhere, you see him watching every symptom, alive to every + sound and every breath, and in the scientific accuracy with which he + portrays the phenomena which have been the subject of his + investigation,--in all this calm and conscientious study of nature + he often reminds us of Goethe. Balzac, however, is only an artist + . . . He is neither moral nor immoral, but a calm and profound + observer of human society and human passions, and a minute, patient, + and powerful delineator of scenes and characters in the world before + his eyes. His readers must moralize for themselves. . . . It + is, perhaps, his defective style more than anything else which will + prevent his becoming a classic, for style above all other qualities + seems to embalm for posterity. As for his philosophy, his + principles, moral, political, or social, we repeat that he seems to + have none whatever. He looks for the picturesque and the striking. + He studies sentiments and sensations from an artistic point of view. + He is a physiognomist, a physiologist, a bit of an anatomist, a bit + of a mesmerist, a bit of a geologist, a Flemish painter, an + upholsterer, a micrological, misanthropical, sceptical philosopher; + but he is no moralist, and certainly no reformer.” + +Another article contributed by Mr. Motley to “The North American Review” + is to be found in the number for October, 1849. It is nominally a review +of Talvi's (Mrs. Robinson's) “Geschichte der Colonisation von New +England,” but in reality an essay on the Polity of the Puritans,--an +historical disquisition on the principles of self-government evolved in +New England, broad in its views, eloquent in its language. Its spirit is +thoroughly American, and its estimate of the Puritan character is not +narrowed by the nearsighted liberalism which sees the past in the +pitiless light of the present,--which looks around at high noon and finds +fault with early dawn for its long and dark shadows. Here is a sentence +or two from the article:-- + + “With all the faults of the system devised by the Puritans, it was a + practical system. With all their foibles, with all their teasing, + tyrannical, and arbitrary notions, the Pilgrims were lovers of + liberty as well as sticklers for authority. . . . Nowhere can a + better description of liberty be found than that given by Winthrop, + in his defence of himself before the General Court on a charge of + arbitrary conduct. 'Nor would I have you mistake your own liberty,' + he says. 'There is a freedom of doing what we list, without regard + to law or justice; this liberty is indeed inconsistent with + authority; but civil, moral, and federal liberty consists in every + man's enjoying his property and having the benefit of the laws of + his country; which is very consistent with a due subjection to the + civil magistrate.' . . . + + “We enjoy an inestimable advantage in America. One can be a + republican, a democrat, without being a radical. A radical, one who + would uproot, is a man whose trade is dangerous to society. Here is + but little to uproot. The trade cannot flourish. All classes are + conservative by necessity, for none can wish to change the structure + of our polity. . . + + “The country without a past cannot be intoxicated by visions of the + past of other lands. Upon this absence of the past it seems to us + that much of the security of our institutions depends. Nothing + interferes with the development of what is now felt to be the true + principle of government, the will of the people legitimately + expressed. To establish that great truth, nothing was to be torn + down, nothing to be uprooted. It grew up in New England out of the + seed unconsciously planted by the first Pilgrims, was not crushed + out by the weight of a thousand years of error spread over the whole + continent, and the Revolution was proclaimed and recognized.” + + + + +VIII. + +1847-1849. AEt. 33-35. + +JOSEPH LEWIS STACKPOLE, THE FRIEND OF MOTLEY. HIS SUDDEN DEATH.--MOTLEY +IN THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.--SECOND NOVEL, +“MERRY-MOUNT, A ROMANCE OF THE MASSACHUSETTS COLONY.” + +The intimate friendships of early manhood are not very often kept up +among our people. The eager pursuit of fortune, position, office, +separates young friends, and the indoor home life imprisons them in the +domestic circle so generally that it is quite exceptional to find two +grown men who are like brothers,--or rather unlike most brothers, in +being constantly found together. An exceptional instance of such a more +than fraternal relation was seen in the friendship of Mr. Motley and Mr. +Joseph Lewis Stackpole. Mr. William Amory, who knew them both well, has +kindly furnished me with some recollections, which I cannot improve by +changing his own language. + + “Their intimacy began in Europe, and they returned to this country + in 1835. In 1837 they married sisters, and this cemented their + intimacy, which continued to Stackpole's death in 1847. The + contrast in the temperament of the two friends--the one sensitive + and irritable, and the other always cool and good-natured--only + increased their mutual attachment to each other, and Motley's + dependence upon Stackpole. Never were two friends more constantly + together or more affectionately fond of each other. As Stackpole + was about eight years older than Motley, and much less impulsive and + more discreet, his death was to his friend irreparable, and at the + time an overwhelming blow.” + +Mr. Stackpole was a man of great intelligence, of remarkable personal +attractions, and amiable character. His death was a loss to Motley even +greater than he knew, for he needed just such a friend, older, calmer, +more experienced in the ways of the world, and above all capable of +thoroughly understanding him and exercising a wholesome influence over +his excitable nature without the seeming of a Mentor preaching to a +Telemachus. Mr. Stackpole was killed by a railroad accident on the 20th +of July, 1847. + +In the same letter Mr. Amory refers to a very different experience in Mr. +Motley's life,--his one year of service as a member of the Massachusetts +House of Representatives, 1849. + + “In respect to the one term during which he was a member of the + Massachusetts House of Representatives, I can recall only one thing, + to which he often and laughingly alluded. Motley, as the Chairman + of the Committee on Education, made, as he thought, a most masterly + report. It was very elaborate, and, as he supposed, unanswerable; + but Boutwell, then a young man from some country town [Groton, + Mass.], rose, and as Motley always said, demolished the report, so + that he was unable to defend it against the attack. You can imagine + his disgust, after the pains he had taken to render it unassailable, + to find himself, as he expressed it, 'on his own dunghill,' + ignominiously beaten. While the result exalted his opinion of the + speech-making faculty of a Representative of a common school + education, it at the same time cured him of any ambition for + political promotion in Massachusetts.” + +To my letter of inquiry about this matter, Hon. George S. Boutwell +courteously returned the following answer:-- + + BOSTON, October 14, 1878. + + MY DEAR SIR,--As my memory serves me, Mr. Motley was a member of the + Massachusetts House of Representatives in the year 1847 1849. It + may be well to consult the manual for that year. I recollect the + controversy over the report from the Committee on Education. + + His failure was not due to his want of faculty or to the vigor of + his opponents. + + In truth he espoused the weak side of the question and the unpopular + one also. His proposition was to endow the colleges at the expense + of the fund for the support of the common schools. Failure was + inevitable. Neither Webster nor Choate could have carried the bill. + + Very truly, + GEO. S. BOUTWELL. + +No one could be more ready and willing to recognize his own failures than +Motley. He was as honest and manly, perhaps I may say as sympathetic with +the feeling of those about him, on this occasion, as was Charles Lamb, +who, sitting with his sister in the front of the pit, on the night when +his farce was damned at its first representation, gave way to the common +feeling, and hissed and hooted lustily with the others around him. It was +what might be expected from his honest and truthful nature, sometimes too +severe in judging itself. + +The commendation bestowed upon Motley's historical essays in “The North +American Review” must have gone far towards compensating him for the ill +success of his earlier venture. It pointed clearly towards the field in +which he was to gather his laurels. And it was in the year following the +publication of the first essay, or about that time (1846), that he began +collecting materials for a history of Holland. Whether to tell the story +of men that have lived and of events that have happened, or to create the +characters and invent the incidents of an imaginary tale be the higher +task, we need not stop to discuss. But the young author was just now like +the great actor in Sir Joshua's picture, between the allurements of +Thalia and Melpomene, still doubtful whether he was to be a romancer or a +historian. + +The tale of which the title is given at the beginning of this section had +been written several years before the date of its publication. It is a +great advance in certain respects over the first novel, but wants the +peculiar interest which belonged to that as a partially autobiographical +memoir. The story is no longer disjointed and impossible. It is carefully +studied in regard to its main facts. It has less to remind us of “Vivian +Grey” and “Pelham,” and more that recalls “Woodstock” and “Kenilworth.” + The personages were many of them historical, though idealized; the +occurrences were many of them such as the record authenticated; the +localities were drawn largely from nature. The story betrays marks of +haste or carelessness in some portions, though others are elaborately +studied. His preface shows that the reception of his first book had made +him timid and sensitive about the fate of the second, and explains and +excuses what might be found fault with, to disarm the criticism he had +some reason to fear. + +That old watch-dog of our American literature, “The North American +Review,” always ready with lambent phrases in stately “Articles” for +native talent of a certain pretension, and wagging its appendix of +“Critical Notices” kindly at the advent of humbler merit, treated +“Merry-Mount” with the distinction implied in a review of nearly twenty +pages. This was a great contrast to the brief and slighting notice of +“Morton's Hope.” The reviewer thinks the author's descriptive power +wholly exceeds his conception of character and invention of +circumstances. + + “He dwells, perhaps, too long and fondly upon his imagination of the + landscape as it was before the stillness of the forest had been + broken by the axe of the settler; but the picture is so finely + drawn, with so much beauty of language and purity of sentiment, that + we cannot blame him for lingering upon the scene. . . . The + story is not managed with much skill, but it has variety enough of + incident and character, and is told with so much liveliness that few + will be inclined to lay it down before reaching the conclusion. . + . . The writer certainly needs practice in elaborating the details + of a consistent and interesting novel; but in many respects he is + well qualified for the task, and we shall be glad to meet him again + on the half-historical ground he has chosen. His present work, + certainly, is not a fair specimen of what he is able to accomplish, + and its failure, or partial success, ought only to inspirit him for + further effort.” + +The “half-historical ground” he had chosen had already led him to the +entrance into the broader domain of history. The “further effort” for +which he was to be inspirited had already begun. He had been for some +time, as was before mentioned, collecting materials for the work which +was to cast all his former attempts into the kindly shadow of oblivion, +save when from time to time the light of his brilliant after success is +thrown upon them to illustrate the path by which it was at length +attained. + + + + +IX. + +1850. AEt. 36. +PLAN OF A HISTORY.--LETTERS. + +The reputation of Mr. Prescott was now coextensive with the realm of +scholarship. The histories of the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella and of +the conquest of Mexico had met with a reception which might well tempt +the ambition of a young writer to emulate it, but which was not likely to +be awarded to any second candidate who should enter the field in rivalry +with the great and universally popular historian. But this was the field +on which Mr. Motley was to venture. + +After he had chosen the subject of the history he contemplated, he found +that Mr. Prescott was occupied with a kindred one, so that there might be +too near a coincidence between them. I must borrow from Mr. Ticknor's +beautiful life of Prescott the words which introduce a letter of Motley's +to Mr. William Amory, who has kindly allowed me also to make use of it. + + “The moment, therefore, that he [Mr. Motley] was aware of this + condition of things, and the consequent possibility that there might + be an untoward interference in their plans, he took the same frank + and honorable course with Mr. Prescott that Mr. Prescott had taken + in relation to Mr. Irving, when he found that they had both been + contemplating a 'History of the Conquest of Mexico.' The result was + the same. Mr. Prescott, instead of treating the matter as an + interference, earnestly encouraged Mr. Motley to go on, and placed + at his disposition such of the books in his library as could be most + useful to him. How amply and promptly he did it, Mr. Motley's own + account will best show. It is in a letter dated at Rome, 26th + February, 1859, the day he heard of Mr. Prescott's death, and was + addressed to his intimate friend, Mr. William Amory, of Boston, Mr. + Prescott's much-loved brother-in-law.” + + “It seems to me but as yesterday,” Mr. Motley writes, “though it + must be now twelve years ago, that I was talking with our + ever-lamented friend Stackpole about my intention of writing a history + upon a subject to which I have since that time been devoting myself. + I had then made already some general studies in reference to it, + without being in the least aware that Prescott had the intention of + writing the 'History of Philip the Second.' Stackpole had heard the + fact, and that large preparations had already been made for the + work, although 'Peru' had not yet been published. I felt naturally + much disappointed. I was conscious of the immense disadvantage to + myself of making my appearance, probably at the same time, before + the public, with a work not at all similar in plan to 'Philip the + Second,' but which must of necessity traverse a portion of the same + ground. + + “My first thought was inevitably, as it were, only of myself. + It seemed to me that I had nothing to do but to abandon at once a + cherished dream, and probably to renounce authorship. For I had not + first made up my mind to write a history, and then cast about to + take up a subject. My subject had taken me up, drawn me on, and + absorbed me into itself. It was necessary for me, it seemed, to + write the book I had been thinking much of, even if it were destined + to fall dead from the press, and I had no inclination or interest to + write any other. When I had made up my mind accordingly, it then + occurred to me that Prescott might not be pleased that I should come + forward upon his ground. It is true that no announcement of his + intentions had been made, and that he had not, I believe, even + commenced his preliminary studies for Philip. At the same time I + thought it would be disloyal on my part not to go to him at once, + confer with him on the subject, and if I should find a shadow of + dissatisfaction on his mind at my proposition, to abandon my plan + altogether. + + “I had only the slightest acquaintance with him at that time. I was + comparatively a young man, and certainly not entitled on any ground + to more than the common courtesy which Prescott never could refuse + to any one. But he received me with such a frank and ready and + liberal sympathy, and such an open-hearted, guileless expansiveness, + that I felt a personal affection for him from that hour. I remember + the interview as if it had taken place yesterday. It was in his + father's house, in his own library, looking on the garden-house and + garden,--honored father and illustrious son,--alas! all numbered + with the things that were! He assured me that he had not the + slightest objection whatever to my plan, that he wished me every + success, and that, if there were any books in his library bearing on + my subject that I liked to use, they were entirely at my service. + After I had expressed my gratitude for his kindness and cordiality, + by which I had been in a very few moments set completely at ease, + --so far as my fears of his disapprobation went,--I also very + naturally stated my opinion that the danger was entirely mine, and + that it was rather wilful of me thus to risk such a collision at my + first venture, the probable consequence of which was utter + shipwreck. I recollect how kindly and warmly he combated this + opinion, assuring me that no two books, as he said, ever injured + each other, and encouraging me in the warmest and most earnest + manner to proceed on the course I had marked out for myself. + + “Had the result of that interview been different,--had he distinctly + stated, or even vaguely hinted, that it would be as well if I should + select some other topic, or had he only sprinkled me with the cold + water of conventional and commonplace encouragement,--I should have + gone from him with a chill upon my mind, and, no doubt, have laid + down the pen at once; for, as I have already said, it was not that I + cared about writing a history, but that I felt an inevitable impulse + to write one particular history. + + “You know how kindly he always spoke of and to me; and the generous + manner in which, without the slightest hint from me, and entirely + unexpected by me, he attracted the eyes of his hosts of readers to + my forthcoming work, by so handsomely alluding to it in the Preface + to his own, must be almost as fresh in your memory as it is in mine. + + “And although it seems easy enough for a man of world-wide + reputation thus to extend the right hand of fellowship to an unknown + and struggling aspirant, yet I fear that the history of literature + will show that such instances of disinterested kindness are as rare + as they are noble.” + +It was not from any feeling that Mr. Motley was a young writer from whose +rivalry he had nothing to apprehend. Mr. Amory says that Prescott +expressed himself very decidedly to the effect that an author who had +written such descriptive passages as were to be found in Mr. Motley's +published writings was not to be undervalued as a competitor by any one. +The reader who will turn to the description of Charles River in the +eighth chapter of the second volume of “Merry-Mount,” or of the autumnal +woods in the sixteenth chapter of the same volume, will see good reason +for Mr. Prescott's appreciation of the force of the rival whose advent he +so heartily and generously welcomed. + + + + +X. + +1851-1856. AEt. 37-42. +HISTORICAL STUDIES IN EUROPE.-LETTER FROM BRUSSELS. + +After working for several years on his projected “History of the Dutch +Republic,” he found that, in order to do justice to his subject, he must +have recourse to the authorities to be found only in the libraries and +state archives of Europe. In the year 1851 he left America with his +family, to begin his task over again, throwing aside all that he had +already done, and following up his new course of investigations at +Berlin, Dresden, the Hague, and Brussels during several succeeding years. +I do not know that I can give a better idea of his mode of life during +this busy period, his occupations, his state of mind, his objects of +interest outside of his special work, than by making the following +extracts from a long letter to myself, dated Brussels, 20th November, +1853. + +After some personal matters he continued:-- + + “I don't really know what to say to you. I am in a town which, for + aught I know, may be very gay. I don't know a living soul in it. + We have not a single acquaintance in the place, and we glory in the + fact. There is something rather sublime in thus floating on a + single spar in the wide sea of a populous, busy, fuming, fussy world + like this. At any rate it is consonant to both our tastes. You may + suppose, however, that I find it rather difficult to amuse my + friends out of the incidents of so isolated an existence. Our daily + career is very regular and monotonous. Our life is as stagnant as a + Dutch canal. Not that I complain of it,--on the contrary, the canal + may be richly freighted with merchandise and be a short cut to the + ocean of abundant and perpetual knowledge; but, at the same time, + few points rise above the level of so regular a life, to be worthy + of your notice. You must, therefore, allow me to meander along the + meadows of commonplace. Don't expect anything of the impetuous and + boiling style. We go it weak here. I don't know whether you were + ever in Brussels. It is a striking, picturesque town, built up a + steep promontory, the old part at the bottom, very dingy and mouldy, + the new part at the top, very showy and elegant. Nothing can be + more exquisite in its way than the grande place in the very heart of + the city, surrounded with those toppling, zigzag, ten-storied + buildings bedizened all over with ornaments and emblems so peculiar + to the Netherlands, with the brocaded Hotel de Ville on one side, + with its impossible spire rising some three hundred and seventy feet + into the air and embroidered to the top with the delicacy of needle- + work, sugarwork, spider-work, or what you will. I haunt this place + because it is my scene, my theatre. Here were enacted so many deep + tragedies, so many stately dramas, and even so many farces, which + have been familiar to me so long that I have got to imagine myself + invested with a kind of property in the place, and look at it as if + it were merely the theatre with the coulisses, machinery, drapery, + etc., for representing scenes which have long since vanished, and + which no more enter the minds of the men and women who are actually + moving across its pavements than if they had occurred in the moon. + When I say that I knew no soul in Brussels I am perhaps wrong. With + the present generation I am not familiar. 'En revanche,' the dead + men of the place are my intimate friends. I am at home in any + cemetery. With the fellows of the sixteenth century I am on the + most familiar terms. Any ghost that ever flits by night across the + moonlight square is at once hailed by me as a man and a brother. I + call him by his Christian name at once. When you come out of this + place, however, which, as I said, is in the heart of the town,--the + antique gem in the modern setting,--you may go either up or down. + If you go down, you will find yourself in the very nastiest + complications of lanes and culs-de-sac possible, a dark entanglement + of gin-shops, beer-houses, and hovels, through which charming valley + dribbles the Senne (whence, I suppose, is derived Senna), the most + nauseous little river in the world, which receives all the + outpourings of all the drains and houses, and is then converted into + beer for the inhabitants, all the many breweries being directly upon + its edge. If you go up the hill instead of down, you come to an + arrangement of squares, palaces, and gardens as trim and fashionable + as you will find in Europe. Thus you see that our Cybele sits with + her head crowned with very stately towers and her feet in a tub of + very dirty water. + + “My habits here for the present year are very regular. I came here, + having, as I thought, finished my work, or rather the first Part + (something like three or four volumes, 8vo), but I find so much + original matter here, and so many emendations to make, that I am + ready to despair. However, there is nothing for it but to + penelopize, pull to pieces, and stitch away again. Whatever may be + the result of my labor, nobody can say that I have not worked like + a brute beast,--but I don't care for the result. The labor is in + itself its own reward and all I want. I go day after day to the + archives here (as I went all summer at the Hague), studying the old + letters and documents of the fifteenth century. Here I remain among + my fellow-worms, feeding on these musty mulberry-leaves, out of + which we are afterwards to spin our silk. How can you expect + anything interesting from such a human cocoon? It is, however, not + without its amusement in a mouldy sort of way, this reading of dead + letters. It is something to read the real, bona fide signs-manual + of such fellows as William of Orange, Count Egmont, Alexander + Farnese, Philip II., Cardinal Granvelle, and the rest of them. It + gives a 'realizing sense,' as the Americans have it. . . . There + are not many public resources of amusement in this place,--if we + wanted them,--which we don't. I miss the Dresden Gallery very much, + and it makes me sad to think that I shall never look at the face of + the Sistine Madonna again,--that picture beyond all pictures in the + world, in which the artist certainly did get to heaven and painted a + face which was never seen on earth--so pathetic, so gentle, so + passionless, so prophetic. . . . There are a few good Rubenses + here,--but the great wealth of that master is in Antwerp. The great + picture of the Descent from the Cross is free again, after having + been ten years in the repairing room. It has come out in very good + condition. What a picture? It seems to me as if I had really stood + at the cross and seen Mary weeping on John's shoulder, and Magdalen + receiving the dead body of the Saviour in her arms. Never was the + grand tragedy represented in so profound and dramatic a manner. For + it is not only in his color in which this man so easily surpasses + all the world, but in his life-like, flesh-and-blood action,--the + tragic power of his composition. And is it not appalling to think + of the 'large constitution of this man,' when you reflect on the + acres of canvas which he has covered? How inspiriting to see with + what muscular, masculine vigor this splendid Fleming rushed in and + plucked up drowning Art by the locks when it was sinking in the + trashy sea of such creatures as the Luca Giordanos and Pietro + Cortonas and the like. Well might Guido exclaim, 'The fellow mixes + blood with his colors! . . . How providentially did the man come + in and invoke living, breathing, moving men and women out of his + canvas! Sometimes he is ranting and exaggerated, as are all men of + great genius who wrestle with Nature so boldly. No doubt his + heroines are more expansively endowed than would be thought genteel + in our country, where cryptogams are so much in fashion, + nevertheless there is always something very tremendous about him, + and very often much that is sublime, pathetic, and moving. I defy + any one of the average amount of imagination and sentiment to stand + long before the Descent from the Cross without being moved more + nearly to tears than he would care to acknowledge. As for color, + his effects are as sure as those of the sun rising in a tropical + landscape. There is something quite genial in the cheerful sense of + his own omnipotence which always inspired him. There are a few fine + pictures of his here, and I go in sometimes of a raw, foggy morning + merely to warm myself in the blaze of their beauty.” + +I have been more willing to give room to this description of Rubens's +pictures and the effect they produced upon Motley, because there is a +certain affinity between those sumptuous and glowing works of art and the +prose pictures of the historian who so admired them. He was himself a +colorist in language, and called up the image of a great personage or a +splendid pageant of the past with the same affluence, the same rich +vitality, that floods and warms the vast areas of canvas over which the +full-fed genius of Rubens disported itself in the luxury of imaginative +creation. + + + + +XI. + +1856-1857. AEt. 42-43. + +PUBLICATION OF HIS FIRST HISTORICAL WORK, “RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC.” + --ITS RECEPTION.--CRITICAL NOTICES. + +The labor of ten years was at last finished. Carrying his formidable +manuscript with him,--and how formidable the manuscript which melts down +into three solid octavo volumes is, only writers and publishers know,--he +knocked at the gate of that terrible fortress from which Lintot and Curll +and Tonson looked down on the authors of an older generation. So large a +work as the “History of the Rise of the Dutch Republic,” offered for the +press by an author as yet unknown to the British public, could hardly +expect a warm welcome from the great dealers in literature as +merchandise. Mr. Murray civilly declined the manuscript which was offered +to him, and it was published at its author's expense by Mr. John Chapman. +The time came when the positions of the first-named celebrated publisher +and the unknown writer were reversed. Mr. Murray wrote to Mr. Motley +asking to be allowed to publish his second great work, the “History of +the United Netherlands,” expressing at the same time his regret at what +he candidly called his mistake in the first instance, and thus they were +at length brought into business connection as well as the most agreeable +and friendly relations. An American edition was published by the Harpers +at the same time as the London one. + +If the new work of the unknown author found it difficult to obtain a +publisher, it was no sooner given to the public than it found an +approving, an admiring, an enthusiastic world of readers, and a noble +welcome at the colder hands of the critics. + +“The Westminster Review” for April, 1856, had for its leading article a +paper by Mr. Froude, in which the critic awarded the highest praise to +the work of the new historian. As one of the earliest as well as one of +the most important recognitions of the work, I quote some of its +judgments. + + “A history as complete as industry and genius can make it now lies + before us of the first twenty years of the Revolt of the United + Provinces; of the period in which those provinces finally conquered + their independence and established the Republic of Holland. It has + been the result of many years of silent, thoughtful, unobtrusive + labor, and unless we are strangely mistaken, unless we are ourselves + altogether unfit for this office of criticising which we have here + undertaken, the book is one which will take its place among the + finest histories in this or in any language. . . . All the + essentials of a great writer Mr. Motley eminently possesses. His + mind is broad, his industry unwearied. In power of dramatic + description no modern historian, except perhaps Mr. Carlyle, + surpasses him, and in analysis of character he is elaborate and + distinct. His principles are those of honest love for all which is + good and admirable in human character wherever he finds it, while he + unaffectedly hates oppression, and despises selfishness with all his + heart.” + +After giving a slight analytical sketch of the series of events related +in the history, Mr. Froude objects to only one of the historian's +estimates, that, namely, of the course of Queen Elizabeth. + + “It is ungracious, however,” he says, “even to find so slight a + fault with these admirable volumes. Mr. Motley has written without + haste, with the leisurely composure of a master. . . . We now + take our leave of Mr. Motley, desiring him only to accept our hearty + thanks for these volumes, which we trust will soon take their place + in every English library. Our quotations will have sufficed to show + the ability of the writer. Of the scope and general character of + his work we have given but a languid conception. The true merit of + a great book must be learned from the book itself. Our part has + been rather to select varied specimens of style and power. Of Mr. + Motley's antecedents we know nothing. If he has previously appeared + before the public, his reputation has not crossed the Atlantic. It + will not be so now. We believe that we may promise him as warm a + welcome among ourselves as he will receive even in America; that his + place will be at once conceded to him among the first historians in + our common language.” + +The faithful and unwearied Mr. Allibone has swept the whole field of +contemporary criticism, and shown how wide and universal was the welcome +accorded to the hitherto unknown author. An article headed “Prescott and +Motley,” attributed to M. Guizot, which must have been translated, I +suppose, from his own language, judging by its freedom from French +idioms, is to be found in “The Edinburgh Review” for January, 1857. The +praise, not unmingled with criticisms, which that great historian +bestowed upon Motley is less significant than the fact that he +superintended a translation of the “Rise of the Dutch Republic,” and +himself wrote the Introduction to it. + +A general chorus of approbation followed or accompanied these leading +voices. The reception of the work in Great Britain was a triumph. On the +Continent, in addition to the tribute paid to it by M. Guizot, it was +translated into Dutch, into German, and into Russian. At home his +reception was not less hearty. “The North American Review,” which had set +its foot on the semi-autobiographical medley which he called “Morton's +Hope,” which had granted a decent space and a tepid recognition to his +“semi-historical” romance, in which he had already given the reading +public a taste of his quality as a narrator of real events and a +delineator of real personages,--this old and awe-inspiring New England +and more than New England representative of the Fates, found room for a +long and most laudatory article, in which the son of one of our most +distinguished historians did the honors of the venerable literary +periodical to the new-comer, for whom the folding-doors of all the +critical headquarters were flying open as if of themselves. Mr. Allibone +has recorded the opinions of some of our best scholars as expressed to +him. + +Dr. Lieber wrote a letter to Mr. Allibone in the strongest terms of +praise. I quote one passage which in the light of after events borrows a +cruel significance:-- + + “Congress and Parliament decree thanks for military exploits, + --rarely for diplomatic achievements. If they ever voted their thanks + for books,--and what deeds have influenced the course of human + events more than some books?--Motley ought to have the thanks of our + Congress; but I doubt not that he has already the thanks of every + American who has read the work. It will leave its distinct mark + upon the American mind.” + +Mr. Everett writes:-- + + “Mr. Motley's 'History of the Dutch Republic' is in my judgment a + work of the highest merit. Unwearying research for years in the + libraries of Europe, patience and judgment in arranging and + digesting his materials, a fine historical tact, much skill in + characterization, the perspective of narration, as it may be called, + and a vigorous style unite to make it a very capital work, and place + the name of Motley by the side of those of our great historical + trio,--Bancroft, Irving, and Prescott.” + +Mr. Irving, Mr. Bancroft, Mr. Sumner, Mr. Hillard, united their voices in +the same strain of commendation. Mr. Prescott, whose estimate of the new +history is of peculiar value for obvious reasons, writes to Mr. Allibone +thus:-- + + “The opinion of any individual seems superfluous in respect to a + work on the merits of which the public both at home and abroad have + pronounced so unanimous a verdict. As Motley's path crosses my own + historic field, I may be thought to possess some advantage over most + critics in my familiarity with the ground. + + “However this may be, I can honestly bear my testimony to the extent + of his researches and to the accuracy with which he has given the + results of them to the public. Far from making his book a mere + register of events, he has penetrated deep below the surface and + explored the cause of these events. He has carefully studied the + physiognomy of the times and given finished portraits of the great + men who conducted the march of the revolution. Every page is + instinct with the love of freedom and with that personal knowledge + of the working of free institutions which could alone enable him to + do justice to his subject. We may congratulate ourselves that it + was reserved for one of our countrymen to tell the story-better than + it had yet been told--of this memorable revolution, which in so many + of its features bears a striking resemblance to our own.” + +The public welcomed the work as cordially as the critics. Fifteen +thousand copies had already been sold in London in 1857. In America it +was equally popular. Its author saw his name enrolled by common consent +among those of the great writers of his time. Europe accepted him, his +country was proud to claim him, scholarship set its jealously guarded +seal upon the result of his labors, the reading world, which had not +cared greatly for his stories, hung in delight over a narrative more +exciting than romances; and the lonely student, who had almost forgotten +the look of living men in the solitude of archives haunted by dead +memories, found himself suddenly in the full blaze of a great reputation. + + + + +XII. + +1856-1857. AEt. 42-43. +VISIT TO AMERICA.--RESIDENCE IN BOYLSTON PLACE. + +He visited this country in 1856, and spent the winter of 1856-57 in +Boston, living with his family in a house in Boylston Place. At this time +I had the pleasure of meeting him often, and of seeing the changes which +maturity, success, the opening of a great literary and social career, had +wrought in his character and bearing. He was in every way greatly +improved; the interesting, impulsive youth had ripened into a noble +manhood. Dealing with great themes, his own mind had gained their +dignity. Accustomed to the company of dead statesmen and heroes, his own +ideas had risen to a higher standard. The flattery of society had added a +new grace to his natural modesty. He was now a citizen of the world by +his reputation; the past was his province, in which he was recognized as +a master; the idol's pedestal was ready for him, but he betrayed no +desire to show himself upon it. + + + + +XIII. + +1858-1860. AEt. 44-46. +RETURN TO ENGLAND.--SOCIAL RELATIONS.--LADY HARCOURT'S LETTER. + +During the years spent in Europe in writing his first history, from 1851 +to 1856, Mr. Motley had lived a life of great retirement and simplicity, +devoting himself to his work and to the education of his children, to +which last object he was always ready to give the most careful +supervision. He was as yet unknown beyond the circle of his friends, and +he did not seek society. In this quiet way he had passed the two years of +residence in Dresden, the year divided between Brussels and the Hague, +and a very tranquil year spent at Vevay on the Lake of Geneva. His health +at this time was tolerably good, except for nervous headaches, which +frequently recurred and were of great severity. His visit to England with +his manuscript in search of a publisher has already been mentioned. + +In 1858 he revisited England. His fame as a successful author was there +before him, and he naturally became the object of many attentions. He now +made many acquaintances who afterwards became his kind and valued +friends. Among those mentioned by his daughter, Lady Harcourt, are Lord +Lyndhurst, Lord Carlisle, Lady William Russell, Lord and Lady Palmerston, +Dean Milman, with many others. The following winter was passed in Rome, +among many English and American friends. + + “In the course of the next summer,” his daughter writes to me, “we + all went to England, and for the next two years, marked chiefly by + the success of the 'United Netherlands,' our social life was most + agreeable and most interesting. He was in the fulness of his health + and powers; his works had made him known in intellectual society, + and I think his presence, on the other hand, increased their + effects. As no one knows better than you do, his belief in his own + country and in its institutions at their best was so passionate and + intense that it was a part of his nature, yet his refined and + fastidious tastes were deeply gratified by the influences of his + life in England, and the spontaneous kindness which he received + added much to his happiness. At that time Lord Palmerston was Prime + Minister; the weekly receptions at Cambridge House were the centre + of all that was brilliant in the political and social world, while + Lansdowne House, Holland House, and others were open to the + 'sommites' in all branches of literature, science, rank, and + politics. . . . It was the last year of Lord Macaulay's life, + and as a few out of many names which I recall come Dean Milman, Mr. + Froude (whose review of the 'Dutch Republic' in the 'Westminster' + was one of the first warm recognitions it ever received), the Duke + and Duchess of Argyll, Sir William Stirling Maxwell, then Mr. + Stirling of Keir, the Sheridan family in its different brilliant + members, Lord Wensleydale, and many more.” + +There was no society to which Motley would not have added grace and +attraction by his presence, and to say that he was a welcome guest in the +best houses of England is only saying that these houses are always open +to those whose abilities, characters, achievements, are commended to the +circles that have the best choice by the personal gifts which are +nature's passport everywhere. + + + + +XIV. + +1859. AEt. 45. + +LETTER TO MR. FRANCIS H. UNDERWOOD.--PLAN OF MR. MOTLEY'S HISTORICAL +WORKS.--SECOND GREAT WORK, “HISTORY OF THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.” + +I am enabled by the kindness of Mr. Francis H. Underwood to avail myself +of a letter addressed to him by Mr. Motley in the year before the +publication of this second work, which gives us an insight into his mode +of working and the plan he proposed to follow. It begins with an allusion +which recalls a literary event interesting to many of his American +friends. + + ROME, March 4, 1859. + + F. H. UNDERWOOD, ESQ. + + My dear Sir,--. . . I am delighted to hear of the great success + of “The Atlantic Monthly.” In this remote region I have not the + chance of reading it as often as I should like, but from the + specimens which I have seen I am quite sure it deserves its wide + circulation. A serial publication, the contents of which are purely + original and of such remarkable merit, is a novelty in our country, + and I am delighted to find that it has already taken so prominent a + position before the reading world. . . + + The whole work [his history], of which the three volumes already + published form a part, will be called “The Eighty Years' War for + Liberty.” + + Epoch I. is the Rise of the Dutch Republic. + + Epoch II. Independence Achieved. From the Death of William the + Silent till the Twelve Years' Truce. 1584-1609. + + Epoch III. Independence Recognized. From the Twelve Years' Truce + to the Peace of Westphalia. 1609-1648. + + My subject is a very vast one, for the struggle of the United + Provinces with Spain was one in which all the leading states of + Europe were more or less involved. After the death of William the + Silent, the history assumes world-wide proportions. Thus the volume + which I am just about terminating . . . is almost as much English + history as Dutch. The Earl of Leicester, very soon after the death + of Orange, was appointed governor of the provinces, and the alliance + between the two countries almost amounted to a political union. I + shall try to get the whole of the Leicester administration, + terminating with the grand drama of the Invincible Armada, into one + volume; but I doubt, my materials are so enormous. I have been + personally very hard at work, nearly two years, ransacking the + British State Paper Office, the British Museum, and the Holland + archives, and I have had two copyists constantly engaged in London, + and two others at the Hague. Besides this, I passed the whole of + last winter at Brussels, where, by special favor of the Belgian + Government, I was allowed to read what no one else has ever been + permitted to see,--the great mass of copies taken by that government + from the Simancas archives, a translated epitome of which has been + published by Gachard. This correspondence reaches to the death of + Philip II., and is of immense extent and importance. Had I not + obtained leave to read the invaluable and, for my purpose, + indispensable documents at Brussels, I should have gone to Spain, + for they will not be published these twenty years, and then only in + a translated and excessively abbreviated and unsatisfactory form. + I have read the whole of this correspondence, and made very copious + notes of it. In truth, I devoted three months of last winter to + that purpose alone. + + The materials I have collected from the English archives are also + extremely important and curious. I have hundreds of interesting + letters never published or to be published, by Queen Elizabeth, + Burghley, Walsingham, Sidney, Drake, Willoughby, Leicester, and + others. For the whole of that portion of my subject in which + Holland and England were combined into one whole, to resist Spain in + its attempt to obtain the universal empire, I have very abundant + collections. For the history of the United Provinces is not at all + a provincial history. It is the history of European liberty. + Without the struggle of Holland and England against Spain, all + Europe might have been Catholic and Spanish. It was Holland that + saved England in the sixteenth century, and, by so doing, secured + the triumph of the Reformation, and placed the independence of the + various states of Europe upon a sure foundation. Of course, the + materials collected by me at the Hague are of great importance. As + a single specimen, I will state that I found in the archives there + an immense and confused mass of papers, which turned out to be the + autograph letters of Olden Barneveld during the last few years of + his life; during, in short, the whole of that most important period + which preceded his execution. These letters are in such an + intolerable handwriting that no one has ever attempted to read them. + I could read them only imperfectly myself, and it would have taken + me a very long time to have acquired the power to do so; but my + copyist and reader there is the most patient and indefatigable + person alive, and he has quite mastered the handwriting, and he + writes me that they are a mine of historical wealth for me. I shall + have complete copies before I get to that period, one of signal + interest, and which has never been described. I mention these + matters that you may see that my work, whatever its other value may + be, is built upon the only foundation fit for history,--original + contemporary documents. These are all unpublished. Of course, I + use the contemporary historians and pamphleteers,--Dutch, Spanish, + French, Italian, German, and English,--but the most valuable of my + sources are manuscript ones. I have said the little which I have + said in order to vindicate the largeness of the subject. The + kingdom of Holland is a small power now, but the Eighty Years' War, + which secured the civil and religious independence of the Dutch + Commonwealth and of Europe, was the great event of that whole age. + + The whole work will therefore cover a most remarkable epoch in human + history, from the abdication of Charles Fifth to the Peace of + Westphalia, at which last point the political and geographical + arrangements of Europe were established on a permanent basis,--in + the main undisturbed until the French Revolution. . . . + + I will mention that I received yesterday a letter from the + distinguished M. Guizot, informing me that the first volume of the + French translation, edited by him, with an introduction, has just + been published. The publication was hastened in consequence of the + appearance of a rival translation at Brussels. The German + translation is very elegantly and expensively printed in handsome + octavos; and the Dutch translation, under the editorship of the + archivist general of Holland, Bakhuyzen v. d. Brink, is enriched + with copious notes and comments by that distinguished scholar. + + There are also three different piratical reprints of the original + work at Amsterdam, Leipzig, and London. I must add that I had + nothing to do with the translation in any case. In fact, with the + exception of M. Guizot, no one ever obtained permission of me to + publish translations, and I never knew of the existence of them + until I read of it in the journals. . . . I forgot to say that + among the collections already thoroughly examined by me is that + portion of the Simancas archives still retained in the Imperial + archives of France. I spent a considerable time in Paris for the + purpose of reading these documents. There are many letters of + Philip II. there, with apostilles by his own hand. . . . I + would add that I am going to pass this summer at Venice for the + purpose of reading and procuring copies from the very rich archives + of that Republic, of the correspondence of their envoys in Madrid, + London, and Brussels during the epoch of which I am treating. + + I am also not without hope of gaining access to the archives of the + Vatican here, although there are some difficulties in the way. + + With kind regards . . . + I remain very truly yours, + J. L. MOTLEY. + + + + +XV. + +1860. AT. 46. + +PUBLICATION OF THE FIRST TWO VOLUMES OF THE “HISTORY OF THE UNITED +NETHERLANDS.”--THEIR RECEPTION. + +We know something of the manner in which Mr. Motley collected his +materials. We know the labors, the difficulties, the cost of his toils +among the dusty records of the past. What he gained by the years he spent +in his researches is so well stated by himself that I shall borrow his +own words:-- + + “Thanks to the liberality of many modern governments of Europe, the + archives where the state secrets of the buried centuries have so + long mouldered are now open to the student of history. To him who + has patience and industry, many mysteries are thus revealed which no + political sagacity or critical acumen could have divined. He leans + over the shoulder of Philip the Second at his writing-table, as the + King spells patiently out, with cipher-key in hand, the most + concealed hieroglyphics of Parma, or Guise, or Mendoza. He reads + the secret thoughts of 'Fabius' [Philip II.] as that cunctative + Roman scrawls his marginal apostilles on each dispatch; he pries + into all the stratagems of Camillus, Hortensius, Mucius, Julius, + Tullius, and the rest of those ancient heroes who lent their names + to the diplomatic masqueraders of the sixteenth century; he enters + the cabinet of the deeply pondering Burghley, and takes from the + most private drawer the memoranda which record that minister's + unutterable doubtings; he pulls from the dressing-gown folds of the + stealthy, soft-gliding Walsingham the last secret which he has + picked from the Emperor's pigeon-holes or the Pope's pocket, and + which not Hatton, nor Buckhurst, nor Leicester, nor the Lord + Treasurer is to see,--nobody but Elizabeth herself; he sits + invisible at the most secret councils of the Nassaus and Barneveld + and Buys, or pores with Farnese over coming victories and vast + schemes of universal conquest; he reads the latest bit of scandal, + the minutest characteristic of king or minister, chronicled by the + gossiping Venetians for the edification of the Forty; and after all + this prying and eavesdropping, having seen the cross-purposes, the + bribings, the windings in the dark, he is not surprised if those who + were systematically deceived did not always arrive at correct + conclusions.” + +The fascination of such a quest is readily conceivable. A drama with real +characters, and the spectator at liberty to go behind the scenes and look +upon and talk with the kings and queens between the acts; to examine the +scenery, to handle the properties, to study the “make up” of the imposing +personages of full-dress histories; to deal with them all as Thackeray +has done with the Grand Monarque in one of his caustic sketches,--this +would be as exciting, one might suppose, as to sit through a play one +knows by heart at Drury Lane or the Theatre Francais, and might furnish +occupation enough to the curious idler who was only in search of +entertainment. The mechanical obstacles of half-illegible manuscript, of +antiquated forms of speech, to say nothing of the intentional obscurities +of diplomatic correspondence, stand, however, in the way of all but the +resolute and unwearied scholar. These difficulties, in all their complex +obstinacy, had been met and overcome by the heroic efforts, the +concentrated devotion, of the new laborer in the unbroken fields of +secret history. + +Without stopping to take breath, as it were,--for his was a task 'de +longue haleine,'--he proceeded to his second great undertaking. + +The first portion--consisting of two volumes--of the “History of the +United Netherlands” was published in the year 1860. It maintained and +increased the reputation he had already gained by his first history. + +“The London Quarterly Review” devoted a long article to it, beginning +with this handsome tribute to his earlier and later volumes:-- + + “Mr. Motley's 'History of the Rise of the Dutch Republic' is already + known and valued for the grasp of mind which it displays, for the + earnest and manly spirit in which he has communicated the results of + deep research and careful reflection. Again he appears before us, + rich with the spoils of time, to tell the story of the United + Netherlands from the time of William the Silent to the end of the + eventful year of the Spanish Armada, and we still find him in every + way worthy of this 'great argument.' Indeed, it seems to us that he + proceeds with an increased facility of style, and with a more + complete and easy command over his materials. These materials are + indeed splendid, and of them most excellent use has been made. The + English State Paper Office, the Spanish archives from Simancas, and + the Dutch and Belgian repositories, have all yielded up their + secrets; and Mr. Motley has enjoyed the advantage of dealing with a + vast mass of unpublished documents, of which he has not failed to + avail himself to an extent which places his work in the foremost + rank as an authority for the period to which it relates. By means + of his labor and his art we can sit at the council board of Philip + and Elizabeth, we can read their most private dispatches. Guided by + his demonstration, we are enabled to dissect out to their ultimate + issues the minutest ramifications of intrigue. We join in the + amusement of the popular lampoon; we visit the prison-house; we + stand by the scaffold; we are present at the battle and the siege. + We can scan the inmost characters of men and can view them in their + habits as they lived.” + +After a few criticisms upon lesser points of form and style, the writer +says:-- + + “But the work itself must be read to appreciate the vast and + conscientious industry bestowed upon it. His delineations are true + and life-like, because they are not mere compositions written to + please the ear, but are really taken from the facts and traits + preserved in those authentic records to which he has devoted the + labor of many years. Diligent and painstaking as the humblest + chronicler, he has availed himself of many sources of information + which have not been made use of by any previous historical writer. + At the same time he is not oppressed by his materials, but has + sagacity to estimate their real value, and he has combined with + scholarly power the facts which they contain. He has rescued the + story of the Netherlands from the domain of vague and general + narrative, and has labored, with much judgment and ability, to + unfold the 'Belli causas, et vitia, et modos,' and to assign to + every man and every event their own share in the contest, and their + own influence upon its fortunes. We do not wonder that his earlier + publication has been received as a valuable addition, not only to + English, but to European literature.” + +One or two other contemporary criticisms may help us with their side +lights. A critic in “The Edinburgh Review” for January, 1861, thinks that +“Mr. Motley has not always been successful in keeping the graphic variety +of his details subordinate to the main theme of his work.” Still, he +excuses the fault, as he accounts it, in consideration of the new light +thrown on various obscure points of history, and-- + + “it is atoned for by striking merits, by many narratives of great + events faithfully, powerfully, and vividly executed, by the clearest + and most life-like conceptions of character, and by a style which, + if it sacrifices the severer principles of composition to a desire + to be striking and picturesque, is always vigorous, full of + animation, and glowing with the genuine enthusiasm of the writer. + Mr. Motley combines as an historian two qualifications seldom found + united,--to great capacity for historical research he adds much + power of pictorial representation. In his pages we find characters + and scenes minutely set forth in elaborate and characteristic + detail, which is relieved and heightened in effect by the artistic + breadth of light and shade thrown across the broader prospects of + history. In an American author, too, we must commend the hearty + English spirit in which the book is written; and fertile as the + present age has been in historical works of the highest merit, none + of them can be ranked above these volumes in the grand qualities of + interest, accuracy, and truth.” + +A writer in “Blackwood” (May, 1861) contrasts Motley with Froude somewhat +in the way in which another critic had contrasted him with Prescott. +Froude, he says, remembers that there are some golden threads in the +black robe of the Dominican. Motley “finds it black and thrusts it +farther into the darkness.” + +Every writer carries more or less of his own character into his book, of +course. A great professor has told me that there is a personal flavor in +the mathematical work of a man of genius like Poisson. Those who have +known Motley and Prescott would feel sure beforehand that the impulsive +nature of the one and the judicial serenity of the other would as surely +betray themselves in their writings as in their conversation and in their +every movement. Another point which the critic of “Blackwood's Magazine” + has noticed has not been so generally observed: it is what he calls “a +dashing, offhand, rattling style,”--“fast” writing. It cannot be denied +that here and there may be detected slight vestiges of the way of writing +of an earlier period of Motley's literary life, with which I have no +reason to think the writer just mentioned was acquainted. Now and then I +can trace in the turn of a phrase, in the twinkle of an epithet, a faint +reminiscence of a certain satirical levity, airiness, jauntiness, if I +may hint such a word, which is just enough to remind me of those perilous +shallows of his early time through which his richly freighted argosy had +passed with such wonderful escape from their dangers and such very slight +marks of injury. That which is pleasant gayety in conversation may be +quite out of place in formal composition, and Motley's wit must have had +a hard time of it struggling to show its spangles in the processions +while his gorgeous tragedies went sweeping by. + + + + + + +JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY. + +A MEMOIR + +By Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. + +Volume II. + + + +XVI. + +1860-1866. AEt. 46-52. + +RESIDENCE IN ENGLAND.--OUTBREAK OF THE CIVIL WAR.--LETTERS TO THE LONDON +“TIMES.”--VISIT TO AMERICA.--APPOINTED MINISTER TO AUSTRIA.--LADY +HARCOURT'S LETTER.--MISS MOTLEY'S MEMORANDUM. + +The winter of 1859-60 was passed chiefly at Oatlands Hotel, +Walton-on-Thames. In 1860 Mr. Motley hired the house No. 31 Hertford +Street, May Fair, London. He had just published the first two volumes of +his “History of the Netherlands,” and was ready for the further labors of +its continuation, when the threats, followed by the outbreak, of the +great civil contention in his native land brought him back from the +struggles of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to the conflict of +the nineteenth. + +His love of country, which had grown upon him so remarkably of late +years, would not suffer him to be silent at such a moment. All around him +he found ignorance and prejudice. The quarrel was like to be prejudged in +default of a champion of the cause which to him was that of Liberty and +Justice. He wrote two long letters to the London “Times,” in which he +attempted to make clear to Englishmen and to Europe the nature and +conditions of our complex system of government, the real cause of the +strife, and the mighty issues at stake. Nothing could have been more +timely, nothing more needed. Mr. William Everett, who was then in +England, bears strong testimony to the effect these letters produced. Had +Mr. Motley done no other service to his country, this alone would entitle +him to honorable remembrance as among the first defenders of the flag, +which at that moment had more to fear from what was going on in the +cabinet councils of Europe than from all the armed hosts that were +gathering against it. + +He returned to America in 1861, and soon afterwards was appointed by Mr. +Lincoln Minister to Austria. Mr. Burlingame had been previously appointed +to the office, but having been objected to by the Austrian Government for +political reasons, the place unexpectedly left vacant was conferred upon +Motley, who had no expectation of any diplomatic appointment when he left +Europe. For some interesting particulars relating to his residence in +Vienna I must refer to the communications addressed to me by his +daughter, Lady Harcourt, and her youngest sister, and the letters I +received from him while at the Austrian capital. Lady Harcourt writes:-- + + “He held the post for six years, seeing the civil war fought out and + brought to a triumphant conclusion, and enjoying, as I have every + reason to believe, the full confidence and esteem of Mr. Lincoln to + the last hour of the President's life. In the first dark years the + painful interest of the great national drama was so all-absorbing + that literary work was entirely put aside, and with his countrymen + at home he lived only in the varying fortunes of the day, his + profound faith and enthusiasm sustaining him and lifting him above + the natural influence of a by no means sanguine temperament. Later, + when the tide was turning and success was nearing, he was more able + to work. His social relations during the whole period of his + mission were of the most agreeable character. The society of Vienna + was at that time, and I believe is still, the absolute reverse of + that of England, where all claims to distinction are recognized and + welcomed. There the old feudal traditions were still in full force, + and diplomatic representatives admitted to the court society by + right of official position found it to consist exclusively of an + aristocracy of birth, sixteen quarterings of nobility being + necessary to a right of presentation to the Emperor and Empress. + The society thus constituted was distinguished by great charm and + grace of manner, the exclusion of all outer elements not only + limiting the numbers, but giving the ease of a family party within + the charmed circle. On the other hand, larger interests suffered + under the rigid exclusion of all occupations except the army, + diplomacy, and court place. The intimacy among the different + members of the society was so close that, beyond a courtesy of + manner that never failed, the tendency was to resist the approach of + any stranger as a 'gene'. A single new face was instantly remarked + and commented on in a Vienna saloon to an extent unknown in any + other large capital. This peculiarity, however, worked in favor of + the old resident. Kindliness of feeling increased with familiarity + and grew into something better than acquaintance, and the parting + with most sincere and affectionately disposed friends in the end was + deeply felt on both sides. Those years were passed in a pleasant + house in the Weiden Faubourg, with a large garden at the back, and I + do not think that during this time there was one disagreeable + incident in his relations to his colleagues, while in several cases + the relations, agreeable with all, became those of close friendship. + We lived constantly, of course, in diplomatic and Austrian society, + and during the latter part of the time particularly his house was as + much frequented and the centre of as many dancing and other + receptions as any in the place. His official relations with the + Foreign Office were courteous and agreeable, the successive Foreign + Ministers during his stay being Count Richberg, Count Mensdorff, and + Baron Beust. Austria was so far removed from any real contact with + our own country that, though the interest in our war may have been + languid, they did not pretend to a knowledge which might have + inclined them to controversy, while an instinct that we were acting + as a constituted government against rebellion rather inclined them + to sympathy. I think I may say that as he became known among them + his keen patriotism and high sense of honor and truth were fully + understood and appreciated, and that what he said always commanded a + sympathetic hearing among men with totally different political + ideas, but with chivalrous and loyal instincts to comprehend his + own. I shall never forget his account of the terrible day when the + news of Mr. Lincoln's death came. By some accident a rumor of it + reached him first through a colleague. He went straight to the + Foreign Office for news, hoping against hope, was received by Count + Mensdorff, who merely came forward and laid his arm about his + shoulder with an intense sympathy beyond words.” + +Miss Motley, the historian's youngest daughter, has added a note to her +sister's communication:-- + + “During his residence in Vienna the most important negotiations + which he had to carry on with the Austrian Government were those + connected with the Mexican affair. Maximilian at one time applied + to his brother the Emperor for assistance, and he promised to accede + to his demand. Accordingly a large number of volunteers were + equipped and had actually embarked at Trieste, when a dispatch from + Seward arrived, instructing the American Minister to give notice to + the Austrian Government that if the troops sailed for Mexico he was + to leave Vienna at once. My father had to go at once to Count + Mensdorff with these instructions, and in spite of the Foreign + Minister being annoyed that the United States Government had not + sooner intimated that this extreme course would be taken, the + interview was quite amicable and the troops were not allowed to + sail. We were in Vienna during the war in which Denmark fought + alone against Austria and Prussia, and when it was over Bismarck + came to Vienna to settle the terms of peace with the Emperor. He + dined with us twice during his short stay, and was most delightful + and agreeable. When he and my father were together they seemed to + live over the youthful days they had spent together as students, + and many were the anecdotes of their boyish frolics which Bismarck + related.” + + + + +XVII. + +1861-1863. AEt. 47-49. +LETTERS FROM VIENNA. + +Soon after Mr. Motley's arrival in Vienna I received a long letter from +him, most of which relates to personal matters, but which contains a few +sentences of interest to the general reader as showing his zealous +labors, wherever he found himself, in behalf of the great cause then in +bloody debate in his own country: + + November 14, 1861. + + . . . What can I say to you of cis-Atlantic things? I am almost + ashamed to be away from home. You know that I had decided to + remain, and had sent for my family to come to America, when my + present appointment altered my plans. I do what good I can. I + think I made some impression on Lord John Russell, with whom I spent + two days soon after my arrival in England, and I talked very frankly + and as strongly as I could to Palmerston, and I have had long + conversations and correspondences with other leading men in England. + I have also had an hour's [conversation] with Thouvenel in Paris. I + hammered the Northern view into him as soundly as I could. For this + year there will be no foreign interference with us. I don't + anticipate it at any time, unless we bring it on ourselves by bad + management, which I don't expect. Our fate is in our own hands, and + Europe is looking on to see which side is strongest,--when it has + made the discovery it will back it as also the best and the most + moral. Yesterday I had my audience with the Emperor. He received + me with much cordiality, and seemed interested in a long account + which I gave him of our affairs. You may suppose I inculcated the + Northern views. We spoke in his vernacular, and he asked me + afterwards if I was a German. I mention this not from vanity, but + because he asked it with earnestness, and as if it had a political + significance. Of course I undeceived him. His appearance + interested me, and his manner is very pleasing. + +I continued to receive long and interesting letters from him at intervals +during his residence as Minister at Vienna. Relating as they often did to +public matters, about which he had private sources of information, his +anxiety that they should not get into print was perfectly natural. As, +however, I was at liberty to read his letters to others at my discretion, +and as many parts of these letters have an interest as showing how +American affairs looked to one who was behind the scenes in Europe, I may +venture to give some extracts without fear of violating the spirit of his +injunctions, or of giving offence to individuals. The time may come when +his extended correspondence can be printed in full with propriety, but it +must be in a future year and after it has passed into the hands of a +younger generation. Meanwhile these few glimpses at his life and records +of his feelings and opinions will help to make the portrait of the man we +are studying present itself somewhat more clearly. + + LEGATION of THE U. S. A., VIENNA, January 14, 1862. + + MY DEAR HOLMES,--I have two letters of yours, November 29 and + December 17, to express my thanks for. It is quite true that it is + difficult for me to write with the same feeling that inspires you, + --that everything around the inkstand within a radius of a thousand + miles is full of deepest interest to writer and reader. I don't + even intend to try to amuse you with Vienna matters. What is it to + you that we had a very pleasant dinner-party last week at Prince + Esterhazy's, and another this week at Prince Liechtenstein's, and + that to-morrow I am to put on my cocked hat and laced coat to make a + visit to her Imperial Majesty, the Empress Mother, and that to-night + there is to be the first of the assembly balls, the Vienna Almack's, + at which--I shall be allowed to absent myself altogether? + + It strikes me that there is likely to be left a fair field for us a + few months longer, say till midsummer. The Trent affair I shall not + say much about, except to state that I have always been for giving + up the prisoners. I was awfully afraid, knowing that the demand had + gone forth,-- + + “Send us your prisoners or you'll hear of it,” + + that the answer would have come back in the Hotspur vein-- + + 'And if the Devil come and roar for them, + We will not send them.” + + The result would have been most disastrous, for in order to secure a + most trifling advantage,--that of keeping Mason and Slidell at Fort + Warren a little longer,--we should have turned our backs on all the + principles maintained by us when neutral, and should have been + obliged to accept a war at an enormous disadvantage. . . . + + But I hardly dared to hope that we should have obtained such a + victory as we have done. To have disavowed the illegal transaction + at once,--before any demand came from England,--to have placed that + disavowal on the broad ground of principle which we have always + cherished, and thus with a clear conscience, and to our entire + honor, to have kept ourselves clear from a war which must have given + the Confederacy the invincible alliance of England,--was exactly + what our enemies in Europe did not suppose us capable of doing. But + we have done it in the handsomest manner, and there is not one + liberal heart in this hemisphere that is not rejoiced, nor one hater + of us and of our institutions that is not gnashing his teeth with + rage. + +The letter of ten close pages from which I have quoted these passages is +full of confidential information, and contains extracts from letters of +leading statesmen. If its date had been 1762, I might feel authorized in +disobeying its injunctions of privacy. I must quote one other sentence, +as it shows his animus at that time towards a distinguished statesman of +whom he was afterwards accused of speaking in very hard terms by an +obscure writer whose intent was to harm him. In speaking of the Trent +affair, Mr. Motley says: “The English premier has been foiled by our much +maligned Secretary of State, of whom, on this occasion at least, one has +the right to say, with Sir Henry Wotton,-- + + 'His armor was his honest thought, + And simple truth his utmost skill.'” + +“He says at the close of this long letter: + + 'I wish I could bore you about something else but American politics. + But there is nothing else worth thinking of in the world. All else + is leather and prunella. We are living over again the days of the + Dutchmen or the seventeenth-century Englishmen.'” + +My next letter, of fourteen closely written pages, was of similar +character to the last. Motley could think of nothing but the great +conflict. He was alive to every report from America, listening too with +passionate fears or hopes, as the case might be, to the whispers not yet +audible to the world which passed from lip to lip of the statesmen who +were watching the course of events from the other side of the Atlantic +with the sweet complacency of the looker-on of Lucretius; too often +rejoicing in the storm that threatened wreck to institutions and an +organization which they felt to be a standing menace to the established +order of things in their older communities. + +A few extracts from this very long letter will be found to have a special +interest from the time at which they were written. + + LEGATION OF U. S. A., VIENNA, February 26, 1862. + + MY DEAR HOLMES,--. . . I take great pleasure in reading your + prophecies, and intend to be just as free in hazarding my own, for, + as you say, our mortal life is but a string of guesses at the + future, and no one but an idiot would be discouraged at finding + himself sometimes far out in his calculations. If I find you + signally right in any of your predictions, be sure that I will + congratulate and applaud. If you make mistakes, you shall never + hear of them again, and I promise to forget them. Let me ask the + same indulgence from you in return. This is what makes letter- + writing a comfort and journalizing dangerous. . . The ides of March + will be upon us before this letter reaches you. We have got to + squash the rebellion soon, or be squashed forever as a nation. I + don't pretend to judge military plans or the capacities of generals. + But, as you suggest, perhaps I can take a more just view of the + whole picture of the eventful struggle at this great distance than + do those absolutely acting and suffering on the scene. Nor can I + resist the desire to prophesy any more than you can do, knowing that + I may prove utterly mistaken. I say, then, that one great danger + comes from the chance of foreign interference. What will prevent + that? + + Our utterly defeating the Confederates in some great and conclusive + battle; or, + + Our possession of the cotton ports and opening them to European + trade; or, + + A most unequivocal policy of slave emancipation. + + Any one of these three conditions would stave off recognition by + foreign powers, until we had ourselves abandoned the attempt to + reduce the South to obedience. + + The last measure is to my mind the most important. The South has, + by going to war with the United States government, thrust into our + hands against our will the invincible weapon which constitutional + reasons had hitherto forbidden us to employ. At the same time it + has given us the power to remedy a great wrong to four millions of + the human race, in which we had hitherto been obliged to acquiesce. + We are threatened with national annihilation, and defied to use the + only means of national preservation. The question is distinctly + proposed to us, Shall Slavery die, or the great Republic? It is + most astounding to me that there can be two opinions in the free + States as to the answer. + + If we do fall, we deserve our fate. At the beginning of the + contest, constitutional scruples might be respectable. But now we + are fighting to subjugate the South; that is, Slavery. We are + fighting for nothing else that I know of. We are fighting for the + Union. Who wishes to destroy the Union? The slaveholder, nobody + else. Are we to spend twelve hundred millions, and raise six + hundred thousand soldiers, in order to protect slavery? It really + does seem to me too simple for argument. I am anxiously waiting for + the coming Columbus who will set this egg of ours on end by smashing + in the slavery end. We shall be rolling about in every direction + until that is done. I don't know that it is to be done by + proclamation. Rather perhaps by facts. . . . Well, I console + myself with thinking that the people--the American people, at least + --is about as wise collectively as less numerous collections of + individuals, and that the people has really declared emancipation, + and is only puzzling how to carry it into effect. After all, it + seems to be a law of Providence, that progress should be by a spiral + movement; so that when it seems most tortuous, we may perhaps be + going ahead. I am firm in the faith that slavery is now wriggling + itself to death. With slavery in its pristine vigor, I should think + the restored Union neither possible nor desirable. Don't understand + me as not taking into account all the strategical considerations + against premature governmental utterances on this great subject. + But are there any trustworthy friends to the Union among the + slaveholders? Should we lose many Kentuckians and Virginians who + are now with us, if we boldly confiscated the slaves of all rebels? + --and a confiscation of property which has legs and so confiscates + itself, at command, is not only a legal, but would prove a very + practical measure in time of war. In brief, the time is fast + approaching, I think, when 'Thorough' should be written on all our + banners. Slavery will never accept a subordinate position. The + great Republic and Slavery cannot both survive. We have been defied + to mortal combat, and yet we hesitate to strike. These are my poor + thoughts on this great subject. Perhaps you will think them crude. + I was much struck with what you quote from Mr. Conway, that if + emancipation was proclaimed on the Upper Mississippi it would be + known to the negroes of Louisiana in advance of the telegraph. And + if once the blacks had leave to run, how many whites would have to + stay at home to guard their dissolving property? + + You have had enough of my maunderings. But before I conclude them, + may I ask you to give all our kindest regards to Lowell, and to + express our admiration for the Yankee Idyl. I am afraid of using + too extravagant language if I say all I think about it. Was there + ever anything more stinging, more concentrated, more vigorous, more + just? He has condensed into those few pages the essence of a + hundred diplomatic papers and historical disquisitions and Fourth of + July orations. I was dining a day or two since with his friend + Lytton (Bulwer's son, attache here) and Julian Fane (secretary of + the embassy), both great admirers of him,--and especially of the + “Biglow Papers;” they begged me to send them the Mason and Slidell + Idyl, but I wouldn't,--I don't think it is in English nature + (although theirs is very cosmopolitan and liberal) to take such + punishment and come up smiling. I would rather they got it in some + other way, and then told me what they thought voluntarily. + + I have very pleasant relations with all the J. B.'s here. They are + all friendly and well disposed to the North,--I speak of the + embassy, which, with the ambassador and---dress, numbers eight or + ten souls, some of them very intellectual ones. There are no other + J. B.'s here. I have no fear at present of foreign interference. + We have got three or four months to do our work in,--a fair field + and no favor. There is no question whatever that the Southern + commissioners have been thoroughly snubbed in London and Paris. + There is to be a blockade debate in Parliament next week, but no bad + consequences are to be apprehended. The Duke de Gramont (French + ambassador, and an intimate friend of the Emperor) told my wife last + night that it was entirely false that the Emperor had ever urged the + English government to break the blockade. “Don't believe it,--don't + believe a word of it,” he said. He has always held that language to + me. He added that Prince Napoleon had just come out with a strong + speech about us,--you will see it, doubtless, before you get this + letter,--but it has not yet reached us. + + Shall I say anything of Austria,--what can I say that would interest + you? That's the reason why I hate to write. All my thoughts are in + America. Do you care to know about the Archduke Ferdinand + Maximilian, that shall be King hereafter of Mexico (if L. N. has his + way)? He is next brother to the Emperor, but although I have had + the honor of private audiences of many archdukes here, this one is a + resident of Trieste. + + He is about thirty,--has an adventurous disposition,--some + imagination,--a turn for poetry,--has voyaged a good deal about the + world in the Austrian ship-of-war,--for in one respect he much + resembles that unfortunate but anonymous ancestor of his, the King + of Bohemia with the seven castles, who, according to Corporal Trim, + had such a passion for navigation and sea-affairs, “with never a + seaport in all his dominions.” But now the present King of Bohemia + has got the sway of Trieste, and is Lord High Admiral and Chief of + the Marine Department. He has been much in Spain, also in South + America; I have read some travels, “Reise Skizzen,” of his--printed, + not published. They are not without talent, and he ever and anon + relieves his prose jog-trot by breaking into a canter of poetry. He + adores bull-fights, and rather regrets the Inquisition, and + considers the Duke of Alva everything noble and chivalrous, and the + most abused of men. It would do your heart good to hear his + invocations to that deeply injured shade, and his denunciations of + the ignorant and vulgar protestants who have defamed him. (N.B. + Let me observe that the R. of the D. R. was not published until long + after the “Reise Skizzen” were written.) 'Du armer Alva! weil du + dem Willen deines Herrn unerschiitterlich treu vast, weil die + festbestimmten grundsatze der Regierung,' etc., etc., etc. You + can imagine the rest. Dear me! I wish I could get back to the + sixteenth and seventeenth century. . . . But alas! the events + of the nineteenth are too engrossing. + + If Lowell cares to read this letter, will you allow me to “make it + over to him jointly,” as Captain Cuttle says. I wished to write to + him, but I am afraid only you would tolerate my writing so much when + I have nothing to say. If he would ever send me a line I should be + infinitely obliged, and would quickly respond. We read the “Washers + of the Shroud” with fervid admiration. + + Always remember me most sincerely to the Club, one and all. It + touches me nearly when you assure me that I am not forgotten by + them. To-morrow is Saturday and the last of the month.--[See + Appendix A.]--We are going to dine with our Spanish colleague. But + the first bumper of the Don's champagne I shall drain to the health + of my Parker House friends. + +From another long letter dated August 31, 1862, I extract the following +passages:-- + + “I quite agree in all that you said in your last letter. 'The imp + of secession can't reenter its mother's womb.' It is merely + childish to talk of the Union 'as it was.' You might as well bring + back the Saxon Heptarchy. But the great Republic is destined to + live and flourish, I can't doubt. . . . Do you remember that + wonderful scene in Faust in which Mephistopheles draws wine for the + rabble with a gimlet out of the wooden table; and how it changes to + fire as they drink it, and how they all go mad, draw their knives, + grasp each other by the nose, and think they are cutting off bunches + of grapes at every blow, and how foolish they all look when they + awake from the spell and see how the Devil has been mocking them? + It always seems to me a parable of the great Secession. + + “I repeat, I can't doubt as to the ultimate result. But I dare say + we have all been much mistaken in our calculations as to time. + Days, months, years, are nothing in history. Men die, man is + immortal, practically, even on this earth. We are so impatient, + --and we are always watching for the last scene of the tragedy. Now I + humbly opine that the drop is only about falling on the first act, + or perhaps only the prologue. This act or prologue will be called, + in after days, War for the status quo. Such enthusiasm, heroism, + and manslaughter as status quo could inspire, has, I trust, been not + entirely in vain, but it has been proved insufficient. + + “I firmly believe that when the slaveholders declared war on the + United States government they began a series of events that, in the + logical chain of history, cannot come to a conclusion until the last + vestige of slavery is gone. Looking at the whole field for a moment + dispassionately, objectively, as the dear Teutonic philosophers say, + and merely as an exhibition of phenomena, I cannot imagine any other + issue. Everything else may happen. This alone must happen. + + “But after all this isn't a war. It is a revolution. It is n't + strategists that are wanted so much as believers. In revolutions + the men who win are those who are in earnest. Jeff and Stonewall + and the other Devil-worshippers are in earnest, but it was not + written in the book of fate that the slaveholders' rebellion should + be vanquished by a pro-slavery general. History is never so + illogical. No, the coming 'man on horseback' on our side must be a + great strategist, with the soul of that insane lion, mad old John + Brown, in his belly. That is your only Promethean recipe:-- + + 'et insani leonis + Vim stomacho apposuisse nostro.' + + “I don't know why Horace runs so in my head this morning. . . . + + “There will be work enough for all; but I feel awfully fidgety just + now about Port Royal and Hilton Head, and about affairs generally + for the next three months. After that iron-clads and the new levies + must make us invincible.” + +In another letter, dated November 2, 1862, he expresses himself very +warmly about his disappointment in the attitude of many of his old +English friends with reference to our civil conflict. He had recently +heard the details of the death of “the noble Wilder Dwight.” + + “It is unnecessary,” he says, “to say how deeply we were moved. I + had the pleasure of knowing him well, and I always appreciated his + energy, his manliness, and his intelligent cheerful heroism. I look + back upon him now as a kind of heroic type of what a young New + Englander ought to be and was. I tell you that one of these days + --after a generation of mankind has passed away--these youths will + take their places in our history, and be regarded by the young men + and women now unborn with the admiration which the Philip Sidneys + and the Max Piccolominis now inspire. After all, what was your + Chevy Chace to stir blood with like a trumpet? What noble + principle, what deathless interest, was there at stake? Nothing but + a bloody fight between a lot of noble gamekeepers on one side and of + noble poachers on the other. And because they fought well and + hacked each other to pieces like devils, they have been heroes for + centuries.” + +The letter was written in a very excited state of feeling, and runs over +with passionate love of country and indignation at the want of sympathy +with the cause of freedom which he had found in quarters where he had not +expected such coldness or hostile tendencies. + +From a letter dated Vienna, September 22, 1863. + + . . . “When you wrote me last you said on general matters this: + 'In a few days we shall get the news of the success or failure of + the attacks on Port Hudson and Vicksburg. If both are successful, + many will say that the whole matter is about settled.' You may + suppose that when I got the great news I shook hands warmly with you + in the spirit across the Atlantic. Day by day for so long we had + been hoping to hear the fall of Vicksburg. At last when that little + concentrated telegram came, announcing Vicksburg and Gettysburg on + the same day and in two lines, I found myself almost alone. . . . + There was nobody in the house to join in my huzzahs but my youngest + infant. And my conduct very much resembled that of the excellent + Philip II. when he heard the fall of Antwerp,--for I went to her + door, screeching through the key-hole 'Vicksburg is ours!' just as + that other 'pere de famille,' more potent, but I trust not more + respectable than I, conveyed the news to his Infanta. (Fide, for + the incident, an American work on the Netherlands, i. p. 263, and + the authorities there cited.) It is contemptible on my part to + speak thus frivolously of events which will stand out in such golden + letters so long as America has a history, but I wanted to illustrate + the yearning for sympathy which I felt. You who were among people + grim and self-contained usually, who, I trust, were falling on each + other's necks in the public streets, shouting, with tears in their + eyes and triumph in their hearts, can picture my isolation. + + “I have never faltered in my faith, and in the darkest hours, when + misfortunes seemed thronging most thickly upon us, I have never felt + the want of anything to lean against; but I own I did feel like + shaking hands with a few hundred people when I heard of our Fourth + of July, 1863, work, and should like to have heard and joined in an + American cheer or two. + + “I have not much to say of matters here to interest you. We have + had an intensely hot, historically hot, and very long and very dry + summer. I never knew before what a drought meant. In Hungary the + suffering is great, and the people are killing the sheep to feed the + pigs with the mutton. Here about Vienna the trees have been almost + stripped of foliage ever since the end of August. There is no glory + in the grass nor verdure in anything. + + “In fact, we have nothing green here but the Archduke Max, who + firmly believes that he is going forth to Mexico to establish an + American empire, and that it is his divine mission to destroy the + dragon of democracy and reestablish the true Church, the Right + Divine, and all sorts of games. Poor young man! . . . + + “Our information from home is to the 12th. Charleston seems to be + in 'articulo mortis,' but how forts nowadays seem to fly in the face + of Scripture. Those founded on a rock, and built of it, fall easily + enough under the rain of Parrotts and Dahlgrens, while the house + built of sand seems to bid defiance to the storm.” + +In quoting from these confidential letters I have been restrained from +doing full justice to their writer by the fact that he spoke with such +entire freedom of persons as well as events. But if they could be read +from beginning to end, no one could help feeling that his love for his +own country, and passionate absorption of every thought in the strife +upon which its existence as a nation depended, were his very life during +all this agonizing period. He can think and talk of nothing else, or, if +he turns for a moment to other subjects, he reverts to the one great +central interest of “American politics,” of which he says in one of the +letters from which I have quoted, “There is nothing else worth thinking +of in the world.” + +But in spite of his public record as the historian of the struggle for +liberty and the champion of its defenders, and while every letter he +wrote betrayed in every word the intensity of his patriotic feeling, he +was not safe against the attacks of malevolence. A train laid by unseen +hands was waiting for the spark to kindle it, and this came at last in +the shape of a letter from an unknown individual,--a letter the existence +of which ought never to have been a matter of official recognition. + + + + +XVIII. + +1866-1867. AEt. 52-43. +RESIGNATION OF HIS OFFICE.--CAUSES OF HIS RESIGNATION. + +It is a relief to me that just here, where I come to the first of two +painful episodes in this brilliant and fortunate career, I can preface my +statement with the generous words of one who speaks with authority of his +predecessor in office. + +The Hon. John Jay, Ex-Minister to Austria, in the tribute to the memory +of Motley read at a meeting of the New York Historical Society, wrote as +follows:-- + + “In singular contrast to Mr. Motley's brilliant career as an + historian stands the fact recorded in our diplomatic annals that he + was twice forced from the service as one who had forfeited the + confidence of the American government. This society, while he was + living, recognized his fame as a statesman, diplomatist, and + patriot, as belonging to America, and now that death has closed the + career of Seward, Sumner, and Motley, it will be remembered that the + great historian, twice humiliated, by orders from Washington, before + the diplomacy and culture of Europe, appealed from the passions of + the hour to the verdict of history. + + “Having succeeded Mr. Motley at Vienna some two years after his + departure, I had occasion to read most of his dispatches, which + exhibited a mastery of the subjects of which they treated, with much + of the clear perception, the scholarly and philosophic tone and + decided judgment, which, supplemented by his picturesque + description, full of life and color, have given character to his + histories. They are features which might well have served to extend + the remark of Madame de Stael that a great historian is almost a + statesman. I can speak also from my own observation of the + reputation which Motley left in the Austrian capital. + Notwithstanding the decision with which, under the direction of Mr. + Seward, he had addressed the minister of foreign affairs, Count + Mensdorff, afterwards the Prince Diedrickstein, protesting against + the departure of an Austrian force of one thousand volunteers, who + were about to embark for Mexico in aid of the ill-fated Maximilian, + --a protest which at the last moment arrested the project,--Mr. + Motley and his amiable family were always spoken of in terms of + cordial regard and respect by members of the imperial family and + those eminent statesmen, Count de Beust and Count Andrassy. His + death, I am sure, is mourned to-day by the representatives of the + historic names of Austria and Hungary, and by the surviving + diplomats then residing near the Court of Vienna, wherever they may + still be found, headed by their venerable Doyen, the Baron de + Heckeren.” + +The story of Mr. Motley's resignation of his office and its acceptance by +the government is this. + +The President of the United States, Andrew Johnson, received a letter +professing to be written from the Hotel Meurice, Paris, dated October 23, +1866, and signed “George W. M'Crackin, of New York.” This letter was +filled with accusations directed against various public agents, +ministers, and consuls, representing the United States in different +countries. Its language was coarse, its assertions were improbable, its +spirit that of the lowest of party scribblers. It was bitter against New +England, especially so against Massachusetts, and it singled out Motley +for the most particular abuse. I think it is still questioned whether +there was any such person as the one named,--at any rate, it bore the +characteristic marks of those vulgar anonymous communications which +rarely receive any attention unless they are important enough to have the +police set on the track of the writer to find his rathole, if possible. A +paragraph in the “Daily Advertiser” of June 7, 1869, quotes from a +Western paper a story to the effect that one William R. M'Crackin, who +had recently died at ---- confessed to having written the M' Crackin +letter. Motley, he said, had snubbed him and refused to lend him money. +“He appears to have been a Bohemian of the lowest order.” Between such +authorship and the anonymous there does not seem to be much to choose. +But the dying confession sounds in my ears as decidedly apocryphal. As +for the letter, I had rather characterize it than reproduce it. It is an +offence to decency and a disgrace to the national record on which it is +found. This letter of “George W. M'Crackin” passed into the hands of Mr. +Seward, the Secretary of State. Most gentlemen, I think, would have +destroyed it on the spot, as it was not fit for the waste-basket. Some, +more cautious, might have smothered it among the piles of their private +communications. If any notice was taken of it, one would say that a +private note to each of the gentlemen attacked might have warned him that +there were malicious eavesdroppers about, ready to catch up any careless +expression he might let fall and make a scandalous report of it to his +detriment. + +The secretary, acquiescing without resistance in a suggestion of the +President, saw fit to address a formal note to several of the gentlemen +mentioned in the M'Crackin letter, repeating some of its offensive +expressions, and requesting those officials to deny or confirm the report +that they had uttered them. + +A gentleman who is asked whether he has spoken in a “malignant” or +“offensive” manner, whether he has “railed violently and shamefully” + against the President of the United States, or against anybody else, +might well wonder who would address such a question to the humblest +citizen not supposed to be wanting in a common measure of self-respect. A +gentleman holding an important official station in a foreign country, +receiving a letter containing such questions, signed by the prime +minister of his government, if he did not think himself imposed upon by a +forgery, might well consider himself outraged. It was a letter of this +kind which was sent by the Secretary of State to the Minister +Plenipotentiary to the Empire of Austria. Not quite all the vulgar +insolence of the M'Crackin letter was repeated. Mr. Seward did not ask +Mr. Motley to deny or confirm the assertion of the letter that he was a +“thorough flunky” and “un-American functionary.” But he did insult him +with various questions suggested by the anonymous letter,--questions that +must have been felt as an indignity by the most thick-skinned of battered +politicians. + +Mr. Motley was very sensitive, very high-spirited, very impulsive, very +patriotic, and singularly truthful. The letter of Mr. Seward to such a +man was like a buffet on the cheek of an unarmed officer. It stung like +the thrust of a stiletto. It roused a resentment that could not find any +words to give it expression. He could not wait to turn the insult over in +his mind, to weigh the exact amount of affront in each question, to take +counsel, to sleep over it, and reply to it with diplomatic measure and +suavity. One hour had scarcely elapsed before his answer was written. As +to his feelings as an American, he appeals to his record. This might have +shown that if he erred it was on the side of enthusiasm and extravagant +expressions of reverence for the American people during the heroic years +just passed. He denounces the accusations as pitiful fabrications and +vile calumny. He blushes that such charges could have been uttered; he is +deeply wounded that Mr. Seward could have listened to such falsehood. He +does not hesitate to say what his opinions are with reference to home +questions, and especially to that of reconstruction. + + “These opinions,” he says, “in the privacy of my own household, and + to occasional American visitors, I have not concealed. The great + question now presenting itself for solution demands the + conscientious scrutiny of every American who loves his country and + believes in the human progress of which that country is one of the + foremost representatives. I have never thought, during my residence + at Vienna, that because I have the honor of being a public servant + of the American people I am deprived of the right of discussing + within my own walls the gravest subjects that can interest freemen. + A minister of the United States does not cease to be a citizen of + the United States, as deeply interested as others in all that + relates to the welfare of his country.” + +Among the “occasional American visitors” spoken of above must have been +some of those self-appointed or hired agents called “interviewers,” who +do for the American public what the Venetian spies did for the Council of +Ten, what the familiars of the Inquisition did for the priesthood, who +invade every public man's privacy, who listen at every key-hole, who +tamper with every guardian of secrets; purveyors to the insatiable +appetite of a public which must have a slain reputation to devour with +its breakfast, as the monster of antiquity called regularly for his +tribute of a spotless virgin. + +The “interviewer” has his use, undoubtedly, and often instructs and +amuses his public with gossip they could not otherwise listen to. He +serves the politician by repeating the artless and unstudied remarks +which fall from his lips in a conversation which the reporter has been +invited to take notes of. He tickles the author's vanity by showing him +off as he sits in his library unconsciously uttering the engaging items +of self-portraiture which, as he well knows, are to be given to the +public in next week's illustrated paper. The feathered end of his shaft +titillates harmlessly enough, but too often the arrowhead is crusted with +a poison worse than the Indian gets by mingling the wolf's gall with the +rattlesnake's venom. No man is safe whose unguarded threshold the +mischief-making questioner has crossed. The more unsuspecting, the more +frank, the more courageous, the more social is the subject of his +vivisection, the more easily does he get at his vital secrets, if he has +any to be extracted. No man is safe if the hearsay reports of his +conversation are to be given to the public without his own careful +revision. When we remember that a proof-text bearing on the mighty +question of the future life, words of supreme significance, uttered as +they were in the last hour, and by the lips to which we listen as to none +other,--that this text depends for its interpretation on the position of +a single comma, we can readily see what wrong may be done by the +unintentional blunder of the most conscientious reporter. But too +frequently it happens that the careless talk of an honest and high-minded +man only reaches the public after filtering through the drain of some +reckless hireling's memory,--one who has played so long with other men's +characters and good name that he forgets they have any value except to +fill out his morning paragraphs. + +Whether the author of the scandalous letter which it was disgraceful to +the government to recognize was a professional interviewer or only a +malicious amateur, or whether he was a paid “spotter,” sent by some +jealous official to report on the foreign ministers as is sometimes done +in the case of conductors of city horsecars, or whether the dying +miscreant before mentioned told the truth, cannot be certainly known. But +those who remember Mr. Hawthorne's account of his consular experiences at +Liverpool are fully aware to what intrusions and impertinences and +impositions our national representatives in other countries are +subjected. Those fellow-citizens who “often came to the consulate in +parties of half a dozen or more, on no business whatever, but merely to +subject their public servant to a rigid examination, and see how he was +getting on with his duties,” may very possibly have included among them +some such mischief-maker as the author of the odious letter which +received official recognition. Mr. Motley had spoken in one of his +histories of “a set of venomous familiars who glided through every +chamber and coiled themselves at every fireside.” He little thought that +under his own roof he himself was to be the victim of an equally base +espionage. + +It was an insult on the part of the government to have sent Mr. Motley +such a letter with such questions as were annexed to it. No very exact +rule can be laid down as to the manner in which an insult shall be dealt +with. Something depends on temperament, and his was of the warmer +complexion. His first impulse, he says, was to content himself with a +flat denial of the truth of the accusations. But his scrupulous honesty +compelled him to make a plain statement of his opinions, and to avow the +fact that he had made no secret of them in conversation under conditions +where he had a right to speak freely of matters quite apart from his +official duties. His answer to the accusation was denial of its charges; +his reply to the insult was his resignation. + +It may be questioned whether this was the wisest course, but wisdom is +often disconcerted by an indignity, and even a meek Christian may forget +to turn the other cheek after receiving the first blow until the natural +man has asserted himself by a retort in kind. But the wrong was +committed; his resignation was accepted; the vulgar letter, not fit to be +spread out on these pages, is enrolled in the records of the nation, and +the first deep wound was inflicted on the proud spirit of one whose +renown had shed lustre on the whole country. + +That the burden of this wrong may rest where it belongs, I quote the +following statement from Mr. Jay's paper, already referred to. + + “It is due to the memory of Mr. Seward to say, and there would seem + now no further motive for concealing the truth, that I was told in + Europe, on what I regarded as reliable authority, that there was + reason to believe that on the receipt of Mr. Motley's resignation + Mr. Seward had written to him declining to accept it, and that this + letter, by a telegraphic order of President Johnson, had been + arrested in the hands of a dispatch agent before its delivery to Mr. + Motley, and that the curt letter of the 18th of April had been + substituted in its stead.” + +The Hon. John Bigelow, late Minister to France, has published an article +in “The International Review” for July-August, 1878, in which he defends +his late friend Mr. Seward's action in this matter at the expense of the +President, Mr. Andrew Johnson, and not without inferences unfavorable to +the discretion of Mr. Motley. Many readers will think that the simple +record of Mr. Seward's unresisting acquiescence in the action of the +President is far from being to his advantage. I quote from his own +conversation as carefully reported by his friend Mr. Bigelow. “Mr. +Johnson was in a state of intense irritation, and more or less suspicious +of everybody about him.”--“Instead of throwing the letter into the fire,” + the President handed it to him, the secretary, and suggested answering +it, and without a word, so far as appears, he simply answered, +“Certainly, sir.” Again, the secretary having already written to Mr. +Motley that “his answer was satisfactory,” the President, on reaching the +last paragraph of Mr. Motley's letter, in which he begged respectfully to +resign his post, “without waiting to learn what Mr. Seward had done or +proposed to do, exclaimed, with a not unnatural asperity, 'Well, let him +go,' and 'on hearing this,' said Mr. Seward, laughing, 'I did not read my +dispatch.'” Many persons will think that the counsel for the defence has +stated the plaintiff's case so strongly that there is nothing left for +him but to show his ingenuity and his friendship for the late secretary +in a hopeless argument. At any rate, Mr. Seward appears not to have made +the slightest effort to protect Mr. Motley against his coarse and jealous +chief at two critical moments, and though his own continuance in office +may have been more important to the State than that of the Vicar of Bray +was to the Church, he ought to have risked something, as it seems to me, +to shield such a patriot, such a gentleman, such a scholar, from ignoble +treatment; he ought to have been as ready to guard Mr. Motley from wrong +as Mr. Bigelow has shown himself to shield Mr. Seward from reproach, and +his task, if more delicate, was not more difficult. I am willing to +accept Mr. Bigelow's loyal and honorable defence of his friend's memory +as the best that could be said for Mr. Seward, but the best defence in +this case is little better than an impeachment. As for Mr. Johnson, he +had held the weapon of the most relentless of the 'Parcae' so long that +his suddenly clipping the thread of a foreign minister's tenure of office +in a fit of jealous anger is not at all surprising. + +Thus finished Mr. Motley's long and successful diplomatic service at the +Court of Austria. He may have been judged hasty in resigning his place; +he may have committed himself in expressing his opinions too strongly +before strangers, whose true character as spies and eavesdroppers he was +too high-minded to suspect. But no caution could have protected him +against a slanderer who hated the place he came from, the company he +kept, the name he had made famous, to whom his very look and bearing +--such as belong to a gentleman of natural refinement and good breeding +--must have been a personal grievance and an unpardonable offence. + +I will add, in illustration of what has been said, and as showing his +feeling with reference to the matter, an extract from a letter to me from +Vienna, dated the 12th of March, 1867. + + . . . “As so many friends and so many strangers have said so much + that is gratifying to me in public and private on this very painful + subject, it would be like affectation, in writing to so old a friend + as you, not to touch upon it. I shall confine myself, however, to + one fact, which, so far as I know, may be new to you. + + “Geo. W. M'Cracken is a man and a name utterly unknown to me. + + “With the necessary qualification which every man who values truth + must make when asserting such a negation,--viz., to the very best of + my memory and belief,--I never set eyes on him nor heard of him + until now, in the whole course of my life. Not a member of my + family or of the legation has the faintest recollection of any such + person. I am quite convinced that he never saw me nor heard the + sound of my voice. That his letter was a tissue of vile calumnies, + shameless fabrications, and unblushing and contemptible falsehoods, + --by whomsoever uttered,--I have stated in a reply to what ought + never to have been an official letter. No man can regret more than + I do that such a correspondence is enrolled in the capital among + American state papers. I shall not trust myself to speak of the + matter. It has been a sufficiently public scandal.” + + + + +XIX. + +1867-1868. AEt. 53-54. + +LAST TWO VOLUMES OF THE “HISTORY OF THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.”