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display: none; } + div.tnotes p { text-align: justify; } + .x-ebookmaker .covernote { visibility: visible; display: block; } + h1 {line-height: 150%; } + .footnote {font-size: .9em; } + div.footnote p {text-indent: 2em; margin-bottom: .5em; } + .chapter { clear: both; page-break-before: always; } + body {font-family: Garamond, Georgia, serif; text-align: justify; } + table {font-size: .9em; padding: 1.5em .5em 1em; page-break-inside: avoid; + clear: both; } + div.titlepage {text-align: center; page-break-before: always; + page-break-after: always; } + div.titlepage p {text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; + line-height: 1.5; margin-top: 3em; } + .ph1 { text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; font-size: xx-large; + margin: .67em auto; page-break-before: always; } + .ph2 { text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; + page-break-before: always; } + .x-ebookmaker p.dropcap:first-letter { float: left; } + </style> + </head> + <body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76979 ***</div> + +<div class='tnotes covernote'> + +<p class='c000'><strong>Transcriber’s Note:</strong></p> + +<p class='c000'>New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain.</p> + +</div> + +<div class='titlepage'> + +<div> + <h1 class='c001'>BLACKWOOD’S<br> EDINBURGH MAGAZINE.<br> <span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'>No. CCCCLV.</span>      SEPTEMBER, 1853.      <span class='sc'>Vol. LXXIV.</span></span></h1> +</div> + +<div class='chapter'> + <h2 class='c002'>CONTENTS.</h2> +</div> +<table class='table0'> + <tr> + <td class='c003'><span class='sc'>Scotland since the Union</span>,</td> + <td class='c004'><a href='#Page_263'>263</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'><span class='sc'>Foreign Estimates of England</span>,</td> + <td class='c004'><a href='#Page_284'>284</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'><span class='sc'>New Readings in Shakespeare.—No. II.</span>,</td> + <td class='c004'><a href='#Page_303'>303</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'><span class='sc'>The Duke’s Dilemma: a Chronicle of Niesenstein</span>,</td> + <td class='c004'><a href='#Page_325'>325</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'><span class='sc'>Lady Lee’s Widowhood.—Part IX.</span>,</td> + <td class='c004'><a href='#Page_342'>342</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'><span class='sc'>Coral Rings</span>,</td> + <td class='c004'><a href='#Page_360'>360</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'><span class='sc'>The Aged Disciple comforting</span>,</td> + <td class='c004'><a href='#Page_371'>371</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'><span class='sc'>The Extent and the Causes of our Prosperity</span>,</td> + <td class='c004'><a href='#Page_373'>373</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<div class='nf-center-c0'> + <div class='nf-center'> + <div><span class='large'>EDINBURGH:</span></div> + <div>WILLIAM BLACKWOOD & SONS, 45 GEORGE STREET;</div> + <div>AND 37 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.</div> + <div class='c005'><i>To whom all communications (post paid) must be addressed.</i></div> + <div class='c005'>SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.</div> + <div class='c006'>PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH.</div> + </div> +</div> + +</div> +<div><span class='pageno' id='Page_263'>263</span></div> +<div class='chapter ph1'> + +<div class='nf-center-c0'> +<div class='nf-center c007'> + <div>BLACKWOOD’S</div> + <div class='c005'>EDINBURGH MAGAZINE.</div> + <div class='c005'><span class='xlarge'><span class='sc'>No. CCCCLV.</span>      SEPTEMBER, 1853.      <span class='sc'>Vol. LXXIV.</span></span></div> + </div> +</div> + +</div> + +<div> + <h2 class='c002'>SCOTLAND SINCE THE UNION.<a id='r1'></a><a href='#f1' class='c008'><sup>[1]</sup></a></h2> +</div> + +<p class='c009'>Notwithstanding all that has +been said regarding the strict impartiality +required from an historian, +we are of opinion that the theory, +however proper and plausible, can +hardly be reduced to practice by any +writer whilst treating of affairs in +which he must feel a national or political +interest. If facts alone were +to be dealt with, it might, at first +sight, appear no very difficult task +to present an accurate and orderly +array of these. But no one who has +had occasion to investigate minutely +contemporary records, for the purpose +of arriving, if possible, at a clear and +distinct understanding of the details +of any one particular transaction, can +have failed to remark the startling +discrepancies and gross contradictions +which meet him at every turn. There +is, indeed, a common skeleton or +framework, but the clay which is cast +around it, and moulded into form, +differs in shape according to the peculiar +instincts of the artist. Even +diarists, who might be supposed to be +impartial, as labouring solely for their +own gratification, are by no means to +be implicitly received in regard to +what they set down. The many +tongues of rumour begin to babble +contrariety almost as soon as a deed +is acted. You cannot be certain that +the event of yesterday is narrated to +you one whit more faithfully than that +which occurred a hundred years ago. +All men have their prepossessions and +tendencies towards belief—what they +wish they accept without investigation; +and discard with as little ceremony +all that is obnoxious to their +views. Men there are, undoubtedly, +at all times, who cannot be termed +partisans, seeing that they have no +leaning to one side or other of a dispute; +but theirs is the impartiality +of indifference, not of conscientiousness. +And as it rarely happens that +a man thinks it worth his while to +preserve a record of events in which +he does not feel a vivid interest, history +receives very little assistance +from the contributions of cold-blooded +spectators. Take any event of moderate +remoteness; and, if it be of such +a nature as to excite party antagonism, +you will find, almost invariably, +that the real evidence is resoluble into +two parts—one of assertion and one of +contradiction. For example, even a circumstance +so publicly notorious as a +political execution, shall be related by +two eyewitnesses in a totally different +manner. One of them, whose +opinions are precisely identical with +those of the victim, describes his bearing +and demeanour at the scaffold as +heroic, and claims for him the sympathy +of the populace—the other, who +regards him as a criminal of the deepest +dye, charges him with cowardly +pusillanimity, and declares that he departed +from this life amidst the execrations +of the mob. As to what took +place before the execution, when the +prisoner was necessarily secluded from +the eyes of both witnesses, that must +ever remain a mystery. The friend +portrays him as a Christian martyr, +surrounded by fiends in human shape, +whose delight was to insult his misfortunes—the +enemy would have you +look upon him as a poltroon, whose +fear of death was so abject as to overcome +all his other faculties. So difficult +is it, even at the source, to acquire +accurate information as to the complexion +of the facts upon which subsequent +historians must found.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Passing from facts to motives, there +is of course much greater discrepancy. +The grand outlines of history cannot +be violently distorted, though the +accessories constantly are. Certain +landmarks remain, like mountains, +unchangeable in their form, though +the portraying artist may invest them +either with sunshine or with storm. +But in dealing with the characters of +public men, historians are rarely liberal, +almost never impartial. They +judge the man, not only by his cause, +but by their estimate of his cause. If +the tendencies of the writer are puritanical, +he will see no merit in the +devotion, loyalty, and courted sufferings +of the cavalier; nay, he will +often insinuate that he was actuated +by baser motives. On the other hand, +the writer who detests the violence +and condemns the principles of the +Parliamentarian faction, is too apt to +include, in his general censure, men +of unblemished life and irreproachable +private character. And the temptation +to exaggerate becomes all the +greater, because exaggeration has already +been practised on the other side.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Mr Burton, in his praiseworthy +endeavours to elucidate the history +of Scotland from the Revolution of +1688, down to the suppression of the +Jacobite cause in 1746, has exhibited, +throughout his work, very little of the +spirit of the partisan. In this respect +he is entitled to much credit—the +more so perhaps, as, had he chosen to +adopt the other course, he might have +pleaded the example of a brilliant +living authority, who is rather to be +regarded as a fashioner than as a +truthful exponent of history. His +subject, too, is a difficult one, and +such as few men living could approach +without exhibiting a decided bias on +one side or on the other. In Scotland, +religious and political zeal run constantly +into extremes, so that zealotry +perhaps is the more appropriate term. +There was no considerable neutral +party in the country, constituted as it +then was, to recall the others to reason, +or to temper their stern enthusiasm; +and hence arose that series of +conflicts and commotions which, for +more than a century, convulsed the +kingdom. Even now, men are not +agreed as to the points on which their +ancestors disputed. They have inherited, +concerning the events of the past, +a political faith which they will not +surrender; and the old leaven is seen +to affect the consistency of modern +character. From this sort of party +spirit Mr Burton is remarkably free. +He has diligently collected facts from +every available source, but he has not +allowed himself to be swayed by the +deductions of previous writers. In +forming his estimate of public characters, +he has dismissed from his mind, +as much perhaps as it was possible +for man to do, the extravagant eulogy +of the friend, and the indiscriminate +abuse of the opponent; and it must +be acknowledged that many of his +individual portraits impress us with +the idea of reality, though they differ +widely in resemblance from the handiwork +of other artists. A book of history, +constructed on such principles, +though it may not excite enthusiasm, +is undeniably entitled to respect; and +as Mr Burton was eminently qualified, +by his previous studies and pursuits, +to undertake this difficult task, we are +glad at length to receive from his +hands so valuable a contribution to +the history of Scottish affairs during +a period of peculiar importance.</p> + +<p class='c010'>If it were our intention to enter into +a minute consideration of the subject-matter +of the work, we should be +inclined to take exception to some +portions of the narrative, as calculated +to convey erroneous impressions as to +the social state of the country. We +have already said that, as a political +chronicler, Mr Burton may be considered +as remarkably free from prejudice. +We ought to add that he is +equally fair in his estimate and analysis +of the religious differences which +were, in Scotland, for a long period, +the fruitful sources of discord; and +that he has succeeded, better than +any former historian, in explaining the +nature of the ecclesiastical difficulties +which—arising out of the intricate +question of the connection between +Church and State, and the efforts of +the latter to restrain the former from +arrogating, as had been done before, +an entire and dogmatic independence +of action—have resulted in repeated +secessions from the main Presbyterian +body. But we cannot accord him the +same meed of praise for his sketches +of the Highlanders, and his attempted +delineation of their character. The +martial events of last century, in +which the Highlanders were principally +engaged, have given them, in +the eyes of strangers, a prominence +greater than is their due; so that, +even at the present day, Englishmen +and foreigners are apt, when reference +is made to Scotland, to form an entirely +mistaken view as to the bulk of +the population. Many of the present +generation must remember the singular +spectacle which Edinburgh displayed +during the visit of George IV., +when the tartan mania was at its +height, and the boundary of the clans +seemed to have been extended from +the Highland line to the Tweed. +There was no harm in such a demonstration, +but it tended to generate +and diffuse false ideas; which, +however, may be corrected without +unduly lowering the position of the +Highlanders, or denying them that +consideration which their valour undoubtedly +deserves. When we remember +the materials of which the +armies of Montrose, Dundee, Mar, and +Charles Edward were composed, we +should be slow to credit the assertion +that the Highlanders have played an +unimportant part in Scottish history; +nor can we assent to the sweeping +propositions advanced by writers who, +for years past, have been ringing the +changes upon what they are pleased +to term the superiority of the Anglo-Saxon +race, over every other sept +which has a distinct name, and especially +over such of the inhabitants of +the British Isles as are supposed to be +of a different descent. Notwithstanding +the vast intermixture of blood +which has taken place, there are undoubtedly +visible, even at the present +day, in so small a country as Scotland, +very marked peculiarities of race; but, +without descending to the minute distinctions +of the antiquarian, the Scottish +nation has, by popular consent, +been long divided into two sections, +territorially separated—the Lowlanders +and the Highlanders. Whatever +may have been the origin of the Lowlanders, +it is at all events certain that +up to the reign of Malcolm III. there +were few or no Saxons in the land. +“Malcolm,” says Hailes, “had passed +his youth at the English court; he +married an Anglo-Saxon princess; he +afforded an asylum in his dominions to +many English and Norman malcontents. +The king appeared in public with +a state and retinue unknown in more +rude and simple times, and affected to +give frequent and sumptuous entertainments +to his nobles. The natives +of Scotland, tenacious of their ancient +customs, viewed with disgust the introduction +of foreign manners, and +secretly censured the favour shown to +the English and Norman adventurers, +as proceeding from injurious partiality.” +Of many important districts on +the coasts, the Scandinavians acquired +and retained possession, and some of +the nobility and gentry are undoubtedly +of Norman descent. But the old +names, such as those of Douglas, +Graham, Ogilvie, and Keith, are indigenous +to the country, and have no +more affinity with the Saxon than +they have with the Hungarian race. +Alexander III.—whose accidental +death at Kinghorn led to the nefarious +attempts of the English Edward +upon the liberties of a free nation—was +the last of a long line of Celtic +monarchs, in whom, however, it is +not now the fashion for our petty virtuosos +to believe. That descent, which +tradition had preserved from times of +the remotest antiquity—which was +referred to as acknowledged fact in +the public acts of the legislature and +official documents of the kingdom—which +was not refuted nor denied when +advanced as a plea against the pretended +right of suzerainty asserted for +the English crown—which such men +as Fletcher and Belhaven cited in the +course of their arguments against an +entire incorporating union—is sneered +at by modern antiquaries who have +nothing to substitute for the faith +which they seek to overthrow. Indeed, +to call such gentlemen antiquaries, +is a direct abuse of language. +Scriblerus, we are told, flew into a +violent passion when, by dint of unnecessary +scouring, his handmaid demonstrated +that the ancient buckler +in which he prided himself, was nothing +more than a rusty pot lid. His +successors take the scouring into their +own hands, and deny the possibility +of a buckler. Our present business, +however, is not with the pseudo-antiquaries—for +whom we entertain a sentiment +bordering very closely upon +contempt—we simply wish to show +that the term Saxon, as applied to the +Scottish Lowlanders, is altogether inappropriate; +and that, if there is any +remarkable degree of energy in their +character which distinguishes them +from the Highlanders, it does not, at +all events, arise from a superabundant +infusion of the Anglo-Saxon blood. +Energy, indeed, is about the last quality +that can be claimed for the Saxons. +They were brave, no doubt, but also +intensely phlegmatic; and, in point of +intellect, were not to be compared +either to the Normans or the Danes. +They were smally endowed with that +imaginative faculty which is so remarkable +a characteristic of the Celtic +race—displayed but little aptitude for +proficiency in the arts—and in all matters +of taste and cultivation were exceedingly +slow and unimpressible.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Owing to the peculiar nature of the +country in which they were located, +and to their obstinate adherence to +the patriarchal, as opposed to the +feudal system, the Highlanders retained +not only their speech but their +original manners and customs, while +the Lowlanders were gradually altering +theirs. Thus there came to be, +within the same country, and nominally +owing allegiance to the same +sovereign, two great sections which +held but little intercourse with each +other. Still they were both Scots, and +gathered round the same standard. +At Bannockburn and at Flodden, the +Highland chief and clansman fought +alongside of the Lowland knight and +man-at-arms; and some of the most +powerful heads of tribes stood high in +the roll of the nobility. In this way +the Highland influence, important on +account of the warlike material which +it commanded, was always more or less +powerfully represented at the court of +Scotland; and although the southern +population generally saw little, and +knew less, of their northern neighbours, +it is not true that there existed +between them a feeling of strong animosity. +Raids and reprisals there +were undoubtedly; but these were +common from Caithness to the border. +The strife was not always between the +tartan and the broadcloth. Scotts +and Kerrs, Johnstones and Maxwells, +fought and harried one another with +as much ferocity as did the Campbells, +Macdonalds, and M‘Leans in their +mountain country; nor, if we are to +trust contemporary accounts, is it very +clear that the former were decidedly +superior in civilisation to the latter.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Mr Burton, we think, has not done +full justice to the Highland character. +Whatever may be thought of the abstract +merits of the cause which they +espoused, the resolute adherence of +the Highland clans to the exiled +family, the surprising efforts which +they made, and sufferings which they +endured in the last memorable outbreak, +must ever command our sympathy, +and excite our warm admiration. +Surely Mr Burton might have +been contented with narrating the fact +that, notwithstanding the reward of +thirty thousand pounds offered for the +apprehension of Prince Charles Edward, +none of the poor Highlanders +or outlaws whom he encountered in +his wanderings would stoop to the +treachery of betraying him, without +suggesting that the amount “was too +large for their imagination practically +to grasp as an available fund”! The +same under-current of depreciation +towards the Highlanders is visible in +his account of the atrocious massacre +of Glencoe, and even in the half-apologetic +manner in which he palliates, +though not excuses, the butcheries of +Cumberland after the battle of Culloden. +It is necessary to note these +blemishes, the rather because they +occur in a work distinguished, in other +respects, for a high degree of accuracy.</p> + +<p class='c010'>We have the less inclination to +enter upon disputed grounds, because +the points on which we differ from +Mr Burton are not of practical moment. +The political intrigues and +risings of the last century have not +left any permanent effect upon the +social condition of the country; but +the subsequent blending together of +the Lowland and Highland population, +and the establishment throughout +the country of a uniform administration +of the laws, have been productive +of the happiest results. So +far the changes have wrought well +within Scotland. But the great event +of last century undoubtedly is the +union between England and Scotland, +which, often proposed, and long delayed +by mutual jealousy and clashing +interests, has elevated Great Britain +to the foremost rank among the European +states.</p> + +<p class='c010'>That union was carried into effect, +not as the result of any sympathy between +the English and Scottish nations—for +antipathy rather than sympathy +was felt on both sides—but as +an absolute political necessity. In +truth, such an event was an almost +inevitable sequel to the union of the +crowns in the person of one monarch, +at least if that arrangement was to be +maintained; and it could not be long +delayed. There is, in Lockhart’s +Papers, an anecdote which shows how +early this was foreseen. “We are +told,” says he, “that when King +James was preparing to go and take +possession of his crown of England, +his subjects of Scotland came to take +their leave of him, and attend him +part of his way thither with all the +state and magnificence imaginable; +but amongst these numerous attendants, +decked up in their finest apparel, +and mounted on their best horses, +there appeared an old reverend gentleman +of Fife, clothed all over in the +deepest mourning; and being asked +why, whilst all were contending to +appear most gay on such an occasion, +he should be so singular? ‘Why, +truly,’ replied he, ‘there is none of you +congratulate His Majesty’s good fortune +more than I do, and here I am +to perform my duty to him. I have +often marched this road, and entered +England in an hostile manner, and +then I was as well accoutered in +clothes, horses, and arms, as my +neighbours, and suitable to the occasion; +but since I look upon this procession +as Scotland’s funeral solemnity, +I’m come to perform my last +duty to my deceased and beloved +country, with a heart full of grief, +and in a dress correspondent thereto.’ +This gentleman, it seems, foresaw +that, by the removal of the king’s +residence from Scotland, the subject +wanted an occasion of making so immediate +an application to the fountain +of justice, and the state of the nation +could not be so well understood by +the king; so that the interest and +concerns of every particular person, +and likewise of the nation in general, +would be committed to the care of the +ministers of state, who, acting with +a view to themselves, could not fail to +oppress the people. He foresaw that +England, being a greater kingdom, +made (as said Henry VII. when he +gave his daughter to the King of +Scotland rather than the King of +France) an acquisition of Scotland, +and that the king would be under a +necessity of siding with, and pleasing +the most powerful of his two kingdoms, +which were jealous of, and +rivals to, one another; and that, +therefore, ever after the union of +the crowns, the king would not mind, +at least dare encourage, the trades of +Scotland; and that all state affairs +would be managed, laws made and +observed, ministers of state put in and +turned out, as suited best with the +interest and designs of England; by +which means trade would decay, the +people be oppressed, and the nobility +and great men become altogether corrupted.” +These anticipations—though +probably confined to a few who were +not dazzled at the prospect of the +enormous succession which had opened +to their prince, nor rendered blind to +the future by the splendour of the +present triumph—were afterwards +thoroughly realised. From the union +of the crowns, Scotland derived no +permanent benefit, but the reverse. +She retained, indeed, her parliament; +but she had parted with the presence +of her sovereign, who was entirely +surrounded and swayed by English +influence. Whenever the interests of +the two countries clashed—and that +was not seldom—the weaker was sure +to suffer; and thus, instead of increasing +amity, a feeling even bitterer than +that which had existed while the +kingdoms were entirely independent, +was engendered. No wonder that +there were rebellions and outbreaks; +for, in a political point of view, it +would have been better for Scotland +to have had no king at all, than to +owe allegiance to one who was necessarily +under English dictation. Hence, +instead of advancing like England, +steadily in the path of prosperity, +Scotland rapidly decayed—until, to +use the words of an historian of the +union—“in process of time, the nobility +and gentry turned, generally +speaking, so corrupted by the constant +and long tract of discouragement +to all that endeavoured to rectify +the abuses and advance the interests +of the country, that the same was entirely +neglected, and religion, justice, +and trade made tools of to advance +the private and sinister designs of +selfish men; and thus the nation, +being for a hundred years in a manner +without a head, and ravaged and +gutted by a parcel of renegadoes, became, +from a flourishing, happy people, +extremely miserable.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Passages like the foregoing are apt +to be regarded as general complaints, +which hardly could be substantiated +by reference to special instances. +There is, however, abundance of evidence +to show that Scotland, during +the period which intervened between +the union of the crowns and that of +the kingdoms, was greatly depressed +by the influence and policy of her +more powerful neighbour. Under +Cromwell, an entire freedom of trade +had been established between the +two countries. His ordinance was +as follows: “That all customs, excise, +and other imposts for goods +transported from England to Scotland, +and from Scotland to England, by +sea or land, are, and shall be, so far +taken off and discharged, as that all +goods for the future shall pass as free, +and with like privileges, and with the +like charges and burdens, from England +to Scotland, and from Scotland +to England, as goods passing from +port to port, or place to place in +England; and that all goods shall +and may pass between Scotland <i>and +any other part</i> of this commonwealth +or dominions thereof, with the like +privileges, freedom, and charges, as +such goods do or shall pass between +England and the said parts or dominions.”</p> + +<p class='c011'>“Thus,” remarks Mr Burton, who has +entered very fully and distinctly into the +trading and commercial history of the +times, “there was no privilege enjoyed +by traders in England which was not +communicated to Scotland; and what was +not even attempted in France till the +days of Turgot, and only arose in Germany +with the Prussian league—an internal +free trade—was accomplished for +Britain in the middle of the seventeenth +century. It was during the few years of +prosperity following this event that many +of our commercial cities arose. Scotland +enjoyed peace and abundance, and was +making rapid progress in wealth.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>After the Restoration, however, the +Parliament of England repealed this +wise arrangement, and by enacting +that the Scottish people should be +commercially considered as aliens, introduced +a fresh element of discord +between the nations.</p> + +<p class='c011'>“In 1667, commissioners were appointed +from the two kingdoms to treat +of union, when this object of a free trade +was at once brought prominently forward +on the part of Scotland, and at once repelled +on that of England. It was stated +that the colonies had been created at the +expense of Englishmen, and should exist +for their advantage only; that the East +India and some other trades were monopolies +in the hands of companies, not even +open to the English at large, which it +was out of the question to communicate +to any strangers; and, finally, that the +privileges of English shipping were far +too precious to the merchants of England +to be extended to Scotsmen.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>This churlishness on the part of +England was the more inexcusable, +because the Scots nation was not left, +as of old, free to form an unfettered +and reciprocal alliance with any of the +Continental states. From very early +times, the relations between Scotland +and France had been of the most intimate +description—it being the policy +of the latter country to support the +former, and to retain its friendship, +as the most effective check upon English +aggression. The military service +of France had long been open to the +enterprising Scottish youth, and at +the French universities the northern +men of letters were received with +open arms. But the union of the +crowns, if it did not entirely close, at +least greatly limited the extent of this +intercourse. If England went to war +with France, all communication with +Scotland was necessarily closed. It +might not be Scotland’s quarrel, but +the enemies of the King of England +were also to be considered as her +foes. Hence she found that, on the +one hand, her old relations were ruthlessly +broken off, whilst, on the other, +she was denied all participation in +the commercial privileges which were +rapidly augmenting the wealth of her +southern neighbour. Hume tells us +that “the commerce and riches of +England did never, during any period, +increase so fast as from the Restoration +to the Revolution.” At the accession +of the Stuarts to the English +throne, the revenue of that country +amounted to about £500,000: in +1688, when James II. left the throne, +it had risen to £2,000,000. Within +twenty-eight years the shipping of +England had more than doubled. +And, while this extraordinary degree +of prosperity prevailed in the south, +Scotland was daily becoming poorer, +not through the fault or indolence of +her people, but in consequence of that +anomalous connection, which, while +it withheld any new advantages, deprived +her of the opportunity of the +old.</p> + +<p class='c010'>One effort, which well deserves to +be remembered in history, was made +by the Scottish nation to rescue themselves +from this degrading position. +We allude to the Darien scheme, +which, though unfortunate in its issue, +was yet as bold and comprehensive a +commercial enterprise as ever was +undertaken. That it failed, was undoubtedly +not the fault of the projectors. +The most disgraceful means +were used on the part of the English +government, at the instigation of +English merchants alarmed for the +continuance of their monopoly, to +render it abortive; and even were +the character of William of Orange +otherwise without reproach, his duplicity +and treacherous dealing in this +transaction would remain as a dark +blot upon his memory. But in thus +attempting, disreputably and unfairly, +to crush the rising spirit of Scottish +enterprise in a field hitherto unoccupied, +the English advisers of the crown +had gone too far. True, they had +succeeded in annihilating nearly all +the available capital of the northern +kingdom, which had been embarked +in this gigantic scheme; but they had +also roused to a point almost of ungovernable +fury the passion of an insulted +people. There is this peculiarity +about the Scots, that they are +slow to proclaim a grievance, but resolute +to redress it when proclaimed. +The extreme quietude of demeanour +and retinence of speech have sometimes +been falsely interpreted as indicative +of a want of spirit; whereas, +on the contrary, no people can be +more keenly alive than they are to a +sense of injury. And such was the +attitude of the Scottish parliament +at the time, and such the defiant tone +of the nation, that William, seriously +alarmed for the safety of his throne, +“took up the neglected question of +the union, and earnestly recommended +such a measure to the House of Lords, +with a special reference to the history +of Darien, and to the adjustment of +trading privileges, as the only means +of saving the two nations from endless +and irreconcilable discord.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>It was not, however, destined that +the union of the kingdoms should +be effected under the auspices of +the prince whose name in Scotland +is indissolubly connected with the +tragedies of Glencoe and Darien. +The accession of Queen Anne, a +daughter of the house of Stuart, +inspired the Scottish people with the +hope that their grievances might +be at last redressed, or, at all events, +be considered with more fairness than +they could expect from her predecessor, +who was an utter stranger to +their habits and their laws, and whose +title to rule, being questionable in +itself, might naturally lead him to +show undue favour to the stronger +nation which had accepted him, at +the expense of the weaker and more +remote. It was now perfectly evident +to all who were capable of +forming a judgment on the matter, +that, unless some decided step were +taken for admitting the Scots to a +commercial reciprocity with the +English, an entire separation of the +two kingdoms must inevitably take +place. With a large portion of the +northern population, the latter alternative +would have been cheerfully +accepted. What they complained of +was, that they were uselessly fettered +by England—could not take a single +step in any direction without interfering +or being interfered with by +her—were denied the privilege, which +every free nation should possess, of +making their own alliances; and had +not even the right of sending an +accredited ambassador to a foreign +court. They had no objection, but +the reverse, to be associated with +England on fair terms; but hitherto +there appeared no reason to hope +that such terms would ever be granted; +and they would not consent to +be degraded from their rank as an +independent nation. The English +were, on the other hand, exceedingly +adverse to any measure of conciliation. +As in individuals, so in nations, +there are always peculiarities which +distinguish one from another; and +an overweening idea of their own +superiority is essentially the English +characteristic. A great deal has been +and is written in the South about +Scottish nationality—it is, in reality, +nothing compared to the feelings +which are entertained by the Englishman. +But of this we shall have +occasion to speak presently; in the +mean time, it is sufficient to note that +no measure could have been more +unpopular in the trading towns and +shipping ports of England, than one +which proposed to admit the subjects +of the same crown to an equal participation +of privileges. Accordingly, +the first attempt of Queen Anne, +made only three days after her accession, +in her opening speech to the +Parliament of England, towards a +union between the two countries, +proved entirely abortive. It is worth +while quoting from Mr Burton the +note—for it is little more—of this +negotiation, for the purpose of showing +how determined the English +people were to maintain their old +monopoly. Commissioners on either +side were appointed.</p> + +<p class='c011'>“It became at once apparent that the +admission of Scotland to equal trading +privileges was still the great difficulty +on the side of England. The first fundamental +proposition—the succession to +the throne, according to the Act of Settlement—was +readily acceded to, as well +as the second for giving the United +Kingdom one legislature. As an equivalent +fundamental article, the Scottish +commissioners demanded ‘the mutual +communication of trade, and other privileges +and advantages.’ To this it was +answered, that such a communication +was indeed a necessary result of a complete +union; but a specific answer was +deferred, until the Board should discuss +‘the terms and conditions’ of this communication. +There was a deficiency of +attendance of English members to form +a quorum, which for some time interrupted +the treaty. Whether this was +from their being otherwise occupied, or +from distaste of the business before them, +it chafed the spirits of the Scots. When +the two bodies were brought together +again, the trade demands of the Scots +were articulately set forth. They demanded +free trade between the two +nations; the same regulations and duties +in both countries for importation and +exportation; equal privileges to the shipping +and seamen of the two nations; the +two nations not to be burdened with +each other’s debts, or, if they were to +be so, an equivalent to be paid to Scotland, +as the nation more unequally so +burdened; and, lastly, it was proposed +that these demands should be considered +without reference to existing companies +in either kingdom. This was well understood +by both parties to have reference +to the Darien affair.</p> + +<p class='c011'>“On the part of England it was conceded +that ‘there be a free trade between +the two kingdoms for the native +commodities of the growth, product, and +manufactures of the respective countries.’ +But even this concession, defined so as to +exclude external trade, was not to extend +to wool—an article on which English +restrictions on exportation, for the +support of home manufacture, had risen +to a fanatical excess. A reference was +made to the colonial trade—the main +object of the Scottish demand of an exchange +of commercial privileges. It was +postponed, and in a tone indicating that +it was too precious, as a privilege of +Englishmen and a disqualification of +Scotsmen, to be conceded.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>After further communing, without +any satisfactory result, the meetings +of the commissioners were adjourned; +and there stands on the minutes of +the Scottish Parliament the following +brief but exceedingly emphatic resolution, +that the Scottish commission +for the treaty is terminate and extinct, +and not to be revived without the +consent of the Estates.</p> + +<p class='c010'>These details are absolutely necessary +for a proper understanding of the +circumstances under which the great +Act of Union of the two kingdoms was +finally carried. Former historians have +given too much prominence to mere +party intrigues and ecclesiastical contests, +which, though they undoubtedly +lend a colour to the transactions of +the times, are by no means to be regarded +as the sole motives of action. +The Presbyterian form of Church government +was by this time finally +settled; and there was no wish, on +the part of any large section in the +country, to have that settlement disturbed. +The Jacobite or Cavalier +party regarded the proposals for a +union with suspicion, as necessarily +involving a surrender of their cherished +principle of legitimacy; and it +is not unreasonable to suppose that +many of them were rather glad than +otherwise to perceive that the failure +of the negotiation was entirely attributable +to the tenacity and superciliousness +of the English. Some of +the nobility were conscientiously opposed +to an entire incorporating union +as degrading to the country, and injurious +to the dignity of their own +order; and they were supported in +that view by a large number of the +gentry, who were not sufficiently conversant +with commercial affairs to +understand the enormous importance +of the development of the national +trade. But in the midst of parties +actuated by traditionary feeling and +sectarian motives, there had arisen +one, the members of which were fully +alive to the critical state of the country, +earnestly impressed with the necessity +of elevating its position, and, +withal, determined that its honour +should not suffer in their hands.</p> + +<p class='c010'>At the head of this independent +body of politicians was Fletcher of +Saltoun, a man of high and vigorous +intellect, but of a hasty and impetuous +nature. Fletcher was heart and soul +a Scotsman, and devoted to his country. +Loyalty to the sovereign was +with him a secondary consideration—indeed +he seems always to have entertained +the theory that the kingly +office was simply the result of the +election of the people. He had taken +an active part in Monmouth’s rebellion, +and fought against King James—William +he looked upon as no better +than a usurping tyrant—and he +was now ready to transfer the crown, +if transferred it must be, to the head +of any claimant, if by so doing he +could rescue his country from what +he deemed to be intolerable degradation. +Those who followed Fletcher, +and acted along with him in Parliament, +did not subscribe to all these +peculiar opinions; but, like him, they +regarded the welfare of the country +as their primary object, and were +determined, since England would not +come to terms, to achieve once more +an entire and thorough independence. +They looked for support, as brave +men will ever do in such emergencies, +not to party politicians who might +use and betray them, but to the great +body of the people; and they did not +appeal in vain.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The last Parliament ever held in +Scotland, assembled on the 6th of +May 1703. Nothing was said about +further negotiation for a union, but +something was done significant of the +determination of the country to vindicate +its rights. An act was passed +restraining the right of the monarch +to make war, on the part of Scotland, +without the consent of the Scottish +Parliament. Another, by removing +the restrictions on the importation of +French wines, was intended to show +that the Scottish legislature did not +consider themselves involved in the +English continental policy. But the +most important measure by far was +that termed the “Act for the Security +of the Kingdom.” The crown of England +had been formally settled upon +the Princess Sophia and her heirs, +failing direct descendants of Queen +Anne, and it appears to have been +confidently expected that the Scottish +Parliament would adopt the same +order of succession. So little doubt +seems to have been entertained on +this point, that no conference on the +subject had been held or even proposed,—a +neglect which the Scots +were entitled to consider either as an +insult, or as an indirect intimation +that they were at perfect liberty to +make their own arrangements. The +latter view was that which they chose +to adopt. In their then temper, indeed, +it was not to be expected that +they would let slip the opportunity of +testifying to England that, except on +equal terms, they would enter into no +permanent alliance, and that, in the +event of these not being granted, they +were desirous to dissolve the connection +by effecting a separation of the +crowns. The main provisions of the +Act, as it was passed, were these:—</p> + +<p class='c011'>“That on the death of the Queen without +issue, the Estates were to name a successor +from the Protestant descendants +of the royal line of Scotland, <i>but the admitted +successor to the crown of England +was excluded from their choice</i>, unless +‘there be such conditions of government +settled and enacted as may secure the +honour and sovereignty of this crown and +kingdom,—the freedom, frequency, and +power of Parliaments,—the religion, freedom, +and trade of the nation, from English +or any foreign influence.’ It was +made high treason to administer the coronation +oath without instructions from the +Estates. By a further clause, to come in +force immediately, the nation was placed +in a state of defence, and the able-bodied +population were ordained to muster under +their respective heritors or burgh magistrates.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>This act, though not formally ratified +until another session, affords the true +key to the history of the great Union +effected in 1707, whereby the people of +two kingdoms, long rivals and often at +hostility, were happily blended into +one. It is not our intention to enter +into any minute details regarding the +progress of that measure, or to depict +the popular feeling with which it was +received. It was hardly possible that +an event of this magnitude could take +place, without exciting in some quarters +a feeling of regret for altered nationality, +and creating in others a +strong misgiving for the future. But, +in reality, there was no national surrender. +The treaty was conducted +and carried through on terms of perfect +equality. England and Scotland +were united into one kingdom by the +name of Great Britain, and their separate +ensigns were appointed to be +conjoined. Each division was to retain +its own laws, institutions, and +ecclesiastical polity, and one Parliament +was to legislate for the whole. +It was upon the latter point that the +great difference of opinion prevailed. +Some advocated—and the reasons +they adduced were not without their +weight—a federal union, which would +at least have the effect of preserving to +Scotland the administration of its own +affairs. They maintained that, under +an incorporating union, the interests +of Scotland, in so far as their own domestic +and peculiar institutions were +concerned, must necessarily, in the +course of time, be neglected, in as +much as the Scottish representatives +in the Imperial Parliament would constitute +but a small minority—that by +entire centralisation of government, +the wealth of the lesser country would +be gradually attracted to the greater—and +that no guarantees could justify +the imprudence of parting with an +administrative and controlling power +over such matters as were intended +to remain peculiarly distinctive of +the nation. The experience of well-nigh +a century and a half has proved +that such apprehensions were not +altogether without a foundation, and +that the predicted tendency to absorb +and centralise was not the mere +phantom of an inflamed patriotic +imagination; nevertheless, we are +clearly of opinion that the objections +which were raised to a federal +were of far greater weight than those +which could be urged against an incorporating +union. It is impossible, +we think, to read the history of last +century without perceiving that a federal +union, however skilfully framed, +could hardly have been maintained +unbroken—it would at any rate have +engendered jealousies and perpetuated +prejudices which are now happily set +at rest—and it probably would have +been a material bar to that unrestricted +intercourse which has been +productive of so much advantage to +both divisions of the island. But, +while granting this, we by no means +intend to deny that centralisation, +when pushed beyond a certain necessary +point, may not become a grievance +which loudly calls for a remedy.</p> + +<p class='c010'>To judge from their language, and +the general tone of their opinions, +many of our brethren in the south +seem to regard the Union simply as +an act by means of which Scotland +was annexed to England. A few +weeks ago, a presumptuous scribbler +in a London weekly journal, while +reviewing Mr Burton’s work, designated +Scotland as the incorporated, in +contradistinction to the incorporating +body; and although we do not suppose +that such exceeding ignorance of +historical fact is common, we are +nevertheless constrained to believe +that a good deal of misapprehension +prevails as to the real nature of the +treaty. Even the language of statesmen +in Parliament is often inaccurate, +and has a tendency to promote false +views upon the subject. To talk of +the laws of England or of her Church, +is strictly correct, for these are peculiar +to, and distinctive of herself; but +such expressions as the English flag, +English army, English parliament, +&c., are altogether inappropriate, unless, +indeed, the Treaty of Union is +to be considered as an absolute dead +letter. These things may be deemed +trifles; but still there is a significance +in words, which becomes the greater +the oftener they are employed. We +have, however, no desire to cavil about +terms; nor would we have noticed +such a matter, if it were not also evident +that there has been, for some +time past, and still is, a tendency to +regard Scotland in the light of a subsidiary +province, and to deal with her +accordingly. Such, we say, is the +case at present; but we do not therefore +by any means conclude that there +is a desire to defraud us of our privileges, +or to degrade us from our proper +position. We believe that we have +grievances for which we require redress; +but we are induced to attribute +the existence of these grievances, +most of which have been generated +by neglect, rather to the limited number +of our national representatives, +and the inadequate provision which +has been made for the administration +of Scottish affairs, than to any intention +on the part of British statesmen +to withhold from us what we consider +to be our due. Still, as claimants, +and especially as claimants under so +solemn a treaty, we are not only entitled, +but bound to state our case, +which we shall do, we hope, with +proper temperance and discretion.</p> + +<p class='c010'>We have often been told, especially +of late years, that any expression of +what is called Scottish nationality is +absurd, and likely to be injurious to +the general interest of the kingdom; +and those journals who have taken +upon themselves the task of ridiculing +any movement on the part of Scotsmen +to obtain what they consider to +be their just privileges under a solemn +international treaty, beseech us not +“to engage in a disgraceful imitation +of the worst features of Irish character.” +We certainly have no intention +of imitating the Irish; but we have +as little idea of relinquishing that +which is our own, or of submitting +to domineering pretensions which +have not a shadow of a foundation to +rest on. In all matters common to +the British empire, we acknowledge +but one interest—in all matters peculiar +to Scotland, we claim a right to +be heard.</p> + +<p class='c010'>To say that Scottish nationality is +a dream without an object, is to deny +history, and to fly in the face of fact. +The Union neither did nor could denationalise +us. It left us in undisturbed +possession of our national laws +and our national religion; and it +further provided, as well as could be +done at the period, and most anxiously, +for the future maintenance of those +institutions which the state is bound +to foster and preserve. If it had been +intended that in all time coming the +Imperial Parliament of Britain was +to have full liberty to deal as it pleased +with the internal affairs of Scotland, +certainly there would not have been +inserted in the treaty those stringent +clauses, which, while they maintain +the institutions of the past, lay down +rules for their regulation in the future. +These were, to all intents and purposes, +fundamental conditions of the +treaty; and to that treaty, both in +word and spirit, we look and appeal. +We can assure our friends in the south +that they will hear nothing of what a +polished and judicious journalist has +had the exquisite taste to term “a +parcel of trash about Bannockburn, +and sticks of sulphur of which a schoolboy, +in his calmer moments, might +feel ashamed.” We have no intention +whatever, as the same ornament of +letters has averred, of demanding a +repeal of the Union—on the contrary, +our demand resolves itself into this, +that the spirit of the treaty should be +observed, and the same consideration +be shown by Parliament to matters +which are purely Scottish, as to those +which relate exclusively to England. +And until it shall be received as righteous +doctrine, that men are not only +ridiculous, but culpable, in demanding +what has been guaranteed to them, +we shall give such assistance as lies +in our power, to any movement in +Scotland for the vindication of the +national rights.</p> + +<p class='c010'>That the provisions of the Treaty +of Union were just and equitable, will +not be disputed. They were adjusted +with much care, with much difficulty, +and were, in many points of view, +exceedingly favourable to Scotland. +But, unfortunately, almost from the +very outset, a series of infringements +began. Mr Burton, who certainly +does not exaggerate Scottish grievances, +remarks, “that many of the +calamities following on the Union, +had much encouragement, if they did +not spring from that haughty English +nature which would not condescend +to sympathise in, or even know, the +peculiarities of their new fellow-countrymen.” +We go even further than +this; for we are convinced that, had +the provisions of the Union been +scrupulously observed, and a judicious +delicacy used in the framing of +the new regulations necessary for +the establishment of a uniform fiscal +system—had the pride of the Scots not +been wantonly wounded, and a strong +colour given to the suspicions of the +vulgar that the national cause had +been betrayed—it is more than probable +that no serious rising would +have been attempted on behalf of the +Stuarts. Obviously it was the policy +of the English to have conciliated the +Scots, and by cautious and kindly +treatment to have reconciled them to +their new position. But conciliation +is not one of the arts for which Englishmen +are famed; and it is not improbable +that the nation was possessed +with the idea that the Scots had, +somehow or other, obtained a better +bargain than they were altogether +entitled to. Moreover, the English +were then, as some of them are even +now, profoundly ignorant of the history, +temper, and feelings of the northern +population. Mr Burton very justly +remarks:—</p> + +<p class='c011'>“The people of Scotland, indeed, knew +England much better than the people of +England knew Scotland—perhaps as any +village knows a metropolis better than +the people of the metropolis know the +village. Those who pursued historical +literature, it is true, were acquainted +with the emphatic history of the people +inhabiting the northern part of the island, +and were taught by it to respect and fear +them; but the ordinary Englishman knew +no more about them than he did about +the natives of the Faroe or Scilly isles. +The efforts of the pamphleteers to make +Scotland known to the English at the +period of the Union, are like the missionary +efforts at the present day to instruct +people about the policy of the +Caffres or the Japanese.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>No sooner was the Union effected, +than disputes began about duties. +Illegal seizures of Scottish vessels +were made by the authorities. Englishmen, +wholly ignorant of the laws +and habits of those among whom they +were to reside, were appointed to +superintend the revenue; and, as +sometimes occurs even at the present +day, the dogmatic adherence of such +men to the technicalities of the “system” +under which they were bred, +and their intolerance of any other +method, made them peculiarly odious, +and cast additional unpopularity upon +the English name. If we again quote +Mr Burton on this subject, it is less +with the view of exposing what formerly +took place, than in the hope +that the spirit of his remarks, not +altogether inapplicable even now, +may penetrate the obtuse mist which +shrouds our public departments; and +lead to some relaxation of that bigoted +bureaucracy which prevails in +the Government offices. It has been, +we are aware, laid down as an axiom +that the local business of any district +is best conducted by a stranger. Our +view is directly the reverse. We +maintain that an intimate knowledge +of the people with whom he is to +transact, is a high qualification for an +official; and it is much to be regretted +that the opposite system has been +pursued in London, under the baneful +influence of centralisation.</p> + +<p class='c011'>“Cause of enmity still more formidable +passed across to Scotland itself, where +the Englishman showed his least amiable +characteristics. To manage the revenue, +new commissioners of excise and customs +were appointed, consisting in a great +measure of Englishmen. They were followed +by subordinate officers trained in +the English method of realising the +duties, whose distribution throughout +the country afforded opportunities for +saying that a swarm of harpies had been +let loose on the devoted land, to suck its +blood and fatten on the spoils of the +oppressed people. The Englishman’s +national character is not the best adapted +for such delicate operations. He lays +his hand to his functions with a steady +sternness, and resolute unconsciousness +of the external conditions by which he is +surrounded. The subordinate officer +generally feels bound, with unhesitating +singleness of purpose, to the peculiar +methods followed at home in his own ‘department,’ +as being the only true and sound +methods. He has no toleration for any +other, and goes to his duty among +strangers as one surrounded by knaves +and fools, whose habits and ideas must +be treated with disdain. Thus has it +often happened, that the collective +honesty and national fidelity to engagements +of the English people, have been +neutralised by the tyrannical pride and +surly unadaptability of the individual +men who have come in contact with +other nations.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>These arrangements were evidently +unwise, as being calculated to produce +throughout the country a spirit of discontent +among the middle and lower +classes, whom the Government ought +to have conciliated by every means in +their power. There is much independence +of thought, as well as shrewdness, +among the Scottish peasantry +and burghers; and their hearty co-operation +and good-will would have +been an effectual barrier against any +attempts to overthrow the Hanoverian +succession. To that, indeed, as a +security for the maintenance of the +Presbyterian form of church government, +they were well inclined; and, +therefore, it was of the more moment +that they should be reconciled as +speedily as possible to the Union. +But instead of the fair side of the picture, +the dark one was imprudently +presented to them. The taxation was +greatly increased, the measures altered +according to a foreign standard, +and a degree of rigour exercised in the +collection of the revenue, to which they +had been previously unaccustomed. +Against these immediate burdens and +innovations, it was of no use to expatiate +upon future prospects of national +prosperity as an off-set. The Commons, +never keenly in favour of the +Union, began presently to detest it; +and, if they did not absolutely wish +success to the Jacobite cause, it was +pretty generally understood that they +would take no active measures to oppose +a rising which at least might +have the effect of freeing them from a +burdensome connection.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Nothing, indeed, could be more injudicious +than the early legislation of +the United Parliament in regard to +Scottish affairs. In order to strengthen +the hands of the English officers +of customs and excise located in the +north, who could not understand the +technicalities, and would not observe +the forms of a law to which they were +habitually strangers, it was determined +that the Scottish Justices of the +Peace should be made fac-similes of +the English. We may conceive the +horror of a grim Presbyterian west-country +laird at finding himself associated +in the commission with “the +most reverent father in Christ, and +our faithful counsellor, Thomas Archbishop +of Canterbury, primate of all +England, and metropolitan thereof!” +Then came the abolition of the Scottish +Privy Council, and a new act for +the trial of treason, superseding the authority +of the Court of Justiciary, and +introducing the commission, unintelligible +to Scottish ears, of Oyer and +Terminer. This was passed in the face +of the united opposition of the whole +body of the Scottish members. Then +came the Patronage Act, which effected +a schism in the church, and others +more or less injurious or injudicious; +so that it is impossible to avoid the +conclusion of Mr Burton, “that English +statesmen, had they desired to +alienate Scotland, and create a premature +revulsion against the Union, +could not have pursued a course better +directed to such an end.” In fact, +the existence of the Union was at one +time in the greatest peril. The Scottish +members of the House of Commons, +though almost to a man returned +on the Revolution interest, held a +meeting for the purpose of considering +the propriety of taking steps to have +the Union dissolved; and it does not +appear that there was a single dissentient +voice. Lockhart, the member +for Mid-Lothian, who summoned the +meeting, has given us a sketch of his +statement, the most important points +of which were as follows: “That the +Scots trade was sunk and destroyed +by the many prohibitions, regulations, +and impositions on it, and the heavy +taxes imposed on the native produce +and manufacture (all which were calculated +and adapted to the conveniency +and circumstances of England, +with which those of Scotland did noways +correspond); and that the country +was exhausted of money, by the +remittance of so great a part of the +public taxes, and the great recourse +of so many Scotsmen to London: if +matters stood long on such a footing, +the ruin and misery of Scotland was +unavoidable; that from the haughty +and insolent treatment we had lately +received, it was sufficiently evident +we could expect no just redress from +the English.” The result of the conference +was a communication with the +Scottish Representative Peers, who +were also by this time thoroughly disgusted +with the Union; and the Earl +of Findlater, selected as the mouthpiece +of the party, moved the dissolution +of the Union in the House of +Lords, and succeeded in effecting an +equal division of the members present. +The motion was lost by the small +majority of three upon the proxies.</p> + +<p class='c010'>It is remarkable that in this debate +the Duke of Argyle and his brother, +Lord Ilay, both warm friends of the +Hanoverian succession, spoke strongly +in favour of the motion; thus showing +how keenly and universally the +attempt to provincialise Scotland was +felt by all classes. It became evident +that, under such a system of administration, +Scotland could not long remain +tranquil; and, accordingly, the +death of Queen Anne was followed +by the raising of the insurrectionary +standard.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Mar’s rebellion was at length quelled, +mainly through the efforts and +personal popularity of the Duke of +Argyle. In all human probability it +never would have taken place, but for +the encouragement held out to the +Jacobites by the universal discontent +of Scotland. But in spite of every +warning, the ministers of the day persevered +in a line of conduct most offensive +to the northern population. +They suppressed the important office +of the Scottish Secretary of State, as +if the affairs of that kingdom were of +so little importance, that an English +Secretary, who knew nothing of the +people or their laws, was perfectly +competent to superintend their business +in addition to that of the other +country. Such an arrangement as +this, however, was too preposterous +to remain unaltered. The English +Secretary might just as well have attempted +to administer the affairs of +Muscovy as those of Scotland; and, +in process of time, the functions of +Secretary were quietly handed over +to the Lord Advocate—a combination +of which the country has had much +reason to complain, and which it certainly +ought not to tolerate longer. +The history of the country between +1715 and 1745, is, with the exception +of a short period during which the +Duke of Argyle exercised a sort of +provisional vice-royalty, little else +than a catalogue of repeated innovations +and dissensions. At that time +Scotland was regarded by English +statesmen as a dangerous and smouldering +volcano; and fully half a century, +dating from the time of the +Union, went by, before anything like +a feeling of cordiality was established +between the two nations.</p> + +<p class='c010'>When we regard Scotland as it is +now—tranquil, prosperous, and enterprising—we +are naturally led to wonder +at the exceeding greatness of the +change. The change, however, is not +in the character of the people: they +are still as jealous of what they esteem +to be their just rights and guaranteed +privileges as ever; but they have felt, +and fully appreciate, the advantages +which they have derived from the +union; a closer intercourse has taught +them to respect and admire the many +estimable qualities of the English character; +and they perceive that a very +great deal of the aggression of which +their fathers complained, and which +led not only to heartburnings but to +civil strife, arose rather from ignorance +than from deliberate intention of offence. +And if, even now, there are +some matters with regard to which +they consider that they have not received +justice, these have not been, and +will not be, made the subjects of a +reckless agitation. No one believes +that there is any design on the part of +England to deal unkindly or unfairly +with her sister. We may, indeed, +complain that purely Scottish matters +are treated with comparative indifference +in the British House of Commons; +but, then, it is impossible to +forget that the great majority of the +members know very little indeed of +the Scottish laws and institutions. +There is some truth in one observation +of the <cite>Times</cite>—though the writer +intended it for a sneer—“that the +Scottish representatives in London are +not only regarded with the deepest +respect, but to them the highest of all +compliments is paid—namely, that +when a Scotch subject is brought before +the House, almost invariably the +matter is left to their own decision, +without interference of any kind.” +If the <cite>Times</cite> could have added that +Scottish business obtained that prominence +to which it is entitled—that our +bills were not invariably shuffled off +and postponed, as if they related to +matters of no moment whatever—the +statement might be accepted as satisfactory. +Even as it is, we are not +inclined to stand greatly upon our +dignity. Neglect is, upon the whole, +preferable to over-legislation; and we +are not covetous of the repetition of +such experiments as were made by the +late Sir Robert Peel upon our banking +system. But, so far as we know, beyond +an occasional grumble at slight +and delay, there has been no serious +remonstrance on this head. What we +do remonstrate against is, that while +exposed to an equal taxation with +England, Scotland does not receive +the same, or anything like the same, +encouragement for her national institutions, +and that her local interests +are not properly cared for on the part +of the British government.</p> + +<p class='c010'>We are very anxious that this matter +should be stated fairly and calmly, +so that our brethren in the south may +judge for themselves whether or not +there is substantive reason in the appeal +for “Justice to Scotland” which, +having been faintly audible for many +years, is now sounded throughout the +land. We have anything but a wish +to make mountains out of molehills, +or to magnify and parade trifles as +positive grievances. Therefore we +shall not allude to such matters as +heraldic arrangements, though why +the stipulations made by treaty with +regard to these should be violated or +overlooked, we cannot comprehend. +If emblems are to be retained at all, +they ought to be in strict accordance +with the position of the things which +they represent. Our real complaints, +however, are not of a nature which +will admit of so easy a remedy as the +application of a painter’s brush, or a +readjustment of quarterings; nor can +they be laughed down by silly sneers +at the attitude of the Scottish Lion. +They are substantial and specific; +and both the honour and the interest +of Scotland are concerned in obtaining +their redress.</p> + +<p class='c010'>And first we maintain, and refer to +the Treaty of Union, and our present +arrangements as proof, that the equality +established between England and +Scotland has been observed only as +regards equality of taxation, but has +been disregarded in the matter of +allowances. We ask Englishmen, +against whom the charge of pecuniary +injustice has almost never been made, +and who frequently have erred, in regard +to foreign connection and subsidy, +on the other side, to take into serious +consideration the facts which we are +about to adduce.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The object of the Treaty of Union +was to establish uniformity of trade +and privilege, internal and external, +throughout the United Kingdom; to +equalise taxation and burdens; and +to extinguish all trace of separate +interest in matters purely imperial. +But it was not intended by the Union +to alter or innovate the laws and institutions +of either country—on the +contrary, these were strictly excepted +and provided for. The previous acts, +both of the English and the Scottish +Parliaments, remained in force, applicable +to the two countries: but, for +the future, all legislation was to be +intrusted to one body, “to be styled +the Parliament of Great Britain.” +Referring again to the Treaty of +Union, we find anxious and careful +provision made for the maintenance +in Scotland of three national institutions, +the Church, the Courts, and +the Universities; all of which the +united legislature was bound to recognise +and protect. In short, the +whole spirit and tenor of the Treaty +is, that, without altering national institutions, +equality should be observed +as much as possible in the future +administration of the countries.</p> + +<p class='c010'>It cannot be pretended that the +Union implied no real sacrifice on +the part of the Scottish people. London, +to the exclusion of Edinburgh, +became the seat of government. +Thither the nobility and wealthier +gentry were drawn, and there a +considerable portion of the revenue +of the country was expended. That +was the inevitable consequence of +the arrangement which was made, +and the Scots were too shrewd not to +perceive it. But, on the other hand, +the advantages which the union offered, +seemed, in prospect at least, to +counterbalance the sacrifice; and it +was understood that, though the Scottish +parliament was abolished, and +the great offices of state suppressed, +the remanent local institutions were +to receive from the British government +that consideration and support +which was necessary to maintain them +in a healthy state of existence.</p> + +<p class='c010'>It is almost to be regretted that the +Treaty of Union was not more distinct +and specific on those points; and that +no stipulation was made for the expenditure +of a fair proportion of the +revenue raised from Scotland within +her bounds. That such a guarantee +would have been advantageous is now +evident; for, instead of diminishing, +the tendency towards centralisation +has become greater than ever. No +government has tried to check it—indeed, +we question whether public men +are fully aware of its evil.</p> + +<p class='c010'>As a country advances in wealth, +the seat of government will always +prove the centre point of attraction. +The fascinations of the court, the concourse +of the nobility, the necessary +throng of the leading commoners of +Britain during the parliamentary season, +are all in favour of the metropolis. +To this, as a matter of course, we must +submit, and do so cheerfully; but not +by any means because we are in the +situation of an English province. It +never was intended to make us such, +nor could the whole power of England, +however exerted, have degraded us to +that position. London is not our +capital city, nor have we any interest +in its aggrandisement. We do not +acknowledge the authority, in matters +of law, of the Chief-Justice of +England—we are altogether beyond +the reach of the southern Ecclesiastical +Courts. These are not accidental +exceptions; they are necessary parts +of the system by which it was provided +that, in all things concerning +our local administration, we were to +have local courts, local powers, and a +local executive. We complain that, +in this respect, the spirit of the treaty +has not been observed. Our Boards +of Custom and Commissioners of Excise +have been abolished; the revenues +of the Scottish Woods and Forests are +administered in London, and applied +almost entirely to English purposes; +and a like centralisation has been extended +to the departments of the +Stamps and Post-office.</p> + +<p class='c010'>But lest it should be said that these +are grievances more shadowy than +real, let us take the case of the Woods +and Forests mentioned above. The +hereditary revenues of the Crown +in Scotland amount to a very large +sum, all of which is sent to London, +but hardly a penny of it ever +returns. Holyrood, Dunfermline, +Linlithgow—all our old historical +buildings and objects of interest, are +allowed to crumble into decay; because +the administration of a fund +which ought to be devoted to such +purposes is confided to Englishmen, +who care nothing whatever about the +matter. By one vote in the present +year, £181,960 were devoted to the +repair and embellishment of royal +palaces, parks, and pleasure-grounds +in England; but it seems by the statement +of the Chancellor of the Exchequer +that there are no funds available +for the repair of Holyrood. Of +course there can be no funds, if all our +money is to be squandered in the +south, and an annual expenditure of +nearly £10,000 lavished upon Hampton +Court, where royalty never resides. +Of course there can be no +funds, if £40,000 is given for a +palm-house at Kew, and upwards of +£62,000 for royal parks in England. +But there <i>are</i> funds, if we may believe +the public accounts, arising +from the revenue of the Crown in +Scotland, though most unjustly diverted +to other than Scottish purposes. +It may be, however, that, +very soon, no such funds will remain. +A large portion of the Crown +property situated in Scotland has +been advertised for public sale; and +we may be sure of this, that not +even a fractional portion of the proceeds +will be applied to the North of +the Tweed. Now, if the management +of this branch of the Revenue had been +intrusted to a board in Edinburgh (as +it formerly was, before the Barons of +Exchequer were abolished), we venture +to say that, without asking or +receiving one shilling of English +money, we could have effectually rescued +ourselves from the reproach to +which we are daily subjected by +strangers, who are not aware of the +extent to which centralisation has +been carried. They look with wonder +and sorrow at Holyrood, with her +ruined chapel, and the bones of our +Scottish kings and queens exposed to +the common gaze, and ask whether +they really are among a people famous +for the enthusiasm with which they +cleave to the memories of the past, +and to the recollections of their former +glories. Peering through the +bars of that charnel vault where the +giant skeleton of Darnley is thrown +beside the mouldering remains of +those who once wore the crown and +wielded the sceptre of Scotland, they +can recall no parallel instance of desecration +save the abominable violation +of the sepulchres of St Denis by +the base republican rabble. And who +are to blame for this? Not certainly +the Scottish people, but those who +have diverted the revenues applicable +to purely national objects, to the maintenance +of English palaces and the +purchase of London parks.