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+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #60141 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60141)
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-Project Gutenberg's Graham's Magazine, Vol. XL, No. 3, March 1852, by Various
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: Graham's Magazine, Vol. XL, No. 3, March 1852
-
-Author: Various
-
-Editor: George R. Graham
-
-Release Date: August 20, 2019 [EBook #60141]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRAHAM'S MAGAZINE, MARCH 1852 ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Mardi Desjardins & the online Distributed
-Proofreaders Canada team at https://www.pgdpcanada.net
-from page images generously made available by Google Books
-
-
-
-
-
- GRAHAM’S MAGAZINE.
- Vol. XL. March, 1852. No. 3.
-
-
- Contents
-
- Fiction, Literature and Articles
-
- Granny’s Fairy Story
- Spectral Illusions
- Campaigning Stories (continued)
- Law and Lawyers
- A Life of Vicissitudes (continued)
- Milton
- The Miser and His Daughter
- The Lost Deed (continued)
- Beauty’s Retreat
- Death
- The Philadelphia Art-Union
- Review of New Books
- Graham’s Small-Talk
-
- Poetry and Music
-
- Belle’s Eyes
- The Page
- Lines Written on St. Valentine’s Day
- “What do the Birds say?”
- Leora
- Dei Gratia, Rex
- Our Childhood
- I’ll Blame Thee Not
- Elpholen. A Fragment
- A Charm
- Life’s Voyage
- Bless The Homestead Law
- The Deserted
- The Babes of Exile
- Write Thou Upon Life’s Page
- Lines on a Vase of Flowers
- To a Friend in the Spirit Land
- Oh Share My Cottage
- Stars of the Summer Night
-
- Transcriber’s Notes can be found at the end of this eBook.
-
- * * * * *
-
-[Illustration: A DACOTAH INDIAN COURTING.
-Drawn by S. Eastman U.S.A. and Engraved expressly for Graham’s Magazine by
- F. Humphry.]
-
- * * * * *
-
-[Illustration: Boston Harbor.]
-
- * * * * *
-
- GRAHAM’S MAGAZINE.
-
- Vol. XL. PHILADELPHIA, MARCH, 1852. No. 3.
-
- * * * * *
-
-[Illustration: An old woman leaning forward speaks to a child. “Once
-upon a time.”]
-
-
-
-
- GRANNY’S FAIRY STORY.
-
-
- (FOR THE YOUNG FOLKS.)
-
-
-There was a young woman so kind and sweet-tempered that every person
-loved her. Among the rest, there was an old witch who lived near where
-she dwelt, and with whom she was a great favorite. One day this old
-witch told her she had a nice present to give her. “See,” she said,
-“here is a barley-corn, which, however, is by no means of the same sort
-as those which grow in the farmer’s field, or those we give to the
-fowls. Now you must plant this in a flower-pot, and then take care and
-see what happens.”
-
-“Thank you a thousand times,” said the young woman. And, thereupon, she
-went straight home, and planted the barley-corn the witch had given her
-in a flower-pot. Immediately there grew out of it a large, handsome
-flower, but its leaves were all shut close as if they were buds.
-
-“That is a most beautiful flower!” said the woman, while she bent down
-to kiss its red and yellow leaves; but scarcely had her lips pressed the
-flower, than it gave forth a loud sound and opened its cup. And now the
-woman was able to see that it was a regular tulip, and in the midst of
-the cup, down at the bottom, there sat a small and most lovely little
-maiden; her height was about one inch, and on that account the woman
-named her Ellise.
-
-She made the little thing a cradle out of a walnut-shell, gave her a
-blue violet-leaf for a mattress, and a rose-leaf for a coverlet. In this
-cradle Ellise slept at night time, and during the day she played upon
-the table. The woman had set a plate filled with water upon the table,
-which she surrounded with flowers, and the flower-stalks all rested on
-the edge of the water; on the water floated a large tulip-leaf, and upon
-the tulip-leaf sat the little Ellise, and sailed from one side of the
-plate to the other; and for this she used two white horse-hairs for
-oars. The whole effect was very charming, and Ellise could sing too, but
-with such a delicate little voice as we have never heard here.
-
-One night as she lay in her bed, an ugly toad hopped into her through
-the broken window pane. It was a large and very hideous toad; and it
-sprang at once upon the table, where Ellise lay asleep under the
-rose-leaf.
-
-“That would be, now, a nice little wife for my son,” said the toad, and
-seized, as she said it, the walnut-shell in her mouth, and hopped with
-it out through the window into the garden again.
-
-Through the garden flowed a broad stream, but its banks were marshy, and
-among the marshes lived the toad and her son. Ha! how hideous the son
-was too; exactly like his mother he was, and all that he could say, when
-he saw the sweet little maiden in the walnut-shell, was “Koax! koax!
-breckke ke!”
-
-“Don’t talk so loud,” said the old one to him, “else you’ll awake her,
-and then she might easily run away from us, for she is lighter than
-swans’-down. We will set her upon a large plant in the stream; that will
-be a whole island for her, and then she cannot run away from us; while
-we, down in the mud, will build the house for you two to live in.”
-
-In the stream there were many large plants, which all seemed as if they
-floated on the water; the most distant one was, at the same time, the
-largest, and thither swam the old toad and set down the walnut-shell,
-with the little maiden upon it.
-
-Early on the following morning the little Ellise awoke, and when she
-looked about her and saw where she was, that her new dwelling-place was
-surrounded on all sides by water, and that there remained no possible
-way for her to reach land again, she began to weep most bitterly.
-
-Meanwhile the old toad sat in the mud and adorned the building with
-reeds and yellow flowers, that it might be quite grand for her future
-daughter-in-law, and then, in company with her hideous son, swam to the
-little leaf-island where Ellise lay.
-
-She now wanted to fetch her pretty little bed, that it might at once be
-placed in the new chamber, before Ellise herself was brought there. The
-old toad bent herself courteously before her in the water, while she
-presented her son in these words—“You see here my son, who is to be
-your husband, and you two shall live together charmingly down in the
-mud.”
-
-“Koax! koax! breckke-ke!” was all that the bridegroom could find to say.
-
-And, therewith, they both seized upon the beautiful little bed, and swam
-away with it; while Ellise sat alone upon the leaf and cried very much,
-for she did not like at all to live with the frightful toad, much less
-have her odious son for her husband. Now the little fishes which swam
-about under the water, had seen the toad, and heard, moreover, perfectly
-well all that she said; they, therefore, raised their heads above water,
-that they might have a look at the beautiful little creature. No sooner
-had they seen her than they were, one and all, quite moved by her
-beauty; and it seemed to them very hard that such a sweet maiden should
-become the prey of an ugly toad. They assembled themselves, therefore,
-round about the green stalk from which grew the leaf whereon Ellise sat,
-and gnawed it with their teeth until it came in two, and then away
-floated Ellise and the leaf far, far away, where the toad could come no
-more.
-
-And so sailed the little maiden by towns and villages, and when the
-birds upon the trees beheld her, they sang out—“Oh, what a lovely young
-girl.” But away, away floated the leaf always further and further.
-Ellise made quite a foreign journey upon it.
-
-For some time a small white butterfly had hovered over her, and at last
-he sat himself down on her leaf, because he was very much pleased with
-Ellise, and she, too, was very glad of the visit, for now the toad could
-not come near her, and the country through which she traveled was so
-beautiful. The sun shone so bright upon the water that it glittered like
-gold. And now the idea occurred to her to loosen her girdle, bind one
-end of it to the butterfly, the other on to the leaf; she did this and
-then she flew on much faster, and saw much more of the world than she
-would have done.
-
-But, at last, there came by a cock-chafer, who seized her with his long
-claws round her slender waist, and flew away with her to a tree, while
-on swam the leaf, and the butterfly was obliged to follow, for he could
-not come loose, so fast and firm had Ellise bound him.
-
-Ah! how terrified was poor Ellise when the cock-chafer carried her off
-to the tree. But her sorrow over the little butterfly was quite as
-great, for she knew he must certainly perish, unless by some good
-accident he should chance to free himself from the green leaf. But all
-this made no impression upon the cock-chafer, who set her upon a large
-leaf, gave her some honey to eat, and told her she was very charming,
-although not a bit like a chafer. And now appeared all the other
-cock-chafers who dwelt upon this tree, who waited upon Ellise, and
-examined her from top to toe; while the young lady-chafers turned up
-their feelers and said, “She has only two legs! how very wretched that
-looks!” and added they, “she has no feelers whatever, and is as thin in
-the body as a human being! Ah! it’s really hideous!” and all the young
-lady-cock-chafers cried out, “Ah! it’s perfectly hideous!” And yet
-Ellise was so charming! and so felt the cock-chafer; but at last,
-because all the lady-chafers thought her ugly he began to think so too,
-and resolved he would have nothing more to do with her; “she might go,”
-he said, “wherever she liked;” and with these words he flew with her to
-the ground, and set her upon a daisy. And now the poor little thing wept
-bitterly, to find herself so hideous that not even a cock-chafer would
-have any thing to do with her. But, notwithstanding this decisive
-opinion of the young lady-cock-chafers, Ellise was the loveliest, most
-elegant little creature in the world, as delicate and beautiful as a
-young rose-leaf.
-
-The whole summer through the poor little maiden lived alone in the great
-forest; and she wove herself a bed out of fine grass, and hung it up to
-rock beneath a creeper, that it might not be blown away by the wind and
-rain; she plucked herself sweets out of the flowers, for food, and drank
-of the fresh dew, that fell every morning upon the grass. And so the
-summer and the autumn passed away. All the birds which had sung so
-sweetly to Ellise, left her and went away, the trees lost all their
-green, the flowers withered, and the great creeper which, until now, had
-been her shelter, shriveled away to a bare yellow stalk. The poor little
-thing shivered with cold, for her clothes were now worn out, and her
-form was so tender and delicate that she certainly would perish with
-cold. It began also to snow, and every flake which touched her, was to
-her what a great heapfull would be to us, for her whole body was only
-one inch long.
-
-Close beside the forest in which Ellise lay, there was a corn-field, but
-the corn had long since been reaped, and now, only the dry stubble rose
-above the earth; yet, for Ellise was this a great forest, and hither she
-came. So she reached the house of a field-mouse, which was formed of a
-little hole under the stubble. Here dwelt the field-mouse warm and
-comfortable, with her store-room full of food for the winter, and near
-at hand a pretty kitchen and eating-room. Poor Ellise stepped up to the
-door and begged for a little grain of barley, for she had tasted nothing
-for the whole day.
-
-“You poor little wretch!” said the field-mouse, who was very
-kind-hearted, “come in to my warm room and eat something.” And when now
-she was much pleased with Ellise, she added, “you may if you like, spend
-the winter here with me; but you must keep my house clean and neat, and
-tell me stories, for I am very fond of hearing stories.”
-
-Ellise did as the field-mouse wished, and, as a reward for her trouble,
-was made comfortable with her.
-
-“Now we shall have a visit,” said the field-mouse to her one day. “My
-neighbor is accustomed to pay me a visit every week. He is much richer
-than I am, for he has several beautiful rooms, and wears the most costly
-velvet coat. Now if you could only have him for your husband, you would
-be nicely provided for, but he does not see very sharply, that’s one
-thing. Only you must tell him all the best stories you can think of.”
-
-But Ellise would hear nothing of it, for she could not endure the
-neighbor, for he was nothing more nor less than a mole. He came, as was
-expected, to pay his respects to the field-mouse, and wore his handsome
-velvet coat as usual. The field-mouse said he was very rich, and very
-well informed, and that his house was twenty times larger than hers.
-Well informed he might be, but he could not endure the sunshine or the
-flowers, and spoke contemptuously of both one and the other, although he
-had never seen either. Ellise was obliged to sing before him, and she
-sang the two songs—“Chafers fly! the sun is shining!” and “The priest
-goes to the field!” Then the mole became very much in love with her
-because of her beautiful voice, but he took good care not to show it,
-for he was a cautious, sensible fellow.
-
-Very lately he had made a long passage from his dwelling to that of his
-neighbor, and he gave permission to Ellise and the field-mouse to go in
-it as often as they pleased; yet he begged of them not to be startled at
-the dead bird which lay at the entrance. It was certainly a bird lately
-dead, for all the feathers were still upon him, it seemed to have been
-frozen exactly there where the mole had made the entrance of his
-passage.
-
-Mr. Neighbor now took a piece of tinder in his mouth, and stepped on
-before the ladies, that he might lighten the way for them, and as he
-came to the place where the dead bird lay, he struck with his snout on
-the ground, so that the earth rolled away, and a large opening appeared
-through which the daylight shone in. And now, Ellise could see the dead
-bird quite well—it was a swallow. The pretty wings were pressed against
-the body, and the feet and head covered over by the feathers. “The poor
-bird has died of cold,” said Ellise, and it grieved her very much for
-the dear little animal, for she was very fond of birds, for they sang to
-her all through the summer. But the mole kicked him with his foot and
-said, “The fine fellow has done with his twittering now! It must indeed
-be dreadful to be born a bird! Heaven be praised that none of my
-children have turned out birds! Stupid things! they have nothing in the
-wide world but their quivit, and when the winter comes, die they must!”
-
-“Yes,” returned the field-mouse, “you, a thoughtful and reflecting man,
-may well say that! What indeed has a bird beyond its twitter when the
-winter comes? he must perforce hunger and freeze!”
-
-Ellise was silent; but when the others had turned their backs upon the
-bird, she raised up its feathers gently, and kissed its closed eyes.
-
-“Perhaps it was you,” she said softly, “who sang me such beautiful
-songs! How often you have made me happy and merry, you dear bird!”
-
-And now the mole stopped up the opening again through which the daylight
-fell, and then accompanied the young ladies home. But Ellise could not
-sleep the whole night long. She got up, therefore, wove a covering of
-hay, carried it away to the dead bird, and covered him with it on all
-sides, in order that he might rest warmer upon the cold ground.
-“Farewell, you sweet, pretty little bird!” said she. “Farewell! and let
-me thank you a thousand times for your friendly song this summer, when
-the trees were all green, and the sun shone down so warm upon us all!”
-And therewith she laid her little head on the bird’s breast, but started
-back, for it seemed to her as if something moved within. It was the
-bird’s heart; he was not dead, but benumbed, and now he came again to
-life as the warmth penetrated to him.
-
-In the autumn, the swallows fly away to warmer countries; and when a
-weak one is among them, and the cold freezes him, he falls upon the
-ground, and lies there as if dead, until the cold snow covers him.
-
-Ellise was frightened at first, when the bird raised itself, for to her
-he was a great big giant, but she soon collected herself again, pressed
-the hay covering close round the exhausted little animal, and then went
-to fetch the curled mint-leaves which served for her own covering, that
-she might lay it over his head.
-
-The following night she slipped away to the bird again, whom she found
-now quite revived, but yet so very weak, that he could only open his
-eyes now and then, to look at Ellise, who lighted up his face with a
-little piece of tinder.
-
-“I thank you a thousand times, you lovely little child,” said the sick
-swallow, “I am now so thoroughly warmed through, that I shall soon gain
-my strength again, and shall be able to fly out in the warm sunshine.”
-
-“Oh! it is a great deal too cold out there,” returned Ellise, “it snows
-and freezes so hard! only just stay now in your warm bed, and I will
-take such care of you!”
-
-She brought the bird some water to drink out of a leaf, and then he
-related to her how he had so hurt his wing against a thorny bush that he
-could not fly away to the warm countries with his comrades, and at last
-had fallen exhausted to the ground, where all consciousness left him.
-
-The little swallow remained here the whole winter, and Ellise attended
-to him, and became every day more and more fond of him; yet she said
-nothing at all about it to the mole or the field-mouse, for she knew
-well enough already that neither of them could bear the poor bird.
-
-As soon, however, as the summer came, and the warm sunbeams penetrated
-the earth, the swallow said good-bye to Ellise, who had now opened the
-hole in the ground, through which the mole let the light fall in. The
-sun shone so kindly, that the swallow turned and asked Ellise, his dear
-little nurse, whether she would not fly away with him. She could sit
-very nicely upon the swallow’s back, and then they would go away
-together to the green forest. But Ellise thought it would grieve the
-good field-mouse if she went away secretly, and therefore she was
-obliged to refuse the bird’s kind offer.
-
-“Then, once more farewell, you kind, good maiden,” said the swallow, and
-therewith he flew out into the sunshine. Ellise looked sorrowfully after
-him, and the tears rushed into her eyes, for she was very fond of the
-good bird.
-
-“Quivit! quivit!” sang the swallow, and away he flew to the forest.
-
-And now Ellise was very mournful, for she hardly ever left her dark
-hole. The corn grew up far above her head, and formed quite a thick wood
-round the house of the field-mouse.
-
-“Now you can spend the summer in working at your wedding-clothes,” said
-the field-mouse, for the neighbor, the wearisome mole, had at last
-really proposed for Ellise. “I will give you every thing you want, that
-you may have all things comfortable about you, when you are the mole’s
-wife.”
-
-And now Ellise was obliged to sit all day long busy at her clothes, and
-the field-mouse took four clever spiders into her service, and kept them
-weaving day and night. Every evening came the mole to pay his visit, and
-every evening he expressed his wish that the summer would soon come to
-an end, and the heat cease, for then, when the winter was here, his
-wedding should take place. But Ellise was not at all happy to hear this,
-for she could hardly bear even to look upon the ugly mole, for all his
-expensive velvet coat. Every evening and every morning she went out at
-the door, and when the wind blew the ears of corn apart, and she could
-look upon the blue heaven, she saw it was so beautiful out in the open
-air, that she wished she could only see the dear swallow once more; but
-the swallow never came; he preferred rejoicing himself in the warm
-sunbeams in the green woods.
-
-By the time autumn came, Ellise had prepared all her wedding-garments.
-
-“In four weeks your wedding will take place,” said the field-mouse to
-her; but Ellise wept, and said she did not want to have the stupid mole
-for a husband.
-
-“Fiddle-de-dee,” answered the field-mouse—“Come, don’t be obstinate, or
-I shall be obliged to bite you with my sharp teeth. Isn’t he a good
-husband that you’re going to have? Why, even the queen hasn’t such a
-fine velvet coat to show as he has! His kitchen and his cellar are
-well-stocked, and you ought rather to thank Providence for providing so
-well for you!”
-
-So the wedding was to be! Already was the mole come to fetch away
-Ellise, who, from henceforth, was to live always with him. Deep under
-the earth, where no sunbeam could ever come! The little maiden was very
-unhappy, that she must take her farewell of the friendly sun, which at
-all events she saw at the door of the field-mouse’s house.
-
-“Farewell, thou beloved sun!” said she, and raised her hands toward
-heaven, while she advanced a few steps from the door; for already was
-the corn again reaped, and she stood once more among the stubble in the
-field. “Adieu, adieu!” she repeated, and threw her arms round a flower
-that stood near her, “Greet the little swallow for me, when you see him
-again,” added she.
-
-“Quivit! quivit!” echoed near her in the same moment, and, as Ellise
-raised her eyes, she saw her well-known little swallow fly past. As soon
-as the swallow perceived Ellise, he too, became quite joyful, and
-hastened at once to his kind nurse; and she told him how unwilling she
-was to have the ugly mole for her husband, and that she must go down
-deep into the earth, where neither sun nor moon could ever look upon
-her, and with these words she burst into tears.
-
-“See now,” said the swallow, “the cold winter is coming again, and I am
-flying away to the warm countries, will you come and travel with me? I
-will carry you gladly on my back. You need only to bind yourself fast
-with your girdle, so we can fly away far from the disagreeable mole, and
-his dark house, far over mountains and valleys, to the beautiful
-countries, where the sun shines much warmer than it does here; where
-there is summer always, and always beautiful flowers blooming. Come, be
-comforted, and fly away with me, dear, kind Ellise, who saved my life
-when I lay frozen in the earth.”
-
-“Yes, I will go with you,” cried Ellise joyfully. She mounted on the
-back of the swallow, set her feet upon his out-spread wings, bound
-herself with her girdle to a strong feather, and flew off with the
-swallow through the air, over woods and lakes, valleys and mountains.
-Very often Ellise suffered from the cold when they went over icy
-glaciers and snowy rocks; but then she concealed herself under the wings
-and among the feathers of the bird, and merely put out her head to gaze
-and wonder at all the glorious things around her.
-
-At last, too, they came into the warm countries. The sun shines there
-clearer than with us; the heavens were a great deal higher, and on the
-walls and in the hedges grew the most beautiful blue and green grapes.
-In the woods hung ripe citrons and oranges, and the air was full of the
-scent of thyme and myrtle, while beautiful children ran in the roads
-playing with the gayest colored butterflies. But farther and farther
-flew the swallow, and below them it became more and more beautiful. By
-the side of a lake, beneath graceful acacias, there rose an ancient
-marble palace, the vines clung around the pillars, while above them, on
-their summits, hung many a swallow’s nest. Into one of these nests the
-bird carried Ellise.
-
-“Here is my house,” said he, “but look you for one of the loveliest
-flowers, which grow down there, for your home, and I will carry you
-there, and you shall have every thing you can possibly want.”
-
-“That would be glorious indeed!” said Ellise, and she clapped her hands
-together for very joy.
-
-Upon the earth there lay a large white marble pillar, which had been
-thrown down, and was broken into three pieces, but between its ruins
-there grew the very fairest flowers, all white, the loveliest you would
-ever wish to see.
-
-The swallow flew with Ellise to one of these flowers, and set her down
-upon a broad leaf; but how astonished was Ellise when she saw that a wee
-little man sat in this flower, who was as fine and transparent as glass.
-He wore a graceful little crown upon his head, and had beautiful wings
-on his shoulders; and withal he was not a bit bigger than Ellise
-herself. He was the angel of this flower. In every flower dwell a pair
-of such like little men and women, but this was the king of all the
-flower angels.
-
-“Heavens! how handsome this king is,” whispered Ellise into the ear of
-the swallow. The little prince was somewhat startled by the arrival of
-the large bird; but when he saw Ellise, he became instantly in love with
-her; for she was the most charming little maiden that he had ever seen.
-So he took off his golden crown, set it upon Ellise, and asked what was
-her name, and whether she would be his wife; if so, she should be queen
-over all the other flowers—ah! this was a very different husband to the
-son of the hideous toad, and the heavy, stupid mole, with his velvet
-coat! So Ellise said yes, to the beautiful prince; and now, from all the
-other flowers, appeared either a gentleman or a lady, all wonderfully
-elegant and beautiful, to bring presents to Ellise. The best presents
-offered to her was a pair of exquisite white wings, which were
-immediately fastened on her; and now she could fly from flower to
-flower.
-
-And now the joy was universal. The little swallow sat above in his nest,
-and sang as well as he possibly could, though at the same time he was
-sorely grieved, for he was so fond of Ellise that he wanted never to
-part from her again.
-
-“You shall not be called _Ellise_ any more,” said the flower-angel, “for
-it is not at all a pretty name, and you are so pretty! But from this
-moment you shall be called Maja.”
-
-“Farewell! Farewell!” cried the little swallow, and away he flew again,
-out of the warm land, far, far away, to the little Denmark, where he had
-his summer nest over the window of the good man, who knows how to tell
-stories, that he might sing his Quivit! Quivit! before him. And it is
-from him, the little swallow, that Granny learnt all this wonderful
-history.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- BELLE’S EYES.
-
-
- Those eyes, they are so bright and blue,
- They seem as if just bathed in dew,
- And if they but reflect aright,
- Thy heart must joyous be and bright,
- Where cherished images must dwell,
- Oh! number mine with thine, _ma Belle_.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- “THE PAGE.”
-
-
-[Illustration: figure of a man sitting on a rock near the base of a tree
-and looking upward]
-
- Come listen, ladies! listen, knights!
- Ye men of arms and glory!
- Ye who have done right noble deeds,
- Aye love the poet’s story.
- As minstrels love the warriors bold,
- And joyfully sing their fame,
- O’er warriors’ hearts the poet’s tale
- Shall peaceful triumphs claim.
-
- From distant lands Arion came,
- From wandering far and long,
- With gifts and gold—for princely hearts
- Denied no gift to song.
- The song that cheered the saddest wo,
- The tale that sings of youth,
- Flowing sweetly, flowing on,
- Through labyrinths of truth.
-
- Rich tributes had been poured on him,
- Arion far renowned,
- And fair and gentle loved the rule,
- Of one by nature crowned.
- But what can gifts and what can gold,
- Or Fame’s loud peal avail,
- Wandering from his childhood’s home,
- His own Corinthian vale?
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- LINES
-
-
- WRITTEN ON ST. VALENTINE’S DAY.
-
-
- BY GEO. D. PRENTICE.
-
-
- Fair lady, on this day of love,
- My spirit, like a timid dove,
- Exulting flies to thee for rest,
- And nestles on thy gentle breast.
- Thou seemest of my life a part,
- A haunting presence in my heart,
- A glory in my day-dreams bright,
- An angel in my dreams at night,
- Like yon pure bow of airy birth
- A vision more of heaven than earth.
- Soft, lovely, beautiful, divine—
- But wilt thou be my Valentine?
-
- I’ve looked into thy deep eyes oft,
- Where heaven seemed sleeping blue and soft.
- I’ve gazed on all thy beauty long,
- I’ve heard thy witching voice of song,
- I’ve listened when thy deep words came
- As if thy lips were touched with flame,
- I’ve marked thee smile, I’ve marked thee weep.
- I’ve blest thee in the hour of sleep,
- I’ve felt thy heart beat wild to hear
- Love’s cadence stealing on thine ear,
- And I have been supremely blest
- When thou wast folded to my breast,
- And thy dear lips were pressed to mine—
- But wilt thou be my Valentine?
-
- Dove of my spirit! gentle dove,
- That bring’st the olive-bough of love
- To me when waters vast and dark
- Are tossing wild beneath my bark,
- Sweet queller of my bosom’s strife,
- Blest haunter of each thought of life.
- Dear brightner of my soul’s eclipse,
- Sultana of my longing lips,
- Queen-fairy of my fairy dreams,
- Young Naiad of my soul’s deep streams,
- Bright rainbow of life’s stormy day,
- Lone palm-tree of my desert way,
- Soft dew-drop of my heart’s one flower,
- Young song-bird of my spirit’s bower,
- My star when all beside is dim,
- My morning prayer, my evening hymn,
- My hope, my bliss, my life, my love,
- My all of earth, my heaven above,
- On lightning pinions wild and free,
- My panting spirit flies to thee,
- And worships at thy burning shrine—
- But wilt thou be my Valentine?
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- “What do the Birds say?”
-
-
-[Illustration: figure of a woman sitting on vines with birds perched
-above her]
-
- Do you ask what the birds say? The sparrow, the dove,
- The linnet, and thrush say, “I love, and I love!”
- In the winter they’re silent—the wind is so strong;
- What it says I don’t know, but it sings a loud song.
- But green leaves and blossoms and sunny warm weather,
- And singing and loving, all come back together.
- But the lark is so brimful of gladness and love,
- The green-fields below him, the blue sky above,
- That he sings, and he sings, and forever sings he,
- “I love my love, and my love loves me!”
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- LEORA.
-
-
- A BALLAD OF SPAIN.
-
-
- At her lattice sits Leora,
- In the long and mellow June,
- What time when whitely westward
- Shines the round and pendent moon.
-
- Sits she silent, sits she sadly,
- With her head upon her hand,
- Looking outward where the Ebro
- Throws its ripples on the sand.
-
- Never lighter blew the breezes
- In the vales of Aragon,
- Never smiled Hesperia’s heavens
- With more lovely glories on.
-
- Such an evening ’tis as gladdens
- Cavaliers of sunny Spain—
- Such an evening ’tis when maidens
- Recount their loves again.
-
- Now more restless grows Leora,
- Fair Leora, gentle maid,
- With sweet eyes so dark and fervent,
- And each tress of nightly shade.
-
- Heaves her bosom fast and wildly
- Like a billow snowed with foam,
- For there’s something boding tells her
- That Almagro will not come.
-
- Clouds are passing swiftly o’er her,
- On her heart their shadows rest,
- And the tear-drops from their fountains
- Fall embittered to her breast.
-
- Listens now she to the gallop
- Of a steed adown the vale;
- Now with hope her face is radiant,
- Now with fear her cheek is pale.
-
- But no lover rideth swiftly,
- Swiftly to the trysting bower,
- And Leora still is waiting
- Through the long and dreary hour.
-
- And the tears cease not to gather,
- And the tears cease not to flow,
- And she feels like one abandoned
- On the haunted paths of wo.
-
- Where a mountain streamlet gurgles,
- From that watcher leagues away—
- Where the hours amid the valleys
- Listen to the waters’ play—
-
- Faithless Almagro is breathing
- Vows of deeply passioned love,
- To a maiden on his bosom
- In the sweetness of a dove.
-
- And he tells her how he never
- To another gave his heart,
- Till her innocence is fallen
- In the meshes of his art.
-
- Till another than the midnight
- Throws a darkness o’er her soul,
- Leaving there a troubled fountain,
- Leaving there a broken bowl.
-
- Softly sigh the sleeping branches
- On the bosom of the breeze,
- Sweetly stars are gazing downward
- To earth’s blue, unclouded seas:
-
- And in fragrance dream the blossoms
- Pure and taintless as before—
- But heart-flowers have been gathered
- That shall blossom nevermore.
-
- Lowly westward walketh Dian,
- On her watches with the night,
- And the hours far have stolen
- To the gateways of the light.
-
- But, ah! wo is thee, Leora,
- Though hopeless, hoping on,
- Till Aurora up the Orient,
- Rosy-fingered, leads the dawn.
-
- But less wo is thee, Leora,
- By thy lattice weary worn—
- More’s the wo for thee, Estella,
- When thou wakest at the morn.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- SPECTRAL ILLUSIONS.
-
-
- BY THOMAS MILNER, M. A.
-
-
-A series of curious and interesting phenomena, involving the apparent
-elevation and approach of distant objects, the production of aerial
-images of terrestrial forms, of double images, their inversion, and
-distortion into an endless variety of grotesque shapes, together with
-the deceptive aspect given to the desert-landscape, are comprehended in
-the class of optical illusions. Different varieties of this singular
-visual effect constitute the _mirage_ of the French, the _fata morgana_
-of the Italians, the _looming_ of our seamen, and the _glamur_ of the
-Highlanders. It is not peculiar to any particular country, though more
-common in some than others, and most frequently observed near the margin
-of lakes and rivers, by the sea-shore, in mountain districts and on
-level plains. These phantoms are perfectly explicable upon optical
-principles, and though influenced by local combinations, they are mainly
-referable to one common cause, the refractive and reflective properties
-of the atmosphere, and inequalities of refraction arising from the
-intermixture of strata of air of different temperatures and densities.
-But such appearances in former times were really converted by the
-imagination of the vulgar into supernatural realities; and hence many of
-the goblin stories with which the world has been rife, not yet banished
-from the discipline to which childhood is subject,—
-
- “As when a shepherd of the Hebrid Isles
- Placed far amid the melancholy main,
- (Whether it be lone fancy him beguiles,
- Or that aerial beings sometimes deign
- To stand, embodied, to our senses plain)
- Sees on the naked hill, or valley low,
- The whilst in ocean Phœbus dips his wain,
- A vast assembly moving to and fro,
- Then all at once in air dissolves the wondrous show.”
-
-Pliny mentions the Scythian regions within Mount Imaus, and Pomponius
-Mela those of Mauritania, behind Mount Atlas, as peculiarly subject to
-these spectral appearances. Diodorus Siculus likewise refers to the
-regions of Africa, situated in the neighborhood of Cyrene, as another
-chosen site:—“Even,” says he, “in the severest weather, there are
-sometimes seen in the air certain condensed exhalations that represent
-the figures of all kinds of animals; occasionally they seem to be
-motionless, and in perfect quietude; and occasionally to be flying;
-while immediately afterward they themselves appear to be the pursuers,
-and to make other objects fly before them.” Milton might have had this
-passage in his eye when he penned the allusion to the same
-apparitions:—
-
- “As when, to warn proud cities, war appears
- Waged in the troubled sky, and armies rush
- To battle in the clouds; before each van
- Prick forth the airy knights, and couch their spears,
- Till thickest legions close, with feats of arms
- From either side of heaven the welkin rings.”
-
-[Illustration: The Mirage of the Desert.]
-
-The mirage is the most familiar form of optical illusion. M. Monge, one
-of the French savans, who accompanied Buonaparte in his expedition to
-Egypt, witnessed a remarkable example. In the desert between Alexandria
-and Cairo, in all directions green islands appeared, surrounded by
-extensive lakes of pure, transparent water. Nothing could be conceived
-more lovely or picturesque than the landscape. In the tranquil surface
-of the lakes, the trees and houses with which the islands were covered
-were strongly reflected with vivid and varied hues, and the party
-hastened forward to enjoy the refreshments apparently proffered them.
-But when they arrived, the lake on whose bosom they floated, the trees
-among whose foliage they arose, and the people who stood on the shore
-inviting their approach, had all vanished; and nothing remained but the
-uniform and irksome desert of sand and sky, with a few naked huts and
-ragged Arabs. But for being undeceived by an actual progress to the
-spot, one and all would have remained firm in the conviction that these
-visionary trees and lakes had a real existence in the desert. M. Monge
-attributed the liquid expanse, tantalizing the eye with an unfaithful
-representation of what was earnestly desired, to an inverted image of
-the cerulean sky, intermixed with the ground scenery. This kind of
-mirage is known in Persia and Arabia by the name of _Serab_ or
-miraculous water, and in the western deserts of India by that of
-_Tehittram_, a picture. It occurs as a common emblem of disappointment
-in the poetry of the orientals.
-
-[Illustration: Atmospheric Illusion.]
-
-In the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1798, an account is given
-by W. Latham, Esq., F.R.S., of an instance of lateral refraction
-observed by him, by which the coast of Picardy, with its more prominent
-objects, was brought apparently close to that of Hastings. On July the
-26th, about five in the afternoon, while sitting in his dining-room,
-near the sea-shore, attention was excited by a crowd of people running
-down to the beach. Upon inquiring the reason, it appeared that the coast
-of France was plainly to be distinguished with the naked eye. Upon
-proceeding to the shore, he found, that without the assistance of a
-telescope, he could distinctly see the cliffs across the Channel, which,
-at the nearest points, are from forty to fifty miles distant, and are
-not to be discovered, from that low situation, by the aid of the best
-glasses. They appeared to be only a few miles off, and seemed to extend
-for some leagues along the coast. At first the sailors and fishermen
-could not be persuaded of the reality of the appearance, but they soon
-became thoroughly convinced, by the cliffs gradually appearing more
-elevated, and seeming to approach nearer, that they were able to point
-out the different places they had been accustomed to visit, such as the
-Bay, the Old Head, and the Windmill at Boulogne, St. Vallery, and
-several other spots. Their remark was that these places appeared as near
-as if they were sailing at a small distance into the harbor. The
-apparition of the opposite cliffs varied in distinctness and apparent
-contiguity for nearly an hour, but it was never out of sight, and upon
-leaving the beach for a hill of some considerable height, Mr. Latham
-could at once see Dungeness and Dover cliffs on each side, and before
-him the French coast from Calais to near Dieppe. By the telescope the
-French fishing-boats were clearly seen at anchor, and the different
-colors of the land on the heights, with the buildings, were perfectly
-discernible. The spectacle continued in the highest splendor until past
-eight o’clock, though a black cloud obscured the face of the sun for
-some time, when it gradually faded away. This was the first time within
-the memory of the oldest inhabitants, that they had ever caught sight of
-the opposite shore. The day had been extremely hot, and not a breath of
-wind had stirred since the morning, when the small pennons at the
-mast-heads of the fishing-boats in the harbor had been at all points of
-the compass. Professor Vince witnessed a similar apparent approximation
-of the coast of France to that of Ramsgate, for at the very edge of the
-water he discerned the Calais cliffs a very considerable height above
-the horizon, whereas they are frequently not to be seen in clear weather
-from the high lands above the town. A much greater breadth of coast also
-appeared than is usually observed under the most favorable
-circumstances. The ordinary refractive power of the atmosphere is thus
-liable to be strikingly altered by a change of temperature and humidity,
-so that a hill which at one time appears low, may at another be seen
-towering aloft; and a city in a neighboring valley, may from a certain
-station be entirely invisible, or it may show the tops of its buildings,
-just as if its foundations had been raised, according to the condition
-of the aerial medium between it and the spectator.
-
-[Illustration: Fata Morgana at Reggio.]
-
-Of all instances of spectral illusion, the _fata morgana_, familiar to
-the inhabitants of Sicily, is the most curious and striking. It occurs
-off the Pharo of Messina, in the strait which separates Sicily from
-Calabria, and had been variously described by different observers,
-owing, doubtless, to the different conditions of the atmosphere at the
-respective times of observation. The spectacle consists in the images of
-men, cattle, houses, rocks, and trees, pictured upon the surface of the
-water, and in the air immediately over the water, as if called into
-existence by an enchanter’s wand, the same object having frequently two
-images, one in the natural and the other in an inverted position. A
-combination of circumstances must concur to produce this novel panorama.
-The spectator, standing with his back to the east on an elevated place,
-commands a view of the strait. No wind must be abroad to ruffle the
-surface of the sea; and the waters must be pressed up by currents, which
-is occasionally the case, to a considerable height, in the middle of the
-strait, so that they may present a slight convex surface. When these
-conditions are fulfilled, and the sun has risen over the Calabrian
-heights so as to make an angle of 45° with the horizon, the various
-objects on the shore at Reggio, opposite to Messina, are transferred to
-the middle of the strait, forming an immovable landscape of rocks,
-trees, and houses, and a movable one of men, horses, and cattle, upon
-the surface of the water. If the atmosphere, at the same time, is highly
-charged with vapor, the phenomena apparent on the water will also be
-visible in the air, occupying a space which extends from the surface to
-the height of about twenty-five feet. Two kinds of morgana may therefore
-be discriminated; the first, at the surface of the sea, or the marine
-morgana; the second, in the air, or the aerial. The term applied to this
-strange exhibition of uncertain derivation, but supposed by some to
-refer to the vulgar presumption of the spectacle being produced by a
-fairy or magician. The populace are said to hail the vision with great
-exultation, calling every one abroad to partake of the sight, with the
-cry of “Morgana, morgana!”
-
-Father Angelucci, an eye-witness, describes the scene in the following
-terms:—“On the 15th of August, 1643, as I stood at my window, I was
-surprised with a most wonderful, delectable vision. The sea that washes
-the Sicilian shore swelled up, and became, for ten miles in length, like
-a chain of dark mountains; while the waters near our Calabrian coast
-grew quite smooth, and in an instant appeared as one clear polished
-mirror, reclining against the aforesaid ridge. On this glass was
-depicted, in _chiaro scuro_, a string of several thousands of pilasters,
-all equal in altitude, distance, and degree of light and shade. In a
-moment they lost half their height, and bent into arcades, like Roman
-aqueducts. A long cornice was next formed on the top, and above it rose
-castles innumerable, all perfectly alike. These soon split into towers,
-which were shortly after lost in colonnades, then windows, and at last
-ended in pines, cypresses, and other trees, even and similar. This was
-the Fata Morgana, which, for twenty-six years, I had thought a mere
-fable.”
-
-Brydone, writing from Messina, evidently in a dubious vein, states:—“Do
-you know, the most extraordinary phenomenon in the world is often
-observed near to this place? I laughed at it at first, as you will do,
-but I am now convinced of its reality, and am persuaded, too, that if
-ever it had been thoroughly examined by a philosophical eye, the natural
-cause must long ago have been assigned. It has often been remarked, both
-by the ancients and moderns, that in the heat of summer, after the sea
-and air have been much agitated by winds, and a perfect calm succeeds,
-there appears, about the time of dawn, in that part of the heavens over
-the straits, a great variety of singular forms, some at rest, and some
-moving about with great velocity. These forms, in proportion as the
-light increases, seem to become more aerial, till at last some time
-before sunrise they entirely disappear. The Sicilians represent this as
-the most beautiful sight in nature. Leanti, one of their latest and best
-writers, came here on purpose to see it. He says the heavens appeared
-crowded with a variety of objects: he mentions palaces, woods, gardens,
-etc., besides the figures of men and other animals, that appear in
-motion amongst them. No doubt the imagination must be greatly aiding in
-forming this aerial creation; but as so many of their authors, both
-ancient and modern, agree in the fact, and give an account of it from
-their own observation, there certainly must be some foundation for the
-story. There is one Giardini, a Jesuit, who has lately written a
-treatise upon this phenomenon, but I have not been able to find it. The
-celebrated Messinese Gallo has likewise published something on this
-singular subject. The common people, according to custom, give the whole
-merit to the devil; and, indeed, it is by much the shortest and easiest
-way of accounting for it. Those who pretend to be philosophers, and
-refuse him this honor, are greatly puzzled what to make of it. They
-think it may be owing to some uncommon refraction or reflection of the
-rays, from the water of the straits, which, as it is at that time
-carried about in a variety of eddies and vortices, must consequently,
-say they, make a variety of appearances on any medium where it is
-reflected. This, I think, is nonsense, or at least very near it. I
-suspect it is something of the nature of our aurora borealis, and, like
-many of the great phenomena of nature, depends upon electrical cause;
-which, in future ages, I have little doubt, will be found to be as
-powerful an agent in regulating the universe as gravity is in this age,
-or as the subtle fluid was in the last. The electrical fluid in this
-country of volcanoes, is probably produced in a much greater quantity
-than in any other. The air, strongly impregnated with this matter, and
-confined betwixt two ridges of mountains—at the same time exceedingly
-agitated from below by the violence of the current, and the impetuous
-whirling of the waters—may it not be supposed to produce a variety of
-appearances? And may not the lively Sicilian imaginations, animated by a
-belief in demons, and all the wild offspring of superstition, give these
-appearances as great a variety of forms? Remember, I do not say it is
-so; and hope yet to have it in my power to give you a better account of
-this matter.”
-
-Ingenious as Brydone was, he here indulges a most unfortunate
-speculation, which, had he enjoyed the good fortune of personally
-observing the phenomenon, most likely, he would not have proposed. It is
-to be accounted for upon optical principles, which M. Biot, in his
-_Astronomie Physique_, thus applies, from Minasi’s dissertation upon the
-subject:—“When the rising sun shines from that point whence its
-incident ray forms an angle of forty-five degrees, on the sea of Reggio,
-and the bright surface of the water in the bay is not disturbed either
-by wind or current—when the tide is at its height, and the waters are
-pressed up by the currents to a great elevation in the middle of the
-channel; the spectator being placed on an eminence, with his back to the
-sun, and his face to the sea, the mountains of Messina rising like a
-wall behind it, and forming the back-ground of the picture—on a sudden
-there appear in the water, as in a catoptric theatre, various multiplied
-objects—numberless series of pilasters, arches, castles,
-well-delineated regular columns, lofty towers, superb palaces, with
-balconies and windows, extended alleys of trees, delightful plains, with
-herds and flocks, armies of men on foot, on horseback, and many other
-things, in their natural colors and proper actions, passing rapidly in
-succession along the surface of the sea, during the whole of the short
-period of time while the above-mentioned causes remain. The objects are
-proved, by accurate observations of the coast of Reggio, to be derived
-from objects on shore. If, in addition to the circumstances already
-described, the atmosphere be highly impregnated with vapor and dense
-exhalations, not previously dispersed by the action of the wind and
-waves, or rarified by the sun, it then happens that, in this vapor, as
-in a curtain extended along the channel to the height of above forty
-palms, and nearly down to the sea, the observer will behold the scene of
-the same objects not only reflected on the surface of the sea, but
-likewise in the air, though not so distinctly or well-defined. Lastly,
-if the air be slightly hazy and opaque, and at the same time dewy, and
-adapted to form the iris, then the above-mentioned objects will appear
-only at the surface of the sea, as in the first case, but all vividly
-colored or fringed with red, green, blue, or other prismatic colors.”
-
-Aerial images of terrestrial objects are frequently produced as the
-simple effect of reflection. Dr. Buchan mentions the following
-occurrence:—“Walking on the cliff about a mile to the east of Brighton,
-on the morning of the 18th of November, 1804, while watching the rising
-of the sun, I turned my eyes directly to the sea, just as the solar disc
-emerged from the surface of the water, and saw the face of the cliff on
-which I was standing represented precisely opposite to me, at some
-distance from the ocean. Calling the attention of my companion to this
-appearance, we soon also discovered our own figures standing on the
-summit of the opposite apparent cliff, as well as the representation of
-a windmill near at hand. The reflected images were most distinct
-precisely opposite to where we stood; and the false cliff seemed to fade
-away, and to draw near to the real one, in proportion as it receded
-toward the west. This phenomenon lasted about ten minutes, till the sun
-had risen nearly his own diameter above the sea. The whole then seemed
-to be elevated into the air, and successively disappeared. The surface
-of the sea was covered with a dense fog of many yards in height, and
-which gradually receded before the rays of the sun.” In December, 1826,
-a similar circumstance excited some consternation among the parishioners
-of Miqué, in the neighborhood of Poitiers, in France. They were engaged
-in the exercises of the jubilee which preceded the festival of
-Christmas, and about three thousand persons from the surrounding
-parishes were assembled. At five o’clock in the evening, when one of the
-clergy was addressing the multitude, and reminding them of the cross
-which appeared in the sky to Constantine and his army, suddenly a
-similar cross appeared in the heavens, just before the porch of the
-church, about two hundred feet above the horizon, and a hundred and
-forty feet in length, of a bright silver color tinged with red, and
-perfectly well-defined. Such was the effect of this vision, that the
-people immediately threw themselves upon their knees, and united
-together in one of their canticles. The fact was, that a large wooden
-cross, twenty-five feet high, had been erected beside the church as a
-part of the ceremony, the figure of which was formed in the air, and
-reflected back to the eyes of the spectators, retaining exactly the same
-shape and proportions, but changed in position and dilated in size. Its
-red tinge was also the color of the object of which it was the reflected
-image. When the rays of the sun were withdrawn the figure vanished.
-
-[Illustration: Spectre of the Brocken.]
-
-The peasantry in the neighborhood of the Harz Mountains formerly stood
-in no little awe of the gigantic spectre of the Brocken—the figure of a
-man observed to walk the clouds over the ridge at sunrise. This
-apparition has long been resolved into an exaggerated reflection, which
-makes the traveler’s shadow, pictured upon the clouds, appear a colossal
-figure of immense dimensions. A French savan, attended by a friend, went
-to watch this spectral shape, but for many mornings they traversed an
-opposite ridge in vain. At length, however, it was discovered, having
-also a companion, and both figures were found imitating all the motions
-of the philosopher and his friend. The ancient classical fable of Niobe
-on Mount Sipylus belongs to the same category of atmospheric deceptions;
-and the tales, common in mountainous countries, of troops of horse and
-armies marching and counter-marching in the air, have been only the
-reflection of horses pasturing upon an opposite height, or of the forms
-of travelers pursuing their journey. On the 19th of August, 1820, Mr.
-Menzies, a surgeon of Glasgow, and Mr. Macgregor began to ascend the
-mountain of Ben Lomond, about five o’clock in the afternoon. They had
-not proceeded far before they were overtaken by a smart shower; but as
-it appeared only to be partial, they continued their journey, and by the
-time they were half way up, the cloud passed away, and most delightful
-weather succeeded. Thin, transparent vapors, which appeared to have
-risen from Loch Lomond beneath, were occasionally seen floating before a
-gentle and refreshing breeze; in other respects, as far as the eye could
-trace, the sky was clear, and the atmosphere serene. They reached the
-summit about half-past seven o’clock, in time to see the sun sinking
-beneath the western hills. Its parting beams had gilded the
-mountain-tops with a warm glowing color; and the surface of the lake,
-gently rippling with the breeze, was tinged with a yellow lustre. While
-admiring the adjacent mountains, hills, and valleys, and the expanse of
-water beneath, interspersed with numerous wooded islands, the attention
-of one of the party was attracted by a cloud in the east, partly of a
-dark red color, apparently at the distance of two miles and a half, in
-which he distinctly observed two gigantic figures, standing, as it were,
-on a majestic pedestal. He immediately pointed out the phenomenon to his
-companion; and they distinctly perceived one of the gigantic figures, in
-imitation, strike the other on the shoulder, and point toward them. They
-then made their obeisance to the airy phantoms, which was instantly
-returned. They waved their hats and umbrellas, and the shadowy figures
-did the same. Like other travelers, they had carried with them a bottle
-of usquebaugh, and amused themselves in drinking to the figures, which
-was of course duly returned. In short, every movement which they made,
-they could observe distinctly repeated by the figures in the cloud. The
-appearance continued about a quarter of an hour. A gentle breeze from
-the north carried the cloud slowly away; the figures became less and
-less distinct, and at last vanished. North of the village of Comrie, in
-Perthshire, there is a bold hill called Dunmore, with a pillar of
-seventy or eighty feet in height built on its summit in memory of the
-late Lord Melville. At about eight o’clock of the evening of the 21st of
-August, of the year 1845, a perfect image of this well-known hill and
-obelisk, as exact as the shadow usually represents the substance, was
-distinctly observed projecting on the northern sky, at least two miles
-beyond the original, which, owing to an intervening eminence, was not
-itself at all in view from the station where the aerial picture was
-observed. The figure continued visible for about ten minutes after it
-was first seen, and was minutely examined by three individuals. One of
-these fancied that there was a projection at the base of the monument,
-as represented in the air, which was not in the original; but, upon
-examining the latter the next morning, the image was found to have been
-more faithful than his memory; for there stood the prototype of the
-projection, in the shape of a clump of trees, at the base of the real
-obelisk.
-
-[Illustration: men on a dock looking at ships on the ocean which have a
-duplicate image of themselves suspended in the air above them]
-
-In northern latitudes the effects of atmospheric reflection and
-refraction are very familiar to the natives. By the term of
-_uphillanger_ the Icelanders denote the elevation of distant objects,
-which is regarded as a presage of fine weather. Not only is there an
-increase in the vertical dimensions of the objects affected, so that low
-coasts frequently assume a bold and precipitous outline, the objects
-sunk below the horizon are brought into view, with their natural
-position changed and distorted. In 1818, Captain Scoresby relates that,
-when in the polar sea, his ship had been separated for some time from
-that of his father, which he had been looking out for with great
-anxiety. At length, one evening, to his astonishment, he beheld the
-vessel suspended in the air in an inverted position, with the most
-distinct and perfect representation. Sailing in the direction of this
-visionary appearance, he met with the real ship by this indication. It
-was found that the vessel had been thirty miles distant, and seventeen
-beyond the horizon, when her spectrum was thus elevated into the air by
-this extraordinary refraction. Sometimes two images of a vessel are
-seen, the one erect and the other inverted, with their topmasts or their
-hulls meeting, according as the inverted image is above or below the
-other. Dr. Wollaston has shown that the production of these images is
-owing to the refraction of the rays through media of different
-densities. Looking along a red-hot poker at a distant object, two images
-of it were seen, one erect and the other inverted, arising from the
-change produced by the heat in the density of the air. A singular
-instance of lateral mirage was noticed upon the Lake of Geneva by MM.
-Jurine and Soret, in the year 1818. A bark near Bellerire was seen
-approaching to the city by the left bank of the lake; and at the same
-time an image of the sails was observed above the water, which, instead
-of following the direction of the bark, separated from it, and appeared
-approaching by the _right_ bank—the image moving from east to west, and
-the bark from north to south. When the image separated from the vessel,
-it was of the same dimensions as the bark; but it diminished as it
-receded from it, so as to be reduced to one-half when the appearance
-ceased. This was a striking example of refraction, operating in a
-lateral as well as a vertical direction.
-
-_Ignis Fatuus._ This wandering meteor known to the vulgar as the
-Will-o’-the-Wisp, has given rise to considerable speculation and
-controversy. Burying-grounds, fields of battle, low meadows, valleys,
-and marshes, are its ordinary haunts. By some eminent naturalists,
-particularly Willoughby and Ray, it has been maintained to be only the
-shining of a great number of the male glow-worms in England, and the
-pyraustæ in Italy, flying together—an opinion to which Mr. Kirby, the
-entomologist, inclines. The luminosities observed in several cases may
-have been due to this cause, but the true meteor of the marshes cannot
-thus be explained. The following instance is abridged from the
-Entomological Magazine:—“Two travelers proceeding across the moors
-between Hexham and Alston, were startled, about ten o’clock at night, by
-the sudden appearance of a light close to the road-side, about the size
-of the hand, and of a well-defined oval form. The place was very wet,
-and the peat-moss had been dug out, leaving what are locally termed
-‘peat-pots,’ which soon fill with water, nourishing a number of
-confervæ, and the various species of sphagnum, which are converted into
-peat. During the process of decomposition these places give out large
-quantities of gas. The light was about three feet from the ground,
-hovering over the peat-pots, and it moved nearly parallel with the road
-for about fifty yards, when it vanished, probably from the failure of
-the gas. The manner in which it disappeared was similar to that of a
-candle being blown out.” We have the best account of it from Mr.
-Blesson, who examined it abroad with great care and diligence.
-
-[Illustration: Ignis Fatuus.]
-
-“The first time,” he states, “I saw the ignis fatuus was in a valley in
-the forest of Gorbitz, in the New Mark. This valley cuts deeply in
-compact loam, and is marshy on its lower part. The water of the marsh is
-ferruginous, and covered with an iridescent crust. During the day
-bubbles of air were seen rising from it, and in the night blue flames
-were observed shooting from and playing over its surface. As I suspected
-that there was some connection between these flames and the bubbles of
-air, I marked during the day-time the place where the latter rose up
-most abundantly, and repaired thither during the night; to my great joy
-I actually observed bluish-purple flames, and did not hesitate to
-approach them. On reaching the spot they retired, and I pursued them in
-vain; all attempts to examine them closely were ineffectual. Some days
-of very rainy weather prevented further investigation, but afforded
-leisure for reflecting on their nature. I conjectured that the motion of
-the air, on my approaching the spot, forced forward the burning gas, and
-remarked that the flame burned darker when it was blown aside; hence I
-concluded that a continuous thin stream of inflammable air was formed by
-these bubbles, which, once inflamed, continued to burn, but which, owing
-to the paleness of the light of the flame, could not be observed during
-the day.”
-
-The ignis fatuus of the church-yard and the battle-field arise from the
-phosphuretted hydrogen emitted by animal matter in a state of
-putrefaction, which always inflames upon contact with the oxygen of the
-atmosphere; and the flickering meteor of the marsh may be referred to
-the carburetted hydrogen, formed by the decomposition of vegetable
-matter in stagnant water, ignited by a discharge of the electric fluid.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- CAMPAIGNING STORIES.
-
-
- NO. II.—THE CAPTIVE RIVALS.[1]
-
-
- BY THE AUTHOR OF “TALBOT AND VERNON.”
-
-
- (_Concluded from page 212, Vol. XXXIX._)
-
-
- PART III.
-
- I have not seen
- So likely an embassador of love.
- _Merchant of Venice._
-
- It gives me wonder, great is my content,
- To see you here before me.
- _Othello._
-
-The sun had not yet climbed the hills on the east of the valley, when
-Harding set forth on his uncertain mission; and not one of the indolent
-people of the country was any where to be seen. The houses were all
-closed—no smoke issued from their rude chimneys—no sound or motion
-broke the stillness. Apart from its solitude, however, it was a
-beautiful scene. The haziness of the evening before was now gone—the
-valley was refreshed by the dew of the night; and the reviving influence
-of the cool morning seemed to have had its effect upon the inanimate as
-well as the animate. The slope of the hills on the north, where the
-first rays of the sun rested for hours before they touched the southern
-plateau, was dotted here and there by straggling goats, browsing
-listlessly upon the scanty vegetation; while lower down the valley and
-along the banks of the little river, numbers of cattle were either
-standing patiently around the inclosures or wandering slowly away toward
-the hills. The river, silvered by the morning light, wound thread-like
-down the valley toward the west, and was visible even to the turn of the
-mountain miles away, where it enters the labyrinth of ridges in the
-neighborhood of Parras. There were no waving fields of grain; but the
-hedges were all green and fresh; verdure was springing even at that
-season, where the ground had been cleared of its products; and the
-evergreen trees, and groves of oranges which dotted the land imparted an
-aspect of fertile beauty. The shadows of the rugged hills were traceable
-along the ground, so clearly that the line of separation could be
-followed through the fields—one-half in sunlight, half in shade—the
-former gradually encroaching on the latter. There were no birds to cheer
-the solitude with matin songs; but so peaceful was the scene that even
-their presence might have seemed unwelcome.
-
-Harding gazed about him as he crossed the bridge as if in search of the
-road. There were two paths; one leading along the front of several
-_ranchos_, and apparently taking him directly to the point he wished to
-reach. The other led away to the left, sweeping round the fields and
-avoiding the houses, with the danger of meeting their inmates. It was
-the latter that the count directed him to take; but for some reason best
-known to himself he followed the first, without heeding De Marsiac’s
-hail, and soon found himself riding slowly between two straggling rows
-of neat cottages. There was no one astir, however, and he had ridden
-nearly the whole length of the avenue without seeing any signs of
-life—when, judging himself to be out of view of _Embocadura_, he turned
-his horse in among the elms, and sprang to the ground.
-
-Throwing his bridle-rein over a limb, he first carefully examined his
-pistols, and then loosening his sword in the scabbard, stepped out from
-the cover and approached the nearest cottage. It was not until he had
-knocked several times that any answer was returned. Then, however, the
-door was suddenly swung open, and he was confronted by one of those
-specimens of Mexican youth, whose faces combine in so remarkable a
-degree, great beauty with an expression of wicked cunning. He was a
-boy—perhaps eighteen years of age, with a slender figure, but evidently
-very active, and unless an exception to his race, capable of enduring
-great fatigue and privation. His eyes were dark as night, small, and
-keen; his nose thin and straight, his lips rather pinched, but red and
-clearly cut. The rest of his features were appropriate to these, and his
-complexion was rather lighter than the general hue of his people. He
-held a _lareat_ coiled in his hand, and his goat-skin shoes were armed
-at the heel with enormous spurs.
-
-“_Buenas dias, Señor_,” said he, in a clear, sharp voice, stepping back
-at the same time, in mute invitation to Harding to enter.
-
-The latter returned the salutation and asked—
-
-“On whose lands are these _ranchos_?”
-
-“On those of La Señora Eltorena,” answered the boy, promptly.
-
-“How far is it to Anelo?” he inquired.
-
-“Twelve leagues, sir.”
-
-Harding reflected for a moment, and then beckoned the boy aside. The
-latter gazed at him inquiringly; but drawing the door to, followed him
-to the place where his horse was standing.
-
-“You see that horse?” said he.
-
-“I do,” answered the boy “and a very fine one he is, too.”
-
-“Could you ride him to Anelo and back,[2] to-day?”
-
-“How much money could I get to do it?” asked the youth, eyeing the
-officer as if to measure his liberality.
-
-“Twenty dollars,” Harding answered; “or, if you do not find me on your
-return, you may keep the horse.”
-
-“Agreed,” said the boy, promptly. “I’ll set out now.”
-
-Harding took a blank leaf from his pocket-book and wrote a note to the
-commandant of a detachment of Texan rangers, whom he knew to be then
-foraging at Anelo, and handed it to the boy.
-
-“You must be back before midnight,” said he; “and you may ask for me at
-the _hacienda_. My name is Harding.”
-
-“And mine is Eltorena,” said the youth. “I am six months older than
-Margarita, and entitled to the name by the same right.”
-
-His eyes glistened as he spoke with an expression so devilish, that
-Harding was half inclined to take back the note and discharge him. But
-while reflecting upon the words of the boy, the latter, as if divining
-his half formed intention, suddenly put spurs to his horse’s flanks and
-bounded away. Harding watched him until he had crossed the river, and
-avoiding _La Embocadura_ by a wide circuit, was fast disappearing among
-the groves to the east.
-
-Concluding that if he had made a mistake it was now too late to amend
-it, he turned on his heel, and was about to pursue his way toward
-_Piedritas_ on foot, when his attention was arrested by a voice
-pronouncing his name.
-
-“Señor Harding, let me speak with you for a moment.”
-
-He turned, and beheld a female in the very bloom of mature
-womanhood—tall, elegantly formed, and possessing a countenance of
-singular force and beauty. She was standing near the door at which he
-had knocked, and he had no difficulty in determining from the
-resemblance that she was the mother of his messenger. He advanced with
-the ordinary salutation, and followed her within the house.
-
-“I am perfectly well acquainted,” she commenced abruptly, without
-offering him a seat, “with the object of your visit to the _hacienda_.
-You are here to wed the daughter of the woman who calls herself the
-Señora Eltorena—”
-
-“Calls herself!” repeated Harding.
-
-“And you are doubtless like other men,” she continued, without noticing
-the exclamation, “more attracted by the property than the bride. Now, I
-wish to warn you that this estate, with all that the late Colonel
-Eltorena owned, belongs to his son—and mine—the youth whom you have
-just sent away; and that I hold General Santa Anna’s pledge to see him
-righted as soon as the army marches this way. So, if you marry her, it
-is with your eyes open.”
-
-“You are mistaken, madam,” said Harding, after a pause given to
-surprise; “I am here on no such errand: I am, on the contrary,” he
-added, with a smile, “only a humble ambassador, suing for the lady’s
-hand in the name of another, more potent individual.”
-
-“In the name of the murdering thief, De Marsiac?” she exclaimed.
-
-“Even so,” Harding replied, “the very same, without mistake.”
-
-“You are a strange ambassador,” she said, with a laugh. “But,” she
-continued, resuming her somewhat wild manner, “I warn him through you,
-as I have done to his face, that the man who marries that woman’s
-daughter, must take her portionless!”
-
-“In that case,” said Harding, with another smile, “I doubt whether the
-count will care to take her at all. But enlighten me about your son’s
-title—it may be important to my principal.”
-
-Her story was not an uncommon one, though it took a long time in
-telling; for she dwelt with painful emphasis upon some parts, and talked
-so incoherently upon others, that Harding was confirmed in his suspicion
-that her mind was, upon that subject at least, quite unsettled. She had
-been induced by the late Colonel Eltorena to go to his house, as his
-wife, under a promise that the actual ceremony should be performed by
-the first priest who came from Monclova or Saltillo. It was a remote
-district in which they lived, and they might have to wait for months
-before the expected visit would be made; and knowing this, and at the
-earnest solicitation of her lover, she consented to an arrangement,
-which was not so uncommon as it should have been. Wherever the common
-law prevails as it does in the United States, this would have been a
-legal marriage; and she solemnly protested that she so considered it
-upon the representation of the colonel himself. Two or three priests had
-passed that way within a few months; but upon various pretexts the
-ceremony was postponed.
-
-At last, after about six months, the Colonel went to the city of Mexico
-on a visit, and returned with a wife! “The woman,” said the narrator,
-“who now calls herself La Señora Eltorena!” _She_, the deceived and
-betrayed, was generously offered an asylum in the _rancho_, where she
-had lived ever since; and six months after her ejectment from the
-_hacienda_ by “the proud English woman,” her son was born. For eighteen
-years she had been suing for her rights; but superior influence with the
-corrupt judges of that unhappy land had foiled all her efforts; and in
-the meantime, she had lived in plain view of the _hacienda_, determined
-never to lose sight of her object, until she saw her son in possession.
-She had never been inside of its walls: “but,” said she, “I _will_ be
-there—and soon! May God give me revenge upon the sorceress, who stole
-away my rights!”
-
-“It is a very hard case,” said Harding, when she had finished, “but I
-fear like many other wrongs, it has no remedy.”
-
-“There is one remedy,” said she, significantly, “when all others fail.”
-And drawing aside the end of her _mantilla_, she disclosed the hilt of a
-long, keen dagger. She drew it forth, ran her finger along its edge,
-smiled faintly, and replaced it in its sheath.
-
-“Well, well,” said Harding, turning away, “I am warned at all events,
-and will take care that the count is enlightened, also. I must speed
-upon my mission. Good morning.”
-
-She made no reply, and he passed out, taking his way toward the
-_hacienda_, which lay in view, about a mile distant. Turning to the
-right, he soon reached the bank of the river, and followed its rapid but
-even current, which ran sparkling beneath the court-yard wall. It was
-yet quite early; and as he reached the front of the mansion, his fear,
-that as yet no one would be astir, was confirmed. Returning again to the
-margin of the stream, he commenced pacing up and down the sward under a
-row of elms, with the intention of awaiting the rising of the family. He
-had made but two or three turns, however, and had halted, gazing about
-upon the still morning scene, when he thought he observed something like
-drapery pass across the arches in the wall, through which the river
-entered the inclosure. He advanced somewhat closer, and could distinctly
-see a pair of small feet tripping across the river on a footway made by
-placing large stones a step apart from bank to bank. He could not doubt
-that it was Margarita; but without going again to the front of the
-house, he knew of no means of ingress.
-
-Casting his glance up and down the stream, to his delight, he discovered
-a small boat moored to the bank, and slowly swinging in the current. A
-moment sufficed to untie the rope which bound it, and in another, he was
-seated on its light planks, rapidly floating toward the arched passage.
-The waters, raised by the rains of the preceding day, left but scanty
-room beneath the masonry; but lying down in the bottom of the boat, and
-guiding her with his hands, he soon had the satisfaction to emerge
-within the inclosure. On rising again, he found himself between an
-extensive garden on one side and the offices of the mansion on the
-other. The former seemed to be a neglected wilderness of trees, and
-flowering plants and vines, but on reaching the footway over which the
-feet had passed, he discovered an opening to the labyrinth, in a broad,
-graveled walk, which wound away between rows of shrubbery, sparkling in
-the morning sunlight, and lost itself in the distance.
-
-Turning the boat broadside against the stones, to prevent its floating
-away, he sprang to the bank and walked rapidly down the avenue. He
-discovered neither form nor sign of life for several minutes; but as he
-turned from the main walk into a smaller, which led away to the left, he
-saw directly before him, walking slowly toward the place where he stood,
-a young girl whose exquisite beauty well justified his eagerness. She
-was slightly above the medium height, slender, but well-proportioned,
-with a carriage erect and graceful. Her rich, brown hair was braided in
-masses over a forehead of the purest white, and drawn back loosely so as
-almost to hang upon her round, snowy neck. Her eyes were of the same
-color with her hair—a rich, dark brown; and their expression, though
-somewhat pensive, was yet sparkling and clear. A nose of the true
-Grecian model, a round, though not full chin, a small mouth with thin,
-curling lips, and cheeks now tinged by exercise in the cool morning air,
-completed a face which might well have attracted a man of less taste
-than the Count De Marsiac. To complete the picture, she had small,
-beautiful feet, such as a sultana might have envied; and her perfect,
-white hands, which now lay folded together in front, might have been a
-model for a sculptor. She wore a thin morning dress of the purest white,
-and as she walked slowly and unconsciously, it waved like gossamer about
-her person—revealing, perhaps, too much of its contour to please our
-northern prejudices, but still adding to its exquisite attraction.
-
-Harding’s circumstances were so peculiar, that he was embarrassed for a
-moment, and could not determine how to meet her. She had not yet seen
-him, and acting upon the impulse of perplexity, he stepped within the
-cover of the shrubbery, and allowed her to pass without speaking. She
-went but a few steps, however, before he called—
-
-“Margarita!”
-
-She started at his voice, but turned and at once advanced to meet him.
-Her eyes sparkled with pleasure, too, as she did so, and the hand she
-extended to him trembled from emotion. Harding could not know her
-feelings, and he had reason to doubt her truth; but, though he could not
-tell what it was, there was something in her look and manner as she met
-him which made him forget all suspicion. He took her hand in one of his,
-and placing the other about her waist, drew her to him, and—the love of
-a former time was renewed!
-
-“We meet once more,” he whispered; it was all he could say.
-
-“I feared we were parted forever,” she said, disengaging herself from
-his embrace, but still leaning on his arm.
-
-“I thought you had forgotten me,” continued Harding.
-
-“I am not sure but I ought to have done so,” she replied, with a smile
-which revealed how little she meant what she said. “But how is it that
-you are here?”
-
-“I had forgotten,” answered he; “I am here as an envoy from another, to
-ask your hand in marriage!”
-
-“You!” she exclaimed, drawing away from him. “From whom?”
-
-“From his highness,” answered Harding, laughingly detaining her, “Eugene
-Raoul, Count De Marsiac!”
-
-She gazed at him in surprise for a few moments; and then, catching the
-light of his smile, folded her hands upon his shoulder, looked archly
-into his eyes and said—
-
-“If the envoy does not deem my hand a prize high enough to justify his
-preferring a claim on his own behalf. I must even listen to the
-overtures of his sovereign.”
-
-“Then I must deliver my credentials,” said Harding, and drawing her to
-him, he kissed her upon both cheeks. “And now,” he continued, taking her
-hand, “my mission is ended; and in my own proper character I claim this
-hand as my own. Is it mine?”
-
-“Forever,” she answered, and he was about to resume his “credentials,”
-when a rustling among the bushes attracted his attention; and before
-Margarita could disengage herself, Lieutenant Grant confronted them, and
-leveled a pistol at Harding’s breast!
-
-“Traitor!” he shouted furiously; “you shall pay for this with your
-life!”
-
-Margarita screamed loudly, and threw herself in front of her lover; but
-before Grant was aware of his intention, Harding drew his sword, and
-passing around her, threw himself upon him. He knocked the pistol into
-the air just as it exploded; and the next instant Grant was stretched
-upon the sward, bleeding profusely from a wound in the head given by the
-back of Harding’s sword! The latter drew the remaining pistol from the
-sash of the fallen lieutenant, and kneeling beside him raised him from
-the ground on his arm.
-
-“Bring some water from the river,” he said to Margarita.
-
-But as he looked up, he perceived that the party had been increased by
-one! A tall, handsome woman, of perhaps thirty-six, stood gazing sternly
-on the scene, while Margarita shrank back abashed. She had a face once
-evidently distinguished for its proud beauty, but now remarkable chiefly
-for the masculine strength of its expression. Her eye was of that deep
-blue, which oftener indicates coldness than tenderness; and her lips,
-now compressed and white, were full of fierce resolution. It was plain
-that a sneer was more natural to her than a smile, anger than affection.
-Her brow was high but narrow, and her nose a thin aquiline. It was not
-at all strange that she had been the dominant spirit in Colonel
-Eltorena’s household.
-
-“What is this?” she commenced, in a voice of powerful compass, but no
-sweetness. “And who are you, sir, who dare to invade my private garden
-to brawl with my guests?”
-
-“You know me full well, madam,” said Harding, irritated by her tone,
-“and I intend that you shall know me better. But this is no time to
-instruct you. Margarita, will you bring some water from the river?”
-
-Margarita looked doubtfully at her mother; but at a wave of her hand,
-ran away toward the river. As she disappeared, her mother advanced
-closer to Harding, who was endeavoring to resuscitate Grant, and said—
-
-“You are here, I suppose, sir, for the purpose of attempting to
-interfere with my domestic arrangements; but let me assure you that you
-shall hang to one of these trees rather than be even admitted within the
-house!”
-
-“Your threats are brave enough, at all events,” said Harding, with a
-smile. “But do you not think it would better become a woman to assist me
-in a duty of humanity?”
-
-“What does she know of humanity?” demanded a sharp female voice, close
-to the group; and on turning his head Harding saw the same woman, whose
-story of deception and betrayal had so much interested him two hours
-before.
-
-“What do _you_ here?” demanded the señora, with one of those scowling
-looks for which her face seemed made. “Must I have you, too, thrust from
-my gate!”
-
-“_Your_ gate!” hissed the woman, advancing nearer to the object of her
-hatred, and flashing insane glances from those wild, haggard eyes.
-“_Your_ gate! Impostor, witch, begone! Must _I_ have _you_ thrust from
-_my_ gate?”
-
-There is something very appalling in the glance of an eye touched with
-insanity; and the Englishwoman shrunk from it, if not in fear, at least
-in dread. But, at the same moment, she saw Margarita returning with the
-water, and called to her—
-
-“Go back, my daughter, and send some of the men here.”
-
-“To thrust me forth from _your gate_, I suppose,” said the woman,
-advancing still closer, and fumbling with her right hand under the end
-of her mantilla.
-
-“Yes,” said the señora fiercely; “will you go without violence?”
-
-“No!” the maniac almost screamed. “_No!_” she repeated; and with the
-word, she suddenly drew her hand from its concealment, flourishing the
-dagger which she had shown Harding, and with a bound like that of a
-tiger, sprang upon her enemy and buried the steel in her heart! Harding
-dropped Grant, and rushed forward to prevent another blow, but his
-interference was too late! The señora screamed wildly, and with a
-convulsive gasp fell to the ground, quite dead!
-
-Harding seized the arm of the murderess and easily wrested the dagger
-from her hand. Indeed, she made no resistance—the reaction of her
-excitement sapped away her strength; and, submitting without a word to
-all that Harding did, she seemed intent only upon the now fast
-stiffening corpse which lay before her.
-
-“I am sorry for her,” she murmured; “I am sorry for her—but she would
-have it, and I cannot bring her to life.”
-
-She burst into tears, and threw herself to the ground—uttering the most
-terrible imprecations of God’s vengeance upon herself, mingled with
-curses of the late Colonel Eltorena, and incoherent references to his
-perfidy. Harding was at a loss how to act—so strangely embarrassing was
-the wild scene in which he found himself.
-
-The question was soon decided for him. He heard the approach of several
-armed men, walking with quick steps along the path, and, the next
-moment, Count De Marsiac suddenly entered the little area.
-
-“Villain!” he exclaimed, striding toward Harding; “you have deceived me,
-and shall die the death!”
-
-“Back, sir!” shouted the lieutenant fiercely, presenting the point of
-his sword. “If there is a greater villain than yourself here, the devil
-must be present in person!”
-
-The count recoiled from the blade, and furiously ordered his men to fire
-upon the audacious American; but two of them, who had been busied with
-Grant, now sprang upon him from behind, and, after a sharp struggle,
-overpowered and bound him.
-
-“I will dispose of you after awhile,” said De Marsiac, when he saw him
-_hors du combat_. “Leave him where he is,” he added to his men; and
-proceeding to give his orders with clearness and rapidity, the scene was
-soon broken up. Grant was restored to consciousness and again made a
-prisoner; the body of the señora was removed by the women summoned for
-the purpose, the murderess was taken into custody, and the whole party
-repaired to the house. Of this, De Marsiac at once took possession as if
-he were already its master; Margarita was confined to her own chamber,
-and Harding was thrust into a small, dingy room, and left alone, with
-those unpleasant companions, his own thoughts.
-
------
-
-[1] The following extract from the letter of the author of the Captive
-Rivals, will account for the delay in finishing this story in the
-December number.—Ed. Graham.
-
- _Jacksonville, Ill. Dec. 12th, 1861._
-
- _G. R. Graham, Esq.,_
-
- Dear Sir,—I send you, inclosed, the final number of the
- ‘Captive Rivals’—which has been by sickness, and other
- unavoidable causes, unreasonably delayed.
-
-[2] The reader must recollect that the leagues mentioned are Mexican.
-
-
- PART IV.
-
- All in the castle were at rest;
- When sudden on the windows shone
- A lightning flash, just seen and gone.
- Rokeby.
-
- ’Tis to be wished it had been sooner done;
- But stories somewhat lengthen, when begun.
- Byron.
-
-It wanted yet an hour of noon, when, excepting the occasional clash of
-arms in the court-yard, where De Marsiac had quartered his men, all
-sounds in the mansion ceased. The room in which Harding found himself
-imprisoned, had but one small window, and this was protected by strong,
-vertical iron bars, in the fashion of the country. The only door opened
-upon a corridor, along the stone pavement of which the prisoner could
-distinctly hear the footsteps of a sentinel, approaching and receding,
-but never quite going beyond earshot. As if to secure him, beyond the
-possibility of escape, another armed man passed, from time to time,
-before the window, looking curiously in at each return, and never
-disappearing for more than five minutes. Harding, as the reader has
-perceived, was a decidedly brave man; but when he reflected upon the
-meaning of these precautions, and the character of the man into whose
-power he had fallen, he could not avoid some apprehension as to his
-fate. Fatigue, however, soon overcame his fears, and the drowsy monotony
-of noonday conquered his wakefulness. Seating himself in the deep
-window, he leaned his head against the bars and slept.
-
-When he awoke, the sun was declining toward the horizon, and the shadows
-of the trees were lengthening along the hills. He aroused himself and
-looked about him. His window commanded a view of the garden, in which he
-had met Margarita, and a part of the river, along which he had entered.
-The waters had subsided since morning, and the arches under the wall
-were proportionably more open; but escape in this direction, even had he
-been able to break his prison, was cut off by two sentinels who stood
-upon the river-bank, and never, for a moment, turned their eyes from his
-window.
-
-None but those who are deprived of it, can fully appreciate the blessing
-of freedom; but even their hopelessness may be deepened, by the view of
-waving fields and clear sunlight, when they feel that it is not for them
-that they wave and shine. Harding turned away from the window, sick at
-heart, and with rapid and impatient strides paced up and down the narrow
-floor. As he passed the door for the fourth or fifth time, he heard
-voices without, as if in altercation, and the next moment, a heavy step
-coming along the corridor.
-
-“What do you want here?” roughly demanded a voice, which Harding at once
-recognized as that of the count.
-
-“I was taking the _Americano_ something to eat,” timidly answered the
-smaller of the voices, before in altercation.
-
-“Let him pass,” the count ordered the sentinel; and then added, aloud,
-as if on purpose to be heard within, “and tell the _Americano_ that he
-had better eat heartily, for it will be his last meal!”
-
-“_Si, señor_,” said the boy, and at the same moment the door was
-cautiously opened, so as to preclude all chance of escape, and the
-_peon_ entered, bearing a small waiter, on which were placed some
-articles of food.
-
-Harding turned away, in no mood for eating—though he had tasted nothing
-since morning. He had heard De Marsiac’s threat, and the character of
-his enemy left him little reason to doubt that he would put it into
-execution. He had hoped that his messenger would return from Anelo in
-time to save him; but now all prospect of that seemed cut off; for he
-knew that the count was not a man to delay when he had once taken his
-resolution. As this thought flashed across his mind, he wheeled suddenly
-round, determined to rush forth and try the chances of a fight; but
-before he could do so, the door was drawn violently to, and hastily
-bolted.
-
-“The _señor_ will eat something?” said the boy, timidly.
-
-“Set it down, then, and begone!” answered the prisoner, pointing to a
-wooden bench at the side of the room.
-
-“The count told me to say you had better eat heartily,” said the _peon_,
-“as this will be your last meal; and,” he continued, in a lower voice,
-pointing to a roll of bread, “you must break this bread, even if you
-don’t eat it.”
-
-The gesture and tone attracted Harding’s attention. He approached the
-bench and raised the roll, while the boy, repeating his injunction, went
-back to the door, and was cautiously let out. The lieutenant waited
-until the bolts were drawn again, and then broke the bread. A small slip
-of paper fell to the floor; and, on raising it, he found the following
-hopeful, though unsatisfactory words:
-
-“_Will you pay me the twenty dollars, or shall I keep the horse?_”
-
-“It would be cheaper,” muttered Harding, perversely, “to let him keep
-the horse, if he has ridden him thirty leagues already. But,” he added,
-a suspicion flashing across his mind, “that is impossible! I ought to
-have known the young scoundrel would betray me—and this is only a cruel
-_ruse_ of De Marsiac!”
-
-He turned the paper over as he spoke, and his eye caught these words
-written on the reverse:
-
-“_I will be with you by 9 o’clock—McCulloch._”
-
-“I did the boy injustice,” was his first thought; “he shall have both
-the money and the horse.” And seating himself on the bench, he followed
-the count’s well-meant advice, and was soon refreshed by a hearty meal.
-
-It is wonderful how much the state of the stomach has to do with the
-moods of the mind. Indeed, the two organs seem to be inter-reactive; and
-I believe some physiologists now contend, with great plausibility, too,
-that the brain is really the digestive organ. If this theory be true,
-mental distress must be only another name for _dispepsia_; and—though I
-have seen men who ate like anacondas, when under great affliction—I am
-strongly inclined to endorse the speculation. At all events, Harding was
-“a case, or subject, in point;” for, but a few minutes before, when he
-was apprehending many certain and uncertain evils, from the resentment
-of the count, he had not the least desire for refreshment; but, on the
-first glimpse of hope, he had an appetite like a soldier escaped from a
-beleaguered city. And, no sooner was the inner man replenished, than—on
-the aforesaid principle of inter-reaction—his spirits rose almost to
-the point of absolute content. Most axioms are tautological; but none is
-more so than that which asserts that “man is a _strange animal_.” The
-word “strange” might be advantageously and conveniently left out.
-
-So thoroughly had the important act of receiving his rations
-reinvigorated the captive, both corporeally and mentally, that, when he
-resumed his walk up and down the floor, he dismissed all anxiety about
-his own fate, and began to speculate in reference to the condition of
-his fellow-prisoner, Grant. From regret that he had been compelled to
-strike him, his mind wandered to a more pleasing subject of
-contemplation—he began to long for some information about Margarita;
-how she was treated by the ruffian count, and, more particularly—for
-love is always egotistical—how she viewed _his_ captivity; and finally,
-whether she had not forgotten her grief for her murdered mother, in
-devising means of giving him his liberty. These, or such as these, are
-often very pleasant fancies—the misfortune is, that, in most cases,
-they are _only_ fancies, and are occasionally rather rudely dispelled.
-
-So it was, at all events, with Harding; for, just as he had reached that
-supreme apex of egotism, to which lovers so easily attain—where one’s
-mistress is not supposed to know that there is any thing, or anybody
-else in the world, about which, or whom, she _can_ think—when he was
-recalled to more substantial realities, by hearing the count, in loud,
-stern tones, giving a rapid and ominous command.
-
-“Close the gates and bar them—muster the company, with loaded muskets,
-and bring out the prisoners!” Such was the significant order of a man
-who was never known to stop at half-measures!
-
-“McCulloch will be too late, at last!” exclaimed Harding, halting
-suddenly, and dashing his hand violently against the wall. The dinner
-had lost its virtues, for his heart sank even below its former point of
-depression. And, in truth, his apprehension was far from groundless. De
-Marsiac was incensed beyond bearing, by the consciousness that Harding
-had overreached him. His suspicions were first aroused by observing him
-take a road to _Piedritas_, different to the one he had pointed out. He
-had watched him until he halted among the elms, and had seen him
-dispatch the messenger for assistance. He was ignorant, however, of his
-point of destination—supposing that the nearest American force was at
-Monclova, about sixty leagues[3] distant. This supposition would give
-him at least forty-eight hours, in which to prepare for the reception,
-should soldiers be sent, or, at least, to retreat into the mountains.
-The interview between Margarita and Harding, had also been watched by
-some one of the household; and when the count came in great haste after
-his prisoner, this unwelcome news had met him at the threshold. A man of
-his violent temper could not have brooked this under any circumstances,
-least of all, when he possessed, as did the count, ample and ready means
-of vengeance.
-
-While the unfortunate prisoner was running these comfortless
-circumstances over in his mind, the door was suddenly thrown open, and
-several men rushed upon him and threw him to the floor. Almost before he
-was aware of their object, his arms were drawn forcibly back and
-pinioned behind him. They then lifted him to his feet, and
-unceremoniously marched him out upon the corridor. Here he found Grant,
-securely pinioned like himself, and held by two _rancheros_, one on each
-arm.
-
-“This is a pretty predicament you have brought us into,” said the
-younger, sullenly; “We’re to be shot, I suppose.”
-
-“Very probably,” answered Harding, scarcely able to resist, even in that
-serious moment, an inclination to smile at Grant’s disconsolate look.
-“But how came you here?”
-
-“I escaped from _Embocadura_ about the same time with you, and was in
-the garden to learn your treachery and—”
-
-“And to get that blow on the head,” interrupted Harding, feeling again
-an impulse to jest.
-
-“I’ll settle that score with you hereafter,” said Grant, his eyes
-flashing fire.
-
-“By ‘hereafter,’ I suppose, you mean in the next world,” said Harding,
-with a bitter smile. “But, seriously, Grant, this is no time for the
-indulgence of such feelings; we have probably not long to live, and
-ought to be thinking of more important matters. I am heartily sorry for
-the blow, as well as for my insincerity—will you forgive it?”
-
-“With all my heart,” answered the other warmly; and each made a gesture,
-as if to join hands; but the cords bound them too closely.
-
-“We can do but one thing, Grant,” said Harding, with feeling, “and that
-is, die like Christian men—and brave men,” he added, after a pause;
-“for these cursed _rancheros_ ought not to see any weakness in
-Americans.”
-
-“They shall see none in me,” said Grant, firmly, “though I do think it
-hard to be sacrificed in this way!”
-
-“One of the chances of war, Grant—only one of the chances of war,” said
-Harding, sturdily; and, at the same moment the count, for whom the men
-seemed to have been waiting, appeared on the corridor and waved his
-hand. The files turned away with their prisoners, and marching around
-the building, soon gained the bank of the river. Here they halted again,
-awaiting the approach of the count, who, like most men when assuming a
-fearful responsibility, seemed to act with much less than his usual
-prompt rapidity. The sun had already set, and there was only left the
-short twilight of that latitude before the falling of night, which must
-suspend the bloody act, perhaps forever.
-
-But a few minutes were lost, however, when De Marsiac came hastily round
-the building, accompanied by ten of his _rancheros_ with trailed arms.
-At a gesture from him the prisoners’ guards resumed their march, and
-crossing the river on the stepping-stones, before mentioned, soon gained
-the little open space where Harding had met Margarita. Selecting two
-trees which stood near each other, the count ordered his captives to be
-lashed securely to them; and then drawing his men some five paces off,
-gave the preliminary commands to a cold-blooded murder.
-
-“Keep a strong heart, Grant,” said Harding, endeavoring to sustain his
-younger comrade in the awful hour. “Don’t let your courage fail now—it
-is too late!”
-
-“This is a mere assassination,” said Grant, grinding his teeth.
-
-“And will be speedily avenged,” added Harding, “more speedily than the
-vindictive scoundrel now thinks!”
-
-De Marsiac caught these words, and paused. For a moment he seemed to
-hesitate whether to proceed. But his nature was too obstinate to admit
-more than a passing thought of change in his purpose; and without
-further noting the words of Harding, he resumed his attitude of command.
-While he seemed to hesitate, his men had brought their guns to the
-ground—and they were now to be brought up again by the successive
-movements of the manual. The delay arising from this cause, probably
-saved the lives of both the prisoners.
-
-A quick, light footstep was heard rapidly approaching along the main
-walk, and a moment afterward, Margarita, accompanied by one of her
-women, rushed into the area and threw herself, without hesitation,
-between the prisoners and their executioners.
-
-“Count!” she exclaimed, her eyes flashing fire, and her voice attesting
-the extremity of her emotion, “is this the way you keep your promises
-with one to whose hand you aspire! Down with your arms, miscreants, and
-begone! _I_ am mistress here!”
-
-A slight sneer curled the haughty lip of the count; but, considering his
-vengeance snatched from him for the present, he gave his men the order
-to ground their arms, but to stand firm. Assuming, then, the most
-insinuating address in his power—and he was far from ungraceful—he
-approached the incensed girl, and drew her aside.
-
-“Margarita,” said he, taking her hand, “you must pardon an act which is
-prompted only by love for yourself; and you must not judge too harshly
-of one who feels that the dearest price of earth has been unfairly
-snatched from his grasp. Both these men have been instrumental in
-blasting my hopes of obtaining this hand; I feel that while they live, I
-can never rebuild the vision I have indulged—perhaps their death may
-not assist me—but,” and he raised himself suddenly to his full height,
-and spoke in a deep, determined tone, the meaning of which she knew too
-well, “I shall at least be avenged!”
-
-“What do you mean?” she asked, trembling.
-
-“I mean,” he replied, calmly, “that since my hopes are wrecked at any
-rate, their death will give me revenge, without harm to my
-interests—_they must die!_”
-
-“And dare you think that I would marry one whose hands were bloody with
-such a deed?” she asked, proudly.
-
-“Listen to me,” said he, laying his hand on her arm; “my hands are not
-_now_ bloody—yet you reject me. If I spare these men, you will reject
-me still—and I shall lose my revenge, and not gain your love.”
-
-“Perhaps—” she commenced, but paused.
-
-“If you will be mine,” he interrupted, perceiving that the moment had
-arrived, “both these men shall be sent back, unharmed, to the American
-army—and I shall be not only the happiest of men, for the requital of
-my love, but will also be saved, what I feel would be a great crime!”
-
-“If you know it to be a great crime, why commit it?” she asked.
-
-“Ah, Margarita! you little understand man’s feelings. But come,” he
-added, suddenly, “time presses—I cannot wait. You reject me—they must
-die!”
-
-He turned away as he spoke, as if to resume his commands; but Margarita
-called him back.
-
-“If I consent,” she commenced, with hesitation, “when will you demand
-the fulfillment of my promise?”
-
-“_To-night_,” he replied; “so soon as Father Aneres can be brought from
-_La Embocadura_!”
-
-“Why such haste?” she demanded. “Will not to-morrow be quite soon
-enough? Remember, my mother was only buried to-day!”
-
-“A few hours can make no difference in that matter,” he replied, “but
-_might_ in another view. I must have your hand _to-night_, or these men
-must die _now_.”
-
-It was a terrible alternative. But Margarita had seen Harding’s
-messenger, and knew that McCulloch, with his Rangers, might be expected
-within three hours. The only question was, whether she could find
-excuses enough to delay the ceremony for that length of time. Could she
-do so, she was safe; but—and it was a terrible thought—should De
-Marsiac use his power to hasten it, she was lost! But, running over in
-her mind all the plausible reasons she might give for an hour’s delay,
-and especially reflecting upon the consequences of a refusal, she at
-length determined to consent.
-
-“I can do no more,” she said.
-
-“Then I understand you to consent?” he asked.
-
-“I do,” she replied, “on the condition that you send these unfortunate
-men to their army immediately.”
-
-“As soon as you are mine, they shall set out,” said the count; and
-Margarita was obliged to be satisfied with his pledge. He at once
-ordered the prisoners unbound, and taken back to their temporary
-prisons; and walking beside his intended bride, he followed the little
-procession to the house, and at once gave orders to summon the priest.
-
-The presence of a clerical functionary, in the house of such a man as De
-Marsiac, was not so remarkable as at first view it would seem; for,
-independent of the almost complete degradation of that order in that
-part of Mexico, there was another reason for the opportune appearance of
-one of its members. The count, anticipating the possibility of gaining
-some advantage in the events about to happen, had manifested one of the
-most valuable characteristics of a great general—preparing himself to
-make the utmost of whatever success might be given him. He had summoned
-Father Aneres to Embocadura, for the very purpose for which he now
-called him to Piedritas.
-
-The _padre_ exhibited the three peculiarities of the priesthood in that
-country, excepting, indeed, well-shaped hands and feet, they were the
-only remarkable points about him: he possessed a rotund corporation, a
-full nether lip, and a small, twinkling, black eye. He was above the
-ordinary level referred to, however, for the grossness of his aspect was
-rather that of easy self-indulgence, than of positive sensuality.
-Indolence filled up the space in him, which, in his brethren, it usually
-shared with a cruel and rapacious depravity.
-
-He entered the _hacienda_ within an hour after the dispatch of De
-Marsiac’s messenger—a promptitude for which he received from none
-there, excepting the count, any of the good wishes usually bestowed upon
-such occasions on men of his profession. To Margarita, especially, his
-coming was unwelcome in a very high degree; for, though but an hour
-remained before the period fixed for McCulloch’s arrival with his
-Rangers, this was space enough for one so determined as the count, and
-far too much for her to dispose of in specious delays.
-
-This was soon manifested, indeed, by the unannounced entrance of De
-Marsiac, who demanded that the ceremony should proceed forthwith. She
-informed him that she had but now commenced her preparations; and rashly
-said, that she would be quite ready at the end of an hour.
-
-“See that you are so, then,” said he, peremptorily; “for I will not be
-cajoled into another minute’s delay. I shall be here again precisely at
-nine o’clock; and if you are not ready then, I shall shoot the
-prisoners, and compel you to redeem your pledge afterward.”
-
-She was about to make an angry reply; but, reflecting that he was fully
-capable, if incensed more than he seemed already, of dragging her at
-once to the altar, she suppressed her indignation, and replied as calmly
-as possible—
-
-“Do you not think, count,” said she, “that such language is unbecoming
-at such a time—and to me?”
-
-“If,” said he, softening at once, approaching her and taking her hand,
-“if you treated me with the confidence which I feel I deserve, no one
-could be more gentle and affectionate than I would be. But you leave no
-room for gentleness. Even now, you are endeavoring to gain time in order
-that you may be rescued by American soldiers. But—be at once
-undeceived—these soldiers cannot arrive here sooner than the day after
-to-morrow, and then they will find the place vacant.”
-
-Margarita’s heart sank within her, though she had seen Harding’s
-messenger, and trusted his report. She knew not to what expedient one so
-adroit as her persecutor might resort, to delay the march of the
-rangers, or lead them astray; and her imagination at once conjured up
-twenty plans by which he might secure his object. She made no reply,
-however, other than to assert that he was mistaken in her motives, and
-request that he would leave her to her preparations.
-
-“Very well,” said he, “I will return at nine o’clock.”
-
-As soon as his step ceased to be heard, Margarita summoned the two
-confidential women who were most about her person, and a council was
-held upon the ways or means of escaping or gaining time. But, fertile as
-is woman’s wit, no feasible plan was suggested. Escape from the house
-was impossible, for the count had every avenue guarded; the priest was
-inaccessible, for he was completely under De Marsiac’s influence; even
-her own men could not be depended upon, for the few who were in the
-_hacienda_ were overawed by the _rancheros_ of her persecutor. The only
-alternative was to stand obstinately silent at the altar; and yet by
-this course, she inevitably sacrificed two lives—one of them dearer to
-her than her own. Her position was terribly embarrassing; for, if she
-should refuse to consent until her lover was murdered, she could not
-even then be sure that the count would not force her to yield afterward;
-making thus a bloody, and unavailing sacrifice.
-
-In the midst of their deliberations—if a hopeless search after
-desperate expedients could be so called—a light knock was heard at the
-door, and on being opened, it admitted Harding’s trusty messenger,
-Margarita’s half-brother. He paused at the threshold and gazed about
-him. It was the first time he had ever been admitted into the private
-apartments of a place which he had been taught to consider his own, and
-the gleam of his dark eye would have betrayed his thoughts to any one
-less preoccupied than Margarita. The expression soon faded away,
-however, and without salutation he advanced to Margarita, and abruptly
-asked—
-
-“Are you about to marry Count De Marsiac, willingly?”
-
-“Why do you ask?” Margarita inquired.
-
-“I wish to prevent it,” he replied calmly.
-
-“How can you do so?”
-
-“By gaining time, till the _Texanos_ come,” he answered.
-
-“If you can do this,” said Margarita, eagerly, “your reward shall even
-exceed your own expectations.”
-
-“My reward does not depend upon you,” he coldly replied. “It is quite as
-much to my interest to prevent the marriage, as it can be to yours.”
-
-“How can that be?” interposed one of the women.
-
-“That will be explained hereafter,” the young man replied. “If you will
-follow my directions the marriage shall be prevented.”
-
-“What do you wish me to do?” asked Margarita.
-
-“Only to delay your preparations as long as you can, and if the Texans
-do not arrive before the hour—”
-
-“Nine o’clock is the time,” interrupted Margarita, “and it wants but
-half an hour of it, now.”
-
-“I know,” said the other, “but linger as long as possible. Do not tempt
-the count to any violence; when you can delay no longer, go to the
-altar, and you will understand what I mean.”
-
-There was no alternative but to trust him; and Margarita did so the more
-willingly, because he dictated the only course she could see open to
-her—procrastination, in the hope of relief. His motives were plain
-enough, though she could not fathom them. He claimed the _hacienda_ as
-his own, but he knew that if it once fell into the hands of a man, whose
-grasp was as tenacious as that of the count, his title would have but
-small chance of successful assertion, and he was therefore interested in
-preventing his union with Margarita.
-
- * * * * *
-
-In the mean time, the good Padre Aneres was seated in one of the
-southern wings of the _hacienda_, recruiting his energies, after an
-exhausting journey of two miles from _Embocadura_. The robes and
-appointments of his clerical office were arranged with a neatness which
-scarcely distinguished his personal appearance; for he was about to
-celebrate a sacrament, which he viewed as hardly less important than the
-last unction administered to the dying—to which, indeed, it furnished
-no indistinct parallel. Preparatory, however, to the performance of the
-ceremony, he was fortifying himself with a liberal supply of delicate
-viands—that to which he applied himself most frequently being a large
-silver bowl of red Parras wine.
-
-He had been thus agreeably occupied for half an hour or more after his
-arrival, and having recovered his breath, began to feel comfortable
-again, when a hasty but timid knock was heard at the door. The worthy
-_padre_ pushed the bowl of wine a little farther from him, hastily
-swallowed the morsel in his mouth, and having settled himself in an
-attitude of meditation, gave a gentle invitation to enter. The door was
-pushed timidly open, and the young messenger presented himself, in most
-singular plight. His clothes were studiously disarranged; his hair was
-disheveled, and covered with dust and ashes, while his eyes gave signs
-of recent violent weeping.
-
-“_Oh, padre!_” he exclaimed, in evident distress, throwing himself at
-the good Father’s feet. “_Peccavi! Peccavi!_ I have sinned! I have
-sinned! O, Father! Hear me, and forgive.”
-
-The worthy priest was startled at this exhibition of grief, so much more
-intense than he was accustomed to see; for the penitent beat his breast,
-and humbled himself upon his knees in the most abandoned manner.
-
-“Calm yourself, my son,” said the pastor, “and remember that mercy may
-be extended to the guiltiest of mortals.”
-
-“_Confiteor! Confiteor!_” rapidly continued the sinner. “Oh, _padre_!
-Pity and forgive! _Peccavi! Peccavi! O, Miseracordia!_”
-
-“Entrust your sin to the Representative of Heaven,” gently urged the
-Father, “and never despair of God’s mercy.”
-
-“Not here! O, not here!” exclaimed the youth, springing to his feet and
-rushing to the door. “There are spies here—ears listening for the
-confession, which must be given to you alone.”
-
-“Who dares to penetrate the secrets of the Confessional?” demanded the
-_padre_, his little black eyes twinkling with indignation.
-
-“The count and his spies,” answered the youth. “We must leave the
-house—we must go forth into the night, for my soul is burthened with
-sin, and the load must be lifted. Come!” He seized the confessor by the
-robe and dragged him toward the door, sobbing “_Peccavi! Peccavi!_” all
-the time.
-
-“But, my son,” hesitated the priest, “the count is—”
-
-“Come—come—come!” repeated the penitent, impatiently; a part of his
-grief giving way before his haste to be absolved. “We can return before
-you will be wanted. I cannot endure to wait! O, pity and forgive!”
-
-The good Father, like most indolent men, was very slow of decision at
-all times; and now he was carried away by the torrent of grief, and the
-impatience for absolution, which seemed to flow from the consciousness
-of some great crime. Half inclined to refuse, and yet too undecided to
-act with promptness, he suffered himself to be dragged from the room,
-and through the door into the open air. Here they were brought to a
-sudden halt: a _ranchero_ stepped before them, and presented his musket.
-But such an indignity at once restored the Father to his dignity.
-
-“Who dares to obstruct a son of the church in the discharge of his duty
-to Heaven?” he indignantly demanded. “Out of the way, false man of
-blood; and let the confessor and his penitent pass out from among the
-oppressors of God’s people!”
-
-This vigorous speech was not particularly appropriate to the occasion,
-nor was it thoroughly understood by him to whom it was addressed.
-Neither was it such as was likely to move one of De Marsiac’s ordinary
-followers; for the _rancheros_ generally stood more in awe of their
-leader’s displeasure, than of the wrath of Heaven; and it is probable
-that but few of the desperadoes would have hesitated to bayonet the
-Pope, himself, had the count so commanded. But this sentinel seemed to
-be of a more reverential nature; for no sooner did he recognize the
-priest and his companion, than he raised the point of his bayonet,
-shouldered his musket, and allowed them to pass.
-
-This disobedience of his captain’s orders—remarkable for its want of
-precedent among De Marsiac’s banditti; was not the only singular
-circumstance about the accommodating sentinel, as the reader will soon
-observe. The young penitent disappeared among the shades of night with
-his confessor, whom he hurried on faster, probably, than he had ever
-walked before. He directed his course to a little group of _ranchos_,
-which stood directly south of the _hacienda_. Having entered one of
-these, and remained five minutes—it seemed that his sin was not long in
-the confessing or absolution, notwithstanding his overwhelming
-distress—for at the end of that time he issued forth _alone_, with a
-well-pleased smile upon his lip, and elasticity restored to his bearing.
-From the door of the _rancho_ he took his way north-ward again; verging
-obliquely to the right, however, until he reached the bank of the river,
-nearly a quarter of a mile east of the _hacienda_. At this point, a
-grove of small trees sheltered the bank, and through them passed the
-road up the valley to Anelo. The youth paused as he gained the shadows,
-and gave a low, clear whistle. It was answered from the river-bank; and
-in a moment afterward, a man emerged from the covert, and approached the
-messenger.
-
-A whispered consultation ensued between the pair, but of brief duration;
-for Eltorena seemed in haste.
-
-“Keep due south,” said he, as he prepared to return, “until you reach
-Martiniez’ avenue—then turn west, until you are opposite the south
-entrance, and approach cautiously.”
-
-With those words he turned away; and retracing his steps with great
-rapidity, soon came in view of the sentinel, who had permitted him to
-pass.
-
-“_Quien va la?_” hailed the latter, presenting his musket. But Eltorena
-only answered by a low whistle, and boldly advanced. As he approached,
-the sentinel again shouldered his piece, and a consultation ensued
-between _them_, also—the youth pointing out the direction which he had
-indicated to his confederate at the river, and then passing into the
-mansion. The sentinel resumed his pace up and down his post—pausing
-from time to time with his ear bent toward the east, as if waiting for
-some expected sound. But every thing was as still as a summer night in
-the north; and though the moon was now rising over the eastern hills,
-there was not a moving thing perceptible to the eye.
-
- * * * * *
-
-While these things were going on without, the hour appointed for the
-ceremony of marriage was fast approaching; and one of the parties, at
-least, was filled with anxious fears. Margarita had delayed her
-preparations as much as possible; but the assistance of her women, with
-which it would have been more politic to have dispensed, had, even
-against her will, so expedited them, that she was fully ready at the
-time. Nor, had it been otherwise, was the count disposed to permit any
-further procrastination; for, punctually to the minute, he knocked at
-her door, and, without waiting a summons to enter, threw it open and
-stepped across the threshold.
-
-“I am glad to see you ready,” said he, throwing as much kindness into
-his manner as his consciousness of wrong permitted. “Come, the chapel is
-prepared, and the _padre_ awaits us.”
-
-“Count,” said the intended bride, trembling with apprehension, but
-anxious to make another effort for delay, “cannot this ceremony be as
-well performed to-morrow? I do not like this indecent haste.”
-
-“It must be performed to-night—_now_,” he replied calmly. “If you
-refuse, you know the alternative. I will not be trifled with.”
-
-“I am not trifling with you, indeed,” said she hurriedly. “But
-reflect—my mother is scarcely cold in her grave!”
-
-“The better reason why you should observe her wishes,” De Marsiac
-replied. “I have considered all that, and find no reason to change my
-mind. If you intend to redeem your pledge at all, it is as well to-night
-as to-morrow. If you are willing to sacrifice your friends, _los
-Americanos_, your refusal to-night will only give me my revenge sooner!”
-
-His course of argument was too direct and forcible to be oppugned;
-Margarita rose as its meaning reached her, and signified her willingness
-to go at once to the altar. The count turned to one of his followers and
-said—
-
-“Go to Father Aneres, and tell him that we will be ready by the time he
-can reach the altar.”
-
-The man approached the door of the room where we have seen the good
-_padre_ recruiting his exhausted strength. He was met at the door by
-young Eltorena, dressed in a white cassock, and holding a censer in his
-hand, as if in attendance upon the priest.
-
-“The good Father,” said the young man, “is in his closet, but will meet
-them in the chapel in five minutes.”
-
-The man returned to his master, and the procession at once marched
-toward the chapel. A room fitted up for this purpose is to be found in
-almost all the larger _haciendas_ of that part of Mexico—its size and
-splendor depending upon the wealth and piety of the proprietor. That at
-_Piedritas_ had been somewhat neglected of late, but was still a
-respectable chapel. It was separated from the priest’s room—where
-Eltorena had sought the _padre_—by two partitions, between which was
-the private closet; and leading out of this was a door which opened
-behind the altar. It was through this door that Father Aneres was to
-enter for the performance of the momentous ceremony. But the reader
-already knows that the good Father was not within, and therefore could
-not come forth.
-
-The procession entered the chapel in the following order. The count,
-holding the unwilling hand of his trembling bride, was succeeded by the
-two women, accompanied by his trusty lieutenant, who was to “give the
-bride away.” Then came three files of _rancheros_ with trailed arms—a
-desecration which the good Father, timid as he was, would not have
-permitted. Behind these, each between two soldiers, who jealously
-watched them, came Harding and Grant—borne in the procession, like the
-prisoners of ancient Rome, to grace the triumph of the conqueror! Then
-followed the remainder of the count’s band of free-companions,
-numbering, in all, about twenty. All the domestics of the family crowded
-in after, and the door was taken in charge by the trusty sentinel who
-had disobeyed his orders!
-
-The count dragged his bride to the chancel-rail, and, leaving her there
-for a few moments supported by her women, took upon himself the duties
-of master of the ceremonies. He placed his two prisoners directly behind
-the bride, well guarded however, so that they would have the
-satisfaction of seeing without the power of interfering. Behind them he
-ranged his followers in a compact mass, and directing the _peons_ to
-seat themselves in the rear, he ordered the sentinel to close the door,
-but not to leave it. Returning then to the chancel-railing, he resumed
-his place beside Margarita, and took her cold and trembling hand in his.
-
-Although these dispositions consumed full ten minutes, when he returned
-to his place, the priest still delayed his coming. The count, however,
-fiery and impetuous as he was, waited patiently for a period quite as
-long; when, finding that the door still remained closed, he began to
-knit his brows and mutter angry threats. These signs encouraged
-Margarita, for they indicated delay, if not deliverance; and she had
-even the audacity to smile in De Marsiac’s face.
-
-“Antonio,” said the latter furiously, “go to Father Aneres and tell him
-that we are waiting for him—_impatiently_!”
-
-The man addressed sprang to the door and attempted to open it, but it
-did not yield to his efforts.
-
-“It is fastened on the outside,” he said. But, at the same moment, the
-door behind the altar was heard to swing upon its hinges, and a slow,
-heavy step was placed upon the short stairway which led up to the
-platform.
-
-“The old dotard is coming at last,” muttered the count, not observing
-the ominous report of his messenger. He laid aside his gold-laced cap,
-which hitherto he had kept upon his head, and resuming Margarita’s hand,
-placed himself before the railing and looked up.
-
-It was not the priest who stood at the altar! A tall, heavily-armed
-man—evidently an American—rose suddenly from his cover, and, leveling
-a pistol at De Maniac’s breast, gave his war-cry of “_Texano! Texano!_”
-At the same moment the closed door was thrown open, and a band of near
-twenty men filed speedily in and brought their carbines to bear upon the
-_rancheros_—while a detachment, equally strong, rushed in from the
-priest’s room, and marched past their leader—who was none other than
-McCulloch of the Texan Rangers! A glance passed between Harding and
-Grant—each understood the thought of the other—and, as if by
-pre-concert, they broke away from their guards, sprang upon the count,
-and, before his men could interfere, dragged him, a prisoner in his
-turn, within the chancel! Scarcely giving him time to speak, two of the
-rangers hurried him away through the priest’s room, and delivered him in
-charge to the guard stationed at the door.
-
-“Lay down your arms!” shouted McCulloch, through the din which now
-arose—chiefly from the domestics—“and every man’s life shall be
-spared. But the _ranchero_ that holds his arms one minute, shall hang to
-the first tree that’s tall enough to stretch him.”
-
-The word “_Texano_” had already half accomplished the conquest; the
-captivity of their leader weakened their resolution, and this threat,
-which every Texan was, in the estimation of a Mexican, fully capable of
-executing, completed the discomfiture. Each _ranchero_ threw down his
-arms with an alacrity which seemed to indicate that they were growing
-hot in his hands, and the two detachments of rangers marched in and made
-them all prisoners, without the least resistance.
-
-“There’s one good job well done, boys,” said McCulloch, “and all the
-better done because we have spilt no blood.”
-
-Turning then to Harding, who was supporting Margarita upon his arm,
-while Grant stood moodily aside, he said—cordially receiving the hand
-extended to him—
-
-“We were very nearly too late, at last—though, thank God! not quite. I
-had information from your messenger, since we entered the _hacienda_,
-that the bandit, De Marsiac, designed to take your lives, even after he
-had obtained the hand which was to be their ransom.”
-
-“I doubt not,” said Harding, frankly; “if my friend Grant and I see
-to-morrow morning, we shall owe the sight to your promptness in
-attending my call. You must be satisfied with our gratitude until the
-chances of war shall enable us to discharge the obligation in kind.”
-
-“If the only mode of payment,” said the captain with a smile, “is
-rescuing me from a scrape like this, I hope you may never have a
-creditor more pressing than I.”
-
-“I do not know,” said the ranger lieutenant, Gillespie, coming forward
-with the open manner of the soldier; “I think, if the prize, at the
-outcome, were as great as it seems to be in this instance, Captain
-McCulloch would have no special objection to dangers quite as imminent.”
-
-He looked at Margarita as he spoke—for she still hung upon Harding’s
-arm. The captain laughed at what he considered a compliment both to
-himself and the lady; a round of introductions ensued, and
-congratulations, with jests and pleasant laughs—during which the
-prisoners were marched off and confined, and the _hacienda_ reassumed
-its aspect of dreamy quiet.
-
-“Gentlemen,” said Margarita, when a pause at last broke the round of
-felicitations, “you have ridden far and hard, and must be both fatigued
-and hungry. Will you not partake of some refreshment?”
-
-“With the utmost pleasure,” answered McCulloch; “but I must first see my
-men quartered.”
-
-“I have already given orders for their accommodation,” said Margarita.
-“Since I may soon be under their escort, it becomes me to consult their
-comfort.”
-
-“Under their escort!” exclaimed Harding.
-
-“Yes,” she replied. “Since my mother’s death this is no longer a fit
-residence for me. I have many relatives in Saltillo, and it is thither
-that I wish to go. When you return to the United States,” she added, in
-French, observing Harding’s doubtful look, “I shall be your
-companion—if you desire it.”
-
-He could only reply by another look, of a different meaning, when
-McCulloch asked—
-
-“What will become of the _hacienda_ in your absence? I have seen too
-much of the steward system in this country, not to regret the absence of
-the proprietor from every fine estate.”
-
-“I shall give it to one,” she replied, “who, though he already claims it
-unjustly, has, by his services this night entitled himself to even a
-greater reward. I mean the young man who led you hither.”
-
-“And his mother,” suggested one of the women, who did not quite relish
-the generous proposition.
-
-“She is a confirmed maniac,” said Margarita with a shudder, “and this is
-only a stronger reason why I should do as I say. She will be a burthen
-upon her son, and it is but just that he should have the means of
-supporting her.” This closed the discussion, and the party adjourned to
-supper.
-
- * * * * *
-
-On the following day the prisoners were mustered by the order of
-McCulloch—as they supposed, for the purpose of being treated as _their_
-countrymen had so often treated _his_; that is, being hung like
-traitors, or shot by platoons—but really for the purpose of being
-released. De Marsiac, however, as a man who might do the Americans some
-injury, was retained a prisoner of war. All the rest, much to their
-surprise, were dismissed with an _admonition_ not to be found again in
-arms. The captain judged, very correctly, that taking their _parol_
-would be an unmeaning ceremony.
-
-About an hour afterward, the cavalcade set out for Saltillo, by way of
-Anelo and Capellania—a long route which McCulloch’s orders compelled
-them to take. Margarita, with a generosity which my readers may be
-disposed to call romantic, but which was, after all, scarcely more than
-justice—had conveyed the _Hacienda de los Piedritas_ to her
-half-brother, who had so richly deserved his reward. The sacrifice was
-small, too, for she had, still remaining, possessions ample even for
-that country of overgrown individual fortunes.
-
-Three days brought them to the handsome city of Saltillo, where
-Margarita found a refuge among her many relatives. De Marsiac was
-reported at headquarters and sent to the rear; while Harding and
-Grant—wiser if not better men—rejoined their companies, and resumed
-their duties. The events of their captivity seemed to have cured the
-latter of the pleasant malady which had afflicted him; and the pair
-became, in a short time, as inseparable as ever. They visited Margarita
-together, and though the younger winced a little, when by any chance the
-subject of his hallucination was referred to, on the whole he bore his
-disappointment with a good grace.
-
-The battle of Buena Vista closed the campaign in that part of the
-country; and shortly afterward the regiment to which they were attached
-was discharged. Before their return home, however, the ancient rivals
-returned to Saltillo—where, in the handsome cathedral, Harding and
-Margarita were united in marriage. And, a pleasant memento of rather
-uncertain times, the officiating priest was the worthy Father Aneres,
-who had figured in the history of Harding and Grant while they were
-“_Captive Rivals_!”
-
------
-
-[3] Mexican leagues—about one hundred and forty miles.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- DEI GRATIA, REX.
-
-
- BY W. E. GILMORE.
-
-
- King “by the grace of God!” where is the token
- By which we know thy right it is to reign!
- Jehovah’s will, of old, in words was spoken,
- Who heard His voice thy sovereignty proclaim?
-
- No! thou art king, _not_ by “the grace of God,”
- But usurpation only—guiltless he
- That doth resist thy claims, and, though in blood
- Poured out like water, rids the earth of thee!
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- OUR CHILDHOOD
-
-
- BY JANE GAY.
-
-
- How brightly did the summer’s sun
- Wake up the dewy morn,
- And chase the misty shadows from
- The cot where we were born;
- It stood amid the peaceful hills
- Where worldlings never rove,
- The violet-spotted earth around—
- The glorious sky above.
-
- Two tall elms were its sentinels,
- With arms uplifted high;
- And these were all we needed, save
- The watchers of the sky;
- And while amid the thick, green leaves
- The moonbeams dallied bright,
- The stars looked down on us at play,
- Oft on the summer night.
-
- O, every month of childhood’s years,
- How well do I remember,
- With all their smiles and fleeting tears,
- From New Year’s till December;
- No care or burden had we then—
- No life-lines on the brow;
- We knew it not—I wonder if
- We’re any wiser now.
-
- Were we not with ye, brothers, when
- With spade or hoe ye sped
- To dig the homely artichoke
- From out its winter bed?
- Or when, with boyhood’s free, glad shout,
- Ye ran with pole and hook,
- To draw the golden-spotted trout
- From out the alder-brook?
-
- Ay, ay! and I must tell it, too,
- Ye’d _sometimes_ play the churls;
- And cry, when we would run away—
- “_Mother, call back the girls_!”
- And then came tasks of knitting-work
- For us, and dreaded patch,
- With sullen faces, till we thought
- To try a knitting match.
-
- The summer days were ne’er too long
- For busy life like ours;
- For every hill had berries then,
- And every meadow, flowers.
- And joyfully, when school was done,
- We’d stay to glean our store;
- For though we loved the school-book well,
- We loved the free hills more.
-
- And very pleasant ’mid those hills
- September’s sun did shine,
- As we went forth to gather grapes
- From many a loaded vine;
- And while October’s gorgeous hues
- Of red and gold were seen;
- We searched for chestnuts in the wood,
- Or pulled the winter-green.
-
- And when November’s winds came chill
- With icy sleet and rain,
- We knew the old brown barns were filled
- With stores of golden grain;
- And what cared we how bleak or cold
- The wintry storms might rise—
- Our dreams were of Thanksgiving-days,
- And all their wealth of pies.
-
- Though ye have left the homestead now
- Grave men to walk among,
- Yet while our sire and grandsire live—
- Brothers, ye still are young!
- Nor, sisters, is it time for us
- Life’s lantern dark to trim,
- Our own dear mother has not yet
- Sung her half-century hymn!
-
- And while our childhood’s guardians live
- To bless the passing years,
- ’Twere more than vain in sad regrets
- To waste Life’s precious tears;
- Yet if our summer sky is fair,
- And green our summer bowers,
- We know that many walk the earth
- With sadder hearts than ours.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- I’LL BLAME THEE NOT.
-
-
- BY J. A. TINNON.
-
-
- I’ll blame thee not—for I can love,
- Another eye as bright as thine,
- A form as fair, and ne’er regret,
- This worship at a faithless shrine.
- I’ll blame thee not—love fond and true
- May still be won in beauty’s bowers,
- Though I may never dare again,
- To wear a wreath of fading flowers.
-
- I’ll blame thee not—for thoughts of love
- And thee no more my bosom fill;
- And of that dream there lingers scarce
- One trace of its deep burning thrill.
- I’ll blame thee not—I smile to see
- The golden vision pass away,
- When its bright tints a mask have been
- To hide a heart of common clay.
-
- I’ll blame thee not—for I, perchance,
- May learn the trick of gladness well,
- And none shall mark upon my brow
- A trace of joy or pain to tell.
- I’ll blame thee not—for I will care
- No more to bind a restive heart,
- Though every joy my life can know
- Should with its passion-dream depart.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- LAW AND LAWYERS.
-
-
- BY JOHN NEAL.
-
-
- “Once more into the breach, dear friends:
- Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the bends!”
-
-
-With all my heart, Graham! But inasmuch as the lecture you want a copy
-of has never been reduced to writing, though portions have appeared from
-time to time in the newspapers of the day; and I have no notes worth
-referring to, I dare not pretend to give you the language I employ; for,
-between ourselves, that depends upon the weather and the House, to say
-nothing of my temper at the time. For example; if I see before me a
-goodly proportion of what are called the _learned_, or the _educated_, I
-never mince matters—I never talk as if butter wouldn’t melt in my
-mouth, but go to work with my sleeves rolled up, as if I heard a trumpet
-in the hollow sky. In other cases, where the great majority of my
-hearers happen to be neither learned nor educated—though there may be a
-sprinkling of both—I am apt, I acknowledge, to wander off into familiar
-every-day illustrations—perhaps into down-right story-telling, or what
-my brethren of the bar would be likely to denominate _unprofessional_
-rigmarole. But the substance of my preaching for many years upon this
-subject, and the “thing signified,” and the general arrangement, under
-all sorts of provocation, I think I may venture to promise you.
-
-Bear in mind, I pray you, that phantoms under one aspect, may be more
-terrible than giants, cased in proof, under another. Every great
-mischief, being once enthroned or established, is a host of itself.
-
-In the open field, lawyers are not easily vanquished—out-manœuvered or
-overborne. Walled about, as with a triple wall of fire—or
-_brass_?—high up and afar off, their intrenchments are only to be
-carried by storm. They must be grappled with, face to face. No quarter
-must be granted—for no quarter do they give—no mercy do they show,
-after their banners are afield. “Up, guards! and at ’em!” said
-Wellington, at the battle of Waterloo; and so say I! whenever I see my
-brethren of the bar rallying for a charge.
-
-They will bear with me, I hope—as I have borne with them for
-twenty-five years; for, while I complain of their unreasonable
-ascendency throughout our land, of their imperious, overbearing,
-unquestioned domination, I acknowledge that, constituted as we are—We,
-the People—we cannot do without them—and the more’s the pity. Law we
-must have, and with it, as if by spontaneous generation—lawyers, till
-Man himself undergoes a transformation, and his very nature is changed.
-Both are necessary evils—much like war, pestilence, and famine, or
-lunatic-asylums, poor-houses, and penitentiaries; or apothecaries’
-shops, with their adulterous abominations; and every other substitute
-for, and abridgment of, human liberty, human happiness, the laws of
-health, or the instinct of self-reliance. If men will not do as they
-would be done by; if they will not be “temperate in all things”—then
-they deserve to be drugged, and blistered, and bled here by the doctors,
-and there by the lawyers, till they have come to their senses, or can no
-longer be dealt with profitably by either; for, although every man,
-according to the worthy Joe Miller, may be his own washerwoman—at least
-in Ireland—it is very clear that in this country, he might as well
-undertake to be his own jailer, as his own lawyer.
-
-I would go further; for, like the illustrious Hungarian, I desire to
-conciliate and satisfy, not the few but the many; not only my brethren
-of the bar, but everybody else worth satisfying; I would even admit—and
-how could I well go further, and “hope to be forgiven?”—that, in view
-of Man’s nature, as developed by our social institutions, Law and
-Lawyers both, may be, and sometimes are, under special circumstances,
-not only a necessary evil, but a very good thing. _There!_ I have said
-it—and let them make the most of it. I mean to admit all I can—and
-much good may it do them! But then, I would ask, if we may not have too
-much, even of a good thing?
-
-I hold that we may; and I appeal for proof to the countless volumes of
-law which cannot be understood by any but lawyers; nor by any two of
-them alike, till every other word, perhaps, in a long paragraph has been
-settled by adjudication—two or three different ways—after solemn
-argument.
-
-I appeal to what is called the administration of justice, by jury-trial,
-in our courts of law, where twelve ignorant, unreasoning men, got
-together, nobody knows how—hit or miss—are held to be better
-qualified—being bound by their oaths to think alike in most cases, and
-to return a unanimous verdict, whether or no—than Lord Chancellor Bacon
-himself, or Chief Justice Marshall would be, to settle any and every
-question, however new, and however abstruse and complicated, upon every
-possible subject that may happen to be brought before them for the first
-time in all their lives! And this, without any previous knowledge on
-their parts, or any other preparation by the lawyers who are to
-enlighten them, than may have been made the night before, by “reading
-up,” or “stuffing” for the occasion.
-
-I appeal, moreover, to the testimony of the sufferers
-themselves—_parties_, they are technically called—who, after being
-scorched, and sifted, and harassed, and pillaged, under one pretence or
-another, year after year, and within an inch of their lives; or driven
-well-nigh distracted by the vicissitudes and anxieties incident to every
-well-managed law-suit, where “good pickings” are to be had, or by that
-hope-deferred “which maketh the heart sick,” begin to get their eyes
-opened, and to see for themselves, and are sometime ready to acknowledge
-for the help of others, who are elbowing their way up—or down?—to
-_see_ the elephant, that when they pass over the threshold of those
-gambling-houses, that are established by law, under the name of Courts
-of Justice, and put up their stakes, they will find three times out of
-four—perhaps nineteen times out of twenty—that when the raffle comes
-off at last—with the jury-box—it is to decide, not which of the two
-parties litigant—plaintiffs or defendants—but what third party—the
-lawyers—shall sweep the board.
-
-And I might appeal to the swarming thousands of our younger professional
-brethren, who, ashamed to beg, afraid to steal, and too lazy to work,
-instead of following the business of their fathers, taking their places,
-and maintaining themselves honestly, give way to a foolish mother, or
-sister, or to some greater simpleton still more to be pitied, or to a
-most unhealthy ambition—that of being an _Esquire_, and a pauper, with
-very white hands, who, having studied law, will have to be provided for
-at last by marriage, or office; and with that view have literally taken
-possession of our high places, our kneading-troughs and our
-bed-chambers—after the fashion of their predecessors in Egypt.
-
-Nay, more—I am ready to acknowledge, and I do for myself, my executors,
-administrators and assigns—or publishers—hereby acknowledge, and I
-hope with no unbecoming nor uncourteous qualification, that, taken
-together, as a power, body, or estate, the Lawyers of our land are to
-the full as honest—and as trustworthy—by _nature_—as any other power,
-body or estate among us, of equal numbers, wealth, dignity, or
-intelligence; notwithstanding the opinion so generally entertained, and
-so often expressed, to their disadvantage, in the plays and farces, or
-newspapers and story-books of the day, (not always, nor altogether
-synonymous, I hope;) but no honester, and no more trustworthy; for,
-although I believe—and I mean just what I say—that no _great
-advocate_, in the popular sense of the words, can be an honest man,
-however conscientious he may be out of court, or in other business; and
-however anxious he and others may be to distinguish between the Advocate
-and the Man—as if a lawyer were allowed two consciences to practice
-with, and two courts—one above and the other below—to practice in; yet
-I believe that a great Lawyer, or Jurist, like Sir Matthew Hale, or
-Chief Justice Marshall, or Chancellor Kent, or any one of a score that
-might be named, or Judge Parsons, being translated to the bench, from
-the corrupting influences and stifling atmosphere below, may be a very
-honest man; just as I believe—and I don’t care who knows it—that
-silver spoons and watches left within striking distance of an attorney
-at law—I am only supposing a case—may be safe, “notwithstanding and
-nevertheless.”
-
-By _nature_, I say, and not by education, habit, or association at the
-bar. Away from the bar, I acknowledge the integrity of my brethren as
-equal to that of any other class whatever. And this being admitted—what
-more would they have? Would they claim to be honester and more
-trustworthy than any other class, either by education or nature?
-
-But observe; though ready to acknowledge their honesty, by _nature_, as
-men; or rather, while I acknowledge that they are, to the full, as
-honest as other men are by _nature_—but no honester; and as trustworthy
-in all other relations, apart from law—as good but no better, I
-maintain that they are constantly exposed to such disqualifying
-temptations, and to such disastrous influences peculiar to their
-profession; that they have established a code of morals for themselves,
-as lawyers, which would not be allowed to them as citizens; and which,
-if openly avowed and persisted in, by brethren out of the profession,
-would be sure to send them to the penitentiary; that they have
-altogether too much power in this country—a power out of all proportion
-to their numbers, their talents, their intelligence, their virtues, and
-their usefulness; and that, instead of being chosen for lawgivers
-throughout our land, in a proportion varying from three-fifths to nearly
-seven-eighths, in all our legislative bodies, they are the very last
-persons among us to be intrusted with the business of
-legislation—having a direct personal interest in multiplying our
-laws—in altering them—and in making them unintelligible to all the
-rest of the world.
-
-Not satisfied with their pay, as legislators, for making the law,
-varying from two to ten dollars a-day—with washing and mending, where
-washing and mending are possible—they require, as lawyers, from
-twenty-five to one hundred dollars a-day for telling, or rather for
-guessing what it means.
-
-And what is the result? Just this. That a privileged body, anointed for
-office and power, who, but for the blindness and prodigal infatuation of
-the People, would often be the nobodies of every productive or efficient
-class, are enabled to fare sumptuously every day, wear purple and fine
-linen—at the expense of others—all their lives long; and to carry off
-all the honors from every other class of the community. Think of this, I
-pray you; and bear with me, while I proceed with my demonstration.
-
-That they have learned to reverence themselves, and all that belongs to
-them, I do not deny; but then, if it is only themselves, and not the
-image of God—if it is only what belongs to themselves and to their
-estate, or craft, as lawyers, and not as Men, they so reverence—in what
-particular do they differ from other self-idolators?
-
-Are We, the People, to be concluded by their very pretensions? Are We to
-be estopped by the very deportment we complain of? Because they are
-exacting and supercilious, and self-satisfied, and arrogant, and
-overbearing, are we to be patient and submissive? Are we to be told, if
-not in language, at least by the bearing and behavior of these gentry,
-that, inasmuch as all men may be supposed to be best acquainted with
-themselves, therefore Lawyers are to be taken by others at their own
-valuation?
-
-Let it be remembered that they who properly reverence themselves, always
-reverence others. But who ever heard of a Lawyer with any
-reverence—worth mentioning—for anybody out of the profession? This, to
-be sure, is very common with ignorant and presumptuous men. It is the
-natural growth of a narrow-minded, short-sighted, selfish bigotry. A
-mountebank or a rope-dancer will betray the same ridiculous
-self-complacency, if hard pushed. Were you to speak of a great
-man—Kossuth, for example—in the presence of a fiddler, who had never
-heard of him before, he would probably crook his right elbow, and cant
-his head to the left, as if preparing to draw the long bow, or go
-through some of the motions common to all the great men he had ever been
-acquainted with, or heard of, or acknowledged, before he questioned you
-further.
-
-It would never enter his head that a truly great man could be any thing
-but a fiddler; a Paganini dethroned perhaps—like Peter the Great in a
-dockyard—or that “any gentleman as was a gentleman,” could ever so far
-forget himself in _his_ company, as to call a man great who was no
-fiddler.
-
-“What do they say of me in England?” said the corpulent, half-naked
-savage that Mungo Park saw stuffing for a cross-examination under a
-bamboo tree in Africa.
-
-Just so is it with our brethren of the bar. Law being the “perfection of
-Reason,” and her seat “the bosom of God,” they, of course, are the
-expounders or interpreters of both; a priesthood from the beginning,
-therefore, with the privilege and power of indefinite
-self-multiplication. The sum and substance of all they know, and all
-they care for under Heaven, if they are greatly distinguished, being
-Law, what else could be expected of them? If they are great lawyers they
-are never any thing else—they are never statesmen, they are never
-orators—they are never writers. Carefully speaking, Daniel Webster is
-not a great lawyer—nor is Henry Clay—nor was Lord Brougham; but they
-were advocates, and orators and statesmen. Sir James Scarlett and Denham
-were great lawyers, before whose technical superiority and sharp
-practice Lord Brougham quailed and shriveled in the Court of King’s
-Bench. But when they encountered each other in the House of
-Commons—what a figure the two lawyers cut, to be sure, in the presence
-of the thunderer! They were phantoms, and he the Olympian Jove. William
-Pinkney was a great lawyer; but for that very reason he was out of place
-in the Senate chamber, and made no figure there.
-
-But even for this they have a justification—or a plea in bar. The law
-is a “jealous mistress,” we are told, and will endure no rival; a
-monarch “who bears no brother near the throne.” And well do they act
-upon this belief; and well do they teach it by precept and by practice;
-for few indeed are they, even among the foremost, who have gathered up,
-in the course of a long life, any considerable amount of miscellaneous
-knowledge, notwithstanding the reputation they sometimes acquire, in a
-single day, by their insolent questioning of learned, shy and modest
-professional men, or experts, after they have once got them caged and
-cornered, and tied up hand and foot in a witness-box, and allowed to
-speak only when they are spoken to; there to be badgered for the
-amusement of people outside, more ignorant, if possible, than the
-learned counsel themselves; but incapable of seeing through the
-counterfeit, which, while it makes them laugh, makes the “judicious
-grieve;” and mistaking for cleverness and smartness the blundering
-audacity of an ignorant and garrulous, though privileged pretender, who
-does not know that it often requires about as much knowledge of a
-subject to propound a safe and proper question, as to answer it: nor
-that the veriest blockhead may ask twenty questions in a breath, which
-no mortal man could ever answer, and would not even try to answer,
-unless he were a still greater blockhead.
-
-And now, having swept the stage fore and aft, and secured, as I trust, a
-patient hearing from the profession, let us go to work in earnest.
-
-I maintain that among the popular delusions of the day, there is no one
-more dangerous nor alarming than that which leads our People to believe
-that they constitute a republic and that they govern themselves, merely
-because they are allowed to choose their own masters; _provided_ they
-choose them out of a particular class—that of the lawyers.
-
-At the opening of every great political campaign, we hear a great deal
-about the privileged classes; the ruffled-shirt and silk-stocking
-gentry: and sometimes men prattle about the aristocracy of talent, or
-the aristocracy of wealth—but who ever heard any complaints of our
-legal aristocracy—an oligarchy rather—for they make all the laws, they
-expound all the laws, and they hold all the offices worth having—in
-perpetuity.
-
-And whose fault is it? If the People are such asses, why should they not
-be saddled and bridled, and ridden in perpetuity? It is their nature.
-They are prone to class-worship, and to family-worship—to
-self-depreciation, and to a most incapacitating jealousy of one another.
-Even in the day of the elder Adams, it was found that the office of a
-justice of the peace, like that of a legislator, was well-nigh
-hereditary in New England. Having anointed the father, how could they
-help anointing the son?—or the daughter’s husband, if the father had no
-son?
-
-And now, let us look at the consequences. From Aristotle down to the
-last elementary writer on Government, it has been every where, and at
-all times, acknowledged, that every possible kind of sway upon earth,
-between Despotism and Anarchy, may be resolved into three elements of
-power, differently combined, or combined in different proportions. These
-elements are: 1. The Legislative, or law-making power; 2. The Judicial,
-or law-expounding power; and 3. The Executive, or law-enforcing power.
-
-Taken together we have what is called the Sovereign Power. The power of
-making laws, of saying what they mean, and of carrying them into
-execution being all that is ever needed for government.
-
-And this, the Sovereign Power, may be concentrated in one person, whence
-we have the Czar, the Sultan, or the Autocrat; or it may be confined to
-a few—as in Sparta, or Genoa, or Venice, or Poland—constituting either
-an Aristocracy or an Oligarchy; or it may be distributed among the
-people equally, as at Rome or Athens at particular periods of their
-history, when they were a tumultuous unmanageable Democracy: or
-unequally, as in England, or in these United States, thereby
-constituting a Limited Monarchy, or a Representative Republic,
-pretending to a balance, by the help of a King or President, a House of
-Lords, or a Senate, and a House of Commons or a House of
-Representatives, and a Judiciary, more or less dependent upon the
-Executive.
-
-Of all these different systems the worst by far is an Oligarchy—or the
-government of a privileged few—no matter whether elective and shifting,
-or permanent, provided that, as a body or estate, they are allowed by
-common consent to make the laws—to expound the laws—and to carry the
-laws into execution, by holding all the offices worth having, from that
-of the monarch or president, down to that of a clerk or
-sergeant-at-arms.
-
-True it is, that by no human contrivance can the three elements of power
-above mentioned, be kept entirely separate—for they will run into each
-other—as where the Supreme Executive is allowed a veto, or required to
-sanction a law: and where the Senate, as a branch of the Supreme
-Legislative power, intermeddles with the appointing power of the
-Executive under the name of confirmation; and where the Supreme
-Judiciary, after being appointed by the Executive and confirmed by the
-Senate, are made dependent upon that other branch of the Supreme
-Legislative power for the payment of their salaries—the House
-originating all money bills and voting supplies—turn about, in their
-capacity of Supreme Judges, and are allowed to unsettle, if they please,
-by their interpretation, whatever the Supreme Legislative power may
-choose to enact for law.
-
-But although these three elements can never be wholly separated—it does
-not follow that men, who desire to be well-governed, should not try to
-separate them and to keep them separated as far as they can. Still less,
-that because they cannot be wholly separated, they shall therefore be
-encouraged to run together and to crystalize into a mischief that may
-never be resolved again but by the process of decomposition.
-
-And now, I contend that, in effect, We, the People of these United
-States, are governed by an Oligarchy; and that, by being allowed to
-choose our own masters—provided we choose them, or at least, a large
-majority of them, out of a particular class—we are blinded to the
-inevitable consequences: till we mistake words for things, and shadows
-for substances: and that our mistake is all the more dangerous and
-alarming that we cannot be persuaded to treat the matter seriously.
-
-I contend, moreover, that, inasmuch as the Lawyers of our land make all
-the laws; and as Judges expound all the laws, and as office-holders
-carry all the laws into execution, therefore they constitute of
-themselves the Sovereign Power.
-
-Are the facts questioned? In the Massachusetts legislature, we have had
-two hundred and sixty lawyers out of three hundred and fifty members;
-and in congress we had not long ago, the same number, two hundred and
-sixty lawyers out of two hundred and ninety-seven members—the balance
-being made up in this way. Manufacturers and farmers, fifteen:
-Merchants, one: Unknown, (being mechanics or preachers, or something of
-the sort,) twenty-one. Perhaps there may be some error here, as I find
-the only note I have upon the subject so blurred, that I am not sure of
-the figures; but the fact on which I rely is too notorious to be
-questioned. Every body knows that lawyers constitute a large majority in
-all our legislative bodies, and have done so for the last fifty years;
-and that they make about all the speeches that are made there, or
-supposed to be made there, and afterward reported by themselves for the
-newspapers. Can it be doubted therefore, that they as a body do in fact
-and in truth constitute our supreme legislative power—thereby absorbing
-to themselves just one third part, and by far the most important part of
-our whole sovereignty as a people.
-
-As little can it be seriously questioned that, inasmuch as all our
-judges, from the highest to the lowest are lawyers; or ought to be, as
-they are always ready enough to acknowledge—they constitute the supreme
-judiciary; another third part of our whole sovereignty as a people.
-
-And now let us see how the account stands with the Executive Power. Are
-not our presidents, and have they not been from the first—with only
-three exceptions out of twelve—lawyers? And our vice presidents; and
-all our secretaries of state; and most of our secretaries of war, and of
-the navy; and about all our foreign ministers; our chief clerks, our
-post-master generals; our collectors; our land agents; and even a large
-proportion of our foreign consuls—have they not always been, and are
-they not always with an ever increasing ratio—Lawyers? And if so, what
-becomes of the other third part of our whole sovereignty as a
-people—the Executive Power? It is in the hands of the lawyers; and as
-three thirds make a whole—out of the courts of law, I mean—does it not
-follow that the whole sovereign power of this mighty people—of this
-great commonwealth of republics—this last refuge of the nations is in
-the hands of our lawyers, hardly a fraction of the whole?
-
-Oh! but we have nothing to fear. Lawyers are always at loggerheads. They
-are incapable of working together, even for mischief. Granted—and
-there, let me tell you is our only safety, and our only hope. But,
-suppose they should wake up to a knowledge of their own strength—and of
-our weakness—who shall say that they must always be incapable of
-conspiring together? And if they did—when should we begin to perceive
-our danger? Would they be likely to tell us before-hand? Or would they
-go on, year after year, quietly absorbing office, power, and
-prerogative, as all such bodies do; until they had become too strong for
-the great unreasoning multitude. With public opinion—with long
-established usage in their favor—with a sort of hallucination, hard to
-be accounted for in a jealous people; acquainted with history, what have
-they to fear? Neither overthrow nor disaster—till the people come to
-their senses and wake up, and harness themselves; and then, they are put
-upon trial, as with the voice of many thunders; and instantly and
-forever dethroned, as by an earthquake.
-
-But you do not see the danger. Granted. And this very thing is what I
-complain of. Did you see the danger there would be some hope of you; and
-it would soon pass away forever.
-
-But suppose we take another case for illustration. Suppose that
-three-fifths of all our law-makers were soldiers instead of lawyers.
-Suppose that all our judges from the highest to the lowest were
-soldiers; and that all our presidents, and secretaries, and foreign
-ministers, and collectors, and consuls—with here and there an
-exception—were all soldiers; most of them experienced
-soldiers—veterans; and the others, conscripts or new levies—what would
-be the consequences, think you? How long should we be at peace with the
-rest of the world? How long would Cuba, Mexico, or the rest of North and
-South America be unattempted? Would not our whole sea-coast, and all our
-lakes and rivers, and all our frontiers be fortified and garrisoned?
-Would there not be great armies constantly marching and counter-marching
-through our midst? Would not our very dwelling-houses and churches be
-wanted for barracks—and if wanted, would they not be taken by little
-and little?
-
-Would not all our young men be mustering for the battle-field? Would not
-foolish mothers, and sisters, and sweet-hearts, be urging them to try
-for a shoulder-knot or a feather, as the only thing on earth to be cared
-for by a young man of spirit and enterprise?
-
-Look at Russia. The military have dominion there—and all the rest of
-the world are slaves. The greatest men we have, not bearing a military
-title, would be overlooked by the emperor, while any thing in the shape
-of a general, though he never “set a squadron in the field,” and was
-never heard of beyond the neighborhood of a militia muster, would be
-fastened on horseback, and have thousands and tens of thousands, from
-the harnessed legions of the north, passed in review before him. What
-wonder that in such a country, the very nurses of the bed-chamber; yea,
-the very bishops of the land have military titles, and are regularly
-passed up through successive grades, from that of a platoon officer to
-that of a colonel, and perhaps to that of a field-marshall, by the
-emperor himself.
-
-Yet soldiers are at least as trustworthy, are they not—as lawyers?
-
-Take another case. It will not be denied, that physicians on the whole,
-are about as intelligent and trustworthy as lawyers. Now, let us suppose
-that, instead of being as in the Massachusetts legislature, eighteen to
-two hundred and sixty—in a body of two hundred and ninety-seven; they
-should happen to be two hundred and sixty physicians, to eighteen
-lawyers, and that in our other legislative bodies they should constitute
-a majority of the members: that all our presidents, and secretaries, and
-foreign ministers, and chief clerks, and post-masters, and collectors,
-and consuls, were physicians; or as many as are now lawyers: and that
-all the laws were made subject to the decision of a bench of doctors,
-eminent for the knowledge of medicine, and for nothing else—what, think
-you, would be the situation of our people under such an administration?