--GENERAL +CRITICISMS OF DUTCH SCHOLARS ON MOTLEY'S HISTORICAL WORKS. + +In his letter to me of March 12, 1867, just cited, Mr. Motley writes:-- + + “My two concluding volumes of the United Netherlands are passing + rapidly through the press. Indeed, Volume III. is entirely printed + and a third of Volume IV. + + “If I live ten years longer I shall have probably written the + natural sequel to the first two works,--viz., the Thirty Years' War. + After that I shall cease to scourge the public. + + “I don't know whether my last two volumes are good or bad; I only + know that they are true--but that need n't make them amusing. + + “Alas! one never knows when one becomes a bore.” + +In 1868 the two concluding volumes of the “History of the Netherlands” + were published at the same time in London and in New York. The events +described and the characters delineated in these two volumes had, +perhaps, less peculiar interest for English and American readers than +some of those which had lent attraction to the preceding ones. There was +no scene like the siege of Antwerp, no story like that of the Spanish +Armada. There were no names that sounded to our ears like those of Sir +Philip Sidney and Leicester and Amy Robsart. But the main course of his +narrative flowed on with the same breadth and depth of learning and the +same brilliancy of expression. The monumental work continued as nobly as +it had begun. The facts had been slowly, quietly gathered, one by one, +like pebbles from the empty channel of a brook. The style was fluent, +impetuous, abundant, impatient, as it were, at times, and leaping the +sober boundaries prescribed to it, like the torrent which rushes through +the same channel when the rains have filled it. Thus there was matter for +criticism in his use of language. He was not always careful in the +construction of his sentences. He introduced expressions now and then +into his vocabulary which reminded one of his earlier literary efforts. +He used stronger language at times than was necessary, coloring too +highly, shading too deeply in his pictorial delineations. To come to the +matter of his narrative, it must be granted that not every reader will +care to follow him through all the details of diplomatic intrigues which +he has with such industry and sagacity extricated from the old +manuscripts in which they had long lain hidden. But we turn a few pages +and we come to one of those descriptions which arrest us at once and show +him in his power and brilliancy as a literary artist. His characters move +before us with the features of life; we can see Elizabeth, or Philip, or +Maurice, not as a name connected with events, but as a breathing and +acting human being, to be loved or hated, admired or despised, as if he +or she were our contemporary. That all his judgments would not be +accepted as final we might easily anticipate; he could not help writing +more or less as a partisan, but he was a partisan on the side of freedom +in politics and religion, of human nature as against every form of +tyranny, secular or priestly, of noble manhood wherever he saw it as +against meanness and violence and imposture, whether clad in the +soldier's mail or the emperor's purple. His sternest critics, and even +these admiring ones, were yet to be found among those who with +fundamental beliefs at variance with his own followed him in his long +researches among the dusty annals of the past. + +The work of the learned M. Groen van Prinsterer,--[Maurice et Barnevelt, +Etude Historique. Utrecht, 1875.]--devoted expressly to the revision and +correction of what the author considers the erroneous views of Mr. Motley +on certain important points, bears, notwithstanding, such sincere and +hearty tribute to his industry, his acquisitions, his brilliant qualities +as a historian, that some extracts from it will be read, I think, with +interest. + + “My first interview, more than twenty years ago, with Mr. Lothrop + Motley, has left an indelible impression on my memory. + + “It was the 8th of August, 1853. A note is handed me from our + eminent archivist Bakhuyzen van den Brink. It informs me that I am + to receive a visit from an American, who, having been struck by the + analogies between the United Provinces and the United States, + between Washington and the founder of our independence, has + interrupted his diplomatic career to write the life of William the + First; that he has already given proof of ardor and perseverance, + having worked in libraries and among collections of manuscripts, + and that he is coming to pursue his studies at the Hague. + + “While I am surprised and delighted with this intelligence, I am + informed that Mr. Motley himself is waiting for my answer. My + eagerness to make the acquaintance of such an associate in my + sympathies and my labors may be well imagined. But how shall I + picture my surprise, in presently discovering that this unknown and + indefatigable fellow-worker has really read, I say read and reread, + our Quartos, our Folios, the enormous volumes of Bor, of van + Meteren, besides a multitude of books, of pamphlets, and even of + unedited documents. Already he is familiar with the events, the + changes of condition, the characteristic details of the life of his + and my hero. Not only is he acquainted with my Archives, but it + seems as if there was nothing in this voluminous collection of which + he was ignorant. . . . + + “In sending me the last volume of his 'History of the Foundation of + the Republic of the Netherlands,' Mr. Motley wrote to me: 'Without + the help of the Archives I could never have undertaken the difficult + task I had set myself, and you will have seen at least from my + numerous citations that I have made a sincere and conscientious + study of them.' Certainly in reading such a testimonial I + congratulated myself on the excellent fruit of my labors, but the + gratitude expressed to me by Mr. Motley was sincerely reciprocated. + The Archives are a scientific collection, and my 'Manual of National + History,' written in Dutch, hardly gets beyond the limits of my own + country. And here is a stranger, become our compatriot in virtue of + the warmth of his sympathies, who has accomplished what was not in + my power. By the detail and the charm of his narrative, by the + matter and form of a work which the universality of the English + language and numerous translations were to render cosmopolitan, Mr. + Motley, like that other illustrious historian, Prescott, lost to + science by too early death, has popularized in both hemispheres the + sublime devotion of the Prince of Orange, the exceptional and + providential destinies of my country, and the benedictions of the + Eternal for all those who trust in Him and tremble only at his + Word.” + +The old Dutch scholar differs in many important points from Mr. Motley, +as might be expected from his creed and his life-long pursuits. This I +shall refer to in connection with Motley's last work, “John of +Barneveld.” An historian among archivists and annalists reminds one of +Sir John Lubbock in the midst of his ant-hills. Undoubtedly he disturbs +the ants in their praiseworthy industry, much as his attentions may +flatter them. Unquestionably the ants (if their means of expressing +themselves were equal to their apparent intellectual ability) could teach +him many things that he has overlooked and correct him in many mistakes. +But the ants will labor ingloriously without an observer to chronicle +their doings, and the archivists and annalists will pile up facts forever +like so many articulates or mollusks or radiates, until the vertebrate +historian comes with his generalizing ideas, his beliefs, his prejudices, +his idiosyncrasies of all kinds, and brings the facts into a more or less +imperfect, but still organic series of relations. The history which is +not open to adverse criticism is worth little, except as material, for it +is written without taking cognizance of those higher facts about which +men must differ; of which Guizot writes as follows, as quoted in the work +of M. Groen van Prinsterer himself. + + “It is with facts that our minds are exercised, it has nothing but + facts as its materials, and when it discovers general laws these + laws are themselves facts which it determines. . . . In the + study of facts the intelligence may allow itself to be crushed; it + may lower, narrow, materialize itself; it may come to believe that + there are no facts except those which strike us at the first glance, + which come close to us, which fall, as we say, under our senses; a + great and gross error; there are remote facts, immense, obscure, + sublime, very difficult to reach, to observe, to describe, and which + are not any less facts for these reasons, and which man is not less + obliged to study and to know; and if he fails to recognize them or + forgets them, his thought will be prodigiously abashed, and all his + ideas carry the stamp of this deterioration.” + +In that higher region of facts which belongs to the historian, whose task +it is to interpret as well as to transcribe, Mr. Motley showed, of +course, the political and religious school in which he had been brought +up. Every man has a right to his “personal equation” of prejudice, and +Mr. Motley, whose ardent temperament gave life to his writings, betrayed +his sympathies in the disputes of which he told the story, in a way to +insure sharp criticism from those of a different way of thinking. Thus it +is that in the work of M. Groen van Prinsterer, from which I have quoted, +he is considered as having been betrayed into error, while his critic +recognizes “his manifest desire to be scrupulously impartial and +truth-telling.” And M. Fruin, another of his Dutch critics, says, “His +sincerity, his perspicacity, the accuracy of his laborious researches, +are incontestable.” + +Some of the criticisms of Dutch scholars will be considered in the pages +which deal with his last work, “The Life of John of Barneveld.” + + + + +XX. + +1868-1869. AEt. 54-55. + +VISIT TO AMERICA.--RESIDENCE AT NO. 2 PARK STREET, BOSTON.--ADDRESS ON +THE COMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.--ADDRESS ON HISTORIC PROGRESS AND +AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.--APPOINTED MINISTER TO ENGLAND. + +In June, 1868, Mr. Motley returned with his family to Boston, and +established himself in the house No. 2 Park Street. During his residence +here he entered a good deal into society, and entertained many visitors +in a most hospitable and agreeable way. + +On the 20th of October, 1868, he delivered an address before the Parker +Fraternity, in the Music Hall, by special invitation. Its title was “Four +Questions for the People, at the Presidential Election.” This was of +course what is commonly called an electioneering speech, but a speech +full of noble sentiments and eloquent expression. Here are two of its +paragraphs:-- + + “Certainly there have been bitterly contested elections in this + country before. Party spirit is always rife, and in such vivid, + excitable, disputatious communities as ours are, and I trust always + will be, it is the very soul of freedom. To those who reflect upon + the means and end of popular government, nothing seems more stupid + than in grand generalities to deprecate party spirit. Why, + government by parties and through party machinery is the only + possible method by which a free government can accomplish the + purpose of its existence. The old republics of the past may be said + to have fallen, not because of party spirit, but because there was + no adequate machinery by which party spirit could develop itself + with facility and regularity. + + “And if our Republic be true to herself, the future of the human + race is assured by our example. No sweep of overwhelming armies, no + ponderous treatises on the rights of man, no hymns to liberty, + though set to martial music and resounding with the full diapason of + a million human throats, can exert so persuasive an influence as + does the spectacle of a great republic, occupying a quarter of the + civilized globe, and governed quietly and sagely by the people + itself.” + +A large portion of this address is devoted to the proposition that it is +just and reasonable to pay our debts rather than to repudiate them, and +that the nation is as much bound to be honest as is the individual. “It +is an awful thing,” he says, “that this should be a question at all,” but +it was one of the points on which the election turned, for all that. + +In his advocacy of the candidate with whom, and the government of which +he became the head, his relations became afterwards so full of personal +antagonism, he spoke as a man of his ardent nature might be expected to +speak on such an occasion. No one doubts that his admiration of General +Grant's career was perfectly sincere, and no one at the present day can +deny that the great captain stood before the historian with such a record +as one familiar with the deeds of heroes and patriots might well consider +as entitling him to the honors too often grudged to the living to be +wasted on the dead. The speaker only gave voice to the widely prevailing +feelings which had led to his receiving the invitation to speak. The time +was one which called for outspoken utterance, and there was not a +listener whose heart did not warm as he heard the glowing words in which +the speaker recorded the noble achievements of the soldier who must in so +many ways have reminded him of his favorite character, William the +Silent. + +On the 16th of December of this same year, 1868, Mr. Motley delivered an +address before the New York Historical Society, on the occasion of the +sixty-fourth anniversary of its foundation. The president of the society, +Mr. Hamilton Fish, introduced the speaker as one “whose name belongs to +no single country, and to no single age. As a statesman and diplomatist +and patriot, he belongs to America; as a scholar, to the world of +letters; as a historian, all ages will claim him in the future.” + +His subject was “Historic Progress and American Democracy.” The discourse +is, to use his own words, “a rapid sweep through the eons and the +centuries,” illustrating the great truth of the development of the race +from its origin to the time in which we are living. It is a long distance +from the planetary fact of the obliquity of the equator, which gave the +earth its alternation of seasons, and rendered the history, if not the +existence of man and of civilization a possibility, to the surrender of +General Lee under the apple-tree at Appomattox Court-House. No one but a +scholar familiar with the course of history could have marshalled such a +procession of events into a connected and intelligible sequence. It is +indeed a flight rather than a march; the reader is borne along as on the +wings of a soaring poem, and sees the rising and decaying empires of +history beneath him as a bird of passage marks the succession of cities +and wilds and deserts as he keeps pace with the sun in his journey. + +Its eloquence, its patriotism, its crowded illustrations, drawn from vast +resources of knowledge, its epigrammatic axioms, its occasional +pleasantries, are all characteristic of the writer. + +Mr. Gulian C. Verplanck, the venerable senior member of the society, +proposed the vote of thanks to Mr. Motley with words of warm +commendation. + +Mr. William Cullen Bryant rose and said:-- + + “I take great pleasure in seconding the resolution which has just + been read. The eminent historian of the Dutch Republic, who has + made the story of its earlier days as interesting as that of Athens + and Sparta, and who has infused into the narrative the generous glow + of his own genius, has the highest of titles to be heard with + respectful attention by the citizens of a community which, in its + origin, was an offshoot of that renowned republic. And cheerfully + has that title been recognized, as the vast audience assembled here + to-night, in spite of the storm, fully testifies; and well has our + illustrious friend spoken of the growth of civilization and of the + improvement in the condition of mankind, both in the Old World--the + institutions of which he has so lately observed--and in the country + which is proud to claim him as one of her children.” + +Soon after the election of General Grant, Mr. Motley received the +appointment of Minister to England. That the position was one which was +in many respects most agreeable to him cannot be doubted. Yet it was not +with unmingled feelings of satisfaction, not without misgivings which +warned him but too truly of the dangers about to encompass him, that he +accepted the place. He writes to me on April 16, 1869:-- + + “I feel anything but exultation at present,--rather the opposite + sensation. I feel that I am placed higher than I deserve, and at + the same time that I am taking greater responsibilities than ever + were assumed by me before. You will be indulgent to my mistakes and + shortcomings,--and who can expect to avoid them? But the world will + be cruel, and the times are threatening. I shall do my best,--but + the best may be poor enough,--and keep 'a heart for any fate.'” + + + + +XXI. + +1869-1870. AEt. 55-56. +RECALL FROM THE ENGLISH MISSION.--ITS ALLEGED AND ITS PROBABLE REASONS. + +The misgivings thus expressed to me in confidence, natural enough in one +who had already known what it is to fall on evil days and evil tongues, +were but too well justified by after events. I could have wished to leave +untold the story of the English mission, an episode in Motley's life full +of heart-burnings, and long to be regretted as a passage of American +history. But his living appeal to my indulgence comes to me from his +grave as a call for his defence, however little needed, at least as a +part of my tribute to his memory. It is little needed, because the case +is clear enough to all intelligent readers of our diplomatic history, and +because his cause has been amply sustained by others in many ways better +qualified than myself to do it justice. The task is painful, for if a +wrong was done him it must be laid at the doors of those whom the nation +has delighted to honor, and whose services no error of judgment or +feeling or conduct can ever induce us to forget. If he confessed him, +self-liable, like the rest of us, to mistakes and shortcomings, we must +remember that the great officers of the government who decreed his +downfall were not less the subjects of human infirmity. + +The outline to be filled up is this: A new administration had just been +elected. The “Alabama Treaty,” negotiated by Motley's predecessor, Mr. +Reverdy Johnson, had been rejected by the Senate. The minister was +recalled, and Motley, nominated without opposition and unanimously +confirmed by the Senate, was sent to England in his place. He was +welcomed most cordially on his arrival at Liverpool, and replied in a +similar strain of good feeling, expressing the same kindly sentiments +which may be found in his instructions. Soon after arriving in London he +had a conversation with Lord Clarendon, the British Foreign Secretary, of +which he sent a full report to his own government. While the reported +conversation was generally approved of in the government's dispatch +acknowledging it, it was hinted that some of its expressions were +stronger than were required by the instructions, and that one of its +points was not conveyed in precise conformity with the President's view. +The criticism was very gently worded, and the dispatch closed with a +somewhat guarded paragraph repeating the government's approbation. + +This was the first offence alleged against Mr. Motley. The second ground +of complaint was that he had shown written minutes of this conversation +to Lord Clarendon to obtain his confirmation of its exactness, and that +he had--as he said, inadvertently,--omitted to make mention to the +government of this circumstance until some weeks after the time of the +interview. + +He was requested to explain to Lord Clarendon that a portion of his +presentation and treatment of the subject discussed at the interview +immediately after his arrival was disapproved by the Secretary of State, +and he did so in a written communication, in which he used the very words +employed by Mr. Fish in his criticism of the conversation with Lord +Clarendon. An alleged mistake; a temperate criticism, coupled with a +general approval; a rectification of the mistake criticised. All this +within the first two months of Mr. Motley's official residence in London. + +No further fault was found with him, so far as appears, in the discharge +of his duties, to which he must have devoted himself faithfully, for he +writes to me, under the date of December 27, 1870: “I have worked harder +in the discharge of this mission than I ever did in my life.” This from a +man whose working powers astonished the old Dutch archivist, Groen van +Prinsterer, means a good deal. + +More than a year had elapsed since the interview with Lord Clarendon, +which had been the subject of criticism. In the mean time a paper of +instructions was sent to Motley, dated September 25, 1869, in which the +points in the report of his interview which had been found fault with are +so nearly covered by similar expressions, that there seemed no real +ground left for difference between the government and the minister. +Whatever over-statement there had been, these new instructions would +imply that the government was now ready to go quite as far as the +minister had gone, and in some points to put the case still more +strongly. Everything was going on quietly. Important business had been +transacted, with no sign of distrust or discontent on the part of the +government as regarded Motley. Whatever mistake he was thought to have +committed was condoned by amicable treatment, neutralized by the virtual +indorsement of the government in the instructions of the 25th of +September, and obsolete as a ground of quarrel by lapse of time. The +question about which the misunderstanding, if such it deserves to be +called, had taken place, was no longer a possible source of disagreement, +as it had long been settled that the Alabama case should only be opened +again at the suggestion of the British government, and that it should be +transferred to Washington whenever that suggestion should again bring it +up for consideration. + +Such was the aspect of affairs at the American Legation in London. No +foreign minister felt more secure in his place than Mr. Motley. “I +thought myself,” he says in the letter of December 27, “entirely in the +confidence of my own government, and I know that I had the thorough +confidence and the friendship of the leading personages in England.” All +at once, on the first of July, 1870, a letter was written by the +Secretary of State, requesting him to resign. This gentle form of +violence is well understood in the diplomatic service. Horace Walpole +says, speaking of Lady Archibald Hamilton: “They have civilly asked her +and grossly forced her to ask civilly to go away, which she has done, +with a pension of twelve hundred a year.” Such a request is like the +embrace of the “virgin” in old torture-chambers. She is robed in soft +raiment, but beneath it are the knife-blades which are ready to lacerate +and kill the victim, if he awaits the pressure of the machinery already +in motion. + +Mr. Motley knew well what was the logical order in an official execution, +and saw fit to let the government work its will upon him as its servant. +In November he was recalled. + +The recall of a minister under such circumstances is an unusual if not an +unprecedented occurrence. The government which appoints a citizen to +represent the country at a foreign court assumes a very serious +obligation to him. The next administration may turn him out and nothing +will be thought of it. He may be obliged to ask for his passports and +leave all at once if war is threatened between his own country and that +which he represents. He may, of course, be recalled for gross misconduct. +But his dismissal is very serious matter to him personally, and not to be +thought of on the ground of passion or caprice. Marriage is a simple +business, but divorce is a very different thing. The world wants to know +the reason of it; the law demands its justification. It was a great blow +to Mr. Motley, a cause of indignation to those who were interested in +him, a surprise and a mystery to the world in general. + +When he, his friends, and the public, all startled by this unexpected +treatment, looked to find an explanation of it, one was found which +seemed to many quite sufficient. Mr. Sumner had been prominent among +those who had favored his appointment. A very serious breach had taken +place between the President and Mr. Sumner on the important San Domingo +question. It was a quarrel, in short, neither more nor less, at least so +far as the President was concerned. The proposed San Domingo treaty had +just been rejected by the Senate, on the thirtieth day of June, and +immediately thereupon,--the very next day,--the letter requesting Mr. +Motley's resignation was issued by the executive. This fact was +interpreted as implying something more than a mere coincidence. It was +thought that Sumner's friend, who had been supported by him as a +candidate for high office, who shared many of his political ideas and +feelings, who was his intimate associate, his fellow-townsman, his +companion in scholarship and cultivation, his sympathetic co-laborer in +many ways, had been accounted and dealt with as the ally of an enemy, and +that the shaft which struck to the heart of the sensitive envoy had +glanced from the 'aes triplex' of the obdurate Senator. + +Mr. Motley wrote a letter to the Secretary of State immediately after his +recall, in which he reviewed his relations with the government from the +time of his taking office, and showed that no sufficient reason could be +assigned for the treatment to which he had been subjected. He referred +finally to the public rumor which assigned the President's hostility to +his friend Sumner, growing out of the San Domingo treaty question, as the +cause of his own removal, and to the coincidence between the dates of the +rejection of the treaty and his dismissal, with an evident belief that +these two occurrences were connected by something more than accident. + +To this, a reply was received from the Secretary of State's office, +signed by Mr. Fish, but so objectionable in its tone and expressions that +it has been generally doubted whether the paper could claim anything more +of the secretary's hand than his signature. It travelled back to the old +record of the conversation with Lord Clarendon, more than a year and a +half before, took up the old exceptions, warmed them over into +grievances, and joined with them whatever the 'captatores verborum,' not +extinct since Daniel Webster's time, could add to their number. This was +the letter which was rendered so peculiarly offensive by a most +undignified comparison which startled every well-bred reader. No answer +was possible to such a letter, and the matter rested until the death of +Mr. Motley caused it to be brought up once more for judgment. + +The Honorable John Jay, in his tribute to the memory of Mr. Motley, read +at a meeting of the New York Historical Society, vindicated his character +against the attacks of the late executive in such a way as to leave an +unfavorable impression as to the course of the government. Objection was +made on this account to placing the tribute upon the minutes of the +society. This led to a publication by Mr. Jay, entitled “Motley's Appeal +to History,” in which the propriety of the society's action is +questioned, and the wrong done to him insisted upon and further +illustrated. + +The defence could not have fallen into better hands. Bearing a name which +is, in itself, a title to the confidence of the American people, a +diplomatist familiar with the rights, the customs, the traditions, the +courtesies, which belong to the diplomatic service, the successor of Mr. +Motley at Vienna, and therefore familiar with his official record, not +self-made, which too commonly means half-made, but with careful training +added to the instincts to which he had a right by inheritance, he could +not allow the memory of such a scholar, of such a high-minded lover of +his country, of so true a gentleman as Mr. Motley, to remain without +challenge under the stigma of official condemnation. I must refer to Mr. +Jay's memorial tribute as printed in the newspapers of the day, and to +his “Appeal” published in “The International Review,” for his convincing +presentation of the case, and content myself with a condensed statement +of the general and special causes of complaint against Mr. Motley, and +the explanations which suggest themselves, as abundantly competent to +show the insufficiency of the reasons alleged by the government as an +excuse for the manner in which he was treated. + +The grounds of complaint against Mr. Motley are to be looked for:-- + +1. In the letter of Mr. Fish to Mr. Moran, of December 30, 1870. + +2. In Mr. Bancroft Davis's letter to the New York “Herald” of January 4, +1878, entitled, “Mr. Sumner, the Alabama Claims and their Settlement.” + +3. The reported conversations of General Grant. + +4. The reported conversations of Mr. Fish. + +In considering Mr. Fish's letter, we must first notice its animus. The +manner in which Dickens's two old women are brought in is not only +indecorous, but it shows a state of feeling from which nothing but harsh +interpretation of every questionable expression of Mr. Motley's was to be +expected. + +There is not the least need of maintaining the perfect fitness and +rhetorical felicity of every phrase and every word used by him in his +interview with Lord Clarendon. It is not to be expected that a minister, +when about to hold a conversation with a representative of the government +to which he is accredited, will commit his instructions to memory and +recite them, like a school-boy “speaking his piece.” He will give them +more or less in his own language, amplifying, it may be, explaining, +illustrating, at any rate paraphrasing in some degree, but endeavoring to +convey an idea of their essential meaning. In fact, as any one can see, a +conversation between two persons must necessarily imply a certain amount +of extemporization on the part of both. I do not believe any long and +important conference was ever had between two able men without each of +them feeling that he had not spoken exactly in all respects as he would +if he could say all over again. + +Doubtless, therefore, Mr. Motley's report of his conversation shows that +some of his expressions might have been improved, and others might as +well have been omitted. A man does not change his temperament on taking +office. General Jackson still swore “by the Eternal,” and his illustrious +military successor of a more recent period seems, by his own showing, to +have been able to sudden impulses of excitement. It might be said of +Motley, as it was said of Shakespeare by Ben Jonson, “aliquando +sufflaminandus erat.” Yet not too much must be made of this concession. +Only a determination to make out a case could, as it seems to me, have +framed such an indictment as that which the secretary constructed by +stringing together a slender list of pretended peccadillos. One instance +will show the extreme slightness which characterizes many of the grounds +of inculpation:-- + +The instructions say, “The government, in rejecting the recent +convention, abandons neither its own claims nor those of its citizens,” + etc. + +Mr. Motley said, in the course of his conversation, “At present, the +United States government, while withdrawing neither its national claims +nor the claims of its individual citizens against the British +government,” etc. + +Mr. Fish says, “The determination of this government not to abandon its +claims nor those of its citizens was stated parenthetically, and in such +a subordinate way as not necessarily to attract the attention of Lord +Clarendon.” + +What reported conversation can stand a captious criticism like this? Are +there not two versions of the ten commandments which were given out in +the thunder and smoke of Sinai, and would the secretary hold that this +would have been a sufficient reason to recall Moses from his “Divine +Legation” at the court of the Almighty? + +There are certain expressions which, as Mr. Fish shows them apart from +their connection, do very certainly seem in bad taste, if not actually +indiscreet and unjustifiable. Let me give an example:-- + + “Instead of expressing the hope entertained by this government that + there would be an early, satisfactory, and friendly settlement of + the questions at issue, he volunteered the unnecessary, and from the + manner in which it was thrust in, the highly objectionable statement + that the United States government had no insidious purposes,'” etc. + +This sounds very badly as Mr. Fish puts it; let us see how it stands in +its proper connection:-- + + “He [Lord Clarendon] added with some feeling, that in his opinion it + would be highly objectionable that the question should be hung up on + a peg, to be taken down at some convenient moment for us, when it + might be difficult for the British government to enter upon its + solution, and when they might go into the debate at a disadvantage. + These were, as nearly as I can remember, his words, and I replied + very earnestly that I had already answered that question when I said + that my instructions were to propose as brief a delay as would + probably be requisite for the cooling of passions and for producing + the calm necessary for discussing the defects of the old treaty and + a basis for a new one. The United States government had no + insidious purposes,” etc. + +Is it not evident that Lord Clarendon suggested the idea which Mr. Motley +repelled as implying an insidious mode of action? Is it not just as clear +that Mr. Fish's way of reproducing the expression without the insinuation +which called it forth is a practical misstatement which does Mr. Motley +great wrong? + +One more example of the method of wringing a dry cloth for drops of +evidence ought to be enough to show the whole spirit of the paper. + +Mr. Fish, in his instructions:-- + + “It might, indeed, well have occurred in the event of the selection + by lot of the arbitrator or umpire in different cases, involving + however precisely the same principles, that different awards, + resting upon antagonistic principles, might have been made.” + +Mr. Motley, in the conversation with Lord Clarendon:-- + + “I called his lordship's attention to your very judicious suggestion + that the throwing of the dice for umpires might bring about opposite + decisions in cases arising out of identical principles. He agreed + entirely that no principle was established by the treaty, but that + the throwing of dice or drawing of lots was not a new invention on + that occasion, but a not uncommon method in arbitrations. I only + expressed the opinion that such an aleatory process seemed an + unworthy method in arbitrations,” etc. + +Mr. Fish, in his letter to Mr. Moran:-- + + “That he had in his mind at that interview something else than his + letter of instructions from this department would appear to be + evident, when he says that 'he called his lordship's attention to + your [my] very judicious suggestion that the throwing of dice for + umpire might bring about opposite decisions.' The instructions + which Mr. Motley received from me contained no suggestion about + throwing of dice.' That idea is embraced in the suggestive words + 'aleatory process' (adopted by Mr. Motley), but previously applied + in a speech made in the Senate on the question of ratifying the + treaty.” + +Charles Sumner's Speech on the Johnson-Clarendon Treaty, April 13, 1869: + + “In the event of failure to agree, the arbitrator is determined 'by + lot' out of two persons named by each side. Even if this aleatory + proceeding were a proper device in the umpirage of private claims, + it is strongly inconsistent with the solemnity which belongs to the + present question.” + +It is “suggestive” that the critical secretary, so keen in detecting +conversational inaccuracies, having but two words to quote from a printed +document, got one of them wrong. But this trivial comment must not lead +the careful reader to neglect to note how much is made of what is really +nothing at all. The word aleatory, whether used in its original and +limited sense, or in its derived extension as a technical term of the +civil law, was appropriate and convenient; one especially likely to be +remembered by any person who had read Mr. Sumner's speech,--and everybody +had read it; the secretary himself doubtless got the suggestion of +determining the question “by lot” from it. What more natural than that it +should be used again when the subject of appealing to chance came up in +conversation? It “was an excellent good word before it was ill-sorted,” + and we were fortunate in having a minister who was scholar enough to know +what it meant. The language used by Mr. Motley conveyed the idea of his +instructions plainly enough, and threw in a compliment to their author +which should have saved this passage at least from the wringing process. +The example just given is, like the concession of belligerency to the +insurgents by Great Britain, chiefly important as “showing animus.” + +It is hardly necessary to bring forward other instances of virtual +misrepresentation. If Mr. Motley could have talked his conversation over +again, he would very probably have changed some expressions. But he felt +bound to repeat the interview exactly as it occurred, with all the errors +to which its extemporaneous character exposed it. When a case was to be +made out against him, the secretary wrote, December 30, 1870: + + “Well might he say, as he did in a subsequent dispatch on the 15th + of July, 1869, that he had gone beyond the strict letter of his + instructions. He might have added, in direct opposition to their + temper and spirit.” + +Of the same report the secretary had said, June 28, 1869: “Your general +presentation and treatment of the several subjects discussed in that +interview meet the approval of this department.” This general approval is +qualified by mild criticism of a single statement as not having been +conveyed in “precise conformity” to the President's view. The minister +was told he might be well content to rest the question on the very +forcible presentation he had made of the American side of the question, +and that if there were expressions used stronger than were required by +his instructions, they were in the right direction. The mere fact that a +minute of this conversation was confidentially submitted to Lord +Clarendon in order that our own government might have his authority for +the accuracy of the record, which was intended exclusively for its own +use, and that this circumstance was overlooked and not reported to the +government until some weeks afterward, are the additional charges against +Mr. Motley. The submission of the dispatch containing an account of the +interview, the secretary says, is not inconsistent with diplomatic usage, +but it is inconsistent with the duty of a minister not to inform his +government of that submission. “Mr. Motley submitted the draft of his No. +8 to Lord Clarendon, and failed to communicate that fact to his +government.” He did inform Mr. Fish, at any rate, on the 30th of July, +and alleged “inadvertence” as the reason for his omission to do it +before. + +Inasmuch as submitting the dispatch was not inconsistent with diplomatic +usage, nothing seems left to find fault with but the not very long delay +in mentioning the fact, or in his making the note “private and +confidential,” as is so frequently done in diplomatic correspondence. + +Such were the grounds of complaint. On the strength of the conversation +which had met with the general approval of the government, tempered by +certain qualifications, and of the omission to report immediately to the +government the fact of its verification by Lord Clarendon, the secretary +rests the case against Mr. Motley. On these grounds it was that, +according to him, the President withdrew all right to discuss the Alabama +question from the minister whose dismissal was now only a question of +time. But other evidence comes in here. + +Mr. Motley says:-- + + “It was, as I supposed, understood before my departure for England, + although not publicly announced, that the so-called Alabama + negotiations, whenever renewed, should be conducted at Washington, + in case of the consent of the British government.” + +Mr. Sumner says, in his “Explanation in Reply to an Assault:”-- + + “The secretary in a letter to me at Boston, dated at Washington, + October 9, 1869, informs the that the discussion of the question was + withdrawn from London 'because (the italics are the secretary's) we + think that when renewed it can be carried on here with a better + prospect of settlement, than where the late attempt at a convention + which resulted so disastrously and was conducted so strangely was + had;' and what the secretary thus wrote he repeated in conversation + when we met, carefully making the transfer to Washington depend upon + our advantage here, from the presence of the Senate,--thus showing + that the pretext put forth to wound Mr. Motley was an afterthought.” + +Again we may fairly ask how the government came to send a dispatch like +that of September 25, 1869, in which the views and expressions for which +Mr. Motley's conversation had been criticised were so nearly reproduced, +and with such emphasis that Mr. Motley says, in a letter to me, dated +April 8, 1871, “It not only covers all the ground which I ever took, but +goes far beyond it. No one has ever used stronger language to the British +government than is contained in that dispatch. . . . It is very able and +well worth your reading. Lord Clarendon called it to me 'Sumner's speech +over again.' It was thought by the English cabinet to have 'out-Sumnered +Sumner,' and now our government, thinking that every one in the United +States had forgotten the dispatch, makes believe that I was removed +because my sayings and doings in England were too much influenced by +Sumner!” Mr. Motley goes on to speak of the report that an offer of his +place in England was made to Sumner “to get him out of the way of San +Domingo.” The facts concerning this offer are now sufficiently known to +the public. + +Here I must dismiss Mr. Fish's letter to Mr. Moran, having, as I trust, +sufficiently shown the spirit in which it was written and the strained +interpretations and manifest overstatements by which it attempts to make +out its case against Mr. Motley. I will not parade the two old women, +whose untimely and unseemly introduction into the dress-circle of +diplomacy was hardly to have been expected of the high official whose +name is at the bottom of this paper. They prove nothing, they disprove +nothing, they illustrate nothing--except that a statesman may forget +himself. Neither will I do more than barely allude to the unfortunate +reference to the death of Lord Clarendon as connected with Mr. Motley's +removal, so placidly disposed of by a sentence or two in the London +“Times” of January 24, 1871. I think we may consider ourselves ready for +the next witness. + +Mr. J. C. Bancroft Davis, Assistant Secretary of State under President +Grant and Secretary Fish, wrote a letter to the New York “Herald,” under +the date of January 4, 1878, since reprinted as a pamphlet and entitled +“Mr. Sumner, the Alabama Claims and their Settlement.” Mr. Sumner was +never successfully attacked when living,--except with a bludgeon,--and +his friends have more than sufficiently vindicated him since his death. +But Mr. Motley comes in for his share of animadversion in Mr. Davis's +letter. He has nothing of importance to add to Mr. Fish's criticisms on +the interview with Lord Clarendon. Only he brings out the head and front +of Mr. Motley's offending by italicizing three very brief passages from +his conversation at this interview; not discreetly, as it seems to me, +for they will not bear the strain that is put upon them. These are the +passages:-- + +1. “but that such, measures must always be taken with a full view of the +grave responsibilities assumed.” 2. “and as being the fountain head of +the disasters which had been caused to the American people.” 3. “as the +fruits of the proclamation.” + +1. It is true that nothing was said of responsibility in Mr. Motley's +instructions. But the idea was necessarily involved in their statements. +For if, as Mr. Motley's instructions say, the right of a power “to define +its own relations,” etc., when a civil conflict has arisen in another +state depends on its (the conflict's) having “attained a sufficient +complexity, magnitude, and completeness,” inasmuch as that Power has to +judge whether it has or has not fulfilled these conditions, and is of +course liable to judge wrong, every such act of judgment must be attended +with grave responsibilities. The instructions say that “the necessity and +propriety of the original concession of belligerency by Great Britain at +the time it was made have been contested and are not admitted.” It +follows beyond dispute that Great Britain may in this particular case +have incurred grave responsibilities; in fact, the whole negotiations +implied as much. Perhaps Mr. Motley need not have used the word +“responsibilities.” But considering that the government itself said in +dispatch No. 70, September 25, 1869, “The President does not deny, on the +contrary he maintains, that every sovereign power decides for itself on +its responsibility whether or not it will, at a given time, accord the +status of belligerency,” etc., it was hardly worth while to use italics +about Mr. Motley's employment of the same language as constituting a +grave cause of offence. + +2. Mr. Motley's expression, “as being the fountain head of the +disasters,” is a conversational paraphrase of the words of his +instructions, “as it shows the beginning and the animus of that course of +conduct which resulted so disastrously,” which is not “in precise +conformity” with his instructions, but is just such a variation as is to +be expected when one is talking with another and using the words that +suggest themselves at the moment, just as the familiar expression, “hung +up on a peg,” probably suggested itself to Lord Clarendon. + +3. “The fruits of the proclamation” is so inconsiderable a variation on +the text of the instructions, “supplemented by acts causing direct +damage,” that the secretary's hint about want of precise conformity seems +hardly to have been called for. + +It is important to notice this point in the instructions: With other +powers Mr. Motley was to take the position that the “recognition of the +insurgents' state of war” was made “no ground of complaint;” with Great +Britain that the cause of grievance was “not so much” placed upon the +issuance of this recognition as upon her conduct under, and subsequent +to, such recognition. + +There is no need of maintaining the exact fitness of every expression +used by Mr. Motley. But any candid person who will carefully read the +government's dispatch No. 70, dated September 25, 1869, will see that a +government holding such language could find nothing in Mr. Motley's +expressions in a conversation held at his first official interview to +visit with official capital punishment more than a year afterwards. If +Mr. Motley had, as it was pretended, followed Sumner, Mr. Fish had +“out-Sumnered” the Senator himself. + +Mr. Davis's pamphlet would hardly be complete without a mysterious letter +from an unnamed writer, whether a faithless friend, a disguised enemy, a +secret emissary, or an injudicious alarmist, we have no means of judging +for ourselves. The minister appears to have been watched by somebody in +London, as he was in Vienna. This somebody wrote a private letter in +which he expressed “fear and regret that Mr. Motley's bearing in his +social intercourse was throwing obstacles in the way of a future +settlement.” The charge as mentioned in Mr. Davis's letter is hardly +entitled to our attention. Mr. Sumner considered it the work of an enemy, +and the recollection of the M'Crackin letter might well have made the +government cautious of listening to complaints of such a character. This +Somebody may have been one whom we should call Nobody. We cannot help +remembering how well 'Outis' served 'Oduxseus' of old, when he was +puzzled to extricate himself from an embarrassing position. 'Stat nominis +umbra' is a poor showing for authority to support an attack on a public +servant exposed to every form of open and insidious abuse from those who +are prejudiced against his person or his birthplace, who are jealous of +his success, envious of his position, hostile to his politics, dwarfed by +his reputation, or hate him by the divine right of idiosyncrasy, always +liable, too, to questioning comment from well-meaning friends who happen +to be suspicious or sensitive in their political or social relations. + +The reported sayings of General Grant and of Mr. Fish to the +correspondents who talked with them may be taken for what they are worth. +They sound naturally enough to have come from the speakers who are said +to have uttered them. I quote the most important part of the Edinburgh +letter, September 11, 1877, to the New York “Herald.” These are the words +attributed to General Grant:-- + + “Mr. Motley was certainly a very able, very honest gentleman, fit to + hold any official position. But he knew long before he went out + that he would have to go. When I was making these appointments, Mr. + Sumner came to me and asked me to appoint Mr. Motley as minister to + the court of St. James. I told him I would, and did. Soon after + Mr. Sumner made that violent speech about the Alabama claims, and + the British government was greatly offended. Mr. Sumner was at the + time chairman of the committee on foreign affairs. Mr. Motley had + to be instructed. The instructions were prepared very carefully, + and after Governor Fish and I had gone over them for the last time I + wrote an addendum charging him that above all things he should + handle the subject of the Alabama claims with the greatest delicacy. + Mr. Motley instead of obeying his explicit instructions, + deliberately fell in line with Sumner, and thus added insult to the + previous injury. As soon as I heard of it I went over to the State + Department and told Governor Fish to dismiss Motley at once. I was + very angry indeed, and I have been sorry many a time since that I + did not stick to my first determination. Mr. Fish advised delay + because of Sumner's position in the Senate and attitude on the + treaty question. We did not want to stir him up just then. We + dispatched a note of severe censure to Motley at once and ordered + him to abstain from any further connection with that question. We + thereupon commenced negotiations with the British minister at + Washington, and the result was the joint high commission and the + Geneva award. I supposed Mr. Motley would be manly enough to resign + after that snub, but he kept on till he was removed. Mr. Sumner + promised me that he would vote for the treaty. But when it was + before the Senate he did all he could to beat it.” + +General Grant talked again at Cairo, in Egypt. + + “Grant then referred to the statement published at an interview with + him in Scotland, and said the publication had some omissions and + errors. He had no ill-will towards Mr. Motley, who, like other + estimable men, made mistakes, and Motley made a mistake which made + him an improper person to hold office under me.” + + “It is proper to say of me that I killed Motley, or that I made war + upon Sumner for not supporting the annexation of San Domingo. But + if I dare to answer that I removed Motley from the highest + considerations of duty as an executive; if I presume to say that he + made a mistake in his office which made him no longer useful to the + country; if Fish has the temerity to hint that Sumner's temper was + so unfortunate that business relations with him became impossible, + we are slandering the dead.” + +“Nothing but Mortimer.” Those who knew both men--the Ex-President and the +late Senator--would agree, I do not doubt, that they would not be the +most promising pair of human beings to make harmonious members of a +political happy family. “Cedant arma togae,” the life-long sentiment of +Sumner, in conflict with “Stand fast and stand sure,” the well-known +device of the clan of Grant, reminds one of the problem of an +irresistible force in collision with an insuperable resistance. But the +President says,--or is reported as saying,--“I may be blamed for my +opposition to Mr. Sumner's tactics, but I was not guided so much by +reason of his personal hatred of myself, as I was by a desire to protect +our national interests in diplomatic affairs.” + +“It would be useless,” says Mr. Davis in his letter to the “Herald,” “to +enter into a controversy whether the President may or may not have been +influenced in the final determination of the moment for requesting +Motley's resignation by the feeling caused by Sumner's personal hostility +and abuse of himself.” Unfortunately, this controversy had been entered +into, and the idleness of suggesting any relation of cause and effect +between Mr. Motley's dismissal and the irritation produced in the +President's mind by the rejection of the San Domingo treaty--which +rejection was mainly due to Motley's friend Sumner's opposition +--strongly insisted upon in a letter signed by the Secretary of State. +Too strongly, for here it was that he failed to remember what was due to +his office, to himself, and to the gentleman of whom he was writing; if +indeed it was the secretary's own hand which held the pen, and not +another's. + +We might as well leave out the wrath of Achilles from the Iliad, as the +anger of the President with Sumner from the story of Motley's dismissal. +The sad recital must always begin with M-----------. He was, he is +reported as saying, “very angry indeed” with Motley because he had, +fallen in line with Sumner. He couples them together in his conversation +as closely as Chang and Eng were coupled. The death of Lord Clarendon +would have covered up the coincidence between the rejection of the San +Domingo treaty and Mr. Motley's dismissal very neatly, but for the +inexorable facts about its date, as revealed by the London “Times.” It +betrays itself as an afterthought, and its failure as a defence reminds +us too nearly of the trial in which Mr. Webster said suicide is +confession. + +It is not strange that the spurs of the man who had so lately got out of +the saddle should catch in the scholastic robe of the man on the floor of +the Senate. But we should not have looked for any such antagonism between +the Secretary of State and the envoy to Great Britain. On the contrary, +they must have had many sympathies, and it must have cost the secretary +pain, as he said it did, to be forced to communicate with Mr. Moran +instead of with Mr. Motley. + +He, too, was inquired of by one of the emissaries of the American Unholy +Inquisition. His evidence is thus reported: + + “The reason for Mr. Motley's removal was found in considerations of + state. He misrepresented the government on the Alabama question, + especially in the two speeches made by him before his arrival at his + post.” + +These must be the two speeches made to the American and the Liverpool +chambers of commerce. If there is anything in these short addresses +beyond those civil generalities which the occasion called out, I have +failed to find it. If it was in these that the reason of Mr. Motley's +removal was to be looked for, it is singular that they are not mentioned +in the secretary's letter to Mr. Moran, or by Mr. Davis in his letter to +the New York “Herald.” They must have been as unsuccessful as myself in +the search after anything in these speeches which could be construed into +misinterpretation of the government on the Alabama question. + +We may much more readily accept “considerations of state” as a reason for +Mr. Motley's removal. Considerations of state have never yet failed the +axe or the bowstring when a reason for the use of those convenient +implements was wanted, and they are quite equal to every emergency which +can arise in a republican autocracy. But for the very reason that a +minister is absolutely in the power of his government, the manner in +which that power is used is always open to the scrutiny, and, if it has +been misused, to the condemnation, of a tribunal higher than itself; a +court that never goes out of office, and which no personal feelings, no +lapse of time, can silence. + +The ostensible grounds on which Mr. Motley was recalled are plainly +insufficient to account for the action of the government. If it was in +great measure a manifestation of personal feeling on the part of the high +officials by whom and through whom the act was accomplished, it was a +wrong which can never be repaired and never sufficiently regretted. + +Stung by the slanderous report of an anonymous eavesdropper to whom the +government of the day was not ashamed to listen, he had quitted Vienna, +too hastily, it may be, but wounded, indignant, feeling that he had been +unworthily treated. The sudden recall from London, on no pretext whatever +but an obsolete and overstated incident which had ceased to have any +importance, was under these circumstances a deadly blow. It fell upon +“the new-healed wound of malice,” and though he would not own it, and +bore up against it, it was a shock from which he never fully recovered. + +“I hope I am one of those,” he writes to me from the Hague, in 1872, “who +'fortune's buffets and rewards can take with equal thanks.' I am quite +aware that I have had far more than I deserve of political honors, and +they might have had my post as a voluntary gift on my part had they +remembered that I was an honorable man, and not treated me as a detected +criminal deserves to be dealt with.” + +Mr. Sumner naturally felt very deeply what he considered the great wrong +done to his friend. He says:-- + + “How little Mr. Motley merited anything but respect and courtesy + from the secretary is attested by all who know his eminent position + in London, and the service he rendered to his country. Already the + London press, usually slow to praise Americans when strenuous for + their country, has furnished its voluntary testimony. The 'Daily + News' of August 16, 1870, spoke of the insulted minister in these + terms:-- + + “'We are violating no confidence in saying that all the hopes of Mr. + Motley's official residence in England have been amply fulfilled, + and that the announcement of his unexpected and unexplained recall + was received with extreme astonishment and unfeigned regret. The + vacancy he leaves cannot possibly be filled by a minister more + sensitive to the honor of his government, more attentive to the + interests of his country, and more capable of uniting the most + vigorous performance of his public duties with the high-bred + courtesy and conciliatory tact and temper that make those duties + easy and successful. Mr. Motley's successor will find his mission + wonderfully facilitated by the firmness and discretion that have + presided over the conduct of American affairs in this country during + too brief a term, too suddenly and unaccountably concluded.'” + +No man can escape being found fault with when it is necessary to make out +a case against him. A diplomatist is watched by the sharpest eyes and +commented on by the most merciless tongues. The best and wisest has his +defects, and sometimes they would seem to be very grave ones if brought +up against him in the form of accusation. Take these two portraits, for +instance, as drawn by John Quincy Adams. The first is that of Stratford +Canning, afterwards Lord Stratford de Redcliffe:-- + + “He is to depart to-morrow. I shall probably see him no more. He + is a proud, high-tempered Englishman, of good but not extraordinary + parts; stubborn and punctilious, with a disposition to be + overbearing, which I have often been compelled to check in its own + way. He is, of all the foreign ministers with whom I have had + occasion to treat, the man who has most severely tried my temper. + Yet he has been long in the diplomatic career, and treated with + governments of the most opposite characters. He has, however, a + great respect for his word, and there is nothing false about him. + This is an excellent quality for a negotiator. Mr. Canning is a man + of forms, studious of courtesy, and tenacious of private morals. As + a diplomatic man, his great want is suppleness, and his great virtue + is sincerity.” + +The second portrait is that of the French minister, Hyde de Neuville:-- + + “No foreign minister who ever resided here has been so universally + esteemed and beloved, nor have I ever been in political relations + with any foreign statesman of whose moral qualities I have formed so + good an opinion, with the exception of Count Romanzoff. He has not + sufficient command of his temper, is quick, irritable, sometimes + punctilious, occasionally indiscreet in his discourse, and tainted + with Royalist and Bourbon prejudices. But he has strong sentiments + of honor, justice, truth, and even liberty. His flurries of temper + pass off as quickly as they rise. He is neither profound nor + sublime nor brilliant; but a man of strong and good feelings, with + the experience of many vicissitudes of fortune, a good but common + understanding, and good intentions biassed by party feelings, + occasional interests, and personal affections.” + +It means very little to say that a man has some human imperfections, or +that a public servant might have done some things better. But when a +questionable cause is to be justified, the victim's excellences are +looked at with the eyes of Liliput and his failings with those of +Brobdingnag. + +The recall of a foreign minister for alleged misconduct in office is a +kind of capital punishment. It is the nearest approach to the Sultan's +bowstring which is permitted to the chief magistrate of our Republic. A +general can do nothing under martial law more peremptory than a President +can do with regard to the public functionary whom he has appointed with +the advice and consent of the Senate, but whom he can officially degrade +and disgrace at his own pleasure for insufficient cause or for none at +all. Like the centurion of Scripture, he says Go, and he goeth. The +nation's representative is less secure in his tenure of office than his +own servant, to whom he must give warning of his impending dismissal. + +“A breath unmakes him as a breath has made.” + +The chief magistrate's responsibility to duty, to the fellow-citizen at +his mercy, to his countrymen, to mankind, is in proportion to his power. +His prime minister, the agent of his edicts, should feel bound to +withstand him if he seeks to gratify a personal feeling under the plea of +public policy, unless the minister, like the slaves of the harem, is to +find his qualification for office in leaving his manhood behind him. + +The two successive administrations, which treated Mr. Motley in a manner +unworthy of their position and cruel, if not fatal to him, have been +heard, directly or through their advocates. I have attempted to show that +the defence set up for their action is anything but satisfactory. A later +generation will sit in judgment upon the evidence more calmly than our +own. It is not for a friend, like the writer, to anticipate its decision, +but unless the reasons alleged to justify his treatment, and which have +so much the air of afterthoughts, shall seem stronger to that future +tribunal than they do to him, the verdict will be that Mr. Motley was +twice sacrificed to personal feelings which should never have been +cherished by the heads of the government, and should never have been +countenanced by their chief advisers. + + + + + + +JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY. + +A MEMOIR + +By Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. + + +Volume III. + + + + +XXII. + +1874. AEt. 60. +“LIFE OF JOHN OF BARNEVELD.”--CRITICISMS.--GROEN VAN PRINSTERER. + +The full title of Mr. Motley's next and last work is “The Life and Death +of John of Barneveld, Advocate of Holland; with a View of the Primary +Causes and Movements of the Thirty Years' War.” + +In point of fact this work is a history rather than a biography. It is an +interlude, a pause between the acts which were to fill out the complete +plan of the “Eighty Years' Tragedy,” and of which the last act, the +Thirty Years' War, remains unwritten. The “Life of Barneveld” was +received as a fitting and worthy continuation of the series of +intellectual labor in which he was engaged. I will quote but two general +expressions of approval from the two best known British critical reviews. +In connection with his previous works, it forms, says “The London +Quarterly,” “a fine and continuous story, of which the writer and the +nation celebrated by him have equal reason to be proud; a narrative which +will remain a prominent ornament of American genius, while it has +permanently enriched English literature on this as well as on the other +side of the Atlantic.” + +“The Edinburgh Review” speaks no less warmly: “We can hardly give too +much appreciation to that subtile alchemy of the brain which has enabled +him to produce out of dull, crabbed, and often illegible state papers, +the vivid, graphic, and sparkling narrative which he has given to the +world.” + +In a literary point of view, M. Groen van Prinsterer, whose elaborate +work has been already referred to, speaks of it as perhaps the most +classical of Motley's productions, but it is upon this work that the +force of his own and other Dutch criticisms has been chiefly expended. + +The key to this biographical history or historical biography may be found +in a few sentences from its opening chapter. + + “There have been few men at any period whose lives have been more + closely identical than his [Barneveld's] with a national history. + There have been few great men in any history whose names have become + less familiar to the world, and lived less in the mouths of + posterity. Yet there can be no doubt that if William the Silent was + the founder of the independence of the United Provinces, Barneveld + was the founder of the Commonwealth itself. . . . + + “Had that country of which he was so long the first citizen + maintained until our own day the same proportional position among + the empires of Christendom as it held in the seventeenth century, + the name of John of Barneveld would have perhaps been as familiar to + all men as it is at this moment to nearly every inhabitant of the + Netherlands. Even now political passion is almost as ready to flame + forth, either in ardent affection or enthusiastic hatred, as if two + centuries and a half had not elapsed since his death. His name is + so typical of a party, a polity, and a faith, so indelibly + associated with a great historical cataclysm, as to render it + difficult even for the grave, the conscientious, the learned, the + patriotic, of his own compatriots to speak of him with absolute + impartiality. + + “A foreigner who loves and admires all that is great and noble in + the history of that famous republic, and can have no hereditary bias + as to its ecclesiastical or political theories, may at least attempt + the task with comparative coldness, although conscious of inability + to do thorough justice to a most complex subject.” + +With all Mr. Motley's efforts to be impartial, to which even his sternest +critics bear witness, he could not help becoming a partisan of the cause +which for him was that of religious liberty and progress, as against the +accepted formula of an old ecclesiastical organization. For the quarrel +which came near being a civil war, which convulsed the state, and cost +Barneveld his head, had its origin in a difference on certain points, and +more especially on a single point, of religious doctrine. + +As a great river may be traced back until its fountainhead is found in a +thread of water streaming from a cleft in the rocks, so a great national +movement may sometimes be followed until its starting-point is found in +the cell of a monk or the studies of a pair of wrangling professors. + +The religious quarrel of the Dutchmen in the seventeenth century reminds +us in some points of the strife between two parties in our own New +England, sometimes arraying the “church” on one side against the +“parish,” or the general body of worshippers, on the other. The portraits +of Gomarus, the great orthodox champion, and Arminius, the head and front +of the “liberal theology” of his day, as given in the little old quarto +of Meursius, recall two ministerial types of countenance familiar to +those who remember the earlier years of our century. + +Under the name of “Remonstrants” and “Contra-Remonstrants,”--Arminians +and old-fashioned Calvinists, as we should say,--the adherents of the two +Leyden professors disputed the right to the possession of the churches, +and the claim to be considered as representing the national religion. Of +the seven United Provinces, two, Holland and Utrecht, were prevailingly +Arminian, and the other five Calvinistic. Barneveld, who, under the title +of Advocate, represented the province of Holland, the most important of +them all, claimed for each province a right to determine its own state +religion. Maurice the Stadholder, son of William the Silent, the military +chief of the republic, claimed the right for the States-General. 'Cujus +regio ejus religio' was then the accepted public doctrine of Protestant +nations. Thus the provincial and the general governments were brought +into conflict by their creeds, and the question whether the republic was +a confederation or a nation, the same question which has been practically +raised, and for the time at least settled, in our own republic, was in +some way to be decided. After various disturbances and acts of violence +by both parties, Maurice, representing the States-General, pronounced for +the Calvinists or Contra-Remonstrants, and took possession of one of the +great churches, as an assertion of his authority. Barneveld, representing +the Arminian or Remonstrant provinces, levied a body of mercenary +soldiers in several of the cities. These were disbanded by Maurice, and +afterwards by an act of the States-General. Barneveld was apprehended, +imprisoned, and executed, after an examination which was in no proper +sense a trial. Grotius, who was on the Arminian side and involved in the +inculpated proceedings, was also arrested and imprisoned. His escape, by +a stratagem successfully repeated by a slave in our own times, may +challenge comparison for its romantic interest with any chapter of +fiction. How his wife packed him into the chest supposed to contain the +folios of the great oriental scholar Erpenius, how the soldiers wondered +at its weight and questioned whether it did not hold an Arminian, how the +servant-maid, Elsje van Houwening, quick-witted as Morgiana of the “Forty +Thieves,” parried their questions and convoyed her master safely to the +friendly place of refuge,--all this must be read in the vivid narrative +of the author. + +The questions involved were political, local, personal, and above all +religious. Here is the picture which Motley draws of the religious +quarrel as it divided the people:-- + + “In burghers' mansions, peasants' cottages, mechanics' back-parlors; + on board herring-smacks, canal-boats, and East Indiamen; in shops, + counting-rooms, farm-yards, guard-rooms, alehouses; on the exchange, + in the tennis court, on the mall; at banquets, at burials, + christenings, or bridals; wherever and whenever human creatures met + each other, there was ever to be found the fierce wrangle of + Remonstrant and Contra-Remonstrant, the hissing of red-hot + theological rhetoric, the pelting of hostile texts. The + blacksmith's iron cooled on the anvil, the tinker dropped a kettle + half mended, the broker left a bargain unclinched, the Scheveningen + fisherman in his wooden shoes forgot the cracks in his pinkie, while + each paused to hold high converse with friend or foe on fate, free- + will, or absolute foreknowledge; losing himself in wandering mazes + whence there was no issue. Province against province, city against + city, family against family; it was one vast scene of bickering, + denunciation, heart-burnings, mutual excommunication and hatred.” + +The religious grounds of the quarrel which set these seventeenth-century +Dutchmen to cutting each other's throats were to be looked for in the +“Five Points” of the Arminians as arrayed against the “Seven Points” of +the Gomarites, or Contra-Remonstrants. The most important of the +differences which were to be settled by fratricide seem to have been +these:-- + +According to the Five Points, “God has from eternity resolved to choose +to eternal life those who through his grace believe in Jesus Christ,” + etc. According to the Seven Points, “God in his election has not looked +at the belief and the repentance of the elect,” etc. According to the +Five Points, all good deeds must be ascribed to God's grace in Christ, +but it does not work irresistibly. The language of the Seven Points +implies that the elect cannot resist God's eternal and unchangeable +design to give them faith and steadfastness, and that they can never +wholly and for always lose the true faith. The language of the Five +Points is unsettled as to the last proposition, but it was afterwards +maintained by the Remonstrant party that a true believer could, through +his own fault, fall away from God and lose faith. + +It must be remembered that these religious questions had an immediate +connection with politics. Independently of the conflict of jurisdiction, +in which they involved the parties to the two different creeds, it was +believed or pretended that the new doctrines of the Remonstrants led +towards Romanism, and were allied with designs which threatened the +independence of the country. “There are two factions in the land,” said +Maurice, “that of Orange and that of Spain, and the two chiefs of the +Spanish faction are those political and priestly Arminians, Uytenbogaert +and Oldenbarneveld.” + +The heads of the two religious and political parties were in such +hereditary, long-continued, and intimate relations up to the time when +one signed the other's death-warrant, that it was impossible to write the +life of one without also writing that of the other. For his biographer +John of Barneveld is the true patriot, the martyr, whose cause was that +of religious and political freedom. For him Maurice is the ambitious +soldier who hated his political rival, and never rested until this rival +was brought to the scaffold. + +The questions which agitated men's minds two centuries and a half ago are +not dead yet in the country where they produced such estrangement, +violence, and wrong. No stranger could take them up without encountering +hostile criticism from one party or the other. It may be and has been +conceded that Mr. Motley writes as a partisan,--a partisan of freedom in +politics and religion, as he understands freedom. This secures him the +antagonism of one class of critics. But these critics are themselves +partisans, and themselves open to the cross-fire of their antagonists. M. +Groen van Prinsterer, “the learned and distinguished” editor of the +“Archives et Correspondance” of the Orange and Nassau family, published a +considerable volume, before referred to, in which many of Motley's views +are strongly controverted. But he himself is far from being in accord +with “that eminent scholar,” M. Bakhuyzen van den Brink, whose name, he +says, is celebrated enough to need no comment, or with M. Fruin, of whose +impartiality and erudition he himself speaks in the strongest terms. The +ground upon which he is attacked is thus stated in his own words:-- + +“People have often pretended to find in my writings the deplorable +influence of an extreme Calvinism. The Puritans of the seventeenth +century are my fellow-religionists. I am a sectarian and not an +historian.” + +It is plain enough to any impartial reader that there are at least +plausible grounds for this accusation against Mr. Motley's critic. And on +a careful examination of the formidable volume, it becomes obvious that +Mr. Motley has presented a view of the events and the personages of the +stormy epoch with which he is dealing, which leaves a battle-ground yet +to be fought over by those who come after him. The dispute is not and +cannot be settled. + +The end of all religious discussion has come when one of the parties +claims that it is thinking or acting under immediate Divine guidance. “It +is God's affair, and his honor is touched,” says William Lewis to Prince +Maurice. Mr. Motley's critic is not less confident in claiming the +Almighty as on the side of his own views. Let him state his own ground of +departure:-- + + “To show the difference, let me rather say the contrast, between the + point of view of Mr. Motley and my own, between the Unitarian and + the Evangelical belief. I am issue of CALVIN, child of the + Awakening (reveil). Faithful to the device of the Reformers: + Justification by faith alone, and the Word of God endures eternally. + I consider history from the point of view of Merle d'Aubigne, + Chalmers, Guizot. I desire to be disciple and witness of our Lord + and Saviour, Jesus Christ.” + +He is therefore of necessity antagonistic to a writer whom he describes +in such words as these:-- + + “Mr. Motley is liberal and rationalist. + + “He becomes, in attacking the principle of the Reformation, the + passionate opponent of the Puritans and of Maurice, the ardent + apologist of Barnevelt and the Arminians. + + “It is understood, and he makes no mystery of it, that he inclines + towards the vague and undecided doctrine of the Unitarians.” + +What M. Groen's idea of Unitarians is may be gathered from the statement +about them which he gets from a letter of De Tocqueville. + + “They are pure deists; they talk about the Bible, because they do + not wish to shock too severely public opinion, which is prevailingly + Christian. They have a service on Sundays; I have been there. At + it they read verses from Dryden or other English poets on the + existence of God and the immortality of the soul. They deliver a + discourse on some point of morality, and all is said.” + +In point of fact the wave of protest which stormed the dikes of Dutch +orthodoxy in the seventeenth century stole gently through the bars of New +England Puritanism in the eighteenth. + +“Though the large number,” says Mr. Bancroft, “still acknowledged the +fixedness of the divine decrees, and the resistless certainty from all +eternity of election and of reprobation, there were not wanting, even +among the clergy, some who had modified the sternness of the ancient +doctrine by making the self-direction of the active powers of man with +freedom of inquiry and private judgment the central idea of a protest +against Calvinism.” + +Protestantism, cut loose from an infallible church, and drifting with +currents it cannot resist, wakes up once or oftener in every century, to +find itself in a new locality. Then it rubs its eyes and wonders whether +it has found its harbor or only lost its anchor. There is no end to its +disputes, for it has nothing but a fallible vote as authority for its +oracles, and these appeal only to fallible interpreters. + +It is as hard to contend in argument against “the oligarchy of heaven,” + as Motley calls the Calvinistic party, as it was formerly to strive with +them in arms. + +To this “aristocracy of God's elect” belonged the party which framed the +declaration of the Synod of Dort; the party which under the forms of +justice shed the blood of the great statesman who had served his country +so long and so well. To this chosen body belonged the late venerable and +truly excellent as well as learned M. Groen van Prinsterer, and he +exercised the usual right of examining in the light of his privileged +position the views of a “liberal” and “rationalist” writer who goes to +meeting on Sunday to hear verses from Dryden. This does not diminish his +claim for a fair reading of the “intimate correspondence,” which he +considers Mr. Motley has not duly taken into account, and of the other +letters to be found printed in his somewhat disjointed and fragmentary +volume. + +This “intimate correspondence” shows Maurice the Stadholder indifferent +and lax in internal administration and as being constantly advised and +urged by his relative Count William of Nassau. This need of constant +urging extends to religious as well as other matters, and is inconsistent +with M. Groen van Prinsterer's assertion that the question was for +Maurice above all religious, and for Barneveld above all political. +Whether its negative evidence can be considered as neutralizing that +which is adduced by Mr. Motley to show the Stadholder's hatred of the +Advocate may be left to the reader who has just risen from the account of +the mock trial and the swift execution of the great and venerable +statesman. The formal entry on the record upon the day of his “judicial +murder” is singularly solemn and impressive:-- + + “Monday, 13th May, 1619. To-day was executed with the sword here in + the Hague, on a scaffold thereto erected in the Binnenhof before the + steps of the great hall, Mr. John of Barneveld, in his life Knight, + Lord of Berkel, Rodenrys, etc., Advocate of Holland and West + Friesland, for reasons expressed in the sentence and otherwise, with + confiscation of his property, after he had served the state thirty- + three years two months and five days, since 8th March, 1586; a man + of great activity, business, memory, and wisdom,--yea, extraordinary + in every respect. He that stands let him see that he does not + fall.” + +Maurice gave an account of the execution of Barneveld to Count William +Lewis on the same day in a note “painfully brief and dry.” + +Most authors write their own biography consciously or unconsciously. We +have seen Mr. Motley portraying much of himself, his course of life and +his future, as he would have had it, in his first story. In this, his +last work, it is impossible not to read much of his own external and +internal personal history told under other names and with different +accessories. The parallelism often accidentally or intentionally passes +into divergence. He would not have had it too close if he could, but +there are various passages in which it is plain enough that he is telling +his own story. + +Mr. Motley was a diplomatist, and he writes of other diplomatists, and +one in particular, with most significant detail. It need not be supposed +that he intends the “arch intriguer” Aerssens to stand for himself, or +that he would have endured being thought to identify himself with the man +of whose “almost devilish acts” he speaks so freely. But the sagacious +reader--and he need not be very sharp-sighted--will very certainly see +something more than a mere historical significance in some of the +passages which I shall cite for him to reflect upon. Mr. Motley's +standard of an ambassador's accomplishments may be judged from the +following passage:-- + + “That those ministers [those of the Republic] were second to the + representatives of no other European state in capacity and + accomplishment was a fact well known to all who had dealings with + them, for the states required in their diplomatic representatives + knowledge of history and international law, modern languages, and + the classics, as well as familiarity with political customs and + social courtesies; the breeding of gentlemen, in short, and the + accomplishments of scholars.” + +The story of the troubles of Aerssens, the ambassador of the United +Provinces at Paris, must be given at some length, and will repay careful +reading. + + “Francis Aerssens . . . continued to be the Dutch ambassador + after the murder of Henry IV. . . . He was beyond doubt one of + the ablest diplomatists in Europe. Versed in many languages, a + classical student, familiar with history and international law, a + man of the world and familiar with its usages, accustomed to + associate with dignity and tact on friendliest terms with + sovereigns, eminent statesmen, and men of letters; endowed with a + facile tongue, a fluent pen, and an eye and ear of singular + acuteness and delicacy; distinguished for unflagging industry and + singular aptitude for secret and intricate affairs;--he had by the + exercise of these various qualities during a period of nearly twenty + years at the court of Henry the Great been able to render + inestimable services to the Republic which he represented. + + “He had enjoyed the intimacy and even the confidence of Henry IV., + so far as any man could be said to possess that monarch's + confidence, and his friendly relations and familiar access to the + king gave him political advantages superior to those of any of his + colleagues at the same court. + + “Acting entirely and faithfully according to the instructions of the + Advocate of Holland, he always gratefully and copiously acknowledged + the privilege of being guided and sustained in the difficult paths + he had to traverse by so powerful and active an intellect. I have + seldom alluded in terms to the instructions and dispatches of the + chief, but every position, negotiation, and opinion of the envoy + --and the reader has seen many of them is pervaded by their spirit. + + “It had become a question whether he was to remain at his post or + return. It was doubtful whether he wished to be relieved of his + embassy or not. The States of Holland voted 'to leave it to his + candid opinion if in his free conscience he thinks he can serve the + public any longer. If yes, he may keep his office one year more. + If no, he may take leave and come home.' + + “Surely the States, under the guidance of the Advocate, had thus + acted with consummate courtesy towards a diplomatist whose position, + from no apparent fault of his own, but by the force of + circumstances,--and rather to his credit than otherwise, + --was gravely compromised.” + +The Queen, Mary de' Medici, had a talk with him, got angry, “became very +red in the face,” and wanted to be rid of him. + + “Nor was the envoy at first desirous of remaining. . . . + Nevertheless, he yielded reluctantly to Barneveld's request that he + should, for the time at least, remain at his post. Later on, as the + intrigues against him began to unfold themselves, and his faithful + services were made use of at home to blacken his character and + procure his removal, he refused to resign, as to do so would be to + play into the hands of his enemies, and, by inference at least, to + accuse himself of infidelity to his trust. . . . + + “It is no wonder that the ambassador was galled to the quick by the + outrage which those concerned in the government were seeking to put + upon him. How could an honest man fail to be overwhelmed with rage + and anguish at being dishonored before the world by his masters for + scrupulously doing his duty, and for maintaining the rights and + dignity of his own country? He knew that the charges were but + pretexts, that the motives of his enemies were as base as the + intrigues themselves, but he also knew that the world usually sides + with the government against the individual, and that a man's + reputation is rarely strong enough to maintain itself unsullied in a + foreign land when his own government stretches forth its hand, not + to shield, but to stab him. . . . + + “'I know,' he said, that this plot has been woven partly here in + Holland and partly here by good correspondence in order to drive me + from my post. + + “'But as I have discovered this accurately, I have resolved to offer + to my masters the continuance of my very humble service for such + time and under such conditions as they may think good to prescribe. + I prefer forcing my natural and private inclinations to giving an + opportunity for the ministers of this kingdom to discredit us, and + to my enemies to succeed in injuring me, and by fraud and malice to + force me from my post. . . . I am truly sorry, being ready to + retire, wishing to have an honorable testimony in recompense of my + labors, that one is in such hurry to take advantage of my fall. . + . . What envoy will ever dare to speak with vigor if he is not + sustained by the government at home? . . . My enemies have + misrepresented my actions, and my language as passionate, + exaggerated, mischievous, but I have no passion except for the + service of my superiors.' + + “Barneveld, from well-considered motives of public policy, was + favoring his honorable recall. But he allowed a decorous interval + of more than three years to elapse in which to terminate his + affairs, and to take a deliberate departure from that French embassy + to which the Advocate had originally promoted him, and in which + there had been so many years of mutual benefit and confidence + between the two statesmen. He used no underhand means. He did not + abuse the power of the States-General which he wielded to cast him + suddenly and brutally from the distinguished post which he occupied, + and so to attempt to dishonor him before the world. Nothing could + be more respectful and conciliatory than the attitude of the + government from first to last towards this distinguished + functionary. The Republic respected itself too much to deal with + honorable agents whose services it felt obliged to dispense with as + with vulgar malefactors who had been detected in crime. . . . + + “This work aims at being a political study. I would attempt to + exemplify the influence of individual humors and passions--some of + them among the highest, and others certainly the basest that agitate + humanity--upon the march of great events, upon general historical + results at certain epochs, and upon the destiny of eminent + personages.” + +Here are two suggestive portraits:-- + + “The Advocate, while acting only in the name of a slender + confederacy, was in truth, so long as he held his place, the prime + minister of European Protestantism. There was none other to rival + him, few to comprehend him, fewer still to sustain him. As Prince + Maurice was at that time the great soldier of Protestantism, without + clearly scanning the grandeur of the field in which he was a chief + actor, or foreseeing the vastness of its future, so the Advocate was + its statesman and its prophet. Could the two have worked together + as harmoniously as they had done at an earlier day, it would have + been a blessing for the common weal of Europe. But, alas! the evil + genius of jealousy, which so often forbids cordial relations between + soldier and statesman, already stood shrouded in the distance, + darkly menacing the strenuous patriot, who was wearing his life out + in exertions for what he deemed the true cause of progress and + humanity. . . . + + “All history shows that the brilliant soldier of a republic is apt + to have the advantage, in a struggle for popular affection and + popular applause, over the statesman, however consummate. . . . + The great battles and sieges of the prince had been on a world's + theatre, had enchained the attention of Christendom, and on their + issue had frequently depended, or seemed to depend, the very + existence of the nation. The labors of the statesman, on the + contrary, had been comparatively secret. His noble orations and + arguments had been spoken with closed doors to assemblies of + colleagues, rather envoys than senators, . . while his vast labors + in directing both the internal administration and especially the + foreign affairs of the commonwealth had been by their very nature + as secret as they were perpetual and enormous.” + +The reader of the “Life of Barneveld” must judge for himself whether in +these and similar passages the historian was thinking solely of Maurice, +the great military leader, of Barneveld, the great statesman, and of +Aerssens, the recalled ambassador. He will certainly find that there were +“burning questions” for ministers to handle then as now, and recognize in +“that visible atmosphere of power the poison of which it is so difficult +to resist” a respiratory medium as well known to the nineteenth as to the +seventeenth century. + + + + +XXIII. + +1874-1877. AEt. 60-63. + +DEATH OF MRS. MOTLEY.--LAST VISIT TO AMERICA.--ILLNESS AND DEATH.-LADY +HARCOURT'S COMMUNICATION. + +On the last day of 1874, the beloved wife, whose health had for some +years been failing, was taken from him by death. She had been the pride +of his happier years, the stay and solace of those which had so tried his +sensitive spirit. The blow found him already weakened by mental suffering +and bodily infirmity, and he never recovered from it. Mr. Motley's last +visit to America was in the summer and autumn of 1875. During several +weeks which he passed at Nahant, a seaside resort near Boston, I saw him +almost daily. He walked feebly and with some little difficulty, and +complained of a feeling of great weight in the right arm, which made +writing laborious. His handwriting had not betrayed any very obvious +change, so far as I had noticed in his letters. His features and speech +were without any paralytic character. His mind was clear except when, as +on one or two occasions, he complained of some confused feeling, and +walked a few minutes in the open air to compose himself. His thoughts +were always tending to revert to the almost worshipped companion from +whom death had parted him a few months before. Yet he could often be led +away to other topics, and in talking of them could be betrayed into +momentary cheerfulness of manner. His long-enduring and all-pervading +grief was not more a tribute to the virtues and graces of her whom he +mourned than an evidence of the deeply affectionate nature which in other +relations endeared him to so many whose friendship was a title to love +and honor. + +I have now the privilege of once more recurring to the narrative of Mr. +Motley's daughter, Lady Harcourt. + + “The harassing work and mental distress of this time [after the + recall from England], acting on an acutely nervous organization, + began the process of undermining his constitution, of which we were + so soon to see the results. It was not the least courageous act of + his life, that, smarting under a fresh wound, tired and unhappy, he + set his face immediately towards the accomplishment of fresh + literary labor. After my sister's marriage in January he went to + the Hague to begin his researches in the archives for John of + Barneveld. The Queen of the Netherlands had made ready a house + for us, and personally superintended every preparation for his + reception. We remained there until the spring, and then removed to + a house more immediately in the town, a charming old-fashioned + mansion, once lived in by John de Witt, where he had a large library + and every domestic comfort during the year of his sojourn. The + incessant literary labor in an enervating climate with enfeebled + health may have prepared the way for the first break in his + constitution, which was to show itself soon after. There were many + compensations in the life about him. He enjoyed the privilege of + constant companionship with one of the warmest hearts and finest + intellects which I have ever known in a woman,--the 'ame d'elite' + which has passed beyond this earth. The gracious sentiment with + which the Queen sought to express her sense of what Holland owed him + would have been deeply felt even had her personal friendship been + less dear to us all. From the King, the society of the Hague, and + the diplomatic circle we had many marks of kindness. Once or twice + I made short journeys with him for change of air to Amsterdam, to + look for the portraits of John of Barneveld and his wife; to + Bohemia, where, with the lingering hope of occupying himself with + the Thirty Years' War, he looked carefully at the scene of + Wallenstein's death near Prague, and later to Varzin in Pomerania + for a week with Prince Bismarck, after the great events of the + Franco-German war. In the autumn of 1872 we moved to England, + partly because it was evident that his health and my mother's + required a change; partly for private reasons to be near my sister + and her children. The day after our arrival at Bournemouth occurred + the rupture of a vessel on the lungs, without any apparently + sufficient cause. He recovered enough to revise and complete his + manuscript, and we thought him better, when at the end of July, in + London, he was struck down by the first attack of the head, which + robbed him of all after power of work, although the intellect + remained untouched. Sir William Gull sent him to Cannes for the + winter, where he was seized with a violent internal inflammation, + in which I suppose there was again the indication of the lesion of + blood-vessels. I am nearing the shadow now,--the time of which I + can hardly bear to write. You know the terrible sorrow which + crushed him on the last day of 1874,--the grief which broke his + heart and from which he never rallied. From that day it seems to me + that his life may be summed up in the two words,--patient waiting. + Never for one hour did her spirit leave him, and he strove to follow + its leading for the short and evil days left and the hope of the + life beyond. I think I have never watched quietly and reverently + the traces of one personal character remaining so strongly impressed + on another nature. With herself--depreciation and unselfishness she + would have been the last to believe how much of him was in her very + existence; nor could we have realized it until the parting came. + Henceforward, with the mind still there, but with the machinery + necessary to set it in motion disturbed and shattered, he could but + try to create small occupations with which to fill the hours of a + life which was only valued for his children's sake. Kind and loving + friends in England and America soothed the passage, and our + gratitude for so many gracious acts is deep and true. His love for + children, always a strong feeling, was gratified by the constant + presence of my sister's babies, the eldest, a little girl who bore + my mother's name, and had been her idol, being the companion of many + hours and his best comforter. At the end the blow came swiftly and + suddenly, as he would have wished it. It was a terrible shock to us + who had vainly hoped to keep him a few years longer, but at least he + was spared what he had dreaded with a great dread, a gradual failure + of mental or bodily power. The mind was never clouded, the + affections never weakened, and after a few hours of unconscious + physical struggle he lay at rest, his face beautiful and calm, + without a trace of suffering or illness. Once or twice he said, 'It + has come, it has come,' and there were a few broken words before + consciousness fled, but there was little time for messages or leave- + taking. By a strange coincidence his life ended near the town of + Dorchester, in the mother country, as if the last hour brought with + it a reminiscence of his birthplace, and of his own dearly loved + mother. By his own wish only the dates of his birth and death + appear upon his gravestone, with the text chosen by himself, 'In God + is light, and in him is no darkness at all.'” + + + + +XXIV. + + + + +CONCLUSION.--HIS CHARACTER.--HIS LABORS.--HIS REWARD. + +In closing this restricted and imperfect record of a life which merits, +and in due time will, I trust, receive an ampler tribute, I cannot +refrain from adding a few thoughts which naturally suggest themselves, +and some of which may seem quite unnecessary to the reader who has +followed the story of the historian and diplomatist's brilliant and +eventful career. + +Mr. Motley came of a parentage which promised the gifts of mind and body +very generally to be accounted for, in a measure at least, wherever we +find them, by the blood of one or both of the parents. They gave him +special attractions and laid him open to not a few temptations. Too many +young men born to shine in social life, to sparkle, it may be, in +conversation, perhaps in the lighter walks of literature, become +agreeable idlers, self-indulgent, frivolous, incapable of large designs +or sustained effort, lose every aspiration and forget every ideal. Our +gilded youth want such examples as this of Motley, not a solitary, but a +conspicuous one, to teach them how much better is the restlessness of a +noble ambition than the narcotized stupor of club-life or the vapid +amusement of a dressed-up intercourse which too often requires a +questionable flavor of forbidden license to render it endurable to +persons of vivacious character and temperament. + +It would seem difficult for a man so flattered from his earliest days to +be modest in his self-estimate; but Motley was never satisfied with +himself. He was impulsive, and was occasionally, I have heard it said, +over excited, when his prejudices were roughly handled. In all that +related to the questions involved in our civil war, he was, no doubt, +very sensitive. He had heard so much that exasperated him in the foreign +society which he had expected to be in full sympathy with the cause of +liberty as against slavery, that he might be excused if he showed +impatience when he met with similar sentiments among his own countrymen. +He felt that he had been cruelly treated by his own government, and no +one who conceives himself to have been wronged and insulted must be +expected to reason in naked syllogisms on the propriety of the liberties +which have been taken with his name and standing. But with all his +quickness of feeling, his manners were easy and courteous, simply because +his nature was warm and kindly, and with all his natural fastidiousness +there was nothing of the coxcomb about him. + +He must have had enemies, as all men of striking individuality are sure +to have; his presence cast more uncouth patriots into the shade; his +learning was a reproach to the ignorant, his fame was too bright a +distinction; his high-bred air and refinement, which he could not help, +would hardly commend him to the average citizen in an order of things in +which mediocrity is at a premium, and the natural nobility of presence, +which rarely comes without family antecedents to account for it, is not +always agreeable to the many whose two ideals are the man on horseback +and the man in his shirt-sleeves. It may well be questioned whether +Washington, with his grand manner, would be nearly as popular with what +are called “the masses” as Lincoln, with his homely ways and broad +stories. The experiment of universal suffrage must render the waters of +political and social life more or less turbid even if they remain +innoxious. The Cloaca Maxima can hardly mingle its contents with the +stream of the Aqua Claudia, without taking something from its crystal +clearness. We need not go so far as one of our well-known politicians has +recently gone in saying that no great man can reach the highest position +in our government, but we can safely say that, apart from military fame, +the loftiest and purest and finest personal qualities are not those which +can be most depended upon at the ballot-box. Strange stories are told of +avowed opposition to Mr. Motley on the ground of the most trivial +differences in point of taste in personal matters,--so told that it is +hard to disbelieve them, and they show that the caprices which we might +have thought belonged exclusively to absolute rulers among their +mistresses or their minions may be felt in the councils of a great people +which calls itself self-governing. It is perfectly true that Mr. Motley +did not illustrate the popular type of politician. He was too +high-minded, too scholarly, too generously industrious, too polished, too +much at home in the highest European circles, too much courted for his +personal fascinations, too remote from the trading world of caucus +managers. To degrade him, so far as official capital punishment could do +it, was not merely to wrong one whom the nation should have delighted to +honor as showing it to the world in the fairest flower of its young +civilization, but it was an indignity to a representative of the highest +scholarship of native growth, which every student in the land felt as a +discouragement to all sound learning and noble ambition. + +If he was disappointed in his diplomatic career, he had enough, and more +than enough, to console him in his brilliant literary triumphs. He had +earned them all by the most faithful and patient labor. If he had not the +“frame of adamant” of the Swedish hero, he had his “soul of fire.” No +labors could tire him, no difficulties affright him. What most surprised +those who knew him as a young man was, not his ambition, not his +brilliancy, but his dogged, continuous capacity for work. We have seen +with what astonishment the old Dutch scholar, Groen van Prinsterer, +looked upon a man who had wrestled with authors like Bor and Van Meteren, +who had grappled with the mightiest folios and toiled undiscouraged among +half-illegible manuscript records. Having spared no pains in collecting +his materials, he told his story, as we all know, with flowing ease and +stirring vitality. His views may have been more or less partial; Philip +the Second may have deserved the pitying benevolence of poor Maximilian; +Maurice may have wept as sincerely over the errors of Arminius as any one +of “the crocodile crew that believe in election;” Barneveld and Grotius +may have been on the road to Rome; none of these things seem probable, +but if they were all proved true in opposition to his views, we should +still have the long roll of glowing tapestry he has woven for us, with +all its life-like portraits, its almost moving pageants, its sieges where +we can see the artillery flashing, its battle-fields with their smoke and +fire,--pictures which cannot fade, and which will preserve his name +interwoven with their own enduring colors. + +Republics are said to be ungrateful; it might be truer to say that they +are forgetful. They forgive those who have wronged them as easily as they +forget those who have done them good service. But History never forgets +and never forgives. To her decision we may trust the question, whether +the warm-hearted patriot who had stood up for his country nobly and +manfully in the hour of trial, the great scholar and writer who had +reflected honor upon her throughout the world of letters, the high-minded +public servant, whose shortcomings it taxed the ingenuity of experts to +make conspicuous enough to be presentable, was treated as such a citizen +should have been dealt with. His record is safe in her hands, and his +memory will be precious always in the hearts of all who enjoyed his +friendship. + + + + +APPENDIX. + +A. + +THE SATURDAY CLUB. + +This club, of which we were both members, and which is still flourishing, +came into existence in a very quiet sort of way at about the same time as +“The Atlantic Monthly,” and, although entirely unconnected with that +magazine, included as members some of its chief contributors. Of those +who might have been met at some of the monthly gatherings in its earlier +days I may mention Emerson, Hawthorne, Longfellow, Lowell, Motley, +Whipple, Whittier; Professors Agassiz and Peirce; John S. Dwight; +Governor Andrew, Richard H. Dana, Junior, Charles Sumner. It offered a +wide gamut of intelligences, and the meetings were noteworthy occasions. +If there was not a certain amount of “mutual admiration” among some of +those I have mentioned it was a great pity, and implied a defect in the +nature of men who were otherwise largely endowed. The vitality of this +club has depended in a great measure on its utter poverty in statutes and +by-laws, its entire absence of formality, and its blessed freedom from +speech-making. + +That holy man, Richard Baxter, says in his Preface to Alleine's +“Alarm:”-- + + “I have done, when I have sought to remove a little scandal, which I + foresaw, that I should myself write the Preface to his Life where + himself and two of his friends make such a mention of my name, which + I cannot own; which will seem a praising him for praising me. I + confess it looketh ill-favoredly in me. But I had not the power of + other men's writings, and durst not forbear that which was his due.” + +I do not know that I have any occasion for a similar apology in printing +the following lines read at a meeting of members of the Saturday Club and +other friends who came together to bid farewell to Motley before his +return to Europe in 1857. + + A PARTING HEALTH + + Yes, we knew we must lose him,--though friendship may claim + To blend her green leaves with the laurels of fame, + Though fondly, at parting, we call him our own, + 'T is the whisper of love when the bugle has blown. + + As the rider that rests with the spur on his heel, + As the guardsman that sleeps in his corselet of steel, + As the archer that stands with his shaft on the string, + He stoops from his toil to the garland we bring. + + What pictures yet slumber unborn in his loom + Till their warriors shall breathe and their beauties shall bloom, + While the tapestry lengthens the life-glowing dyes + That caught from our sunsets the stain of their skies! + + In the alcoves of death, in the charnels of time, + Where flit the dark spectres of passion and crime, + There are triumphs untold, there are martyrs unsung, + There are heroes yet silent to speak with his tongue! + + Let us hear the proud story that time has bequeathed + From lips that are warm with the freedom they breathed! + Let him summon its tyrants, and tell us their doom, + Though he sweep the black past like Van Tromp with his broom! + + The dream flashes by, for the west-winds awake + On pampas, on prairie, o'er mountain and lake, + To bathe the swift bark, like a sea-girdled shrine + With incense they stole from the rose and the pine. + + So fill a bright cup with the sunlight that gushed + When the dead summer's jewels were trampled and crushed; + THE TRUE KNIGHT OF LEARNING,--the world holds him dear,-- + + Love bless him, joy crown him, God speed his career! + + + +B. + +HABITS AND METHODS OF STUDY. + +Mr. Motley's daughter, Lady Harcourt, has favored me with many +interesting particulars which I could not have learned except from a +member of his own family. Her description of his way of living and of +working will be best given in her own words:-- + + “He generally rose early, the hour varying somewhat at different + parts of his life, according to his work and health. Sometimes when + much absorbed by literary labor he would rise before seven, often + lighting his own fire, and with a cup of tea or coffee writing until + the family breakfast hour, after which his work was immediately + resumed, and he usually sat over his writing-table until late in the + afternoon, when he would take a short walk. His dinner hour was + late, and he rarely worked at night. During the early years of his + literary studies he led a life of great retirement. Later, after + the publication of the 'Dutch Republic' and during the years of + official place, he was much in society in England, Austria, and + Holland. He enjoyed social life, and particularly dining out, + keenly, but was very moderate and simple in all his personal habits, + and for many years before his death had entirely given up smoking. + His work, when not in his own library, was in the Archives of the + Netherlands, Brussels, Paris, the English State Paper Office, and + the British Museum, where he made his own researches, patiently and + laboriously consulting original manuscripts and reading masses of + correspondence, from which he afterwards sometimes caused copies to + be made, and where he worked for many consecutive hours a day. + After his material had been thus painfully and toilfully amassed, + the writing of his own story was always done at home, and his mind, + having digested the necessary matter, always poured itself forth in + writing so copiously that his revision was chiefly devoted to + reducing the over-abundance. He never shrank from any of the + drudgery of preparation, but I think his own part of the work was + sheer pleasure to him.” + +I should have mentioned that his residence in London while minister was +at the house No. 17 Arlington Street, belonging to Lord Yarborough. + + + + +C. + +SIR WILLIAM GULL's ACCOUNT OF HIS ILLNESS. + +I have availed myself of the permission implied in the subjoined letter +of Sir William Gull to make large extracts from his account of Mr. +Motley's condition while under his medical care. In his earlier years he +had often complained to me of those “nervous feelings connected with the +respiration” referred to by this very distinguished physician. I do not +remember any other habitual trouble to which he was subject. + + 74 BROOK STREET, GROSVENOR SQUARE, W. + February 13, 1878. +MY DEAR SIR,--I send the notes of Mr. Motley's last illness, as I +promised. They are too technical for general readers, but you will make +such exception as you require. The medical details may interest your +professional friends. Mr. Motley's case was a striking illustration that +the renal disease of so-called Bright's disease may supervene as part and +parcel of a larger and antecedent change in the blood-vessels in other +parts than the kidney. . . . I am, my dear sir, + + Yours very truly, + WILLIAM W. GULL. + +To OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, ESQ. + + I first saw Mr. Motley, I believe, about the year 1870, on account + of some nervous feelings connected with the respiration. At that + time his general health was good, and all he complained of was + occasionally a feeling of oppression about the chest. There were no + physical signs of anything abnormal, and the symptoms quite passed + away in the course of time, and with the use of simple antispasmodic + remedies, such as camphor and the like. This was my first interview + with Mr. Motley, and I was naturally glad to have the opportunity of + making his acquaintance. I remember that in our conversation I + jokingly said that my wife could hardly forgive him for not making + her hero, Henri IV., a perfect character, and the earnestness with + which he replied 'au serieux,' I assure you I have fairly recorded + the facts. After this date I did not see Mr. Motley for some time. + He had three slight attacks of haemoptysis in the autumn of 1872, + but no physical signs of change in the lung tissue resulted. So + early as this I noticed that there were signs of commencing + thickening in the heart, as shown by the degree and extent of its + impulse. The condition of his health, though at that time not very + obviously failing, a good deal arrested my attention, as I thought I + could perceive in the occurrence of the haemoptysis, and in the + cardiac hypertrophy, the early beginnings of vascular degeneration. + + In August, 1873, occurred the remarkable seizure, from the effects + of which Mr. Motley never recovered. I did not see him in the + attack, but was informed, as far as I can remember, that he was on a + casual visit at a friend's house at luncheon (or it might have been + dinner), when he suddenly became strangely excited, but not quite + unconscious. . . . I believed at the time, and do so still, that + there was some capillary apoplexy of the convolutions. The attack + was attended with some hemiplegic weakness on the right side, and + altered sensation, and ever after there was a want of freedom and + ease both in the gait and in the use of the arm of that side. To my + inquiries from time to time how the arm was, the patient would + always flex and extend it freely, but nearly always used the + expression, “There is a bedevilment in it;” though the handwriting + was not much, if at all, altered. + + In December, 1873, Mr. Motley went by my advice to Cannes. I wrote + the following letter at the time to my friend Dr. Frank, who was + practising there:-- + + [This letter, every word of which was of value to the + practitioner who was to have charge of the patient, relates + many of the facts given above, and I shall therefore only give + extracts from it.] + + December 29, 1873. + + MY DEAR DR. FRANK,--My friend Mr. Motley, the historian and late + American Minister, whose name and fame no doubt you know very well, + has by my advice come to Cannes for the winter and spring, and I + have promised him to give you some account of his case. To me it is + one of special interest, and personally, as respects the subject of + it, of painful interest. I have known Mr. Motley for some time, but + he consulted me for the present condition about midsummer. + + . . . If I have formed a correct opinion of the pathology of the + case, I believe the smaller vessels are degenerating in several + parts of the vascular area, lung, brain, and kidneys. With this + view I have suggested a change of climate, a nourishing diet, etc.; + and it is to be hoped, and I trust expected, that by great attention + to the conditions of hygiene, internal and external, the progress of + degeneration may be retarded. I have no doubt you will find, as + time goes on, increasing evidence of renal change, but this is + rather a coincidence and consequence than a cause, though no doubt + when the renal change has reached a certain point, it becomes in its + own way a factor of other lesions. I have troubled you at this + length because my mind is much occupied with the pathology of these + cases, and because no case can, on personal grounds, more strongly + challenge our attention. + + Yours very truly, + WILLIAM W. GULL. + + During the spring of 1874, whilst at Cannes, Mr. Motley had a sharp + attack of nephritis, attended with fever; but on returning to + England in July there was no important change in the health. The + weakness of the side continued, and the inability to undertake any + mental work. The signs of cardiac hypertrophy were more distinct. + In the beginning of the year 1875 I wrote as follows:-- + + February 20, 1875. + + MY DEAR Mr. MOTLEY,--. . . The examination I have just made + appears to indicate that the main conditions of your health are more + stable than they were some months ago, and would therefore be so far + in favor of your going to America in the summer, as we talked of. + The ground of my doubt has lain in the possibility of such a trip + further disordering the circulation. Of this, I hope, there is now + less risk. + + On the 4th of June, 1875, I received the following letter:-- + + CALVERLY PARK HOTEL, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, + June 4, 1875. + + MY DEAR SIR WILLIAM,--I have been absent from town for a long time, + but am to be there on the 9th and 10th. Could I make an appointment + with you for either of those days? I am anxious to have a full + consultation with you before leaving for America. Our departure is + fixed for the 19th of this month. I have not been worse than usual + of late. I think myself, on the contrary, rather stronger, and it + is almost impossible for me not to make my visit to America this + summer, unless you should absolutely prohibit it. If neither of + those days should suit you, could you kindly suggest another day? + I hope, however, you can spare me half an hour on one of those days, + as I like to get as much of this bracing air as I can. Will you + kindly name the hour when I may call on you, and address me at this + hotel. Excuse this slovenly note in pencil, but it fatigues my head + and arm much more to sit at a writing-table with pen and ink. + + Always most sincerely yours, + My dear Sir William, + J. L. MOTLEY. + + On Mr. Motley's return from America I saw him, and found him, I + thought, rather better in general health than when he left England. + + In December, 1875, Mr. Motley consulted me for trouble of vision in + reading or walking, from sensations like those produced by flakes of + falling snow coming between him and the objects he was looking at. + Mr. Bowman, one of our most excellent oculists, was then consulted. + Mr. Bowman wrote to me as follows: “Such symptoms as exist point + rather to disturbed retinal function than to any brain-mischief. It + is, however, quite likely that what you fear for the brain may have + had its counterpart in the nerve-structures of the eye, and as he is + short-sighted, this tendency may be further intensified.” + + Mr. Bowman suggested no more than such an arrangement of glasses as + might put the eyes, when in use, under better optic conditions. + + The year 1876 was passed over without any special change worth + notice. The walking powers were much impeded by the want of control + over the right leg. The mind was entirely clear, though Mr. Motley + did not feel equal, and indeed had been advised not to apply + himself, to any literary work. Occasional conversations, when I had + interviews with him on the subject of his health, proved that the + attack which had weakened the movements of the right side had not + impaired the mental power. The most noticeable change which had + come over Mr. Motley since I first knew him was due to the death of + Mrs. Motley in December, 1874. It had in fact not only profoundly + depressed him, but, if I may so express it, had removed the centre + of his thought to a new world. In long conversations with me of a + speculative kind, after that painful event, it was plain how much + his point of view of the whole course and relation of things had + changed. His mind was the last to dogmatize on any subject. There + was a candid and childlike desire to know, with an equal confession + of the incapacity of the human intellect. I wish I could recall the + actual expressions he used, but the sense was that which has been so + well stated by Hooker in concluding an exhortation against the pride + of the human intellect, where he remarks:-- + + “Dangerous it were for the feeble brain of man to wade far into the + doings of the Most High; whom although to know be life, and joy to + make mention of His Name, yet our soundest knowledge is to know that + we know Him, not indeed as He is, neither can know Him; and our + safest eloquence concerning Him is our silence, when we confess + without confession that His glory is inexplicable, His greatness + above our capacity and reach. He is above and we upon earth; + therefore it behoveth our words to be wary and few.” + + Mrs. Motley's illness was not a long one, and the nature of it was + such that its course could with certainty be predicted. Mr. Motley + and her children passed the remaining days of her life, extending + over about a month, with her, in the mutual under standing that she + was soon to part from them. The character of the illness, and the + natural exhaustion of her strength by suffering, lessened the shock + of her death, though not the loss, to those who survived her. + + The last time I saw Mr. Motley was, I believe, about two months + before his death, March 28, 1877. There was no great change in his + health, but he complained of indescribable sensations in his nervous + system, and felt as if losing the whole power of walking, but this + was not obvious in his gait, although he walked shorter distances + than before. I heard no more of him until I was suddenly summoned + on the 29th of May into Devonshire to see him. The telegram I + received was so urgent, that I suspected some rupture of a blood- + vessel in the brain, and that I should hardly reach him alive; and + this was the case. About two o'clock in the day he complained of a + feeling of faintness, said he felt ill and should not recover; and + in a few minutes was insensible with symptoms of ingravescent + apoplexy. There was extensive haemorrhage into the brain, as shown + by post-mortem examination, the cerebral vessels being atheromatous. + The fatal haemorrhage had occurred into the lateral ventricles, from + rupture of one of the middle cerebral arteries. + + I am, my dear Sir, + Yours very truly, + WILLIAM W. GULL. + + +E. + +FROM THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY. + +At a meeting of the Massachusetts Historical Society, held on Thursday, +the 14th of June, 1877, after the reading of the records of the preceding +meeting, the president, the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, spoke as follows: + + “Our first thoughts to-day, gentlemen, are of those whom we may not + again welcome to these halls. We shall be in no mood, certainly, + for entering on other subjects this morning until we have given some + expression to our deep sense of the loss--the double loss--which our + Society has sustained since our last monthly meeting.”