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Centralisation has deprived us of +several important offices which could +have been filled quite as economically +and efficiently for the public service +in Scotland as in the south. We are +by no means in favour of the extension +of useless offices, but there is a +vast difference between such and +places of responsibility, where local +knowledge becomes a very high qualification. +It is impossible that a +board, sitting in London, can give the +same satisfaction to the people of +Scotland, or conduct business so effectually, +as if it was located among +them. But, besides this, it seems to +be a settled matter that Scottish official +appointments are to be remunerated +on a different scale from that +which is applied in England and in +Ireland. Why is it that our officials—in +the Edinburgh Post-office, +for example—are paid at a far lower +rate than those who perform the +same duties in London and in Dublin? +Is it because Ireland contributes +more than we do to the revenue? +Let us see. The revenue of +Scotland for the year ending 1852 +was £6,164,804, of which there was +expended in the country £400,000, +leaving £5,764,804, which was remitted +to London. The revenue of +Ireland for the same period was +£4,000,681, of which there was expended +in Ireland £3,847,134; leaving +a balance merely of £153,547. +Have the people of Scotland no +reason to complain whilst this monstrous +inequality is tolerated?</p> + +<p class='c010'>Let us now turn to the Universities, +which in the eyes of a Government so +zealous as the present affects to be in +the cause of education, and to Lord +John Russell in particular, ought to +be objects of considerable interest. +Let us see how they have been treated. +In the year 1826 a Commissioner +was appointed by George IV. to examine +into the state of the Scottish +Universities, and to report thereon. +The Commissioners, of whom the +Earl of Aberdeen was one, made a +report in 1831, to the effect that, in +general, the chairs were scandalously +ill-endowed, and that adequate and +complete provision should be made in +all the Universities, so that the appointment +to the Chairs “should at all +times be an object of ambition to men +of literature and science.” Four or five +bulky blue books of evidence, &c., were +issued; but the only party connected +with literature who derived any benefit +from the commission, was the English +printer. Not a step has been +taken in consequence by any administration, +<i>although two-and-twenty years +have elapsed since the report was given +in</i>! Sir Robert Peel had no objection +to found and endow Popish colleges in +Ireland, but he would not listen to +the representations made on behalf of +the Protestant colleges of Scotland. +In consequence, the emolument drawn +from many Chairs in Scotland is +under £250 per annum, even in cases +where the Crown is patron! Such is +the liberality of the British Government +in regard to Scottish education +in its highest branches, even with the +most positive reports recorded in its +favour! As for museums, antiquarian +and scientific societies and the like, +they are left entirely dependent upon +private support. We do not say that +a Government is bound to expend the +public money upon such objects as the +latter; but it is at all events bound +to be impartial; and really, when we +look at the large sums devoted every +year as a matter of course to London +and Dublin, while Edinburgh is passed +over without notice, we have a right +to know for what offence on our part +we experience such insulting neglect. +This is, moreover, a matter which +ought not to be lightly dismissed, inasmuch +as, if Edinburgh is still to be +regarded as a capital city, she is entitled +to fair consideration and support +in all things relating to the +diffusion of arts and science. We do +not desire to see the multiplication of +British museums; but we wish to +participate directly in that very lavish +expenditure presently confined to +London, for what are called the purposes +of art. If we are made to pay +for pictures, let us at least have some +among us, so that our artists may derive +the benefit. We have all the +materials and collections for a geological +museum in Edinburgh, but the +funds for the building are denied. +Nevertheless, a grant of £18,000 per +annum is made from the public money +to the geological museums of London +and Dublin.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Passing from these things, and referring +to public institutions of a +strictly charitable nature, we find no +trace whatever of state almonry in +Scotland. Dublin last year received +for its different hospitals £23,654 of +state money. Edinburgh has never +received the smallest contribution. +Can any one explain to us why the +people of Scotland are called upon to +maintain their own police, while that +of London receives annually £131,000, +that of Dublin £36,000, and that of +the Irish counties £487,000—or why +one half of the constabulary expense +in the counties of England is defrayed +from the consolidated fund, +while no such allowance is made to +Scotland? We should like very +much to hear Mr Gladstone or Lord +Palmerston upon that subject.</p> + +<p class='c010'>It is anything but an agreeable task +for us to repeat the items of grievance, +of which these are only a part. There +are others highly discreditable to the +Government, such as the continued +delay, in spite of constant application, +to devote any portion of the public +money to the formation of harbours +of refuge on the east and northern +coasts of Scotland, where shipwrecks +frequently occur. But enough, and +more than enough, has been said to +prove that, while subjected to the +same taxation, Scotland does not receive +the same measure of allowances +and encouragements as England, and +that the system of centralisation has +been carried to a pernicious and unjustifiable +length. If these are not +grievances, we are really at a loss to +know what may be the true meaning +of that term. To many of the English +public they must be new, as we have +no doubt they are startling; for the +general impression is, that Scotsmen, +on the whole, know pretty well how +to manage their own affairs, and are +tolerably alive to their own interest. +That is undeniable; but the peculiarity +of the case is, <i>that we are not permitted +to manage our own affairs</i>. England +has relieved us of the trouble; which +latter, however, we would not grudge +to bestow, if allowed to do so. But +our grounds of complaint are not new +to statesmen and officials of every +party. Representation after representation +has been made, but made +in vain. The press of Scotland has, +year after year, charged the Government +with neglect of Scottish interests, +and warned it against persevering in +such a course; but without effect. +The unwillingness of the people to +agitate has been construed into indifference; +and now, when the national +voice is raised in its own defence, we +are taunted with previous silence!</p> + +<p class='c010'>Now, we beg to repeat again, what +we have already expressed, that +we do not believe it is the wish of +Englishmen, or of English statesmen, +that we should be so unfairly treated. +Indeed, we have reason to know that +some of the latter have expressed +their conviction that Scottish affairs +are not well administered, and that +great reason of complaint exists. That +is consoling, perhaps, but not satisfactory. +We are told that we ought +to be very proud, because, at the +present moment, a Scotsman is at the +head of the Government. As yet we +have seen no reason to plume ourselves +upon that accident, which in +no way adds materially to the national +glory. We shall reserve our +jubilation thereon, until we have a +distinct assurance that Lord Aberdeen +is prepared to grant us substantial +justice. Of that, as yet, no indication +has been afforded; and, to confess +the truth, were it only for the +grace of the movement, we would far +rather see the reforms and readjustments +we require conceded to us, as +matter of right, by an English than +by a Scottish Premier. What we +seek is neither favour nor jobbing, but +that attention to our interests which +is our due. If Lord Aberdeen thinks +fit to render it now, we shall, of +course, be very glad to receive it; +but we do not entertain extravagant +expectations from that quarter. If +his heart had really been warmly with +the country of his birth, it is almost +impossible to suppose that, having +set his name, as he did, to a strong +report in favour of assistance to the +Scottish universities, he would have +allowed about a quarter of a century +to elapse without mooting the subject, +either as a peer of Parliament, or as +an influential member of more than one +Cabinet; and it is impossible to forget +that, with the most deplorable schism +in the history of the national Church +of Scotland—the more deplorable, because +it might have been prevented by +wise and timely legislation—his name +is inseparably connected. Therefore, +in so far as our interests are concerned, +we see no especial reason for glorification +in the fact that Lord Aberdeen is +a peer of Scotland. That Lord Campbell, +who, as the <cite>Times</cite> avers, “holds +the highest common law appointment +in the three kingdoms,” was born in +Cupar, in the ancient kingdom of Fife, +by no means reconciles us to the fact +of an unfair application of the revenue. +Lord Brougham, we believe, first saw +the light in Edinburgh—is his subsequent +occupation of the woolsack to be +considered a sufficient reason why the +citizens of the Scottish metropolis +should be compelled to maintain their +own police, when those of London +and Dublin are paid out of the imperial +revenue? Really it would appear +that notorieties are sometimes +expensive productions. With profound +respect for the eminent individuals +referred to, we would rather, +on the whole, surrender the credit of +their birth, than accept that as an +equivalent for the vested rights of the +nation.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Supposing, then, that the reality of +the grievance is made out—as to +which we presume there can be no +question, for the matters we have +referred to are of public notoriety—it +is necessary to consider what remedy +ought to be applied. Undoubtedly +much is in the power of Ministers. +They may select more than +one point of grievance for curative +treatment; and Mr Gladstone may +possibly endeavour, in his next financial +arrangements, to atone for past +neglect; but it is not by such means +as these that the evil can be wholly +eradicated. We must look to the +system in order to ascertain why +Scotland should have been exposed +so long to so much injustice; and, +believing as we do, that there was no +deliberate intention to slight her interests, +we are driven to the conclusion +that the fault has arisen from +the utterly inadequate provision made +by the State for the administration of +her internal affairs.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The absurd idea that the true position +of Scotland is merely that of a +province, has received countenance +from the fact that there is no Minister +in the British Cabinet directly +responsible for the administration of +Scottish affairs. There is, indeed, a +Home Secretary for the United Kingdom; +but it is impossible to expect +the holder of that office to have +an intimate acquaintance with the +laws, institutions, and internal relations +of the northern division of the +island. The Secretary of State, in +general, knows nothing about us, and +is compelled to rely, in almost every +case, upon the information which he +receives from the Lord Advocate. +Now, the position of a Lord Advocate +is this: He must be a Scottish barrister, +and he usually is one who has +risen to eminence in his profession. +But he has had no experience of public +affairs, and usually little intercourse +with public men, before he receives +her Majesty’s commission as first law +officer of the Crown. He has not been +trained to Parliament, for a Scottish +barrister is necessarily tied to his own +courts, and cannot, as his English +brethren may, prosecute his profession +while holding a seat in Parliament. +Thus, even supposing him to be a man +of real eminence and ability—and we +are glad to express our opinion that, +of late years, the office has been +worthily filled—he enters the House +of Commons without parliamentary +experience, and has very little leisure +allowed him to acquire it. For, in the +first place, he is, as public prosecutor, +responsible for the conduct of the +whole criminal business of Scotland; +and he is the Crown adviser in civil +cases. Then he has his own practice +to attend to, which generally increases +rather than diminishes after his official +elevation; and in attending to +that in Edinburgh, he is absent from +London during half the parliamentary +session—in fact, is seldom there, except +when some important bill under +his especial charge is in progress. +Besides this, the office of Lord Advocate +is understood to be the stepping-stone +to the bench. One gentleman, +now a judge of the Court of Session, +did not hold the office of Lord Advocate +for three months, and never had +a seat in Parliament. In the course +of last year (1852), no less than three +individuals were appointed Lords Advocate +in succession, and two of them +did not sit in the House. Owing to +these circumstances, it rarely happens +that a Lord Advocate can acquire a +reputation for statesmanship—he has +neither the time, the training, the +facilities, nor the ordinary motives of +doing so. At any moment, even on +the eve of completing some important +national measure, he may be summoned +to the bench, and, in such an +event, the interests of the country +are tied up until his successor in +office has been able to procure a +seat, and has become, in some measure, +reconciled to the novel atmosphere +of St Stephen’s.</p> + +<p class='c010'>This is, beyond all question, a bad +system. The peculiar legal functions +of the Lord Advocate are, in addition +to his private practice, a burden quite +heavy enough for any single pair of +shoulders to sustain; nor is it consonant +either with the dignity or the +convenience of the country, that he +should be made to act as a sort of assessor +or adviser to the Home Secretary. +He ought certainly to be in +Parliament, as the Attorney-General +of England is, to give advice in legal +matters, but no further. The training +of the bar is not by any means that +which tends to the development of +administrative qualities; and, even +were it otherwise, we have shown that +the precarious nature of the office must +preclude the holder of it from the advantage +of official experience. But, +in fact, as those who have had public +business to transact in London know +full well, there is no order or arrangement +whatever provided for the +administration of Scottish affairs. +Let us take the case of a deputation +sent to London about some local +matter. They naturally, in the first +instance, direct their steps to the +Lord Advocate, who, if in town—by +no means a certain occurrence—receives +them with great courtesy, +listens to their story, and then, regretting +that the subject in question +does not fall within the sphere of his +department, refers them to the Junior +Lord of the Treasury. They recount +their tale to that official, who really +seems to exhibit some interest, but +discovers, after a time, that they +should have made application to the +Board of Woods and Forests. Thither +they go, and are probably referred to +some clerk or under-secretary, brimful +of conceit, and exclusively English +in his notions. He refers them to the +Secretary of the Treasury; but that +man of figures is too busy to listen to +them, and knows nothing about the +matter. He suggests an application +to the Home Secretary. Lord Palmerston, +the pink of politeness, smiles, +bows, and remits them to the knowledge +of the Lord Advocate. By this +time half the deputation have left, +and the others are savage and excited. +They are advised to memorialise +the Treasury, which they do, +and receive an immediate reply that +“my Lords” will take the matter +into their consideration. And so in +all probability they do; but it turns +out at the last moment that the +Chancellor of the Exchequer has a +ruling voice in the matter; and, +as his financial arrangements for the +year are already made, the application +must stand over to be considered at a +future period.</p> + +<p class='c010'>It is now full time that a new +order of things should be introduced, +and that the affairs of Scotland should +be administered by a responsible Secretary +of State with a seat in the +Cabinet. We have, on every ground, +full right to demand this. The public +revenue levied from Scotland is +larger than that of either Holland, +Belgium, Naples, Sardinia, or Sweden +and Norway. It is larger than the +combined revenues of Bavaria, Denmark, +Greece, and Switzerland. The +revenue of Ireland is one-third less +than ours, and yet Ireland has not +only a Secretary of State, but a Lord-Lieutenant. +No one surely can venture +to say that the interests here involved +are too trifling to require superintendence, +or that any organisation would +be superfluous. For our own part, +having watched narrowly for years the +working of the present absurd and unregulated +system, we do not hesitate +to declare our conviction that justice +never can, and never will, be done to +Scotland until its affairs are placed +under the management of a separate +Secretary of State. This point cannot +be pressed too strongly. The +wealth, importance, and position of +the country justify the demand; and +we have yet to learn that there is any +one sound or substantial reason for +denying it.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Another point, and it is one of vast +importance, is to insist that, at the +next adjustment of the representation, +Scotland shall send its just proportion +of members to the House of Commons. +At present, whether the test +of revenue or of population be applied, +we are inadequately represented +as contrasted with England. We pay +more than a ninth of the whole revenue +of the United Kingdom, but we +have only a thirteenth part of the representation. +It is quite necessary +that this should be remedied, so that +our interests may be properly and +efficiently attended to in the legislature. +We care not what criterion is +taken—whether that of revenue or +that of population—but we have a +right to demand and expect, that in +this matter also we shall be dealt +with according to the same measure +which is applied to England. According +to the last census, each of our +Scottish members represents an average +population of 54,166; whilst one +member is returned for every 35,845 +of the population of England. The +apportionment ought to be made according +to some clear, intelligible principle—not +by a mere flourish of the +pen, or an arbitrarily assumed figure. +With a responsible Minister, and an +adequate representation, attention to +the interests of Scotland would be +secured; and it is the bounden duty +of every man who wishes well to his +country to bestir himself for the attainment +of these objects.</p> + +<p class='c010'>We have not approached this subject +with any feeling of exacerbation. +In demonstrating wherein Scotland +has not received its proper meed of +justice and consideration, we have +been careful to avoid rash strictures +or unworthy reflections upon our +neighbours. If in some things we +have suffered from neglect, and in +others from innovation, we must not +hastily conclude that there is a deliberate +intention anywhere to deprive +us of our due. The form in which +our affairs have been administered for +well-nigh a hundred years, is, as we +believe we have shown, quite inadequate +for the purpose for which it was +originally intended; and the rapid development +of the wealth and population +of the country ought, long ago, +to have suggested the propriety of a +more rational arrangement. There is +no occasion, in a matter of this sort, +for any appeal to national feelings, +which indeed it would be superfluous +to rouse. The case is a very clear +one, founded upon justice and public +policy; and, if properly urged, no +government can venture to treat it +indifferently. But in whatever way +this movement may be met—whether +it is regarded with sympathy, or replied +to by derision—it is our duty to +aid in the assertion of our country’s +rights; and we shall not shrink from +its performance.</p> + +<div class='chapter'> + <span class='pageno' id='Page_284'>284</span> + <h2 class='c002'>FOREIGN ESTIMATES OF ENGLAND.<a id='r2'></a><a href='#f2' class='c008'><sup>[2]</sup></a></h2> +</div> + +<p class='c009'>With what heart or conscience +can an English critic expose the +deficiencies of a foreign book, “dedicated +to the great, the noble, the hospitable +English people”? Upon its +first page he finds a compliment that +cripples his quill. Though he had +gall in his ink, it must turn to honey +on his paper. Mr Schlesinger takes +his English readers and reviewers at +an unfair advantage. Perhaps he +thinks to treat them like children, +thrusting a comfit into their mouths +to bribe them to swallow drugs. The +flattering flourish of his commencement +may be intended to mask the +batteries about to open. He gags us +with a rose, that we may silently bear +the pricking of the thorns.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Inexhaustible interest attaches to +the printed observations of intelligent +foreigners upon England and its +capital. The field is vast, and has +been little worked. There are few +books upon the subject either in +French or in German, and, of such as +there are, very few possess merit or +have met with success. Defaced, in +a majority of instances, by prejudice, +triviality, or misappreciation, they +attracted slight notice in the countries +of their publication, and were utterly +unheeded in that they professed to +describe. Increased facilities of communication, +and more extensive study +of the English language in France +and Germany, will bring about a +change in this respect. We anticipate +the appearance, within the next +twenty years, of many foreign books +upon England, and especially upon +London—a city first known to Continentals, +according to the author now +present, in the year of grace 1851. +“Stray travellers, bankers, wandering +artisans, and diplomatic documents, +had occasionally let fall a few +words, which sounded like fairy tales, +concerning the greatness, the wealth, +the industry, and the politics of the +monster city of the West; but that +city lay, geographically, too far out +of the way, and the phases of its historical +development had not been +sufficiently connected with the history +of Continental nations, for it to be, like +Paris, a favourite object of travel and +study.” The cosmopolitan glasshouse +was the glittering bait which +drew to our shores a larger concourse +of foreigners than England ever before +at one time beheld, or than she +is likely ever again to behold, at least +in our day, unless in the rather improbable +contingency of the French +Emperor’s successfully realising those +projects of invasion some are disposed +to impute to him. A summer of unusual +beauty, a general disposition to +show kindness and hospitality to the +stranger, the manifold attractions of +that really wonderful building, unsurpassed +save by the edifice now rising +from its remains on the slope of a Kentish +hill, combined to invest London +with a charm to which foreigners who +had already visited it were wholly unaccustomed, +and for which those who +for the first time beheld it were quite +unprepared.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Max Schlesinger, well known as the +author of one of the most successful +and popular of the books that were +written on the late Hungarian war, was +amongst the visitors to the Crystal +Palace, but must have resided in England +for a longer period than the duration +of that exhibition. The first +volume of his “Wanderings,” which +appeared last year, was written in England, +for he dates his preface from the +Isle of Wight. He does not profess to +give an account of London. He felt +that two volumes, compendious though +they be, would be insufficient for more +than a glance at such a multitude of +objects for description, and of subjects +for reflection and analysis, as are +presented by the overgrown British +metropolis, and he preferred dwelling +upon a few points to glancing at a +great many. He has hit upon an +ingenious and amusing plan for the +exposition of his views and maintenance +of his impartiality. He establishes +himself in an English family, +in the <i>terra incognita</i> of Guildford +Street. The master of the house, Sir +John, who is intended as a prototype +of his countrymen, is a thorough John +Bull—shrewd, sensible, intelligent, +with a moderate allowance of English +prejudices, a warm attachment to his +country, a well-founded conviction of +its pre-eminence amongst the nations, +and of the excellence of its institutions. +Dr Keif (the word signifies a grumbler), +another inmate of the house, and an +old friend of Sir John’s, is an Austrian +journalist, whose pen has taken liberties +that have endangered his own, +and who has sought refuge in England, +which he begins good-humouredly +to abuse almost as soon as he +has landed in it. He is kind-hearted, +impetuous, excitable, given to faultfinding +and polemics, and nearly as +much convinced of German superiority +as Sir John is of that of England. +Then there is a Frenchman, Tremplin, +introduced in the second volume, and +who can see nothing good out of +Paris. An Englishman named Frolick—who +conducts the foreigners upon +nocturnal excursions to theatres, gin palaces, +“penny gaffs,” the purlieus +of Drury Lane and St Giles’s, and to +any other place they are curious to +study—and the ladies of Sir John’s +family, make up the list of characters, +amongst whom there are occasionally +very amusing dialogues, when the +master of the house, Keif, and Tremplin, +hold stiff disputations as to the +merits of their respective countries. +Mr Schlesinger’s style is pointed, and +often humorous; and the plan he has +adopted imparts to his book a lightness +and entertaining quality by no +means invariably found in works of +the kind; whilst it at the same time +enables him to avoid that appearance +of invidious dogmatism which is one +of the most fatal pitfalls literary travellers +are exposed to stray into.</p> + +<p class='c010'>As may be supposed from the terms +of his dedication, Mr Schlesinger has +found much to like and admire in +England, and especially in the English +nation. His book is, upon the whole, +highly favourable to us, although sarcastic +Dr Keif and that puppy Tremplin +now and then point to a raw spot. +Evidently well acquainted with our +language, gifted with an active mind +and an observant eye, he has no +need to resort to the flimsy devices of +some recent writers on the same topic. +There is solid pabulum in his pages, +something superior to the flimsy lucubrations +of one or two French writers +we have lately fallen in with, and of +one of whom (M. Méry) we took +notice a few months ago. Most +Frenchmen who write about London +do so with an extremely superficial +knowledge of the subject. Want of +self-confidence is not a failing of +theirs; they come to England with a +mere smattering of the language, and +with a predisposition to dislike the +place and its customs, to laugh at the +people, to be tortured by the climate +and poisoned by the cooks. They remain +a short time, examine nothing +thoroughly, nor appreciate anything +impartially, quit the country with +joy, remember it with a shudder, and +write books in which burlesque stories +and ridiculous exaggerations are +eked out by denunciations of perpetual +fogs, and by hackneyed jokes concerning +the sun’s invisibility. Such +writers may be sometimes witty, occasionally +amusing, but they are neither +fair critics nor reliable authorities.</p> + +<p class='c010'>There is no plan or order in Mr +Schlesinger’s book. Guildford Street +is his headquarters; thence he rambles, +usually with Dr Keif, sometimes with +Sir John and other companions, +whithersoever the fancy of the moment +leads him. On their return +home, from Greenwich or Vauxhall, +from the House of Commons or a +minor theatre, or from a stroll in the +streets, they invariably find, no +matter how late the hour, the cheerful +tea-urn and smiling female faces +to welcome them; and it is usually +during these sober sederunts, whilst +imbibing innumerable cups of bohea, +that Sir John and Dr Keif hold those +lively arguments which Mr Schlesinger +has transcribed with stenographic +fidelity. We turn to the fourth chapter +of the second volume, headed “Westminster—The +Parliament.” Probably +no foreigner ever gave a more +vivid and correct description than +this chapter contains of things with +which it takes both time and pains +for a foreigner to become thoroughly +acquainted. Doubtless Mr Schlesinger +has been indebted to reading and conversation +as well as to his own observations, +and some statistical and descriptive +parts of his work are probably +derived from English books. +One entire chapter, that on Spitalfields, +he acknowledges to have taken +from such a source. But there are +numerous remarkable passages for +which he can hardly be indebted to +anything but to his own quick ear and +sharp eye. In company with Sir John +and Dr Keif, he goes to the Speaker’s +Gallery of the House of Commons. +It is five o’clock—bills are being read—presently +the debate begins—Dr Keif, +who has a perfect knowledge of English, +is indignant that the chat amongst +the members prevents his hearing the +orators. These, he is assured by Sir +John, who is an old frequenter of the +House, are mere skirmishers, of little +importance; the gossips will be still +enough when any one worth listening +to rises to speak. A message from the +Upper House fixes the attention of the +Germans, who are immensely diverted +by the formalities with which it is presented, +by the forward and backward +bowing of the messengers and of the +sergeant-at-arms, whose official costume, +knee breeches and sword, has +already excited their curiosity. Mr +Schlesinger, a decided liberal in German +politics, not unfrequently becomes +as decidedly conservative in treating +of English customs and institutions. +“All these ceremonies,” he says, +“are extraordinarily comical to the +foreign guest, and even the Englishman, +who enters for the first time in +his life the workshop of his lawmakers, +may probably be rather +startled by such pigtailed formalities, +although his courts of justice have +already accustomed him to periwigs. +In most Continental states, ceremonies +handed down from previous +generations, and unsuited to the +present time, have been done away +with as opportunity offered. People +got ashamed of perukes and silk +cloaks, and dismissed them to the +lumber room, as opposed to the spirit +of the age. Whether they might not, +in their war against those intrinsically +unimportant and harmless externals, +make a commencement of more serious +conflicts, was probably overlooked. +In France and Germany we have +lived to witness such conflicts. In +the revolutions of both those countries +the war was in great measure against +externals, against abuses of minor +importance, against titles of nobility, +orders of knighthood, upper chambers, +clerical and royal prerogatives; but +in neither did a compact majority ever +contrive to seize the right moment, to +harmonise contradictions, and to secure +the two results which should be +the aim of every revolution—improvement +of the condition of the people, and +unlimited individual liberty. Where +these two things are secured, all other +difficulties peaceably solve themselves.... +A pacific progress ensues; a +gradual, but so-much-the-safer activity +of reform becomes not only possible, +but necessary and inevitable. +The English, even those belonging to +the Radical party, have an instinctive +sense of this truth. The Lower House +has never taken the field against the +Peers, because their wives wear coronets +in their hair, or because the +Queen opens and closes Parliament in +the Upper House, upon which occasions +the Commons stand thronged +like a flock of sheep before the bar +of the House of Lords,” &c. &c. We +pass over some pages of interesting +remarks to get to Mr Schlesinger’s +sketches of certain prominent members +of the House of Commons, merely recording, +by the way, this German +reformer’s opinion, that the monarchical +principle is firmer in England at +the present day than it was a century +ago, before the clamour of innovation +and revolution had swept across the +Channel. We trust and believe that +he is right in this opinion. We well +know that there are, both in and out +of Parliament, a few men, more noted +for a certain class of talent than respected +for consistency and high principle, +who look upon the crown as a +costly bauble, and would gladly see it +replaced by a republican government. +If they do not say as much, it is because +they dare not, because they know +that the press and the public would +combine to hoot them down. But it +is not difficult to discern the levelling +principle that is paramount in their +hearts. The enunciation of that principle, +did they ever contemplate it in +any form, has not been favoured by +the events of the last five years. Common +sense and shrewd perception are +qualities claimed by Englishmen, and +usually conceded to them even by +those foreigners who like them least. +We must, indeed, be lamentably deficient +in both, not to have taken a +warning from what we have beheld, +since 1847, in the two most civilised +countries of the European continent. +There is little contagion in such examples +as have been set to us. License, +with despotism as a sequel, +constitutes no very alluring prospect +to a nation accustomed to seek its +prosperity in industry and order. We +have seen enough of the results of +sudden changes abroad to desire that +any we adopt at home should be exceedingly +gradual and well-considered. +Foreign revolutionists have done us +the service which drunken helots were +made to render to the children of +Sparta. We have learned temperance +from the spectacle of their degradation.</p> + +<p class='c010'>In his preface, Mr Schlesinger protests +his impartiality, and on this +score we have no fault to find with +him. Some of his parliamentary portraits, +however, are perhaps a little +tinged by his political predilections. +In the main they are extremely correct, +and the likenesses undeniable. +Mr Disraeli, Lord John Russell, Lord +Palmerston, Colonel Sibthorp, are his +four most prominent pictures. Lord +John himself would hardly claim the +designation of “a great orator” bestowed +upon him by his German admirer, +who, in other respects, gives a +truthful and happy delineation of the +Whig statesman. But the following +sketch is the gem of the parliamentary +chapter.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“‘So that is my Lord Palmerston,’ +whispered Dr Keif, parodying his +friend Kappelbaumer—‘that is the +“<i>God-preserve-us</i>” of all rational +Continental cabinets? He yonder +with the white whiskers, the finely-cut +features, the striped neckcloth, and the +brown trousers, which he probably got +as a present from Mazzini? Yonder +elderly gentleman, lying rather than +sitting upon his bench, and chatting +with his neighbour as he might do in +a tavern? Now, by Metternich! this +Lord Palmerston looks so cordial, +that, if I had not read the German +newspapers for many years past, I +never would have believed all the +wickedness there is in him. To think +that yonder people do not scruple to +converse with him! with a convicted +partisan of rebels, in whose company +no respectable citizen of Vienna or +Berlin would be seen to cross a street! +But, as we say, there is nothing in a +man’s looks. He does not look in the +least like a rebel or a conspirator. +And yet to think of all the rude notes +he has written!’</p> + +<p class='c010'>“‘That is just because he is a great +diplomatist,’ remarked Sir John, with +much unction. ‘We like him so much +the more because you, across the +water, hate, and fear, and throw +stones at him. He has the luck to be +as popular at home as he is abused +abroad. When that is not the case +with a minister of foreign affairs, +better pension him off at once. He +is appointed for the very purpose of +barking and snapping all round the +house, to keep off intruders and thieves. +And can you deny that Lord Palmerston +perfectly performed his bull-dog +mission? Was he not always on his +legs? Did he not lustily bark like a +chained watch-dog, so that all the +neighbours round respected him? And +did he ever bite anybody? No, you +cannot say that he ever bit anybody. +Only showed his teeth. Nothing +more. That was enough. And that, +merely by so doing, he frightened you +all, that, we well know, is what you +will never forgive.’</p> + +<p class='c010'>“‘I would give anything in the +world,’ cried Dr Keif, ‘to hear him +make a little speech. How does he +speak?’</p> + +<p class='c010'>“‘In a way I well like to hear,’ +answered Sir John; ‘out and openly; +no pathos, no emotion—sensibly, intelligibly—and +above all, courteously and +politely, as befits an English gentleman. +It is not in his nature to be +rude; he cannot be so, except when +he takes pen in hand to write abroad. +In the House he is never personal; +and yet nobody better knows how to +turn a troublesome questioner into +ridicule, often in the most innocent +manner, so that it is impossible to be +angry with him.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“‘I was in the House last summer,’ +continued Sir John, ‘when Mr +So-and-so questioned him about the +foreign refugees. In such cases members +do not put to a minister the +straightforward question, Have you +answered this or that note? but they +make an introduction a yard long, +ramble round and round the subject +like cats round a plate of porridge, +make a long rhetorical display before +coming to the point. Mr So-and-so +made a lengthy discourse—spoke until +the sweat broke out upon his brow +from sheer liberalism and sympathy +with the refugees; at last he got to +his question, Whether it was true +that several Continental governments +had demanded that the British Government +should keep watch over the +proceedings of the refugees in London? +what governments those were? +whether the Secretary of State for +foreign affairs had replied to the demand? +and whether he had any objection +to lay before the House the +correspondence concerning it? The +question was not a very agreeable one +to a minister in Lord Palmerston’s +position. During the speech by which +it was prefaced, he sat with his head +bent forward and his legs crossed, +pulling his hat down lower and lower +upon his forehead, and frequently +passing his handkerchief across his +face. It seemed as if he perspired +even more than his interrogator; he +was evidently in the most painful embarrassment +what to reply. Mr So-and-so +made an end and sat down. +The House was so silent that one +could plainly distinguish the snoring +of some drowsy members on the back +benches; Palmerston slowly rose, and +requested the speaker to repeat his +question in plainer terms, it not having +been put with sufficient clearness +the first time. The fact was, it had +been put so clearly and plainly that +in the gallery we lost not a syllable. +Oho! thought I, and many with me—something +wrong here; the noble +Lord wants to gain a few minutes to +prepare his reply. Mr So-and-so probably +thought the same thing. He +got up with the air of a man who feels +confident that he has found a sore +place, and repeated his question in the +following simplified form: “I beg to +ask the Secretary of State for foreign +affairs,” he said, “which are the foreign +governments that have demanded +of the British Cabinet that it should +exercise <i>surveillance</i> over the political +refugees in London?” He paused. +There was dead silence. Lord Palmerston +rose with solemn slowness, took +off his hat, cleared his throat, as if he +were about to make a long speech, +said very quickly, “Not one”—threw +his hat upon his head and himself back +upon his seat. You may imagine the +stupefied countenance of the questioner, +and the roar of laughter in the +House. Do you suppose Lord Palmerston +had not at once understood the +question? He understood it perfectly; +but his meditative attitude, his request +for its repetition, his solemn uprising, +his clearing of his throat, his very perspiration—all, +everything was diplomatic +roguery, intended to heighten +the effect of the two carelessly-spoken +monosyllables, “Not one.” His interrogator +looked ridiculous enough, +but Lord Palmerston had said nothing +that could offend him. The minister +had so far attained his object that for +some time afterwards he was not +plagued with questions about refugees. +Such scenes do not bear telling; they +must be witnessed. When Lord Palmerston +pleases, the House laughs, +and all laugh, and no man is hit so +hard that he cannot laugh with the +rest.’”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Proceeding from a foreign pen, this +lively parliamentary sketch must be +admitted to be wonderfully truthful. +Mr Schlesinger was particularly +struck, upon his visits to the House +of Commons, by two things, and these +were, the longwindedness of the orators, +and their ungraceful gesticulation. +An English orator, he says, +seems to make up his mind beforehand +to abstain from gestures, and +does his best to put his hands in a +place of safety. Some of the attitudes, +which are the consequence of this desire, +he justly describes as neither +tasteful nor elegant. “One man +thrusts his hands into his breeches’ +pockets, another sticks them into his +waistcoat armholes, some hide them +inside their waistcoats, or under their +coat tails, others take a Napoleonic +attitude. Thus do they begin their +speeches. But, as the Englishman is +wont to linger no short time over the +mere exordium of his harangue; as +he is capable of talking much longer +about nothing than is commonly supposed +upon the Continent; as he has +very good lungs; and as a large portion +of the British public is apt to +estimate a speech’s value by its +length, it is quite conceivable that he +cannot maintain, during the whole +duration of his discourse, the posture +he adopts at its commencement. Besides +this, he may warm as he goes +on, and, when this is the case, he displays +the strangest action of his arms +and of his whole body.” In this +paragraph, Mr Schlesinger makes one +grave mistake. With the exception +of a very limited number of methodical +old fogies—slaves to habit, and the +curse of their clubs—who, having +nothing else in the world to do, make +it the business of their lives to read +the debates from the first line to the +last, we know of no class in the +United Kingdom that would not +heartily rejoice if members of Parliament +would cultivate brevity of +speech and early hours, as advantageous +alike to their own health and +to the business of the country. “What +a capital speech; it took an hour and +a half in delivery!” Such, according +to Mr Schlesinger, is the form of +praise often heard in England. He +blunders here. People will certainly +listen with pleasure for an hour and +a half, or for thrice as long, if they +have the chance, to the earnest and +fiery eloquence of a Derby—to the +graceful, lucid, and often witty discourse +of a Palmerston—to the polished +and scholarly periods of a +Macaulay—to the incisive oratory +of a Disraeli. They will even lend +their attention to the somewhat drawling +and monotonous, although business-like +delivery of the Whig leader +whom Mr Schlesinger has dubbed a +great orator, because Lord John is +supposed not to be one of those Englishmen +whom his German admirer +has declared to be capable of talking +a long while about nothing at all. +But Mr Schlesinger has taken a part +for the whole, and imagines that English +willingness to hear and read the +long discourses of a few chosen and +gifted men, extends itself to the lame +prose of the first noodle who takes +advantage of dinner-time to inflict +himself upon a bare house, a yawning +gallery, and reporters with closed +note-books. Let him take the confession +of members, public, and reporters, +as to the feelings with which +they listen to an infinitesimal economical +calculation, or to a two hours’ +blatter about Borneo, from Mr Hume; +or to a monody on Poland, or eulogium +of Kossuth, from the lips of that +most wearisome of well-meaning men, +Lord Dudley Coutts Stuart. He will +find that in England the value of a +speech is not—as Byron says that of +a very different thing should be—“measured +by its length.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Probably the two things that foreigners, +upon a visit to London, are +most curious to see, are the Thames +tunnel and Greenwich. Mr Schlesinger, +Dr Keif, and Frolick—who seems +an easy-going man-about-town sort of +cockney, delighted to have the pretext +of ciceronism to revisit all manner +of queer haunts—take ship at +London Bridge, their minds upon +white bait intent. They find much +to say upon the way, and are very +pleasant and amusing. In the beginning +Mr Schlesinger moralises upon +the crowd of colliers, more precious, +he maintains, to Britain than ever +were gold-laden galleons to Spain. +“Take from the British Isles their +coals,” he says; “pour gold, silver, +and diamonds, into the gloomy shafts; +fill them with all the coins that have +been coined, since the world’s commencement, +by good and bad princes, +and you will not replace the inflammable +spark that lies dormant in the +coal, and which creates vitality by its +own exhaustion.” Then he turns his +attention to his fellow-passengers by +the steam-boat, and remarks that the +difference of classes is not so strongly +defined by costume in England as in +France and Germany. He misses the +linen frocks or blouses worn on the +Continent by men of a class which, in +England, is usually clad in broadcloth, +though this be often ragged or threadbare. +“In London,” he says, “if +you see, early in the morning, a man +hurrying along the street in a black +coat, round hat, and white cravat, do +not take him for a professor hastening +to his college, or for an attaché to an +embassy conveying important despatches +to his chief. He probably +has soap-box, strap, and razor in his +pocket, or at best is shopman to some +Regent Street haberdasher—he may +be a waiter, a tailor, a shoemaker, or +a boot-cleaner. Many an omnibus-driver +sits white-cravated upon his +lofty box, and drives his horses as +gravely as a Methodist preacher leads +his flock. Amongst Englishwomen, +also, the difference of rank is not very +easy to be inferred from their dress. +Coloured silks, black velvet, and hats +with botanical appurtenances, are worn +by the maid as by her mistress.” This +general uniformity of costume in England +strikes most foreigners, and +shocks many. Frenchmen, in particular, +consider the use of old and +second-hand clothes, common amongst +the lower classes of our countrymen +and countrywomen, as a sort of degrading +barbarism. An amusingly +impertinent French journalist, in a +little book now before us, states his +view of the matter in colours which +are certainly vivid, but can hardly be +called exaggerated. “The eternal +black coat and white cravat!” he exclaims. +“One might take the people +for so many gentlemen of high degree, +condescending, in their leisure moments, +or from eccentric caprice, to +weigh sugar and measure calico. +Thus it was that I took the grocer, in +whose house I lodge, for a gentleman, +and, through stupid pride, dared not +bargain for my apartment, for which +I pay twice its value. The history of +an English black coat would fill a +volume, at once comic and philosophical. +One must take it up at its birth, +when it quits the premises of a fashionable +tailor to grace the shoulders of +Lord ——, who pays seven or eight +guineas for it, on account of its inimitable +cut. Thrown, a fortnight later, +to the nobleman’s valet-de-chambre, +it passes to the second-hand dandy, +then from back to back, lengthened, +shortened, always descending in the +social scale, losing its buttons, gaining +holes, and at last devolving to the +poor devil who sweeps a crossing, +over which prance the splendid horses +of the lord who was its first possessor. +Poor coat! Sold at last for three +shillings; its fragments finally used +to polish a table or cleanse a kitchen +floor, until they are bought by the +hundredweight and cast into the mill, +to reappear in some new form. The +fate of the coat is also that of the +gown. The lady’s gown and hat +begin their career in the drawing-room, +and end it in the gutter. We +foreigners are always shocked, on our +first arrival in England, to see the +servant-maids washing the door-steps +in bonnets, which once were of velvet, +and now are of nothing at all! One +sometimes observes upon them certain +vestiges which, plunged into +Marsh’s apparatus and analysed by +a skilful chemist, might be recognised +as fragments of feathers, shreds of +lace, or stalks of flowers. Does the +cook who wears this cast-off covering, +who wraps herself, to go to market, in +a tattered shawl, on whose surface +holes and stains vie for the mastery, +imagine that she will be taken for her +mistress going to buy her own butter +and vegetables, as an agreeable change +from the daily routine of park and +opera? What strange vanity is it +that peeps through these ragged garments? +Why do these honest Englishmen +prefer a gentleman’s old +clothes to the clean blouse or warm +strong jacket they might get for the +same price?” There is considerable +truth in these remarks, especially +as regards men’s coats and women’s +head-dress, although we do not believe, +as does the Frenchman we +have quoted, that the wearing of +second-hand clothes proceeds, on the +part at least of English <i>men</i> of the +lower classes, from a desire to ape +their superiors. It is one of those +habits one can hardly explain, which +we may designate as <i>cosa de Inglaterra</i>, +just as Spaniards define as <i>cosa +de España</i> any peculiar and eccentric +usage of their country. We must +submit the matter, one of these days, +to our old friend and contributor, the +author of the “Æsthetics of Dress.” +Of one thing we are very sure, that +no one possessing an eye—we will not +say for the picturesque, but for what +is neat, appropriate, and convenient—can +travel on the Continent, without +drawing between the everyday +dress of the English lower orders and +that of the corresponding classes in +most foreign countries, comparisons +highly unfavourable to the former. +And this is the more surprising that, +in most things, neatness is peculiarly +an English characteristic. Witness +the trim gardens, the whitewashed +cottages, the well-swept courts of our +villages, the vigorous application of +brush, broom, and soap in the humblest +dwellings of Britain. But a line +must be drawn between the country +and the towns. In the latter, the appearance +of the lower classes is anything +but well calculated to inspire +foreigners with a high opinion of their +regard to the external proprieties. +We share our French friend’s horror +of greasy, threadbare coats, and of +bonnets requiring chemical decomposition +to ascertain their primitive materials; +and, were it possible, we +would gladly see the former replaced +by the coarse clean frock or jacket; +the latter by the cheap coloured handkerchief +or straw-hat, which looks so +neat and becoming upon the heads of +Continental peasant and servant-women. +It is to be feared, however, +that to agitate the change would be +but a profitless crusade. The fault—and +a fault we think it must be admitted +to be—lies in the total absence +of anything like a national costume. +In all the more highly civilised European +countries, this, however graceful, +has been abandoned by the upper +classes in favour of a conventional, and +certainly, in most respects, a graceless +dress. But in all those countries, except +in England, that national costume +has been either retained, to a +certain extent, by the people, or exchanged +for one more in harmony +with their occupations—not discarded +in favour of such absurdities as long-tailed +coats and high-crowned beavers.</p> + +<p class='c010'>At the Thames Tunnel the two Germans +and their companion pause, and +Mr Schlesinger gives an account of its +origin and progress, which will have +novelty and interest even for many +Londoners. On reaching Greenwich, +the party admire the hospital—the +finest architectural group of modern +England, according to Mr Schlesinger, +with whom, notwithstanding the florid +pretensions of the new Houses of Parliament, +we quite agree on this score. +Greenwich is unquestionably the only +royal palace England possesses worthy +of the name. Windsor Castle +ranks in a different category. “Take +the most ingenious architect in the +world,” says Mr Schlesinger, “bind +his eyes, and bring him to the platform +on which we now stand; then, +removing the bandage, ask him the +purpose of this magnificent pile. If +he does not at once say that it is a +king’s palace, he is either the most +narrow-minded or the sharpest-witted +mortal that ever drew the plan of a +house. Who would suspect that all +this splendour of columns and cupolas +is devoted to the service of poor crippled +old sailors? That it nevertheless +is so, does honour to the founders and +to the English nation.” And then +Mr Schlesinger, who is a bit of a +<i>frondeur</i>, and not very indulgent to +his own country’s defects and failings, +contrasts the thoughtful care, tender +kindness, and splendid provision +which England’s veterans find at +Chelsea and Greenwich, with the deficiencies +and discomforts of the analogous +institution at Vienna, and with +the absence of any at all at Berlin. +Passing the Trafalgar, which he recommends +to all “who are willing to +pay more money for a good dinner +than would keep an Irish family for a +week,” he moralises his way through +the Park—then full of holiday-makers, +for it is Monday, and “the people +indemnify themselves for the rigidity +of English Sabbath-observance.” A +dinner at Lovegrove’s, and speculations +upon white bait, conclude a pleasant +day and an amusing chapter.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Mr Tremplin is described as a little +elderly gentleman, with hair curled in +a very youthful fashion, rosy cheeks, +and a forest of grey whisker which +would make him look quite fierce, but +for the expression of mingled good-humour +and vanity that twinkles in +his little black eyes. For twenty +years he had been in the habit of +paying an occasional week’s visit to +Sir John, and upon each succeeding +visit he found London more and more +gloomy and unbearable. Nothing less +than his affection for his old friends +could have induced him to exchange +his heavenly Paris for the fogs of +Thames. When in England, however, +he amiably concealed his dissatisfaction, +ate and drank like an Englishman, +laughed and joked with the +ladies from morning till night, and +wiped his eyes when he took his leave. +Between him and Dr Keif vehement +discussions were of frequent occurrence. +Tremplin was inexhaustible +in his laudation of France; and this +the doctor could the less endure, that +this adulator of Paris was himself a +German by birth, although he had +passed his life in the French capital, +had made his little fortune in the +Opera Passage, and, like most renegades, +out-Heroding Herod, was infinitely +more French than a native-born +Frenchman. Had he been an +undeniable Parisian, Dr Keif might +perhaps, from courtesy, have spared +his feelings; but the Austrian journalist +had no consideration for the +feelings of a Frenchman who had first +seen the light at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, +and he gave his sarcastic +tongue full swing. At dinner, one +day, at Sir John’s, we find them at it, +hammer-and-tongs; Monsieur Tremplin +holding up Paris as an example +in all respects to the entire universe; +Dr Keif, exasperated by this exorbitant +claim, sneering bitterly at the +pretension.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“‘It is inconceivable,’ cried the +doctor, ‘that all the world beside +does not sit idle, since Paris is there +to think and work for it. What does +one need for universal regeneration +beyond the <cite>Journal des Débats</cite>, which +signifies enlightenment—Mademoiselle +Rachel, who represents the æsthetical +education of mankind—and +the <i>Chasseurs d’Afrique</i> as the representatives +of freedom? Even in the +Paris <i>cancan</i>, immoral as it may seem, +there is doubtless grace and decency +enough to civilise half a world. Eh? +What say you? And if France is +found one morning in the guardhouse, +it is merely because she has +danced like mad the whole night +through for the good of oppressed +humanity, and her evil case is but a +witty trick, suggested by the most +profound ideas of emancipation; for, +<i>enfin</i>, France can do whatever she +wills to do. She undertakes, in broad +daylight and before the eyes of all +Europe, to lie down in the dirtiest +gutter, and she succeeds. Woe to the +benighted people who do not forthwith +follow her example, who cannot +see that a gutter in which France +wallows must lead straight to salvation. +The French are the most conceited +and crazy people on the earth’s +surface—a nation of witty fools, of +genial ragamuffins, of old <i>gamins</i> and +revolutionary lacqueys, who can neither +govern themselves nor be governed, +for any length of time, by +God’s grace; they consequently, after +their fourth revolution and third republic, +will seek safety at the feet of +an Orleanist or Bourbon prince, whom +they will replace, after a while, by +some romantic hairdresser, dancing-master, +or cook, elected by universal +suffrage. For my part, I vote for +Soyer: he has at least the merit of +having established a good school of +cookery at the Reform Club.’”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Whilst extracting this tirade of the +incorrigible Keif’s, we have taken no +notice of the frequent interruptions +attempted by the unfortunate German-Frenchman. +The doctor’s flowers +of rhetoric were far from fragrant to +the nostrils of Tremplin, and the vein +of truth that ran through his discourse +made its somewhat brutal and exaggerated +form yet harder to bear. +“The most audacious blasphemy,” +says Mr Schlesinger, “shouted into +the ear of an English bishop’s grandmother, +might have an effect approaching +to that which the compliments of +the excited Keif had upon his neighbour’s +nerves.” Purple and perspiring, +and unable to get in a word, poor +Tremplin received one rattling volley +after another, vainly endeavouring to +escape from the iron grip the doctor +kept upon the topmost button of his +coat. At last he was released, with +a parting prod from Keif’s barbed +tongue.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“‘Notwithstanding their deeply +sunken condition,’ the doctor said, ‘it +is undeniable that the French, like the +Spaniards, Italians, and Irish, are still +a witty, diverting, and highly interesting +nation.’</p> + +<p class='c010'>“‘<i><span lang="fr">Infiniment obligé!</span></i>’ screamed +Tremplin, breaking from the doctor, +making a low bow, and thrice repeating +the words, ‘How said you? +Di-vert-ing! <i><span lang="fr">Infiniment obligé, Monsieur +le Docteur!</span></i> Your German modesty +inspires you with charming +compliments.’</p> + +<p class='c010'>“‘No compliment, Monsieur Tremplin,’ +replied Keif: ‘merely my honest +opinion.’</p> + +<p class='c010'>“The Frenchman cast an epigrammatical +side-glance at the doctor, +buttoned his coat to the chin, as if +arming himself for an important decision, +and exclaimed in a loud voice: +‘You are’—(A long pause ensued, +during which all present rose in confusion +from their seats.) ‘You are +totally unacquainted with Paris!’</p> + +<p class='c010'>“‘And what then?’ said Dr Keif.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“‘That is enough, I need to know +no more. <i>Enfin</i>....’ And with a +shrug of the shoulders in which the +doctor should have beheld his moral +annihilation, Mr Tremplin turned his +back upon his opponent.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Some minutes elapsed before the +agitation caused by this little scene +completely subsided. In the embrasure +of a window, the lady of the house +poured balm into poor Tremplin’s +wounds; Keif paced the room, his +complexion green and yellow, visibly +struggling with the consciousness that +he had been too hard upon the poor +little Frenchman—rather rudely vehement +and sarcastic; Sir John alone +remained at table, balancing a silver +dessert-knife, and making a small +speech, to which nobody listened, in +praise of the admirable parliamentary +order observed at English public dinners. +“‘There, when did it occur to +anybody, before the removal of the +cloth, to speak on more serious subjects +than the domestic virtues of +turtle and turbot, the tenderness of +the lamb and venison, the age and +excellence of the wines, and the qualities +of all those good things of the +earth which are so exquisitely adapted +to promote the harmonious intercourse +of Whigs and Tories, High Churchmen +and Dissenters, landlords and +cotton lords? There is the great +point. That is what foreigners will +not learn. They do nothing at the +right time and nothing thoroughly, +therefore do they eat gall and brew +poison.’” There may be more than +one grain of truth in the baronet’s +words, Mr Schlesinger opines, but he +does not stay to discuss the subject. +It was written that the evening should +be one of scrutiny and controversy. +The feud between Keif and Tremplin +having been easily put an end to by +Sir John’s good-humoured intervention, +the conversation again became +general. The doctor must go out at +nine o’clock, he said; he had promised +to accompany Frolick to the +theatre, and in a stroll through the +theatrical district of London. This +brought up Tremplin—not, indeed, to +renew wordy combat with the formidable +antagonist by whom he had been +so recently worsted, but to express +his astonishment that anybody could +go to a London theatre in the dead +season. He had always understood +that the only theatres to which <i>comme-il-faut</i> +people went in London were +the Italian operas and the miniature +French playhouse in St James’s, and +these were then closed. It was true +that the queen annually honoured the +obscure English theatres with a few +visits, but that was merely out of complaisance +to English prejudices. The +ladies protested against this depreciation +of the English drama; but the +Parisian, who had quite forgotten his +late indignation and discomfiture, did +but smile and politely persist—developing +his notions on an infinite variety +of subjects with that easy, urbane, +superficial dogmatism which characterises +the very numerous class of +Frenchmen who combine unbounded +admiration of their own nation and +country with slight esteem for, and +considerable ignorance of, all others.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“‘<i>Mesdames!</i>’ he exclaimed, ‘you +have no idea of all that you forego by +living in London. It is well for you +that you have never been in Paris, or +you would feel like Eve when banished +from Paradise, to which she would so +gladly have returned for a chat with +the seductive serpent. <i>Pardieu</i>, Paris! +There, everyday life is an enchanting +drama; every drawing-room +is a stage; every chamber has its +wings; and every one, from the porter +to the duke, has perfectly learned +his part. The theatres that open at +night do but display and illuminate, +with a magical light, the day’s comedy. +Your worthy English people +can neither act nor judge of acting. +An English actor is a creature as +much out of nature as a Parisian +quaker. Where do you find most +passion for the art—here or with us? +Paris has hardly half so many inhabitants +as London, but has many +more theatres, and they are always +as full as your churches. The poorest +artisan cannot exist without sunning +himself in the radiance of the stage; +and will live for two days of the week +on bread and milk, in order to save a +few <i>sous</i> for the <i>Variétés</i> or the <i>Funambules</i> +on Sunday evening. Show +me the Englishman who will sacrifice +a mouthful of his bloody roast-beef +for the sake of a refined enjoyment. +No, no;—you weave and spin, and +steam and hammer, and eat and drink, +with God knows how many horses’ +power; but as to enjoying life, you +do not understand it. Am I right, +<i>Madame</i>?’”</p> + +<p class='c010'>The ladies looked at each other, +but were not ready with an answer. +Sir John shook his head as he sat in +his arm-chair, and remarked that +there were good grounds for the difference. +The Frenchman would not +admit their goodness, and launched +into an energetic diatribe against the +strictness of London Sabbath-observance. +We take it for granted that, +even if the personages introduced into +Mr Schlesinger’s book are not imaginary, +the conversations he gives are +chiefly of his own composition, intended +to display the different sides +of the various questions discussed; +and that a <i>juste milieu</i> between the +rather extreme views expressed by +Keif and Tremplin, and occasionally +by Sir John, may be adopted with +tolerable certainty as the measure of +the author’s own opinions. Of this +last point we feel the more convinced, +by the moderate and sensible +manner in which Mr Schlesinger +expresses himself when speaking in +his own person. His delineation of +the representatives of England, Germany, +and France, and the manner +in which he puts them through their +parts, is really very spirited and clever. +Without, of course, in the +slightest degree coinciding in the +levity and irreverence of the profane +Parisian, we will give a further specimen +of his views and notions concerning +this country, its condition and +institutions; views and notions which, +allowing for the tinge (only a slight +one) of humorous caricature thrown +in by Mr Schlesinger, are, in our firm +belief—we might almost say, to our +certain knowledge—those of a great +number of Monsieur Tremplin’s fellow-citizens. +Having taken up the +ball of conversation, the Frenchman +ran on with it at a canter, curvetting +and kicking up his heels with huge +self-satisfaction, and highly pleased +at having an opportunity of showing +himself at once patriotic, eloquent, +and gallant. He proceeded to explain +the causes of the decline of the +British drama.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“In the first place,” he said, “the +performance of a play would desecrate +the Sunday evening. The Sabbath +must be ended as wearisomely as it +is begun. If one speaks of this to an +Englishman, he pulls a long face, and +talks about the morality of the lower +orders. How moral the English +lower orders are! One sees that +every Monday, when the drunken +cases are brought up at the police +offices. One man has bitten off a +constable’s nose by way of a joke; +another has knocked down his wife +and danced upon her body; a third +has cut open his better-half’s head +with the poker. All morality and +liquor; but, thank heaven, they have +not been to the theatre—any more +than to church. Don’t tell me, because +you have more churches than +there are days in the calendar, that +your poor people go to them; there +is no room for them. Your churches +are for respectable citizens, with cash +jingling in their pockets. Then again, +there are thousands of quakers, methodists, +and other fanatics, who consider +it a deadly sin to visit a theatre +even upon working days. And finally, +you are all such smoky fireside +people—so given to stick in your +shells like snails—that it is a punishment +to you to have to creep out of +your houses; or else you have such +a silly passion for green grass, that +you go and live at the end of the +world, where you need a carriage to +bring you home from the theatre by +daybreak. These terrible distances +ruin the pocket, and cramp civilisation. +Your much-be-praised Englishmen, +doctor, have not got a monopoly +of wisdom. But I pity them not. It +is for the poor daughters of Albion +that I feel sorry. Upon my honour, +ladies, I should not grieve if Napoleon’s +glorious dream were to be +realised. Ha, ha! That would be a +life! Fancy our <i>grande armée</i> leaping +one day upon the British shores. +Before the sun is up the <i>braves</i> are in +the city, say <i>bonjour</i>, conquer, and are +forthwith conquered—by the charms +of the fair-haired Anglo-Saxons. +Our soldiers ask nothing in the way +of acknowledgment. Keep your bank, +your religion, and your lord mayor. +The sole glory desired by France is, +to annihilate the dragon of English +<i>ennui</i>. Hand in hand with the fair +sex, the invincible army achieves that +feat. On the first evening there is a +great fraternity-ball at Vauxhall; the +next morning appears a manifesto in +the name of the liberating army, by +which the erection of at least one +French vaudeville theatre in every +parish is decreed, as the sole reward +of the victors; and in a few years, +when these new institutions have +taken firm root in the hearts of the +English people, the heroic army returns +to sunny France, promising to +come back should you relapse into +your puritanical hypochondria. The +daughters of Albion stand upon their +chalky cliffs, and wring their white +hands in grief at their deliverers’ departure. +What say you to this picture? +Is it not chivalrous? Is it +not replete with the most affecting +disinterestedness? And do you doubt +that it dwells in the hearts of thousands +of Frenchmen?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>If Monsieur Tremplin here paused, +it was for breath rather than for a +reply. Certainly it was not for want +of matter, for he quickly resumed +his satirical commentary on English +usages, rattling off a string of libels +on the dress and carriage of Englishwomen, +on English musical taste, &c. +&c.—the whole for the special benefit +of Keif, whom he had got into a +corner, the ladies being now busy +tea-making. In the heap of flippancy +and exaggeration, a few sparkles of +sense and truth are discernible; not +all the Frenchman’s arrows fly wide +of the mark. He laughs pitilessly at +the medley of colours frequently seen +in ladies’ dresses in England; talks +of “a scarlet shawl over an apple-green +gown with yellow flounces, and +a cavalry hat with ostrich feathers” +(the judicious assortment of colours +is one of the great studies and occupations +of a Parisian woman’s life), +and is altogether abominably disrespectful +and scandalous in his remarks +upon the fair sex of Great Britain, +although he speaks in raptures of the +beauty of “the raw material”—the +beautiful hair, form, complexion, and +so forth. Presently he gets upon the +opera, and the dress exacted as a +condition of admission. “Dresscoats +and black trousers—why not +powder and bagwigs? It is written +in the <cite>Morning Post</cite> that seven delicate +ladies, in the first row of boxes, +once fell into picturesque fainting fits, +because a foreigner with a coloured +neckcloth had smuggled himself into +the pit. Be it observed that he had +paid his bright Victorias at the door +like anybody else. Dress-coat is +indispensable—black trousers ditto; +but coat and trousers may be old, +dirty, threadbare. It strikes one as +strange, that, besides paying his money, +he is to be tutored by the servants +at a theatre-door.” Keif, listening +with smiling indulgence to the +petulant Frenchman, occasionally presumes +to differ from him, or at least +to modify his strictures on English +tastes and usages. “One meets with +very good musical connoisseurs in +this country,” says the doctor; “but +I confess that the British public’s +digestive powers, in respect of music, +often astonish me. John Bull sits +out two symphonies by Beethoven, +an overture of Weber’s, a couple of +fugues by Bach, half-a-score of Mendelssohn’s +songs, and half-a-dozen +other airs and variations, and goes +home and sleeps like a marmot. At +the theatre he will take in a tragedy +by Shakespeare, a three-act comedy +from the French, a ballet, and a substantial +London farce. All that does +not spoil his stomach.” Tremplin +was delighted to find the doctor falling +into his line. “Yes,” he said, +“nothing satisfies these people but +quantity. The Englishman throws +down his piece of gold and asks for a +hundredweight of music”—and he +urged the doctor to go to Paris. Sir +John was the best creature in the +world, but he was an original—an +oddity. The doctor, upon the other +hand, was a man of sense and observation; +and before he had worn out +a couple of pair of shoe-soles upon +the asphalt of the boulevards, his eyes +would be opened.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“<i>Pardieu!</i> Paris!” cried the little +man, getting very excited. “The +whole civilised world dresses itself out +in the cast-off clothes of Paris. What +has Paris not? Do you wish religion? +There are Lacordaire, Lamennais, +and the <i>Univers</i>. Religion of +all sorts. Are you a lover of philosophy? +Go to Proudhon. For my +part, to speak candidly, I care neither +for philosophy nor religion; both are +<i>mauvais genre</i>, and I should not mind +if M. Proudhon were hung; but that +does not prevent me, as a Frenchman, +from being proud of him. In a word, +you will convince yourself that the +whole world beside is but a bad imitation +of Paris. There you find heaven +and the other place, order and +freedom, the romance of orgies and +the solitude of the cloister, all combined +in the most beautiful harmony—in +the most magnificent and elegant +form. Of one thing especially”—and +Tremplin laid his hand, with the earnestness +of an apostle, upon the shoulder +of the astounded Keif—“be well +assured, and that is, that nowhere +but in Paris can you learn to speak +French. Impossible. You never +catch the accent. England’s climate +is the most dangerous of all for the +pronunciation. I, an old Parisian, +still am sensible of the pestilential +influence the jargon here spoken has +upon my tongue; and whenever I return +to Paris from London, I feel +ashamed before my own porter.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>The hour was come for Keif to bend +his steps theatrewards. Sir John +escorted him to the door, and apologised, +by the way, for the provocation +Tremplin had given him at dinner. +It was some slighting remark about +Germans—an intimated opinion that +they would never be accessory to the +combustion of the Thames—that had +first roused the ire of Keif, and provoked +his tremendous denunciation +of Frenchmen as all that is frivolous, +unstable, and contemptible.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“‘What can you expect from a +Frenchman?’ said Sir John. ‘He +is a harmless soul, but a great oddity; +one might make money by exhibiting +him in Piccadilly. When I first knew +him I took some trouble with him, +and tried to give him an idea of what +England is; but, as the proverb says, +you cannot argue a dog’s hind-leg +straight. You will never catch <i>me</i> +arguing with him again.’”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Keif went his way, chuckling at +the notion of this precious pair of +mortals taxing each other with oddity, +and totally unconscious that he himself +was as great an oddity as either +of them. It was long after midnight +when he returned home. Everybody +was gone to bed, the servant told +him, except Sir John and Monsieur. +He found them at their chamber-doors; +with candles, burnt low, in +their hands. The baronet had forgotten +his resolution;—he was trying +to argue the dog’s hind-leg straight. +The pair were in the heat and fervour +of a discussion, which had evidently +been of long duration. Shakspeare +and Frenchwomen were its rather +strangely assorted subjects. The +doctor caught a few sentences as he +passed, wished the disputants good +night, and turned into bed. Fully a +quarter of an hour elapsed before they +evacuated the lobby to follow his +example. Keif laughed to himself.