-Would any mortal man dare to refuse any pill the president might offer?
-Would not our dwellings and churches be converted—not into barracks,
-but hospitals? Would not millions be lavished upon theories, and
-experiments, and preparations for pestilence? Would not the whole
-country be divided into contagionists, and non-contagionists—parties
-for, and parties against the yellow fever and the cholera? Would not
-platforms be established, and pledges required, and offices filled—here
-by the believers in allopathy, and there by the disciples of homeopathy?
-To-day, by the rain-water, screw-auger, and vegetable doctors; and
-to-morrow, by the unbelievers in lobelia, bella-donna, and pulverized
-charcoal, or infinitesimal silex? In a word, if the government were
-allowed to have its own way—and after they were established as the
-lawyers are now, how could you help it?—would not the president, and
-all his secretaries be obliged to prescribe for the sovereign people—or
-suffering people—gratuitously; and would not the whole country be
-drugged, and physicked, and bled and blistered—samewhat as they are
-now—and would not all our finest young men be rushing into the
-apothecary shops, and lying-in hospitals, and clinical establishments
-for diplomas—to qualify them for the business of legislation, and for
-holding office?
-
-And again. Suppose we had as many preachers of the Gospel for
-lawgivers—for presidents, secretaries, ministers, etc., and for
-judges—what would be our situation? However they might differ among
-themselves upon the minor points of their faith and practice, would they
-not combine together? And would it not be their duty to combine, for the
-establishment of whatever opinion they might all, or a great majority of
-them, have agreed to uphold, as vital to Christianity? And how could we
-help ourselves? And what would become of our ambitious young men, or
-still more ambitious daughters? And what—I beseech you to think of
-this—what would become of the right we now claim of judging for
-ourselves upon all subjects, that in any way belong to our everlasting
-welfare? Yet these men are honest, and taken together, are they not as
-trustworthy and conscientious under all circumstances, think you, as our
-present masters, the lawyers? And if so, would they—or would the
-physicians, or the soldiers be a whit more dangerous? Answer these
-questions for yourselves.
-
-But I have not finished. I hold that the professional training of a
-lawyer disqualifies him for the very business, which might be entrusted
-with comparative safety to the soldier, the physician, or the preacher.
-
-And wherefore? Because it substitutes a new law for the law of God. He
-that by his professional adroitness can secure the escape of the
-bloodiest and most atrocious criminal from justice, in spite of the
-clearest proof, obtains a reputation, and with it correspondent
-advantages in wealth, influence, and power, which under no other
-circumstances could he obtain. It is the worst cases, whether criminal
-or civil—cases which he gains in defiance of law, and against
-evidence—which give a lawyer reputation. To win a cause which every
-body says he ought to win, _that_ never gives a man reputation, and is
-therefore committed to the nobodies below him. But, if there be a case
-beyond the reach of hope or palliation; clear and conclusive against the
-party, so that our very blood thrills when he is mentioned, and no human
-being supposes he can get clear; still if he does get clear—no matter
-how—by browbeating or bothering witnesses; by bamboozling the jury, and
-misrepresenting the evidence under the direction of the court; or by
-down-right bullying; the advocate is complimented by his brethren of the
-bar, and even by the bench; for his learned, ingenious, and eloquent,
-and faithful vindication of his client; and he goes forth, carrying with
-him these trophies,—and others, it may be—dabbled and stained with
-blood, like the murderer’s knife, with “the gray hair stickin’ to the
-haft,” only to be retained in advance by every desperate ruffian, and
-every abandoned wretch, who may happen to hear of the result, and to
-have the where-withal to secure his timely co-operation.
-
-Just observe how this affair is managed. If a father should give aid and
-comfort to a child, after she had been guilty of murder; if a husband
-should open his doors to a wife, or a daughter to her father, at dead of
-night; or furnish a horse, or money, or a mouthful of bread, or a cup of
-cold water, or the means of escape to a beloved brother, hunted for his
-life, with the avenger of blood at his heels, time was, when they were
-all accessories after the fact, and were treated as murderers or
-principals, whatever might be the offense, and put to death accordingly;
-and even yet, although that most barbarous law has undergone a few
-changes, so that in some portions of our country, they who stand in the
-relation of husband and wife, or parent and child, may help one another
-when fleeing for their lives; yet no other man, woman, or child can do
-it, in the whole community, but at the risk of death or imprisonment for
-life—_except he be a lawyer_, and the prisoner’s counsel. And then he
-may, and he not only may, but he is expected and required to do so: in
-other words, to aid and comfort, counsel and help the prisoner, heedless
-of all consequences, here and hereafter. And for this, he may receive
-the very gold which has been wrenched from the grasp of the murdered
-man; or the bank bills that are glued together by his heart’s blood; and
-nobody shall dare to question his integrity, or to have any secret
-misgivings about his honesty or conscientiousness—if it can be helped.
-
-Let me not be misunderstood. I do not deny that the worst of criminals
-are to be tried fairly. I acknowledge, moreover, that they cannot be
-tried fairly with men of the law against them, unless they have lawyers
-to help them: and that it is as much a part of the law that they shall
-be tried in a certain way, and proved guilty in a certain way, for the
-satisfaction of the world, as that they shall be punished at all; and
-that, if it were enough to be satisfied of another’s guilt as a
-murderer, to justify us in putting him to death, without going through
-the regular forms of law, then might we run him up at the next yard-arm,
-or tree branch, or lamp-post; on happening to see the bloody act
-perpetrated with our own eyes.
-
-But how should we know even in such a case, that “the man was not beside
-himself;” or that the homicide was not justifiable, or at least
-excusable? He may have acknowledged his guilt. And what if he has? He
-may have been mistaken; for such things have happened, and murders which
-never took place—though intended—have been acknowledged, and the
-missing parties have re-appeared after a long while, and explained the
-mystery. Or he may have been deranged; or being accused, and as it were
-enmeshed by a web of circumstances, he may have been led away like the
-son, who charged himself and his aged father, in Vermont, with the
-murder of a poor helpless creature, who was afterward found alive, by
-the instinct of self-preservation; hoping to lengthen, if not to save
-his life, at least until his innocence might be made to appear; and
-believing his father guilty.
-
-To prove all these things there must be a trial, and a public trial;
-otherwise, whatever may be the result, he will not be _proved_ guilty,
-according to the law and the evidence; nor could he be justly condemned;
-and there would be no safety for others.
-
-No matter how clear his guilt may be; nor how bad his character may be;
-the greater his guilt in the judgment of those who decide against him
-before trial, and without evidence upon oath, or sifting, or
-cross-examination—the more precious to him and to all, is the privilege
-of being put to death according to law. The fewer his rights, the more
-sacred they are. The more decided and overwhelming the evidence against
-him, the more necessary it is to wall him round about, as with a sword
-that turneth every way, against the influence of public opinion. It was
-in this way that the elder Adams reasoned, when he undertook the defense
-of the British officer, charged with the murder of Boston citizens, at
-the outbreak of the revolutionary war—and triumphed.
-
-And how shall this be done without the help of a Lawyer? Law, living a
-science, complicated, and full of mystery and fear, how is the poor
-criminal to prepare himself? How is he to defend his few remaining
-rights? And how is he to bear up against the ponderous and crushing
-weight of public opinion? He cannot. The thing is impossible. He must
-have help; and that help must be a lawyer; and that lawyer must be not
-only faithful to him, but unable to take advantage of, or to betray him,
-if he would; otherwise the culprit will never trust him, and his life
-will be at the mercy of the prosecutor, generally chosen for his
-knowledge of the law, and for his adroitness in making “the worse appear
-the better reason.”
-
-Well, then, a lawyer must be allowed to the greatest criminal—and the
-greater criminal he is, the more lawyers he ought to be allowed—if able
-to pay for them! or if the court, in consideration of his deplorable and
-hopeless guilt, or the atrocious character of the charge against him, be
-willing to assign them.
-
-And now—being assigned, or otherwise engaged, what shall the _honest_
-lawyer do? He must be faithful to his client, happen what may—but is he
-required to lie for him? to foreswear himself? As “the indiscriminate
-defender of right and wrong,” to borrow the words of Jeremy Bentham,
-“seeking truth in the competition of opposite analogies,” according to
-Blackstone, shall he undertake to get the fellow clear—to bring him
-off—against law, and against evidence? If such be the meaning of that
-faithfulness to his client, what becomes of his faithfulness to God?—to
-his fellow man—to himself? And yet, where is the great Advocate who
-does not glory in doing just this? and who has not gained his whole
-reputation by just such cases, and no others?
-
-There stands the murderer, with garments rolled in blood. There stands
-his counsel, giving him aid and comfort, under the sanction of law, with
-his right hand lifted to Heaven, and swearing to a belief in the utter
-groundlessness of the charge, and calling upon Jehovah himself to
-witness for him, that he speaks the truth! Such things have happened,
-and are happening every day; and these honest lawyers are still suffered
-to go at large, unrebuked and unappalled: nay, worse—for by these very
-practices they get famous and grow rich and secure the patronage—that’s
-the very word—the _patronage_ of all the inexorable and shameless
-villains and cut-throats in the community.
-
-But if the lawyer may not do these things _honestly_, what may he do for
-the help of his client?
-
-He may lay his hand reverently upon the statute book. He may show that
-the law does not reach the case charged upon the prisoner at the bar,
-and that he must therefore go free—though his right hand be dripping
-and his garments be stiffened with blood.
-
-He may show that the only witness against him is unworthy of belief, on
-account of self-contradictions, or utter worthlessness; or that he has
-become disqualified, by the commission of some offense that
-incapacitates him for life; and, by producing the record of his
-conviction, he may oblige the court to let the prisoner go free. All
-this he may do, and still be an honest man.
-
-Yet more. Having satisfied himself of the innocence of the accused; or
-of the probability that the witnesses are mistaken, or dishonest, or
-that they have conspired together to destroy a fellow creature, doomed
-to death by public opinion without proof; he may put forth all his
-strength, and appear in “panoply complete,” heedless of all
-consequences, to save him—provided only that he sticks to the truth,
-and is honest in what he says or does. I care not how eloquent he may
-be, nor how able or ingenious—the more eloquent and able and ingenious
-the better, and I shall reverence him all the more as an Advocate and as
-a Man.
-
-But I do insist upon it, that he shall not be allowed to forget every
-thing else—and every other obligation—and every other law, whether
-divine or human, for the sake of his client; and that if he does, he
-shall be held answerable for the consequences, and be punished, as he
-deserves, with a burst of indignation—a general outcry of shame on thee
-for a traitor!—a traitor to thyself, to thy Maker, and to thy brethren
-at large, under pretence of being faithful to a murderer whom it would
-be death, perhaps, for his own mother to help or comfort in any way.
-
-I would even allow him to urge upon the jury, not only in such a case,
-but in every case where the punishment might be death, to bear in mind,
-that no matter how perfectly satisfied they may be of the prisoner’s
-guilt; still, if he has not been _proved_ _guilty_, by unquestionable
-evidence, or by unimpeachable witnesses, according to law, they are
-bound by their oaths to return a verdict of _not guilty_; and if they do
-not, they themselves are guilty of murder.
-
-Otherwise they would sanction the most dangerous of Lynch-laws; those
-which are executed under the forms of justice, and in mockery of all
-human right.
-
-If _satisfied_ of the prisoner’s guilt, they must have seen the murder
-perpetrated with their own eyes; and they must have known that there was
-no excuse for it, and no palliation: and in that case, instead of
-relying upon questionable testimony from others, it would be their duty
-to leave the jury-box and go into the witness-box, and allow others to
-judge of the truth of their story, and of the soundness of their
-conclusions.
-
-And I would allow the accused the benefit of every flaw on the statute,
-of every error in the forms of procedure, and of every _reasonable_
-doubt. I would even suffer him to array as many young and pretty women
-as he could entrap into the witness-box fronting the jury—although,
-perhaps, I might object to their appearing in tears or in mourning, like
-the Ionians and Greeks and Irish, lest, peradventure, the tables should
-be turned, as where an Irish barrister, pleading the cause of a little
-orphan, with the mother and all the rest of the family standing about
-with handkerchiefs to their eyes, held up the boy in tears. The jury,
-overcome with sympathy and compassion, were about rendering a verdict at
-once, and were only delayed by a question from the opposite counsel—“My
-little fellow,” said he, “what makes you cry?”—“_He pinched me!_” was
-the answer, and a verdict was rendered accordingly—as the Irish only
-are allowed to do it—by _acclamation_.
-
-And I should not stop here. I would go further. For the purpose of
-fixing forever and ever the responsibility of a decision upon each of
-the twelve jurymen—I would have them polled, and questioned separately,
-and man by man (if permitted by the law,) and not lump their verdict, as
-they generally do, hit or miss: and I would call upon each to remember
-that if he erred in pronouncing the judgment of death—of death here,
-and it might be of death hereafter, he alone would be accountable—for
-he, alone, might interpose if he would, and arrest that judgment of
-death, and send the prisoner back to his family—a living man: and I
-would so picture his own death-bed to every man of that jury, if I had
-the power, that he should hear himself shrieking for mercy, and see and
-feel and acknowledge by his looks, that if he betrayed the awful trust,
-or trifled with it, by deference to others, he himself would be a
-man-slayer, and utterly without excuse here and hereafter, in this world
-or the next.
-
-All this I would do, or try to do: for all this might be done by the
-_honest_ lawyer without a violation of God’s law. But, as I have said
-before, I would not have him “play falsely,” nor yet “foully win.” I
-would not have him brow-beat nor entrap honest witnesses. I would not
-have him guilty of misrepresenting the evidence nor the law “with
-submission to the court.” I would not have the opposite counsel
-insulted, nor the bench quarreled with—if it could be helped—
-
- “——For even in the tranquilest climes
- Light breezes _will_ ruffle the flowers sometimes.”
-
-Nor everlasting speeches made, with continual asseverations and solemn
-appeals to the by-standers and the public; as if the question of life
-and death were a game of chess for the amusement not only of those who
-are engaged in it, but for all who may happen to be near and looking on
-at the time.
-
-And I would have the dignity of the profession upheld by courtesy and
-gravity and self-possession—by varied learning—by the utmost
-forbearance—by very short speeches—by the greatest regard for truth,
-and by unquestionable conscientiousness under all circumstances.
-
-Were this done, the Bar would be sifted and purged and purified to some
-purpose. Nineteen twentieths of the rabble rout who mistake themselves,
-and are mistaken by others for lawyers, would vanish from the face of
-the earth—and the profession would then be not only respectable, but
-worth following; though, in my judgment, lawyers would still be the last
-among us to be intrusted with a disproportionate share of Legislative or
-Executive power; though, from the nature of things they would be likely
-to monopolize the whole Judiciary power.
-
-That our leading Advocates will not relish this doctrine, I know. In
-theory, they may approve—but in practice, when they and their interest,
-and their professional pride are once engaged, they will never yield.
-Always taking it for granted that their client tells the truth—in
-proportion to the fee; and always determined to prevail, if they can,
-right or wrong, their reformation will depend, not upon themselves, but
-upon others—upon the People at large; for whenever the People say that
-a professional acquaintance with law shall be a disqualification for the
-business of law-making, and no great recommendation for office, then
-will the lawyers of our country begin to mind their own business, and
-cease to be mere politicians, clamoring, open-mouthed, for office all
-their lives long.
-
-And here, lest I may forget them in the proper place, allow me to
-illustrate the disposition of the People to see fair play, by two or
-three—Joe Millers, which I never lose an opportunity of telling under
-this head. They show that my brethren of the bar sometimes get their
-“come ups” where they least expect it—and very much to the satisfaction
-of the multitude.
-
-It is told of Jere. Mason, and of some forty others at home and abroad,
-that on being assigned for counsel to a sad wretch whose case he found
-to be hopeless, he went to his cell, and after hearing his story, became
-satisfied that the poor fellow would swing for it, if tried; and so,
-seeing a sort of window open, high up and far above the prisoner’s reach
-if unhelped, he suggested to him that there was a beautiful prospect to
-be seen from that window—perhaps “the high-road to England,” which the
-amiable Dr. Johnson said was the finest prospect a Scotchman ever
-sees—and then, seeing the prisoner’s eyes begin to sparkle, he offered
-himself as a sort of ladder or look out, and standing with his back to
-the wall, and letting the man climb over him, he never looked up till it
-was too late, and the man had disappeared—whereupon he returned to the
-court-room, and on being questioned, acknowledged that he had given the
-fellow the best advice he could—which advice must be a secret from
-everybody, since it was the privilege, not of the counsel, but of the
-client.
-
-All this, you see, was according to law, if not in fact, at least in
-principle. A Lawyer might do this—and escape scot-free, as if it were
-only a good joke: while a brother of the prisoner, or a father, might
-have been sent to the scaffold.
-
-Another, for the truth of which I _believe_ I may vouch, because I had
-it, I think, from the lawyer himself, may serve to show that such
-faithfulness to clients may sometimes meet with an appropriate reward. A
-member of the Down East bar was called upon to save a man charged with
-passing a large amount of counterfeit money. After a long and severely
-contested trial, our “learned, eloquent, and ingenious” brother got him
-clear—chiefly by dint of protestation, coupled with a personal
-knowledge of the jury. On being discharged, the accused tipped him a
-wink in passing out, and our learned brother followed him to the lobby.
-There they stopped—the liberated man overwhelmed with thankfulness, and
-speechless with emotion; being a father, perhaps, with a large family,
-or a man of hitherto irreproachable character, who never knew how much
-he was to be pitied till he heard the speech of his lawyer. Unable to
-speak—he seized his hand—slipped something into it—and turned away,
-with a word or two, almost inaudible, about the inadequacy of the
-acknowledgment, and disappeared forever. Whereupon, our eloquent, able,
-and most ingenious friend, who was a little shy of opening the parcel in
-the presence of a bystander, withdrew to another part of the house, and
-ascertained—perfectly to his own satisfaction, he would have you
-believe—that he had been paid in the same sort of money which he had
-been laboring all day to show that the accused never had any thing to do
-with. And now, on the whole—was not this a capital joke?—a just
-retribution, and exceedingly well calculated to make a lawyer insist
-upon being paid before-hand, whatever might be the “contingent fee”
-afterward.
-
-Once more—for I do not like being misrepresented in the newspapers upon
-this particular point—being sensitive perhaps about Joe Miller; and,
-for that reason, always acknowledging my indebtedness to him and to his
-fellow-laborers, the newspaper people, who never tell a story without
-spoiling it, or making it look strange: there is a story told in
-England, upon which a play has been founded, to this effect. A lawyer
-was called to see a man charged with sheep-stealing. After a brief
-consultation, he saw clearly that, upon the evidence before him, there
-was no possibility of escape. And then, too—probably—the wretch was
-very poor, being only a sheep-stealer, and not a murderer, nor forger,
-nor house-breaker, nor highwayman, and of course, would have to be
-satisfied with poor counsel. Whereupon the learned gentleman thought
-proper to ask him if he had ever been deranged.
-
-“_Deranged?_”
-
-“Flighty—you understand?”
-
-“Oh—yes—to be sure: all my family on my father’s side have been very
-_flighty_—very.”
-
-“That’ll do, my friend; that’s enough. You are charged with stealing
-sheep—you know.”
-
-The fellow began to roll his eyes and look savage.
-
-“When you are called upon to plead—you know what that is?”
-
-“To be sure I do.”
-
-“Well, then, just plead to the indictment by saying _baa-aa_!”
-
-So said—so done. The prisoner was arraigned. The indictment was read
-over to him very slowly as he sat with his head on one side, looking as
-sheepish as possible. And when they had got through, and he was called
-upon to say _guilty_ or _not guilty_, he answered, by saying _baa-aa_!
-
-The court being rather astonished, interfered, and told him what he was
-required to do; but still he answered nothing but _baa_! Read over the
-indictment again, said the judge, and read it very slowly. The clerk
-obeyed, and when he had got through, and was again required to say
-_guilty_ or _not guilty_, he answered, as before, nothing but
-_baa-aa-aa_!
-
-A jury was then impanneled to see if he stood mute “by the visitation of
-God.” After looking at his tongue—and his eyes—and feeling his pulse,
-they returned a verdict in the affirmative. The man was forthwith
-discharged; and the lawyer followed him out, and touching him on the
-elbow, held out his hand—_baa-aa-aa!—baa-aa-aa!_ said the
-sheep-stealer—and vanished.
-
-But enough on this point. If I were to write a book, I should not be
-able to do more than I have done already, so far as the legal and
-professional doings of my beloved brethren are concerned.
-
-It remains now, that I should say something very briefly, of the
-disastrous consequences flowing from their political power.
-
-In the first place, it lures all our young men—the silliest as well as
-the cleverest—who desire to live without work, and to be provided for
-at the public charge, to betake themselves to the law. It is not only
-the high-road—but the only high-road to political power. No other
-profession has a chance with that of the law; and everybody knows it and
-feels it when broad awake and thinking, instead of dozing. Hence the
-profession is over-crowded, over-burthened—overwhelmed—and literally
-dwarfed into comparative nothingness, apart from political power; having
-not a tittle of the social power it would be fairly entitled to if it
-were not so adulterated and diluted.
-
-In the second place, we have that national reproach—the instability of
-our legislation—the perpetual change, that no sober-minded business-man
-is ever able to foresee or provide against.
-
-And this I aver to be the natural, the inevitable consequence of having
-for our legislators, men who have a direct personal interest in
-multiplying or changing our laws, and in making them unintelligible to
-others.
-
-Let us take one of our young attorneys, and follow him up, year by year,
-and step by step, to the Halls of Congress, and see how he gets there,
-and what he is bound to do—for he can do nothing else—after he gets
-there.
-
-In the first place, it should be borne in mind, that the lawyers we send
-to our legislative bodies, are not often the able, nor even the ablest
-of their class—I speak of them as lawyers only, and not as Orators, or
-Statesmen, or Scholars. They cannot afford to serve the people for the
-day wages that your stripling, or blockhead of an attorney, who lives
-only from hand to mouth, would snap at. He who can have a hundred
-dollars for a speech, will never make speeches at two or three dollars
-a-day, in our State Legislatures, nor be satisfied with eight dollars
-a-day in Congress.
-
-And these youngsters of the bar, these third and fourth-rate lawyers,
-who are held to be good enough for legislators, because they cannot
-support themselves by their profession, how are they trained for that
-business?
-
-You first hear of them in bar-rooms and bowling-alleys; then at
-ward-caucuses; and then at all sorts of gatherings where they may be
-allowed to try themselves and their hearers; and then at conventions or
-town-meetings: and then, after being defeated half a dozen times,
-perhaps, till it is acknowledged that if they are not elected, they are
-ruined forever, they get pushed, head-foremost, into the State
-Legislature.
-
-And once there, what shall they do?—how shall they manage to become
-notorious—or distinguished? They must contrive to be talked about in
-the newspapers; to be heartily abused by somebody, that they may
-heartily be praised by somebody else belonging to another perish. Their
-names at least will be mentioned, and grow more and more familiar every
-day to the public ear, until they become a sort of household words; or
-it may be a rallying cry, by the simple force of repetition, like
-proverbs, or slang-phrases. “Why do you take every opportunity of
-calling yourself an _honest_ man?” said a neighbor to another of
-doubtful reputation. “Why, bless your simple heart,” was the reply,
-“don’t you see that I am laying a foundation for what is called public
-opinion; and that after a few years, when my character is fairly
-established, the origin of the belief will be forgotten.” So with your
-newspaper characters. Idols of the day—at the end of a few months, at
-most, they are dust and ashes; and the people begin to wonder at
-themselves that they should ever have been made such fools of.
-
-But how shall they manage to be talked about in the newspapers, and most
-gloriously abused? There is only one way. They must make speeches—if
-they cannot make speeches, they may as well give up the ghost, and be
-gathered to their fathers; for most assuredly, (whatever may be their
-worth, or strength, or talents, in every other way,) if they cannot make
-speeches, not a man of them will ever be remembered—long enough to be
-forgotten. And they must make long speeches—the longer the better; and
-frequent speeches—the more frequent the better; and be their own
-correspondents and report themselves for the newspapers, with tart
-replies and eloquent outbreaks, and happy illustrations, never uttered,
-nor dreamt of till the unpremeditated battle was over, like some that
-were made by Demosthenes himself, years after the occasion had passed
-by, and there was nobody alive to contradict him; or like the celebrated
-oration of Cicero against Cataline.
-
-But they cannot make speeches about nothing at all—at least such is my
-present opinion—it may be qualified hereafter, and I am well aware that
-common experience would appear to be against me, and that much may be
-said upon both sides, as well as upon neither side, in such a question.
-They must have something to work with—and to talk about: something,
-too, which is likely to make a noise out of doors; to set people
-together by the ears; to astonish them, and to give them a good excuse
-for fretting, and scolding, and worrying. In other words, they must
-introduce a new law—the more absurd the better—or attack an old law,
-the older the better; and seek to modify it, or to change or repeal it.
-
-And what is the result? Just this; that every Legislative Hall in the
-land, from the least to the greatest, from the lowest to the highest,
-becomes a debating-school; and the business of the whole Country is
-postponed, month after month, and year after year, to the very last days
-of the session, and then hurried through—just a little too late,
-wherever the national honor is deeply concerned, as in the case of
-French spoliations, and other honest debts owed by the Government to the
-People—with a precipitation so hazardous and shameful, that much of the
-little time left in future sessions must be employed in correcting the
-blunders of the past: and all for what?—merely that the Lawyers may be
-heard month after month, and have long speeches that were never
-delivered, or when delivered, not heard, reported piecemeal, and
-paragraph by paragraph, in perhaps two or three thousand
-newspapers—that are forgotten before the next sun goes down, and
-literally “perish in the using.”
-
-Nor does the mischief stop here. The whole business of the country is
-hung up—and sessions protracted for months—and millions upon millions
-wasted year after year, of the people’s money, upon what, after all, are
-nothing more—and there could not well be any thing less—than
-electioneering speeches.
-
-And then just look at the character of our legislation. Was there ever
-any thing to be compared with it, for instability, for uncertainty, for
-inadequacy, for superabundance, and for what my Lord Coke would call a
-“tending to infiniteness!” I acknowledge, with pride, that our Revised
-Statutes, all circumstances taken into consideration, are often quite
-remarkable for the common sense of their language, and for
-clearness—wherever common sense and clearness were possible under the
-established rules of interpretation. But generally speaking, what is it?
-“Unstable as water—thou shall not excel!” is written upon the great
-body of our statute law, year after year, and generation after
-generation.
-
-And what are the consequences? Nations are “perplexed by fear of
-change.” Better stick to a bad law, than keep changing a good. The clock
-that stands still (to borrow a happy illustration) is sure to be right
-twice every twenty-four hours; while that which is always going, may
-always be wrong.
-
-Let us apply this. We are now waiting and hoping for a change of the
-tariff: and the more general and confident the expectation of a change
-among business-men, whatever that change may be—up or down—higher or
-lower—the more certainly will it put a stop, or greatly embarrass for a
-time, the whole business of the country. And why? If it be generally
-believed that the tariff is to be lowered, the dealers everywhere begin
-to run off their stocks, to offer longer credits and better terms; and
-however unwilling, shrewd cautious men may be about over-purchasing with
-such a prospect before them, there will be found others, commercial
-gamblers, or trading adventurers, who always profit by such occasions to
-go ahead of their fellows; for what they gain is their own, and what
-they lose, is their creditors’. And universal overtrading is the
-consequence here—and stoppages there—till the mischief corrects itself
-or dies out. Business no longer flows in its accustomed channels. It has
-fallen into the hands of comparative stock-jobbers and lottery-dealers:
-and a general bankruptcy often follows.
-
-But suppose the tariff about to be raised—and the belief to be
-universal. The ultimate consequences are the same, so far as the regular
-business of the country is concerned. Manufacturers and jobbers hold
-back; they refuse to sell on six months—they shorten the period of
-credit—and require acceptances in town—as being, on the whole, better
-than to demand higher rates in advance of old customers. Purchasers may
-be eager—but what can they do. They are obliged to wait—and live on
-from hand to mouth—till the question has been settled. And so with
-every other great leading law, affecting any great commercial, farming,
-or manufacturing interest of the country. The legislation of a land is a
-type of itself. How can our other great institutions be safe and lasting
-if our legislation be unstable?
-
-That our legislation is unstable and changing and fluctuating, who will
-deny? What great system of national policy have we ever pursued steadily
-beyond the terms of two or three of our political chief-magistrates—a
-paragraph at most, in the long History of the World?
-
-And how should it be otherwise? Lawyers with us are Conveyancers and
-Notaries and Special-Pleaders: and Conveyancers and Notaries and
-Special-Pleaders over sea are always, and in our country, almost always
-paid by the page; and a certain number of words, you know, constitute a
-page at law. Again—so sure is it that a lawyer shall not only be heard,
-but paid for his “much speaking,” that I do believe people are often
-better satisfied to lose a case with a long speech, than to gain it by a
-short one. This may appear somewhat startling; but let us see if, on the
-whole, it be not substantially true and no paradox.
-
-A man goes to consult a lawyer—you see how careful I am to distinguish
-between the two—and states his case. The lawyer hears him patiently
-through—having already touched the fee—and tells him, without opening
-a book, or lifting his spectacles, or moving from his chair, that the
-question lies in a nut-shell; and that if his view of the law should be
-sustained by the court, of which he cannot be sure, it may be settled
-easily and at once. Well—the case in due time goes up. The jury are
-empanneled; a great speech is brewing on the opposite side; you can hear
-the whiz of preparation in the very breathing of the Adversary; but up
-rises our friend—by the supposition a very clear-headed, able and
-honest lawyer—and so states the principle of law upon which he depends,
-that the court rules in his favor, no speeches are made, and the jury
-are discharged. And now comes the tug of war. The client begs a moment
-of the lawyer’s time, and asks what’s to pay: “Fifty dollars.” “_Fifty
-dollars!_—why, sir—pulling out his watch—you were not more than—”
-The lawyer bows, and on turning away with a stately air, as of one who
-truly respects himself, and will not suffer the dignity of the
-profession to be trifled with nor tarnished, is stopped by—“I beg your
-pardon, squire—there’s the money. Good morning.” And off goes the
-client, who has gained the cause, to complain of the lawyer for
-extravagance or extortion; saying that “the case was plain as a
-pike-staff—any body might have managed it—could have done it himself
-and without help—nothing but a word or two for the court—never opened
-his mouth to the jury—and then, whew! what do you think he had the
-conscience to charge? why, _fifty dollars!_—would you believe it! Very
-well—much good may the fifty dollars do him; it is the last he’ll ever
-see of my money, I promise you.”
-
-And now let me suppose that, instead of going to the last mentioned,
-_honest_ lawyer, he had gone to some other. He is heard, to be sure, but
-with visible impatience: he is continually interrupted and questioned
-and cross-questioned, by the half hour. The learned gentleman has a very
-large snuff-box on the table before him—two or three very large
-portfolios, and at least a wheelbarrow load of papers tied with red
-tape. He takes off his spectacles and snuffs, and wipes them with his
-glove and snuffs, and replaces them and snuffs; now he lifts them and
-looks under them, and now he lowers them and looks over them steadfast
-and solemn, though troubled and perplexed, with his mouth screwed up,
-and making faces at his client all the time: he shakes his head and
-jumps up, and takes a pinch, and then shakes his head and sits down, and
-takes another pinch: with a huge pile of authorities before him, and
-ever so many lying open, and having secured a retainer, at last he tells
-his client to call on the morrow at 11¼ o’clock _precisely_. The client,
-awe-struck at the vastness of that legal erudition he has been favored
-with a few glimpses of, steals away on tip-toe, rubbing his hands with
-delight and astonishment, and talking to himself perhaps all the way
-down stairs and into the street. After three or four consultations the
-case comes on for trial. The Adversary goes at the jury head-first, with
-a speech varying from two hours to two days. Of course, it will require
-from two hours to two days to answer it—and every thing must be
-answered, you know, whether it has to do with the question or not—as in
-the passage between Tristram Bulges and John Randolph, about the
-buzzard, or bald-eagle, I forget which; for after all, there is no great
-difference between them, as I have heretofore found to my cost; or as in
-that between Webster and Hayne about poor Banquo’s ghost, in the Senate
-chamber. And now, having insulted the witnesses, and the court, and the
-opposite counsel, and tired the jury by an everlasting speech, when they
-were already more than half asleep; or by arguing questions of law and
-fact wholly supposititious, for the benefit of his younger brethren and
-the by-standers—the case goes to the jury, under the charge of the
-court perhaps, and is lost. But who cares?—not the client; for when
-told that he has a hundred dollars to pay, instead of fifty as before,
-he calls it dog-cheap, and insists upon paying more, and why? Because
-_that_ lawyer had made the case his own—and he goes about saying,
-“Didn’t he give it to ’em!—bench, bar and jury!—didn’t he acknowledge
-they were all a set of nincompoops!—and didn’t he lather my adversary
-and my adversary’s counsel, and all his witnesses, little and big, and
-especially the women and children, beautifully!—handsomely!—and isn’t
-he the man, therefore, not only for my money, but for the money of all
-my acquaintances who may ever want a zealous and _faithful_ lawyer to
-manage their business for them!”
-
-This, though sufficiently absurd, I acknowledge, is nevertheless true:
-and happens continually at the bar. I do not say that in terms a client
-would prefer a long speech to a verdict; I only say that such is the
-fact, although he may not always know it himself, in many a troublesome
-case. And so with litigants generally; having once entered the “sacred
-precincts” of a law-temple, and breathed the fiery atmosphere, and had
-their names called over in a crowded court-room, and thereby having
-become famous in their own little neighborhoods, and in the judgment of
-their friends and witnesses, people of large experience and authority,
-how are they ever afterward to forego the pleasure? If they win the
-first throw, of course they can afford to throw again: if they lose,
-they must throw again, the blockheads! to get back what they have lost,
-when, like other gamblers, they promise to stop.
-
-Can it be wondered after all this, that words are multiplied in our
-laws, from sheer habit, as well as from a sort of professional pride,
-until a mere English reader, however familiar with the spoken language
-and with the best writers of the language, both at home and abroad, such
-as Bacon and Bolingbroke and Hooker and Swift, or Edwards, or Channing,
-or the writers of the Federalist, or Franklin, and half a hundred more I
-might mention, would be unable to make head or tail of one paragraph in
-three; and few men of business would be willing to hazard any
-considerable investment upon his own understanding or interpretation of
-any passage in any new law.
-
-Talk of the dead languages! The deadest of all the languages I know, or
-ever heard of, is the language of the law! Ask our friend, the learned
-blacksmith, and I will abide by the answer. Nobody, not trained to the
-business of interpretation—as a dragoman—or lawyer, would ever think
-of trying to understand a new law without help. And even with help—it
-is a plague and a mystery till the true meaning has been
-settled—_settled!_—by adjudication: that is, by others in authority,
-the priesthood and the patriarchs, who, under the name of judges, are
-paid for all the thinking, as lawyers are paid for all the talking to no
-purpose, permitted at law: for, be it known to all whom it may concern,
-that is, to all the non-lawyers of our land, that no private
-interpretation _of law_ is of any authority _at law_: nor is the right
-of private judgment recognized or allowed or tolerated or endured in
-courts of justice! You must believe at your peril. You must teach as you
-are taught; and grow to the opinions or moulds about you as a cucumber
-grows to a bottle; for such is the law, and with most of the profession,
-all the law, to say nothing of the Gospel; for that, perhaps, would be
-out of place here.
-
-And now, inasmuch as almost every word of importance in our language has
-more than one meaning, it follows, that in proportion as you multiply
-words in a law, or in a legal instrument, you multiply the meanings, and
-the chances of mistake, and of course, I may as well say it, of
-litigation: and the mere habit of multiplying words as conveyancers and
-special-pleaders and speech-makers, being not only a professional habit,
-as every body knows, but characteristic of the profession, it may be,
-and often is, continued from habit, long and long after it may cease to
-appear advantageous or profitable; as in the business of legislation, or
-in dealing with a jury, where the lawyer is not paid by the page, but by
-the day or the trick. And why? Perhaps my friend Joe may be permitted to
-answer. A tailor, while cutting a coat for himself, was seen to slip a
-fragment of the cloth into his cabbage-drawer. Amazed at such a
-procedure, a new apprentice took the liberty of asking why he did it.
-“_To keep my hand in_,” was the answer.
-
-Just so is it with the lawyer. He would use more words than are either
-necessary or safe, merely to keep his hand in, if for no other reason.
-Just compare a contract entered into between shipping-merchants for the
-sale of a cargo, or between other men of business, railroad contractors,
-or stock-dealers, involving the outlay of millions, perhaps, with a deed
-of trust drawn by a thoroughbred conveyancer, or with articles of
-co-partnership by any thing alive in the shape of an attorney-at-law, if
-you wish to see the difference between the language of lawyers, and men
-of business and common sense.
-
-By this, I would not be understood to say that some lawyers are never
-needed for putting the language and meaning of parties into shape; nor
-that “I. O. U.” would be a model for a charter-party, or a church
-settlement; for I acknowledge that the chief business of the world
-cannot be carried on _safely_ without lawyers. I only say, that we have
-too many of them; and that they are encouraged to intermeddle more than
-is good for themselves, or us, with every sort of business and branch of
-the _Lex mercatoria_, and the _Lex non scripta_.
-
-Another reason why the people are not allowed to have the laws of their
-own Country in their own language, but in that of the learned few—like
-the Bible for the Roman Catholics—notwithstanding the ridiculous parade
-of publishing all the laws in thousands of our newspapers in a year—a
-better hoax, and a better joke by far than the celebrated bequest of a
-guinea, toward paying off the national debt of our mother country—that
-mother of Nations, so cleverly represented by Victoria, just now—is,
-that we may _not_ be able to judge for ourselves; and that no _law_
-shall be of any private interpretation; for if it did, the people would
-soon be independent of most lawyers; and then, what would become of the
-superannuated, and the helpless, the fledglings, and the understrappers?
-They would have to rely for support in their old age upon the
-interpretation of themselves, and of their own cramped penmanship,
-instead of the legislative enactments.
-
-But, say certain of my brethren, the law, after all, is a great science,
-and the profession worthy of profound respect. It is over-crowded to be
-sure; and some, it must be acknowledged, do not succeed at the bar, and
-after trying it for a while are obliged to leave it, or starve.
-Granted—but what does that prove? Can those who do not succeed be
-greater blockheads, or greater knaves than many others that do? And may
-it not be just possible, if they, who do not succeed in the profession
-are otherwise distinguished, that they had too much self-respect, or
-conscientiousness, or what may be called _honesty_? Thus much by way of
-a protestanda—or the “exclusion of a conclusion,” according to my Lord
-Coke.
-
-And now, with all seriousness, what more shall be said? I have shown:
-1.—That my brethren of the bar enjoy a very dangerous and altogether
-very disproportionate power as the law-makers, the law interpreters, and
-the law enforcers. 2.—That however honest they may be _by nature_; and
-however honest in all the other relations of life; and that they are so,
-I acknowledge with pleasure; yet, as Lawyers, they have a code of morals
-peculiar to themselves, making it their duty to league with knaves, and
-cheats, and murderers, and house-breakers, and to furnish them with aid
-and comfort, _for pay_; in other words, for _a share in their profits_,
-and this _duty_ is of such a nature as to lead them continually astray,
-to blind their reasoning powers, to darken their consciences, until they
-are incapable of distinguishing between truth and falsehood, or right
-and wrong in the defense of their clients; and that under pretense of
-being _faithful_ to them, they become after a while too unfaithful to
-everybody else, even to themselves, and to their Maker; and that
-_therefore_ they are not trustworthy as legislators. 3.—That in
-consequence of their position as the holders of political power, too
-large a portion of our young men—our intellectual strength and hope, is
-diverted into that particular profession, to the injury of every other,
-and especially to the business, and laboring, or productive professions.
-4.—That another evil is our superabundant legislation—the instability
-of that legislation—the prodigious cost of so many debating societies
-maintained at the public charge, under pretence of law-making all over
-the land; whereby the public business of the whole country is delayed,
-month after month, and year after year; and sometimes never done—or if
-done at all, is done at last in such a hurry, and after such a slovenly
-fashion, that when the law-makers are called together again, a large
-portion of the little time they are enabled to set apart from
-electioneering, is spent in patching up and explaining the laws of a
-previous session; here, by taking a piece off the bottom and sewing it
-on the top, as the Irishman lengthens his blanket; and there, by taking
-out a piece of the same, to patch a hole with: and that _therefore_,
-notwithstanding a multitude of glorious exceptions to be found, year
-after year, in the senate chambers and representative chambers of our
-country, Lawyers are never to _be trusted in the making of laws_; and
-that, if it were not for the simple fact that, as judges, they are the
-only authorized expounders of the law, they ought not to be trusted even
-with the wording of a statute.
-
-And now, what more? We are all ambitious—lawyers above all the rest of
-the world in this country. Not one but labors—if we may believe his
-mother and sister, or his betrothed—not one “but labors with the
-nightmare meanings of Ambition’s breast”—not one who does not feel—
-
- “How hard it is to climb
- The steep where Fame’s proud temple shines afar!”
-
-and therefore it is, that the whole country is groaning under their
-oppression—over-burthened with law—and taxed, and trapped, and
-crushed, and trampled on by lawyers.
-
-But, if instead of this unhealthy ambition—this boyish uneasiness and
-appetite for notoriety, which three times out of four will be satisfied
-with the title of esquire, there should arise the unconquerable spirit
-of one created for dominion, with the holy instincts of a reformer, and
-anxious from the first hour of his revealed strength, to be the friend
-of the Fatherless and the Widow, of the Wronged and the Suffering—the
-champion of the poor and the helpless—the refuge of the hunted and
-betrayed upon earth—let him devote himself to the study and practice of
-the law, and of nothing but the law, in its vast and magnificent
-comprehensiveness; let him consecrate himself with prayer, and praise,
-and thanksgiving and sacrifice—let him go up to the temple with
-humility and reverence, and godly fear; and let him take possession “of
-the purple robe and diadem of gold,” as of right, and though his life
-may be a continual warfare, and he may die in the harness at last, and
-upon the battle-field, as Pinkney and Emmett, and others have died
-before him—for
-
- “He, who ascends to mountain-tops shall find
- The loftiest peaks most wrapped in clouds and snow,
- Round him are icy rocks, and loudly blow
- Contending tempests on his naked head.”
-
-Yet will he die the death of the righteous, and never be forgotten: and
-whole communities will pass by his grave, generation after generation,
-saying to one another as if speaking of a personal friend, “that
-although he was a great man, and a great lawyer, and perhaps a
-statesman, he was a good neighbor, and a good citizen, a good husband
-and a good father; and _therefore_ a good Christian, doing justly,
-walking humbly, and loving mercy to the last.”
-
-And would not such a death, my dear G——, be worth living for? And such
-a reputation worth dying for?
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- ELPHOLEN. A FRAGMENT.
-
-
- BY A NEW CONTRIBUTOR.
-
-
- Where many cedars shade Igondo’s shelf,
- Like towering Dukes of Edom crowned with plumes;
- Where seven rivers to an awful gulf
- Fall, with much foam, from Himalaya’s flooms;
- And where, from Baal-Phaxi’s caverned rooms,
- Through ice-arched galleries pours tumultuous Ulf,
- Are built across a swarthy savage glen,
- The gates which bar the land of Elpholen.
-
- Above all mountains, clouds, and smoking isles,
- From one huge base three stately hills arise;
- A wall extends from them a thousand miles,
- Steep and unbroken, builded to the skies,
- _Higher than even the gray-winged condor flies_;
- And compasseth, with rocks and snowy piles
- A table land, both wide and wonderful,
- And only by that gated pass accessible—
-
- Crossing a frightful plain which the sun scorches,
- Which plain is full of chasms and trap-dykes,
- Scoriæ, cinders, and dry river gorges,
- With timber petrified, basaltic spikes,
- And lava-ponds, with hard, black, stony surges
- We reached the shaded pass below the peaks,
- And paused to hear the roar of plunging Ulf,
- And the seven rivers, far within the gulf.
-
- Up that defile, with fear and silent wonder,
- We rode; _our horses seemed but two small mice_.
- The rivers in the gulf gave forth _large_ thunder,
- And rocks, above the clouds, fell, bounding thrice,
- With uproar, from the grim cliffs, cracked asunder.
- Aloft, like Anakim, with helms of ice
- The mountains raised their huge Plutonic shoulders,
- Clothed in Titanic mail of ore and boulders.
-
- Three Prophets of grand stature and bald brows
- Sat by the gates. _They were much older than_
- _The river Nile._ One of deep eyes arose
- And said: “Speak unto us what manner of man
- Thou art, O, hero; if of some fierce clan
- Hyperborean, or of pagan Huns?”
- He of the icebergs spoke with rhetoric fit
- In words and figures following, to wit;
- . . . . . .
- The Prophet said, “Here shalt thou rest this night
- While the sun sleeps in hollow Erebus;
- And as the hours pass on in silent flight
- All known philosophy will we discuss.
- But thou, O wizard Etheuòlymus,
- To Himmalaya’s broken pinnacle
- Fly with this young esquire, that he may see
- All kingdoms on the continent that be.”
-
- Then, with the wizard in a flying mist,
- I rose along the sides of that steep cone:
- ’Twas like an iron trunk of girdle vast;
- The moon’s full globe upon all cities shone;
- _Tyre_, by the waters; glimmering Ascalon;
- The City of the Magians, girt with fire;
- And in the East we saw those mountain ranges
- Which separate the Nile from sacred Ganges.
-
- Alas! all earthly things have been revised
- Even Learning’s careful patron and Protector,
- The Inquisition, is disorganized.
- The world is round, and has a Radius Vector;
- There’s not a ghost on duty, nor a spectre;
- Sinbad is dead, and almost any loafer
- Can go, in steamers, round Cape Horn to Ophir.
-
- Then, on the blackness of the Night’s deep chasm,
- The anchored earth lay, floating, like a floor:—
- Beneath, the shadow and the veiled phantasm
- Their local habitation had of yore;
- But each veiled shadow, and each dreadful phasm
- Rose with the night, above the western shore—
- When, through the void, all flame and ruddy gold
- The Day-god’s cavalcade, descending, rolled.
-
- Without the continent, old Ocean’s torrent
- Extended to the earth’s remotest verge:
- Both jovial Tritons, and the Powers abhorrent,
- Were seized of provinces upon the surge;
- And from Arcturus to the Southern gorge
- Black tempests bearing old Eolus’ warrant
- Patrolled the seas in search of ships or steamers
- Breaking the closes of the ocean emirs.
-
- Through the dense night, archangels of strong wing,
- From heaven roving, saw the earth’s vast plane—
- The kingdoms of the Pole, all glimmering—
- The twisted rivers, and the enfolding main—
- The shining gulfs which dent the Indian chain,
- And smiled to see the hollow planets swing
- Above that dim abyss within whose core
- Were hooked the world’s deep sunken anchors four.
-
- Large breakers tumbling on the Arabian shoals,
- With wooded regions by the Caucasian gaps—
- The town of Ebony, the land of Gholes,
- (Which are omitted in the modern maps)—
- All these I saw; and hills with misty caps,
- Where dwell the Glactophagi—blameless souls:
- The wizard spoke—I was with awe oppressed:
- _The words like ghosts rose from his sounding chest_—
-
- “These mountains I have watched a thousand years;
- And I _have writ one thousand solemn books:_
- _Who reads them shall be wise!_ Hell’s fiercest Peers
- Have oft essayed to burst these bolted rocks;
- And, under Baal-Phaxi’s deepest blocks,
- Mines they have digged, and loaded, and exploded.
- Yea, Mogophur, the Lord of Babylon,
- Came with his captains and a countless rabble on—
-
- “Of spearmen, chariots, and Tartarian riders,
- _Whose faces were the likeness of a flame_,
- And elephants crept through the pass like spiders,
- And the whole College of Magicians came,
- Who caused sharp earthquakes and much whizzing flame
- By means of diagrams, and long dividers,
- And thus exclaimed each iron-harnessed savage,
- ‘The unseen land of Elpholen we’ll ravage.’
-
- “I did but ope one solemn book, and say:
- ‘O, ye Hydraulic Goblins of the mountains,
- At once your tunnels, pumps, and flooms let play;
- And loose old Himmalah’s rock-bound fountains.’
- Then rivers of cold foam and spouting spray,
- And cataracts which broke the cliffs away,
- Burst from the mountains’ inner reservoirs.
- ’Twas very good to see those watery Druids
- Destroy that haughty host, with roaring fluids!”
- . . . . . .
- _But now, those noisy trumpeters, the Hours,_
- _Blew the reveillé through the camps of morn:_
- _Now storm-girt Taurus raised his icy horn,_
- _Like blazing silver_, o’er the mists and showers;
- And sunlight struck the unclouded mountain towers,
- Which ranged the circuit of that snowy wall:
- We then rode down a chasm from the gates,
- And entered Elpholen’s enchanted states.
-
- To a wild amphitheatre we rode,
- Begirt with precipices. From an astounding
- Cavern in the mountain-side, there flowed
- A river deep and broad; but the surrounding
- Dark hollows echoed not a single sounding;
- For silently it moved—_we only heard_
- _At times the plunging of some dull cascade_
- _Far up the tunnel, like a cannonade._
-
- Full many other rivers cross those lands,
- Some, from the eternal snows come pouring;
- Some, roll around the chasms, in foaming bends;
- Some, through the hills, a ragged highway boring,
- Rush to the valleys, with an angry roaring,
- And hurry onward to the ocean sands;
- But many a cataract and runlet trickles
- Down from the glaciers, making huge icicles.
-
- _We moved along by wooded peaks and crags,_
- _Carvéd with images and hieroglyphs,_
- _Ruffling their scales and quills like golden flags,_
- _And, pawing their odd cubs, the hippogriffs_
- _Rolled in their nests, upon the shady cliffs;_
- _And in the glens, both bears and royal stags,_
- _With lazy lions, goats, and yawning leopards_
- _Like cattle lay, and children were their shepherds._
-
- Along through ancient forests, vast, and slumbrous,
- Roes, of the mountain, grazed beside the springs,
- And often rose some bird of plumage cumbrous
- Unto the branches, folding his wide wings.
- There, too, were tombs of certain wizard-kings—
- Antediluvians of visage sombrous—
- _And holy men, before their moss-grown crypts,_
- _Studied in awful Syriac manuscripts._
-
- Beyond, there dwelleth an immortal folk,
- About a stream, which to a lake enlarges:
- Pine hills curve greenly round, and groves of oak,
- Sometimes they rested on the river marges,
- Sometimes they plowed the lake in hollow barges,
- And sometimes, on the altars made _sweet_ smoke,
- Some painted pictures in their pleasant tents,
- And many played on all stringed instruments.
-
- But some rode up unto the gorgeous clouds
- _Around the necks of monstrous eagles clinging._
- The people which do there have their abodes
- Welcoméd them with flags, and wild bell-ringing;
- With musical cannon from th’ embrasures flinging
- Puffs of white vapor, bombs, and rattling grape:—
- The Goblin-populace of Cloud-land we
- Could well behold:—Ah, they a brisk folk be!
-
- And caravans continually crossed the plains.
- Camels and elephants innumerable—
- With carriages, and pigmy oxen trains,
- And scampering knights, in armor of black shell,
- Lords, bearded patriarchs, and gay rabble,
- And baggage-wagons full of chattering dames,
- And mounted archers, shooting slender arrows,
- Wound slowly round the curving river narrows.
-
- But some came down the rivers on broad rafts;
- _With shells, and bells, and crooked bugles, waking_
- _Numberless echoes on the rocks_. The shafts
- Of the forests stood, like champions unquaking,
- Though many clamors, the old silence breaking,
- Startled the musing Hermits. Now arose
- The stars, and moon, and all the hosts of night:
- We stood above a plain upon a height.
-
- Three noble rivers, in the moonlight shining,
- Sparkled from three defiles in East, and West,
- And North—in silence to a blue gulf winding,
- Which, by the distant mountains, lay at rest;
- And there a city with a massive crest
- Of turrets, overlooked that rock-bound sheet.
- The rivers round it, in broad girdles pressed;
- Bridges there were, and groves, and gardens meet;
- And in the bay lay moored an idle fleet.
-
- Unto that city did all people flow:
- In the deep plain we saw their circular camps,
- Like islands of an archipelago;
- And as we looked, _a belt of fiery lamps_
- _Was wound around the crowning citadel;_
- Whereat each watching pilgrim said: “Full well
- I know, that now within yon distant dell
- The Lord of blessed Elpholen doth dwell.
-
- “To him we will present our offering
- Of fruits, and herds, and many precious ores,
- Which rivers from the mountain-summits bring:—
- Upon the gulf’s cool strand, and shady shores
- Our ancient games we will perform long hours:
- Then we will go again to our dear tribes,
- And to our cattle in the pleasant meadows,
- And dappled deer browsing in mountain shadows.”
-
- That night we camped upon the sandy margent
- Of an unknown sea; and when, behind sharp peaks,
- The moon retired in her skiff of argent,
- Then certain meteors filled the sky with streaks,
- And diving, from the zenith-ridge divergent,
- Through the purple heavens fell in flakes,
- Which, as they struck the water, lost their light,
- And grew a portion of its night.
-
- Meanwhile we saw a corps of sentry ghosts,
- Standing erect the farthest Eastern shore on,
- And many thousand stars, above those coasts,
- _Flashed like the Arabic of a fiery Koran;_
- Then those great captains of the heavenly hosts,
- Orion, Sirius, and Aldebóran,
- On the dark field of Heaven took their stations;
- And calmly wheeled the close-ranked constellations.
-
- No outposts of the Morn marked the approach
- Of the Hœlios’ chariot; no gleams, or tinges
- Upon the tent of Darkness dared encroach;
- But sudden brilliance pierced its dusky fringes;
- Wide swung the Morning’s gates upon their hinges;
- Those burning horses, and that flaming coach
- Sprang out upon the ocean, through the gateway:
- Night struck her tattered tent, and vanished straightway.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- A LIFE OF VICISSITUDES.
-
-
- BY G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ.
-
-
- [Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by
- George Payne Rainsford James, in the Clerk’s Office of the
- District Court of the United States for the District of
- Massachusetts.]
-
- (_Continued from page 147._)
-
-
- A YOUNG DREAM.
-
-Memory is certainly a very strange gift, or quality of the mind—or
-whatever else it may be rightly termed; for I am no philosopher, and but
-little acquainted with the technology of metaphysics. It seems often a
-capricious faculty, selecting its own objects, and amusing itself with
-them to the rejection of others. But I am not quite sure that this
-imputation upon memory is justified. I must admit that with myself, as I
-suppose is the case with others, when I try to recall the past, the lady
-often proves restive with me, and without any apparent cause, recalls
-all the particulars of certain scenes, and omits other passages of life
-close by them. Nor is this to be attributed always to the particular
-interest of the scenes she recalls; for some of them are quite
-unimportant, light, and even ludicrous, while things affecting one’s
-whole destiny, if not utterly forgotten, are brought back but
-indistinctly. I suspect, however, that the fact is, memory is like a
-sentinel who will not let any one enter the treasury she guards without
-the countersign, even though it be the master of the treasure himself.
-
-The objects and events that we remember best are, in fact, those for
-which we have learned the countersign by heart, and the moment that any
-accidental circumstance furnishes us with the pass-word, apparently
-forgotten, the door is thrown open, and we behold them again, somewhat
-dusty perhaps, but plain and distinct. Acts never die. They at least are
-immortal; and I do not think they ever die to memory either. They sleep
-within, and it only requires to have the key to waken them. The time
-will come when all shall be awakened: when every door of the heart shall
-be thrown open, and when the spirits of man’s deeds and thoughts will
-stand revealed to his own eyes at least—perhaps to be his bright
-companions in everlasting joy—perhaps his tormentors in the hell which
-he has dug for himself.
-
-Often, often, as I look back in life, I see a cloud hanging over a
-particular spot in the prospect, which for days, sometimes for years,
-will hide all beyond. Then suddenly the lightest trifle—a casual
-word—a peculiar odor—the carol of a bird—the notes of some old
-melody, will, as with a charm, dispel that cloud—sometimes dissolving
-it in rain-drops—sometimes absorbing it in sunshine—and all that it
-concealed will burst upon the sight in horror or in loveliness. Even
-while I have been writing these few pages many things have thus been
-brought back to remembrance by the connection of one event with another,
-which seemed to have altogether passed away from memory when first I sat
-down to write. Now what is the next thing I remember; for the rest of
-our journey, after we left Juliers, has passed away from me?
-
-I find myself on looking back, in a small, neat house, with a garden,
-and a little fountain in the garden, upon a sandy soil, and with a
-forest of long needle-leaved fir-trees stretching out to the westward.
-To the east there is a city of no very great extent, but still a
-capital, with a range of high hills running in a wavy line behind, and
-here and there an old ruined castle upon the lower points.
-
-Before the city lies a wide plain, rich and smiling, full of corn-fields
-and vineyards, with here and there a curious-looking spire or a couple
-of dome-topped towers marking the place of a village or small town, and
-beyond the plain, glistening in a long, long wavy line of silver, glides
-a broad river—the mighty Rhine.
-
-Oh! what sweet sunny lapses come cheering and softening the rapid course
-of life’s troubled stream. There are several of those green spots of
-memory, as the poet calls it—these oases in the midst of the desert,
-even within my own remembrance. But on few, if any of them can my heart
-rest with as much pleasure as on the months we passed in that little
-cottage. There were no events—there was no excitement—for me and
-Mariette, at least. I remember wandering with her about that sunny
-garden, playing with her in the cool, airy pleasure-house which stood in
-one corner, helping her to gather flowers to deck her mother’s table,
-wandering with her through the forest beneath the green shade, with the
-dry, brown filaments of the fir crackling under our young feet. Here and
-there we would come to a place where oaks and beeches mingled with the
-pine and a thick growth of underwood narrowed our path; but as
-compensation, we were there sure to find a rich treasure of
-wild-flowers, more beautiful in our eyes than all the garden bestowed.
-Very often, too, in the clear May evenings we would sit under the little
-shabby porch of the house—Mariette upon my knee, with her arms clasped
-round my neck—and as the sky grew gray, and the stars began to peer and
-glimmer up above, would listen to the notes of the nightingale as he
-prolonged his song after all the forest choir had fallen into silence;
-and when some of those peculiar notes were coming which we love the best
-to hear, and Mariette knew that the delicious cadence was nigh at hand,
-she would raise her beautiful liquid eyes to my face, and whisper “hark”
-and gaze at me still as if to share my enjoyment, and to make me share
-hers.
-
-Oh! how that child twined herself round my boy’s heart. Dear, dear, dear
-Mariette. In all that I have seen in life, and strange and varied has
-that life been, I have never seen any thing that I loved as much as you.
-The first freshness of my thoughts—the first—the tenderest—the purest
-of my affections, were all yours!
-
-But I took other tasks in hand. Good Father Bonneville resumed his
-lessons to me; but they were not very burdensome, and I began to teach
-Mariette. How this came about I must explain. Madame de Salins, who had
-borne up so well in times of danger and active exertion, became languid,
-inactive, sorrowful in the time of repose. She was evidently exceedingly
-anxious about something—often in tears—and often returned from the
-neighboring city where she went almost every day to seek for letters,
-with a look of gloom and disappointment. She began to teach Mariette
-something herself, however; for from various circumstances the dear
-child’s instruction had been neglected. It was always a task to her,
-however, and her mind seemed wandering away to other things, till at
-length good Father Bonneville suggested that I would teach Mariette, and
-Mariette was delighted, and I rejoiced; and Madame de Salins, too, was
-very well satisfied at heart, I believe. Every thing was speedily
-arranged, but Mariette and I set to work formally and in good order. The
-books, and the slate, and the pen and ink were produced at a fixed hour,
-and if it were fine weather, we sat in the little shabby porch—if it
-were raining, in the little room that looked upon it. Dear, stupid
-little thing! What a world of trouble she gave me. She did not half know
-her letters when I began to teach her, and was continually mistaking the
-P’s and B’s, and Q’s and D’s. R and S, too, were sad stumbling-blocks,
-and the putting letters together into syllables, together with pricking
-the page with a pin occupied a long time. Then she was so volatile too.
-When I was pouring forth my young philosophy upon her, and laboring hard
-to teach her the sounds produced by different combinations of letters,
-she would start up and dart out into the garden in chase of a butterfly,
-or tempted by a flower. Then, when she came back and was scolded, how
-she would coax and wheedle her soft young tutor, and kiss his cheek and
-pat his hair, and one way or another contrive to get the words “good
-Mariette” written at the end of every lesson to show her mother. I have
-got the book still, all full of pin holes, and strange figures scribbled
-on it with a pen; but not one lesson in it has not “good Mariette”
-written at the end, though Heaven knows she was often naughty enough to
-merit another comment. But I was a true lover even then, and perhaps
-loved the dear child’s faults.
-
-Moreover, at the end of that book of little reading lessons there is a
-page which I have kissed a thousand times since. It represents—and not
-very badly—Mariette as she appeared then with a little spaniel dog
-looking up in her face. Oh! how well I recollect when it was drawn. I
-could always handle my pencil well, though I don’t know when I learnt to
-draw; but as we were coming near the end of the book, I promised
-Mariette if she would be a very good girl indeed, and get through the
-remaining lessons in a week, that I would draw her picture at the end
-with an imaginary dog which she was always to have at some indefinite
-period in the future; for she was exceedingly fond of dogs, and I
-believe the highest ambition of her heart at that moment was to have a
-spaniel of her own. Before Saturday night fell, the lessons were all
-done, and I was immediately reminded of my promise. We sat in the porch,
-with the western sky just growing purple, and I made her get up and
-stand at a little distance, and sketched her lightly with a pen and ink,
-and then at her feet, I drew from memory the best dog I could
-manufacture, with its ears falling back, and its face turned up toward
-her. How delighted she was when she saw it, and how she clapped her
-little hands! It was all charming, but the spaniel above all, and I
-doubt not she was convinced that she should soon have a dog exactly like
-that. She ran with it, first to Father Bonneville, who was in the next
-room, and then to her mother, who was very sad that evening; but she
-kissed her child, and looked at the drawing, and dropped some tears upon
-it—the traces are there still.
-
-Then Mariette came back to me, and thanked and embraced me, and declared
-that I was the dearest, best boy that ever lived, and that when she was
-old enough, she would draw me at the end of one of my books, with a
-great big dog as big as a horse.
-
-This is all very trifling perhaps, and not much worthy of record, but in
-those trifling times, and those trifling things lie the brightest and
-the sweetest memories of my life. It was all so pure, so artless, so
-innocent. We were there in that little garden, as in a Paradise, and the
-atmosphere of all our thoughts was the air of Eden.
-
-Such things never last very long. I reached my thirteenth birth-day
-there, and it was kept with kindly cheerfulness by Father Bonneville and
-Madame de Salins. Mariette I remember wove me a wreath of flowers, and
-put it on my head after dinner; but that was her last happy day for a
-long while. The next day Madame de Salins walked to the city as usual,
-and Father Bonneville went with her. They were long in returning; but
-when they did come back there was a sparkling light in the eyes of
-Madame de Salins which I little fancied augured so much wo to me.
-
-“Come, Louis, come,” said Father Bonneville. “Madame de Salins has heard
-good news at length. She must set out this very evening for England. The
-carriage and horses will be here in an hour, and we must all help her to
-get ready.”
-
-“And Mariette?” I asked, with an indescribable feeling of alarm. “Does
-she stay here?”
-
-“No, my son, no,” replied Father Bonneville, almost impatiently. “She
-goes with her mother of course.”
-
-Grown people forget the feelings of childhood, especially old people,
-and appreciate too little either the pangs or joys of youth. Blessed is
-the man who bestows a happy childhood upon any one. We cannot shelter
-mature life from its pangs and sorrows, but we can insure, if we like,
-that the brightest portion of the allotted space—the portion where the
-heart is pure, and the thoughts unsullied—shall be exempt in those we
-love from the pangs, and cares, and sorrows which, so insignificant in
-our eyes, are full of bitter significance to a child.
-
-Father Bonneville did not know how terribly his intelligence depressed
-my heart. He rejoiced in Madame de Salins’ brightening prospects,
-although they deprived him of society that cheered and comforted. I was
-more selfish; I thought only that I was again to lose Mariette, and I
-grieved from my very heart. I would not disgrace the first manhood of my
-teens by bursting into tears, though the inclination to do so was very
-strong, and I assisted in the preparations as much as I could. But oh
-how I wished that some accident might happen to the horses before they
-reached our door, or that the carriage might break down—that any thing
-might happen which would give me one—but one day more. It was not to
-be, however: the ugly brutes, and the little less ugly driver, appeared
-not more than half an hour behind their time, the baggage was put up,
-and Madame de Salins proceeded to the door of the house. She embraced
-Father Bonneville tenderly, and then me, and taking a little gold chain
-which she had in her hand, and spreading it out with her fingers, she
-placed it round my neck, and I saw a small ring hanging to it, which I
-found afterward contained her own hair and Mariette’s.
-
-“Keep it, Louis, keep it always,” she said. “I do not know when we shall
-meet again; but I pray God to bless you, dear boy, and repay you for all
-you have done for me and mine.”
-
-It was at that moment that the idea of a long separation seemed to
-strike Mariette for the first time. She burst into the most terrible fit
-of tears I ever saw, and when I took her in my arms she clung round my
-neck so tight that it was hardly possible to remove her. Madame de
-Salins wept too, but went slowly into the carriage, and Father
-Bonneville unclasping the dear child’s arms carried her away to her
-mother’s knee. I could bear no more, and running away to my own little
-room, gave way to all I felt; only lifting up my head to take one more
-look, when I heard the harsh grating of the carriage-wheels as they
-rolled away.
-
-
- A SUMMARY.
-
-I have often thought that it must be a curious, and by no means
-unimportant, or useless process, which the Roman Catholic is frequently
-called upon to go through, when preparing his mind for confession.
-
-The above sentence may startle any one who reads these pages, and he may
-exclaim—
-
-“The Roman Catholic!” Is not the writer—born in a Roman Catholic
-country, educated by a Roman Catholic priest, and with the force of his
-beautiful example to support all his precepts—is he not himself a Roman
-Catholic, or does he mean to say that he has never himself been to
-confession?
-
-Never mind. That shall all be explained hereafter.
-
-The process I allude to is that of making, as it were, a summary of all
-the acts and events, which have occurred within a certain period of the
-past, trying them by the test of reason and of conscience, and
-endeavoring to clear away all the mists of passion, prejudice, and error
-which crowd round man and obscure his sight in the moment of exertion or
-pursuit. Such is not exactly the task I propose to myself just now. All
-I propose to myself is to give a very brief and sketch-like view of the
-facts which occupied the next two or three years of my life. It will be
-faint enough. Rather a collection of reminiscences than of any thing
-else—often detached from each other, and never, I fear, very sharply
-defined. The truth is, events at that period were so hurried that they
-seemed to jostle each other in the memory, and often when I wish to
-render my own thoughts clear upon the particular events of the period, I
-am obliged to have recourse to the written or printed records of the
-events, where they lie chronicled in the regular order of occurrence.
-
-I know that after Mariette’s departure, I was very sad and very
-melancholy for several weeks. Father Bonneville with all his kindness
-and tenderness, and with much greater consideration for the faults and
-weaknesses of others than for his own, did not seem to comprehend my
-sensations at all at first, and could not imagine—till he had turned it
-in his own mind a great many times, and painted a picture of it, as it
-were in imagination, that the society of a little girl of six years old
-could have become so nearly a necessity to a boy of thirteen. He became
-convinced, however, in the end that I was, what he called “pining after
-Mariette.” He strove then to amuse me in various ways—occupied my mind
-with fresh studies—procured for me many English books, and directed my
-attention to the study of German, which he himself spoke well, and which
-I mastered with the ready facility of youth. We all know how children
-imbibe a language, rather than learn it, and I had not at that time lost
-the blessed faculty of acquisition.
-
-All this had its effect, while I was busying my mind with other
-things—for I pursued every object with earnestness, nay with
-eagerness—I thought little of my loneliness, but often when my lessons
-were done, and I was tired of reading, and indisposed to walk, I would
-sit in our little garden, and looking round upon the various objects
-about me, would recall the pretty figure of my dear little lost Mariette
-dancing in and out amongst the trees and shrubs, and almost fancy I
-heard her sweet voice, and the prattle which used so to delight me,
-strangely mingled as it was, of the innocent frankness of her nature,
-and a certain portion of shy reserve, which had been forced into her
-mind by the various painful scenes she had gone through.
-
-One evening as I was thus seated and looking out upon the road, which
-ran between our small house and the forest, I saw an old woman coming
-down from the high road which led to the town with a slow and weary
-pace. I should not have taken much notice of her, perhaps, had not her
-dress been very different from that of the peasantry in the
-neighborhood. It was a dress which awakened old recollections—that of
-the Canton in which I had been brought up, if not born. There was the
-white cap, with the long ears flapping down almost to the shoulders, and
-the top running up and curling over into a sort of helmet shape—Heaven
-only knows how it was constructed; but it was a very complicated piece
-of architecture. Then again there was the neat little jacket of dull
-colored gingham, and beneath it the short petticoat of bright red cloth,
-with the blue stockings, and the red embroidered clocks, and the
-high-heeled shoes with the silver buckles in them. She carried a good
-sized bundle in her hand, and held her head upright, though she was
-evidently tired. But as she came nearer, I saw a round, dry, apple-like
-face, with two sparkling black eyes and a nose of extensive proportions.
-I was upon my feet in one moment, and the next, good old Jeanette was in
-my arms.
-
-I need not say how rejoiced I was to see her, or how rejoiced was also
-Father Bonneville, nor need I tell all her simple history since we had
-left her in France; nor how we wondered at her achieving so long a
-journey in perfect safety. Her account, however, showed how simple the
-whole process had been, though I do not mean to say that Jeanette put
-her statement altogether in the most simple terms. She was not without
-her own little share of vanity, innocent and primeval as it was. She did
-not, indeed, strive to enhance the value of her services and affection
-toward us, but she seemed to consider that she was magnified in abstract
-importance by dangers undergone and privations suffered. She told us how
-far she had walked on foot, where she had got a Diligence, where
-somebody had given her a ride in a cart, where she had got no supper,
-where she had got a good one, where she had been cheated of fifteen sous
-at least, and where the landlord and landlady were good honest people,
-and had treated her well for a reasonable remuneration. Her great
-difficulties had begun in Germany; the language of which land she
-understood not at all, but by dint of patient perseverance, and asking
-questions in French of every person she met—whether they understood
-that language or not—she had made her way at length to the spot which
-good Father Bonneville’s last letter had indicated as his place of
-residence, not having gone, by the nicest calculation, more than eight
-hundred and seventy-four miles out of her way. She looked upon it as a
-feat of great importance, and was reasonably proud of it; but she
-thought fit to assign her motives for coming at all—although those
-motives were not altogether very coherent, nor did the premises
-invariably agree with the deductions. Indeed, Father Bonneville was a
-little shocked at some of the proceedings of his good housekeeper; for
-he had a great objection to using dirty arms against those who even used
-dirty arms against him. It seemed that after Jeanette had notified his
-absence to the municipality, his books, papers, and furniture had been
-seized for the rapacious maw of the public good. An auction had been
-held on the premises, and every thing had been sold; but Jeanette boldly
-produced a claim upon the effects of the absconding priest for a great
-arrear of wages, which she roundly asserted had never been paid. She
-brought forward the agreement between Father Bonneville and herself, in
-which the amount to be paid monthly was clearly stated, and as the
-commune could show no receipts it was obliged to pass the good
-housekeeper’s account, and pay her the money out of the funds raised by
-the sale. Some laughed, indeed, and said that the good woman had learnt
-the first grand art of taking care of herself, while others defended her
-on the ground that it was rather laudable than otherwise to pillage an
-aristocrat. They cited even the cases of Moses and Pharaoh, where the
-plunder of the Egyptians was not only lauded, but commanded. An old
-touch of religious fanaticism reigned in that part of the country, and
-men, even the most atheistical in profession and in action, which is
-still more, could quote Scripture for their purpose when it served their
-purpose.
-
-We are told that the devil does the same—and I think it very likely.
-
-The sum thus received from Jeanette—swelled by every item she could
-think of, was by no means inconsiderable; but she had not cheated a
-fraudulent and oppressive civic government for her own peculiar benefit.
-The sum which had been left her by Father Bonneville, and the wages
-which had been paid her, sufficed to maintain her for several months in
-Angoumois—in her frugal mode of living—and to carry her across the
-whole of France, leaving her with some dozen or two of livres at the
-time she reached us in Germany. The money which she had obtained from
-the commune, all carefully deposited in a canvas bag, she produced and
-placed in the hands of Father Bonneville, who, to say sooth, did not
-well know what to do in the peculiar circumstances of the case. Jeanette
-justified her acts and deeds toward the commune upon the same principle
-on which some members of the commune had justified her supposed acts
-toward Father Bonneville. She did not know much about spoiling the
-Egyptians indeed; but her mind was not sufficiently refined to see the
-harm of cheating cheats, or spoiling plunderers of part of their
-plunder.
-
-I believe the good Father talked to her seriously on the subject when I
-was not present; but what became of the money I do not know. All I can
-tell, is, that the good Father never seemed to be actually in want of
-money, and that all those romantic distresses which hinge upon the
-absence of a crown-piece, were spared us even in our exile.
-
-Time passed. Jeanette was fully established in her old post in the
-household, with the addition of another German maid-servant. The one
-whom she found with us was strongly imbued with despotic ideas; and was,
-for good reasons, unwilling to submit either to the orders of a foreign
-superior in her peculiar department, or to the inspection of accounts
-and prices which she soon found was to be established. Another German
-girl, consequently, was sought for and found, who being younger in age,
-unhardened by experience, and of a diffident nature, willingly undertook
-to receive a dollar and a half a month, and do the harder work of the
-house under the orders of Jeanette, of which she did not understand one
-word.
-
-Our peaceful state of existence, however, was not destined to be of very
-long duration. The successes of the allies, then combating the
-republicans of France, both on the northern and eastern frontier,
-insured us, for some time, tranquillity and safety. We heard of the
-defeat of the French army at Neerwinden, and the fall of Valenciennes
-and Condé, mixed with vague rumors of the defection of Dumouriez, and
-the flight of some of the most celebrated generals in the French army.
-These latter events gave great joy and satisfaction to Father
-Bonneville; for his hopeful mind looked forward to the re-establishment
-of law and order in his native country, and to the utter abasement of
-the anarchical party in France before the skill of Dumouriez, and the
-bayonets of the Austrians joined with those of all the well disposed and
-moderate of the land itself.
-
-Many others shared in the same delusions; but the manifestoes of the
-Austrians, soon checked all enthusiasm, even on the part of the
-emigrants. No pretence was made of coming to support the loyal and
-orderly in the re-establishment of a monarchy, and a war of aggression
-and dismemberment was gladly commenced against France from the moment
-that Dumouriez’s more generous—and I must say, more prudent schemes,
-were rendered abortive by circumstances.
-
-Doubtless, this first raised some indignation in the bosom of Father
-Bonneville, who was of too true and really loyal a nature to see
-unmoved, his native land partitioned by the sword, upon any pretence or
-coloring whatever. I do not know why, but these matters did not appear
-to me in the same light. I thought the people of France had committed a
-great crime, and deserved to be punished, as if they were but one
-simple, individual man. I thought that all who were genuine loyalists or
-supporters of an orderly and constitutional system were guilty of a
-crime little less great than that of the anarchists, in their dastardly
-holding back when great questions involving the whole fate of France,
-hung upon the simple exertion of a well ordered body of the bourgeoisie;
-and I saw not why they should not be punished for their culpable
-negligence which was more disastrous in effect than all the virulence of
-the terrorists—I saw not why those who committed tremendous crimes
-under the name of justice should not be brought under the sword of
-justice, and I looked forward, I confess, to a period of retribution
-with no little joy and satisfaction. It mattered not to me, in my
-ignorance of great affairs whether this was effected by the Austrians,
-the Prussians, or any other nation on the face of the earth, but France
-deserved punishment, and I hoped she might be punished.
-
-The expectations of retribution were destined to be long unfulfilled.
-The manifestoes of the Allies acted with singular power and
-significance, producing combinations not at all expected. The royalists,
-the constitutionalists, who still remained in France, prepared to resist
-operations, the avowed object of which was the dismemberment of France
-itself, and not the restoration of a purified monarchy. They were
-willing to support even their mortal enemies within the land, in
-resisting the newly declared enemies of the whole land, who were
-advancing along two frontiers. The republicans were roused to the most
-powerful and successful exertions in order to repel a slow and cautious,
-but victorious enemy from their frontiers, and even the émigrés, who
-were scattered all along the banks of the Rhine, protested loudly
-against a scheme, which not only menaced the integrity of France as it
-then existed, but threatened to deprive the monarchy of some of its
-fairest provinces, if the legitimate line of their sovereigns should
-ever be restored.
-
-No contrivance could have been devised so well calculated to reunite the
-greatest possible number of Frenchmen in opposition to a
-counter-revolution, and to render all others indifferent to the progress
-of the allied arms, as the proclamation of the Prince of Coburg. Some
-few, indeed, thought with me, but mine were doubtless boyish thoughts:
-for I have ever remarked that it is experience, and the hard lessons of
-the world, which bring moderation.
-
-Father Bonneville seldom talked upon these subjects with me; for he had
-rightly no great opinion of my judgment in matters of which I could have
-had but a very vague knowledge, and he little knew how often and how
-deeply I thought upon such questions.
-
-The siege and capture of Mayence, however: the inactivity of Custine,
-and the retreat of the whole of the French armies within the frontier
-line, seemed to insure to us perfect security, for a long time to come,
-in our calm and pleasant retreat upon the banks of the Rhine: when
-suddenly burst forth that wild and vengeful spirit of reaction which
-armed all France, almost as one man, against attacks from without, and
-soon retrieved all she had lost under a weak government and
-inexperienced commander.
-
-Toward the end of the year, our situation became somewhat perilous.
-After a long period of successes, the fruits of which were all lost by
-indecision or procrastination, the allied armies found themselves the
-assailed rather than the assailers, the conquered rather than the
-conquerors; and the fierce spirit of the Frank, the most war-loving, if
-not the most warlike, of all the nations of the earth was soon ready to
-carry the flaming sword into all the neighboring lands.
-
-I have given this little sketch merely to connect the events together,
-without at all wishing to imply that I knew or comprehended all the
-facts at the time, or recollect them now, except with the aid of books.
-My own memories are very slight and merely personal. I remember
-lingering on for some months in that small house by the Rhine. I
-recollect the warm, bright summer sinking down into heavy autumn, and
-the year withering in the old age of winter. I recollect numerous
-reports and rumors, and gossip’s tales, and—falser than all—newspaper
-narratives, and printed dispatches, reaching us in our solitude, some of
-them exciting my wonder, and some of them my alarm, and then I recollect
-various passages of no great importance in a somewhat long journey, till
-I find myself in a quaint old town upon the border of Switzerland, near
-which the Rhine breaks over high rocks and forms the cascade of
-Schaffhausen.
-
-This place is only notable in my memory for the beauty of the
-water-fall, which I have since seen surpassed in grandeur, but not in
-picturesque effect, and by one little incident which there brightened
-many an hour. One day, when we were there, a letter was delivered to
-Father Bonneville, in my presence, which he found to contain a small
-note addressed to me. It was the first letter I had ever received in my
-life, although I was now between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and
-the sensations which I experienced when it was placed in my hands, and I
-saw my own name on the back, were very strange. Imagination went
-whirling here and there, seeking to divine whence it could come. The
-mystery of my own strange, isolated existence—which was frequently
-present to my thoughts, was the first thing that fancy snatched at; but
-I did not remain long in uncertainty. The seal was soon broken, and I
-found a few lines in a round, childlike hand, very well written, and
-very well expressed, with the name of “Mariette de Salins” at the
-bottom.
-
-She told me that she wrote to show me, her dear instructor, how much
-progress she had made in her studies; and to tell me that although she
-had now a great number of companions, she loved me as well as ever, and
-better than them all. She bade me not forget her though she did not
-doubt that I had grown a great, tall man, and she was still but a little
-girl.
-
-I cannot express how much pleasure this gave me; for I had been
-oppressed by the thought that in new scenes and new circumstances, all
-memory of her young companion would soon be obliterated in the mind of
-my little Mariette. That such had not yet been the case was in itself a
-pleasure; but I calculated sagaciously that the very fact of having to
-write to me, and to recall our youthful intercourse would renew all her
-recollections of the time we had passed together, and give memory, as it
-were, a new point to start from.
-
-Our stay in Schaffhausen only continued a few months; for the progress
-of events in France, and the revolutionary spirit which began to effect
-other countries, left it hardly possible for emigrants to find any
-secure spot in Europe, except indeed in England, and thither Father
-Bonneville did not seem inclined to go. At Schaffhausen, however, I
-pursued my studies very eagerly, and had the opportunity of acquiring
-some knowledge of those manly exercises which I had never yet had any
-opportunity of practicing. There was a very good riding-school in the
-town, to which Father Bonneville sent me every day; and a French exile,
-celebrated for his knowledge of the sword exercise, had set up a fencing
-school, in which I soon became a favorite pupil. I was now a tall,
-powerful lad, and what between the continual exercise of the
-riding-school, and the Salle d’Armes, all the powers of a frame,
-naturally robust, were speedily developed. Previous to this time, I had
-stooped a little from the habit of bending over books and drawings; but
-my chest now became expanded, my step firm, and I acquired a sort of
-military air, of which, I need hardly say, I was very proud.
-
-Thus passed four months and a few days; but rumors of the intention of
-the French to march an army up the Rhine, induced Father Bonneville to
-move our quarters, and about a fortnight before my fifteenth birth-day,
-we traveled up to Constance, and then across what they call the _Boden
-See_—or lake of Constance, to the Vorarlberg.
-
-
- CHANGING SCENES AND THOUGHTS.
-
-We passed some time in Switzerland, wandering from place to place, and
-never remaining for above a few months in any. Though not very rich, we
-were never in want of money; but it seemed to me that Father Bonneville
-protracted his stay occasionally in different towns, waiting the arrival
-of letters, and I concluded—having now acquired some knowledge of the
-general affairs of life—that these letters contained remittances.
-Whence they came, or by whom they were sent, I did not know; for Father
-Bonneville transacted all his money affairs himself, but at the age of
-sixteen he began to make me a regular allowance, too much for what is
-usually called pocket-money, and enough to have maintained me in a
-humble mode of life, even if he had not paid the whole expenses of
-housekeeping. With this money, at first, I committed, as I suppose all
-boys do, a great number of follies and extravagancies. I bought myself a
-Swiss rifle, and became a practiced shot, not only in the
-target-grounds, but upon the mountains, and Father Bonneville, seeming
-now to judge that the education of my mind was nearly completed,
-encouraged me to pursue that education of the body in which the good old
-man was unable himself to be my instructor. The Swiss hunters, however,
-were good enough teachers, and I acquired powers of endurance very
-serviceable to me in after life. About this period, however, although I
-was full of active energy, and fond of every robust exercise, a new and
-softening spirit seemed to come into my heart. Vague dreams of love took
-possession of me, and pretty faces and bright eyes produced strange
-sensations in my young bosom. I became somewhat sentimental, bought
-Rosseau’s _nouvelle Heloise_, and poured over its burning, enthusiastic
-pages with infinite delight. The beautiful scenery, which before had
-only attracted my attention by the effect of the forms and coloring upon
-the eye of one naturally fond of the arts, now seemed invested with new
-splendor, and the very air of the mountains fell with a sort of dreamy
-light, streaming from my own imaginations. I peopled the glens and dells
-with fair forms. I walked over the mountain-tops with beautiful
-creations of fancy. My daily thoughts became a sort of romance, and many
-a strange scene was enacted before the eyes of imagination in which I
-myself always took some part, as the lover, the deliverer, or the hero.
-
-Was my little Mariette forgotten all this time? Oh no! Although I could
-not give her features or her look to the pretty girls of the Canton with
-whom from time to time I dallied, yet I pleased myself by fancying that
-there was some trait of Mariette in each of them, and I do not recollect
-fancy ever having presented me with a heroine for my dreams in whose
-fair face the beautiful, liquid eyes of Mariette did not shine out upon
-me with looks of love.
-
-I do not believe that amongst all the many books which have been written
-to corrupt the heart of man—and they are ten times in number, I fear,
-those which have been written to improve it—there is one to be found so
-dangerous to youth as the works of Rousseau. The vivid richness of his
-imagination, the strong enthusiasms of the man, and the indefinite
-insinuation of pernicious doctrines can be only safely encountered by
-reason in its full vigor, aided by experience. I happily escaped the
-contamination, but it was by no powers of my own. Father Bonneville
-found Rousseau lying on my table, and when I returned from one of my
-long rambles he sat down to discuss with me both the character of the
-man, and the tendency of his writings. He showed no heat, no vehement
-disapprobation of the subject of my study; but he calmly and quietly,
-and with a clearness and force of mind I have seldom seen equaled,
-examined the doctrines, dissected the arguments, tore away the
-glittering veils with which vice, and selfishness, and vanity are
-concealed, and left with too strong a feeling of disgust for the
-unprincipled author, for my admiration of his style and powers of
-imagination ever to seduce me again. I felt ashamed of what I had done,
-and when the good Father closed the book which he had been commenting
-upon, I rose, exclaiming, “I will never read any more of his works
-again.”
-
-“Not so, Louis,” replied the good Father. “Do not read his works at
-present. Pause till you are thirty. Your reason may be active, and I
-believe it is; but the mind, like the body, only acquires its full vigor
-after a long period of regular exercise and training. You will soon have
-to mingle largely with the world, to share in its struggles, to taste
-its sorrows, and to encounter its disappointments. You will see much of
-man and his actions. Mark them well. Trace them back to their causes.
-Follow them out to their consequences. It is a study never begun too
-soon, and about five or six-and-twenty, men who wish to found virtue
-upon reason, apply the lessons they have thus learned to their own
-hearts. If you do this, wisely and systematically, neither the works of
-Rousseau, nor of any other man will do you any harm. But here is another
-thing I wish to say to you, Louis. The income that is allowed you is
-intended to give you some means of practically learning to regulate your
-expenditure—to teach you, in fact, the value of money. This is a branch
-of study as well as every thing else, and each young man has to master
-it. At first, when he possesses money, his natural desire is to spend it
-upon something that he fancies will give him pleasure; it matters not
-what; and when he has wasted numerous small sums upon trifles which
-afford him no real satisfaction, he finds that there is some object far
-more desirable, which he has not left himself the means of obtaining.
-Then comes regret, and it is very salutary; for when the experiment has
-been frequently repeated, reason arrives at a conclusion, applicable,
-not only to the mere expenditure of money, but to the use of all man’s
-possessions, including the faculties both of mind and body. The
-conclusion I mean, is, that small enjoyments often kill great ones.”
-
-That evening’s conversation I shall never forget. It afforded me much
-matter for thought at the time, and I have recurred to it frequently
-since.
-
-Another little picture stands forth about this time, clear and distinct
-upon the canvas of memory, and I strongly suspect that the fact I am
-about to mention had a great influence on my after life.
-
-We were then at Zurich, and I had been out on one summer evening for a
-long ramble through the hills. When I re-entered the town, it was dark,
-and going into the house of which we rented a part, I found a stranger
-sitting with Father Bonneville. He was a very remarkable man, and you
-could not even look at him for a moment without being struck by his
-appearance. His dress was exceedingly plain, consisting of a large,
-black, horseman’s coat, with a small cape to it, and a pair of high
-riding-boots; and round his neck he had a white cravat of very many
-folds, tied in a large bow in front. He was tall and well-proportioned,
-and of the middle age; but his head was the finest I think I ever
-beheld, and his face a perfect model of manly beauty. I shall never
-forget his eye—that eye so soon after to be closed in death. There was
-a calm intensity in it—a bright, searching, peculiar lustre which
-seemed to shed a light upon whatever it turned to; and when, as I
-entered the room, it fixed tranquilly on me, and seemed to read my face
-as if it were a book, the color mounted into my cheek I know not why. He
-remained for nearly an hour after my arrival, conversing with my good
-old friend and myself in a strain of sweet but powerful eloquence, such
-as I have never heard equaled. During a part of the time the subject was
-religion, and his opinions, though very strong and decided, were
-expressed with gentleness and forbearance; for he and Father Bonneville
-differed very considerably. The stranger, indeed, seemed to have the
-best of the argument, and I think Father Bonneville felt it too; for he
-became as warm as his gentle nature would permit. In the end, however,
-the stranger rose, and laid his hand kindly in that of the good priest.
-“Read, my good friend,” he said. “Read. Such a mind as yours should not
-shut out one ray of light which God himself has given to guide us on our
-way. We both appeal to the same book as the foundation of our faith, and
-no man can study it too much. From the benefit I myself have received
-from every word that it contains, I should feel, even were there not a
-thousand other motives for such a conclusion, that there is something
-wrong in that system of religion which can shut the great store-house of
-light and truth against the people for whose benefit it was provided.”
-
-The moment he was gone I exclaimed eagerly, “Who is that?”
-
-“One of the best and greatest men in the world,” replied Father
-Bonneville, “That is Lavater.”
-
-I would fain have asked more questions, but good Father Bonneville was
-evidently not in a mood for further conversation that night. The visit
-of Lavater had pleased him—had interested him; but things had been said
-while it lasted which had afforded him matter for deep thought—nay, I
-am not sure but I might say, painful thought. I could tell quite well by
-his aspect when there was any vehement struggle going on in the good
-man’s mind, and from all I saw I thought that such was the case now.
-
-A few days after, he went to call upon Lavater, who was living in the
-same town, but he did not take me with him. Lavater came again and again
-to see him, and they had long conversations together, at some of which I
-was present, at others not; and still there seemed to be a struggle in
-Father Bonneville’s mind. He was very grave and silent, though as kind
-and as gentle as ever—fell often into deep reveries, and sometimes did
-not hear when I spoke to him. At length, one day, when I returned
-somewhat earlier than usual from my afternoon rambles, I found him bent
-over a table reading attentively, and coming in front of him, I
-perceived not only that the tears were in his eyes, but that some of
-them had dropped upon the page. He did not at all attempt to conceal his
-emotion, but wiped his eyes and spectacles deliberately, and then laying
-his hand flat upon the page, he looked into my face, saying, “Louis, you
-must read this book; let men say what they will, it was written for
-man’s instruction—for his happiness—for his salvation. It contains all
-that is necessary for him; and beyond this, there is nothing.”
-
-I looked over his shoulder and found that it was the Bible. “I thought I
-had read it long ago,” added Father Bonneville, “but I now find that I
-have never read it half enough.”
-
-“I will read it very willingly, Father,” I replied, “but Father Mezieres
-to whom you sent me preparatory to my first communion, told me, that if
-not an actual sin, it was great presumption in a layman to read any part
-of it but the New Testament.”
-
-“Mind not that, my son,” replied Father Bonneville. “It is hard to
-struggle with old prejudices; to root out from our minds ideas planted
-in our youth, which have grown with our growth and strengthened with our
-strength. But in this book there is life, there is light, and God forbid
-that any man should be prevented from drinking the waters of life
-freely.”
-
-A faint smile came upon his face as he spoke, and after a moment’s
-pause, he continued, saying, “Do you know, Louis, I am going to become a
-boy again, and recommence my studies from a new point. Some months hence
-I will talk with you further, and every day in the mean time I will have
-my lesson.”
-
-He had his lesson, as he said, each day; for he would sit for hours
-poring over either the pages of the Bible or some book of theology; but
-from that day I am quite sure that Father Bonneville was, at heart, a
-Protestant.
-
-There is only one other incident worthy of notice which I remember in
-connection with the events of which I have just spoken. That was our
-separation from good Jeanette, who had hitherto been the companion of
-all our travels. For more than a month after our arrival in Zurich I
-remarked that she looked anxious and uneasy. She said nothing on the
-subject of her own feelings, however, to me, but was less communicative
-and more thoughtful than usual, would be in the same room with me for a
-long time without speaking one word to him who was I knew the darling of
-her heart, and was more than once spoken to without appearing to hear.
-
-At length one day when I entered Father Bonneville’s room I found her
-standing before him; and heard her say as I came in, “I must go and see
-my lady. I am sure she is ill and wants help. I must go and see her. I
-have done nothing but dream of her every night.”
-
-“Well, Jeanette, well,” replied he, “you must have your way; but you
-know not what you undertake. At all events you had better stay till some
-favorable opportunity can be found for sending you in safety.”
-
-Jeanette only shook her head, however, repeating in a low voice, “I must
-go and see my lady.”
-
-She remained with us two days after this interview, and I recollect
-quite well her coming into my room one night just as I was going to bed,
-and looking at me very earnestly, while I, with sportsman-like care, was
-cleaning my rifle ere I lay down.
-
-“Ah, Monsieur Louis,” she said in a somewhat sad tone, “you are growing
-a man quite fast, and I dare say, you will soon be a soldier; but do not
-get into any of their bad ways here; and never, never forget your
-religion. They turn older and wiser heads than yours or mine; but do not
-let them turn yours.”
-
-“No fear, I hope, Jeanette,” I answered; “but what do you want, my dear
-old dame?”
-
-“Nothing, nothing, but only to see what you are doing,” she replied. “I
-see your light burning often late of nights, and I thought you might be
-reading bad books that craze many strong brains. Better clean a gun by
-far, Louis—only never forget your religion.”
-
-I smiled at her anxious care of one no longer a boy, little thinking
-that I was so soon to lose one so closely connected with every memory of
-my youth, but when I rose the next morning somewhat later than usual,
-Jeanette was gone; and all I could learn from Father Bonneville was that
-she had set out upon a long and difficult journey, the thought of which
-gave him much uneasiness.
-
-
- THE PLEASURES OF BATTLE.[4]
-
- • • • • • • •
-
-I was coming down the hill, and about five miles distant from the town,
-but my eyes had been rendered more keen by my hunter’s sports, and I was
-quite sure that it was so. The glittering of arms, both upon the heights
-above the city, and in the valley on the other side of the river, was
-perfectly distinct. Yet so still and silent was every thing, that I
-could hardly believe two hostile armies were there in presence of each
-other. Not a sound broke the stillness of the mountain air. No trumpet,
-no drum was heard at that moment; and my companion, Karl, would not
-believe that what I said was true. Soon after, we dipped into one of
-those profound wooded ravines which score the side of the mountains, and
-the scene was lost to our sight; but as we crossed over one of the
-shoulders of the hill again, and were forced to rise a little, in order
-to descend still farther, the loud boom of a cannon came echoing through
-the gorges, like a short and distant clap of thunder. The moment after,
-the full roar of a whole park of artillery was heard, shaking the hills
-around; and when we topped the height, we could see a dense cloud of
-bluish smoke rolling along to well-defined lines below.
-
-Karl paused abruptly, saying, “We are well here, Louis. Better stay till
-it is over. We can help neither party, and shall only get our heads
-broke.”
-
-Such reasoning was good enough for him—an orphan and tieless as he
-was—a mere child of the mountain; but I thought of good Father
-Bonneville, and told him, at once, that I should go on, and why. He
-would then fain have gone with me; but I would not suffer him; and
-leaving the chamois with him, I hurried as rapidly down as I could,
-taking many a bold leap, and many a desperate plunge, while the sound of
-cannon and musketry kept ringing in my ears, till I reached a spot where
-it was absolutely necessary to pause, and consider what was to be done
-next. I had come unexpectedly, not exactly into the midst of the battle
-that was going on, but to a point near that at which on the right of the
-French line, a strong body of infantry were pushing forward with fixed
-bayonets against an earthwork cresting the plateau, well defended by
-cannon. The guns were thundering upon the advancing column at the
-distance of about three hundred yards upon my left, and the Austrian
-infantry were already within a hundred paces of the steep ascent, along
-the face of which my path led toward the town. I was myself upon a
-pinnacle of the hill, a little above either party, and my only chance of
-making my way forward, was by taking a leap of some ten feet down, to a
-spot where a _sapin_ started from the bold rock, and thence by a small
-circuit, getting into the rear of the Austrian infantry. It was a rash
-attempt; for if I missed my footing on the roots of the tree, I was sure
-to be dashed to pieces; and I was somewhat incumbered by my rifle. I
-took the risk, however, and succeeded; and then hurried forward as fast
-as I could go. But now a new danger was before me—to say nothing of the
-murderous fire from the French battery—for by the time I had reached
-the point from which I could best pass into the suburb, the Austrian
-infantry had been repulsed for the moment, and were retreating in great
-confusion. I know not how to describe my feelings at that moment—afraid
-I certainly was not; but I felt my head turn with the wild bustle and
-indistinct activity of the scene. A number of men passed me, running in
-utter disarray. An officer galloped after them, shouting and commanding,
-for some time, in vain. At length, however, he succeeded in rallying
-them, just as I was passing along. The moment they were once more
-formed, he turned his eyes to the front, where another regiment, or part
-of a regiment, had been already rallied, and seeing me at some forty
-yards distance, he spurred on and asked me, in German, whether there was
-a way up the steep to the left of the line. Luckily, I spoke the
-language fluently, and replied that there was, pointing out to him the
-path by which I usually descended. Without paying any further attention
-to me, he hurried back to the head of his corps, and I ran on as fast as
-possible to get out of the way of the next charge. There was a little
-bridge which I had to pass, where not more than four or five men could
-go abreast, and over it a small body of Austrians were forcing their
-way, at the point of the bayonet, against a somewhat superior party of
-the French troops, who, in fact, were willing enough to retreat, seeing
-that a considerable impression had been made upon their right, and that
-they were likely to be cut off. At the same time, however, they would
-not be driven back without resistance, and several men fell. I followed
-impulsively the rear of the Austrians, where I observed one or two of
-the Swiss hunters appareled very much like myself, who were using their
-rifles, with deadly effect, amongst the officers of the Republican army;
-nor was it to be wondered at, after all that had happened. I could not,
-however, bring myself to give any assistance, and kept my gun under my
-arm, with the belt twisted round my wrist.
-
-As soon as the bridge was forced, the Austrians debouched upon the
-ground beyond with greater rapidity and precision than the French seemed
-to expect; and while their right retreated in tolerable order toward the
-heights, their left scattered in confusion, and sought refuge in the
-suburbs of the town. I took the same direction, and the first little
-street I entered was so crowded with fugitives, comprising a number of
-the townspeople, who, looking forth to see the battle, had been taken by
-surprise on the sudden rush of the French soldiers in that direction,
-that it was impossible to pass; and although I saw a sort of tumult
-going on before me, and heard a gun or two fire, I turned away down the
-first narrow street, only eager to be with my good preceptor, who lived
-in a little street beyond the third turning.
-
-When I entered that street, the sun, a good deal declined, poured
-straight down it, and I could see two or three groups of not more than
-two or three persons in each, with the dress of the Republican French
-soldier conspicuous here and there. I ran on eagerly, and passed three
-persons all apparently struggling together. One was a woman, another a
-French soldier, and the third, who had his back toward me, so that I
-could not see his face, was endeavoring to protect the woman from
-violence, and seemed to me, in figure, very like Lavater. I should have
-certainly stopped to aid him; but there was another scene going on a
-little in advance, which left me no time to think of any thing else; but
-the moment I had passed, I heard a shot behind me, and then a deep
-groan.
-
-I gave it no thought; for within a stone’s throw I beheld an old man
-whose face and figure I knew well, brutally assaulted by one of the
-soldiers, and falling on his knees, under a blow from the butt-end of a
-musket. The next instant, the soldier—if such a brute deserved the
-name—drew back the weapon, and ere I could have reached the spot, the
-bayonet would have been through Father Bonneville’s body. I sent a
-messenger of swifter pace to stop the deed. In an instant the rifle was
-at my shoulder, and before I well knew that I touched the trigger, the
-Frenchman sprang more than a foot from the ground, and fell dead with
-the ball through his head.
-
-I paused not to think—to ask myself what I had done—to consider what
-it is to take a human life, or to fight against one’s countrymen. I only
-thought of good, kind, gentle Father Bonneville, and springing forward,
-I raised him from the ground. He was bleeding from the blow on the
-forehead, but did not seem much hurt, and only bewildered and confused.
-
-“Quick, into the house, good Father,” I cried. “Shut the lower windows
-and lock the door.”
-
-“Oh, my son, my son!” he exclaimed, looking at me wildly, “do not mingle
-in this strife!”
-
-“Lavater is behind,” I said; “I must hasten to help him. Go in, and I
-will join you in an instant.”
-
-“Did you do that?” he inquired, looking at the dead soldier, and then at
-the rifle in my hand.
-
-“I did,” I answered, in a firmer tone than might have been expected,
-“and he deserved his fate. But go in, dear Father. I will return in a
-moment.”
-
-I led him toward the door as I spoke, and saw him enter the house; and
-then ran up the street to the spot where I had seen the struggle I have
-mentioned. Two dead bodies were lying on the pavement. One was that of a
-young woman of the lower class, fallen partly on her side, with a
-bayonet-wound in the chest. The other was that of a man dressed in
-black, who had fallen forward on his face. I turned him over, and beheld
-the features of Lavater; I took his hand, and the touch showed me that
-death was there.
-
-I had knelt while doing this, when a sudden sound made me attempt to
-rise—but I could not do so; for, while still upon my knee, I was struck
-by the feet of two or three men, cast back upon the ground, and trampled
-under foot by a number of Austrians in full flight. Every thing became
-dark and confused. I saw the long gaiters, and caught a glance of arms
-and accoutrements, and felt heavy feet set upon my chest, and on my
-head—and then all was night.
-
-Although the weather was hot, and summer at its height, in that high
-mountain region the night was almost invariably cool. Probably that
-circumstance saved my life; for I must have remained, I know, several
-hours on the pavement untended, and perhaps unnoticed by any one. When I
-recovered my senses, it was nearly midnight, and then I found several
-good souls around me. One woman was bathing my head and chest with cold
-water, while a man supported my shoulders upon his knee. The first
-objects I saw, however, were three or four persons moving the body of
-the woman, near whom I had fallen, to a small hand-bier. The body of
-Lavater was already gone.
-
-“Look, look, he opens his eyes!” cried the woman who was tending me so
-kindly. “Poor lad! we shall get him round! Where will you be taken to,
-young man?”
-
-I named faintly the house where we lodged, and then another woman, who
-was standing by, exclaimed, “Heaven! it is young Lassi! Better take him
-to the hospital.”
-
-I tried in vain to inquire after Father Bonneville; for a faint,
-death-like sensation came over me, and I was obliged to let them do what
-they pleased with me. A blanket was soon procured, and placed in it, as
-in a hammock, I was carried up into the higher part of the town to the
-hospital, and there laid upon a bed, in a ward where some hundreds of
-wounded men were already congregated. A surgeon, with his hands bloody,
-an apron on, and a saw under his arm, soon came to me, and asked where I
-was wounded. I endeavored to answer, but could not make myself
-intelligible; and putting down the saw, he ordered me to be stripped,
-and examined me all over. Two of my ribs, it seemed had been broken, and
-my head terribly beaten about. Indeed, I was one general bruise. But my
-limbs were all sound, and in four or five days, although I suffered a
-great deal of pain, and the scenes which were going on around me were
-not calculated to revive the spirits of any one, I was sufficiently
-recovered to make inquiries for Father Bonneville, whenever I saw a new
-face, and to send a message for him to the house where we lodged, giving
-him notice that I was to be found at the hospital.
-
-Father Bonneville himself did not appear, but our landlord came in his
-stead—a good, plain, honest man, of a kindly disposition. He told me,
-much to my consternation, that my good friend, as he called him, had
-been carried off as a prisoner by the Austrians, after they got
-possession of the town; that he was suspected of being one of the French
-Revolutionary Agents, and that most likely he would have been hanged at
-once, without the testimony of himself, our landlord, who had come
-forward to prove that he was a quiet, inoffensive man, who meddled not
-with politics in any shape, and would have gladly got out of the town,
-after the French occupation, had it been possible. This saved his life
-for the time; but the only favor that could be obtained was that the
-case should be reserved for further investigation. At the time he was
-carried away, Father Bonneville was perfectly ignorant of my fate, the
-landlord said, and feared that I had been killed. The good man, however,
-promised that he would make every inquiry for my friend, and urged me,
-in the meantime, to have myself carried to his house as soon as
-possible. For more than a fortnight, during which time I was unable to
-quit the hospital, he came every day to see me, but brought no
-intelligence of Father Bonneville. At length he had me removed to his
-own house, and there he, and his good old wife, attended upon me with
-great kindness till I was quite well.
-
-As soon as I could move about, the landlord told me that Monsieur
-Charlier, as he called him, had left with him a hundred louis d’ors for
-me, in case of my return. “And lucky he did so,” added the old
-gentleman, “for the Austrians ransacked every thing in both your rooms,
-upon the pretence of searching for papers, and left not a bit of silver
-worth a batz that they could lay their hands upon.”
-
-Days passed—weeks, and yet no tidings could be obtained of good Father
-Bonneville; and thus was I left, ere I had reached the age of nineteen,
-to make a way for myself in life, with a small store of clothing, a few
-books, a ride, and one hundred louis.
-
- [_To be continued._
-
------
-
-[4] Part of the manuscript, extending from page 56 to 61 is here
-wanting. As far us I can judge, the deficiency refers to a period of
-about 5 or 6 months, and I think the pages must have been destroyed by
-the writer
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- A CHARM.
-
-
- BY A. J. REQUIER.
-
-
- I know not why a touch can thrill
- The soul, till it doth seem
- A single drop would overfill
- Her pleasurable dream.
-
- I know not, yet such moments are
- Of measureless delight,
- When fancy flashes, as a star
- That falleth through the night!
-
- A weary night, a solemn night,
- Is Life, so stern and slow,
- And gentle forms like thine, the light
- Which guides us as we go.
-
- Then, say not, maiden—never say
- Thy heart in like the snow,
- Thine eyes have far too fond a ray,
- That we should deem it so.
-
- I, too, have sought, with studied art.
- To stay the tides that speak,
- But still, the struggle at my heart
- Was written on my cheek.
-
- And now, my tuneless measure talks
- One of the lonely lays
- Which haunt my spirit when it walks
- The melancholy ways.
-
- I sing, and singing dwell on thee—
- The Pilgrim of a Star!
- Who, straining, deems he yet can see
- Some solace, though afar.
-
- Oh! in such times my harp will break
- Forth in a fleeting tone,
- But, ere its echo dies, I wake,
- To find—I am alone!
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- LIFE’S VOYAGE.
-
-
- BY TH. GREGG.
-
-
- A gallant bark is wildly tossing
- Upon the briny wave,
- Freighted deep with human treasure—
- With earnest hearts and brave.
- For many a day that bark is rolling
- Over the trackless sea;
- For many a day those hearts are beating—
- Are beating to be free!
-
- At length the shore is dimly looming
- On the horizon’s verge,
- When that frail vessel boldly plunges
- Unto the boiling surge.
- A moment—and the ship is stranded!—
- A number gain the shore—
- Whilst others ’neath the boiling billows
- Sink down for evermore!
-
- ’Tis thus Life’s waves are ever bearing
- Our fragile bark along—
- Whether freighted with Sin and Sorrow
- Or joyous Mirth and Song:
- And thus the surges are ever beating
- Against the wreck-strewn strand
- That stays the tide of Life’s rough Ocean
- And bounds the Spirit-Land!
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- MILTON.[5]
-
-
- BY B. H. BREWSTER.
-
-
-We have had lying on our table, for some years, this beautiful edition
-of Milton’s Select Prose Works, and we have often, while reading it,
-resolved to set about that which we have at last attempted. But we have
-been deterred not more by the importance of the subject, than by the
-recollection of the great spirits who have already earned rich harvests
-of applause in this field. The article by Mr. Macaulay, published in the
-Edinburgh Review, would seem to forbid further comment, where the critic
-has left his reader in doubt which most to admire, the splendor of his
-criticism, or the lofty grandeur of his original. Then, too, Mr. St.
-John, the editor of these neat and elegant volumes, has given a
-preliminary discourse, which displays a keen and warm admiration for
-these writings, expressed, in a fervid strain of noble eloquence, which
-inspires that gentle apprehension for the “bright countenance of truth,”
-so soothing “in the quiet and still air of delightful studies.”
-
-In a fine London edition of the Prose Works of John Milton, published in
-the year 1838, there is a well written review by the editor, Mr. Robert
-Fletcher, in which he laments that some effort had not before been made
-to “popularize, in a _multum in parvo_ shape, the prose works of our
-great poet.” We have here an edition that completes his desires; an
-edition in which great judgment has been exercised in selecting, from
-various tracts, those portions likely to prove most agreeable to the
-public. While they give a proper conception of the opinions of Milton,
-they also contain some of the purest specimens of his style. Indeed, we
-think that some one of our own publishing houses would find it to their
-interest to bring out an edition of this work. The nice taste and the
-correct discrimination displayed in this selection would command for it
-a ready sale. It would be of great use to many, who know nothing of
-these writings, and of service to some, who, while they know of them,
-yet neglect and turn away from these rich well-springs of truth.
-
-Like all great messengers, Milton was, while living, persecuted, and
-since his death has been the object of malignant hatred, by those whose
-place of abiding is fast by the “seat of the scorner.” He whose “words
-are oracles for mankind, whose love embraces all countries, and whose
-voice sounds through all ages,” has been slighted, misrepresented,
-abused, and reviled by those whose greatest glory should have been, that
-they were the countrymen of Milton—not Milton the poet—but Milton the
-statesman. He who wielded a pen that made Europe quake, and perpetuated
-political truths based upon eternal justice—truths that were to warm
-and kindle up mankind forever after in the pursuit of right against
-might.
-
-Before we approach these fountains of living light, let us turn and see
-how it was that he, who had been educated in seclusion, and mingled with
-the scholars, the gentle and well-bred in his youth, did desert all, and
-peril his life in the wild tumult and hot strife of religious and
-political dissension, only that he might bear witness to the light that
-was in him.
-
-John Milton was the son of John Milton, a scrivener of good repute, in
-the city of London. He was born in the year 1608, and was carefully
-educated under the supervision of his father, who was a man of refined
-taste. He was destined for the Church, and gave great promise of
-eminence; for he was an assiduous and diligent youth, and was noted for
-his complete learning and elegant scholarship, at the University of
-Cambridge, where he obtained his degrees. But he declined to take
-orders, and refused to subscribe to the articles of faith, considering
-that so doing was subscribing, slave.
-
-In thus early displaying his independence of opinion in his religious
-belief, he did but follow the example set him by his father, while he
-obeyed the honest impulse of his nature; for his father had been
-disinherited by his grandfather for deserting the Roman Catholic faith.
-
-Shortly after he left the University he retired into the country with
-his father, who had then relinquished business with a handsome estate;
-and while there he continued his studies, selecting no particular
-profession, but devoting himself to the cultivation of all.
-
-It was in these years of sweet scholastic solitude, that he produced his
-Mask of Comus, than which there is not a nobler poem in any language.
-This brought him great fame among the polite and refined of the day, and
-was widely circulated for a while in manuscript; so that when he started
-on his travels soon after this, (which was in 1638,) he carried with him
-letters commanding, in his behalf, attention from the most eminent men
-of the Continent.
-
-He went first to France, and while in Paris was introduced by Lord
-Scudamore, the English ambassador, to Hugo Grotius, with whom he had a
-very interesting interview. From Paris he went into Italy, and coming to
-Florence, in that city he mingled freely with the refined and learned,
-and, by the elegant displays of his own accomplishments and learning,
-won the admiration and regard of all. The scholars and wits of that
-place vied with one another in entertaining him, and celebrated his many
-merits in their compositions.
-
-With many of those brilliant spirits of that favored land he formed an
-intimacy, which was continued for years after his return home, as we
-find by his familiar letters. From Florence he traveled to Rome, and was
-there again treated with marked kindness and attention by Lucas
-Holstensius, the librarian of the Vatican, the Cardinal Barberino, and
-other persons of distinction in that famous city. From Rome he proceeded
-to Naples, and there made the friendship of the Marquis of Villa, a man
-of “singular merit and virtue,” and who was afterward celebrated by
-Milton in a poem, as he had been by Tasso, in his Jerusalem Delivered,
-and his Dialogue on Friendship. Happy and fortunate lot! thus to be the
-object of regard, and to have his merits recorded, and his virtues
-enshrined, for the admiration of posterity, in the works of these great
-poetic minds!
-
-He had intended, after having thus visited the finest parts of Italy, to
-go over into Sicily, and thence to Greece; but the news from England of
-the difficulties between the Parliament and the King changed his mind,
-and he determined to return home, to mingle with his countrymen in their
-toil for freedom, thinking it unworthy of him to be loitering away his
-time in luxurious ease, while his native land was distracted, and his
-fellow men at home were battling in fierce strife for liberty.
-
-He returned to Rome, notwithstanding the desire of his friends that he
-should remain away; for by the freedom of his speech when there he had
-aroused the vindictive feelings of many of his hearers. And to this he
-was no doubt provoked by having himself seen the dreadful persecution
-undergone in the prison of the Inquisition, by one of the finest
-scientific minds the world ever knew—by Galileo—whom he visited when
-imprisoned for asserting the motion of the earth, and opposing the old
-notions of the Dominicans and Franciscans.
-
-From Rome he went to Florence; and after being there a while he went to
-Venice, and from that port he shipped his books and music for England.
-He then took his route by Verona and Milan, and along the lake of Leman
-to Geneva; and thence he returned through France the same way he came,
-and arrived safe in England after an absence of one year and three
-months, “having seen more, learned more, and conversed with more famous
-men, and made more real improvement than most others in double the
-time.”
-
-On his return home, he again devoted himself to the solitude of his
-study, and to the teaching of several youths (among whom were his
-nephews) who were intrusted to his care; and in his own house he formed
-quite an academic institute, where his scholars, like the disciples of
-the philosophers of old, gathered around him, and by assiduity added to
-their stores of knowledge, while with his advice and counsel they were
-purifying and elevating their feelings.
-
-In the year 1641, the nation was in great ferment with the religious
-disputes of the day, which were intimately connected with the chief
-political questions then agitated. This roused Milton, who was alive to
-the close association of the two subjects; and for the furtherance of
-his political designs, the support of liberty, he issued a powerful
-tract upon Prelatical Episcopacy. This served to work out a good end,
-and strengthen the cause of the liberalists. For this, as for other
-reasons of a like nature, he was prompted to write several other
-polemical tracts, during that year, and then he dropped the subject
-forever.
-
-In 1643 he married, being then thirty-five years old. After a month his
-wife, by his permission, went to visit her relations; and when sent for
-by him—for reasons which are as yet unexplained—she refused to return,
-and dismissed his messenger with contempt.
-
-He was deeply wounded by this treatment, and maintained toward her a
-dignified and resolute indifference. Mortified, and full of sorrow, he
-found relief in the contemplation of his very source of wo; and after
-reflection upon it, he projected and published his work upon Divorce,
-which is to this day one of the most famous works on the subject ever
-printed.
-
-Affairs had now assumed a new aspect, and the Presbyterian party had,
-after a great struggle with Royalty, gained the ascendency, and then
-ruled supreme in the councils of the nation.
-
-The King and his abettors were fighting in the field for that authority,
-they had before vainly endeavored to establish with the arm of civil
-power. The Presbyterians were now in their day of prosperity; they had
-been oppressed but were now triumphant. Adversity had not been of use to
-them. They did not learn charity, or humanity, from her lessons, but now
-exercised authority with a lordly air, and wielded the sword of State
-with presumptuous arrogance. Among other acts of great inconsistency and
-oppression, they established a supervision of the press under the
-control of an authorized licenser, and at the same time endeavored to
-suppress the freedom of speech. This base desertion of the principles
-for which they had contended, this mean exercise of authority in that,
-in which they had suffered the most, and against which they had clamored
-the loudest, excited Milton to the writing of the Areopagitica. This
-pamphlet was written by him upon this shameful abuse. He had before
-acted in concert with them, as the movement party of the day; but when
-they abandoned and treasonably betrayed the rights of Man, they left him
-where he had always been, standing on the rock of truth fast by his
-principles.
-
-There is not a nobler vindication of the freedom of speech, and the
-liberty of the press, to be found any where, than in this pamphlet.
-
-This book was published in 1644, and in this year he was reconciled to
-his wife, who sought him out, and unexpectedly to him fell at his feet,
-and with tears besought his love and forgiveness. In this, as in other
-instances, have we a strong evidence of the mildness and gentleness of
-his feelings; for although his resentment had been aroused by her wicked
-abandonment of him, yet when she returned home, repentant and in sorrow,
-he joyfully received her, and forgave all. Nay more, when defeat and
-route had fallen upon the royal standard, he generously took home her
-father, and his whole family—who were attached to the cause of the
-monarchy—protected them during the heat of his party triumph, and
-finally interested himself to secure their estates from confiscation,
-although they had in their days of prosperity prompted his wife to her
-disobedience and desertion of her republican husband; thus showing a
-high-heartedness which was above malice, and in keeping with and but a
-practical domestic application of the pure, upright faith professed by
-him, which was stern and unyielding in the pursuits of right, but humane
-and gentle in the use of power and advantage.
-
-He was now an eminent man, and his bold pen had won for him a public
-fame and name. About this time he was well-nigh being swept into the mid
-current of popular politics, and it was contemplated making him the
-adjutant general, under Sir William Waller; but this design was
-abandoned upon the remodeling of the army, and he was left at his
-studies.
-
-The king was imprisoned and tried, and then it was that the true faith
-and intentions of many were made clear. The Presbyterian party, who had
-professed democratic republicanism, while their hopes of office were
-high—like many in our own days, who, when they have attained their
-hopes, or been rejected by the people for better men, desert their
-cause, abandon their principles, while they hold on to their name, and
-fight under their old banners, that they may more surely but more basely
-injure truth—being now in the minority and out of power, became noisy
-in their lamentations over the king’s fate, and endeavored by every
-means to prevent his execution, using all arguments, and stopping at
-nothing to undo what they themselves had brought about. For when they
-found that there was an unflinching determination of the democracy to
-punish this man for his enormities and wicked misgovernment.
-
-“They who”—to use Milton’s language—“had been fiercest against their
-prince, under the notion of a tyrant, and no mean incendiaries of the
-war against him, when God out of his providence and high disposal hath
-delivered him into the hands of their brethren, on a sudden and in a new
-garb of allegiance, which their doings have long since concealed, they
-plead for him, pity him, extol him, and protest against those who talk
-of bringing him to the trial of justice, which is the sword of God,
-superior to all mortal things, in whose hand soever, by apparent signs,
-his testified will is to put it.”
-
-Upon the happening of this event, Milton published his “Tenure of
-Kings,” from which is quoted the above passage, so applicable in its
-spirit to our own times, so true of all political trucksters, who shout
-loudly for the democracy, while they have hopes of using and abusing it,
-but who basely betray its confidence and abandon it, whenever they are
-required to put in practice their own professions. This book was
-published 1649, and served very much to tranquilize and calm the public
-mind upon that which had passed.
-
-After the establishment of the Commonwealth, he was called to the post
-of Latin Secretary, by the Council of State, which station he held till
-the Restoration. This was an office of great importance, inasmuch as all
-the public correspondence with foreign States devolved upon him. While
-holding this high and honorable public station, one so congenial with
-his feelings, and one for which he was so well fitted, he produced many
-state papers of great merit, and which contributed to advance the fame
-of the republic abroad.
-
-Upon the execution of Charles Stuart, there was published a book which
-was styled “Eikōn Basilikē,” and which was pretended to have been
-written by the king, and left by him as a legacy and parting word to the
-world. It had a most unprecedented sale, owing to the curiosity excited
-by its appearance. As it was a work which was then likely to excite
-public sympathy, when public sympathy would be thrown away upon a bad
-and unworthy object, while at the same time it would abuse and mislead
-the public mind, the Parliament called upon Milton to write an answer to
-it, and to furnish an antidote for this lying poison, which it is well
-believed was never written by the king, but was manufactured and
-industriously circulated by the enemies of the people, and the friends
-of arbitrary power, with a hope that by its means they could unsettle
-the public mind, weaken the republic, and reëstablish the tyranny.
-
-Milton accordingly wrote his Eikonoklastes; and truly was he an
-image-breaker; for with merciless force he entered the temple, and with
-his own right arm shattered the idol that they had bid all mankind bow
-down before.
-
-Charles the Second, who was then residing upon the Continent, hired
-Salmasius, a man of great learning, and the successor of the celebrated
-Scaliger, as honorary professor at Leyden, to write a work in defense of
-his father and of the monarchy. For this work Charles paid Salmasius one
-hundred jacobuses. In the execution of this book, Salmasius filled it
-pretty plentifully with insolent abuse of all the public men of the
-Commonwealth, and those prominent in the Revolution; both from a natural
-inclination, and according to directions. In this he was quite expert;
-for though he was a fine scholar and very famed for his learning, yet as
-it has been said of him—“This prince of scholars seemed to have erected
-his throne upon a heap of stones, that he might have them at hand to
-throw at every one’s head who passed by.”
-
-Immediately upon the appearance of this book, the Council of State
-unanimously selected Milton to answer it; and he, in obedience to this
-call, prepared and published his Defense of the People of England, a
-work of great worth and power, and which was written at intervals,
-during the moments snatched from his official duties, when he was
-weakened and infirm. This book was read everywhere. Europe rang with it,
-and wonder at its force filled all minds.
-
-By some it has been said that the Council presented him with £1000 as a
-reward, which was no mean sum in those days of specie circulation. But
-empty thanks were all that he received. Neither this nor any other of
-his writings ever obtained one cent for him from the public purse, as he
-asserts in his Second Defense. While Milton was thus receiving
-attentions from all quarters, it was much otherwise with his arrogant
-opponent; for he suffered not only by the severity of Milton’s reply,
-but was slighted and treated ill by Christiana, Queen of Sweden, who had
-invited him to her court, among other learned men. Upon the reading of
-Milton’s “Defense,” she was so delighted therewith, that her opinion of
-Salmasius changed, and she became indifferent to him, which he
-perceiving, left her court, and retired to Spa, in Germany, where he
-shortly after died of chagrin.
-
-Milton had been for many years suffering from a weakness in his eyes,
-arising out of his severe application to his studies. Year after year
-his sight became more and more dim, until his physicians warned him that
-unless he ceased his continual toil, he would become totally blind. This
-for a while he heeded; but the urgent call made upon him in the
-production of this answer to Salmasius, led him again to
-over-application, and he became wholly blind. Notwithstanding his
-blindness, he still continued the discharge of his official duties, and
-employed his leisure moments in the production of various other
-political tracts, in answer to the many abusive works issued by the
-royalists.
-
-On the death of Oliver Cromwell, and the taking place of the
-difficulties that followed, he wrote a “Letter to a Statesman,”
-[supposed to be General Monk,] in which he gave a brief delineation of a
-“free Commonwealth, easy to be put in practice, and without delay.”
-Finding affairs were growing worse and worse, the people more and more
-unsettled, and that a king was likely to be reëstablished, and the
-Commonwealth subverted, he wrote and published his “Ready and Easy Way
-to Establish a Free Commonwealth, and the Excellence thereof, Compared
-with the Inconveniences and Dangers of admitting Kingship in this
-Nation.” This short paper was published in 1659-60, and even after this
-he published his “Notes on a late Sermon entitled the Fear of God and
-the King, preached at Mercer’s Chapel, on March 25th, 1660, by Dr.
-Matthew Griffith,” the very year, and within a month of the Restoration;
-so that his voice was the last to bear witness against the overthrow of
-liberty and the restoration of tyranny.
-
-Upon the return of Charles, he fled, and lay concealed, during which
-time his books, the Eikonoklastes and “Defense of the People of
-England,” were burned by the common hangman! An indictment was found
-against him, and a warrant for his arrest placed in the hands of the
-sergeant-at-arms. The act of indemnity was passed, and he received the
-benefit of it, and came forth from his concealment, but was arrested,
-and shortly after, by order of the House of Commons, discharged, upon
-his paying the fees to the sergeant-at-arms, who had endeavored to exact
-them from him, which he resisted, and appealed to the House. And thus,
-although a prisoner, he still displayed a determination and resolution
-to oppose that oppression in his own person, against which he had so
-stoutly battled for the whole people.
-
-He now retired from public life forever; and when an offer was afterward
-made to him by the king, to return to his old post of secretary, he
-refused it, although pressed by his wife to accept it, and to her
-entreaties answered thus: “Thou art in the right; you and other women
-would ride in your coach; for me, my aim is to live and die an honest
-man.”
-
-This offer has been denied by Doctor Johnson, in his life of Milton, and
-that, too, without sufficient foundation, for the contradiction is made
-without proof; and when Dr. Newton, in his admirable account of Milton,
-published in his splendid edition of the Poetical Works of Milton,
-confirms it, and asserts that these very words were from Milton’s wife
-only twenty years before the publication of his edition. The Doctor has
-in this, as in other instances, displayed a malicious desire to detract
-from his merits; his envy no doubt being excited by this unbending
-integrity of one, whose political opinions were serious enough in the
-Doctor’s eyes to affect even his merits as a poet. For this, as for
-other offenses, has he received again and again that censure which he so
-richly deserved; but from no one with more force than from Mr. St. John,
-in his able Preliminary Discourse to these volumes. We quote a passage.
-
-“Another sore point with Johnson was, that Milton should be said to have
-rejected, after the Restoration, the place of Latin Secretary to Charles
-the Second. Few men heartily believe in the existence of virtue above
-their own reach. He knew what he would have done under similar
-circumstances; he knew that had he lived during the period of the
-Commonwealth, a similar offer from the Regicides would have met with no
-‘sturdy refusal’ from him; he knew it was in his eyes no sin to accept
-of a pension from one whom he considered an usurper; how, then, could he
-believe, what must have humiliated him in his own esteem, that the old
-blind republican, bending beneath the weight of years and indigence,
-still cherished heroic virtues in his soul, and spurned the offer of a
-tyrant! Oh, but he had filled the same office under Oliver Cromwell!
-
-“Milton regarded ‘Old Noll’ as a greater and better ‘Sylla,’ to whom, in
-the motto to his work against the restoration of kingship, he compares
-him, and evidently hoped to the last, what was always, perhaps, intended
-by the Protector, and understood between them, that as soon as the
-troubles of the times should be properly appeased, he would establish
-the Republic. In this Milton consented to serve with him, not to serve
-him; for Cromwell always professed to be the servant of the people. And
-after all, there was some difference between Cromwell and Charles the
-Second. With the former the author of Paradise Lost had something in
-common; they were both great men, they were both enemies to that remnant
-of feudal barbarism, which, supported by prejudice and ignorance, had
-for ages exerted so fatal an influence over the destinies of their
-country. Minds of such an order—in some things, though not in all,
-resembling—might naturally enough coöperate; for they could respect
-each other. But with what sense of decorum, or reverence for his own
-character, remembering the glorious cause for which he had struggled,
-could Milton have reconciled his conscience to taking office under the
-returned Stuart, to mingle daily with the crowd of atheists who
-blasphemed the Almighty, and with swinish vices debased his Image in the
-polluted chambers of Whitehall. The poet regarded them with contemptuous
-abhorrence; and, if I am not exceedingly mistaken, described them under
-the names of devils, in the court of their patron and inspirer below.
-Besides, even had they possessed the few virtues compatible with
-servitude, it would have been a matter of constant chagrin, of taunt and
-reviling on one side, and silent hatred on the other, to have brought
-together republican and slave in the same bureau, and to have compelled
-a democratic pen to mould correct phrases for a despicable master. So
-far, however, was the biographer from comprehending the character of the
-man whose life he undertook to write, that he seems to have thought it
-an imputation on him, and a circumstance for which it is necessary to
-pity his lot, that the dissolute nobles of the age seldom resorted to
-his humble dwelling! The sentiment is worthy of Salmasius. But was there
-then living a man who would not have been honored by passing under the
-shadow of that roof? by listening to the accents of those inspired lips?
-by being greeted and remembered by him whose slightest commendation was
-immortality? Elijah, or Elisha, or Moses, or David, or Paul of Tarsus,
-would have sat down with Milton and found in him a kindred spirit. But
-the slave of Lady Castlemain, or the traitor Monk, or Rochester, or the
-husband of Miss Hyde, or that Lord Chesterfield, who saw what Hamilton
-describes, and dared not with his sword revenge the insult, might
-forsooth have thought it a piece of condescension to be seen in the
-Delphic Cavern in England, whence proceeded those sacred verses which in
-literature have raised her above all other nations, to the level of
-Greece herself!”
-
-Upon his release from arrest he retired to the obscurity and solitude of
-his own dwelling, where he passed his time in the composition of his
-Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes. During this time
-he also produced a History of Britain, with several other prose works.
-In 1674 he expired, worn out with illness and a life of toil; he died
-without a groan, and so gentle and placid was his departure, that they
-who were round him did not perceive it.
-
-Although all of his political writings were called forth by the events
-that were passing before him, and were for that reason local in their
-immediate application, yet they are so catholic and elemental in their
-spirit, that we can hardly believe that they were written in an age when
-feudal tenures were not abolished, and before any people had as yet
-secured their own freedom.
-
-His Areopagitica was his first political work; and although it was
-written for a special purpose, and with a view to a then existing evil,
-it is still a pamphlet that might very well be published at this day, as
-the declaration of our opinions upon this subject of the liberty of the
-press.
-
-The very motto of the book, taken from Euripides, and translated by
-himself, indicates the whole spirit and intent of it.
-
- “This is true liberty when freeborn men,
- Having to advise the public, may speak free,
- Which he who can, and will, deserves high praise,
- Who neither can, or will, may hold his peace;
- What can be juster in a state than this?”
-
-After discussing the real merits of the question then before him, he
-departs altogether from that topic; and as he always did, generously
-claimed the same right for mankind, that he had sought for Englishmen.
-And then it is he utters this fine sentence, which shows a noble
-enthusiasm in his cause, and a firm belief in its justice. “Give me the
-liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience
-above _all liberties_!”
-
-After this work he wrote his “Tenure of Kings.” The design of this
-pamphlet has been already explained. We may judge of its liberal
-character by these few passages. At first he alludes to the treasonable
-desertion of principles by those, who were then turbulent for the king’s
-release, and who had mainly helped to provoke and carry on the war.
-Afterward he declares this general principle; “No man, who knows aught,
-can be so stupid as to deny that all men naturally _were born free_,
-being the image and resemblance of God himself.” And after this
-proclamation of that essential truth, he proceeds to analyze the history
-of society, and shows by reason, scriptural authority, general history,
-and the universal opinions of mankind, that all government proceeds from
-the people, is created by them for their comfort and good, and is
-subject to their control, whether it be patriarchal, despotic, or
-aristocratic; and that no king or potentate holds by any other authority
-than the consent of the people; which being withdrawn his rule ceases,
-and for his crimes his life may be forfeited—declaring that this must
-be so, “unless the people must be thought created all for him singly,
-which were a kind of treason against the dignity of mankind to affirm.”
-
-And after all this he shows his charity for his fellow men, wherever
-they may be, by saying, “Who knows not that there is a mutual bond of
-amity and brotherhood between man and man all over the world; neither is
-it the English sea that can sever us from that duty and relation.” It is
-this sentiment, and such like this, that demands of us our admiration
-and regard for this purest of men.
-
-In the same manner does he fight the same fight in his Eikonoklastes,
-and “Defense of the English People,” fearlessly breaking new ground in
-behalf of the “Rights of Man,” as if he considered it to be his greatest
-glory to be the champion of his race, while he was defending his
-countrymen.
-
-In the Eikonoklastes, after refuting the many lies uttered by the king’s
-lip-workers, he says, “It is my determination that through me the truth
-shall be spoken, and not smothered, but sent abroad in her native
-confidence of her single self, to earn how she can her entertainment in
-the world, and to find out her own readers.” Hearken then again to his
-words, which now, near two hundred years after they were published, come
-like a solemn and prophetic voice from out the writings of the old,
-blind republican.
-
-“Men are born and created with a better title to their freedom, than any
-king hath to his crown. And liberty of person and right of
-self-preservation is much nearer, and more natural, and more worth to
-all men than the property of their goods and wealth.”
-
-This is _our_ truth, the corner-stone of our faith. Here we stand, and
-alone of nations have made this our practice, and thereby given a
-healthful example to all men. These things he believed, and, for the
-first time for ages, did he announce to the world those truths which
-were to unsettle tyranny and open the way to universal freedom.
-
-When the king was about to return, he published “The Mode of
-Establishing a Free Commonwealth.” This was the last blast blown to
-rouse the people from their lethargy. With a prophetic energy did he
-predict the ills that would fall upon the nation, should the king again
-be established. How sadly have his words been realized in the gilded
-misery that now surrounds his country, where starving millions toil like
-beasts of the field to fatten a licentious and debased aristocracy!
-
-In this book he told the people that “no government was nearer the
-precepts of Christ than a free Commonwealth, wherein they who are the
-greatest are perpetual servants to the public, and yet are not elevated
-above their brethren, live soberly in their families, walk the streets
-as other men, may be spoken to freely, familiarly, friendly, without
-adoration.” After extolling the excellent beauty of freedom, and
-exhorting them to stand by their rights, he thus concludes, with these
-passages so full of grand and pathetic eloquence.
-
-“I have no more to say at present; few words will save us, well
-considered; few and easy things, now seasonably done. But if the people
-be so affected as to prostitute religion and liberty to the vain and
-groundless apprehension, that nothing but Kingship can restore trade,
-not remembering the frequent plagues and pestilences that then wasted
-this city, such as through God’s mercy we never have felt since; and
-that trade flourishes nowhere more than in the free Commonwealths of
-Italy, Germany, and the Low Countries, before their eyes at this day;
-yet if trade be grown so craving and importunate, through the _profuse
-living of tradesmen_, that nothing can support it but the luxurious
-expenses of a nation upon trifles or superfluities, so as if the people
-generally should betake themselves to frugality, it might prove a
-dangerous matter, lest tradesmen should mutiny for want of trading; and
-that therefore we must forego, and set to sale religion, liberty, honor,
-safety, all concernments, divine or human, to keep up trading. What I
-have spoken is the language of that which is not called amiss, “The Good
-Old Cause;” it seem strange to any, it will not seem more strange, I
-hope, than convincing to back-sliders. Thus much I should perhaps have
-said, though I was sure I should have spoken only to trees and stones,
-and had none to cry to, but with the prophet, ‘O Earth, Earth, Earth!’
-to tell the very soil itself what her perverse inhabitants are deaf to;
-nay, though what I have spoke should happen, [which Thou suffer not, who
-didst create mankind free! nor Thou next who didst redeem us from being
-the servants of men!] to be the last words of our expiring liberty.”
-
-The political works of this great man have been diligently suppressed,
-and his political fame traduced; while they, who could not deny him
-merit, have been busy before the world in lauding him as a poet,
-thinking thus to lead men off from a knowledge of that wherein consisted
-his true greatness. We question much whether the dullest mind could read
-these books now, without being roused and filled with enthusiasm for
-this apostle of liberty, and for his cause.
-
-In them he nobly vindicates the people and their rights. “The Good Old
-Cause,” as he calls it, warms him up, and he writes with an exulting
-energy that would make your blood gush with delight. His opinions were
-not the distempered thoughts of a factionist. He never allowed his
-feelings to be warped by a selfish regard for party advancement. He knew
-no party, but generously devoted his whole soul to the cause of his
-country, and in defense of the rights of mankind. In his old age his
-greatest glory was, that he had always written and spoken openly in
-defense of liberty and against slavery.
-
-The truths which he wrote in his matured years, as applying to the
-condition of his unfortunate country, were but repetitions of the faith
-of his youth, as he had powerfully expressed it in his Comus.
-
- “Impostor, do not charge most innocent Nature,
- As if she would her children should be riotous
- With her abundance; she, good cateress,
- Means her provision only to the good,
- That live according to her sober laws,
- And holy dictates of spare temperance:
- If every just man, that now pines with want,
- Had but a moderate and beseeming share
- Of that which lewdly pampered luxury
- Now heaps upon some few with vast excess,
- Nature’s full blessings would be well dispens’d,
- In unsuperfluous even proportion,
- And she no whit encumbered with her store:
- And then the giver would be better thanked,
- His praise due paid; for swinish gluttony
- Ne’er looks to heaven amidst his gorgeous feast
- But with besotted, base ingratitude,
- Crams and blasphemes his feeder.”
-
-Even now, while we conclude these few pages our pen falters, and we feel
-disposed to abandon the task. His magnificence overpowers us. How can we
-point out the excellence of that which commands the admiration of all
-men, and is beyond the loftiest praise of the most eloquent? Again and
-again have we turned over the leaves of this work, with the intention of
-selecting passages worthy of comment and regard, and so thickly have
-they flowed in upon us, that page after page has been exhausted, and we
-had not finished. How idle, then, to select from these masterpieces of
-eloquence and storehouses of truth! How vain to dwell upon his merits,
-when every line of his splendid composition tells of his measureless
-learning and infinite purity of thought. His style, at once grand and
-simple, is happily suited to convey conviction to the mind, and inspire
-the soul with fervid energy.
-
-While his works are filled with noble conceptions, clothed in language
-of corresponding state and grandeur, we nowhere find any attempt at fine
-rhetoric for mere empty display. The whole subject sweeps on with solemn
-magnificence, but with no idle pomp. From the depths of his soul did he
-speak, and his words were as fire, scorching to his enemies, and
-life-giving and cheering to those who love “truth and wisdom, not
-respecting numbers and big names.”
-
-The most inspiring view that can be taken of the soul of these writings
-is, that they are, even at this day, far in advance of the social
-condition that exists in this land of liberal and enlightened principles
-of government. The precepts by which he would wish us to be guided, are
-the pure and humane doctrines of the Savior of man. He did not fight
-only for the liberties of _Englishmen_, contending for _English_ rights,
-citing the charters of _English_ liberty—no, not he—all mankind were
-alike to him, and for _man_ alone he spake. No such Hebrew spirit
-animated his noble soul.
-
-He proclaimed the rights of man, as man, and asserted his rights,
-natural and social, without ever launching out into Utopian speculations
-and visionary conceptions, the practical utility of which no one can
-affirm, and the application of which would have worked out ills
-innumerable, rooting up and overthrowing ten thousand times ten thousand
-social rights, that had grown up with the state itself. He asserted
-abstractions; but with an intimate knowledge of men and their affairs,
-he steadily avoided violating those relative rights, to suddenly
-encroach on which would have been even as great a despotism as the
-rugged foot of feudal barbarity, with which his country had been
-oppressed.
-
-From the generous and life-giving precepts of the Gospel did he draw his
-faith. He there learned charity for the misdoings of men, as well as
-belief in their power to resist evil and attain truth. He there learned
-love for mankind, as he imbibed a stern, unyielding hate for tyranny and
-hypocrisy.
-
-No timid navigator, skirting along the shores and headlands, but a bold,
-adventurous spirit, he pushed forth upon a wild, tempestuous sea of
-troubles, with murky night of ignorance and superstition surrounding
-him. The “Telemachus” of Fénelon, might have been the “first dim promise
-of a great deliverance, the undeveloped germ of the charter of the
-code,” for the whole French people. But in these writings of Milton, we
-have a _full_ and manly assertion of those rights and duties which all
-men owe one to the other, and all to society, and which are far, far
-beyond the simple truths conveyed in that beautiful and easy fiction.
-
-Well might the French monarch have “the Defense” burned by the common
-hangman! Well might he for whom “a million peasants starved to build
-Versailles,” look down with horror and fear upon that work, for in it
-were truths which have roused up men to assert their rights. It was the
-vindication of a noble people, who had trampled under their feet the
-yoke that oppressed them, and had brought to punishment the tyrant who
-reigned over them. These works and the events that produced them have an
-interest to us. Englishmen may slight them, but we look on them with
-exultation—they are associated with our own history—they are connected
-with our own family legends—and as they record the mighty struggle of
-the mighty with the powers and principalities of this earth, they should
-be reverenced and held sacred by us; they should be our household
-companions, as they were of those men whose blood now warms the hearts
-of an empire of freemen, who boast their lineage from a prouder source
-than kings—the Puritans of New England. The men of that Revolution have
-never been fully understood. He who would wish to know the justice of
-their cause, let him read Milton, and let him read the real documents of
-the times. They have been abused and misrepresented by most historians.
-Mr. Bancroft, in his History of his Country, has comprehended these
-martyrs in the cause of democratic rights, and dared to tell the truth
-concerning them. They and theirs were the settlers of this country. From
-them came the mighty forest of sturdy oaks, which in years after were to
-breast the storm of royal oppression and wrath, in this their refuge;
-and from which tempest we—WE THE PEOPLE, came out gloriously
-triumphant!