--[Edmund + Quincy died May 17. John Lothrop Motley died May 29.] + +After a most interesting and cordial tribute to his friend, Mr. Quincy, +Mr. Winthrop continued: + + “The death of our distinguished associate, Motley, can hardly have + taken many of us by surprise. Sudden at the moment of its + occurrence, we had long been more or less prepared for it by his + failing health. It must, indeed, have been quite too evident to + those who had seen him, during the last two or three years, that his + life-work was finished. I think he so regarded it himself. + + “Hopes may have been occasionally revived in the hearts of his + friends, and even in his own heart, that his long-cherished purpose + of completing a History of the Thirty Years' War, as the grand + consummation of his historical labors,--for which all his other + volumes seemed to him to have been but the preludes and overtures, + --might still be accomplished. But such hopes, faint and flickering + from his first attack, had well-nigh died away. They were like + Prescott's hopes of completing his 'Philip the Second,' or like + Macaulay's hopes of finishing his brilliant 'History of England.' + + “But great as may be the loss to literature of such a crowning work + from Motley's pen, it was by no means necessary to the completeness + of his own fame. His 'Rise of the Dutch Republic,' his 'History of + the United Netherlands,' and his 'Life of John of Barneveld,' had + abundantly established his reputation, and given him a fixed place + among the most eminent historians of our country and of our age. + + “No American writer, certainly, has secured a wider recognition or a + higher appreciation from the scholars of the Old World. The + universities of England and the learned societies of Europe have + bestowed upon him their largest honors. It happened to me to be in + Paris when he was first chosen a corresponding member of the + Institute, and when his claims were canvassed with the freedom and + earnestness which peculiarly characterize such a candidacy in + France. There was no mistaking the profound impression which his + first work had made on the minds of such men as Guizot and Mignet. + Within a year or two past, a still higher honor has been awarded him + from the same source. The journals not long ago announced his + election as one of the six foreign associates of the French Academy + of Moral and Political Sciences,--a distinction which Prescott would + probably have attained had he lived a few years longer, until there + was a vacancy, but which, as a matter of fact, I believe, Motley was + the only American writer, except the late Edward Livingston, of + Louisiana, who has actually enjoyed. + + “Residing much abroad, for the purpose of pursuing his historical + researches, he had become the associate and friend of the most + eminent literary men in almost all parts of the world, and the + singular charms of his conversation and manners had made him a + favorite guest in the most refined and exalted circles. + + “Of his relations to political and public life, this is hardly the + occasion or the moment for speaking in detail. Misconstructions and + injustices are the proverbial lot of those who occupy eminent + position. It was a duke of Vienna, if I remember rightly, whom + Shakespeare, in his 'Measure for Measure,' introduces as + exclaiming,-- + + 'O place and greatness, millions of false eyes + Are stuck upon thee! Volumes of report + Run with these false and most contrarious quests + Upon thy doings! Thousand 'stapes of wit + Make thee the father of their idle dream, + And rack thee in their fancies!' + + “I forbear from all application of the lines. It is enough for me, + certainly, to say here, to-day, that our country was proud to be + represented at the courts of Vienna and London successively by a + gentleman of so much culture and accomplishment as Mr. Motley, and + that the circumstances of his recall were deeply regretted by us + all. + + “His fame, however, was quite beyond the reach of any such + accidents, and could neither be enhanced nor impaired by + appointments or removals. As a powerful and brilliant historian we + pay him our unanimous tribute of admiration and regret, and give him + a place in our memories by the side of Prescott and Irving. I do + not forget how many of us lament him, also, as a cherished friend. + + “He died on the 29th ultimo, at the house of his daughter, Mrs. + Sheridan, in Dorsetshire, England, and an impressive tribute to his + memory was paid, in Westminster Abbey, on the following Sunday, by + our Honorary Member, Dean Stanley. Such a tribute, from such lips, + and with such surroundings, leaves nothing to be desired in the way + of eulogy. He was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, by the side of + his beloved wife. + + “One might well say of Motley precisely what he said of Prescott, in + a letter from Rome to our associate, Mr. William Amory, immediately + on hearing of Prescott's death: 'I feel inexpressibly disappointed + --speaking now for an instant purely from a literary point of view + --that the noble and crowning monument of his life, for which he had + laid such massive foundations, and the structure of which had been + carried forward in such a grand and masterly manner, must remain + uncompleted, like the unfinished peristyle of some stately and + beautiful temple on which the night of time has suddenly descended. + But, still, the works which his great and untiring hand had already + thoroughly finished will remain to attest his learning and genius, + --a precious and perpetual possession for his country.” + + ................................. + +The President now called on Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, who said:-- + + “The thoughts which suggest themselves upon this occasion are such + as belong to the personal memories of the dear friends whom we have + lost, rather than to their literary labors, the just tribute to + which must wait for a calmer hour than the present, following so + closely as it does on our bereavement.” + + ................................. + + “His first literary venture of any note was the story called + 'Morton's Hope; or, The Memoirs of a Provincial.' This first effort + failed to satisfy the critics, the public, or himself. His + personality pervaded the characters and times which he portrayed, + so that there was a discord between the actor and his costume. + Brilliant passages could not save it; and it was plain enough that + he must ripen into something better before the world would give him + the reception which surely awaited him if he should find his true + destination. + + “The early failures of a great writer are like the first sketches + of a great artist, and well reward patient study. More than this, + the first efforts of poets and story-tellers are very commonly + palimpsests: beneath the rhymes or the fiction one can almost always + spell out the characters which betray the writer's self. Take these + passages from the story just referred to: + + “'Ah! flattery is a sweet and intoxicating potion, whether we drink + it from an earthen ewer or a golden chalice. . . . Flattery from + man to woman is expected: it is a part of the courtesy of society; + but when the divinity descends from the altar to burn incense to the + priest, what wonder if the idolater should feel himself transformed + into a god!' + + “He had run the risk of being spoiled, but he had a safeguard in his + aspirations. + + “'My ambitious anticipations,' says Morton, in the story, were as + boundless as they were various and conflicting. There was not a + path which leads to glory in which I was not destined to gather + laurels. As a warrior, I would conquer and overrun the world; as a + statesman, I would reorganize and govern it; as a historian, I would + consign it all to immortality; and, in my leisure moments, I would + be a great poet and a man of the world.' + + “Who can doubt that in this passage of his story he is picturing his + own visions, one of the fairest of which was destined to become + reality? + + “But there was another element in his character, which those who + knew him best recognized as one with which he had to struggle hard, + --that is, a modesty which sometimes tended to collapse into self- + distrust. This, too, betrays itself in the sentences which follow + those just quoted:-- + + “'In short,' says Morton, 'I was already enrolled in that large + category of what are called young men of genius, . . . men of + whom unheard-of things are expected; till after long preparation + comes a portentous failure, and then they are forgotten. . . . + Alas! for the golden imaginations of our youth. . . . They are + all disappointments. They are bright and beautiful, but they fade.'” + + ........................... + +The President appointed Professor Lowell to write the Memoir of Mr. +Quincy, and Dr. Holmes that of Mr. Motley, for the Society's +“Proceedings.” + +Professor William Everett then spoke as follows: + + “There is one incident, sir, in Mr. Motley's career that has not + been mentioned to-day, which is, perhaps, most vividly remembered by + those of us who were in Europe at the outbreak of our civil war in + 1861. At that time, the ignorance of Englishmen, friendly or + otherwise, about America, was infinite: they knew very little of us, + and that little wrong. Americans were overwhelmed with questions, + taunts, threats, misrepresentations, the outgrowth of ignorance, and + ignoring worse than ignorance, from every class of Englishmen. + Never was an authoritative exposition of our hopes and policy worse + needed; and there was no one to do it. The outgoing diplomatic + agents represented a bygone order of things; the representatives of + Mr. Lincoln's administration had not come. At that time of anxiety, + Mr. Motley, living in England as a private person, came forward with + two letters in the 'Times,' which set forth the cause of the United + States once and for all. No unofficial, and few official, men could + have spoken with such authority, and been so certain of obtaining a + hearing from Englishmen. Thereafter, amid all the clouds of + falsehood and ridicule which we had to encounter, there was one + lighthouse fixed on a rock to which we could go for foothold, from + which we could not be driven, and against which all assaults were + impotent. + + “There can be no question that the effect produced by these letters + helped, if help had been needed, to point out Mr. Motley as a + candidate for high diplomatic place who could not be overlooked. + Their value was recognized alike by his fellow-citizens in America + and his admirers in England; but none valued them more than the + little band of exiles, who were struggling against terrible odds, + and who rejoiced with a great joy to see the stars and stripes, + whose centennial anniversary those guns are now celebrating, planted + by a hand so truly worthy to rally every American to its support.” + + + +G. + +POEM BY WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. + +I cannot close this Memoir more appropriately than by appending the +following poetical tribute:-- + + IN MEMORY OF JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY. + + BY WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. + + Sleep, Motley, with the great of ancient days, + Who wrote for all the years that yet shall be. + Sleep with Herodotus, whose name and praise + Have reached the isles of earth's remotest sea. + Sleep, while, defiant of the slow delays + Of Time, thy glorious writings speak for thee + And in the answering heart of millions raise + The generous zeal for Right and Liberty. + And should the days o'ertake us, when, at last, + The silence that--ere yet a human pen + Had traced the slenderest record of the past + Hushed the primeval languages of men + Upon our English tongue its spell shall cast, + Thy memory shall perish only then. + + + + +PG EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS: + + A great historian is almost a statesman + Admired or despised, as if he or she were our contemporary + Alas! one never knows when one becomes a bore + All classes are conservative by necessity + Already looking forward to the revolt of the slave States + American Unholy Inquisition + An order of things in which mediocrity is at a premium + Attacked by the poetic mania + Becoming more learned, and therefore more ignorant + best defence in this case is little better than an impeachment + Better is the restlessness of a noble ambition + Blessed freedom from speech-making + But not thoughtlessly indulgent to the boy + But after all this isn't a war It is a revolution + Can never be repaired and never sufficiently regretted + Cold water of conventional and commonplace encouragement + Considerations of state have never yet failed the axe + Considerations of state as a reason + Could paint a character with the ruddy life-blood coloring + Emulation is not capability + Everything else may happen This alone must happen + Excused by their admirers for their shortcomings + Excuses to disarm the criticism he had some reason to fear + Fear of the laugh of the world at its sincerity + Fitted “To warn, to comfort, and command” + Flattery is a sweet and intoxicating potion + Forget those who have done them good service + Fortune's buffets and rewards can take with equal thanks + He was not always careful in the construction of his sentences + His learning was a reproach to the ignorant + His dogged, continuous capacity for work + History never forgets and never forgives + How many more injured by becoming bad copies of a bad ideal + Ignoble facts which strew the highways of political life + In revolutions the men who win are those who are in earnest + Indoor home life imprisons them in the domestic circle + Intellectual dandyisms of Bulwer + Irresistible force in collision with an insuperable resistance + It is n't strategists that are wanted so much as believers + John Quincy Adams + Kindly shadow of oblivion + Manner in which an insult shall be dealt with + Mediocrity is at a premium + Misanthropical, sceptical philosopher + Most entirely truthful child whe had ever seen + Motley was twice sacrificed to personal feelings + Nearsighted liberalism + No great man can reach the highest position in our government + No two books, as he said, ever injured each other + No man is safe (from news reporters) + Not a single acquaintance in the place, and we glory in the fact + Only foundation fit for history,--original contemporary document + Our mortal life is but a string of guesses at the future + Over excited, when his prejudices were roughly handled + Plain enough that he is telling his own story + Played so long with other men's characters and good name + Progress should be by a spiral movement + Public which must have a slain reputation to devour + Radical, one who would uproot, is a man whose trade is dangerous + Reasonable to pay our debts rather than to repudiate them + Recall of a foreign minister for alleged misconduct in office + Republics are said to be ungrateful + Sees the past in the pitiless light of the present + Self-educated man, as he had been a self-taught boy + Shall Slavery die, or the great Republic? + Solitary and morose, the necessary consequence of reckless study + Spirit of a man who wishes to be proud of his country + Studied according to his inclinations rather than by rule + Style above all other qualities seems to embalm for posterity + Suicide is confession + Talked impatiently of the value of my time + The fellow mixes blood with his colors! + The loss of hair, which brings on premature decay + The personal gifts which are nature's passport everywhere + The nation is as much bound to be honest as is the individual + The dead men of the place are my intimate friends + They knew very little of us, and that little wrong + This Somebody may have been one whom we should call Nobody + Twenty assaults upon fame and had forty books killed under him + Unequivocal policy of slave emancipation + Vain belief that they were men at eighteen or twenty + Visible atmosphere of power the poison of which + Weight of a thousand years of error + Wonders whether it has found its harbor or only lost its anchor + Wringing a dry cloth for drops of evidence + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Memoir of John Lothrop Motley, Complete +by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIR OF JOHN LOTHROP *** + +***** This file should be named 4728-0.txt or 4728-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/4/7/2/4728/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/4728-0.zip b/4728-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..43d7014 --- /dev/null +++ b/4728-0.zip diff --git a/4728-h.zip b/4728-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..986d2bc --- /dev/null +++ b/4728-h.zip diff --git a/4728-h/4728-h.htm b/4728-h/4728-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..54e21be --- /dev/null +++ b/4728-h/4728-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6503 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + John Lothrop Motley., by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd7; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Memoir of John Lothrop Motley, Complete +by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. + +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: Memoir of John Lothrop Motley, Complete + +Author: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. + +Release Date: August 16, 2006 [EBook #4728] +Last Updated: February 18, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIR OF JOHN LOTHROP *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + A MEMOIR, Complete + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> NOTE. + </p> + <p> + The Memoir here given to the public is based on a biographical sketch + prepared by the writer at the request of the Massachusetts Historical + Society for its Proceedings. The questions involving controversies into + which the Society could not feel called to enter are treated at + considerable length in the following pages. Many details are also given + which would have carried the paper written for the Society beyond the + customary limits of such tributes to the memory of its deceased members. + It is still but an outline which may serve a present need and perhaps be + of some assistance to a future biographer. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /><br /><a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <b>Volume I.</b> </a> + <br /><br /><a href="#link2H_4_0002"> I. </a>1814-1827. To AEt. 13. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0003"> II. </a>1827-1831. AEt. 13-17. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0004"> III. </a>1832-1833. AEt. 18-19. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0005"> IV. </a>1834-1839. 2Et. 20-25. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0006"> V. </a>1841-1842. AEt. 27-28. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0007"> VI. </a>1844. AEt. 30. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0008"> VII. </a>1845-1847. AEt. 31-33. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0009"> VIII. </a>1847-1849. AEt. 33-35. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0010"> IX. </a>1850. AEt. 36. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0011"> X. </a>1851-1856. AEt. 37-42. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0012"> XI. </a>1856-1857. AEt. 42-43. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0013"> XII. </a>1856-1857. AEt. 42-43. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0014"> XIII. </a>1858-1860. AEt. 44-46. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0015"> XIV. </a>1859. AEt. 45. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0016"> XV. </a>1860. At. 46. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0017"> <b>Volume II.</b> </a> <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0018"> XVI. </a>1860-1866. AEt. 46-52. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0019"> XVII. </a>1861-1863. AEt. 47-49. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0020"> XVIII. </a>1866-1867. AEt. 52-43. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0021"> XIX. </a>1867-1868. AEt. 53-54. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0022"> XX. </a>1868-1869. AEt. 54-55. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0023"> XXI. </a>1869-1870. AEt. 55-56. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0024"> <b>Volume III.</b> </a> <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0025"> XXII. </a>1874. AEt. 60. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_4_0026"> XXIII. </a>1874-1877. AEt. 60-63. + <br /><br /><a href="#link2H_4_0027"> XXIV. </a>CONCLUSION. <br /><br /><a + href="#link2H_APPE"> APPENDIX. </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Volume I. + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + I. 1814-1827. To AEt. 13. + </h2> + <h3> + BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS. + </h3> + <p> + John Motley, the great-grandfather of the subject of this Memoir, came in + the earlier part of the last century from Belfast in Ireland to Falmouth, + now Portland, in the District, now the State of Maine. He was twice + married, and had ten children, four of the first marriage and six of the + last. Thomas, the youngest son by his first wife, married Emma, a daughter + of John Wait, the first Sheriff of Cumberland County under the government + of the United States. Two of their seven sons, Thomas and Edward, removed + from Portland to Boston in 1802 and established themselves as partners in + commercial business, continuing united and prosperous for nearly half a + century before the firm was dissolved. + </p> + <p> + The earlier records of New England have preserved the memory of an + incident which deserves mention as showing how the historian's life was + saved by a quickwitted handmaid, more than a hundred years before he was + born. On the 29th of August, 1708, the French and Indians from Canada made + an attack upon the town of Haverhill, in Massachusetts. Thirty or forty + persons were slaughtered, and many others were carried captive into + Canada. + </p> + <p> + The minister of the town, Rev. Benjamin Rolfe, was killed by a bullet + through the door of his house. Two of his daughters, Mary, aged thirteen, + and Elizabeth, aged nine, were sleeping in a room with the maid-servant, + Hagar. When Hagar heard the whoop of the savages she seized the children, + ran with them into the cellar, and, after concealing them under two large + washtubs, hid herself. The Indians ransacked the cellar, but missed the + prey. Elizabeth, the younger of the two girls, grew up and married the + Rev. Samuel Checkley, first minister of the “New South” Church, Boston. + Her son, Rev. Samuel Checkley, Junior, was minister of the Second Church, + and his successor, Rev. John Lothrop, or Lathrop, as it was more commonly + spelled, married his daughter. Dr. Lothrop was great-grandson of Rev. John + Lothrop, of Scituate, who had been imprisoned in England for + nonconformity. The Checkleys were from Preston Capes, in Northamptonshire. + The name is probably identical with that of the Chicheles or Chichleys, a + well-known Northamptonshire family. + </p> + <p> + Thomas Motley married Anna, daughter of the Rev. John Lothrop, + granddaughter of the Rev. Samuel Checkley, Junior, the two ministers + mentioned above, both honored in their day and generation. Eight children + were born of this marriage, of whom four are still living. + </p> + <p> + JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, the second of these children, was born in Dorchester, + now a part of Boston, Massachusetts, on the 15th of April, 1814. A member + of his family gives a most pleasing and interesting picture, from his own + recollections and from what his mother told him, of the childhood which + was to develop into such rich maturity. The boy was rather delicate in + organization, and not much given to outdoor amusements, except skating and + swimming, of which last exercise he was very fond in his young days, and + in which he excelled. He was a great reader, never idle, but always had a + book in his hand,—a volume of poetry or one of the novels of Scott + or Cooper. His fondness for plays and declamation is illustrated by the + story told by a younger brother, who remembers being wrapped up in a shawl + and kept quiet by sweetmeats, while he figured as the dead Caesar, and his + brother, the future historian, delivered the speech of Antony over his + prostrate body. He was of a most sensitive nature, easily excited, but not + tenacious of any irritated feelings, with a quick sense of honor, and the + most entirely truthful child, his mother used to say, that she had ever + seen. Such are some of the recollections of those who knew him in his + earliest years and in the most intimate relations. + </p> + <p> + His father's family was at this time living in the house No. 7 Walnut + Street, looking down Chestnut Street over the water to the western hills. + Near by, at the corner of Beacon Street, was the residence of the family + of the first mayor of Boston, and at a little distance from the opposite + corner was the house of one of the fathers of New England manufacturing + enterprise, a man of superior intellect, who built up a great name and + fortune in our city. The children from these three homes naturally became + playmates. Mr. Motley's house was a very hospitable one, and Lothrop and + two of his young companions were allowed to carry out their schemes of + amusement in the garden and the garret. If one with a prescient glance + could have looked into that garret on some Saturday afternoon while our + century was not far advanced in its second score of years, he might have + found three boys in cloaks and doublets and plumed hats, heroes and + bandits, enacting more or less impromptu melodramas. In one of the boys he + would have seen the embryo dramatist of a nation's life history, John + Lothrop Motley; in the second, a famous talker and wit who has spilled + more good things on the wasteful air in conversation than would carry a + “diner-out” through half a dozen London seasons, and waked up somewhat + after the usual flowering-time of authorship to find himself a very + agreeable and cordially welcomed writer,—Thomas Gold Appleton. In + the third he would have recognized a champion of liberty known wherever + that word is spoken, an orator whom to hear is to revive all the + traditions of the grace, the address, the commanding sway of the + silver-tongued eloquence of the most renowned speakers,—Wendell + Phillips. + </p> + <p> + Both of young Motley's playmates have furnished me with recollections of + him and of those around him at this period of his life, and I cannot do + better than borrow freely from their communications. His father was a man + of decided character, social, vivacious, witty, a lover of books, and + himself not unknown as a writer, being the author of one or more of the + well remembered “Jack Downing” letters. He was fond of having the boys + read to him from such authors as Channing and Irving, and criticised their + way of reading with discriminating judgment and taste. Mrs. Motley was a + woman who could not be looked upon without admiration. I remember well the + sweet dignity of her aspect, her “regal beauty,” as Mr. Phillips truly + styles it, and the charm of her serene and noble presence, which made her + the type of a perfect motherhood. Her character corresponded to the + promise of her gracious aspect. She was one of the fondest of mothers, but + not thoughtlessly indulgent to the boy from whom she hoped and expected + more than she thought it wise to let him know. The story used to be + current that in their younger days this father and mother were the + handsomest pair the town of Boston could show. This son of theirs was + “rather tall,” says Mr. Phillips, “lithe, very graceful in movement and + gesture, and there was something marked and admirable in the set of his + head on his shoulders,”—a peculiar elegance which was most + noticeable in those later days when I knew him. Lady Byron long afterwards + spoke of him as more like her husband in appearance than any other person + she had met; but Mr. Phillips, who remembers the first bloom of his + boyhood and youth, thinks he was handsomer than any portrait of Byron + represents the poet. “He could not have been eleven years old,” says the + same correspondent, “when he began writing a novel. It opened, I remember, + not with one solitary horseman, but with two, riding up to an inn in the + valley of the Housatonic. Neither of us had ever seen the Housatonic, but + it sounded grand and romantic. Two chapters were finished.” + </p> + <p> + There is not much remembered of the single summer he passed at Mr. Green's + school at Jamaica Plain. From that school he went to Round Hill, + Northampton, then under the care of Mr. Cogswell and Mr. Bancroft. The + historian of the United States could hardly have dreamed that the handsome + boy of ten years was to take his place at the side of his teacher in the + first rank of writers in his own department. Motley came to Round Hill, as + one of his schoolmates tells me, with a great reputation, especially as a + declaimer. He had a remarkable facility for acquiring languages, excelled + as a reader and as a writer, and was the object of general admiration for + his many gifts. There is some reason to think that the flattery he + received was for a time a hindrance to his progress and the development of + his character. He obtained praise too easily, and learned to trust too + much to his genius. He had everything to spoil him,—beauty, + precocious intelligence, and a personal charm which might have made him a + universal favorite. Yet he does not seem to have been generally popular at + this period of his life. He was wilful, impetuous, sometimes supercilious, + always fastidious. He would study as he liked, and not by rule. His school + and college mates believed in his great possibilities through all his + forming period, but it may be doubted if those who counted most + confidently on his future could have supposed that he would develop the + heroic power of concentration, the long-breathed tenacity of purpose, + which in after years gave effect to his brilliant mental endowments. “I + did wonder,” says Mr. Wendell Phillips, “at the diligence and painstaking, + the drudgery shown in his historical works. In early life he had no + industry, not needing it. All he cared for in a book he caught quickly,—the + spirit of it, and all his mind needed or would use. This quickness of + apprehension was marvellous.” I do not find from the recollections of his + schoolmates at Northampton that he was reproached for any grave offences, + though he may have wandered beyond the prescribed boundaries now and then, + and studied according to his inclinations rather than by rule. While at + that school he made one acquisition much less common then than now,—a + knowledge of the German language and some degree of acquaintance with its + literature, under the guidance of one of the few thorough German scholars + this country then possessed, Mr. George Bancroft. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + II. 1827-1831. AEt. 13-17. + </h2> + <h3> + COLLEGE LIFE. + </h3> + <p> + Such then was the boy who at the immature, we might almost say the tender, + age of thirteen entered Harvard College. Though two years after me in + college standing, I remember the boyish reputation which he brought with + him, especially that of a wonderful linguist, and the impression which his + striking personal beauty produced upon us as he took his seat in the + college chapel. But it was not until long after this period that I became + intimately acquainted with him, and I must again have recourse to the + classmates and friends who have favored me with their reminiscences of + this period of his life. Mr. Phillips says: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “During our first year in college, though the youngest in the class, + he stood third, I think, or second in college rank, and ours was an + especially able class. Yet to maintain this rank he neither cared + nor needed to make any effort. Too young to feel any + responsibilities, and not yet awake to any ambition, he became so + negligent that he was 'rusticated' [that is, sent away from college + for a time]. He came back sobered, and worked rather more, but with + no effort for college rank thenceforward.” + </pre> + <p> + I must finish the portrait of the collegian with all its lights and + shadows by the help of the same friends from whom I have borrowed the + preceding outlines. + </p> + <p> + He did not care to make acquaintances, was haughty in manner and cynical + in mood, at least as he appeared to those in whom he felt no special + interest. It is no wonder, therefore, that he was not a popular favorite, + although recognized as having very brilliant qualities. During all this + period his mind was doubtless fermenting with projects which kept him in a + fevered and irritable condition. “He had a small writing-table,” Mr. + Phillips says, “with a shallow drawer; I have often seen it half full of + sketches, unfinished poems, soliloquies, a scene or two of a play, prose + portraits of some pet character, etc. These he would read to me, though he + never volunteered to do so, and every now and then he burnt the whole and + began to fill the drawer again.” + </p> + <p> + My friend, Mr. John Osborne Sargent, who was a year before him in college, + says, in a very interesting letter with which he has favored me: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “My first acquaintance with him [Motley] was at Cambridge, when he + came from Mr. Cogswell's school at Round Hill. He then had a good + deal of the shyness that was just pronounced enough to make him + interesting, and which did not entirely wear off till he left + college. . . I soon became acquainted with him, and we used to take + long walks together, sometimes taxing each other's memory for poems + or passages from poems that had struck our fancy. Shelley was then + a great favorite of his, and I remember that Praed's verses then + appearing in the 'New Monthly' he thought very clever and brilliant, + and was fond of repeating them. You have forgotten, or perhaps + never knew, that Motley's first appearance in print was in the + 'Collegian.' He brought me one day, in a very modest mood, a + translation from Goethe, which I was most happy to oblige him by + inserting. It was very prettily done, and will now be a curiosity. + . . . How it happened that Motley wrote only one piece I do not + remember. I had the pleasure about that time of initiating him as a + member of the Knights of the Square Table,—always my favorite + college club, for the reason, perhaps, that I was a sometime Grand + Master. He was always a genial and jovial companion at our supper- + parties at Fresh Pond and Gallagher's.” + </pre> + <p> + We who live in the days of photographs know how many faces belong to every + individual. We know too under what different aspects the same character + appears to those who study it from different points of view and with + different prepossessions. I do not hesitate, therefore, to place side by + side the impressions of two of his classmates as to one of his personal + traits as they observed him at this period of his youth. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “He was a manly boy, with no love for or leaning to girls' company; + no care for dress; not a trace of personal vanity. . . . He was, + or at least seemed, wholly unconscious of his rare beauty and of the + fascination of his manner; not a trace of pretence, the simplest and + most natural creature in the world.” + </pre> + <p> + Look on that picture and on this:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “He seemed to have a passion for dress. But as in everything else, + so in this, his fancy was a fitful one. At one time he would excite + our admiration by the splendor of his outfit, and perhaps the next + week he would seem to take equal pleasure in his slovenly or + careless appearance.” + </pre> + <p> + It is not very difficult to reconcile these two portraitures. I recollect + it was said by a witty lady of a handsome clergyman well remembered among + us, that he had dressy eyes. Motley so well became everything he wore, + that if he had sprung from his bed and slipped his clothes on at an alarm + of fire, his costume would have looked like a prince's undress. His + natural presentment, like that of Count D'Orsay, was of the kind which + suggests the intentional effects of an elaborate toilet, no matter how + little thought or care may have been given to make it effective. I think + the “passion for dress” was really only a seeming, and that he often + excited admiration when he had not taken half the pains to adorn himself + that many a youth less favored by nature has wasted upon his unblest + exterior only to be laughed at. + </p> + <p> + I gather some other interesting facts from a letter which I have received + from his early playmate and school and college classmate, Mr. T. G. + Appleton. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “In his Sophomore year he kept abreast of the prescribed studies, + but his heart was out of bounds, as it often had been at Round Hill + when chasing squirrels or rabbits through forbidden forests. + Already his historical interest was shaping his life. A tutor + coming-by chance, let us hope—to his room remonstrated with him + upon the heaps of novels upon his table. +</pre> + <p> + “'Yes,' said Motley, 'I am reading historically, and have come to the + novels of the nineteenth century. Taken in the lump, they are very hard + reading.'” + </p> + <p> + All Old Cambridge people know the Brattle House, with its gambrel roof, + its tall trees, its perennial spring, its legendary fame of good fare and + hospitable board in the days of the kindly old bon vivant, Major Brattle. + In this house the two young students, Appleton and Motley, lived during a + part of their college course. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Motley's room was on the ground floor, the room to the left of the + entrance. He led a very pleasant life there, tempering his college + duties with the literature he loved, and receiving his friends + amidst elegant surroundings, which added to the charm of his + society. Occasionally we amused ourselves by writing for the + magazines and papers of the day. Mr. Willis had just started a slim + monthly, written chiefly by himself, but with the true magazine + flavor. We wrote for that, and sometimes verses in the corner of a + paper called 'The Anti-Masonic Mirror,' and in which corner was a + woodcut of Apollo, and inviting to destruction ambitious youths by + the legend underneath,— + + 'Much yet remains unsung.' + + “These pieces were usually dictated to each other, the poet recumbent + upon the bed and a classmate ready to carry off the manuscript for + the paper of the following day. 'Blackwood's' was then in its + glory, its pages redolent of 'mountain dew' in every sense; the + humor of the Shepherd, the elegantly brutal onslaughts upon Whigs + and Cockney poets by Christopher North, intoxicated us youths. + + “It was young writing, and made for the young. The opinions were + charmingly wrong, and its enthusiasm was half Glenlivet. But this + delighted the boys. There were no reprints then, and to pass the + paper-cutter up the fresh inviting pages was like swinging over the + heather arm in arm with Christopher himself. It is a little + singular that though we had a college magazine of our own, Motley + rarely if ever wrote for it. I remember a translation from Goethe, + 'The Ghost-Seer,' which he may have written for it, and a poem upon + the White Mountains. Motley spoke at one of the college exhibitions + an essay on Goethe so excellent that Mr. Joseph Cogswell sent it to + Madam Goethe, who, after reading it, said, 'I wish to see the first + book that young man will write.'” + </pre> + <p> + Although Motley did not aim at or attain a high college rank, the rules of + the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which confine the number of members to the + first sixteen of each class, were stretched so as to include him,—a + tribute to his recognized ability, and an evidence that a distinguished + future was anticipated for him. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + III. 1832-1833. AEt. 18-19. + </h2> + <h3> + STUDY AND TRAVEL IN EUROPE. + </h3> + <p> + Of the two years divided between the Universities of Berlin and Gottingen + I have little to record. That he studied hard I cannot doubt; that he + found himself in pleasant social relations with some of his + fellow-students seems probable from the portraits he has drawn in his + first story, “Morton's Hope,” and is rendered certain so far as one of his + companions is concerned. Among the records of the past to which he + referred during his last visit to this country was a letter which he took + from a collection of papers and handed me to read one day when I was + visiting him. The letter was written in a very lively and exceedingly + familiar vein. It implied such intimacy, and called up in such a lively + way the gay times Motley and himself had had together in their youthful + days, that I was puzzled to guess who could have addressed him from + Germany in that easy and off-hand fashion. I knew most of his old friends + who would be likely to call him by his baptismal name in its most + colloquial form, and exhausted my stock of guesses unsuccessfully before + looking at the signature. I confess that I was surprised, after laughing + at the hearty and almost boyish tone of the letter, to read at the bottom + of the page the signature of Bismarck. I will not say that I suspect + Motley of having drawn the portrait of his friend in one of the characters + of “Morton's Hope,” but it is not hard to point out traits in one of them + which we can believe may have belonged to the great Chancellor at an + earlier period of life than that at which the world contemplates his + overshadowing proportions. + </p> + <p> + Hoping to learn something of Motley during the two years while we had lost + sight of him, I addressed a letter to His Highness Prince Bismarck, to + which I received the following reply:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + FOREIGN OFFICE, BERLIN, March 11, 1878. + + SIR,—I am directed by Prince Bismarck to acknowledge the receipt of + your letter of the 1st of January, relating to the biography of the + late Mr. Motley. His Highness deeply regrets that the state of his + health and pressure of business do not allow him to contribute + personally, and as largely as he would be delighted to do, to your + depicting of a friend whose memory will be ever dear to him. Since + I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Mr. Motley at + Varzin, I have been intrusted with communicating to you a few + details I have gathered from the mouth of the Prince. I enclose + them as they are jotted down, without any attempt of digestion. + + I have the honor to be + Your obedient servant, + LOTHAIR BUCHER. + + “Prince Bismarck said:— + + “'I met Motley at Gottingen in 1832, I am not sure if at the + beginning of Easter Term or Michaelmas Term. He kept company with + German students, though more addicted to study than we members of + the fighting clubs (corps). Although not having mastered yet the + German language, he exercised a marked attraction by a conversation + sparkling with wit, humor, and originality. In autumn of 1833, + having both of us migrated from Gottingen to Berlin for the + prosecution of our studies, we became fellow-lodgers in the house + No. 161 Friedrich Strasse. There we lived in the closest intimacy, + sharing meals and outdoor exercise. Motley by that time had arrived + at talking German fluently; he occupied himself not only in + translating Goethe's poem “Faust,” but tried his hand even in + composing German verses. Enthusiastic admirer of Shakespeare, + Byron, Goethe, he used to spice his conversation abundantly with + quotations from these his favorite authors. A pertinacious arguer, + so much so that sometimes he watched my awakening in order to + continue a discussion on some topic of science, poetry, or practical + life, cut short by the chime of the small hours, he never lost his + mild and amiable temper. Our faithful companion was Count Alexander + Keyserling, a native of Courland, who has since achieved distinction + as a botanist. + + “'Motley having entered the diplomatic service of his country, we + had frequently the opportunity of renewing our friendly intercourse; + at Frankfort he used to stay with me, the welcome guest of my wife; + we also met at Vienna, and, later, here. The last time I saw him + was in 1872 at Varzin, at the celebration of my “silver wedding,” + namely, the twenty-fifth anniversary. + + “'The most striking feature of his handsome and delicate appearance + was uncommonly large and beautiful eyes. He never entered a + drawing-room without exciting the curiosity and sympathy of the + ladies.'” + </pre> + <p> + It is but a glimpse of their young life which the great statesman gives + us, but a bright and pleasing one. Here were three students, one of whom + was to range in the flowery fields of the loveliest of the sciences, + another to make the dead past live over again in his burning pages, and a + third to extend an empire as the botanist spread out a plant and the + historian laid open a manuscript. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IV. 1834-1839. 2ET. 20-25. + </h2> + <p> + RETURN TO AMERICA.—STUDY OF LAW.—MARRIAGE.—HIS FIRST + NOVEL, “MORTON'S HOPE.” + </p> + <p> + Of the years passed in the study of law after his return from Germany I + have very little recollection, and nothing of importance to record. He + never became seriously engaged in the practice of the profession he had + chosen. I had known him pleasantly rather than intimately, and our + different callings tended to separate us. I met him, however, not very + rarely, at one house where we were both received with the greatest + cordiality, and where the attractions brought together many both young and + old to enjoy the society of its charming and brilliant inmates. This was + at No. 14 Temple Place, where Mr. Park Benjamin was then living with his + two sisters, both in the bloom of young womanhood. Here Motley found the + wife to whom his life owed so much of its success and its happiness. Those + who remember Mary Benjamin find it hard to speak of her in the common + terms of praise which they award to the good and the lovely. She was not + only handsome and amiable and agreeable, but there was a cordial + frankness, an openhearted sincerity about her which made her seem like a + sister to those who could help becoming her lovers. She stands quite apart + in the memory of the friends who knew her best, even from the circle of + young persons whose recollections they most cherish. Yet hardly could one + of them have foreseen all that she was to be to him whose life she was to + share. They were married on the 2d of March, 1837. His intimate friend, + Mr. Joseph Lewis Stackpole, was married at about the same time to her + sister, thus joining still more closely in friendship the two young men + who were already like brothers in their mutual affection. + </p> + <p> + Two years after his marriage, in 1839, appeared his first work, a novel in + two volumes, called “Morton's Hope.” He had little reason to be gratified + with its reception. The general verdict was not favorable to it, and the + leading critical journal of America, not usually harsh or cynical in its + treatment of native authorship, did not even give it a place among its + “Critical Notices,” but dropped a small-print extinguisher upon it in one + of the pages of its “List of New Publications.” Nothing could be more + utterly disheartening than the unqualified condemnation passed upon the + story. At the same time the critic says that “no one can read 'Morton's + Hope' without perceiving it to have been written by a person of uncommon + resources of mind and scholarship.” + </p> + <p> + It must be confessed that, as a story, “Morton's Hope” cannot endure a + searching or even a moderately careful criticism. It is wanting in + cohesion, in character, even in a proper regard to circumstances of time + and place; it is a map of dissected incidents which has been flung out of + its box and has arranged itself without the least regard to chronology or + geography. It is not difficult to trace in it many of the influences which + had helped in forming or deforming the mind of the young man of + twenty-five, not yet come into possession of his full inheritance of the + slowly ripening qualities which were yet to assert their robust + independence. How could he help admiring Byron and falling into more or + less unconscious imitation of his moods if not of his special + affectations? Passion showing itself off against a dark foil of cynicism; + sentiment, ashamed of its own self-betrayal, and sneering at itself from + time to time for fear of the laugh of the world at its sincerity,—how + many young men were spoiled and how many more injured by becoming bad + copies of a bad ideal! The blood of Don Juan ran in the veins of Vivian + Grey and of Pelham. But if we read the fantastic dreams of Disraeli, the + intellectual dandyisms of Bulwer, remembering the after careers of which + these were the preludes, we can understand how there might well be + something in those earlier efforts which would betray itself in the way of + thought and in the style of the young men who read them during the plastic + period of their minds and characters. Allow for all these influences, + allow for whatever impressions his German residence and his familiarity + with German literature had produced; accept the fact that the story is to + the last degree disjointed, improbable, impossible; lay it aside as a + complete failure in what it attempted to be, and read it, as “Vivian Grey” + is now read, in the light of the career which it heralded. + </p> + <p> + “Morton's Hope” is not to be read as a novel: it is to be studied as an + autobiography, a prophecy, a record of aspirations, disguised under a + series of incidents which are flung together with no more regard to the + unities than a pack of shuffled playing-cards. I can do nothing better + than let him picture himself, for it is impossible not to recognize the + portrait. It is of little consequence whether every trait is an exact copy + from his own features, but it is so obvious that many of the lines are + direct transcripts from nature that we may believe the same thing of many + others. Let us compare his fictitious hero's story with what we have read + of his own life. + </p> + <p> + In early boyhood Morton amused himself and astonished those about him by + enacting plays for a puppet theatre. This was at six years old, and at + twelve we find him acting in a play with other boys, just as Motley's + playmates have already described him. The hero may now speak for himself, + but we shall all perceive that we are listening to the writer's own story. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I was always a huge reader; my mind was essentially craving and + insatiable. Its appetite was enormous, and it devoured too greedily + for health. I rejected all guidance in my studies. I already + fancied myself a misanthrope. I had taken a step very common for + boys of my age, and strove with all my might to be a cynic.” + </pre> + <p> + He goes on to describe, under the perfectly transparent mask of his hero, + the course of his studies. “To poetry, like most infants, I devoted most + of my time.” From modern poetry he went back to the earlier sources, first + with the idea of systematic reading and at last through Chaucer and Gower + and early ballads, until he lost himself “in a dismal swamp of barbarous + romances and lying Latin chronicles. I got hold of the Bibliotheca + Monastica, containing a copious account of Anglo-Norman authors, with + notices of their works, and set seriously to reading every one of them.” + One profit of his antiquarianism, however, was, as he says, his attention + to foreign languages,—French, Spanish, German, especially in their + earliest and rudest forms of literature. From these he ascended to the + ancient poets, and from Latin to Greek. He would have taken up the study + of the Oriental languages, but for the advice of a relative, who begged + him seriously to turn his attention to history. The paragraph which + follows must speak for itself as a true record under a feigned heading. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The groundwork of my early character was plasticity and fickleness. + I was mortified by this exposure of my ignorance, and disgusted with + my former course of reading. I now set myself violently to the + study of history. With my turn of mind, and with the preposterous + habits which I had been daily acquiring, I could not fail to make as + gross mistakes in the pursuit of this as of other branches of + knowledge. I imagined, on setting out, a system of strict and + impartial investigation of the sources of history. I was inspired + with the absurd ambition, not uncommon to youthful students, of + knowing as much as their masters. I imagined it necessary for me, + stripling as I was, to study the authorities; and, imbued with the + strict necessity of judging for myself, I turned from the limpid + pages of the modern historians to the notes and authorities at the + bottom of the page. These, of course, sent me back to my monastic + acquaintances, and I again found myself in such congenial company to + a youthful and ardent mind as Florence of Worcester and Simeon of + Durham, the Venerable Bede and Matthew Paris; and so on to Gregory + and Fredegarius, down to the more modern and elegant pages of + Froissart, Hollinshed, Hooker, and Stowe. Infant as I was, I + presumed to grapple with masses of learning almost beyond the + strength of the giants of history. A spendthrift of my time and + labor, I went out of my way to collect materials, and to build for + myself, when I should have known that older and abler architects had + already appropriated all that was worth preserving; that the edifice + was built, the quarry exhausted, and that I was, consequently, only + delving amidst rubbish. + + “This course of study was not absolutely without its advantages. + The mind gained a certain proportion of vigor even by this exercise + of its faculties, just as my bodily health would have been improved + by transporting the refuse ore of a mine from one pit to another, + instead of coining the ingots which lay heaped before my eyes. + Still, however, my time was squandered. There was a constant want + of fitness and concentration of my energies. My dreams of education + were boundless, brilliant, indefinite; but alas! they were only + dreams. There was nothing accurate and defined in my future course + of life. I was ambitious and conceited, but my aspirations were + vague and shapeless. I had crowded together the most gorgeous and + even some of the most useful and durable materials for my woof, but + I had no pattern, and consequently never began to weave. + + “I had not made the discovery that an individual cannot learn, nor + be, everything; that the world is a factory in which each individual + must perform his portion of work:—happy enough if he can choose it + according to his taste and talent, but must renounce the desire of + observing or superintending the whole operation. . . . + + “From studying and investigating the sources of history with my own + eyes, I went a step further; I refused the guidance of modern + writers; and proceeding from one point of presumption to another, I + came to the magnanimous conviction that I could not know history as + I ought to know it unless I wrote it for myself. . . . + + “It would be tedious and useless to enlarge upon my various attempts + and various failures. I forbear to comment upon mistakes which I + was in time wise enough to retrieve. Pushing out as I did, without + compass and without experience, on the boundless ocean of learning, + what could I expect but an utter and a hopeless shipwreck? + + “Thus I went on, becoming more learned, and therefore more ignorant, + more confused in my brain, and more awkward in my habits, from day + to day. I was ever at my studies, and could hardly be prevailed + upon to allot a moment to exercise or recreation. I breakfasted + with a pen behind my ear, and dined in company with a folio bigger + than the table. I became solitary and morose, the necessary + consequence of reckless study; talked impatiently of the value of my + time, and the immensity of my labors; spoke contemptuously of the + learning and acquirements of the whole world, and threw out + mysterious hints of the magnitude and importance of my own project. + + “In the midst of all this study and this infant authorship the + perusal of such masses of poetry could not fail to produce their + effect. Of a youth whose mind, like mine at that period, possessed + some general capability, without perhaps a single prominent and + marked talent, a proneness to imitation is sure to be the besetting + sin. I consequently, for a large portion of my earlier life, never + read a work which struck my fancy, without planning a better one + upon its model; for my ambition, like my vanity, knew no bounds. + It was a matter of course that I should be attacked by the poetic + mania. I took the infection at the usual time, went through its + various stages, and recovered as soon as could be expected. I + discovered soon enough that emulation is not capability, and he is + fortunate to whom is soonest revealed the relative extent of his + ambition and his powers. + + “My ambition was boundless; my dreams of glory were not confined to + authorship and literature alone; but every sphere in which the + intellect of man exerts itself revolved in a blaze of light before + me. And there I sat in my solitude and dreamed such wondrous + dreams! Events were thickening around me which were soon to change + the world, but they were unmarked by me. The country was changing + to a mighty theatre, on whose stage those who were as great as I + fancied myself to be were to enact a stupendous drama in which I had + no part. I saw it not; I knew it not; and yet how infinitely + beautiful were the imaginations of my solitude! Fancy shook her + kaleidoscope each moment as chance directed, and lo! what new, + fantastic, brilliant, but what unmeaning visions. My ambitious + anticipations were as boundless as they were various and + conflicting. There was not a path which leads to glory in which I + was not destined to gather laurels. As a warrior I would conquer + and overrun the world. As a statesman I would reorganize and govern + it. As a historian I would consign it all to immortality; and in my + leisure moments I would be a great poet and a man of the world. + + “In short, I was already enrolled in that large category of what are + called young men of genius,—men who are the pride of their sisters + and the glory of their grandmothers,—men of whom unheard-of things + are expected, till after long preparation comes a portentous + failure, and then they are forgotten; subsiding into indifferent + apprentices and attorneys' clerks. + + “Alas for the golden imaginations of our youth! They are bright and + beautiful, but they fade. They glitter brightly enough to deceive + the wisest and most cautious, and we garner them up in the most + secret caskets of our hearts; but are they not like the coins which + the Dervise gave the merchant in the story? When we look for them + the next morning, do we not find them withered leaves?” + </pre> + <p> + The ideal picture just drawn is only a fuller portraiture of the youth + whose outlines have been already sketched by the companions of his earlier + years. If his hero says, “I breakfasted with a pen behind my ear and dined + in company with a folio bigger than the table,” one of his family says of + the boy Motley that “if there were five minutes before dinner, when he + came into the parlor he always took up some book near at hand and began to + read until dinner was announced.” The same unbounded thirst for knowledge, + the same history of various attempts and various failures, the same + ambition, not yet fixed in its aim, but showing itself in restless effort, + belong to the hero of the story and its narrator. + </p> + <p> + Let no man despise the first efforts of immature genius. Nothing can be + more crude as a novel, nothing more disappointing, than “Morton's Hope.” + But in no other of Motley's writings do we get such an inside view of his + character with its varied impulses, its capricious appetites, its + unregulated forces, its impatient grasp for all kinds of knowledge. With + all his university experiences at home and abroad, it might be said with a + large measure of truth that he was a self-educated man, as he had been a + self-taught boy. His instincts were too powerful to let him work quietly + in the common round of school and college training. Looking at him as his + companions describe him, as he delineates himself 'mutato nomine,' the + chances of success would have seemed to all but truly prophetic eyes very + doubtful, if not decidedly against him. Too many brilliant young + novel-readers and lovers of poetry, excused by their admirers for their + shortcomings on the strength of their supposed birthright of “genius,” + have ended where they began; flattered into the vain belief that they were + men at eighteen or twenty, and finding out at fifty that they were and + always had been nothing more than boys. It was but a tangled skein of life + that Motley's book showed us at twenty-five, and older men might well have + doubted whether it would ever be wound off in any continuous thread. To + repeat his own words, he had crowded together the materials for his work, + but he had no pattern, and consequently never began to weave. + </p> + <p> + The more this first work of Motley's is examined, the more are its faults + as a story and its interest as a self-revelation made manifest to the + reader. The future historian, who spared no pains to be accurate, falls + into the most extraordinary anachronisms in almost every chapter. Brutus + in a bob-wig, Othello in a swallow-tail coat, could hardly be more + incongruously equipped than some of his characters in the manner of + thought, the phrases, the way of bearing themselves which belong to them + in the tale, but never could have belonged to characters of our + Revolutionary period. He goes so far in his carelessness as to mix up + dates in such a way as almost to convince us that he never looked over his + own manuscript or proofs. His hero is in Prague in June, 1777, reading a + letter received from America in less than a fortnight from the date of its + being written; in August of the same year he is in the American camp, + where he is found in the company of a certain Colonel Waldron, an officer + of some standing in the Revolutionary Army, with whom he is said to have + been constantly associated for some three months, having arrived in + America, as he says, on the 15th of May, that is to say, six weeks or more + before he sailed, according to his previous account. Bohemia seems to have + bewitched his chronology as it did Shakespeare's geography. To have made + his story a consistent series of contradictions, Morton should have sailed + from that Bohemian seashore which may be found in “A Winter's Tale,” but + not in the map of Europe. + </p> + <p> + And yet in the midst of all these marks of haste and negligence, here and + there the philosophical student of history betrays himself, the ideal of + noble achievement glows in an eloquent paragraph, or is embodied in a + loving portrait like that of the professor and historian Harlem. The + novel, taken in connection with the subsequent developments of the + writer's mind, is a study of singular interest. It is a chaos before the + creative epoch; the light has not been divided from the darkness; the + firmament has not yet divided the waters from the waters. The forces at + work in a human intelligence to bring harmony out of its discordant + movements are as mysterious, as miraculous, we might truly say, as those + which give shape and order to the confused materials out of which + habitable worlds are evolved. It is too late now to be sensitive over this + unsuccessful attempt as a story and unconscious success as a + self-portraiture. The first sketches of Paul Veronese, the first patterns + of the Gobelin tapestry, are not to be criticised for the sake of pointing + out their inevitable and too manifest imperfections. They are to be + carefully studied as the earliest efforts of the hand which painted the + Marriage at Cana, of the art which taught the rude fabrics made to be + trodden under foot to rival the glowing canvas of the great painters. None + of Motley's subsequent writings give such an insight into his character + and mental history. It took many years to train the as yet undisciplined + powers into orderly obedience, and to bring the unarranged materials into + the organic connection which was needed in the construction of a work that + should endure. There was a long interval between his early manhood and the + middle term of life, during which the slow process of evolution was going + on. There are plants which open their flowers with the first rays of the + sun; there are others that wait until evening to spread their petals. It + was already the high noon of life with him before his genius had truly + shown itself; if he had not lived beyond this period, he would have left + nothing to give him a lasting name. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + V. 1841-1842. AEt. 27-28. + </h2> + <p> + FIRST DIPLOMATIC APPOINTMENT, SECRETARY OF LEGATION TO THE RUSSIAN + MISSION.—BRIEF RESIDENCE AT ST. PETERSBURG.—LETTER TO HIS + MOTHER. —RETURN. + </p> + <p> + In the autumn of 1841, Mr. Motley received the appointment of Secretary of + Legation to the Russian Mission, Mr. Todd being then the Minister. + Arriving at St. Petersburg just at the beginning of winter, he found the + climate acting very unfavorably upon his spirits if not upon his health, + and was unwilling that his wife and his two young children should be + exposed to its rigors. The expense of living, also, was out of proportion + to his income, and his letters show that he had hardly established himself + in St. Petersburg before he had made up his mind to leave a place where he + found he had nothing to do and little to enjoy. He was homesick, too, as a + young husband and father with an affectionate nature like his ought to + have been under these circumstances. He did not regret having made the + experiment, for he knew that he should not have been satisfied with + himself if he had not made it. It was his first trial of a career in which + he contemplated embarking, and in which afterwards he had an eventful + experience. In his private letters to his family, many of which I have had + the privilege of looking over, he mentions in detail all the reasons which + influenced him in forming his own opinion about the expediency of a + continued residence at St. Petersburg, and leaves the decision to her in + whose judgment he always had the greatest confidence. No unpleasant + circumstance attended his resignation of his secretaryship, and though it + must have been a disappointment to find that the place did not suit him, + as he and his family were then situated, it was only at the worst an + experiment fairly tried and not proving satisfactory. He left St. + Petersburg after a few months' residence, and returned to America. On + reaching New York he was met by the sad tidings of the death of his + first-born child, a boy of great promise, who had called out all the + affections of his ardent nature. It was long before he recovered from the + shock of this great affliction. The boy had shown a very quick and bright + intelligence, and his father often betrayed a pride in his gifts and + graces which he never for a moment made apparent in regard to his own. + </p> + <p> + Among the letters which he wrote from St. Petersburg are two miniature + ones directed to this little boy. His affectionate disposition shows + itself very sweetly in these touching mementos of a love of which his + first great sorrow was so soon to be born. Not less charming are his + letters to his mother, showing the tenderness with which he always + regarded her, and full of all the details which he thought would entertain + one to whom all that related to her children was always interesting. Of + the letters to his wife it is needless to say more than that they always + show the depth of the love he bore her and the absolute trust he placed in + her, consulting her at all times as his nearest and wisest friend and + adviser,—one in all respects fitted “To warn, to comfort, and + command.” + </p> + <p> + I extract a passage from one of his letters to his mother, as much for the + sake of lending a character of reality to his brief residence at St. + Petersburg as for that of the pleasant picture it gives us of an interior + in that Northern capital. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “We entered through a small vestibule, with the usual arrangement of + treble doors, padded with leather to exclude the cold and guarded by + two 'proud young porters' in severe cocked hats and formidable + batons, into a broad hall,—threw off our furred boots and cloaks, + ascended a carpeted marble staircase, in every angle of which stood + a statuesque footman in gaudy coat and unblemished unmentionables, + and reached a broad landing upon the top thronged as usual with + servants. Thence we passed through an antechamber into a long, + high, brilliantly lighted, saffron-papered room, in which a dozen + card-tables were arranged, and thence into the receiving room. This + was a large room, with a splendidly inlaid and polished floor, the + walls covered with crimson satin, the cornices heavily incrusted + with gold, and the ceiling beautifully painted in arabesque. The + massive fauteuils and sofas, as also the drapery, were of crimson + satin with a profusion of gilding. The ubiquitous portrait of the + Emperor was the only picture, and was the same you see everywhere. + This crimson room had two doors upon the side facing the three + windows: The innermost opened into a large supper-room, in which a + table was spread covered with the usual refreshments of European + parties,—tea, ices, lemonade, and et ceteras,—and the other opened + into a ball-room which is a sort of miniature of the 'salle blanche' + of the Winter Palace, being white and gold, and very brilliantly + lighted with 'ormolu' chandeliers filled with myriads of candles. + This room (at least forty feet long by perhaps twenty-five) opened + into a carpeted conservatory of about the same size, filled with + orange-trees and japonica plants covered with fruit and flowers, + arranged very gracefully into arbors, with luxurious seats under the + pendent boughs, and with here and there a pretty marble statue + gleaming through the green and glossy leaves. One might almost have + imagined one's self in the 'land of the cypress and myrtle' instead + of our actual whereabout upon the polar banks of the Neva. + Wandering through these mimic groves, or reposing from the fatigues + of the dance, was many a fair and graceful form, while the + brilliantly lighted ballroom, filled with hundreds of exquisitely + dressed women (for the Russian ladies, if not very pretty, are + graceful, and make admirable toilettes), formed a dazzling contrast + with the tempered light of the 'Winter Garden.' The conservatory + opened into a library, and from the library you reach the + antechamber, thus completing the 'giro' of one of the prettiest + houses in St. Petersburg. I waltzed one waltz and quadrilled one + quadrille, but it was hard work; and as the sole occupation of these + parties is dancing and card-playing—conversation apparently not + being customary—they are to me not very attractive.” + </pre> + <p> + He could not be happy alone, and there were good reasons against his being + joined by his wife and children. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “With my reserved habits,” he says, “it would take a great deal + longer to become intimate here than to thaw the Baltic. I have only + to 'knock that it shall be opened to me,' but that is just what I + hate to do. . . . 'Man delights not me, no, nor woman neither.'” + </pre> + <p> + Disappointed in his expectations, but happy in the thought of meeting his + wife and children, he came back to his household to find it clad in + mourning for the loss of its first-born. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VI. 1844. AEt. 30. + </h2> + <h3> + LETTER TO PARK BENJAMIN.—POLITICAL VIEWS AND FEELINGS. + </h3> + <p> + A letter to Mr. Park Benjamin, dated December 17, 1844, which has been + kindly lent me by Mrs. Mary Lanman Douw of Poughkeepsie, gives a very + complete and spirited account of himself at this period. He begins with a + quiet, but tender reference to the death of his younger brother, Preble, + one of the most beautiful youths seen or remembered among us, “a great + favorite,” as he says, “in the family and in deed with every one who knew + him.” He mentions the fact that his friends and near connections, the + Stackpoles, are in Washington, which place he considers as exceptionally + odious at the time when he is writing. The election of Mr. Polk as the + opponent of Henry Clay gives him a discouraged feeling about our + institutions. The question, he thinks, is now settled that a statesman can + never again be called to administer the government of the country. He is + almost if not quite in despair “because it is now proved that a man, take + him for all in all, better qualified by intellectual power, energy and + purity of character, knowledge of men, a great combination of personal + qualities, a frank, high-spirited, manly bearing, keen sense of honor, the + power of attracting and winning men, united with a vast experience in + affairs, such as no man (but John Quincy Adams) now living has had and no + man in this country can ever have again,—I say it is proved that a + man better qualified by an extraordinary combination of advantages to + administer the government than any man now living, or any man we can ever + produce again, can be beaten by anybody. . . . . It has taken forty years + of public life to prepare such a man for the Presidency, and the result is + that he can be beaten by anybody,—Mr. Polk is anybody,—he is + Mr. Quelconque.” + </p> + <p> + I do not venture to quote the most burning sentences of this impassioned + letter. It shows that Motley had not only become interested most + profoundly in the general movements of parties, but that he had followed + the course of political events which resulted in the election of Mr. Polk + with careful study, and that he was already looking forward to the revolt + of the slave States which occurred sixteen years later. The letter is full + of fiery eloquence, now and then extravagant and even violent in + expression, but throbbing with a generous heat which shows the excitable + spirit of a man who wishes to be proud of his country and does not wish to + keep his temper when its acts make him ashamed of it. He is disgusted and + indignant to the last degree at seeing “Mr. Quelconque” chosen over the + illustrious statesman who was his favorite candidate. But all his + indignation cannot repress a sense of humor which was one of his marked + characteristics. After fatiguing his vocabulary with hard usage, after his + unsparing denunciation of “the very dirty politics” which he finds mixed + up with our popular institutions, he says,—it must be remembered + that this was an offhand letter to one nearly connected with him,— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “All these things must in short, to use the energetic language of + the Balm of Columbia advertisement, 'bring every generous thinking + youth to that heavy sinking gloom which not even the loss of + property can produce, but only the loss of hair, which brings on + premature decay, causing many to shrink from being uncovered, and + even to shun society, to avoid the jests and sneers of their + acquaintances. The remainder of their lives is consequently spent + in retirement.'” + </pre> + <p> + He continues:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Before dropping the subject, and to show the perfect purity of my + motives, I will add that I am not at all anxious about the + legislation of the new government. I desired the election of Clay + as a moral triumph, and because the administration of the country, + at this moment of ten thousand times more importance than its + legislation, would have been placed in pure, strong, and determined + hands.” + </pre> + <p> + Then comes a dash of that satirical and somewhat cynical way of feeling + which he had not as yet outgrown. He had been speaking about the general + want of attachment to the Union and the absence of the sentiment of + loyalty as bearing on the probable dissolution of the Union. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I don't mean to express any opinions on these matters,—I haven't + got any. It seems to me that the best way is to look at the + hodge-podge, be good-natured if possible, and laugh, + + 'As from the height of contemplation + We view the feeble joints men totter on.' + + “I began a tremendous political career during the election, having + made two stump speeches of an hour and a half each,—after you went + away,—one in Dedham town-hall and one in Jamaica Plain, with such + eminent success that many invitations came to me from the + surrounding villages, and if I had continued in active political + life I might have risen to be vote-distributor, or fence-viewer, or + selectman, or hog-reeve, or something of the kind.” + </pre> + <p> + The letter from which the above passages are quoted gives the same + portrait of the writer, only seen in profile, as it were, which we have + already seen drawn in full face in the story of “Morton's Hope.” It is + charged with that 'saeva indignatio' which at times verges on misanthropic + contempt for its objects, not unnatural to a high-spirited young man who + sees his lofty ideals confronted with the ignoble facts which strew the + highways of political life. But we can recognize real conviction and the + deepest feeling beneath his scornful rhetoric and his bitter laugh. He was + no more a mere dilettante than Swift himself, but now and then in the + midst of his most serious thought some absurd or grotesque image will + obtrude itself, and one is reminded of the lines on the monument of Gay + rather than of the fierce epitaph of the Dean of Saint Patrick's. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VII. 1845-1847. AEt. 31-33. + </h2> + <p> + FIRST HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL ESSAYS.—PETER THE GREAT.—NOVELS + OF BALZAC.—POLITY OF THE PURITANS. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Motley's first serious effort in historical composition was an article + of fifty pages in “The North American Review” for October, 1845. This was + nominally a notice of two works, one on Russia, the other “A Memoir of the + Life of Peter the Great.” It is, however, a narrative rather than a + criticism, a rapid, continuous, brilliant, almost dramatic narrative. If + there had been any question as to whether the young novelist who had + missed his first mark had in him the elements which might give him success + as an author, this essay would have settled the question. It shows + throughout that the writer has made a thorough study of his subject, but + it is written with an easy and abundant, yet scholarly freedom, not as if + he were surrounded by his authorities and picking out his material piece + by piece, but rather as if it were the overflow of long-pursued and + well-remembered studies recalled without effort and poured forth almost as + a recreation. + </p> + <p> + As he betrayed or revealed his personality in his first novel, so in this + first effort in another department of literature he showed in epitome his + qualities as a historian and a biographer. The hero of his narrative makes + his entrance at once in his character as the shipwright of Saardam, on the + occasion of a visit of the great Duke of Marlborough. The portrait + instantly arrests attention. His ideal personages had been drawn in such a + sketchy way, they presented so many imperfectly harmonized features, that + they never became real, with the exception, of course, of the story-teller + himself. But the vigor with which the presentment of the imperial + ship-carpenter, the sturdy, savage, eager, fiery Peter, was given in the + few opening sentences, showed the movement of the hand, the glow of the + color, that were in due time to display on a broader canvas the + full-length portraits of William the Silent and of John of Barneveld. The + style of the whole article is rich, fluent, picturesque, with light + touches of humor here and there, and perhaps a trace or two of youthful + jauntiness, not quite as yet outgrown. His illustrative poetical + quotations are mostly from Shakespeare,—from Milton and Byron also + in a passage or two,—and now and then one is reminded that he is not + unfamiliar with Carlyle's “Sartor Resartus” and the “French Revolution” of + the same unmistakable writer, more perhaps by the way in which phrases + borrowed from other authorities are set in the text than by any more + important evidence of unconscious imitation. + </p> + <p> + The readers who had shaken their heads over the unsuccessful story of + “Morton's Hope” were startled by the appearance of this manly and + scholarly essay. This young man, it seemed, had been studying,—studying + with careful accuracy, with broad purpose. He could paint a character with + the ruddy life-blood coloring it as warmly as it glows in the cheeks of + one of Van der Helst's burgomasters. He could sweep the horizon in a wide + general outlook, and manage his perspective and his lights and shadows so + as to place and accent his special subject with its due relief and just + relations. It was a sketch, or rather a study for a larger picture, but it + betrayed the hand of a master. The feeling of many was that expressed in + the words of Mr. Longfellow in his review of the “Twice-Told Tales” of the + unknown young writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne: “When a new star rises in the + heavens, people gaze after it for a season with the naked eye, and with + such telescopes as they may find. . . . This star is but newly risen; and + erelong the observation of numerous star-gazers, perched up on arm-chairs + and editor's tables, will inform the world of its magnitude and its place + in the heaven of”—not poetry in this instance, but that serene and + unclouded region of the firmament where shine unchanging the names of + Herodotus and Thucydides. Those who had always believed in their brilliant + schoolmate and friend at last felt themselves justified in their faith. + The artist that sent this unframed picture to be hung in a corner of the + literary gallery was equal to larger tasks. There was but one voice in the + circle that surrounded the young essayist. He must redeem his pledge, he + can and will redeem it, if he will only follow the bent of his genius and + grapple with the heroic labor of writing a great history. + </p> + <p> + And this was the achievement he was already meditating. + </p> + <p> + In the mean time he was studying history for its facts and principles, and + fiction for its scenery and portraits. In “The North American Review” for + July, 1847, is a long and characteristic article on Balzac, of whom he was + an admirer, but with no blind worship. The readers of this great + story-teller, who was so long in obtaining recognition, who “made twenty + assaults upon fame and had forty books killed under him” before he + achieved success, will find his genius fully appreciated and fairly + weighed in this discriminating essay. A few brief extracts will show its + quality. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Balzac is an artist, and only an artist. In his tranquil, + unimpassioned, remorseless diagnosis of morbid phenomena, in his + cool method of treating the morbid anatomy of the heart, in his + curiously accurate dissection of the passions, in the patient and + painful attention with which, stethoscope in hand, finger on pulse, + eye everywhere, you see him watching every symptom, alive to every + sound and every breath, and in the scientific accuracy with which he + portrays the phenomena which have been the subject of his + investigation,—in all this calm and conscientious study of nature + he often reminds us of Goethe. Balzac, however, is only an artist + . . . He is neither moral nor immoral, but a calm and profound + observer of human society and human passions, and a minute, patient, + and powerful delineator of scenes and characters in the world before + his eyes. His readers must moralize for themselves. . . . It + is, perhaps, his defective style more than anything else which will + prevent his becoming a classic, for style above all other qualities + seems to embalm for posterity. As for his philosophy, his + principles, moral, political, or social, we repeat that he seems to + have none whatever. He looks for the picturesque and the striking. + He studies sentiments and sensations from an artistic point of view. + He is a physiognomist, a physiologist, a bit of an anatomist, a bit + of a mesmerist, a bit of a geologist, a Flemish painter, an + upholsterer, a micrological, misanthropical, sceptical philosopher; + but he is no moralist, and certainly no reformer.” + </pre> + <p> + Another article contributed by Mr. Motley to “The North American Review” + is to be found in the number for October, 1849. It is nominally a review + of Talvi's (Mrs. Robinson's) “Geschichte der Colonisation von New + England,” but in reality an essay on the Polity of the Puritans,—an + historical disquisition on the principles of self-government evolved in + New England, broad in its views, eloquent in its language. Its spirit is + thoroughly American, and its estimate of the Puritan character is not + narrowed by the nearsighted liberalism which sees the past in the pitiless + light of the present,—which looks around at high noon and finds + fault with early dawn for its long and dark shadows. Here is a sentence or + two from the article:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “With all the faults of the system devised by the Puritans, it was a + practical system. With all their foibles, with all their teasing, + tyrannical, and arbitrary notions, the Pilgrims were lovers of + liberty as well as sticklers for authority. . . . Nowhere can a + better description of liberty be found than that given by Winthrop, + in his defence of himself before the General Court on a charge of + arbitrary conduct. 'Nor would I have you mistake your own liberty,' + he says. 'There is a freedom of doing what we list, without regard + to law or justice; this liberty is indeed inconsistent with + authority; but civil, moral, and federal liberty consists in every + man's enjoying his property and having the benefit of the laws of + his country; which is very consistent with a due subjection to the + civil magistrate.' . . . + + “We enjoy an inestimable advantage in America. One can be a + republican, a democrat, without being a radical. A radical, one who + would uproot, is a man whose trade is dangerous to society. Here is + but little to uproot. The trade cannot flourish. All classes are + conservative by necessity, for none can wish to change the structure + of our polity. . . + + “The country without a past cannot be intoxicated by visions of the + past of other lands. Upon this absence of the past it seems to us + that much of the security of our institutions depends. Nothing + interferes with the development of what is now felt to be the true + principle of government, the will of the people legitimately + expressed. To establish that great truth, nothing was to be torn + down, nothing to be uprooted. It grew up in New England out of the + seed unconsciously planted by the first Pilgrims, was not crushed + out by the weight of a thousand years of error spread over the whole + continent, and the Revolution was proclaimed and recognized.” + </pre> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VIII. 1847-1849. AEt. 33-35. + </h2> + <p> + JOSEPH LEWIS STACKPOLE, THE FRIEND OF MOTLEY. HIS SUDDEN DEATH.—MOTLEY + IN THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—SECOND NOVEL, + “MERRY-MOUNT, A ROMANCE OF THE MASSACHUSETTS COLONY.” + </p> + <p> + The intimate friendships of early manhood are not very often kept up among + our people. The eager pursuit of fortune, position, office, separates + young friends, and the indoor home life imprisons them in the domestic + circle so generally that it is quite exceptional to find two grown men who + are like brothers,—or rather unlike most brothers, in being + constantly found together. An exceptional instance of such a more than + fraternal relation was seen in the friendship of Mr. Motley and Mr. Joseph + Lewis Stackpole. Mr. William Amory, who knew them both well, has kindly + furnished me with some recollections, which I cannot improve by changing + his own language. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Their intimacy began in Europe, and they returned to this country + in 1835. In 1837 they married sisters, and this cemented their + intimacy, which continued to Stackpole's death in 1847. The + contrast in the temperament of the two friends—the one sensitive + and irritable, and the other always cool and good-natured—only + increased their mutual attachment to each other, and Motley's + dependence upon Stackpole. Never were two friends more constantly + together or more affectionately fond of each other. As Stackpole + was about eight years older than Motley, and much less impulsive and + more discreet, his death was to his friend irreparable, and at the + time an overwhelming blow.” + </pre> + <p> + Mr. Stackpole was a man of great intelligence, of remarkable personal + attractions, and amiable character. His death was a loss to Motley even + greater than he knew, for he needed just such a friend, older, calmer, + more experienced in the ways of the world, and above all capable of + thoroughly understanding him and exercising a wholesome influence over his + excitable nature without the seeming of a Mentor preaching to a + Telemachus. Mr. Stackpole was killed by a railroad accident on the 20th of + July, 1847. + </p> + <p> + In the same letter Mr. Amory refers to a very different experience in Mr. + Motley's life,—his one year of service as a member of the + Massachusetts House of Representatives, 1849. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “In respect to the one term during which he was a member of the + Massachusetts House of Representatives, I can recall only one thing, + to which he often and laughingly alluded. Motley, as the Chairman + of the Committee on Education, made, as he thought, a most masterly + report. It was very elaborate, and, as he supposed, unanswerable; + but Boutwell, then a young man from some country town [Groton, + Mass.], rose, and as Motley always said, demolished the report, so + that he was unable to defend it against the attack. You can imagine + his disgust, after the pains he had taken to render it unassailable, + to find himself, as he expressed it, 'on his own dunghill,' + ignominiously beaten. While the result exalted his opinion of the + speech-making faculty of a Representative of a common school + education, it at the same time cured him of any ambition for + political promotion in Massachusetts.” + </pre> + <p> + To my letter of inquiry about this matter, Hon. George S. Boutwell + courteously returned the following answer:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + BOSTON, October 14, 1878. + + MY DEAR SIR,—As my memory serves me, Mr. Motley was a member of the + Massachusetts House of Representatives in the year 1847 1849. It + may be well to consult the manual for that year. I recollect the + controversy over the report from the Committee on Education. + + His failure was not due to his want of faculty or to the vigor of + his opponents. + + In truth he espoused the weak side of the question and the unpopular + one also. His proposition was to endow the colleges at the expense + of the fund for the support of the common schools. Failure was + inevitable. Neither Webster nor Choate could have carried the bill. + + Very truly, + GEO. S. BOUTWELL. +</pre> + <p> + No one could be more ready and willing to recognize his own failures than + Motley. He was as honest and manly, perhaps I may say as sympathetic with + the feeling of those about him, on this occasion, as was Charles Lamb, + who, sitting with his sister in the front of the pit, on the night when + his farce was damned at its first representation, gave way to the common + feeling, and hissed and hooted lustily with the others around him. It was + what might be expected from his honest and truthful nature, sometimes too + severe in judging itself. + </p> + <p> + The commendation bestowed upon Motley's historical essays in “The North + American Review” must have gone far towards compensating him for the ill + success of his earlier venture. It pointed clearly towards the field in + which he was to gather his laurels. And it was in the year following the + publication of the first essay, or about that time (1846), that he began + collecting materials for a history of Holland. Whether to tell the story + of men that have lived and of events that have happened, or to create the + characters and invent the incidents of an imaginary tale be the higher + task, we need not stop to discuss. But the young author was just now like + the great actor in Sir Joshua's picture, between the allurements of Thalia + and Melpomene, still doubtful whether he was to be a romancer or a + historian. + </p> + <p> + The tale of which the title is given at the beginning of this section had + been written several years before the date of its publication. It is a + great advance in certain respects over the first novel, but wants the + peculiar interest which belonged to that as a partially autobiographical + memoir. The story is no longer disjointed and impossible. It is carefully + studied in regard to its main facts. It has less to remind us of “Vivian + Grey” and “Pelham,” and more that recalls “Woodstock” and “Kenilworth.” + The personages were many of them historical, though idealized; the + occurrences were many of them such as the record authenticated; the + localities were drawn largely from nature. The story betrays marks of + haste or carelessness in some portions, though others are elaborately + studied. His preface shows that the reception of his first book had made + him timid and sensitive about the fate of the second, and explains and + excuses what might be found fault with, to disarm the criticism he had + some reason to fear. + </p> + <p> + That old watch-dog of our American literature, “The North American + Review,” always ready with lambent phrases in stately “Articles” for + native talent of a certain pretension, and wagging its appendix of + “Critical Notices” kindly at the advent of humbler merit, treated + “Merry-Mount” with the distinction implied in a review of nearly twenty + pages. This was a great contrast to the brief and slighting notice of + “Morton's Hope.” The reviewer thinks the author's descriptive power wholly + exceeds his conception of character and invention of circumstances. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “He dwells, perhaps, too long and fondly upon his imagination of the + landscape as it was before the stillness of the forest had been + broken by the axe of the settler; but the picture is so finely + drawn, with so much beauty of language and purity of sentiment, that + we cannot blame him for lingering upon the scene. . . . The + story is not managed with much skill, but it has variety enough of + incident and character, and is told with so much liveliness that few + will be inclined to lay it down before reaching the conclusion. . + . . The writer certainly needs practice in elaborating the details + of a consistent and interesting novel; but in many respects he is + well qualified for the task, and we shall be glad to meet him again + on the half-historical ground he has chosen. His present work, + certainly, is not a fair specimen of what he is able to accomplish, + and its failure, or partial success, ought only to inspirit him for + further effort.” + </pre> + <p> + The “half-historical ground” he had chosen had already led him to the + entrance into the broader domain of history. The “further effort” for + which he was to be inspirited had already begun. He had been for some + time, as was before mentioned, collecting materials for the work which was + to cast all his former attempts into the kindly shadow of oblivion, save + when from time to time the light of his brilliant after success is thrown + upon them to illustrate the path by which it was at length attained. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IX. 1850. AEt. 36. + </h2> + <h3> + PLAN OF A HISTORY.—LETTERS. + </h3> + <p> + The reputation of Mr. Prescott was now coextensive with the realm of + scholarship. The histories of the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella and of + the conquest of Mexico had met with a reception which might well tempt the + ambition of a young writer to emulate it, but which was not likely to be + awarded to any second candidate who should enter the field in rivalry with + the great and universally popular historian. But this was the field on + which Mr. Motley was to venture. + </p> + <p> + After he had chosen the subject of the history he contemplated, he found + that Mr. Prescott was occupied with a kindred one, so that there might be + too near a coincidence between them. I must borrow from Mr. Ticknor's + beautiful life of Prescott the words which introduce a letter of Motley's + to Mr. William Amory, who has kindly allowed me also to make use of it. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The moment, therefore, that he [Mr. Motley] was aware of this + condition of things, and the consequent possibility that there might + be an untoward interference in their plans, he took the same frank + and honorable course with Mr. Prescott that Mr. Prescott had taken + in relation to Mr. Irving, when he found that they had both been + contemplating a 'History of the Conquest of Mexico.' The result was + the same. Mr. Prescott, instead of treating the matter as an + interference, earnestly encouraged Mr. Motley to go on, and placed + at his disposition such of the books in his library as could be most + useful to him. How amply and promptly he did it, Mr. Motley's own + account will best show. It is in a letter dated at Rome, 26th + February, 1859, the day he heard of Mr. Prescott's death, and was + addressed to his intimate friend, Mr. William Amory, of Boston, Mr. + Prescott's much-loved brother-in-law.” + + “It seems to me but as yesterday,” Mr. Motley writes, “though it + must be now twelve years ago, that I was talking with our + ever-lamented friend Stackpole about my intention of writing a history + upon a subject to which I have since that time been devoting myself. + I had then made already some general studies in reference to it, + without being in the least aware that Prescott had the intention of + writing the 'History of Philip the Second.' Stackpole had heard the + fact, and that large preparations had already been made for the + work, although 'Peru' had not yet been published. I felt naturally + much disappointed. I was conscious of the immense disadvantage to + myself of making my appearance, probably at the same time, before + the public, with a work not at all similar in plan to 'Philip the + Second,' but which must of necessity traverse a portion of the same + ground. + + “My first thought was inevitably, as it were, only of myself. + It seemed to me that I had nothing to do but to abandon at once a + cherished dream, and probably to renounce authorship. For I had not + first made up my mind to write a history, and then cast about to + take up a subject. My subject had taken me up, drawn me on, and + absorbed me into itself. It was necessary for me, it seemed, to + write the book I had been thinking much of, even if it were destined + to fall dead from the press, and I had no inclination or interest to + write any other. When I had made up my mind accordingly, it then + occurred to me that Prescott might not be pleased that I should come + forward upon his ground. It is true that no announcement of his + intentions had been made, and that he had not, I believe, even + commenced his preliminary studies for Philip. At the same time I + thought it would be disloyal on my part not to go to him at once, + confer with him on the subject, and if I should find a shadow of + dissatisfaction on his mind at my proposition, to abandon my plan + altogether. + + “I had only the slightest acquaintance with him at that time. I was + comparatively a young man, and certainly not entitled on any ground + to more than the common courtesy which Prescott never could refuse + to any one. But he received me with such a frank and ready and + liberal sympathy, and such an open-hearted, guileless expansiveness, + that I felt a personal affection for him from that hour. I remember + the interview as if it had taken place yesterday. It was in his + father's house, in his own library, looking on the garden-house and + garden,—honored father and illustrious son,—alas! all numbered + with the things that were! He assured me that he had not the + slightest objection whatever to my plan, that he wished me every + success, and that, if there were any books in his library bearing on + my subject that I liked to use, they were entirely at my service. + After I had expressed my gratitude for his kindness and cordiality, + by which I had been in a very few moments set completely at ease, + —so far as my fears of his disapprobation went,—I also very + naturally stated my opinion that the danger was entirely mine, and + that it was rather wilful of me thus to risk such a collision at my + first venture, the probable consequence of which was utter + shipwreck. I recollect how kindly and warmly he combated this + opinion, assuring me that no two books, as he said, ever injured + each other, and encouraging me in the warmest and most earnest + manner to proceed on the course I had marked out for myself. + + “Had the result of that interview been different,—had he distinctly + stated, or even vaguely hinted, that it would be as well if I should + select some other topic, or had he only sprinkled me with the cold + water of conventional and commonplace encouragement,—I should have + gone from him with a chill upon my mind, and, no doubt, have laid + down the pen at once; for, as I have already said, it was not that I + cared about writing a history, but that I felt an inevitable impulse + to write one particular history. + + “You know how kindly he always spoke of and to me; and the generous + manner in which, without the slightest hint from me, and entirely + unexpected by me, he attracted the eyes of his hosts of readers to + my forthcoming work, by so handsomely alluding to it in the Preface + to his own, must be almost as fresh in your memory as it is in mine. + + “And although it seems easy enough for a man of world-wide + reputation thus to extend the right hand of fellowship to an unknown + and struggling aspirant, yet I fear that the history of literature + will show that such instances of disinterested kindness are as rare + as they are noble.” + </pre> + <p> + It was not from any feeling that Mr. Motley was a young writer from whose + rivalry he had nothing to apprehend. Mr. Amory says that Prescott + expressed himself very decidedly to the effect that an author who had + written such descriptive passages as were to be found in Mr. Motley's + published writings was not to be undervalued as a competitor by any one. + The reader who will turn to the description of Charles River in the eighth + chapter of the second volume of “Merry-Mount,” or of the autumnal woods in + the sixteenth chapter of the same volume, will see good reason for Mr. + Prescott's appreciation of the force of the rival whose advent he so + heartily and generously welcomed. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + X. 1851-1856. AEt. 37-42. + </h2> + <h3> + HISTORICAL STUDIES IN EUROPE.—LETTER FROM BRUSSELS. + </h3> + <p> + After working for several years on his projected “History of the Dutch + Republic,” he found that, in order to do justice to his subject, he must + have recourse to the authorities to be found only in the libraries and + state archives of Europe. In the year 1851 he left America with his + family, to begin his task over again, throwing aside all that he had + already done, and following up his new course of investigations at Berlin, + Dresden, the Hague, and Brussels during several succeeding years. I do not + know that I can give a better idea of his mode of life during this busy + period, his occupations, his state of mind, his objects of interest + outside of his special work, than by making the following extracts from a + long letter to myself, dated Brussels, 20th November, 1853. + </p> + <p> + After some personal matters he continued:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I don't really know what to say to you. I am in a town which, for + aught I know, may be very gay. I don't know a living soul in it. + We have not a single acquaintance in the place, and we glory in the + fact. There is something rather sublime in thus floating on a + single spar in the wide sea of a populous, busy, fuming, fussy world + like this. At any rate it is consonant to both our tastes. You may + suppose, however, that I find it rather difficult to amuse my + friends out of the incidents of so isolated an existence. Our daily + career is very regular and monotonous. Our life is as stagnant as a + Dutch canal. Not that I complain of it,—on the contrary, the canal + may be richly freighted with merchandise and be a short cut to the + ocean of abundant and perpetual knowledge; but, at the same time, + few points rise above the level of so regular a life, to be worthy + of your notice. You must, therefore, allow me to meander along the + meadows of commonplace. Don't expect anything of the impetuous and + boiling style. We go it weak here. I don't know whether you were + ever in Brussels. It is a striking, picturesque town, built up a + steep promontory, the old part at the bottom, very dingy and mouldy, + the new part at the top, very showy and elegant. Nothing can be + more exquisite in its way than the grande place in the very heart of + the city, surrounded with those toppling, zigzag, ten-storied + buildings bedizened all over with ornaments and emblems so peculiar + to the Netherlands, with the brocaded Hotel de Ville on one side, + with its impossible spire rising some three hundred and seventy feet + into the air and embroidered to the top with the delicacy of needle- + work, sugarwork, spider-work, or what you will. I haunt this place + because it is my scene, my theatre. Here were enacted so many deep + tragedies, so many stately dramas, and even so many farces, which + have been familiar to me so long that I have got to imagine myself + invested with a kind of property in the place, and look at it as if + it were merely the theatre with the coulisses, machinery, drapery, + etc., for representing scenes which have long since vanished, and + which no more enter the minds of the men and women who are actually + moving across its pavements than if they had occurred in the moon. + When I say that I knew no soul in Brussels I am perhaps wrong. With + the present generation I am not familiar. 'En revanche,' the dead + men of the place are my intimate friends. I am at home in any + cemetery. With the fellows of the sixteenth century I am on the + most familiar terms. Any ghost that ever flits by night across the + moonlight square is at once hailed by me as a man and a brother. I + call him by his Christian name at once. When you come out of this + place, however, which, as I said, is in the heart of the town,—the + antique gem in the modern setting,—you may go either up or down. + If you go down, you will find yourself in the very nastiest + complications of lanes and culs-de-sac possible, a dark entanglement + of gin-shops, beer-houses, and hovels, through which charming valley + dribbles the Senne (whence, I suppose, is derived Senna), the most + nauseous little river in the world, which receives all the + outpourings of all the drains and houses, and is then converted into + beer for the inhabitants, all the many breweries being directly upon + its edge. If you go up the hill instead of down, you come to an + arrangement of squares, palaces, and gardens as trim and fashionable + as you will find in Europe. Thus you see that our Cybele sits with + her head crowned with very stately towers and her feet in a tub of + very dirty water. + + “My habits here for the present year are very regular. I came here, + having, as I thought, finished my work, or rather the first Part + (something like three or four volumes, 8vo), but I find so much + original matter here, and so many emendations to make, that I am + ready to despair. However, there is nothing for it but to + penelopize, pull to pieces, and stitch away again. Whatever may be + the result of my labor, nobody can say that I have not worked like + a brute beast,—but I don't care for the result. The labor is in + itself its own reward and all I want. I go day after day to the + archives here (as I went all summer at the Hague), studying the old + letters and documents of the fifteenth century. Here I remain among + my fellow-worms, feeding on these musty mulberry-leaves, out of + which we are afterwards to spin our silk. How can you expect + anything interesting from such a human cocoon? It is, however, not + without its amusement in a mouldy sort of way, this reading of dead + letters. It is something to read the real, bona fide signs-manual + of such fellows as William of Orange, Count Egmont, Alexander + Farnese, Philip II., Cardinal Granvelle, and the rest of them. It + gives a 'realizing sense,' as the Americans have it. . . . There + are not many public resources of amusement in this place,—if we + wanted them,—which we don't. I miss the Dresden Gallery very much, + and it makes me sad to think that I shall never look at the face of + the Sistine Madonna again,—that picture beyond all pictures in the + world, in which the artist certainly did get to heaven and painted a + face which was never seen on earth—so pathetic, so gentle, so + passionless, so prophetic. . . . There are a few good Rubenses + here,—but the great wealth of that master is in Antwerp. The great + picture of the Descent from the Cross is free again, after having + been ten years in the repairing room. It has come out in very good + condition. What a picture? It seems to me as if I had really stood + at the cross and seen Mary weeping on John's shoulder, and Magdalen + receiving the dead body of the Saviour in her arms. Never was the + grand tragedy represented in so profound and dramatic a manner. For + it is not only in his color in which this man so easily surpasses + all the world, but in his life-like, flesh-and-blood action,—the + tragic power of his composition. And is it not appalling to think + of the 'large constitution of this man,' when you reflect on the + acres of canvas which he has covered? How inspiriting to see with + what muscular, masculine vigor this splendid Fleming rushed in and + plucked up drowning Art by the locks when it was sinking in the + trashy sea of such creatures as the Luca Giordanos and Pietro + Cortonas and the like. Well might Guido exclaim, 'The fellow mixes + blood with his colors! . . . How providentially did the man come + in and invoke living, breathing, moving men and women out of his + canvas! Sometimes he is ranting and exaggerated, as are all men of + great genius who wrestle with Nature so boldly. No doubt his + heroines are more expansively endowed than would be thought genteel + in our country, where cryptogams are so much in fashion, + nevertheless there is always something very tremendous about him, + and very often much that is sublime, pathetic, and moving. I defy + any one of the average amount of imagination and sentiment to stand + long before the Descent from the Cross without being moved more + nearly to tears than he would care to acknowledge. As for color, + his effects are as sure as those of the sun rising in a tropical + landscape. There is something quite genial in the cheerful sense of + his own omnipotence which always inspired him. There are a few fine + pictures of his here, and I go in sometimes of a raw, foggy morning + merely to warm myself in the blaze of their beauty.” + </pre> + <p> + I have been more willing to give room to this description of Rubens's + pictures and the effect they produced upon Motley, because there is a + certain affinity between those sumptuous and glowing works of art and the + prose pictures of the historian who so admired them. He was himself a + colorist in language, and called up the image of a great personage or a + splendid pageant of the past with the same affluence, the same rich + vitality, that floods and warms the vast areas of canvas over which the + full-fed genius of Rubens disported itself in the luxury of imaginative + creation. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XI. 1856-1857. AEt. 42-43. + </h2> + <p> + PUBLICATION OF HIS FIRST HISTORICAL WORK, “RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC.” + —ITS RECEPTION.—CRITICAL NOTICES. + </p> + <p> + The labor of ten years was at last finished. Carrying his formidable + manuscript with him,—and how formidable the manuscript which melts + down into three solid octavo volumes is, only writers and publishers know,—he + knocked at the gate of that terrible fortress from which Lintot and Curll + and Tonson looked down on the authors of an older generation. So large a + work as the “History of the Rise of the Dutch Republic,” offered for the + press by an author as yet unknown to the British public, could hardly + expect a warm welcome from the great dealers in literature as merchandise. + Mr. Murray civilly declined the manuscript which was offered to him, and + it was published at its author's expense by Mr. John Chapman. The time + came when the positions of the first-named celebrated publisher and the + unknown writer were reversed. Mr. Murray wrote to Mr. Motley asking to be + allowed to publish his second great work, the “History of the United + Netherlands,” expressing at the same time his regret at what he candidly + called his mistake in the first instance, and thus they were at length + brought into business connection as well as the most agreeable and + friendly relations. An American edition was published by the Harpers at + the same time as the London one. + </p> + <p> + If the new work of the unknown author found it difficult to obtain a + publisher, it was no sooner given to the public than it found an + approving, an admiring, an enthusiastic world of readers, and a noble + welcome at the colder hands of the critics. + </p> + <p> + “The Westminster Review” for April, 1856, had for its leading article a + paper by Mr. Froude, in which the critic awarded the highest praise to the + work of the new historian. As one of the earliest as well as one of the + most important recognitions of the work, I quote some of its judgments. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “A history as complete as industry and genius can make it now lies + before us of the first twenty years of the Revolt of the United + Provinces; of the period in which those provinces finally conquered + their independence and established the Republic of Holland. It has + been the result of many years of silent, thoughtful, unobtrusive + labor, and unless we are strangely mistaken, unless we are ourselves + altogether unfit for this office of criticising which we have here + undertaken, the book is one which will take its place among the + finest histories in this or in any language. . . . All the + essentials of a great writer Mr. Motley eminently possesses. His + mind is broad, his industry unwearied. In power of dramatic + description no modern historian, except perhaps Mr. Carlyle, + surpasses him, and in analysis of character he is elaborate and + distinct. His principles are those of honest love for all which is + good and admirable in human character wherever he finds it, while he + unaffectedly hates oppression, and despises selfishness with all his + heart.” + </pre> + <p> + After giving a slight analytical sketch of the series of events related in + the history, Mr. Froude objects to only one of the historian's estimates, + that, namely, of the course of Queen Elizabeth. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “It is ungracious, however,” he says, “even to find so slight a + fault with these admirable volumes. Mr. Motley has written without + haste, with the leisurely composure of a master. . . . We now + take our leave of Mr. Motley, desiring him only to accept our hearty + thanks for these volumes, which we trust will soon take their place + in every English library. Our quotations will have sufficed to show + the ability of the writer. Of the scope and general character of + his work we have given but a languid conception. The true merit of + a great book must be learned from the book itself. Our part has + been rather to select varied specimens of style and power. Of Mr. + Motley's antecedents we know nothing. If he has previously appeared + before the public, his reputation has not crossed the Atlantic. It + will not be so now. We believe that we may promise him as warm a + welcome among ourselves as he will receive even in America; that his + place will be at once conceded to him among the first historians in + our common language.” + </pre> + <p> + The faithful and unwearied Mr. Allibone has swept the whole field of + contemporary criticism, and shown how wide and universal was the welcome + accorded to the hitherto unknown author. An article headed “Prescott and + Motley,” attributed to M. Guizot, which must have been translated, I + suppose, from his own language, judging by its freedom from French idioms, + is to be found in “The Edinburgh Review” for January, 1857. The praise, + not unmingled with criticisms, which that great historian bestowed upon + Motley is less significant than the fact that he superintended a + translation of the “Rise of the Dutch Republic,” and himself wrote the + Introduction to it. + </p> + <p> + A general chorus of approbation followed or accompanied these leading + voices. The reception of the work in Great Britain was a triumph. On the + Continent, in addition to the tribute paid to it by M. Guizot, it was + translated into Dutch, into German, and into Russian. At home his + reception was not less hearty. “The North American Review,” which had set + its foot on the semi-autobiographical medley which he called “Morton's + Hope,” which had granted a decent space and a tepid recognition to his + “semi-historical” romance, in which he had already given the reading + public a taste of his quality as a narrator of real events and a + delineator of real personages,—this old and awe-inspiring New + England and more than New England representative of the Fates, found room + for a long and most laudatory article, in which the son of one of our most + distinguished historians did the honors of the venerable literary + periodical to the new-comer, for whom the folding-doors of all the + critical headquarters were flying open as if of themselves. Mr. Allibone + has recorded the opinions of some of our best scholars as expressed to + him. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Lieber wrote a letter to Mr. Allibone in the strongest terms of + praise. I quote one passage which in the light of after events borrows a + cruel significance:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Congress and Parliament decree thanks for military exploits, + —rarely for diplomatic achievements. If they ever voted their thanks + for books,—and what deeds have influenced the course of human + events more than some books?—Motley ought to have the thanks of our + Congress; but I doubt not that he has already the thanks of every + American who has read the work. It will leave its distinct mark + upon the American mind.” + </pre> + <p> + Mr. Everett writes:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Mr. Motley's 'History of the Dutch Republic' is in my judgment a + work of the highest merit. Unwearying research for years in the + libraries of Europe, patience and judgment in arranging and + digesting his materials, a fine historical tact, much skill in + characterization, the perspective of narration, as it may be called, + and a vigorous style unite to make it a very capital work, and place + the name of Motley by the side of those of our great historical + trio,—Bancroft, Irving, and Prescott.” + </pre> + <p> + Mr. Irving, Mr. Bancroft, Mr. Sumner, Mr. Hillard, united their voices in + the same strain of commendation. Mr. Prescott, whose estimate of the new + history is of peculiar value for obvious reasons, writes to Mr. Allibone + thus:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The opinion of any individual seems superfluous in respect to a + work on the merits of which the public both at home and abroad have + pronounced so unanimous a verdict. As Motley's path crosses my own + historic field, I may be thought to possess some advantage over most + critics in my familiarity with the ground. + + “However this may be, I can honestly bear my testimony to the extent + of his researches and to the accuracy with which he has given the + results of them to the public. Far from making his book a mere + register of events, he has penetrated deep below the surface and + explored the cause of these events. He has carefully studied the + physiognomy of the times and given finished portraits of the great + men who conducted the march of the revolution. Every page is + instinct with the love of freedom and with that personal knowledge + of the working of free institutions which could alone enable him to + do justice to his subject. We may congratulate ourselves that it + was reserved for one of our countrymen to tell the story-better than + it had yet been told—of this memorable revolution, which in so many + of its features bears a striking resemblance to our own.” + </pre> + <p> + The public welcomed the work as cordially as the critics. Fifteen thousand + copies had already been sold in London in 1857. In America it was equally + popular. Its author saw his name enrolled by common consent among those of + the great writers of his time. Europe accepted him, his country was proud + to claim him, scholarship set its jealously guarded seal upon the result + of his labors, the reading world, which had not cared greatly for his + stories, hung in delight over a narrative more exciting than romances; and + the lonely student, who had almost forgotten the look of living men in the + solitude of archives haunted by dead memories, found himself suddenly in + the full blaze of a great reputation. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XII. 1856-1857. AEt. 42-43. + </h2> + <h3> + VISIT TO AMERICA.—RESIDENCE IN BOYLSTON PLACE. + </h3> + <p> + He visited this country in 1856, and spent the winter of 1856-57 in + Boston, living with his family in a house in Boylston Place. At this time + I had the pleasure of meeting him often, and of seeing the changes which + maturity, success, the opening of a great literary and social career, had + wrought in his character and bearing. He was in every way greatly + improved; the interesting, impulsive youth had ripened into a noble + manhood. Dealing with great themes, his own mind had gained their dignity. + Accustomed to the company of dead statesmen and heroes, his own ideas had + risen to a higher standard. The flattery of society had added a new grace + to his natural modesty. He was now a citizen of the world by his + reputation; the past was his province, in which he was recognized as a + master; the idol's pedestal was ready for him, but he betrayed no desire + to show himself upon it. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIII. 1858-1860. AEt. 44-46. + </h2> + <h3> + RETURN TO ENGLAND.—SOCIAL RELATIONS.—LADY HARCOURT'S LETTER. + </h3> + <p> + During the years spent in Europe in writing his first history, from 1851 + to 1856, Mr. Motley had lived a life of great retirement and simplicity, + devoting himself to his work and to the education of his children, to + which last object he was always ready to give the most careful + supervision. He was as yet unknown beyond the circle of his friends, and + he did not seek society. In this quiet way he had passed the two years of + residence in Dresden, the year divided between Brussels and the Hague, and + a very tranquil year spent at Vevay on the Lake of Geneva. His health at + this time was tolerably good, except for nervous headaches, which + frequently recurred and were of great severity. His visit to England with + his manuscript in search of a publisher has already been mentioned. + </p> + <p> + In 1858 he revisited England. His fame as a successful author was there + before him, and he naturally became the object of many attentions. He now + made many acquaintances who afterwards became his kind and valued friends. + Among those mentioned by his daughter, Lady Harcourt, are Lord Lyndhurst, + Lord Carlisle, Lady William Russell, Lord and Lady Palmerston, Dean + Milman, with many others. The following winter was passed in Rome, among + many English and American friends. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “In the course of the next summer,” his daughter writes to me, “we + all went to England, and for the next two years, marked chiefly by + the success of the 'United Netherlands,' our social life was most + agreeable and most interesting. He was in the fulness of his health + and powers; his works had made him known in intellectual society, + and I think his presence, on the other hand, increased their + effects. As no one knows better than you do, his belief in his own + country and in its institutions at their best was so passionate and + intense that it was a part of his nature, yet his refined and + fastidious tastes were deeply gratified by the influences of his + life in England, and the spontaneous kindness which he received + added much to his happiness. At that time Lord Palmerston was Prime + Minister; the weekly receptions at Cambridge House were the centre + of all that was brilliant in the political and social world, while + Lansdowne House, Holland House, and others were open to the + 'sommites' in all branches of literature, science, rank, and + politics. . . . It was the last year of Lord Macaulay's life, + and as a few out of many names which I recall come Dean Milman, Mr. + Froude (whose review of the 'Dutch Republic' in the 'Westminster' + was one of the first warm recognitions it ever received), the Duke + and Duchess of Argyll, Sir William Stirling Maxwell, then Mr. + Stirling of Keir, the Sheridan family in its different brilliant + members, Lord Wensleydale, and many more.” + </pre> + <p> + There was no society to which Motley would not have added grace and + attraction by his presence, and to say that he was a welcome guest in the + best houses of England is only saying that these houses are always open to + those whose abilities, characters, achievements, are commended to the + circles that have the best choice by the personal gifts which are nature's + passport everywhere. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIV. 1859. AEt. 45. + </h2> + <p> + LETTER TO MR. FRANCIS H. UNDERWOOD.—PLAN OF MR. MOTLEY'S HISTORICAL + WORKS.—SECOND GREAT WORK, “HISTORY OF THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.” + </p> + <p> + I am enabled by the kindness of Mr. Francis H. Underwood to avail myself + of a letter addressed to him by Mr. Motley in the year before the + publication of this second work, which gives us an insight into his mode + of working and the plan he proposed to follow. It begins with an allusion + which recalls a literary event interesting to many of his American + friends. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + ROME, March 4, 1859. + + F. H. UNDERWOOD, ESQ. + + My dear Sir,—. . . I am delighted to hear of the great success + of “The Atlantic Monthly.” In this remote region I have not the + chance of reading it as often as I should like, but from the + specimens which I have seen I am quite sure it deserves its wide + circulation. A serial publication, the contents of which are purely + original and of such remarkable merit, is a novelty in our country, + and I am delighted to find that it has already taken so prominent a + position before the reading world. . . + + The whole work [his history], of which the three volumes already + published form a part, will be called “The Eighty Years' War for + Liberty.” + + Epoch I. is the Rise of the Dutch Republic. + + Epoch II. Independence Achieved. From the Death of William the + Silent till the Twelve Years' Truce. 1584-1609. + + Epoch III. Independence Recognized. From the Twelve Years' Truce + to the Peace of Westphalia. 1609-1648. + + My subject is a very vast one, for the struggle of the United + Provinces with Spain was one in which all the leading states of + Europe were more or less involved. After the death of William the + Silent, the history assumes world-wide proportions. Thus the volume + which I am just about terminating . . . is almost as much English + history as Dutch. The Earl of Leicester, very soon after the death + of Orange, was appointed governor of the provinces, and the alliance + between the two countries almost amounted to a political union. I + shall try to get the whole of the Leicester administration, + terminating with the grand drama of the Invincible Armada, into one + volume; but I doubt, my materials are so enormous. I have been + personally very hard at work, nearly two years, ransacking the + British State Paper Office, the British Museum, and the Holland + archives, and I have had two copyists constantly engaged in London, + and two others at the Hague. Besides this, I passed the whole of + last winter at Brussels, where, by special favor of the Belgian + Government, I was allowed to read what no one else has ever been + permitted to see,—the great mass of copies taken by that government + from the Simancas archives, a translated epitome of which has been + published by Gachard. This correspondence reaches to the death of + Philip II., and is of immense extent and importance. Had I not + obtained leave to read the invaluable and, for my purpose, + indispensable documents at Brussels, I should have gone to Spain, + for they will not be published these twenty years, and then only in + a translated and excessively abbreviated and unsatisfactory form. + I have read the whole of this correspondence, and made very copious + notes of it. In truth, I devoted three months of last winter to + that purpose alone. + + The materials I have collected from the English archives are also + extremely important and curious. I have hundreds of interesting + letters never published or to be published, by Queen Elizabeth, + Burghley, Walsingham, Sidney, Drake, Willoughby, Leicester, and + others. For the whole of that portion of my subject in which + Holland and England were combined into one whole, to resist Spain in + its attempt to obtain the universal empire, I have very abundant + collections. For the history of the United Provinces is not at all + a provincial history. It is the history of European liberty. + Without the struggle of Holland and England against Spain, all + Europe might have been Catholic and Spanish. It was Holland that + saved England in the sixteenth century, and, by so doing, secured + the triumph of the Reformation, and placed the independence of the + various states of Europe upon a sure foundation. Of course, the + materials collected by me at the Hague are of great importance. As + a single specimen, I will state that I found in the archives there + an immense and confused mass of papers, which turned out to be the + autograph letters of Olden Barneveld during the last few years of + his life; during, in short, the whole of that most important period + which preceded his execution. These letters are in such an + intolerable handwriting that no one has ever attempted to read them. + I could read them only imperfectly myself, and it would have taken + me a very long time to have acquired the power to do so; but my + copyist and reader there is the most patient and indefatigable + person alive, and he has quite mastered the handwriting, and he + writes me that they are a mine of historical wealth for me. I shall + have complete copies before I get to that period, one of signal + interest, and which has never been described. I mention these + matters that you may see that my work, whatever its other value may + be, is built upon the only foundation fit for history,—original + contemporary documents. These are all unpublished. Of course, I + use the contemporary historians and pamphleteers,—Dutch, Spanish, + French, Italian, German, and English,—but the most valuable of my + sources are manuscript ones. I have said the little which I have + said in order to vindicate the largeness of the subject. The + kingdom of Holland is a small power now, but the Eighty Years' War, + which secured the civil and religious independence of the Dutch + Commonwealth and of Europe, was the great event of that whole age. + + The whole work will therefore cover a most remarkable epoch in human + history, from the abdication of Charles Fifth to the Peace of + Westphalia, at which last point the political and geographical + arrangements of Europe were established on a permanent basis,—in + the main undisturbed until the French Revolution. . . . + + I will mention that I received yesterday a letter from the + distinguished M. Guizot, informing me that the first volume of the + French translation, edited by him, with an introduction, has just + been published. The publication was hastened in consequence of the + appearance of a rival translation at Brussels. The German + translation is very elegantly and expensively printed in handsome + octavos; and the Dutch translation, under the editorship of the + archivist general of Holland, Bakhuyzen v. d. Brink, is enriched + with copious notes and comments by that distinguished scholar. + + There are also three different piratical reprints of the original + work at Amsterdam, Leipzig, and London. I must add that I had + nothing to do with the translation in any case. In fact, with the + exception of M. Guizot, no one ever obtained permission of me to + publish translations, and I never knew of the existence of them + until I read of it in the journals. . . . I forgot to say that + among the collections already thoroughly examined by me is that + portion of the Simancas archives still retained in the Imperial + archives of France. I spent a considerable time in Paris for the + purpose of reading these documents. There are many letters of + Philip II. there, with apostilles by his own hand. . . . I + would add that I am going to pass this summer at Venice for the + purpose of reading and procuring copies from the very rich archives + of that Republic, of the correspondence of their envoys in Madrid, + London, and Brussels during the epoch of which I am treating. + + I am also not without hope of gaining access to the archives of the + Vatican here, although there are some difficulties in the way. + + With kind regards . . . + I remain very truly yours, + J. L. MOTLEY. +</pre> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XV. 1860. AT. 46. + </h2> + <p> + PUBLICATION OF THE FIRST TWO VOLUMES OF THE “HISTORY OF THE UNITED + NETHERLANDS.”—THEIR RECEPTION. + </p> + <p> + We know something of the manner in which Mr. Motley collected his + materials. We know the labors, the difficulties, the cost of his toils + among the dusty records of the past. What he gained by the years he spent + in his researches is so well stated by himself that I shall borrow his own + words:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Thanks to the liberality of many modern governments of Europe, the + archives where the state secrets of the buried centuries have so + long mouldered are now open to the student of history. To him who + has patience and industry, many mysteries are thus revealed which no + political sagacity or critical acumen could have divined. He leans + over the shoulder of Philip the Second at his writing-table, as the + King spells patiently out, with cipher-key in hand, the most + concealed hieroglyphics of Parma, or Guise, or Mendoza. He reads + the secret thoughts of 'Fabius' [Philip II.] as that cunctative + Roman scrawls his marginal apostilles on each dispatch; he pries + into all the stratagems of Camillus, Hortensius, Mucius, Julius, + Tullius, and the rest of those ancient heroes who lent their names + to the diplomatic masqueraders of the sixteenth century; he enters + the cabinet of the deeply pondering Burghley, and takes from the + most private drawer the memoranda which record that minister's + unutterable doubtings; he pulls from the dressing-gown folds of the + stealthy, soft-gliding Walsingham the last secret which he has + picked from the Emperor's pigeon-holes or the Pope's pocket, and + which not Hatton, nor Buckhurst, nor Leicester, nor the Lord + Treasurer is to see,—nobody but Elizabeth herself; he sits + invisible at the most secret councils of the Nassaus and Barneveld + and Buys, or pores with Farnese over coming victories and vast + schemes of universal conquest; he reads the latest bit of scandal, + the minutest characteristic of king or minister, chronicled by the + gossiping Venetians for the edification of the Forty; and after all + this prying and eavesdropping, having seen the cross-purposes, the + bribings, the windings in the dark, he is not surprised if those who + were systematically deceived did not always arrive at correct + conclusions.” + </pre> + <p> + The fascination of such a quest is readily conceivable. A drama with real + characters, and the spectator at liberty to go behind the scenes and look + upon and talk with the kings and queens between the acts; to examine the + scenery, to handle the properties, to study the “make up” of the imposing + personages of full-dress histories; to deal with them all as Thackeray has + done with the Grand Monarque in one of his caustic sketches,—this + would be as exciting, one might suppose, as to sit through a play one + knows by heart at Drury Lane or the Theatre Francais, and might furnish + occupation enough to the curious idler who was only in search of + entertainment. The mechanical obstacles of half-illegible manuscript, of + antiquated forms of speech, to say nothing of the intentional obscurities + of diplomatic correspondence, stand, however, in the way of all but the + resolute and unwearied scholar. These difficulties, in all their complex + obstinacy, had been met and overcome by the heroic efforts, the + concentrated devotion, of the new laborer in the unbroken fields of secret + history. + </p> + <p> + Without stopping to take breath, as it were,—for his was a task 'de + longue haleine,'—he proceeded to his second great undertaking. + </p> + <p> + The first portion—consisting of two volumes—of the “History of + the United Netherlands” was published in the year 1860. It maintained and + increased the reputation he had already gained by his first history. + </p> + <p> + “The London Quarterly Review” devoted a long article to it, beginning with + this handsome tribute to his earlier and later volumes:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Mr. Motley's 'History of the Rise of the Dutch Republic' is already + known and valued for the grasp of mind which it displays, for the + earnest and manly spirit in which he has communicated the results of + deep research and careful reflection. Again he appears before us, + rich with the spoils of time, to tell the story of the United + Netherlands from the time of William the Silent to the end of the + eventful year of the Spanish Armada, and we still find him in every + way worthy of this 'great argument.' Indeed, it seems to us that he + proceeds with an increased facility of style, and with a more + complete and easy command over his materials. These materials are + indeed splendid, and of them most excellent use has been made. The + English State Paper Office, the Spanish archives from Simancas, and + the Dutch and Belgian repositories, have all yielded up their + secrets; and Mr. Motley has enjoyed the advantage of dealing with a + vast mass of unpublished documents, of which he has not failed to + avail himself to an extent which places his work in the foremost + rank as an authority for the period to which it relates. By means + of his labor and his art we can sit at the council board of Philip + and Elizabeth, we can read their most private dispatches. Guided by + his demonstration, we are enabled to dissect out to their ultimate + issues the minutest ramifications of intrigue. We join in the + amusement of the popular lampoon; we visit the prison-house; we + stand by the scaffold; we are present at the battle and the siege. + We can scan the inmost characters of men and can view them in their + habits as they lived.” + </pre> + <p> + After a few criticisms upon lesser points of form and style, the writer + says:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “But the work itself must be read to appreciate the vast and + conscientious industry bestowed upon it. His delineations are true + and life-like, because they are not mere compositions written to + please the ear, but are really taken from the facts and traits + preserved in those authentic records to which he has devoted the + labor of many years. Diligent and painstaking as the humblest + chronicler, he has availed himself of many sources of information + which have not been made use of by any previous historical writer. + At the same time he is not oppressed by his materials, but has + sagacity to estimate their real value, and he has combined with + scholarly power the facts which they contain. He has rescued the + story of the Netherlands from the domain of vague and general + narrative, and has labored, with much judgment and ability, to + unfold the 'Belli causas, et vitia, et modos,' and to assign to + every man and every event their own share in the contest, and their + own influence upon its fortunes. We do not wonder that his earlier + publication has been received as a valuable addition, not only to + English, but to European literature.” + </pre> + <p> + One or two other contemporary criticisms may help us with their side + lights. A critic in “The Edinburgh Review” for January, 1861, thinks that + “Mr. Motley has not always been successful in keeping the graphic variety + of his details subordinate to the main theme of his work.” Still, he + excuses the fault, as he accounts it, in consideration of the new light + thrown on various obscure points of history, and— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “it is atoned for by striking merits, by many narratives of great + events faithfully, powerfully, and vividly executed, by the clearest + and most life-like conceptions of character, and by a style which, + if it sacrifices the severer principles of composition to a desire + to be striking and picturesque, is always vigorous, full of + animation, and glowing with the genuine enthusiasm of the writer. + Mr. Motley combines as an historian two qualifications seldom found + united,—to great capacity for historical research he adds much + power of pictorial representation. In his pages we find characters + and scenes minutely set forth in elaborate and characteristic + detail, which is relieved and heightened in effect by the artistic + breadth of light and shade thrown across the broader prospects of + history. In an American author, too, we must commend the hearty + English spirit in which the book is written; and fertile as the + present age has been in historical works of the highest merit, none + of them can be ranked above these volumes in the grand qualities of + interest, accuracy, and truth.” + </pre> + <p> + A writer in “Blackwood” (May, 1861) contrasts Motley with Froude somewhat + in the way in which another critic had contrasted him with Prescott. + Froude, he says, remembers that there are some golden threads in the black + robe of the Dominican. Motley “finds it black and thrusts it farther into + the darkness.” + </p> + <p> + Every writer carries more or less of his own character into his book, of + course. A great professor has told me that there is a personal flavor in + the mathematical work of a man of genius like Poisson. Those who have + known Motley and Prescott would feel sure beforehand that the impulsive + nature of the one and the judicial serenity of the other would as surely + betray themselves in their writings as in their conversation and in their + every movement. Another point which the critic of “Blackwood's Magazine” + has noticed has not been so generally observed: it is what he calls “a + dashing, offhand, rattling style,”—“fast” writing. It cannot be + denied that here and there may be detected slight vestiges of the way of + writing of an earlier period of Motley's literary life, with which I have + no reason to think the writer just mentioned was acquainted. Now and then + I can trace in the turn of a phrase, in the twinkle of an epithet, a faint + reminiscence of a certain satirical levity, airiness, jauntiness, if I may + hint such a word, which is just enough to remind me of those perilous + shallows of his early time through which his richly freighted argosy had + passed with such wonderful escape from their dangers and such very slight + marks of injury. That which is pleasant gayety in conversation may be + quite out of place in formal composition, and Motley's wit must have had a + hard time of it struggling to show its spangles in the processions while + his gorgeous tragedies went sweeping by. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Volume II. + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVI. 1860-1866. AEt. 46-52. + </h2> + <p> + RESIDENCE IN ENGLAND.—OUTBREAK OF THE CIVIL WAR.—LETTERS TO + THE LONDON “TIMES.”—VISIT TO AMERICA.—APPOINTED MINISTER TO + AUSTRIA.—LADY HARCOURT'S LETTER.—MISS MOTLEY'S MEMORANDUM. + </p> + <p> + The winter of 1859-60 was passed chiefly at Oatlands Hotel, + Walton-on-Thames. In 1860 Mr. Motley hired the house No. 31 Hertford + Street, May Fair, London. He had just published the first two volumes of + his “History of the Netherlands,” and was ready for the further labors of + its continuation, when the threats, followed by the outbreak, of the great + civil contention in his native land brought him back from the struggles of + the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to the conflict of the nineteenth. + </p> + <p> + His love of country, which had grown upon him so remarkably of late years, + would not suffer him to be silent at such a moment. All around him he + found ignorance and prejudice. The quarrel was like to be prejudged in + default of a champion of the cause which to him was that of Liberty and + Justice. He wrote two long letters to the London “Times,” in which he + attempted to make clear to Englishmen and to Europe the nature and + conditions of our complex system of government, the real cause of the + strife, and the mighty issues at stake. Nothing could have been more + timely, nothing more needed. Mr. William Everett, who was then in England, + bears strong testimony to the effect these letters produced. Had Mr. + Motley done no other service to his country, this alone would entitle him + to honorable remembrance as among the first defenders of the flag, which + at that moment had more to fear from what was going on in the cabinet + councils of Europe than from all the armed hosts that were gathering + against it. + </p> + <p> + He returned to America in 1861, and soon afterwards was appointed by Mr. + Lincoln Minister to Austria. Mr. Burlingame had been previously appointed + to the office, but having been objected to by the Austrian Government for + political reasons, the place unexpectedly left vacant was conferred upon + Motley, who had no expectation of any diplomatic appointment when he left + Europe. For some interesting particulars relating to his residence in + Vienna I must refer to the communications addressed to me by his daughter, + Lady Harcourt, and her youngest sister, and the letters I received from + him while at the Austrian capital. Lady Harcourt writes:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “He held the post for six years, seeing the civil war fought out and + brought to a triumphant conclusion, and enjoying, as I have every + reason to believe, the full confidence and esteem of Mr. Lincoln to + the last hour of the President's life. In the first dark years the + painful interest of the great national drama was so all-absorbing + that literary work was entirely put aside, and with his countrymen + at home he lived only in the varying fortunes of the day, his + profound faith and enthusiasm sustaining him and lifting him above + the natural influence of a by no means sanguine temperament. Later, + when the tide was turning and success was nearing, he was more able + to work. His social relations during the whole period of his + mission were of the most agreeable character. The society of Vienna + was at that time, and I believe is still, the absolute reverse of + that of England, where all claims to distinction are recognized and + welcomed. There the old feudal traditions were still in full force, + and diplomatic representatives admitted to the court society by + right of official position found it to consist exclusively of an + aristocracy of birth, sixteen quarterings of nobility being + necessary to a right of presentation to the Emperor and Empress. + The society thus constituted was distinguished by great charm and + grace of manner, the exclusion of all outer elements not only + limiting the numbers, but giving the ease of a family party within + the charmed circle. On the other hand, larger interests suffered + under the rigid exclusion of all occupations except the army, + diplomacy, and court place. The intimacy among the different + members of the society was so close that, beyond a courtesy of + manner that never failed, the tendency was to resist the approach of + any stranger as a 'gene'. A single new face was instantly remarked + and commented on in a Vienna saloon to an extent unknown in any + other large capital. This peculiarity, however, worked in favor of + the old resident. Kindliness of feeling increased with familiarity + and grew into something better than acquaintance, and the parting + with most sincere and affectionately disposed friends in the end was + deeply felt on both sides. Those years were passed in a pleasant + house in the Weiden Faubourg, with a large garden at the back, and I + do not think that during this time there was one disagreeable + incident in his relations to his colleagues, while in several cases + the relations, agreeable with all, became those of close friendship. + We lived constantly, of course, in diplomatic and Austrian society, + and during the latter part of the time particularly his house was as + much frequented and the centre of as many dancing and other + receptions as any in the place. His official relations with the + Foreign Office were courteous and agreeable, the successive Foreign + Ministers during his stay being Count Richberg, Count Mensdorff, and + Baron Beust. Austria was so far removed from any real contact with + our own country that, though the interest in our war may have been + languid, they did not pretend to a knowledge which might have + inclined them to controversy, while an instinct that we were acting + as a constituted government against rebellion rather inclined them + to sympathy. I think I may say that as he became known among them + his keen patriotism and high sense of honor and truth were fully + understood and appreciated, and that what he said always commanded a + sympathetic hearing among men with totally different political + ideas, but with chivalrous and loyal instincts to comprehend his + own. I shall never forget his account of the terrible day when the + news of Mr. Lincoln's death came. By some accident a rumor of it + reached him first through a colleague. He went straight to the + Foreign Office for news, hoping against hope, was received by Count + Mensdorff, who merely came forward and laid his arm about his + shoulder with an intense sympathy beyond words.” + </pre> + <p> + Miss Motley, the historian's youngest daughter, has added a note to her + sister's communication:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “During his residence in Vienna the most important negotiations + which he had to carry on with the Austrian Government were those + connected with the Mexican affair. Maximilian at one time applied + to his brother the Emperor for assistance, and he promised to accede + to his demand. Accordingly a large number of volunteers were + equipped and had actually embarked at Trieste, when a dispatch from + Seward arrived, instructing the American Minister to give notice to + the Austrian Government that if the troops sailed for Mexico he was + to leave Vienna at once. My father had to go at once to Count + Mensdorff with these instructions, and in spite of the Foreign + Minister being annoyed that the United States Government had not + sooner intimated that this extreme course would be taken, the + interview was quite amicable and the troops were not allowed to + sail. We were in Vienna during the war in which Denmark fought + alone against Austria and Prussia, and when it was over Bismarck + came to Vienna to settle the terms of peace with the Emperor. He + dined with us twice during his short stay, and was most delightful + and agreeable. When he and my father were together they seemed to + live over the youthful days they had spent together as students, + and many were the anecdotes of their boyish frolics which Bismarck + related.” + </pre> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVII. 1861-1863. AEt. 47-49. + </h2> + <h3> + LETTERS FROM VIENNA. + </h3> + <p> + Soon after Mr. Motley's arrival in Vienna I received a long letter from + him, most of which relates to personal matters, but which contains a few + sentences of interest to the general reader as showing his zealous labors, + wherever he found himself, in behalf of the great cause then in bloody + debate in his own country: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + November 14, 1861. + + . . . What can I say to you of cis-Atlantic things? I am almost + ashamed to be away from home. You know that I had decided to + remain, and had sent for my family to come to America, when my + present appointment altered my plans. I do what good I can. I + think I made some impression on Lord John Russell, with whom I spent + two days soon after my arrival in England, and I talked very frankly + and as strongly as I could to Palmerston, and I have had long + conversations and correspondences with other leading men in England. + I have also had an hour's [conversation] with Thouvenel in Paris. I + hammered the Northern view into him as soundly as I could. For this + year there will be no foreign interference with us. I don't + anticipate it at any time, unless we bring it on ourselves by bad + management, which I don't expect. Our fate is in our own hands, and + Europe is looking on to see which side is strongest,—when it has + made the discovery it will back it as also the best and the most + moral. Yesterday I had my audience with the Emperor. He received + me with much cordiality, and seemed interested in a long account + which I gave him of our affairs. You may suppose I inculcated the + Northern views. We spoke in his vernacular, and he asked me + afterwards if I was a German. I mention this not from vanity, but + because he asked it with earnestness, and as if it had a political + significance. Of course I undeceived him. His appearance + interested me, and his manner is very pleasing. +</pre> + <p> + I continued to receive long and interesting letters from him at intervals + during his residence as Minister at Vienna. Relating as they often did to + public matters, about which he had private sources of information, his + anxiety that they should not get into print was perfectly natural. As, + however, I was at liberty to read his letters to others at my discretion, + and as many parts of these letters have an interest as showing how + American affairs looked to one who was behind the scenes in Europe, I may + venture to give some extracts without fear of violating the spirit of his + injunctions, or of giving offence to individuals. The time may come when + his extended correspondence can be printed in full with propriety, but it + must be in a future year and after it has passed into the hands of a + younger generation. Meanwhile these few glimpses at his life and records + of his feelings and opinions will help to make the portrait of the man we + are studying present itself somewhat more clearly. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + LEGATION of THE U. S. A., VIENNA, January 14, 1862. + + MY DEAR HOLMES,—I have two letters of yours, November 29 and + December 17, to express my thanks for. It is quite true that it is + difficult for me to write with the same feeling that inspires you, + —that everything around the inkstand within a radius of a thousand + miles is full of deepest interest to writer and reader. I don't + even intend to try to amuse you with Vienna matters. What is it to + you that we had a very pleasant dinner-party last week at Prince + Esterhazy's, and another this week at Prince Liechtenstein's, and + that to-morrow I am to put on my cocked hat and laced coat to make a + visit to her Imperial Majesty, the Empress Mother, and that to-night + there is to be the first of the assembly balls, the Vienna Almack's, + at which—I shall be allowed to absent myself altogether? + + It strikes me that there is likely to be left a fair field for us a + few months longer, say till midsummer. The Trent affair I shall not + say much about, except to state that I have always been for giving + up the prisoners. I was awfully afraid, knowing that the demand had + gone forth,— + + “Send us your prisoners or you'll hear of it,” + + that the answer would have come back in the Hotspur vein— + + 'And if the Devil come and roar for them, + We will not send them.” + + The result would have been most disastrous, for in order to secure a + most trifling advantage,—that of keeping Mason and Slidell at Fort + Warren a little longer,—we should have turned our backs on all the + principles maintained by us when neutral, and should have been + obliged to accept a war at an enormous disadvantage. . . . + + But I hardly dared to hope that we should have obtained such a + victory as we have done. To have disavowed the illegal transaction + at once,—before any demand came from England,—to have placed that + disavowal on the broad ground of principle which we have always + cherished, and thus with a clear conscience, and to our entire + honor, to have kept ourselves clear from a war which must have given + the Confederacy the invincible alliance of England,—was exactly + what our enemies in Europe did not suppose us capable of doing. But + we have done it in the handsomest manner, and there is not one + liberal heart in this hemisphere that is not rejoiced, nor one hater + of us and of our institutions that is not gnashing his teeth with + rage. +</pre> + <p> + The letter of ten close pages from which I have quoted these passages is + full of confidential information, and contains extracts from letters of + leading statesmen. If its date had been 1762, I might feel authorized in + disobeying its injunctions of privacy. I must quote one other sentence, as + it shows his animus at that time towards a distinguished statesman of whom + he was afterwards accused of speaking in very hard terms by an obscure + writer whose intent was to harm him. In speaking of the Trent affair, Mr. + Motley says: “The English premier has been foiled by our much maligned + Secretary of State, of whom, on this occasion at least, one has the right + to say, with Sir Henry Wotton,— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'His armor was his honest thought, + And simple truth his utmost skill.'” + </pre> + <p> + “He says at the close of this long letter: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'I wish I could bore you about something else but American politics. + But there is nothing else worth thinking of in the world. All else + is leather and prunella. We are living over again the days of the + Dutchmen or the seventeenth-century Englishmen.'” + </pre> + <p> + My next letter, of fourteen closely written pages, was of similar + character to the last. Motley could think of nothing but the great + conflict. He was alive to every report from America, listening too with + passionate fears or hopes, as the case might be, to the whispers not yet + audible to the world which passed from lip to lip of the statesmen who + were watching the course of events from the other side of the Atlantic + with the sweet complacency of the looker-on of Lucretius; too often + rejoicing in the storm that threatened wreck to institutions and an + organization which they felt to be a standing menace to the established + order of things in their older communities. + </p> + <p> + A few extracts from this very long letter will be found to have a special + interest from the time at which they were written. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + LEGATION OF U. S. A., VIENNA, February 26, 1862. + + MY DEAR HOLMES,—. . . I take great pleasure in reading your + prophecies, and intend to be just as free in hazarding my own, for, + as you say, our mortal life is but a string of guesses at the + future, and no one but an idiot would be discouraged at finding + himself sometimes far out in his calculations. If I find you + signally right in any of your predictions, be sure that I will + congratulate and applaud. If you make mistakes, you shall never + hear of them again, and I promise to forget them. Let me ask the + same indulgence from you in return. This is what makes letter- + writing a comfort and journalizing dangerous. . . The ides of March + will be upon us before this letter reaches you. We have got to + squash the rebellion soon, or be squashed forever as a nation. I + don't pretend to judge military plans or the capacities of generals. + But, as you suggest, perhaps I can take a more just view of the + whole picture of the eventful struggle at this great distance than + do those absolutely acting and suffering on the scene. Nor can I + resist the desire to prophesy any more than you can do, knowing that + I may prove utterly mistaken. I say, then, that one great danger + comes from the chance of foreign interference. What will prevent + that? + + Our utterly defeating the Confederates in some great and conclusive + battle; or, + + Our possession of the cotton ports and opening them to European + trade; or, + + A most unequivocal policy of slave emancipation. + + Any one of these three conditions would stave off recognition by + foreign powers, until we had ourselves abandoned the attempt to + reduce the South to obedience. + + The last measure is to my mind the most important. The South has, + by going to war with the United States government, thrust into our + hands against our will the invincible weapon which constitutional + reasons had hitherto forbidden us to employ. At the same time it + has given us the power to remedy a great wrong to four millions of + the human race, in which we had hitherto been obliged to acquiesce. + We are threatened with national annihilation, and defied to use the + only means of national preservation. The question is distinctly + proposed to us, Shall Slavery die, or the great Republic? It is + most astounding to me that there can be two opinions in the free + States as to the answer. + + If we do fall, we deserve our fate. At the beginning of the + contest, constitutional scruples might be respectable. But now we + are fighting to subjugate the South; that is, Slavery. We are + fighting for nothing else that I know of. We are fighting for the + Union. Who wishes to destroy the Union? The slaveholder, nobody + else. Are we to spend twelve hundred millions, and raise six + hundred thousand soldiers, in order to protect slavery? It really + does seem to me too simple for argument. I am anxiously waiting for + the coming Columbus who will set this egg of ours on end by smashing + in the slavery end. We shall be rolling about in every direction + until that is done. I don't know that it is to be done by + proclamation. Rather perhaps by facts. . . . Well, I console + myself with thinking that the people—the American people, at least + —is about as wise collectively as less numerous collections of + individuals, and that the people has really declared emancipation, + and is only puzzling how to carry it into effect. After all, it + seems to be a law of Providence, that progress should be by a spiral + movement; so that when it seems most tortuous, we may perhaps be + going ahead. I am firm in the faith that slavery is now wriggling + itself to death. With slavery in its pristine vigor, I should think + the restored Union neither possible nor desirable. Don't understand + me as not taking into account all the strategical considerations + against premature governmental utterances on this great subject. + But are there any trustworthy friends to the Union among the + slaveholders? Should we lose many Kentuckians and Virginians who + are now with us, if we boldly confiscated the slaves of all rebels? + —and a confiscation of property which has legs and so confiscates + itself, at command, is not only a legal, but would prove a very + practical measure in time of war. In brief, the time is fast + approaching, I think, when 'Thorough' should be written on all our + banners. Slavery will never accept a subordinate position. The + great Republic and Slavery cannot both survive. We have been defied + to mortal combat, and yet we hesitate to strike. These are my poor + thoughts on this great subject. Perhaps you will think them crude. + I was much struck with what you quote from Mr. Conway, that if + emancipation was proclaimed on the Upper Mississippi it would be + known to the negroes of Louisiana in advance of the telegraph. And + if once the blacks had leave to run, how many whites would have to + stay at home to guard their dissolving property? + + You have had enough of my maunderings. But before I conclude them, + may I ask you to give all our kindest regards to Lowell, and to + express our admiration for the Yankee Idyl. I am afraid of using + too extravagant language if I say all I think about it. Was there + ever anything more stinging, more concentrated, more vigorous, more + just? He has condensed into those few pages the essence of a + hundred diplomatic papers and historical disquisitions and Fourth of + July orations. I was dining a day or two since with his friend + Lytton (Bulwer's son, attache here) and Julian Fane (secretary of + the embassy), both great admirers of him,—and especially of the + “Biglow Papers;” they begged me to send them the Mason and Slidell + Idyl, but I wouldn't,—I don't think it is in English nature + (although theirs is very cosmopolitan and liberal) to take such + punishment and come up smiling. I would rather they got it in some + other way, and then told me what they thought voluntarily. + + I have very pleasant relations with all the J. B.'s here. They are + all friendly and well disposed to the North,—I speak of the + embassy, which, with the ambassador and—-dress, numbers eight or + ten souls, some of them very intellectual ones. There are no other + J. B.'s here. I have no fear at present of foreign interference. + We have got three or four months to do our work in,—a fair field + and no favor. There is no question whatever that the Southern + commissioners have been thoroughly snubbed in London and Paris. + There is to be a blockade debate in Parliament next week, but no bad + consequences are to be apprehended. The Duke de Gramont (French + ambassador, and an intimate friend of the Emperor) told my wife last + night that it was entirely false that the Emperor had ever urged the + English government to break the blockade. “Don't believe it,—don't + believe a word of it,” he said. He has always held that language to + me. He added that Prince Napoleon had just come out with a strong + speech about us,—you will see it, doubtless, before you get this + letter,—but it has not yet reached us. + + Shall I say anything of Austria,—what can I say that would interest + you? That's the reason why I hate to write. All my thoughts are in + America. Do you care to know about the Archduke Ferdinand + Maximilian, that shall be King hereafter of Mexico (if L. N. has his + way)? He is next brother to the Emperor, but although I have had + the honor of private audiences of many archdukes here, this one is a + resident of Trieste. + + He is about thirty,—has an adventurous disposition,—some + imagination,—a turn for poetry,—has voyaged a good deal about the + world in the Austrian ship-of-war,—for in one respect he much + resembles that unfortunate but anonymous ancestor of his, the King + of Bohemia with the seven castles, who, according to Corporal Trim, + had such a passion for navigation and sea-affairs, “with never a + seaport in all his dominions.” But now the present King of Bohemia + has got the sway of Trieste, and is Lord High Admiral and Chief of + the Marine Department. He has been much in Spain, also in South + America; I have read some travels, “Reise Skizzen,” of his—printed, + not published. They are not without talent, and he ever and anon + relieves his prose jog-trot by breaking into a canter of poetry. He + adores bull-fights, and rather regrets the Inquisition, and + considers the Duke of Alva everything noble and chivalrous, and the + most abused of men. It would do your heart good to hear his + invocations to that deeply injured shade, and his denunciations of + the ignorant and vulgar protestants who have defamed him. (N.B. + Let me observe that the R. of the D. R. was not published until long + after the “Reise Skizzen” were written.) 'Du armer Alva! weil du + dem Willen deines Herrn unerschiitterlich treu vast, weil die + festbestimmten grundsatze der Regierung,' etc., etc., etc. You + can imagine the rest. Dear me! I wish I could get back to the + sixteenth and seventeenth century. . . . But alas! the events + of the nineteenth are too engrossing. + + If Lowell cares to read this letter, will you allow me to “make it + over to him jointly,” as Captain Cuttle says. I wished to write to + him, but I am afraid only you would tolerate my writing so much when + I have nothing to say. If he would ever send me a line I should be + infinitely obliged, and would quickly respond. We read the “Washers + of the Shroud” with fervid admiration. + + Always remember me most sincerely to the Club, one and all. It + touches me nearly when you assure me that I am not forgotten by + them. To-morrow is Saturday and the last of the month.—[See + Appendix A.]—We are going to dine with our Spanish colleague. But + the first bumper of the Don's champagne I shall drain to the health + of my Parker House friends. +</pre> + <p> + From another long letter dated August 31, 1862, I extract the following + passages:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I quite agree in all that you said in your last letter. 'The imp + of secession can't reenter its mother's womb.' It is merely + childish to talk of the Union 'as it was.' You might as well bring + back the Saxon Heptarchy. But the great Republic is destined to + live and flourish, I can't doubt. . . . Do you remember that + wonderful scene in Faust in which Mephistopheles draws wine for the + rabble with a gimlet out of the wooden table; and how it changes to + fire as they drink it, and how they all go mad, draw their knives, + grasp each other by the nose, and think they are cutting off bunches + of grapes at every blow, and how foolish they all look when they + awake from the spell and see how the Devil has been mocking them? + It always seems to me a parable of the great Secession. + + “I repeat, I can't doubt as to the ultimate result. But I dare say + we have all been much mistaken in our calculations as to time. + Days, months, years, are nothing in history. Men die, man is + immortal, practically, even on this earth. We are so impatient, + —and we are always watching for the last scene of the tragedy. Now I + humbly opine that the drop is only about falling on the first act, + or perhaps only the prologue. This act or prologue will be called, + in after days, War for the status quo. Such enthusiasm, heroism, + and manslaughter as status quo could inspire, has, I trust, been not + entirely in vain, but it has been proved insufficient. + + “I firmly believe that when the slaveholders declared war on the + United States government they began a series of events that, in the + logical chain of history, cannot come to a conclusion until the last + vestige of slavery is gone. Looking at the whole field for a moment + dispassionately, objectively, as the dear Teutonic philosophers say, + and merely as an exhibition of phenomena, I cannot imagine any other + issue. Everything else may happen. This alone must happen. + + “But after all this isn't a war. It is a revolution. It is n't + strategists that are wanted so much as believers. In revolutions + the men who win are those who are in earnest. Jeff and Stonewall + and the other Devil-worshippers are in earnest, but it was not + written in the book of fate that the slaveholders' rebellion should + be vanquished by a pro-slavery general. History is never so + illogical. No, the coming 'man on horseback' on our side must be a + great strategist, with the soul of that insane lion, mad old John + Brown, in his belly. That is your only Promethean recipe:— + + 'et insani leonis + Vim stomacho apposuisse nostro.' + + “I don't know why Horace runs so in my head this morning. . . . + + “There will be work enough for all; but I feel awfully fidgety just + now about Port Royal and Hilton Head, and about affairs generally + for the next three months. After that iron-clads and the new levies + must make us invincible.” + </pre> + <p> + In another letter, dated November 2, 1862, he expresses himself very + warmly about his disappointment in the attitude of many of his old English + friends with reference to our civil conflict. He had recently heard the + details of the death of “the noble Wilder Dwight.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “It is unnecessary,” he says, “to say how deeply we were moved. I + had the pleasure of knowing him well, and I always appreciated his + energy, his manliness, and his intelligent cheerful heroism. I look + back upon him now as a kind of heroic type of what a young New + Englander ought to be and was. I tell you that one of these days + —after a generation of mankind has passed away—these youths will + take their places in our history, and be regarded by the young men + and women now unborn with the admiration which the Philip Sidneys + and the Max Piccolominis now inspire. After all, what was your + Chevy Chace to stir blood with like a trumpet? What noble + principle, what deathless interest, was there at stake? Nothing but + a bloody fight between a lot of noble gamekeepers on one side and of + noble poachers on the other. And because they fought well and + hacked each other to pieces like devils, they have been heroes for + centuries.” + </pre> + <p> + The letter was written in a very excited state of feeling, and runs over + with passionate love of country and indignation at the want of sympathy + with the cause of freedom which he had found in quarters where he had not + expected such coldness or hostile tendencies. + </p> + <p> + From a letter dated Vienna, September 22, 1863. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + . . . “When you wrote me last you said on general matters this: + 'In a few days we shall get the news of the success or failure of + the attacks on Port Hudson and Vicksburg. If both are successful, + many will say that the whole matter is about settled.' You may + suppose that when I got the great news I shook hands warmly with you + in the spirit across the Atlantic. Day by day for so long we had + been hoping to hear the fall of Vicksburg. At last when that little + concentrated telegram came, announcing Vicksburg and Gettysburg on + the same day and in two lines, I found myself almost alone. . . . + There was nobody in the house to join in my huzzahs but my youngest + infant. And my conduct very much resembled that of the excellent + Philip II. when he heard the fall of Antwerp,—for I went to her + door, screeching through the key-hole 'Vicksburg is ours!' just as + that other 'pere de famille,' more potent, but I trust not more + respectable than I, conveyed the news to his Infanta. (Fide, for + the incident, an American work on the Netherlands, i. p. 263, and + the authorities there cited.) It is contemptible on my part to + speak thus frivolously of events which will stand out in such golden + letters so long as America has a history, but I wanted to illustrate + the yearning for sympathy which I felt. You who were among people + grim and self-contained usually, who, I trust, were falling on each + other's necks in the public streets, shouting, with tears in their + eyes and triumph in their hearts, can picture my isolation. + + “I have never faltered in my faith, and in the darkest hours, when + misfortunes seemed thronging most thickly upon us, I have never felt + the want of anything to lean against; but I own I did feel like + shaking hands with a few hundred people when I heard of our Fourth + of July, 1863, work, and should like to have heard and joined in an + American cheer or two. + + “I have not much to say of matters here to interest you. We have + had an intensely hot, historically hot, and very long and very dry + summer. I never knew before what a drought meant. In Hungary the + suffering is great, and the people are killing the sheep to feed the + pigs with the mutton. Here about Vienna the trees have been almost + stripped of foliage ever since the end of August. There is no glory + in the grass nor verdure in anything. + + “In fact, we have nothing green here but the Archduke Max, who + firmly believes that he is going forth to Mexico to establish an + American empire, and that it is his divine mission to destroy the + dragon of democracy and reestablish the true Church, the Right + Divine, and all sorts of games. Poor young man! . . . + + “Our information from home is to the 12th. Charleston seems to be + in 'articulo mortis,' but how forts nowadays seem to fly in the face + of Scripture. Those founded on a rock, and built of it, fall easily + enough under the rain of Parrotts and Dahlgrens, while the house + built of sand seems to bid defiance to the storm.” + </pre> + <p> + In quoting from these confidential letters I have been restrained from + doing full justice to their writer by the fact that he spoke with such + entire freedom of persons as well as events. But if they could be read + from beginning to end, no one could help feeling that his love for his own + country, and passionate absorption of every thought in the strife upon + which its existence as a nation depended, were his very life during all + this agonizing period. He can think and talk of nothing else, or, if he + turns for a moment to other subjects, he reverts to the one great central + interest of “American politics,” of which he says in one of the letters + from which I have quoted, “There is nothing else worth thinking of in the + world.” + </p> + <p> + But in spite of his public record as the historian of the struggle for + liberty and the champion of its defenders, and while every letter he wrote + betrayed in every word the intensity of his patriotic feeling, he was not + safe against the attacks of malevolence. A train laid by unseen hands was + waiting for the spark to kindle it, and this came at last in the shape of + a letter from an unknown individual,—a letter the existence of which + ought never to have been a matter of official recognition. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVIII. 1866-1867. AEt. 52-43. + </h2> + <h3> + RESIGNATION OF HIS OFFICE.—CAUSES OF HIS RESIGNATION. + </h3> + <p> + It is a relief to me that just here, where I come to the first of two + painful episodes in this brilliant and fortunate career, I can preface my + statement with the generous words of one who speaks with authority of his + predecessor in office. + </p> + <p> + The Hon. John Jay, Ex-Minister to Austria, in the tribute to the memory of + Motley read at a meeting of the New York Historical Society, wrote as + follows:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “In singular contrast to Mr. Motley's brilliant career as an + historian stands the fact recorded in our diplomatic annals that he + was twice forced from the service as one who had forfeited the + confidence of the American government. This society, while he was + living, recognized his fame as a statesman, diplomatist, and + patriot, as belonging to America, and now that death has closed the + career of Seward, Sumner, and Motley, it will be remembered that the + great historian, twice humiliated, by orders from Washington, before + the diplomacy and culture of Europe, appealed from the passions of + the hour to the verdict of history. + + “Having succeeded Mr. Motley at Vienna some two years after his + departure, I had occasion to read most of his dispatches, which + exhibited a mastery of the subjects of which they treated, with much + of the clear perception, the scholarly and philosophic tone and + decided judgment, which, supplemented by his picturesque + description, full of life and color, have given character to his + histories. They are features which might well have served to extend + the remark of Madame de Stael that a great historian is almost a + statesman. I can speak also from my own observation of the + reputation which Motley left in the Austrian capital. + Notwithstanding the decision with which, under the direction of Mr. + Seward, he had addressed the minister of foreign affairs, Count + Mensdorff, afterwards the Prince Diedrickstein, protesting against + the departure of an Austrian force of one thousand volunteers, who + were about to embark for Mexico in aid of the ill-fated Maximilian, + —a protest which at the last moment arrested the project,—Mr. + Motley and his amiable family were always spoken of in terms of + cordial regard and respect by members of the imperial family and + those eminent statesmen, Count de Beust and Count Andrassy. His + death, I am sure, is mourned to-day by the representatives of the + historic names of Austria and Hungary, and by the surviving + diplomats then residing near the Court of Vienna, wherever they may + still be found, headed by their venerable Doyen, the Baron de + Heckeren.” + </pre> + <p> + The story of Mr. Motley's resignation of his office and its acceptance by + the government is this. + </p> + <p> + The President of the United States, Andrew Johnson, received a letter + professing to be written from the Hotel Meurice, Paris, dated October 23, + 1866, and signed “George W. M'Crackin, of New York.” This letter was + filled with accusations directed against various public agents, ministers, + and consuls, representing the United States in different countries. Its + language was coarse, its assertions were improbable, its spirit that of + the lowest of party scribblers. It was bitter against New England, + especially so against Massachusetts, and it singled out Motley for the + most particular abuse. I think it is still questioned whether there was + any such person as the one named,—at any rate, it bore the + characteristic marks of those vulgar anonymous communications which rarely + receive any attention unless they are important enough to have the police + set on the track of the writer to find his rathole, if possible. A + paragraph in the “Daily Advertiser” of June 7, 1869, quotes from a Western + paper a story to the effect that one William R. M'Crackin, who had + recently died at —— confessed to having written the M' Crackin + letter. Motley, he said, had snubbed him and refused to lend him money. + “He appears to have been a Bohemian of the lowest order.” Between such + authorship and the anonymous there does not seem to be much to choose. But + the dying confession sounds in my ears as decidedly apocryphal. As for the + letter, I had rather characterize it than reproduce it. It is an offence + to decency and a disgrace to the national record on which it is found. + This letter of “George W. M'Crackin” passed into the hands of Mr. Seward, + the Secretary of State. Most gentlemen, I think, would have destroyed it + on the spot, as it was not fit for the waste-basket. Some, more cautious, + might have smothered it among the piles of their private communications. + If any notice was taken of it, one would say that a private note to each + of the gentlemen attacked might have warned him that there were malicious + eavesdroppers about, ready to catch up any careless expression he might + let fall and make a scandalous report of it to his detriment. + </p> + <p> + The secretary, acquiescing without resistance in a suggestion of the + President, saw fit to address a formal note to several of the gentlemen + mentioned in the M'Crackin letter, repeating some of its offensive + expressions, and requesting those officials to deny or confirm the report + that they had uttered them. + </p> + <p> + A gentleman who is asked whether he has spoken in a “malignant” or + “offensive” manner, whether he has “railed violently and shamefully” + against the President of the United States, or against anybody else, might + well wonder who would address such a question to the humblest citizen not + supposed to be wanting in a common measure of self-respect. A gentleman + holding an important official station in a foreign country, receiving a + letter containing such questions, signed by the prime minister of his + government, if he did not think himself imposed upon by a forgery, might + well consider himself outraged. It was a letter of this kind which was + sent by the Secretary of State to the Minister Plenipotentiary to the + Empire of Austria. Not quite all the vulgar insolence of the M'Crackin + letter was repeated. Mr. Seward did not ask Mr. Motley to deny or confirm + the assertion of the letter that he was a “thorough flunky” and + “un-American functionary.” But he did insult him with various questions + suggested by the anonymous letter,—questions that must have been + felt as an indignity by the most thick-skinned of battered politicians. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Motley was very sensitive, very high-spirited, very impulsive, very + patriotic, and singularly truthful. The letter of Mr. Seward to such a man + was like a buffet on the cheek of an unarmed officer. It stung like the + thrust of a stiletto. It roused a resentment that could not find any words + to give it expression. He could not wait to turn the insult over in his + mind, to weigh the exact amount of affront in each question, to take + counsel, to sleep over it, and reply to it with diplomatic measure and + suavity. One hour had scarcely elapsed before his answer was written. As + to his feelings as an American, he appeals to his record. This might have + shown that if he erred it was on the side of enthusiasm and extravagant + expressions of reverence for the American people during the heroic years + just passed. He denounces the accusations as pitiful fabrications and vile + calumny. He blushes that such charges could have been uttered; he is + deeply wounded that Mr. Seward could have listened to such falsehood. He + does not hesitate to say what his opinions are with reference to home + questions, and especially to that of reconstruction. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “These opinions,” he says, “in the privacy of my own household, and + to occasional American visitors, I have not concealed. The great + question now presenting itself for solution demands the + conscientious scrutiny of every American who loves his country and + believes in the human progress of which that country is one of the + foremost representatives. I have never thought, during my residence + at Vienna, that because I have the honor of being a public servant + of the American people I am deprived of the right of discussing + within my own walls the gravest subjects that can interest freemen. + A minister of the United States does not cease to be a citizen of + the United States, as deeply interested as others in all that + relates to the welfare of his country.” + </pre> + <p> + Among the “occasional American visitors” spoken of above must have been + some of those self-appointed or hired agents called “interviewers,” who do + for the American public what the Venetian spies did for the Council of + Ten, what the familiars of the Inquisition did for the priesthood, who + invade every public man's privacy, who listen at every key-hole, who + tamper with every guardian of secrets; purveyors to the insatiable + appetite of a public which must have a slain reputation to devour with its + breakfast, as the monster of antiquity called regularly for his tribute of + a spotless virgin. + </p> + <p> + The “interviewer” has his use, undoubtedly, and often instructs and amuses + his public with gossip they could not otherwise listen to. He serves the + politician by repeating the artless and unstudied remarks which fall from + his lips in a conversation which the reporter has been invited to take + notes of. He tickles the author's vanity by showing him off as he sits in + his library unconsciously uttering the engaging items of self-portraiture + which, as he well knows, are to be given to the public in next week's + illustrated paper. The feathered end of his shaft titillates harmlessly + enough, but too often the arrowhead is crusted with a poison worse than + the Indian gets by mingling the wolf's gall with the rattlesnake's venom. + No man is safe whose unguarded threshold the mischief-making questioner + has crossed. The more unsuspecting, the more frank, the more courageous, + the more social is the subject of his vivisection, the more easily does he + get at his vital secrets, if he has any to be extracted. No man is safe if + the hearsay reports of his conversation are to be given to the public + without his own careful revision. When we remember that a proof-text + bearing on the mighty question of the future life, words of supreme + significance, uttered as they were in the last hour, and by the lips to + which we listen as to none other,—that this text depends for its + interpretation on the position of a single comma, we can readily see what + wrong may be done by the unintentional blunder of the most conscientious + reporter. But too frequently it happens that the careless talk of an + honest and high-minded man only reaches the public after filtering through + the drain of some reckless hireling's memory,—one who has played so + long with other men's characters and good name that he forgets they have + any value except to fill out his morning paragraphs. + </p> + <p> + Whether the author of the scandalous letter which it was disgraceful to + the government to recognize was a professional interviewer or only a + malicious amateur, or whether he was a paid “spotter,” sent by some + jealous official to report on the foreign ministers as is sometimes done + in the case of conductors of city horsecars, or whether the dying + miscreant before mentioned told the truth, cannot be certainly known. But + those who remember Mr. Hawthorne's account of his consular experiences at + Liverpool are fully aware to what intrusions and impertinences and + impositions our national representatives in other countries are subjected. + Those fellow-citizens who “often came to the consulate in parties of half + a dozen or more, on no business whatever, but merely to subject their + public servant to a rigid examination, and see how he was getting on with + his duties,” may very possibly have included among them some such + mischief-maker as the author of the odious letter which received official + recognition. Mr. Motley had spoken in one of his histories of “a set of + venomous familiars who glided through every chamber and coiled themselves + at every fireside.” He little thought that under his own roof he himself + was to be the victim of an equally base espionage. + </p> + <p> + It was an insult on the part of the government to have sent Mr. Motley + such a letter with such questions as were annexed to it. No very exact + rule can be laid down as to the manner in which an insult shall be dealt + with. Something depends on temperament, and his was of the warmer + complexion. His first impulse, he says, was to content himself with a flat + denial of the truth of the accusations. But his scrupulous honesty + compelled him to make a plain statement of his opinions, and to avow the + fact that he had made no secret of them in conversation under conditions + where he had a right to speak freely of matters quite apart from his + official duties. His answer to the accusation was denial of its charges; + his reply to the insult was his resignation. + </p> + <p> + It may be questioned whether this was the wisest course, but wisdom is + often disconcerted by an indignity, and even a meek Christian may forget + to turn the other cheek after receiving the first blow until the natural + man has asserted himself by a retort in kind. But the wrong was committed; + his resignation was accepted; the vulgar letter, not fit to be spread out + on these pages, is enrolled in the records of the nation, and the first + deep wound was inflicted on the proud spirit of one whose renown had shed + lustre on the whole country. + </p> + <p> + That the burden of this wrong may rest where it belongs, I quote the + following statement from Mr. Jay's paper, already referred to. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “It is due to the memory of Mr. Seward to say, and there would seem + now no further motive for concealing the truth, that I was told in + Europe, on what I regarded as reliable authority, that there was + reason to believe that on the receipt of Mr. Motley's resignation + Mr. Seward had written to him declining to accept it, and that this + letter, by a telegraphic order of President Johnson, had been + arrested in the hands of a dispatch agent before its delivery to Mr. + Motley, and that the curt letter of the 18th of April had been + substituted in its stead.” + </pre> + <p> + The Hon. John Bigelow, late Minister to France, has published an article + in “The International Review” for July-August, 1878, in which he defends + his late friend Mr. Seward's action in this matter at the expense of the + President, Mr. Andrew Johnson, and not without inferences unfavorable to + the discretion of Mr. Motley. Many readers will think that the simple + record of Mr. Seward's unresisting acquiescence in the action of the + President is far from being to his advantage. I quote from his own + conversation as carefully reported by his friend Mr. Bigelow. “Mr. Johnson + was in a state of intense irritation, and more or less suspicious of + everybody about him.”—“Instead of throwing the letter into the + fire,” the President handed it to him, the secretary, and suggested + answering it, and without a word, so far as appears, he simply answered, + “Certainly, sir.” Again, the secretary having already written to Mr. + Motley that “his answer was satisfactory,” the President, on reaching the + last paragraph of Mr. Motley's letter, in which he begged respectfully to + resign his post, “without waiting to learn what Mr. Seward had done or + proposed to do, exclaimed, with a not unnatural asperity, 'Well, let him + go,' and 'on hearing this,' said Mr. Seward, laughing, 'I did not read my + dispatch.'” Many persons will think that the counsel for the defence has + stated the plaintiff's case so strongly that there is nothing left for him + but to show his ingenuity and his friendship for the late secretary in a + hopeless argument. At any rate, Mr. Seward appears not to have made the + slightest effort to protect Mr. Motley against his coarse and jealous + chief at two critical moments, and though his own continuance in office + may have been more important to the State than that of the Vicar of Bray + was to the Church, he ought to have risked something, as it seems to me, + to shield such a patriot, such a gentleman, such a scholar, from ignoble + treatment; he ought to have been as ready to guard Mr. Motley from wrong + as Mr. Bigelow has shown himself to shield Mr. Seward from reproach, and + his task, if more delicate, was not more difficult. I am willing to accept + Mr. Bigelow's loyal and honorable defence of his friend's memory as the + best that could be said for Mr. Seward, but the best defence in this case + is little better than an impeachment. As for Mr. Johnson, he had held the + weapon of the most relentless of the 'Parcae' so long that his suddenly + clipping the thread of a foreign minister's tenure of office in a fit of + jealous anger is not at all surprising. + </p> + <p> + Thus finished Mr. Motley's long and successful diplomatic service at the + Court of Austria. He may have been judged hasty in resigning his place; he + may have committed himself in expressing his opinions too strongly before + strangers, whose true character as spies and eavesdroppers he was too + high-minded to suspect. But no caution could have protected him against a + slanderer who hated the place he came from, the company he kept, the name + he had made famous, to whom his very look and bearing —such as + belong to a gentleman of natural refinement and good breeding —must + have been a personal grievance and an unpardonable offence. + </p> + <p> + I will add, in illustration of what has been said, and as showing his + feeling with reference to the matter, an extract from a letter to me from + Vienna, dated the 12th of March, 1867. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + . . . “As so many friends and so many strangers have said so much + that is gratifying to me in public and private on this very painful + subject, it would be like affectation, in writing to so old a friend + as you, not to touch upon it. I shall confine myself, however, to + one fact, which, so far as I know, may be new to you. + + “Geo. W. M'Cracken is a man and a name utterly unknown to me. + + “With the necessary qualification which every man who values truth + must make when asserting such a negation,—viz., to the very best of + my memory and belief,—I never set eyes on him nor heard of him + until now, in the whole course of my life. Not a member of my + family or of the legation has the faintest recollection of any such + person. I am quite convinced that he never saw me nor heard the + sound of my voice. That his letter was a tissue of vile calumnies, + shameless fabrications, and unblushing and contemptible falsehoods, + —by whomsoever uttered,—I have stated in a reply to what ought + never to have been an official letter. No man can regret more than + I do that such a correspondence is enrolled in the capital among + American state papers. I shall not trust myself to speak of the + matter. It has been a sufficiently public scandal.” + </pre> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIX. 1867-1868. AEt. 53-54. + </h2> + <p> + LAST TWO VOLUMES OF THE “HISTORY OF THE UNITED NETHERLANDS.”—GENERAL + CRITICISMS OF DUTCH SCHOLARS ON MOTLEY'S HISTORICAL WORKS. + </p> + <p> + In his letter to me of March 12, 1867, just cited, Mr. Motley writes:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “My two concluding volumes of the United Netherlands are passing + rapidly through the press. Indeed, Volume III. is entirely printed + and a third of Volume IV. + + “If I live ten years longer I shall have probably written the + natural sequel to the first two works,—viz., the Thirty Years' War. + After that I shall cease to scourge the public. + + “I don't know whether my last two volumes are good or bad; I only + know that they are true—but that need n't make them amusing. + + “Alas! one never knows when one becomes a bore.” + </pre> + <p> + In 1868 the two concluding volumes of the “History of the Netherlands” + were published at the same time in London and in New York. The events + described and the characters delineated in these two volumes had, perhaps, + less peculiar interest for English and American readers than some of those + which had lent attraction to the preceding ones. There was no scene like + the siege of Antwerp, no story like that of the Spanish Armada. There were + no names that sounded to our ears like those of Sir Philip Sidney and + Leicester and Amy Robsart. But the main course of his narrative flowed on + with the same breadth and depth of learning and the same brilliancy of + expression. The monumental work continued as nobly as it had begun. The + facts had been slowly, quietly gathered, one by one, like pebbles from the + empty channel of a brook. The style was fluent, impetuous, abundant, + impatient, as it were, at times, and leaping the sober boundaries + prescribed to it, like the torrent which rushes through the same channel + when the rains have filled it. Thus there was matter for criticism in his + use of language. He was not always careful in the construction of his + sentences. He introduced expressions now and then into his vocabulary + which reminded one of his earlier literary efforts. He used stronger + language at times than was necessary, coloring too highly, shading too + deeply in his pictorial delineations. To come to the matter of his + narrative, it must be granted that not every reader will care to follow + him through all the details of diplomatic intrigues which he has with such + industry and sagacity extricated from the old manuscripts in which they + had long lain hidden. But we turn a few pages and we come to one of those + descriptions which arrest us at once and show him in his power and + brilliancy as a literary artist. His characters move before us with the + features of life; we can see Elizabeth, or Philip, or Maurice, not as a + name connected with events, but as a breathing and acting human being, to + be loved or hated, admired or despised, as if he or she were our + contemporary. That all his judgments would not be accepted as final we + might easily anticipate; he could not help writing more or less as a + partisan, but he was a partisan on the side of freedom in politics and + religion, of human nature as against every form of tyranny, secular or + priestly, of noble manhood wherever he saw it as against meanness and + violence and imposture, whether clad in the soldier's mail or the + emperor's purple. His sternest critics, and even these admiring ones, were + yet to be found among those who with fundamental beliefs at variance with + his own followed him in his long researches among the dusty annals of the + past. + </p> + <p> + The work of the learned M. Groen van Prinsterer,—[Maurice et + Barnevelt, Etude Historique. Utrecht, 1875.]—devoted expressly to + the revision and correction of what the author considers the erroneous + views of Mr. Motley on certain important points, bears, notwithstanding, + such sincere and hearty tribute to his industry, his acquisitions, his + brilliant qualities as a historian, that some extracts from it will be + read, I think, with interest. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “My first interview, more than twenty years ago, with Mr. Lothrop + Motley, has left an indelible impression on my memory. + + “It was the 8th of August, 1853. A note is handed me from our + eminent archivist Bakhuyzen van den Brink. It informs me that I am + to receive a visit from an American, who, having been struck by the + analogies between the United Provinces and the United States, + between Washington and the founder of our independence, has + interrupted his diplomatic career to write the life of William the + First; that he has already given proof of ardor and perseverance, + having worked in libraries and among collections of manuscripts, + and that he is coming to pursue his studies at the Hague. + + “While I am surprised and delighted with this intelligence, I am + informed that Mr. Motley himself is waiting for my answer. My + eagerness to make the acquaintance of such an associate in my + sympathies and my labors may be well imagined. But how shall I + picture my surprise, in presently discovering that this unknown and + indefatigable fellow-worker has really read, I say read and reread, + our Quartos, our Folios, the enormous volumes of Bor, of van + Meteren, besides a multitude of books, of pamphlets, and even of + unedited documents. Already he is familiar with the events, the + changes of condition, the characteristic details of the life of his + and my hero. Not only is he acquainted with my Archives, but it + seems as if there was nothing in this voluminous collection of which + he was ignorant. . . . + + “In sending me the last volume of his 'History of the Foundation of + the Republic of the Netherlands,' Mr. Motley wrote to me: 'Without + the help of the Archives I could never have undertaken the difficult + task I had set myself, and you will have seen at least from my + numerous citations that I have made a sincere and conscientious + study of them.' Certainly in reading such a testimonial I + congratulated myself on the excellent fruit of my labors, but the + gratitude expressed to me by Mr. Motley was sincerely reciprocated. + The Archives are a scientific collection, and my 'Manual of National + History,' written in Dutch, hardly gets beyond the limits of my own + country. And here is a stranger, become our compatriot in virtue of + the warmth of his sympathies, who has accomplished what was not in + my power. By the detail and the charm of his narrative, by the + matter and form of a work which the universality of the English + language and numerous translations were to render cosmopolitan, Mr. + Motley, like that other illustrious historian, Prescott, lost to + science by too early death, has popularized in both hemispheres the + sublime devotion of the Prince of Orange, the exceptional and + providential destinies of my country, and the benedictions of the + Eternal for all those who trust in Him and tremble only at his + Word.” + </pre> + <p> + The old Dutch scholar differs in many important points from Mr. Motley, as + might be expected from his creed and his life-long pursuits. This I shall + refer to in connection with Motley's last work, “John of Barneveld.” An + historian among archivists and annalists reminds one of Sir John Lubbock + in the midst of his ant-hills. Undoubtedly he disturbs the ants in their + praiseworthy industry, much as his attentions may flatter them. + Unquestionably the ants (if their means of expressing themselves were + equal to their apparent intellectual ability) could teach him many things + that he has overlooked and correct him in many mistakes. But the ants will + labor ingloriously without an observer to chronicle their doings, and the + archivists and annalists will pile up facts forever like so many + articulates or mollusks or radiates, until the vertebrate historian comes + with his generalizing ideas, his beliefs, his prejudices, his + idiosyncrasies of all kinds, and brings the facts into a more or less + imperfect, but still organic series of relations. The history which is not + open to adverse criticism is worth little, except as material, for it is + written without taking cognizance of those higher facts about which men + must differ; of which Guizot writes as follows, as quoted in the work of + M. Groen van Prinsterer himself. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “It is with facts that our minds are exercised, it has nothing but + facts as its materials, and when it discovers general laws these + laws are themselves facts which it determines. . . . In the + study of facts the intelligence may allow itself to be crushed; it + may lower, narrow, materialize itself; it may come to believe that + there are no facts except those which strike us at the first glance, + which come close to us, which fall, as we say, under our senses; a + great and gross error; there are remote facts, immense, obscure, + sublime, very difficult to reach, to observe, to describe, and which + are not any less facts for these reasons, and which man is not less + obliged to study and to know; and if he fails to recognize them or + forgets them, his thought will be prodigiously abashed, and all his + ideas carry the stamp of this deterioration.” + </pre> + <p> + In that higher region of facts which belongs to the historian, whose task + it is to interpret as well as to transcribe, Mr. Motley showed, of course, + the political and religious school in which he had been brought up. Every + man has a right to his “personal equation” of prejudice, and Mr. Motley, + whose ardent temperament gave life to his writings, betrayed his + sympathies in the disputes of which he told the story, in a way to insure + sharp criticism from those of a different way of thinking. Thus it is that + in the work of M. Groen van Prinsterer, from which I have quoted, he is + considered as having been betrayed into error, while his critic recognizes + “his manifest desire to be scrupulously impartial and truth-telling.” And + M. Fruin, another of his Dutch critics, says, “His sincerity, his + perspicacity, the accuracy of his laborious researches, are + incontestable.” + </p> + <p> + Some of the criticisms of Dutch scholars will be considered in the pages + which deal with his last work, “The Life of John of Barneveld.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0022" id="link2H_4_0022"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XX. 1868-1869. AEt. 54-55. + </h2> + <p> + VISIT TO AMERICA.—RESIDENCE AT NO. 2 PARK STREET, BOSTON.—ADDRESS + ON THE COMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.—ADDRESS ON HISTORIC PROGRESS + AND AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.—APPOINTED MINISTER TO ENGLAND. + </p> + <p> + In June, 1868, Mr. Motley returned with his family to Boston, and + established himself in the house No. 2 Park Street. During his residence + here he entered a good deal into society, and entertained many visitors in + a most hospitable and agreeable way. + </p> + <p> + On the 20th of October, 1868, he delivered an address before the Parker + Fraternity, in the Music Hall, by special invitation. Its title was “Four + Questions for the People, at the Presidential Election.” This was of + course what is commonly called an electioneering speech, but a speech full + of noble sentiments and eloquent expression. Here are two of its + paragraphs:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Certainly there have been bitterly contested elections in this + country before. Party spirit is always rife, and in such vivid, + excitable, disputatious communities as ours are, and I trust always + will be, it is the very soul of freedom. To those who reflect upon + the means and end of popular government, nothing seems more stupid + than in grand generalities to deprecate party spirit. Why, + government by parties and through party machinery is the only + possible method by which a free government can accomplish the + purpose of its existence. The old republics of the past may be said + to have fallen, not because of party spirit, but because there was + no adequate machinery by which party spirit could develop itself + with facility and regularity. + + “And if our Republic be true to herself, the future of the human + race is assured by our example. No sweep of overwhelming armies, no + ponderous treatises on the rights of man, no hymns to liberty, + though set to martial music and resounding with the full diapason of + a million human throats, can exert so persuasive an influence as + does the spectacle of a great republic, occupying a quarter of the + civilized globe, and governed quietly and sagely by the people + itself.” + </pre> + <p> + A large portion of this address is devoted to the proposition that it is + just and reasonable to pay our debts rather than to repudiate them, and + that the nation is as much bound to be honest as is the individual. “It is + an awful thing,” he says, “that this should be a question at all,” but it + was one of the points on which the election turned, for all that. + </p> + <p> + In his advocacy of the candidate with whom, and the government of which he + became the head, his relations became afterwards so full of personal + antagonism, he spoke as a man of his ardent nature might be expected to + speak on such an occasion. No one doubts that his admiration of General + Grant's career was perfectly sincere, and no one at the present day can + deny that the great captain stood before the historian with such a record + as one familiar with the deeds of heroes and patriots might well consider + as entitling him to the honors too often grudged to the living to be + wasted on the dead. The speaker only gave voice to the widely prevailing + feelings which had led to his receiving the invitation to speak. The time + was one which called for outspoken utterance, and there was not a listener + whose heart did not warm as he heard the glowing words in which the + speaker recorded the noble achievements of the soldier who must in so many + ways have reminded him of his favorite character, William the Silent. + </p> + <p> + On the 16th of December of this same year, 1868, Mr. Motley delivered an + address before the New York Historical Society, on the occasion of the + sixty-fourth anniversary of its foundation. The president of the society, + Mr. Hamilton Fish, introduced the speaker as one “whose name belongs to no + single country, and to no single age. As a statesman and diplomatist and + patriot, he belongs to America; as a scholar, to the world of letters; as + a historian, all ages will claim him in the future.” + </p> + <p> + His subject was “Historic Progress and American Democracy.” The discourse + is, to use his own words, “a rapid sweep through the eons and the + centuries,” illustrating the great truth of the development of the race + from its origin to the time in which we are living. It is a long distance + from the planetary fact of the obliquity of the equator, which gave the + earth its alternation of seasons, and rendered the history, if not the + existence of man and of civilization a possibility, to the surrender of + General Lee under the apple-tree at Appomattox Court-House. No one but a + scholar familiar with the course of history could have marshalled such a + procession of events into a connected and intelligible sequence. It is + indeed a flight rather than a march; the reader is borne along as on the + wings of a soaring poem, and sees the rising and decaying empires of + history beneath him as a bird of passage marks the succession of cities + and wilds and deserts as he keeps pace with the sun in his journey. + </p> + <p> + Its eloquence, its patriotism, its crowded illustrations, drawn from vast + resources of knowledge, its epigrammatic axioms, its occasional + pleasantries, are all characteristic of the writer. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Gulian C. Verplanck, the venerable senior member of the society, + proposed the vote of thanks to Mr. Motley with words of warm commendation. + </p> + <p> + Mr. William Cullen Bryant rose and said:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I take great pleasure in seconding the resolution which has just + been read. The eminent historian of the Dutch Republic, who has + made the story of its earlier days as interesting as that of Athens + and Sparta, and who has infused into the narrative the generous glow + of his own genius, has the highest of titles to be heard with + respectful attention by the citizens of a community which, in its + origin, was an offshoot of that renowned republic. And cheerfully + has that title been recognized, as the vast audience assembled here + to-night, in spite of the storm, fully testifies; and well has our + illustrious friend spoken of the growth of civilization and of the + improvement in the condition of mankind, both in the Old World—the + institutions of which he has so lately observed—and in the country + which is proud to claim him as one of her children.” + </pre> + <p> + Soon after the election of General Grant, Mr. Motley received the + appointment of Minister to England. That the position was one which was in + many respects most agreeable to him cannot be doubted. Yet it was not with + unmingled feelings of satisfaction, not without misgivings which warned + him but too truly of the dangers about to encompass him, that he accepted + the place. He writes to me on April 16, 1869:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I feel anything but exultation at present,—rather the opposite + sensation. I feel that I am placed higher than I deserve, and at + the same time that I am taking greater responsibilities than ever + were assumed by me before. You will be indulgent to my mistakes and + shortcomings,—and who can expect to avoid them? But the world will + be cruel, and the times are threatening. I shall do my best,—but + the best may be poor enough,—and keep 'a heart for any fate.'” + </pre> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXI. 1869-1870. AEt. 55-56. + </h2> + <h3> + RECALL FROM THE ENGLISH MISSION.—ITS ALLEGED AND ITS PROBABLE + REASONS. + </h3> + <p> + The misgivings thus expressed to me in confidence, natural enough in one + who had already known what it is to fall on evil days and evil tongues, + were but too well justified by after events. I could have wished to leave + untold the story of the English mission, an episode in Motley's life full + of heart-burnings, and long to be regretted as a passage of American + history. But his living appeal to my indulgence comes to me from his grave + as a call for his defence, however little needed, at least as a part of my + tribute to his memory. It is little needed, because the case is clear + enough to all intelligent readers of our diplomatic history, and because + his cause has been amply sustained by others in many ways better qualified + than myself to do it justice. The task is painful, for if a wrong was done + him it must be laid at the doors of those whom the nation has delighted to + honor, and whose services no error of judgment or feeling or conduct can + ever induce us to forget. If he confessed him, self-liable, like the rest + of us, to mistakes and shortcomings, we must remember that the great + officers of the government who decreed his downfall were not less the + subjects of human infirmity. + </p> + <p> + The outline to be filled up is this: A new administration had just been + elected. The “Alabama Treaty,” negotiated by Motley's predecessor, Mr. + Reverdy Johnson, had been rejected by the Senate. The minister was + recalled, and Motley, nominated without opposition and unanimously + confirmed by the Senate, was sent to England in his place. He was welcomed + most cordially on his arrival at Liverpool, and replied in a similar + strain of good feeling, expressing the same kindly sentiments which may be + found in his instructions. Soon after arriving in London he had a + conversation with Lord Clarendon, the British Foreign Secretary, of which + he sent a full report to his own government. While the reported + conversation was generally approved of in the government's dispatch + acknowledging it, it was hinted that some of its expressions were stronger + than were required by the instructions, and that one of its points was not + conveyed in precise conformity with the President's view. The criticism + was very gently worded, and the dispatch closed with a somewhat guarded + paragraph repeating the government's approbation. + </p> + <p> + This was the first offence alleged against Mr. Motley. The second ground + of complaint was that he had shown written minutes of this conversation to + Lord Clarendon to obtain his confirmation of its exactness, and that he + had—as he said, inadvertently,—omitted to make mention to the + government of this circumstance until some weeks after the time of the + interview. + </p> + <p> + He was requested to explain to Lord Clarendon that a portion of his + presentation and treatment of the subject discussed at the interview + immediately after his arrival was disapproved by the Secretary of State, + and he did so in a written communication, in which he used the very words + employed by Mr. Fish in his criticism of the conversation with Lord + Clarendon. An alleged mistake; a temperate criticism, coupled with a + general approval; a rectification of the mistake criticised. All this + within the first two months of Mr. Motley's official residence in London. + </p> + <p> + No further fault was found with him, so far as appears, in the discharge + of his duties, to which he must have devoted himself faithfully, for he + writes to me, under the date of December 27, 1870: “I have worked harder + in the discharge of this mission than I ever did in my life.” This from a + man whose working powers astonished the old Dutch archivist, Groen van + Prinsterer, means a good deal. + </p> + <p> + More than a year had elapsed since the interview with Lord Clarendon, + which had been the subject of criticism. In the mean time a paper of + instructions was sent to Motley, dated September 25, 1869, in which the + points in the report of his interview which had been found fault with are + so nearly covered by similar expressions, that there seemed no real ground + left for difference between the government and the minister. Whatever + over-statement there had been, these new instructions would imply that the + government was now ready to go quite as far as the minister had gone, and + in some points to put the case still more strongly. Everything was going + on quietly. Important business had been transacted, with no sign of + distrust or discontent on the part of the government as regarded Motley. + Whatever mistake he was thought to have committed was condoned by amicable + treatment, neutralized by the virtual indorsement of the government in the + instructions of the 25th of September, and obsolete as a ground of quarrel + by lapse of time. The question about which the misunderstanding, if such + it deserves to be called, had taken place, was no longer a possible source + of disagreement, as it had long been settled that the Alabama case should + only be opened again at the suggestion of the British government, and that + it should be transferred to Washington whenever that suggestion should + again bring it up for consideration. + </p> + <p> + Such was the aspect of affairs at the American Legation in London. No + foreign minister felt more secure in his place than Mr. Motley. “I thought + myself,” he says in the letter of December 27, “entirely in the confidence + of my own government, and I know that I had the thorough confidence and + the friendship of the leading personages in England.” All at once, on the + first of July, 1870, a letter was written by the Secretary of State, + requesting him to resign. This gentle form of violence is well understood + in the diplomatic service. Horace Walpole says, speaking of Lady Archibald + Hamilton: “They have civilly asked her and grossly forced her to ask + civilly to go away, which she has done, with a pension of twelve hundred a + year.” Such a request is like the embrace of the “virgin” in old + torture-chambers. She is robed in soft raiment, but beneath it are the + knife-blades which are ready to lacerate and kill the victim, if he awaits + the pressure of the machinery already in motion. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Motley knew well what was the logical order in an official execution, + and saw fit to let the government work its will upon him as its servant. + In November he was recalled. + </p> + <p> + The recall of a minister under such circumstances is an unusual if not an + unprecedented occurrence. The government which appoints a citizen to + represent the country at a foreign court assumes a very serious obligation + to him. The next administration may turn him out and nothing will be + thought of it. He may be obliged to ask for his passports and leave all at + once if war is threatened between his own country and that which he + represents. He may, of course, be recalled for gross misconduct. But his + dismissal is very serious matter to him personally, and not to be thought + of on the ground of passion or caprice. Marriage is a simple business, but + divorce is a very different thing. The world wants to know the reason of + it; the law demands its justification. It was a great blow to Mr. Motley, + a cause of indignation to those who were interested in him, a surprise and + a mystery to the world in general. + </p> + <p> + When he, his friends, and the public, all startled by this unexpected + treatment, looked to find an explanation of it, one was found which seemed + to many quite sufficient. Mr. Sumner had been prominent among those who + had favored his appointment. A very serious breach had taken place between + the President and Mr. Sumner on the important San Domingo question. It was + a quarrel, in short, neither more nor less, at least so far as the + President was concerned. The proposed San Domingo treaty had just been + rejected by the Senate, on the thirtieth day of June, and immediately + thereupon,—the very next day,—the letter requesting Mr. + Motley's resignation was issued by the executive. This fact was + interpreted as implying something more than a mere coincidence. It was + thought that Sumner's friend, who had been supported by him as a candidate + for high office, who shared many of his political ideas and feelings, who + was his intimate associate, his fellow-townsman, his companion in + scholarship and cultivation, his sympathetic co-laborer in many ways, had + been accounted and dealt with as the ally of an enemy, and that the shaft + which struck to the heart of the sensitive envoy had glanced from the 'aes + triplex' of the obdurate Senator. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Motley wrote a letter to the Secretary of State immediately after his + recall, in which he reviewed his relations with the government from the + time of his taking office, and showed that no sufficient reason could be + assigned for the treatment to which he had been subjected. He referred + finally to the public rumor which assigned the President's hostility to + his friend Sumner, growing out of the San Domingo treaty question, as the + cause of his own removal, and to the coincidence between the dates of the + rejection of the treaty and his dismissal, with an evident belief that + these two occurrences were connected by something more than accident. + </p> + <p> + To this, a reply was received from the Secretary of State's office, signed + by Mr. Fish, but so objectionable in its tone and expressions that it has + been generally doubted whether the paper could claim anything more of the + secretary's hand than his signature. It travelled back to the old record + of the conversation with Lord Clarendon, more than a year and a half + before, took up the old exceptions, warmed them over into grievances, and + joined with them whatever the 'captatores verborum,' not extinct since + Daniel Webster's time, could add to their number. This was the letter + which was rendered so peculiarly offensive by a most undignified + comparison which startled every well-bred reader. No answer was possible + to such a letter, and the matter rested until the death of Mr. Motley + caused it to be brought up once more for judgment. + </p> + <p> + The Honorable John Jay, in his tribute to the memory of Mr. Motley, read + at a meeting of the New York Historical Society, vindicated his character + against the attacks of the late executive in such a way as to leave an + unfavorable impression as to the course of the government. Objection was + made on this account to placing the tribute upon the minutes of the + society. This led to a publication by Mr. Jay, entitled “Motley's Appeal + to History,” in which the propriety of the society's action is questioned, + and the wrong done to him insisted upon and further illustrated. + </p> + <p> + The defence could not have fallen into better hands. Bearing a name which + is, in itself, a title to the confidence of the American people, a + diplomatist familiar with the rights, the customs, the traditions, the + courtesies, which belong to the diplomatic service, the successor of Mr. + Motley at Vienna, and therefore familiar with his official record, not + self-made, which too commonly means half-made, but with careful training + added to the instincts to which he had a right by inheritance, he could + not allow the memory of such a scholar, of such a high-minded lover of his + country, of so true a gentleman as Mr. Motley, to remain without challenge + under the stigma of official condemnation. I must refer to Mr. Jay's + memorial tribute as printed in the newspapers of the day, and to his + “Appeal” published in “The International Review,” for his convincing + presentation of the case, and content myself with a condensed statement of + the general and special causes of complaint against Mr. Motley, and the + explanations which suggest themselves, as abundantly competent to show the + insufficiency of the reasons alleged by the government as an excuse for + the manner in which he was treated. + </p> + <p> + The grounds of complaint against Mr. Motley are to be looked for:— + </p> + <p> + 1. In the letter of Mr. Fish to Mr. Moran, of December 30, 1870. + </p> + <p> + 2. In Mr. Bancroft Davis's letter to the New York “Herald” of January 4, + 1878, entitled, “Mr. Sumner, the Alabama Claims and their Settlement.” + </p> + <p> + 3. The reported conversations of General Grant. + </p> + <p> + 4. The reported conversations of Mr. Fish. + </p> + <p> + In considering Mr. Fish's letter, we must first notice its animus. The + manner in which Dickens's two old women are brought in is not only + indecorous, but it shows a state of feeling from which nothing but harsh + interpretation of every questionable expression of Mr. Motley's was to be + expected. + </p> + <p> + There is not the least need of maintaining the perfect fitness and + rhetorical felicity of every phrase and every word used by him in his + interview with Lord Clarendon. It is not to be expected that a minister, + when about to hold a conversation with a representative of the government + to which he is accredited, will commit his instructions to memory and + recite them, like a school-boy “speaking his piece.” He will give them + more or less in his own language, amplifying, it may be, explaining, + illustrating, at any rate paraphrasing in some degree, but endeavoring to + convey an idea of their essential meaning. In fact, as any one can see, a + conversation between two persons must necessarily imply a certain amount + of extemporization on the part of both. I do not believe any long and + important conference was ever had between two able men without each of + them feeling that he had not spoken exactly in all respects as he would if + he could say all over again. + </p> + <p> + Doubtless, therefore, Mr. Motley's report of his conversation shows that + some of his expressions might have been improved, and others might as well + have been omitted. A man does not change his temperament on taking office. + General Jackson still swore “by the Eternal,” and his illustrious military + successor of a more recent period seems, by his own showing, to have been + able to sudden impulses of excitement. It might be said of Motley, as it + was said of Shakespeare by Ben Jonson, “aliquando sufflaminandus erat.” + Yet not too much must be made of this concession. Only a determination to + make out a case could, as it seems to me, have framed such an indictment + as that which the secretary constructed by stringing together a slender + list of pretended peccadillos. One instance will show the extreme + slightness which characterizes many of the grounds of inculpation:— + </p> + <p> + The instructions say, “The government, in rejecting the recent convention, + abandons neither its own claims nor those of its citizens,” etc. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Motley said, in the course of his conversation, “At present, the + United States government, while withdrawing neither its national claims + nor the claims of its individual citizens against the British government,” + etc. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fish says, “The determination of this government not to abandon its + claims nor those of its citizens was stated parenthetically, and in such a + subordinate way as not necessarily to attract the attention of Lord + Clarendon.” + </p> + <p> + What reported conversation can stand a captious criticism like this? Are + there not two versions of the ten commandments which were given out in the + thunder and smoke of Sinai, and would the secretary hold that this would + have been a sufficient reason to recall Moses from his “Divine Legation” + at the court of the Almighty? + </p> + <p> + There are certain expressions which, as Mr. Fish shows them apart from + their connection, do very certainly seem in bad taste, if not actually + indiscreet and unjustifiable. Let me give an example:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Instead of expressing the hope entertained by this government that + there would be an early, satisfactory, and friendly settlement of + the questions at issue, he volunteered the unnecessary, and from the + manner in which it was thrust in, the highly objectionable statement + that the United States government had no insidious purposes,'” etc. +</pre> + <p> + This sounds very badly as Mr. Fish puts it; let us see how it stands in + its proper connection:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “He [Lord Clarendon] added with some feeling, that in his opinion it + would be highly objectionable that the question should be hung up on + a peg, to be taken down at some convenient moment for us, when it + might be difficult for the British government to enter upon its + solution, and when they might go into the debate at a disadvantage. + These were, as nearly as I can remember, his words, and I replied + very earnestly that I had already answered that question when I said + that my instructions were to propose as brief a delay as would + probably be requisite for the cooling of passions and for producing + the calm necessary for discussing the defects of the old treaty and + a basis for a new one. The United States government had no + insidious purposes,” etc. +</pre> + <p> + Is it not evident that Lord Clarendon suggested the idea which Mr. Motley + repelled as implying an insidious mode of action? Is it not just as clear + that Mr. Fish's way of reproducing the expression without the insinuation + which called it forth is a practical misstatement which does Mr. Motley + great wrong? + </p> + <p> + One more example of the method of wringing a dry cloth for drops of + evidence ought to be enough to show the whole spirit of the paper. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Fish, in his instructions:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “It might, indeed, well have occurred in the event of the selection + by lot of the arbitrator or umpire in different cases, involving + however precisely the same principles, that different awards, + resting upon antagonistic principles, might have been made.” + </pre> + <p> + Mr. Motley, in the conversation with Lord Clarendon:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I called his lordship's attention to your very judicious suggestion + that the throwing of the dice for umpires might bring about opposite + decisions in cases arising out of identical principles. He agreed + entirely that no principle was established by the treaty, but that + the throwing of dice or drawing of lots was not a new invention on + that occasion, but a not uncommon method in arbitrations. I only + expressed the opinion that such an aleatory process seemed an + unworthy method in arbitrations,” etc. +</pre> + <p> + Mr. Fish, in his letter to Mr. Moran:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “That he had in his mind at that interview something else than his + letter of instructions from this department would appear to be + evident, when he says that 'he called his lordship's attention to + your [my] very judicious suggestion that the throwing of dice for + umpire might bring about opposite decisions.' The instructions + which Mr. Motley received from me contained no suggestion about + throwing of dice.' That idea is embraced in the suggestive words + 'aleatory process' (adopted by Mr. Motley), but previously applied + in a speech made in the Senate on the question of ratifying the + treaty.” + </pre> + <p> + Charles Sumner's Speech on the Johnson-Clarendon Treaty, April 13, 1869: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “In the event of failure to agree, the arbitrator is determined 'by + lot' out of two persons named by each side. Even if this aleatory + proceeding were a proper device in the umpirage of private claims, + it is strongly inconsistent with the solemnity which belongs to the + present question.” + </pre> + <p> + It is “suggestive” that the critical secretary, so keen in detecting + conversational inaccuracies, having but two words to quote from a printed + document, got one of them wrong. But this trivial comment must not lead + the careful reader to neglect to note how much is made of what is really + nothing at all. The word aleatory, whether used in its original and + limited sense, or in its derived extension as a technical term of the + civil law, was appropriate and convenient; one especially likely to be + remembered by any person who had read Mr. Sumner's speech,—and + everybody had read it; the secretary himself doubtless got the suggestion + of determining the question “by lot” from it. What more natural than that + it should be used again when the subject of appealing to chance came up in + conversation? It “was an excellent good word before it was ill-sorted,” + and we were fortunate in having a minister who was scholar enough to know + what it meant. The language used by Mr. Motley conveyed the idea of his + instructions plainly enough, and threw in a compliment to their author + which should have saved this passage at least from the wringing process. + The example just given is, like the concession of belligerency to the + insurgents by Great Britain, chiefly important as “showing animus.” + </p> + <p> + It is hardly necessary to bring forward other instances of virtual + misrepresentation. If Mr. Motley could have talked his conversation over + again, he would very probably have changed some expressions. But he felt + bound to repeat the interview exactly as it occurred, with all the errors + to which its extemporaneous character exposed it. When a case was to be + made out against him, the secretary wrote, December 30, 1870: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Well might he say, as he did in a subsequent dispatch on the 15th + of July, 1869, that he had gone beyond the strict letter of his + instructions. He might have added, in direct opposition to their + temper and spirit.” + </pre> + <p> + Of the same report the secretary had said, June 28, 1869: “Your general + presentation and treatment of the several subjects discussed in that + interview meet the approval of this department.” This general approval is + qualified by mild criticism of a single statement as not having been + conveyed in “precise conformity” to the President's view. The minister was + told he might be well content to rest the question on the very forcible + presentation he had made of the American side of the question, and that if + there were expressions used stronger than were required by his + instructions, they were in the right direction. The mere fact that a + minute of this conversation was confidentially submitted to Lord Clarendon + in order that our own government might have his authority for the accuracy + of the record, which was intended exclusively for its own use, and that + this circumstance was overlooked and not reported to the government until + some weeks afterward, are the additional charges against Mr. Motley. The + submission of the dispatch containing an account of the interview, the + secretary says, is not inconsistent with diplomatic usage, but it is + inconsistent with the duty of a minister not to inform his government of + that submission. “Mr. Motley submitted the draft of his No. 8 to Lord + Clarendon, and failed to communicate that fact to his government.” He did + inform Mr. Fish, at any rate, on the 30th of July, and alleged + “inadvertence” as the reason for his omission to do it before. + </p> + <p> + Inasmuch as submitting the dispatch was not inconsistent with diplomatic + usage, nothing seems left to find fault with but the not very long delay + in mentioning the fact, or in his making the note “private and + confidential,” as is so frequently done in diplomatic correspondence. + </p> + <p> + Such were the grounds of complaint. On the strength of the conversation + which had met with the general approval of the government, tempered by + certain qualifications, and of the omission to report immediately to the + government the fact of its verification by Lord Clarendon, the secretary + rests the case against Mr. Motley. On these grounds it was that, according + to him, the President withdrew all right to discuss the Alabama question + from the minister whose dismissal was now only a question of time. But + other evidence comes in here. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Motley says:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “It was, as I supposed, understood before my departure for England, + although not publicly announced, that the so-called Alabama + negotiations, whenever renewed, should be conducted at Washington, + in case of the consent of the British government.” + </pre> + <p> + Mr. Sumner says, in his “Explanation in Reply to an Assault:”— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The secretary in a letter to me at Boston, dated at Washington, + October 9, 1869, informs the that the discussion of the question was + withdrawn from London 'because (the italics are the secretary's) we + think that when renewed it can be carried on here with a better + prospect of settlement, than where the late attempt at a convention + which resulted so disastrously and was conducted so strangely was + had;' and what the secretary thus wrote he repeated in conversation + when we met, carefully making the transfer to Washington depend upon + our advantage here, from the presence of the Senate,—thus showing + that the pretext put forth to wound Mr. Motley was an afterthought.” + </pre> + <p> + Again we may fairly ask how the government came to send a dispatch like + that of September 25, 1869, in which the views and expressions for which + Mr. Motley's conversation had been criticised were so nearly reproduced, + and with such emphasis that Mr. Motley says, in a letter to me, dated + April 8, 1871, “It not only covers all the ground which I ever took, but + goes far beyond it. No one has ever used stronger language to the British + government than is contained in that dispatch. . . . It is very able and + well worth your reading. Lord Clarendon called it to me 'Sumner's speech + over again.' It was thought by the English cabinet to have 'out-Sumnered + Sumner,' and now our government, thinking that every one in the United + States had forgotten the dispatch, makes believe that I was removed + because my sayings and doings in England were too much influenced by + Sumner!” Mr. Motley goes on to speak of the report that an offer of his + place in England was made to Sumner “to get him out of the way of San + Domingo.” The facts concerning this offer are now sufficiently known to + the public. + </p> + <p> + Here I must dismiss Mr. Fish's letter to Mr. Moran, having, as I trust, + sufficiently shown the spirit in which it was written and the strained + interpretations and manifest overstatements by which it attempts to make + out its case against Mr. Motley. I will not parade the two old women, + whose untimely and unseemly introduction into the dress-circle of + diplomacy was hardly to have been expected of the high official whose name + is at the bottom of this paper. They prove nothing, they disprove nothing, + they illustrate nothing—except that a statesman may forget himself. + Neither will I do more than barely allude to the unfortunate reference to + the death of Lord Clarendon as connected with Mr. Motley's removal, so + placidly disposed of by a sentence or two in the London “Times” of January + 24, 1871. I think we may consider ourselves ready for the next witness. + </p> + <p> + Mr. J. C. Bancroft Davis, Assistant Secretary of State under President + Grant and Secretary Fish, wrote a letter to the New York “Herald,” under + the date of January 4, 1878, since reprinted as a pamphlet and entitled + “Mr. Sumner, the Alabama Claims and their Settlement.” Mr. Sumner was + never successfully attacked when living,—except with a bludgeon,—and + his friends have more than sufficiently vindicated him since his death. + But Mr. Motley comes in for his share of animadversion in Mr. Davis's + letter. He has nothing of importance to add to Mr. Fish's criticisms on + the interview with Lord Clarendon. Only he brings out the head and front + of Mr. Motley's offending by italicizing three very brief passages from + his conversation at this interview; not discreetly, as it seems to me, for + they will not bear the strain that is put upon them. These are the + passages:— + </p> + <p> + 1. “but that such, measures must always be taken with a full view of the + grave responsibilities assumed.” 2. “and as being the fountain head of the + disasters which had been caused to the American people.” 3. “as the fruits + of the proclamation.” + </p> + <p> + 1. It is true that nothing was said of responsibility in Mr. Motley's + instructions. But the idea was necessarily involved in their statements. + For if, as Mr. Motley's instructions say, the right of a power “to define + its own relations,” etc., when a civil conflict has arisen in another + state depends on its (the conflict's) having “attained a sufficient + complexity, magnitude, and completeness,” inasmuch as that Power has to + judge whether it has or has not fulfilled these conditions, and is of + course liable to judge wrong, every such act of judgment must be attended + with grave responsibilities. The instructions say that “the necessity and + propriety of the original concession of belligerency by Great Britain at + the time it was made have been contested and are not admitted.” It follows + beyond dispute that Great Britain may in this particular case have + incurred grave responsibilities; in fact, the whole negotiations implied + as much. Perhaps Mr. Motley need not have used the word + “responsibilities.” But considering that the government itself said in + dispatch No. 70, September 25, 1869, “The President does not deny, on the + contrary he maintains, that every sovereign power decides for itself on + its responsibility whether or not it will, at a given time, accord the + status of belligerency,” etc., it was hardly worth while to use italics + about Mr. Motley's employment of the same language as constituting a grave + cause of offence. + </p> + <p> + 2. Mr. Motley's expression, “as being the fountain head of the disasters,” + is a conversational paraphrase of the words of his instructions, “as it + shows the beginning and the animus of that course of conduct which + resulted so disastrously,” which is not “in precise conformity” with his + instructions, but is just such a variation as is to be expected when one + is talking with another and using the words that suggest themselves at the + moment, just as the familiar expression, “hung up on a peg,” probably + suggested itself to Lord Clarendon. + </p> + <p> + 3. “The fruits of the proclamation” is so inconsiderable a variation on + the text of the instructions, “supplemented by acts causing direct + damage,” that the secretary's hint about want of precise conformity seems + hardly to have been called for. + </p> + <p> + It is important to notice this point in the instructions: With other + powers Mr. Motley was to take the position that the “recognition of the + insurgents' state of war” was made “no ground of complaint;” with Great + Britain that the cause of grievance was “not so much” placed upon the + issuance of this recognition as upon her conduct under, and subsequent to, + such recognition. + </p> + <p> + There is no need of maintaining the exact fitness of every expression used + by Mr. Motley. But any candid person who will carefully read the + government's dispatch No. 70, dated September 25, 1869, will see that a + government holding such language could find nothing in Mr. Motley's + expressions in a conversation held at his first official interview to + visit with official capital punishment more than a year afterwards. If Mr. + Motley had, as it was pretended, followed Sumner, Mr. Fish had + “out-Sumnered” the Senator himself. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Davis's pamphlet would hardly be complete without a mysterious letter + from an unnamed writer, whether a faithless friend, a disguised enemy, a + secret emissary, or an injudicious alarmist, we have no means of judging + for ourselves. The minister appears to have been watched by somebody in + London, as he was in Vienna. This somebody wrote a private letter in which + he expressed “fear and regret that Mr. Motley's bearing in his social + intercourse was throwing obstacles in the way of a future settlement.” The + charge as mentioned in Mr. Davis's letter is hardly entitled to our + attention. Mr. Sumner considered it the work of an enemy, and the + recollection of the M'Crackin letter might well have made the government + cautious of listening to complaints of such a character. This Somebody may + have been one whom we should call Nobody. We cannot help remembering how + well 'Outis' served 'Oduxseus' of old, when he was puzzled to extricate + himself from an embarrassing position. 'Stat nominis umbra' is a poor + showing for authority to support an attack on a public servant exposed to + every form of open and insidious abuse from those who are prejudiced + against his person or his birthplace, who are jealous of his success, + envious of his position, hostile to his politics, dwarfed by his + reputation, or hate him by the divine right of idiosyncrasy, always + liable, too, to questioning comment from well-meaning friends who happen + to be suspicious or sensitive in their political or social relations. + </p> + <p> + The reported sayings of General Grant and of Mr. Fish to the + correspondents who talked with them may be taken for what they are worth. + They sound naturally enough to have come from the speakers who are said to + have uttered them. I quote the most important part of the Edinburgh + letter, September 11, 1877, to the New York “Herald.” These are the words + attributed to General Grant:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Mr. Motley was certainly a very able, very honest gentleman, fit to + hold any official position. But he knew long before he went out + that he would have to go. When I was making these appointments, Mr. + Sumner came to me and asked me to appoint Mr. Motley as minister to + the court of St. James. I told him I would, and did. Soon after + Mr. Sumner made that violent speech about the Alabama claims, and + the British government was greatly offended. Mr. Sumner was at the + time chairman of the committee on foreign affairs. Mr. Motley had + to be instructed. The instructions were prepared very carefully, + and after Governor Fish and I had gone over them for the last time I + wrote an addendum charging him that above all things he should + handle the subject of the Alabama claims with the greatest delicacy. + Mr. Motley instead of obeying his explicit instructions, + deliberately fell in line with Sumner, and thus added insult to the + previous injury. As soon as I heard of it I went over to the State + Department and told Governor Fish to dismiss Motley at once. I was + very angry indeed, and I have been sorry many a time since that I + did not stick to my first determination. Mr. Fish advised delay + because of Sumner's position in the Senate and attitude on the + treaty question. We did not want to stir him up just then. We + dispatched a note of severe censure to Motley at once and ordered + him to abstain from any further connection with that question. We + thereupon commenced negotiations with the British minister at + Washington, and the result was the joint high commission and the + Geneva award. I supposed Mr. Motley would be manly enough to resign + after that snub, but he kept on till he was removed. Mr. Sumner + promised me that he would vote for the treaty. But when it was + before the Senate he did all he could to beat it.” + </pre> + <p> + General Grant talked again at Cairo, in Egypt. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Grant then referred to the statement published at an interview with + him in Scotland, and said the publication had some omissions and + errors. He had no ill-will towards Mr. Motley, who, like other + estimable men, made mistakes, and Motley made a mistake which made + him an improper person to hold office under me.” + + “It is proper to say of me that I killed Motley, or that I made war + upon Sumner for not supporting the annexation of San Domingo. But + if I dare to answer that I removed Motley from the highest + considerations of duty as an executive; if I presume to say that he + made a mistake in his office which made him no longer useful to the + country; if Fish has the temerity to hint that Sumner's temper was + so unfortunate that business relations with him became impossible, + we are slandering the dead.” + </pre> + <p> + “Nothing but Mortimer.” Those who knew both men—the Ex-President and + the late Senator—would agree, I do not doubt, that they would not be + the most promising pair of human beings to make harmonious members of a + political happy family. “Cedant arma togae,” the life-long sentiment of + Sumner, in conflict with “Stand fast and stand sure,” the well-known + device of the clan of Grant, reminds one of the problem of an irresistible + force in collision with an insuperable resistance. But the President says,—or + is reported as saying,—“I may be blamed for my opposition to Mr. + Sumner's tactics, but I was not guided so much by reason of his personal + hatred of myself, as I was by a desire to protect our national interests + in diplomatic affairs.” + </p> + <p> + “It would be useless,” says Mr. Davis in his letter to the “Herald,” “to + enter into a controversy whether the President may or may not have been + influenced in the final determination of the moment for requesting + Motley's resignation by the feeling caused by Sumner's personal hostility + and abuse of himself.” Unfortunately, this controversy had been entered + into, and the idleness of suggesting any relation of cause and effect + between Mr. Motley's dismissal and the irritation produced in the + President's mind by the rejection of the San Domingo treaty—which + rejection was mainly due to Motley's friend Sumner's opposition —strongly + insisted upon in a letter signed by the Secretary of State. Too strongly, + for here it was that he failed to remember what was due to his office, to + himself, and to the gentleman of whom he was writing; if indeed it was the + secretary's own hand which held the pen, and not another's. + </p> + <p> + We might as well leave out the wrath of Achilles from the Iliad, as the + anger of the President with Sumner from the story of Motley's dismissal. + The sad recital must always begin with M—————-. + He was, he is reported as saying, “very angry indeed” with Motley because + he had, fallen in line with Sumner. He couples them together in his + conversation as closely as Chang and Eng were coupled. The death of Lord + Clarendon would have covered up the coincidence between the rejection of + the San Domingo treaty and Mr. Motley's dismissal very neatly, but for the + inexorable facts about its date, as revealed by the London “Times.” It + betrays itself as an afterthought, and its failure as a defence reminds us + too nearly of the trial in which Mr. Webster said suicide is confession. + </p> + <p> + It is not strange that the spurs of the man who had so lately got out of + the saddle should catch in the scholastic robe of the man on the floor of + the Senate. But we should not have looked for any such antagonism between + the Secretary of State and the envoy to Great Britain. On the contrary, + they must have had many sympathies, and it must have cost the secretary + pain, as he said it did, to be forced to communicate with Mr. Moran + instead of with Mr. Motley. + </p> + <p> + He, too, was inquired of by one of the emissaries of the American Unholy + Inquisition. His evidence is thus reported: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The reason for Mr. Motley's removal was found in considerations of + state. He misrepresented the government on the Alabama question, + especially in the two speeches made by him before his arrival at his + post.” + </pre> + <p> + These must be the two speeches made to the American and the Liverpool + chambers of commerce. If there is anything in these short addresses beyond + those civil generalities which the occasion called out, I have failed to + find it. If it was in these that the reason of Mr. Motley's removal was to + be looked for, it is singular that they are not mentioned in the + secretary's letter to Mr. Moran, or by Mr. Davis in his letter to the New + York “Herald.” They must have been as unsuccessful as myself in the search + after anything in these speeches which could be construed into + misinterpretation of the government on the Alabama question. + </p> + <p> + We may much more readily accept “considerations of state” as a reason for + Mr. Motley's removal. Considerations of state have never yet failed the + axe or the bowstring when a reason for the use of those convenient + implements was wanted, and they are quite equal to every emergency which + can arise in a republican autocracy. But for the very reason that a + minister is absolutely in the power of his government, the manner in which + that power is used is always open to the scrutiny, and, if it has been + misused, to the condemnation, of a tribunal higher than itself; a court + that never goes out of office, and which no personal feelings, no lapse of + time, can silence. + </p> + <p> + The ostensible grounds on which Mr. Motley was recalled are plainly + insufficient to account for the action of the government. If it was in + great measure a manifestation of personal feeling on the part of the high + officials by whom and through whom the act was accomplished, it was a + wrong which can never be repaired and never sufficiently regretted. + </p> + <p> + Stung by the slanderous report of an anonymous eavesdropper to whom the + government of the day was not ashamed to listen, he had quitted Vienna, + too hastily, it may be, but wounded, indignant, feeling that he had been + unworthily treated. The sudden recall from London, on no pretext whatever + but an obsolete and overstated incident which had ceased to have any + importance, was under these circumstances a deadly blow. It fell upon “the + new-healed wound of malice,” and though he would not own it, and bore up + against it, it was a shock from which he never fully recovered. + </p> + <p> + “I hope I am one of those,” he writes to me from the Hague, in 1872, “who + 'fortune's buffets and rewards can take with equal thanks.' I am quite + aware that I have had far more than I deserve of political honors, and + they might have had my post as a voluntary gift on my part had they + remembered that I was an honorable man, and not treated me as a detected + criminal deserves to be dealt with.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Sumner naturally felt very deeply what he considered the great wrong + done to his friend. He says:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “How little Mr. Motley merited anything but respect and courtesy + from the secretary is attested by all who know his eminent position + in London, and the service he rendered to his country. Already the + London press, usually slow to praise Americans when strenuous for + their country, has furnished its voluntary testimony. The 'Daily + News' of August 16, 1870, spoke of the insulted minister in these + terms:— + + “'We are violating no confidence in saying that all the hopes of Mr. + Motley's official residence in England have been amply fulfilled, + and that the announcement of his unexpected and unexplained recall + was received with extreme astonishment and unfeigned regret. The + vacancy he leaves cannot possibly be filled by a minister more + sensitive to the honor of his government, more attentive to the + interests of his country, and more capable of uniting the most + vigorous performance of his public duties with the high-bred + courtesy and conciliatory tact and temper that make those duties + easy and successful. Mr. Motley's successor will find his mission + wonderfully facilitated by the firmness and discretion that have + presided over the conduct of American affairs in this country during + too brief a term, too suddenly and unaccountably concluded.'” + </pre> + <p> + No man can escape being found fault with when it is necessary to make out + a case against him. A diplomatist is watched by the sharpest eyes and + commented on by the most merciless tongues. The best and wisest has his + defects, and sometimes they would seem to be very grave ones if brought up + against him in the form of accusation. Take these two portraits, for + instance, as drawn by John Quincy Adams. The first is that of Stratford + Canning, afterwards Lord Stratford de Redcliffe:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “He is to depart to-morrow. I shall probably see him no more. He + is a proud, high-tempered Englishman, of good but not extraordinary + parts; stubborn and punctilious, with a disposition to be + overbearing, which I have often been compelled to check in its own + way. He is, of all the foreign ministers with whom I have had + occasion to treat, the man who has most severely tried my temper. + Yet he has been long in the diplomatic career, and treated with + governments of the most opposite characters. He has, however, a + great respect for his word, and there is nothing false about him. + This is an excellent quality for a negotiator. Mr. Canning is a man + of forms, studious of courtesy, and tenacious of private morals. As + a diplomatic man, his great want is suppleness, and his great virtue + is sincerity.” + </pre> + <p> + The second portrait is that of the French minister, Hyde de Neuville:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “No foreign minister who ever resided here has been so universally + esteemed and beloved, nor have I ever been in political relations + with any foreign statesman of whose moral qualities I have formed so + good an opinion, with the exception of Count Romanzoff. He has not + sufficient command of his temper, is quick, irritable, sometimes + punctilious, occasionally indiscreet in his discourse, and tainted + with Royalist and Bourbon prejudices. But he has strong sentiments + of honor, justice, truth, and even liberty. His flurries of temper + pass off as quickly as they rise. He is neither profound nor + sublime nor brilliant; but a man of strong and good feelings, with + the experience of many vicissitudes of fortune, a good but common + understanding, and good intentions biassed by party feelings, + occasional interests, and personal affections.” + </pre> + <p> + It means very little to say that a man has some human imperfections, or + that a public servant might have done some things better. But when a + questionable cause is to be justified, the victim's excellences are looked + at with the eyes of Liliput and his failings with those of Brobdingnag. + </p> + <p> + The recall of a foreign minister for alleged misconduct in office is a + kind of capital punishment. It is the nearest approach to the Sultan's + bowstring which is permitted to the chief magistrate of our Republic. A + general can do nothing under martial law more peremptory than a President + can do with regard to the public functionary whom he has appointed with + the advice and consent of the Senate, but whom he can officially degrade + and disgrace at his own pleasure for insufficient cause or for none at + all. Like the centurion of Scripture, he says Go, and he goeth. The + nation's representative is less secure in his tenure of office than his + own servant, to whom he must give warning of his impending dismissal. + </p> + <p> + “A breath unmakes him as a breath has made.” + </p> + <p> + The chief magistrate's responsibility to duty, to the fellow-citizen at + his mercy, to his countrymen, to mankind, is in proportion to his power. + His prime minister, the agent of his edicts, should feel bound to + withstand him if he seeks to gratify a personal feeling under the plea of + public policy, unless the minister, like the slaves of the harem, is to + find his qualification for office in leaving his manhood behind him. + </p> + <p> + The two successive administrations, which treated Mr. Motley in a manner + unworthy of their position and cruel, if not fatal to him, have been + heard, directly or through their advocates. I have attempted to show that + the defence set up for their action is anything but satisfactory. A later + generation will sit in judgment upon the evidence more calmly than our + own. It is not for a friend, like the writer, to anticipate its decision, + but unless the reasons alleged to justify his treatment, and which have so + much the air of afterthoughts, shall seem stronger to that future tribunal + than they do to him, the verdict will be that Mr. Motley was twice + sacrificed to personal feelings which should never have been cherished by + the heads of the government, and should never have been countenanced by + their chief advisers. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0024" id="link2H_4_0024"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + Volume III. + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0025" id="link2H_4_0025"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXII. 1874. AEt. 60. + </h2> + <h3> + “LIFE OF JOHN OF BARNEVELD.”—CRITICISMS.—GROEN VAN PRINSTERER. + </h3> + <p> + The full title of Mr. Motley's next and last work is “The Life and Death + of John of Barneveld, Advocate of Holland; with a View of the Primary + Causes and Movements of the Thirty Years' War.” + </p> + <p> + In point of fact this work is a history rather than a biography. It is an + interlude, a pause between the acts which were to fill out the complete + plan of the “Eighty Years' Tragedy,” and of which the last act, the Thirty + Years' War, remains unwritten. The “Life of Barneveld” was received as a + fitting and worthy continuation of the series of intellectual labor in + which he was engaged. I will quote but two general expressions of approval + from the two best known British critical reviews. In connection with his + previous works, it forms, says “The London Quarterly,” “a fine and + continuous story, of which the writer and the nation celebrated by him + have equal reason to be proud; a narrative which will remain a prominent + ornament of American genius, while it has permanently enriched English + literature on this as well as on the other side of the Atlantic.” + </p> + <p> + “The Edinburgh Review” speaks no less warmly: “We can hardly give too much + appreciation to that subtile alchemy of the brain which has enabled him to + produce out of dull, crabbed, and often illegible state papers, the vivid, + graphic, and sparkling narrative which he has given to the world.” + </p> + <p> + In a literary point of view, M. Groen van Prinsterer, whose elaborate work + has been already referred to, speaks of it as perhaps the most classical + of Motley's productions, but it is upon this work that the force of his + own and other Dutch criticisms has been chiefly expended. + </p> + <p> + The key to this biographical history or historical biography may be found + in a few sentences from its opening chapter. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “There have been few men at any period whose lives have been more + closely identical than his [Barneveld's] with a national history. + There have been few great men in any history whose names have become + less familiar to the world, and lived less in the mouths of + posterity. Yet there can be no doubt that if William the Silent was + the founder of the independence of the United Provinces, Barneveld + was the founder of the Commonwealth itself. . . . + + “Had that country of which he was so long the first citizen + maintained until our own day the same proportional position among + the empires of Christendom as it held in the seventeenth century, + the name of John of Barneveld would have perhaps been as familiar to + all men as it is at this moment to nearly every inhabitant of the + Netherlands. Even now political passion is almost as ready to flame + forth, either in ardent affection or enthusiastic hatred, as if two + centuries and a half had not elapsed since his death. His name is + so typical of a party, a polity, and a faith, so indelibly + associated with a great historical cataclysm, as to render it + difficult even for the grave, the conscientious, the learned, the + patriotic, of his own compatriots to speak of him with absolute + impartiality. + + “A foreigner who loves and admires all that is great and noble in + the history of that famous republic, and can have no hereditary bias + as to its ecclesiastical or political theories, may at least attempt + the task with comparative coldness, although conscious of inability + to do thorough justice to a most complex subject.” + </pre> + <p> + With all Mr. Motley's efforts to be impartial, to which even his sternest + critics bear witness, he could not help becoming a partisan of the cause + which for him was that of religious liberty and progress, as against the + accepted formula of an old ecclesiastical organization. For the quarrel + which came near being a civil war, which convulsed the state, and cost + Barneveld his head, had its origin in a difference on certain points, and + more especially on a single point, of religious doctrine. + </p> + <p> + As a great river may be traced back until its fountainhead is found in a + thread of water streaming from a cleft in the rocks, so a great national + movement may sometimes be followed until its starting-point is found in + the cell of a monk or the studies of a pair of wrangling professors. + </p> + <p> + The religious quarrel of the Dutchmen in the seventeenth century reminds + us in some points of the strife between two parties in our own New + England, sometimes arraying the “church” on one side against the “parish,” + or the general body of worshippers, on the other. The portraits of + Gomarus, the great orthodox champion, and Arminius, the head and front of + the “liberal theology” of his day, as given in the little old quarto of + Meursius, recall two ministerial types of countenance familiar to those + who remember the earlier years of our century. + </p> + <p> + Under the name of “Remonstrants” and “Contra-Remonstrants,”—Arminians + and old-fashioned Calvinists, as we should say,—the adherents of the + two Leyden professors disputed the right to the possession of the + churches, and the claim to be considered as representing the national + religion. Of the seven United Provinces, two, Holland and Utrecht, were + prevailingly Arminian, and the other five Calvinistic. Barneveld, who, + under the title of Advocate, represented the province of Holland, the most + important of them all, claimed for each province a right to determine its + own state religion. Maurice the Stadholder, son of William the Silent, the + military chief of the republic, claimed the right for the States-General. + 'Cujus regio ejus religio' was then the accepted public doctrine of + Protestant nations. Thus the provincial and the general governments were + brought into conflict by their creeds, and the question whether the + republic was a confederation or a nation, the same question which has been + practically raised, and for the time at least settled, in our own + republic, was in some way to be decided. After various disturbances and + acts of violence by both parties, Maurice, representing the + States-General, pronounced for the Calvinists or Contra-Remonstrants, and + took possession of one of the great churches, as an assertion of his + authority. Barneveld, representing the Arminian or Remonstrant provinces, + levied a body of mercenary soldiers in several of the cities. These were + disbanded by Maurice, and afterwards by an act of the States-General. + Barneveld was apprehended, imprisoned, and executed, after an examination + which was in no proper sense a trial. Grotius, who was on the Arminian + side and involved in the inculpated proceedings, was also arrested and + imprisoned. His escape, by a stratagem successfully repeated by a slave in + our own times, may challenge comparison for its romantic interest with any + chapter of fiction. How his wife packed him into the chest supposed to + contain the folios of the great oriental scholar Erpenius, how the + soldiers wondered at its weight and questioned whether it did not hold an + Arminian, how the servant-maid, Elsje van Houwening, quick-witted as + Morgiana of the “Forty Thieves,” parried their questions and convoyed her + master safely to the friendly place of refuge,—all this must be read + in the vivid narrative of the author. + </p> + <p> + The questions involved were political, local, personal, and above all + religious. Here is the picture which Motley draws of the religious quarrel + as it divided the people:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “In burghers' mansions, peasants' cottages, mechanics' back-parlors; + on board herring-smacks, canal-boats, and East Indiamen; in shops, + counting-rooms, farm-yards, guard-rooms, alehouses; on the exchange, + in the tennis court, on the mall; at banquets, at burials, + christenings, or bridals; wherever and whenever human creatures met + each other, there was ever to be found the fierce wrangle of + Remonstrant and Contra-Remonstrant, the hissing of red-hot + theological rhetoric, the pelting of hostile texts. The + blacksmith's iron cooled on the anvil, the tinker dropped a kettle + half mended, the broker left a bargain unclinched, the Scheveningen + fisherman in his wooden shoes forgot the cracks in his pinkie, while + each paused to hold high converse with friend or foe on fate, free- + will, or absolute foreknowledge; losing himself in wandering mazes + whence there was no issue. Province against province, city against + city, family against family; it was one vast scene of bickering, + denunciation, heart-burnings, mutual excommunication and hatred.” + </pre> + <p> + The religious grounds of the quarrel which set these seventeenth-century + Dutchmen to cutting each other's throats were to be looked for in the + “Five Points” of the Arminians as arrayed against the “Seven Points” of + the Gomarites, or Contra-Remonstrants. The most important of the + differences which were to be settled by fratricide seem to have been + these:— + </p> + <p> + According to the Five Points, “God has from eternity resolved to choose to + eternal life those who through his grace believe in Jesus Christ,” etc. + According to the Seven Points, “God in his election has not looked at the + belief and the repentance of the elect,” etc. According to the Five + Points, all good deeds must be ascribed to God's grace in Christ, but it + does not work irresistibly. The language of the Seven Points implies that + the elect cannot resist God's eternal and unchangeable design to give them + faith and steadfastness, and that they can never wholly and for always + lose the true faith. The language of the Five Points is unsettled as to + the last proposition, but it was afterwards maintained by the Remonstrant + party that a true believer could, through his own fault, fall away from + God and lose faith. + </p> + <p> + It must be remembered that these religious questions had an immediate + connection with politics. Independently of the conflict of jurisdiction, + in which they involved the parties to the two different creeds, it was + believed or pretended that the new doctrines of the Remonstrants led + towards Romanism, and were allied with designs which threatened the + independence of the country. “There are two factions in the land,” said + Maurice, “that of Orange and that of Spain, and the two chiefs of the + Spanish faction are those political and priestly Arminians, Uytenbogaert + and Oldenbarneveld.” + </p> + <p> + The heads of the two religious and political parties were in such + hereditary, long-continued, and intimate relations up to the time when one + signed the other's death-warrant, that it was impossible to write the life + of one without also writing that of the other. For his biographer John of + Barneveld is the true patriot, the martyr, whose cause was that of + religious and political freedom. For him Maurice is the ambitious soldier + who hated his political rival, and never rested until this rival was + brought to the scaffold. + </p> + <p> + The questions which agitated men's minds two centuries and a half ago are + not dead yet in the country where they produced such estrangement, + violence, and wrong. No stranger could take them up without encountering + hostile criticism from one party or the other. It may be and has been + conceded that Mr. Motley writes as a partisan,—a partisan of freedom + in politics and religion, as he understands freedom. This secures him the + antagonism of one class of critics. But these critics are themselves + partisans, and themselves open to the cross-fire of their antagonists. M. + Groen van Prinsterer, “the learned and distinguished” editor of the + “Archives et Correspondance” of the Orange and Nassau family, published a + considerable volume, before referred to, in which many of Motley's views + are strongly controverted. But he himself is far from being in accord with + “that eminent scholar,” M. Bakhuyzen van den Brink, whose name, he says, + is celebrated enough to need no comment, or with M. Fruin, of whose + impartiality and erudition he himself speaks in the strongest terms. The + ground upon which he is attacked is thus stated in his own words:— + </p> + <p> + “People have often pretended to find in my writings the deplorable + influence of an extreme Calvinism. The Puritans of the seventeenth century + are my fellow-religionists. I am a sectarian and not an historian.” + </p> + <p> + It is plain enough to any impartial reader that there are at least + plausible grounds for this accusation against Mr. Motley's critic. And on + a careful examination of the formidable volume, it becomes obvious that + Mr. Motley has presented a view of the events and the personages of the + stormy epoch with which he is dealing, which leaves a battle-ground yet to + be fought over by those who come after him. The dispute is not and cannot + be settled. + </p> + <p> + The end of all religious discussion has come when one of the parties + claims that it is thinking or acting under immediate Divine guidance. “It + is God's affair, and his honor is touched,” says William Lewis to Prince + Maurice. Mr. Motley's critic is not less confident in claiming the + Almighty as on the side of his own views. Let him state his own ground of + departure:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “To show the difference, let me rather say the contrast, between the + point of view of Mr. Motley and my own, between the Unitarian and + the Evangelical belief. I am issue of CALVIN, child of the + Awakening (reveil). Faithful to the device of the Reformers: + Justification by faith alone, and the Word of God endures eternally. + I consider history from the point of view of Merle d'Aubigne, + Chalmers, Guizot. I desire to be disciple and witness of our Lord + and Saviour, Jesus Christ.” + </pre> + <p> + He is therefore of necessity antagonistic to a writer whom he describes in + such words as these:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Mr. Motley is liberal and rationalist. + + “He becomes, in attacking the principle of the Reformation, the + passionate opponent of the Puritans and of Maurice, the ardent + apologist of Barnevelt and the Arminians. + + “It is understood, and he makes no mystery of it, that he inclines + towards the vague and undecided doctrine of the Unitarians.” + </pre> + <p> + What M. Groen's idea of Unitarians is may be gathered from the statement + about them which he gets from a letter of De Tocqueville. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “They are pure deists; they talk about the Bible, because they do + not wish to shock too severely public opinion, which is prevailingly + Christian. They have a service on Sundays; I have been there. At + it they read verses from Dryden or other English poets on the + existence of God and the immortality of the soul. They deliver a + discourse on some point of morality, and all is said.” + </pre> + <p> + In point of fact the wave of protest which stormed the dikes of Dutch + orthodoxy in the seventeenth century stole gently through the bars of New + England Puritanism in the eighteenth. + </p> + <p> + “Though the large number,” says Mr. Bancroft, “still acknowledged the + fixedness of the divine decrees, and the resistless certainty from all + eternity of election and of reprobation, there were not wanting, even + among the clergy, some who had modified the sternness of the ancient + doctrine by making the self-direction of the active powers of man with + freedom of inquiry and private judgment the central idea of a protest + against Calvinism.” + </p> + <p> + Protestantism, cut loose from an infallible church, and drifting with + currents it cannot resist, wakes up once or oftener in every century, to + find itself in a new locality. Then it rubs its eyes and wonders whether + it has found its harbor or only lost its anchor. There is no end to its + disputes, for it has nothing but a fallible vote as authority for its + oracles, and these appeal only to fallible interpreters. + </p> + <p> + It is as hard to contend in argument against “the oligarchy of heaven,” as + Motley calls the Calvinistic party, as it was formerly to strive with them + in arms. + </p> + <p> + To this “aristocracy of God's elect” belonged the party which framed the + declaration of the Synod of Dort; the party which under the forms of + justice shed the blood of the great statesman who had served his country + so long and so well. To this chosen body belonged the late venerable and + truly excellent as well as learned M. Groen van Prinsterer, and he + exercised the usual right of examining in the light of his privileged + position the views of a “liberal” and “rationalist” writer who goes to + meeting on Sunday to hear verses from Dryden. This does not diminish his + claim for a fair reading of the “intimate correspondence,” which he + considers Mr. Motley has not duly taken into account, and of the other + letters to be found printed in his somewhat disjointed and fragmentary + volume. + </p> + <p> + This “intimate correspondence” shows Maurice the Stadholder indifferent + and lax in internal administration and as being constantly advised and + urged by his relative Count William of Nassau. This need of constant + urging extends to religious as well as other matters, and is inconsistent + with M. Groen van Prinsterer's assertion that the question was for Maurice + above all religious, and for Barneveld above all political. Whether its + negative evidence can be considered as neutralizing that which is adduced + by Mr. Motley to show the Stadholder's hatred of the Advocate may be left + to the reader who has just risen from the account of the mock trial and + the swift execution of the great and venerable statesman. The formal entry + on the record upon the day of his “judicial murder” is singularly solemn + and impressive:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Monday, 13th May, 1619. To-day was executed with the sword here in + the Hague, on a scaffold thereto erected in the Binnenhof before the + steps of the great hall, Mr. John of Barneveld, in his life Knight, + Lord of Berkel, Rodenrys, etc., Advocate of Holland and West + Friesland, for reasons expressed in the sentence and otherwise, with + confiscation of his property, after he had served the state thirty- + three years two months and five days, since 8th March, 1586; a man + of great activity, business, memory, and wisdom,—yea, extraordinary + in every respect. He that stands let him see that he does not + fall.” + </pre> + <p> + Maurice gave an account of the execution of Barneveld to Count William + Lewis on the same day in a note “painfully brief and dry.” + </p> + <p> + Most authors write their own biography consciously or unconsciously. We + have seen Mr. Motley portraying much of himself, his course of life and + his future, as he would have had it, in his first story. In this, his last + work, it is impossible not to read much of his own external and internal + personal history told under other names and with different accessories. + The parallelism often accidentally or intentionally passes into + divergence. He would not have had it too close if he could, but there are + various passages in which it is plain enough that he is telling his own + story. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Motley was a diplomatist, and he writes of other diplomatists, and one + in particular, with most significant detail. It need not be supposed that + he intends the “arch intriguer” Aerssens to stand for himself, or that he + would have endured being thought to identify himself with the man of whose + “almost devilish acts” he speaks so freely. But the sagacious reader—and + he need not be very sharp-sighted—will very certainly see something + more than a mere historical significance in some of the passages which I + shall cite for him to reflect upon. Mr. Motley's standard of an + ambassador's accomplishments may be judged from the following passage:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “That those ministers [those of the Republic] were second to the + representatives of no other European state in capacity and + accomplishment was a fact well known to all who had dealings with + them, for the states required in their diplomatic representatives + knowledge of history and international law, modern languages, and + the classics, as well as familiarity with political customs and + social courtesies; the breeding of gentlemen, in short, and the + accomplishments of scholars.” + </pre> + <p> + The story of the troubles of Aerssens, the ambassador of the United + Provinces at Paris, must be given at some length, and will repay careful + reading. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Francis Aerssens . . . continued to be the Dutch ambassador + after the murder of Henry IV. . . . He was beyond doubt one of + the ablest diplomatists in Europe. Versed in many languages, a + classical student, familiar with history and international law, a + man of the world and familiar with its usages, accustomed to + associate with dignity and tact on friendliest terms with + sovereigns, eminent statesmen, and men of letters; endowed with a + facile tongue, a fluent pen, and an eye and ear of singular + acuteness and delicacy; distinguished for unflagging industry and + singular aptitude for secret and intricate affairs;—he had by the + exercise of these various qualities during a period of nearly twenty + years at the court of Henry the Great been able to render + inestimable services to the Republic which he represented. + + “He had enjoyed the intimacy and even the confidence of Henry IV., + so far as any man could be said to possess that monarch's + confidence, and his friendly relations and familiar access to the + king gave him political advantages superior to those of any of his + colleagues at the same court. + + “Acting entirely and faithfully according to the instructions of the + Advocate of Holland, he always gratefully and copiously acknowledged + the privilege of being guided and sustained in the difficult paths + he had to traverse by so powerful and active an intellect. I have + seldom alluded in terms to the instructions and dispatches of the + chief, but every position, negotiation, and opinion of the envoy + —and the reader has seen many of them is pervaded by their spirit. + + “It had become a question whether he was to remain at his post or + return. It was doubtful whether he wished to be relieved of his + embassy or not. The States of Holland voted 'to leave it to his + candid opinion if in his free conscience he thinks he can serve the + public any longer. If yes, he may keep his office one year more. + If no, he may take leave and come home.' + + “Surely the States, under the guidance of the Advocate, had thus + acted with consummate courtesy towards a diplomatist whose position, + from no apparent fault of his own, but by the force of + circumstances,—and rather to his credit than otherwise, + —was gravely compromised.” + </pre> + <p> + The Queen, Mary de' Medici, had a talk with him, got angry, “became very + red in the face,” and wanted to be rid of him. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Nor was the envoy at first desirous of remaining. . . . + Nevertheless, he yielded reluctantly to Barneveld's request that he + should, for the time at least, remain at his post. Later on, as the + intrigues against him began to unfold themselves, and his faithful + services were made use of at home to blacken his character and + procure his removal, he refused to resign, as to do so would be to + play into the hands of his enemies, and, by inference at least, to + accuse himself of infidelity to his trust. . . . + + “It is no wonder that the ambassador was galled to the quick by the + outrage which those concerned in the government were seeking to put + upon him. How could an honest man fail to be overwhelmed with rage + and anguish at being dishonored before the world by his masters for + scrupulously doing his duty, and for maintaining the rights and + dignity of his own country? He knew that the charges were but + pretexts, that the motives of his enemies were as base as the + intrigues themselves, but he also knew that the world usually sides + with the government against the individual, and that a man's + reputation is rarely strong enough to maintain itself unsullied in a + foreign land when his own government stretches forth its hand, not + to shield, but to stab him. . . . + + “'I know,' he said, that this plot has been woven partly here in + Holland and partly here by good correspondence in order to drive me + from my post. + + “'But as I have discovered this accurately, I have resolved to offer + to my masters the continuance of my very humble service for such + time and under such conditions as they may think good to prescribe. + I prefer forcing my natural and private inclinations to giving an + opportunity for the ministers of this kingdom to discredit us, and + to my enemies to succeed in injuring me, and by fraud and malice to + force me from my post. . . . I am truly sorry, being ready to + retire, wishing to have an honorable testimony in recompense of my + labors, that one is in such hurry to take advantage of my fall. . + . . What envoy will ever dare to speak with vigor if he is not + sustained by the government at home? . . . My enemies have + misrepresented my actions, and my language as passionate, + exaggerated, mischievous, but I have no passion except for the + service of my superiors.' + + “Barneveld, from well-considered motives of public policy, was + favoring his honorable recall. But he allowed a decorous interval + of more than three years to elapse in which to terminate his + affairs, and to take a deliberate departure from that French embassy + to which the Advocate had originally promoted him, and in which + there had been so many years of mutual benefit and confidence + between the two statesmen. He used no underhand means. He did not + abuse the power of the States-General which he wielded to cast him + suddenly and brutally from the distinguished post which he occupied, + and so to attempt to dishonor him before the world. Nothing could + be more respectful and conciliatory than the attitude of the + government from first to last towards this distinguished + functionary. The Republic respected itself too much to deal with + honorable agents whose services it felt obliged to dispense with as + with vulgar malefactors who had been detected in crime. . . . + + “This work aims at being a political study. I would attempt to + exemplify the influence of individual humors and passions—some of + them among the highest, and others certainly the basest that agitate + humanity—upon the march of great events, upon general historical + results at certain epochs, and upon the destiny of eminent + personages.” + </pre> + <p> + Here are two suggestive portraits:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The Advocate, while acting only in the name of a slender + confederacy, was in truth, so long as he held his place, the prime + minister of European Protestantism. There was none other to rival + him, few to comprehend him, fewer still to sustain him. As Prince + Maurice was at that time the great soldier of Protestantism, without + clearly scanning the grandeur of the field in which he was a chief + actor, or foreseeing the vastness of its future, so the Advocate was + its statesman and its prophet. Could the two have worked together + as harmoniously as they had done at an earlier day, it would have + been a blessing for the common weal of Europe. But, alas! the evil + genius of jealousy, which so often forbids cordial relations between + soldier and statesman, already stood shrouded in the distance, + darkly menacing the strenuous patriot, who was wearing his life out + in exertions for what he deemed the true cause of progress and + humanity. . . . + + “All history shows that the brilliant soldier of a republic is apt + to have the advantage, in a struggle for popular affection and + popular applause, over the statesman, however consummate. . . . + The great battles and sieges of the prince had been on a world's + theatre, had enchained the attention of Christendom, and on their + issue had frequently depended, or seemed to depend, the very + existence of the nation. The labors of the statesman, on the + contrary, had been comparatively secret. His noble orations and + arguments had been spoken with closed doors to assemblies of + colleagues, rather envoys than senators, . . while his vast labors + in directing both the internal administration and especially the + foreign affairs of the commonwealth had been by their very nature + as secret as they were perpetual and enormous.” + </pre> + <p> + The reader of the “Life of Barneveld” must judge for himself whether in + these and similar passages the historian was thinking solely of Maurice, + the great military leader, of Barneveld, the great statesman, and of + Aerssens, the recalled ambassador. He will certainly find that there were + “burning questions” for ministers to handle then as now, and recognize in + “that visible atmosphere of power the poison of which it is so difficult + to resist” a respiratory medium as well known to the nineteenth as to the + seventeenth century. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0026" id="link2H_4_0026"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXIII. 1874-1877. AEt. 60-63. + </h2> + <p> + DEATH OF MRS. MOTLEY.—LAST VISIT TO AMERICA.—ILLNESS AND + DEATH.-LADY HARCOURT'S COMMUNICATION. + </p> + <p> + On the last day of 1874, the beloved wife, whose health had for some years + been failing, was taken from him by death. She had been the pride of his + happier years, the stay and solace of those which had so tried his + sensitive spirit. The blow found him already weakened by mental suffering + and bodily infirmity, and he never recovered from it. Mr. Motley's last + visit to America was in the summer and autumn of 1875. During several + weeks which he passed at Nahant, a seaside resort near Boston, I saw him + almost daily. He walked feebly and with some little difficulty, and + complained of a feeling of great weight in the right arm, which made + writing laborious. His handwriting had not betrayed any very obvious + change, so far as I had noticed in his letters. His features and speech + were without any paralytic character. His mind was clear except when, as + on one or two occasions, he complained of some confused feeling, and + walked a few minutes in the open air to compose himself. His thoughts were + always tending to revert to the almost worshipped companion from whom + death had parted him a few months before. Yet he could often be led away + to other topics, and in talking of them could be betrayed into momentary + cheerfulness of manner. His long-enduring and all-pervading grief was not + more a tribute to the virtues and graces of her whom he mourned than an + evidence of the deeply affectionate nature which in other relations + endeared him to so many whose friendship was a title to love and honor. + </p> + <p> + I have now the privilege of once more recurring to the narrative of Mr. + Motley's daughter, Lady Harcourt. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The harassing work and mental distress of this time [after the + recall from England], acting on an acutely nervous organization, + began the process of undermining his constitution, of which we were + so soon to see the results. It was not the least courageous act of + his life, that, smarting under a fresh wound, tired and unhappy, he + set his face immediately towards the accomplishment of fresh + literary labor. After my sister's marriage in January he went to + the Hague to begin his researches in the archives for John of + Barneveld. The Queen of the Netherlands had made ready a house + for us, and personally superintended every preparation for his + reception. We remained there until the spring, and then removed to + a house more immediately in the town, a charming old-fashioned + mansion, once lived in by John de Witt, where he had a large library + and every domestic comfort during the year of his sojourn. The + incessant literary labor in an enervating climate with enfeebled + health may have prepared the way for the first break in his + constitution, which was to show itself soon after. There were many + compensations in the life about him. He enjoyed the privilege of + constant companionship with one of the warmest hearts and finest + intellects which I have ever known in a woman,—the 'ame d'elite' + which has passed beyond this earth. The gracious sentiment with + which the Queen sought to express her sense of what Holland owed him + would have been deeply felt even had her personal friendship been + less dear to us all. From the King, the society of the Hague, and + the diplomatic circle we had many marks of kindness. Once or twice + I made short journeys with him for change of air to Amsterdam, to + look for the portraits of John of Barneveld and his wife; to + Bohemia, where, with the lingering hope of occupying himself with + the Thirty Years' War, he looked carefully at the scene of + Wallenstein's death near Prague, and later to Varzin in Pomerania + for a week with Prince Bismarck, after the great events of the + Franco-German war. In the autumn of 1872 we moved to England, + partly because it was evident that his health and my mother's + required a change; partly for private reasons to be near my sister + and her children. The day after our arrival at Bournemouth occurred + the rupture of a vessel on the lungs, without any apparently + sufficient cause. He recovered enough to revise and complete his + manuscript, and we thought him better, when at the end of July, in + London, he was struck down by the first attack of the head, which + robbed him of all after power of work, although the intellect + remained untouched. Sir William Gull sent him to Cannes for the + winter, where he was seized with a violent internal inflammation, + in which I suppose there was again the indication of the lesion of + blood-vessels. I am nearing the shadow now,—the time of which I + can hardly bear to write. You know the terrible sorrow which + crushed him on the last day of 1874,—the grief which broke his + heart and from which he never rallied. From that day it seems to me + that his life may be summed up in the two words,—patient waiting. + Never for one hour did her spirit leave him, and he strove to follow + its leading for the short and evil days left and the hope of the + life beyond. I think I have never watched quietly and reverently + the traces of one personal character remaining so strongly impressed + on another nature. With herself—depreciation and unselfishness she + would have been the last to believe how much of him was in her very + existence; nor could we have realized it until the parting came. + Henceforward, with the mind still there, but with the machinery + necessary to set it in motion disturbed and shattered, he could but + try to create small occupations with which to fill the hours of a + life which was only valued for his children's sake. Kind and loving + friends in England and America soothed the passage, and our + gratitude for so many gracious acts is deep and true. His love for + children, always a strong feeling, was gratified by the constant + presence of my sister's babies, the eldest, a little girl who bore + my mother's name, and had been her idol, being the companion of many + hours and his best comforter. At the end the blow came swiftly and + suddenly, as he would have wished it. It was a terrible shock to us + who had vainly hoped to keep him a few years longer, but at least he + was spared what he had dreaded with a great dread, a gradual failure + of mental or bodily power. The mind was never clouded, the + affections never weakened, and after a few hours of unconscious + physical struggle he lay at rest, his face beautiful and calm, + without a trace of suffering or illness. Once or twice he said, 'It + has come, it has come,' and there were a few broken words before + consciousness fled, but there was little time for messages or leave- + taking. By a strange coincidence his life ended near the town of + Dorchester, in the mother country, as if the last hour brought with + it a reminiscence of his birthplace, and of his own dearly loved + mother. By his own wish only the dates of his birth and death + appear upon his gravestone, with the text chosen by himself, 'In God + is light, and in him is no darkness at all.'” + </pre> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0027" id="link2H_4_0027"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXIV. CONCLUSION. + </h2> + <h3> + HIS CHARACTER.—HIS LABORS.—HIS REWARD. + </h3> + <p> + In closing this restricted and imperfect record of a life which merits, + and in due time will, I trust, receive an ampler tribute, I cannot refrain + from adding a few thoughts which naturally suggest themselves, and some of + which may seem quite unnecessary to the reader who has followed the story + of the historian and diplomatist's brilliant and eventful career. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Motley came of a parentage which promised the gifts of mind and body + very generally to be accounted for, in a measure at least, wherever we + find them, by the blood of one or both of the parents. They gave him + special attractions and laid him open to not a few temptations. Too many + young men born to shine in social life, to sparkle, it may be, in + conversation, perhaps in the lighter walks of literature, become agreeable + idlers, self-indulgent, frivolous, incapable of large designs or sustained + effort, lose every aspiration and forget every ideal. Our gilded youth + want such examples as this of Motley, not a solitary, but a conspicuous + one, to teach them how much better is the restlessness of a noble ambition + than the narcotized stupor of club-life or the vapid amusement of a + dressed-up intercourse which too often requires a questionable flavor of + forbidden license to render it endurable to persons of vivacious character + and temperament. + </p> + <p> + It would seem difficult for a man so flattered from his earliest days to + be modest in his self-estimate; but Motley was never satisfied with + himself. He was impulsive, and was occasionally, I have heard it said, + over excited, when his prejudices were roughly handled. In all that + related to the questions involved in our civil war, he was, no doubt, very + sensitive. He had heard so much that exasperated him in the foreign + society which he had expected to be in full sympathy with the cause of + liberty as against slavery, that he might be excused if he showed + impatience when he met with similar sentiments among his own countrymen. + He felt that he had been cruelly treated by his own government, and no one + who conceives himself to have been wronged and insulted must be expected + to reason in naked syllogisms on the propriety of the liberties which have + been taken with his name and standing. But with all his quickness of + feeling, his manners were easy and courteous, simply because his nature + was warm and kindly, and with all his natural fastidiousness there was + nothing of the coxcomb about him. + </p> + <p> + He must have had enemies, as all men of striking individuality are sure to + have; his presence cast more uncouth patriots into the shade; his learning + was a reproach to the ignorant, his fame was too bright a distinction; his + high-bred air and refinement, which he could not help, would hardly + commend him to the average citizen in an order of things in which + mediocrity is at a premium, and the natural nobility of presence, which + rarely comes without family antecedents to account for it, is not always + agreeable to the many whose two ideals are the man on horseback and the + man in his shirt-sleeves. It may well be questioned whether Washington, + with his grand manner, would be nearly as popular with what are called + “the masses” as Lincoln, with his homely ways and broad stories. The + experiment of universal suffrage must render the waters of political and + social life more or less turbid even if they remain innoxious. The Cloaca + Maxima can hardly mingle its contents with the stream of the Aqua Claudia, + without taking something from its crystal clearness. We need not go so far + as one of our well-known politicians has recently gone in saying that no + great man can reach the highest position in our government, but we can + safely say that, apart from military fame, the loftiest and purest and + finest personal qualities are not those which can be most depended upon at + the ballot-box. Strange stories are told of avowed opposition to Mr. + Motley on the ground of the most trivial differences in point of taste in + personal matters,—so told that it is hard to disbelieve them, and + they show that the caprices which we might have thought belonged + exclusively to absolute rulers among their mistresses or their minions may + be felt in the councils of a great people which calls itself + self-governing. It is perfectly true that Mr. Motley did not illustrate + the popular type of politician. He was too high-minded, too scholarly, too + generously industrious, too polished, too much at home in the highest + European circles, too much courted for his personal fascinations, too + remote from the trading world of caucus managers. To degrade him, so far + as official capital punishment could do it, was not merely to wrong one + whom the nation should have delighted to honor as showing it to the world + in the fairest flower of its young civilization, but it was an indignity + to a representative of the highest scholarship of native growth, which + every student in the land felt as a discouragement to all sound learning + and noble ambition. + </p> + <p> + If he was disappointed in his diplomatic career, he had enough, and more + than enough, to console him in his brilliant literary triumphs. He had + earned them all by the most faithful and patient labor. If he had not the + “frame of adamant” of the Swedish hero, he had his “soul of fire.” No + labors could tire him, no difficulties affright him. What most surprised + those who knew him as a young man was, not his ambition, not his + brilliancy, but his dogged, continuous capacity for work. We have seen + with what astonishment the old Dutch scholar, Groen van Prinsterer, looked + upon a man who had wrestled with authors like Bor and Van Meteren, who had + grappled with the mightiest folios and toiled undiscouraged among + half-illegible manuscript records. Having spared no pains in collecting + his materials, he told his story, as we all know, with flowing ease and + stirring vitality. His views may have been more or less partial; Philip + the Second may have deserved the pitying benevolence of poor Maximilian; + Maurice may have wept as sincerely over the errors of Arminius as any one + of “the crocodile crew that believe in election;” Barneveld and Grotius + may have been on the road to Rome; none of these things seem probable, but + if they were all proved true in opposition to his views, we should still + have the long roll of glowing tapestry he has woven for us, with all its + life-like portraits, its almost moving pageants, its sieges where we can + see the artillery flashing, its battle-fields with their smoke and fire,—pictures + which cannot fade, and which will preserve his name interwoven with their + own enduring colors. + </p> + <p> + Republics are said to be ungrateful; it might be truer to say that they + are forgetful. They forgive those who have wronged them as easily as they + forget those who have done them good service. But History never forgets + and never forgives. To her decision we may trust the question, whether the + warm-hearted patriot who had stood up for his country nobly and manfully + in the hour of trial, the great scholar and writer who had reflected honor + upon her throughout the world of letters, the high-minded public servant, + whose shortcomings it taxed the ingenuity of experts to make conspicuous + enough to be presentable, was treated as such a citizen should have been + dealt with. His record is safe in her hands, and his memory will be + precious always in the hearts of all who enjoyed his friendship. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_APPE" id="link2H_APPE"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + APPENDIX. + </h2> + <h3> + A. + </h3> + <p> + THE SATURDAY CLUB. + </p> + <p> + This club, of which we were both members, and which is still flourishing, + came into existence in a very quiet sort of way at about the same time as + “The Atlantic Monthly,” and, although entirely unconnected with that + magazine, included as members some of its chief contributors. Of those who + might have been met at some of the monthly gatherings in its earlier days + I may mention Emerson, Hawthorne, Longfellow, Lowell, Motley, Whipple, + Whittier; Professors Agassiz and Peirce; John S. Dwight; Governor Andrew, + Richard H. Dana, Junior, Charles Sumner. It offered a wide gamut of + intelligences, and the meetings were noteworthy occasions. If there was + not a certain amount of “mutual admiration” among some of those I have + mentioned it was a great pity, and implied a defect in the nature of men + who were otherwise largely endowed. The vitality of this club has depended + in a great measure on its utter poverty in statutes and by-laws, its + entire absence of formality, and its blessed freedom from speech-making. + </p> + <p> + That holy man, Richard Baxter, says in his Preface to Alleine's “Alarm:”— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I have done, when I have sought to remove a little scandal, which I + foresaw, that I should myself write the Preface to his Life where + himself and two of his friends make such a mention of my name, which + I cannot own; which will seem a praising him for praising me. I + confess it looketh ill-favoredly in me. But I had not the power of + other men's writings, and durst not forbear that which was his due.” + </pre> + <p> + I do not know that I have any occasion for a similar apology in printing + the following lines read at a meeting of members of the Saturday Club and + other friends who came together to bid farewell to Motley before his + return to Europe in 1857. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + A PARTING HEALTH + + Yes, we knew we must lose him,—though friendship may claim + To blend her green leaves with the laurels of fame, + Though fondly, at parting, we call him our own, + 'T is the whisper of love when the bugle has blown. + + As the rider that rests with the spur on his heel, + As the guardsman that sleeps in his corselet of steel, + As the archer that stands with his shaft on the string, + He stoops from his toil to the garland we bring. + + What pictures yet slumber unborn in his loom + Till their warriors shall breathe and their beauties shall bloom, + While the tapestry lengthens the life-glowing dyes + That caught from our sunsets the stain of their skies! + + In the alcoves of death, in the charnels of time, + Where flit the dark spectres of passion and crime, + There are triumphs untold, there are martyrs unsung, + There are heroes yet silent to speak with his tongue! + + Let us hear the proud story that time has bequeathed + From lips that are warm with the freedom they breathed! + Let him summon its tyrants, and tell us their doom, + Though he sweep the black past like Van Tromp with his broom! + + The dream flashes by, for the west-winds awake + On pampas, on prairie, o'er mountain and lake, + To bathe the swift bark, like a sea-girdled shrine + With incense they stole from the rose and the pine. + + So fill a bright cup with the sunlight that gushed + When the dead summer's jewels were trampled and crushed; + THE TRUE KNIGHT OF LEARNING,—the world holds him dear,— + + Love bless him, joy crown him, God speed his career! +</pre> + <p> + B. HABITS AND METHODS OF STUDY. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Motley's daughter, Lady Harcourt, has favored me with many interesting + particulars which I could not have learned except from a member of his own + family. Her description of his way of living and of working will be best + given in her own words:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “He generally rose early, the hour varying somewhat at different + parts of his life, according to his work and health. Sometimes when + much absorbed by literary labor he would rise before seven, often + lighting his own fire, and with a cup of tea or coffee writing until + the family breakfast hour, after which his work was immediately + resumed, and he usually sat over his writing-table until late in the + afternoon, when he would take a short walk. His dinner hour was + late, and he rarely worked at night. During the early years of his + literary studies he led a life of great retirement. Later, after + the publication of the 'Dutch Republic' and during the years of + official place, he was much in society in England, Austria, and + Holland. He enjoyed social life, and particularly dining out, + keenly, but was very moderate and simple in all his personal habits, + and for many years before his death had entirely given up smoking. + His work, when not in his own library, was in the Archives of the + Netherlands, Brussels, Paris, the English State Paper Office, and + the British Museum, where he made his own researches, patiently and + laboriously consulting original manuscripts and reading masses of + correspondence, from which he afterwards sometimes caused copies to + be made, and where he worked for many consecutive hours a day. + After his material had been thus painfully and toilfully amassed, + the writing of his own story was always done at home, and his mind, + having digested the necessary matter, always poured itself forth in + writing so copiously that his revision was chiefly devoted to + reducing the over-abundance. He never shrank from any of the + drudgery of preparation, but I think his own part of the work was + sheer pleasure to him.” + </pre> + <p> + I should have mentioned that his residence in London while minister was at + the house No. 17 Arlington Street, belonging to Lord Yarborough. + </p> + <p> + C. <br /> SIR WILLIAM GULL's ACCOUNT OF HIS ILLNESS. + </p> + <p> + I have availed myself of the permission implied in the subjoined letter of + Sir William Gull to make large extracts from his account of Mr. Motley's + condition while under his medical care. In his earlier years he had often + complained to me of those “nervous feelings connected with the + respiration” referred to by this very distinguished physician. I do not + remember any other habitual trouble to which he was subject. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 74 BROOK STREET, GROSVENOR SQUARE, W. + February 13, 1878. +MY DEAR SIR,—I send the notes of Mr. Motley's last illness, as I +promised. They are too technical for general readers, but you will make +such exception as you require. The medical details may interest your +professional friends. Mr. Motley's case was a striking illustration that +the renal disease of so-called Bright's disease may supervene as part and +parcel of a larger and antecedent change in the blood-vessels in other +parts than the kidney. . . . I am, my dear sir, + + Yours very truly, + WILLIAM W. GULL. +</pre> + <p> + To OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, ESQ. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + I first saw Mr. Motley, I believe, about the year 1870, on account + of some nervous feelings connected with the respiration. At that + time his general health was good, and all he complained of was + occasionally a feeling of oppression about the chest. There were no + physical signs of anything abnormal, and the symptoms quite passed + away in the course of time, and with the use of simple antispasmodic + remedies, such as camphor and the like. This was my first interview + with Mr. Motley, and I was naturally glad to have the opportunity of + making his acquaintance. I remember that in our conversation I + jokingly said that my wife could hardly forgive him for not making + her hero, Henri IV., a perfect character, and the earnestness with + which he replied 'au serieux,' I assure you I have fairly recorded + the facts. After this date I did not see Mr. Motley for some time. + He had three slight attacks of haemoptysis in the autumn of 1872, + but no physical signs of change in the lung tissue resulted. So + early as this I noticed that there were signs of commencing + thickening in the heart, as shown by the degree and extent of its + impulse. The condition of his health, though at that time not very + obviously failing, a good deal arrested my attention, as I thought I + could perceive in the occurrence of the haemoptysis, and in the + cardiac hypertrophy, the early beginnings of vascular degeneration. + + In August, 1873, occurred the remarkable seizure, from the effects + of which Mr. Motley never recovered. I did not see him in the + attack, but was informed, as far as I can remember, that he was on a + casual visit at a friend's house at luncheon (or it might have been + dinner), when he suddenly became strangely excited, but not quite + unconscious. . . . I believed at the time, and do so still, that + there was some capillary apoplexy of the convolutions. The attack + was attended with some hemiplegic weakness on the right side, and + altered sensation, and ever after there was a want of freedom and + ease both in the gait and in the use of the arm of that side. To my + inquiries from time to time how the arm was, the patient would + always flex and extend it freely, but nearly always used the + expression, “There is a bedevilment in it;” though the handwriting + was not much, if at all, altered. + + In December, 1873, Mr. Motley went by my advice to Cannes. I wrote + the following letter at the time to my friend Dr. Frank, who was + practising there:— + + [This letter, every word of which was of value to the + practitioner who was to have charge of the patient, relates + many of the facts given above, and I shall therefore only give + extracts from it.] + + December 29, 1873. + + MY DEAR DR. FRANK,—My friend Mr. Motley, the historian and late + American Minister, whose name and fame no doubt you know very well, + has by my advice come to Cannes for the winter and spring, and I + have promised him to give you some account of his case. To me it is + one of special interest, and personally, as respects the subject of + it, of painful interest. I have known Mr. Motley for some time, but + he consulted me for the present condition about midsummer. + + . . . If I have formed a correct opinion of the pathology of the + case, I believe the smaller vessels are degenerating in several + parts of the vascular area, lung, brain, and kidneys. With this + view I have suggested a change of climate, a nourishing diet, etc.; + and it is to be hoped, and I trust expected, that by great attention + to the conditions of hygiene, internal and external, the progress of + degeneration may be retarded. I have no doubt you will find, as + time goes on, increasing evidence of renal change, but this is + rather a coincidence and consequence than a cause, though no doubt + when the renal change has reached a certain point, it becomes in its + own way a factor of other lesions. I have troubled you at this + length because my mind is much occupied with the pathology of these + cases, and because no case can, on personal grounds, more strongly + challenge our attention. + + Yours very truly, + WILLIAM W. GULL. + + During the spring of 1874, whilst at Cannes, Mr. Motley had a sharp + attack of nephritis, attended with fever; but on returning to + England in July there was no important change in the health. The + weakness of the side continued, and the inability to undertake any + mental work. The signs of cardiac hypertrophy were more distinct. + In the beginning of the year 1875 I wrote as follows:— + + February 20, 1875. + + MY DEAR Mr. MOTLEY,—. . . The examination I have just made + appears to indicate that the main conditions of your health are more + stable than they were some months ago, and would therefore be so far + in favor of your going to America in the summer, as we talked of. + The ground of my doubt has lain in the possibility of such a trip + further disordering the circulation. Of this, I hope, there is now + less risk. + + On the 4th of June, 1875, I received the following letter:— + + CALVERLY PARK HOTEL, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, + June 4, 1875. + + MY DEAR SIR WILLIAM,—I have been absent from town for a long time, + but am to be there on the 9th and 10th. Could I make an appointment + with you for either of those days? I am anxious to have a full + consultation with you before leaving for America. Our departure is + fixed for the 19th of this month. I have not been worse than usual + of late. I think myself, on the contrary, rather stronger, and it + is almost impossible for me not to make my visit to America this + summer, unless you should absolutely prohibit it. If neither of + those days should suit you, could you kindly suggest another day? + I hope, however, you can spare me half an hour on one of those days, + as I like to get as much of this bracing air as I can. Will you + kindly name the hour when I may call on you, and address me at this + hotel. Excuse this slovenly note in pencil, but it fatigues my head + and arm much more to sit at a writing-table with pen and ink. + + Always most sincerely yours, + My dear Sir William, + J. L. MOTLEY. + + On Mr. Motley's return from America I saw him, and found him, I + thought, rather better in general health than when he left England. + + In December, 1875, Mr. Motley consulted me for trouble of vision in + reading or walking, from sensations like those produced by flakes of + falling snow coming between him and the objects he was looking at. + Mr. Bowman, one of our most excellent oculists, was then consulted. + Mr. Bowman wrote to me as follows: “Such symptoms as exist point + rather to disturbed retinal function than to any brain-mischief. It + is, however, quite likely that what you fear for the brain may have + had its counterpart in the nerve-structures of the eye, and as he is + short-sighted, this tendency may be further intensified.” + + Mr. Bowman suggested no more than such an arrangement of glasses as + might put the eyes, when in use, under better optic conditions. + + The year 1876 was passed over without any special change worth + notice. The walking powers were much impeded by the want of control + over the right leg. The mind was entirely clear, though Mr. Motley + did not feel equal, and indeed had been advised not to apply + himself, to any literary work. Occasional conversations, when I had + interviews with him on the subject of his health, proved that the + attack which had weakened the movements of the right side had not + impaired the mental power. The most noticeable change which had + come over Mr. Motley since I first knew him was due to the death of + Mrs. Motley in December, 1874. It had in fact not only profoundly + depressed him, but, if I may so express it, had removed the centre + of his thought to a new world. In long conversations with me of a + speculative kind, after that painful event, it was plain how much + his point of view of the whole course and relation of things had + changed. His mind was the last to dogmatize on any subject. There + was a candid and childlike desire to know, with an equal confession + of the incapacity of the human intellect. I wish I could recall the + actual expressions he used, but the sense was that which has been so + well stated by Hooker in concluding an exhortation against the pride + of the human intellect, where he remarks:— + + “Dangerous it were for the feeble brain of man to wade far into the + doings of the Most High; whom although to know be life, and joy to + make mention of His Name, yet our soundest knowledge is to know that + we know Him, not indeed as He is, neither can know Him; and our + safest eloquence concerning Him is our silence, when we confess + without confession that His glory is inexplicable, His greatness + above our capacity and reach. He is above and we upon earth; + therefore it behoveth our words to be wary and few.” + + Mrs. Motley's illness was not a long one, and the nature of it was + such that its course could with certainty be predicted. Mr. Motley + and her children passed the remaining days of her life, extending + over about a month, with her, in the mutual under standing that she + was soon to part from them. The character of the illness, and the + natural exhaustion of her strength by suffering, lessened the shock + of her death, though not the loss, to those who survived her. + + The last time I saw Mr. Motley was, I believe, about two months + before his death, March 28, 1877. There was no great change in his + health, but he complained of indescribable sensations in his nervous + system, and felt as if losing the whole power of walking, but this + was not obvious in his gait, although he walked shorter distances + than before. I heard no more of him until I was suddenly summoned + on the 29th of May into Devonshire to see him. The telegram I + received was so urgent, that I suspected some rupture of a blood- + vessel in the brain, and that I should hardly reach him alive; and + this was the case. About two o'clock in the day he complained of a + feeling of faintness, said he felt ill and should not recover; and + in a few minutes was insensible with symptoms of ingravescent + apoplexy. There was extensive haemorrhage into the brain, as shown + by post-mortem examination, the cerebral vessels being atheromatous. + The fatal haemorrhage had occurred into the lateral ventricles, from + rupture of one of the middle cerebral arteries. + + I am, my dear Sir, + Yours very truly, + WILLIAM W. GULL. +</pre> + <p> + E. FROM THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY. + </p> + <p> + At a meeting of the Massachusetts Historical Society, held on Thursday, + the 14th of June, 1877, after the reading of the records of the preceding + meeting, the president, the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, spoke as follows: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Our first thoughts to-day, gentlemen, are of those whom we may not + again welcome to these halls. We shall be in no mood, certainly, + for entering on other subjects this morning until we have given some + expression to our deep sense of the loss—the double loss—which our + Society has sustained since our last monthly meeting.”