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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/7876-h.zip b/7876-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7a63f64 --- /dev/null +++ b/7876-h.zip diff --git a/7876-h/7876-h.htm b/7876-h/7876-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7179250 --- /dev/null +++ b/7876-h/7876-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,11759 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + Passages from the English Note-books, Vol I by Nathaniel Hawthorne + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Passages From the English Notebooks, Volume +1, by Nathaniel Hawthorne + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Passages From the English Notebooks, Volume 1 + +Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne + +Release Date: April, 2005 [EBook #7876] +This file was first posted on May 29, 2003 +Last Updated: April 3, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PASSAGES *** + + + + +Produced by Tapio Riikonen and David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + PASSAGES FROM THE ENGLISH NOTE-BOOKS, VOL.I + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Nathaniel Hawthorne + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + To Francis Bennoch, Esq., + </p> + <p> + The dear and valued friend, who, by his generous and genial hospitality + and unfailing sympathy, contributed so largely (as is attested by the + book itself) to render Mr. Hawthorne's residence in England agreeable + and homelike, these ENGLISH NOTES are dedicated, with sincere respect + and regard, by The Editor. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + PREFACE + </h2> + <p> + It seems justly due to Mr. Hawthorne that the occasion of any portion of + his private journals being brought before the Public should be made known, + since they were originally designed for his own reference only. + </p> + <p> + There had been a constant and an urgent demand for a life or memoir of Mr. + Hawthorne; yet, from the extreme delicacy and difficulty of the subject, + the Editor felt obliged to refuse compliance with this demand. Moreover, + Mr. Hawthorne had frequently and emphatically expressed the hope that no + one would attempt to write his Biography; and the Editor perceived that it + would be impossible for any person, outside of his own domestic circle, to + succeed in doing it, on account of his extreme reserve. But it was + ungracious to do nothing, and therefore the Editor, believing that Mr. + Hawthorne himself was alone capable of satisfactorily answering the + affectionate call for some sketch of his life, concluded to publish as + much as possible of his private records, and even extracts from his + private letters, in order to gratify the desire of his friends and of + literary artists to become more intimately acquainted with him. The Editor + has been severely blamed and wondered at, in some instances, for allowing + many things now published to see the light; but it has been a matter both + of conscience and courtesy to withhold nothing that could be given up. + Many of the journals were doubtless destroyed; for the earliest date found + in his American papers was that of 1835. + </p> + <p> + The Editor has transcribed the manuscripts just as they were left, without + making any new arrangement or altering any sequence,—merely omitting + some passages, and being especially careful to preserve whatever could + throw any light upon his character. To persons on a quest for + characteristics, however, each of his books reveals a great many, and it + is believed that with the aid of the Notes (both American and English) the + Tales and Romances will make out a very complete and true picture of his + individuality; and the Notes are often an open sesame to the artistic + works. + </p> + <p> + Several thickly written pages of observations—fine and accurate + etchings—have been omitted, sometimes because too personal with + regard to himself or others, and sometimes because they were afterwards + absorbed into one or another of the Romances or papers in Our Old Home. It + seemed a pity not to give these original cartoons fresh from his mind, + because they are so carefully finished at the first stroke. Yet, as Mr. + Hawthorne chose his own way of presenting them to the public, it was + thought better not to exhibit what he himself withheld. Besides, to any + other than a fellow-artist they might seem mere repetitions. + </p> + <p> + It is very earnestly hoped that these volumes of notes—American, + English, and presently Italian—will dispel an often-expressed + opinion that Mr. Hawthorne was gloomy and morbid. He had the inevitable + pensiveness and gravity of a person who possessed what a friend of his + called "the awful power of insight"; but his mood was always cheerful and + equal, and his mind peculiarly healthful, and the airy splendor of his wit + and humor was the light of his home. He saw too far to be despondent, + though his vivid sympathies and shaping imagination often made him sad in + behalf of others. He also perceived morbidness, wherever it existed, + instantly, as if by the illumination of his own steady cheer; and he had + the plastic power of putting himself into each person's situation, and of + looking from every point of view, which made his charity most + comprehensive. From this cause he necessarily attracted confidences, and + became confessor to very many sinning and suffering souls, to whom he gave + tender sympathy and help, while resigning judgment to the Omniscient and + All-wise. + </p> + <p> + Throughout his journals it will be seen that Mr. Hawthorne is + entertaining, and not asserting, opinions and ideas. He questions, doubts, + and reflects with his pen, and, as it were, instructs himself. So that + these Note-Books should be read, not as definitive conclusions of his + mind, but merely as passing impressions often. Whatever conclusions be + arrived at are condensed in the works given to the world by his own hand, + in which will never be found a careless word. He was so extremely + scrupulous about the value and effect of every expression that the Editor + has felt great compunction in allowing a single sentence to be printed. + unrevised by himself; but, with the consideration of the above remarks + always kept in mind, these volumes are intrusted to the generous + interpretation of the reader. If any one must be harshly criticised, it + ought certainly to be the Editor. + </p> + <p> + When a person breaks in, unannounced, upon the morning hours of an artist, + and finds him not in full dress, the intruder, and not the surprised + artist, is doubtless at fault. S. H. + </p> + <p> + Dresden, April, 1870. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + PASSAGES FROM HAWTHORNE'S ENGLISH NOTE-BOOKS + </h2> + <p> + Liverpool, August 4th, 1853.—A month lacking two days since we left + America,—a fortnight and some odd days since we arrived in England. + I began my services, such as they are, on Monday last, August 1st, and + here I sit in my private room at the Consulate, while the Vice-Consul and + clerk are carrying on affairs in the outer office. + </p> + <p> + The pleasantest incident of the morning is when Mr. Pearce (the + Vice-Consul) makes his appearance with the account-books, containing the + receipts and expenditures of the preceding day, and deposits on my desk a + little rouleau of the Queen's coin, wrapped up in a piece of paper. This + morning there were eight sovereigns, four half-crowns, and a shilling,—a + pretty fair day's work, though not more than the average ought to be. This + forenoon, thus far, I have had two calls, not of business,—one from + an American captain and his son, another from Mr. H—— B——, + whom I met in America, and who has showed us great attention here. He has + arranged for us to go to the theatre with some of his family this evening. + </p> + <p> + Since I have been in Liverpool we have hardly had a day, until yesterday, + without more or less of rain, and so cold and shivery that life was + miserable. I am not warm enough even now, but am gradually getting + acclimated in that respect. + </p> + <p> + Just now I have been fooled out of half a crown by a young woman, who + represents herself as an American and destitute, having come over to see + an uncle whom she found dead, and she has no means of getting back again. + Her accent is not that of an American, and her appearance is not + particularly prepossessing, though not decidedly otherwise. She is + decently dressed and modest in deportment, but I do not quite trust her + face. She has been separated from her husband, as I understand her, by + course of law, has had two children, both now dead. What she wants is to + get back to America, and perhaps arrangements may be made with some + shipmaster to take her as stewardess or in some subordinate capacity. My + judgment, on the whole, is that she is an English woman, married to and + separated from an American husband,—of no very decided virtue. I + might as well have kept my half-crown, and yet I might have bestowed it + worse. She is very decent in manner, cheerful, at least not despondent. + </p> + <p> + At two o'clock I went over to the Royal Rock Hotel, about fifteen or + twenty minutes' steaming from this side of the river. We are going there + on Saturday to reside for a while. Returning, I found that, Mr. B., from + the American Chamber of Commerce, had called to arrange the time and place + of a visit to the Consul from a delegation of that body. Settled for + to-morrow at quarter past one at Mr. Blodgett's. + </p> + <p> + August 5th.—An invitation this morning from the Mayor to dine at the + Town Hall on Friday next. Heaven knows I had rather dine at the humblest + inn in the city, inasmuch as a speech will doubtless be expected from me. + However, things must be as they may. + </p> + <p> + At a quarter past one I was duly on hand at Mr. Blodgett's to receive the + deputation from the Chamber of Commerce. They arrived pretty seasonably, + in two or three carriages, and were ushered into the drawing-room,—seven + or eight gentlemen, some of whom I had met before. Hereupon ensued a + speech from Mr. B., the Chairman of the delegation, short and sweet, + alluding to my literary reputation and other laudatory matters, and + occupying only a minute or two. The speaker was rather embarrassed, which + encouraged me a little, and yet I felt more diffidence on this occasion + than in my effort at Mr. Crittenden's lunch, where, indeed, I was + perfectly self-possessed. But here, there being less formality, and more + of a conversational character in what was said, my usual diffidence could + not so well be kept in abeyance. However, I did not break down to an + intolerable extent, and, winding up my eloquence as briefly as possible, + we had a social talk. Their whole stay could not have been much more than + a quarter of an hour. + </p> + <p> + A call, this morning, at the Consulate, from Dr. Bowrug, who is British + minister, or something of the kind, in China, and now absent on a + twelvemonth's leave. The Doctor is a brisk person, with the address of a + man of the world,—free, quick to smile, and of agreeable manners. He + has a good face, rather American than English in aspect, and does not look + much above fifty, though he says he is between sixty and seventy. I should + take him rather for an active lawyer or a man of business than for a + scholar and a literary man. He talked in a lively way for ten or fifteen + minutes, and then took his leave, offering me any service in his power in + London,—as, for instance, to introduce me to the Athenaeum Club. + </p> + <p> + August 8th.—Day before yesterday I escorted my family to Rock Ferry, + two miles either up or down the Mersey (and I really don't know which) by + steamer, which runs every half-hour. There are steamers going continually + to Birkenhead and other landings, and almost always a great many + passengers on the transit. At this time the boat was crowded so as to + afford scanty standing-room; it being Saturday, and therefore a kind of + gala-day. I think I have never seen a populace before coming to England; + but this crowd afforded a specimen of one, both male and female. The women + were the most remarkable; though they seemed not disreputable, there was + in them a coarseness, a freedom, an—I don't know what, that was + purely English. In fact, men and women here do things that would at least + make them ridiculous in America. They are not afraid to enjoy themselves + in their own way, and have no pseudo-gentility to support. Some girls + danced upon the crowded deck, to the miserable music of a little fragment + of a band which goes up and down the river on each trip of the boat. Just + before the termination of the voyage a man goes round with a bugle turned + upwards to receive the eleemosynary pence and half-pence of the + passengers. I gave one of them, the other day, a silver fourpence, which + fell into the vitals of the instrument, and compelled the man to take it + to pieces. + </p> + <p> + At Rock Ferry there was a great throng, forming a scene not unlike one of + our muster-days or a Fourth of July, and there were bands of music and + banners, and small processions after them, and a school of charity + children, I believe, enjoying a festival. And there was a club of + respectable persons, playing at bowls on the bowling-green of the hotel, + and there were children, infants, riding on donkeys at a penny a ride, + while their mothers walked alongside to prevent a fall. Yesterday, while + we were at dinner, Mr. B. came in his carriage to take us to his + residence, Poulton Hall. He had invited us to dine; but I misunderstood + him, and thought he only intended to give us a drive. Poulton Hall is + about three miles from Rock Ferry, the road passing through some pleasant + rural scenery, and one or two villages, with houses standing close + together, and old stone or brick cottages, with thatched roofs, and now + and then a better mansion, apart among trees. We passed an old church, + with a tower and spire, and, half-way up, a patch of ivy, dark green, and + some yellow wall-flowers, in full bloom, growing out of the crevices of + the stone. Mr. B. told us that the tower was formerly quite clothed with + ivy from bottom to top, but that it had fallen away for lack of the + nourishment that it used to find in the lime between the stones. This old + church answered to my Transatlantic fancies of England better than + anything I have yet seen. Not far from it was the Rectory, behind a deep + grove of ancient trees; and there lives the Rector, enjoying a thousand + pounds a year and his nothing-to-do, while a curate performs the real duty + on a stipend of eighty pounds. + </p> + <p> + We passed through a considerable extent of private road, and finally drove + over a lawn, studded with trees and closely shaven, till we reached the + door of Poulton Hall. Part of the mansion is three or four hundred years + old; another portion is about a hundred and fifty, and still another has + been built during the present generation. The house is two stories high, + with a sort of beetle-browed roof in front. It is not very striking, and + does not look older than many wooden houses which I have seen in America. + There is a curious stately staircase, with a twisted balustrade much like + that of the old Province House in Boston. The drawing-room is a handsome + modern apartment, being beautifully painted and gilded and paper-hung, + with a white marble fireplace and rich furniture, so that the impression + is that of newness, not of age. It is the same with the dining-room, and + all the rest of the interior so far as I saw it. + </p> + <p> + Mr. B. did not inherit this old hall, nor, indeed, is he the owner, but + only the tenant of it. He is a merchant of Liverpool, a bachelor, with two + sisters residing with him. In the entrance-hall, there was a stuffed fox + with glass eyes, which I never should have doubted to be an actual live + fox except for his keeping so quiet; also some grouse and other game. Mr. + B. seems to be a sportsman, and is setting out this week on an excursion + to Scotland, moor-fowl shooting. + </p> + <p> + While the family and two or three guests went to dinner, we walked out to + see the place. The gardener, an Irishman, showed us through the garden, + which is large and well cared for. They certainly get everything from + Nature which she can possibly be persuaded to give them, here in England. + There were peaches and pears growing against the high brick southern + walls,—the trunk and branches of the trees being spread out + perfectly flat against the wall, very much like the skin of a dead animal + nailed up to dry, and not a single branch protruding. Figs were growing in + the same way. The brick wall, very probably, was heated within, by means + of pipes, in order to re-enforce the insufficient heat of the sun. It + seems as if there must be something unreal and unsatisfactory in fruit + that owes its existence to such artificial methods. Squashes were growing + under glass, poor things! There were immensely large gooseberries in the + garden; and in this particular berry, the English, I believe, have + decidedly the advantage over ourselves. The raspberries, too, were large + and good. I espied one gigantic hog-weed in the garden; and, really, my + heart warmed to it, being strongly reminded of the principal product of my + own garden at Concord. After viewing the garden sufficiently, the gardener + led us to other parts of the estate, and we had glimpses of a delightful + valley, its sides shady with beautiful trees, and a rich, grassy meadow at + the bottom. By means of a steam-engine and subterranean pipes and + hydrants, the liquid manure from the barn-yard is distributed wherever it + is wanted over the estate, being spouted in rich showers from the + hydrants. Under this influence, the meadow at the bottom of the valley had + already been made to produce three crops of grass during the present + season, and would produce another. + </p> + <p> + The lawn around Poulton Hall, like thousands of other lawns in England, is + very beautiful, but requires great care to keep it so, being shorn every + three or four days. No other country will ever have this charm, nor the + charm of lovely verdure, which almost makes up for the absence of + sunshine. Without the constant rain and shadow which strikes us as so + dismal, these lawns would be as brown as an autumn leaf. I have not, thus + far, found any such magnificent trees as I expected. Mr. B. told me that + three oaks, standing in a row on his lawn, were the largest in the county. + They were very good trees, to be sure, and perhaps four feet in diameter + near the ground, but with no very noble spread of foliage. In Concord + there are, if not oaks, yet certainly elms, a great deal more stately and + beautiful. But, on the whole, this lawn, and the old Hall in the midst of + it, went a good way towards realizing some of my fancies of English life. + </p> + <p> + By and by a footman, looking very quaint and queer in his livery coat, + drab breeches, and white stockings, came to invite me to the table, where + I found Mr. B. and his sisters and guests sitting at the fruit and wine. + There were port, sherry, madeira, and one bottle of claret, all very good; + but they take here much heavier wines than we drink now in America. After + a tolerably long session we went to the tea-room, where I drank some + coffee, and at about the edge of dusk the carriage drew up to the door to + take us home. Mr. B. and his sisters have shown us genuine kindness, and + they gave us a hearty invitation to come and ramble over the house + whenever we pleased, during their absence in Scotland. They say that there + are many legends and ghost-stories connected with the house; and there is + an attic chamber, with a skylight, which is called the Martyr's chamber, + from the fact of its having, in old times, been tenanted by a lady, who + was imprisoned there, and persecuted to death for her religion. There is + an old black-letter library, but the room containing it is shut, barred, + and padlocked,—the owner of the house refusing to let it be opened, + lest some of the books should be stolen. Meanwhile the rats are devouring + them, and the damps destroying them. + </p> + <p> + August 9th.—A pretty comfortable day, as to warmth, and I believe + there is sunshine overhead; but a sea-cloud, composed of fog and + coal-smoke, envelops Liverpool. At Rock Ferry, when I left it at half past + nine, there was promise of a cheerful day. A good many gentlemen (or, + rather, respectable business people) came in the boat, and it is not + unpleasant, on these fine mornings, to take the breezy atmosphere of the + river. The huge steamer Great Britain, bound for Australia, lies right off + the Rock Ferry landing; and at a little distance are two old hulks of + ships of war, dismantled, roofed over, and anchored in the river, formerly + for quarantine purposes, but now used chiefly or solely as homes for old + seamen, whose light labor it is to take care of these condemned ships. + There are a great many steamers plying up and down the river to various + landings in the vicinity; and a good many steam-tugs; also, many boats, + most of which have dark-red or tan-colored sails, being oiled to resist + the wet; also, here and there, a yacht or pleasure-boat, and a few ships + riding stately at their anchors, probably on the point of sailing. The + river, however, is by no means crowded; because the immense multitude of + ships are ensconced in the docks, where their masts make an intricate + forest for miles up and down the Liverpool shore. The small black + steamers, whizzing industriously along, many of them crowded with + passengers, snake up the chief life of the scene. The Mersey has the color + of a mud-puddle, and no atmospheric effect, as far as I have seen, ever + gives it a more agreeable tinge. + </p> + <p> + Visitors to-day, thus far, have been H. A. B., with whom I have arranged + to dine with us at Rock Ferry, and then he is to take us on board the + Great Britain, of which his father is owner (in great part). Secondly, + Monsieur H., the French Consul, who can speak hardly any English, and who + was more powerfully scented with cigar-smoke than any man I ever + encountered; a polite, gray-haired, red-nosed gentleman, very courteous + and formal. Heaven keep him from me! At one o'clock, or thereabouts, I + walked into the city, down through Lord Street, Church Street, and back to + the Consulate through various untraceable crookednesses. Coming to Chapel + Street, I crossed the graveyard of the old Church of St. Nicholas. This + is, I suppose, the oldest sacred site in Liverpool, a church having stood + here ever since the Conquest, though, probably, there is little or nothing + of the old edifice in the present one, either the whole of the edifice or + else the steeple, being thereto shaken by a chime of bells,— perhaps + both, at different times,—has tumbled down; but the present church + is what we Americans should call venerable. When the first church was + built, and long afterwards, it must have stood on the grassy verge of the + Mersey; but now there are pavements and warehouses, and the thronged + Prince's and George's Docks, between it and the river; and all around it + is the very busiest bustle of commerce, rumbling wheels, hurrying men, + porter-shops, everything that pertains to the grossest and most practical + life. And, notwithstanding, there is the broad churchyard extending on + three sides of it, just as it used to be a thousand years ago. It is + absolutely paved from border to border with flat tombstones, on a level + with the soil and with each other, so that it is one floor of stone over + the whole space, with grass here and there sprouting between the crevices. + All these stones, no doubt, formerly had inscriptions; but as many people + continually pass, in various directions, across the churchyard, and as the + tombstones are not of a very hard material, the records on many of them + are effaced. I saw none very old. A quarter of a century is sufficient to + obliterate the letters, and make all smooth, where the direct pathway from + gate to gate lies over the stones. The climate and casual footsteps rub + out any inscription in less than a hundred years. Some of the monuments + are cracked. On many is merely cut "The burial place of" so and so; on + others there is a long list of half-readable names; on some few a + laudatory epitaph, out of which, however, it were far too tedious to pick + the meaning. But it really is interesting and suggestive to think of this + old church, first built when Liverpool was a small village, and remaining, + with its successive dead of ten centuries around it, now that the greatest + commercial city in the world has its busiest centre there. I suppose + people still continue to be buried in the cemetery. The greatest upholders + of burials in cities are those whose progenitors have been deposited + around or within the city churches. If this spacious churchyard stood in a + similar position in one of our American cities, I rather suspect that long + ere now it would have run the risk of being laid out in building-lots, and + covered with warehouses; even if the church itself escaped,—but it + would not escape longer than till its disrepair afforded excuse for + tearing it down. And why should it, when its purposes might be better + served in another spot? + </p> + <p> + We went on board the Great Britain before dinner, between five and six + o'clock,—a great structure, as to convenient arrangement and + adaptation, but giving me a strong impression of the tedium and misery of + the long voyage to Australia. By way of amusement, she takes over fifty + pounds' worth of playing-cards, at two shillings per pack, for the use of + passengers; also, a small, well-selected library. After a considerable + time spent on board, we returned to the hotel and dined, and Mr. B. took + his leave at nine o'clock. + </p> + <p> + August 10th.—I left Rock Ferry for the city at half past nine. In + the boat which arrived thence, there were several men and women with + baskets on their heads, for this is a favorite way of carrying burdens; + and they trudge onward beneath them, without any apparent fear of an + overturn, and seldom putting up a hand to steady them. One woman, this + morning, had a heavy load of crockery; another, an immense basket of + turnips, freshly gathered, that seemed to me as much as a man could well + carry on his back. These must be a stiff-necked people. The women step + sturdily and freely, and with not ungraceful strength. The trip over to + town was pleasant, it being a fair morning, only with a low-hanging fog. + Had it been in America, I should have anticipated a day of burning heat. + </p> + <p> + Visitors this morning. Mr. Ogden of Chicago, or somewhere in the Western + States, who arrived in England a fortnight ago, and who called on me at + that time. He has since been in Scotland, and is now going to London and + the Continent; secondly, the Captain of the Collins steamer Pacific, which + sails to-day; thirdly, an American shipmaster, who complained that he had + never, in his heretofore voyages, been able to get sight of the American + Consul. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Pearce's customary matutinal visit was unusually agreeable to-day, + inasmuch as he laid on my desk nineteen golden sovereigns and thirteen + shillings. It being the day of the steamer's departure, an unusual number + of invoice certificates had been required,—my signature to each of + which brings me two dollars. + </p> + <p> + The autograph of a living author has seldom been so much in request at so + respectable a price. Colonel Crittenden told me that he had received as + much as fifty pounds on a single day. Heaven prosper the trade between + America and Liverpool! + </p> + <p> + August 15th.—Many scenes which I should have liked to record have + occurred; but the pressure of business has prevented me from recording + them from day to day. + </p> + <p> + On Thursday I went, on invitation from Mr. B., to the prodigious steamer + Great Britain, down the harbor, and some miles into the sea, to escort her + off a little way on her voyage to Australia. There is an immense + enthusiasm among the English people about this ship, on account of its + being the largest in the world. The shores were lined with people to see + her sail, and there were innumerable small steamers, crowded with men, all + the way out into the ocean. Nothing seems to touch the English nearer than + this question of nautical superiority; and if we wish to hit them to the + quick, we must hit them there. + </p> + <p> + On Friday, at 7 P.M., I went to dine with the Mayor. It was a dinner given + to the Judges and the Grand Jury. The Judges of England, during the time + of holding an Assize, are the persons first in rank in the kingdom. They + take precedence of everybody else,—of the highest military officers, + of the Lord Lieutenants, of the Archbishops,—of the Prince of Wales,—of + all except the Sovereign, whose authority and dignity they represent. In + case of a royal dinner, the Judge would lead the Queen to the table. + </p> + <p> + The dinner was at the Town Hall, and the rooms and the whole affair were + all in the most splendid style. Nothing struck me more than the footmen in + the city livery. They really looked more magnificent in their gold-lace + and breeches and white silk stockings than any officers of state. The + rooms were beautiful; gorgeously painted and gilded, gorgeously lighted, + gorgeously hung with paintings,—the plate was gorgeous, and the + dinner gorgeous in the English fashion. + </p> + <p> + After the removal of the cloth the Mayor gave various toasts, prefacing + each with some remarks,—the first, of course, the Sovereign, after + which "God save the Queen" was sung, the company standing up and joining + in the chorus, their ample faces glowing with wine, enthusiasm, and + loyalty. Afterwards the Bar, and various other dignities and institutions + were toasted; and by and by came the toast to the United States, and to + me, as their Representative. Hereupon either "Hail Columbia," or "Yankee + Doodle," or some other of our national tunes (but Heaven knows which), was + played; and at the conclusion, being at bay, and with no alternative, I + got upon my legs, and made a response. They received me and listened to my + nonsense with a good deal of rapping, and my speech seemed to give great + satisfaction; my chief difficulty being in not knowing how to pitch my + voice to the size of the room. As for the matter, it is not of the + slightest consequence. Anybody may make an after-dinner speech who will be + content to talk onward without saying anything. My speech was not more + than two or three inches long; and, considering that I did not know a soul + there, except the Mayor himself, and that I am wholly unpractised in all + sorts of oratory, and that I had nothing to say, it was quite successful. + I hardly thought it was in me, but, being once started, I felt no + embarrassment, and went through it as coolly as if I were going to be + hanged. + </p> + <p> + Yesterday, after dinner, I took a walk with my family. We went through + by-ways and private roads, and saw more of rural England, with its + hedge-rows, its grassy fields, and its whitewashed old stone cottages, + than we have before seen since our arrival. + </p> + <p> + August 20th.—This being Saturday, there early commenced a throng of + visitants to Rock Ferry. The boat in which I came over brought from the + city a multitude of factory-people. They had bands of music, and banners + inscribed with the names of the mills they belong to, and other devices: + pale-looking people, but not looking exactly as if they were underfed. + They are brought on reduced terms by the railways and steamers, and come + from great distances in the interior. These, I believe, were from Preston. + I have not yet had an opportunity of observing how they amuse themselves + during these excursions. + </p> + <p> + At the dock, the other day, the steamer arrived from Rock Ferry with a + countless multitude of little girls, in coarse blue gowns, who, as they + landed, formed in procession, and walked up the dock. These girls had been + taken from the workhouses and educated at a charity-school, and would by + and by be apprenticed as servants. I should not have conceived it possible + that so many children could have been collected together, without a single + trace of beauty or scarcely of intelligence in so much as one individual; + such mean, coarse, vulgar features and figures betraying unmistakably a + low origin, and ignorant and brutal parents. They did not appear wicked, + but only stupid, animal, and soulless. It must require many generations of + better life to wake the soul in them. All America could not show the like. + </p> + <p> + August 22d.—A Captain Auld, an American, having died here yesterday, + I went with my clerk and an American shipmaster to take the inventory of + his effects. His boarding-house was in a mean street, an old dingy house, + with narrow entrance,—the class of boarding-house frequented by + mates of vessels, and inferior to those generally patronized by masters. A + fat elderly landlady, of respectable and honest aspect, and her daughter, + a pleasing young woman enough, received us, and ushered us into the + deceased's bedchamber. It was a dusky back room, plastered and painted + yellow; its one window looking into the very narrowest of back-yards or + courts, and out on a confused multitude of back buildings, appertaining to + other houses, most of them old, with rude chimneys of wash-rooms and + kitchens, the bricks of which seemed half loose. + </p> + <p> + The chattels of the dead man were contained in two trunks, a chest, a + sail-cloth bag, and a barrel, and consisted of clothing, suggesting a + thickset, middle-sized man; papers relative to ships and business, a + spyglass, a loaded iron pistol, some books of navigation, some charts, + several great pieces of tobacco, and a few cigars; some little plaster + images, that he had probably bought for his children, a cotton umbrella, + and other trumpery of no great value. In one of the trunks we found about + twenty pounds' worth of English and American gold and silver, and some + notes of hand, due in America. Of all these things the clerk made an + inventory; after which we took possession of the money and affixed the + consular seal to the trunks, bag, and chest. + </p> + <p> + While this was going on, we heard a great noise of men quarrelling in an + adjoining court; and, altogether, it seemed a squalid and ugly place to + live in, and a most undesirable one to die in. At the conclusion of our + labors, the young woman asked us if we would not go into another chamber, + and look at the corpse, and appeared to think that we should be rather + glad than otherwise of the privilege. But, never having seen the man + during his lifetime, I declined to commence his acquaintance now. + </p> + <p> + His bills for board and nursing amount to about the sum which we found in + his trunk; his funeral expenses will be ten pounds more; the surgeon has + sent in a bill of eight pounds, odd shillings; and the account of another + medical man is still to be rendered. As his executor, I shall pay his + landlady and nurse; and for the rest of the expenses, a subscription must + be made (according to the custom in such cases) among the shipmasters, + headed by myself. The funeral pomp will consist of a hearse, one coach, + four men, with crape hatbands, and a few other items, together with a + grave at five pounds, over which his friends will be entitled to place a + stone, if they choose to do so, within twelve months. + </p> + <p> + As we left the house, we looked into the dark and squalid dining-room, + where a lunch of cold meat was set out; but having no associations with + the house except through this one dead man, it seemed as if his presence + and attributes pervaded it wholly. He appears to have been a man of + reprehensible habits, though well advanced in years. I ought not to forget + a brandy-flask (empty) among his other effects. The landlady and daughter + made a good impression on me, as honest and respectable persons. + </p> + <p> + August 24th.—Yesterday, in the forenoon, I received a note, and + shortly afterwards a call at the Consulate from Miss H——, whom + I apprehend to be a lady of literary tendencies. She said that Miss L. had + promised her an introduction, but that, happening to pass through + Liverpool, she had snatched the opportunity to make my acquaintance. She + seems to be a mature lady, rather plain, but with an honest and + intelligent face. It was rather a singular freedom, methinks, to come down + upon a perfect stranger in this way,—to sit with him in his private + office an hour or two, and then walk about the streets with him, as she + did; for I did the honors of Liverpool, and showed her the public + buildings. Her talk was sensible, but not particularly brilliant nor + interesting; a good, solid personage, physically and intellectually. She + is an English woman. + </p> + <p> + In the afternoon, at three o'clock, I attended the funeral of Captain + Auld. Being ushered into the dining-room of his boarding-house, I found + brandy, gin, and wine set out on a tray, together with some little + spicecakes. By and by came in a woman, who asked if I were going to the + funeral; and then proceeded to put a mourning-band on my hat,—a + black-silk band, covering the whole hat, and streaming nearly a yard + behind. After waiting the better part of an hour, nobody else appeared, + although several shipmasters had promised to attend. Hereupon, the + undertaker was anxious to set forth; but the landlady, who was arrayed in + shining black silk, thought it a shame that the poor man should be buried + with such small attendance. So we waited a little longer, during which + interval I heard the landlady's daughter sobbing and wailing in the entry; + and but for this tender-heartedness there would have been no tears at all. + Finally we set forth,—the undertaker, a friend of his, and a young + man, perhaps the landlady's son, and myself, in the black-plumed coach, + and the landlady, her daughter, and a female friend, in the coach behind. + Previous to this, however, everybody had taken some wine or spirits; for + it seemed to be considered disrespectful not to do so. + </p> + <p> + Before us went the plumed hearse, a stately affair, with a bas-relief of + funereal figures upon its sides. We proceeded quite across the city to the + Necropolis, where the coffin was carried into a chapel, in which we found + already another coffin, and another set of mourners, awaiting the + clergyman. Anon he appeared,—a stern, broad-framed, large, and + bald-headed man, in a black-silk gown. He mounted his desk, and read the + service in quite a feeble and unimpressive way, though with no lack of + solemnity. This done, our four bearers took up the coffin, and carried it + out of the chapel; but, descending the steps, and, perhaps, having taken a + little too much brandy, one of them stumbled, and down came the coffin,—not + quite to the ground, however; for they grappled with it, and contrived, + with a great struggle, to prevent the misadventure. But I really expected + to see poor Captain Auld burst forth among us in his grave-clothes. + </p> + <p> + The Necropolis is quite a handsome burial-place, shut in by high walls, so + overrun with shrubbery that no part of the brick or stone is visible. Part + of the space within is an ornamental garden, with flowers and green turf; + the rest is strewn with flat gravestones, and a few raised monuments; and + straight avenues run to and fro between. Captain Auld's grave was dug nine + feet deep. It is his own for twelve months; but, if his friends do not + choose to give him a stone, it will become a common grave at the end of + that time; and four or five more bodies may then be piled upon his. Every + one seemed greatly to admire the grave; the undertaker praised it, and + also the dryness of its site, which he took credit to himself for having + chosen. The grave-digger, too, was very proud of its depth, and the + neatness of his handiwork. The clergyman, who had marched in advance of us + from the chapel, now took his stand at the head of the grave, and, lifting + his hat, proceeded with what remained of the service, while we stood + bareheaded around. When he came to a particular part, "ashes to ashes, + dust to dust," the undertaker lifted a handful of earth, and threw it + rattling on the coffin,—so did the landlady's son, and so did I. + After the funeral the undertaker's friend, an elderly, coarse-looking man, + looked round him, and remarked that "the grass had never grown on the + parties who died in the cholera year"; but at this the undertaker laughed + in scorn. + </p> + <p> + As we returned to the gate of the cemetery, the sexton met us, and pointed + to a small office, on entering which we found the clergyman, who was + waiting for his burial-fees. There was now a dispute between the clergyman + and the undertaker; the former wishing to receive the whole amount for the + gravestone, which the undertaker, of course, refused to pay. I explained + how the matter stood; on which the clergyman acquiesced, civilly enough; + but it was very strange to see the worldly, business-like way in which he + entered into this squabble, so soon after burying poor Captain Auld. + </p> + <p> + During our drive back in the mourning-coach, the undertaker, his friend, + and the landlady's son still kept descanting on the excellence of the + grave,—"Such a fine grave,"—"Such a nice grave,"—"Such a + splendid grave,"—and, really, they seemed almost to think it worth + while to die, for the sake of being buried there. They deemed it an + especial pity that such a grave should ever become a common grave. "Why," + said they to me, "by paying the extra price you may have it for your own + grave, or for your family!" meaning that we should have a right to pile + ourselves over the defunct Captain. I wonder how the English ever attain + to any conception of a future existence, since they so overburden + themselves with earth and mortality in their ideas of funerals. A drive + with an undertaker, in a sable-plumed coach!—talking about graves!—and + yet he was a jolly old fellow, wonderfully corpulent, with a smile + breaking out easily all over his face,—although, once in a while, he + looked professionally lugubrious. + </p> + <p> + All the time the scent of that horrible mourning-coach is in my nostrils, + and I breathe nothing but a funeral atmosphere. + </p> + <p> + Saturday, August 27th.—This being the gala-day of the manufacturing + people about Liverpool, the steamboats to Rock Ferry were seasonably + crowded with large parties of both sexes. They were accompanied with two + bands of music, in uniform; and these bands, before I left the hotel, were + playing, in competition and rivalry with each other in the coach-yard, + loud martial strains from shining brass instruments. A prize is to be + assigned to one or to the other of these bands, and I suppose this was a + part of the competition. Meanwhile the merry-making people who thronged + the courtyard were quaffing coffee from blue earthen mugs, which they + brought with them,—as likewise they brought the coffee, and had it + made in the hotel. + </p> + <p> + It had poured with rain about the time of their arrival, notwithstanding + which they did not seem disheartened; for, of course, in this climate, it + enters into all their calculations to be drenched through and through. By + and by the sun shone out, and it has continued to shine and shade every + ten minutes ever since. All these people were decently dressed; the men + generally in dark clothes, not so smartly as Americans on a festal day, + but so as not to be greatly different as regards dress. They were paler, + smaller, less wholesome-looking and less intelligent, and, I think, less + noisy, than so many Yankees would have been. The women and girls differed + much more from what American girls and women would be on a + pleasure-excursion, being so shabbily dressed, with no kind of smartness, + no silks, nothing but cotton gowns, I believe, and ill-looking bonnets,— + which, however, was the only part of their attire that they seemed to care + about guarding from the rain. As to their persons, they generally looked + better developed and healthier than the men; but there was a woful lack of + beauty and grace, not a pretty girl among them, all coarse and vulgar. + Their bodies, it seems to me, are apt to be very long in proportion to + their limbs,—in truth, this kind of make is rather characteristic of + both sexes in England. The speech of these folks, in some instances, was + so broad Lancashire that I could not well understand it. + </p> + <h3> + A WALK TO BEBBINGTON. + </h3> + <p> + Rock Ferry, August 29th.—Yesterday we all took a walk into the + country. It was a fine afternoon, with clouds, of course, in different + parts of the sky, but a clear atmosphere, bright sunshine, and altogether + a Septembrish feeling. The ramble was very pleasant, along the hedge-lined + roads in which there were flowers blooming, and the varnished holly, + certainly one of the most beautiful shrubs in the world, so far as foliage + goes. We saw one cottage which I suppose was several hundred years old. It + was of stone, filled into a wooden frame, the black-oak of which was + visible like an external skeleton; it had a thatched roof, and was + whitewashed. We passed through a village,—higher Bebbington, I + believe,—with narrow streets and mean houses all of brick or stone, + and not standing wide apart from each other as in American country + villages, but conjoined. There was an immense almshouse in the midst; at + least, I took it to be so. In the centre of the village, too, we saw a + moderate-sized brick house, built in imitation of a castle with a tower + and turret, in which an upper and an under row of small cannon were + mounted,—now green with moss. There were also battlements along the + roof of the house, which looked as if it might have been built eighty or a + hundred years ago. In the centre of it there was the dial of a clock, but + the inner machinery had been removed, and the hands, hanging listlessly, + moved to and fro in the wind. It was quite a novel symbol of decay and + neglect. On the wall, close to the street, there were certain eccentric + inscriptions cut into slabs of stone, but I could make no sense of them. + At the end of the house opposite the turret, we peeped through the bars of + an iron gate and beheld a little paved court-yard, and at the farther side + of it a small piazza, beneath which seemed to stand the figure of a man. + He appeared well advanced in years, and was dressed in a blue coat and + buff breeches, with a white or straw hat on his head. Behold, too, in a + kennel beside the porch, a large dog sitting on his hind legs, chained! + Also, close beside the gateway, another man, seated in a kind of arbor! + All these were wooden images; and the whole castellated, small, + village-dwelling, with the inscriptions and the queer statuary, was + probably the whim of some half-crazy person, who has now, no doubt, been + long asleep in Bebbington churchyard. + </p> + <p> + The bell of the old church was ringing as we went along, and many + respectable-looking people and cleanly dressed children were moving + towards the sound. Soon we reached the church, and I have seen nothing yet + in England that so completely answered my idea of what such a thing was, + as this old village church of Bebbington. + </p> + <p> + It is quite a large edifice, built in the form of a cross, a low peaked + porch in the side, over which, rudely cut in stone, is the date 1300 and + something. The steeple has ivy on it, and looks old, old, old; so does the + whole church, though portions of it have been renewed, but not so as to + impair the aspect of heavy, substantial endurance, and long, long decay, + which may go on hundreds of years longer before the church is a ruin. + There it stands, among the surrounding graves, looking just the same as it + did in Bloody Mary's days; just as it did in Cromwell's time. A bird (and + perhaps many birds) had its nest in the steeple, and flew in and out of + the loopholes that were opened into it. The stone framework of the windows + looked particularly old. + </p> + <p> + There were monuments about the church, some lying flat on the ground, + others elevated on low pillars, or on cross slabs of stone, and almost all + looking dark, moss-grown, and very antique. But on reading some of the + inscriptions, I was surprised to find them very recent; for, in fact, + twenty years of this climate suffices to give as much or more antiquity of + aspect, whether to gravestone or edifice, than a hundred years of our own,—so + soon do lichens creep over the surface, so soon does it blacken, so soon + do the edges lose their sharpness, so soon does Time gnaw away the + records. The only really old monuments (and those not very old) were two, + standing close together, and raised on low rude arches, the dates on which + were 1684 and 1686. On one a cross was rudely cut into the stone. But + there may have been hundreds older than this, the records on which had + been quite obliterated, and the stones removed, and the graves dug over + anew. None of the monuments commemorate people of rank; on only one the + buried person was recorded as "Gent." + </p> + <p> + While we sat on the flat slabs resting ourselves, several little girls, + healthy-looking and prettily dressed enough, came into the churchyard, and + began to talk and laugh, and to skip merrily from one tombstone to + another. They stared very broadly at us, and one of them, by and by, ran + up to U. and J., and gave each of them a green apple, then they skipped + upon the tombstones again, while, within the church, we heard them + singing, sounding pretty much as I have heard it in our pine-built New + England meeting-houses. Meantime the rector had detected the voices of + these naughty little girls, and perhaps had caught glimpses of them + through the windows; for, anon, out came the sexton, and, addressing + himself to us, asked whether there had been any noise or disturbance in + the churchyard. I should not have borne testimony against these little + villagers, but S. was so anxious to exonerate our own children that she + pointed out these poor little sinners to the sexton, who forthwith turned + them out. He would have done the same to us, no doubt, had my coat been + worse than it was; but, as the matter stood, his demeanor was rather + apologetic than menacing, when he informed us that the rector had sent + him. + </p> + <p> + We stayed a little longer, looking at the graves, some of which were + between the buttresses of the church and quite close to the wall, as if + the sleepers anticipated greater comfort and security the nearer they + could get to the sacred edifice. + </p> + <p> + As we went out of the churchyard, we passed the aforesaid little girls, + who were sitting behind the mound of a tomb, and busily babbling together. + They called after us, expressing their discontent that we had betrayed + them to the sexton, and saying that it was not they who made the noise. + Going homeward, we went astray in a green lane, that terminated in the + midst of a field, without outlet, so that we had to retrace a good many of + our footsteps. + </p> + <p> + Close to the wall of the church, beside the door, there was an ancient + baptismal font of stone. In fact, it was a pile of roughly hewn stone + steps, five or six feet high, with a block of stone at the summit, in + which was a hollow about as big as a wash-bowl. It was full of rainwater. + </p> + <p> + The church seems to be St. Andrew's Church, Lower Bebbington, built in + 1100. + </p> + <p> + September 1st.—To-day we leave the Rock Ferry Hotel, where we have + spent nearly four weeks. It is a comfortable place, and we have had a good + table and have been kindly treated. We occupied a large parlor, extending + through the whole breadth of the house, with a bow-window, looking towards + Liverpool, and adown the intervening river, and to Birkenhead, on the + hither side. The river would be a pleasanter object, if it were blue and + transparent, instead of such a mud-puddly hue; also, if it were always + full to its brine; whereas it generally presents a margin, and sometimes a + very broad one, of glistening mud, with here and there a small vessel + aground on it. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, the parlor-window has given us a pretty good idea of the + nautical business of Liverpool; the constant objects being the little + black steamers puffing unquietly along, sometimes to our own ferry, + sometimes beyond it to Eastham, and sometimes towing a long string of + boats from Runcorn or otherwhere up the river, laden with goods, and + sometimes gallanting a tall ship in or out. Some of these ships lie for + days together in the river, very majestic and stately objects, often with + the flag of the stars and stripes waving over them. Now and then, after a + gale at sea, a vessel comes in with her masts broken short off in the + midst, and with marks of rough handling about the hull. Once a week comes + a Cunard steamer, with its red funnel pipe whitened by the salt spray; + and, firing off cannon to announce her arrival, she moors to a large iron + buoy in the middle of the river, and a few hundred yards from the stone + pier of our ferry. Immediately comes poring towards her a little + mail-steamer, to take away her mail-bags and such of the passengers as + choose to land; and for several hours afterwards the Cunard lies with the + smoke and steam coming out of her, as if she were smoking her pipe after + her toilsome passage across the Atlantic. Once a fortnight comes an + American steamer of the Collins line; and then the Cunard salutes her with + cannon, to which the Collins responds, and moors herself to another iron + buoy, not far from the Cunard. When they go to sea, it is with similar + salutes; the two vessels paying each other the more ceremonious respect, + because they are inimical and jealous of each other. + </p> + <p> + Besides these, there are other steamers of all sorts and sizes, for + pleasure-excursions, for regular trips to Dublin, the Isle of Man, and + elsewhither; and vessels which are stationary, as floating lights, but + which seem to relieve one another at intervals; and small vessels, with + sails looking as if made of tanned leather; and schooners, and yachts, and + all manner of odd-looking craft, but none so odd as the Chinese junk. This + junk lies by our own pier, and looks as if it were copied from some + picture on an old teacup. Beyond all these objects we see the other side + of the Mersey, with the delectably green fields opposite to us, while the + shore becomes more and more thickly populated, until about two miles off + we see the dense centre of the city, with the dome of the Custom House, + and steeples and towers; and, close to the water, the spire of St. + Nicholas; and above, and intermingled with the whole city scene, the + duskiness of the coal-smoke gushing upward. Along the bank we perceive the + warehouses of the Albert dock, and the Queen's tobacco warehouses, and + other docks, and, nigher to us, a shipyard or two. In the evening all this + sombre picture gradually darkens out of sight, and in its place appear + only the lights of the city, kindling into a galaxy of earthly stars, for + a long distance, up and down the shore; and, in one or two spots, the + bright red gleam of a furnace, like the "red planet Mars"; and once in a + while a bright, wandering beam gliding along the river, as a steamer cones + or goes between us and Liverpool. + </p> + <h3> + ROCK PARK. + </h3> + <p> + September 2d.—We got into our new house in Rock Park yesterday. It + is quite a good house, with three apartments, beside kitchen and pantry on + the lower floor; and it is three stories high, with four good chambers in + each story. It is a stone edifice, like almost all the English houses, and + handsome in its design. The rent, without furniture, would probably have + been one hundred pounds; furnished, it is one hundred and sixty pounds. + Rock Park, as the locality is called, is private property, and is now + nearly covered with residences for professional people, merchants, and + others of the upper middling class; the houses being mostly built, I + suppose, on speculation, and let to those who occupy them. It is the + quietest place imaginable, there being a police station at the entrance, + and the officer on duty allows no ragged or ill-looking person to pass. + There being a toll, it precludes all unnecessary passage of carriages; and + never were there more noiseless streets than those that give access to + these pretty residences. On either side there is thick shrubbery, with + glimpses through it of the ornamented portals, or into the trim gardens + with smooth-shaven lawns, of no large extent, but still affording + reasonable breathing-space. They are really an improvement on anything, + save what the very rich can enjoy, in America. The former occupants of our + house (Mrs. Campbell and family) having been fond of flowers, there are + many rare varieties in the garden, and we are told that there is scarcely + a month in the year when a flower will not be found there. + </p> + <p> + The house is respectably, though not very elegantly, furnished. It was a + dismal, rainy day yesterday, and we had a coal-fire in the sitting-room, + beside which I sat last evening as twilight came on, and thought, rather + sadly, how many times we have changed our home since we were married. In + the first place, our three years at the Old Manse; then a brief residence + at Salem, then at Boston, then two or three years at Salem again; then at + Lenox, then at West Newton, and then again at Concord, where we imagined + that we were fixed for life, but spent only a year. Then this farther + flight to England, where we expect to spend four years, and afterwards + another year or two in Italy, during all which time we shall have no real + home. For, as I sat in this English house, with the chill, rainy English + twilight brooding over the lawn, and a coal-fire to keep me comfortable on + the first evening of September, and the picture of a stranger—the + dead husband of Mrs. Campbell—gazing down at me from above the + mantel-piece,—I felt that I never should be quite at home here. + Nevertheless, the fire was very comfortable to look at, and the shape of + the fireplace—an arch, with a deep cavity—was an improvement + on the square, shallow opening of an American coal-grate. + </p> + <p> + September 7th.—It appears by the annals of Liverpool, contained in + Gore's Directory, that in 1076 there was a baronial castle built by Roger + de Poictiers on the site of the present St. George's Church. It was taken + down in 1721. The church now stands at one of the busiest points of the + principal street of the city. The old Church of St. Nicholas, founded + about the time of the Conquest, and more recently rebuilt, stood within a + quarter of a mile of the castle. + </p> + <p> + In 1150, Birkenhead Priory was founded on the Cheshire side of the Mersey. + The monks used to ferry passengers across to Liverpool until 1282, when + Woodside Ferry was established,—twopence for a horseman, and a + farthing for a foot-passenger. Steam ferry-boats now cross to Birkenhead, + Monk's Ferry, and Woodside every ten minutes; and I believe there are + large hotels at all these places, and many of the business men of + Liverpool have residences in them. + </p> + <p> + In 1252 a tower was built by Sir John Stanley, which continued to be a + castle of defence to the Stanley family for many hundred years, and was + not finally taken down till 1820, when its site had become the present + Water Street, in the densest commercial centre of the city. + </p> + <p> + There appear to have been other baronial castles and residences in + different parts of the city, as a hall in old Hall Street, built by Sir + John de la More, on the site of which a counting-house now stands. This + knightly family of De la More sometimes supplied mayors to the city, as + did the family of the Earls of Derby. + </p> + <p> + About 1582, Edward, Earl of Derby, maintained two hundred and fifty + citizens of Liverpool, fed sixty aged persons twice a day, and provided + twenty-seven hundred persons with meat, drink, and money every Good + Friday. + </p> + <p> + In 1644, Prince Rupert besieged the town for twenty-four days, and finally + took it by storm. This was June 26th, and the Parliamentarians, under Sir + John Meldrum, repossessed it the following October. + </p> + <p> + In 1669 the Mayor of Liverpool kept an inn. + </p> + <p> + In 1730 there was only one carriage in town, and no stage-coach came + nearer than Warrington, the roads being impassable. + </p> + <p> + In 1734 the Earl of Derby gave a great entertainment in the tower. + </p> + <p> + In 1737 the Mayor was George Norton, a saddler, who frequently took, the + chair with his leather apron on. His immediate predecessor seems to have + been the Earl of Derby, who gave the above-mentioned entertainment during + his mayoralty. Where George's Dock now is, there used to be a battery of + fourteen eighteen-pounders for the defence of the town, and the old sport + of bull-baiting was carried on in that vicinity, close to the Church of + St. Nicholas. + </p> + <p> + September 12th.—On Saturday a young man was found wandering about in + West Derby, a suburb of Liverpool, in a state of insanity, and, being + taken before a magistrate, he proved to be an American. As he seemed to be + in a respectable station of life, the magistrate sent the master of the + workhouse to me, in order to find out whether I would take the + responsibility of his expenses, rather than have him put in the workhouse. + My clerk went to investigate the matter, and brought me his papers. His + name proves to be —— ———, belonging to + ———, twenty-five years of age. One of the papers was a + passport from our legation in Naples; likewise there was a power of + attorney from his mother (who seems to have been married a second time) to + dispose of some property of hers abroad; a hotel bill, also, of some + length, in which were various charges for wine; and, among other evidences + of low funds, a pawnbroker's receipt for a watch, which he had pledged at + five pounds. There was also a ticket for his passage to America, by the + screw steamer Andes, which sailed on Wednesday last. The clerk found him + to the last degree incommunicative; and nothing could be discovered from + him but what the papers disclosed. There were about a dozen utterly + unintelligible notes among the papers, written by himself since his + derangement. + </p> + <p> + I decided to put him into the insane hospital, where he now accordingly + is, and to-morrow (by which time he may be in a more conversable mood) I + mean to pay him a visit. + </p> + <p> + The clerk tells me that there is now, and has been for three years, an + American lady in the Liverpool almshouse, in a state of insanity. She is + very accomplished, especially in music; but in all this time it has been + impossible to find out who she is, or anything about her connections or + previous life. She calls herself Jenny Lind, and as for any other name or + identity she keeps her own secret. + </p> + <p> + September 14th.—It appears that Mr. ——— (the + insane young gentleman) being unable to pay his bill at the inn where he + was latterly staying, the landlord had taken possession of his luggage, + and satisfied himself in that way. My clerk, at my request, has taken his + watch out of pawn. It proves to be not a very good one, though doubtless + worth more than five pounds, for which it was pledged. The Governor of the + Lunatic Asylum wrote me yesterday, stating that the patient was in want of + a change of clothes, and that, according to his own account, he had left + his luggage at the American Hotel. After office-hours, I took a cab, and + set out with my clerk, to pay a visit to the Asylum, taking the American + Hotel in our way. + </p> + <p> + The American Hotel is a small house, not at all such a one as American + travellers of any pretension would think of stopping at, but still very + respectable, cleanly, and with a neat sitting-room, where the guests might + assemble, after the American fashion. We asked for the landlady, and anon + down she came, a round, rosy, comfortable-looking English dame of fifty or + thereabouts. On being asked whether she knew a Mr. ———, + she readily responded that he had been there, but, had left no luggage, + having taken it away before paying his bill; and that she had suspected + him of meaning to take his departure without paying her at all. Hereupon + she had traced him to the hotel before mentioned, where she had found that + he had stayed two nights,—but was then, I think, gone from thence. + Afterwards she encountered him again, and, demanding her due, went with + him to a pawnbroker's, where he pledged his watch and paid her. This was + about the extent of the landlady's knowledge of the matter. I liked the + woman very well, with her shrewd, good-humored, worldly, kindly + disposition. + </p> + <p> + Then we proceeded to the Lunatic Asylum, to which we were admitted by a + porter at the gate. Within doors we found some neat and comely + servant-women, one of whom showed us into a handsome parlor, and took my + card to the Governor. There was a large bookcase, with a glass front, + containing handsomely bound books, many of which, I observed, were of a + religious character. In a few minutes the Governor came in, a middle-aged + man, tall, and thin for an Englishman, kindly and agreeable enough in + aspect, but not with the marked look of a man of force and ability. I + should not judge from his conversation that he was an educated man, or + that he had any scientific acquaintance with the subject of insanity. + </p> + <p> + He said that Mr. ——— was still quite incommunicative, + and not in a very promising state; that I had perhaps better defer seeing + him for a few days; that it would not be safe, at present, to send him + home to America without an attendant, and this was about all. But on + returning home I learned from my wife, who had had a call from Mrs. + Blodgett, that Mrs. Blodgett knew Mr. ——— and his + mother, who has recently been remarried to a young husband, and is now + somewhere in Italy. They seemed to have boarded at Mrs. Blodgett's house + on their way to the Continent, and within a week or two, an acquaintance + and pastor of Mr. ———, the Rev. Dr. ———, + has sailed for America. If I could only have caught him, I could have + transferred the care, expense, and responsibility of the patient to him. + The Governor of the Asylum mentioned, by the way, that Mr. ——— + describes himself as having been formerly a midshipman in the navy. + </p> + <p> + I walked through the St. James's cemetery yesterday. It is a very pretty + place, dug out of the rock, having formerly, I believe, been a + stone-quarry. It is now a deep and spacious valley, with graves and + monuments on its level and grassy floor, through which run gravel-paths, + and where grows luxuriant shrubbery. On one of the steep sides of the + valley, hewn out of the rock, are tombs, rising in tiers, to the height of + fifty feet or more; some of them cut directly into the rock with arched + portals, and others built with stone. On the other side the bank is of + earth, and rises abruptly, quite covered with trees, and looking very + pleasant with their green shades. It was a warm and sunny day, and the + cemetery really had a most agreeable aspect. I saw several gravestones of + Americans; but what struck me most was one line of an epitaph on an + English woman, "Here rests in peace a virtuous wife." The statue of + Huskisson stands in the midst of the valley, in a kind of mausoleum, with + a door of plate-glass, through which you look at the dead statesman's + effigy. + </p> + <p> + September 22d.—. . . . Some days ago an American captain came to the + office, and said he had shot one of his men, shortly after sailing from + New Orleans, and while the ship was still in the river. As he described + the event, he was in peril of his life from this man, who was an Irishman; + and he fired his pistol only when the man was coming upon him, with a + knife in one hand, and some other weapon of offence in the other, while he + himself was struggling with one or two more of the crew. He was weak at + the time, having just recovered from the yellow fever. The shots struck + the man in the pit of the stomach, and he lived only about a quarter of an + hour. No magistrate in England has a right to arrest or examine the + captain, unless by a warrant from the Secretary of State, on the charge of + murder. After his statement to me, the mother of the slain man went to the + police officer, and accused him of killing her son. Two or three days + since, moreover, two of the sailors came before me, and gave their account + of the matter; and it looked very differently from that of the captain. + According to them, the man had no idea of attacking the captain, and was + so drunk that he could not keep himself upright without assistance. One of + these two men was actually holding him up when the captain fired two + barrels of his pistol, one immediately after the other, and lodged two + balls in the pit of his stomach. The man sank down at once, saying, "Jack, + I am killed,"—and died very shortly. Meanwhile the captain drove + this man away, under threats of shooting him likewise. Both the seamen + described the captain's conduct, both then and during the whole voyage, as + outrageous, and I do not much doubt that it was so. They gave their + evidence like men who wished to tell the truth, and were moved by no more + than a natural indignation at the captain's wrong. + </p> + <p> + I did not much like the captain from the first,—a hard, rough man, + with little education, and nothing of the gentleman about him, a red face + and a loud voice. He seemed a good deal excited, and talked fast and much + about the event, but yet not as if it had sunk deeply into him. He + observed that he "would not have had it happen for a thousand dollars," + that being the amount of detriment which he conceives himself to suffer by + the ineffaceable blood-stain on his hand. In my opinion it is little short + of murder, if at all; but what would be murder on shore is almost a + natural occurrence when done in such a hell on earth as one of these + ships, in the first hours of the voyage. The men are then all drunk,— + some of them often in delirium tremens; and the captain feels no safety + for his life except in making himself as terrible as a fiend. It is the + universal testimony that there is a worse set of sailors in these short + voyages between Liverpool and America than in any other trade whatever. + </p> + <p> + There is no probability that the captain will ever be called to account + for this deed. He gave, at the time, his own version of the affair in his + log-book; and this was signed by the entire crew, with the exception of + one man, who had hidden himself in the hold in terror of the captain. His + mates will sustain his side of the question; and none of the sailors would + be within reach of the American courts, even should they be sought for. + </p> + <p> + October 1st.