-
-Think not ill of them. Tread lightly upon their memories as you would
-upon their ashes. They who perished upon the scaffold—they who found a
-home here—they who died upon the field in England, or worn out with
-anxiety and public care, sank to rest forever in their homes—they who,
-like Cromwell, fought in the field and ruled in the council—and they
-who, like Milton, have proclaimed from the study that “_man is free_,”
-have earned names that time will brighten, and have stood by truths that
-will secure the affections of a world hereafter.
-
------
-
-[5] Select Prose Works of Milton, with a Preliminary Discourse and
-Notes. By J. A. St. John. London: J. Hatchard & Son. 2 vols.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- “BLESS THE HOMESTEAD LAW.”
-
-
- BY L. VIRGINIA SMITH.
-
-
- It was a summer morning. Soft the flame
- Of the early sunlight up the zenith came,
- Deep tinging with a golden-crimson hue
- The clouds that floated o’er the welkin blue,
- Or veiled the distant mountain. Far, and near,
- From farm to farm the call of chanticleer
- Rang like a clarion, shrilly sweet and long,
- The robin red-breast trilled his matin song,
- Hid in the high old maple, while around
- From far, deep-waving grain-fields gayly sound
- The carols of the bob-o-link. The bee
- Was out among the blossoms, in his glee
- To rouse them from their dreamings. Gracefully
- The west-wind waved the weeping willow-tree
- That drooped above the rivulet, or crept
- Amid the branches of the elm that swept
- A low-browed homestead. Ruby columbine,
- Sweet honey-suckle, and the Indian vine,
- Had veiled the rustic portico, and wild
- Swayed o’er the casement, and the sunlight smiled
- Through the low entrance. ’Twas a winsome place,
- And like the sunny calm of some sweet face,
- You would have thought in gazing on its rest,
- That earth’s frail children _sometimes_ can be blest.
- And yet misfortune found it;—see the group
- Now gathered at the threshold, o’er them droop
- Long, swaying branches, and the loving leaves
- Lay their light fingers o’er the heart that grieves,
- As if to soothe its sorrows. Agony
- Lights up the darkness of the husband’s eye,
- He stands apart, his bearing calm and proud,
- And yet his heart is burning ’neath a cloud
- Of dread and misery. The young wife leans
- By the old elm-tree, ’mid the passing scenes
- Her heart is busy, for beside her stands
- A lovely child, with snowy, dimpled hands
- Clasping her mother’s, while within the shade
- Her baby brother on the greensward played.
- The little maiden mused, a choking swell
- Filled her young bosom, and the large tears fell
- All silently, then her slow-lifting eyes
- (Their blue depths troubled with a strange surprise)
- Sought out her mother’s;—tossing back her hair,
- Her clear voice melted on the morning air;—
-
- “We leave the homestead!—Say, dear mother, why?
- Do not the birds and blossoms love us here?
- Has any other home a clearer sky,
- With brighter stars upon it? Mother, dear,
- Shall we not sigh _there_ for this old elm shade,
- Where you and I and brother oft have played?
-
- “We leave the homestead!—Oh! my father, tell,
- Why turn we from the fields, and wood-paths dim,
- Through which we wended as the Sabbath bell
- Called us to worship, with its solemn hymn?
- Shall we not sigh to pray where friends have prayed,
- Or weep our loved ones in the church-yard laid?”
-
- The haughty bosom of the strong man shook
- With an internal tempest, and he took
- Her tiny hand within his own; his pride
- Was bending, and he earnestly replied:
-
- “Why do we leave it?—’tis a tale too long,
- And strange to fall upon _thy_ heart, my child;
- ’Twould tell of dark misfortunes, pain, and wrong,
- And wo, that seemed at times to drive me wild,
- To make me doubt the path my fathers trod,
- And that the poor man had indeed a God!
-
- “But thou, my Ada, true and gentle bride,
- Dost thou remember when thy violet eye
- Looked first upon ‘Glenoran?’ All untried,
- It seemed to thee a Paradise; ah! why
- Am I myself its serpent and its bane,
- To leave on all its bloom a deadly stain?
-
- “Oh! could I only bear this all alone,
- The grinding poverty—the lurking sneer—
- All the poor debtor’s wretchedness—no moan
- My soul would utter audibly, but here
- My heart of hearts is crushed, my life of life,
- _They_ suffer also, child, and babe, and wife.
-
- “We leave the homestead;—wanderers we go,
- From friends, from kindred, and our native land—
- My God! if _I_ have merited such wo,
- Have _these_ deserved it at thy mercy’s hand?
- Oh! let thy justice all my actions scan,
- Yet leave one hope—to die an honest man.”
-
- He drooped his head upon his bosom, bowed
- With misery, and instantly the proud
- Young wife was at his side; soft o’er his brow
- Swept her white fingers, and her voice was low:
-
- “Thy soul is dark, beloved, it fears for us—
- Ah! only trust in God, as I in thee,
- Lift up thy stately brow; to see thee thus
- Is worse than all life’s agony to me.
- Thou couldst have died for us, beloved, but we,
- E’en when all hope is lost, will live for thee.
-
- “They cannot separate our souls from thine,
- They cannot part us wheresoe’er we roam,
- Or place aught else within the sacred shrine,
- Where dwell thy wife and children. Loved one, come,
- Give me mine only _home_ within thy heart—
- _I’ll bear it with me_—let us hence depart.”
-
- It is the summer twilight. Dark the shades
- Are falling through the forest everglades,
- The winds are hushed, the lonely whip-poor-will
- Sings his wild lullaby upon the hill,
- A sighing murmur from the mountain-pines
- Steals up valley, and the love-star shines,
- All brightly in “Glenoran.”
- Since the morn
- Glad tidings visited those bosoms torn
- With unavailing sorrow, now the “right”
- To have a home was granted, and delight
- Was blended into orisons. That line
- Whose fiat echoes back a law divine,
- Was made a statute, and sweet Ada saw
- Her loved ones singing, “_Bless the Homestead Law!_”
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE MISER AND HIS DAUGHTER.
-
-
- BY H. DIDIMUS.
-
-
-This man came to Louisiana many years since, a silver-smith by trade,
-poor, and largely in debt. He was born in New York, and in that city
-worked industriously at the business to which he had been apprenticed,
-until a competency rewarded his labors, and wealth, which he had before
-little thought of, was brought near enough to his door to be both seen
-and desired. The hammer, the soldering-iron, and the file were now
-thrown aside, as instruments of a slow getting; and the head was taxed
-with schemes for the acquisition of sudden and great gains. At the close
-of two years he was a bankrupt. But he was not a man of half-measures;
-true courage he had enough of; and honesty has never been denied him;
-so, he called his creditors together, laid before them a statement of
-his affairs, surrendered all that he had, gave his notes for eighty
-thousand dollars, and departed, with nerves unshaken, and a will
-indomitable, in search of a new land and a new fortune.
-
-When the ambition of wealth drew him from his work-shop, he carefully
-laid aside the tools of his trade in a stout oaken box, to be kept as
-mementoes of former labor; they were now all that remained to him, the
-only gift which he had asked, and would receive of creditors who were
-disposed to be generous. With them, at thirty-five years of age, he bid
-the North good-bye, went on shipboard, entered before the mast, in
-payment of a passage to New Orleans, and on his arrival there, at once
-hired himself into the service of a silver-smith, who has since ranked
-with the wealthiest of its citizens, and who has since met with ruin
-more disastrous than that which brought the best of his journeymen to
-his door.
-
-John Cornelius, when you first scented the Mississippi marshes, and
-stepped from ship to shore with a debt of eighty thousand dollars upon
-your back, John Gravier had not wholly parted with that domain, which
-now forms the noblest portion of the second municipality. To one with a
-soul in his body, bent on money-getting, the track clear, the goal in
-view, to be won with effort, eighty thousand dollars of debt is like
-weight to the race-horse—it is not best to run too light at the start.
-Your eye saw what John Gravier did not. You read the page written by the
-hand of God, legibly enough—the Mississippi with all its tributaries,
-rolling through lands of an unequalled fertility, and of every variety
-of clime, and you had faith. God’s promises are certain. With the return
-of spring comes the flower, and with the breath of autumn comes the
-fruit; with the twinkling star comes rest, and with the rise of day
-comes light and labor; every mountain, every hill and valley, every
-plain and running-stream, river and ocean, speak of God’s promises, and
-accomplish them. Read, and understand; this it is, which separates the
-man gifted from the common herd, who are born to toil for the benefit of
-the few.
-
-John Cornelius read God’s promises in the Mississippi, and went heartily
-to work. With him, there was no folding of the hands, no waiting on
-Providence; for he knew that the fable of Hercules and the wagoner was
-as instructive under a Christian, as under a pagan dispensation; so he
-girded up his loins, made sharp his sickle, and entered upon the harvest
-which was already ripe for the reaper. Economy is the handmaid of
-wealth, and penuriousness is economy’s own daughter. John Cornelius took
-them both to his bosom, and for ten long years he lived upon one meal a
-day, and that a cold one. The larger portion of his monthly wages he
-hoarded up, and when the accumulations had become sufficient,
-remembering the promises of the Mississippi, he bought a lot of ground
-within the precincts of John Gravier’s plantation; hoarded again, put a
-small wooden tenement upon the lot, rented, and was a landlord. Thus he
-went on, working, hoarding, with economy and penuriousness his whole
-household, penuriousness holding the upper hand; adding lot to lot,
-tenement to tenement, and lease to lease, until at the close of ten
-years, he found that God’s promises written upon the Mississippi, were
-fulfilled and fulfilling; and he again laid aside the tools of his trade
-in a stout, oaken box, there to rest, as they do rest to this hour. He
-was rich; he had kept even pace with New Orleans, in its progress toward
-greatness; but, with his wealth had grown up a habit, the habit of
-penuriousness, which wealth only strengthened, as a child strengthens
-its parent. Habit moulds the soul, and fashions it to its will; habit
-makes the writer; habit makes the poet; of habit, are born the soldier,
-the statesman, and the scholar; habit created the arts, and all science;
-habit gives faith and religion, and fastens every vice upon us; and
-habit made John Cornelius a miser.
-
-
- SECTION II.
-
-It was many years subsequent to the period at which Mr. Cornelius found
-it for his interest to retire a second time from the work-shop, and to
-devote himself exclusively to the management of his increasing
-rent-roll, and frequent investments in real property, and when, with the
-eighty thousand dollars of debt lifted from his shoulders, he stood
-erect, mighty in wealth, that he one day entered my office, and tendered
-me a counselor’s fee.
-
-Mr. Cornelius and myself were strangers to each other. I had occupied
-chambers in one of his houses for the past five years, but his collector
-arranged with me the terms of my lease, and received the quarterly rent;
-and as my landlord was faithful to his own interests, and as I was
-equally faithful to mine, no incident had transpired, growing out of our
-relations, to bring us together.
-
-“I have for some time been a tenant of yours, Mr. Cornelius,” said I,
-handing the gentleman a chair; “and I suppose that I may attribute this
-visit to a worthy desire on your part to become acquainted with one who,
-thus far, has exhibited no sign of an intention to quit.”
-
-“I am too old a man to wish for new acquaintances, Mr. Didimus; and had
-you referred my call to a knowledge of your reputation for attention to
-business, and a want of your professional services, you would have come
-much nearer the truth.”
-
-I thanked him, both for the compliment and his confidence; and requested
-a statement of his case.
-
-“Time is money,” said Mr. Cornelius; “and a few words shall not long
-detain either of us. In October last, a Mr. Andrews died; my debtor to
-the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars. The debt is secured by
-mortgage upon his house; but his widow comes in for twice the sum, in
-virtue of her paraphernal rights, and as her claim is older than mine,
-it will sweep away all, unless I can show that the marriage was void in
-law.”
-
-“In what respect, Mr. Cornelius?”
-
-“Andrews had a wife living at the time of his second marriage.”
-
-“Had the second wife any knowledge of the fact before her cohabitation
-with the deceased, or at any period thereafter, prior to the springing
-of her claim, with the simultaneous mortgage which the law gives to
-married women and minors as their best security?”
-
-“Perhaps not.”
-
-“How much does the second wife claim?”
-
-“Fifty thousand dollars.”
-
-“What is the value of the succession?”
-
-“The house may be worth twenty; and the house is all.”
-
-“If you succeed, the widow is a beggar?”
-
-“Yes.”
-
-“Both law and justice are against you, Mr. Cornelius.”
-
-“I am not here to learn what justice is, justice in the abstract, Mr.
-Didimus; I might travel far and not find it. Positive justice, the
-positive rules of the legislator, the justice of the law is that with
-which we have to do. There is no natural right to property. Property is
-a creature of the law. With one, it is just that the eldest born should
-take all; and with another, it is just that the succession should be
-equally divided between sons and daughters. Here, the youngest claims
-the largest portion; and there, the female is preferred to the male.
-Positive rules, the wisdom of many wise men, of many generations, do,
-with every people, both make and unmake the right and the wrong. The law
-is justice, and I ask what the law awards me. If the law gives to the
-wife a tacit mortgage to secure her paraphernal rights, the law also
-gives to me a judgment mortgage to recover my rights of contract. She
-must show a valid marriage; I must show registration. We stand upon the
-same platform; and if I prevail, it is because the law is with me. No
-injustice is done, Mr. Didimus. The widow cannot have what is not here;
-thank God, no injustice is done.” And the rich man, as he closed his
-defense, stretched out his hands clutchingly toward me, as if to take
-possession of the large sum of money which seemed passing beyond his
-grasp.
-
-“Supposing all that you have advanced to be true, Mr. Cornelius; yet, as
-the widow in the case under consideration, married and cohabited with
-her late husband in entire ignorance of the fraud which had been
-practiced upon her, the law, both in letter and spirit protects her; and
-I must respectfully decline any further action in the matter.”
-
-Mr. Cornelius bid me good morning.
-
-
- SECTION III.
-
-Some few weeks subsequent to the interview just related, a lady habited
-in deep mourning called upon me, and put a large bundle of papers into
-my hands. It was the widow; and the papers were a statement of her
-husband’s succession, much of his correspondence, evidences of her
-claim, and the usual copies, which had been served upon her, of a
-process which Mr. Cornelius had instituted under the advice of counsel
-more pliant, or wiser than myself.
-
-“I know something of this already,” said I, after having hastily glanced
-over the contents of the package.
-
-“Indeed, then I am unfortunate, for you are retained upon the other
-side,” said the lady.
-
-“I might have been so, but declined; and, believing as I do that you are
-in the right, you will permit me to hope that you are not unfortunate.”
-
-“The past is dark enough,” said she, “the future is with God alone.”
-
-“Mr. Andrews had a wife living at the time of your marriage with him.”
-
-“The evidence of that fact is in your possession.”
-
-“You received from your mother’s succession fifty thousand dollars,
-which your late husband squandered.”
-
-“He was imprudent.”
-
-“Of your husband’s first marriage you were ignorant, until after his
-decease?”
-
-“That knowledge came to me a double sorrow, quick following his death;
-to me more terrible than death. Now, alone in the world, with none of my
-blood known to me, I come to you as my defender. The law is a stern
-master; sometimes blind. If I lose, I lose all, a beggar, with a name
-suspected, I can do little else than lie down and die!” and she covered
-her face with her hands, and sobbed aloud.
-
-“Mr. Cornelius is honest,” said I.
-
-“Mr. Cornelius knows not my heart.”
-
-“He is rich.”
-
-“I would take nothing from his wealth. True, he is a man of large
-property, but my folly has, in part, brought this sorrow upon me; let
-the law judge between us, I will be content.”
-
-“Now, madam, you show the right spirit, and my best endeavors shall be
-exerted in your behalf,” said I, as the lady rose, and gave me her hand
-at parting. “Wait, trust in your counsel; and if you lose, still wait,
-still hope; _for every thing is rewarded and avenged in time_.”
-
-My fair client’s heart was too full to speak of gratitude; and I handed
-her to the door, and took leave of her in silence.
-
-
- SECTION IV.
-
-I returned to the papers and studied them, far into the night. There was
-the evidence of the fifty thousand dollars received; and there, too, was
-the evidence of the prior marriage—the first wife living at the time of
-the taking of the second. It was a sad tale, the story of that first
-wife; a tale of neglect, of desertion, of want and wo; a tale told in
-letters written from a far distant land, and blotted with many tears. I
-steeled my heart against it. How else could we of “The Profession” live?
-As the surgeon, compassionless, cuts with steady nerve through flesh,
-and bone, and marrow, and saves the life which pity would have lost; so
-we soon learn to close the heart to sorrow; to hear nothing, to see
-nothing but the interest of the client; to hope for nothing but his
-success—God protect us! Ever dealing with the passions and the vices of
-men; their unholy race after mammon; strifes by the way-side; plots and
-counter-plots; faith broken; trusts betrayed; snares for the unwary; the
-innocent duped; the unfortunate trampled upon; the hoary sinner
-honored—God protect us! Great wonder is it, that we do not loathe the
-very name of man! Poor woman! If she who assumed your name and state,
-and defiled the marriage bed, which with you alone was pure, was guilty,
-although ignorant, of a careless haste, the punishment has come, equal
-to the fault; and you, too, are avenged—even in time.
-
-I often saw my client, during the period of one year, which elapsed
-between my retainer and the trial of the suit which she had engaged me
-to defend. She was young—she could not have been more than
-twenty—without children, and her beauty grew upon me every day. With a
-fine figure—not too light, but rather a little heavy, with the
-_embonpoint_ of the widow—with features, which were the handsomer for
-being irregular, and eyes which spoke the sex with all its glory and its
-weakness. She interested something more than professional pride, or
-manly compassion in her favor. Her intellect, too, was brilliant and
-cultivated; and her manners most refined: certainly it would have been
-pardonable in a bachelor to have made her cause wholly his own. But
-there was a mystery woven into the history of her life, which she either
-could not, or was not pleased to remove. In one only, of the many papers
-and few family letters which she from time to time put into my hands,
-did I find any allusion made to her father. She never herself
-voluntarily spoke of him; and whenever I questioned her upon the
-subject, she was evidently much troubled by my inquiries, and professed
-to be utterly ignorant of that side of her house. She had known her
-mother only under her maiden name, and had lived with her, in one of our
-northern cities in great seclusion, until she met with Mr. Andrews,
-married him, and removed to New Orleans. Shortly after her marriage her
-mother had died, bequeathing her fifty thousand dollars, the result of
-economy and business habits. What folly, what shame, what crime had
-given her birth, or had removed as beneath a cloud her father from her
-sight, she knew not; but her mother had often told her that she was born
-in honest wedlock, and that some day she should claim her own. She knew
-not the place of her birth, nor her mother’s relatives, and stood as one
-without relationship in the world. How her heart yearned to find in
-other veins the blood which flowed in her own! At such times, when my
-questions had stirred the fountain of her tears, and the grief of
-desolation ran over, she would wring her hands in a passion of sorrow,
-and call upon heaven to give her knowledge—to give her father to her
-arms.
-
-“Pardon,” she would murmur, “these exhibitions of my weakness; it is
-terrible not to know the father that begat you; terrible to hear want,
-even to destitution, knocking at your door.”
-
-
- SECTION V.
-
-The day fixed for the trial came. I felt prepared, strong at all points
-save one, that of my client’s parentage. There was a suspicion about it
-which would not tell well with the jury. As to the law which governed
-the case, provided no knowledge of the first marriage were brought home
-to my client prior to the springing of her mortgage, I was sure of it;
-and I believe that no one of my brethren at the “Bar” would now dispute
-the correctness of my opinion. But the fact of knowledge, a jury might
-infer from very slight evidence, and my client’s seeming bastardy and
-strange ignorance of her father, and of her mother even, beyond the
-certainty that she once lived and cared well for her young days, were
-better fitted to excite suspicion and clothe her in the garb of an
-adventurer, than to secure pity or be urged as arguments of innocence.
-This was the assailable point. I had thought much upon it, and had
-concluded that it was to be best defended by an open avowal, and a bold
-appeal to the more generous sympathies of our nature. Thus armed, I
-entered the court-room.
-
-The court was upon the bench, and the opposite party, with his counsel,
-was there, ready, expecting the battle, and confident of a success which
-was to take from the widow all that she possessed. Mr. Cornelius was
-there. Tall and meagre in his person, with cheeks hollowed and hair
-whitened, by age and long continued labor and great self-denial, ending
-in extreme penuriousness, his eyes alone retained a show of the vigor of
-youth. Gray, cold and piercing, they rolled quickly and incessantly from
-side to side, as if every where and at all times in search of the yellow
-metal upon which his soul fed, and grew smaller and smaller, even to a
-pin’s point. His brow was thickly furrowed with the lines of gain; but
-it was a noble one, and showed a strong intellect bound in chains of its
-own forging—enslaved to Mammon. Yes, John Cornelius cannot say, on that
-last day when rich and poor shall stand, equal at the feet and
-shoulders, before their common God, that he labored according to his
-light. Success in life, success in any department of the business of
-life, a success extended over a quarter of a century of years,
-presupposes intellect, and a great deal of it. A fortune may be won by
-the turn of a card, and a fortune may be lost as well; but that fortune
-which is gathered slowly and surely, the result of foresight, of a deep
-knowledge of the ways of commerce, its growth, fluctuations and changes,
-of its adaptation to the wants of men and the humors of the times; the
-result of a providence which sees the coming storm and provides for it,
-which sees the prosperous breeze and catches it—such a fortune is the
-result of a strong intellect, equally with any greatness whatever. John
-Cornelius cannot say that he labored according to his light!
-
-There he sat, and as he clutched, with his long, thin, bony fingers, at
-the papers which lay spread out upon the table before him, as if they
-were the stout line which was to draw unto him the gold he coveted, I
-thought of the story of the Rich Man and the Lamb, told in the olden
-writ.
-
-My client was also beside me. Still habited in black—she might well
-mourn the wrong she had suffered, if not the man she had loved—the veil
-lifted from her face, a little pale with hope and sorrow, and a womanly
-modesty possessing in quick turn all her features.
-
-She won the favor of the court; and the jury, as each was sworn and took
-his seat within the box, whispered compassion.
-
-
- SECTION VI.
-
-My adversaries saw, clearly enough, the ground upon which I stood, and
-the able junior counsel, in opening the case, with great art alluded to
-it, and fully shadowed forth the position in the defense which was to be
-most strenuously attacked. “The plaintiff’s mortgage was undoubted; I
-had myself acknowledged it in the answer on file in the record; neither
-was the amount alleged by the defendant to have been received by her
-late husband from the succession of her mother to be disputed, the
-evidence was conclusive; but the marriage was illegal; that would hardly
-be questioned. Was the defendant in good faith at the time of its
-celebration? Was she in good faith when her late husband took possession
-of her mother’s succession? Was she in such good faith as would secure
-to her the rights of a legal marriage? These were the questions to be
-answered, and he believed that the evidence which he was about to bring
-home to the knowledge of the jury, would answer them most emphatically
-in the negative. He then spoke of Andrews’ long residence in New
-Orleans; of his many acquaintances there; of his well-known marriage
-with the daughter of a French Jew; of his desertion of his wife; of her
-return, with her aged father, to France; of the second marriage, hastily
-made up; of the plaintiff’s sudden appearance in that city, claiming a
-position due alone to honesty, while Andrews spoke of her to his
-associates as his concubine; of the hints which she had received of the
-imposition she was striving to practice upon others, or which had been
-in reality practiced upon herself; and of the deaf ear which she ever
-turned to such warnings; of her feigned incredulity; and of the mystery
-which hung over and covered, with impenetrable darkness, the history of
-her birth. He closed with an appeal to the judgment of the
-jury—cautioned them against the blinding influence of the
-passions—spoke of the dangerous eloquence of a woman in weeds—besought
-them to keep their reason unclouded, and not suffer sympathy to work a
-wrong—and asked for justice, sheer justice, the justice of the law,
-that right might be vindicated without respect of persons.”
-
-The evidence went far to sustain the labored and wily exposition of the
-advocate. The first marriage; the desertion; Andrews’ long residence in
-New Orleans; his numerous acquaintances, putting inquiry within the easy
-reach of every one; his visit to the North; his early return accompanied
-by the defendant, who claimed the privileges and honors of a wife; his
-disclaimer of her right to such privileges and honors, repeatedly made
-to his associates; the many hints which the defendant had received from
-the well disposed and compassionate, as to her true position, early in
-her marriage; her confused replies, and faint and soon relinquished
-inquiries; her unwillingness to speak of her family, and studied silence
-whenever the subject was alluded to; the suspicion which rested upon her
-mother’s name, and the existence of the first wife, living even at that
-time, in retirement and sorrow in one of the small towns in the north of
-France, all was proved by testimony which seemed fair enough.
-
-John Cornelius’ eyes glared gloatingly upon the gold already present to
-their sight, and he turned his hands one within the other, in the joy of
-the certainty of success.
-
-
- SECTION VII.
-
-I opened the defense. I saw a new countenance upon the twelve faces
-before me. There was now no pity, but distrust and a hardening of the
-heart, and opinion more than half made up. I walked warily, began afar
-off; called them honest—and so indeed they were—acknowledged the first
-marriage, acknowledged the first wife living, in sorrow and in want;
-acknowledged the plaintiff’s mortgage; claimed nothing from sympathy for
-the poor, nothing from sympathy for the wronged widow, nothing from
-sympathy for the orphan; alluded to the thick shadows in which time and
-circumstances, and a probable wrong, had enveloped the mother’s early
-life, and with which they had nothing to do; spoke of that mother’s
-purity of conduct during a period of many years, of her industry, of her
-accumulation of wealth, of her care for an only child, her daughter and
-my client; of the daughter’s peculiar position in society; of her young
-ignorance of the world; of her wide separation from Andrews’ place of
-residence; of her indiscreet confidence when wooed, pardonable in one
-whose own life was to her a mystery; of the hints which she had received
-subsequent to her marriage, and of the suspicions which had been
-aroused, suspicions well answered and well put to rest by suggestions of
-the malice of her husband’s enemies, and by trust in the man she loved,
-in the man into whose arms she had surrendered all—a trust most
-honorable in a woman. But where was the first wife? Why had she remained
-silent? Wronged, deserted, driven out, she must have been ready to give
-credence to any report in disparagement of her husband. Under such
-circumstances, hints and inuendoes in which the defendant could put no
-faith, could not satisfy her that she had been deceived. This was the
-position which we occupied; this was our defense. The evidence which I
-was about to introduce said all that I said, and into its keeping I
-willingly surrendered the property and the good name of the widow and
-orphan, whose cause is holy in the sight of God and of men. _Cum
-deceptis jura subveniunt._
-
-It was now for me to introduce the evidence on the part of the defense,
-and I did so in the order which reason at once suggests as the most
-natural and direct. First, of the marriage, which was not denied; then
-of the wife’s inheritance, which Andrews had received, and of which the
-proof was too full to be questioned; and then, as part of the _res
-gestæ_, letters written by Andrews at different periods, and in times of
-temporary absence, breathing confidence and love, and twice alluding to
-the suspicions which the idle gossip of his enemies had planted in the
-breast of his wife, and branding them as the offspring of an unfounded
-malice.
-
-As I passed the papers to the clerk, I turned and looked upon Mr.
-Cornelius. His hands rested, clenched, upon his knees, but his eyes
-still reached for the gold which was fast receding in the distance. My
-client had, from the first, put off all womanly fear, and listened to
-the argument and watched the testimony with a clear brow, pale from
-resolution. Once, when the junior counsel in his opening speech, hinted
-at concubinage—a crime too frequent, too much bred into the customs of
-the city not to gain an easy credence—the blood mounted, suffused her
-temples, bathed her whole face in the ruddy light of a golden sunset,
-and then flowed back not to return again. Now, she was cool enough.
-
-I next read letters from the mother, dated both before and after the
-daughter’s marriage. They were written with great elegance and
-simplicity, and all started from the same point, and all came back to it
-again—a mother’s care and unceasing anxiety for her daughter’s physical
-health, for her mental improvement, for her moral purity. The court was
-touched; a manly sorrow sat, veiled, upon the hard features of the jury;
-the miser shook, like an aspen-leaf, through every limb. I paused—and
-then took up another, the last, written but a few days prior to the
-mother’s death, the last words of that mother to her child, in life. Its
-manner, the solemn cadence of the periods, the matter, fell slowly and
-heavily upon the ear, like the thick breathings of one with whom the
-world has little more to do. The shadow rested upon the hand as it
-wrote. It was crowded with the griefs of many years. It spoke darkly of
-wrongs received; of a stern resolve; of labors endured, and endured
-joyously for the offspring of a love struck-down, and changed to very
-hate, even in the first hour of its young life; of one whose name her
-daughter’s lips had never syllabled; of one living, prosperous in the
-world, the daughter’s father and her husband. Wait, yet a little while,
-and she should know the blood which had begotten her, and claim her
-own—a rich inheritance equal with the noblest in the land. Alas! that
-waiting was to be too long! Death had sealed the mother’s lips, and
-there sat the daughter, hunted, hunted like a hare by the hounds of the
-law.
-
-My client covered her face with the folds of her robe.
-
-“How does the mother sign herself?” asked the judge.
-
-“Ann Chapman, may it please your honor.”
-
-“Ann Chapman!” exclaimed John Cornelius springing to his feet. “Ann
-Chapman! Give me the letter.”
-
-I put it into his hands. His eyes glanced at the date, and then rested,
-fixed, upon the signature. The pallor of the dead crept slowly over him;
-his arms gave up their strength and fell to his side, the paper dropped
-upon the floor. “Here, take it, take it,” he said, in a hollow whisper,
-looking straight out upon vacuity; “it is nothing, nothing, nothing.”
-Then turning to his counsel, he bid them enter a discontinue, and walked
-hurriedly out of court.
-
-“This is a strange ending!” said the judge.
-
-“My client is mad!” said the opposite senior counsel.
-
-“Our client is mad!” echoed his junior, bundling up his papers with a
-piece of red tape.
-
-“Mad or sane, gentlemen, it is a fit conclusion to what should never
-have been begun,” said I, taking the young widow under my arm and
-leading her away, much wondering at the abrupt termination of the suit.
-
-“Do you think Mr. Cornelius has really gone mad?” she asked, looking up
-into my face with a tear upon her eyelids. It was one of sorrow, not
-joy; God bless her, she had forgotten her good fortune in sympathy for
-her oppressor.
-
-“If to have a conscience is to be so,” I answered; and took leave of her
-at the door of her residence—at the door of the house we had battled
-for—so happy, that she tried and could not say, “I thank you.”
-
-
- SECTION VIII.
-
-I returned to my office in a very good humor with all the world. Upon my
-table I found a note from Mr. Cornelius, requesting me to call upon him
-at an early hour in the evening. “A compromise—no compromises, Mr.
-Cornelius. If you will, begin again; but the widow shall keep all, to
-the last farthing.” And I dispatched a reply, saying I would be with him
-precisely at eight.
-
-John Cornelius lived in the upper part of the city, in a very large and
-costly house, which had been built by a parvenu of sudden wealth. It
-covered, with the surrounding grounds, two-thirds of a square, and had
-been purchased by Mr. Cornelius at the sale of the parvenu’s succession,
-rather on account of the land, than for any profitable use which he
-could make of the noble structure to which the land was appurtenant. The
-increasing commerce of the city had so surrounded it with warehouses and
-presses for cotton, as to render it impossible to find a tenant at even
-a three per cent. rent, so he moved into it himself, and, with one
-slave, lived there upon fifty cents a day. The spacious and unfurnished
-halls, dark, gloomy, venerable with dust, returned a hollow echo to my
-tread, as I entered at the appointed hour. I found the miser sitting at
-a small table, covered with papers, in the centre of a large room; the
-table and two chairs, that which he occupied and one reserved for
-myself, were all of furniture that it contained. He looked very pale,
-did not rise to receive me, but in silence waived his hand as an
-invitation to be seated. I obeyed, and waited for a declaration of the
-motives which had induced him to request my presence. But during the
-lapse of ten minutes he did not speak, so I drew his note from my pocket
-and pushing it toward him across the table, observed that my time was
-worth one dollar the minute.
-
-“Your client is my daughter,” said Mr. Cornelius.
-
-“Your daughter! Then you are mad, sure enough!”
-
-Mr. Cornelius gathered up the papers which lay upon the table before him
-and put them into my hands. They were, first, a certificate of his
-marriage with Ann Chapman, in the city of New York, on the ninth day of
-October, eighteen hundred and —; second, articles of separation entered
-into, and signed in duplicate, by both parties, just one year
-thereafter—being done at New York on the ninth day of October, one
-thousand eight hundred and —; and last, several letters received by Mr.
-Cornelius from his wife’s relatives at wide intervals, and at periods
-long subsequent to their stipulated divorce. The articles contained an
-acknowledgment on the part of Mrs. Cornelius of her having received
-twenty thousand dollars from her husband in full satisfaction of all
-claims upon him for support, and of her right of dower in his estate;
-the letters were written in answer to inquiries made by himself as to
-his wife’s existence and condition in life, and all, without exception,
-expressed an utter inability to give him any information upon the
-subject.
-
-“In eighteen hundred and —,” said Mr. Cornelius, “I visited the North,
-and there met with and hastily married Ann Chapman, then a young woman
-of humble parentage—not otherwise than my own—with much beauty, a
-moderate education, and a spirit which was equal to any fortune. My
-business called me to England, and upon my return I saw, or fancied that
-I saw, some change in her feelings toward me. She was honest, as honest
-as the light in which God robes himself; but the great disparity of our
-ages made me jealous of her affection; and as she was of a strong
-temper, not easily controlled, while I was in some degree unreasonable
-and exacting, we soon quarreled, made each other miserable, and, by
-mutual consent, separated. When I took leave of her, she put her hand in
-mine, and with a calmness which was terrible, called down every
-suffering upon her head if, with her assent, I should see her face
-again. She would go and hide her sorrow among strangers, and even the
-fruit of our short-lived love, which she then carried in her bosom,
-should not know me until grief and many years had ripened me for the
-grave. I returned to New Orleans; I returned to my labor and my money
-getting—and she, alas! she kept her purpose too well! Through many a
-long month, and through many a long year, have I repented of that folly,
-to find only at this hour the blood which is my own. I have heaped up
-gold and houses and lands—sir, my wife and daughter would have made me
-a better man.”
-
-And he drew down his long silver locks over his face and covered it with
-his hands.
-
-“Are you satisfied as to the identity; have you no doubts, Mr.
-Cornelius?”
-
-He took a richly chased miniature from his bosom and bid me look at it.
-
-“It is the mother as she was at twenty; it is the daughter of to-day.”
-
-I started with surprise; it could not have been more like, had the young
-widow sat for it.
-
-“The evidence is conclusive, Mr. Cornelius; and I will now take a fee
-upon the other side. Let us go at once to her house, and claim not only
-that, but its fair occupant also.”
-
-“No, no, we must meet here. These walls know me; I am at home; and I
-must receive my daughter in my own house,” said Mr. Cornelius. “You are
-her best friend—hereafter you shall be mine; do you then call upon her,
-break this matter gently to her, and in the morning you will find me
-here, waiting your coming.”
-
-“I will not tell her that I have found her father,” said I, “for that
-would be subjecting her nerves to two trials; and it might be that you
-would be compelled to go to her in the end, with a physician at your
-back. It is better that she should be made to expect one good fortune,
-and find another; so, I will tell her that you relented, discontinued
-your suit from sheer pity, and wish to make her a present equal in value
-to the amount which was involved in the dispute between you, as a small
-compensation for the trouble you have given her.”
-
-“As you please,” said Mr. Cornelius, smiling, no doubt at the
-improbability of the story.
-
-“Never fear, a woman’s faith is large enough to believe any thing,” said
-I, not wishing to be misunderstood; and the miser now rose, and
-accompanied me to the door.
-
-
- SECTION IX.
-
-In the morning, the young widow and myself walked slowly along toward
-her father’s residence; I, more than half ashamed of the deception I had
-put upon her; and she, wondering at the fortune which had poured a
-golden shower into her lap, and framing thanks to be heaped upon the
-good man, who had threatened poverty only to bestow riches.
-
-At the door she hesitated, and said that I must speak for her.
-
-“Never mind,” said I, “nature will put fit words into your mouth, and
-some things are best expressed by silence.”
-
-We entered—the widow hanging upon my arm; her whole weight was upon
-it—not very large, indeed—for she was ready to sink down, oppressed
-with a load of gratitude. John Cornelius sat where I had found him the
-preceding evening, at the little, table covered with papers, in the
-centre of the room, and with one vacant chair. Well, thought I, we shall
-not want a third. He rose with much coldness in his manner, bowed
-formally, took his daughter’s hand, and assisted her to the vacant seat;
-he then gave me that which he had himself occupied.
-
-“Madam,” said he, after a short pause, and in a voice which seemed
-stoutly braced with resolution, and yet just ready to break down, “I
-have requested your presence here, in order that you might read these
-papers, for they somewhat concern you;” and taking up the certificate of
-marriage, and the articles of separation, he held them out toward her.
-She received them, with a word of thanks, thinking no doubt, that they
-were titles to the property which I had induced her to believe was to be
-bestowed upon her. As she read the articles, her color left her, and a
-cold sweat started from her brow and rolled down her face, and wet her
-garments. The certificate she carried twice to her eyes, and twice
-failed to read, but glared upon it like one who sees a vision in his
-sleep: the third time she read it aloud, screaming as if to make certain
-with her voice, what her eyes doubted.
-
-“And this,” shouted Cornelius, drawing the picture from his bosom and
-holding it up, her other self, before her.
-
-“My God—my father!” she exclaimed, rising slowly, and pulling at her
-fingers; then swayed to and fro, uncertain of her step; leaped into the
-old man’s arms, fastened about his neck, and slept insensible, upon his
-bosom.
-
-John Cornelius sank with his burden upon the floor, and wept, and sobbed
-like a child.
-
-A broad, plain, gold ring rolled bounding to my feet. I picked it up.
-Within the circle were engraved two letters, “J. C.” It was the bridal
-ring, a gift from her mother, as Ægeus gave his sword to Æthra, that the
-father might recognize his child, when in the fulfillment of time they
-should meet.
-
-
- SECTION X.
-
-Merry days these—happy days these—let us laugh and grow fat, for
-to-morrow we die. The miser’s daughter had a hundred suitors, and well
-she might; for she was young, and beautiful, and pure. And was she not
-heir-apparent of millions? Good Lord! Good Lord! how they did amble, and
-trot, and show their paces, and protest, and pray, and besiege—all to
-no purpose! And those jurymen, too, who were baulked of their verdict,
-did they not open their eyes widely when the story was told them, and
-say that they knew it would be so? And the judge, did he not crack his
-joke with the junior counsel, and bemoan the young man’s stars which had
-so betrayed his interest, and wagged his tongue with some venom in it,
-upon the losing side? And the counsel, senior and junior—did they not
-assume a show of wisdom, and say that from the beginning they had no
-confidence in the cause? A blind business was it with us all, when we
-undertook to mete out justice to father and daughter, with a seven-fold
-cloud before our eyes; and a blind business the law ever is.
-
- Quid faciant leges, ubi sola pecunia regnat,
- Aut ubi paupertus vincere nulla potent?
- Ipri, qui cynica traducunt tempora cœna,
- Nonnum quum nummis vendere verba solent.
- Ergo judicium nihil est, nisi publica muces,
- Atque equis, in caussa qui redet, emtor probat.
-
-So sang Petronius, and so sing I.
-
-
- SECTION XI.
-
-The fair widow moved into her father’s house, and carried joy with her,
-and smiles, and a new life. The dusty halls and silent chambers were
-soon made glad, and gave no echo back to the busy feet which beat their
-floors in measured tread to the sound of lutes. Men wondered at the
-miser’s transformation, and the jolly sun, driving up the clear, blue,
-vaulted roof of the earth, looked in upon curtains, and mirrors, and
-rich carpets, and all the bought luxury of great wealth, and danced upon
-the draped walls, and laughed, and wondered too. But the change was of
-the surface. The miser loved his daughter with his whole soul; he loved
-gold with more than his whole soul—gold, his first love—and the
-daughter held a divided and an inferior empire in his affections. The
-miser loved his daughter as he best might, with his heart of shining
-metal, and he would have loved her had she been less than what she was;
-less beautiful, less worthy, less full of the love which flowed from her
-like a sea, and covered him, and he drank of it, a joy he had never
-known. He loved her, as the heir to his vast estates, as himself
-renewed, to bear his labor onward, to accumulate through still another
-span of life; and he showed her to the world, and took pride in this new
-glory, as a new title to his possessions, which was to carry them with
-himself, even beyond the grave.
-
-I was often with them; I became almost an inmate of the house,
-subsequent to the events which I have just related—the father’s legal
-adviser, the daughter’s best friend. Mr. Cornelius did not weary of the
-empty bustle and noise of fashion with which his daughter’s youth and
-brilliant position at once surrounded her; he seemed pleased with it,
-and often spoke of it as the proud homage which intellect, and nice
-honor, and high titles, and all the virtues, and all the prejudices of
-men, pay to wealth—and so, indeed, it was. With the daughter, these
-enjoyments soon palled. She had learned of sorrow from her birth, and
-had happily received from her mother a head too strong for turning;
-when, therefore, novelty wore away, and satiety began to usurp its
-place, she gradually withdrew from the press of company, and gave to her
-father those hours which others had before possessed. Although change
-had come over every thing else, Mr. Cornelius forbid its entrance into
-the one room reserved for himself; the room in which he had received his
-daughter, with the little table and the two chairs standing in the
-centre, and its naked walls and bare door, which were to him as old
-acquaintances, and where, alone, he now felt fully at home. There they
-would often sit together in the deep hours of the night, and while she
-played with his white locks, and watched the beatings of his heart, to
-find it tuned to a music widely different from her own, and listened to
-his never-ending promises, and never-ending hopes of a wealth which was
-to make his only one, his jewel, a match which princes might envy, she
-became painfully conscious of her father’s worldliness and debasing
-servitude to the hard earth. She saw that he lay prone, chained, bound
-down with clamps of iron, of silver, and of gold, and never raised his
-eyes to the upper light, or questioned of the day when he should be
-called to give an account of his stewardship. Then she would weep, and
-kiss her father, and talk of her mother who had passed away, and of
-another life, and hope that they might all meet in that better world;
-and the miser would stroke down her glossy hair with his trembling
-hands, and press her forehead to his lips, and call her a foolish girl,
-who troubled herself about matters with which she had nothing to do; and
-bade her go and dream of the glory to which he had raised her, and count
-her suitors, and be brave.
-
-“More, more,” was the miser’s unceasing cry; “all, all—I want all,” was
-the prayer which he put up, not to the Giver of all Good, but to his own
-will, which habit had enslaved, until use made servitude a happiness.
-And he worked on, ever gaining, ever adding, abstemious, pinching,
-self-denying, liberal only to his daughter, whom he could never see too
-richly clad, too sumptuously served—a costly toy to be stared at and
-admired. “She is my diamond,” he would say, “which I have chosen to
-plant in a rich setting.”
-
-
- SECTION XII.
-
-But the daughter grew, day by day, more thoughtful, denied herself more
-frequently to her followers, and was more and more often to be found
-sitting with her father, alone, at the little table, winning him from
-his labor. Mr. Cornelius was too much engrossed with the world, with
-money-getting, to observe the beginning and progress of the change in
-his daughter’s manner, amusements, and way of life; and he soon learned
-to work on, with his child at his side, half unconscious of her
-presence, and yet alive to the pleasurable feeling that there was
-something near him which he much loved. I was not so blind. As month
-after month rolled away, I saw the shadow of a great melancholy creep
-slowly over her face, and deepen, and deepen, until it had imparted that
-exquisite softness to her beauty which is the surest symptom of decay.
-We see it in the flower; time gives it to all the works of man; and
-genius shows it, as the flame trembles, flickers, leaps upward, and goes
-out. The heart was sick; the spirit grew toward heaven. I had occasion,
-one evening, to be with Mr. Cornelius until a late hour, conversing
-about some matters in the courts which he had entrusted to my care; we
-had talked much, and the last watch was drawing to a close, when the
-door quietly opened, and his daughter entered, holding in one hand a
-light stool, and in the other a book. “The gentleman will excuse us for
-a moment,” she said, addressing her father; then turning to me, she
-received me with her usual cordiality. “I have adopted a practice, of
-late, of reading a chapter to my father before retiring,” she continued;
-“and you can remain, if you please, and join us in our
-devotions—surely, such worship can harm no one.” And sitting down at
-her father’s knees, she laid the holy volume in his lap, opened it, and
-read; while he bent over her until his silver locks mingled with the
-jetty tresses of her hair, and listened to her teaching—it was time,
-old, worn-out time, called to eternity by a sweet messenger from God.
-“There, that will do, my child; put up the book,” said Mr. Cornelius, as
-his daughter’s voice, losing its firmness, grew uncertain, and tears
-fell pattering upon the story she repeated: “certainly, certainly, it is
-not for me, in my old age, to learn of one so young.” It was a simple
-tale, a touching parable, told by Christ; so appropriate as to require
-from me no further designation. “Why, what spirit has come over you of
-late—always weeping!” said the old man, kissing the moisture from her
-eyelids. “What do you want? All that I have is yours. Now go—and see
-that you show a merry face in the morning.” The daughter rose, and bid
-us good-night.
-
-“Do you not think Anne has lost a little of her color—grown slightly
-pale, Mr. Didimus?”
-
-I made known the fears which I had long entertained, and to which each
-day added a confirmation.
-
-“My daughter’s sick! sick at heart! Nonsense! What has she to be sick
-about? Are not my coffers open to her hand? What power of this earth is
-greater than her gold? Sick!—And yet, now I do remember, that for the
-past month, or more, no music has come into me, as it was wont, from her
-crowded rooms; no sounds of merriment, of joy, of the frivolity of
-fools, grating upon the ear of night; no cringing, no bowing low with
-doffed hat, and giving of God’s health, as I pass in and out at my own
-door. Look to it: you are my daughter’s best friend; question her;
-inquire out the secret sorrow which preys upon her mind—surely, money
-is a medicine for all the ills of life. She requires a change of place;
-these stuffed marts about us breed foul air; let her travel. Or,
-perhaps, she has again listened to the idle whispers of love, and
-conceals from me her weakness. Tell her, that although I would have her
-live with me during the short remainder of my life, yet she shall marry
-where she may choose; to give me a long line of heirs, rich, rich,
-through two centuries. Sick! why I was never sick!” And the miser bent
-over the little table, and returned to his calculations.
-
-
- SECTION XIII.
-
-The miser’s history went on as before—still gaining, still adding;
-while the daughter’s bloom passed slowly away. Her limbs lost their
-roundness, her face grew sharp and hollow, and grief sat ever upon it,
-until her friends had almost forgotten its former mirth and beauty, and
-were half persuaded that it had been always so. No questioning of mine
-would entice her to an explanation. “It is a matter with which you can
-have nothing to do. There is no remedy in your hands. Let me alone; I
-wrestle daily with my God.” What could I say? I was silent; for it was
-indeed a matter with which I had nothing to do. Preach to the drunkard
-over his cups; to the gambler, when he wins; to the man whose garments
-are like unto his who came from Edom, red with the blood of men, and
-gain a soul for Heaven; but the miser, with one foot on Mammon, the
-other on the grave, never yet turned from his first love, or forgot the
-gods which his own hands have fashioned. John Cornelius became used to
-his daughter’s declining health, and soon ceased to speak of it. Indeed,
-engrossed in his labors of accumulation, he began to think she was well
-enough, as well as she ever had been, and that the change, if change
-there was, was in his own eyes, which had, perhaps, grown somewhat dim
-with age. Poor Anne! she nightly sat at her father’s knees, and nightly
-read to him, and he nightly praised her beauty, and called her a foolish
-girl, and kissed away her tears, and babbled of gold, till her heart
-withered within her, and she withdrew to dream of her mother, and a
-great joy, and to gather a new courage to begin again her ceaseless
-task, ever hoping, ever disappointed. Thus ran a year away.
-
-
- SECTION XIV.
-
-One bright morning in November, here the sweetest month of all the
-twelve, Mr. Cornelius called at my office, and informed me that his
-daughter had been sick, confined to her bed for the past two days, and
-had expressed a wish to see me. He said her indisposition was but
-slight, attributed it to some frivolous cause, and expressed a hope that
-it would soon pass off. I looked up into his face; he was honest; still
-blind to his daughter’s decay; death stood palpably before him, robed in
-the freshness of youth. Death! How should he see death? Gold was ever in
-his thoughts; gold filled his vision; his taste, his scent were gold;
-and gold ran clinking into his ears: death had walked his house a year
-unrecognized.
-
-I laid aside my papers, and accompanied Mr. Cornelius home. He passed
-into his own room, with the little table and the two chairs; I ascended
-to his daughter’s chamber. What a mockery was there of all that this
-world loves so much, strives after, and wins, with loss of body and of
-soul! Upon a bed, canopied with rich stuffs of woven silk and gold, with
-curtains of satin, rose-colored, and tugged with tassels of silver,
-spread with the finest linen, and covered with flowers, worked upon a
-ground of velvet, lay Anne, the miser’s daughter, pale and emaciated,
-and with her eyes, to whatever point they might turn, resting upon some
-new evidence of her father’s wealth and worldliness, upon some new
-evidence of the cause of all her sorrow. Her physician stood at her
-bed-side; as I entered he raised his finger to his lips, and came to me.
-“She is passing away,” he whispered. I approached the bed slowly, and on
-tiptoe. Anne felt my presence in the air, and turning her face toward
-me, held out her hand. I took it in mine. “I have called you,” said she,
-in a voice scarcely audible, “to take leave of you. You have been my
-good friend since the day that we first met in your office; I a poor
-woman, striving for that which I have long since found to be of little
-worth; when I am gone, transfer your friendship to my father. Tell him
-where I may be found, and bid him there seek for me. Oh, God! how long
-have I wrestled with thee, in bitter prayer, for this favor; thou wilt
-not, in the end, deny it to me. Farewell! We shall meet again! I go to
-my mother. Now bring my father to me, and let us be alone together.”
-
-The physician pressed her hand in silence, turned to the wall, and went
-out. I followed, and we both hastened to call Mr. Cornelius. We found
-him counting over a bag of silver, which he had just received from a
-tenant.
-
-“How is my daughter? Better—well?” he asked, still continuing to count,
-and to test the genuineness of the metal by ringing it upon the table.
-
-“Sir—your daughter is dying.”
-
-“Dying!” and the coin rolled merrily upon the floor. “Dying—doctor?
-Tut, tut. You jest.”
-
-“Mr. Cornelius, your daughter wishes to speak with you, to give you her
-last words in life.”
-
-“_Charlatan_—quack—driveler—you lie!” cried the miser with livid
-lips, starting to his feet, and shaking his clenched hands in the
-physician’s face. “Die!—my daughter shall not die—she cannot die—the
-children of the rich never die—what would you have? Gold!—here is a
-bill for fifty thousand—save my daughter—ay, I will make it a hundred
-thousand—but save my daughter—poor, poor, poor Anne!” and his head
-fell, and rested upon his breast. The old man stood before us
-motionless, transfixed with grief.
-
-“Mr. Cornelius.”
-
-“Oh, I am sick with much sorrow! Lend me your arm? Did you not say
-something of twenty per cent?”
-
-I led him away to his daughter’s chamber. As we entered, her face was
-turned toward us.
-
-“Who said that my daughter was dead?” asked Mr. Cornelius.
-
-Anne feebly smiled.
-
-“We shall all spring upward from the ground, winged; and with a power
-which will bear us swiftly to the throne, which endureth forever and
-forever.”
-
-I hastened to bear her father to her bed-side. The last breath had
-parted from her lips, and as he questioned her, and she returned no
-answer; as he called to her, and she called not back again, he fell upon
-her, and his moan filled the room.
-
-“Gone! oh my daughter; my jewel of great price—the heir to all my
-riches—my second life! Is the breath of man unbought! Can no one bribe
-death? Is there joy in the cold grave? O, come to me, my child, and
-sleep in my bosom, and fare sumptuously every day.” And he drew much
-gold from his pockets, and heaped it upon the bed beside her, and
-wondered that she should die.
-
-And the world wondered, also, that she should die. And idle curiosity
-poured in to look upon her dust; and was shocked, and shrugged its
-shoulders, and exclaimed—“what a pity! In the morning of life—and so
-rich!” And again the world forgot her year of mourning, and her gradual
-decay, and carried its thoughts back to the hours when that small,
-pinched face was radiant with health, and a new-found happiness; and
-laughter rang from those thin lips, and merriment sparkled in the closed
-eye, and whispered and coined suggestions, and said that “after all she
-was not the miser’s daughter, and had died suddenly with the coming of
-that certainty.”
-
-Fools and Idiots! Is not the grave open to all? And did she not well to
-love her father’s soul better than his wealth? And did she not well to
-labor for it, unceasingly; and then, the crowning of that labor, to lie
-down and die?
-
-
- SECTION XV.
-
-The daughter of the rich man was carried to her grave upon the shoulders
-of the rich, followed by a crowd of worshipers; and as the body was
-borne into the Chapel of the Departed, and the procession flowed in, and
-filled the aisles, the choristers chanted the _Requiem_ for the dead.
-
- Dies iræ, dies illa
- Solvet secium in favilla,
- Teste David cum Sybilla.
-
-“My daughter, oh! my daughter; why wouldst thou die?”
-
- Quantus tremor est futurus,
- Quando Judex est venturus,
- Cuncta stricte discussurus.
-
-“Return, oh! return, return again to me.”
-
- Tuba mirum spargens sonum
- Per sepulchra regionum,
- Coget omnes ante thronum!
-
-“and thou shalt make me what thou willest.”
-
- Mors stupebit, et natura,
- Cum resurget creatura,
- Judicanti responsura.
-
-“The shining gold is thine, and houses, and lands, and all the glory of
-life.”
-
- Liber scriptus proferetur,
- In quo totum continetur,
- Unde mundus judicetur.
-
-“My daughter, oh! my daughter, return again to me.”
-
- Judex ergo cum sedebit
- Quidquid latet apparebit,
- Nil inultum remanebit.
-
-“Thy suitors call thee; the music, the dance, the revelry of joy.”
-
- Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
- Quem patronum rogaturus,
- Cum vix justus sit securus?
-
-“No voice, no word, no whisper for my ear.”
-
- Rex tremendæ majestatis,
- Qui salvandos salvas gratis,
- Salva me, fons pietatis.
-
-“Cold, cold, cold in death!”
-
- Recordare, Jesu pie,
- Quod sum causa tuæ viæ,
- Ne me perdas illa die.
-
-“Strike up—louder—louder yet.”
-
- Quærens me sedisti lassus,
- Redemisti crucem passus,
- Tantus labor non sit cassus.
-
-“She loved the noise of trumpets, of sounds harmonious, the bustle of
-the earth.”
-
- Juste Judex ultionis,
- Donum fac remissionis,
- Ante diem rationis.
-
-“Louder, louder—no voice, no word, no whisper for my ear.”
-
- Ingemisco tamquam reus,
- Culpa rubet vultus meus:
- Supplicanti parce, Deus.
-
-“Gone, gone—thus runs the world away!”
-
- Qui Mariam absolvisti,
- Et latronem exaudisti,
- Mihi quoque spem dedisti.
-
-“Poor, poor, poor Anne!”
-
- Precos meæ non sunt dignæ,
- Sed tu, bonu, fac benigne,
- Ne perenni cremer igne.
-
-“In the grave is sleep and rest.”
-
- Inter oves locum præsta,
- Et ab hœdis me sequestra,
- Statuens in parte dextra.
-
-“Cold sleep, cold rest.”
-
- Confutatis maledictis,
- Flammis acribus addictis,
- Voca me cum benedictis.
-
-“Pass on, sweet spirit, to thy waking; if waking there may be.”
-
- Oro supplex, et acclinis;
- Cor contritum quasi cinis,
- Gere curam mei finis.
-
-“Our father, which art in heaven.”
-
- Lacrymosa dies illa
- Qua resurget ex favilla.
-
-“Hallowed be thy name.”
-
- Judicandus homo reus.
- Huic ergo parce Deus.
-
- “Amen.”
-
-We buried Anne, and upon the tablet which marks the place where she is
-laid I caused to be cut her last words—“We shall spring upward from the
-ground, winged, and with a power which will bear us swiftly to the
-throne which endureth forever and forever.”
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE DESERTED.
-
-
- BY MISS MATTIE GRIFFITH.
-
-
- Why didst thou leave me thus? Had memory
- No chain to bind thee to me, lone and wrecked
- In spirit as I am? Was there no spell
- Of power in my deep, yearning love to stir
- The sleeping fountain of thy soul, and keep
- My image trembling there? Is there no charm
- In strong and high devotion such as mine
- To win thee to my side once more? Must I
- Be cast forever off for brighter forms
- And gayer smiles? Alas! I love thee still.
- Love will not, cannot perish in my heart—
- ’Twill linger there forever. Even now
- In our own dear, sweet sunset time, the hour
- Of passion’s unforgotten tryst, I hush
- The raging tumult of my soul, and still
- The fierce strife in my lonely breast where pride
- Is fiercely struggling for control. Each hue
- Of purple, gold and crimson that flits o’er
- The western sky recalls some by-gone joy,
- That we have shared together, and my soul
- Is love’s and memory’s.
- As here I sit
- In loneliness, the thought comes o’er my heart
- How side by side in moonlight eves, while soft
- The rose-winged hours were flitting by, we stood
- Beside that clear and gently-murmuring fount
- O’erhung with wild and blooming vines, and felt
- The spirit of a holy love bedew
- Our hearts’ own budding blossoms. There I drank
- The wild, o’ermastering tide of eloquence
- That flowed from thy o’erwrought and burning soul.
- There thou didst twine a wreath of sweetest flowers
- To shine amid my dark brown locks, and now
- Beside me lies a bud, the little bud
- Thou gav’st me in the glad, bright summer-time,
- Telling me ’twas the emblem of a hope
- That soon would burst to glorious life within
- Our spirit’s garden. The poor fragile bud
- Is now all pale and withered, and the hope
- Is faded in my lonely breast, and cast
- Forever forth from thine.
- They tell me, too,
- My brow and cheek are very pale—Alas!
- There is no more a spirit-fire within
- To light it with the olden glow. Life’s dreams
- And visions all have died within my soul,
- And I am sad and lone and desolate;
- And yet at times, when I behold thee near,
- A something like the dear old feeling stirs
- Within my breast, and wakens from the tomb
- Of withered memories one pale, pale rose,
- To bloom a moment there, and cast around
- Its sweet and gentle fragrance, but anon
- It vanishes away, as if it were
- A mockery, the spectre of a flower;
- I quell my struggling sighs and wear a smile;
- But, ah! that smile, more eloquent than sighs
- Tells of a broken heart.
- ’Tis said that thou
- Dost ever shine the gayest ’mid the gay,
- That loudest rings thy laugh in festive halls,
- That in the dance, with lips all wreathed in smiles,
- Thou whisperest love’s delicious flatteries;
- And if my name is spoken, a light sneer
- Is all thy comment. Yet, proud man, I know
- Beneath thy hollow mask of recklessness
- Thy conscious heart still beats as true to me
- As in the happy eves long past. Ah! once,
- In night’s still hour, when I went forth to weep
- Beneath our favorite tree, whose giant arms
- Seemed stretched out to protect the lonely girl,
- I marked a figure stealing thence away,
- And my poor heart beat quick; for oh! I saw,
- Despite the closely-muffled cloak, ’twas thou
- Then, then I knew that thou in secrecy
- Had’st sought that spot, like me, to muse and weep
- O’er blighted memories. Thou art, like me,
- In heart a mourner. In thy solitude,
- When mortal eyes behold thee not, wild sighs
- Convulse thy bosom, and thy hot tears fall
- Like burning rain. Oh! ’twas thy hand that dealt
- The blow to both our hearts. I well could bear
- My own fierce sufferings, but thus to feel
- That thou, in all thy manhood’s glorious strength
- Dost bear a deep and voiceless agony,
- Lies on my spirit with the dull, cold weight
- Of death. I see thee in my tortured dreams,
- And even with a smile upon thy lip,
- But a keen arrow quivering deep within
- Thy throbbing, bleeding heart. Go, thou may’st wed
- Another; but beside the altar dark
- My mournful form will stand, and when thou see’st
- The wreath of orange blossoms on her brow,
- Oh! it will seem a fiery scorpion coiled
- Wildly around thine own.
- I’m dying now;
- Life’s sands are failing fast, the silver cord
- Is loosed and broken, and the golden bowl
- Is shattered at the fount. My sun has set,
- And dismal clouds hang o’er me; but afar
- I see the glorious realm of Paradise,
- And by its cooling fountains, and beneath
- Its holy shades of palm, my soul will wash
- Away its earthly stains, and learn to dream
- Of heavenly joys. Farewell! despite thy cold
- Desertion, I will leave my angel home,
- Each gentle eve, at our own hour of tryst,
- To hold my vigils o’er thy pilgrimage,
- And with my spirit’s-pinion I will fan
- Thy aching brow, and by a holy spell,
- That I may learn in Heaven, will charm away
- All evil thoughts and passions from thy breast,
- And calm the raging tumult of thy soul.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE LOST DEED.
-
-
- A LEGEND OF OLD SALEM.
-
-
- BY E. D. ELIOT.
-
-
- (_Concluded from page 195._)
-
-Mr. Fayerweather and Madam were seated at breakfast before a blazing
-fire, one very cold morning in January. John had already finished, and
-had gone to Mr. Wendell’s office, in which he was studying his
-profession. Vi’let following Scipio, who had entered with some warm
-toast, came up to the table and said—
-
-“It’s a terrible cold morning, Misser Fayerweather—I ’spect Primus
-han’t got no wood—he’d only jist three sticks yesterday; he’s sick with
-the rheumatis, too—mayn’t Scip carry him over some?”
-
-This meant not wholly for the benefit of Primus, but also as a wholesome
-discipline of Scip himself, whose health Vi’let thought in danger for
-want of exercise. Scip glouted at her but did not dare speak.
-
-“Yes, carry him over a good load Scipio, the moment you have swallowed
-your breakfast. Such a morning as this without wood.”
-
-Madam added—“And you shall carry him some stores to make him
-comfortable. That makes me think of poor Cluff—I am afraid he is out of
-every thing by this time—he must have suffered last night. I ought to
-have seen to him before—poor creature! how could I have neglected him
-so? I might have known it was coming on cold, from its being so warm
-yesterday.”
-
-Mr. Fayerweather endeavored to persuade her that Cluff could scarcely
-have consumed the provisions she sent him on Christmas, but she
-continued to reproach herself until he told her that he was obliged to
-go out in the sleigh as soon as breakfast was over, and that he would go
-down himself and see that the old man was comfortable and was well taken
-care of.
-
-The worthy gentleman finished his meal and the sleigh was ordered out,
-but the hard cough of the old horse as the cutting air struck him on
-being led out of his warm stable, reached his kind master’s ear and
-found its way to his heart.
-
-“Poor old Moses!” he said, “it would be hard to take you out such a day
-as this, it might be your death—I’ll walk. I shall be all the better
-for it.” So saying, he lost no time in hurrying on his roquelaure, and
-set out on a brisk pace, to avoid the expostulations of his wife, who
-had gone to look out some flannels to send Primus. As he passed by Mr.
-Wendell’s, his niece having seen him from the window, was at the door to
-accost him.
-
-“Why, uncle! where are you going this bitter morning? Do come in.”
-
-“Don’t stop me now, child, I’m in haste; perhaps I’ll drop in as I come
-back,” he said; then as he shook his finger at little Will, who was
-hanging on his mother’s apron, he gave them both a look so brimful of
-kindness and affection and something beyond both, as went to her very
-heart. That look Amy never forgot.
-
-The cold was intense, but Mr. Fayerweather proceeded on his way. The air
-felt like solid ice to his face, where it was not entirely muffled with
-the roquelaure, the cape of which was soon thickly frosted with his
-breath. Some shivering, blue-nosed school-boys made their manners as
-they passed. “Run quick, my boys,” he said, “or old Jack Frost will have
-fast hold of you. See that you keep a warm school-room to-day.” A pipkin
-of water was thrown after them from a shop door—it was that of Nanny
-Boynton’s new residence—it froze as it fell, and rattled like pebbles
-on the snowy crust. When he reached the market-place (it was not a
-market-day,) one solitary load of wood was on the stand. As Mr.
-Fayerweather came up, the patient beasts which drew it, turned up their
-broad faces and looked wistfully at him beneath the wreaths of snow
-formed by their breath as it issued from their nostrils. The owner was
-thrashing himself very energetically with his arms, to induce a
-sensation of warmth. Mr. Fayerweather bought the wood and told the man
-to carry it up to his house and tell madam he sent him, this being
-tantamount with telling him to go and make himself comfortable by a good
-fire, with a good luncheon for himself and his cattle. Mr. Fayerweather
-then proceeded on his way. Dr. Holly’s thermometer stood at 18 below 0.
-
-The table was laid for dinner when he returned home. His wife met him
-with as severe reproaches as she knew how to frame, for walking out on
-such a day.
-
-“Don’t scold, my dear,” he replied, good-humoredly, “you are growing a
-perfect shrew, I declare. If you take to scolding, I shall certainly
-take to drinking. I am going to take some brandy now.” Then he went to
-the buffet, and taking from a liquor chest which stood in the lower part
-of it, a case-bottle of brandy, that had reposed there undisturbed, time
-out of mind, and unstopping it, he continued:
-
-“I found Cluff very comfortable, in no want of any thing. I went to two
-or three other places, but hadn’t time to call and see Judith as I
-intended—but let us have dinner, for my walk has made me so hungry I
-could eat a trooper, horse and all.”
-
-Madam went into the kitchen herself to hasten in dinner. She remained a
-moment, to see Vi’let dish up the turkey, and was, with her own hands,
-adding more spice to the gravy, when the sound of some heavy body
-falling, hurried her back to the parlor, followed by all four servants.
-She found her husband extended on the floor. She flew to assist him,
-supposing he had been tripped up accidentally by the carpet, but he was
-without sense or motion. “Quick, run for the doctor, Scip, he’s faint;”
-and madam took the sal volatile from her pocket to apply to his
-nostrils. Vi’let looked at him and felt his pulse, then clasping her
-hands, exclaimed—
-
-“God Almighty, mistress!” She suddenly checked herself, and told Flora
-and Peter to run for Mrs. Wendell and Madam Brinley.
-
-Dr. Holly on his arrival found madam in strong convulsions, requiring
-both her sister and niece to hold her, while Mr. Wendell and John,
-assisted by Vi’let, were endeavoring to revive Mr. Fayerweather, who was
-still on the floor. On examining him attentively, the Doctor shook his
-head hopelessly, but made an immediate attempt to take blood from the
-arm. It was in vain—Mr. Fayerweather was dead. His death, Dr. Holly
-gave it as his opinion, was accelerated by exposure to the cold and the
-long walk, the disease being a hardening of vessels about the heart;
-adding that if he could have taken the brandy (which stood on the table
-in a tumbler, apparently untasted,) it might have saved him. The grief
-of the family and friends of the excellent man may be imagined, but
-cannot be dwelt upon here.
-
-The funeral was the longest that ever had been known in Salem, for never
-was any inhabitant of it more beloved and respected. As soon as madam
-was sufficiently composed, after the funeral, the ebony cabinet was
-searched and a will was found, dated the day before George’s departure.
-It gave the widow the homestead, which had become very valuable,
-together with the whole of the property she had brought; after several
-bequests, a large one to Mr. and Mrs. Wendell jointly, the remainder of
-the property was divided between the two sons. Mr. Wendell was named as
-executor. The estate was perfectly clear and unincumbered and little
-time was requisite to settle it.
-
-A few weeks subsequent to the funeral of Mr. Fayerweather, the
-inhabitants of Salem were called together by an alarm of fire; an
-occurrence so very unusual as well as alarming, that it caused a great
-stir and commotion in the quiet and orderly town. The fire broke out in
-the office of the Register of Deeds, but was soon put out, doing, as was
-at first supposed, but little damage. Upon examination, however, it was
-discovered that several books of valuable records were destroyed, and
-others much injured. Mr. Wendell having ascertained that the one
-containing the copy of the Boynton quit-claim of the Fayerweather
-property was among the burnt, as well as that of a date many years
-prior, thought best to lose no time in having these important documents
-newly registered. Accordingly he looked into the cabinet, which had been
-put into his possession, for the originals.
-
-Upon a thorough search with John Fayerweather, no trace of these papers
-was to be found in the cabinet; nor, to the astonishment and
-consternation of both, in any desk, trunk, drawer or closet in the
-premises of the deceased. The only conjecture madam or John could form
-in regard to the disappearance of these papers was, that either through
-accident or mistake, they had been left in their original place of
-deposit, and were now in the elder son’s possession in the little trunk.
-In the first vessel which sailed for London, therefore, intelligence was
-dispatched to Mr. Haliburton of the melancholy death of his old friend,
-and of the missing papers, that he might find means to convey notice to
-George, sooner than could be done from Salem.
-
-The destruction of the records came to the knowledge of Jemmy Boynton as
-soon as to that of Mr. Wendell, and the delay of the latter to have the
-deeds recorded anew, did not escape her notice. Jemmy was ever on the
-alert to seize upon every circumstance which might possibly involve the
-risk or loss of property to others, in the well-grounded hope, which he
-rarely failed to realize, of in some way or other turning it to his own
-benefit. Accordingly the old fox was not slow to suspect some
-substantial reason for such delay or apparent neglect on the part of so
-careful a man of business as Mr. Wendell was well-known to be, and he
-did not stop till he had found out the true cause. To arrive at
-certainty, he thought it would be best to make a visit of condolence to
-the widow, judging from her well-known simplicity, she would give him
-all the information he desired. And he was not mistaken.
-
-He took care to make his visit at a time when he felt pretty sure Madam
-Fayerweather would be alone. It was on a fine morning in June that Jemmy
-sallied forth. He had dressed himself in the best his wardrobe afforded;
-a suit of fine claret-colored broadcloth, which had been left in pawn to
-him years before by a needy French prisoner on his parole, and which had
-never been redeemed; a white satin waistcoat, grown somewhat yellow with
-age, and white silk hose with gold clocks, fitting tight to his spindle
-legs; all belonging to the same pledge. Possibly the finery of the
-jaunty Frenchman might have inspired him with some undefined notions of
-gallantry; for Jemmy was going to make a call upon a rich widow just six
-months in weeds. But if any airy visions fluttered about his heart and
-occasioned the smirk upon his withered physiognomy as he bent his way to
-her house, they were speedily put to flight on entering the parlor of
-madam, who manifested such unqualified discomfiture on seeing him, that
-the compliment which he had been framing during his walk, perished
-before its birth, and he felt called upon to account for his visit by
-the phrase of condolence he had previously conned over with much care.
-
-“Madam, I come to condole with you on your bereavement—’twas a
-sorrowful bereavement.”
-
-The tears came into the eyes of the widowed lady, but she felt so much
-relieved at finding Jemmy was not come to demand possession of the
-estate, as she at first had supposed, but was only making a friendly
-call in kindness, that it was not in her nature to take it otherwise
-than kindly. Her countenance resumed its usual benevolent expression,
-though much saddened of late, as she thanked him and inquired after
-“Miss Nancy’s health.”
-
-“Thank ye kindly, madam, Nanny’s but poorly with the rheumatis; she
-sends her humble sarvice to you, and hope I see you well.” Then Jemmy
-proceeded in his most insinuating manner, to ask if there was nothing
-that he or Nanny could do to “sarve” her, and really appeared so
-friendly, that madam was taken by surprise, and out the secret came; for
-she thought it would be a fine opportunity to ask him for a new
-quit-claim of the whole property, which, from the great good-will he
-manifested, she could not doubt he would readily give.
-
-His object so fully attained, Jemmy, in his elation became airy, and at
-length quite softened to the tender. Placing his brown forepaws upon his
-knees, he looked down upon his golden clocks, which he thought had
-helped him to win the day, and evading madam’s request, he turned the
-subject to her husband’s death.
-
-“Your worthy spouse, madam, died of an arterplax, (apoplexy?) I take
-it—a-a-hm—well.” The compliment was now revived. “A fat sorrow is
-better than a lean one—he’s left you well to do in the world, and sich
-a parsonable woman as you will find enough ready to supply his place.”
-
-The smirk which had been frightened away on his entrance, again returned
-to adorn his lanthern jaws, giving Madam Fayerweather, in indignant
-amazement, some reason to imagine he contemplated offering himself as a
-candidate for the place he alluded to, with small doubts of being a
-favored one. She rose, and all the Borland blood mounted to her face.
-The bell-rope was jerked with a violence wholly unnecessary, for Scipio
-made his appearance before the bell could sound in the kitchen; he and
-Vi’let having, on Jemmy’s first entrance, stationed themselves in the
-passage between the parlor and kitchen, and had heard through the
-keyhole all which had passed. The guest, however, thought good to make a
-precipitate retreat without waiting for the ceremony of being shown the
-door. As he passed by the side-gate, Vi’let stood ready to salute him
-with a ladleful of some liquid, taken from a kettle on the kitchen
-hearth, which all the plates and dishes, as they had come from the
-table, had passed through to restore them to their native purity,
-leaving behind them their impurities floating on the top; and as the
-rich compound splashed over the skirts of his coat and his silken hose,
-with gold clocks, she cried after him:
-
-“You want to take Misser Fayerweather’s place, do ye! ye old
-skinflint—well, see how you like a sup of Vi’let’s broth.”
-
-Stung with his unceremonious dismission; his legs smarting with the
-scalding liquor, Vi’let’s insult was more than he could bear. Turning
-round in a rage, he called out, doubling up his fist and shaking it at
-her—
-
-“Tell your proud jade of a mistress she wont hold her head so high long,
-on other people’s ground! And as for you! ye nigger”—he made use of an
-epithet which would not appear polite here—“I’ll have you up to the
-whipping-post!”
-
-Vi’let answered him with a scornful laugh, as she slammed the gate after
-him. Poor madam was overwhelmed with mortification and chagrin at her
-own folly, of which she was fully sensible as soon as she had committed
-herself.
-
-As Jemmy proceeded home, his keen sense of indignity wore off in the
-exulting thought of vengeance in full prospect. He and his precious
-sister, however, had one great drawback to their satisfaction; the
-necessity of opening their purse-strings sufficiently wide to draw
-therefrom a fee large enough to induce any man of the law to undertake
-the case against Mr. Wendell, who was regarded throughout the province
-as the head of the profession. But a lawyer was at length found at the
-distance of twenty miles, who was willing to engage in the cause for a
-moderate share of the profits, if successful, and to lose his fee if
-not; and the trial was prepared to come on at the annual November court.
-
-It occasioned a great sensation at the bar, from the amount of property
-involved, and the respective characters of the plaintiffs and defendant;
-the latter being Mr. Wendell, as executor to the deceased. He determined
-to plead the cause himself, assisted by a friend as junior counsel. At
-the first trial, little difficulty was found in having it postponed a
-year, to give time to hear from Captain Fayerweather; much to the
-disappointment of the plaintiffs.
-
-The most intense anxiety was now felt by the Fayerweather family, and
-all connected with it, to hear from George; but as it was known he was
-to embark from Europe on a voyage of discovery in the South sea, small
-hopes were entertained of receiving letters from him for many months.
-
-To return to a more pleasing subject—Judith was the darling of all. As
-her character became more matured with her person, both increased in
-loveliness, and both received a new charm from the cultivation of her
-intellect, which proved of no common order. George’s presents to her
-were chiefly of books; for though his active life prevented him from
-being a great reader himself, the whole atmosphere in which he had been
-born and educated, the circle of which he was the pride when at home,
-being intelligent, he was anxious that deficiency in this point should
-not be found in Judith. No deficiency of any kind, however, was
-discovered in her by his family. John regarded her with an affection
-scarcely less than George’s; and though the idea of supplanting his
-brother, or of Judith’s ever being more to him than a sister, never
-crossed his mind, he formed no other attachment.
-
-Captain Stimpson, now grown somewhat stiff in his limbs, gave up his
-lookout in the cupola to Judith, and was at some expense to have it
-fitted up for her with cushions and curtains, and a spy-glass for her
-particular use. Her sleeping apartment opened directly at the foot of
-the stairs which led to it; and here with her books and her Eolian harp,
-she passed all the time which she felt to be exclusively her own. Her
-prospect was that of the harbor, opening into the ocean, under every
-aspect a noble one—with Baker’s island, and its light-house in the
-distance, on one side, and several hamlets at different distances on the
-other; the town, with its then few streets and scattered dwellings, and
-the level country beyond. The view offered little of the beautiful, the
-romantic or the picturesque; but all that was wanting its fair
-beholder’s imagination could supply; and it may be questioned whether a
-view of the bay of Naples even, with all its magnificence of scenery,
-could give rise to conceptions of more beauty in some minds, than were
-formed in Judith’s by the ordinary one of Salem harbor.
-
-Time went on, and it was now near the end of the summer preceding the
-November, when the cause was to come on at the Ipswich court. Letters
-had twice been received from Captain Fayerweather, but of a date prior
-to his leaving Europe, and arrivals were looked for every day, which
-were expected to bring answers to the information that had been
-dispatched to him of all which had occurred to his family since his
-departure. One fine evening, Judith, having finished all her domestic
-tasks for the day, below stairs, ascended to her observatory, thinking
-she should not be missed; her father having set out on his daily visit
-to the rope-walk—_en amateur_, for the captain had retired from
-business—her grandfather was quietly reposing in his chair, and her
-mother holding sweet communion with her dearly beloved Nanny
-Dennis—Mrs. Brayton.
-
-On reaching her airy retreat, the fair maiden took the spy-glass, and
-adjusting its tube, strained her vision over the ocean, hoping to espy
-the mast of some vessel coming into port. In vain—the curve of the wide
-horizon was unbroken even by a speck. A gentle sigh escaped her as she
-spoke; “Not yet; well, it must come before long.” She then took her
-book, and was soon luxuriating in the fairy-land of poetry. From time to
-time her eyes wandered from the page, to cast themselves over the
-expanse of waters before her, glowing beneath the sky of twilight, and
-scarcely dimpled by a breath of wind, as the tide still advanced to fill
-the broad basin, and broke in low ripples on its now brimming edge.
-
-Darkness at length came on, and being no longer able to distinguish its
-characters, she laid aside her book, and turned her eyes and thoughts to
-the scene without. Insensibly almost to herself, her ideas arranged
-themselves in measure, and she repeated in a low whisper:
-
- “The winds have folded their tired wings
- And sunk in their caves to rest;
- The Evening falls, for Day is gone
- Far down in the purple West.”
-
-She stopped, feeling almost like a culprit detected in some flagrant
-misdemeanor; but as new images rose in her mind unbidden, and seemed to
-plead for a permanent existence, she continued,
-
- “And yonder the star of Evening gems
- The brow of the pale young Moon
- That journeys on in sadness and tears,
- To finish her course so soon.”
-
-Gathering courage, she proceeded:
-
- “She’s gone—and deep the falling shades
- Close over the quiet plain;
- While shore and hamlet, and grove and field,
- Resign them to Night’s calm reign.”
-
-Thinking whether she should ever dare confess her enormity to George,
-she went on:
-
- “The ocean’s dark breast is dimly seen
- By the stars as they glimmer near,
- Where the waves dash low—while a far-off roar
- From the distant beach[6] I hear.
-
- A spark from yon low isle in the East,
- Now twinkles across the bay!
- And now it steadily flames, to guide
- The mariner on his way.
-
- Oh, dear to me is thy distant beam!
- Lone dweller of the night waves.”—
-
-“Judy! Judy!” roared her father’s voice, “come down directly!—here’s
-letters from Captain Fayerweather.”
-
-She sprang, and was down stairs, almost before the last syllable had
-left her father’s lips. He stood with the packet in his hand, which he
-told her came by the way of Beverly. On carrying it to the light, it was
-discovered to be directed to John Fayerweather. Judith felt something a
-little like disappointment, though she had no reason to expect it would
-be directed to herself. “But how was she to get her own letter
-to-night—if there was one for her.” This, if not on her lips, was in
-her thought.
-
-Her father took the packet from her hand; “Here, I’ll take it up in town
-myself; I should like to be the one to give it to them, and you shall
-have your own letter to-night.” Without waiting for an answer, off he
-set, and his sturdy stump—stump—stump, was heard the whole length of
-the street, until he turned the corner. Judith almost quarreled with the
-feeling of delicacy which had forbade her accompanying him.
-
-The town clock struck ten as Captain Stimpson reached Paved street, and
-with a louder and quicker stump—stump—stump, he hastened on. Just
-before he reached the Fayerweather mansion, he met Mr. and Mrs. Wendell
-coming from thence, and on learning his errand, they turned back with
-him. The eagerness with which John seized the packet, and the beating of
-the heart which all felt as they gathered round him while he opened it,
-may be readily imagined. It contained but two letters, his own and one
-to Judith. He handed the latter to her father, who immediately departed
-with it.
-
-The first opening of John’s letter proved a bitter disappointment to
-all, for the date was only a week subsequent to that of the packet,
-which had been last received. In that one George had not written to his
-brother, and to supply the omission, he appeared to have seized upon
-another opportunity which occurred directly after, by a different route.
-This letter was a very long one, and bore marks of the strong affection
-which subsisted between the two brothers. One passage in it, however,
-had a strong negative bearing upon the lost papers. It ran thus: “My
-father’s little trunk, which I took with me, to hold the letters I
-expected to receive from home, is still _empty_; not one have I received
-since I left Salem.” This, Mr. Wendell said, was _prima facie_ evidence
-that the deeds were not in their original place of deposite.
-
-The next morning another thorough search was made, which proved as
-fruitless as the preceding ones, leaving Mr. Wendell and John in a state
-of perplexity scarcely to be imagined; the former, however, resisting
-all internal misgivings as to the final issue of the cause, and
-maintaining his conviction that the papers would be found in time to be
-produced on the trial. Captain Fayerweather was not expected home until
-the next spring. Throughout the whole affair his mother had discovered a
-strength of mind scarcely expected from her, and assisted in all the
-researches with great energy. A spirit had been roused in her by
-Boynton’s insult, as she felt it, which proved a radical cure for all
-disorders on her nerves; she never had a fit of hysterics after.
-
-The autumn advanced, but brought no new arrivals. November came, the
-court sat at Ipswich, and the cause of Boynton versus Wendell was third
-on the list. The anxiety of all concerned may be imagined. It would
-scarcely be supposed that at this time an object could exist of
-sufficient interest to divert, for a moment, the thoughts of Madam and
-John from the issue of this trial, which might, and the probability was
-now strong that it would, drive them from the home of their happiest
-days, with the loss of an estate, half of which had been twice paid for.
-Such an object was, however, found in old Jaco. He had been declining
-for some time, and all the care of the family had been directed to
-keeping him alive until his master’s return. As the weather grew colder,
-Vi’let had been prevailed upon to allow him to stay in the kitchen; and
-much softened in her nature by her master’s decease, she made a bed for
-him behind the settle, and gave him warm milk several times a day with
-her own hand, without once debating the question of his having a soul,
-and the sinfulness of making him comfortable, if he had not, as she
-might have done years agone.
-
-One afternoon, some days before the cause was to be tried, John received
-a hurried note from Mr. Wendell, who was at Ipswich on business; the
-note was dated the day before, and expressed some fears, which he had
-never allowed to appear before, as to the issue of the trial. “His
-hopes,” the note said, “still predominated, but he thought it would be
-best for John not to allow his mother to be buoyed up by them, but to
-endeavor to prepare her for the worst.” The student, with a heavy heart,
-left the office and went home to seek his mother. He felt relieved on
-finding she had lain down after dinner, and had at length fallen asleep,
-after having passed several wakeful nights. He would not awaken her, but
-went out to see old Jaco.
-
-The poor brute lay panting, and was now evidently drawing near his end.
-At John’s approach he turned his head toward him, feebly wagged his
-tail, and gave a low whine. After a while he rose on his feet, and
-staggered to the door, which John opening, the dog made out to reach the
-middle of the yard, when he fell and lay gasping. His master bent over
-him, and gently patting him, spoke soothingly; at which Jaco opened his
-eyes and made a feeble attempt to lick the kind hand which caressed him.
-At this instant a light breeze swept by; and as John felt it wave the
-hair on his brow and flutter for a moment on his cheek with the feeling
-of the balmy spring, it was singularly associated with recollections of
-his brother, whose image it brought to his side with all the vividness
-of reality. As, like a light breath, it passed to Jaco, the dying animal
-started suddenly and rose on his haunches, snuffed eagerly in the air
-three times—stopped—then gave one long-protracted howl, when he fell,
-quietly stretched himself out to his full length—and poor Jaco lay
-stiffening in death. John watched him for a minute or two, when a low
-sob might have been heard from him as he turned away, and took his
-course through the garden and fields to the water side.
-
-Judith, on this afternoon, felt a weight on her spirits, wholly unknown
-to her before. She could not entirely conceal her depression from her
-parents, and they were not surprised at it, in the present juncture of
-affairs in the Fayerweather family. She, however, could not have given
-this as the cause of her depression, had it been inquired of her, for
-this day her mind had been less occupied with the trial, and its
-probable issue, than it had been for a week previous, and she felt
-unable to account for the sadness which oppressed her. Her father, at
-length, went out to see if he could not pick up some news, and Judith,
-after in vain attempting to rally herself, went up to her little cupola.
-
-She looked from her window, but the aspect of all without seemed in
-accordance with her feelings. The sky of one leaden hue, looked as if no
-sun had ever enlivened it, and the sea beneath of a darker shade, heaved
-and tossed as if sullenly brooding over some storm in recollection. The
-wind whistled through the bare branches of the trees before the house,
-and drove a few withered leaves to and fro on the terrace, then found
-its way within doors, and moaned through the passages. Some groups of
-boys, as they went from house to house, to gather a few pence for their
-bonfire (it was the fifth of November), at another time, might have
-seemed to add some little liveliness to the scene; but to Judith, their
-voices as they reached her ear from below, had a melancholy tone, as
-they chanted their rhymes, and the tinkling of their little bells
-sounded doleful.
-
-She placed her harp in the window; for a minute or two the strings were
-silent, and she repeated her accustomed little invocation—
-
- “Ye winds that were cradled beyond the broad sea,
- Come stoop from your flight with your errand to me;
- And softly the strings of my harp as ye blow,
- Shall whisper your tidings of weal or of wo.”
-
-The wind appeared to answer her summons but fitfully at first, the
-strings jarring without music, as it swept over them. The blast
-increasing in strength, the tones became for a while loud, harsh, and
-discordant; then, as it blew more steadily, they gradually blended into
-harmony, and at length, sent to her ear a strain of such deep
-melancholy, as struck despair into her heart. Suddenly there was a
-crash, succeeded by the _tolling of a distant bell_. So profound was the
-illusion of the spell-bound hearer, that she did not perceive the
-snapping of a string, which, by the striking of its loose fragment over
-the others, produced the sounds so full of wo, to her saddened spirit.
-They ceased, and the harp was silent.
-
-Again its tones were heard, faintly, and as from afar; but gradually
-drawing nearer, as a gentle gale passed over the chords to the dejected
-girl. It fluttered round her, soft as the breath of a summer evening,
-kissed her fair brow and delicate cheek, and waved each golden curl
-which hung round her white throat, while a solemn strain arose, and
-softening by degrees to a melody of more than earthly beauty, as it
-seized upon her entranced senses, dispelled every cloud from her
-spirits, and poured into her soul peace and joy. Then as the breeze
-which bore it appeared to depart, and wing its way back over the ocean,
-the tones seemed to syllable the word, farewell, repeated each time with
-more sweetness, until the sounds were lost in distance. When Judith
-descended, her parents were rejoiced to see the dark shade dispelled
-from her brow.
-
-Mr. Wendell sat up late on the preceding night, preparing a defense in a
-case, in which all the vigor of a powerful intellect was called forth,
-aided by profound legal learning. He retired to rest, weary, but not
-dispirited, confident that a few hours repose would fully restore him.
-But after sleeping heavily until late the next morning, he awoke, not
-refreshed with slumber, as was his wont, but feeling a languor wholly
-unknown to him before. He, however, would not succumb to the feeling,
-but rose, determined to conquer it; took a walk, and used violent
-exercise, which was of benefit, for when he returned he ate his
-breakfast with a good appetite, and then sat down to examine his notes.
-The seat of his indisposition was now apparent, for on his first attempt
-to read, he felt a pressure on his brain, and a confusion of ideas,
-which rendered his mind wholly incapable of following any train of
-argument, and scarcely able to take in the sense of what he had written.
-The only course now remaining to him, he adopted, which was to leave
-this case in the hands of the junior counsel, to have it, if possible,
-continued over to the Spring term; after doing which, he mounted his
-horse and proceeded homeward, leaving word that he would return in time
-for the Fayerweather case. For the first time in his life he felt gloomy
-and depressed. The exercise of riding was grateful to him, and he felt
-refreshed. After riding an hour or two, his spirits rose to their
-accustomed buoyancy, though his ideas still remained confused, when he
-attempted to pursue a train of thought.
-
-He arrived in Salem about three o’clock in the afternoon—the same
-afternoon the poor dog Jaco died. At he was proceeding through the main
-street, or reaching the one which turned down to the wharves, his horse
-suddenly snorted and became restive. He patted and soothed his old
-servant, and then looked round to discover the occasion of so unwonted a
-freak, when he saw a powerfully built man in the garb of a seaman, who
-appeared to be advancing toward him. He stopped his horse with great
-difficulty, and the stranger came within a few yards of him. What was
-his surprise and joy on seeing George Fayerweather?
-
-His exclamation was stopped short by the horse giving a plunge, which,
-if Mr. Wendell had not sat well in his saddle would have thrown him.
-Captain Fayerweather’s countenance discovered marks of alarm and
-distress as he drew nearer, and while he spoke to Mr. Wendell, the horse
-snorted and again plunged fearfully, and at length reared, and stood
-nearly upright; but his master sat firm as if glued to the saddle, while
-he listened to George’s hurried account of where the deed was. As
-Captain Fayerweather finished, he turned away quickly, and the animal
-again put his fore-feet to the ground. As Captain Fayerweather turned
-the corner, Mr. Wendell called after him, and then finding all endeavors
-to make the horse follow him, vain, he dismounted and gave the bridle
-into the hands of a man whom he knew, and who at this juncture came up.
-He then turned the corner too, but George was gone. His communication,
-however, in spite of the restiveness of the horse, had reached the ears
-of Mr. Wendell, and now absorbed all his faculties, as he hastened home
-with a rapid pace.
-
-On this afternoon, Mrs. Wendell sat at work in her parlor, her mind full
-of the event of the trial, and revolving over many plans for her aunt,
-on its now probable issue. She was thinking over her Aunt Brinley’s
-proposal, that the three families should make but one, and should occupy
-her house, which was sufficiently large; when some one opened the front
-door, and came immediately into the room. It was her husband, looking
-excessively pale, and his whole appearance betokening hurry and
-agitation. Scarcely heeding her, he went to a large closet in the room,
-where he kept books and papers, and where her uncle’s ebony cabinet was
-placed.
-
-To her questions of surprise and alarm she could only obtain in reply—
-
-“I cannot answer you now, my love, wait.”
-
-He went to the cabinet, and proceeded to take out the three small
-drawers of the centre, which he placed on the floor, and then narrowly
-examined the vacancy they left. Unable to restrain her curiosity, she
-looked over his shoulder. As he knelt, he just made out to discover a
-small projection at the back, to which he applied two of his fingers,
-and the whole partition slipped down, and discovered a narrow cavity in
-the very centre of the cabinet. Two papers appeared, tied together with
-red tape; one of which was discolored as if with age. He clapped his
-hands with a joy strangely contrasted with his pallid countenance, and
-both exclaimed at once—she with a scream—“Here they are! the deeds!
-the deeds! found at last!”
-
-Mr. Wendell then mentioned to his wife his meeting with George, who he
-supposed had just landed; and might have gone to see Judith before he
-went home. Mrs. Wendell expressed her joy at her cousin’s return, and
-then again remarked her husband’s paleness, and anxiously inquired the
-cause; but he made light of it.
-
-“O, I am well enough,” he said, “but I sat up late last night—and
-perhaps,” he said, with a faint smile, “it was the fright my horse gave
-me, while George was speaking. He nearly threw me, and prevented my
-saying a word until George was gone—but I must return immediately to
-Ipswich; these papers must be produced in court to-morrow. I little
-thought when I came away, of returning in such triumph; but, good-bye,
-my love; I cannot stop a moment;” and off he hurried.
-
-Mrs. Wendell immediately flew into her aunt’s, whom with John she found
-in utter ignorance of George’s return. When informed of it, and of the
-discovery of the lost papers, her joy almost overcame her. In her
-impatience to see him, she thought Judith was almost unkind to detain
-him so long.
-
-“She might come with him,” she said, and John started up, and set off to
-bring them both. On his way, he met Captain Stimpson, who, he found, had
-neither seen nor heard any thing of his brother, though just returned
-from home. He, however, was laden with tidings of high import, and was
-coming up in town to tell his news.
-
-A vessel had that afternoon put in at Beverly with government
-dispatches; and staying only long enough to send them on shore, had set
-sail for Quebec. The dispatches were of so much importance, that an
-express was immediately sent off with them to Boston, and it was
-supposed they were the forerunners of peace. The vessel was expected to
-return to Salem in a month. This was the rumor which Captain Stimpson
-brought, for it was but a rumor, of which every one down in town was
-full; but of which, no one appeared to know either the origin or
-grounds. The name of the vessel, or of its master, could not be
-ascertained. The worthy relator accompanied John home, and the four
-there assembled, concluded with one voice, and almost one feeling of
-deep disappointment, that the Captain of the vessel must have been
-George, and that being under orders to proceed to Quebec, with the least
-possible delay, he would not trust himself to come home, or to see
-Judith, for fear of being detained too long. His not explaining himself
-to Mr. Wendell was accounted for, Mrs. Wendell said, by the restiveness
-of the horse, which probably did not allow him to say more than was
-barely sufficient for the finding of the papers.
-
-The next day, the cause at Ipswich was decided at once, by Mr. Wendell’s
-producing the deeds. And heavy were the costs which fell upon the
-plaintiffs; their counsel retaining no recollection—there being no
-witnesses to it—of the agreement to lose his fees, should he fail to
-gain the cause; he expressing at the same time a high-minded indignation
-at having been taken in to engage in a case, in which so much knavery
-was concerned.
-
-“Poor Jaco! I ’clare it makes me sithe to think on him.” And Vi’let
-sighed audibly, when Peter removed his mat from the kitchen. Poor Jaco’s
-remains were respectably interred in the garden, under his absent
-master’s favorite tree, with a stone to mark the spot, setting forth his
-useful life and many virtues.
-
-Pleasantly passed the month in Paved street, in anticipation of George’s
-return: the smiles returning to his mother’s countenance, which had
-seldom visited it since his father’s death. And pleasantly glided by the
-hours to Judith; but how—in her eyrie, watching the waves which were
-soon to bear her lover to her, and invoking the winds to speed his
-course? Not she—she taxed herself with selfishness, in having already
-spent so much time, engrossed by her own feelings, and not in
-administering to the happiness of others; and she resolutely determined
-not to go up into the cupola, take the spy-glass into her hand, nor even
-to consult the golden fish, which surmounted the highest peak of Captain
-Brayton’s house as a weathercock—which latter she could do by only
-looking out of the east-room window—until she had made up for lost
-time, and finished several pieces of work she had on hand.
-
-Mr. Solomon Tarbox, seeing there was no hope for him with Judith, had
-paid his addresses to Miss Ruthy Philpot, the daughter of a
-ship-chandler in the neighborhood, and their nuptials were near at hand.
-Judith had set up a patch-work quilt in the summer, as a bridal present.
-
-“And it was high time it was completed,” she said. So every afternoon,
-after her household cares for the day were over, she sat herself at her
-patch-work in the sitting-room, and with her lively chatter shed the
-sunshine of her own happy spirits over her parents and grandfather. At
-the end of three weeks the quilt was completed.
-
-“And a beauty it was,” Ruthy said, when Judith surprised her with it,
-and taking it from the arms of the boy who brought it, unfolded it
-before her admiring eyes. “And the pattern of the quilting, too, in
-shells—so much genteeler than herring-bone—it was the handsomest
-present she had had yet; but her thanks should be paid when Judith
-should be in the same case; which would be before long, no doubt.”
-
-As Judith returned home, how beautiful every thing appeared to her. The
-first snow had fallen the night before, and spread over the ground its
-pure white mantle, the hue of her own bright spirit; and blithe as a
-young snow-bird she flitted along, so lightly, that one had almost
-wondered to see the print of her fairy foot. As she looked up into the
-clear blue sky, how could she help the dazzling of her eye by the golden
-fish, when it was directly before her, and the sun shone full upon it;
-and how was it possible for her not to see that it’s head pointed due
-east? At the sight, who can tell what sudden thought sent a brighter
-flush to her cheeks, already glowing with spirits and exercise, and
-quickened her footsteps homeward? On reaching the house, before
-disarraying herself of her scarlet cloak, she bounded up to her cupola,
-and took the spy-glass into her hand.
-
-The glass was adjusted to her eye, and slowly turned to every point of
-the eastern horizon; but the line marking the meeting of the bright blue
-heaven and the dark blue sea remained whole and unbroken. But no!—is
-not that a speck? It is—and it increases and nears! Her start sent the
-glass from her hand; when again adjusted, she could plainly perceive
-three masts rising from the waves; and now the swelling sails emerge,
-and now the dark hull.
-
-“Judy! do you see that sail?” called Captain Stimpson from below, in the
-voice of a speaking-trumpet.
-
-“I do, sir,” answered Judith from aloft. And now the whole ship was
-visible, gracefully moving over the waters, and proudly and beautifully
-she bore herself. The father and daughter watched her progress from the
-first speck they could discern in the bay, until she cast anchor in the
-harbor, Mrs. Stimpson having indulgently delayed tea for them, to which
-they now sat down; it being so dark they could see no longer. After tea,
-Judith sat down to her work, and endeavored to be tranquil. “It was
-wholly uncertain,” she said to her father, “whether this were Captain
-Fayerweather’s vessel or not;” and she really tried to persuade both him
-and herself, that she thought in all probability it was not. Her ears,
-however, would perversely listen to every noise from without, which her
-imagination mischievously converted into the voices of the busy crew
-from the vessel, plainly distinguishing a well-known one among them,
-though far out in the harbor. Captain Stimpson was sure it was the
-vessel, and that they should see George that evening; and so thought
-Mrs. Stimpson. Their daughter very undutifully said, “It was not at all
-probable, even if he had come—and she felt almost sure he had not—that
-he would be willing to leave his mother so soon, even if she would let
-him.”
-
-The evening wore on, and the little group were undisturbed. Judith could
-not repress a gentle sigh at thinking how rightly she had judged. Her
-father at length started up, and said, “He’d make certain whether the
-chap had come or not;” and accordingly put on his galoches, and was
-going for his cloak—(his daughter usually brought it for him, but she
-did not do it just then)—when footsteps were heard on the terrace.
-Judith disappeared from the room. There was a loud knock at the door,
-and Captain Stimpson went to it. On his opening it, Mrs. Stimpson heard
-his hearty and vociferous, “How are you, my lad?” and hastened to give
-her welcome with voice, hand, and tears, to the tall, stout man whom her
-husband ushered in. Her joyful greeting was received in silence, and
-with no answering marks of recognition.
-
-“This cannot be Captain Fayerweather,” she said, turning to her husband.
-
-“Captain Fayerweather? No, madam, my name is Brown,” said the stranger,
-gravely. He seated himself, as invited, and there was a pause which
-neither Captain nor Mrs. Stimpson felt able immediately to break. At
-length the stranger said, “I am mate of the Dolphin, Captain Richard
-Seaward, master; and he desired me to tell you, he would himself have
-brought the intelligence I am to give you, but he is sick, and was
-obliged to take to his bed as soon as he came ashore.” Mr. Brown stopped
-and cleared his voice.
-
-He resumed. “You took me for Captain Fayerweather; what I have to say is
-concerning him. Captain Fayerweather took passage from London in the
-Dolphin; and he told Captain Seaward that he had just arrived from the
-Cape of Good Hope, where he had found letters from home, which rendered
-it necessary that he should return with all possible dispatch; and that
-finding a vessel at the Cape ready to sail for London, he had left his
-own, which had a consort, to the charge of the second officer and an
-experienced crew, to proceed into the Pacific, and had taken passage in
-the one to London, hoping there to find some opportunity of going to
-America. We set sail from London on the third of November—”
-
-Captain Stimpson interrupted him. “On the third of November, did you
-say—and with Captain Fayerweather on board? That can’t be true, sir—he
-was here on the fifth.”
-
-The stranger answered gravely, “Sir, the business Captain Seaward sent
-me upon, is any thing but trifling. The Dolphin certainly sailed from
-London the third of November, and with Captain Fayerweather on board;
-all the crew will testify to this. But did I understand you rightly to
-say, he was here on the fifth? How—at what time? Who saw him—did you?
-There must have been some mistake.”
-
-Captain Stimpson, much surprised, replied, “I did not see him myself,
-but his cousin, Squire Wendell, did. He met him in the street between
-three and four in the afternoon. There could have been no mistake, for
-he told the squire something of great importance to his family, that
-nobody but himself could have known. The vessel we supposed he came in,
-put in at Beverly; she staid only long enough to deliver some dispatches
-for government, and sailed directly for Quebec, intending to return here
-in a month. We supposed fully that your vessel was the one, and we were
-expecting Captain Fayerweather when you came.”
-
-While the captain spoke, Mr. Brown showed marks of astonishment and
-agitation. He was silent a few moments, though his lips moved, and he
-appeared to be making some calculations. At length he spoke, in a voice
-apparently from the depths of his chest, slowly and distinctly, but
-turning pale as he proceeded. “On the fifth of November, two days sail
-from London, about eight o’clock in the evening, which, allowing for
-difference of longitude, corresponds to between three and four here, in
-a raging storm, Captain Fayerweather fell from the mast-head into the
-sea, and was lost!”
-
-Judith’s shriek was heard from the inner-room, but before her parents
-could reach it, she had fallen senseless on the floor. Her father took
-her in his arms, while her mother bathed her temples. On reviving, she
-held up her clasped hands imploringly to her mother, and asked if she
-had heard aright, and if her ears had not deceived her. Poor Mrs.
-Stimpson was incapable of answering her, excepting by tears; and her
-father could only clasp her more closely. “Oh! he’s gone then;—let me
-go, too;” and she struggled to free herself. “But where! where shall I
-go?—what shall I do? Why did you bring me to?—it would have been
-better for me to have died. I do not wish to live! Why did you not let
-me die? I will die!—I will not live!”
-
-Her father now blubbered outright. “And would you leave your poor old
-sir, and your ma’am, that have their lives bound up in you, and that
-would die, too, without you? Have you no love left for them?”
-
-“I do love you both,” she cried; “but now—oh, George! I wish I was in
-the depths of the sea with you.”
-
-“Hush! sinful child,” sternly said her grandfather, who had left his
-chair and now stood before her, his trembling, withered hand held up in
-reproof; “receive this dispensation of the Lord as a massy; he has taken
-from you your idol, that was a robbing him of your heart; turn to him on
-your bended knees, and implore His pardon for your sin.”
-
-As she heard him, she appeared by a strong effort only, to suppress a
-scream. “Oh! spare me now, grandfather,” she cried; and she threw
-herself on the floor, where she lay with her arm over her face, whilst
-sobs convulsed her whole frame.
-
-“You are too hard upon her, grandsir,” cried her mother, with some
-asperity, and smarting for her child; “you forget she is young flesh and
-blood; but you are such a saint, and you live so much for another world,
-that you make no allowance for a poor young creature’s feelings in this,
-when her heart is almost torn out of her body.”
-
-“Child,” said the old man, trembling, “you ere cutting on me with a
-sharp knife! I, a saint! oh, you don’t know nothing of the wickedness of
-this old heart; that it was my own sinfulness I was a rebuking, when I
-was so harsh with this dear child; for I confess it—and it is with
-shame and confusion—that I have thought more of her being among the
-grand of the airth, of her riding in her chariot, dressed in vain attire
-of silks and satins, and adorned with pairls and jewels of fine goold,
-than of the welfare of her immortal soul. And I verily believe,” he
-continued, the tears which had long been strangers on his usually placid
-face, now running down his furrowed cheek, and his whole countenance
-working with distress, “I verily believe for my sin, this has fallen
-upon us all; and oh! that this old white head had it all to bear.”
-
-Mrs. Stimpson was entirely subdued by this humble confession of her
-father-in-law, whom she had always regarded as so near perfection, and
-so much above all human weakness, that her affection for him had been
-chilled by a feeling partaking of awe. “Oh, grandsir!” she said, “how
-cruel I’ve been to you; but I never knew how tender-hearted you were
-before.”
-
-“No, child, you have always been good to me,” returned the old man; “and
-better than I desarve; but let us pray that this affliction may be
-sanctified to us all, and wean us from the perishing things of this
-airth—myself above all, who can’t have much longer to stay; and this
-dear child, that she may feel it as a goolden thread a drawing on her
-easy like to heaven.” He then knelt down, his son and daughter-in-law by
-his side, and offered up an humble and fervent prayer over Judith, who
-was lying before them.
-
-Meanwhile the paroxysms of her grief appeared to abate by degrees, and
-during her grandfather’s prayer her lips moved as if accompanying him;
-her sobs became less frequent, and at length were heard no longer; her
-slow and regular breathing showing that she had fallen into a profound
-sleep. Her father brought a pillow and tenderly placed it beneath her
-head. She slept heavily for more than an hour, when, it being long after
-midnight, her parents, fearing she would take cold, removed her into
-their own bed—this room being their sleeping apartment in the winter
-season. As she moaned on being disturbed, her mother soothed and
-caressed her; and then placing herself by the side of her child, she
-folded her in her arms, and lulled her to sleep, as if again an infant,
-while her father placed himself in the easy-chair, and watched until
-sleep overpowered him.
-
-The next morning, as the anxious parents were bending over their
-darling, she opened her eyes, and a beautiful smile spread itself over
-her features. “Oh! I have seen him to-night,” she said, “and he was
-among the blessed; he told me to live for your sake and his mother’s,
-and he would watch over me until we met in heaven.” When thoroughly
-awakened from her dream, she looked fondly on her father and mother, and
-clasping the hands of both, said, “Oh! how wicked and ungrateful I was
-to you last night! Can you forgive me? and henceforth I will only live
-to please you, and will have no wish but yours.”
-
-“You, dear child, you never did any thing but please us; you never had
-any other wish but ours,” both answered with streaming eyes.
-
-Judith then arose and dressed herself; her trembling limbs and pale
-countenance sufficiently betraying the shock her frame had received. She
-went out of the room and busied herself even more than was her wont in
-domestic details, and throughout the day endeavored by redoubled
-attention and affection to her grandfather, to make amends to him for
-her impatience the night before.
-
-The fine weather of the preceding day had been succeeded in the night by
-a driving snow-storm, which had increased to such violence by morning,
-as to prevent any communication with the Fayerweather family during the
-day. Toward evening the wind shifted to the south, bringing a rain which
-lasted till the next day, melting the great quantity of snow which had
-fallen, and rendering the streets impassable. Judith’s sense of duty,
-aided by active and unremitting occupation, had so far enabled her to
-struggle against any further indulgence of her grief. Her parents were
-surprised at the composure she maintained, while she sat down this
-afternoon, as was frequently her wont, on a low stool by her
-grandfather’s side. She had a large basket by her, filled with new cloth
-of different kinds, which her mother and she had cut out, and had
-already begun to make into various articles, in preparation for her own
-housekeeping. She selected a damask table-cloth from the basket, and
-turning the hem, began to sew. After taking a few stitches, her wonted
-smile flitted over her countenance and raised her drooping eyelids; her
-dimples began to play, and her voice broke forth, like the first robin
-of the spring, in a lively little Scotch song.
-
-The sound of her own voice in singing restored her to her
-recollection—she threw down her work and exclaimed with a scream, “What
-am I doing?” then laid her head sobbing on her grandfather’s knee. “Oh,
-grandfather! I cannot help it,” she cried.
-
-“Don’t try to help it, dear,” said her mother, her own eyes streaming;
-“you have put force enough upon yourself.”
-
-The old man placed his withered hands fondly upon her head, and said—
-
-“Yes, weep, my child, for you may; but not without hope; He that wept at
-the tomb of Lazarus sees you, and in his own good time will turn your
-weeping into joy.”
-
-The unusual sound of wheels was at this moment heard, and the
-Fayerweather chariot drove up to the terrace. Dr. Holly and Mrs. Wendell
-alighted, but Judith feeling herself unable to meet them, retreated from
-the room before they were ushered in. Mrs. Wendell was so much overcome,
-that for a few moments she was unable to speak, and it fell to Dr. Holly
-to tell their errand. He made very particular inquiries in regard to
-Judith’s health, and how she had sustained the shock of the late
-afflictive intelligence, and then proceeded to mention that Madam
-Fayerweather was in a very alarming state, having neither changed her
-position, eaten or slept, since the evening before the last, and that he
-had accompanied Mrs. Wendell to see if Miss Judith could feel herself
-equal to returning with them, in the hope that the sight of her might
-have a favorable effect on madam, in whom if a change could not speedily
-be induced, he felt himself called upon to say, the worst might be
-apprehended.
-
-Mrs. Stimpson immediately replied—“She would answer for her daughter,
-that she would feel it a solace to her own feelings to see Madam
-Fayerweather, even if she could not be instrumental in restoring her.”
-
-Mrs. Wendell then said—“The sight of Judith would, if any thing could.”
-
-Mrs. Stimpson left the room, and in a few minutes returned with her
-daughter. At sight of Mrs. Wendell, who fondly kissed her, Judith’s
-tears burst forth, but she made no hesitation in accompanying her home.
-As the chariot drove through the street the contrast of her present
-feelings with those with which she had passed it two days before, struck
-her forcibly, but she resolutely turned her thoughts from herself to the
-stricken one whom she was going to see. When they arrived at the house,
-John came out and assisted them to alight; he pressed Judith’s hand but
-could not speak. Dr. Holly was desirous to try his experiment without
-delay; they therefore proceeded immediately to the apartment of his
-patient.
-
-On seeing Madam Fayerweather Judith’s strength suddenly failed her and
-she came near falling; but recollecting how much might depend on her
-retaining in some degree her self-possession, she made a strong effort
-over herself, and went forward to the easy-chair, where sat the bereaved
-mother. The latter was, in truth, not an object to be looked upon
-without emotion, even by a stranger.
-
-So rigid and motionless was her countenance, that it appeared as if
-changed into stone; her eyes were fixed; and her hair which, before this
-last blow, had retained all its gloss and beauty, was turned to an ashen
-hue, giving a strange and unearthly appearance to her pallid features.
-
-“Sister,” said Madam Brinley, who sat by her, “here’s your dear child,
-Judith—will you not look at her and speak to her?”
-
-Judith, from a sudden impulse, threw herself on her knees before the
-bereaved mother, clasped both her hands in her own and bathed them with
-her tears, but endeavored in vain to speak. Sobs were heard from all
-present. Madam raised her head, and as she did so, her eyes falling upon
-Judith, immediately showed a sense of her presence; their fixed and
-glassy look was changed to one of intelligence, the muscles around her
-mouth then moved, and she appeared as if endeavoring to articulate. At
-length she spoke, but in a voice hollow and strange—“We’ve had sad
-tidings, my child!”
-
-Her whole countenance now appeared working; the frozen fountain of her
-grief was at length softened, and burst forth in a torrent of tears and
-sobs and groans.
-
-In the state of exhaustion succeeding this outbreak, she was prevailed
-upon to take some food which Judith brought her; after which she fell
-asleep and was carried to her bed, from which she did not rise for
-several weeks. She had suffered a severe paralytic shock, which affected
-her limbs and speech for many months, though she finally recovered.
-Judith, in the meanwhile, divided her time between this, her second
-mother, and her own family.
-
- * * * * *
-
-What were the sensations of Mr. Wendell on hearing the appalling
-tidings, that at the moment in which his senses had figured to him
-George Fayerweather face to face, and whose voice he still felt burnt as
-it were into his brain—at that very moment, thousands of miles distant,
-the spirit of his young friend was in the act of departing in a death so
-fearful! Had such an incident been related to Mr. Wendell, from a source
-however authentic, he would either have totally disbelieved it, or have
-considered it an instance of singular coincidence of an illusion,
-occasioned by bodily indisposition, occurring at the same moment with
-the death of another at a great distance. But the feeling which even now
-raised the hair on his head, which curdled his blood and blanched his
-cheek anew at the bare recollection of that meeting, as it recalled
-sensations which his mind was too intent upon its important subject to
-heed at the time, gave the lie to his reason whenever he attempted so to
-argue.
-
-Mr. Wendell, however, never spoke upon the subject himself, and by the
-family it was avoided altogether; each one feeling it of too awful and
-sacred a nature to admit, not only of discussion, but even of allusion
-to it in conversation. But as might be supposed, so remarkable an
-occurrence occasioned no little sensation throughout the town and its
-neighborhood. It was noted down, with its date, in many a private
-memorandum as the extraordinary event of the year in which it happened,
-with remarks upon it, either devout or philosophical, or both, according
-to the different characters of the minds which severally dictated them.
-
-When all danger for the life of Madam Fayerweather was over, and Judith
-ceased to have in her an immediate object of care and anxiety, her own
-health, no longer sustained by extraordinary stimulus to exertion, at
-length gave tokens of the injury it had itself received. She fell into a
-state of languor and debility, which threatened to end in consumption,
-had not her strength of mind, aided by a deep sense of religion, enabled
-her to exert all her energies to struggle against the foe and finally to
-subdue it—her own melancholy. Her religious duties, those which she
-owed to her parents and those to society, she had always faithfully
-discharged, and now finding them insufficient to engross her mind and
-prevent it from preying upon itself, she had recourse to the cultivation
-of her taste and the higher powers of her fine intellect. In this she
-was assisted by John, already an elegant scholar, and she became a
-highly accomplished woman, as well as the most beautiful in the
-province.
-
-Time passed on, and in its course saw Mr. Wendell presiding on the bench
-as chief-justice, his place as head of the bar filled by John
-Fayerweather.
-
-It is not surprising that years of devotion from the latter, combined
-with all the affection of his mother for her departed son, now resting
-on Judith, should at length have prevailed upon her to be united to them
-by stronger ties; after having refused many offers, and among the first,
-one from Mr. Lindsey, who had returned to America as soon as the
-intelligence of George’s death reached him.
-
-In Judith’s becoming the wife of John, there was no infidelity in either
-to the memory of his brother; it was cherished by both during life, and
-by each in the heart of the other.
-
------
-
-[6] Nahant beach, the roar of which is distinctly heard in Salem on a
-still evening.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE BABES OF EXILE.
-
-
- BY EFFIE FITZGERALD.
-
-
- “To roam o’er heaving waters bright,
- By heaven’s own moonbeam’s made
- To find our own a path of light,
- Where all beside is shade.”
-
-
- Fond babes of exile we here claim thine eye,
- To cheer thy sadness in this exile drear;
- We raise the veil of memory with a sigh,
- And seek our welcome in a silent tear.
-
- We fain would come with sunlight on our wings,
- For our sweet embassy is one of love;
- We hurl no stone from out our baby-slings,
- Save that commission come, too, from above.
-
- Souls sunk in ice-holes, or in gilded shine,
- May call us wild, fantastic, if they will;
- We know our birth-place was another clime—
- We come a different mission to fulfill.
-
- We dare the smoke-wreath on the crater’s verge;
- We look, undaunted, on the lava-flame;
- From the tornado’s whirl we safe emerge;
- To thee we come, in gentle childhood’s name!
-
- Enough of tempest—earthquake—has been thine;
- Enough of grief has dimmed thy sky-ward eye;
- We come to pour the fragrant oil and wine;
- We come to bless, and be blest, ere we die.
-
- Die? No! We take from thee an angel-wing;
- We fly—we mount—away from earth we soar;
- Keep thy gaze upward from the mountain-spring,
- Wrapt in white mist-robes we move on before.
-
- Or if despair thy strong-heart will assail,
- Beneath the oaks, in the old wind-flower grove,
- We light to kiss thy shadow, lone and pale.
- And bid thee turn thy drooping eye above.
-
- This our pure mission—babes of memory!
- Give us thy blessing ere these lives depart;
- These shadowy forms, all consecrate to thee—
- That faintly breathe the incense of the heart.
-
- We heed no danger in a path like this:
- A Faith that with the Good was ne’er at war;
- We know Earth’s sorrows pilot Heaven’s bliss—
- Keep, then, thy gaze upon the cloud and star.
-
- * * * * *
-
-[Illustration: Illman & Sons
-BEAUTY’S RETREAT.
-Engraved expressly for Graham’s Magazine.]
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- BEAUTY’S RETREAT.
-
-
- A LEGEND OF GRANADA.
-
- [WITH A STEEL ENGRAVING.]
-
-
- BY HENRY WILLIAM HERBERT.
-
-
-It was the evening of a sultry summer’s day, while the sun was yet
-hanging suspended, as it were, in a wreath of lustrous, gauzy vapor
-scarce a hand’s-breadth above the horizon. The skies were perfectly
-cloudless; and, but for that rich, golden haze which floated in the west
-about the sloping day-star, there was not a speck of mist to be seen
-over the whole expanse of the firmament, which, glowing, as it was, with
-the warm light of that soft southern region, resembled more a vault of
-exquisitely shadowed gems than the unfathomable depths of ether. All to
-the westward, the horizon was deluged with a flood of golden glory, too
-soft to be called intense, yet so vivid that the eye could scarcely
-brook it; melting as it streamed upward toward the zenith, by
-imperceptible degrees, into the radiance of the living sapphire; and
-thence deepening, through the azure tints of the Lapis Lazuli, into the
-darkest cærulean blue to the eastward, against which rose distinct,
-glittering with the last reflected sunbeams, the distant summits of the
-Cordoran mountains. Above these, soaring slowly upward, and momently
-gathering fresh brilliancy as the sun faded in the west, the full, round
-moon had already risen, with the evening-star at her side, a diamond
-spark beside an orient pearl.
-
-Nor was the earth below less gracious than the heaven above it; for the
-scene, over which that cloudless sun was setting so serenely, was no
-other than the lovely vegas of Granada, watered with its sparkling
-rivulets, tributaries to the broad and fair Xenil; waving with its
-almost tropical luxuriance of foliage, odorous with the sweets of ten
-thousand gardens—verily the paradise of earth surrounding, as with a
-girdle of immortal beauty, the loveliest of earthly cities, crowned by
-the wonder of wonders, the glorious Alhambra. So much has been already
-written in many tongues, both in prose and verse, of the glories of this
-inimitable spot—still inimitable, even under the indolent and careless
-culture of the Spaniard, yet how unlike to what it was under its Moorish
-masters—above all so eloquently has it been described by the graceful
-pen of Irving, that all the details of its scenery, nay! of its
-architecture and internal decorations, are, it may be presumed, as
-familiar to the mind of the reader, as many places which he has actually
-seen with his own eyes. To dwell longer, therefore, on the features of
-that sweet, mountain-girdled plain on which the sunbeams lingered, as
-though they loved it, would be superfluous at least, if not impertinent.
-Not so, to depict one who gazed across that plain under that lovely
-sunset, soft herself as the genial clime, serenely bright as the calm
-eventide—the Lady Ayesha, a princess of the unmixed race, a visitor
-from the distant walls of Mequiñez to the kindred royalty, which in the
-person of the unfortunate but as yet unconquered Boabdil, still sat
-sublime on the fairy towers of the Alhambra.
-
-She sat alone in a small octagonal apartment in the very summit of one
-of the loftiest of the palace turrets, overlooking and commanding a view
-so extensive, that the eye swam dazzled or ere it reached the hills,
-which bounded it on every side. Walled, vaulted, floored with pure
-snow-white marble, all wrought and pierced with that exquisite arabesque
-tracery, which made the cold, hard stone resemble the finest and most
-delicate lace-work; lighted on each of its eight sides by a tall window,
-headed by the peculiar horse-shoe arch of Moorish architecture, and
-surrounded a little lower down the turret by a balcony, filled as a
-hanging garden with every loved and lovely plant and flower, no happier
-retreat could be devised for Southern beauty; none half so beautiful,
-half so luxurious, is dreamed of in her most voluptuous musings by the
-most famed fair one of our utilitarian days and country.
-
-Notwithstanding the extreme height of the tower, which rose full a
-hundred feet above the inferior buildings of the royal residence, it yet
-possessed its fountain, fed from a reservoir in the roof, itself
-supplied by the aid of machinery from the sources of those silver
-rivulets of the Xenil and Darro, which might be seen glittering in the
-level plain almost a thousand feet below; and the constant merry plash
-of its sparkling waters, as they leaped and fell in a shower of diamonds
-into their alabaster basin, together with the waving of the broad,
-fan-like palm-leaves in light coming air around the open casements, and
-the rich clusters of clematis, passion-flower and jessamine which hung
-their blossoms around every traceried column, rendered it difficult to
-conceive that so great a distance intervened between that bower of
-beauty and the solid earth, with all the choicest charms of which it was
-environed and invested.
-
-Half-seated, half-reclining on a broad, low step of marble, which ran
-all around the apartment, covered with rich cushions and foot-cloths of
-brocade, such as would now be cheaply purchased at its weight in gold,
-with her shoulders supported by the low parapet of the window
-immediately behind her, gazed the Lady Ayesha over the glimmering
-landscape, all as she untwined with the rosy, henna-tinted tips of her
-small, slender fingers the thick plaits of her luxuriant raven hair. For
-in truth, and for once, the epithet _raven_ was not misapplied to those
-soft, silky, glistening masses, which were not of the cold and hueless
-black, but of that nameless and indescribable hue which is never seen
-but in the hair of women of Moorish or Irish blood—and in the latter
-probably as originated of the former—black indeed, but black warmed and
-glowing with a rich metallic purplish lustre, unlike any thing on earth
-but the changeful hues that dance on the dark plumage of several of the
-feathered tribes. But though her long, languid eyes of that perfect
-almond form, so much prized by the beauty-loving Moors, fringed with
-lashes so long and dark as to require no aid of that Arabian dye to set
-off the liquid lustre which they curtained, were riveted with a serene
-and steady fixedness on a remote spot in the plain, it was by no means
-evident that they took note of that on which they lingered; nor did she
-even appear conscious of her occupation, as wave after wave of her soft
-tresses fell disentwined into her lap. For there was too much of
-tranquillity, approaching even to abstraction, in the fixedness of her
-eye, in the statue-like immobility of her perfectly regular features,
-and in the whole pose of her figure, to accord with any thoughts so
-frivolous as those of the mere decoration of the person, how beautiful
-soever it might be.
-
-As one gazed on her—had there been any there to gaze—it was impossible
-not to perceive that, within that fair form and under those impassive
-features, there was—what with Oriental women is not at all times the
-case—a sentient and intellectual soul, and that soul at this time
-engrossed in some deep and powerful strain of meditative thought.
-
-And oh! how beautiful she was. The perfect oval of her regular face, the
-straight, Grecian outline of her chisseled features, the dark clearness
-of her pure, transparent complexion, through which, though ordinarily
-colorless, every transient motion of the blood mantled in crimson, the
-slender, yet exquisitely rounded figure, the soft curves of her plump
-and shapely arms, were all as nearly perfect as mortality can approach
-to perfection.
-
-The dress, moreover, which she wore—as far removed as possible, by the
-way, from the ungraceful and hideous monstrosity which a set of crazy
-notoriety-mongers have been striving to introduce among us as the
-costume of Oriental ladies—set off her foreign-looking charms by its
-own foreign eccentricity, no less than by the barbaric splendor of its
-materials.
-
-A low, flat Fezzan cap of rich crimson velvet, superbly embroidered in
-gold and pearls, was set lightly, a little on one side, upon her
-luxuriant black tresses, and from it depended a long tassel, exquisitely
-wrought of grains of native gold and seed-pearls, down to her left
-shoulder, contrasting in strong relief the glossy darkness of the hair,
-by the brilliancy of its white and gold. Immense pendants of pearl hung
-from the roseate tips of each small ear, and a string of the same
-inestimable gems, not one of them inferior in size to a large currant,
-formed four distinct necklaces upon her chest, beside a fifth and longer
-coil, which hung down almost to her waist. A _jellick_, as it was
-called, or, as we should term it now, a chemisette of the finest Indian
-muslin, wrought as its name indicates at Mosul on the Tigris,
-embroidered with threads of gold, alone covered her glowing bosom; but
-above it she wore an open, sleeveless Dymar of gorgeous green brocade,
-with hanging filigree buttons of gold; and shrouding all her lower
-limbs, to the very tips of the small, slippered feet, as she lay
-half-crouched on her divan, an under robe or tunic of blush-colored
-Persian silk with broad, perpendicular stripes of dead gold, the sleeves
-of which, close to the elbow, fell thence downward, open like those of
-the modern gown worn by bachelors of arts. No appearance of trowsers, no
-marked cutting line, nothing tight or definite or rigid, nothing harsh,
-stiff or masculine was to be discovered on the nearest scrutiny. A
-superb Cashmere shawl was wound about her waist at the junction of the
-under robe and chemisette, and its loose ends blended admirably with the
-floating draperies and harmonized with the wavy ease which was the
-principal characteristic of the dress, the attitude, the pose, the
-woman.
-
-To complete the picture, a Moorish Bernoose, or mantle of scarlet
-woolen, almost as fine as gauze, with borders of golden lace, lay heaped
-behind her; and nestled in its folds, a filigree jewel-case with boxes
-and bottles of perfumes and cosmetics, and half-open drawers of
-glittering gems and ornaments befitting her high rank; while on the
-parapet, beside her head, stood a huge vase of superb porcelain filled
-with the dark, glossy leaves and snow-white blossoms of the gold-eyed
-lotus, the perfume of which would have been too strong for endurance but
-for the free circulation of the balmy air on every side, and the cool
-freshness of the dashing water, which mingled with its overpowering
-fragrance and dissipated its intensity.
-
-Such was the Leila Ayesha, the daughter of the Sultan of Mequiñez, the
-great Muley Abderahman, the best and bravest of his race; who in this,
-almost the last extremity of his kinsman, Boabdil of Granada, had sent
-an embassy with compliments and splendid gifts, accompanying and
-conveying his fair child, the best loved of all his children, on her
-visit to the heroic mother of the last Moorish king of Granada.
-
-By many, however, of those who might be supposed the best informed on
-state affairs, both of those at Mequiñez and those at Granada, it was
-whispered that, under the cover of a mere complimentary embassy and
-friendly visit something of deep policy, and that of the highest import
-to both sovereigns, was intended. Indeed it was the general opinion that
-the object of the Sultan of Morocco in thus sending his fair
-daughter—in whom it was well-known that wise and enlightened prince
-placed far more confidence than is usually extended to the sex among the
-Moors—was to bring about, should it be pleasing to the beautiful
-Ayesha, a union between the two royal houses, in which case he would
-himself come to the aid of Granada with such a force of Moslem, backed
-by such hordes of the wild Berbers as Ali Ibn Tarih himself never led to
-conquest—such, in a word, as should soon compel the proud and
-encroaching Ferdinand to look to the safety of his own throne and the
-integrity of his own dominions, rather than to the invading of the
-dominions of his neighbors.
-
-Be this as it may, it was all a new world to the Leila Ayesha, for the
-Moors of Spain during their many centuries of occupation, aggrandisement
-and decline, had adopted many ideas, many customs from their Christian
-neighbors, at one time their foes, at another in long intervals of
-truce, their neighbors and almost their friends.
-
-Nor had the Spaniards failed in the same degree to profit by the
-vicinity of the intellectual, polished and industrious Moors, until the
-bigotry of these and the fanaticism of those had given way to more
-rational and intelligent principles, and the two nations met, whether in
-war or peace, on a common ground of mutual self-respect and decorum.
-
-Thus the Moors had not only laid aside long since their fanatical
-war-cry of “The Koran or the Sword!” but had adopted many of the usages
-of chivalry, no longer holding the Christians as dogs, and slaughtering
-them without quarter given or taken, but setting them at honorable
-ransom, and even treating them while prisoners on parole as guests on
-terms of equality, entertaining them at their boards, and holding sacred
-to them all the rights of hospitality.
-
-In no respect, however, had a wider change occurred in the habits of the
-nation than in the treatment of their women, who, although not certainly
-admitted to the full liberty of Christian ladies, were by no means
-immured, as in their native land, in the precincts of the Harem, “to
-blush unseen, and waste their sweetness on the desert air,” but were
-permitted, still under the guardianship of duennas, and with their
-trains of Indian eunuchs, and further protected by their veils from the
-contamination of unholy glances, to be present at festivals, at
-tournaments, nay! even at banquets, when none but the members of the
-family or guests of high consideration were expected to be present.
-
-It is not, by the way, a little singular that almost in exact proportion
-as the Moors enlarged the liberty of their women, by the example of the
-Spaniards, did the Spaniards contract that of their own bright-eyed
-ladies, by the example of the Moors; and for many years the rigor of the
-Spanish duenna was scarcely inferior to that of the Raid of a Moorish
-harem, or the ladies under charge of the one much more obvious to the
-gaze of the profane, than the beautiful slaves of the latter.
-
-Did not, therefore, the beautiful Leila Ayesha rejoice and exult in the
-comparative freedom which she enjoyed among the liberal Moors of Spain,
-which as fitted to enjoy as the favorite child of a wise father,
-enlightened far beyond the prejudices of his nation or his time? In his
-own younger days he had been a traveler, had visited Venice and even
-Madrid, in both of which cities he had been a sojourner in the character
-of ambassador, and had thus, like the wily Ulysses, “seen the cities of
-many nations and learned their understandings.” Their languages he spoke
-fluently: he even read their works, and, although a sincere and faithful
-Mussulman, he had learned to prize many of the customs, to appreciate
-the principles, and in some instances to adopt in his heart at least the
-practices of the Christians.
-
-Too wise openly to offend the prejudices of his people—and nothing
-would have done so, more decidedly or more dangerously than any
-infringement of the sanctity of the harem—he had not dared, absolute as
-he was, to grant to his daughter that full liberty founded upon the
-fullness of trust which he had learned to admire in Venice. Still he had
-done all that he could do without offending prejudices or awakening
-angry opposition. He had made Ayesha, from her earliest years, the
-companion of his leisure hours; he had educated her in all that he
-himself knew, he had consulted her as a friend, he had confided in her
-as a human soul, not treated her as the mere pet and plaything of an
-hour.
-
-And now as she grew up from an engaging child to a fair marriageable
-maiden, accomplished, intellectual, thoughtful, not an irresponsible
-being, but a responsible human creature, with the beauty, the impulsive
-nature, the passionate heart of the Moorish girl, but with the reason,
-the intellect, the soul of the Spanish lady—Muley Abderrahman, who was
-waxing into years, began to doubt whether he had done wisely in training
-up the child of Mequiñez, the offspring of the desert, to the arts, the
-accomplishments, the hopes, and the aspirations of the free Venetian
-_dama_—began to look around him anxiously to see where he might bestow
-the hand of her whom he had learned to cherish and esteem even above his
-people or his power. He saw none, on that side of the Mediterranean,
-with whom she could be other than a slave—the first and mistress of the
-slaves, indeed, but still one of them—a beautiful toy to be prized for
-beauty, while that beauty should yet endure; if faded, to be cast aside
-into the sad solitude of neglect for a newer plaything, perhaps to be
-imprisoned—as a discrowned and discontented queen, and therefore
-dangerous—in some distant and dim seraglio on the verge of the great
-burning desert.
-
-And was this a fate for the bright, the beloved, the beautiful, the sage
-Ayesha?
-
-Thence was born the idea of the embassy to Boabdil. He knew the kings of
-Granada civilized and cultivated far before those of Tetuan or Tafilet,
-or even Mequiñez or Mecca—he knew that they had adopted, in many
-respects, the usages of the Christian cavaliers, and not least among
-these, their chivalrous courtesy and graceful respect for the fair
-sex—he knew them powerful and wealthy, and possessed of a land the
-fairest on the face of the earth, the glorious kingdom of Granada. At
-this time, although the war had commenced between Ferdinand and the
-Moorish princes, which was to terminate at no very distant day in the
-total overthrow of the Saracenic empire in Spain, it as yet lagged
-indecisively along, with no preponderance of this or the other force;
-nor could there be any doubt that a declaration on the part of the
-Sultan of Mequiñez, backed by the reinforcement of a Moorish and Berber,
-and an active naval warfare along the coasts of Spain, would not only
-secure Granada from any risk of dismemberment, but even wrest a
-permanent acknowledgment and durable peace from the Christian kings of
-the Spanish provinces.
-
-Boabdil was at this time formally unwedded, although, like every other
-prince or magnate of his people, he had his wives, his concubines, his
-slaves innumerable. He was notoriously a leaner to the soft side of the
-heart, a fervent admirer of beauty, and was, moreover, a kind-hearted,
-gracious and accomplished prince. That he would be captivated by the
-charms of the incomparable Ayesha, even apart from the advantages which
-her union would bring to himself and to his people, could not be
-doubted; and should such an union be accomplished Muley Abderrahman felt
-well assured that he should have obtained for the darling of his heart
-all that he desired, freedom of life, a suitable partner, and security
-for her enjoyment of all her cherished tastes and respected privileges.
-
-Still Muley Abderrahman, wiser than any Moslem father of that age, wiser
-than most Christian parents of any age, was not inclined to set down his
-own idea of what should be her good, with his absolute yea! as being her
-very good. He had, strange thing for a Moor! an idea that a woman has a
-soul—strange and unorthodox thing for a father! an idea that his
-daughter had a heart; and that it might not be such a bad thing after
-all for her ultimate happiness that her heart should be in some degree
-consulted.
-
-She went, therefore, fancy free and untrammeled even by the knowledge of
-her father’s wishes, on a visit to her kinsfolk of Granada, entirely
-unsuspicious that any secret of state policy was connected with the
-visit to that land of romance and glory, of beauty and adventure, which
-was to her one long holyday. Of all her train, indeed, there was but one
-who was privy to the Sultan’s secret wishes old Hadj Abdallah Ibn Ali,
-the eldest of the sovereign’s councillors, like some, himself a
-traveler, and like himself, imbued with notions far more liberal than
-those of his time or country. To him it was entrusted, therefore, while
-seemingly inattentive to all that was passing, to observe strictly every
-shadow which might indicate whence the wind was about to blow—to take
-especial note of Boabdil’s conduct and wishes, and, above all, to omit
-no opportunity of discovering how the fair Ayesha might stand affected
-toward her royal cousin.
-
-Gaily and happily had passed the days, the weeks, the months—it was
-still truce with the Spaniard, and days and nights were consumed in
-tilts, in tournaments, in hawking-parties on the beautiful green meadows
-of the Vega, beside the bright and brimful streams, adjuncts so
-necessary to that royal pastime, that it was known of old as the
-“Mystery of Rivers”—hunting-parties in the wild gorges of the Alpuxawa
-mountains, banquets at high noon, and festivals beneath the glimmering
-twilight, beneath the full-orbed moon, that life was, indeed, one long
-and joyous holyday. Boabdil was, in truth, of a man a right fair and
-goodly specimen—tall, finely formed, eminently handsome, graceful and
-affable in manners, kindly in heart and disposition, not untinctured
-with arts and letters, nor deficient in any essential which should
-become a gentle cavalier—as a monarch, when surrounded by his court,
-and seated in his place of state in the Hall of Lyons, of a truth he was
-a right royal king—as a warrior, in the tilt-yard his skill, his
-horsemanship, his management of all weapons, were the admiration of all
-beholders. In the field his gallantry and valor were incontestable.
-What, then, was wanting that Boabdil was not a perfect man, a real
-cavalier, a very king? Purpose, energy, will—will that must have its
-way, and cannot be denied, much less defeated.
-
-A prince of a quiet realm, in tranquil times he had lived honored and
-happy, he had been gathered to his fathers among the tears of his
-people, he had lived in the memory of men as a good man, an admirable
-king, the father of his people.
-
-Fallen upon evil times, thrust into an eminence for which he not only
-was, but felt himself to be unfit, unequally matched against such an
-enemy as Ferdinand, the one weak point outweighed all the fine qualities
-and noble virtues; and he lived, alas! to be that most miserable, most
-abject of all human things, a dethroned, exiled, despised king!
-
-And did Ayesha, from beneath the screen of girlish levity, while
-seemingly steeped to the lips in the rapturous enjoyment of the liberty,
-the life of the present moment, did Ayesha see and foresee all this? At
-least, when Hadj Abdallah Ibn Ali wrote to his friend and patron the
-Sultan, and that but shortly after their arrival, that Boabdil was so
-evidently and obviously enamored of his mother’s lovely guest, that he
-would not only too eagerly court the alliance, backed as it was by
-advantages so kingly, but that he verily believed he would woo her to
-his throne, were she the merest peasant’s child. He wrote nothing of
-Ayesha!
-
-Again he wrote that he could not doubt she had perceived her royal
-cousin’s love, and that her manner toward him was so frank, so free, so
-unrestrainedly joyous and confiding, that he was well assured that all
-went well, and that she returned the affection of Boabdil, and rejoiced
-in his love.
-
-But Muley Abderrahman, shook his head and knit his brow, as he read the
-letter, and muttered through his thick moustache, “Ay! he is a good
-man—a good man is the Hadj Abdallah, and a wise one, but he knows
-nothing of a woman’s heart—how should he?”
-
-When he sent the next dispatches to his old friend and counsellor, there
-was a brief private note attached. “Is the Leila Ayesha,” he asked,
-“never grave, never abstracted, never shy, and almost sad—does she
-never flee from the gayety of the festival, the tumult of the chase,
-into privacy and solitude—does she never fail to hear when addressed,
-to see when encountered—does she never weep nor sigh when alone—in a
-word, is she in nowise changed from what she was at Mequiñez?”
-
-And the reply came, “Never. Wherefore should she? Is she not the apple
-of all eyes, the idol of all hearts? Her laugh is as the music of the
-soul, her eye-glance the sunbeam that enkindles every heart. She is the
-star of the Alhambra, the loadstone of the king’s soul. Wherefore should
-she weep or sigh? I have questioned her handmaids—never! Yes—the Leila
-Ayesha is changed. In Mequiñez, she was as a sunbeam thrown on still
-waters. Here in Granada, she is the sunbeam thrown on the dancing
-fountain, reflecting happy light on all around her. In Mequiñez, she was
-as a sweet song-bird, feeding her soul on her own harmonies in silence.
-Here in Granada she is as the sweet song-bird, enrapturing all within
-her sphere by the blithe outpourings of her joyous melodies. Yes—the
-Leila Ayesha is changed. My Lord Boabdil loves the Leila Ayesha; the
-Leila Ayesha knows it, and is glad.”
-
-Then Muley Abderrahman shook his head, and pondered for a while, and
-muttered—
-
-“She loves him not—She loves him not. The Hadj Abdallah is good and
-wise with the wisdom of men—but of the hearts of women, he knows
-nothing—how should he? for he never saw a woman.”
-
-And the old king, far distant, saw more of what was passing in the fair
-girl’s heart than the wise councillor who was present—but he judged it
-best to tarry and abide the event—and he tarried, but not long.
-
-Had he been present on that sultry summer’s evening, and looked upon his
-lovely child as she sat gazing out in such serenity of deep abstraction
-over the sunny Vega—over the fragrant orange groves and glowing
-vineyards, toward the glistening hill-tops of the Spaniards—his
-question would have answered itself, and at the first glance he would
-have seen that she loved.
-
-The child had discovered that it had a heart—the creature had divined
-that it had an immortal soul—the child had become a woman—a very
-woman.
-
- With all a woman’s smiles and tears,
- And fearful hopes and hopeful fears,
- And doubts and prayers for future years.
-
-Leila Ayesha loved—but whom? At least not Boabdil! Happily, not
-Boabdil.
-
-Even as she gazed, the orb of the gorgeous sun sank behind the distant
-hills, and at once—clear, shrill, and most melodious—up went the voice
-of the Muezzins, from every minaret throughout the gorgeous city, “To
-prayer, to prayer. There is no God but God, and Mahomet is his prophet.
-Faithful, to prayer, to prayer!”
-
-And instant at the cry every sound ceased through the royal
-residence—every sound through the splendid city—every sound through
-the wide Vega. Every turbaned head was bowed in prayer, and a sabbath
-stillness seemed to consecrate the bridal of the earth and sky.