—[Edmund + Quincy died May 17. John Lothrop Motley died May 29.] +</pre> + <p> + After a most interesting and cordial tribute to his friend, Mr. Quincy, + Mr. Winthrop continued: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The death of our distinguished associate, Motley, can hardly have + taken many of us by surprise. Sudden at the moment of its + occurrence, we had long been more or less prepared for it by his + failing health. It must, indeed, have been quite too evident to + those who had seen him, during the last two or three years, that his + life-work was finished. I think he so regarded it himself. + + “Hopes may have been occasionally revived in the hearts of his + friends, and even in his own heart, that his long-cherished purpose + of completing a History of the Thirty Years' War, as the grand + consummation of his historical labors,—for which all his other + volumes seemed to him to have been but the preludes and overtures, + —might still be accomplished. But such hopes, faint and flickering + from his first attack, had well-nigh died away. They were like + Prescott's hopes of completing his 'Philip the Second,' or like + Macaulay's hopes of finishing his brilliant 'History of England.' + + “But great as may be the loss to literature of such a crowning work + from Motley's pen, it was by no means necessary to the completeness + of his own fame. His 'Rise of the Dutch Republic,' his 'History of + the United Netherlands,' and his 'Life of John of Barneveld,' had + abundantly established his reputation, and given him a fixed place + among the most eminent historians of our country and of our age. + + “No American writer, certainly, has secured a wider recognition or a + higher appreciation from the scholars of the Old World. The + universities of England and the learned societies of Europe have + bestowed upon him their largest honors. It happened to me to be in + Paris when he was first chosen a corresponding member of the + Institute, and when his claims were canvassed with the freedom and + earnestness which peculiarly characterize such a candidacy in + France. There was no mistaking the profound impression which his + first work had made on the minds of such men as Guizot and Mignet. + Within a year or two past, a still higher honor has been awarded him + from the same source. The journals not long ago announced his + election as one of the six foreign associates of the French Academy + of Moral and Political Sciences,—a distinction which Prescott would + probably have attained had he lived a few years longer, until there + was a vacancy, but which, as a matter of fact, I believe, Motley was + the only American writer, except the late Edward Livingston, of + Louisiana, who has actually enjoyed. + + “Residing much abroad, for the purpose of pursuing his historical + researches, he had become the associate and friend of the most + eminent literary men in almost all parts of the world, and the + singular charms of his conversation and manners had made him a + favorite guest in the most refined and exalted circles. + + “Of his relations to political and public life, this is hardly the + occasion or the moment for speaking in detail. Misconstructions and + injustices are the proverbial lot of those who occupy eminent + position. It was a duke of Vienna, if I remember rightly, whom + Shakespeare, in his 'Measure for Measure,' introduces as + exclaiming,— + + 'O place and greatness, millions of false eyes + Are stuck upon thee! Volumes of report + Run with these false and most contrarious quests + Upon thy doings! Thousand 'stapes of wit + Make thee the father of their idle dream, + And rack thee in their fancies!' + + “I forbear from all application of the lines. It is enough for me, + certainly, to say here, to-day, that our country was proud to be + represented at the courts of Vienna and London successively by a + gentleman of so much culture and accomplishment as Mr. Motley, and + that the circumstances of his recall were deeply regretted by us + all. + + “His fame, however, was quite beyond the reach of any such + accidents, and could neither be enhanced nor impaired by + appointments or removals. As a powerful and brilliant historian we + pay him our unanimous tribute of admiration and regret, and give him + a place in our memories by the side of Prescott and Irving. I do + not forget how many of us lament him, also, as a cherished friend. + + “He died on the 29th ultimo, at the house of his daughter, Mrs. + Sheridan, in Dorsetshire, England, and an impressive tribute to his + memory was paid, in Westminster Abbey, on the following Sunday, by + our Honorary Member, Dean Stanley. Such a tribute, from such lips, + and with such surroundings, leaves nothing to be desired in the way + of eulogy. He was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, by the side of + his beloved wife. + + “One might well say of Motley precisely what he said of Prescott, in + a letter from Rome to our associate, Mr. William Amory, immediately + on hearing of Prescott's death: 'I feel inexpressibly disappointed + —speaking now for an instant purely from a literary point of view + —that the noble and crowning monument of his life, for which he had + laid such massive foundations, and the structure of which had been + carried forward in such a grand and masterly manner, must remain + uncompleted, like the unfinished peristyle of some stately and + beautiful temple on which the night of time has suddenly descended. + But, still, the works which his great and untiring hand had already + thoroughly finished will remain to attest his learning and genius, + —a precious and perpetual possession for his country.” + + ................................. +</pre> + <p> + The President now called on Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, who said:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The thoughts which suggest themselves upon this occasion are such + as belong to the personal memories of the dear friends whom we have + lost, rather than to their literary labors, the just tribute to + which must wait for a calmer hour than the present, following so + closely as it does on our bereavement.” + + ................................. + + “His first literary venture of any note was the story called + 'Morton's Hope; or, The Memoirs of a Provincial.' This first effort + failed to satisfy the critics, the public, or himself. His + personality pervaded the characters and times which he portrayed, + so that there was a discord between the actor and his costume. + Brilliant passages could not save it; and it was plain enough that + he must ripen into something better before the world would give him + the reception which surely awaited him if he should find his true + destination. + + “The early failures of a great writer are like the first sketches + of a great artist, and well reward patient study. More than this, + the first efforts of poets and story-tellers are very commonly + palimpsests: beneath the rhymes or the fiction one can almost always + spell out the characters which betray the writer's self. Take these + passages from the story just referred to: + + “'Ah! flattery is a sweet and intoxicating potion, whether we drink + it from an earthen ewer or a golden chalice. . . . Flattery from + man to woman is expected: it is a part of the courtesy of society; + but when the divinity descends from the altar to burn incense to the + priest, what wonder if the idolater should feel himself transformed + into a god!' + + “He had run the risk of being spoiled, but he had a safeguard in his + aspirations. + + “'My ambitious anticipations,' says Morton, in the story, were as + boundless as they were various and conflicting. There was not a + path which leads to glory in which I was not destined to gather + laurels. As a warrior, I would conquer and overrun the world; as a + statesman, I would reorganize and govern it; as a historian, I would + consign it all to immortality; and, in my leisure moments, I would + be a great poet and a man of the world.' + + “Who can doubt that in this passage of his story he is picturing his + own visions, one of the fairest of which was destined to become + reality? + + “But there was another element in his character, which those who + knew him best recognized as one with which he had to struggle hard, + —that is, a modesty which sometimes tended to collapse into self- + distrust. This, too, betrays itself in the sentences which follow + those just quoted:— + + “'In short,' says Morton, 'I was already enrolled in that large + category of what are called young men of genius, . . . men of + whom unheard-of things are expected; till after long preparation + comes a portentous failure, and then they are forgotten. . . . + Alas! for the golden imaginations of our youth. . . . They are + all disappointments. They are bright and beautiful, but they fade.'” + + ........................... +</pre> + <p> + The President appointed Professor Lowell to write the Memoir of Mr. + Quincy, and Dr. Holmes that of Mr. Motley, for the Society's + “Proceedings.” + </p> + <p> + Professor William Everett then spoke as follows: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “There is one incident, sir, in Mr. Motley's career that has not + been mentioned to-day, which is, perhaps, most vividly remembered by + those of us who were in Europe at the outbreak of our civil war in + 1861. At that time, the ignorance of Englishmen, friendly or + otherwise, about America, was infinite: they knew very little of us, + and that little wrong. Americans were overwhelmed with questions, + taunts, threats, misrepresentations, the outgrowth of ignorance, and + ignoring worse than ignorance, from every class of Englishmen. + Never was an authoritative exposition of our hopes and policy worse + needed; and there was no one to do it. The outgoing diplomatic + agents represented a bygone order of things; the representatives of + Mr. Lincoln's administration had not come. At that time of anxiety, + Mr. Motley, living in England as a private person, came forward with + two letters in the 'Times,' which set forth the cause of the United + States once and for all. No unofficial, and few official, men could + have spoken with such authority, and been so certain of obtaining a + hearing from Englishmen. Thereafter, amid all the clouds of + falsehood and ridicule which we had to encounter, there was one + lighthouse fixed on a rock to which we could go for foothold, from + which we could not be driven, and against which all assaults were + impotent. + + “There can be no question that the effect produced by these letters + helped, if help had been needed, to point out Mr. Motley as a + candidate for high diplomatic place who could not be overlooked. + Their value was recognized alike by his fellow-citizens in America + and his admirers in England; but none valued them more than the + little band of exiles, who were struggling against terrible odds, + and who rejoiced with a great joy to see the stars and stripes, + whose centennial anniversary those guns are now celebrating, planted + by a hand so truly worthy to rally every American to its support.” + </pre> + <p> + G. POEM BY WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. + </p> + <p> + I cannot close this Memoir more appropriately than by appending the + following poetical tribute:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + IN MEMORY OF JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY. + + BY WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. + + Sleep, Motley, with the great of ancient days, + Who wrote for all the years that yet shall be. + Sleep with Herodotus, whose name and praise + Have reached the isles of earth's remotest sea. + Sleep, while, defiant of the slow delays + Of Time, thy glorious writings speak for thee + And in the answering heart of millions raise + The generous zeal for Right and Liberty. + And should the days o'ertake us, when, at last, + The silence that—ere yet a human pen + Had traced the slenderest record of the past + Hushed the primeval languages of men + Upon our English tongue its spell shall cast, + Thy memory shall perish only then. +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +PG EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS: + + A great historian is almost a statesman + Admired or despised, as if he or she were our contemporary + Alas! one never knows when one becomes a bore + All classes are conservative by necessity + Already looking forward to the revolt of the slave States + American Unholy Inquisition + An order of things in which mediocrity is at a premium + Attacked by the poetic mania + Becoming more learned, and therefore more ignorant + best defence in this case is little better than an impeachment + Better is the restlessness of a noble ambition + Blessed freedom from speech-making + But not thoughtlessly indulgent to the boy + But after all this isn't a war It is a revolution + Can never be repaired and never sufficiently regretted + Cold water of conventional and commonplace encouragement + Considerations of state have never yet failed the axe + Considerations of state as a reason + Could paint a character with the ruddy life-blood coloring + Emulation is not capability + Everything else may happen This alone must happen + Excused by their admirers for their shortcomings + Excuses to disarm the criticism he had some reason to fear + Fear of the laugh of the world at its sincerity + Fitted “To warn, to comfort, and command” + Flattery is a sweet and intoxicating potion + Forget those who have done them good service + Fortune's buffets and rewards can take with equal thanks + He was not always careful in the construction of his sentences + His learning was a reproach to the ignorant + His dogged, continuous capacity for work + History never forgets and never forgives + How many more injured by becoming bad copies of a bad ideal + Ignoble facts which strew the highways of political life + In revolutions the men who win are those who are in earnest + Indoor home life imprisons them in the domestic circle + Intellectual dandyisms of Bulwer + Irresistible force in collision with an insuperable resistance + It is n't strategists that are wanted so much as believers + John Quincy Adams + Kindly shadow of oblivion + Manner in which an insult shall be dealt with + Mediocrity is at a premium + Misanthropical, sceptical philosopher + Most entirely truthful child whe had ever seen + Motley was twice sacrificed to personal feelings + Nearsighted liberalism + No great man can reach the highest position in our government + No two books, as he said, ever injured each other + No man is safe (from news reporters) + Not a single acquaintance in the place, and we glory in the fact + Only foundation fit for history,—original contemporary document + Our mortal life is but a string of guesses at the future + Over excited, when his prejudices were roughly handled + Plain enough that he is telling his own story + Played so long with other men's characters and good name + Progress should be by a spiral movement + Public which must have a slain reputation to devour + Radical, one who would uproot, is a man whose trade is dangerous + Reasonable to pay our debts rather than to repudiate them + Recall of a foreign minister for alleged misconduct in office + Republics are said to be ungrateful + Sees the past in the pitiless light of the present + Self-educated man, as he had been a self-taught boy + Shall Slavery die, or the great Republic? + Solitary and morose, the necessary consequence of reckless study + Spirit of a man who wishes to be proud of his country + Studied according to his inclinations rather than by rule + Style above all other qualities seems to embalm for posterity + Suicide is confession + Talked impatiently of the value of my time + The fellow mixes blood with his colors! + The loss of hair, which brings on premature decay + The personal gifts which are nature's passport everywhere + The nation is as much bound to be honest as is the individual + The dead men of the place are my intimate friends + They knew very little of us, and that little wrong + This Somebody may have been one whom we should call Nobody + Twenty assaults upon fame and had forty books killed under him + Unequivocal policy of slave emancipation + Vain belief that they were men at eighteen or twenty + Visible atmosphere of power the poison of which + Weight of a thousand years of error + Wonders whether it has found its harbor or only lost its anchor + Wringing a dry cloth for drops of evidence +</pre> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Memoir of John Lothrop Motley, Complete +by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIR OF JOHN LOTHROP *** + +***** This file should be named 4728-h.htm or 4728-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/4/7/2/4728/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we usually do not +keep etexts in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +The "legal small print" and other information about this book +may now be found at the end of this file. Please read this +important information, as it gives you specific rights and +tells you about restrictions in how the file may be used. + + + + +This etext was produced by David Widger <widger@cecomet.net> + + + + +[NOTE: There is a short list of bookmarks, or pointers, at the end of the +file for those who may wish to sample the author's ideas before making an +entire meal of them. D.W.] + + + + +JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY. + +A MEMOIR, Complete + +By Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. + + +Volume I. + + +NOTE. + +The Memoir here given to the public is based on a biographical sketch +prepared by the writer at the request of the Massachusetts Historical +Society for its Proceedings. The questions involving controversies into +which the Society could not feel called to enter are treated at +considerable length in the following pages. Many details are also given +which would have carried the paper written for the Society beyond the +customary limits of such tributes to the memory of its deceased members. +It is still but an outline which may serve a present need and perhaps be +of some assistance to a future biographer. + + + + +I. + +1814-1827. To AEt. 13. + +BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS. + +John Motley, the great-grandfather of the subject of this Memoir, came in +the earlier part of the last century from Belfast in Ireland to Falmouth, +now Portland, in the District, now the State of Maine. He was twice +married, and had ten children, four of the first marriage and six of the +last. Thomas, the youngest son by his first wife, married Emma, a +daughter of John Wait, the first Sheriff of Cumberland County under the +government of the United States. Two of their seven sons, Thomas and +Edward, removed from Portland to Boston in 1802 and established +themselves as partners in commercial business, continuing united and +prosperous for nearly half a century before the firm was dissolved. + +The earlier records of New England have preserved the memory of an +incident which deserves mention as showing how the historian's life was +saved by a quickwitted handmaid, more than a hundred years before he was +born. On the 29th of August, 1708, the French and Indians from Canada +made an attack upon the town of Haverhill, in Massachusetts. Thirty or +forty persons were slaughtered, and many others were carried captive into +Canada. + +The minister of the town, Rev. Benjamin Rolfe, was killed by a bullet +through the door of his house. Two of his daughters, Mary, aged +thirteen, and Elizabeth, aged nine, were sleeping in a room with the +maid-servant, Hagar. When Hagar heard the whoop of the savages she +seized the children, ran with them into the cellar, and, after concealing +them under two large washtubs, hid herself. The Indians ransacked the +cellar, but missed the prey. Elizabeth, the younger of the two girls, +grew up and married the Rev. Samuel Checkley, first minister of the "New +South" Church, Boston. Her son, Rev. Samuel Checkley, Junior, was +minister of the Second Church, and his successor, Rev. John Lothrop, or +Lathrop, as it was more commonly spelled, married his daughter. Dr. +Lothrop was great-grandson of Rev. John Lothrop, of Scituate, who had +been imprisoned in England for nonconformity. The Checkleys were from +Preston Capes, in Northamptonshire. The name is probably identical with +that of the Chicheles or Chichleys, a well-known Northamptonshire family. + +Thomas Motley married Anna, daughter of the Rev. John Lothrop, +granddaughter of the Rev. Samuel Checkley, Junior, the two ministers +mentioned above, both honored in their day and generation. Eight +children were born of this marriage, of whom four are still living. + +JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, the second of these children, was born in +Dorchester, now a part of Boston, Massachusetts, on the 15th of April, +1814. A member of his family gives a most pleasing and interesting +picture, from his own recollections and from what his mother told him, +of the childhood which was to develop into such rich maturity. The boy +was rather delicate in organization, and not much given to outdoor +amusements, except skating and swimming, of which last exercise he was +very fond in his young days, and in which he excelled. He was a great +reader, never idle, but always had a book in his hand,--a volume of +poetry or one of the novels of Scott or Cooper. His fondness for plays +and declamation is illustrated by the story told by a younger brother, +who remembers being wrapped up in a shawl and kept quiet by sweetmeats, +while he figured as the dead Caesar, and his brother, the future +historian, delivered the speech of Antony over his prostrate body. He +was of a most sensitive nature, easily excited, but not tenacious of any +irritated feelings, with a quick sense of honor, and the most entirely +truthful child, his mother used to say, that she had ever seen. Such are +some of the recollections of those who knew him in his earliest years and +in the most intimate relations. + +His father's family was at this time living in the house No. 7 Walnut +Street, looking down Chestnut Street over the water to the western hills. +Near by, at the corner of Beacon Street, was the residence of the family +of the first mayor of Boston, and at a little distance from the opposite +corner was the house of one of the fathers of New England manufacturing +enterprise, a man of superior intellect, who built up a great name and +fortune in our city. The children from these three homes naturally +became playmates. Mr. Motley's house was a very hospitable one, and +Lothrop and two of his young companions were allowed to carry out their +schemes of amusement in the garden and the garret. If one with a +prescient glance could have looked into that garret on some Saturday +afternoon while our century was not far advanced in its second score of +years, he might have found three boys in cloaks and doublets and plumed +hats, heroes and bandits, enacting more or less impromptu melodramas. +In one of the boys he would have seen the embryo dramatist of a nation's +life history, John Lothrop Motley; in the second, a famous talker and wit +who has spilled more good things on the wasteful air in conversation than +would carry a "diner-out" through half a dozen London seasons, and waked +up somewhat after the usual flowering-time of authorship to find himself +a very agreeable and cordially welcomed writer,--Thomas Gold Appleton. +In the third he would have recognized a champion of liberty known +wherever that word is spoken, an orator whom to hear is to revive all the +traditions of the grace, the address, the commanding sway of the silver- +tongued eloquence of the most renowned speakers,--Wendell Phillips. + +Both of young Motley's playmates have furnished me with recollections of +him and of those around him at this period of his life, and I cannot do +better than borrow freely from their communications. His father was a +man of decided character, social, vivacious, witty, a lover of books, and +himself not unknown as a writer, being the author of one or more of the +well remembered "Jack Downing" letters. He was fond of having the boys +read to him from such authors as Channing and Irving, and criticised +their way of reading with discriminating judgment and taste. Mrs. Motley +was a woman who could not be looked upon without admiration. I remember +well the sweet dignity of her aspect, her "regal beauty," as Mr. Phillips +truly styles it, and the charm of her serene and noble presence, which +made her the type of a perfect motherhood. Her character corresponded to +the promise of her gracious aspect. She was one of the fondest of +mothers, but not thoughtlessly indulgent to the boy from whom she hoped +and expected more than she thought it wise to let him know. The story +used to be current that in their younger days this father and mother were +the handsomest pair the town of Boston could show. This son of theirs +was "rather tall," says Mr. Phillips, "lithe, very graceful in movement +and gesture, and there was something marked and admirable in the set of +his head on his shoulders,"--a peculiar elegance which was most +noticeable in those later days when I knew him. Lady Byron long +afterwards spoke of him as more like her husband in appearance than any +other person she had met; but Mr. Phillips, who remembers the first bloom +of his boyhood and youth, thinks he was handsomer than any portrait of +Byron represents the poet. "He could not have been eleven years old," +says the same correspondent, "when he began writing a novel. It opened, +I remember, not with one solitary horseman, but with two, riding up to an +inn in the valley of the Housatonic. Neither of us had ever seen the +Housatonic, but it sounded grand and romantic. Two chapters were +finished." + + +There is not much remembered of the single summer he passed at Mr. +Green's school at Jamaica Plain. From that school he went to Round +Hill, Northampton, then under the care of Mr. Cogswell and Mr. Bancroft. +The historian of the United States could hardly have dreamed that the +handsome boy of ten years was to take his place at the side of his +teacher in the first rank of writers in his own department. Motley came +to Round Hill, as one of his schoolmates tells me, with a great +reputation, especially as a declaimer. He had a remarkable facility for +acquiring languages, excelled as a reader and as a writer, and was the +object of general admiration for his many gifts. There is some reason to +think that the flattery he received was for a time a hindrance to his +progress and the development of his character. He obtained praise too +easily, and learned to trust too much to his genius. He had everything +to spoil him,--beauty, precocious intelligence, and a personal charm +which might have made him a universal favorite. Yet he does not seem to +have been generally popular at this period of his life. He was wilful, +impetuous, sometimes supercilious, always fastidious. He would study as +he liked, and not by rule. His school and college mates believed in his +great possibilities through all his forming period, but it may be doubted +if those who counted most confidently on his future could have supposed +that he would develop the heroic power of concentration, the long- +breathed tenacity of purpose, which in after years gave effect to his +brilliant mental endowments. "I did wonder," says Mr. Wendell Phillips, +"at the diligence and painstaking, the drudgery shown in his historical +works. In early life he had no industry, not needing it. All he cared +for in a book he caught quickly,--the spirit of it, and all his mind +needed or would use. This quickness of apprehension was marvellous. +"I do not find from the recollections of his schoolmates at Northampton +that he was reproached for any grave offences, though he may have +wandered beyond the prescribed boundaries now and then, and studied +according to his inclinations rather than by rule. While at that school +he made one acquisition much less common then than now,--a knowledge of +the German language and some degree of acquaintance with its literature, +under the guidance of one of the few thorough German scholars this +country then possessed, Mr. George Bancroft. + + + + +II. + +1827-1831. AEt. 13-17. + +COLLEGE LIFE. + +Such then was the boy who at the immature, we might almost say the +tender, age of thirteen entered Harvard College. Though two years after +me in college standing, I remember the boyish reputation which he brought +with him, especially that of a wonderful linguist, and the impression +which his striking personal beauty produced upon us as he took his seat +in the college chapel. But it was not until long after this period that +I became intimately acquainted with him, and I must again have recourse +to the classmates and friends who have favored me with their +reminiscences of this period of his life. Mr. Phillips says: + + "During our first year in college, though the youngest in the class, + he stood third, I think, or second in college rank, and ours was an + especially able class. Yet to maintain this rank he neither cared + nor needed to make any effort. Too young to feel any + responsibilities, and not yet awake to any ambition, he became so + negligent that he was 'rusticated' [that is, sent away from college + for a time]. He came back sobered, and worked rather more, but with + no effort for college rank thenceforward." + +I must finish the portrait of the collegian with all its lights and +shadows by the help of the same friends from whom I have borrowed the +preceding outlines. + +He did not care to make acquaintances, was haughty in manner and cynical +in mood, at least as he appeared to those in whom he felt no special +interest. It is no wonder, therefore, that he was not a popular +favorite, although recognized as having very brilliant qualities. During +all this period his mind was doubtless fermenting with projects which +kept him in a fevered and irritable condition. "He had a small writing- +table," Mr. Phillips says, "with a shallow drawer; I have often seen it +half full of sketches, unfinished poems, soliloquies, a scene or two of a +play, prose portraits of some pet character, etc. These he would read to +me, though he never volunteered to do so, and every now and then he burnt +the whole and began to fill the drawer again." + +My friend, Mr. John Osborne Sargent, who was a year before him in +college, says, in a very interesting letter with which he has favored me: + + "My first acquaintance with him [Motley] was at Cambridge, when he + came from Mr. Cogswell's school at Round Hill. He then had a good + deal of the shyness that was just pronounced enough to make him + interesting, and which did not entirely wear off till he left + college. . . I soon became acquainted with him, and we used to take + long walks together, sometimes taxing each other's memory for poems + or passages from poems that had struck our fancy. Shelley was then + a great favorite of his, and I remember that Praed's verses then + appearing in the 'New Monthly' he thought very clever and brilliant, + and was fond of repeating them. You have forgotten, or perhaps + never knew, that Motley's first appearance in print was in the + 'Collegian.' He brought me one day, in a very modest mood, a + translation from Goethe, which I was most happy to oblige him by + inserting. It was very prettily done, and will now be a curiosity. + . . . How it happened that Motley wrote only one piece I do not + remember. I had the pleasure about that time of initiating him as a + member of the Knights of the Square Table,--always my favorite + college club, for the reason, perhaps, that I was a sometime Grand + Master. He was always a genial and jovial companion at our supper- + parties at Fresh Pond and Gallagher's." + +We who live in the days of photographs know how many faces belong to +every individual. We know too under what different aspects the same +character appears to those who study it from different points of view and +with different prepossessions. I do not hesitate, therefore, to place +side by side the impressions of two of his classmates as to one of his +personal traits as they observed him at this period of his youth. + + "He was a manly boy, with no love for or leaning to girls' company; + no care for dress; not a trace of personal vanity. . . . He was, + or at least seemed, wholly unconscious of his rare beauty and of the + fascination of his manner; not a trace of pretence, the simplest and + most natural creature in the world." + +Look on that picture and on this:-- + + "He seemed to have a passion for dress. But as in everything else, + so in this, his fancy was a fitful one. At one time he would excite + our admiration by the splendor of his outfit, and perhaps the next + week he would seem to take equal pleasure in his slovenly or + careless appearance." + +It is not very difficult to reconcile these two portraitures. I +recollect it was said by a witty lady of a handsome clergyman well +remembered among us, that he had dressy eyes. Motley so well became +everything he wore, that if he had sprung from his bed and slipped his +clothes on at an alarm of fire, his costume would have looked like a +prince's undress. His natural presentment, like that of Count D'Orsay, +was of the kind which suggests the intentional effects of an elaborate +toilet, no matter how little thought or care may have been given to make +it effective. I think the "passion for dress" was really only a +seeming, and that he often excited admiration when he had not taken half +the pains to adorn himself that many a youth less favored by nature has +wasted upon his unblest exterior only to be laughed at. + +I gather some other interesting facts from a letter which I have received +from his early playmate and school and college classmate, Mr. T. G. +Appleton. + + "In his Sophomore year he kept abreast of the prescribed studies, + but his heart was out of bounds, as it often had been at Round Hill + when chasing squirrels or rabbits through forbidden forests. + Already his historical interest was shaping his life. A tutor + coming-by chance, let us hope--to his room remonstrated with him + upon the heaps of novels upon his table. + +"'Yes,' said Motley, 'I am reading historically, and have come to the +novels of the nineteenth century. Taken in the lump, they are very hard +reading.'" + +All Old Cambridge people know the Brattle House, with its gambrel roof, +its tall trees, its perennial spring, its legendary fame of good fare and +hospitable board in the days of the kindly old bon vivant, Major Brattle. +In this house the two young students, Appleton and Motley, lived during a +part of their college course. + + "Motley's room was on the ground floor, the room to the left of the + entrance. He led a very pleasant life there, tempering his college + duties with the literature he loved, and receiving his friends + amidst elegant surroundings, which added to the charm of his + society. Occasionally we amused ourselves by writing for the + magazines and papers of the day. Mr. Willis had just started a slim + monthly, written chiefly by himself, but with the true magazine + flavor. We wrote for that, and sometimes verses in the corner of a + paper called 'The Anti-Masonic Mirror,' and in which corner was a + woodcut of Apollo, and inviting to destruction ambitious youths by + the legend underneath,-- + + 'Much yet remains unsung.' + + These pieces were usually dictated to each other, the poet recumbent + upon the bed and a classmate ready to carry off the manuscript for + the paper of the following day. 'Blackwood's' was then in its + glory, its pages redolent of 'mountain dew' in every sense; the + humor of the Shepherd, the elegantly brutal onslaughts upon Whigs + and Cockney poets by Christopher North, intoxicated us youths. + + "It was young writing, and made for the young. The opinions were + charmingly wrong, and its enthusiasm was half Glenlivet. But this + delighted the boys. There were no reprints then, and to pass the + paper-cutter up the fresh inviting pages was like swinging over the + heather arm in arm with Christopher himself. It is a little + singular that though we had a college magazine of our own, Motley + rarely if ever wrote for it. I remember a translation from Goethe, + 'The Ghost-Seer,' which he may have written for it, and a poem upon + the White Mountains. Motley spoke at one of the college exhibitions + an essay on Goethe so excellent that Mr. Joseph Cogswell sent it to + Madam Goethe, who, after reading it, said, 'I wish to see the first + book that young man will write.'" + +Although Motley did not aim at or attain a high college rank, the rules +of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which confine the number of members to the +first sixteen of each class, were stretched so as to include him,--a +tribute to his recognized ability, and an evidence that a distinguished +future was anticipated for him. + + + + +III. + +1832-1833. AEt. 18-19. + +STUDY AND TRAVEL IN EUROPE. + +Of the two years divided between the Universities of Berlin and Gottingen +I have little to record. That he studied hard I cannot doubt; that he +found himself in pleasant social relations with some of his fellow- +students seems probable from the portraits he has drawn in his first +story, "Morton's Hope," and is rendered certain so far as one of his +companions is concerned. Among the records of the past to which he +referred during his last visit to this country was a letter which he took +from a collection of papers and handed me to read one day when I was +visiting him. The letter was written in a very lively and exceedingly +familiar vein. It implied such intimacy, and called up in such a lively +way the gay times Motley and himself had had together in their youthful +days, that I was puzzled to guess who could have addressed him from +Germany in that easy and off-hand fashion. I knew most of his old +friends who would be likely to call him by his baptismal name in its most +colloquial form, and exhausted my stock of guesses unsuccessfully before +looking at the signature. I confess that I was surprised, after laughing +at the hearty and almost boyish tone of the letter, to read at the bottom +of the page the signature of Bismarck. I will not say that I suspect +Motley of having drawn the portrait of his friend in one of the +characters of "Morton's Hope," but it is not hard to point out traits +in one of them which we can believe may have belonged to the great +Chancellor at an earlier period of life than that at which the world +contemplates his overshadowing proportions. + +Hoping to learn something of Motley during the two years while we had +lost sight of him, I addressed a letter to His Highness Prince Bismarck, +to which I received the following reply:-- + + FOREIGN OFFICE, BERLIN, March 11, 1878. + + SIR,--I am directed by Prince Bismarck to acknowledge the receipt of + your letter of the 1st of January, relating to the biography of the + late Mr. Motley. His Highness deeply regrets that the state of his + health and pressure of business do not allow him to contribute + personally, and as largely as he would be delighted to do, to your + depicting of a friend whose memory will be ever dear to him. Since + I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Mr. Motley at + Varzin, I have been intrusted with communicating to you a few + details I have gathered from the mouth of the Prince. I enclose + them as they are jotted down, without any attempt of digestion. + + I have the honor to be + Your obedient servant, + LOTHAIR BUCHER. + + "Prince Bismarck said:-- + + "'I met Motley at Gottingen in 1832, I am not sure if at the + beginning of Easter Term or Michaelmas Term. He kept company with + German students, though more addicted to study than we members of + the fighting clubs (: corps:). Although not having mastered yet the + German language, he exercised a marked attraction by a conversation + sparkling with wit, humor, and originality. In autumn of 1833, + having both of us migrated from Gottingen to Berlin for the + prosecution of our studies, we became fellow-lodgers in the house + No. 161 Friedrich Strasse. There we lived in the closest intimacy, + sharing meals and outdoor exercise. Motley by that time had arrived + at talking German fluently; he occupied himself not only in + translating Goethe's poem "Faust," but tried his hand even in + composing German verses. Enthusiastic admirer of Shakespeare, + Byron, Goethe, he used to spice his conversation abundantly with + quotations from these his favorite authors. A pertinacious arguer, + so much so that sometimes he watched my awakening in order to + continue a discussion on some topic of science, poetry, or practical + life, cut short by the chime of the small hours, he never lost his + mild and amiable temper. Our faithful companion was Count Alexander + Keyserling, a native of Courland, who has since achieved distinction + as a botanist. + + "'Motley having entered the diplomatic service of his country, we + had frequently the opportunity of renewing our friendly intercourse; + at Frankfort he used to stay with me, the welcome guest of my wife; + we also met at Vienna, and, later, here. The last time I saw him + was in 1872 at Varzin, at the celebration of my "silver wedding," + namely, the twenty-fifth anniversary. + + "'The most striking feature of his handsome and delicate appearance + was uncommonly large and beautiful eyes. He never entered a + drawing-room without exciting the curiosity and sympathy of the + ladies.'" + +It is but a glimpse of their young life which the great statesman gives +us, but a bright and pleasing one. Here were three students, one of whom +was to range in the flowery fields of the loveliest of the sciences, +another to make the dead past live over again in his burning pages, and a +third to extend an empire as the botanist spread out a plant and the +historian laid open a manuscript. + + + + +IV. + +1834-1839. 2ET. 20-25. + +RETURN TO AMERICA.--STUDY OF LAW.--MARRIAGE.-- +HIS FIRST NOVEL, "MORTON'S HOPE." + +Of the years passed in the study of law after his return from Germany I +have very little recollection, and nothing of importance to record. He +never became seriously engaged in the practice of the profession he had +chosen. I had known him pleasantly rather than intimately, and our +different callings tended to separate us. I met him, however, not very +rarely, at one house where we were both received with the greatest +cordiality, and where the attractions brought together many both young +and old to enjoy the society of its charming and brilliant inmates. This +was at No. 14 Temple Place, where Mr. Park Benjamin was then living with +his two sisters, both in the bloom of young womanhood. Here Motley found +the wife to whom his life owed so much of its success and its happiness. +Those who remember Mary Benjamin find it hard to speak of her in the +common terms of praise which they award to the good and the lovely. She +was not only handsome and amiable and agreeable, but there was a cordial +frankness, an openhearted sincerity about her which made her seem like a +sister to those who could help becoming her lovers. She stands quite +apart in the memory of the friends who knew her best, even from the +circle of young persons whose recollections they most cherish. Yet +hardly could one of them have foreseen all that she was to be to him +whose life she was to share. They were married on the 2d of March, 1837. +His intimate friend, Mr. Joseph Lewis Stackpole, was married at about the +same time to her sister, thus joining still more closely in friendship +the two young men who were already like brothers in their mutual +affection. + +Two years after his marriage, in 1839, appeared his first work, a novel +in two volumes, called "Morton's Hope." He had little reason to be +gratified with its reception. The general verdict was not favorable to +it, and the leading critical journal of America, not usually harsh or +cynical in its treatment of native authorship, did not even give it a +place among its "Critical Notices," but dropped a small-print +extinguisher upon it in one of the pages of its "List of New +Publications." Nothing could be more utterly disheartening than the +unqualified condemnation passed upon the story. At the same time the +critic says that "no one can read 'Morton's Hope' without perceiving it +to have been written by a person of uncommon resources of mind and +scholarship." + +It must be confessed that, as a story, "Morton's Hope" cannot endure a +searching or even a moderately careful criticism. It is wanting in +cohesion, in character, even in a proper regard to circumstances of time +and place; it is a map of dissected incidents which has been flung out of +its box and has arranged itself without the least regard to chronology or +geography. It is not difficult to trace in it many of the influences +which had helped in forming or deforming the mind of the young man of +twenty-five, not yet come into possession of his full inheritance of the +slowly ripening qualities which were yet to assert their robust +independence. How could he help admiring Byron and falling into more or +less unconscious imitation of his moods if not of his special +affectations? Passion showing itself off against a dark foil of +cynicism; sentiment, ashamed of its own self-betrayal, and sneering at +itself from time to time for fear of the laugh of the world at its +sincerity,--how many young men were spoiled and how many more injured by +becoming bad copies of a bad ideal! The blood of Don Juan ran in the +veins of Vivian Grey and of Pelham. But if we read the fantastic dreams +of Disraeli, the intellectual dandyisms of Bulwer, remembering the after +careers of which these were the preludes, we can understand how there +might well be something in those earlier efforts which would betray +itself in the way of thought and in the style of the young men who read +them during the plastic period of their minds and characters. Allow for +all these influences, allow for whatever impressions his German residence +and his familiarity with German literature had produced; accept the fact +that the story is to the last degree disjointed, improbable, impossible; +lay it aside as a complete failure in what it attempted to be, and read +it, as "Vivian Grey" is now read, in the light of the career which it +heralded. + +"Morton's Hope" is not to be read as a novel: it is to be studied as an +autobiography, a prophecy, a record of aspirations, disguised under a +series of incidents which are flung together with no more regard to the +unities than a pack of shuffled playing-cards. I can do nothing better +than let him picture himself, for it is impossible not to recognize the +portrait. It is of little consequence whether every trait is an exact +copy from his own features, but it is so obvious that many of the lines +are direct transcripts from nature that we may believe the same thing of +many others. Let us compare his fictitious hero's story with what we +have read of his own life. + +In early boyhood Morton amused himself and astonished those about him by +enacting plays for a puppet theatre. This was at six years old, and at +twelve we find him acting in a play with other boys, just as Motley's +playmates have already described him. The hero may now speak for +himself, but we shall all perceive that we are listening to the writer's +own story. + + "I was always a huge reader; my mind was essentially craving and + insatiable. Its appetite was enormous, and it devoured too greedily + for health. I rejected all guidance in my studies. I already + fancied myself a misanthrope. I had taken a step very common for + boys of my age, and strove with all my might to be a cynic." + +He goes on to describe, under the perfectly transparent mask of his hero, +the course of his studies. "To poetry, like most infants, I devoted most +of my time." From modern poetry he went back to the earlier sources, +first with the idea of systematic reading and at last through Chaucer and +Gower and early ballads, until he lost himself "in a dismal swamp of +barbarous romances and lying Latin chronicles. I got hold of the +Bibliotheca Monastica, containing a copious account of Anglo-Norman +authors, with notices of their works, and set seriously to reading every +one of them." One profit of his antiquarianism, however, was, as he +says, his attention to foreign languages,--French, Spanish, German, +especially in their earliest and rudest forms of literature. From these +he ascended to the ancient poets, and from Latin to Greek. He would have +taken up the study of the Oriental languages, but for the advice of a +relative, who begged him seriously to turn his attention to history. The +paragraph which follows must speak for itself as a true record under a +feigned heading. + + "The groundwork of my early character was plasticity and fickleness. + I was mortified by this exposure of my ignorance, and disgusted with + my former course of reading. I now set myself violently to the + study of history. With my turn of mind, and with the preposterous + habits which I had been daily acquiring, I could not fail to make as + gross mistakes in the pursuit of this as of other branches of + knowledge. I imagined, on setting out, a system of strict and + impartial investigation of the sources of history. I was inspired + with the absurd ambition, not uncommon to youthful students, of + knowing as much as their masters. I imagined it necessary for me, + stripling as I was, to study the authorities; and, imbued with the + strict necessity of judging for myself, I turned from the limpid + pages of the modern historians to the notes and authorities at the + bottom of the page. These, of course, sent me back to my monastic + acquaintances, and I again found myself in such congenial company to + a youthful and ardent mind as Florence of Worcester and Simeon of + Durham, the Venerable Bede and Matthew Paris; and so on to Gregory + and Fredegarius, down to the more modern and elegant pages of + Froissart, Hollinshed, Hooker, and Stowe. Infant as I was, I + presumed to grapple with masses of learning almost beyond the + strength of the giants of history. A spendthrift of my time and + labor, I went out of my way to collect materials, and to build for + myself, when I should have known that older and abler architects had + already appropriated all that was worth preserving; that the edifice + was built, the quarry exhausted, and that I was, consequently, only + delving amidst rubbish. + + "This course of study was not absolutely without its advantages. + The mind gained a certain proportion of vigor even by this exercise + of its faculties, just as my bodily health would have been improved + by transporting the refuse ore of a mine from one pit to another, + instead of coining the ingots which lay heaped before my eyes. + Still, however, my time was squandered. There was a constant want + of fitness and concentration of my energies. My dreams of education + were boundless, brilliant, indefinite; but alas! they were only + dreams. There was nothing accurate and defined in my future course + of life. I was ambitious and conceited, but my aspirations were + vague and shapeless. I had crowded together the most gorgeous and + even some of the most useful and durable materials for my woof, but + I had no pattern, and consequently never began to weave. + + "I had not made the discovery that an individual cannot learn, nor + be, everything; that the world is a factory in which each individual + must perform his portion of work:--happy enough if he can choose it + according to his taste and talent, but must renounce the desire of + observing or superintending the whole operation. . . . + + "From studying and investigating the sources of history with my own + eyes, I went a step further; I refused the guidance of modern + writers; and proceeding from one point of presumption to another, I + came to the magnanimous conviction that I could not know history as + I ought to know it unless I wrote it for myself. . . . + + "It would be tedious and useless to enlarge upon my various attempts + and various failures. I forbear to comment upon mistakes which I + was in time wise enough to retrieve. Pushing out as I did, without + compass and without experience, on the boundless ocean of learning, + what could I expect but an utter and a hopeless shipwreck? + + "Thus I went on, becoming more learned, and therefore more ignorant, + more confused in my brain, and more awkward in my habits, from day + to day. I was ever at my studies, and could hardly be prevailed + upon to allot a moment to exercise or recreation. I breakfasted + with a pen behind my ear, and dined in company with a folio bigger + than the table. I became solitary and morose, the necessary + consequence of reckless study; talked impatiently of the value of my + time, and the immensity of my labors; spoke contemptuously of the + learning and acquirements of the whole world, and threw out + mysterious hints of the magnitude and importance of my own project. + + "In the midst of all this study and this infant authorship the + perusal of such masses of poetry could not fail to produce their + effect. Of a youth whose mind, like mine at that period, possessed + some general capability, without perhaps a single prominent and + marked talent, a proneness to imitation is sure to be the besetting + sin. I consequently, for a large portion of my earlier life, never + read a work which struck my fancy, without planning a better one + upon its model; for my ambition, like my vanity, knew no bounds. + It was a matter of course that I should be attacked by the poetic + mania. I took the infection at the usual time, went through its + various stages, and recovered as soon as could be expected. I + discovered soon enough that emulation is not capability, and he is + fortunate to whom is soonest revealed the relative extent of his + ambition and his powers. + + "My ambition was boundless; my dreams of glory were not confined to + authorship and literature alone; but every sphere in which the + intellect of man exerts itself revolved in a blaze of light before + me. And there I sat in my solitude and dreamed such wondrous + dreams! Events were thickening around me which were soon to change + the world, but they were unmarked by me. The country was changing + to a mighty theatre, on whose stage those who were as great as I + fancied myself to be were to enact a stupendous drama in which I had + no part. I saw it not; I knew it not; and yet how infinitely + beautiful were the imaginations of my solitude! Fancy shook her + kaleidoscope each moment as chance directed, and lo! what new, + fantastic, brilliant, but what unmeaning visions. My ambitious + anticipations were as boundless as they were various and + conflicting. There was not a path which leads to glory in which I + was not destined to gather laurels. As a warrior I would conquer + and overrun the world. As a statesman I would reorganize and govern + it. As a historian I would consign it all to immortality; and in my + leisure moments I would be a great poet and a man of the world. + + "In short, I was already enrolled in that large category of what are + called young men of genius,--men who are the pride of their sisters + and the glory of their grandmothers,--men of whom unheard-of things + are expected, till after long preparation comes a portentous + failure, and then they are forgotten; subsiding into indifferent + apprentices and attorneys' clerks. + + "Alas for the golden imaginations of our youth! They are bright and + beautiful, but they fade. They glitter brightly enough to deceive + the wisest and most cautious, and we garner them up in the most + secret caskets of our hearts; but are they not like the coins which + the Dervise gave the merchant in the story? When we look for them + the next morning, do we not find them withered leaves?" + +The ideal picture just drawn is only a fuller portraiture of the youth +whose outlines have been already sketched by the companions of his +earlier years. If his hero says, "I breakfasted with a pen behind my ear +and dined in company with a folio bigger than the table," one of his +family says of the boy Motley that "if there were five minutes before +dinner, when he came into the parlor he always took up some book near at +hand and began to read until dinner was announced." The same unbounded +thirst for knowledge, the same history of various attempts and various +failures, the same ambition, not yet fixed in its aim, but showing itself +in restless effort, belong to the hero of the story and its narrator. + +Let no man despise the first efforts of immature genius. Nothing can be +more crude as a novel, nothing more disappointing, than "Morton's Hope." +But in no other of Motley's writings do we get such an inside view of +his character with its varied impulses, its capricious appetites, its +unregulated forces, its impatient grasp for all kinds of knowledge. With +all his university experiences at home and abroad, it might be said with +a large measure of truth that he was a self-educated man, as he had been +a self-taught boy. His instincts were too powerful to let him work +quietly in the common round of school and college training. Looking at +him as his companions describe him, as he delineates himself 'mutato +nomine,' the chances of success would have seemed to all but truly +prophetic eyes very doubtful, if not decidedly against him. Too many +brilliant young novel-readers and lovers of poetry, excused by their +admirers for their shortcomings on the strength of their supposed +birthright of "genius," have ended where they began; flattered into the +vain belief that they were men at eighteen or twenty, and finding out at +fifty that they were and always had been nothing more than boys. It was +but a tangled skein of life that Motley's book showed us at twenty-five, +and older men might well have doubted whether it would ever be wound off +in any continuous thread. To repeat his own words, he had crowded +together the materials for his work, but he had no pattern, and +consequently never began to weave. + +The more this first work of Motley's is examined, the more are its faults +as a story and its interest as a self-revelation made manifest to the +reader. The future historian, who spared no pains to be accurate, falls +into the most extraordinary anachronisms in almost every chapter. Brutus +in a bob-wig, Othello in a swallow-tail coat, could hardly be more +incongruously equipped than some of his characters in the manner of +thought, the phrases, the way of bearing themselves which belong to them +in the tale, but never could have belonged to characters of our +Revolutionary period. He goes so far in his carelessness as to mix up +dates in such a way as almost to convince us that he never looked over +his own manuscript or proofs. His hero is in Prague in June, 1777, +reading a letter received from America in less than a fortnight from the +date of its being written; in August of the same year he is in the +American camp, where he is found in the company of a certain Colonel +Waldron, an officer of some standing in the Revolutionary Army, with whom +he is said to have been constantly associated for some three months, +having arrived in America, as he says, on the 15th of May, that is to +say, six weeks or more before he sailed, according to his previous +account. Bohemia seems to have bewitched his chronology as it did +Shakespeare's geography. To have made his story a consistent series of +contradictions, Morton should have sailed from that Bohemian seashore +which may be found in "A Winter's Tale," but not in the map of Europe. + +And yet in the midst of all these marks of haste and negligence, here and +there the philosophical student of history betrays himself, the ideal of +noble achievement glows in an eloquent paragraph, or is embodied in a +loving portrait like that of the professor and historian Harlem. The +novel, taken in connection with the subsequent developments of the +writer's mind, is a study of singular interest. It is a chaos before +the creative epoch; the light has not been divided from the darkness; the +firmament has not yet divided the waters from the waters. The forces at +work in a human intelligence to bring harmony out of its discordant +movements are as mysterious, as miraculous, we might truly say, as those +which give shape and order to the confused materials out of which +habitable worlds are evolved. It is too late now to be sensitive over +this unsuccessful attempt as a story and unconscious success as a self- +portraiture. The first sketches of Paul Veronese, the first patterns of +the Gobelin tapestry, are not to be criticised for the sake of pointing +out their inevitable and too manifest imperfections. They are to be +carefully studied as the earliest efforts of the hand which painted the +Marriage at Cana, of the art which taught the rude fabrics made to be +trodden under foot to rival the glowing canvas of the great painters. +None of Motley's subsequent writings give such an insight into his +character and mental history. It took many years to train the as yet +undisciplined powers into orderly obedience, and to bring the unarranged +materials into the organic connection which was needed in the +construction of a work that should endure. There was a long interval +between his early manhood and the middle term of life, during which the +slow process of evolution was going on. There are plants which open +their flowers with the first rays of the sun; there are others that wait +until evening to spread their petals. It was already the high noon of +life with him before his genius had truly shown itself; if he had not +lived beyond this period, he would have left nothing to give him a +lasting name. + + + + +V. + +1841-1842. AEt. 27-28. + +FIRST DIPLOMATIC APPOINTMENT, SECRETARY OF LEGATION TO THE RUSSIAN +MISSION.--BRIEF RESIDENCE AT ST. PETERSBURG.--LETTER TO HIS MOTHER.-- +RETURN. + +In the autumn of 1841, Mr. Motley received the appointment of Secretary +of Legation to the Russian Mission, Mr. Todd being then the Minister. +Arriving at St. Petersburg just at the beginning of winter, he found the +climate acting very unfavorably upon his spirits if not upon his health, +and was unwilling that his wife and his two young children should be +exposed to its rigors. The expense of living, also, was out of +proportion to his income, and his letters show that he had hardly +established himself in St. Petersburg before he had made up his mind to +leave a place where he found he had nothing to do and little to enjoy. +He was homesick, too, as a young husband and father with an affectionate +nature like his ought to have been under these circumstances. He did not +regret having made the experiment, for he knew that he should not have +been satisfied with himself if he had not made it. It was his first +trial of a career in which he contemplated embarking, and in which +afterwards he had an eventful experience. In his private letters to his +family, many of which I have had the privilege of looking over, he +mentions in detail all the reasons which influenced him in forming his +own opinion about the expediency of a continued residence at St. +Petersburg, and leaves the decision to her in whose judgment he always +had the greatest confidence. No unpleasant circumstance attended his +resignation of his secretaryship, and though it must have been a +disappointment to find that the place did not suit him, as he and his +family were then situated, it was only at the worst an experiment fairly +tried and not proving satisfactory. He left St. Petersburg after a few +months' residence, and returned to America. On reaching New York he was +met by the sad tidings of the death of his first-born child, a boy of +great promise, who had called out all the affections of his ardent +nature. It was long before he recovered from the shock of this great +affliction. The boy had shown a very quick and bright intelligence, and +his father often betrayed a pride in his gifts and graces which he never +for a moment made apparent in regard to his own. + +Among the letters which he wrote from St. Petersburg are two miniature +ones directed to this little boy. His affectionate disposition shows +itself very sweetly in these touching mementos of a love of which his +first great sorrow was so soon to be born. Not less charming are his +letters to his mother, showing the tenderness with which he always +regarded her, and full of all the details which he thought would +entertain one to whom all that related to her children was always +interesting. Of the letters to his wife it is needless to say more than +that they always show the depth of the love he bore her and the absolute +trust he placed in her, consulting her at all times as his nearest and +wisest friend and adviser,--one in all respects fitted "To warn, to +comfort, and command." + +I extract a passage from one of his letters to his mother, as much for +the sake of lending a character of reality to his brief residence at St. +Petersburg as for that of the pleasant picture it gives us of an interior +in that Northern capital. + + "We entered through a small vestibule, with the usual arrangement of + treble doors, padded with leather to exclude the cold and guarded by + two 'proud young porters' in severe cocked hats and formidable + batons, into a broad hall,--threw off our furred boots and cloaks, + ascended a carpeted marble staircase, in every angle of which stood + a statuesque footman in gaudy coat and unblemished unmentionables, + and reached a broad landing upon the top thronged as usual with + servants. Thence we passed through an antechamber into a long, + high, brilliantly lighted, saffron-papered room, in which a dozen + card-tables were arranged, and thence into the receiving room. This + was a large room, with a splendidly inlaid and polished floor, the + walls covered with crimson satin, the cornices heavily incrusted + with gold, and the ceiling beautifully painted in arabesque. The + massive fauteuils and sofas, as also the drapery, were of crimson + satin with a profusion of gilding. The ubiquitous portrait of the + Emperor was the only picture, and was the same you see everywhere. + This crimson room had two doors upon the side facing the three + windows: The innermost opened into a large supper-room, in which a + table was spread covered with the usual refreshments of European + parties,--tea, ices, lemonade, and et ceteras,--and the other opened + into a ball-room which is a sort of miniature of the 'salle blanche' + of the Winter Palace, being white and gold, and very brilliantly + lighted with 'ormolu' chandeliers filled with myriads of candles. + This room (at least forty feet long by perhaps twenty-five) opened + into a carpeted conservatory of about the same size, filled with + orange-trees and japonica plants covered with fruit and flowers, + arranged very gracefully into arbors, with luxurious seats under the + pendent boughs, and with here and there a pretty marble statue + gleaming through the green and glossy leaves. One might almost have + imagined one's self in the 'land of the cypress and myrtle' instead + of our actual whereabout upon the polar banks of the Neva. + Wandering through these mimic groves, or reposing from the fatigues + of the dance, was many a fair and graceful form, while the + brilliantly lighted ballroom, filled with hundreds of exquisitely + dressed women (for the Russian ladies, if not very pretty, are + graceful, and make admirable toilettes), formed a dazzling contrast + with the tempered light of the 'Winter Garden.' The conservatory + opened into a library, and from the library you reach the + antechamber, thus completing the 'giro' of one of the prettiest + houses in St. Petersburg. I waltzed one waltz and quadrilled one + quadrille, but it was hard work; and as the sole occupation of these + parties is dancing and card-playing--conversation apparently not + being customary--they are to me not very attractive." + +He could not be happy alone, and there were good reasons against his +being joined by his wife and children. + + "With my reserved habits," he says, "it would take a great deal + longer to become intimate here than to thaw the Baltic. I have only + to 'knock that it shall be opened to me,' but that is just what I + hate to do. . . . 'Man delights not me, no, nor woman neither.'" + +Disappointed in his expectations, but happy in the thought of meeting his +wife and children, he came back to his household to find it clad in +mourning for the loss of its first-born. + + + + +VI. + +1844. AEt. 30. + +LETTER TO PARK BENJAMIN.--POLITICAL VIEWS AND FEELINGS. + +A letter to Mr. Park Benjamin, dated December 17, 1844, which has been +kindly lent me by Mrs. Mary Lanman Douw of Poughkeepsie, gives a very +complete and spirited account of himself at this period. He begins +with a quiet, but tender reference to the death of his younger brother, +Preble, one of the most beautiful youths seen or remembered among us, +"a great favorite," as he says, "in the family and in deed with every one +who knew him." He mentions the fact that his friends and near +connections, the Stackpoles, are in Washington, which place he considers +as exceptionally odious at the time when he is writing. The election of +Mr. Polk as the opponent of Henry Clay gives him a discouraged feeling +about our institutions. The question, he thinks, is now settled that a +statesman can never again be called to administer the government of the +country. He is almost if not quite in despair "because it is now proved +that a man, take him for all in all, better qualified by intellectual +power, energy and purity of character, knowledge of men, a great +combination of personal qualities, a frank, high-spirited, manly bearing, +keen sense of honor, the power of attracting and winning men, united with +a vast experience in affairs, such as no man (but John Quincy Adams) now +living has had and no man in this country can ever have again,--I say it +is proved that a man better qualified by an extraordinary combination of +advantages to administer the government than any man now living, or any +man we can ever produce again, can be beaten by anybody. . . . . +It has taken forty years of public life to prepare such a man for the +Presidency, and the result is that he can be beaten by anybody,--Mr. Polk +is anybody,--he is Mr. Quelconque." + +I do not venture to quote the most burning sentences of this impassioned +letter. It shows that Motley had not only become interested most +profoundly in the general movements of parties, but that he had followed +the course of political events which resulted in the election of Mr. Polk +with careful study, and that he was already looking forward to the revolt +of the slave States which occurred sixteen years later. The letter is +full of fiery eloquence, now and then extravagant and even violent in +expression, but throbbing with a generous heat which shows the excitable +spirit of a man who wishes to be proud of his country and does not wish +to keep his temper when its acts make him ashamed of it. He is disgusted +and indignant to the last degree at seeing "Mr. Quelconque" chosen over +the illustrious statesman who was his favorite candidate. But all his +indignation cannot repress a sense of humor which was one of his marked +characteristics. After fatiguing his vocabulary with hard usage, after +his unsparing denunciation of "the very dirty politics" which be finds +mixed up with our popular institutions, he says,--it must be remembered +that this was an offhand letter to one nearly connected with him,-- + + "All these things must in short, to use the energetic language of + the Balm of Columbia advertisement, 'bring every generous thinking + youth to that heavy sinking gloom which not even the loss of + property can produce, but only the loss of hair, which brings on + premature decay, causing many to shrink from being uncovered, and + even to shun society, to avoid the jests and sneers of their + acquaintances. The remainder of their lives is consequently spent + in retirement.'" + +He continues:-- + + "Before dropping the subject, and to show the perfect purity of my + motives, I will add that I am not at all anxious about the + legislation of the new government. I desired the election of Clay + as a moral triumph, and because the administration of the country, + at this moment of ten thousand times more importance than its + legislation, would have been placed in pure, strong, and determined + hands." + +Then comes a dash of that satirical and somewhat cynical way of feeling +which he had not as yet outgrown. He had been speaking about the general +want of attachment to the Union and the absence of the sentiment of +loyalty as bearing on the probable dissolution of the Union. + + "I don't mean to express any opinions on these matters,--I haven't + got any. It seems to me that the best way is to look at the hodge- + podge, be good-natured if possible, and laugh, + + 'As from the height of contemplation + We view the feeble joints men totter on.' + + I began a tremendous political career during the election, having + made two stump speeches of an hour and a half each,--after you went + away,--one in Dedham town-hall and one in Jamaica Plain, with such + eminent success that many invitations came to me from the + surrounding villages, and if I had continued in active political + life I might have risen to be vote-distributor, or fence-viewer, or + selectman, or hog-reeve, or something of the kind." + +The letter from which the above passages are quoted gives the same +portrait of the writer, only seen in profile, as it were, which we have +already seen drawn in full face in the story of "Morton's Hope." It is +charged with that 'saeva indignatio' which at times verges on +misanthropic contempt for its objects, not unnatural to a high-spirited +young man who sees his lofty ideals confronted with the ignoble facts +which strew the highways of political life. But we can recognize real +conviction and the deepest feeling beneath his scornful rhetoric and his +bitter laugh. He was no more a mere dilettante than Swift himself, but +now and then in the midst of his most serious thought some absurd or +grotesque image will obtrude itself, and one is reminded of the lines on +the monument of Gay rather than of the fierce epitaph of the Dean of +Saint Patrick's. + + + + +VII. + +1845-1847. AEt. 31-33. + +FIRST HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL ESSAYS.--PETER THE GREAT.--NOVELS OF +BALZAC.--POLITY OF THE PURITANS. + +Mr. Motley's first serious effort in historical composition was an +article of fifty pages in "The North American Review" for October, 1845. +This was nominally a notice of two works, one on Russia, the other "A +Memoir of the Life of Peter the Great." It is, however, a narrative +rather than a criticism, a rapid, continuous, brilliant, almost dramatic +narrative. If there had been any question as to whether the young +novelist who had missed his first mark had in him the elements which +might give him success as an author, this essay would have settled the +question. It shows throughout that the writer has made a thorough study +of his subject, but it is written with an easy and abundant, yet +scholarly freedom, not as if he were surrounded by his authorities and +picking out his material piece by piece, but rather as if it were the +overflow of long-pursued and well-remembered studies recalled without +effort and poured forth almost as a recreation. + +As he betrayed or revealed his personality in his first novel, so in this +first effort in another department of literature he showed in epitome his +qualities as a historian and a biographer. The hero of his narrative +makes his entrance at once in his character as the shipwright of Saardam, +on the occasion of a visit of the great Duke of Marlborough. The +portrait instantly arrests attention. His ideal personages had been +drawn in such a sketchy way, they presented so many imperfectly +harmonized features, that they never became real, with the exception, +of course, of the story-teller himself. But the vigor with which the +presentment of the imperial ship-carpenter, the sturdy, savage, eager, +fiery Peter, was given in the few opening sentences, showed the movement +of the hand, the glow of the color, that were in due time to display on a +broader canvas the full-length portraits of William the Silent and of +John of Barneveld. The style of the whole article is rich, fluent, +picturesque, with light touches of humor here and there, and perhaps a +trace or two of youthful jauntiness, not quite as yet outgrown. His +illustrative poetical quotations are mostly from Shakespeare,--from +Milton and Byron also in a passage or two,--and now and then one is +reminded that he is not unfamiliar with Carlyle's "Sartor Resartus" and +the "French Revolution" of the same unmistakable writer, more perhaps by +the way in which phrases borrowed from other authorities are set in the +text than by any more important evidence of unconscious imitation. + + +The readers who had shaken their heads over the unsuccessful story of +"Morton's Hope" were startled by the appearance of this manly and +scholarly essay. This young man, it seemed, had been studying,--studying +with careful accuracy, with broad purpose. He could paint a character +with the ruddy life-blood coloring it as warmly as it glows in the cheeks +of one of Van der Helst's burgomasters. He could sweep the horizon in a +wide general outlook, and manage his perspective and his lights and +shadows so as to place and accent his special subject with its due relief +and just relations. It was a sketch, or rather a study for a larger +picture, but it betrayed the hand of a master. The feeling of many was +that expressed in the words of Mr. Longfellow in his review of the +"Twice-Told Tales" of the unknown young writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne: +"When a new star rises in the heavens, people gaze after it for a season +with the naked eye, and with such telescopes as they may find. . . . +This star is but newly risen; and erelong the observation of numerous +star-gazers, perched up on arm-chairs and editor's tables, will inform +the world of its magnitude and its place in the heaven of"--not poetry in +this instance, but that serene and unclouded region of the firmament +where shine unchanging the names of Herodotus and Thucydides. Those who +had always believed in their brilliant schoolmate and friend at last felt +themselves justified in their faith. The artist that sent this unframed +picture to be hung in a corner of the literary gallery was equal to +larger tasks. There was but one voice in the circle that surrounded the +young essayist. He must redeem his pledge, he can and will redeem it, if +he will only follow the bent of his genius and grapple with the heroic +labor of writing a great history. + +And this was the achievement he was already meditating. + +In the mean time he was studying history for its facts and principles, +and fiction for its scenery and portraits. In "The North American +Review" for July, 1847, is a long and characteristic article on Balzac, +of whom he was an admirer, but with no blind worship. The readers of +this great story-teller, who was so long in obtaining recognition, who +"made twenty assaults upon fame and had forty books killed under him" +before he achieved success, will find his genius fully appreciated and +fairly weighed in this discriminating essay. A few brief extracts will +show its quality. + + "Balzac is an artist, and only an artist. In his tranquil, + unimpassioned, remorseless diagnosis of morbid phenomena, in his + cool method of treating the morbid anatomy of the heart, in his + curiously accurate dissection of the passions, in the patient and + painful attention with which, stethoscope in hand, finger on pulse, + eye everywhere, you see him watching every symptom, alive to every + sound and every breath, and in the scientific accuracy with which he + portrays the phenomena which have been the subject of his + investigation,--in all this calm and conscientious study of nature + he often reminds us of Goethe. Balzac, however, is only an artist + . . . He is neither moral nor immoral, but a calm and profound + observer of human society and human passions, and a minute, patient, + and powerful delineator of scenes and characters in the world before + his eyes. His readers must moralize for themselves. . . . It + is, perhaps, his defective style more than anything else which will + prevent his becoming a classic, for style above all other qualities + seems to embalm for posterity. As for his philosophy, his + principles, moral, political, or social, we repeat that he seems to + have none whatever. He looks for the picturesque and the striking. + He studies sentiments and sensations from an artistic point of view. + He is a physiognomist, a physiologist, a bit of an anatomist, a bit + of a mesmerist, a bit of a geologist, a Flemish painter, an + upholsterer, a micrological, misanthropical, sceptical philosopher; + but he is no moralist, and certainly no reformer." + +Another article contributed by Mr. Motley to "The North American Review" +is to be found in the number for October, 1849. It is nominally a review +of Talvi's (Mrs. Robinson's) "Geschichte der Colonisation von New +England," but in reality an essay on the Polity of the Puritans,--an +historical disquisition on the principles of self-government evolved in +New England, broad in its views, eloquent in its language. Its spirit is +thoroughly American, and its estimate of the Puritan character is not +narrowed by the nearsighted liberalism which sees the past in the +pitiless light of the present,--which looks around at high noon and finds +fault with early dawn for its long and dark shadows. Here is a sentence +or two from the article:-- + + "With all the faults of the system devised by the Puritans, it was a + practical system. With all their foibles, with all their teasing, + tyrannical, and arbitrary notions, the Pilgrims were lovers of + liberty as well as sticklers for authority. . . . Nowhere can a + better description of liberty be found than that given by Winthrop, + in his defence of himself before the General Court on a charge of + arbitrary conduct. 'Nor would I have you mistake your own liberty,' + he says. 'There is a freedom of doing what we list, without regard + to law or justice; this liberty is indeed inconsistent with + authority; but civil, moral, and federal liberty consists in every + man's enjoying his property and having the benefit of the laws of + his country; which is very consistent with a due subjection to the + civil magistrate.' . . . + + "We enjoy an inestimable advantage in America. One can be a + republican, a democrat, without being a radical. A radical, one who + would uproot, is a man whose trade is dangerous to society. Here is + but little to uproot. The trade cannot flourish. All classes are + conservative by necessity, for none can wish to change the structure + of our polity. . . + + "The country without a past cannot be intoxicated by visions of the + past of other lands. Upon this absence of the past it seems to us + that much of the security of our institutions depends. Nothing + interferes with the development of what is now felt to be the true + principle of government, the will of the people legitimately + expressed. To establish that great truth, nothing was to be torn + down, nothing to be uprooted. It grew up in New England out of the + seed unconsciously planted by the first Pilgrims, was not crushed + out by the weight of a thousand years of error spread over the whole + continent, and the Revolution was proclaimed and recognized." + + + +VIII. + +1847-1849. AEt. 33-35. + +JOSEPH LEWIS STACKPOLE, THE FRIEND OF MOTLEY. HIS SUDDEN DEATH.--MOTLEY +IN THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.--SECOND NOVEL, "MERRY- +MOUNT, A ROMANCE OF THE MASSACHUSETTS COLONY." + +The intimate friendships of early manhood are not very often kept up +among our people. The eager pursuit of fortune, position, office, +separates young friends, and the indoor home life imprisons them in the +domestic circle so generally that it is quite exceptional to find two +grown men who are like brothers,--or rather unlike most brothers, in +being constantly found together. An exceptional instance of such a more +than fraternal relation was seen in the friendship of Mr. Motley and Mr. +Joseph Lewis Stackpole. Mr. William Amory, who knew them both well, has +kindly furnished me with some recollections, which I cannot improve by +changing his own language. + + "Their intimacy began in Europe, and they returned to this country + in 1835. In 1837 they married sisters, and this cemented their + intimacy, which continued to Stackpole's death in 1847. The + contrast in the temperament of the two friends--the one sensitive + and irritable, and the other always cool and good-natured--only + increased their mutual attachment to each other, and Motley's + dependence upon Stackpole. Never were two friends more constantly + together or more affectionately fond of each other. As Stackpole + was about eight years older than Motley, and much less impulsive and + more discreet, his death was to his friend irreparable, and at the + time an overwhelming blow." + +Mr. Stackpole was a man of great intelligence, of remarkable personal +attractions, and amiable character. His death was a loss to Motley even +greater than he knew, for he needed just such a friend, older, calmer, +more experienced in the ways of the world, and above all capable of +thoroughly understanding him and exercising a wholesome influence over +his excitable nature without the seeming of a Mentor preaching to a +Telemachus. Mr. Stackpole was killed by a railroad accident on the 20th +of July, 1847. + +In the same letter Mr. Amory refers to a very different experience in Mr. +Motley's life,--his one year of service as a member of the Massachusetts +House of Representatives, 1849. + + "In respect to the one term during which he was a member of the + Massachusetts House of Representatives, I can recall only one thing, + to which he often and laughingly alluded. Motley, as the Chairman + of the Committee on Education, made, as he thought, a most masterly + report. It was very elaborate, and, as he supposed, unanswerable; + but Boutwell, then a young man from some country town [Groton, + Mass.], rose, and as Motley always said, demolished the report, so + that he was unable to defend it against the attack. You can imagine + his disgust, after the pains he had taken to render it unassailable, + to find himself, as he expressed it, 'on his own dunghill,' + ignominiously beaten. While the result exalted his opinion of the + speech-making faculty of a Representative of a common school + education, it at the same time cured him of any ambition for + political promotion in Massachusetts." + +To my letter of inquiry about this matter, Hon. George S. Boutwell +courteously returned the following answer:-- + + BOSTON, October 14, 1878. + + MY DEAR SIR,--As my memory serves me, Mr. Motley was a member of the + Massachusetts House of Representatives in the year 1847 [1849]. It + may be well to consult the manual for that year. I recollect the + controversy over the report from the Committee on Education. + + His failure was not due to his want of faculty or to the vigor of + his opponents. + + In truth he espoused the weak side of the question and the unpopular + one also. His proposition was to endow the colleges at the expense + of the fund for the support of the common schools. Failure was + inevitable. Neither Webster nor Choate could have carried the bill. + + Very truly, + GEO. S. BOUTWELL. + +No one could be more ready and willing to recognize his own failures than +Motley. He was as honest and manly, perhaps I may say as sympathetic +with the feeling of those about him, on this occasion, as was Charles +Lamb, who, sitting with his sister in the front of the pit, on the night +when his farce was damned at its first representation, gave way to the +common feeling, and hissed and hooted lustily with the others around him. +It was what might be expected from his honest and truthful nature, +sometimes too severe in judging itself. + +The commendation bestowed upon Motley's historical essays in "The North +American Review" must have gone far towards compensating him for the ill +success of his earlier venture. It pointed clearly towards the field in +which he was to gather his laurels. And it was in the year following the +publication of the first essay, or about that time (1846), that he began +collecting materials for a history of Holland. Whether to tell the story +of men that have lived and of events that have happened, or to create the +characters and invent the incidents of an imaginary tale be the higher +task, we need not stop to discuss. But the young author was just now +like the great actor in Sir Joshua's picture, between the allurements of +Thalia and Melpomene, still doubtful whether he was to be a romancer or a +historian. + +The tale of which the title is given at the beginning of this section had +been written several years before the date of its publication. It is a +great advance in certain respects over the first novel, but wants the +peculiar interest which belonged to that as a partially autobiographical +memoir. The story is no longer disjointed and impossible. It is +carefully studied in regard to its main facts. It has less to remind us +of "Vivian Grey" and "Pelham," and more that recalls "Woodstock" and +"Kenilworth." The personages were many of them historical, though +idealized; the occurrences were many of them such as the record +authenticated; the localities were drawn largely from nature. The story +betrays marks of haste or carelessness in some portions, though others +are elaborately studied. His preface shows that the reception of his +first book had made him timid and sensitive about the fate of the second, +and explains and excuses what might be found fault with, to disarm the +criticism he had some reason to fear. + +That old watch-dog of our American literature, "The North American +Review," always ready with lambent phrases in stately "Articles" for +native talent of a certain pretension, and wagging its appendix of +"Critical Notices" kindly at the advent of humbler merit, treated "Merry- +Mount" with the distinction implied in a review of nearly twenty pages. +This was a great contrast to the brief and slighting notice of "Morton's +Hope." The reviewer thinks the author's descriptive power wholly exceeds +his conception of character and invention of circumstances. + + "He dwells, perhaps, too long and fondly upon his imagination of the + landscape as it was before the stillness of the forest had been + broken by the axe of the settler; but the picture is so finely + drawn, with so much beauty of language and purity of sentiment, that + we cannot blame him for lingering upon the scene. . . . The + story is not managed with much skill, but it has variety enough of + incident and character, and is told with so much liveliness that few + will be inclined to lay it down before reaching the conclusion. . + . . The writer certainly needs practice in elaborating the details + of a consistent and interesting novel; but in many respects he is + well qualified for the task, and we shall be glad to meet him again + on the half-historical ground he has chosen. His present work, + certainly, is not a fair specimen of what he is able to accomplish, + and its failure, or partial success, ought only to inspirit him for + further effort." + +The "half-historical ground" he had chosen had already led him to the +entrance into the broader domain of history. The "further effort" for +which he was to be inspirited had already begun. He had been for some +time, as was before mentioned, collecting materials for the work which +was to cast all his former attempts into the kindly shadow of oblivion, +save when from time to time the light of his brilliant after success is +thrown upon them to illustrate the path by which it was at length +attained. + + + +IX. + +1850. AEt. 36. + +PLAN OF A HISTORY.--LETTERS. + +The reputation of Mr. Prescott was now coextensive with the realm of +scholarship. The histories of the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella and +of the conquest of Mexico had met with a reception which might well tempt +the ambition of a young writer to emulate it, but which was not likely to +be awarded to any second candidate who should enter the field in rivalry +with the great and universally popular historian. But this was the field +on which Mr. Motley was to venture. + +After he had chosen the subject of the history he contemplated, he found +that Mr. Prescott was occupied with a kindred one, so that there might be +too near a coincidence between them. I must borrow from Mr. Ticknor's +beautiful life of Prescott the words which introduce a letter of Motley's +to Mr. William Amory, who has kindly allowed me also to make use of it. + + "The moment, therefore, that he [Mr. Motley] was aware of this + condition of things, and the consequent possibility that there might + be an untoward interference in their plans, he took the same frank + and honorable course with Mr. Prescott that Mr. Prescott had taken + in relation to Mr. Irving, when he found that they had both been + contemplating a 'History of the Conquest of Mexico.' The result was + the same. Mr. Prescott, instead of treating the matter as an + interference, earnestly encouraged Mr. Motley to go on, and placed + at his disposition such of the books in his library as could be most + useful to him. How amply and promptly he did it, Mr. Motley's own + account will best show. It is in a letter dated at Rome, 26th + February, 1859, the day he heard of Mr. Prescott's death, and was + addressed to his intimate friend, Mr. William Amory, of Boston, Mr. + Prescott's much-loved brother-in-law." + + + "It seems to me but as yesterday," Mr. Motley writes, "though it + must be now twelve years ago, that I was talking with our ever- + lamented friend Stackpole about my intention of writing a history + upon a subject to which I have since that time been devoting myself. + I had then made already some general studies in reference to it, + without being in the least aware that Prescott had the intention of + writing the 'History of Philip the Second.' Stackpole had heard the + fact, and that large preparations had already been made for the + work, although 'Peru' had not yet been published. I felt naturally + much disappointed. I was conscious of the immense disadvantage to + myself of making my appearance, probably at the same time, before + the public, with a work not at all similar in plan to 'Philip the + Second,' but which must of necessity traverse a portion of the same + ground. + + "My first thought was inevitably, as it were, only of myself. + It seemed to me that I had nothing to do but to abandon at once a + cherished dream, and probably to renounce authorship. For I had not + first made up my mind to write a history, and then cast about to + take up a subject. My subject had taken me up, drawn me on, and + absorbed me into itself. It was necessary for me, it seemed, to + write the book I had been thinking much of, even if it were destined + to fall dead from the press, and I had no inclination or interest to + write any other. When I had made up my mind accordingly, it then + occurred to me that Prescott might not be pleased that I should come + forward upon his ground. It is true that no announcement of his + intentions had been made, and that he had not, I believe, even + commenced his preliminary studies for Philip. At the same time I + thought it would be disloyal on my part not to go to him at once, + confer with him on the subject, and if I should find a shadow of + dissatisfaction on his mind at my proposition, to abandon my plan + altogether. + + "I had only the slightest acquaintance with him at that time. I was + comparatively a young man, and certainly not entitled on any ground + to more than the common courtesy which Prescott never could refuse + to any one. But he received me with such a frank and ready and + liberal sympathy, and such an open-hearted, guileless expansiveness, + that I felt a personal affection for him from that hour. I remember + the interview as if it had taken place yesterday. It was in his + father's house, in his own library, looking on the garden-house and + garden,--honored father and illustrious son,--alas! all numbered + with the things that were! He assured me that he had not the + slightest objection whatever to my plan, that he wished me every + success, and that, if there were any books in his library bearing on + my subject that I liked to use, they were entirely at my service. + After I had expressed my gratitude for his kindness and cordiality, + by which I had been in a very few moments set completely at ease,-- + so far as my fears of his disapprobation went,--I also very + naturally stated my opinion that the danger was entirely mine, and + that it was rather wilful of me thus to risk such a collision at my + first venture, the probable consequence of which was utter + shipwreck. I recollect how kindly and warmly he combated this + opinion, assuring me that no two books, as he said, ever injured + each other, and encouraging me in the warmest and most earnest + manner to proceed on the course I had marked out for myself. + + "Had the result of that interview been different,--had he distinctly + stated, or even vaguely hinted, that it would be as well if I should + select some other topic, or had he only sprinkled me with the cold + water of conventional and commonplace encouragement,--I should have + gone from him with a chill upon my mind, and, no doubt, have laid + down the pen at once; for, as I have already said, it was not that I + cared about writing a history, but that I felt an inevitable impulse + to write one particular history. + + "You know how kindly he always spoke of and to me; and the generous + manner in which, without the slightest hint from me, and entirely + unexpected by me, he attracted the eyes of his hosts of readers to + my forthcoming work, by so handsomely alluding to it in the Preface + to his own, must be almost as fresh in your memory as it is in mine. + + "And although it seems easy enough for a man of world-wide + reputation thus to extend the right hand of fellowship to an unknown + and struggling aspirant, yet I fear that the history of literature + will show that such instances of disinterested kindness are as rare + as they are noble." + +It was not from any feeling that Mr. Motley was a young writer from whose +rivalry he had nothing to apprehend. Mr. Amory says that Prescott +expressed himself very decidedly to the effect that an author who had +written such descriptive passages as were to be found in Mr. Motley's +published writings was not to be undervalued as a competitor by any one. +The reader who will turn to the description of Charles River in the +eighth chapter of the second volume of "Merry-Mount," or of the autumnal +woods in the sixteenth chapter of the same volume, will see good reason +for Mr. Prescott's appreciation of the force of the rival whose advent he +so heartily and generously welcomed. + + + + +X. + +1851-1856. AEt. 37-42. + +HISTORICAL STUDIES IN EUROPE.-LETTER FROM BRUSSELS. + +After working for several years on his projected "History of the Dutch +Republic," he found that, in order to do justice to his subject, he must +have recourse to the authorities to be found only in the libraries and +state archives of Europe. In the year 1851 he left America with his +family, to begin his task over again, throwing aside all that he had +already done, and following up his new course of investigations at +Berlin, Dresden, the Hague, and Brussels during several succeeding years. +I do not know that I can give a better idea of his mode of life during +this busy period, his occupations, his state of mind, his objects of +interest outside of his special work, than by making the following +extracts from a long letter to myself, dated Brussels, 20th November, +1853. + +After some personal matters he continued:-- + + "I don't really know what to say to you. I am in a town which, for + aught I know, may be very gay. I don't know a living soul in it. + We have not a single acquaintance in the place, and we glory in the + fact. There is something rather sublime in thus floating on a + single spar in the wide sea of a populous, busy, fuming, fussy world + like this. At any rate it is consonant to both our tastes. You may + suppose, however, that I find it rather difficult to amuse my + friends out of the incidents of so isolated an existence. Our daily + career is very regular and monotonous. Our life is as stagnant as a + Dutch canal. Not that I complain of it,--on the contrary, the canal + may be richly freighted with merchandise and be a short cut to the + ocean of abundant and perpetual knowledge; but, at the same time, + few points rise above the level of so regular a life, to be worthy + of your notice. You must, therefore, allow me to meander along the + meadows of commonplace. Don't expect anything of the impetuous and + boiling style. We go it weak here. I don't know whether you were + ever in Brussels. It is a striking, picturesque town, built up a + steep promontory, the old part at the bottom, very dingy and mouldy, + the new part at the top, very showy and elegant. Nothing can be + more exquisite in its way than the grande place in the very heart of + the city, surrounded with those toppling, zigzag, ten-storied + buildings bedizened all over with ornaments and emblems so peculiar + to the Netherlands, with the brocaded Hotel de Ville on one side, + with its impossible spire rising some three hundred and seventy feet + into the air and embroidered to the top with the delicacy of needle- + work, sugarwork, spider-work, or what you will. I haunt this place + because it is my scene, my theatre. Here were enacted so many deep + tragedies, so many stately dramas, and even so many farces, which + have been familiar to me so long that I have got to imagine myself + invested with a kind of property in the place, and look at it as if + it were merely the theatre with the coulisses, machinery, drapery, + etc., for representing scenes which have long since vanished, and + which no more enter the minds of the men and women who are actually + moving across its pavements than if they had occurred in the moon. + When I say that I knew no soul in Brussels I am perhaps wrong. With + the present generation I am not familiar. 'En revanche,' the dead + men of the place are my intimate friends. I am at home in any + cemetery. With the fellows of the sixteenth century I am on the + most familiar terms. Any ghost that ever flits by night across the + moonlight square is at once hailed by me as a man and a brother. I + call him by his Christian name at once. When you come out of this + place, however, which, as I said, is in the heart of the town,--the + antique gem in the modern setting,--you may go either up or down. + If you go down, you will find yourself in the very nastiest + complications of lanes and culs-de-sac possible, a dark entanglement + of gin-shops, beer-houses, and hovels, through which charming valley + dribbles the Senne (whence, I suppose, is derived Senna), the most + nauseous little river in the world, which receives all the + outpourings of all the drains and houses, and is then converted into + beer for the inhabitants, all the many breweries being directly upon + its edge. If you go up the hill instead of down, you come to an + arrangement of squares, palaces, and gardens as trim and fashionable + as you will find in Europe. Thus you see that our Cybele sits with + her head crowned with very stately towers and her feet in a tub of + very dirty water. + + "My habits here for the present year are very regular. I came here, + having, as I thought, finished my work, or rather the first Part + (something like three or four volumes, 8vo), but I find so much + original matter here, and so many emendations to make, that I am + ready to despair. However, there is nothing for it but to + penelopize, pull to pieces, and stitch away again. Whatever may be + the result of my labor, nobody can say that I have not worked like + a brute beast,--but I don't care for the result. The labor is in + itself its own reward and all I want. I go day after day to the + archives here (as I went all summer at the Hague), studying the old + letters and documents of the fifteenth century. Here I remain among + my fellow-worms, feeding on these musty mulberry-leaves, out of + which we are afterwards to spin our silk. How can you expect + anything interesting from such a human cocoon? It is, however, not + without its amusement in a mouldy sort of way, this reading of dead + letters. It is something to read the real, bona fide signs-manual + of such fellows as William of Orange, Count Egmont, Alexander + Farnese, Philip II., Cardinal Granvelle, and the rest of them. It + gives a 'realizing sense,' as the Americans have it. . . . There + are not many public resources of amusement in this place,--if we + wanted them,--which we don't. I miss the Dresden Gallery very much, + and it makes me sad to think that I shall never look at the face of + the Sistine Madonna again,--that picture beyond all pictures in the + world, in which the artist certainly did get to heaven and painted a + face which was never seen on earth--so pathetic, so gentle, so + passionless, so prophetic. . . . There are a few good Rubenses + here,--but the great wealth of that master is in Antwerp. The great + picture of the Descent from the Cross is free again, after having + been ten years in the repairing room. It has come out in very good + condition. What a picture? It seems to me as if I had really stood + at the cross and seen Mary weeping on John's shoulder, and Magdalen + receiving the dead body of the Saviour in her arms. Never was the + grand tragedy represented in so profound and dramatic a manner. For + it is not only in his color in which this man so easily surpasses + all the world, but in his life-like, flesh-and-blood action,--the + tragic power of his composition. And is it not appalling to think + of the 'large constitution of this man,' when you reflect on the + acres of canvas which he has covered? How inspiriting to see with + what muscular, masculine vigor this splendid Fleming rushed in and + plucked up drowning Art by the locks when it was sinking in the + trashy sea of such creatures as the Luca Giordanos and Pietro + Cortonas and the like. Well might Guido exclaim, 'The fellow mixes + blood with his colors! . . . How providentially did the man come + in and invoke living, breathing, moving men and women out of his + canvas! Sometimes he is ranting and exaggerated, as are all men of + great genius who wrestle with Nature so boldly. No doubt his + heroines are more expansively endowed than would be thought genteel + in our country, where cryptogams are so much in fashion, + nevertheless there is always something very tremendous about him, + and very often much that is sublime, pathetic, and moving. I defy + any one of the average amount of imagination and sentiment to stand + long before the Descent from the Cross without being moved more + nearly to tears than he would care to acknowledge. As for color, + his effects are as sure as those of the sun rising in a tropical + landscape. There is something quite genial in the cheerful sense of + his own omnipotence which always inspired him. There are a few fine + pictures of his here, and I go in sometimes of a raw, foggy morning + merely to warm myself in the blaze of their beauty." + +I have been more willing to give room to this description of Rubens's +pictures and the effect they produced upon Motley, because there is a +certain affinity between those sumptuous and glowing works of art and the +prose pictures of the historian who so admired them. He was himself a +colorist in language, and called up the image of a great personage or a +splendid pageant of the past with the same affluence, the same rich +vitality, that floods and warms the vast areas of canvas over which the +full-fed genius of Rubens disported itself in the luxury of imaginative +creation. + + + + +XI. + +1856-1857. AEt. 42-43. + +PUBLICATION OF HIS FIRST HISTORICAL WORK, "RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC."-- +ITS RECEPTION.--CRITICAL NOTICES. + +The labor of ten years was at last finished. Carrying his formidable +manuscript with him,--and how formidable the manuscript which melts down +into three solid octavo volumes is, only writers and publishers know,--he +knocked at the gate of that terrible fortress from which Lintot and Curll +and Tonson looked down on the authors of an older generation. So large a +work as the "History of the Rise of the Dutch Republic," offered for the +press by an author as yet unknown to the British public, could hardly +expect a warm welcome from the great dealers in literature as +merchandise. Mr. Murray civilly declined the manuscript which was +offered to him, and it was published at its author's expense by Mr. John +Chapman. The time came when the positions of the first-named celebrated +publisher and the unknown writer were reversed. Mr. Murray wrote to Mr. +Motley asking to be allowed to publish his second great work, the +"History of the United Netherlands," expressing at the same time his +regret at what he candidly called his mistake in the first instance, and +thus they were at length brought into business connection as well as the +most agreeable and friendly relations. An American edition was published +by the Harpers at the same time as the London one. + +If the new work of the unknown author found it difficult to obtain a +publisher, it was no sooner given to the public than it found an +approving, an admiring, an enthusiastic world of readers, and a noble +welcome at the colder hands of the critics. + +"The Westminster Review" for April, 1856, had for its leading article a +paper by Mr. Froude, in which the critic awarded the highest praise to +the work of the new historian. As one of the earliest as well as one of +the most important recognitions of the work, I quote some of its +judgments. + + "A history as complete as industry and genius can make it now lies + before us of the first twenty years of the Revolt of the United + Provinces; of the period in which those provinces finally conquered + their independence and established the Republic of Holland. It has + been the result of many years of silent, thoughtful, unobtrusive + labor, and unless we are strangely mistaken, unless we are ourselves + altogether unfit for this office of criticising which we have here + undertaken, the book is one which will take its place among the + finest histories in this or in any language. . . . All the + essentials of a great writer Mr. Motley eminently possesses. His + mind is broad, his industry unwearied. In power of dramatic + description no modern historian, except perhaps Mr. Carlyle, + surpasses him, and in analysis of character he is elaborate and + distinct. His principles are those of honest love for all which is + good and admirable in human character wherever he finds it, while he + unaffectedly hates oppression, and despises selfishness with all his + heart." + +After giving a slight analytical sketch of the series of events related +in the history, Mr. Froude objects to only one of the historian's +estimates, that, namely, of the course of Queen Elizabeth. + + "It is ungracious, however," he says, "even to find so slight a + fault with these admirable volumes. Mr. Motley has written without + haste, with the leisurely composure of a master. . . . We now + take our leave of Mr. Motley, desiring him only to accept our hearty + thanks for these volumes, which we trust will soon take their place + in every English library. Our quotations will have sufficed to show + the ability of the writer. Of the scope and general character of + his work we have given but a languid conception. The true merit of + a great book must be learned from the book itself. Our part has + been rather to select varied specimens of style and power. Of Mr. + Motley's antecedents we know nothing. If he has previously appeared + before the public, his reputation has not crossed the Atlantic. It + will not be so now. We believe that we may promise him as warm a + welcome among ourselves as he will receive even in America; that his + place will be at once conceded to him among the first historians in + our common language." + +The faithful and unwearied Mr. Allibone has swept the whole field of +contemporary criticism, and shown how wide and universal was the welcome +accorded to the hitherto unknown author. An article headed "Prescott +and Motley," attributed to M. Guizot, which must have been translated, +I suppose, from his own language, judging by its freedom from French +idioms, is to be found in "The Edinburgh Review" for January, 1857. The +praise, not unmingled with criticisms, which that great historian +bestowed upon Motley is less significant than the fact that he +superintended a translation of the "Rise of the Dutch Republic," and +himself wrote the Introduction to it. + +A general chorus of approbation followed or accompanied these leading +voices. The reception of the work in Great Britain was a triumph. On +the Continent, in addition to the tribute paid to it by M. Guizot, it was +translated into Dutch, into German, and into Russian. At home his +reception was not less hearty. "The North American Review," which had +set its foot on the semi-autobiographical medley which he called +"Morton's Hope," which had granted a decent space and a tepid recognition +to his "semi-historical" romance, in which he had already given the +reading public a taste of his quality as a narrator of real events and a +delineator of real personages,--this old and awe-inspiring New England +and more than New England representative of the Fates, found room for a +long and most laudatory article, in which the son of one of our most +distinguished historians did the honors of the venerable literary +periodical to the new-comer, for whom the folding-doors of all the +critical headquarters were flying open as if of themselves. Mr. Allibone +has recorded the opinions of some of our best scholars as expressed to +him. + +Dr. Lieber wrote a letter to Mr. Allibone in the strongest terms of +praise. I quote one passage which in the light of after events borrows +a cruel significance:-- + + "Congress and Parliament decree thanks for military exploits,-- + rarely for diplomatic achievements. If they ever voted their thanks + for books,--and what deeds have influenced the course of human + events more than some books?