—On Thursday I went with Mr. Ticknor to Chester by + railway. It is quite an indescribable old town, and I feel at last as if I + had had a glimpse of old England. The wall encloses a large space within + the town, but there are numerous houses and streets not included within + its precincts. Some of the principal streets pass under the ancient + gateways; and at the side there are flights of steps, giving access to the + summit. Around the top of the whole wall, a circuit of about two miles, + there runs a walk, well paved with flagstones, and broad enough for three + persons to walk abreast. On one side—that towards the country—there + is a parapet of red freestone three or four feet high. On the other side + there are houses, rising up immediately from the wall, so that they seem a + part of it. The height of it, I suppose, may be thirty or forty feet, and, + in some parts, you look down from the parapet into orchards, where there + are tall apple-trees, and men on the branches, gathering fruit, and women + and children among the grass, filling bags or baskets. There are prospects + of the surrounding country among the buildings outside the wall; at one + point, a view of the river Dee, with an old bridge of arches. It is all + very strange, very quaint, very curious to see how the town has overflowed + its barrier, and how, like many institutions here, the ancient wall still + exists, but is turned to quite another purpose than what it was meant for,—so + far as it serves any purpose at all. There are three or four towers in the + course of the circuit; the most interesting being one from the top of + which King Charles the First is said to have seen the rout of his army by + the Parliamentarians. We ascended the short flight of steps that led up + into the tower, where an old man pointed out the site of the battle-field, + now thickly studded with buildings, and told us what we had already + learned from the guide-book. After this we went into the cathedral, which + I will perhaps describe on some other occasion, when I shall have seen + more of it, and to better advantage. The cloisters gave us the strongest + impression of antiquity; the stone arches being so worn and blackened by + time. Still an American must always have imagined a better cathedral than + this. There were some immense windows of painted glass, but all modern. In + the chapter-house we found a coal-fire burning in a grate, and a large + heap of old books—the library of the cathedral—in a + discreditable state of decay,—mildewed, rotten, neglected for years. + The sexton told us that they were to be arranged and better ordered. Over + the door, inside, hung two failed and tattered banners, being those of the + Cheshire regiment. + </p> + <p> + The most utterly indescribable feature of Chester is the Rows, which every + traveller has attempted to describe. At the height of several feet above + some of the oldest streets, a walk runs through the front of the houses, + which project over it. Back of the walk there are shops; on the outer side + is a space of two or three yards, where the shopmen place their tables, + and stands, and show-cases; overhead, just high enough for persons to + stand erect, a ceiling. At frequent intervals little narrow passages go + winding in among the houses, which all along are closely conjoined, and + seem to have no access or exit, except through the shops, or into these + narrow passages, where you can touch each side with your elbows, and the + top with your hand. We penetrated into one or two of them, and they smelt + anciently and disagreeably. At one of the doors stood a pale-looking, but + cheerful and good-natured woman, who told us that she had come to that + house when first married, twenty-one years before, and had lived there + ever since; and that she felt as if she had been buried through the best + years of her life. She allowed us to peep into her kitchen and parlor,—small, + dingy, dismal, but yet not wholly destitute of a home look. She said that + she had seen two or three coffins in a day, during cholera times, carried + out of that narrow passage into which her door opened. These avenues put + me in mind of those which run through ant-hills, or those which a mole + makes underground. This fashion of Rows does not appear to be going out; + and, for aught I can see, it may last hundreds of years longer. When a + house becomes so old as to be untenantable, it is rebuilt, and the new one + is fashioned like the old, so far as regards the walk running through its + front. Many of the shops are very good, and even elegant, and these Rows + are the favorite places of business in Chester. Indeed, they have many + advantages, the passengers being sheltered from the rain, and there being + within the shops that dimmer light by which tradesmen like to exhibit + their wares. + </p> + <p> + A large proportion of the edifices in the Rows must be comparatively + modern; but there are some very ancient ones, with oaken frames visible on + the exterior. The Row, passing through these houses, is railed with oak, + so old that it has turned black, and grown to be as hard as stone, which + it might be mistaken for, if one did not see where names and initials have + been cut into it with knives at some bygone period. Overhead, cross-beams + project through the ceiling so low as almost to hit the head. On the front + of one of these buildings was the inscription, "GOD'S PROVIDENCE IS MINE + INHERITANCE," said to have been put there by the occupant of the house two + hundred years ago, when the plague spared this one house only in the whole + city. Not improbably the inscription has operated as a safeguard to + prevent the demolition of the house hitherto; but a shopman of an adjacent + dwelling told us that it was soon to be taken down. + </p> + <p> + Here and there, about some of the streets through which the Rows do not + run, we saw houses of very aged aspect, with steep, peaked gables. The + front gable-end was supported on stone pillars, and the sidewalk passed + beneath. Most of these old houses seemed to be taverns,—the Black + Bear, the Green Dragon, and such names. We thought of dining at one of + them, but, on inspection, they looked rather too dingy and close, and of + questionable neatness. So we went to the Royal Hotel, where we probably + fared just as badly at much more expense, and where there was a + particularly gruff and crabbed old waiter, who, I suppose, thought himself + free to display his surliness because we arrived at the hotel on foot. For + my part, I love to see John Bull show himself. I must go again and again + and again to Chester, for I suppose there is not a more curious place in + the world. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Ticknor, who has been staying at Rock Park with us since Tuesday, has + steamed away in the Canada this morning. His departure seems to make me + feel more abroad, more dissevered from my native country, than before. + </p> + <p> + October 3d.—Saturday evening, at six, I went to dine with Mr. Aiken, + a wealthy merchant here, to meet two of the sons of Burns. There was a + party of ten or twelve, Mr. Aiken and his two daughters included. The two + sons of Burns have both been in the Indian army, and have attained the + ranks of Colonel and Major; one having spent thirty, and the other + twenty-seven years in India. They are now old gentlemen of sixty and + upwards, the elder with a gray head, the younger with a perfectly white + one,—rather under than above the middle stature, and with a British + roundness of figure,—plain, respectable, intelligent-looking + persons, with quiet manners. I saw no resemblance in either of them to any + portrait of their father. After the ladies left the table, I sat next to + the Major, the younger of the two, and had a good deal of talk with him. + He seemed a very kindly and social man, and was quite ready to speak about + his father, nor was he at all reluctant to let it be seen how much he + valued the glory of being descended from the poet. By and by, at Mr. + Aiken's instance, he sang one of Burns's songs,—the one about + "Annie" and the "rigs of barley." He sings in a perfectly simple style, so + that it is little more than a recitative, and yet the effect is very good + as to humor, sense, and pathos. After rejoining the ladies, he sang + another, "A posie for my ain dear May," and likewise "A man's a man for a' + that." My admiration of his father, and partly, perhaps, my being an + American, gained me some favor with him, and he promised to give me what + he considered the best engraving of Burns, and some other remembrance of + him. The Major is that son of Burns who spent an evening at Abbotsford + with Sir Walter Scott, when, as Lockhart writes, "the children sang the + ballads of their sires." He spoke with vast indignation of a recent + edition of his father's works by Robert Chambers, in which the latter + appears to have wronged the poet by some misstatements.—I liked them + both and they liked me, and asked me to go and see there at Cheltenham, + where they reside. We broke up at about midnight. + </p> + <p> + The members of this dinner-party were of the more liberal tone of thinking + here in Liverpool. The Colonel and Major seemed to be of similar + principles; and the eyes of the latter glowed, when he sang his father's + noble verse, "The rank is but the guinea's stamp," etc. It would have been + too pitiable if Burns had left a son who could not feel the spirit of that + verse. + </p> + <p> + October 8th.—Coning to my office, two or three mornings ago, I found + Mrs. ———, the mother of Mr. ———, the + insane young man of whom I had taken charge. She is a lady of fifty or + thereabouts, and not very remarkable anyway, nor particularly lady-like. + However, she was just come off a rapid journey, having travelled from + Naples, with three small children, without taking rest, since my letter + reached her. A son (this proved to be her new husband) of about twenty had + come with her to the Consulate. She was, of course, infinitely grieved + about the young man's insanity, and had two or three bursts of tears while + we talked the matter over. She said he was the hope of her life,—the + best, purest, most innocent child that ever was, and wholly free from + every kind of vice. But it appears that he had a previous attack of + insanity, lasting three months, about three years ago. + </p> + <p> + After I had told her all I knew about him, including my personal + observations at a visit a week or two since, we drove in a cab to the + Asylum. It must have been a dismal moment to the poor lady, as we entered + the gateway through a tall, prison-like wall. Being ushered into the + parlor, the Governor soon appeared, and informed us that Mr. ——— + had had a relapse within a few days, and was not now so well as when I saw + him. He complains of unjust confinement, and seems to consider himself, if + I rightly understand, under persecution for political reasons. The + Governor, however, proposed to call him down, and I took my leave, feeling + that it would be indelicate to be present at his first interview with his + mother. So here ended my guardianship of the poor young fellow. + </p> + <p> + In the afternoon I called at the Waterloo Hotel, where Mrs. ——— + was staying, and found her in the coffee-room with the children. She had + determined to take a lodging in the vicinity of the Asylum, and was going + to remove thither as soon as the children had had something to eat. They + seemed to be pleasant and well-behaved children, and impressed me more + favorably than the mother, whom I suspect to be rather a foolish woman, + although her present grief makes her appear in a more respectable light + than at other times. She seemed anxious to impress me with the + respectability and distinction of her connections in America, and I had + observed the same tendency in the insane patient, at my interview with + him. However, she has undoubtedly a mother's love for this poor + shatterbrain, and this may weigh against the folly of her marrying an + incongruously youthful second husband, and many other follies. + </p> + <p> + This was day before yesterday, and I have heard nothing of her since. The + same day I had applications for assistance in two other domestic affairs; + one from an Irishman, naturalized in America, who wished me to get him a + passage thither, and to take charge of his wife and family here, at my own + private expense, until he could remit funds to carry them across. Another + was from an Irishman, who had a power of attorney from a countrywoman of + his in America, to find and take charge of an infant whom she had left in + the Liverpool work-house, two years ago. I have a great mind to keep a + list of all the business I am consulted about and employed in. It would be + very curious. Among other things, all penniless Americans, or pretenders + to Americanism, look upon me as their banker; and I could ruin myself any + week, if I had not laid down a rule to consider every applicant for + assistance an impostor until he prove himself a true and responsible man,—which + it is very difficult to do. Yesterday there limped in a very + respectable-looking old man, who described himself as a citizen of + Baltimore, who had been on a trip to England and elsewhere, and, being + detained longer than he expected, and having had an attack of rheumatism, + was now short of funds to pay his passage home, and hoped that I would + supply the deficiency. He had quite a plain, homely, though respectable + manner, and, for aught I know, was the very honestest man alive; but as he + could produce no kind of proof of his character and responsibility, I very + quietly explained the impossibility of my helping him. I advised him to + try to obtain a passage on board of some Baltimore ship, the master of + which might be acquainted with him, or, at all events, take his word for + payment, after arrival. This he seemed inclined to do, and took his leave. + There was a decided aspect of simplicity about this old man, and yet I + rather judge him to be an impostor. + </p> + <p> + It is easy enough to refuse money to strangers and unknown people, or + whenever there may be any question about identity; but it will not be so + easy when I am asked for money by persons whom I know, but do not like to + trust. They shall meet the eternal "No," however. + </p> + <p> + October 13th.—In Ormerod's history of Chester it is mentioned that + Randal, Earl of Chester, having made an inroad into Wales about 1225, the + Welshmen gathered in mass against him, and drove him into the castle of + Nothelert in Flintshire. The Earl sent for succor to the Constable of + Chester, Roger Lacy, surnamed "Hell," on account of his fierceness. It was + then fair-time at Chester, and the constable collected a miscellaneous + rabble of fiddlers, players, cobblers, tailors, and all manner of + debauched people, and led them to the relief of the Earl. At sight of this + strange army the Welshmen fled; and forever after the Earl assigned to the + constable of Chester power over all fiddlers, shoemakers, etc., within the + bounds of Cheshire. The constable retained for himself and his heirs the + control of the shoemakers; and made over to his own steward, Dutton, that + of the fiddlers and players, and for many hundreds of years afterwards the + Duttons of Dutton retained the power. On midsummer-day, they used to ride + through Chester, attended by all the minstrels playing on their several + instruments, to the Church of St. John, and there renew their licenses. It + is a good theme for a legend. Sir Peter Leycester, writing in Charles the + Second's time, copies the Latin deed from the constable to Dutton; rightly + translated, it seems to mean "the magisterial power over all the lewd + people . . . . in the whole of Cheshire," but the custom grew into what is + above stated. In the time of Henry VII., the Duttons claimed, by + prescriptive right, that the Cheshire minstrels should deliver them, at + the feast of St. John, four bottles of wine and a lance, and that each + separate minstrel should pay fourpence halfpenny. . . . + </p> + <p> + Another account says Ralph Dutton was the constable's son-in-law, and "a + lusty youth." + </p> + <p> + October 19th.—Coming to the ferry this morning a few minutes before + the boat arrived from town, I went into the ferry-house, a small stone + edifice, and found there an Irishman, his wife and three children, the + oldest eight or nine years old, and all girls. There was a good fire + burning in the room, and the family was clustered round it, apparently + enjoying the warmth very much; but when I went in both husband and wife + very hospitably asked me to come to the fire, although there was not more + than room at it for their own party. I declined on the plea that I was + warm enough, and then the woman said that they were very cold, having been + long on the road. The man was gray-haired and gray-bearded, clad in an old + drab overcoat, and laden with a huge bag, which seemed to contain + bedclothing or something of the kind. The woman was pale, with a thin, + anxious, wrinkled face, but with a good and kind expression. The children + were quite pretty, with delicate faces, and a look of patience and + endurance in them, but yet as if they had suffered as little as they + possibly could. The two elder were cuddled up close to the father, the + youngest, about four years old, sat in its mother's lap, and she had taken + off its small shoes and stockings, and was warming its feet at the fire. + Their little voices had a sweet and kindly sound as they talked in low + tones to their parents and one another. They all looked very shabby, and + yet had a decency about them; and it was touching to see how they made + themselves at home at this casual fireside, and got all the comfort they + could out of the circumstances. By and by two or three market-women came + in and looked pleasantly at them, and said a word or two to the children. + </p> + <p> + They did not beg of me, as I supposed they would; but after looking at + them awhile, I pulled out a piece of silver, and handed it to one of the + little girls. She took it very readily, as if she partly expected it, and + then the father and mother thanked me, and said they had been travelling a + long distance, and had nothing to subsist upon, except what they picked up + on the road. They found it impossible to live in England, and were now on + their way to Liverpool, hoping to get a passage back to Ireland, where, I + suppose, extreme poverty is rather better off than here. I heard the + little girl say that she should buy bread with the money. There is not + much that can be caught in the description of this scene; but it made me + understand, better than before, how poor people feel, wandering about in + such destitute circumstances, and how they suffer; and yet how they have a + life not quite miserable, after all, and how family love goes along with + them. Soon the boat arrived at the pier, and we all went on board; and as + I sat in the cabin, looking up through a broken pane in the skylight, I + saw the woman's thin face, with its anxious, motherly aspect; and the + youngest child in her arms, shrinking from the chill wind, but yet not + impatiently; and the eldest of the girls standing close by with her + expression of childish endurance, but yet so bright and intelligent that + it would evidently take but a few days to make a happy and playful child + of her. I got into the interior of this poor family, and understand, + through sympathy, more of them than I can tell. I am getting to possess + some of the English indifference as to beggars and poor people; but still, + whenever I come face to face with them, and have any intercourse, it seems + as if they ought to be the better for me. I wish, instead of sixpence, I + had given the poor family ten shillings, and denied it to a begging + subscriptionist, who has just fleeced me to that amount. How silly a man + feels in this latter predicament! + </p> + <p> + I have had a good many visitors at the Consulate from the United States + within a short time,—among others, Mr. D. D. Barnard, our late + minister to Berlin, returning homeward to-day by the Arctic; and Mr. + Sickles, Secretary of Legation to London, a fine-looking, intelligent, + gentlemanly young man. . . . With him came Judge Douglas, the chosen man + of Young America. He is very short, extremely short, but has an uncommonly + good head, and uncommon dignity without seeming to aim at it, being free + and simple in manners. I judge him to be a very able man, with the Western + sociability and free-fellowship. Generally I see no reason to be ashamed + of my countrymen who come out here in public position, or otherwise + assuming the rank of gentlemen. + </p> + <p> + October 20th.—One sees incidents in the streets here, occasionally, + which could not be seen in an American city. For instance, a week or two + since, I was passing a quiet-looking, elderly gentleman, when, all of a + sudden, without any apparent provocation, he uplifted his stick, and + struck a black-gowned boy a smart blow on the shoulders. The boy looked at + him wofully and resentfully, but said nothing, nor can I imagine why the + thing was done. In Tythebarne Street to-day I saw a woman suddenly assault + a man, clutch at his hair, and cuff him about the ears. The man, who was + of decent aspect enough, immediately took to his heels, full speed, and + the woman ran after him, and, as far as I could discern the pair, the + chase continued. + </p> + <p> + October 22d.—At a dinner-party at Mr. Holland's last evening, a + gentleman, in instance of Charles Dickens's unweariability, said that + during some theatrical performances in Liverpool he acted in play and + farce, spent the rest of the night making speeches, feasting, and drinking + at table, and ended at seven o'clock in the morning by jumping leap-frog + over the backs of the whole company. + </p> + <p> + In Moore's diary he mentions a beautiful Guernsey lily having been given + to his wife, and says that the flower was originally from Guernsey. A ship + from there had been wrecked on the coast of Japan, having many of the + lilies on board, and the next year the flowers appeared,—springing + up, I suppose, on the wave-beaten strand. + </p> + <p> + Wishing to send a letter to a dead man, who may be supposed to have gone + to Tophet,—throw it into the fire. + </p> + <p> + Sir Arthur Aston had his brains beaten out with his own wooden leg, at the + storming of Tredagh in Ireland by Cromwell. + </p> + <p> + In the county of Cheshire, many centuries ago, there lived a half-idiot, + named Nixon, who had the gift of prophecy, and made many predictions about + places, families, and important public events, since fulfilled. He seems + to have fallen into fits of insensibility previous to uttering his + prophecies. + </p> + <p> + The family of Mainwaring (pronounced Mannering), of Bromborough, had an + ass's head for a crest. + </p> + <p> + "Richard Dawson, being sick of the plague, and perceiving he must die, + rose out of his bed and made his grave, and caused his nephew to cast + straw into the grave, which was not far from the house, and went and laid + him down in the said grave, and caused clothes to be laid upon him, and so + departed out of this world. This he did because he was a strong man, and + heavier than his said nephew and a serving-wench were able to bury. He + died about the 24th of August. Thus was I credibly told he did, 1625." + This was in the township of Malpas, recorded in the parish register. + </p> + <p> + At Bickley Hall, taken down a few years ago, used to be shown the room + where the body of the Earl of Leicester was laid for a whole twelvemonth,—1659 + to 1660,—he having been kept unburied all that time, owing to a + dispute which of his heirs should pay his funeral expenses. + </p> + <p> + November 5th.—We all, together with Mr. Squarey, went to Chester + last Sunday, and attended the cathedral service. A great deal of ceremony, + and not unimposing, but rather tedious before it was finished,—occupying + two hours or more. The Bishop was present, but did nothing except to + pronounce the benediction. In America the sermon is the principal thing; + but here all this magnificent ceremonial of prayer and chanted responses + and psalms and anthems was the setting to a short, meagre discourse, which + would not have been considered of any account among the elaborate + intellectual efforts of New England ministers. While this was going on, + the light came through the stained glass windows and fell upon the + congregation, tingeing them with crimson. After service we wandered about + the aisles, and looked at the tombs and monuments,—the oldest of + which was that of some nameless abbot, with a staff and mitre half + obliterated from his tomb, which was under a shallow arch on one side of + the cathedral. There were also marbles on the walls, and lettered stones + in the pavement under our feet; but chiefly, if not entirely, of modern + date. We lunched at the Royal Hotel, and then walked round the city walls, + also crossing the bridge of one great arch over the Dee, and penetrating + as far into Wales as the entrance of the Marquis of Westminster's Park at + Eaton. It was, I think, the most lovely day as regards weather that I have + seen in England. + </p> + <p> + I passed, to-day, a man chanting a ballad in the street about a recent + murder, in a voice that had innumerable cracks in it, and was most + lugubrious. The other day I saw a man who was reading in a loud voice what + seemed to be an account of the late riots and loss of life in Wigan. He + walked slowly along the street as he read, surrounded by a small crowd of + men, women, and children; and close by his elbow stalked a policeman, as + if guarding against a disturbance. + </p> + <p> + November 14th.—There is a heavy dun fog on the river and over the + city to-day, the very gloomiest atmosphere that ever I was acquainted + with. On the river the steamboats strike gongs or ring bells to give + warning of their approach. There are lamps burning in the counting-rooms + and lobbies of the warehouses, and they gleam distinctly through the + windows. + </p> + <p> + The other day, at the entrance of the market-house, I saw a woman sitting + in a small hand-wagon, apparently for the purpose of receiving alms. There + was no attendant at hand; but I noticed that one or two persons who passed + by seemed to inquire whether she wished her wagon to be moved. Perhaps + this is her mode of making progress about the city, by the voluntary aid + of boys and other people who help to drag her. There is something in this—I + don't yet well know what—that has impressed me, as if I could make a + romance out of the idea of a woman living in this manner a public life, + and moving about by such means. + </p> + <p> + November 29th.—Mr. H. A. B. told me of his friend Mr. ——— + (who was formerly attache to the British Legation at Washington, and whom + I saw at Concord), that his father, a clergyman, married a second wife. + After the marriage, the noise of a coffin being nightly carried down the + stairs was heard in the parsonage. It could be distinguished when the + coffin reached a certain broad lauding and rested on it. Finally, his + father had to remove to another residence. Besides this, Mr. ——— + had had another ghostly experience,—having seen a dim apparition of + an uncle at the precise instant when the latter died in a distant place. + The attache is a credible and honorable fellow, and talks of these matters + as if he positively believed them. But Ghostland lies beyond the + jurisdiction of veracity. + </p> + <p> + In a garden near Chester, in taking down a summer-house, a tomb was + discovered beneath it, with a Latin inscription to the memory of an old + doctor of medicine, William Bentley, who had owned the place long ago, and + died in 1680. And his dust and bones had lain beneath all the merry times + in the summer-house. + </p> + <p> + December 1st.—It is curious to observe how many methods people put + in practice here to pick up a halfpenny. Yesterday I saw a man standing + bareheaded and barelegged in the mud and misty weather, playing on a fife, + in hopes to get a circle of auditors. Nobody, however, seemed to take any + notice. Very often a whole band of musicians will strike up,— + passing a hat round after playing a tune or two. On board the ferry, until + the coldest weather began, there were always some wretched musicians, with + an old fiddle, an old clarinet, and an old verdigrised brass bugle, + performing during the passage, and, as the boat neared the shore, sending + round one of their number to gather contributions in the hollow of the + brass bugle. They were a very shabby set, and must have made a very scanty + living at best. Sometimes it was a boy with an accordion, and his sister, + a smart little girl, with a timbrel,—which, being so shattered that + she could not play on it, she used only to collect halfpence in. + Ballad-singers, or rather chanters or croakers, are often to be met with + in the streets, but hand-organ players are not more frequent than in our + cities. + </p> + <p> + I still observe little girls and other children barelegged and barefooted + on the wet sidewalks. There certainly never was anything so dismal as the + November weather has been; never any real sunshine; almost always a mist; + sometimes a dense fog, like slightly rarefied wool, pervading the + atmosphere. + </p> + <p> + An epitaph on a person buried on a hillside in Cheshire, together with + some others, supposed to have died of the plague, and therefore not + admitted into the churchyards:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Think it not strange our bones ly here, + Thine may ly thou knowst not where." + Elizabeth Hampson. +</pre> + <p> + These graves were near the remains of two rude stone crosses, the purpose + of which was not certainly known, although they were supposed to be + boundary marks. Probably, as the plague-corpses were debarred from + sanctified ground, the vicinity of these crosses was chosen as having a + sort of sanctity. + </p> + <p> + "Bang beggar,"—an old Cheshire term for a parish beadle. + </p> + <p> + Hawthorne Hall, Cheshire, Macclesfield Hundred, Parish of Wilmslow, and + within the hamlet of Morley. It was vested at an early period in the + Lathoms of Irlam, Lancaster County, and passed through the Leighs to the + Pages of Earlshaw. Thomas Leigh Page sold it to Mr. Ralph Bower of + Wilmslow, whose children owned it in 1817. The Leighs built a chancel in + the church of Wilmslow, where some of them are buried, their arms painted + in the windows. The hall is an "ancient, respectable mansion of brick." + </p> + <p> + December 2d.—Yesterday, a chill, misty December day, yet I saw a + woman barefooted in the street, not to speak of children. + </p> + <p> + Cold and uncertain as the weather is, there is still a great deal of small + trade carried on in the open air. Women and men sit in the streets with a + stock of combs and such small things to sell, the women knitting as if + they sat by a fireside. Cheap crockery is laid out in the street, so far + out that without any great deviation from the regular carriage-track a + wheel might pass straight through it. Stalls of apples are innumerable, + but the apples are not fit for a pig. In some streets herrings are very + abundant, laid out on boards. Coals seem to be for sale by the + wheelbarrowful. Here and there you see children with some small article + for sale,—as, for instance, a girl with two linen caps. A somewhat + overladen cart of coal was passing along and some small quantity of the + coal fell off; no sooner had the wheels passed than several women and + children gathered to the spot, like hens and chickens round a handful of + corn, and picked it up in their aprons. We have nothing similar to these + street-women in our country. + </p> + <p> + December 10th.—I don't know any place that brings all classes into + contiguity on equal ground so completely as the waiting-room at Rock Ferry + on these frosty days. The room is not more than eight feet, square, with + walls of stone, and wooden benches ranged round them, and an open stove in + one corner, generally well furnished with coal. It is almost always + crowded, and I rather suspect that many persons who have no fireside + elsewhere creep in here and spend the most comfortable part of their day. + </p> + <p> + This morning, when I looked into the room, there were one or two gentlemen + and other respectable persons; but in the best place, close to the fire, + and crouching almost into it, was an elderly beggar, with the raggedest of + overcoats, two great rents in the shoulders of it disclosing the dingy + lining, all bepatched with various stuff covered with dirt, and on his + shoes and trousers the mud of an interminable pilgrimage. Owing to the + posture in which he sat, I could not see his face, but only the battered + crown and rim of the very shabbiest hat that ever was worn. Regardless of + the presence of women (which, indeed, Englishmen seldom do regard when + they wish to smoke), he was smoking a pipe of vile tobacco; but, after + all, this was fortunate, because the man himself was not personally + fragrant. He was terribly squalid,—terribly; and when I had a + glimpse of his face, it well befitted the rest of his development,— + grizzled, wrinkled, weather-beaten, yet sallow, and down-looking, with a + watchful kind of eye turning upon everybody and everything, meeting the + glances of other people rather boldly, yet soon shrinking away; a long + thin nose, a gray beard of a week's growth; hair not much mixed with gray, + but rusty and lifeless;—a miserable object; but it was curious to + see how he was not ashamed of himself, but seemed to feel that he was one + of the estates of the kingdom, and had as much right to live as other men. + He did just as he pleased, took the best place by the fire, nor would have + cared though a nobleman were forced to stand aside for him. When the + steamer's bell rang, he shouldered a large and heavy pack, like a pilgrim + with his burden of sin, but certainly journeying to hell instead of + heaven. On board he looked round for the best position, at first + stationing himself near the boiler-pipe; but, finding the deck damp + underfoot, he went to the cabin-door, and took his stand on the stairs, + protected from the wind, but very incommodiously placed for those who + wished to pass. All this was done without any bravado or forced impudence, + but in the most quiet way, merely because he was seeking his own comfort, + and considered that he had a right to seek it. It was an Englishman's + spirit; but in our country, I imagine, a beggar considers himself a kind + of outlaw, and would hardly assume the privileges of a man in any place of + public resort. Here beggary is a system, and beggars are a numerous class, + and make themselves, in a certain way, respected as such. Nobody evinced + the slightest disapprobation of the man's proceedings. In America, I + think, we should see many aristocratic airs on such provocation, and + probably the ferry people would there have rudely thrust the beggar aside; + giving him a shilling, however, which no Englishman would ever think of + doing. There would also have been a great deal of fun made of his squalid + and ragged figure; whereas nobody smiled at him this morning, nor in any + way showed the slightest disrespect. This is good; but it is the result of + a state of things by no means good. For many days there has been a great + deal of fog on the river, and the boats have groped their way along, + continually striking their bells, while, on all sides, there are responses + of bell and gong; and the vessels at anchor look shadow-like as we glide + past them, and the master of one steamer shouts a warning to the master of + another which he meets. The Englishmen, who hate to run any risk without + an equivalent object, show a good deal of caution and timidity on these + foggy days. + </p> + <p> + December 13th.—Chill, frosty weather; such an atmosphere as + forebodes snow in New England, and there has been a little here. Yet I saw + a barefooted young woman yesterday. The feet of these poor creatures have + exactly the red complexion of their hands, acquired by constant exposure + to the cold air. + </p> + <p> + At the ferry-room, this morning, was a small, thin, anxious-looking woman, + with a bundle, seeming in rather poor circumstances, but decently dressed, + and eying other women, I thought, with an expression of slight ill-will + and distrust; also, an elderly, stout, gray-haired woman, of respectable + aspect, and two young lady-like persons, quite pretty, one of whom was + reading a shilling volume of James's "Arabella Stuart." They talked to one + another with that up-and-down intonation which English ladies practise, + and which strikes an unaccustomed ear as rather affected, especially in + women of size and mass. It is very different from an American lady's mode + of talking: there is the difference between color and no color; the tone + variegates it. One of these young ladies spoke to me, making some remark + about the weather,—the first instance I have met with of a + gentlewoman's speaking to an unintroduced gentleman. Besides these, a + middle-aged man of the lower class, and also a gentleman's out-door + servant, clad in a drab great-coat, corduroy breeches, and drab cloth + gaiters buttoned from the knee to the ankle. He complained to the other + man of the cold weather; said that a glass of whiskey, every half-hour, + would keep a man comfortable; and, accidentally hitting his coarse foot + against one of the young lady's feet, said, "Beg pardon, ma'am,"—which + she acknowledged with a slight movement of the head. Somehow or other, + different classes seem to encounter one another in an easier manner than + with us; the shock is less palpable. I suppose the reason is that the + distinctions are real, and therefore need not be continually asserted. + </p> + <p> + Nervous and excitable persons need to talk a great deal, by way of letting + off their steam. + </p> + <p> + On board the Rock Ferry steamer, a gentleman coming into the cabin, a + voice addresses him from a dark corner, "How do you do, sir?"—"Speak + again!" says the gentleman. No answer from the dark corner; and the + gentleman repeats, "Speak again!" The speaker now comes out of the dark + corner, and sits down in a place where he can be seen. "Ah!" cries the + gentleman, "very well, I thank you. How do you do? I did not recognize + your voice." Observable, the English caution, shown in the gentleman's not + vouchsafing to say, "Very well, thank you!" till he knew his man. + </p> + <p> + What was the after life of the young man, whom Jesus, looking on, "loved," + and bade him sell all that he had, and give to the poor, and take up his + cross and follow him? Something very deep and beautiful might be made out + of this. + </p> + <p> + December 31st.—Among the beggars of Liverpool, the hardest to + encounter is a man without any legs, and, if I mistake not, likewise + deficient in arms. You see him before you all at once, as if he had + sprouted halfway out of the earth, and would sink down and reappear in + some other place the moment he has done with you. His countenance is + large, fresh, and very intelligent; but his great power lies in his fixed + gaze, which is inconceivably difficult to bear. He never once removes his + eye from you till you are quite past his range; and you feel it all the + same, although you do not meet his glance. He is perfectly respectful; but + the intentness and directness of his silent appeal is far worse than any + impudence. In fact, it is the very flower of impudence. I would rather go + a mile about than pass before his battery. I feel wronged by him, and yet + unutterably ashamed. There must be great force in the man to produce such + an effect. There is nothing of the customary squalidness of beggary about + him, but remarkable trimness and cleanliness. A girl of twenty or + thereabouts, who vagabondizes about the city on her hands and knees, + possesses, to a considerable degree, the same characteristics. I think + they hit their victims the more effectually from being below the common + level of vision. + </p> + <p> + January 3d, 1854.—Night before last there was a fall of snow, about + three or four inches, and, following it, a pretty hard frost. On the + river, the vessels at anchor showed the snow along their yards, and on + every ledge where it could lie. A blue sky and sunshine overhead, and + apparently a clear atmosphere close at hand; but in the distance a + mistiness became perceptible, obscuring the shores of the river, and + making the vessels look dim and uncertain. The steamers were ploughing + along, smoking their pipes through the frosty air. On the landing stage + and in the streets, hard-trodden snow, looking more like my New England + Home than anything I have yet seen. Last night the thermometer fell as low + as 13 degrees, nor probably is it above 20 degrees to-day. No such frost + has been known in England these forty years! and Mr. Wilding tells me that + he never saw so much snow before. + </p> + <p> + January 6th.—I saw, yesterday, stopping at a cabinet-maker's shop in + Church Street, a coach with four beautiful white horses, and a postilion + on each near-horse; behind, in the dicky, a footman; and on the box a + coachman, all dressed in livery. The coach-panel bore a coat-of-arms with + a coronet, and I presume it must have been the equipage of the Earl of + Derby. A crowd of people stood round, gazing at the coach and horses; and + when any of them spoke, it was in a lower tone than usual. I doubt not + they all had a kind of enjoyment of the spectacle, for these English are + strangely proud of having a class above them. + </p> + <p> + Every Englishman runs to "The Times" with his little grievance, as a child + runs to his mother. + </p> + <p> + I was sent for to the police court the other morning, in the case of an + American sailor accused of robbing a shipmate at sea. A large room, with a + great coal-fire burning on one side, and above it the portrait of Mr. + Rushton, deceased, a magistrate of many years' continuance. A long table, + with chairs, and a witness-box. One of the borough magistrates, a merchant + of the city, sat at the head of the table, with paper and pen and ink + before him; but the real judge was the clerk of the court, whose + professional knowledge and experience governed all the proceedings. In the + short time while I was waiting, two cases were tried, in the first of + which the prisoner was discharged. The second case was of a woman,—a + thin, sallow, hard-looking, careworn, rather young woman,—for + stealing a pair of slippers out of a shop: The trial occupied five minutes + or less, and she was sentenced to twenty-one days' imprisonment,—whereupon, + without speaking, she looked up wildly first into one policeman's face, + then into another's, at the same time wringing her hands with no theatric + gesture, but because her torment took this outward shape,—and was + led away. The Yankee sailor was then brought up,—an intelligent, but + ruffian-like fellow,—and as the case was out of the jurisdiction of + the English magistrates, and as it was not worth while to get him sent + over to America for trial, he was forthwith discharged. He stole a + comforter. + </p> + <p> + If mankind were all intellect, they would be continually changing, so that + one age would be entirely unlike another. The great conservative is the + heart, which remains the same in all ages; so that commonplaces of a + thousand years' standing are as effective as ever. + </p> + <p> + Monday, February 20th.—At the police court on Saturday, I attended + the case of the second mate and four seamen of the John and Albert, for + assaulting, beating, and stabbing the chief mate. The chief mate has been + in the hospital ever since the assault, and was brought into the court + to-day to give evidence,—a man of thirty, black hair, black eyes, a + dark complexion, disagreeable expression; sallow, emaciated, feeble, + apparently in pain, one arm disabled. He sat bent and drawn upward, and + had evidently been severely hurt, and was not yet fit to be out of bed. He + had some brandy-and-water to enable him to sustain himself. He gave his + evidence very clearly, beginning (sailor-like) with telling in what + quarter the wind was at the time of the assault, and which sail was taken + in. His testimony bore on one man only, at whom he cast a vindictive look; + but I think he told the truth as far as he knew and remembered it. Of the + prisoners the second mate was a mere youth, with long sandy hair, and an + intelligent and not unprepossessing face, dressed as neatly as a three or + four weeks' captive, with small, or no means, could well allow, in a + frock-coat, and with clean linen,—the only linen or cotton shirt in + the company. The other four were rude, brutish sailors, in flannel or + red-baize shirts. Three of them appeared to give themselves little + concern; but the fourth, a red-haired and red-bearded man,—Paraman, + by name,—evidently felt the pressure of the case upon himself. He + was the one whom the mate swore to have given him the first blow; and + there was other evidence of his having been stabbed with a knife. The + captain of the ship, the pilot, the cook, and the steward, all gave their + evidence; and the general bearing of it was, that the chief mate had a + devilish temper, and had misused the second mate and crew,—that the + four seamen had attacked him, and that Paraman had stabbed him; while all + but the steward concurred in saying that the second mate had taken no part + in the affray. The steward, however, swore to having seen him strike the + chief mate with a wooden marlinspike, which was broken by the blow. The + magistrate dismissed all but Paraman, whom I am to send to America for + trial. In my opinion the chief mate got pretty nearly what he deserved, + under the code of natural justice. While business was going forward, the + magistrate, Mr. Mansfield, talked about a fancy ball at which he had been + present the evening before, and of other matters grave and gay. It was + very informal; we sat at the table, or stood with our backs to the fire; + policemen came and went; witnesses were sworn on the greasiest copy of the + Gospels I ever saw, polluted by hundreds and thousands of perjured kisses; + and for hours the prisoners were kept standing at the foot of the table, + interested to the full extent of their capacity, while all others were + indifferent. At the close of the case, the police officers and witnesses + applied to me about their expenses. + </p> + <p> + Yesterday I took a walk with my wife and two children to Bebbington + Church. A beautifully sunny morning. My wife and U. attended church, J. + and I continued our walk. When we were at a little distance from the + church, the bells suddenly chimed out with a most cheerful sound, and + sunny as the morning. It is a pity we have no chimes of bells, to give the + churchward summons, at home. People were standing about the ancient + church-porch and among the tombstones. In the course of our walk, we + passed many old thatched cottages, built of stone, and with what looked + like a cow-house or pigsty at one end, making part of the cottage; also an + old stone farm-house, which may have been a residence of gentility in its + day. We passed, too, a small Methodist chapel, making one of a row of low + brick edifices. There was a sound of prayer within. I never saw a more + unbeautiful place of worship; and it had not even a separate existence for + itself, the adjoining tenement being an alehouse. + </p> + <p> + The grass along the wayside was green, with a few daisies. There was green + holly in the hedges, and we passed through a wood, up some of the + tree-trunks of which ran clustering ivy. + </p> + <p> + February 23d.—There came to see me the other day a young gentleman + with a mustache and a blue cloak, who announced himself as William + Allingham, and handed me a copy of his poems, a thin volume, with paper + covers, published by Routledge. I thought I remembered hearing his name, + but had never seen any of his works. His face was intelligent, dark, + pleasing, and not at all John-Bullish. He said that he had been employed + in the Customs in Ireland, and was now going to London to live by + literature,— to be connected with some newspaper, I imagine. He had + been in London before, and was acquainted with some of the principal + literary people,— among others, Tennyson and Carlyle. He seemed to + have been on rather intimate terms with Tennyson. We talked awhile in my + dingy and dusky Consulate, and he then took leave. His manners are good, + and he appears to possess independence of mind. + </p> + <p> + Yesterday I saw a British regiment march down to George's Pier, to embark + in the Niagara for Malta. The troops had nothing very remarkable about + them; but the thousands of ragged and squalid wretches, who thronged the + pier and streets to gaze on them, were what I had not seen before in such + masses. This was the first populace I have beheld; for even the Irish, on + the other side of the water, acquire a respectability of aspect. John Bull + is going with his whole heart into the Turkish war. He is very foolish. + Whatever the Czar may propose to himself, it is for the interest of + democracy that he should not be easily put down. The regiment, on its way + to embark, carried the Queen's colors, and, side by side with them, the + banner of the 28th,—yellow, with the names of the Peninsular and + other battles in which it had been engaged inscribed on it in a double + column. It is a very distinguished regiment; and Mr. Henry Bright + mentioned as one of its distinctions, that Washington had formerly been an + officer in it. I never heard of this. + </p> + <p> + February 27th.—We walked to Woodside in the pleasant forenoon, and + thence crossed to Liverpool. On our way to Woodside, we saw the remains of + the old Birkenhead Priory, built of the common red freestone, much + time-worn, with ivy creeping over it, and birds evidently at hone in its + old crevices. These ruins are pretty extensive, and seem to be the remains + of a quadrangle. A handsome modern church, likewise of the same red + freestone, has been built on part of the site occupied by the Priory; and + the organ was sounding within, while we walked about the premises. On some + of the ancient arches, there were grotesquely carved stone faces. The old + walls have been sufficiently restored to make them secure, without + destroying their venerable aspect. It is a very interesting spot; and so + much the more so because a modern town, with its brick and stone houses, + its flags and pavements, has sprung up about the ruins, which were new a + thousand years ago. The station of the Chester railway is within a hundred + yards. Formerly the monks of this Priory kept the only ferry that then + existed on the Mersey. + </p> + <p> + At a dinner at Mr. Bramley Moore's a little while ago, we had a + prairie-hen from the West of America. It was a very delicate bird, and a + gentleman carved it most skilfully to a dozen guests, and had still a + second slice to offer to them. + </p> + <p> + Aboard the ferry-boat yesterday, there was a laboring man eating oysters. + He took them one by one from his pocket in interminable succession, opened + them with his jack-knife, swallowed each one, threw the shell overboard, + and then sought for another. Having concluded his meal, he took out a clay + tobacco-pipe, filled it, lighted it with a match, and smoked it,—all + this, while the other passengers were looking at him, and with a perfect + coolness and independence, such as no single man can ever feel in America. + Here a man does not seem to consider what other people will think of his + conduct, but only whether it suits his own convenience to do so and so. It + may be the better way. + </p> + <p> + A French military man, a veteran of all Napoleon's wars, is now living, + with a false leg and arm, both movable by springs, false teeth, a false + eye, a silver nose with a flesh-colored covering, and a silver plate + replacing part of the skull. He has the cross of the Legion of Honor. + </p> + <p> + March 18th.—On Saturday I went with Mr. B—— to the + Dingle, a pleasant domain on the banks of the Mersey almost opposite to + Rock Ferry. Walking home, we looked into Mr. Thorn's Unitarian Chapel, Mr. + B——'s family's place of worship. There is a little graveyard + connected with the chapel, a most uninviting and unpicturesque square of + ground, perhaps thirty or forty yards across, in the midst of back fronts + of city buildings. About half the space was occupied by flat tombstones, + level with the ground, the remainder being yet vacant. Nevertheless, there + were perhaps more names of men generally known to the world on these few + tombstones than in any other churchyard in Liverpool,—Roscoe, Blanco + White, and the Rev. William Enfield, whose name has a classical sound in + my ears, because, when a little boy, I used to read his "Speaker" at + school. In the vestry of the chapel there were many books, chiefly old + theological works, in ancient print and binding, much mildewed and injured + by the damp. The body of the chapel is neat, but plain, and, being not + very large, has a kind of social and family aspect, as if the clergyman + and his people must needs have intimate relations among themselves. The + Unitarian sect in Liverpool have, as a body, great wealth and + respectability. + </p> + <p> + Yesterday I walked with my wife and children to the brow of a hill, + overlooking Birkenhead and Tranmere, and commanding a fine view of the + river, and Liverpool beyond. All round about new and neat residences for + city people are springing up, with fine names,—Eldon Terrace, Rose + Cottage, Belvoir Villa, etc., etc., with little patches of ornamented + garden or lawn in front, and heaps of curious rock-work, with which the + English are ridiculously fond of adorning their front yards. I rather + think the middling classes—meaning shopkeepers, and other + respectabilities of that level—are better lodged here than in + America; and, what I did not expect, the houses are a great deal newer + than in our new country! Of course, this can only be the case in places + circumstanced like Liverpool and its suburbs. But, scattered among these + modern villas, there are old stone cottages of the rudest structure, and + doubtless hundreds of years old, with thatched roofs, into which the grass + has rooted itself, and now looks verdant. These cottages are in themselves + as ugly as possible, resembling a large kind of pigsty; but often, by dint + of the verdure on their thatch and the shrubbery clustering about them, + they look picturesque. + </p> + <p> + The old-fashioned flowers in the gardens of New England—blue-bells, + crocuses, primroses, foxglove, and many others—appear to be wild + flowers here on English soil. There is something very touching and pretty + in this fact, that the Puritans should have carried their field and hedge + flowers, and nurtured theme in their gardens, until, to us, they seem + entirely the product of cultivation. + </p> + <p> + March 16th.—Yesterday, at the coroner's court, attending the inquest + on a black sailor who died on board an American vessel, after her arrival + at this port. The court-room is capable of accommodating perhaps fifty + people, dingy, with a pyramidal skylight above, and a single window on one + side, opening into a gloomy back court. A private room, also lighted with + a pyramidal skylight, is behind the court-room, into which I was asked, + and found the coroner, a gray-headed, grave, intelligent, broad, red-faced + man, with an air of some authority, well mannered and dignified, but not + exactly a gentleman,—dressed in a blue coat, with a black cravat, + showing a shirt-collar above it. Considering how many and what a variety + of cases of the ugliest death are constantly coming before him, he was + much more cheerful than could be expected, and had a kind of formality and + orderliness which I suppose balances the exceptionalities with which he + has to deal. In the private room with him was likewise the surgeon, who + professionally attends the court. We chatted about suicide and such + matters,—the surgeon, the coroner, and I,—until the American + case was ready, when we adjourned to the court-room, and the coroner began + the examination. The American captain was a rude, uncouth Down-Easter, + about thirty years old, and sat on a bench, doubled and bent into an + indescribable attitude, out of which he occasionally straightened himself, + all the time toying with a ruler, or some such article. The case was one + of no interest; the man had been frost-bitten, and died from natural + causes, so that no censure was deserved or passed upon the captain. The + jury, who had been examining the body, were at first inclined to think + that the man had not been frostbitten, but that his feet had been immersed + in boiling water; but, on explanation by the surgeon, readily yielded + their opinion, and gave the verdict which the coroner put into their + mouths, exculpating the captain from all blame. In fact, it is utterly + impossible that a jury of chance individuals should not be entirely + governed by the judgment of so experienced and weighty a man as the + coroner. In the court-room were two or three police officers in uniform, + and some other officials, a very few idle spectators, and a few witnesses + waiting to be examined. And while the case was going forward, a + poor-looking woman came in, and I heard her, in an undertone, telling an + attendant of a death that had just occurred. The attendant received the + communication in a very quiet and matter-of-course way, said that it + should be attended to, and the woman retired. + </p> + <p> + THE DIARY OF A CORONER would be a work likely to meet with large popular + acceptance. A dark passageway, only a few yards in extent, leads from the + liveliest street in Liverpool to this coroner's court-room, where all the + discussion is about murder and suicide. It seems, that, after a verdict of + suicide, the corpse can only be buried at midnight, without religious + rites. + </p> + <p> + "His lines are cast in pleasant places,"—applied to a successful + angler. + </p> + <p> + A woman's chastity consists, like an onion, of a series of coats. You may + strip off the outer ones without doing much mischief, perhaps none at all; + but you keep taking off one after another, in expectation of coming to the + inner nucleus, including the whole value of the matter. It proves however, + that there is no such nucleus, and that chastity is diffused through the + whole series of coats, is lessened with the removal of each, and vanishes + with the final one, which you supposed would introduce you to the hidden + pearl. + </p> + <p> + March 23d.—Mr. B. and I took a cab Saturday afternoon, and drove out + of the city in the direction of Knowsley. On our way we saw many + gentlemen's or rich people's places, some of them dignified with the title + of Halls,—with lodges at their gates, and standing considerably + removed from the road. The greater part of them were built of brick,—a + material with which I have not been accustomed to associate ideas of + grandeur; but it was much in use here in Lancashire, in the Elizabethan + age,—more, I think, than now. These suburban residences, however, + are of much later date than Elizabeth's time. Among other places, Mr. B. + called at the Hazels, the residence of Sir Thomas Birch, a kinsman of his. + It is a large brick mansion, and has old trees and shrubbery about it, the + latter very fine and verdant,—hazels, holly, rhododendron, etc. Mr. + B. went in, and shortly afterwards Sir Thomas Birch came out,—a very + frank and hospitable gentleman,—and pressed me to enter and take + luncheon, which latter hospitality I declined. + </p> + <p> + His house is in very nice order. He had a good many pictures, and, amongst + them, a small portrait of his mother, painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence, when + a youth. It is unfinished, and when the painter was at the height of his + fame, he was asked to finish it. But Lawrence, after looking at the + picture, refused to retouch it, saying that there was a merit in this + early sketch which he could no longer attain. It was really a very + beautiful picture of a lovely woman. + </p> + <p> + Sir Thomas Birch proposed to go with us and get us admittance into + Knowsley Park, where we could not possibly find entrance without his aid. + So we went to the stables, where the old groom had already shown + hospitality to our cabman, by giving his horse some provender, and himself + some beer. There seemed to be a kindly and familiar sort of intercourse + between the old servant and the Baronet, each of them, I presume, looking + on their connection as indissoluble. + </p> + <p> + The gate-warden of Knowsley Park was an old woman, who readily gave us + admittance at Sir Thomas Birch's request. The family of the Earl of Derby + is not now at the Park. It was a very bad time of year to see it; the + trees just showing the earliest symptoms of vitality, while whole acres of + ground were covered with large, dry, brown ferns,—which I suppose + are very beautiful when green. Two or three hares scampered out of these + ferns, and sat on their hind legs looking about them, as we drove by. A + sheet of water had been drawn off, in order to deepen its bed. The oaks + did not seem to me so magnificent as they should be in an ancient noble + property like this. A century does not accomplish so much for a tree, in + this slow region, as it does in ours. I think, however, that they were + more individual and picturesque, with more character in their contorted + trunks; therein somewhat resembling apple-trees. Our forest-trees have a + great sameness of character, like our people,— because one and the + other grow too closely. + </p> + <p> + In one part of the Park we came to a small tower, for what purpose I know + not, unless as an observatory; and near it was a marble statue on a high + pedestal. The statue had been long exposed to the weather, and was + overgrown and ingrained with moss and lichens, so that its classic beauty + was in some sort gothicized. A half-mile or so from this point, we saw the + mansion of Knowsley, in the midst of a very fine prospect, with a + tolerably high ridge of hills in the distance. The house itself is + exceedingly vast, a front and two wings, with suites of rooms, I suppose, + interminable. The oldest part, Sir Thomas Birch told us, is a tower of the + time of Henry VII. Nevertheless, the effect is not overwhelming, because + the edifice looks low in proportion to its great extent over the ground; + and besides, a good deal of it is built of brick, with white + window-frames, so that, looking at separate parts, I might think them + American structures, without the smart addition of green Venetian blinds, + so universal with us. Portions, however, were built of red freestone; and + if I had looked at it longer, no doubt I should have admired it more. We + merely drove round it from the rear to the front. It stands in my memory + rather like a college or a hospital, than as the ancestral residence of a + great English noble. + </p> + <p> + We left the Park in another direction, and passed through a part of Lord + Sefton's property, by a private road. + </p> + <p> + By the by, we saw half a dozen policemen, in their blue coats and + embroidered collars, after entering Knowsley Park; but the Earl's own + servants would probably have supplied their place, had the family been at + home. The mansion of Croxteth, the seat of Lord Sefton, stands near the + public road, and, though large, looked of rather narrow compass after + Knowsley. + </p> + <p> + The rooks were talking together very loquaciously in the high tops of the + trees near Sir Thomas Birch's house, it being now their building-time. It + was a very pleasant sound, the noise being comfortably softened by the + remote height. Sir Thomas said that more than half a century ago the rooks + used to inhabit another grove of lofty trees, close in front of the house; + but being noisy, and not altogether cleanly in their habits, the ladies of + the family grew weary of them and wished to remove them. Accordingly, the + colony was driven away, and made their present settlement in a grove + behind the house. Ever since that time not a rook has built in the ancient + grove; every year, however, one or another pair of young rooks attempt to + build among the deserted tree-tops, but the old rooks tear the new nest to + pieces as often as it is put together. Thus, either the memory of aged + individual rooks or an authenticated tradition in their society has + preserved the idea that the old grove is forbidden and inauspicious to + them. + </p> + <p> + A soil of General Arnold, named William Fitch Arnold, and born in 1794, + now possesses the estate of Little Messenden Abbey, Bucks County, and is a + magistrate for that county. He was formerly Captain of the 19th Lancers. + He has now two sons and four daughters. The other three sons of General + Arnold, all older than this one, and all military men, do not appear to + have left children; but a daughter married to Colonel Phipps, of the + Mulgrave family, has a son and two daughters. I question whether any of + our true-hearted Revolutionary heroes have left a more prosperous progeny + than this arch-traitor. I should like to know their feelings with respect + to their ancestor. + </p> + <p> + April 3d.—I walked with J——-, two days ago, to Eastham, + a village on the road to Chester, and five or six miles from Rock Ferry. + On our way we passed through a village, in the centre of which was a small + stone pillar, standing on a pedestal of several steps, on which children + were sitting and playing. I take it to have been an old Catholic cross; at + least, I know not what else it is. It seemed very ancient. Eastham is the + finest old English village I have seen, with many antique houses, and with + altogether a rural and picturesque aspect, unlike anything in America, and + yet possessing a familiar look, as if it were something I had dreamed + about. There were thatched stone cottages intermixed with houses of a + better kind, and likewise a gateway and gravelled walk, that perhaps gave + admittance to the Squire's mansion. It was not merely one long, wide + street, as in most New England villages, but there were several crooked + ways, gathering the whole settlement into a pretty small compass. In the + midst of it stood a venerable church of the common red freestone, with a + most reverend air, considerably smaller than that of Bebbington, but more + beautiful, and looking quite as old. There was ivy on its spire and + elsewhere. It looked very quiet and peaceful, and as if it had received + the people into its low arched door every Sabbath for many centuries. + There were many tombstones about it, some level with the ground, some + raised on blocks of stone, on low pillars, moss-grown and weather-worn; + and probably these were but the successors of other stones that had quite + crumbled away, or been buried by the accumulation of dead men's dust above + them. In the centre of the churchyard stood an old yew-tree, with immense + trunk, which was all decayed within, so that it is a wonder how the tree + retains any life,—which, nevertheless, it does. It was called "the + old Yew of Eastham," six hundred years ago! + </p> + <p> + After passing through the churchyard, we saw the village inn on the other + side. The doors were fastened, but a girl peeped out of the window at us, + and let us in, ushering us into a very neat parlor. There was a cheerful + fire in the grate, a straw carpet on the floor, a mahogany sideboard, and + a mahogany table in the middle of the room; and, on the walls, the + portraits of mine host (no doubt) and of his wife and daughters,—a + very nice parlor, and looking like what I might have found in a country + tavern at home, only this was an ancient house, and there is nothing at + home like the glimpse, from the window, of the church, and its red, + ivy-grown tower. I ordered some lunch, being waited on by the girl, who + was very neat, intelligent, and comely,—and more respectful than a + New England maid. As we came out of the inn, some village urchins left + their play, and ran to me begging, calling me "Master!" They turned at + once from play to begging, and, as I gave them nothing, they turned to + their play again. + </p> + <p> + This village is too far from Liverpool to have been much injured as yet by + the novelty of cockney residences, which have grown up almost everywhere + else, so far as I have visited. About a mile from it, however, is the + landing-place of a steamer (which runs regularly, except in the winter + months), where a large, new hotel is built. The grounds about it are + extensive and well wooded. We got some biscuits at the hotel, and I gave + the waiter (a splendid gentleman in black) four halfpence, being the + surplus of a shilling. He bowed and thanked me very humbly. An American + does not easily bring his mind to the small measure of English liberality + to servants; if anything is to be given, we are ashamed not to give more, + especially to clerical-looking persons, in black suits and white + neckcloths. + </p> + <p> + I stood on the Exchange at noon, to-day, to see the 18th Regiment, the + Connaught Rangers, marching down to embark for the East. They were a body + of young, healthy, and cheerful-looking men, and looked greatly better + than the dirty crowd that thronged to gaze at them. The royal banner of + England, quartering the lion, the leopard, and the harp, waved on the + town-house, and looked gorgeous and venerable. Here and there a woman + exchanged greetings with an individual soldier, as he marched along, and + gentlemen shook hands with officers with whom they happened to be + acquainted. Being a stranger in the land, it seemed as if I could see the + future in the present better than if I had been an Englishman; so I + questioned with myself how many of these ruddy-cheeked young fellows, + marching so stoutly away, would ever tread English ground again. The + populace did not evince any enthusiasm, yet there could not possibly be a + war to which the country could assent more fully than to this. I somewhat + doubt whether the English populace really feels a vital interest in the + nation. + </p> + <p> + Some years ago, a piece of rude marble sculpture, representing St. George + and the Dragon, was found over the fireplace of a cottage near Rock Ferry, + on the road to Chester. It was plastered over with pipe-clay, and its + existence was unknown to the cottagers, until a lady noticed the + projection and asked what it was. It was supposed to have originally + adorned the walls of the Priory at Birkenhead. It measured fourteen and a + half by nine inches, in which space were the heads of a king and queen, + with uplifted hands, in prayer; their daughters also in prayer, and + looking very grim; a lamb, the slain dragon, and St. George, proudly + prancing on what looks like a donkey, brandishing a sword over his head. + </p> + <p> + The following is a legend inscribed on the inner margin of a curious old + box:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "From Birkenhead into Hilbree + A squirrel might leap from tree to tree." +</pre> + <p> + I do not know where Hilbree is; but all round Birkenhead a squirrel would + scarcely find a single tree to climb upon. All is pavement and brick + buildings now. + </p> + <p> + Good Friday.—The English and Irish think it good to plant on this + day, because it was the day when our Saviour's body was laid in the grave. + Seeds, therefore, are certain to rise again. + </p> + <p> + At dinner the other day, Mrs. ——— mentioned the origin + of Franklin's adoption of the customary civil dress, when going to court + as a diplomatist. It was simply that his tailor had disappointed him of + his court suit, and he wore his plain one with great reluctance, because + he had no other. Afterwards, gaining great success and praise by his + mishap, he continued to wear it from policy. + </p> + <p> + The grandmother of Mrs. ——— died fifty years ago, at the + age of twenty-eight. She had great personal charms, and among them a head + of beautiful chestnut hair. After her burial in the family tomb, the + coffin of one of her children was laid on her own, so that the lid seems + to have decayed, or been broken from this cause; at any rate, this was the + case when the tomb was opened about a year ago. The grandmother's coffin + was then found to be filled with beautiful, glossy, living chestnut + ringlets, into which her whole substance seems to have been transformed, + for there was nothing else but these shining curls, the growth of half a + century in the tomb. An old man, with a ringlet of his youthful mistress + treasured on his heart, might be supposed to witness this wonderful thing. + </p> + <p> + Madam ———, who is now at my house, and very infirm, + though not old, was once carried to the grave, and on the point of being + buried. It was in Barbary, where her husband was Consul-General. He was + greatly attached to her, and told the pall-bearers at the grave that he + must see her once more. When her face was uncovered, he thought he + discerned signs of life, and felt a warmth. Finally she revived, and for + many years afterwards supposed the funeral procession to have been a + dream; she having been partially conscious throughout, and having felt the + wind blowing on her, and lifting the shroud from her feet,—for I + presume she was to be buried in Oriental style, without a coffin. Long + after, in London, when she was speaking of this dream, her husband told + her the facts, and she fainted away. Whenever it is now mentioned, her + face turns white. Mr. ———, her son, was born on + shipboard, on the coast of Spain, and claims four nationalities,—those + of Spain, England, Ireland, and the United States; his father being Irish, + his mother a native of England, himself a naturalized citizen of the + United States, and his father having registered his birth and baptism in a + Catholic church of Gibraltar, which gives him Spanish privileges. He has + hereditary claims to a Spanish countship. His infancy was spent in + Barbary, and his lips first lisped in Arabic. There has been an unsettled + and wandering character in his whole life. + </p> + <p> + The grandfather of Madam ———, who was a British officer, + once horsewhipped Paul Jones,—Jones being a poltroon. How singular + it is that the personal courage of famous warriors should be so often + called in question! + </p> + <p> + May 20th.