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“‘So,’ he said, ‘in Monsieur +Tremplin’s eyes, Shakespeare is deficient +in power; and Sir John denies +that Frenchwomen are graceful! Was +there ever such a pair of originals?’ +And so saying, the third original went +to sleep.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>We need hardly say that the ramble +of Dr Keif (by whom we suspect +Mr Schlesinger himself is meant) +through the theatrical purlieus, furnished +abundant materials for a chapter. +It was Saturday—the very night +to see the Drury district in its glory; +for wages had been paid, and after +twelve no liquor would be sold; so +the fortunate recipients of cash were +making the most of the short night. +This chapter, like some others in the +book, shows such a thorough familiarity +with, and correct perception of, +London low life—is so totally different, +in short, from the blundering +and exaggerated pictures one usually +meets with in accounts of London by +foreigners—that we are more than +once tempted, whilst reading it, to +suspect the writer of unacknowledged +obligations to English authors. But +Mr Schlesinger has, we have no doubt, +been long resident in England, and +as he, moreover, in one or two instances, +indicates by a note his appropriation +of English materials, we +dismiss from our mind the idea of +unconfessed plagiarism. Since we +do so, we must not refuse him the +praise to which his faithful and striking +sketches fairly entitle him. With +him and Frolick, we turn out of the +Strand, through a narrow court, into +Drury Lane.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“In the shops which occupy the +ground floor of almost all the houses, +are exposed for sale, at low prices, +shabby female apparel, coarse eatables, +low literature with horrible +illustrations, strong shoes, old clothes, +abominable cigars, cold and hot meat. +But the most prominent feature in +the whole of Drury Lane is the gin +palace, whose favourite station is at +corners, where the lane is intersected +by cross streets. The gin palace contrasts +with the adjacent buildings +pretty much as does a Catholic church +with the cottages of a Slavonian village. +From afar it looms like a lighthouse +to the thirsty working man; +for it is sumptuous with plate glass +and gilt cornices, and dazzling with +a hundred many-coloured inscriptions. +Here, in the window, is the +portrait of a giant from Norfolk, who +is employed in the house to draw +liquor and customers; yonder, in +green letters upon the pane, we read—‘The +Only Genuine Brandy in London;’ +or, in red letters—‘Here is +sold the celebrated strengthening +wholesome Gin, recommended by all +the doctors’—‘Cream Gin’—‘Honey +Gin’—‘Genuine Porter’—‘Rum that +would knock down the Devil,’ &c. +&c. Often the varnished door-posts +are painted from top to bottom with +suchlike spirited announcements. It +is to be remarked, that even those +gin shops which externally are the +most brilliant, within are utterly comfortless. +The landlord intrenches +himself behind the bar, as in a fortress +where his customers must not enter. +The walls in this sanctuary are covered +with a whole library of large +and small casks, painted of various +colours. The place thus partitioned +off is sometimes a picture of cleanliness +and comfort, and within it an +arm-chair invites to repose; but in +front of the bar, for the customers, +there is nothing but a narrow dirty +standing place, rendered yet more +disagreeable by the continual opening +and shutting of the doors, and where +the only seat, if there be one at all, +is afforded by an empty cask in a corner. +Nevertheless the palace receives +a constant succession of worthy +guests, who, standing, reeling, crouching +or lying, muttering, groaning or +cursing, drink and—forget.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“On sober working days, and in +tolerable weather, there is nothing +remarkable, to the uninitiated, in the +appearance of Drury Lane. Many a +little German capital is worse lighted, +and not so well paved. Misery is less +plainly legible upon the physiognomy +of this district than upon that of Spitalfields, +St Giles’s, Saffron Hill, and +other wretched corners of London. +But at certain times it oozes, like Mississippi +slime, out of every pore. On +Saturday evenings, after working-hours, +on the evening of holiday-Monday, +and after church on Sunday, +Drury Lane is seen in its glory. On +the other hand, Sunday morning in +Drury Lane is enough to give the +most cheerful person the spleen. For +the poorer classes of labourers the +Lord’s day is a day of penance, without +church to go to or walk to take. +The well-dressed throngs that fill +parks and churches scare smock-frock +and fustian-jacket into the beer-shops. +For the English proletarian is ashamed +of his rags, and knows not how to +drape himself with them picturesquely, +like the Spanish or Italian lazzarone, +who holds beggary to be an honourable +calling. In the deepest misery, the +Englishman has still pride enough to +shun the society of those even half a +grade superior to himself, and to confine +himself to that of his equals, +amongst whom he may freely raise +his head. And then church and park +have no charm for him. His legs are +too weary for a walk into the country; +boat, omnibus, and railway, are too +dear. His church, his park, his club, +his theatre, his refuge from the exhalations +of the sewers above which he +dwells and sleeps, are the gin palace.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>This is a gloomy, but we fear, to a +certain extent, too true a picture. In +every large city, and particularly in +such an overgrown one as London, a +certain-amount of misery of the kind +above depicted must exist; there must +be a certain number of human beings +living in a state of almost total deprivation +of those blessings which +God intended all his creatures to +share—of a pure air, of the sight of +fields and flowers, of opportunities to +praise His name in the society of their +fellow-men. But we are pretty sure +Mr Schlesinger has lived long enough +in England to discern, and has +candour enough to admit, that in no +country in the world are such generous, +energetic, and unceasing efforts +made by the more fortunate classes +for the moral and physical betterment +of the unfortunates whose degraded +condition he graphically and truly describes. +That which in most European +countries is left almost entirely +to the charge of government, and +which is consequently often left undone, +or at best half done, is effected +in England by the cordial co-operation +of the government and the nation, +aided by a press which must in justice +be admitted to be ever ready to give +publicity to social grievances, to the +sufferings of particular classes, and to +practical suggestions for their alleviation +or remedy. Fortunate inhabitants +of a favoured land, we must not +allow the difference just pointed out +to inflate our national vanity over-much. +In no country is there so much +private wealth as in England, and +thus, when we seem to give much, we +may be giving not more than others +whose means are less, but their will +as good. Then there is, undeniably, +another, and we should perhaps say +a selfish, motive for the energetic, +efficient, and liberal manner in which +the opulent and well-to-do classes of +Englishmen take up and prosecute +schemes for the amelioration of their +poorer countrymen. An observant +people, shrewd in deduction, and setting +common sense above every other +mental quality, we take warning by +our neighbours. And we feel that the +best safeguard for institutions we all +revere and cherish—the best security +against sedition and revolution, and +against the propagation, by designing +knaves and misguided enthusiasts, of +that jacobinism whose manœuvres and +excesses have proved so fatal in other +lands—is a generous and humane consideration +of the wants and sufferings +of the poorer classes, and an earnest +endeavour to elevate their condition.</p> + +<p class='c010'>And let us acknowledge, with thankfulness, +that we have good stuff to +work upon; that if the higher classes +show themselves prompt in sacrifices, +a praiseworthy patience is displayed +by those they strive to succour. The +Parisian artisan or day-labourer, although +probably less of a bellygod +than the Londoner of the same class, +quickly gets irate when he finds bread +dear and commons short; and, upon +the first suggestion from any democrat +who promises him a big loaf, is +ready enough to “descend into the +street,” tear up the pavement, build a +barricade, and shoot his brother from +behind it. Contrast this with the +fortitude and long-suffering of the +poor gin-and-beer-drinking people +whom Mr Schlesinger qualifies (and +the terms, perhaps, may not be justly +gainsaid) as besotted and obtuse of +sense. Grant that they be so; they +yet have qualities which constitute +them valuable citizens of a free country. +They will toil, when work is to +be had; they have an innate respect +for law and order, and a manly pride +which makes them shun a workhouse +coat as an abject livery; they loathe +the mendicancy in which the southern +lazzarone luxuriates; they are not +insensible to the benevolent efforts +constantly making in their behalf; +and they take little heed of the demagogue’s +artful incitements.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“There is hardly any people,” +muses Mr Schlesinger, in a very different +part of his book and of London, +(when strolling at the Hyde Park end +of Piccadilly), “that loves a green +tree and an open lawn so heartily as +the English. They have not less reverence +for the noble trees in their +parks than had the Druids for the +sacred oaks in their consecrated +groves; and it does one’s heart good +to see that the struggle with Nature, +the striving to apply her powers +to wool-carding and spindle-turning, +does not destroy the feeling for those +of her beauties which cannot be converted +into capital and interest. The +English nation refute, in their own +persons, the oft-repeated lie that +‘excessive’ cultivation (civilisation) +estranges men from their primitive +childish feelings. In England, more +than in any other part of the world, +are fire and water, earth and air, +made use of as bread-winners; in +England, the ploughed field is fattened +with manure gathered on barren reefs +thousands of miles distant; in England, +nature is forced to produce the +enormous water-lilies of the tropics, +and to ripen fruits of unnatural size; +in England, one eats grapes from +Oporto, oranges from Malta, peaches +from Provence, pine-apples from Jamaica, +bananas from St Domingo, and +nuts from Brazil. That which the +native soil produces only upon compulsion, +and at great cost, is borrowed +from other zones, but not on that account +are his native trees and meadows, +woods and shrubberies, less +dear to the Englishman.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Mr Schlesinger will not doubt that +this love of rural scenes and nature’s +beauties, which he so happily and +gracefully discriminates and defines, is +common to all classes of Englishmen. +We believe that it is, and we recognise +in it a propitious sign. The poor +people he has seen, during his Sabbath +rambles in London’s “back-slums,” +losing sight of the blessed +sunshine, and immuring themselves in +a tap-room or gin palace, would perhaps, +but for their ragged garments, +weary limbs, and scantily furnished +pockets, have preferred, like their betters, +a country ramble, to the cheap +and deleterious excitement provided +for them by Booth and Barclay. But +we feel that we are arguing without +an opponent. We can only trust, and +we do so trust, seriously and gladly, +that the day will never come when +the consciousness that the attainment +of perfection is impossible will deter +English legislators and philanthropists +from devoting their utmost energies +and abilities to the improvement of +the meanest and most depraved classes +of their fellow-countrymen.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The conviction that Shakespeare is +better known, better understood, and, +above all, better acted in Germany than +in England, is very prevalent in the +former country, where we have often +heard it boldly put forward and sustained. +When in Shakespeare’s native +land, Germans may possibly be more +modest in their pretensions; and yet +we must not be too confident of that, +when we see a German company selecting +Shakespeare’s plays for performance +before a refined and critical +London audience. The recent performances +of Emil Devrient and his +companions, give especial interest to +some theatrical criticisms put forth by +Dr Keif for the benefit of his friend +Frolick, seated by his side in the pit +of the Olympic Theatre. He is of +opinion that English actors, when rendering +Shakespeare’s characters, cling +too tenaciously to tradition, and aim +too little at originality. After a visit +to a penny theatre, of the proceedings +at which he gives a most laughable +account, he returns, at some length, to +the subject of the English stage, and +highly praises certain English comic +actors as excellent, and superior to +any of the same class in Germany. +“I know nothing better,” he says, +“than Matthews at the Lyceum, and +Mrs Keeley. There you have natural +freshness, vigour, ease, and finesse, all +combined in right proportions. There +is less heartiness about our German +comic performances; they always remind +me of the strained vivacity of a +bookworm in a drawing-room; now +the author, then his interpreter, is too +visibly forced in his condescension.” +What follows is less complimentary. +“When I for the first time, at Sadler’s +Wells, saw Romeo and Juliet +performed, I bit my lips all to pieces. +Juliet looked as if she came from a +ladies’ school at Brompton, instead of +an Italian convent; the orthopedical +stays and backboard were unmistakable: +as to Romeo, I would unhesitatingly +have confided to him the +charge of an express train, so sober +and practical was his air, so solid and +angular each one of his movements. +The same impression was made upon +me by Mercutio, Tybalt, Lorenzo. It +was not that they displayed too little +vocal and mimic power; on the contrary, +it was because they gesticulated +like madmen, and ranged up and down +the entire gamut of human tones, from +a whistle to a roar, that I too plainly +saw that no tragic passion was in +them. The same company afterwards +delighted me in comic pieces.” In +English theatricals Mr Schlesinger’s +taste is strongly for the humorous; +the broader the farce and the thicker +the jokes, the better he is pleased. A +Christmas pantomime, with its practical +fun and methodical folly, delights +him. He is wonderstruck and enchanted +by the mischievous agility of +clown, and the only drawback to his +pleasure is the inappropriate introduction +of a ballet. “To see twenty or +thirty Englishwomen, of full grenadier +stature, perform a ballet-dance ten +minutes in length, is an enjoyment +from which one does but slowly recover. +To this day I live in the firm +conviction that the worthy young women +had not the least idea that they +were called upon for an artistical performance, +but took their long legs for +mathematical instruments, with which +to demonstrate problems relating to +right angles, the hypothenuse, and the +squaring of the circle.” This sarcasm +elicited a long reply from Frolick, who +had once, it seems, been a <i>fideler +bursch</i> in Heidelberg, who knew German +well, and had seen Shakespeare +acted in both countries. In some respects +he preferred the German performance +of Hamlet and Romeo and +Juliet, but Richard III. and Falstaff +were to be seen best in England. The +decline of the drama in this country +he attributed to a complication of +causes, of which he cited two—the +nation’s preoccupation with matters +more practical and important, and +the want of a government support. +“In your country,” he said, “thirty +courts cherish, foster, and patronise +the theatre; here, every theatre is a +private speculation. When the Queen +has taken a box at the Princess’s +Theatre and another at Covent Garden, +she has done all that is expected from +her Majesty in the way of patronage +of the drama. Upon the same boards +upon which to-day you hear the swanlike +notes of Desdemona, you to-morrow +may behold an equestrian troop +or a party of Indian jugglers. If you +complain of such desecration of the +muse’s temple, you are simply laughed +at. Aubry’s dog, which so excited +the holy indignation of Schiller and +Goethe, would be welcomed at any of +our theatres, so long as he filled the +house.” Without going the length of +restricting theatrical performances to +what is termed the legitimate drama, +there ought to be a limit to illegitimacy, +and unquestionably the introduction +upon our stage of tumblers, +jugglers, and posture-masters, circus-clowns, +rope-dancers, and wild Indians, +has powerfully contributed to +lower its character, and to wean many +lovers of the drama from the habitual +frequenting of theatres. But +the stage in England has not the importance +and weight it enjoys in some +foreign countries; notably in France, +where it is one of the means used to +distract from politics the attention of +the restless excitement-loving people; +where ministers of state, and imperial +majesty itself, condescend to interfere +in minute dramatic details, and to +command the suppression of pieces +whose merits they deem beneath the +dignity of the theatre at which they +are produced. There, it is worth a +government’s while to subsidise the +theatres; in England such an item +would never be tolerated in a chancellor +of the exchequer’s budget. Nor +is it needed. Public demand will +always create as large a supply as is +really required.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Pleasantly and intelligently criticising +and discoursing, the German +doctor and his companion took their +way again through Drury Lane, +witnessing more than one disgusting +scene of drunkenness, riot, and brutality. +It was hard upon midnight: +the gin palaces and their frequenters +were making the most of their last +few minutes; the barrows of battered +fruit and full-flavoured shell-fish were +trading at reduced prices, upon the +principle of small profits and quick +returns; oysters as big as a fist +were piled up by threes and fours, at +a penny a heap—poverty and oysters, +Mr Weller has informed us, invariably +walk hand in hand; here was a girl +carried away dead drunk upon a +stretcher—“it was the hunger,” an +old Irishwoman, with a glowing pipe +in her mouth, assured the gentleman, +“that had done it—oh! only the hunger—the +smallest drop had been too +much for poor Sall;” here a brace of +Amazons were indulging in a “mill” +in the centre of an admiring ring; in +front of a public-house a half-famished +Italian ground out the air of “There’s +a good time coming, boys—wait a little +longer,” the organist looking the while +as if he had great need of the “good +time,” and very little power to wait. +Suddenly the lights went out in the +gin palaces, ballad-singers and hurdygurdy +stopped short in the middle of +their melodies, shouts and curses subsided +into a hoarse murmur, and the +mob dispersed and disappeared, to +adopt Mr Schlesinger’s severe comparison, +“like dirty rain-water that +rolls into gutters and sewers.” The +amateur observers of London’s blackguardism +pursued their homeward +way.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Suddenly, from a side street, a +tall figure emerged with long noiseless +steps, and cast a glance right and +left—no policeman was in sight. Then +she rapidly approached our two friends +and fixed her glassy eyes upon them.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“It is no midnight spectre, but +neither is it a being of flesh and blood, +it consists but of skin and bone. Upon +her arm is an infant, to which the +bony hand affords but a hard dying-bed. +For a few seconds she gazes at +the strangers. They put some silver +into her hand. Without a word of +thanks, or of surprise at the liberality +of the alms, she walks away.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“‘The holy Sabbath has commenced,’ +said Keif, after they had +proceeded for some distance in silence, +‘the puritanical Sabbath, on which +misery feels itself doubly and trebly +forlorn.’</p> + +<p class='c010'>“‘My dear friend,’ replied Frolick, +‘five-and-twenty years ago you might +have paved Oxford Street with such +unhappy wretches as that we just now +met. Now you must seek them out +in a nook of Drury Lane. And the +puritanism of the present day is a +rose-coloured full-blooded worldling, +compared to that of the Roundheads; +it is nothing but the natural reaction +against the licentious cavalier spirit, +created by the gloomy hypocrisy that +prevailed before the Restoration, and +handed down even to the beginning +of the present century. It is English +nature to cure one extreme by running +into the other. Either wildly +jovial or prudishly refined; drunkards +or teetotallers; prize-fighters or peace-society-men. +If the perception of a +harmonious happy medium, and the +instinct of beauty of form, were innate +in us, either we should no longer +be the tough, hard-working, one-sided, +powerful John Bull, or we +should ere now have proved the untruth +of your German proverb that in +no country under the sun do trees +grow until their branches reach the +sky.’”</p> + +<p class='c010'>After which modest intimation +(somewhat Teutonic in style) of his +patriotic and heartfelt conviction that +if England were a little better than +she is, she would be too good for this +world, Frolick took leave of his friend. +We shall soon follow his example. +Before doing so, we recommend to +all English readers of German, the +twelfth chapter of Mr Schlesinger’s +second volume, both as very interesting +and as containing many sensible +observations and home-truths. No +extraordinary acuteness is necessary +to discriminate between the writer’s +jest and earnest.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“The reader acquainted with +English domestic arrangements,” says +Mr Schlesinger in a note to his first +volume, “will long ago have found +out that the house we live in is that +of a plain citizen. So we may as +well confess that Sir John is neither +knight nor baronet, but was dubbed +by ourselves, in consideration of his +services to the reader, without licence +from the Queen, and with a silver +spoon instead of a sword.” Sir John +is not the less—if Mr Schlesinger’s +sketch be a portrait—a good fellow +and a worthy simple-hearted Englishman; +and we find with pleasure, at +the close of the book, a letter from +him, dated from his cottage in the +country, and addressed to the cynical +Keif, who was braving November’s +fogs in Guildford Street. The +doctor had sent to his friend and +host the proof-sheets of the second +volume of the <cite>Wanderings through +London</cite>; Sir John writes back his +thanks, his opinion of the work, and +his cordial forgiveness of the jokes at +his expense that it contains. “Never +mind,” he says; “we Englishmen +can stomach the truth; and if you will +promise me to abjure some portion of +your German stiffneckedness, I willingly +pledge myself never again to +try to reason a Frenchman’s hind-leg +straight. Between ourselves, that +was the greatest absurdity our friend +has exposed. As to all the rest, I +will maintain my words before God, +the Queen, and my countrymen. +But,” continues Sir John, quitting +personal considerations, “as regards +our friend’s book—which, you tell me, +is to be published at Christmas in +Berlin, the most enlightened of German +cities—I really fear, my dear +doctor, that it is a bad business. +How, in heaven’s name, are Germans +to form an idea of London from those +two meagre volumes? Many things +are depicted in them, but how many +are neglected, and these the very +things in which you Germans should +take a lesson from us! Not a word +about our picture-galleries, which, +nevertheless, impartially speaking, +are the first in the world! Not a +word about the British Museum, +about the Bridgewater, Vernon, and +Hampton Court galleries! Not a +word about St Paul’s, nor a syllable +concerning the Colosseum, Madame +Tussaud, or Barclay and Perkins’ +Brewery! No mention of our finest +streets—Regent Street, Bond Street, +Belgravia, and Westbourne Terrace; +of our concerts at Exeter Hall, our +markets, our zoological and botanical +gardens, Kew, Richmond, Windsor, +art, literature, benevolent institutions,” +&c. &c. Sir John continues +his enumeration of omissions, until it +seems to comprise everything worth +notice in London; and we ask ourselves +with what Mr Schlesinger has +filled the eight hundred pages we +have read with so much satisfaction +and amusement. We perceive that +he has given his attention to men +rather than to things, that his vein +has been reflective and philosophical, +and that he has not mistaken himself +for the compiler of a London guide. +But still Sir John is dissatisfied. In +Berlin, he says, “people will imagine +England has no picture-galleries—ha! +ha! and no hospitals—ha! ha! ha! +In ten such volumes, the materials +would not be exhausted.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“It is delightful here in the country,” +concludes Sir John, breaking off his +criticism. “Where do you find such +fresh green, and such mild air in November +as in our England? I go out +walking without a greatcoat, and say +to myself, ‘Across the water, in Germany, +the snow lies deep, and the +wolves walk in and out of Cologne +Cathedral.’ Here it is a little damp +of a morning and evening, but then +one sits by the fire and reads the +newspaper. Nowhere is one so comfortable +as in the country in England. +Come and see us in our cottage; the +children are longing to see you, and +so am I.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Then comes a postscript, which, +like many postscripts, is not the least +important part of the letter. “At +this damp time of the year,” says the +spoon-dubbed baronet, “I advise +you to take a small glass of cognac of +a morning—there must still be some +bottles of the right sort in the cellar—and +every night one of my pills. You +will find a boxful on the chimney-piece +in my study. Do not be +obstinate: you do not know how +dangerous this season of the year is +in England.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>So kind and hospitable a letter demanded +a prompt reply, and accordingly +we get Dr Keif’s by return of +post. It is pretty evident, however, +that the motive of his haste is rather +anxiety to answer the charge of incompleteness +brought against Max +Schlesinger’s book, than generous +impatience to thank Sir John for +placing the pill-box at his disposal. +The author of the <cite>Wanderings</cite>, he +says, preferred dissecting and dwelling +upon a few subjects to slightly +touching upon a large number; and, +in his usual caustic strain, he reminds +his friend, that if some things of +which London has a right to be proud +have been left unnoticed, the same +has been the case with other things +of which she has reason to be ashamed. +He then enumerates the blots, as Sir +John had detailed the glories. Having +done so: “it is horrible here in +London,” he says. “Where do you +find such fogs and such a pestilential +atmosphere, in November, as in your +London? That the wolves now walk +in and out of Cologne Cathedral is a +mere creation of your Britannic imagination; +and, since you talk of doing +without a greatcoat, why, the English +walk about the whole winter through, +in Germany, in black dresscoats, but +they are cunning enough to carry +several layers of flannel underneath +them. Have you by chance discarded +yours? That you are comfortable in +your country-house I have no doubt. +<i>That</i> I never disputed.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>In his turn, Dr Keif treats himself +to a postscript. “Since this morning,” +he says, “I have followed your medical +prescription, and will keep to it—partially, +that is to say. I found the +cognac, and will take it regularly. +On the other hand, when you return +to London, you will find your +pills untouched upon your chimney-piece.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>And so we come to “Finis.” Mr +Schlesinger is a genial and unprejudiced +critic of a foreign capital’s customs +and character, and we thank him for +his agreeable, spirited, and impartial +volumes. By his own countrymen +they will, or we are greatly mistaken, +be highly and deservedly prized.</p> + +<div class='chapter'> + <span class='pageno' id='Page_303'>303</span> + <h2 class='c002'>NEW READINGS IN SHAKESPEARE.<a id='r3'></a><a href='#f3' class='c008'><sup>[3]</sup></a></h2> +</div> +<h3 class='c012'>NO. II.</h3> + +<p class='c013'>If the glory of Shakespeare is a +theme for national congratulation, the +purity of his text ought to be an object +of national concern. It is not +enough that the general effect of his +writings should impress itself clearly +on the hearts and minds of all classes +of readers; that the grander and +broader features of his genius should +commend themselves to the admiration +of all mankind. This they can +never fail to do. The danger to which +Shakespeare is exposed is not such as +can ever materially affect the soul and +substance of his compositions. Here +he stands pre-eminent and secure. But +he is exposed to a danger of another +kind. As time wears on, his text +runs periodically the risk of being extensively +tampered with; whether by +the introduction of <i>new</i> readings, properly +so called, or by the insertion of +glosses of a comparatively ancient +date. The carelessness with which it +is alleged the earlier editions were +printed, is pleaded as an apology for +these conjectural corrections;—one +man’s ingenuity sets to work the wits +of another; and thus, unless the <i>cacoethes +emendandi</i> be checked betimes, a +distant posterity, instead of receiving +our great poet’s works in an authentic +form, may succeed to a very adulterated +inheritance.</p> + +<p class='c010'>This consideration induces us to +exert such small power as we may +possess to check the growing evil, and +in particular to repress that deluge of +innovations which Mr Collier has lately +let loose upon the gardens of Shakespeare, +from the margins of his corrected +folio of 1632, and which, if they +do not shake the everlasting landmarks, +at any rate threaten with destruction +many a flower of choicest +fragrance and most celestial hue. We +believe that when Mr Collier’s volume +was first published, the periodical +press was generally very loud in its +praises. “Here we have the genuine +Shakespeare at last,” said the journals, +with singular unanimity. But +when the new readings have been +dispassionately discussed, and when +the excitement of their novelty has +subsided, we believe that Mr Collier’s +“Shakespeare restitutus,” so +far from being an acceptable present +to the community, will be perceived +to be such a book as very few +readers would like to live in the same +house with.</p> + +<p class='c010'>In order, then, to carry out what +we conceive to be a good work—the +task, namely, of defending the text +of Shakespeare from the impurities +with which Mr Collier wishes to inoculate +it—we return to the discussion +(which must necessarily be of a minute +and chiefly verbal character) of the +new readings. We shall endeavour to +do justice to the old corrector, by +bringing forward every alteration +which looks like a real emendation. +Two or three small matters may perhaps +escape us, but the reader may +be assured that they are very small +matters indeed. It will be seen that +the unwise substitutions constitute an +overwhelming majority. The play that +stands next in order is “King John.”</p> + +<p class='c009'><span class='sc'>King John</span>—<i>Act II. Scene 1.</i>—In +this play the new readings are of no +great importance. A few of them may +equal the original text—one or two may +excel it—but certainly the larger portion +fall considerably below it in point +of merit. The best emendation occurs +in the lines in which young Arthur +expresses his acknowledgments to +Austria—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“I give you welcome with a powerless hand,</div> + <div class='line'>But with a heart full of <i>unstained</i> love.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The MS. corrector proposes “<i>unstrained</i> +love,” which perhaps is the +better word of the two, though the +change is by no means necessary. The +same commendation cannot be extended +to the alteration which is proposed +in the lines where Constance is endeavouring +to dissuade the French king +from engaging precipitately in battle. +She says—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“My lord Chatillon may from England bring</div> + <div class='line'>That right in peace, which here we urge in war;</div> + <div class='line'>And then we shall repent each drop of blood,</div> + <div class='line'>That hot rash haste so <i>indirectly</i> shed.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>“Indirectly” is Shakespeare’s word. +The MS. corrector suggests “indiscreetly”—a +most unhappy substitution, +which we are surprised that the generally +judicious Mr Singer should approve +of. “Indiscreetly” means imprudently, +inconsiderately. “Indirectly” +means wrongfully, iniquitously, as may +be learnt from these lines in King +Henry V., where the French king is +denounced as a usurper, and is told +that Henry</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in14'>“bids you, then, resign</div> + <div class='line'>Your crown and kingdom, <i>indirectly</i> held</div> + <div class='line'>From him the native and true challenger.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>It was certainly the purpose of Constance +to condemn the rash shedding +of blood as something worse than indiscreet—as +criminal and unjust—and +this she did by employing the term +“indirectly” in the Shakespearean +sense of that word.</p> + +<p class='c010'>In this same Act, <i>Scene 2</i>, a new +reading—also approved of by Mr Singer, +and pronounced “unquestionably +right” by Mr Collier—is proposed in +the lines where the citizen says—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“That daughter there of Spain, the Lady Blanch</div> + <div class='line'>Is <i>near</i> to England.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>For “near” the MS. correction is +<i>niece</i>. But the Lady Blanch is repeatedly, +throughout the play, spoken +of as niece to King John and the +Queen-mother. Therefore, if for no +other reason than that of varying the +expression, we must give our suffrage +most decidedly in favour of the original +reading. “<i>Near</i> to England” +of course means nearly related to England; +and it seems much more natural, +as well as more poetical, that the +citizen should speak in this general +way of Lady Blanch, than that he +should condescend on her particular +degree of relationship, and style her +the “niece to England.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>At the end of this Act, in the soliloquy +of Faulconbridge, a very strange +perversion on the part of the MS. corrector +comes before us. Faulconbridge +is railing against what he calls “commodity”—that +is, the morality of self-interest. +He then goes on to represent +himself as no better than his neighbours, +in these words—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“And why rail I on this commodity?</div> + <div class='line'>But for because he hath not woo’d me yet;</div> + <div class='line'>Not that I have the power to clutch my hand,</div> + <div class='line'>When his fair angels would salute my palm.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The meaning of these lines is certainly +sufficiently obvious. Yet Mr +Collier’s corrector is not satisfied with +them. He reads—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Not that I have <i>no</i> power to clutch my hand,” &c.</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>But unless Mr Collier can prove—what +will be difficult—that “power” +here means <i>inclination</i>, it is evident +that this reading directly reverses +Shakespeare’s meaning. If “power” +means <i>inclination</i>, the sense would be +this—I rail on this commodity, not +because I have no inclination to clutch +my hand on the fair angels that would +salute my palm, but because I have +not yet been tempted; when temptation +comes, I shall doubtless yield like +my neighbours. But power never +means, and cannot mean inclination; +and Mr Collier has not attempted to +show that it does; and therefore the new +reading must be to this effect—“I rail +on this commodity, not because I am +<i>unable</i> to close my hand against a +bribe,” &c. But Faulconbridge says +the very reverse. He says—“I rail on +this commodity, not because I have +the power to resist temptation, or am +<i>able</i> to shut my hand against the fair +angels that would salute my palm; for +I have no such power: in this respect +I am just like other people, and am as +easily bribed as they are.” The new +reading, therefore, must be dismissed +as a wanton reversal of the plain +meaning of Shakespeare.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act III. Scene 3.</i>—We approve of +the corrector’s change of the word +“race,” the ordinary reading, into +<i>ear</i>, in the following line about the +midnight bell—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Sound one unto the drowsy <i>ear</i> of night.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The old copies read <i>on</i> instead of <i>one</i>, +which was supplied—rightly, as we +think—by Warburton. The MS. corrector +makes no change in regard to +<i>on</i>.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act III. Scene 4.</i>—The passionate +vehemence of Constance’s speech is +much flattened by the corrector’s ill-judged +interference. Bewailing the +loss of her son, she says—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“O, that my tongue were in the thunder’s mouth;</div> + <div class='line'>Then with a passion would I shake the world:</div> + <div class='line'>And rouse from sleep that fell anatomy,</div> + <div class='line'>Which cannot hear a lady’s feeble voice,</div> + <div class='line'>Which scorns a <i>modern</i> invocation.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>For “modern” the MS. corrector +would read “widow’s”! And Mr +Collier, defending the new reading, +observes that Johnson remarks, “that +it is hard to say what Shakespeare +means by <i>modern</i>.” Johnson does +make this remark. Nevertheless the +meaning of the word “modern” is +perfectly plain. It signifies moderate—not +sufficiently impassioned; and +we are called upon to give up this +fine expression for the inanity of a +“<i>widow’s</i> invocation”! In the same +lines this reckless tamperer with the +language of Shakespeare would change</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Then with a passion would I shake the world,”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c015'>into</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Then with <i>what</i> passion would I shake the world.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act IV. Scene 2.</i>—In the following +lines a difficulty occurs which seems +insuperable, and which the MS. corrector +has certainly not explained, +although Mr Collier says that his +reading makes “the meaning apparent.” +King John, in reply to some +of his lords, who have tried to dissuade +him from having a double coronation, +says—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Some reasons of this double coronation</div> + <div class='line'>I have possessed you with, and think them strong:</div> + <div class='line'>And more, more strong (<i>when lesser is my fear</i>)</div> + <div class='line'>I shall endue you with.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>This is the common reading; but +why the king should give them more +and stronger reasons for his double +coronation, when his fears were diminished, +is not at all apparent. The +strength of his fears should rather +have led him at once to state his +reasons explicitly. The MS. correction +is—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“And more, more strong, <i>thus lessening</i> my fear,</div> + <div class='line'>I shall endue you with.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>But how the <i>communication</i> of his +stronger reasons should have the +effect of lessening the king’s fear, is +a riddle still darker than the other. +The <i>possession</i> of these reasons might +lessen the usurper’s fears; but surely +the mere utterance of them could +make no difference. If the MS. corrector +had written, “thus lessening +<i>your</i> fears,” there would have been +some sense in the emendation; and, if +a new reading be required, this is the +one which we venture to suggest.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act IV. Scene 3.</i>—We confess that +we prefer the MS. corrector’s line,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Whose private <i>missive</i> of the Dauphin’s love,”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c015'>to the ordinary reading,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Whose private <i>with me</i> of the Dauphin’s love.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>But we are not prepared to say that +the latter is unintelligible, or that it +is not in accordance with the diplomatic +phraseology of the time.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The following new reading has +something to recommend it; but much +also may be said in defence of the old +text. Salisbury, indignant with the +king, says, as the ordinary copies +give it,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“The King hath dispossessed himself of us;</div> + <div class='line'>We will not line his <i>thin bestained</i> cloak</div> + <div class='line'>With our pure honours.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The margins propose “sin-bestained,” +which is plausible. But there +is also a propriety in the use of the +word “thin.” The king’s cloak (that +is, his authority) was <i>thin</i>, because +not lined and strengthened with the +power and honours of his nobles. The +text ought not to be altered.</p> + +<p class='c010'>We conclude our <i>obiter dicta</i> on +this play with the remark, that Pope’s +change of “hand” into “head,” +which is also proposed by the MS. +corrector in the following lines, (<i>Act +IV. Scene III.</i>) seems to us to be an +improvement, and entitled to admission +into the text. Salisbury vows</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Never to taste the pleasures of the world,</div> + <div class='line'>Never to be infected with delight,</div> + <div class='line'>Nor conversant with ease and idleness,</div> + <div class='line'>’Till I have set a glory to this <i>head</i>,</div> + <div class='line'>By giving it the worship of revenge,”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>—that is, the head of young Arthur, +whose dead body had just been discovered +on the ground.</p> + +<p class='c009'><span class='sc'>King Richard II.</span>—<i>Act. II. Scene +1.</i>—Ritson’s emendation, as pointed +out by Mr Singer, is unquestionably +to be preferred to the MS. corrector’s +in these lines—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“The King is come; deal mildly with his youth,</div> + <div class='line'>For young hot colts, being <i>rag’d</i>, do rage the more.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>“Raged,” the common reading, can +scarcely be right. Ritson proposed +“being reined.” The margins suggest +“being urg’d.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>We differ from the MS. corrector, +Mr Collier, and Mr Singer, in thinking +that there is no good reason for +disturbing the received text in the +lines where the conspirators, Willoughby, +Ross, and Northumberland, +are consulting together; but, on the +contrary, very good reasons for leaving +it alone. Willoughby says to his +brother—conspirator, Northumberland,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Nay, let us share thy thoughts as thou dost ours.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>Ross also presses him to speak:</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Be confident to speak, Northumberland;</div> + <div class='line'>We three are but thyself; and speaking so,</div> + <div class='line'>Thy words are but <i>as</i> thoughts, therefore be bold.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The change proposed is <i>our</i> for “as.” +“Thy words are but <i>our</i> thoughts.” +The difference of meaning in the two +readings is but slight; but the old +text seems to us to have the advantage +in depth and fineness. Ross’s +argument with Northumberland to +speak was not merely because his +words were as <i>their</i> thoughts. That +was no doubt true; but the point of +his persuasion lay in the consideration +that Northumberland’s words would +be <i>as good as not spoken</i>. “We three +are but yourself, and, in these circumstances, +your words are but <i>as</i> +thoughts—that is, you are as safe in +uttering them as if you uttered them +not, inasmuch as you will be merely +speaking to yourself.” The substitution +of “our” for “as” seems to bring +out this meaning less clearly.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act II. Scene 2.</i>—The following +lines (part of which, for the sake of +perspicuity, we print within a parenthesis, +contrary, we believe, to the +common arrangement) require no +emendation. The queen, labouring +under “the involuntary and unaccountable +depression of mind which, +says Johnson, every one has some +time felt,” remarks—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in12'>“Howe’er it be,</div> + <div class='line'>I cannot but be sad; so heavy sad,</div> + <div class='line'>As (though, in thinking, on no thought I think)</div> + <div class='line'>Makes me with heavy nothing faint and shrink.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The MS. corrector reads “unthinking” +for “in thinking;” but this is by +no means necessary. The old text is +quite as good, indeed rather better +than the new.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Scene 3.</i>—Much dissatisfaction has +been expressed with the word <i>despised</i> +in the lines in which York severely +rates his traitorous nephew Bolingbroke:</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Why have those banish’d and forbidden legs</div> + <div class='line'>Dared once to touch a dust of English ground?</div> + <div class='line'>But more than why,—why have they dared to march</div> + <div class='line'>So many miles upon her peaceful bosom,</div> + <div class='line'>Frighting her pale-faced villages with war,</div> + <div class='line'>And ostentation of <i>despised</i> arms?”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>“But sure,” says Warburton, “the +ostentation of despised arms would +not <i>fright</i> any one. We should read +‘disposed arms’—<i>i.e.</i>, forces in battle +array.” “Despoiling arms” is the +reading recommended by the margins. +“Displayed arms” is the right expression, +according to Mr Singer. But +surely no emendation is required. The +ostentation of despised arms was quite +sufficient to frighten the harmless villagers; +and this is all that Shakespeare +says it did. And then it is in the +highest degree appropriate and consistent +that York should give his +nephew to understand that his arms +or forces were utterly despicable in the +estimation of all loyal subjects, of all +honourable and right-thinking men. +Hence his words,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Frighting her <i>pale-faced</i> villages with war,</div> + <div class='line'>And <i>ostentation</i> of <i>despised</i> arms,”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c015'>mean—alarming with war only pale-faced +villagers, who never smelt the +sulphurous breeze of battle, and making +a vain parade of arms which all +true soldiers must despise.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act III. Scene 3.</i>—The substitution +of <i>storm</i> for “harm,” in the following +lines, is an exceedingly doubtful emendation. +York says of Richard—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Yet looks he like a king; behold, his eye,</div> + <div class='line'>As bright as is the eagle’s, lightens forth</div> + <div class='line'>Controlling majesty. Alack, alack for woe,</div> + <div class='line'>That any <i>harm</i> should stain so fair a show!”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>It is true that, in a previous part of +the speech, the king is likened to the +setting sun, whose glory “the envious +clouds are bent to dim;” and therefore +the word <i>storm</i> has some show of reason +to recommend it, and “harm” +may possibly have been a misprint. +But we rather think that it is the +right word, and that it is more natural +and pathetic than the word <i>storm</i>. +Nothing else worthy of note or comment +presents itself in the MS. corrections +of King Richard II.</p> + +<p class='c009'><span class='sc'>The First Part of King Henry +IV.</span>—<i>Act I. Scene 1.</i>—“No new +light,” says Mr Collier, “is thrown +upon the two lines which have produced +so many conjectures:</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>‘No more the thirsty entrance of this soil</div> + <div class='line'>Shall daub her lips with her own children’s blood.’”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The MS. corrector has in this instance +shown his sense by not meddling with +these lines; for how any light beyond +their own inherent lustre should ever +have been thought necessary to render +them luminous, it is not easy to +understand. As a specimen of the way +in which the old commentators occasionally +darkened the very simplest +matters, their treatment of these two +lines may be adduced. The old quartos, +and the folio 1623, supply the +text as given above. By an error of +the press, the folio 1632 reads <i>damb</i> +instead of <i>daub</i>. This <i>damb</i> the earlier +commentators converted into <i>damp</i>. +Warburton changed “damp” into +trempe—<i>i.e.</i>, moisten. Dr Johnson, +although very properly dissatisfied +with this Frenchified reading, is as +much at fault as the bishop. With +the authentic text of the older editions +before him, he says, “the old reading +helps the editor no better than the +new” (in other words, <i>daub</i> is no better +than damb, and damp, and trempe); +“nor can I satisfactorily reform the +passage. I think that ‘thirsty entrance’ +<i>must be</i> wrong, yet know not +what to offer. We may read, but not +very elegantly—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>‘No more the thirsty <i>entrails</i> of this soil</div> + <div class='line'>Shall <i>daubed be</i> with her own children’s blood.’”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>Truly this reading is by no means elegant; +it is nothing less than monstrous. +To say nothing of the physical +impossibility of the blood penetrating +to the “entrails” of the earth, the +expression violates the first principles +of poetical word-painting. The interior +parts of the earth are not seen, +and therefore to talk of them as daubed +with blood, is to attempt to place before +the eye of the mind a picture +which cannot be placed before it. In +science, or as a matter of fact, this +may be admissible; but in poetry, +where the imagination is addressed, it +is simply an absurdity. Steevens, +with some hesitation, proposes—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“No more the thirsty <i>entrants</i> of this soil</div> + <div class='line'>Shall daub her lips with her own children’s blood.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>“Entrants,” that is, “invaders.” +“This,” says Steevens, “may be +thought very far-fetched.” It is +worse than far-fetched—it is ludicrously +despicable. Conceive Shakespeare +saying that “a parcel of <i>drouthy</i> +Frenchmen shall no more daub the +lips of England with the blood of her +own children”! What renders this +reading all the more inexcusable is, +that Steevens perceived what the true +and obvious meaning was, although +he had not the steadiness to stand to +it. He adds—“or Shakespeare <i>may</i> +mean the <i>thirsty entrance</i> of the soil +for the <i>porous surface</i> of the earth +through which all moisture enters, +and is thirstily drunk or soaked up.” +Shakespeare’s words cannot by any +possibility mean anything except this. +“Porous surface,” as must be obvious to +all mankind, is the exact literal prose +of the more poetical phrase, “thirsty +entrance.” Yet obvious as this interpretation +is, Malone remained blind +to it, even after Steevens had pointed +it out. He prefers Steevens’ first +emendation. He says, “Mr Steevens’ +conjecture (that is, his suggestion of +<i>entrants</i> for <i>entrance</i>) is so likely to be +true, that I have no doubt about the propriety +of admitting it into the text.” +In spite, however, of these vagaries, +we believe that the right reading, as +given above, has kept its place in +the ordinary editions of Shakespeare. +This instance may show that our MS. +corrector is not the only person whose +wits have gone a-woolgathering when +attempting to mend the language of +Shakespeare.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Before returning to Mr Collier’s +corrector, we wish to make another +digression, in order to propose a new +reading—one, at least, which is new +to ourselves, and not to be found in +the <i>variorum</i> edition 1785. The king +says, in reference to the rising in the +north, which has been triumphantly +put down—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Ten thousand bold Scots,—two-and-twenty knights,</div> + <div class='line'><i>Balked</i> in their own blood, did Sir Walter see</div> + <div class='line'>On Holmedon’s plains.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>For “balked” Steevens conjectured +either “bathed” or “baked.” Warton +says that <i>balk</i> is a ridge, and that +therefore “balked in their own blood” +means “piled up in a ridge, and in their +own blood.” Tollet says, “‘balked +in their own blood,’ I believe, means, +lay in heaps or hillocks in their own +blood.” We propose—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Ten thousand bold Scots,—two-and-twenty knights,</div> + <div class='line'><i>Bark’d</i> in their own blood, did Sir Walter see</div> + <div class='line'>On Holmedon’s plains.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>“Barked,” that is, coated with dry +and hardened blood, as a tree is coated +with bark. This is picturesque. To +<i>bark</i> or <i>barken</i> is undoubtedly an old +English word; and in Scotland, even +at this day, it is not uncommon to +hear the country people talk of blood +<i>barkening</i>, that is, hardening, upon a +wound.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act I. Scene 3.</i>—The following lines +present a difficulty which the commentators—and +among them our anonymous +scholiast—have not been very +successful in clearing up. The king, +speaking in reference to the revolted +Mortimer and his accomplices, says—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Shall we buy treason, and indent <i>with fears</i>,</div> + <div class='line'>When they have lost and forfeited themselves?</div> + <div class='line'>No, on the barren mountains let him starve.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>There is no difficulty in regard to the +word “indent;” it means, to enter +into a compact—to descend, as Johnson +says, to a composition. But what +is the meaning of “to indent, or enter +into a compact, <i>with fears</i>”? Johnson +suggests “with peers”—that is, +with the noblemen who have lost and +forfeited themselves. But this is a +very unsatisfactory and improbable +reading. The MS. corrector proposes +“with foes;” and Mr Collier remarks, +“It seems strange that, in the course +of two hundred and fifty years, nobody +should ever have even guessed at <i>foes</i> +for <i>fears</i>.” It is much more strange +that Mr Collier should be ignorant +that “foes” is the reading of the Oxford +editor, Sir Thomas Hanmer—a +reading which was long ago condemned. +Mr Singer adheres rightly to the +received text; but he is wrong in his +explanation of the word “fears.” He +says that it means “objects of fear.” +But surely the king can never have +regarded Mortimer and his associates +as objects of fear. He had a spirit +above that. He had no dread of them. +Steevens is very nearly right when he +says that the word “fears” here means +<i>terrors</i>: he would have been quite +right had he said that it signifies +<i>cowardice</i>, or rather, by a poetical +licence, “cowards”—(<i>fearers</i>, if there +were such a word.) The meaning is, +shall we buy treason, and enter into a +composition with cowardice, when +they (the traitors and cowards) have +lost and forfeited themselves? Treason +and cowardice are undoubtedly the +two offences which the king intends to +brand with his indignation. “Foes” +is quite inadmissible.</p> + +<p class='c010'>In <i>Act II. Scene 1</i>—Gadshill, talking +in a lofty vein of his high acquaintances, +says, “I am joined with no +foot land-rakers, no long-staff, six-penny +strikers; none of these mad, +mustachio, purple-hued maltworms; +but with nobility and <i>tranquillity</i>; +burgomasters and great <i>oneyers</i>; such +as can hold in; such as can strike +sooner than speak,” &c. The change +of “tranquillity” into <i>sanguinity</i>, as +proposed by the MS. corrector, we +dismiss at once as unworthy of any +consideration. “Oneyers” is the only +word about which there is any difficulty; +and it has puzzled the bigwigs. +Theobald reads “moneyers”—that +is, officers of the mint—bankers. +Sir T. Hanmer reads “great owners.” +Malone reads “onyers,” which, he +says, means public accountants. “To +settle accounts is still called at the +exchequer <i>to ony</i>, and hence Shakespeare +seems to have formed the word +<i>onyers</i>.” Johnson has hit upon the +right explanation, although he advances +it with considerable hesitation. +“I know not,” says he, “whether +any change is necessary; Gadshill +tells the chamberlain that he is joined +with no mean wretches, but with burgomasters +and great ones, or, as he +terms them in merriment, by a cant +termination, great oneyers, or, great +one-eers—as we say privateer, auctioneer, +circuiteer. This is, I fancy, +the whole of the matter.” That this +is the true explanation, or very near +it, and that no change in the text is +necessary, is proved beyond a doubt +by the following extract from the +writings of one whose genius, while it +elevates the noblest subjects, can also +illustrate the most small. “Do they +often go where glory waits them, and +leave you here?” says Mr Swiveller, +alluding to Brass and his charming +sister, in Dickens’ <cite>Old Curiosity +Shop</cite>. “‘O, yes, I believe they do,’ +returned the marchioness, <i>alias</i> the +small servant; ‘Miss Sally’s such a +<i>one-er</i> for that.’ ‘Such a what?’ +said Dick, as much puzzled as a +Shakespearean commentator. ‘Such +a one-er,’ returned the marchioness. +After a moment’s reflection, Mr Swiveller +determined to forego his responsible +duty of setting her right—[why +should he have wished to set her +right? she <i>was</i> right; she was speaking +the language and illustrating the +meaning of Shakespeare]—and to suffer +her to talk on; as it was evident that +her tongue was loosened by the purl, +and her opportunities for conversation +were not so frequent as to render a +momentary check of little consequence. +‘They sometimes go to see +Mr Quilp,’ said the small servant, +with a shrewd look: ‘they go to a +many places, bless you.’ ‘Is <i>Mr</i> +Brass a <i>wunner</i>?’ said Dick. ‘Not +half what Miss Sally is, he isn’t,’ replied +the small servant.” Here is +the very word we want. Shakespeare’s +“oneyer” is Dickens’ <i>one-er</i> +or <i>wunner</i>—that is, a one <i>par excellence</i>, +a one with an emphasis—a top-sawyer—and +the difficulty is resolved. +Set a thief to catch a thief; and leave +one great intellectual luminary to +throw light upon another. After Mr +Dickens’ lucid commentary, “oneyer” +becomes quite a household word, and +we suspect that the MS. corrector’s +emendation will scarcely go down. He +reads, “burgomasters and great <i>ones</i>,—<i>yes</i> +such as can hold in.” “This will +never do,” to quote a favourite aphorism, +and literary canon of the late Lord +Jeffrey, when speaking of the Lake +School of poetry.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act II. Scene 4.</i>—The complacency +with which Mr Collier sets the authority +of his MS. corrector above that +of the other commentators on Shakespeare, +is one of the most curious features +in his literary character. The +following is an instance of his marginolatry. +“Rowe,” says Mr Collier, +“<i>seems</i> to have been right (indeed, +the emendation hardly admits of +doubt) in reading <i>tristful</i> for ‘trustful’ +in Falstaff’s speech, as we learn +from the alteration introduced in the +folio 1632. ‘For Heaven’s sake, lords, +convey my <i>tristful</i> queen.’” As if +the authority of Rowe, or of any other +person, was not, to say the least of it, +just as good as that of the anonymous +corrector, who, by the blunders into +which he has fallen, has proved himself +signally disqualified for the task +of rectifying Shakespeare where his +text may happen to be corrupted.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act III. Scene 1.</i>—Now and then, +however, as we have all along admitted, +the old corrector makes a +good hit. A very excellent emendation, +about the best which he has proposed, +occurs in the scene where Mortimer +says—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“My wife can speak no English, I no Welsh.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The lady then speaks to him in Welsh, +being at the same time in tears; +whereupon her husband says—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“I understood thy looks, <i>that</i> pretty Welsh</div> + <div class='line'>Which thou pourest down from the swelling heavens.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>“The swelling heavens”—her eyes +might no doubt be swollen; but that +is not a pretty picture. The correction, +which is a manifest improvement, +and worthy of a place in the text, is +“from these welling heavens.” This +correction is taken from Mr Collier’s +appendix, or “notes,” where it might +be easily overlooked.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act V. Scene 1.</i>—The MS. corrector +is very fond of eking out imperfect +lines with conjectural interpolations, +and of curtailing others which present +a superfluity of syllables. This is a +practice which cannot be permitted +even in cases where the alteration improves +the verses, as sometimes happens; +much less can it be tolerated +in cases, which are still more frequent, +where the verses are manifestly enfeebled +by the change. A conspicuous +instance of the latter occurs in these +lines. The rebellious Worcester says +to the king,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in20'>——“I do protest</div> + <div class='line'>I have not sought the day of this dislike.</div> + </div> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'><i>K. Henry.</i>—You have not sought it—How comes it then?”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>Here the words, “How comes it +then?” are vehement and abrupt, and +the verse is purposely defective. Its +impetuosity is destroyed by the corrector’s +stilted and unnatural interpolation—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“You have not sought it—<i>say</i>, how comes it then?”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>That word <i>say</i> takes off the sharp edge +of the king’s wrathful interrogative, +and converts him from a flesh and +blood monarch into a mouthing ranter, +a mere tragedy-king.</p> + +<p class='c009'><span class='sc'>The Second Part of Henry IV.</span>—<i>Act +I. Scene 2.</i>—We agree with Mr +Collier and Mr Singer that the substitution +of <i>diseases</i> for “degrees” in +Falstaff’s speech is a good and legitimate +emendation, and we willingly +place it to the credit of the MS. corrector.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act I. Scene 3.</i>—The MS. corrector +attempts to amend the following passage +in several places—not very successfully, +as we shall endeavour to +show. The rebellious lords are talking +about their prospects and resources. +Bardolph counsels delay, and warns his +friends against being over-sanguine.</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“<i>Hastings.</i>—But, by your leave, it never yet did hurt,</div> + <div class='line'>To lay down likelihoods, and forms of hope.</div> + </div> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'><i>Bardolph.</i>—Yes, in this present quality of war;</div> + <div class='line'>Indeed, of instant action. A cause on foot</div> + <div class='line'>Lives so in hope, as in an early spring</div> + <div class='line'>We see the appearing buds; which, to prove fruit,</div> + <div class='line'>Hope gives not so much warrant, as despair,</div> + <div class='line'>That frosts will bite them. When we mean to build,</div> + <div class='line'>We first survey the plot, then draw the model;</div> + <div class='line'>And when we see the figure of the house,</div> + <div class='line'>Then must we rate the cost of the erection;</div> + <div class='line'>Which, if we find outweighs ability,</div> + <div class='line'>What do we then, but draw anew the model</div> + <div class='line'>In fewer offices; or, at least, desist</div> + <div class='line'>To build at all? Much more in this great work</div> + <div class='line'>(Which is, almost, to pluck a kingdom down</div> + <div class='line'>And set another up), should we survey</div> + <div class='line'>The plot of situation and the model;</div> + <div class='line'>Consent upon a sure foundation;</div> + <div class='line'>Question surveyors; know our own estate,</div> + <div class='line'>How able such a work to undergo,</div> + <div class='line'><i>To weigh against his opposite</i>; or else</div> + <div class='line'>We fortify in paper and in figures,</div> + <div class='line'>Using the names of men, instead of men.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>In this speech of Bardolph’s we shall +confine our attention to the two main +points on which the corrector has tried +his hand. These are the two first +lines, and the verse printed in italics. +The two first lines are somewhat obscure; +but we are of opinion that a +much better sense may be obtained +from them than is afforded by the +corrector’s emendation, which we shall +presently advert to. “Hope,” says +Hastings, “never yet did harm.” +“Yes,” says Bardolph, “in a state +of affairs like the present, where action +seems imminent, it <i>has</i> done harm +to entertain (unfounded) hopes.” He +then proceeds to press on his friends, +as their only chance of safety, the +necessity of making the war <i>not</i> imminent—of +postponing it until they have +pondered well their resources, and received +farther supplies. All this is +intelligible enough, and may be elicited +with perfect ease from the ordinary +text which was adjusted by Dr Johnson—the +original reading of the two +lines in question being obviously disfigured +by typographical errors. There +is therefore no call whatever for the +MS. corrector’s amendment, which +seems to us infinitely more obscure +and perplexing than the received reading. +He writes—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Yes, in this present quality of war;</div> + <div class='line'>Indeed the instant <i>act and</i> cause on foot</div> + <div class='line'>Lives so in hope,” &c.</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>Mr Collier says that this emendation +“clears the sense” of the passage. +We should have thanked him had he +shown us how; for, if the old reading +be obscure, the only merit of the new +one seems to be that it lends an additional +gloom to darkness. In regard +to the other point—the line printed in +italics—the MS. corrector breaks the +back of the difficulty by means of the +following interpolated forgery—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“<i>A careful leader sums what force he brings</i></div> + <div class='line'>To weigh against his opposite.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>This, and the other similar delinquencies +of which the MS. corrector is frequently +guilty, are neither more nor less +than swindling—and swindling, too, +without an object. Nothing is gained +by the rascality; for the sense of the +passage may be opened without resorting +to the use of such a clumsy +crowbar, such a burglarious implement +as</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“A careful leader sums what force he brings.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>It means, before we engage in any +great and perilous undertaking, we +should know how able we are to undergo +such a work—how able we are +to weigh against the opposite of such +a work; that is, to contend successfully +against the forces of the enemy. Mr +Singer says that, if any change is necessary, +we should read “<i>this</i> opposite,” +instead of “<i>his</i> opposite.” With +submission we beg to say, that, if any +change is necessary, “its” and not +“this” is the word which must be +substituted for “his.” But no change +is necessary; “his opposite” means +the work’s opposite; and it is no unfrequent +idiom with Shakespeare to +use “his” for “its.”</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act II. Scene 1.</i>—Hostess Quickly +says, according to the old copies—</p> + +<p class='c011'>“A hundred marks is a long <i>one</i> for a poor +lone woman to bear.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“One” being obviously a misprint, +Theobald substituted “loan;” and this +is the usual reading. The MS. corrector +proposes “score;” and this, we +think, ought to go into the text. But +it will be long before the MS. corrector, +by means of such small instalments, +clears <i>his</i> “score” with the +ghost of Shakespeare. As a help, +however, towards that consummation, +we are rather inclined to place to his +credit the substitution of <i>high</i> for <i>the</i> +in the line—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Under <i>the</i> canopies of costly state.”</div> + <div class='line in24'>—<i>Act III. Scene 1.</i></div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>Perhaps, also, he ought to get credit +for “shrouds” instead of “clouds”—although +the former is now no novelty, +having been started long ago by some +of the early commentators. The original +reading is “clouds;” but the epithet +“slippery” renders it highly +probable that this is a misprint for +<i>shrouds</i>—that is, the ship’s upper +tackling; and that “slippery shrouds” +is the genuine reading. It seems probable +also that <i>rags</i>, the MS. correction, +and not <i>rage</i>, the ordinary reading, +is the right word in the lines where +rebellion is spoken of (<i>Act IV. Scene +1</i>) as</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Led on by bloody youth, guarded with <i>rags</i>,</div> + <div class='line'>And countenanced by boys and beggary.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The MS. corrector seems to be retrieving +his character. We are also +willing to accept at his hands “seal” +instead of “zeal” in the line—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Under the counterfeited <i>seal</i> of heaven.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>We cannot, however, admit that +there is any ground for emendation in +the following passage (<i>Act IV. Scene +1</i>) where the king is spoken of, and +where it is said that he will find much +difficulty in punishing his enemies +without compromising his friends:—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“His foes are so enrooted with his friends,</div> + <div class='line'>That, plucking to unfix an enemy,</div> + <div class='line'>He doth unfasten so, and shake a friend,</div> + <div class='line'>So that this land, like an offensive wife,</div> + <div class='line'>That hath enraged <i>him on</i> to offer strokes;</div> + <div class='line'>As he is striking, holds his infant up,</div> + <div class='line'>And hangs resolved correction in the arm</div> + <div class='line'>That was uprear’d to execution.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The question is, who is the “him” +referred to in the fifth of these lines? +It can be no other than the king. <i>He</i>, +the husband, being excited to chastise +his wife—that is, the rebellious country—<i>she</i>, +as he is striking, holds his +infant (that is, certain of his friends) +up, and thus stays his arm, and suspends +the execution of his vengeance. +The MS. corrector substitutes “her +man” for the words “him on.” Mr +Collier approves, and even Mr Singer +says that this “is a very plausible +correction, and is evidently called for.” +If these gentlemen will reconsider the +passage, they will find that it cannot +be construed with the new reading, +unless several additional words are +inserted; thus, “So that this land +(is), like an offensive wife who hath +enraged <i>her man</i> to offer strokes, (and +who) as he is striking, holds his infant +up, and hangs resolved correction in +the arm that was upreared to execution.” +This is as intelligible as the +ordinary text, though not more so; +but the introduction of so many new +words—which are absolutely necessary +to complete the grammar and the +sense—is quite inadmissible; and +therefore the MS. correction must be +abandoned.</p> + +<p class='c009'><span class='sc'>King Henry V.</span>—In this play +none of the MS. corrector’s emendations +are entitled to go into the text. +First, we shall call attention for a +moment to a very small correction of +our own, which perhaps may have +been made in some of the editions, +but not in that which we use, the +<i>variorum</i> of 1785. In <i>Act I. Scene 2</i>, +the Bishop of Ely says—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“For government, <i>though</i> high, and low, and lower,</div> + <div class='line'>Put into parts, doth keep in one consent</div> + <div class='line'>Congruing to a full and natural close</div> + <div class='line'>Like music.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>Surely “though” ought to be <i>through</i>. +“For government, put into parts, like +a piece of music, doth keep in one consent +or harmony, <i>through</i> high, and +low, and lower,” &c. In the same +Act, same scene, an emendation is +proposed by the MS. corrector, which, +though specious, we cannot bring ourselves +to endorse. King Henry, in +reply to the dauphin’s taunting message, +says—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“But tell the Dauphin, I will keep my state,</div> + <div class='line'>Be like a king, and show my <i>sail</i> of greatness,</div> + <div class='line'>When I do rouse me in my throne of France.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The corrector proposes <i>soul</i> for “sail.” +But Shakespeare’s is a grand expression—“I +will show my sail <i>of greatness</i>,”—will +set <i>all</i> my canvass—will +shine,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Like a proud ship with all her bravery on.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>It is a pity that he did not write <i>hoist</i> +or <i>spread</i>, which would have removed +all doubt as to the word “sail.” +“Show,” however, is, on some accounts, +better than <i>hoist</i> or <i>spread</i>. +Neither do we perceive any necessity +for adopting the MS. correction “<i>seasonable</i> +swiftness” instead of “reasonable +swiftness.” Nor is it by any +means necessary to change “now +<i>thrive</i> the armourers” into “now +<i>strive</i> the armourers:” In <i>Act II. +Scene 2</i>, the king says, in reference to +a drunkard who had railed on him—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“It was excess of wine that set him on,</div> + <div class='line'>And on <i>his</i> more advice, we pardon him.