--Motley ought to have the thanks of our + Congress; but I doubt not that he has already the thanks of every + American who has read the work. It will leave its distinct mark + upon the American mind." + +Mr. Everett writes:-- + + "Mr. Motley's 'History of the Dutch Republic' is in my judgment a + work of the highest merit. Unwearying research for years in the + libraries of Europe, patience and judgment in arranging and + digesting his materials, a fine historical tact, much skill in + characterization, the perspective of narration, as it may be called, + and a vigorous style unite to make it a very capital work, and place + the name of Motley by the side of those of our great historical + trio,--Bancroft, Irving, and Prescott." + +Mr. Irving, Mr. Bancroft, Mr. Sumner, Mr. Hillard, united their voices in +the same strain of commendation. Mr. Prescott, whose estimate of the new +history is of peculiar value for obvious reasons, writes to Mr. Allibone +thus:-- + + "The opinion of any individual seems superfluous in respect to a + work on the merits of which the public both at home and abroad have + pronounced so unanimous a verdict. As Motley's path crosses my own + historic field, I may be thought to possess some advantage over most + critics in my familiarity with the ground. + + "However this may be, I can honestly bear my testimony to the extent + of his researches and to the accuracy with which he has given the + results of them to the public. Far from making his book a mere + register of events, he has penetrated deep below the surface and + explored the cause of these events. He has carefully studied the + physiognomy of the times and given finished portraits of the great + men who conducted the march of the revolution. Every page is + instinct with the love of freedom and with that personal knowledge + of the working of free institutions which could alone enable him to + do justice to his subject. We may congratulate ourselves that it + was reserved for one of our countrymen to tell the story-better than + it had yet been told--of this memorable revolution, which in so many + of its features bears a striking resemblance to our own." + +The public welcomed the work as cordially as the critics. Fifteen +thousand copies had already been sold in London in 1857. In America it +was equally popular. Its author saw his name enrolled by common consent +among those of the great writers of his time. Europe accepted him, his +country was proud to claim him, scholarship set its jealously guarded +seal upon the result of his labors, the reading world, which had not +cared greatly for his stories, hung in delight over a narrative more +exciting than romances; and the lonely student, who had almost forgotten +the look of living men in the solitude of archives haunted by dead +memories, found himself suddenly in the full blaze of a great reputation. + + + + +XII. + +1856-1857. AEt. 42-43. + +VISIT TO AMERICA.--RESIDENCE IN BOYLSTON PLACE. + +He visited this country in 1856, and spent the winter of 1856-57 in +Boston, living with his family in a house in Boylston Place. At this +time I had the pleasure of meeting him often, and of seeing the changes +which maturity, success, the opening of a great literary and social +career, had wrought in his character and bearing. He was in every way +greatly improved; the interesting, impulsive youth had ripened into a +noble manhood. Dealing with great themes, his own mind had gained their +dignity. Accustomed to the company of dead statesmen and heroes, his own +ideas had risen to a higher standard. The flattery of society had added +a new grace to his natural modesty. He was now a citizen of the world by +his reputation; the past was his province, in which he was recognized as +a master; the idol's pedestal was ready for him, but he betrayed no +desire to show himself upon it. + + + + +XIII. + +1858-1860. AEt. 44-46. + +RETURN TO ENGLAND.--SOCIAL RELATIONS.--LADY HARCOURT'S LETTER. + +During the years spent in Europe in writing his first history, from 1851 +to 1856, Mr. Motley had lived a life of great retirement and simplicity, +devoting himself to his work and to the education of his children, to +which last object he was always ready to give the most careful +supervision. He was as yet unknown beyond the circle of his friends, +and he did not seek society. In this quiet way he had passed the two +years of residence in Dresden, the year divided between Brussels and the +Hague, and a very tranquil year spent at Vevay on the Lake of Geneva. +His health at this time was tolerably good, except for nervous headaches, +which frequently recurred and were of great severity. His visit to +England with his manuscript in search of a publisher has already been +mentioned. + +In 1858 he revisited England. His fame as a successful author was there +before him, and he naturally became the object of many attentions. He +now made many acquaintances who afterwards became his kind and valued +friends. Among those mentioned by his daughter, Lady Harcourt, are Lord +Lyndhurst, Lord Carlisle, Lady William Russell, Lord and Lady Palmerston, +Dean Milman, with many others. The following winter was passed in Rome, +among many English and American friends. + + "In the course of the next summer," his daughter writes to me, "we + all went to England, and for the next two years, marked chiefly by + the success of the 'United Netherlands,' our social life was most + agreeable and most interesting. He was in the fulness of his health + and powers; his works had made him known in intellectual society, + and I think his presence, on the other hand, increased their + effects. As no one knows better than you do, his belief in his own + country and in its institutions at their best was so passionate and + intense that it was a part of his nature, yet his refined and + fastidious tastes were deeply gratified by the influences of his + life in England, and the spontaneous kindness which he received + added much to his happiness. At that time Lord Palmerston was Prime + Minister; the weekly receptions at Cambridge House were the centre + of all that was brilliant in the political and social world, while + Lansdowne House, Holland House, and others were open to the + 'sommites' in all branches of literature, science, rank, and + politics. . . . It was the last year of Lord Macaulay's life, + and as a few out of many names which I recall come Dean Milman, Mr. + Froude (whose review of the 'Dutch Republic' in the 'Westminster' + was one of the first warm recognitions it ever received), the Duke + and Duchess of Argyll, Sir William Stirling Maxwell, then Mr. + Stirling of Keir, the Sheridan family in its different brilliant + members, Lord Wensleydale, and many more." + +There was no society to which Motley would not have added grace and +attraction by his presence, and to say that he was a welcome guest in the +best houses of England is only saying that these houses are always open +to those whose abilities, characters, achievements, are commended to the +circles that have the best choice by the personal gifts which are +nature's passport everywhere. + + + + +XIV. + +1859. AEt. 45. + +LETTER TO MR. FRANCIS H. UNDERWOOD.--PLAN OF MR. MOTLEY'S HISTORICAL +WORKS.--SECOND GREAT WORK, "HISTORY OF THE UNITED NETHERLANDS." + +I am enabled by the kindness of Mr. Francis H. Underwood to avail myself +of a letter addressed to him by Mr. Motley in the year before the +publication of this second work, which gives us an insight into his mode +of working and the plan he proposed to follow. It begins with an +allusion which recalls a literary event interesting to many of his +American friends. + + ROME, March 4, 1859. + + F. H. UNDERWOOD, ESQ. + + My dear Sir,--. . . I am delighted to hear of the great success + of "The Atlantic Monthly." In this remote region I have not the + chance of reading it as often as I should like, but from the + specimens which I have seen I am quite sure it deserves its wide + circulation. A serial publication, the contents of which are purely + original and of such remarkable merit, is a novelty in our country, + and I am delighted to find that it has already taken so prominent a + position before the reading world. . . + + The whole work [his history], of which the three volumes already + published form a part, will be called "The Eighty Years' War for + Liberty." + + Epoch I. is the Rise of the Dutch Republic. + + Epoch II. Independence Achieved. From the Death of William the + Silent till the Twelve Years' Truce. 1584-1609. + + Epoch III. Independence Recognized. From the Twelve Years' Truce + to the Peace of Westphalia. 1609-1648. + + My subject is a very vast one, for the struggle of the United + Provinces with Spain was one in which all the leading states of + Europe were more or less involved. After the death of William the + Silent, the history assumes world-wide proportions. Thus the volume + which I am just about terminating . . . is almost as much English + history as Dutch. The Earl of Leicester, very soon after the death + of Orange, was appointed governor of the provinces, and the alliance + between the two countries almost amounted to a political union. I + shall try to get the whole of the Leicester administration, + terminating with the grand drama of the Invincible Armada, into one + volume; but I doubt, my materials are so enormous. I have been + personally very hard at work, nearly two years, ransacking the + British State Paper Office, the British Museum, and the Holland + archives, and I have had two copyists constantly engaged in London, + and two others at the Hague. Besides this, I passed the whole of + last winter at Brussels, where, by special favor of the Belgian + Government, I was allowed to read what no one else has ever been + permitted to see,--the great mass of copies taken by that government + from the Simancas archives, a translated epitome of which has been + published by Gachard. This correspondence reaches to the death of + Philip II., and is of immense extent and importance. Had I not + obtained leave to read the invaluable and, for my purpose, + indispensable documents at Brussels, I should have gone to Spain, + for they will not be published these twenty years, and then only in + a translated and excessively abbreviated and unsatisfactory form. + I have read the whole of this correspondence, and made very copious + notes of it. In truth, I devoted three months of last winter to + that purpose alone. + + The materials I have collected from the English archives are also + extremely important and curious. I have hundreds of interesting + letters never published or to be published, by Queen Elizabeth, + Burghley, Walsingham, Sidney, Drake, Willoughby, Leicester, and + others. For the whole of that portion of my subject in which + Holland and England were combined into one whole, to resist Spain in + its attempt to obtain the universal empire, I have very abundant + collections. For the history of the United Provinces is not at all + a provincial history. It is the history of European liberty. + Without the struggle of Holland and England against Spain, all + Europe might have been Catholic and Spanish. It was Holland that + saved England in the sixteenth century, and, by so doing, secured + the triumph of the Reformation, and placed the independence of the + various states of Europe upon a sure foundation. Of course, the + materials collected by me at the Hague are of great importance. As + a single specimen, I will state that I found in the archives there + an immense and confused mass of papers, which turned out to be the + autograph letters of Olden Barneveld during the last few years of + his life; during, in short, the whole of that most important period + which preceded his execution. These letters are in such an + intolerable handwriting that no one has ever attempted to read them. + I could read them only imperfectly myself, and it would have taken + me a very long time to have acquired the power to do so; but my + copyist and reader there is the most patient and indefatigable + person alive, and he has quite mastered the handwriting, and he + writes me that they are a mine of historical wealth for me. I shall + have complete copies before I get to that period, one of signal + interest, and which has never been described. I mention these + matters that you may see that my work, whatever its other value may + be, is built upon the only foundation fit for history,--original + contemporary documents. These are all unpublished. Of course, I + use the contemporary historians and pamphleteers,--Dutch, Spanish, + French, Italian, German, and English,--but the most valuable of my + sources are manuscript ones. I have said the little which I have + said in order to vindicate the largeness of the subject. The + kingdom of Holland is a small power now, but the Eighty Years' War, + which secured the civil and religious independence of the Dutch + Commonwealth and of Europe, was the great event of that whole age. + + The whole work will therefore cover a most remarkable epoch in human + history, from the abdication of Charles Fifth to the Peace of + Westphalia, at which last point the political and geographical + arrangements of Europe were established on a permanent basis,--in + the main undisturbed until the French Revolution. . . . + + I will mention that I received yesterday a letter from the + distinguished M. Guizot, informing me that the first volume of the + French translation, edited by him, with an introduction, has just + been published. The publication was hastened in consequence of the + appearance of a rival translation at Brussels. The German + translation is very elegantly and expensively printed in handsome + octavos; and the Dutch translation, under the editorship of the + archivist general of Holland, Bakhuyzen v. d. Brink, is enriched + with copious notes and comments by that distinguished scholar. + + There are also three different piratical reprints of the original + work at Amsterdam, Leipzig, and London. I must add that I had + nothing to do with the translation in any case. In fact, with the + exception of M. Guizot, no one ever obtained permission of me to + publish translations, and I never knew of the existence of them + until I read of it in the journals. . . . I forgot to say that + among the collections already thoroughly examined by me is that + portion of the Simancas archives still retained in the Imperial + archives of France. I spent a considerable time in Paris for the + purpose of reading these documents. There are many letters of + Philip II. there, with apostilles by his own hand. . . . I + would add that I am going to pass this summer at Venice for the + purpose of reading and procuring copies from the very rich archives + of that Republic, of the correspondence of their envoys in Madrid, + London, and Brussels during the epoch of which I am treating. + + I am also not without hope of gaining access to the archives of the + Vatican here, although there are some difficulties in the way. + + With kind regards . . . + I remain very truly yours, + J. L. MOTLEY. + + + + +XV. + +1860. AT. 46. + +PUBLICATION OF THE FIRST TWO VOLUMES OF THE "HISTORY OF THE UNITED +NETHERLANDS."--THEIR RECEPTION. + +We know something of the manner in which Mr. Motley collected his +materials. We know the labors, the difficulties, the cost of his toils +among the dusty records of the past. What he gained by the years he +spent in his researches is so well stated by himself that I shall borrow +his own words:-- + + "Thanks to the liberality of many modern governments of Europe, the + archives where the state secrets of the buried centuries have so + long mouldered are now open to the student of history. To him who + has patience and industry, many mysteries are thus revealed which no + political sagacity or critical acumen could have divined. He leans + over the shoulder of Philip the Second at his writing-table, as the + King spells patiently out, with cipher-key in hand, the most + concealed hieroglyphics of Parma, or Guise, or Mendoza. He reads + the secret thoughts of 'Fabius' [Philip II.] as that cunctative + Roman scrawls his marginal apostilles on each dispatch; he pries + into all the stratagems of Camillus, Hortensius, Mucius, Julius, + Tullius, and the rest of those ancient heroes who lent their names + to the diplomatic masqueraders of the sixteenth century; he enters + the cabinet of the deeply pondering Burghley, and takes from the + most private drawer the memoranda which record that minister's + unutterable doubtings; he pulls from the dressing-gown folds of the + stealthy, soft-gliding Walsingham the last secret which he has + picked from the Emperor's pigeon-holes or the Pope's pocket, and + which not Hatton, nor Buckhurst, nor Leicester, nor the Lord + Treasurer is to see,--nobody but Elizabeth herself; he sits + invisible at the most secret councils of the Nassaus and Barneveld + and Buys, or pores with Farnese over coming victories and vast + schemes of universal conquest; he reads the latest bit of scandal, + the minutest characteristic of king or minister, chronicled by the + gossiping Venetians for the edification of the Forty; and after all + this prying and eavesdropping, having seen the cross-purposes, the + bribings, the windings in the dark, he is not surprised if those who + were systematically deceived did not always arrive at correct + conclusions." + +The fascination of such a quest is readily conceivable. A drama with +real characters, and the spectator at liberty to go behind the scenes and +look upon and talk with the kings and queens between the acts; to examine +the scenery, to handle the properties, to study the "make up" of the +imposing personages of full-dress histories; to deal with them all as +Thackeray has done with the Grand Monarque in one of his caustic +sketches,--this would be as exciting, one might suppose, as to sit +through a play one knows by heart at Drury Lane or the Theatre Francais, +and might furnish occupation enough to the curious idler who was only in +search of entertainment. The mechanical obstacles of half-illegible +manuscript, of antiquated forms of speech, to say nothing of the +intentional obscurities of diplomatic correspondence, stand, however, +in the way of all but the resolute and unwearied scholar. These +difficulties, in all their complex obstinacy, had been met and overcome +by the heroic efforts, the concentrated devotion, of the new laborer in +the unbroken fields of secret history. + +Without stopping to take breath, as it were,--for his was a task +'de longue haleine,'--he proceeded to his second great undertaking. + +The first portion--consisting of two volumes--of the "History of the +United Netherlands" was published in the year 1860. It maintained and +increased the reputation he had already gained by his first history. + +"The London Quarterly Review" devoted a long article to it, beginning +with this handsome tribute to his earlier and later volumes:-- + + "Mr. Motley's 'History of the Rise of the Dutch Republic' is already + known and valued for the grasp of mind which it displays, for the + earnest and manly spirit in which he has communicated the results of + deep research and careful reflection. Again he appears before us, + rich with the spoils of time, to tell the story of the United + Netherlands from the time of William the Silent to the end of the + eventful year of the Spanish Armada, and we still find him in every + way worthy of this 'great argument.' Indeed, it seems to us that he + proceeds with an increased facility of style, and with a more + complete and easy command over his materials. These materials are + indeed splendid, and of them most excellent use has been made. The + English State Paper Office, the Spanish archives from Simancas, and + the Dutch and Belgian repositories, have all yielded up their + secrets; and Mr. Motley has enjoyed the advantage of dealing with a + vast mass of unpublished documents, of which he has not failed to + avail himself to an extent which places his work in the foremost + rank as an authority for the period to which it relates. By means + of his labor and his art we can sit at the council board of Philip + and Elizabeth, we can read their most private dispatches. Guided by + his demonstration, we are enabled to dissect out to their ultimate + issues the minutest ramifications of intrigue. We join in the + amusement of the popular lampoon; we visit the prison-house; we + stand by the scaffold; we are present at the battle and the siege. + We can scan the inmost characters of men and can view them in their. + habits as they lived." + +After a few criticisms upon lesser points of form and style, the writer +says:-- + + "But the work itself must be read to appreciate the vast and + conscientious industry bestowed upon it. His delineations are true + and life-like, because they are not mere compositions written to + please the ear, but are really taken from the facts and traits + preserved in those authentic records to which he has devoted the + labor of many years. Diligent and painstaking as the humblest + chronicler, he has availed himself of many sources of information + which have not been made use of by any previous historical writer. + At the same time he is not oppressed by his materials, but has + sagacity to estimate their real value, and he has combined with + scholarly power the facts which they contain. He has rescued the + story of the Netherlands from the domain of vague and general + narrative, and has labored, with much judgment and ability, to + unfold the 'Belli causas, et vitia, et modos,' and to assign to + every man and every event their own share in the contest, and their + own influence upon its fortunes. We do not wonder that his earlier + publication has been received as a valuable addition, not only to + English, but to European literature." + +One or two other contemporary criticisms may help us with their side +lights. A critic in "The Edinburgh Review" for January, 1861, thinks +that "Mr. Motley has not always been successful in keeping the graphic +variety of his details subordinate to the main theme of his work." +Still, he excuses the fault, as he accounts it, in consideration of the +new light thrown on various obscure points of history, and + + "it is atoned for by striking merits, by many narratives of great + events faithfully, powerfully, and vividly executed, by the clearest + and most life-like conceptions of character, and by a style which, + if it sacrifices the severer principles of composition to a desire + to be striking and picturesque, is always vigorous, full of + animation, and glowing with the genuine enthusiasm of the writer. + Mr. Motley combines as an historian two qualifications seldom found + united,--to great capacity for historical research he adds much + power of pictorial representation. In his pages we find characters + and scenes minutely set forth in elaborate and characteristic + detail, which is relieved and heightened in effect by the artistic + breadth of light and shade thrown across the broader prospects of + history. In an American author, too, we must commend the hearty + English spirit in which the book is written; and fertile as the + present age has been in historical works of the highest merit, none + of them can be ranked above these volumes in the grand qualities of + interest, accuracy, and truth." + +A writer in "Blackwood" (May, 1861) contrasts Motley with Froude somewhat +in the way in which another critic had contrasted him with Prescott. +Froude, he says, remembers that there are some golden threads in the +black robe of the Dominican. Motley "finds it black and thrusts it +farther into the darkness." + +Every writer carries more or less of his own character into his book, of +course. A great professor has told me that there is a personal flavor in +the mathematical work of a man of genius like Poisson. Those who have +known Motley and Prescott would feel sure beforehand that the impulsive +nature of the one and the judicial serenity of the other would as surely +betray themselves in their writings as in their conversation and in their +every movement. Another point which the critic of "Blackwood's Magazine" +has noticed has not been so generally observed: it is what he calls "a +dashing, offhand, rattling style,"--"fast" writing. It cannot be denied +that here and there may be detected slight vestiges of the way of writing +of an earlier period of Motley's literary life, with which I have no +reason to think the writer just mentioned was acquainted. Now and then I +can trace in the turn of a phrase, in the twinkle of an epithet, a faint +reminiscence of a certain satirical levity, airiness, jauntiness, if I +may hint such a word, which is just enough to remind me of those perilous +shallows of his early time through which his richly freighted argosy had +passed with such wonderful escape from their dangers and such very slight +marks of injury. That which is pleasant gayety in conversation may be +quite out of place in formal composition, and Motley's wit must have had +a hard time of it struggling to show its spangles in the processions +while his gorgeous tragedies went sweeping by. + + + + +ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS: + +All classes are conservative by necessity +Already looking forward to the revolt of the slave States +Attacked by the poetic mania +Becoming more learned, and therefore more ignorant +But not thoughtlessly indulgent to the boy +Cold water of conventional and commonplace encouragement +Could paint a character with the ruddy life-blood coloring +Emulation is not capability +Excused by their admirers for their shortcomings +Excuses to disarm the criticism he had some reason to fear +Fear of the laugh of the world at its sincerity +Fitted "To warn, to comfort, and command" +How many more injured by becoming bad copies of a bad ideal +Ignoble facts which strew the highways of political life +Indoor home life imprisons them in the domestic circle +Intellectual dandyisms of Bulwer +Kindly shadow of oblivion +Misanthropical, sceptical philosopher +Most entirely truthful child whe had ever seen +Nearsighted liberalism +No two books, as he said, ever injured each other +Not a single acquaintance in the place, and we glory in the fact +Only foundation fit for history,--original contemporary document +Radical, one who would uproot, is a man whose trade is dangerous +Sees the past in the pitiless light of the present +Self-educated man, as he had been a self-taught boy +Solitary and morose, the necessary consequence of reckless study +Spirit of a man who wishes to be proud of his country +Studied according to his inclinations rather than by rule +Style above all other qualities seems to embalm for posterity +Talked impatiently of the value of my time +The dead men of the place are my intimate friends +The fellow mixes blood with his colors! +The loss of hair, which brings on premature decay +The personal gifts which are nature's passport everywhere +Twenty assaults upon fame and had forty books killed under him +Vain belief that they were men at eighteen or twenty +Weight of a thousand years of error + + + +End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of Memoir of John Lothrop Motley, v1 +by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. + + + + + + +JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY. + +A MEMOIR + +By Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. + + +Volume II. + + + +XVI. + +1860-1866. AEt. 46-52. + +RESIDENCE IN ENGLAND.--OUTBREAK OF THE CIVIL WAR.--LETTERS TO THE LONDON +"TIMES."--VISIT TO AMERICA.--APPOINTED MINISTER TO AUSTRIA.--LADY +HARCOURT'S LETTER.--MISS MOTLEY'S MEMORANDUM. + +The winter of 1859-60 was passed chiefly at Oatlands Hotel, Walton-on- +Thames. In 1860 Mr. Motley hired the house No. 31 Hertford Street, May +Fair, London. He had just published the first two volumes of his +"History of the Netherlands," and was ready for the further labors of its +continuation, when the threats, followed by the outbreak, of the great +civil contention in his native land brought him back from the struggles +of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to the conflict of the +nineteenth. + +His love of country, which had grown upon him so remarkably of late +years, would not suffer him to be silent at such a moment. All around +him he found ignorance and prejudice. The quarrel was like to be +prejudged in default of a champion of the cause which to him was that of +Liberty and Justice. He wrote two long letters to the London "Times," in +which he attempted to make clear to Englishmen and to Europe the nature +and conditions of our complex system of government, the real cause of the +strife, and the mighty issues at stake. Nothing could have been more +timely, nothing more needed. Mr. William Everett, who was then in +England, bears strong testimony to the effect these letters produced. +Had Mr. Motley done no other service to his country, this alone would +entitle him to honorable remembrance as among the first defenders of the +flag, which at that moment had more to fear from what was going on in the +cabinet councils of Europe than from all the armed hosts that were +gathering against it. + +He returned to America in 1861, and soon afterwards was appointed by Mr. +Lincoln Minister to Austria. Mr. Burlingame had been previously +appointed to the office, but having been objected to by the Austrian +Government for political reasons, the place unexpectedly left vacant was +conferred upon Motley, who had no expectation of any diplomatic +appointment when he left Europe. For some interesting particulars +relating to his residence in Vienna I must refer to the communications +addressed to me by his daughter, Lady Harcourt, and her youngest sister, +and the letters I received from him while at the Austrian capital. Lady +Harcourt writes:-- + + "He held the post for six years, seeing the civil war fought out and + brought to a triumphant conclusion, and enjoying, as I have every + reason to believe, the full confidence and esteem of Mr. Lincoln to + the last hour of the President's life. In the first dark years the + painful interest of the great national drama was so all-absorbing + that literary work was entirely put aside, and with his countrymen + at home he lived only in the varying fortunes of the day, his + profound faith and enthusiasm sustaining him and lifting him above + the natural influence of a by no means sanguine temperament. Later, + when the tide was turning and success was nearing, he was more able + to work. His social relations during the whole period of his + mission were of the most agreeable character. The society of Vienna + was at that time, and I believe is still, the absolute reverse of + that of England, where all claims to distinction are recognized and + welcomed. There the old feudal traditions were still in full force, + and diplomatic representatives admitted to the court society by + right of official position found it to consist exclusively of an + aristocracy of birth, sixteen quarterings of nobility being + necessary to a right of presentation to the Emperor and Empress. + The society thus constituted was distinguished by great charm and + grace of manner, the exclusion of all outer elements not only + limiting the numbers, but giving the ease of a family party within + the charmed circle. On the other hand, larger interests suffered + under the rigid exclusion of all occupations except the army, + diplomacy, and court place. The intimacy among the different + members of the society was so close that, beyond a courtesy of + manner that never failed, the tendency was to resist the approach of + any stranger as a 'gene'. A single new face was instantly remarked + and commented on in a Vienna saloon to an extent unknown in any + other large capital. This peculiarity, however, worked in favor of + the old resident. Kindliness of feeling increased with familiarity + and grew into something better than acquaintance, and the parting + with most sincere and affectionately disposed friends in the end was + deeply felt on both sides. Those years were passed in a pleasant + house in the Weiden Faubourg, with a large garden at the back, and I + do not think that during this time there was one disagreeable + incident in his relations to his colleagues, while in several cases + the relations, agreeable with all, became those of close friendship. + We lived constantly, of course, in diplomatic and Austrian society, + and during the latter part of the time particularly his house was as + much frequented and the centre of as many dancing and other + receptions as any in the place. His official relations with the + Foreign Office were courteous and agreeable, the successive Foreign + Ministers during his stay being Count Richberg, Count Mensdorff, and + Baron Beust. Austria was so far removed from any real contact with + our own country that, though the interest in our war may have been + languid, they did not pretend to a knowledge which might have + inclined them to controversy, while an instinct that we were acting + as a constituted government against rebellion rather inclined them + to sympathy. I think I may say that as he became known among them + his keen patriotism and high sense of honor and truth were fully + understood and appreciated, and that what he said always commanded a + sympathetic hearing among men with totally different political + ideas, but with chivalrous and loyal instincts to comprehend his + own. I shall never forget his account of the terrible day when the + news of Mr. Lincoln's death came. By some accident a rumor of it + reached him first through a colleague. He went straight to the + Foreign Office for news, hoping against hope, was received by Count + Mensdorff, who merely came forward and laid his arm about his + shoulder with an intense sympathy beyond words." + +Miss Motley, the historian's youngest daughter, has added a note to her +sister's communication:-- + + "During his residence in Vienna the most important negotiations + which he had to carry on with the Austrian Government were those + connected with the Mexican affair. Maximilian at one time applied + to his brother the Emperor for assistance, and he promised to accede + to his demand. Accordingly a large number of volunteers were + equipped and had actually embarked at Trieste, when a dispatch from + Seward arrived, instructing the American Minister to give notice to + the Austrian Government that if the troops sailed for Mexico he was + to leave Vienna at once. My father had to go at once to Count + Mensdorff with these instructions, and in spite of the Foreign + Minister being annoyed that the United States Government had not + sooner intimated that this extreme course would be taken, the + interview was quite amicable and the troops were not allowed to + sail. We were in Vienna during the war in which Denmark fought + alone against Austria and Prussia, and when it was over Bismarck + came to Vienna to settle the terms of peace with the Emperor. He + dined with us twice during his short stay, and was most delightful + and agreeable. When he and my father were together they seemed to + live over the youthful days they had spent together as students, + and many were the anecdotes of their boyish frolics which Bismarck + related." + + + + +XVII. + +1861-1863. AEt. 47-49. + +LETTERS FROM VIENNA. + +Soon after Mr. Motley's arrival in Vienna I received a long letter from +him, most of which relates to personal matters, but which contains a few +sentences of interest to the general reader as showing his zealous +labors, wherever he found himself, in behalf of the great cause then in +bloody debate in his own country: + + November 14, 1861. + + . . . What can I say to you of cis-Atlantic things? I am almost + ashamed to be away from home. You know that I had decided to + remain, and had sent for my family to come to America, when my + present appointment altered my plans. I do what good I can. I + think I made some impression on Lord John Russell, with whom I spent + two days soon after my arrival in England, and I talked very frankly + and as strongly as I could to Palmerston, and I have had long + conversations and correspondences with other leading men in England. + I have also had an hour's [conversation] with Thouvenel in Paris. I + hammered the Northern view into him as soundly as I could. For this + year there will be no foreign interference with us. I don't + anticipate it at any time, unless we bring it on ourselves by bad + management, which I don't expect. Our fate is in our own hands, and + Europe is looking on to see which side is strongest,--when it has + made the discovery it will back it as also the best and the most + moral. Yesterday I had my audience with the Emperor. He received + me with much cordiality, and seemed interested in a long account + which I gave him of our affairs. You may suppose I inculcated the + Northern views. We spoke in his vernacular, and he asked me + afterwards if I was a German. I mention this not from vanity, but + because he asked it with earnestness, and as if it had a political + significance. Of course I undeceived him. His appearance + interested me, and his manner is very pleasing. + +I continued to receive long and interesting letters from him at intervals +during his residence as Minister at Vienna. Relating as they often did +to public matters, about which he had private sources of information, his +anxiety that they should not get into print was perfectly natural. As, +however, I was at liberty to read his letters to others at my discretion, +and as many parts of these letters have an interest as showing how +American affairs looked to one who was behind the scenes in Europe, I may +venture to give some extracts without fear of violating the spirit of his +injunctions, or of giving offence to individuals. The time may come when +his extended correspondence can be printed in full with propriety, but it +must be in a future year and after it has passed into the hands of a +younger generation. Meanwhile these few glimpses at his life and records +of his feelings and opinions will help to make the portrait of the man we +are studying present itself somewhat more clearly. + + LEGATION of THE U. S. A., VIENNA, January 14, 1862. + + MY DEAR HOLMES,--I have two letters of yours, November 29 and + December 17, to express my thanks for. It is quite true that it is + difficult for me to write with the same feeling that inspires you,-- + that everything around the inkstand within a radius of a thousand + miles is full of deepest interest to writer and reader. I don't + even intend to try to amuse you with Vienna matters. What is it to + you that we had a very pleasant dinner-party last week at Prince + Esterhazy's, and another this week at Prince Liechtenstein's, and + that to-morrow I am to put on my cocked hat and laced coat to make a + visit to her Imperial Majesty, the Empress Mother, and that to-night + there is to be the first of the assembly balls, the Vienna Almack's, + at which--I shall be allowed to absent myself altogether? + + It strikes me that there is likely to be left a fair field for us a + few months longer, say till midsummer. The Trent affair I shall not + say much about, except to state that I have always been for giving + up the prisoners. I was awfully afraid, knowing that the demand had + gone forth,-- + + "Send us your prisoners or you'll hear of it," + + that the answer would have come back in the Hotspur vein-- + + 'And if the Devil come and roar for them, + We will not send them." + + The result would have been most disastrous, for in order to secure a + most trifling advantage,--that of keeping Mason and Slidell at Fort + Warren a little longer,--we should have turned our backs on all the + principles maintained by us when neutral, and should have been + obliged to accept a war at an enormous disadvantage. . . . + + But I hardly dared to hope that we should have obtained such a + victory as we have done. To have disavowed the illegal transaction + at once,--before any demand came from England,--to have placed that + disavowal on the broad ground of principle which we have always + cherished, and thus with a clear conscience, and to our entire + honor, to have kept ourselves clear from a war which must have given + the Confederacy the invincible alliance of England,--was exactly + what our enemies in Europe did not suppose us capable of doing. But + we have done it in the handsomest manner, and there is not one + liberal heart in this hemisphere that is not rejoiced, nor one hater + of us and of our institutions that is not gnashing his teeth with + rage. + +The letter of ten close pages from which I have quoted these passages is +full of confidential information, and contains extracts from letters of +leading statesmen. If its date had been 1762, I might feel authorized in +disobeying its injunctions of privacy. I must quote one other sentence, +as it shows his animus at that time towards a distinguished statesman of +whom he was afterwards accused of speaking in very hard terms by an +obscure writer whose intent was to harm him. In speaking of the Trent +affair, Mr. Motley says: "The English premier has been foiled by our much +maligned Secretary of State, of whom, on this occasion at least, one has +the right to say, with Sir Henry Wotton,-- + + 'His armor was his honest thought, + And simple truth his utmost skill.'" + +"He says at the close of this long letter: + + 'I wish I could bore you about something else but American politics. + But there is nothing else worth thinking of in the world. All else + is leather and prunella. We are living over again the days of the + Dutchmen or the seventeenth-century Englishmen.'" + +My next letter, of fourteen closely written pages, was of similar +character to the last. Motley could think of nothing but the great +conflict. He was alive to every report from America, listening too with +passionate fears or hopes, as the case might be, to the whispers not yet +audible to the world which passed from lip to lip of the statesmen who +were watching the course of events from the other side of the Atlantic +with the sweet complacency of the looker-on of Lucretius; too often +rejoicing in the storm that threatened wreck to institutions and an +organization which they felt to be a standing menace to the established +order of things in their older communities. + +A few extracts from this very long letter will be found to have a special +interest from the time at which they were written. + + LEGATION OF U. S. A., VIENNA, February 26, 1862. + + MY DEAR HOLMES,--. . . I take great pleasure in reading your + prophecies, and intend to be just as free in hazarding my own, for, + as you say, our mortal life is but a string of guesses at the + future, and no one but an idiot would be discouraged at finding + himself sometimes far out in his calculations. If I find you + signally right in any of your predictions, be sure that I will + congratulate and applaud. If you make mistakes, you shall never + hear of them again, and I promise to forget them. Let me ask the + same indulgence from you in return. This is what makes letter- + writing a comfort and journalizing dangerous. . . The ides of March + will be upon us before this letter reaches you. We have got to + squash the rebellion soon, or be squashed forever as a nation. I + don't pretend to judge military plans or the capacities of generals. + But, as you suggest, perhaps I can take a more just view of the + whole picture of the eventful struggle at this great distance than + do those absolutely acting and suffering on the scene. Nor can I + resist the desire to prophesy any more than you can do, knowing that + I may prove utterly mistaken. I say, then, that one great danger + comes from the chance of foreign interference. What will prevent + that? + + Our utterly defeating the Confederates in some great and conclusive + battle; or, + + Our possession of the cotton ports and opening them to European + trade; or, + + A most unequivocal policy of slave emancipation. + + Any one of these three conditions would stave off recognition by + foreign powers, until we had ourselves abandoned the attempt to + reduce the South to obedience. + + The last measure is to my mind the most important. The South has, + by going to war with the United States government, thrust into our + hands against our will the invincible weapon which constitutional + reasons had hitherto forbidden us to employ. At the same time it + has given us the power to remedy a great wrong to four millions of + the human race, in which we had hitherto been obliged to acquiesce. + We are threatened with national annihilation, and defied to use the + only means of national preservation. The question is distinctly + proposed to us, Shall Slavery die, or the great Republic? It is + most astounding to me that there can be two opinions in the free + States as to the answer. + + If we do fall, we deserve our fate. At the beginning of the + contest, constitutional scruples might be respectable. But now we + are fighting to subjugate the South; that is, Slavery. We are + fighting for nothing else that I know of. We are fighting for the + Union. Who wishes to destroy the Union? The slaveholder, nobody + else. Are we to spend twelve hundred millions, and raise six + hundred thousand soldiers, in order to protect slavery? It really + does seem to me too simple for argument. I am anxiously waiting for + the coming Columbus who will set this egg of ours on end by smashing + in the slavery end. We shall be rolling about in every direction + until that is done. I don't know that it is to be done by + proclamation. Rather perhaps by facts. . . . Well, I console + myself with thinking that the people--the American people, at least + --is about as wise collectively as less numerous collections of + individuals, and that the people has really declared emancipation, + and is only puzzling how to carry it into effect. After all, it + seems to be a law of Providence, that progress should be by a spiral + movement; so that when it seems most tortuous, we may perhaps be + going ahead. I am firm in the faith that slavery is now wriggling + itself to death. With slavery in its pristine vigor, I should think + the restored Union neither possible nor desirable. Don't understand + me as not taking into account all the strategical considerations + against premature governmental utterances on this great subject. + But are there any trustworthy friends to the Union among the + slaveholders? Should we lose many Kentuckians and Virginians who + are now with us, if we boldly confiscated the slaves of all rebels? + --and a confiscation of property which has legs and so confiscates + itself, at command, is not only a legal, but would prove a very + practical measure in time of war. In brief, the time is fast + approaching, I think, when 'Thorough' should be written on all our + banners. Slavery will never accept a subordinate position. The + great Republic and Slavery cannot both survive. We have been defied + to mortal combat, and yet we hesitate to strike. These are my poor + thoughts on this great subject. Perhaps you will think them crude. + I was much struck with what you quote from Mr. Conway, that if + emancipation was proclaimed on the Upper Mississippi it would be + known to the negroes of Louisiana in advance of the telegraph. And + if once the blacks had leave to run, how many whites would have to + stay at home to guard their dissolving property? + + You have had enough of my maunderings. But before I conclude them, + may I ask you to give all our kindest regards to Lowell, and to + express our admiration for the Yankee Idyl. I am afraid of using + too extravagant language if I say all I think about it. Was there + ever anything more stinging, more concentrated, more vigorous, more + just? He has condensed into those few pages the essence of a + hundred diplomatic papers and historical disquisitions and Fourth of + July orations. I was dining a day or two since with his friend + Lytton (Bulwer's son, attache here) and Julian Fane (secretary of + the embassy), both great admirers of him,--and especially of the + "Biglow Papers;" they begged me to send them the Mason and Slidell + Idyl, but I wouldn't,--I don't think it is in English nature + (although theirs is very cosmopolitan and liberal) to take such + punishment and come up smiling. I would rather they got it in some + other way, and then told me what they thought voluntarily. + + I have very pleasant relations with all the J. B.'s here. They are + all friendly and well disposed to the North,--I speak of the + embassy, which, with the ambassador and ---dress, numbers eight or + ten souls, some of them very intellectual ones. There are no other + J. B.'s here. I have no fear at present of foreign interference. + We have got three or four months to do our work in,--a fair field + and no favor. There is no question whatever that the Southern + commissioners have been thoroughly snubbed in London and Paris. + There is to be a blockade debate in Parliament next week, but no bad + consequences are to be apprehended. The Duke de Gramont (French + ambassador, and an intimate friend of the Emperor) told my wife last + night that it was entirely false that the Emperor had ever urged the + English government to break the blockade. "Don't believe it,--don't + believe a word of it," he said. He has always held that language to + me. He added that Prince Napoleon had just come out with a strong + speech about us,--you will see it, doubtless, before you get this + letter,--but it has not yet reached us. + + Shall I say anything of Austria,--what can I say that would interest + you? That's the reason why I hate to write. All my thoughts are in + America. Do you care to know about the Archduke Ferdinand + Maximilian, that shall be King hereafter of Mexico (if L. N. has his + way)? He is next brother to the Emperor, but although I have had + the honor of private audiences of many archdukes here, this one is a + resident of Trieste. + + He is about thirty,--has an adventurous disposition,--some + imagination,--a turn for poetry,--has voyaged a good deal about the + world in the Austrian ship-of-war,--for in one respect he much + resembles that unfortunate but anonymous ancestor of his, the King + of Bohemia with the seven castles, who, according to Corporal Trim, + had such a passion for navigation and sea-affairs, "with never a + seaport in all his dominions." But now the present King of Bohemia + has got the sway of Trieste, and is Lord High Admiral and Chief of + the Marine Department. He has been much in Spain, also in South + America; I have read some travels, "Reise Skizzen," of his--printed, + not published. They are not without talent, and he ever and anon + relieves his prose jog-trot by breaking into a canter of poetry. He + adores bull-fights, and rather regrets the Inquisition, and + considers the Duke of Alva everything noble and chivalrous, and the + most abused of men. It would do your heart good to hear his + invocations to that deeply injured shade, and his denunciations of + the ignorant and vulgar protestants who have defamed him. (N.B. + Let me observe that the R. of the D. R. was not published until long + after the "Reise Skizzen" were written.) 'Du armer Alva! weil du + dem Willen deines Herrn unerschiitterlich treu vast, weil die + festbestimmten grundsatze der Regierung,' etc., etc., etc. You + can imagine the rest. Dear me! I wish I could get back to the + sixteenth and seventeenth century. . . . But alas! the events + of the nineteenth are too engrossing. + + If Lowell cares to read this letter, will you allow me to "make it + over to him jointly," as Captain Cuttle says. I wished to write to + him, but I am afraid only you would tolerate my writing so much when + I have nothing to say. If he would ever send me a line I should be + infinitely obliged, and would quickly respond. We read the "Washers + of the Shroud" with fervid admiration. + + Always remember me most sincerely to the Club, one and all. It + touches me nearly when you assure me that I am not forgotten by + them. To-morrow is Saturday and the last of the month.--[See + Appendix A.]--We are going to dine with our Spanish colleague. But + the first bumper of the Don's champagne I shall drain to the health + of my Parker House friends. + +From another long letter dated August 31, 1862, I extract the following +passages:-- + + "I quite agree in all that you said in your last letter. 'The imp + of secession can't reenter its mother's womb.' It is merely + childish to talk of the Union 'as it was.' You might as well bring + back the Saxon Heptarchy. But the great Republic is destined to + live and flourish, I can't doubt. . . . Do you remember that + wonderful scene in Faust in which Mephistopheles draws wine for the + rabble with a gimlet out of the wooden table; and how it changes to + fire as they drink it, and how they all go mad, draw their knives, + grasp each other by the nose, and think they are cutting off bunches + of grapes at every blow, and how foolish they all look when they + awake from the spell and see how the Devil has been mocking them? + It always seems to me a parable of the great Secession. + + "I repeat, I can't doubt as to the ultimate result. But I dare say + we have all been much mistaken in our calculations as to time. + Days, months, years, are nothing in history. Men die, man is + immortal, practically, even on this earth. We are so impatient,-- + and we are always watching for the last scene of the tragedy. Now I + humbly opine that the drop is only about falling on the first act, + or perhaps only the prologue. This act or prologue will be called, + in after days, War for the status quo. "Such enthusiasm, heroism, + and manslaughter as status quo could inspire, has, I trust, been not + entirely in vain, but it has been proved insufficient. + + "I firmly believe that when the slaveholders declared war on the + United States government they began a series of events that, in the + logical chain of history, cannot come to a conclusion until the last + vestige of slavery is gone. Looking at the whole field for a moment + dispassionately, objectively, as the dear Teutonic philosophers say, + and merely as an exhibition of phenomena, I cannot imagine any other + issue. Everything else may happen. This alone must happen. + + "But after all this isn't a war. It is a revolution. It is n't + strategists that are wanted so much as believers. In revolutions + the men who win are those who are in earnest. Jeff and Stonewall + and the other Devil-worshippers are in earnest, but it was not + written in the book of fate that the slaveholders' rebellion should + be vanquished by a pro-slavery general. History is never so + illogical. No, the coming 'man on horseback' on our side must be a + great strategist, with the soul of that insane lion, mad old John + Brown, in his belly. That is your only Promethean recipe:-- + + 'et insani leonis + Vim stomacho apposuisse nostro.' + + "I don't know why Horace runs so in my head this morning. . . . + + "There will be work enough for all; but I feel awfully fidgety just + now about Port Royal and Hilton Head, and about affairs generally + for the next three months. After that iron-clads and the new levies + must make us invincible." + +In another letter, dated November 2, 1862, he expresses himself very +warmly about his disappointment in the attitude of many of his old +English friends with reference to our civil conflict. He had recently +heard the details of the death of "the noble Wilder Dwight." + + "It is unnecessary," he says, "to say how deeply we were moved. I + had the pleasure of knowing him well, and I always appreciated his + energy, his manliness, and his intelligent cheerful heroism. I look + back upon him now as a kind of heroic type of what a young New + Englander ought to be and was. I tell you that one of these days-- + after a generation of mankind has passed away--these youths will + take their places in our history, and be regarded by the young men + and women now unborn with the admiration which the Philip Sidneys + and the Max Piccolominis now inspire. After all, what was your + Chevy Chace to stir blood with like a trumpet? What noble + principle, what deathless interest, was there at stake? Nothing but + a bloody fight between a lot of noble gamekeepers on one side and of + noble poachers on the other. And because they fought well and + hacked each other to pieces like devils, they have been heroes for + centuries." + +The letter was written in a very excited state of feeling, and runs over +with passionate love of country and indignation at the want of sympathy +with the cause of freedom which he had found in quarters where he had not +expected such coldness or hostile tendencies. + +From a letter dated Vienna, September 22, 1863. + + . . . "When you wrote me last you said on general matters this: + 'In a few days we shall get the news of the success or failure of + the attacks on Port Hudson and Vicksburg. If both are successful, + many will say that the whole matter is about settled.' You may + suppose that when I got the great news I shook hands warmly with you + in the spirit across the Atlantic. Day by day for so long we had + been hoping to hear the fall of Vicksburg. At last when that little + concentrated telegram came, announcing Vicksburg and Gettysburg on + the same day and in two lines, I found myself almost alone. . . . + There was nobody in the house to join in my huzzahs but my youngest + infant. And my conduct very much resembled that of the excellent + Philip II. when he heard the fall of Antwerp,--for I went to her + door, screeching through the key-hole 'Vicksburg is ours!' just as + that other 'pere de famille,' more potent, but I trust not more + respectable than I, conveyed the news to his Infanta. (Fide, for + the incident, an American work on the Netherlands, i. p. 263, and + the authorities there cited.) It is contemptible on my part to + speak thus frivolously of events which will stand out in such golden + letters so long as America has a history, but I wanted to illustrate + the yearning for sympathy which I felt. You who were among people + grim and self-contained usually, who, I trust, were falling on each + other's necks in the public streets, shouting, with tears in their + eyes and triumph in their hearts, can picture my isolation. + + "I have never faltered in my faith, and in the darkest hours, when + misfortunes seemed thronging most thickly upon us, I have never felt + the want of anything to lean against; but I own I did feel like + shaking hands with a few hundred people when I heard of our Fourth + of July, 1863, work, and should like to have heard and joined in an + American cheer or two. + + "I have not much to say of matters here to interest you. We have + had an intensely hot, historically hot, and very long and very dry + summer. I never knew before what a drought meant. In Hungary the + suffering is great, and the people are killing the sheep to feed the + pigs with the mutton. Here about Vienna the trees have been almost + stripped of foliage ever since the end of August. There is no glory + in the grass nor verdure in anything. + + "In fact, we have nothing green here but the Archduke Max, who + firmly believes that he is going forth to Mexico to establish an + American empire, and that it is his divine mission to destroy the + dragon of democracy and reestablish the true Church, the Right + Divine, and all sorts of games. Poor young man! . . . + + "Our information from home is to the 12th. Charleston seems to be + in 'articulo mortis,' but how forts nowadays seem to fly in the face + of Scripture. Those founded on a rock, and built of it, fall easily + enough under the rain of Parrotts and Dahlgrens, while the house + built of sand seems to bid defiance to the storm." + +In quoting from these confidential letters I have been restrained from +doing full justice to their writer by the fact that he spoke with such +entire freedom of persons as well as events. But if they could be read +from beginning to end, no one could help feeling that his love for his +own country, and passionate absorption of every thought in the strife +upon which its existence as a nation depended, were his very life during +all this agonizing period. He can think and talk of nothing else, or, +if he turns for a moment to other subjects, he reverts to the one great +central interest of "American politics," of which he says in one of the +letters from which I have quoted, "There is nothing else worth thinking +of in the world." + +But in spite of his public record as the historian of the struggle for +liberty and the champion of its defenders, and while every letter he +wrote betrayed in every word the intensity of his patriotic feeling, he +was not safe against the attacks of malevolence. A train laid by unseen +hands was waiting for the spark to kindle it, and this came at last in +the shape of a letter from an unknown individual,--a letter the existence +of which ought never to have been a matter of official recognition. + + + + +XVIII. + +1866-1867. AEt. 52-43. + +RESIGNATION OF HIS OFFICE.--CAUSES OF HIS RESIGNATION. + +It is a relief to me that just here, where I come to the first of two +painful episodes in this brilliant and fortunate career, I can preface my +statement with the generous words of one who speaks with authority of his +predecessor in office. + +The Hon. John Jay, Ex-Minister to Austria, in the tribute to the memory +of Motley read at a meeting of the New York Historical Society, wrote as +follows:-- + + "In singular contrast to Mr. Motley's brilliant career as an + historian stands the fact recorded in our diplomatic annals that he + was twice forced from the service as one who had forfeited the + confidence of the American government. This society, while he was + living, recognized his fame as a statesman, diplomatist, and + patriot, as belonging to America, and now that death has closed the + career of Seward, Sumner, and Motley, it will be remembered that the + great historian, twice humiliated, by orders from Washington, before + the diplomacy and culture of Europe, appealed from the passions of + the hour to the verdict of history. + + "Having succeeded Mr. Motley at Vienna some two years after his + departure, I had occasion to read most of his dispatches, which + exhibited a mastery of the subjects of which they treated, with much + of the clear perception, the scholarly and philosophic tone and + decided judgment, which, supplemented by his picturesque + description, full of life and color, have given character to his + histories. They are features which might well have served to extend + the remark of Madame de Stael that a great historian is almost a + statesman. I can speak also from my own observation of the + reputation which Motley left in the Austrian capital. + Notwithstanding the decision with which, under the direction of Mr. + Seward, he had addressed the minister of foreign affairs, Count + Mensdorff, afterwards the Prince Diedrickstein, protesting against + the departure of an Austrian force of one thousand volunteers, who + were about to embark for Mexico in aid of the ill-fated Maximilian, + --a protest which at the last moment arrested the project,--Mr. + Motley and his amiable family were always spoken of in terms of + cordial regard and respect by members of the imperial family and + those eminent statesmen, Count de Beust and Count Andrassy. His + death, I am sure, is mourned to-day by the representatives of the + historic names of Austria and Hungary, and by the surviving + diplomats then residing near the Court of Vienna, wherever they may + still be found, headed by their venerable Doyen, the Baron de + Heckeren." + +The story of Mr. Motley's resignation of his office and its acceptance by +the government is this. + +The President of the United States, Andrew Johnson, received a letter +professing to be written from the Hotel Meurice, Paris, dated October 23, +1866, and signed "George W. M'Crackin, of New York." This letter was +filled with accusations directed against various public agents, +ministers, and consuls, representing the United States in different +countries. Its language was coarse, its assertions were improbable, its +spirit that of the lowest of party scribblers. It was bitter against New +England, especially so against Massachusetts, and it singled out Motley +for the most particular abuse. I think it is still questioned whether +there was any such person as the one named,--at any rate, it bore the +characteristic marks of those vulgar anonymous communications which +rarely receive any attention unless they are important enough to have the +police set on the track of the writer to find his rathole, if possible. +A paragraph in the "Daily Advertiser" of June 7, 1869, quotes from a +Western paper a story to the effect that one William R. M'Crackin, who +had recently died at ----- confessed to having written the M' Crackin +letter. Motley, he said, had snubbed him and refused to lend him money. +"He appears to have been a Bohemian of the lowest order." Between such +authorship and the anonymous there does not seem to be much to choose. +But the dying confession sounds in my ears as decidedly apocryphal. As +for the letter, I had rather characterize it than reproduce it. It is an +offence to decency and a disgrace to the national record on which it is +found. This letter of "George W. M'Crackin" passed into the hands of +Mr. Seward, the Secretary of State. Most gentlemen, I think, would have +destroyed it on the spot, as it was not fit for the waste-basket. Some, +more cautious, might have smothered it among the piles of their private +communications. If any notice was taken of it, one would say that a +private note to each of the gentlemen attacked might have warned him that +there were malicious eavesdroppers about, ready to catch up any careless +expression he might let fall and make a scandalous report of it to his +detriment. + +The secretary, acquiescing without resistance in a suggestion of the +President, saw fit to address a formal note to several of the gentlemen +mentioned in the M'Crackin letter, repeating some of its offensive +expressions, and requesting those officials to deny or confirm the report +that they had uttered them. + +A gentleman who is asked whether he has spoken in a "malignant" or +"offensive" manner, whether he has "railed violently and shamefully" +against the President of the United States, or against anybody else, +might well wonder who would address such a question to the humblest +citizen not supposed to be wanting in a common measure of self-respect. +A gentleman holding an important official station in a foreign country, +receiving a letter containing such questions, signed by the prime +minister of his government, if he did not think himself imposed upon by a +forgery, might well consider himself outraged. It was a letter of this +kind which was sent by the Secretary of State to the Minister +Plenipotentiary to the Empire of Austria. Not quite all the vulgar +insolence of the M'Crackin letter was repeated. Mr. Seward did not ask +Mr. Motley to deny or confirm the assertion of the letter that he was a +"thorough flunky" and "un-American functionary." But he did insult him +with various questions suggested by the anonymous letter,--questions that +must have been felt as an indignity by the most thick-skinned of battered +politicians. + +Mr. Motley was very sensitive, very high-spirited, very impulsive, very +patriotic, and singularly truthful. The letter of Mr. Seward to such a +man was like a buffet on the cheek of an unarmed officer. It stung like +the thrust of a stiletto. It roused a resentment that could not find any +words to give it expression. He could not wait to turn the insult over +in his mind, to weigh the exact amount of affront in each question, to +take counsel, to sleep over it, and reply to it with diplomatic measure +and suavity. One hour had scarcely elapsed before his answer was +written. As to his feelings as an American, he appeals to his record. +This might have shown that if he erred it was on the side of enthusiasm +and extravagant expressions of reverence for the American people during +the heroic years just passed. He denounces the accusations as pitiful +fabrications and vile calumny. He blushes that such charges could have +been uttered; he is deeply wounded that Mr. Seward could have listened to +such falsehood. He does not hesitate to say what his opinions are with +reference to home questions, and especially to that of reconstruction. + + "These opinions," he says, "in the privacy of my own household, and + to occasional American visitors, I have not concealed. The great + question now presenting itself for solution demands the + conscientious scrutiny of every American who loves his country and + believes in the human progress of which that country is one of the + foremost representatives. I have never thought, during my residence + at Vienna, that because I have the honor of being a public servant + of the American people I am deprived of the right of discussing + within my own walls the gravest subjects that can interest freemen. + A minister of the United States does not cease to be a citizen of + the United States, as deeply interested as others in all that + relates to the welfare of his country." + +Among the "occasional American visitors" spoken of above must have been +some of those self-appointed or hired agents called "interviewers," who +do for the American public what the Venetian spies did for the Council of +Ten, what the familiars of the Inquisition did for the priesthood, who +invade every public man's privacy, who listen at every key-hole, who +tamper with every guardian of secrets; purveyors to the insatiable +appetite of a public which must have a slain reputation to devour with +its breakfast, as the monster of antiquity called regularly for his +tribute of a spotless virgin. + +The "interviewer" has his use, undoubtedly, and often instructs and +amuses his public with gossip they could not otherwise listen to. He +serves the politician by repeating the artless and unstudied remarks +which fall from his lips in a conversation which the reporter has been +invited to take notes of. He tickles the author's vanity by showing him +off as he sits in his library unconsciously uttering the engaging items +of self-portraiture which, as he well knows, are to be given to the +public in next week's illustrated paper. The feathered end of his shaft +titillates harmlessly enough, but too often the arrowhead is crusted with +a poison worse than the Indian gets by mingling the wolf's gall with the +rattlesnake's venom. No man is safe whose unguarded threshold the +mischief-making questioner has crossed. The more unsuspecting, the more +frank, the more courageous, the more social is the subject of his +vivisection, the more easily does he get at his vital secrets, if he has +any to be extracted. No man is safe if the hearsay reports of his +conversation are to be given to the public without his own careful +revision. When we remember that a proof-text bearing on the mighty +question of the future life, words of supreme significance, uttered as +they were in the last hour, and by the lips to which we listen as to none +other,--that this text depends for its interpretation on the position of +a single comma, we can readily see what wrong may be done by the +unintentional blunder of the most conscientious reporter. But too +frequently it happens that the careless talk of an honest and high-minded +man only reaches the public after filtering through the drain of some +reckless hireling's memory,--one who has played so long with other men's +characters and good name that he forgets they have any value except to +fill out his morning paragraphs. + +Whether the author of the scandalous letter which it was disgraceful to +the government to recognize was a professional interviewer or only a +malicious amateur, or whether he was a paid "spotter," sent by some +jealous official to report on the foreign ministers as is sometimes done +in the case of conductors of city horsecars, or whether the dying +miscreant before mentioned told the truth, cannot be certainly known. +But those who remember Mr. Hawthorne's account of his consular +experiences at Liverpool are fully aware to what intrusions and +impertinences and impositions our national representatives in other +countries are subjected. Those fellow-citizens who "often came to the +consulate in parties of half a dozen or more, on no business whatever, +but merely to subject their public servant to a rigid examination, and +see how he was getting on with his duties," may very possibly have +included among them some such mischief-maker as the author of the odious +letter which received official recognition. Mr. Motley had spoken in one +of his histories of "a set of venomous familiars who glided through every +chamber and coiled themselves at every fireside." He little thought that +under his own roof he himself was to be the victim of an equally base +espionage. + +It was an insult on the part of the government to have sent Mr. Motley +such a letter with such questions as were annexed to it. No very exact +rule can be laid down as to the manner in which an insult shall be dealt +with. Something depends on temperament, and his was of the warmer +complexion. His first impulse, he says, was to content himself with a +flat denial of the truth of the accusations. But his scrupulous honesty +compelled him to make a plain statement of his opinions, and to avow the +fact that he had made no secret of them in conversation under conditions +where he had a right to speak freely of matters quite apart from his +official duties. His answer to the accusation was denial of its charges; +his reply to the insult was his resignation. + +It may be questioned whether this was the wisest course, but wisdom is +often disconcerted by an indignity, and even a meek Christian may forget +to turn the other cheek after receiving the first blow until the natural +man has asserted himself by a retort in kind. But the wrong was +committed; his resignation was accepted; the vulgar letter, not fit to be +spread out on these pages, is enrolled in the records of the nation, and +the first deep wound was inflicted on the proud spirit of one whose +renown had shed lustre on the whole country. + +That the burden of this wrong may rest where it belongs, I quote the +following statement from Mr. Jay's paper, already referred to. + + "It is due to the memory of Mr. Seward to say, and there would seem + now no further motive for concealing the truth, that I was told in + Europe, on what I regarded as reliable authority, that there was + reason to believe that on the receipt of Mr. Motley's resignation + Mr. Seward had written to him declining to accept it, and that this + letter, by a telegraphic order of President Johnson, had been + arrested in the hands of a dispatch agent before its delivery to Mr. + Motley, and that the curt letter of the 18th of April had been + substituted in its stead." + +The Hon. John Bigelow, late Minister to France, has published an article +in "The International Review" for July-August, 1878, in which he defends +his late friend Mr. Seward's action in this matter at the expense of the +President, Mr. Andrew Johnson, and not without inferences unfavorable to +the discretion of Mr. Motley. Many readers will think that the simple +record of Mr. Seward's unresisting acquiescence in the action of the +President is far from being to his advantage. I quote from his own +conversation as carefully reported by his friend Mr. Bigelow. "Mr. +Johnson was in a state of intense irritation, and more or less suspicious +of everybody about him."--"Instead of throwing the letter into the fire," +the President handed it to him, the secretary, and suggested answering +it, and without a word, so far as appears, he simply answered, +"Certainly, sir." Again, the secretary having already written to Mr. +Motley that "his answer was satisfactory," the President, on reaching the +last paragraph of Mr. Motley's letter, in which he begged respectfully to +resign his post, "without waiting to learn what Mr. Seward had done or +proposed to do, exclaimed, with a not unnatural asperity, 'Well, let him +go,' and 'on hearing this,' said Mr. Seward, laughing, 'I did not read my +dispatch.'" Many persons will think that the counsel for the defence has +stated the plaintiff's case so strongly that there is nothing left for +him but to show his ingenuity and his friendship for the late secretary +in a hopeless argument. At any rate, Mr. Seward appears not to have made +the slightest effort to protect Mr. Motley against his coarse and jealous +chief at two critical moments, and though his own continuance in office +may have been more important to the State than that of the Vicar of Bray +was to the Church, he ought to have risked something, as it seems to me, +to shield such a patriot, such a gentleman, such a scholar, from ignoble +treatment; he ought to have been as ready to guard Mr. Motley from wrong +as Mr. Bigelow has shown himself to shield Mr. Seward from reproach, and +his task, if more delicate, was not more difficult. I am willing to +accept Mr. Bigelow's loyal and honorable defence of his friend's memory +as the best that could be said for Mr. Seward, but the best defence in +this case is little better than an impeachment. As for Mr. Johnson, he +had held the weapon of the most relentless of the 'Parcae' so long that +his suddenly clipping the thread of a foreign minister's tenure of office +in a fit of jealous anger is not at all surprising. + +Thus finished Mr. Motley's long and successful diplomatic service at the +Court of Austria. He may have been judged hasty in resigning his place; +he may have committed himself in expressing his opinions too strongly +before strangers, whose true character as spies and eavesdroppers he was +too high-minded to suspect. But no caution could have protected him +against a slanderer who hated the place he came from, the company he +kept, the name he had made famous, to whom his very look and bearing-- +such as belong to a gentleman of natural refinement and good breeding-- +must have been a personal grievance and an unpardonable offence. + +I will add, in illustration of what has been said, and as showing his +feeling with reference to the matter, an extract from a letter to me from +Vienna, dated the 12th of March, 1867. + + . . . "As so many friends and so many strangers have said so much + that is gratifying to me in public and private on this very painful + subject, it would be like affectation, in writing to so old a friend + as you, not to touch upon it. I shall confine myself, however, to + one fact, which, so far as I know, may be new to you. + + "Geo. W. M'Cracken is a man and a name utterly unknown to me. + + "With the necessary qualification which every man who values truth + must make when asserting such a negation,--viz., to the very best of + my memory and belief,--I never set eyes on him nor heard of him + until now, in the whole course of my life. Not a member of my + family or of the legation has the faintest recollection of any such + person. I am quite convinced that he never saw me nor heard the + sound of my voice. That his letter was a tissue of vile calumnies, + shameless fabrications, and unblushing and contemptible falsehoods, + --by whomsoever uttered,--I have stated in a reply to what ought + never to have been an official letter. No man can regret more than + I do that such a correspondence is enrolled in the capital among + American state papers. I shall not trust myself to speak of the + matter. It has been a sufficiently public scandal." + + + + +XIX. + +1867-1868. AEt. 53-54. + +LAST TWO VOLUMES OF THE "HISTORY OF THE UNITED NETHERLANDS."--GENERAL +CRITICISMS OF DUTCH SCHOLARS ON MOTLEY'S HISTORICAL WORKS. + +In his letter to me of March 12, 1867, just cited, Mr. Motley writes:-- + + "My two concluding volumes of the United Netherlands are passing + rapidly through the press. Indeed, Volume III. is entirely printed + and a third of Volume IV. + + "If I live ten years longer I shall have probably written the + natural sequel to the first two works,--viz., the Thirty Years' War. + After that I shall cease to scourge the public. + + "I don't know whether my last two volumes are good or bad; I only + know that they are true--but that need n't make them amusing. + + "Alas! one never knows when one becomes a bore." + +In 1868 the two concluding volumes of the "History of the Netherlands" +were published at the same time in London and in New York. The events +described and the characters delineated in these two volumes had, +perhaps, less peculiar interest for English and American readers than +some of those which had lent attraction to the preceding ones. There was +no scene like the siege of Antwerp, no story like that of the Spanish +Armada. There were no names that sounded to our ears like those of Sir +Philip Sidney and Leicester and Amy Robsart. But the main course of his +narrative flowed on with the same breadth and depth of learning and the +same brilliancy of expression. The monumental work continued as nobly as +it had begun. The facts had been slowly, quietly gathered, one by one, +like pebbles from the empty channel of a brook. The style was fluent, +impetuous, abundant, impatient, as it were, at times, and leaping the +sober boundaries prescribed to it, like the torrent which rushes through +the same channel when the rains have filled it. Thus there was matter +for criticism in his use of language. He was not always careful in the +construction of his sentences. He introduced expressions now and then +into his vocabulary which reminded one of his earlier literary efforts. +He used stronger language at times than was necessary, coloring too +highly, shading too deeply in his pictorial delineations. To come to the +matter of his narrative, it must be granted that not every reader will +care to follow him through all the details of diplomatic intrigues which +he has with such industry and sagacity extricated from the old +manuscripts in which they had long lain hidden. But we turn a few pages +and we come to one of those descriptions which arrest us at once and show +him in his power and brilliancy as a literary artist. His characters +move before us with the features of life; we can see Elizabeth, or +Philip, or Maurice, not as a name connected with events, but as a +breathing and acting human being, to be loved or hated, admired or +despised, as if he or she were our contemporary. That all his judgments +would not be accepted as final we might easily anticipate; he could not +help writing more or less as a partisan, but he was a partisan on the +side of freedom in politics and religion, of human nature as against +every form of tyranny, secular or priestly, of noble manhood wherever he +saw it as against meanness and violence and imposture, whether clad in +the soldier's mail or the emperor's purple. His sternest critics, and +even these admiring ones, were yet to be found among those who with +fundamental beliefs at variance with his own followed him in his long +researches among the dusty annals of the past. + +The work of the learned M. Groen van Prinsterer,--[Maurice et Barnevelt, +Etude Historique. Utrecht, 1875.]--devoted expressly to the revision and +correction of what the author considers the erroneous views of Mr. Motley +on certain important points, bears, notwithstanding, such sincere and +hearty tribute to his industry, his acquisitions, his brilliant qualities +as a historian, that some extracts from it will be read, I think, with +interest. + + "My first interview, more than twenty years ago, with Mr. Lothrop + Motley, has left an indelible impression on my memory. + + "It was the 8th of August, 1853. A note is handed me from our + eminent archivist Bakhuyzen van den Brink. It informs me that I am + to receive a visit from an American, who, having been struck by the + analogies between the United Provinces and the United States, + between Washington and the founder of our independence, has + interrupted his diplomatic career to write the life of William the + First; that he has already given proof of ardor and perseverance, + having worked in libraries and among collections of manuscripts, + and that he is coming to pursue his studies at the Hague. + + "While I am surprised and delighted with this intelligence, I am + informed that Mr. Motley himself is waiting for my answer. My + eagerness to make the acquaintance of such an associate in my + sympathies and my labors may be well imagined. But how shall I + picture my surprise, in presently discovering that this unknown and + indefatigable fellow-worker has really read, I say read and reread, + our Quartos, our Folios, the enormous volumes of Bor, of van + Meteren, besides a multitude of books, of pamphlets, and even of + unedited documents. Already he is familiar with the events, the + changes of condition, the characteristic details of the life of his + and my hero. Not only is he acquainted with my Archives, but it + seems as if there was nothing in this voluminous collection of which + he was ignorant. . . . + + "In sending me the last volume of his 'History of the Foundation of + the Republic of the Netherlands,' Mr. Motley wrote to me: 'Without + the help of the Archives I could never have undertaken the difficult + task I had set myself, and you will have seen at least from my + numerous citations that I have made a sincere and conscientious + study of them.' Certainly in reading such a testimonial I + congratulated myself on the excellent fruit of my labors, but the + gratitude expressed to me by Mr. Motley was sincerely reciprocated. + The Archives are a scientific collection, and my 'Manual of National + History,' written in Dutch, hardly gets beyond the limits of my own + country. And here is a stranger, become our compatriot in virtue of + the warmth of his sympathies, who has accomplished what was not in + my power. By the detail and the charm of his narrative, by the + matter and form of a work which the universality of the English + language and numerous translations were to render cosmopolitan, Mr. + Motley, like that other illustrious historian, Prescott, lost to + science by too early death, has popularized in both hemispheres the + sublime devotion of the Prince of Orange, the exceptional and + providential destinies of my country, and the benedictions of the + Eternal for all those who trust in Him and tremble only at his + Word." + +The old Dutch scholar differs in many important points from Mr. Motley, +as might be expected from his creed and his life-long pursuits. This I +shall refer to in connection with Motley's last work, "John of +Barneveld." An historian among archivists and annalists reminds one of +Sir John Lubbock in the midst of his ant-hills. Undoubtedly he disturbs +the ants in their praiseworthy industry, much as his attentions may +flatter them. Unquestionably the ants (if their means of expressing +themselves were equal to their apparent intellectual ability) could teach +him many things that he has overlooked and correct him in many mistakes. +But the ants will labor ingloriously without an observer to chronicle +their doings, and the archivists and annalists will pile up facts forever +like so many articulates or mollusks or radiates, until the vertebrate +historian comes with his generalizing ideas, his beliefs, his prejudices, +his idiosyncrasies of all kinds, and brings the facts into a more or less +imperfect, but still organic series of relations. The history which is +not open to adverse criticism is worth little, except as material, for it +is written without taking cognizance of those higher facts about which +men must differ; of which Guizot writes as follows, as quoted in the work +of M. Groen van Prinsterer himself. + + "It is with facts that our minds are exercised, it has nothing but + facts as its materials, and when it discovers general laws these + laws are themselves facts which it determines. . . . In the + study of facts the intelligence may allow itself to be crushed; it + may lower, narrow, materialize itself; it may come to believe that + there are no facts except those which strike us at the first glance, + which come close to us, which fall, as we say, under our senses; a + great and gross error; there are remote facts, immense, obscure, + sublime, very difficult to reach, to observe, to describe, and which + are not any less facts for these reasons, and which man is not less + obliged to study and to know; and if he fails to recognize them or + forgets them, his thought will be prodigiously abashed, and all his + ideas carry the stamp of this deterioration." + +In that higher region of facts which belongs to the historian, whose +task it is to interpret as well as to transcribe, Mr. Motley showed, of +course, the political and religious school in which he had been brought +up. Every man has a right to his "personal equation" of prejudice, and +Mr. Motley, whose ardent temperament gave life to his writings, betrayed +his sympathies in the disputes of which he told the story, in a way to +insure sharp criticism from those of a different way of thinking. Thus +it is that in the work of M. Groen van Prinsterer, from which I have +quoted, he is considered as having been betrayed into error, while his +critic recognizes "his manifest desire to be scrupulously impartial and +truth-telling." And M. Fruin, another of his Dutch critics, says, "His +sincerity, his perspicacity, the accuracy of his laborious researches, +are incontestable." + +Some of the criticisms of Dutch scholars will be considered in the pages +which deal with his last work, "The Life of John of Barneveld." + + + + +XX. + +1868-1869. AEt. 54-55. + +VISIT TO AMERICA.--RESIDENCE AT NO. 2 PARK STREET, BOSTON.--ADDRESS ON +THE COMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.--ADDRESS ON HISTORIC PROGRESS AND +AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.--APPOINTED MINISTER TO ENGLAND. + +In June, 1868, Mr. Motley returned with his family to Boston, and +established himself in the house No. 2 Park Street. During his residence +here he entered a good deal into society, and entertained many visitors +in a most hospitable and agreeable way. + +On the 20th of October, 1868, he delivered an address before the Parker +Fraternity, in the Music Hall, by special invitation. Its title was +"Four Questions for the People, at the Presidential Election." This was +of course what is commonly called an electioneering speech, but a speech +full of noble sentiments and eloquent expression. Here are two of its +paragraphs:-- + + "Certainly there have been bitterly contested elections in this + country before. Party spirit is always rife, and in such vivid, + excitable, disputatious communities as ours are, and I trust always + will be, it is the very soul of freedom. To those who reflect upon + the means and end of popular government, nothing seems more stupid + than in grand generalities to deprecate party spirit. Why, + government by parties and through party machinery is the only + possible method by which a free government can accomplish the + purpose of its existence. The old republics of the past may be said + to have fallen, not because of party spirit, but because there was + no adequate machinery by which party spirit could develop itself + with facility and regularity. + + "And if our Republic be true to herself, the future of the human + race is assured by our example. No sweep of overwhelming armies, no + ponderous treatises on the rights of man, no hymns to liberty, + though set to martial music and resounding with the full diapason of + a million human throats, can exert so persuasive an influence as + does the spectacle of a great republic, occupying a quarter of the + civilized globe, and governed quietly and sagely by the people + itself." + +A large portion of this address is devoted to the proposition that it is +just and reasonable to pay our debts rather than to repudiate them, and +that the nation is as much bound to be honest as is the individual. "It +is an awful thing," he says, "that this should be a question at all," but +it was one of the points on which the election turned, for all that. + +In his advocacy of the candidate with whom, and the government of which +he became the head, his relations became afterwards so full of personal +antagonism, he spoke as a man of his ardent nature might be expected to +speak on such an occasion. No one doubts that his admiration of General +Grant's career was perfectly sincere, and no one at the present day can +deny that the great captain stood before the historian with such a record +as one familiar with the deeds of heroes and patriots might well consider +as entitling him to the honors too often grudged to the living to be +wasted on the dead. The speaker only gave voice to the widely prevailing +feelings which had led to his receiving the invitation to speak. The +time was one which called for outspoken utterance, and there was not a +listener whose heart did not warm as he heard the glowing words in which +the speaker recorded the noble achievements of the soldier who must in so +many ways have reminded him of his favorite character, William the +Silent. + +On the 16th of December of this same year, 1868, Mr. Motley delivered an +address before the New York Historical Society, on the occasion of the +sixty-fourth anniversary of its foundation. The president of the +society, Mr. Hamilton Fish, introduced the speaker as one "whose name +belongs to no single country, and to no single age. As a statesman and +diplomatist and patriot, he belongs to America; as a scholar, to the +world of letters; as a historian, all ages will claim him in the future." + +His subject was "Historic Progress and American Democracy." The +discourse is, to use his own words, "a rapid sweep through the eons and +the centuries," illustrating the great truth of the development of the +race from its origin to the time in which we are living. It is a long +distance from the planetary fact of the obliquity of the equator, which +gave the earth its alternation of seasons, and rendered the history, if +not the existence of man and of civilization a possibility, to the +surrender of General Lee under the apple-tree at Appomattox Court-House. +No one but a scholar familiar with the course of history could have +marshalled such a procession of events into a connected and intelligible +sequence. It is indeed a flight rather than a march; the reader is borne +along as on the wings of a soaring poem, and sees the rising and decaying +empires of history beneath him as a bird of passage marks the succession +of cities and wilds and deserts as he keeps pace with the sun in his +journey. + +Its eloquence, its patriotism, its crowded illustrations, drawn from +vast resources of knowledge, its epigrammatic axioms, its occasional +pleasantries, are all characteristic of the writer. + +Mr. Gulian C. Verplanck, the venerable senior member of the society, +proposed the vote of thanks to Mr. Motley with words of warm +commendation. + +Mr. William Cullen Bryant rose and said:-- + + "I take great pleasure in seconding the resolution which has just + been read. The eminent historian of the Dutch Republic, who has + made the story of its earlier days as interesting as that of Athens + and Sparta, and who has infused into the narrative the generous glow + of his own genius, has the highest of titles to be heard with + respectful attention by the citizens of a community which, in its + origin, was an offshoot of that renowned republic. And cheerfully + has that title been recognized, as the vast audience assembled here + to-night, in spite of the storm, fully testifies; and well has our + illustrious friend spoken of the growth of civilization and of the + improvement in the condition of mankind, both in the Old World--the + institutions of which he has so lately observed--and in the country + which is proud to claim him as one of her children." + +Soon after the election of General Grant, Mr. Motley received the +appointment of Minister to England. That the position was one which was +in many respects most agreeable to him cannot be doubted. Yet it was not +with unmingled feelings of satisfaction, not without misgivings which +warned him but too truly of the dangers about to encompass him, that he +accepted the place. He writes to me on April 16, 1869:-- + + "I feel anything but exultation at present,--rather the opposite + sensation. I feel that I am placed higher than I deserve, and at + the same time that I am taking greater responsibilities than ever + were assumed by me before. You will be indulgent to my mistakes and + shortcomings,--and who can expect to avoid them? But the world will + be cruel, and the times are threatening. I shall do my best,--but + the best may be poor enough,--and keep 'a heart for any fate.'" + + + + +XXI. + +1869-1870. AEt. 55-56. + +RECALL FROM THE ENGLISH MISSION.