—I went yesterday to a hospital to take the oath of a mate + to a protest. He had met with a severe accident by a fall on shipboard. + The hospital is a large edifice of red freestone, with wide, airy + passages, resounding with footsteps passing through them. A porter was + waiting in the vestibule. Mr. Wilding and myself were shown to the parlor, + in the first instance,—a neat, plainly furnished room, with + newspapers and pamphlets lying on the table and sofas. Soon the surgeon of + the house came,—a brisk, alacritous, civil, cheerful young man, by + whom we were shown to the apartment where the mate was lying. As we went + through the principal passage, a man was borne along in a chair looking + very pale, rather wild, and altogether as if he had just been through + great tribulation, and hardly knew as yet whereabouts he was. I noticed + that his left arm was but a stump, and seemed done up in red baize,—at + all events it was of a scarlet line. The surgeon shook his right hand + cheerily, and he was carried on. This was a patient who had just had his + arm cut off. He had been a rough person apparently, but now there was a + kind of tenderness about him, through pain and helplessness. + </p> + <p> + In the chamber where the mate lay, there were seven beds, all of them + occupied by persons who had met with accidents. In the centre of the room + was a stationary pine table, about the length of a man, intended, I + suppose, to stretch patients upon for necessary operations. The furniture + of the beds was plain and homely. I thought that the faces of the patients + all looked remarkably intelligent, though they were evidently men of the + lower classes. Suffering had educated them morally and intellectually. + They gazed curiously at Mr. Wilding and me, but nobody said a word. In the + bed next to the mate lay a little boy with a broken thigh. The surgeon + observed that children generally did well with accidents; and this boy + certainly looked very bright and cheerful. There was nothing particularly + interesting about the mate. + </p> + <p> + After finishing our business, the surgeon showed us into another room of + the surgical ward, likewise devoted to cases of accident and injury. All + the beds were occupied, and in two of them lay two American sailors who + had recently been stabbed. They had been severely hurt, but were doing + very well. The surgeon thought that it was a good arrangement to have + several cases together, and that the patients kept up one another's + spirits,—being often merry together. Smiles and laughter may operate + favorably enough from bed to bed; but dying groans, I should think, must + be somewhat of a discouragement. Nevertheless, the previous habits and + modes of life of such people as compose the more numerous class of + patients in a hospital must be considered before deciding this matter. It + is very possible that their misery likes such bedfellows as it here finds. + </p> + <p> + As we were taking our leave, the surgeon asked us if we should not like to + see the operating-room; and before we could reply he threw open the door, + and behold, there was a roll of linen "garments rolled in blood,"— + and a bloody fragment of a human arm! The surgeon glanced at me, and + smiled kindly, but as if pitying my discomposure. + </p> + <p> + Gervase Elwes, son of Sir Gervase Elwes, Baronet, of Stoke, Suffolk, + married Isabella, daughter of Sir Thomas Hervey, Knight, and sister of the + first Earl of Bristol. This Gervase died before his father, but left a + son, Henry, who succeeded to the Baronetcy. Sir Henry died without issue, + and was succeeded by his sister's son, John Maggott Twining, who assumed + the name of Elwes. He was the famous miser, and must have had Hawthorne + blood in him, through his grandfather, Gervase, whose mother was a + Hawthorne. It was to this Gervase that my ancestor, William Hawthorne, + devised some land in Massachusetts, "if he would come over, and enjoy it." + My ancestor calls him his nephew. + </p> + <p> + June 12th.—Barry Cornwall, Mr. Procter, called on me a week or more + ago, but I happened not to be in the office. Saturday last he called + again, and as I had crossed to Rock Park he followed me thither. A plain, + middle-sized, English-looking gentleman, elderly, with short, white hair, + and particularly quiet in his manners. He talks in a somewhat low tone + without emphasis, scarcely distinct. His head has a good outline, and + would look well in marble. I liked him very well. He talked unaffectedly, + showing an author's regard to his reputation, and was evidently pleased to + hear of his American celebrity. He said that in his younger days he was a + scientific pugilist, and once took a journey to have a sparring encounter + with the Game-Chicken. Certainly, no one would have looked for a pugilist + in this subdued old gentleman. He is now Commissioner of Lunacy, and makes + periodical circuits through the country, attending to the business of his + office. He is slightly deaf, and this may be the cause of his unaccented + utterance,—owing to his not being able to regulate his voice exactly + by his own ear. He is a good man, and much better expressed by his real + name, Procter, than by his poetical one, Barry Cornwall. . . . He took my + hand in both of his at parting. . . . + </p> + <p> + June 17th.—At eleven, at this season (and how much longer I know + not), there is still a twilight. If we could only have such dry, + deliciously warm evenings as we used to have in our own land, what + enjoyment there might be in these interminable twilights! But here we + close the window-shutters, and make ourselves cosey by a coal-fire. + </p> + <p> + All three of the children, and, I think, my wife and myself, are going + through the hooping-cough. The east-wind of this season and region is most + horrible. There have been no really warm days; for though the sunshine is + sometimes hot, there is never any diffused heat throughout the air. On + passing from the sunshine into the shade, we immediately feel too cool. + </p> + <p> + June 20th.—The vagabond musicians about town are very numerous. On + board the steam ferry-boats, I have heretofore spoken of them. They infest + them from May to November, for very little gain apparently. A shilling a + day per man must be the utmost of their emolument. It is rather sad to see + somewhat respectable old men engaged in this way, with two or three + younger associates. Their instruments look much the worse for wear, and + even my unmusical ear can distinguish more discord than harmony. They + appear to be a very quiet and harmless people. Sometimes there is a woman + playing on a fiddle, while her husband blows a wind instrument. In the + streets it is not unusual to find a band of half a dozen performers, who, + without any provocation or reason whatever, sound their brazen instruments + till the houses re-echo. Sometimes one passes a man who stands whistling a + tune most unweariably, though I never saw anybody give him anything. The + ballad-singers are the strangest, from the total lack of any music in + their cracked voices. Sometimes you see a space cleared in the street, and + a foreigner playing, while a girl— weather-beaten, tanned, and + wholly uncomely in face and shabby in attire dances ballets. The common + people look on, and never criticise or treat any of these poor devils + unkindly or uncivilly; but I do not observe that they give them anything. + </p> + <p> + A crowd—or, at all events, a moderate-sized group—is much more + easily drawn together here than with us. The people have a good deal of + idle and momentary curiosity, and are always ready to stop when another + person has stopped, so as to see what has attracted his attention. I + hardly ever pause to look at a shop-window, without being immediately + incommoded by boys and men, who stop likewise, and would forthwith throng + the pavement if I did not move on. + </p> + <p> + June 30th.—If it is not known how and when a man dies, it makes a + ghost of him for many years thereafter, perhaps for centuries. King Arthur + is an example; also the Emperor Frederic, and other famous men, who were + thought to be alive ages after their disappearance. So with private + individuals. I had an uncle John, who went a voyage to sea about the + beginning of the War of 1812, and has never returned to this hour. But as + long as his mother lived, as many as twenty years, she never gave up the + hope of his return, and was constantly hearing stories of persons whose + description answered to his. Some people actually affirmed that they had + seen him in various parts of the world. Thus, so far as her belief was + concerned, he still walked the earth. And even to this day I never see his + name, which is no very uncommon one, without thinking that this may be the + lost uncle. + </p> + <p> + Thus, too, the French Dauphin still exists, or a kind of ghost of him; the + three Tells, too, in the cavern of Uri. + </p> + <p> + July 6th.—Mr. Cecil, the other day, was saying that England could + produce as fine peaches as any other country. I asked what was the + particular excellence of a peach, and he answered, "Its cooling and + refreshing quality, like that of a melon!" Just think of this idea of the + richest, most luscious, of all fruits! But the untravelled Englishman has + no more idea of what fruit is than of what sunshine is; he thinks he has + tasted the first and felt the last, but they are both alike watery. I + heard a lady in Lord Street talking about the "broiling sun," when I was + almost in a shiver. They keep up their animal heat by means of wine and + ale, else they could not bear this climate. + </p> + <p> + July 19th.—A week ago I made a little tour in North Wales with Mr. + Bright. We left Birkenhead by railway for Chester at two o'clock; thence + for Bangor; thence by carriage over the Menai bridge to Beaumaris. At + Beaumaris, a fine old castle,—quite coming up to my idea of what an + old castle should be. A gray, ivy-hung exterior wall, with large round + towers at intervals; within this another wall, the place of the portcullis + between; and again, within the second wall the castle itself, with a + spacious green court-yard in front. The outer wall is so thick that a + passage runs in it all round the castle, which covers a space of three + acres. This passage gives access to a chapel, still very perfect, and to + various apartments in the towers,—all exceedingly dismal, and giving + very unpleasant impressions of the way in which the garrison of the castle + lived. The main castle is entirely roofless, but the hall and other rooms + are pointed out by the guide, and the whole is tapestried with abundant + ivy, so that my impression is of gray walls, with here and there a vast + green curtain; a carpet of green over the floors of halls and apartments; + and festoons around all the outer battlement, with an uneven and rather + perilous foot-path running along the top. There is a fine vista through + the castle itself, and the two gateways of the two encompassing walls. The + passage within the wall is very rude, both underfoot and on each side, + with various ascents and descents of rough steps,—sometimes so low + that your head is in danger; and dark, except where a little light comes + through a loophole or window in the thickness of the wall. In front of the + castle a tennis-court was fitted up, by laying a smooth pavement on the + ground, and casing the walls with tin or zinc, if I recollect aright. All + this was open to the sky; and when we were there, some young men of the + town were playing at the game. There are but very few of these + tennis-courts in England; and this old castle was a very strange place for + one. + </p> + <p> + The castle is the property of Sir Richard Bulkely, whose seat is in the + vicinity, and who owns a great part of the island of Anglesea, on which + Beaumaris lies. The hotel where we stopped was the Bulkely Arms, and Sir + Richard has a kind of feudal influence in the town. + </p> + <p> + In the morning we walked along a delightful road, bordering on the Menai + Straits, to Bangor Ferry. It was really a very pleasant road, overhung by + a growth of young wood, exceedingly green and fresh. English trees are + green all about their stems, owing to the creeping plants that overrun + them. There were some flowers in the hedges, such as we cultivate in + gardens. At the ferry, there was a whitewashed cottage; a woman or two, + some children, and a fisherman-like personage, walking to and fro before + the door. The scenery of the strait is very beautiful and picturesque, and + directly opposite to us lay Bangor,—the strait being here almost a + mile across. An American ship from Boston lay in the middle of it. The + ferry-boat was just putting off for the Bangor side, and, by the aid of a + sail, soon neared the shore. + </p> + <p> + At Bangor we went to a handsome hotel, and hired a carriage and two horses + for some Welsh place, the name of which I forget; neither can I remember a + single name of the places through which we posted that day, nor could I + spell them if I heard them pronounced, nor pronounce them if I saw them + spelt. It was a circuit of about forty miles, bringing us to Conway at + last. I remember a great slate-quarry; and also that many of the cottages, + in the first part of our drive, were built of blocks of slate. The + mountains were very bold, thrusting themselves up abruptly in peaks,—not + of the dumpling formation, which is somewhat too prevalent among the New + England mountains. At one point we saw Snowdon, with its bifold summit. We + also visited the smaller waterfall (this is a translation of an + unpronounceable Welsh name), which is the largest in Wales. It was a very + beautiful rapid, and the guide-book considers it equal in sublimity to + Niagara. Likewise there were one or two lakes which the guide-book greatly + admired, but which to me, who remembered a hundred sheets of blue water in + New England, seemed nothing more than sullen and dreary puddles, with bare + banks, and wholly destitute of beauty. I think they were nowhere more than + a hundred yards across. But the hills were certainly very good, and, + though generally bare of trees, their outlines thereby were rendered the + stronger and more striking. + </p> + <p> + Many of the Welsh women, particularly the older ones, wear black beaver + hats, high-crowned, and almost precisely like men's. It makes them look + ugly and witchlike. Welsh is still the prevalent language, and the only + one spoken by a great many of the inhabitants. I have had Welsh people in + my office, on official business, with whom I could not communicate except + through an interpreter. + </p> + <p> + At some unutterable village we went into a little church, where we saw an + old stone image of a warrior, lying on his back, with his hands clasped. + It was the natural son (if I remember rightly) of David, Prince of Wales, + and was doubtless the better part of a thousand years old. There was + likewise a stone coffin of still greater age; some person of rank and + renown had mouldered to dust within it, but it was now open and empty. + Also, there were monumental brasses on the walls, engraved with portraits + of a gentleman and lady in the costumes of Elizabeth's time. Also, on one + of the pews, a brass record of some persons who slept in the vault + beneath; so that, every Sunday, the survivors and descendants kneel and + worship directly over their dead ancestors. In the churchyard, on a flat + tombstone, there was the representation of a harp. I supposed that it must + be the resting-place of a bard; but the inscription was in memory of a + merchant, and a skilful manufacturer of harps. + </p> + <p> + This was a very delightful town. We saw a great many things which it is + now too late to describe, the sharpness of the first impression being + gone; but I think I can produce something of the sentiment of it + hereafter. + </p> + <p> + We arrived at Conway late in the afternoon, to take the rail for Chester. + I must see Conway, with its old gray wall and its unrivalled castle, + again. It was better than Beaumaris, and I never saw anything more + picturesque than the prospect from the castle-wall towards the sea. We + reached Chester at 10 P. M. The next morning, Mr. Bright left for + Liverpool before I was awake. I visited the Cathedral, where the organ was + sounding, sauntered through the Rows, bought some playthings for the + children, and left for home soon after twelve. + </p> + <p> + Liverpool, August 8th.—Visiting the Zoological Gardens the other day + with J——-, it occurred to me what a fantastic kind of life a + person connected with them might be depicted as leading,—a child, + for instance. The grounds are very extensive, and include arrangements for + all kinds of exhibitions calculated to attract the idle people of a great + city. In one enclosure is a bear, who climbs a pole to get cake and + gingerbread from the spectators. Elsewhere, a circular building, with + compartments for lions, wolves, and tigers. In another part of the garden + is a colony of monkeys, the skeleton of an elephant, birds of all kinds. + Swans and various rare water-fowl were swimming on a piece of water, which + was green, by the by, and when the fowls dived they stirred up black mud. + A stork was parading along the margin, with melancholy strides of its long + legs, and came slowly towards us, as if for companionship. In one + apartment was an obstreperously noisy society of parrots and macaws, most + gorgeous and diversified of hue. These different colonies of birds and + beasts were scattered about in various parts of the grounds, so that you + came upon them unexpectedly. Also, there were archery and + shooting-grounds, and a sewing. A theatre, also, at which a rehearsal was + going on,—we standing at one of the doors, and looking in towards + the dusky stage where the company, in their ordinary dresses, were + rehearsing something that had a good deal of dance and action in it. In + the open air there was an arrangement of painted scenery representing a + wide expanse of mountains, with a city at their feet, and before it the + sea, with actual water, and large vessels upon it, the vessels having only + the side that would be presented to the spectator. But the scenery was so + good that at a first casual glance I almost mistook it for reality. There + was a refreshment-room, with drinks and cakes and pastry, but, so far as I + saw, no substantial victual. About in the centre of the garden there was + an actual, homely-looking, small dwelling-house, where perhaps the + overlookers of the place live. Now this might be wrought, in an + imaginative description, into a pleasant sort of a fool's paradise, where + all sorts of unreal delights should cluster round some suitable personage; + and it would relieve, in a very odd and effective way, the stern realities + of life on the outside of the garden-walls. I saw a little girl, simply + dressed, who seemed to have her habitat within the grounds. There was also + a daguerreotypist, with his wife and family, carrying on his business in a + shanty, and perhaps having his home in its inner room. He seemed to be an + honest, intelligent, pleasant young man, and his wife a pleasant woman; + and I had J——-'s daguerreotype taken for three shillings, in a + little gilded frame. In the description of the garden, the velvet turf, of + a charming verdure, and the shrubbery and shadowy walks and large trees, + and the slopes and inequalities of ground, must not be forgotten. In one + place there was a maze and labyrinth, where a person might wander a long + while in the vain endeavor to get out, although all the time looking at + the exterior garden, over the low hedges that border the walks of the + maze. And this is like the inappreciable difficulties that often beset us + in life. + </p> + <p> + I will see it again before long, and get some additional record of it. + </p> + <p> + August 10th.—We went to the Isle of Man, a few weeks ago, where S——- + and the children spent a fortnight. I spent two Sundays with them. + </p> + <p> + I never saw anything prettier than the little church of Kirk Madden there. + It stands in a perfect seclusion of shadowy trees,—a plain little + church, that would not be at all remarkable in another situation, but is + most picturesque in its solitude and bowery environment. The churchyard is + quite full and overflowing with graves, and extends down the gentle slope + of a hill, with a dark mass of shadow above it. Some of the tombstones are + flat on the ground, some erect, or laid horizontally on low pillars or + masonry. There were no very old dates on any of these stones; for the + climate soon effaces inscriptions, and makes a stone of fifty years look + as old as one of five hundred,—unless it be slate, or something + harder than the usual red freestone. There was an old Runic monument, + however, near the centre of the churchyard, that had some strange + sculpture on it, and an inscription still legible by persons learned in + such matters. Against the tower of the church, too, there is a circular + stone, with carving on it, said to be of immemorial antiquity. There is + likewise a tall marble monument, as much as fifty feet high, erected some + years ago to the memory of one of the Athol family by his brother-officers + of a local regiment of which he was colonel. At one of the side-entrances + of the church, and forming the threshold within the thickness of the wall, + so that the feet of all who enter must tread on it, is a flat tombstone of + somebody who felt himself a sinner, no doubt, and desired to be thus + trampled upon. The stone is much worn. + </p> + <p> + The structure is extremely plain inside and very small. On the walls, over + the pews, are several monumental sculptures,—a quite elaborate one + to a Colonel Murray, of the Coldstreamn Guards; his military profession + being designated by banners and swords in marble.—Another was to a + farmer. + </p> + <p> + On one side of the church-tower there was a little penthouse, or lean-to,—merely + a stone roof, about three or four feet high, and supported by a single + pillar, beneath which was once deposited the bier. + </p> + <p> + I have let too much time pass before attempting to record my impressions + of the Isle of Man; but, as regards this church, no description can come + up to its quiet beauty, its seclusion, and its every requisite for an + English country church. + </p> + <p> + Last Sunday I went to Eastham, and, entering the churchyard, sat down on a + tombstone under the yew-tree which has been known for centuries as the + Great Tree of Eastham. Some of the village people were sitting on the + graves near the door; and an old woman came towards me, and said, in a + low, kindly, admonishing tone, that I must not let the sexton see me, + because he would not allow any one to be there in sacrament-time. I + inquired why she and her companions were there, and she said they were + waiting for the sacrament. So I thanked her, gave her a sixpence, and + departed. Close under the eaves, I saw two upright stones, in memory of + two old servants of the Stanley family,—one over ninety, and the + other over eighty years of age. + </p> + <p> + August 12th.—J——- and I went to Birkenhead Park + yesterday. There is a large ornamental gateway to the Park, and the + grounds within are neatly laid out, with borders of shrubbery. There is a + sheet of water, with swans and other aquatic fowl, which swim about, and + are fed with dainties by the visitors. Nothing can be more beautiful than + a swan. It is the ideal of a goose,—a goose beautified and + beatified. There were not a great many visitors, but some children were + dancing on the green, and a few lover-like people straying about. I think + the English behave better than the Americans at similar places. + </p> + <p> + There was a camera-obscure, very wretchedly indistinct. At the + refreshment-room were ginger-beer and British wines. + </p> + <p> + August 21st.—I was in the Crown Court on Saturday, sitting in the + sheriff's seat. The judge was Baron ———, an old + gentleman of sixty, with very large, long features. His wig helped him to + look like some strange kind of animal,—very queer, but yet with a + sagacious, and, on the whole, beneficent aspect. During the session some + mischievous young barrister occupied himself with sketching the judge in + pencil; and, being handed about, it found its way to me. It was very like + and very laughable, but hardly caricatured. The judicial wig is an + exceedingly odd affair; and as it covers both ears, it would seem intended + to prevent his Lordship, and justice in his person, from hearing any of + the case on either side, that thereby he may decide the better. It is like + the old idea of blindfolding the statue of Justice. + </p> + <p> + It seems to me there is less formality, less distance between the judge, + jury, witnesses, and bar, in the English courts than in our own. The judge + takes a very active part in the trial, constantly asking a question of the + witness on the stand, making remarks on the conduct of the trial, putting + in his word on all occasions, and allowing his own sense of the matter in + hand to be pretty plainly seen; so that, before the trial is over, and + long before his own charge is delivered, he must have exercised a very + powerful influence over the minds of the jury. All this is done, not + without dignity, yet in a familiar kind of way. It is a sort of paternal + supervision of the whole matter, quite unlike the cold awfulness of an + American judge. But all this may be owing partly to the personal + characteristics of Baron ———. It appeared to me, + however, that, from the closer relations of all parties, truth was likely + to be arrived at and justice to be done. As an innocent man, I should not + be afraid to be tried by Baron ———. + </p> + <h3> + EATON HALL. + </h3> + <p> + August 24th.—I went to Eaton Hall yesterday with my wife and Mr. G. + P. Bradford, via Chester. On our way, at the latter place, we visited St. + John's Church. It is built of the same red freestone as the cathedral, and + looked exceedingly antique, and venerable; this kind of stone, from its + softness, and its liability to be acted upon by the weather, being liable + to an early decay. Nevertheless, I believe the church was built above a + thousand years ago,—some parts of it, at least,—and the + surface of the tower and walls is worn away and hollowed in shallow sweeps + by the hand of Time. There were broken niches in several places, where + statues had formerly stood. All, except two or three, had fallen or + crumbled away, and those which remained were much damaged. The face and + details of the figure were almost obliterated. There were many gravestones + round the church, but none of them of any antiquity. Probably, as the + names become indistinguishable on the older stones, the graves are dug + over again, and filled with new occupants and covered with new stones, or + perhaps with the old ones newly inscribed. + </p> + <p> + Closely connected with the church was the clergyman's house, a + comfortable-looking residence; and likewise in the churchyard, with + tombstones all about it, even almost at the threshold, so that the + doorstep itself might have been a tombstone, was another house, of + respectable size and aspect. We surmised that this might be the sexton's + dwelling, but it proved not to be so; and a woman, answering our knock, + directed us to the place where he might be found. So Mr. Bradford and I + went in search of him, leaving S——- seated on a tombstone. The + sexton was a jolly-looking, ruddy-faced man, a mechanic of some sort, + apparently, and he followed us to the churchyard with much alacrity. We + found S——- standing at a gateway, which opened into the most + ancient, and now quite ruinous, part of the church, the present edifice + covering much less ground than it did some centuries ago. We went through + this gateway, and found ourselves in an enclosure of venerable walls, open + to the sky, with old Norman arches standing about, beneath the loftiest of + which the sexton told us the high altar used to stand. Of course, there + were weeds and ivy growing in the crevices, but not so abundantly as I + have seen them elsewhere. The sexton pointed out a piece of a statue that + had once stood in one of the niches, and which he himself, I think, had + dug up from several feet below the earth; also, in a niche of the walls, + high above our heads, he showed us an ancient wooden coffin, hewn out of a + solid log of oak, the hollow being made rudely in the shape of a human + figure. This too had been dug up, and nobody knew how old it was. While we + looked at all this solemn old trumpery, the curate, quite a young man, + stood at the back door of his house, elevated considerably above the + ruins, with his young wife (I presume) and a friend or two, chatting + cheerfully among themselves. It was pleasant to see them there. After + examining the ruins, we went inside of the church, and found it a dim and + dusky old place, quite paved over with tombstones, not an inch of space + being left in the aisles or near the altar, or in any nook or corner, + uncovered by a tombstone. There were also mural monuments and escutcheons, + and close against the wall lay the mutilated statue of a Crusader, with + his legs crossed, in the style which one has so often read about. The old + fellow seemed to have been represented in chain armor; but he had been + more battered and bruised since death than even during his pugnacious + life, and his nose was almost knocked away. This figure had been dug up + many years ago, and nobody knows whom it was meant to commemorate. + </p> + <p> + The nave of the church is supported by two rows of Saxon pillars, not very + lofty, but six feet six inches (so the sexton says) in diameter. They are + covered with plaster, which was laid on ages ago, and is now so hard and + smooth that I took the pillars to be really composed of solid shafts of + gray stone. But, at one end of the church, the plaster had been removed + from two of the pillars, in order to discover whether they were still + sound enough to support the building; and they prove to be made of blocks + of red freestone, just as sound as when it came from the quarry; for + though this stone soon crumbles in the open air, it is as good as + indestructible when sheltered from the weather. It looked very strange to + see the fresh hue of these two pillars amidst the dingy antiquity of the + rest of the structure. + </p> + <p> + The body of the church is covered with pews, the wooden enclosures of + which seemed of antique fashion. There were also modern stoves; but the + sexton said it was very cold there, in spite of the stoves. It had, I must + say, a disagreeable odor pervading it, in which the dead people of long + ago had doubtless some share,—a musty odor, by no means amounting to + a stench, but unpleasant, and, I should think, unwholesome. Old wood-work, + and old stones, and antiquity of all kinds, moral and physical, go to make + up this smell. I observed it in the cathedral, and Chester generally has + it, especially under the Rows. After all, the necessary damp and lack of + sunshine, in such a shadowy old church as this, have probably more to do + with it than the dead people have; although I did think the odor was + particularly strong over some of the tombstones. Not having shillings to + give the sexton, we were forced to give him half a crown. + </p> + <p> + The Church of St. John is outside of the city walls. Entering the East + gate, we walked awhile under the Rows, bought our tickets for Eaton Hall + and its gardens, and likewise some playthings for the children; for this + old city of Chester seems to me to possess an unusual number of toy-shops. + Finally we took a cab, and drove to the Hall, about four miles distant, + nearly the whole of the way lying through the wooded Park. There are many + sorts of trees, making up a wilderness, which looked not unlike the woods + of our own Concord, only less wild. The English oak is not a handsome + tree, being short and sturdy, with a round, thick mass of foliage, lying + all within its own bounds. It was a showery day. Had there been any + sunshine, there might doubtless have been many beautiful effects of light + and shadow in these woods. We saw one or two herds of deer, quietly + feeding, a hundred yards or so distant. They appeared to be somewhat + wilder than cattle, but, I think, not much wilder than sheep. Their + ancestors have probably been in a half-domesticated state, receiving food + at the hands of man, in winter, for centuries. There is a kind of poetry + in this, quite as much as if they were really wild deer, such as their + forefathers were, when Hugh Lupus used to hunt them. + </p> + <p> + Our miserable cab drew up at the steps of Eaton Hall, and, ascending under + the portico, the door swung silently open, and we were received very + civilly by two old men,—one, a tall footman in livery; the other, of + higher grade, in plain clothes. The entrance-hall is very spacious, and + the floor is tessellated or somehow inlaid with marble. There was statuary + in marble on the floor, and in niches stood several figures in antique + armor, of various dates; some with lances, and others with battle-axes and + swords. There was a two-handed sword, as much as six feet long; but not + nearly so ponderous as I have supposed this kind of weapon to be, from + reading of it. I could easily have brandished it. + </p> + <p> + I don't think I am a good sight-seer; at least, I soon get satisfied with + looking at the sights, and wish to go on to the next. + </p> + <p> + The plainly dressed old man now led us into a long corridor, which goes, I + think, the whole length of the house, about five hundred feet, arched all + the way, and lengthened interminably by a looking-glass at the end, in + which I saw our own party approaching like a party of strangers. But I + have so often seen this effect produced in dry-goods stores and elsewhere, + that I was not much impressed. There were family portraits and other + pictures, and likewise pieces of statuary, along this arched corridor; and + it communicated with a chapel with a scriptural altar-piece, copied from + Rubens, and a picture of St. Michael and the Dragon, and two, or perhaps + three, richly painted windows. Everything here is entirely new and fresh, + this part having been repaired, and never yet inhabited by the family. + This brand-newness makes it much less effective than if it had been lived + in; and I felt pretty much as if I were strolling through any other + renewed house. After all, the utmost force of man can do positively very + little towards making grand things or beautiful things. The imagination + can do so much more, merely on shutting one's eyes, that the actual effect + seems meagre; so that a new house, unassociated with the past, is + exceedingly unsatisfactory, especially when you have heard that the wealth + mud skill of man has here done its best. Besides, the rooms, as we saw + them, did not look by any means their best, the carpets not being down, + and the furniture being covered with protective envelopes. However, rooms + cannot be seen to advantage by daylight; it being altogether essential to + the effect, that they should be illuminated by artificial light, which + takes them somewhat out of the region of bare reality. Nevertheless, there + was undoubtedly great splendor, for the details of which I refer to the + guide-book. Among the family portraits, there was one of a lady famous for + her beautiful hand; and she was holding it up to notice in the funniest + way, —and very beautiful it certainly was. The private apartments of + the family were not shown us. I should think it impossible for the owner + of this house to imbue it with his personality to such a degree as to feel + it to be his home. It must be like a small lobster in a shell much too + large for him. + </p> + <p> + After seeing what was to be seen of the rooms, we visited the gardens, in + which are noble conservatories and hot-houses, containing all manner of + rare and beautiful flowers, and tropical fruits. I noticed some large + pines, looking as if they were really made of gold. The gardener + (under-gardener I suppose he was) who showed this part of the spectacle + was very intelligent as well as kindly, and seemed to take an interest in + his business. He gave S——- a purple everlasting flower, which + will endure a great many years, as a memento of our visit to Eaton Hall. + Finally, we took a view of the front of the edifice, which is very fine, + and much more satisfactory than the interior,—and returned to + Chester. + </p> + <p> + We strolled about under the unsavory Rows, sometimes scudding from side to + side of the street, through the shower; took lunch in a confectioner's + shop, and drove to the railway station in time for the three-o'clock + train. It looked picturesque to see two little girls, hand in hand, racing + along the ancient passages of the Rows; but Chester has a very evil smell. + </p> + <p> + At the railroad station, S——- saw a small edition of + "Twice-Told Tales," forming a volume of the Cottage Library; and, opening + it, there was the queerest imaginable portrait of myself,—so very + queer that we could not but buy it. The shilling edition of "The Scarlet + Letter" and "Seven Gables" are at all the book-stalls and shop-windows; + but so is "The Lamplighter," and still more trashy books. + </p> + <p> + August 26th.—All past affairs, all home conclusions, all people whom + I have known in America and meet again here, are strangely compelled to + undergo a new trial. It is not that they suffer by comparison with + circumstances of English life and forms of English manhood or womanhood; + but, being free from my old surroundings, and the inevitable prejudices of + home, I decide upon them absolutely. + </p> + <p> + I think I neglected to record that I saw Miss Martineau a few weeks since. + She is a large, robust, elderly woman, and plainly dressed; but withal she + has so kind, cheerful, and intelligent a face that she is pleasanter to + look at than most beauties. Her hair is of a decided gray, and she does + not shrink from calling herself old. She is the most continual talker I + ever heard; it is really like the babbling of a brook, and very lively and + sensible too; and all the while she talks, she moves the bowl of her + ear-trumpet from one auditor to another, so that it becomes quite an organ + of intelligence and sympathy between her and yourself. The ear-trumpet + seems a sensible part of her, like the antennae of some insects. If you + have any little remark to make, you drop it in; and she helps you to make + remarks by this delicate little appeal of the trumpet, as she slightly + directs it towards you; and if you have nothing to say, the appeal is not + strong enough to embarrass you. All her talk was about herself and her + affairs; but it did not seem like egotism, because it was so cheerful and + free from morbidness. And this woman is an Atheist, and thinks that the + principle of life will become extinct when her body is laid in the grave! + I will not think so; were it only for her sake. What! only a few weeds to + spring out of her mortality, instead of her intellect and sympathies + flowering and fruiting forever! + </p> + <p> + September 13th.—My family went to Rhyl last Thursday, and on + Saturday I joined them there, in company with O'Sullivan, who arrived in + the Behama from Lisbon that morning. We went by way of Chester, and found + S——- waiting for us at the Rhyl station. Rhyl is a most + uninteresting place, —a collection of new lodging-houses and hotels, + on a long sand-beach, which the tide leaves bare almost to the horizon. + The sand is by no means a marble pavement, but sinks under the foot, and + makes very heavy walking; but there is a promenade in front of the + principal range of houses, looking on the sea, whereon we have rather + better footing. Almost all the houses were full, and S——- had + taken a parlor and two bedrooms, and is living after the English fashion, + providing her own table, lights, fuel, and everything. It is very awkward + to our American notions; but there is an independence about it, which I + think must make it agreeable on better acquaintance. But the place is + certainly destitute of attraction, and life seems to pass very heavily. + The English do not appear to have a turn for amusing themselves. + </p> + <p> + Sunday was a bright and hot day, and in the forenoon I set out on a walk, + not well knowing whither, over a very dusty road, with not a particle of + shade along its dead level. The Welsh mountains were before me, at the + distance of three or four miles,—long ridgy hills, descending pretty + abruptly upon the plain; on either side of the road, here and there, an + old whitewashed, thatched stone cottage, or a stone farm-house, with an + aspect of some antiquity. I never suffered so much before, on this side of + the water, from heat and dust, and should probably have turned back had I + not espied the round towers and walls of an old castle at some distance + before me. Having looked at a guide-book, previously to setting out, I + knew that this must be Rhyddlan Castle, about three miles from Rhyl; so I + plodded on, and by and by entered an antiquated village, on one side of + which the castle stood. This Welsh village is very much like the English + villages, with narrow streets and mean houses or cottages, built in + blocks, and here and there a larger house standing alone; everything far + more compact than in our rural villages, and with no grassy street-margin + nor trees; aged and dirty also, with dirty children staring at the + passenger, and an undue supply of mean inns; most, or many of the men in + breeches, and some of the women, especially the elder ones, in black + beaver hats. The streets were paved with round pebbles, and looked squalid + and ugly. + </p> + <p> + The children and grown people stared lazily at me as I passed, but showed + no such alert and vivacious curiosity as a community of Yankees would have + done. I turned up a street that led me to the castle, which looked very + picturesque close at hand,—more so than at a distance, because the + towers and walls have not a sufficiently broken outline against the sky. + There are several round towers at the angles of the wall very large in + their circles, built of gray stone, crumbling, ivy-grown, everything that + one thinks of in an old ruin. I could not get into the inner space of the + castle without climbing over a fence, or clambering down into the moat; so + I contented myself with walking round it, and viewing it from the outside. + Through the gateway I saw a cow feeding on the green grass in the inner + court of the castle. In one of the walls there was a large triangular gap, + where perhaps the assailants had made a breach. Of course there were weeds + on the ruinous top of the towers, and along the summit of the wall. This + was the first castle built by Edward I. in Wales, and he resided here + during the erection of Conway Castle, and here Queen Eleanor gave birth to + a princess. Some few years since a meeting of Welsh bards was held within + it. + </p> + <p> + After viewing it awhile, and listening to the babble of some children who + lay on the grass near by, I resumed my walk, and, meeting a Welshman in + the village street, I asked him my nearest way back to Rhyl. "Dim + Sassenach," said he, after a pause. How odd that an hour or two on the + railway should have brought me amongst a people who speak no English! Just + below the castle, there is an arched stone bridge over the river Clwyd, + and the best view of the edifice is from hence. It stands on a gentle + eminence, commanding the passage of the river, and two twin round towers + rise close beside one another, whence, I suppose, archers have often drawn + their bows against the wild Welshmen, on the river-banks. Behind was the + line of mountains; and this was the point of defence between the hill + country and the lowlands. On the bridge stood a good many idle Welshmen, + leaning over the parapet, and looking at some small vessels that had come + up the river from the sea. There was the frame of a new vessel on the + stocks near by. + </p> + <p> + As I returned, on my way home, I again inquired my way of a man in + breeches, who, I found, could speak English very well. He was kind, and + took pains to direct me, giving me the choice of three ways, viz. the one + by which I came, another across the fields, and a third by the embankment + along the river-side. I chose the latter, and so followed the course of + the Clwyd, which is very ugly, with a tidal flow and wide marshy banks. On + its farther side was Rhyddlan marsh, where a battle was fought between the + Welsh and Saxons a thousand years ago. I have forgotten to mention that + the castle and its vicinity was the scene of the famous battle of the + fiddlers, between De Blandeville, Earl of Chester, and the Welsh, about + the time of the Conqueror. + </p> + <h3> + CONWAY CASTLE. + </h3> + <p> + September 13th.—On Monday we went with O'Sullivan to Conway by rail. + Certainly this must be the most perfect specimen of a ruinous old castle + in the whole world; it quite fills up one's idea. We first walked round + the exterior of the wall, at the base of which are hovels, with dirty + children playing about them, and pigs rambling along, and squalid women + visible in the doorways; but all these things melt into the + picturesqueness of the scene, and do not harm it. The whole town of Conway + is built in what was once the castle-yard, and the whole circuit of the + wall is still standing in a delightful state of decay. At the angles, and + at regular intervals, there are round towers, having half their circle on + the outside of the walls, and half within. Most of these towers have a + great crack pervading them irregularly from top to bottom; the ivy hangs + upon them,—the weeds grow on the tops. Gateways, three or four of + them, open through the walls, and streets proceed from them into the town. + At some points, very old cottages or small houses are close against the + sides, and, old as they are, they must have been built after the whole + structure was a ruin. In one place I saw the sign of an alehouse painted + on the gray stones of one of the old round towers. As we entered one of + the gates, after making the entire circuit, we saw an omnibus coming down + the street towards us, with its horn sounding. Llandudno was its place of + destination; and, knowing no more about it than that it was four miles + off, we took our seats. Llandudno is a watering-village at the base of the + Great Orme's Head, at the mouth of the Conway River. In this omnibus there + were two pleasant-looking girls, who talked Welsh together,—a + guttural, childish kind of a babble. Afterwards we got into conversation + with them, and found them very agreeable. One of them was reading Tupper's + "Proverbial Philosophy." On reaching Llandudno, S——- waited at + the hotel, while O'Sullivan, U——, and I ascended the Great + Orme's Head. There are copper-mines here, and we heard of a large cave, + with stalactites, but did not go so far as that. We found the old shaft of + a mine, however, and threw stones down it, and counted twenty before we + heard them strike the bottom. At the base of the Head, on the side + opposite the village, we saw a small church with a broken roof, and + horizontal gravestones of slate within the stone enclosure around it. The + view from the hill was most beautiful,—a blue summer sea, with the + distant trail of smoke from a steamer, and many snowy sails; in another + direction the mountains, near and distant, some of them with clouds below + their peaks. + </p> + <p> + We went to one of the mines which are still worked, and boys came running + to meet us with specimens of the copper ore for sale. The miners were not + now hoisting ore from the shaft, but were washing and selecting the + valuable fragments from great heaps of crumbled stone and earth. All about + this spot there are shafts and well-holes, looking fearfully deep and + black, and without the slightest protection, so that we might just as + easily have walked into them as not. Having examined these matters + sufficiently, we descended the hill towards the village, meeting parties + of visitors, mounted on donkeys, which is a much more sensible way of + ascending in a hot day than to walk. On the sides and summit of the hill + we found yellow gorse,—heath of two colors, I think, and very + beautiful,—and here and there a harebell. Owing to the + long-continued dry weather, the grass was getting withered and brown, + though not so much so as on American hill-pastures at this season. + Returning to the village, we all went into a confectioner's shop, and made + a good luncheon. The two prettiest young ladies whom I have seen in + England came into the shop and ate cakes while we were there. They + appeared to be living together in a lodging-house, and ordered some of + their housekeeping articles from the confectioner. + </p> + <p> + Next we went into the village bazaar,—a sort of tent or open shop, + full of knick-knacks and gewgaws, and bought some playthings for the + children. At half past one we took our seats in the omnibus, to return to + Conway. + </p> + <p> + We had as yet only seen the castle wall and the exterior of the castle; + now we were to see the inside. Right at the foot of it an old woman has + her stand for the sale of lithographic views of Conway and other places; + but these views are ridiculously inadequate, so that we did not buy any of + them. The admittance into the castle is by a wooden door of modern + construction, and the present seneschal is, I believe, the sexton of a + church. He remembered me as having been there a month or two ago; and + probably, considering that I was already initiated, or else because he had + many other visitors, he left us to wander about the castle at will. It is + altogether impossible to describe Conway Castle. Nothing ever can have + been so perfect in its own style, and for its own purposes, when it was + first built; and now nothing else can be so perfect as a picture of + ivy-grown, peaceful ruin. The banqueting-hall, all open to the sky and + with thick curtains of ivy tapestrying the walls, and grass and weeds + growing on the arches that overpass it, is indescribably beautiful. The + hearthstones of the great old fireplaces, all about the castle, seem to be + favorite spots for weeds to grow. There are eight large round towers, and + out of four of them, I think, rise smaller towers, ascending to a much + greater height, and once containing winding staircases, all of which are + now broken, and inaccessible from below, though, in at least one of the + towers, the stairs seemed perfect, high aloft. It must have been the + rudest violence that broke down these stairs; for each step was a thick + and heavy slab of stone, built into the wall of the tower. There is no + such thing as a roof in any part; towers, hall, kitchen, all are open to + the sky. One round tower, directly overhanging the railway, is so + shattered by the falling away of the lower part, that you can look quite + up into it and through it, while sitting in the cars; and yet it has stood + thus, without falling into complete ruin, for more than two hundred years. + I think that it was in this tower that we found the castle oven, an + immense cavern, big enough to bake bread for an army. The railway passes + exactly at the base of the high rock, on which this part of the castle is + situated, and goes into the town through a great arch that has been opened + in the castle wall. The tubular bridge across the Conway has been built in + a style that accords with the old architecture, and I observed that one + little sprig of ivy had rooted itself in the new structure. + </p> + <p> + There are numberless intricate passages in the thickness of the castle + walls, forming communications between tower and tower,—damp, chill + passages, with rough stone on either hand, darksome, and very likely + leading to dark pitfalls. The thickness of the walls is amazing; and the + people of those days must have been content with very scanty light, so + small were the apertures,—sometimes merely slits and loopholes, + glimmering through many feet of thickness of stone. One of the towers was + said to have been the residence of Queen Eleanor; and this was better + lighted than the others, containing an oriel-window, looking out of a + little oratory, as it seemed to be, with groined arches and traces of + ornamental sculpture, so that we could dress up some imperfect image of a + queenly chamber, though the tower was roofless and floorless. There was + another pleasant little windowed nook, close beside the oratory, where the + Queen might have sat sewing or looking down the river Conway at the + picturesque headlands towards the sea. We imagined her stately figure in + antique robes, standing beneath the groined arches of the oratory. There + seem to have been three chambers, one above another, in these towers, and + the one in which was the embowed window was the middle one. I suppose the + diameter of each of these circular rooms could not have been more than + twenty feet on the inside. All traces of wood-work and iron-work are quite + gone from the whole castle. These are said to have been taken away by a + Lord Conway in the reign of Charles II. There is a grassy space under the + windows of Queen Eleanor's tower,—a sort of outwork of the castle, + where probably, when no enemy was near, the Queen used to take the open + air in summer afternoons like this. Here we sat down on the grass of the + ruined wall, and agreed that nothing in the world could be so beautiful + and picturesque as Conway Castle, and that never could there have been so + fit a time to see it as this sunny, quiet, lovely afternoon. Sunshine + adapts itself to the character of a ruin in a wonderful way; it does not + "flout the ruins gray," as Scott says, but sympathizes with their decay, + and saddens itself for their sake. It beautifies the ivy too. + </p> + <p> + We saw, at the corner of this grass-plot around Queen Eleanor's tower, a + real trunk of a tree of ivy, with so stalwart a stem, and such a vigorous + grasp of its strong branches, that it would be a very efficient support to + the wall, were it otherwise inclined to fall. O that we could have ivy in + America! What is there to beautify us when our time of ruin comes? + </p> + <p> + Before departing, we made the entire circuit of the castle on its walls, + and O'Sullivan and I climbed by a ladder to the top of one of the towers. + While there, we looked down into the street beneath, and saw a + photographist preparing to take a view of the castle, and calling out to + some little girl in some niche or on some pinnacle of the walls to stand + still that he might catch her figure and face. I think it added to the + impressiveness of the old castle, to see the streets and the + kitchen-gardens and the homely dwellings that had grown up within the + precincts of this feudal fortress, and the people of to-day following + their little businesses about it. This does not destroy the charm; but + tourists and idle visitors do impair it. The earnest life of to-day, + however, petty and homely as it may be, has a right to its place alongside + of what is left of the life of other days; and if it be vulgar itself, it + does not vulgarize the scene. But tourists do vulgarize it; and I suppose + we did so, just like others. + </p> + <p> + We took the train back to Rhyl, where we arrived at about four o'clock, + and, having dined, we again took the rail for Chester, and thence to Rock + Park (that is, O'Sullivan and I), and reached home at about eleven + o'clock. + </p> + <p> + Yesterday, September 13th, I began to wear a watch from Bennet's, 65 + Cheapside, London. W. C. Bennet warrants it as the best watch which they + can produce. If it prove as good and as durable as he prophesies, J——- + will find it a perfect time-keeper long after his father has done with + Time. If I had not thought of his wearing it hereafter, I should have been + content with a much inferior one. No. 39,620. + </p> + <p> + September 20th.—I went back to Rhyl last Friday in the steamer. We + arrived at the landing-place at nearly four o'clock, having started at + twelve, and I walked thence to our lodgings, 18 West Parade. The children + and their mother were all gone out, and I sat some time in our parlor + before anybody came. The next morning I made an excursion in the omnibus + as far as Ruthin, passing through Rhyddlan, St. Asaph, Denbigh, and + reaching Ruthin at one o'clock. All these are very ancient places. St. + Asaph has a cathedral which is not quite worthy of that name, but is a + very large and stately church in excellent repair. Its square battlemented + tower has a very fine appearance, crowning the clump of village houses on + the hill-top, as you approach from Rhyddlan. The ascent of the hill is + very steep; so it is at Denbigh and at Ruthin,—the steepest streets, + indeed, that I ever climbed. Denbigh is a place of still more antique + aspect than St. Asaph; it looks, I think, even older than Chester, with + its gabled houses, many of their windows opening on hinges, and their + fronts resting on pillars, with an open porch beneath. The castle makes an + admirably ruinous figure on the hill, higher than the village. I had come + hither with the purpose of inspecting it, but as it began to rain just + then, I concluded to get into the omnibus and go to Ruthin. There was + another steep ascent from the commencement of the long street of Ruthin, + till I reached the market-place, which is of nearly triangular shape, and + an exceedingly old-looking place. Houses of stone or plastered brick; one + or two with timber frames; the roofs of an uneven line, and bulging out or + sinking in; the slates moss-grown. Some of them have two peaks and even + three in a row, fronting on the streets, and there is a stone market-house + with a table of regulations. In this market-place there is said to be a + stone on which King Arthur beheaded one of his enemies; but this I did not + see. All these villages were very lively, as the omnibus drove in; and I + rather imagine it was market-day in each of them,—there being quite + a bustle of Welsh people. The old women came round the omnibus courtesying + and intimating their willingness to receive alms,—witch-like women, + such as one sees in pictures or reads of in romances, and very unlike + anything feminine in America. Their style of dress cannot have changed for + centuries. It was quite unexpected to me to hear Welsh so universally and + familiarly spoken. Everybody spoke it. The omnibus-driver could speak but + imperfect English; there was a jabber of Welsh all through the streets and + market-places; and it flowed out with a freedom quite different from the + way in which they expressed themselves in English. I had had an idea that + Welsh was spoken rather as a freak and in fun than as a native language; + it was so strange to find another language the people's actual and earnest + medium of thought within so short a distance of England. But English is + scarcely more known to the body of the Welsh people than to the peasantry + of France. However, they sometimes pretend to ignorance, when they might + speak it fairly enough. + </p> + <p> + I took luncheon at the hotel where the omnibus stopped, and then went to + search out the castle. It appears to have been once extensive, but the + remains of it are now very few, except a part of the external wall. + Whatever other portion may still exist, has been built into a modern + castellated mansion, which has risen within the wide circuit of the + fortress,—a handsome and spacious edifice of red freestone, with a + high tower, on which a flag was flying. The grounds were well laid out in + walks, and really I think the site of the castle could not have been + turned to better account. I am getting tired of antiquity. It is certainly + less interesting in the long run than novelty; and so I was well content + with the fresh, warm, red hue of the modern house, and the unworn outline + of its walls, and its cheerful, large windows; and was willing that the + old ivy-grown ruins should exist now only to contrast with the modernisms. + These ancient walls, by the by, are of immense thickness. There is a + passage through the interior of a portion of them, the width from this + interior passage to the outer one being fifteen feet on one side, and I + know not how much on the other. + </p> + <p> + It continued showery all day; and the omnibus was crowded. I had chosen + the outside from Rhyl to Denbigh, but, all the rest of the journey, + imprisoned myself within. On our way home, an old lady got into the + omnibus,—a lady of tremendous rotundity; and as she tumbled from the + door to the farthest part of the carriage, she kept advising all the rest + of the passengers to get out. "I don't think there will be much rain, + gentlemen," quoth she, "you'll be much more comfortable on the outside." + As none of us complied, she glanced along the seats. "What! are you all + Saas'uach?" she inquired. As we drove along, she talked Welsh with great + fluency to one of the passengers, a young woman with a baby, and to as + many others as could understand her. It has a strange, wild sound, like a + language half blown away by the wind. The lady's English was very good; + but she probably prided herself on her proficiency in Welsh. My excursion + to-day had been along the valley of the Clwyd, a very rich and fertile + tract of country. + </p> + <p> + The next day we all took a long walk on the beach, picking up shells. + </p> + <p> + On Monday we took an open carriage and drove to Rhyddlan; whence we sent + back the carriage, meaning to walk home along the embankment of the river + Clwyd, after inspecting the castle. The fortress is very ruinous, having + been dismantled by the Parliamentarians. There are great gaps,—two, + at least, in the walls that connect the round towers, of which there were + six, one on each side of a gateway in front, and the same at a gateway + towards the river, where there is a steep descent to a wall and square + tower, at the water-side. Great pains and a great deal of gunpowder must + have been used in converting this castle into a ruin. There were one or + two fragments lying where they had fallen more than two hundred years ago, + which, though merely a conglomeration of small stones and mortar, were + just as hard as if they had been solid masses of granite. The substantial + thickness of the walls is composed of these agglomerated small stones and + mortar, the casing being hewn blocks of red freestone. This is much worn + away by the weather, wherever it has been exposed to the air; but, under + shelter, it looks as if it might have been hewn only a year or two ago. + Each of the round towers had formerly a small staircase turret rising + beside and ascending above it, in which a warder might be posted, but they + have all been so battered and shattered that it is impossible for an + uninstructed observer to make out a satisfactory plan of then. The + interior of each tower was a small room, not more than twelve or fifteen + feet across; and of these there seem to have been three stories, with + loop-holes for archery and not much other light than what came through + them. Then there are various passages and nooks and corners and square + recesses in the stone, some of which must have been intended for dungeons, + and the ugliest and gloomiest dungeons imaginable, for they could not have + had any light or air. There is not, the least, splinter of wood-work + remaining in any part of the castle,—nothing but bare stone, and a + little plaster in one or two places, on the wall. In the front gateway we + looked at the groove on each side, in which the portcullis used to rise + and fall; and in each of the contiguous round towers there was a + loop-hole, whence an enemy on the outer side of the portcullis might be + shot through with an arrow. + </p> + <p> + The inner court-yard is a parallelogram, nearly a square, and is about + forty-five of my paces across. It is entirely grass-grown, and vacant, + except for two or three trees that have been recently set out, and which + are surrounded with palings to keep away the cows that pasture in and + about the place. No window looks from the walls or towers into this + court-yard; nor are there any traces of buildings having stood within the + enclosure, unless it be what looks something like the flue of a chimney + within one of the walls. I should suppose, however, that there must have + been, when the castle was in its perfect state, a hall, a kitchen, and + other commodious apartments and offices for the King and his train, such + as there were at Conway and Beaumaris. But if so, all fragments have been + carried away, and all hollows of the old foundations scrupulously filled + up. The round towers could not have comprised all the accommodation of the + castle. There is nothing more striking in these ruins than to look upward + from the crumbling base, and see flights of stairs, still comparatively + perfect, by which you might securely ascend to the upper heights of the + tower, although all traces of a staircase have disappeared below, and the + upper portion cannot be attained. On three sides of the fortress is a + moat, about sixty feet wide, and cased with stone. It was probably of + great depth in its day, but it is now partly filled up with earth, and is + quite dry and grassy throughout its whole extent. On the inner side of the + moat was the outer wall of the castle, portions of which still remain. + Between the outer wall and the castle itself the space is also about sixty + feet. + </p> + <p> + The day was cloudy and lowering, and there were several little spatterings + of rain, while we rambled about. The two children ran shouting hither and + thither, and were continually clambering into dangerous places, racing + along ledges of broken wall. At last they altogether disappeared for a + good while; their voices, which had heretofore been plainly audible, were + hushed, nor was there any answer when we began to call them, while making + ready for our departure. But they finally appeared, coming out of the + moat, where they had been picking and eating blackberries,—which, + they said, grew very plentifully there, and which they were very reluctant + to leave. Before quitting the castle, I must not forget the ivy, which + makes a perfect tapestry over a large portion of the walls. + </p> + <p> + We walked about the village, which is old and ugly; small, irregular + streets, contriving to be intricate, though there are few of them; mean + houses, joining to each other. We saw, in the principal one, the + parliament house in which Edward I. gave a Charter, or allowed rights of + some kind to his Welsh subjects. The ancient part of its wall is entirely + distinguishable from what has since been built upon it. + </p> + <p> + Thence we set out to walk along the embankment, although the sky looked + very threatening. The wind, however, was so strong, and had such a full + sweep at us, on the top of the bank, that we decided on taking a path that + led from it across the moor. But we soon had cause to repent of this; for, + which way soever we turned, we found ourselves cut off by a ditch or a + little stream; so that here we were, fairly astray on Rhyddlan moor, the + old battle-field of the Saxons and Britons, and across which, I suppose, + the fiddlers and mountebanks had marched to the relief of the Earl of + Chester. Anon, too, it began to shower; and it was only after various + leaps and scramblings that we made our way to a large farm-house, and took + shelter under a cart-shed. The back of the house to which we gained access + was very dirty and ill-kept; some dirty children peeped at us as we + approached, and nobody had the civility to ask us in; so we took advantage + of the first cessation of the shower to resume our way. We were shortly + overtaken by a very intelligent-looking and civil man, who seemed to have + come from Rhyddlan, and said he was going to Rhyl. We followed his + guidance over stiles and along hedge-row paths which we never could have + threaded rightly by ourselves. + </p> + <p> + By and by our kind guide had to stop at an intermediate farm; but he gave + us full directions how to proceed, and we went on till it began to shower + again pretty briskly, and we took refuge in a little bit of old stone + cottage, which, small as it was, had a greater antiquity than any mansion + in America. The door was open, and as we approached, we saw several + children gazing at us; and their mother, a pleasant-looking woman, who + seemed rather astounded at the visit that was about to befall her, tried + to draw a tattered curtain over a part of her interior, which she fancied + even less fit to be seen than the rest. To say the truth, the house was + not at all better than a pigsty; and while we sat there, a pig came + familiarly to the door, thrust in his snout, and seemed surprised that he + should be driven away, instead of being admitted as one of the family. The + floor was of brick; there was no ceiling, but only the peaked gable + overhead. The room was kitchen, parlor, and, I suppose, bedroom for the + whole family; at all events, there was only the tattered curtain between + us and the sleeping accommodations. The good woman either could not or + would not speak a word of English, only laughing when S——- + said, "Dim Sassenach?" but she was kind and hospitable, and found a chair + for each of us. She had been making some bread, and the dough was on the + dresser. Life with these people is reduced to its simplest elements. It is + only a pity that they cannot or do not choose to keep themselves cleaner. + Poverty, except in cities, need not be squalid. When the shower abated a + little, we gave all the pennies we had to the children, and set forth + again. By the by, there were several colored prints stuck up against the + walls, and there was a clock ticking in a corner and some paper-hangings + pinned upon the slanting roof. + </p> + <p> + It began to rain again before we arrived at Rhyl, and we were driven into + a small tavern. After staying there awhile, we set forth between the + drops; but the rain fell still heavier, so that we were pretty well damped + before we got to our lodgings. After dinner, I took the rail for Chester + and Rock Park, and S——- and the children and maid followed the + next day. + </p> + <p> + September 22d.—I dined on Wednesday evening at Mr. John Heywood's, + Norris Green. Mr. Mouckton Mimes and lady were of the company. Mr. Mimes + is a very agreeable, kindly man, resembling Longfellow a good deal in + personal appearance; and he promotes, by his genial manners, the same + pleasant intercourse which is so easily established with Longfellow. He is + said to be a very kind patron of literary men, and to do a great deal of + good among young and neglected people of that class. He is considered one + of the best conversationists at present in society: it may very well be + so; his style of talking being very simple and natural, anything but + obtrusive, so that you might enjoy its agreeableness without suspecting + it. He introduced me to his wife (a daughter of Lord Crewe), with whom and + himself I had a good deal of talk. Mr. Milnes told me that he owns the + land in Yorkshire, whence some of the pilgrims of the Mayflower emigrated + to Plymouth, and that Elder Brewster was the Postmaster of the village. . + . . He also said that in the next voyage of the Mayflower, after she + carried the Pilgrims, she was employed in transporting a cargo of slaves + from Africa,—to the West Indies, I suppose. This is a queer fact, + and would be nuts for the Southerners. + </p> + <p> + Mem.—An American would never understand the passage in Bunyan about + Christian and Hopeful going astray along a by-path into the grounds of + Giant Despair,—from there being no stiles and by-paths in our + country. + </p> + <p> + September 26th.—On Saturday evening my wife and I went to a soiree + given by the Mayor and Mrs. Lloyd at the Town Hall to receive the Earl of + Harrowby. It was quite brilliant, the public rooms being really + magnificent, and adorned for the occasion with a large collection of + pictures, belonging to Mr. Naylor. They were mostly, if not entirely, of + modern artists,—of Turner, Wilkie, Landseer, and others of the best + English painters. Turner's seemed too ethereal to have been done by mortal + hands. + </p> + <p> + The British Scientific Association being now in session here, many + distinguished strangers were present. + </p> + <p> + September 29th.