-
-Ayesha rose from her divan, and while her lips murmured the words of
-devotion, and her fingers ran rapidly over the beads of her Comboloic or
-Moorish rosary, a strange, faltering flush ran over her fair brow. Her
-orisons ended, she caught some of the spray of the fountain in the palm
-of one of her fairy hands, and scattered it thrice over her long, dark
-tresses, on which it glistened in the soft moonbeams; for the moon now
-alone occupied the heavens, on the fragrant hills of the black hyacinth.
-
-Again she resumed her attitude on the divan, but not her occupation; for
-the mood of her mind was altered, and for a while she hummed the burthen
-of an old, melancholy Moorish ballad—an old Moorish love-song, the
-words of which corresponded in no small degree to our own, “Oh! willow,
-willow”—since the proverb still holds good of burned Morocco or bright
-Spain, as of green, merry England—
-
- “For aught that I did ever hear—
- Did ever read in tale or history,
- The course of true love never did run true.”
-
-Ere long from the city gates far distant was heard the din of martial
-music—first, the deep clang of the kettle-drums and atabals alone, and
-the clear flourish of the silver trumpets which announced the presence
-of the king, and these only at intervals above or between the trampling
-of hoofs, the clash of armor, and the cheering of an excited multitude.
-Anon nearer and nearer came the sounds, with the clash of cymbals and
-the soft symphonies of lutes, and the clear, high notes of flutes and
-clarionets among the clangor of the trumpets, and the brazen rattling of
-the drums.
-
-Nearer and nearer yet—and it is now at the Alhambra gates.
-
-She started to her feet, and leaned far out of the embrasure commanding
-all the city, but her eye marked one object only, the royal train filing
-into the palace gates, from the royal sports on the Vega ended—and in
-that train, on but one person.
-
-It was no turbaned head or caftaned form on which that ardent eye was
-fixed, now kindled into all a Moresca’s ecstacy of passion; it was on a
-tall Spanish crest and lofty plume. And, as if by a secret instinct, as
-her gaze was bent downward to the horse-shoe arch of the Alhambra gate,
-his glance soared upward to the airy turret’s top, and readily detected
-what would have escaped a less observant watcher, the dark eyes of his
-fair Ayesha gleaming through the palm-leaves and passion-flowers; their
-passionate fire half quenched by the tears of tenderness and hope.
-
-His Ayesha—his—the Conde of Alarcos, proudest grandee of Spain—the
-favorite child of the Spaniard’s deadliest foe, the Sultan of Morocco.
-
-The Hadj Abdallah Ibn Ali’s next dispatch contained much important
-tidings concerning a twenty years’ truce to be concluded between the
-King Boabdil, of Granada, and the King Ferdinand, of Spain—and much
-graver gossip of the noble Conde of Alarcos, Ferdinand’s ambassador; of
-his high feats of arms, and gentle feats of courtesy—of how all the
-court admired him, and how the Lady Ayesha shunned him, and how she was
-less frequent at the falconry, less frequent at the chase, less frequent
-at the festival, less frequent at the royal banquets—and how her
-hand-maidens reported that their mistress sighed all the time and often
-wept, and sat long hours gazing upon nothing, and played no more upon
-her lute, nor sung the songs of Islam—and how she was—he feared—ill
-at ease, and pining for her native land.
-
-And when Muley Abderrahman read the letter he shook his head, and
-muttered—
-
-“Ay, she loves now, but it is the wrong one—a Nazarene, a dog,” and he
-tore his beard and wept. That night a royal courier rode hard from
-Mequiñez to Saleè, and the next day a fleet galley scoured the way
-across the narrow seas to the fair shores of Granada.
-
-The embassy should return at once to Mequiñez. Now hour of delay—too
-late.
-
-The embassy had returned the preceding day, but it was the Spanish
-embassy: and it had returned, not to Mequiñez, but to Cordova. And ere
-his master’s mandate had stricken terror to the soul of the Hadj
-Abdallah, the Spanish bells were chiming for the wedding of a Moorish
-maiden, now a Christian bride; and the Leila Ayesha, of Mequiñez, was
-the wife of the noble Conde De Alarcos: nor have I ever heard that she
-rued either of the changes.
-
-Again Muley Abderrahman tore his beard, and this time from the very
-roots. But his wonted philosophy still consoled him, and after a little
-while he muttered—
-
-“Allah, assist me, that I thought myself so wise—yet know not the heart
-of a woman! How should I?”
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- WRITE THOU UPON LIFE’S PAGE.
-
-
- BY GRENVILLE GREY.
-
-
- Leave thou some light behind thee,
- Some mark upon thine age;
- Let not a false fate bind thee—
- Write thou upon life’s page,
-
- Some word of earnest meaning,
- Some thought, or else some deed,
- On which thy brother leaning,
- Unto better may succeed.
-
- For none may tell what beauty,
- What endless good there lies,
- In some little nameless duty,
- Whose remembrance never dies.
-
- Leave thou some light behind thee,
- Some token of thy way;
- Let not a false ease bind thee—
- Thou art not wholly clay.
-
- There is something noble in thee,
- Let it speak and not be mute;
- There is something that should win thee
- From a kindred with the brute.
-
- Thou art not, oh! my brother,
- Wholly impotent for good;
- Thou may’st win or warn another
- From the wrongs thou hast withstood.
-
- Leave thou some trace behind thee—
- In life’s warfare, go, engage;
- Let no more a false fate bind thee—
- Write thou upon life’s page.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- LINES ON A VASE OF FLOWERS,
-
-
- (FOUND UPON MY DESK.)
-
-
- BY ESTELLE ANNA LEWIS.
-
-
- I came upon these simple flowers
- As something I revere;
- They grew in Love’s enchanted bowers—
- And love hath placed them here.
-
- I kiss their cheeks of virgin bloom,
- I press their dewy lips,
- While my wrapt soul of their perfume,
- Inebriated sips.
-
- I look into their violet eyes,
- And feel my heart grow calm,
- And fancy I’m in Paradise,
- Inhaling Eden’s balm.
-
- There in ecstatic dreams I rove
- Among celestial bowers,
- Weaving a garland for my Love,
- Of beatific flowers.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- DEATH.[7]
-
-
-BY SAMUEL HENRY DICKSON, M. D.; PROFESSOR IN THE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF SOUTH
- CAROLINA.
-
-
-As the word Life is employed in a double sense to denote the actions or
-phenomena by which it is developed, and the cause of these phenomena, so
-the old English word Death is used familiarly to express two or more
-meanings. The first of these is the transition from the living to the
-lifeless or inanimate state—the act, that is, of dying; the second, the
-condition of an organized body which has ceased to live, while
-organization yet remains, and symmetry still displays itself, and the
-admirable structure of its parts is not yet destroyed by decomposition,
-or resolved into the original and primary elements from which it was
-moulded,
-
- “Before Decay’s effacing fingers
- Have swept the lines where beauty lingers.”
-
-We occasionally speak of “dead matter” in the sense of inorganic; but
-this is merely a rhetorical or metaphorical phrase. That which has never
-lived cannot properly be said to be dead.
-
-In the following essay, I shall use the word chiefly in the first of the
-senses above indicated. It will often be convenient to employ it in the
-second also; but in doing so, I will be careful so to designate its
-bearing as to avoid any confusion. The context will always prevent any
-misunderstanding on this point.
-
-Death may be considered physiologically, pathologically, and
-psychologically. We are obliged to regard it and speak of it as the
-uniform correlative, and indeed the necessary consequence, or final
-result of life; the act of dying as the rounding off, or termination of
-the act of living. But it ought to be remarked that this conclusion is
-derived, not from any understanding or comprehension of the relevancy of
-the asserted connection, nor from any _à priori_ reasoning applicable to
-the inquiry, but merely _à posteriori_ as the result of universal
-experience. All that has lived has died; and, therefore, all that lives
-must die.
-
-The solid rock on which we tread, and with which we rear our palaces and
-temples, what is it often when microscopically examined, but a congeries
-of the fossil remains of innumerable animal tribes! The soil from which,
-by tillage, we derive our vegetable food, is scarcely any thing more
-than a mere mixture of the decayed and decaying fragments of former
-organic being; the shells and exuviæ, the skeletons and fibres and
-exsiccated juices of extinct life.
-
-The earth itself, in its whole habitable surface, is little else than
-the mighty sepulchre of the past; and
-
- “All that tread
- The globe are but a handful to the tribes
- That slumber in its bosom. Take the wings
- Of morning, and the Barcan desert pierce,
- Or lose thyself in the continuous woods
- Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound
- Save his own dashings—yet, the dead are there;
- And millions in these solitudes, since first
- The flight of years begun, have laid them down
- In their last sleep: the dead reign there alone.”
-
-Four millions of Egyptians cultivate the valley of the great river on
-whose banks, amidst the fertilizing dust of myriads of their
-progenitors, there are calculated still to exist, in a state of
-preservation, not less than from four hundred to five hundred millions
-of mummies. The “City of the Tombs” is far more populous than the
-neighboring streets even of crowded Constantinople; and the cemeteries
-of London and the catacombs of Paris are filled to overflowing. The
-trees which gave shade to our predecessors of a few generations back lie
-prostrate; and the dog and horse, the playmate and the servant of our
-childhood, are but dust. Death surrounds and sustains us. We derive our
-nourishment from the destruction of living organisms, and from this
-source alone.
-
-And who is there among us that has reached the middle term of existence,
-that may not, in the touching phrase of Carlyle, “measure the various
-stages of his life-journey by the white tombs of his beloved ones,
-rising in the distance like pale, mournfully receding milestones?”
-
-“When Wilkie was in the Escurial,” says Southey, “looking at Titian’s
-famous picture of the Last Supper in the refectory there, an old
-Jeronymite monk said to him, ‘I have sat daily in sight of that picture
-for now nearly threescore years; during that time my companions have
-dropped off one after another—all who were my seniors, all who were my
-cotemporaries, and many or most of those who were younger than myself;
-more than one generation has passed away, and there the figures in the
-picture have remained unchanged. I look at them, till I sometimes think
-that _they_ are the realities, and we but shadows.’”
-
-I have stated that there is no reason known to us why Death should
-always “round the sum of life.” Up to a certain point of their duration,
-varying in each separate set of instances, and in the comparison of
-extremes varying prodigiously, the vegetable and animal organisms not
-only sustain themselves, but expand and develop themselves, grow and
-increase, enjoying a better and better life, advancing and progressive.
-Wherefore is it that at this period all progress is completely arrested;
-that thenceforward they waste, deteriorate and fail? Why should they
-thus decline and decay with unerring uniformity upon their attaining
-their highest perfection, their most intense activity? This ultimate law
-is equally mysterious and inexorable. It is true the Sacred Writings
-tell us of Enoch, “whom God took and he was not;” and of Elijah, who was
-transported through the upper air in a chariot of fire; and of
-Melchisedek, the most extraordinary personage whose name is recorded,
-“without father, without mother, without descent: having neither
-beginning of days, nor end of life.” We read the history without
-conceiving the faintest hope from these exceptions to the universal
-rule. Yet our fancy has always exulted in visionary evasions of it, by
-forging for ourselves creations of immortal maturity, youth and beauty,
-residing in Elysian fields of unfading spring, amidst the fruition of
-perpetual vigor. We would drink, in imagination, of the sparkling
-fountain of rejuvenescence; nay, boldly dare the terror of Medea’s
-caldron. We echo, in every despairing heart, the ejaculation of the
-expiring Wolcott, “Bring back my youth!”
-
-Reflection, however, cannot fail to reconcile us to our ruthless
-destiny. There is another law of our being, not less unrelenting, whose
-yoke is even harsher and more intolerable, from whose pressure Death
-alone can relieve us, and in comparison with which the absolute
-certainty of dying becomes a glorious blessing. Of whatever else we may
-remain ignorant, each of us, for himself, comes to feel, realize and
-know unequivocally that all his capacities, both of action and
-enjoyment, are transient and tend to pass away; and when our thirst is
-satiated, we turn disgusted from the bitter lees of the once fragrant
-and sparkling cup. I am aware of Parnell’s offered analogy—
-
- “The tree of deepest root is found
- Unwilling most to leave the ground;”
-
-and of Rush’s notion, who imputes to the aged such an augmenting love of
-life that he is at a loss to account for it, and suggests, quaintly
-enough, that it may depend upon custom, the great moulder of our desires
-and propensities; and that the infirm and decrepit “love to live on
-because they have acquired a habit of living.” His assumption is wrong
-in point of fact. He loses sight of the important principle that Old Age
-is a relative term, and that one man may be more superannuated, farther
-advanced in natural decay at sixty, than another at one hundred years.
-Parr might well rejoice at being alive, and exult in the prospect of
-continuing to live, at one hundred and thirty, being capable, as is
-affirmed, even of the enjoyment of sexual life at that age; but he who
-has had his “three sufficient warnings,” who is deaf, lame and blind;
-who, like the monk of the Escurial, has lost all his cotemporaries, and
-is condemned to hopeless solitude, and oppressed with the consciousness
-of dependence and imbecility, must look on Death not as a curse, but a
-refuge. Of one hundred and thirty-three suicides occurring in Geneva
-from 1825 to 1834, more than half were above fifty years of age;
-thirty-four, from fifty to sixty; nineteen, from sixty to seventy; nine,
-from seventy to eighty; three, from eighty to ninety; in all sixty-five.
-The mean term of life in that city being about thirty-five to forty,
-this bears an immense proportion to the actual population above fifty,
-and exhibits forcibly an opposite condition of feeling to that alleged
-by Rush, a weariness of living, a desire to die, rather than an anxiety,
-or even willingness to live.
-
-I once knew an old man of about one hundred and four who retained many
-of his faculties. He could read ordinary print without glasses, walked
-firmly, rode well, and could even leap with some agility. When I last
-parted with him, I wished him twenty years more; upon which he grasped
-my hand closely, and declared he would not let me go until I had
-retracted or reversed the prayer.
-
-Strolling with my venerable and esteemed colleague, Prof. Stephen
-Elliott, one afternoon, through a field on the banks of the river
-Ashley, we came upon a negro basking in the sun, the most
-ancient-looking personage I have ever seen. Our attempts, with his aid,
-to calculate his age, were of course conjectural; but we were satisfied
-that he was far above one hundred. Bald, toothless, nearly blind, bent
-almost horizontally, and scarcely capable of locomotion, he was
-absolutely alone in the world, living by permission upon a place, from
-which the generation to which his master and fellow-servants belonged
-had long since disappeared. He expressed many an earnest wish for death,
-and declared, emphatically, that he “was afraid God Almighty had
-forgotten him.”
-
-We cannot wonder, then, that the ancients should believe, “Whom the gods
-love, die young,” and are ready to say with Southey, himself,
-subsequently, like poor Swift, a melancholy example of the truth of his
-poetical exclamation,
-
- “They who reach
- Gray hairs die piecemeal.”
-
-Sacred history informs us that, in the infancy of the world, the
-physiological tendency to death was far less urgently and early
-developed than it is now. When the change took place is not stated; if
-it occurred gradually, the downward progress has been long since
-arrested. All records make the journey of life from the time of Job and
-the early patriarchs, much the same as the pilgrim of to-day is destined
-to travel. Threescore and ten was, when Cheops built his pyramid, as it
-is now, a long life. Legends, antique and modern, do indeed tell us of
-tribes that, like Riley’s Arabs and the serfs of Middle Russia, and the
-Ashantees and other Africans, live two or three centuries, but these are
-travelers’ stories, unconfirmed. The various statistical tables that
-have been in modern times made up from materials more or less authentic,
-and the several inquiries into the general subject of longevity, seem to
-lead to the gratifying conclusion that there is rather an increase of
-the average or mean duration of civilized life. In 1806, Duvillard fixed
-the average duration of life in France at twenty-eight years; in 1846,
-Bousquet estimates it at thirty-three. Mallet calculated that the
-average life of the Genevese had extended ten years in three
-generations. In Farr’s fifth report (for 1844), the “probable duration,”
-the “expectation of life” in England, is placed above forty; a great
-improvement within half a century. It is curious, if it be true, that
-the extreme term seems to lessen as the average thus increases. Mallet
-is led to this opinion from the fact, among others, that in Geneva,
-coincident with the generally favorable change above mentioned, there
-has not been a single centenarian within twenty-seven years; such
-instances of longevity having been formerly no rarer there than
-elsewhere.
-
-Birds and fishes are said to be the longest lived of animals. For the
-longevity of the latter, ascertained in fish-ponds, Bacon gives the
-whimsical reason that, in the moist element which surrounds them, they
-are protected from exsiccation of the vital juices, and thus preserved.
-This idea corresponds very well with the stories told of the
-uncalculated ages of some of the inhabitants of the bayous of Louisiana,
-and of the happy ignorance of that region, where a traveler once found a
-withered and antique corpse—so goes the tale—sitting propped in an
-arm-chair among his posterity, who could not comprehend why he _slept_
-so long and so soundly.
-
-But the Hollanders and Burmese do not live especially long; and the
-Arab, always lean and wiry, leads a protracted life amidst his arid
-sands. Nor can we thus account for the lengthened age of the crow, the
-raven, and the eagle, which are affirmed to hold out for two or three
-centuries.
-
-There is the same difference among shrubs and trees, of which some are
-annual, some of still more brief existence, and some almost eternal. The
-venerable oak bids defiance to the storms of a thousand winters; and the
-Indian baobab is set down as a contemporary at least of the Tower of
-Babel, having probably braved, like the more transient, though
-long-enduring olive, the very waters of the great deluge.
-
-It will be delightful to know—will Science ever discover for us?—what
-constitutes the difference thus impressed upon the long and short-lived
-races of the organized creation. Why must the fragrant shrub or gorgeous
-flower-plant die immediately after performing its function of continuing
-the species, and the pretty ephemeron languish into non-existence just
-as it flutters through its genial hour of love, and grace, and
-enjoyment; while the banyan, and the chestnut, the tortoise, the
-vulture, and the carp, formed of the same primary material elements, and
-subsisting upon the very same resources of nutrition and supply, outlast
-them so indefinitely?
-
-Death from old age, from natural decay—usually spoken of as death
-without disease—is most improperly termed by writers an euthanasia.
-Alas! how far otherwise is the truth! Old age itself is, with the rarest
-exceptions, exceptions which I have never had the good fortune to meet
-with anywhere—old age itself is a protracted and terrible disease.
-
-During its whole progress, Death is making gradual encroachments upon
-the domain of life. Function after function undergoes impairment, and is
-less and less perfectly carried on, while organ after organ suffers
-atrophy and other changes, unfitting it for the performance of offices
-to which it was originally designed. I will not go over the gloomy
-detail of the observed modifications occurring in every part of the
-frame, now a noble ruin, majestic even in decay. The lungs admit and
-vivify less blood; the heart often diminishes in size and always acts
-more slowly, and the arteries frequently ossify; nutrition is impeded
-and assimilation deteriorated; senile marasmus follows, “and the seventh
-age falls into the lean and slippered pantaloon;” and, last and worst of
-all, the brain and indeed the whole nervous tissue shrink in size and
-weight, undergoing at the same time more or less change of structure and
-composition. As the skull cannot contract on its contents, the shrinking
-of the brain occasions a great increase of the fluid within the
-subarachnoid space. Communication with the outer world, now about to be
-cut off entirely, becomes limited and less intimate. The eyes grow dim;
-the ear loses its aptitude for harmony, and soon ceases to appreciate
-sound; odors yield no fragrance; flavors affect not the indifferent
-palate; and even the touch appreciates only harsh and coarse
-impressions. The locomotive power is lost; the capillaries refuse to
-circulate the dark, thick blood; the extremities retain no longer their
-vital warmth; the breathing slow and oppressed, more and more difficult,
-at last terminates forever with a deep expiration. This tedious process
-is rarely accomplished in the manner indicated without interruption; it
-is usually, nay, as far as my experience has gone, always brought to an
-abrupt close by the supervention of some positive malady. In our
-climate, this is, in the larger proportion, an affection of the
-respiratory apparatus, bronchitis, or pulmonitis. It will, of course,
-vary with the original or constitutional predisposition of the
-individual, and somewhat in relation to locality and season. Many aged
-persons die of apoplexy and its kindred cerebral maladies, not a few of
-diarrhœa; a winter epidemic of influenza is apt to be fatal to them in
-large numbers everywhere.
-
-When we regard death pathologically, that is, as the result of violence
-and destructive disease, it is evident that the phenomena presented will
-vary relatively to the contingencies effective in producing it. It is
-obviously out of place here to recount them, forming as they do a vast
-collection of instructive facts, the basis indeed of an almost separate
-science, Morbid Anatomy.
-
-There are many of the phenomena of death, however, that are common to
-all forms and modes of death, or are rarely wanting; these are highly
-interesting objects of study in themselves, and assume a still greater
-importance when we consider them in the light of signs or tokens of the
-extinction of life. It seems strange that it has been found difficult to
-agree upon any such signs short of molecular change or putrefactive
-decomposition, that shall be pronounced absolutely certain, and
-calculated entirely to relieve us from the horrible chance of premature
-interment of a body yet living. The flaccidity of the cornea is dwelt on
-by some; others trust rather to the _rigor mortis_, the rigid stiffness
-of the limbs and trunk supervening upon the cold relaxation which
-attends generally the last moments. This rigidity is not understood or
-explained satisfactorily. It is possible that, as Matteucci has proved,
-the changes in all the tissues, chiefly chemical or chemico-vital, are
-the source from whence is generated the “nervous force” during life; so,
-after death, the similar changes, now purely chemical, may, for a brief
-period, continue to generate the same or a similar force, which is
-destined to expend itself simply upon the muscular fibres in disposing
-them to contract. There is a vague analogy here with the effect of
-galvanism upon bodies recently dead, which derives some little force
-from the fact that the bodies least disposed to respond to the stimulus
-of galvanism are those which form the exceptions to the almost universal
-exhibition of rigidity—those, namely, which have been killed by
-lightning, and by blows on the pit of the stomach. Some poisons, too,
-leave the corpse quite flaccid and flexible.
-
-The researches of Dr. Bennett Dowler, of New Orleans, have presented us
-with results profoundly impressive, startling, and instructive. He has,
-with almost unequalled zeal, availed himself of opportunities of
-performing autopsy at a period following death of unprecedented
-promptness, that is, within a few minutes after the last struggle, and
-employed them with an intelligent curiosity and to admirable purpose.
-
-I have said that, in physiological death, the natural decay of advancing
-age, there is a gradual encroachment of death upon life; so here, in
-premature death from violent diseases, the contrasted analogy is offered
-of life maintaining its ground far amidst the destructive changes of
-death. Thus, in cholera asphyxia, the body, for an indefinite period
-after all other signs of life have ceased, is agitated by horrid spasms,
-and violently contorted. We learn from Dr. Dowler that it is not only in
-these frightful manifestations, and in the cold stiffness of the
-familiar _rigor mortis_, that we are to trace this tenacious muscular
-contraction as the last vital sign, but that in all, or almost all cases
-we shall find it lingering, not in the heart, anciently considered in
-its right ventricle the _ultimum moriens_, nor in any other internal
-fibres, but in the muscles of the limbs, the biceps most obstinately.
-This muscle will contract, even after the arm with the scapula has been
-torn from the trunk, upon receiving a sharp blow, so as to raise the
-forearm from the table, to a right angle with the upper arm.
-
-We also learn from him the curious fact that the generation of animal
-heat, which physiologists have chosen to point out as a function most
-purely vital, does not cease upon the supervention of obvious or
-apparent death. There is, he tells us, a steady development for some
-time of what he terms “post-mortem caloricity,” by which the heat is
-carried not only above the natural or normal standard, but to a height
-rarely equalled in the most sthenic or inflammatory forms of disease. He
-has seen it reach 113° of Fahr., higher than Hunter ever met with it, in
-his experiments made for the purpose of exciting it; higher than it has
-been noted even in scarlatina, 112°, I think, being the ultimate limit
-observed in that disease of pungent external heat; and far beyond the
-natural heat of the central parts of the healthy body, which is 97° or
-98°. Nor is it near the centre, or at the trunk, that the post-mortem
-warmth is greatest, but, for some unknown reason, at the inner part of
-the thigh, about the lower margin of its upper third. I scarcely know
-any fact in nature more incomprehensible or inexplicable than this. We
-were surprised when it was first told us that, in the Asiatic
-pestilence, the body of the livid victim was often colder before than
-after death; but this, I think, is easily understood. The profluvia of
-cholera, and its profound capillary stagnation, concur in carrying off
-all the heat generated, and in preventing or impeding the development of
-animal heat. No vital actions, no changes necessary to the production of
-caloric, can proceed without the minute circulation which has been
-checked by the asphyxiated condition of the subject, while the fluids
-leave the body through every outlet, and evaporation chills the whole
-exposed and relaxed surface. Yet the lingering influence of a scarcely
-perceptible vitality prevents the purely chemical changes of
-putrefactive decomposition, which commence instantly upon the extinction
-of this feeble resistance, and caloric is evolved by the processes of
-ordinary delay.
-
-In the admirable liturgy of the churches of England and of Rome, there
-is a fervent prayer for protection against “battle, murder, and sudden
-death.” From death uncontemplated, unarranged, unprepared for, may
-Heaven in mercy deliver us! But if ever ready, as we should be for the
-inevitable event, the most kindly mode of infliction must surely be that
-which is most prompt and brief. To die unconsciously, as in sleep, or by
-apoplexy, or lightning, or overwhelming violence, as in the catastrophe
-of the Princeton, this is the true Euthanasia. “Cæsar,” says Suetonius,
-“finem vitæ commodissimum, repentinum inopinatumque pretulerat.”
-Montaigne, who quotes this, renders it, “La moins préméditée et la plus
-courte.” “Mortes repentinæ,” reasons Pliny, “hoc est summa vitæ
-felicitas.” “Emori nolo,” exclaims Cicero, “sed me esse mortuum nihil
-estimo.”
-
-Sufferers by various modes of execution were often, in the good old
-times of our merciless ancestors, denied as long as possible the
-privilege of dying, and the Indians of our continent utter a fiendish
-howl of disappointment when a victim thus prematurely escapes from their
-ingenious malignity. The _coup de grace_ was a boon unspeakably desired
-by the poor wretch broken on the wheel, or stretched upon the accursed
-cross, and forced to linger on with mangled and bleeding limbs, amidst
-all the cruel torments of thirst and fever, through hours and even days
-that must have seemed interminable.
-
-The progress of civilization, and a more enlightened humanity have put
-an end to all these atrocities, and substituted the gallows, the
-garrote, and the guillotine, which inflict deaths so sudden that many
-have questioned whether they necessarily imply any consciousness of
-physical suffering. These are, however, by no means the most
-instantaneous modes of putting an end to life and its manifestations. In
-the hanged, as in the drowned, and otherwise suffocated, there is a
-period of uncertainty, during which the subject is, as we know,
-recoverable; we dare not pronounce him insensible. He who has seen an ox
-“pithed” in the slaughter-house, or a game-cock in all the flush and
-excitement of battle “gaffed” in the occiput or back of the neck, will
-contrast the immediate stiffness and relaxation of the flaccid body with
-the prolonged and convulsive struggles of the decapitated bird, with a
-sort of curious anxiety to know how long and in what degree sensibility
-may linger in the head and in the trunk when severed by the sharp axe.
-The history of the guillotine offers many incidents calculated to throw
-a doubt on the subject, and the inquiries of Seguret and Sue seem to
-prove the existence of post-mortem passion and emotion.
-
-Among the promptest modes of extinguishing life is the electric fluid. A
-flash of lightning will destroy the coagulability of the blood, as well
-as the contractility of the muscular fibre; the dead body remaining
-flexible. A blow on the epigastrium kills instantly with the same
-results. Soldiers fall sometimes in battle without a wound; the impulse
-of a cannon-ball passing near the pit of the stomach is here supposed to
-be the cause of death. The effect in these two last instances is
-ascribed by some to “a shock given to the semilunar ganglion, and the
-communication of the impression to the heart;” but this is insufficient
-to account either for the quickness of the occurrence, or the peculiar
-changes impressed upon the solids and fluids. Others are of opinion that
-the whole set of respiratory nerves is paralyzed through the violent
-shock given to the phrenic, “thus shutting up,” as one writer expresses
-it, “the fountain of all the sympathetic actions of the system.” This
-hypothesis is liable also to the objections urged above; and we must
-acknowledge the suddenness and character of the results described to be
-as yet unexplained, and in the present state of our knowledge
-inexplicable.
-
-On the field of battle, it has been observed that the countenances of
-those killed by gun-shot wounds are usually placid, while those who
-perish by the sword, bayonet, pike, or lance, offer visages distorted by
-pain, or by emotions of anger or impatience. Poisons differ much among
-themselves as to the amount and kind of suffering they occasion. We know
-of none which are absolutely free from the risk of inflicting severe
-distress. Prussic acid gives perhaps the briefest death which we have
-occasion to observe. I have seen it, as Taylor states, kill an animal,
-when applied to the tongue or the eye, almost before the hand which
-offered it could be removed. Yet in the case of Tawell, tried for the
-murder of Sarah Hart, by this means, there was abundant testimony that
-many, on taking it, had time to utter a loud and peculiar scream of
-anguish: and in a successful attempt at suicide made by a physician of
-New York city, we have a history of appalling suffering and violent
-convulsion. So I have seen in suicide with opium, which generally gives
-an easy and soporose death resembling that of apoplexy, one or two
-instances in which there were very great and long-protracted pain and
-sickness.
-
-Medical writers have agreed, very generally, that “the death-struggle,”
-“the agony of death,” as it has long been termed is not what it appears,
-a stage of suffering. I am not satisfied—I say it reluctantly—I am not
-satisfied with these consolatory views, so ingeniously and plausibly
-advocated by Wilson Philip, and Symonds, Hufeland and Hoffman. I would
-they were true! But all the symptoms look like tokens or expressions of
-distress; we may hope that they are not always such in reality: but how
-can this be proved? Those who, having seemed to die, recovered afterward
-and declared that they had undergone no pain, do not convince me of the
-fact any more than the somnambulist, who upon awaking, assures me that
-he has not dreamed at all, after a whole night of action, and connected
-thought and effected purpose. His memory retains no traces of the
-questionable past; like that of the epileptic, who forgets the whole
-train of events, and is astonished after a horrible fit to find his
-tongue bitten, and his face and limbs bruised and swollen.
-
-Nay, some have proceeded to the paradoxical extreme of suggesting that
-certain modes of death are attended with pleasurable sensations, as for
-instance, hanging; and a late reviewer, who regards this sombre topic
-with a most cheerful eye, gives us instances which he considers in
-point. I have seen many men hung, forty at least, a strangely large
-number. In all, there were evidences of suffering, as far as could be
-judged by external appearances. It once happened that a certain set were
-slowly executed, owing to a maladroit arrangement of the scaffold upon
-which they stood, which gave way only at one end. The struggles of such
-as were half supported were dreadful, and those of them who could speak
-earnestly begged that their agonies should be put an end to.
-
-In former, nay, even in recent times, we are told that pirates and
-robbers have resorted to half-hanging, to extort confession as to hidden
-treasure. Is it possible that they can have so much mistaken the means
-they employ as thus to use pleasurable appliances for the purposes of
-torture?
-
-The mistake of most reasoners on the subject, Winslow and Hufeland more
-especially, consists in this, that they fix their attention exclusively
-upon the final moments of dissolution. But the act of dying may be in
-disease, as we know it to be in many modes of violence, impalement, for
-example, or crucifixion, very variously protracted and progressive.
-“Insensibly as we enter life,” says Hufeland, “equally insensibly do we
-leave it. Man can have no sensation of dying.” Here the insensibility of
-_death completed_, that is, of _the dead body_, is strangely predicated
-of the moribund while still living. This transitive condition, to use
-the graphic language of the Southern writer whom we have already more
-than once quoted, is “a terra incognita, where vitality, extinguished in
-some tissues, smouldering in others, and disappearing gradually from
-all, resembles the region of a volcano, whose eruptions subsiding, leave
-the surface covered with cinders and ashes, concealing the rents and
-lesions which have on all sides scarred and disfigured the face of
-nature.”
-
-Besides this, we have no right to assume, as Hufeland has here done, the
-insensibility of the child at birth. It is subject to disease before
-birth; as soon as it draws a breath, it utters loud cries and sobs. To
-pronounce all its actions “mechanical, instinctive, necessary,
-automatic,” in fact, is a very easy solution of the question; but I
-think neither rational nor conclusive. If you prick it or burn it, you
-regard its cries as proving sensibility to pain; but on the application
-of air to its delicate and hitherto protected skin, and the distension
-of its hitherto quiet lung, the same cry, you say, is mechanical and
-inexpressive. So Leibnitz explained, to his own satisfaction, the
-struggles and moans of the lower animals as automatic, being embarrassed
-with metaphysical and moral difficulties on the score of their
-intelligence and liability to suffering. But no one now espouses his
-theory, and we must accept, whether we can explain them or not, the
-facts that the lower animals are liable to pain during their entire
-existence, and that the heritage of their master is, from and during
-birth to the last moment of languishing vitality, a sad legacy of wo and
-suffering.
-
-Unhappily we may appeal, in this discussion, directly to the evidence of
-our senses, to universal experience and observation. Who can doubt the
-tortures inflicted in tetanus? to alleviate which, indeed, I have more
-than once been solicited for poison. Does not every one know the
-grievous inflictions of cancer, lasting through months and years, and
-continuing, as I have myself seen, within a short hour of the absolute
-extinction of life, in spite of every effort to relieve it? The most
-painful of deaths apparently is that which closes the frightful tragedy
-of hydrophobia, and patients, to hurry it, often ask most urgently for
-any means of prompt destruction. But these more intense and acute pangs
-are not the only form of intolerable agony. Unquenchable thirst, a
-dreadfully progressive suffocation, confusion of the senses and of
-thought—these are inflictions that nature shudderingly recoils from,
-and these, or their manifestations, are scarcely ever wanting on the
-death-bed.
-
-If any one should ask why I thus endeavor to prove what it is revolting
-to us all to believe or admit, I answer—first, that truth is always
-desirable to be known both for its own sake and because it is ever
-pregnant with ultimate benefit and utility. More than one moribund has
-expressed to me his surprise and horror—shall I say disappointment too?
-at finding the dark valley of the shadow of death so rough and gloomy
-and full of terrors. Is it not better that we should be as thoroughly
-and adequately prepared for the stern reality as may be, and that we
-should summon up all the patience and fortitude requisite to bear us
-through? When the last moment is actually at hand, we can safely assure
-our friends that they will soon reach a state of rest and
-unconsciousness, and that meanwhile, as they die more and more, they
-will less and less feel the pain of dying. Secondly, by appreciating
-properly the nature and amount of the pangs of death, we shall be led to
-a due estimate of the demand for their relief or palliation, and of the
-obligation incumbent on us to institute every proper effort for that
-purpose with zeal and assiduity. He who believes with Hufeland, that the
-moribund is insensible, is likely to do little to solace or comfort him.
-
-There are doubtless instances of death entirely easy. “I wish,” said
-Doctor Black, “I could hold a pen; I would write how pleasant a thing it
-is to die.” Dr. George Fordyce desired his youngest daughter to read to
-him. When she had been reading some time, he called to her—“Stop; go
-out of the room; I am going to die.” She left him, and an attendant,
-entering immediately, found him dead. “Is it possible I am dying?”
-exclaimed a lady patient of mine; “I feel as if going into a sweet
-sleep.” “I am drowsy, had I better indulge myself?” asked Capt. G. On my
-giving him an affirmative answer, he turned, and sank into a slumber
-from which he awoke no more. It is indeed pleasant to know that examples
-occur of this unconscious and painless dissolution; but I fear they are
-comparatively rare exceptions to a natural rule; and I regard it as the
-duty of the medical profession to add to the number by the judicious
-employment of every means in our power.
-
-And this leads me to a brief consideration of the question so often
-pressed upon us in one shape or another by the friends of our patients,
-and sometimes by our patients themselves: If the tendency of any
-medicinal or palliative agent be to shorten life, while it assuages
-pain, has the physician a right to resort to it? Even in the latter
-stages of some inflammatory affections, loss of blood, especially if
-carried to fainting, will arrest the sharp pangs, but the patient will
-probably die somewhat sooner: shall we bleed him? Large doses of opium
-will tranquilize him, or render him insensible; but he will probably
-sink somewhat earlier into the stupor of death. Shall we administer it,
-or shall we let him linger on in pain, merely that he may linger?
-Chloroform, ether, and other anæsthetics in full dose inspired render us
-insensible to all forms of anguish, and make death as easy, to use the
-phrase of Hufeland, as being born! Shall we allow our agonized moribund
-to inhale them? Used in less amount, a degree of relief and palliation
-is procured, but at the risk of exhausting or prostrating more promptly
-the failing energies of the system. Shall we avail ourselves of their
-anæsthetic influences, or are they forbidden us, either absolutely or
-partially?
-
-These are by some moralists considered very delicate questions in
-ethics. Desgenettes has been highly applauded for the reply he made to
-Bonaparte’s suggestion, that it would be better for the miserable sick
-left by the French army at Jaffa to be drugged with opium: “It is my
-business to save life, not to destroy it.” But, in approving the
-physician, we must not harshly condemn the commanding officer. When we
-reflect on the condition of the men whom the fortune of war compelled
-him to abandon, and the certainty of a horrible death to each victim
-from wasting disease or Turkish cruelty, a rational philanthropist might
-well desire to smooth their passage to the grave.
-
-During the employment of torture for the purposes of tyranny in Church
-and State, a physician or surgeon was at hand, whose whole duty it was
-to suspend the process whenever it became probable that nature would
-yield under its pressure, and the victim would escape through the
-opening, glad gates of death. It was then esteemed an act of mercy to
-give, or permit to be given by the executioner, a fatal blow, hence
-called emphatically and justly the _coup de grace_. In the terrible
-history of the invasion of Russia by Napoleon, we shudder to read that,
-after their expulsion from Moscow, the French soldiers, in repassing the
-fields of battles fought days and even weeks previously, found many of
-their comrades, there wounded and left, still dragging out a wretched
-and hopeless existence, amidst the corpses of those more fortunately
-slain outright, and perishing miserably and slowly of cold and hunger,
-and festering and gangrenous wounds. One need not surely offer a single
-argument to prove, all must feel and admit that the kindest office of
-humanity, under the circumstances, would have been to put an end to this
-indescribable mass of protracted wretchedness by the promptest means
-that could be used to extinguish so horrible a life.
-
-A common case presents itself from time to time to every practitioner,
-in which all hope is avowedly extinct, and yet, in consonance with
-uniform custom, stimulants are assiduously prescribed to prolong
-existence in the midst of convulsive and delirious throes, not to be
-looked on without dismay. In some such contingencies, where the ultimate
-result was palpably certain, I have seen them at last abandoned as
-useless and worse, in order that nature, irritated and excited, lashed
-into factitious and transitory energy, might sink into repose; and have
-felt a melancholy satisfaction in witnessing the tranquillity, so soft
-and gentle, that soon ensued; the stormy agitation subsiding into a calm
-and peaceful decay.
-
-Responsibility of the kind I am contemplating, often indeed more obvious
-and definite, presses upon the obstetrician, and is met unreservedly. In
-embryulcia, one life is sacrificed in the hope and with the reasonable
-prospect of saving another more valued: this is done too sometimes where
-there is an alternative presented, the Cæsarian section, which destroys
-neither of absolute necessity, but subjects the better life to very
-great risk.
-
-Patients themselves frequently prefer the prompter and more lenient
-motives of death which our science refuses to inflict. In summing up the
-motives of suicide in one hundred and thirty-one cases, whose causes are
-supposed to be known, Prevost tells us that thirty-four, more than
-one-fourth of the whole number, committed self-murder to rid themselves
-of the oppressive burden of physical disease. Winslow gives us an
-analysis of thirteen hundred and thirty-three suicides from Pinel,
-Esquirol, Burrows, and others. Of these, there were but two hundred and
-fifty that did not present obvious appearances of bodily ailment; and
-although it is not stated how many of them sought death voluntarily as a
-refuge from physical suffering, it would be unreasonable to doubt that
-this was the purpose with a very large proportion. I am far from
-advocating the propriety of yielding to this desire or gratifying the
-propensity; nay, I would, on the other hand, earnestly endeavor to
-remove or repress it, as is now the admitted rule.
-
-I hold fully, with Pascal, that, according to the principles of
-Christianity, which in this entirely oppose the false notions of
-paganism, a man “does not possess power over his own life.” I
-acknowledge and maintain that the obligation to perform unceasingly, and
-to the last and utmost of our ability, all the duties which appertain to
-our condition, renders absolutely incompatible the right supposed by
-some to belong to every one to dispose of himself at his own will. But I
-would present the question for the serious consideration of the
-profession, whether there does not, now and then, though very rarely,
-occur an exceptional case, in which they might, upon full and frank
-consultation, be justified before God and man in relieving, by the
-efficient use of anæsthetics, at whatever risk, the ineffable and
-incurable anguish of a fellow-creature laboring under disease of organic
-destructiveness, or inevitably mortal; such, for example, as we are
-doomed to witness in hydrophobia, and even more clearly in some
-instances of cancerous and fungoid degeneration, and in the sphacelation
-of organs necessary to life, or parts so connected as to be
-indispensable, yet not allowing either of removal or restoration?
-
-I have left myself scarcely time for a few remarks upon death,
-psychologically considered. How is the mind affected by the anticipation
-and actual approach of death? The answer will obviously depend upon and
-be influenced by a great diversity of contingencies, moral and physical.
-The love of life is an instinct implanted in us for wise purposes; so is
-the fear of pain. Apart from this, I do not believe, as many teach, that
-there is any instinctive fear of death. Education, which instills into
-us, when young, the fear of spectres; religious doctrines, which awake
-in us the terror of “something after death;” conscience, which, when
-instructed, “makes cowards of us all;” associations of a revolting
-character—
-
- “The knell, the shroud, the mattock, and the grave—
- The deep, damp vault, the darkness, and the worm;”
-
-these startle and appal us.
-
- “Man makes a death that nature never made,
- Then on the point of his own fancy falls.
- And feels a thousand deaths in fearing one.”
-
-We sympathize duly with every instinct of nature; we all feel the love
-of life, and accord readily in the warmest expression of it; but we
-recoil from every strong exhibition of the fear of death as unreasonable
-and dastardly.
-
-When Claudio reminds his noble sister that “death is a fearful thing,”
-she replies well—“and shamed life a hateful!” But when he rejoins—
-
- “The weariest and most loathed worldly life
- That age, ache, penury, and imprisonment
- Can lay on nature, is a paradise
- To what we fear of death;”
-
-we anticipate her in bidding him “Perish! for a faithless coward, and a
-beast.”
-
-In the same contemptible and shrinking spirit, Mæcenas, in a passage
-from Seneca—
-
- “Vita, dum superest bene est
- Hunc mihi vel acuta
- Si sedeam cruce, sustine.”
-
-Among hypochondriacs, we often meet with the seemingly paradoxical
-combination of an intense dread of death unassociated with any
-perceptible attachment to life; a morbid and most pitiable condition,
-which urges some to repeated, but ineffectual attempts at suicide. I
-know not a state of mind more utterly wretched.
-
-Both these sentiments, whether instinctive or educational, are, we
-should observe, very strikingly influenced by circumstances.
-Occasionally, they seem to be obliterated, or nearly so; not only in
-individuals, but in large masses, nay, in whole communities; as during
-great social convulsions; through the reign of a devastating pestilence;
-under the shock of repeated disorders of the elements; as in
-earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, storms, and inundations; in protracted
-sieges, and in shipwrecks. The Reign of Terror produced this state of
-feeling in France, and thousands went to the scaffold indifferently, or
-with a jest. Boccacio and others have pictured the same state of
-undejected despair, if such a phrase be permitted, in which men succumb
-to fate, and say, with a sort of cheerful hardihood, “Let us eat and
-drink, for to-morrow we die,” losing thus all dread even of the plague.
-Pliny the younger, in his flight from Mycena, under the fatal shower of
-ashes from Vesuvius, heard, amidst the darkness, the prayers of wretches
-“who desired to die, that they might be released from the expectation of
-death.” And Byron, in his magnificent description of the shipwreck, in
-Don Juan, tells us—
-
- “Some leaped overboard with dreadful yell,
- As eager to anticipate the grave.”
-
-Shakspeare’s Constance, in her grief, draws well the character of death,
-as—
-
- “Misery’s love,
- The hate and terror of prosperity.”
-
-A woman who has lost her honor; a soldier convicted of poltroonery; a
-patriot who sees his country enslaved; a miser robbed; a speculator
-bankrupt; a poet unappreciated, or harshly criticized, as in poor
-Keats’s case—
-
- “Strange that the soul, that very fiery particle,
- Should let itself be snuffed out by an article”—
-
-all these seem to loathe life, or, at any rate, lose much of their
-fondness for it. It is curious to remark, too, how little, as in the
-last-mentioned instance, will suffice to extinguish, abruptly or
-gradually, this usually tenacious instinct. A man in York cut his
-throat, because, as he left in writing, “he was tired of buttoning and
-unbuttoning.” The occurrence of a loathsome but very curable disease in
-a patient of mine, just when he was about to be married, induced him to
-plunge among the breakers off Sullivan’s Island, on one of the coldest
-days of our coldest winter. A Pole in New York wrote some verses just
-before the act of self-destruction, implying that he was so weary of
-uncertainty as to the truth of the various theories of the present and
-future life, that he “had set out on a journey to the other world to
-find out what he ought to believe in this.”
-
-We are always interested in observing the conduct of brave men, who
-exhibit a strongly-marked love of life, with little or no fear of death.
-Danton, Camille Desmoulins, and Herault Sechelles, who commenced their
-revolutionary career as reckless as they seemed ferocious, having
-attained elevation, acquired wealth, and married beautiful women, became
-merciful and prudent. Hunted in their turn by the bloodhounds of the
-time, they made the most earnest endeavors to escape, but displayed a
-noble courage in meeting their fate when inevitable.
-
-It is a trite but true remark, that men will boldly face one mode of
-death, and shrink timidly from another. A soldier, whom discipline will
-lead without flinching “up to the imminent deadly breach,” will cower
-before a sea-storm. Women, even in the act of suicide, dreading
-explosion and blood, prefer poison and drowning. Men very often choose
-firearms and cutting instruments, which habit has made familiar.
-
-If the nervous or sensorial system escape lesion during the ravages of
-disease, the conduct of the last hour will be apt to be consistent with
-the previous character of the individual. Hobbes spoke gravely of death
-as “a leap in the dark.” Hume talked lightly of Charon and his
-ferry-boat. Voltaire made verses with his usual levity—
-
- “Adieu, mes amis! adieu, la compagnie!
- Dans deux heures d’ici, mon âme aneantie
- Sera ce que je fus deux heures avant ma vie.”
-
-Keats murmured, poetically, “I feel the flowers growing on my grave.”
-Dr. Armstrong died prescribing for a patient; Lord Tenterden, uttering
-the words “Gentlemen of the Jury, you will find;” General Lord Hill,
-exclaiming “Horrid war!” Dr. Adams, of the Edinburgh High School, “It
-grows dark; the boys may dismiss!” The last words of La Place were, “Ce
-que nous connaissons est peu de chose; ce que nous ignorons, est
-immense!”
-
-The history of suicide, of death in battle, and of executions, is full
-of such instances of consistent conduct and character. Madame Roland
-desired to have pen and paper accorded to her, at the “Place de la
-Guillotine,” that she might, as she phrased it, “set down the thoughts
-that were rising in her mind.” Sir Thomas More jested pleasantly as he
-mounted the scaffold. Thistlewood, the conspirator, a thoughtful man,
-remarked to one of his fellow-sufferers that, “in five minutes more,
-they would be in possession of the great secret.” When Madame de
-Joulanges and her sisters were executed, they chanted together the Veni
-Creator on their way from the prison to the fatal spot. Head after head
-fell under the axe, but the celestial strain was prolonged until the
-very last voice was hushed in the sudden silence of death.
-
-The delirium of the moribund exhibits itself in diversified and often
-contrasted manifestations. Symonds looks upon it as closely analogous to
-the condition of the mind in dreaming. A popular and ancient error
-deserves mention, only to be corrected; that the mind, at the near
-approach of dissolution, becomes unusually clear, vigorous, and active.
-
- “The soul’s dark cottage, battered and decayed,
- Lets in new light through chinks which Time has made.”
-
-Excitement of the uncontrolled imagination, as in dreams, and other
-modes of delirium, is frequently mistaken for general mental energy;
-some suggested association arouses trains of thought that have made deep
-traces in the memory; scenes familiar in early childhood are vividly
-described, and incidents long past recalled with striking minuteness.
-All physicians know the difference familiarly presented in diseases,
-some of which specifically occasion despondency and dejection of
-spirits, while others render indifferent or even give rise to
-exhilaration. The former constitute a class unhappily numerous. Cholera,
-which at a distance excites terrors almost insane, is usually attended
-with a careless stolidity, when it has laid its icy hand upon its
-victim. The cheerful hopefulness of the consumptive patient is
-proverbial; and in many instances of yellow fever, we find the moribund
-patient confident of recovery. These are the exceptions, however; and we
-cannot too often repeat that the religious prejudice which argues
-unfavorably of the previous conduct and present character from the
-closing scene of an agitating and painful illness, or from the last
-words, uttered amidst bodily anguish and intellectual confusion, is
-cruel and unreasonable, and ought to be loudly denounced. We can well
-enough understand why an English Elizabeth, Virgin Queen, as history
-labels her, could not lie still for a moment, agitated as she must have
-been by a storm of remorseful recollections, nor restrain her shrieks of
-horror long enough even to listen to a prayer. But how often does it
-happen that “the wicked has no bands in his death;” and the awful
-example of deep despair in the Stainless One, who cried out in his agony
-that he was forsaken of God, should serve to deter us from the daily
-repeated and shocking rashness of the decisions against which I am now
-appealing.
-
-Some minds have seemed firm enough, it is true, to maintain triumphantly
-this last terrible struggle, and resist in a measure at least the
-depressing influence of disease. Such instances cannot, however, be
-numerous; and we should be prepared rather to sympathize with and make
-all due allowance for human weakness. I have seen such moments of
-yielding as it was deeply painful to witness, at the bedside of many of
-the best of men, whose whole lives had been a course of consistent
-goodness and piety, when warned of impending death, and called on to
-make those preparations which custom has unfortunately led us to look
-upon as gloomy landmarks at the entrance of the dark valley.
-
-One of these, from youth to age a most esteemed and valued member of one
-of our most fervent religious bodies, with sobs and tears, and loud
-wailing, threw the pen and paper from him, exclaiming, over and over
-again, “I will not—I cannot—I must not die.” Like the eccentric
-Salvini, of whom Spence tells us that he died, crying out in a great
-passion, “Je ne veux pas mourir, absolument;” and Lannes, the bravest of
-Bonaparte’s marshals, when mortally wounded, struggled angrily and
-fearfully, shouting with his last breath, “Save me, Napoleon!”
-
-But I recoil from farther discussion of a topic so full of awe and
-solemn interest, and conclude this prosaic “Thanatopsis” with the
-Miltonian strain of Bryant, who terminates his noble poem, thus styled,
-in language worthy of the best age and brightest laurel of our tongue:—
-
- “So live, that, when thy summons comes to join
- The innumerable caravan, that moves
- To the pale realms of shade, where each shall take
- His chamber in the silent halls of death,
- Thou go not like the quarry slave at night,
- Scourged to his dungeon; but, sustained and soothed
- By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,
- Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
- About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.”
-
------
-
-[7] From Essays on Life, Sleep, Pain, etc., just published by Blanchard
-& Lea, Philadelphia.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- TO A FRIEND IN THE SPIRIT LAND.
-
-
- BY L——, OF EASTFORD HERMITAGE.
-
-
- Time passes wearily with me
- Since thou hast joined the spirit throng;
- I miss thy laugh that rang with glee—
- The music of thy voice and song;
- And though each day I meet bright eyes,
- That look with tenderness on mine,
- And cheeks that with the coral vies,
- And tones that seem almost divine,
- Still they can wake no gentle chord
- To vibrate deeply in the heart;
- For each bright glance and gentle word,
- Must fail to charm while we’re apart.
- Then speed thee, Time, upon thy way.
- Swift on thy fleeting pinions soar;
- And hasten on that blissful day,
- When we shall meet to part no more.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- THE PHILADELPHIA ART-UNION.
-
-
-While other Art-Unions throughout the country are falling into
-disrepute, that of Philadelphia seems to be rising in favor.
-
-This cannot be owing to the absence of discouragements. Like all similar
-institutions, it suffered severely from the pressure of the money-market
-during the last six months of the year 1851. It found, in common with
-others, that money was not forthcoming for the promotion of art, when it
-commanded from one to two per cent. a month on ’change—that men could
-not, or would not buy pictures, when they were obliged to strain every
-nerve to save themselves from bankruptcy.
-
-Besides the serious loss of revenue arising from this source, the
-Philadelphia Art-Union lost by fire its two most valuable steel plates,
-just at the moment when it was about to reap from them a golden harvest.
-These splendid plates, “Mercy’s Dream,” and “Christiana and her Family,”
-which had cost the society several thousand dollars, and which were
-unquestionably among the most attractive prints ever issued in this
-country, were entirely destroyed in the conflagration of Hart’s
-buildings in this city.
-
-It is not, therefore, mere good luck, nor the absence of discouraging
-circumstances, that has given the Philadelphia Art-Union its present
-condition of success. This success is based on the principles of its
-organization, which differ materially from those of other kindred
-associations.
-
-In the first place, though located nominally in Philadelphia, and having
-its Board of Managers here, it is really an Art-Union for every place
-where it finds subscribers. Its prize-holders may select their prizes
-from any gallery in the United States, or may order a picture from any
-artist of their own selection. This puts it entirely out of the power of
-the Board of Managers, even if they had the inclination, to exercise
-favoritism toward any particular clique of artists, or to practice any
-kind of fraud or trickery either in the purchase or the valuation of
-pictures.
-
-Secondly, and for the very reason just assigned, the Philadelphia
-Art-Union enjoys in a high degree the confidence of the artists
-themselves. They know by experience that its free gallery is the means
-of selling a large number of pictures, besides those which are ordered
-in consequence of the annual distributions. They know also that in order
-to sell their pictures, or to obtain orders for painting, they have not
-to cater to the fancies or caprices of a small clique of managers, but
-to appeal to the public at large, depending solely upon the general
-principles of their art. In other Art-Unions, the managers themselves
-select and buy the pictures that are to be distributed as prizes. Hence
-they are almost invariably regarded with jealousy by every artist who
-does not receive from them an order—that is, by at least nine-tenths of
-the whole body. The artist sees, however, that the Philadelphia
-Art-Union does not admit of any favoritism of this kind. Its very plan
-renders the thing impossible. If any particular artist finds that among
-the prize-holders, no order or purchase has come to his studio, he may
-see in it evidence perhaps that he has not pleased the public taste, but
-no evidence of partiality in the Board of Managers. So far as their
-operations are concerned, they give to all competitors “a fair field and
-no favor”—and this is all that the artist asks.
-
-That this view of the subject is the true one, and that the artists
-themselves so view it, has been conclusively shown by their action on
-the occasion of the losses of the institution by the late fire. The
-artists of Philadelphia, on hearing of this disaster, called a meeting,
-of their own accord, and passed a series of resolutions, approving in
-the most unqualified manner both the plan and the management of the
-institution, and agreeing severally to paint a picture of the value of
-at least fifty dollars, and to present the same to the Art-Union.
-Several other gentlemen, amateurs and patrons of art, stimulated by this
-generosity, joined them in the enterprise, and already about fifty
-valuable prizes have been thus guarantied.
-
-It is obvious that they have entered upon this matter in a generous
-spirit, with that animation and hearty good-will which spring naturally
-from the circumstances. Every one at all conversant with art or artists,
-knows how much the excellence of a picture, its very life and soul—all,
-in fact, that distinguishes it as a work of art, or raises it above a
-mere piece of mechanism—depends upon the feeling of the artist while
-creating it. The noble enthusiasm with which the artists have entered
-upon the present arrangement, is the best guaranty that the Art-Union
-will have from each painter one of the happiest efforts of his
-genius—something done under the direct influence of inspiration.
-Indeed, we happen to know that several of our most eminent artists
-intend to lay themselves out on this occasion—resolved to show what
-artists are, and what they can do, for an institution which commands
-their confidence.
-
-Mr. Rothermel has signified his intention to paint a picture worth $500;
-Mr. Paul Weber a landscape worth $500; Mr. A. Woodside a picture worth
-$500; Mr. Scheussele a Scriptural subject worth $250; Mr. Sully a
-picture worth $100; Mr. Joshua Shaw a landscape worth $75; and several
-others have promised pictures at prices varying from $50 (the minimum)
-to $75, $100, $150, etc. The names of the other artists and amateurs who
-have offered original pictures of this description, are Rembrandt Peale,
-James Hamilton, Isaac L. Williams, Wm. A. K. Martin, Wm. F. Jones, Wm.
-E. Winner, Leo. Elliot, F. de Bourg Richards, George C. White, John
-Wiser, J. K. Trego, George W. Holmes, Geo. W. Conarroe, John Sartain,
-Alex. Lawrie, Jr., Samuel Sartain, G. R. Bonfield, S. B. Waugh, W. T.
-Richards, Aaron Stein, R. A Clarke, W. Sanford Mason, J. R. Lambdin, G.
-C. Lambdin, J. Wilson, May Stevenson, I. W. Moore, T. H. Glessing, W. H.
-Wilcox, Thomas A. Andrews, George F. Meeser, James S. Earle, Edward F.
-Dennison, George W. Dewey, James L. Claghorn. Others will, no doubt, be
-added to the list.
-
-About fifty splendid original works of art, ranging in value from $50 to
-$500 each, have thus been placed absolutely at the disposal of the Board
-of Managers, and have been by them specifically pledged to the
-subscribers at the next distribution.
-
-Besides this, Mr. Rothermel has just finished for the Art-Union a great
-historical painting of Patrick Henry making his celebrated revolutionary
-speech before the Virginia House of Burgesses. This picture is
-undoubtedly Mr. Rothermel’s master-piece. He has thrown into it all the
-fire of his genius, all the ardor of his patriotism, all the
-accumulations of his knowledge and skill as one of the practiced and
-leading historical painters of the day.
-
-The historical scene which Mr. Rothermel has commemorated in this
-painting is the passage of Patrick Henry’s resolutions on the Stamp Act
-in the House of Burgesses, in the year 1765. The passage of these
-resolutions was the first bold note of defiance that was uttered on this
-side of the Atlantic. The manner in which they were carried through the
-House is thus described by his biographer:
-
-“It was, indeed, the measure which raised him [Mr. Henry] to the zenith
-of his glory. He had never before had a subject which entirely matched
-his genius, and was capable of drawing out all the powers of his mind.
-It was remarked of him, throughout his life, that his talents never
-failed to rise with the occasion, and in proportion with the resistance
-which he had to encounter. The nicety of the vote, on the last
-resolution, proves that this was not a time to hold in reserve any part
-of his forces. It was, indeed, an Alpine passage, under circumstances
-even more unpropitious than those of Hannibal; for he had not only to
-fight, hand to hand, the powerful party who were already in possession
-of the heights, but at the same instant to cheer and animate the timid
-band of followers, that were trembling, and fainting, and drawing back
-below him. It was an occasion that called upon him to put forth all his
-strength; and he did put it forth, in such a manner as man never did
-before. The cords of argument with which his adversaries frequently
-flattered themselves that they had bound him fast, became packthreads in
-his hands. He burst them with as much ease as the unshorn Samson did the
-bands of the Philistines. He seized the pillars of the temple, shook
-them terribly, and seemed to threaten his opponents with ruin. It was an
-incessant storm of lightning and thunder, which struck them aghast. The
-faint-hearted gathered courage from his countenance, and cowards became
-heroes while they gazed upon his exploits. It was in the midst of this
-magnificent debate, while he was descanting on the tyranny of the
-obnoxious act, that he exclaimed in a voice of thunder, and with the
-look of a god, ‘Cæsar had his Brutus—Charles the First his
-Cromwell—and George the Third—’ ‘Treason!’ cried the Speaker.
-‘Treason! treason!’ echoed from every part of the house. It was one of
-those trying moments which is decisive of character. Henry faltered not
-for an instant; but rising to a loftier attitude, and fixing on the
-Speaker an eye of the most determined fire, he finished his sentence
-with the firmest emphasis—‘_may profit by their example_. If _this_ be
-treason—make the most of it!’”
-
-The exact moment of time which Mr. Rothermel has seized for his
-painting, is when the last words which we have quoted, (“_If this be
-treason—make the most of it!_”) are dying away upon the ear. The
-impassioned orator stands erect and self-possessed, his open hand aloft,
-as though a thunder-bolt had just passed from his fingers, and his eye
-were quietly awaiting the issue, in the conscious strength of a Jupiter
-Tonans.
-
-Foremost in the foregoing is Richard Henry Lee. Lee sees, by a sort of
-prophetic intuition, the full import of this inspired oratory. His very
-face, under the magic of Mr. Rothermel’s genius, is a long perspective
-of war, desolation, heroic deeds, and the thick-coming glories of
-ultimate civic and religious liberty.
-
-Peyton Randolph, also in the foreground, is a most striking figure. So
-is Pendleton, so is Wythe, so is Speaker Robinson. Indeed, every inch of
-canvas tells its story. The spectator, who knew nothing of the scene or
-of its actors, would instantly and involuntarily become conscious that
-he was present at some great world-renowned action.
-
-But in dwelling upon this fascinating topic, we have been unconsciously
-carried away from our main point. This great painting, which was
-executed by Mr. Rothermel for the Art-Union, at the price of one
-thousand dollars, but which, by its extraordinary excellence, has
-already acquired a market value far beyond that sum, _is to be drawn for
-among the other prizes at the next annual distribution_.
-
-Every subscriber, moreover, secures for himself a copy of the engraving
-of this great picture, which the Managers have contracted for in a style
-of surpassing beauty. The picture itself, and the engraving of it, will
-form an era in the history of American art, as the subject itself did in
-the history of American Independence.
-
-Besides this, all the money obtained from the subscribers, after paying
-for the engraving and other incidental expenses, is to be distributed,
-as heretofore, in money-prizes for the purchase of other works of art,
-at the option of the prize-holders.
-
-Of the general beneficial influence of Art-Unions, at least of those
-conducted on the plan of that in Philadelphia, we have not the shadow of
-a doubt. We are happy, however, to quote a couple of passages quite in
-point. The first is from the _North British Review_.
-
-“We believe that by a judicious distribution of engravings more may be
-done for the culture of the public taste than by any other means
-whatsoever. One thoroughly good engraving, fairly established and
-domiciled in a house, will do more for the inmates in this respect, than
-a hundred visits to a hundred galleries of pictures. It is a teacher of
-form, a lecturer on the beautiful, a continually present artistic
-influence. Nor do we see any reason why the same system should not be
-extended to casts, which might be taken either after the antique, or
-some thoroughly good modern sculptor, such as Thorwarldsen. If such a
-system were carried out, matters might soon be brought to a state in
-which there should scarcely be any family which did not possess within
-its own walls the means of forming a taste, and that a genuine and a
-high one, both in painting and sculpture.”
-
-The second passage is still more to the point. It is from our
-contemporary, the _Saturday Courier_.
-
-“This Institution, [The Philadelphia Art-Union,] by its Free Gallery,
-and by its being a centre of action for artists and amateurs, is
-continually operating in a silent but most perceptible manner upon
-public taste. Every visit to the Free Gallery, every picture sold from
-its walls, every picture which it is the means of calling into
-existence, every print which it sends abroad into the community, is so
-much done toward the promotion of a popular taste for what is refined
-and elegant, and a consequent _dis_taste for what is coarse, illiberal,
-and depraved. Every man in the community has on interest—not merely a
-moral, but a pecuniary interest—in the promotion of a popular taste for
-the Fine Arts. It is a part of the moral education of society, which,
-like all other good popular education, adds at once to the value and the
-safety of every man’s property.”
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS.
-
-
- _Lectures on the History of France. By the Right Honorable Sir
- James Stephen, K. C. B., LL. D.; Professor of Modern History in
- the University of Cambridge. New York: Harper & Brother. 1 vol.
- 8vo._
-
-Sir James Stephen is the writer of a number of essays in the Edinburgh
-Review, which, at the time they appeared, were mistaken by some readers
-as the productions of Macaulay. There were no real grounds for such a
-supposition, as Stephen’s mind has hardly a single quality in common
-with Macaulay’s, and the resemblance of his style to that of the
-historian of the Revolution is of a very superficial kind. Stephen, like
-Macaulay, is a writer of clear, clean, short, compact sentences, and
-deals largely in historical allusions, parallels and generalizations,
-but his diction has none of Macaulay’s rapid movement, and his knowledge
-betrays little of Macaulay’s “joyous memory.” Stephen’s mind is large
-and rich in acquired information, but it is deficient in passion, and
-its ordinary movement is languid, without any of Macaulay’s intellectual
-fierceness, eagerness and swift sweep of illustration and
-generalization, and without any of Macaulay’s bitterness, partizanship
-and scorn of amiable emotions. Stephen, indeed, if he be a mimic, mimics
-Mackintosh rather than Macaulay, and in charity, in intellectual
-conscientiousness, in courtesy to opponents, in all the benignities and
-amenities of scholarship, and also in a certain faint hold upon large
-acquisitions, he sometimes resembles without at all equaling him. The
-reader is continually impressed with his honesty and benevolence, with
-his continual clearness and occasional reach of view, and with his
-graceful mastery of the resources of expression; but to continuous vigor
-and vividness of conception and language he has no claim.
-
-The present volume, a large octavo of some seven hundred pages, is
-evidently the work of much thought, research and time, though the author
-regrets that he was compelled to prepare his lectures without adequate
-preparation. They were delivered at the University of Cambridge, Stephen
-occupying in that institution the professorship of history. He
-succeeded, we believe, William Smythe, a dry, hard and pedantic, though
-well read professor, whose lectures on history and on the French
-Revolution are the most uninteresting of useful books. Stephen is almost
-his equal in historical knowledge, and his superior in the graces of
-style and in the power of making his knowledge attractive. His work,
-indeed, though it can hardly give him the reputation of a great
-historian, is altogether the best view of French history in the English
-language, and is an invaluable guide to all who wish to gain a thorough
-acquaintance with France in her historical development. It gives the
-causes of the decline and fall of the various dynasties of her
-government, the character of her feudal system, the steps by which her
-government became an absolute monarchy, and the differences between the
-absolute monarchy of Henry IV. and Louis XIV. The lectures on the
-anti-feudal influence of the municipalities, of the Eastern Crusades, of
-the Albigensian Crusades—the masterly view of the position occupied by
-the Parliaments, the Privileged Orders and the States General, in
-relation to the Monarchy of France—and the expositions of the sources
-and management of the revenues of the nation, are all eminently lucid
-and valuable, and without any of the ostentatious brilliancy and
-paradoxical generalization which are apt to characterize the French
-historical school, are really modest contributions to the philosophy of
-history.
-
-Sir James Stephen, in the course of his narration and dissertations,
-furnishes us with some elaborate delineations of character. That of
-Cardinal Richelieu is especially good. After saying of him that he was
-not so much minister as dictator, not so much the agent as the
-depositary of the royal power, he adds that, “a king in all things but
-the name, he reigned with that exemption from hereditary and domestic
-influences which has so often imparted to the Papal monarchs a kind of
-preterhuman energy, and has so often taught the world to deprecate the
-celibacy of the throne.” His character, as a despotic innovator, is also
-finely sketched. “Richelieu was the heir of the designs of Henry IV. and
-ancestor to those of Louis XIV. But they courted, and were sustained by,
-the applause and the attachment of their subjects. He passed his life in
-one unintermitted struggle with each, in turn, of the powerful bodies
-over which he ruled. By a long series of well-directed blows, he crushed
-forever the political and military strength of the Huguenots. By his
-strong hand the sovereign courts were confined to their judicial duties,
-and their claims to participate in the government of the state were
-scattered to the winds. Trampling under foot all rules of judicial
-procedure and the clearest principles of justice, he brought to the
-scaffold one after another of the proudest nobles of France, by
-sentences dictated by himself to extraordinary judges of his own
-selection; thus teaching the doctrine of social equality by lessons too
-impressive to be misinterpreted or forgotten by any later generation.
-Both the privileges, in exchange for which the greater fiefs had
-exchanged their independence, and the franchises, the conquest of which
-the cities, in earlier times, had successfully contended, were alike
-swept away by this remorseless innovator. He exiled the mother,
-oppressed the wife, degraded the brother, banished the confessor, and
-put to death the kinsmen and favorites of the king, and compelled the
-king himself to be the instrument of these domestic severities. Though
-surrounded by enemies and by rivals, his power ended only with his life.
-Though beset by assassins, he died in the ordinary course of nature.
-Though he had waded to dominion through slaughter, cruelty and wrong, he
-passed to his great account amid the applause of the people and the
-benedictions of the church; and, as far as any human eye could see, in
-hope, in tranquillity and in peace. What, then, is the reason why so
-tumultuous a career reached at length so serene a close? The reason is,
-that amid all his conflicts Richelieu wisely and successfully maintained
-three powerful alliances. He cultivated the attachment of men of
-letters, the favor of the commons, and the sympathy of all French
-idolaters of the national glory.”
-
-In some admirable lectures on the Power of the Pen in France, Stephen
-gives fine portraits of Rabelais, Montaigne, Calvin and Pascal. One
-remark about Calvin struck us as especially felicitous. Speaking of him
-as writing his great work in Geneva, he says—“The beautiful lake of
-that city, and the mountains which encircle it, lay before his eyes as
-he wrote; but they are said to have suggested to his fancy no images,
-and to have drawn from his pen not so much as one transient allusion.
-With his mental vision ever directed to that melancholy view of the
-state and prospects of our race which he had discovered in the Book of
-Life, it would, indeed, have been incongruous to have turned aside to
-depict any of those glorious aspects of the creative benignity which
-were spread around him in the Book of Nature.”
-
-The most valuable chapters in the volume are perhaps those which relate
-to the character and government of Louis XIV. The absolute monarchy
-established by him is thoroughly analyzed. Among many curious
-illustrations of that tyranny and perfidy which this great master of
-king-craft systematized into a science, Stephen translates from his
-“Memoires Historiques” a series of maxims, addressed to the Dauphin, for
-his guidance whenever he should be called upon to wear the crown of
-France. Louis’s celebrated aphorism, “I am the state,” is in these
-precious morsels of absolutism expanded into a rule of conduct. We quote
-a few of them, as, to republican ears, they may have the effect of
-witticisms:
-
-“It is the will of Heaven, who has given kings to man, that they should
-be revered as his vice-regents, he having reserved to himself alone the
-right to scrutinize their conduct.”
-
-“It is the will of God that every subject should yield to his sovereign
-on implicit obedience.”
-
-“The worst calamity which can befall any one of our rank is to be
-reduced to that subjection, in which the monarch is obliged to receive
-the law from his people.”
-
-“It is the essential vice of the English monarchy that the king can make
-no extraordinary levies of men or money without the consent of the
-Parliament, nor convene the Parliament without impairing his own
-authority.”
-
-“All property within our realm belongs to us in virtue of the same
-title. The funds actually deposited in our treasury, the funds in the
-hands of the revenue officers, _and the funds which we allow our people
-to employ in their various occupations_, are all _equally_ subject to
-our control.”
-
-“Be assured that kings are absolute lords, who may fitly and freely
-dispose of all property in the possession either of churchmen or of
-laymen, though they are bound always to employ it as faithful stewards.”
-
-“Since the lives of his subjects belong to the prince, he is obliged to
-be solicitous for the preservation of them.”
-
-“The first basis of all other reforms was the rendering my own will
-properly absolute.”
-
-Some of his remarks on treaties, from the same volume, convey a fair
-impression of the king’s good faith to his allies. All mankind knows
-that he was in conduct a measureless liar and trickster, and that no
-treaty could hold him; but it is not perhaps generally known that he
-generalized perfidy into a principle, and had no conception that in so
-doing he was violating any moral or religious duty. He thus solemnly
-instructs the dauphin—
-
-“In dispensing with the exact observance of treaties, we do not violate
-them; for the language of such instruments is not to be understood
-literally. We must employ in our treaties a conventional phraseology,
-just as we use complimentary expressions in society. They are
-indispensable in our intercourse with one another, but they always mean
-much less than they say. The more unusual, circumspect and reiterated
-were the clauses by which the Spaniards excluded me from assisting
-Portugal, the more evident it is that the Spaniards did not believe that
-I should really withhold such assistance.”
-
- * * * * *
-
- _The Podesta’s Daughter, and other Miscellaneous Poems. By
- George H. Boker. Author of “Calaynos,” “Anne Boleyn,” “The
- Betrothal,” etc. Philadelphia: A. Hart._
-
-Mr. Boker is ever a welcome visitant among the regions of literature.
-The present volume is understood to be composed of those lighter efforts
-of his muse which have engaged his attention at intervals between the
-composition of his larger works, “Calaynos,” “Anne Boleyn” and “The
-Betrothal.” Some of these minor poems have already seen the light, under
-the auspices of our leading magazines; but by far the greater part of
-the book is fresh, and all of it bears evidence of that genuine
-inspiration, and that high finish, without which the author never
-appears before the reading public.
-
-“The Podesta’s Daughter” is an Italian tale or legend, thrown into that
-dramatic form for which Mr. Boker has shown such a remarkable gift. The
-story is very briefly this. A lowly maiden is loved and wooed by one far
-above her in life, a son of the neighboring duke. The father and brother
-of the maid, believing the high-born youth to be merely selfish and
-insidious in his offers of love and marriage, seek to rescue her from
-what appears to them a fatal snare, and persuade her to reject his
-addresses and even pretend to be affianced to another, a country hind in
-her own walk in life. The young and uncalculating noble, stung to the
-quick by her apparent preference of a rival so utterly unworthy of him
-and of her, suddenly abandoned his home and castle, and engaged during
-all the prime and meridian of his days in distant foreign wars. In the
-evening of life he returns, alone and almost a stranger, to the scenes
-of his youth. On approaching his castle, he falls in with an old man,
-the “Podesta,” by whom he is not recognized. In the dialogue between
-them, the Podesta, being questioned by the apparent stranger, tells the
-story of himself and family, and especially of his “daughter,” by whose
-untimely grave they are standing. She died of a broken heart, after the
-abrupt departure of the young duke, years ago. It is the old story. True
-love, not left to its native instincts, but thwarted and driven devious
-by the manœuvres of the suspicious. Though Italian in manners, and
-dramatic in form, it is a true story of the heart. It is told with
-infinite skill, and must win for its author a bright addition to the
-chaplet which already surrounds his brow.
-
-The first scene in the “Podesta’s Daughter,” is a good instance of the
-quiet ease with which Mr. Boker makes an actor bring out the points of a
-story, so that the reader is at once posted up to the very moment of
-action.
-
- SCENE—_Before and within the gate of an Italian Churchyard.
- Enter (as if from the wars,)_ Duke Odo, Vincenzo, _and a train
- of men-at-arms_.
-
- _Duke Odo (dismounting.)_
- Hark you, Vincenzo; here will I dismount.
- Lead on Falcone to the castle. See
- He lack no provender or barley-straw
- To ease his battered sides. Poor war-worn horse!
- When last we galloped past this church-yard gate,
- He was a colt, gamesome and hot of blood,
- Bearing against the bit until my arm
- Ached with his humors. Mark the old jade now—
- He knows we talk about him—a mere boy
- Might ride him bare-back. Give my people note
- Of my approach, and tell them, for yourself,
- I will not look too strictly at my house:
- An absent lord trains careless servitors.
- I wish no bonfires lighted on the hills,
- No peaceful cannon roused to mimic wrath;
- Say, I have seen cities burn, and shouting ranks
- Of solid steel-clad footmen melt away
- Before a hundred pieces. Say I come for rest,
- Not jollity; and all I seek
- Is a calm welcome in their lighted eyes,
- And quiet murmurs that appear to come
- More from the heart than lips.
-
-The manner in which the intimacy began between the young count and the
-Podesta’s daughter, Giulia, is described in a passage remarkable equally
-for its simplicity and its beauty. It is a good specimen also of the
-author’s power of nicely discriminating character.
-
- Count Odo—mark the contrast—so we called,
- Through ancient courtesy, the old duke’s son—
- Came from the Roman breed of Italy.
- A hundred Cæsars poured their royal blood
- Through his full veins. He was both flint and fire;
- Haughty and headlong, shy, imperious,
- Tender, disdainful, tearful, full of frowns—
- Cold as the ice on Ætna’s wintry brow,
- And hotter than its flame. All these by turns.
- A mystery to his tutors and to me—
- Yet some have said his father fathomed him—
- A mystery to my daughter, but a charm
- Deeper than magic. Him my daughter loved.
- . . . . . .
- My functions drew me to the castle oft,
- Thither sometimes my daughter went with me;
- And I have noticed how young Odo’s eyes
- Would light her up the stairway, lead her on
- From room to room, through hall and corridor,
- Showing her wonders, which were stale to him,
- With a new strangeness: for familiar things,
- Beneath her eyes, grew glorified to him,
- And woke a strain of boyish eloquence,
- Dressed with high thoughts and fluent images,
- That sometimes made him wonder at himself,
- Who had been blind so long to every charm
- Which her admiring fancy gave his home.
- Oft I have caught them standing rapt before
- Some barbarous portrait, grim with early art—
- A Gorgon, to a nicely balanced eye,
- That scarcely hinted at humanity;
- Yet they would crown it with the port of Jove,
- Make every wrinkle a heroic scar,
- And light that garbage of forgotten times
- With such a legendary halo, as would add
- Another lustre to the Golden Book.
- At first the children pleased me; many a laugh,
- That reddened them, I owed their young romance.
- But the time sped, and Giulia ripened too,
- Yet would not deem herself the less a child:
- And when I clad me for the castle, she
- Would deck herself in the most childish gear,
- And lay her hand in mine, and tranquilly
- Look for the kindness in my eyes. She called
- Odo her playfellow—“The little boy who showed
- The pictures and the blazoned hooks,
- The glittering armor and the oaken screen,
- Grotesque with wry-faced purgatorial shapes
- Twisted through all its leaves and knotted vines;
- And the grand, solemn window, rich with forms
- Of showy saints in holyday array
- Of green, gold, red, orange and violet,
- With the pale Christ who towered above them all
- Dropping a ruby splendor from his side.”
- She told how “Odo—silly child! would try
- To catch the window’s glare upon her neck,
- Or her round arms,” and how “the flatterer vowed
- The gleam upon her temple seemed to pale
- Beside the native color of her cheek.”
- Prattle like this enticed me to her wish,
- Though cooler reason shook his threatening hand,
- And counseled flat denial.
-
-
-But by far the finest poem in this collection is the “Ivory Carver.” In
-the prologue to this poem,
-
- Three Spirits, more than angels, met
- By an Arabian well-side, set
- Far in the wilderness, a place
- Hallowed by legendary grace.
-
-By this retired fountain the spirits enter into a discussion concerning
-the condition and prospects of their protégé man. Two of them are
-evidently croakers. To them the world seems, as to any moral progress,
-stationary, if not actually retrograding. They are almost indignant that
-the Lord does not consign the planet with its inhabitants at once to
-perdition. But the third spirit, a superior intelligence,
-
- One, chief among the spirits three,
- Grander than either, more sedate,
- Wore yet a look of hope elate,
- With higher knowledge, larger trust
- In the long future; _and the rust_
- _Of week-day toil with earthly things_
- _Stained and yet glorified his wings_.
-
-This superior angel maintains that man, though not capable of
-instantaneous acts or intuitive perceptions, equal to those of the
-higher orders of beings, is yet not the mere hopeless castaway the two
-other spirits would make him. Give him but time, and with pain and toil
-he will work out results worthy even of an angel’s regard. An angel, by
-direct intuition, may see at once in a shapeless lump of matter all the
-forms of beauty of which it is capable. Yet man, in process of time,
-slowly but surely, can bring forth those same wonderful forms. The
-illustration of this point in the celestial argument leads to the main
-story.
-
- I, in thought,
- Have seen the capability
- Which lies within yon ivory:
- This rough, black husk, charred by long age,
- Unmarked by man since, in his rage,
- A warring mammoth shed it: Lo!
- Whiter than heaven-sifted snow
- Enclosed within its ugly mask
- Lies a world’s wonder: and the task
- Of slow development shall be
- Man’s labor and man’s glory. See!
- His foot-tip touched it; the rude bone
- Glowed through translucent, widely shone
- A morning lustre on the palm
- Which arched above it.
-
-The angel then summons an attendant, and bids him bear this shapeless
-tusk to some mortal capable of bringing from it by slow pain and toil
-the glorious beauty which had shone forth instantaneously at the angelic
-touch.
-
- Spirit, bear
- This ivory to the soul that dare
- Work out, through joy, and care, and pain,
- The thought which lies within the grain,
- Hid like a dim and clouded sun.
-
-The prologue, which thus introduces us to the studio of the “Ivory
-Carver,” may be deemed by some far-fetched and metaphysical. To us it
-seems a most beautiful preparation for what follows. It attunes the mind
-to a just appreciation of that self-sacrificing devotion with which the
-artist, year by year, in silence, in want, toils away to work out of the
-solid ivory the divine thought which haunts him. The moral of the
-prologue, as we understand it, is to connect the inspirations of genius
-with their true source. It prepares us to look at the toiling “ivory
-carver,” not as he appeared to his family and neighbors, a madman or a
-fool, but as he might have appeared to some celestial visitant, who knew
-the secrets of his heaven-touched soul.
-
- Silently sat the artist alone,
- Carving a Christ from the ivory bone.
- Little by little, with toil and pain,
- He won his way through the sightless grain,
- That held and yet hid the thing he sought,
- Till the work stood up, a growing thought.
- And all around him, unseen yet felt,
- A mystic presence forever dwelt,
- A formless spirit of subtle flame,
- The light of whose being went and came
- As the artist paused from work, or bent
- His whole heart to it with firm intent.
- . . . . . .
- Husband, why sit you ever alone,
- Carving your Christ from the ivory bone?
- O, carve, I pray you, some fairy ships,
- Or rings for the weaning infant’s lips,
- Or toys for yon princely boy who stands
- Knee-deep in the bloom of his father’s lands.
- And waits for his idle thoughts to come;
- Or carve the sword hilt, or merry drum,
- Or the flaring edge of a curious can,
- Fit for the lips of a bearded man:
- With vines and grapes in a cunning wreath,
- Where the peering satyrs wink beneath,
- And catch around quaintly knotted stems
- At flying nymphs by their garment hems.
- . . . . . .
- O carve you something of solid worth—
- Leave heaven to heaven, come, earth to earth.
- Carve that thy hearth-stone may glimmer bright,
- And thy children laugh in dancing light.
-
- Steadily answered the carver’s lips,
- As he brushed from his brow the ivory chips;
- While the presence grew with the rising sound,
- Spurning in grandeur the hollow ground,
- As if the breath on the carver’s tongue
- Were fumes from some precious censer swung,
- That lifted the spirit’s winged soul
- To the heights where crystal planets roll
- Their choral anthems, and heaven’s wide arch
- Is thrilled with the music of their march;
- And the faithless shades flew backward, dim
- From the wondrous light that lived in him—
- Thus spake the carver—his words were few,
- Simple and meek, but he felt them true—
- “I labor by day, I labor by night,
- The Master ordered, the work is right:
- Pray that He strengthen my feeble good;
- For much must be conquered, much withstood.”
- The artist labored, the labor sped,
- _But a corpse lay in his bridal bed_.
-
-
-But we must have done with quotations. Indeed, our limits warn us that
-we must abruptly close the volume. We have read every poem in it with
-the most lively pleasure. It has been in the belief that we could not
-otherwise minister so well to the gratification of our readers that we
-have quoted so freely and said so little. We will only add in
-conclusion, that every fresh production of Mr. Boker’s that we see
-furnishes additional evidence of his true calling as a poet. Should he
-never write another line, he has already, in the brief space of three
-years, done enough to make his name classical.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _Margaret: A Tale of the Real and the Ideal, Blight and Bloom.
- By the author of “Philo,” etc. Boston: Phillips, Sampson & Co. 2
- vols. 12mo._
-
-This is a revised edition of a book which attracted, at the time it
-originally appeared, a great deal of attention from an intelligent but
-limited class of readers. We trust that it will have a more extended
-circulation now that it is in the hands of an enterprising publishing
-house, and is issued in a readable shape. It is the first and best of
-Mr. Judd’s works, and though it exhibits the ingrained defects of the
-author’s genius, it has freshness, originality and raciness enough to
-more than compensate for its occasional provoking defiance of taste and
-obedience to whim. The sketches of character are bold, true, powerful
-and life-like; the descriptions of New England scenery eminently vivid
-and clear; and an exquisite sense of moral beauty is accompanied by a
-sense no less genial and subtle for the humorous in life, character and
-manners. It is perhaps as thoroughly American as any romance in our
-literature.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _Nicaragua; Its People, Scenery, Monuments, and the proposed
- Interoceanic Canal. With Numerous Original Maps and
- Illustrations. By E. G. Squier, late Chargé D’Affaires of the
- United States to the Republics of Central America. New York: D.
- Appleton & Co. 2 vols. 8vo._
-
-This is perhaps the most valuable book of travels which any American has
-contributed to literature since Stephens relinquished his pen; and, if
-we may believe Mr. Squier, his subject-matter is of the greatest
-importance to every patriot. According to him, the future eminence of
-our country depends on the policy which the United States now adopts in
-regard to the affairs of Central America; and his visions of the
-material prosperity which will result from the bold, firm and
-intelligent action of our government in the matter, are gorgeous as Sir
-Epicure Mammon’s. And it must be admitted that he sustains his positions
-by facts and arguments which every American should be familiar with, and
-which cannot be obtained any where in a more compact form than in Mr.
-Squier’s own work, which contains a complete geographical and
-topographical account of Nicaragua, and of the other States of Central
-America, with observations on their climate, agriculture and mineral
-productions and general resources; a narrative of his own residence in
-Nicaragua, giving the results of his personal explorations of its
-aboriginal monuments, and his observations on its scenery and people;
-notes on the aborigines of the country, with such full information
-regarding “their geographical distributions and relations, languages,
-institutions, customs and religion, as shall serve to define their
-ethnical position in respect to the other semi-civilized aboriginal
-nations of this continent;” an outline of the political history of
-Central America since it threw off the dominion of Spain, and above all,
-a very elaborate view of the geography and topography of Nicaragua, as
-connected with the proposed interoceanic canal. Mr. Squier writes on all
-these subjects from personal knowledge and investigation, and with the
-freshness and power of a man who has got all his information at first
-hand. The work is profusely illustrated with appropriate engravings from
-drawings made on the spot, and is also well supplied with accurate maps.
-Bating some redundancies of style proceeding from a mania for fine
-writing, these volumes are, from their intrinsic and permanent value,
-worthy of more general attention than almost any work of the season.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _Wesley and Methodism. By Isaac Taylor. New York: Harper &
- Brothers. 1 vol. 12 mo._
-
-The author of this valuable and thoughtful volume is extensively known
-both in England and the United States as a philosophic writer on the
-great themes and great exponents of Christian faith. As in a former
-volume he considered Jesuitism in Loyola, its founder, so in this he
-views Methodism in Wesley. His penetrative and meditative mind, equally
-acute and sympathetic, readily discovers the connection between opinions
-and character, principles and persons; and by viewing sects and systems
-psychologically and historically in the characters and lives of their
-founders, he gives the interest of biography to the discussion of the
-most metaphysical questions of theology. His present work is eminently
-original and suggestive, evincing on every page the movement of a deep
-and earnest nature, and an intellect at once critical and
-interpretative. His own religious nature is too profound to allow his
-indulgence in any of those phrases of sarcasm, contempt, or pity, which
-it used to be fashionable to speak of Methodism and Methodists; but
-though he considers the religious movement which he analyses and
-represents as a genuine development of the principal elements of
-Christianity, and as second only to the Reformation in importance among
-the providential modes of vitalizing and diffusing the faith, he is
-still calm, reasonable and austerely just in his judgments. His
-criticism of the prominent Methodists is an example. He sees clearly
-that they were not great men mentally. “Let it be confessed,” he says,
-“that this company does not include one mind of that amplitude and
-grandeur, the contemplation of which, as a natural object—a sample of
-humanity—excites a pleasurable awe, and swells the bosom with a vague
-ambition, or with a noble emulation. Not one of the founders of
-Methodism can claim to stand on any such high level; nor was one of them
-gifted with the philosophic faculty—the abstractive and analytic power.
-More than one was a shrewd and exact logician, but none a master of the
-higher reason. Not one was erudite in more than an ordinary degree; not
-one was an accomplished scholar; yet while several were fairly learned,
-few were illiterate, and none showed themselves to be imbued with the
-fanaticism of ignorance.” In his sketches of Charles Wesley, Whitfield,
-Fletcher, Coke, and Lady Huntingdon, we have the truth given of those
-remarkable persons, unmixed with the exaggeration either of admiration
-or contempt. The volume as a whole, is the most comprehensive and
-accurate work on Methodism which we have ever seen.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _Young Americans Abroad; or Vacation in Europe. Travels in
- England, France, Holland, Belgium, Prussia, and Switzerland.
- With Illustrations. Boston: Gould & Lincoln. 1 vol. 16mo._
-
-This volume is a truly original book of travels, not so much because it
-describes new scenes, but because it describes them from a different
-point of view. It consists of letters written by three boys, whose
-respective ages are twelve, fourteen and sixteen, traveling in Europe
-under the care of their instructor, the Rev. Dr. Choules. Quick to see
-and eager to enjoy, fresh in mind and heart, these boys seem to write
-because they have much to say, and because their heads are so full of
-enchanting objects that a discharge of ink is absolutely necessary to
-preserve them from mental apoplexy. And we must admit that they have
-made a book which in interest, raciness and in the power of
-communicating their own delight to the reader, fairly excels many a
-volume of more pretension. The presiding spirit of the whole
-correspondence is, of course, the kindly and accomplished editor, a
-person who combines in an extraordinary degree, the joyous and elastic
-soul of youth with the large knowledge and experience of manhood. His
-own letters in the volume are very characteristic epistles, and add much
-to its value.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _Adrian; or the Clouds of the Mind. By G. P. R. James and
- Mansell B. Field. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1 vol. 12 mo._
-
-The authors of this American romance have produced a literary
-curiosity—a volume, every page of which is the product of two minds,
-without any apparent jarring of style or sentiment. In the conduct of
-the story, it is true, a little uncertainty is visible, but that appears
-to arise as much from the nature of the plot as from the presence of two
-hands in moving it forward. It is well written, has some capital
-descriptions of scenery and some very exciting incidents, and, in idea
-and sentiment, is a combination of English and American modes of thought
-and feeling. The scene in the Medical College is the most powerful in
-the volume.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Thomas Chalmers, D. D., LL.
- D. By his Son-in-Law, the Rev. William Hanna, LL. D. New York:
- Harper & Brothers. Vol. 3._
-
-The present volume does not, as was contemplated, bring this interesting
-biography to a close. The Doctor is left at the end of it, full of
-energy and combativeness, instead of reposing in his coffin. The volume
-is full of attractive matter, being devoted to that portion of Chalmers’
-life, between 1824 and 1835, when some of his most important works were
-written, and when his communications with men eminent in politics and
-letters were most frequent. Brougham, Peel, Melbourne, Mackintosh,
-Irving, Coleridge, and many other celebrities, appear in these pages.
-Among the letters in the volume, we should select those to his daughter
-as the most pleasing.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _Home and Social Philosophy. From Household Words. Edited by
- Charles Dickens, First Series. New York: Geo. P. Putnam. 1 vol.
- 16mo._
-
-The indefatigable publisher whose name is on this title-page, commences
-with this delightful collection of essays, a new “Semi-Monthly Library,
-for Travelers and the Fireside.” The present volume contains some two
-hundred And fifty well printed pages, and is placed at the low price of
-twenty-five cents. It is to be followed by a series of works, combining
-entertainment with usefulness, and intended in the end, to form one of
-the cheapest and most elegant “libraries” that an intelligent reading
-public could desire.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _Essays on Life, Sleep, Pain, etc. By Samuel Henry Dickson, M.
- D., Philadelphia: Blanchard & Lea. 1 vol. 12mo._
-
-These essays, a specimen of which we furnish our readers in the present
-number, are the production of a mind singularly acute and tenacious, and
-are marked as the productions of a scholar and a profound thinker.
-
- * * * * *
-
- _United States Monthly Law Magazine and Examiner. New York: John
- Livingston, 157 Broadway._
-
-We have received this creditable periodical, and examined it with great
-interest. We are happy to say that it is still conducted with ability
-and learning. The editor deserves high praise for his industry and
-liberality. He provides the profession with well selected cases from the
-English law journals and reports, as well as from our own
-adjudicatories. We are well pleased to see the manly independence with
-which he adopts and advocates the reform of law and equity so urgently
-called for in this country and England. The periodical prospers—and it
-merits prosperity.
-
- * * * * *
-
-The Historical Society.—We have received a copy of the address
-delivered before the Historical Society of this State, at Chester, in
-November last, and have barely room to say that it is marked by the fine
-finish and lucid reasoning which distinguish all the efforts of Mr.
-Armstrong, whether as a writer or speaker. We shall refer to it again.
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-
-
- GRAHAM’S SMALL-TALK.
-
-
-Held in his idle moments, with his Readers, Correspondents and Exchanges.
-
-
-Eminent Young Men.—We purpose, occasionally, to give to our readers, in
-our own off-hand way, sketches of such of the young men of our
-acquaintance as have risen to position and distinction by the force of
-their own indomitable purpose and efforts. These papers will be plain,
-unpretending, and without any effort at literary display—but if such
-examples as have passed under our own observation, fairly _put_, shall
-awaken even one young man among our readers from inglorious sloth, to
-energetic endeavors to accomplish something for himself and his
-generation, we shall think our time has been most profitably spent.
-
-America has but one recognizable stamp of nobility. No line of descent
-in the blood of kings, can ennoble here. The stagnant pool which has
-lost its vitality for ages in the veins of a scurvy nobility, reflects
-no honor—enriches no name. That which makes Manhood Great—is
-_Energy_—_Will_—nobly directed—that quality which Kossuth proclaims
-to be the conqueror of impossibilities. It is this quality, largely
-possessed by the Anglo-Saxon, and the free field open for its exercise
-in America, that have made her what she is—
-
- “The day-star among the nations.”
-
-It is the noble hopes and manly aspirations in the breast of her
-sons—the far-reaching, the attainable grasp of future fortune, the
-birth-right of the humblest—the unconquerable purpose to do, to
-achieve, to conquer, that exalt us to “giants in these days.” We have
-the highest manifestation of manhood, in a fair field, with _all_ the
-favor that God grants to mortals to carve out their own destinies. He
-who sinks here, goes down with supineness, slothfulness, idleness, and
-their attendant vices clinging to his neck with more than mill-stone
-weight. With high health and a perfect use of his faculties, no man
-_here_ has a right to be ignoble. “The longer I live,” says Goethe, “the
-more certain I am that the great difference between men, the great and
-significant, is energy—invincible determination—an honest purpose once
-fixed and then, victory. That quality will do anything that can by done
-in the world; and no talents, no circumstances, no opportunity will make
-a man without it.”
-
- * * * * *
-
-Benjamin H. Brewster, Esq., an eminent young lawyer of Philadelphia, the
-author of the very excellent paper on Milton, in this number, will be
-the subject of our first sketch, in the next issue; and we shall take
-the privilege of an intimate acquaintanceship, and a friendship endured
-by a thousand ties, to use a free pencil _upon him_, and if Mr. Brewster
-does not like it, he has his action for such damages as the liberal jury
-who read “Graham” may think he deserves.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Cost of Glory.—We have received from a Naval Officer a tart assault
-upon Upham’s figures in relation to the expenses of the Army and Navy of
-the United States, which we shall publish and reply to. He makes the
-cost “_about_ twenty-five per cent. of the whole revenue.” We shall see!
-The article is by some very _young_ Middy, who thinks that “navy blue”
-means getting tipsy on shore, and that _figures_ are symbolical _only_
-of important gentlemen, buttoned up to the throat, who walk the
-Quarter-Deck of Uncle Sam’s 74’s.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Reader—“Graham” makes his best bow to you in this number, and stands,
-cap in hand, waiting a friendly return to his salutation. He has
-prepared himself with some care for this call, and if you do not like
-his rig, don’t turn up your nose disdainfully, but suggest any proper
-alteration in his costume, and when he comes again you may like him
-better. The critics! Well! who cares for the critics? Not Graham! He is
-a critic himself, and can carve you a poet to a nicety—slicing off his
-wings with one sweep of his steel. But Graham is tender to poets—for
-they are a good-hearted race, albeit a little irritable—apt to be dealt
-unjustly with, too, considering that each one is imbued with more than a
-Shaksperian genius, and people wont believe it. It is enough to make
-anybody mad—and a mad poet is of all enraged animals the most
-vehemently disposed to slaughter somebody. So, having disposed in brief
-of critics and poets, and of lawyers and briefs in the body of the work,
-we feel heavenly-minded toward the rest of creation—and in this mood we
-turn to “_the gentlemen of the press_.”
-
-If our exchanges believe _all_ that is told them by some of the Magazine
-publishers, they will soon begin to fancy that “the moon _is_ a green
-cheese,” and will wake up some fine night finding themselves cutting
-slices for an imaginary breakfast.
-
-One chap has the audacity to set himself up as the _sole_ patron of
-American arts and letters, and has spent _unheard_ of amounts on artists
-and writers. We fear to inquire into this business _too_ closely, lest
-it should turn out like the charity of the lady who was “collecting for
-a poor woman.” It _was_ charity—for it “began at home,” and _ended
-there_!
-
-Now “Graham” you may rely upon—there is a certain don’t care for
-anybody air about _him_ that you can understand. If any fellow wishes to
-blow up his Magazine, Graham asks him—nay, commands him to “blaze
-away”—if he don’t like the painted fashions, which cost $945, lo!
-Graham goes to the enormous expense of $2 and gives him his “own
-peculiar” in wood—Bloomer and all, fresh from the newspapers, and not
-credited to Paris either—if the small-talk don’t suit—Graham suggests
-something else, and invites him to read some of the other Magazines,
-where the editor “talks big,” and swells in imaginary dignity until a
-turkey is rather cast into the shade by overblown dignity—if he don’t
-like the stories he may read the essays—if neither, the poetry is
-before him—and if literature has no charms for him, he may admire Art
-in the engravings: “if none of these things move him,” let him admire
-Nature by looking at himself in a mirror, and imagine his ears
-wonderfully grown, and his voice a lion’s. Graham is as easily pleased
-as a young girl at her first ball, and thinks the world is moving round
-to the timing of music—and though he is as poor as Job’s—ah! that
-reminds us of _the turkeys_ we sent to editors.
-
- * * * * *
-
-The Turkey Ovation.—Never, we suppose, since the day the Romans overran
-the world, has there been such terrible bloodshed and sanguinary goings
-on, as was consequent upon Graham’s royal edict about Turkey. The
-crimson dye was streaming about all the editorial sanctums on Christmas
-Eve. Graham had issued orders to bring up the culprits for execution,
-and at about ten o’clock, at _a given_ signal, twelve hundred of the
-inhabitants of Turkeydom were marched out, and had their throats cut
-without mercy. The bloody-minded issuer of this sanguinary decree still
-lives and glories in the deed; and strange to say—his men back him up
-with fixed bayonets. If these things are allowed to proceed, people will
-not be able to sleep quietly in their beds, but a terror will go forth
-over the land, and neighbors will have to keep watch and ward over each
-other—turkeys will be, _nowhere_—editors will grow fat, on the fat of
-the land, and will soon have the hardihood to ask their subscribers to
-pay for the papers they read, with the same promptitude with which they
-expect them delivered.
-
-This sort of thing will go on. A revolution in newspaper presses will be
-the consequence, and quiet, sedate people, who read over the paper, and
-complain of the type—of the quality of the paper—of the long
-editorials—of the short editorials—of the light reading—of the heavy
-reading—of the political matter—of the want of political news and
-facts—of the poetry—of the advertisements—of the mails—of the
-carrier—of the publisher, the editor, and the “devil”—will be shocked
-at having a _bill_ to pay. Turkey must be paid for, as well as
-slaughtered. There is no community of goods in Turkey. Every landholder
-expects the pay for corn that feeds and fattens turkey—and subscribers
-must expect to—“PAY UP.” Graham will get the blame—but the revolution
-_will_ go on! People who grumble—and, some of them—swear! about their
-papers, must _pay for the luxury_. No man has a right to _be
-stupid_—nor can expect editors to eat turkeys and publish newspapers on
-air.
-
-“Mr. ——, do _you_ know that your subscription is _overdue_ to The
-——?”
-
-“No?”
-
-“We thought so. Well, take Graham’s advice, and take $2, ‘pay up,’ and
-take a receipt at once. You have no idea how it will clear your
-conscience, and your eye-sight, too, as to the _merits_ of the paper.”
-
- * * * * *
-
-Snow-Balling in the South.—Our Southern friends seem to have been taken
-by surprise by Jack Frost, and to have had some difficulty in
-acknowledging his acquaintance. At New Orleans we see, that Sambo was
-out early in the morning, and came rushing back to his master
-exclaiming—“_Oh, Monsieur! regardez donc! la cour est pleine de sucre
-blanc!_” “Oh, sir, look: the yard is full of _white sugar_!” “The oldest
-inhabitants,” says the Delta, “stared with amazement. It snowed all
-night, and in the morning the earth was entirely invisible; a white
-carpet, to the depth of eight inches, covered its entire surface. Our
-population were all agog, and snow-balls flew as thick and as fast as
-bullets at Buena Vista. The hats of peaceable citizens were knocked into
-corners; eyes and mouths were filled with conglomerated masses of snow,
-and ears were stopped.” In Florida, according to the News, “There was no
-record nor tradition of such an event in the history of East Florida.
-Some of the oldest inhabitants recollect, on one or two occasions,
-having seen a slight sprinkle of snow, but not enough to whiten the
-ground, and it passed off like a dream. But on this occasion we had an
-opportunity of enjoying the delightful amusement of “snow-balling;” and
-ladies, as fair as the snow itself, joined heartily in an amusement, the
-opportunity for which presents itself only once in a century.” Mrs.
-Neal, in her very sprightly and delightful letters from Charleston, S.
-C., gives an animated picture of the scene in Palmettodom: “Even in
-Philadelphia, where snow is by no means an every day affair, you cannot
-credit the excitement it gave rise to. The children, many of whom had
-never seen ‘the white rain,’ clapped their hands as the roofs and the
-ground were covered with the pure mantle—and when evening came, and the
-strange visitor seemed to like its Southern quarters, and resolved to
-settle for the night, men and boys went forth to the novel enjoyment of
-snow-balling, and some even attempted a sleigh-ride. Grave, grown up men
-were startled into an involuntary participation of the sport, and I was
-told, and it is _too good a story not to be true_, that one gentleman
-was seen indulging in the unusual pastime accompanied by a negro
-carrying his ‘spare balls’—all ready moulded in a box! Snow-balling
-under circumstances of ‘elegant leisure.’
-
-“The next morning’s sun seemed to have little effect upon it, the cold
-still continuing intense; and about the middle of the day a party, a
-regular duel it seemed, ascended to the top of the Charleston hotel and
-the Hague street stores, pelting each other with great vigor, the plazza
-upon which we stood affording a fine view of the sport. The children
-were for the first time indulged with snow-building, and many a youthful
-Powers made his first effort at sculpture on the frozen countenance of a
-‘snow-man.’ It was more curious still that they considered it in the
-light of a confection, and ate it with salt, as they would a hard boiled
-egg, esteeming it much nicer than any candy. ‘It was fun to them—but
-death to the servants’—to borrow from the fable of the boys and the
-frogs. The poor negroes, wilted and shriveled up into ‘dumb
-waiters’—burning over the fire, with a deprecating glance at the snow
-covered ground that was really piteous, but every consideration was paid
-to them, and as little out-door work as possible assigned.”
-
-We cannot refrain from adding the following delicious little bit of
-character-painting, from the same pen, though not _germaine_ to the
-theme: “If there is one thing that distinguishes the Southern negro
-above all others, it is _deliberation_. We had a fair example of this
-the morning of our arrival. There was not a soul on the wharf to take
-the rope of the steamer which some thoughtful person had thrown on shore
-without looking to see what was to be done with it. There were the
-passengers with eager, expectant faces, grouped upon the deck, baggage
-already looked over, and piled up for the carriages—every thing ready
-to land, and we just so far from the shore that a plank could not be
-thrown across. Presently a negro appeared on the next wharf, walking
-toward us with the utmost calmness. In vain were the calls of the
-Northern gentlemen in tartan shawls, or the impatient gestures of one of
-the officers of the boat. A New York wharf lounger would have had the
-rope secured in the time this venerable Ned took to put one foot before
-the other. And when he finally arrived amid the cheers of the
-passengers, who by this time thought it as well to laugh as fret, one of
-them called out as he bent over to the rope thrown once more—‘Uncle—I
-say—hadn’t you better _wipe_ it first?’—a finale which could not have
-been more deliberate than his previous movements.”
-
- * * * * *
-
-Small.—There _is_ something smaller in the world than Graham’s
-small-talk, and that is, a soul in a pill-box. We know several that are
-just in that way imprisoned—and they belong to fellows who are afraid
-to notice a rival publication, for _fear_ people will believe them.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Cable, the editor of the Ohio Picayune, is a man to hold on. Here is
-what he says—
-
-“We would not do without this Magazine for treble its price; and as we
-consider ourself as having some taste in this matter, we warmly
-recommend Graham to the lovers of chaste and classical literature.”
-
-Our friend of the Picayune will be glad to know that there are 30,000
-people of his mind, who cling to Graham always. Then, there is a
-“floating population” of 20,000 more, who don’t know their own minds,
-but shift about to all points of the compass and come back again to
-Graham, grumbling at others, when the fault is their own for having left
-Graham at all. These wanderers are coming in, in flocks, for ’52, but we
-don’t _count_ on them, any more than upon a roost of wild pigeons—they
-will go to Godey—to Harper, to somebody in a year or two, and then come
-back again mad at every body. These folks are _nobodies_.
-
- * * * * *
-
-The very beautiful poem, “Bless the Homestead Law,” from the pen of our
-correspondent, L. Virginia Smith, adds another laurel to the wreath
-which clusters already around the young brow of that child of genius.
-_Memphis_ may well be proud of her, as the _Inquirer_ of that city _is_.
-The editor says of this poem, which was written for him—
-
-“We have the satisfaction of presenting to-day one of the most eloquent
-appeals in behalf of the _Homestead Exemption Law_, which it has been
-our fortune to meet with. It is from the pen of the gifted one our city
-is proud to call its own poetess. We commend this appeal to the _hearts_
-of the members of the Legislature, upon whose votes hangs the fate of
-this most just and beneficent measure.”
-
- * * * * *
-
-A Leap Year Love Letter.—We have received a very delightful leap year
-love letter from a _very_ beautiful young lady living in Maine—we wont
-tell in what post-town—but we know she is beautiful from the very
-elegant epistle she writes, and that she is a lady of discernment from
-the very handsome things she says of “Graham”—and that she is _smart_
-from the very way she edges in her proposal to be our second in case we
-are married already.
-
-We are happy to say that we are a Benedict, and as Kossuth has prudently
-introduced no Turkish notions into his addresses to the ladies, we have
-great doubts about indulging in any dreams as to “pluralities.” But
-still, we may safely say, as we do “by permission,” that the young lady
-who sends “Graham” the largest club for 1852, shall receive the favor of
-our most distinguished consideration.
-
-“Graham” may now be considered in the market for “proposals,” and if all
-the handsome things the press say of him are read and pondered over—as
-they ought to be—he will receive a perfect shower of adoration in the
-agreeable form of attached and worshiping subscribers. “Graham” holds
-the King of _clubs_ and Knave of _hearts_, now—so every young lady
-knows the lead.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Advertising.—Business is business and must be _pressed_ home. Now we
-have a business secret for your ear, reader! one which we charge you
-nothing for; but which comes charged with weighty and important meaning.
-_Do you ever advertise?_ No! Why there is nothing like advertising to
-make a fortune! Nearly all the men about here, who never advertised,
-have _taken in_ their signs, shut up shop, been taken in themselves and
-have gone to California—the dupes of the very advertising in the
-newspapers, which they scorned while fortune was all around them. You
-must take hold of this lever that moves the business world. Advertise in
-_your local papers_—if your business is local—let your neighbors know
-that you have something to _sell_—that you wish to _buy_ something—or,
-that you are ready to _trade_. Wake up! and wake up your neighbors! We
-should never be able to publish Graham with 112 pages per month, if we
-did not let the world _know_ that we are wide awake, and ready to supply
-any quantity of numbers for 1852, _having stereotyped the book
-purposely_. Now, drowsy head! do _you_ suppose that if you are a
-storekeeper you would not sell more goods by advertising? Or if a
-mechanic, that it will do you any harm to be known far and near as an
-active, enterprising business man ready for customers? Or, if a farmer,
-with a lot of _extra_ corn or potatoes to sell, that you could not
-_make_ a market? Do you suppose, that you can put your hands into your
-pockets and whistle a fortune into them, too? If you do, advertise
-_that_, and be immortal.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Our Stories.—We have adopted the plan of giving our readers one long
-story complete, in each number—say from twelve to twenty pages. In the
-January number we gave “The Rich Man’s Whims,” which was universally
-praised by the press and by the readers of this Magazine. “Anna Temple,”
-which appeared in the February number, we think, was a better story, and
-so say many critics competent to judge. “The Democrat,” at Ballston, N.
-Y., says, in noticing the last number—“Graham now contains, and will
-continue to contain, during this year, more reading matter monthly than
-any similar work published in the country. The story, “Anna Temple,” in
-the February number, is one of the finest tales we have ever read, and
-is alone worth more than the year’s subscription to the Magazine.” And
-this is but one, of scores of such notices.
-
-In the present number our readers will find a _gem_ called “The Miser
-and His Daughter,” written by a gentleman of New Orleans—the author of
-the story of “The Little Family,” which appeared in the November number
-of “Graham”—a tale which was more widely read and praised than any
-article in the last volume. We have received the first part of an
-article by this writer, which we shall give in future numbers, and we do
-not hesitate to say, for the benefit of those who worship British
-ability _only_, that no article _equal_ to it has appeared in Blackwood
-or Frazer for years. It is called “The First Age.”
-
- * * * * *
-
-Caution.—“My goodness,” says a cautious and gouty old gentleman, who is
-one of Graham’s friends, “aint you afraid to talk at your subscribers
-and exchanges the way you do?” _No!_ not a bit of it—Graham will tell
-“the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” to every body
-who reads his editorial chit-chat. If people don’t like it, they need
-not read it. In 112 pages there is room and verge enough to dodge around
-sharp corners and escape the dilemma of reading the few pages in which
-Graham, kicking off his boots, goes at people with his slippers on.
-Every body, in 1852, will get _more_ than a full return for what is paid
-for the book, without counting “The Small-Talk”—and if any editor don’t
-like it, let him let it alone. “The whole boundless continent is _not_
-ours,” but the small-talk _is_—and being monarch sole and absolute in
-these dominions, we shall submit to no impertinence, but _will_ have our
-own will and way—and the way is straight and plain. We do not expect to
-get a decent notice from the Saturday Evening Post, for all this—and we
-don’t care if we don’t—nor if we do.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Graham on Dreams.—Did you ever dream you were rich? Is it not
-delightful!—while it lasts. A prize in the lottery—dreaming of numbers
-innumerable, is one of the tricks of Morpheus—and of people wide awake,
-too, sometimes. Then the visions of defunct grand-uncles, beyond the
-seas, who hearing of our great worth and deservings, die on purpose to
-make us happy, and bequeath vast estates and lots of three per cents. in
-the _funds_. It is glorious! And then, too, ponderous mails coming to
-you, in which each subscriber, who is in debt, sends you the money—and
-dozens—dozens?—hats full, of letters inclosing the long delayed $3,
-come like blessings in troops—the notes all new, too, and 6’s instead
-of 3’s sent by the overjoyed subscriber—not in a mistake either—for he
-_says_ “the work is worth double the money, and being an honest man, I
-intend to pay the fair value.” Ah! this is grand! We like to do business
-with people who know something.
-
-“_John_, John!—Call Mr. Graham, and tell him the printer wants
-copy—_and paper too_!” Pshaw!
-
-Look here! We hate to be deceived. Somebody make our “dream come true.”
-
- * * * * *
-
-Fine Ink.—We take pleasure in calling the attention of printers to the
-very superior quality of the ink used in the printing of our wood-cut
-forms. It is from the establishment of Messrs. Romig, Lay & Co., 51
-South Fourth street, Philadelphia. They are prepared to furnish
-different qualities at various prices to the trade. Letters addressed to
-them will be promptly attended to.
-
-The Dollar Newspaper, which is edited by a Sailor, who has been to
-Egypt—you see—and a long Lane—who has denied the proverb, and done us
-a good “turn,” has sent us a spanking club by Hudley, its ever attentive
-and active clerk. The Dollar is a great paper—worth any day more than
-its silver namesake—which _goes_ now at about 102½—but where it goes
-_to_, puzzles the bankers. The Newspaper has the advantage in this, for
-nobody knows where it _don’t_ go. In all of the 17,000 post-towns in
-which Graham is loved and cherished, we find our young and vigorous
-brother. Graham and the lively Dollar, are the pride of good printers
-and pretty girls. Intellect, and Beauty, and Dollars and Graham’s!—what
-a consummation!
-
-The truth is, Graham’s modesty is sorely tried just now, when a shout is
-going up from every town and hamlet of the country on his behalf; and
-were it not that the subscriptions usually keep pace with the praise, he
-would not be able to exist at all.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Saucy and True.—We shall exchange next year with no fellow who notices
-“Graham” in the same line with another work and says, he “_don’t know
-which is the best_.” If a man has not courage enough to say that Graham
-is the worst, or the best, or the equal of any other magazine, as the
-_fact_ may be, we don’t want his company. So boys, if you like the
-conditions, observe them. We _ask_ no man to publish our prospectus—but
-we do ask that “Graham” shall not be bundled in with any body who
-happens to be traveling the same road at the same time—as there are a
-good many shabby looking fellows about whose room is better than their
-company—at any rate their room shan’t be ours—that’s plump.
-
- * * * * *
-
-_The Saturday Courier_ has been—or is, at this writing—publishing a
-most powerful story called _Marcus Warland_, from the pen of its old and
-valued correspondent, Caroline Lee Hentz. The stories purchased and
-selected by Mr. McMakin evince a fine taste and just discrimination, and
-we often wonder where he lays his hands upon them. The secret is partly
-disclosed by an announcement in his paper that “Mrs. Hentz refused the
-sum of $400 offered her by a New York bookseller,” for the story of
-Marcus Warland. The new volume of the Courier commences in March; and
-looking over the storehouse of good things McMakin has, for his readers,
-we say they are to be envied for ’52.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Winchester (Tenn.) Independent of the 16th January, comes to us with its
-head all topsy turvy, as if the editor had been on a batter. _Wigg’s_ is
-the publisher, and of course has a right to ship his scalp
-occasionally—but we don’t believe that the name of his town is spelt as
-follows:
-
-[Illustration: image of the word “Winchester” with the “inc” group of
-letters flipped backwards and upside down]
-
-though an _independent_ fellow, in this free country, may take a spell
-in that way, if he likes.
-
- * * * * *
-
-The Essex Freeman is a good paper, but has in its advertising columns
-some “shocking bad” wood-cuts. The editor says “American wood-engravings
-are apt to be bad,” but admits an exception in favor of Devereux’s fine
-pictures in our February number. Porter and Streeter are funny dogs, but
-can’t _take_ a joke. Wonder what _ails_ Porter!
-
- * * * * *
-
-The Central New Yorker, came to us with a new year’s address with the
-“pictur” of the _editor_ at the head. He is a _rising_ man—but he had
-better let the girls alone. The following appears in the _address_:
-
- THE BLOOMER COSTUME.
-
- Bloomer Costumes rule the day,
- Ladies wear the new apparel,
- Corsets now are thrown away,
- Hour-glass changes to a barrel.
-
- Ladies now may street yarn spin,
- As they have to take less stitches,
- Now they put their fair forms in
- Sack coats and big Turkey breeches.
-
-We hope Mr. Editor Rising has no allusion, in this, to Graham’s
-Christmas Turkeys—that would be a breach of decorum.
-
- * * * * *
-
-The Knickerbocker.—Our _old_ friend Clark, the very prince of genial
-natures and royal good fellows, disdains to talk any longer, solely, to
-the dull and heavy folks of “Upper Tendom;” so, showing no quarters, he
-comes down to “a quarter,” and pitches his tent in the field of the
-many—throwing his banner to the gale, without getting upon one himself.
-If Clark does not print and _sell_ 50,000 copies “the fools are _not_
-all dead,” but maintain a very decided majority among the “peoples.” If
-any body wishes “Old Knick” and young Graham together, they can
-accomplish their benevolent desire by sending us $5. “The Old Gentleman”
-and the Young ’un are celebrities of “this enlightened nineteenth
-century,” and cannot be _had_ for less.
-
- * * * * *
-
-“The Old Colony Memorial,” published at Plymouth, Mass., says Graham for
-February, was “the best looking number of this popular monthly we have
-ever seen. Of the literary contents we can speak highly.” Its editor,
-who does not like fun of any kind, has the following satisfactory
-
-Conundrum.—Why is Church-membership like Charity? Guess once all round.
-Answer next week.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Our friend of “the olden time,” Samuel C. Atkinson, is making a capital
-paper of The Burlington N. J. Gazette, and shows that years do not
-impair his energy, nor extinguish his genial appreciation of all things
-beautiful and true.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Exploded Proverb.—“Figures cannot lie,” says the proverb. Graham
-says—it depends upon _who makes ’em_.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Plain Preaching.—We have upon our books a list of names, the owners of
-which are ALL well to do, and the most of whom go to church every Sunday
-and say their prayers—as Christians ought to do—and yet these same men
-will pass our office day after day, and never think of stopping to pay
-up, and if called upon, think it a hard case; haint got the change
-handy; aint used to being dunned.—_Plaindealer, Roslyn, N. Y._
-
-Why, Mr. Plaindealer, the sooner you get rid of these chaps the
-better—they _intend_ to cheat you anyhow—even if it be but out of the
-interest of your money, and your peace of mind—which last is worth more
-than dollars.
-
-If publishers would only form a “Mutual Protection Society,” and
-_placard_ all such fellows as a warning, we should _all_ do better. We
-have about fifty that we intend to _cut_—giving them the Kentucky
-benediction. A fellow, who will neither notice your letter nor your
-bill, is a rogue in grain—rely upon it. It is a good rule to go by.
-
-[Illustration: TIPSY MYNHEER.]
-
- “Moon, ’tis a very queer figure you cut;
- One eye is staring while t’other is shut.
- Tipsy, I see; and you’re greatly to blame;
- Old as you are ’tis a terrible shame.”
-
- * * * * *
-
-Southern Literary Papers.—Godman writes us that his new Southern
-Literary Journal, “The Family Friend,” is “going off like hot cakes.” We
-are heartily glad of this for two reasons; First, because we like Godman
-for his energy of character and his splendid genius, which blazes out in
-every line he writes, pure as a vestal lamp amid the surrounding
-debasement of the minds of many writers of romance. Secondly, because
-the South _ought_ to maintain one or _more_ first rate literary papers,
-and the North should help her do it with cordial good-will. She has been
-liberal, to us of the North, in her support, for years of _our_ literary
-magazines and gazettes—let us _now_ return the compliment with
-earnestness and kindliness.
-
-Some of Godman’s best articles have enriched and will continue to enrich
-_our_ pages, and as he has started manfully, in competition with
-Northern periodicals, Graham says—to his friends—_Stand by your
-banner,_ _boys!_—let there be a brotherhood in letters at least, and
-let us leave the quarreling to ambitious politicians. So, Godman! Graham
-wishes you “God speed,” and 100,000 subscribers! Any fellow who cannot
-respond to the sentiment—whether he lives north or south of the
-Potomac—had better button his soul in his vest pocket carefully, or he
-will not be able to find it, when it is called for.
-
- * * * * *
-
-[Illustration: An Experienced Shot.—You’re a pretty dog!—now aint
-you? See what you’ve gun-un done?]
-
- * * * * *
-
-Mr. Thos. Bristow, the Writing-Master, has finished and intends to
-present a very fine _fac simile_ letter of Washington’s Farewell Address
-to the United States Government. The whole design and execution is such
-as to reflect the highest credit upon Mr. Bristow as a teacher of “the
-Chirographic art.”
-
- * * * * *
-
-[Illustration: Fashions.—“_Three full-length Figures._”]
-
-Determined not to be outdone in generosity, and to meet the views of the
-critics fully, we _present_ “the latest styles” as reported by Mrs.
-Bloomer “expressly” for her own paper—and give you Dodworth’s “dancing
-style” as we find them reported in “The Clerk’s Journal.”
-
-Our Paris Fashions cost us $945 per month, for designing, engraving,
-printing and coloring the edition of Graham’s Magazine, and many sage
-and sapient critics said they liked “the wood-cut style.” Well, now you
-have got them—how do you like them? They cost the almost unmentionable
-sum of $2, but are as good as the biggest. It may be as well to mention,
-by way of _description_, that the Bloomer is going to church—as soon as
-she can get off from this dancing-party.
-
- * * * * *
-
-[Illustration: a vine covered cottage with song title and composer in
-fancy script]
-
-
-
- “Oh Share My Cottage.”
-
-
- COMPOSED BY R. C. SHRIVAL.
-
-
-Published by permission of F. D. BENTEEN & Co., No. 181 Baltimore Street,
- Baltimore.
-
-
-[Illustration: Musical Score]
-
- Oh, share my cottage, gentle maid,
- It only waits for thee,
- To
-
-[Illustration: Musical Score]
-
- give a sweetness to its shade,
- And happiness, happiness to me,
- Here from the splendid gay parade,
- Of noise and folly free,
- No sorrows can my peace invade,
- If only blest with thee.
- Then share my cottage, gentle maid,
- It only waits for thee,
- To give a sweetness to its shade,
- And happiness, happiness to me.
-
- SECOND VERSE.
-
- The hawthorn with the woodbine ’twin’d
- Presents their sweets to thee,
- And every balmy breath of wind
- Is filled with harmony:
- A truly fond and faithful heart
- Is all I offer thee,
- And must I from your face depart,
- A prey to misery.
- Then share my cottage, gentle maid,
- It only waits for thee,
- To add fresh sweetness to its shade,
- And happiness to me.
-
- * * * * *
-
-[Illustration: a man beside a tree trunk of large girth beneath a night
-sky with stars and full moon. Song title, poet and composer names in
-fancy script]
-
-
-
-
- “STARS OF THE SUMMER NIGHT.”
-
-
- WORDS BY LONGFELLOW,
- MUSIC BY H. KLEBER.
-
- Published by permission of LEE & WALKER, 188 Chestnut Street,
- Philadelphia,
- _Publishers and Importers of Music and Musical Instruments_.
-
-[Illustration: Musical Score]
-
- Stars of the summer night,
- Far, far in your azure
-
-[Illustration: Musical Score]
-
- deeps;
- Hide, hide your golden light,
- She sleeps, my lady sleeps.
-
- Moon of the summer night,
- Far, down yon western steeps,
- Sink, sink in silver light,
- She sleeps, my lady sleeps, my lady sleeps.
-
- SECOND VERSE.
-
- Wind of the summer night,
- Where yonder woodbine creeps,
- Fold, fold thy pinions light,
- She sleeps, my lady sleeps.
-
- Dreams of the summer night,
- Tell her, her lover keeps watch,
- While in slumbers bright
- She sleeps, my lady sleeps.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Transcriber’s Notes:
-
-Table of Contents has been added for reader convenience. Archaic
-spellings and hyphenation have been retained. Obvious typesetting and
-punctuation errors have been corrected without note. Other errors have
-been corrected as noted below. For illustrations, some caption text may
-be missing or incomplete due to condition of the originals available for
-preparation of the eBook. Brief descriptions of illustrations without
-caption have been provided in the plain text version of this ebook.
-
-page 232, hearts the poets tale ==> hearts the poet’s tale
-page 239, there were the mole ==> there where the mole
-page 250, If your are willing to ==> If you are willing to
-page 273, Valenciennes and Condè ==> Valenciennes and Condé
-page 273, defection of Dumuoriez ==> defection of Dumouriez
-page 273, skill of Dumuoriez ==> skill of Dumouriez
-page 273, Dumuoriez’s more generous ==> Dumouriez’s more generous
-page 282, wrote his Eikonoklases ==> wrote his Eikonoklastes
-page 282, books, the Eikonoklases ==> books, the Eikonoklastes
-page 285, his Eikonoklases, and ==> his Eikonoklastes, and
-page 286, “Telemachus” of Fenelon ==> “Telemachus” of Fénelon
-page 311, Arabian die to set ==> Arabian dye to set
-page 312, the invading the ==> the invading of the
-page 312, on that side the ==> on that side of the
-page 317, the lines were beauty ==> the lines where beauty
-page 332, The crimson die was ==> The crimson dye was
-
-
-[End of Graham’s Magazine, Vol. XL, No. 3, March 1852]
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Graham's Magazine, Vol. XL, No. 3,
-March 1852, by Various
-
-*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRAHAM'S MAGAZINE, MARCH 1852 ***
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-<pre>
-
-Project Gutenberg's Graham's Magazine, Vol. XL, No. 3, March 1852, by Various
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: Graham's Magazine, Vol. XL, No. 3, March 1852
-
-Author: Various
-
-Editor: George R. Graham
-
-Release Date: August 20, 2019 [EBook #60141]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRAHAM'S MAGAZINE, MARCH 1852 ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Mardi Desjardins & the online Distributed
-Proofreaders Canada team at https://www.pgdpcanada.net
-from page images generously made available by Google Books
-
-
-
-
-
-
-</pre>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0000' style='width:70%;height:auto;'/>
-</div>
-
-<p class='line0' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1.5em;font-size:1.9em;font-weight:bold;'>GRAHAM’S MAGAZINE.</p>
-
-<p class='line0' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1.5em;font-size:1.2em;font-weight:bold;'><span class='sc'>Vol. XL.</span> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;March, 1852. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No. 3.</p>
-
-<p class='line0' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1.5em;margin-bottom:1em;font-size:1.2em;font-weight:bold;'>Contents</p>
-
-<table id='tab1' summary='' class='center'>
-<colgroup>
-<col span='1' style='width: 25em;'/>
-<col span='1' style='width: 1em;'/>
-</colgroup>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tab1c1-col2 tdStyle0' colspan='2'><span class='bold'><span style='font-size:larger'>Fiction, Literature and Articles</span></span></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'>&nbsp;</td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#gran'>Granny’s Fairy Story</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#spec'>Spectral Illusions</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#cam'>Campaigning Stories</a> <span style='font-size:smaller'>(continued)</span></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#law'>Law and Lawyers</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#vic'>A Life of Vicissitudes</a> <span style='font-size:smaller'>(continued)</span></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#milt'>Milton</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#miser'>The Miser and His Daughter</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#deed'>The Lost Deed</a> <span style='font-size:smaller'>(continued)</span></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#ret'>Beauty’s Retreat</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#dea'>Death</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#art'>The Philadelphia Art-Union</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#rev'>Review of New Books</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#talk'>Graham’s Small-Talk</a></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'>&nbsp;</td></tr>
-</table>
-
-<table id='tab2' summary='' class='center'>
-<colgroup>
-<col span='1' style='width: 25em;'/>
-<col span='1' style='width: 1em;'/>
-</colgroup>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tab2c1-col2 tdStyle0' colspan='2'><span class='bold'><span style='font-size:larger'>Poetry and Music</span></span></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'>&nbsp;</td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#bell'>Belle’s Eyes</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#page'>The Page</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#lines'>Lines Written on St. Valentine’s Day</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#what'>“What do the Birds say?”</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#leo'>Leora</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#dei'>Dei Gratia, Rex</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#our'>Our Childhood</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#thee'>I’ll Blame Thee Not</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#elph'>Elpholen. A Fragment</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#charm'>A Charm</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#life'>Life’s Voyage</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#bless'>Bless The Homestead Law</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#des'>The Deserted</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#babes'>The Babes of Exile</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#write'>Write Thou Upon Life’s Page</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#line'>Lines on a Vase of Flowers</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#toa'>To a Friend in the Spirit Land</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#share'>Oh Share My Cottage</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'><a href='#stars'>Stars of the Summer Night</a></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'></td></tr>
-<tr><td class='tab2c1 tdStyle1'></td><td class='tab2c2 tdStyle2'>&nbsp;</td></tr>
-</table>
-
-<p class='line0' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1.3em;'><a href='#notes'>Transcriber’s Notes</a> can be found at the end of this eBook.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk100'/>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i001.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0001' style='width:80%;height:auto;'/>
-<p class='caption'><span style='font-size:smaller'><span class='bold'>A DACOTAH INDIAN COURTING.</span><br/>Drawn by S. Eastman U.S.A. and Engraved expressly for Graham’s Magazine by F. Humphry.</span></p>
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk101'/>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i006.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0002' style='width:100%;height:auto;'/>
-<p class='caption'><span class='bold'>Boston Harbor.</span></p>
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk102'/>
-
-<p class='line0' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1.5em;font-size:1.9em;font-weight:bold;'>GRAHAM’S MAGAZINE.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk103'/>
-
-<p class='line0' style='text-align:center;font-size:1.2em;font-weight:bold;'><span class='sc'>Vol. XL.</span> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;PHILADELPHIA, MARCH, 1852. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class='sc'>No. 3.</span></p>
-
-<hr class='tbk104'/>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i007.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0003' style='width:80%;height:auto;'/>
-</div>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='227' id='Page_227'></span><h1 class='nobreak'><a id='gran'></a>GRANNY’S FAIRY STORY.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line0' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-weight:bold;'>(FOR THE YOUNG FOLKS.)</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>There</span> was a young woman so kind and sweet-tempered
-that every person loved her. Among the
-rest, there was an old witch who lived near where
-she dwelt, and with whom she was a great favorite.
-One day this old witch told her she had a nice present
-to give her. “See,” she said, “here is a barley-corn,
-which, however, is by no means of the same
-sort as those which grow in the farmer’s field, or
-those we give to the fowls. Now you must plant
-this in a flower-pot, and then take care and see what
-happens.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Thank you a thousand times,” said the young
-woman. And, thereupon, she went straight home,
-and planted the barley-corn the witch had given her
-in a flower-pot. Immediately there grew out of it a
-large, handsome flower, but its leaves were all shut
-close as if they were buds.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“That is a most beautiful flower!” said the woman,
-while she bent down to kiss its red and yellow
-leaves; but scarcely had her lips pressed the flower,
-than it gave forth a loud sound and opened its cup.
-And now the woman was able to see that it was a
-regular tulip, and in the midst of the cup, down at
-the bottom, there sat a small and most lovely little
-maiden; her height was about one inch, and on that
-account the woman named her Ellise.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She made the little thing a cradle out of a walnut-shell,
-gave her a blue violet-leaf for a mattress, and
-a rose-leaf for a coverlet. In this cradle Ellise slept
-at night time, and during the day she played upon
-the table. The woman had set a plate filled with
-water upon the table, which she surrounded with
-flowers, and the flower-stalks all rested on the edge
-of the water; on the water floated a large tulip-leaf,
-and upon the tulip-leaf sat the little Ellise, and sailed
-from one side of the plate to the other; and for this
-she used two white horse-hairs for oars. The whole
-effect was very charming, and Ellise could sing too,
-but with such a delicate little voice as we have never
-heard here.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>One night as she lay in her bed, an ugly toad hopped
-into her through the broken window pane. It
-was a large and very hideous toad; and it sprang at
-once upon the table, where Ellise lay asleep under
-the rose-leaf.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“That would be, now, a nice little wife for my
-son,” said the toad, and seized, as she said it, the
-walnut-shell in her mouth, and hopped with it out
-through the window into the garden again.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Through the garden flowed a broad stream, but
-its banks were marshy, and among the marshes
-lived the toad and her son. Ha! how hideous the
-son was too; exactly like his mother he was, and all
-that he could say, when he saw the sweet little
-maiden in the walnut-shell, was “Koax! koax!
-breckke ke!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Don’t talk so loud,” said the old one to him,
-“else you’ll awake her, and then she might easily
-run away from us, for she is lighter than swans’-down.
-We will set her upon a large plant in the
-stream; that will be a whole island for her, and then
-she cannot run away from us; while we, down in
-the mud, will build the house for you two to live
-in.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the stream there were many large plants, which
-all seemed as if they floated on the water; the most
-distant one was, at the same time, the largest, and
-thither swam the old toad and set down the walnut-shell,
-with the little maiden upon it.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Early on the following morning the little Ellise
-awoke, and when she looked about her and saw
-where she was, that her new dwelling-place was
-surrounded on all sides by water, and that there remained
-no possible way for her to reach land again,
-she began to weep most bitterly.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Meanwhile the old toad sat in the mud and adorned
-the building with reeds and yellow flowers, that it
-might be quite grand for her future daughter-in-law,
-and then, in company with her hideous son, swam
-to the little leaf-island where Ellise lay.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She now wanted to fetch her pretty little bed,
-that it might at once be placed in the new chamber,
-before Ellise herself was brought there. The
-old toad bent herself courteously before her in the
-water, while she presented her son in these words—“You
-see here my son, who is to be your husband,
-and you two shall live together charmingly down in
-the mud.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Koax! koax! breckke-ke!” was all that the
-bridegroom could find to say.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And, therewith, they both seized upon the beautiful
-little bed, and swam away with it; while Ellise
-sat alone upon the leaf and cried very much, for she
-did not like at all to live with the frightful toad, much
-less have her odious son for her husband. Now the
-little fishes which swam about under the water, had
-seen the toad, and heard, moreover, perfectly well
-all that she said; they, therefore, raised their heads
-above water, that they might have a look at the beautiful
-little creature. No sooner had they seen her
-than they were, one and all, quite moved by her
-beauty; and it seemed to them very hard that such a
-sweet maiden should become the prey of an ugly
-toad. They assembled themselves, therefore, round
-about the green stalk from which grew the leaf
-whereon Ellise sat, and gnawed it with their teeth
-until it came in two, and then away floated Ellise
-and the leaf far, far away, where the toad could come
-no more.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And so sailed the little maiden by towns and villages,
-and when the birds upon the trees beheld her,
-they sang out—“Oh, what a lovely young girl.”
-But away, away floated the leaf always further
-and further. Ellise made quite a foreign journey
-upon it.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>For some time a small white butterfly had hovered
-over her, and at last he sat himself down on her leaf,
-because he was very much pleased with Ellise, and
-she, too, was very glad of the visit, for now the toad
-could not come near her, and the country through
-which she traveled was so beautiful. The sun
-shone so bright upon the water that it glittered like
-gold. And now the idea occurred to her to loosen
-her girdle, bind one end of it to the butterfly, the
-other on to the leaf; she did this and then she flew
-on much faster, and saw much more of the world
-than she would have done.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But, at last, there came by a cock-chafer, who
-seized her with his long claws round her slender
-waist, and flew away with her to a tree, while on
-swam the leaf, and the butterfly was obliged to follow,
-for he could not come loose, so fast and firm
-had Ellise bound him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Ah! how terrified was poor Ellise when the cock-chafer
-carried her off to the tree. But her sorrow
-over the little butterfly was quite as great, for she
-knew he must certainly perish, unless by some good
-accident he should chance to free himself from the
-green leaf. But all this made no impression upon
-the cock-chafer, who set her upon a large leaf, gave
-her some honey to eat, and told her she was very
-charming, although not a bit like a chafer. And now
-appeared all the other cock-chafers who dwelt upon
-this tree, who waited upon Ellise, and examined her
-from top to toe; while the young lady-chafers turned
-up their feelers and said, “She has only two legs!
-how very wretched that looks!” and added they,
-“she has no feelers whatever, and is as thin in the
-body as a human being! Ah! it’s really hideous!”
-and all the young lady-cock-chafers cried out, “Ah!
-it’s perfectly hideous!” And yet Ellise was so
-charming! and so felt the cock-chafer; but at last,
-because all the lady-chafers thought her ugly he began
-to think so too, and resolved he would have
-nothing more to do with her; “she might go,” he
-said, “wherever she liked;” and with these words
-he flew with her to the ground, and set her upon a
-daisy. And now the poor little thing wept bitterly,
-to find herself so hideous that not even a cock-chafer
-would have any thing to do with her. But, notwithstanding
-this decisive opinion of the young lady-cock-chafers,
-Ellise was the loveliest, most elegant little
-creature in the world, as delicate and beautiful as a
-young rose-leaf.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The whole summer through the poor little maiden
-lived alone in the great forest; and she wove herself
-a bed out of fine grass, and hung it up to rock beneath
-a creeper, that it might not be blown away by
-the wind and rain; she plucked herself sweets out
-of the flowers, for food, and drank of the fresh dew,
-that fell every morning upon the grass. And so the
-summer and the autumn passed away. All the birds
-which had sung so sweetly to Ellise, left her and
-went away, the trees lost all their green, the flowers
-withered, and the great creeper which, until now,
-had been her shelter, shriveled away to a bare yellow
-stalk. The poor little thing shivered with cold,
-for her clothes were now worn out, and her form was
-so tender and delicate that she certainly would
-perish with cold. It began also to snow, and every
-flake which touched her, was to her what a great
-heapfull would be to us, for her whole body was only
-one inch long.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Close beside the forest in which Ellise lay, there
-was a corn-field, but the corn had long since been
-reaped, and now, only the dry stubble rose above the
-earth; yet, for Ellise was this a great forest, and
-hither she came. So she reached the house of a field-mouse,
-which was formed of a little hole under the
-stubble. Here dwelt the field-mouse warm and comfortable,
-with her store-room full of food for the
-winter, and near at hand a pretty kitchen and eating-room.
-Poor Ellise stepped up to the door and begged
-for a little grain of barley, for she had tasted
-nothing for the whole day.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You poor little wretch!” said the field-mouse,
-who was very kind-hearted, “come in to my warm
-room and eat something.” And when now she was
-much pleased with Ellise, she added, “you may if
-you like, spend the winter here with me; but you
-must keep my house clean and neat, and tell me
-stories, for I am very fond of hearing stories.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Ellise did as the field-mouse wished, and, as a
-reward for her trouble, was made comfortable with
-her.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Now we shall have a visit,” said the field-mouse
-to her one day. “My neighbor is accustomed to pay
-me a visit every week. He is much richer than I
-am, for he has several beautiful rooms, and wears the
-most costly velvet coat. Now if you could only have
-him for your husband, you would be nicely provided
-for, but he does not see very sharply, that’s one thing.
-Only you must tell him all the best stories you can
-think of.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But Ellise would hear nothing of it, for she could
-not endure the neighbor, for he was nothing more
-nor less than a mole. He came, as was expected, to
-pay his respects to the field-mouse, and wore his
-handsome velvet coat as usual. The field-mouse
-said he was very rich, and very well informed, and
-that his house was twenty times larger than hers.
-Well informed he might be, but he could not endure
-the sunshine or the flowers, and spoke contemptuously
-of both one and the other, although he had never
-seen either. Ellise was obliged to sing before him,
-and she sang the two songs—“Chafers fly! the sun
-is shining!” and “The priest goes to the field!”
-Then the mole became very much in love with her
-because of her beautiful voice, but he took good
-care not to show it, for he was a cautious, sensible
-fellow.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Very lately he had made a long passage from his
-dwelling to that of his neighbor, and he gave permission
-to Ellise and the field-mouse to go in it as
-often as they pleased; yet he begged of them not to
-be startled at the dead bird which lay at the entrance.