--ITS ALLEGED AND ITS PROBABLE REASONS. + +The misgivings thus expressed to me in confidence, natural enough in one +who had already known what it is to fall on evil days and evil tongues, +were but too well justified by after events. I could have wished to +leave untold the story of the English mission, an episode in Motley's +life full of heart-burnings, and long to be regretted as a passage of +American history. But his living appeal to my indulgence comes to me +from his grave as a call for his defence, however little needed, at least +as a part of my tribute to his memory. It is little needed, because the +case is clear enough to all intelligent readers of our diplomatic +history, and because his cause has been amply sustained by others in many +ways better qualified than myself to do it justice. The task is painful, +for if a wrong was done him it must be laid at the doors of those whom +the nation has delighted to honor, and whose services no error of +judgment or feeling or conduct can ever induce us to forget. If he +confessed him, self-liable, like the rest of us, to mistakes and +shortcomings, we must remember that the great officers of the government +who decreed his downfall were not less the subjects of human infirmity. + +The outline to be filled up is this: A new administration had just been +elected. The "Alabama Treaty," negotiated by Motley's predecessor, Mr. +Reverdy Johnson, had been rejected by the Senate. The minister was +recalled, and Motley, nominated without opposition and unanimously +confirmed by the Senate, was sent to England in his place. He was +welcomed most cordially on his arrival at Liverpool, and replied in a +similar strain of good feeling, expressing the same kindly sentiments +which may be found in his instructions. Soon after arriving in London +he had a conversation with Lord Clarendon, the British Foreign Secretary, +of which he sent a full report to his own government. While the reported +conversation was generally approved of in the government's dispatch +acknowledging it, it was hinted that some of its expressions were +stronger than were required by the instructions, and that one of its +points was not conveyed in precise conformity with the President's view. +The criticism was very gently worded, and the dispatch closed with a +somewhat guarded paragraph repeating the government's approbation. + +This was the first offence alleged against Mr. Motley. The second ground +of complaint was that he had shown written minutes of this conversation +to Lord Clarendon to obtain his confirmation of its exactness, and that +he had--as he said, inadvertently,--omitted to make mention to the +government of this circumstance until some weeks after the time of the +interview. + +He was requested to explain to Lord Clarendon that a portion of his +presentation and treatment of the subject discussed at the interview +immediately after his arrival was disapproved by the Secretary of State, +and he did so in a written communication, in which he used the very words +employed by Mr. Fish in his criticism of the conversation with Lord +Clarendon. An alleged mistake; a temperate criticism, coupled with a +general approval; a rectification of the mistake criticised. All this +within the first two months of Mr. Motley's official residence in London. + +No further fault was found with him, so far as appears, in the discharge +of his duties, to which he must have devoted himself faithfully, for he +writes to me, under the date of December 27, 1870: "I have worked harder +in the discharge of this mission than I ever did in my life." This from +a man whose working powers astonished the old Dutch archivist, Groen van +Prinsterer, means a good deal. + +More than a year had elapsed since the interview with Lord Clarendon, +which had been the subject of criticism. In the mean time a paper of +instructions was sent to Motley, dated September 25, 1869, in which the +points in the report of his interview which had been found fault with +are so nearly covered by similar expressions, that there seemed no real +ground left for difference between the government and the minister. +Whatever over-statement there had been, these new instructions would +imply that the government was now ready to go quite as far as the +minister had gone, and in some points to put the case still more +strongly. Everything was going on quietly. Important business had been +transacted, with no sign of distrust or discontent on the part of the +government as regarded Motley. Whatever mistake he was thought to have +committed was condoned by amicable treatment, neutralized by the virtual +indorsement of the government in the instructions of the 25th of +September, and obsolete as a ground of quarrel by lapse of time. The +question about which the misunderstanding, if such it deserves to be +called, had taken place, was no longer a possible source of disagreement, +as it had long been settled that the Alabama case should only be opened +again at the suggestion of the British government, and that it should be +transferred to Washington whenever that suggestion should again bring it +up for consideration. + +Such was the aspect of affairs at the American Legation in London. +No foreign minister felt more secure in his place than Mr. Motley. +"I thought myself," he says in the letter of December 27, "entirely in +the confidence of my own government, and I know that I had the thorough +confidence and the friendship of the leading personages in England." +All at once, on the first of July, 1870, a letter was written by the +Secretary of State, requesting him to resign. This gentle form of +violence is well understood in the diplomatic service. Horace Walpole +says, speaking of Lady Archibald Hamilton: "They have civilly asked her +and grossly forced her to ask civilly to go away, which she has done, +with a pension of twelve hundred a year." Such a request is like the +embrace of the "virgin" in old torture-chambers. She is robed in soft +raiment, but beneath it are the knife-blades which are ready to lacerate +and kill the victim, if he awaits the pressure of the machinery already +in motion. + +Mr. Motley knew well what was the logical order in an official execution, +and saw fit to let the government work its will upon him as its servant. +In November he was recalled. + +The recall of a minister under such circumstances is an unusual if not +an unprecedented occurrence. The government which appoints a citizen +to represent the country at a foreign court assumes a very serious +obligation to him. The next administration may turn him out and nothing +will be thought of it. He may be obliged to ask for his passports and +leave all at once if war is threatened between his own country and that +which he represents. He may, of course, be recalled for gross +misconduct. But his dismissal is very serious matter to him personally, +and not to be thought of on the ground of passion or caprice. Marriage +is a simple business, but divorce is a very different thing. The world +wants to know the reason of it; the law demands its justification. It +was a great blow to Mr. Motley, a cause of indignation to those who were +interested in him, a surprise and a mystery to the world in general. + +When he, his friends, and the public, all startled by this unexpected +treatment, looked to find an explanation of it, one was found which +seemed to many quite sufficient. Mr. Sumner had been prominent among +those who had favored his appointment. A very serious breach had taken +place between the President and Mr. Sumner on the important San Domingo +question. It was a quarrel, in short, neither more nor less, at least so +far as the President was concerned. The proposed San Domingo treaty had +just been rejected by the Senate, on the thirtieth day of June, and +immediately thereupon,--the very next day,--the letter requesting Mr. +Motley's resignation was issued by the executive. This fact was +interpreted as implying something more than a mere coincidence. +It was thought that Sumner's friend, who had been supported by him as +a candidate for high office, who shared many of his political ideas and +feelings, who was his intimate associate, his fellow-townsman, his +companion in scholarship and cultivation, his sympathetic co-laborer in +many ways, had been accounted and dealt with as the ally of an enemy, +and that the shaft which struck to the heart of the sensitive envoy had +glanced from the 'aes triplex' of the obdurate Senator. + +Mr. Motley wrote a letter to the Secretary of State immediately after his +recall, in which he reviewed his relations with the government from the +time of his taking office, and showed that no sufficient reason could be +assigned for the treatment to which he had been subjected. He referred +finally to the public rumor which assigned the President's hostility to +his friend Sumner, growing out of the San Domingo treaty question, as the +cause of his own removal, and to the coincidence between the dates of the +rejection of the treaty and his dismissal, with an evident belief that +these two occurrences were connected by something more than accident. + +To this, a reply was received from the Secretary of State's office, +signed by Mr. Fish, but so objectionable in its tone and expressions that +it has been generally doubted whether the paper could claim anything more +of the secretary's hand than his signature. It travelled back to the old +record of the conversation with Lord Clarendon, more than a year and a +half before, took up the old exceptions, warmed them over into +grievances, and joined with them whatever the 'captatores verborum,' +not extinct since Daniel Webster's time, could add to their number. +This was the letter which was rendered so peculiarly offensive by a most +undignified comparison which startled every well-bred reader. No answer +was possible to such a letter, and the matter rested until the death of +Mr. Motley caused it to be brought up once more for judgment. + +The Honorable John Jay, in his tribute to the memory of Mr. Motley, read +at a meeting of the New York Historical Society, vindicated his character +against the attacks of the late executive in such a way as to leave an +unfavorable impression as to the course of the government. Objection was +made on this account to placing the tribute upon the minutes of the +society. This led to a publication by Mr. Jay, entitled "Motley's Appeal +to History," in which the propriety of the society's action is +questioned, and the wrong done to him insisted upon and further +illustrated. + +The defence could not have fallen into better hands. Bearing a name +which is, in itself, a title to the confidence of the American people, +a diplomatist familiar with the rights, the customs, the traditions, the +courtesies, which belong to the diplomatic service, the successor of Mr. +Motley at Vienna, and therefore familiar with his official record, not +self-made, which too commonly means half-made, but with careful training +added to the instincts to which he had a right by inheritance, he could +not allow the memory of such a scholar, of such a high-minded lover of +his country, of so true a gentleman as Mr. Motley, to remain without +challenge under the stigma of official condemnation. I must refer to Mr. +Jay's memorial tribute as printed in the newspapers of the day, and to +his "Appeal" published in "The International Review," for his convincing +presentation of the case, and content myself with a condensed statement +of the general and special causes of complaint against Mr. Motley, and +the explanations which suggest themselves, as abundantly competent to +show the insufficiency of the reasons alleged by the government as an +excuse for the manner in which he was treated. + +The grounds of complaint against Mr. Motley are to be looked for:-- + +1. In the letter of Mr. Fish to Mr. Moran, of December 30, 1870. + +2. In Mr. Bancroft Davis's letter to the New York "Herald" of January 4, +1878, entitled, "Mr. Sumner, the Alabama Claims and their Settlement." + +3. The reported conversations of General Grant. + +4. The reported conversations of Mr. Fish. + +In considering Mr. Fish's letter, we must first notice its animus. The +manner in which Dickens's two old women are brought in is not only +indecorous, but it shows a state of feeling from which nothing but harsh +interpretation of every questionable expression of Mr. Motley's was to be +expected. + +There is not the least need of maintaining the perfect fitness and +rhetorical felicity of every phrase and every word used by him in his +interview with Lord Clarendon. It is not to be expected that a minister, +when about to hold a conversation with a representative of the government +to which he is accredited, will commit his instructions to memory and +recite them, like a school-boy "speaking his piece." He will give them +more or less in his own language, amplifying, it may be, explaining, +illustrating, at any rate paraphrasing in some degree, but endeavoring to +convey an idea of their essential meaning. In fact, as any one can see, +a conversation between two persons must necessarily imply a certain +amount of extemporization on the part of both. I do not believe any long +and important conference was ever had between two able men without each +of them feeling that he had not spoken exactly in all respects as he +would if he could say all over again. + +Doubtless, therefore, Mr. Motley's report of his conversation shows that +some of his expressions might have been improved, and others might as +well have been omitted. A man does not change his temperament on taking +office. General Jackson still swore "by the Eternal," and his +illustrious military successor of a more recent period seems, by his own +showing, to have been able to sudden impulses of excitement. It might be +said of Motley, as it was said of Shakespeare by Ben Jonson, "aliquando +sufflaminandus erat." Yet not too much must be made of this concession. +Only a determination to make out a case could, as it seems to me, have +framed such an indictment as that which the secretary constructed by +stringing together a slender list of pretended peccadillos. One instance +will show the extreme slightness which characterizes many of the grounds +of inculpation:-- + +The instructions say, "The government, in rejecting the recent +convention, abandons neither its own claims nor those of its citizens," +etc. + +Mr. Motley said, in the course of his conversation, "At present, the +United States government, while withdrawing neither its national claims +nor the claims of its individual citizens against the British +government," etc. + +Mr. Fish says, "The determination of this government not to abandon its +claims nor those of its citizens was stated parenthetically, and in such +a subordinate way as not necessarily to attract the attention of Lord +Clarendon." + +What reported conversation can stand a captious criticism like this? +Are there not two versions of the ten commandments which were given out +in the thunder and smoke of Sinai, and would the secretary hold that this +would have been a sufficient reason to recall Moses from his "Divine +Legation" at the court of the Almighty? + +There are certain expressions which, as Mr. Fish shows them apart from +their connection, do very certainly seem in bad taste, if not actually +indiscreet and unjustifiable. Let me give an example:-- + + "Instead of expressing the hope entertained by this government that + there would be an early, satisfactory, and friendly settlement of + the questions at issue, he volunteered the unnecessary, and from the + manner in which it was thrust in, the highly objectionable statement + that the United States government had no insidious purposes,'" etc. + +This sounds very badly as Mr. Fish puts it; let us see how it stands in +its proper connection:-- + + "He [Lord Clarendon] added with some feeling, that in his opinion it + would be highly objectionable that the question should be hung up on + a peg, to be taken down at some convenient moment for us, when it + might be difficult for the British government to enter upon its + solution, and when they might go into the debate at a disadvantage. + These were, as nearly as I can remember, his words, and I replied + very earnestly that I had already answered that question when I said + that my instructions were to propose as brief a delay as would + probably be requisite for the cooling of passions and for producing + the calm necessary for discussing the defects of the old treaty and + a basis for a new one. The United States government had no + insidious purposes," etc. + +Is it not evident that Lord Clarendon suggested the idea which Mr. Motley +repelled as implying an insidious mode of action? Is it not just as +clear that Mr. Fish's way of reproducing the expression without the +insinuation which called it forth is a practical misstatement which does +Mr. Motley great wrong? + +One more example of the method of wringing a dry cloth for drops of +evidence ought to be enough to show the whole spirit of the paper. + +Mr. Fish, in his instructions:-- + + "It might, indeed, well have occurred in the event of the selection + by lot of the arbitrator or umpire in different cases, involving + however precisely the same principles, that different awards, + resting upon antagonistic principles, might have been made." + +Mr. Motley, in the conversation with Lord Clarendon:-- + + "I called his lordship's attention to your very judicious suggestion + that the throwing of the dice for umpires might bring about opposite + decisions in cases arising out of identical principles. He agreed + entirely that no principle was established by the treaty, but that + the throwing of dice or drawing of lots was not a new invention on + that occasion, but a not uncommon method in arbitrations. I only + expressed the opinion that such an aleatory process seemed an + unworthy method in arbitrations," etc. + +Mr. Fish, in his letter to Mr. Moran:-- + + "That he had in his mind at that interview something else than his + letter of instructions from this department would appear to be + evident, when he says that 'he called his lordship's attention to + your [my] very judicious suggestion that the throwing of dice for + umpire might bring about opposite decisions.' The instructions + which Mr. Motley received from me contained no suggestion about + throwing of dice.' That idea is embraced in the suggestive words + 'aleatory process' (adopted by Mr. Motley), but previously applied + in a speech made in the Senate on the question of ratifying the + treaty." + +Charles Sumner's Speech on the Johnson-Clarendon Treaty, April 13, 1869: + + "In the event of failure to agree, the arbitrator is determined 'by + lot' out of two persons named by each side. Even if this aleatory + proceeding were a proper device in the umpirage of private claims, + it is strongly inconsistent with the solemnity which belongs to the + present question." + +It is "suggestive" that the critical secretary, so keen in detecting +conversational inaccuracies, having but two words to quote from a printed +document, got one of them wrong. But this trivial comment must not lead +the careful reader to neglect to note how much is made of what is really +nothing at all. The word aleatory, whether used in its original and +limited sense, or in its derived extension as a technical term of the +civil law, was appropriate and convenient; one especially likely to be +remembered by any person who had read Mr. Sumner's speech,--and everybody +had read it; the secretary himself doubtless got the suggestion of +determining the question "by lot" from it. What more natural than that +it should be used again when the subject of appealing to chance came up +in conversation? It "was an excellent good word before it was ill- +sorted," and we were fortunate in having a minister who was scholar +enough to know what it meant. The language used by Mr. Motley conveyed +the idea of his instructions plainly enough, and threw in a compliment to +their author which should have saved this passage at least from the +wringing process. The example just given is, like the concession of +belligerency to the insurgents by Great Britain, chiefly important as +"showing animus." + +It is hardly necessary to bring forward other instances of virtual +misrepresentation. If Mr. Motley could have talked his conversation over +again, he would very probably have changed some expressions. But he felt +bound to repeat the interview exactly as it occurred, with all the errors +to which its extemporaneous character exposed it. When a case was to be +made out against him, the secretary wrote, December 30, 1870: + + "Well might he say, as he did in a subsequent dispatch on the 15th + of July, 1869, that he had gone beyond the strict letter of his + instructions. He might have added, in direct opposition to their + temper and spirit." + +Of the same report the secretary had said, June 28, 1869: "Your general +presentation and treatment of the several subjects discussed in that +interview meet the approval of this department." This general approval +is qualified by mild criticism of a single statement as not having been +conveyed in "precise conformity" to the President's view. The minister +was told he might be well content to rest the question on the very +forcible presentation he had made of the American side of the question, +and that if there were expressions used stronger than were required by +his instructions, they were in the right direction. The mere fact that a +minute of this conversation was confidentially submitted to Lord +Clarendon in order that our own government might have his authority for +the accuracy of the record, which was intended exclusively for its own +use, and that this circumstance was overlooked and not reported to the +government until some weeks afterward, are the additional charges against +Mr. Motley. The submission of the dispatch containing an account of the +interview, the secretary says, is not inconsistent with diplomatic usage, +but it is inconsistent with the duty of a minister not to inform his +government of that submission. "Mr. Motley submitted the draft of his +No. 8 to Lord Clarendon, and failed to communicate that fact to his +government." He did inform Mr. Fish, at any rate, on the 30th of July, +and alleged "inadvertence" as the reason for his omission to do it +before. + +Inasmuch as submitting the dispatch was not inconsistent with diplomatic +usage, nothing seems left to find fault with but the not very long delay +in mentioning the fact, or in his making the note "private and +confidential," as is so frequently done in diplomatic correspondence. + +Such were the grounds of complaint. On the strength of the conversation +which had met with the general approval of the government, tempered by +certain qualifications, and of the omission to report immediately to the +government the fact of its verification by Lord Clarendon, the secretary +rests the case against Mr. Motley. On these grounds it was that, +according to him, the President withdrew all right to discuss the Alabama +question from the minister whose dismissal was now only a question of +time. But other evidence comes in here. + +Mr. Motley says:-- + + "It was, as I supposed, understood before my departure for England, + although not publicly announced, that the so-called Alabama + negotiations, whenever renewed, should be conducted at Washington, + in case of the consent of the British government." + +Mr. Sumner says, in his "Explanation in Reply to an Assault:"-- + + "The secretary in a letter to me at Boston, dated at Washington, + October 9, 1869, informs the that the discussion of the question was + withdrawn from London 'because (the italics are the secretary's) we + think that when renewed it can be carried on here with a better + prospect of settlement, than where the late attempt at a convention + which resulted so disastrously and was conducted so strangely was + had;' and what the secretary thus wrote he repeated in conversation + when we met, carefully making the transfer to Washington depend upon + our advantage here, from the presence of the Senate,--thus showing + that the pretext put forth to wound Mr. Motley was an afterthought." + +Again we may fairly ask how the government came to send a dispatch like +that of September 25, 1869, in which the views and expressions for which +Mr. Motley's conversation had been criticised were so nearly reproduced, +and with such emphasis that Mr. Motley says, in a letter to me, dated +April 8, 1871, "It not only covers all the ground which I ever took, but +goes far beyond it. No one has ever used stronger language to the +British government than is contained in that dispatch. . . . It is +very able and well worth your reading. Lord Clarendon called it to me +'Sumner's speech over again.' It was thought by the English cabinet to +have 'out-Sumnered Sumner,' and now our government, thinking that every +one in the United States had forgotten the dispatch, makes believe that +I was removed because my sayings and doings in England were too much +influenced by Sumner!" Mr. Motley goes on to speak of the report that an +offer of his place in England was made to Sumner "to get him out of the +way of San Domingo." The facts concerning this offer are now +sufficiently known to the public. + +Here I must dismiss Mr. Fish's letter to Mr. Moran, having, as I trust, +sufficiently shown the spirit in which it was written and the strained +interpretations and manifest overstatements by which it attempts to make +out its case against Mr. Motley. I will not parade the two old women, +whose untimely and unseemly introduction into the dress-circle of +diplomacy was hardly to have been expected of the high official whose +name is at the bottom of this paper. They prove nothing, they disprove +nothing, they illustrate nothing--except that a statesman may forget +himself. Neither will I do more than barely allude to the unfortunate +reference to the death of Lord Clarendon as connected with Mr. Motley's +removal, so placidly disposed of by a sentence or two in the London +"Times" of January 24, 1871. I think we may consider ourselves ready for +the next witness. + +Mr. J. C. Bancroft Davis, Assistant Secretary of State under President +Grant and Secretary Fish, wrote a letter to the New York "Herald," under +the date of January 4, 1878, since reprinted as a pamphlet and entitled +"Mr. Sumner, the Alabama Claims and their Settlement." Mr. Sumner was +never successfully attacked when living,--except with a bludgeon,--and +his friends have more than sufficiently vindicated him since his death. +But Mr. Motley comes in for his share of animadversion in Mr. Davis's +letter. He has nothing of importance to add to Mr. Fish's criticisms on +the interview with Lord Clarendon. Only he brings out the head and front +of Mr. Motley's offending by italicizing three very brief passages from +his conversation at this interview; not discreetly, as it seems to me, +for they will not bear the strain that is put upon them. These are the +passages:-- + +1. "but that such, measures must always be taken with a full view of the +grave responsibilities assumed." +2. "and as being the fountain head of the disasters which had been +caused to the American people." +3. "as the fruits of the proclamation." + +1. It is true that nothing was said of responsibility in Mr. Motley's +instructions. But the idea was necessarily involved in their statements. +For if, as Mr. Motley's instructions say, the right of a power "to define +its own relations," etc., when a civil conflict has arisen in another +state depends on its (the conflict's) having "attained a sufficient +complexity, magnitude, and completeness," inasmuch as that Power has to +judge whether it has or has not fulfilled these conditions, and is of +course liable to judge wrong, every such act of judgment must be attended +with grave responsibilities. The instructions say that "the necessity +and propriety of the original concession of belligerency by Great Britain +at the time it was made have been contested and are not admitted." It +follows beyond dispute that Great Britain may in this particular case +have incurred grave responsibilities; in fact, the whole negotiations +implied as much. Perhaps Mr. Motley need not have used the word +"responsibilities." But considering that the government itself said in +dispatch No. 70, September 25, 1869, "The President does not deny, on the +contrary he maintains, that every sovereign power decides for itself on +its responsibility whether or not it will, at a given time, accord the +status of belligerency," etc., it was hardly worth while to use italics +about Mr. Motley's employment of the same language as constituting a +grave cause of offence. + +2. Mr. Motley's expression, "as being the fountain head of the +disasters," is a conversational paraphrase of the words of his +instructions, "as it shows the beginning and the animus of that course of +conduct which resulted so disastrously," which is not "in precise +conformity" with his instructions, but is just such a variation as is to +be expected when one is talking with another and using the words that +suggest themselves at the moment, just as the familiar expression, "hung +up on a peg," probably suggested itself to Lord Clarendon. + +3. "The fruits of the proclamation" is so inconsiderable a variation on +the text of the instructions, "supplemented by acts causing direct +damage," that the secretary's hint about want of precise conformity seems +hardly to have been called for. + +It is important to notice this point in the instructions: With other +powers Mr. Motley was to take the position that the "recognition of the +insurgents' state of war" was made "no ground of complaint;" with Great +Britain that the cause of grievance was "not so much" placed upon the +issuance of this recognition as upon her conduct under, and subsequent +to, such recognition. + +There is no need of maintaining the exact fitness of every expression +used by Mr. Motley. But any candid person who will carefully read the +government's dispatch No. 70, dated September 25, 1869, will see that a +government holding such language could find nothing in Mr. Motley's +expressions in a conversation held at his first official interview to +visit with official capital punishment more than a year afterwards. If +Mr. Motley had, as it was pretended, followed Sumner, Mr. Fish had "out- +Sumnered" the Senator himself. + +Mr. Davis's pamphlet would hardly be complete without a mysterious letter +from an unnamed writer, whether a faithless friend, a disguised enemy, a +secret emissary, or an injudicious alarmist, we have no means of judging +for ourselves. The minister appears to have been watched by somebody in +London, as he was in Vienna. This somebody wrote a private letter in +which he expressed "fear and regret that Mr. Motley's bearing in his +social intercourse was throwing obstacles in the way of a future +settlement." The charge as mentioned in Mr. Davis's letter is hardly +entitled to our attention. Mr. Sumner considered it the work of an +enemy, and the recollection of the M'Crackin letter might well have made +the government cautious of listening to complaints of such a character. +This Somebody may have been one whom we should call Nobody. We cannot +help remembering how well 'Outis' served 'Oduxseus' of old, when he was +puzzled to extricate himself from an embarrassing position. 'Stat nomin- +is umbra' is a poor showing for authority to support an attack on a +public servant exposed to every form of open and insidious abuse from +those who are prejudiced against his person or his birthplace, who are +jealous of his success, envious of his position, hostile to his politics, +dwarfed by his reputation, or hate him by the divine right of +idiosyncrasy, always liable, too, to questioning comment from well- +meaning friends who happen to be suspicious or sensitive in their +political or social relations. + +The reported sayings of General Grant and of Mr. Fish to the +correspondents who talked with them may be taken for what they are worth. +They sound naturally enough to have come from the speakers who are said +to have uttered them. I quote the most important part of the Edinburgh +letter, September 11, 1877, to the New York "Herald." These are the +words attributed to General Grant:-- + + "Mr. Motley was certainly a very able, very honest gentleman, fit to + hold any official position. But he knew long before he went out + that he would have to go. When I was making these appointments, Mr. + Sumner came to me and asked me to appoint Mr. Motley as minister to + the court of St. James. I told him I would, and did. Soon after + Mr. Sumner made that violent speech about the Alabama claims, and + the British government was greatly offended. Mr. Sumner was at the + time chairman of the committee on foreign affairs. Mr. Motley had + to be instructed. The instructions were prepared very carefully, + and after Governor Fish and I had gone over them for the last time I + wrote an addendum charging him that above all things he should + handle the subject of the Alabama claims with the greatest delicacy. + Mr. Motley instead of obeying his explicit instructions, + deliberately fell in line with Sumner, and thus added insult to the + previous injury. As soon as I heard of it I went over to the State + Department and told Governor Fish to dismiss Motley at once. I was + very angry indeed, and I have been sorry many a time since that I + did not stick to my first determination. Mr. Fish advised delay + because of Sumner's position in the Senate and attitude on the + treaty question. We did not want to stir him up just then. We + dispatched a note of severe censure to Motley at once and ordered + him to abstain from any further connection with that question. We + thereupon commenced negotiations with the British minister at + Washington, and the result was the joint high commission and the + Geneva award. I supposed Mr. Motley would be manly enough to resign + after that snub, but he kept on till he was removed. Mr. Sumner + promised me that he would vote for the treaty. But when it was + before the Senate he did all he could to beat it." + +General Grant talked again at Cairo, in Egypt. + + "Grant then referred to the statement published at an interview with + him in Scotland, and said the publication had some omissions and + errors. He had no ill-will towards Mr. Motley, who, like other + estimable men, made mistakes, and Motley made a mistake which made + him an improper person to hold office under me." + + "It is proper to say of me that I killed Motley, or that I made war + upon Sumner for not supporting the annexation of San Domingo. But + if I dare to answer that I removed Motley from the highest + considerations of duty as an executive; if I presume to say that he + made a mistake in his office which made him no longer useful to the + country; if Fish has the temerity to hint that Sumner's temper was + so unfortunate that business relations with him became impossible, + we are slandering the dead." + +"Nothing but Mortimer." Those who knew both men--the Ex-President and +the late Senator--would agree, I do not doubt, that they would not be the +most promising pair of human beings to make harmonious members of a +political happy family. "Cedant arma togae," the life-long sentiment of +Sumner, in conflict with "Stand fast and stand sure," the well-known +device of the clan of Grant, reminds one of the problem of an +irresistible force in collision with an insuperable resistance. +But the President says,--or is reported as saying,--"I may be blamed for +my opposition to Mr. Sumner's tactics, but I was not guided so much by +reason of his personal hatred of myself, as I was by a desire to protect +our national interests in diplomatic affairs." + +"It would be useless," says Mr. Davis in his letter to the "Herald," "to +enter into a controversy whether the President may or may not have been +influenced in the final determination of the moment for requesting +Motley's resignation by the feeling caused by Sumner's personal hostility +and abuse of himself." Unfortunately, this controversy had been entered +into, and the idleness of suggesting any relation of cause and effect +between Mr. Motley's dismissal and the irritation produced in the +President's mind by the rejection of the San Domingo treaty--which +rejection was mainly due to Motley's friend Sumner's opposition-- +strongly insisted upon in a letter signed by the Secretary of State. +Too strongly, for here it was that he failed to remember what was due to +his office, to himself, and to the gentleman of whom he was writing; if +indeed it was the secretary's own hand which held the pen, and not +another's. + +We might as well leave out the wrath of Achilles from the Iliad, as the +anger of the President with Sumner from the story of Motley's dismissal. +The sad recital must always begin with M-----------. He was, he is +reported as saying, "very angry indeed" with Motley because he had, +fallen in line with Sumner. He couples them together in his conversation +as closely as Chang and Eng were coupled. The death of Lord Clarendon +would have covered up the coincidence between the rejection of the San +Domingo treaty and Mr. Motley's dismissal very neatly, but for the +inexorable facts about its date, as revealed by the London "Times." It +betrays itself as an afterthought, and its failure as a defence reminds +us too nearly of the trial in which Mr. Webster said suicide is +confession. + +It is not strange that the spurs of the man who had so lately got out of +the saddle should catch in the scholastic robe of the man on the floor of +the Senate. But we should not have looked for any such antagonism +between the Secretary of State and the envoy to Great Britain. On the +contrary, they must have had many sympathies, and it must have cost the +secretary pain, as he said it did, to be forced to communicate with Mr. +Moran instead of with Mr. Motley. + +He, too, was inquired of by one of the emissaries of the American Unholy +Inquisition. His evidence is thus reported: + + "The reason for Mr. Motley's removal was found in considerations of + state. He misrepresented the government on the Alabama question, + especially in the two speeches made by him before his arrival at his + post." + +These must be the two speeches made to the American and the Liverpool +chambers of commerce. If there is anything in these short addresses +beyond those civil generalities which the occasion called out, I have +failed to find it. If it was in these that the reason of Mr. Motley's +removal was to be looked for, it is singular that they are not mentioned +in the secretary's letter to Mr. Moran, or by Mr. Davis in his letter to +the New York "Herald." They must have been as unsuccessful as myself in +the search after anything in these speeches which could be construed into +misinterpretation of the government on the Alabama question. + +We may much more readily accept "considerations of state" as a reason for +Mr. Motley's removal. Considerations of state have never yet failed the +axe or the bowstring when a reason for the use of those convenient +implements was wanted, and they are quite equal to every emergency which +can arise in a republican autocracy. But for the very reason that a +minister is absolutely in the power of his government, the manner in +which that power is used is always open to the scrutiny, and, if it has +been misused, to the condemnation, of a tribunal higher than itself; a +court that never goes out of office, and which no personal feelings, no +lapse of time, can silence. + +The ostensible grounds on which Mr. Motley was recalled are plainly +insufficient to account for the action of the government. If it was in +great measure a manifestation of personal feeling on the part of the high +officials by whom and through whom the act was accomplished, it was a +wrong which can never be repaired and never sufficiently regretted. + +Stung by the slanderous report of an anonymous eavesdropper to whom the +government of the day was not ashamed to listen, he had quitted Vienna, +too hastily, it may be, but wounded, indignant, feeling that he had been +unworthily treated. The sudden recall from London, on no pretext +whatever but an obsolete and overstated incident which had ceased to have +any importance, was under these circumstances a deadly blow. It fell +upon "the new-healed wound of malice," and though he would not own it, +and bore up against it, it was a shock from which he never fully +recovered. + +"I hope I am one of those," he writes to me from the Hague, in 1872, "who +'fortune's buffets and rewards can take with equal thanks.' I am quite +aware that I have had far more than I deserve of political honors, and +they might have had my post as a voluntary gift on my part had they +remembered that I was an honorable man, and not treated me as a +detected criminal deserves to be dealt with." + +Mr. Sumner naturally felt very deeply what he considered the great wrong +done to his friend. He says:-- + + "How little Mr. Motley merited anything but respect and courtesy + from the secretary is attested by all who know his eminent position + in London, and the service he rendered to his country. Already the + London press, usually slow to praise Americans when strenuous for + their country, has furnished its voluntary testimony. The 'Daily + News' of August 16, 1870, spoke of the insulted minister in these + terms:-- + + "'We are violating no confidence in saying that all the hopes of Mr. + Motley's official residence in England have been amply fulfilled, + and that the announcement of his unexpected and unexplained recall + was received with extreme astonishment and unfeigned regret. The + vacancy he leaves cannot possibly be filled by a minister more + sensitive to the honor of his government, more attentive to the + interests of his country, and more capable of uniting the most + vigorous performance of his public duties with the high-bred + courtesy and conciliatory tact and temper that make those duties + easy and successful. Mr. Motley's successor will find his mission + wonderfully facilitated by the firmness and discretion that have + presided over the conduct of American affairs in this country during + too brief a term, too suddenly and unaccountably concluded.'" + +No man can escape being found fault with when it is necessary to make out +a case against him. A diplomatist is watched by the sharpest eyes and +commented on by the most merciless tongues. The best and wisest has his +defects, and sometimes they would seem to be very grave ones if brought +up against him in the form of accusation. Take these two portraits, for +instance, as drawn by John Quincy Adams. The first is that of Stratford +Canning, afterwards Lord Stratford de Redcliffe:-- + + "He is to depart to-morrow. I shall probably see him no more. He + is a proud, high-tempered Englishman, of good but not extraordinary + parts; stubborn and punctilious, with a disposition to be + overbearing, which I have often been compelled to check in its own + way. He is, of all the foreign ministers with whom I have had + occasion to treat, the man who has most severely tried my temper. + Yet he has been long in the diplomatic career, and treated with + governments of the most opposite characters. He has, however, a + great respect for his word, and there is nothing false about him. + This is an excellent quality for a negotiator. Mr. Canning is a man + of forms, studious of courtesy, and tenacious of private morals. As + a diplomatic man, his great want is suppleness, and his great virtue + is sincerity." + +The second portrait is that of the French minister, Hyde de Neuville:-- + + "No foreign minister who ever resided here has been so universally + esteemed and beloved, nor have I ever been in political relations + with any foreign statesman of whose moral qualities I have formed so + good an opinion, with the exception of Count Romanzoff. He has not + sufficient command of his temper, is quick, irritable, sometimes + punctilious, occasionally indiscreet in his discourse, and tainted + with Royalist and Bourbon prejudices. But he has strong sentiments + of honor, justice, truth, and even liberty. His flurries of temper + pass off as quickly as they rise. He is neither profound nor + sublime nor brilliant; but a man of strong and good feelings, with + the experience of many vicissitudes of fortune, a good but common + understanding, and good intentions biassed by party feelings, + occasional interests, and personal affections." + +It means very little to say that a man has some human imperfections, or +that a public servant might have done some things better. But when a +questionable cause is to be justified, the victim's excellences are +looked at with the eyes of Liliput and his failings with those of +Brobdingnag. + +The recall of a foreign minister for alleged misconduct in office is a +kind of capital punishment. It is the nearest approach to the Sultan's +bowstring which is permitted to the chief magistrate of our Republic. A +general can do nothing under martial law more peremptory than a President +can do with regard to the public functionary whom he has appointed with +the advice and consent of the Senate, but whom he can officially degrade +and disgrace at his own pleasure for insufficient cause or for none at +all. Like the centurion of Scripture, be says Go, and he goeth. The +nation's representative is less secure in his tenure of office than his +own servant, to whom he must give warning of his impending dismissal. + +"A breath unmakes him as a breath has made." + +The chief magistrate's responsibility to duty, to the fellow-citizen at +his mercy, to his countrymen, to mankind, is in proportion to his power. +His prime minister, the agent of his edicts, should feel bound to +withstand him if he seeks to gratify a personal feeling under the plea of +public policy, unless the minister, like the slaves of the harem, is to +find his qualification for office in leaving his manhood behind him. + +The two successive administrations, which treated Mr. Motley in a manner +unworthy of their position and cruel, if not fatal to him, have been +heard, directly or through their advocates. I have attempted to show +that the defence set up for their action is anything but satisfactory. +A later generation will sit in judgment upon the evidence more calmly +than our own. It is not for a friend, like the writer, to anticipate its +decision, but unless the reasons alleged to justify his treatment, and +which have so much the air of afterthoughts, shall seem stronger to that +future tribunal than they do to him, the verdict will be that Mr. Motley +was twice sacrificed to personal feelings which should never have been +cherished by the heads of the government, and should never have been +countenanced by their chief advisers. + + + + + +ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS: + +A great historian is almost a statesman +Admired or despised, as if he or she were our contemporary +Alas! one never knows when one becomes a bore +American Unholy Inquisition +best defence in this case is little better than an impeachment +But after all this isn't a war It is a revolution +Can never be repaired and never sufficiently regretted +Considerations of state as a reason +Considerations of state have never yet failed the axe +Everything else may happen This alone must happen +Fortune's buffets and rewards can take with equal thanks +He was not always careful in the construction of his sentences +In revolutions the men who win are those who are in earnest +Irresistible force in collision with an insuperable resistance +It is n't strategists that are wanted so much as believers +John Quincy Adams +Manner in which an insult shall be dealt with +Motley was twice sacrificed to personal feelings +No man is safe (from news reporters) +Our mortal life is but a string of guesses at the future +Played so long with other men's characters and good name +Progress should be by a spiral movement +Public which must have a slain reputation to devour +Reasonable to pay our debts rather than to repudiate them +Recall of a foreign minister for alleged misconduct in office +Shall Slavery die, or the great Republic? +Suicide is confession +The nation is as much bound to be honest as is the individual +This Somebody may have been one whom we should call Nobody +Unequivocal policy of slave emancipation +Wringing a dry cloth for drops of evidence + + + + +End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of Memoir of John Lothrop Motley, v2 +by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. + + + + + + +JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY. + +A MEMOIR + +By Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. + + +Volume III. + + + +XXII. + +1874. AEt. 60. + +"LIFE OF JOHN OF BARNEVELD."--CRITICISMS.--GROEN VAN PRINSTERER. + +The full title of Mr. Motley's next and last work is "The Life and Death +of John of Barneveld, Advocate of Holland; with a View of the Primary +Causes and Movements of the Thirty Years' War." + +In point of fact this work is a history rather than a biography. It is +an interlude, a pause between the acts which were to fill out the +complete plan of the "Eighty Years' Tragedy," and of which the last act, +the Thirty Years' War, remains unwritten. The "Life of Barneveld" was +received as a fitting and worthy continuation of the series of +intellectual labor in which he was engaged. I will quote but two general +expressions of approval from the two best known British critical reviews. +In connection with his previous works, it forms, says "The London +Quarterly," "a fine and continuous story, of which the writer and the +nation celebrated by him have equal reason to be proud; a narrative which +will remain a prominent ornament of American genius, while it has +permanently enriched English literature on this as well as on the other +side of the Atlantic." + +"The Edinburgh Review" speaks no less warmly: "We can hardly give too +much appreciation to that subtile alchemy of the brain which has enabled +him to produce out of dull, crabbed, and often illegible state papers, +the vivid, graphic, and sparkling narrative which he has given to the +world." + +In a literary point of view, M. Groen van Prinsterer, whose elaborate +work has been already referred to, speaks of it as perhaps the most +classical of Motley's productions, but it is upon this work that the +force of his own and other Dutch criticisms has been chiefly expended. + +The key to this biographical history or historical biography may be found +in a few sentences from its opening chapter. + + "There have been few men at any period whose lives have been more + closely identical than his [Barneveld's] with a national history. + There have been few great men in any history whose names have become + less familiar to the world, and lived less in the mouths of + posterity. Yet there can be no doubt that if William the Silent was + the founder of the independence of the United Provinces, Barneveld + was the founder of the Commonwealth itself. . . . + + "Had that country of which he was so long the first citizen + maintained until our own day the same proportional position among + the empires of Christendom as it held in the seventeenth century, + the name of John of Barneveld would have perhaps been as familiar to + all men as it is at this moment to nearly every inhabitant of the + Netherlands. Even now political passion is almost as ready to flame + forth, either in ardent affection or enthusiastic hatred, as if two + centuries and a half had not elapsed since his death. His name is + so typical of a party, a polity, and a faith, so indelibly + associated with a great historical cataclysm, as to render it + difficult even for the grave, the conscientious, the learned, the + patriotic, of his own compatriots to speak of him with absolute + impartiality. + + "A foreigner who loves and admires all that is great and noble in + the history of that famous republic, and can have no hereditary bias + as to its ecclesiastical or political theories, may at least attempt + the task with comparative coldness, although conscious of inability + to do thorough justice to a most complex subject." + +With all Mr. Motley's efforts to be impartial, to which even his sternest +critics bear witness, he could not help becoming a partisan of the cause +which for him was that of religious liberty and progress, as against the +accepted formula of an old ecclesiastical organization. For the quarrel +which came near being a civil war, which convulsed the state, and cost +Barneveld his head, had its origin in a difference on certain points, and +more especially on a single point, of religious doctrine. + +As a great river may be traced back until its fountainhead is found in a +thread of water streaming from a cleft in the rocks, so a great national +movement may sometimes be followed until its starting-point is found in +the cell of a monk or the studies of a pair of wrangling professors. + +The religious quarrel of the Dutchmen in the seventeenth century reminds +us in some points of the strife between two parties in our own New +England, sometimes arraying the "church" on one side against the +"parish," or the general body of worshippers, on the other. The +portraits of Gomarus, the great orthodox champion, and Arminius, the head +and front of the "liberal theology" of his day, as given in the little +old quarto of Meursius, recall two ministerial types of countenance +familiar to those who remember the earlier years of our century. + +Under the name of "Remonstrants" and "Contra-Remonstrants,"--Arminians +and old-fashioned Calvinists, as we should say,--the adherents of the two +Leyden professors disputed the right to the possession of the churches, +and the claim to be considered as representing the national religion. Of +the seven United Provinces, two, Holland and Utrecht, were prevailingly +Arminian, and the other five Calvinistic. Barneveld, who, under the +title of Advocate, represented the province of Holland, the most +important of them all, claimed for each province a right to determine its +own state religion. Maurice the Stadholder, son of William the Silent, +the military chief of the republic, claimed the right for the States- +General. 'Cujus regio ejus religio' was then the accepted public +doctrine of Protestant nations. Thus the provincial and the general +governments were brought into conflict by their creeds, and the question +whether the republic was a confederation or a nation, the same question +which has been practically raised, and for the time at least settled, in +our own republic, was in some way to be decided. After various +disturbances and acts of violence by both parties, Maurice, representing +the States-General, pronounced for the Calvinists or Contra-Remonstrants, +and took possession of one of the great churches, as an assertion of his +authority. Barneveld, representing the Arminian or Remonstrant +provinces, levied a body of mercenary soldiers in several of the cities. +These were disbanded by Maurice, and afterwards by an act of the States- +General. Barneveld was apprehended, imprisoned, and executed, after an +examination which was in no proper sense a trial. Grotius, who was on +the Arminian side and involved in the inculpated proceedings, was also +arrested and imprisoned. His escape, by a stratagem successfully +repeated by a slave in our own times, may challenge comparison for its +romantic interest with any chapter of fiction. How his wife packed him +into the chest supposed to contain the folios of the great oriental +scholar Erpenius, how the soldiers wondered at its weight and questioned +whether it did not hold an Arminian, how the servant-maid, Elsje van +Houwening, quick-witted as Morgiana of the "Forty Thieves," parried their +questions and convoyed her master safely to the friendly place of +refuge,--all this must be read in the vivid narrative of the author. + +The questions involved were political, local, personal, and above all +religious. Here is the picture which Motley draws of the religious +quarrel as it divided the people:-- + + "In burghers' mansions, peasants' cottages, mechanics' back-parlors; + on board herring-smacks, canal-boats, and East Indiamen; in shops, + counting-rooms, farm-yards, guard-rooms, alehouses; on the exchange, + in the tennis court, on the mall; at banquets, at burials, + christenings, or bridals; wherever and whenever human creatures met + each other, there was ever to be found the fierce wrangle of + Remonstrant and Contra-Remonstrant, the hissing of red-hot + theological rhetoric, the pelting of hostile texts. The + blacksmith's iron cooled on the anvil, the tinker dropped a kettle + half mended, the broker left a bargain unclinched, the Scheveningen + fisherman in his wooden shoes forgot the cracks in his pinkie, while + each paused to hold high converse with friend or foe on fate, free- + will, or absolute foreknowledge; losing himself in wandering mazes + whence there was no issue. Province against province, city against + city, family against family; it was one vast scene of bickering, + denunciation, heart-burnings, mutual excommunication and hatred." + +The religious grounds of the quarrel which set these seventeenth-century +Dutchmen to cutting each other's throats were to be looked for in the +"Five Points" of the Arminians as arrayed against the "Seven Points" of +the Gomarites, or Contra-Remonstrants. The most important of the +differences which were to be settled by fratricide seem to have been +these:-- + +According to the Five Points, "God has from eternity resolved to choose +to eternal life those who through his grace believe in Jesus Christ," +etc. According to the Seven Points, "God in his election has not looked +at the belief and the repentance of the elect," etc. According to the +Five Points, all good deeds must be ascribed to God's grace in Christ, +but it does not work irresistibly. The language of the Seven Points +implies that the elect cannot resist God's eternal and unchangeable +design to give them faith and steadfastness, and that they can never +wholly and for always lose the true faith. The language of the Five +Points is unsettled as to the last proposition, but it was afterwards +maintained by the Remonstrant party that a true believer could, through +his own fault, fall away from God and lose faith. + +It must be remembered that these religious questions had an immediate +connection with politics. Independently of the conflict of jurisdiction, +in which they involved the parties to the two different creeds, it was +believed or pretended that the new doctrines of the Remonstrants led +towards Romanism, and were allied with designs which threatened the +independence of the country. "There are two factions in the land," said +Maurice, "that of Orange and that of Spain, and the two chiefs of the +Spanish faction are those political and priestly Arminians, Uytenbogaert +and Oldenbarneveld." + +The heads of the two religious and political parties were in such +hereditary, long-continued, and intimate relations up to the time when +one signed the other's death-warrant, that it was impossible to write the +life of one without also writing that of the other. For his biographer +John of Barneveld is the true patriot, the martyr, whose cause was that +of religious and political freedom. For him Maurice is the ambitious +soldier who hated his political rival, and never rested until this rival +was brought to the scaffold. + +The questions which agitated men's minds two centuries and a half ago +are not dead yet in the country where they produced such estrangement, +violence, and wrong. No stranger could take them up without encountering +hostile criticism from one party or the other. It may be and has been +conceded that Mr. Motley writes as a partisan,--a partisan of freedom in +politics and religion, as he understands freedom. This secures him the +antagonism of one class of critics. But these critics are themselves +partisans, and themselves open to the cross-fire of their antagonists. +M. Groen van Prinsterer, "the learned and distinguished" editor of the +"Archives et Correspondance" of the Orange and Nassau family, published a +considerable volume, before referred to, in which many of Motley's views +are strongly controverted. But he himself is far from being in accord +with "that eminent scholar," M. Bakhuyzen van den Brink, whose name, he +says, is celebrated enough to need no comment, or with M. Fruin, of whose +impartiality and erudition he himself speaks in the strongest terms. The +ground upon which he is attacked is thus stated in his own words:-- + +"People have often pretended to find in my writings the deplorable +influence of an extreme Calvinism. The Puritans of the seventeenth +century are my fellow-religionists. I am a sectarian and not an +historian." + +It is plain enough to any impartial reader that there are at least +plausible grounds for this accusation against Mr. Motley's critic. And +on a careful examination of the formidable volume, it becomes obvious +that Mr. Motley has presented a view of the events and the personages of +the stormy epoch with which he is dealing, which leaves a battle-ground +yet to be fought over by those who come after him. The dispute is not +and cannot be settled. + +The end of all religious discussion has come when one of the parties +claims that it is thinking or acting under immediate Divine guidance. +"It is God's affair, and his honor is touched," says William Lewis to +Prince Maurice. Mr. Motley's critic is not less confident in claiming +the Almighty as on the side of his own views. Let him state his own +ground of departure:-- + + "To show the difference, let me rather say the contrast, between the + point of view of Mr. Motley and my own, between the Unitarian and + the Evangelical belief. I am issue of CALVIN, child of the + Awakening (reveil). Faithful to the device of the Reformers: + Justification by faith alone, and the Word of God endures eternally. + I consider history from the point of view of Merle d'Aubigne, + Chalmers, Guizot. I desire to be disciple and witness of our Lord + and Saviour, Jesus Christ." + +He is therefore of necessity antagonistic to a writer whom he describes +in such words as these:-- + + "Mr. Motley is liberal and rationalist. + + "He becomes, in attacking the principle of the Reformation, the + passionate opponent of the Puritans and of Maurice, the ardent + apologist of Barnevelt and the Arminians. + + "It is understood, and he makes no mystery of it, that he inclines + towards the vague and undecided doctrine of the Unitarians." + +What M. Groen's idea of Unitarians is may be gathered from the statement +about them which he gets from a letter of De Tocqueville. + + "They are pure deists; they talk about the Bible, because they do + not wish to shock too severely public opinion, which is prevailingly + Christian. They have a service on Sundays; I have been there. At + it they read verses from Dryden or other English poets on the + existence of God and the immortality of the soul. They deliver a + discourse on some point of morality, and all is said." + +In point of fact the wave of protest which stormed the dikes of Dutch +orthodoxy in the seventeenth century stole gently through the bars of New +England Puritanism in the eighteenth. + +"Though the large number," says Mr. Bancroft, "still acknowledged the +fixedness of the divine decrees, and the resistless certainty from all +eternity of election and of reprobation, there were not wanting, even +among the clergy, some who had modified the sternness of the ancient +doctrine by making the self-direction of the active powers of man with +freedom of inquiry and private judgment the central idea of a protest +against Calvinism." + +Protestantism, cut loose from an infallible church, and drifting with +currents it cannot resist, wakes up once or oftener in every century, to +find itself in a new locality. Then it rubs its eyes and wonders whether +it has found its harbor or only lost its anchor. There is no end to its +disputes, for it has nothing but a fallible vote as authority for its +oracles, and these appeal only to fallible interpreters. + +It is as hard to contend in argument against "the oligarchy of heaven," +as Motley calls the Calvinistic party, as it was formerly to strive with +them in arms. + +To this "aristocracy of God's elect" belonged the party which framed the +declaration of the Synod of Dort; the party which under the forms of +justice shed the blood of the great statesman who had served his country +so long and so well. To this chosen body belonged the late venerable and +truly excellent as well as learned M. Groen van Prinsterer, and he +exercised the usual right of examining in the light of his privileged +position the views of a "liberal" and "rationalist" writer who goes to +meeting on Sunday to hear verses from Dryden. This does not diminish his +claim for a fair reading of the "intimate correspondence," which he +considers Mr. Motley has not duly taken into account, and of the other +letters to be found printed in his somewhat disjointed and fragmentary +volume. + +This "intimate correspondence" shows Maurice the Stadholder indifferent +and lax in internal administration and as being constantly advised and +urged by his relative Count William of Nassau. This need of constant +urging extends to religious as well as other matters, and is inconsistent +with M. Groen van Prinsterer's assertion that the question was for +Maurice above all religious, and for Barneveld above all political. +Whether its negative evidence can be considered as neutralizing that +which is adduced by Mr. Motley to show the Stadholder's hatred of the +Advocate may be left to the reader who has just risen from the account of +the mock trial and the swift execution of the great and venerable +statesman. The formal entry on the record upon the day of his "judicial +murder" is singularly solemn and impressive:-- + + "Monday, 13th May, 1619. To-day was executed with the sword here in + the Hague, on a scaffold thereto erected in the Binnenhof before the + steps of the great hall, Mr. John of Barneveld, in his life Knight, + Lord of Berkel, Rodenrys, etc., Advocate of Holland and West + Friesland, for reasons expressed in the sentence and otherwise, with + confiscation of his property, after he had served the state thirty- + three years two months and five days, since 8th March, 1586; a man + of great activity, business, memory, and wisdom,--yea, extraordinary + in every respect. He that stands let him see that he does not + fall." + +Maurice gave an account of the execution of Barneveld to Count William +Lewis on the same day in a note "painfully brief and dry." + + +Most authors write their own biography consciously or unconsciously. We +have seen Mr. Motley portraying much of himself, his course of life and +his future, as he would have had it, in his first story. In this, his +last work, it is impossible not to read much of his own external and +internal personal history told under other names and with different +accessories. The parallelism often accidentally or intentionally passes +into divergence. He would not have had it too close if he could, but +there are various passages in which it is plain enough that he is telling +his own story. + +Mr. Motley was a diplomatist, and he writes of other diplomatists, and +one in particular, with most significant detail. It need not be supposed +that he intends the "arch intriguer" Aerssens to stand for himself, or +that he would have endured being thought to identify himself with the man +of whose "almost devilish acts" he speaks so freely. But the sagacious +reader--and he need not be very sharp-sighted--will very certainly see +something more than a mere historical significance in some of the +passages which I shall cite for him to reflect upon. Mr. Motley's +standard of an ambassador's accomplishments may be judged from the +following passage:-- + + "That those ministers [those of the Republic] were second to the + representatives of no other European state in capacity and + accomplishment was a fact well known to all who had dealings with + them, for the states required in their diplomatic representatives + knowledge of history and international law, modern languages, and + the classics, as well as familiarity with political customs and + social courtesies; the breeding of gentlemen, in short, and the + accomplishments of scholars." + +The story of the troubles of Aerssens, the ambassador of the United +Provinces at Paris, must be given at some length, and will repay careful +reading. + + "Francis Aerssens . . . continued to be the Dutch ambassador + after the murder of Henry IV. . . . He was beyond doubt one of + the ablest diplomatists in Europe. Versed in many languages, a + classical student, familiar with history and international law, a + man of the world and familiar with its usages, accustomed to + associate with dignity and tact on friendliest terms with + sovereigns, eminent statesmen, and men of letters; endowed with a + facile tongue, a fluent pen, and an eye and ear of singular + acuteness and delicacy; distinguished for unflagging industry and + singular aptitude for secret and intricate affairs;--he had by the + exercise of these various qualities during a period of nearly twenty + years at the court of Henry the Great been able to render + inestimable services to the Republic which he represented. + + "He had enjoyed the intimacy and even the confidence of Henry IV., + so far as any man could be said to possess that monarch's + confidence, and his friendly relations and familiar access to the + king gave him political advantages superior to those of any of his + colleagues at the same court. + + "Acting entirely and faithfully according to the instructions of the + Advocate of Holland, he always gratefully and copiously acknowledged + the privilege of being guided and sustained in the difficult paths + he had to traverse by so powerful and active an intellect. I have + seldom alluded in terms to the instructions and dispatches of the + chief, but every position, negotiation, and opinion of the envoy-- + and the reader has seen many of them is pervaded by their spirit. + + "It had become a question whether he was to remain at his post or + return. It was doubtful whether he wished to be relieved of his + embassy or not. The States of Holland voted 'to leave it to his + candid opinion if in his free conscience he thinks he can serve the + public any longer. If yes, he may keep his office one year more. + If no, he may take leave and come home.' + + "Surely the States, under the guidance of the Advocate, had thus + acted with consummate courtesy towards a diplomatist whose position, + from no apparent fault of his own, but by the force of + circumstances,--and rather to his credit than otherwise,-- + was gravely compromised." + +The Queen, Mary de' Medici, had a talk with him, got angry, "became very +red in the face," and wanted to be rid of him. + + "Nor was the envoy at first desirous of remaining. . . . + Nevertheless, he yielded reluctantly to Barneveld's request that he + should, for the time at least, remain at his post. Later on, as the + intrigues against him began to unfold themselves, and his faithful + services were made use of at home to blacken his character and + procure his removal, he refused to resign, as to do so would be to + play into the hands of his enemies, and, by inference at least, to + accuse himself of infidelity to his trust. . . . + + "It is no wonder that the ambassador was galled to the quick by the + outrage which those concerned in the government were seeking to put + upon him. How could an honest man fail to be overwhelmed with rage + and anguish at being dishonored before the world by his masters for + scrupulously doing his duty, and for maintaining the rights and + dignity of his own country? He knew that the charges were but + pretexts, that the motives of his enemies were as base as the + intrigues themselves, but he also knew that the world usually sides + with the government against the individual, and that a man's + reputation is rarely strong enough to maintain itself unsullied in a + foreign land when his own government stretches forth its hand, not + to shield, but to stab him. . . . + + "'I know,' he said, that this plot has been woven partly here in + Holland and partly here by good correspondence in order to drive me + from my post. + + "'But as I have discovered this accurately, I have resolved to offer + to my masters the continuance of my very humble service for such + time and under such conditions as they may think good to prescribe. + I prefer forcing my natural and private inclinations to giving an + opportunity for the ministers of this kingdom to discredit us, and + to my enemies to succeed in injuring me, and by fraud and malice to + force me from my post. . . . I am truly sorry, being ready to + retire, wishing to have an honorable testimony in recompense of my + labors, that one is in such hurry to take advantage of my fall. . + . . What envoy will ever dare to speak with vigor if he is not + sustained by the government at home? . . . My enemies have + misrepresented my actions, and my language as passionate, + exaggerated, mischievous, but I have no passion except for the + service of my superiors.' + + "Barneveld, from well-considered motives of public policy, was + favoring his honorable recall. But he allowed a decorous interval + of more than three years to elapse in which to terminate his + affairs, and to take a deliberate departure from that French embassy + to which the Advocate had originally promoted him, and in which + there had been so many years of mutual benefit and confidence + between the two statesmen. He used no underhand means. He did not + abuse the power of the States-General which he wielded to cast him + suddenly and brutally from the distinguished post which he occupied, + and so to attempt to dishonor him before the world. Nothing could + be more respectful and conciliatory than the attitude of the + government from first to last towards this distinguished + functionary. The Republic respected itself too much to deal with + honorable agents whose services it felt obliged to dispense with as + with vulgar malefactors who had been detected in crime. . . . + + "This work aims at being a political study. I would attempt to + exemplify the influence of individual humors and passions--some of + them among the highest, and others certainly the basest that agitate + humanity--upon the march of great events, upon general historical + results at certain epochs, and upon the destiny of eminent + personages." + +Here are two suggestive portraits:-- + + "The Advocate, while acting only in the name of a slender + confederacy, was in truth, so long as he held his place, the prime + minister of European Protestantism. There was none other to rival + him, few to comprehend him, fewer still to sustain him. As Prince + Maurice was at that time the great soldier of Protestantism, without + clearly scanning the grandeur of the field in which he was a chief + actor, or foreseeing the vastness of its future, so the Advocate was + its statesman and its prophet. Could the two have worked together + as harmoniously as they had done at an earlier day, it would have + been a blessing for the common weal of Europe. But, alas! the evil + genius of jealousy, which so often forbids cordial relations between + soldier and statesman, already stood shrouded in the distance, + darkly menacing the strenuous patriot, who was wearing his life out + in exertions for what he deemed the true cause of progress and + humanity. . . . + + "All history shows that the brilliant soldier of a republic is apt + to have the advantage, in a struggle for popular affection and + popular applause, over the statesman, however consummate. . . . + The great battles and sieges of the prince had been on a world's + theatre, had enchained the attention of Christendom, and on their + issue had frequently depended, or seemed to depend, the very + existence of the nation. The labors of the statesman, on the + contrary, had been comparatively secret. His noble orations and + arguments had been spoken with closed doors to assemblies of + colleagues, rather envoys than senators, . . while his vast labors + in directing both the internal administration and especially the + foreign affairs of the commonwealth had been by their very nature + as secret as they were perpetual and enormous." + +The reader of the "Life of Barneveld" must judge for himself whether in +these and similar passages the historian was thinking solely of Maurice, +the great military leader, of Barneveld, the great statesman, and of +Aerssens, the recalled ambassador. He will certainly find that there +were "burning questions" for ministers to handle then as now, and +recognize in "that visible atmosphere of power the poison of which it is +so difficult to resist" a respiratory medium as well known to the +nineteenth as to the seventeenth century. + + + + +XXIII. + +1874-1877. AEt. 60-63. + +DEATH OF MRS. MOTLEY.--LAST VISIT TO AMERICA.--ILLNESS AND DEATH.-LADY +HARCOURT'S COMMUNICATION. + +On the last day of 1874, the beloved wife, whose health had for some +years been failing, was taken from him by death. She had been the pride +of his happier years, the stay and solace of those which had so tried his +sensitive spirit. The blow found him already weakened by mental +suffering and bodily infirmity, and he never recovered from it. Mr. +Motley's last visit to America was in the summer and autumn of 1875. +During several weeks which he passed at Nahant, a seaside resort near +Boston, I saw him almost daily. He walked feebly and with some little +difficulty, and complained of a feeling of great weight in the right arm, +which made writing laborious. His handwriting had not betrayed any very +obvious change, so far as I had noticed in his letters. His features and +speech were without any paralytic character. His mind was clear except +when, as on one or two occasions, he complained of some confused feeling, +and walked a few minutes in the open air to compose himself. His +thoughts were always tending to revert to the almost worshipped companion +from whom death had parted him a few months before. Yet he could often +be led away to other topics, and in talking of them could be betrayed +into momentary cheerfulness of manner. His long-enduring and all- +pervading grief was not more a tribute to the virtues and graces of her +whom he mourned than an evidence of the deeply affectionate nature which +in other relations endeared him to so many whose friendship was a title +to love and honor. + +I have now the privilege of once more recurring to the narrative of Mr. +Motley's daughter, Lady Harcourt. + + "The harassing work and mental distress of this time [after the + recall from England], acting on an acutely nervous organization, + began the process of undermining his constitution, of which we were + so soon to see the results. It was not the least courageous act of + his life, that, smarting under a fresh wound, tired and unhappy, he + set his face immediately towards the accomplishment of fresh + literary labor. After my sister's marriage in January he went to + the Hague to begin his researches in the archives for John of + Barneveld. The Queen of the Netherlands had made ready a house + for us, and personally superintended every preparation for his + reception. We remained there until the spring, and then removed to + a house more immediately in the town, a charming old-fashioned + mansion, once lived in by John de Witt, where he had a large library + and every domestic comfort during the year of his sojourn. The + incessant literary labor in an enervating climate with enfeebled + health may have prepared the way for the first break in his + constitution, which was to show itself soon after. There were many + compensations in the life about him. He enjoyed the privilege of + constant companionship with one of the warmest hearts and finest + intellects which I have ever known in a woman,--the 'ame d'elite' + which has passed beyond this earth. The gracious sentiment with + which the Queen sought to express her sense of what Holland owed him + would have been deeply felt even had her personal friendship been + less dear to us all. From the King, the society of the Hague, and + the diplomatic circle we had many marks of kindness. Once or twice + I made short journeys with him for change of air to Amsterdam, to + look for the portraits of John of Barneveld and his wife; to + Bohemia, where, with the lingering hope of occupying himself with + the Thirty Years' War, he looked carefully at the scene of + Wallenstein's death near Prague, and later to Varzin in Pomerania + for a week with Prince Bismarck, after the great events of the + Franco-German war. In the autumn of 1872 we moved to England, + partly because it was evident that his health and my mother's + required a change; partly for private reasons to be near my sister + and her children. The day after our arrival at Bournemouth occurred + the rupture of a vessel on the lungs, without any apparently + sufficient cause. He recovered enough to revise and complete his + manuscript, and we thought him better, when at the end of July, in + London, he was struck down by the first attack of the head, which + robbed him of all after power of work, although the intellect + remained untouched. Sir William Gull sent him to Cannes for the + winter, where he was seized with a violent internal inflammation, + in which I suppose there was again the indication of the lesion of + blood-vessels. I am nearing the shadow now,--the time of which I + can hardly bear to write. You know the terrible sorrow which + crushed him on the last day of 1874,--the grief which broke his + heart and from which he never rallied. From that day it seems to me + that his life may be summed up in the two words,--patient waiting. + Never for one hour did her spirit leave him, and he strove to follow + its leading for the short and evil days left and the hope of the + life beyond. I think I have never watched quietly and reverently + the traces of one personal character remaining so strongly impressed + on another nature. With herself--depreciation and unselfishness she + would have been the last to believe how much of him was in her very + existence; nor could we have realized it until the parting came. + Henceforward, with the mind still there, but with the machinery + necessary to set it in motion disturbed and shattered, he could but + try to create small occupations with which to fill the hours of a + life which was only valued for his children's sake. Kind and loving + friends in England and America soothed the passage, and our + gratitude for so many gracious acts is deep and true. His love for + children, always a strong feeling, was gratified by the constant + presence of my sister's babies, the eldest, a little girl who bore + my mother's name, and had been her idol, being the companion of many + hours and his best comforter. At the end the blow came swiftly and + suddenly, as he would have wished it. It was a terrible shock to us + who had vainly hoped to keep him a few years longer, but at least he + was spared what he had dreaded with a great dread, a gradual failure + of mental or bodily power. The mind was never clouded, the + affections never weakened, and after a few hours of unconscious + physical struggle he lay at rest, his face beautiful and calm, + without a trace of suffering or illness. Once or twice he said, 'It + has come, it has come,' and there were a few broken words before + consciousness fled, but there was little time for messages or leave- + taking. By a strange coincidence his life ended near the town of + Dorchester, in the mother country, as if the last hour brought with + it a reminiscence of his birthplace, and of his own dearly loved + mother. By his own wish only the dates of his birth and death + appear upon his gravestone, with the text chosen by himself, 'In God + is light, and in him is no darkness at all.'" + + + + +XXIV. + +CONCLUSION.--HIS CHARACTER.--HIS LABORS.--HIS REWARD. + +In closing this restricted and imperfect record of a life which merits, +and in due time will, I trust, receive an ampler tribute, I cannot +refrain from adding a few thoughts which naturally suggest themselves, +and some of which may seem quite unnecessary to the reader who has +followed the story of the historian and diplomatist's brilliant and +eventful career. + +Mr. Motley came of a parentage which promised the gifts of mind and body +very generally to be accounted for, in a measure at least, wherever we +find them, by the blood of one or both of the parents. They gave him +special attractions and laid him open to not a few temptations. Too +many young men born to shine in social life, to sparkle, it may be, +in conversation, perhaps in the lighter walks of literature, become +agreeable idlers, self-indulgent, frivolous, incapable of large designs +or sustained effort, lose every aspiration and forget every ideal. Our +gilded youth want such examples as this of Motley, not a solitary, but a +conspicuous one, to teach them how much better is the restlessness of a +noble ambition than the narcotized stupor of club-life or the vapid +amusement of a dressed-up intercourse which too often requires a +questionable flavor of forbidden license to render it endurable to +persons of vivacious character and temperament. + +It would seem difficult for a man so flattered from his earliest days to +be modest in his self-estimate; but Motley was never satisfied with +himself. He was impulsive, and was occasionally, I have heard it said, +over excited, when his prejudices were roughly handled. In all that +related to the questions involved in our civil war, he was, no doubt, +very sensitive. He had heard so much that exasperated him in the foreign +society which he had expected to be in full sympathy with the cause of +liberty as against slavery, that he might be excused if he showed +impatience when be met with similar sentiments among his own countrymen. +He felt that he had been cruelly treated by his own government, and no +one who conceives himself to have been wronged and insulted must be +expected to reason in naked syllogisms on the propriety of the liberties +which have been taken with his name and standing. But with all his +quickness of feeling, his manners were easy and courteous, simply because +his nature was warm and kindly, and with all his natural fastidiousness +there was nothing of the coxcomb about him. + +He must have had enemies, as all men of striking individuality are sure +to have; his presence cast more uncouth patriots into the shade; his +learning was a reproach to the ignorant, his fame was too bright a +distinction; his high-bred air and refinement, which he could not help, +would hardly commend him to the average citizen in an order of things in +which mediocrity is at a premium, and the natural nobility of presence, +which rarely comes without family antecedents to account for it, is not +always agreeable to the many whose two ideals are the man on horseback +and the man in his shirt-sleeves. It may well be questioned whether +Washington, with his grand manner, would be nearly as popular with what +are called "the masses" as Lincoln, with his homely ways and broad +stories. The experiment of universal suffrage must render the waters +of political and social life more or less turbid even if they remain +innoxious. The Cloaca Maxima can hardly mingle its contents with the +stream of the Aqua Claudia, without taking something from its crystal +clearness. We need not go so far as one of our well-known politicians +has recently gone in saying that no great man can reach the highest +position in our government, but we can safely say that, apart from +military fame, the loftiest and purest and finest personal qualities are +not those which can be most depended upon at the ballot-box. Strange +stories are told of avowed opposition to Mr. Motley on the ground of the +most trivial differences in point of taste in personal matters,--so told +that it is hard to disbelieve them, and they show that the caprices which +we might have thought belonged exclusively to absolute rulers among their +mistresses or their minions may be felt in the councils of a great people +which calls itself self-governing. It is perfectly true that Mr. Motley +did not illustrate the popular type of politician. He was too high- +minded, too scholarly, too generously industrious, too polished, too much +at home in the highest European circles, too much courted for his +personal fascinations, too remote from the trading world of caucus +managers. To degrade him, so far as official capital punishment could do +it, was not merely to wrong one whom the nation should have delighted to +honor as showing it to the world in the fairest flower of its young +civilization, but it was an indignity to a representative of the highest +scholarship of native growth, which every student in the land felt as a +discouragement to all sound learning and noble ambition. + +If he was disappointed in his diplomatic career, he had enough, and more +than enough, to console him in his brilliant literary triumphs. He had +earned them all by the most faithful and patient labor. If he had not +the "frame of adamant" of the Swedish hero, he had his "soul of fire." +No labors could tire him, no difficulties affright him. What most +surprised those who knew him as a young man was, not his ambition, not +his brilliancy, but his dogged, continuous capacity for work. We have +seen with what astonishment the old Dutch scholar, Groen van Prinsterer, +looked upon a man who had wrestled with authors like Bor and Van Meteren, +who had grappled with the mightiest folios and toiled undiscouraged among +half-illegible manuscript records. Having spared no pains in collecting +his materials, he told his story, as we all know, with flowing ease and +stirring vitality. His views may have been more or less partial; Philip +the Second may have deserved the pitying benevolence of poor Maximilian; +Maurice may have wept as sincerely over the errors of Arminius as any one +of "the crocodile crew that believe in election;" Barneveld and Grotius +may have been on the road to Rome; none of these things seem probable, +but if they were all proved true in opposition to his views, we should +still have the long roll of glowing tapestry he has woven for us, with +all its life-like portraits, its almost moving pageants, its sieges where +we can see the artillery flashing, its battle-fields with their smoke and +fire,--pictures which cannot fade, and which will preserve his name +interwoven with their own enduring colors. + +Republics are said to be ungrateful; it might be truer to say that they +are forgetful. They forgive those who have wronged them as easily as +they forget those who have done them good service. But History never +forgets and never forgives. To her decision we may trust the question, +whether the warm-hearted patriot who had stood up for his country nobly +and manfully in the hour of trial, the great scholar and writer who had +reflected honor upon her throughout the world of letters, the high-minded +public servant, whose shortcomings it taxed the ingenuity of experts to +make conspicuous enough to be presentable, was treated as such a citizen +should have been dealt with. His record is safe in her hands, and his +memory will be precious always in the hearts of all who enjoyed his +friendship. + + + + +APPENDIX. + +A. + +THE SATURDAY CLUB. + +This club, of which we were both members, and which is still flourishing, +came into existence in a very quiet sort of way at about the same time as +"The Atlantic Monthly," and, although entirely unconnected with that +magazine, included as members some of its chief contributors. Of those +who might have been met at some of the monthly gatherings in its earlier +days I may mention Emerson, Hawthorne, Longfellow, Lowell, Motley, +Whipple, Whittier; Professors Agassiz and Peirce; John S. Dwight; +Governor Andrew, Richard H. Dana, Junior, Charles Sumner. It offered a +wide gamut of intelligences, and the meetings were noteworthy occasions. +If there was not a certain amount of "mutual admiration" among some of +those I have mentioned it was a great pity, and implied a defect in the +nature of men who were otherwise largely endowed. The vitality of this +club has depended in a great measure on its utter poverty in statutes and +by-laws, its entire absence of formality, and its blessed freedom from +speech-making. + +That holy man, Richard Baxter, says in his Preface to Alleine's +"Alarm:"-- + + "I have done, when I have sought to remove a little scandal, which I + foresaw, that I should myself write the Preface to his Life where + himself and two of his friends make such a mention of my name, which + I cannot own; which will seem a praising him for praising me. I + confess it looketh ill-favoredly in me. But I had not the power of + other men's writings, and durst not forbear that which was his due." + +I do not know that I have any occasion for a similar apology in printing +the following lines read at a meeting of members of the Saturday Club and +other friends who came together to bid farewell to Motley before his +return to Europe in 1857. + + + A PARTING HEALTH + + Yes, we knew we must lose him,--though friendship may claim + To blend her green leaves with the laurels of fame, + Though fondly, at parting, we call him our own, + 'T is the whisper of love when the bugle has blown. + + As the rider that rests with the spur on his heel, + As the guardsman that sleeps in his corselet of steel, + As the archer that stands with his shaft on the string, + He stoops from his toil to the garland we bring. + + What pictures yet slumber unborn in his loom + Till their warriors shall breathe and their beauties shall bloom, + While the tapestry lengthens the life-glowing dyes + That caught from our sunsets the stain of their skies! + + In the alcoves of death, in the charnels of time, + Where flit the dark spectres of passion and crime, + There are triumphs untold, there are martyrs unsung, + There are heroes yet silent to speak with his tongue! + + Let us hear the proud story that time has bequeathed + From lips that are warm with the freedom they breathed! + Let him summon its tyrants, and tell us their doom, + Though he sweep the black past like Van Tromp with his broom! + + The dream flashes by, for the west-winds awake + On pampas, on prairie, o'er mountain and lake, + To bathe the swift bark, like a sea-girdled shrine + With incense they stole from the rose and the pine. + + So fill a bright cup with the sunlight that gushed + When the dead summer's jewels were trampled and crushed; + THE TRUE KNIGHT OF LEARNING,--the world holds him dear,-- + + Love bless him, joy crown him, God speed his career! + + + + +B. + +HABITS AND METHODS OF STUDY. + +Mr. Motley's daughter, Lady Harcourt, has favored me with many +interesting particulars which I could not have learned except from a +member of his own family. Her description of his way of living and of +working will be best given in her own words:-- + + "He generally rose early, the hour varying somewhat at different + parts of his life, according to his work and health. Sometimes when + much absorbed by literary labor he would rise before seven, often + lighting his own fire, and with a cup of tea or coffee writing until + the family breakfast hour, after which his work was immediately + resumed, and be usually sat over his writing-table until late in the + afternoon, when he would take a short walk. His dinner hour was + late, and he rarely worked at night. During the early years of his + literary studies he led a life of great retirement. Later, after + the publication of the 'Dutch Republic' and during the years of + official place, he was much in society in England, Austria, and + Holland. He enjoyed social life, and particularly dining out, + keenly, but was very moderate and simple in all his personal habits, + and for many years before his death had entirely given up smoking. + His work, when not in his own library, was in the Archives of the + Netherlands, Brussels, Paris, the English State Paper Office, and + the British Museum, where he made his own researches, patiently and + laboriously consulting original manuscripts and reading masses of + correspondence, from which he afterwards sometimes caused copies to + be made, and where he worked for many consecutive hours a day. + After his material had been thus painfully and toilfully amassed, + the writing of his own story was always done at home, and his mind, + having digested the necessary matter, always poured itself forth in + writing so copiously that his revision was chiefly devoted to + reducing the over-abundance. He never shrank from any of the + drudgery of preparation, but I think his own part of the work was + sheer pleasure to him." + +I should have mentioned that his residence in London while minister was +at the house No. 17 Arlington Street, belonging to Lord Yarborough. + + + + +C. + +SIR WILLIAM GULL's ACCOUNT OF HIS ILLNESS. + +I have availed myself of the permission implied in the subjoined letter +of Sir William Gull to make large extracts from his account of Mr. +Motley's condition while under his medical care. In his earlier years he +had often complained to me of those "nervous feelings connected with the +respiration" referred to by this very distinguished physician. I do not +remember any other habitual trouble to which he was subject. + + 74 BROOK STREET, GROSVENOR SQUARE, W. + February 13, 1878. +MY DEAR SIR,--I send the notes of Mr. Motley's last illness, as I +promised. They are too technical for general readers, but you will make +such exception as you require. The medical details may interest your +professional friends. Mr. Motley's case was a striking illustration that +the renal disease of so-called Bright's disease may supervene as part and +parcel of a larger and antecedent change in the blood-vessels in other +parts than the kidney. . . . I am, my dear sir, + + Yours very truly, + WILLIAM W. GULL. + +To OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, ESQ. + + I first saw Mr. Motley, I believe, about the year 1870, on account + of some nervous feelings connected with the respiration. At that + time his general health was good, and all he complained of was + occasionally a feeling of oppression about the chest. There were no + physical signs of anything abnormal, and the symptoms quite passed + away in the course of time, and with the use of simple antispasmodic + remedies, such as camphor and the like. This was my first interview + with Mr. Motley, and I was naturally glad to have the opportunity of + making his acquaintance. I remember that in our conversation I + jokingly said that my wife could hardly forgive him for not making + her hero, Henri IV., a perfect character, and the earnestness with + which he replied 'au serieux,' I assure you I have fairly recorded + the facts. After this date I did not see Mr. Motley for some time. + He had three slight attacks of haemoptysis in the autumn of 1872, + but no physical signs of change in the lung tissue resulted. So + early as this I noticed that there were signs of commencing + thickening in the heart, as shown by the degree and extent of its + impulse. The condition of his health, though at that time not very + obviously failing, a good deal arrested my attention, as I thought I + could perceive in the occurrence of the haemoptysis, and in the + cardiac hypertrophy, the early beginnings of vascular degeneration. + + In August, 1873, occurred the remarkable seizure, from the effects + of which Mr. Motley never recovered. I did not see him in the + attack, but was informed, as far as I can remember, that he was on a + casual visit at a friend's house at luncheon (or it might have been + dinner), when he suddenly became strangely excited, but not quite + unconscious. . . . I believed at the time, and do so still, that + there was some capillary apoplexy of the convolutions. The attack + was attended with some hemiplegic weakness on the right side, and + altered sensation, and ever after there was a want of freedom and + ease both in the gait and in the use of the arm of that side. To my + inquiries from time to time how the arm was, the patient would + always flex and extend it freely, but nearly always used the + expression, "There is a bedevilment in it;" though the handwriting + was not much, if at all, altered. + + In December, 1873, Mr. Motley went by my advice to Cannes. I wrote + the following letter at the time to my friend Dr. Frank, who was + practising there:-- + + [This letter, every word of which was of value to the + practitioner who was to have charge of the patient, relates + many of the facts given above, and I shall therefore only give + extracts from it.] + + December 29, 1873. + + MY DEAR DR. FRANK,--My friend Mr. Motley, the historian and late + American Minister, whose name and fame no doubt you know very well, + has by my advice come to Cannes for the winter and spring, and I + have promised him to give you some account of his case. To me it is + one of special interest, and personally, as respects the subject of + it, of painful interest. I have known Mr. Motley for some time, but + he consulted me for the present condition about midsummer. + + . . . If I have formed a correct opinion of the pathology of the + case, I believe the smaller vessels are degenerating in several + parts of the vascular area, lung, brain, and kidneys. With this + view I have suggested a change of climate, a nourishing diet, etc.; + and it is to be hoped, and I trust expected, that by great attention + to the conditions of hygiene, internal and external, the progress of + degeneration may be retarded. I have no doubt you will find, as + time goes on, increasing evidence of renal change, but this is + rather a coincidence and consequence than a cause, though no doubt + when the renal change has reached a certain point, it becomes in its + own way a factor of other lesions. I have troubled you at this + length because my mind is much occupied with the pathology of these + cases, and because no case can, on personal grounds, more strongly + challenge our attention. + + Yours very truly, + WILLIAM W. GULL. + + During the spring of 1874, whilst at Cannes, Mr. Motley had a sharp + attack of nephritis, attended with fever; but on returning to + England in July there was no important change in the health. The + weakness of the side continued, and the inability to undertake any + mental work. The signs of cardiac hypertrophy were more distinct. + In the beginning of the year 1875 I wrote as follows:-- + + February 20, 1875. + + MY DEAR Mr. MOTLEY,--. . . The examination I have just made + appears to indicate that the main conditions of your health are more + stable than they were some months ago, and would therefore be so far + in favor of your going to America in the summer, as we talked of. + The ground of my doubt has lain in the possibility of such a trip + further disordering the circulation. Of this, I hope, there is now + less risk. + + + On the 4th of June, 1875, I received the following letter:-- + + CALVERLY PARK HOTEL, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, + June 4, 1875. + + MY DEAR SIR WILLIAM,--I have been absent from town for a long time, + but am to be there on the 9th and 10th. Could I make an appointment + with you for either of those days? I am anxious to have a full + consultation with you before leaving for America. Our departure is + fixed for the 19th of this month. I have not been worse than usual + of late. I think myself, on the contrary, rather stronger, and it + is almost impossible for me not to make my visit to America this + summer, unless you should absolutely prohibit it. If neither of + those days should suit you, could you kindly suggest another day? + I hope, however, you can spare me half an hour on one of those days, + as I like to get as much of this bracing air as I can. Will you + kindly name the hour when I may call on you, and address me at this + hotel. Excuse this slovenly note in pencil, but it fatigues my head + and arm much more to sit at a writing-table with pen and ink. + + Always most sincerely yours, + My dear Sir William, + J. L. MOTLEY. + + On Mr. Motley's return from America I saw him, and found him, I + thought, rather better in general health than when he left England. + + In December, 1875, Mr. Motley consulted me for trouble of vision in + reading or walking, from sensations like those produced by flakes of + falling snow coming between him and the objects he was looking at. + Mr. Bowman, one of our most excellent oculists, was then consulted. + Mr. Bowman wrote to me as follows: "Such symptoms as exist point + rather to disturbed retinal function than to any brain-mischief. It + is, however, quite likely that what you fear for the brain may have + had its counterpart in the nerve-structures of the eye, and as he is + short-sighted, this tendency may be further intensified." + + Mr. Bowman suggested no more than such an arrangement of glasses as + might put the eyes, when in use, under better optic conditions. + + The year 1876 was passed over without any special change worth + notice. The walking powers were much impeded by the want of control + over the right leg. The mind was entirely clear, though Mr. Motley + did not feel equal, and indeed had been advised not to apply + himself, to any literary work. Occasional conversations, when I had + interviews with him on the subject of his health, proved that the + attack which had weakened the movements of the right side had not + impaired the mental power. The most noticeable change which had + come over Mr. Motley since I first knew him was due to the death of + Mrs. Motley in December, 1874. It had in fact not only profoundly + depressed him, but, if I may so express it, had removed the centre + of his thought to a new world. In long conversations with me of a + speculative kind, after that painful event, it was plain how much + his point of view of the whole course and relation of things had + changed. His mind was the last to dogmatize on any subject. There + was a candid and childlike desire to know, with an equal confession + of the incapacity of the human intellect. I wish I could recall the + actual expressions he used, but the sense was that which has been so + well stated by Hooker in concluding an exhortation against the pride + of the human intellect, where he remarks:-- + + "Dangerous it were for the feeble brain of man to wade far into the + doings of the Most High; whom although to know be life, and joy to + make mention of His Name, yet our soundest knowledge is to know that + we know Him, not indeed as He is, neither can know Him; and our + safest eloquence concerning Him is our silence, when we confess + without confession that His glory is inexplicable, His greatness + above our capacity and reach. He is above and we upon earth; + therefore it behoveth our words to be wary and few." + + Mrs. Motley's illness was not a long one, and the nature of it was + such that its course could with certainty be predicted. Mr. Motley + and her children passed the remaining days of her life, extending + over about a month, with her, in the mutual under standing that she + was soon to part from them. The character of the illness, and the + natural exhaustion of her strength by suffering, lessened the shock + of her death, though not the loss, to those who survived her. + + The last time I saw Mr. Motley was, I believe, about two months + before his death, March 28, 1877. There was no great change in his + health, but he complained of indescribable sensations in his nervous + system, and felt as if losing the whole power of walking, but this + was not obvious in his gait, although he walked shorter distances + than before. I heard no more of him until I was suddenly summoned + on the 29th of May into Devonshire to see him. The telegram I + received was so urgent, that I suspected some rupture of a blood- + vessel in the brain, and that I should hardly reach him alive; and + this was the case. About two o'clock in the day he complained of a + feeling of faintness, said he felt ill and should not recover; and + in a few minutes was insensible with symptoms of ingravescent + apoplexy. There was extensive haemorrhage into the brain, as shown + by post-mortem examination, the cerebral vessels being atheromatous. + The fatal haemorrhage had occurred into the lateral ventricles, from + rupture of one of the middle cerebral arteries. + + I am, my dear Sir, + Yours very truly, + WILLIAM W. GULL. + + + +E. + +FROM THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY. + +At a meeting of the Massachusetts Historical Society, held on Thursday, +the 14th of June, 1877, after the reading of the records of the preceding +meeting, the president, the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, spoke as follows: + + "Our first thoughts to-day, gentlemen, are of those whom we may not + again welcome to these halls. We shall be in no mood, certainly, + for entering on other subjects this morning until we have given some + expression to our deep sense of the loss--the double loss--which our + Society has sustained since our last monthly meeting."--[Edmund + Quincy died May 17. John Lothrop Motley died May 29.] + +After a most interesting and cordial tribute to his friend, Mr. Quincy, +Mr. Winthrop continued: + + "The death of our distinguished associate, Motley, can hardly have + taken many of us by surprise. Sudden at the moment of its + occurrence, we had long been more or less prepared for it by his + failing health. It must, indeed, have been quite too evident to + those who had seen him, during the last two or three years, that his + life-work was finished. I think he so regarded it himself. + + "Hopes may have been occasionally revived in the hearts of his + friends, and even in his own heart, that his long-cherished purpose + of completing a History of the Thirty Years' War, as the grand + consummation of his historical labors,--for which all his other + volumes seemed to him to have been but the preludes and overtures,-- + might still be accomplished. But such hopes, faint and flickering + from his first attack, had well-nigh died away. They were like + Prescott's hopes of completing his 'Philip the Second,' or like + Macaulay's hopes of finishing his brilliant 'History of England.' + + "But great as may be the loss to literature of such a crowning work + from Motley's pen, it was by no means necessary to the completeness + of his own fame. His 'Rise of the Dutch Republic,' his 'History of + the United Netherlands,' and his 'Life of John of Barneveld,' had + abundantly established his reputation, and given him a fixed place + among the most eminent historians of our country and of our age. + + "No American writer, certainly, has secured a wider recognition or a + higher appreciation from the scholars of the Old World. The + universities of England and the learned societies of Europe have + bestowed upon him their largest honors. It happened to me to be in + Paris when he was first chosen a corresponding member of the + Institute, and when his claims were canvassed with the freedom and + earnestness which peculiarly characterize such a candidacy in + France. There was no mistaking the profound impression which his + first work had made on the minds of such men as Guizot and Mignet. + Within a year or two past, a still higher honor has been awarded him + from the same source. The journals not long ago announced his + election as one of the six foreign associates of the French Academy + of Moral and Political Sciences,--a distinction which Prescott would + probably have attained had he lived a few years longer, until there + was a vacancy, but which, as a matter of fact, I believe, Motley was + the only American writer, except the late Edward Livingston, of + Louisiana, who has actually enjoyed. + + "Residing much abroad, for the purpose of pursuing his historical + researches, he had become the associate and friend of the most + eminent literary men in almost all parts of the world, and the + singular charms of his conversation and manners had made him a + favorite guest in the most refined and exalted circles. + + "Of his relations to political and public life, this is hardly the + occasion or the moment for speaking in detail. Misconstructions and + injustices are the proverbial lot of those who occupy eminent + position. It was a duke of Vienna, if I remember rightly, whom + Shakespeare, in his 'Measure for Measure,' introduces as + exclaiming,-- + + 'O place and greatness, millions of false eyes + Are stuck upon thee! Volumes of report + Run with these false and most contrarious quests + Upon thy doings! Thousand 'stapes of wit + Make thee the father of their idle dream, + And rack thee in their fancies!' + + "I forbear from all application of the lines. It is enough for me, + certainly, to say here, to-day, that our country was proud to be + represented at the courts of Vienna and London successively by a + gentleman of so much culture and accomplishment as Mr. Motley, and + that the circumstances of his recall were deeply regretted by us + all. + + "His fame, however, was quite beyond the reach of any such + accidents, and could neither be enhanced nor impaired by + appointments or removals. As a powerful and brilliant historian we + pay him our unanimous tribute of admiration and regret, and give him + a place in our memories by the side of Prescott and Irving. I do + not forget how many of us lament him, also, as a cherished friend. + + "He died on the 29th ultimo, at the house of his daughter, Mrs. + Sheridan, in Dorsetshire, England, and an impressive tribute to his + memory was paid, in Westminster Abbey, on the following Sunday, by + our Honorary Member, Dean Stanley. Such a tribute, from such lips, + and with such surroundings, leaves nothing to be desired in the way + of eulogy. He was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, by the side of + his beloved wife. + + "One might well say of Motley precisely what he said of Prescott, in + a letter from Rome to our associate, Mr. William Amory, immediately + on hearing of Prescott's death: 'I feel inexpressibly disappointed-- + speaking now for an instant purely from a literary point of view-- + that the noble and crowning monument of his life, for which he had + laid such massive foundations, and the structure of which had been + carried forward in such a grand and masterly manner, must remain + uncompleted, like the unfinished peristyle of some stately and + beautiful temple on which the night of time has suddenly descended. + But, still, the works which his great and untiring hand had already + thoroughly finished will remain to attest his learning and genius,-- + a precious and perpetual possession for his country." + + ................................. + +The President now called on Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, who said:-- + + "The thoughts which suggest themselves upon this occasion are such + as belong to the personal memories of the dear friends whom we have + lost, rather than to their literary labors, the just tribute to + which must wait for a calmer hour than the present, following so + closely as it does on our bereavement." + + ................................. + + "His first literary venture of any note was the story called + 'Morton's Hope; or, The Memoirs of a Provincial.' This first effort + failed to satisfy the critics, the public, or himself. His + personality pervaded the characters and times which he portrayed, + so that there was a discord between the actor and his costume. + Brilliant passages could not save it; and it was plain enough that + he must ripen into something better before the world would give him + the reception which surely awaited him if he should find his true + destination. + + "The early failures of a great writer are like the first sketches + of a great artist, and well reward patient study. More than this, + the first efforts of poets and story-tellers are very commonly + palimpsests: beneath the rhymes or the fiction one can almost always + spell out the characters which betray the writer's self. Take these + passages from the story just referred to: + + "'Ah! flattery is a sweet and intoxicating potion, whether we drink + it from an earthen ewer or a golden chalice. . . . Flattery from + man to woman is expected: it is a part of the courtesy of society; + but when the divinity descends from the altar to burn incense to the + priest, what wonder if the idolater should feel himself transformed + into a god!' + + "He had run the risk of being spoiled, but he had a safeguard in his + aspirations. + + "'My ambitious anticipations,' says Morton, in the story, were as + boundless as they were various and conflicting. There was not a + path which leads to glory in which I was not destined to gather + laurels. As a warrior, I would conquer and overrun the world; as a + statesman, I would reorganize and govern it; as a historian, I would + consign it all to immortality; and, in my leisure moments, I would + be a great poet and a man of the world.' + + "Who can doubt that in this passage of his story he is picturing his + own visions, one of the fairest of which was destined to become + reality? + + "But there was another element in his character, which those who + knew him best recognized as one with which he had to struggle hard, + --that is, a modesty which sometimes tended to collapse into self- + distrust. This, too, betrays itself in the sentences which follow + those just quoted:-- + + "'In short,' says Morton, 'I was already enrolled in that large + category of what are called young men of genius, . . . men of + whom unheard-of things are expected; till after long preparation + comes a portentous failure, and then they are forgotten. . . . + Alas! for the golden imaginations of our youth. . . . They are + all disappointments. They are bright and beautiful, but they fade.'" + + ........................... + +The President appointed Professor Lowell to write the Memoir of Mr. +Quincy, and Dr. Holmes that of Mr. Motley, for the Society's +"Proceedings." + +Professor William Everett then spoke as follows: + + "There is one incident, sir, in Mr. Motley's career that has not + been mentioned to-day, which is, perhaps, most vividly remembered by + those of us who were in Europe at the outbreak of our civil war in + 1861. At that time, the ignorance of Englishmen, friendly or + otherwise, about America, was infinite: they knew very little of us, + and that little wrong. Americans were overwhelmed with questions, + taunts, threats, misrepresentations, the outgrowth of ignorance, and + ignoring worse than ignorance, from every class of Englishmen. + Never was an authoritative exposition of our hopes and policy worse + needed; and there was no one to do it. The outgoing diplomatic + agents represented a bygone order of things; the representatives of + Mr. Lincoln's administration had not come. At that time of anxiety, + Mr. Motley, living in England as a private person, came forward with + two letters in the 'Times,' which set forth the cause of the United + States once and for all. No unofficial, and few official, men could + have spoken with such authority, and been so certain of obtaining a + hearing from Englishmen. Thereafter, amid all the clouds of + falsehood and ridicule which we had to encounter, there was one + lighthouse fixed on a rock to which we could go for foothold, from + which we could not be driven, and against which all assaults were + impotent. + + "There can be no question that the effect produced by these letters + helped, if help had been needed, to point out Mr. Motley as a + candidate for high diplomatic place who could not be overlooked. + Their value was recognized alike by his fellow-citizens in America + and his admirers in England; but none valued them more than the + little band of exiles, who were struggling against terrible odds, + and who rejoiced with a great joy to see the stars and stripes, + whose centennial anniversary those guns are now celebrating, planted + by a hand so truly worthy to rally every American to its support." + + + +G. + +POEM BY WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. + +I cannot close this Memoir more appropriately than by appending the +following poetical tribute:-- + + IN MEMORY OF JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY. + + BY WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. + + Sleep, Motley, with the great of ancient days, + Who wrote for all the years that yet shall be. + Sleep with Herodotus, whose name and praise + Have reached the isles of earth's remotest sea. + Sleep, while, defiant of the slow delays + Of Time, thy glorious writings speak for thee + And in the answering heart of millions raise + The generous zeal for Right and Liberty. + And should the days o'ertake us, when, at last, + The silence that--ere yet a human pen + Had traced the slenderest record of the past + Hushed the primeval languages of men + Upon our English tongue its spell shall cast, + Thy memory shall perish only then. + + + + +ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS: + +An order of things in which mediocrity is at a premium +Better is the restlessness of a noble ambition +Blessed freedom from speech-making +Flattery is a sweet and intoxicating potion +Forget those who have done them good service +His dogged, continuous capacity for work +His learning was a reproach to the ignorant +History never forgets and never forgives +Mediocrity is at a premium +No great man can reach the highest position in our government +Over excited, when his prejudices were roughly handled +Plain enough that he is telling his own story +Republics are said to be ungrateful +They knew very little of us, and that little wrong +Visible atmosphere of power the poison of which +Wonders whether it has found its harbor or only lost its anchor + + + + +End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of Memoir of John Lothrop Motley, v3 +by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. + + + + + + +ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS FOR THE COMPLETE MEMOIR OF MOTLEY BY HOLMES: + +A great historian is almost a statesman +Admired or despised, as if he or she were our contemporary +Alas! one never knows when one becomes a bore +All classes are conservative by necessity +Already looking forward to the revolt of the slave States +American Unholy Inquisition +An order of things in which mediocrity is at a premium +Attacked by the poetic mania +Becoming more learned, and therefore more ignorant +best defence in this case is little better than an impeachment +Better is the restlessness of a noble ambition +Blessed freedom from speech-making +But not thoughtlessly indulgent to the boy +But after all this isn't a war It is a revolution +Can never be repaired and never sufficiently regretted +Cold water of conventional and commonplace encouragement +Considerations of state have never yet failed the axe +Considerations of state as a reason +Could paint a character with the ruddy life-blood coloring +Emulation is not capability +Everything else may happen This alone must happen +Excused by their admirers for their shortcomings +Excuses to disarm the criticism he had some reason to fear +Fear of the laugh of the world at its sincerity +Fitted "To warn, to comfort, and command" +Flattery is a sweet and intoxicating potion +Forget those who have done them good service +Fortune's buffets and rewards can take with equal thanks +He was not always careful in the construction of his sentences +His learning was a reproach to the ignorant +His dogged, continuous capacity for work +History never forgets and never forgives +How many more injured by becoming bad copies of a bad ideal +Ignoble facts which strew the highways of political life +In revolutions the men who win are those who are in earnest +Indoor home life imprisons them in the domestic circle +Intellectual dandyisms of Bulwer +Irresistible force in collision with an insuperable resistance +It is n't strategists that are wanted so much as believers +John Quincy Adams +Kindly shadow of oblivion +Manner in which an insult shall be dealt with +Mediocrity is at a premium +Misanthropical, sceptical philosopher +Most entirely truthful child whe had ever seen +Motley was twice sacrificed to personal feelings +Nearsighted liberalism +No great man can reach the highest position in our government +No two books, as he said, ever injured each other +No man is safe (from news reporters) +Not a single acquaintance in the place, and we glory in the fact +Only foundation fit for history,--original contemporary document +Our mortal life is but a string of guesses at the future +Over excited, when his prejudices were roughly handled +Plain enough that he is telling his own story +Played so long with other men's characters and good name +Progress should be by a spiral movement +Public which must have a slain reputation to devour +Radical, one who would uproot, is a man whose trade is dangerous +Reasonable to pay our debts rather than to repudiate them +Recall of a foreign minister for alleged misconduct in office +Republics are said to be ungrateful +Sees the past in the pitiless light of the present +Self-educated man, as he had been a self-taught boy +Shall Slavery die, or the great Republic? +Solitary and morose, the necessary consequence of reckless study +Spirit of a man who wishes to be proud of his country +Studied according to his inclinations rather than by rule +Style above all other qualities seems to embalm for posterity +Suicide is confession +Talked impatiently of the value of my time +The fellow mixes blood with his colors! +The loss of hair, which brings on premature decay +The personal gifts which are nature's passport everywhere +The nation is as much bound to be honest as is the individual +The dead men of the place are my intimate friends +They knew very little of us, and that little wrong +This Somebody may have been one whom we should call Nobody +Twenty assaults upon fame and had forty books killed under him +Unequivocal policy of slave emancipation +Vain belief that they were men at eighteen or twenty +Visible atmosphere of power the poison of which +Weight of a thousand years of error +Wonders whether it has found its harbor or only lost its anchor +Wringing a dry cloth for drops of evidence + + +[The End] + + + + +************************************************************************ +The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Memoir of John Lothrop Motley, Entire +**********This file should be named oh14v10.txt or oh14v10.zip********** + +Corrected EDITIONS of our etexts get a new NUMBER, oh14v11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, oh14v10a.txt + +This etext was produced by David Widger <widger@cecomet.net> + +More information about this book is at the top of this file. + +We are now trying to release all our etexts one year in advance +of the official release dates, leaving time for better editing. +Please be encouraged to tell us about any error or corrections, +even years after the official publication date. + +Please note neither this listing nor its contents are final til +midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement. +The official release date of all Project Gutenberg Etexts is at +Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month. 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