—Mr. Monekton Milnes called on me at the Consulate + day before yesterday. He is pleasant and sensible. Speaking of American + politicians, I remarked that they were seldom anything but politicians, + and had no literary or other culture beyond their own calling. He said the + case was the same in England, and instanced Sir ———, who + once called on him for information when an appeal had been made to him + respecting two literary gentlemen. Sir ——— had never + heard the names of either of these gentlemen, and applied to Mr. Milnes as + being somewhat conversant with the literary class, to know whether they + were distinguished and what were their claims. The names of the two + literary men were James Sheridan Knowles and Alfred Tennyson. + </p> + <p> + October 5th.—Yesterday I was present at a dejeuner on board the + James Barnes, on occasion of her coming under the British flag, having + been built for the Messrs. Barnes by Donald McKay of Boston. She is a + splendid vessel, and magnificently fitted up, though not with consummate + taste. It would be worth while that ornamental architects and upholsterers + should study this branch of art, since the ship-builders seem willing to + expend a good deal of money on it. In fact, I do not see that there is + anywhere else so much encouragement to the exercise of ornamental art. I + saw nothing to criticise in the solid and useful details of the ship; the + ventilation, in particular, being free and abundant, so that the hundreds + of passengers who will have their berths between decks, and at a still + lower depth, will have good air and enough of it. + </p> + <p> + There were four or five hundred persons, principally Liverpool merchants + and their wives, invited to the dejeuner; and the tables were spread + between decks, the berths for passengers not being yet put in. There was + not quite light enough to make the scene cheerful, it being an overcast + day; and, indeed, there was an English plainness in the arrangement of the + festal room, which might have been better exchanged for the flowery + American taste, which I have just been criticising. With flowers, and the + arrangement of flags, we should have made something very pretty of the + space between decks; but there was nothing to hide the fact that in a few + days hence there would be crowded berths and sea-sick steerage passengers + where we were now feasting. The cheer was very good,—cold fowl and + meats; cold pies of foreign manufacture very rich, and of mysterious + composition; and champagne in plenty, with other wines for those who liked + them. + </p> + <p> + I sat between two ladies, one of them Mrs. ———, a + pleasant young woman, who, I believe, is of American provincial nativity, + and whom I therefore regarded as half a countrywoman. We talked a good + deal together, and I confided to her my annoyance at the prospect of being + called up to answer a toast; but she did not pity me at all, though she + felt, much alarm about her husband, Captain ———, who was + in the same predicament. Seriously, it is the most awful part of my + official duty,— this necessity of making dinner-speeches at the + Mayor's, and other public or semi-public tables. However, my neighborhood + to Mrs. ——— was good for me, inasmuch as by laughing + over the matter with her came to regard it in a light and ludicrous way; + and so, when the time actually came, I stood up with a careless dare-devil + feeling. The chairman toasted the president immediately after the Queen, + and did me the honor to speak of myself in a most flattering manner, + something like this: "Great by his position under the Republic,—greater + still, I am bold to say, in the Republic of letters!" I made no reply at + all to this; in truth, I forgot all about it when I began to speak, and + merely thanked the company in behalf of the President, and my countrymen, + and made a few remarks with no very decided point to them. However, they + cheered and applauded, and I took advantage of the applause to sit down, + and Mrs. ——— informed me that I had succeeded admirably. + It was no success at all, to be sure; neither was it a failure, for I had + aimed at nothing, and I had exactly hit it. But after sitting down, I was + conscious of an enjoyment in speaking to a public assembly, and felt as if + I should like to rise again. It is something like being under fire,—a + sort of excitement, not exactly pleasure, but more piquant than most + pleasures. I have felt this before, in the same circumstances; but, while + on my legs, my impulse is to get through with my remarks and sit down + again as quickly as possible. The next speech, I think, was by Rev. Dr. + ———, the celebrated Arctic gentleman, in reply to a + toast complimentary to the clergy. He turned aside from the matter in + hand, to express his kind feelings towards America, where he said he had + been most hospitably received, especially at Cambridge University. He also + made allusions to me, and I suppose it would have been no more than civil + in me to have answered with a speech in acknowledgment, but I did not + choose to make another venture, so merely thanked him across the corner of + the table, for he sat near me. He is a venerable-looking, white-haired + gentleman, tall and slender, with a pale, intelligent, kindly face. + </p> + <p> + Other speeches were made; but from beginning to end there was not one + breath of eloquence, nor even one neat sentence; and I rather think that + Englishmen would purposely avoid eloquence or neatness in after-dinner + speeches. It seems to be no part of their object. Yet any Englishman + almost, much more generally than Americans, will stand up and talk on in a + plain way, uttering one rough, ragged, and shapeless sentence after + another, and will have expressed himself sensibly, though in a very rude + manner, before he sits down. And this is quite satisfactory to his + audience, who, indeed, are rather prejudiced against the man who speaks + too glibly. + </p> + <p> + The guests began to depart shortly after three o'clock. This morning I + have seen two reports of my little speech,—one exceedingly + incorrect; another pretty exact, but not much to my taste, for I seem to + have left out everything that would have been fittest to say. + </p> + <p> + October 6th.—The people, for several days, have been in the utmost + anxiety, and latterly in the highest exultation about Sebastopol,—and + all England, and Europe to boot, have been fooled by the belief that it + had fallen. This, however, now turns out to be incorrect; and the public + visage is somewhat grim, in consequence. I am glad of it. In spite of his + actual sympathies, it is impossible for a true American to be otherwise + than glad. Success makes an Englishman intolerable; and, already, on the + mistaken idea that the way was open to a prosperous conclusion of the war, + The Times had begun to throw out menaces against America. I shall never + love England till she sues to us for help, and, in the mean time, the + fewer triumphs she obtains, the better for all parties. An Englishman in + adversity is a very respectable character; he does not lose his dignity, + but merely comes to a proper conception of himself. It is rather touching + to an observer to see how much the universal heart is in this matter,—to + see the merchants gathering round the telegraphic messages, posted on the + pillars of the Exchange news-room, the people in the street who cannot + afford to buy a paper clustering round the windows of the news-offices, + where a copy is pinned up,—the groups of corporals and sergeants at + the recruiting rendezvous, with a newspaper in the midst of them and all + earnest and sombre, and feeling like one man together, whatever their + rank. I seem to myself like a spy or a traitor when I meet their eyes, and + am conscious that I neither hope nor fear in sympathy with them, although + they look at me in full confidence of sympathy. Their heart "knoweth its + own bitterness," and as for me, being a stranger and all alien, I + "intermeddle not with their joy." + </p> + <p> + October 9th.—My ancestor left England in 1630. I return in 1853. I + sometimes feel as if I myself had been absent these two hundred and + twenty-three years, leaving England just emerging from the feudal system, + and finding it, on my return, on the verge of republicanism. It brings the + two far-separated points of time very closely together, to view the matter + thus. + </p> + <p> + October 16th.—A day or two ago arrived the sad news of the loss of + the Arctic by collision with a French steamer off Newfoundland, and the + loss also of three or four hundred people. I have seldom been more + affected by anything quite alien from my personal and friendly concerns, + than by the death of Captain Luce and his son. The boy was a delicate lad, + and it is said that he had never been absent from his mother till this + time, when his father had taken him to England to consult a physician + about a complaint in his hip. So his father, while the ship was sinking, + was obliged to decide whether he would put the poor, weakly, timorous + child on board the boat, to take his hard chance of life there, or keep + him to go down with himself and the ship. He chose the latter; and within + half an hour, I suppose, the boy was among the child-angels. Captain Luce + could not do less than die, for his own part, with the responsibility of + all those lost lives upon him. He may not have been in the least to blame + for the calamity, but it was certainly too heavy a one for him to survive. + He was a sensible man, and a gentleman, courteous, quiet, with something + almost melancholy in his address and aspect. Oftentimes he has come into + my inner office to say good-by before his departures, but I cannot + precisely remember whether or no he took leave of me before this latest + voyage. I never exchanged a great many words with him; but those were kind + ones. + </p> + <p> + October 19th.—It appears to be customary for people of decent + station, but in distressed circumstances, to go round among their + neighbors and the public, accompanied by a friend, who explains the case. + I have been accosted in the street in regard to one of these matters; and + to-day there came to my office a grocer, who had become security for a + friend, and who was threatened with an execution,—with another + grocer for supporter and advocate. The beneficiary takes very little + active part in the affair, merely looking careworn, distressed, and + pitiable, and throwing in a word of corroboration, or a sigh, or an + acknowledgment, as the case may demand. In the present instance, the + friend, a young, respectable-looking tradesman, with a Lancashire accent, + spoke freely and simply of his client's misfortunes, not pressing the case + unduly, but doing it full justice, and saying, at the close of the + interview, that it was no pleasant business for himself. The broken grocer + was an elderly man, of somewhat sickly aspect. The whole matter is very + foreign to American habits. No respectable American would think of + retrieving his affairs by such means, but would prefer ruin ten times + over; no friend would take up his cause; no public would think it worth + while to prevent the small catastrophe. And yet the custom is not without + its good side as indicating a closer feeling of brotherhood, a more + efficient sense of neighborhood, than exists among ourselves, although, + perhaps, we are more careless of a fellow-creature's ruin, because ruin + with us is by no means the fatal and irretrievable event that it is in + England. + </p> + <p> + I am impressed with the ponderous and imposing look of an English legal + document,—an assignment of real estate in England, for instance,— + engrossed on an immense sheet of thickest paper, in a formal hand, + beginning with "This Indenture" in German text, and with occasional + phrases of form, breaking out into large script,—very long and + repetitious, fortified with the Mayor of Manchester's seal, two or three + inches in diameter, which is certified by a notary-public, whose + signature, again, is to have my consular certificate and official seal. + </p> + <p> + November 2d.—A young Frenchman enters, of gentlemanly aspect, with a + grayish cloak or paletot overspreading his upper person, and a handsome + and well-made pair of black trousers and well-fitting boots below. On + sitting down, he does not throw off nor at all disturb the cloak. Eying + him more closely, one discerns that he has no shirt-collar, and that what + little is visible of his shirt-bosom seems not to be of to-day nor of + yesterday,—perhaps not even of the day before. His manner is not + very good; nevertheless, he is a coxcomb and a jackanapes. He avers + himself a naturalized citizen of America, where he has been tutor in + several families of distinction, and has been treated like a son. He left + America on account of his health, and came near being tutor in the Duke of + Norfolk's family, but failed for lack of testimonials; he is exceedingly + capable and accomplished, but reduced in funds, and wants employment here, + of the means of returning to America, where he intends to take a situation + under government, which he is sure of obtaining. He mentioned a quarrel + which he had recently had with an Englishman in behalf of America, and + would have fought a duel had such been the custom of the country. He made + the Englishman foam at the mouth, and told him that he had been twelve + years at a military school, and could easily kill him. I say to him that I + see little or no prospect of his getting employment here, but offer to + inquire whether any situation, as clerk or otherwise, can be obtained for + him in a vessel returning to America, and ask his address. He has no + address. Much to my surprise, he takes his leave without requesting + pecuniary aid, but hints that he shall call again. He is a very + disagreeable young fellow, like scores of others who call on me in the + like situation. His English is very good for a Frenchman, and he says he + speaks it the least well of five languages. He has been three years in + America, and obtained his naturalization papers, he says, as a special + favor, and by means of strong interest. Nothing is so absolutely odious as + the sense of freedom and equality pertaining to an American grafted on the + mind of a native of any other country in the world. A naturalized citizen + is HATEFUL. Nobody has a right to our ideas, unless born to them. + </p> + <p> + November 9th.—I lent the above Frenchman a small sum; he advertised + for employment as a teacher; and he called this morning to thank me for my + aid, and says Mr. C——— has engaged him for his children, + at a guinea a week, and that he has also another engagement. The poor + fellow seems to have been brought to a very low ebb. He has pawned + everything, even to his last shirt, save the one he had on, and had been + living at the rate of twopence a day. I had procured him a chance to + return to America, but he was ashamed to go back in such poor + circumstances, and so determined to seek better fortune here. I like him + better than I did,—partly, I suppose, because I have helped him. + </p> + <p> + November 14th.—The other day I saw an elderly gentleman walking in + Dale Street, apparently in a state of mania; for as he limped along (being + afflicted with lameness) he kept talking to himself, and sometimes + breaking out into a threat against some casual passenger. He was a very + respectable-looking man; and I remember to have seen him last summer, in + the steamer, returning from the Isle of Man, where he had been staying at + Castle Mona. What a strange and ugly predicament it would be for a person + of quiet habits to be suddenly smitten with lunacy at noonday in a crowded + street, and to walk along through a dim maze of extravagances,— + partly conscious of then, but unable to resist the impulse to give way to + them! A long-suppressed nature might be represented as bursting out in + this way, for want of any other safety-valve. + </p> + <p> + In America, people seem to consider the government merely as a political + administration; and they care nothing for the credit of it, unless it be + the administration of their own political party. In England, all people, + of whatever party, are anxious for the credit of their rulers. Our + government, as a knot of persons, changes so entirely every four years, + that the institution has come to be considered a temporary thing. + </p> + <p> + Looking at the moon the other evening, little R——- said, "It + blooms out in the morning!" taking the moon to be the bud of the sun. + </p> + <p> + The English are a most intolerant people. Nobody is permitted, nowadays, + to have any opinion but the prevalent one. There seems to be very little + difference between their educated and ignorant classes in this respect; if + any, it is to the credit of the latter, who do not show tokens of such + extreme interest in the war. It is agreeable, however, to observe how all + Englishmen pull together,—how each man comes forward with his little + scheme for helping on the war,—how they feel themselves members of + one family, talking together about their common interest, as if they were + gathered around one fireside; and then what a hearty meed of honor they + award to their soldiers! It is worth facing death for. Whereas, in + America, when our soldiers fought as good battles, with as great + proportionate loss, and far more valuable triumphs, the country seemed + rather ashamed than proud of them. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Heywood tells me that there are many Catholics among the lower + classes in Lancashire and Cheshire,—probably the descendants of + retainers of the old Catholic nobility and gentry, who are more numerous + in these shires than in other parts of England. The present Lord Sefton's + grandfather was the first of that race who became Protestant. + </p> + <p> + December 25th.—Commodore P——— called to see me + this morning,—a brisk, gentlemanly, offhand, but not rough, + unaffected and sensible man, looking not so elderly as he ought, on + account of a very well made wig. He is now on his return from a cruise in + the East Indian seas, and goes home by the Baltic, with a prospect of + being very well received on account of his treaty with Japan. I seldom + meet with a man who puts himself more immediately on conversable terms + than the Commodore. He soon introduced his particular business with me,—it + being to inquire whether I would recommend some suitable person to prepare + his notes and materials for the publication of an account of his voyage. + He was good enough to say that he had fixed upon me, in his own mind, for + this office; but that my public duties would of course prevent me from + engaging in it. I spoke of Herman Melville, and one or two others; but he + seems to have some acquaintance with the literature of the day, and did + not grasp very cordially at any name that I could think of; nor, indeed, + could I recommend any one with full confidence. It would be a very + desirable task for a young literary man, or, for that matter, for an old + one; for the world can scarcely have in reserve a less hackneyed theme + than Japan. + </p> + <p> + This is a most beautiful day of English winter; clear and bright, with the + ground a little frozen, and the green grass along the waysides at Rock + Ferry sprouting up through the frozen pools of yesterday's rain. England + is forever green. On Christmas day, the children found wall-flowers, + pansies, and pinks in the garden; and we had a beautiful rose from the + garden of the hotel grown in the open air. Yet one is sensible of the cold + here, as much as in the zero atmosphere of America. The chief advantage of + the English climate is that we are not tempted to heat our rooms to so + unhealthy a degree as in New England. + </p> + <p> + I think I have been happier this Christmas than ever before,—by my + own fireside, and with my wife and children about me,—more content + to enjoy what I have,—less anxious for anything beyond it in this + life. + </p> + <p> + My early life was perhaps a good preparation for the declining half of + life; it having been such a blank that any thereafter would compare + favorably with it. For a long, long while, I have occasionally been + visited with a singular dream; and I have an impression that I have + dreamed it ever since I have been in England. It is, that I am still at + college,—or, sometimes, even at school,—and there is a sense + that I have been there unconscionably long, and have quite failed to make + such progress as my contemporaries have done; and I seem to meet some of + them with a feeling of shame and depression that broods over me as I think + of it, even when awake. This dream, recurring all through these twenty or + thirty years, must be one of the effects of that heavy seclusion in which + I shut myself up for twelve years after leaving college, when everybody + moved onward, and left me behind. How strange that it should come now, + when I may call myself famous and prosperous!—when I am happy, too! + </p> + <p> + January 3d, 1855.—The progress of the age is trampling over the + aristocratic institutions of England, and they crumble beneath it. This + war has given the country a vast impulse towards democracy. The nobility + will never hereafter, I think, assume or be permitted to rule the nation + in peace, or command armies in war, on any ground except the individual + ability which may appertain to one of their number, as well as to a + commoner. And yet the nobles were never positively more noble than now; + never, perhaps, so chivalrous, so honorable, so highly cultivated; but, + relatively to the rest of the world, they do not maintain their old place. + The pressure of the war has tested and proved this fact, at home and + abroad. At this moment it would be an absurdity in the nobles to pretend + to the position which was quietly conceded to them a year ago. This one + year has done the work of fifty ordinary ones; or, more accurately, it has + made apparent what has long been preparing itself. + </p> + <p> + January 6th.—The American ambassador called on me to-day and stayed + a good while,—an hour or two. He is visiting at Mr. William + Browne's, at Richmond Hill, having come to this region to bring his niece, + who is to be bride's-maid at the wedding of an American girl. I like Mr. + ———. He cannot exactly be called gentlemanly in his + manners, there being a sort of rusticity about him; moreover, he has a + habit of squinting one eye, and an awkward carriage of his head; hut, + withal, a dignity in his large person, and a consciousness of high + position and importance, which gives him ease and freedom. Very simple and + frank in his address, he may be as crafty as other diplomatists are said + to be; but I see only good sense and plainness of speech,—appreciative, + too, and genial enough to make himself conversable. He talked very freely + of himself and of other public people, and of American and English + affairs. He returns to America, he says, next October, and then retires + forever from public life, being sixty-four years of age, and having now no + desire except to write memoirs of his times, and especially of the + administration of Mr. Polk. I suggested a doubt whether the people would + permit him to retire; and he immediately responded to my hint as regards + his prospects for the Presidency. He said that his mind was fully made up, + and that he would never be a candidate, and that he had expressed this + decision to his friends in such a way as to put it out of his own power to + change it. He acknowledged that he should have been glad of the nomination + for the Presidency in 1852, but that it was now too late, and that he was + too old,—and, in short, he seemed to be quite sincere in his nolo + episcopari; although, really, he is the only Democrat, at this moment, + whom it would not be absurd to talk of for the office. As he talked, his + face flushed, and he seemed to feel inwardly excited. Doubtless, it was + the high vision of half his lifetime which he here relinquished. I cannot + question that he is sincere; but, of course, should the people insist upon + having him for President, he is too good a patriot to refuse. I wonder + whether he can have had any object in saying all this to me. He might see + that it would be perfectly natural for me to tell it to General Pierce. + But it is a very vulgar idea,—this of seeing craft and subtlety, + when there is a plain and honest aspect. + </p> + <p> + January 9th.—I dined at Mr. William Browne's (M. P.) last, evening + with a large party. The whole table and dessert service was of silver. + Speaking of Shakespeare, Mr. ——— said that the Duke of + Somerset, who is now nearly fourscore, told him that the father of John + and Charles Kemble had made all possible research into the events of + Shakespeare's life, and that he had found reason to believe that + Shakespeare attended a certain revel at Stratford, and, indulging too much + in the conviviality of the occasion, he tumbled into a ditch on his way + home, and died there! The Kemble patriarch was an aged man when he + communicated this to the Duke; and their ages, linked to each other; would + extend back a good way; scarcely to the beginning of the last century, + however. If I mistake not, it was from the traditions of Stratford that + Kemble had learned the above. I do not remember ever to have seen it in + print,—which is most singular. + </p> + <p> + Miss L—— has an English rather than an American aspect,—being + of stronger outline than most of our young ladies, although handsomer than + English women generally, extremely self-possessed and well poised without + affectation or assumption, but quietly conscious of rank, as much so as if + she were an Earl's daughter. In truth, she felt pretty much as an Earl's + daughter would do towards the merchants' wives and daughters who made up + the feminine portion of the party. + </p> + <p> + I talked with her a little, and found her sensible, vivacious, and + firm-textured, rather than soft and sentimental. She paid me some + compliments; but I do not remember paying her any. + </p> + <p> + Mr. J——-'s daughters, two pale, handsome girls, were present. + One of them is to be married to a grandson of Mr. ———, + who was also at the dinner. He is a small young man, with a thin and fair + mustache, . . . . and a lady who sat next me whispered that his + expectations are 6,000 pounds per annum. It struck me, that, being a + country gentleman's son, he kept himself silent and reserved, as feeling + himself too good for this commercial dinner-party; but perhaps, and I + rather think so, he was really shy and had nothing to say, being only + twenty-one, and therefore quite a boy among Englishmen. The only man of + cognizable rank present, except Mr. ——— and the Mayor of + Liverpool, was a Baronet, Sir Thomas Birch. + </p> + <p> + January 17th.—S—— and I were invited to be present at + the wedding of Mr. J———-'s daughter this morning, but we + were also bidden to the funeral services of Mrs. G———, a + young American lady; and we went to the "house of mourning," rather than + to the "house of feasting." Her death was very sudden. I crossed to Rock + Ferry on Saturday, and met her husband in the boat. He said his wife was + rather unwell, and that he had just been sent for to see her; but he did + not seem at all alarmed. And yet, on reaching home, he found her dead! The + body is to be conveyed to America, and the funeral service was read over + her in her house, only a few neighbors and friends being present. We were + shown into a darkened room, where there was a dim gaslight burning, and a + fire glimmering, and here and there a streak of sunshine struggling + through the drawn curtains. Mr. G——— looked pale, and + quite overcome with grief,—this, I suppose, being his first sorrow,—and + he has a young baby on his hands, and no doubt, feels altogether forlorn + in this foreign land. The clergyman entered in his canonicals, and we + walked in a little procession into another room, where the coffin was + placed. + </p> + <p> + Mr. G——— sat down and rested his head on the coffin: the + clergyman read the service; then knelt down, as did most of the company, + and prayed with great propriety of manner, but with no earnestness,—and + we separated. + </p> + <p> + Mr. G——— is a small, smooth, and pretty young man, not + emphasized in any way; but grief threw its awfulness about him to-day in a + degree which I should not have expected. + </p> + <p> + January 20th.—Mr. Steele, a gentleman of Rock Ferry, showed me this + morning a pencil-case formerly belonging to Dr. Johnson. It is six or + seven inches long, of large calibre, and very clumsily manufactured of + iron, perhaps plated in its better days, but now quite bare. Indeed, it + looks as rough as an article of kitchen furniture. The intaglio on the end + is a lion rampant. On the whole, it well became Dr. Johnson to have used + such a stalwart pencil-case. It had a six-inch measure on a part of it, so + that it must have been at least eight inches long. Mr. Steele says he has + seen a cracked earthen teapot, of large size, in which Miss Williams used + to make tea for Dr. Johnson. + </p> + <p> + God himself cannot compensate us for being born for any period short of + eternity. All the misery endured here constitutes a claim for another + life, and, still more, all the happiness; because all true happiness + involves something more than the earth owns, and needs something more than + a mortal capacity for the enjoyment of it. + </p> + <p> + After receiving an injury on the head, a person fancied all the rest of + his life that he heard voices flouting, jeering, and upbraiding him. + </p> + <p> + February 19th.—I dined with the Mayor at the Town Hall last Friday + evening. I sat next to Mr. W. J———, an Irish-American + merchant, who is in very good standing here. He told me that he used to be + very well acquainted with General Jackson, and that he was present at the + street fight between him and the Bentons, and helped to take General + Jackson off the ground. Colonel Benton shot at him from behind; but it was + Jesse Benton's ball that hit him and broke his arm. I did not understand + him to infer any treachery or cowardice from the circumstance of Colonel + Benton's shooting at Jackson from behind, but, suppose it occurred in the + confusion and excitement of a street fight. Mr. W. J——— + seems to think that, after all, the reconciliation between the old General + and Benton was merely external, and that they really hated one another as + before. I do not think so. + </p> + <p> + These dinners of the Mayors are rather agreeable than otherwise, except + for the annoyance, in my case, of being called up to speak to a toast, and + that is less disagreeable than at first. The suite of rooms at the Town + House is stately and splendid, and all the Mayors, as far as I have seen, + exercise hospitality in a manner worthy of the chief magistrates of a + great city. They are supposed always to spend much more than their salary + (which is 2,000 pounds) in these entertainments. The town provides the + wines, I am told, and it might be expected that they should be + particularly good,—at least, those which improve by age, for a + quarter of a century should be only a moderate age for wine from the + cellars of centuries-long institutions, like a corporate borough. Each + Mayor might lay in a supply of the best vintage he could find, and trust + his good name to posterity to the credit of that wine; and so he would be + kindly and warmly remembered long after his own nose had lost its + rubicundity. In point of fact, the wines seem to be good, but not + remarkable. The dinner was good, and very handsomely served, with + attendance enough, both in the hall below—where the door was wide + open at the appointed hour, notwithstanding the cold—and at table; + some being in the rich livery of the borough, and some in plain clothes. + Servants, too, were stationed at various points from the hall to the + reception-room; and the last one shouted forth the name of the entering + guest. There were, I should think, about fifty guests at this dinner. Two + bishops were present. The Bishops of Chester and New South Wales, dressed + in a kind of long tunics, with black breeches and silk stockings, insomuch + that I first fancied they were Catholics. Also Dr. McNeil, in a + stiff-collared coat, looking more like a general than a divine. There were + two officers in blue uniforms; and all the rest of us were in black, with + only two white waistcoats,—my own being one,—and a rare + sprinkling of white cravats. How hideously a man looks in them! I should + like to have seen such assemblages as must have gathered in that + reception-room, and walked with stately tread to the dining-hall, in times + past, the Mayor and other civic dignitaries in their robes, noblemen in + their state dresses, the Consul in his olive-leaf embroidery, everybody in + some sort of bedizenment,—and then the dinner would have been a + magnificent spectacle, worthy of the gilded hall, the rich table-service, + and the powdered and gold-laced servitors. At a former dinner I remember + seeing a gentleman in small-clothes, with a dress-sword; but all + formalities of the kind are passing away. The Mayor's dinners, too, will + no doubt be extinct before many years go by. I drove home from the + Woodside Ferry in a cab with Bishop Burke and two other gentlemen. The + Bishop is nearly seven feet high. + </p> + <p> + After writing the foregoing account of a civic banquet, where I ate + turtle-soup, salmon, woodcock, oyster patties, and I know not what else, I + have been to the News-room and found the Exchange pavement densely + thronged with people of all ages and of all manner of dirt and rags. They + were waiting for soup-tickets, and waiting very patiently too, without + outcry or disturbance, or even sour looks,—only patience and + meekness in their faces. Well, I don't know that they have a right to be + impatient of starvation; but, still there does seem to be an insolence of + riches and prosperity, which one day or another will have a downfall. And + this will be a pity, too. + </p> + <p> + On Saturday I went with my friend Mr. Bright to Otterpool and to Larkhill + to see the skaters on the private waters of those two seats of gentlemen; + and it is a wonder to behold—and it is always a new wonder to me—how + comfortable Englishmen know how to make themselves; locating their + dwellings far within private grounds, with secure gateways and porters' + lodges, and the smoothest roads and trimmest paths, and shaven lawns, and + clumps of trees, and every bit of the ground, every hill and dell, made + the most of for convenience and beauty, and so well kept that even winter + cannot cause disarray; and all this appropriated to the same family for + generations, so that I suppose they come to believe it created exclusively + and on purpose for them. And, really, the result is good and beautiful. It + is a home,—an institution which we Americans have not; but then I + doubt whether anybody is entitled to a home in this world, in so full a + sense. + </p> + <p> + The day was very cold, and the skaters seemed to enjoy themselves + exceedingly. They were, I suppose, friends of the owners of the grounds, + and Mr. Bright said they were treated in a jolly way, with hot luncheons. + The skaters practise skating more as an art, and can perform finer + manoeuvres on the ice, than our New England skaters usually can, though + the English have so much less opportunity for practice. A beggar-woman was + haunting the grounds at Otterpool, but I saw nobody give her anything. I + wonder how she got inside of the gate. + </p> + <p> + Mr. W. J——— spoke of General Jackson as having come from + the same part of Ireland as himself, and perhaps of the same family. I + wonder whether he meant to say that the General was born in Ireland,—that + having been suspected in America. + </p> + <p> + February 21st.—Yesterday two companies of work-people came to our + house in Rock Park, asking assistance, being out of work and with no + resource other than charity. There were a dozen or more in each party. + Their deportment was quiet and altogether unexceptionable,—no + rudeness, no gruffness, nothing of menace. Indeed, such demonstrations + would not have been safe, as they were followed about by two policemen; + but they really seem to take their distress as their own misfortune and + God's will, and impute it to nobody as a fault. This meekness is very + touching, and makes one question the more whether they have all their + rights. There have been disturbances, within a day or two, in Liverpool, + and shops have been broken open and robbed of bread and money; but this is + said to have been done by idle vagabonds, and not by the really hungry + work-people. These last submit to starvation gently and patiently, as if + it were an every-day matter with them, or, at least, nothing but what lay + fairly within their horoscope. I suppose, in fact, their stomachs have the + physical habit that makes hunger not intolerable, because customary. If + they had been used to a full meat diet, their hunger would be fierce, like + that of ravenous beasts; but now they are trained to it. + </p> + <p> + I think that the feeling of an American, divided, as I am, by the ocean + from his country, has a continual and immediate correspondence with the + national feeling at home; and it seems to be independent of any external + communication. Thus, my ideas about the Russian war vary in accordance + with the state of the public mind at home, so that I am conscious + whereabouts public sympathy is. + </p> + <p> + March 7th.—J——- and I walked to Tranmere, and passed an + old house which I suppose to be Tranmere Hall. Our way to it was up a + hollow lane, with a bank and hedge on each side, and with a few thatched + stone cottages, centuries old, their ridge-poles crooked and the stones + time-worn, scattered along. At one point there was a wide, deep well, hewn + out of the solid red freestone, and with steps, also hewn in solid rock, + leading down to it. These steps were much hollowed by the feet of those + who had come to the well; and they reach beneath the water, which is very + high. The well probably supplied water to the old cotters and retainers of + Tranmere Hall five hundred years ago. The Hall stands on the verge of a + long hill which stretches behind Tranmere and as far as Birkenhead. + </p> + <p> + It is an old gray stone edifice, with a good many gables, and windows with + mullions, and some of them extending the whole breadth of the gable. In + some parts of the house, the windows seem to have been built up; probably + in the days when daylight was taxed. The form of the Hall is multiplex, + the roofs sloping down and intersecting one another, so as to make the + general result indescribable. There were two sun-dials on different sides + of the house, both the dial-plates of which were of stone; and on one the + figures, so far as I could see, were quite worn off, but the gnomon still + cast a shadow over it in such a way that I could judge that it was about + noon. The other dial had some half-worn hour-marks, but no gnomon. The + chinks of the stones of the house were very weedy, and the building looked + quaint and venerable; but it is now converted into a farm-house, with the + farm-yard and outbuildings closely appended. A village, too, has grown up + about it, so that it seems out of place among modern stuccoed dwellings, + such as are erected for tradesmen and other moderate people who have their + residences in the neighborhood of a great city. Among these there are a + few thatched cottages, the homeliest domiciles that ever mortals lived in, + belonging to the old estate. Directly across the street is a Wayside Inn, + "licensed to sell wine, spirits, ale, and tobacco." The street itself has + been laid out since the land grew valuable by the increase of Liverpool + and Birkenhead; for the old Hall would never have been built on the verge + of a public way. + </p> + <p> + March 27th.—I attended court to day, at St. George's Hall, with my + wife, Mr. Bright, and Mr. Channing, sitting in the High Sheriff's seat. It + was the civil side, and Mr. Justice Cresswell presided. The lawyers, as + far as aspect goes, seemed to me inferior to an American bar, judging from + their countenances, whether as intellectual men or gentlemen. Their wigs + and gowns do not impose on the spectator, though they strike him as an + imposition. Their date is past. Mr. Warren, of the "Ten Thousand a Year," + was in court,—a pale, thin, intelligent face, evidently a nervous + man, more unquiet than anybody else in court,—always restless in his + seat, whispering to his neighbors, settling his wig, perhaps with an idea + that people single him out. + </p> + <p> + St. George's Hall—the interior hall itself, I mean—is a + spacious, lofty, and most rich and noble apartment, and very satisfactory. + The pavement is made of mosaic tiles, and has a beautiful effect. + </p> + <p> + April 7th.—I dined at Mr. J. P. Heywood's on Thursday, and met there + Mr. and Mrs. ——— of Smithell's Hall. The Hall is an old + edifice of some five hundred years, and Mrs. ——— says + there is a bloody footstep at the foot of the great staircase. The + tradition is that a certain martyr, in Bloody Mary's time, being examined + before the occupant of the Hall, and committed to prison, stamped his + foot, in earnest protest against the injustice with which he was treated. + Blood issued from his foot, which slid along the stone pavement, leaving a + long footmark, printed in blood. And there it has remained ever since, in + spite of the scrubbings of all succeeding generations. Mrs. ——— + spoke of it with much solemnity, real or affected. She says that they now + cover the bloody impress with a carpet, being unable to remove it. In the + History of Lancashire, which I looked at last night, there is quite a + different account,—according to which the footstep is not a bloody + one, but is a slight cavity or inequality in the surface of the stone, + somewhat in the shape of a man's foot with a peaked shoe. The martyr's + name was George Marsh. He was a curate, and was afterwards burnt. Mrs. + ——— asked me to go and see the Hall and the footmark; + and as it is in Lancashire, and not a great way off, and a curious old + place, perhaps I may. + </p> + <p> + April 12th.—The Earl of ———, whom I saw the other + day at St. George's Hall, has a somewhat elderly look,—a pale and + rather thin face, which strikes one as remarkably short, or compressed + from top to bottom. Nevertheless, it has great intelligence, and + sensitiveness too, I should think, but a cold, disagreeable expression. I + should take him to be a man of not very pleasant temper,—not genial. + He has no physical presence nor dignity, yet one sees him to be a person + of rank and consequence. But, after all, there is nothing about him which + it need have taken centuries of illustrious nobility to produce, + especially in a man of remarkable ability, as Lord ——— + certainly is. S——-, who attended court all through the Hapgood + trial, and saw Lord ——— for hours together every day, + has come to conclusions quite different from mine. She thinks him a + perfectly natural person, without any assumption, any self-consciousness, + any scorn of the lower world. She was delighted with his ready + appreciation and feeling of what was passing around him,— his quick + enjoyment of a joke,—the simplicity and unaffectedness of his + emotion at whatever incidents excited his interest,—the genial + acknowledgment of sympathy, causing him to look round and exchange glances + with those near him, who were not his individual friends, but barristers + and other casual persons. He seemed to her all that a nobleman ought to + be, entirely simple and free from pretence and self-assertion, which + persons of lower rank can hardly help bedevilling themselves with. I saw + him only for a very few moments, so cannot put my observation against + hers, especially as I was influenced by what I had heard the Liverpool + people say of him. + </p> + <p> + I do not know whether I have mentioned that the handsomest man I have seen + in England was a young footman of Mr. Heywood's. In his rich livery, he + was a perfect Joseph Andrews. + </p> + <p> + In my Romance, the original emigrant to America may have carried away with + him a family secret, whereby it was in his power, had he so chosen, to + have brought about the ruin of the family. This secret he transmits to his + American progeny, by whom it is inherited throughout all the intervening + generations. At last, the hero of the Romance comes to England, and finds, + that, by means of this secret, he still has it in his power to procure the + downfall of the family. It would be something similar to the story of + Meleager, whose fate depended on the firebrand that his mother had + snatched from the flames. + </p> + <p> + April 24th.—On Saturday I was present at a dejeuner on board the + Donald McKay; the principal guest being Mr. Layard, M. P. There were + several hundred people, quite filling the between decks of the ship, which + was converted into a saloon for the occasion. I sat next to Mr. Layard, at + the head of the table, and so had a good opportunity of seeing and getting + acquainted with him. He is a man in early middle age,—of middle + stature, with an open, frank, intelligent, kindly face. His forehead is + not expansive, but is prominent in the perceptive regions, and retreats a + good deal. His mouth is full,—I liked him from the first. He was + very kind and complimentary to me, and made me promise to go and see him + in London. + </p> + <p> + It would have been a very pleasant entertainment, only that my pleasure in + it was much marred by having to acknowledge a toast, in honor of the + President. However, such things do not trouble me nearly so much as they + used to do, and I came through it tolerably enough. Mr. Layard's speech + was the great affair of the day. He speaks with much fluency (though he + assured me that he had to put great force upon himself to speak publicly), + and, as he warms up, seems to engage with his whole moral and physical + man,—quite possessed with what he has to say. His evident + earnestness and good faith make him eloquent, and stand him instead of + oratorical graces. His views of the position of England and the prospects + of the war were as dark as well could be; and his speech was exceedingly + to the purpose, full of common-sense, and with not one word of clap-trap. + Judging from its effect upon the audience, he spoke the voice of the whole + English people,—although an English Baronet, who sat next below me, + seemed to dissent, or at least to think that it was not exactly the thing + for a stranger to hear. It concluded amidst great cheering. Mr. Layard + appears to be a true Englishman, with a moral force and strength of + character, and earnestness of purpose, and fulness of common-sense, such + as have always served England's turn in her past successes; but rather fit + for resistance than progress. No doubt, he is a good and very able man; + but I question whether he could get England out of the difficulties which + he sees so clearly, or could do much better than Lord Palmerston, whom he + so decries. + </p> + <p> + April 25th.—Taking the deposition of sailors yesterday, in a case of + alleged ill-usage by the officers of a vessel, one of the witnesses was an + old seaman of sixty. In reply to some testimony of his, the captain said, + "You were the oldest man in the ship, and we honored you as such." The + mate also said that he never could have thought of striking an old man + like that. Indeed, the poor old fellow had a kind of dignity and + venerableness about him, though he confessed to having been drunk, and + seems to have been a mischief-maker, what they call a sea-preacher,— + promoting discontent and grumbling. He must have been a very handsome man + in his youth, having regular features of a noble and beautiful cast. His + beard was gray; but his dark hair had hardly a streak of white, and was + abundant all over his head. He was deaf, and seemed to sit in a kind of + seclusion, unless when loudly questioned or appealed to. Once he broke + forth from a deep silence thus, "I defy any man!" and then was silent + again. It had a strange effect, this general defiance, which he meant, I + suppose, in answer to some accusation that he thought was made against + him. His general behavior throughout the examination was very decorous and + proper; and he said he had never but once hitherto been before a consul, + and that was in 1819, when a mate had ill-used him, and, "being a young + man then, I gave him a beating,"—whereupon his face gleamed with a + quiet smile, like faint sunshine on an old ruin. "By many a tempest has + his beard been shook"; and I suppose he must soon go into a workhouse, and + thence, shortly, to his grave. He is now in a hospital, having, as the + surgeon certifies, some ribs fractured; but there does not appear to have + been any violence used upon him aboard the ship of such a nature as to + cause this injury, though he swears it was a blow from a rope, and nothing + else. What struck me in the case was the respect and rank that his age + seemed to give him, in the view of the officers; and how, as the captain's + expression signified, it lifted him out of his low position, and made him + a person to be honored. The dignity of his manner is perhaps partly owing + to the ancient mariner, with his long experience, being an oracle among + the forecastle men. + </p> + <p> + May 3d.—It rains to-day, after a very long period of east-wind and + dry weather. The east-wind here, blowing across the island, seems to be + the least damp of all the winds; but it is full of malice and mischief, of + an indescribably evil temper, and stabs one like a cold, poisoned dagger. + I never spent so disagreeable a spring as this, although almost every day + for a month has been bright. + </p> + <p> + Friday, May 11th.—A few weeks ago, a sailor, a most pitiable object, + came to my office to complain of cruelty from his captain and mate. They + had beaten him shamefully, of which he bore grievous marks about his face + and eyes, and bruises on his head and other parts of his person: and + finally the ship had sailed, leaving him behind. I never in my life saw so + forlorn a fellow, so ragged, so wretched; and even his wits seemed to have + been beaten out of him, if perchance he ever had any. He got an order for + the hospital; and there he has been, off and on, ever since, till + yesterday, when I received a message that he was dying, and wished to see + the Consul; so I went with Mr. Wilding to the hospital. We were ushered + into the waiting-room,—a kind of parlor, with a fire in the grate, + and a centre-table, whereon lay one or two medical journals, with wood + engravings; and there was a young man, who seemed to be an official of the + house, reading. Shortly the surgeon appeared,—a brisk, cheerful, + kindly sort of person, whom I have met there on previous visits. He told + us that the man was dying, and probably would not be able to communicate + anything, but, nevertheless, ushered us up to the highest floor, and into + the room where he lay. It was a large, oblong room, with ten or twelve + beds in it, each occupied by a patient. The surgeon said that the hospital + was often so crowded that they were compelled to lay some of the patients + on the floor. The man whom we came to see lay on his bed in a little + recess formed by a projecting window; so that there was a kind of + seclusion for him to die in. He seemed quite insensible to outward things, + and took no notice of our approach, nor responded to what was said to him,—lying + on his side, breathing with short gasps,—his apparent disease being + inflammation of the chest, although the surgeon said that he might be + found to have sustained internal injury by bruises. he was restless, + tossing his head continually, mostly with his eyes shut, and much + compressed and screwed up, but sometimes opening them; and then they + looked brighter and darker than when I first saw them. I think his face + was not at any time so stupid as at his first interview with me; but + whatever intelligence he had was rather inward than outward, as if there + might be life and consciousness at a depth within, while as to external + matters he was in a mist. The surgeon felt his wrist, and said that there + was absolutely no pulsation, and that he might die at any moment, or might + perhaps live an hour, but that there was no prospect of his being able to + communicate with me. He was quite restless, nevertheless, and sometimes + half raised himself in bed, sometimes turned himself quite over, and then + lay gasping for an instant. His woollen shirt being thrust up on his arm, + there appeared a tattooing of a ship and anchor, and other nautical + emblems, on both of them, which another sailor-patient, on examining them, + said must have been done years ago. This might be of some importance, + because the dying man had told me, when I first saw him, that he was no + sailor, but a farmer, and that, this being his first voyage, he had been + beaten by the captain for not doing a sailor's duty, which he had had no + opportunity of learning. These sea-emblems indicated that he was probably + a seaman of some years' service. + </p> + <p> + While we stood in the little recess, such of the other patients as were + convalescent gathered near the foot of the bed; and the nurse came and + looked on, and hovered about us,—a sharp-eyed, intelligent woman of + middle age, with a careful and kind expression, neglecting nothing that + was for the patient's good, yet taking his death as coolly as any other + incident in her daily business. Certainly, it was a very forlorn + death-bed; and I felt—what I have heretofore been inclined to doubt— + that it might, be a comfort to have persons whom one loves, to go with us + to the threshold of the other world, and leave us only when we are fairly + across it. This poor fellow had a wife and two children on the other side + of the water. + </p> + <p> + At first he did not utter any sound; but by and by he moaned a little, and + gave tokens of being more sensible to outward concerns,—not quite so + misty and dreamy as hitherto. We had been talking all the while—myself + in a whisper, but the surgeon in his ordinary tones—about his state, + without his paying any attention. But now the surgeon put his mouth down + to the man's face and said, "Do you know that you are dying?" At this the + patient's head began to move upon the pillow; and I thought at first that + it was only the restlessness that he had shown all along; but soon it + appeared to be an expression of emphatic dissent, a negative shake of the + head. He shook it with all his might, and groaned and mumbled, so that it + was very evident how miserably reluctant he was to die. Soon after this he + absolutely spoke. "O, I want you to get me well! I want to get away from + here!" in a groaning and moaning utterance. The surgeon's question had + revived him, but to no purpose; for, being told that the Consul had come + to see him, and asked whether he had anything to communicate, he said + only, "O, I want him to get me well!" and the whole life that was left in + him seemed to be unwillingness to die. This did not last long; for he soon + relapsed into his first state, only with his face a little more pinched + and screwed up, and his eyes strangely sunken. And lost in his head; and + the surgeon said that there would be no use in my remaining. So I took my + leave. Mr. Wilding had brought a deposition of the man's evidence, which + he had clearly made at the Consulate, for him to sign, and this we left + with the surgeon, in case there should be such an interval of + consciousness and intelligence before death as to make it possible for him + to sign it. But of this there is no probability. + </p> + <p> + I have just received a note from the hospital, stating that the sailor, + Daniel Smith, died about three quarters of an hour after I saw him. + </p> + <p> + May 18th.—The above-mentioned Daniel Smith had about him a bundle of + letters, which I have examined. They are all very yellow, stained with + sea-water, smelling of bad tobacco-smoke, and much worn at the folds. + Never were such ill-written letters, nor such incredibly fantastic + spelling. They seem to be from various members of his family,—most + of them from a brother, who purports to have been a deck-hand in the + coasting and steamboat trade between Charleston and other ports; others + from female relations; one from his father, in which he inquires how long + his son has been in jail, and when the trial is to come on,—the + offence, however, of which he was accused, not being indicated. But from + the tenor of his brother's letters, it would appear that he was a small + farmer in the interior of South Carolina, sending butter, eggs, and + poultry to be sold in Charleston by his brother, and receiving the returns + in articles purchased there. This was his own account of himself; and he + affirmed, in his deposition before me, that he had never had any purpose + of shipping for Liverpool, or anywhere else; but that, going on board the + ship to bring a man's trunk ashore, he was compelled to remain and serve + as a sailor. This was a hard fate, certainly, and a strange thing to + happen in the United States at this day,—that a free citizen should + be absolutely kidnapped, carried to a foreign country, treated with savage + cruelty during the voyage, and left to die on his arrival. Yet all this + has unquestionably been done, and will probably go unpunished. + </p> + <p> + The seed of the long-stapled cotton, now cultivated in America, was sent + there in 1786 from the Bahama Islands, by some of the royalist refugees, + who had settled there. The inferior short-stapled cotton had been + previously cultivated for domestic purposes. The seeds of every other + variety have been tried without success. The kind now grown was first + introduced into Georgia. Thus to the refugees America owes as much of her + prosperity as is due to the cotton-crops, and much of whatever harm is to + result from slavery. + </p> + <p> + May 22d.—Captain J——— says that he saw, in his + late voyage to Australia and India, a vessel commanded by an Englishman, + who had with him his wife and thirteen children. This ship was the home of + the family, and they had no other. The thirteen children had all been born + on board, and had been brought up on board, and knew nothing of dry land, + except by occasionally setting foot on it. + </p> + <p> + Captain J——— is a very agreeable specimen of the + American shipmaster, —a pleasant, gentlemanly man, not at all + refined, and yet with fine and honorable sensibilities. Very easy in his + manners and conversation, yet gentle,—talking on freely, and not + much minding grammar; but finding a sufficient and picturesque expression + for what he wishes to say; very cheerful and vivacious; accessible to + feeling, as yesterday, when talking about the recent death of his mother. + His voice faltered, and the tears came into his eyes, though before and + afterwards he smiled merrily, and made us smile; fond of his wife, and + carrying her about the world with him, and blending her with all his + enjoyments; an excellent and sagacious man of business; liberal in his + expenditure; proud of his ship and flag; always well dressed, with some + little touch of sailor-like flashiness, but not a whit too much; slender + in figure, with a handsome face, and rather profuse brown beard and + whiskers; active and alert; about thirty-two. A daguerreotype sketch of + any conversation of his would do him no justice, for its slang, its + grammatical mistakes, its mistaken words (as "portable" for "portly"), + would represent a vulgar man, whereas the impression he leaves is by no + means that of vulgarity; but he is a character quite perfect within + itself, fit for the deck and the cabin, and agreeable in the drawing-room, + though not amenable altogether to its rules. Being so perfectly natural, + he is more of a gentleman for those little violations of rule, which most + men, with his opportunities, might escape. + </p> + <p> + The men whose appeals to the Consul's charity are the hardest to be denied + are those who have no country,—-Hungarians, Poles, Cubans, + Spanish-Americans, and French republicans. All exiles for liberty come to + me, if the representative of America were their representative. Yesterday, + came an old French soldier, and showed his wounds; to-day, a Spaniard, a + friend of Lopez,—bringing his little daughter with him. He said he + was starving, and looked so. The little girl was in good condition enough, + and decently dressed.—May 23d. + </p> + <p> + May 30th.—The two past days have been Whitsuntide holidays; and they + have been celebrated at Tranmere in a manner very similar to that of the + old "Election" in Massachusetts, as I remember it a good many years ago, + though the festival has now almost or quite died out. Whitsuntide was kept + up on our side of the water, I am convinced, under pretence of rejoicings + at the election of Governor. It occurred at precisely the same period of + the year,—the same week; the only difference being, that Monday and + Tuesday are the Whitsun festival days, whereas, in Massachusetts, + Wednesday was "Election day," and the acme of the merry-making. + </p> + <p> + I passed through Tranmere yesterday forenoon, and lingered awhile to see + the sports. The greatest peculiarity of the crowd, to my eye, was that + they seemed not to have any best clothes, and therefore had put on no + holiday suits,—a grimy people, as at all times, heavy, obtuse, with + thick beer in their blood. Coarse, rough-complexioned women and girls were + intermingled, the girls with no maiden trimness in their attire, large and + blowsy. Nobody seemed to have been washed that day. All the enjoyment was + of an exceedingly sombre character, so far as I saw it, though there was a + richer variety of sports than at similar festivals in America. There were + wooden horses, revolving in circles, to be ridden a certain number of + rounds for a penny; also swinging cars gorgeously painted, and the newest + named after Lord Raglan; and four cars balancing one another, and turned + by a winch; and people with targets and rifles,— the principal aim + being to hit an apple bobbing on a string before the target; other guns + for shooting at the distance of a foot or two, for a prize of filberts; + and a game much in fashion, of throwing heavy sticks at earthen mugs + suspended on lines, three throws for a penny. Also, there was a + posture-master, showing his art in the centre of a ring of miscellaneous + spectators, and handing round his bat after going through all his + attitudes. The collection amounted to only one halfpenny, and, to eke it + out, I threw in three more. There were some large booths with tables + placed the whole length, at which sat men and women drinking and smoking + pipes; orange-girls, a great many, selling the worst possible oranges, + which had evidently been boiled to give them a show of freshness. There + were likewise two very large structures, the walls made of boards roughly + patched together, and rooted with canvas, which seemed to have withstood a + thousand storms. Theatres were there, and in front there were pictures of + scenes which were to be represented within; the price of admission being + twopence to one theatre, and a penny to the other. But, small as the price + of tickets was, I could not see that anybody bought them. Behind the + theatres, close to the board wall, and perhaps serving as the general + dressing-room, was a large windowed wagon, in which I suppose the company + travel and live together. Never, to my imagination, was the mysterious + glory that has surrounded theatrical representation ever since my + childhood brought down into such dingy reality as this. The tragedy queens + were the same coarse and homely women and girls that surrounded me on the + green. Some of the people had evidently been drinking more than was good + for them; but their drunkenness was silent and stolid, with no madness in + it. No ebullition of any sort was apparent. + </p> + <p> + May 31st.—Last Sunday week, for the first time, I heard the note of + the cuckoo. "Cuck-oo—cuck-oo" it says, repeating the word twice, not + in a brilliant metallic tone, but low and flute-like, without the + excessive sweetness of the flute,—without an excess of saccharine + juice in the sound. There are said to be always two cuckoos seen together. + The note is very soft and pleasant. The larks I have not yet heard in the + sky; though it is not infrequent to hear one singing in a cage, in the + streets of Liverpool. + </p> + <p> + Brewers' draymen are allowed to drink as much of their master's beverage + as they like, and they grow very brawny and corpulent, resembling their + own horses in size, and presenting, one would suppose, perfect pictures of + physical comfort and well-being. But the least bruise, or even the hurt of + a finger, is liable to turn to gangrene or erysipelas, and become fatal. + </p> + <p> + When the wind blows violently, however clear the sky, the English say, "It + is a stormy day." And, on the other hand, when the air is still, and it + does not actually rain, however dark and lowering the sky may be, they + say, "The weather is fine!" + </p> + <p> + June 2d.—The English women of the lower classes have a grace of + their own, not seen in each individual, but nevertheless belonging to + their order, which is not to be found in American women of the + corresponding class. The other day, in the police court, a girl was put + into the witness-box, whose native graces of this sort impressed me a good + deal. She was coarse, and her dress was none of the cleanest, and nowise + smart. She appeared to have been up all night, too, drinking at the + Tranmere wake, and had since ridden in a cart, covered up with a rug. She + described herself as a servant-girl, out of place; and her charm lay in + all her manifestations,—her tones, her gestures, her look, her way + of speaking and what she said, being so appropriate and natural in a girl + of that class; nothing affected; no proper grace thrown away by attempting + to appear lady-like,—which an American girl would have attempted,—and + she would also have succeeded in a certain degree. If each class would but + keep within itself, and show its respect for itself by aiming at nothing + beyond, they would all be more respectable. But this kind of fitness is + evidently not to be expected in the future; and something else must be + substituted for it. + </p> + <p> + These scenes at the police court are often well worth witnessing. The + controlling genius of the court, except when the stipendiary magistrate + presides, is the clerk, who is a man learned in the law. Nominally the + cases are decided by the aldermen, who sit in rotation, but at every + important point there comes a nod or a whisper from the clerk; and it is + that whisper which sets the defendant free or sends him to prison. + Nevertheless, I suppose the alderman's common-sense and native shrewdness + are not without their efficacy in producing a general tendency towards the + right; and, no doubt, the decisions of the police court are quite as often + just as those of any other court whatever. + </p> + <p> + June 11th.—I walked with J——- yesterday to Bebington + Church. When I first saw this church, nearly two years since, it seemed to + me the fulfilment of my ideal of an old English country church. It is not + so satisfactory now, although certainly a venerable edifice. There used + some time ago to be ivy all over the tower; and at my first view of it, + there was still a little remaining on the upper parts of the spire. But + the main roots, I believe, were destroyed, and pains were taken to clear + away the whole of the ivy, so that now it is quite bare,—nothing but + homely gray stone, with marks of age, but no beauty. The most curious + thing about the church is the font. It is a massive pile, composed of five + or six layers of freestone in an octagon shape, placed in the angle formed + by the projecting side porch and the wall of the church, and standing + under a stained-glass window. The base is six or seven feet across, and it + is built solidly up in successive steps, to the height of about six feet,—an + octagonal pyramid, with the basin of the font crowning the pile hewn out + of the solid stone, and about a foot in diameter and the same in depth. + There was water in it from the recent rains,—water just from heaven, + and therefore as holy as any water it ever held in old Romish times. The + aspect of this aged font is extremely venerable, with moss in the basin + and all over the stones; grass, and weeds of various kinds, and little + shrubs, rooted in the chinks of the stones and between the successive + steps. + </p> + <p> + At each entrance of Rock Park, where we live, there is a small Gothic + structure of stone, each inhabited by a policeman and his family; very + small dwellings indeed, with the main apartment opening directly + out-of-doors; and when the door is open, one can see the household fire, + the good wife at work, perhaps the table set, and a throng of children + clustering round, and generally overflowing the threshold. The policeman + walks about the Park in stately fashion, with his silver-laced blue + uniform and snow-white gloves, touching his hat to gentlemen who reside in + the Park. In his public capacity he has rather an awful aspect, but + privately he is a humble man enough, glad of any little job, and of old + clothes for his many children, or, I believe, for himself. One of the two + policemen is a shoemaker and cobbler. His pay, officially, is somewhere + about a guinea a week. + </p> + <p> + The Park, just now, is very agreeable to look at, shadowy with trees and + shrubs, and with glimpses of green leaves and flower-gardens through the + branches and twigs that line the iron fences. After a shower the hawthorn + blossoms are delightfully fragrant. Golden tassels of the laburnum are + abundant. + </p> + <p> + I may have mentioned elsewhere the traditional prophecy, that, when the + ivy should reach the top of Bebbington spire, the tower was doomed to + fall. It lies still, therefore, a chance of standing for centuries. Mr. + Turner tells me that the font now used is inside of the church, but the + one outside is of unknown antiquity, and that it was customary, in + papistical time, to have the font without the church. + </p> + <p> + There is a little boy often on board the Rock Ferry steamer with an + accordion,—an instrument I detest; but nevertheless it becomes + tolerable in his hands, not so much for its music, as for the earnestness + and interest with which he plays it. His body and the accordion together + become one musical instrument on which his soul plays tunes, for he sways + and vibrates with the music from head to foot and throughout his frame, + half closing his eyes and uplifting his face, as painters represent St. + Cecilia and other famous musicians; and sometimes he swings his accordion + in the air, as if in a perfect rapture. After all, my ears, though not + very nice, are somewhat tortured by his melodies, especially when confined + within the cabin. The boy is ten years old, perhaps, and rather pretty; + clean, too, and neatly dressed, very unlike all other street and vagabond + children whom I have seen in Liverpool. People give him their halfpence + more readily than to any other musicians who infest the boat. + </p> + <p> + J——-, the other day, was describing a soldier-crab to his + mother, he being much interested in natural history, and endeavoring to + give as strong an idea as possible of its warlike characteristics, and + power to harm those who molest it. Little R——- sat by, quietly + listening and sewing, and at last, lifting her head, she remarked, "I hope + God did not hurt himself, when he was making him!" + </p> + <h3> + LEAMINGTON. + </h3> + <p> + June 21st.