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The margins read, “on <i>our</i> more +advice,” overturning the authentic +language of Shakespeare, who by the +words “on <i>his</i> more advice,” means +on his having returned to a more reasonable +state of mind, and shown +some sorrow for his offence.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act II. Scene 3.</i>—We now come to +one of the most memorable corrections—we +might say to <i>the</i> most memorable +correction ever made on the +text of our great dramatist. In Dame +Quickly’s description of the death of +Falstaff she says, as the old copies +give it, “for after I saw him fumble +with the sheets, and play with flowers, +and smile upon his fingers’ ends, I +knew there was but one way; for his +nose was as sharp as a pen, and <i>a +table of green fields</i>.” There is evidently +something very wrong here. +Theobald gave out as a new reading, +“and a’ (he) babbled of green fields,” +the history and character of which +emendation he explained as follows: +“I have an edition of Shakespeare +by me with some marginal conjectures +by a gentleman some time deceased, +and he is of the mind to correct this +passage thus: ‘for his nose was as +sharp as a pen, and a’ <i>talked</i> of green +fields.’ It is certainly observable of +people near death, when they are delirious +by a fever, that they talk of +moving, as it is of those in a calenture +that their heads run on <i>green fields</i>. +The variation from <i>table</i> to <i>talked</i> is +not of very great latitude; though we +may come still nearer to the traces of +the letters by restoring it thus—‘for +his nose was as sharp as a pen, and +a’ <i>babbled</i> of green fields.’”—(<i>Vide</i> +Singer’s <cite>Shakespeare Vindicated</cite>, p. +127.)</p> + +<p class='c010'>This, then, is now the received +reading; and there can be no doubt +that it is highly ingenious—indeed, +singularly felicitous. But the MS. +corrector’s emendation is also entitled +to a hearing. He reads: “for his nose +was as sharp as a pen <i>on a table of +green frieze</i>.” This, it must be admitted, +is a lamentable falling off, in +point of sentiment, from the other +conjectural amendment. We sympathise +most feelingly with the distress +of those who protest vehemently +against the new reading, and who +cling almost with tears to the text to +which they have been accustomed. +We admit that his babbling of green +fields is a touch of poetry, if not of +nature, which fills up the measure of +our love for Falstaff, and affords the +finest atonement that can be imagined +for the mixed career—which is +now drawing to a close—of the hoary +debauchee. It is with the utmost reluctance +that we throw a shade of +suspicion over Theobald’s delightful +emendation. Nevertheless, we are +possessed with the persuasion that +the MS. corrector’s variation is more +likely to have been what Dame Quickly +uttered, and what Shakespeare wrote. +Our reasons are—<i>first</i>, the calenture, +which causes people to rave about +green fields, is a distemper peculiar +to <i>sailors</i> in hot climates; <i>secondly</i>, +Falstaff’s mind seems to have been +running more on sack than on green +fields, as Dame Quickly admits further +on in the dialogue; <i>thirdly</i>, however +pleasing the supposition about +his babbling of green fields may be, +it is still more natural that Dame +Quickly, whose attention was fixed +on the sharpness of his nose set off +against a countenance already darkening +with the discoloration of death, +should have likened it to the sharpness +of a pen relieved against a table, +or background, of green frieze. These +reasons may be very insufficient: we +are not quite satisfied with them ourselves. +But, be they good or bad, +we cannot divest ourselves of the impression +(as we most willingly would) +that the marginal correction, in this +instance, comes nearer to the genuine +language of Shakespeare than does +the ordinary text.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Should, then, the MS. corrector’s +emendation be admitted into the text +of the poet? That is a very different +question; and we answer decidedly—No. +Its claim is not so absolutely undoubted +as to entitle it to this elevation. +It is more probable, we think, +than Theobald’s. But Theobald’s has +by this time acquired a prescriptive +right to the place which it enjoys. +Although originally it may have been +a usurpation, it is now strong with +inveterate occupancy: it is consecrated +to the hearts of all mankind, +and it ought on no account to be displaced. +It is part and parcel of our +earliest associations with Falstaff, and +its removal would do violence to the +feelings of universal Christendom. +This consideration, which shows how +difficult, indeed how injudicious, it is +to eradicate anything which has once +fairly taken root in the text of Shakespeare, +ought to make us all the more +scrupulous in guarding his writings +against such innovations as the MS. +corrector usually proposes; for, however +little these may have to recommend +them, succeeding generations +may become habituated to their presence, +and, on the plea of prescription, +may be indisposed to give them up.</p> + +<p class='c011'>“<i>Principiis obsta, sero medicina paratur.</i>”</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act III., chorus.</i></p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in8'>“Behold the threaden sails,</div> + <div class='line'><i>Borne</i> with the invisible and creeping wind,</div> + <div class='line'>Draw the huge bottoms through the furrowed sea.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>“Borne” is here a far finer and more +expressive word than “blown,” the +MS. corrector’s prosaic substitution.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act IV. Scene 1.</i>—In the fine lines +on ceremony, the MS. corrector proposes +a new reading, which at first +sight looks specious, but which a moderate +degree of reflection compels us +to reject. The common text is as +follows:—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“And what art thou, thou idol ceremony?</div> + <div class='line'>What kind of god art thou, that sufferest more</div> + <div class='line'>Of mortal griefs than do thy worshippers?</div> + <div class='line'>What are thy rents?—what are thy comings in?</div> + </div> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>O ceremony, show me but thy worth!</div> + <div class='line'>What is thy soul, O, adoration?</div> + <div class='line'>Art thou aught else but place, degree, and form,</div> + <div class='line'>Creating awe and fear in other men?</div> + <div class='line'>Wherein thou art less happy, being feared,</div> + <div class='line'>Than they in fearing.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The MS. corrector gives us—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“O, ceremony, show me but thy worth!</div> + <div class='line'>What is thy soul <i>but adulation</i>?”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The objection to this reading is that +Shakespeare’s lines are equivalent to—O, +ceremony, thou hast <i>no</i> worth; +O, adoration, thou hast <i>no</i> soul—absolutely +none. This reading, which +denies to ceremony and adoration <i>all</i> +soul and substance—<i>all</i> worth and +reality—is more emphatic than the +corrector’s, which declares that adulation +is the soul of ceremony; and +we therefore vote for allowing the +text to remain as we found it.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act IV. Scene 3.</i>—In the following +lines Shakespeare pays a compliment—not +of the most elegant kind we admit—to +the English, whose valour, he +says, is such that even their dead +bodies putrefying in the fields of +France will carry death into the ranks +of the enemy.</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Mark, then, abounding valour in the English;</div> + <div class='line'>That being dead, like to a bullet’s grazing,</div> + <div class='line'>Break out into a second course of mischief,</div> + <div class='line'>Killing in relapse of mortality.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The similitude of “the bullet’s grazing” +has led the MS. corrector into +two execrable errors. By way of +carrying out the metaphor, he proposes +to read “<i>re</i>bounding valour,” +and “killing in <i>reflex</i> of mortality.” +But Shakespeare knew full well what +he was about. He has kept his similitude +within becoming bounds, while +the corrector has driven it over the +verge of all propriety. Both of his +corrections are wretched, and the latter +of them is outrageous. We are +surprised that he did not propose +“killing in reflex <i>off</i> mortality,” for +this would bring out his meaning +much better than the expression which +he has suggested. But we may rest +assured that “killing in relapse of +mortality” merely means, killing in +their return to the dust from whence +they were taken; and that this is the +right reading.</p> + +<p class='c009'><span class='sc'>The First Part of King Henry +VI.</span>—A difficulty occurs in the last +line of <i>Act II. Scene 5</i>, where Plantagenet +says—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“And therefore haste I to the Parliament,</div> + <div class='line'>Either to be restored to my blood,</div> + <div class='line'><i>Or make my ill the advantage of my good</i>.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>This is the common reading, and it +means, “or make my ill the <i>occasion</i> +of my good.” The earlier copies have +“will” for “ill,” The MS. correction +is—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Or make my will <i>th’ advancer</i> of my good.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>But this is no improvement upon the +common reading, which ought to remain +unaltered.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act IV. Scene 1.</i>—A small but +very significant instance, illustrative +of what we are convinced is the true +theory of these new readings, namely, +that they are attempts, not to <i>restore</i>, +but to <i>modernise</i> Shakespeare, comes +before us in the following lines, where +the knights of the garter are spoken +of as</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Not fearing death, nor shrinking from distress,</div> + <div class='line'>But always resolute in <i>most extremes</i>.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>“Most extremes” does not mean (as +one ignorant of Shakespeare’s language +might be apt to suppose) “in +the greater number of extremes:” it +means, in <i>extremest</i> cases, or dangers. +The same idiom occurs in the “Tempest,” +where it is said—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in10'>“Some kinds of baseness</div> + <div class='line'>Are nobly undergone, and <i>most poor</i> matters</div> + <div class='line'>Point to rich ends;”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c015'>which certainly does not mean that the +greater number of poor matters point to +rich ends, but that the poorest matters +often do so. It would be well if the two +words were always printed as one—most extremes, +and most poor. Now, +surely Mr Collier either cannot know +that this phraseology is peculiarly +Shakespearean, or he must be desirous +of blotting out from the English language +our great poet’s favourite forms +of speech, when he says, “there is an +injurious error of the printer in the +second line;” and when he recommends +us to accept the MS. marginal +correction, by which Shakespeare’s +archaism is exchanged for this <i>modernism</i>—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“But always resolute in <i>worst</i> extremes.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act V. Scene 1.</i>—How much more +forcible are Shakespeare’s lines—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“See where he lies inhersed in the arms</div> + <div class='line'>Of the <i>most bloody</i> nurser of his harms,”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c015'>than the MS. substitution—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Of the <i>still bleeding</i> nurser of his harms.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'><i>Scene 4.</i>—Four competing readings +of the following lines present themselves +for adjudication—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Ay, beauty’s princely majesty is such,</div> + <div class='line'>Confounds the tongue, and makes the senses <i>rough</i>.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>This is the text of the earlier editions, +and it evidently requires amendment. +Sir T. Hanmer reads—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Ay, beauty’s princely majesty is such,</div> + <div class='line'>Confounds the tongue, and makes the senses <i>crouch</i>.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>Our MS. corrector proposes—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Ay, beauty’s princely majesty is such,</div> + <div class='line'>Confounds the tongue, and <i>mocks the sense of touch</i>.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>Mr Singer, who also, it seems, has a +folio with MS. corrections, gives us, +as a gleaning from its margins,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Ay, beauty’s princely majesty is such,</div> + <div class='line'>Confounds the tongue, and <i>wakes the sense’s touch</i>.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>It may assist us in coming to a decision, +if we view this sentiment +through the medium of prose. First, +according to Sir T. Hanmer, the presence +of beauty is so commanding that +it confounds the tongue, and <i>overawes +the senses</i>. Secondly, “The princely +majesty of beauty,” says Mr Collier, +expounding his protégé’s version, +“confounds the power of speech, and +<i>mocks all who would attempt to touch +it</i>.” Thirdly, “Beauty,” says Mr +Singer, taking up the cause of <i>his</i> +MS. corrector, “although it confounds +the tongue, <i>awakes desire</i>. This <i>must</i> +have been the meaning of the poet.” +How peremptory a man becomes +in behalf of MS. readings of which +he happens to be the sole depositary. +We confess that we prefer Sir T. +Hanmer’s to either of the other emendations, +as the most intelligible and +dignified of the three.</p> + +<p class='c009'><span class='sc'>The Second Part of King +Henry VI.</span>—<i>Act I. Scene 3.</i> (<i>Enter +three or four petitioners.</i>)</p> + +<p class='c011'>“<i>First Petitioner.</i>—My masters, let us +stand close, my Lord Protector will come +this way by and by, and then we may deliver +our supplications <i>in the quill</i>.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“In the quill”—what does that +mean? Nobody can tell us. The +margins furnish “in sequel.” Mr +Singer advances, “in the quoil, or +coil”—“that is,” says he, “in the +bustle or tumult which would arise at +the time the Protector passed.” And +this we prefer.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act II. Scene 3.</i>—Anything viler +than the following italicised interpolation, +or more out of keeping with +the character of the speaker and the +dignity of the scene, it is impossible +to conceive. Queen Mary says to the +Duke of Glo’ster—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Give up your staff, sir, and the King his realm.</div> + </div> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'><i>Glo’ster.</i> My staff?—here, noble Henry, is my staff!</div> + <div class='line'><i>To think I fain would keep it makes me laugh</i>;</div> + <div class='line'>As willingly I do the same resign</div> + <div class='line'>As e’er thy father, Henry, made it mine.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>Yet Mr Collier has the hardihood to +place this abominable forgery in the +front of his battle, by introducing it +into his preface, where he says, +“Ought we not to welcome it with +thanks as a fortunate recovery and a +valuable restoration?” No, indeed, +we ought to send it to the right about +<i>instanter</i>, and order the apartment to +be fumigated from which it had been +expelled.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act III. Scene 2.</i>—The MS. corrector +seems to be right in his amendment +of these lines. Suffolk says to +the Queen,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in16'>“Live thou to joy in life,</div> + <div class='line'>Myself <i>to</i> joy in nought but that thou liv’st.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The ordinary reading is “no” for +“to.” This ought to go into the text; +and the same honour ought to be extended +to “rebel” for “rabble” in +Clifford’s speech, <i>Act IV. Scene 8</i>.</p> + +<p class='c009'><span class='sc'>The Third Part of King Henry +VI.</span>—In this play two creditable marginal +emendations come before us, one +of which it might be safe to admit into +the text. The safe emendation is <i>ev’n</i>, +in the lines where the father is lamenting +over his slain son, (<i>Act II. +Scene 5</i>)—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“And so obsequious will thy father be,</div> + <div class='line'><i>Ev’n</i> for the loss of thee, having no more,</div> + <div class='line'>As Priam was for all his valiant sons.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The ancient copies have “men,” and +the modern ones “sad.” <i>Ev’n</i> was also +proposed by Mr Dyce some little time +ago. The other specious correction is +“bitter-flowing” for “water-flowing,” +in the lines where the king says (<i>Act +IV. Scene 8</i>),</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“My mildness hath allayed their swelling griefs,</div> + <div class='line'>My mercy dried their <i>water-flowing</i> tears.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>But “water-flowing” may simply +mean flowing as plentifully as water, +and therefore our opinion is, that the +corrector’s substitution ought not to +be accepted. “Soft carriage” (<i>Act II. +Scene 2</i>), recommended by the margins, +instead of “soft courage,” is not by any +means so plausible. “Soft courage” +may be a Shakespeareanism for soft +<i>spirit</i>. The Germans have a word, +<i>sanftmuth</i>—literally soft courage—<i>i. e.</i>, +gentleness; and therefore Shakespeare’s +expression is not what Mr Collier calls +it, “a contradiction in terms.”</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act V. Scene 5.</i>—The young prince +having been stabbed by Edward, +Clarence, and Glo’ster, Margaret exclaims—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in14'>“O, traitors! murderers!</div> + <div class='line'>They that stabb’d Cæsar shed no blood at all,</div> + <div class='line'>Did not offend, nor were not worthy blame,</div> + <div class='line'>If this foul deed were by to <i>equal</i> it”—</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c015'>which, of course, means that Cæsar’s +murderers would be pronounced comparatively +innocent, if this foul deed +were set alongside their act. The +margins propose,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“If this foul deed were by to <i>sequel</i> it”—</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c015'>than which nothing can be more +inept.</p> + +<p class='c009'><span class='sc'>King Richard III.</span>—<i>Act I. Scene 3.</i>—Richard +is thus agreeably depicted:</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Thou elvish-marked, abortive, rooting hog,</div> + <div class='line'>Thou that wast seal’d in thy nativity,</div> + <div class='line'>The slave of nature, and the son of hell!”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The correction here proposed is—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“The <i>stain</i> of nature, and the <i>scorn</i> of hell.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>But the allusion, as Steevens says, is +to the ancient custom of masters +branding their profligate slaves; and, +therefore, “slave” is unquestionably +the right word. As for the “<i>scorn</i> of +hell,” that, in certain cases, might be +a compliment, and is no more than +what a good man would desire to be.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act III. Scene 1.</i>—Buckingham is +endeavouring to persuade the Cardinal +to refuse the privilege of sanctuary to +the Duke of York. The Cardinal +says—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in14'>“God in heaven forbid</div> + <div class='line'>We should infringe the holy privilege</div> + <div class='line'>Of blessed sanctuary! not for all this land</div> + <div class='line'>Would I be guilty of so deep a crime.</div> + </div> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'><i>Buckingham.</i> You are too senseless-obstinate, my lord,</div> + <div class='line'>Too ceremonious and traditional:</div> + <div class='line'>Weigh it but with the <i>grossness</i> of this age,</div> + <div class='line'>You break not sanctuary in seizing him.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>That is, do not go to your traditions, +but take into account the unrefining +character and somewhat licentious +practice of <i>this</i> age, and you will perceive +that you break not sanctuary in +seizing him; for common sense declares +that a youth of his years cannot +claim this privilege. This interpretation +renders the MS. corrector’s inept +substitution, “the <i>goodness</i> of <i>his</i> age,” +quite unnecessary. <i>Strict and abstinent</i> +for “senseless-obstinate” is still +worse.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act III. Scene 7.</i>—To change “his +resemblance” into <i>disresemblance</i>, is +to substitute a very forced and unnatural +reading for a very plain and +obvious one. Glo’ster asks Buckingham,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Touched you the bastardy of Edward’s children?”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>“I did,” answers Buckingham, who +then goes on to say, “I also touched +upon his own (<i>i. e.</i> Edward the +Fourth’s) bastardy,”</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“As being got, your father then in France,</div> + <div class='line'>And <i>his resemblance</i> not being like the Duke,”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>—that is, I also touched upon his resemblance +(which is no resemblance) +to his (reputed) father the Duke. +“Disresemblance” has not a shadow +of probability in its favour.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act IV. Scene 3.</i>—Mr Collier seriously +advocates the change of “bloody +dogs” into “blooded dogs,” in the +lines about the two ruffians.</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Albeit they were fleshed villains, <i>bloody</i> dogs.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>“Blooded dogs” means, if it means +anything, dogs that have been <i>let</i> +blood, and not dogs that are about to +<i>draw</i> blood as <i>these</i> dogs are. There +seems to be nothing in the other corrections +of this play which calls for +further notice.</p> + +<p class='c009'><span class='sc'>King Henry VIII.</span>—<i>Act I. Scene 1.</i>—Speaking +of Cardinal Wolsey, Buckingham +says,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in6'>“A beggar’s <i>book</i></div> + <div class='line'>Outworths a noble’s blood.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The margins offer—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in6'>“A beggar’s <i>brood</i></div> + <div class='line'>Outworths a noble’s blood.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>This emendation looks plausible; but +read Johnson’s note, and you will be +of a different way of thinking. He +says—“that is, the literary qualifications +of a <i>bookish beggar</i> are more +prized than the high descent of hereditary +greatness. This is a contemptuous +exclamation very naturally put +into the mouth of one of the ancient, +unlettered, martial nobility.” In scene +2, the change of “trembling contribution” +into “<i>trebling</i> contribution,” +where the increase of the taxes is +spoken of, is a proper correction, and +we set it down to the credit of the +MS. corrector as one which ought to +go into the text.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act II. Scene 3.</i>—What a fine poeticism +comes before us in the use of the +word <i>salute</i> in the lines where Anne +Bullen declares that her advancement +gives her no satisfaction.</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in16'>“Would I had no being,</div> + <div class='line'>If this <i>salute</i> my blood a jot,”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>—that is, this promotion is not like a +peal of bells to my blood; it is not +like the firing of cannon; it is not like +the huzzaing of a great multitude: +it rather weighs me down under a load +of anxiety and depression; or, as she +herself expresses it—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“It faints me</div> + <div class='line'>To think what follows.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The MS. corrector, turning, as is his +way, poetry into prose, reads—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in8'>“Would I had no being,</div> + <div class='line'>If this <i>elate</i> my blood a jot.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>This must go to the <i>debit</i> side of the +old corrector’s account.</p> + +<p class='c010'>In <i>Scene 4</i> of the same act, the +queen, on her trial, adjures the king, +if she be proved guilty—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in18'>“In God’s name</div> + <div class='line'>Turn me away; and let the foul’st contempt</div> + <div class='line'>Shut door upon me, and so give me up</div> + <div class='line'>To the sharpest <i>kind</i> of justice.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The MS. corrector writes—“to the +sharpest <i>knife</i> of justice.” But the +queen is here speaking of a <i>kind</i> of +justice sharper even than the knife—to +wit, the contempt and ignominy +which she imprecates on her own head +if she be a guilty woman; and therefore +“kind of justice” is the proper +expression for her to use, and the MS. +substitution is unquestionably out of +place.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act III. Scene 2.</i>—Mr Singer says, +“‘Now <i>may all</i> joy trace the conjunction,’ +instead of, ‘Now <i>all my</i> joy,’ &c. +is a good conjecture, and may, I think, +be safely adopted.” We agree with +Mr Singer.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act III. Scene 2.</i>—The following is +one of the cases on which Mr Collier +most strongly relies as proving the +perspicacity and trustworthiness of his +corrector. He brings it forward in his +introduction (p. xv.), where he says, +“When Henry VIII. tells Wolsey—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in14'>‘You have scarce time</div> + <div class='line'>To steal from <i>spiritual leisure</i> a brief span</div> + <div class='line'>To keep your earthly audit,’</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c015'>he cannot mean that the cardinal has +scarcely time to steal from ‘leisure,’ +but from ‘labour’ (the word was +misheard by the scribe); and while +‘leisure’ makes nonsense of the sentence, +<i>labour</i> is exactly adapted to the +place.</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in14'>‘You scarce have time</div> + <div class='line'>To steal from spiritual <i>labour</i> a brief span.’</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The substituted word is found in +the margin of the folio 1632. This +instance seems indisputable.” Did +Mr Collier, we may here ask, never +hear of <i>learned leisure</i>, when he thus +brands as nonsensical the expression +“spiritual leisure”? Is it nonsense +to say that the study of Shakespeare +has been the occupation of Mr Collier’s +“learned leisure” during the last fifty +years, and that he has had little time +to spare for any other pursuit? And +if that be not nonsense, why should it +be absurd to talk of the “spiritual +leisure” of Cardinal Wolsey, as that +which left him little or no time to attend +to his temporal concerns? Spiritual +leisure means occupation with +religious matters, just as learned leisure +means occupation with literary +matters. Leisure does not necessarily +signify idleness, as boys at <i>school</i> +(σχολη—leisure) know full well. It +is a polite synonym, perhaps slightly +tinged with irony, for labour of an +unmenial and unprofessional character. +It stands opposed, not to every kind +of work, but only to the work of +“men of business,” as they are called. +And it is used in this place by Shakespeare +with the very finest propriety. +In so far, therefore, as this flower of +speech is concerned, we must insist on +turning “the weeder-clips aside” of +Mr Collier’s ruthless spoliator, and on +rejecting the vulgar weed which he +offers to plant in its place.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act IV. Scene 2.</i>—In the following +passage, however, we approve of the +spoliator’s punctuation, which it seems +Mr Singer had adopted in his edition +1826.</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in16'>“This Cardinal,</div> + <div class='line'>Though from an humble stock undoubtedly,</div> + <div class='line'>Was fashioned to much honour from his cradle.</div> + <div class='line'>He was a scholar, and a ripe and good one.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>All the common copies place a full +stop after honour, and represent the +cardinal as a scholar “ripe and good +from his cradle,” as if he had been +born with a perfect knowledge of +Greek and Latin.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act V. Scene 2.</i>—It is very difficult +to say what should be made of the +following:—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in16'>“But we all are men,</div> + <div class='line'>In our natures frail; <i>and capable</i></div> + <div class='line'><i>Of our flesh</i>; few are angels.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>Malone proposed—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“In our natures frail: <i>incapable</i>;</div> + <div class='line'>Of our flesh few are angels.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The margins propose “<i>culpable</i> of our +flesh,” which was also recommended +by Mr Monck Mason. We venture +to suggest—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“In our natures frail; incapable</div> + <div class='line'>Of our flesh.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'><i>i. e.</i>, incontinent of our flesh. But +whatever may be done with this new +reading, the next ought certainly to +be rigorously excluded from the text. +<i>Loquitur</i> Cranmer—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in18'>“Nor is there living</div> + <div class='line'>(I speak it with a single heart, my Lords)</div> + <div class='line'>A man that more detests, <i>more stirs</i> against,</div> + <div class='line'>Both in his private conscience and his place,</div> + <div class='line'>Defacers of a public peace, than I do.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>“The substitution of <i>strives</i> for +‘stirs,’” as Mr Singer very properly +remarks, “would be high treason +against a nervous Shakespearean expression.”</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Scene 3.</i>—The MS. emendation in +the speech of the porter’s man (<i>queen</i> +for “chine,” and <i>crown</i> for “cow”) +is certainly entitled to consideration; +but it is quite possible that his language, +being that of a clown, may be +designedly nonsensical.</p> + +<p class='c009'><span class='sc'>Troilus and Cressida.</span>—<i>Act I. +Scene 2.</i>—Cressida says,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Achievement is, command—ungained, beseech.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>This line is probably misprinted. Mr +Harness long ago proposed,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“<i>Achieved, men us</i> command—ungained, beseech,”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>—that is, men <i>command</i> us (women) +when we are achieved or gained over—they +<i>beseech</i> us, so long as we are +ungained. The MS. corrector’s emendation +falls very far short of the perspicuity +of this amendment. He gives +us—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“<i>Achieved, men still</i> command—ungained, beseech.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'><i>Scene 3.</i>—We may notice, in passing, +a “new reading” proposed by +Mr Singer, which, though ingenious, +we cannot be prevailed upon to accept. +It occurs in the following lines, where +Ulysses says—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“The heavens themselves, the planets, and this centre</div> + <div class='line'>Observe degree, priority, and place,</div> + <div class='line'>Insisture, course, proportion, season, form,</div> + <div class='line'>Office, and custom in all line of order;</div> + <div class='line'>And therefore is the glorious planet, Sol,</div> + <div class='line'>In noble eminence enthroned and sphered</div> + <div class='line'>Amidst the <i>other</i>; whose med’cinable eye</div> + <div class='line'>Corrects the ill aspects of planets evil,</div> + <div class='line'>And posts like the commandment of a king,</div> + <div class='line'>Sans check, to good and bad.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>Instead of “other,” Mr Singer proposes +to read “ether.” But “other” +is more in harmony with the context, +in which the sun is specially described +as exercising a dominion over the <i>other</i> +celestial luminaries. The parallel passage +from Cicero, which Mr Singer +quotes, tells just as much against him +as for him. “<span lang="la">Medium fere regionem +sol obtinet, dux, et princeps, et moderater +luminum <i>reliquiorum</i>.</span>” We +therefore protest against the established +text being disturbed.</p> + +<p class='c010'>To return to Mr Collier. He must +have very extraordinary notions of +verbal propriety when he can say that +“a fine compound epithet appears to +have escaped in the hands of the old +printer, and a small manuscript correction +in the margin converts a poor +expression into one of great force and +beauty in these lines—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>‘What the repining enemy commends</div> + <div class='line'>That breath fame blows; that praise, <i>sole pure</i>, transcends;’”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>—that is, praise from an enemy is praise +of the highest quality, and is the <i>only +pure</i> kind of praise. The poor expression +here condemned is “sole pure,” +and the fine compound epithet which +is supposed to have escaped the fingers +of the old compositor, is <i>soul-pure</i>. +We venture to think that Shakespeare +used the right words to express his +own meaning, and that the MS. corrector’s +fine compound epithet is one +of the most lack-a-daisical of the +daisies that peer out upon us from the +margins of the folio 1632.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act III. Scene 1.</i>—The words, “my +<i>disposer</i> Cressida,” have been satisfactorily +shown by Mr Singer to mean, +my <i>handmaiden</i> Cressida. Therefore +the change of “disposer” into <i>dispraiser</i>, +as recommended by the MS. +corrector, is quite uncalled for. The +speech, however, in which these words +occur must be taken from Paris, and +given to Helen.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act III. Scene 2.</i>—In the dialogue +between Troilus and Cressida, the lady +says, that she must take leave of him:</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“<i>Troilus.</i>—What offends you, lady?</div> + </div> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'><i>Cressida.</i>—Sir, mine own company.</div> + </div> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'><i>Troilus.</i>—You cannot shun yourself.</div> + </div> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'><i>Cressida.</i>—Let me go and try.</div> + <div class='line'>I have a kind of self resides with you,</div> + <div class='line'>But an unkind self that itself will leave</div> + <div class='line'>To be another’s fool.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>This conversation is not very clear; +yet sense may be made of it. The lady +says, that she is offended with her own +company: the gentleman rejoins, that +she cannot get rid of herself. “Let +me try,” says the lady; “I have a +kind of self which resides with you—an +unkind self, because it leaves <i>me</i> +to be <i>your</i> fool; of that self I can get +rid, because it will remain with you +when I leave you.” The MS. emendation +affords no kind of sense whatsoever.</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“I have a <i>kind self that</i> resides with you,</div> + <div class='line'>But an unkind self that itself will leave</div> + <div class='line'>To be another’s fool.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'><i>Scene 3.</i>—In the following passage, +in which it is said that the eye is unable +to see itself except by reflection, +these lines occur:</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“For speculation turns not to itself</div> + <div class='line'>Till it hath travelled, and is <i>married</i> there,</div> + <div class='line'>Where it may see itself.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'><i>Mirrored</i>, for “married,” is certainly +a very excellent emendation; but it +may reasonably be doubted whether +<i>mirror</i> was used as a verb in Shakespeare’s +time. “To mirror” does not +occur even in Johnson’s Dictionary. +This consideration makes us hesitate +to recommend it for the text; for +“married,” though, perhaps, not so +good, still makes sense. On further +reflection we are satisfied that “married” +was Shakespeare’s word. In +this Scene Shakespeare says, “that +the providence that’s in a watchful +state” is able to unveil human thoughts +“in their dumb <i>cradles</i>,” in their very +<i>incunabula</i>—a finer expression certainly +than the MS. corrector’s substitution +“in their dumb <i>crudities</i>.”</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act IV. Scene 4.</i>—Between Mr Collier +and his corrector the following passage +would be perverted into nonsense, +if they were allowed to have their own +way:</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“And sometimes we are devils to ourselves</div> + <div class='line'>When we will tempt the frailty of our powers,</div> + <div class='line'>Presuming on their <i>changeful</i> potency;”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>—that is, trusting rashly to their potency, +which is better than <i>im</i>potency, +and yet falls far short of <i>perfect</i> potency. +Mr Collier hazards the opinion, +that “unchangeful potency” would +be a better reading. We cannot agree +with him except to this extent that +it would be a better reading than the +one which the MS. corrector proposes,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Presuming on their <i>chainful</i> potency,”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c015'>which we leave to the approbation of +those who can understand it.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Scene 5.</i>—The lines in which certain +ladies of frail virtue, or, in the +stronger language of Johnson, “corrupt +wenches,” are spoken of, have +given rise to much comment.</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Oh! these encounterers so glib of tongue,</div> + <div class='line'>That give <i>a coasting</i> welcome ere it comes.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>This is the ordinary reading. The +margins propose,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“That give <i>occasion</i> welcome ere it comes.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>We prefer the emendation suggested +by Monck Mason and Coleridge,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“That give <i>accosting</i> welcome ere it comes;”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>—that is, who take the initiative, and +address before they are addressed.</p> + +<p class='c009'><span class='sc'>Coriolanus.</span>—<i>Act I. Scene 1.</i>—In +his first emendation, the MS. corrector +betrays his ignorance of the right +meaning of words. The term “object,” +which nowadays is employed +rather loosely in several acceptations, +is used by Shakespeare, in the following +passage, in its proper and original +signification. One of the Roman citizens, +referring to the poverty of the +plebeians as contrasted with the wealth +of the patricians, remarks, “The leanness +that afflicts us, the <i>object</i> of our +misery, is an inventory to particularise +their abundance; our suffering is a gain +to them.” For “object” we should, +nowadays, say <i>spectacle</i>. But the +corrector cannot have known that +this was the meaning of the word, +otherwise he surely never would have +been so misguided as to propose the +term <i>abjectness</i> in its place. “This +substitution,” says Mr Collier, “could +hardly have proceeded from the mere +taste or discretion of the old corrector.” +No, truly; but it proceeded from his +want of taste, his want of discretion, +and his want of knowledge.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The ink with which these MS. corrections +were made, being, as Mr Collier +tells us, of various shades, differing +sometimes on the same page, he is of +opinion that they “must have been +introduced from time to time during, +perhaps, the course of several years.” +We think this a highly probable supposition; +only, instead of <i>several</i> years, +we would suggest <i>sixty</i> or <i>seventy</i> years. +So that, supposing the MS. corrector +to have begun his work when he was +about thirty, he may have completed +it when he was about ninety or a hundred +years of age. At any rate, he +must have been in the last stage of +second childhood when he jotted down +the following new reading in the famous +fable of the “belly and the members.” +The belly, speaking of the food +it receives, says—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“I send it through the rivers of the blood,</div> + <div class='line'>Even to the court, the heart, <i>to the seat o’ the</i> brain,</div> + <div class='line'>And through the cranks and offices of man.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>And so on; upon which one of the citizens +asks Menenius, the relator of the +fable, “How apply you this?”</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“<i>Menenius.</i> The <i>senators</i> of Rome are this good <i>belly</i>,</div> + <div class='line'>And you the mutinous members.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>Yet, with this line staring him in the +face, the old corrector proposes to +read,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“I send it through the rivers of the blood,</div> + <div class='line'>Even to the court, the heart, the <i>senate brain</i>.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The senate brain! when Shakespeare +has distinctly told us that the senate +is the belly. This indeed is the very +<i>point</i> of the fable. Surely nothing except +the most extreme degree of dotage +can account for such a manifest +perversion as that; yet Mr Collier +says that “it much improves the +sense.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>The MS. corrector cannot have been +nearly so old when he changed “almost” +into <i>all most</i> in the line,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Nay, these are <i>all most</i> thoroughly persuaded;”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c015'>for this is decidedly an improvement, +and ought, we think, to get admission +into the text.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Scene 3.</i>—Unless we can obtain a +better substitute than <i>contemning</i>, we +are not disposed to alter the received +reading of these lines:</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in14'>“The breasts of Hecuba,</div> + <div class='line'>When she did suckle Hector, look’d not lovelier</div> + <div class='line'>Than Hector’s forehead, when it spit forth blood</div> + <div class='line'>At Grecian swords <i>contending</i>.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'><i>Scene 6.</i>—In the following passage +a small word occasions a great difficulty. +Coriolanus, wishing to select a +certain number out of a large body of +soldiers who have offered him their +services, says—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in18'>“Please you to march,</div> + <div class='line'>And <i>four</i> shall quickly draw out my command,</div> + <div class='line'>Which men are best inclined.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>But why “four?” Surely four men +would not be sufficient for the attack +which he meditated. The MS. corrector +gives us—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in14'>“Please you to march <i>before</i>,</div> + <div class='line'>And <i>I</i> shall quickly draw out my command,</div> + <div class='line'>Which men are best inclined.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The second line is unintelligible, and +not to be construed on any known +principles of grammar. Mr Singer +proposes—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in18'>“Please you to march,</div> + <div class='line'>And <i>some</i> shall quickly draw out my command,</div> + <div class='line'>Which men are best inclined.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>We would suggest—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in18'>“Please you to march,</div> + <div class='line'>And <i>those</i> shall quickly draw out my command,</div> + <div class='line'>Which men are best inclined,”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>—that is: And my command shall +quickly draw out, or select, those men +which (men) are best inclined to be +of service to me. The construction +here is indeed awkward, but less +awkward, we think, than that of the +other emendations.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Scene 9.</i>—The punctuation of the +following passage requires to be put +right. Coriolanus is declaring how +much disgusted he is with the flatteries, +the flourish of trumpets, and +other demonstrations of applause with +which he is saluted—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“May these same instruments which you profane</div> + <div class='line'>Never sound more! When drums and trumpets shall</div> + <div class='line'>I’ the field prove flatterers, let courts and cities be</div> + <div class='line'>Made all of false-faced soothing. When steel grows</div> + <div class='line'>Soft as the parasite’s silk, let him be made</div> + <div class='line'>A coverture for the wars!”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>But what is the sense of saying—let +courts and cities be made up of hypocrisy, +<i>when</i> drums and trumpets in +the field shall prove flatterers? This +has no meaning. We should punctuate +the lines thus—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“May these same instruments which you profane,</div> + <div class='line'>Never sound more, when drums and trumpets shall</div> + <div class='line'>I’ the field prove flatterers. Let courts and cities be</div> + <div class='line'>Made all of false-faced soothing,” &c.</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The meaning is—When drums and +trumpets in the field shall prove flatterers +(as they are doing at present), +may they never sound more! Let +<i>courts</i> and <i>cities</i> be as hollow-hearted +as they please; but let the <i>camp</i> enjoy +an immunity from these fulsome +observances. When steel grows soft +as the parasite’s silk (that is, when +the warrior loses his stubborn and +unbending character), let silk be made +a coverture for the wars, for it will +then be quite as useful as steel. The +only alteration which the MS. corrector +proposes in this passage, is the +substitution of <i>coverture</i> for the original +reading “overture”—a change +which was long ago made.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act II. Scene 1.</i>—The margins +make an uncommonly good hit in the +speech of Menenius, who says, “I am +known to be a humorous patrician, +and one that loves a cup of hot wine +with not a drop of allaying Tiber +in’t: said to be something imperfect +in favouring the <i>first</i> complaint.” No +sense can be extracted from this by +any process of distillation. The old +corrector, brightening up for an instant, +writes “<i>thirst</i> complaint;” on +which Mr Singer remarks, “The +alteration of ‘first’ into <i>thirst</i> is not +necessary, for it seems that thirst +was sometimes provincially pronounced +and spelt <i>first</i> and <i>furst</i>.” +Come, come, Mr Singer, that is hardly +fair. Let us give the devil his due. +What one reader of Shakespeare out +of every million was to know that +“first” was a provincialism for <i>thirst</i>? +We ourselves, at least, had not a suspicion +of it till the old corrector +opened our eyes to the right reading—the +meaning of which is, “I am +said to have a failing in yielding rather +too readily to the <i>thirst</i> complaint.” +This emendation covers a multitude +of sins, and ought, beyond a doubt, +to be promoted into the text.</p> + +<p class='c010'>We also willingly accept <i>empirick +physic</i> for “empirick qutique,” the +ordinary, but unintelligible reading.</p> + +<p class='c010'>A difficulty occurs in the admirable +verses in which the whole city is described +as turning out in order to get +a sight of the triumphant Coriolanus.</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“All tongues speak of him, and the bleared sights</div> + <div class='line'>Are spectacled to see him. Your prattling nurse</div> + <div class='line'>Into a rapture lets her baby cry</div> + <div class='line'>While she <i>chats</i> him. The kitchen malkin pins</div> + <div class='line'>Her richest lockram ’bout her reechy neck,</div> + <div class='line'>Clambering the walls to eye him.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'><i>Cheers</i> instead of “chats” is proposed +by the old corrector. Mr Singer says +that cheers “savours too much of modern +times,” and suggests <i>claps</i>; but +a woman with an infant in her arms +would find some difficulty, we fancy, +in clapping her hands; though, perhaps, +this very difficulty and her attempt +to overcome it may have been +the cause of her baby crying himself +“into a rapture.” We are disposed, +however, to adhere to the old lection—“while +she chats <i>him</i>”—that is, while +she makes Coriolanus the subject of +her gabble. For it ought to be borne +in mind that Coriolanus has not, as +yet, made his appearance: and, therefore, +both <i>cheering</i> and <i>clapping</i> would +be premature. We observe that, instead +of a “rapture”—<i>i. e.</i>, a fit—one +of the wiseacres of the <i>variorum</i> proposes +to read <i>a rupture</i>! The nurse +lets the baby cry himself <i>into a rupture</i>! +This outflanks even the margins. +The annotator subscribes himself +“S. W.”—which means, we presume, +Something Wanting in the +upper story.</p> + +<p class='c010'>We accept <i>touch</i> for “reach” in the +sentence where it is said, “his soaring +insolence shall <i>reach</i> (the oldest reading +is “teach”) the people. This +correction had been already proposed +by Mr Knight. But we cannot approve +of the following change (<i>prest</i> +for “blest,” <i>Scene 2</i>) which has obtained +the sanction of Mr Singer. Sicinius +has just remarked that the senate +has assembled to do honour to +Coriolanus, on which Brutus says—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in13'>“Which the rather</div> + <div class='line'>We shall be <i>blest</i> to do, if he remember</div> + <div class='line'>A kinder value of the people, than</div> + <div class='line'>He hath hereto prized them at.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>Does not this mean—which honour +we shall be <i>most happy</i> to do to Coriolanus, +if &c.? Why then change +“blest” into <i>prest?</i> a very unnatural +mode of speech.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Scene 3.</i>—In the next instance, +however, we side most cordially with +the margins and Mr Collier, against +Mr Singer and the ordinary text. The +haughty Coriolanus, who is a candidate +for the consulship, says—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Why in this <i>wolvish</i> gown should I stand here,</div> + <div class='line'>To beg of Hob and Dick?” &c.</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>Now Shakespeare, in a previous part +of the play, has described the candidate’s +toga as “the <i>napless</i> vesture of +humility;” and it is well known that +this toga was of a different texture +from that usually worn. Is it not +probable, therefore—nay certain—that +Coriolanus should speak of it as <i>woolless</i>, +the word wolvish being altogether +unintelligible? Accordingly, the MS. +corrector reads—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Why in this <i>woolless</i> gown should I stand here.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>Mr Singer, defending the old reading, +says, it is sufficient that his investiture +in this gown “was <i>simulating</i> +humility not in his nature, to bring to +mind the fable of the <i>wolf</i>.” Oh, Mr +Singer! but must not the epithet in +that case have been <i>sheepish</i>? Surely, +if Coriolanus had felt himself to be a +wolf in sheep’s clothing, he never +would have said that he was a sheep +in <i>wolves’</i> clothing!<a id='r4'></a><a href='#f4' class='c008'><sup>[4]</sup></a></p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act III. Scene 1.</i>—In the following +speech of Coriolanus several corrections +are proposed, one of which, and +perhaps two, might be admitted into +the text:—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“O, good but most unwise patricians! why,</div> + <div class='line'>You grave but reckless senators, have you thus</div> + <div class='line'>Given Hydra <i>here</i> to choose an officer</div> + <div class='line'>That with his peremptory ‘shall’ (being but</div> + <div class='line'>The horn and noise of the monsters), wants not spirit</div> + <div class='line'>To say he’ll turn your current in a ditch,</div> + <div class='line'>And make your channel his? If he have power,</div> + <div class='line'>Then vail your ignorance: if none, <i>awake</i></div> + <div class='line'>Your dangerous lenity.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'><i>Leave</i> for “here” is, we think, a good +exchange; and <i>revoke</i> for “awake,” +an improvement which can scarcely +be resisted. Further on, Coriolanus +asks—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in20'>“Well, what then,</div> + <div class='line'>How shall this <i>bosom multiplied</i>, digest</div> + <div class='line'>The senate’s courtesy?”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>There is, it seems, an old word <i>bisson</i>, +signifying blind; and therefore we +see no good reason (although such +may exist) against accepting, as entitled +to textual advancement, the +old corrector’s substitution of <i>bisson +multitude</i> for “bosom multiplied.” The +latter, however, is defended, as we +learn from Mr Singer, “by one strenuous +dissentient voice.” Why did +he not tell us by whom and where? +One excellent emendation by Mr +Singer himself we must here notice. +Coriolanus speaks of those who wish</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“To <i>jump</i> a body with a dangerous physic</div> + <div class='line'>That’s sure of death without it.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>No sense can be made of this. Some +copies have <i>vamp</i>, which is not a bad +reading; but there is an old word +<i>imp</i>, which signifies to piece or patch. +Accordingly, Mr Singer reads—“To +<i>imp</i> a body,” &c. This is the word +which ought to stand in the text.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Scene 2.</i>—Here the old corrector is +again at his forging tricks upon a +large scale. Volumnia says to Coriolanus, +her son—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in12'>“Pray be counsell’d,</div> + <div class='line'>I have a heart as little apt as yours</div> + <div class='line'><i>To brook control without the use of anger</i>;</div> + <div class='line'>But yet a brain that leads my use of anger</div> + <div class='line'>To better vantage.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The interpolated line is very unlike +the diction of Shakespeare, and is not +at all called for. “Apt” here means +pliant, accommodating. “I have a +heart as stubborn and unaccommodating +as your own; but yet,” &c. +Mr Singer proposes <i>soft</i> for “apt;” +but this seems unnecessary.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act IV. Scene 1.</i>—Although the +construction of the latter part of these +lines is somewhat involved, it is far +more after the manner of Shakespeare +than the correction which the margins +propose. Coriolanus says to his +mother—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in24'>“Nay, mother,</div> + <div class='line'>Where is your ancient courage? You were used</div> + <div class='line'>To say extremity was the trier of spirits;</div> + <div class='line'>That common chances common men could bear,</div> + <div class='line'>That when the sea was calm, all boats alike</div> + <div class='line'>Show’d mastership in floating; fortune’s blows,</div> + <div class='line'>When most struck home, being <i>gentle wounded</i>, craves</div> + <div class='line'>A noble cunning.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'><i>Gentle-minded</i> is the new reading; but +it is quite uncalled for. The meaning +is—You were used to say that when +fortune’s blows were most struck home, +to be gentle, <i>though</i> wounded, craves +a noble cunning—that is, a high degree +of self-command.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Scene 5.</i>—It is curious to remark +how cleverly Shakespeare has anticipated +old Hobbes’ theory of human +nature and of society, in the scene +where the serving-men are discussing +the merits of peace and war. +“Peace,” says one of them, “makes +men <i>hate</i> one another.” “The reason?” +asks another. Answer—“Because +they then <i>less need</i> one another.” +This, in a very few words, +is exactly the doctrine of the old +philosopher of Malmesbury.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Scene 6.</i>—“[<i>God</i>] Marcius” for “<i>good</i> +Marcius,” is a commendable emendation; +and perhaps, also, it may be +proper to read—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in10'>“You have made fair hands,</div> + <div class='line'>You and your <i>handycrafts</i> have crafted fair,”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c015'>instead of</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“You and your crafts, you have crafted fair.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The following passage (<i>Scene 7</i>) has +given a good deal of trouble to the +commentators. Aufidius is describing +Coriolanus as a man who, with all his +merits, had failed, through some unaccountable +perversity of judgment, +in attaining the position which his +genius entitled him to occupy. He +then says—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in22'>“So our virtues</div> + <div class='line'>Lie in the interpretation of the time;</div> + <div class='line'>And power, unto itself most commendable,</div> + <div class='line'>Hath not a tomb so evident <i>as a chair</i></div> + <div class='line'>To extol what it hath done.</div> + <div class='line'>One fire drives out one fire, one nail one nail,</div> + <div class='line'>Right’s by right <i>fouler</i>, strengths by strength do fail.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>Our virtues, says Aufidius, consist in +our ability to interpret, and turn to +good account, the signs of the times. +“And power, unto itself most commendable, +hath not a tomb so evident +as a chair to extol what it hath +done;” that is,—and power, which +delights to praise itself, is sure to +have a downfall, so soon as it blazons +forth its pretensions from the +<i>rostrum</i>. The MS. corrector proposes—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Hath not a tomb so evident <i>as a cheer</i>,” &c.</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The original text is obscurely enough +expressed, but the new reading seems +to be utter nonsense. What <i>can</i> Mr +Singer mean by his reading—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Hath not a tomb so evident as a <i>hair</i>”?</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The old corrector also reads, unnecessarily, +as we think, <i>suffer</i> for “fouler.” +“Rights by rights <i>suffer</i>.” There +seems to be no necessity for changing +the received text. “Right is fouler +by right,”—which Steevens thus explains: +“what is already right, and +is received as such, becomes less clear +when supported by supernumerary +proof.”</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Act V. Scene 3.</i>—An emendation, +good so far as it goes, comes before +us in the speech of Volumnia, the +mother of Coriolanus. She, his wife, +and young son, are supplicating the +triumphant renegade to spare his native +country. She says that, instead +of his presence being a comfort to +them, it is a sight—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Making the mother, wife, and child to see</div> + <div class='line'>The son, the husband, and the father tearing</div> + <div class='line'>His country’s bowels out. And <i>to</i> poor we</div> + <div class='line'>Thine <i>enmity’s</i> most capital.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>This is the reading of the ordinary +copies, but it is neither sense nor +grammar. The old corrector removes +the full stop after <i>out</i>, and reads—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“His country’s bowels out; and so poor we</div> + <div class='line'>Thine enemies most capital.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>But if this is the right reading, it +must be completed by changing “we” +into <i>us</i>. The meaning will then be—making +thy mother, wife, &c.; and so +(making) poor <i>us</i> (that is, those whom +you are bound to love and protect before +all others) thy chief enemies.</p> + +<p class='c010'><i>Scene 5.</i>—Aufidius, speaking of Coriolanus, +says, I</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in14'>“Served his designments</div> + <div class='line'>In mine own person, holp to <i>reap</i> the fame</div> + <div class='line'>Which he did <i>end</i> all his.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>The word “end” has been a stumbling-block +to the commentators. The +old corrector reads—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“Holp to reap the fame</div> + <div class='line'>Which he did <i>ear</i> all his.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>On which Mr Singer remarks, with a +good deal of pertinency, “The substitution +of <i>ear</i> for ‘end’ is a good +emendation of an evident misprint; +but the correctors have only half done +their work: <i>ear</i>—<i>i. e.</i> plough—and +<i>reap</i> should change places; or Aufidius +is made to say that he had a +share in the harvest, while Coriolanus +had all the labour of ploughing, contrary +to what is intended to be said. +The passage will then run thus—</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in12'>‘Served his designments</div> + <div class='line'>In mine own person; holp to <i>ear</i> the fame</div> + <div class='line'>Which he did <i>reap</i> all his.’</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>“This,” adds Mr Singer, “is the suggestion +of a correspondent of <cite>Notes +and Queries</cite>, vol. vii. p. 378.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Ten plays, as revised by the old +corrector, still remain to be overhauled. +These shall be disposed of +in our next Number, when it will +appear that the MS. emendations +offer no symptoms of improvement, +but come out worse and worse the +more fully and attentively they are +considered.</p> + +<div class='chapter'> + <span class='pageno' id='Page_325'>325</span> + <h2 class='c002'>THE DUKE’S DILEMMA.<br> A CHRONICLE OF NIESENSTEIN.</h2> +</div> + +<p class='c009'>The close of the theatrical year, +which in France occurs in early +spring, annually brings to Paris a +throng of actors and actresses, the +disorganised elements of provincial +companies, who repair to the capital +to contract engagements for the new +season. Paris is the grand centre to +which all dramatic stars converge—the +great bazaar where managers +recruit their troops for the summer +campaign. In bad weather the mart +for this human merchandise is at an +obscure coffeehouse near the Rue St +Honoré; when the sun shines, the +place of meeting is in the garden of +the Palais Royal. There, pacing to +and fro beneath the lime-trees, the +high contracting parties pursue their +negotiations and make their bargains. +It is the theatrical Exchange, the histrionic +<i>Bourse</i>. There the conversation +and the company are alike curious. +Many are the strange discussions and +original anecdotes that there are +heard; many the odd figures there +paraded. Tragedians, comedians, +singers, men and women, young and +old, flock thither in quest of fortune +and a good engagement. The threadbare +coats of some say little in favour +of recent success or present prosperity; +but only hear them speak, and +you are at once convinced that <i>they</i> +have no need of broadcloth who are +so amply covered with laurels. It is +delightful to hear them talk of their +triumphs, of the storms of applause, +the rapturous bravos, the boundless +enthusiasm, of the audiences they +lately delighted. Their brows are oppressed +with the weight of their +bays. The south mourns their loss; +if they go west, the north will be envious +and inconsolable. As to themselves—north, +south, east, or west—they +care little to which point of the +compass the breeze of their destiny +may waft them. Thorough gypsies in +their habits, accustomed to make the +best of the passing hour, and to take +small care for the future so long as +the present is provided for, like soldiers +they heed not the name of the +town so long as the quarters be +good.</p> + +<p class='c010'>It was a fine morning in April. +The sun shone brightly, and, amongst +the numerous loungers in the garden +of the Palais Royal were several +groups of actors. The season was +already far advanced; all the companies +were formed, and those players +who had not secured an engagement +had but a poor chance of finding +one. Their anxiety was legible upon +their countenances. A man of about +fifty years of age walked to and +fro, a newspaper in his hand, and +to him, when he passed near them, +the actors bowed—respectfully and +hopefully. A quick glance was his +acknowledgment of their salutation, +and then his eyes reverted to his +paper, as if it deeply interested him. +When he was out of hearing, the +actors, who had assumed their most +picturesque attitudes to attract his attention, +and who beheld their labour +lost, vented their ill-humour.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Balthasar is mighty proud,” said +one; “he has not a word to say to +us.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Perhaps he does not want anybody,” +remarked another; “I think +he has no theatre this year.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“That would be odd. They say +he is a clever manager.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“He may best prove his cleverness +by keeping aloof. It is so difficult +nowadays to do good in the provinces. +The public is so fastidious! the authorities +are so shabby, so unwilling to +put their hands in their pockets. Ah, +my dear fellow, our art is sadly +fallen!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Whilst the discontented actors bemoaned +themselves, Balthasar eagerly +accosted a young man who just then +entered the garden by the passage of +the Perron. The coffeehouse-keepers +had already begun to put out tables +under the tender foliage. The two +men sat down at one of them.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Well, Florival,” said the manager, +“does my offer suit you? Will +you make one of us? I was glad to +hear you had broken off with Ricardin. +With your qualifications you ought +to have an engagement in Paris, or +at least at a first-rate provincial +theatre. But you are young, and, as +you know, managers prefer actors of +greater experience and established +reputation. Your parts are generally +taken by youths of five-and-forty, +with wrinkles and grey hairs, +but well versed in the traditions of +the stage—with damaged voices but +an excellent style. My brother managers +are greedy of great names; +yours still has to become known—as +yet, you have but your talent +to recommend you. I will content +myself with that; content yourself +with what I offer you. Times are +bad, the season is advanced, engagements +are hard to find. Many +of your comrades have gone to try +their luck beyond seas. We have +not so far to go; we shall scarcely +overstep the boundary of our ungrateful +country. Germany invites us; it +is a pleasant land, and Rhine wine +is not to be disdained. I will tell +you how the thing came about. For +many years past I have managed +theatres in the eastern departments, +in Alsatia and Lorraine. Last summer, +having a little leisure, I made +an excursion to Baden-Baden. As +usual, it was crowded with fashionables. +One rubbed shoulders with +princes and trod upon highnesses’ +toes; one could not walk twenty +yards without meeting a sovereign. +All these crowned heads, kings, grand dukes, +electors, mingled easily and +affably with the throng of visitors. +Etiquette is banished from the baths +of Baden, where, without laying aside +their titles, great personages enjoy +the liberty and advantages of an incognito. +At the time of my visit, a +company of very indifferent German +actors were playing, two or three +times a-week, in the little theatre. +They played to empty benches, and +must have starved but for the assistance +afforded them by the directors +of the gambling-tables. I often went +to their performances, and, amongst +the scanty spectators, I soon remarked +one who was as assiduous as +myself. A gentleman, very plainly +dressed, but of agreeable countenance +and aristocratic appearance, +invariably occupied the same stall, +and seemed to enjoy the performance, +which proved that he was easily +pleased. One night he addressed to +me some remark with respect to the +play then acting; we got into conversation +on the subject of dramatic +art; he saw that I was specially +competent on that topic, and after +the theatre he asked me to take refreshment +with him. I accepted. At +midnight we parted, and, as I was +going home, I met a gambler whom I +slightly knew. ‘I congratulate you,’ +he said; ‘you have friends in high +places!’ He alluded to the gentleman +with whom I had passed the +evening, and whom I now learned +was no less a personage than his +Serene Highness Prince Leopold, +sovereign ruler of the Grand Duchy +of Niesenstein. I had had the honour +of passing a whole evening in +familiar intercourse with a crowned +head. Next day, walking in the park, +I met his Highness. I made a low +bow and kept at a respectful distance, +but the Grand Duke came up to me +and asked me to walk with him. Before +accepting, I thought it right to +inform him who I was. ‘I guessed +as much,’ said the Prince. ‘From +one or two things that last night +escaped you, I made no doubt you +were a theatrical manager.’ And by +a gesture he renewed his invitation +to accompany him. In a long conversation +he informed me of his intention +to establish a French theatre +in his capital, for the performance +of comedy, drama, vaudeville, and +comic operas. He was then building +a large theatre, which would be +ready by the end of the winter, and +he offered me its management on very +advantageous terms. I had no plans +in France for the present year, and +the offer was too good to be refused. +The Grand Duke guaranteed my +expenses and a gratuity, and there +was a chance of very large profits. +I hesitated not a moment; we exchanged +promises, and the affair was +concluded.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“According to our agreement, I +am to be at Karlstadt, the capital of +the Grand Duchy of Niesenstein, in +the first week in May. There is no +time to lose. My company is almost +complete, but there are still some important +gaps to fill. Amongst others, +I want a lover, a light comedian, and +a first singer. I reckon upon you to +fill these important posts.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I am quite willing,” replied the +actor, “but there is still an obstacle. +You must know, my dear Balthasar, +that I am deeply in love—seriously, +this time—and I broke off with Ricardin +solely because he would not +engage her to whom I am attached.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Oho! she is an actress?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Two years upon the stage; a +lovely girl, full of grace and talent, +and with a charming voice. The +Opera Comique has not a singer to +compare with her.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“And she is disengaged?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Yes, my dear fellow; strange +though it seems, and by a combination +of circumstances which it were +tedious to detail, the fascinating Delia +is still without an engagement. And +I give you notice that henceforward +I attach myself to her steps: where +she goes, I go; I will perform upon +no boards which she does not tread. +I am determined to win her heart, +and make her my wife.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Very good!” cried Balthasar, +rising from his seat; “tell me the +address of this prodigy: I run, I fly, +I make every sacrifice; and we will +start to-morrow.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>People were quite right in saying +that Balthasar was a clever manager. +None better knew how to deal with +actors, often capricious and difficult to +guide. He possessed skill, taste, and +tact. One hour after the conversation +in the garden of the Palais +Royal, he had obtained the signatures +of Delia and Florival, two excellent +acquisitions, destined to do him infinite +honour in Germany. That +night his little company was complete, +and the next day, after a good +dinner, it started for Strasburg. It +was composed as follows:</p> + +<p class='c010'>Balthasar, manager, was to play +the old men, and take the heavy +business.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Florival was the leading man, the +lover, and the first singer.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Rigolet was the low comedian, and +took the parts usually played by Arnal +and Bouffé.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Similor was to perform the valets +in Molière’s comedies, and eccentric +low comedy characters.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Anselmo was the walking gentleman.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Lebel led the band.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Miss Delia was to display her +charms and talents as prima donna, +and in genteel comedy.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Miss Foligny was the singing chambermaid.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Miss Alice was the walking lady, +and made herself generally useful.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Finally, Madame Pastorale, the +duenna of the company, was to perform +the old women, and look after +the young ones.