-It was certainly a bird lately dead, for all the feathers
-were still upon him, it seemed to have been frozen
-exactly there <a id='where'></a>where the mole had made the entrance
-of his passage.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mr. Neighbor now took a piece of tinder in his
-mouth, and stepped on before the ladies, that he
-might lighten the way for them, and as he came to
-the place where the dead bird lay, he struck with his
-snout on the ground, so that the earth rolled away,
-and a large opening appeared through which the daylight
-shone in. And now, Ellise could see the dead
-bird quite well—it was a swallow. The pretty
-wings were pressed against the body, and the feet
-and head covered over by the feathers. “The poor
-bird has died of cold,” said Ellise, and it grieved her
-very much for the dear little animal, for she was
-very fond of birds, for they sang to her all through
-the summer. But the mole kicked him with his
-foot and said, “The fine fellow has done with his
-twittering now! It must indeed be dreadful to be
-born a bird! Heaven be praised that none of my
-children have turned out birds! Stupid things! they
-have nothing in the wide world but their quivit, and
-when the winter comes, die they must!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Yes,” returned the field-mouse, “you, a thoughtful
-and reflecting man, may well say that! What
-indeed has a bird beyond its twitter when the winter
-comes? he must perforce hunger and freeze!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Ellise was silent; but when the others had turned
-their backs upon the bird, she raised up its feathers
-gently, and kissed its closed eyes.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Perhaps it was you,” she said softly, “who sang
-me such beautiful songs! How often you have made
-me happy and merry, you dear bird!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now the mole stopped up the opening again
-through which the daylight fell, and then accompanied
-the young ladies home. But Ellise could not
-sleep the whole night long. She got up, therefore,
-wove a covering of hay, carried it away to the dead
-bird, and covered him with it on all sides, in order
-that he might rest warmer upon the cold ground.
-“Farewell, you sweet, pretty little bird!” said she.
-“Farewell! and let me thank you a thousand times
-for your friendly song this summer, when the trees
-were all green, and the sun shone down so warm
-upon us all!” And therewith she laid her little
-head on the bird’s breast, but started back, for it
-seemed to her as if something moved within. It was
-the bird’s heart; he was not dead, but benumbed,
-and now he came again to life as the warmth penetrated
-to him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the autumn, the swallows fly away to warmer
-countries; and when a weak one is among them,
-and the cold freezes him, he falls upon the ground,
-and lies there as if dead, until the cold snow covers
-him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Ellise was frightened at first, when the bird raised
-itself, for to her he was a great big giant, but she
-soon collected herself again, pressed the hay covering
-close round the exhausted little animal, and
-then went to fetch the curled mint-leaves which
-served for her own covering, that she might lay it
-over his head.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The following night she slipped away to the bird
-again, whom she found now quite revived, but yet so
-very weak, that he could only open his eyes now
-and then, to look at Ellise, who lighted up his face
-with a little piece of tinder.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I thank you a thousand times, you lovely little
-child,” said the sick swallow, “I am now so
-thoroughly warmed through, that I shall soon gain
-my strength again, and shall be able to fly out in the
-warm sunshine.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Oh! it is a great deal too cold out there,” returned
-Ellise, “it snows and freezes so hard! only just
-stay now in your warm bed, and I will take such
-care of you!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She brought the bird some water to drink out of a
-leaf, and then he related to her how he had so hurt
-his wing against a thorny bush that he could not fly
-away to the warm countries with his comrades, and
-at last had fallen exhausted to the ground, where all
-consciousness left him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The little swallow remained here the whole winter,
-and Ellise attended to him, and became every
-day more and more fond of him; yet she said nothing
-at all about it to the mole or the field-mouse, for she
-knew well enough already that neither of them could
-bear the poor bird.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As soon, however, as the summer came, and the
-warm sunbeams penetrated the earth, the swallow
-said good-bye to Ellise, who had now opened the
-hole in the ground, through which the mole let the
-light fall in. The sun shone so kindly, that the
-swallow turned and asked Ellise, his dear little
-nurse, whether she would not fly away with him.
-She could sit very nicely upon the swallow’s back,
-and then they would go away together to the green
-forest. But Ellise thought it would grieve the
-good field-mouse if she went away secretly, and
-therefore she was obliged to refuse the bird’s kind
-offer.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Then, once more farewell, you kind, good
-maiden,” said the swallow, and therewith he flew
-out into the sunshine. Ellise looked sorrowfully
-after him, and the tears rushed into her eyes, for she
-was very fond of the good bird.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Quivit! quivit!” sang the swallow, and away he
-flew to the forest.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now Ellise was very mournful, for she hardly
-ever left her dark hole. The corn grew up far above
-her head, and formed quite a thick wood round the
-house of the field-mouse.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Now you can spend the summer in working at
-your wedding-clothes,” said the field-mouse, for the
-neighbor, the wearisome mole, had at last really
-proposed for Ellise. “I will give you every thing
-you want, that you may have all things comfortable
-about you, when you are the mole’s wife.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now Ellise was obliged to sit all day long busy
-at her clothes, and the field-mouse took four clever
-spiders into her service, and kept them weaving day
-and night. Every evening came the mole to pay his
-visit, and every evening he expressed his wish that
-the summer would soon come to an end, and the
-heat cease, for then, when the winter was here, his
-wedding should take place. But Ellise was not at
-all happy to hear this, for she could hardly bear even
-to look upon the ugly mole, for all his expensive
-velvet coat. Every evening and every morning she
-went out at the door, and when the wind blew the
-ears of corn apart, and she could look upon the blue
-heaven, she saw it was so beautiful out in the open
-air, that she wished she could only see the dear
-swallow once more; but the swallow never came;
-he preferred rejoicing himself in the warm sunbeams
-in the green woods.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>By the time autumn came, Ellise had prepared all
-her wedding-garments.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“In four weeks your wedding will take place,”
-said the field-mouse to her; but Ellise wept, and
-said she did not want to have the stupid mole for a
-husband.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Fiddle-de-dee,” answered the field-mouse—“Come,
-don’t be obstinate, or I shall be obliged to
-bite you with my sharp teeth. Isn’t he a good husband
-that you’re going to have? Why, even the
-queen hasn’t such a fine velvet coat to show as he
-has! His kitchen and his cellar are well-stocked,
-and you ought rather to thank Providence for providing
-so well for you!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>So the wedding was to be! Already was the mole
-come to fetch away Ellise, who, from henceforth,
-was to live always with him. Deep under the
-earth, where no sunbeam could ever come! The
-little maiden was very unhappy, that she must
-take her farewell of the friendly sun, which at all
-events she saw at the door of the field-mouse’s
-house.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Farewell, thou beloved sun!” said she, and
-raised her hands toward heaven, while she advanced
-a few steps from the door; for already was the corn
-again reaped, and she stood once more among the
-stubble in the field. “Adieu, adieu!” she repeated,
-and threw her arms round a flower that stood near
-her, “Greet the little swallow for me, when you see
-him again,” added she.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Quivit! quivit!” echoed near her in the same
-moment, and, as Ellise raised her eyes, she saw her
-well-known little swallow fly past. As soon as the
-swallow perceived Ellise, he too, became quite joyful,
-and hastened at once to his kind nurse; and she
-told him how unwilling she was to have the ugly
-mole for her husband, and that she must go down
-deep into the earth, where neither sun nor moon
-could ever look upon her, and with these words she
-burst into tears.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“See now,” said the swallow, “the cold winter
-is coming again, and I am flying away to the warm
-countries, will you come and travel with me? I will
-carry you gladly on my back. You need only to
-bind yourself fast with your girdle, so we can fly
-away far from the disagreeable mole, and his dark
-house, far over mountains and valleys, to the beautiful
-countries, where the sun shines much warmer
-than it does here; where there is summer always,
-and always beautiful flowers blooming. Come, be
-comforted, and fly away with me, dear, kind Ellise,
-who saved my life when I lay frozen in the earth.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Yes, I will go with you,” cried Ellise joyfully.
-She mounted on the back of the swallow, set her
-feet upon his out-spread wings, bound herself with
-her girdle to a strong feather, and flew off with the
-swallow through the air, over woods and lakes, valleys
-and mountains. Very often Ellise suffered from
-the cold when they went over icy glaciers and snowy
-rocks; but then she concealed herself under the
-wings and among the feathers of the bird, and merely
-put out her head to gaze and wonder at all the glorious
-things around her.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>At last, too, they came into the warm countries.
-The sun shines there clearer than with us; the
-heavens were a great deal higher, and on the walls
-and in the hedges grew the most beautiful blue and
-green grapes. In the woods hung ripe citrons and
-oranges, and the air was full of the scent of thyme
-and myrtle, while beautiful children ran in the roads
-playing with the gayest colored butterflies. But farther
-and farther flew the swallow, and below them
-it became more and more beautiful. By the side of
-a lake, beneath graceful acacias, there rose an ancient
-marble palace, the vines clung around the pillars,
-while above them, on their summits, hung many
-a swallow’s nest. Into one of these nests the bird
-carried Ellise.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Here is my house,” said he, “but look you for
-one of the loveliest flowers, which grow down there,
-for your home, and I will carry you there, and you
-shall have every thing you can possibly want.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“That would be glorious indeed!” said Ellise,
-and she clapped her hands together for very joy.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Upon the earth there lay a large white marble pillar,
-which had been thrown down, and was broken
-into three pieces, but between its ruins there grew
-the very fairest flowers, all white, the loveliest you
-would ever wish to see.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The swallow flew with Ellise to one of these
-flowers, and set her down upon a broad leaf; but how
-astonished was Ellise when she saw that a wee little
-man sat in this flower, who was as fine and transparent
-as glass. He wore a graceful little crown upon
-his head, and had beautiful wings on his shoulders;
-and withal he was not a bit bigger than Ellise herself.
-He was the angel of this flower. In every
-flower dwell a pair of such like little men and women,
-but this was the king of all the flower angels.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Heavens! how handsome this king is,” whispered
-Ellise into the ear of the swallow. The little
-prince was somewhat startled by the arrival of the
-large bird; but when he saw Ellise, he became instantly
-in love with her; for she was the most charming
-little maiden that he had ever seen. So he took
-off his golden crown, set it upon Ellise, and asked
-what was her name, and whether she would be his
-wife; if so, she should be queen over all the other
-flowers—ah! this was a very different husband to the
-son of the hideous toad, and the heavy, stupid mole,
-with his velvet coat! So Ellise said yes, to the
-beautiful prince; and now, from all the other
-flowers, appeared either a gentleman or a lady, all
-wonderfully elegant and beautiful, to bring presents
-to Ellise. The best presents offered to her was a
-pair of exquisite white wings, which were immediately
-fastened on her; and now she could fly from
-flower to flower.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now the joy was universal. The little swallow
-sat above in his nest, and sang as well as he possibly
-could, though at the same time he was sorely
-grieved, for he was so fond of Ellise that he wanted
-never to part from her again.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You shall not be called <span class='it'>Ellise</span> any more,” said
-the flower-angel, “for it is not at all a pretty name,
-and you are so pretty! But from this moment you
-shall be called Maja.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Farewell! Farewell!” cried the little swallow,
-and away he flew again, out of the warm land, far,
-far away, to the little Denmark, where he had his
-summer nest over the window of the good man, who
-knows how to tell stories, that he might sing his
-Quivit! Quivit! before him. And it is from him,
-the little swallow, that Granny learnt all this wonderful
-history.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk105'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='228' id='Page_228'></span><h1><a id='bell'></a>BELLE’S EYES.</h1></div>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'><span class='sc'>Those</span> eyes, they are so bright and blue,</p>
-<p class='line0'>They seem as if just bathed in dew,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And if they but reflect aright,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thy heart must joyous be and bright,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Where cherished images must dwell,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Oh! number mine with thine, <span class='it'>ma Belle</span>.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk106'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='229' id='Page_229'></span><h1><a id='page'></a>“THE PAGE.”</h1></div>
-
-<div class='figleft'>
-<img src='images/i017.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0004' style='width:80%;height:auto;'/>
-</div>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'><span class='sc'>Come</span> listen, ladies! listen, knights!</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Ye men of arms and glory!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Ye who have done right noble deeds,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Aye love the poet’s story.</p>
-<p class='line0'>As minstrels love the warriors bold,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And joyfully sing their fame,</p>
-<p class='line0'>O’er warriors’ hearts the <a id='poet'></a>poet’s tale</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Shall peaceful triumphs claim.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>From distant lands Arion came,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;From wandering far and long,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With gifts and gold—for princely hearts</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Denied no gift to song.</p>
-<p class='line0'>The song that cheered the saddest wo,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The tale that sings of youth,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Flowing sweetly, flowing on,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Through labyrinths of truth.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Rich tributes had been poured on him,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Arion far renowned,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And fair and gentle loved the rule,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of one by nature crowned.</p>
-<p class='line0'>But what can gifts and what can gold,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Or Fame’s loud peal avail,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Wandering from his childhood’s home,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;His own Corinthian vale?</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk107'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='230' id='Page_230'></span><h1><a id='lines'></a>LINES</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-weight:bold;'>WRITTEN ON ST. VALENTINE’S DAY.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY GEO. D. PRENTICE.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'><span class='sc'>Fair</span> lady, on this day of love,</p>
-<p class='line0'>My spirit, like a timid dove,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Exulting flies to thee for rest,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And nestles on thy gentle breast.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thou seemest of my life a part,</p>
-<p class='line0'>A haunting presence in my heart,</p>
-<p class='line0'>A glory in my day-dreams bright,</p>
-<p class='line0'>An angel in my dreams at night,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Like yon pure bow of airy birth</p>
-<p class='line0'>A vision more of heaven than earth.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Soft, lovely, beautiful, divine—</p>
-<p class='line0'>But wilt thou be my Valentine?</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>I’ve looked into thy deep eyes oft,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Where heaven seemed sleeping blue and soft.</p>
-<p class='line0'>I’ve gazed on all thy beauty long,</p>
-<p class='line0'>I’ve heard thy witching voice of song,</p>
-<p class='line0'>I’ve listened when thy deep words came</p>
-<p class='line0'>As if thy lips were touched with flame,</p>
-<p class='line0'>I’ve marked thee smile, I’ve marked thee weep.</p>
-<p class='line0'>I’ve blest thee in the hour of sleep,</p>
-<p class='line0'>I’ve felt thy heart beat wild to hear</p>
-<p class='line0'>Love’s cadence stealing on thine ear,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And I have been supremely blest</p>
-<p class='line0'>When thou wast folded to my breast,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And thy dear lips were pressed to mine—</p>
-<p class='line0'>But wilt thou be my Valentine?</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Dove of my spirit! gentle dove,</p>
-<p class='line0'>That bring’st the olive-bough of love</p>
-<p class='line0'>To me when waters vast and dark</p>
-<p class='line0'>Are tossing wild beneath my bark,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Sweet queller of my bosom’s strife,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Blest haunter of each thought of life.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Dear brightner of my soul’s eclipse,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Sultana of my longing lips,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Queen-fairy of my fairy dreams,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Young Naiad of my soul’s deep streams,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Bright rainbow of life’s stormy day,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Lone palm-tree of my desert way,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Soft dew-drop of my heart’s one flower,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Young song-bird of my spirit’s bower,</p>
-<p class='line0'>My star when all beside is dim,</p>
-<p class='line0'>My morning prayer, my evening hymn,</p>
-<p class='line0'>My hope, my bliss, my life, my love,</p>
-<p class='line0'>My all of earth, my heaven above,</p>
-<p class='line0'>On lightning pinions wild and free,</p>
-<p class='line0'>My panting spirit flies to thee,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And worships at thy burning shrine—</p>
-<p class='line0'>But wilt thou be my Valentine?</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk108'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='what'></a>“What do the Birds say?”</h1></div>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i019.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0005' style='width:70%;height:auto;'/>
-</div>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'><span class='sc'>Do</span> you ask what the birds say? The sparrow, the dove,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The linnet, and thrush say, “I love, and I love!”</p>
-<p class='line0'>In the winter they’re silent—the wind is so strong;</p>
-<p class='line0'>What it says I don’t know, but it sings a loud song.</p>
-<p class='line0'>But green leaves and blossoms and sunny warm weather,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And singing and loving, all come back together.</p>
-<p class='line0'>But the lark is so brimful of gladness and love,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The green-fields below him, the blue sky above,</p>
-<p class='line0'>That he sings, and he sings, and forever sings he,</p>
-<p class='line0'>“I love my love, and my love loves me!”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk109'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='leo'></a>LEORA.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;font-weight:bold;'>A BALLAD OF SPAIN.</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>At her lattice sits Leora,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In the long and mellow June,</p>
-<p class='line0'>What time when whitely westward</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Shines the round and pendent moon.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Sits she silent, sits she sadly,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With her head upon her hand,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Looking outward where the Ebro</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Throws its ripples on the sand.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Never lighter blew the breezes</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In the vales of Aragon,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Never smiled Hesperia’s heavens</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With more lovely glories on.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Such an evening ’tis as gladdens</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Cavaliers of sunny Spain—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Such an evening ’tis when maidens</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Recount their loves again.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Now more restless grows Leora,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Fair Leora, gentle maid,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With sweet eyes so dark and fervent,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And each tress of nightly shade.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Heaves her bosom fast and wildly</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Like a billow snowed with foam,</p>
-<p class='line0'>For there’s something boding tells her</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That Almagro will not come.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Clouds are passing swiftly o’er her,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;On her heart their shadows rest,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And the tear-drops from their fountains</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Fall embittered to her breast.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Listens now she to the gallop</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of a steed adown the vale;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Now with hope her face is radiant,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Now with fear her cheek is pale.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>But no lover rideth swiftly,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Swiftly to the trysting bower,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And Leora still is waiting</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Through the long and dreary hour.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>And the tears cease not to gather,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And the tears cease not to flow,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And she feels like one abandoned</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;On the haunted paths of wo.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Where a mountain streamlet gurgles,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;From that watcher leagues away—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Where the hours amid the valleys</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Listen to the waters’ play—</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Faithless Almagro is breathing</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Vows of deeply passioned love,</p>
-<p class='line0'>To a maiden on his bosom</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In the sweetness of a dove.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>And he tells her how he never</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To another gave his heart,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Till her innocence is fallen</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In the meshes of his art.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Till another than the midnight</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Throws a darkness o’er her soul,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Leaving there a troubled fountain,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Leaving there a broken bowl.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Softly sigh the sleeping branches</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;On the bosom of the breeze,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Sweetly stars are gazing downward</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To earth’s blue, unclouded seas:</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>And in fragrance dream the blossoms</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Pure and taintless as before—</p>
-<p class='line0'>But heart-flowers have been gathered</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That shall blossom nevermore.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Lowly westward walketh Dian,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;On her watches with the night,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And the hours far have stolen</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To the gateways of the light.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>But, ah! wo is thee, Leora,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Though hopeless, hoping on,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Till Aurora up the Orient,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Rosy-fingered, leads the dawn.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>But less wo is thee, Leora,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;By thy lattice weary worn—</p>
-<p class='line0'>More’s the wo for thee, Estella,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;When thou wakest at the morn.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk110'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='231' id='Page_231'></span><h1><a id='spec'></a>SPECTRAL ILLUSIONS.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY THOMAS MILNER, M. A.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>A series</span> of curious and interesting phenomena,
-involving the apparent elevation and approach of distant
-objects, the production of aerial images of terrestrial
-forms, of double images, their inversion, and
-distortion into an endless variety of grotesque shapes,
-together with the deceptive aspect given to the
-desert-landscape, are comprehended in the class of
-optical illusions. Different varieties of this singular
-visual effect constitute the <span class='it'>mirage</span> of the French, the
-<span class='it'>fata morgana</span> of the Italians, the <span class='it'>looming</span> of our
-seamen, and the <span class='it'>glamur</span> of the Highlanders. It is
-not peculiar to any particular country, though more
-common in some than others, and most frequently
-observed near the margin of lakes and rivers, by the
-sea-shore, in mountain districts and on level plains.
-These phantoms are perfectly explicable upon optical
-principles, and though influenced by local combinations,
-they are mainly referable to one common cause,
-the refractive and reflective properties of the atmosphere,
-and inequalities of refraction arising from the
-intermixture of strata of air of different temperatures
-and densities. But such appearances in former
-times were really converted by the imagination of
-the vulgar into supernatural realities; and hence
-many of the goblin stories with which the world has
-been rife, not yet banished from the discipline to
-which childhood is subject,—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;“As when a shepherd of the Hebrid Isles</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;Placed far amid the melancholy main,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;(Whether it be lone fancy him beguiles,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;Or that aerial beings sometimes deign</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;To stand, embodied, to our senses plain)</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;Sees on the naked hill, or valley low,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;The whilst in ocean Phœbus dips his wain,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;A vast assembly moving to and fro,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Then all at once in air dissolves the wondrous show.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>Pliny mentions the Scythian regions within Mount
-Imaus, and Pomponius Mela those of Mauritania,
-behind Mount Atlas, as peculiarly subject to these
-spectral appearances. Diodorus Siculus likewise
-refers to the regions of Africa, situated in the neighborhood
-of Cyrene, as another chosen site:—“Even,”
-says he, “in the severest weather, there are sometimes
-seen in the air certain condensed exhalations
-that represent the figures of all kinds of animals;
-occasionally they seem to be motionless, and in perfect
-quietude; and occasionally to be flying; while
-immediately afterward they themselves appear to
-be the pursuers, and to make other objects fly before
-them.” Milton might have had this passage in his
-eye when he penned the allusion to the same apparitions:—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“As when, to warn proud cities, war appears</p>
-<p class='line0'>Waged in the troubled sky, and armies rush</p>
-<p class='line0'>To battle in the clouds; before each van</p>
-<p class='line0'>Prick forth the airy knights, and couch their spears,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Till thickest legions close, with feats of arms</p>
-<p class='line0'>From either side of heaven the welkin rings.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i023.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0006' style='width:100%;height:auto;'/>
-<p class='caption'><span class='bold'>The Mirage of the Desert.</span></p>
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The mirage is the most familiar form of optical
-illusion. M. Monge, one of the French savans, who
-accompanied Buonaparte in his expedition to Egypt,
-witnessed a remarkable example. In the desert between
-Alexandria and Cairo, in all directions green
-islands appeared, surrounded by extensive lakes of
-pure, transparent water. Nothing could be conceived
-more lovely or picturesque than the landscape.
-In the tranquil surface of the lakes, the trees
-and houses with which the islands were covered
-were strongly reflected with vivid and varied hues,
-and the party hastened forward to enjoy the refreshments
-apparently proffered them. But when they
-arrived, the lake on whose bosom they floated, the
-trees among whose foliage they arose, and the people
-who stood on the shore inviting their approach,
-had all vanished; and nothing remained but the uniform
-and irksome desert of sand and sky, with a
-few naked huts and ragged Arabs. But for being
-undeceived by an actual progress to the spot, one and
-all would have remained firm in the conviction that
-these visionary trees and lakes had a real existence
-in the desert. M. Monge attributed the liquid expanse,
-tantalizing the eye with an unfaithful representation
-of what was earnestly desired, to an inverted
-image of the cerulean sky, intermixed with
-the ground scenery. This kind of mirage is known
-in Persia and Arabia by the name of <span class='it'>Serab</span> or miraculous
-water, and in the western deserts of India by
-that of <span class='it'>Tehittram</span>, a picture. It occurs as a common
-emblem of disappointment in the poetry of the
-orientals.</p>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i024.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0007' style='width:100%;height:auto;'/>
-<p class='caption'><span class='bold'>Atmospheric Illusion.</span></p>
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the Philosophical Transactions for the year
-1798, an account is given by W. Latham, Esq.,
-F.R.S., of an instance of lateral refraction observed
-by him, by which the coast of Picardy, with its
-more prominent objects, was brought apparently close
-to that of Hastings. On July the 26th, about five in
-the afternoon, while sitting in his dining-room, near
-the sea-shore, attention was excited by a crowd of
-people running down to the beach. Upon inquiring
-the reason, it appeared that the coast of France was
-plainly to be distinguished with the naked eye.
-Upon proceeding to the shore, he found, that without
-the assistance of a telescope, he could distinctly see
-the cliffs across the Channel, which, at the nearest
-points, are from forty to fifty miles distant, and are
-not to be discovered, from that low situation, by the
-aid of the best glasses. They appeared to be only
-a few miles off, and seemed to extend for some
-leagues along the coast. At first the sailors and
-fishermen could not be persuaded of the reality
-of the appearance, but they soon became thoroughly
-convinced, by the cliffs gradually appearing more
-elevated, and seeming to approach nearer, that
-they were able to point out the different places
-they had been accustomed to visit, such as the Bay,
-the Old Head, and the Windmill at Boulogne, St.
-Vallery, and several other spots. Their remark
-was that these places appeared as near as if they
-were sailing at a small distance into the harbor.
-The apparition of the opposite cliffs varied in distinctness
-and apparent contiguity for nearly an hour,
-but it was never out of sight, and upon leaving the
-beach for a hill of some considerable height, Mr.
-Latham could at once see Dungeness and Dover
-cliffs on each side, and before him the French coast
-from Calais to near Dieppe. By the telescope the
-French fishing-boats were clearly seen at anchor,
-and the different colors of the land on the heights,
-with the buildings, were perfectly discernible. The
-spectacle continued in the highest splendor until
-past eight o’clock, though a black cloud obscured
-the face of the sun for some time, when it gradually
-faded away. This was the first time within the
-memory of the oldest inhabitants, that they had ever
-caught sight of the opposite shore. The day had
-been extremely hot, and not a breath of wind had
-stirred since the morning, when the small pennons
-at the mast-heads of the fishing-boats in the harbor
-had been at all points of the compass. Professor
-Vince witnessed a similar apparent approximation
-of the coast of France to that of Ramsgate, for at
-the very edge of the water he discerned the Calais
-cliffs a very considerable height above the horizon,
-whereas they are frequently not to be seen in clear
-weather from the high lands above the town. A
-much greater breadth of coast also appeared than is
-usually observed under the most favorable circumstances.
-The ordinary refractive power of the
-atmosphere is thus liable to be strikingly altered by
-a change of temperature and humidity, so that a hill
-which at one time appears low, may at another be
-seen towering aloft; and a city in a neighboring
-valley, may from a certain station be entirely invisible,
-or it may show the tops of its buildings, just
-as if its foundations had been raised, according to
-the condition of the aerial medium between it and
-the spectator.</p>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i028.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0008' style='width:100%;height:auto;'/>
-<p class='caption'><span class='bold'>Fata Morgana at Reggio.</span></p>
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Of all instances of spectral illusion, the <span class='it'>fata morgana</span>,
-familiar to the inhabitants of Sicily, is the
-most curious and striking. It occurs off the Pharo
-of Messina, in the strait which separates Sicily from
-Calabria, and had been variously described by different
-observers, owing, doubtless, to the different
-conditions of the atmosphere at the respective times
-of observation. The spectacle consists in the images
-of men, cattle, houses, rocks, and trees, pictured
-upon the surface of the water, and in the air immediately
-over the water, as if called into existence by
-an enchanter’s wand, the same object having frequently
-two images, one in the natural and the other
-in an inverted position. A combination of circumstances
-must concur to produce this novel panorama.
-The spectator, standing with his back to the east on
-an elevated place, commands a view of the strait.
-No wind must be abroad to ruffle the surface of the
-sea; and the waters must be pressed up by currents,
-which is occasionally the case, to a considerable
-height, in the middle of the strait, so that they may
-present a slight convex surface. When these conditions
-are fulfilled, and the sun has risen over the
-Calabrian heights so as to make an angle of 45° with
-the horizon, the various objects on the shore at
-Reggio, opposite to Messina, are transferred to the
-middle of the strait, forming an immovable landscape
-of rocks, trees, and houses, and a movable
-one of men, horses, and cattle, upon the surface of
-the water. If the atmosphere, at the same time, is
-highly charged with vapor, the phenomena apparent
-on the water will also be visible in the air, occupying
-a space which extends from the surface to the
-height of about twenty-five feet. Two kinds of
-morgana may therefore be discriminated; the first,
-at the surface of the sea, or the marine morgana;
-the second, in the air, or the aerial. The term applied
-to this strange exhibition of uncertain derivation,
-but supposed by some to refer to the vulgar
-presumption of the spectacle being produced by a
-fairy or magician. The populace are said to hail
-the vision with great exultation, calling every one
-abroad to partake of the sight, with the cry of
-“Morgana, morgana!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Father Angelucci, an eye-witness, describes the
-scene in the following terms:—“On the 15th of
-August, 1643, as I stood at my window, I was surprised
-with a most wonderful, delectable vision.
-The sea that washes the Sicilian shore swelled up,
-and became, for ten miles in length, like a chain of
-dark mountains; while the waters near our Calabrian
-coast grew quite smooth, and in an instant appeared
-as one clear polished mirror, reclining against
-the aforesaid ridge. On this glass was depicted, in
-<span class='it'>chiaro scuro</span>, a string of several thousands of pilasters,
-all equal in altitude, distance, and degree of
-light and shade. In a moment they lost half their
-height, and bent into arcades, like Roman aqueducts.
-A long cornice was next formed on the top, and
-above it rose castles innumerable, all perfectly alike.
-These soon split into towers, which were shortly
-after lost in colonnades, then windows, and at last
-ended in pines, cypresses, and other trees, even and
-similar. This was the Fata Morgana, which, for
-twenty-six years, I had thought a mere fable.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Brydone, writing from Messina, evidently in a
-dubious vein, states:—“Do you know, the most extraordinary
-phenomenon in the world is often observed
-near to this place? I laughed at it at first, as
-you will do, but I am now convinced of its reality,
-and am persuaded, too, that if ever it had been
-thoroughly examined by a philosophical eye, the
-natural cause must long ago have been assigned. It
-has often been remarked, both by the ancients and
-moderns, that in the heat of summer, after the sea and
-air have been much agitated by winds, and a perfect
-calm succeeds, there appears, about the time of
-dawn, in that part of the heavens over the straits, a
-great variety of singular forms, some at rest, and
-some moving about with great velocity. These
-forms, in proportion as the light increases, seem to
-become more aerial, till at last some time before
-sunrise they entirely disappear. The Sicilians represent
-this as the most beautiful sight in nature.
-Leanti, one of their latest and best writers, came
-here on purpose to see it. He says the heavens appeared
-crowded with a variety of objects: he mentions
-palaces, woods, gardens, etc., besides the
-figures of men and other animals, that appear in
-motion amongst them. No doubt the imagination
-must be greatly aiding in forming this aerial creation;
-but as so many of their authors, both ancient
-and modern, agree in the fact, and give an account
-of it from their own observation, there certainly
-must be some foundation for the story. There is
-one Giardini, a Jesuit, who has lately written a
-treatise upon this phenomenon, but I have not been
-able to find it. The celebrated Messinese Gallo has
-likewise published something on this singular subject.
-The common people, according to custom,
-give the whole merit to the devil; and, indeed, it is
-by much the shortest and easiest way of accounting
-for it. Those who pretend to be philosophers, and
-refuse him this honor, are greatly puzzled what to
-make of it. They think it may be owing to some
-uncommon refraction or reflection of the rays, from
-the water of the straits, which, as it is at that time
-carried about in a variety of eddies and vortices,
-must consequently, say they, make a variety of appearances
-on any medium where it is reflected.
-This, I think, is nonsense, or at least very near it.
-I suspect it is something of the nature of our aurora
-borealis, and, like many of the great phenomena of
-nature, depends upon electrical cause; which, in
-future ages, I have little doubt, will be found to be
-as powerful an agent in regulating the universe as
-gravity is in this age, or as the subtle fluid was in
-the last. The electrical fluid in this country of
-volcanoes, is probably produced in a much greater
-quantity than in any other. The air, strongly impregnated
-with this matter, and confined betwixt
-two ridges of mountains—at the same time exceedingly
-agitated from below by the violence of the
-current, and the impetuous whirling of the waters—may
-it not be supposed to produce a variety of appearances?
-And may not the lively Sicilian imaginations,
-animated by a belief in demons, and all
-the wild offspring of superstition, give these appearances
-as great a variety of forms? Remember,
-I do not say it is so; and hope yet to have it in my
-power to give you a better account of this matter.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Ingenious as Brydone was, he here indulges a
-most unfortunate speculation, which, had he enjoyed
-the good fortune of personally observing the
-phenomenon, most likely, he would not have proposed.
-It is to be accounted for upon optical principles,
-which M. Biot, in his <span class='it'>Astronomie Physique</span>,
-thus applies, from Minasi’s dissertation upon the
-subject:—“When the rising sun shines from that
-point whence its incident ray forms an angle of forty-five
-degrees, on the sea of Reggio, and the bright
-surface of the water in the bay is not disturbed either
-by wind or current—when the tide is at its height,
-and the waters are pressed up by the currents to a
-great elevation in the middle of the channel; the
-spectator being placed on an eminence, with his back
-to the sun, and his face to the sea, the mountains of
-Messina rising like a wall behind it, and forming the
-back-ground of the picture—on a sudden there appear
-in the water, as in a catoptric theatre, various
-multiplied objects—numberless series of pilasters,
-arches, castles, well-delineated regular columns,
-lofty towers, superb palaces, with balconies and
-windows, extended alleys of trees, delightful plains,
-with herds and flocks, armies of men on foot, on
-horseback, and many other things, in their natural
-colors and proper actions, passing rapidly in succession
-along the surface of the sea, during the
-whole of the short period of time while the above-mentioned
-causes remain. The objects are proved,
-by accurate observations of the coast of Reggio, to
-be derived from objects on shore. If, in addition to
-the circumstances already described, the atmosphere
-be highly impregnated with vapor and dense exhalations,
-not previously dispersed by the action of the
-wind and waves, or rarified by the sun, it then happens
-that, in this vapor, as in a curtain extended
-along the channel to the height of above forty palms,
-and nearly down to the sea, the observer will behold
-the scene of the same objects not only reflected
-on the surface of the sea, but likewise in the air,
-though not so distinctly or well-defined. Lastly, if the
-air be slightly hazy and opaque, and at the same time
-dewy, and adapted to form the iris, then the above-mentioned
-objects will appear only at the surface of
-the sea, as in the first case, but all vividly colored
-or fringed with red, green, blue, or other prismatic
-colors.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Aerial images of terrestrial objects are frequently
-produced as the simple effect of reflection. Dr. Buchan
-mentions the following occurrence:—“Walking
-on the cliff about a mile to the east of Brighton,
-on the morning of the 18th of November, 1804, while
-watching the rising of the sun, I turned my eyes directly
-to the sea, just as the solar disc emerged from
-the surface of the water, and saw the face of the
-cliff on which I was standing represented precisely
-opposite to me, at some distance from the ocean.
-Calling the attention of my companion to this appearance,
-we soon also discovered our own figures
-standing on the summit of the opposite apparent
-cliff, as well as the representation of a windmill near
-at hand. The reflected images were most distinct
-precisely opposite to where we stood; and the false
-cliff seemed to fade away, and to draw near to the
-real one, in proportion as it receded toward the west.
-This phenomenon lasted about ten minutes, till the
-sun had risen nearly his own diameter above the
-sea. The whole then seemed to be elevated into the
-air, and successively disappeared. The surface of
-the sea was covered with a dense fog of many yards
-in height, and which gradually receded before the
-rays of the sun.” In December, 1826, a similar circumstance
-excited some consternation among the
-parishioners of Miqué, in the neighborhood of
-Poitiers, in France. They were engaged in the exercises
-of the jubilee which preceded the festival of
-Christmas, and about three thousand persons from
-the surrounding parishes were assembled. At five
-o’clock in the evening, when one of the clergy was
-addressing the multitude, and reminding them of the
-cross which appeared in the sky to Constantine and
-his army, suddenly a similar cross appeared in the
-heavens, just before the porch of the church, about
-two hundred feet above the horizon, and a hundred
-and forty feet in length, of a bright silver color tinged
-with red, and perfectly well-defined. Such was the
-effect of this vision, that the people immediately
-threw themselves upon their knees, and united
-together in one of their canticles. The fact was,
-that a large wooden cross, twenty-five feet high, had
-been erected beside the church as a part of the ceremony,
-the figure of which was formed in the air,
-and reflected back to the eyes of the spectators, retaining
-exactly the same shape and proportions, but
-changed in position and dilated in size. Its red
-tinge was also the color of the object of which it was
-the reflected image. When the rays of the sun
-were withdrawn the figure vanished.</p>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i034.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0009' style='width:100%;height:auto;'/>
-<p class='caption'><span class='bold'>Spectre of the Brocken.</span></p>
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The peasantry in the neighborhood of the Harz
-Mountains formerly stood in no little awe of the
-gigantic spectre of the Brocken—the figure of a man
-observed to walk the clouds over the ridge at sunrise.
-This apparition has long been resolved into an
-exaggerated reflection, which makes the traveler’s
-shadow, pictured upon the clouds, appear a colossal
-figure of immense dimensions. A French savan,
-attended by a friend, went to watch this spectral
-shape, but for many mornings they traversed an opposite
-ridge in vain. At length, however, it was
-discovered, having also a companion, and both
-figures were found imitating all the motions of the
-philosopher and his friend. The ancient classical
-fable of Niobe on Mount Sipylus belongs to the same
-category of atmospheric deceptions; and the tales,
-common in mountainous countries, of troops of horse
-and armies marching and counter-marching in the
-air, have been only the reflection of horses pasturing
-upon an opposite height, or of the forms of travelers
-pursuing their journey. On the 19th of August,
-1820, Mr. Menzies, a surgeon of Glasgow, and Mr.
-Macgregor began to ascend the mountain of Ben
-Lomond, about five o’clock in the afternoon. They
-had not proceeded far before they were overtaken
-by a smart shower; but as it appeared only to be
-partial, they continued their journey, and by the time
-they were half way up, the cloud passed away, and
-most delightful weather succeeded. Thin, transparent
-vapors, which appeared to have risen from
-Loch Lomond beneath, were occasionally seen
-floating before a gentle and refreshing breeze; in
-other respects, as far as the eye could trace, the sky
-was clear, and the atmosphere serene. They
-reached the summit about half-past seven o’clock,
-in time to see the sun sinking beneath the western
-hills. Its parting beams had gilded the mountain-tops
-with a warm glowing color; and the surface of
-the lake, gently rippling with the breeze, was tinged
-with a yellow lustre. While admiring the adjacent
-mountains, hills, and valleys, and the expanse of
-water beneath, interspersed with numerous wooded
-islands, the attention of one of the party was attracted
-by a cloud in the east, partly of a dark red
-color, apparently at the distance of two miles and a
-half, in which he distinctly observed two gigantic
-figures, standing, as it were, on a majestic pedestal.
-He immediately pointed out the phenomenon to his
-companion; and they distinctly perceived one of the
-gigantic figures, in imitation, strike the other on the
-shoulder, and point toward them. They then made
-their obeisance to the airy phantoms, which was
-instantly returned. They waved their hats and
-umbrellas, and the shadowy figures did the same.
-Like other travelers, they had carried with them a
-bottle of usquebaugh, and amused themselves in
-drinking to the figures, which was of course duly
-returned. In short, every movement which they
-made, they could observe distinctly repeated by the
-figures in the cloud. The appearance continued
-about a quarter of an hour. A gentle breeze from
-the north carried the cloud slowly away; the
-figures became less and less distinct, and at last
-vanished. North of the village of Comrie, in Perthshire,
-there is a bold hill called Dunmore, with a
-pillar of seventy or eighty feet in height built on its
-summit in memory of the late Lord Melville. At
-about eight o’clock of the evening of the 21st of
-August, of the year 1845, a perfect image of this
-well-known hill and obelisk, as exact as the shadow
-usually represents the substance, was distinctly observed
-projecting on the northern sky, at least two
-miles beyond the original, which, owing to an intervening
-eminence, was not itself at all in view from
-the station where the aerial picture was observed.
-The figure continued visible for about ten minutes
-after it was first seen, and was minutely examined
-by three individuals. One of these fancied that
-there was a projection at the base of the monument,
-as represented in the air, which was not in the
-original; but, upon examining the latter the next
-morning, the image was found to have been more
-faithful than his memory; for there stood the prototype
-of the projection, in the shape of a clump of
-trees, at the base of the real obelisk.</p>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i038.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0010' style='width:80%;height:auto;'/>
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In northern latitudes the effects of atmospheric
-reflection and refraction are very familiar to the natives.
-By the term of <span class='it'>uphillanger</span> the Icelanders
-denote the elevation of distant objects,
-which is regarded as a presage
-of fine weather. Not only is
-there an increase in the vertical
-dimensions of the objects affected,
-so that low coasts frequently assume
-a bold and precipitous outline,
-the objects sunk below the
-horizon are brought into view,
-with their natural position changed
-and distorted. In 1818, Captain
-Scoresby relates that, when in the
-polar sea, his ship had been separated
-for some time from that of his
-father, which he had been looking
-out for with great anxiety. At
-length, one evening, to his astonishment,
-he beheld the vessel suspended
-in the air in an inverted position,
-with the most distinct and
-perfect representation. Sailing in
-the direction of this visionary appearance,
-he met with the real ship
-by this indication. It was found
-that the vessel had been thirty miles
-distant, and seventeen beyond the
-horizon, when her spectrum was
-thus elevated into the air by this extraordinary
-refraction. Sometimes
-two images of a vessel are seen,
-the one erect and the other inverted, with their
-topmasts or their hulls meeting, according as the
-inverted image is above or below the other. Dr.
-Wollaston has shown that the production of these
-images is owing to the refraction of the rays through
-media of different densities. Looking along a red-hot
-poker at a distant object, two images of it were
-seen, one erect and the other inverted, arising from
-the change produced by the heat in the density of
-the air. A singular instance of lateral mirage was
-noticed upon the Lake of Geneva by MM. Jurine and
-Soret, in the year 1818. A bark near Bellerire was
-seen approaching to the city by the left bank of the
-lake; and at the same time an image of the sails was
-observed above the water, which, instead of following
-the direction of the bark, separated from it, and
-appeared approaching by the <span class='it'>right</span> bank—the image
-moving from east to west, and the bark from north
-to south. When the image separated from the
-vessel, it was of the same dimensions as the bark;
-but it diminished as it receded from it, so as to be
-reduced to one-half when the appearance ceased.
-This was a striking example of refraction, operating
-in a lateral as well as a vertical direction.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='it'>Ignis Fatuus.</span> This wandering meteor known
-to the vulgar as the Will-o’-the-Wisp, has given rise
-to considerable speculation and controversy. Burying-grounds,
-fields of battle, low meadows, valleys,
-and marshes, are its ordinary haunts. By some eminent
-naturalists, particularly Willoughby and Ray,
-it has been maintained to be only the shining of a
-great number of the male glow-worms in England,
-and the pyraustæ in Italy, flying together—an opinion
-to which Mr. Kirby, the entomologist, inclines. The
-luminosities observed in several cases may have been
-due to this cause, but the true meteor of the marshes
-cannot thus be explained. The following instance
-is abridged from the Entomological Magazine:—“Two
-travelers proceeding across the moors between
-Hexham and Alston, were startled, about ten
-o’clock at night, by the sudden appearance of a light
-close to the road-side, about the size of the hand,
-and of a well-defined oval form. The place was
-very wet, and the peat-moss had been dug out, leaving
-what are locally termed ‘peat-pots,’ which soon
-fill with water, nourishing a number of confervæ,
-and the various species of sphagnum, which are
-converted into peat. During the process of decomposition
-these places give out large quantities of
-gas. The light was about three feet from the
-ground, hovering over the peat-pots, and it moved
-nearly parallel with the road for about fifty yards,
-when it vanished, probably from the failure of the
-gas. The manner in which it disappeared was
-similar to that of a candle being blown out.” We
-have the best account of it from Mr. Blesson, who
-examined it abroad with great care and diligence.</p>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i042.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0011' style='width:100%;height:auto;'/>
-<p class='caption'><span class='bold'>Ignis Fatuus.</span></p>
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The first time,” he states, “I saw the ignis
-fatuus was in a valley in the forest of Gorbitz, in the
-New Mark. This valley cuts deeply in compact
-loam, and is marshy on its lower part. The water
-of the marsh is ferruginous, and covered with an
-iridescent crust. During the day bubbles of air were
-seen rising from it, and in the night blue flames were
-observed shooting from and playing over its surface.
-As I suspected that there was some connection between
-these flames and the bubbles of air, I marked
-during the day-time the place where the latter rose
-up most abundantly, and repaired thither during the
-night; to my great joy I actually observed bluish-purple
-flames, and did not hesitate to approach them.
-On reaching the spot they retired, and I pursued
-them in vain; all attempts to examine them closely
-were ineffectual. Some days of very rainy weather
-prevented further investigation, but afforded leisure
-for reflecting on their nature. I conjectured that the
-motion of the air, on my approaching the spot, forced
-forward the burning gas, and remarked that the
-flame burned darker when it was blown aside; hence
-I concluded that a continuous thin stream of inflammable
-air was formed by these bubbles, which, once
-inflamed, continued to burn, but which, owing to
-the paleness of the light of the flame, could not be
-observed during the day.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The ignis fatuus of the church-yard and the battle-field
-arise from the phosphuretted hydrogen emitted
-by animal matter in a state of putrefaction, which
-always inflames upon contact with the oxygen of the
-atmosphere; and the flickering meteor of the marsh
-may be referred to the carburetted hydrogen, formed
-by the decomposition of vegetable matter in stagnant
-water, ignited by a discharge of the electric fluid.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk111'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='232' id='Page_232'></span><h1><a id='cam'></a>CAMPAIGNING STORIES.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-weight:bold;'>NO. II.—THE CAPTIVE RIVALS.<a id='r1'/><a href='#f1' style='text-decoration:none'><sup><span style='font-size:0.9em'>[1]</span></sup></a></p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY THE AUTHOR OF “TALBOT AND VERNON.”</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;'>(<span class='it'>Concluded from page 212, Vol. XXXIX.</span>)</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>PART III.</h2>
-
-<div class='literal-container' style=''><div class='literal'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<p class='line'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;I have not seen</p>
-<p class='line'>So likely an embassador of love.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:0em;margin-bottom:0.75em;'><span class='it'>Merchant of Venice.</span></p>
-</div></div> <!-- end rend -->
-
-<div class='literal-container' style=''><div class='literal'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<p class='line'>It gives me wonder, great is my content,</p>
-<p class='line'>To see you here before me.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:0em;margin-bottom:0.75em;'><span class='it'>Othello.</span></p>
-</div></div> <!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>The</span> sun had not yet climbed the hills on the east
-of the valley, when Harding set forth on his uncertain
-mission; and not one of the indolent people of
-the country was any where to be seen. The houses
-were all closed—no smoke issued from their rude
-chimneys—no sound or motion broke the stillness.
-Apart from its solitude, however, it was a beautiful
-scene. The haziness of the evening before was
-now gone—the valley was refreshed by the dew of
-the night; and the reviving influence of the cool
-morning seemed to have had its effect upon the inanimate
-as well as the animate. The slope of the
-hills on the north, where the first rays of the sun
-rested for hours before they touched the southern
-plateau, was dotted here and there by straggling
-goats, browsing listlessly upon the scanty vegetation;
-while lower down the valley and along the banks of
-the little river, numbers of cattle were either standing
-patiently around the inclosures or wandering slowly
-away toward the hills. The river, silvered by the
-morning light, wound thread-like down the valley toward
-the west, and was visible even to the turn of
-the mountain miles away, where it enters the labyrinth
-of ridges in the neighborhood of Parras.
-There were no waving fields of grain; but the
-hedges were all green and fresh; verdure was
-springing even at that season, where the ground had
-been cleared of its products; and the evergreen
-trees, and groves of oranges which dotted the land
-imparted an aspect of fertile beauty. The shadows
-of the rugged hills were traceable along the ground,
-so clearly that the line of separation could be followed
-through the fields—one-half in sunlight, half
-in shade—the former gradually encroaching on the
-latter. There were no birds to cheer the solitude
-with matin songs; but so peaceful was the scene
-that even their presence might have seemed unwelcome.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Harding gazed about him as he crossed the bridge
-as if in search of the road. There were two paths;
-one leading along the front of several <span class='it'>ranchos</span>, and
-apparently taking him directly to the point he wished
-to reach. The other led away to the left, sweeping
-round the fields and avoiding the houses, with the
-danger of meeting their inmates. It was the latter
-that the count directed him to take; but for some
-reason best known to himself he followed the first,
-without heeding De Marsiac’s hail, and soon found
-himself riding slowly between two straggling rows
-of neat cottages. There was no one astir, however,
-and he had ridden nearly the whole length of the
-avenue without seeing any signs of life—when,
-judging himself to be out of view of <span class='it'>Embocadura</span>,
-he turned his horse in among the elms, and sprang to
-the ground.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Throwing his bridle-rein over a limb, he first
-carefully examined his pistols, and then loosening
-his sword in the scabbard, stepped out from the
-cover and approached the nearest cottage. It was
-not until he had knocked several times that any answer
-was returned. Then, however, the door was
-suddenly swung open, and he was confronted by one
-of those specimens of Mexican youth, whose faces
-combine in so remarkable a degree, great beauty
-with an expression of wicked cunning. He was a
-boy—perhaps eighteen years of age, with a slender
-figure, but evidently very active, and unless an exception
-to his race, capable of enduring great fatigue
-and privation. His eyes were dark as night, small,
-and keen; his nose thin and straight, his lips rather
-pinched, but red and clearly cut. The rest of his
-features were appropriate to these, and his complexion
-was rather lighter than the general hue of
-his people. He held a <span class='it'>lareat</span> coiled in his hand, and
-his goat-skin shoes were armed at the heel with
-enormous spurs.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>Buenas dias, Señor</span>,” said he, in a clear, sharp
-voice, stepping back at the same time, in mute invitation
-to Harding to enter.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The latter returned the salutation and asked—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“On whose lands are these <span class='it'>ranchos</span>?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“On those of La Señora Eltorena,” answered the
-boy, promptly.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“How far is it to Anelo?” he inquired.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Twelve leagues, sir.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Harding reflected for a moment, and then beckoned
-the boy aside. The latter gazed at him inquiringly;
-but drawing the door to, followed him to the place
-where his horse was standing.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You see that horse?” said he.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I do,” answered the boy “and a very fine one
-he is, too.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Could you ride him to Anelo and back,<a id='r2'/><a href='#f2' style='text-decoration:none'><sup><span style='font-size:0.9em'>[2]</span></sup></a> to-day?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“How much money could I get to do it?” asked
-the youth, eyeing the officer as if to measure his liberality.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Twenty dollars,” Harding answered; “or, if
-you do not find me on your return, you may keep
-the horse.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Agreed,” said the boy, promptly. “I’ll set out
-now.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Harding took a blank leaf from his pocket-book
-and wrote a note to the commandant of a detachment
-of Texan rangers, whom he knew to be then foraging
-at Anelo, and handed it to the boy.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You must be back before midnight,” said he;
-“and you may ask for me at the <span class='it'>hacienda</span>. My name
-is Harding.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“And mine is Eltorena,” said the youth. “I am
-six months older than Margarita, and entitled to the
-name by the same right.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>His eyes glistened as he spoke with an expression
-so devilish, that Harding was half inclined to take
-back the note and discharge him. But while reflecting
-upon the words of the boy, the latter, as if divining
-his half formed intention, suddenly put spurs to
-his horse’s flanks and bounded away. Harding
-watched him until he had crossed the river, and
-avoiding <span class='it'>La Embocadura</span> by a wide circuit, was
-fast disappearing among the groves to the east.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Concluding that if he had made a mistake it was
-now too late to amend it, he turned on his heel, and
-was about to pursue his way toward <span class='it'>Piedritas</span> on
-foot, when his attention was arrested by a voice pronouncing
-his name.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Señor Harding, let me speak with you for a moment.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He turned, and beheld a female in the very bloom
-of mature womanhood—tall, elegantly formed, and
-possessing a countenance of singular force and
-beauty. She was standing near the door at which
-he had knocked, and he had no difficulty in determining
-from the resemblance that she was the
-mother of his messenger. He advanced with the
-ordinary salutation, and followed her within the
-house.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I am perfectly well acquainted,” she commenced
-abruptly, without offering him a seat, “with the object
-of your visit to the <span class='it'>hacienda</span>. You are here
-to wed the daughter of the woman who calls herself
-the Señora Eltorena—”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Calls herself!” repeated Harding.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“And you are doubtless like other men,” she continued,
-without noticing the exclamation, “more
-attracted by the property than the bride. Now, I
-wish to warn you that this estate, with all that the
-late Colonel Eltorena owned, belongs to his son—and
-mine—the youth whom you have just sent away;
-and that I hold General Santa Anna’s pledge to see
-him righted as soon as the army marches this way.
-So, if you marry her, it is with your eyes open.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You are mistaken, madam,” said Harding, after
-a pause given to surprise; “I am here on no such
-errand: I am, on the contrary,” he added, with a
-smile, “only a humble ambassador, suing for the
-lady’s hand in the name of another, more potent individual.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“In the name of the murdering thief, De Marsiac?”
-she exclaimed.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Even so,” Harding replied, “the very same,
-without mistake.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You are a strange ambassador,” she said, with a
-laugh. “But,” she continued, resuming her somewhat
-wild manner, “I warn him through you, as I
-have done to his face, that the man who marries
-that woman’s daughter, must take her portionless!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“In that case,” said Harding, with another smile,
-“I doubt whether the count will care to take her at
-all. But enlighten me about your son’s title—it may
-be important to my principal.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Her story was not an uncommon one, though it
-took a long time in telling; for she dwelt with painful
-emphasis upon some parts, and talked so incoherently
-upon others, that Harding was confirmed in
-his suspicion that her mind was, upon that subject at
-least, quite unsettled. She had been induced by the
-late Colonel Eltorena to go to his house, as his wife,
-under a promise that the actual ceremony should
-be performed by the first priest who came from
-Monclova or Saltillo. It was a remote district in
-which they lived, and they might have to wait for
-months before the expected visit would be made;
-and knowing this, and at the earnest solicitation of
-her lover, she consented to an arrangement, which
-was not so uncommon as it should have been.
-Wherever the common law prevails as it does in
-the United States, this would have been a legal
-marriage; and she solemnly protested that she so
-considered it upon the representation of the colonel
-himself. Two or three priests had passed that way
-within a few months; but upon various pretexts the
-ceremony was postponed.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>At last, after about six months, the Colonel went
-to the city of Mexico on a visit, and returned with a
-wife! “The woman,” said the narrator, “who now
-calls herself La Señora Eltorena!” <span class='it'>She</span>, the deceived
-and betrayed, was generously offered an asylum
-in the <span class='it'>rancho</span>, where she had lived ever since;
-and six months after her ejectment from the <span class='it'>hacienda</span>
-by “the proud English woman,” her son was
-born. For eighteen years she had been suing for
-her rights; but superior influence with the corrupt
-judges of that unhappy land had foiled all her
-efforts; and in the meantime, she had lived in plain
-view of the <span class='it'>hacienda</span>, determined never to lose sight
-of her object, until she saw her son in possession.
-She had never been inside of its walls: “but,” said
-she, “I <span class='it'>will</span> be there—and soon! May God give me
-revenge upon the sorceress, who stole away my
-rights!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“It is a very hard case,” said Harding, when she
-had finished, “but I fear like many other wrongs, it
-has no remedy.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“There is one remedy,” said she, significantly,
-“when all others fail.” And drawing aside the end
-of her <span class='it'>mantilla</span>, she disclosed the hilt of a long,
-keen dagger. She drew it forth, ran her finger
-along its edge, smiled faintly, and replaced it in its
-sheath.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Well, well,” said Harding, turning away, “I
-am warned at all events, and will take care that the
-count is enlightened, also. I must speed upon my
-mission. Good morning.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She made no reply, and he passed out, taking his
-way toward the <span class='it'>hacienda</span>, which lay in view, about
-a mile distant. Turning to the right, he soon reached
-the bank of the river, and followed its rapid but
-even current, which ran sparkling beneath the court-yard
-wall. It was yet quite early; and as he
-reached the front of the mansion, his fear, that as yet
-no one would be astir, was confirmed. Returning
-again to the margin of the stream, he commenced
-pacing up and down the sward under a row of elms,
-with the intention of awaiting the rising of the
-family. He had made but two or three turns, however,
-and had halted, gazing about upon the still
-morning scene, when he thought he observed something
-like drapery pass across the arches in the wall,
-through which the river entered the inclosure. He
-advanced somewhat closer, and could distinctly see
-a pair of small feet tripping across the river on a
-footway made by placing large stones a step apart
-from bank to bank. He could not doubt that it was
-Margarita; but without going again to the front of
-the house, he knew of no means of ingress.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Casting his glance up and down the stream, to his
-delight, he discovered a small boat moored to the
-bank, and slowly swinging in the current. A moment
-sufficed to untie the rope which bound it, and
-in another, he was seated on its light planks, rapidly
-floating toward the arched passage. The waters,
-raised by the rains of the preceding day, left but
-scanty room beneath the masonry; but lying down
-in the bottom of the boat, and guiding her with his
-hands, he soon had the satisfaction to emerge within
-the inclosure. On rising again, he found himself
-between an extensive garden on one side and the
-offices of the mansion on the other. The former
-seemed to be a neglected wilderness of trees, and
-flowering plants and vines, but on reaching the footway
-over which the feet had passed, he discovered
-an opening to the labyrinth, in a broad, graveled
-walk, which wound away between rows of shrubbery,
-sparkling in the morning sunlight, and lost
-itself in the distance.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Turning the boat broadside against the stones, to
-prevent its floating away, he sprang to the bank and
-walked rapidly down the avenue. He discovered
-neither form nor sign of life for several minutes; but
-as he turned from the main walk into a smaller,
-which led away to the left, he saw directly before
-him, walking slowly toward the place where he
-stood, a young girl whose exquisite beauty well
-justified his eagerness. She was slightly above the
-medium height, slender, but well-proportioned, with
-a carriage erect and graceful. Her rich, brown hair
-was braided in masses over a forehead of the purest
-white, and drawn back loosely so as almost to hang
-upon her round, snowy neck. Her eyes were of the
-same color with her hair—a rich, dark brown; and
-their expression, though somewhat pensive, was yet
-sparkling and clear. A nose of the true Grecian
-model, a round, though not full chin, a small mouth
-with thin, curling lips, and cheeks now tinged by
-exercise in the cool morning air, completed a face
-which might well have attracted a man of less taste
-than the Count De Marsiac. To complete the picture,
-she had small, beautiful feet, such as a sultana
-might have envied; and her perfect, white hands,
-which now lay folded together in front, might have
-been a model for a sculptor. She wore a thin morning
-dress of the purest white, and as she walked
-slowly and unconsciously, it waved like gossamer
-about her person—revealing, perhaps, too much of its
-contour to please our northern prejudices, but still
-adding to its exquisite attraction.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Harding’s circumstances were so peculiar, that he
-was embarrassed for a moment, and could not determine
-how to meet her. She had not yet seen
-him, and acting upon the impulse of perplexity, he
-stepped within the cover of the shrubbery, and allowed
-her to pass without speaking. She went but
-a few steps, however, before he called—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Margarita!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She started at his voice, but turned and at once
-advanced to meet him. Her eyes sparkled with
-pleasure, too, as she did so, and the hand she extended
-to him trembled from emotion. Harding
-could not know her feelings, and he had reason to
-doubt her truth; but, though he could not tell what
-it was, there was something in her look and manner
-as she met him which made him forget all suspicion.
-He took her hand in one of his, and placing the other
-about her waist, drew her to him, and—the love of
-a former time was renewed!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“We meet once more,” he whispered; it was all
-he could say.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I feared we were parted forever,” she said, disengaging
-herself from his embrace, but still leaning
-on his arm.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I thought you had forgotten me,” continued
-Harding.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I am not sure but I ought to have done so,” she
-replied, with a smile which revealed how little she
-meant what she said. “But how is it that you are
-here?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I had forgotten,” answered he; “I am here as
-an envoy from another, to ask your hand in marriage!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You!” she exclaimed, drawing away from him.
-“From whom?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“From his highness,” answered Harding, laughingly
-detaining her, “Eugene Raoul, Count De
-Marsiac!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She gazed at him in surprise for a few moments;
-and then, catching the light of his smile, folded her
-hands upon his shoulder, looked archly into his eyes
-and said—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“If the envoy does not deem my hand a prize
-high enough to justify his preferring a claim on his
-own behalf. I must even listen to the overtures of
-his sovereign.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Then I must deliver my credentials,” said Harding,
-and drawing her to him, he kissed her upon
-both cheeks. “And now,” he continued, taking
-her hand, “my mission is ended; and in my own
-proper character I claim this hand as my own. Is it
-mine?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Forever,” she answered, and he was about to
-resume his “credentials,” when a rustling among
-the bushes attracted his attention; and before Margarita
-could disengage herself, Lieutenant Grant
-confronted them, and leveled a pistol at Harding’s
-breast!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Traitor!” he shouted furiously; “you shall pay
-for this with your life!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Margarita screamed loudly, and threw herself in
-front of her lover; but before Grant was aware of his
-intention, Harding drew his sword, and passing
-around her, threw himself upon him. He knocked
-the pistol into the air just as it exploded; and the
-next instant Grant was stretched upon the sward,
-bleeding profusely from a wound in the head given
-by the back of Harding’s sword! The latter drew
-the remaining pistol from the sash of the fallen lieutenant,
-and kneeling beside him raised him from the
-ground on his arm.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Bring some water from the river,” he said to
-Margarita.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But as he looked up, he perceived that the party
-had been increased by one! A tall, handsome woman,
-of perhaps thirty-six, stood gazing sternly on
-the scene, while Margarita shrank back abashed.
-She had a face once evidently distinguished for its
-proud beauty, but now remarkable chiefly for the
-masculine strength of its expression. Her eye was
-of that deep blue, which oftener indicates coldness
-than tenderness; and her lips, now compressed and
-white, were full of fierce resolution. It was plain
-that a sneer was more natural to her than a smile,
-anger than affection. Her brow was high but narrow,
-and her nose a thin aquiline. It was not at all
-strange that she had been the dominant spirit in
-Colonel Eltorena’s household.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What is this?” she commenced, in a voice of
-powerful compass, but no sweetness. “And who
-are you, sir, who dare to invade my private garden
-to brawl with my guests?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You know me full well, madam,” said Harding,
-irritated by her tone, “and I intend that you shall
-know me better. But this is no time to instruct
-you. Margarita, will you bring some water from
-the river?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Margarita looked doubtfully at her mother; but at
-a wave of her hand, ran away toward the river. As
-she disappeared, her mother advanced closer to
-Harding, who was endeavoring to resuscitate Grant,
-and said—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You are here, I suppose, sir, for the purpose of
-attempting to interfere with my domestic arrangements;
-but let me assure you that you shall hang to
-one of these trees rather than be even admitted
-within the house!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Your threats are brave enough, at all events,”
-said Harding, with a smile. “But do you not think
-it would better become a woman to assist me in a
-duty of humanity?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What does she know of humanity?” demanded
-a sharp female voice, close to the group; and on
-turning his head Harding saw the same woman,
-whose story of deception and betrayal had so much
-interested him two hours before.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What do <span class='it'>you</span> here?” demanded the señora,
-with one of those scowling looks for which her face
-seemed made. “Must I have you, too, thrust from
-my gate!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>Your</span> gate!” hissed the woman, advancing
-nearer to the object of her hatred, and flashing insane
-glances from those wild, haggard eyes. “<span class='it'>Your</span>
-gate! Impostor, witch, begone! Must <span class='it'>I</span> have <span class='it'>you</span>
-thrust from <span class='it'>my</span> gate?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>There is something very appalling in the glance of
-an eye touched with insanity; and the Englishwoman
-shrunk from it, if not in fear, at least in dread.
-But, at the same moment, she saw Margarita returning
-with the water, and called to her—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Go back, my daughter, and send some of the men
-here.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“To thrust me forth from <span class='it'>your gate</span>, I suppose,”
-said the woman, advancing still closer, and fumbling
-with her right hand under the end of her mantilla.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Yes,” said the señora fiercely; “will you go
-without violence?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No!” the maniac almost screamed. “<span class='it'>No!</span>” she
-repeated; and with the word, she suddenly drew
-her hand from its concealment, flourishing the dagger
-which she had shown Harding, and with a bound
-like that of a tiger, sprang upon her enemy and
-buried the steel in her heart! Harding dropped
-Grant, and rushed forward to prevent another blow,
-but his interference was too late! The señora
-screamed wildly, and with a convulsive gasp fell to
-the ground, quite dead!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Harding seized the arm of the murderess and easily
-wrested the dagger from her hand. Indeed, she
-made no resistance—the reaction of her excitement
-sapped away her strength; and, submitting without
-a word to all that Harding did, she seemed intent
-only upon the now fast stiffening corpse which lay before
-her.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I am sorry for her,” she murmured; “I am
-sorry for her—but she would have it, and I cannot
-bring her to life.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She burst into tears, and threw herself to the
-ground—uttering the most terrible imprecations of
-God’s vengeance upon herself, mingled with curses
-of the late Colonel Eltorena, and incoherent references
-to his perfidy. Harding was at a loss how to
-act—so strangely embarrassing was the wild scene
-in which he found himself.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The question was soon decided for him. He
-heard the approach of several armed men, walking
-with quick steps along the path, and, the next moment,
-Count De Marsiac suddenly entered the little
-area.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Villain!” he exclaimed, striding toward Harding;
-“you have deceived me, and shall die the
-death!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Back, sir!” shouted the lieutenant fiercely, presenting
-the point of his sword. “If there is a greater
-villain than yourself here, the devil must be present
-in person!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The count recoiled from the blade, and furiously
-ordered his men to fire upon the audacious American;
-but two of them, who had been busied with Grant,
-now sprang upon him from behind, and, after a sharp
-struggle, overpowered and bound him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I will dispose of you after awhile,” said De Marsiac,
-when he saw him <span class='it'>hors du combat</span>. “Leave
-him where he is,” he added to his men; and proceeding
-to give his orders with clearness and rapidity,
-the scene was soon broken up. Grant was
-restored to consciousness and again made a prisoner;
-the body of the señora was removed by the women
-summoned for the purpose, the murderess was taken
-into custody, and the whole party repaired to the
-house. Of this, De Marsiac at once took possession
-as if he were already its master; Margarita was confined
-to her own chamber, and Harding was thrust
-into a small, dingy room, and left alone, with those
-unpleasant companions, his own thoughts.</p>
-
-<hr class='footnotemark'/>
-
-<div class='footnote'>
-<table summary='footnote_1'>
-<colgroup>
-<col span='1' class='footnoteid'/>
-<col span='1'/>
-</colgroup>
-<tr><td style='vertical-align:top;'>
-<div class='footnote-id' id='f1'><a href='#r1'>[1]</a></div>
-</td><td>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The following extract from the letter of the author
-of the Captive Rivals, will account for the delay in finishing
-this story in the December number.—<span class='sc'>Ed. Graham.</span></p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:0em;'><span class='it'>Jacksonville, Ill. Dec. 12th, 1861.</span></p>
-
-<p class='noindent'><span class='it'>G. R. Graham, Esq.,</span></p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Dear Sir</span>,—I send you, inclosed, the final number of
-the ‘Captive Rivals’—which has been by sickness, and
-other unavoidable causes, unreasonably delayed.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-</td></tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-
-<div class='footnote'>
-<table summary='footnote_2'>
-<colgroup>
-<col span='1' class='footnoteid'/>
-<col span='1'/>
-</colgroup>
-<tr><td style='vertical-align:top;'>
-<div class='footnote-id' id='f2'><a href='#r2'>[2]</a></div>
-</td><td>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The reader must recollect that the leagues mentioned
-are Mexican.</p>
-
-</td></tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>PART IV.</h2>
-
-<div class='literal-container' style=''><div class='literal'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<p class='line'>All in the castle were at rest;</p>
-<p class='line'>When sudden on the windows shone</p>
-<p class='line'>A lightning flash, just seen and gone.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:0em;margin-bottom:0.75em;'><span class='sc'>Rokeby.</span></p>
-</div></div> <!-- end rend -->
-
-<div class='literal-container' style=''><div class='literal'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<p class='line'>’Tis to be wished it had been sooner done;</p>
-<p class='line'>But stories somewhat lengthen, when begun.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:0em;margin-bottom:0.75em;'><span class='sc'>Byron.</span></p>
-</div></div> <!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>It wanted yet an hour of noon, when, excepting
-the occasional clash of arms in the court-yard,
-where De Marsiac had quartered his men, all sounds
-in the mansion ceased. The room in which Harding
-found himself imprisoned, had but one small
-window, and this was protected by strong, vertical
-iron bars, in the fashion of the country. The only
-door opened upon a corridor, along the stone pavement
-of which the prisoner could distinctly hear the
-footsteps of a sentinel, approaching and receding, but
-never quite going beyond earshot. As if to secure
-him, beyond the possibility of escape, another armed
-man passed, from time to time, before the window,
-looking curiously in at each return, and never disappearing
-for more than five minutes. Harding, as the
-reader has perceived, was a decidedly brave man;
-but when he reflected upon the meaning of these
-precautions, and the character of the man into whose
-power he had fallen, he could not avoid some apprehension
-as to his fate. Fatigue, however, soon
-overcame his fears, and the drowsy monotony of
-noonday conquered his wakefulness. Seating himself
-in the deep window, he leaned his head against
-the bars and slept.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>When he awoke, the sun was declining toward
-the horizon, and the shadows of the trees were
-lengthening along the hills. He aroused himself and
-looked about him. His window commanded a view
-of the garden, in which he had met Margarita, and a
-part of the river, along which he had entered. The
-waters had subsided since morning, and the arches
-under the wall were proportionably more open; but
-escape in this direction, even had he been able to
-break his prison, was cut off by two sentinels who
-stood upon the river-bank, and never, for a moment,
-turned their eyes from his window.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>None but those who are deprived of it, can fully
-appreciate the blessing of freedom; but even their
-hopelessness may be deepened, by the view of waving
-fields and clear sunlight, when they feel that it
-is not for them that they wave and shine. Harding
-turned away from the window, sick at heart, and
-with rapid and impatient strides paced up and down
-the narrow floor. As he passed the door for the
-fourth or fifth time, he heard voices without, as if in
-altercation, and the next moment, a heavy step coming
-along the corridor.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What do you want here?” roughly demanded
-a voice, which Harding at once recognized as that
-of the count.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I was taking the <span class='it'>Americano</span> something to eat,”
-timidly answered the smaller of the voices, before
-in altercation.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Let him pass,” the count ordered the sentinel;
-and then added, aloud, as if on purpose to be heard
-within, “and tell the <span class='it'>Americano</span> that he had better
-eat heartily, for it will be his last meal!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>Si, señor</span>,” said the boy, and at the same moment
-the door was cautiously opened, so as to preclude
-all chance of escape, and the <span class='it'>peon</span> entered,
-bearing a small waiter, on which were placed some
-articles of food.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Harding turned away, in no mood for eating—though
-he had tasted nothing since morning. He
-had heard De Marsiac’s threat, and the character of
-his enemy left him little reason to doubt that he
-would put it into execution. He had hoped that his
-messenger would return from Anelo in time to save
-him; but now all prospect of that seemed cut off;
-for he knew that the count was not a man to delay
-when he had once taken his resolution. As this
-thought flashed across his mind, he wheeled suddenly
-round, determined to rush forth and try the
-chances of a fight; but before he could do so, the
-door was drawn violently to, and hastily bolted.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The <span class='it'>señor</span> will eat something?” said the boy,
-timidly.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Set it down, then, and begone!” answered the
-prisoner, pointing to a wooden bench at the side of
-the room.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The count told me to say you had better eat
-heartily,” said the <span class='it'>peon</span>, “as this will be your last
-meal; and,” he continued, in a lower voice, pointing
-to a roll of bread, “you must break this bread, even
-if you don’t eat it.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The gesture and tone attracted Harding’s attention.
-He approached the bench and raised the roll,
-while the boy, repeating his injunction, went back
-to the door, and was cautiously let out. The lieutenant
-waited until the bolts were drawn again, and
-then broke the bread. A small slip of paper fell to
-the floor; and, on raising it, he found the following
-hopeful, though unsatisfactory words:</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>Will you pay me the twenty dollars, or shall I
-keep the horse?</span>”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“It would be cheaper,” muttered Harding, perversely,
-“to let him keep the horse, if he has ridden
-him thirty leagues already. But,” he added, a suspicion
-flashing across his mind, “that is impossible!
-I ought to have known the young scoundrel would betray
-me—and this is only a cruel <span class='it'>ruse</span> of De Marsiac!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He turned the paper over as he spoke, and his eye
-caught these words written on the reverse:</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>I will be with you by 9 o’clock—McCulloch.</span>”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I did the boy injustice,” was his first thought;
-“he shall have both the money and the horse.”
-And seating himself on the bench, he followed the
-count’s well-meant advice, and was soon refreshed
-by a hearty meal.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It is wonderful how much the state of the stomach
-has to do with the moods of the mind. Indeed, the
-two organs seem to be inter-reactive; and I believe
-some physiologists now contend, with great plausibility,
-too, that the brain is really the digestive
-organ. If this theory be true, mental distress
-must be only another name for <span class='it'>dispepsia</span>; and—though
-I have seen men who ate like anacondas,
-when under great affliction—I am strongly inclined
-to endorse the speculation. At all events, Harding
-was “a case, or subject, in point;” for, but a few
-minutes before, when he was apprehending many
-certain and uncertain evils, from the resentment of
-the count, he had not the least desire for refreshment;
-but, on the first glimpse of hope, he had an
-appetite like a soldier escaped from a beleaguered
-city. And, no sooner was the inner man replenished,
-than—on the aforesaid principle of inter-reaction—his
-spirits rose almost to the point of absolute content.
-Most axioms are tautological; but none is
-more so than that which asserts that “man is a
-<span class='it'>strange animal</span>.” The word “strange” might be
-advantageously and conveniently left out.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>So thoroughly had the important act of receiving
-his rations reinvigorated the captive, both corporeally
-and mentally, that, when he resumed his
-walk up and down the floor, he dismissed all anxiety
-about his own fate, and began to speculate in reference
-to the condition of his fellow-prisoner,
-Grant. From regret that he had been compelled to
-strike him, his mind wandered to a more pleasing
-subject of contemplation—he began to long for some
-information about Margarita; how she was treated
-by the ruffian count, and, more particularly—for
-love is always egotistical—how she viewed <span class='it'>his</span>
-captivity; and finally, whether she had not forgotten
-her grief for her murdered mother, in devising
-means of giving him his liberty. These, or such as
-these, are often very pleasant fancies—the misfortune
-is, that, in most cases, they are <span class='it'>only</span> fancies,
-and are occasionally rather rudely dispelled.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>So it was, at all events, with Harding; for, just
-as he had reached that supreme apex of egotism, to
-which lovers so easily attain—where one’s mistress
-is not supposed to know that there is any thing, or
-anybody else in the world, about which, or whom,
-she <span class='it'>can</span> think—when he was recalled to more substantial
-realities, by hearing the count, in loud, stern
-tones, giving a rapid and ominous command.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Close the gates and bar them—muster the company,
-with loaded muskets, and bring out the
-prisoners!” Such was the significant order of a
-man who was never known to stop at half-measures!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“McCulloch will be too late, at last!” exclaimed
-Harding, halting suddenly, and dashing his hand
-violently against the wall. The dinner had lost its
-virtues, for his heart sank even below its former
-point of depression. And, in truth, his apprehension
-was far from groundless. De Marsiac was incensed
-beyond bearing, by the consciousness that
-Harding had overreached him. His suspicions were
-first aroused by observing him take a road to
-<span class='it'>Piedritas</span>, different to the one he had pointed out.
-He had watched him until he halted among the
-elms, and had seen him dispatch the messenger for
-assistance. He was ignorant, however, of his point
-of destination—supposing that the nearest American
-force was at Monclova, about sixty leagues<a id='r3'/><a href='#f3' style='text-decoration:none'><sup><span style='font-size:0.9em'>[3]</span></sup></a> distant.
-This supposition would give him at least
-forty-eight hours, in which to prepare for the reception,
-should soldiers be sent, or, at least, to retreat
-into the mountains. The interview between Margarita
-and Harding, had also been watched by some
-one of the household; and when the count came in
-great haste after his prisoner, this unwelcome news
-had met him at the threshold. A man of his violent
-temper could not have brooked this under any
-circumstances, least of all, when he possessed, as
-did the count, ample and ready means of vengeance.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>While the unfortunate prisoner was running these
-comfortless circumstances over in his mind, the door
-was suddenly thrown open, and several men rushed
-upon him and threw him to the floor. Almost before
-he was aware of their object, his arms were
-drawn forcibly back and pinioned behind him.
-They then lifted him to his feet, and unceremoniously
-marched him out upon the corridor. Here he
-found Grant, securely pinioned like himself, and
-held by two <span class='it'>rancheros</span>, one on each arm.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“This is a pretty predicament you have brought
-us into,” said the younger, sullenly; “We’re to be
-shot, I suppose.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Very probably,” answered Harding, scarcely
-able to resist, even in that serious moment, an inclination
-to smile at Grant’s disconsolate look.
-“But how came you here?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I escaped from <span class='it'>Embocadura</span> about the same
-time with you, and was in the garden to learn your
-treachery and—”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“And to get that blow on the head,” interrupted
-Harding, feeling again an impulse to jest.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I’ll settle that score with you hereafter,” said
-Grant, his eyes flashing fire.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“By ‘hereafter,’ I suppose, you mean in the next
-world,” said Harding, with a bitter smile. “But,
-seriously, Grant, this is no time for the indulgence
-of such feelings; we have probably not long to live,
-and ought to be thinking of more important matters.
-I am heartily sorry for the blow, as well as for my
-insincerity—will you forgive it?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“With all my heart,” answered the other warmly;
-and each made a gesture, as if to join hands; but
-the cords bound them too closely.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“We can do but one thing, Grant,” said Harding,
-with feeling, “and that is, die like Christian men—and
-brave men,” he added, after a pause; “for these
-cursed <span class='it'>rancheros</span> ought not to see any weakness in
-Americans.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“They shall see none in me,” said Grant, firmly,
-“though I do think it hard to be sacrificed in this
-way!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“One of the chances of war, Grant—only one of
-the chances of war,” said Harding, sturdily; and,
-at the same moment the count, for whom the men
-seemed to have been waiting, appeared on the corridor
-and waved his hand. The files turned away
-with their prisoners, and marching around the
-building, soon gained the bank of the river. Here
-they halted again, awaiting the approach of the
-count, who, like most men when assuming a fearful
-responsibility, seemed to act with much less than
-his usual prompt rapidity. The sun had already
-set, and there was only left the short twilight of
-that latitude before the falling of night, which must
-suspend the bloody act, perhaps forever.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But a few minutes were lost, however, when De
-Marsiac came hastily round the building, accompanied
-by ten of his <span class='it'>rancheros</span> with trailed arms.
-At a gesture from him the prisoners’ guards resumed
-their march, and crossing the river on the
-stepping-stones, before mentioned, soon gained the
-little open space where Harding had met Margarita.
-Selecting two trees which stood near each
-other, the count ordered his captives to be lashed
-securely to them; and then drawing his men some
-five paces off, gave the preliminary commands to a
-cold-blooded murder.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Keep a strong heart, Grant,” said Harding,
-endeavoring to sustain his younger comrade in the
-awful hour. “Don’t let your courage fail now—it
-is too late!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“This is a mere assassination,” said Grant,
-grinding his teeth.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“And will be speedily avenged,” added Harding,
-“more speedily than the vindictive scoundrel now
-thinks!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>De Marsiac caught these words, and paused.
-For a moment he seemed to hesitate whether to
-proceed. But his nature was too obstinate to
-admit more than a passing thought of change in his
-purpose; and without further noting the words of
-Harding, he resumed his attitude of command.
-While he seemed to hesitate, his men had brought
-their guns to the ground—and they were now to be
-brought up again by the successive movements of
-the manual. The delay arising from this cause,
-probably saved the lives of both the prisoners.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A quick, light footstep was heard rapidly approaching
-along the main walk, and a moment afterward,
-Margarita, accompanied by one of her women,
-rushed into the area and threw herself, without
-hesitation, between the prisoners and their executioners.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Count!” she exclaimed, her eyes flashing fire,
-and her voice attesting the extremity of her emotion,
-“is this the way you keep your promises with
-one to whose hand you aspire! Down with your
-arms, miscreants, and begone! <span class='it'>I</span> am mistress here!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A slight sneer curled the haughty lip of the count;
-but, considering his vengeance snatched from him
-for the present, he gave his men the order to ground
-their arms, but to stand firm. Assuming, then, the
-most insinuating address in his power—and he was
-far from ungraceful—he approached the incensed
-girl, and drew her aside.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Margarita,” said he, taking her hand, “you
-must pardon an act which is prompted only by love
-for yourself; and you must not judge too harshly
-of one who feels that the dearest price of earth has
-been unfairly snatched from his grasp. Both these
-men have been instrumental in blasting my hopes
-of obtaining this hand; I feel that while they live, I
-can never rebuild the vision I have indulged—perhaps
-their death may not assist me—but,” and he
-raised himself suddenly to his full height, and spoke
-in a deep, determined tone, the meaning of which
-she knew too well, “I shall at least be avenged!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What do you mean?” she asked, trembling.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I mean,” he replied, calmly, “that since my
-hopes are wrecked at any rate, their death will give
-me revenge, without harm to my interests—<span class='it'>they
-must die!</span>”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“And dare you think that I would marry one
-whose hands were bloody with such a deed?” she
-asked, proudly.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Listen to me,” said he, laying his hand on her
-arm; “my hands are not <span class='it'>now</span> bloody—yet you reject
-me. If I spare these men, you will reject me
-still—and I shall lose my revenge, and not gain
-your love.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Perhaps—” she commenced, but paused.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“If you will be mine,” he interrupted, perceiving
-that the moment had arrived, “both these men shall
-be sent back, unharmed, to the American army—and
-I shall be not only the happiest of men, for the requital
-of my love, but will also be saved, what I
-feel would be a great crime!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“If you know it to be a great crime, why commit
-it?” she asked.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ah, Margarita! you little understand man’s
-feelings. But come,” he added, suddenly, “time
-presses—I cannot wait. You reject me—they
-must die!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He turned away as he spoke, as if to resume his
-commands; but Margarita called him back.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“If I consent,” she commenced, with hesitation,
-“when will you demand the fulfillment of my
-promise?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>To-night</span>,” he replied; “so soon as Father
-Aneres can be brought from <span class='it'>La Embocadura</span>!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Why such haste?” she demanded. “Will not
-to-morrow be quite soon enough? Remember, my
-mother was only buried to-day!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“A few hours can make no difference in that
-matter,” he replied, “but <span class='it'>might</span> in another view. I
-must have your hand <span class='it'>to-night</span>, or these men must
-die <span class='it'>now</span>.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was a terrible alternative. But Margarita had
-seen Harding’s messenger, and knew that McCulloch,
-with his Rangers, might be expected within
-three hours. The only question was, whether she
-could find excuses enough to delay the ceremony
-for that length of time. Could she do so, she was
-safe; but—and it was a terrible thought—should De
-Marsiac use his power to hasten it, she was lost!
-But, running over in her mind all the plausible
-reasons she might give for an hour’s delay, and
-especially reflecting upon the consequences of a
-refusal, she at length determined to consent.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I can do no more,” she said.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Then I understand you to consent?” he asked.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I do,” she replied, “on the condition that you
-send these unfortunate men to their army immediately.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“As soon as you are mine, they shall set out,”
-said the count; and Margarita was obliged to be
-satisfied with his pledge. He at once ordered the
-prisoners unbound, and taken back to their temporary
-prisons; and walking beside his intended bride, he
-followed the little procession to the house, and at
-once gave orders to summon the priest.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The presence of a clerical functionary, in the
-house of such a man as De Marsiac, was not so remarkable
-as at first view it would seem; for, independent
-of the almost complete degradation of that
-order in that part of Mexico, there was another
-reason for the opportune appearance of one of its
-members. The count, anticipating the possibility
-of gaining some advantage in the events about to
-happen, had manifested one of the most valuable
-characteristics of a great general—preparing himself
-to make the utmost of whatever success might be
-given him. He had summoned Father Aneres to
-Embocadura, for the very purpose for which he
-now called him to Piedritas.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The <span class='it'>padre</span> exhibited the three peculiarities of the
-priesthood in that country, excepting, indeed, well-shaped
-hands and feet, they were the only remarkable
-points about him: he possessed a rotund corporation,
-a full nether lip, and a small, twinkling,
-black eye. He was above the ordinary level referred
-to, however, for the grossness of his aspect
-was rather that of easy self-indulgence, than of
-positive sensuality. Indolence filled up the space in
-him, which, in his brethren, it usually shared with a
-cruel and rapacious depravity.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He entered the <span class='it'>hacienda</span> within an hour after the
-dispatch of De Marsiac’s messenger—a promptitude
-for which he received from none there, excepting
-the count, any of the good wishes usually bestowed
-upon such occasions on men of his profession. To
-Margarita, especially, his coming was unwelcome
-in a very high degree; for, though but an hour remained
-before the period fixed for McCulloch’s
-arrival with his Rangers, this was space enough for
-one so determined as the count, and far too much
-for her to dispose of in specious delays.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This was soon manifested, indeed, by the unannounced
-entrance of De Marsiac, who demanded
-that the ceremony should proceed forthwith. She
-informed him that she had but now commenced her
-preparations; and rashly said, that she would be
-quite ready at the end of an hour.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“See that you are so, then,” said he, peremptorily;
-“for I will not be cajoled into another minute’s
-delay. I shall be here again precisely at nine
-o’clock; and if you are not ready then, I shall shoot
-the prisoners, and compel you to redeem your pledge
-afterward.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She was about to make an angry reply; but, reflecting
-that he was fully capable, if incensed more
-than he seemed already, of dragging her at once to
-the altar, she suppressed her indignation, and replied
-as calmly as possible—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Do you not think, count,” said she, “that such
-language is unbecoming at such a time—and to
-me?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“If,” said he, softening at once, approaching her
-and taking her hand, “if you treated me with the
-confidence which I feel I deserve, no one could be
-more gentle and affectionate than I would be. But
-you leave no room for gentleness. Even now, you
-are endeavoring to gain time in order that you may
-be rescued by American soldiers. But—be at once
-undeceived—these soldiers cannot arrive here sooner
-than the day after to-morrow, and then they will find
-the place vacant.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Margarita’s heart sank within her, though she had
-seen Harding’s messenger, and trusted his report.
-She knew not to what expedient one so adroit as her
-persecutor might resort, to delay the march of the rangers,
-or lead them astray; and her imagination at
-once conjured up twenty plans by which he might
-secure his object. She made no reply, however,
-other than to assert that he was mistaken in her motives,
-and request that he would leave her to her
-preparations.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Very well,” said he, “I will return at nine
-o’clock.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As soon as his step ceased to be heard, Margarita
-summoned the two confidential women who were
-most about her person, and a council was held upon
-the ways or means of escaping or gaining time.
-But, fertile as is woman’s wit, no feasible plan was
-suggested. Escape from the house was impossible,
-for the count had every avenue guarded; the priest
-was inaccessible, for he was completely under De
-Marsiac’s influence; even her own men could not
-be depended upon, for the few who were in the <span class='it'>hacienda</span>
-were overawed by the <span class='it'>rancheros</span> of her persecutor.
-The only alternative was to stand obstinately
-silent at the altar; and yet by this course, she
-inevitably sacrificed two lives—one of them dearer
-to her than her own. Her position was terribly embarrassing;
-for, if she should refuse to consent until
-her lover was murdered, she could not even then be
-sure that the count would not force her to yield afterward;
-making thus a bloody, and unavailing sacrifice.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the midst of their deliberations—if a hopeless
-search after desperate expedients could be so called—a
-light knock was heard at the door, and on being
-opened, it admitted Harding’s trusty messenger,
-Margarita’s half-brother. He paused at the threshold
-and gazed about him. It was the first time he had
-ever been admitted into the private apartments of a
-place which he had been taught to consider his own,
-and the gleam of his dark eye would have betrayed
-his thoughts to any one less preoccupied than Margarita.
-The expression soon faded away, however,
-and without salutation he advanced to Margarita,
-and abruptly asked—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Are you about to marry Count De Marsiac,
-willingly?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Why do you ask?” Margarita inquired.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I wish to prevent it,” he replied calmly.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“How can you do so?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“By gaining time, till the <span class='it'>Texanos</span> come,” he answered.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“If you can do this,” said Margarita, eagerly,
-“your reward shall even exceed your own expectations.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My reward does not depend upon you,” he
-coldly replied. “It is quite as much to my interest
-to prevent the marriage, as it can be to yours.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“How can that be?” interposed one of the women.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“That will be explained hereafter,” the young
-man replied. “If you will follow my directions the
-marriage shall be prevented.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What do you wish me to do?” asked Margarita.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Only to delay your preparations as long as you
-can, and if the Texans do not arrive before the
-hour—”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Nine o’clock is the time,” interrupted Margarita,
-“and it wants but half an hour of it, now.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I know,” said the other, “but linger as long as
-possible. Do not tempt the count to any violence;
-when you can delay no longer, go to the altar, and
-you will understand what I mean.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>There was no alternative but to trust him; and
-Margarita did so the more willingly, because he dictated
-the only course she could see open to her—procrastination,
-in the hope of relief. His motives
-were plain enough, though she could not fathom them.
-He claimed the <span class='it'>hacienda</span> as his own, but he knew
-that if it once fell into the hands of a man, whose
-grasp was as tenacious as that of the count, his title
-would have but small chance of successful assertion,
-and he was therefore interested in preventing his
-union with Margarita.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk112'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the mean time, the good Padre Aneres was
-seated in one of the southern wings of the <span class='it'>hacienda</span>,
-recruiting his energies, after an exhausting journey
-of two miles from <span class='it'>Embocadura</span>. The robes and appointments
-of his clerical office were arranged with
-a neatness which scarcely distinguished his personal
-appearance; for he was about to celebrate a sacrament,
-which he viewed as hardly less important
-than the last unction administered to the dying—to
-which, indeed, it furnished no indistinct parallel. Preparatory,
-however, to the performance of the ceremony,
-he was fortifying himself with a liberal
-supply of delicate viands—that to which he applied
-himself most frequently being a large silver bowl of
-red Parras wine.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He had been thus agreeably occupied for half an
-hour or more after his arrival, and having recovered
-his breath, began to feel comfortable again, when a
-hasty but timid knock was heard at the door. The
-worthy <span class='it'>padre</span> pushed the bowl of wine a little farther
-from him, hastily swallowed the morsel in his
-mouth, and having settled himself in an attitude of
-meditation, gave a gentle invitation to enter. The
-door was pushed timidly open, and the young messenger
-presented himself, in most singular plight.
-His clothes were studiously disarranged; his hair
-was disheveled, and covered with dust and ashes,
-while his eyes gave signs of recent violent weeping.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>Oh, padre!</span>” he exclaimed, in evident distress,
-throwing himself at the good Father’s feet. “<span class='it'>Peccavi!
-Peccavi!</span> I have sinned! I have sinned!
-O, Father! Hear me, and forgive.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The worthy priest was startled at this exhibition
-of grief, so much more intense than he was accustomed
-to see; for the penitent beat his breast, and
-humbled himself upon his knees in the most abandoned
-manner.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Calm yourself, my son,” said the pastor, “and
-remember that mercy may be extended to the guiltiest
-of mortals.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>Confiteor! Confiteor!</span>” rapidly continued the
-sinner. “Oh, <span class='it'>padre</span>! Pity and forgive! <span class='it'>Peccavi!
-Peccavi! O, Miseracordia!</span>”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Entrust your sin to the Representative of Heaven,”
-gently urged the Father, “and never despair
-of God’s mercy.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Not here! O, not here!” exclaimed the youth,
-springing to his feet and rushing to the door.
-“There are spies here—ears listening for the confession,
-which must be given to you alone.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Who dares to penetrate the secrets of the Confessional?”
-demanded the <span class='it'>padre</span>, his little black eyes
-twinkling with indignation.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The count and his spies,” answered the youth.
-“We must leave the house—we must go forth into
-the night, for my soul is burthened with sin, and the
-load must be lifted. Come!” He seized the confessor
-by the robe and dragged him toward the door,
-sobbing “<span class='it'>Peccavi! Peccavi!</span>” all the time.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“But, my son,” hesitated the priest, “the count
-is—”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Come—come—come!” repeated the penitent,
-impatiently; a part of his grief giving way before his
-haste to be absolved. “We can return before you
-will be wanted. I cannot endure to wait! O, pity
-and forgive!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The good Father, like most indolent men, was
-very slow of decision at all times; and now he was
-carried away by the torrent of grief, and the impatience
-for absolution, which seemed to flow from the
-consciousness of some great crime. Half inclined to
-refuse, and yet too undecided to act with promptness,
-he suffered himself to be dragged from the
-room, and through the door into the open air. Here
-they were brought to a sudden halt: a <span class='it'>ranchero</span>
-stepped before them, and presented his musket.
-But such an indignity at once restored the Father to
-his dignity.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Who dares to obstruct a son of the church in the
-discharge of his duty to Heaven?” he indignantly
-demanded. “Out of the way, false man of blood;
-and let the confessor and his penitent pass out from
-among the oppressors of God’s people!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This vigorous speech was not particularly appropriate
-to the occasion, nor was it thoroughly understood
-by him to whom it was addressed. Neither
-was it such as was likely to move one of De Marsiac’s
-ordinary followers; for the <span class='it'>rancheros</span> generally
-stood more in awe of their leader’s displeasure,
-than of the wrath of Heaven; and it is probable that
-but few of the desperadoes would have hesitated
-to bayonet the Pope, himself, had the count so
-commanded. But this sentinel seemed to be of a
-more reverential nature; for no sooner did he recognize
-the priest and his companion, than he raised the
-point of his bayonet, shouldered his musket, and allowed
-them to pass.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This disobedience of his captain’s orders—remarkable
-for its want of precedent among De Marsiac’s
-banditti; was not the only singular circumstance
-about the accommodating sentinel, as the reader will
-soon observe. The young penitent disappeared
-among the shades of night with his confessor, whom
-he hurried on faster, probably, than he had ever
-walked before. He directed his course to a little
-group of <span class='it'>ranchos</span>, which stood directly south of the
-<span class='it'>hacienda</span>. Having entered one of these, and remained
-five minutes—it seemed that his sin was not
-long in the confessing or absolution, notwithstanding
-his overwhelming distress—for at the end of that
-time he issued forth <span class='it'>alone</span>, with a well-pleased smile
-upon his lip, and elasticity restored to his bearing.
-From the door of the <span class='it'>rancho</span> he took his way north-ward
-again; verging obliquely to the right, however,
-until he reached the bank of the river, nearly
-a quarter of a mile east of the <span class='it'>hacienda</span>. At this
-point, a grove of small trees sheltered the bank, and
-through them passed the road up the valley to
-Anelo. The youth paused as he gained the shadows,
-and gave a low, clear whistle. It was answered
-from the river-bank; and in a moment afterward,
-a man emerged from the covert, and approached
-the messenger.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A whispered consultation ensued between the
-pair, but of brief duration; for Eltorena seemed in
-haste.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Keep due south,” said he, as he prepared to return,
-“until you reach Martiniez’ avenue—then turn
-west, until you are opposite the south entrance, and
-approach cautiously.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>With those words he turned away; and retracing
-his steps with great rapidity, soon came in view of
-the sentinel, who had permitted him to pass.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>Quien va la?</span>” hailed the latter, presenting his
-musket. But Eltorena only answered by a low
-whistle, and boldly advanced. As he approached,
-the sentinel again shouldered his piece, and a consultation
-ensued between <span class='it'>them</span>, also—the youth
-pointing out the direction which he had indicated to
-his confederate at the river, and then passing into
-the mansion. The sentinel resumed his pace up and
-down his post—pausing from time to time with his
-ear bent toward the east, as if waiting for some expected
-sound. But every thing was as still as a
-summer night in the north; and though the moon
-was now rising over the eastern hills, there was not
-a moving thing perceptible to the eye.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk113'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'>While these things were going on without, the
-hour appointed for the ceremony of marriage was
-fast approaching; and one of the parties, at least,
-was filled with anxious fears. Margarita had delayed
-her preparations as much as possible; but the
-assistance of her women, with which it would have
-been more politic to have dispensed, had, even against
-her will, so expedited them, that she was fully
-ready at the time. Nor, had it been otherwise, was
-the count disposed to permit any further procrastination;
-for, punctually to the minute, he knocked at
-her door, and, without waiting a summons to enter,
-threw it open and stepped across the threshold.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I am glad to see you ready,” said he, throwing
-as much kindness into his manner as his consciousness
-of wrong permitted. “Come, the chapel is
-prepared, and the <span class='it'>padre</span> awaits us.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Count,” said the intended bride, trembling with
-apprehension, but anxious to make another effort
-for delay, “cannot this ceremony be as well performed
-to-morrow? I do not like this indecent
-haste.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“It must be performed to-night—<span class='it'>now</span>,” he replied
-calmly. “If you refuse, you know the alternative.
-I will not be trifled with.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I am not trifling with you, indeed,” said she hurriedly.
-“But reflect—my mother is scarcely cold in
-her grave!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The better reason why you should observe her
-wishes,” De Marsiac replied. “I have considered
-all that, and find no reason to change my mind. If
-you intend to redeem your pledge at all, it is as well
-to-night as to-morrow. If <a id='you'></a>you are willing to sacrifice
-your friends, <span class='it'>los Americanos</span>, your refusal to-night
-will only give me my revenge sooner!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>His course of argument was too direct and forcible
-to be oppugned; Margarita rose as its meaning
-reached her, and signified her willingness to go at
-once to the altar. The count turned to one of his
-followers and said—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Go to Father Aneres, and tell him that we will
-be ready by the time he can reach the altar.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The man approached the door of the room where
-we have seen the good <span class='it'>padre</span> recruiting his exhausted
-strength. He was met at the door by young
-Eltorena, dressed in a white cassock, and holding a
-censer in his hand, as if in attendance upon the
-priest.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The good Father,” said the young man, “is in
-his closet, but will meet them in the chapel in five
-minutes.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The man returned to his master, and the procession
-at once marched toward the chapel. A room
-fitted up for this purpose is to be found in almost all
-the larger <span class='it'>haciendas</span> of that part of Mexico—its size
-and splendor depending upon the wealth and piety
-of the proprietor. That at <span class='it'>Piedritas</span> had been somewhat
-neglected of late, but was still a respectable
-chapel. It was separated from the priest’s room—where
-Eltorena had sought the <span class='it'>padre</span>—by two partitions,
-between which was the private closet; and
-leading out of this was a door which opened behind
-the altar. It was through this door that Father
-Aneres was to enter for the performance of the momentous
-ceremony. But the reader already knows
-that the good Father was not within, and therefore
-could not come forth.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The procession entered the chapel in the following
-order. The count, holding the unwilling hand
-of his trembling bride, was succeeded by the two
-women, accompanied by his trusty lieutenant, who
-was to “give the bride away.” Then came three
-files of <span class='it'>rancheros</span> with trailed arms—a desecration
-which the good Father, timid as he was, would not
-have permitted. Behind these, each between two
-soldiers, who jealously watched them, came Harding
-and Grant—borne in the procession, like the
-prisoners of ancient Rome, to grace the triumph of
-the conqueror! Then followed the remainder of the
-count’s band of free-companions, numbering, in all,
-about twenty. All the domestics of the family
-crowded in after, and the door was taken in charge
-by the trusty sentinel who had disobeyed his
-orders!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The count dragged his bride to the chancel-rail,
-and, leaving her there for a few moments supported
-by her women, took upon himself the duties of master
-of the ceremonies. He placed his two prisoners
-directly behind the bride, well guarded however, so
-that they would have the satisfaction of seeing
-without the power of interfering. Behind them he
-ranged his followers in a compact mass, and directing
-the <span class='it'>peons</span> to seat themselves in the rear, he
-ordered the sentinel to close the door, but not to
-leave it. Returning then to the chancel-railing, he
-resumed his place beside Margarita, and took her
-cold and trembling hand in his.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Although these dispositions consumed full ten
-minutes, when he returned to his place, the priest
-still delayed his coming. The count, however, fiery
-and impetuous as he was, waited patiently for a
-period quite as long; when, finding that the door still
-remained closed, he began to knit his brows and
-mutter angry threats. These signs encouraged Margarita,
-for they indicated delay, if not deliverance;
-and she had even the audacity to smile in De Marsiac’s
-face.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Antonio,” said the latter furiously, “go to Father
-Aneres and tell him that we are waiting for him—<span class='it'>impatiently</span>!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The man addressed sprang to the door and attempted
-to open it, but it did not yield to his efforts.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“It is fastened on the outside,” he said. But, at
-the same moment, the door behind the altar was
-heard to swing upon its hinges, and a slow, heavy
-step was placed upon the short stairway which led
-up to the platform.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The old dotard is coming at last,” muttered the
-count, not observing the ominous report of his messenger.
-He laid aside his gold-laced cap, which
-hitherto he had kept upon his head, and resuming
-Margarita’s hand, placed himself before the railing
-and looked up.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was not the priest who stood at the altar! A
-tall, heavily-armed man—evidently an American—rose
-suddenly from his cover, and, leveling a pistol
-at De Maniac’s breast, gave his war-cry of “<span class='it'>Texano!
-Texano!</span>” At the same moment the closed
-door was thrown open, and a band of near twenty
-men filed speedily in and brought their carbines to
-bear upon the <span class='it'>rancheros</span>—while a detachment,
-equally strong, rushed in from the priest’s room, and
-marched past their leader—who was none other than
-McCulloch of the Texan Rangers! A glance passed
-between Harding and Grant—each understood the
-thought of the other—and, as if by pre-concert, they
-broke away from their guards, sprang upon the
-count, and, before his men could interfere, dragged
-him, a prisoner in his turn, within the chancel!
-Scarcely giving him time to speak, two of the rangers
-hurried him away through the priest’s room,
-and delivered him in charge to the guard stationed
-at the door.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Lay down your arms!” shouted McCulloch,
-through the din which now arose—chiefly from the
-domestics—“and every man’s life shall be spared.
-But the <span class='it'>ranchero</span> that holds his arms one minute,
-shall hang to the first tree that’s tall enough to
-stretch him.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The word “<span class='it'>Texano</span>” had already half accomplished
-the conquest; the captivity of their leader
-weakened their resolution, and this threat, which
-every Texan was, in the estimation of a Mexican,
-fully capable of executing, completed the discomfiture.
-Each <span class='it'>ranchero</span> threw down his arms with an
-alacrity which seemed to indicate that they were
-growing hot in his hands, and the two detachments
-of rangers marched in and made them all prisoners,
-without the least resistance.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“There’s one good job well done, boys,” said
-McCulloch, “and all the better done because we
-have spilt no blood.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Turning then to Harding, who was supporting
-Margarita upon his arm, while Grant stood moodily
-aside, he said—cordially receiving the hand extended
-to him—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“We were very nearly too late, at last—though,
-thank God! not quite. I had information from your
-messenger, since we entered the <span class='it'>hacienda</span>, that the
-bandit, De Marsiac, designed to take your lives,
-even after he had obtained the hand which was to be
-their ransom.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I doubt not,” said Harding, frankly; “if my
-friend Grant and I see to-morrow morning, we shall
-owe the sight to your promptness in attending my
-call. You must be satisfied with our gratitude until
-the chances of war shall enable us to discharge the
-obligation in kind.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“If the only mode of payment,” said the captain
-with a smile, “is rescuing me from a scrape like
-this, I hope you may never have a creditor more
-pressing than I.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I do not know,” said the ranger lieutenant, Gillespie,
-coming forward with the open manner of the
-soldier; “I think, if the prize, at the outcome, were
-as great as it seems to be in this instance, Captain
-McCulloch would have no special objection to dangers
-quite as imminent.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He looked at Margarita as he spoke—for she still
-hung upon Harding’s arm. The captain laughed at
-what he considered a compliment both to himself and
-the lady; a round of introductions ensued, and congratulations,
-with jests and pleasant laughs—during
-which the prisoners were marched off and confined,
-and the <span class='it'>hacienda</span> reassumed its aspect of dreamy
-quiet.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Gentlemen,” said Margarita, when a pause at
-last broke the round of felicitations, “you have ridden
-far and hard, and must be both fatigued and
-hungry. Will you not partake of some refreshment?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“With the utmost pleasure,” answered McCulloch;
-“but I must first see my men quartered.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I have already given orders for their accommodation,”
-said Margarita. “Since I may soon be
-under their escort, it becomes me to consult their
-comfort.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Under their escort!” exclaimed Harding.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Yes,” she replied. “Since my mother’s death
-this is no longer a fit residence for me. I have many
-relatives in Saltillo, and it is thither that I wish to
-go. When you return to the United States,” she
-added, in French, observing Harding’s doubtful look,
-“I shall be your companion—if you desire it.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He could only reply by another look, of a different
-meaning, when McCulloch asked—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What will become of the <span class='it'>hacienda</span> in your absence?
-I have seen too much of the steward system
-in this country, not to regret the absence of the proprietor
-from every fine estate.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I shall give it to one,” she replied, “who,
-though he already claims it unjustly, has, by his services
-this night entitled himself to even a greater reward.
-I mean the young man who led you hither.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“And his mother,” suggested one of the women,
-who did not quite relish the generous proposition.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“She is a confirmed maniac,” said Margarita with
-a shudder, “and this is only a stronger reason why
-I should do as I say. She will be a burthen upon her
-son, and it is but just that he should have the means
-of supporting her.” This closed the discussion, and
-the party adjourned to supper.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk114'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'>On the following day the prisoners were mustered by
-the order of McCulloch—as they supposed, for the purpose
-of being treated as <span class='it'>their</span> countrymen had so often
-treated <span class='it'>his</span>; that is, being hung like traitors, or shot
-by platoons—but really for the purpose of being released.
-De Marsiac, however, as a man who might
-do the Americans some injury, was retained a prisoner
-of war. All the rest, much to their surprise,
-were dismissed with an <span class='it'>admonition</span> not to be found
-again in arms. The captain judged, very correctly,
-that taking their <span class='it'>parol</span> would be an unmeaning ceremony.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>About an hour afterward, the cavalcade set out for
-Saltillo, by way of Anelo and Capellania—a long
-route which McCulloch’s orders compelled them to
-take. Margarita, with a generosity which my
-readers may be disposed to call romantic, but which
-was, after all, scarcely more than justice—had conveyed
-the <span class='it'>Hacienda de los Piedritas</span> to her half-brother,
-who had so richly deserved his reward.
-The sacrifice was small, too, for she had, still remaining,
-possessions ample even for that country of
-overgrown individual fortunes.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Three days brought them to the handsome city of
-Saltillo, where Margarita found a refuge among her
-many relatives. De Marsiac was reported at headquarters
-and sent to the rear; while Harding and
-Grant—wiser if not better men—rejoined their companies,
-and resumed their duties. The events of
-their captivity seemed to have cured the latter of the
-pleasant malady which had afflicted him; and the
-pair became, in a short time, as inseparable as ever.
-They visited Margarita together, and though the
-younger winced a little, when by any chance the
-subject of his hallucination was referred to, on the
-whole he bore his disappointment with a good grace.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The battle of Buena Vista closed the campaign in
-that part of the country; and shortly afterward the
-regiment to which they were attached was discharged.
-Before their return home, however, the
-ancient rivals returned to Saltillo—where, in the
-handsome cathedral, Harding and Margarita were
-united in marriage. And, a pleasant memento of
-rather uncertain times, the officiating priest was the
-worthy Father Aneres, who had figured in the history
-of Harding and Grant while they were “<span class='it'>Captive
-Rivals</span>!”</p>
-
-<hr class='footnotemark'/>
-
-<div class='footnote'>
-<table summary='footnote_3'>
-<colgroup>
-<col span='1' class='footnoteid'/>
-<col span='1'/>
-</colgroup>
-<tr><td style='vertical-align:top;'>
-<div class='footnote-id' id='f3'><a href='#r3'>[3]</a></div>
-</td><td>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mexican leagues—about one hundred and forty
-miles.</p>
-
-</td></tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk115'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='dei'></a>DEI GRATIA, REX.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY W. E. GILMORE.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'><span class='sc'>King </span>“by the grace of God!” where is the token</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;By which we know thy right it is to reign!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Jehovah’s will, of old, in words was spoken,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Who heard His voice thy sovereignty proclaim?</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>No! thou art king, <span class='it'>not</span> by “the grace of God,”</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;But usurpation only—guiltless he</p>
-<p class='line0'>That doth resist thy claims, and, though in blood</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Poured out like water, rids the earth of thee!</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk116'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='233' id='Page_233'></span><h1><a id='our'></a>OUR CHILDHOOD</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY JANE GAY.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'><span class='sc'>How</span> brightly did the summer’s sun</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Wake up the dewy morn,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And chase the misty shadows from</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The cot where we were born;</p>
-<p class='line0'>It stood amid the peaceful hills</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Where worldlings never rove,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The violet-spotted earth around—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The glorious sky above.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Two tall elms were its sentinels,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With arms uplifted high;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And these were all we needed, save</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The watchers of the sky;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And while amid the thick, green leaves</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The moonbeams dallied bright,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The stars looked down on us at play,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Oft on the summer night.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>O, every month of childhood’s years,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;How well do I remember,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With all their smiles and fleeting tears,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;From New Year’s till December;</p>
-<p class='line0'>No care or burden had we then—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;No life-lines on the brow;</p>
-<p class='line0'>We knew it not—I wonder if</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;We’re any wiser now.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Were we not with ye, brothers, when</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With spade or hoe ye sped</p>
-<p class='line0'>To dig the homely artichoke</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;From out its winter bed?</p>
-<p class='line0'>Or when, with boyhood’s free, glad shout,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Ye ran with pole and hook,</p>
-<p class='line0'>To draw the golden-spotted trout</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;From out the alder-brook?</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Ay, ay! and I must tell it, too,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Ye’d <span class='it'>sometimes</span> play the churls;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And cry, when we would run away—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;“<span class='it'>Mother, call back the girls</span>!”</p>
-<p class='line0'>And then came tasks of knitting-work</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;For us, and dreaded patch,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With sullen faces, till we thought</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To try a knitting match.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>The summer days were ne’er too long</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;For busy life like ours;</p>
-<p class='line0'>For every hill had berries then,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And every meadow, flowers.</p>
-<p class='line0'>And joyfully, when school was done,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;We’d stay to glean our store;</p>
-<p class='line0'>For though we loved the school-book well,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;We loved the free hills more.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>And very pleasant ’mid those hills</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;September’s sun did shine,</p>
-<p class='line0'>As we went forth to gather grapes</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;From many a loaded vine;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And while October’s gorgeous hues</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of red and gold were seen;</p>
-<p class='line0'>We searched for chestnuts in the wood,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Or pulled the winter-green.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>And when November’s winds came chill</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With icy sleet and rain,</p>
-<p class='line0'>We knew the old brown barns were filled</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With stores of golden grain;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And what cared we how bleak or cold</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The wintry storms might rise—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Our dreams were of Thanksgiving-days,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And all their wealth of pies.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Though ye have left the homestead now</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Grave men to walk among,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Yet while our sire and grandsire live—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;<span class='sc'>Brothers, ye still are young</span>!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Nor, sisters, is it time for us</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Life’s lantern dark to trim,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Our own dear mother has not yet</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Sung her half-century hymn!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>And while our childhood’s guardians live</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To bless the passing years,</p>
-<p class='line0'>’Twere more than vain in sad regrets</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To waste Life’s precious tears;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Yet if our summer sky is fair,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And green our summer bowers,</p>
-<p class='line0'>We know that many walk the earth</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With sadder hearts than ours.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk117'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='thee'></a>I’LL BLAME THEE NOT.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY J. A. TINNON.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'><span class='sc'>I’ll</span> blame thee not—for I can love,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Another eye as bright as thine,</p>
-<p class='line0'>A form as fair, and ne’er regret,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;This worship at a faithless shrine.</p>
-<p class='line0'>I’ll blame thee not—love fond and true</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;May still be won in beauty’s bowers,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Though I may never dare again,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To wear a wreath of fading flowers.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>I’ll blame thee not—for thoughts of love</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And thee no more my bosom fill;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And of that dream there lingers scarce</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;One trace of its deep burning thrill.</p>
-<p class='line0'>I’ll blame thee not—I smile to see</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The golden vision pass away,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When its bright tints a mask have been</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To hide a heart of common clay.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>I’ll blame thee not—for I, perchance,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;May learn the trick of gladness well,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And none shall mark upon my brow</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;A trace of joy or pain to tell.</p>
-<p class='line0'>I’ll blame thee not—for I will care</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;No more to bind a restive heart,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Though every joy my life can know</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Should with its passion-dream depart.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk118'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='234' id='Page_234'></span><h1><a id='law'></a>LAW AND LAWYERS.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY JOHN NEAL.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<div class='literal-container' style=''><div class='literal'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<p class='line'>“Once more into the breach, dear friends:</p>
-<p class='line'>Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the bends!”</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div></div> <!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>With</span> all my heart, Graham! But inasmuch as
-the lecture you want a copy of has never been reduced
-to writing, though portions have appeared from
-time to time in the newspapers of the day; and I
-have no notes worth referring to, I dare not pretend
-to give you the language I employ; for, between
-ourselves, that depends upon the weather and the
-House, to say nothing of my temper at the time.
-For example; if I see before me a goodly proportion
-of what are called the <span class='it'>learned</span>, or the <span class='it'>educated</span>,
-I never mince matters—I never talk as if butter
-wouldn’t melt in my mouth, but go to work with
-my sleeves rolled up, as if I heard a trumpet in the
-hollow sky. In other cases, where the great majority
-of my hearers happen to be neither learned
-nor educated—though there may be a sprinkling of
-both—I am apt, I acknowledge, to wander off into
-familiar every-day illustrations—perhaps into down-right
-story-telling, or what my brethren of the bar
-would be likely to denominate <span class='it'>unprofessional</span> rigmarole.
-But the substance of my preaching for
-many years upon this subject, and the “thing signified,”
-and the general arrangement, under all sorts
-of provocation, I think I may venture to promise you.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Bear in mind, I pray you, that phantoms under
-one aspect, may be more terrible than giants, cased
-in proof, under another. Every great mischief,
-being once enthroned or established, is a host of itself.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the open field, lawyers are not easily vanquished—out-manœuvered
-or overborne. Walled about, as
-with a triple wall of fire—or <span class='it'>brass</span>?—high up and
-afar off, their intrenchments are only to be carried
-by storm. They must be grappled with, face to
-face. No quarter must be granted—for no quarter
-do they give—no mercy do they show, after their
-banners are afield. “Up, guards! and at ’em!”
-said Wellington, at the battle of Waterloo; and so
-say I! whenever I see my brethren of the bar
-rallying for a charge.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>They will bear with me, I hope—as I have borne
-with them for twenty-five years; for, while I complain
-of their unreasonable ascendency throughout
-our land, of their imperious, overbearing, unquestioned
-domination, I acknowledge that, constituted
-as we are—<span class='sc'>We</span>, the People—we cannot do without
-them—and the more’s the pity. Law we must
-have, and with it, as if by spontaneous generation—lawyers,
-till Man himself undergoes a transformation,
-and his very nature is changed. Both are necessary
-evils—much like war, pestilence, and famine,
-or lunatic-asylums, poor-houses, and penitentiaries;
-or apothecaries’ shops, with their adulterous abominations;
-and every other substitute for, and abridgment
-of, human liberty, human happiness, the laws
-of health, or the instinct of self-reliance. If men
-will not do as they would be done by; if they will
-not be “temperate in all things”—then they deserve
-to be drugged, and blistered, and bled here by the
-doctors, and there by the lawyers, till they have
-come to their senses, or can no longer be dealt with
-profitably by either; for, although every man, according
-to the worthy Joe Miller, may be his own
-washerwoman—at least in Ireland—it is very clear
-that in this country, he might as well undertake to
-be his own jailer, as his own lawyer.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I would go further; for, like the illustrious Hungarian,
-I desire to conciliate and satisfy, not the few
-but the many; not only my brethren of the bar, but
-everybody else worth satisfying; I would even admit—and
-how could I well go further, and “hope to
-be forgiven?”—that, in view of Man’s nature, as
-developed by our social institutions, Law and
-Lawyers both, may be, and sometimes are, under
-special circumstances, not only a necessary evil,
-but a very good thing. <span class='it'>There!</span> I have said it—and
-let them make the most of it. I mean to admit all
-I can—and much good may it do them! But then, I
-would ask, if we may not have too much, even of a
-good thing?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I hold that we may; and I appeal for proof to the
-countless volumes of law which cannot be understood
-by any but lawyers; nor by any two of them
-alike, till every other word, perhaps, in a long paragraph
-has been settled by adjudication—two or three
-different ways—after solemn argument.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I appeal to what is called the administration of
-justice, by jury-trial, in our courts of law, where
-twelve ignorant, unreasoning men, got together, nobody
-knows how—hit or miss—are held to be better
-qualified—being bound by their oaths to think alike
-in most cases, and to return a unanimous verdict,
-whether or no—than Lord Chancellor Bacon himself,
-or Chief Justice Marshall would be, to settle
-any and every question, however new, and however
-abstruse and complicated, upon every possible subject
-that may happen to be brought before them for the
-first time in all their lives! And this, without any
-previous knowledge on their parts, or any other
-preparation by the lawyers who are to enlighten
-them, than may have been made the night before,
-by “reading up,” or “stuffing” for the occasion.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I appeal, moreover, to the testimony of the sufferers
-themselves—<span class='it'>parties</span>, they are technically
-called—who, after being scorched, and sifted, and
-harassed, and pillaged, under one pretence or another,
-year after year, and within an inch of their
-lives; or driven well-nigh distracted by the vicissitudes
-and anxieties incident to every well-managed
-law-suit, where “good pickings” are to be had, or
-by that hope-deferred “which maketh the heart
-sick,” begin to get their eyes opened, and to see for
-themselves, and are sometime ready to acknowledge
-for the help of others, who are elbowing their way
-up—or down?—to <span class='it'>see</span> the elephant, that when they
-pass over the threshold of those gambling-houses,
-that are established by law, under the name of
-Courts of Justice, and put up their stakes, they will
-find three times out of four—perhaps nineteen times
-out of twenty—that when the raffle comes off at last—with
-the jury-box—it is to decide, not which of
-the two parties litigant—plaintiffs or defendants—but
-what third party—the lawyers—shall sweep the board.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And I might appeal to the swarming thousands of
-our younger professional brethren, who, ashamed
-to beg, afraid to steal, and too lazy to work, instead
-of following the business of their fathers, taking their
-places, and maintaining themselves honestly, give
-way to a foolish mother, or sister, or to some greater
-simpleton still more to be pitied, or to a most unhealthy
-ambition—that of being an <span class='it'>Esquire</span>, and a
-pauper, with very white hands, who, having studied
-law, will have to be provided for at last by marriage,
-or office; and with that view have literally taken
-possession of our high places, our kneading-troughs
-and our bed-chambers—after the fashion of their
-predecessors in Egypt.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Nay, more—I am ready to acknowledge, and I
-do for myself, my executors, administrators and
-assigns—or publishers—hereby acknowledge, and I
-hope with no unbecoming nor uncourteous qualification,
-that, taken together, as a power, body, or
-estate, the Lawyers of our land are to the full as
-honest—and as trustworthy—by <span class='it'>nature</span>—as any
-other power, body or estate among us, of equal
-numbers, wealth, dignity, or intelligence; notwithstanding
-the opinion so generally entertained,
-and so often expressed, to their disadvantage, in
-the plays and farces, or newspapers and story-books
-of the day, (not always, nor altogether synonymous,
-I hope;) but no honester, and no more trustworthy;
-for, although I believe—and I mean just
-what I say—that no <span class='it'>great advocate</span>, in the popular
-sense of the words, can be an honest man, however
-conscientious he may be out of court, or in
-other business; and however anxious he and others
-may be to distinguish between the Advocate and the
-Man—as if a lawyer were allowed two consciences
-to practice with, and two courts—one above and the
-other below—to practice in; yet I believe that a
-great Lawyer, or Jurist, like Sir Matthew Hale, or
-Chief Justice Marshall, or Chancellor Kent, or any
-one of a score that might be named, or Judge Parsons,
-being translated to the bench, from the corrupting
-influences and stifling atmosphere below,
-may be a very honest man; just as I believe—and I
-don’t care who knows it—that silver spoons and
-watches left within striking distance of an attorney
-at law—I am only supposing a case—may be safe,
-“notwithstanding and nevertheless.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>By <span class='it'>nature</span>, I say, and not by education, habit, or
-association at the bar. Away from the bar, I acknowledge
-the integrity of my brethren as equal to
-that of any other class whatever. And this being
-admitted—what more would they have? Would
-they claim to be honester and more trustworthy than
-any other class, either by education or nature?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But observe; though ready to acknowledge their
-honesty, by <span class='it'>nature</span>, as men; or rather, while I acknowledge
-that they are, to the full, as honest as
-other men are by <span class='it'>nature</span>—but no honester; and as
-trustworthy in all other relations, apart from law—as
-good but no better, I maintain that they are constantly
-exposed to such disqualifying temptations,
-and to such disastrous influences peculiar to their
-profession; that they have established a code of
-morals for themselves, as lawyers, which would not
-be allowed to them as citizens; and which, if openly
-avowed and persisted in, by brethren out of the profession,
-would be sure to send them to the penitentiary;
-that they have altogether too much power in
-this country—a power out of all proportion to their
-numbers, their talents, their intelligence, their virtues,
-and their usefulness; and that, instead of being chosen
-for lawgivers throughout our land, in a proportion
-varying from three-fifths to nearly seven-eighths, in
-all our legislative bodies, they are the very last persons
-among us to be intrusted with the business of
-legislation—having a direct personal interest in
-multiplying our laws—in altering them—and in
-making them unintelligible to all the rest of the
-world.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Not satisfied with their pay, as legislators, for
-making the law, varying from two to ten dollars
-a-day—with washing and mending, where washing
-and mending are possible—they require, as lawyers,
-from twenty-five to one hundred dollars a-day for
-telling, or rather for guessing what it means.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And what is the result? Just this. That a privileged
-body, anointed for office and power, who, but
-for the blindness and prodigal infatuation of the
-People, would often be the nobodies of every productive
-or efficient class, are enabled to fare sumptuously
-every day, wear purple and fine linen—at
-the expense of others—all their lives long; and to
-carry off all the honors from every other class of the
-community. Think of this, I pray you; and bear
-with me, while I proceed with my demonstration.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>That they have learned to reverence themselves,
-and all that belongs to them, I do not deny; but then,
-if it is only themselves, and not the image of God—if
-it is only what belongs to themselves and to their
-estate, or craft, as lawyers, and not as Men, they
-so reverence—in what particular do they differ from
-other self-idolators?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Are We, the People, to be concluded by their
-very pretensions? Are We to be estopped by the
-very deportment we complain of? Because they
-are exacting and supercilious, and self-satisfied, and
-arrogant, and overbearing, are we to be patient and
-submissive? Are we to be told, if not in language,
-at least by the bearing and behavior of these gentry,
-that, inasmuch as all men may be supposed to
-be best acquainted with themselves, therefore
-Lawyers are to be taken by others at their own
-valuation?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Let it be remembered that they who properly reverence
-themselves, always reverence others. But
-who ever heard of a Lawyer with any reverence—worth
-mentioning—for anybody out of the profession?
-This, to be sure, is very common with ignorant
-and presumptuous men. It is the natural growth
-of a narrow-minded, short-sighted, selfish bigotry.
-A mountebank or a rope-dancer will betray the same
-ridiculous self-complacency, if hard pushed. Were
-you to speak of a great man—Kossuth, for example—in
-the presence of a fiddler, who had never heard
-of him before, he would probably crook his right
-elbow, and cant his head to the left, as if preparing
-to draw the long bow, or go through some of the motions
-common to all the great men he had ever been
-acquainted with, or heard of, or acknowledged, before
-he questioned you further.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It would never enter his head that a truly great
-man could be any thing but a fiddler; a Paganini
-dethroned perhaps—like Peter the Great in a dockyard—or
-that “any gentleman as was a gentleman,”
-could ever so far forget himself in <span class='it'>his</span> company, as
-to call a man great who was no fiddler.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What do they say of me in England?” said the
-corpulent, half-naked savage that Mungo Park saw
-stuffing for a cross-examination under a bamboo tree
-in Africa.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Just so is it with our brethren of the bar. Law
-being the “perfection of Reason,” and her seat “the
-bosom of God,” they, of course, are the expounders
-or interpreters of both; a priesthood from the beginning,
-therefore, with the privilege and power of indefinite
-self-multiplication. The sum and substance
-of all they know, and all they care for under Heaven,
-if they are greatly distinguished, being Law, what
-else could be expected of them? If they are great
-lawyers they are never any thing else—they are
-never statesmen, they are never orators—they are
-never writers. Carefully speaking, Daniel Webster
-is not a great lawyer—nor is Henry Clay—nor was
-Lord Brougham; but they were advocates, and orators
-and statesmen. Sir James Scarlett and Denham
-were great lawyers, before whose technical superiority
-and sharp practice Lord Brougham quailed and
-shriveled in the Court of King’s Bench. But when
-they encountered each other in the House of Commons—what
-a figure the two lawyers cut, to be sure,
-in the presence of the thunderer! They were phantoms,
-and he the Olympian Jove. William Pinkney
-was a great lawyer; but for that very reason he was
-out of place in the Senate chamber, and made no
-figure there.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But even for this they have a justification—or a
-plea in bar. The law is a “jealous mistress,” we
-are told, and will endure no rival; a monarch “who
-bears no brother near the throne.” And well do they
-act upon this belief; and well do they teach it by
-precept and by practice; for few indeed are they,
-even among the foremost, who have gathered up, in
-the course of a long life, any considerable amount of
-miscellaneous knowledge, notwithstanding the reputation
-they sometimes acquire, in a single day, by
-their insolent questioning of learned, shy and modest
-professional men, or experts, after they have once
-got them caged and cornered, and tied up hand and
-foot in a witness-box, and allowed to speak only
-when they are spoken to; there to be badgered for
-the amusement of people outside, more ignorant, if
-possible, than the learned counsel themselves; but
-incapable of seeing through the counterfeit, which,
-while it makes them laugh, makes the “judicious
-grieve;” and mistaking for cleverness and smartness
-the blundering audacity of an ignorant and garrulous,
-though privileged pretender, who does not know that
-it often requires about as much knowledge of a subject
-to propound a safe and proper question, as to
-answer it: nor that the veriest blockhead may ask
-twenty questions in a breath, which no mortal man
-could ever answer, and would not even try to answer,
-unless he were a still greater blockhead.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now, having swept the stage fore and aft, and
-secured, as I trust, a patient hearing from the profession,
-let us go to work in earnest.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I maintain that among the popular delusions of the
-day, there is no one more dangerous nor alarming
-than that which leads our People to believe that they
-constitute a republic and that they govern themselves,
-merely because they are allowed to choose
-their own masters; <span class='it'>provided</span> they choose them out
-of a particular class—that of the lawyers.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>At the opening of every great political campaign,
-we hear a great deal about the privileged classes;
-the ruffled-shirt and silk-stocking gentry: and sometimes
-men prattle about the aristocracy of talent, or
-the aristocracy of wealth—but who ever heard any
-complaints of our legal aristocracy—an oligarchy
-rather—for they make all the laws, they expound all
-the laws, and they hold all the offices worth having—in
-perpetuity.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And whose fault is it? If the People are such
-asses, why should they not be saddled and bridled,
-and ridden in perpetuity? It is their nature. They
-are prone to class-worship, and to family-worship—to
-self-depreciation, and to a most incapacitating
-jealousy of one another. Even in the day of the
-elder Adams, it was found that the office of a justice
-of the peace, like that of a legislator, was well-nigh
-hereditary in New England. Having anointed the
-father, how could they help anointing the son?—or
-the daughter’s husband, if the father had no son?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now, let us look at the consequences. From
-Aristotle down to the last elementary writer on Government,
-it has been every where, and at all times,
-acknowledged, that every possible kind of sway
-upon earth, between Despotism and Anarchy, may
-be resolved into three elements of power, differently
-combined, or combined in different proportions.
-These elements are: 1. The Legislative, or law-making
-power; 2. The Judicial, or law-expounding
-power; and 3. The Executive, or law-enforcing
-power.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Taken together we have what is called the Sovereign
-Power. The power of making laws, of saying
-what they mean, and of carrying them into execution
-being all that is ever needed for government.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And this, the Sovereign Power, may be concentrated
-in one person, whence we have the Czar, the
-Sultan, or the Autocrat; or it may be confined to a
-few—as in Sparta, or Genoa, or Venice, or Poland—constituting
-either an Aristocracy or an Oligarchy;
-or it may be distributed among the people equally,
-as at Rome or Athens at particular periods of their
-history, when they were a tumultuous unmanageable
-Democracy: or unequally, as in England, or in these
-United States, thereby constituting a Limited Monarchy,
-or a Representative Republic, pretending to a
-balance, by the help of a King or President, a House
-of Lords, or a Senate, and a House of Commons or
-a House of Representatives, and a Judiciary, more
-or less dependent upon the Executive.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Of all these different systems the worst by far is
-an Oligarchy—or the government of a privileged
-few—no matter whether elective and shifting, or permanent,
-provided that, as a body or estate, they are
-allowed by common consent to make the laws—to expound
-the laws—and to carry the laws into execution,
-by holding all the offices worth having, from
-that of the monarch or president, down to that of a
-clerk or sergeant-at-arms.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>True it is, that by no human contrivance can the
-three elements of power above mentioned, be kept
-entirely separate—for they will run into each other—as
-where the Supreme Executive is allowed a
-veto, or required to sanction a law: and where the
-Senate, as a branch of the Supreme Legislative
-power, intermeddles with the appointing power of
-the Executive under the name of confirmation; and
-where the Supreme Judiciary, after being appointed
-by the Executive and confirmed by the Senate, are
-made dependent upon that other branch of the Supreme
-Legislative power for the payment of their
-salaries—the House originating all money bills and
-voting supplies—turn about, in their capacity of Supreme
-Judges, and are allowed to unsettle, if they
-please, by their interpretation, whatever the Supreme
-Legislative power may choose to enact for
-law.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But although these three elements can never be
-wholly separated—it does not follow that men, who
-desire to be well-governed, should not try to separate
-them and to keep them separated as far as they can.
-Still less, that because they cannot be wholly separated,
-they shall therefore be encouraged to run together
-and to crystalize into a mischief that may
-never be resolved again but by the process of decomposition.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now, I contend that, in effect, <span class='sc'>We</span>, the People
-of these United States, are governed by an Oligarchy;
-and that, by being allowed to choose our own
-masters—provided we choose them, or at least, a
-large majority of them, out of a particular class—we
-are blinded to the inevitable consequences: till we
-mistake words for things, and shadows for substances:
-and that our mistake is all the more dangerous
-and alarming that we cannot be persuaded to
-treat the matter seriously.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I contend, moreover, that, inasmuch as the Lawyers
-of our land make all the laws; and as Judges
-expound all the laws, and as office-holders carry all
-the laws into execution, therefore they constitute of
-themselves the Sovereign Power.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Are the facts questioned? In the Massachusetts
-legislature, we have had two hundred and sixty
-lawyers out of three hundred and fifty members;
-and in congress we had not long ago, the same number,
-two hundred and sixty lawyers out of two hundred
-and ninety-seven members—the balance being
-made up in this way. Manufacturers and farmers,
-fifteen: Merchants, one: Unknown, (being mechanics
-or preachers, or something of the sort,)
-twenty-one. Perhaps there may be some error
-here, as I find the only note I have upon the subject
-so blurred, that I am not sure of the figures; but the
-fact on which I rely is too notorious to be questioned.
-Every body knows that lawyers constitute
-a large majority in all our legislative bodies, and
-have done so for the last fifty years; and that they
-make about all the speeches that are made there, or
-supposed to be made there, and afterward reported
-by themselves for the newspapers. Can it be
-doubted therefore, that they as a body do in fact and
-in truth constitute our supreme legislative power—thereby
-absorbing to themselves just one third part,
-and by far the most important part of our whole sovereignty
-as a people.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As little can it be seriously questioned that, inasmuch
-as all our judges, from the highest to the
-lowest are lawyers; or ought to be, as they are always
-ready enough to acknowledge—they constitute
-the supreme judiciary; another third part of our
-whole sovereignty as a people.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now let us see how the account stands with
-the Executive Power. Are not our presidents, and
-have they not been from the first—with only three
-exceptions out of twelve—lawyers? And our vice
-presidents; and all our secretaries of state; and
-most of our secretaries of war, and of the navy; and
-about all our foreign ministers; our chief clerks,
-our post-master generals; our collectors; our land
-agents; and even a large proportion of our foreign
-consuls—have they not always been, and are they
-not always with an ever increasing ratio—Lawyers?
-And if so, what becomes of the other third part of
-our whole sovereignty as a people—the Executive
-Power? It is in the hands of the lawyers; and as
-three thirds make a whole—out of the courts of law,
-I mean—does it not follow that the whole sovereign
-power of this mighty people—of this great commonwealth
-of republics—this last refuge of the nations is
-in the hands of our lawyers, hardly a fraction of the
-whole?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Oh! but we have nothing to fear. Lawyers are
-always at loggerheads. They are incapable of
-working together, even for mischief. Granted—and
-there, let me tell you is our only safety, and our only
-hope. But, suppose they should wake up to a
-knowledge of their own strength—and of our weakness—who
-shall say that they must always be incapable
-of conspiring together? And if they did—when
-should we begin to perceive our danger?
-Would they be likely to tell us before-hand? Or
-would they go on, year after year, quietly absorbing
-office, power, and prerogative, as all such bodies do;
-until they had become too strong for the great unreasoning
-multitude. With public opinion—with
-long established usage in their favor—with a sort of
-hallucination, hard to be accounted for in a jealous
-people; acquainted with history, what have they to
-fear? Neither overthrow nor disaster—till the
-people come to their senses and wake up, and harness
-themselves; and then, they are put upon trial, as
-with the voice of many thunders; and instantly and
-forever dethroned, as by an earthquake.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But you do not see the danger. Granted. And
-this very thing is what I complain of. Did you see
-the danger there would be some hope of you; and it
-would soon pass away forever.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But suppose we take another case for illustration.
-Suppose that three-fifths of all our law-makers were
-soldiers instead of lawyers. Suppose that all our
-judges from the highest to the lowest were soldiers;
-and that all our presidents, and secretaries, and
-foreign ministers, and collectors, and consuls—with
-here and there an exception—were all soldiers;
-most of them experienced soldiers—veterans; and
-the others, conscripts or new levies—what would be
-the consequences, think you? How long should we
-be at peace with the rest of the world? How long
-would Cuba, Mexico, or the rest of North and South
-America be unattempted? Would not our whole
-sea-coast, and all our lakes and rivers, and all our
-frontiers be fortified and garrisoned? Would there
-not be great armies constantly marching and counter-marching
-through our midst? Would not our
-very dwelling-houses and churches be wanted for
-barracks—and if wanted, would they not be taken
-by little and little?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Would not all our young men be mustering for the
-battle-field? Would not foolish mothers, and sisters,
-and sweet-hearts, be urging them to try for a
-shoulder-knot or a feather, as the only thing on
-earth to be cared for by a young man of spirit and
-enterprise?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Look at Russia. The military have dominion
-there—and all the rest of the world are slaves. The
-greatest men we have, not bearing a military title,
-would be overlooked by the emperor, while any
-thing in the shape of a general, though he never
-“set a squadron in the field,” and was never heard
-of beyond the neighborhood of a militia muster, would
-be fastened on horseback, and have thousands and
-tens of thousands, from the harnessed legions of the
-north, passed in review before him. What wonder
-that in such a country, the very nurses of the bed-chamber;
-yea, the very bishops of the land have
-military titles, and are regularly passed up through
-successive grades, from that of a platoon officer to
-that of a colonel, and perhaps to that of a field-marshall,
-by the emperor himself.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Yet soldiers are at least as trustworthy, are they
-not—as lawyers?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Take another case. It will not be denied, that
-physicians on the whole, are about as intelligent and
-trustworthy as lawyers. Now, let us suppose that,
-instead of being as in the Massachusetts legislature,
-eighteen to two hundred and sixty—in a body of two
-hundred and ninety-seven; they should happen to
-be two hundred and sixty physicians, to eighteen
-lawyers, and that in our other legislative bodies they
-should constitute a majority of the members: that
-all our presidents, and secretaries, and foreign ministers,
-and chief clerks, and post-masters, and collectors,
-and consuls, were physicians; or as many
-as are now lawyers: and that all the laws were
-made subject to the decision of a bench of doctors,
-eminent for the knowledge of medicine, and for nothing
-else—what, think you, would be the situation
-of our people under such an administration? Would
-any mortal man dare to refuse any pill the president
-might offer? Would not our dwellings and churches
-be converted—not into barracks, but hospitals?
-Would not millions be lavished upon theories,
-and experiments, and preparations for pestilence?
-Would not the whole country be divided into contagionists,
-and non-contagionists—parties for, and parties
-against the yellow fever and the cholera?
-Would not platforms be established, and pledges required,
-and offices filled—here by the believers in
-allopathy, and there by the disciples of homeopathy?
-To-day, by the rain-water, screw-auger, and vegetable
-doctors; and to-morrow, by the unbelievers in
-lobelia, bella-donna, and pulverized charcoal, or infinitesimal
-silex? In a word, if the government
-were allowed to have its own way—and after they
-were established as the lawyers are now, how
-could you help it?—would not the president, and all
-his secretaries be obliged to prescribe for the sovereign
-people—or suffering people—gratuitously; and
-would not the whole country be drugged, and physicked,
-and bled and blistered—samewhat as they
-are now—and would not all our finest young men be
-rushing into the apothecary shops, and lying-in hospitals,
-and clinical establishments for diplomas—to
-qualify them for the business of legislation, and for
-holding office?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And again. Suppose we had as many preachers
-of the Gospel for lawgivers—for presidents, secretaries,
-ministers, etc., and for judges—what
-would be our situation? However they might differ
-among themselves upon the minor points of their
-faith and practice, would they not combine together?
-And would it not be their duty to combine, for the
-establishment of whatever opinion they might all, or
-a great majority of them, have agreed to uphold, as
-vital to Christianity? And how could we help ourselves?
-And what would become of our ambitious
-young men, or still more ambitious daughters?
-And what—I beseech you to think of this—what
-would become of the right we now claim of judging
-for ourselves upon all subjects, that in any way belong
-to our everlasting welfare? Yet these men are
-honest, and taken together, are they not as trustworthy
-and conscientious under all circumstances, think
-you, as our present masters, the lawyers? And if
-so, would they—or would the physicians, or the soldiers
-be a whit more dangerous? Answer these
-questions for yourselves.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But I have not finished. I hold that the professional
-training of a lawyer disqualifies him for the
-very business, which might be entrusted with comparative
-safety to the soldier, the physician, or the
-preacher.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And wherefore? Because it substitutes a new
-law for the law of God. He that by his professional
-adroitness can secure the escape of the
-bloodiest and most atrocious criminal from justice,
-in spite of the clearest proof, obtains a reputation,
-and with it correspondent advantages in wealth, influence,
-and power, which under no other circumstances
-could he obtain. It is the worst cases,
-whether criminal or civil—cases which he gains in
-defiance of law, and against evidence—which give a
-lawyer reputation. To win a cause which every
-body says he ought to win, <span class='it'>that</span> never gives a man
-reputation, and is therefore committed to the nobodies
-below him. But, if there be a case beyond the
-reach of hope or palliation; clear and conclusive
-against the party, so that our very blood thrills when
-he is mentioned, and no human being supposes he
-can get clear; still if he does get clear—no matter
-how—by browbeating or bothering witnesses; by
-bamboozling the jury, and misrepresenting the evidence
-under the direction of the court; or by down-right
-bullying; the advocate is complimented by his
-brethren of the bar, and even by the bench; for his
-learned, ingenious, and eloquent, and faithful vindication
-of his client; and he goes forth, carrying with
-him these trophies,—and others, it may be—dabbled
-and stained with blood, like the murderer’s knife,
-with “the gray hair stickin’ to the haft,” only to be
-retained in advance by every desperate ruffian, and
-every abandoned wretch, who may happen to hear
-of the result, and to have the where-withal to secure
-his timely co-operation.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Just observe how this affair is managed. If a father
-should give aid and comfort to a child, after she
-had been guilty of murder; if a husband should open
-his doors to a wife, or a daughter to her father, at
-dead of night; or furnish a horse, or money, or a
-mouthful of bread, or a cup of cold water, or the
-means of escape to a beloved brother, hunted for his
-life, with the avenger of blood at his heels, time
-was, when they were all accessories after the fact,
-and were treated as murderers or principals, whatever
-might be the offense, and put to death accordingly;
-and even yet, although that most barbarous
-law has undergone a few changes, so that in some
-portions of our country, they who stand in the relation
-of husband and wife, or parent and child, may
-help one another when fleeing for their lives; yet no
-other man, woman, or child can do it, in the whole
-community, but at the risk of death or imprisonment
-for life—<span class='it'>except he be a lawyer</span>, and the prisoner’s
-counsel. And then he may, and he not only may,
-but he is expected and required to do so: in other
-words, to aid and comfort, counsel and help the prisoner,
-heedless of all consequences, here and hereafter.