—We left Rock Ferry and Liverpool on Monday the 18th by + the rail for this place; a very dim and rainy day, so that we had no + pleasant prospects of the country; neither would the scenery along the + Great Western Railway have been in any case very striking, though sunshine + would have made the abundant verdure and foliage warm and genial. But a + railway naturally finds its way through all the common places of a + country, and is certainly a most unsatisfactory mode of travelling, the + only object being to arrive. However, we had a whole carriage to + ourselves, and the children enjoyed the earlier part of the journey very + much. We skirted Shrewsbury, and I think I saw the old tower of a church + near the station, perhaps the same that struck Falstaff's "long hour." As + we left the town I saw the Wrekin, a round, pointed hill of regular shape, + and remembered the old toast, "To all friends round the Wrekin!" As we + approached Birmingham, the country began to look somewhat Brummagemish, + with its manufacturing chimneys, and pennons of flame quivering out of + their tops; its forges, and great heaps of mineral refuse; its smokiness + and other ugly symptoms. Of Birmingham itself we saw little or nothing, + except the mean and new brick lodging-houses, on the outskirts of the + town. Passing through Warwick, we had a glimpse of the castle,—an + ivied wall and two turrets, rising out of imbosoming foliage; one's very + idea of an old castle. We reached Leamington at a little past six, and + drove to the Clarendon Hotel,—a very spacious and stately house, by + far the most splendid hotel I have yet seen in England. The landlady, a + courteous old lady in black, showed my wife our rooms, and we established + ourselves in an immensely large and lofty parlor, with red curtains and + ponderous furniture, perhaps a very little out of date. The waiter brought + me the book of arrivals, containing the names of all visitors for from + three to five years back. During two years I estimated that there had been + about three hundred and fifty persons only, and while we were there, I saw + nobody but ourselves to support the great hotel. Among the names were + those of princes, earls, countesses, and baronets; and when the people of + the house heard from R——-'s nurse that I too was a man of + office, and held the title of Honorable in my own country, they greatly + regretted that I entered myself as plain "Mister" in the book. We found + this hotel very comfortable, and might doubtless have made it luxurious, + had we chosen to go to five times the expense of similar luxuries in + America; but we merely ordered comfortable things, and so came off at no + very extravagant rate,—and with great honor, at all events, in the + estimation of the waiter. + </p> + <p> + During the afternoon we found lodgings, and established ourselves in them + before dark. + </p> + <p> + This English custom of lodgings, of which we had some experience at Rhyl + last year, has its advantages; but is rather uncomfortable for strangers, + who, in first settling themselves down, find that they must undertake all + the responsibility of housekeeping at an instant's warming, and cannot get + even a cup of tea till they have made arrangements with the grocer. Soon, + however, there comes a sense of being at home, and by our exclusive + selves, which never can be attained at hotels nor boarding-houses. Our + house is well situated and respectably furnished, with the dinginess, + however, which is inseparable from lodging-houses,—as if others had + used these things before and would use them again after we had gone,—a + well-enough adaptation, but a lack of peculiar appropriateness; and I + think one puts off real enjoyment from a sense of not being truly fitted. + </p> + <p> + July 1st.—On Friday I took the rail with J——- for + Coventry. It was a bright and very warm day, oppressively so, indeed; + though I think that there is never in this English climate the pervading + warmth of an American summer day. The sunshine may be excessively hot, but + an overshadowing cloud or the shade of a tree or of a building at once + affords relief; and if the slightest breeze stirs, you feel the latent + freshness of the air. + </p> + <p> + Coventry is some nine or ten miles from Leamington. The approach to it + from the railway presents nothing very striking,—a few + church-towers, and one or two tall steeples; and the houses first seen are + of modern and unnoticeable aspect. Getting into the interior of the town, + however, you find the streets very crooked, and some of them very narrow. + I saw one place where it seemed possible to shake hands from one jutting + storied old house to another. There were whole streets of the same kind of + houses, one story impending over another, such as used to be familiar to + me in Salem, and in some streets of Boston. In fact, the whole aspect of + the town—its irregularity and continual indirectness—reminded + me very much of Boston, as I used to see it, in rare visits thither, when + a child. + </p> + <p> + These Coventry houses, however, many of them, are much larger than any of + similar style that I have seen elsewhere, and they spread into greater + bulk as they ascend, by means of one story jutting over the other. + Probably the New-Englanders continued to follow this fashion of + architecture after it had been abandoned in the mother country. The old + house built, by Philip English, in Salem, dated about 1692; and it was in + this style,—many gabled, and impending. Here the edifices of such + architecture seem to be Elizabethan, and of earlier date. A woman in + Stratford told us that the rooms, very low on the ground-floor, grew + loftier from story to story to the attic. The fashion of windows, in + Coventry, is such as I have not hitherto seen. In the highest story, a + window of the ordinary height extends along the whole breadth of the + house, ten, fifteen, perhaps twenty feet, just like any other window of a + commonplace house, except for this inordinate width. One does not easily + see what the inhabitants want of so much window-light; but the fashion is + very general, and in modern houses, or houses that have been modernized, + this style of window is retained. Thus young people who grow up amidst old + people contract quaint and old-fashioned manners and aspect. + </p> + <p> + I imagine that these ancient towns—such as Chester and Stratford, + Warwick and Coventry—contain even a great deal more antiquity than + meets the eye. You see many modern fronts; but if you peep or penetrate + inside, you find an antique arrangement,—old rafters, intricate + passages, and ancient staircases, which have put on merely a new outside, + and are likely still to prove good for the usual date of a new house. They + put such an immense and stalwart ponderosity into their frameworks, that I + suppose a house of Elizabeth's time, if renewed, has at least an equal + chance of durability with one that is new in every part. All the hotels in + Coventry, so far as I noticed them, are old, with new fronts; and they + have an archway for the admission of vehicles into the court-yard, and + doors opening into the rooms of the building on each side of the arch. + Maids and waiters are seen darting across the arched passage from door to + door, and it requires a guide (in my case, at least) to show you the way + to the coffee-room or the bar. I have never been up stairs in any of them, + but can conceive of infinite bewilderment of zigzag corridors between + staircase and chamber. + </p> + <p> + It was fair-day in Coventry, and this gave what no doubt is an unusual + bustle to the streets. In fact, I have not seen such crowded and busy + streets in any English town; various kinds of merchandise being for sale + in the open air, and auctioneers disposing of miscellaneous wares, pretty + much as they do at musters and other gatherings in the United States. The + oratory of the American auctioneer, however, greatly surpasses that of the + Englishman in vivacity and fun. But this movement and throng, together + with the white glow of the sun on the pavements, make the scene, in my + recollection, assume an American aspect, and this is strange in so antique + and quaint a town as Coventry. + </p> + <p> + We rambled about without any definite aim, but found our way, I believe, + to most of the objects that are worth seeing. St. Michael's Church was + most magnificent,—so old, yet enduring; so huge, so rich; with such + intricate minuteness in its finish, that, look as long as you will at it, + you can always discover something new directly before your eyes. I admire + this in Gothic architecture,—that you cannot master it all at once, + that it is not a naked outline; but, as deep and rich as human nature + itself, always revealing new ideas. It is as if the builder had built + himself and his age up into it, and as if the edifice had life. Grecian + temples are less interesting to me, being so cold and crystalline. I think + this is the only church I have seen where there are any statues still left + standing in the niches of the exterior walls. We did not go inside. The + steeple of St. Michael's is three hundred and three feet high, and no + doubt the clouds often envelop the tip of the spire. Trinity, another + church with a tall spire, stands near St. Michael's, but did not attract + me so much; though I, perhaps, might have admired it equally, had I seen + it first or alone. We certainly know nothing of church-building in + America, and of all English things that I have seen, methinks the churches + disappoint me least. I feel, too, that there is something much more + wonderful in them than I have yet had time to know and experience. + </p> + <p> + In the course of the forenoon, searching about everywhere in quest of + Gothic architecture, we found our way into St. Mary's Hall. The doors were + wide open; it seemed to be public,—there was a notice on the wall + desiring visitors to give nothing to attendants for showing it, and so we + walked in. I observed, in the guide-books, that we should have obtained an + order for admission from some member of the town council; but we had none, + and found no need of it. An old woman, and afterwards an old man, both of + whom seemed to be at home on the premises, told us that we might enter, + and troubled neither themselves nor us any further. + </p> + <p> + St. Mary's Hall is now the property of the Corporation of Coventry, and + seems to be the place where the Mayor and Council hold their meetings. It + was built by one of the old guilds or fraternities of merchants and + tradesmen The woman shut the kitchen door when I approached, so that I did + not see the great fireplaces and huge cooking-utensils which are said to + be there. Whether these are ever used nowadays, and whether the Mayor of + Coventry gives such hospitable banquets as the Mayor of Liverpool, I do + not know. + </p> + <p> + We went to the Red Lion, and had a luncheon of cold lamb and cold + pigeon-pie. This is the best way of dining at English hotels,—to + call the meal a luncheon, in which case you will get as good or better a + variety than if it were a dinner, and at less than half the cost. Having + lunched, we again wandered about town, and entered a quadrangle of gabled + houses, with a church, and its churchyard on one side. This proved to be + St. John's Church, and a part of the houses were the locality of Bond's + Hospital, for the reception of ten poor men, and the remainder was devoted + to the Bablake School. Into this latter I peered, with a real American + intrusiveness, which I never found in myself before, but which I must now + assume, or miss a great many things which I am anxious to see. Running + along the front of the house, under the jut of the impending story, there + was a cloistered walk, with windows opening on the quadrangle. An arched + oaken door, with long iron hinges, admitted us into a school-room about + twenty feet square, paved with brick tiles, blue and red. Adjoining this + there is a larger school-room which we did not enter, but peeped at, + through one of the inner windows, from the cloistered walk. In the room + which we entered, there were seven scholars' desks, and an immense arched + fireplace, with seats on each side, under the chimney, on a stone slab + resting on a brick pedestal. The opening of the fireplace was at least + twelve feet in width. On one side of the room were pegs for fifty-two + boys' hats and clothes, and there was a boy's coat, of peculiar cut, + hanging on a peg, with the number "50" in brass upon it. The coat looked + ragged and shabby. An old school-book was lying on one of the desks, much + tattered, and without a title; but it seemed to treat wholly of Saints' + days and festivals of the Church. A flight of stairs, with a heavy + balustrade of carved oak, ascended to a gallery, about eight or nine feet + from the lower floor, which runs along two sides of the room, looking down + upon it. The room is without a ceiling, and rises into a peaked gable, + about twenty feet high. There is a large clock in it, and it is lighted by + two windows, each about ten feet wide,—one in the gallery, and the + other beneath it. Two benches or settles, with backs, stood one on each + side of the fireplace. An old woman in black passed through the room while + I was making my observations, and looked at me, but said nothing. The + school was founded in 1563, by Thomas Whealby, Mayor of Coventry; the + revenue is about 900 pounds, and admits children of the working-classes at + eleven years old, clothes and provides for them, and finally apprentices + them for seven years. We saw some of the boys playing in the quadrangle, + dressed in long blue coats or gowns, with cloth caps on their heads. I + know not how the atmosphere of antiquity, and massive continuance from age + to age, which was the charm to me in this scene of a charity school-room, + can be thrown over it in description. After noting down these matters, I + looked into the quiet precincts of Bond's Hospital, which, no doubt, was + more than equally interesting; but the old men were lounging about or + lolling at length, looking very drowsy, and I had not the heart nor the + face to intrude among them. There is something altogether strange to an + American in these charitable institutions,—in the preservation of + antique modes and customs which is effected by them, insomuch that, + doubtless, without at all intending it, the founders have succeeded in + preserving a model of their own long-past age down into the midst of ours, + and how much later nobody can know. + </p> + <p> + We were now rather tired, and went to the railroad, intending to go home; + but we got into the wrong train, and were carried by express, with + hurricane speed, to Bradon, where we alighted, and waited a good while for + the return train to Coventry. At Coventry again we had more than an hour + to wait, and therefore wandered wearily up into the city, and took another + look at its bustling streets, in which there seems to be a good emblem of + what England itself really is,—with a great deal of antiquity in it, + and which is now chiefly a modification of the old. The new things are + based and supported on the sturdy old things, and often limited and + impeded by them; but this antiquity is so massive that there seems to be + no means of getting rid of it without tearing society to pieces. + </p> + <p> + July 2d.—To-day I shall set out on my return to Liverpool, leaving + my family here. + </p> + <h3> + TO THE LAKES. + </h3> + <p> + July 4th.—I left Leamington on Monday, shortly after twelve, having + been accompanied to the railway station by U—— and J——-, + whom I sent away before the train started. While I was waiting, a rather + gentlemanly, well-to-do, English-looking man sat down by me, and began to + talk of the Crimea, of human affairs in general, of God and his + Providence, of the coming troubles of the world, and of spiritualism, in a + strange free way for an Englishman, or, indeed, for any man. It was easy + to see that he was an enthusiast of some line or other. He being bound for + Birmingham and I for Rugby, we soon had to part; but he asked my name, and + told me his own, which I did not much attend to, and immediately forgot. + </p> + <p> + [Here follows a long account of a visit to Lichfield and Uttoxeter, + condensed in "Our Old Home."] + </p> + <p> + July 6th.—The day after my arrival, by way of Lichfield and + Uttoxeter, at Liverpool, the door of the Consulate opened, and in came the + very sociable personage who accosted me at the railway station at + Leamington. He was on his way towards Edinburgh, to deliver a course of + lectures or a lecture, and had called, he said, to talk with me about + spiritualism, being desirous of having the judgment of a sincere mind on + the subject. In his own mind, I should suppose, he is past the stage of + doubt and inquiry; for he told me that in every action of his life he is + governed by the counsels received from the spiritual world through a + medium. I did not inquire whether this medium (who is a small boy) had + suggested his visit to me. My remarks to him were quite of a sceptical + character in regard to the faith to which he had surrendered himself. He + has formerly lived in America, and had had a son born there. He gave me a + pamphlet written by himself, on the cure of consumption and other diseases + by antiseptic remedies. I hope he will not bore me any more, though he + seems to be a very sincere and good man; but these enthusiasts who adopt + such extravagant ideas appear to one to lack imagination, instead of being + misled by it, as they are generally supposed to be. + </p> + <h3> + NEWBY BRIDGE.—FOOT OF WINDERMERE. + </h3> + <p> + July 13th.—I left Liverpool on Saturday last, by the London and + Northwestern Railway, for Leamington, spent Sunday there, and started on + Monday for the English lakes, with the whole family. We should not have + taken this journey just now, but I had an official engagement which it was + convenient to combine with a pleasure-excursion. The first night we + arrived at Chester, and put up at the Albion Hotel, where we found + ourselves very comfortable. We took the rail at twelve the next day, and + went as far as Milnethorpe station, where we engaged seats in an + old-fashioned stage-coach, and came to Newby Bridge. I suppose there are + not many of these coaches now running on any road in Great Britain; but + this appears to be the genuine machine, in all respects, and especially in + the round, ruddy coachman, well moistened with ale, good-natured, + courteous, and with a proper sense of his dignity and important position. + U——, J——-, and I mounted atop, S——-, + nurse, and R——- got inside, and we bowled off merrily towards + the hearts of the hills. It was more than half past nine when we arrived + at Newby Bridge, and alighted at the Swan Hotel, where we now are. + </p> + <p> + It is a very agreeable place: not striking as to scenery, but with a + pleasant rural aspect. A stone bridge of five arches crosses the river + Severn (which is the communication between Windermere Lake and Morecambe + Bay) close to the house, which sits low—and well sheltered in the + lap of hills,—an old-fashioned inn, where the landlord and his + people have a simple and friendly way of dealing with their guests, and + yet provide them with all sorts of facilities for being comfortable. They + load our supper and breakfast tables with trout, cold beef, ham, toast, + and muffins; and give us three fair courses for dinner, and excellent + wine, the cost of all which remains to be seen. This is not one of the + celebrated stations among the lakes; but twice a day the stage-coach + passes from Milnethorpe towards Ulverton, and twice returns, and three + times a little steamer passes to and fro between our hotel and the head of + the lake. Young ladies, in broad-brimmed hats, stroll about, or row on the + river in the light shallops, of which there are abundance; sportsmen sit + on the benches under the windows of the hotel, arranging their + fishing-tackle; phaetons and post-chaises, with postilions in scarlet + jackets and white breeches, with one high-topped boot, and the other + leathered far up on the leg to guard against friction between the horses, + dash up to the door. Morning and night comes the stage-coach, and we + inspect the outside passengers, almost face to face with us, from our + parlor-windows, up one pair of stairs. Little boys, and J——- + among them, spend hours on hours fishing in the clear, shallow river for + the perch, chubs, and minnows that may be seen flashing, like gleams of + light over the flat stones with which the bottom is paved. I cannot answer + for the other boys, but J——- catches nothing. + </p> + <p> + There are a good many trees on the hills and roundabout, and pleasant + roads loitering along by the gentle river-side, and it has been so sunny + and warm since we came here that we shall have quite a genial recollection + of the place, if we leave it before the skies have time to frown. The day + after we came, we climbed a high and pretty steep hill, through a path + shadowed with trees and shrubbery, up to a tower, from the summit of which + we had a wide view of mountain scenery and the greater part of Windermere. + This lake is a lovely little pool among the hills, long and narrow, + beautifully indented with tiny bays and headlands; and when we saw it, it + was one smile (as broad a smile as its narrowness allowed) with really + brilliant sunshine. All the scenery we have yet met with is in excellent + taste, and keeps itself within very proper bounds,— never getting + too wild and rugged to shock the sensibilities of cultivated people, as + American scenery is apt to do. On the rudest surface of English earth, + there is seen the effect of centuries of civilization, so that you do not + quite get at naked Nature anywhere. And then every point of beauty is so + well known, and has been described so much, that one must needs look + through other people's eyes, and feels as if he were seeing a picture + rather than a reality. Man has, in short, entire possession of Nature + here, and I should think young men might sometimes yearn for a fresher + draught. But an American likes it. + </p> + <h3> + FURNESS ABBEY. + </h3> + <p> + Yesterday, July 12th, we took a phaeton and went to Furness Abbey,—a + drive of about sixteen miles, passing along the course of the Leam to + Morecambe Bay, and through Ulverton and other villages. These villages all + look antique, and the smallest of them generally are formed of such close, + contiguous clusters of houses, and have such narrow and crooked streets, + that they give you an idea of a metropolis in miniature. The houses along + the road (of which there are not many, except in the villages) are almost + invariably old, built of stone, and covered with a light gray plaster; + generally they have a little flower-garden in front, and, often, + honeysuckles, roses, or some other sweet and pretty rustic adornment, are + flowering over the porch. I have hardly had such images of simple, quiet, + rustic comfort and beauty, as from the look of these houses; and the whole + impression of our winding and undulating road, bordered by hedges, + luxuriantly green, and not too closely clipped, accords with this aspect. + There is nothing arid in an English landscape; and one cannot but fancy + that the same may be true of English rural life. The people look wholesome + and well-to-do,—not specimens of hard, dry, sunburnt muscle, like + our yeomen,—and are kind and civil to strangers, sometimes making a + little inclination of the head in passing. Miss Martineau, however, does + not seem to think well of their mental and moral condition. + </p> + <p> + We reached Furness Abbey about twelve. There is a railway station close by + the ruins; and a new hotel stands within the precincts of the abbey + grounds; and continually there is the shriek, the whiz, the rumble, the + bell-ringing, denoting the arrival of the trains; and passengers alight, + and step at once (as their choice may be) into the refreshment-room, to + get a glass of ale or a cigar,—or upon the gravelled paths of the + lawn, leading to the old broken walls and arches of the abbey. The ruins + are extensive, and the enclosure of the abbey is stated to have covered a + space of sixty-five acres. It is impossible to describe them. The most + interesting part is that which was formerly the church, and which, though + now roofless, is still surrounded by walls, and retains the remnants of + the pillars that formerly supported the intermingling curves of the + arches. The floor is all overgrown with grass, strewn with fragments and + capitals of pillars. It was a great and stately edifice, the length of the + nave and choir having been nearly three hundred feet, and that of the + transept more than half as much. The pillars along the nave were + alternately a round, solid one and a clustered one. Now, what remains of + some of them is even with the ground; others present a stump just high + enough to form a seat; and others are, perhaps, a man's height from the + ground,—and all are mossy, and with grass and weeds rooted into + their chinks, and here and there a tuft of flowers, giving its tender + little beauty to their decay. The material of the edifice is a soft red + stone, and it is now extensively overgrown with a lichen of a very light + gray line, which, at a little distance, makes the walls look as if they + had long ago been whitewashed, and now had partially returned to their + original color. The arches of the nave and transept were noble and + immense; there were four of them together, supporting a tower which has + long since disappeared,—arches loftier than I ever conceived to have + been made by man. Very possibly, in some cathedral that I have seen, or am + yet to see, there may be arches as stately as these; but I doubt whether + they can ever show to such advantage in a perfect edifice as they do in + this ruin,—most of them broken, only one, as far as I recollect, + still completing its sweep. In this state they suggest a greater majesty + and beauty than any finished human work can show; the crumbling traces of + the half-obliterated design producing somewhat of the effect of the first + idea of anything admirable, when it dawns upon the mind of an artist or a + poet,—an idea which, do what he may, he is sure to fall short of in + his attempt to embody it. + </p> + <p> + In the middle of the choir is a much-dilapidated monument of a + cross-legged knight (a crusader, of course) in armor, very rudely + executed; and, against the wall, lie two or three more bruised and + battered warriors, with square helmets on their heads and visors down. + Nothing can be uglier than these figures; the sculpture of those days + seems to have been far behind the architecture. And yet they knew how to + put a grotesque expression into the faces of their images, and we saw some + fantastic shapes and heads at the lower points of arches which would do to + copy into Punch. In the chancel, just at the point below where the high + altar stands, was the burial-place of the old Barons of Kendal. The broken + crusader, perhaps, represents one of them; and some of their stalwart + bones might be found by digging down. Against the wall of the choir, near + the vacant space where the altar was, are some stone seats with canopies + richly carved in stone, all quite perfectly preserved, where the priests + used to sit at intervals, during the celebration of mass. Conceive all + these shattered walls, with here and there an arched door, or the great + arched vacancy of a window; these broken stones and monuments scattered + about; these rows of pillars up and down the nave; these arches, through + which a giant might have stepped, and not needed to bow his head, unless + in reverence to the sanctity of the place,—conceive it all, with + such verdure and embroidery of flowers as the gentle, kindly moisture of + the English climate procreates on all old things, making them more + beautiful than new,—conceive it with the grass for sole pavement of + the long and spacious aisle, and the sky above for the only roof. The sky, + to be sure, is more majestic than the tallest of those arches; and yet + these latter, perhaps, make the stronger impression of sublimity, because + they translate the sweep of the sky to our finite comprehension. It was a + most beautiful, warm, sunny day, and the ruins had all the pictorial + advantage of bright light and deep shadows. I must not forget that birds + flew in and out among the recesses, and chirped and warbled, and made + themselves at home there. Doubtless, the birds of the present generation + are the posterity of those who first settled in the ruins, after the + Reformation; and perhaps the old monks of a still earlier day may have + watched them building about the abbey, before it was a ruin at all. + </p> + <p> + We had an old description of the place with us, aided by which we traced + out the principal part of the edifice, such as the church, as already + mentioned, and, contiguous to this, the Chapter-house, which is better + preserved than the church; also the kitchen, and the room where the monks + met to talk; and the range of wall, where their cells probably were. I + never before had given myself the trouble to form any distinct idea of + what an abbey or monastery was,—a place where holy rites were daily + and continually to be performed, with places to eat and sleep contiguous + and convenient, in order that the monks might always be at hand to perform + those rites. They lived only to worship, and therefore lived under the + same roof with their place of worship, which, of course, was the principal + object in the edifice, and hallowed the whole of it. We found, too, at one + end of the ruins, what is supposed to have been a school-house for the + children of the tenantry or villeins of the abbey. All round this room is + a bench of stone against the wall, and the pedestal also of the master's + seat. There are, likewise, the ruins of the mill; and the mill-stream, + which is just as new as ever it was, still goes murmuring and babbling, + and passes under two or three old bridges, consisting of a low gray arch + overgrown with grass and shrubbery. That stream was the most fleeting and + vanishing thing about the ponderous and high-piled abbey; and yet it has + outlasted everything else, and might still outlast another such edifice, + and be none the worse for wear. + </p> + <p> + There is not a great deal of ivy upon the walls, and though an ivied wall + is a beautiful object, yet it is better not to have too much,—else + it is but one wall of unbroken verdure, on which you can see none of the + sculptural ornaments, nor any of the hieroglyphics of Time. A sweep of ivy + here and there, with the gray wall everywhere showing through, makes the + better picture; and I think that nothing is so effective as the little + bunches of flowers, a mere handful, that grow in spots where the seeds + have been carried by the wind ages ago. + </p> + <p> + I have made a miserable botch of this description; it is no description, + but merely an attempt to preserve something of the impression it made on + me, and in this I do not seem to have succeeded at all. I liked the + contrast between the sombreness of the old walls, and the sunshine falling + through them, and gladdening the grass that floored the aisles; also, I + liked the effect of so many idle and cheerful people, strolling into the + haunts of the dead monks, and going babbling about, and peering into the + dark nooks; and listening to catch some idea of what the building was from + a clerical-looking personage, who was explaining it to a party of his + friends. I don't know how well acquainted this gentleman might be with the + subject; but he seemed anxious not to impart his knowledge too + extensively, and gave a pretty direct rebuff to an honest man who ventured + an inquiry of him. I think that the railway, and the hotel within the + abbey grounds, add to the charm of the place. A moonlight solitary visit + might be very good, too, in its way; but I believe that one great charm + and beauty of antiquity is, that we view it out of the midst of quite + another mode of life; and the more perfectly this can be done, the better. + It can never be done more perfectly than at Furness Abbey, which is in + itself a very sombre scene, and stands, moreover, in the midst of a + melancholy valley, the Saxon name of which means the Vale of the Deadly + Nightshade. + </p> + <p> + The entrance to the stable-yard of the hotel is beneath a pointed arch of + Saxon architecture, and on one side of this stands an old building, + looking like a chapel, but which may have been a porter's lodge. The + Abbot's residence was in this quarter; and the clerical personage, before + alluded to, spoke of these as the oldest part of the ruins. + </p> + <p> + About half a mile on the hither side of the abbey stands the village of + Dalton, in which is a castle built on a Roman foundation, and which was + afterwards used by the abbots (in their capacity of feudal lords) as a + prison. The abbey was founded about 1027 by King Stephen, before he came + to the throne; and the faces of himself and of his queen are still to be + seen on one of the walls. + </p> + <p> + We had a very agreeable drive home (our drive hither had been + uncomfortably sunny and hot), and we stopped at Ulverton to buy a pair of + shoes for J——- and some drawing-books and stationery. As we + passed through the little town in the morning, it was all alive with the + bustle and throng of the weekly market; and though this had ceased on our + return, the streets still looked animated, because the heat of the day + drew most of the population, I should imagine, out of doors. Old men look + very antiquated here in their old-fashioned coats and breeches, sunning + themselves by the wayside. + </p> + <p> + We reached home somewhere about eight o'clock,—home I see I have + called it; and it seems as homelike a spot as any we have found in + England,—the old inn, close by the bridge, beside the clear river, + pleasantly overshadowed by trees. It is entirely English, and like nothing + that one sees in America; and yet. I feel as if I might have lived here a + long while ago, and had now come back because I retained pleasant + recollections of it. The children, too, make themselves at home. J——- + spends his time from morning to night fishing for minnows or trout, and + catching nothing at all, and U—— and R——- have + been riding between fields and barn in a hay-cart. The roads give us + beautiful walks along the river-side, or wind away among the gentle hills; + and if we had nothing else to look at in these walks, the hedges and stone + fences would afford interest enough, so many and pretty are the flowers, + roses, honeysuckles, and other sweet things, and so abundantly does the + moss and ivy grow among the old stones of the fences, which would never + have a single shoot of vegetation on them in America till the very end of + time. But here, no sooner is a stone fence built, than Nature sets to work + to make it a part of herself. She adopts it and adorns it, as if it were + her own child. A little sprig of ivy may be seen creeping up the side, and + clinging fast with its many feet; a tuft of grass roots itself between two + of the stones, where a little dust from the road has been moistened into + soil for it: a small bunch of fern grows in another such crevice; a deep, + soft, green moss spreads itself over the top and all along the sides of + the fence; and wherever nothing else will grow, lichens adhere to the + stones and variegate their lines. Finally, a great deal of shrubbery is + sure to cluster along its extent, and take away all hardness from the + outline; and so the whole stone fence looks as if God had had at least as + much to do with it as man. The trunks of the trees, too, exhibit a similar + parasitical vegetation. Parasitical is an unkind phrase to bestow on this + beautiful love and kindness which seems to exist here between one plant + and another; the strong thing—being always ready to give support and + sustenance, and the weak thing to repay with beauty, so that both are the + richer,—as in the case of ivy and woodbine, clustering up the trunk + of a tall tree, and adding Corinthian grace to its lofty beauty. + </p> + <p> + Mr. W———, our landlord, has lent us a splendid work with + engravings, illustrating the antiquities of Furness Abbey. I gather from + it that the hotel must have been rebuilt or repaired from an old + manor-house, which was itself erected by a family of Prestons, after the + Reformation, and was a renewal from the Abbot's residence. Much of the + edifice probably, as it exists now, may have been part of the original + one; and there are bas-reliefs of Scripture subjects, sculptured in stone, + and fixed in the wall of the dining-room, which have been there since the + Abbot's time. This author thinks that what we had supposed to be the + school-house (on the authority of an old book) was really the building for + the reception of guests, with its chapel. He says that the tall arches in + the church are sixty feet high. The Earl of Burlington, I believe, is the + present proprietor of the abbey. + </p> + <h3> + THE LAKES. + </h3> + <p> + July 16th.—On Saturday, we left Newby Bridge, and came by steamboat + up Windermere Lake to Lowwood Hotel, where we now are. The foot of the + lake is just above Newby Bridge, and it widens from that point, but never + to such a breadth that objects are not pretty distinctly visible from + shore to shore. The steamer stops at two or three places in the course of + its voyage, the principal one being Bowness, which has a little bustle and + air of business about it proper to the principal port of the lake. There + are several small yachts, and many skiffs rowing about. The banks are + everywhere beautiful, and the water, in one portion, is strewn with + islands; few of which are large enough to be inhabitable, but they all + seem to be appropriated, and kept in the neatest order. As yet, I have + seen no wildness; everything is perfectly subdued and polished and imbued + with human taste, except, indeed, the outlines of the hills, which + continue very much the same as God made them. As we approached the head of + the lake, the congregation of great hills in the distance became very + striking. The shapes of these English mountains are certainly far more + picturesque than those which I have seen in Eastern America, where their + summits are almost invariably rounded, as I remember them. They are great + hillocks, great bunches of earth, similar to one another in their + developments. Here they have variety of shape, rising into peaks, falling + in abrupt precipices, stretching along in zigzag outlines, and thus making + the most of their not very gigantic masses, and producing a remarkable + effect. + </p> + <p> + We arrived at the Lowwood Hotel, which is very near the head of the lake, + not long after two o'clock. It stands almost on the shore of Windermere, + with only a green lawn between,—an extensive hotel, covering a good + deal of ground; but low, and rather village-inn-like than lofty. We found + the house so crowded as to afford us no very comfortable accommodations, + either as to parlor or sleeping-rooms, and we find nothing like the + home-feeling into which we at once settled down at Newby Bridge. There is + a very pretty vicinity, and a fine view of mountains to the northwest, + sitting together in a family group, sometimes in full sunshine, sometimes + with only a golden gleam on one or two of them, sometimes all in a veil of + cloud, from which here and there a great, dusky head raises itself, while + you are looking at a dim obscurity. Nearer, there are high, green slopes, + well wooded, but with such decent and well-behaved wood as you perceive + has grown up under the care of man; still no wildness, no ruggedness,—as + how should there be, when, every half-mile or so, a porter's lodge or a + gentleman's gateway indicates that the whole region is used up for villas. + On the opposite shore of the lake there is a mimic castle, which I suppose + I might have mistaken for a real one two years ago. It is a great, foolish + toy of gray stone. + </p> + <p> + A steamboat comes to the pier as many as six times a day, and + stage-coaches and omnibuses stop at the door still oftener, communicating + with Ambleside and the town of Windermere, and with the railway, which + opens London and all the world to us. We get no knowledge of our + fellow-guests, all of whom, like ourselves, live in their own circles, and + are just as remote from us as if the lake lay between. The only words I + have spoken since arriving here have been to my own family or to a waiter, + save to one or two young pedestrians who met me on a walk, and asked me + the distance to Lowwood Hotel. "Just beyond here," said I, and I might + stay for months without occasion to speak again. + </p> + <p> + Yesterday forenoon J——- and I walked to Ambleside,—distant + barely two miles. It is a little town, chiefly of modern aspect, built on + a very uneven hillside, and with very irregular streets and lanes, which + bewilder the stranger as much as those of a larger city. Many of the + houses look old, and are probably the cottages and farm-houses which + composed the rude village a century ago; but there are stuccoed shops and + dwellings, such as may have been built within a year or two; and three + hotels, one of which has the look of a good old village inn; and the + others are fashionable or commercial establishments. Through the midst of + the village comes tumbling and rumbling a mountain streamlet, rushing + through a deep, rocky dell, gliding under an old stone inch, and turning, + when occasion calls, the great block of a water-mill. This is the only + very striking feature of the village,—the stream taking its rough + pathway to the lake as it used to do before the poets had made this region + fashionable. + </p> + <p> + In the evening, just before eight o'clock, I took a walk alone, by a road + which goes up the hill, back of our hotel, and which I supposed might be + the road to the town of Windermere. But it went up higher and higher, and + for the mile or two that it led me along, winding up, I saw no traces of a + town; but at last it turned into a valley between two high ridges, leading + quite away from the lake, within view of which the town of Windermere is + situated. It was a very lonely road, though as smooth, hard, and well kept + as any thoroughfare in the suburbs of a city; hardly a dwelling on either + side, except one, half barn, half farm-house, and one gentleman's gateway, + near the beginning of the road, and another more than a mile above. At, + two or three points there were stone barns, which are here built with + great solidity. At one place there was a painted board, announcing that a + field of five acres was to be sold, and referring those desirous of + purchasing to a solicitor in London. The lake country is but a London + suburb. Nevertheless, the walk was lonely and lovely; the copses and the + broad hillside, the glimpses of the lake, the great misty company of pikes + and fells, beguiled me into a sense of something like solitude; and the + bleating of the sheep, remote and near, had a like tendency. Gaining the + summit of the hill, I had the best view of Windermere which I have yet + attained,—the best, I should think, that can be had, though, being + towards the south, it brings the softer instead of the more striking + features of the landscape into view. But it shows nearly the whole extent + of the lake, all the way from Lowwood, beyond Newby Bridge, and I think + there can hardly be anything more beautiful in the world. The water was + like a strip and gleam of sky, fitly set among lovely slopes of earth. It + was no broader than many a river, and yet you saw at once that it could be + no river, its outline being so different from that of a running stream, + not straight nor winding, but stretching to one side or the other, as the + shores made room for it. + </p> + <p> + This morning it is raining, and we are not very comfortable nor contented, + being all confined to our little parlor, which has a broken window, + against which I have pinned The Times to keep out the chill damp air. U—— + has been ill, in consequence of having been overheated at Newby Bridge. We + have no books, except guide-books, no means of amusement, nothing to do. + There are no newspapers, and I shall remember Lowwood not very agreeably. + As far as we are concerned, it is a scrambling, ill-ordered hotel, with + insufficient attendance, wretched sleeping-accommodations, a pretty fair + table, but German-silver forks and spoons; our food does not taste very + good, and yet there is really no definite fault to be found with it. + </p> + <p> + Since writing the above, I have found the first volume of Sir Charles + Grandison, and two of G. P. R. James's works, in the coffee-room. The days + pass heavily here, and leave behind them a sense of having answered no + very good purpose. They are long enough, at all events, for the sun does + not set till after eight o'clock, and rises I know not when. One of the + most remarkable distinctions between England and the United States is the + ignorance into which we fall of whatever is going on in the world the + moment we get away from the great thoroughfares and centres of life. In + Leamington we heard no news from week's end to week's end, and knew not + where to find a newspaper; and here the case is neither better nor worse. + The rural people really seem to take no interest in public affairs; at all + events, they have no intelligence on such subjects. It is possible that + the cheap newspapers may, in time, find their way into the cottages, or, + at least, into the country taverns; but it is not at all so now. If they + generally know that Sebastopol is besieged, it is the extent of their + knowledge. The public life of America is lived through the mind and heart + of every man in it; here the people feel that they have nothing to do with + what is going forward, and, I suspect, care little or nothing about it. + Such things they permit to be the exclusive concern of the higher classes. + </p> + <p> + In front of our hotel, on the lawn between us and the lake, there are two + trees, which we have hitherto taken to be yews; but on examining them more + closely, I find that they are pine-trees, and quite dead and dry, although + they have the aspect of dark rich life. But this is caused by the verdure + of two great ivy-vines, which have twisted round them like gigantic + snakes, and, clambering up and throttling the life out of them, have put + out branches, and made crowns of thick green leaves, so that, at a little + distance, it is quite impossible not to take them for genuine trees. The + trunks of the ivy-vines must be more than a foot in circumference, and one + feels they have stolen the life that belonged to the pines. The dead + branches of one of the pines stick out horizontally through the + ivy-boughs. The other shows nothing but the ivy, and in shape a good deal + resembles a poplar. When the pine trunks shall have quite crumbled away, + the ivy-stems will doubtless have gained sufficient strength to sustain + themselves independently. + </p> + <p> + July 19th.—Yesterday S——- went down the lake in the + steamboat to take U——, baby, and nurse to Newby Bridge, while + the three rest of us should make a tour through the lake region. After + mamma's departure, and when I had finished some letters, J——- + and I set out on a walk, which finally brought us to Bowness, through much + delightful shade of woods, and past beautiful rivulets or brooklets, and + up and down many hills. This chief harbor of the lakes seemed alive and + bustling with tourists, it being a sunny and pleasant day, so that they + were all abroad, like summer insects. The town is a confused and irregular + little place, of very uneven surface. There is an old church in it, and + two or three large hotels. We stayed there perhaps half an hour, and then + went to the pier, where shortly a steamer arrived, with music sounding,—on + the deck of which, with her back to us, sat a lady in a gray + travelling-dress. J——- cried out, "Mamma! mamma!" to which the + lady deigned no notice, but, he repeating it, she turned round, and was as + much surprised, no doubt, to see her husband and son, as if this little + lake had been the great ocean, and we meeting each other from opposite + shores of it. We soon steamed back to Lowwood, and took a car thence for + Rydal and Grasmere, after a cold luncheon. At Bowness I met Miss Charlotte + Cushman, who has been staying at the Lowwood Hotel with us since Monday, + without either party being aware of it. + </p> + <p> + Our road to Rydal lay through Ambleside, which is certainly a very pretty + town, and looks cheerfully in a sunny day. We saw Miss Martineau's + residence, called "The Knoll," standing high up on a hillock, and having + at its foot a Methodist chapel, for which, or whatever place of Christian + worship, this good lady can have no occasion. We stopped a moment in the + street below her house, and deliberated a little whether to call on her; + but concluded we would not. + </p> + <p> + After leaving Ambleside, the road winds in and out among the hills, and + soon brings us to a sheet (or napkin, rather than a sheet) of water, which + the driver tells us is Rydal Lake! We had already heard that it was but + three quarters of a mile long, and one quarter broad; still, it being an + idea of considerable size in our minds, we had inevitably drawn its ideal, + physical proportions on a somewhat corresponding scale. It certainly did + look very small; and I said, in my American scorn, that I could carry it + away easily in a porringer; for it is nothing more than a grass-bordered + pool among the surrounding hills which ascend directly from its margin; so + that one might fancy it, not, a permanent body of water, but a rather + extensive accumulation of recent rain. Moreover, it was rippled with a + breeze, and so, as I remember it, though the sun shone, it looked dull and + sulky, like a child out of humor. Now, the best thing these small ponds + can do is to keep perfectly calm and smooth, and not attempt to show off + any airs of their own, but content themselves with serving as a mirror for + whatever of beautiful or picturesque there may be in the scenery around + them. The hills about Rydal Water are not very lofty, but are sufficiently + so as objects of every-day view,— objects to live with; and they are + craggier than those we have hitherto seen, and bare of wood, which indeed + would hardly grow on some of their precipitous sides. + </p> + <p> + On the roadside, as we reach the foot of the lake, stands a spruce and + rather large house of modern aspect, but with several gables and much + overgrown with ivy,—a very pretty and comfortable house, built, + adorned, and cared for with commendable taste. We inquired whose it was, + and the coachman said it was "Mr. Wordsworth's," and that "Mrs. Wordsworth + was still residing there." So we were much delighted to have seen his + abode, and as we were to stay the night at Grasmere, about two miles + farther on, we determined to come back and inspect it as particularly as + should be allowable. Accordingly, after taking rooms at Brown's Hotel, we + drove back in our return car, and, reaching the head of Rydal Water, + alighted to walk through this familiar scene of so many years of + Wordsworth's life. We ought to have seen De Quincey's former residence and + Hartley Coleridge's cottage, I believe, on our way, but were not aware of + it at the time. Near the lake there is a stone-quarry, and a cavern of + some extent, artificially formed, probably by taking out the stone. Above + the shore of the lake, not a great way from Wordsworth's residence, there + is a flight of steps hewn in a rock and ascending to a rock seat where a + good view of the lake may be attained; and, as Wordsworth has doubtless + sat there hundreds of times, so did we ascend and sit down, and look at + the hills and at the flags on the lake's shore. + </p> + <p> + Reaching the house that had been pointed out to us as Wordsworth's + residence, we began to peer about at its front and gables, and over the + garden wall, on both sides of the road, quickening our enthusiasm as much + as we could, and meditating to pilfer some flower or ivy-leaf from the + house or its vicinity, to be kept as sacred memorials. At this juncture a + man approached, who announced himself as the gardener of the place, and + said, too, that this was not Wordsworth's house at all, but the residence + of Mr. Ball, a Quaker gentleman; but that his ground adjoined + Wordsworth's, and that he had liberty to take visitors through the latter. + How absurd it would have been if we had carried away ivy-leaves and tender + recollections from this domicile of a respectable Quaker! The gardener was + an intelligent man, of pleasant, sociable, and respectful address; and as + we went along he talked about the poet, whom he had known, and who, he + said, was very familiar with the country people. He led us through Mr. + Ball's grounds, up a steep hillside, by winding, gravelled walks, with + summer-houses at points favorable for them. It was a very shady and + pleasant spot, containing about an acre of ground, and all turned to good + account by the manner of laying it out; so that it seemed more than it + really is. In one place, on a small, smooth slab of slate, let into a + rock, there is an inscription by Wordsworth, which I think I have read in + his works, claiming kindly regards from those who visit the spot after his + departure, because many trees had been spared at his intercession. His own + grounds, or rather his ornamental garden, is separated from Mr. Ball's + only by a wire fence, or some such barrier, and the gates have no + fastening, so that the whole appears like one possession, and doubtless + was so as regarded the poet's walks and enjoyments. We approached by paths + so winding that I hardly know how the house stands in relation to the + road; but, after much circuity, we really did see Wordsworth's residence,—an + old house with an uneven ridge-pole, built of stone, no doubt, but + plastered over with some neutral tint,—a house that would not have + been remarkably pretty in itself, but so delightfully situated, so + secluded, so hedged about with shrubbery, and adorned with flowers, so + ivy-grown on one side, so beautified with the personal care of him who + lived in it and loved it, that it seemed the very place for a poet's + residence; and as if, while he lived so long in it, his poetry had + manifested itself in flowers, shrubbery, and ivy. I never smelt such a + delightful fragrance of flowers as there was all through the garden. In + front of the house there is a circular terrace of two ascents, in raising + which Wordsworth had himself performed much of the labor; and here there + are seats, from which we obtained a fine view down the valley of the + Rothay, with Windermere in the distance,—a view of several miles, + and which we did not suppose could be seen, after winding among the hills + so far from the lake. It is very beautiful and picture-like. While we sat + here, S——- happened to refer to the ballad of little Barbara + Lewthwaite, and J——- began to repeat the poem concerning her, + and the gardener said that "little Barbara" had died not a great while + ago, an elderly woman, leaving grown-up children behind her. Her + marriage-name was Thompson, and the gardener believed there was nothing + remarkable in her character. + </p> + <p> + There is a summer-house at one extremity of the grounds, in deepest + shadow, but with glimpses of mountain views through trees which shut it + in, and which have spread intercepting boughs since Wordsworth died. It is + lined with pine-cones, in a pretty way enough, but of doubtful taste. I + rather wonder that people of real taste should help Nature out, and + beautify her, or perhaps rather prettify her so much as they do,—opening + vistas, showing one thing, hiding another, making a scene picturesque, + whether or no. I cannot rid myself of the feeling that there is something + false—a kind of humbug—in all this. At any rate, the traces of + it do not contribute to my enjoyment, and, indeed, it ought to be done so + exquisitely as to leave no trace. But I ought not to criticise in any way + a spot which gave me so much pleasure, and where it is good to think of + Wordsworth in quiet, past days, walking in his home-shadow of trees which + he knew, and training flowers, and trimming shrubs, and chanting in an + undertone his own verses up and down the winding walks. + </p> + <p> + The gardener gave J——- a cone from the summer-house, which had + fallen on the seat, and S——- got some mignonette, and leaves + of laurel and ivy, and we wended our way back to the hotel. Wordsworth was + not the owner of this house; it being the property of Lady Fleming. Mrs. + Wordsworth still lives there, and is now at home. + </p> + <p> + Five o'clock.—-All day it has been cloudy and showery, with thunder + now and then; the mists hang low on the surrounding hills, adown which, at + various points, we can see the snow-white fall of little streamlets + ("forces" they call them here) swollen by the rain. An overcast day is not + so gloomy in the hill-country as in the lowlands; there are more breaks, + more transfusion of skylight through the gloom, as has been the case + to-day, and as I found in Lenox; we get better acquainted with clouds by + seeing at what height they be on the hillsides, and find that the + difference betwixt a fair day and a cloudy and rainy one is very + superficial, after all. Nevertheless, rain is rain, and wets a man just as + much among the mountains as anywhere else; so we have been kept within + doors all day, till an hour or so ago, when J——- and I went + down to the village in quest of the post-office. + </p> + <p> + We took a path that leads from the hotel across the fields, and, coming + into a wood, crosses the Rothay by a one-arched bridge and passes the + village church. The Rothay is very swift and turbulent to-day, and hurries + along with foam-specks on its surface, filling its banks from brim to + brim,—a stream perhaps twenty feet wide, perhaps more; for I am + willing that the good little river should have all it can fairly claim. It + is the St. Lawrence of several of these English lakes, through which it + flows, and carries off their superfluous waters. In its haste, and with + its rushing sound, it was pleasant both to see and hear; and it sweeps by + one side of the old churchyard where Wordsworth lies buried,—- the + side where his grave is made. The church of Grasmere is a very plain + structure, with a low body, on one side of which is a small porch with a + pointed arch. The tower is square and looks ancient; but the whole is + overlaid with plaster of a buff or pale yellow hue. It was originally + built, I suppose, of rough shingly stones, as many of the houses + hereabouts are now, and, like many of them, the plaster is used to give a + finish. We found the gate of the churchyard wide open; and the grass was + lying on the graves, having probably been mowed yesterday. It is but a + small churchyard, and with few monuments of any pretension in it, most of + them being slate headstones, standing erect. From the gate at which we + entered, a distinct foot-track leads to the corner nearest the riverside, + and I turned into it by a sort of instinct, the more readily as I saw a + tourist-looking man approaching from that point, and a woman looking among + the gravestones. Both of these persons had gone by the time I came up, so + that J——- and I were left to find Wordsworth's grave all by + ourselves. + </p> + <p> + At this corner of the churchyard there is a hawthorn bush or tree, the + extremest branches of which stretch as far as where Wordsworth lies. This + whole corner seems to be devoted to himself and his family and friends; + and they all lie very closely together, side by side, and head to foot, as + room could conveniently be found. Hartley Coleridge lies a little behind, + in the direction of the church, his feet being towards Wordsworth's head, + who lies in the row of those of his own blood. I found out Hartley + Coleridge's grave sooner than Wordsworth's; for it is of marble, and, + though simple enough, has more of sculptured device about it, having been + erected, as I think the inscription states, by his brother and sister. + Wordsworth has only the very simplest slab of slate, with "William + Wordsworth" and nothing else upon it. As I recollect it, it is the midmost + grave of the row. It is or has been well grass-grown, but the grass is + quite worn away from the top, though sufficiently luxuriant at the sides. + It looks as if people had stood upon it, and so does the grave next to it, + which I believe is one of his children. I plucked some grass and weeds + from it, and as he was buried within so few years they may fairly be + supposed to have drawn their nutriment from his mortal remains, and I + gathered them from just above his head. There is no fault to be found with + his grave,—within view of the hills, within sound of the river, + murmuring near by,—no fault except that he is crowded so closely + with his kindred; and, moreover, that, being so old a churchyard, the + earth over him must all have been human once. He might have had fresh + earth to himself; but he chose this grave deliberately. No very stately + and broad-based monument can ever be erected over it without infringing + upon, covering, and overshadowing the graves, not only of his family, but + of individuals who probably were quite disconnected with him. But it is + pleasant to think and know—were it but on the evidence of this + choice of a resting-place—that he did not care for a stately + monument. + </p> + <p> + After leaving the churchyard, we wandered about in quest of the + post-office, and for a long time without success. This little town of + Grasmere seems to me as pretty a place as ever I met with in my life. It + is quite shut in by hills that rise up immediately around it, like a + neighborhood of kindly giants. These hills descend steeply to the verge of + the level on which the village stands, and there they terminate at once, + the whole site of the little town being as even as a floor. I call it a + village; but it is no village at all,—all the dwellings standing + apart, each in its own little domain, and each, I believe, with its own + little lane leading to it, independently of the rest. Most of these are + old cottages, plastered white, with antique porches, and roses and other + vines trained against them, and shrubbery growing about them; and some are + covered with ivy. There are a few edifices of more pretension and of + modern build, but not so strikingly so as to put the rest out of + countenance. The post-office, when we found it, proved to be an ivied + cottage, with a good deal of shrubbery round it, having its own pathway, + like the other cottages. The whole looks like a real seclusion, shut out + from the great world by these encircling hills, on the sides of which, + whenever they are not too steep, you see the division lines of property, + and tokens of cultivation,—taking from them their pretensions to + savage majesty, but bringing them nearer to the heart of man. + </p> + <p> + Since writing the above, I have been again with S——- to see + Wordsworth's grave, and, finding the door of the church open, we went in. + A woman and little girl were sweeping at the farther end, and the woman + came towards us out of the cloud of dust which she had raised. We were + surprised at the extremely antique appearance of the church. It is paved + with bluish-gray flagstones, over which uncounted generations have + trodden, leaving the floor as well laid as ever. The walls are very thick, + and the arched windows open through them at a considerable distance above + the floor. There is no middle aisle; but first a row of pews next either + wall, and then an aisle on each side of the pews, occupying the centre of + the church,—then, two side aisles, but no middle one. And down + through the centre or the church runs a row of five arches, very rude and + round-headed, all of rough stone, supported by rough and massive pillars, + or rather square, stone blocks, which stand in the pews, and stood in the + same places probably, long before the wood of those pews began to grow. + Above this row of arches is another row, built upon the same mass of + stone, and almost as broad, but lower; and on this upper row rests the + framework, the oaken beams, the black skeleton of the roof. It is a very + clumsy contrivance for supporting the roof, and if it were modern, we + certainly should condemn it as very ugly; but being the relic of a simple + age it comes in well with the antique simplicity of the whole structure. + The roof goes up, barn-like, into its natural angle, and all the rafters + and cross-beams are visible. There is an old font; and in the chancel is a + niche, where (judging from a similar one in Furness Abbey) the holy water + used to be placed for the priest's use while celebrating mass. Around the + inside of the porch is a stone bench, against the wall, narrow and uneasy, + but where a great many people had sat, who now have found quieter + resting-places. + </p> + <p> + The woman was a very intelligent-looking person, not of the usual English + ruddiness, but rather thin and somewhat pale, though bright, of aspect. + Her way of talking was very agreeable. She inquired if we wished to see + Wordsworth's monument, and at once showed it to us,—a slab of white + marble fixed against the upper end of the central row of stone arches, + with a pretty long inscription, and a profile bust, in bas-relief, of his + aged countenance. The monument, is placed directly over Wordsworth's pew, + and could best be seen and read from the very corner seat where he used to + sit. The pew is one of those occupying the centre of the church, and is + just across the aisle from the pulpit, and is the best of all for the + purpose of seeing and hearing the clergyman, and likewise as convenient as + any, from its neighborhood to the altar. On the other side of the aisle, + beneath the pulpit, is Lady Fleming's pew. This and one or two others are + curtained, Wordsworth's was not. I think I can bring up his image in that + corner seat of his pew—a white-headed, tall, spare man, plain in + aspect—better than in any other situation. The woman said that she + had known him very well, and that he had made some verses on a sister of + hers. She repeated the first lines, something about a lamb, but neither S——- + nor I remembered them. + </p> + <p> + On the walls of the chancel there are monuments to the Flemings, and + painted escutcheons of their arms; and along the side walls also, and on + the square pillars of the row of arches, there are other monuments, + generally of white marble, with the letters of the inscription blackened. + On these pillars, likewise, and in many places in the walls, were hung + verses from Scripture, painted on boards. At one of the doors was a + poor-box,—an elaborately carved little box, of oak, with the date + 1648, and the name of the church—St. Oswald's—upon it. The + whole interior of the edifice was plain, simple, almost to grimness,—or + would have been so, only that the foolish church-wardens, or other + authority, have washed it over with the same buff color with which they + have overlaid the exterior. It is a pity; it lightens it up, and + desecrates it greatly, especially as the woman says that there were + formerly paintings on the walls, now obliterated forever. I could have + stayed in the old church much longer, and could write much more about it, + but there must be an end to everything. Pacing it from the farther end to + the elevation before the altar, I found that it was twenty-five paces + long. + </p> + <p> + On looking again at the Rothay, I find I did it some injustice; for at the + bridge, in its present swollen state, it is nearer twenty yards than + twenty feet across. Its waters are very clear, and it rushes along with a + speed which is delightful to see, after an acquaintance with the muddy and + sluggish Avon and Leam. + </p> + <p> + Since tea I have taken a stroll from the hotel in a different direction + from heretofore, and passed the Swan Inn, where Scott used to go daily to + get a draught of liquor, when he was visiting Wordsworth, who had no wine + nor other inspiriting fluid in his house. It stands directly on the + wayside,—a small, whitewashed house, with an addition in the rear + that seems to have been built since Scott's time. On the door is the + painted sign of a swan, and the name "Scott's Swan Hotel." I walked a + considerable distance beyond it, but, a shower cooling up, I turned back, + entered the inn, and, following the mistress into a snug little room, was + served with a glass of bitter ale. It is a very plain and homely inn, and + certainly could not have satisfied Scott's wants if he had required + anything very far-fetched or delicate in his potations. I found two + Westmoreland peasants in the room, with ale before them. One went away + almost immediately; but the other remained, and, entering into + conversation with him, he told me that he was going to New Zealand, and + expected to sail in September. I announced myself as an American, and he + said that a large party had lately gone from hereabouts to America; but he + seemed not to understand that there was any distinction between Canada and + the States. These people had gone to Quebec. He was a very civil, + well-behaved, kindly sort of person, of a simple character, which I took + to belong to the class and locality, rather than to himself individually. + I could not very well understand all that he said, owing to his provincial + dialect; and when he spoke to his own countrymen, or to the women of the + house, I really could but just catch a word here and there. How long it + takes to melt English down into a homogeneous mass! He told me that there + was a public library in Grasmere to which he has access in common with the + other inhabitants, and a reading-room connected with it, where he reads + The Times in the evening. There was no American smartness in his mind. + When I left the house, it was showering briskly; but the drops quite + ceased, and the clouds began to break away before I reached my hotel, and + I saw the new moon over my right shoulder. + </p> + <p> + July 21st.