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Although so few, the company +trusted to atone by zeal and industry +for numerical deficiency. It would +be easy to find, in the capital of the +Grand Duchy, persons capable of filling +mute parts, and, in most plays, a +few unimportant characters might be +suppressed.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The travellers reached Strasburg +without adventure worthy of note. +There Balthasar allowed them six-and-thirty +hours’ repose, and took advantage +of the halt to write to the Grand +Duke Leopold, and inform him of his +approaching arrival; then they again +started, crossed the Rhine at Kehl, +and in thirty days, after traversing +several small German states, reached +the frontier of the Grand Duchy of +Niesenstein, and stopped at a little +village called Krusthal. From this +village to the capital the distance was +only four leagues, but means of conveyance +were wanting. There was +but a single stage-coach on that line +of road; it would not leave Krusthal +for two days, and it held but six persons. +No other vehicles were to be +had; it was necessary to wait, and +the necessity was anything but pleasant. +The actors made wry faces at +the prospect of passing forty-eight +hours in a wretched village. The +only persons who easily made up their +minds to the wearisome delay were +Delia and Florival. The first singer +was desperately in love, and the prima +donna was not insensible to his delicate +attentions and tender discourse.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Balthasar, the most impatient and +persevering of all, went out to explore +the village. In an hour’s time he returned +in triumph to his friends, in +a light cart drawn by a strong horse. +Unfortunately the cart held but two +persons.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I will set out alone,” said Balthasar. +“On reaching Karlstadt, I +will go to the Grand Duke, explain +our position, and I have no doubt he +will immediately send carriages to +convey you to his capital.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>These consolatory words were received +with loud cheers by the actors. +The driver, a peasant lad, cracked +his whip, and the stout Mecklenburg +horse set out at a small trot. Upon +the way, Balthasar questioned his +guide as to the extent, resources, and +prosperity of the Grand Duchy, but +could obtain no satisfactory reply: +the young peasant was profoundly +ignorant upon all these subjects. The +four leagues were got over in something +less than three hours, which is +rather rapid travelling for Germany. +It was nearly dark when Balthasar +entered Karlstadt. The shops were +shut, and there were few persons in +the streets: people are early in their +habits in the happy lands on the +Rhine’s right bank. Presently the cart +stopped before a good-sized house.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You told me to take you to our +prince’s palace,” said the driver, “and +here it is.” Balthasar alighted and +entered the dwelling, unchallenged +and unimpeded by the sentry who +passed lazily up and down in its front. +In the entrance hall the manager met +a porter, who bowed gravely to him +as he passed; he walked on and +passed through an empty anteroom. +In the first apartment, appropriated +to gentlemen-in-waiting, aides-de-camp, +equerries, and other dignitaries +of various degree, he found nobody; +in a second saloon, lighted by +a dim and smoky lamp, was an old +gentleman, dressed in black, with +powdered hair, who rose slowly at his +entrance, looked at him with surprise, +and inquired his pleasure.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I wish to see his Serene Highness, +the Grand Duke Leopold,” replied +Balthasar.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“The prince does not grant audiences +at this hour,” the old gentleman +drily answered.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“His Highness expects me,” was +the confident reply of Balthasar.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“That is another thing. I will inquire +if it be his Highness’s pleasure +to receive you. Whom shall I announce?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“The manager of the Court theatre.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>The gentleman bowed, and left Balthasar +alone. The pertinacious manager +already began to doubt the success +of his audacity, when he heard +the Grand Duke’s voice, saying, +“Show him in.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>He entered. The sovereign of +Niesenstein was alone, seated in a +large arm-chair, at a table covered +with a green cloth, upon which were +a confused medley of letters and newspapers, +an inkstand, a tobacco-bag, +two wax-lights, a sugar-basin, a sword, +a plate, gloves, a bottle, books, and a +goblet of Bohemian glass, artistically +engraved. His Highness was engrossed +in a thoroughly national occupation; +he was smoking one of +those long pipes which Germans +rarely lay aside except to eat or to +sleep.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The manager of the Court theatre +bowed thrice, as if he had been advancing +to the foot-lights to address +the public; then he stood still and +silent, awaiting the prince’s pleasure. +But, although he said nothing, his +countenance was so expressive that +the Grand Duke answered him.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Yes,” he said, “here you are. +I recollect you perfectly, and I have +not forgotten our agreement. But +you come at a very unfortunate moment, +my dear sir!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I crave your Highness’s pardon if +I have chosen an improper hour to +seek an audience,” replied Balthasar +with another bow.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“It is not the hour that I am thinking +of,” answered the prince quickly. +“Would that were all! See, here is +your letter; I was just now reading it, +and regretting that, instead of writing +to me only three days ago, when you +were half-way here, you had not done +so two or three weeks before starting.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I did wrong.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“More so than you think, for, had +you sooner warned me, I would have +spared you a useless journey.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Useless!” exclaimed Balthasar +aghast. “Has your Highness changed +your mind?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Not at all; I am still passionately +fond of the drama, and should be delighted +to have a French theatre here. +As far as that goes, my ideas and +tastes are in no way altered since last +summer; but, unfortunately, I am +unable to satisfy them. Look here,” +continued the prince, rising from his +arm-chair. He took Balthasar’s arm +and led him to a window: “I told you, +last year, that I was building a magnificent +theatre in my capital.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Your Highness did tell me so.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Well, look yonder, on the other +side of the square; there the theatre +is!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Your Highness, I see nothing but +an open space; a building commenced, +and as yet scarcely risen +above the foundation.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Precisely so; that is the theatre.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Your Highness told me it would +be completed before the end of winter.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I did not then foresee that I should +have to stop the works for want of +cash to pay the workmen. Such is +my present position. If I have no +theatre ready to receive you, and if I +cannot take you and your company +into my pay, it is because I have not +the means. The coffers of the State +and my privy purse are alike empty. +You are astounded!—Adversity respects +nobody—not even Grand Dukes. +But I support its assaults with philosophy: +try to follow my example; +and, by way of a beginning, take a +chair and a pipe, fill yourself a glass +of wine, and drink to the return of my +prosperity. Since you suffer for my +misfortunes, I owe you an explanation. +Although I never had much order in +my expenditure, I had every reason, +at the time I first met with you, to +believe my finances in a flourishing +condition. It was not until the commencement +of the present year that I +discovered the contrary to be the case. +Last year was a bad one; hail ruined +our crops and money was hard to get +in. The salaries of my household were +in arrear, and my officers murmured. +For the first time I ordered a statement +of my affairs to be laid before +me, and I found that ever since my +accession I had been exceeding my +revenue. My first act of sovereignty +had been a considerable diminution of +the taxes paid to my predecessors. +Hence the evil, which had annually +augmented, and now I am ruined, +loaded with debts, and without means +of repairing the disaster. My privy-councillors +certainly proposed a way; +it was to double the taxes, raise extraordinary +contributions—to squeeze +my subjects, in short. A fine plan, +indeed! to make the poor pay for my +improvidence and disorder! Such +things may occur in other States, +but they shall not occur in mine. Justice +before everything. I prefer enduring +my difficulties to making my +subjects suffer.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Excellent prince!” exclaimed Balthasar, +touched by these generous +sentiments. The Grand Duke smiled.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Do you turn flatterer?” he said. +“Beware! it is an arduous post, and +you will have none to help you. I +have no longer wherewith to pay +flatterers; my courtiers have fled. +You have seen the emptiness of my +anterooms; you met neither chamberlain +nor equerry upon your entrance. +All those gentlemen have +given in their resignations. The civil +and military officers of my house, secretaries, +aides-de-camp, and others, +left me, because I could no longer +pay them their wages. I am alone; +a few faithful and patient servants +are all that remain, and the most important +personage of my court is now +honest Sigismund, my old valet-de-chambre.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>These last words were spoken in a +melancholy tone, which pained Balthasar. +The eyes of the honest manager +glistened. The Grand Duke detected +his sympathy.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Do not pity me,” he said with a +smile. “It is no sorrow to me to have +got rid of a wearisome etiquette, and, +at the same time, of a pack of spies and +hypocrites, by whom I was formerly +from morning till night beset.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>The cheerful frankness of the Grand +Duke’s manner forbade doubt of his +sincerity. Balthasar congratulated +him on his courage.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I need it more than you think!” +replied Leopold, “and I cannot answer +for having enough to support the +blows that threaten me. The desertion +of my courtiers would be nothing, +did I owe it only to the bad state of +my finances: as soon as I found myself +in funds again I could buy others +or take back the old ones, and amuse +myself by putting my foot upon their +servile necks. Then they would be as +humble as now they are insolent. But +their defection is an omen of other +dangers. As the diplomatists say +clouds are at the political horizon. +Poverty alone would not have sufficed +to clear my palace of men who are +as greedy of honours as they are of +money; they would have waited for +better days; their vanity would have +consoled their avarice. If they fled, +it was because they felt the ground +shake beneath their feet, and because +they are in league with my enemies. +I cannot shut my eyes to impending +dangers. I am on bad terms with +Austria; Metternich looks askance at +me; at Vienna I am considered too +liberal, too popular: they say that I +set a bad example; they reproach me +with cheap government, and with not +making my subjects sufficiently feel the +yoke. Thus do they accumulate pretexts +for playing me a scurvy trick. +One of my cousins, a colonel in the +Austrian service, covets my Grand +Duchy. Although I say <i>grand</i>, it is +but ten leagues long and eight leagues +broad; but, such as it is, it suits me; +I am accustomed to it, I have the +habit of ruling it, and I should miss +it were I deprived of it. My cousin +has the audacity to dispute my incontestible +rights; this is a mere pretext +for litigation, but he has carried +the case before the Aulic Council, and +notwithstanding the excellence of my +right I still may lose my cause, for I +have no money wherewith to enlighten +my judges. My enemies are powerful, +treason surrounds me; they try to +take advantage of my financial embarrassments, +first to make me bankrupt +and then to depose me. In this +critical conjuncture, I should be only +too delighted to have a company of +players to divert my thoughts from my +troubles—but I have neither theatre +nor money. So it is impossible for +me to keep you, my dear manager, +and, believe me, I am as grieved at it +as you can be. All I can do is to give +you, out of the little I have left, a +small indemnity to cover your travelling +expenses and take you back to +France. Come and see me to-morrow +morning; we will settle this matter, +and you shall take your leave.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Balthasar’s attention and sympathy +had been so completely engrossed by +the Grand Duke’s misfortunes, and by +his revelations of his political and +financial difficulties, that his own +troubles had quite gone out of his +thoughts. When he quitted the palace +they came back upon him like a +thunder-cloud. How was he to satisfy +the actors, whom he had brought two +hundred leagues away from Paris? +What could he say to them, how appease +them? The unhappy manager +passed a miserable night. At daybreak +he rose and went out into the +open air, to calm his agitation and +seek a mode of extrication from his +difficulties. During a two hours’ +walk he had abundant time to visit +every corner of Karlstadt, and to admire +the beauties of that celebrated +capital. He found it an elegant town, +with wide straight streets cutting completely +across it, so that he could see +through it at a glance. The houses +were pretty and uniform, and the +windows were provided with small indiscreet +mirrors, which reflected the +passers-by and transported the street +into the drawing-room, so that the +worthy Karlstadters could satisfy their +curiosity without quitting their easy +chairs. An innocent recreation, much +affected by German burghers. As +regarded trade and manufactures, the +capital of the Grand Duchy of Niesenstein +did not seem to be very much +occupied with either. It was anything +but a bustling city; luxury had +made but little progress there; and its +prosperity was due chiefly to the moderate +desires and phlegmatic philosophy +of its inhabitants.</p> + +<p class='c010'>In such a country a company of +actors had no chance of a livelihood. +There is nothing for it but to return +to France, thought Balthasar, after +making the circuit of the city: then he +looked at his watch, and, deeming +the hour suitable, he took the road to +the palace, which he entered with as +little ceremony as upon the preceding +evening. The faithful Sigismund, +doing duty as gentleman-in-waiting, +received him as an old acquaintance, +and forthwith ushered him into the +Grand Duke’s presence. His Highness +seemed more depressed than upon +the previous day. He was pacing +the room with long strides, his eyes +cast down, his arms folded. In his +hand he held papers, whose perusal it +apparently was that had thus discomposed +him. For some moments he +said nothing; then he suddenly stopped +before Balthasar.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You find me less calm,” he said, +“than I was last night. I have just +received unpleasant news. I am +heartily sick of these perpetual vexations, +and gladly would I resign this +poor sovereignty, this crown of thorns +they seek to snatch from me, did not +honour command me to maintain to +the last my legitimate rights. Yes,” +vehemently exclaimed the Grand +Duke, “at this moment a tranquil +existence is all I covet, and I would +willingly give up my Grand Duchy, +my title, my crown, to live quietly at +Paris, as a private gentleman, upon +thirty thousand francs a-year.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I believe so, indeed!” cried Balthasar, +who, in his wildest dreams of +fortune, had never dared aspire so +high. His artless exclamation made +the prince smile. It needed but a +trifle to dissipate his vexation, and to +restore that upper current of easy +good temper which habitually floated +upon the surface of his character.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You think,” he gaily cried, “that +some, in my place, would be satisfied +with less, and that thirty thousand +francs a-year, with independence and +the pleasures of Paris, compose a lot +more enviable than the government of +all the Grand Duchies in the world. +My own experience tells me that you +are right; for, ten years ago, when I +was but hereditary prince, I passed +six months at Paris, rich, independent, +careless; and memory declares those +to have been the happiest days of my +life.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Well! if you were to sell all you +have, could you not realise that fortune? +Besides, the cousin, of whom +you did me the honour to speak to +me yesterday, would probably gladly +insure you an income if you yielded +him your place here. But will your +Highness permit me to speak plainly?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“By all means.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“The tranquil existence of a private +gentleman would doubtless have many +charms for you, and you say so in all +sincerity of heart; but, upon the other +hand, you set store by your crown, +though you may not admit it to yourself. +In a moment of annoyance it is +easy to exaggerate the charms of +tranquillity, and the pleasures of private +life; but a throne, however rickety, +is a seat which none willingly +quit. That is my opinion, formed at +the dramatic school: it is perhaps a +reminiscence of some old part, but +truth is sometimes found upon the +stage. Since, therefore, all things +considered, to stay where you are is +that which best becomes you, you +ought——But I crave your Highness’s +pardon, I am perhaps speaking +too freely——</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Speak on, my dear manager, freely +and fearlessly; I listen to you with +pleasure. I ought—you were about +to say?——”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Instead of abandoning yourself +to despair and poetry, instead of +contenting yourself with succumbing +nobly, like some ancient Roman, you +ought boldly to combat the peril. +Circumstances are favourable; you +have neither ministers nor state-councillors +to mislead you, and embarrass +your plans. Strong in your +good right, and in your subjects’ love, +it is impossible you should not find +means of retrieving your finances and +strengthening your position.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“There is but one means, and that +is—a good marriage.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Excellent! I had not thought of +it. You are a bachelor! A good +marriage is salvation. It is thus that +great houses, menaced with ruin, regain +their former splendour. You +must marry an heiress, the only +daughter of some rich banker.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You forget—it would be derogatory. +<i>I</i> am free from such prejudices, +but what would Austria say if I thus +condescended? It would be another +charge to bring against me. And +then a banker’s millions would not +suffice; I must ally myself with a +powerful family, whose influence will +strengthen mine. Only a few days +ago, I thought such an alliance within +my grasp. A neighbouring prince, +Maximilian of Hanau, who is in high +favour at Vienna, has a sister to +marry. The Princess Wilhelmina is +young, handsome, amiable, and rich; +I have already entered upon the preliminaries +of a matrimonial negotiation, +but two despatches, received +this morning, destroy all my hopes. +Hence the low spirits in which you +find me.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Perhaps,” said Balthasar, “your +Highness too easily gives way to discouragement.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Judge for yourself. I have a +rival, the Elector of Saxe-Tolpelhausen; +his territories are less considerable +than mine, but he is more +solidly established in his little electorate +than I am in my grand duchy.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Pardon me, your Highness; I +saw the Elector of Saxe-Tolpelhausen +last year at Baden-Baden, and, without +flattery, he cannot for an instant +be compared with your Highness. +You are hardly thirty, and he is more +than forty; you have a good figure, +he is heavy, clumsy, and ill-made; +your countenance is noble and agreeable, +his common and displeasing; +your hair is light brown, his bright +red. The Princess Wilhelmina is +sure to prefer you.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Perhaps so, if she were asked; +but she is in the power of her august +brother, who will marry her to whom +he pleases.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“That must be prevented.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“How?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“By winning the young lady’s +affections. Love has so many resources. +Every day one sees marriages +for money broken off, and replaced +by marriages for love.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Yes, one sees that in plays——”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Which afford excellent lessons.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“For people of a certain class, but +not for princes.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Why not make the attempt? If +I dared advise you, it would be to set +out to-morrow, and pay a visit to the +Prince of Hanau.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Unnecessary. To see the prince +and his sister, I need not stir hence. +One of these despatches announces +their early arrival at Karlstadt. They +are on their way hither. On their +return from a journey into Prussia, +they pass through my territories and +pause in my capital, inviting themselves +as my guests for two or three +days. Their visit is my ruin. What +will they think of me when they find +me alone, deserted, in my empty palace? +Do you suppose the Princess +will be tempted to share my dismal +solitude? Last year she went to Saxe-Tolpelhausen. +The Elector entertained +her well, and made his court +agreeable. <i>He</i> could place chamberlains +and aides-de-camp at her +orders, could give concerts, balls, and +festivals. But I—what can <i>I</i> do? +What a humiliation! And, that no +affront may be spared to me, my rival +proposes negotiating his marriage at +my own court! Nothing less, it seems, +will satisfy him! He has just sent +me an ambassador, Baron Pippinstir, +deputed, he writes, to conclude a commercial +treaty which will be extremely +advantageous to me. The treaty is +but a pretext. The Baron’s true mission +is to the Prince of Hanau. The +meeting is skilfully contrived, for the +secret and unostentatious conclusion +of the matrimonial treaty. This is +what I am condemned to witness! I +must endure this outrage and mortification, +and display, before the prince +and his sister, my misery and poverty. +I would do anything to avoid such +shame!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Means might, perhaps, be found,” +said Balthasar, after a moment’s reflection.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Means? Speak, and whatever +they be, I adopt them.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“The plan is a bold one!” continued +Balthasar, speaking half to the +Grand Duke and half to himself, as +if pondering and weighing a project.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“No matter! I will risk everything.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You would like to conceal your +real position, to re-people this palace, +to have a court?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Yes.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Do you think the courtiers who +have deserted you would return?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Never. Did I not tell you they +are sold to my enemies.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Could you not select others from +the higher class of your subjects?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Impossible! There are very few +gentlemen amongst my subjects. Ah! +if a court could be got up at a day’s +notice! though it were to be composed +of the humblest citizens of +Karlstadt——”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I have better than that to offer +you.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“<i>You</i> have? And whom do you +offer?” cried Duke Leopold, greatly +astonished.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“My actors.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“What! you would have me make +up a court of your actors?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Yes, your Highness, and you +could not do better. Observe that +my actors are accustomed to play all +manner of parts, and that they will +be perfectly at their ease when performing +those of noblemen and high +officials. I answer for their talent, +discretion, and probity. As soon as +your illustrious guests have departed, +and you no longer need their services, +they shall resign their posts. +Bear in mind that you have no other +alternative. Time is short, danger +at your door, hesitation is destruction.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“But, if such a trick were discovered!——”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“A mere supposition, a chimerical +fear. On the other hand, if you do +not run the risk I propose, your ruin +is certain.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>The Grand Duke was easily persuaded. +Careless and easy-going, he +yet was not wanting in determination, +nor in a certain love of hazardous +enterprises. He remembered that +fortune is said to favour the bold, and +his desperate position increased his +courage. With joyful intrepidity he +accepted and adopted Balthasar’s +scheme.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Bravo!” cried the manager; +“you shall have no cause to repent. +You behold in me a sample of your +future courtiers; and since honours +and dignities are to be distributed, it +is with me, if you please, that we will +begin. In this request I act up to the +spirit of my part. A courtier should +always be asking for something, should +lose no opportunity, and should profit +by his rivals’ absence to obtain the +best place. I entreat your Highness +to have the goodness to name me +prime minister.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Granted!” gaily replied the prince. +“Your Excellency may immediately +enter upon your functions.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“My Excellency will not fail to do +so, and begins by requesting your +signature to a few decrees I am about +to draw up. But in the first place, +your Highness must be so good as to +answer two or three questions, that I +may understand the position of affairs. +A new-comer in a country, and a +novice in a minister’s office, has need +of instruction. If it became necessary +to enforce your commands, have you +the means of so doing?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Undoubtedly.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Your Highness has soldiers?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“A regiment.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“How many men?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“One hundred and twenty, besides +the musicians.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Are they obedient, devoted?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Passive obedience, unbounded devotion; +soldiers and officers would +die for me to the last man.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“It is their duty. Another question: +Have you a prison in your dominions?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Certainly.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I mean a good prison, strong and +well-guarded, with thick walls, solid +bars, stern and incorruptible jailors?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I have every reason to believe +that the Castle of Zwingenberg combines +all those requisites. The fact +is, I have made very little use of it; +but it was built by a man who understood +such matters—by my father’s +great-grandfather, Rudolph the Inflexible.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“A fine surname for a sovereign! +Your Inflexible ancestor, I am very +sure, never lacked either cash or courtiers. +Your Highness has perhaps +done wrong to leave the state-prison +untenanted. A prison requires to be +inhabited, like any other building; +and the first act of the authority with +which you have been pleased to invest +me, will be a salutary measure +of incarceration. I presume the Castle +of Zwingenberg will accommodate a +score of prisoners?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“What! you are going to imprison +twenty persons?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“More or less. I do not yet know +the exact number of the persons who +composed your late court. They it is +whom I propose lodging within the +lofty walls constructed by the Inflexible +Rudolph. The measure is indispensable.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“But it is illegal!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I crave your Highness’s pardon; +you use a word I do not understand. +It seems to me that, in every good +German government, that which is +absolutely necessary is necessarily +legal. That is my policy. Moreover, +as prime minister, I am responsible. +What would you have more? It is +plain that, if we leave your courtiers +their liberty, it will be impossible to +perform our comedy; they will betray +us. Therefore the welfare of the state +imperatively demands their imprisonment. +Besides, you yourself have +said that they are traitors, and therefore +they deserve punishment. For +your own safety’s sake, for the success +of your project—which will insure the +happiness of your subjects—write the +names, sign the order, and inflict upon +the deserters the lenient chastisement +of a week’s captivity.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>The Grand Duke wrote the names +and signed several orders, which were +forthwith intrusted to the most active +and determined officers of the regiment, +with instructions to make the +arrests at once, and to take their prisoners +to the Castle of Zwingenberg, +at three quarters of a league from +Karlstadt.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“All that now remains to be done +is to send for your new court,” said +Balthasar. “Has your Highness carriages?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Certainly! a berlin, a barouche, +and a cabriolet.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“And horses?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Six draught and two saddle.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I take the barouche, the berlin, +and four horses; I go to Krusthal, +put my actors up to their parts, and +bring them here this evening. We +instal ourselves in the palace, and +shall be at once at your Highness’s +orders.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Very good; but, before going, +write an answer to Baron Pippinstir, +who asks an audience.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Two lines, very dry and official, +putting him off till to-morrow. We +must be under arms to receive him.... +Here is the note written, +but how shall I sign it? The name +of Balthasar is not very suitable to a +German Excellency.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“True, you must have another +name, and a title; I create you Count +Lipandorf.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Thanks, your Highness. I will +bear the title nobly, and restore it to +you faithfully, with my seals of office, +when the comedy is played out.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Count Lipandorf signed the letter, +which Sigismund was ordered to take +to Baron Pippinstir; then he started +for Krusthal.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Next morning, the Grand Duke +Leopold held a levee, which was attended +by all the officers of his new +court. And as soon as he was dressed +he received the ladies, with infinite +grace and affability.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Ladies and officers were attired in +their most elegant theatrical costumes; +the Grand Duke appeared greatly +satisfied with their bearing and manners. +The first compliments over, +there came a general distribution of +titles and offices.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The lover, Florival, was appointed +aide-de-camp to the Grand Duke, +colonel of hussars, and Count Reinsberg.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Rigolet, the low comedian, was +named grand chamberlain, and Baron +Fidibus.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Similor, who performed the valets, +was master of the horse and Baron +Kockemburg.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Anselmo, walking gentleman, was +promoted to be gentleman-in-waiting +and Chevalier Grillenfanger.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The leader of the band, Lebel, was +appointed superintendant of the music +and amusements of the court, with +the title of Chevalier Arpeggio.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The prima donna, Miss Delia, was +created Countess of Rosenthal, an interesting +orphan, whose dowry was to +be the hereditary office of first lady of +honour to the future Grand Duchess.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Miss Foligny, the singing chambermaid, +was appointed widow of a general +and Baroness Allenzau.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Miss Alice, walking lady, became +Miss Fidibus, daughter of the chamberlain, +and a rich heiress.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Finally, the duenna, Madame Pastorale, +was called to the responsible +station of mistress of the robes and +governess of the maids of honour, +under the imposing title of Baroness +Schicklick.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The new dignitaries received decorations +in proportion to their rank. +Count Balthasar von Lipandorf, prime +minister, had two stars and three grand +crosses. The aide-de-camp, Florival +von Reinsberg, fastened five crosses +upon the breast of his hussar jacket.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The parts duly distributed and +learned, there was a rehearsal, which +went off excellently well. The Grand +Duke deigned to superintend the getting +up of the piece, and to give the +actors a few useful hints.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Prince Maximilian of Hanau and +his august sister were expected that +evening. Time was precious. Pending +their arrival, and by way of practising +his court, the Grand Duke gave +audience to the ambassador from +Saxe-Tolpelhausen.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Baron Pippinstir was ushered into +the Hall of the Throne. He had asked +permission to present his wife at the +same time as his credentials, and that +favour had been granted him.</p> + +<p class='c010'>At sight of the diplomatist, the new +courtiers, as yet unaccustomed to rigid +decorum, had difficulty in keeping their +countenances. The Baron was a man +of fifty, prodigiously tall, singularly +thin, abundantly powdered, with legs +like hop-poles, clad in knee breeches +and white silk stockings. A long +slender pigtail danced upon his flexible +back. He had a face like a bird of +prey—little round eyes, a receding +chin, and an enormous hooked nose. +It was scarcely possible to look at him +without laughing, especially when one +saw him for the first time. His apple-green +coat glittered with a profusion +of embroidery. His chest being too +narrow to admit of a horizontal development +of his decorations, he wore +them in two columns, extending from +his collar to his waist. When he approached +the Grand Duke, with a self-satisfied +simper and a jaunty air, his +sword by his side, his cocked hat under +his arm, nothing was wanting to +complete the caricature.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The Baroness Pippinstir was a +total contrast to her husband. She +was a pretty little woman of five-and-twenty, +as plump as a partridge, with +a lively eye, a nice figure, and an engaging +smile. There was mischief in +her glance, seduction in her dimples +and the rose’s tint upon her cheeks. +Her dress was the only ridiculous +thing about her. To come to court, +the little Baroness had put on all the +finery she could muster; she sailed +into the hall under a cloud of ribbons, +sparkling with jewels and fluttering +with plumes—the loftiest of which, +however, scarcely reached to the +shoulder of her lanky spouse.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Completely identifying himself with +his part of prime minister, Balthasar, +as soon as this oddly-assorted pair +appeared, decided upon his plan of +campaign. His natural penetration +told him the diplomatist’s weak point. +He felt that the Baron, who was old +and ugly, must be jealous of his wife, +who was young and pretty. He was +not mistaken. Pippinstir was as +jealous as a tiger-cat. Recently married, +the meagre diplomatist had not +dared to leave his wife at Saxe-Tolpelhausen, +for fear of accidents; he +would not lose sight of her, and had +brought her to Karlstadt in the arrogant +belief that danger vanished in +his presence.</p> + +<p class='c010'>After exchanging a few diplomatic +phrases with the ambassador, Balthasar +took Colonel Florival aside +and gave him secret instructions. The +dashing officer passed his hand through +his richly-curling locks, adjusted his +splendid pelisse, and approached Baroness +Pippinstir. The ambassadress +received him graciously; the handsome +colonel had already attracted her +attention, and soon she was delighted +with his wit and gallant speeches. +Florival did not lack imagination, +and his memory was stored with well-turned +phrases and sentimental tirades, +borrowed from stage-plays. He spoke +half from inspiration, half from memory, +and he was listened to with +favour.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The conversation was carried on in +French—for the best of reasons.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“It is the custom here,” said the +Grand Duke to the ambassador; +“French is the only language spoken +in this palace; it is a regulation I had +some difficulty in enforcing, and I was +at last obliged to decree that a heavy +penalty should be paid for every German +word spoken by a person attached +to my court. That proved effectual, +and you will not easily catch any of +these ladies and gentlemen tripping. +My prime minister, Count Balthasar +von Lipandorf, is the only one who is +permitted occasionally to speak his +native language.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Balthasar, who had long managed +theatres in Alsace and Lorraine, spoke +German like a Frankfort brewer.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Meanwhile, Baron Pippinstir’s uneasiness +was extreme. Whilst his wife +conversed in a low voice with the +young and fascinating aide-de-camp, +the pitiless prime minister held his +arm tight, and explained at great +length his views with respect to the +famous commercial treaty. Caught +in his own snare, the unlucky diplomatist +was in agony; he fidgeted to +get away, his countenance expressed +grievous uneasiness, his lean legs were +convulsively agitated. But in vain +did he endeavour to abridge his torments; +the remorseless Balthasar relinquished +not his prey.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Sigismund, promoted to be steward +of the household, announced dinner. +The ambassador and his lady had +been invited to dine, as well as all the +courtiers. The aide-de-camp was +placed next to the Baroness, the Baron +at the other end of the table. +The torture was prolonged. Florival +continued to whisper soft nonsense to +the fair and well-pleased Pippinstir. +The diplomatist could not eat.</p> + +<p class='c010'>There was another person present +whom Florival’s flirtation annoyed, +and that person was Delia, Countess +of Rosenthal. After dinner, Balthasar, +whom nothing escaped, took her +aside.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You know very well,” said the +minister, “that he is only acting a +part in a comedy. Should you feel +hurt if he declared his love upon the +stage, to one of your comrades? +Here it is the same thing; all this is +but a play; when the curtain falls, he +will return to you.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>A courier announced that the Prince +of Hanau and his sister were within a +league of Karlstadt. The Grand Duke, +attended by Count Reinsberg and +some officers, went to meet them. It +was dark when the illustrious guests +reached the palace; they passed +through the great saloon, where the +whole court was assembled to receive +them, and retired at once to their +apartments.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“The game is fairly begun,” said +the Grand Duke to his prime minister; +“and now, may Heaven help +us!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Fear nothing,” replied Balthasar. +“The glimpse I caught of Prince +Maximilian’s physiognomy satisfied +me that everything will pass off perfectly +well, and without exciting the +least suspicion. As to Baron Pippinstir, +he is already blind with jealousy, +and Florival will give him so much to +do, that he will have no time to attend +to his master’s business. Things look +well.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Next morning, the Prince and +Princess of Hanau were welcomed, +on awakening, by a serenade from +the regimental band. The weather +was beautiful; the Grand Duke proposed +an excursion out of town; he +was glad of an opportunity to show +his guests the best features of his +duchy—a delightful country, and +many picturesque points of view, +much prized and sketched by German +landscape-painters. The proposal +agreed to, the party set out, in carriages +and on horseback, for the old +Castle of Rauberzell—magnificent +ruins, dating from the middle ages, +and famous far and wide. At a short +distance from the castle, which lifted +its grey turrets upon the summit of a +wooded hill, the Princess Wilhelmina +expressed a wish to walk the remainder +of the way. Everybody followed +her example. The Grand Duke offered +her his arm; the Prince gave his to +the Countess Delia von Rosenthal; +and, at a sign from Balthasar, Baroness +Pastorale von Schicklick took +possession of Baron Pippinstir; whilst +the smiling Baroness accepted Florival’s +escort. The young people walked +at a brisk pace. The unfortunate +Baron would gladly have availed of +his long legs to keep up with his coquettish +wife; but the duenna, portly +and ponderous, hung upon his arm, +checked his ardour, and detained him +in the rear. Respect for the mistress +of the robes forbade rebellion or complaint.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Amidst the ruins of the venerable +castle, the distinguished party found +a table spread with an elegant collation. +It was an agreeable surprise, +and the Grand Duke had all the credit +of an idea suggested to him by his +prime minister.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The whole day was passed in rambling +through the beautiful forest of +Rauberzell. The Princess was charming; +nothing could exceed the high +breeding of the courtiers, or the fascination +and elegance of the ladies; +and Prince Maximilian warmly congratulated +the Grand Duke on having +a court composed of such agreeable +and accomplished persons. Baroness +Pippinstir declared, in a moment of +enthusiasm, that the court of Saxe-Tolpelhausen +was not to compare +with that of Niesenstein. She could +hardly have said anything more completely +at variance with the object of +her husband’s mission. The Baron +was near fainting.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Like not a few of her countrywomen, +the Princess Wilhelmina had +a strong predilection for Parisian fashions. +She admired everything that +came from France; she spoke French +perfectly, and greatly approved the +Grand Duke’s decree, forbidding any +other language to be spoken at his +court. Moreover, there was nothing +extraordinary in such a regulation; +French is the language of all the +northern courts. But she was greatly +tickled at the notion of a fine being +inflicted for a single German word. +She amused herself by trying to catch +some of the Grand Duke’s courtiers +transgressing in this respect. Her +labour was completely lost.</p> + +<p class='c010'>That evening, at the palace, when +conversation began to languish, the +Chevalier Arpeggio sat down to the +piano, and the Countess Delia von +Rosenthal sang an air out of the last +new opera. The guests were enchanted +with her performance. Prince +Maximilian had been extremely attentive +to the Countess during their +excursion; the young actress’s grace +and beauty had captivated him, and +the charm of her voice completed his +subjugation. Passionately fond of +music, every note she sang went to +his very heart. When she had finished +one song, he petitioned for another. +The amiable prima donna sang a duet +with the aide-de-camp Florival von +Reinsberg, and then, being further +entreated, a trio, in which Similor—master +of the horse, barytone, and +Baron von Kockemburg—took a part.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Here our actors were at home, and +their success was complete. Deviating +from his usual reserve, Prince +Maximilian did not disguise his delight; +and the imprudent little Baroness +Pippinstir declared that, with +such a beautiful tenor voice, an aide-de-camp +might aspire to anything. +A cemetery on a wet day is a cheerful +sight, compared to the Baron’s +countenance when he heard these +words.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Upon the morrow, a hunting party +was the order of the day. In the +evening there was a dance. It had +been proposed to invite the principal +families of the metropolis of Niesenstein, +but the Prince and Princess +begged that the circle might not be +increased.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“We are four ladies,” said the +Princess, glancing at the prima donna, +the singing chambermaid, and the +walking lady, “it is enough for a +quadrille.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>There was no lack of gentlemen. +There was the Grand Duke, the aide-de-camp, +the grand chamberlain, the +master of the horse, the gentleman-in-waiting, +and Prince Maximilian’s +aide-de-camp, Count Darius von +Sturmhaube, who appeared greatly +smitten by the charms of the widowed +Baroness Allenzau.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I am sorry my court is not more +numerous,” said the Grand Duke, +“but, within the last three days, I +have been compelled to diminish it by +one half.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“How so?” inquired Prince Maximilian.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“A dozen courtiers,” replied the +Grand Duke Leopold, “whom I had +loaded with favours, dared conspire +against me, in favour of a certain +cousin of mine at Vienna. I discovered +the plot, and the plotters are +now in the dungeons of my good fortress +of Zwingenberg.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Well done!” cried the Prince; +“I like such energy and vigour. And +to think that people taxed you with +weakness of character! How we +princes are deceived and calumniated.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>The Grand Duke cast a grateful +glance at Balthasar. That able minister +by this time felt himself as much +at his ease in his new office as if he +had held it all his life; he even began +to suspect that the government of a +grand duchy is a much easier matter +than the management of a company +of actors. Incessantly engrossed by +his master’s interests, he manœuvred +to bring about the marriage which +was to give the Grand Duke happiness, +wealth, and safety; but, notwithstanding +his skill, notwithstanding +the torments with which he had +filled the jealous soul of Pippinstir, +the ambassador devoted the scanty +moments of repose his wife left him +to furthering the object of his mission. +The alliance with the Saxe-Tolpelhausen +was pleasing to Prince Maximilian; +it offered him various advantages: +the extinction of an old lawsuit +between the two states, the +cession of a large extent of territory, +and, finally, the commercial treaty, +which the perfidious Baron had +brought to the court of Niesenstein, +with a view of concluding it in favour +of the principality of Hanau. Invested +with unlimited powers, the +diplomatist was ready to insert in +the contract almost any conditions +Prince Maximilian chose to dictate +to him.</p> + +<p class='c010'>It is necessary here to remark that +the Elector of Saxe-Tolpelhausen was +desperately in love with the Princess +Wilhelmina.</p> + +<p class='c010'>It was evident that the Baron +would carry the day, if the prime +minister did not hit upon some scheme +to destroy his credit or force him to +retreat. Balthasar, fertile in expedients, +was teaching Florival his part +in the palace garden, when Prince +Maximilian met him, and requested a +moment’s private conversation.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I am at your Highness’s orders,” +respectfully replied the minister.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I will go straight to the point, +Count Lipandorf,” the Prince began. +“I married my late wife, a princess +of Hesse-Darmstadt, from political +motives. She has left me three sons. +I now intend to marry again; but +this time I need not sacrifice myself +to state considerations, and I am +determined to consult my heart +alone.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“If your Highness does me the +honour to consult <i>me</i>, I have merely +to say that you are perfectly justified +in acting as you propose. After once +sacrificing himself to his people’s happiness, +a prince has surely a right to +think a little of his own.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Exactly my opinion! Count, I +will tell you a secret. I am in love +with Miss von Rosenthal.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Miss Delia?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Yes, sir; with Miss Delia, Countess +of Rosenthal; and, what is more, +I will tell you that <i>I know everything</i>.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“What may it be that your Highness +knows?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I know who she is.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Ha!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“It was a great secret!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“And how came your Highness to +discover it?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“The Grand Duke revealed it to +me.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I might have guessed as much!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“He alone could do so, and I rejoice +that I addressed myself directly +to him. At first, when I questioned +him concerning the young Countess’s +family, he ill concealed his embarrassment: +her position struck me as +strange; young, beautiful, and alone +in the world, without relatives or +guardians—all that seemed to me singular, +if not suspicious. I trembled, +as the possibility of an intrigue flashed +upon me; but the Grand Duke, to +dissipate my unfounded suspicion, +told me all.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“And what is your Highness’s decision?... +After such a revelation”—</p> + +<p class='c010'>“It in no way changes my intentions. +I shall marry the lady.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Marry her?... But no; your +Highness jests.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Count Lipandorf, I never jest. +What is there, then, so strange in my +determination. The Grand Duke’s +father was romantic, and of a roving +disposition; in the course of his life +he contracted several left-handed +alliances—Miss von Rosenthal is the +issue of one of those unions. I care +not for the illegitimacy of her birth; +she is of noble blood, of a princely +race—that is all I require.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Yes,” replied Balthasar, who had +concealed his surprise and kept his +countenance, as became an experienced +statesman and consummate +comedian. “Yes, I now understand; +and I think as you do. Your Highness +has the talent of bringing everybody +over to your way of thinking.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“The greatest piece of good fortune,” +continued the Prince, “is that +the mother remained unknown: she +is dead, and there is no trace of family +on that side.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“As your Highness says, it is very +fortunate. And doubtless the Grand +Duke is informed of your august intentions +with respect to the proposed +marriage?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“No; I have as yet said nothing +either to him or to the Countess. I +reckon upon you, my dear Count, to +make my offer, to whose acceptance +I trust there will not be the slightest +obstacle. I give you the rest of the +day to arrange everything. I will +write to Miss von Rosenthal; I hope +to receive from her own lips the assurance +of my happiness, and I will beg +her to bring me her answer herself, +this evening, in the summerhouse in +the park. Lover-like, you see—a rendezvous, +a mysterious interview! But +come, Count Lipandorf, lose no time; +a double tie shall bind me to your +sovereign. We will sign, at one and +the same time, my marriage-contract +and his. On that condition alone will +I grant him my sister’s hand; otherwise +I treat, this very evening, with +the envoy from Saxe-Tolpelhausen.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>A quarter of an hour after Prince +Maximilian had made this overture, +Balthasar and Delia were closeted +with the Grand Duke.</p> + +<p class='c010'>What was to be done? The Prince +of Hanau was noted for his obstinacy. +He would have excellent reasons to +oppose to all objections. To confess +the deception that had been practised +upon him was equivalent to a total +and eternal rupture. But, upon the +other hand, to leave him in his error, +to suffer him to marry an actress! +it was a serious matter. If ever he +discovered the truth, it would be +enough to raise the entire German +Confederation against the Grand +Duke of Niesenstein.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“What is my prime minister’s +opinion?” asked the Grand Duke.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“A prompt retreat. Delia must +instantly quit the town; we will devise +an explanation of her sudden departure.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Yes; and this evening Prince +Maximilian will sign his sister’s marriage-contract +with the Elector of +Saxe-Tolpelhausen. My opinion is, +that we have advanced too far to retreat. +If the prince ever discovers the +truth, he will be the person most interested +to conceal it. Besides, Miss +Delia is an orphan—she has neither +parents nor family. I adopt her—I +acknowledge her as my sister.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Your Highness’s goodness and +condescension——” lisped the pretty +prima donna.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You agree with me, do you not, +Miss Delia?” continued the Grand +Duke. “You are resolved to seize +the good fortune thus offered, and to +risk the consequences?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Yes, your Highness.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>The ladies will make allowance for +Delia’s faithlessness to Florival. How +few female heads would not be turned +by the prospect of wearing a crown! +The heart’s voice is sometimes mute +in presence of such brilliant temptations. +Besides, was not Florival faithless? +Who could say whither he might +be led in the course of the tender +scenes he acted with the Baroness +Pippinstir? Prince Maximilian was +neither young nor handsome, but he +offered a throne. Not only an actress, +but many a high-born dame, might +possibly, in such circumstances, forget +her love, and think only of her ambition.</p> + +<p class='c010'>To her credit be it said, Delia did +not yield without some reluctance to +the Grand Duke’s arguments, which +Balthasar backed with all his eloquence; +but she ended by agreeing +to the interview with Prince Maximilian.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I accept,” she resolutely exclaimed; +“I shall be Sovereign Princess +of Hanau.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“And I,” cried the Grand Duke, +“shall marry Princess Wilhelmina, +and, this very evening, poor Pippinstir, +disconcerted and defeated, will +go back to Saxe-Tolpelhausen.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“He would have done that in any +case,” said Balthasar; “for, this +evening, Florival was to have run +away with his wife.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“That is carrying things rather +far,” Delia remarked.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Such a scandal is unnecessary,” +added the Grand Duke.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Whilst awaiting the hour of her +rendezvous with the prince, Delia, +pensive and agitated, was walking in +the park, when she came suddenly +upon Florival, who seemed as much +discomposed as herself. In spite of +her newly-born ideas of grandeur, she +felt a pain at her heart. With a forced +smile, and in a tone of reproach +and irony, she greeted her former +lover.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“A pleasant journey to you, Colonel +Florival,” she said.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I may wish you the same,” replied +Florival; “for doubtless you +will soon set out for the principality +of Hanau!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Before long, no doubt.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You admit it, then?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Where is the harm? The wife +must follow her husband—a princess +must reign in her dominions.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Princess! What do you mean? +Wife! In what ridiculous promises +have they induced you to confide?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Florival’s offensive doubts were dissipated +by the formal explanation +which Delia took malicious pleasure +in giving him. A touching scene ensued; +the lovers, who had both gone +astray for a moment, felt their former +flame burn all the more ardently for +its partial and temporary extinction. +Pardon was mutually asked and +granted, and ambitious dreams fled +before a burst of affection.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You shall see whether I love you +or not,” said Florival to Delia. “Yonder +comes Baron Pippinstir; I will +take him into the summerhouse; a +closet is there, where you can hide +yourself to hear what passes, and then +you shall decide my fate.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Delia went into the summerhouse, +and hid herself in the closet. There +she overheard the following conversation:—</p> + +<p class='c010'>“What have you to say to me, +Colonel?” asked the Baron.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I wish to speak to your Excellency +of an affair that deeply concerns +you.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I am all attention; but I beg you +to be brief; I am expected elsewhere.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“So am I.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I must go to the prime minister, +to return him this draught of a commercial +treaty, which I cannot accept.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“And I must go to the rendezvous +given me in this letter.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“The Baroness’s writing!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Yes, Baron. Your wife has done +me the honour to write to me. We +set out together to-night; the Baroness +is waiting for me in a post-chaise.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“And it is to me you dare acknowledge +this abominable project?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I am less generous than you think. +You cannot but be aware that, owing +to an irregularity in your marriage-contract, +nothing would be easier than +to get it annulled. This we will +have done; we then obtain a divorce, +and I marry the Baroness. You will, +of course, have to hand me over her +dowry—a million of florins—composing, +if I do not mistake, your entire +fortune.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>The Baron, more dead than alive, +sank into an arm-chair. He was +struck speechless.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“We might, perhaps, make some +arrangement, Baron,” continued Florival. +“I am not particularly bent +upon becoming your wife’s second +husband.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Ah, sir!” cried the ambassador, +“you restore me to life!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Yes, but I will not restore you +the Baroness, except on certain conditions.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Speak! What do you demand?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“First, that treaty of commerce, +which you must sign just as Count +Lipandorf has drawn it up.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I consent to do so.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“That is not all: you shall take +my place at the rendezvous, get into +the post-chaise, and run away with +your wife; but first you must sit down +at this table and write a letter, in due +diplomatic form, to Prince Maximilian, +informing him that, finding it +impossible to accept his stipulations, +you are compelled to decline, in your +sovereign’s name, the honour of his +august alliance.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“But, Colonel, remember that my +instructions——”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Very well, fulfil them exactly; +be a dutiful ambassador and a miserable +husband, ruined, without wife +and without dowry. You will never +have such another chance, Baron! A +pretty wife and a million of florins do +not fall to a man’s lot twice in his life. +But I must take my leave of you. I +am keeping the Baroness waiting.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I will go to her.... Give me +paper, a pen, and be so good as to +dictate. I am so agitated——”</p> + +<p class='c010'>The Baron really was in a dreadful +fluster. The letter written, and the +treaty signed, Florival told his Excellency +where he would find the post-chaise.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“One thing more you must promise +me,” said the young man, “and that +is, that you will behave like a gentleman +to your wife, and not scold her +over-much. Remember the flaw in the +contract. She may find somebody +else in whose favour to cancel the document. +Suitors will not be wanting.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“What need of a promise?” replied +the poor Baron. “You know +very well that my wife does what she +likes with me? I shall have to explain +my conduct, and ask her pardon.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Pippinstir departed. Delia left her +hiding-place, and held out her hand +to Florival.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You have behaved well,” she said.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“That is more than the Baroness +will say.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“She deserves the lesson. It is +your turn to go into the closet and +listen; the Prince will be here +directly.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I hear his footsteps.” And Florival +was quickly concealed.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Charming Countess!” said the +prince on entering, “I come to know +my fate.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“What does your Highness mean?” +said Delia, pretending not to understand +him.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“How can you ask? Has not the +Grand Duke spoken to you?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“No, your Highness.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Nor the prime minister?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Not a word. When I received +your letter, I was on the point of asking +you for a private interview. I +have a favour—a service—to implore +of your Highness.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“It is granted before it is asked. +I place my whole influence and power +at your feet, charming Countess!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“A thousand thanks, illustrious +prince. You have already shown me +so much kindness, that I venture to +ask you to make a communication to +my brother, the Grand Duke, which I +dare not make myself. I want you +to inform him that I have been for +three months privately married to +Count Reinsberg.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Good heavens!” cried Maximilian, +falling into the arm-chair in +which Pippinstir had recently reclined. +On recovering from the shock, the +prince rose again to his feet.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“’Tis well, madam,” he said, in a +faint voice. “’Tis well!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>And he left the summerhouse.</p> + +<p class='c010'>After reading Baron Pippinstir’s +letter, Prince Maximilian fell a-thinking. +It was not the Grand Duke’s +fault if the Countess of Rosenthal did +not ascend the throne of Hanau. +There was an insurmountable obstacle. +Then the precipitate departure +of the ambassador of Saxe-Tolpelhausen +was an affront which demanded +instant vengeance. And the Grand +Duke Leopold was a most estimable +sovereign, skilful, energetic, and blessed +with wise councillors; the Princess +Wilhelmina liked him, and thought +nothing could compare, for pleasantness, +with his lively court, where all +the men were amiable, and all the +women charming. These various motives +duly weighed, the Prince made +up his mind, and next day was signed +the marriage-contract of the Grand +Duke of Niesenstein and the Princess +Wilhelmina of Hanau.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Three days later the marriage itself +was celebrated.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The play was played out.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The actors had performed their parts +with wit, intelligence, and a noble +disinterestedness. They took their +leave of the Grand Duke, leaving him +with a rich and pretty wife, a powerful +brother-in-law, a serviceable alliance, +and a commercial treaty which +could not fail to replenish his treasury.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Embassies, special missions, banishment, +were alleged to the Grand +Duchess as the causes of their departure. +Then an amnesty was published +on the occasion of the marriage; +the gates of the fortress of Zwingenberg +opened, and the former courtiers +resumed their respective posts.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The reviving fortunes of the Grand +Duke were a sure guarantee of their +fidelity.</p> + +<div class='chapter'> + <span class='pageno' id='Page_342'>342</span> + <h2 class='c002'>LADY LEE’S WIDOWHOOD.</h2> +</div> +<h3 class='c012'>PART IX.—CHAP. XLIII.</h3> + +<p class='c013'>A short time after the loss of poor +Julius, Bagot had gone to town without +seeing Lady Lee in the interval. +The night of his arrival he wrote a +note to Seager, desiring that gentleman +to come to him in the morning.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Seager came about ten o’clock to +the lodgings occupied by Bagot, expecting +to find him up and dressed. +As he was not in the sitting-room, +Seager proceeded up-stairs to his bedroom. +He was met at the head of +the stairs by Wilson, the Colonel’s +servant, who told him he feared his +master was ill. “He had been talking +queer,” Wilson said,—“very queer.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Seager entered the bedroom. The +Colonel was in bed, and did not look +ill, but his friend observed that he +cast a peculiar hurried anxious glance +at the door as he entered. He went +up to him, shook hands, congratulated +him on the late event, and then seated +himself on the side of the bed.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“What makes you so late in bed?” +asked Seager; “keeping it up late last +night, eh?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“No,” said Bagot, “no. I want +to get up—but how can I, you know, +with these people in the room?” (casting +a quick nervous glance towards a +corner of the apartment.)</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Very odd,” thought Seager, following +the direction of the Colonel’s +eyes, and seeing no one. “He hasn’t +lost his wits, I hope. A little feverish, +perhaps. I’m afraid you’re out of +sorts, Lee,” he said. “You don’t look +well.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Quite well,” said Bagot; “never +better. I’ll get up in a minute, my +good fellow, as soon as they’re gone. +Couldn’t you”—(in an under tone),—“couldn’t +you get ’em to go?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Who?” inquired Seager, again +following the glance the Colonel cast +towards the same part of the room.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Who!” cried Bagot; “why, that +tea-party there. They’ve been drinking +tea the whole morning—two women +and a man.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“By Jove, he’s mad,” thought Seager +to himself—“mad as a March +hare.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I’ve asked ’em as civilly as I +could to go away,” said Bagot, “but +they don’t mind that. It’s very curious, +too, where they got the tea, for +I don’t take much of it. Fancy them +coming to me for tea, eh?” said Bagot. +“Absurd, you know.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Why, ’tis rather a good joke,” +said Seager, affecting to laugh, but in +great consternation. Since reading +the accident to the poor little Baronet +in the papers, he had counted on Bagot +as the source from whence all +the funds required for the conduct of +the coming trial (without mentioning +other more immediate wants) were to +be supplied. And here was the Colonel +evidently out of his mind—unfit, +perhaps, to transact even so simple a +business as drawing money.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Have you got much money in the +house, Lee?” asked Seager presently.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Money,” said Bagot, who seemed +to answer some questions rationally +enough; “no, I don’t think I have; +I’m going to draw some as soon as +I’ve seen my lawyer.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Just so,” said Seager, “and the +sooner the better. Where’s your +check-book? Just sign your name, +and I’ll fill it up. We must have +some funds to carry on the war. The +trial comes on the beginning of next +month, and there’s a great deal to be +done beforehand.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Ah, that cursed trial!” said the +Colonel, grinding his teeth; “but I’ve +been thinking it over, Seager, and it’s +my belief that, if we bribe the Crown +lawyers high enough, we may get +’em to lay the indictment for <i>manslaughter</i>.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Manslaughter!” repeated Seager +to himself, as he took the check-book +from Bagot’s writing-desk. “Oh, by +Jove, he’s stark staring! Now, old +fellow,” he continued, coming to the +bedside with the inkstand and check-book, +“here you are. Just take the +pen and write your name here. I’ll +fill it up afterwards.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Bagot took the pen, and tried to +write his name as Seager directed; but +his hand shook so that he could not, +and after an attempt or two, he threw +the pen from him.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Come, try once more, and I’ll +guide your hand,” said Seager. But +Bagot refused so testily that he did +not press him.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Do you know,” said Seager presently, +puzzled at Bagot’s extraordinary +demeanour, “I don’t think you’re +half awake yet, Lee. You’ve been +dreaming, haven’t you?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Not a bit,” said Bagot; “I didn’t +sleep a wink all night.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I wonder if that’s true?” thought +Seager. “You don’t see the tea-party +now, do you?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Bagot, as if suddenly recollecting +them, looked quickly towards the corner +where he had fancied them seated. +“No,” said he, with a kind of doubtful +pleasure; “they’re gone—gone, by +Jove!” Then, raising himself on his +elbow, he cast a searching glance all +round the room, and at last behind +his bed, when he started, and, falling +back aghast on his pillow, muttered, +“There they are behind the curtains, +drinking tea as hard as ever, <i>and +they’ve got a little boy with ’em now</i>.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Ah,” said Seager, humouring him, +“what’s the boy like?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I could only see his back,” answered +Bagot, in a whisper, “but I +wouldn’t look again for the world,” +(shuddering, and turning his face +away.)</p> + +<p class='c010'>Seager now went to the door, and, +calling Wilson, desired him to fetch a +physician who lived in the street, to +see his master.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The physician, a brisk man, of few +years, considering his eminence, and +who piqued himself on suiting his tone +to that of his patients and their friends, +soon arrived. He came in jauntily, +asked Bagot how he was, heard all +about the intrusive tea-party, felt his +pulse, looked at him attentively, and +then took Seager aside.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“The Colonel, now, isn’t the most +abstemious man in the world, is he?” +he inquired, with a jocular air.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“No, by Gad,” said Mr Seager; +“he’s a pretty hard liver.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Drinks pretty freely, eh? Wine?—brandy?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“More than I should like to,” replied +Seager. “I’ve often told him +he’d have to pull up some day.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Ah, yes, he’ll have to”—said the +other nodding. “He’s got delirium +tremens.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Has he, by Jove!” exclaimed +Seager—adding, with an oath, “what +a fool I was, that it never occurred to +me, knowing him as I do.