-And for this, he may receive the very gold
-which has been wrenched from the grasp of the
-murdered man; or the bank bills that are glued together
-by his heart’s blood; and nobody shall dare
-to question his integrity, or to have any secret misgivings
-about his honesty or conscientiousness—if it
-can be helped.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Let me not be misunderstood. I do not deny that
-the worst of criminals are to be tried fairly. I acknowledge,
-moreover, that they cannot be tried
-fairly with men of the law against them, unless they
-have lawyers to help them: and that it is as much a
-part of the law that they shall be tried in a certain
-way, and proved guilty in a certain way, for the satisfaction
-of the world, as that they shall be punished
-at all; and that, if it were enough to be satisfied of
-another’s guilt as a murderer, to justify us in putting
-him to death, without going through the regular
-forms of law, then might we run him up at the next
-yard-arm, or tree branch, or lamp-post; on happening
-to see the bloody act perpetrated with our own
-eyes.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But how should we know even in such a case,
-that “the man was not beside himself;” or that
-the homicide was not justifiable, or at least excusable?
-He may have acknowledged his guilt. And
-what if he has? He may have been mistaken; for
-such things have happened, and murders which
-never took place—though intended—have been acknowledged,
-and the missing parties have re-appeared
-after a long while, and explained the mystery.
-Or he may have been deranged; or being accused,
-and as it were enmeshed by a web of circumstances,
-he may have been led away like the
-son, who charged himself and his aged father, in
-Vermont, with the murder of a poor helpless creature,
-who was afterward found alive, by the instinct
-of self-preservation; hoping to lengthen, if not to
-save his life, at least until his innocence might be
-made to appear; and believing his father guilty.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>To prove all these things there must be a trial,
-and a public trial; otherwise, whatever may be the
-result, he will not be <span class='it'>proved</span> guilty, according to the
-law and the evidence; nor could he be justly condemned;
-and there would be no safety for others.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>No matter how clear his guilt may be; nor how
-bad his character may be; the greater his guilt in
-the judgment of those who decide against him before
-trial, and without evidence upon oath, or sifting, or
-cross-examination—the more precious to him and to
-all, is the privilege of being put to death according to
-law. The fewer his rights, the more sacred they are.
-The more decided and overwhelming the evidence
-against him, the more necessary it is to wall him
-round about, as with a sword that turneth every
-way, against the influence of public opinion. It was
-in this way that the elder Adams reasoned, when he
-undertook the defense of the British officer, charged
-with the murder of Boston citizens, at the outbreak
-of the revolutionary war—and triumphed.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And how shall this be done without the help of a
-Lawyer? Law, living a science, complicated, and
-full of mystery and fear, how is the poor criminal to
-prepare himself? How is he to defend his few remaining
-rights? And how is he to bear up against
-the ponderous and crushing weight of public opinion?
-He cannot. The thing is impossible. He must
-have help; and that help must be a lawyer; and that
-lawyer must be not only faithful to him, but unable
-to take advantage of, or to betray him, if he would;
-otherwise the culprit will never trust him, and his
-life will be at the mercy of the prosecutor, generally
-chosen for his knowledge of the law, and for his
-adroitness in making “the worse appear the better
-reason.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Well, then, a lawyer must be allowed to the
-greatest criminal—and the greater criminal he is, the
-more lawyers he ought to be allowed—if able to pay
-for them! or if the court, in consideration of his deplorable
-and hopeless guilt, or the atrocious character
-of the charge against him, be willing to assign
-them.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now—being assigned, or otherwise engaged,
-what shall the <span class='it'>honest</span> lawyer do? He must be faithful
-to his client, happen what may—but is he required
-to lie for him? to foreswear himself? As
-“the indiscriminate defender of right and wrong,”
-to borrow the words of Jeremy Bentham, “seeking
-truth in the competition of opposite analogies,” according
-to Blackstone, shall he undertake to get the
-fellow clear—to bring him off—against law, and
-against evidence? If such be the meaning of that
-faithfulness to his client, what becomes of his faithfulness
-to God?—to his fellow man—to himself?
-And yet, where is the great Advocate who does not
-glory in doing just this? and who has not gained his
-whole reputation by just such cases, and no others?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>There stands the murderer, with garments rolled
-in blood. There stands his counsel, giving him aid
-and comfort, under the sanction of law, with his
-right hand lifted to Heaven, and swearing to a belief
-in the utter groundlessness of the charge, and calling
-upon Jehovah himself to witness for him, that he
-speaks the truth! Such things have happened, and
-are happening every day; and these honest lawyers
-are still suffered to go at large, unrebuked and unappalled:
-nay, worse—for by these very practices
-they get famous and grow rich and secure the patronage—that’s
-the very word—the <span class='it'>patronage</span> of all
-the inexorable and shameless villains and cut-throats
-in the community.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But if the lawyer may not do these things
-<span class='it'>honestly</span>, what may he do for the help of his client?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He may lay his hand reverently upon the statute
-book. He may show that the law does not reach
-the case charged upon the prisoner at the bar, and
-that he must therefore go free—though his right hand
-be dripping and his garments be stiffened with blood.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He may show that the only witness against him is
-unworthy of belief, on account of self-contradictions,
-or utter worthlessness; or that he has become disqualified,
-by the commission of some offense that
-incapacitates him for life; and, by producing the
-record of his conviction, he may oblige the court to
-let the prisoner go free. All this he may do, and
-still be an honest man.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Yet more. Having satisfied himself of the innocence
-of the accused; or of the probability that the
-witnesses are mistaken, or dishonest, or that they
-have conspired together to destroy a fellow creature,
-doomed to death by public opinion without proof;
-he may put forth all his strength, and appear in
-“panoply complete,” heedless of all consequences,
-to save him—provided only that he sticks to the
-truth, and is honest in what he says or does. I care
-not how eloquent he may be, nor how able or ingenious—the
-more eloquent and able and ingenious
-the better, and I shall reverence him all the more as
-an Advocate and as a Man.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But I do insist upon it, that he shall not be allowed
-to forget every thing else—and every other
-obligation—and every other law, whether divine or
-human, for the sake of his client; and that if he does,
-he shall be held answerable for the consequences,
-and be punished, as he deserves, with a burst of indignation—a
-general outcry of shame on thee for a
-traitor!—a traitor to thyself, to thy Maker, and to
-thy brethren at large, under pretence of being faithful
-to a murderer whom it would be death, perhaps,
-for his own mother to help or comfort in any way.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I would even allow him to urge upon the jury,
-not only in such a case, but in every case where the
-punishment might be death, to bear in mind, that no
-matter how perfectly satisfied they may be of the
-prisoner’s guilt; still, if he has not been <span class='it'>proved</span>
-<span class='it'>guilty</span>, by unquestionable evidence, or by unimpeachable
-witnesses, according to law, they are
-bound by their oaths to return a verdict of <span class='it'>not
-guilty</span>; and if they do not, they themselves are guilty
-of murder.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Otherwise they would sanction the most dangerous
-of Lynch-laws; those which are executed under
-the forms of justice, and in mockery of all human
-right.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>If <span class='it'>satisfied</span> of the prisoner’s guilt, they must have
-seen the murder perpetrated with their own eyes;
-and they must have known that there was no excuse
-for it, and no palliation: and in that case, instead
-of relying upon questionable testimony from
-others, it would be their duty to leave the jury-box
-and go into the witness-box, and allow others to
-judge of the truth of their story, and of the soundness
-of their conclusions.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And I would allow the accused the benefit of
-every flaw on the statute, of every error in the forms
-of procedure, and of every <span class='it'>reasonable</span> doubt. I
-would even suffer him to array as many young
-and pretty women as he could entrap into the witness-box
-fronting the jury—although, perhaps, I
-might object to their appearing in tears or in mourning,
-like the Ionians and Greeks and Irish, lest,
-peradventure, the tables should be turned, as where
-an Irish barrister, pleading the cause of a little orphan,
-with the mother and all the rest of the family
-standing about with handkerchiefs to their eyes, held
-up the boy in tears. The jury, overcome with sympathy
-and compassion, were about rendering a verdict
-at once, and were only delayed by a question
-from the opposite counsel—“My little fellow,” said
-he, “what makes you cry?”—“<span class='it'>He pinched me!</span>”
-was the answer, and a verdict was rendered accordingly—as
-the Irish only are allowed to do it—by
-<span class='it'>acclamation</span>.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And I should not stop here. I would go further.
-For the purpose of fixing forever and ever the responsibility
-of a decision upon each of the twelve
-jurymen—I would have them polled, and questioned
-separately, and man by man (if permitted by the
-law,) and not lump their verdict, as they generally
-do, hit or miss: and I would call upon each to remember
-that if he erred in pronouncing the judgment
-of death—of death here, and it might be of death hereafter,
-he alone would be accountable—for he, alone,
-might interpose if he would, and arrest that judgment
-of death, and send the prisoner back to his
-family—a living man: and I would so picture his
-own death-bed to every man of that jury, if I had the
-power, that he should hear himself shrieking for
-mercy, and see and feel and acknowledge by his
-looks, that if he betrayed the awful trust, or trifled
-with it, by deference to others, he himself would be
-a man-slayer, and utterly without excuse here and
-hereafter, in this world or the next.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>All this I would do, or try to do: for all this might
-be done by the <span class='it'>honest</span> lawyer without a violation of
-God’s law. But, as I have said before, I would not
-have him “play falsely,” nor yet “foully win.” I
-would not have him brow-beat nor entrap honest
-witnesses. I would not have him guilty of misrepresenting
-the evidence nor the law “with submission
-to the court.” I would not have the opposite
-counsel insulted, nor the bench quarreled with—if it
-could be helped—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“——For even in the tranquilest climes</p>
-<p class='line0'>Light breezes <span class='it'>will</span> ruffle the flowers sometimes.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>Nor everlasting speeches made, with continual asseverations
-and solemn appeals to the by-standers and
-the public; as if the question of life and death were a
-game of chess for the amusement not only of those
-who are engaged in it, but for all who may happen to
-be near and looking on at the time.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And I would have the dignity of the profession
-upheld by courtesy and gravity and self-possession—by
-varied learning—by the utmost forbearance—by
-very short speeches—by the greatest regard for
-truth, and by unquestionable conscientiousness under
-all circumstances.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Were this done, the Bar would be sifted and
-purged and purified to some purpose. Nineteen
-twentieths of the rabble rout who mistake themselves,
-and are mistaken by others for lawyers,
-would vanish from the face of the earth—and the
-profession would then be not only respectable, but
-worth following; though, in my judgment, lawyers
-would still be the last among us to be intrusted with
-a disproportionate share of Legislative or Executive
-power; though, from the nature of things they
-would be likely to monopolize the whole Judiciary
-power.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>That our leading Advocates will not relish this
-doctrine, I know. In theory, they may approve—but
-in practice, when they and their interest, and
-their professional pride are once engaged, they will
-never yield. Always taking it for granted that their
-client tells the truth—in proportion to the fee; and
-always determined to prevail, if they can, right or
-wrong, their reformation will depend, not upon
-themselves, but upon others—upon the People at
-large; for whenever the People say that a professional
-acquaintance with law shall be a disqualification
-for the business of law-making, and no great recommendation
-for office, then will the lawyers of
-our country begin to mind their own business, and
-cease to be mere politicians, clamoring, open-mouthed,
-for office all their lives long.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And here, lest I may forget them in the proper
-place, allow me to illustrate the disposition of the
-People to see fair play, by two or three—Joe Millers,
-which I never lose an opportunity of telling
-under this head. They show that my brethren of
-the bar sometimes get their “come ups” where
-they least expect it—and very much to the satisfaction
-of the multitude.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It is told of Jere. Mason, and of some forty others at
-home and abroad, that on being assigned for counsel
-to a sad wretch whose case he found to be hopeless,
-he went to his cell, and after hearing his story, became
-satisfied that the poor fellow would swing for
-it, if tried; and so, seeing a sort of window open,
-high up and far above the prisoner’s reach if unhelped,
-he suggested to him that there was a beautiful
-prospect to be seen from that window—perhaps
-“the high-road to England,” which the amiable
-Dr. Johnson said was the finest prospect a
-Scotchman ever sees—and then, seeing the prisoner’s
-eyes begin to sparkle, he offered himself as a sort
-of ladder or look out, and standing with his back to
-the wall, and letting the man climb over him, he
-never looked up till it was too late, and the man had
-disappeared—whereupon he returned to the court-room,
-and on being questioned, acknowledged that
-he had given the fellow the best advice he could—which
-advice must be a secret from everybody,
-since it was the privilege, not of the counsel, but of
-the client.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>All this, you see, was according to law, if not in
-fact, at least in principle. A Lawyer might do this—and
-escape scot-free, as if it were only a good
-joke: while a brother of the prisoner, or a father,
-might have been sent to the scaffold.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Another, for the truth of which I <span class='it'>believe</span> I may
-vouch, because I had it, I think, from the lawyer
-himself, may serve to show that such faithfulness to
-clients may sometimes meet with an appropriate reward.
-A member of the Down East bar was called
-upon to save a man charged with passing a large
-amount of counterfeit money. After a long and
-severely contested trial, our “learned, eloquent,
-and ingenious” brother got him clear—chiefly by
-dint of protestation, coupled with a personal knowledge
-of the jury. On being discharged, the accused
-tipped him a wink in passing out, and our
-learned brother followed him to the lobby. There
-they stopped—the liberated man overwhelmed with
-thankfulness, and speechless with emotion; being
-a father, perhaps, with a large family, or a man of
-hitherto irreproachable character, who never knew
-how much he was to be pitied till he heard the
-speech of his lawyer. Unable to speak—he seized
-his hand—slipped something into it—and turned
-away, with a word or two, almost inaudible, about
-the inadequacy of the acknowledgment, and disappeared
-forever. Whereupon, our eloquent, able, and
-most ingenious friend, who was a little shy of opening
-the parcel in the presence of a bystander, withdrew
-to another part of the house, and ascertained—perfectly
-to his own satisfaction, he would have you
-believe—that he had been paid in the same sort of
-money which he had been laboring all day to show
-that the accused never had any thing to do with.
-And now, on the whole—was not this a capital
-joke?—a just retribution, and exceedingly well
-calculated to make a lawyer insist upon being paid
-before-hand, whatever might be the “contingent
-fee” afterward.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Once more—for I do not like being misrepresented
-in the newspapers upon this particular point—being
-sensitive perhaps about Joe Miller; and,
-for that reason, always acknowledging my indebtedness
-to him and to his fellow-laborers, the newspaper
-people, who never tell a story without spoiling
-it, or making it look strange: there is a story
-told in England, upon which a play has been founded,
-to this effect. A lawyer was called to see a man
-charged with sheep-stealing. After a brief consultation,
-he saw clearly that, upon the evidence before
-him, there was no possibility of escape. And then,
-too—probably—the wretch was very poor, being
-only a sheep-stealer, and not a murderer, nor forger,
-nor house-breaker, nor highwayman, and of course,
-would have to be satisfied with poor counsel.
-Whereupon the learned gentleman thought proper
-to ask him if he had ever been deranged.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>Deranged?</span>”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Flighty—you understand?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Oh—yes—to be sure: all my family on my
-father’s side have been very <span class='it'>flighty</span>—very.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“That’ll do, my friend; that’s enough. You are
-charged with stealing sheep—you know.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The fellow began to roll his eyes and look savage.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“When you are called upon to plead—you know
-what that is?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“To be sure I do.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Well, then, just plead to the indictment by saying
-<span class='it'>baa-aa</span>!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>So said—so done. The prisoner was arraigned.
-The indictment was read over to him very slowly
-as he sat with his head on one side, looking as
-sheepish as possible. And when they had got
-through, and he was called upon to say <span class='it'>guilty</span> or
-<span class='it'>not guilty</span>, he answered, by saying <span class='it'>baa-aa</span>!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The court being rather astonished, interfered, and
-told him what he was required to do; but still he
-answered nothing but <span class='it'>baa</span>! Read over the indictment
-again, said the judge, and read it very slowly.
-The clerk obeyed, and when he had got through,
-and was again required to say <span class='it'>guilty</span> or <span class='it'>not guilty</span>,
-he answered, as before, nothing but <span class='it'>baa-aa-aa</span>!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A jury was then impanneled to see if he stood
-mute “by the visitation of God.” After looking at
-his tongue—and his eyes—and feeling his pulse, they
-returned a verdict in the affirmative. The man was
-forthwith discharged; and the lawyer followed him
-out, and touching him on the elbow, held out his hand—<span class='it'>baa-aa-aa!—baa-aa-aa!</span>
-said the sheep-stealer—and
-vanished.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But enough on this point. If I were to write a
-book, I should not be able to do more than I have
-done already, so far as the legal and professional
-doings of my beloved brethren are concerned.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It remains now, that I should say something very
-briefly, of the disastrous consequences flowing from
-their political power.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the first place, it lures all our young men—the
-silliest as well as the cleverest—who desire to live
-without work, and to be provided for at the public
-charge, to betake themselves to the law. It is not
-only the high-road—but the only high-road to political
-power. No other profession has a chance with
-that of the law; and everybody knows it and feels it
-when broad awake and thinking, instead of dozing.
-Hence the profession is over-crowded, over-burthened—overwhelmed—and
-literally dwarfed into
-comparative nothingness, apart from political power;
-having not a tittle of the social power it would be
-fairly entitled to if it were not so adulterated and
-diluted.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the second place, we have that national reproach—the
-instability of our legislation—the perpetual
-change, that no sober-minded business-man
-is ever able to foresee or provide against.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And this I aver to be the natural, the inevitable
-consequence of having for our legislators, men who
-have a direct personal interest in multiplying or
-changing our laws, and in making them unintelligible
-to others.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Let us take one of our young attorneys, and follow
-him up, year by year, and step by step, to the Halls
-of Congress, and see how he gets there, and what
-he is bound to do—for he can do nothing else—after
-he gets there.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the first place, it should be borne in mind, that
-the lawyers we send to our legislative bodies, are
-not often the able, nor even the ablest of their class—I
-speak of them as lawyers only, and not as
-Orators, or Statesmen, or Scholars. They cannot
-afford to serve the people for the day wages that
-your stripling, or blockhead of an attorney, who
-lives only from hand to mouth, would snap at. He
-who can have a hundred dollars for a speech, will
-never make speeches at two or three dollars a-day,
-in our State Legislatures, nor be satisfied with eight
-dollars a-day in Congress.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And these youngsters of the bar, these third and
-fourth-rate lawyers, who are held to be good enough
-for legislators, because they cannot support themselves
-by their profession, how are they trained for
-that business?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>You first hear of them in bar-rooms and bowling-alleys;
-then at ward-caucuses; and then at all sorts
-of gatherings where they may be allowed to try themselves
-and their hearers; and then at conventions
-or town-meetings: and then, after being defeated
-half a dozen times, perhaps, till it is acknowledged
-that if they are not elected, they are ruined forever,
-they get pushed, head-foremost, into the State
-Legislature.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And once there, what shall they do?—how shall
-they manage to become notorious—or distinguished?
-They must contrive to be talked about in the newspapers;
-to be heartily abused by somebody, that
-they may heartily be praised by somebody else belonging
-to another perish. Their names at least will
-be mentioned, and grow more and more familiar
-every day to the public ear, until they become a sort
-of household words; or it may be a rallying cry, by
-the simple force of repetition, like proverbs, or
-slang-phrases. “Why do you take every opportunity
-of calling yourself an <span class='it'>honest</span> man?” said a neighbor
-to another of doubtful reputation. “Why, bless
-your simple heart,” was the reply, “don’t you see
-that I am laying a foundation for what is called public
-opinion; and that after a few years, when my
-character is fairly established, the origin of the belief
-will be forgotten.” So with your newspaper characters.
-Idols of the day—at the end of a few
-months, at most, they are dust and ashes; and the
-people begin to wonder at themselves that they
-should ever have been made such fools of.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But how shall they manage to be talked about in
-the newspapers, and most gloriously abused? There
-is only one way. They must make speeches—if
-they cannot make speeches, they may as well give
-up the ghost, and be gathered to their fathers; for
-most assuredly, (whatever may be their worth, or
-strength, or talents, in every other way,) if they
-cannot make speeches, not a man of them will ever
-be remembered—long enough to be forgotten. And
-they must make long speeches—the longer the
-better; and frequent speeches—the more frequent
-the better; and be their own correspondents and report
-themselves for the newspapers, with tart replies
-and eloquent outbreaks, and happy illustrations,
-never uttered, nor dreamt of till the unpremeditated
-battle was over, like some that were made by Demosthenes
-himself, years after the occasion had passed
-by, and there was nobody alive to contradict him; or
-like the celebrated oration of Cicero against Cataline.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But they cannot make speeches about nothing at
-all—at least such is my present opinion—it may be
-qualified hereafter, and I am well aware that common
-experience would appear to be against me,
-and that much may be said upon both sides, as well
-as upon neither side, in such a question. They
-must have something to work with—and to talk
-about: something, too, which is likely to make a
-noise out of doors; to set people together by the ears;
-to astonish them, and to give them a good excuse
-for fretting, and scolding, and worrying. In other
-words, they must introduce a new law—the more
-absurd the better—or attack an old law, the older
-the better; and seek to modify it, or to change or
-repeal it.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And what is the result? Just this; that every
-Legislative Hall in the land, from the least to the
-greatest, from the lowest to the highest, becomes a
-debating-school; and the business of the whole
-Country is postponed, month after month, and year
-after year, to the very last days of the session, and
-then hurried through—just a little too late, wherever
-the national honor is deeply concerned, as in the
-case of French spoliations, and other honest debts
-owed by the Government to the People—with a precipitation
-so hazardous and shameful, that much of
-the little time left in future sessions must be employed
-in correcting the blunders of the past: and all
-for what?—merely that the Lawyers may be heard
-month after month, and have long speeches that
-were never delivered, or when delivered, not
-heard, reported piecemeal, and paragraph by paragraph,
-in perhaps two or three thousand newspapers—that
-are forgotten before the next sun goes down,
-and literally “perish in the using.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Nor does the mischief stop here. The whole
-business of the country is hung up—and sessions
-protracted for months—and millions upon millions
-wasted year after year, of the people’s money, upon
-what, after all, are nothing more—and there could not
-well be any thing less—than electioneering speeches.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And then just look at the character of our legislation.
-Was there ever any thing to be compared
-with it, for instability, for uncertainty, for inadequacy,
-for superabundance, and for what my Lord
-Coke would call a “tending to infiniteness!” I acknowledge,
-with pride, that our Revised Statutes, all
-circumstances taken into consideration, are often
-quite remarkable for the common sense of their
-language, and for clearness—wherever common
-sense and clearness were possible under the established
-rules of interpretation. But generally speaking,
-what is it? “Unstable as water—thou shall
-not excel!” is written upon the great body of our
-statute law, year after year, and generation after
-generation.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And what are the consequences? Nations are
-“perplexed by fear of change.” Better stick to a
-bad law, than keep changing a good. The clock that
-stands still (to borrow a happy illustration) is sure
-to be right twice every twenty-four hours; while
-that which is always going, may always be wrong.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Let us apply this. We are now waiting and
-hoping for a change of the tariff: and the more general
-and confident the expectation of a change among
-business-men, whatever that change may be—up or
-down—higher or lower—the more certainly will it
-put a stop, or greatly embarrass for a time, the whole
-business of the country. And why? If it be generally
-believed that the tariff is to be lowered, the
-dealers everywhere begin to run off their stocks, to
-offer longer credits and better terms; and however
-unwilling, shrewd cautious men may be about over-purchasing
-with such a prospect before them, there
-will be found others, commercial gamblers, or trading
-adventurers, who always profit by such occasions
-to go ahead of their fellows; for what they
-gain is their own, and what they lose, is their creditors’.
-And universal overtrading is the consequence
-here—and stoppages there—till the mischief corrects
-itself or dies out. Business no longer flows in its
-accustomed channels. It has fallen into the hands
-of comparative stock-jobbers and lottery-dealers:
-and a general bankruptcy often follows.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But suppose the tariff about to be raised—and the
-belief to be universal. The ultimate consequences
-are the same, so far as the regular business of the
-country is concerned. Manufacturers and jobbers
-hold back; they refuse to sell on six months—they
-shorten the period of credit—and require acceptances
-in town—as being, on the whole, better than to demand
-higher rates in advance of old customers.
-Purchasers may be eager—but what can they do.
-They are obliged to wait—and live on from hand to
-mouth—till the question has been settled. And so with
-every other great leading law, affecting any great
-commercial, farming, or manufacturing interest of
-the country. The legislation of a land is a type of
-itself. How can our other great institutions be safe
-and lasting if our legislation be unstable?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>That our legislation is unstable and changing and
-fluctuating, who will deny? What great system of
-national policy have we ever pursued steadily beyond
-the terms of two or three of our political chief-magistrates—a
-paragraph at most, in the long History
-of the World?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And how should it be otherwise? Lawyers with
-us are Conveyancers and Notaries and Special-Pleaders:
-and Conveyancers and Notaries and Special-Pleaders
-over sea are always, and in our country,
-almost always paid by the page; and a certain
-number of words, you know, constitute a page at
-law. Again—so sure is it that a lawyer shall not
-only be heard, but paid for his “much speaking,”
-that I do believe people are often better satisfied to
-lose a case with a long speech, than to gain it by a
-short one. This may appear somewhat startling;
-but let us see if, on the whole, it be not substantially
-true and no paradox.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A man goes to consult a lawyer—you see how
-careful I am to distinguish between the two—and
-states his case. The lawyer hears him patiently
-through—having already touched the fee—and tells
-him, without opening a book, or lifting his spectacles,
-or moving from his chair, that the question lies
-in a nut-shell; and that if his view of the law should
-be sustained by the court, of which he cannot be
-sure, it may be settled easily and at once. Well—the
-case in due time goes up. The jury are empanneled;
-a great speech is brewing on the opposite
-side; you can hear the whiz of preparation in the
-very breathing of the Adversary; but up rises our
-friend—by the supposition a very clear-headed, able
-and honest lawyer—and so states the principle of
-law upon which he depends, that the court rules in
-his favor, no speeches are made, and the jury are
-discharged. And now comes the tug of war. The
-client begs a moment of the lawyer’s time, and asks
-what’s to pay: “Fifty dollars.” “<span class='it'>Fifty dollars!</span>—why,
-sir—pulling out his watch—you were not
-more than—” The lawyer bows, and on turning
-away with a stately air, as of one who truly respects
-himself, and will not suffer the dignity of the profession
-to be trifled with nor tarnished, is stopped by—“I
-beg your pardon, squire—there’s the money.
-Good morning.” And off goes the client, who has
-gained the cause, to complain of the lawyer for extravagance
-or extortion; saying that “the case was
-plain as a pike-staff—any body might have managed
-it—could have done it himself and without help—nothing
-but a word or two for the court—never
-opened his mouth to the jury—and then, whew!
-what do you think he had the conscience to charge?
-why, <span class='it'>fifty dollars!</span>—would you believe it! Very
-well—much good may the fifty dollars do him; it is
-the last he’ll ever see of my money, I promise
-you.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now let me suppose that, instead of going to
-the last mentioned, <span class='it'>honest</span> lawyer, he had gone to
-some other. He is heard, to be sure, but with visible
-impatience: he is continually interrupted and
-questioned and cross-questioned, by the half hour.
-The learned gentleman has a very large snuff-box on
-the table before him—two or three very large portfolios,
-and at least a wheelbarrow load of papers tied
-with red tape. He takes off his spectacles and snuffs,
-and wipes them with his glove and snuffs, and replaces
-them and snuffs; now he lifts them and looks
-under them, and now he lowers them and looks over
-them steadfast and solemn, though troubled and perplexed,
-with his mouth screwed up, and making
-faces at his client all the time: he shakes his head
-and jumps up, and takes a pinch, and then shakes his
-head and sits down, and takes another pinch: with a
-huge pile of authorities before him, and ever so
-many lying open, and having secured a retainer, at
-last he tells his client to call on the morrow at 11¼
-o’clock <span class='it'>precisely</span>. The client, awe-struck at the
-vastness of that legal erudition he has been favored
-with a few glimpses of, steals away on tip-toe, rubbing
-his hands with delight and astonishment, and
-talking to himself perhaps all the way down stairs
-and into the street. After three or four consultations
-the case comes on for trial. The Adversary goes at
-the jury head-first, with a speech varying from two
-hours to two days. Of course, it will require from
-two hours to two days to answer it—and every thing
-must be answered, you know, whether it has to do
-with the question or not—as in the passage between
-Tristram Bulges and John Randolph, about the
-buzzard, or bald-eagle, I forget which; for after all,
-there is no great difference between them, as I have
-heretofore found to my cost; or as in that between
-Webster and Hayne about poor Banquo’s ghost, in
-the Senate chamber. And now, having insulted the
-witnesses, and the court, and the opposite counsel,
-and tired the jury by an everlasting speech, when
-they were already more than half asleep; or by arguing
-questions of law and fact wholly supposititious,
-for the benefit of his younger brethren and the by-standers—the
-case goes to the jury, under the charge
-of the court perhaps, and is lost. But who cares?—not
-the client; for when told that he has a hundred dollars
-to pay, instead of fifty as before, he calls it dog-cheap,
-and insists upon paying more, and why?
-Because <span class='it'>that</span> lawyer had made the case his own—and
-he goes about saying, “Didn’t he give it to ’em!—bench,
-bar and jury!—didn’t he acknowledge
-they were all a set of nincompoops!—and didn’t he
-lather my adversary and my adversary’s counsel,
-and all his witnesses, little and big, and especially
-the women and children, beautifully!—handsomely!—and
-isn’t he the man, therefore, not only for my
-money, but for the money of all my acquaintances
-who may ever want a zealous and <span class='it'>faithful</span> lawyer
-to manage their business for them!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This, though sufficiently absurd, I acknowledge,
-is nevertheless true: and happens continually at the
-bar. I do not say that in terms a client would prefer
-a long speech to a verdict; I only say that such is
-the fact, although he may not always know it himself,
-in many a troublesome case. And so with
-litigants generally; having once entered the “sacred
-precincts” of a law-temple, and breathed the
-fiery atmosphere, and had their names called over in
-a crowded court-room, and thereby having become
-famous in their own little neighborhoods, and in the
-judgment of their friends and witnesses, people of
-large experience and authority, how are they ever
-afterward to forego the pleasure? If they win the
-first throw, of course they can afford to throw again:
-if they lose, they must throw again, the blockheads!
-to get back what they have lost, when, like other
-gamblers, they promise to stop.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Can it be wondered after all this, that words are
-multiplied in our laws, from sheer habit, as well as
-from a sort of professional pride, until a mere English
-reader, however familiar with the spoken language
-and with the best writers of the language,
-both at home and abroad, such as Bacon and Bolingbroke
-and Hooker and Swift, or Edwards, or
-Channing, or the writers of the Federalist, or
-Franklin, and half a hundred more I might mention,
-would be unable to make head or tail of one paragraph
-in three; and few men of business would be
-willing to hazard any considerable investment upon
-his own understanding or interpretation of any passage
-in any new law.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Talk of the dead languages! The deadest of all the
-languages I know, or ever heard of, is the language
-of the law! Ask our friend, the learned blacksmith,
-and I will abide by the answer. Nobody, not trained
-to the business of interpretation—as a dragoman—or
-lawyer, would ever think of trying to understand a
-new law without help. And even with help—it is
-a plague and a mystery till the true meaning has
-been settled—<span class='it'>settled!</span>—by adjudication: that is, by
-others in authority, the priesthood and the patriarchs,
-who, under the name of judges, are paid for
-all the thinking, as lawyers are paid for all the talking
-to no purpose, permitted at law: for, be it known
-to all whom it may concern, that is, to all the non-lawyers
-of our land, that no private interpretation
-<span class='it'>of law</span> is of any authority <span class='it'>at law</span>: nor is the right of
-private judgment recognized or allowed or tolerated
-or endured in courts of justice! You must believe
-at your peril. You must teach as you are taught;
-and grow to the opinions or moulds about you as a
-cucumber grows to a bottle; for such is the law, and
-with most of the profession, all the law, to say nothing
-of the Gospel; for that, perhaps, would be out
-of place here.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now, inasmuch as almost every word of importance
-in our language has more than one meaning,
-it follows, that in proportion as you multiply
-words in a law, or in a legal instrument, you multiply
-the meanings, and the chances of mistake, and of
-course, I may as well say it, of litigation: and the
-mere habit of multiplying words as conveyancers
-and special-pleaders and speech-makers, being not
-only a professional habit, as every body knows, but
-characteristic of the profession, it may be, and often
-is, continued from habit, long and long after it may
-cease to appear advantageous or profitable; as in the
-business of legislation, or in dealing with a jury,
-where the lawyer is not paid by the page, but by the
-day or the trick. And why? Perhaps my friend
-Joe may be permitted to answer. A tailor, while
-cutting a coat for himself, was seen to slip a fragment
-of the cloth into his cabbage-drawer. Amazed
-at such a procedure, a new apprentice took the
-liberty of asking why he did it. “<span class='it'>To keep my hand
-in</span>,” was the answer.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Just so is it with the lawyer. He would use
-more words than are either necessary or safe,
-merely to keep his hand in, if for no other reason.
-Just compare a contract entered into between
-shipping-merchants for the sale of a cargo, or between
-other men of business, railroad contractors,
-or stock-dealers, involving the outlay of millions,
-perhaps, with a deed of trust drawn by a thoroughbred
-conveyancer, or with articles of co-partnership
-by any thing alive in the shape of an attorney-at-law,
-if you wish to see the difference between the language
-of lawyers, and men of business and common sense.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>By this, I would not be understood to say that
-some lawyers are never needed for putting the language
-and meaning of parties into shape; nor that
-“I. O. U.” would be a model for a charter-party, or
-a church settlement; for I acknowledge that the
-chief business of the world cannot be carried on
-<span class='it'>safely</span> without lawyers. I only say, that we have
-too many of them; and that they are encouraged to
-intermeddle more than is good for themselves, or us,
-with every sort of business and branch of the <span class='it'>Lex
-mercatoria</span>, and the <span class='it'>Lex non scripta</span>.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Another reason why the people are not allowed to
-have the laws of their own Country in their own
-language, but in that of the learned few—like the
-Bible for the Roman Catholics—notwithstanding the
-ridiculous parade of publishing all the laws in thousands
-of our newspapers in a year—a better hoax,
-and a better joke by far than the celebrated bequest
-of a guinea, toward paying off the national debt of
-our mother country—that mother of Nations, so
-cleverly represented by Victoria, just now—is, that
-we may <span class='it'>not</span> be able to judge for ourselves; and that
-no <span class='it'>law</span> shall be of any private interpretation; for if
-it did, the people would soon be independent of most
-lawyers; and then, what would become of the superannuated,
-and the helpless, the fledglings, and the
-understrappers? They would have to rely for support
-in their old age upon the interpretation of themselves,
-and of their own cramped penmanship, instead
-of the legislative enactments.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But, say certain of my brethren, the law, after all,
-is a great science, and the profession worthy of profound
-respect. It is over-crowded to be sure; and
-some, it must be acknowledged, do not succeed at
-the bar, and after trying it for a while are obliged to
-leave it, or starve. Granted—but what does that
-prove? Can those who do not succeed be greater
-blockheads, or greater knaves than many others that
-do? And may it not be just possible, if they, who
-do not succeed in the profession are otherwise distinguished,
-that they had too much self-respect, or
-conscientiousness, or what may be called <span class='it'>honesty</span>?
-Thus much by way of a protestanda—or the “exclusion
-of a conclusion,” according to my Lord Coke.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now, with all seriousness, what more shall be
-said? I have shown: 1.—That my brethren of the
-bar enjoy a very dangerous and altogether very disproportionate
-power as the law-makers, the law interpreters,
-and the law enforcers. 2.—That however
-honest they may be <span class='it'>by nature</span>; and however
-honest in all the other relations of life; and that they
-are so, I acknowledge with pleasure; yet, as Lawyers,
-they have a code of morals peculiar to themselves,
-making it their duty to league with knaves,
-and cheats, and murderers, and house-breakers, and
-to furnish them with aid and comfort, <span class='it'>for pay</span>; in
-other words, for <span class='it'>a share in their profits</span>, and this
-<span class='it'>duty</span> is of such a nature as to lead them continually
-astray, to blind their reasoning powers, to darken
-their consciences, until they are incapable of distinguishing
-between truth and falsehood, or right and
-wrong in the defense of their clients; and that under
-pretense of being <span class='it'>faithful</span> to them, they become
-after a while too unfaithful to everybody else, even
-to themselves, and to their Maker; and that <span class='it'>therefore</span>
-they are not trustworthy as legislators. 3.—That
-in consequence of their position as the holders
-of political power, too large a portion of our young
-men—our intellectual strength and hope, is diverted
-into that particular profession, to the injury of every
-other, and especially to the business, and laboring, or
-productive professions. 4.—That another evil is our
-superabundant legislation—the instability of that legislation—the
-prodigious cost of so many debating
-societies maintained at the public charge, under pretence
-of law-making all over the land; whereby the
-public business of the whole country is delayed,
-month after month, and year after year; and sometimes
-never done—or if done at all, is done at last in
-such a hurry, and after such a slovenly fashion, that
-when the law-makers are called together again, a
-large portion of the little time they are enabled to set
-apart from electioneering, is spent in patching up
-and explaining the laws of a previous session; here,
-by taking a piece off the bottom and sewing it on the
-top, as the Irishman lengthens his blanket; and
-there, by taking out a piece of the same, to patch a
-hole with: and that <span class='it'>therefore</span>, notwithstanding a
-multitude of glorious exceptions to be found, year
-after year, in the senate chambers and representative
-chambers of our country, Lawyers are never to <span class='it'>be
-trusted in the making of laws</span>; and that, if it were not
-for the simple fact that, as judges, they are the only
-authorized expounders of the law, they ought not to
-be trusted even with the wording of a statute.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now, what more? We are all ambitious—lawyers
-above all the rest of the world in this country.
-Not one but labors—if we may believe his mother
-and sister, or his betrothed—not one “but labors
-with the nightmare meanings of Ambition’s breast”—not
-one who does not feel—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;“How hard it is to climb</p>
-<p class='line0'>The steep where Fame’s proud temple shines afar!”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>and therefore it is, that the whole country is groaning
-under their oppression—over-burthened with law—and
-taxed, and trapped, and crushed, and trampled
-on by lawyers.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But, if instead of this unhealthy ambition—this
-boyish uneasiness and appetite for notoriety, which
-three times out of four will be satisfied with the title
-of esquire, there should arise the unconquerable spirit
-of one created for dominion, with the holy instincts
-of a reformer, and anxious from the first hour of his
-revealed strength, to be the friend of the Fatherless
-and the Widow, of the Wronged and the Suffering—the
-champion of the poor and the helpless—the
-refuge of the hunted and betrayed upon earth—let
-him devote himself to the study and practice of the
-law, and of nothing but the law, in its vast and magnificent
-comprehensiveness; let him consecrate himself
-with prayer, and praise, and thanksgiving and
-sacrifice—let him go up to the temple with humility
-and reverence, and godly fear; and let him take possession
-“of the purple robe and diadem of gold,”
-as of right, and though his life may be a continual
-warfare, and he may die in the harness at last, and
-upon the battle-field, as Pinkney and Emmett, and
-others have died before him—for</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“He, who ascends to mountain-tops shall find</p>
-<p class='line0'>The loftiest peaks most wrapped in clouds and snow,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Round him are icy rocks, and loudly blow</p>
-<p class='line0'>Contending tempests on his naked head.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>Yet will he die the death of the righteous, and never be
-forgotten: and whole communities will pass by his
-grave, generation after generation, saying to one
-another as if speaking of a personal friend, “that although
-he was a great man, and a great lawyer, and
-perhaps a statesman, he was a good neighbor, and a
-good citizen, a good husband and a good father; and
-<span class='it'>therefore</span> a good Christian, doing justly, walking
-humbly, and loving mercy to the last.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And would not such a death, my dear G——, be
-worth living for? And such a reputation worth
-dying for?</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk119'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='235' id='Page_235'></span><h1><a id='elph'></a>ELPHOLEN. A FRAGMENT.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY A NEW CONTRIBUTOR.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Where many cedars shade Igondo’s shelf,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Like towering Dukes of Edom crowned with plumes;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Where seven rivers to an awful gulf</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Fall, with much foam, from Himalaya’s flooms;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And where, from Baal-Phaxi’s caverned rooms,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Through ice-arched galleries pours tumultuous Ulf,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Are built across a swarthy savage glen,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The gates which bar the land of Elpholen.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Above all mountains, clouds, and smoking isles,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;From one huge base three stately hills arise;</p>
-<p class='line0'>A wall extends from them a thousand miles,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Steep and unbroken, builded to the skies,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;<span class='it'>Higher than even the gray-winged condor flies</span>;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And compasseth, with rocks and snowy piles</p>
-<p class='line0'>A table land, both wide and wonderful,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And only by that gated pass accessible—</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Crossing a frightful plain which the sun scorches,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Which plain is full of chasms and trap-dykes,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Scoriæ, cinders, and dry river gorges,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With timber petrified, basaltic spikes,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And lava-ponds, with hard, black, stony surges</p>
-<p class='line0'>We reached the shaded pass below the peaks,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And paused to hear the roar of plunging Ulf,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And the seven rivers, far within the gulf.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Up that defile, with fear and silent wonder,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;We rode; <span class='it'>our horses seemed but two small mice</span>.</p>
-<p class='line0'>The rivers in the gulf gave forth <span class='it'>large</span> thunder,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And rocks, above the clouds, fell, bounding thrice,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With uproar, from the grim cliffs, cracked asunder.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Aloft, like Anakim, with helms of ice</p>
-<p class='line0'>The mountains raised their huge Plutonic shoulders,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Clothed in Titanic mail of ore and boulders.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Three Prophets of grand stature and bald brows</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Sat by the gates. <span class='it'>They were much older than</span></p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>The river Nile.</span> One of deep eyes arose</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And said: “Speak unto us what manner of man</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thou art, O, hero; if of some fierce clan</p>
-<p class='line0'>Hyperborean, or of pagan Huns?”</p>
-<p class='line0'>He of the icebergs spoke with rhetoric fit</p>
-<p class='line0'>In words and figures following, to wit;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.</p>
-<p class='line0'>The Prophet said, “Here shalt thou rest this night</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;While the sun sleeps in hollow Erebus;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And as the hours pass on in silent flight</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;All known philosophy will we discuss.</p>
-<p class='line0'>But thou, O wizard Etheuòlymus,</p>
-<p class='line0'>To Himmalaya’s broken pinnacle</p>
-<p class='line0'>Fly with this young esquire, that he may see</p>
-<p class='line0'>All kingdoms on the continent that be.”</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Then, with the wizard in a flying mist,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;I rose along the sides of that steep cone:</p>
-<p class='line0'>’Twas like an iron trunk of girdle vast;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The moon’s full globe upon all cities shone;</p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Tyre</span>, by the waters; glimmering Ascalon;</p>
-<p class='line0'>The City of the Magians, girt with fire;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And in the East we saw those mountain ranges</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which separate the Nile from sacred Ganges.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Alas! all earthly things have been revised</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Even Learning’s careful patron and Protector,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The Inquisition, is disorganized.</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The world is round, and has a Radius Vector;</p>
-<p class='line0'>There’s not a ghost on duty, nor a spectre;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Sinbad is dead, and almost any loafer</p>
-<p class='line0'>Can go, in steamers, round Cape Horn to Ophir.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Then, on the blackness of the Night’s deep chasm,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The anchored earth lay, floating, like a floor:—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Beneath, the shadow and the veiled phantasm</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Their local habitation had of yore;</p>
-<p class='line0'>But each veiled shadow, and each dreadful phasm</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Rose with the night, above the western shore—</p>
-<p class='line0'>When, through the void, all flame and ruddy gold</p>
-<p class='line0'>The Day-god’s cavalcade, descending, rolled.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Without the continent, old Ocean’s torrent</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Extended to the earth’s remotest verge:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Both jovial Tritons, and the Powers abhorrent,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Were seized of provinces upon the surge;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And from Arcturus to the Southern gorge</p>
-<p class='line0'>Black tempests bearing old Eolus’ warrant</p>
-<p class='line0'>Patrolled the seas in search of ships or steamers</p>
-<p class='line0'>Breaking the closes of the ocean emirs.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Through the dense night, archangels of strong wing,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;From heaven roving, saw the earth’s vast plane—</p>
-<p class='line0'>The kingdoms of the Pole, all glimmering—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The twisted rivers, and the enfolding main—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The shining gulfs which dent the Indian chain,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And smiled to see the hollow planets swing</p>
-<p class='line0'>Above that dim abyss within whose core</p>
-<p class='line0'>Were hooked the world’s deep sunken anchors four.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Large breakers tumbling on the Arabian shoals,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With wooded regions by the Caucasian gaps—</p>
-<p class='line0'>The town of Ebony, the land of Gholes,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;(Which are omitted in the modern maps)—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;All these I saw; and hills with misty caps,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Where dwell the Glactophagi—blameless souls:</p>
-<p class='line0'>The wizard spoke—I was with awe oppressed:</p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>The words like ghosts rose from his sounding chest</span>—</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“These mountains I have watched a thousand years;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And I <span class='it'>have writ one thousand solemn books:</span></p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Who reads them shall be wise!</span> Hell’s fiercest Peers</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Have oft essayed to burst these bolted rocks;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And, under Baal-Phaxi’s deepest blocks,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Mines they have digged, and loaded, and exploded.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Yea, Mogophur, the Lord of Babylon,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Came with his captains and a countless rabble on—</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Of spearmen, chariots, and Tartarian riders,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;<span class='it'>Whose faces were the likeness of a flame</span>,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And elephants crept through the pass like spiders,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And the whole College of Magicians came,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Who caused sharp earthquakes and much whizzing flame</p>
-<p class='line0'>By means of diagrams, and long dividers,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And thus exclaimed each iron-harnessed savage,</p>
-<p class='line0'>‘The unseen land of Elpholen we’ll ravage.’</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“I did but ope one solemn book, and say:</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;‘O, ye Hydraulic Goblins of the mountains,</p>
-<p class='line0'>At once your tunnels, pumps, and flooms let play;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And loose old Himmalah’s rock-bound fountains.’</p>
-<p class='line0'>Then rivers of cold foam and spouting spray,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And cataracts which broke the cliffs away,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Burst from the mountains’ inner reservoirs.</p>
-<p class='line0'>’Twas very good to see those watery Druids</p>
-<p class='line0'>Destroy that haughty host, with roaring fluids!”</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.</p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>But now, those noisy trumpeters, the Hours,</span></p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;<span class='it'>Blew the reveillé through the camps of morn:</span></p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;<span class='it'>Now storm-girt Taurus raised his icy horn,</span></p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Like blazing silver</span>, o’er the mists and showers;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And sunlight struck the unclouded mountain towers,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Which ranged the circuit of that snowy wall:</p>
-<p class='line0'>We then rode down a chasm from the gates,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And entered Elpholen’s enchanted states.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>To a wild amphitheatre we rode,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Begirt with precipices. From an astounding</p>
-<p class='line0'>Cavern in the mountain-side, there flowed</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;A river deep and broad; but the surrounding</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Dark hollows echoed not a single sounding;</p>
-<p class='line0'>For silently it moved—<span class='it'>we only heard</span></p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>At times the plunging of some dull cascade</span></p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Far up the tunnel, like a cannonade.</span></p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Full many other rivers cross those lands,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Some, from the eternal snows come pouring;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Some, roll around the chasms, in foaming bends;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Some, through the hills, a ragged highway boring,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Rush to the valleys, with an angry roaring,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And hurry onward to the ocean sands;</p>
-<p class='line0'>But many a cataract and runlet trickles</p>
-<p class='line0'>Down from the glaciers, making huge icicles.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>We moved along by wooded peaks and crags,</span></p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;<span class='it'>Carvéd with images and hieroglyphs,</span></p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Ruffling their scales and quills like golden flags,</span></p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;<span class='it'>And, pawing their odd cubs, the hippogriffs</span></p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;<span class='it'>Rolled in their nests, upon the shady cliffs;</span></p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>And in the glens, both bears and royal stags,</span></p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>With lazy lions, goats, and yawning leopards</span></p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Like cattle lay, and children were their shepherds.</span></p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Along through ancient forests, vast, and slumbrous,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Roes, of the mountain, grazed beside the springs,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And often rose some bird of plumage cumbrous</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Unto the branches, folding his wide wings.</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;There, too, were tombs of certain wizard-kings—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Antediluvians of visage sombrous—</p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>And holy men, before their moss-grown crypts,</span></p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Studied in awful Syriac manuscripts.</span></p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Beyond, there dwelleth an immortal folk,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;About a stream, which to a lake enlarges:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Pine hills curve greenly round, and groves of oak,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Sometimes they rested on the river marges,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Sometimes they plowed the lake in hollow barges,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And sometimes, on the altars made <span class='it'>sweet</span> smoke,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Some painted pictures in their pleasant tents,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And many played on all stringed instruments.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>But some rode up unto the gorgeous clouds</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;<span class='it'>Around the necks of monstrous eagles clinging.</span></p>
-<p class='line0'>The people which do there have their abodes</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Welcoméd them with flags, and wild bell-ringing;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With musical cannon from th’ embrasures flinging</p>
-<p class='line0'>Puffs of white vapor, bombs, and rattling grape:—</p>
-<p class='line0'>The Goblin-populace of Cloud-land we</p>
-<p class='line0'>Could well behold:—Ah, they a brisk folk be!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>And caravans continually crossed the plains.</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Camels and elephants innumerable—</p>
-<p class='line0'>With carriages, and pigmy oxen trains,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And scampering knights, in armor of black shell,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Lords, bearded patriarchs, and gay rabble,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And baggage-wagons full of chattering dames,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And mounted archers, shooting slender arrows,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Wound slowly round the curving river narrows.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>But some came down the rivers on broad rafts;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;<span class='it'>With shells, and bells, and crooked bugles, waking</span></p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Numberless echoes on the rocks</span>. The shafts</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of the forests stood, like champions unquaking,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Though many clamors, the old silence breaking,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Startled the musing Hermits. Now arose</p>
-<p class='line0'>The stars, and moon, and all the hosts of night:</p>
-<p class='line0'>We stood above a plain upon a height.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Three noble rivers, in the moonlight shining,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Sparkled from three defiles in East, and West,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And North—in silence to a blue gulf winding,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Which, by the distant mountains, lay at rest;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And there a city with a massive crest</p>
-<p class='line0'>Of turrets, overlooked that rock-bound sheet.</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The rivers round it, in broad girdles pressed;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Bridges there were, and groves, and gardens meet;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And in the bay lay moored an idle fleet.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Unto that city did all people flow:</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In the deep plain we saw their circular camps,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Like islands of an archipelago;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And as we looked, <span class='it'>a belt of fiery lamps</span></p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Was wound around the crowning citadel;</span></p>
-<p class='line0'>Whereat each watching pilgrim said: “Full well</p>
-<p class='line0'>I know, that now within yon distant dell</p>
-<p class='line0'>The Lord of blessed Elpholen doth dwell.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“To him we will present our offering</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of fruits, and herds, and many precious ores,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which rivers from the mountain-summits bring:—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Upon the gulf’s cool strand, and shady shores</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Our ancient games we will perform long hours:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Then we will go again to our dear tribes,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And to our cattle in the pleasant meadows,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And dappled deer browsing in mountain shadows.”</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>That night we camped upon the sandy margent</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of an unknown sea; and when, behind sharp peaks,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The moon retired in her skiff of argent,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Then certain meteors filled the sky with streaks,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And diving, from the zenith-ridge divergent,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Through the purple heavens fell in flakes,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which, as they struck the water, lost their light,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And grew a portion of its night.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Meanwhile we saw a corps of sentry ghosts,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Standing erect the farthest Eastern shore on,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And many thousand stars, above those coasts,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;<span class='it'>Flashed like the Arabic of a fiery Koran;</span></p>
-<p class='line0'>Then those great captains of the heavenly hosts,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Orion, Sirius, and Aldebóran,</p>
-<p class='line0'>On the dark field of Heaven took their stations;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And calmly wheeled the close-ranked constellations.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>No outposts of the Morn marked the approach</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of the Hœlios’ chariot; no gleams, or tinges</p>
-<p class='line0'>Upon the tent of Darkness dared encroach;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;But sudden brilliance pierced its dusky fringes;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Wide swung the Morning’s gates upon their hinges;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Those burning horses, and that flaming coach</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Sprang out upon the ocean, through the gateway:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Night struck her tattered tent, and vanished straightway.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk120'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='236' id='Page_236'></span><h1><a id='vic'></a>A LIFE OF VICISSITUDES.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='pindent'>[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by <span class='sc'>George Payne Rainsford James</span>, in the Clerk’s
-Office of the District Court of the United States for the District of Massachusetts.]</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>(<span class='it'>Continued from page 147.</span>)</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>A YOUNG DREAM.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Memory</span> is certainly a very strange gift, or quality
-of the mind—or whatever else it may be rightly
-termed; for I am no philosopher, and but little acquainted
-with the technology of metaphysics. It
-seems often a capricious faculty, selecting its own
-objects, and amusing itself with them to the rejection
-of others. But I am not quite sure that this imputation
-upon memory is justified. I must admit that
-with myself, as I suppose is the case with others,
-when I try to recall the past, the lady often proves
-restive with me, and without any apparent cause,
-recalls all the particulars of certain scenes, and
-omits other passages of life close by them. Nor is
-this to be attributed always to the particular interest
-of the scenes she recalls; for some of them are quite
-unimportant, light, and even ludicrous, while things
-affecting one’s whole destiny, if not utterly forgotten,
-are brought back but indistinctly. I suspect, however,
-that the fact is, memory is like a sentinel who
-will not let any one enter the treasury she guards
-without the countersign, even though it be the master
-of the treasure himself.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The objects and events that we remember best
-are, in fact, those for which we have learned the
-countersign by heart, and the moment that any accidental
-circumstance furnishes us with the pass-word,
-apparently forgotten, the door is thrown open, and
-we behold them again, somewhat dusty perhaps, but
-plain and distinct. Acts never die. They at least
-are immortal; and I do not think they ever die to
-memory either. They sleep within, and it only requires
-to have the key to waken them. The time
-will come when all shall be awakened: when every
-door of the heart shall be thrown open, and when
-the spirits of man’s deeds and thoughts will stand revealed
-to his own eyes at least—perhaps to be his
-bright companions in everlasting joy—perhaps his
-tormentors in the hell which he has dug for himself.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Often, often, as I look back in life, I see a cloud
-hanging over a particular spot in the prospect, which
-for days, sometimes for years, will hide all beyond.
-Then suddenly the lightest trifle—a casual word—a
-peculiar odor—the carol of a bird—the notes of some
-old melody, will, as with a charm, dispel that cloud—sometimes
-dissolving it in rain-drops—sometimes
-absorbing it in sunshine—and all that it concealed
-will burst upon the sight in horror or in loveliness.
-Even while I have been writing these few pages
-many things have thus been brought back to remembrance
-by the connection of one event with another,
-which seemed to have altogether passed away from
-memory when first I sat down to write. Now what
-is the next thing I remember; for the rest of our
-journey, after we left Juliers, has passed away from
-me?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I find myself on looking back, in a small, neat
-house, with a garden, and a little fountain in the garden,
-upon a sandy soil, and with a forest of long
-needle-leaved fir-trees stretching out to the westward.
-To the east there is a city of no very great
-extent, but still a capital, with a range of high hills
-running in a wavy line behind, and here and there
-an old ruined castle upon the lower points.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Before the city lies a wide plain, rich and smiling,
-full of corn-fields and vineyards, with here and there
-a curious-looking spire or a couple of dome-topped
-towers marking the place of a village or small town,
-and beyond the plain, glistening in a long, long
-wavy line of silver, glides a broad river—the mighty
-Rhine.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Oh! what sweet sunny lapses come cheering and
-softening the rapid course of life’s troubled stream.
-There are several of those green spots of memory,
-as the poet calls it—these oases in the midst of the
-desert, even within my own remembrance. But on
-few, if any of them can my heart rest with as much
-pleasure as on the months we passed in that little
-cottage. There were no events—there was no excitement—for
-me and Mariette, at least. I remember
-wandering with her about that sunny garden,
-playing with her in the cool, airy pleasure-house
-which stood in one corner, helping her to gather
-flowers to deck her mother’s table, wandering with
-her through the forest beneath the green shade, with
-the dry, brown filaments of the fir crackling under
-our young feet. Here and there we would come to
-a place where oaks and beeches mingled with the
-pine and a thick growth of underwood narrowed our
-path; but as compensation, we were there sure to
-find a rich treasure of wild-flowers, more beautiful
-in our eyes than all the garden bestowed. Very often,
-too, in the clear May evenings we would sit
-under the little shabby porch of the house—Mariette
-upon my knee, with her arms clasped round my
-neck—and as the sky grew gray, and the stars began
-to peer and glimmer up above, would listen to
-the notes of the nightingale as he prolonged his song
-after all the forest choir had fallen into silence; and
-when some of those peculiar notes were coming which
-we love the best to hear, and Mariette knew that the
-delicious cadence was nigh at hand, she would raise
-her beautiful liquid eyes to my face, and whisper
-“hark” and gaze at me still as if to share my enjoyment,
-and to make me share hers.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Oh! how that child twined herself round my boy’s
-heart. Dear, dear, dear Mariette. In all that I have
-seen in life, and strange and varied has that life been,
-I have never seen any thing that I loved as much as
-you. The first freshness of my thoughts—the first—the
-tenderest—the purest of my affections, were all
-yours!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But I took other tasks in hand. Good Father
-Bonneville resumed his lessons to me; but they
-were not very burdensome, and I began to teach
-Mariette. How this came about I must explain.
-Madame de Salins, who had borne up so well in
-times of danger and active exertion, became languid,
-inactive, sorrowful in the time of repose. She was
-evidently exceedingly anxious about something—often
-in tears—and often returned from the neighboring
-city where she went almost every day to seek
-for letters, with a look of gloom and disappointment.
-She began to teach Mariette something herself, however;
-for from various circumstances the dear
-child’s instruction had been neglected. It was always
-a task to her, however, and her mind seemed
-wandering away to other things, till at length good
-Father Bonneville suggested that I would teach Mariette,
-and Mariette was delighted, and I rejoiced;
-and Madame de Salins, too, was very well satisfied
-at heart, I believe. Every thing was speedily arranged,
-but Mariette and I set to work formally and
-in good order. The books, and the slate, and the
-pen and ink were produced at a fixed hour, and if it
-were fine weather, we sat in the little shabby porch—if
-it were raining, in the little room that looked
-upon it. Dear, stupid little thing! What a world
-of trouble she gave me. She did not half know her
-letters when I began to teach her, and was continually
-mistaking the P’s and B’s, and Q’s and D’s.
-R and S, too, were sad stumbling-blocks, and the
-putting letters together into syllables, together with
-pricking the page with a pin occupied a long time.
-Then she was so volatile too. When I was pouring
-forth my young philosophy upon her, and laboring
-hard to teach her the sounds produced by different
-combinations of letters, she would start up and dart
-out into the garden in chase of a butterfly, or tempted
-by a flower. Then, when she came back and was
-scolded, how she would coax and wheedle her soft
-young tutor, and kiss his cheek and pat his hair, and
-one way or another contrive to get the words “good
-Mariette” written at the end of every lesson to show
-her mother. I have got the book still, all full of pin
-holes, and strange figures scribbled on it with a pen;
-but not one lesson in it has not “good Mariette”
-written at the end, though Heaven knows she was
-often naughty enough to merit another comment.
-But I was a true lover even then, and perhaps loved
-the dear child’s faults.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Moreover, at the end of that book of little reading
-lessons there is a page which I have kissed a thousand
-times since. It represents—and not very badly—Mariette
-as she appeared then with a little spaniel
-dog looking up in her face. Oh! how well I recollect
-when it was drawn. I could always handle my
-pencil well, though I don’t know when I learnt
-to draw; but as we were coming near the end of
-the book, I promised Mariette if she would be a very
-good girl indeed, and get through the remaining lessons
-in a week, that I would draw her picture at the
-end with an imaginary dog which she was always to
-have at some indefinite period in the future; for she
-was exceedingly fond of dogs, and I believe the
-highest ambition of her heart at that moment was to
-have a spaniel of her own. Before Saturday night
-fell, the lessons were all done, and I was immediately
-reminded of my promise. We sat in the
-porch, with the western sky just growing purple,
-and I made her get up and stand at a little distance,
-and sketched her lightly with a pen and ink, and then
-at her feet, I drew from memory the best dog I could
-manufacture, with its ears falling back, and its face
-turned up toward her. How delighted she was
-when she saw it, and how she clapped her little
-hands! It was all charming, but the spaniel above
-all, and I doubt not she was convinced that she
-should soon have a dog exactly like that. She ran
-with it, first to Father Bonneville, who was in the
-next room, and then to her mother, who was very
-sad that evening; but she kissed her child, and
-looked at the drawing, and dropped some tears upon
-it—the traces are there still.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Then Mariette came back to me, and thanked and
-embraced me, and declared that I was the dearest,
-best boy that ever lived, and that when she was old
-enough, she would draw me at the end of one of my
-books, with a great big dog as big as a horse.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This is all very trifling perhaps, and not much
-worthy of record, but in those trifling times, and
-those trifling things lie the brightest and the sweetest
-memories of my life. It was all so pure, so artless,
-so innocent. We were there in that little garden, as
-in a Paradise, and the atmosphere of all our thoughts
-was the air of Eden.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Such things never last very long. I reached my
-thirteenth birth-day there, and it was kept with
-kindly cheerfulness by Father Bonneville and Madame
-de Salins. Mariette I remember wove me a
-wreath of flowers, and put it on my head after dinner;
-but that was her last happy day for a long
-while. The next day Madame de Salins walked to
-the city as usual, and Father Bonneville went with
-her. They were long in returning; but when they
-did come back there was a sparkling light in the
-eyes of Madame de Salins which I little fancied
-augured so much wo to me.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Come, Louis, come,” said Father Bonneville.
-“Madame de Salins has heard good news at length.
-She must set out this very evening for England.
-The carriage and horses will be here in an hour, and
-we must all help her to get ready.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“And Mariette?” I asked, with an indescribable
-feeling of alarm. “Does she stay here?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No, my son, no,” replied Father Bonneville, almost
-impatiently. “She goes with her mother of
-course.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Grown people forget the feelings of childhood,
-especially old people, and appreciate too little either
-the pangs or joys of youth. Blessed is the man
-who bestows a happy childhood upon any one.
-We cannot shelter mature life from its pangs and
-sorrows, but we can insure, if we like, that the
-brightest portion of the allotted space—the portion
-where the heart is pure, and the thoughts unsullied—shall
-be exempt in those we love from the
-pangs, and cares, and sorrows which, so insignificant
-in our eyes, are full of bitter significance to a
-child.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Father Bonneville did not know how terribly his
-intelligence depressed my heart. He rejoiced in
-Madame de Salins’ brightening prospects, although
-they deprived him of society that cheered and comforted.
-I was more selfish; I thought only that I
-was again to lose Mariette, and I grieved from my
-very heart. I would not disgrace the first manhood
-of my teens by bursting into tears, though the inclination
-to do so was very strong, and I assisted in the
-preparations as much as I could. But oh how I
-wished that some accident might happen to the
-horses before they reached our door, or that the carriage
-might break down—that any thing might happen
-which would give me one—but one day more.
-It was not to be, however: the ugly brutes, and the
-little less ugly driver, appeared not more than half
-an hour behind their time, the baggage was put up,
-and Madame de Salins proceeded to the door of the
-house. She embraced Father Bonneville tenderly,
-and then me, and taking a little gold chain which
-she had in her hand, and spreading it out with her
-fingers, she placed it round my neck, and I saw a
-small ring hanging to it, which I found afterward
-contained her own hair and Mariette’s.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Keep it, Louis, keep it always,” she said. “I
-do not know when we shall meet again; but I pray
-God to bless you, dear boy, and repay you for all
-you have done for me and mine.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was at that moment that the idea of a long
-separation seemed to strike Mariette for the first
-time. She burst into the most terrible fit of tears I
-ever saw, and when I took her in my arms she
-clung round my neck so tight that it was hardly possible
-to remove her. Madame de Salins wept too,
-but went slowly into the carriage, and Father Bonneville
-unclasping the dear child’s arms carried her
-away to her mother’s knee. I could bear no more,
-and running away to my own little room, gave way
-to all I felt; only lifting up my head to take one
-more look, when I heard the harsh grating of the
-carriage-wheels as they rolled away.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>A SUMMARY.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I have often thought that it must be a curious, and
-by no means unimportant, or useless process, which
-the Roman Catholic is frequently called upon to go
-through, when preparing his mind for confession.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The above sentence may startle any one who reads
-these pages, and he may exclaim—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The Roman Catholic!” Is not the writer—born
-in a Roman Catholic country, educated by a Roman
-Catholic priest, and with the force of his beautiful
-example to support all his precepts—is he not himself
-a Roman Catholic, or does he mean to say that
-he has never himself been to confession?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Never mind. That shall all be explained hereafter.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The process I allude to is that of making, as it
-were, a summary of all the acts and events, which
-have occurred within a certain period of the past,
-trying them by the test of reason and of conscience,
-and endeavoring to clear away all the mists of passion,
-prejudice, and error which crowd round man
-and obscure his sight in the moment of exertion or
-pursuit. Such is not exactly the task I propose to
-myself just now. All I propose to myself is to give
-a very brief and sketch-like view of the facts which
-occupied the next two or three years of my life. It
-will be faint enough. Rather a collection of reminiscences
-than of any thing else—often detached
-from each other, and never, I fear, very sharply defined.
-The truth is, events at that period were so
-hurried that they seemed to jostle each other in the
-memory, and often when I wish to render my own
-thoughts clear upon the particular events of the
-period, I am obliged to have recourse to the written
-or printed records of the events, where they lie chronicled
-in the regular order of occurrence.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I know that after Mariette’s departure, I was very
-sad and very melancholy for several weeks. Father
-Bonneville with all his kindness and tenderness, and
-with much greater consideration for the faults and
-weaknesses of others than for his own, did not seem
-to comprehend my sensations at all at first, and could
-not imagine—till he had turned it in his own mind a
-great many times, and painted a picture of it, as it
-were in imagination, that the society of a little girl
-of six years old could have become so nearly a necessity
-to a boy of thirteen. He became convinced,
-however, in the end that I was, what he called
-“pining after Mariette.” He strove then to amuse
-me in various ways—occupied my mind with fresh
-studies—procured for me many English books, and
-directed my attention to the study of German, which
-he himself spoke well, and which I mastered with
-the ready facility of youth. We all know how children
-imbibe a language, rather than learn it, and I
-had not at that time lost the blessed faculty of acquisition.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>All this had its effect, while I was busying my
-mind with other things—for I pursued every object
-with earnestness, nay with eagerness—I thought
-little of my loneliness, but often when my lessons
-were done, and I was tired of reading, and indisposed
-to walk, I would sit in our little garden, and
-looking round upon the various objects about me,
-would recall the pretty figure of my dear little lost
-Mariette dancing in and out amongst the trees and
-shrubs, and almost fancy I heard her sweet voice,
-and the prattle which used so to delight me,
-strangely mingled as it was, of the innocent frankness
-of her nature, and a certain portion of shy reserve,
-which had been forced into her mind by the
-various painful scenes she had gone through.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>One evening as I was thus seated and looking out
-upon the road, which ran between our small house
-and the forest, I saw an old woman coming down
-from the high road which led to the town with a slow
-and weary pace. I should not have taken much notice
-of her, perhaps, had not her dress been very different
-from that of the peasantry in the neighborhood.
-It was a dress which awakened old recollections—that
-of the Canton in which I had been brought up,
-if not born. There was the white cap, with the long
-ears flapping down almost to the shoulders, and the
-top running up and curling over into a sort of helmet
-shape—Heaven only knows how it was constructed;
-but it was a very complicated piece of architecture.
-Then again there was the neat little jacket of dull
-colored gingham, and beneath it the short petticoat
-of bright red cloth, with the blue stockings, and the
-red embroidered clocks, and the high-heeled shoes
-with the silver buckles in them. She carried a good
-sized bundle in her hand, and held her head upright,
-though she was evidently tired. But as she came
-nearer, I saw a round, dry, apple-like face, with two
-sparkling black eyes and a nose of extensive proportions.
-I was upon my feet in one moment, and the
-next, good old Jeanette was in my arms.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I need not say how rejoiced I was to see her, or
-how rejoiced was also Father Bonneville, nor need
-I tell all her simple history since we had left her in
-France; nor how we wondered at her achieving so
-long a journey in perfect safety. Her account, however,
-showed how simple the whole process had
-been, though I do not mean to say that Jeanette put
-her statement altogether in the most simple terms.
-She was not without her own little share of vanity,
-innocent and primeval as it was. She did not, indeed,
-strive to enhance the value of her services and
-affection toward us, but she seemed to consider that
-she was magnified in abstract importance by dangers
-undergone and privations suffered. She told us how
-far she had walked on foot, where she had got a Diligence,
-where somebody had given her a ride in a
-cart, where she had got no supper, where she had
-got a good one, where she had been cheated of fifteen
-sous at least, and where the landlord and landlady
-were good honest people, and had treated her
-well for a reasonable remuneration. Her great difficulties
-had begun in Germany; the language of
-which land she understood not at all, but by dint of
-patient perseverance, and asking questions in French
-of every person she met—whether they understood
-that language or not—she had made her way at
-length to the spot which good Father Bonneville’s
-last letter had indicated as his place of residence, not
-having gone, by the nicest calculation, more than
-eight hundred and seventy-four miles out of her
-way. She looked upon it as a feat of great importance,
-and was reasonably proud of it; but she
-thought fit to assign her motives for coming at all—although
-those motives were not altogether very
-coherent, nor did the premises invariably agree with
-the deductions. Indeed, Father Bonneville was a
-little shocked at some of the proceedings of his good
-housekeeper; for he had a great objection to using
-dirty arms against those who even used dirty arms
-against him. It seemed that after Jeanette had notified
-his absence to the municipality, his books,
-papers, and furniture had been seized for the rapacious
-maw of the public good. An auction had been
-held on the premises, and every thing had been sold;
-but Jeanette boldly produced a claim upon the effects
-of the absconding priest for a great arrear of wages,
-which she roundly asserted had never been paid.
-She brought forward the agreement between Father
-Bonneville and herself, in which the amount to be
-paid monthly was clearly stated, and as the commune
-could show no receipts it was obliged to pass
-the good housekeeper’s account, and pay her the
-money out of the funds raised by the sale. Some
-laughed, indeed, and said that the good woman had
-learnt the first grand art of taking care of herself,
-while others defended her on the ground that it was
-rather laudable than otherwise to pillage an aristocrat.
-They cited even the cases of Moses and
-Pharaoh, where the plunder of the Egyptians was not
-only lauded, but commanded. An old touch of religious
-fanaticism reigned in that part of the country,
-and men, even the most atheistical in profession and
-in action, which is still more, could quote Scripture
-for their purpose when it served their purpose.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We are told that the devil does the same—and I
-think it very likely.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The sum thus received from Jeanette—swelled by
-every item she could think of, was by no means inconsiderable;
-but she had not cheated a fraudulent and
-oppressive civic government for her own peculiar
-benefit. The sum which had been left her by Father
-Bonneville, and the wages which had been paid
-her, sufficed to maintain her for several months in
-Angoumois—in her frugal mode of living—and to
-carry her across the whole of France, leaving her
-with some dozen or two of livres at the time she
-reached us in Germany. The money which she had
-obtained from the commune, all carefully deposited
-in a canvas bag, she produced and placed in the
-hands of Father Bonneville, who, to say sooth, did
-not well know what to do in the peculiar circumstances
-of the case. Jeanette justified her acts and
-deeds toward the commune upon the same principle
-on which some members of the commune had justified
-her supposed acts toward Father Bonneville.
-She did not know much about spoiling the Egyptians
-indeed; but her mind was not sufficiently refined
-to see the harm of cheating cheats, or spoiling
-plunderers of part of their plunder.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I believe the good Father talked to her seriously
-on the subject when I was not present; but what
-became of the money I do not know. All I can tell,
-is, that the good Father never seemed to be actually
-in want of money, and that all those romantic distresses
-which hinge upon the absence of a crown-piece,
-were spared us even in our exile.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Time passed. Jeanette was fully established in
-her old post in the household, with the addition of
-another German maid-servant. The one whom she
-found with us was strongly imbued with despotic
-ideas; and was, for good reasons, unwilling to submit
-either to the orders of a foreign superior in her peculiar
-department, or to the inspection of accounts
-and prices which she soon found was to be established.
-Another German girl, consequently, was
-sought for and found, who being younger in age, unhardened
-by experience, and of a diffident nature,
-willingly undertook to receive a dollar and a half a
-month, and do the harder work of the house under
-the orders of Jeanette, of which she did not understand
-one word.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Our peaceful state of existence, however, was not
-destined to be of very long duration. The successes
-of the allies, then combating the republicans of
-France, both on the northern and eastern frontier,
-insured us, for some time, tranquillity and safety.
-We heard of the defeat of the French army at Neerwinden,
-and the fall of Valenciennes and <a id='cond'></a>Condé,
-mixed with vague rumors of the defection of <a id='dum1'></a>Dumouriez,
-and the flight of some of the most celebrated
-generals in the French army. These latter
-events gave great joy and satisfaction to Father
-Bonneville; for his hopeful mind looked forward to
-the re-establishment of law and order in his native
-country, and to the utter abasement of the anarchical
-party in France before the skill of <a id='dum2'></a>Dumouriez, and
-the bayonets of the Austrians joined with those of
-all the well disposed and moderate of the land
-itself.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Many others shared in the same delusions; but
-the manifestoes of the Austrians, soon checked all
-enthusiasm, even on the part of the emigrants. No
-pretence was made of coming to support the loyal
-and orderly in the re-establishment of a monarchy, and
-a war of aggression and dismemberment was gladly
-commenced against France from the moment that
-<a id='dum3'></a>Dumouriez’s more generous—and I must say, more
-prudent schemes, were rendered abortive by circumstances.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Doubtless, this first raised some indignation in the
-bosom of Father Bonneville, who was of too true and
-really loyal a nature to see unmoved, his native land
-partitioned by the sword, upon any pretence or coloring
-whatever. I do not know why, but these matters
-did not appear to me in the same light. I
-thought the people of France had committed a great
-crime, and deserved to be punished, as if they were
-but one simple, individual man. I thought that all
-who were genuine loyalists or supporters of an orderly
-and constitutional system were guilty of a
-crime little less great than that of the anarchists, in
-their dastardly holding back when great questions involving
-the whole fate of France, hung upon the simple
-exertion of a well ordered body of the bourgeoisie;
-and I saw not why they should not be punished
-for their culpable negligence which was more
-disastrous in effect than all the virulence of the terrorists—I
-saw not why those who committed tremendous
-crimes under the name of justice should
-not be brought under the sword of justice, and I
-looked forward, I confess, to a period of retribution
-with no little joy and satisfaction. It mattered not
-to me, in my ignorance of great affairs whether this
-was effected by the Austrians, the Prussians, or any
-other nation on the face of the earth, but France
-deserved punishment, and I hoped she might be
-punished.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The expectations of retribution were destined to
-be long unfulfilled. The manifestoes of the Allies
-acted with singular power and significance, producing
-combinations not at all expected. The royalists,
-the constitutionalists, who still remained in France,
-prepared to resist operations, the avowed object of
-which was the dismemberment of France itself, and
-not the restoration of a purified monarchy. They
-were willing to support even their mortal enemies
-within the land, in resisting the newly declared enemies
-of the whole land, who were advancing along
-two frontiers. The republicans were roused to the
-most powerful and successful exertions in order to
-repel a slow and cautious, but victorious enemy from
-their frontiers, and even the émigrés, who were scattered
-all along the banks of the Rhine, protested
-loudly against a scheme, which not only menaced
-the integrity of France as it then existed, but threatened
-to deprive the monarchy of some of its fairest
-provinces, if the legitimate line of their sovereigns
-should ever be restored.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>No contrivance could have been devised so well
-calculated to reunite the greatest possible number of
-Frenchmen in opposition to a counter-revolution,
-and to render all others indifferent to the progress of
-the allied arms, as the proclamation of the Prince of
-Coburg. Some few, indeed, thought with me, but
-mine were doubtless boyish thoughts: for I have
-ever remarked that it is experience, and the hard
-lessons of the world, which bring moderation.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Father Bonneville seldom talked upon these subjects
-with me; for he had rightly no great opinion
-of my judgment in matters of which I could have
-had but a very vague knowledge, and he little knew
-how often and how deeply I thought upon such
-questions.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The siege and capture of Mayence, however: the
-inactivity of Custine, and the retreat of the whole of
-the French armies within the frontier line, seemed
-to insure to us perfect security, for a long time to
-come, in our calm and pleasant retreat upon the
-banks of the Rhine: when suddenly burst forth that
-wild and vengeful spirit of reaction which armed all
-France, almost as one man, against attacks from
-without, and soon retrieved all she had lost under a
-weak government and inexperienced commander.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Toward the end of the year, our situation became
-somewhat perilous. After a long period of successes,
-the fruits of which were all lost by indecision or
-procrastination, the allied armies found themselves
-the assailed rather than the assailers, the conquered
-rather than the conquerors; and the fierce spirit of the
-Frank, the most war-loving, if not the most warlike,
-of all the nations of the earth was soon ready to
-carry the flaming sword into all the neighboring
-lands.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I have given this little sketch merely to connect
-the events together, without at all wishing to imply
-that I knew or comprehended all the facts at the
-time, or recollect them now, except with the aid of
-books. My own memories are very slight and
-merely personal. I remember lingering on for some
-months in that small house by the Rhine. I recollect
-the warm, bright summer sinking down into
-heavy autumn, and the year withering in the old age
-of winter. I recollect numerous reports and rumors,
-and gossip’s tales, and—falser than all—newspaper
-narratives, and printed dispatches, reaching us in
-our solitude, some of them exciting my wonder, and
-some of them my alarm, and then I recollect various
-passages of no great importance in a somewhat
-long journey, till I find myself in a quaint old town
-upon the border of Switzerland, near which the
-Rhine breaks over high rocks and forms the cascade
-of Schaffhausen.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This place is only notable in my memory for the
-beauty of the water-fall, which I have since seen
-surpassed in grandeur, but not in picturesque effect,
-and by one little incident which there brightened
-many an hour. One day, when we were there, a
-letter was delivered to Father Bonneville, in my
-presence, which he found to contain a small note
-addressed to me. It was the first letter I had ever
-received in my life, although I was now between
-fourteen and fifteen years of age, and the sensations
-which I experienced when it was placed in my
-hands, and I saw my own name on the back, were
-very strange. Imagination went whirling here and
-there, seeking to divine whence it could come. The
-mystery of my own strange, isolated existence—which
-was frequently present to my thoughts, was
-the first thing that fancy snatched at; but I did not
-remain long in uncertainty. The seal was soon
-broken, and I found a few lines in a round, childlike
-hand, very well written, and very well expressed,
-with the name of “Mariette de Salins” at the
-bottom.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She told me that she wrote to show me, her dear
-instructor, how much progress she had made in her
-studies; and to tell me that although she had now a
-great number of companions, she loved me as well as
-ever, and better than them all. She bade me not
-forget her though she did not doubt that I had
-grown a great, tall man, and she was still but a little
-girl.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I cannot express how much pleasure this gave me;
-for I had been oppressed by the thought that in new
-scenes and new circumstances, all memory of her
-young companion would soon be obliterated in the
-mind of my little Mariette. That such had not yet
-been the case was in itself a pleasure; but I calculated
-sagaciously that the very fact of having to
-write to me, and to recall our youthful intercourse
-would renew all her recollections of the time we
-had passed together, and give memory, as it were, a
-new point to start from.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Our stay in Schaffhausen only continued a few
-months; for the progress of events in France, and
-the revolutionary spirit which began to effect other
-countries, left it hardly possible for emigrants to find
-any secure spot in Europe, except indeed in England,
-and thither Father Bonneville did not seem
-inclined to go. At Schaffhausen, however, I pursued
-my studies very eagerly, and had the opportunity
-of acquiring some knowledge of those manly
-exercises which I had never yet had any opportunity
-of practicing. There was a very good riding-school in
-the town, to which Father Bonneville sent me every
-day; and a French exile, celebrated for his knowledge
-of the sword exercise, had set up a fencing
-school, in which I soon became a favorite pupil. I
-was now a tall, powerful lad, and what between the
-continual exercise of the riding-school, and the Salle
-d’Armes, all the powers of a frame, naturally robust,
-were speedily developed. Previous to this time, I
-had stooped a little from the habit of bending over
-books and drawings; but my chest now became expanded,
-my step firm, and I acquired a sort of military
-air, of which, I need hardly say, I was very
-proud.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Thus passed four months and a few days; but
-rumors of the intention of the French to march an
-army up the Rhine, induced Father Bonneville to
-move our quarters, and about a fortnight before my
-fifteenth birth-day, we traveled up to Constance, and
-then across what they call the <span class='it'>Boden See</span>—or lake
-of Constance, to the Vorarlberg.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>CHANGING SCENES AND THOUGHTS.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We passed some time in Switzerland, wandering
-from place to place, and never remaining for above
-a few months in any. Though not very rich, we
-were never in want of money; but it seemed to me
-that Father Bonneville protracted his stay occasionally
-in different towns, waiting the arrival of letters,
-and I concluded—having now acquired some
-knowledge of the general affairs of life—that these
-letters contained remittances. Whence they came,
-or by whom they were sent, I did not know;
-for Father Bonneville transacted all his money
-affairs himself, but at the age of sixteen he began to
-make me a regular allowance, too much for what is
-usually called pocket-money, and enough to have
-maintained me in a humble mode of life, even if he
-had not paid the whole expenses of housekeeping.
-With this money, at first, I committed, as I suppose
-all boys do, a great number of follies and extravagancies.
-I bought myself a Swiss rifle, and became
-a practiced shot, not only in the target-grounds, but
-upon the mountains, and Father Bonneville, seeming
-now to judge that the education of my mind was
-nearly completed, encouraged me to pursue that
-education of the body in which the good old man
-was unable himself to be my instructor. The Swiss
-hunters, however, were good enough teachers, and
-I acquired powers of endurance very serviceable to
-me in after life. About this period, however, although
-I was full of active energy, and fond of every
-robust exercise, a new and softening spirit seemed
-to come into my heart. Vague dreams of love took
-possession of me, and pretty faces and bright eyes
-produced strange sensations in my young bosom. I
-became somewhat sentimental, bought Rosseau’s
-<span class='it'>nouvelle Heloise</span>, and poured over its burning, enthusiastic
-pages with infinite delight. The beautiful
-scenery, which before had only attracted my attention
-by the effect of the forms and coloring upon the
-eye of one naturally fond of the arts, now seemed
-invested with new splendor, and the very air of the
-mountains fell with a sort of dreamy light, streaming
-from my own imaginations. I peopled the glens and
-dells with fair forms. I walked over the mountain-tops
-with beautiful creations of fancy. My daily
-thoughts became a sort of romance, and many a
-strange scene was enacted before the eyes of imagination
-in which I myself always took some part, as
-the lover, the deliverer, or the hero.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Was my little Mariette forgotten all this time?
-Oh no! Although I could not give her features or
-her look to the pretty girls of the Canton with whom
-from time to time I dallied, yet I pleased myself by
-fancying that there was some trait of Mariette in
-each of them, and I do not recollect fancy ever having
-presented me with a heroine for my dreams in
-whose fair face the beautiful, liquid eyes of Mariette
-did not shine out upon me with looks of love.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I do not believe that amongst all the many books
-which have been written to corrupt the heart of
-man—and they are ten times in number, I fear, those
-which have been written to improve it—there is one
-to be found so dangerous to youth as the works of
-Rousseau. The vivid richness of his imagination,
-the strong enthusiasms of the man, and the indefinite
-insinuation of pernicious doctrines can be only safely
-encountered by reason in its full vigor, aided by experience.
-I happily escaped the contamination, but
-it was by no powers of my own. Father Bonneville
-found Rousseau lying on my table, and when I
-returned from one of my long rambles he sat down
-to discuss with me both the character of the man,
-and the tendency of his writings. He showed no
-heat, no vehement disapprobation of the subject of
-my study; but he calmly and quietly, and with a
-clearness and force of mind I have seldom seen
-equaled, examined the doctrines, dissected the arguments,
-tore away the glittering veils with which
-vice, and selfishness, and vanity are concealed, and
-left with too strong a feeling of disgust for the unprincipled
-author, for my admiration of his style and
-powers of imagination ever to seduce me again. I
-felt ashamed of what I had done, and when the good
-Father closed the book which he had been commenting
-upon, I rose, exclaiming, “I will never read
-any more of his works again.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Not so, Louis,” replied the good Father. “Do
-not read his works at present. Pause till you are
-thirty. Your reason may be active, and I believe it
-is; but the mind, like the body, only acquires its
-full vigor after a long period of regular exercise and
-training. You will soon have to mingle largely
-with the world, to share in its struggles, to taste its
-sorrows, and to encounter its disappointments. You
-will see much of man and his actions. Mark them
-well. Trace them back to their causes. Follow
-them out to their consequences. It is a study never
-begun too soon, and about five or six-and-twenty, men
-who wish to found virtue upon reason, apply the
-lessons they have thus learned to their own hearts.
-If you do this, wisely and systematically, neither the
-works of Rousseau, nor of any other man will do
-you any harm. But here is another thing I wish to
-say to you, Louis. The income that is allowed you
-is intended to give you some means of practically
-learning to regulate your expenditure—to teach you,
-in fact, the value of money. This is a branch of
-study as well as every thing else, and each young
-man has to master it. At first, when he possesses
-money, his natural desire is to spend it upon something
-that he fancies will give him pleasure; it matters
-not what; and when he has wasted numerous
-small sums upon trifles which afford him no real
-satisfaction, he finds that there is some object far more
-desirable, which he has not left himself the means
-of obtaining. Then comes regret, and it is very
-salutary; for when the experiment has been frequently
-repeated, reason arrives at a conclusion, applicable,
-not only to the mere expenditure of money,
-but to the use of all man’s possessions, including the
-faculties both of mind and body. The conclusion I
-mean, is, that small enjoyments often kill great
-ones.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>That evening’s conversation I shall never forget.
-It afforded me much matter for thought at the time,
-and I have recurred to it frequently since.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Another little picture stands forth about this time,
-clear and distinct upon the canvas of memory, and I
-strongly suspect that the fact I am about to mention
-had a great influence on my after life.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We were then at Zurich, and I had been out on
-one summer evening for a long ramble through the
-hills. When I re-entered the town, it was dark,
-and going into the house of which we rented a part,
-I found a stranger sitting with Father Bonneville.
-He was a very remarkable man, and you could not
-even look at him for a moment without being struck
-by his appearance. His dress was exceedingly
-plain, consisting of a large, black, horseman’s coat,
-with a small cape to it, and a pair of high riding-boots;
-and round his neck he had a white cravat of
-very many folds, tied in a large bow in front. He
-was tall and well-proportioned, and of the middle
-age; but his head was the finest I think I ever beheld,
-and his face a perfect model of manly beauty.
-I shall never forget his eye—that eye so soon after
-to be closed in death. There was a calm intensity
-in it—a bright, searching, peculiar lustre which
-seemed to shed a light upon whatever it turned to;
-and when, as I entered the room, it fixed tranquilly
-on me, and seemed to read my face as if it were a
-book, the color mounted into my cheek I know not
-why. He remained for nearly an hour after my arrival,
-conversing with my good old friend and myself
-in a strain of sweet but powerful eloquence, such
-as I have never heard equaled. During a part of
-the time the subject was religion, and his opinions,
-though very strong and decided, were expressed
-with gentleness and forbearance; for he and Father
-Bonneville differed very considerably. The stranger,
-indeed, seemed to have the best of the argument,
-and I think Father Bonneville felt it too; for he became
-as warm as his gentle nature would permit.
-In the end, however, the stranger rose, and laid his
-hand kindly in that of the good priest. “Read, my
-good friend,” he said. “Read. Such a mind as
-yours should not shut out one ray of light which
-God himself has given to guide us on our way. We
-both appeal to the same book as the foundation of
-our faith, and no man can study it too much. From
-the benefit I myself have received from every word
-that it contains, I should feel, even were there not a
-thousand other motives for such a conclusion, that
-there is something wrong in that system of religion
-which can shut the great store-house of light and
-truth against the people for whose benefit it was
-provided.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The moment he was gone I exclaimed eagerly,
-“Who is that?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“One of the best and greatest men in the world,”
-replied Father Bonneville, “That is Lavater.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I would fain have asked more questions, but
-good Father Bonneville was evidently not in a mood
-for further conversation that night. The visit of
-Lavater had pleased him—had interested him; but
-things had been said while it lasted which had afforded
-him matter for deep thought—nay, I am not
-sure but I might say, painful thought. I could tell
-quite well by his aspect when there was any vehement
-struggle going on in the good man’s mind, and
-from all I saw I thought that such was the case now.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A few days after, he went to call upon Lavater,
-who was living in the same town, but he did not
-take me with him. Lavater came again and again
-to see him, and they had long conversations together,
-at some of which I was present, at others
-not; and still there seemed to be a struggle in Father
-Bonneville’s mind. He was very grave and
-silent, though as kind and as gentle as ever—fell
-often into deep reveries, and sometimes did not hear
-when I spoke to him. At length, one day, when I
-returned somewhat earlier than usual from my afternoon
-rambles, I found him bent over a table reading
-attentively, and coming in front of him, I perceived
-not only that the tears were in his eyes, but that
-some of them had dropped upon the page. He did
-not at all attempt to conceal his emotion, but wiped
-his eyes and spectacles deliberately, and then laying
-his hand flat upon the page, he looked into my face,
-saying, “Louis, you must read this book; let men
-say what they will, it was written for man’s instruction—for
-his happiness—for his salvation. It contains
-all that is necessary for him; and beyond this,
-there is nothing.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I looked over his shoulder and found that it was
-the Bible. “I thought I had read it long ago,”
-added Father Bonneville, “but I now find that I have
-never read it half enough.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I will read it very willingly, Father,” I replied,
-“but Father Mezieres to whom you sent me preparatory
-to my first communion, told me, that if not
-an actual sin, it was great presumption in a layman
-to read any part of it but the New Testament.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Mind not that, my son,” replied Father Bonneville.
-“It is hard to struggle with old prejudices;
-to root out from our minds ideas planted in our youth,
-which have grown with our growth and strengthened
-with our strength. But in this book there is life,
-there is light, and God forbid that any man should be
-prevented from drinking the waters of life freely.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A faint smile came upon his face as he spoke, and
-after a moment’s pause, he continued, saying, “Do
-you know, Louis, I am going to become a boy
-again, and recommence my studies from a new
-point. Some months hence I will talk with you
-further, and every day in the mean time I will have
-my lesson.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He had his lesson, as he said, each day; for he
-would sit for hours poring over either the pages of
-the Bible or some book of theology; but from that
-day I am quite sure that Father Bonneville was, at
-heart, a Protestant.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>There is only one other incident worthy of notice
-which I remember in connection with the events of
-which I have just spoken. That was our separation
-from good Jeanette, who had hitherto been the companion
-of all our travels. For more than a month
-after our arrival in Zurich I remarked that she
-looked anxious and uneasy. She said nothing on the
-subject of her own feelings, however, to me, but
-was less communicative and more thoughtful than
-usual, would be in the same room with me for a long
-time without speaking one word to him who was I
-knew the darling of her heart, and was more than
-once spoken to without appearing to hear.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>At length one day when I entered Father Bonneville’s
-room I found her standing before him; and
-heard her say as I came in, “I must go and see my
-lady. I am sure she is ill and wants help. I must
-go and see her. I have done nothing but dream of
-her every night.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Well, Jeanette, well,” replied he, “you must
-have your way; but you know not what you
-undertake. At all events you had better stay till
-some favorable opportunity can be found for sending
-you in safety.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Jeanette only shook her head, however, repeating
-in a low voice, “I must go and see my
-lady.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She remained with us two days after this interview,
-and I recollect quite well her coming into my
-room one night just as I was going to bed, and looking
-at me very earnestly, while I, with sportsman-like
-care, was cleaning my rifle ere I lay down.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ah, Monsieur Louis,” she said in a somewhat
-sad tone, “you are growing a man quite fast, and I
-dare say, you will soon be a soldier; but do not get
-into any of their bad ways here; and never, never
-forget your religion. They turn older and wiser
-heads than yours or mine; but do not let them turn
-yours.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No fear, I hope, Jeanette,” I answered; “but
-what do you want, my dear old dame?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Nothing, nothing, but only to see what you are
-doing,” she replied. “I see your light burning
-often late of nights, and I thought you might be reading
-bad books that craze many strong brains. Better
-clean a gun by far, Louis—only never forget your
-religion.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I smiled at her anxious care of one no longer a
-boy, little thinking that I was so soon to lose one so
-closely connected with every memory of my youth,
-but when I rose the next morning somewhat later
-than usual, Jeanette was gone; and all I could learn
-from Father Bonneville was that she had set out
-upon a long and difficult journey, the thought of
-which gave him much uneasiness.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>THE PLEASURES OF BATTLE.<a id='r4'/><a href='#f4' style='text-decoration:none'><sup><span style='font-size:0.9em'>[4]</span></sup></a></h2>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1.2em;margin-bottom:1.2em;'>• &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;• &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;• &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;• &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;• &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;• &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;•</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I was coming down the hill, and about five miles
-distant from the town, but my eyes had been rendered
-more keen by my hunter’s sports, and I was
-quite sure that it was so. The glittering of arms,
-both upon the heights above the city, and in the
-valley on the other side of the river, was perfectly
-distinct. Yet so still and silent was every thing,
-that I could hardly believe two hostile armies were
-there in presence of each other. Not a sound broke
-the stillness of the mountain air. No trumpet, no
-drum was heard at that moment; and my companion,
-Karl, would not believe that what I said was true.
-Soon after, we dipped into one of those profound
-wooded ravines which score the side of the mountains,
-and the scene was lost to our sight; but as we
-crossed over one of the shoulders of the hill again,
-and were forced to rise a little, in order to descend
-still farther, the loud boom of a cannon came echoing
-through the gorges, like a short and distant clap
-of thunder. The moment after, the full roar of a
-whole park of artillery was heard, shaking the hills
-around; and when we topped the height, we could
-see a dense cloud of bluish smoke rolling along to
-well-defined lines below.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Karl paused abruptly, saying, “We are well here,
-Louis. Better stay till it is over. We can help
-neither party, and shall only get our heads broke.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Such reasoning was good enough for him—an
-orphan and tieless as he was—a mere child of the
-mountain; but I thought of good Father Bonneville,
-and told him, at once, that I should go on, and why.
-He would then fain have gone with me; but I would
-not suffer him; and leaving the chamois with him, I
-hurried as rapidly down as I could, taking many a
-bold leap, and many a desperate plunge, while the
-sound of cannon and musketry kept ringing in my
-ears, till I reached a spot where it was absolutely
-necessary to pause, and consider what was to be
-done next. I had come unexpectedly, not exactly
-into the midst of the battle that was going on, but
-to a point near that at which on the right of the
-French line, a strong body of infantry were pushing
-forward with fixed bayonets against an earthwork
-cresting the plateau, well defended by cannon. The
-guns were thundering upon the advancing column
-at the distance of about three hundred yards upon
-my left, and the Austrian infantry were already
-within a hundred paces of the steep ascent, along
-the face of which my path led toward the town. I
-was myself upon a pinnacle of the hill, a little above
-either party, and my only chance of making my
-way forward, was by taking a leap of some ten
-feet down, to a spot where a <span class='it'>sapin</span> started from the
-bold rock, and thence by a small circuit, getting
-into the rear of the Austrian infantry. It was a
-rash attempt; for if I missed my footing on the roots
-of the tree, I was sure to be dashed to pieces; and
-I was somewhat incumbered by my rifle. I took
-the risk, however, and succeeded; and then hurried
-forward as fast as I could go. But now a new
-danger was before me—to say nothing of the murderous
-fire from the French battery—for by the time
-I had reached the point from which I could best pass
-into the suburb, the Austrian infantry had been repulsed
-for the moment, and were retreating in great
-confusion. I know not how to describe my feelings
-at that moment—afraid I certainly was not; but I
-felt my head turn with the wild bustle and indistinct
-activity of the scene. A number of men passed me,
-running in utter disarray. An officer galloped after
-them, shouting and commanding, for some time, in
-vain. At length, however, he succeeded in rallying
-them, just as I was passing along. The moment
-they were once more formed, he turned his eyes to
-the front, where another regiment, or part of a regiment,
-had been already rallied, and seeing me at
-some forty yards distance, he spurred on and asked
-me, in German, whether there was a way up the
-steep to the left of the line. Luckily, I spoke the
-language fluently, and replied that there was, pointing
-out to him the path by which I usually descended.
-Without paying any further attention to me, he
-hurried back to the head of his corps, and I ran on
-as fast as possible to get out of the way of the next
-charge. There was a little bridge which I had to
-pass, where not more than four or five men could
-go abreast, and over it a small body of Austrians
-were forcing their way, at the point of the bayonet,
-against a somewhat superior party of the French
-troops, who, in fact, were willing enough to retreat,
-seeing that a considerable impression had been made
-upon their right, and that they were likely to be cut
-off. At the same time, however, they would not
-be driven back without resistance, and several men
-fell. I followed impulsively the rear of the Austrians,
-where I observed one or two of the Swiss
-hunters appareled very much like myself, who were
-using their rifles, with deadly effect, amongst the
-officers of the Republican army; nor was it to be
-wondered at, after all that had happened. I could
-not, however, bring myself to give any assistance,
-and kept my gun under my arm, with the belt twisted
-round my wrist.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As soon as the bridge was forced, the Austrians
-debouched upon the ground beyond with greater
-rapidity and precision than the French seemed to
-expect; and while their right retreated in tolerable
-order toward the heights, their left scattered in confusion,
-and sought refuge in the suburbs of the town.
-I took the same direction, and the first little street I
-entered was so crowded with fugitives, comprising
-a number of the townspeople, who, looking forth to
-see the battle, had been taken by surprise on the
-sudden rush of the French soldiers in that direction,
-that it was impossible to pass; and although I saw
-a sort of tumult going on before me, and heard a
-gun or two fire, I turned away down the first narrow
-street, only eager to be with my good preceptor, who
-lived in a little street beyond the third turning.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>When I entered that street, the sun, a good deal
-declined, poured straight down it, and I could see
-two or three groups of not more than two or three
-persons in each, with the dress of the Republican
-French soldier conspicuous here and there. I ran on
-eagerly, and passed three persons all apparently
-struggling together. One was a woman, another a
-French soldier, and the third, who had his back toward
-me, so that I could not see his face, was endeavoring
-to protect the woman from violence, and
-seemed to me, in figure, very like Lavater. I should
-have certainly stopped to aid him; but there was
-another scene going on a little in advance, which
-left me no time to think of any thing else; but the
-moment I had passed, I heard a shot behind me, and
-then a deep groan.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I gave it no thought; for within a stone’s throw
-I beheld an old man whose face and figure I knew
-well, brutally assaulted by one of the soldiers, and
-falling on his knees, under a blow from the butt-end
-of a musket. The next instant, the soldier—if such
-a brute deserved the name—drew back the weapon,
-and ere I could have reached the spot, the bayonet
-would have been through Father Bonneville’s body.
-I sent a messenger of swifter pace to stop the deed.
-In an instant the rifle was at my shoulder, and before
-I well knew that I touched the trigger, the Frenchman
-sprang more than a foot from the ground, and
-fell dead with the ball through his head.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I paused not to think—to ask myself what I had
-done—to consider what it is to take a human life, or
-to fight against one’s countrymen. I only thought
-of good, kind, gentle Father Bonneville, and springing
-forward, I raised him from the ground. He was
-bleeding from the blow on the forehead, but did not
-seem much hurt, and only bewildered and confused.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Quick, into the house, good Father,” I cried.
-“Shut the lower windows and lock the door.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Oh, my son, my son!” he exclaimed, looking
-at me wildly, “do not mingle in this strife!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Lavater is behind,” I said; “I must hasten to
-help him. Go in, and I will join you in an instant.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Did you do that?” he inquired, looking at the
-dead soldier, and then at the rifle in my hand.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I did,” I answered, in a firmer tone than might
-have been expected, “and he deserved his fate.
-But go in, dear Father. I will return in a moment.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I led him toward the door as I spoke, and saw
-him enter the house; and then ran up the street to
-the spot where I had seen the struggle I have mentioned.
-Two dead bodies were lying on the pavement.
-One was that of a young woman of the lower
-class, fallen partly on her side, with a bayonet-wound
-in the chest. The other was that of a man dressed
-in black, who had fallen forward on his face. I
-turned him over, and beheld the features of Lavater;
-I took his hand, and the touch showed me that death
-was there.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I had knelt while doing this, when a sudden sound
-made me attempt to rise—but I could not do so; for,
-while still upon my knee, I was struck by the feet
-of two or three men, cast back upon the ground, and
-trampled under foot by a number of Austrians in full
-flight. Every thing became dark and confused. I
-saw the long gaiters, and caught a glance of arms
-and accoutrements, and felt heavy feet set upon my
-chest, and on my head—and then all was night.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Although the weather was hot, and summer at its
-height, in that high mountain region the night was
-almost invariably cool. Probably that circumstance
-saved my life; for I must have remained, I know,
-several hours on the pavement untended, and perhaps
-unnoticed by any one. When I recovered my
-senses, it was nearly midnight, and then I found
-several good souls around me. One woman was
-bathing my head and chest with cold water, while a
-man supported my shoulders upon his knee. The
-first objects I saw, however, were three or four persons
-moving the body of the woman, near whom I
-had fallen, to a small hand-bier. The body of Lavater
-was already gone.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Look, look, he opens his eyes!” cried the woman
-who was tending me so kindly. “Poor lad!
-we shall get him round! Where will you be taken
-to, young man?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I named faintly the house where we lodged, and
-then another woman, who was standing by, exclaimed,
-“Heaven! it is young Lassi! Better take
-him to the hospital.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I tried in vain to inquire after Father Bonneville;
-for a faint, death-like sensation came over me, and
-I was obliged to let them do what they pleased with
-me. A blanket was soon procured, and placed in it,
-as in a hammock, I was carried up into the higher
-part of the town to the hospital, and there laid upon
-a bed, in a ward where some hundreds of wounded
-men were already congregated. A surgeon, with
-his hands bloody, an apron on, and a saw under his
-arm, soon came to me, and asked where I was
-wounded. I endeavored to answer, but could not
-make myself intelligible; and putting down the saw,
-he ordered me to be stripped, and examined me all
-over. Two of my ribs, it seemed had been broken,
-and my head terribly beaten about. Indeed, I was
-one general bruise. But my limbs were all sound,
-and in four or five days, although I suffered a great
-deal of pain, and the scenes which were going on
-around me were not calculated to revive the spirits
-of any one, I was sufficiently recovered to make inquiries
-for Father Bonneville, whenever I saw a
-new face, and to send a message for him to the house
-where we lodged, giving him notice that I was to be
-found at the hospital.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Father Bonneville himself did not appear, but our
-landlord came in his stead—a good, plain, honest
-man, of a kindly disposition. He told me, much to
-my consternation, that my good friend, as he called
-him, had been carried off as a prisoner by the Austrians,
-after they got possession of the town; that
-he was suspected of being one of the French Revolutionary
-Agents, and that most likely he would
-have been hanged at once, without the testimony of
-himself, our landlord, who had come forward to
-prove that he was a quiet, inoffensive man, who
-meddled not with politics in any shape, and would
-have gladly got out of the town, after the French
-occupation, had it been possible. This saved his life
-for the time; but the only favor that could be obtained
-was that the case should be reserved for
-further investigation. At the time he was carried
-away, Father Bonneville was perfectly ignorant of
-my fate, the landlord said, and feared that I had been
-killed. The good man, however, promised that he
-would make every inquiry for my friend, and urged
-me, in the meantime, to have myself carried to his
-house as soon as possible. For more than a fortnight,
-during which time I was unable to quit the
-hospital, he came every day to see me, but brought
-no intelligence of Father Bonneville. At length he
-had me removed to his own house, and there he, and
-his good old wife, attended upon me with great kindness
-till I was quite well.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As soon as I could move about, the landlord told
-me that Monsieur Charlier, as he called him, had left
-with him a hundred louis d’ors for me, in case of my
-return. “And lucky he did so,” added the old
-gentleman, “for the Austrians ransacked every thing
-in both your rooms, upon the pretence of searching
-for papers, and left not a bit of silver worth a batz
-that they could lay their hands upon.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Days passed—weeks, and yet no tidings could be
-obtained of good Father Bonneville; and thus was
-I left, ere I had reached the age of nineteen, to
-make a way for myself in life, with a small store
-of clothing, a few books, a ride, and one hundred
-louis.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:right;margin-right:3em;margin-top:0.5em;'>[<span class='it'>To be continued.</span></p>
-
-<hr class='footnotemark'/>
-
-<div class='footnote'>
-<table summary='footnote_4'>
-<colgroup>
-<col span='1' class='footnoteid'/>
-<col span='1'/>
-</colgroup>
-<tr><td style='vertical-align:top;'>
-<div class='footnote-id' id='f4'><a href='#r4'>[4]</a></div>
-</td><td>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Part of the manuscript, extending from page 56 to
-61 is here wanting. As far us I can judge, the deficiency
-refers to a period of about 5 or 6 months, and I
-think the pages must have been destroyed by the writer</p>
-
-</td></tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk121'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='charm'></a>A CHARM.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY A. J. REQUIER.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'><span class='sc'>I know</span> not why a touch can thrill</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The soul, till it doth seem</p>
-<p class='line0'>A single drop would overfill</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Her pleasurable dream.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>I know not, yet such moments are</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of measureless delight,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When fancy flashes, as a star</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That falleth through the night!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>A weary night, a solemn night,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Is Life, so stern and slow,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And gentle forms like thine, the light</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Which guides us as we go.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Then, say not, maiden—never say</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Thy heart in like the snow,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thine eyes have far too fond a ray,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That we should deem it so.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>I, too, have sought, with studied art.</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To stay the tides that speak,</p>
-<p class='line0'>But still, the struggle at my heart</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Was written on my cheek.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>And now, my tuneless measure talks</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;One of the lonely lays</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which haunt my spirit when it walks</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The melancholy ways.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>I sing, and singing dwell on thee—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The Pilgrim of a Star!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Who, straining, deems he yet can see</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Some solace, though afar.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Oh! in such times my harp will break</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Forth in a fleeting tone,</p>
-<p class='line0'>But, ere its echo dies, I wake,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To find—I am alone!</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk122'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='life'></a>LIFE’S VOYAGE.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY TH. GREGG.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'><span class='sc'>A gallant</span> bark is wildly tossing</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Upon the briny wave,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Freighted deep with human treasure—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;With earnest hearts and brave.</p>
-<p class='line0'>For many a day that bark is rolling</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Over the trackless sea;</p>
-<p class='line0'>For many a day those hearts are beating—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Are beating to be free!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>At length the shore is dimly looming</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;On the horizon’s verge,</p>
-<p class='line0'>When that frail vessel boldly plunges</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Unto the boiling surge.</p>
-<p class='line0'>A moment—and the ship is stranded!—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;A number gain the shore—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Whilst others ’neath the boiling billows</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Sink down for evermore!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>’Tis thus Life’s waves are ever bearing</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Our fragile bark along—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Whether freighted with Sin and Sorrow</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Or joyous Mirth and Song:</p>
-<p class='line0'>And thus the surges are ever beating</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Against the wreck-strewn strand</p>
-<p class='line0'>That stays the tide of Life’s rough Ocean</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And bounds the Spirit-Land!</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk123'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='237' id='Page_237'></span><h1><a id='milt'></a>MILTON.<a id='r5'/><a href='#f5' style='text-decoration:none'><sup><span style='font-size:0.9em'>[5]</span></sup></a></h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY B. H. BREWSTER.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>We</span> have had lying on our table, for some years,
-this beautiful edition of Milton’s Select Prose
-Works, and we have often, while reading it, resolved
-to set about that which we have at last
-attempted. But we have been deterred not more
-by the importance of the subject, than by the recollection
-of the great spirits who have already earned
-rich harvests of applause in this field. The article
-by Mr. Macaulay, published in the Edinburgh Review,
-would seem to forbid further comment, where
-the critic has left his reader in doubt which most to
-admire, the splendor of his criticism, or the lofty
-grandeur of his original. Then, too, Mr. St. John,
-the editor of these neat and elegant volumes, has
-given a preliminary discourse, which displays a keen
-and warm admiration for these writings, expressed,
-in a fervid strain of noble eloquence, which inspires
-that gentle apprehension for the “bright countenance
-of truth,” so soothing “in the quiet and still air of
-delightful studies.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In a fine London edition of the Prose Works of
-John Milton, published in the year 1838, there is a
-well written review by the editor, Mr. Robert
-Fletcher, in which he laments that some effort had
-not before been made to “popularize, in a <span class='it'>multum
-in parvo</span> shape, the prose works of our great poet.”
-We have here an edition that completes his desires;
-an edition in which great judgment has been exercised
-in selecting, from various tracts, those portions
-likely to prove most agreeable to the public. While
-they give a proper conception of the opinions of
-Milton, they also contain some of the purest specimens
-of his style. Indeed, we think that some one
-of our own publishing houses would find it to their
-interest to bring out an edition of this work. The
-nice taste and the correct discrimination displayed
-in this selection would command for it a ready sale.
-It would be of great use to many, who know nothing
-of these writings, and of service to some, who, while
-they know of them, yet neglect and turn away from
-these rich well-springs of truth.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Like all great messengers, Milton was, while
-living, persecuted, and since his death has been the
-object of malignant hatred, by those whose place of
-abiding is fast by the “seat of the scorner.” He
-whose “words are oracles for mankind, whose love
-embraces all countries, and whose voice sounds
-through all ages,” has been slighted, misrepresented,
-abused, and reviled by those whose greatest glory
-should have been, that they were the countrymen
-of Milton—not Milton the poet—but Milton the
-statesman. He who wielded a pen that made Europe
-quake, and perpetuated political truths based
-upon eternal justice—truths that were to warm and
-kindle up mankind forever after in the pursuit of
-right against might.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Before we approach these fountains of living light,
-let us turn and see how it was that he, who had
-been educated in seclusion, and mingled with the
-scholars, the gentle and well-bred in his youth, did
-desert all, and peril his life in the wild tumult and
-hot strife of religious and political dissension, only
-that he might bear witness to the light that was in
-him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>John Milton was the son of John Milton, a scrivener
-of good repute, in the city of London. He was
-born in the year 1608, and was carefully educated
-under the supervision of his father, who was a man
-of refined taste. He was destined for the Church,
-and gave great promise of eminence; for he was an
-assiduous and diligent youth, and was noted for his
-complete learning and elegant scholarship, at the
-University of Cambridge, where he obtained his degrees.
-But he declined to take orders, and refused
-to subscribe to the articles of faith, considering that
-so doing was subscribing, slave.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In thus early displaying his independence of
-opinion in his religious belief, he did but follow the
-example set him by his father, while he obeyed the
-honest impulse of his nature; for his father had been
-disinherited by his grandfather for deserting the Roman
-Catholic faith.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Shortly after he left the University he retired into
-the country with his father, who had then relinquished
-business with a handsome estate; and while
-there he continued his studies, selecting no particular
-profession, but devoting himself to the cultivation
-of all.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was in these years of sweet scholastic solitude,
-that he produced his Mask of Comus, than which
-there is not a nobler poem in any language. This
-brought him great fame among the polite and refined
-of the day, and was widely circulated for a while in
-manuscript; so that when he started on his travels
-soon after this, (which was in 1638,) he carried with
-him letters commanding, in his behalf, attention
-from the most eminent men of the Continent.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He went first to France, and while in Paris was
-introduced by Lord Scudamore, the English ambassador,
-to Hugo Grotius, with whom he had a very
-interesting interview. From Paris he went into
-Italy, and coming to Florence, in that city he mingled
-freely with the refined and learned, and, by the
-elegant displays of his own accomplishments and
-learning, won the admiration and regard of all. The
-scholars and wits of that place vied with one another
-in entertaining him, and celebrated his many merits
-in their compositions.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>With many of those brilliant spirits of that favored
-land he formed an intimacy, which was continued
-for years after his return home, as we find by his
-familiar letters. From Florence he traveled to
-Rome, and was there again treated with marked
-kindness and attention by Lucas Holstensius, the
-librarian of the Vatican, the Cardinal Barberino, and
-other persons of distinction in that famous city.
-From Rome he proceeded to Naples, and there
-made the friendship of the Marquis of Villa, a man
-of “singular merit and virtue,” and who was afterward
-celebrated by Milton in a poem, as he had been
-by Tasso, in his Jerusalem Delivered, and his Dialogue
-on Friendship. Happy and fortunate lot!
-thus to be the object of regard, and to have his
-merits recorded, and his virtues enshrined, for the
-admiration of posterity, in the works of these great
-poetic minds!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He had intended, after having thus visited the
-finest parts of Italy, to go over into Sicily, and
-thence to Greece; but the news from England of the
-difficulties between the Parliament and the King
-changed his mind, and he determined to return
-home, to mingle with his countrymen in their toil
-for freedom, thinking it unworthy of him to be loitering
-away his time in luxurious ease, while his
-native land was distracted, and his fellow men at
-home were battling in fierce strife for liberty.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He returned to Rome, notwithstanding the desire
-of his friends that he should remain away; for by the
-freedom of his speech when there he had aroused
-the vindictive feelings of many of his hearers. And
-to this he was no doubt provoked by having himself
-seen the dreadful persecution undergone in the prison
-of the Inquisition, by one of the finest scientific
-minds the world ever knew—by Galileo—whom he
-visited when imprisoned for asserting the motion of
-the earth, and opposing the old notions of the Dominicans
-and Franciscans.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>From Rome he went to Florence; and after being
-there a while he went to Venice, and from that port
-he shipped his books and music for England. He
-then took his route by Verona and Milan, and along
-the lake of Leman to Geneva; and thence he returned
-through France the same way he came, and
-arrived safe in England after an absence of one year
-and three months, “having seen more, learned more,
-and conversed with more famous men, and made
-more real improvement than most others in double
-the time.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>On his return home, he again devoted himself to
-the solitude of his study, and to the teaching of
-several youths (among whom were his nephews)
-who were intrusted to his care; and in his own
-house he formed quite an academic institute, where
-his scholars, like the disciples of the philosophers of
-old, gathered around him, and by assiduity added to
-their stores of knowledge, while with his advice
-and counsel they were purifying and elevating their
-feelings.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the year 1641, the nation was in great ferment
-with the religious disputes of the day, which were
-intimately connected with the chief political questions
-then agitated. This roused Milton, who was
-alive to the close association of the two subjects;
-and for the furtherance of his political designs, the
-support of liberty, he issued a powerful tract upon
-Prelatical Episcopacy. This served to work out a
-good end, and strengthen the cause of the liberalists.
-For this, as for other reasons of a like nature, he
-was prompted to write several other polemical
-tracts, during that year, and then he dropped the
-subject forever.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In 1643 he married, being then thirty-five years
-old. After a month his wife, by his permission,
-went to visit her relations; and when sent for by
-him—for reasons which are as yet unexplained—she
-refused to return, and dismissed his messenger with
-contempt.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He was deeply wounded by this treatment, and
-maintained toward her a dignified and resolute indifference.
-Mortified, and full of sorrow, he found
-relief in the contemplation of his very source of wo;
-and after reflection upon it, he projected and published
-his work upon Divorce, which is to this day
-one of the most famous works on the subject ever
-printed.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Affairs had now assumed a new aspect, and the
-Presbyterian party had, after a great struggle with
-Royalty, gained the ascendency, and then ruled supreme
-in the councils of the nation.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The King and his abettors were fighting in the
-field for that authority, they had before vainly endeavored
-to establish with the arm of civil power.
-The Presbyterians were now in their day of prosperity;
-they had been oppressed but were now triumphant.
-Adversity had not been of use to them.
-They did not learn charity, or humanity, from her
-lessons, but now exercised authority with a lordly
-air, and wielded the sword of State with presumptuous
-arrogance. Among other acts of great inconsistency
-and oppression, they established a supervision
-of the press under the control of an authorized
-licenser, and at the same time endeavored to suppress
-the freedom of speech. This base desertion
-of the principles for which they had contended, this
-mean exercise of authority in that, in which they had
-suffered the most, and against which they had clamored
-the loudest, excited Milton to the writing of
-the Areopagitica. This pamphlet was written by
-him upon this shameful abuse. He had before acted
-in concert with them, as the movement party of the
-day; but when they abandoned and treasonably betrayed
-the rights of Man, they left him where he had
-always been, standing on the rock of truth fast by
-his principles.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>There is not a nobler vindication of the freedom
-of speech, and the liberty of the press, to be found
-any where, than in this pamphlet.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This book was published in 1644, and in this year
-he was reconciled to his wife, who sought him out,
-and unexpectedly to him fell at his feet, and with
-tears besought his love and forgiveness. In this, as
-in other instances, have we a strong evidence of the
-mildness and gentleness of his feelings; for although
-his resentment had been aroused by her wicked
-abandonment of him, yet when she returned home,
-repentant and in sorrow, he joyfully received her,
-and forgave all. Nay more, when defeat and route
-had fallen upon the royal standard, he generously
-took home her father, and his whole family—who
-were attached to the cause of the monarchy—protected
-them during the heat of his party triumph,
-and finally interested himself to secure their estates
-from confiscation, although they had in their days
-of prosperity prompted his wife to her disobedience
-and desertion of her republican husband; thus showing
-a high-heartedness which was above malice,
-and in keeping with and but a practical domestic
-application of the pure, upright faith professed by him,
-which was stern and unyielding in the pursuits of
-right, but humane and gentle in the use of power
-and advantage.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He was now an eminent man, and his bold pen
-had won for him a public fame and name. About
-this time he was well-nigh being swept into the
-mid current of popular politics, and it was contemplated
-making him the adjutant general, under
-Sir William Waller; but this design was abandoned
-upon the remodeling of the army, and he was left
-at his studies.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The king was imprisoned and tried, and then it
-was that the true faith and intentions of many were
-made clear. The Presbyterian party, who had
-professed democratic republicanism, while their
-hopes of office were high—like many in our own
-days, who, when they have attained their hopes, or
-been rejected by the people for better men, desert
-their cause, abandon their principles, while they hold
-on to their name, and fight under their old banners,
-that they may more surely but more basely injure
-truth—being now in the minority and out of power,
-became noisy in their lamentations over the king’s
-fate, and endeavored by every means to prevent his
-execution, using all arguments, and stopping at nothing
-to undo what they themselves had brought
-about. For when they found that there was an unflinching
-determination of the democracy to punish
-this man for his enormities and wicked misgovernment.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“They who”—to use Milton’s language—“had
-been fiercest against their prince, under the notion
-of a tyrant, and no mean incendiaries of the war
-against him, when God out of his providence and
-high disposal hath delivered him into the hands of
-their brethren, on a sudden and in a new garb of
-allegiance, which their doings have long since concealed,
-they plead for him, pity him, extol him, and
-protest against those who talk of bringing him to
-the trial of justice, which is the sword of God,
-superior to all mortal things, in whose hand soever,
-by apparent signs, his testified will is to put it.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Upon the happening of this event, Milton published
-his “Tenure of Kings,” from which is quoted
-the above passage, so applicable in its spirit to our
-own times, so true of all political trucksters, who
-shout loudly for the democracy, while they have
-hopes of using and abusing it, but who basely betray
-its confidence and abandon it, whenever they are
-required to put in practice their own professions.
-This book was published 1649, and served very
-much to tranquilize and calm the public mind upon
-that which had passed.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>After the establishment of the Commonwealth, he
-was called to the post of Latin Secretary, by the
-Council of State, which station he held till the Restoration.
-This was an office of great importance,
-inasmuch as all the public correspondence with
-foreign States devolved upon him. While holding
-this high and honorable public station, one so congenial
-with his feelings, and one for which he was
-so well fitted, he produced many state papers of
-great merit, and which contributed to advance the
-fame of the republic abroad.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Upon the execution of Charles Stuart, there was published
-a book which was styled “Eikōn Basilikē,”
-and which was pretended to have been written by
-the king, and left by him as a legacy and parting
-word to the world. It had a most unprecedented
-sale, owing to the curiosity excited by its appearance.
-As it was a work which was then likely to
-excite public sympathy, when public sympathy
-would be thrown away upon a bad and unworthy
-object, while at the same time it would abuse and
-mislead the public mind, the Parliament called upon
-Milton to write an answer to it, and to furnish an
-antidote for this lying poison, which it is well believed
-was never written by the king, but was
-manufactured and industriously circulated by the
-enemies of the people, and the friends of arbitrary
-power, with a hope that by its means they could
-unsettle the public mind, weaken the republic, and
-reëstablish the tyranny.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Milton accordingly wrote his <a id='eikon1'></a>Eikonoklastes; and
-truly was he an image-breaker; for with merciless
-force he entered the temple, and with his own right
-arm shattered the idol that they had bid all mankind
-bow down before.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Charles the Second, who was then residing upon
-the Continent, hired Salmasius, a man of great
-learning, and the successor of the celebrated Scaliger,
-as honorary professor at Leyden, to write a work in
-defense of his father and of the monarchy. For
-this work Charles paid Salmasius one hundred jacobuses.
-In the execution of this book, Salmasius
-filled it pretty plentifully with insolent abuse of all
-the public men of the Commonwealth, and those
-prominent in the Revolution; both from a natural
-inclination, and according to directions. In this he
-was quite expert; for though he was a fine scholar
-and very famed for his learning, yet as it has been
-said of him—“This prince of scholars seemed to
-have erected his throne upon a heap of stones, that
-he might have them at hand to throw at every one’s
-head who passed by.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Immediately upon the appearance of this book, the
-Council of State unanimously selected Milton to answer
-it; and he, in obedience to this call, prepared
-and published his Defense of the People of England,
-a work of great worth and power, and which was
-written at intervals, during the moments snatched
-from his official duties, when he was weakened and
-infirm. This book was read everywhere. Europe
-rang with it, and wonder at its force filled all minds.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>By some it has been said that the Council presented
-him with £1000 as a reward, which was no
-mean sum in those days of specie circulation. But
-empty thanks were all that he received. Neither
-this nor any other of his writings ever obtained one
-cent for him from the public purse, as he asserts in
-his Second Defense. While Milton was thus receiving
-attentions from all quarters, it was much
-otherwise with his arrogant opponent; for he suffered
-not only by the severity of Milton’s reply, but
-was slighted and treated ill by Christiana, Queen of
-Sweden, who had invited him to her court, among
-other learned men. Upon the reading of Milton’s
-“Defense,” she was so delighted therewith, that
-her opinion of Salmasius changed, and she became
-indifferent to him, which he perceiving, left her
-court, and retired to Spa, in Germany, where he
-shortly after died of chagrin.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Milton had been for many years suffering from a
-weakness in his eyes, arising out of his severe application
-to his studies. Year after year his sight
-became more and more dim, until his physicians
-warned him that unless he ceased his continual toil,
-he would become totally blind. This for a while
-he heeded; but the urgent call made upon him in
-the production of this answer to Salmasius, led him
-again to over-application, and he became wholly
-blind. Notwithstanding his blindness, he still continued
-the discharge of his official duties, and employed
-his leisure moments in the production of
-various other political tracts, in answer to the many
-abusive works issued by the royalists.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>On the death of Oliver Cromwell, and the taking
-place of the difficulties that followed, he wrote a
-“Letter to a Statesman,” [supposed to be General
-Monk,] in which he gave a brief delineation of a
-“free Commonwealth, easy to be put in practice, and
-without delay.” Finding affairs were growing worse
-and worse, the people more and more unsettled, and
-that a king was likely to be reëstablished, and the
-Commonwealth subverted, he wrote and published
-his “Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth,
-and the Excellence thereof, Compared
-with the Inconveniences and Dangers of admitting
-Kingship in this Nation.” This short paper was
-published in 1659-60, and even after this he published
-his “Notes on a late Sermon entitled the
-Fear of God and the King, preached at Mercer’s
-Chapel, on March 25th, 1660, by Dr. Matthew
-Griffith,” the very year, and within a month of the
-Restoration; so that his voice was the last to bear witness
-against the overthrow of liberty and the restoration
-of tyranny.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Upon the return of Charles, he fled, and lay concealed,
-during which time his books, the <a id='eikon2'></a>Eikonoklastes
-and “Defense of the People of England,” were
-burned by the common hangman! An indictment
-was found against him, and a warrant for his
-arrest placed in the hands of the sergeant-at-arms.
-The act of indemnity was passed, and he received
-the benefit of it, and came forth from his concealment,
-but was arrested, and shortly after, by order
-of the House of Commons, discharged, upon his
-paying the fees to the sergeant-at-arms, who had
-endeavored to exact them from him, which he
-resisted, and appealed to the House. And thus,
-although a prisoner, he still displayed a determination
-and resolution to oppose that oppression in his
-own person, against which he had so stoutly battled
-for the whole people.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He now retired from public life forever; and when
-an offer was afterward made to him by the king, to
-return to his old post of secretary, he refused it,
-although pressed by his wife to accept it, and to her
-entreaties answered thus: “Thou art in the right;
-you and other women would ride in your coach;
-for me, my aim is to live and die an honest man.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This offer has been denied by Doctor Johnson, in
-his life of Milton, and that, too, without sufficient
-foundation, for the contradiction is made without
-proof; and when Dr. Newton, in his admirable account
-of Milton, published in his splendid edition of
-the Poetical Works of Milton, confirms it, and
-asserts that these very words were from Milton’s
-wife only twenty years before the publication of his
-edition. The Doctor has in this, as in other instances,
-displayed a malicious desire to detract from
-his merits; his envy no doubt being excited by this
-unbending integrity of one, whose political opinions
-were serious enough in the Doctor’s eyes to affect
-even his merits as a poet. For this, as for other
-offenses, has he received again and again that censure
-which he so richly deserved; but from no one
-with more force than from Mr. St. John, in his
-able Preliminary Discourse to these volumes. We
-quote a passage.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Another sore point with Johnson was, that
-Milton should be said to have rejected, after the
-Restoration, the place of Latin Secretary to Charles
-the Second. Few men heartily believe in the existence
-of virtue above their own reach. He knew
-what he would have done under similar circumstances;
-he knew that had he lived during the period
-of the Commonwealth, a similar offer from the Regicides
-would have met with no ‘sturdy refusal’
-from him; he knew it was in his eyes no sin to accept
-of a pension from one whom he considered an
-usurper; how, then, could he believe, what must
-have humiliated him in his own esteem, that the
-old blind republican, bending beneath the weight of
-years and indigence, still cherished heroic virtues in
-his soul, and spurned the offer of a tyrant! Oh, but
-he had filled the same office under Oliver Cromwell!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Milton regarded ‘Old Noll’ as a greater and
-better ‘Sylla,’ to whom, in the motto to his work
-against the restoration of kingship, he compares
-him, and evidently hoped to the last, what was
-always, perhaps, intended by the Protector, and understood
-between them, that as soon as the troubles
-of the times should be properly appeased, he would
-establish the Republic. In this Milton consented
-to serve with him, not to serve him; for Cromwell
-always professed to be the servant of the people.
-And after all, there was some difference between
-Cromwell and Charles the Second. With the
-former the author of Paradise Lost had something
-in common; they were both great men, they
-were both enemies to that remnant of feudal barbarism,
-which, supported by prejudice and ignorance,
-had for ages exerted so fatal an influence over
-the destinies of their country. Minds of such an
-order—in some things, though not in all, resembling—might
-naturally enough coöperate; for they could
-respect each other. But with what sense of decorum,
-or reverence for his own character, remembering
-the glorious cause for which he had struggled,
-could Milton have reconciled his conscience to
-taking office under the returned Stuart, to mingle
-daily with the crowd of atheists who blasphemed
-the Almighty, and with swinish vices debased his
-Image in the polluted chambers of Whitehall. The
-poet regarded them with contemptuous abhorrence;
-and, if I am not exceedingly mistaken, described
-them under the names of devils, in the court of their
-patron and inspirer below. Besides, even had they
-possessed the few virtues compatible with servitude,
-it would have been a matter of constant chagrin, of
-taunt and reviling on one side, and silent hatred on
-the other, to have brought together republican and
-slave in the same bureau, and to have compelled a
-democratic pen to mould correct phrases for a despicable
-master. So far, however, was the biographer
-from comprehending the character of the man whose
-life he undertook to write, that he seems to have
-thought it an imputation on him, and a circumstance
-for which it is necessary to pity his lot, that the dissolute
-nobles of the age seldom resorted to his humble
-dwelling! The sentiment is worthy of Salmasius.
-But was there then living a man who would
-not have been honored by passing under the shadow
-of that roof? by listening to the accents of those inspired
-lips? by being greeted and remembered by
-him whose slightest commendation was immortality?
-Elijah, or Elisha, or Moses, or David, or Paul of
-Tarsus, would have sat down with Milton and found
-in him a kindred spirit. But the slave of Lady Castlemain,
-or the traitor Monk, or Rochester, or the
-husband of Miss Hyde, or that Lord Chesterfield,
-who saw what Hamilton describes, and dared not
-with his sword revenge the insult, might forsooth
-have thought it a piece of condescension to be seen
-in the Delphic Cavern in England, whence proceeded
-those sacred verses which in literature have raised her
-above all other nations, to the level of Greece herself!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Upon his release from arrest he retired to the obscurity
-and solitude of his own dwelling, where he
-passed his time in the composition of his Paradise
-Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes.
-During this time he also produced a History of Britain,
-with several other prose works. In 1674 he
-expired, worn out with illness and a life of toil; he
-died without a groan, and so gentle and placid was
-his departure, that they who were round him did not
-perceive it.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Although all of his political writings were called
-forth by the events that were passing before him,
-and were for that reason local in their immediate
-application, yet they are so catholic and elemental in
-their spirit, that we can hardly believe that they
-were written in an age when feudal tenures were
-not abolished, and before any people had as yet secured
-their own freedom.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>His Areopagitica was his first political work; and
-although it was written for a special purpose, and
-with a view to a then existing evil, it is still a
-pamphlet that might very well be published at this
-day, as the declaration of our opinions upon this subject
-of the liberty of the press.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The very motto of the book, taken from Euripides,
-and translated by himself, indicates the whole spirit
-and intent of it.</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“This is true liberty when freeborn men,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Having to advise the public, may speak free,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Which he who can, and will, deserves high praise,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Who neither can, or will, may hold his peace;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;What can be juster in a state than this?”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>After discussing the real merits of the question
-then before him, he departs altogether from that
-topic; and as he always did, generously claimed the
-same right for mankind, that he had sought for Englishmen.
-And then it is he utters this fine sentence,
-which shows a noble enthusiasm in his cause, and a
-firm belief in its justice. “Give me the liberty to
-know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience
-above <span class='it'>all liberties</span>!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>After this work he wrote his “Tenure of Kings.”
-The design of this pamphlet has been already explained.
-We may judge of its liberal character by these
-few passages. At first he alludes to the treasonable
-desertion of principles by those, who were then turbulent
-for the king’s release, and who had mainly
-helped to provoke and carry on the war. Afterward
-he declares this general principle; “No man, who
-knows aught, can be so stupid as to deny that all men
-naturally <span class='it'>were born free</span>, being the image and resemblance
-of God himself.” And after this proclamation
-of that essential truth, he proceeds to analyze the
-history of society, and shows by reason, scriptural
-authority, general history, and the universal opinions
-of mankind, that all government proceeds from the
-people, is created by them for their comfort and good,
-and is subject to their control, whether it be patriarchal,
-despotic, or aristocratic; and that no king or
-potentate holds by any other authority than the consent
-of the people; which being withdrawn his rule
-ceases, and for his crimes his life may be forfeited—declaring
-that this must be so, “unless the people
-must be thought created all for him singly, which
-were a kind of treason against the dignity of mankind
-to affirm.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And after all this he shows his charity for his fellow
-men, wherever they may be, by saying, “Who
-knows not that there is a mutual bond of amity and
-brotherhood between man and man all over the
-world; neither is it the English sea that can sever
-us from that duty and relation.” It is this sentiment,
-and such like this, that demands of us our admiration
-and regard for this purest of men.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the same manner does he fight the same fight in
-his <a id='eikon3'></a>Eikonoklastes, and “Defense of the English People,”
-fearlessly breaking new ground in behalf of the
-“Rights of Man,” as if he considered it to be his
-greatest glory to be the champion of his race, while
-he was defending his countrymen.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the Eikonoklastes, after refuting the many lies
-uttered by the king’s lip-workers, he says, “It is
-my determination that through me the truth shall be
-spoken, and not smothered, but sent abroad in her
-native confidence of her single self, to earn how she
-can her entertainment in the world, and to find out
-her own readers.” Hearken then again to his
-words, which now, near two hundred years after
-they were published, come like a solemn and prophetic
-voice from out the writings of the old, blind
-republican.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Men are born and created with a better title to
-their freedom, than any king hath to his crown.
-And liberty of person and right of self-preservation
-is much nearer, and more natural, and more worth
-to all men than the property of their goods and
-wealth.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This is <span class='it'>our</span> truth, the corner-stone of our faith.
-Here we stand, and alone of nations have made this
-our practice, and thereby given a healthful example
-to all men. These things he believed, and, for the
-first time for ages, did he announce to the world
-those truths which were to unsettle tyranny and
-open the way to universal freedom.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>When the king was about to return, he published
-“The Mode of Establishing a Free Commonwealth.”
-This was the last blast blown to rouse the people
-from their lethargy. With a prophetic energy did
-he predict the ills that would fall upon the nation,
-should the king again be established. How sadly
-have his words been realized in the gilded misery
-that now surrounds his country, where starving
-millions toil like beasts of the field to fatten a licentious
-and debased aristocracy!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In this book he told the people that “no government
-was nearer the precepts of Christ than a free
-Commonwealth, wherein they who are the greatest
-are perpetual servants to the public, and yet are not
-elevated above their brethren, live soberly in their
-families, walk the streets as other men, may be
-spoken to freely, familiarly, friendly, without adoration.”
-After extolling the excellent beauty of freedom,
-and exhorting them to stand by their rights, he
-thus concludes, with these passages so full of grand
-and pathetic eloquence.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I have no more to say at present; few words
-will save us, well considered; few and easy things,
-now seasonably done. But if the people be so affected
-as to prostitute religion and liberty to the vain
-and groundless apprehension, that nothing but Kingship
-can restore trade, not remembering the frequent
-plagues and pestilences that then wasted this city,
-such as through God’s mercy we never have felt
-since; and that trade flourishes nowhere more than
-in the free Commonwealths of Italy, Germany, and
-the Low Countries, before their eyes at this day;
-yet if trade be grown so craving and importunate,
-through the <span class='it'>profuse living of tradesmen</span>, that nothing
-can support it but the luxurious expenses of a
-nation upon trifles or superfluities, so as if the people
-generally should betake themselves to frugality, it
-might prove a dangerous matter, lest tradesmen
-should mutiny for want of trading; and that therefore
-we must forego, and set to sale religion, liberty,
-honor, safety, all concernments, divine or human, to
-keep up trading. What I have spoken is the language
-of that which is not called amiss, “The Good
-Old Cause;” it seem strange to any, it will not
-seem more strange, I hope, than convincing to back-sliders.
-Thus much I should perhaps have said,
-though I was sure I should have spoken only to
-trees and stones, and had none to cry to, but with
-the prophet, ‘O Earth, Earth, Earth!’ to tell the
-very soil itself what her perverse inhabitants are
-deaf to; nay, though what I have spoke should happen,
-[which Thou suffer not, who didst create mankind
-free! nor Thou next who didst redeem us from
-being the servants of men!] to be the last words of
-our expiring liberty.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The political works of this great man have been
-diligently suppressed, and his political fame traduced;
-while they, who could not deny him merit,
-have been busy before the world in lauding him as a
-poet, thinking thus to lead men off from a knowledge
-of that wherein consisted his true greatness. We
-question much whether the dullest mind could read
-these books now, without being roused and filled
-with enthusiasm for this apostle of liberty, and for
-his cause.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In them he nobly vindicates the people and their
-rights. “The Good Old Cause,” as he calls it,
-warms him up, and he writes with an exulting
-energy that would make your blood gush with delight.
-His opinions were not the distempered
-thoughts of a factionist. He never allowed his
-feelings to be warped by a selfish regard for party
-advancement. He knew no party, but generously
-devoted his whole soul to the cause of his country,
-and in defense of the rights of mankind. In his old
-age his greatest glory was, that he had always written
-and spoken openly in defense of liberty and against
-slavery.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The truths which he wrote in his matured years,
-as applying to the condition of his unfortunate country,
-were but repetitions of the faith of his youth, as
-he had powerfully expressed it in his Comus.</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Impostor, do not charge most innocent Nature,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;As if she would her children should be riotous</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;With her abundance; she, good cateress,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Means her provision only to the good,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;That live according to her sober laws,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;And holy dictates of spare temperance:</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;If every just man, that now pines with want,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Had but a moderate and beseeming share</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Of that which lewdly pampered luxury</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Now heaps upon some few with vast excess,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Nature’s full blessings would be well dispens’d,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;In unsuperfluous even proportion,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;And she no whit encumbered with her store:</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;And then the giver would be better thanked,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;His praise due paid; for swinish gluttony</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Ne’er looks to heaven amidst his gorgeous feast</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;But with besotted, base ingratitude,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Crams and blasphemes his feeder.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>Even now, while we conclude these few pages
-our pen falters, and we feel disposed to abandon the
-task. His magnificence overpowers us. How can
-we point out the excellence of that which commands
-the admiration of all men, and is beyond the loftiest
-praise of the most eloquent? Again and again have
-we turned over the leaves of this work, with the intention
-of selecting passages worthy of comment and
-regard, and so thickly have they flowed in upon us,
-that page after page has been exhausted, and we had
-not finished. How idle, then, to select from these
-masterpieces of eloquence and storehouses of truth!
-How vain to dwell upon his merits, when every line
-of his splendid composition tells of his measureless
-learning and infinite purity of thought. His style, at
-once grand and simple, is happily suited to convey
-conviction to the mind, and inspire the soul with fervid
-energy.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>While his works are filled with noble conceptions,
-clothed in language of corresponding state and grandeur,
-we nowhere find any attempt at fine rhetoric
-for mere empty display. The whole subject sweeps
-on with solemn magnificence, but with no idle pomp.