—We left Grasmere yesterday, after breakfast; it being a + delightful morning, with some clouds, but the cheerfullest sunshine on + great part of the mountainsides and on ourselves. We returned, in the + first place, to Ambleside, along the border of Grasmere Lake, which would + be a pretty little piece of water, with its steep and high surrounding + hills, were it not that a stubborn and straight-lined stone fence, running + along the eastern shore, by the roadside, quite spoils its appearance. + Rydal Water, though nothing can make a lake of it, looked prettier and + less diminutive than at the first view; and, in fact, I find that it is + impossible to know accurately how any prospect or other thing looks, until + after at least a second view, which always essentially corrects the first. + This, I think, is especially true in regard to objects which we have heard + much about, and exercised our imagination upon; the first view being a + vain attempt to reconcile our idea with the reality, and at the second we + begin to accept the thing for what it really is. Wordsworth's situation is + really a beautiful one; and Nab Scaur behind his house rises with a grand, + protecting air. We passed Nab's cottage, in which De Quincey formerly + lived, and where Hartley Coleridge lived and died. It is a small, + buff-tinted, plastered stone cottage, immediately on the roadside, and + originally, I should think, of a very humble class; but it now looks as if + persons of taste might some time or other have sat down in it, and caused + flowers to spring up about it. It is very agreeably situated under the + great, precipitous hill, and with Rydal Water close at band, on the other + side of the road. An advertisement of lodgings to let was put up on this + cottage. + </p> + <p> + I question whether any part of the world looks so beautiful as England— + this part of England, at least—on a fine summer morning. It makes + one think the more cheerfully of human life to see such a bright universal + verdure; such sweet, rural, peaceful, flower-bordered cottages,—not + cottages of gentility, but dwellings of the laboring poor; such nice + villas along the roadside, so tastefully contrived for comfort and beauty, + and adorned more and more, year after year, with the care and + after-thought of people who mean to live in them a great while, and feel + as if their children might live in them also, and so they plant trees to + overshadow their walks, and train ivy and all beautiful vines up against + their walls, and thus live for the future in another sense than we + Americans do. And the climate helps them out, and makes everything moist, + and green, and full of tender life, instead of dry and arid, as human life + and vegetable life is so apt to be with us. Certainly, England can present + a more attractive face than we can; even in its humbler modes of life, to + say nothing of the beautiful lives that might be led, one would think, by + the higher classes, whose gateways, with broad, smooth gravelled drives + leading through them, one sees every mile or two along the road, winding + into some proud seclusion. All this is passing away, and society most + assume new relations; but there is no harm in believing that there has + been something very good in English life,— good for all classes + while the world was in a state out of which these forms naturally grew. + </p> + <p> + Passing through Ambleside, our phaeton and pair turned towards Ullswater, + which we were to reach through the Pass of Kirkstone. This is some three + or four miles from Ambleside, and as we approached it the road kept + ascending higher and higher, the hills grew more bare, and the country + lost its soft and delightful verdure. At last the road became so steep + that J——- and I alighted to walk. This is the aspiring road + that Wordsworth speaks of in his ode; it passes through the gorge of + precipitous hills,—or almost precipitous,—too much so for even + the grass to grow on many portions, which are covered with gray smugly + stones; and I think this pass, in its middle part, must have looked just + the same when the Romans marched through it as it looks now. No trees + could ever have grown on the steep hillsides, whereon even the English + climate can generate no available soil. I do not know that I have seen + anything more impressive than the stern gray sweep of these naked + mountains, with nothing whatever to soften or adorn them. The notch of the + White Mountains, as I remember it in my youthful days, is more wonderful + and richly picturesque, but of quite a different character. + </p> + <p> + About the centre and at the highest point of the pass stands an old stone + building of mean appearance, with the usual sign of an alehouse, "Licensed + to retail foreign spirits, ale, and tobacco," over the door, and another + small sign, designating it as the highest inhabitable house in England. It + is a chill and desolate place for a residence. They keep a visitor's book + here, and we recorded our names in it, and were not too sorry to leave the + mean little hovel, smelling as it did of tobacco-smoke, and possessing all + other characteristics of the humblest alehouse on the level earth. + </p> + <p> + The Kirkstone, which gives the pass its name, is not seen in approaching + from Ambleside, until some time after you begin to descend towards + Brothers' Water. When the driver first pointed it out, a little way up the + hill on our left, it looked no more than a bowlder of a ton or two in + weight, among a hundred others nearly as big; and I saw hardly any + resemblance to a church or church-spire, to which the fancies of past + generations have likened it. As we descended the pass, however, and left + the stone farther and farther behind, it continued to show itself, and + assumed a more striking and prominent aspect, standing out clearly + relieved against the sky, so that no traveller would fail to observe it, + where there are so few defined objects to attract notice, amid the naked + monotony of the stern hills; though, indeed, if I had taken it for any + sort of an edifice, it would rather have been for a wayside inn or a + shepherd's hut than for a church. We lost sight of it, and again beheld it + more and more brought out against the sky, by the turns of the road, + several times in the course of our descent. There is a very fine view of + Brothers' Water, shut in by steep hills, as we go down Kirkstone Pass. + </p> + <p> + At about half past twelve we reached Patterdale, at the foot of Ullswater, + and here took luncheon. The hotels are mostly very good all through this + region, and this deserved that character. A black-coated waiter, of more + gentlemanly appearance than most Englishmen, yet taking a sixpence with as + little scruple as a lawyer would take his fee; the mistress, in lady-like + attire, receiving us at the door, and waiting upon us to the + carriage-steps; clean, comely housemaids everywhere at hand,— all + appliances, in short, for being comfortable, and comfortable, too, within + one's own circle. And, on taking leave, everybody who has done anything + for you, or who might by possibility have done anything, is to be feed. + You pay the landlord enough, in all conscience; and then you pay all his + servants, who have been your servants for the time. But, to say the truth, + there is a degree of the same kind of annoyance in an American hotel, + although it is not so much an acknowledged custom. Here, in the houses + where attendance is not charged in the bill, no wages are paid by the host + to those servants—chambermaid, waiter, and boots—who come into + immediate contact with travellers. The drivers of the cars, phaetons, and + flys are likewise unpaid, except by their passengers, and claim threepence + a mile with the same sense of right as their masters in charging for the + vehicles and horses. When you come to understand this claim, not as an + appeal to your generosity, but as an actual and necessary part of the cost + of the journey, it is yielded to with a more comfortable feeling; and the + traveller has really option enough, as to the amount which he will give, + to insure civility and good behavior on the driver's part. + </p> + <p> + Ullswater is a beautiful lake, with steep hills walling it about, so + steep, on the eastern side, that there seems hardly room for a road to run + along the base. We passed up the western shore, and turned off from it + about midway, to take the road towards Keswick. We stopped, however, at + Lyulph's Tower, while our chariot went on up a hill, and took a guide to + show us the way to Airey Force,—a small cataract, which is claimed + as private property, and out of which, no doubt, a pretty little revenue + is raised. I do not think that there can be any rightful appropriation, as + private property, of objects of natural beauty. The fruits of the land, + and whatever human labor can produce from it, belong fairly enough to the + person who has a deed or a lease; but the beautiful is the property of him + who can hive it and enjoy it. It is very unsatisfactory to think of a + cataract under lock and key. However, we were shown to Airey Force by a + tall and graceful mountain-maid, with a healthy cheek, and a step that had + no possibility of weariness in it. The cascade is an irregular streak of + foamy water, pouring adown a rude shadowy glen. I liked well enough to see + it; but it is wearisome, on the whole, to go the rounds of what everybody + thinks it necessary to see. It makes me a little ashamed. It is somewhat + as if we were drinking out of the same glass, and eating from the same + dish, as a multitude of other people. + </p> + <p> + Within a few miles of Keswick, we passed along at the foot of Saddleback, + and by the entrance of the Vale of St. John, and down the valley, on one + of the slopes, we saw the Enchanted Castle. Thence we drove along by the + course of the Greta, and soon arrived at Keswick, which lies at the base + of Skiddaw, and among a brotherhood of picturesque eminences, and is + itself a compact little town, with a market-house, built of the old stones + of the Earl of Derwentwater's ruined castle, standing in the centre,—the + principal street forking into two as it passes it. We alighted at the + King's Arms, and went in search of Southey's residence, which we found + easily enough, as it lies just on the outskirts of the town. We inquired + of a group of people, two of whom, I thought, did not seem to know much + about the matter; but the third, an elderly man, pointed it out at once,—a + house surrounded by trees, so as to be seen only partially, and standing + on a little eminence, a hundred yards or so from the road. + </p> + <p> + We went up a private lane that led to the rear of the place, and so + penetrated quite into the back-yard without meeting anybody,—passing + a small kennel, in which were two hounds, who gazed at us, but neither + growled nor wagged their tails. The house is three stories high, and seems + to have a great deal of room in it, so as not to discredit its name, + "Greta Hall,"—a very spacious dwelling for a poet. The windows were + nearly all closed; there were no signs of occupancy, but a general air of + neglect. S——-, who is bolder than I in these matters, ventured + through what seemed a back garden gate, and I soon heard her in + conversation with some man, who now presented himself, and proved to be a + gardener. He said he had formerly acted in that capacity for Southey, + although a gardener had not been kept by him as a regular part of his + establishment. This was an old man with an odd crookedness of legs, and + strange, disjointed limp. S——- had told him that we were + Americans, and he took the idea that we had come this long distance, over + sea and land, with the sole purpose of seeing Southey's residence, so that + he was inclined to do what he could towards exhibiting it. This was but + little; the present occupant (a Mr. Radday, I believe the gardener called + him) being away, and the house shut up. + </p> + <p> + But he showed us about the grounds, and allowed us to peep into the + windows of what had been Southey's library, and into those of another of + the front apartments, and showed us the window of the chamber in the rear, + in which Southey died. The apartments into which we peeped looked rather + small and low,—not particularly so, but enough to indicate an old + building. They are now handsomely furnished, and we saw over one of the + fireplaces an inscription about Southey; and in the corner of the same + room stood a suit, of bright armor. It is taller than the country-houses + of English gentlemen usually are, and it is even stately. All about, in + front, beside it and behind, there is a great profusion of trees, most of + which were planted by Southey, who came to live here more than fifty years + ago, and they have, of course, grown much more shadowy now than he ever + beheld them; for he died about fourteen years since. The grounds are well + laid out, and neatly kept, with the usual lawn and gravelled walks, and + quaint little devices in the ornamental way. These may be of later date + than Southey's time. The gardener spoke respectfully of Southey, and of + his first wife, and observed that "it was a great loss to the neighborhood + when that family went down." + </p> + <p> + The house stands directly above the Greta, the murmur of which is audible + all about it; for the Greta is a swift little river, and goes on its way + with a continual sound, which has both depth and breadth. The gardener led + us to a walk along its banks, close by the Hall, where he said Southey + used to walk for hours and hours together. He might, indeed, get there + from his study in a moment. There are two paths, one above the other, well + laid out on the steep declivity of the high bank; and there is such a very + thick shade of oaks and elms, planted by Southey himself over the bank, + that all the ground and grass were moist, although it had been a sunny + day. It is a very sombre walk; not many glimpses of the sky through those + dense boughs. The Greta is here, perhaps, twenty yards across, and very + dark of hue, and its voice is melancholy and very suggestive of musings + and reveries; but I should question whether it were favorable to any + settled scheme of thought. The gardener told us that there used to be a + pebbly beach on the margin of the river, and that it was Southey's habit + to sit and write there, using a tree of peculiar shape for a table. An + alteration in the current of the river has swept away the beach, and the + tree, too, has fallen. All these things were interesting to me, although + Southey was not, I think, a picturesque man, —not one whose personal + character takes a strong hold on the imagination. In these walks he used + to wear a pair of shoes heavily clamped with iron; very ponderous they + must have been, from the particularity with which the gardener mentioned + them. + </p> + <p> + The gardener took leave of us at the front entrance of the grounds, and, + returning to the King's Arms, we ordered a one-horse fly for the fall of + Lodore. Our drive thither was along the banks of Derwentwater, and it is + as beautiful a road, I imagine, as can be found in England or anywhere + else. I like Derwentwater the best of all the lakes, so far as I have yet + seen them. Skiddaw lies at the head of a long even ridge of mountains, + rising into several peaks, and one higher than the rest. On the eastern + side there are many noble eminences, and on the west, along which we + drove, there is a part of the way a lovely wood, and nearly the whole + distance a precipitous range of lofty cliffs, descending sheer down + without any slope, except what has been formed in the lapse of ages by the + fall of fragments, and the washing down of smaller stones. The declivity + thus formed along the base of the cliffs is in some places covered with + trees or shrubs; elsewhere it is quite bare and barren. The precipitous + parts of the cliffs are very grand; the whole scene, indeed, might be + characterized as one of stern grandeur with an embroidery of rich beauty, + without lauding it too much. All the sternness of it is softened by + vegetative beauty wherever it can possibly be thrown in; and there is not + here, so strongly as along Windermere, evidence that human art has been + helping out Nature. I wish it were possible to give any idea of the shapes + of the hills; with these, at least, man has nothing to do, nor ever will + have anything to do. As we approached the bottom of the lake, and of the + beautiful valley in which it lies, we saw one hill that seemed to crouch + down like a Titanic watch-dog, with its rear towards the spectator, + guarding the entrance to the valley. The great superiority of these + mountains over those of New England is their variety and definiteness of + shape, besides the abundance everywhere of water prospects, which are + wanting among our own hills. They rise up decidedly, and each is a hill by + itself, while ours mingle into one another, and, besides, have such large + bases that you can tell neither where they begin nor where they end. Many + of these Cumberland mountains have a marked vertebral shape, so that they + often look like a group of huge lions, lying down with their backs turned + toward each other. They slope down steeply from narrow ridges; hence their + picturesque seclusions of valleys and dales, which subdivide the lake + region into so many communities. Our hills, like apple-dumplings in a + dish, have no such valleys as these. + </p> + <p> + There is a good inn at Lodore,—a small, primitive country inn, which + has latterly been enlarged and otherwise adapted to meet the convenience + of the guests brought thither by the fame of the cascade; but it is still + a country inn, though it takes upon itself the title of hotel. + </p> + <p> + We found pleasant rooms here, and established ourselves for the night. + From this point we have a view of the beautiful lake, and of Skiddaw at + the head of it. The cascade is within three or four minutes' walk, through + the garden gate, towards the cliff, at the base of which the inn stands. + The visitor would need no other guide than its own voice, which is said to + be audible sometimes at the distance of four miles. As we were coming from + Keswick, we caught glimpses of its white foam high up the precipice; and + it is only glimpses that can be caught anywhere, because there is no + regular sheet of falling water. Once, I think, it must have fallen + abruptly over the edge of the long line of precipice that here extends + along parallel with the shore of the lake; but, in the course of time, it + has gnawed and sawed its way into the heart of the cliff,—this + persistent little stream,—so that now it has formed a rude gorge, + adown which it hurries and tumbles in the wildest way, over the roughest + imaginable staircase. Standing at the bottom of the fall, you have a far + vista sloping upward to the sky, with the water everywhere as white as + snow, pouring and pouring down, now on one side of the gorge, now on the + other, among immense bowlders, which try to choke its passage. It does not + attempt to leap over these huge rocks, but finds its way in and out among + then, and finally gets to the bottom after a hundred tumbles. It cannot be + better described than in Southey's verses, though it is worthy of better + poetry than that. After all, I do not know that the cascade is anything + more than a beautiful fringe to the grandeur of the scene; for it is very + grand,—this fissure through the cliff,—with a steep, lofty + precipice on the right hand, sheer up and down, and on the other hand, + too, another lofty precipice, with a slope of its own ruin on which trees + and shrubbery have grown. The right-hand precipice, however, has shelves + affording sufficient hold for small trees, but nowhere does it slant. If + it were not for the white little stream falling gently downward, and for + the soft verdure upon either precipice, and even along the very pathway of + the cascade, it would be a very stern vista up that gorge. + </p> + <p> + I shall not try to describe it any more. It has not been praised too much, + though it may have been praised amiss. I went thither again in the + morning, and climbed a good way up, through the midst of its rocky + descent, and I think I could have reached the top in this way. It is + remarkable that the bounds of the water, from one step of its broken + staircase to another, give an impression of softness and gentleness; but + there are black, turbulent pools among the great bowlders, where the + stream seems angry at the difficulties which it meets with. Looking upward + in the sunshine, I could see a rising mist, and I should not wonder if a + speck of rainbow were sometimes visible. I noticed a small oak in the bed + of the cascade, and there is a lighter vegetation scattered about. + </p> + <p> + At noon we took a car for Portinscale, and drove back along the road to + Keswick, through which we passed, stopping to get a perhaps of letters at + the post-office, and reached Portinscale, which is a mile from Keswick. + After dinner we walked over a bridge, and through a green lane, to the + church where Southey is buried. It is a white church, of Norman + architecture, with a low, square tower. As we approached, we saw two + persons entering the portal, and, following them in, we found the sexton, + who was a tall, thin old man, with white hair, and an intelligent, + reverent face, showing the edifice to a stout, red-faced, self-important, + good-natured John Bull of a gentleman. Without any question on our part, + the old sexton immediately led us to Southey's monument, which is placed + in a side aisle, where there is not breadth for it to stand free of the + wall; neither is it in a very good light. But, it seemed to me a good work + of art,—a recumbent figure of white marble, on a couch, the drapery + of which he has drawn about him,—being quite enveloped in what may + be a shroud. The sculptor has not intended to represent death, for the + figure lies on its side, and has a book in its hand, and the face is + lifelike, and looks full of expression,—a thin, high-featured, + poetic face, with a finely proportioned head and abundant hair. It + represents Southey rightly, at whatever age he died, in the full maturity + of manhood, when he was strongest and richest. I liked the statue, and + wished that it lay in a broader aisle, or in the chancel, where there is + an old tomb of a knight and lady of the Ratcliffe family, who have held + the place of honor long enough to yield it now to a poet. Southey's + sculptor was Lough. I must not forget to mention that John Bull, climbing + on a bench, to get a better view of the statue, tumbled off with a racket + that resounded irreverently through the church. + </p> + <p> + The old, white-headed, thin sexton was a model man of his class, and + appeared to take a loving and cheerful interest in the building, and in + those who, from age to age, have worshipped and been buried there. It is a + very ancient and interesting church. Within a few years it has been + thoroughly repaired as to the interior, and now looks as if it might + endure ten more centuries; and I suppose we see little that is really + ancient, except the double row of Norman arches, of light freestone, that + support the oaken beams and rafters of the roof. All the walls, however, + are venerable, and quite preserve the identity of the edifice. There is a + stained-glass window of modern manufacture, and in one of the side + windows, set amidst plain glass, there is a single piece, five hundred + years old, representing St. Anthony, very finely executed, though it looks + a little faded. Along the walls, on each side, between the arched windows, + there are marble slabs affixed, with inscriptions to the memories of those + who used to occupy the seats beneath. I remember none of great antiquity, + nor any old monument, except that in the chancel, over the knight and lady + of the Ratcliffe family. This consists of a slab of stone, on four small + stone pillars, about two feet high. The slab is inlaid with a brass plate, + on which is sculptured the knight in armor, and the lady in the costume of + Elizabeth's time, exceedingly well done and well preserved, and each + figure about eighteen inches in length. The sexton showed us a rubbing of + them on paper. Under the slab, which, supported by the low stone pillars, + forms a canopy for them, lie two sculptured figures of stone, of life + size, and at full length, representing the same persons; but I think the + sculptor was hardly equal in his art to the engraver. + </p> + <p> + The most-curious antique relic in the church is the font. The bowl is very + capacious, sufficiently so to admit of the complete immersion of a child + of two or three months old. On the outside, in several compartments, there + are bas-reliefs of Scriptural and symbolic subjects, —such as the + tree of life, the word proceeding out of God's mouth, the crown of thorns,—all + in the quaintest taste, sculptured by some hand of a thousand years ago, + and preserving the fancies of monkish brains, in stone. The sexton was + very proud of this font and its sculpture, and took a kindly personal + interest, in showing it; and when we had spent as much time as we could + inside, he led us to Southey's grave in the churchyard. He told us that he + had known Southey long and well, from early manhood to old age; for he was + only twenty-nine when he came to Keswick to reside. He had known + Wordsworth too, and Coleridge, and Lovell; and he had seen Southey and + Wordsworth walking arm in arm together in that churchyard. He seemed to + revere Southey's memory, and said that he had been much lamented, and that + as many as a hundred people came to the churchyard when he was buried. He + spoke with great praise of Mrs. Southey, his first wife, telling of her + charity to the poor, and how she was a blessing to the neighborhood; but + he said nothing in favor of the second Mrs. Southey, and only mentioned + her selling the library, and other things, after her husband's death, and + going to London. Yet I think she was probably a good woman, and meets with + less than justice because she took the place of another good woman, and + had not time and opportunity to prove herself as good. As for Southey + himself, my idea is, that few better or more blameless men have ever + lived; but he seems to lack color, passion, warmth, or something that + should enable me to bring him into close relation with myself. The + graveyard where his body lies is not so rural and picturesque as that + where Wordsworth is buried; although Skiddaw rises behind it, and the + Greta is murmuring at no very great distance away. But the spot itself has + a somewhat bare and bold aspect, with no shadow of trees, no shrubbery. + </p> + <p> + Over his grave there is a ponderous, oblong block of slate, a native + mineral of this region, as hard as iron, and which will doubtless last + quite as long as Southey's works retain any vitality in English + literature. It is not a monument fit for a poet. There is nothing airy or + graceful about it,—and, indeed, there cannot be many men so solid + and matter-of-fact as to deserve a tomb like that. Wordsworth's grave is + much better, with only a simple headstone, and the grass growing over his + mortality, which, for a thousand years, at least, it never can over + Southey's. Most of the monuments are of this same black slate, and some + erect headstones are curiously sculptured, and seem to have been recently + erected. + </p> + <p> + We now returned to the hotel, and took a car for the valley of St. John. + The sky seemed to portend rain in no long time, and Skiddaw had put on his + cap; but the people of the hotel and the driver said that there would be + no rain this afternoon, and their opinion proved correct. After driving a + few miles, we again cane within sight of the Enchanted Castle. It stands + rather more than midway adown the declivity of one of the ridges that form + the valley to the left, as you go southward, and its site would have been + a good one for a fortress, intended to defend the lower entrance of this + mountain defile. At a proper distance, it looks not unlike the gray + dilapidation of a Gothic castle, which has been crumbling and crumbling + away for ages, until Time might be supposed to have imperceptibly stolen + its massive pile from man, and given it back to Nature; its towers and + battlements and arched entrances being so much defaced and decayed that + all the marks of human labor had nearly been obliterated, and the angles + of the hewn stone rounded away, while mosses and weeds and bushes grow + over it as freely as over a natural ledge of rocks. It is conceivable that + in some lights, and in some states of the atmosphere, a traveller, at the + entrance of the valley, might really imagine that he beheld a castle here; + but, for myself, I must acknowledge that it required a willing fancy to + make me see it. As we drew nearer, the delusion did not immediately grow + less strong; but, at length, we found ourselves passing at the foot of the + declivity, and, behold! it was nothing but an enormous ledge of rock, + coming squarely out of the hillside, with other parts of the ledge + cropping out in its vicinity. Looking back, after passing, we saw a knoll + or hillock, of which the castled rock is the bare face. There are two or + three stone cottages along the roadside, beneath the magic castle, and + within the enchanted ground. Scott, in the Bridal of Triermain, locates + the castle in the middle of the valley, and makes King Arthur ride around + it, which any mortal would have great difficulty in doing. This vale of + St. John has very striking scenery. Blencathra shuts it in to the + northward, lying right across the entrance; and on either side there are + lofty crags and declivities, those to the west being more broken and + better wooded than the ridge to the eastward, which stretches along for + several miles, steep, high, and bare, producing only grass enough for + sheep pasture, until it rises into the dark brow of Helvellyn. Adown this + ridge, seen afar, like a white ribbon, comes here and there a cascade, + sending its voice before it, which distance robs of all its fury, and + makes it the quietest sound in the world; and while you see the foamy leap + of its upper course a mile or two away, you may see and hear the selfsame + little brook babbling through a field, and passing under the arch of a + rustic bridge beneath your feet. It is a deep seclusion, with mountains + and crags on all sides. + </p> + <p> + About a mile beyond the castle we stopped at a little wayside inn, the + King's Head, and put up for the night. This, I believe, is the only inn + which I have found in England—the only one where I have eaten and + slept —that does not call itself a hotel. It is very primitive in + its arrangements,—a long, low, whitewashed, unadorned, and ugly + cottage of two stories. At one extremity is a barn and cow-house, and next + to these the part devoted to the better class of guests, where we had our + parlor and chambers, contiguous to which is the kitchen and common room, + paved with flagstones,—and, lastly, another barn and stable; all + which departments are not under separate roofs, but under the same long + contiguity, and forming the same building. Our parlor opens immediately + upon the roadside, without any vestibule. The house appears to be of some + antiquity, with beams across the low ceilings; but the people made us + pretty comfortable at bed and board, and fed us with ham and eggs, + veal-steaks, honey, oatcakes, gooseberry-tarts, and such cates and + dainties,—making a moderate charge for all. The parlor was adorned + with rude engravings. I remember only a plate of the Duke of Wellington, + at three stages of his life; and there were minerals, delved, doubtless, + out of the hearts of the mountains, upon the mantel-piece. The chairs were + of an antiquated fashion, and had very capacious seats. We were waited + upon by two women, who looked and acted not unlike the countryfolk of New + England,—say, of New Hampshire,—except that these may have + been more deferential. + </p> + <p> + While we remained here, I took various walks to get a glimpse of + Helvellyn, and a view of Thirlmere,—which is rather two lakes than + one, being so narrow at one point as to be crossed by a foot-bridge. Its + shores are very picturesque, coming down abruptly upon it, and broken into + crags and prominences, which view their shaggy faces in its mirror; and + Helvellyn slopes steeply upward, from its southern shore, into the clouds. + On its eastern bank, near the foot-bridge, stands Armboth House, which + Miss Martineau says is haunted; and I saw a painted board at the entrance + of the road which leads to it advertising lodgings there. The ghosts, of + course, pay nothing for their accommodations. + </p> + <p> + At noon, on the day after our arrival, J——- and I went to + visit the Enchanted Castle; and we were so venturesome as to turn aside + from the road, and ascend the declivity towards its walls, which indeed we + hoped to surmount. It proved a very difficult undertaking, the site of the + fortress being much higher and steeper than we had supposed; but we did + clamber upon what we took for the most elevated portion, when lo! we found + that we had only taken one of the outworks, and that there was a gorge of + the hill betwixt us and the main walls; while the citadel rose high above, + at more than twice the elevation which we had climbed. J——- + wished to go on, and I allowed him to climb, till he appeared to have + reached so steep and lofty a height that he looked hardly bigger than a + monkey, and I should not at all have wondered had he come rolling down to + the base of the rock where I sat. But neither did he get actually within + the castle, though he might have done so but for a high stone fence, too + difficult for him to climb, which runs from the rock along the hillside. + The sheep probably go thither much oftener than any other living thing, + and to them we left the castle of St. John, with a shrub waving from its + battlements, instead of a banner. + </p> + <p> + After dinner we ordered a car for Ambleside, and while it was getting + ready, I went to look at the river of St. John, which, indeed, flows close + beside our inn, only just across the road, though it might well be + overlooked unless you specially sought for it. It is a brook brawling over + the stones, very much as brooks do in New England, only we never think of + calling them rivers there. I could easily have made a leap from shore to + shore, and J——- scrambled across on no better footing than a + rail. I believe I have complained of the want of brooks in other parts of + England, but there is no want of them here, and they are always + interesting, being of what size they may. + </p> + <p> + We drove down the valley, and gazed at the vast slope of Helvellyn, and at + Thirlmere beneath it, and at Eagle's Crag and Raven's Crag, which beheld + themselves in it, and we cast many a look behind at Blencathra, and that + noble brotherhood of mountains out of the midst of which we came. But, to + say the truth, I was weary of fine scenery, and it seemed to me that I had + eaten a score of mountains, and quaffed as many lakes, all in the space of + two or three days,—and the natural consequence was a surfeit. There + was scarcely a single place in all our tour where I should not have been + glad to spend a month; but, by flitting so quickly from one point to + another, I lost all the more recondite beauties, and had come away without + retaining even the surface of much that I had seen. I am slow to feel,—slow, + I suppose, to comprehend, and, like the anaconda, I need to lubricate any + object a great deal before I can swallow it and actually make it my own. + Yet I shall always enjoy having made this journey, and shall wonder the + more at England, which comprehends so much, such a rich variety, within + its narrow bounds. If England were all the world, it still would have been + worth while for the Creator to have made it, and mankind would have had no + cause to find fault with their abode; except that there is not room enough + for so many as might be happy here. + </p> + <p> + We left the great inverted arch of the valley behind us, looking back as + long as we could at Blencathra, and Skiddaw over its shoulder, and the + clouds were gathering over them at our last glimpse. Passing by Dummail + Raise (which is a mound of stones over an old British king), we entered + Westmoreland, and soon had the vale of Grasmere before us, with the church + where Wordsworth lies, and Nab Scaur and Rydal Water farther on. At + Ambleside we took another car for Newby Bridge, whither we drove along the + eastern shore of Windermere. The superb scenery through which we had been + passing made what we now saw look tame, although a week ago we should have + thought it more than commonly interesting. Hawkshead is the only village + on our road,—a small, whitewashed old town, with a whitewashed old + Norman church, low, and with a low tower, on the same pattern with others + that we have seen hereabouts. It was between seven and eight o'clock when + we reached Newby Bridge, and heard U——'s voice greeting us, + and saw her head, crowned with a wreath of flowers, looking down at us, + out of the window of our parlor. + </p> + <p> + And to-day, July 23d, I have written this most incomplete and + unsatisfactory record of what we have done and seen since Wednesday last. + I am pretty well convinced that all attempts at describing scenery, + especially mountain scenery, are sheer nonsense. For one thing, the point + of view being changed, the whole description, which you made up from the + previous point of view, is immediately falsified. And when you have done + your utmost, such items as those setting forth the scene in a play,—"a + mountainous country, in the distance a cascade tumbling over a precipice, + and in front a lake; on one side an ivy-covered cottage,"— this dry + detail brings the matter before one's mind's eyes more effectually than + all the art of word-painting. + </p> + <p> + July 27th.—We are still at Newby Bridge, and nothing has occurred of + remarkable interest, nor have we made any excursions, beyond moderate + walks. Two days have been rainy, and to-day there is more rain. We find + such weather as tolerable here as it would probably be anywhere; but it + passes rather heavily with the children,—and for myself, I should + prefer sunshine. Though Mr. White's books afford me some entertainment, + especially an odd volume of Ben Jonson's plays, containing "Volpone," "The + Alchemist," "Bartholomew Fair," and others. "The Alchemist" is certainly a + great play. We watch all arrivals and other events from our parlor window,—a + stage-coach driving up four times in the twenty-four hours, with its + forlorn outsiders, all saturated with rain; the steamer, from the head of + the lake, landing a crowd of passengers, who stroll up to the hotel, drink + a glass of ale, lean over the parapet of the bridge, gaze at the flat + stones which pave the bottom of the Liver, and then hurry back to the + steamer again; cars, phaetons, horsemen, all damped and disconsolate. + There are a number of young men staying at the hotel, some of whom go + forth in all the rain, fishing, and come back at nightfall, trudging + heavily, but with creels on their backs that do not seem very heavy. + Yesterday was fair, and enlivened us a good deal. Returning from a walk in + the forenoon, I found a troop of yeomanry cavalry in the stable-yard of + the hotel. They were the North Lancashire Regiment, and were on their way + to Liverpool for the purpose of drill. Not being old campaigners, their + uniforms and accoutrements were in so much the finer order, all bright, + and looking span-new, and they themselves were a body of handsome and + stalwart young men; and it was pleasant to look at their helmets, and red + jackets and carbines, and steel scabbarded swords, and gallant steeds,—all + so martial in aspect,—and to know that they were only play-soldiers, + after all, and were never likely to do nor suffer any warlike mischief. By + and by their bugles sounded, and they trotted away, wheeling over the + ivy-grown stone bridge, and disappearing behind the trees on the + Milnethorpe road. Our host comes forth from the bar with a bill, which he + presents to an orderly-sergeant. He, the host, then tells me that he + himself once rode many years, a trooper, in this regiment, and that all + his comrades were larger men than himself. Yet Mr. Thomas White is a + good-sized man, and now, at all events, rather overweight for a dragoon. + </p> + <p> + Yesterday came one of those bands of music that seem to itinerate + everywhere about the country. It consisted of a young woman who played the + harp, a bass-viol player, a fiddler, a flutist, and a bugler, besides a + little child, of whom, I suppose, the woman was the mother. They sat down + on a bench by the roadside, opposite the house, and played several tunes, + and by and by the waiter brought them a large pitcher of ale, which they + quaffed with apparent satisfaction; though they seemed to be foreigners by + their mustachios and sallow hue, and would perhaps have preferred a vinous + potation. One would like to follow these people through their vagrant + life, and see them in their social relations, and overhear their talk with + each other. All vagrants are interesting; and there is a much greater + variety of them here than in America,—people who cast themselves on + Fortune, and take whatever she gives without a certainty of anything. I + saw a travelling tinker yesterday,—a man with a leather apron, and a + string of skewers hung at his girdle, and a pack over his shoulders, in + which, no doubt, were his tools and materials of trade. + </p> + <p> + It is remarkable what a natural interest everybody feels in fishing. An + angler from the bridge immediately attracts a group to watch his luck. It + is the same with J——-, fishing for minnows, on the platform + near which the steamer lands its passengers. By the by, U—— + caught a minnow last evening, and, immediately after, a good-sized perch,—her + first fish. + </p> + <p> + July 30th.—We left Newby Bridge, all of us, on Saturday, at twelve + o'clock, and steamed up the lake to Ambleside; a pretty good day as to + weather, but with a little tendency to shower. There was nothing new on + the lake, and no new impressions, as far as I can remember. At Ambleside, + S——- and nurse went shopping, after which we took a carriage + for Grasmere, and established ourselves at Brown's Hotel. I find that my + impressions from our previous sight of all these scenes do not change on + revision. They are very beautiful; but, if I must say it, I am a little + weary of them. We soon tire of things which we visit merely by way of + spectacle, and with which we have no real and permanent connection. In + such cases we very quickly wish the spectacle to be taken away, and + another substituted; at all events I do not care about seeing anything + more of the English lakes for at least a year. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps a part of my weariness is owing to the hotel-life which we lead. + At an English hotel the traveller feels as if everybody, from the landlord + downward, united in a joint and individual purpose to fleece him, because + all the attendants who come in contact with him are to be separately + considered. So, after paying, in the first instance, a very heavy bill, + for what would seem to cover the whole indebtedness, there remain divers + dues still to be paid, to no trifling amount, to the landlord's servants,—dues + not to be ascertained, and which you never can know whether you have + properly satisfied. You can know, perhaps, when you have less than + satisfied them, by the aspect of the waiter, which I wish I could + describe, not disrespectful in the slightest degree, but a look of + profound surprise, a gaze at the offered coin (which he nevertheless + pockets) as if he either did not see it, or did not know it, or could not + believe his eyesight;—all this, however, with the most quiet + forbearance, a Christian-like non-recognition of an unmerited wrong and + insult; and finally, all in a moment's space indeed, he quits you and goes + about his other business. If you have given him too much, you are made + sensible of your folly by the extra amount of his gratitude, and the bows + with which he salutes you from the doorstep. Generally, you cannot very + decidedly say whether you have been right or wrong; but, in almost all + cases, you decidedly feel that you have been fleeced. Then the living at + the best of English hotels, so far as my travels have brought me + acquainted with them, deserves but moderate praise, and is especially + lacking in variety. Nothing but joints, joints, joints; sometimes, + perhaps, a meat-pie, which, if you eat it, weighs upon your conscience, + with the idea that you have eaten the scraps of other people's dinners. At + the lake hotels, the fare is lamb and mutton and grout,—the latter + not always fresh, and soon tired of. We pay like nabobs, and are expected + to be content with plain mutton. + </p> + <p> + We spent the day yesterday at Grasmere, in quiet walks about the hotel; + and at a little past six in the afternoon, I took my departure in the + stage-coach for Windermere. The coach was greatly overburdened with + outside passengers,—fifteen in all, besides the four insiders, and + one of the fifteen formed the apex of an immense pile of luggage on the + top. It seems to me miraculous that we did not topple over, the road being + so hilly and uneven, and the driver, I suspect, none the steadier for his + visits to all the tap-rooms along the route from Cockermouth. There was a + tremendous vibration of the coach now and then; and I saw that, in case of + our going over, I should be flung headlong against the high stone fence + that bordered most of the road. In view of this I determined to muffle my + head in the folds of my thick shawl at the moment of overturn, and as I + could do no better for myself, I awaited my fate with equanimity. As far + as apprehension goes, I had rather travel from Maine to Georgia by rail, + than from Grasmere to Windermere by stage-coach. + </p> + <p> + At Lowwood, the landlady espied me from the window, and sent out a large + packet that had arrived by mail; but as it was addressed to some person of + the Christian name of William, I did not venture to open it. She said, + also, that a gentleman had been there, who very earnestly desired to see + me, and I have since had reason to suppose that this was Allingham, the + poet. We arrived at Windermere at half past seven, and waited nearly an + hour for the train to start. I took a ticket for Lancaster, and talked + there about the war with a gentleman in the coffee-room, who took me for + an Englishman, as most people do nowadays, and I heard from him—as + you may from all his countrymen—an expression of weariness and + dissatisfaction with the whole business. These fickle islanders! How + differently they talked a year ago! John Bull sees now that he never was + in a worse predicament in his life; and yet it would not take much to make + him roar as bellicosely as ever. I went to bed at eleven, and slept + unquietly on feathers. + </p> + <p> + I had purposed to rise betimes, and see the town of Lancaster before + breakfast. But here I reckoned without my host; for, in the first place, I + had no water for my ablutions, and my boots were not brushed; and so I + could not get down stairs till the hour I named for my coffee and chops; + and, secondly, the breakfast was delayed half an hour, though promised + every minute. In fine, I had but just time to take a hasty walk round + Lancaster Castle, and see what I could of the town on my way,—a not + very remarkable town, built of stone, with taller houses than in the + middle shires of England, narrow streets up and down an eminence on which + the castle is situated, with the town immediately about it. The castle is + a satisfactory edifice, but so renovated that the walls look almost + entirely modern, with the exception of the fine old front, with the statue + of an armed warrior, very likely John of Gaunt himself, in a niche over + the Norman arch of the entrance. Close beside the castle stands an old + church. + </p> + <p> + The train left Lancaster at half past nine, and reached Liverpool at + twelve, over as flat and uninteresting a country as I ever travelled. I + have betaken myself to the Rock Ferry Hotel, where I am as comfortable as + I could be anywhere but at home; but it is rather comfortless to think of + hone as three years off, and three thousand miles away. With what a sense + of utter weariness, not fully realized till then, we shall sink down on + our own threshold, when we reach it. The moral effect of being without a + settled abode is very wearisome. + </p> + <p> + Our coachman from Grasmere to Windermere looked like a great beer-barrel, + oozy with his proper liquor. I suppose such solid soakers never get upset. + </p> + <h3> + THE LAUNCH. + </h3> + <p> + August 2d.—Mr. ——— has urged me very much to go + with his father and family to see the launch of a great ship which has + been built for their house, and afterwards to partake of a picnic; so, on + Tuesday morning I presented myself at the landing-stage, and met the + party, to take passage for Chester. It was a showery morning, and looked + wofully like a rainy day; but nothing better is to be expected in England; + and, after all, there is seldom such a day that you cannot glide about + pretty securely between the drops of rain. This, however, did not turn out + one of those tolerable days, but grew darker and darker, and worse and + worse; and was worst of all when we had passed about six miles beyond + Chester, and were just on the borders of Wales, on the hither side of the + river Dee, where the ship was to be launched. Here the train stopped, and + absolutely deposited our whole party of excursionists, under a heavy + shower, in the midst of a muddy potato-field, whence we were to wade + through mud and mire to the ship-yard, almost half a mile off. Some kind + Christian, I know not whom, gave me half of his umbrella, and half of his + cloak, and thereby I got to a shed near the ship, without being entirely + soaked through. + </p> + <p> + The ship had been built on the banks of the Dee, at a spot where it is too + narrow for her to be launched directly across, and so she lay lengthwise + of the river, and was so arranged as to take the water parallel with the + stream. She is, for aught I know, the largest ship in the world; at any + rate, longer than the Great Britain,—an iron-screw steamer,—and + looked immense and magnificent, and was gorgeously dressed out in flags. + Had it been a pleasant day, all Chester and half Wales would have been + there to see the launch; and, in spite of the rain, there were a good many + people on the opposite shore, as well as on our side; and one or two + booths, and many of the characteristics of a fair,—that is to say, + men and women getting intoxicated without any great noise and confusion. + </p> + <p> + The ship was expected to go off at about twelve o'clock, and at that + juncture all Mr. ———'s friends assembled under the bows + of the ship, where we were a little sheltered from the rain by the + projection of that part of the vessel over our heads. The bottle of + port-wine with which she was to be christened was suspended from the bows + to the platform where we stood by a blue ribbon; and the ceremony was to + be performed by Mrs. ———, who, I could see, was very + nervous in anticipation of the ceremony. Mr. ——— kept + giving her instructions in a whisper, and showing her how to throw the + bottle; and as the critical moment approached, he took hold of it along + with her. All this time we were waiting in momentary expectation of the + ship going off, everything being ready, and only the touch of a spring, as + it were, needed to make her slide into the water. But the chief manager + kept delaying a little longer, and a little longer; though the pilot on + board sent to tell him that it was time she was off. "Yes, yes; but I want + as much water as I can get," answered the manager; and so he held on till, + I suppose, the tide had raised the river Dee to its very acme of height. + At last the word was given; the ship began slowly to move; Mrs. ——— + threw the bottle against the bow with a spasmodic effort that dashed it + into a thousand pieces, and diffused the fragrance of the old port all + around, where it lingered several minutes. I did not think that there + could have been such a breathless moment in an affair of this kind. + </p> + <p> + The ship moved majestically down toward the river; and unless it were + Niagara, I never saw anything grander and more impressive than the motion + of this mighty mass as she departed from us. We on the platform, and + everybody along both shores of the Dee, took off our hats in the rain, + waved handkerchiefs, cheered, shouted,—"Beautiful!" "What a noble + launch!" "Never was so fair a sight!"—and, really, it was so grand, + that calm, majestic movement, that I felt the tears come into my eyes. The + wooden pathway adown which she was gliding began to smoke with the + friction; when all at once, when we expected to see her plunge into the + Dee, she came to a full stop. Mr. ———, the father of my + friend, a gentleman with white hair, a dark, expressive face, bright eyes, + and an Oriental cast of features, immediately took the alarm. A moment + before his countenance had been kindled with triumph; but now he turned + pale as death, and seemed to grow ten years older while I was looking at + him. Well he might, for his noble ship was stuck fast in the land of the + Dee, and without deepening the bed of the river, I do not see how her vast + iron hulk is ever to be got out. + </p> + <p> + [This steamer was afterwards successfully floated off on the 29th of the + same month.] + </p> + <p> + There was no help for it. A steamboat was hitched on to the stranded + vessel, but broke two or three cables without stirring her an inch. So, + after waiting long after we had given up all hope, we went to the office + of the ship-yard, and there took a lunch; and still the rain was pouring, + pouring, pouring, and I never experienced a blacker affair in all my days. + Then we had to wait a great while for a train to take us back, so that it + was almost five o'clock before we arrived at Chester, where I spent an + hour in rambling about the old town, under the Rows; and on the walls, + looking down on the treetops, directly under my feet, and through their + thick branches at the canal, which creeps at the base, and at the + cathedral; walking under the dark intertwining arches of the cloisters, + and looking up at the great cathedral tower, so wasted away externally by + time and weather that it looks, save for the difference of color between + white snow and red freestone, like a structure of snow, half dissolved by + several warm days. + </p> + <p> + At the lunch I met with a graduate of Cambridge (England), tutor of a + grandson of Percival, with his pupil (Percival, the assassinated minister, + I mean). I should not like this position of tutor to a young Englishman; + it certainly has an ugly twang of upper servitude. I observed that the + tutor gave his pupil the best seat in the railway carriage, and in all + respects provided for his comfort before thinking of his own; and this, + not as a father does for his child, out of love, but from a sense of place + and duty, which I did not quite see how a gentleman could consent to feel. + And yet this Mr. C——— was evidently a gentleman, and a + quiet, intelligent, agreeable, and, no doubt, learned man. K——— + being mentioned, Mr. C——— observed that he had known him + well at college, having been his contemporary there. He did not like him, + however,—thought him a "dangerous man," as well as I could gather; + he thinks there is some radical defect in K———'s moral + nature, a lack of sincerity; and, furthermore, he believes him to be a + sensualist in his disposition, in support of which view he said Mr. K——— + had made drawings, such as no pure man could have made, or could allow + himself to show or look at. This was the only fact which Mr. C——— + adduced, bearing on his opinion of K———; otherwise, it + seemed to be one of those early impressions which a collegian gets of his + fellow-students, and which he never gets rid of, whatever the character of + the person may turn out to be in after years. I have judged several + persons in this way, and still judge them so, though the world has cone to + very different conclusions. Which is right?—the world, which has the + man's whole mature life on its side; or his early companion, who has + nothing for it but some idle passages of his youth? + </p> + <p> + Mr. M——— remarked of newspaper reporters, that they may + be known at all celebrations, and of any public occasion, by the enormous + quantity of luncheon they eat. + </p> + <p> + August 12th.—Mr. B——— dined with us at the Rock + Ferry Hotel the day before yesterday. Speaking of Helvellyn, and the death + of Charles Cough, about whom Wordsworth and Scott have both sung, Mr. B——— + mentioned a version of that story which rather detracts from the character + of the faithful dog. + </p> + <p> + But somehow it lowers one's opinion of human nature itself, to be + compelled so to lower one's standard of a dog's nature. I don't intend to + believe the disparaging story, but it reminds me of the story of the + New-Zealander who was asked whether he loved a missionary who had been + laboring for his soul and those of his countrymen. "To be sure I loved + him. Why, I ate a piece of him for my breakfast this morning!" + </p> + <p> + For the last week or two I have passed my time between the hotel and the + Consulate, and a weary life it is, and one that leaves little of profit + behind it. I am sick to death of my office,—brutal captains and + brutal sailors; continual complaints of mutual wrong, which I have no + power to set right, and which, indeed, seem to have no right on either + side; calls of idleness or ceremony from my travelling countrymen, who + seldom know what they are in search of at the commencement of their tour, + and never have attained any desirable end at the close of it; beggars, + cheats, simpletons, unfortunates, so mixed up that it is impossible to + distinguish one from another, and so, in self-defence, the Consul + distrusts them all. . . . + </p> + <p> + At the hotel, yesterday, there was a large company of factory people from + Preston, who marched up from the pier with a band of military music + playing before them. They spent the day in the gardens and ball-room of + the hotel, dancing and otherwise merry-making; but I saw little of them, + being at the Consulate. Towards evening it drizzled, and the assemblage + melted away gradually; and when the band marched down to the pier, there + were few to follow, although one man went dancing before the musicians, + flinging out his arms, and footing it with great energy and gesticulation. + Some young women along the road likewise began to dance as the music + approached. + </p> + <p> + Thackeray has a dread of servants, insomuch that he hates to address them, + or to ask them for anything. His morbid sensibility, in this regard, has + perhaps led him to study and muse upon them, so that he may be presumed to + have a more intimate knowledge of this class than any other man. + </p> + <p> + Carlyle dresses so badly, and wears such a rough outside, that the + flunkies are rude to him at gentlemen's doors. + </p> + <p> + In the afternoon J——- and I took a walk towards Tranmere Hall, + and beyond, as far as Oxton. This part of the country, being so near + Liverpool and Birkenhead, is all sprinkled over with what they call + "Terraces," "Bellevues," and other pretty names for semi-detached villas + ("Recluse Cottage" was one) for a somewhat higher class. But the old, + whitewashed stone cottage is still frequent, with its roof of slate or + thatch, which perhaps is green with weeds or grass. Through its open door, + you see that it has a pavement of flagstones, or perhaps of red freestone; + and hogs and donkeys are familiar with the threshold. The door always + opens directly into the kitchen, without any vestibule; and, glimpsing in, + you see that a cottager's life must be the very plainest and homeliest + that ever was lived by men and women. Yet the flowers about the door often + indicate a native capacity for the beautiful; but often there is only a + pavement of round stones or of flagstones, like those within. At one point + where there was a little bay, as it were, in the hedge fence, we saw + something like a small tent or wigwam,—an arch of canvas three or + four feet high, and open in front, under which sat a dark-complexioned + woman and some children. The woman was sewing, and I took them for + gypsies. + </p> + <p> + August 17th.—Yesterday afternoon J——- and I went to + Birkenhead Park, which I have already described. . . . It so happened that + there was a large school spending its holiday there; a school of girls of + the lower classes, to the number of a hundred and fifty, who disported + themselves on the green, under the direction of the schoolmistresses and + of an old gentleman. It struck me, as it always has, to observe how the + lower orders of this country indicate their birth and station by their + aspect and features. In America there would be a good deal of grace and + beauty among a hundred and fifty children and budding girls, belonging to + whatever rank of life. But here they had universally a most plebeian look,—stubbed, + sturdy figures, round, coarse faces, snub-noses,—the most evident + specimens of the brown bread of human nature. They looked wholesome and + good enough, and fit to sustain their rough share of life; but it would + have been impossible to make a lady out of any one of them. Climate, no + doubt, has most to do with diffusing a slender elegance over American + young-womanhood; but something, perhaps, is also due to the circumstance + of classes not being kept apart there as they are here: they interfuse, + amid the continual ups and downs of our social life; and so, in the lowest + stations of life, you may see the refining influence of gentle blood. At + all events, it is only necessary to look at such an assemblage of children + as I saw yesterday, to be convinced that birth and blood do produce + certain characteristics. To be sure, I have seen no similar evidence in + England or elsewhere of old gentility refining and elevating the race. + </p> + <p> + These girls were all dressed in black gowns, with white aprons and + neckerchiefs, and white linen caps on their heads,—a very dowdyish + attire, and well suited to their figures. I saw only two of their games,—in + one, they stood in a circle, while two of their number chased one another + within and without the ring of girls, which opened to let the fugitive + pass, but closed again to impede the passage of the pursuer. The other was + blind-man's-buff on a new plan: several of the girls, sometimes as many as + twenty, being blinded at once, and pursuing a single one, who rang a + hand-bell to indicate her whereabouts. This was very funny; the bell-girl + keeping just beyond their reach, and drawing them after her in a huddled + group, so that they sometimes tumbled over one another and lay sprawling. + I think I have read of this game in Strutt's "English Sports and + Pastimes." + </p> + <p> + We walked from the Park home to Rock Ferry, a distance of three or four + miles,—a part of which was made delightful by a foot-path, leading + us through fields where the grass had just been mown, and others where the + wheat harvest was commenced. The path led us into the very midst of the + rural labor that was going forward; and the laborers rested a moment to + look at us; in fact, they seemed to be more willing to rest than American + laborers would have been. Children were loitering along this path or + sitting down beside it; and we met one little maid, passing from village + to village, intent on some errand. Reaching Tranmere, I went into an + alehouse, nearly opposite the Hall, and called for a glass of ale. The + doorstep before the house, and the flagstone floor of the entry and + tap-room, were chalked all over in corkscrew lines,—an adornment + that gave an impression of care and neatness, the chalked lines being + evidently freshly made. It was a low, old-fashioned room ornamented with a + couple of sea-shells, and an earthen-ware figure on the mantel-piece; also + with advertisements of Allsop's ale, and other drinks, and with a + pasteboard handbill of "The Ancient Order of Foresters"; any member of + which, paying sixpence weekly, is entitled to ten shillings per week, and + the attendance of a first-rate physician in sickness, and twelve pounds to + be paid to his friends in case of death. Any member of this order, when + travelling, is sure (says the handbill) to meet with a brother member to + lend him a helping hand, there being nearly three thousand districts of + this order, and more than a hundred and nine thousand members in Great + Britain, whence it has extended to Australia, America, and other + countries. + </p> + <p> + Looking up at the gateway of Tranmere Hall, I discovered an inscription on + the red freestone lintel, and, though much time-worn, I succeeded in + reading it. "Labor omnia vincit. 1614." There were likewise some initials + which I could not satisfactorily make out. The sense of this motto would + rather befit the present agricultural occupants of the house than the idle + gentlefolks who built and formerly inhabited it. + </p> + <h3> + SMITHELL'S HALL. + </h3> + <p> + August 25th.—On Thursday I went by invitation to Smithell's Hall in + Bolton le Moors to dine and spend the night. The Hall is two or three + miles from the town of Bolton, where I arrived by railway from Liverpool, + and which seems to be a pretty large town, though the houses are generally + modern, or with modernized fronts of brick or stucco. It is a + manufacturing town, and the tall brick chimneys rise numerously in the + neighborhood, and are so near Smithell's Hall that I suspect the + atmosphere is somewhat impregnated with their breath. Mr. ——— + can comfort himself with the rent which he receives from the factories + erected upon his own grounds; and I suppose the value of his estate has + greatly increased by the growth of manufactories; although, unless he wish + to sell it, I do not see what good this can do him. + </p> + <p> + Smithell's Hall is one of the oldest residences of England, and still + retains very much the aspect that it must have had several centuries ago. + The house formerly stood around all four sides of a quadrangle, enclosing + a court, and with an entrance through an archway. One side of this + quadrangle was removed in the time of the present Mr. ———'s + father, and the front is now formed by the remaining three sides. They + look exceedingly ancient and venerable, with their range of gables and + lesser peaks. The house is probably timber-framed throughout, and is + overlaid with plaster, and its generally light line is painted with a row + of trefoils in black, producing a very quaint effect. The wing, forming + one side of the quadrangle, is a chapel, and has been so from time + immemorial; and Mr. ——— told me that he had a clergyman, + and even a bishop, in his own diocese. The drawing-room is on the opposite + side of the quadrangle; and through an arched door, in the central + portion, there is a passage to the rear of the house. It is impossible to + describe such an old rambling edifice as this, or to get any clear idea of + its plan, even by going over it, without the aid of a map. Mr. ——— + has added some portions, and altered others, but with due regard to + harmony with the original structure, and the great body of it is still + mediaeval. + </p> + <p> + The entrance-hall opens right upon the quadrangular court; and is a large, + low room, with a settle of carved old oak, and other old oaken furniture,—a + centre-table with periodicals and newspapers on it,—some family + pictures on the walls,—and a large, bright coal-fire in the spacious + grate. The fire is always kept up, throughout summer and winter, and it + seemed to me an excellent plan, and rich with cheerful effects; insuring + one comfortable place, and that the most central in the house, whatever + may be the inclemency of the weather. It was a cloudy, moist, showery day, + when I arrived; and this fire gave me the brightest and most hospitable + smile, and took away any shivery feeling by its mere presence. The servant + showed me thence into a low-studded dining-room, where soon Mrs. ——— + made her appearance, and, after some talk, brought me into the + billiard-room, opening from the hall, where Mr. ——— and + a young gentleman were playing billiards, and two ladies looking on. After + the game was finished, Mr. ——— took me round to see the + house and grounds. + </p> + <p> + The peculiarity of this house is what is called "The Bloody Footstep." In + the time of Bloody Mary, a Protestant clergyman—George Marsh by name + —was examined before the then proprietor of the Hall, Sir Roger + Barton, I think, and committed to prison for his heretical opinions, and + was ultimately burned at the stake. As his guards were conducting him from + the justice-room, through the stone-paved passage that leads from front to + rear of Smithell's Hall, he stamped his foot upon one of the flagstones in + earnest protestation against the wrong which he was undergoing. The foot, + as some say, left a bloody mark in the stone; others have it, that the + stone yielded like wax under his foot, and that there has been a shallow + cavity ever since. This miraculous footprint is still extant; and Mrs. + ——— showed it to me before her husband took me round the + estate. It is almost at the threshold of the door opening from the rear of + the house, a stone two or three feet square, set among similar ones, that + seem to have been worn by the tread of many generations. The footprint is + a dark brown stain in the smooth gray surface of the flagstone; and, + looking sidelong at it, there is a shallow cavity perceptible, which Mrs. + ——— accounted for as having been worn by people setting + their feet just on this place, so as to tread the very spot, where the + martyr wrought the miracle. The mark is longer than any mortal foot, as if + caused by sliding along the stone, rather than sinking into it; and it + might be supposed to have been made by a pointed shoe, being blunt at the + heel, and decreasing towards the toe. The blood-stained version of the + story is more consistent with the appearance of the mark than the imprint + would be; for if the martyr's blood oozed out through his shoe and + stocking, it might have made his foot slide along the stone, and thus have + lengthened the shape. Of course it is all a humbug,—a darker vein + cropping up through the gray flagstone; but, it is probably a fact, and, + for aught I know, may be found in Fox's Book of Martyrs, that George Marsh + underwent an examination in this house [There is a full and pathetic + account of the examination and martyrdom of George Marsh in the eleventh + section of Fox's Book of Martyrs, as I have just found (June 9, 1867). He + went to Smithell's hall, among other places, to be questioned by Mr. + Barton.—ED.]; and the tradition may have connected itself with the + stone within a short time after the martyrdom; or, perhaps, when the old + persecuting knight departed this life, and Bloody Mary was also dead, + people who had stood at a little distance from the Hall door, and had seen + George Marsh lift his hand and stamp his foot just at this spot,—perhaps + they remembered this action and gesture, and really believed that + Providence had thus made an indelible record of it on the stone; although + the very stone and the very mark might have lain there at the threshold + hundreds of years before. But, even if it had been always there, the + footprint might, after the fact, be looked upon as a prophecy, from the + time when the foundation of the old house was laid, that a holy and + persecuted man should one day set his foot here, on the way that was to + lead him to the stake. At any rate, the legend is a good one. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. ——— tells me that the miraculous stone was once + taken up from the pavement, and flung out of doors, where it remained many + years; and in proof of this, it is cracked quite across at one end. This + is a pity, and rather interferes with the authenticity, if not of the + stone itself, yet of its position in the pavement. It is not far from the + foot of the staircase, leading up to Sir Roger Barton's examination-room, + whither we ascended, after examining the footprint. This room now opens + sideways on the Chapel, into which it looks down, and which is spacious + enough to accommodate a pretty large congregation. On one of the walls of + the Chapel there is a marble tablet to the memory of one of the present + family,—Mr.———'s father, I suppose; he being the + first of the name who possessed the estate. The present owners, however, + seem to feel pretty much the same pride in the antiquity and legends of + the house as if it had come down to them in an unbroken succession of + their own forefathers. It has, in reality, passed several times from one + family to another, since the Conquest. + </p> + <p> + Mr. ——— led me through a spacious old room, which was + formerly panelled with carved oak, but which is converted into a + brew-house, up a pair of stairs, into the garret of one of the gables, in + order to show me the ancient framework of the house. It is of oak, and + preposterously ponderous,—immense beams and rafters, which no modern + walls could support,—a gigantic old skeleton, which architects say + must have stood a thousand years; and, indeed, it is impossible to + ascertain the date of the original foundation, though it is known to have + been repaired and restored between five and six centuries ago. Of course, + in the lapse of ages, it must continually have been undergoing minor + changes, but without at all losing its identity. Mr. ——— + says that this old oak wood, though it looks as strong and as solid as + ever, has really lost its strength, and that it would snap short off, on + application of any force. + </p> + <p> + After this we took our walk through the grounds, which are well wooded, + though the trees will bear no comparison with those which I have seen in + the midland parts of England. It takes, I suspect, a much longer time for + trees to attain a good size here than in America; and these trees, I think + Mr. ——— told me, were principally set out by himself. He + is upwards of sixty,—a good specimen of the old English + country-gentleman, sensible, loving his land and his trees and his dogs + and his game, doing a little justice-business, and showing a fitness for + his position; so that you feel satisfied to have him keep it. He was + formerly a member of Parliament. I had met him before at dinner at Mrs. H———'s. + . . . He took pleasure in showing me his grounds, through which he has + laid out a walk, winding up and down through dells and over hillocks, and + now and then crossing a rustic bridge; so that you have an idea of quite + an extensive domain. + </p> + <p> + Beneath the trees there is a thick growth of ferns, serving as cover for + the game. A little terrier-dog, who had hitherto kept us company, all at + once disappeared; and soon afterwards we heard the squeak of some poor + victim in the cover, whereupon Mr. ——— set out with + agility, and ran to the rescue.