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“The attack’s just beginning now, +and promises to be violent,” said the +doctor.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“What—you think ’twill go hard +with him, eh?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>The physician said, “Perhaps it +might; ’twas impossible to say; however,” +he added, “you won’t be long +in suspense—a few days will settle the +matter.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Come, that’s a comfort,” said Seager, +remembering how important it +was that Bagot should be able to exert +himself before the trial. “Poor +devil,” he added, “what a pity—just +come into a fine property!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Well, well, we’ll try to keep him +in possession,” said the doctor. “I’ll +leave a prescription, and look in again +shortly.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“By the by,” said Seager, detaining +him, “people who’ve got this complaint +sometimes talk confounded stuff, +don’t they?” The doctor said they did.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“And let out secrets about their +own affairs, and other people’s?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Possibly they might,” the doctor +said—“their delusions were various, +and often mixed strangely with truth. +I’ve heard patients,” he added, “in +this state talk about private matters, +and therefore it may be as well to let +no strangers come about him, if you +can avoid it.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Seager thought the advice good, +and assured the doctor that he would +look after him himself. Accordingly, +he sent to his own lodgings for a supply +of necessaries, and established +himself as Bagot’s attendant.</p> + +<p class='c010'>In this capacity Mr Seager’s energy +and vigilant habits enabled him to act +with great effect; in fact, if he had +been the poor Colonel’s warmly-attached +brother, he could not have +taken better care of him. He administered +his medicine, which there was +no difficulty in getting him to take, as +it consisted principally of large doses +of brandy: he held him down, with +Wilson’s assistance, in his violent fits, +and humoured the strange hallucinations +which now began to crowd upon +him thick and fast.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Some of these Mr Seager found rather +diverting, especially an attendant +imp which Bagot conceived was perpetually +hovering about the bed, and +in whose motions he took vast interest.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Take care,” said Bagot, starting +up in bed on one occasion as Seager +approached him; “mind, mind! you’ll +tread on him.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Tread on what?” said Seager, +looking down, deceived by the earnestness +of the appeal.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Why the little devil—poor little +fellow, don’t hurt him. You’ve no +idea how lively he is. I wouldn’t have +him injured,” added Bagot tenderly, +“on any account.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Certainly not,” said Seager; “not +while he behaves himself. What’s he +like, eh?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“He’s about the size,” returned +Bagot, “of a printer’s devil, or perhaps +a little smaller; and, considering +his inches, he’s uncommonly active. +He was half-way up the bedpost this +morning at one spring.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>All this nonsense, delivered with +perfect earnestness and gravity, contrasted +so oddly with the Colonel’s +red nose and bristly unshaven face, +that it greatly amused Mr Seager, and +helped him to pass the time. By and +by, however, both the tea-party and +the imp disappeared, and their place +was taken by spectres of more formidable +stamp. In particular, there +was a demon disguised as a bailiff in +top-boots, who was come, as Bagot +firmly believed, to take his soul in +execution, he having unfortunately +lost it at chicken hazard to the enemy +of mankind, which latter personage +he paid Mr Seager the compliment of +taking him for.</p> + +<p class='c010'>It was now that Seager began to +appreciate the soundness of the doctor’s +advice with respect to excluding +strangers from the hearing of Bagot’s +delusions. He began to talk, sometimes +pertinently, sometimes wildly, +of the approaching trial, generally +ending in absurd ravings; sometimes +charging Seager with dreadful crimes, +sometimes imagining himself the culprit. +On the third day of his attack, +Seager remarked that a showman +figured largely in his discourse, and, +finding the patient in a tractable mood, +he questioned him as to who this showman +might be.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I know,” said the Colonel, still +taking Mr Seager for the distinguished +personage aforesaid—“I know it’s of +no use to try to keep anything a secret +from <i>you</i>. But suppose now I tell you +all about Holmes, will you let me off +what—what I lost, you know?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“What was that?” asked Seager, +forgetting the imaginary forfeit.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Why the—the soul,” said Bagot. +“It’s of no use to you, you know.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Oh, ah, I’d forgotten that,” said +Seager. “Pray, don’t mention it; +’tisn’t of the least consequence. Yes, +we’ll cry quits about that.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Then, to his hearer’s surprise, Bagot, +apparently satisfied with the conditions, +related all the particulars of his +nocturnal interview with Mr Holmes, +comprising what had passed between +them inside the caravan.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Seager listened in breathless astonishment. +The delusion, if delusion +there was in this instance, was the +most plausible and coherent of any +that had yet haunted Bagot. It had +touched, too, on some previous suspicions +in Seager’s own mind, and he +resolved, if Bagot recovered, to sound +him on the subject.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Meantime he tried to lead him to +talk more freely on the subject. But +Bagot now began to wander, talked +all kinds of nonsense, and ended, as +usual, in violent ravings.</p> + +<p class='c010'>All this time the demon in top-boots +and his brethren were in constant +attendance. Never for a moment +was Bagot free from the horror +of their presence; and if all the frightful +spectres of romance and superstition +had been actually crowded round +his bed, the poor Colonel could not +have suffered more than from the horrible +phantasms that his imagination +summoned to attend him.</p> + +<p class='c010'>It was beginning to be doubtful if +he could hold out much longer under +the disease; but on the third night +he fell asleep, and woke the next +morning in his right mind.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Ah, he’s pulled through this time,” +said the doctor, when he saw him. +“All right, now; but he mustn’t resume +his hard drinking, or he’ll have +another attack.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I’ll look after him myself,” said +Mr Seager. “I’ll lock up the brandy +bottle, and put him on short allowance.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Well, he ought to be very grateful +to you, I’m sure,” said the doctor, +“for all your attention. Really, I +never saw greater kindness, even +among near relations.” And the doctor +having been paid, departed, perfectly +convinced that Mr Seager was +one of the best fellows that ever +breathed, and the sort of person to +make any sacrifice to serve his +friends.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Now I’ll tell you what it is, Lee,” +said Seager, when Bagot was on his +legs again, and manifested a desire for +his customary drams. “You mustn’t +go on in your old way yet awhile. If +you do, you’ll go to the devil in no +time.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Never you mind, sir,” said Bagot +with dignity. “I presume I’m the +best judge of what’s good for me.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You never made a greater mistake,” +returned Mr Seager. “Just +go and look in the glass, and see what +your judgment of what’s good for you +has brought you to, you unfortunate +old beggar. You look like a cocktail +screw after the third heat, all puffing +and trembling. I’ll lay you a five-pound +note you don’t look me straight +in the face for a minute together. +Here’s a sovereign, now—well, I’ll +put it between your lips, and if you +can hold it there for fifty seconds, you +shall have it, and if not, you shall give +me one. What d’ye say to that?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Sir,” said Bagot, with his lips +trembling, and his eyes rolling more +than ever at these delicate allusions +to his infirmities—“sir, you are disagreeably +personal.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Personal!” sneered Mr Seager. +“I wish you could hear the confounded +rubbish you talked while in bed. I +only wished I’d had a short-hand +writer to take it down—all about the +bailiffs, and devils, and so forth. And +the showman, too—one Holmes. He +struck me as a real character; and if +all you said was true, you must have +had some queer dealings together.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>As he spoke he fixed his green eye +on Bagot, who started, cast one nervous +glance at him, and then, in great +agitation, rose and walked to the window, +where Seager saw him wipe his +forehead with his handkerchief.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Presently he looked stealthily over +his shoulder, and, perceiving that +Seager still eyed him, he affected to +laugh. “Cursed nonsense I must have +talked, I daresay,” said he huskily. +“Oh, cursed, you know, ha, ha.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“But that about the showman +Holmes didn’t sound so absurd as the +rest,” said Seager. “It struck me as +more like some real circumstances you +were recollecting. Come, suppose you +tell me all about it sensibly, now.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“No more of this, sir,” said Bagot, +waving the handkerchief he had been +wiping his forehead with. “The subject +is unpleasant. No man, I presume, +likes to be reminded that he +has been talking like a fool. We +won’t resume the subject now, or at +any other time, if you please.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Ah,” said Seager to himself, on +observing Bagot’s agitation, “I was +right—there was some truth in that. +I must consider how to turn it to account.”</p> + +<h3 class='c016'>CHAPTER XLIV.</h3> + +<p class='c013'>In his new circumstances Bagot was, +of course, a very different personage +from the Colonel Lee known to tradesmen +and money-lenders of old. There +was no talk now of arresting him for +small debts, no hesitation in complying +with his orders. The Jews, bill-brokers, +and other accommodating +persons who had lately been open-mouthed +against him, now offered him +unlimited credit, of which he did not +fail to avail himself. His creditor, +Mr Dubbley, seeing the very different +position the Colonel would now occupy +at the Heronry, and alive to the impolicy +of offending so important a +neighbour, stopt all proceedings against +him, and, with the most abject apologies +and assurances of regard, entreated +him to take his own leisure +for the payment of the debt. Apparently +satisfied with these advantages, +the Colonel showed no eagerness to +take upon him either the dignity or +the emoluments that had now devolved +on him in the succession of inheritance.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The first lawyers in the kingdom +were retained for him and Seager. A +considerable sum was placed at the +disposal of the latter, who was to employ +it either in bribing that very important +witness, Jim the groom, who +had charge of Goshawk, to perjure +himself, or in getting him to abscond. +As he proved tractable, however, and +agreed, for a sum which he named, to +swear anything that the gentlemen +might wish, it was resolved to produce +him; and Seager was very sanguine +of a favourable result.</p> + +<p class='c010'>In the mean time Bagot, anxious +and gloomy, kept almost entirely in +his lodgings, and seldom spoke to anybody +except on business. He did not +know what reports might be abroad +about the coming trial; he did not +know how his associates would look +upon him; and he feared at present to +put the matter to proof by going among +them. This line of conduct Seager +thought highly impolitic, and told him +so. “Put a good face on the matter,” +he said. “Go down to the club—play +billiards—go to the opera. If you go +sneaking about with a hangdog face, +as if you didn’t dare show yourself, +people will bring you in guilty before +the trial, and the legal acquittal will +hardly serve to set you right again.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>So Bagot suffered himself to be persuaded, +and went down to his club. +Here he had been, in days of yore, a +prominent character, and had enjoyed +an extensive popularity among the +members. He formed a sort of connecting +link between the fogies and +the youngsters; his experience allying +him with the one class, his tastes +and habits with the other. Here he +might formerly often have been seen +entertaining a knot of immoral old +gentlemen with jokes improper for +publication, or the centre of an admiring +circle of fledglings of the sporting +world, who reverenced him as an +old bird of great experience and sagacity.</p> + +<p class='c010'>With doubtful and anxious feelings, +he now revisited the scene of his former +glory. Putting on as composed +a face as possible, he went up-stairs +and entered the library. There were +several people in it whom he knew. +One well-known man-about-town, +with whom the Colonel was rather +intimate, was seated opposite the door +reading a newspaper, and, as Bagot +could have sworn, fixed his eye on +him as he entered, but it was instantaneously +dropt on the paper. Another +member—an old gentleman who +was strongly suspected of a happy +knack of turning up honours at critical +movements of the game of whist—looked +round at his entrance, and +the Colonel advanced to greet him, in +perfect confidence that he, at any +rate, was not a likely person to cast +the first stone at him; but Bagot was +mistaken. The old gentleman shifted +his chair so as to place his back towards +Bagot, with a loud snort of +virtuous indignation, and, leaning +forward, whispered to a neighbour +some hurried words, of which Bagot +could distinguish—“Deuced bad +taste!—don’t you think so?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Crimson with rage and shame, Bagot +bent down over a newspaper to +recover himself, and fumbled with +trembling hands at his eye-glasses. +He heard a step behind him presently, +but he dared not look up.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Lee, my boy, how are you?” +said a stout hearty man about fifty, +slapping the Colonel on the shoulder. +“I’ve just come back from a tour, +and the first thing I saw in the paper +was about you—about your”—the +stout gentleman stopt to sneeze, which +he did four times, with terrible convulsions +of face and figure, during +which Bagot was in horrible suspense, +while every ear in the room was +pricked up—“about your good fortune,” +said the stout gentleman, after +he had blown and wiped his sonorous +nose as carefully as if it were some +delicate musical instrument that he +was going to put by in its case. “I +congratulate you with all my heart. +Fine property, I’m told. Just wait +while I ring the bell, and we’ll have +a chat together.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>He went to the bell and rung it; +but, on his way back to Bagot, he +was stopped by a friend who had entered +the library with him, and who +now drew him aside. Bagot stole a +glance over his paper at them. He +felt they were talking about him. He +heard his stout friend say—“God +bless me, who would have thought it!” +and he perceived that, instead of rejoining +him, according to promise, he +took a chair at the farther end of the +room.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Bagot still kept his own seat a little +while, but he could not long endure +his position. He fancied every one +was looking at him, though, when, +with this impression strong on him, +he glared defiance around, every eye +was averted. He wished—he only +wished—that some one would offer +him some gross tangible insult, that +he might relieve himself by an outburst—that +he might hurl his scorn +and defiance at them and the whole +world.</p> + +<p class='c010'>No one, however, seemed likely to +oblige him with an opportunity of this +kind, and, after a minute or two, +Bagot rose, and, with as much composure +as he could command, quitted +the room and the house. As he +walked—in no happy frame of mind +with himself, with the world, or with +Seager, whose advice had entailed +upon him this mortification—towards +his lodgings, along one of the small +streets near St James’s, he saw some +one wave his hand to him, in a friendly +manner, from the opposite side of the +way. Bagot was too short-sighted +to recognise this acquaintance; but, +seeing him prepare to cross the road +to him, and reflecting that he could +not afford to drop any acquaintances +just then, when all seemed deserting +him, he stopped to see who it was.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Mr Jack Sharpe, the person who +now drew near, had been intended +for the Church, but happening to be +fast in everything except in his progress +in the different branches of university +learning, in which he was particularly +slow, he never arrived at +the dignity of orders. He had formerly +moved in the same circle as +Bagot, but had lost his footing there, +in consequence of strong suspicions of +dishonourable conduct on the turf. +These seemed the more likely to be +just, as he had never sought to rebut +the charge against him; and it was +rumoured that, since the occurrence, +he had allied himself—taking, at the +same time, no great precautions for +secresy—with a certain swindling +confederacy. Therefore Bagot had, +when last in town, in all the might +and majesty of conscious integrity, +avoided Mr Jack Sharpe, sternly repelled +all his attempts to renew their +acquaintance, and returned his greetings, +when they chanced to meet, +with the most chilling and formal +bows. Sharpe appeared to think that +late circumstances had bridged over +the gulf between them, for he not only +saluted Bagot with unwonted familiarity, +but took his hand. The +Colonel disengaged it, and, intrenching +himself behind his dignity, endeavoured +to pass on. Jack Sharpe, +nothing daunted, walked cheerfully +beside him.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Well, Colonel, how goes the trial?” +asked Mr Sharpe, who had managed, +notwithstanding his downfall, to preserve +the appearance and manners of +a gentleman. “You’ll get a verdict, +I hope.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>The Colonel inclined his head stiffly.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Well, I hope so,” said Jack +Sharpe. “It was a deuced clever +thing, from what I hear of it, and deserves +success; and my opinion of the +cleverness of the thing will be exactly +the same, whether you and Seager +get an acquittal or not.” And Mr +Sharpe looked as if he expected to +find Bagot highly gratified by his +approbation.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Do you presume, for a moment, +to insinuate a doubt of my innocence +of the charge?” asked Bagot sternly.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Oh, certainly not,” returned Jack +Sharpe, with a laugh. “Quite right +to carry it high, Colonel. Nothing +like putting a good face on it.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Sir,” said Bagot, increasing his +pace, “your remarks are offensive.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I didn’t mean them to be so,” +answered the other. “But you’re +quite right to carry it off this way. +You’ve come into a good property, I +hear, and that will keep you fair with +the world, however this trial, or a +dozen other such, might go. Some +people have the devil’s own luck. +Yes, Colonel, you’ll pull through it—you’ll +never fall among thieves. It’s +only the <i>poor</i> devils,” added Jack +Sharpe bitterly, “that get pitched +into and kicked into outer darkness.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Bagot was perfectly livid. By this +time they had reached a corner of +the street, and, stopping short, the +Colonel said—</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Oblige me by saying which way +your road lies.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Well, well, good morning, Colonel. +I’m not offended, for, I daresay, I +should do the same myself in your +place. Politic, Colonel, politic! I +wish you good luck and good morning.” +And Mr Jack Sharpe took +himself off.</p> + +<p class='c010'>This encounter grated on Bagot’s +feelings more than any other incident +that had occurred to him. To be +hailed familiarly as a comrade by a +swindler—to be prejudged as one who +had forfeited his position in society, and +was to retain it only on new and accidental +grounds—this sunk deep, and +shook that confidence of success which +he had hitherto never permitted himself +to question.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Just afterwards he met Seager, who +came gaily up to ask him how he had +got on at the club. Bagot told him +something of the unpleasant treatment +he had met with, and the disgust +and annoyance it had caused him +to feel. Seager grinned.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You’re not hard enough, Lee—you +think too much of these things. +Now, I’m as hard as a nail. I meet +with exactly the same treatment as +you do, but what do I care for it? +It doesn’t hurt me—they can’t put +<i>me</i> down,” and Seager smiled at the +thought of his own superiority. +“What would you do, I wonder, if +a thing which just now happened to +me were to happen to you? I was +looking on at a billiard match, and +Crossley, (you know Crossley?) who +had been, like the rest of ’em, deuced +distant and cool to me, offered to bet +on the game. I took him up—he +declined. ‘Oh, you back out, do you?’ +says I. ‘Not at all,’ says Crossley; +‘but I don’t bet with everybody.’ Now, +what would you have done?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I should have desired him to apologise +instantly,” said the Colonel.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“He’d have refused.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I’d have kicked him,” said the +Colonel.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“’Twould have caused a row, and +we’re quite conspicuous enough already,” +said Seager. “No; I turned +coolly to him, and says I, ‘Very good; +as we’re going to close our accounts, +I’ll thank you for that ten-pound note +I won from you on the Phœbe match.’ +Crossley, you know, is poor and +proud, and he looked cursedly disgusted +and cut up at this exposure of +his shortcomings. I’ll bet, he wishes +he’d been civil now. You must take +these things coolly. Never mind how +they look at you: go back to the club, +now, and brave it out—show ’em you +don’t care for ’em.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“No,” muttered Bagot, “I’d die +first. I’ll go out no more till ’tis over.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>In this resolution he shut himself +up in his lodgings, only going out in +the dusk to walk in such thoroughfares +as were not likely to be frequented +by any of his acquaintances. +Never had a week passed so dismally +with him as this. His nerves were +yet unstrung by his late attack, and +his anxiety was augmented as the +day of the trial approached, until he +wondered how he could endure it. In +spite of his efforts, his thoughts were +impelled into tracks the most repugnant +to him. The remembrance of +his reception by the members of his +club haunted him incessantly, though +it was what most of all he wished to +forget; for Bagot, being, as we have +seen him, a weak-principled man of +social habits, though he had found no +difficulty in quieting his own conscience, +was keenly alive to the horrors +of disgrace.</p> + +<p class='c010'>He felt as he remembered to have +often felt when a great race was approaching, +which was to make or mar +him—only the interest now was more +painfully strong than ever before. +There was an event of some sort in +store—why could he not divine it?—ah, +if he were only as wise now as he +would be this day week, what anxiety +would be saved him! He only dared +contemplate the possibility of one result—an +acquittal. That would lift +the weight from his breast and reopen +life to him. But a conviction!—that +he dared not think of—for that contingency +he made no provision.</p> + +<p class='c010'>During this week Harry Noble had +come up from the Heronry on some +business connected with the stable +there, in which the Colonel had been +interested; and Bagot, conceiving he +might be useful in matters in which +he did not choose to trust his own +servant Wilson, had desired him to +remain in town for the present. This +Seager was glad of, for he knew Harry +was to be trusted, and he told him in +a few words the nature of the predicament +the Colonel was in.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You must have an eye to him,” +said Seager; “don’t let him drink +much, if you can help it; and if it +should be necessary for him to make +a trip to France for a time, you must +go with him.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I’ll go with him to the world’s +end, Mr Seager,” said Harry. He was +much attached to the Colonel, having +known him since the time when Noble, +as a boy, entered the Heronry stables; +and though he had then, like the other +stable-boys, found Bagot very severe +and exacting, yet, having once proved +himself a careful and trustworthy +servant and excellent groom, the +Colonel had honoured him since with +a good deal of his confidence.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Harry had the more readily agreed +to this since, when leaving the Heronry, +he had parted in great wrath +from Miss Fillett, who had found time +in the midst of her religious zeal to +harrow up Noble’s soul with fresh +jealousies, and to flirt demurely, but +effectually, with many brethren who +frequented the same chapel.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The day before the trial Seager +came, and Bagot prevailed on him to +stay and dine, and play écarte. Seager +was sanguine of the result of the trial, +which was to commence on the morrow, +in the Court of Queen’s Bench—spoke +in assured terms of the excellence +of their case, their counsel, and +their witnesses; and telling him to +keep up his spirits, wished him good +night, promising to bring him back +the earliest intelligence of how the +day had gone.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The Colonel’s eagerness for, and +terror of, the result had now worked +him into a state of agitation little +short of frenzy. The trial was expected +to last two days, but the first +would probably show him how the +case was likely to terminate. Both +Bagot and Seager preferred forfeiting +their recognisances to surrendering to +take their trial, which would have +shut out all hope of escape in the event +of an adverse verdict.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Finding it impossible to sit still +while in this state, the Colonel started +for a long walk, resolving to return +at the hour at which Seager might be +expected. Arriving a few minutes +later than he intended, he went up-stairs +to his sitting-room, but started +back on seeing a person whom he did +not recognise there. His first impression +was, that it was a man come +to arrest him.</p> + +<p class='c010'>His visitor, on seeing his consternation, +gave a loud laugh. It was Mr +Seager.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Gad, Lee,” said that worthy, “it +<i>must</i> be well done, if it takes you in. +I was in court all day, and sat next +a couple of our set, but they hadn’t +an idea who I was.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Mr Seager was certainly well disguised, +and it was no wonder the +Colonel had not recognised him. Low +on his forehead came a black wig, and +whiskers of the same met under his +chin. He had a mustache also; his +coat was blue, his waistcoat gorgeous, +with two or three chains, evidently +plated, meandering over it, and his +trousers were of a large and brilliant +check. In his elaborate shirt-front +appeared several studs, like little +watches, and his neck was enveloped +in a black satin stock with gold flowers +and a great pin.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“What d’ye think, Lee—don’t I +look the nobby Israelite, eh?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Bagot shortly admitted the excellence +of his disguise, and then asked, +“What news?—is it over?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Only the prosecution—that’s +finished,” returned the metamorphosed +Seager.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Well,” said Bagot breathlessly, +“and how—how did it go?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Sit down,” said Seager; “give +me a cigar, and I’ll tell you all about +it.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Nothing could be more strongly +contrasted than the anxiety of Bagot +with the composure of Seager. No +one would have imagined them to be +both equally concerned in the proceedings +that the latter now proceeded to +relate; while Bagot glared at him, +gnawing his nails and breathing hard.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“The court,” said Seager, throwing +himself back in the chair after he had +lit his cigar, with his hands in his +trousers’ pockets, and his feet stretched +to the fire—“the court was crowded. +Sloperton’s counsel opened the ball +by giving a sketch of the whole affair—little +personal histories of you and +me and Sloperton, the sort of things +that might be prefixed to our poetical +works after we’re dead—you know +the style of thing, Lee, birth, parentage, +breeding, so forth. Then came +out Sloperton’s meeting with us at the +Bush at Doddington—the adjournment +to Oates’s room—the broiled +bones, cards, and betting, and the +terms of the wager with Sloperton.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Our friend Sloper was the first +witness, and had got himself up a +most awful swell, as you may suppose, +on such a grand occasion, and there +wasn’t a young lady in court who +didn’t sympathise with him. I could +see by his way of giving evidence he +was as vindictive as the devil. Our +fellows went at him, but they didn’t +damage his evidence much. He told +about the bet—how, by your advice, +he had sent to me to offer to compromise +it—and how he had perfectly +depended all was fair till he heard the +mare was lame. Oates followed, and +corroborated the whole story. Then +came one of the vets who attended the +mare, and he swore, in his opinion, +she’d got navicular disease. Then +came a new actor” (Bagot listened +more eagerly than ever), “one Mr +Chick, who saw us return to the stable +that morning we gave Goshawk the +trial; and he swore the mare was lame +then.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Bagot drew a long breath, and fell +back in his chair.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Against all this,” Seager went on, +“we’ve got to-morrow the evidence +of Jim, who’ll swear the mare never +was lame while in his charge, and of +the other vet, who’ll swear she was +and is sound. So cheer up, old boy; +it may go all right yet. Never say +die.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Seager paused, and looked at Bagot, +who had covered his face with his +hands. Both were silent for a space.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“By the by,” said Seager presently, +in an indifferent tone, yet eyeing +Bagot with a keenness that showed +his interest in the question—“by the +by, where’s Lady Lee now?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Bagot did not answer, and Seager +repeated the question.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“What’s Lady Lee to you, sir?” +said Bagot, removing his hands from +his face, the colour of which was very +livid.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“O, nothing particular; but she +might be something to you, you know, +in case of the business going against +us to-morrow. You said she had left +the Heronry, didn’t you?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Bagot did not reply.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“It’s no use blinking the matter,” +said Seager testily. “Things may +go against us to-morrow, in which +case I’m off, and so are you, I suppose. +I’ve made all my arrangements; +but I think we had better +take different roads, and appoint a +place to meet on the Continent. But +I’m short of money for a long trip, +and, of course, you’ll accommodate +me. We row in the same boat, you +know. Come, what will you come +down with?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Not a penny,” said Bagot in a +low thick voice.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Eh! what?” said Seager, looking +up at him.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Not a penny,” said Bagot, raising +his voice. “You devil,” he cried, +starting from his chair, “don’t you +know you’ve ruined me?” and, seizing +the astonished Seager by the +throat, he shook him violently.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You cursed old lunatic!” cried +Seager, as soon as he had struggled +himself free from Bagot’s grasp. +“You’re mad, you old fool. Only +raise a finger again, and I’ll brain you +with the poker. What d’ye mean, +ha? We must talk about this, and +you shall apologise, or give me satisfaction.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“What, an affair of <i>honour</i>, eh?” +sneered Bagot between his ground +teeth. “Between two <i>gentlemen</i>! +That sounds better than convicted +swindlers. Curse you,” he added, in +a hoarse whisper, “you’ve been my +destruction.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“He’s dangerous,” thought Seager, +as he looked at him. “Come, Lee,” +said he, “listen to reason; lend me +a supply, and we’ll say no more about +this queer behaviour. I know you’ve +been drinking.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You have my answer, sir,” said +Bagot. “Not a penny, I repeat. I +wish you may starve—rot in a jail.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Seager looked at him keenly for a +minute. “He’s been at the brandy +bottle,” he thought. “Well, let him +drink himself mad or dead, if he likes. +But, no!—that won’t do either—he +may be useful yet. The old fool!” +he muttered as he departed, “he +doesn’t know how far he has let me +into his secrets. Well, he’ll change +his note, perhaps;” so saying, he left +the room and the house.</p> + +<h3 class='c016'>CHAPTER XLV.</h3> + +<p class='c013'>Disguised as before, Seager went to +Westminster next day, to hear the +conclusion of the trial. The court +was, as on the previous day, crowded +to excess, and Seager recognised a +great number of his and Bagot’s acquaintances +among the spectators.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The counsel for the defendants made +an able address to the jury. The prosecutor, +he said, had tried to win Seager’s +money, as Seager had tried to +win his; and, nettled at finding he +had made a rash bet, he now brought +the action. The defendants were men +of reputation, who had been engaged +in many betting transactions before, +and always without blemish or suspicion. +There was no proof that the +mare was unfit for the feat she had +been backed to perform; and, if she +had attempted it, she could have done +it with ease.</p> + +<p class='c010'>After calling several witnesses to +speak to minor points, the other veterinary +surgeon who had attended the +mare was put in the box. He swore +the mare’s lameness was trifling and +temporary; that he had seen her trot, +and believed her certain to win such +a match as the one in question; and +that he had not detected in her any +trace of navicular disease.</p> + +<p class='c010'>This witness having sustained a +severe cross-examination unshaken, +Mr Seager began to breathe more +freely. The last witness was Jim the +groom. Jim, though very compliant +in respect of any evidence he might +be required to give, had obstinately +insisted on payment beforehand. It +was to no purpose Seager had promised +him the money the instant he +should come out of court; the cautious +Jim was inflexible till the stipulated +sum was put in his hands.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Seager watched him as he was being +sworn with the greatest attention; +but Jim’s was not an expressive +countenance, and nothing was to be +read there. But Mr Seager detected +treachery in his manner the moment +the examination began. Without attempting +to repeat the lesson he had +been taught, he prevaricated so much +that the counsel for the defendants, +finding he was more likely to damage +than to assist his clients, abruptly sat +down. In the cross-examination he +suffered (though with some appearance +of unwillingness) the whole truth +to be elicited; admitted the mare’s +lameness—remembered the Colonel +and his master trying her, and finding +her lame—(an incident he had been +especially desired to erase from his +memory)—and also remembered to +have heard them talk about “navicular.” +He also recollected that Seager +cautioned him to keep the circumstance +very quiet.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Seager sat grinding his teeth with +rage. He had forgotten the incident +of the horse-whipping which he had +administered to Jim, though the latter +had not, and was therefore at a +loss to account for his treachery. +Jim’s revenge happening to coincide +with his duty, he had no sooner pocketed +the reward for his intended perjury, +than he resolved to pursue the +paths of rectitude, and to speak the +truth.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Just at this time Seager caught +sight of one he knew standing very +near him, and listening as eagerly as +himself. This was Harry Noble, who +had been there also on the previous +day, and who, firmly convinced that +his master was wrongfully accused, +had heard the evidence of the groom +Jim with high indignation, and was +now burning to defy that perjured +slanderer to abide the ordeal of single +combat. Seager, writing a few words +on a slip of paper, made his way up to +Harry, and pulled his sleeve. Noble +turned round and stared at him, without +any sign of recognition.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Look another way,” said Seager, +“and listen. ’Tis me—and I want +you to run with this note to the Colonel.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“What! are you Mr Sea——?” +began Harry; but Seager squeezed +his arm.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Hush!” he said. “I don’t want +to be known; and don’t mention to +anybody but the Colonel that you’ve +seen me. Take this note to him; he’ll +start for France as soon as he gets it, +and you must get him away with all +the speed you can. Don’t delay a +minute.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Noble nodded and quitted the court. +He got a cab, and went with all speed +to Bagot’s lodgings, and, telling the +cabman to wait, immediately ran up-stairs +with the note. The Colonel, +who was pacing the room, snatched it +eagerly, read it, and let it fall, sinking +back into a chair quite collapsed. +“It’s all over,” he muttered.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Noble stood near, looking at him in +respectful silence for a minute or two. +At length he ventured to say, “Shall +I begin to pack up, sir? Mr Seager +said we must be quick.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Don’t name him!” thundered Bagot, +starting from his chair. “Curse +him! I could tear him!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I’ll never believe ’twas you as +did the trick, sir,” said Noble. “No +more won’t anybody else; though, +as for Mr Seager, I couldn’t say. +Shall I begin to pack up, sir?” he +repeated.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Do what you please,” returned +his master in fierce abstraction.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Noble, thus empowered, entered the +bedroom, and began to stow Bagot’s +clothes away in his portmanteau. +Presently he came to the door of the +apartment, where the Colonel had +again sunk down in his chair. Bagot +was now face to face with the event +he had so dreaded; no subterfuge +could keep it off any longer—no side +look rid him of its presence. He would, +in a few hours, be a convicted, as he +was already a disgraced, man. The +averted looks—the whispers—the cold +stares of former friends, that had lately +driven him almost mad, were now +to be his for life. Life! would he +bear it? It had no further hope, promise, +or charm for him, and he was +resolved to be rid of it and dishonour +together.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Beg pardon, sir,” said Noble at +length, seeing that Bagot took no notice +of him. “Perhaps you’d wish +to let my lady know where we’re gone, +sir?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Bagot started, and seemed to think +for a minute. As soon as Noble, +after delivering his suggestion, had +vanished, the Colonel drew his chair +to the table, and began to write, while +Harry, in the next room, went on +with the packing.</p> + +<p class='c010'>He finished his letter, directed and +sealed it, and laid it down, muttering, +“Thank God there’s one act of justice +done.” Then he went to a cupboard +in the apartment, filled a large +glass of brandy, and drank it off. +“Now,” he muttered, “one moment’s +firmness! no delay! Leave +that room,” he called out to Noble, +as he went towards the bedroom—“there’s +something I wish to pack +up myself.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Noble accordingly came out. As +he passed the Colonel, he noticed a +wildness in his expression. Before +entering the bedroom the Colonel +turned and said, “Let that letter be +sent to-day,” pointing to the one he +had just written, “and you can go +down stairs for the present,” he +added.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Noble’s suspicions were aroused. +Having got as far as the door, he pretended +to shut himself out, and came +softly back. Listening for a moment, +he heard Bagot open some sort of +case that creaked. Presently he +peeped in—Bagot was in the very act +of fumbling, with trembling hands, at +the lock of a pistol. He was just +raising it towards his head when +Noble, with a shout, rushed in and +caught his arm.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Don’t ye, sir, don’t ye, for God’s +sake!” he said, as Bagot turned his +face with a bewildered stare towards +him. “Give it to me, sir.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Leave me, sir,” said Bagot, still +looking wildly at him—“leave me to +wipe out my dishonour.” He struggled +for a moment to retain the pistol, +but Noble wrested it from him, took +off the cap, and returned it to its +case. The Colonel sunk down moaning +on the bed, and covered his face +with his hands.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Noble hastily fastened the portmanteau +and carpet-bag, and called to +Wilson to help to take them down to +the cab in which he had come, and +which waited at the door.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Now, sir,” he whispered to Bagot, +“don’t take on so—we shall be safe +to-night. You won’t think of doing +yourself a mischief, sir, will you? +don’t ye, sir!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>He took him gently by the arm. +The poor Colonel, with his nerves all +unstrung, rose mechanically, and stood +like a child while Noble put on his +hat and wiped his face, which was +moist with sweat and tears; then he +followed him down stairs unresistingly. +Noble whispered to Wilson +at the door, that he and the Colonel +were going away for a time, and that +there was a letter on the table to be +sent that night to the post. Then he +put the Colonel and the luggage into +the cab, mounted himself to the box, +and they drove off, Harry frequently +turning to look at his master through +the front glass.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Meantime Seager sat hearing the +close of the defence. The judge summed +up, leaving it to the jury to say +whether the defendants knew of the +mare’s unfitness to perform her engagement +at the time they persuaded +the plaintiff to pay a sum in compromise. +The jury, after a short deliberation, +found them both guilty of fraud +and conspiracy.</p> + +<p class='c010'>There was some technical objection +put in by the defendants’ counsel; but +this being overruled, the judge proceeded +to pass sentence. He was +grieved to find men of the defendants’ +position in society in such a discreditable +situation. No one who had heard +the evidence could doubt they had +conspired to defraud the prosecutor of +his money. He did not know whether +he was justified in refraining from inflicting +the highest punishment allotted +to their offence, but, perhaps, the +ends of justice might be answered by +the lesser penalty. The sentence +was, that the defendants should be +imprisoned for two years.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Seager, seeing how the case was +latterly going, was quite prepared for +this. Just waiting to hear the close +of the judge’s address, he got out of +court with all possible speed.</p> + +<p class='c010'>He went to his lodgings, changed +his dress, and hurried to Bagot’s. +There he met Wilson with a letter in +his hand which he was about to take +to the post. Seager glanced at the +direction, and then averting his eye, +“That’s for Lady Lee,” he said—“from +the Colonel, is it not?” Wilson +said it was.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Ah,” said Seager, “I just met +him, and he asked me to call for it—he +wants to add something he forgot, +before ’tis posted. Give it me.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Wilson, supposing it was all right, +gave it to him. Mr Seager, chuckling +over the dexterity with which he had +obtained the letter, and thus more +than accomplished the design of his +visit to Bagot’s lodgings, which was +to get Lady Lee’s address, drove off +to his own lodgings, reassumed his +disguise, and went straight to the +station.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Entering the railway office, he +shrunk aside into a corner till the train +should be ready to start—he wished +to leave as few traces as possible +behind him. He was quite unencumbered +with baggage, having taken the +precaution to send that on to Dover +to await him there under a feigned +name. As he stood aside in the shade +a man passed and looked narrowly at +him. Seager thought he recognised +his face: again he passed, and Seager +this time knew him for a police sergeant +in plain clothes. He was rather +alarmed, yet he was a little reassured +by considering that his disguise was a +safe one. But he reflected that it +might have caused him to be taken +for some other culprit, and it would +be as awkward to be arrested as +the wrong man, as in his own character.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The last moment before the starting +of the train was at hand, and Seager, +as the police sergeant turned upon his +walk, darted stealthily to the check-taker’s +box and demanded a ticket, +not for Frewenham, but for the station +beyond it—for his habitual craft did +not fail him. Having secured it, he +hastened on to the platform and took +his place.</p> + +<p class='c010'>At the moment he took his ticket, +the sergeant, missing him, turned and +saw him. Instantly he went to the +box and asked where that last gentleman +took his ticket for, and, on +being told, took one for the same +place. The bell had rung, and he +hastened out, but he was too late. +The train was already in motion; the +last object he caught sight of was +Seager’s head thrust out of one of the +carriages; and the baffled policeman +turned back to wait for the next +train.</p> + +<h3 class='c016'>CHAPTER XLVI.</h3> + +<p class='c013'>Fane had spent some time in diligent +pursuit of Onslow; at first with +no great promise of success, but latterly +with some certainty of being +upon his track. Just, however, as his +hopes of securing him were strongest, +he had received a letter which had +been following him for some time from +town to town, summoning him to +attend the sick-bed of his uncle, who +had been attacked with sudden and +dangerous illness.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Of course he set off at once, as in +duty bound; but he was surprised +and ashamed, knowing the obligations +he lay under to his relative, to notice +how little anxiety and pain the news +occasioned him. Fane was very +honest in analysing his own emotions, +and on the present occasion laid +more blame to the account of his own +nature, which he accused of unsympathising +callousness, than it by any +means deserved. He would have +done as much to serve a friend, and +was capable of as warm attachment, +as most people, but his feelings required +a congenial nature to call them +forth. He was not one of those who +wear their hearts on their sleeve for +any daw to peck at, and had none of +that incontinence of affability which +insures a man so many acquaintances +and so few friends. Had he been +Lear’s eldest son, he would, to a certainty, +have been disinherited, along +with Cordelia, in favour of those gay +deceivers, Goneril and Regan.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Now, Mr Levitt his uncle, though +naturally amiable, was an undemonstrative +character, full of good impulses +which terribly embarrassed +him. He would read a poem or +romance with the keenest enjoyment, +yet with affected contempt, turning +up his nose and screwing down the +corners of his mouth, while his eyes +were watering and his heart beating. +He would offer two fingers to a parting +friend, nod good-by to him +slightly, and turn away, feeling as if a +shadow had come upon his world. +He had been used to write to his +nephews in the spirit of a Roman or +Spartan uncle, giving them stern advice, +and sending them the most +liberal remittances, in the most ungracious +manner—throwing checks at +their heads, as it were—while all the +time he was yearning for their presence. +In fact, he was so ashamed of +his best points, and so anxious to +conceal them, that the rigid mask +wherewith he hid his virtues had +become habitual, and he was a very +sheep in wolf’s clothing.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Those, however, who had known +him long, rated him at his true value. +Fane found the household in great +grief. Miss Betsey, an ancient housekeeper, +distinguished principally by +strong fidelity to the family interests, +a passion for gin-and-water, and a +most extraordinary cap, wrung her +hands with great decorum; and Mr +Payne the banker, Orelia’s father, at +the first news of his old friend’s illness, +had left a great money transaction +unfinished to rush to his bedside, +where Fane found him on his arrival. +Indeed, it was from him he had received +intelligence of his uncle’s +illness.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Mr Payne’s temperament had suffered +foul wrong when they made him +a banker. He had naturally an intense +dislike to matters of calculation, +his bent being towards <i>belles lettres</i>, +foreign travel, and the like pleasant +paths. Somehow or other he had got +rich, and flourished in spite of his want +of talent for money-making. His +worldly pursuits, perhaps, made his +tastes keener, for he fell upon all manner +of light reading with wonderful +zest after a busy day at the bank. As +for his taste for travelling, it was +whispered among his acquaintances +that its development was not so much +owing to an erratic and inquiring +spirit, as to the fact that in the +second Mrs Payne he had caught a +Tartar, and availed himself of any +plausible excuse to escape from her +domestic tyranny. Orelia, coming +home from school one vacation, and +finding her stepmother in full exercise +of authority, not only, as a matter +of course, rebelled herself, but tried to +stir up her father to join in the mutiny. +Finding him averse to open war, she +proclaimed her intention forthwith of +quitting the paternal mansion, and +living in the house which had become +hers by the death of her godmother, +as before related; and Mr Payne, +coming down on Saturdays after the +bank was closed, would spend one-half +of his weekly visit in lamenting +the ill-temper of his spouse, and the +other in his favourite studies.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Fane found his uncle slowly recovering +from the effects of the attack +which had prostrated him, and by no +means secure from a relapse. Mr +Levitt caught the sound of his step on +the stair, and recognised it; and Mr +Payne, seated by the bedside, saw +the invalid glance eagerly at the door. +Nevertheless, he received his nephew +almost coldly, though the latter testified +warm interest in his state.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You’ve been some time finding +me out, Durham,” said his uncle, +after shortly answering his inquiries. +“I’m afraid you’ve been summoned +to this uninteresting scene from some +more agreeable pursuit.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“It was an important one, at any +rate, sir,” returned Fane; “yet even +that did not prevent me hastening +hither the moment Mr Payne’s letter +reached me. I only got it this morning.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“An important one, hey, Durham!” +said Mr Levitt, with the cynical air +under which he was accustomed to +veil his interest in his nephew’s proceedings. +“We may judge of its importance, +Payne, by his hurrying +away from it to look after the ailments +of a stupid old fellow like me. +Some nonsense, I’ll be bound.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Mr Payne, a bald benevolent man +of fifty, in spectacles, came round the +bed to shake Fane’s hand.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Without the pleasure of knowing +the Captain, I’ll answer for his holding +you in due consideration,” said +Mr Payne. “And your uncle knows +that, too; he’s only joking,” he said +to Fane.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Well, but the important business, +Durham?” said the invalid, as Fane +seated himself beside his pillow.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Fane, remembering that his cousin’s +was a prohibited name, and fearing +the effect it might produce, attempted +to laugh off the inquiry.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Love!” said Mr Levitt, with another +cynical glance at Mr Payne, +who had resumed his station at the +other side of the bed. “A charmer +for fifty pounds; why, I grow quite +curious—don’t you, Payne? It’s exactly +what you suggested as the cause +of his delay. Come, let’s hear about +her—begin with the eyes—that’s the +rule, isn’t it?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Wrong, sir, quite wrong,” said +Fane, with another disclaiming laugh.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Poor, bashful fellow!” persisted +his uncle. “But we won’t spare his +blushes, Payne. And how far did +you pursue the nymph, Durham?—and +why did she fly you? Is she at +length propitious? I hope so!—you +know my wishes.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“There’s no lady in the case, sir, +I assure you,” said Fane earnestly.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Ah! it’s always the way with +your sensitive lovers,” pursued his +questioner, addressing Mr Payne. +“They’re as shy of the subject which +occupies their thoughts as if they +didn’t like it. Come, if you’re afraid +to speak out before my friend Payne +(though I’m sure you needn’t be—he’s +discretion itself), he’ll go away, +I daresay. What is she like? and +when is it to be?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“When is what to be, sir?” asked +Fane, trying to humour the old gentleman, +but getting impatient, nevertheless.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Why, the wedding, of course. +Seriously, Durham, I’m all impatience. +Your last letter seemed to +point at something of the kind; and +it was written long enough ago to +have settled half-a-dozen love affairs +since. I’m more earnest than ever +on the subject, now that my admonitions +seem likely to be cut short; and +this matrimony question may affect +the dispositions of my will, Durham.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Consider it settled, then, I beg, +sir,” said Fane seriously. “I shall +never marry.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I shall be sorry to find you serious, +Durham. A bachelor’s life is but a +dreary one. Just look at the difference +between me and my friend +Payne—he is rosy and happy, and, if +he were lying here, he would have +quite a family meeting assembled +round him—while I should be alone, +but for a nephew who has no great +reason to care about me, and a friend +whose good-nature brings him to see +what may, perhaps, be the last of an +old acquaintance. My opinions on +the subject I’ve so often spoken to +you of, haven’t changed, you see, in +the least—and perhaps I shall act +upon them.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“As you please, sir,” said Fane. +“I speak my deliberate thought when +I say I don’t intend to marry.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Here Miss Betsey tapt at the door, +to say that Mr Durham’s supper was +ready.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Go down with him, Payne,” said +Mr Levitt. “I’ll go on with this +story here—a silly thing; but sick +people mustn’t be too critical.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“An excellent novel!” exclaimed +Mr Payne—“full of feeling.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Ay, ay, well enough for that +kind of trumpery,” said the invalid, +who was secretly burning to know +how the hero and heroine were to be +brought together through such a sea +of difficulties; and his friend and his +nephew, after making a few arrangements +for his comfort, went down +stairs together.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Fane dismissed the servant who +waited at table. He wished to open +what he intended to be, and what +proved, a very interesting conversation.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You’re a very old friend of my +uncle’s, Mr Payne,” he said. “I’ve +so often heard him speak of you, that +I seem almost familiar with you, +though this is our first meeting.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“A school friendship,” said Mr +Payne; “and it has continued unbroken +ever since.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I will tell you,” said Fane, “what +the pursuit was I was really engaged +in, and you will perceive I could not +mention it to my uncle. The fact is, +I believe I was on the point of discovering +my cousin Langley.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Mr Payne dropt his knife and fork, +and leant back in his chair. “You +don’t say so!” cried he. “Poor Langley—poor, +poor Langley!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Fane told the grounds he had for +suspecting Langley and the ex-dragoon +Onslow to be one and the same +person.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Following some faint traces,” +said Fane, “I reached a town where, +exposed for sale in a shop window, I +saw some drawings which I recognised +for his. You know his gift that +way.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Ay, a first-rate draughtsman, +poor fellow,” said Mr Payne.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“He had sold these for a trifle far +below their value, and, as I found, +had left the town only the day before. +I therefore felt secure of him when +your letter diverted me from the pursuit.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Poor Langley!” repeated the +sympathetic Mr Payne. “Such a +clever fellow! Draw, sir! he had the +making of half-a-dozen academicians +in him—and ride!—but you’ve seen +him ride, of course. And such an +actor!—nothing like him off the London +boards, and not many on them +equal to him, in my opinion. And to +end that way, I don’t know if I should +like to see him again.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You can perhaps enlighten me on +a point I’ve long been curious about,” +said Fane. “I mean the real cause of +my uncle’s displeasure towards him—the +extravagance attributed to Langley +doesn’t sufficiently account for it.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“No,” said Mr Payne, “your uncle +would have forgiven that readily +enough. He pretended, as his way +is, to be angrier at it than he was. +But the real cause of estrangement +was more serious.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Your uncle finding, by his frequent +applications for money, that accounts +which had reached him of Langley’s +gambling were but too true, at length +replied to a request for a hundred +pounds by enclosing a check to that +amount, at the same time saying it +was the last he must expect, and expressing +his displeasure very harshly. +The check was brought to our bank +the next day, and it was not till after +it had been cashed that it was suspected +that the original amount, both +in words and figures, had been altered. +Four hundred pounds it now stood, +and that sum had been paid on it. +The 1 had easily been made into a +4, and the words altered to correspond—neatly +enough, but not so like +your uncle’s as to pass with a close +scrutiny. While we were examining +it, your uncle came in, his anxiety on +Langley’s account having brought him +to town. He took the check, looked +at it, and then drew me aside. ‘’Tis +forged,’ said he; ‘mine was for a +hundred: but not a word of this, +Payne—let it pass as regular—tell +the clerks ’tis all right.’ This was a +terrible blow to him. From that day +to this we have heard nothing of +Langley, nor does your uncle ever +mention his name; and no one but an +intimate friend like me would guess +how much he felt the dishonour.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“But Langley must have known +’twould be discovered immediately,” +said Fane, who listened with deep +attention.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Ay—but meantime his end was +answered. The money was paid, +and he doubtless calculated that your +uncle would rather lose the sum than +suffer the disgrace of exposure—and +he was right.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I can’t believe him guilty,” said +Fane.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“He must have been severely +tempted, poor boy,” said Mr Payne—“always +so open and upright; but +there can, I’m afraid, be no doubt of +his guilt. Consider, he has never +showed his face since.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Fane thought for a minute or two. +“No,” he said—“no, not guilty, I +hope and believe. No guilty man +could have borne himself as he has +done since. But there is now more +reason than ever for resuming my +search for him. Yes, yes—I must +see and question him myself.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Where do you believe him to +be?” asked Mr Payne.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“I traced him to Frewenham, in +——shire,” answered Fane.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Frewenham! God bless me! +Why, my daughter’s place, Larches, +is close to that. I’m going down +there in a day or two to see Orelia.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Orelia!” exclaimed Fane; “then +Miss Payne is your daughter.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Oh, you have met, then, perhaps?” +said Mr Payne, with interest; +“where and when?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“At the Heronry,” said Fane. +“My troop is at Doddington, the +town nearest to where Miss Payne +was staying.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Oh, ho! this is fortunate,” said +Mr Payne. “As soon as your uncle +gets better, we will go down together +to Frewenham. My friend Levitt,” +he resumed presently, “is, I see, +much disappointed to find his surmises +as to your matrimonial prospects +incorrect. He had set his +heart on their fulfilment; and some +expressions of admiration for some +lady, in a late letter of yours, prepared +him to expect something of the +kind.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Fane coloured deeply. He remembered, +indeed, that, writing to his +uncle one evening, after a delightful +afternoon passed with Lady Lee, he +had suffered his admiration to overflow +in expressions which, though +they seemed to him slight compared +with the merits of the subject, were +yet, perhaps, sufficiently warm to +warrant his uncle’s inferences. It +was some comfort to remember that +he had not mentioned her name in +this premature effusion.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“My uncle seems to have quite a +monomania on the subject of my becoming +a Benedict,” he said presently, +by way of breaking an awkward +silence. “His doctrine would have +seemed more consistent had he inculcated +it by example as well as by +precept. One doesn’t often see a +more determined bachelor.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“A love affair was the turning-point +of your uncle’s life,” said Mr +Payne. “He knows and feels that +a different, and how much happier +man he might have been, but for an +early disappointment, and that makes +him so desirous to see you comfortably +established.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Now, do you know,” said Fane, +“I can’t, by any effort of imagination, +fancy my uncle in love. His +proposals, if he ever reached that +point, must have been conveyed in +an epigram.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Your uncle is a good deal changed, +in every respect, within the last few +years, especially since that sad business +of poor Langley,” said Mr Payne; +“but I scarcely recognise in him now +my old (or rather, I should say, my +young) friend Levitt. However, you +may take my word for it, Captain +Durham, that your uncle knew what +it was, some five-and-twenty years +ago, to be desperately in love. He +seemed, too, to be progressing favourably +with the object of his affections, +till a gay young captain in the +Guards turned her head with his +attentions—Captain, afterwards Colonel +Lee.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“What! Bagot!” said Fane.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Ah, you know him, then,” said +Mr Payne; “then you also know it +was no great alleviation to your +uncle’s disappointment to find a man +like Colonel Lee preferred to him. +Lee, it seems, had no serious intentions, +and jilted her—and your uncle +disdained to renew his suit.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>This account seemed to Fane to +throw a good deal of light upon parts +of his uncle’s character which he had +hitherto been unable to fathom.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Yes,” resumed Mr Payne, “yes; +your uncle is a great advocate for +marriage, and certainly ’tis all very +well in its way, though, perhaps,” he +added dubiously, in an under tone, to +himself—“perhaps it may be done +once too often.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Here Mr Payne left Durham while +he went up-stairs to visit his sick +friend, and presently returned to say +he had found him asleep, and thought +he had better not be disturbed again. +Shortly afterwards, finding Durham +more disposed to ruminate over what +he had heard than to converse, he +bid him good night, and went to +bed.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Fane’s meditations were interrupted +by Miss Betsey, who came in, not +altogether free from an odour of gin-and-water, +to express her gratification +at seeing him well. Miss Betsey +was a thin old lady, with an unsteady +eye, and a nose streaked with little +veins, like a schoolboy’s marble. She +wore on her head the most wonderful +structure, in the shape of a cap, ever +seen. It was a kind of tower of muslin, +consisting of several stories ornamented +with ribbons, and was fastened +under her chin with a broad band +like a helmet. Her aged arms protruded +through her sleeves, which +were tight as far as the elbow, and +sloped out wider till they terminated +half-way to her wrist, where a pair of +black mittens commenced.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Your dear uncle’s been bad, indeed,” +said Miss Betsey, taking a +pinch of snuff. “I a’most thought +we should have lost him, Mr Durham; +but he’s better now, poor dear. But +there’s no knowing what might happen +yet,” said Miss Betsey, shaking +her head; “and I’ve had a thought +concerning you, and him, and another, +Mr Durham.” Here Miss Betsey +closed her snuff-box—which was +round, black, and shining, and held +about a quarter of a pound of princes’ +mixture—and, putting it in her ample +pocket, laid the hand not occupied +with snuff on Fane’s shoulder with +amiable frankness, which gin-and-water +generates in old ladies. “Mr +Durham, your dear uncle’s never forgot +your cousin, Master Langley—and +’twould be a grievious thing if he +was to leave us” (a mild form of +hinting at Mr Levitt’s decease) “without +forgiving him. Couldn’t you put +in a word, Mr Durham, for your dear +cousin?”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“The very thing I intend, Miss +Betsey,” returned Fane, “as soon as +it can be done effectually.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Ah, Mr Durham,” the old lady +went on, waxing more confidential, +“your dear uncle’s fond of you, and +well he may be, but you’re not to him +what Master Langley was;—no,” +repeated the old lady, shaking her +forefinger, and looking sideways at +him, “not what Master Langley was; +and your dear uncle’s never been like +the same man since that poor dear +boy left us.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You seem to be quite as fond of +him as my uncle ever could have been, +Miss Betsey,” Fane remarked.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Fond!” said Miss Betsey, “who +wasn’t? He had that coaxing way +with him that he could”—she completed +the sentence by flourishing her +forefinger in the air, as if turning an +imaginary person round it. “Everybody +was fond of him;—the maids +(the pretty ones in particular) was +a’most too fond of him—so much so, +that it rather interfered with their +work.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Fane’s smile at this proof of his +cousin’s irresistibility called forth a +playful tap on the shoulder from the +old virgin, who presently afterwards +dived down into her pocket for her +snuff-box, and, screwing off the lid, +which creaked like the axle of a stage +waggon, stimulated her reminiscences +with a pinch.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Well-a-day! your uncle’s never +been the same man since. You don’t +know, perhaps” (whispering in a tone +that fanned Fane’s cheek with a zephyr +combined of gin-and-water and +princes’ mixture), “that he keeps +Master Langley’s room locked up the +same as the poor boy last left it, do +you? There now, I said so,” giving +him a gentle slap on the back, and +retreating a pace, as he answered in +the negative; “for all you lived here +weeks together, on and off, you never +knew that. Come with me,” added +the old lady; “I’ve got the key, and +we’ll go in there together.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Fane willingly followed her, taking +deep interest in all fragments of his +cousin’s history. Arriving at the door +of a room looking out on the lawn, +Miss Betsey stopped, and, after some +protracted fumbling at the keyhole, +opened it. “Once or twice, when he +thought nobody was watching him, +I’ve seen your uncle coming out of +this door with tears in his blessed +eyes,” said she, as she entered, preceding +him with the candle.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The rooms were, as Miss Betsey +had said, just as their former occupant +had left them. The pieces of a fishing-rod, +with their bag lying beside +them, were scattered on the table, +together with hackles, coloured worsteds, +peacocks’ herls, and other materials +for fly-making. An open book +was on the window-seat, and an unfinished +sketch in oils stood on an +easel.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“There,” said Miss Betsey, holding +the candle up to a painting over +the mantelpiece, “there you see the +dear fellow taking a leap that none of +the others would face. Your uncle +was so proud of that deed that he got +it painted, as you see—and a pretty +penny it cost him. There were other +likenesses of him here, but your uncle +put ’em all away before you came +from Indy.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Fane approached to look at the +picture, which set at rest any uncertainty +that might remain as to his +cousin’s identity with the rough-riding +corporal. There was the same handsome +face, only younger, and without +the mustache. The same gay air and +easy seat that distinguished the dragoon +Onslow on horseback appeared +in the sportsman there represented, +who rode a gallant bay at a formidable +brook, with a rail on the farther side. +The work was highly artistic, being +the production of a famous animal-painter.</p> + +<p class='c010'>At this stage of the proceedings +Miss Betsey’s feelings seemed to overpower +her. She wept copiously, and +even hiccupped with emotion; and, +setting the candle on the table, abruptly +retired.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Fane lingered round the room, looking +at the backs of the books, and +turning over portfolios of drawings, +which would, of themselves, have +identified the hand that produced +them with Onslow’s, as exhibited in +the sketch-book of Orelia. Among +these was a coloured drawing of his +uncle—a good likeness—and another +of the artist himself. Fane, looking at +the bold frank lineaments, internally +pronounced it impossible that their +possessor could have been guilty of +the mean and criminal action imputed +to him. He pictured to himself, and +contrasted his cousin’s condition before +he lost his uncle’s favour, with +his life as a soldier, and decided it to +be contrary to experience that any +one could, under such a startling +change of circumstances, have behaved +so well, had he been conscious +of guilt.</p> + +<p class='c010'>After some time spent in these and +similar meditations, suggested by the +objects around him, he went out and +locked the door. Passing the housekeeper’s +room, he went in to leave the +key. Miss Betsey appeared to have +been soothing her emotions with more +gin-and-water, for she sat still in her +elbow-chair, with her wonderful structure +of cap fallen over one eye, in a +manner that rather impaired her dignity, +while she winked the remaining +one at him with a somewhat imbecile +smile.</p> + +<p class='c010'>“Come, Miss Betsey,” said Fane, +“let me see you to bed.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>Miss Betsey rose, and, taking his +offered arm, they proceeded slowly +along the passage together. “By +Jove,” thought Fane, “if those youngsters, +Bruce and Oates, could see me +now, what a story they’d make of it!”