-From the depths of his soul did he speak, and his
-words were as fire, scorching to his enemies, and
-life-giving and cheering to those who love “truth
-and wisdom, not respecting numbers and big names.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The most inspiring view that can be taken of the
-soul of these writings is, that they are, even at this
-day, far in advance of the social condition that exists
-in this land of liberal and enlightened principles of
-government. The precepts by which he would wish
-us to be guided, are the pure and humane doctrines
-of the Savior of man. He did not fight only for the
-liberties of <span class='it'>Englishmen</span>, contending for <span class='it'>English</span>
-rights, citing the charters of <span class='it'>English</span> liberty—no,
-not he—all mankind were alike to him, and for <span class='it'>man</span>
-alone he spake. No such Hebrew spirit animated
-his noble soul.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He proclaimed the rights of man, as man, and asserted
-his rights, natural and social, without ever
-launching out into Utopian speculations and visionary
-conceptions, the practical utility of which no one
-can affirm, and the application of which would have
-worked out ills innumerable, rooting up and overthrowing
-ten thousand times ten thousand social
-rights, that had grown up with the state itself. He
-asserted abstractions; but with an intimate knowledge
-of men and their affairs, he steadily avoided
-violating those relative rights, to suddenly encroach
-on which would have been even as great a despotism
-as the rugged foot of feudal barbarity, with
-which his country had been oppressed.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>From the generous and life-giving precepts of the
-Gospel did he draw his faith. He there learned
-charity for the misdoings of men, as well as belief in
-their power to resist evil and attain truth. He there
-learned love for mankind, as he imbibed a stern, unyielding
-hate for tyranny and hypocrisy.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>No timid navigator, skirting along the shores and
-headlands, but a bold, adventurous spirit, he pushed
-forth upon a wild, tempestuous sea of troubles, with
-murky night of ignorance and superstition surrounding
-him. The “Telemachus” of <a id='fen'></a>Fénelon, might
-have been the “first dim promise of a great deliverance,
-the undeveloped germ of the charter of the
-code,” for the whole French people. But in these
-writings of Milton, we have a <span class='it'>full</span> and manly assertion
-of those rights and duties which all men owe
-one to the other, and all to society, and which are
-far, far beyond the simple truths conveyed in that
-beautiful and easy fiction.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Well might the French monarch have “the Defense”
-burned by the common hangman! Well
-might he for whom “a million peasants starved to
-build Versailles,” look down with horror and fear
-upon that work, for in it were truths which have
-roused up men to assert their rights. It was the vindication
-of a noble people, who had trampled under
-their feet the yoke that oppressed them, and had
-brought to punishment the tyrant who reigned over
-them. These works and the events that produced
-them have an interest to us. Englishmen may slight
-them, but we look on them with exultation—they
-are associated with our own history—they are connected
-with our own family legends—and as they
-record the mighty struggle of the mighty with the
-powers and principalities of this earth, they should
-be reverenced and held sacred by us; they should be
-our household companions, as they were of those
-men whose blood now warms the hearts of an empire
-of freemen, who boast their lineage from a
-prouder source than kings—the Puritans of New
-England. The men of that Revolution have never
-been fully understood. He who would wish to know
-the justice of their cause, let him read Milton, and
-let him read the real documents of the times. They
-have been abused and misrepresented by most historians.
-Mr. Bancroft, in his History of his Country,
-has comprehended these martyrs in the cause of democratic
-rights, and dared to tell the truth concerning
-them. They and theirs were the settlers of this
-country. From them came the mighty forest of
-sturdy oaks, which in years after were to breast the
-storm of royal oppression and wrath, in this their refuge;
-and from which tempest we—WE THE
-PEOPLE, came out gloriously triumphant!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Think not ill of them. Tread lightly upon their
-memories as you would upon their ashes. They
-who perished upon the scaffold—they who found a
-home here—they who died upon the field in England,
-or worn out with anxiety and public care, sank
-to rest forever in their homes—they who, like Cromwell,
-fought in the field and ruled in the council—and
-they who, like Milton, have proclaimed from
-the study that “<span class='it'>man is free</span>,” have earned names
-that time will brighten, and have stood by truths
-that will secure the affections of a world hereafter.</p>
-
-<hr class='footnotemark'/>
-
-<div class='footnote'>
-<table summary='footnote_5'>
-<colgroup>
-<col span='1' class='footnoteid'/>
-<col span='1'/>
-</colgroup>
-<tr><td style='vertical-align:top;'>
-<div class='footnote-id' id='f5'><a href='#r5'>[5]</a></div>
-</td><td>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Select Prose Works of Milton, with a Preliminary
-Discourse and Notes. By J. A. St. John. London: J.
-Hatchard &amp; Son. 2 vols.</p>
-
-</td></tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk124'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='238' id='Page_238'></span><h1><a id='bless'></a>“BLESS THE HOMESTEAD LAW.”</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY L. VIRGINIA SMITH.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<div class='dramastart'><!----></div>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>It was a summer morning. Soft the flame</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Of the early sunlight up the zenith came,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Deep tinging with a golden-crimson hue</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The clouds that floated o’er the welkin blue,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Or veiled the distant mountain. Far, and near,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>From farm to farm the call of chanticleer</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Rang like a clarion, shrilly sweet and long,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The robin red-breast trilled his matin song,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Hid in the high old maple, while around</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>From far, deep-waving grain-fields gayly sound</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The carols of the bob-o-link. The bee</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Was out among the blossoms, in his glee</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>To rouse them from their dreamings. Gracefully</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The west-wind waved the weeping willow-tree</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That drooped above the rivulet, or crept</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Amid the branches of the elm that swept</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>A low-browed homestead. Ruby columbine,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Sweet honey-suckle, and the Indian vine,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Had veiled the rustic portico, and wild</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Swayed o’er the casement, and the sunlight smiled</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Through the low entrance. ’Twas a winsome place,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And like the sunny calm of some sweet face,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>You would have thought in gazing on its rest,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That earth’s frail children <span class='it'>sometimes</span> can be blest.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And yet misfortune found it;—see the group</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Now gathered at the threshold, o’er them droop</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Long, swaying branches, and the loving leaves</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Lay their light fingers o’er the heart that grieves,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>As if to soothe its sorrows. Agony</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Lights up the darkness of the husband’s eye,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>He stands apart, his bearing calm and proud,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And yet his heart is burning ’neath a cloud</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Of dread and misery. The young wife leans</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>By the old elm-tree, ’mid the passing scenes</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Her heart is busy, for beside her stands</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>A lovely child, with snowy, dimpled hands</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Clasping her mother’s, while within the shade</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Her baby brother on the greensward played.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;The little maiden mused, a choking swell</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Filled her young bosom, and the large tears fell</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>All silently, then her slow-lifting eyes</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>(Their blue depths troubled with a strange surprise)</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Sought out her mother’s;—tossing back her hair,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Her clear voice melted on the morning air;—</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>“We leave the homestead!—Say, dear mother, why?</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;Do not the birds and blossoms love us here?</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Has any other home a clearer sky,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;With brighter stars upon it? Mother, dear,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Shall we not sigh <span class='it'>there</span> for this old elm shade,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Where you and I and brother oft have played?</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>“We leave the homestead!—Oh! my father, tell,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;Why turn we from the fields, and wood-paths dim,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Through which we wended as the Sabbath bell</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;Called us to worship, with its solemn hymn?</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Shall we not sigh to pray where friends have prayed,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Or weep our loved ones in the church-yard laid?”</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>The haughty bosom of the strong man shook</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>With an internal tempest, and he took</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Her tiny hand within his own; his pride</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Was bending, and he earnestly replied:</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>“Why do we leave it?—’tis a tale too long,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;And strange to fall upon <span class='it'>thy</span> heart, my child;</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>’Twould tell of dark misfortunes, pain, and wrong,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;And wo, that seemed at times to drive me wild,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>To make me doubt the path my fathers trod,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And that the poor man had indeed a God!</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>“But thou, my Ada, true and gentle bride,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;Dost thou remember when thy violet eye</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Looked first upon ‘Glenoran?’ All untried,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;It seemed to thee a Paradise; ah! why</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Am I myself its serpent and its bane,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>To leave on all its bloom a deadly stain?</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>“Oh! could I only bear this all alone,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;The grinding poverty—the lurking sneer—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>All the poor debtor’s wretchedness—no moan</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;My soul would utter audibly, but here</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>My heart of hearts is crushed, my life of life,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'><span class='it'>They</span> suffer also, child, and babe, and wife.</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>“We leave the homestead;—wanderers we go,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;From friends, from kindred, and our native land—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>My God! if <span class='it'>I</span> have merited such wo,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;Have <span class='it'>these</span> deserved it at thy mercy’s hand?</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Oh! let thy justice all my actions scan,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Yet leave one hope—to die an honest man.”</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>He drooped his head upon his bosom, bowed</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>With misery, and instantly the proud</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Young wife was at his side; soft o’er his brow</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Swept her white fingers, and her voice was low:</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>“Thy soul is dark, beloved, it fears for us—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;Ah! only trust in God, as I in thee,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Lift up thy stately brow; to see thee thus</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;Is worse than all life’s agony to me.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Thou couldst have died for us, beloved, but we,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>E’en when all hope is lost, will live for thee.</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>“They cannot separate our souls from thine,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;They cannot part us wheresoe’er we roam,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Or place aught else within the sacred shrine,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;Where dwell thy wife and children. Loved one, come,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Give me mine only <span class='it'>home</span> within thy heart—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'><span class='it'>I’ll bear it with me</span>—let us hence depart.”</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>It is the summer twilight. Dark the shades</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Are falling through the forest everglades,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The winds are hushed, the lonely whip-poor-will</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Sings his wild lullaby upon the hill,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>A sighing murmur from the mountain-pines</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Steals up valley, and the love-star shines,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>All brightly in “Glenoran.”</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;Since the morn</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Glad tidings visited those bosoms torn</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>With unavailing sorrow, now the “right”</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>To have a home was granted, and delight</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Was blended into orisons. That line</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Whose fiat echoes back a law divine,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Was made a statute, and sweet Ada saw</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Her loved ones singing, “<span class='it'>Bless the Homestead Law!</span>”</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk125'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='239' id='Page_239'></span><h1><a id='miser'></a>THE MISER AND HIS DAUGHTER.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY H. DIDIMUS.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>This</span> man came to Louisiana many years since, a
-silver-smith by trade, poor, and largely in debt. He
-was born in New York, and in that city worked industriously
-at the business to which he had been apprenticed,
-until a competency rewarded his labors,
-and wealth, which he had before little thought of,
-was brought near enough to his door to be both seen
-and desired. The hammer, the soldering-iron, and
-the file were now thrown aside, as instruments of a
-slow getting; and the head was taxed with schemes
-for the acquisition of sudden and great gains. At
-the close of two years he was a bankrupt. But he
-was not a man of half-measures; true courage he
-had enough of; and honesty has never been denied
-him; so, he called his creditors together, laid before
-them a statement of his affairs, surrendered all that
-he had, gave his notes for eighty thousand dollars,
-and departed, with nerves unshaken, and a will indomitable,
-in search of a new land and a new fortune.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>When the ambition of wealth drew him from his
-work-shop, he carefully laid aside the tools of his
-trade in a stout oaken box, to be kept as mementoes
-of former labor; they were now all that remained to
-him, the only gift which he had asked, and would
-receive of creditors who were disposed to be generous.
-With them, at thirty-five years of age, he bid
-the North good-bye, went on shipboard, entered before
-the mast, in payment of a passage to New Orleans,
-and on his arrival there, at once hired himself
-into the service of a silver-smith, who has since
-ranked with the wealthiest of its citizens, and who
-has since met with ruin more disastrous than that
-which brought the best of his journeymen to his
-door.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>John Cornelius, when you first scented the Mississippi
-marshes, and stepped from ship to shore with
-a debt of eighty thousand dollars upon your back,
-John Gravier had not wholly parted with that domain,
-which now forms the noblest portion of the
-second municipality. To one with a soul in his
-body, bent on money-getting, the track clear, the
-goal in view, to be won with effort, eighty thousand
-dollars of debt is like weight to the race-horse—it is
-not best to run too light at the start. Your eye saw
-what John Gravier did not. You read the page
-written by the hand of God, legibly enough—the
-Mississippi with all its tributaries, rolling through
-lands of an unequalled fertility, and of every variety
-of clime, and you had faith. God’s promises are
-certain. With the return of spring comes the
-flower, and with the breath of autumn comes the
-fruit; with the twinkling star comes rest, and with
-the rise of day comes light and labor; every mountain,
-every hill and valley, every plain and running-stream,
-river and ocean, speak of God’s promises,
-and accomplish them. Read, and understand; this
-it is, which separates the man gifted from the common
-herd, who are born to toil for the benefit of the
-few.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>John Cornelius read God’s promises in the Mississippi,
-and went heartily to work. With him, there
-was no folding of the hands, no waiting on Providence;
-for he knew that the fable of Hercules and the
-wagoner was as instructive under a Christian, as
-under a pagan dispensation; so he girded up his
-loins, made sharp his sickle, and entered upon the
-harvest which was already ripe for the reaper.
-Economy is the handmaid of wealth, and penuriousness
-is economy’s own daughter. John Cornelius
-took them both to his bosom, and for ten long years
-he lived upon one meal a day, and that a cold one.
-The larger portion of his monthly wages he hoarded
-up, and when the accumulations had become sufficient,
-remembering the promises of the Mississippi,
-he bought a lot of ground within the precincts of John
-Gravier’s plantation; hoarded again, put a small
-wooden tenement upon the lot, rented, and was a
-landlord. Thus he went on, working, hoarding,
-with economy and penuriousness his whole household,
-penuriousness holding the upper hand; adding
-lot to lot, tenement to tenement, and lease to lease,
-until at the close of ten years, he found that God’s
-promises written upon the Mississippi, were fulfilled
-and fulfilling; and he again laid aside the tools of his
-trade in a stout, oaken box, there to rest, as they do
-rest to this hour. He was rich; he had kept even
-pace with New Orleans, in its progress toward
-greatness; but, with his wealth had grown up a
-habit, the habit of penuriousness, which wealth only
-strengthened, as a child strengthens its parent.
-Habit moulds the soul, and fashions it to its will;
-habit makes the writer; habit makes the poet;
-of habit, are born the soldier, the statesman, and
-the scholar; habit created the arts, and all science;
-habit gives faith and religion, and fastens every vice
-upon us; and habit made John Cornelius a miser.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>SECTION II.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was many years subsequent to the period at
-which Mr. Cornelius found it for his interest to retire
-a second time from the work-shop, and to devote
-himself exclusively to the management of his increasing
-rent-roll, and frequent investments in real
-property, and when, with the eighty thousand dollars
-of debt lifted from his shoulders, he stood erect,
-mighty in wealth, that he one day entered my office,
-and tendered me a counselor’s fee.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mr. Cornelius and myself were strangers to each
-other. I had occupied chambers in one of his houses
-for the past five years, but his collector arranged
-with me the terms of my lease, and received the
-quarterly rent; and as my landlord was faithful to
-his own interests, and as I was equally faithful to
-mine, no incident had transpired, growing out of our
-relations, to bring us together.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I have for some time been a tenant of yours,
-Mr. Cornelius,” said I, handing the gentleman a
-chair; “and I suppose that I may attribute this visit
-to a worthy desire on your part to become acquainted
-with one who, thus far, has exhibited no sign of an
-intention to quit.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I am too old a man to wish for new acquaintances,
-Mr. Didimus; and had you referred my call
-to a knowledge of your reputation for attention to
-business, and a want of your professional services,
-you would have come much nearer the truth.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I thanked him, both for the compliment and his
-confidence; and requested a statement of his case.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Time is money,” said Mr. Cornelius; “and a
-few words shall not long detain either of us. In October
-last, a Mr. Andrews died; my debtor to the
-amount of twenty-five thousand dollars. The debt
-is secured by mortgage upon his house; but his
-widow comes in for twice the sum, in virtue of her
-paraphernal rights, and as her claim is older than
-mine, it will sweep away all, unless I can show that
-the marriage was void in law.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“In what respect, Mr. Cornelius?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Andrews had a wife living at the time of his
-second marriage.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Had the second wife any knowledge of the fact
-before her cohabitation with the deceased, or at any
-period thereafter, prior to the springing of her claim,
-with the simultaneous mortgage which the law
-gives to married women and minors as their best
-security?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Perhaps not.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“How much does the second wife claim?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Fifty thousand dollars.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“What is the value of the succession?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The house may be worth twenty; and the house
-is all.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“If you succeed, the widow is a beggar?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Yes.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Both law and justice are against you, Mr. Cornelius.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I am not here to learn what justice is, justice in
-the abstract, Mr. Didimus; I might travel far and
-not find it. Positive justice, the positive rules of
-the legislator, the justice of the law is that with
-which we have to do. There is no natural right to
-property. Property is a creature of the law. With
-one, it is just that the eldest born should take all;
-and with another, it is just that the succession should
-be equally divided between sons and daughters.
-Here, the youngest claims the largest portion; and
-there, the female is preferred to the male. Positive
-rules, the wisdom of many wise men, of many generations,
-do, with every people, both make and unmake
-the right and the wrong. The law is justice,
-and I ask what the law awards me. If the law gives
-to the wife a tacit mortgage to secure her paraphernal
-rights, the law also gives to me a judgment
-mortgage to recover my rights of contract. She
-must show a valid marriage; I must show registration.
-We stand upon the same platform; and if I
-prevail, it is because the law is with me. No injustice
-is done, Mr. Didimus. The widow cannot have
-what is not here; thank God, no injustice is done.”
-And the rich man, as he closed his defense, stretched
-out his hands clutchingly toward me, as if to take
-possession of the large sum of money which seemed
-passing beyond his grasp.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Supposing all that you have advanced to be true,
-Mr. Cornelius; yet, as the widow in the case under
-consideration, married and cohabited with her late
-husband in entire ignorance of the fraud which had
-been practiced upon her, the law, both in letter and
-spirit protects her; and I must respectfully decline
-any further action in the matter.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mr. Cornelius bid me good morning.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>SECTION III.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Some few weeks subsequent to the interview just
-related, a lady habited in deep mourning called upon
-me, and put a large bundle of papers into my hands.
-It was the widow; and the papers were a statement
-of her husband’s succession, much of his correspondence,
-evidences of her claim, and the usual copies,
-which had been served upon her, of a process which
-Mr. Cornelius had instituted under the advice of
-counsel more pliant, or wiser than myself.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I know something of this already,” said I, after
-having hastily glanced over the contents of the package.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Indeed, then I am unfortunate, for you are retained
-upon the other side,” said the lady.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I might have been so, but declined; and, believing
-as I do that you are in the right, you will permit
-me to hope that you are not unfortunate.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The past is dark enough,” said she, “the future
-is with God alone.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Andrews had a wife living at the time of
-your marriage with him.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The evidence of that fact is in your possession.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You received from your mother’s succession
-fifty thousand dollars, which your late husband
-squandered.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“He was imprudent.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Of your husband’s first marriage you were ignorant,
-until after his decease?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“That knowledge came to me a double sorrow,
-quick following his death; to me more terrible than
-death. Now, alone in the world, with none of my
-blood known to me, I come to you as my defender.
-The law is a stern master; sometimes blind. If I
-lose, I lose all, a beggar, with a name suspected, I
-can do little else than lie down and die!” and she
-covered her face with her hands, and sobbed aloud.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Cornelius is honest,” said I.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Cornelius knows not my heart.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“He is rich.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I would take nothing from his wealth. True, he
-is a man of large property, but my folly has, in part,
-brought this sorrow upon me; let the law judge between
-us, I will be content.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Now, madam, you show the right spirit, and my
-best endeavors shall be exerted in your behalf,” said
-I, as the lady rose, and gave me her hand at parting.
-“Wait, trust in your counsel; and if you lose, still
-wait, still hope; <span class='it'>for every thing is rewarded and
-avenged in time</span>.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>My fair client’s heart was too full to speak of gratitude;
-and I handed her to the door, and took leave
-of her in silence.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>SECTION IV.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I returned to the papers and studied them, far into
-the night. There was the evidence of the fifty thousand
-dollars received; and there, too, was the evidence
-of the prior marriage—the first wife living at
-the time of the taking of the second. It was a sad
-tale, the story of that first wife; a tale of neglect, of
-desertion, of want and wo; a tale told in letters
-written from a far distant land, and blotted with
-many tears. I steeled my heart against it. How
-else could we of “The Profession” live? As the
-surgeon, compassionless, cuts with steady nerve
-through flesh, and bone, and marrow, and saves the
-life which pity would have lost; so we soon learn
-to close the heart to sorrow; to hear nothing, to see
-nothing but the interest of the client; to hope for
-nothing but his success—God protect us! Ever
-dealing with the passions and the vices of men;
-their unholy race after mammon; strifes by the way-side;
-plots and counter-plots; faith broken; trusts
-betrayed; snares for the unwary; the innocent
-duped; the unfortunate trampled upon; the hoary
-sinner honored—God protect us! Great wonder is
-it, that we do not loathe the very name of man!
-Poor woman! If she who assumed your name and
-state, and defiled the marriage bed, which with you
-alone was pure, was guilty, although ignorant, of a
-careless haste, the punishment has come, equal to
-the fault; and you, too, are avenged—even in time.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I often saw my client, during the period of one
-year, which elapsed between my retainer and the
-trial of the suit which she had engaged me to defend.
-She was young—she could not have been more than
-twenty—without children, and her beauty grew
-upon me every day. With a fine figure—not too
-light, but rather a little heavy, with the <span class='it'>embonpoint</span>
-of the widow—with features, which were the handsomer
-for being irregular, and eyes which spoke the
-sex with all its glory and its weakness. She interested
-something more than professional pride, or
-manly compassion in her favor. Her intellect, too,
-was brilliant and cultivated; and her manners most
-refined: certainly it would have been pardonable in
-a bachelor to have made her cause wholly his own.
-But there was a mystery woven into the history of her
-life, which she either could not, or was not pleased to
-remove. In one only, of the many papers and few family
-letters which she from time to time put into my
-hands, did I find any allusion made to her father. She
-never herself voluntarily spoke of him; and whenever
-I questioned her upon the subject, she was evidently
-much troubled by my inquiries, and professed to be
-utterly ignorant of that side of her house. She had
-known her mother only under her maiden name, and
-had lived with her, in one of our northern cities in
-great seclusion, until she met with Mr. Andrews,
-married him, and removed to New Orleans. Shortly
-after her marriage her mother had died, bequeathing
-her fifty thousand dollars, the result of economy and
-business habits. What folly, what shame, what
-crime had given her birth, or had removed as beneath
-a cloud her father from her sight, she knew
-not; but her mother had often told her that she was
-born in honest wedlock, and that some day she should
-claim her own. She knew not the place of her birth,
-nor her mother’s relatives, and stood as one without
-relationship in the world. How her heart yearned
-to find in other veins the blood which flowed in her
-own! At such times, when my questions had stirred
-the fountain of her tears, and the grief of desolation
-ran over, she would wring her hands in a passion of
-sorrow, and call upon heaven to give her knowledge—to
-give her father to her arms.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Pardon,” she would murmur, “these exhibitions
-of my weakness; it is terrible not to know the father
-that begat you; terrible to hear want, even to destitution,
-knocking at your door.”</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>SECTION V.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The day fixed for the trial came. I felt prepared,
-strong at all points save one, that of my client’s parentage.
-There was a suspicion about it which
-would not tell well with the jury. As to the law
-which governed the case, provided no knowledge of
-the first marriage were brought home to my client
-prior to the springing of her mortgage, I was sure of
-it; and I believe that no one of my brethren at the
-“Bar” would now dispute the correctness of my
-opinion. But the fact of knowledge, a jury might
-infer from very slight evidence, and my client’s
-seeming bastardy and strange ignorance of her father,
-and of her mother even, beyond the certainty that
-she once lived and cared well for her young days,
-were better fitted to excite suspicion and clothe
-her in the garb of an adventurer, than to secure pity
-or be urged as arguments of innocence. This was
-the assailable point. I had thought much upon it,
-and had concluded that it was to be best defended by
-an open avowal, and a bold appeal to the more generous
-sympathies of our nature. Thus armed, I entered
-the court-room.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The court was upon the bench, and the opposite
-party, with his counsel, was there, ready, expecting
-the battle, and confident of a success which was to
-take from the widow all that she possessed. Mr.
-Cornelius was there. Tall and meagre in his person,
-with cheeks hollowed and hair whitened, by
-age and long continued labor and great self-denial,
-ending in extreme penuriousness, his eyes alone
-retained a show of the vigor of youth. Gray, cold
-and piercing, they rolled quickly and incessantly
-from side to side, as if every where and at all times
-in search of the yellow metal upon which his soul
-fed, and grew smaller and smaller, even to a pin’s
-point. His brow was thickly furrowed with the
-lines of gain; but it was a noble one, and showed a
-strong intellect bound in chains of its own forging—enslaved
-to Mammon. Yes, John Cornelius cannot
-say, on that last day when rich and poor shall stand,
-equal at the feet and shoulders, before their common
-God, that he labored according to his light. Success
-in life, success in any department of the business
-of life, a success extended over a quarter of a
-century of years, presupposes intellect, and a great
-deal of it. A fortune may be won by the turn of a
-card, and a fortune may be lost as well; but that fortune
-which is gathered slowly and surely, the result
-of foresight, of a deep knowledge of the ways of
-commerce, its growth, fluctuations and changes, of its
-adaptation to the wants of men and the humors of
-the times; the result of a providence which sees the
-coming storm and provides for it, which sees the
-prosperous breeze and catches it—such a fortune is
-the result of a strong intellect, equally with any
-greatness whatever. John Cornelius cannot say that
-he labored according to his light!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>There he sat, and as he clutched, with his long,
-thin, bony fingers, at the papers which lay spread
-out upon the table before him, as if they were the
-stout line which was to draw unto him the gold he
-coveted, I thought of the story of the Rich Man and
-the Lamb, told in the olden writ.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>My client was also beside me. Still habited in
-black—she might well mourn the wrong she had suffered,
-if not the man she had loved—the veil lifted
-from her face, a little pale with hope and sorrow,
-and a womanly modesty possessing in quick turn all
-her features.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She won the favor of the court; and the jury, as
-each was sworn and took his seat within the box,
-whispered compassion.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>SECTION VI.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>My adversaries saw, clearly enough, the ground
-upon which I stood, and the able junior counsel, in
-opening the case, with great art alluded to it, and
-fully shadowed forth the position in the defense
-which was to be most strenuously attacked. “The
-plaintiff’s mortgage was undoubted; I had myself
-acknowledged it in the answer on file in the record;
-neither was the amount alleged by the defendant to
-have been received by her late husband from the succession
-of her mother to be disputed, the evidence
-was conclusive; but the marriage was illegal; that
-would hardly be questioned. Was the defendant in
-good faith at the time of its celebration? Was she
-in good faith when her late husband took possession
-of her mother’s succession? Was she in such good
-faith as would secure to her the rights of a legal
-marriage? These were the questions to be answered,
-and he believed that the evidence which he
-was about to bring home to the knowledge of the
-jury, would answer them most emphatically in the
-negative. He then spoke of Andrews’ long residence
-in New Orleans; of his many acquaintances
-there; of his well-known marriage with the daughter
-of a French Jew; of his desertion of his wife; of her
-return, with her aged father, to France; of the second
-marriage, hastily made up; of the plaintiff’s sudden
-appearance in that city, claiming a position due alone
-to honesty, while Andrews spoke of her to his associates
-as his concubine; of the hints which she had
-received of the imposition she was striving to practice
-upon others, or which had been in reality practiced
-upon herself; and of the deaf ear which she
-ever turned to such warnings; of her feigned incredulity;
-and of the mystery which hung over and
-covered, with impenetrable darkness, the history of
-her birth. He closed with an appeal to the judgment
-of the jury—cautioned them against the blinding influence
-of the passions—spoke of the dangerous eloquence
-of a woman in weeds—besought them to
-keep their reason unclouded, and not suffer sympathy
-to work a wrong—and asked for justice, sheer justice,
-the justice of the law, that right might be vindicated
-without respect of persons.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The evidence went far to sustain the labored and
-wily exposition of the advocate. The first marriage;
-the desertion; Andrews’ long residence in
-New Orleans; his numerous acquaintances, putting
-inquiry within the easy reach of every one; his visit
-to the North; his early return accompanied by the
-defendant, who claimed the privileges and honors of
-a wife; his disclaimer of her right to such privileges
-and honors, repeatedly made to his associates;
-the many hints which the defendant had received
-from the well disposed and compassionate, as to her
-true position, early in her marriage; her confused
-replies, and faint and soon relinquished inquiries;
-her unwillingness to speak of her family, and studied
-silence whenever the subject was alluded to; the
-suspicion which rested upon her mother’s name, and
-the existence of the first wife, living even at that
-time, in retirement and sorrow in one of the small
-towns in the north of France, all was proved by testimony
-which seemed fair enough.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>John Cornelius’ eyes glared gloatingly upon the
-gold already present to their sight, and he turned his
-hands one within the other, in the joy of the certainty
-of success.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>SECTION VII.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I opened the defense. I saw a new countenance
-upon the twelve faces before me. There was now
-no pity, but distrust and a hardening of the heart,
-and opinion more than half made up. I walked
-warily, began afar off; called them honest—and so
-indeed they were—acknowledged the first marriage,
-acknowledged the first wife living, in sorrow and in
-want; acknowledged the plaintiff’s mortgage; claimed
-nothing from sympathy for the poor, nothing from
-sympathy for the wronged widow, nothing from
-sympathy for the orphan; alluded to the thick shadows
-in which time and circumstances, and a probable
-wrong, had enveloped the mother’s early life,
-and with which they had nothing to do; spoke of
-that mother’s purity of conduct during a period of
-many years, of her industry, of her accumulation of
-wealth, of her care for an only child, her daughter
-and my client; of the daughter’s peculiar position in
-society; of her young ignorance of the world; of her
-wide separation from Andrews’ place of residence;
-of her indiscreet confidence when wooed, pardonable
-in one whose own life was to her a mystery; of the
-hints which she had received subsequent to her marriage,
-and of the suspicions which had been aroused,
-suspicions well answered and well put to rest by
-suggestions of the malice of her husband’s enemies,
-and by trust in the man she loved, in the man into
-whose arms she had surrendered all—a trust most
-honorable in a woman. But where was the first
-wife? Why had she remained silent? Wronged,
-deserted, driven out, she must have been ready to
-give credence to any report in disparagement of her
-husband. Under such circumstances, hints and inuendoes
-in which the defendant could put no faith,
-could not satisfy her that she had been deceived.
-This was the position which we occupied; this was
-our defense. The evidence which I was about to introduce
-said all that I said, and into its keeping I
-willingly surrendered the property and the good
-name of the widow and orphan, whose cause is holy
-in the sight of God and of men. <span class='it'>Cum deceptis jura
-subveniunt.</span></p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was now for me to introduce the evidence on
-the part of the defense, and I did so in the order
-which reason at once suggests as the most natural
-and direct. First, of the marriage, which was not
-denied; then of the wife’s inheritance, which Andrews
-had received, and of which the proof was too
-full to be questioned; and then, as part of the <span class='it'>res
-gestæ</span>, letters written by Andrews at different periods,
-and in times of temporary absence, breathing
-confidence and love, and twice alluding to the suspicions
-which the idle gossip of his enemies had
-planted in the breast of his wife, and branding them
-as the offspring of an unfounded malice.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As I passed the papers to the clerk, I turned and
-looked upon Mr. Cornelius. His hands rested,
-clenched, upon his knees, but his eyes still reached
-for the gold which was fast receding in the distance.
-My client had, from the first, put off all womanly
-fear, and listened to the argument and watched the
-testimony with a clear brow, pale from resolution.
-Once, when the junior counsel in his opening speech,
-hinted at concubinage—a crime too frequent, too
-much bred into the customs of the city not to gain
-an easy credence—the blood mounted, suffused her
-temples, bathed her whole face in the ruddy light of
-a golden sunset, and then flowed back not to return
-again. Now, she was cool enough.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I next read letters from the mother, dated both
-before and after the daughter’s marriage. They
-were written with great elegance and simplicity, and
-all started from the same point, and all came back to
-it again—a mother’s care and unceasing anxiety for
-her daughter’s physical health, for her mental improvement,
-for her moral purity. The court was
-touched; a manly sorrow sat, veiled, upon the hard
-features of the jury; the miser shook, like an aspen-leaf,
-through every limb. I paused—and then took
-up another, the last, written but a few days prior to
-the mother’s death, the last words of that mother to
-her child, in life. Its manner, the solemn cadence
-of the periods, the matter, fell slowly and heavily
-upon the ear, like the thick breathings of one with
-whom the world has little more to do. The shadow
-rested upon the hand as it wrote. It was crowded
-with the griefs of many years. It spoke darkly of
-wrongs received; of a stern resolve; of labors endured,
-and endured joyously for the offspring of a
-love struck-down, and changed to very hate, even in
-the first hour of its young life; of one whose name
-her daughter’s lips had never syllabled; of one living,
-prosperous in the world, the daughter’s father and
-her husband. Wait, yet a little while, and she
-should know the blood which had begotten her, and
-claim her own—a rich inheritance equal with the
-noblest in the land. Alas! that waiting was to be
-too long! Death had sealed the mother’s lips, and
-there sat the daughter, hunted, hunted like a hare
-by the hounds of the law.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>My client covered her face with the folds of her
-robe.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“How does the mother sign herself?” asked the
-judge.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ann Chapman, may it please your honor.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ann Chapman!” exclaimed John Cornelius
-springing to his feet. “Ann Chapman! Give me
-the letter.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I put it into his hands. His eyes glanced at the
-date, and then rested, fixed, upon the signature. The
-pallor of the dead crept slowly over him; his arms
-gave up their strength and fell to his side, the paper
-dropped upon the floor. “Here, take it, take it,”
-he said, in a hollow whisper, looking straight out
-upon vacuity; “it is nothing, nothing, nothing.”
-Then turning to his counsel, he bid them enter a
-discontinue, and walked hurriedly out of court.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“This is a strange ending!” said the judge.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My client is mad!” said the opposite senior
-counsel.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Our client is mad!” echoed his junior, bundling
-up his papers with a piece of red tape.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Mad or sane, gentlemen, it is a fit conclusion to
-what should never have been begun,” said I, taking
-the young widow under my arm and leading her
-away, much wondering at the abrupt termination of
-the suit.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Do you think Mr. Cornelius has really gone
-mad?” she asked, looking up into my face with a
-tear upon her eyelids. It was one of sorrow, not
-joy; God bless her, she had forgotten her good fortune
-in sympathy for her oppressor.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“If to have a conscience is to be so,” I answered;
-and took leave of her at the door of her residence—at
-the door of the house we had battled for—so
-happy, that she tried and could not say, “I
-thank you.”</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>SECTION VIII.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I returned to my office in a very good humor with
-all the world. Upon my table I found a note from
-Mr. Cornelius, requesting me to call upon him at an
-early hour in the evening. “A compromise—no
-compromises, Mr. Cornelius. If you will, begin
-again; but the widow shall keep all, to the last farthing.”
-And I dispatched a reply, saying I would
-be with him precisely at eight.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>John Cornelius lived in the upper part of the city,
-in a very large and costly house, which had been
-built by a parvenu of sudden wealth. It covered,
-with the surrounding grounds, two-thirds of a
-square, and had been purchased by Mr. Cornelius at
-the sale of the parvenu’s succession, rather on account
-of the land, than for any profitable use which
-he could make of the noble structure to which the
-land was appurtenant. The increasing commerce
-of the city had so surrounded it with warehouses
-and presses for cotton, as to render it impossible to
-find a tenant at even a three per cent. rent, so he
-moved into it himself, and, with one slave, lived
-there upon fifty cents a day. The spacious and unfurnished
-halls, dark, gloomy, venerable with dust,
-returned a hollow echo to my tread, as I entered at
-the appointed hour. I found the miser sitting at a
-small table, covered with papers, in the centre of a
-large room; the table and two chairs, that which he
-occupied and one reserved for myself, were all of
-furniture that it contained. He looked very pale,
-did not rise to receive me, but in silence waived his
-hand as an invitation to be seated. I obeyed, and
-waited for a declaration of the motives which had
-induced him to request my presence. But during
-the lapse of ten minutes he did not speak, so I drew
-his note from my pocket and pushing it toward him
-across the table, observed that my time was worth
-one dollar the minute.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Your client is my daughter,” said Mr. Cornelius.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Your daughter! Then you are mad, sure
-enough!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mr. Cornelius gathered up the papers which lay
-upon the table before him and put them into my
-hands. They were, first, a certificate of his marriage
-with Ann Chapman, in the city of New York,
-on the ninth day of October, eighteen hundred and —;
-second, articles of separation entered into, and signed
-in duplicate, by both parties, just one year thereafter—being
-done at New York on the ninth day of October,
-one thousand eight hundred and —; and last,
-several letters received by Mr. Cornelius from his
-wife’s relatives at wide intervals, and at periods long
-subsequent to their stipulated divorce. The articles
-contained an acknowledgment on the part of Mrs.
-Cornelius of her having received twenty thousand
-dollars from her husband in full satisfaction of all
-claims upon him for support, and of her right of
-dower in his estate; the letters were written in
-answer to inquiries made by himself as to his wife’s
-existence and condition in life, and all, without exception,
-expressed an utter inability to give him any
-information upon the subject.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“In eighteen hundred and —,” said Mr. Cornelius,
-“I visited the North, and there met with and hastily
-married Ann Chapman, then a young woman of
-humble parentage—not otherwise than my own—with
-much beauty, a moderate education, and a
-spirit which was equal to any fortune. My business
-called me to England, and upon my return I saw, or
-fancied that I saw, some change in her feelings toward
-me. She was honest, as honest as the light in
-which God robes himself; but the great disparity of
-our ages made me jealous of her affection; and as
-she was of a strong temper, not easily controlled,
-while I was in some degree unreasonable and exacting,
-we soon quarreled, made each other miserable,
-and, by mutual consent, separated. When I took
-leave of her, she put her hand in mine, and with a
-calmness which was terrible, called down every
-suffering upon her head if, with her assent, I should
-see her face again. She would go and hide her sorrow
-among strangers, and even the fruit of our short-lived
-love, which she then carried in her bosom,
-should not know me until grief and many years had
-ripened me for the grave. I returned to New Orleans;
-I returned to my labor and my money getting—and
-she, alas! she kept her purpose too well!
-Through many a long month, and through many a
-long year, have I repented of that folly, to find only
-at this hour the blood which is my own. I have
-heaped up gold and houses and lands—sir, my wife
-and daughter would have made me a better man.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And he drew down his long silver locks over his
-face and covered it with his hands.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Are you satisfied as to the identity; have you no
-doubts, Mr. Cornelius?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He took a richly chased miniature from his bosom
-and bid me look at it.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“It is the mother as she was at twenty; it is the
-daughter of to-day.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I started with surprise; it could not have been more
-like, had the young widow sat for it.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The evidence is conclusive, Mr. Cornelius; and
-I will now take a fee upon the other side. Let us
-go at once to her house, and claim not only that, but
-its fair occupant also.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No, no, we must meet here. These walls know
-me; I am at home; and I must receive my daughter
-in my own house,” said Mr. Cornelius. “You are
-her best friend—hereafter you shall be mine; do you
-then call upon her, break this matter gently to her,
-and in the morning you will find me here, waiting
-your coming.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I will not tell her that I have found her father,”
-said I, “for that would be subjecting her nerves to
-two trials; and it might be that you would be compelled
-to go to her in the end, with a physician at
-your back. It is better that she should be made to
-expect one good fortune, and find another; so, I will
-tell her that you relented, discontinued your suit from
-sheer pity, and wish to make her a present equal in
-value to the amount which was involved in the dispute
-between you, as a small compensation for the
-trouble you have given her.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“As you please,” said Mr. Cornelius, smiling, no
-doubt at the improbability of the story.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Never fear, a woman’s faith is large enough to
-believe any thing,” said I, not wishing to be misunderstood;
-and the miser now rose, and accompanied
-me to the door.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>SECTION IX.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the morning, the young widow and myself
-walked slowly along toward her father’s residence;
-I, more than half ashamed of the deception I had put
-upon her; and she, wondering at the fortune which
-had poured a golden shower into her lap, and framing
-thanks to be heaped upon the good man, who had
-threatened poverty only to bestow riches.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>At the door she hesitated, and said that I must
-speak for her.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Never mind,” said I, “nature will put fit words
-into your mouth, and some things are best expressed
-by silence.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We entered—the widow hanging upon my arm;
-her whole weight was upon it—not very large, indeed—for
-she was ready to sink down, oppressed
-with a load of gratitude. John Cornelius sat where
-I had found him the preceding evening, at the little,
-table covered with papers, in the centre of the room,
-and with one vacant chair. Well, thought I, we
-shall not want a third. He rose with much coldness
-in his manner, bowed formally, took his daughter’s
-hand, and assisted her to the vacant seat; he then
-gave me that which he had himself occupied.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Madam,” said he, after a short pause, and in a
-voice which seemed stoutly braced with resolution,
-and yet just ready to break down, “I have requested
-your presence here, in order that you might read
-these papers, for they somewhat concern you;” and
-taking up the certificate of marriage, and the articles
-of separation, he held them out toward her. She received
-them, with a word of thanks, thinking no
-doubt, that they were titles to the property which I
-had induced her to believe was to be bestowed upon
-her. As she read the articles, her color left her, and
-a cold sweat started from her brow and rolled down
-her face, and wet her garments. The certificate she
-carried twice to her eyes, and twice failed to read,
-but glared upon it like one who sees a vision in his
-sleep: the third time she read it aloud, screaming as
-if to make certain with her voice, what her eyes
-doubted.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“And this,” shouted Cornelius, drawing the picture
-from his bosom and holding it up, her other self,
-before her.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My God—my father!” she exclaimed, rising
-slowly, and pulling at her fingers; then swayed to
-and fro, uncertain of her step; leaped into the old
-man’s arms, fastened about his neck, and slept insensible,
-upon his bosom.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>John Cornelius sank with his burden upon the
-floor, and wept, and sobbed like a child.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A broad, plain, gold ring rolled bounding to my
-feet. I picked it up. Within the circle were engraved
-two letters, “J. C.” It was the bridal ring, a gift
-from her mother, as Ægeus gave his sword to Æthra,
-that the father might recognize his child, when in
-the fulfillment of time they should meet.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>SECTION X.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Merry days these—happy days these—let us laugh
-and grow fat, for to-morrow we die. The miser’s
-daughter had a hundred suitors, and well she might;
-for she was young, and beautiful, and pure. And
-was she not heir-apparent of millions? Good Lord!
-Good Lord! how they did amble, and trot, and show
-their paces, and protest, and pray, and besiege—all
-to no purpose! And those jurymen, too, who were
-baulked of their verdict, did they not open their eyes
-widely when the story was told them, and say that
-they knew it would be so? And the judge, did he
-not crack his joke with the junior counsel, and bemoan
-the young man’s stars which had so betrayed
-his interest, and wagged his tongue with some venom
-in it, upon the losing side? And the counsel, senior
-and junior—did they not assume a show of wisdom,
-and say that from the beginning they had no confidence
-in the cause? A blind business was it with us all,
-when we undertook to mete out justice to father and
-daughter, with a seven-fold cloud before our eyes;
-and a blind business the law ever is.</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Quid faciant leges, ubi sola pecunia regnat,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Aut ubi paupertus vincere nulla potent?</p>
-<p class='line0'>Ipri, qui cynica traducunt tempora cœna,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Nonnum quum nummis vendere verba solent.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Ergo judicium nihil est, nisi publica muces,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Atque equis, in caussa qui redet, emtor probat.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>So sang Petronius, and so sing I.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>SECTION XI.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The fair widow moved into her father’s house, and
-carried joy with her, and smiles, and a new life.
-The dusty halls and silent chambers were soon made
-glad, and gave no echo back to the busy feet which
-beat their floors in measured tread to the sound of
-lutes. Men wondered at the miser’s transformation,
-and the jolly sun, driving up the clear, blue, vaulted
-roof of the earth, looked in upon curtains, and mirrors,
-and rich carpets, and all the bought luxury of
-great wealth, and danced upon the draped walls, and
-laughed, and wondered too. But the change was of
-the surface. The miser loved his daughter with his
-whole soul; he loved gold with more than his whole
-soul—gold, his first love—and the daughter held a divided
-and an inferior empire in his affections. The
-miser loved his daughter as he best might, with his
-heart of shining metal, and he would have loved her
-had she been less than what she was; less beautiful,
-less worthy, less full of the love which flowed from
-her like a sea, and covered him, and he drank of it,
-a joy he had never known. He loved her, as the
-heir to his vast estates, as himself renewed, to bear
-his labor onward, to accumulate through still another
-span of life; and he showed her to the world, and
-took pride in this new glory, as a new title to his
-possessions, which was to carry them with himself,
-even beyond the grave.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I was often with them; I became almost an inmate
-of the house, subsequent to the events which
-I have just related—the father’s legal adviser, the
-daughter’s best friend. Mr. Cornelius did not weary
-of the empty bustle and noise of fashion with which
-his daughter’s youth and brilliant position at once
-surrounded her; he seemed pleased with it, and
-often spoke of it as the proud homage which intellect,
-and nice honor, and high titles, and all the
-virtues, and all the prejudices of men, pay to
-wealth—and so, indeed, it was. With the daughter,
-these enjoyments soon palled. She had learned of
-sorrow from her birth, and had happily received
-from her mother a head too strong for turning; when,
-therefore, novelty wore away, and satiety began to
-usurp its place, she gradually withdrew from the
-press of company, and gave to her father those hours
-which others had before possessed. Although change
-had come over every thing else, Mr. Cornelius forbid
-its entrance into the one room reserved for himself;
-the room in which he had received his daughter,
-with the little table and the two chairs standing in
-the centre, and its naked walls and bare door, which
-were to him as old acquaintances, and where, alone,
-he now felt fully at home. There they would often
-sit together in the deep hours of the night, and
-while she played with his white locks, and watched
-the beatings of his heart, to find it tuned to a music
-widely different from her own, and listened to his
-never-ending promises, and never-ending hopes of a
-wealth which was to make his only one, his jewel,
-a match which princes might envy, she became
-painfully conscious of her father’s worldliness and
-debasing servitude to the hard earth. She saw that
-he lay prone, chained, bound down with clamps of
-iron, of silver, and of gold, and never raised his
-eyes to the upper light, or questioned of the day
-when he should be called to give an account of his
-stewardship. Then she would weep, and kiss her
-father, and talk of her mother who had passed away,
-and of another life, and hope that they might all
-meet in that better world; and the miser would
-stroke down her glossy hair with his trembling
-hands, and press her forehead to his lips, and call her
-a foolish girl, who troubled herself about matters
-with which she had nothing to do; and bade her go
-and dream of the glory to which he had raised her,
-and count her suitors, and be brave.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“More, more,” was the miser’s unceasing cry;
-“all, all—I want all,” was the prayer which he put
-up, not to the Giver of all Good, but to his own will,
-which habit had enslaved, until use made servitude
-a happiness. And he worked on, ever gaining, ever
-adding, abstemious, pinching, self-denying, liberal
-only to his daughter, whom he could never see too
-richly clad, too sumptuously served—a costly toy to
-be stared at and admired. “She is my diamond,”
-he would say, “which I have chosen to plant in
-a rich setting.”</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>SECTION XII.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But the daughter grew, day by day, more thoughtful,
-denied herself more frequently to her followers,
-and was more and more often to be found sitting
-with her father, alone, at the little table, winning
-him from his labor. Mr. Cornelius was too much
-engrossed with the world, with money-getting, to
-observe the beginning and progress of the change in
-his daughter’s manner, amusements, and way of
-life; and he soon learned to work on, with his child
-at his side, half unconscious of her presence, and yet
-alive to the pleasurable feeling that there was something
-near him which he much loved. I was not
-so blind. As month after month rolled away, I saw
-the shadow of a great melancholy creep slowly over
-her face, and deepen, and deepen, until it had imparted
-that exquisite softness to her beauty which is
-the surest symptom of decay. We see it in the
-flower; time gives it to all the works of man; and
-genius shows it, as the flame trembles, flickers, leaps
-upward, and goes out. The heart was sick; the
-spirit grew toward heaven. I had occasion, one
-evening, to be with Mr. Cornelius until a late hour,
-conversing about some matters in the courts which
-he had entrusted to my care; we had talked much,
-and the last watch was drawing to a close, when
-the door quietly opened, and his daughter entered,
-holding in one hand a light stool, and in the other a
-book. “The gentleman will excuse us for a moment,”
-she said, addressing her father; then turning
-to me, she received me with her usual cordiality.
-“I have adopted a practice, of late, of reading
-a chapter to my father before retiring,” she continued;
-“and you can remain, if you please, and
-join us in our devotions—surely, such worship can
-harm no one.” And sitting down at her father’s
-knees, she laid the holy volume in his lap, opened
-it, and read; while he bent over her until his silver
-locks mingled with the jetty tresses of her hair, and
-listened to her teaching—it was time, old, worn-out
-time, called to eternity by a sweet messenger from
-God. “There, that will do, my child; put up the
-book,” said Mr. Cornelius, as his daughter’s voice,
-losing its firmness, grew uncertain, and tears fell
-pattering upon the story she repeated: “certainly,
-certainly, it is not for me, in my old age, to learn of
-one so young.” It was a simple tale, a touching
-parable, told by Christ; so appropriate as to require
-from me no further designation. “Why, what
-spirit has come over you of late—always weeping!”
-said the old man, kissing the moisture from her
-eyelids. “What do you want? All that I have is
-yours. Now go—and see that you show a merry
-face in the morning.” The daughter rose, and bid
-us good-night.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Do you not think Anne has lost a little of her
-color—grown slightly pale, Mr. Didimus?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I made known the fears which I had long entertained,
-and to which each day added a confirmation.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My daughter’s sick! sick at heart! Nonsense!
-What has she to be sick about? Are not my coffers
-open to her hand? What power of this earth is
-greater than her gold? Sick!—And yet, now I do
-remember, that for the past month, or more, no
-music has come into me, as it was wont, from her
-crowded rooms; no sounds of merriment, of joy, of
-the frivolity of fools, grating upon the ear of night;
-no cringing, no bowing low with doffed hat, and
-giving of God’s health, as I pass in and out at my
-own door. Look to it: you are my daughter’s
-best friend; question her; inquire out the secret
-sorrow which preys upon her mind—surely, money
-is a medicine for all the ills of life. She requires a
-change of place; these stuffed marts about us breed
-foul air; let her travel. Or, perhaps, she has again
-listened to the idle whispers of love, and conceals
-from me her weakness. Tell her, that although I
-would have her live with me during the short remainder
-of my life, yet she shall marry where she
-may choose; to give me a long line of heirs, rich,
-rich, through two centuries. Sick! why I was never
-sick!” And the miser bent over the little table, and
-returned to his calculations.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>SECTION XIII.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The miser’s history went on as before—still gaining,
-still adding; while the daughter’s bloom passed
-slowly away. Her limbs lost their roundness, her
-face grew sharp and hollow, and grief sat ever upon
-it, until her friends had almost forgotten its former
-mirth and beauty, and were half persuaded that it
-had been always so. No questioning of mine would
-entice her to an explanation. “It is a matter with
-which you can have nothing to do. There is no
-remedy in your hands. Let me alone; I wrestle
-daily with my God.” What could I say? I was
-silent; for it was indeed a matter with which I had
-nothing to do. Preach to the drunkard over his
-cups; to the gambler, when he wins; to the man
-whose garments are like unto his who came from
-Edom, red with the blood of men, and gain a soul
-for Heaven; but the miser, with one foot on Mammon,
-the other on the grave, never yet turned
-from his first love, or forgot the gods which his own
-hands have fashioned. John Cornelius became used
-to his daughter’s declining health, and soon ceased
-to speak of it. Indeed, engrossed in his labors of
-accumulation, he began to think she was well
-enough, as well as she ever had been, and that the
-change, if change there was, was in his own eyes,
-which had, perhaps, grown somewhat dim with
-age. Poor Anne! she nightly sat at her father’s
-knees, and nightly read to him, and he nightly praised
-her beauty, and called her a foolish girl, and kissed
-away her tears, and babbled of gold, till her heart
-withered within her, and she withdrew to dream
-of her mother, and a great joy, and to gather a new
-courage to begin again her ceaseless task, ever hoping,
-ever disappointed. Thus ran a year away.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>SECTION XIV.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>One bright morning in November, here the sweetest
-month of all the twelve, Mr. Cornelius called
-at my office, and informed me that his daughter
-had been sick, confined to her bed for the past
-two days, and had expressed a wish to see me. He
-said her indisposition was but slight, attributed it to
-some frivolous cause, and expressed a hope that it
-would soon pass off. I looked up into his face; he
-was honest; still blind to his daughter’s decay;
-death stood palpably before him, robed in the freshness
-of youth. Death! How should he see death?
-Gold was ever in his thoughts; gold filled his vision;
-his taste, his scent were gold; and gold ran clinking
-into his ears: death had walked his house a year
-unrecognized.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I laid aside my papers, and accompanied Mr.
-Cornelius home. He passed into his own room,
-with the little table and the two chairs; I ascended
-to his daughter’s chamber. What a mockery was
-there of all that this world loves so much, strives
-after, and wins, with loss of body and of soul!
-Upon a bed, canopied with rich stuffs of woven silk
-and gold, with curtains of satin, rose-colored, and
-tugged with tassels of silver, spread with the finest
-linen, and covered with flowers, worked upon a
-ground of velvet, lay Anne, the miser’s daughter,
-pale and emaciated, and with her eyes, to whatever
-point they might turn, resting upon some new evidence
-of her father’s wealth and worldliness, upon
-some new evidence of the cause of all her sorrow.
-Her physician stood at her bed-side; as I entered
-he raised his finger to his lips, and came to me.
-“She is passing away,” he whispered. I approached
-the bed slowly, and on tiptoe. Anne felt
-my presence in the air, and turning her face toward
-me, held out her hand. I took it in mine. “I have
-called you,” said she, in a voice scarcely audible,
-“to take leave of you. You have been my good
-friend since the day that we first met in your office;
-I a poor woman, striving for that which I have long
-since found to be of little worth; when I am gone,
-transfer your friendship to my father. Tell him
-where I may be found, and bid him there seek for
-me. Oh, God! how long have I wrestled with
-thee, in bitter prayer, for this favor; thou wilt not,
-in the end, deny it to me. Farewell! We shall
-meet again! I go to my mother. Now bring my
-father to me, and let us be alone together.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The physician pressed her hand in silence, turned
-to the wall, and went out. I followed, and we both
-hastened to call Mr. Cornelius. We found him
-counting over a bag of silver, which he had just received
-from a tenant.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“How is my daughter? Better—well?” he asked,
-still continuing to count, and to test the genuineness
-of the metal by ringing it upon the table.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Sir—your daughter is dying.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Dying!” and the coin rolled merrily upon the
-floor. “Dying—doctor? Tut, tut. You jest.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Cornelius, your daughter wishes to speak
-with you, to give you her last words in life.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>Charlatan</span>—quack—driveler—you lie!” cried
-the miser with livid lips, starting to his feet, and
-shaking his clenched hands in the physician’s face.
-“Die!—my daughter shall not die—she cannot die—the
-children of the rich never die—what would you
-have? Gold!—here is a bill for fifty thousand—save
-my daughter—ay, I will make it a hundred thousand—but
-save my daughter—poor, poor, poor Anne!”
-and his head fell, and rested upon his breast. The
-old man stood before us motionless, transfixed with
-grief.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Cornelius.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Oh, I am sick with much sorrow! Lend me
-your arm? Did you not say something of twenty
-per cent?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I led him away to his daughter’s chamber. As
-we entered, her face was turned toward us.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Who said that my daughter was dead?” asked
-Mr. Cornelius.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Anne feebly smiled.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“We shall all spring upward from the ground,
-winged; and with a power which will bear us
-swiftly to the throne, which endureth forever and
-forever.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I hastened to bear her father to her bed-side. The
-last breath had parted from her lips, and as he questioned
-her, and she returned no answer; as he called
-to her, and she called not back again, he fell upon
-her, and his moan filled the room.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Gone! oh my daughter; my jewel of great price—the
-heir to all my riches—my second life! Is the
-breath of man unbought! Can no one bribe death?
-Is there joy in the cold grave? O, come to me, my
-child, and sleep in my bosom, and fare sumptuously
-every day.” And he drew much gold from his
-pockets, and heaped it upon the bed beside her, and
-wondered that she should die.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And the world wondered, also, that she should die.
-And idle curiosity poured in to look upon her dust;
-and was shocked, and shrugged its shoulders, and
-exclaimed—“what a pity! In the morning of life—and
-so rich!” And again the world forgot her year
-of mourning, and her gradual decay, and carried its
-thoughts back to the hours when that small, pinched
-face was radiant with health, and a new-found happiness;
-and laughter rang from those thin lips, and
-merriment sparkled in the closed eye, and whispered
-and coined suggestions, and said that “after all she
-was not the miser’s daughter, and had died suddenly
-with the coming of that certainty.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Fools and Idiots! Is not the grave open to all?
-And did she not well to love her father’s soul better
-than his wealth? And did she not well to labor for it,
-unceasingly; and then, the crowning of that labor, to
-lie down and die?</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;'>——</p>
-
-<h2 class='nobreak'>SECTION XV.</h2>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The daughter of the rich man was carried to her
-grave upon the shoulders of the rich, followed by a
-crowd of worshipers; and as the body was borne
-into the Chapel of the Departed, and the procession
-flowed in, and filled the aisles, the choristers chanted
-the <span class='it'>Requiem</span> for the dead.</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Dies iræ, dies illa</p>
-<p class='line0'>Solvet secium in favilla,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Teste David cum Sybilla.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My daughter, oh! my daughter; why wouldst
-thou die?”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Quantus tremor est futurus,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Quando Judex est venturus,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Cuncta stricte discussurus.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Return, oh! return, return again to me.”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Tuba mirum spargens sonum</p>
-<p class='line0'>Per sepulchra regionum,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Coget omnes ante thronum!</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“and thou shalt make me what thou willest.”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Mors stupebit, et natura,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Cum resurget creatura,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Judicanti responsura.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The shining gold is thine, and houses, and lands,
-and all the glory of life.”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Liber scriptus proferetur,</p>
-<p class='line0'>In quo totum continetur,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Unde mundus judicetur.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“My daughter, oh! my daughter, return again to
-me.”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Judex ergo cum sedebit</p>
-<p class='line0'>Quidquid latet apparebit,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Nil inultum remanebit.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Thy suitors call thee; the music, the dance, the
-revelry of joy.”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?</p>
-<p class='line0'>Quem patronum rogaturus,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Cum vix justus sit securus?</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No voice, no word, no whisper for my ear.”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Rex tremendæ majestatis,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Qui salvandos salvas gratis,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Salva me, fons pietatis.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Cold, cold, cold in death!”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Recordare, Jesu pie,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Quod sum causa tuæ viæ,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Ne me perdas illa die.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Strike up—louder—louder yet.”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Quærens me sedisti lassus,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Redemisti crucem passus,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Tantus labor non sit cassus.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“She loved the noise of trumpets, of sounds harmonious,
-the bustle of the earth.”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Juste Judex ultionis,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Donum fac remissionis,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Ante diem rationis.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Louder, louder—no voice, no word, no whisper
-for my ear.”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Ingemisco tamquam reus,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Culpa rubet vultus meus:</p>
-<p class='line0'>Supplicanti parce, Deus.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Gone, gone—thus runs the world away!”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Qui Mariam absolvisti,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Et latronem exaudisti,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Mihi quoque spem dedisti.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Poor, poor, poor Anne!”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Precos meæ non sunt dignæ,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Sed tu, bonu, fac benigne,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Ne perenni cremer igne.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“In the grave is sleep and rest.”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Inter oves locum præsta,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Et ab hœdis me sequestra,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Statuens in parte dextra.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Cold sleep, cold rest.”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Confutatis maledictis,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Flammis acribus addictis,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Voca me cum benedictis.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Pass on, sweet spirit, to thy waking; if waking
-there may be.”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Oro supplex, et acclinis;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Cor contritum quasi cinis,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Gere curam mei finis.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Our father, which art in heaven.”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Lacrymosa dies illa</p>
-<p class='line0'>Qua resurget ex favilla.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Hallowed be thy name.”</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Judicandus homo reus.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Huic ergo parce Deus.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;“Amen.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We buried Anne, and upon the tablet which marks
-the place where she is laid I caused to be cut her last
-words—“We shall spring upward from the ground,
-winged, and with a power which will bear us swiftly
-to the throne which endureth forever and forever.”</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk126'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='240' id='Page_240'></span><h1><a id='des'></a>THE DESERTED.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY MISS MATTIE GRIFFITH.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<div class='dramastart'><!----></div>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>Why didst thou leave me thus? Had memory</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>No chain to bind thee to me, lone and wrecked</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>In spirit as I am? Was there no spell</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Of power in my deep, yearning love to stir</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The sleeping fountain of thy soul, and keep</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>My image trembling there? Is there no charm</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>In strong and high devotion such as mine</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>To win thee to my side once more? Must I</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Be cast forever off for brighter forms</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And gayer smiles? Alas! I love thee still.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Love will not, cannot perish in my heart—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>’Twill linger there forever. Even now</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>In our own dear, sweet sunset time, the hour</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Of passion’s unforgotten tryst, I hush</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The raging tumult of my soul, and still</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The fierce strife in my lonely breast where pride</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Is fiercely struggling for control. Each hue</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Of purple, gold and crimson that flits o’er</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The western sky recalls some by-gone joy,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That we have shared together, and my soul</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Is love’s and memory’s.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;As here I sit</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>In loneliness, the thought comes o’er my heart</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>How side by side in moonlight eves, while soft</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The rose-winged hours were flitting by, we stood</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Beside that clear and gently-murmuring fount</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>O’erhung with wild and blooming vines, and felt</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The spirit of a holy love bedew</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Our hearts’ own budding blossoms. There I drank</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The wild, o’ermastering tide of eloquence</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That flowed from thy o’erwrought and burning soul.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>There thou didst twine a wreath of sweetest flowers</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>To shine amid my dark brown locks, and now</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Beside me lies a bud, the little bud</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Thou gav’st me in the glad, bright summer-time,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Telling me ’twas the emblem of a hope</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That soon would burst to glorious life within</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Our spirit’s garden. The poor fragile bud</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Is now all pale and withered, and the hope</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Is faded in my lonely breast, and cast</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Forever forth from thine.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;They tell me, too,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>My brow and cheek are very pale—Alas!</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>There is no more a spirit-fire within</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>To light it with the olden glow. Life’s dreams</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And visions all have died within my soul,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And I am sad and lone and desolate;</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And yet at times, when I behold thee near,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>A something like the dear old feeling stirs</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Within my breast, and wakens from the tomb</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Of withered memories one pale, pale rose,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>To bloom a moment there, and cast around</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Its sweet and gentle fragrance, but anon</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>It vanishes away, as if it were</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>A mockery, the spectre of a flower;</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>I quell my struggling sighs and wear a smile;</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>But, ah! that smile, more eloquent than sighs</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Tells of a broken heart.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;’Tis said that thou</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Dost ever shine the gayest ’mid the gay,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That loudest rings thy laugh in festive halls,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That in the dance, with lips all wreathed in smiles,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Thou whisperest love’s delicious flatteries;</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And if my name is spoken, a light sneer</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Is all thy comment. Yet, proud man, I know</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Beneath thy hollow mask of recklessness</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Thy conscious heart still beats as true to me</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>As in the happy eves long past. Ah! once,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>In night’s still hour, when I went forth to weep</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Beneath our favorite tree, whose giant arms</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Seemed stretched out to protect the lonely girl,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>I marked a figure stealing thence away,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And my poor heart beat quick; for oh! I saw,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Despite the closely-muffled cloak, ’twas thou</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Then, then I knew that thou in secrecy</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Had’st sought that spot, like me, to muse and weep</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>O’er blighted memories. Thou art, like me,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>In heart a mourner. In thy solitude,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>When mortal eyes behold thee not, wild sighs</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Convulse thy bosom, and thy hot tears fall</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Like burning rain. Oh! ’twas thy hand that dealt</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The blow to both our hearts. I well could bear</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>My own fierce sufferings, but thus to feel</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That thou, in all thy manhood’s glorious strength</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Dost bear a deep and voiceless agony,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Lies on my spirit with the dull, cold weight</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Of death. I see thee in my tortured dreams,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And even with a smile upon thy lip,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>But a keen arrow quivering deep within</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Thy throbbing, bleeding heart. Go, thou may’st wed</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Another; but beside the altar dark</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>My mournful form will stand, and when thou see’st</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The wreath of orange blossoms on her brow,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Oh! it will seem a fiery scorpion coiled</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Wildly around thine own.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;I’m dying now;</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Life’s sands are failing fast, the silver cord</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Is loosed and broken, and the golden bowl</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Is shattered at the fount. My sun has set,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And dismal clouds hang o’er me; but afar</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>I see the glorious realm of Paradise,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And by its cooling fountains, and beneath</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Its holy shades of palm, my soul will wash</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Away its earthly stains, and learn to dream</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Of heavenly joys. Farewell! despite thy cold</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Desertion, I will leave my angel home,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Each gentle eve, at our own hour of tryst,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>To hold my vigils o’er thy pilgrimage,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And with my spirit’s-pinion I will fan</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Thy aching brow, and by a holy spell,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That I may learn in Heaven, will charm away</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>All evil thoughts and passions from thy breast,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And calm the raging tumult of thy soul.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk127'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='241' id='Page_241'></span><h1><a id='deed'></a>THE LOST DEED.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-weight:bold;'>A LEGEND OF OLD SALEM.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY E. D. ELIOT.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;'>(<span class='it'>Concluded from page 195.</span>)</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Mr. Fayerweather</span> and Madam were seated at
-breakfast before a blazing fire, one very cold morning
-in January. John had already finished, and had
-gone to Mr. Wendell’s office, in which he was studying
-his profession. Vi’let following Scipio, who had
-entered with some warm toast, came up to the table
-and said—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“It’s a terrible cold morning, Misser Fayerweather—I
-’spect Primus han’t got no wood—he’d
-only jist three sticks yesterday; he’s sick with the
-rheumatis, too—mayn’t Scip carry him over some?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This meant not wholly for the benefit of Primus,
-but also as a wholesome discipline of Scip himself,
-whose health Vi’let thought in danger for want of
-exercise. Scip glouted at her but did not dare
-speak.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Yes, carry him over a good load Scipio, the
-moment you have swallowed your breakfast. Such
-a morning as this without wood.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Madam added—“And you shall carry him some
-stores to make him comfortable. That makes me
-think of poor Cluff—I am afraid he is out of every
-thing by this time—he must have suffered last night.
-I ought to have seen to him before—poor creature!
-how could I have neglected him so? I might have
-known it was coming on cold, from its being so
-warm yesterday.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mr. Fayerweather endeavored to persuade her
-that Cluff could scarcely have consumed the provisions
-she sent him on Christmas, but she continued
-to reproach herself until he told her that he was obliged
-to go out in the sleigh as soon as breakfast was
-over, and that he would go down himself and see
-that the old man was comfortable and was well taken
-care of.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The worthy gentleman finished his meal and the
-sleigh was ordered out, but the hard cough of the
-old horse as the cutting air struck him on being led
-out of his warm stable, reached his kind master’s
-ear and found its way to his heart.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Poor old Moses!” he said, “it would be hard to
-take you out such a day as this, it might be your
-death—I’ll walk. I shall be all the better for it.”
-So saying, he lost no time in hurrying on his roquelaure,
-and set out on a brisk pace, to avoid the expostulations
-of his wife, who had gone to look out
-some flannels to send Primus. As he passed by Mr.
-Wendell’s, his niece having seen him from the window,
-was at the door to accost him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Why, uncle! where are you going this bitter
-morning? Do come in.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Don’t stop me now, child, I’m in haste; perhaps
-I’ll drop in as I come back,” he said; then as
-he shook his finger at little Will, who was hanging
-on his mother’s apron, he gave them both a look so
-brimful of kindness and affection and something beyond
-both, as went to her very heart. That look
-Amy never forgot.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The cold was intense, but Mr. Fayerweather proceeded
-on his way. The air felt like solid ice to his
-face, where it was not entirely muffled with the
-roquelaure, the cape of which was soon thickly
-frosted with his breath. Some shivering, blue-nosed
-school-boys made their manners as they passed.
-“Run quick, my boys,” he said, “or old Jack Frost
-will have fast hold of you. See that you keep a
-warm school-room to-day.” A pipkin of water was
-thrown after them from a shop door—it was that of
-Nanny Boynton’s new residence—it froze as it fell,
-and rattled like pebbles on the snowy crust. When
-he reached the market-place (it was not a market-day,)
-one solitary load of wood was on the stand.
-As Mr. Fayerweather came up, the patient beasts
-which drew it, turned up their broad faces and
-looked wistfully at him beneath the wreaths of snow
-formed by their breath as it issued from their nostrils.
-The owner was thrashing himself very energetically
-with his arms, to induce a sensation of
-warmth. Mr. Fayerweather bought the wood and
-told the man to carry it up to his house and tell
-madam he sent him, this being tantamount with telling
-him to go and make himself comfortable by a
-good fire, with a good luncheon for himself and his
-cattle. Mr. Fayerweather then proceeded on his
-way. Dr. Holly’s thermometer stood at 18 below 0.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The table was laid for dinner when he returned
-home. His wife met him with as severe reproaches
-as she knew how to frame, for walking out on such
-a day.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Don’t scold, my dear,” he replied, good-humoredly,
-“you are growing a perfect shrew, I declare.
-If you take to scolding, I shall certainly take to
-drinking. I am going to take some brandy now.”
-Then he went to the buffet, and taking from a liquor
-chest which stood in the lower part of it, a case-bottle
-of brandy, that had reposed there undisturbed,
-time out of mind, and unstopping it, he continued:</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I found Cluff very comfortable, in no want of
-any thing. I went to two or three other places, but
-hadn’t time to call and see Judith as I intended—but
-let us have dinner, for my walk has made me
-so hungry I could eat a trooper, horse and all.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Madam went into the kitchen herself to hasten in
-dinner. She remained a moment, to see Vi’let dish
-up the turkey, and was, with her own hands, adding
-more spice to the gravy, when the sound of some
-heavy body falling, hurried her back to the parlor,
-followed by all four servants. She found her husband
-extended on the floor. She flew to assist him,
-supposing he had been tripped up accidentally by the
-carpet, but he was without sense or motion. “Quick,
-run for the doctor, Scip, he’s faint;” and madam
-took the sal volatile from her pocket to apply to his
-nostrils. Vi’let looked at him and felt his pulse,
-then clasping her hands, exclaimed—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“God Almighty, mistress!” She suddenly checked
-herself, and told Flora and Peter to run for Mrs.
-Wendell and Madam Brinley.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Dr. Holly on his arrival found madam in strong
-convulsions, requiring both her sister and niece to
-hold her, while Mr. Wendell and John, assisted by
-Vi’let, were endeavoring to revive Mr. Fayerweather,
-who was still on the floor. On examining
-him attentively, the Doctor shook his head hopelessly,
-but made an immediate attempt to take blood
-from the arm. It was in vain—Mr. Fayerweather
-was dead. His death, Dr. Holly gave it as his
-opinion, was accelerated by exposure to the cold and
-the long walk, the disease being a hardening of vessels
-about the heart; adding that if he could have
-taken the brandy (which stood on the table in a
-tumbler, apparently untasted,) it might have saved
-him. The grief of the family and friends of the excellent
-man may be imagined, but cannot be dwelt
-upon here.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The funeral was the longest that ever had been
-known in Salem, for never was any inhabitant of it
-more beloved and respected. As soon as madam
-was sufficiently composed, after the funeral, the
-ebony cabinet was searched and a will was found,
-dated the day before George’s departure. It gave
-the widow the homestead, which had become very
-valuable, together with the whole of the property
-she had brought; after several bequests, a large one
-to Mr. and Mrs. Wendell jointly, the remainder of
-the property was divided between the two sons.
-Mr. Wendell was named as executor. The estate
-was perfectly clear and unincumbered and little time
-was requisite to settle it.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A few weeks subsequent to the funeral of Mr.
-Fayerweather, the inhabitants of Salem were called
-together by an alarm of fire; an occurrence so very
-unusual as well as alarming, that it caused a great stir
-and commotion in the quiet and orderly town. The
-fire broke out in the office of the Register of Deeds,
-but was soon put out, doing, as was at first supposed,
-but little damage. Upon examination, however, it
-was discovered that several books of valuable records
-were destroyed, and others much injured. Mr.
-Wendell having ascertained that the one containing
-the copy of the Boynton quit-claim of the Fayerweather
-property was among the burnt, as well as
-that of a date many years prior, thought best to lose
-no time in having these important documents newly
-registered. Accordingly he looked into the cabinet,
-which had been put into his possession, for the originals.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Upon a thorough search with John Fayerweather,
-no trace of these papers was to be found in the cabinet;
-nor, to the astonishment and consternation of
-both, in any desk, trunk, drawer or closet in the
-premises of the deceased. The only conjecture
-madam or John could form in regard to the disappearance
-of these papers was, that either through
-accident or mistake, they had been left in their original
-place of deposit, and were now in the elder
-son’s possession in the little trunk. In the first vessel
-which sailed for London, therefore, intelligence
-was dispatched to Mr. Haliburton of the melancholy
-death of his old friend, and of the missing papers,
-that he might find means to convey notice to George,
-sooner than could be done from Salem.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The destruction of the records came to the knowledge
-of Jemmy Boynton as soon as to that of Mr.
-Wendell, and the delay of the latter to have the
-deeds recorded anew, did not escape her notice.
-Jemmy was ever on the alert to seize upon every
-circumstance which might possibly involve the risk
-or loss of property to others, in the well-grounded
-hope, which he rarely failed to realize, of in some
-way or other turning it to his own benefit. Accordingly
-the old fox was not slow to suspect some substantial
-reason for such delay or apparent neglect on
-the part of so careful a man of business as Mr.
-Wendell was well-known to be, and he did not stop
-till he had found out the true cause. To arrive at
-certainty, he thought it would be best to make a visit
-of condolence to the widow, judging from her well-known
-simplicity, she would give him all the information
-he desired. And he was not mistaken.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He took care to make his visit at a time when he
-felt pretty sure Madam Fayerweather would be
-alone. It was on a fine morning in June that Jemmy
-sallied forth. He had dressed himself in the best his
-wardrobe afforded; a suit of fine claret-colored
-broadcloth, which had been left in pawn to him
-years before by a needy French prisoner on his parole,
-and which had never been redeemed; a white
-satin waistcoat, grown somewhat yellow with age,
-and white silk hose with gold clocks, fitting tight to
-his spindle legs; all belonging to the same pledge.
-Possibly the finery of the jaunty Frenchman might
-have inspired him with some undefined notions of
-gallantry; for Jemmy was going to make a call upon
-a rich widow just six months in weeds. But if any
-airy visions fluttered about his heart and occasioned
-the smirk upon his withered physiognomy as he bent
-his way to her house, they were speedily put to flight
-on entering the parlor of madam, who manifested
-such unqualified discomfiture on seeing him, that the
-compliment which he had been framing during his
-walk, perished before its birth, and he felt called upon
-to account for his visit by the phrase of condolence
-he had previously conned over with much care.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Madam, I come to condole with you on your
-bereavement—’twas a sorrowful bereavement.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The tears came into the eyes of the widowed
-lady, but she felt so much relieved at finding Jemmy
-was not come to demand possession of the estate,
-as she at first had supposed, but was only making a
-friendly call in kindness, that it was not in her nature
-to take it otherwise than kindly. Her countenance
-resumed its usual benevolent expression,
-though much saddened of late, as she thanked him
-and inquired after “Miss Nancy’s health.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Thank ye kindly, madam, Nanny’s but poorly
-with the rheumatis; she sends her humble sarvice
-to you, and hope I see you well.” Then Jemmy
-proceeded in his most insinuating manner, to ask if
-there was nothing that he or Nanny could do to
-“sarve” her, and really appeared so friendly, that
-madam was taken by surprise, and out the secret
-came; for she thought it would be a fine opportunity
-to ask him for a new quit-claim of the whole property,
-which, from the great good-will he manifested,
-she could not doubt he would readily
-give.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>His object so fully attained, Jemmy, in his elation
-became airy, and at length quite softened to the tender.
-Placing his brown forepaws upon his knees,
-he looked down upon his golden clocks, which he
-thought had helped him to win the day, and evading
-madam’s request, he turned the subject to her husband’s
-death.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Your worthy spouse, madam, died of an arterplax,
-(apoplexy?) I take it—a-a-hm—well.” The
-compliment was now revived. “A fat sorrow is
-better than a lean one—he’s left you well to do in
-the world, and sich a parsonable woman as you will
-find enough ready to supply his place.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The smirk which had been frightened away on
-his entrance, again returned to adorn his lanthern
-jaws, giving Madam Fayerweather, in indignant
-amazement, some reason to imagine he contemplated
-offering himself as a candidate for the place he alluded
-to, with small doubts of being a favored one.
-She rose, and all the Borland blood mounted to her
-face. The bell-rope was jerked with a violence
-wholly unnecessary, for Scipio made his appearance
-before the bell could sound in the kitchen; he and
-Vi’let having, on Jemmy’s first entrance, stationed
-themselves in the passage between the parlor and
-kitchen, and had heard through the keyhole all
-which had passed. The guest, however, thought
-good to make a precipitate retreat without waiting
-for the ceremony of being shown the door. As he
-passed by the side-gate, Vi’let stood ready to salute
-him with a ladleful of some liquid, taken from a
-kettle on the kitchen hearth, which all the plates
-and dishes, as they had come from the table, had
-passed through to restore them to their native purity,
-leaving behind them their impurities floating on the
-top; and as the rich compound splashed over the
-skirts of his coat and his silken hose, with gold
-clocks, she cried after him:</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You want to take Misser Fayerweather’s place,
-do ye! ye old skinflint—well, see how you like a
-sup of Vi’let’s broth.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Stung with his unceremonious dismission; his
-legs smarting with the scalding liquor, Vi’let’s insult
-was more than he could bear. Turning round
-in a rage, he called out, doubling up his fist and
-shaking it at her—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Tell your proud jade of a mistress she wont hold
-her head so high long, on other people’s ground!
-And as for you! ye nigger”—he made use of an epithet
-which would not appear polite here—“I’ll have
-you up to the whipping-post!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Vi’let answered him with a scornful laugh, as she
-slammed the gate after him. Poor madam was overwhelmed
-with mortification and chagrin at her own
-folly, of which she was fully sensible as soon as she
-had committed herself.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As Jemmy proceeded home, his keen sense of indignity
-wore off in the exulting thought of vengeance
-in full prospect. He and his precious sister, however,
-had one great drawback to their satisfaction;
-the necessity of opening their purse-strings sufficiently
-wide to draw therefrom a fee large enough
-to induce any man of the law to undertake the case
-against Mr. Wendell, who was regarded throughout
-the province as the head of the profession. But a
-lawyer was at length found at the distance of twenty
-miles, who was willing to engage in the cause for a
-moderate share of the profits, if successful, and to
-lose his fee if not; and the trial was prepared to
-come on at the annual November court.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It occasioned a great sensation at the bar, from
-the amount of property involved, and the respective
-characters of the plaintiffs and defendant; the latter
-being Mr. Wendell, as executor to the deceased.
-He determined to plead the cause himself, assisted
-by a friend as junior counsel. At the first trial, little
-difficulty was found in having it postponed a year,
-to give time to hear from Captain Fayerweather;
-much to the disappointment of the plaintiffs.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The most intense anxiety was now felt by the
-Fayerweather family, and all connected with it, to
-hear from George; but as it was known he was to
-embark from Europe on a voyage of discovery in
-the South sea, small hopes were entertained of receiving
-letters from him for many months.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>To return to a more pleasing subject—Judith was
-the darling of all. As her character became more
-matured with her person, both increased in loveliness,
-and both received a new charm from the cultivation
-of her intellect, which proved of no common
-order. George’s presents to her were chiefly of
-books; for though his active life prevented him from
-being a great reader himself, the whole atmosphere
-in which he had been born and educated, the circle
-of which he was the pride when at home, being intelligent,
-he was anxious that deficiency in this point
-should not be found in Judith. No deficiency of any
-kind, however, was discovered in her by his family.
-John regarded her with an affection scarcely less
-than George’s; and though the idea of supplanting
-his brother, or of Judith’s ever being more to him
-than a sister, never crossed his mind, he formed no
-other attachment.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Captain Stimpson, now grown somewhat stiff in
-his limbs, gave up his lookout in the cupola to Judith,
-and was at some expense to have it fitted up
-for her with cushions and curtains, and a spy-glass
-for her particular use. Her sleeping apartment
-opened directly at the foot of the stairs which led to
-it; and here with her books and her Eolian harp, she
-passed all the time which she felt to be exclusively
-her own. Her prospect was that of the harbor,
-opening into the ocean, under every aspect a noble
-one—with Baker’s island, and its light-house in the
-distance, on one side, and several hamlets at different
-distances on the other; the town, with its then
-few streets and scattered dwellings, and the level
-country beyond. The view offered little of the
-beautiful, the romantic or the picturesque; but all
-that was wanting its fair beholder’s imagination
-could supply; and it may be questioned whether a
-view of the bay of Naples even, with all its magnificence
-of scenery, could give rise to conceptions of
-more beauty in some minds, than were formed in
-Judith’s by the ordinary one of Salem harbor.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Time went on, and it was now near the end of the
-summer preceding the November, when the cause
-was to come on at the Ipswich court. Letters had
-twice been received from Captain Fayerweather,
-but of a date prior to his leaving Europe, and arrivals
-were looked for every day, which were expected
-to bring answers to the information that had
-been dispatched to him of all which had occurred to
-his family since his departure. One fine evening,
-Judith, having finished all her domestic tasks for the
-day, below stairs, ascended to her observatory,
-thinking she should not be missed; her father having
-set out on his daily visit to the rope-walk—<span class='it'>en amateur</span>,
-for the captain had retired from business—her
-grandfather was quietly reposing in his chair, and
-her mother holding sweet communion with her
-dearly beloved Nanny Dennis—Mrs. Brayton.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>On reaching her airy retreat, the fair maiden took
-the spy-glass, and adjusting its tube, strained her
-vision over the ocean, hoping to espy the mast of
-some vessel coming into port. In vain—the curve
-of the wide horizon was unbroken even by a speck.
-A gentle sigh escaped her as she spoke; “Not yet;
-well, it must come before long.” She then took
-her book, and was soon luxuriating in the fairy-land
-of poetry. From time to time her eyes wandered
-from the page, to cast themselves over the expanse
-of waters before her, glowing beneath the sky of
-twilight, and scarcely dimpled by a breath of wind,
-as the tide still advanced to fill the broad basin, and
-broke in low ripples on its now brimming edge.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Darkness at length came on, and being no longer
-able to distinguish its characters, she laid aside her
-book, and turned her eyes and thoughts to the scene
-without. Insensibly almost to herself, her ideas
-arranged themselves in measure, and she repeated
-in a low whisper:</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“The winds have folded their tired wings</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And sunk in their caves to rest;</p>
-<p class='line0'>The Evening falls, for Day is gone</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Far down in the purple West.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>She stopped, feeling almost like a culprit detected
-in some flagrant misdemeanor; but as new images
-rose in her mind unbidden, and seemed to plead for
-a permanent existence, she continued,</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“And yonder the star of Evening gems</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The brow of the pale young Moon</p>
-<p class='line0'>That journeys on in sadness and tears,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To finish her course so soon.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>Gathering courage, she proceeded:</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“She’s gone—and deep the falling shades</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Close over the quiet plain;</p>
-<p class='line0'>While shore and hamlet, and grove and field,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Resign them to Night’s calm reign.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>Thinking whether she should ever dare confess
-her enormity to George, she went on:</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“The ocean’s dark breast is dimly seen</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;By the stars as they glimmer near,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Where the waves dash low—while a far-off roar</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;From the distant beach<a id='r6'/><a href='#f6' style='text-decoration:none'><sup><span style='font-size:0.9em'>[6]</span></sup></a> I hear.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>A spark from yon low isle in the East,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Now twinkles across the bay!</p>
-<p class='line0'>And now it steadily flames, to guide</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The mariner on his way.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Oh, dear to me is thy distant beam!</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Lone dweller of the night waves.”—</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Judy! Judy!” roared her father’s voice, “come
-down directly!—here’s letters from Captain Fayerweather.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She sprang, and was down stairs, almost before
-the last syllable had left her father’s lips. He stood
-with the packet in his hand, which he told her came
-by the way of Beverly. On carrying it to the light,
-it was discovered to be directed to John Fayerweather.
-Judith felt something a little like disappointment,
-though she had no reason to expect it
-would be directed to herself. “But how was she
-to get her own letter to-night—if there was one
-for her.” This, if not on her lips, was in her
-thought.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Her father took the packet from her hand; “Here,
-I’ll take it up in town myself; I should like to be the
-one to give it to them, and you shall have your own
-letter to-night.” Without waiting for an answer,
-off he set, and his sturdy stump—stump—stump,
-was heard the whole length of the street, until he
-turned the corner. Judith almost quarreled with
-the feeling of delicacy which had forbade her accompanying
-him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The town clock struck ten as Captain Stimpson
-reached Paved street, and with a louder and quicker
-stump—stump—stump, he hastened on. Just before
-he reached the Fayerweather mansion, he met
-Mr. and Mrs. Wendell coming from thence, and on
-learning his errand, they turned back with him.
-The eagerness with which John seized the packet,
-and the beating of the heart which all felt as they
-gathered round him while he opened it, may be
-readily imagined. It contained but two letters, his
-own and one to Judith. He handed the latter to
-her father, who immediately departed with it.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The first opening of John’s letter proved a bitter
-disappointment to all, for the date was only a week
-subsequent to that of the packet, which had been
-last received. In that one George had not written
-to his brother, and to supply the omission, he appeared
-to have seized upon another opportunity
-which occurred directly after, by a different route.
-This letter was a very long one, and bore marks of
-the strong affection which subsisted between the
-two brothers. One passage in it, however, had a
-strong negative bearing upon the lost papers. It ran
-thus: “My father’s little trunk, which I took with
-me, to hold the letters I expected to receive from
-home, is still <span class='it'>empty</span>; not one have I received since
-I left Salem.” This, Mr. Wendell said, was <span class='it'>prima
-facie</span> evidence that the deeds were not in their
-original place of deposite.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The next morning another thorough search was
-made, which proved as fruitless as the preceding
-ones, leaving Mr. Wendell and John in a state of
-perplexity scarcely to be imagined; the former,
-however, resisting all internal misgivings as to the
-final issue of the cause, and maintaining his conviction
-that the papers would be found in time to be
-produced on the trial. Captain Fayerweather was
-not expected home until the next spring. Throughout
-the whole affair his mother had discovered a
-strength of mind scarcely expected from her, and
-assisted in all the researches with great energy. A
-spirit had been roused in her by Boynton’s insult, as
-she felt it, which proved a radical cure for all disorders
-on her nerves; she never had a fit of hysterics
-after.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The autumn advanced, but brought no new
-arrivals. November came, the court sat at Ipswich,
-and the cause of Boynton versus Wendell was third
-on the list. The anxiety of all concerned may be
-imagined. It would scarcely be supposed that at
-this time an object could exist of sufficient interest
-to divert, for a moment, the thoughts of Madam and
-John from the issue of this trial, which might, and
-the probability was now strong that it would, drive
-them from the home of their happiest days, with the
-loss of an estate, half of which had been twice paid
-for. Such an object was, however, found in old
-Jaco. He had been declining for some time, and
-all the care of the family had been directed to keeping
-him alive until his master’s return. As the
-weather grew colder, Vi’let had been prevailed upon
-to allow him to stay in the kitchen; and much
-softened in her nature by her master’s decease, she
-made a bed for him behind the settle, and gave him
-warm milk several times a day with her own hand,
-without once debating the question of his having a
-soul, and the sinfulness of making him comfortable,
-if he had not, as she might have done years agone.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>One afternoon, some days before the cause was to
-be tried, John received a hurried note from Mr.
-Wendell, who was at Ipswich on business; the note
-was dated the day before, and expressed some fears,
-which he had never allowed to appear before, as to
-the issue of the trial. “His hopes,” the note said,
-“still predominated, but he thought it would be
-best for John not to allow his mother to be buoyed
-up by them, but to endeavor to prepare her for the
-worst.” The student, with a heavy heart, left the
-office and went home to seek his mother. He felt
-relieved on finding she had lain down after dinner,
-and had at length fallen asleep, after having passed
-several wakeful nights. He would not awaken her,
-but went out to see old Jaco.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The poor brute lay panting, and was now evidently
-drawing near his end. At John’s approach
-he turned his head toward him, feebly wagged
-his tail, and gave a low whine. After a while he
-rose on his feet, and staggered to the door, which
-John opening, the dog made out to reach the middle
-of the yard, when he fell and lay gasping. His
-master bent over him, and gently patting him, spoke
-soothingly; at which Jaco opened his eyes and
-made a feeble attempt to lick the kind hand which
-caressed him. At this instant a light breeze swept
-by; and as John felt it wave the hair on his brow
-and flutter for a moment on his cheek with the feeling
-of the balmy spring, it was singularly associated with
-recollections of his brother, whose image it brought
-to his side with all the vividness of reality. As,
-like a light breath, it passed to Jaco, the dying
-animal started suddenly and rose on his haunches,
-snuffed eagerly in the air three times—stopped—then
-gave one long-protracted howl, when he fell,
-quietly stretched himself out to his full length—and
-poor Jaco lay stiffening in death. John watched
-him for a minute or two, when a low sob might have
-been heard from him as he turned away, and took
-his course through the garden and fields to the
-water side.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Judith, on this afternoon, felt a weight on her
-spirits, wholly unknown to her before. She could
-not entirely conceal her depression from her parents,
-and they were not surprised at it, in the present juncture
-of affairs in the Fayerweather family. She,
-however, could not have given this as the cause of
-her depression, had it been inquired of her, for this
-day her mind had been less occupied with the trial,
-and its probable issue, than it had been for a week
-previous, and she felt unable to account for the sadness
-which oppressed her. Her father, at length,
-went out to see if he could not pick up some news,
-and Judith, after in vain attempting to rally herself,
-went up to her little cupola.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She looked from her window, but the aspect of all
-without seemed in accordance with her feelings.
-The sky of one leaden hue, looked as if no sun had
-ever enlivened it, and the sea beneath of a darker
-shade, heaved and tossed as if sullenly brooding over
-some storm in recollection. The wind whistled
-through the bare branches of the trees before the
-house, and drove a few withered leaves to and fro on
-the terrace, then found its way within doors, and
-moaned through the passages. Some groups of boys,
-as they went from house to house, to gather a few
-pence for their bonfire (it was the fifth of November),
-at another time, might have seemed to add some little
-liveliness to the scene; but to Judith, their voices as
-they reached her ear from below, had a melancholy
-tone, as they chanted their rhymes, and the tinkling
-of their little bells sounded doleful.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She placed her harp in the window; for a minute
-or two the strings were silent, and she repeated her
-accustomed little invocation—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Ye winds that were cradled beyond the broad sea,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Come stoop from your flight with your errand to me;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And softly the strings of my harp as ye blow,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Shall whisper your tidings of weal or of wo.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>The wind appeared to answer her summons but
-fitfully at first, the strings jarring without music, as
-it swept over them. The blast increasing in strength,
-the tones became for a while loud, harsh, and discordant;
-then, as it blew more steadily, they gradually
-blended into harmony, and at length, sent to her
-ear a strain of such deep melancholy, as struck despair
-into her heart. Suddenly there was a crash,
-succeeded by the <span class='it'>tolling of a distant bell</span>. So profound
-was the illusion of the spell-bound hearer, that
-she did not perceive the snapping of a string, which,
-by the striking of its loose fragment over the others,
-produced the sounds so full of wo, to her saddened
-spirit. They ceased, and the harp was silent.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Again its tones were heard, faintly, and as from
-afar; but gradually drawing nearer, as a gentle gale
-passed over the chords to the dejected girl. It fluttered
-round her, soft as the breath of a summer evening,
-kissed her fair brow and delicate cheek, and
-waved each golden curl which hung round her white
-throat, while a solemn strain arose, and softening by
-degrees to a melody of more than earthly beauty, as
-it seized upon her entranced senses, dispelled every
-cloud from her spirits, and poured into her soul peace
-and joy. Then as the breeze which bore it appeared
-to depart, and wing its way back over the ocean, the
-tones seemed to syllable the word, farewell, repeated
-each time with more sweetness, until the sounds
-were lost in distance. When Judith descended, her
-parents were rejoiced to see the dark shade dispelled
-from her brow.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mr. Wendell sat up late on the preceding night,
-preparing a defense in a case, in which all the vigor
-of a powerful intellect was called forth, aided by profound
-legal learning. He retired to rest, weary, but
-not dispirited, confident that a few hours repose
-would fully restore him. But after sleeping heavily
-until late the next morning, he awoke, not refreshed
-with slumber, as was his wont, but feeling a languor
-wholly unknown to him before. He, however,
-would not succumb to the feeling, but rose, determined
-to conquer it; took a walk, and used violent
-exercise, which was of benefit, for when he returned
-he ate his breakfast with a good appetite, and then
-sat down to examine his notes. The seat of his indisposition
-was now apparent, for on his first attempt
-to read, he felt a pressure on his brain, and a confusion
-of ideas, which rendered his mind wholly incapable
-of following any train of argument, and scarcely
-able to take in the sense of what he had written.
-The only course now remaining to him, he adopted,
-which was to leave this case in the hands of the junior
-counsel, to have it, if possible, continued over
-to the Spring term; after doing which, he mounted
-his horse and proceeded homeward, leaving word
-that he would return in time for the Fayerweather
-case. For the first time in his life he felt gloomy
-and depressed. The exercise of riding was grateful
-to him, and he felt refreshed. After riding an hour
-or two, his spirits rose to their accustomed buoyancy,
-though his ideas still remained confused, when he
-attempted to pursue a train of thought.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He arrived in Salem about three o’clock in the afternoon—the
-same afternoon the poor dog Jaco died.
-At he was proceeding through the main street, or
-reaching the one which turned down to the wharves,
-his horse suddenly snorted and became restive. He
-patted and soothed his old servant, and then looked
-round to discover the occasion of so unwonted a
-freak, when he saw a powerfully built man in the
-garb of a seaman, who appeared to be advancing toward
-him. He stopped his horse with great difficulty,
-and the stranger came within a few yards of
-him. What was his surprise and joy on seeing
-George Fayerweather?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>His exclamation was stopped short by the horse
-giving a plunge, which, if Mr. Wendell had not sat
-well in his saddle would have thrown him. Captain
-Fayerweather’s countenance discovered marks of
-alarm and distress as he drew nearer, and while he
-spoke to Mr. Wendell, the horse snorted and again
-plunged fearfully, and at length reared, and stood
-nearly upright; but his master sat firm as if glued to
-the saddle, while he listened to George’s hurried
-account of where the deed was. As Captain Fayerweather
-finished, he turned away quickly, and the
-animal again put his fore-feet to the ground. As Captain
-Fayerweather turned the corner, Mr. Wendell
-called after him, and then finding all endeavors to
-make the horse follow him, vain, he dismounted and
-gave the bridle into the hands of a man whom he
-knew, and who at this juncture came up. He then
-turned the corner too, but George was gone. His
-communication, however, in spite of the restiveness
-of the horse, had reached the ears of Mr. Wendell,
-and now absorbed all his faculties, as he hastened
-home with a rapid pace.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>On this afternoon, Mrs. Wendell sat at work in her
-parlor, her mind full of the event of the trial, and revolving
-over many plans for her aunt, on its now probable
-issue. She was thinking over her Aunt Brinley’s
-proposal, that the three families should make but
-one, and should occupy her house, which was sufficiently
-large; when some one opened the front door,
-and came immediately into the room. It was her
-husband, looking excessively pale, and his whole appearance
-betokening hurry and agitation. Scarcely
-heeding her, he went to a large closet in the room,
-where he kept books and papers, and where her uncle’s
-ebony cabinet was placed.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>To her questions of surprise and alarm she could
-only obtain in reply—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I cannot answer you now, my love, wait.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He went to the cabinet, and proceeded to take out
-the three small drawers of the centre, which he
-placed on the floor, and then narrowly examined the
-vacancy they left. Unable to restrain her curiosity,
-she looked over his shoulder. As he knelt, he just
-made out to discover a small projection at the back,
-to which he applied two of his fingers, and the whole
-partition slipped down, and discovered a narrow cavity
-in the very centre of the cabinet. Two papers
-appeared, tied together with red tape; one of which
-was discolored as if with age. He clapped his hands
-with a joy strangely contrasted with his pallid countenance,
-and both exclaimed at once—she with a
-scream—“Here they are! the deeds! the deeds!
-found at last!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mr. Wendell then mentioned to his wife his meeting
-with George, who he supposed had just landed;
-and might have gone to see Judith before he went
-home. Mrs. Wendell expressed her joy at her
-cousin’s return, and then again remarked her husband’s
-paleness, and anxiously inquired the cause;
-but he made light of it.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“O, I am well enough,” he said, “but I sat up
-late last night—and perhaps,” he said, with a faint
-smile, “it was the fright my horse gave me, while
-George was speaking. He nearly threw me, and
-prevented my saying a word until George was gone—but
-I must return immediately to Ipswich; these
-papers must be produced in court to-morrow. I little
-thought when I came away, of returning in such
-triumph; but, good-bye, my love; I cannot stop a
-moment;” and off he hurried.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mrs. Wendell immediately flew into her aunt’s,
-whom with John she found in utter ignorance of
-George’s return. When informed of it, and of the
-discovery of the lost papers, her joy almost overcame
-her. In her impatience to see him, she thought Judith
-was almost unkind to detain him so long.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“She might come with him,” she said, and John
-started up, and set off to bring them both. On his
-way, he met Captain Stimpson, who, he found, had
-neither seen nor heard any thing of his brother,
-though just returned from home. He, however, was
-laden with tidings of high import, and was coming
-up in town to tell his news.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A vessel had that afternoon put in at Beverly with
-government dispatches; and staying only long enough
-to send them on shore, had set sail for Quebec. The dispatches
-were of so much importance, that an express
-was immediately sent off with them to Boston, and
-it was supposed they were the forerunners of peace.
-The vessel was expected to return to Salem in a
-month. This was the rumor which Captain Stimpson
-brought, for it was but a rumor, of which every one
-down in town was full; but of which, no one appeared
-to know either the origin or grounds. The
-name of the vessel, or of its master, could not be ascertained.
-The worthy relator accompanied John
-home, and the four there assembled, concluded with
-one voice, and almost one feeling of deep disappointment,
-that the Captain of the vessel must have been
-George, and that being under orders to proceed to
-Quebec, with the least possible delay, he would not
-trust himself to come home, or to see Judith, for fear
-of being detained too long. His not explaining himself
-to Mr. Wendell was accounted for, Mrs. Wendell
-said, by the restiveness of the horse, which probably
-did not allow him to say more than was barely
-sufficient for the finding of the papers.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The next day, the cause at Ipswich was decided
-at once, by Mr. Wendell’s producing the deeds.
-And heavy were the costs which fell upon the plaintiffs;
-their counsel retaining no recollection—there
-being no witnesses to it—of the agreement to lose
-his fees, should he fail to gain the cause; he expressing
-at the same time a high-minded indignation
-at having been taken in to engage in a case, in which
-so much knavery was concerned.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Poor Jaco! I ’clare it makes me sithe to think
-on him.” And Vi’let sighed audibly, when Peter
-removed his mat from the kitchen. Poor Jaco’s remains
-were respectably interred in the garden, under
-his absent master’s favorite tree, with a stone to
-mark the spot, setting forth his useful life and many
-virtues.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Pleasantly passed the month in Paved street, in
-anticipation of George’s return: the smiles returning
-to his mother’s countenance, which had seldom
-visited it since his father’s death. And pleasantly
-glided by the hours to Judith; but how—in her eyrie,
-watching the waves which were soon to bear her
-lover to her, and invoking the winds to speed his
-course? Not she—she taxed herself with selfishness,
-in having already spent so much time, engrossed by
-her own feelings, and not in administering to the
-happiness of others; and she resolutely determined
-not to go up into the cupola, take the spy-glass into
-her hand, nor even to consult the golden fish, which
-surmounted the highest peak of Captain Brayton’s
-house as a weathercock—which latter she could do
-by only looking out of the east-room window—until
-she had made up for lost time, and finished several
-pieces of work she had on hand.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mr. Solomon Tarbox, seeing there was no hope
-for him with Judith, had paid his addresses to Miss
-Ruthy Philpot, the daughter of a ship-chandler in the
-neighborhood, and their nuptials were near at hand.
-Judith had set up a patch-work quilt in the summer,
-as a bridal present.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“And it was high time it was completed,” she
-said. So every afternoon, after her household cares
-for the day were over, she sat herself at her patch-work
-in the sitting-room, and with her lively chatter
-shed the sunshine of her own happy spirits over her
-parents and grandfather. At the end of three weeks
-the quilt was completed.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“And a beauty it was,” Ruthy said, when Judith
-surprised her with it, and taking it from the arms of
-the boy who brought it, unfolded it before her admiring
-eyes. “And the pattern of the quilting, too,
-in shells—so much genteeler than herring-bone—it
-was the handsomest present she had had yet; but
-her thanks should be paid when Judith should be
-in the same case; which would be before long, no
-doubt.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As Judith returned home, how beautiful every
-thing appeared to her. The first snow had fallen
-the night before, and spread over the ground its pure
-white mantle, the hue of her own bright spirit;
-and blithe as a young snow-bird she flitted along, so
-lightly, that one had almost wondered to see the
-print of her fairy foot. As she looked up into the
-clear blue sky, how could she help the dazzling of
-her eye by the golden fish, when it was directly before
-her, and the sun shone full upon it; and how
-was it possible for her not to see that it’s head
-pointed due east? At the sight, who can tell what
-sudden thought sent a brighter flush to her cheeks,
-already glowing with spirits and exercise, and
-quickened her footsteps homeward? On reaching
-the house, before disarraying herself of her scarlet
-cloak, she bounded up to her cupola, and took the
-spy-glass into her hand.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The glass was adjusted to her eye, and slowly
-turned to every point of the eastern horizon; but the
-line marking the meeting of the bright blue heaven
-and the dark blue sea remained whole and unbroken.
-But no!—is not that a speck? It is—and it increases
-and nears! Her start sent the glass from
-her hand; when again adjusted, she could plainly
-perceive three masts rising from the waves; and
-now the swelling sails emerge, and now the dark
-hull.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Judy! do you see that sail?” called Captain
-Stimpson from below, in the voice of a speaking-trumpet.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I do, sir,” answered Judith from aloft. And now
-the whole ship was visible, gracefully moving over
-the waters, and proudly and beautifully she bore
-herself. The father and daughter watched her progress
-from the first speck they could discern in the
-bay, until she cast anchor in the harbor, Mrs.
-Stimpson having indulgently delayed tea for them,
-to which they now sat down; it being so dark they
-could see no longer. After tea, Judith sat down to
-her work, and endeavored to be tranquil. “It was
-wholly uncertain,” she said to her father, “whether
-this were Captain Fayerweather’s vessel or not;”
-and she really tried to persuade both him and herself,
-that she thought in all probability it was not.
-Her ears, however, would perversely listen to every
-noise from without, which her imagination mischievously
-converted into the voices of the busy
-crew from the vessel, plainly distinguishing a well-known
-one among them, though far out in the harbor.
-Captain Stimpson was sure it was the vessel,
-and that they should see George that evening; and
-so thought Mrs. Stimpson. Their daughter very
-undutifully said, “It was not at all probable, even
-if he had come—and she felt almost sure he had not—that
-he would be willing to leave his mother so
-soon, even if she would let him.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The evening wore on, and the little group were
-undisturbed. Judith could not repress a gentle sigh
-at thinking how rightly she had judged. Her father
-at length started up, and said, “He’d make certain
-whether the chap had come or not;” and accordingly
-put on his galoches, and was going for his
-cloak—(his daughter usually brought it for him, but
-she did not do it just then)—when footsteps were
-heard on the terrace. Judith disappeared from the
-room. There was a loud knock at the door, and
-Captain Stimpson went to it. On his opening it,
-Mrs. Stimpson heard his hearty and vociferous,
-“How are you, my lad?” and hastened to give her
-welcome with voice, hand, and tears, to the tall,
-stout man whom her husband ushered in. Her
-joyful greeting was received in silence, and with
-no answering marks of recognition.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“This cannot be Captain Fayerweather,” she
-said, turning to her husband.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Captain Fayerweather? No, madam, my name
-is Brown,” said the stranger, gravely. He seated
-himself, as invited, and there was a pause which
-neither Captain nor Mrs. Stimpson felt able immediately
-to break. At length the stranger said, “I
-am mate of the Dolphin, Captain Richard Seaward,
-master; and he desired me to tell you, he
-would himself have brought the intelligence I am
-to give you, but he is sick, and was obliged to take
-to his bed as soon as he came ashore.” Mr. Brown
-stopped and cleared his voice.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>He resumed. “You took me for Captain Fayerweather;
-what I have to say is concerning him.
-Captain Fayerweather took passage from London
-in the Dolphin; and he told Captain Seaward that
-he had just arrived from the Cape of Good Hope,
-where he had found letters from home, which rendered
-it necessary that he should return with all
-possible dispatch; and that finding a vessel at the
-Cape ready to sail for London, he had left his own,
-which had a consort, to the charge of the second
-officer and an experienced crew, to proceed into
-the Pacific, and had taken passage in the one to
-London, hoping there to find some opportunity of
-going to America. We set sail from London on the
-third of November—”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Captain Stimpson interrupted him. “On the
-third of November, did you say—and with Captain
-Fayerweather on board? That can’t be true, sir—he
-was here on the fifth.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The stranger answered gravely, “Sir, the business
-Captain Seaward sent me upon, is any thing
-but trifling. The Dolphin certainly sailed from
-London the third of November, and with Captain
-Fayerweather on board; all the crew will testify to
-this. But did I understand you rightly to say, he
-was here on the fifth? How—at what time? Who
-saw him—did you? There must have been some
-mistake.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Captain Stimpson, much surprised, replied, “I
-did not see him myself, but his cousin, Squire
-Wendell, did. He met him in the street between
-three and four in the afternoon. There could have
-been no mistake, for he told the squire something of
-great importance to his family, that nobody but himself
-could have known. The vessel we supposed
-he came in, put in at Beverly; she staid only long
-enough to deliver some dispatches for government,
-and sailed directly for Quebec, intending to return
-here in a month. We supposed fully that your
-vessel was the one, and we were expecting Captain
-Fayerweather when you came.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>While the captain spoke, Mr. Brown showed
-marks of astonishment and agitation. He was
-silent a few moments, though his lips moved, and
-he appeared to be making some calculations. At
-length he spoke, in a voice apparently from the
-depths of his chest, slowly and distinctly, but turning
-pale as he proceeded. “On the fifth of November,
-two days sail from London, about eight
-o’clock in the evening, which, allowing for difference
-of longitude, corresponds to between three and
-four here, in a raging storm, Captain Fayerweather
-fell from the mast-head into the sea, and was lost!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Judith’s shriek was heard from the inner-room,
-but before her parents could reach it, she had fallen
-senseless on the floor. Her father took her in his
-arms, while her mother bathed her temples. On
-reviving, she held up her clasped hands imploringly
-to her mother, and asked if she had heard aright,
-and if her ears had not deceived her. Poor Mrs.
-Stimpson was incapable of answering her, excepting
-by tears; and her father could only clasp her
-more closely. “Oh! he’s gone then;—let me go,
-too;” and she struggled to free herself. “But
-where! where shall I go?—what shall I do? Why
-did you bring me to?—it would have been better
-for me to have died. I do not wish to live! Why
-did you not let me die? I will die!—I will not
-live!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Her father now blubbered outright. “And would
-you leave your poor old sir, and your ma’am, that
-have their lives bound up in you, and that would
-die, too, without you? Have you no love left for
-them?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“I do love you both,” she cried; “but now—oh,
-George! I wish I was in the depths of the sea
-with you.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Hush! sinful child,” sternly said her grandfather,
-who had left his chair and now stood before her,
-his trembling, withered hand held up in reproof;
-“receive this dispensation of the Lord as a massy;
-he has taken from you your idol, that was a robbing
-him of your heart; turn to him on your bended
-knees, and implore His pardon for your sin.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As she heard him, she appeared by a strong effort
-only, to suppress a scream. “Oh! spare me now,
-grandfather,” she cried; and she threw herself on
-the floor, where she lay with her arm over her face,
-whilst sobs convulsed her whole frame.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You are too hard upon her, grandsir,” cried her
-mother, with some asperity, and smarting for her
-child; “you forget she is young flesh and blood;
-but you are such a saint, and you live so much for
-another world, that you make no allowance for a
-poor young creature’s feelings in this, when her
-heart is almost torn out of her body.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Child,” said the old man, trembling, “you ere
-cutting on me with a sharp knife! I, a saint! oh, you
-don’t know nothing of the wickedness of this old
-heart; that it was my own sinfulness I was a rebuking,
-when I was so harsh with this dear child; for
-I confess it—and it is with shame and confusion—that
-I have thought more of her being among the
-grand of the airth, of her riding in her chariot, dressed
-in vain attire of silks and satins, and adorned with
-pairls and jewels of fine goold, than of the welfare
-of her immortal soul. And I verily believe,” he
-continued, the tears which had long been strangers
-on his usually placid face, now running down his
-furrowed cheek, and his whole countenance working
-with distress, “I verily believe for my sin, this
-has fallen upon us all; and oh! that this old white
-head had it all to bear.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mrs. Stimpson was entirely subdued by this
-humble confession of her father-in-law, whom she
-had always regarded as so near perfection, and so
-much above all human weakness, that her affection
-for him had been chilled by a feeling partaking of
-awe. “Oh, grandsir!” she said, “how cruel I’ve
-been to you; but I never knew how tender-hearted
-you were before.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No, child, you have always been good to me,”
-returned the old man; “and better than I desarve;
-but let us pray that this affliction may be sanctified
-to us all, and wean us from the perishing things of
-this airth—myself above all, who can’t have much
-longer to stay; and this dear child, that she may
-feel it as a goolden thread a drawing on her easy
-like to heaven.” He then knelt down, his son and
-daughter-in-law by his side, and offered up an humble
-and fervent prayer over Judith, who was lying before
-them.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Meanwhile the paroxysms of her grief appeared
-to abate by degrees, and during her grandfather’s
-prayer her lips moved as if accompanying him; her
-sobs became less frequent, and at length were heard
-no longer; her slow and regular breathing showing
-that she had fallen into a profound sleep. Her
-father brought a pillow and tenderly placed it beneath
-her head. She slept heavily for more than
-an hour, when, it being long after midnight, her
-parents, fearing she would take cold, removed her
-into their own bed—this room being their sleeping
-apartment in the winter season. As she moaned on
-being disturbed, her mother soothed and caressed
-her; and then placing herself by the side of her child,
-she folded her in her arms, and lulled her to sleep,
-as if again an infant, while her father placed himself
-in the easy-chair, and watched until sleep overpowered
-him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The next morning, as the anxious parents were
-bending over their darling, she opened her eyes, and
-a beautiful smile spread itself over her features.
-“Oh! I have seen him to-night,” she said, “and he
-was among the blessed; he told me to live for your
-sake and his mother’s, and he would watch over
-me until we met in heaven.” When thoroughly
-awakened from her dream, she looked fondly on her
-father and mother, and clasping the hands of both,
-said, “Oh! how wicked and ungrateful I was to
-you last night! Can you forgive me? and henceforth
-I will only live to please you, and will have no
-wish but yours.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“You, dear child, you never did any thing but
-please us; you never had any other wish but ours,”
-both answered with streaming eyes.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Judith then arose and dressed herself; her trembling
-limbs and pale countenance sufficiently betraying
-the shock her frame had received. She went
-out of the room and busied herself even more than
-was her wont in domestic details, and throughout
-the day endeavored by redoubled attention and affection
-to her grandfather, to make amends to him for
-her impatience the night before.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The fine weather of the preceding day had been
-succeeded in the night by a driving snow-storm,
-which had increased to such violence by morning, as
-to prevent any communication with the Fayerweather
-family during the day. Toward evening
-the wind shifted to the south, bringing a rain which
-lasted till the next day, melting the great quantity
-of snow which had fallen, and rendering the streets
-impassable. Judith’s sense of duty, aided by active
-and unremitting occupation, had so far enabled her
-to struggle against any further indulgence of her
-grief. Her parents were surprised at the composure
-she maintained, while she sat down this afternoon,
-as was frequently her wont, on a low stool by her
-grandfather’s side. She had a large basket by her,
-filled with new cloth of different kinds, which her
-mother and she had cut out, and had already begun
-to make into various articles, in preparation for her
-own housekeeping. She selected a damask table-cloth
-from the basket, and turning the hem, began to
-sew. After taking a few stitches, her wonted smile
-flitted over her countenance and raised her drooping
-eyelids; her dimples began to play, and her voice
-broke forth, like the first robin of the spring, in a
-lively little Scotch song.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The sound of her own voice in singing restored
-her to her recollection—she threw down her work
-and exclaimed with a scream, “What am I doing?”
-then laid her head sobbing on her grandfather’s
-knee. “Oh, grandfather! I cannot help it,” she
-cried.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Don’t try to help it, dear,” said her mother, her
-own eyes streaming; “you have put force enough
-upon yourself.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The old man placed his withered hands fondly upon
-her head, and said—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Yes, weep, my child, for you may; but not
-without hope; He that wept at the tomb of Lazarus
-sees you, and in his own good time will turn your
-weeping into joy.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The unusual sound of wheels was at this moment
-heard, and the Fayerweather chariot drove up to the
-terrace. Dr. Holly and Mrs. Wendell alighted, but
-Judith feeling herself unable to meet them, retreated
-from the room before they were ushered in. Mrs.
-Wendell was so much overcome, that for a few
-moments she was unable to speak, and it fell to
-Dr. Holly to tell their errand. He made very particular
-inquiries in regard to Judith’s health, and
-how she had sustained the shock of the late afflictive
-intelligence, and then proceeded to mention that
-Madam Fayerweather was in a very alarming state,
-having neither changed her position, eaten or slept,
-since the evening before the last, and that he had
-accompanied Mrs. Wendell to see if Miss Judith
-could feel herself equal to returning with them, in
-the hope that the sight of her might have a favorable
-effect on madam, in whom if a change could not
-speedily be induced, he felt himself called upon to
-say, the worst might be apprehended.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mrs. Stimpson immediately replied—“She would
-answer for her daughter, that she would feel it a
-solace to her own feelings to see Madam Fayerweather,
-even if she could not be instrumental in
-restoring her.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mrs. Wendell then said—“The sight of Judith
-would, if any thing could.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mrs. Stimpson left the room, and in a few minutes
-returned with her daughter. At sight of Mrs. Wendell,
-who fondly kissed her, Judith’s tears burst forth,
-but she made no hesitation in accompanying her
-home. As the chariot drove through the street the
-contrast of her present feelings with those with
-which she had passed it two days before, struck her
-forcibly, but she resolutely turned her thoughts from
-herself to the stricken one whom she was going to see.
-When they arrived at the house, John came out and
-assisted them to alight; he pressed Judith’s hand but
-could not speak. Dr. Holly was desirous to try his
-experiment without delay; they therefore proceeded
-immediately to the apartment of his patient.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>On seeing Madam Fayerweather Judith’s strength
-suddenly failed her and she came near falling; but
-recollecting how much might depend on her retaining
-in some degree her self-possession, she made a strong
-effort over herself, and went forward to the easy-chair,
-where sat the bereaved mother. The latter
-was, in truth, not an object to be looked upon without
-emotion, even by a stranger.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>So rigid and motionless was her countenance, that
-it appeared as if changed into stone; her eyes were
-fixed; and her hair which, before this last blow, had
-retained all its gloss and beauty, was turned to an
-ashen hue, giving a strange and unearthly appearance
-to her pallid features.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Sister,” said Madam Brinley, who sat by her,
-“here’s your dear child, Judith—will you not look
-at her and speak to her?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Judith, from a sudden impulse, threw herself on
-her knees before the bereaved mother, clasped both
-her hands in her own and bathed them with her
-tears, but endeavored in vain to speak. Sobs were
-heard from all present. Madam raised her head, and
-as she did so, her eyes falling upon Judith, immediately
-showed a sense of her presence; their fixed
-and glassy look was changed to one of intelligence,
-the muscles around her mouth then moved, and she
-appeared as if endeavoring to articulate. At length
-she spoke, but in a voice hollow and strange—“We’ve
-had sad tidings, my child!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Her whole countenance now appeared working;
-the frozen fountain of her grief was at length softened,
-and burst forth in a torrent of tears and sobs
-and groans.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the state of exhaustion succeeding this outbreak,
-she was prevailed upon to take some food
-which Judith brought her; after which she fell asleep
-and was carried to her bed, from which she did not
-rise for several weeks. She had suffered a severe
-paralytic shock, which affected her limbs and speech
-for many months, though she finally recovered. Judith,
-in the meanwhile, divided her time between
-this, her second mother, and her own family.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk128'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'>What were the sensations of Mr. Wendell on
-hearing the appalling tidings, that at the moment
-in which his senses had figured to him George
-Fayerweather face to face, and whose voice he still
-felt burnt as it were into his brain—at that very
-moment, thousands of miles distant, the spirit of his
-young friend was in the act of departing in a death
-so fearful! Had such an incident been related to
-Mr. Wendell, from a source however authentic, he
-would either have totally disbelieved it, or have considered
-it an instance of singular coincidence of an
-illusion, occasioned by bodily indisposition, occurring
-at the same moment with the death of another
-at a great distance. But the feeling which even now
-raised the hair on his head, which curdled his blood
-and blanched his cheek anew at the bare recollection
-of that meeting, as it recalled sensations which his
-mind was too intent upon its important subject to
-heed at the time, gave the lie to his reason whenever
-he attempted so to argue.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mr. Wendell, however, never spoke upon the subject
-himself, and by the family it was avoided altogether;
-each one feeling it of too awful and sacred
-a nature to admit, not only of discussion, but even
-of allusion to it in conversation. But as might be
-supposed, so remarkable an occurrence occasioned
-no little sensation throughout the town and its neighborhood.
-It was noted down, with its date, in
-many a private memorandum as the extraordinary
-event of the year in which it happened, with remarks
-upon it, either devout or philosophical, or
-both, according to the different characters of the
-minds which severally dictated them.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>When all danger for the life of Madam Fayerweather
-was over, and Judith ceased to have in her
-an immediate object of care and anxiety, her own
-health, no longer sustained by extraordinary stimulus
-to exertion, at length gave tokens of the injury it
-had itself received. She fell into a state of languor
-and debility, which threatened to end in consumption,
-had not her strength of mind, aided by a deep
-sense of religion, enabled her to exert all her energies
-to struggle against the foe and finally to subdue
-it—her own melancholy. Her religious duties, those
-which she owed to her parents and those to society,
-she had always faithfully discharged, and now finding
-them insufficient to engross her mind and prevent
-it from preying upon itself, she had recourse to the
-cultivation of her taste and the higher powers of her
-fine intellect. In this she was assisted by John,
-already an elegant scholar, and she became a highly
-accomplished woman, as well as the most beautiful
-in the province.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Time passed on, and in its course saw Mr. Wendell
-presiding on the bench as chief-justice, his place
-as head of the bar filled by John Fayerweather.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It is not surprising that years of devotion from the
-latter, combined with all the affection of his mother
-for her departed son, now resting on Judith, should
-at length have prevailed upon her to be united to
-them by stronger ties; after having refused many
-offers, and among the first, one from Mr. Lindsey,
-who had returned to America as soon as the intelligence
-of George’s death reached him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In Judith’s becoming the wife of John, there was
-no infidelity in either to the memory of his brother;
-it was cherished by both during life, and by each in
-the heart of the other.</p>
-
-<hr class='footnotemark'/>
-
-<div class='footnote'>
-<table summary='footnote_6'>
-<colgroup>
-<col span='1' class='footnoteid'/>
-<col span='1'/>
-</colgroup>
-<tr><td style='vertical-align:top;'>
-<div class='footnote-id' id='f6'><a href='#r6'>[6]</a></div>
-</td><td>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Nahant beach, the roar of which is distinctly heard
-in Salem on a still evening.</p>
-
-</td></tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk129'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='babes'></a>THE BABES OF EXILE.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY EFFIE FITZGERALD.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<div class='literal-container' style=''><div class='literal'> <!-- rend=';fs:0.9em;' -->
-<p class='line' style='font-size:0.9em;'>“To roam o’er heaving waters bright,</p>
-<p class='line' style='font-size:0.9em;'>&ensp;&ensp;By heaven’s own moonbeam’s made</p>
-<p class='line' style='font-size:0.9em;'>To find our own a path of light,</p>
-<p class='line' style='font-size:0.9em;'>&ensp;&ensp;Where all beside is shade.”</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div></div> <!-- end rend -->
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Fond babes of exile we here claim thine eye,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To cheer thy sadness in this exile drear;</p>
-<p class='line0'>We raise the veil of memory with a sigh,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And seek our welcome in a silent tear.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>We fain would come with sunlight on our wings,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;For our sweet embassy is one of love;</p>
-<p class='line0'>We hurl no stone from out our baby-slings,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Save that commission come, too, from above.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Souls sunk in ice-holes, or in gilded shine,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;May call us wild, fantastic, if they will;</p>
-<p class='line0'>We know our birth-place was another clime—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;We come a different mission to fulfill.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>We dare the smoke-wreath on the crater’s verge;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;We look, undaunted, on the lava-flame;</p>
-<p class='line0'>From the tornado’s whirl we safe emerge;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To thee we come, in gentle childhood’s name!</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Enough of tempest—earthquake—has been thine;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Enough of grief has dimmed thy sky-ward eye;</p>
-<p class='line0'>We come to pour the fragrant oil and wine;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;We come to bless, and be blest, ere we die.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Die? No! We take from thee an angel-wing;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;We fly—we mount—away from earth we soar;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Keep thy gaze upward from the mountain-spring,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Wrapt in white mist-robes we move on before.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Or if despair thy strong-heart will assail,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Beneath the oaks, in the old wind-flower grove,</p>
-<p class='line0'>We light to kiss thy shadow, lone and pale.</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And bid thee turn thy drooping eye above.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>This our pure mission—babes of memory!</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Give us thy blessing ere these lives depart;</p>
-<p class='line0'>These shadowy forms, all consecrate to thee—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That faintly breathe the incense of the heart.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>We heed no danger in a path like this:</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;A Faith that with the Good was ne’er at war;</p>
-<p class='line0'>We know Earth’s sorrows pilot Heaven’s bliss—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Keep, then, thy gaze upon the cloud and star.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk130'/>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i191.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0012' style='width:80%;height:auto;'/>
-<p class='caption'><span style='font-size:smaller'>Illman &amp; Sons</span><br/> <br/><span class='bold'>BEAUTY’S RETREAT.</span><br/>Engraved expressly for Graham’s Magazine.</p>
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk131'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='242' id='Page_242'></span><h1><a id='ret'></a>BEAUTY’S RETREAT.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-weight:bold;'>A LEGEND OF GRANADA.</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-weight:bold;'>[WITH A STEEL ENGRAVING.]</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY HENRY WILLIAM HERBERT.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>It</span> was the evening of a sultry summer’s day,
-while the sun was yet hanging suspended, as it
-were, in a wreath of lustrous, gauzy vapor scarce a
-hand’s-breadth above the horizon. The skies were
-perfectly cloudless; and, but for that rich, golden
-haze which floated in the west about the sloping
-day-star, there was not a speck of mist to be seen
-over the whole expanse of the firmament, which,
-glowing, as it was, with the warm light of that soft
-southern region, resembled more a vault of exquisitely
-shadowed gems than the unfathomable depths
-of ether. All to the westward, the horizon was
-deluged with a flood of golden glory, too soft to be
-called intense, yet so vivid that the eye could
-scarcely brook it; melting as it streamed upward
-toward the zenith, by imperceptible degrees, into
-the radiance of the living sapphire; and thence deepening,
-through the azure tints of the Lapis Lazuli,
-into the darkest cærulean blue to the eastward,
-against which rose distinct, glittering with the last
-reflected sunbeams, the distant summits of the Cordoran
-mountains. Above these, soaring slowly upward,
-and momently gathering fresh brilliancy as
-the sun faded in the west, the full, round moon had
-already risen, with the evening-star at her side, a
-diamond spark beside an orient pearl.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Nor was the earth below less gracious than the
-heaven above it; for the scene, over which that
-cloudless sun was setting so serenely, was no other
-than the lovely vegas of Granada, watered with its
-sparkling rivulets, tributaries to the broad and fair
-Xenil; waving with its almost tropical luxuriance
-of foliage, odorous with the sweets of ten thousand
-gardens—verily the paradise of earth surrounding, as
-with a girdle of immortal beauty, the loveliest of
-earthly cities, crowned by the wonder of wonders,
-the glorious Alhambra. So much has been already
-written in many tongues, both in prose and verse, of
-the glories of this inimitable spot—still inimitable,
-even under the indolent and careless culture of the
-Spaniard, yet how unlike to what it was under its
-Moorish masters—above all so eloquently has it been
-described by the graceful pen of Irving, that all the
-details of its scenery, nay! of its architecture and
-internal decorations, are, it may be presumed, as familiar
-to the mind of the reader, as many places
-which he has actually seen with his own eyes. To
-dwell longer, therefore, on the features of that sweet,
-mountain-girdled plain on which the sunbeams lingered,
-as though they loved it, would be superfluous
-at least, if not impertinent. Not so, to depict one
-who gazed across that plain under that lovely sunset,
-soft herself as the genial clime, serenely bright
-as the calm eventide—the Lady Ayesha, a princess
-of the unmixed race, a visitor from the distant walls
-of Mequiñez to the kindred royalty, which in the
-person of the unfortunate but as yet unconquered
-Boabdil, still sat sublime on the fairy towers of the
-Alhambra.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She sat alone in a small octagonal apartment in
-the very summit of one of the loftiest of the palace
-turrets, overlooking and commanding a view so extensive,
-that the eye swam dazzled or ere it
-reached the hills, which bounded it on every side.
-Walled, vaulted, floored with pure snow-white marble,
-all wrought and pierced with that exquisite
-arabesque tracery, which made the cold, hard stone
-resemble the finest and most delicate lace-work;
-lighted on each of its eight sides by a tall window,
-headed by the peculiar horse-shoe arch of Moorish
-architecture, and surrounded a little lower down the
-turret by a balcony, filled as a hanging garden with
-every loved and lovely plant and flower, no happier
-retreat could be devised for Southern beauty; none
-half so beautiful, half so luxurious, is dreamed of in
-her most voluptuous musings by the most famed
-fair one of our utilitarian days and country.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Notwithstanding the extreme height of the tower,
-which rose full a hundred feet above the inferior
-buildings of the royal residence, it yet possessed its
-fountain, fed from a reservoir in the roof, itself
-supplied by the aid of machinery from the sources of
-those silver rivulets of the Xenil and Darro, which
-might be seen glittering in the level plain almost a
-thousand feet below; and the constant merry plash
-of its sparkling waters, as they leaped and fell in a
-shower of diamonds into their alabaster basin, together
-with the waving of the broad, fan-like palm-leaves
-in light coming air around the open casements,
-and the rich clusters of clematis, passion-flower
-and jessamine which hung their blossoms
-around every traceried column, rendered it difficult
-to conceive that so great a distance intervened between
-that bower of beauty and the solid earth, with
-all the choicest charms of which it was environed
-and invested.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Half-seated, half-reclining on a broad, low step of
-marble, which ran all around the apartment, covered
-with rich cushions and foot-cloths of brocade, such
-as would now be cheaply purchased at its weight in
-gold, with her shoulders supported by the low parapet
-of the window immediately behind her, gazed
-the Lady Ayesha over the glimmering landscape, all
-as she untwined with the rosy, henna-tinted tips of
-her small, slender fingers the thick plaits of her luxuriant
-raven hair. For in truth, and for once, the
-epithet <span class='it'>raven</span> was not misapplied to those soft, silky,
-glistening masses, which were not of the cold and
-hueless black, but of that nameless and indescribable
-hue which is never seen but in the hair of women
-of Moorish or Irish blood—and in the latter probably
-as originated of the former—black indeed, but
-black warmed and glowing with a rich metallic purplish
-lustre, unlike any thing on earth but the changeful
-hues that dance on the dark plumage of several
-of the feathered tribes. But though her long, languid
-eyes of that perfect almond form, so much
-prized by the beauty-loving Moors, fringed with
-lashes so long and dark as to require no aid of that
-Arabian <a id='dye2'></a>dye to set off the liquid lustre which they
-curtained, were riveted with a serene and steady
-fixedness on a remote spot in the plain, it was by
-no means evident that they took note of that on
-which they lingered; nor did she even appear conscious
-of her occupation, as wave after wave of her
-soft tresses fell disentwined into her lap. For there
-was too much of tranquillity, approaching even to
-abstraction, in the fixedness of her eye, in the statue-like
-immobility of her perfectly regular features, and
-in the whole pose of her figure, to accord with any
-thoughts so frivolous as those of the mere decoration
-of the person, how beautiful soever it might be.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>As one gazed on her—had there been any there to
-gaze—it was impossible not to perceive that, within
-that fair form and under those impassive features,
-there was—what with Oriental women is not at all
-times the case—a sentient and intellectual soul, and
-that soul at this time engrossed in some deep and
-powerful strain of meditative thought.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And oh! how beautiful she was. The perfect
-oval of her regular face, the straight, Grecian outline
-of her chisseled features, the dark clearness of
-her pure, transparent complexion, through which,
-though ordinarily colorless, every transient motion
-of the blood mantled in crimson, the slender, yet exquisitely
-rounded figure, the soft curves of her plump
-and shapely arms, were all as nearly perfect as mortality
-can approach to perfection.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The dress, moreover, which she wore—as far removed
-as possible, by the way, from the ungraceful
-and hideous monstrosity which a set of crazy notoriety-mongers
-have been striving to introduce among
-us as the costume of Oriental ladies—set off her
-foreign-looking charms by its own foreign eccentricity,
-no less than by the barbaric splendor of its
-materials.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A low, flat Fezzan cap of rich crimson velvet, superbly
-embroidered in gold and pearls, was set
-lightly, a little on one side, upon her luxuriant black
-tresses, and from it depended a long tassel, exquisitely
-wrought of grains of native gold and seed-pearls,
-down to her left shoulder, contrasting in strong
-relief the glossy darkness of the hair, by the brilliancy
-of its white and gold. Immense pendants of
-pearl hung from the roseate tips of each small ear,
-and a string of the same inestimable gems, not one
-of them inferior in size to a large currant, formed
-four distinct necklaces upon her chest, beside a fifth
-and longer coil, which hung down almost to her
-waist. A <span class='it'>jellick</span>, as it was called, or, as we should
-term it now, a chemisette of the finest Indian muslin,
-wrought as its name indicates at Mosul on the
-Tigris, embroidered with threads of gold, alone
-covered her glowing bosom; but above it she wore
-an open, sleeveless Dymar of gorgeous green brocade,
-with hanging filigree buttons of gold; and shrouding
-all her lower limbs, to the very tips of the small,
-slippered feet, as she lay half-crouched on her divan,
-an under robe or tunic of blush-colored Persian silk
-with broad, perpendicular stripes of dead gold, the
-sleeves of which, close to the elbow, fell thence downward,
-open like those of the modern gown worn by
-bachelors of arts. No appearance of trowsers, no
-marked cutting line, nothing tight or definite or
-rigid, nothing harsh, stiff or masculine was to be discovered
-on the nearest scrutiny. A superb Cashmere
-shawl was wound about her waist at the junction of
-the under robe and chemisette, and its loose ends
-blended admirably with the floating draperies and
-harmonized with the wavy ease which was the principal
-characteristic of the dress, the attitude, the
-pose, the woman.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>To complete the picture, a Moorish Bernoose, or
-mantle of scarlet woolen, almost as fine as gauze,
-with borders of golden lace, lay heaped behind her;
-and nestled in its folds, a filigree jewel-case with
-boxes and bottles of perfumes and cosmetics, and
-half-open drawers of glittering gems and ornaments
-befitting her high rank; while on the parapet, beside
-her head, stood a huge vase of superb porcelain filled
-with the dark, glossy leaves and snow-white blossoms
-of the gold-eyed lotus, the perfume of which
-would have been too strong for endurance but for the
-free circulation of the balmy air on every side, and
-the cool freshness of the dashing water, which mingled
-with its overpowering fragrance and dissipated
-its intensity.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Such was the Leila Ayesha, the daughter of the
-Sultan of Mequiñez, the great Muley Abderahman,
-the best and bravest of his race; who in this, almost
-the last extremity of his kinsman, Boabdil of Granada,
-had sent an embassy with compliments and
-splendid gifts, accompanying and conveying his fair
-child, the best loved of all his children, on her visit
-to the heroic mother of the last Moorish king of
-Granada.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>By many, however, of those who might be supposed
-the best informed on state affairs, both of those
-at Mequiñez and those at Granada, it was whispered
-that, under the cover of a mere complimentary embassy
-and friendly visit something of deep policy, and
-that of the highest import to both sovereigns, was
-intended. Indeed it was the general opinion that
-the object of the Sultan of Morocco in thus sending
-his fair daughter—in whom it was well-known that
-wise and enlightened prince placed far more confidence
-than is usually extended to the sex among the
-Moors—was to bring about, should it be pleasing to
-the beautiful Ayesha, a union between the two royal
-houses, in which case he would himself come to the
-aid of Granada with such a force of Moslem, backed
-by such hordes of the wild Berbers as Ali Ibn Tarih
-himself never led to conquest—such, in a word, as
-should soon compel the proud and encroaching Ferdinand
-to look to the safety of his own throne and
-the integrity of his own dominions, rather than to
-the invading <a id='ofthe'></a>of the dominions of his neighbors.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Be this as it may, it was all a new world to the
-Leila Ayesha, for the Moors of Spain during their
-many centuries of occupation, aggrandisement and
-decline, had adopted many ideas, many customs
-from their Christian neighbors, at one time their
-foes, at another in long intervals of truce, their neighbors
-and almost their friends.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Nor had the Spaniards failed in the same degree
-to profit by the vicinity of the intellectual, polished
-and industrious Moors, until the bigotry of these and
-the fanaticism of those had given way to more rational
-and intelligent principles, and the two nations
-met, whether in war or peace, on a common ground
-of mutual self-respect and decorum.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Thus the Moors had not only laid aside long since
-their fanatical war-cry of “The Koran or the
-Sword!” but had adopted many of the usages of
-chivalry, no longer holding the Christians as dogs,
-and slaughtering them without quarter given or
-taken, but setting them at honorable ransom, and
-even treating them while prisoners on parole as
-guests on terms of equality, entertaining them at
-their boards, and holding sacred to them all the rights
-of hospitality.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In no respect, however, had a wider change occurred
-in the habits of the nation than in the
-treatment of their women, who, although not certainly
-admitted to the full liberty of Christian ladies,
-were by no means immured, as in their native land,
-in the precincts of the Harem, “to blush unseen, and
-waste their sweetness on the desert air,” but were
-permitted, still under the guardianship of duennas,
-and with their trains of Indian eunuchs, and further
-protected by their veils from the contamination of
-unholy glances, to be present at festivals, at tournaments,
-nay! even at banquets, when none but the
-members of the family or guests of high consideration
-were expected to be present.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It is not, by the way, a little singular that almost
-in exact proportion as the Moors enlarged the liberty
-of their women, by the example of the Spaniards,
-did the Spaniards contract that of their own bright-eyed
-ladies, by the example of the Moors; and for
-many years the rigor of the Spanish duenna was
-scarcely inferior to that of the Raid of a Moorish
-harem, or the ladies under charge of the one much
-more obvious to the gaze of the profane, than the
-beautiful slaves of the latter.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Did not, therefore, the beautiful Leila Ayesha
-rejoice and exult in the comparative freedom which
-she enjoyed among the liberal Moors of Spain, which
-as fitted to enjoy as the favorite child of a wise
-father, enlightened far beyond the prejudices of his
-nation or his time? In his own younger days he had
-been a traveler, had visited Venice and even Madrid,
-in both of which cities he had been a sojourner
-in the character of ambassador, and had
-thus, like the wily Ulysses, “seen the cities of
-many nations and learned their understandings.”
-Their languages he spoke fluently: he even read
-their works, and, although a sincere and faithful
-Mussulman, he had learned to prize many of the
-customs, to appreciate the principles, and in some
-instances to adopt in his heart at least the practices
-of the Christians.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Too wise openly to offend the prejudices of his
-people—and nothing would have done so, more decidedly
-or more dangerously than any infringement
-of the sanctity of the harem—he had not dared, absolute
-as he was, to grant to his daughter that full
-liberty founded upon the fullness of trust which he
-had learned to admire in Venice. Still he had done
-all that he could do without offending prejudices or
-awakening angry opposition. He had made Ayesha,
-from her earliest years, the companion of his leisure
-hours; he had educated her in all that he himself
-knew, he had consulted her as a friend, he had confided
-in her as a human soul, not treated her as the
-mere pet and plaything of an hour.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And now as she grew up from an engaging child
-to a fair marriageable maiden, accomplished, intellectual,
-thoughtful, not an irresponsible being, but a
-responsible human creature, with the beauty, the
-impulsive nature, the passionate heart of the Moorish
-girl, but with the reason, the intellect, the soul of
-the Spanish lady—Muley Abderrahman, who was
-waxing into years, began to doubt whether he had
-done wisely in training up the child of Mequiñez,
-the offspring of the desert, to the arts, the accomplishments,
-the hopes, and the aspirations of the
-free Venetian <span class='it'>dama</span>—began to look around him
-anxiously to see where he might bestow the hand
-of her whom he had learned to cherish and esteem
-even above his people or his power. He saw none,
-on that side <a id='sideof'></a>of the Mediterranean, with whom she
-could be other than a slave—the first and mistress of
-the slaves, indeed, but still one of them—a beautiful
-toy to be prized for beauty, while that beauty should
-yet endure; if faded, to be cast aside into the sad
-solitude of neglect for a newer plaything, perhaps to
-be imprisoned—as a discrowned and discontented
-queen, and therefore dangerous—in some distant and
-dim seraglio on the verge of the great burning desert.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And was this a fate for the bright, the beloved, the
-beautiful, the sage Ayesha?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Thence was born the idea of the embassy to Boabdil.
-He knew the kings of Granada civilized and
-cultivated far before those of Tetuan or Tafilet, or
-even Mequiñez or Mecca—he knew that they had
-adopted, in many respects, the usages of the Christian
-cavaliers, and not least among these, their
-chivalrous courtesy and graceful respect for the fair
-sex—he knew them powerful and wealthy, and possessed
-of a land the fairest on the face of the earth,
-the glorious kingdom of Granada. At this time,
-although the war had commenced between Ferdinand
-and the Moorish princes, which was to
-terminate at no very distant day in the total overthrow
-of the Saracenic empire in Spain, it as yet
-lagged indecisively along, with no preponderance of
-this or the other force; nor could there be any doubt
-that a declaration on the part of the Sultan of
-Mequiñez, backed by the reinforcement of a Moorish
-and Berber, and an active naval warfare along the
-coasts of Spain, would not only secure Granada
-from any risk of dismemberment, but even wrest a
-permanent acknowledgment and durable peace from
-the Christian kings of the Spanish provinces.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Boabdil was at this time formally unwedded, although,
-like every other prince or magnate of his
-people, he had his wives, his concubines, his slaves
-innumerable. He was notoriously a leaner to the
-soft side of the heart, a fervent admirer of beauty,
-and was, moreover, a kind-hearted, gracious and
-accomplished prince. That he would be captivated
-by the charms of the incomparable Ayesha, even
-apart from the advantages which her union would
-bring to himself and to his people, could not be
-doubted; and should such an union be accomplished
-Muley Abderrahman felt well assured that he should
-have obtained for the darling of his heart all that
-he desired, freedom of life, a suitable partner, and
-security for her enjoyment of all her cherished tastes
-and respected privileges.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Still Muley Abderrahman, wiser than any Moslem
-father of that age, wiser than most Christian parents
-of any age, was not inclined to set down his own
-idea of what should be her good, with his absolute
-yea! as being her very good. He had, strange thing
-for a Moor! an idea that a woman has a soul—strange
-and unorthodox thing for a father! an idea
-that his daughter had a heart; and that it might not be
-such a bad thing after all for her ultimate happiness
-that her heart should be in some degree consulted.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She went, therefore, fancy free and untrammeled
-even by the knowledge of her father’s wishes, on a
-visit to her kinsfolk of Granada, entirely unsuspicious
-that any secret of state policy was connected
-with the visit to that land of romance and
-glory, of beauty and adventure, which was to her
-one long holyday. Of all her train, indeed, there
-was but one who was privy to the Sultan’s secret
-wishes old Hadj Abdallah Ibn Ali, the eldest of the
-sovereign’s councillors, like some, himself a traveler,
-and like himself, imbued with notions far
-more liberal than those of his time or country. To
-him it was entrusted, therefore, while seemingly inattentive
-to all that was passing, to observe strictly
-every shadow which might indicate whence the
-wind was about to blow—to take especial note of
-Boabdil’s conduct and wishes, and, above all, to omit
-no opportunity of discovering how the fair Ayesha
-might stand affected toward her royal cousin.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Gaily and happily had passed the days, the weeks,
-the months—it was still truce with the Spaniard,
-and days and nights were consumed in tilts, in tournaments,
-in hawking-parties on the beautiful green
-meadows of the Vega, beside the bright and brimful
-streams, adjuncts so necessary to that royal pastime,
-that it was known of old as the “Mystery of
-Rivers”—hunting-parties in the wild gorges of the
-Alpuxawa mountains, banquets at high noon, and
-festivals beneath the glimmering twilight, beneath
-the full-orbed moon, that life was, indeed, one long
-and joyous holyday. Boabdil was, in truth, of a man
-a right fair and goodly specimen—tall, finely formed,
-eminently handsome, graceful and affable in manners,
-kindly in heart and disposition, not untinctured
-with arts and letters, nor deficient in any essential
-which should become a gentle cavalier—as a monarch,
-when surrounded by his court, and seated in
-his place of state in the Hall of Lyons, of a truth
-he was a right royal king—as a warrior, in the tilt-yard
-his skill, his horsemanship, his management
-of all weapons, were the admiration of all beholders.