—By and by the terrier came back with + a very guilty look. From the wood we passed into the open park, whence we + had a distant view of the house; and, returning thither, we viewed it in + other aspects, and on all sides. One portion of it is occupied by Mr. + ———'s gardener, and seems not to have been repaired, at + least as to its exterior, for a great many years,—showing the old + wooden frame, painted black, with plaster in the interstices; and broad + windows, extending across the whole breadth of the rooms, with hundreds of + little diamond-shaped panes of glass. Before dinner I was shown to my + room, which opens from an ancient gallery, lined with oak, and lighted by + a row of windows along one side of the quadrangle. Along this gallery are + the doors of several sleeping-chambers, one of which—I think it is + here—is called "The Dead Man's Chamber." It is supposed to have been + the room where the corpses of persons connected with the household used to + be laid out. My own room was called "The Beam Chamber," from am immense + cross-beam that projects from the ceiling, and seems to be an entire tree, + laid across, and left rough-hewn, though at present it is whitewashed. The + but of the tree (for it diminishes from one end of the chamber to the + other) is nearly two feet square, in its visible part. + </p> + <p> + We dined, at seven o'clock, in a room some thirty-five or forty feet long, + and proportionably broad, all panelled with the old carved oak which Mr. + ——— took from the room which he had converted into a + brew-house. The oak is now of a very dark brown hue, and, being highly + polished, it produces a sombre but rich effect. It is supposed to be of + the era of Henry the Seventh, and when I examined it the next morning, I + found it very delicately and curiously wrought. There are carved profiles + of persons in the costume of the times, done with great skill; also + foliage, intricate puzzles of intersecting lines, sacred devices, + anagrams, and, among others, the device of a bar across a tun, indicating + the name of Barton. Most of the carving, however, is less elaborate and + intricate than these specimens, being in a perpendicular style, and on one + pattern. Before the wood grew so very dark, the beauty of the work must + have been much more easily seen than now, as to particulars, though I + hardly think that the general effect could have been better; at least, the + sombre richness that overspreads the entire square of the room is suitable + to such an antique house. An elaborate Gothic cornice runs round the whole + apartment. The sideboard and other furniture are of Gothic patterns, and, + very likely, of genuine antiquity; but the fireplace is perhaps rather out + of keeping, being of white marble with the arms of this family sculptured + on it. + </p> + <p> + Though hardly sunset when we sat down to dinner, yet, it being an overcast + day, and the oaken room so sombre, we had candles burning on the table; + and, long before dinner was over, the candle-light was all the light we + had. It is always pleasanter to dine by artificial light. Mrs. ———'s + dinner was a good one, and Mr. ———'s wines were very + good. I had Mrs. ——— on one side, and another lady on + the other side. . . . + </p> + <p> + After dinner there were two card-parties formed in the dining-room, at one + of which there was a game of Vingt-et-un, and at the other a game of + whist, at which Mrs. ——— and I lost several shillings to + a Mrs. Halton and Mr. Gaskell. . . . After finishing our games at cards, + Mrs. Halton drove off in a pony-chaise to her own house; the other ladies + retired, and the gentlemen sat down to chat awhile over the hall fire, + occasionally sipping a glass of wine-and-water, and finally we all went + off to our rooms. It was past twelve o'clock when I composed myself to + sleep, and I could not have slept long, when a tremendous clap of thunder + woke me just in time to see a vivid flash of lightning. I saw no ghosts, + though Mrs. ——— tells me there is one, which makes a + disturbance, unless religious services are regularly kept up in the + Chapel. + </p> + <p> + In the morning, before breakfast, we had prayers, read by Mr. ———, + in the oak dining-room, all the servants coming in, and everybody kneeling + down. I should like to know how much true religious feeling is indicated + by this regular observance of religious rites in English families. In + America, if people kneel down to pray, it is pretty certain that they feel + a genuine interest in the matter, and their daily life is supposed to be + in accordance with their devotions. If an American is an infidel, he knows + it; but an Englishman is often so without suspecting it,—being kept + from that knowledge by this formality of family prayer, and his other + regularities of external worship. . . . + </p> + <p> + There was a parrot in a corner of the dining-room, and, when prayers were + over, Mrs. ——— praised it very highly for having been so + silent; it being Poll's habit, probably, to break in upon the sacred + exercises with unseemly interjections and remarks. While we were at + breakfast, Poll began to whistle and talk very vociferously, and in a tone + and with expressions that surprised me, till I learned that the bird is + usually kept in the kitchen and servants' hall, and is only brought into + the dining-room at prayer-time and breakfast. Thus its mouth is full of + kitchen talk, which flows out before the gentlefolks with the queerest + effect. + </p> + <p> + After breakfast I examined the carvings of the room. Mr. ——— + has added to its decorations the coats of arms of all the successive + possessors of the house, with those of the families into which they + married, including the Ratcliffes, Stanleys, and others. From the + dining-room I passed into the library, which contains books enough to make + a rainy day pass pleasantly. I remember nothing else that I need to + record; and as I sat by the hall fire, talking with Mr. Gaskell, at about + eleven o'clock, the butler brought me word that a fly, which I had + bespoken, was ready to convey me to the railway. I took leave of Mrs. + ———, her last request being that I would write a + ghost-story for her house,—and drove off. + </p> + <h3> + SHREWSBURY + </h3> + <p> + September 5th.—Yesterday we all of us set forth from Rock Ferry at + half past twelve, and reached Shrewsbury between three and four o'clock, + and took up our quarters at the Lion Hotel. We found Shrewsbury situated + on an eminence, around which the Severn winds, making a peninsula of it, + quite densely covered by the town. The streets ascend, and curve about, + and intersect each other with the customary irregularity of these old + English towns, so that it is quite impossible to go directly to any given + point, or for a stranger to find his way to a place which he wishes to + reach, though, by what seems a singular good fortune, the sought-for place + is always offering itself when least expected. On this account I never + knew such pleasant walking as in old streets like those of Shrewsbury. And + there are passages opening under archways, and winding up between high + edifices, very tempting to the explorer, and generally leading to some + court, or some queer old range of buildings or piece of architecture, + which it would be the greatest pity to miss seeing. There was a delightful + want of plan in the laying out of these ancient towns. In fact, they never + were laid out at all, nor were restrained by any plan whatever, but grew + naturally, with streets as eccentric as the pathway of a young child + toddling about the floor. + </p> + <p> + The first curious thing we particularly noticed, when we strolled out + after dinner, was the old market-house, which stands in the midst of an + oblong square; a gray edifice, elevated on pillars and arches, and with + the statue of an armed knight, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, in a + central niche, in its front. The statue is older than the market-house, + having been moved thither from one of the demolished towers of the city + wall in 1795. The market-house was erected in 1595. There are other + curious sculptures and carvings and quirks of architecture about this + building; and the houses that stand about the square are, many of them, + very striking specimens of what dwelling-houses used to be in Elizabeth's + time, and earlier. I have seen no such stately houses, in that style, as + we found here in Shrewsbury. There were no such fine ones in Coventry, + Stratford, Warwick, Chester, nor anywhere else where we have been. Their + stately height and spaciousness seem to have been owing to the fact that + Shrewsbury was a sort of metropolis of the country round about, and + therefore the neighboring gentry had their town-houses there, when London + was several days' journey off, instead of a very few hours; and, besides, + it was once much the resort of kings, and the centre-point of great + schemes of war and policy. One such house, formerly belonging to a now + extinct family, that of Ireland, rises to the height of four stories, and + has a front consisting of what look like four projecting towers. There are + ranges of embowered windows, one above another, to the full height of the + house, and these are surmounted by peaked gables. The people of those + times certainly did not deny themselves light; and while window-glass was + an article of no very remote introduction, it was probably a point of + magnificence and wealthy display to have enough of it. One whole side of + the room must often have been formed by the window. This Ireland mansion, + as well as all the rest of the old houses in Shrewsbury, is a timber + house,—that is, a skeleton of oak, filled up with brick, plaster, or + other material, and with the beams of the timber marked out with black + paint; besides which, in houses of any pretension, there are generally + trefoils, and other Gothic-looking ornaments, likewise painted black. They + have an indescribable charm for me,—the more, I think, because they + are wooden; but, indeed, I cannot tell why it is that I like them so well, + and am never tired of looking at them. A street was a development of human + life, in the days when these houses were built, whereas a modern street is + but the cold plan of an architect, without individuality or character, and + without the human emotion which a man kneads into the walls which he + builds on a scheme of his own. + </p> + <p> + We strolled to a pleasant walk under a range of trees, along the shore of + the Severn. It is called the Quarry Walk. The Severn is a pretty river, + the largest, I think (unless it be such an estuary as the Mersey), that I + have met with in England; that is to say, about a fair stone's-throw + across. It is very gentle in its course, and winds along between grassy + and sedgy banks, with a good growth of weeds in some part of its current. + It has one stately bridge, called the English Bridge, of several arches, + and, as we sauntered along the Quarry Walk, we saw a ferry where the boat + seemed to be navigated across by means of a rope, stretched from bank to + bank of the river. After leaving the Quarry Walk, we passed an old tower + of red freestone, the only one remaining of those formerly standing at + intervals along the whole course of the town wall; and we also went along + what little is now left of the wall itself. And thence, through the + irregular streets, which gave no account of themselves, we found our way, + I know not how, back to our hotel. It is an uncheerful old hotel, which + takes upon itself to be in the best class of English country hotels, and + charges the best price; very dark in the lower apartments, pervaded with a + musty odor, but provided with a white-neckclothed waiter, who spares no + ceremony in serving the joints of mutton. + </p> + <p> + J——- and I afterwards walked forth again, and went this time + to the castle, which stands exactly above the railway station. A path, + from its breadth quite a street, leads up to the arched gateway; but we + found a board, giving notice that these are private grounds, and no + strangers admitted; so that we only passed through the gate a few steps, + and looked about us, and retired, on perceiving a man approaching us + through the trees and shrubbery. A private individual, it seems, has + burrowed in this old warlike den, and turned the keep, and any other + available apartment, into a modern dwelling, and laid out his + pleasure-grounds within the precincts of the castle wall, which allows + verge enough for the purpose. The ruins have been considerably repaired. + This castle was built at various times, the keep by Edward I., and other + portions at an earlier period, and it stands on the isthmus left by the + Severn in its wandering course about the town. The Duke of Cleveland now + owns it. I do not know who occupies it. + </p> + <p> + In the course of this walk, we passed St. Mary's Church,—a very old + church indeed, no matter how old, but say, eight hundred or a thousand + years. It has a very tall spire, and the spire is now undergoing repairs; + and, seeing the door open, I went into the porch, but found no admission + further. Then, walking around it, through the churchyard, we saw that all + the venerable Gothic windows—one of them grand in size— were + set with stained glass, representing coats of arms and ancient armor, and + kingly robes, and saints with glories about their heads, and Scriptural + people; but all of these, as far as our actual perception was concerned, + quite colorless, and with only a cold outline, dimly filled up. Yet, had + we been within the church, and had the sunlight been streaming through, + what a warm, rich, gorgeous, roseate, golden life would these figures have + showed! + </p> + <p> + In the churchyard, close upon the street, so that its dust must be + continually scattered over the spot, I saw a heavy gray tombstone, with a + Latin inscription, purporting that Bishop Butler, the author of the + Analogy, in his lifetime had chosen this as a burial-place for himself and + his family. There is a statue of him within the church. From the top of + the spire a man, above a hundred years ago, attempted to descend, by means + of a rope, to the other side of the Severn; but the rope broke, and he + fell in his midway flight, and was killed. It was an undertaking worthy of + Sam Patch. There is a record of the fact on the outside of the tower. + </p> + <p> + I remember nothing more that we saw yesterday; but, before breakfast, J——- + and I sallied forth again, and inspected the gateway and interior court of + the Council House,—a very interesting place, both in itself and for + the circumstances connected with it, it having been the place where the + councillors for the Welsh marches used to reside during their annual + meetings; and Charles the First also lived here for six weeks in 1612. + James II. likewise held his court here in 1687. The house was originally + built in 1501,—that is, the Council House itself,—the gateway, + and the house through which it passes, being of as late date as 1620. This + latter is a fine old house, in the usual style of timber architecture, + with the timber lines marked out, and quaint adornments in black paint; + and the pillars of the gateway which passes beneath the front chamber are + of curiously carved oak, which has probably stood the action of English + atmosphere better than marble would have done. Passing through this + gateway, we entered a court, and saw some old buildings more or less + modernized, but without destroying their aged stateliness, standing round + three sides of it, with arched entrances and bow-windows, and windows in + the roofs, and peaked gables, and all the delightful irregularity and + variety that these houses have, and which make them always so fresh,—and + with so much detail that every minute you see something heretofore unseen. + It must have been no unfit residence for a king and his court, when those + three sides of the square, all composing one great fantastic house, were + in their splendor. The square itself, too, must have been a busy and + cheerful scene, thronged with attendants, guests, horses, etc. + </p> + <p> + After breakfast, we all walked out, and, crossing the English Bridge, + looked at the Severn over its parapet. The river is here broader than + elsewhere, and very shallow, and has an island covered with bushes, about + midway across. Just over the bridge we saw a church, of red freestone, and + evidently very ancient. This is the Church of the Holy Cross, and is a + portion of the Abbey of St. Peter and St. John, which formerly covered ten + acres of ground. We did not have time to go into the church; but the + windows and other points of architecture, so far as we could discern them, + and knew how to admire them, were exceedingly venerable and beautiful. On + the other side of the street, over a wide space, there are other remains + of the old abbey; and the most interesting was a stone pulpit, now + standing in the open air, seemingly in a garden, but which originally + stood in the refectory of the abbey, and was the station whence one of the + monks read to his brethren at their meals. The pulpit is much overgrown + with ivy. We should have made further researches among these remains, + though they seem now to be in private grounds; but a large mastiff came + nut of his kennel, and, approaching us to the length of his iron chain, + began barking very fiercely. Nor had we time to see half that we would + gladly have seen and studied here and elsewhere about Shrewsbury. It would + have been very interesting to have visited Hotspur's and Falstaff's + battle-field, which is four miles from the town; too distant, certainly, + for Falstaff to have measured the length of the fight by Shrewsbury clock. + There is now a church, built there by Henry IV., and said to cover the + bones of those slain in the battle. + </p> + <p> + Returning into the town, we penetrated some narrow lanes, where, as the + old story goes, people might almost shake hands across from the top + windows of the opposite houses, impending towards each other. Emerging + into a wider street, at a spot somewhat more elevated than other parts of + the town, we went into a shop to buy some Royal Shrewsbury cakes, which we + had seen advertised at several shop windows. They are a very rich cake, + with plenty of eggs, sugar, and butter, and very little flour. + </p> + <p> + A small public building of stone, of modern date, was close by; and asking + the shopwoman what it was, she said it was the Butter Cross, or market for + butter, eggs, and poultry. It is a remarkable site, for here, in ancient + times, stood a stone cross, where heralds used to make proclamation, and + where criminals of state used to be executed. David, the last of the Welsh + princes, was here cruelly put to death by Edward I., and many noblemen + were beheaded on this spot, after being taken prisoners in the battle of + Shrewsbury. + </p> + <p> + I can only notice one other memorable place in Shrewsbury, and that is the + Raven Inn, where Farquhar wrote his comedy of "The Recruiting Officer" in + 1701. The window of the room in which he wrote is said to look into the + inn yard, and I went through the arched entrance to see if I could + distinguish it. The hostlers were currying horses in the yard, and so + stared at me that I gave but the merest glance. The Shrewsbury inns have + not only the customary names of English inns,—as the Lion, the Stag,—but + they have also the carved wooden figures of the object named, whereas, in + all other towns, the name alone remains. + </p> + <p> + We left Shrewsbury at half past ten, and arrived in London at about four + in the afternoon. + </p> + <h3> + LONDON. + </h3> + <p> + September 7th.—On Wednesday, just before dusk, J——- and + I walked forth, for the first time, in London. Our lodgings are in George + Street, Hanover Square, No. 21; and St. George's Church, where so many + marriages in romance and in fashionable life have been celebrated, is a + short distance below our house, in the same street. The edifice seems to + be of white marble, now much blackened with London smoke, and has a + Grecian pillared portico. In the square, just above us, is a statue of + William Pitt. We went down Bond Street, and part of Regent Street, just + estraying a little way from our temporary nest, and taking good account of + landmarks and corners, so as to find our way readily back again. It is + long since I have had such a childish feeling; but all that I had heard + and felt about the vastness of London made it seem like swimming in a + boundless ocean, to venture one step beyond the only spot I knew. My first + actual impression of London was of stately and spacious streets, and by no + means so dusky and grimy as I had expected,—not merely in the + streets about this quarter of the town, which is the aristocratic quarter, + but in all the streets through which we had passed from the railway + station. If I had not first been so imbued with the smoke and dinginess of + Liverpool, I should doubtless have seen a stronger contrast betwixt dusky + London and the cheerful glare of our American cities. There are no red + bricks here; all are of a dark hue, and whatever of stone or stucco has + been white soon clothes itself in mourning. + </p> + <p> + Yesterday forenoon I went out alone, and plunged headlong into London, and + wandered about all day, without any particular object in view, but only to + lose myself for the sake of finding myself unexpectedly among things that + I had always read and dreamed about. The plan was perfectly successful, + for, besides vague and unprofitable wanderings, I saw, in the course of + the day, Hyde Park, Regent's Park, Whitehall, the two new Houses of + Parliament, Charing Cross, St. Paul's, the, Strand, Fleet Street, + Cheapside, Whitechapel, Leadenhall Street, the Haymarket, and a great many + other places, the names of which were classic in my memory. I think what + interests me most here, is the London of the writers of Queen Anne's age,—whatever + Pope, The Spectator, De Foe, and down as late as Johnson and Goldsmith, + have mentioned. The Monument, for instance, which is of no great height + nor beauty compared with that on Bunker Hill, charmed me prodigiously. St. + Paul's appeared to me unspeakably grand and noble, and the more so from + the throng and bustle continually going on around its base, without in the + least disturbing the sublime repose of its great dome, and, indeed, of all + its massive height and breadth. Other edifices may crowd close to its + foundation, and people may tramp as they like about it; but still the + great cathedral is as quiet and serene as if it stood in the middle of + Salisbury Plain. There cannot be anything else in its way so good in the + world as just this effect of St. Paul's in the very heart and densest + tumult of London. I do not know whether the church is built of marble, or + of whatever other white or nearly white material; but in the time that it + has been standing there, it has grown black with the smoke of ages, + through which there are nevertheless gleams of white, that make a most + picturesque impression on the whole. It is much better than staring white; + the edifice would not be nearly so grand without this drapery of black. + </p> + <p> + I did not find these streets of the old city so narrow and irregular as I + expected. All the principal ones are sufficiently broad, and there are few + houses that look antique, being, I suppose, generally modern-fronted, when + not actually of modern substance. There is little or no show or pretension + in this part of London; it has a plain, business air,—an air of + homely, actual life, as of a metropolis of tradesmen, who have been + carrying on their traffic here, in sober earnest, for hundreds of years. + You observe on the sign-boards, "Established ninety years in Threadneedle + Street," "Established in 1109,"—denoting long pedigrees of + silk-mercers and hosiers,—De Foe's contemporaries still represented + by their posterity, who handle the hereditary yardstick on the same spot. + </p> + <p> + I must not forget to say that I crossed the Thames over a bridge which, I + think, is near Charing Cross. Afterwards, I found my way to London Bridge, + where there was a delightful density of throng. The Thames is not so wide + and majestic as I had imagined,—nothing like the Mersey, for + example. As a picturesque object, however, flowing through the midst of a + city, it would lose by any increase of width. + </p> + <p> + Omnibuses are a most important aid to wanderers about London. I reached + home, well wearied, about six o'clock. In the course of the day, I had + seen one person whom I knew,—Mr. Clarke, to whom Henry B——— + introduced me, when we went to see the great ship launched on the Dee. + This, I believe, was in Regent Street. In that street, too, I saw a + company of dragoons, beautifully mounted, and defensively armed, in brass + helmets and steel cuirasses, polished to the utmost excess of splendor. It + was a pretty sight. At one of the public edifices, on each side of the + portal, sat a mounted trooper similarly armed, and with his carbine + resting on his knee, just as motionless as a statue. This, too, as a + picturesque circumstance, was very good, and really made an impression on + me with respect to the power and stability of the government, though I + could not help smiling at myself for it. But then the thought, that for + generations an armed warrior has always sat just there, on his war-steed, + and with his weapon in his hand, is pleasant to the imagination,— + although it is questionable whether his carbine be loaded; and, no doubt, + if the authorities had any message to send, they would choose some other + messenger than this heavy dragoon,—the electric wire, for instance. + Still, if he and his horse were to be withdrawn from their post, night or + day (for I suppose the sentinels are on duty all night), it seems as if + the monarchy would be subverted, and the English constitution crumble into + rubbish; and, in honest fact, it will signify something like that, when + guard is relieved there for the last time. + </p> + <p> + September 8th.—Yesterday forenoon S——-, the two eldest + children, and I went forth into London streets, and proceeded down Regent + Street, and thence to St. James's Park, at the entrance of which is a + statue of somebody,—I forget whom. On the very spacious + gravel-walks, covering several acres, in the rear of the Horse Guards, + some soldiers were going through their exercise; and, after looking at + them awhile, we strolled through the Park, alongside of a sheet of water, + in which various kinds of ducks, geese, and rare species of waterfowl were + swimming. There was one swan of immense size, which moved about among the + lesser fowls like a stately, full-rigged ship among gunboats. By and by we + found ourselves near what we since have discovered to be Buckingham + Palace,—a long building, in the Italian style, but of no + impressiveness, and which one soon wearies of looking at. The Queen having + gone to Scotland the day before, the palace now looked deserted, although + there was a one-horse cab, of shabby aspect, standing at the principal + front, where doubtless the carriages of princes and the nobility draw up. + There is a fountain playing before the palace, and water-fowl love to swim + under its perpetual showers. These ducks and geese are very tame, and swim + to the margin of the pond to be fed by visitors, looking up at you with + great intelligence. + </p> + <p> + S——- asked a man in a sober suit of livery (of whom we saw + several about the Park), whose were some of the large mansions which we + saw, and he pointed out Stafford House, the residence of the Duke of + Sutherland, —a very noble edifice, much more beautiful than the + palace, though not so large; also the house of the Earl of Ellesmere, and + residences of other noblemen. This range of mansions, along the park, from + the spot whence we viewed them, looks very much like Beacon Street, in + Boston, bordering on the Common, allowing for a considerable enlargement + of scale in favor of the Park residences. The Park, however, has not the + beautiful elms that overshadow Boston Common, nor such a pleasant + undulation of surface, nor the fine off-view of the country, like that + across Charles River. I doubt whether London can show so delightful a spot + as that Common, always excepting the superiority of English lawns, which, + however, is not so evident in the London parks, there being less care + bestowed on the grass than I should have expected. + </p> + <p> + From this place we wandered into what I believe to be Hyde Park, attracted + by a gigantic figure on horseback, which loomed up in the distance. The + effect of this enormous steed and his rider is very grand, seen in the + misty atmosphere. I do not understand why we did not see St. James's + Palace, which is situated, I believe, at the extremity of the same range + of mansions of which Stafford House is the opposite end. From the entrance + of Hyde Park, we seem to have gone along Piccadilly, and, making two or + three turns, and getting bewildered, I put S——- and the + children into a cab, and sent them home. Continuing my wanderings, I went + astray among squares of large aristocratic-looking edifices, all + apparently new, with no shops among them, some yet unfinished, and the + whole seeming like a city built for a colony of gentlefolks, who might be + expected to emigrate thither in a body. It was a dreary business to wander + there, turning corner after corner, and finding no way of getting into a + less stately and more genial region. At last, however, I passed in front + of the Queen's Mews, where sentinels were on guard, and where a + jolly-looking man, in a splendidly laced scarlet coat and white-topped + boots, was lounging at the entrance. He looked like the prince of grooms + or coachmen. . . . + </p> + <p> + The corner of Hyde Park was within a short distance, and I took a Hansom + at the cab-stand there, and drove to the American Despatch Agency, 26 + Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, having some documents of state to be sent + by to-day's steamer. The business of forwarding despatches to America, and + distributing them to the various legations and consulates in Europe, must + be a pretty extensive one; for Mr. Miller has a large office, and two + clerks in attendance. + </p> + <p> + From this point I went through Covent Garden Market, and got astray in the + city, so that I can give no clear account of my afternoon's wanderings. I + passed through Holborn, however, and I think it was from that street that + I passed through an archway (which I almost invariably do, when I see + one), and found myself in a very spacious, gravelled square, surrounded on + the four sides by a continuous edifice of dark brick, very plain, and of + cold and stern aspect. This was Gray's Inn, all tenanted by a multitude of + lawyers. Passing thence, I saw "Furnival's Inn" over another archway, but, + being on the opposite side of the street, I did not go thither. In + Holborn, still, I went through another arched entrance, over which was + "Staples Inn," and here likewise seemed to be offices; but, in a court + opening inwards from this, there was a surrounding seclusion of quiet + dwelling-houses, with beautiful green shrubbery and grass-plots in the + court, and a great many sunflowers in full bloom. The windows were open; + it was a lovely summer afternoon, and I have a sense that bees were + humming in the court, though this may have been suggested by my fancy, + because the sound would have been so well suited to the scene. A boy was + reading at one of the windows. There was not a quieter spot in England + than this, and it was very strange to have drifted into it so suddenly out + of the bustle and rumble of Holborn; and to lose all this repose as + suddenly, on passing through the arch of the outer court. In all the + hundreds of years since London was built, it has not been able to sweep + its roaring tide over that little island of quiet. In Holborn I saw the + most antique-looking houses that I have yet met with in London, but none + of very remarkable aspect. + </p> + <p> + I think I must have been under a spell of enchantment to-day, connecting + me with St. Paul's; for, trying to get away from it by various avenues, I + still got bewildered, and again and again saw its great dome and pinnacles + before me. I observe that the smoke has chiefly settled on the lower part + of the edifice, leaving its loftier portions and its spires much less + begrimed. It is very beautiful, very rich. I did not think that anything + but Gothic architecture could so have interested me. The statues, the + niches, the embroidery, as it were, of sculpture traced around it, + produced a delightful effect. In front of St. Paul's there is a statue of + Queen Anne, which looks rather more majestic, I doubt not, than that fat + old dame ever did. St. Paul's churchyard had always been a place of + immense interest in my imagination. It is merely the not very spacious + street, running round the base of the church,—at least, this street + is included in the churchyard, together with the enclosure immediately + about the church, sowed with tombstones. I meant to look for the + children's book-shop, but forgot it, or neglected it, from not feeling so + much interest in a thing near at hand as when it seemed unattainable. + </p> + <p> + I watched a man tearing down the brick wall of a house that did not appear + very old; but it surprised me to see how crumbly the brick-work was, one + stroke of his pick often loosening several bricks in a row. It is my + opinion that brick houses, after a moderate term of years, stand more by + habit and courtesy than through any adhesive force of the old mortar. + </p> + <p> + I recommenced my wanderings; but I remember nothing else particularly + claiming to be mentioned, unless it be Paternoster Row,—a little, + narrow, darksome lane, in which, it being now dusk in that density of the + city, I could not very well see what signs were over the doors. In this + street, or thereabouts, I got into an omnibus, and, being set down near + Regent's Circus, reached home well wearied. + </p> + <p> + September 9th.—Yesterday, having some tickets to the Zoological + Gardens, we went thither with the two eldest children. It was a most + beautiful sunny day, the very perfection of English weather,—which + is as much as to say, the best weather in the world, except, perhaps, some + few days in an American October. These gardens are at the end of Regent's + Park, farthest from London, and they are very extensive; though, I think, + not quite worthy of London,—not so good as one would expect them to + be,—not so fine and perfect a collection of beasts, birds, and + fishes, as one might fairly look for, when the greatest metropolis of the + world sets out to have such a collection at all.—My idea was, that + here every living thing was provided for, in the way best suited to its + nature and habits, and that the refinement of civilization had here + restored a garden of Eden, where all the animal kingdom had regained a + happy home. This is not quite the case; though, I believe, the creatures + are as comfortable as could be expected, and there are certainly a good + many strange beasts here. The hippopotamus is the chief treasure of the + collection,—an immense, almost misshapen, mass of flesh. At this + moment I do not remember anything that interested me except a sick monkey,—a + very large monkey, and elderly he seemed to be. His keeper brought him + some sweetened apple and water, and some tea; for the monkey had quite + lost his appetite, and refused all ordinary diet. He came, however, quite + eagerly, and smelt of the tea and apple, the keeper exhorting him very + tenderly to eat. But the poor monkey shook his head slowly, and with the + most pitiable expression, at the same time extending his hand to take the + keeper's, as if claiming his sympathy and friendship. By and by the keeper + (who is rather a surly fellow) essayed harsher measures, and insisted that + the monkey should eat what had been brought for him, and hereupon ensued + somewhat of a struggle, and the tea was overturned upon the straw of the + bed. Then the keeper scolded him, and, seizing him by one arm, drew him + out of his little bedroom into the larger cage, upon which the wronged + monkey began a loud, dissonant, reproachful chatter, more expressive of a + sense of injury than any words could be. + </p> + <p> + Observing the spectators in front of the cage, he seemed to appeal to + them, and addressed his chatter thitherward, and stretched out his long, + lean arm and black hand between the bars, as if claiming the grasp of any + one friend he might have in the whole world. He was placable, however; for + when the keeper called him in a gentler tone, he hobbled towards him with + a very stiff and rusty movement, and the scene closed with their + affectionately hugging one another. But I fear the poor monkey will die. + In a future state of being, I think it will be one of my inquiries, in + reference to the mysteries of the present state, why monkeys were made. + The Creator could not surely have meant to ridicule his own work. It might + rather be fancied that Satan had perpetrated monkeys, with a malicious + purpose of parodying the masterpiece of creation! + </p> + <p> + The Aquarium, containing, in some of its compartments, specimens of the + animal and vegetable life of the sea, and, in others, those of the fresh + water, was richly worth inspecting; but not nearly so perfect as it might + be. Now I think we have a right to claim, in a metropolitan establishment + of this kind, in all its departments, a degree of perfection that shall + quite outdo the unpractised thought of any man on that particular subject. + </p> + <p> + There were a good many well-dressed people and children in the gardens, + Saturday being a fashionable day for visiting them. One great amusement + was feeding some bears with biscuits and cakes, of which they seemed + exceedingly fond. One of the three bears clambered to the top of a high + pole, whence he invited the spectators to hand him bits of cake on the end + of a stick, or to toss them into his mouth, which he opened widely for + that purpose. Another, apparently an elderly bear, not having skill nor + agility for these gymnastics, sat on the ground, on his hinder end, + groaning most pitifully. The third took what stray bits he could get, + without earning them by any antics. + </p> + <p> + At four o'clock there was some music from the band of the First + Life-Guards, a great multitude of chairs being set on the greensward in + the sunshine and shade, for the accommodation of the auditors. Here we had + the usual exhibition of English beauty, neither superior nor otherwise to + what I have seen in other parts of England. Before the music was over, we + walked slowly homeward, along beside Regent's Park, which is very prettily + laid out, but lacks some last touch of richness and beauty; though, after + all, I do not well see what more could be done with grass, trees, and + gravel-walks. The children, especially J——-, who had raced + from one thing to another all day long, grew tired; so we put them into a + cab, and walked slowly through Portland Place, where are a great many + noble mansions, yet no very admirable architecture; none that possessed, + nor that ever can possess, the indefinable charm of some of those poor old + timber houses in Shrewsbury. The art of domestic architecture is lost. We + can rear stately and beautiful dwellings (though we seldom do), but they + do not seem proper to the life of man, in the same way that his shell is + proper to the lobster; nor, indeed, is the mansion of the nobleman proper + to him, in the same kind and degree, that a hut is proper to a peasant. + </p> + <p> + From Portland Place we passed into Regent Street, and soon reached home. + </p> + <p> + September 10th.—Yesterday forenoon we walked out with the children, + intending for Charing Cross; but, missing our way, as usual, we went down + a rather wide and stately street, and saw before us an old brick edifice + with a pretty extensive front, over which rose a clock-tower,—the + whole dingy, and looking both gloomy and mean. There was an arched + entrance beneath the clock-tower, at which two Guardsmen, in their + bear-skin caps, were stationed as sentinels; and from this circumstance, + and our having some guess at the locality, we concluded the old brick + building to be St. James's Palace. Otherwise we might have taken it for a + prison, or for a hospital, which, in truth, it was at first intended for. + But, certainly, there are many paupers in England who live in edifices of + far more architectural pretension externally than this principal palace of + the English sovereigns. + </p> + <p> + Seeing other people go through the archway, we also went, meeting no + impediment from the sentinels, and found ourselves in a large paved court, + in the centre of which a banner was stuck down, with a few soldiers + standing near it. This flag was the banner of the regiment of guards on + duty. The aspect of the interior court was as naked and dismal as the + outside, the brick being of that dark hue almost universal in England. On + one side of the court there was a door which seemed to give admission to a + chapel, into which several persons went, and probably we might have gone + too, had we liked. From this court, we penetrated into at least two or + three others; for the palace is very extensive, and all of it, so far as I + could see, on the same pattern,—large, enclosed courts, paved, and + quite bare of grass, shrubbery, or any beautiful thing,—dark, stern, + brick walls, without the slightest show of architectural beauty, or even + an ornament over the square, commonplace windows, looking down on those + forlorn courts. A carriage-drive passes through it, if I remember aright, + from the principal front, emerging by one of the sides; and I suppose that + the carriages roll through the palace, at the levees and drawing-rooms. + There was nothing to detain us here any long time, so we went from court + to court, and came out through a side-opening. The edifice is battlemented + all round, and this, with somewhat of fantastic in the shape of the + clock-tower, is the only attempt at ornament in the whole. + </p> + <p> + Then we skirted along St. James's Park, passing Marlborough House,—a + red brick building,—and a very long range of stone edifices, which, + whether they were public or private, one house or twenty, we knew not. We + ascended the steps of the York column, and soon reached Charing Cross and + Trafalgar Square, where there are more architectural monuments than in any + other one place in London; besides two fountains, playing in large + reservoirs of water, and various edifices of note and interest. + </p> + <p> + Northumberland House, now, and for a long while, the town residence of the + Percys, stands on the Strand side,—over the entrance a lion, very + spiritedly sculptured, flinging out his long tail. On another side of the + square is Morley's Hotel, exceedingly spacious, and looking more American + than anything else in the hotel line that I have seen here. + </p> + <p> + The Nelson monument, with Lord Nelson, in a cocked hat, on its top, is + very grand in its effect. All about the square there were sundry loungers, + people looking at the bas-reliefs on Nelson's Column, children paddling in + the reservoirs of the fountains; and, it being a sunny day, it was a + cheerful and lightsome, as well as an impressive scene. On second + thoughts, I do not know but that London should have a far better display + of architecture and sculpture than this, on its finest site, and in its + very centre; for, after all, there is nothing of the very best. But I + missed nothing at the time. + </p> + <p> + In the afternoon S——- and I set out to attend divine service + in Westminster Abbey. On our way thither we passed through Pall Mall, + which is full of club-houses, and we were much struck with the beauty of + the one lately erected for the Carleton Club. It is built of a + buff-colored or yellowish stone, with pillars or pilasters of polished + Aberdeen granite, wonderfully rich and beautiful; and there is a running + border of sculptured figures all round the upper part of the building, + besides other ornament and embroidery, wherever there was room or occasion + for it. It being an oblong square, the smooth and polished aspect in this + union of two rich colors in it,—this delicacy and minuteness of + finish, this lavish ornament—made me think of a lady's jewel-box; + and if it could be reduced to the size of about a foot square, or less, it + would make the very prettiest one that ever was seen. I question whether + it have any right to be larger than a jewel-box; but it is certainly a + most beautiful edifice. We turned down Whitehall, at the head of which, + over the very spot where the Regicides were executed, stands the bronze + equestrian statue of Charles I.,—the statue that was buried under + the earth during the whole of Cromwell's time, and emerged after the + Restoration. We saw the Admiralty and the Horse-Guards, and, in front of + the latter, the two mounted sentinels, one of whom was flirting and + laughing with some girls. On the other side of the street stands the + Banqueting-House, built by Inigo Jones; from a window of which King + Charles stepped forth, wearing a kingly head, which, within a few minutes + afterwards, fell with a dead thump on the scaffold. It was nobly done,— + and nobly suffered. How rich is history in the little space around this + spot! + </p> + <p> + I find that the day after I reached London, I entirely passed by + Westminster Abbey without knowing it, partly because my eyes were + attracted by the gaudier show of the new Houses of Parliament, and partly + because this part of the Abbey has been so much repaired and renewed that + it has not the marks of age. Looking at its front, I now found it very + grand and venerable; but it is useless to attempt a description: these + things are not to be translated into words; they can be known only by + seeing them, and, until seen, it is well to shape out no idea of them. + Impressions, states of mind, produced by noble spectacles of whatever + kind, are all that it seems worth while to attempt reproducing with the + pen. + </p> + <p> + After coming out of the Abbey, we looked at the two Houses of Parliament, + directly across the way,—an immense structure, and certainly most + splendid, built of a beautiful warm-colored stone. The building has a very + elaborate finish, and delighted me at first; but by and by I began to be + sensible of a weariness in the effect, a lack of variety in the plan and + ornament, a deficiency of invention; so that instead of being more and + more interested the longer one looks, as is the case with an old Gothic + edifice, and continually reading deeper into it, one finds that one has + seen all in seeing a little piece, and that the magnificent palace has + nothing better to show one or to do for one. It is wonderful how the old + weather-stained and smoke-blackened Abbey shames down this brand-newness; + not that the Parliament houses are not fine objects to look at, too. + </p> + <p> + Yesterday morning we walked to Charing Cross, with U—— and J——-, + and there took a cab to the Tower, driving thither through the Strand, + Fleet Street, past St. Paul's, and amid all the thickest throng of the + city. I have not a very distinct idea of the Tower, but remember that our + cab drove within an outer gate, where we alighted at a ticket-office; the + old royal fortress being now a regular show-place, at sixpence a head, + including the sight of armory and crown-jewels. We saw about the gate + several warders or yeomen of the guard, or beefeaters, dressed in scarlet + coats of antique fashion, richly embroidered with golden crowns, both on + the breast and back, and other royal devices and insignia; so that they + looked very much like the kings on a pack of cards, or regular trumps, at + all events. I believe they are old soldiers, promoted to this position for + good conduct. One of them took charge of us, and when a sufficient number + of visitors had collected with us, he led us to see what very small + portion of the Tower is shown. + </p> + <p> + There is a great deal of ground within the outer precincts; and it has + streets and houses and inhabitants and a church within it; and, going up + and down behind the warder, without any freedom to get acquainted with the + place by strolling about, I know little more about it than when I went in,—only + recollecting a mean and disagreeable confusion of brick walls, barracks, + paved courts, with here and there a low bulky turret, of rather antique + aspect, and, in front of one of the edifices, a range of curious old + cannon, lying on the ground, some of them immensely large and long, and + beautifully wrought in brass. I observed by a plan, however, that the + White Tower, containing the armory, stands about in the centre of the + fortress, and that it is a square, battlemented structure, having a turret + at each angle. We followed the warder into the White Tower, and there saw, + in the first place, a long gallery of mounted knights, and men at arms, + which has been so often described that when I wish to recall it to memory + I shall turn to some other person's account of it. I was much struck, + however, with the beautiful execution of a good many of the suits of + armor, and the exquisite detail with which they were engraved. The artists + of those days attained very great skill, in this kind of manufacture. The + figures of the knights, too, in full array, undoubtedly may have shown a + combination of stateliness and grace which heretofore I have not believed + in,—not seeing how it could be compatible with iron garments. But it + is quite incomprehensible how, in the time of the heaviest armor, they + could strike a blow, or possess any freedom of movement, except such as a + turtle is capable of; and, in truth, they are said not to have been able + to rise up when overthrown. They probably stuck out their lances, and rode + straight at the enemy, depending upon upsetting him by their mass and + weight. In the row of knights is Henry VIII.; also Charles Brandon, Duke + of Suffolk, who must have been an immensely bulky man; also, a splendid + suit of armor, gilded all over, presented by the city of London to Charles + I.; also, two or three suits of boys' armor, for the little princes of the + House of Stuart. They began to wear these burdens betimes, in order that + their manhood might be the more tolerant of them. We went through this + gallery so hastily that it would have been about as well not to have seen + it at all. + </p> + <p> + Then we went up a winding stair to another room, containing armor and + weapons, and beautiful brass cannon, that appeared to have been for + ornament rather than use, some of them being quite covered with embossed + sculpture, marvellously well wrought. In this room was John of Gaunt's + suit, indicating a man seven feet high, and the armor seems to bear the + marks of much wear; but this may be owing to great scrubbing, throughout + the centuries since John of Gaunt died. There, too, we saw the cloak in + which Wolfe fell, on the Plains of Abraham,—a coarse, faded, + threadbare, light-colored garment, folded up under a glass case. Many + other things we might have seen, worthy of being attended to, had there + been time to look at them. + </p> + <p> + Following into still another room, we were told that this was Sir Walter + Raleigh's apartment, while confined in the Tower, so that it was within + these walls that he wrote the History of the World. The room was formerly + lighted by lancet windows, and must have been very gloomy; but, if he had + the whole length of it to himself, it was a good space to walk and + meditate in. On one side of the apartment is a low door, giving + admittance, we were told, to the cell where Raleigh slept; so we went in, + and found it destitute of any window, and so dark that we could not + estimate its small extent except by feeling about. At the threshold of + this sleeping-kennel, there were one or two inscriptions, scratched in the + wall, but not, I believe, by Raleigh. + </p> + <p> + In this apartment, among a great many other curious things, are shown the + devilish instruments of torture which the Spaniards were bringing to + England in their Armada; and, at the end of the room, sits Queen Elizabeth + on horseback, in her high ruff and faded finery. Very likely none of these + clothes were ever on her actual person. Here, too, we saw a headsman's + block,—not that on which Raleigh was beheaded, which I would have + given gold to see, but the one which was used for the Scotch Lords + Kilmarnock, Lovat, and others, executed on account of the Rebellion of + 1745. It is a block of oak, about two feet high, with a large knot in it, + so that it would not easily be split by a blow of the axe; hewn and + smoothed in a very workmanlike way, and with a hollow to accommodate the + head and shoulders on each side. There were two or three very strong marks + of the axe in the part over which the neck lay, and several smaller cuts; + as if the first stroke nearly severed the head, and then the chopping off + was finished by smaller blows, as we see a butcher cutting meat with his + cleaver. A headsman's axe was likewise shown us,—its date unknown. + </p> + <p> + In the White Tower we were shown the Regalia, under a glass, and within an + iron cage. Edward the Confessor's golden staff was very finely wrought; + and there were a great many pretty things; but I have a suspicion, I know + not why, that these are not the real jewels,—at least, that such + inestimable ones as the Koh-i-noor (or however it is spelt) are less + freely exhibited. + </p> + <p> + The warder then led us into a paved court, which he said was the place of + execution of all royal personages and others, who, from motives of fear or + favor, were beheaded privately. Raleigh was among these, and so was Anne + Boleyn. We then followed to the Beauchamp Tower, where many state + prisoners of note were confined, and where, on the walls of one of the + chambers, there are several inscriptions and sculptures of various + devices, done by the prisoners,—and very skilfully done, too, though + perhaps with no better instrument than an old nail. These poor wretches + had time and leisure enough to spend upon their work. This chamber is + lighted by small lancet windows, pierced at equal intervals round the + circle of the Beauchamp Tower; and it contains a large, square fireplace, + in which is now placed a small modern stove. We were hurried away, before + we could even glance at the inscriptions, and we saw nothing else, except + the low, obscure doorway in the Bloody Tower, leading to the staircase, + under which were found the supposed bones of the little princes; and + lastly, the round, Norman arch, opening to the water passage, called the + Traitor's Gate. Finally, we ate some cakes and buns in the + refreshment-room connected with the ticket-office, and then left the + fortress. The ancient moat, by the way, has been drained within a few + years, and now forms a great hollow space, with grassy banks, round about + the citadel. + </p> + <p> + We now wished to see the Thames, and therefore threaded our way along + Thames Street, towards London Bridge, passing through a fish-market, which + I suppose to be the actual Billingsgate, whence originated all the foul + language in England. Under London Bridge there is a station for steamers + running to Greenwich and Woolwich. We got on board one of these, not very + well knowing, nor much caring, whither it might take us, and steamed down + the river, which is bordered with the shabbiest, blackest, ugliest, + meanest buildings: it is the back side of the town; and, in truth, the + muddy tide of the Thames deserves to see no better. There was a great deal + of shipping in the river, and many steamers, and it was much more crowded + than the Mersey, where all the ships go into docks; but the vessels were + not so fine. By and by we reached Greenwich, and went ashore there, + proceeding up from the quay, past beer-shops and eating-houses in great + numbers and variety. Greenwich Hospital is here a very prominent object, + and after passing along its extensive front, facing towards the river, we + entered one of the principal gates, as we found ourselves free to do. + </p> + <p> + We now left the hospital, and steamed back to London Bridge, whence we + went up into the city, and, to finish the labors of the day, ascended the + Monument. This seems to be still a favorite adventure with the cockneys; + for we heard one woman, who went up with us, saying that she had been + thinking of going up all her life, and another said that she had gone up + thirty years ago. There is an iron railing, or rather a cage, round the + top, through which it would be impossible for people to force their way, + in order to precipitate themselves, as six persons have heretofore done. + There was a mist over London, so that we did not gain a very clear view, + except of the swarms of people running about, like ants, in the streets at + the foot of the Monument. + </p> + <p> + Descending, I put S——- and the children into a cab, and I + myself wandered about the city. Passing along Fleet Street, I turned in + through an archway, which I rightly guessed to be the entrance to the + Temple. It is a very large space, containing many large, solemn, and + serious edifices of dark brick, and no sooner do you pass under the arch + than all the rumble and bustle of London dies away at once; and it seems + as if a person might live there in perfect quiet, without suspecting that + it was not always a Sabbath. People appear to have their separate + residences here; but I do not understand what is the economy of their + lives. Quite in the deepest interior of this region, there is a large + garden, bordering on the Thames, along which it has a gravel-walk, and + benches where it would be pleasant to sit. On one edge of the garden, + there is some scanty shrubbery, and flowers of no great brilliancy; and + the greensward, with which the garden is mostly covered, is not + particularly rich nor verdant. + </p> + <p> + Emerging from the Temple, I stopped at a tavern in the Strand, the waiter + of which observed to me, "They say Sebastopol is taken, sir!" It was only + such an interesting event that could have induced an English waiter to + make a remark to a stranger, not called for in the way of business. + </p> + <p> + The best view we had of the town—in fact, the only external view, + and the only time we really saw the White Tower—was from the river, + as we steamed past it. Here the high, square, battlemented White Tower, + with the four turrets at its corners, rises prominently above all other + parts of the fortress. + </p> + <p> + September 13th.—Mr. ———, the American Minister, + called on me on Tuesday, and left his card; an intimation that I ought + sooner to have paid my respects to him; so yesterday forenoon I set out to + find his residence, 56 Harley Street. It is a street out of Cavendish + Square, in a fashionable quarter, although fashion is said to be ebbing + away from it. The ambassador seems to intend some little state in his + arrangements; but, no doubt, the establishment compares shabbily enough + with those of the legations of other great countries, and with the houses + of the English aristocracy. A servant, not in livery, or in a very + unrecognizable one, opened the door for me, and gave my card to a sort of + upper attendant, who took it in to Mr. ———. He had three + gentlemen with him, so desired that I should be ushered into the office of + the legation, until he should be able to receive me. Here I found a clerk + or attache, Mr. M———, who has been two or three years on + this side of the water; an intelligent person, who seems to be in + correspondence with the New York Courier and Enquirer. By and by came in + another American to get a passport for the Continent, and soon the three + gentlemen took leave of the ambassador, and I was invited to his presence. + </p> + <p> + The tall, large figure of Mr. ——— has a certain air of + state and dignity; he carries his head in a very awkward way, but still + looks like a man of long and high authority, and, with his white hair, is + now quite venerable. There is certainly a lack of polish, a kind of + rusticity, notwithstanding which you feel him to be a man of the world. I + should think he might succeed very tolerably in English society, being + heavy and sensible, cool, kindly, and good-humored, with a great deal of + experience of life. We talked about various matters, politics among the + rest; and he observed that if the President had taken the advice which he + gave him in two long letters, before his inauguration, he would have had a + perfectly quiet and successful term of office. The advice was, to form a + perfectly homogeneous cabinet of Union men, and to satisfy the extremes of + the party by a fair distribution of minor offices; whereas he formed his + cabinet of extreme men, on both sides, and gave the minor offices to + moderate ones. But the antislavery people, surely, had no representative + in the cabinet. Mr. ——— further observed, that he + thought the President had a fair chance of re-nomination, for that the + South could not, in honor, desert him; to which I replied that the South + had been guilty of such things heretofore. Mr. ——— + thinks that the next Presidential term will be more important and + critical, both as to our foreign relations and internal affairs, than any + preceding one,—which I should judge likely enough to be the case, + although I heard the sane prophecy often made respecting the present term. + </p> + <p> + The ambassador dined with us at Rock Park a year or two ago, and I then + felt, and always feel, as if he were a man of hearty feeling and + simplicity, and certainly it would be unjust to conclude otherwise, merely + from the fact (very suspicious, it is true) of his having been a life-long + politician. After we had got through a little matter of business + (respecting a young American who has enlisted at Liverpool), the Minister + rang his bell, and ordered another visitor to be admitted; and so I took + my leave. In the other room I found the Secretary of Legation,—a + tall, slender man of about forty, with a small head and face,—gentlemanly + enough, sensible, and well informed, yet I should judge, not quite up to + his place. There was also a Dr. B——— from Michigan + present, and I rather fancy the ambassador is quite as much bored with + visitors as the consul at Liverpool. Before I left the office, Mr. ——— + came in with Miss Sarah Clarke on his arm. She had come thither to get her + passport vised; and when her business was concluded, we went out together. + </p> + <p> + She was going farther towards the West End, and I into the city; so we + soon parted, and I lost myself among the streets and squares, arriving at + last at Oxford Street, though even then I did not know whether my face + were turned cityward or in the opposite direction. Crossing Regent Street, + however, I became sure of my whereabout, and went on through Holborn, and + sought hither and thither for Grace Church Street, in order to find the + American Consul, General Campbell; for I needed his aid to get a bank + post-bill cashed. But I could not find the street, go where I would; so at + last I went to No. 65 Cheapside, and introduced myself to Mr. ———, + whom I already knew by letter, and by a good many of his poems, which he + has sent me, and by two excellent watches, which I bought of him. This + establishment, though it has the ordinary front of dingy brick, common to + buildings in the city, looks like a time-long stand, the old shop of a + London tradesman, with a large figure of a watch over the door, a great + many watches (and yet no gorgeous show of them) in the window, a low, dark + front shop, and a little room behind, where there was a chair or two. Mr. + ——— is a small, slender young man, quite un-English in + aspect, with black, curly hair, a thin, dark, colorless visage, very + animated and of quick expression, with a nervous temperament. . . . He + dismounted from a desk when my card was handed to him, and turned to me + with a vivid, glad look of recognition. + </p> + <p> + We talked, in the first place, about poetry and such matters, about + England and America, and the nature and depth of their mutual dislike, + and, of course, the slavery question came up, as it always does, in one + way or another. Anon, I produced my bank post-bill; and Mr. ——— + kindly engaged to identify me at the bank, being ready to swear to me, he + said, on the strength of my resemblance to my engraved portrait. So we set + out for the Bank of England, and, arriving there, were directed to the + proper clerk, after much inquiry; but he told us that the bill was not yet + due, having been drawn at seven days, and having two still to run,—which + was the fact. As I was almost shillingless, Mr. ——— now + offered to cash it for me. He is very kind and good. . . . Arriving at his + shop again, he went out to procure the money, and soon returned with it. + At my departure he gave me a copy of a new poem of his, entitled + "Verdicts," somewhat in the manner of Lowell's satire. . . . Mr. ——— + resides now at Greenwich, whither he hoped I would come and see him on my + return to London. Perhaps I will, for I like him. It seems strange to see + an Englishman with so little physical ponderosity and obtuseness of nerve. + </p> + <p> + After parting from him, it being three o'clock or thereabouts, I resumed + my wanderings about the city, of which I never weary as long as I can put + one foot before the other. + </p> + <p> + Seeing that the door of St. Paul's, under one of the semicircular porches, + was partially open, I went in, and found that the afternoon service was + about to be performed; so I remained to hear it, and to see what I could + of the cathedral. What a total and admirable contrast between this and a + Gothic church! the latter so dim and mysterious, with its various aisles, + its intricacy of pointed arches, its dark walls and columns and pavement, + and its painted glass windows, bedimming even what daylight might + otherwise get into its eternal evening. But this cathedral was full of + light, and light was proper to it. There were no painted windows, no dim + recesses, but a wide and airy space beneath the dome; and even through the + long perspective of the nave there was no obscurity, but one lofty and + beautifully rounded arch succeeding to another, as far as the eye could + reach. The walls were white, the pavement constructed of squares of gray + and white marble. It is a most grand and stately edifice, and its + characteristic stems to be to continue forever fresh and new; whereas such + a church as Westminster Abbey must have been as venerable as it is now + from the first day when it grew to be an edifice at all. How wonderful man + is in his works! How glad I am that there can be two such admirable + churches, in their opposite styles, as St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey! + </p> + <p> + The organ was played while I was there, and there was an anthem + beautifully chanted by voices that came from afar off and remotely above, + as if out of a sunny sky. Meanwhile I looked at such monuments as were + near; chiefly those erected to military or naval men,—Picton, + General Ponsonby, Lord St. Vincent, and others; but against one of the + pillars stands a statue of Dr. Johnson,—a noble and thoughtful + figure, with a development of muscle befitting an athlete. I doubt whether + sculptors do not err in point of taste, by making all their statues models + of physical perfection, instead of expressing by them the individual + character and habits of the man. The statue in the market-place at + Lichfield has more of the homely truth of Johnson's actual personality + than this. + </p> + <p> + St. Paul's, as yet, is by no means crowded with monuments; there is, + indeed, plenty of room for a mob of the illustrious, yet to come. But it + seems to me that the character of the edifice would be injured by allowing + the monuments to be clustered together so closely as at Westminster, by + incrusting the walls with them, or letting the statues throng about the + pedestals of columns. There must be no confusion in such a cathedral as + this, and I question whether the effect will ever be better than it is + now, when each monument has its distinct place, and as your eye wanders + around, you are not distracted from noting each marble man, in his niche + against the wall, or at the base of a marble pillar. Space, distance, + light, regularity, are to be preserved, even if the result should be a + degree of nakedness. + </p> + <p> + I saw Mr. Appleton of the Legation, and Dr. Brown, on the floor of the + cathedral. They were about to go over the whole edifice, and had engaged a + guide for that purpose; but, as I intend to go thither again with S——-, + I did not accompany them, but went away the quicker that one of the + gentlemen put on his hat, and I was ashamed of being seen in company with + a man who could wear his hat in a cathedral. Not that he meant any + irreverence; but simply felt that he was in a great public building,—as + big, nearly, as all out of doors,—and so forgot that it was a + consecrated place of worship. The sky is the dome of a greater cathedral + than St. Paul's, and built by a greater architect than Sir Christopher + Wren, and yet we wear our hats unscrupulously beneath it. + </p> + <p> + I remember no other event of importance, except that I penetrated into a + narrow lane or court, either in the Strand or Fleet Street, where was a + tavern, calling itself the "Old Thatched House," and purporting to have + been Nell Gwyn's dairy. I met with a great many alleys and obscure + archways, in the course of the day's wanderings. + </p> + <p> + September 14th.—Yesterday, in the earlier part of the day, it poured + with rain, and I did not go out till five o'clock in the afternoon; nor + did I then meet with anything interesting. I walked through Albemarle + Street, for the purpose of looking at Murray's shop, but missed it + entirely, at my first inquisition. The street is one of hotels, + principally, with only a few tradesmen's shops, and has a quiet, + aristocratic aspect. On my return, down the other sidewalk, I did discover + the famous publisher's locality; but merely by the name "Mr. Murray," + engraved on a rather large brass plate, such as doctors use, on the door. + There was no sign of a book, nor of its being a place of trade in any way; + and I should have taken the house to be, if not a private mansion, then a + lawyer's office. + </p> + <p> + At seven o'clock S——-, U——, and I went to dine + with Mr. R—— S——— in Portland Place. . . . + Mr. S———'s house is a very fine one, and he gave us a + very quiet, elegant, and enjoyable dinner, in much better taste and with + less fuss than some others we have attended elsewhere. Mr. S——— + is a friend of Thackeray, and, speaking of the last number of The + Newcomes,—so touching that nobody can read it aloud without breaking + down,—he mentioned that Thackeray himself had read it to James + Russell Lowell and William Story in a cider-cellar! I read all the + preceding numbers of The Newcomes to my wife, but happened not to have an + opportunity to read this last, and was glad of it,—knowing that my + eyes would fill, and my voice quiver. Mr. S——— likes + Thackeray, and thinks him a good fellow. Mr. S——— has a—or + I don't know but I ought better to say the—beautiful full-length + picture of Washington by Stuart, and I was proud to see that noblest face + and figure here in England. The picture of a man beside whom, considered + physically, any English nobleman whom I have seen would look like common + clay. + </p> + <p> + Speaking of Thackeray, I cannot but wonder at his coolness in respect to + his own pathos, and compare it with my emotions, when I read the last + scene of The Scarlet Letter to my wife, just after writing it,—tried + to read it rather, for my voice swelled and heaved, as if I were tossed up + and down on an ocean as it subsides after a storm. But I was in a very + nervous state then, having gone through a great diversity of emotion, + while writing it, for many months. I think I have never overcome my own + adamant in any other instance. + </p> + <p> + Tumblers, hand-organists, puppet-showmen, bagpipers, and all such vagrant + mirth-makers, are very numerous in the streets of London. The other day, + passing through Fleet Street, I saw a crowd filling up a narrow court, and + high above their heads a tumbler, standing on his head, on the top of a + pole, that reached as high as the third story of the neighboring Houses. + Sliding down the pole head foremost, he disappeared out of my sight. A + multitude of Punches go the mounds continually. Two have passed through + Hanover Street, where we reside, this morning. The first asked two + shillings for his performance; so we sent him away. The second demanded, + in the first place, half a crown; but finally consented to take a + shilling, and gave us the show at that price, though much maimed in its + proportions. Besides the spectators in our windows, he had a little crowd + on the sidewalk, to whom he went round for contributions, but I did not + observe that anybody gave him so much as a halfpenny. It is strange to see + how many people are aiming at the small change in your pocket. In every + square a beggar-woman meets you, and turns back to follow your steps with + her miserable murmur. At the street-crossings there are old men or little + girls with their brooms; urchins propose to brush your boots; and if you + get into a cab, a man runs to open the door for you, and touches his hat + for a fee, as he closes it again. + </p> + <p> + September 15th.