</p> + +<p class='c010'>“You must make haste and get a +wife, Mr Durham,” said Miss Betsey, +whose thoughts seemed to be taking +a tender hue—“though, to be sure, +you’re not such a one for the ladies +as Mr Langley was”—and here the +old lady commenced the relation of +an anecdote, in which a certain housemaid, +whom she stigmatised as a +hussy, bore a prominent part, but +which we will not rescue from the +obscurity in which her somewhat indistinct +utterance veiled it.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Fane opened the old lady’s bedroom +door, and, putting the candle on the +table, left her, not without a misgiving +that she might possibly set fire +to her cap, and consequently to the +ceiling. This fear impressed him so +much that he went back and removed +it from her head, and with it a row +of magnificent brown curls, which +formed its basis, and, depositing the +edifice, not without wonder, on the +drawers, he wished her good night, +and retreated; but, hearing her door +open when he had got half-way along +the passage, he looked back, and saw +Miss Betsey’s head, deprived of the +meretricious advantages of hair, gauze, +and ribbon, protruded shiningly into +the passage, as she smiled, with the +utmost blandness, a supplementary +good night.</p> + +<div class='chapter'> + <span class='pageno' id='Page_360'>360</span> + <h2 class='c002'>CORAL RINGS.<a id='r5'></a><a href='#f5' class='c008'><sup>[5]</sup></a></h2> +</div> + +<p class='c009'>Montgomery’s well-known lines +in praise of the coral polyps have +given these animals a tolerable share +of poetical celebrity. Mr Darwin’s +ingenious researches have invested +them with a degree of importance +which elevates them to the rank of a +great geological power. These minute +creatures are now entitled to a +larger share of consideration than the +greatest and most skilful of quadrupeds +can claim. All the elephants +and lions which have been quartered +in this world since its creation—all +the whales and sharks which have +prowled about in its waters—have +done much less to affect its physical +features, and have left far slighter +evidences of their existence, than the +zoophytes by whose labours the coral +formations have been reared. For the +most colossal specimens of industry +we are indebted to one of the least +promising of animated things. Comparing +their humble organisation with +that of other tribes, we feel pretty +much the same sort of surprise as a +man might express were he told that +the pyramids and temples of antiquity +had not been constructed by Egyptians +or Romans, but by a race like +the Earthmen of Africa, or by a set of +pigmies like the Aztecs now exhibiting +in London.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Though the works now before us +have been long in the hands of the +public, the substance of their contents +is far from being generally known. +Yet the beauty of the results at which +their authors have arrived, and the +interest with which they have invested +the coral reefs, may well recommend +these volumes to universal perusal. +While Dana, more than all his predecessors, +has illustrated the natural +history of the little gelatinous creatures +by which the coral is secreted, +Darwin has described the growth and +consolidation of their labours into +lofty and extended reefs, and connected +these with the broadest and +most striking phenomena of physical +geology. The toiling of the minute +zoophytes in the production of vast +masses of coral rock which wall round +whole islands, and stretch their mural +barriers across deep and stormy seas, +he has shown to be successful only +through the conjoined operation of +those wonderful physical forces which +are now lifting and now lowering large +areas of the earth’s surface.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Mr Darwin’s views not only exhibit +a charming sample of scientific induction, +but carry with them such an air +of probability, that the most cautious +investigators may subscribe to them +without any particular demur. Being +the result of very extensive inquiries, +and confirmed by collating the peculiarities +of many reefs, they are +grounded upon a sufficient quantity +of data to entitle them to reasonable +confidence. We propose, in the present +article, to indicate some of the +principle steps in the theory which +this gentleman has propounded; and +that the reader may examine them +consecutively, we shall imagine an intelligent +voyager visiting the Pacific +for the first occasion in his life. As +he sails across that noble sheet of +water, observing with a philosophic +eye every object which presents itself +to his view, he suddenly perceives in +the midst of the sea a long low range +of rock against which the surf is breaking +with a tremendous roar. He is +told that this is a coral reef; and having +read a little respecting these curious +productions, he resolves to investigate +them carefully, in order to +fathom, as far as possible, the mystery +of their origin. As he approaches, the +spectacle grows more interesting at +every step. Trees seem to start up +from the bosom of the ocean, and to +flourish on a beach which is strewed +with glistening sand, and washed by +the spray of enormous billows. When +sufficiently near to survey the phenomenon +as a whole, he perceives that +he has before him an extensive ring +of stone, set in an expanse of waters, +and exhibiting the singular form of an +annular island. Launching a boat, +and following the curve of the shore +for some distance, he finds at length +an opening through which he penetrates +into the interior of the ring. +Once entered, he floats smoothly on a +transparent lake of bright green water, +which seems to have been walled +in from the rest of the ocean, as if it +were a preserve for some sort of nautical +game, or a retreat for the more +delicate class of marine divinities. +Its bed is partially covered with pure +white sand, but partly also with a +gay growth of coral—the stems of this +zoophyte branching out like a plant, +and exhibiting the most brilliant diversities +of colour, so that the floor of +the lake glows like a sunken grove. +All the hues of the spectrum may be +seen gleaming below, whilst fishes +scarcely less splendid in their tints +glide to and fro in search of food +amidst this shrubbery of stone. A +fringe of trees, consisting principally +of graceful palms, decorates the inner +portion of the ring, and when surveyed +from the centre of the lagoon, +this edging of verdure springing up in +the midst of the Pacific presents one +of the most picturesque sights the +voyager can conceive. Indeed, as he +contemplates the tranquil lake within, +and listens to the dash of the surf +without—as he runs over the features +of this beautiful oasis in the wilderness +of waters, we may pardon him if he +almost expects to be accosted by +ocean nymphs or startled mermaids, +and indignantly expelled from their +private retreat.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The whole structure is so striking, +that the most careless observer must +feel some little curiosity to ascertain +its origin. Our voyager regards it +with much the same sort of interest +as an intelligent wanderer would display, +were he to stumble upon a ring +of blocks like those at Abury or Stonehenge +in some distant desert. In order +to pursue his inquiries systematically, +he proceeds to note down the +principal characteristics of the scene. +The first peculiarity which arrests his +consideration, is the circular form +which the rock assumes. Though far +from constituting a smooth and perfect +ring, its outline is sufficiently definite +to rivet the attention at once. +Then he observes that the outer portion +of the annulus scarcely rises above +the level of the sea, whilst the inner +portion—the bank on which the belt +of trees is mounted—is not more than +ten or twelve feet in height at the +utmost. From this he infers that +the agency concerned in the formation +of the structure was probably restricted +in its upward range. Next he notices +that the ring itself—that is, the wall +of rock enveloping the lake, though +by no means uniform in breadth—is +not more, perhaps, than three or four +hundred yards across in any part of +its extent: this seems to say, that the +agency was also restrained by circumstances +in its lateral expansion. Again, +as he runs his eye along the whole +sweep of the reef, he remarks that it +is not quite continuous, the ring being +broken here and there by openings, +through one of which he himself +passed into the lagoon. If he then +endeavours to estimate the size of the +whole formation with its included +lake, he may find it in this particular +case to be eight or ten miles in circumference. +Should he stoop down +to examine the material of which the +reef is composed, he will discover it +to be dead coral rock mixed with sand +where it is not washed by the sea; +but on breaking off a fragment where +it is covered with water, he may observe +multitudes of little worms, or +curiously shaped polyps, which, incompetent +as they seem, are in reality +the architects of the pile. But perhaps +the most significant circumstance to +be noticed is the difference in depth +between the internal lagoon and the +external ocean. If he takes soundings +within the reef, he ascertains that the +water is comparatively shallow, the +slope of the rock beneath the lake +being tolerably gentle, and the depth +rarely more than thirty or forty +fathoms. Let him cross the ring, +however, pushing his way through +the belt of trees; and on trying the +experiment in the contrary direction, +seawards, he finds that the ground +shelves downwards gradually under +the water, until it reaches a depth of +five-and-twenty fathoms, after which +it plunges precipitously into the abyss. +So abrupt, indeed, does the descent +become when this point has been attained, +that at the distance of a hundred +yards from the reef he cannot +reach the bottom of the sea with a +line of two hundred fathoms. If, +then, our explorer were capable of +existing under water for a while, and +could be lowered to the bed of the +ocean, he would see before him an +enormous cone or mound of rock +shooting upwards through the liquid +to a prodigious height, its summit +being hollowed into a kind of cup or +shallow basin, the rim of this lofty +vase just peering above the level of +the waves, and its interior being partially +inlaid with a gorgeous and +flower-like growth of coral.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Now, without glancing at minor +details, it must be admitted that our +voyager has stumbled upon a fine +physical problem. As the Round +Towers of Ireland have constituted +one of the most perplexing questions +on shore, so these coral towers of the +tropics seem to present an equally +perplexing mystery for the sea. In +the course of his researches, however, +he detects a circumstance which appears +to be perfectly paradoxical. +Climbing the cliff from the bottom of +the ocean, he perceives that the creatures +which produce the coral cannot +exist at any greater depths below the +surface than from twenty to five-and-twenty +fathoms. Within that limit, +upwards, the rock is covered with +life; below, it is tenantless and dead. +Yet, descending as the structure of +coral does to immeasurably greater +depths, the question naturally arises—how +could the animal ever toil +where it cannot even live? How has +that part of the edifice, which lies +buried in a region where no sunbeam +ever pierces, been built by architects +whose range of activity is comparatively +so restricted?</p> + +<p class='c010'>Brooding over an inquiry, which +only adds fuel to his curiosity, he proceeds +on his cruise. He has already +noted the prominent features of one +particular reef, which exhibits a coral +construction in its simplest shape—namely, +as a ring enclosing a lagoon. +He now falls in with specimen after +specimen of a similar class, and carefully +observes the differences in character +they present. In point of shape, +he finds that some are oval, others +greatly elongated, and many very +jagged and irregular in their form. +Here is one like a bow, and there +another like a horse shoe, whilst none +can be said to be geometrically round. +In regard to size, he meets with reefs +which are a single mile only in diameter, +and then with others, which +amount to as many as fifty, sixty, or +even more. If he compares the +various rings, he observes that some +are perforated by few openings, and +in rare cases there are none—the +fissures having apparently been filled +up with sand or detritus, so as to form +a continuous girdle round the lake. +But, in other instances, the reef is so +freely intersected by these openings, +that the ring itself may be said to +consist of a series of small islands +arranged upon an extensive curve. +In general, however, he perceives that +the channels connecting the ocean +with the lagoon are confined more +especially to that side of the structure +which is least exposed to the +action of the wind; and as he is sailing +within the region of the trade-winds, +the portion of the reef which +fronts the breeze and the billow perpetually, +appears to be more lofty and +substantial than the other. Glancing, +too, at the bank which carries the +fringe of trees, he observes that it +never seems to rise higher than a certain +level in any case whatever; and +as he finds that it consists chiefly of +sand and sediment, he concludes that +it has been heaped up by the waves +themselves. The vegetation, indeed, +which frequently gives such a gay +and graceful aspect to coral rocks, +does not always gladden the eye; +but where it is wanting, he infers +that the circumstances which favour +the dissemination of seeds or the +growth of plants, have failed to operate +as yet, but may, perhaps, in process +of time produce their accustomed +effects. Comparing also the depth of +the lagoons with that of the surrounding +ocean, he ascertains that the striking +discrepancy which attracted his +attention in the first reef he examined, +obtains to a considerable degree in +every subsequent instance: however +shallow the sea may be within the +ring, its depth rapidly increases, and +frequently becomes quite unfathomable +at no great distance without. +Finding, then, that though certain differences +exist in the formations he has +already inspected, yet certain general +features of resemblance invariably +prevail, he concludes that all of these +structures are due to the operation of +a kindred agency. But here there +arises another perplexing question. +If he must admit—and the admission +is inevitable—that the coral polyps +have been the builders of these piles, +how can he suppose that a number of +small animals, each labouring separately, +as it were, could erect an immense +wall of rock, leagues in circumference, +which, though far from +regular in its composition, shall yet +exhibit any marked approach to a +circle, an oval, a horse shoe, or any +other symmetrical form? Still more, +how could they build, not one, but innumerable +reefs, differing in various +particulars, but all indicating some +common principle of construction? +How is he to explain the appearance +of co-operation, where, from the nature +of the creatures, he cannot imagine +any intentional co-operation to exist? +A troop of moles working beneath a +field will never cast up a succession +of hillocks in such a way that they +will all combine to form a spacious +circle, or any other regular and definite +figure. If, therefore, he is compelled +to believe that a number of insignificant +creatures like the coral polyps +are capable of executing such prodigious +undertakings, wanting, as they +do, the intelligence which enables +higher beings to carry out a coherent +scheme, he must look for an explanation, +not in the <i>instincts</i> of the animals, +but in the <i>conditions</i> under +which they pursue their toils.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Hitherto, however, our voyager has +only encountered reefs of one class—namely, +“atolls,” or lagoon islands. +He looks anxiously, therefore, in the +hope of falling in with a specimen of +a different description. He knows +that if a process is too slow in its action +to admit of direct observation, yet its +character may probably be ascertained +by comparing several cases where the +same agency is employed—that is, by +criticising the phenomenon in distinct +stages of development. He proceeds +on his voyage, and at length is fortunate +enough to meet with a coral formation +which varies in type from those +already inspected. There is the same +sort of ring springing hastily from the +sea; but instead of an internal lagoon, +the central space is occupied by a +beautiful and populous island, leaving +only a belt of water between the reef +and the shore. Where all the elements +of such a scene are sufficiently +defined, a more charming spectacle +can hardly be conceived. The land +appears like a pleasant picture framed +in coral. Round a group of mountains, +forming the nucleus of the isle, +there runs a verdant zone of soil—next +comes a girdle of tranquil water—then +a ring of coral—and last, a band +of snowy breakers, where the swell of +the ocean is shattered into surf. The +island of Tahiti, whose mountains +rise to the height of seven thousand +feet, and whose greatest breadth is +about thirty-six miles, is almost encompassed +by a reef of this description. +When this spot is approached +so as to make the separate objects +visible, the appearance becomes quite +striking. “Even upon the steep surface +of the cliff, vegetation abounds; +the belt of low land is covered with +the tropical trees peculiar to Polynesia, +while the high peaks and wall-faced +mountains in the rear are covered +with vines and creeping plants. This +verdure is seen to rise from a quiet +girdle of water, which is again surrounded +by a line of breakers dashing +in snow-white foam on the encircling +reefs of coral.”<a id='r6'></a><a href='#f6' class='c008'><sup>[6]</sup></a> Perhaps, however, +the descent of the waves upon the +ring—curling and chafing like coursers +suddenly curbed—constitutes the most +magnificent feature of the scene. “The +long rolling billows of the Pacific, +arrested by this natural barrier, often +rise ten, twelve, or fourteen feet above +its surface, and then, bending over +it, their foaming tops form a graceful +liquid arch, glittering in the rays of a +tropical sun, as if studded with brilliants; +but before the eyes of the +spectator can follow the splendid +aqueous gallery which they appear to +have reared, with loud and hollow roar +they fall in magnificent desolation, +and spread the gigantic fabric in froth +and spray upon the horizontal and +gently broken surface of the coral.”<a id='r7'></a><a href='#f7' class='c008'><sup>[7]</sup></a></p> + +<p class='c010'>With a reef like this before him our +explorer may now collect some additional +data which will help him a few +steps onward in his inquiry. The distinction +between a formation of this +class and those of the former description, +consists principally in the substitution +of an internal island for a +lagoon. Were that island pared +away or dug out, a simple lake surrounded +by a ring of coral rock would +be left. The one structure would +pass into the other by the erasure of +the central land. But here again he +has stumbled over a difficulty apparently +as great as any he has previously +encountered; for it would be +preposterous to suppose that large +areas or lofty hills could be readily +expunged from the surface of the +earth. There is a stage, however—call +it rather a pause—in the reasoning +process, when the great master of +inductive logic recommends that, after +having arranged all our available facts, +and extracted from them all the inferences +they can legitimately supply, +we should allow the mind to take a +little leap forward, just by way of +venture, and see what conclusions it +will suggest. In short, we are to +send for the imagination, yoke it to +the materials we have accumulated, +and observe in what direction it will +conduct us. Our explorer does this. +He sets that faculty to work—with +due discretion, however—and in a +short time it hints to him that islands +may possibly <i>sink down slowly</i> in the +ocean by the action of the subterranean +forces. And if so, would not +that explain everything?</p> + +<p class='c010'>He proceeds, therefore, to inquire +how this supposition will work; for +there are many conditions which it +must satisfy, and many puzzles which +it must solve, before its probability +can be affirmed. In the first place, +the coral polyps, as we have seen, can +only operate within a limited depth of +water, which has been roughly fixed +at twenty or five-and-twenty fathoms. +Mr Dana, indeed, considers that sixteen +fathoms will perhaps measure the +whole extent of the region assigned +to the principal artificers. Consequently, +when the creatures laid the +foundation of any particular reef, they +must have done so in shoal water, or +in the neighbourhood of land. Next, +where a small isle issues from a profound +sea, it will in general be tolerably +regular in shape; because, with +relation to the bed of that sea, it must +in reality be a kind of mountain: +therefore, as the coral builders find the +requisite range of water in the zone +which encircles the shore, the reef they +form will be tolerably regular too. +Hence the circular or curvilinear outline +which these structures generally +assume. Then, if, after the basement +of such a ring has been laid, the land +should begin to descend slowly, the +polyps must proceed to raise the edifice +storey after storey, for thus alone +can they keep themselves within the +region of vitality; and here we have +an explanation of the singular fact, +that the reef, where it constitutes a +true atoll, or coral-lagoon, usually +ascends to the level of the sea. A +singular fact we call it; because, if we +consider how variable are the heights +of any series of mountains on land, +the equality of stature which distinguishes +these marine elevations is +certainly a remarkable result. If it +were possible for some great giant to +run the palm of his hand along the +tops of the Andes or Himalayas, it +would describe a very irregular sweep, +rising or falling with every peak it +visited; but were he to draw it over +the summits of a succession of atolls, +though these might stretch through a +space thousands of miles in length, he +would scarcely perceive any difference +whatever in point of altitude. It will +be seen, therefore, that the uniformity +characterising these Alps of the ocean +is a circumstance which our explorer’s +hypothesis readily solves. But in raising +their embankment higher, it is +clear that the animals must build up +vertically, and hence the abrupt or +precipitous face which it presents +externally towards the deep water. +Landwards, again—that is, within the +reef—the pigmy architects will labour +more feebly, because it is found that +the kind of polyps which exist in +smooth still water are more delicate +in their productions than their gallant +little brethren who flourish amongst +the breakers. This serves to explain, +again, why there is an interval of fluid +left between the rising reef and the +sinking shore; but as the land subsides, +the space which it occupies +within the magic ring will obviously +diminish, whilst the space covered by +water will proportionately increase. +The girdle of coral will not maintain +its original dimensions, because the +polyps will probably incline inwards, +instead of building directly upwards; +but the contraction of the ring will +proceed slowly, because the wall is +invariably steep seawards, even if it +should not be altogether precipitous. +Finally, when the island is fairly +drowned, when we have got its whole +body well under water, we shall have +an enormous mass of coral raised by +successive additions of coral skeletons, +and resting upon a basis which may +be hundreds of feet below the level of +the sea. A zone of rock, constituting +the rim of the structure, will just show +itself above the waves, whilst within +this zone sleeps a shallow lake, where +the polyps, for various reasons, have +not followed the growth of the ring +with equal rapidity, or where the +sediment deposited has not accumulated +in sufficient quantities to fill up +the interior. And when the lake is +obliterated, as ultimately it may be, +either by the labours of the feebler +animals, or by the deposition of detritus +from the reef, we shall have the +platform of a new country where tropical +forests may some day flourish, +where towns and villages may hereafter +arise, and where man may exhibit +the strange and mingled play of +virtue and vice, which has marked his +footsteps from the first. “The calcareous +sand lies undisturbed, and offers, +to the seeds of trees and plants cast +upon it by the waves, a soil upon which +they rapidly grow, to overshadow its +dazzling white surface. Entire trunks +of trees, which are carried by the +rivers from other countries and islands, +find here, at length, a resting-place, +after many wanderings: with these +come some small animals, such as insects +and lizards, as the first inhabitants. +Even before the trees form a +wood, the sea-birds nestle here; stray +land-birds take refuge in the bushes; +and at a much later period, when the +work has been long since completed, +man appears, and builds his hut on +the fruitful soil.”<a id='r8'></a><a href='#f8' class='c008'><sup>[8]</sup></a></p> + +<p class='c010'>Thus, it will be seen that the supposition +of a slow descent of the land +appears to meet the prominent requirements +of the case; and however startling +the assumption might seem when +first suggested, yet the pressure of +certain conditions, which this theory +alone can sustain, renders its adoption +almost, if not altogether, inevitable. +But, says the explorer, if this hypothesis +be correct, it should follow that, +as the sinking isle may vary in altitude +in different parts—as it may +have several peaks or elevated districts—all +these higher portions must +be left projecting out of the water for +some time after the lower lands have +been entirely submerged. Accordingly, +we may expect to discover +coral reefs, containing within their +circuit several small islands, the relics +of some larger district which has died +a watery death. And this is just +what frequently occurs. The two +isles of Raiatea and Tahaa, for example, +are included in one reef. The +group known as Gambier’s Islands +consists of four large and a few +smaller islets encircled by a single +ring. The reef of Hogoleu, which is +one hundred and thirty-five miles in +circuit, contains ten or eleven islands +in its spacious lagoon.</p> + +<p class='c010'>So, again, says our explorer, as +islands are frequently arranged in clusters, +it should follow that, if the areas +whereon any of these groups were +stationed, have subsided, whole <i>archipelagoes</i> +of coral reefs ought to exist. +And some of these archipelagoes may +be expected to exhibit a series of perfect +lagoons, where the land has been +fairly submerged; whilst others, where +the process is less advanced, or the +ground more elevated, ought to present +a series of reef-encircled islands +merely. Here also the theory is fully +corroborated by facts. Low Archipelago +is composed of about eighty +atolls; and of the thirty-two groups +examined by Captain Beechy, twenty-nine +then possessed the internal lakes +which we have seen are characteristic +of this class; the remaining three having +passed, as he believed, from the +same condition originally to the dignity +of closed or consolidated reefs. +The Society Archipelago, again, consists +of tolerably elevated islands, +encircled by coral ledges, and lying in +a direction almost parallel to the last.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Indeed, it will be readily imagined +that the shape and character of the +coral formations must be considerably +influenced by the nature of the site +upon which they are reared. They +will assume different aspects according +to the physical configuration of +the land to be entombed. They must +be interrupted where the water is too +deep, or the shore too precipitous to +permit the artificers to acquire a proper +footing. They will exhibit breaches +where the descent of cold streams +from the mountain heights, or the +presence of mud carried down by +rivers, rendered it impracticable for +the creatures to pursue their avocations. +They may also adopt peculiar +forms where the lowering of the +ground may not have taken place gradually, +or where, from some eccentric +action of the subterranean force, one +portion may have sunk under different +circumstances from the rest. A +reef may, therefore, be submerged in +part, or, as in some instances, throughout +its whole extent. Thus, in the +Peros Banhos Atoll, forming a member +of the Chagos group in the Indian +Ocean, a portion of the ring dips under +water for a distance of about nine +miles. This sunken segment consists +of a wall of dead coral rock, lying at +an average depth of five fathoms below +the surface, but corresponding in +breadth and curve with the exposed +reef, of which it is obviously the complement. +Or a ring may be wholly +submarine. The same group affords, +amongst others, an admirable example +of this in the Speaker’s Bank, which +is described as a well-defined annulus +of dead coral, let down into the sea to +a depth of six or eight fathoms, with +a lagoon twenty-two fathoms deep +and twenty-four miles across. It is +apparently a drowned atoll. Hence +from these, or from other causes, such +as the action of the sea, the killing of +the zoophytes by exposure or otherwise, +we may have several modifications +of the model reef.</p> + +<p class='c010'>As yet we have only mentioned two +principal types of structure—first, the +<i>atolls</i> or coral-lagoons; and, second, +the <i>encircling reefs</i>. But we may here +refer, in a sentence or two, to a third +and an important class—namely, the +<i>barrier reefs</i>. These are extensive +lines of coral masonry, which pursue +their course at a considerable distance +from the shore, but with a degree of +conformity to its outline, sufficient to +prove that some relationship subsists +between them. They do not, however, +surround an island like the encircling +reefs. The West Coast of +New Caledonia is armed with a reef +of this character, 400 miles in length; +but in some parts it is sixteen miles +distant from the shore, and seldom approaches +it nearer than eight miles in +any other quarter. This great ledge of +coral rock is, moreover, prolonged for +150 miles at the northern extremity +of the island; and then, returning in +the form of a loop, and terminating on +the opposite shore, seems to intimate +that, in ancient days, New Caledonia +was of much greater extent in this +direction than it is at present. There +is a still more magnificent specimen of +the barrier reef on the north-east of +Australia. This noble coral ridge is a +thousand miles in length. Its distance +from the coast is generally between +twenty and thirty miles, but occasionally +as much as seventy. The depth +of the sea within the barrier is from +ten to twenty-five fathoms, but at the +southern extremity it increases to +forty, or even sixty. On the other side, +without the barrier, the ocean is almost +unfathomable. The breadth of this +embankment varies from a few hundred +yards to a mile, and it is only at +distant intervals that it is intersected +by channels through which vessels +may enter. It is a causeway for +giants, and yet the architects were +mere polyps!</p> + +<p class='c010'>It is time, however, that our voyager +should proceed to verify the supposition +his fancy suggested. As yet +he has adduced no proof that subsidence +is, or has been, the order of the +day where its results are supposed to +appear. He knows that mountains +and islands must not be sunk by a +mere assumption, however plausibly +that assumption may seem to solve +the mystery of the reefs. Now, it is +an admitted fact that, in certain parts +of the globe, extensive regions have +been hoisted up, some suddenly, some +slowly; whilst others have gone down +in the world just as suddenly or as +slowly. The coast of Chili and the +adjoining district, as is well known, +were once elevated several feet, +throughout an area of perhaps 100,000 +square miles, in the course of a single +night. Sweden has long been rising +in its northern portion, and sinking in +its southern, as if it were playing at +see-saw on a magnificent scale. But +we want evidence from the coral localities +themselves. Of course, from the +nature of the case, the testimony must +necessarily be somewhat limited; because +the question relates to a tardy +movement, operating through ages, +and occurring in regions which may +be wholly uninhabited, or else peopled +by tattooed and unphilosophical savages. +But there seems to be tolerable +proof for the purpose in hand. +For instance, in an island called +Pouynipate, in the Caroline Archipelago, +one voyager describes the ruins +of a town which is now accessible only +by boats, the waves reaching to the +steps of the houses. Of course, it is +not likely that the founders of that +place would build their habitations in +the water; and, therefore, it must be +inferred that this spot is in course +of depression. Such, according to theory, +should be its condition, because +it consists of land encircled by a reef—that +is, of land which must all vanish +before the formation can be converted +into a true coral-lagoon. At +Keeling Island, again, Mr Darwin +observed a storehouse, the basement +of which was originally above highwater, +but which was then daily washed +by the tide. Many other instances +of the same sort might be advanced; +but there is still more striking evidence +on this point, perhaps, in the +existence of certain reefs which may +now be introduced as links in the +theory, or rather as tests by which its +validity may be tried. These have +been styled “shore” or “fringing” +reefs. They differ from the other +classes in the shallowness of the foundation +on which they rest, and in the +closeness of their approach to the +land—either lining the shore itself, +or, if separated, leaving a channel of +no great depth between the coral bank +and the coast. Wherever these exist, +it is clear that the soil is stationary, +or that it must be in course of +elevation. It cannot be undergoing +depression, because the coral beds +would increase in thickness, and graduate +into another class of structure. +And in many instances where these +fringes abound, there is the clearest +proof, derived from organic remains, +and other geological evidences, that +the land has been actually upraised. +A resident at Oahu, one of the Sandwich +Islands (which are all fringed), +stated that, from changes effected +within a period of sixteen years only, +he was satisfied that the work of elevation +was proceeding at a very perceptible +rate. Indeed, in numerous +cases of this kind, coral deposits are +found at a height where it is as certain +that the polyps could never have +toiled, as it is certain that fishes could +never have lived. But elevation in +one quarter implies depression in another. +And, accordingly, it has been +shown that the Pacific and Indian +Oceans might almost be divided into +a series of great bands, where the bed +of the sea has alternately risen and +sunk—just as if in one band the crust +of the earth had been heaped up into +a great solid wave, and in the next +had subsided into a huge submarine +trough or valley. For it happens that +the reefs abounding over one of these +areas belong almost universally to the +class of formation which, according to +theory, indicates that the ground is +subsiding, whilst those which distinguish +the next area are quite of the +opposite description, and intimate +that the crust is rising. Thus, for +example, if we select the broadest +illustration available, it will be seen, +on referring to a map of the Pacific, +that there is an extensive chain of +islands, beginning to the west of the +Caroline Archipelago, and running +through Low Archipelago—a distance +of several thousand miles—the whole +family of which belong to the type +denoting depression; whilst there is +another long chain of islands, corresponding +or parallel, in some measure, +with the first, and extending, say +from Sumatra to the south-east of the +Friendly Isles, most of which indicate, +by their reefs, that they belong to the +type denoting elevation.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The general coincidence, therefore, +of fringing reefs with raised or stationary +districts, and of atolls or +lagoons with regions which appear +to be subsiding, affords considerable +support to the theory our voyager is +maturing. But there is another remarkable +criterion, which in due time +he contrives to discover. In the districts +where fringing reefs occur, or +where the coral has been plainly uplifted, +active volcanoes are frequently +established. But where reefs of the +contrary character prevail, these +agents are rarely, if ever, to be found. +Of course, where a volcano presents +itself in any particular locality, and +especially if it happens to be a volcano +in a state of activity, this shows +that the subterranean forces are disposed +to upheave the soil above them; +whereas, if volcanoes are wanting in +another quarter, or if, being there, +their activity has ceased, the conclusion +is, that in this region no upward +tendency at present exists. Now, this +test, too, is in striking accordance +with geographical fact. The two +great chains of reefs already mentioned +may again be adduced. In +the series of atolls or subsiding islands +extending from Caroline Archipelago +to Low Archipelago, not a single +working volcano is to be detected +within several hundred miles of any +moderate cluster; whereas, in the +band or series of isles which are characterised +by fringes, numbers of +these powerful agents are busily engaged; +and in some of them, as, for +instance, in Java, the subterranean +forces are known to be intensely energetic. +In fact, it may be stated as a +pretty authentic conclusion, that whilst +volcanoes frequently appear in those +areas where the crust of the earth is +now, or has recently been, in upward +motion, “they are invariably absent in +those where the surface has lately +subsided, or is still subsiding.”<a id='r9'></a><a href='#f9' class='c008'><sup>[9]</sup></a></p> + +<p class='c010'>At the same time, it may be interesting +to remark, that whilst busy +volcanoes are thus shown to be irreconcilable +with the presence of true +atolls, yet at one period the theory +most in fashion assumed that all coral-lagoons +were mere submarine craters, +whose rims had been coated with calcareous +matter by the coral polyps. +However plausible this hypothesis +might seem when applied to a few +particular cases, its insufficiency was +soon discovered when a considerable +number of reefs had been compared, +and when the order of transition from +one type to another was clearly understood. +The vast size of some of +these atolls—the elongated shape +which many assume—the mode in +which they are frequently clustered—the +precipitousness of their flanks, +rendered it difficult, if not impossible, +to treat them as drowned Etnas or +Heclas. Then the equal altitudes +they must have attained as submarine +mounts, is totally inexplicable, if the +fact of the limited operations of the +polyps be admitted; for it would be +preposterous to imagine that thousands +of volcanic cones could all rise +to the surface of the sea, or within +a range of five-and-twenty fathoms, +and yet never overtop the waves to +a greater height than a dozen feet. +But, above all, the existence of coral +rings, with land in the interior—where, +if the theory were correct, a +large cavity should have taken the +place of primitive rocks, exhibiting no +signs of volcanic action—has proved +utterly fatal to the theory. It is +manifest that Tahiti, for example, with +its lofty mountains, could never have +been the centre-piece of a huge crater; +and it is certain that a volcanic +vent would not assume the shape +of a mere moat, like the girdle of +water which encompasses an ancient +castle.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Combining, then, the various data +already adduced, and observing that +there is a general harmony in the results, +our voyager may reasonably +conclude that his theory has now been +mounted upon a tolerably fair basis +of facts. He has explained the seeming +paradoxes which thrust themselves +upon his view at the earlier +stages of the inquiry. He has brought +all the different varieties of coral formations +under the grasp of one law, +and shown how, by the continued +operation of a subsiding force and the +continued addition of coral skeletons, +the “fringing” reef would pass into +an “encircling” reef, and this again +would graduate into a perfect “atoll.” +It is true that in doing this he has +been compelled to draw a pretty picture +of the fluctuations to which the +earth’s crust is exposed. Large areas +are supposed to sink in one quarter, +and to rise in another. Here and +there a spot which has once been +lowered may again be uplifted; and +this fitful movement may, in the course +of ages, be repeated, as if to show +what “ups-and-downs” a poor island +may be called upon to endure. He +knows, indeed, that his theory trenches +upon the marvellous. Were it not +for the light which geology has latterly +thrown upon the pranks played by the +Earth in its youthful days, he is aware +that his hypothesis would be condemned +as a thing far too romantic +for belief.</p> + +<p class='c010'>But perhaps the most surprising +circumstance, after all, is, that such +stupendous structures should really +be fashioned by such puny artificers. +When he turns his attention to the +builders themselves, he finds that they +are little better than lumps of jelly.<a id='r10'></a><a href='#f10' class='c008'><sup>[10]</sup></a> +The workmen, who far surpass, in the +vastness of their erections, all the +proud masonry of man, belong to the +lowest classes of animated things. +They are half-plant, half-animal. +Until the commencement of the last +century, indeed, their pretensions to a +higher dignity than that of marine +vegetables was denied; and when a +certain M. Peyssonel interested himself +on their behalf, and endeavoured +to raise them to a higher position in +the scale of organisation, his proposal +was treated with much the same sort +of derision as if he had demanded the +admission of monkeys into the ranks +of humanity. These zoophytes consist, +in the main, of a mere visceral +cavity, containing no distinct system +of vessels, exhibiting no decided appearance +of nerves, possessing no +other senses than an imperfect touch +and taste, and certainly manifesting +no distinction of sex. They are simply +digestive sacs, for which a troop of +tentacles are continually foraging: +they eat, drink, secrete coral, throw +off young polyps, and die, without in +general wandering an inch from the +place where they were produced.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Of all living things we should least +expect that creatures so imbecile as +these would be able to run up great +embankments capable of repelling billows +which sometimes roll along in an +unbroken ridge of a mile or two in +length, or of resisting a surf whose +roar may be heard at the distance of +eight or nine miles. That a feeble +zoophyte should have the power of +breasting the waves of the Pacific, did +we not know it to be a fact, would appear +a more preposterous notion than +that of the memorable lady who attempted +to keep the Atlantic out of +her dwelling with a mop. No other +animals seem to possess a faculty at +all approaching to this: none exhibit +a constructive propensity which leads +to such massive results. The bee, for +example, produces more geometrical +works, but we cannot conceive of a +honeycomb as large as a county, or a +mountain of cells as tall as Skiddaw +or Snowdon. It would be absurd to +dream of fabricating a reef of sponge, +though, if its animal character be admitted, +this creature will almost hold +as high a rank in life as the coral +polyp; nor would it be pardonable to +imagine that such a miserable material +could ever become the basis of a +new island. The beaver, it is true, +executes very extensive dams; he is +an excellent carpenter—perhaps the +most skilful four-footed artisan with +which we are acquainted; but put +him in the midst of a boisterous sea, +to erect a great circular rampart fifty +or a hundred miles in diameter, with +the billows tumbling about his ears +continually, and he might just as well +have contracted to build the Plymouth +Breakwater, or the Eddystone Lighthouse. +In fact, if we consider what +difficulty men have in achieving their +simplest specimens of marine architecture, +it may be said that, were a +whole nation of human beings set to +work in the Pacific, they could not +accomplish one of the colossal enterprises +which these morsels of pulp +silently effect.</p> + +<p class='c010'>What renders the undertaking more +surprising is, that these soft-bodied +things have to <i>make rock</i> for themselves; +they have to provide the very +stone which constitutes the edifice +they build; they have not only to find +straw to produce their bricks, as it +were, but to procure the clay itself. +The hard coral composing their edifices +is the internal skeleton of the +animals, and appears to be a secretion +from their own tissues. Chemical +analysis has shown that it consists +principally of carbonate of lime—upwards +of 95 parts out of every 100—including +also small quantities of silica, +alumina, magnesia, iron, fluorine, +and phosphoric acid. It is remarkable, +however, that this secreted matter +is harder than calcareous spar or +common marble—much harder, indeed, +says Mr Dana, than its peculiar +chemical composition will explain. +“Using an iron mortar,” observes Mr +B. Silliman, junior, “in the earlier +trials, the iron pestle was roughened +and cut under the resistance of the +angular masses of coral, to a degree +quite remarkable, considering the nature +of the substance operated on. So +much iron was communicated to the +powder from this source, that recourse +was had to a mortar of porcelain; and +even this was not proof against wear, +the porcelain pestle being pitted by +the repeated blows. The more porous +species, of course, were crushed +with less difficulty.” Whence, then, +do the animals procure the materials +which they fashion into such dense +and enormous piles? Here are millions +of tons of calcareous matter +heaped up by their agency, and yet +there is no visible storehouse from +which they can obtain any solid supplies. +For as the land subsides, the +builders of the reef are cut off from +the shore: there is little but coral +beneath them—there is nothing but +water around them. It must therefore +be from the billows of the ocean +that the creatures possess the power +of picking out the small quantity of +carbonate of lime which the fluid contains. +Their food may, of course, contribute +to the supply; but from what +source again did the minute animals +they devour procure their stock of +salts and earths?</p> + +<p class='c010'>It is singular, too, to observe how +limited is the sphere of activity assigned +to these creatures. In order to +complete a reef, it is not sufficient that +one tribe or species alone should be +employed; the Madrepores, Astræas, +and Gemmipores are the principal masons +engaged; but each structure exhibits +considerable diversity of workmen. +There are some polyps, as we have +seen, which love the contention of the +surf, and thrive only when exposed to +the play of the waves; there are +others which covet a more tranquil +life, and prosper only in the peaceful +lagoon. Neither could change places +with safety, any more than the reindeer +could barter climates with the +camel. A reef might almost be divided +into a number of zones, in each +of which a particular sort of coral +polyp finds its appropriate habitat. +The sea-front of the ring appears to +be partitioned into belts, like the vegetable +regions on the slope of a mountain. +“The corals on the margin of +Keeling Island,” says Mr Darwin, +“occurred in zones: thus the <i>Porites</i> +and <i>Millepora complanata</i> grow to a +large size only where they are washed +by a heavy sea, and are killed by a +short exposure to the air; whereas +three species of <i>Nullipora</i> also live +amidst the breakers, but are able to +survive uncovered for a part of each +tide. At greater depths a strong +<i>Madrepora</i> and <i>Millepora alcicornis</i> +are the commonest kinds, the former +appearing to be confined to this part. +Beneath the zone of massive corals, +minute encrusting corallines and other +organic bodies live.” Thus, even in +the limited range allotted to these +zoophytes, we have a minute illustration +of the law which has been so admirably +developed by Professor Edward +Forbes—that the bed of the sea +exhibits a series of regions, each +peopled, according to its depth, by its +peculiar inhabitants.</p> + +<p class='c010'>But if the creatures which are employed +in the erection of the reefs are +restricted to so narrow a field of exertion, +a very peculiar provision has +fitted them for the work they have to +perform. This consists in what is +called their <i>acrogenous</i> mode of increase. +If, for example, the zoophytes +assume the form of a plant, it is not +the whole mass which is alive, but +only a very small portion at the summit +and at the extremities of the +branches. All the remainder of the +stem and boughs has been converted +into dead coral. To grow, with them, +is therefore to mount. The skeleton +of the young animal is hoisted upon +that of its defunct predecessor. Some +zoophytes, like the Goniopores, spring +up in columns to the height of two or +three feet; and to each of these coral +pillars a capital of live polyps, two or +three inches in extent, is affixed. Or +if the creatures assume a more clustered +or globular form, as is the case +with many of the Astrææ, Porites, +and others, the depth of life in the +mass is extremely small. A dome of +Astræas, twelve feet in diameter, is +supposed to consist of a thin film of +living polyps, extending not more +than half or three quarters of an inch +below the surface—a solid nucleus of +coral being, in fact, merely coated with +vitality. It is to this property of upward +and outward growth that we +must ascribe the prodigious power +these animals possess. Their labours +are <i>cumulative</i>; and hence, though in +themselves the most insignificant of +creatures, they are enabled to heap +up tier after tier of skeletons, until the +mountain which has sunk in the waters +is rivalled by the monument they +erect upon its site.</p> + +<p class='c010'>If we wish, however, to form some +conception of the marvels which these +zoophytes accomplish, we have only +to remember that the coral formations +in the Pacific occupy an area of four +or five thousand miles in length, and +then to imagine what a picture that +ocean would exhibit were it suddenly +drained. We should walk amongst +huge mounds which had been cased +and capped with the stone these animals +had secreted. Prodigious cones +would rise from the ground, all towering +to the same altitude, and reflecting +the light of the sun from their +white summits with dazzling intensity. +Here and there we should come +to a huge platform, once a large +island, whose peaks, as they sank, +were clothed in coral, and then prolonged +upwards until they rose before +us like the columns of some huge +temple which had been commenced +by the Anakims of an antediluvian +world. If, as Champollion has said, +the edifices of ancient Egypt seem to +have been designed by men fifty feet +high, here, whilst wandering amongst +these strange monuments, we might +almost fancy that beings hundreds of +yards in stature had been planting +the pillars of some colossal city, which +they never lived to complete. But the +builders, as we have seen, were mere +worms; the quarry from which they +dug their masonry was the limpid +wave; and the vast structures which +have been calmly upreared in the +midst of a tempestuous sea, are the +workmanship of creatures which possess +neither bodily strength nor high +animal instinct. That duties so important +should have been assigned to +beings so lowly, is one of the finest +moral facts science has unfolded. It +is the function of the coral polyp, +under the present geological dispensation, +to counteract the distant volcano, +and to repair in some degree the +ravages of the subterranean fires. Its +task is to fasten upon a sinking island, +and keep its top on a level with the +sea. The haughtiest of physical forces—that +which sometimes shakes great +continents—which lifts or lowers whole +regions in a night—is often kept in +check by the industry of these diminutive +things. When the earth’s crust +is collapsing, and it becomes necessary +to fill up the vacancy, the commission +is not given to any gigantic +workmen, but a number of mere +polyps are bid to labour upon the subsiding +soil, as if to show that the +Creator could employ the humblest of +His creatures in executing the largest +of physical undertakings.</p> + +<div class='chapter'> + <span class='pageno' id='Page_371'>371</span> + <h2 class='c002'>THE AGED DISCIPLE COMFORTING.</h2> +</div> + +<div class='lg-container-b c017'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line in2'>Fear not, my son; these terrors are from <span class='sc'>God</span>.</div> + <div class='line'>Hast thou not heard how, when Elijah stood</div> + <div class='line'>On Horeb, waiting while the <span class='sc'>Lord</span> passed by,</div> + <div class='line'>Before the still small voice, there came a blast</div> + <div class='line'>That rent those ancient mountains? after the wind</div> + <div class='line'>An earthquake, after that again a fire?</div> + <div class='line'>Aye, when Christ visits first a sinful heart,</div> + <div class='line'>The devils that abide there shake with fear;</div> + <div class='line'>Who can abide his coming?</div> + <div class='line in28'>I remember,</div> + <div class='line'>(How could I not?) that, in his days of flesh,</div> + <div class='line'>We—even we, who called ourselves his friends—</div> + <div class='line'>As little knew him as dost thou to-day.</div> + <div class='line in2'>In a dark night we sailed upon the lake,</div> + <div class='line'>Alone, not knowing where our Master was.</div> + <div class='line'>The night was dark, and dark our lonely hearts;</div> + <div class='line'>A moon there was, but low, and blurred with clouds;</div> + <div class='line'>Only upon the horizon lay a line,</div> + <div class='line'>A level line of light, which, near and far,</div> + <div class='line'>Marked the black outline of the eastern hills.</div> + <div class='line in2'>Stern was our toil, with every art we had</div> + <div class='line'>To speed our vessel; for the breeze had sunk,</div> + <div class='line'>Or only came by snatches—till the rain—</div> + <div class='line'>Then flashed the incessant lightnings, then the hills</div> + <div class='line'>Rang, roared, as though the thunder shattered them;</div> + <div class='line'>Then surged the waves against the opposite wind,</div> + <div class='line'>Rattled our useless cordage, rent our sail,</div> + <div class='line'>Rent, flapping in the tempest, and his might</div> + <div class='line'>Seized on our boat, and drave it at his will.</div> + <div class='line in2'>No man was free from fear; we knew too well</div> + <div class='line'>Those treacherous waves; and He, whose master voice</div> + <div class='line'>Had laid them cowering at his feet, like dogs,</div> + <div class='line'>Where was He now?—In some lone mountain wood</div> + <div class='line'>He communed with his Father and the angels,</div> + <div class='line'>And knew not that we perished there alone.</div> + <div class='line'>Alas! far otherwise when in the stern</div> + <div class='line'>He slept, amid the hubbub of the storm,</div> + <div class='line'>As if on priceless couches, in the pomp</div> + <div class='line'>Of Herod’s palace; now He was afar,</div> + <div class='line'>Each of us felt the terror of the night,</div> + <div class='line'>And each one acted as his nature was.</div> + <div class='line in2'>One fell to prayer; one muttered instant vows;</div> + <div class='line'>Another lay and wept aloud; some few</div> + <div class='line'>Deemed that the gale was transient, and sate still</div> + <div class='line'>Watching their idle nets; some, bolder, strove</div> + <div class='line'>To save the canvass, and the labouring mast.</div> + <div class='line in2'>Amongst the band were two, forever first;</div> + <div class='line'>One was a reverend man, of ripening years,</div> + <div class='line'>Whose steel-grey beard fell on his fisher’s coat,</div> + <div class='line'>Even to his belt; the other was a youth,</div> + <div class='line'>Whose face, made ruddy by the genial suns</div> + <div class='line'>Of five-and-twenty summers, always shone</div> + <div class='line'>A God-wove banner of celestial love.</div> + <div class='line in2'>These two were working still, to save the ship,</div> + <div class='line'>When the cry rose, “A spirit!” There it walked,</div> + <div class='line'>Or seemed to walk, the waters, and drew near.</div> + <div class='line'>Then he that wore the fisher’s coat cried out;</div> + <div class='line'>“If not to be afraid be brave,” he said,</div> + <div class='line'>“When fear were preservation, be not bold;</div> + <div class='line'>What men could do we have done; now let be,</div> + <div class='line'>Lest haply we be found to fight with <span class='sc'>God</span>.”</div> + <div class='line'>Thus spake he; but we lay down, motionless,</div> + <div class='line'>Struck by despair, and waited for our end:</div> + <div class='line'>Only the young man bared his trusting brow.</div> + <div class='line in2'>Then spake the Form majestic:</div> + <div class='line in34'>“It is I;</div> + <div class='line'>Be of good cheer;” and then we knew our Lord,</div> + <div class='line'>And took him up into the ship with us,</div> + <div class='line'>And fell before him worshipping, and said,</div> + <div class='line'>“Ah, doubt is dead; ah, blessed Son of God!”</div> + <div class='line in2'>Thus scant of faith were we, and ignorant</div> + <div class='line'>That he was with us, when we saw him not,</div> + <div class='line'>Or deemed him but some spirit of evil, sent</div> + <div class='line'>To make complete the horrors of the night.</div> + <div class='line in2'>Our hearts calmed with the waters, we were saved,</div> + <div class='line'>And knew our Master’s power, and blessed his love,</div> + <div class='line'>And, lo! were landed at the wished-for shore.</div> + <div class='line in48'>H. G. K.</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<div class='chapter'> + <span class='pageno' id='Page_373'>373</span> + <h2 class='c002'>THE EXTENT AND THE CAUSES OF OUR PROSPERITY.</h2> +</div> +<h3 class='c012'>TO THE EDITOR OF BLACKWOOD’S MAGAZINE.</h3> + +<p class='c013'>The majority of the Legislature +and of the great Conservative party +throughout the country have declared, +either openly or tacitly, that our present +commercial policy cannot be +reversed; and, in the present temper +of the people, such submission was +almost inevitable. Whatever might +be the convictions of Conservative +statesmen as to the working and tendency +of Free Trade, the expression +of those convictions, and evidence, +however strong, in support of them, +would have fallen idly upon the ear +of the masses, taught as they have +been—and, indeed, are predisposed—to +jump to the nearest conclusion, +when tracing effects to their causes. +They see the outward and visible +marks of prosperity accumulating +around them on every side. Blue +books and merchants’ and brokers’ +circulars at length speak the same +language and tell the same story of a +widely-spread prosperity, which every +man hears boasted of in his daily +avocations, whilst exulting Liberalism +continually proclaims to the world +the coexisting fact of free imports. It +is of no avail to remind those men +that the prosperity in question is not +that which they predicted or anticipated; +that it is not the prosperity +meant by the men whose most loudly-urged +inquiry was, “How can we +compete with the foreigner, whilst +food is at war prices?” It is of +no avail to remind them that the +foreigner has not, as was promised +us, reciprocated our generous policy, +and that the tariffs of the world are +still maintained in their restrictive +character; or to point to the palpable +fact that we have not even that +“cheapness” of all the necessaries +and comforts of life, which was held +up as the great boon to be achieved +by Free Trade legislation. The arguments, +assumed to be conclusive, +brought to bear against those who still +adhere to the principles which they +have all along maintained, are that +the commercial and industrial enterprise +of the country is extending—that +our population is fully employed—that +the revenue increases in elasticity—that +property of every description +maintains its value—and that, +through the length and breadth of the +land, there is scarcely a cry of suffering +raised which is not at once +drowned by counter acclamations of +satisfaction with the existing condition +and prospects of the great masses of +the community.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Whilst statesmen, however, are +forbearing, and refrain from active +opposition to the conclusions, be they +founded on delusion or not, drawn by +the advocates of onward policy in the +direction of Free Trade, it is the legitimate +province of the political essayist +to investigate <i>facts</i>, which lie below +the surface from which ordinary inquirers +derive their arguments, and to +take care that such facts are brought +with sufficient prominency before the +public. The <i>suppressio veri</i> has ever +been a favourite weapon of casuists; +and when we see that a precisely +opposite result is admitted by all +parties to have followed the adoption +of a given policy, it is reasonable to +conclude that some suppression of the +truth has taken place as to the facts, +or that they do not legitimately lead +to the conclusions drawn from them. +We see at the present moment high +prices of every commodity prevailing, +whereas we were assured that low +prices would bring them within the +reach of the mass of consumers. We +have dear labour in every department +of industry, instead of the cheap +labour which the capitalist made no +secret of expecting as the result of +free imports of foreign food. We +have high freights for our shipping, +both inwards and outwards, yet both +Free-Traders and Protectionists prophesied +low freights as the result of +the repeal of the Navigation Laws. +We have well-employed artisans, notwithstanding +the anticipated displacement +of their labour by the introduction +of foreign manufactured articles. +Lastly, the British farmer is not +ruined; a good Providence has protected +the tiller of the soil from the +annihilation which was predicted for +him; and he is enabled indirectly, by +high prices of certain portions of his +produce, to wring an ample reward +for his industry from the consuming +classes. The obvious inference to be +drawn from such a state of things is +that some circumstance or circumstances, +previously unforeseen, have +interfered to derange and falsify the +calculations of both the great opposing +parties in the country; and it is most +desirable to know what are those circumstances, +and what their past and +probable future operation.</p> + +<p class='c010'>To arrive at the solution of these +questions, we may be excused if we +refer to a notice of the industrial and +commercial condition of the country +given in this Magazine in June 1851, +or a little more than two years ago. +At that period, as admitted by the +circulars of our leading merchants, +brokers, and manufacturers, we were +in anything rather than a condition of +general prosperity. Importation of +foreign produce was unattended with +profit, the export trade to foreign +markets was equally unprofitable, and +the home demand, both for produce +and manufactures, was seriously restricted. +With respect to the latter, +an eminent Manchester firm, Messrs +M‘Nair, Greenhow, and Irvine, reported +in their circular of March 31, +1851—“The market is far from +satisfactory. Complaints to this effect +are very frequent, and determined +resolutions <i>in favour of reducing the +production of cloth of certain descriptions +are becoming general on the part +of manufacturers, who assign, with +reason, their inability to render their +manufactures remunerative. Vitality +is wanted, and the absence of anything +approaching to a demand for the +country trade contributes necessarily +to aggravate and deepen the dissatisfaction.</i>” +The Shipping Interest +was at that time in a most disastrous +condition, freights being reduced +in many cases fully 50 per +cent, and far below the remunerative +point. Such was the condition of the +country five years after the repeal of +the Corn Laws, and two years after +the repeal of the Navigation Laws. +With respect to the latter interest, it +is important to bear in mind that the +low freights in 1851—particularly for +long voyages—were very generally +attributed to the competition of the +American shipowner, who, having a +valuable passenger and carrying trade +secured to him by the new conquests +of his countrymen in California, could +afford to bring return cargoes from +India, China, and the markets of the +Pacific, at much lower rates than +British shipowners. The changed +fortunes of the latter class afford striking +testimony of the fact that <i>their</i> +prosperous position, at all events, is +not attributable to Free-Trade measures, +or to legislation of any kind. +A few months after the ruinous period +to which we have referred, the country +was electrified by intelligence of +the discovery in our Australian possessions +of wealth equal in amount, if +not even superior, to that which was +being gathered by the adventurers +in California; and although at first +doubts were expressed of the correctness +of the intelligence, a large emigration +to those colonies at once set +in, which has continued to increase +up to the present time. We ceased +to hear of shipping lying idle in the +docks of our leading seaports. We +ceased to hear of our seamen entering +into the service of rival countries. +Our building-yards, both at home and +in the American colonies, became +scenes of unprecedented activity; and +every branch of industry connected +directly or indirectly with shipping, +was placed in a prosperous condition. +To enable the reader to form an idea +of the amount of tonnage employed +in this new trade, it may be stated +that the amount of shipping which +sailed from the port of Liverpool for +Australia, since the first of January +1852, to the end of July 1853, was +175 ships of 138,500 tons register. +These were exclusively passenger-ships. +If we add 40 more as the number +taking cargo or cabin passengers +alone, which are not mentioned in the +Government officer’s returns, we have +in round numbers 215 ships with a +tonnage of 170,000 tons, from the port +of Liverpool, engaged in this new +trade. The departures from London +and other ports, of which we have +not at hand correct returns, but which +very materially exceed those of Liverpool, +will swell the amount of tonnage +to about 500,000 tons. Of the shipping +from Liverpool, 52 vessels—in +all, 46,000 tons—have been chartered +by Government for the conveyance of +Irish and Scotch emigrants chiefly, +sent out by the Emigration Board. +There were loading in Liverpool, on +the 8th inst., 48 ships, with an aggregate +tonnage of 33,369 tons. +Moreover, from the nature of the +trade, and the peculiar temptations +which present themselves to our seamen +to desert when they arrive in +the colony, and proceed to the diggings, +the wages paid them have been +nearly double the average paid for +other voyages.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Here, then, we have the prosperity +of one great interest in the country +distinctly accounted for, with which +Free Trade has manifestly no connexion. +Australia has saved the +British shipowner from ruin; and it +has done more. An increasing population, +attracted to the colony from +every quarter of the globe, have become +large consumers of British products, +and promise at no distant date +to be still larger consumers. In the +first six months of 1851 we exported +to Australia 3,003,699 yards of plain +calicoes, and 3,611,751 yards of printed +and dyed calicoes. In the corresponding +period of 1852 the exports +were 1,453,079 yards of plain, and +5,683,822 yards of printed and dyed +calicoes; and in the six months just +ended they have increased to 6,856,010 +yards of plain, and 5,751,431 yards +of printed and dyed. This is in addition +to the large quantity of these +goods taken as outfits by emigrants, +and the stocks which may have +gone from our Indian and other markets. +The hardware trade of Birmingham +has been largely benefited +by the consumption of Australia; and, +in fact, there is scarcely a branch of +industry in this country which it has +not stimulated. Even the farmer +owes to it much of his present position. +The absorption of agricultural labour +by the diggings of Australia, from +which colony we derive the finest +wools used in the manufacture of +broadcloth, has, by raising the price +of those wools, encouraged the substitution +of an inferior article. This +cause, and the great increase in the +home consumption, a portion of which +increase has been taken by emigrants +in the shape of slops, blankets, &c., +has contributed materially to raise the +value of our own produce. The extent +of this advance is thus stated by +a leading firm in the wool trade in +Liverpool—“The advance in the +value of the various kinds of British +sheep’s wool, from August 1851 +to August 1853, varies from 30 to 40 +per cent. Production has not decreased, +but perhaps the contrary, +while consumption is very much increased.” +Farm produce of all kinds—butter, +cheese, bacon, &c.—have +found in the colony a new market, +which has greatly contributed to produce +the high prices existing at home.</p> + +<p class='c010'>If we turn to the manufacturing interest, +we suspect it will be found that +much of its present boasted prosperity +is attributable to other causes than our +Free-Trade policy. We have had a +considerable increase in our exports +of cotton manufactures during the first +six months of the present year; but +when we inquire to what countries +this increase has gone, we find that +nearly the whole has gone to four—viz., +the United States, China, Australia, +and the coast of Africa. The +three last we may certainly exclude +from the countries whose increased +dealings with us are at all distinctly +traceable to Free Trade. We have +therefore to examine how far those of +America can properly be so considered. +The exports of cotton goods to that +country, as given in <cite>Burn’s Monthly +Colonial Circular</cite> for the first six +months of 1851, 1852, and 1853, were +as follows:—</p> + +<table class='table1'> + <tr> + <th class='c018'></th> + <th class='c018'> </th> + <th class='c018' colspan='2'>Plain Calicoes.</th> + <th class='c019'>Printed and Dyed.</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c018'> </td> + <td class='c018'> </td> + <td class='c020'> </td> + <td class='c018'> </td> + <td class='c019'> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c018'>First six months of</td> + <td class='c018'>1851,</td> + <td class='c020'>6,580,713</td> + <td class='c018'>yds.</td> + <td class='c019'>21,078,887 yds.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c018'>„ „</td> + <td class='c018'>1852,</td> + <td class='c020'>8,928,610</td> + <td class='c018'>„</td> + <td class='c019'>22,144,002 „</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c018'>„ „</td> + <td class='c018'>1853,</td> + <td class='c020'>26,428,896</td> + <td class='c018'>„</td> + <td class='c019'>49,478,800 „</td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class='c010'>The shipments to that country are +still being made on so extended a scale +that, whilst every sailing vessel which +can be secured is promptly filled up at +high rates of freight, the steamers are +actually compelled to shut out goods, +although the rates have lately been +advanced to £5 per ton for those +chiefly of the class called “fine,” which +they are in the habit of carrying. It +is calculated that there are at present +lying in Liverpool for shipment by the +“Cunard” line of mail boats, more +cargo of this description than can go +for three weeks to come; and the +consignees of the American or “Collins” +line had recently a lottery in +their office, to decide whose goods +were to go by the steamer then loading. +To what cause, then, can we +attribute this amazing increase of +our exports to America? It cannot +be the operation of Free-Trade measures +in this country which has enabled +America to take from us, in the +first six months of 1853, twenty million +yards of plain, and nearly twenty-eight +and a half million yards of +printed and dyed calicoes, more than +in 1851. We have not extended to +<i>her</i>, in particular, any material concessions +since the latter year. We +have not been greater importers of +her bread-stuffs, or of any other article +of her production, with the exception +of cotton. Of this great staple +the clearances from all the ports of +the Union to this country, from 1st +September 1852 to 5th July 1853, were +1,617,000 bales, against 1,577,160 +bales in the corresponding period of +1851–2, and 1,285,173 bales in that +of 1850–51; showing an excess this +year of 39,840 bales over last, and +331,827 bales over 1851. This may +account in part for the increased purchases +of America from the British +manufacturer; but, on the same +grounds, she must also have increased +her purchases from other countries; +for we find that, whilst her excess of +exports to Great Britain was 331,827 +bales last year, as compared with +1851, the excess to “<i>all</i> countries” +was 533,386 bales, showing that other +countries had also received increased +supplies to the extent of 201,559 +bales: and we are not aware that any +of those countries have been legislating +of late in the direction of Free +Trade; The conclusion which it +strikes us as most likely to be correct, +as to the cause of our increased exports +to America, is that something +has occurred to improve the condition +and enlarge the consuming power of +that country. Such, on inquiry, we +find to have been the case; for with +the comparatively light import of +British fabrics in 1851, what was the +state of the American market for those +fabrics? We have it thus stated by +the <cite>New York Courier and Enquirer</cite> +of the 16th of April in that year, as +quoted in the article to which we have +before referred—“The very heavy +sales made of domestic light prints +have put an end to all inquiry for +the foreign article; and <i>we do not +know a case of English prints that will +bring prime cost, whilst the majority +must suffer a heavy loss</i>...... +Nor is the prospect better for ginghams; +<i>few, if any, bring cost and +charges</i>.”</p> + +<p class='c010'>It is true that reference was made +by the American writer to accidental +causes, which were alleged to have +produced this unprofitable state of +business in 1851; but it is tolerably +clear that there must have been besides +a want of the power to buy—and +it is the fact that there was such +a want—compared with that which +exists at present. The American +planters have had, since 1851, two +crops of cotton, in succession, larger +than were ever raised before, which +have been sold, especially the last, at +higher prices than those which prevailed +in 1851—a year of short crop, +as will be seen from the following +table, made up to the 30th ult.:—</p> + +<table class='table1'> + <tr> + <th class='c018'></th> + <th class='c018'>Mobile Fair.