-In the field his gallantry and valor were incontestable.
-What, then, was wanting that Boabdil was
-not a perfect man, a real cavalier, a very king?
-Purpose, energy, will—will that must have its way,
-and cannot be denied, much less defeated.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A prince of a quiet realm, in tranquil times he had
-lived honored and happy, he had been gathered to
-his fathers among the tears of his people, he had
-lived in the memory of men as a good man, an admirable
-king, the father of his people.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Fallen upon evil times, thrust into an eminence
-for which he not only was, but felt himself to be
-unfit, unequally matched against such an enemy as
-Ferdinand, the one weak point outweighed all the
-fine qualities and noble virtues; and he lived, alas!
-to be that most miserable, most abject of all human
-things, a dethroned, exiled, despised king!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And did Ayesha, from beneath the screen of girlish
-levity, while seemingly steeped to the lips in the
-rapturous enjoyment of the liberty, the life of the
-present moment, did Ayesha see and foresee all this?
-At least, when Hadj Abdallah Ibn Ali wrote to his
-friend and patron the Sultan, and that but shortly
-after their arrival, that Boabdil was so evidently
-and obviously enamored of his mother’s lovely
-guest, that he would not only too eagerly court the
-alliance, backed as it was by advantages so kingly,
-but that he verily believed he would woo her to
-his throne, were she the merest peasant’s child. He
-wrote nothing of Ayesha!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Again he wrote that he could not doubt she had
-perceived her royal cousin’s love, and that her manner
-toward him was so frank, so free, so unrestrainedly
-joyous and confiding, that he was well
-assured that all went well, and that she returned
-the affection of Boabdil, and rejoiced in his love.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But Muley Abderrahman, shook his head and
-knit his brow, as he read the letter, and muttered
-through his thick moustache, “Ay! he is a good
-man—a good man is the Hadj Abdallah, and a wise
-one, but he knows nothing of a woman’s heart—how
-should he?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>When he sent the next dispatches to his old friend
-and counsellor, there was a brief private note attached.
-“Is the Leila Ayesha,” he asked, “never
-grave, never abstracted, never shy, and almost sad—does
-she never flee from the gayety of the festival,
-the tumult of the chase, into privacy and solitude—does
-she never fail to hear when addressed, to see
-when encountered—does she never weep nor sigh
-when alone—in a word, is she in nowise changed
-from what she was at Mequiñez?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And the reply came, “Never. Wherefore should
-she? Is she not the apple of all eyes, the idol of all
-hearts? Her laugh is as the music of the soul, her
-eye-glance the sunbeam that enkindles every heart.
-She is the star of the Alhambra, the loadstone of the
-king’s soul. Wherefore should she weep or sigh?
-I have questioned her handmaids—never! Yes—the
-Leila Ayesha is changed. In Mequiñez, she was as
-a sunbeam thrown on still waters. Here in Granada,
-she is the sunbeam thrown on the dancing
-fountain, reflecting happy light on all around her.
-In Mequiñez, she was as a sweet song-bird, feeding
-her soul on her own harmonies in silence. Here in
-Granada she is as the sweet song-bird, enrapturing all
-within her sphere by the blithe outpourings of her
-joyous melodies. Yes—the Leila Ayesha is changed.
-My Lord Boabdil loves the Leila Ayesha; the
-Leila Ayesha knows it, and is glad.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Then Muley Abderrahman shook his head, and pondered
-for a while, and muttered—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“She loves him not—She loves him not. The
-Hadj Abdallah is good and wise with the wisdom of
-men—but of the hearts of women, he knows nothing—how
-should he? for he never saw a woman.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And the old king, far distant, saw more of what
-was passing in the fair girl’s heart than the wise
-councillor who was present—but he judged it best to
-tarry and abide the event—and he tarried, but not long.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Had he been present on that sultry summer’s
-evening, and looked upon his lovely child as she sat
-gazing out in such serenity of deep abstraction over
-the sunny Vega—over the fragrant orange groves and
-glowing vineyards, toward the glistening hill-tops of
-the Spaniards—his question would have answered
-itself, and at the first glance he would have seen
-that she loved.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The child had discovered that it had a heart—the
-creature had divined that it had an immortal soul—the
-child had become a woman—a very woman.</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>With all a woman’s smiles and tears,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And fearful hopes and hopeful fears,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And doubts and prayers for future years.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>Leila Ayesha loved—but whom? At least not
-Boabdil! Happily, not Boabdil.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Even as she gazed, the orb of the gorgeous sun
-sank behind the distant hills, and at once—clear,
-shrill, and most melodious—up went the voice of
-the Muezzins, from every minaret throughout the
-gorgeous city, “To prayer, to prayer. There is no
-God but God, and Mahomet is his prophet. Faithful,
-to prayer, to prayer!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And instant at the cry every sound ceased through
-the royal residence—every sound through the splendid
-city—every sound through the wide Vega.
-Every turbaned head was bowed in prayer, and a
-sabbath stillness seemed to consecrate the bridal of
-the earth and sky.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Ayesha rose from her divan, and while her lips
-murmured the words of devotion, and her fingers ran
-rapidly over the beads of her Comboloic or Moorish
-rosary, a strange, faltering flush ran over her fair
-brow. Her orisons ended, she caught some of the
-spray of the fountain in the palm of one of her fairy
-hands, and scattered it thrice over her long, dark
-tresses, on which it glistened in the soft moonbeams;
-for the moon now alone occupied the heavens, on
-the fragrant hills of the black hyacinth.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Again she resumed her attitude on the divan, but
-not her occupation; for the mood of her mind was
-altered, and for a while she hummed the burthen of
-an old, melancholy Moorish ballad—an old Moorish
-love-song, the words of which corresponded in no
-small degree to our own, “Oh! willow, willow”—since
-the proverb still holds good of burned Morocco
-or bright Spain, as of green, merry England—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;“For aught that I did ever hear—</p>
-<p class='line0'>Did ever read in tale or history,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The course of true love never did run true.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>Ere long from the city gates far distant was heard
-the din of martial music—first, the deep clang of the
-kettle-drums and atabals alone, and the clear flourish
-of the silver trumpets which announced the presence
-of the king, and these only at intervals above or between
-the trampling of hoofs, the clash of armor,
-and the cheering of an excited multitude. Anon
-nearer and nearer came the sounds, with the clash
-of cymbals and the soft symphonies of lutes, and the
-clear, high notes of flutes and clarionets among the
-clangor of the trumpets, and the brazen rattling of
-the drums.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Nearer and nearer yet—and it is now at the Alhambra
-gates.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>She started to her feet, and leaned far out of the
-embrasure commanding all the city, but her eye
-marked one object only, the royal train filing into the
-palace gates, from the royal sports on the Vega
-ended—and in that train, on but one person.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It was no turbaned head or caftaned form on
-which that ardent eye was fixed, now kindled into
-all a Moresca’s ecstacy of passion; it was on a tall
-Spanish crest and lofty plume. And, as if by a secret
-instinct, as her gaze was bent downward to the
-horse-shoe arch of the Alhambra gate, his glance
-soared upward to the airy turret’s top, and readily
-detected what would have escaped a less observant
-watcher, the dark eyes of his fair Ayesha gleaming
-through the palm-leaves and passion-flowers; their
-passionate fire half quenched by the tears of tenderness
-and hope.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>His Ayesha—his—the Conde of Alarcos, proudest
-grandee of Spain—the favorite child of the Spaniard’s
-deadliest foe, the Sultan of Morocco.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The Hadj Abdallah Ibn Ali’s next dispatch contained
-much important tidings concerning a twenty
-years’ truce to be concluded between the King Boabdil,
-of Granada, and the King Ferdinand, of Spain—and
-much graver gossip of the noble Conde of Alarcos,
-Ferdinand’s ambassador; of his high feats of
-arms, and gentle feats of courtesy—of how all the
-court admired him, and how the Lady Ayesha
-shunned him, and how she was less frequent at the
-falconry, less frequent at the chase, less frequent at
-the festival, less frequent at the royal banquets—and
-how her hand-maidens reported that their mistress
-sighed all the time and often wept, and sat long hours
-gazing upon nothing, and played no more upon her
-lute, nor sung the songs of Islam—and how she was—he
-feared—ill at ease, and pining for her native land.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And when Muley Abderrahman read the letter he
-shook his head, and muttered—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Ay, she loves now, but it is the wrong one—a
-Nazarene, a dog,” and he tore his beard and wept.
-That night a royal courier rode hard from Mequiñez
-to Saleè, and the next day a fleet galley scoured the
-way across the narrow seas to the fair shores of
-Granada.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The embassy should return at once to Mequiñez.
-Now hour of delay—too late.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The embassy had returned the preceding day, but
-it was the Spanish embassy: and it had returned,
-not to Mequiñez, but to Cordova. And ere his master’s
-mandate had stricken terror to the soul of the
-Hadj Abdallah, the Spanish bells were chiming for
-the wedding of a Moorish maiden, now a Christian
-bride; and the Leila Ayesha, of Mequiñez, was the
-wife of the noble Conde De Alarcos: nor have I
-ever heard that she rued either of the changes.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Again Muley Abderrahman tore his beard, and this
-time from the very roots. But his wonted philosophy
-still consoled him, and after a little while he
-muttered—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Allah, assist me, that I thought myself so wise—yet
-know not the heart of a woman! How should I?”</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk132'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='write'></a>WRITE THOU UPON LIFE’S PAGE.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY GRENVILLE GREY.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'><span class='sc'>Leave</span> thou some light behind thee,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Some mark upon thine age;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Let not a false fate bind thee—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Write thou upon life’s page,</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Some word of earnest meaning,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Some thought, or else some deed,</p>
-<p class='line0'>On which thy brother leaning,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Unto better may succeed.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>For none may tell what beauty,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;What endless good there lies,</p>
-<p class='line0'>In some little nameless duty,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Whose remembrance never dies.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Leave thou some light behind thee,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Some token of thy way;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Let not a false ease bind thee—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Thou art not wholly clay.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>There is something noble in thee,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Let it speak and not be mute;</p>
-<p class='line0'>There is something that should win thee</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;From a kindred with the brute.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Thou art not, oh! my brother,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Wholly impotent for good;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Thou may’st win or warn another</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;From the wrongs thou hast withstood.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Leave thou some trace behind thee—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;In life’s warfare, go, engage;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Let no more a false fate bind thee—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Write thou upon life’s page.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk133'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='243' id='Page_243'></span><h1><a id='line'></a>LINES ON A VASE OF FLOWERS,</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-weight:bold;'>(FOUND UPON MY DESK.)</p>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY ESTELLE ANNA LEWIS.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'><span class='sc'>I came</span> upon these simple flowers</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;As something I revere;</p>
-<p class='line0'>They grew in Love’s enchanted bowers—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And love hath placed them here.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>I kiss their cheeks of virgin bloom,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;I press their dewy lips,</p>
-<p class='line0'>While my wrapt soul of their perfume,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Inebriated sips.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>I look into their violet eyes,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And feel my heart grow calm,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And fancy I’m in Paradise,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Inhaling Eden’s balm.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>There in ecstatic dreams I rove</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Among celestial bowers,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Weaving a garland for my Love,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of beatific flowers.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk134'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='244' id='Page_244'></span><h1><a id='dea'></a>DEATH.<a id='r7'/><a href='#f7' style='text-decoration:none'><sup><span style='font-size:0.9em'>[7]</span></sup></a></h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY SAMUEL HENRY DICKSON, M. D.; PROFESSOR IN THE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF SOUTH CAROLINA.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>As</span> the word Life is employed in a double sense to
-denote the actions or phenomena by which it is developed,
-and the cause of these phenomena, so the
-old English word Death is used familiarly to express
-two or more meanings. The first of these is the
-transition from the living to the lifeless or inanimate
-state—the act, that is, of dying; the second, the condition
-of an organized body which has ceased to live,
-while organization yet remains, and symmetry still
-displays itself, and the admirable structure of its parts
-is not yet destroyed by decomposition, or resolved
-into the original and primary elements from which it
-was moulded,</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Before Decay’s effacing fingers</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Have swept the lines <a id='where2'></a>where beauty lingers.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>We occasionally speak of “dead matter” in the
-sense of inorganic; but this is merely a rhetorical or
-metaphorical phrase. That which has never lived
-cannot properly be said to be dead.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the following essay, I shall use the word chiefly
-in the first of the senses above indicated. It will
-often be convenient to employ it in the second also;
-but in doing so, I will be careful so to designate its
-bearing as to avoid any confusion. The context
-will always prevent any misunderstanding on this
-point.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Death may be considered physiologically, pathologically,
-and psychologically. We are obliged to
-regard it and speak of it as the uniform correlative,
-and indeed the necessary consequence, or final result
-of life; the act of dying as the rounding off, or termination
-of the act of living. But it ought to be
-remarked that this conclusion is derived, not from
-any understanding or comprehension of the relevancy
-of the asserted connection, nor from any <span class='it'>à priori</span>
-reasoning applicable to the inquiry, but merely <span class='it'>à
-posteriori</span> as the result of universal experience. All
-that has lived has died; and, therefore, all that lives
-must die.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The solid rock on which we tread, and with which
-we rear our palaces and temples, what is it often
-when microscopically examined, but a congeries of
-the fossil remains of innumerable animal tribes!
-The soil from which, by tillage, we derive our vegetable
-food, is scarcely any thing more than a mere
-mixture of the decayed and decaying fragments of
-former organic being; the shells and exuviæ, the
-skeletons and fibres and exsiccated juices of extinct
-life.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The earth itself, in its whole habitable surface, is
-little else than the mighty sepulchre of the past;
-and</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;“All that tread</p>
-<p class='line0'>The globe are but a handful to the tribes</p>
-<p class='line0'>That slumber in its bosom. Take the wings</p>
-<p class='line0'>Of morning, and the Barcan desert pierce,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Or lose thyself in the continuous woods</p>
-<p class='line0'>Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound</p>
-<p class='line0'>Save his own dashings—yet, the dead are there;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And millions in these solitudes, since first</p>
-<p class='line0'>The flight of years begun, have laid them down</p>
-<p class='line0'>In their last sleep: the dead reign there alone.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>Four millions of Egyptians cultivate the valley of
-the great river on whose banks, amidst the fertilizing
-dust of myriads of their progenitors, there are calculated
-still to exist, in a state of preservation, not less
-than from four hundred to five hundred millions of
-mummies. The “City of the Tombs” is far more
-populous than the neighboring streets even of
-crowded Constantinople; and the cemeteries of London
-and the catacombs of Paris are filled to overflowing.
-The trees which gave shade to our predecessors
-of a few generations back lie prostrate; and
-the dog and horse, the playmate and the servant of
-our childhood, are but dust. Death surrounds and
-sustains us. We derive our nourishment from the
-destruction of living organisms, and from this source
-alone.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And who is there among us that has reached the
-middle term of existence, that may not, in the touching
-phrase of Carlyle, “measure the various stages
-of his life-journey by the white tombs of his beloved
-ones, rising in the distance like pale, mournfully receding
-milestones?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“When Wilkie was in the Escurial,” says
-Southey, “looking at Titian’s famous picture of the
-Last Supper in the refectory there, an old Jeronymite
-monk said to him, ‘I have sat daily in sight of
-that picture for now nearly threescore years; during
-that time my companions have dropped off one after
-another—all who were my seniors, all who were
-my cotemporaries, and many or most of those who
-were younger than myself; more than one generation
-has passed away, and there the figures in the picture
-have remained unchanged. I look at them, till I
-sometimes think that <span class='it'>they</span> are the realities, and we
-but shadows.’ ”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I have stated that there is no reason known to us
-why Death should always “round the sum of life.”
-Up to a certain point of their duration, varying in
-each separate set of instances, and in the comparison
-of extremes varying prodigiously, the vegetable and
-animal organisms not only sustain themselves, but
-expand and develop themselves, grow and increase,
-enjoying a better and better life, advancing and progressive.
-Wherefore is it that at this period all
-progress is completely arrested; that thenceforward
-they waste, deteriorate and fail? Why should they
-thus decline and decay with unerring uniformity
-upon their attaining their highest perfection, their
-most intense activity? This ultimate law is equally
-mysterious and inexorable. It is true the Sacred
-Writings tell us of Enoch, “whom God took and he
-was not;” and of Elijah, who was transported
-through the upper air in a chariot of fire; and of Melchisedek,
-the most extraordinary personage whose
-name is recorded, “without father, without mother,
-without descent: having neither beginning of days,
-nor end of life.” We read the history without conceiving
-the faintest hope from these exceptions to
-the universal rule. Yet our fancy has always exulted
-in visionary evasions of it, by forging for ourselves
-creations of immortal maturity, youth and
-beauty, residing in Elysian fields of unfading spring,
-amidst the fruition of perpetual vigor. We would
-drink, in imagination, of the sparkling fountain of
-rejuvenescence; nay, boldly dare the terror of Medea’s
-caldron. We echo, in every despairing heart,
-the ejaculation of the expiring Wolcott, “Bring back
-my youth!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Reflection, however, cannot fail to reconcile us to
-our ruthless destiny. There is another law of our
-being, not less unrelenting, whose yoke is even
-harsher and more intolerable, from whose pressure
-Death alone can relieve us, and in comparison with
-which the absolute certainty of dying becomes a
-glorious blessing. Of whatever else we may remain
-ignorant, each of us, for himself, comes to feel,
-realize and know unequivocally that all his capacities,
-both of action and enjoyment, are transient
-and tend to pass away; and when our thirst is satiated,
-we turn disgusted from the bitter lees of the
-once fragrant and sparkling cup. I am aware of
-Parnell’s offered analogy—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“The tree of deepest root is found</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Unwilling most to leave the ground;”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>and of Rush’s notion, who imputes to the aged such
-an augmenting love of life that he is at a loss to
-account for it, and suggests, quaintly enough, that it
-may depend upon custom, the great moulder of our
-desires and propensities; and that the infirm and decrepit
-“love to live on because they have acquired
-a habit of living.” His assumption is wrong in
-point of fact. He loses sight of the important principle
-that Old Age is a relative term, and that one
-man may be more superannuated, farther advanced
-in natural decay at sixty, than another at one hundred
-years. Parr might well rejoice at being alive,
-and exult in the prospect of continuing to live, at
-one hundred and thirty, being capable, as is affirmed,
-even of the enjoyment of sexual life at that age; but
-he who has had his “three sufficient warnings,”
-who is deaf, lame and blind; who, like the monk of
-the Escurial, has lost all his cotemporaries, and is
-condemned to hopeless solitude, and oppressed with
-the consciousness of dependence and imbecility,
-must look on Death not as a curse, but a refuge.
-Of one hundred and thirty-three suicides occurring
-in Geneva from 1825 to 1834, more than half were
-above fifty years of age; thirty-four, from fifty to
-sixty; nineteen, from sixty to seventy; nine, from
-seventy to eighty; three, from eighty to ninety; in
-all sixty-five. The mean term of life in that city
-being about thirty-five to forty, this bears an immense
-proportion to the actual population above fifty,
-and exhibits forcibly an opposite condition of feeling
-to that alleged by Rush, a weariness of living, a desire
-to die, rather than an anxiety, or even willingness
-to live.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I once knew an old man of about one hundred and
-four who retained many of his faculties. He could
-read ordinary print without glasses, walked firmly,
-rode well, and could even leap with some agility.
-When I last parted with him, I wished him twenty
-years more; upon which he grasped my hand
-closely, and declared he would not let me go until I
-had retracted or reversed the prayer.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Strolling with my venerable and esteemed colleague,
-Prof. Stephen Elliott, one afternoon, through
-a field on the banks of the river Ashley, we came
-upon a negro basking in the sun, the most ancient-looking
-personage I have ever seen. Our attempts,
-with his aid, to calculate his age, were of course
-conjectural; but we were satisfied that he was far
-above one hundred. Bald, toothless, nearly blind,
-bent almost horizontally, and scarcely capable of
-locomotion, he was absolutely alone in the world,
-living by permission upon a place, from which the
-generation to which his master and fellow-servants
-belonged had long since disappeared. He expressed
-many an earnest wish for death, and declared, emphatically,
-that he “was afraid God Almighty had
-forgotten him.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We cannot wonder, then, that the ancients should
-believe, “Whom the gods love, die young,” and are
-ready to say with Southey, himself, subsequently,
-like poor Swift, a melancholy example of the truth
-of his poetical exclamation,</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;“They who reach</p>
-<p class='line0'>Gray hairs die piecemeal.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>Sacred history informs us that, in the infancy of
-the world, the physiological tendency to death was
-far less urgently and early developed than it is now.
-When the change took place is not stated; if it occurred
-gradually, the downward progress has been
-long since arrested. All records make the journey
-of life from the time of Job and the early patriarchs,
-much the same as the pilgrim of to-day is destined
-to travel. Threescore and ten was, when Cheops
-built his pyramid, as it is now, a long life. Legends,
-antique and modern, do indeed tell us of tribes that,
-like Riley’s Arabs and the serfs of Middle Russia,
-and the Ashantees and other Africans, live two or
-three centuries, but these are travelers’ stories, unconfirmed.
-The various statistical tables that have
-been in modern times made up from materials more
-or less authentic, and the several inquiries into the
-general subject of longevity, seem to lead to the
-gratifying conclusion that there is rather an increase
-of the average or mean duration of civilized life.
-In 1806, Duvillard fixed the average duration of life
-in France at twenty-eight years; in 1846, Bousquet
-estimates it at thirty-three. Mallet calculated that
-the average life of the Genevese had extended ten
-years in three generations. In Farr’s fifth report (for
-1844), the “probable duration,” the “expectation of
-life” in England, is placed above forty; a great improvement
-within half a century. It is curious, if it
-be true, that the extreme term seems to lessen as the
-average thus increases. Mallet is led to this opinion
-from the fact, among others, that in Geneva, coincident
-with the generally favorable change above mentioned,
-there has not been a single centenarian within
-twenty-seven years; such instances of longevity
-having been formerly no rarer there than elsewhere.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Birds and fishes are said to be the longest lived of
-animals. For the longevity of the latter, ascertained
-in fish-ponds, Bacon gives the whimsical reason
-that, in the moist element which surrounds them,
-they are protected from exsiccation of the vital
-juices, and thus preserved. This idea corresponds
-very well with the stories told of the uncalculated
-ages of some of the inhabitants of the bayous of
-Louisiana, and of the happy ignorance of that region,
-where a traveler once found a withered and antique
-corpse—so goes the tale—sitting propped in an arm-chair
-among his posterity, who could not comprehend
-why he <span class='it'>slept</span> so long and so soundly.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But the Hollanders and Burmese do not live especially
-long; and the Arab, always lean and wiry,
-leads a protracted life amidst his arid sands. Nor
-can we thus account for the lengthened age of the
-crow, the raven, and the eagle, which are affirmed
-to hold out for two or three centuries.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>There is the same difference among shrubs and
-trees, of which some are annual, some of still more
-brief existence, and some almost eternal. The venerable
-oak bids defiance to the storms of a thousand
-winters; and the Indian baobab is set down as a
-contemporary at least of the Tower of Babel, having
-probably braved, like the more transient, though
-long-enduring olive, the very waters of the great
-deluge.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It will be delightful to know—will Science ever
-discover for us?—what constitutes the difference
-thus impressed upon the long and short-lived races
-of the organized creation. Why must the fragrant
-shrub or gorgeous flower-plant die immediately after
-performing its function of continuing the species, and
-the pretty ephemeron languish into non-existence
-just as it flutters through its genial hour of love, and
-grace, and enjoyment; while the banyan, and the
-chestnut, the tortoise, the vulture, and the carp,
-formed of the same primary material elements, and
-subsisting upon the very same resources of nutrition
-and supply, outlast them so indefinitely?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Death from old age, from natural decay—usually
-spoken of as death without disease—is most improperly
-termed by writers an euthanasia. Alas! how
-far otherwise is the truth! Old age itself is, with
-the rarest exceptions, exceptions which I have never
-had the good fortune to meet with anywhere—old
-age itself is a protracted and terrible disease.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>During its whole progress, Death is making gradual
-encroachments upon the domain of life. Function
-after function undergoes impairment, and is less
-and less perfectly carried on, while organ after organ
-suffers atrophy and other changes, unfitting it for the
-performance of offices to which it was originally designed.
-I will not go over the gloomy detail of the
-observed modifications occurring in every part of the
-frame, now a noble ruin, majestic even in decay.
-The lungs admit and vivify less blood; the heart often
-diminishes in size and always acts more slowly,
-and the arteries frequently ossify; nutrition is impeded
-and assimilation deteriorated; senile marasmus
-follows, “and the seventh age falls into the lean
-and slippered pantaloon;” and, last and worst of all,
-the brain and indeed the whole nervous tissue shrink
-in size and weight, undergoing at the same time
-more or less change of structure and composition.
-As the skull cannot contract on its contents, the
-shrinking of the brain occasions a great increase of
-the fluid within the subarachnoid space. Communication
-with the outer world, now about to be cut
-off entirely, becomes limited and less intimate. The
-eyes grow dim; the ear loses its aptitude for harmony,
-and soon ceases to appreciate sound; odors
-yield no fragrance; flavors affect not the indifferent
-palate; and even the touch appreciates only harsh
-and coarse impressions. The locomotive power is
-lost; the capillaries refuse to circulate the dark,
-thick blood; the extremities retain no longer their
-vital warmth; the breathing slow and oppressed,
-more and more difficult, at last terminates forever
-with a deep expiration. This tedious process is
-rarely accomplished in the manner indicated without
-interruption; it is usually, nay, as far as my experience
-has gone, always brought to an abrupt close
-by the supervention of some positive malady. In
-our climate, this is, in the larger proportion, an affection
-of the respiratory apparatus, bronchitis, or
-pulmonitis. It will, of course, vary with the original
-or constitutional predisposition of the individual,
-and somewhat in relation to locality and season.
-Many aged persons die of apoplexy and its kindred
-cerebral maladies, not a few of diarrhœa; a winter
-epidemic of influenza is apt to be fatal to them in
-large numbers everywhere.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>When we regard death pathologically, that is, as
-the result of violence and destructive disease, it is
-evident that the phenomena presented will vary relatively
-to the contingencies effective in producing
-it. It is obviously out of place here to recount them,
-forming as they do a vast collection of instructive
-facts, the basis indeed of an almost separate science,
-Morbid Anatomy.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>There are many of the phenomena of death, however,
-that are common to all forms and modes of
-death, or are rarely wanting; these are highly interesting
-objects of study in themselves, and assume a
-still greater importance when we consider them in
-the light of signs or tokens of the extinction of life.
-It seems strange that it has been found difficult to
-agree upon any such signs short of molecular change
-or putrefactive decomposition, that shall be pronounced
-absolutely certain, and calculated entirely
-to relieve us from the horrible chance of premature
-interment of a body yet living. The flaccidity of the
-cornea is dwelt on by some; others trust rather to
-the <span class='it'>rigor mortis</span>, the rigid stiffness of the limbs and
-trunk supervening upon the cold relaxation which
-attends generally the last moments. This rigidity is
-not understood or explained satisfactorily. It is possible
-that, as Matteucci has proved, the changes in
-all the tissues, chiefly chemical or chemico-vital, are
-the source from whence is generated the “nervous
-force” during life; so, after death, the similar
-changes, now purely chemical, may, for a brief period,
-continue to generate the same or a similar
-force, which is destined to expend itself simply upon
-the muscular fibres in disposing them to contract.
-There is a vague analogy here with the effect of
-galvanism upon bodies recently dead, which derives
-some little force from the fact that the bodies least
-disposed to respond to the stimulus of galvanism are
-those which form the exceptions to the almost universal
-exhibition of rigidity—those, namely, which
-have been killed by lightning, and by blows on the
-pit of the stomach. Some poisons, too, leave the
-corpse quite flaccid and flexible.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The researches of Dr. Bennett Dowler, of New
-Orleans, have presented us with results profoundly
-impressive, startling, and instructive. He has, with
-almost unequalled zeal, availed himself of opportunities
-of performing autopsy at a period following
-death of unprecedented promptness, that is, within a
-few minutes after the last struggle, and employed
-them with an intelligent curiosity and to admirable
-purpose.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I have said that, in physiological death, the natural
-decay of advancing age, there is a gradual encroachment
-of death upon life; so here, in premature death
-from violent diseases, the contrasted analogy is offered
-of life maintaining its ground far amidst the
-destructive changes of death. Thus, in cholera asphyxia,
-the body, for an indefinite period after all
-other signs of life have ceased, is agitated by horrid
-spasms, and violently contorted. We learn from Dr.
-Dowler that it is not only in these frightful manifestations,
-and in the cold stiffness of the familiar <span class='it'>rigor
-mortis</span>, that we are to trace this tenacious muscular
-contraction as the last vital sign, but that in all, or
-almost all cases we shall find it lingering, not in the
-heart, anciently considered in its right ventricle the
-<span class='it'>ultimum moriens</span>, nor in any other internal fibres,
-but in the muscles of the limbs, the biceps most obstinately.
-This muscle will contract, even after the
-arm with the scapula has been torn from the trunk,
-upon receiving a sharp blow, so as to raise the forearm
-from the table, to a right angle with the upper
-arm.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We also learn from him the curious fact that the
-generation of animal heat, which physiologists have
-chosen to point out as a function most purely vital,
-does not cease upon the supervention of obvious or
-apparent death. There is, he tells us, a steady development
-for some time of what he terms “post-mortem
-caloricity,” by which the heat is carried not
-only above the natural or normal standard, but to a
-height rarely equalled in the most sthenic or inflammatory
-forms of disease. He has seen it reach 113°
-of Fahr., higher than Hunter ever met with it, in his
-experiments made for the purpose of exciting it;
-higher than it has been noted even in scarlatina, 112°,
-I think, being the ultimate limit observed in that
-disease of pungent external heat; and far beyond the
-natural heat of the central parts of the healthy body,
-which is 97° or 98°. Nor is it near the centre, or at
-the trunk, that the post-mortem warmth is greatest,
-but, for some unknown reason, at the inner part of
-the thigh, about the lower margin of its upper third.
-I scarcely know any fact in nature more incomprehensible
-or inexplicable than this. We were surprised
-when it was first told us that, in the Asiatic
-pestilence, the body of the livid victim was often
-colder before than after death; but this, I think, is
-easily understood. The profluvia of cholera, and its
-profound capillary stagnation, concur in carrying off
-all the heat generated, and in preventing or impeding
-the development of animal heat. No vital actions,
-no changes necessary to the production of caloric,
-can proceed without the minute circulation which
-has been checked by the asphyxiated condition of
-the subject, while the fluids leave the body through
-every outlet, and evaporation chills the whole exposed
-and relaxed surface. Yet the lingering influence
-of a scarcely perceptible vitality prevents the
-purely chemical changes of putrefactive decomposition,
-which commence instantly upon the extinction
-of this feeble resistance, and caloric is evolved by
-the processes of ordinary delay.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the admirable liturgy of the churches of England
-and of Rome, there is a fervent prayer for protection
-against “battle, murder, and sudden death.”
-From death uncontemplated, unarranged, unprepared
-for, may Heaven in mercy deliver us! But if ever
-ready, as we should be for the inevitable event, the
-most kindly mode of infliction must surely be that
-which is most prompt and brief. To die unconsciously,
-as in sleep, or by apoplexy, or lightning, or
-overwhelming violence, as in the catastrophe of the
-Princeton, this is the true Euthanasia. “Cæsar,”
-says Suetonius, “finem vitæ commodissimum, repentinum
-inopinatumque pretulerat.” Montaigne,
-who quotes this, renders it, “La moins préméditée
-et la plus courte.” “Mortes repentinæ,” reasons
-Pliny, “hoc est summa vitæ felicitas.” “Emori
-nolo,” exclaims Cicero, “sed me esse mortuum
-nihil estimo.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Sufferers by various modes of execution were often,
-in the good old times of our merciless ancestors,
-denied as long as possible the privilege of dying, and
-the Indians of our continent utter a fiendish howl of
-disappointment when a victim thus prematurely escapes
-from their ingenious malignity. The <span class='it'>coup de
-grace</span> was a boon unspeakably desired by the poor
-wretch broken on the wheel, or stretched upon the
-accursed cross, and forced to linger on with mangled
-and bleeding limbs, amidst all the cruel torments of
-thirst and fever, through hours and even days that
-must have seemed interminable.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The progress of civilization, and a more enlightened
-humanity have put an end to all these atrocities,
-and substituted the gallows, the garrote, and the
-guillotine, which inflict deaths so sudden that many
-have questioned whether they necessarily imply any
-consciousness of physical suffering. These are,
-however, by no means the most instantaneous modes
-of putting an end to life and its manifestations. In
-the hanged, as in the drowned, and otherwise suffocated,
-there is a period of uncertainty, during which
-the subject is, as we know, recoverable; we dare
-not pronounce him insensible. He who has seen an
-ox “pithed” in the slaughter-house, or a game-cock
-in all the flush and excitement of battle “gaffed” in
-the occiput or back of the neck, will contrast the immediate
-stiffness and relaxation of the flaccid body
-with the prolonged and convulsive struggles of the
-decapitated bird, with a sort of curious anxiety to
-know how long and in what degree sensibility may
-linger in the head and in the trunk when severed by
-the sharp axe. The history of the guillotine offers
-many incidents calculated to throw a doubt on the
-subject, and the inquiries of Seguret and Sue seem
-to prove the existence of post-mortem passion and
-emotion.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Among the promptest modes of extinguishing life
-is the electric fluid. A flash of lightning will destroy
-the coagulability of the blood, as well as the contractility
-of the muscular fibre; the dead body remaining
-flexible. A blow on the epigastrium kills
-instantly with the same results. Soldiers fall sometimes
-in battle without a wound; the impulse of a
-cannon-ball passing near the pit of the stomach is
-here supposed to be the cause of death. The effect
-in these two last instances is ascribed by some to “a
-shock given to the semilunar ganglion, and the communication
-of the impression to the heart;” but this
-is insufficient to account either for the quickness of
-the occurrence, or the peculiar changes impressed
-upon the solids and fluids. Others are of opinion
-that the whole set of respiratory nerves is paralyzed
-through the violent shock given to the phrenic,
-“thus shutting up,” as one writer expresses it, “the
-fountain of all the sympathetic actions of the system.”
-This hypothesis is liable also to the objections
-urged above; and we must acknowledge the
-suddenness and character of the results described to
-be as yet unexplained, and in the present state of our
-knowledge inexplicable.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>On the field of battle, it has been observed that the
-countenances of those killed by gun-shot wounds are
-usually placid, while those who perish by the sword,
-bayonet, pike, or lance, offer visages distorted by
-pain, or by emotions of anger or impatience. Poisons
-differ much among themselves as to the amount
-and kind of suffering they occasion. We know of
-none which are absolutely free from the risk of inflicting
-severe distress. Prussic acid gives perhaps
-the briefest death which we have occasion to observe.
-I have seen it, as Taylor states, kill an animal,
-when applied to the tongue or the eye, almost
-before the hand which offered it could be removed.
-Yet in the case of Tawell, tried for the murder of
-Sarah Hart, by this means, there was abundant testimony
-that many, on taking it, had time to utter a
-loud and peculiar scream of anguish: and in a successful
-attempt at suicide made by a physician of
-New York city, we have a history of appalling suffering
-and violent convulsion. So I have seen in
-suicide with opium, which generally gives an easy
-and soporose death resembling that of apoplexy, one
-or two instances in which there were very great and
-long-protracted pain and sickness.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Medical writers have agreed, very generally, that
-“the death-struggle,” “the agony of death,” as it
-has long been termed is not what it appears, a stage
-of suffering. I am not satisfied—I say it reluctantly—I
-am not satisfied with these consolatory views, so
-ingeniously and plausibly advocated by Wilson
-Philip, and Symonds, Hufeland and Hoffman. I
-would they were true! But all the symptoms look
-like tokens or expressions of distress; we may hope
-that they are not always such in reality: but how
-can this be proved? Those who, having seemed to
-die, recovered afterward and declared that they had
-undergone no pain, do not convince me of the fact
-any more than the somnambulist, who upon awaking,
-assures me that he has not dreamed at all, after
-a whole night of action, and connected thought and
-effected purpose. His memory retains no traces of
-the questionable past; like that of the epileptic, who
-forgets the whole train of events, and is astonished
-after a horrible fit to find his tongue bitten, and his
-face and limbs bruised and swollen.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Nay, some have proceeded to the paradoxical extreme
-of suggesting that certain modes of death are
-attended with pleasurable sensations, as for instance,
-hanging; and a late reviewer, who regards this sombre
-topic with a most cheerful eye, gives us instances
-which he considers in point. I have seen many men
-hung, forty at least, a strangely large number. In
-all, there were evidences of suffering, as far as could
-be judged by external appearances. It once happened
-that a certain set were slowly executed, owing
-to a maladroit arrangement of the scaffold upon
-which they stood, which gave way only at one end.
-The struggles of such as were half supported were
-dreadful, and those of them who could speak earnestly
-begged that their agonies should be put an
-end to.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In former, nay, even in recent times, we are told
-that pirates and robbers have resorted to half-hanging,
-to extort confession as to hidden treasure. Is it
-possible that they can have so much mistaken the
-means they employ as thus to use pleasurable appliances
-for the purposes of torture?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The mistake of most reasoners on the subject,
-Winslow and Hufeland more especially, consists in
-this, that they fix their attention exclusively upon
-the final moments of dissolution. But the act of
-dying may be in disease, as we know it to be in
-many modes of violence, impalement, for example,
-or crucifixion, very variously protracted and progressive.
-“Insensibly as we enter life,” says Hufeland,
-“equally insensibly do we leave it. Man can
-have no sensation of dying.” Here the insensibility
-of <span class='it'>death completed</span>, that is, of <span class='it'>the dead body</span>, is
-strangely predicated of the moribund while still living.
-This transitive condition, to use the graphic
-language of the Southern writer whom we have already
-more than once quoted, is “a terra incognita,
-where vitality, extinguished in some tissues, smouldering
-in others, and disappearing gradually from
-all, resembles the region of a volcano, whose eruptions
-subsiding, leave the surface covered with cinders
-and ashes, concealing the rents and lesions
-which have on all sides scarred and disfigured the
-face of nature.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Besides this, we have no right to assume, as Hufeland
-has here done, the insensibility of the child at
-birth. It is subject to disease before birth; as soon
-as it draws a breath, it utters loud cries and sobs.
-To pronounce all its actions “mechanical, instinctive,
-necessary, automatic,” in fact, is a very easy
-solution of the question; but I think neither rational
-nor conclusive. If you prick it or burn it, you regard
-its cries as proving sensibility to pain; but on
-the application of air to its delicate and hitherto protected
-skin, and the distension of its hitherto quiet
-lung, the same cry, you say, is mechanical and inexpressive.
-So Leibnitz explained, to his own satisfaction,
-the struggles and moans of the lower animals
-as automatic, being embarrassed with metaphysical
-and moral difficulties on the score of their intelligence
-and liability to suffering. But no one now espouses
-his theory, and we must accept, whether we
-can explain them or not, the facts that the lower animals
-are liable to pain during their entire existence,
-and that the heritage of their master is, from and
-during birth to the last moment of languishing vitality,
-a sad legacy of wo and suffering.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Unhappily we may appeal, in this discussion, directly
-to the evidence of our senses, to universal experience
-and observation. Who can doubt the tortures
-inflicted in tetanus? to alleviate which, indeed,
-I have more than once been solicited for poison.
-Does not every one know the grievous inflictions of
-cancer, lasting through months and years, and continuing,
-as I have myself seen, within a short hour of
-the absolute extinction of life, in spite of every effort
-to relieve it? The most painful of deaths apparently
-is that which closes the frightful tragedy of
-hydrophobia, and patients, to hurry it, often ask most
-urgently for any means of prompt destruction. But
-these more intense and acute pangs are not the only
-form of intolerable agony. Unquenchable thirst, a
-dreadfully progressive suffocation, confusion of the
-senses and of thought—these are inflictions that nature
-shudderingly recoils from, and these, or their
-manifestations, are scarcely ever wanting on the
-death-bed.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>If any one should ask why I thus endeavor to
-prove what it is revolting to us all to believe or admit,
-I answer—first, that truth is always desirable to
-be known both for its own sake and because it is
-ever pregnant with ultimate benefit and utility.
-More than one moribund has expressed to me his
-surprise and horror—shall I say disappointment too?
-at finding the dark valley of the shadow of death so
-rough and gloomy and full of terrors. Is it not better
-that we should be as thoroughly and adequately prepared
-for the stern reality as may be, and that we
-should summon up all the patience and fortitude requisite
-to bear us through? When the last moment
-is actually at hand, we can safely assure our friends
-that they will soon reach a state of rest and unconsciousness,
-and that meanwhile, as they die more
-and more, they will less and less feel the pain of dying.
-Secondly, by appreciating properly the nature
-and amount of the pangs of death, we shall be led to
-a due estimate of the demand for their relief or palliation,
-and of the obligation incumbent on us to institute
-every proper effort for that purpose with zeal
-and assiduity. He who believes with Hufeland, that
-the moribund is insensible, is likely to do little to solace
-or comfort him.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>There are doubtless instances of death entirely
-easy. “I wish,” said Doctor Black, “I could hold
-a pen; I would write how pleasant a thing it is to
-die.” Dr. George Fordyce desired his youngest
-daughter to read to him. When she had been reading
-some time, he called to her—“Stop; go out of
-the room; I am going to die.” She left him, and an
-attendant, entering immediately, found him dead.
-“Is it possible I am dying?” exclaimed a lady patient
-of mine; “I feel as if going into a sweet sleep.”
-“I am drowsy, had I better indulge myself?” asked
-Capt. G. On my giving him an affirmative answer,
-he turned, and sank into a slumber from which he
-awoke no more. It is indeed pleasant to know that
-examples occur of this unconscious and painless dissolution;
-but I fear they are comparatively rare exceptions
-to a natural rule; and I regard it as the duty
-of the medical profession to add to the number by
-the judicious employment of every means in our
-power.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>And this leads me to a brief consideration of the
-question so often pressed upon us in one shape or
-another by the friends of our patients, and sometimes
-by our patients themselves: If the tendency of any
-medicinal or palliative agent be to shorten life, while
-it assuages pain, has the physician a right to resort to
-it? Even in the latter stages of some inflammatory
-affections, loss of blood, especially if carried to fainting,
-will arrest the sharp pangs, but the patient will
-probably die somewhat sooner: shall we bleed him?
-Large doses of opium will tranquilize him, or render
-him insensible; but he will probably sink somewhat
-earlier into the stupor of death. Shall we administer
-it, or shall we let him linger on in pain, merely
-that he may linger? Chloroform, ether, and other
-anæsthetics in full dose inspired render us insensible
-to all forms of anguish, and make death as easy, to
-use the phrase of Hufeland, as being born! Shall
-we allow our agonized moribund to inhale them?
-Used in less amount, a degree of relief and palliation
-is procured, but at the risk of exhausting or
-prostrating more promptly the failing energies of the
-system. Shall we avail ourselves of their anæsthetic
-influences, or are they forbidden us, either absolutely
-or partially?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>These are by some moralists considered very delicate
-questions in ethics. Desgenettes has been
-highly applauded for the reply he made to Bonaparte’s
-suggestion, that it would be better for the
-miserable sick left by the French army at Jaffa to
-be drugged with opium: “It is my business to save
-life, not to destroy it.” But, in approving the physician,
-we must not harshly condemn the commanding
-officer. When we reflect on the condition of the
-men whom the fortune of war compelled him to
-abandon, and the certainty of a horrible death to each
-victim from wasting disease or Turkish cruelty, a
-rational philanthropist might well desire to smooth
-their passage to the grave.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>During the employment of torture for the purposes
-of tyranny in Church and State, a physician or surgeon
-was at hand, whose whole duty it was to suspend
-the process whenever it became probable that
-nature would yield under its pressure, and the victim
-would escape through the opening, glad gates of
-death. It was then esteemed an act of mercy to
-give, or permit to be given by the executioner, a
-fatal blow, hence called emphatically and justly the
-<span class='it'>coup de grace</span>. In the terrible history of the invasion
-of Russia by Napoleon, we shudder to read
-that, after their expulsion from Moscow, the French
-soldiers, in repassing the fields of battles fought
-days and even weeks previously, found many of
-their comrades, there wounded and left, still dragging
-out a wretched and hopeless existence, amidst
-the corpses of those more fortunately slain outright,
-and perishing miserably and slowly of cold and hunger,
-and festering and gangrenous wounds. One
-need not surely offer a single argument to prove, all
-must feel and admit that the kindest office of humanity,
-under the circumstances, would have been
-to put an end to this indescribable mass of protracted
-wretchedness by the promptest means that could be
-used to extinguish so horrible a life.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>A common case presents itself from time to time
-to every practitioner, in which all hope is avowedly
-extinct, and yet, in consonance with uniform custom,
-stimulants are assiduously prescribed to prolong
-existence in the midst of convulsive and delirious
-throes, not to be looked on without dismay. In
-some such contingencies, where the ultimate result
-was palpably certain, I have seen them at last abandoned
-as useless and worse, in order that nature, irritated
-and excited, lashed into factitious and transitory
-energy, might sink into repose; and have felt a
-melancholy satisfaction in witnessing the tranquillity,
-so soft and gentle, that soon ensued; the
-stormy agitation subsiding into a calm and peaceful
-decay.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Responsibility of the kind I am contemplating, often
-indeed more obvious and definite, presses upon
-the obstetrician, and is met unreservedly. In embryulcia,
-one life is sacrificed in the hope and with
-the reasonable prospect of saving another more valued:
-this is done too sometimes where there is an
-alternative presented, the Cæsarian section, which
-destroys neither of absolute necessity, but subjects
-the better life to very great risk.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Patients themselves frequently prefer the prompter
-and more lenient motives of death which our science
-refuses to inflict. In summing up the motives of
-suicide in one hundred and thirty-one cases, whose
-causes are supposed to be known, Prevost tells us
-that thirty-four, more than one-fourth of the whole
-number, committed self-murder to rid themselves of
-the oppressive burden of physical disease. Winslow
-gives us an analysis of thirteen hundred and thirty-three
-suicides from Pinel, Esquirol, Burrows, and
-others. Of these, there were but two hundred and
-fifty that did not present obvious appearances of bodily
-ailment; and although it is not stated how many
-of them sought death voluntarily as a refuge from
-physical suffering, it would be unreasonable to doubt
-that this was the purpose with a very large proportion.
-I am far from advocating the propriety of
-yielding to this desire or gratifying the propensity;
-nay, I would, on the other hand, earnestly endeavor
-to remove or repress it, as is now the admitted
-rule.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I hold fully, with Pascal, that, according to the
-principles of Christianity, which in this entirely oppose
-the false notions of paganism, a man “does not
-possess power over his own life.” I acknowledge
-and maintain that the obligation to perform unceasingly,
-and to the last and utmost of our ability, all
-the duties which appertain to our condition, renders
-absolutely incompatible the right supposed by some
-to belong to every one to dispose of himself at his
-own will. But I would present the question for the
-serious consideration of the profession, whether
-there does not, now and then, though very rarely,
-occur an exceptional case, in which they might,
-upon full and frank consultation, be justified before
-God and man in relieving, by the efficient use of
-anæsthetics, at whatever risk, the ineffable and incurable
-anguish of a fellow-creature laboring under
-disease of organic destructiveness, or inevitably
-mortal; such, for example, as we are doomed to
-witness in hydrophobia, and even more clearly in
-some instances of cancerous and fungoid degeneration,
-and in the sphacelation of organs necessary to
-life, or parts so connected as to be indispensable, yet
-not allowing either of removal or restoration?</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>I have left myself scarcely time for a few remarks
-upon death, psychologically considered. How is the
-mind affected by the anticipation and actual approach
-of death? The answer will obviously depend upon
-and be influenced by a great diversity of contingencies,
-moral and physical. The love of life is an instinct
-implanted in us for wise purposes; so is the
-fear of pain. Apart from this, I do not believe, as
-many teach, that there is any instinctive fear of
-death. Education, which instills into us, when
-young, the fear of spectres; religious doctrines,
-which awake in us the terror of “something after
-death;” conscience, which, when instructed,
-“makes cowards of us all;” associations of a revolting
-character—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“The knell, the shroud, the mattock, and the grave—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;The deep, damp vault, the darkness, and the worm;”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>these startle and appal us.</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Man makes a death that nature never made,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Then on the point of his own fancy falls.</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;And feels a thousand deaths in fearing one.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>We sympathize duly with every instinct of nature;
-we all feel the love of life, and accord readily
-in the warmest expression of it; but we recoil from
-every strong exhibition of the fear of death as unreasonable
-and dastardly.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>When Claudio reminds his noble sister that “death
-is a fearful thing,” she replies well—“and shamed
-life a hateful!” But when he rejoins—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“The weariest and most loathed worldly life</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;That age, ache, penury, and imprisonment</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Can lay on nature, is a paradise</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;To what we fear of death;”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>we anticipate her in bidding him “Perish! for a
-faithless coward, and a beast.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the same contemptible and shrinking spirit,
-Mæcenas, in a passage from Seneca—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Vita, dum superest bene est</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Hunc mihi vel acuta</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Si sedeam cruce, sustine.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>Among hypochondriacs, we often meet with the
-seemingly paradoxical combination of an intense
-dread of death unassociated with any perceptible attachment
-to life; a morbid and most pitiable condition,
-which urges some to repeated, but ineffectual
-attempts at suicide. I know not a state of mind
-more utterly wretched.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Both these sentiments, whether instinctive or educational,
-are, we should observe, very strikingly influenced
-by circumstances. Occasionally, they seem
-to be obliterated, or nearly so; not only in individuals,
-but in large masses, nay, in whole communities;
-as during great social convulsions; through the
-reign of a devastating pestilence; under the shock of
-repeated disorders of the elements; as in earthquakes,
-volcanic eruptions, storms, and inundations;
-in protracted sieges, and in shipwrecks. The Reign
-of Terror produced this state of feeling in France,
-and thousands went to the scaffold indifferently, or
-with a jest. Boccacio and others have pictured the
-same state of undejected despair, if such a phrase be
-permitted, in which men succumb to fate, and say,
-with a sort of cheerful hardihood, “Let us eat and
-drink, for to-morrow we die,” losing thus all dread
-even of the plague. Pliny the younger, in his flight
-from Mycena, under the fatal shower of ashes from
-Vesuvius, heard, amidst the darkness, the prayers
-of wretches “who desired to die, that they might be
-released from the expectation of death.” And Byron,
-in his magnificent description of the shipwreck,
-in Don Juan, tells us—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Some leaped overboard with dreadful yell,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;As eager to anticipate the grave.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>Shakspeare’s Constance, in her grief, draws well
-the character of death, as—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;“Misery’s love,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The hate and terror of prosperity.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>A woman who has lost her honor; a soldier convicted
-of poltroonery; a patriot who sees his country
-enslaved; a miser robbed; a speculator bankrupt;
-a poet unappreciated, or harshly criticized, as in poor
-Keats’s case—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Strange that the soul, that very fiery particle,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Should let itself be snuffed out by an article”—</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='noindent'>all these seem to loathe life, or, at any rate, lose
-much of their fondness for it. It is curious to remark,
-too, how little, as in the last-mentioned instance,
-will suffice to extinguish, abruptly or gradually,
-this usually tenacious instinct. A man in York
-cut his throat, because, as he left in writing, “he
-was tired of buttoning and unbuttoning.” The occurrence
-of a loathsome but very curable disease in
-a patient of mine, just when he was about to be
-married, induced him to plunge among the breakers
-off Sullivan’s Island, on one of the coldest days of
-our coldest winter. A Pole in New York wrote
-some verses just before the act of self-destruction,
-implying that he was so weary of uncertainty as to
-the truth of the various theories of the present and
-future life, that he “had set out on a journey to the
-other world to find out what he ought to believe in
-this.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We are always interested in observing the conduct
-of brave men, who exhibit a strongly-marked
-love of life, with little or no fear of death. Danton,
-Camille Desmoulins, and Herault Sechelles, who
-commenced their revolutionary career as reckless as
-they seemed ferocious, having attained elevation,
-acquired wealth, and married beautiful women, became
-merciful and prudent. Hunted in their turn
-by the bloodhounds of the time, they made the most
-earnest endeavors to escape, but displayed a noble
-courage in meeting their fate when inevitable.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It is a trite but true remark, that men will boldly
-face one mode of death, and shrink timidly from another.
-A soldier, whom discipline will lead without
-flinching “up to the imminent deadly breach,” will
-cower before a sea-storm. Women, even in the act
-of suicide, dreading explosion and blood, prefer poison
-and drowning. Men very often choose firearms
-and cutting instruments, which habit has made
-familiar.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>If the nervous or sensorial system escape lesion
-during the ravages of disease, the conduct of the last
-hour will be apt to be consistent with the previous
-character of the individual. Hobbes spoke gravely
-of death as “a leap in the dark.” Hume talked
-lightly of Charon and his ferry-boat. Voltaire made
-verses with his usual levity—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Adieu, mes amis! adieu, la compagnie!</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Dans deux heures d’ici, mon âme aneantie</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Sera ce que je fus deux heures avant ma vie.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>Keats murmured, poetically, “I feel the flowers
-growing on my grave.” Dr. Armstrong died prescribing
-for a patient; Lord Tenterden, uttering the
-words “Gentlemen of the Jury, you will find;”
-General Lord Hill, exclaiming “Horrid war!”
-Dr. Adams, of the Edinburgh High School, “It
-grows dark; the boys may dismiss!” The last
-words of La Place were, “Ce que nous connaissons
-est peu de chose; ce que nous ignorons, est immense!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The history of suicide, of death in battle, and of
-executions, is full of such instances of consistent
-conduct and character. Madame Roland desired to
-have pen and paper accorded to her, at the “Place
-de la Guillotine,” that she might, as she phrased it,
-“set down the thoughts that were rising in her
-mind.” Sir Thomas More jested pleasantly as he
-mounted the scaffold. Thistlewood, the conspirator,
-a thoughtful man, remarked to one of his fellow-sufferers
-that, “in five minutes more, they would be
-in possession of the great secret.” When Madame
-de Joulanges and her sisters were executed, they
-chanted together the Veni Creator on their way from
-the prison to the fatal spot. Head after head fell
-under the axe, but the celestial strain was prolonged
-until the very last voice was hushed in the sudden
-silence of death.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The delirium of the moribund exhibits itself in diversified
-and often contrasted manifestations. Symonds
-looks upon it as closely analogous to the condition
-of the mind in dreaming. A popular and ancient
-error deserves mention, only to be corrected;
-that the mind, at the near approach of dissolution,
-becomes unusually clear, vigorous, and active.</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“The soul’s dark cottage, battered and decayed,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Lets in new light through chinks which Time has made.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>Excitement of the uncontrolled imagination, as in
-dreams, and other modes of delirium, is frequently
-mistaken for general mental energy; some suggested
-association arouses trains of thought that have made
-deep traces in the memory; scenes familiar in early
-childhood are vividly described, and incidents long
-past recalled with striking minuteness. All physicians
-know the difference familiarly presented in
-diseases, some of which specifically occasion despondency
-and dejection of spirits, while others
-render indifferent or even give rise to exhilaration.
-The former constitute a class unhappily numerous.
-Cholera, which at a distance excites terrors almost
-insane, is usually attended with a careless stolidity,
-when it has laid its icy hand upon its victim. The
-cheerful hopefulness of the consumptive patient is
-proverbial; and in many instances of yellow fever,
-we find the moribund patient confident of recovery.
-These are the exceptions, however; and we cannot
-too often repeat that the religious prejudice which
-argues unfavorably of the previous conduct and present
-character from the closing scene of an agitating
-and painful illness, or from the last words, uttered
-amidst bodily anguish and intellectual confusion, is
-cruel and unreasonable, and ought to be loudly denounced.
-We can well enough understand why an
-English Elizabeth, Virgin Queen, as history labels
-her, could not lie still for a moment, agitated as she
-must have been by a storm of remorseful recollections,
-nor restrain her shrieks of horror long enough
-even to listen to a prayer. But how often does it
-happen that “the wicked has no bands in his
-death;” and the awful example of deep despair in
-the Stainless One, who cried out in his agony that
-he was forsaken of God, should serve to deter us
-from the daily repeated and shocking rashness of the
-decisions against which I am now appealing.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Some minds have seemed firm enough, it is true,
-to maintain triumphantly this last terrible struggle,
-and resist in a measure at least the depressing influence
-of disease. Such instances cannot, however,
-be numerous; and we should be prepared rather to
-sympathize with and make all due allowance for human
-weakness. I have seen such moments of yielding
-as it was deeply painful to witness, at the bedside
-of many of the best of men, whose whole lives had
-been a course of consistent goodness and piety, when
-warned of impending death, and called on to make
-those preparations which custom has unfortunately
-led us to look upon as gloomy landmarks at the entrance
-of the dark valley.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>One of these, from youth to age a most esteemed
-and valued member of one of our most fervent religious
-bodies, with sobs and tears, and loud wailing,
-threw the pen and paper from him, exclaiming, over
-and over again, “I will not—I cannot—I must not
-die.” Like the eccentric Salvini, of whom Spence
-tells us that he died, crying out in a great passion,
-“Je ne veux pas mourir, absolument;” and Lannes,
-the bravest of Bonaparte’s marshals, when mortally
-wounded, struggled angrily and fearfully, shouting
-with his last breath, “Save me, Napoleon!”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But I recoil from farther discussion of a topic so
-full of awe and solemn interest, and conclude this
-prosaic “Thanatopsis” with the Miltonian strain of
-Bryant, who terminates his noble poem, thus styled,
-in language worthy of the best age and brightest
-laurel of our tongue:—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“So live, that, when thy summons comes to join</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;The innumerable caravan, that moves</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;To the pale realms of shade, where each shall take</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;His chamber in the silent halls of death,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Thou go not like the quarry slave at night,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Scourged to his dungeon; but, sustained and soothed</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='footnotemark'/>
-
-<div class='footnote'>
-<table summary='footnote_7'>
-<colgroup>
-<col span='1' class='footnoteid'/>
-<col span='1'/>
-</colgroup>
-<tr><td style='vertical-align:top;'>
-<div class='footnote-id' id='f7'><a href='#r7'>[7]</a></div>
-</td><td>
-
-<p class='pindent'>From Essays on Life, Sleep, Pain, etc., just published
-by Blanchard &amp; Lea, Philadelphia.</p>
-
-</td></tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk135'/>
-
-<div><h1><a id='toa'></a>TO A FRIEND IN THE SPIRIT LAND.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;'>———</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;font-size:0.8em;font-weight:bold;'>BY L——, OF EASTFORD HERMITAGE.</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.5em;'>———</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'><span class='sc'>Time</span> passes wearily with me</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Since thou hast joined the spirit throng;</p>
-<p class='line0'>I miss thy laugh that rang with glee—</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;The music of thy voice and song;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And though each day I meet bright eyes,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;That look with tenderness on mine,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And cheeks that with the coral vies,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And tones that seem almost divine,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Still they can wake no gentle chord</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;To vibrate deeply in the heart;</p>
-<p class='line0'>For each bright glance and gentle word,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Must fail to charm while we’re apart.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Then speed thee, Time, upon thy way.</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Swift on thy fleeting pinions soar;</p>
-<p class='line0'>And hasten on that blissful day,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;When we shall meet to part no more.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk136'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='245' id='Page_245'></span><h1><a id='art'></a>THE PHILADELPHIA ART-UNION.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>While</span> other Art-Unions throughout the country are
-falling into disrepute, that of Philadelphia seems to be
-rising in favor.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This cannot be owing to the absence of discouragements.
-Like all similar institutions, it suffered severely
-from the pressure of the money-market during the last
-six months of the year 1851. It found, in common with
-others, that money was not forthcoming for the promotion
-of art, when it commanded from one to two per
-cent. a month on ’change—that men could not, or would
-not buy pictures, when they were obliged to strain every
-nerve to save themselves from bankruptcy.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Besides the serious loss of revenue arising from this
-source, the Philadelphia Art-Union lost by fire its two
-most valuable steel plates, just at the moment when it
-was about to reap from them a golden harvest. These
-splendid plates, “Mercy’s Dream,” and “Christiana and
-her Family,” which had cost the society several thousand
-dollars, and which were unquestionably among the
-most attractive prints ever issued in this country, were
-entirely destroyed in the conflagration of Hart’s buildings
-in this city.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It is not, therefore, mere good luck, nor the absence
-of discouraging circumstances, that has given the Philadelphia
-Art-Union its present condition of success. This
-success is based on the principles of its organization,
-which differ materially from those of other kindred
-associations.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the first place, though located nominally in Philadelphia,
-and having its Board of Managers here, it is
-really an Art-Union for every place where it finds subscribers.
-Its prize-holders may select their prizes
-from any gallery in the United States, or may order a
-picture from any artist of their own selection. This puts
-it entirely out of the power of the Board of Managers,
-even if they had the inclination, to exercise favoritism
-toward any particular clique of artists, or to practice
-any kind of fraud or trickery either in the purchase or
-the valuation of pictures.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Secondly, and for the very reason just assigned, the
-Philadelphia Art-Union enjoys in a high degree the
-confidence of the artists themselves. They know by experience
-that its free gallery is the means of selling a
-large number of pictures, besides those which are ordered
-in consequence of the annual distributions. They know
-also that in order to sell their pictures, or to obtain
-orders for painting, they have not to cater to the fancies
-or caprices of a small clique of managers, but to appeal
-to the public at large, depending solely upon the general
-principles of their art. In other Art-Unions, the managers
-themselves select and buy the pictures that are to
-be distributed as prizes. Hence they are almost invariably
-regarded with jealousy by every artist who
-does not receive from them an order—that is, by at least
-nine-tenths of the whole body. The artist sees, however,
-that the Philadelphia Art-Union does not admit of
-any favoritism of this kind. Its very plan renders
-the thing impossible. If any particular artist finds that
-among the prize-holders, no order or purchase has come
-to his studio, he may see in it evidence perhaps that he
-has not pleased the public taste, but no evidence of partiality
-in the Board of Managers. So far as their operations
-are concerned, they give to all competitors “a fair
-field and no favor”—and this is all that the artist
-asks.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>That this view of the subject is the true one, and that
-the artists themselves so view it, has been conclusively
-shown by their action on the occasion of the losses of
-the institution by the late fire. The artists of Philadelphia,
-on hearing of this disaster, called a meeting, of
-their own accord, and passed a series of resolutions, approving
-in the most unqualified manner both the plan
-and the management of the institution, and agreeing
-severally to paint a picture of the value of at least fifty
-dollars, and to present the same to the Art-Union.
-Several other gentlemen, amateurs and patrons of art,
-stimulated by this generosity, joined them in the enterprise,
-and already about fifty valuable prizes have been
-thus guarantied.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>It is obvious that they have entered upon this matter
-in a generous spirit, with that animation and hearty
-good-will which spring naturally from the circumstances.
-Every one at all conversant with art or artists,
-knows how much the excellence of a picture, its very
-life and soul—all, in fact, that distinguishes it as a work
-of art, or raises it above a mere piece of mechanism—depends
-upon the feeling of the artist while creating it.
-The noble enthusiasm with which the artists have entered
-upon the present arrangement, is the best guaranty
-that the Art-Union will have from each painter one of
-the happiest efforts of his genius—something done under
-the direct influence of inspiration. Indeed, we happen
-to know that several of our most eminent artists intend
-to lay themselves out on this occasion—resolved to show
-what artists are, and what they can do, for an institution
-which commands their confidence.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mr. Rothermel has signified his intention to paint a
-picture worth $500; Mr. Paul Weber a landscape worth
-$500; Mr. A. Woodside a picture worth $500; Mr.
-Scheussele a Scriptural subject worth $250; Mr. Sully
-a picture worth $100; Mr. Joshua Shaw a landscape
-worth $75; and several others have promised pictures at
-prices varying from $50 (the minimum) to $75, $100,
-$150, etc. The names of the other artists and amateurs
-who have offered original pictures of this description,
-are Rembrandt Peale, James Hamilton, Isaac L. Williams,
-Wm. A. K. Martin, Wm. F. Jones, Wm. E.
-Winner, Leo. Elliot, F. de Bourg Richards, George C.
-White, John Wiser, J. K. Trego, George W. Holmes,
-Geo. W. Conarroe, John Sartain, Alex. Lawrie, Jr.,
-Samuel Sartain, G. R. Bonfield, S. B. Waugh, W. T.
-Richards, Aaron Stein, R. A Clarke, W. Sanford Mason,
-J. R. Lambdin, G. C. Lambdin, J. Wilson, May Stevenson,
-I. W. Moore, T. H. Glessing, W. H. Wilcox,
-Thomas A. Andrews, George F. Meeser, James S.
-Earle, Edward F. Dennison, George W. Dewey, James
-L. Claghorn. Others will, no doubt, be added to the
-list.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>About fifty splendid original works of art, ranging in
-value from $50 to $500 each, have thus been placed absolutely
-at the disposal of the Board of Managers, and
-have been by them specifically pledged to the subscribers
-at the next distribution.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Besides this, Mr. Rothermel has just finished for the
-Art-Union a great historical painting of Patrick Henry
-making his celebrated revolutionary speech before the
-Virginia House of Burgesses. This picture is undoubtedly
-Mr. Rothermel’s master-piece. He has thrown
-into it all the fire of his genius, all the ardor of his
-patriotism, all the accumulations of his knowledge and
-skill as one of the practiced and leading historical
-painters of the day.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The historical scene which Mr. Rothermel has commemorated
-in this painting is the passage of Patrick
-Henry’s resolutions on the Stamp Act in the House of
-Burgesses, in the year 1765. The passage of these resolutions
-was the first bold note of defiance that was
-uttered on this side of the Atlantic. The manner in
-which they were carried through the House is thus described
-by his biographer:</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“It was, indeed, the measure which raised him [Mr.
-Henry] to the zenith of his glory. He had never before
-had a subject which entirely matched his genius, and was
-capable of drawing out all the powers of his mind. It
-was remarked of him, throughout his life, that his
-talents never failed to rise with the occasion, and in
-proportion with the resistance which he had to encounter.
-The nicety of the vote, on the last resolution,
-proves that this was not a time to hold in reserve any
-part of his forces. It was, indeed, an Alpine passage,
-under circumstances even more unpropitious than those
-of Hannibal; for he had not only to fight, hand to hand,
-the powerful party who were already in possession of
-the heights, but at the same instant to cheer and animate
-the timid band of followers, that were trembling, and
-fainting, and drawing back below him. It was an occasion
-that called upon him to put forth all his strength;
-and he did put it forth, in such a manner as man never
-did before. The cords of argument with which his
-adversaries frequently flattered themselves that they had
-bound him fast, became packthreads in his hands. He
-burst them with as much ease as the unshorn Samson did
-the bands of the Philistines. He seized the pillars of
-the temple, shook them terribly, and seemed to threaten
-his opponents with ruin. It was an incessant storm of
-lightning and thunder, which struck them aghast. The
-faint-hearted gathered courage from his countenance,
-and cowards became heroes while they gazed upon his
-exploits. It was in the midst of this magnificent debate,
-while he was descanting on the tyranny of the obnoxious
-act, that he exclaimed in a voice of thunder,
-and with the look of a god, ‘Cæsar had his Brutus—Charles
-the First his Cromwell—and George the
-Third—’ ‘Treason!’ cried the Speaker. ‘Treason!
-treason!’ echoed from every part of the house. It
-was one of those trying moments which is decisive of
-character. Henry faltered not for an instant; but rising
-to a loftier attitude, and fixing on the Speaker an eye
-of the most determined fire, he finished his sentence with
-the firmest emphasis—‘<span class='it'>may profit by their example</span>.
-If <span class='it'>this</span> be treason—make the most of it!’ ”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The exact moment of time which Mr. Rothermel has
-seized for his painting, is when the last words which
-we have quoted, (“<span class='it'>If this be treason—make the most of
-it!</span>”) are dying away upon the ear. The impassioned
-orator stands erect and self-possessed, his open hand
-aloft, as though a thunder-bolt had just passed from his
-fingers, and his eye were quietly awaiting the issue, in
-the conscious strength of a Jupiter Tonans.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Foremost in the foregoing is Richard Henry Lee.
-Lee sees, by a sort of prophetic intuition, the full import
-of this inspired oratory. His very face, under the
-magic of Mr. Rothermel’s genius, is a long perspective of
-war, desolation, heroic deeds, and the thick-coming
-glories of ultimate civic and religious liberty.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Peyton Randolph, also in the foreground, is a most
-striking figure. So is Pendleton, so is Wythe, so is
-Speaker Robinson. Indeed, every inch of canvas tells
-its story. The spectator, who knew nothing of the
-scene or of its actors, would instantly and involuntarily
-become conscious that he was present at some great
-world-renowned action.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But in dwelling upon this fascinating topic, we have
-been unconsciously carried away from our main point.
-This great painting, which was executed by Mr. Rothermel
-for the Art-Union, at the price of one thousand
-dollars, but which, by its extraordinary excellence, has
-already acquired a market value far beyond that sum, <span class='it'>is
-to be drawn for among the other prizes at the next annual
-distribution</span>.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Every subscriber, moreover, secures for himself a
-copy of the engraving of this great picture, which the
-Managers have contracted for in a style of surpassing
-beauty. The picture itself, and the engraving of it,
-will form an era in the history of American art, as the
-subject itself did in the history of American Independence.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Besides this, all the money obtained from the subscribers,
-after paying for the engraving and other incidental
-expenses, is to be distributed, as heretofore, in
-money-prizes for the purchase of other works of art, at
-the option of the prize-holders.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Of the general beneficial influence of Art-Unions, at
-least of those conducted on the plan of that in Philadelphia,
-we have not the shadow of a doubt. We
-are happy, however, to quote a couple of passages
-quite in point. The first is from the <span class='it'>North British
-Review</span>.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“We believe that by a judicious distribution of
-engravings more may be done for the culture of the
-public taste than by any other means whatsoever. One
-thoroughly good engraving, fairly established and domiciled
-in a house, will do more for the inmates in this
-respect, than a hundred visits to a hundred galleries of
-pictures. It is a teacher of form, a lecturer on the
-beautiful, a continually present artistic influence. Nor
-do we see any reason why the same system should not
-be extended to casts, which might be taken either after
-the antique, or some thoroughly good modern sculptor,
-such as Thorwarldsen. If such a system were carried
-out, matters might soon be brought to a state in which
-there should scarcely be any family which did not possess
-within its own walls the means of forming a taste,
-and that a genuine and a high one, both in painting and
-sculpture.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The second passage is still more to the point. It is
-from our contemporary, the <span class='it'>Saturday Courier</span>.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“This Institution, [The Philadelphia Art-Union,] by
-its Free Gallery, and by its being a centre of action for
-artists and amateurs, is continually operating in a silent
-but most perceptible manner upon public taste. Every
-visit to the Free Gallery, every picture sold from its
-walls, every picture which it is the means of calling into
-existence, every print which it sends abroad into the
-community, is so much done toward the promotion of a
-popular taste for what is refined and elegant, and a consequent
-<span class='it'>dis</span>taste for what is coarse, illiberal, and depraved.
-Every man in the community has on interest—not
-merely a moral, but a pecuniary interest—in the
-promotion of a popular taste for the Fine Arts. It is a
-part of the moral education of society, which, like all
-other good popular education, adds at once to the value
-and the safety of every man’s property.”</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk137'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='246' id='Page_246'></span><h1><a id='rev'></a>REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS.</h1></div>
-
-<hr class='tbk138'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>Lectures on the History of France. By the Right Honorable
-Sir James Stephen, K. C. B., LL. D.; Professor
-of Modern History in the University of Cambridge.
-New York: Harper &amp; Brother. 1 vol. 8vo.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Sir James Stephen is the writer of a number of essays
-in the Edinburgh Review, which, at the time they appeared,
-were mistaken by some readers as the productions
-of Macaulay. There were no real grounds for such
-a supposition, as Stephen’s mind has hardly a single
-quality in common with Macaulay’s, and the resemblance
-of his style to that of the historian of the Revolution is
-of a very superficial kind. Stephen, like Macaulay, is a
-writer of clear, clean, short, compact sentences, and
-deals largely in historical allusions, parallels and generalizations,
-but his diction has none of Macaulay’s rapid
-movement, and his knowledge betrays little of Macaulay’s
-“joyous memory.” Stephen’s mind is large and
-rich in acquired information, but it is deficient in passion,
-and its ordinary movement is languid, without any of
-Macaulay’s intellectual fierceness, eagerness and swift
-sweep of illustration and generalization, and without
-any of Macaulay’s bitterness, partizanship and scorn of
-amiable emotions. Stephen, indeed, if he be a mimic,
-mimics Mackintosh rather than Macaulay, and in charity,
-in intellectual conscientiousness, in courtesy to opponents,
-in all the benignities and amenities of scholarship,
-and also in a certain faint hold upon large acquisitions,
-he sometimes resembles without at all equaling
-him. The reader is continually impressed with his
-honesty and benevolence, with his continual clearness
-and occasional reach of view, and with his graceful mastery
-of the resources of expression; but to continuous
-vigor and vividness of conception and language he has
-no claim.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The present volume, a large octavo of some seven
-hundred pages, is evidently the work of much thought,
-research and time, though the author regrets that he was
-compelled to prepare his lectures without adequate preparation.
-They were delivered at the University of
-Cambridge, Stephen occupying in that institution the
-professorship of history. He succeeded, we believe,
-William Smythe, a dry, hard and pedantic, though well
-read professor, whose lectures on history and on the
-French Revolution are the most uninteresting of useful
-books. Stephen is almost his equal in historical knowledge,
-and his superior in the graces of style and in the
-power of making his knowledge attractive. His work,
-indeed, though it can hardly give him the reputation of a
-great historian, is altogether the best view of French
-history in the English language, and is an invaluable
-guide to all who wish to gain a thorough acquaintance
-with France in her historical development. It gives
-the causes of the decline and fall of the various dynasties
-of her government, the character of her feudal system,
-the steps by which her government became an absolute
-monarchy, and the differences between the absolute monarchy
-of Henry IV. and Louis XIV. The lectures on
-the anti-feudal influence of the municipalities, of the
-Eastern Crusades, of the Albigensian Crusades—the
-masterly view of the position occupied by the Parliaments,
-the Privileged Orders and the States General, in
-relation to the Monarchy of France—and the expositions
-of the sources and management of the revenues of the
-nation, are all eminently lucid and valuable, and without
-any of the ostentatious brilliancy and paradoxical generalization
-which are apt to characterize the French historical
-school, are really modest contributions to the
-philosophy of history.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Sir James Stephen, in the course of his narration and
-dissertations, furnishes us with some elaborate delineations
-of character. That of Cardinal Richelieu is especially
-good. After saying of him that he was not so
-much minister as dictator, not so much the agent as the
-depositary of the royal power, he adds that, “a king in
-all things but the name, he reigned with that exemption
-from hereditary and domestic influences which has so
-often imparted to the Papal monarchs a kind of preterhuman
-energy, and has so often taught the world to deprecate
-the celibacy of the throne.” His character, as
-a despotic innovator, is also finely sketched. “Richelieu
-was the heir of the designs of Henry IV. and ancestor
-to those of Louis XIV. But they courted, and were
-sustained by, the applause and the attachment of their
-subjects. He passed his life in one unintermitted struggle
-with each, in turn, of the powerful bodies over
-which he ruled. By a long series of well-directed blows,
-he crushed forever the political and military strength of
-the Huguenots. By his strong hand the sovereign courts
-were confined to their judicial duties, and their claims
-to participate in the government of the state were scattered
-to the winds. Trampling under foot all rules of
-judicial procedure and the clearest principles of justice,
-he brought to the scaffold one after another of the proudest
-nobles of France, by sentences dictated by himself
-to extraordinary judges of his own selection; thus teaching
-the doctrine of social equality by lessons too impressive
-to be misinterpreted or forgotten by any later generation.
-Both the privileges, in exchange for which the
-greater fiefs had exchanged their independence, and the
-franchises, the conquest of which the cities, in earlier
-times, had successfully contended, were alike swept
-away by this remorseless innovator. He exiled the mother,
-oppressed the wife, degraded the brother, banished
-the confessor, and put to death the kinsmen and favorites
-of the king, and compelled the king himself to be the instrument
-of these domestic severities. Though surrounded
-by enemies and by rivals, his power ended only
-with his life. Though beset by assassins, he died in the
-ordinary course of nature. Though he had waded to
-dominion through slaughter, cruelty and wrong, he
-passed to his great account amid the applause of the
-people and the benedictions of the church; and, as far as
-any human eye could see, in hope, in tranquillity and in
-peace. What, then, is the reason why so tumultuous a
-career reached at length so serene a close? The reason
-is, that amid all his conflicts Richelieu wisely and successfully
-maintained three powerful alliances. He cultivated
-the attachment of men of letters, the favor of the
-commons, and the sympathy of all French idolaters of
-the national glory.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In some admirable lectures on the Power of the Pen
-in France, Stephen gives fine portraits of Rabelais, Montaigne,
-Calvin and Pascal. One remark about Calvin
-struck us as especially felicitous. Speaking of him as
-writing his great work in Geneva, he says—“The beautiful
-lake of that city, and the mountains which encircle
-it, lay before his eyes as he wrote; but they are said to
-have suggested to his fancy no images, and to have drawn
-from his pen not so much as one transient allusion.
-With his mental vision ever directed to that melancholy
-view of the state and prospects of our race which he
-had discovered in the Book of Life, it would, indeed,
-have been incongruous to have turned aside to depict
-any of those glorious aspects of the creative benignity
-which were spread around him in the Book of Nature.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The most valuable chapters in the volume are perhaps
-those which relate to the character and government of
-Louis XIV. The absolute monarchy established by him
-is thoroughly analyzed. Among many curious illustrations
-of that tyranny and perfidy which this great
-master of king-craft systematized into a science, Stephen
-translates from his “Memoires Historiques” a
-series of maxims, addressed to the Dauphin, for his
-guidance whenever he should be called upon to wear the
-crown of France. Louis’s celebrated aphorism, “I am
-the state,” is in these precious morsels of absolutism
-expanded into a rule of conduct. We quote a few of
-them, as, to republican ears, they may have the effect of
-witticisms:</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“It is the will of Heaven, who has given kings to
-man, that they should be revered as his vice-regents, he
-having reserved to himself alone the right to scrutinize
-their conduct.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“It is the will of God that every subject should yield
-to his sovereign on implicit obedience.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The worst calamity which can befall any one of our
-rank is to be reduced to that subjection, in which the
-monarch is obliged to receive the law from his people.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“It is the essential vice of the English monarchy that
-the king can make no extraordinary levies of men or
-money without the consent of the Parliament, nor
-convene the Parliament without impairing his own authority.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“All property within our realm belongs to us in virtue
-of the same title. The funds actually deposited in our
-treasury, the funds in the hands of the revenue officers,
-<span class='it'>and the funds which we allow our people to employ in
-their various occupations</span>, are all <span class='it'>equally</span> subject to our
-control.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Be assured that kings are absolute lords, who may
-fitly and freely dispose of all property in the possession
-either of churchmen or of laymen, though they are bound
-always to employ it as faithful stewards.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Since the lives of his subjects belong to the prince,
-he is obliged to be solicitous for the preservation of
-them.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The first basis of all other reforms was the rendering
-my own will properly absolute.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Some of his remarks on treaties, from the same volume,
-convey a fair impression of the king’s good faith
-to his allies. All mankind knows that he was in conduct
-a measureless liar and trickster, and that no treaty
-could hold him; but it is not perhaps generally known
-that he generalized perfidy into a principle, and had no
-conception that in so doing he was violating any moral
-or religious duty. He thus solemnly instructs the
-dauphin—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“In dispensing with the exact observance of treaties,
-we do not violate them; for the language of such instruments
-is not to be understood literally. We must employ
-in our treaties a conventional phraseology, just as
-we use complimentary expressions in society. They
-are indispensable in our intercourse with one another,
-but they always mean much less than they say. The
-more unusual, circumspect and reiterated were the
-clauses by which the Spaniards excluded me from assisting
-Portugal, the more evident it is that the Spaniards
-did not believe that I should really withhold such assistance.”</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk139'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>The Podesta’s Daughter, and other Miscellaneous Poems.
-By George H. Boker. Author of “Calaynos,” “Anne
-Boleyn,” “The Betrothal,” etc. Philadelphia: A.
-Hart.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Mr. Boker is ever a welcome visitant among the regions
-of literature. The present volume is understood
-to be composed of those lighter efforts of his muse which
-have engaged his attention at intervals between the composition
-of his larger works, “Calaynos,” “Anne Boleyn”
-and “The Betrothal.” Some of these minor
-poems have already seen the light, under the auspices of
-our leading magazines; but by far the greater part of the
-book is fresh, and all of it bears evidence of that genuine
-inspiration, and that high finish, without which the author
-never appears before the reading public.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The Podesta’s Daughter” is an Italian tale or legend,
-thrown into that dramatic form for which Mr. Boker has
-shown such a remarkable gift. The story is very briefly
-this. A lowly maiden is loved and wooed by one far
-above her in life, a son of the neighboring duke. The
-father and brother of the maid, believing the high-born
-youth to be merely selfish and insidious in his offers of
-love and marriage, seek to rescue her from what appears
-to them a fatal snare, and persuade her to reject his addresses
-and even pretend to be affianced to another, a
-country hind in her own walk in life. The young and
-uncalculating noble, stung to the quick by her apparent
-preference of a rival so utterly unworthy of him and of
-her, suddenly abandoned his home and castle, and engaged
-during all the prime and meridian of his days in
-distant foreign wars. In the evening of life he returns,
-alone and almost a stranger, to the scenes of his youth.
-On approaching his castle, he falls in with an old man,
-the “Podesta,” by whom he is not recognized. In the
-dialogue between them, the Podesta, being questioned
-by the apparent stranger, tells the story of himself and
-family, and especially of his “daughter,” by whose
-untimely grave they are standing. She died of a broken
-heart, after the abrupt departure of the young duke,
-years ago. It is the old story. True love, not left to
-its native instincts, but thwarted and driven devious by
-the manœuvres of the suspicious. Though Italian in
-manners, and dramatic in form, it is a true story of the
-heart. It is told with infinite skill, and must win for its
-author a bright addition to the chaplet which already
-surrounds his brow.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The first scene in the “Podesta’s Daughter,” is a
-good instance of the quiet ease with which Mr. Boker
-makes an actor bring out the points of a story, so that
-the reader is at once posted up to the very moment of
-action.</p>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='pindent'>SCENE—<span class='it'>Before and within the gate of an Italian
-Churchyard. Enter (as if from the wars,)</span> <span class='sc'>Duke Odo</span>,
-<span class='sc'>Vincenzo</span>, <span class='it'>and a train of men-at-arms</span>.</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;<span class='it'>Duke Odo (dismounting.)</span></p>
-<p class='line0'>Hark you, Vincenzo; here will I dismount.</p>
-<p class='line0'>Lead on Falcone to the castle. See</p>
-<p class='line0'>He lack no provender or barley-straw</p>
-<p class='line0'>To ease his battered sides. Poor war-worn horse!</p>
-<p class='line0'>When last we galloped past this church-yard gate,</p>
-<p class='line0'>He was a colt, gamesome and hot of blood,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Bearing against the bit until my arm</p>
-<p class='line0'>Ached with his humors. Mark the old jade now—</p>
-<p class='line0'>He knows we talk about him—a mere boy</p>
-<p class='line0'>Might ride him bare-back. Give my people note</p>
-<p class='line0'>Of my approach, and tell them, for yourself,</p>
-<p class='line0'>I will not look too strictly at my house:</p>
-<p class='line0'>An absent lord trains careless servitors.</p>
-<p class='line0'>I wish no bonfires lighted on the hills,</p>
-<p class='line0'>No peaceful cannon roused to mimic wrath;</p>
-<p class='line0'>Say, I have seen cities burn, and shouting ranks</p>
-<p class='line0'>Of solid steel-clad footmen melt away</p>
-<p class='line0'>Before a hundred pieces. Say I come for rest,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Not jollity; and all I seek</p>
-<p class='line0'>Is a calm welcome in their lighted eyes,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And quiet murmurs that appear to come</p>
-<p class='line0'>More from the heart than lips.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The manner in which the intimacy began between the
-young count and the Podesta’s daughter, Giulia, is described
-in a passage remarkable equally for its simplicity
-and its beauty. It is a good specimen also of the author’s
-power of nicely discriminating character.</p>
-
-<div class='dramastart'><!----></div>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>Count Odo—mark the contrast—so we called,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Through ancient courtesy, the old duke’s son—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Came from the Roman breed of Italy.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>A hundred Cæsars poured their royal blood</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Through his full veins. He was both flint and fire;</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Haughty and headlong, shy, imperious,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Tender, disdainful, tearful, full of frowns—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Cold as the ice on Ætna’s wintry brow,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And hotter than its flame. All these by turns.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>A mystery to his tutors and to me—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Yet some have said his father fathomed him—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>A mystery to my daughter, but a charm</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Deeper than magic. Him my daughter loved.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>My functions drew me to the castle oft,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Thither sometimes my daughter went with me;</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And I have noticed how young Odo’s eyes</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Would light her up the stairway, lead her on</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>From room to room, through hall and corridor,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Showing her wonders, which were stale to him,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>With a new strangeness: for familiar things,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Beneath her eyes, grew glorified to him,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And woke a strain of boyish eloquence,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Dressed with high thoughts and fluent images,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That sometimes made him wonder at himself,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Who had been blind so long to every charm</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Which her admiring fancy gave his home.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Oft I have caught them standing rapt before</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Some barbarous portrait, grim with early art—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>A Gorgon, to a nicely balanced eye,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That scarcely hinted at humanity;</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Yet they would crown it with the port of Jove,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Make every wrinkle a heroic scar,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And light that garbage of forgotten times</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>With such a legendary halo, as would add</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Another lustre to the Golden Book.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>At first the children pleased me; many a laugh,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That reddened them, I owed their young romance.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>But the time sped, and Giulia ripened too,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Yet would not deem herself the less a child:</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And when I clad me for the castle, she</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Would deck herself in the most childish gear,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And lay her hand in mine, and tranquilly</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Look for the kindness in my eyes. She called</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Odo her playfellow—“The little boy who showed</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The pictures and the blazoned hooks,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The glittering armor and the oaken screen,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Grotesque with wry-faced purgatorial shapes</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Twisted through all its leaves and knotted vines;</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And the grand, solemn window, rich with forms</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Of showy saints in holyday array</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Of green, gold, red, orange and violet,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>With the pale Christ who towered above them all</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Dropping a ruby splendor from his side.”</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>She told how “Odo—silly child! would try</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>To catch the window’s glare upon her neck,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Or her round arms,” and how “the flatterer vowed</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The gleam upon her temple seemed to pale</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Beside the native color of her cheek.”</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Prattle like this enticed me to her wish,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Though cooler reason shook his threatening hand,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And counseled flat denial.</p>
-
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But by far the finest poem in this collection is the
-“Ivory Carver.” In the prologue to this poem,</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Three Spirits, more than angels, met</p>
-<p class='line0'>By an Arabian well-side, set</p>
-<p class='line0'>Far in the wilderness, a place</p>
-<p class='line0'>Hallowed by legendary grace.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>By this retired fountain the spirits enter into a discussion
-concerning the condition and prospects of their protégé
-man. Two of them are evidently croakers. To
-them the world seems, as to any moral progress, stationary,
-if not actually retrograding. They are almost
-indignant that the Lord does not consign the planet with
-its inhabitants at once to perdition. But the third spirit,
-a superior intelligence,</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>One, chief among the spirits three,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Grander than either, more sedate,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Wore yet a look of hope elate,</p>
-<p class='line0'>With higher knowledge, larger trust</p>
-<p class='line0'>In the long future; <span class='it'>and the rust</span></p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Of week-day toil with earthly things</span></p>
-<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Stained and yet glorified his wings</span>.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>This superior angel maintains that man, though not
-capable of instantaneous acts or intuitive perceptions,
-equal to those of the higher orders of beings, is yet not
-the mere hopeless castaway the two other spirits would
-make him. Give him but time, and with pain and toil
-he will work out results worthy even of an angel’s regard.
-An angel, by direct intuition, may see at once in
-a shapeless lump of matter all the forms of beauty of
-which it is capable. Yet man, in process of time, slowly
-but surely, can bring forth those same wonderful forms.
-The illustration of this point in the celestial argument
-leads to the main story.</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;I, in thought,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Have seen the capability</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which lies within yon ivory:</p>
-<p class='line0'>This rough, black husk, charred by long age,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Unmarked by man since, in his rage,</p>
-<p class='line0'>A warring mammoth shed it: Lo!</p>
-<p class='line0'>Whiter than heaven-sifted snow</p>
-<p class='line0'>Enclosed within its ugly mask</p>
-<p class='line0'>Lies a world’s wonder: and the task</p>
-<p class='line0'>Of slow development shall be</p>
-<p class='line0'>Man’s labor and man’s glory. See!</p>
-<p class='line0'>His foot-tip touched it; the rude bone</p>
-<p class='line0'>Glowed through translucent, widely shone</p>
-<p class='line0'>A morning lustre on the palm</p>
-<p class='line0'>Which arched above it.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>The angel then summons an attendant, and bids him
-bear this shapeless tusk to some mortal capable of bringing
-from it by slow pain and toil the glorious beauty
-which had shone forth instantaneously at the angelic
-touch.</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;Spirit, bear</p>
-<p class='line0'>This ivory to the soul that dare</p>
-<p class='line0'>Work out, through joy, and care, and pain,</p>
-<p class='line0'>The thought which lies within the grain,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Hid like a dim and clouded sun.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>The prologue, which thus introduces us to the studio
-of the “Ivory Carver,” may be deemed by some far-fetched
-and metaphysical. To us it seems a most beautiful
-preparation for what follows. It attunes the mind
-to a just appreciation of that self-sacrificing devotion
-with which the artist, year by year, in silence, in want,
-toils away to work out of the solid ivory the divine
-thought which haunts him. The moral of the prologue,
-as we understand it, is to connect the inspirations of
-genius with their true source. It prepares us to look at
-the toiling “ivory carver,” not as he appeared to his
-family and neighbors, a madman or a fool, but as he
-might have appeared to some celestial visitant, who
-knew the secrets of his heaven-touched soul.</p>
-
-<div class='dramastart'><!----></div>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>Silently sat the artist alone,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Carving a Christ from the ivory bone.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Little by little, with toil and pain,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>He won his way through the sightless grain,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That held and yet hid the thing he sought,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Till the work stood up, a growing thought.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And all around him, unseen yet felt,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>A mystic presence forever dwelt,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>A formless spirit of subtle flame,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The light of whose being went and came</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>As the artist paused from work, or bent</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>His whole heart to it with firm intent.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Husband, why sit you ever alone,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Carving your Christ from the ivory bone?</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>O, carve, I pray you, some fairy ships,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Or rings for the weaning infant’s lips,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Or toys for yon princely boy who stands</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Knee-deep in the bloom of his father’s lands.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And waits for his idle thoughts to come;</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Or carve the sword hilt, or merry drum,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Or the flaring edge of a curious can,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Fit for the lips of a bearded man:</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>With vines and grapes in a cunning wreath,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Where the peering satyrs wink beneath,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And catch around quaintly knotted stems</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>At flying nymphs by their garment hems.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>O carve you something of solid worth—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Leave heaven to heaven, come, earth to earth.</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Carve that thy hearth-stone may glimmer bright,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And thy children laugh in dancing light.</p>
-
-<p class='dramaline-cont'>Steadily answered the carver’s lips,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>As he brushed from his brow the ivory chips;</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>While the presence grew with the rising sound,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Spurning in grandeur the hollow ground,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>As if the breath on the carver’s tongue</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Were fumes from some precious censer swung,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>That lifted the spirit’s winged soul</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>To the heights where crystal planets roll</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Their choral anthems, and heaven’s wide arch</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Is thrilled with the music of their march;</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>And the faithless shades flew backward, dim</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>From the wondrous light that lived in him—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Thus spake the carver—his words were few,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Simple and meek, but he felt them true—</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>“I labor by day, I labor by night,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The Master ordered, the work is right:</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>Pray that He strengthen my feeble good;</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>For much must be conquered, much withstood.”</p>
-<p class='dramaline'>The artist labored, the labor sped,</p>
-<p class='dramaline'><span class='it'>But a corpse lay in his bridal bed</span>.</p>
-
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>But we must have done with quotations. Indeed, our
-limits warn us that we must abruptly close the volume.
-We have read every poem in it with the most lively
-pleasure. It has been in the belief that we could not
-otherwise minister so well to the gratification of our
-readers that we have quoted so freely and said so little.
-We will only add in conclusion, that every fresh production
-of Mr. Boker’s that we see furnishes additional
-evidence of his true calling as a poet. Should he never
-write another line, he has already, in the brief space of
-three years, done enough to make his name classical.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk140'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>Margaret: A Tale of the Real and the Ideal, Blight and
-Bloom. By the author of “Philo,” etc. Boston:
-Phillips, Sampson &amp; Co. 2 vols. 12mo.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This is a revised edition of a book which attracted, at
-the time it originally appeared, a great deal of attention
-from an intelligent but limited class of readers. We
-trust that it will have a more extended circulation now
-that it is in the hands of an enterprising publishing
-house, and is issued in a readable shape. It is the first
-and best of Mr. Judd’s works, and though it exhibits
-the ingrained defects of the author’s genius, it has freshness,
-originality and raciness enough to more than compensate
-for its occasional provoking defiance of taste and
-obedience to whim. The sketches of character are bold,
-true, powerful and life-like; the descriptions of New
-England scenery eminently vivid and clear; and an exquisite
-sense of moral beauty is accompanied by a sense
-no less genial and subtle for the humorous in life, character
-and manners. It is perhaps as thoroughly American
-as any romance in our literature.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk141'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>Nicaragua; Its People, Scenery, Monuments, and the
-proposed Interoceanic Canal. With Numerous Original
-Maps and Illustrations. By E. G. Squier, late Chargé
-D’Affaires of the United States to the Republics of Central
-America. New York: D. Appleton &amp; Co. 2 vols.
-8vo.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This is perhaps the most valuable book of travels
-which any American has contributed to literature since
-Stephens relinquished his pen; and, if we may believe
-Mr. Squier, his subject-matter is of the greatest importance
-to every patriot. According to him, the future
-eminence of our country depends on the policy which
-the United States now adopts in regard to the affairs of
-Central America; and his visions of the material prosperity
-which will result from the bold, firm and intelligent
-action of our government in the matter, are gorgeous
-as Sir Epicure Mammon’s. And it must be admitted
-that he sustains his positions by facts and arguments
-which every American should be familiar with, and
-which cannot be obtained any where in a more compact
-form than in Mr. Squier’s own work, which contains a
-complete geographical and topographical account of
-Nicaragua, and of the other States of Central America,
-with observations on their climate, agriculture and mineral
-productions and general resources; a narrative of his
-own residence in Nicaragua, giving the results of his
-personal explorations of its aboriginal monuments, and
-his observations on its scenery and people; notes on the
-aborigines of the country, with such full information
-regarding “their geographical distributions and relations,
-languages, institutions, customs and religion, as
-shall serve to define their ethnical position in respect to
-the other semi-civilized aboriginal nations of this continent;”
-an outline of the political history of Central
-America since it threw off the dominion of Spain, and
-above all, a very elaborate view of the geography and
-topography of Nicaragua, as connected with the proposed
-interoceanic canal. Mr. Squier writes on all
-these subjects from personal knowledge and investigation,
-and with the freshness and power of a man who
-has got all his information at first hand. The work is
-profusely illustrated with appropriate engravings from
-drawings made on the spot, and is also well supplied
-with accurate maps. Bating some redundancies of style
-proceeding from a mania for fine writing, these volumes
-are, from their intrinsic and permanent value, worthy
-of more general attention than almost any work of the
-season.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk142'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>Wesley and Methodism. By Isaac Taylor. New York:
-Harper &amp; Brothers. 1 vol. 12 mo.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The author of this valuable and thoughtful volume is
-extensively known both in England and the United
-States as a philosophic writer on the great themes and
-great exponents of Christian faith. As in a former
-volume he considered Jesuitism in Loyola, its founder,
-so in this he views Methodism in Wesley. His penetrative
-and meditative mind, equally acute and sympathetic,
-readily discovers the connection between
-opinions and character, principles and persons; and by
-viewing sects and systems psychologically and historically
-in the characters and lives of their founders, he
-gives the interest of biography to the discussion of the
-most metaphysical questions of theology. His present
-work is eminently original and suggestive, evincing on
-every page the movement of a deep and earnest nature,
-and an intellect at once critical and interpretative. His
-own religious nature is too profound to allow his indulgence
-in any of those phrases of sarcasm, contempt, or
-pity, which it used to be fashionable to speak of Methodism
-and Methodists; but though he considers the religious
-movement which he analyses and represents as a genuine
-development of the principal elements of Christianity,
-and as second only to the Reformation in importance
-among the providential modes of vitalizing and diffusing
-the faith, he is still calm, reasonable and austerely just
-in his judgments. His criticism of the prominent Methodists
-is an example. He sees clearly that they were not
-great men mentally. “Let it be confessed,” he says,
-“that this company does not include one mind of that
-amplitude and grandeur, the contemplation of which, as
-a natural object—a sample of humanity—excites a pleasurable
-awe, and swells the bosom with a vague ambition,
-or with a noble emulation. Not one of the founders
-of Methodism can claim to stand on any such high
-level; nor was one of them gifted with the philosophic
-faculty—the abstractive and analytic power. More than
-one was a shrewd and exact logician, but none a master
-of the higher reason. Not one was erudite in more than
-an ordinary degree; not one was an accomplished
-scholar; yet while several were fairly learned, few
-were illiterate, and none showed themselves to be imbued
-with the fanaticism of ignorance.” In his sketches
-of Charles Wesley, Whitfield, Fletcher, Coke, and Lady
-Huntingdon, we have the truth given of those remarkable
-persons, unmixed with the exaggeration either of
-admiration or contempt. The volume as a whole, is
-the most comprehensive and accurate work on Methodism
-which we have ever seen.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk143'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>Young Americans Abroad; or Vacation in Europe. Travels
-in England, France, Holland, Belgium, Prussia,
-and Switzerland. With Illustrations. Boston: Gould
-&amp; Lincoln. 1 vol. 16mo.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This volume is a truly original book of travels, not so
-much because it describes new scenes, but because it
-describes them from a different point of view. It consists
-of letters written by three boys, whose respective
-ages are twelve, fourteen and sixteen, traveling in Europe
-under the care of their instructor, the Rev. Dr.
-Choules. Quick to see and eager to enjoy, fresh in mind
-and heart, these boys seem to write because they have
-much to say, and because their heads are so full of enchanting
-objects that a discharge of ink is absolutely
-necessary to preserve them from mental apoplexy. And
-we must admit that they have made a book which in
-interest, raciness and in the power of communicating
-their own delight to the reader, fairly excels many a
-volume of more pretension. The presiding spirit of the
-whole correspondence is, of course, the kindly and accomplished
-editor, a person who combines in an extraordinary
-degree, the joyous and elastic soul of youth
-with the large knowledge and experience of manhood.
-His own letters in the volume are very characteristic
-epistles, and add much to its value.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk144'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>Adrian; or the Clouds of the Mind. By G. P. R. James
-and Mansell B. Field. New York: D. Appleton &amp; Co.
-1 vol. 12 mo.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The authors of this American romance have produced
-a literary curiosity—a volume, every page of which is
-the product of two minds, without any apparent jarring
-of style or sentiment. In the conduct of the story, it is
-true, a little uncertainty is visible, but that appears to
-arise as much from the nature of the plot as from the
-presence of two hands in moving it forward. It is well
-written, has some capital descriptions of scenery and
-some very exciting incidents, and, in idea and sentiment,
-is a combination of English and American modes of
-thought and feeling. The scene in the Medical College
-is the most powerful in the volume.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk145'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Thomas Chalmers,
-D. D., LL. D. By his Son-in-Law, the Rev. William
-Hanna, LL. D. New York: Harper &amp; Brothers.
-Vol. 3.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The present volume does not, as was contemplated,
-bring this interesting biography to a close. The Doctor
-is left at the end of it, full of energy and combativeness,
-instead of reposing in his coffin. The volume is full of
-attractive matter, being devoted to that portion of
-Chalmers’ life, between 1824 and 1835, when some of his
-most important works were written, and when his
-communications with men eminent in politics and letters
-were most frequent. Brougham, Peel, Melbourne,
-Mackintosh, Irving, Coleridge, and many other celebrities,
-appear in these pages. Among the letters in the
-volume, we should select those to his daughter as the
-most pleasing.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk146'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>Home and Social Philosophy. From Household Words.
-Edited by Charles Dickens, First Series. New York:
-Geo. P. Putnam. 1 vol. 16mo.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The indefatigable publisher whose name is on this title-page,
-commences with this delightful collection of essays,
-a new “Semi-Monthly Library, for Travelers and
-the Fireside.” The present volume contains some
-two hundred And fifty well printed pages, and is placed
-at the low price of twenty-five cents. It is to be followed
-by a series of works, combining entertainment
-with usefulness, and intended in the end, to form one
-of the cheapest and most elegant “libraries” that an
-intelligent reading public could desire.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk147'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>Essays on Life, Sleep, Pain, etc. By Samuel Henry
-Dickson, M. D., Philadelphia: Blanchard &amp; Lea.
-1 vol. 12mo.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>These essays, a specimen of which we furnish our
-readers in the present number, are the production of a
-mind singularly acute and tenacious, and are marked
-as the productions of a scholar and a profound thinker.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk148'/>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-<p class='hang'><span class='it'>United States Monthly Law Magazine and Examiner.
-New York: John Livingston, 157 Broadway.</span></p>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We have received this creditable periodical, and examined
-it with great interest. We are happy to say
-that it is still conducted with ability and learning. The
-editor deserves high praise for his industry and liberality.
-He provides the profession with well selected
-cases from the English law journals and reports, as well
-as from our own adjudicatories. We are well pleased
-to see the manly independence with which he adopts
-and advocates the reform of law and equity so urgently
-called for in this country and England. The periodical
-prospers—and it merits prosperity.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk149'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>The Historical Society.</span>—We have received a
-copy of the address delivered before the Historical
-Society of this State, at Chester, in November last, and
-have barely room to say that it is marked by the fine
-finish and lucid reasoning which distinguish all the
-efforts of Mr. Armstrong, whether as a writer or speaker.
-We shall refer to it again.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk150'/>
-
-<div><span class='pageno' title='247' id='Page_247'></span><h1><a id='talk'></a>GRAHAM’S SMALL-TALK.</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.3em;font-weight:bold;'>Held in his idle moments, with his Readers, Correspondents and Exchanges.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Eminent Young Men.</span>—We purpose, occasionally,
-to give to our readers, in our own off-hand way, sketches
-of such of the young men of our acquaintance as have
-risen to position and distinction by the force of their own
-indomitable purpose and efforts. These papers will be
-plain, unpretending, and without any effort at literary
-display—but if such examples as have passed under our
-own observation, fairly <span class='it'>put</span>, shall awaken even one
-young man among our readers from inglorious sloth, to
-energetic endeavors to accomplish something for himself
-and his generation, we shall think our time has been
-most profitably spent.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>America has but one recognizable stamp of nobility.
-No line of descent in the blood of kings, can ennoble here.
-The stagnant pool which has lost its vitality for ages in
-the veins of a scurvy nobility, reflects no honor—enriches
-no name. That which makes Manhood <span class='sc'>Great</span>—is
-<span class='it'>Energy</span>—<span class='it'>Will</span>—nobly directed—that quality which
-Kossuth proclaims to be the conqueror of impossibilities.
-It is this quality, largely possessed by the Anglo-Saxon,
-and the free field open for its exercise in America, that
-have made her what she is—</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“The day-star among the nations.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>It is the noble hopes and manly aspirations in the
-breast of her sons—the far-reaching, the attainable grasp
-of future fortune, the birth-right of the humblest—the
-unconquerable purpose to do, to achieve, to conquer, that
-exalt us to “giants in these days.” We have the highest
-manifestation of manhood, in a fair field, with <span class='it'>all</span> the
-favor that God grants to mortals to carve out their own
-destinies. He who sinks here, goes down with supineness,
-slothfulness, idleness, and their attendant vices
-clinging to his neck with more than mill-stone weight.
-With high health and a perfect use of his faculties, no
-man <span class='it'>here</span> has a right to be ignoble. “The longer I live,”
-says Goethe, “the more certain I am that the great
-difference between men, the great and significant, is
-energy—invincible determination—an honest purpose
-once fixed and then, victory. That quality will do anything
-that can by done in the world; and no talents, no
-circumstances, no opportunity will make a man without
-it.”</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk151'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Benjamin H. Brewster, Esq.</span>, an eminent young
-lawyer of Philadelphia, the author of the very excellent
-paper on Milton, in this number, will be the subject of
-our first sketch, in the next issue; and we shall take
-the privilege of an intimate acquaintanceship, and a
-friendship endured by a thousand ties, to use a free
-pencil <span class='it'>upon him</span>, and if Mr. Brewster does not like
-it, he has his action for such damages as the liberal jury
-who read “Graham” may think he deserves.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk152'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Cost of Glory.</span>—We have received from a Naval
-Officer a tart assault upon Upham’s figures in relation
-to the expenses of the Army and Navy of the United
-States, which we shall publish and reply to. He
-makes the cost “<span class='it'>about</span> twenty-five per cent. of the
-whole revenue.” We shall see! The article is by some
-very <span class='it'>young</span> Middy, who thinks that “navy blue” means
-getting tipsy on shore, and that <span class='it'>figures</span> are symbolical
-<span class='it'>only</span> of important gentlemen, buttoned up to the throat,
-who walk the Quarter-Deck of Uncle Sam’s 74’s.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk153'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Reader</span>—“Graham” makes his best bow to you in
-this number, and stands, cap in hand, waiting a friendly
-return to his salutation. He has prepared himself with
-some care for this call, and if you do not like his rig,
-don’t turn up your nose disdainfully, but suggest any
-proper alteration in his costume, and when he comes
-again you may like him better. The critics! Well!
-who cares for the critics? Not Graham! He is a critic
-himself, and can carve you a poet to a nicety—slicing off
-his wings with one sweep of his steel. But Graham is
-tender to poets—for they are a good-hearted race, albeit
-a little irritable—apt to be dealt unjustly with, too, considering
-that each one is imbued with more than a Shaksperian
-genius, and people wont believe it. It is
-enough to make anybody mad—and a mad poet is of
-all enraged animals the most vehemently disposed to
-slaughter somebody. So, having disposed in brief of
-critics and poets, and of lawyers and briefs in the body
-of the work, we feel heavenly-minded toward the rest
-of creation—and in this mood we turn to “<span class='it'>the gentlemen
-of the press</span>.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>If our exchanges believe <span class='it'>all</span> that is told them by
-some of the Magazine publishers, they will soon begin
-to fancy that “the moon <span class='it'>is</span> a green cheese,” and will
-wake up some fine night finding themselves cutting
-slices for an imaginary breakfast.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>One chap has the audacity to set himself up as the
-<span class='it'>sole</span> patron of American arts and letters, and has spent
-<span class='it'>unheard</span> of amounts on artists and writers. We fear to
-inquire into this business <span class='it'>too</span> closely, lest it should turn
-out like the charity of the lady who was “collecting for a
-poor woman.” It <span class='it'>was</span> charity—for it “began at home,”
-and <span class='it'>ended there</span>!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Now “Graham” you may rely upon—there is a certain
-don’t care for anybody air about <span class='it'>him</span> that you can
-understand. If any fellow wishes to blow up his Magazine,
-Graham asks him—nay, commands him to “blaze
-away”—if he don’t like the painted fashions, which cost
-$945, lo! Graham goes to the enormous expense of $2
-and gives him his “own peculiar” in wood—Bloomer and
-all, fresh from the newspapers, and not credited to Paris
-either—if the small-talk don’t suit—Graham suggests
-something else, and invites him to read some of the
-other Magazines, where the editor “talks big,” and
-swells in imaginary dignity until a turkey is rather cast
-into the shade by overblown dignity—if he don’t like
-the stories he may read the essays—if neither, the poetry
-is before him—and if literature has no charms for him,
-he may admire Art in the engravings: “if none of these
-things move him,” let him admire Nature by looking at
-himself in a mirror, and imagine his ears wonderfully
-grown, and his voice a lion’s. Graham is as easily
-pleased as a young girl at her first ball, and thinks the
-world is moving round to the timing of music—and
-though he is as poor as Job’s—ah! that reminds us of
-<span class='it'>the turkeys</span> we sent to editors.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk154'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>The Turkey Ovation.</span>—Never, we suppose, since
-the day the Romans overran the world, has there been
-such terrible bloodshed and sanguinary goings on, as
-was consequent upon Graham’s royal edict about Turkey.
-The crimson <a id='die'></a>dye was streaming about all the
-editorial sanctums on Christmas Eve. Graham had
-issued orders to bring up the culprits for execution, and
-at about ten o’clock, at <span class='it'>a given</span> signal, twelve hundred
-of the inhabitants of Turkeydom were marched out, and
-had their throats cut without mercy. The bloody-minded
-issuer of this sanguinary decree still lives and
-glories in the deed; and strange to say—his men back him
-up with fixed bayonets. If these things are allowed to
-proceed, people will not be able to sleep quietly in their
-beds, but a terror will go forth over the land, and neighbors
-will have to keep watch and ward over each other—turkeys
-will be, <span class='it'>nowhere</span>—editors will grow fat, on
-the fat of the land, and will soon have the hardihood to
-ask their subscribers to pay for the papers they read,
-with the same promptitude with which they expect
-them delivered.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>This sort of thing will go on. A revolution in newspaper
-presses will be the consequence, and quiet, sedate
-people, who read over the paper, and complain of the
-type—of the quality of the paper—of the long editorials—of
-the short editorials—of the light reading—of the
-heavy reading—of the political matter—of the want of
-political news and facts—of the poetry—of the advertisements—of
-the mails—of the carrier—of the publisher, the
-editor, and the “devil”—will be shocked at having a
-<span class='it'>bill</span> to pay. Turkey must be paid for, as well as
-slaughtered. There is no community of goods in Turkey.
-Every landholder expects the pay for corn that feeds
-and fattens turkey—and subscribers must expect to—“<span style='font-size:smaller'>PAY
-UP</span>.” Graham will get the blame—but the revolution
-<span class='it'>will</span> go on! People who grumble—and, some of
-them—swear! about their papers, must <span class='it'>pay for the
-luxury</span>. No man has a right to <span class='it'>be stupid</span>—nor can expect
-editors to eat turkeys and publish newspapers
-on air.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Mr. ——, do <span class='it'>you</span> know that your subscription is
-<span class='it'>overdue</span> to The ——?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“No?”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“We thought so. Well, take Graham’s advice, and
-take $2, ‘pay up,’ and take a receipt at once. You have
-no idea how it will clear your conscience, and your
-eye-sight, too, as to the <span class='it'>merits</span> of the paper.”</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk155'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Snow-Balling in the South.</span>—Our Southern friends
-seem to have been taken by surprise by Jack Frost, and
-to have had some difficulty in acknowledging his acquaintance.
-At New Orleans we see, that Sambo was
-out early in the morning, and came rushing back to his
-master exclaiming—“<span class='it'>Oh, Monsieur! regardez donc! la
-cour est pleine de sucre blanc!</span>” “Oh, sir, look: the yard
-is full of <span class='it'>white sugar</span>!” “The oldest inhabitants,” says
-the Delta, “stared with amazement. It snowed all
-night, and in the morning the earth was entirely invisible;
-a white carpet, to the depth of eight inches, covered
-its entire surface. Our population were all agog, and
-snow-balls flew as thick and as fast as bullets at Buena
-Vista. The hats of peaceable citizens were knocked into
-corners; eyes and mouths were filled with conglomerated
-masses of snow, and ears were stopped.” In
-Florida, according to the News, “There was no record
-nor tradition of such an event in the history of East
-Florida. Some of the oldest inhabitants recollect, on
-one or two occasions, having seen a slight sprinkle of
-snow, but not enough to whiten the ground, and it passed
-off like a dream. But on this occasion we had an opportunity
-of enjoying the delightful amusement of “snow-balling;”
-and ladies, as fair as the snow itself, joined
-heartily in an amusement, the opportunity for which
-presents itself only once in a century.” Mrs. Neal, in
-her very sprightly and delightful letters from Charleston,
-S. C., gives an animated picture of the scene in
-Palmettodom: “Even in Philadelphia, where snow is
-by no means an every day affair, you cannot credit the
-excitement it gave rise to. The children, many of whom
-had never seen ‘the white rain,’ clapped their hands as
-the roofs and the ground were covered with the pure
-mantle—and when evening came, and the strange visitor
-seemed to like its Southern quarters, and resolved to
-settle for the night, men and boys went forth to the novel
-enjoyment of snow-balling, and some even attempted a
-sleigh-ride. Grave, grown up men were startled into
-an involuntary participation of the sport, and I was told,
-and it is <span class='it'>too good a story not to be true</span>, that one gentleman
-was seen indulging in the unusual pastime accompanied
-by a negro carrying his ‘spare balls’—all ready
-moulded in a box! Snow-balling under circumstances
-of ‘elegant leisure.’</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“The next morning’s sun seemed to have little effect upon
-it, the cold still continuing intense; and about the middle
-of the day a party, a regular duel it seemed, ascended
-to the top of the Charleston hotel and the Hague street
-stores, pelting each other with great vigor, the plazza
-upon which we stood affording a fine view of the sport.
-The children were for the first time indulged with snow-building,
-and many a youthful Powers made his first effort
-at sculpture on the frozen countenance of a ‘snow-man.’
-It was more curious still that they considered it in the
-light of a confection, and ate it with salt, as they would
-a hard boiled egg, esteeming it much nicer than any
-candy. ‘It was fun to them—but death to the servants’—to
-borrow from the fable of the boys and the frogs.
-The poor negroes, wilted and shriveled up into ‘dumb
-waiters’—burning over the fire, with a deprecating
-glance at the snow covered ground that was really piteous,
-but every consideration was paid to them, and
-as little out-door work as possible assigned.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We cannot refrain from adding the following delicious
-little bit of character-painting, from the same pen,
-though not <span class='it'>germaine</span> to the theme: “If there is one thing
-that distinguishes the Southern negro above all others,
-it is <span class='it'>deliberation</span>. We had a fair example of this the
-morning of our arrival. There was not a soul on the
-wharf to take the rope of the steamer which some
-thoughtful person had thrown on shore without looking
-to see what was to be done with it. There were the
-passengers with eager, expectant faces, grouped upon
-the deck, baggage already looked over, and piled up for
-the carriages—every thing ready to land, and we just so
-far from the shore that a plank could not be thrown
-across. Presently a negro appeared on the next wharf,
-walking toward us with the utmost calmness. In vain
-were the calls of the Northern gentlemen in tartan
-shawls, or the impatient gestures of one of the officers of
-the boat. A New York wharf lounger would have had
-the rope secured in the time this venerable Ned took to
-put one foot before the other. And when he finally arrived
-amid the cheers of the passengers, who by this time
-thought it as well to laugh as fret, one of them called out
-as he bent over to the rope thrown once more—‘Uncle—I
-say—hadn’t you better <span class='it'>wipe</span> it first?’—a finale
-which could not have been more deliberate than his previous
-movements.”</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk156'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Small.</span>—There <span class='it'>is</span> something smaller in the world than
-Graham’s small-talk, and that is, a soul in a pill-box.
-We know several that are just in that way imprisoned—and
-they belong to fellows who are afraid
-to notice a rival publication, for <span class='it'>fear</span> people will believe
-them.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk157'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Cable</span>, the editor of the Ohio Picayune, is a man to
-hold on. Here is what he says—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“We would not do without this Magazine for treble
-its price; and as we consider ourself as having some
-taste in this matter, we warmly recommend Graham to
-the lovers of chaste and classical literature.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Our friend of the Picayune will be glad to know that
-there are 30,000 people of his mind, who cling to Graham
-always. Then, there is a “floating population” of
-20,000 more, who don’t know their own minds, but shift
-about to all points of the compass and come back again
-to Graham, grumbling at others, when the fault is their
-own for having left Graham at all. These wanderers
-are coming in, in flocks, for ’52, but we don’t <span class='it'>count</span> on
-them, any more than upon a roost of wild pigeons—they
-will go to Godey—to Harper, to somebody in a year or
-two, and then come back again mad at every body.
-These folks are <span class='it'>nobodies</span>.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk158'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The very beautiful poem, “Bless the Homestead
-Law,” from the pen of our correspondent, L. Virginia
-Smith, adds another laurel to the wreath which clusters
-already around the young brow of that child of genius.
-<span class='it'>Memphis</span> may well be proud of her, as the <span class='it'>Inquirer</span> of
-that city <span class='it'>is</span>. The editor says of this poem, which was
-written for him—</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“We have the satisfaction of presenting to-day one of
-the most eloquent appeals in behalf of the <span class='it'>Homestead
-Exemption Law</span>, which it has been our fortune to meet
-with. It is from the pen of the gifted one our city is
-proud to call its own poetess. We commend this appeal
-to the <span class='it'>hearts</span> of the members of the Legislature, upon
-whose votes hangs the fate of this most just and beneficent
-measure.”</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk159'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>A Leap Year Love Letter</span>.—We have received a
-very delightful leap year love letter from a <span class='it'>very</span> beautiful
-young lady living in Maine—we wont tell in what
-post-town—but we know she is beautiful from the very
-elegant epistle she writes, and that she is a lady of discernment
-from the very handsome things she says of
-“Graham”—and that she is <span class='it'>smart</span> from the very way
-she edges in her proposal to be our second in case we
-are married already.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>We are happy to say that we are a Benedict, and as
-Kossuth has prudently introduced no Turkish notions into
-his addresses to the ladies, we have great doubts about
-indulging in any dreams as to “pluralities.” But still,
-we may safely say, as we do “by permission,” that the
-young lady who sends “Graham” the largest club for
-1852, shall receive the favor of our most distinguished
-consideration.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“Graham” may now be considered in the market for
-“proposals,” and if all the handsome things the press
-say of him are read and pondered over—as they ought to
-be—he will receive a perfect shower of adoration in the
-agreeable form of attached and worshiping subscribers.
-“Graham” holds the King of <span class='it'>clubs</span> and Knave of <span class='it'>hearts</span>,
-now—so every young lady knows the lead.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk160'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Advertising.</span>—Business is business and must be
-<span class='it'>pressed</span> home. Now we have a business secret for your
-ear, reader! one which we charge you nothing for; but
-which comes charged with weighty and important meaning.
-<span class='it'>Do you ever advertise?</span> No! Why there is nothing
-like advertising to make a fortune! Nearly all
-the men about here, who never advertised, have <span class='it'>taken in</span>
-their signs, shut up shop, been taken in themselves and
-have gone to California—the dupes of the very advertising
-in the newspapers, which they scorned while fortune
-was all around them. You must take hold of this
-lever that moves the business world. Advertise in <span class='it'>your
-local papers</span>—if your business is local—let your neighbors
-know that you have something to <span class='it'>sell</span>—that you
-wish to <span class='it'>buy</span> something—or, that you are ready to <span class='it'>trade</span>.
-Wake up! and wake up your neighbors! We should
-never be able to publish Graham with 112 pages per
-month, if we did not let the world <span class='it'>know</span> that we are
-wide awake, and ready to supply any quantity of numbers
-for 1852, <span class='it'>having stereotyped the book purposely</span>.
-Now, drowsy head! do <span class='it'>you</span> suppose that if you are a
-storekeeper you would not sell more goods by advertising?
-Or if a mechanic, that it will do you any harm
-to be known far and near as an active, enterprising business
-man ready for customers? Or, if a farmer, with a lot
-of <span class='it'>extra</span> corn or potatoes to sell, that you could not <span class='it'>make</span>
-a market? Do you suppose, that you can put your
-hands into your pockets and whistle a fortune into
-them, too? If you do, advertise <span class='it'>that</span>, and be immortal.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk161'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Our Stories.</span>—We have adopted the plan of giving
-our readers one long story complete, in each number—say
-from twelve to twenty pages. In the January number
-we gave “The Rich Man’s Whims,” which was
-universally praised by the press and by the readers of
-this Magazine. “Anna Temple,” which appeared in the
-February number, we think, was a better story, and so
-say many critics competent to judge. “The Democrat,”
-at Ballston, N. Y., says, in noticing the last number—“Graham
-now contains, and will continue to contain,
-during this year, more reading matter monthly than any
-similar work published in the country. The story,
-“Anna Temple,” in the February number, is one of the
-finest tales we have ever read, and is alone worth more
-than the year’s subscription to the Magazine.” And
-this is but one, of scores of such notices.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>In the present number our readers will find a <span class='it'>gem</span>
-called “The Miser and His Daughter,” written by a
-gentleman of New Orleans—the author of the story
-of “The Little Family,” which appeared in the November
-number of “Graham”—a tale which was more
-widely read and praised than any article in the last volume.
-We have received the first part of an article by
-this writer, which we shall give in future numbers, and
-we do not hesitate to say, for the benefit of those who
-worship British ability <span class='it'>only</span>, that no article <span class='it'>equal</span> to it
-has appeared in Blackwood or Frazer for years. It is
-called “The First Age.”</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk162'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Caution.</span>—“My goodness,” says a cautious and
-gouty old gentleman, who is one of Graham’s friends,
-“aint you afraid to talk at your subscribers and exchanges
-the way you do?” <span class='it'>No!</span> not a bit of it—Graham
-will tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
-but the truth,” to every body who reads his editorial
-chit-chat. If people don’t like it, they need not read it.
-In 112 pages there is room and verge enough to dodge
-around sharp corners and escape the dilemma of reading
-the few pages in which Graham, kicking off his boots,
-goes at people with his slippers on. Every body, in
-1852, will get <span class='it'>more</span> than a full return for what is paid
-for the book, without counting “The Small-Talk”—and
-if any editor don’t like it, let him let it alone. “The
-whole boundless continent is <span class='it'>not</span> ours,” but the small-talk
-<span class='it'>is</span>—and being monarch sole and absolute in these
-dominions, we shall submit to no impertinence, but <span class='it'>will</span>
-have our own will and way—and the way is straight and
-plain. We do not expect to get a decent notice from the
-Saturday Evening Post, for all this—and we don’t care
-if we don’t—nor if we do.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk163'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Graham on Dreams.</span>—Did you ever dream you were
-rich? Is it not delightful!—while it lasts. A prize in
-the lottery—dreaming of numbers innumerable, is one of
-the tricks of Morpheus—and of people wide awake, too,
-sometimes. Then the visions of defunct grand-uncles,
-beyond the seas, who hearing of our great worth and deservings,
-die on purpose to make us happy, and bequeath
-vast estates and lots of three per cents. in the <span class='it'>funds</span>. It
-is glorious! And then, too, ponderous mails coming
-to you, in which each subscriber, who is in debt, sends
-you the money—and dozens—dozens?—hats full, of letters
-inclosing the long delayed $3, come like blessings in
-troops—the notes all new, too, and 6’s instead of 3’s sent
-by the overjoyed subscriber—not in a mistake either—for
-he <span class='it'>says</span> “the work is worth double the money, and
-being an honest man, I intend to pay the fair value.”
-Ah! this is grand! We like to do business with people
-who know something.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>John</span>, <span class='sc'>John</span>!—Call Mr. Graham, and tell him the
-printer wants copy—<span class='it'>and paper too</span>!” Pshaw!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Look here! We hate to be deceived. Somebody
-make our “dream come true.”</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk164'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Fine Ink.</span>—We take pleasure in calling the attention
-of printers to the very superior quality of the ink used in
-the printing of our wood-cut forms. It is from the establishment
-of Messrs. Romig, Lay &amp; Co., 51 South
-Fourth street, Philadelphia. They are prepared to furnish
-different qualities at various prices to the trade.
-Letters addressed to them will be promptly attended to.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>The Dollar Newspaper</span>, which is edited by a
-Sailor, who has been to Egypt—you see—and a long
-Lane—who has denied the proverb, and done us a good
-“turn,” has sent us a spanking club by Hudley, its ever
-attentive and active clerk. The Dollar is a great paper—worth
-any day more than its silver namesake—which <span class='it'>goes</span>
-now at about 102½—but where it goes <span class='it'>to</span>, puzzles the
-bankers. The Newspaper has the advantage in this, for
-nobody knows where it <span class='it'>don’t</span> go. In all of the 17,000
-post-towns in which Graham is loved and cherished, we
-find our young and vigorous brother. Graham and the
-lively Dollar, are the pride of good printers and pretty
-girls. Intellect, and Beauty, and Dollars and Graham’s!—what
-a consummation!</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>The truth is, Graham’s modesty is sorely tried just
-now, when a shout is going up from every town and
-hamlet of the country on his behalf; and were it not that
-the subscriptions usually keep pace with the praise, he
-would not be able to exist at all.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk165'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Saucy and True.</span>—We shall exchange next year
-with no fellow who notices “Graham” in the same line
-with another work and says, he “<span class='it'>don’t know which is
-the best</span>.” If a man has not courage enough to say that
-Graham is the worst, or the best, or the equal of any
-other magazine, as the <span class='it'>fact</span> may be, we don’t want his
-company. So boys, if you like the conditions, observe
-them. We <span class='it'>ask</span> no man to publish our prospectus—but
-we do ask that “Graham” shall not be bundled in with
-any body who happens to be traveling the same road at
-the same time—as there are a good many shabby looking
-fellows about whose room is better than their company—at
-any rate their room shan’t be ours—that’s plump.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk166'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='it'>The Saturday Courier</span> has been—or is, at this writing—publishing
-a most powerful story called <span class='it'>Marcus Warland</span>,
-from the pen of its old and valued correspondent,
-Caroline Lee Hentz. The stories purchased and selected
-by Mr. McMakin evince a fine taste and just discrimination,
-and we often wonder where he lays his
-hands upon them. The secret is partly disclosed by an
-announcement in his paper that “Mrs. Hentz refused
-the sum of $400 offered her by a New York bookseller,”
-for the story of Marcus Warland. The new volume of
-the Courier commences in March; and looking over the
-storehouse of good things McMakin has, for his readers,
-we say they are to be envied for ’52.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk167'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Winchester (Tenn.) Independent</span> of the 16th January,
-comes to us with its head all topsy turvy, as if the
-editor had been on a batter. <span class='it'>Wigg’s</span> is the publisher,
-and of course has a right to ship his scalp occasionally—but
-we don’t believe that the name of his town is spelt as
-follows:</p>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/iwinch.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0013' style='width:60%;height:auto;'/>
-</div>
-
-<p class='noindent'>though an <span class='it'>independent</span> fellow,
-in this free country, may take a spell in that way, if
-he likes.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk168'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>The Essex Freeman</span> is a good paper, but has in its
-advertising columns some “shocking bad” wood-cuts.
-The editor says “American wood-engravings are apt to
-be bad,” but admits an exception in favor of Devereux’s
-fine pictures in our February number. Porter
-and Streeter are funny dogs, but can’t <span class='it'>take</span> a joke.
-Wonder what <span class='it'>ails</span> Porter!</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk169'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>The Central New Yorker</span>, came to us with a new
-year’s address with the “pictur” of the <span class='it'>editor</span> at the
-head. He is a <span class='it'>rising</span> man—but he had better let the
-girls alone. The following appears in the <span class='it'>address</span>:</p>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;THE BLOOMER COSTUME.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Bloomer Costumes rule the day,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Ladies wear the new apparel,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Corsets now are thrown away,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Hour-glass changes to a barrel.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Ladies now may street yarn spin,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;As they have to take less stitches,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Now they put their fair forms in</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Sack coats and big Turkey breeches.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='pindent'>We hope Mr. Editor Rising has no allusion, in this,
-to Graham’s Christmas Turkeys—that would be a breach
-of decorum.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk170'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>The Knickerbocker.</span>—Our <span class='it'>old</span> friend Clark, the
-very prince of genial natures and royal good fellows,
-disdains to talk any longer, solely, to the dull and heavy
-folks of “Upper Tendom;” so, showing no quarters, he
-comes down to “a quarter,” and pitches his tent in the
-field of the many—throwing his banner to the gale, without
-getting upon one himself. If Clark does not print
-and <span class='it'>sell</span> 50,000 copies “the fools are <span class='it'>not</span> all dead,” but
-maintain a very decided majority among the “peoples.”
-If any body wishes “Old Knick” and young Graham
-together, they can accomplish their benevolent desire
-by sending us $5. “The Old Gentleman” and the
-Young ’un are celebrities of “this enlightened nineteenth
-century,” and cannot be <span class='it'>had</span> for less.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk171'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'>“<span class='sc'>The Old Colony Memorial</span>,” published at Plymouth,
-Mass., says Graham for February, was “the best
-looking number of this popular monthly we have ever
-seen. Of the literary contents we can speak highly.”
-Its editor, who does not like fun of any kind, has the
-following satisfactory</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Conundrum.</span>—Why is Church-membership like Charity?
-Guess once all round. Answer next week.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk172'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Our friend of “the olden time,” Samuel C. Atkinson,
-is making a capital paper of The Burlington N. J. Gazette,
-and shows that years do not impair his energy,
-nor extinguish his genial appreciation of all things beautiful
-and true.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk173'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Exploded Proverb.</span>—“Figures cannot lie,” says
-the proverb. Graham says—it depends upon <span class='it'>who makes
-’em</span>.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk174'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Plain Preaching.</span>—We have upon our books a list
-of names, the owners of which are <span style='font-size:smaller'>ALL</span> well to do, and
-the most of whom go to church every Sunday and say
-their prayers—as Christians ought to do—and yet these
-same men will pass our office day after day, and never
-think of stopping to pay up, and if called upon, think it
-a hard case; haint got the change handy; aint used to
-being dunned.—<span class='it'>Plaindealer, Roslyn, N. Y.</span></p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Why, Mr. Plaindealer, the sooner you get rid of these
-chaps the better—they <span class='it'>intend</span> to cheat you anyhow—even
-if it be but out of the interest of your money, and your
-peace of mind—which last is worth more than dollars.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>If publishers would only form a “Mutual Protection
-Society,” and <span class='it'>placard</span> all such fellows as a warning, we
-should <span class='it'>all</span> do better. We have about fifty that we intend
-to <span class='it'>cut</span>—giving them the Kentucky benediction. A
-fellow, who will neither notice your letter nor your bill, is
-a rogue in grain—rely upon it. It is a good rule to go by.</p>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i248.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0014' style='width:40%;height:auto;'/>
-<p class='caption'><span class='bold'>TIPSY MYNHEER.</span></p>
-</div>
-
-<div class='blockquote'>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>“Moon, ’tis a very queer figure you cut;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;One eye is staring while t’other is shut.</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Tipsy, I see; and you’re greatly to blame;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;Old as you are ’tis a terrible shame.”</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk175'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Southern Literary Papers.</span>—Godman writes us
-that his new Southern Literary Journal, “The Family
-Friend,” is “going off like hot cakes.” We are heartily
-glad of this for two reasons; First, because we like
-Godman for his energy of character and his splendid
-genius, which blazes out in every line he writes, pure as
-a vestal lamp amid the surrounding debasement of the
-minds of many writers of romance. Secondly, because
-the South <span class='it'>ought</span> to maintain one or <span class='it'>more</span> first rate literary
-papers, and the North should help her do it with
-cordial good-will. She has been liberal, to us of the
-North, in her support, for years of <span class='it'>our</span> literary magazines
-and gazettes—let us <span class='it'>now</span> return the compliment
-with earnestness and kindliness.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Some of Godman’s best articles have enriched and
-will continue to enrich <span class='it'>our</span> pages, and as he has started
-manfully, in competition with Northern periodicals,
-Graham says—to his friends—<span class='it'>Stand by your banner,</span>
-<span class='it'>boys!</span>—let there be a brotherhood in letters at least, and
-let us leave the quarreling to ambitious politicians. So,
-Godman! Graham wishes you “God speed,” and 100,000
-subscribers! Any fellow who cannot respond to the
-sentiment—whether he lives north or south of the Potomac—had
-better button his soul in his vest pocket carefully,
-or he will not be able to find it, when it is called for.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk176'/>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i249a.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0015' style='width:60%;height:auto;'/>
-<p class='caption'><span class='bold'><span class='sc'>An Experienced Shot.</span></span>—You’re a pretty dog!—now aint you? See what you’ve gun-un done?</p>
-</div>
-
-<hr class='tbk177'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>Mr. Thos. Bristow</span>, the Writing-Master, has finished
-and intends to present a very fine <span class='it'>fac simile</span> letter
-of Washington’s Farewell Address to the United States
-Government. The whole design and execution is such
-as to reflect the highest credit upon Mr. Bristow as a
-teacher of “the Chirographic art.”</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk178'/>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i249b.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0016' style='width:60%;height:auto;'/>
-<p class='caption'><span class='bold'><span class='sc'>Fashions.</span></span>—“<span class='it'>Three full-length Figures.</span>”</p>
-</div>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Determined not to be outdone in generosity, and to
-meet the views of the critics fully, we <span class='it'>present</span> “the
-latest styles” as reported by Mrs. Bloomer “expressly”
-for her own paper—and give you Dodworth’s “dancing
-style” as we find them reported in “The Clerk’s
-Journal.”</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'>Our Paris Fashions cost us $945 per month, for designing,
-engraving, printing and coloring the edition of
-Graham’s Magazine, and many sage and sapient critics
-said they liked “the wood-cut style.” Well, now you
-have got them—how do you like them? They cost the
-almost unmentionable sum of $2, but are as good as the
-biggest. It may be as well to mention, by way of <span class='it'>description</span>,
-that the Bloomer is going to church—as soon
-as she can get off from this dancing-party.</p>
-
-<hr class='tbk179'/>
-
-<div><h1 class='nobreak'>“Oh Share My Cottage.”</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1em;font-size:1.1em;font-weight:bold;'>COMPOSED BY R. C. SHRIVAL.</p>
-
-<p class='pindent'><a id='share'></a></p>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i002.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0017' style='width:100%;height:auto;'/>
-</div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-bottom:1.3em;'>Published by permission of F. D. BENTEEN &amp; Co., No. 181 Baltimore Street, Baltimore.</p>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i002b.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0018' style='width:75%;height:auto;'/>
-</div>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Oh, share my cottage, gentle maid,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;It only waits for thee,</p>
-<p class='line0'>To</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i003.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0019' style='width:75%;height:auto;'/>
-</div>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>give a sweetness to its shade,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;And happiness, happiness to me,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Here from the splendid gay parade,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Of noise and folly free,</p>
-<p class='line0'>No sorrows can my peace invade,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;If only blest with thee.</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;Then share my cottage, gentle maid,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;It only waits for thee,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;To give a sweetness to its shade,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;And happiness, happiness to me.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;SECOND VERSE.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>The hawthorn with the woodbine ’twin’d</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Presents their sweets to thee,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And every balmy breath of wind</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Is filled with harmony:</p>
-<p class='line0'>A truly fond and faithful heart</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Is all I offer thee,</p>
-<p class='line0'>And must I from your face depart,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;A prey to misery.</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;Then share my cottage, gentle maid,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;It only waits for thee,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;To add fresh sweetness to its shade,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;And happiness to me.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk180'/>
-
-<p class='pindent'><a id='stars'></a></p>
-
-<div><h1 class='nobreak'>“STARS OF THE SUMMER NIGHT.”</h1></div>
-
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;font-weight:bold;'>WORDS BY LONGFELLOW,</p>
-<p class='line' style='text-align:center;margin-top:1em;font-weight:bold;'>MUSIC BY H. KLEBER.</p>
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i004.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0020' style='width:100%;height:auto;'/>
-</div>
-
-<div class='lgc' style=''> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<p class='line'>Published by permission of LEE &amp; WALKER, 188 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia,</p>
-<p class='line'><span class='it'>Publishers and Importers of Music and Musical Instruments</span>.</p>
-</div> <!-- end rend -->
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i004b.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0021' style='width:75%;height:auto;'/>
-</div>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Stars of the summer night,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Far, far in your azure</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<div class='figcenter'>
-<img src='images/i005.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0022' style='width:75%;height:auto;'/>
-</div>
-
-
- <div class='poetry-container' style=''>
- <div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>deeps;</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Hide, hide your golden light,</p>
-<p class='line0'>She sleeps, my lady sleeps.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Moon of the summer night,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Far, down yon western steeps,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Sink, sink in silver light,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;She sleeps, my lady sleeps, my lady sleeps.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;&ensp;SECOND VERSE.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Wind of the summer night,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Where yonder woodbine creeps,</p>
-<p class='line0'>Fold, fold thy pinions light,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;She sleeps, my lady sleeps.</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-</div>
-<div class='stanza-outer'>
-<p class='line0'>Dreams of the summer night,</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;Tell her, her lover keeps watch,</p>
-<p class='line0'>While in slumbers bright</p>
-<p class='line0'>&ensp;&ensp;She sleeps, my lady sleeps.</p>
-</div>
-</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
-
-<hr class='tbk181'/>
-
-<p class='line' style='margin-top:2em;font-size:1.1em;font-weight:bold;'><a id='notes'></a>Transcriber’s Notes:</p>
-
-<p class='noindent'>Table of Contents has been added for reader convenience. Archaic spellings and
-hyphenation have been retained. Obvious typesetting and punctuation errors have been corrected
-without note. Other errors have been corrected as noted below. For
-illustrations, some caption text may be missing or incomplete due to condition of
-the originals available for preparation of the eBook. Brief descriptions of illustrations without
-caption have been provided in the plain text version of this ebook.</p>
-
-<div class='lgl' style=''> <!-- rend=';' -->
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-<p class='line'>page 232, hearts the poets tale ==> hearts the <a href='#poet'>poet’s</a> tale</p>
-<p class='line'>page 239, there were the mole ==> there <a href='#where'>where</a> the mole</p>
-<p class='line'>page 250, If your are willing to ==> If <a href='#you'>you</a> are willing to</p>
-<p class='line'>page 273, Valenciennes and Condè ==> Valenciennes and <a href='#cond'>Condé</a></p>
-<p class='line'>page 273, defection of Dumuoriez ==> defection of <a href='#dum1'>Dumouriez</a></p>
-<p class='line'>page 273, skill of Dumuoriez ==> skill of <a href='#dum2'>Dumouriez</a></p>
-<p class='line'>page 273, Dumuoriez’s more generous ==> <a href='#dum3'>Dumouriez’s</a> more generous</p>
-<p class='line'>page 282, wrote his Eikonoklases ==> wrote his <a href='#eikon1'>Eikonoklastes</a></p>
-<p class='line'>page 282, books, the Eikonoklases ==> books, the <a href='#eikon2'>Eikonoklastes</a></p>
-<p class='line'>page 285, his Eikonoklases, and ==> his <a href='#eikon3'>Eikonoklastes</a>, and</p>
-<p class='line'>page 286, “Telemachus” of Fenelon ==> “Telemachus” of <a href='#fen'>Fénelon</a></p>
-<p class='line'>page 311, Arabian die to set ==> Arabian <a href='#dye2'>dye</a> to set</p>
-<p class='line'>page 312, the invading the ==> the invading <a href='#ofthe'>of the</a></p>
-<p class='line'>page 312, on that side the ==> on that side <a href='#sideof'>of the</a></p>
-<p class='line'>page 317, the lines were beauty ==> the lines <a href='#where2'>where</a> beauty</p>
-<p class='line'>page 332, The crimson die was ==> The crimson <a href='#die'>dye</a> was</p>
-</div> <!-- end rend -->
-
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-<p class='line'>&#160;</p>
-
-<p class='noindent'>[End of Graham’s Magazine, Vol. XL, No. 3, March 1852]</p>
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<pre>
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Graham's Magazine, Vol. XL, No. 3,
-March 1852, by Various
-
-*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRAHAM'S MAGAZINE, MARCH 1852 ***
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