</th> + <th class='c018'>Orleans Fair.</th> + <th class='c019'>Crop to July 5.</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c018'>1853,</td> + <td class='c018'>6¾d. to 6¾d.</td> + <td class='c021'>6⅝d. to 7d.</td> + <td class='c022'>3,172,000 bales.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c018'>1852,</td> + <td class='c018'>5⅝d. to 5⅝d.</td> + <td class='c021'>6⅜d. to 6⅜d.</td> + <td class='c022'>2,963,324 „</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c018'>1851,</td> + <td class='c018'>5¼d. to 5⅜d.</td> + <td class='c021'>5¾d. to 5¾d.</td> + <td class='c022'>2,273,106 „</td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class='c010'>The American farmer also has had this +year considerably enhanced prices of +grain of all kinds—cheese, butter, pork, +beef, and other produce—for which +large markets have been opened in +California and Australia. Emigration +has greatly swelled the number +of the population, and thus increased +domestic consumption. Employment +throughout the Union is +ample, every fresh body of labourers, +as soon as they are landed, being +sought out and engaged at good wages +for the various railways, canals, and +other public works, which are constructing +in almost every state. California, +with its vast mineral wealth, +is exercising an almost inconceivable +influence throughout the entire continent, +enlarging and rendering more +secure its monetary resources, stimulating +domestic enterprise, and furnishing +that which a new country +most urgently requires—the means of +extending its foreign commerce. It +is not the Free-Trade policy of Great +Britain <i>per se</i>, if indeed at all, which +has rendered the United States better +customers of Great Britain, but mainly +the increased and unparalleled prosperity +of the American people—a +prosperity which, it should ever be +borne in mind by the statesman, is +coexistent with a strictly protected +domestic industry.</p> + +<p class='c010'>In addition to the effect produced +upon the industrial portion of the +community in our own country by +the increased demand for British +productions to supply the wants of +America and Australia, we must not +omit to notice some other important +circumstances which have been in +operation during the past three or four +years. We have recently been sending +away to our North American Colonies, +to the United States, and, for +two years past, to Australia, large +numbers of our population, and particularly +of that portion of them whose +position at home may be termed one +of struggling for the means of living. +Large tracts of land in Ireland, once +thronged with this class, are at present +almost literally unpeopled; and +from England and Scotland many +thousands of able-bodied labourers, +skilled artisans, and small farmers, +have swelled the tide of emigration. +It may be said, with truth, that this +is not a sign of prosperity at home. +These classes confessedly left their +native soil because it no longer afforded +remunerative employment for +their industry. Yet, indirectly, an +increased prosperity has been the +result of their departure, especially in +our large towns and in the manufacturing +districts. We feel no longer +the pressure upon the labour market +of continual immigration from Ireland +to this country of a semi-pauper class, +ready to accept employment at the +very lowest rate of wages upon which +life can be supported by the coarsest +description of food. The visits of +Irish agricultural labourers are now +decreasing year by year; and although +many still come to settle amongst us, +and to partake with our own working +classes of the advantages of continuous +employment, they are no longer +satisfied with that low scale of remuneration +for which they were formerly +content to labour.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The comparative dearness of what +used to be their staple article of food—the +potato—has driven them, during +the past few years, to the adoption +of a higher scale of living. They +have imbibed, even in their own workhouses, +the taste for aliments similar +to those upon which the English labourer +is fed. In proof of this change, +which has been taking place in Ireland +during the past few years, we +may point to the fact of that country +having ceased almost entirely to supply +the British markets with cereal +productions, and to its diminished exports +of other descriptions of farm +produce; for it is not true that this +has been altogether caused by diminished +production. The result is felt +upon their arrival in this country, by +the Irish emigrants speedily falling +into the scale of living, and demanding +the same wages, as our own labouring +classes. To the causes referred +to is, in a great measure, to be attributed +the improved condition of those +classes generally in every department +of industry. Labour is no longer in +excess of the demand for it, and commands +a higher rate of remuneration. +An additional portion of the working +masses, too, have become consumers +of both foreign and domestic produce +and manufactures, and hence some of +those marks of prosperity which political +economists see in increased imports +and customs, and excise receipts, +and attribute exclusively to the operation +of Free Trade. We have got +rid of the surplus portion of our labouring +masses; and, as the result, those +who remain to us are better employed +at better wages.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The operation of this change, so far +as regards the revenue, the importing +merchant, and the manufacturer, is +much greater than is generally supposed. +Below a certain scale of wages +the working classes contribute almost +nothing to the revenue, or to the profits +of the importer, and comparatively +little to those of the manufacturer; +and the bulk of the population of Ireland +had ever been hitherto below that +scale, where they were in receipt of +wages at all. Any addition to such +wages, half of which at least is expended +upon customable or exciseable +commodities, tells immediately upon +revenue and upon the profits of imports; +whilst the remainder is probably +expended upon the consumption of +home productions, and thus further +stimulates the prosperity of the producing +classes. The comforts of life +are sought for, instead of the mere +necessaries being endured; and, virtually, +an improvement in the condition +of the labourer becomes a real +increase in the numbers of the population. +The United States are experiencing +this fact in the immense +consumption of every description of +produce and manufactures by her prosperous +gold miners in California; and +Great Britain is experiencing it also +in the consumption of the settlers in +the gold regions of Australia. Our +merchants had paused in their shipments +to that colony. They feared +that they might have glutted its markets. +In doing this they had simply +overlooked the fact, that a highly prosperous +community consumes ten times +the quantity of commodities of all +kinds, which suffices for the wants of +the same number of individuals prohibited +by their position from indulging +the tastes and desires natural to +them. A few hundred thousand of +diggers in Australia, with Anglo-Saxon +habits, gathering each their ounce of +gold per day, are equal to as many +millions of rice-eating Hindoos in +India, or opium smokers in the Celestial +Empire.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Since these remarks were written, +they have received a very striking +confirmation from the circular of +Messrs W. Murray, Ross, and Co., +commission merchants of Melbourne, +dated 20th May. After referring to +the high prices existing in Melbourne, +and the rapidity with which the supplies +of goods which had arrived up +to that date had been taken off, the +writer proceeds, with respect to the +apprehended glut to be created by the +large shipments known to be on the +way—“Great though the quantity +of goods to come forward may be, it +is yet equally evident that consumption +will keep pace with, if it do not +exceed, the import. The fact, moreover, +must not be omitted out of the +calculations of operators at foreign +ports, that the exorbitant rates current +in Melbourne have attracted such +large importations from all the other +Australian colonies, that the markets +of every one of them are more bare +of commodities than our own. The +consequence will be, that as Melbourne +and Sydney will be the principal +recipient ports for foreign merchandise, +large transhipments must +be made to fill up the vacuum which +our extraordinary demand has created. +<i>The European population of the Australias +is estimated at 600,000, the consuming +power of whom is equal to at +least three times as many in England. +Therefore, the wants of a population, +equivalent to 1,500,000 at home, have +to be provided for.</i> The immense +addition which will also be made to +these numbers by the rapid immigration +which is, and will continue flowing +from the mother country and elsewhere, +must also be taken into account. +The average immigration has +latterly been about 3000 souls per +week. No diminution is expected; +on the contrary, an increase is expected. +Some idea of the probable +increase of the population during this +year may be formed from knowing the +increase which took place during the +last year in Victoria alone, namely, +100,000. <i>As respects our power of +consumption, nothing need be feared by +the foreign shippers; all the goods that +come forward will be wanted.</i>” When +it is borne in mind that the bulk of +the population, described to be thus +rapidly increasing, have Anglo-Saxon +tastes, and consume principally British +articles of the best description, +we need scarcely be surprised if present +prices at home, especially of agricultural +produce, are not only maintained, +but very materially enhanced. +We find, from the same circular, +that Australia is diverting from this +country a large portion of our usual +supplies of flour, cheese, &c., which +we should otherwise have received +from the United States, thus accounting +for the advance in prices in the +British market already experienced. +All other commodities, whether of +British, colonial, or purely foreign production, +are bringing enormous rates +in that country. English products, +however, such as butter, cheese, hams, +bacon, &c., are those most materially +increased in value; and large quantities +must go out to meet the demand, +thus trenching still more upon +the amount of the necessaries and +comforts of life which are at present +within the reach of our consuming +classes.</p> + +<p class='c010'>That, under all these circumstances +combined, we have a high range of +prices of produce existing, is scarcely +to be wondered at; but, whilst we +must decline to admit that such high +prices are attributable to our adoption +of a Free-Trade policy, we are rather +doubtful of the fact that they are altogether +the result of the undeniably-increased +consumption of our population. +Other causes are operating, +which account, in part, for such high +prices, irrespective of those which are +urged by the advocates of that policy, +and of those who attribute them to +the prosperous condition of the country. +We have had, during the present +year and a portion of the last, +decreased imports of some of the leading +articles of foreign produce. Thus +we have received in the ports of London, +Liverpool, Bristol, and the Clyde, +during the first seven months of 1853, +only 100,080 hhds. and 13,065 tierces +of West India sugar against an import +of 122,300 hhds. and 15,685 tierces +during the corresponding months of +1852. We have received of Bengal +and Madras sugar 401,970 bags, &c. +against 526,345 last year. From +the Mauritius our receipts have been +777,900 against 708,730 mats, &c.; +and from Java, and our other East +Indian possessions 62,360 bags, &c. +against 88,915 last year. Decreased +stocks and advanced prices naturally +follow such a state of things. On the +other hand, we have both increased +imports and stocks of Havana, Brazil, +and other foreign sugar—which, however, +being chiefly used for refining +purposes and for export, is not so correct +an index of the consuming power +of our home population. We have a +slightly increased import of colonial +molasses, and a considerable decrease +of stocks. Our imports of colonial +rum have been 19,330 puncheons only +against 23,450 puncheons last year, +whilst the stocks are only 15,530 +against 25,695 last year. The causes +of this decline in the productiveness +of our West Indian possessions, as +well as in our imports from the East +Indies, need scarcely be glanced at; +and, as a just retribution, we find that +the exports of cotton manufactures to +the most important of the former—Jamaica—have +fallen off from 2,413,611 +yards of plain cottons, and 2,036,598 +yards of printed and dyed, in the first +six months of 1851, to 874,382 yards +of plain, and 888,565 yards of printed +and dyed in the corresponding period +of 1853. Of another important article—tea—our +imports during the first +seven months of the present year have +been less than in the corresponding +months of last year, viz. 30,086,000 lb. +in 1853 against 32,867,000 in 1852; +and prices have been enhanced in part +by the civil war going on in China, and +by the effect of the reduction made in +the duty by Mr Gladstone’s Budget. +Dried fruit, which was cheapened by +the Tariff of 1841–2, has advanced +enormously in price; but the principal +cause of such increase has been a +blight, which has occurred during the +past two years. The supply of many +articles of home produce, too,—such +as butchers’ meat, butter, bacon, &c.—has +been limited by the wet season +at the beginning of this year, which +was unfavourable to every description +of agricultural produce. All these are +distinctly exceptional causes of apparent +prosperity, as shown by high +prices of commodities, and have nothing +whatever to do with the question +of Free Trade v. Protection.</p> + +<p class='c010'>It is not our intention here to enter +into an inquiry as to the effect which +the increased production of gold in +California and Australia has produced, +in inflating prices by enlarging the +basis of our monetary circulation. +Political economists of our modern +school persist in treating the question +of the currency as a bugbear; and in +maintaining that the price of gold, +irrespective of its increased supply, +must remain, unlike that of all other +commodities, <i>fixed</i>. It is useless to +direct their attention to the effect upon +prices which an enlarged currency, +sustained by the golden treasures of +California, has produced throughout +the length and breadth of the American +continent. It is useless to attempt +to show them, although such is +the fact, that the increased banking +facilities gained by that country during +the past two or three years have +enabled her growers of grain, of cotton, +and other produce, to maintain +prices above what European and other +countries could afford to pay, and to +liquidate an almost continually adverse +balance of trade. This much, +however, the most strenuous advocate +of the bullionist theory will perhaps +admit: The mercantile community of +this country, notwithstanding their +imports have in the aggregate very +largely exceeded their exports—thus +inducing of necessity large exports of +specie—have not during the present +year, as we might have expected, been +incapacitated by the position of the +bank from holding their stock of produce. +Money for commercial, and +even for speculative purposes, has been +abundantly afforded; and even in the +face of a somewhat high rate of interest, +advances on mortgage and for +permanent investment have been +readily procurable at reasonable rates. +But for this circumstance, we could +certainly not have sustained prices of +imported produce; and our merchants, +having been compelled to submit to the +inflated ones of foreign countries, must +have been utterly prostrated. The +same reasoning applies to the internal +industry of the country. Had money +not been cheap, and easily procurable +on <i>bona fide</i> security and for investment, +the vast amount of enterprise +which has recently been manifested in +the erection of new buildings, and +new works of every description, in the +drainage of our soil, in the beautifying +of our large towns, and the health-producing +improvement of their sanitary +regulations, must have been +checked, until, by a restriction of our +imports, and something approaching +to a general commercial bankruptcy, +we had wrung back the limited amount +of truant specie, upon which our currency +is based, from the hands of the +foreigner. We are not at all certain, +however, for what period this pleasant +state of things may last. For many +weeks successively we have seen the +stock of bullion in the Bank of England +decreasing, notwithstanding the +large arrivals from Australia and other +quarters; and although this may in +part be accounted for by the increased +amount required to conduct the enlarged +internal trade of the country, +there can be no denial of the fact, that +we are experiencing a serious external +drain, required to meet our increased +imports. For three or four months +past the fear of a considerably tightened +money market, as the result of +such drain, has very greatly tended +to repress speculation, which would +otherwise have run into excess; and +at the present moment anticipations +of an advance in the rate of interest +by the Bank of England and the large +discounting houses are beginning to be +seriously entertained.</p> + +<p class='c010'>We have, then, the following facts +established with tolerable clearness—viz., +first, that nearly all the most +important commercial interests of the +country have been placed during the +past two years in a condition of great +prosperity; and, in the second place, +that our industrious classes are now +fully employed, at good wages. But +it cannot be admitted that the cause +of such a beneficial change is altogether, +or even mainly, the Free-Trade +policy which we have recently adopted. +Notwithstanding this fact, we are perfectly +ready to admit that we cannot +at present disturb that policy, or retrace +our steps. A large majority of +the public believe that the change in +question has been produced by Free +Trade. They cannot perceive the exceptional +causes which have been in +existence, or these are sedulously kept +from their eyes. A large portion of +our working masses, during the temporary +cheapness which followed the +first adoption of the system, which +cheapness was increased by the commercial +sacrifices caused by monetary +paralysis in 1847, 1848, and +1849, became acquainted with luxuries +to which they had ever previously +been strangers. A population, whose +staple food had been oatmeal in its +various forms of preparation, became +acquainted with wheaten bread, with +tea, coffee, &c., and were enabled to +resort more frequently to butchers’ +meat. They found themselves enabled +to be better housed and better clothed, +as well as better fed. The change in +this respect, which took place throughout +the manufacturing districts especially, +was most striking, and was +dwelt upon as affording ample proof +of the successful results of Free Trade +policy, so far as regarded these classes, +at a period when it was manifest that +they were consuming every description +of foreign and domestic commodities at +prices which were ruinous alike to the +importer and the home producer. It +was only reasonable to expect that +those classes, thus substantially benefited, +would resolutely refuse to listen +then to any proposal for the reversal of +measures to which they were taught +to attribute the increased comforts +they were enjoying; and the same indisposition +to do so continues to prevail +now, with prices of all the necessaries +of life materially enhanced. +Any return to protection, however +modified, is regarded by them as, so +far, a return to their old diet, and to +the discomforts of their previous condition. +For any party to insist upon +such a retrograde policy, would be to +throw them once more into the hands +of the political demagogues, from +which they have, during the past few +years, happily emancipated themselves. +Without any legislative interference +with Free Trade, however, +the position of these masses is just +now becoming materially changed for +the worse; and notwithstanding the +fact, which we have admitted, that +employment is more abundant than at +any former period, it is very questionable +whether we are not threatened +with serious difficulties and social disorganisation, +arising from the efforts +of the labouring classes to maintain +themselves in that position which +they have been taught was their +right, and was the natural result of +Free Trade. For some months past +the temper of these classes has been in +a state of almost universal ferment. +With continuous employment superseding +the intermittent employment +of a large portion of them, demands +have been made for increased wages, +and have in most cases been conceded. +We have had strikes of our dock +labourers and porters for rates which +were never heard of previously, even +when three or four days’ work in a +week was considered as affording a +fair amount of the means of living. +The same classes, on our railways and +other public works, have given evidence +of dissatisfaction with their position +by similar proceedings. Handicraftsmen +of every description have +joined in the movement; and even the +police of our large towns have shown +a disposition to seek other avocations +than those of wielding a truncheon for +from 18s. to 21s. per week, with a +livery. Throughout the manufacturing +districts there has been, during +the past three months, a large suspension +of labour, the hands in one +branch after another seeking advances +of from 5 to 10 per cent, and in +some instances attempting to impose +conditions upon their employers. +Turn-outs, of short duration, resulting +in concessions to their demands, +have served to show the operatives +that they are now the most powerful +body, and to lay the foundation of +further aggressive efforts. Next only +in importance to the increase thus +caused in the cost of manual labour, +the manufacturer has had to submit to +a large increase in the cost of his fuel, +to the extent, in some districts, of 15 +to 20 per cent—the miners in most of +the small-seam collieries, and in several +of the deep pits, having successfully +stood out for higher rates of remuneration. +The iron-miners, especially +in Wales, have followed the example +of their brother operatives in other +branches of industry; and in one district +in South Wales it is expected that upwards +of 20,000 of the working population +will shortly be deprived of the +means of living by the blowing out of +furnaces by the masters, in the endeavour +to resist the demands of their men.</p> + +<p class='c010'>There are two or three rather important +questions which offer themselves +for solution connected with +these aggressive movements of the +working classes. Are they the result +of a confidence, on their parts, of +power to coerce their employers? Is +capital being compelled to relax its +gripe upon industry? Or are these +movements merely the defensive ones +of men who feel that the comforts, +which they have been recently enjoying +through a factitious cheapness, +are being withdrawn by high prices +of the various articles of consumption? +We believe that we must attribute them +to all these causes combined. To this important +part of our subject we entreat +the earnest attention of our readers.</p> + +<p class='c010'>It is natural to conclude that the +working classes must feel somewhat +confident of the fact that, to a great +extent, the pressure upon the labour +market, caused by immigration of +fresh hands into the large manufacturing +and other towns, has been withdrawn. +The surplus population of +the agriculturists have either sought, +or are seeking, new spheres for the +exercise of their industry in other +lands, which offer to them a surer +prospect of permanent prosperity; but +there is this striking difference between +the present movement of our +operatives and those of former years, +that the opportunity for it has not +been seized upon in a pressing emergency +of the masters—that it is not +confined to a particular class, or a +particular district. It is, in fact, universal, +and apparently unprompted. +No demagoguism has been required +to bring it about; and, with a few rare +exceptions, we have observed characterising +every conflict for higher wages +the best possible feeling between the +employers and the employed. So long +as the latter remained in the enjoyment +of cheap food, they were quiescent; +and in the majority of the strikes +which have recently occurred, the plea +most prominently put forward has been +the advanced price of all the necessaries +of life. In some few cases only +has a scarcity of labourers appeared +to warrant a demand for advanced +wages; and it is a remarkable fact +that these have resulted from causes +distinctly unconnected with Free-Trade +policy. The carpenters in our shipbuilding +yards, and other branches of +industry connected with the shipping +interest, have been enabled, by the increased +demand for ships for the Australian +trade, to command higher rates +of remuneration, irrespective of the advance +in the prices of food. The men +employed in building trades generally—masons, +house-joiners, bricklayers, +&c.—have been placed in a similar +position by the internal improvements, +and the increase of public and private +works, which a more plentiful currency +has stimulated throughout the country. +But the main inducing cause of the +aggressive attitude of the industrious +classes, as a body, has been the fact +that employment, at the wages paid +from 1845 up to within the past few +months, was insufficient to enable them +to keep up to the standard of living +which the cheapness prevailing in the +greater portion of those years had +given them a taste for. The following +comparison of the present prices +of a few of the leading articles, which +form the consumption of the working +classes, with those existing in the corresponding +period of 1851, will enable +the reader to draw a tolerably accurate +conclusion with respect to their condition +in the respective years. We +take the prices from the authorised +Liverpool data, as this port may be +said to regulate those of the manufacturing +districts:—</p> + +<table class='table2'> + <tr> + <th class='c023'></th> + <th class='blt c024' colspan='5'>1st August 1851.</th> + <th class='blt c024' colspan='5'>1st August 1853.</th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th class='c023'></th> + <th class='blt c024'><i>s.</i></th> + <th class='c024'><i>d.</i></th> + <th class='c024'> </th> + <th class='c024'><i>s.</i></th> + <th class='c025'><i>d.</i></th> + <th class='blt c024'><i>s.</i></th> + <th class='c024'><i>d.</i></th> + <th class='c024'> </th> + <th class='c024'><i>s.</i></th> + <th class='c024'><i>d.</i></th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c023'>Good beef, per lb. (carcase),</td> + <td class='blt c025'>0</td> + <td class='c026'>4½</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='c025'>5</td> + <td class='blt c025'>0</td> + <td class='c026'>5¾</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>6¼</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c023'>Good mutton, per lb. (carcase),</td> + <td class='blt c025'>0</td> + <td class='c026'>5½</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='c025'>6</td> + <td class='blt c025'>0</td> + <td class='c026'>6¼</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>6¾</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c023'>Good American flour, per barrel,</td> + <td class='blt c025'>20</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>21</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='blt c025'>28</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>29</td> + <td class='c024'>0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c023'>Wheat, imp. average, per qr.,</td> + <td class='blt c025'> </td> + <td class='c026'> </td> + <td class='c024'> </td> + <td class='c025'>40</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='blt c025'>52</td> + <td class='c026'>7</td> + <td class='c024'> </td> + <td class='c025'> </td> + <td class='c024'> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c023'>Butter (best brands), per cwt.,</td> + <td class='blt c025'> </td> + <td class='c026'> </td> + <td class='c024'> </td> + <td class='c025'>74</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='blt c025'>93</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>95</td> + <td class='c024'>0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c023'>Butter low qualities,</td> + <td class='blt c025'>65</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>66</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='blt c025'>84</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>86</td> + <td class='c024'>0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c023'>Butter American, duty paid,</td> + <td class='blt c025'>32</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>40</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='blt c025'>80</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>87</td> + <td class='c024'>0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c023'>Bacon, best Irish, per cwt.,</td> + <td class='blt c025'> </td> + <td class='c026'> </td> + <td class='c024'> </td> + <td class='c025'>44</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='blt c025'>60</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>63</td> + <td class='c024'>0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c023'>Bacon, American, per cwt.,</td> + <td class='blt c025'>38</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>44</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='blt c025'>46</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>52</td> + <td class='c024'>0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c023'>Pork, American, per 200 lb.,</td> + <td class='blt c025'>55</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>63</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='blt c025'>72</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>85</td> + <td class='c024'>0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c023'>Cheese, American, middling, 200lb.,</td> + <td class='blt c025'>34</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>39</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='blt c025'>40</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>48</td> + <td class='c024'>0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c023'>Cheese, Cheshire, middling, 200lb.,</td> + <td class='blt c025'> </td> + <td class='c026'> </td> + <td class='c024'> </td> + <td class='c025'>50</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='blt c025'>65</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'> </td> + <td class='c025'> </td> + <td class='c024'> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c023'>Sugar, good dry brown colonial,<a id='r11'></a><a href='#f11' class='c008'><sup>[11]</sup></a></td> + <td class='blt c025'>36</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>37</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='blt c025'>36</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>37</td> + <td class='c024'>0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c023'>Tea, good congou, in bond, per lb.,</td> + <td class='blt c025'> </td> + <td class='c026'> </td> + <td class='c024'> </td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='c025'>11</td> + <td class='blt c025'>1</td> + <td class='c026'>0½</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>1</td> + <td class='c024'>1</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c023'>Tallow, per cwt.,</td> + <td class='blt c025'>37</td> + <td class='c026'>9</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>38</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='blt c025'>52</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'> </td> + <td class='c025'> </td> + <td class='c024'> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c023'>Coffee, fine ord. to good mid., per cwt.,</td> + <td class='blt c025'>44</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>58</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='blt c025'>45</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>84</td> + <td class='c024'>0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c023'>Oatmeal, Irish, per sack,</td> + <td class='blt c025'>25</td> + <td class='c026'>0</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>26</td> + <td class='c025'>0</td> + <td class='blt c025'>23</td> + <td class='c026'>6</td> + <td class='c024'>to</td> + <td class='c025'>24</td> + <td class='c024'>6</td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class='c010'>There has obviously been upon the +bulk of these articles an advance of +from 25 to 30 per cent; and this advance +has been most signal upon the +articles which the working man’s family +chiefly consumes—bread, butchers’ +meat, cheese, bacon and pork, +butter, &c. With respect to tea, +which has recently formed an important +item in their expenditure, we +have had within the past few weeks +a reduction of the duty. This, however, +has been nearly met by the increase +in price which it now commands +in bond. We had in July last +a reduction of 1s. per cwt. in the duty +upon sugar, and since 1851 the total +reduction is 2s. This also has been +more than met by increased price, +in the average, at least, of the period +between 1851 to 1853, for we find +that the price of “good dry brown” +was, in 1852, only 35s. 6d. per cwt. +The reduction of duty on soap is +neutralised by the high price of the +materials. In order to ascertain, or +at all events to approximate to, an +idea of the extent to which the working +classes have been affected by the +changes of the past two years, we +shall take the instance of an average +family, composed say of a man and +wife and three children, earning the +advanced wages of 24s. a-week. Such +a family would consume at present, +according to the scale of living enjoyed +by them two years ago, when commodities +were cheap, as follows:—</p> + +<table class='table1'> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Bread, produce of 21 lb. flour,</td> + <td class='c020'>3s.</td> + <td class='c004'>0d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Tea, 2 oz.,</td> + <td class='c020'>0s.</td> + <td class='c004'>6d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Coffee, 4 oz.,</td> + <td class='c020'>0s.</td> + <td class='c004'>4d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Sugar, 2 lb.,</td> + <td class='c020'>0s.</td> + <td class='c004'>9d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Butter, 1½ lb.,</td> + <td class='c020'>1s.</td> + <td class='c004'>3d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Candles, 1 lb.,</td> + <td class='c020'>0s.</td> + <td class='c004'>7d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Coals, 1½ cwt.,</td> + <td class='c020'>0s.</td> + <td class='c004'>10½d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Soap, 1½ lb.,</td> + <td class='c020'>0s.</td> + <td class='c004'>7½d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Butchers’ meat, 5 lb.,</td> + <td class='c020'>2s.</td> + <td class='c004'>11d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Bacon, 1 lb.,</td> + <td class='c020'>0s.</td> + <td class='c004'>8d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Cheese, 1 lb.,</td> + <td class='c020'>0s.</td> + <td class='c004'>8d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Currants, &c., 1 lb.,</td> + <td class='c020'>0s.</td> + <td class='c004'>8d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Potatoes, 20 lb. (average price of 1853),</td> + <td class='c020'>1s.</td> + <td class='c004'>3d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Sundries,</td> + <td class='c020'>0s.</td> + <td class='c004'>2d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Rent, water, &c.,</td> + <td class='c020'>3s.</td> + <td class='c004'>6d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'> </td> + <td class='c020'><hr></td> + <td class='c004'><hr></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'> </td> + <td class='c020'>17s.</td> + <td class='c004'>9d.</td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class='c010'>We have thus an expenditure of +17s. 9d. a-week for food and rent out +of an income of 24s., leaving only a balance +of 6s. 3d. for clothing, malt and +other liquors, medical attendance and +casualties. Such a scale of living +may appear a high one to some parties, +who have been in the habit of +gauging the human appetite for the +purpose of getting up statistics for +union workhouses, model prisons, or +model conditions of society. It will +be found, nevertheless, to be pretty +nearly that into the enjoyment of +which our able-bodied working classes, +pursuing moderately healthful though +laborious avocations, rushed with +eagerness during the period of cheapness +resulting from the early operation +of Free Trade. The cost of such +a scale in 1851, calculated according +to the prices of that period, would be +about as follows:—</p> + +<table class='table1'> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Bread, produce of 21 lb. flour,</td> + <td class='c020'>2s.</td> + <td class='c004'>0d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Sugar, 2 1b.,</td> + <td class='c020'>0s.</td> + <td class='c004'>8d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Butter, 1½ lb.,</td> + <td class='c020'>1s.</td> + <td class='c004'>0d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Candles, 1 lb.,</td> + <td class='c020'>0s.</td> + <td class='c004'>5½d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Coals, 1½ cwt.,</td> + <td class='c020'>0s.</td> + <td class='c004'>9d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Butchers’ meat, 5 lb.,</td> + <td class='c020'>2s.</td> + <td class='c004'>3½d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Bacon, 1 lb.,</td> + <td class='c020'>0s.</td> + <td class='c004'>6d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Cheese, 1 lb.,</td> + <td class='c020'>0s.</td> + <td class='c004'>5½d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Currants, Mr 1 lb.,</td> + <td class='c020'>0s.</td> + <td class='c004'>4½d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Potatoes,</td> + <td class='c020'>1s.</td> + <td class='c004'>0d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'>Articles in which no material reduction has taken place, including rent,</td> + <td class='c020'>5s.</td> + <td class='c004'>1½d.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c003'> </td> + <td class='c020'><hr></td> + <td class='c004'><hr></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class='c018'>Total week’s consumption,</td> + <td class='c020'>14s.</td> + <td class='c004'>7½d.</td> + </tr> +</table> + +<p class='c010'>Thus the working man’s family in +1851 were enjoying the same scale of +living for 3s. 1½d. less than it now +costs them; and would have had +9s. 4½d. left for clothing, &c., out of 24s. +per week, if the same range of prices +which were then existing had continued. +Their present wages, however, +have only been gained by them +during the last few months. The utmost +advance realised by any class of +workmen has been 6d. per day; and +such a family as we have instanced +were called upon, by the increased +prices to which their food has risen +since 1851, to adopt one of these alternatives: +Their wages of a guinea +a-week, with 17s. 9d. of expenditure +for food and lodging, leaving them +only the insufficient margin of 3s. 3d. +for clothing, medical attendance, malt +liquor, &c., they must either have +gone back to their old scale of living, +or insisted upon an advance of wages. +The allowance of wheaten bread must +have been curtailed and oatmeal substituted; +a less comfortable dwelling +must have been submitted to; their +consumption of butchers’ meat must +have been stinted; and they must +have resigned altogether the whole, +or a portion at least, of the luxuries +contained in their dietary—tea, sugar, +currants, &c., to the serious loss +of the revenue. They preferred, and +happily for them they have been +able to obtain, the latter alternative, +an increased remuneration for their +labour. It is clear, however, that +large as this increase has been, it has +not placed the working man’s family +in any better position than they occupied +in 1851. They have at present +3s. per week more to live upon; but +their living costs them 3s. 2d. more.</p> + +<p class='c010'>This, however, it will be said, is +only the position of a family provided +with constant work both in 1851 and +at present. We readily admit that +there is a class below this who are +very materially better off now than +they were in the former year. The +condition of the working man who +has now four or five days per week of +employment, where he had formerly +only three days, is materially improved, +notwithstanding the recent +advance in prices of commodities. +But this is precisely the class which +has been most materially benefited by +the emigration of their competitors +in the labour market, and by the activity +which has been imparted to +the internal enterprise of the country +by our discoveries in Australia, and +the enlargement of the currency resulting +from them.</p> + +<p class='c010'>It must be tolerably clear to most +men that no portion of our working +classes will readily submit to a reduced +scale of living, either as the result, or +the fancied result, of legislation, or +from known ordinary causes. There +is a further source of social danger in +the circumstance that, having been +taught that legislation had realised +whatever benefits have accrued to +them since the adoption of Free-Trade +policy, they will be inclined to look +to further legislation in the same direction +for a remedy, whenever, +through an advance in the price of +the necessaries and comforts of life, +or circumstances at present unforeseen, +anything may occur to injure +their position. They have tasted +of those comforts; and they will +insist upon enjoying them whatever +other interests or institutions +may have to be prostrated in order +to bring about that result. Indeed, +the Ministry of Lord Aberdeen, as +shown by their policy during the whole +of the past session, have impressed +upon the minds of the working classes +the fact that nothing will be permitted +to stand in the way of further progress +of the policy upon which the +country has entered, or of cheapness +for the consuming classes. With a +view to relieve those classes, we +have just witnessed an impost, which +may be almost called one of spoliation, +authorised to be levied upon the owners +of our soil; and, ludicrous though its +failure has been, the operation of the +Chancellor of the Exchequer upon the +interest of the National Debt may be +only a prelude to what the fundholder +may expect from a more unprincipled +minister. We are not at all assured +that even the national honour will be +permitted, without a struggle, to stand +in the way of cheapness of the necessaries +of life. Happily society is at +present undisturbed by the efforts of +the political demagogue. Our Brights +and Cobdens, and their “peace progress” +associates, are at present too +small a minority to dare embarking +in an attempt to persuade the highest-souled +nation on earth to embrace +degradation. But signs and portents +have not been wanting during the past +two months, whilst we have been upon +the verge of a collision with Russia, +which, combined with the temporising +course of her Majesty’s Ministers, +ought to be seriously weighed by every +patriotic man. The world at large, +reading the tenor of our trade circulars, +and looking at the same time at our +tedious protocolling and negotiations +with an aggressive power, may well +draw the conclusion that England is +more anxious for uninterrupted supplies +of grain from the Black Sea than +for the maintenance of her prestige as +the leading power in Europe; and +reflecting men may seriously ask the +question—how long, in the present +temper of the consuming masses, would +a state of warfare be tolerated with +patience? Unprincipled persons there +are sufficient amongst us, who, although +at present their bad passions are without +a profitable sphere for their exercise, +would willingly emerge from obscurity +to undertake the task of inflaming +the minds of our working +masses, and who might probably do +so successfully if they could point to +dear food as the result of a manly and +consistent foreign policy.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Whatever may be the future price +of food—and we are satisfied that it +must maintain its present, if not a +higher value, as measured in gold—there +is another reason why we may +look for a prematurely advanced rate +of wages in this country. The great +American continent is now bridged +over, as it were, by a constant succession +of passenger-ships—“clippers,” +whose voyages rarely average +above eighteen to twenty days, and +of which eight or ten sail every week +from the port of Liverpool, in addition +to those which go from other ports +of the United Kingdom. The postal +arrangements between the two countries +are as regular as those between +London and Edinburgh. A month’s +time suffices to exchange communications +between this country and the +Far West of the United States; and +£5 or £6 will suffice to convey the +British labourer or artisan to the +prairies of the Mississippi, the Ohio, +or the Western States of our North +American colonies. Moreover, it is +no longer to a new land, or amongst +strangers, that the Celt and the Saxon +now go to push their fortunes, and find +new scope for their industry and enterprise. +A hearty welcome awaits +them in these countries from friends +and relatives who have preceded +them; and, in a majority of cases, it +is the success of these pioneers which +furnishes their connexions at home +with the means of emigrating. Whilst +high wages and prosperity prevail in +new countries situated as the United +States and Canada are, and must continue +for years to be with respect to the +old countries of Europe, it is sheer +folly to imagine that low wages in +those old countries can ever be secured. +The cost of a passage across the Atlantic +for an adult operative is insignificant, +compared with that of a strike +of even a few weeks’ duration; and +the dangers and hardships of the voyage +are regarded now, as compared +with those contemplated by the emigrant +a few years ago, very much +like those attending modern railway +travelling as compared with that by +“the heavy stage,” which our great-grandfathers +patronised, when the +journey from Edinburgh to London +was advertised to be performed in a +fortnight—“God willing.” To a far +greater extent than our statesmen imagined +we are committed to the fortunes, +and bound by the rate of labour, +enjoyed by the working classes of the +American Republic. If Free Trade, +as was boasted, has placed Manchester +alongside the valleys of the Mississippi, +the increased facilities now +afforded for emigration have also +placed our operatives in closer proximity +to their highly-paid American +brethren. Those classes in Great +Britain will never again succumb to +the dictation of the capitalist, whilst +there is afforded to them a way to +the prosperity enjoyed by their fellow-labourers +in the United States and +Canada. And here a serious question +arises for the consideration of +those politico-economical schemers +who have built up their expectations +of manufacturing prosperity and enlarged +foreign trade upon the basis +of cheap production in this country. +Great Britain cannot spin and weave +for the world whilst her labouring +population have the wages of new +countries thus easily open, as we have +seen, to their acceptance. We may +command for a time the trade with +our own colonies. The abundant +capital of our merchants may maintain +our commercial predominance for a +time. But colonies situated as Australia +and Canada are—the resort of +the enterprise of every nation—will +seek to be independent. Capital, the +Free-Traders reminded us, owns no +allegiance, and may command the +cheap labour of countries differently +situated to our own. It is worth the +while of our manufacturing interest, +whose selfishness has been manifested +in our Free-Trade policy, to ponder +upon the probable future operation of +those signal events, which Providence +seems to have thrown in the way of +the realisation of their ambitious designs.</p> + +<p class='c010'>But the middle classes—the men +who exercise the franchise—surely +these, it will be urged, are, and have +been for some time past, in a condition +of unqualified prosperity. The +retailers in our large towns and boroughs, +as distributors of commodities +between the merchant, or the producer, +and the consumer, must have +been benefited materially by the enlarged +consumption of the country. +The assumption is a natural one, and +yet it may be only partially true. The +business of the retailer is one of which +we possess no statistics. We have +no means of gauging the results of +his dealings. A larger amount of +money may be passing through his +hands now than formerly. Enhanced +prices of every article in which he +deals, independently of increased +consumption of those articles, will +account for his receipts being larger. +But the great question to be solved +is—are his profits increasing in the +same ratio? It would be a healthy +sign if we could find that the increased +consumption of the country had operated +to put an end to that ruinous competition +which has for years past been +going on amongst these classes;—a +sign that the consumers, being in possession +of increased means to buy, +were willing to afford to those from +whom they buy a fair remuneration for +their industry and their capital. It +would be most gratifying to find that +puffery and clap-trap were declining +amongst our shopkeepers; that frauds +were less rife than formerly; that +adulteration was no longer practised, +and just weight and measure were +universally meted out. We observe, +however, none of these healthy signs +of a profitable trade. On the contrary, +we have evidence around us on +every side, that the retailer has for +some months past been placed, as it +were, in a vice between two opposing +conditions of the community, by whose +custom he has to live. He has to +fight against rising markets and dear +labour on the one hand, and the determination +of the consumer to insist +upon cheapness on the other. For +every purchase which he makes, he +has to pay higher prices; and he can +only extort these from the community +after a severe struggle. He is, in fact, +in the position of the traveller, who +has no sooner surmounted one hill +than he sees another on the path before +him. It is notorious that this is +always the case in rising markets. +Every advance in the price of raw +materials or other commodities is followed +by a period of business without +profits. Traders are withheld, by +mutual jealousy and the fear of competition, +from the necessary efforts for +self-protection. Doubts intervene as +to the permanency of such advanced +prices. And when at length the step +is resolved upon of demanding a corresponding +advance from the consumer, +it is frequently found that a +further upward movement has taken +place in the wholesale markets, which +once more compels the retailer to resign +the gain which he ought to derive +from his industry. This has +been the position of these classes during +the whole of the past twelve +months; and it is one in which capital +is rapidly exhausted, especially in +the case of men whose dealings are +from hand to mouth, and whose +means are limited. The tradesman +of large means and extensive credit +may buy a stock in advance of his +consumption; and thus for a time +protect himself from the loss which +rising wholesale markets, unattended +with higher retail prices, would occasion; +but the small capitalist has no +such resource. He is continually reversing +the principle extolled by the +Free-Trader, by buying in the dearest +market and selling in the cheapest.</p> + +<p class='c010'>The severity of this operation of +rising markets has been very greatly +increased on the present occasion by +the prevailing temper and opinions +of the consuming classes, especially +throughout the manufacturing districts. +They have been taught that +free imports were to bring about a +permanently low range of the prices +of all commodities; and they are disposed +to regard and to resist high +prices, as the result of speculation on +the part of the capitalist, or undue +extortion on the part of the retailer. +When being charged 8d. for a pound +of beef or bacon, which a year ago +was only worth 6d., or 10d. for a +pound of butter, which a year ago +was sold at only 7d., they have regarded +the extra charge as something +approaching to a fraud. It is of no +use reminding those persons that they +are themselves demanding from the +community a higher price for their +labour; and that dear labour involves +dearness of every product of labour. +They are deaf to such appeals to their +reason, and resolutely ignore every +fact which tends to account for the +high prices of which they complain. +The prosperity which they contemplated, +and believed that they had +secured by free imports, was one +which the consumer could monopolise. +Each class seems to have imagined +that the remainder were to be +prostrated for their own particular +benefit.</p> + +<p class='c010'>It is perfectly natural that, during +such a struggle between the distributors +and the consumers of commodities, +and whilst competition was unabated +amongst the former, no effort +would be left untried by them to +secure business and profit. The great +object to be achieved was to induce a +belief on the part of the consumer +that he was not paying advanced +prices, and was still in the enjoyment +of the idol “cheapness.” This could +only be done by the aid of adulteration, +and deception of every kind; and +never were these dishonest practices +of traders more rife, throughout the +manufacturing districts especially, than +they have been of late. The price of +flour began to rise towards the close +of last year. From an average of +about 21s. for the best quality of +American, it has gradually risen to +28s. Was the price of bread advanced, +in proportion, to the consumer? +It was not—at least apparently. +A less profit was submitted +to by the baker and retailer; and +wherever it was possible, just weight +was withheld. For example, the +small loaves, nominally of two pounds +weight, with which the small shopkeepers +are supplied for retailing +amongst that portion of the working +classes in the manufacturing districts +whose payments are usually weekly +ones, were not very perceptibly advanced +in price, but decreased in +weight. Twenty pounds of bread +contained in such loaves were manufactured +into twelve or thirteen, nominally +of two pounds each, instead +of ten. The price to the consumer +of each loaf remained the same. Although +tallow has risen in price at +least thirty per cent, the price of the +candles principally consumed by the +working classes remained mysteriously +almost the same. We have had this +accounted for by the fact that dishonest +manufacturers have been supplying +equally dishonest tradesmen with the +article in quantities, purporting to be +pounds in weight, but, in reality, two +or three ounces less. Thus, candles +sold as twelve, fourteen, or sixteen to +the pound, contain still <i>the number</i> +represented; but, as the buyer never +asks to have them weighed, as he +does beef or mutton, they are short of +the proper <i>weight</i>. This practice has +lately been shown to prevail throughout +a great portion of the manufacturing +districts, especially of the north +of Lancashire and the West Riding of +Yorkshire. The adulteration of coffee +with chicory, it is well known, has prevailed +so long, and the tastes of the +consuming classes have become so +accustomed to the mixed article, that +the Legislature has had to submit to +its permanent practice. Cheatery of +every description, in short, has been +resorted to by the dishonest trader, +to disguise from the consumer the fact +of dearness, and to wring a profit from +the low range of prices which alone +the public are disposed to tolerate; +whilst the honest trader, who is not +willing to descend to such arts, has +been carrying on a continually losing +business, and contemplating in despair +the gradual absorption of his +capital.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Unfortunately there are not in existence +the requisite data to enable +us to arrive at the precise position of +these classes as compared with that +which they formerly occupied. The +humbler portions of them—the small +retailers in our large towns and manufacturing +districts—were never in the +habit of attaining a place in that +truth-telling and widely-read record, +the <cite>London Gazette</cite>. They embark +in their petty course of ambition, +trusting to the enterprise which they +feel stirring within them for a successful +result; and when the reverse +comes, and disappointment is their +lot, they retire from the struggle, disappear +amongst the classes from which +they rose, and are forgotten. The +other sources of information, with respect +to the condition of these classes, +have been so altered recently, since +the extension of increased powers to +the County Courts, that the means of +an accurate comparison of any two +periods are wanting. Moreover, the +resort to legal proceedings, in cases of +insolvency, is less now than in former +years. Compositions and amicable +private arrangements between creditors +and debtors are found to be +cheaper, and more satisfactory in their +results, than the ordinary formal modes +of proceeding. Hence the statistician, +who would fain persuade mankind +that nothing of ill exists in the world +save that which such records reveal, +can prate glibly of prosperity to classes, +who, knowing the reality of their own +position, must feel such prating to be +a bitter mockery. The facts which +we have shown above, as to the tendency +of rising markets to decrease the +profits of the retailer’s trade, are sufficient +of themselves to prove that he +cannot, at the present moment, be in +the enjoyment of a satisfactory position; +and we have the further fact to +adduce, that at no previous period +was credit more reluctantly extended +to that class than at present. The +merchant and the wholesale dealer +are well aware, and watch well when +the retailing classes are doing business +without profit. They are aware when +those classes are living upon their +capital. And that a large portion of +them are doing so at this moment, +and have been so for many months +past, is clear, not only from the increased +jealousy of the wholesale +dealer, but also from their almost general +exclusion from the benefits of a +money market which, up to within +the last few weeks, might be fairly +described as “easy” to most other +classes. The extensive merchant who +has produce in his hands to pledge, +or the speculator who can raise capital +of his own equal to cover the +probable margin of loss to arise from +his temporary investment, can command +almost unlimited pecuniary accommodation, +on tolerably reasonable +terms. But the same facilities are +not open to the retailer, who may +for a time require an increase of his +means. To this class money is always +dear. It is to be had by the bulk of +them only upon usurious terms. The +retailer cannot command a capital by +paying in to his banker small bills +drawn upon his customers. He must +resort to the Loan Society, to the +Insurance Office, or to the moneylender, +whose terms are even more +ruinous than those of the previously +mentioned parties; and it is a sad +fact that such modes of raising money +are more practised amongst tradesmen +of the present day than formerly. +We can scarcely glance over the columns +of a newspaper published in +any of our large commercial towns, +without observing one or more advertisements +of societies professing to +lend money on personal security, repayable +by instalments, the interest +of which is seldom less than ten per +cent; or of insurance companies, whose +directors hold out to parties in want +of money the inducement that life policies +may be pledged, and the provision +which might have been made, +through the beneficial medium of insurance, +for a widow or an orphan +family, anticipated, for the purpose of +bolstering up perhaps unprofitable +speculations. There is known to be +existing amongst the trading classes +an underground ramification of involvements +of this description, which +would startle the world if it could be +brought to light, as it is seen occasionally +in the schedules of insolvents +in our Bankruptcy and our County +Courts. The most profitable business +would not suffice to maintain a man +who is paying ten to twenty per cent +for every money accommodation which +he may require in temporary emergencies, +and is besides compelled from +time to time to make up the defalcations +of friends, between whom and +himself a mutual system of guaranteeship +for loans is constantly existing. +The evil is not by any means +confined to the small trading classes, +but prevails as well amongst our +working classes. We have loan societies +whose accommodations range +from £3 to £10 or £15, which the +working man too frequently avails +himself of to enable him to expend +upon excursion trips, and other extravagancies +scarcely justified by his +station in life. We have, too, modes +of anticipating the incomes of the +working classes even less legitimate +than the legalised loan societies. +During this very week we find recorded, +in a Manchester paper, the +existence, throughout a large portion +of the manufacturing districts, of +clubs, the parties engaged in which +pay small weekly instalments, as low +even as a shilling or sixpence, and +gamble with the dice, or draw lots for +the privilege of having the whole sum—say +of forty shillings or five pounds, +for which they are responsible—advanced +on personal guarantee. Another +festering sore in the body politic +is the present amazing increase, especially +in the manufacturing districts, +of what in the metropolis is called the +“tally system,” but is elsewhere better +known as dealing with “Scotchmen,” +or “weekly men.” It argues +little in favour of the provident character +of our manufacturing operatives, +that thousands of hard-working and +industrious families amongst them +purchase the bulk of their clothing +from these men, at prices ranging +from 40 to 60 per cent above the fair +value of the articles, not only to their +own manifest injury, but also to that +of the legitimate trader. These men +are to be seen in every manufacturing +town and village, yard-stick in hand, +and parcels of patterns and collecting-books +protruding from their capacious +pockets, perambulating the small +streets and courts inhabited by our +working classes, too often to wring +their gains from simple-minded wives, +whose husbands are unconscious of +the indebtedness incurred, until made +aware of the fact by a summons from +the county or some other petty court +of law. Not above twelve months +ago <i>one</i> of these Scotchmen in a manufacturing +borough in Lancashire had +no fewer than fifty cases for hearing +in a single fortnightly session of the +County Court there; and it is not +uncommon to find upwards of one-half +of the cases tried at these courts, +in the manufacturing districts, to consist +of actions for debts incurred in +the manner we have described. So +largely has the number of this class +of traders increased of late, that +they have become a distinct <i>power</i>, +and, in some of our boroughs, can +determine the result of an election—in +favour of Whig-Radicalism, by +the by; for your travelling Scotch +draper is invariably attached to “liberal” +politics. In one borough in +Lancashire with which we are acquainted, +it is computed that they +possess, amongst their own body, no +less than eighty or ninety votes; and +at the last two elections those votes +decided the results of the contests.</p> + +<p class='c010'>Under such circumstances it would +be most rash, at any time, to assert +the existence of great prosperity, either +of the retail traders or of our manufacturing +operatives, merely from external +appearances, or from the ordinary +tests of employment and increased +consumption of the necessaries of +life. We know that at present there +do exist all the external appearances +of such prosperity; but we know also +that there is a restlessness being manifested +amongst those classes, which +is incompatible with a perfect satisfaction +with their real position. We +have to bear in mind always, whilst +speculating upon the state of the small +traders in particular, that they form +a class whose numbers are readily +recruited during a period of actual or +apparent prosperity. Little encouragement +suffices to induce the well-to-do +operative, disgusted with the +arduous toil required from him in his +legitimate sphere, to embark in the +apparently more easy avocations of +the small dealer; and since we have +placed so large a share of the political +power of the country in the hands of +these classes, it is most important +that we should not be misled as to +their social condition, and the amount +of prosperity which they are enjoying. +We have taught them to believe that it +is within the power of legislation alone +to command that prosperity for them; +we have taught the working classes, +too, that it is in the power of legislation +to bring about cheapness contemporaneously +with highly remunerated +labour; yet we see abundant elements +at work, which point to dearness in +prospect as the result. We see the +prices of raw materials and produce +rising in every foreign market as the +result, in part at least, of an increase +of the precious metals throughout the +world. We see foreign enterprise and +industry everywhere stimulated by +increased monetary facilities afforded +to the masses of the people, whilst +such increased facilities at home never +extend below the privileged classes, +who are permitted to negotiate directly +with the banker and the capitalist. +We see the bulk of the transactions +of the country, and especially +the distribution of food and other +necessaries, falling day by day more +extensively into the hands of those +classes who can avail themselves of +cheap money; whilst all below them +the very nature of our existing banking +system drives into the hands of +the usurious lender, unless they are +contented to restrict their dealings to +little beyond the supply of their daily +wants. What must be the course of +the great masses of our population, +should their present doubtful prosperity +altogether disappear; or should +high prices and reduced profits press +them further than at present towards +the necessity of curtailing their enjoyment +of material comforts? It is not +difficult to perceive that a demand +must arise for continual further reductions +of taxation, and consequent +reductions of the public expenditure. +We have gone almost as far as we +can go in dealing with those duties +whose removal is followed by such an +amount of increased consumption as will +protect our customs’ revenue from +exhaustion. The numerous small +items the taxation of which was well-nigh +unfelt, although, in the aggregate, +it was productive, are being +rapidly swept away; and there remain +none for the financier to operate +upon save the few large imposts, the +removal of any one of which would be +almost equivalent to national bankruptcy. +If interference with these is +denied, a demand must arise either +for such a diminution of the public +expenditure as is incompatible with +the maintenance of the national honour +and security, or for a decrease in the +interest of the public debt. Mr Gladstone’s +financial abortions have shown +us, with tolerable distinctness, that, in +the existing state of our monetary +laws, a permanently reduced rate of +interest is inconsistent with increased +imports and an enlarged trade. Whilst +the specie, which regulates the quantity +of money which is permitted to +circulate, is constantly liable to be +drawn away to meet adverse balances +of trade, such as we have now with +almost every country of the globe, a +reduction in the pressure of our indebtedness +is impracticable, except by a +stretch of power on the part of the +legislature, which must for ever stamp +us as an unprincipled people. With +the important question of the currency, +however, we repeat that we have no +intention of meddling in this article. +Our object has been simply to examine +carefully the actual condition of our +industrious classes, and to endeavour +to trace that condition to its true +causes; we leave to others to draw +conclusions, and to point the way to +a remedy, should further experience +prove that a remedy is required.</p> + +<div class='lg-container-l'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'><span class='sc'>Liverpool</span>, <i>13th August 1853</i>.</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<div class='nf-center-c0'> +<div class='nf-center c006'> + <div><i>Printed by William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh.</i></div> + </div> +</div> + +<hr class='c027'> +<div class='footnote' id='f1'> +<p class='c010'><a href='#r1'>1</a>. <cite>History of Scotland from the Revolution, &c.</cite> By <span class='sc'>John Hill Burton</span>. 2 vols. +London: 1853.</p> +</div> +<div class='footnote' id='f2'> +<p class='c010'><a href='#r2'>2</a>. <cite><span lang="de">Wanderungen durch London</span></cite>, von Max Schlesinger. Two volumes. Berlin: +Duncker. London: Williams and Norgate. 1853.</p> +</div> +<div class='footnote' id='f3'> +<p class='c010'><a href='#r3'>3</a>. <cite>Curiosities of Modern Shakesperian Criticism</cite>. By <span class='sc'>J. O. Halliwell</span>, Esq. 1853.</p> + +<p class='c010'><cite>Observations on some of the Manuscript Emendations of Shakespeare, and are they +Copyright?</cite> By <span class='sc'>J. O. Halliwell</span>, Esq. 1853.</p> + +<p class='c010'><span lang="de"><cite>J. Payne Collier’s alte handschriftliche Emendationen zum Shakespeare gewurdigt +von Dr Nicolaus Delius.</cite> Bonn, 1853.</span></p> + +<p class='c010'>The original text of Shakespeare has obtained two stanch and able defenders in the +persons of these two gentlemen. Mr Halliwell’s competency to deal with the text +of our great poet, and with all that concerns him, is, we believe, all but universally +acknowledged—the best proof of which is the confidence reposed in him by the subscribers +to the magnificent edition now publishing under his auspices; a confidence +which, we are convinced, he will not betray by any ill-judged deviations from the +authentic readings. Dr Delius’s pamphlet contains a very acute dissection of the +pretended evidence by which Mr Collier endeavours to support the pretended emendations +of his MS. corrector. It is characterised by great soundness of judgment, +and displays a critical knowledge of the English language altogether astonishing in +a foreigner. He may be at fault in one or two small matters, but the whole tenor +of his observations proves that he is highly competent to execute the task which, as +we learn from his announcement, he has undertaken—the publication, namely, of an +edition of the <i>English</i> text of Shakespeare with <i>German</i> notes. We look forward with +much interest to the publication of this work, as affording further evidence of the +strong hold which Shakespeare has taken on the minds of Germany, and as a further +tribute of admiration, added to the many which they have already paid to the genius +of our immortal countryman.</p> +</div> +<div class='footnote' id='f4'> +<p class='c010'><a href='#r4'>4</a>. The German translators Tieck and Schlegel adopt the reading of the first folio, +<i>tongue</i>, for “gown,” and translate,</p> + +<div class='lg-container-b c014'> + <div class='linegroup'> + <div class='group'> + <div class='line'>“<span lang="de">Warum soll hier mit <cite>Wolfsgeheul</cite> ich stehen.</span>”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p class='c010'>Dr Delius concurs with his countrymen, and remarks that the boldness of Shakespeare’s +constructions readily admits of our connecting the words “in this wolfish tongue” +with the words “to beg.” Now, admirable as we believe Dr Delius’ English scholarship +to be, he must permit us to say that this is a point which can be determined only +by a native of this country, and that the construction which he proposes is not consistent +with the idiom of our language. Even the German idiom requires <i>with</i> +(mit), and not <i>in</i>, a wolf’s cry. We cannot recommend him to introduce <i>tongue</i> into his +text of our poet.</p> +</div> +<div class='footnote' id='f5'> +<p class='c010'><a href='#r5'>5</a>. <cite>The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs.</cite> By <span class='sc'>Charles Darwin</span>, M.A., +F.R.S., F.G.S. London: Smith, Elder, and Co. 1842.</p> + +<p class='c010'><cite>The Structure and Classification of Zoophytes.</cite> By <span class='sc'>James D. Dana</span>, A.M. Philadelphia: +Lea and Blanchard. 1846.</p> +</div> +<div class='footnote' id='f6'> +<p class='c010'><a href='#r6'>6</a>. <span class='sc'>Wilkes’s</span> <cite>United States Exploring Expedition</cite>, vol. ii. p. 130, (ed. 1852.)</p> +</div> +<div class='footnote' id='f7'> +<p class='c010'><a href='#r7'>7</a>. <span class='sc'>Elis’s</span> <cite>Polynesian Researches</cite>, vol. ii. p. 2.</p> +</div> +<div class='footnote' id='f8'> +<p class='c010'><a href='#r8'>8</a>. <cite>Kotzebue’s Voyage</cite>, 1815–1818. Vol. iii. p. 333.</p> +</div> +<div class='footnote' id='f9'> +<p class='c010'><a href='#r9'>9</a>. Mr <span class='sc'>Darwin’s</span> <cite>Coral Reefs</cite>, p. 142. The only supposed exception to this remarkable +coincidence, at the time when Mr Darwin wrote, in 1842, was the volcano +of Torres Strait, at the northern point of Australia, placed on the borders of an +area of subsidence; but it has been since proved that this volcano has no existence. +Sir <span class='sc'>Charles Lyell’s</span> <cite>Principles of Geology</cite>. 8th edit. p. 767.</p> +</div> +<div class='footnote' id='f10'> +<p class='c010'><a href='#r10'>10</a>. This expression, as applied to many of the coral polyps, must be taken in +a somewhat qualified sense. Many of them are of a fleshy consistence.</p> +</div> +<div class='footnote' id='f11'> +<p class='c010'><a href='#r11'>11</a>. A reduction of duty of 2s. on foreign has taken place during these periods.</p> +</div> + +<div class='pbb'> + <hr class='pb c005'> +</div> +<div class='tnotes x-ebookmaker'> + +<div class='chapter ph2'> + +<div class='nf-center-c0'> +<div class='nf-center c007'> + <div>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES</div> + </div> +</div> + +</div> + + <ul class='ul_1 c006'> + <li>Typos fixed; non-standard spelling and dialect retained. + + </li> + <li>Used numbers for footnotes, placing them all at the end of the last chapter. + </li> + </ul> + +</div> + +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76979 ***</div> + </body> + <!-- created with ppgen.py 3.57e (with regex) on 2025-09-13 16:57:39 GMT --> +</html> + diff --git a/76979-h/images/cover.jpg b/76979-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8308e72 --- /dev/null +++ b/76979-h/images/cover.jpg |