—It was raining yesterday, and I kept within doors + till after four o'clock, when J——- and I took a walk into the + city. Seeing the entrance to Clement's Inn, we went through it, and saw + the garden, with a kneeling bronze figure in it; and when just in the + midst of the Inn, I remembered that Justice Shallow was of old a student + there. I do not well understand these Inns of Court, or how they differ + from other places. Anybody seems to be free to reside in them, and a + residence does not seem to involve any obligation to study law, or to have + any connection therewith. Clement's Inn consists of large brick houses, + accessible by narrow lanes and passages, but, by some peculiar privilege + or enchantment, enjoying a certain quiet and repose, though in close + vicinity to the noisiest part of the city. I got bewildered in the + neighborhood of St. Paul's, and, try how I might to escape from it, its + huge dusky dome kept showing itself before me, through one street and + another. In my endeavors to escape it, I at one time found myself in St. + John's Street, and was in hopes to have seen the old St. John's gate, so + familiar for above a century on the cover of the Gentleman's Magazine. But + I suppose it is taken down, for we went through the entire street, I + think, and saw no trace of it. Either afterwards or before this we came + upon Smithfield, a large irregular square, filled up with pens for cattle, + of which, however, there were none in the market at that time. I leaned + upon a post, at the western end of the square, and told J——- + how the martyrs had been burnt at Smithfield in Bloody Mary's days. Again + we drifted back to St. Paul's; and, at last, in despair of ever getting + out of this enchanted region, I took a Hansom cab to Charing Cross, whence + we easily made our way home. + </p> + <h3> + LIVERPOOL. + </h3> + <p> + September 16th.—I took the ten-o'clock train yesterday morning from + the Euston station, and arrived at Liverpool at about five, passing + through the valley of Trent, without touching at Birmingham. English + scenery, on the tracks, is the tamest of the tame, hardly a noticeable + hill breaking the ordinary gentle undulation of the landscape, but still + the verdure and finish of the fields and parks make it worth while to + throw out a glance now and then, as you rush by. Few separate houses are + seen, as in America; but sometimes a village, with the square, gray, + battlemented tower of its Norman church, and rows of thatched cottages, + reminding one of the clustered mud-nests of swallows, under the eaves of a + barn; here and there a lazy little river, like the Trent; perhaps, if you + look sharply where the guide-book indicates, the turrets of an old castle + in the distance; perhaps the great steeple and spires of a cathedral; + perhaps the tall chimney of a manufactory; but, on the whole, the + traveller comes to his journey's end unburdened with a single new idea. I + observe that the harvest is not all gathered in as yet, and this rainy + weather must look very gloomy to the farmer. I saw gleaners, yesterday, in + the stubble-fields. There were two gentlemen in the same railway-carriage + with me, and we did not exchange half a dozen words the whole day. + </p> + <p> + I am here, established at Mrs. Blodgett's boarding-house, which I find + quite full; insomuch that she had to send one of her sea-captains to sleep + in another house, in order to make room for me. It is exclusively American + society: four shipmasters, and a doctor from Pennsylvania, who has been + travelling a year on the Continent, and who seems to be a man of very + active intelligence, interested in everything, and especially in + agriculture. . . . He asserted that we are fifty years ahead of England in + agricultural science, and that he could cultivate English soil to far + better advantage than English farmers do, and at vastly less expense. + Their tendency to cling to old ideas, which retards them in everything + else, keeps them behindhand in this matter too. Really, I do not know any + other place in England where a man can be made so sensible that he lives + in a progressive world as here in Mrs. Blodgett's boarding-house. + </p> + <p> + The captains talk together about their voyages, and how they manage with + their unruly mates and crews; and how freights are in America, and the + prospects of business; and of equinoctial gales, and the qualities of + different ships, and their commanders, and how crews, mates, and masters + have all deteriorated since their remembrance. . . . But these men are + alive, and talk of real matters, and of matters which they know. The + shipmasters who come to Mrs. Blodgett's are favorable specimens of their + class; being all respectable men, in the employ of good houses, and raised + by their capacity to the command of first-rate ships. In my official + intercourse with them, I do not generally see their best side; as they are + seldom before me except as complainants, or when summoned to answer to + some complaint made by a seaman. But hearing their daily talk, and + listening to what is in their minds, and their reminiscences of what they + have gone through, one becomes sensible that they are men of energy and + ability, fit to be trusted, and retaining a hardy sense of honor, and a + loyalty to their own country, the stronger because they have compared it + with many others. Most of them are gentlemen, too, to a certain extent,—some + more than others, perhaps; and none to a very exquisite point, or, if so, + it is none the better for them as sailors or as men. + </p> + <p> + September 17th.—It is singular to feel a sense of my own country + returning upon me with the intercourse of the people whom I find here. . . + . + </p> + <p> + The doctor is much the most talkative of our company, and sometimes bores + me thereby; though he seldom says anything that is not either instructive + or amusing. He tells a curious story of Prince Albert, and how he avails + himself of American sharp-shooting. During the doctor's tour in Scotland, + which he has just finished, he became acquainted with one of the Prince's + attaches, who invited him very earnestly to join his Royal highness's + party, promising him a good gun, and a keeper to load it for him, two good + dogs, besides as many cigars as he could smoke and as much wine as he + could drink, on the condition that whatever game he shot should be the + Prince's. "The Prince," said the attache, "is very fond of having + Americans in his shooting-parties, on account of their being such + excellent shots; and there was one with him last year who shot so + admirably that his Royal Highness himself left off shooting in utter + astonishment." The attache offered to introduce the doctor to the Prince, + who would be certain to receive him very graciously. . . . + </p> + <p> + I think, perhaps, we talk of kings and queens more at our table than + people do at other tables in England; not, of course, that we like them + better, or admire them more, but that they are curiosities. Yet I would + not say that the doctor may not be susceptible on the point of royal + attentions; for he told us with great complacency how emphatically, on two + or three occasions, Louis Napoleon had returned his bow, and the last time + had turned and made some remark (evidently about the doctor) to the + Empress. . . . + </p> + <p> + I ought not to omit mentioning that he has been told in France that he + personally resembles the Emperor, and I suspect he is trying to heighten + the resemblance by training his mustache on the pattern of that which + adorns the imperial upper lip. He is a genuine American character, though + modified by a good deal of travel; a very intelligent man, full of various + ability, with eyes all over him for any object of interest,—a little + of the bore, sometimes,—quick to appreciate character, with a good + deal of tact, gentlemanly in his manners, but yet lacking a deep and + delicate refinement. Not but that Americans are as capable of this last + quality as other people are; but what with the circumstances amid which we + grow up, and the peculiar activity of our minds, we certainly do often + miss it. By the by, he advanced a singular proposition the other evening, + namely, that the English people do not so well understand comfort, or + attain it so perfectly in their domestic arrangements, as we do. I thought + he hardly supported this opinion so satisfactorily as some of his other + new ideas. + </p> + <p> + I saw in an American paper yesterday, that an opera, still unfinished, had + been written on the story of The Scarlet Letter, and that several scenes + of it had been performed successfully in New York. I should think it might + possibly succeed as an opera, though it would certainly fail as a play. + </p> + <h3> + LONDON. + </h3> + <p> + September 24th.—On Saturday, at half past three o'clock, I left + Liverpool by the London and Northwest Railway for London. Mrs. Blodgett's + table had been thinned by several departures during the week. . . . My + mind had been considerably enlivened, and my sense of American superiority + renewed, by intercourse with these people; and there is no danger of one's + intellect becoming a standing pool in such society. I think better of + American shipmasters, too, than I did from merely meeting them in my + office. They keep up a continual discussion of professional matters, and + of all things having any reference to their profession; the laws of + insurance, the rights of vessels in foreign ports, the authority and + customs of vessels of war with regard to merchantmen, etc.,—with + stories and casual anecdotes of their sea-adventures, gales, shipwrecks, + icebergs, and collisions of vessels, and hair-breadth escapes. Their talk + runs very much on the sea, and on the land as connected with the sea; and + their interest does not seem to extend very far beyond the wide field of + their professional concerns. + </p> + <p> + Nothing remarkable occurred on the journey to London. The greater part of + the way there were only two gentlemen in the same compartment with me; and + we occupied each our corner, with little other conversation than in + comparing watches at the various stations. I got out of the carriage only + once, at Rugby, I think, and for the last seventy or eighty miles the + train did not stop. There was a clear moon the latter part of the journey, + and the mist lay along the ground, looking very much like a surface of + water. We reached London at about ten, and I found S——- + expecting me. + </p> + <p> + Yesterday the children went with Fanny to the Zoological Gardens; and, + after sending them off, S——- and I walked to Piccadilly, and + there took a cab for Kensington Gardens. It was a delightful day,—the + best of all weather, the real English good weather,—more like an + Indian summer than anything else within my experience; a mellow sunshine, + with great warmth in it,—a soft, balmy air, with a slight haze + through it. If the sun made us a little too warm, we had but to go into + the shade to be immediately refreshed. The light of these days is very + exquisite, so gently bright, without any glare,—a veiled glow. In + short, it is the kindliest mood of Nature, and almost enough to compensate + for chill and dreary months. Moreover, there is more of such weather here + than the English climate has ever had credit for. + </p> + <p> + Kensington Gardens form an eminently beautiful piece of artificial + woodland and park scenery. The old palace of Kensington, now inhabited by + the Duchess of Inverness, stands at one extremity; an edifice of no great + mark, built of brick, covering much ground, and low in proportion to its + extent. In front of it, at a considerable distance, there is a sheet of + water; and in all directions there are vistas of wide paths among noble + trees, standing in groves, or scattered in clumps; everything being laid + out with free and generous spaces, so that you can see long streams of + sunshine among the trees, and there is a pervading influence of quiet and + remoteness. Tree does not interfere with tree; the art of man is seen + conspiring with Nature, as if they had consulted together how to make a + beautiful scene, and had taken ages of quiet thought and tender care to + accomplish it. We strolled slowly along these paths, and sometimes + deviated from them, to walk beneath the trees, many of the leaves of which + lay beneath our feet, yellow and brown, and with a pleasant smell of + vegetable decay. These were the leaves of chestnut-trees; the other trees + (unless elms) have yet, hardly begun to shed their foliage, although you + can discern a sober change of line in the woodland masses; and the trees + individualize themselves by assuming each its own tint, though in a very + modest way. If they could have undergone the change of an American autumn, + it would have been like putting on a regal robe. Autumn often puts one on + in America, but it is apt to be very ragged. + </p> + <p> + There were a good many well-dressed people scattered through the grounds,—young + men and girls, husbands with their wives and children, nursery-maids and + little babes playing about in the grass. Anybody might have entered the + gardens, I suppose; but only well-dressed people were there not, of the + upper classes, but shop-keepers, clerks, apprentices, and respectability + of that sort. It is pleasant to think that the people have the freedom, + and therefore the property, of parks like this, more beautiful and stately + than a nobleman can keep to himself. The extent of Kensington Gardens, + when reckoned together with Hyde Park, from which it is separated only by + a fence of iron rods, is very great, comprising miles of greensward and + woodland. The large artificial sheet of water, called the Serpentine + River, lies chiefly in Hyde Park, but comes partly within the precincts of + the gardens. It is entitled to honorable mention among the English lakes, + being larger than some that are world-celebrated,—several miles + long, and perhaps a stone's-throw across in the widest part. It forms the + paradise of a great many ducks of various breeds, which are accustomed to + be fed by visitors, and come flying from afar, touching the water with + their wings, and quacking loudly when bread or cake is thrown to them. I + bought a bun of a little hunchbacked man, who kept a refreshment-stall + near the Serpentine, and bestowed it pied-meal on these ducks, as we + loitered along the bank. We left the park by another gate, and walked + homeward, till we came to Tyburnia, and saw the iron memorial which marks + where the gallows used to stand. Thence we turned into Park Lane, then + into Upper Grosvenor Street, and reached Hanover Square sooner than we + expected. + </p> + <p> + In the evening I walked forth to Charing Cross, and thence along the + Strand and Fleet Street, where I made no new discoveries, unless it were + the Mitre Tavern. I mean to go into it some day. The streets were much + thronged, and there seemed to be a good many young people,—lovers, + it is to be hoped,—who had spent the day together, and were going + innocently home. Perhaps so,—perhaps not. + </p> + <p> + September 25th.—Yesterday forenoon J——- and I walked + out, with no very definite purpose; but, seeing a narrow passageway from + the Strand down to the river, we went through it, and gained access to a + steamboat, plying thence to London Bridge. The fare was a halfpenny + apiece, and the boat almost too much crowded for standing-room. This part + of the river presents the water-side of London in a rather pleasanter + aspect than below London Bridge,—the Temple, with its garden, + Somerset House,—and generally, a less tumble-down and neglected look + about the buildings; although, after all, the metropolis does not see a + very stately face in its mirror. I saw Alsatia betwixt the Temple and + Blackfriar's Bridge. Its precincts looked very narrow, and not + particularly distinguishable, at this day, from the portions of the city + on either side of it. At London Bridge we got aboard of a Woolwich + steamer, and went farther down the river, passing the Custom-House and the + Tower, the only prominent objects rising out of the dreary range of + shabbiness which stretches along close to the water's edge. + </p> + <p> + From this remote part of London we walked towards the heart of the city; + and, as we went, matters seemed to civilize themselves by degrees, and the + streets grew crowded with cabs, omnibuses, drays, and carts. We passed, I + think, through Whitechapel, and, reaching St. Paul's, got into an omnibus, + and drove to Regent Street, whence it was but a step or two home. + </p> + <p> + In the afternoon, at four o'clock, S——- and I went to call on + the American Ambassador and Miss L———. The lady was not + at home, but we went in to see Mr. ——— and were shown + into a stately drawing-room, the furniture of which was sufficiently + splendid, but rather the worse for wear,—being hired furniture, no + doubt. The ambassador shortly appeared, looking venerable, as usual,—or + rather more so than usual,—benign, and very pale. His deportment + towards ladies is highly agreeable and prepossessing, and he paid very + kind attention to S——-, thereby quite confirming her previous + good feeling towards him. She thinks that he is much changed since she saw + him last, at dinner, at our house,—more infirm, more aged, and with + a singular depression in his manner. I, too, think that age has latterly + come upon him with great rapidity. He said that Miss L——— + was going home on the 6th of October, and that he himself had long + purposed going, but had received despatches which obliged him to put off + his departure. The President, he said, had just written, requesting him to + remain till April, but this he was determined not to do. I rather think + that he does really wish to return, and not for any ambitious views + concerning the Presidency, but from an old man's natural desire to be at + home, and among his own people. + </p> + <p> + S——- spoke to him about an order from the Lord Chamberlain for + admission to view the two Houses of Parliament; and the ambassador drew + from his pocket a colored silk handkerchief, and made a knot in it, in + order to remind himself to ask the Lord Chamberlain. The homeliness of + this little incident has a sort of propriety and keeping with much of Mr. + ———'s manner, but I would rather not have him do so + before English people. He arranged to send a close carriage for us to come + and see him socially this evening. After leaving his house we drove round + Hyde Park, and thence to Portland Place, where we left cards for Mrs. + Russell Sturgis; thence into Regent's Park, thence home. U—— + and J——- accompanied us throughout these drives, but remained + in the carriage during our call on Mr. ———. In the + evening I strolled out, and walked as far as St. Paul's,—never + getting enough of the bustle of London, which may weary, but can never + satisfy me. By night London looks wild and dreamy, and fills me with a + sort of pleasant dread. It was a clear evening, with a bright English + moon,—that is to say, what we Americans should call rather dim. + </p> + <p> + September 26th.—Yesterday, at eleven, I walked towards Westminster + Abbey, and as I drew near the Abbey bells were clamorous for joy, chiming + merrily, musically, and, obstreperously,—the most rejoicing sound + that can be conceived; and we ought to have a chime of bells in every + American town and village, were it only to keep alive the celebration of + the Fourth of July. I conjectured that there might have been another + victory over the Russians, that perhaps the northern side of Sebastopol + had surrendered; but soon I saw the riddle that these merry bells were + proclaiming. There were a great many private carriages, and a large + concourse of loungers and spectators, near the door of the church that + stands close under the eaves of the Abbey. Gentlemen and ladies, gayly + dressed, were issuing forth, carriages driving away, and others drawing up + to the door in their turn; and, in short, a marriage had just been + celebrated in the church, and this was the wedding-party. The last time I + was there, Westminster was flinging out its great voice of joy for a + national triumph; now, for the happy union of two lovers. What a mighty + sympathizer is this old Abbey! + </p> + <p> + It is pleasant to recognize the mould and fashion of English features + through the marble of many of the statues and busts in the Abbey, even + though they may be clad in Roman robes. I am inclined to think them, in + many cases, faithful likenesses; and it brings them nearer to the mind, to + see these original sculptures,—you see the man at but one remove, as + if you caught his image in a looking-glass. The bust of Gay seemed to me + very good,—a thoughtful and humorous sweetness in the face. + Goldsmith has as good a position as any poet in the Abbey, his bust and + tablet filling the pointed arch over a door that seems to lead towards the + cloisters. No doubt he would have liked to be assured of so conspicuous a + place. There is one monument to a native American, "Charles Wragg, Esq., + of South Carolina,"—the only one, I suspect, in Westminster Abbey, + and he acquired this memorial by the most un-American of qualities, his + loyalty to his king. He was one of the refugees leaving America in 1777, + and being shipwrecked on his passage the monument was put up by his + sister. It is a small tablet with a representation of Mr. Wragg's + shipwreck at the base. Next to it is the large monument of Sir Cloudesley + Shovel, which I think Addison ridicules,—the Admiral, in a + full-bottomed wig and Roman dress, but with a broad English face, + reclining with his head on his hand, and looking at you with great + placidity. I stood at either end of the nave, and endeavored to take in + the full beauty and majesty of the edifice; but apparently was not in a + proper state of mind, for nothing came of it. It is singular how like an + avenue of overarching trees are these lofty aisles of a cathedral. + </p> + <p> + Leaving the Abbey about one o'clock, I walked into the city as far as + Grace Church Street, and there called on the American Consul, General + ———, who had been warmly introduced to me last year by a + letter from the President. I like the General; a kindly and honorable man, + of simple manners and large experience of life. Afterwards I called on Mr. + Oakford, an American connected in business with Mr. Crosby, from whom I + wanted some information as to the sailing of steamers from Southampton to + Lisbon. Mr. Crosby was not in town. . . . + </p> + <p> + At eight o'clock Mr. ——— sent his carriage, according to + previous arrangement, to take us to spend the evening socially. Miss L——— + received us with proper cordiality, and looked quite becomingly,—more + sweet and simple in aspect than when I have seen her in full dress. + Shortly the ambassador appeared, and made himself highly agreeable; not + that he is a brilliant conversationist, but his excellent sense and + good-humor, and all that he has seen and been a part of, are sufficient + resources to draw upon. We talked of the Queen, whom he spoke of with high + respect; . . . . of the late Czar, whom he knew intimately while minister + to Russia,—and he quite confirms all that has been said about the + awful beauty of his person. Mr. ———'s characterization + of him was quite favorable; he thought better of his heart than most + people, and adduced his sports with a school of children,—twenty of + whom, perhaps, he made to stand rigidly in a row, like so many bricks,—then, + giving one a push, would laugh obstreperously to see the whole row tumble + down. He would lie on his back, and allow the little things to scramble + over him. His Majesty admitted Mr. ——— to great + closeness of intercourse, and informed him of a conspiracy which was then + on foot for the Czar's murder. On the evening, when the assassination was + to take place, the Czar did not refrain from going to the public place + where it was to be perpetrated, although, indeed, great precautions had + been taken to frustrate the schemes of the conspirators. Mr. ——— + said, that, in case the plot had succeeded, all the foreigners, including + himself, would likewise have been murdered, the native Russians having a + bitter hatred against foreigners. He observed that he had been much + attached to the Czar, and had never joined in the English abuse of him. + His sympathies, however, are evidently rather English than Russian, in + this war. Speaking of the present emperor, he said that Lord Heytebury, + formerly English ambassador in Russia, lately told him that he + complimented the Czar Nicholas on the good qualities of his son, saying + that he was acknowledged by all to be one of the most amiable youths in + the world. "Too amiable, I fear, for his position," answered the Czar. "He + has too much of his mother in him." + </p> + <p> + September 27th.—Yesterday, much earlier than English people ever do + such things, General ——— made us a call on his way to + the Consulate, and sat talking a stricken hour or thereabouts. Scarcely + had he gone when Mrs. Oakford and her daughter came. After sitting a long + while, they took U—— to their house, near St. John's Wood, to + spend the night. I had been writing my journal and official correspondence + during such intervals as these calls left me; and now, concluding these + businesses, S——-, J——-, and I went out and took a + cab for the terminus of the Crystal Palace Railway, whither we proceeded + over Waterloo Bridge, and reached the palace not far from three o'clock. + It was a beautifully bright day, such as we have in wonderful succession + this month. The Crystal Palace gleamed in the sunshine; but I do not think + a very impressive edifice can be built of glass,—light and airy, to + be sure, but still it will be no other than an overgrown conservatory. It + is unlike anything else in England; uncongenial with the English + character, without privacy, destitute of mass, weight, and shadow, + unsusceptible of ivy, lichens, or any mellowness from age. + </p> + <p> + The train of carriages stops within the domain of the palace, where there + is a long ascending corridor up into the edifice. There was a very + pleasant odor of heliotrope diffused through the air; and, indeed, the + whole atmosphere of the Crystal Palace is sweet with various + flower-scents, and mild and balmy, though sufficiently fresh and cool. It + would be a delightful climate for invalids to spend the winter in; and if + all England could be roofed over with glass, it would be a great + improvement on its present condition. + </p> + <p> + The first thing we did, before fairly getting into the palace, was to sit + down in a large ante-hall, and get some bread and butter and a pint of + Bass's pale ale, together with a cup of coffee for S——-. This + was the best refreshment we could find at that spot; but farther within we + found abundance of refreshment-rooms, and John Bull and his wife and + family at fifty little round tables, busily engaged with cold fowl, cold + beef, ham, tongue, and bottles of ale and stout, and half-pint decanters + of sherry. The English probably eat with more simple enjoyment than any + other people; not ravenously, as we often do, and not exquisitely and + artificially, like the French, but deliberately and vigorously, and with + due absorption in the business, so that nothing good is lost upon them. . + . . It is remarkable how large a feature the refreshment-rooms make in the + arrangements of the Crystal Palace. + </p> + <p> + The Crystal Palace is a gigantic toy for the English people to play with. + The design seems to be to reproduce all past ages, by representing the + features of their interior architecture, costume, religion, domestic life, + and everything that can be expressed by paint and plaster; and, likewise, + to bring all climates and regions of the earth within these enchanted + precincts, with their inhabitants and animals in living semblance, and + their vegetable productions, as far as possible, alive and real. Some part + of the design is already accomplished to a wonderful degree. The Indian, + the Egyptian, and especially the Arabian, courts are admirably executed. I + never saw or conceived anything so gorgeous as the Alhambra. There are + Byzantine and mediaeval representations, too,— reproductions of + ancient apartments, decorations, statues from tombs, monuments, religious + and funereal,—that gave me new ideas of what antiquity has been. It + takes down one's overweening opinion of the present time, to see how many + kinds of beauty and magnificence have heretofore existed, and are now + quite passed away and forgotten; and to find that we, who suppose that, in + all matters of taste, our age is the very flower-season of the time,—that + we are poor and meagre as to many things in which they were rich. There is + nothing gorgeous now. We live a very naked life. This was the only + reflection I remember making, as we passed from century to century, + through the succession of classic, Oriental, and mediaeval courts, adown + the lapse of time,—seeing all these ages in as brief a space as the + Wandering Jew might glance along them in his memory. I suppose a Pompeian + house with its courts and interior apartments was as faithfully shown as + it was possible to do it. I doubt whether I ever should feel at home in + such a house. + </p> + <p> + In the pool of a fountain, of which there are several beautiful ones + within the palace, besides larger ones in the garden before it, we saw + tropical plants growing,—large water-lilies of various colors, some + white, like our Concord pond-lily, only larger, and more numerously + leafed. There were great circular green leaves, lying flat on the water, + with a circumference equal to that of a centre-table. Tropical trees, too, + varieties of palm and others, grew in immense pots or tubs, but seemed not + to enjoy themselves much. The atmosphere must, after all, be far too cool + to bring out their native luxuriance; and this difficulty can never be got + over at a less expense than that of absolutely stewing the visitors and + attendants. Otherwise, it would be very practicable to have all the + vegetable world, at least, within these precincts. + </p> + <p> + The palace is very large, and our time was short, it being desirable to + get home early; so, after a stay of little more than two hours, we took + the rail back again, and reached Hanover Square at about six. After tea I + wandered forth, with some thought of going to the theatre, and, passing + the entrance of one, in the Strand, I went in, and found a farce in + progress. It was one of the minor theatres, very minor indeed; but the + pieces, so far as I saw them, were sufficiently laughable. There were some + Spanish dances, too, very graceful and pretty. Between the plays a girl + from the neighboring saloon came to the doors of the boxes, offering + lemonade and ginger-beer to the occupants. A person in my box took a glass + of lemonade, and shared it with a young lady by his side, both sipping out + of the same glass. The audience seemed rather heavy,—not briskly + responsive to the efforts of the performers, but good-natured, and willing + to be pleased, especially with some patriotic dances, in which much waving + and intermingling of the French and English flags was introduced. + Theatrical performances soon weary me of late years; and I came away + before the curtain rose on the concluding piece. + </p> + <p> + September 28th.—8—— and I walked to Charing Cross + yesterday forenoon, and there took a Hansom cab to St. Paul's Cathedral. + It had been a thick, foggy morning, but had warmed and brightened into one + of the balmiest and sunniest of noons. As we entered the cathedral, the + long bars of sunshine were falling from its upper windows through the + great interior atmosphere, and were made visible by the dust, or mist, + floating about in it. It is a grand edifice, and I liked it quite as much + as on my first view of it, although a sense of coldness and nakedness is + felt when we compare it with Gothic churches. It is more an external work + than the Gothic churches are, and is not so made out of the dim, awful, + mysterious, grotesque, intricate nature of man. But it is beautiful and + grand. I love its remote distances, and wide, clear spaces, its airy + massiveness; its noble arches, its sky-like dome, which, I think, should + be all over light, with ground-glass, instead of being dark, with only + diminutive windows. + </p> + <p> + We walked round, looking at the monuments, which are so arranged, at the + bases of columns and in niches, as to coincide with the regularity of the + cathedral, and be each an additional ornament to the whole, however + defective individually as works of art. We thought that many of these + monuments were striking and impressive, though there was a pervading + sameness of idea,—a great many Victorys and Valors and Britannias, + and a great expenditure of wreaths, which must have cost Victory a + considerable sum at any florist's whom she patronizes. A very great + majority of the memorials are to naval and military men, slain in + Bonaparte's wars; men in whom one feels little or no interest (except + Picton, Abercrombie, Moore, Nelson, of course, and a few others really + historic), they having done nothing remarkable, save having been shot, nor + shown any more brains than the cannonballs that killed them. All the + statues have the dust of years upon then, strewn thickly in the folds of + their marble garments, and on any limb stretched horizontally, and on + their noses, so that the expression is much obscured. I think the nation + might employ people to brush away the dust from the statues of its heroes. + But, on the whole, it is very fine to look through the broad arches of the + cathedral, and see, at the foot of some distant pillar, a group of + sculptured figures, commemorating some man and deed that (whether worth + remembering or not) the nation is so happy as to reverence. In Westminster + Abbey, the monuments are so crowded, and so oddly patched together upon + the walls, that they are ornamental only in a mural point of view; and, + moreover, the quaint and grotesque taste of many of them might well make + the spectator laugh,—an effect not likely to be produced by the + monuments in St. Paul's. But, after all, a man might read the walls of the + Abbey day after day with ever-fresh interest, whereas the cold propriety + of the cathedral would weary him in due time. + </p> + <p> + We did not ascend to the galleries and other points of interest aloft, nor + go down into the vaults, where Nelson's sarcophagus is shown, and many + monuments of the old Gothic cathedral, which stood on this site, before + the great fire. They say that these lower regions are comfortably warm and + dry; but as we walked round in front, within the iron railing of the + churchyard, we passed an open door, giving access to the crypt, and it + breathed out a chill like death upon us. + </p> + <p> + It is pleasant to stand in the centre of the cathedral, and hear the noise + of London, loudest all round this spot,—how it is calmed into a + sound as proper to be heard through the aisles as the tones of its own + organ. If St. Paul's were to be burnt again (having already been bunt and + risen three or four times since the sixth century), I wonder whether it + would ever be rebuilt in the same spot! I doubt whether the city and the + nation are so religious as to consecrate their midmost heart for the site + of a church, where land would be so valuable by the square inch. + </p> + <p> + Coming from the cathedral, we went through Paternoster Row, and saw Ave + Mary Lane; all this locality appearing to have got its nomenclature from + monkish personages. We now took a cab for the British Museum, but found + this to be one of the days on which strangers are not admitted; so we + slowly walked into Oxford Street, and then strolled homeward, till, coming + to a sort of bazaar, we went in and found a gallery of pictures. This + bazaar proved to be the Pantheon, and the first picture we saw in the + gallery was Haydon's Resurrection of Lazarus,—a great height and + breadth of canvas, right before you as you ascend the stairs. The face of + Lazarus is very awful, and not to be forgotten; it is as true as if the + painter had seen it, or had been himself the resurrected man and felt it; + but the rest of the picture signified nothing, and is vulgar and + disagreeable besides. There are several other pictures by Haydon in this + collection,—the Banishment of Aristides, Nero with his Harp, and the + Conflagration of Rome; but the last is perfectly ridiculous, and all of + them are exceedingly unpleasant. I should be sorry to live in a house that + contained one of them. The best thing of Haydon was a hasty dash of a + sketch for a small, full-length portrait of Wordsworth, sitting on the + crag of a mountain. I doubt whether Wordsworth's likeness has ever been so + poetically brought out. This gallery is altogether of modern painters, and + it seems to be a receptacle for pictures by artists who can obtain places + nowhere else,—at least, I never heard of their names before. They + were very uninteresting, almost without exception, and yet some of the + pictures were done cleverly enough. There is very little talent in this + world, and what there is, it seems to me, is pretty well known and + acknowledged. We don't often stumble upon geniuses in obscure corners. + </p> + <p> + Leaving the gallery, we wandered through the rest of the bazaar, which is + devoted to the sale of ladies' finery, jewels, perfumes, children's toys, + and all manner of small and pretty rubbish. . . . In the evening I again + sallied forth, and lost myself for an hour or two; at last recognizing my + whereabouts in Tottenham Court Road. In such quarters of London it seems + to be the habit of people to take their suppers in the open air. You see + old women at the corners, with kettles of hot water for tea or coffee; and + as I passed a butcher's open shop, he was just taking out large quantities + of boiled beef, smoking hot. Butchers' stands are remarkable for their + profuse expenditure of gas; it belches forth from the pipes in great + flaring jets of flame, uncovered by any glass, and broadly illuminating + the neighborhood. I have not observed that London ever goes to bed. + </p> + <p> + September 29th.—Yesterday we walked to the British Museum. A + sentinel or two kept guard before the gateway of this extensive edifice in + Great Russell Street, and there was a porter at the lodge, and one or two + policemen lounging about, but entrance was free, and we walked in without + question. Officials and policemen were likewise scattered about the great + entrance-hall, none of whom, however, interfered with us; so we took + whatever way we chose, and wandered about at will. It is a hopeless, and + to me, generally, a depressing business to go through an immense + multifarious show like this, glancing at a thousand things, and conscious + of some little titillation of mind from them, but really taking in + nothing, and getting no good from anything. One need not go beyond the + limits of the British Museum to be profoundly accomplished in all branches + of science, art, and literature; only it would take a lifetime to exhaust + it in any one department; but to see it as we did, and with no prospect of + ever seeing it more at leisure, only impressed me with the truth of the + old apothegm, "Life is short, and Art is long." The fact is, the world is + accumulating too many materials for knowledge. We do not recognize for + rubbish what is really rubbish; and under this head might be reckoned very + many things one sees in the British Museum; and, as each generation leaves + its fragments and potsherds behind it, such will finally be the desperate + conclusion of the learned. + </p> + <p> + We went first among some antique marbles,—busts, statues, terminal + gods, with several of the Roman emperors among them. We saw here the bust + whence Haydon took his ugly and ridiculous likeness of Nero,—a + foolish thing to do. Julius Caesar was there, too, looking more like a + modern old man than any other bust in the series. Perhaps there may be a + universality in his face, that gives it this independence of race and + epoch. We glimpsed along among the old marbles,—Elgin and others, + which are esteemed such treasures of art;—the oddest fragments, many + of them smashed by their fall from high places, or by being pounded to + pieces by barbarians, or gnawed away by time; the surface roughened by + being rained upon for thousands of years; almost always a nose knocked + off; sometimes a headless form; a great deficiency of feet and hands,—poor, + maimed veterans in this hospital of incurables. The beauty of the most + perfect of them must be rather guessed at, and seen by faith, than with + the bodily eye; to look at the corroded faces and forms is like trying to + see angels through mist and cloud. I suppose nine tenths of those who seem + to be in raptures about these fragments do not really care about them; + neither do I. And if I were actually moved, I should doubt whether it were + by the statues or by my own fancy. + </p> + <p> + We passed, too, through Assyrian saloons and Egyptian saloons,—all + full of monstrosities and horrible uglinesses, especially the Egyptian, + and all the innumerable relics that I saw of them in these saloons, and + among the mummies, instead of bringing me closer to them, removed me + farther and farther; there being no common ground of sympathy between them + and us. Their gigantic statues are certainly very curious. I saw a hand + and arm up to the shoulder fifteen feet in length, and made of some stone + that seemed harder and heavier than granite, not having lost its polish in + all the rough usage that it has undergone. There was a fist on a still + larger scale, almost as big as a hogshead. Hideous, blubber-lipped faces + of giants, and human shapes with beasts' heads on them. The Egyptian + controverted Nature in all things, only using it as a groundwork to + depict, the unnatural upon. Their mummifying process is a result of this + tendency. We saw one very perfect mummy,—a priestess, with + apparently only one more fold of linen betwixt us and her antique flesh, + and this fitting closely to her person from head to foot, so that we could + see the lineaments of her face and the shape of her limbs as perfectly as + if quite bare. I judge that she may have been very beautiful in her day,—whenever + that was. One or two of the poor thing's toes (her feet were wonderfully + small and delicate) protruded from the linen, and, perhaps, not having + been so perfectly embalmed, the flesh had fallen away, leaving only some + little bones. I don't think this young woman has gained much by not + turning to dust in the time of the Pharaohs. We also saw some bones of a + king that had been taken out of a pyramid; a very fragmentary skeleton. + Among the classic marbles I peeped into an urn that once contained the + ashes of dead people, and the bottom still had an ashy hue. I like this + mode of disposing of dead bodies; but it would be still better to burn + them and scatter the ashes, instead of hoarding them up,—to scatter + them over wheat-fields or flowerbeds. + </p> + <p> + Besides these antique halls, we wandered through saloons of antediluvian + animals, some set up in skeletons, others imprisoned in solid stone; also + specimens of still extant animals, birds, reptiles, shells, minerals,— + the whole circle of human knowledge and guess-work,—till I wished + that the whole Past might be swept away, and each generation compelled to + bury and destroy whatever it had produced, before being permitted to leave + the stage. When we quit a house, we are expected to make it clean for the + next occupant; why ought we not to leave a clean world for the next + generation? We did not see the library of above half a million of volumes; + else I suppose I should have found full occasion to wish that burnt and + buried likewise. In truth, a greater part of it is as good as buried, so + far as any readers are concerned. Leaving the Museum, we sauntered home. + After a little rest, I set out for St. John's Wood, and arrived thither by + dint of repeated inquiries. It is a pretty suburb, inhabited by people of + the middling class. U—— met me joyfully, but seemed to have + had a good time with Mrs. Oakford and her daughter; and, being pressed to + stay to tea, I could not well help it. Before tea I sat talking with Mrs. + Oakford and a friend of hers, Miss Clinch, about the Americans and the + English, especially dwelling on the defects of the latter,—among + which we reckoned a wretched meanness in money transactions, a lack of any + embroidery of honor and liberality in their dealings, so that they require + close watching, or they will be sure to take you at advantage. I hear this + character of them from Americans on all hands, and my own experience + confirms it as far as it goes, not merely among tradespeople, but among + persons who call themselves gentlefolks. The cause, no doubt, or one + cause, lies in the fewer chances of getting money here, the closer and + sharper regulation of all the modes of life; nothing being left to liberal + and gentlemanly feelings, except fees to servants. They are not gamblers + in England, as we to some extent are; and getting their money painfully, + or living within an accurately known income, they are disinclined to give + up so much as a sixpence that they can possibly get. But the result is, + they are mean in petty things. + </p> + <p> + By and by Mr. Oakford came in, well soaked with the heaviest shower that I + ever knew in England, which had been rattling on the roof of the little + side room where we sat, and had caught him on the outside of the omnibus. + At a little before eight o'clock I came home with U—— in a + cab,—the gaslight glittering on the wet streets through which we + drove, though the sky was clear overhead. + </p> + <p> + September 30th.—Yesterday, a little before twelve, we took a cab, + and went to the two Houses of Parliament,—the most immense building, + methinks, that ever was built; and not yet finished, though it has now + been occupied for years. Its exterior lies hugely along the ground, and + its great unfinished tower is still climbing towards the sky; but the + result (unless it be the riverfront, which I have not yet seen) seems not + very impressive. The interior is much more successful. Nothing can be more + magnificent and gravely gorgeous than the Chamber of Peers,—a large + oblong hall, panelled with oak, elaborately carved, to the height of + perhaps twenty feet. Then the balustrade of the gallery runs around the + hall, and above the gallery are six arched windows on each side, richly + painted with historic subjects. The roof is ornamented and gilded, and + everywhere throughout there is embellishment of color and carving on the + broadest scale, and, at the same time, most minute and elaborate; statues + of full size in niches aloft; small heads of kings, no bigger than a doll; + and the oak is carved in all parts of the panelling as faithfully as they + used to do it in Henry VII's time,—as faithfully and with as good + workmanship, but with nothing like the variety and invention which I saw + in the dining-room of Smithell's Hall. There the artist wrought with his + heart and head; but much of this work, I suppose, was done by machinery. + Be that as it may, it is a most noble and splendid apartment, and, though + so fine, there is not a touch of finery; it glistens and glows with even a + sombre magnificence, owing to the rich, deep lines, and the dim light, + bedimmed with rich colors by coming through the painted windows. In arched + recesses, that serve as frames, at each end of the hall, there are three + pictures by modern artists from English history; and though it was not + possible to see them well as pictures, they adorned and enriched the walls + marvellously as architectural embellishments. The Peers' seats are four + rows of long sofas on each side, covered with red morocco; comfortable + seats enough, but not adapted to any other than a decorously exact + position. The woolsack is between these two divisions of sofas, in the + middle passage of the floor,—a great square seat, covered with + scarlet, and with a scarlet cushion set up perpendicularly for the + Chancellor to lean against. In front of the woolsack there is another + still larger ottoman, on which he might be at full length,—for what + purpose intended, I know not. I should take the woolsack to be not a very + comfortable seat, though I suppose it was originally designed to be the + most comfortable one that could be contrived, in view of the Chancellor's + much sitting. + </p> + <p> + The throne is the first object you see on entering the hall, being close + to the door; a chair of antique form, with a high, peaked back, and a + square canopy above, the whole richly carved and quite covered with + burnished gilding, besides being adorned with rows of rock crystals,— + which seemed to me of rather questionable taste. + </p> + <p> + It is less elevated above the floor than one imagines it ought to be. + While we were looking at it, I saw two Americans,—Western men, I + should judge,—one of them with a true American slouch, talking to + the policeman in attendance, and describing our Senate Chamber in contrast + with the House of Lords. The policeman smiled and ah-ed, and seemed to + make as courteous and liberal responses as he could. There was quite a + mixed company of spectators, and, I think, other Americans present besides + the above two and ourselves. The Lord Chamberlain's tickets appear to be + distributed with great impartiality. There were two or three women of the + lower middle class, with children or babies in arms, one of whom lifted up + its voice loudly in the House of Peers. + </p> + <p> + We next, after long contemplating this rich hall, proceeded through + passages and corridors to a great central room, very beautiful, which + seems to be used for purposes of refreshment, and for electric telegraphs; + though I should not suppose this could be its primitive and ultimate + design. Thence we went into the House of Commons, which is larger than the + Chamber of Peers, and much less richly ornamented, though it would have + appeared splendid had it come first in order. The speaker's chair, if I + remember rightly, is loftier and statelier than the throne itself. Both in + this hall and in that of the Lords, we were at first surprised by the + narrow limits within which the great ideas of the Lords and Commons of + England are physically realized; they would seem to require a vaster + space. When we hear of members rising on opposite sides of the House, we + think of them as but dimly discernible to their opponents, and uplifting + their voices, so as to be heard afar; whereas they sit closely enough to + feel each other's spheres, to note all expression of face, and to give the + debate the character of a conversation. In this view a debate seems a much + more earnest and real thing than as we read it in a newspaper. Think of + the debaters meeting each other's eyes, their faces flushing, their looks + interpreting their words, their speech growing into eloquence, without + losing the genuineness of talk! Yet, in fact, the Chamber of Peers is + ninety feet long and half as broad, and high, and the Chamber of Commons + is still larger. + </p> + <p> + Thence we went to Westminster Hall, through a gallery with statues on each + side,—beautiful statues too, I thought; seven of them, of which four + were from the times of the civil wars,—Clarendon, Falkland, Hampden, + Selden, Somers, Mansfield, and Walpole. There is room for more in this + corridor, and there are niches for hundreds of their marble brotherhood + throughout the edifice; but I suppose future ages will have to fill the + greater part of them. Yet I cannot help imagining that this rich and noble + edifice has more to do with the past than with the future; that it is the + glory of a declining empire; and that the perfect bloom of this great + stone flower, growing out of the institutions of England, forbodes that + they have nearly lived out their life. It sums up all. Its beauty and + magnificence are made out of ideas that are gone by. + </p> + <p> + We entered Westminster Hall (which is incorporated into this new edifice, + and forms an integral part of it) through a lofty archway, whence a double + flight of broad steps descends to the stone pavement. After the elaborate + ornament of the rooms we had just been viewing, this venerable hall looks + extremely simple and bare,—a gray stone floor, gray and naked stone + walls, but a roof sufficiently elaborate, its vault being filled with + carved beams and rafters of chestnut, very much admired and wondered at + for the design and arrangement. I think it would have pleased me more to + have seen a clear vaulted roof, instead of this intricacy of wooden + points, by which so much skylight space is lost. They make (be it not + irreverently said) the vast and lofty apartment look like the ideal of an + immense barn. But it is a noble space, and all without the support of a + single pillar. It is about eighty of my paces from the foot of the steps + to the opposite end of the hall, and twenty-seven from side to side; very + high, too, though not quite proportionately to its other dimensions. I + love it for its simplicity and antique nakedness, and deem it worthy to + have been the haunt and home of History through the six centuries since it + was built. I wonder it does not occur to modern ingenuity to make a scenic + representation, in this very hall, of the ancient trials for life or + death, pomps, feasts, coronations, and every great historic incident in + the lives of kings, Parliaments, Protectors, and all illustrious men, that + have occurred here. The whole world cannot show another hall such as this, + so tapestried with recollections of whatever is most striking in human + annals. + </p> + <p> + Westminster Abbey being just across the street, we went thither from the + hall, and sought out the cloisters, which we had not yet visited. They are + in excellent preservation,—broad walks, canopied with intermingled + arches of gray stone, on which some sort of lichen, or other growth of + ages (which seems, however, to have little or nothing vegetable in it), + has grown. The pavement is entirely made of flat tombstones, inscribed + with half-effaced names of the dead people beneath; and the wall all round + bears the marble tablets which give a fuller record of their virtues. I + think it was from a meditation in these cloisters that Addison wrote one + of his most beautiful pieces in the Spectator. It is a pity that this old + fashion of a cloistered walk is not retained in our modern edifices; it + was so excellent for shelter and for shade during a thoughtful hour,—this + sombre corridor beneath an arched stone roof, with the central space of + richest grass, on which the sun might shine or the shower fall, while the + monk or student paced through the prolonged archway of his meditations. + </p> + <p> + As we came out from the cloisters, and walked along by the churchyard of + the Abbey, a woman came begging behind us very earnestly. "A bit of + bread," she said, "and I will give you a thousand blessings! Hunger is + hard to bear. O kind gentleman and kind lady, a penny for a bit of bread! + It is a hard thing that gentlemen and ladies should see poor people + wanting bread, and make no difference whether they are good or bad." And + so she followed us almost all round the Abbey, assailing our hearts in + most plaintive terms, but with no success; for she did it far too well to + be anything but an impostor, and no doubt she had breakfasted better, and + was likely to have a better dinner, than ourselves. And yet the natural + man cries out against the philosophy that rejects beggars. It is a + thousand to one that they are impostors, but yet we do ourselves a wrong + by hardening our hearts against them. At last, without turning round, I + told her that I should give her nothing,—with some asperity, + doubtless, for the effort to refuse creates a bitterer repulse than is + necessary. She still followed us a little farther, but at last gave it up, + with a deep groan. I could not have performed this act of heroism on my + first arrival from America. + </p> + <p> + Whether the beggar-woman had invoked curses on us, and Heaven saw fit to + grant some slight response, I know not, but it now began to rain on my + wife's velvet; so I put her and J——- into a cab, and hastened + to ensconce myself in Westminster Abbey while the shower should last. + Poets' Corner has never seemed like a strange place to me; it has been + familiar from the very first; at all events, I cannot now recollect the + previous conception, of which the reality has taken the place. I seem + always to have known that somewhat dim corner, with the bare brown + stone-work of the old edifice aloft, and a window shedding down its light + on the marble busts and tablets, yellow with time, that cover the three + walls of the nook up to a height of about twenty feet. Prior's is the + largest and richest monument. It is observable that the bust and monument + of Congreve are in a distant part of the Abbey. His duchess probably + thought it a degradation to bring a gentleman among the beggarly poets. + </p> + <p> + I walked round the aisles, and paced the nave, and came to the conclusion + that Westminster Abbey, both in itself and for the variety and interest of + its monuments, is a thousand times preferable to St. Paul's. There is as + much difference as between a snow-bank and a chimney-corner in their + relation to the human heart. By the by, the monuments and statues in the + Abbey seem all to be carefully dusted. + </p> + <p> + The shower being over, I walked down into the city, where I called on Mr. + B——— and left S——-'s watch to be examined + and put in order. He told me that he and his brother had lately been + laying out and letting a piece of land at Blackheath, that had been left + them by their father, and that the ground-rent would bring them in two + thousand pounds per annum. With such an independent income, I doubt + whether any American would consent to be anything but a gentleman,—certainly + not an operative watchmaker. How sensible these Englishmen are in some + things! + </p> + <p> + Thence I went at a venture, and lost myself, of course. At one part of my + walk I came upon St. Luke's Hospital, whence I returned to St. Paul's, and + thence along Fleet Street and the Strand. Contiguous to the latter is + Holywell Street,—a narrow lane, filled up with little bookshops and + bookstalls, at some of which I saw sermons and other works of divinity, + old editions of classics, and all such serious matters, while at stalls + and windows close beside them (and, possibly, at the same stalls) there + were books with title-pages displayed, indicating them to be of the most + indecent kind. + </p> + <p> + October 2d.—Yesterday forenoon I went with J——- into the + city to 67 Grace Church Street, to get a bank post-note cashed by Mr. + Oakford, and afterwards to the offices of two lines of steamers, in + Moorgate Street and Leadenhall Street. The city was very much thronged. It + is a marvel what sets so many people a going at all hours of the day. Then + it is to be considered that these are but a small portion of those who are + doing the business of the city; much the larger part being occupied in + offices at desks, in discussions of plans of enterprise, out of sight of + the public, while these earnest hurriers are merely the froth in the pot. + </p> + <p> + After seeing the steam-officials, we went to London Bridge, which always + swarms with more passengers than any of the streets. Descending the steps + that lead to the level of the Thames, we took passage in a boat bound up + the river to Chelsea, of which there is one starting every ten minutes, + the voyage being of forty minutes' duration. It began to sprinkle a little + just as we started; but after a slight showeriness, lasting till we had + passed Westminster Bridge, the day grew rather pleasant. + </p> + <p> + At Westminster Bridge we had a good view of the river-front of the two + Houses of Parliament, which look very noble from this point,—a long + and massive extent, with a delightful promenade for the legislative people + exactly above the margin of the river. This is certainly a magnificent + edifice, and yet I doubt whether it is so impressive as it might and ought + to have been made, considering its immensity. It makes no more impression + than you can well account to yourself for, and you rather wonder that it + does not make more. The reason must be that the architect has not "builded + better than he knew." He felt no power higher and wiser than himself, + making him its instrument. He reckoned upon and contrived all his effects + with malice aforethought, and therefore missed the crowning glory,—that + being a happiness which God, out of his pure grace, mixes up with only the + simple-hearted, best efforts of men. + </p> + <p> + October 3d.—I again went into the city yesterday forenoon, to settle + about the passages to Lisbon, taking J——- with me. From + Hungerford Bridge we took the steamer to London Bridge, that being an easy + and speedy mode of accomplishing distances that take many footsteps + through the crowded thoroughfares. After leaving the steamer-office, we + went back through the Strand, and, crossing Waterloo Bridge, walked a good + way on to the Surrey side of the river; a coarse, dingy, disagreeable + suburb, with shops apparently for country produce, for old clothes, + second-hand furniture, for ironware, and other things bulky and inelegant. + How many scenes and sorts of life are comprehended within London! There + was much in the aspect of these streets that reminded me of a busy country + village in America on an immensely magnified scale. + </p> + <p> + Growing rather weary anon, we got into an omnibus, which took us as far as + the Surrey Zoological Gardens, which J——- wished very much to + see. They proved to be a rather poor place of suburban amusement; poor, at + least, by daylight, their chief attraction for the public consisting in + out-of-door representations of battles and sieges. The storming of + Sebastopol (as likewise at the Cremorne Gardens) was advertised for the + evening, and we saw the scenery of Sebastopol, painted on a vast scale, in + the open air, and really looking like miles and miles of hill and water; + with a space for the actual manoeuvring of ships on a sheet of real water + in front of the scene, on which some ducks were now swimming about, in + place of men-of-war. The climate of England must often interfere with this + sort of performance; and I can conceive of nothing drearier for spectators + or performers than a drizzly evening. Convenient to this central spot of + entertainment there were liquor and refreshment rooms, with pies and + cakes. The menagerie, though the ostensible staple of the gardens, is + rather poor and scanty; pretty well provided with lions and lionesses, + also one or two giraffes, some camels, a polar bear,—who plunged + into a pool of water for bits of cake,—and two black bears, who sat + on their haunches or climbed poles; besides a wilderness of monkeys, some + parrots and macaws, an ostrich, various ducks, and other animal and + ornithological trumpery; some skins of snakes so well stuffed that I took + them for living serpents till J——- discovered the deception, + and an aquarium, with a good many common fishes swimming among sea-weed. + </p> + <p> + The garden is shaded with trees, and set out with greensward and + gravel-walks, from which the people were sweeping the withered autumnal + leaves, which now fall every day. Plaster statues stand here and there, + one of them without a head, thus disclosing the hollowness of the trunk; + there were one or two little drizzly fountains, with the water dripping + over the rock-work, of which the English are so fond; and the buildings + for the animals and other purposes had a flimsy, pasteboard aspect of + pretension. The garden was in its undress; few visitors, I suppose, coming + hither at this time of day,—only here and there a lady and children, + a young man and girl, or a couple of citizens, loitering about. I take + pains to remember these small items, because they suggest the day-life or + torpidity of what may look very brilliant at night. These corked-up + fountains, slovenly greensward, cracked casts of statues, pasteboard + castles, and duck-pond Bay of Balaclava then shining out in magic + splendor, and the shabby attendants whom we saw sweeping and shovelling + probably transformed into the heroes of Sebastopol. + </p> + <p> + J——- thought it a delightful place; but I soon grew very + weary, and came away about four o'clock, and, getting into a city omnibus, + we alighted on the hither side of Blackfriar's Bridge. Turning into Fleet + Street, I looked about for a place to dine at, and chose the Mitre Tavern, + in memory of Johnson and Boswell. It stands behind a front of modern + shops, through which is an archway, giving admittance into a narrow + court-yard, which, I suppose, was formerly open to Fleet Street. The house + is of dark brick, and, comparing it with other London edifices, I should + take it to have been at least refronted since Johnson's time; but within, + the low, sombre coffee-room which we entered might well enough have been + of that era or earlier. It seems to be a good, plain, respectable inn; and + the waiter gave us each a plate of boiled beef, and, for dessert, a damson + tart, which made up a comfortable dinner. After dinner, we zigzagged + homeward through Clifford's link passage, Holborn, Drury Lane, the Strand, + Charing Cross, Pall Mall, and Regent Street; but I remember only an + ancient brick gateway as particularly remarkable. I think it was the + entrance to Lincoln's Inn. We reached home at about six. + </p> + <p> + There is a woman who has several times passed through this Hanover Street, + in which we live, stopping occasionally to sing songs under the windows; + and last evening, between nine and ten o'clock, she came and sang + "Kathleen O'Moore" richly and sweetly. Her voice rose up out of the dim, + chill street, and made our hearts throb in unison with it as we sat in our + comfortable drawing-room. I never heard a voice that touched me more + deeply. Somebody told her to go away, and she stopped like a nightingale + suddenly shot; but, finding that S——- wished to know something + about her, Fanny and one of the maids ran after her, and brought her into + the hall. It seems she was educated to sing at the opera, and married an + Italian opera-singer, who is now dead; lodging in a model lodging-house at + threepence a night, and being a penny short to-night, she tried this + method, in hope of getting this penny. She takes in plain sewing when she + can get any, and picks up a trifle about the street by means of her voice, + which, she says, was once sweet, but has now been injured by the poorness + of her living. She is a pale woman, with black eyes, Fanny says, and may + have been pretty once, but is not so now. It seems very strange, that with + such a gift of Heaven, so cultivated, too, as her voice is, making even an + unsusceptible heart vibrate like a harp-string, she should not have had an + engagement among the hundred theatres and singing-rooms of London; that + she should throw away her melody in the streets for the mere chance of a + penury, when sounds not a hundredth part so sweet are worth from other + lips purses of gold. + </p> + <p> + October 5th.—It rained almost all day on Wednesday, so that I did + not go out till late in the afternoon, and then only took a stroll along + Oxford Street and Holborn, and back through Fleet Street and the Strand. + Yesterday, at a little after ten, I went to the ambassador's to get my + wife's passport for Lisbon. While I was talking with the clerk, Mr. + ——— made his appearance in a dressing-gown, with a + morning cheerfulness and alacrity in his manner. He was going to Liverpool + with his niece, who returns to America by the steamer of Saturday. She has + had a good deal of success in society here; being pretty enough to be + remarked among English women, and with cool, self-possessed, frank, and + quiet manners, which look very like the highest breeding. + </p> + <p> + I next went to Westminster Abbey, where I had long promised myself another + quiet visit; for I think I never could be weary of it; and when I finally + leave England, it will be this spot which I shall feel most unwilling to + quit forever. I found a party going through the seven chapels (or whatever + their number may be), and again saw those stately and quaint old tombs,—ladies + and knights stretched out on marble slabs, or beneath arches and canopies + of stone, let into the walls of the Abbey, reclining on their elbows, in + ruff and farthingale or riveted armor, or in robes of state, once painted + in rich colors, of which only a few patches of scarlet now remain; bearded + faces of noble knights, whose noses, in many cases, had been smitten off; + and Mary, Queen of Scots, had lost two fingers of her beautiful hands, + which she is clasping in prayer. There must formerly have been very free + access to these tombs; for I observed that all the statues (so far as I + examined them) were scratched with the initials of visitors, some of the + names being dated above a century ago. The old coronation-chair, too, is + quite covered, over the back and seat, with initials cut into it with + pocket-knives, just as Yankees would do it; only it is not whittled away, + as would have been its fate in our hands. Edward the Confessor's shrine, + which is chiefly of wood, likewise abounds in these inscriptions, although + this was esteemed the holiest shrine in England, so that pilgrims still + come to kneel and kiss it. Our guide, a rubicund verger of cheerful + demeanor, said that this was true in a few instances. + </p> + <p> + There is a beautiful statue in memory of Horace Walpole's mother; and I + took it to be really a likeness, till the verger said that it was a copy + of a statue which her son had admired in Italy, and so had transferred it + to his mother's grave. There is something characteristic in this mode of + filial duty and honor. In all these chapels, full of the tombs and + effigies of kings, dukes, arch-prelates, and whatever is proud and pompous + in mortality, there is nothing that strikes me more than the colossal + statue of plain Mr. Watt, sitting quietly in a chair, in St. Paul's + Chapel, and reading some papers. He dwarfs the warriors and statesmen; and + as to the kings, we smile at them. Telford is in another of the chapels. + This visit to the chapels was much more satisfactory than my former one; + although I in vain strove to feel it adequately, and to make myself + sensible how rich and venerable was what I saw. This realization must come + at its own time, like the other happinesses of life. It is unaccountable + that I could not now find the seat of Sir George Downing's squire, though + I examined particularly every seat on that side of Henry VII's Chapel, + where I before found it. I must try again. . . . + </p> + <p> + October 6th.—Yesterday was not an eventful day. I took J——- + with me to the city, called on Mr. Sturgis at the Barings' House, and got + his checks for a bank post-note. The house is at 8 Bishopsgate Street, + Within. It has no sign of any kind, but stands back from the street, + behind an iron-grated fence. The firm appears to occupy the whole edifice, + which is spacious, and fit for princely merchants. Thence I went and paid + for the passages to Lisbon (32 pounds) at the Peninsular Steam Company's + office, and thence to call on General ———. I forgot to + mention, that, first of all, I went to Mr. B———'s, whom + I found kind and vivacious as usual. It now rained heavily, and, being + still showery when we came to Cheapside again, we first stood under an + archway (a usual resort for passengers through London streets), and then + betook ourselves to sanctuary, taking refuge in St. Paul's Cathedral. The + afternoon service was about to begin, so, after looking at a few of the + monuments, we sat down in the choir, the richest and most ornamented part + of the cathedral, with screens or partitions of oak, cunningly carved. + Small white-robed choristers were flitting noiselessly about, making + preparations for the service, which by and by began. It is a beautiful + idea, that, several times in the course of the day, a man can slip out of + the thickest throng and bustle of London into this religious atmosphere, + and hear the organ, and the music of young, pure voices; but, after all, + the rites are lifeless in our day. We found, on emerging, that we had + escaped a very heavy shower, and it still sprinkled and misted as we went + homeward through Holborn and Oxford Street. + </p> + <h3> + SOUTHAMPTON + </h3> + <p> + October 11th.—We all left London on Sunday morning, between ten and + eleven, from the Waterloo station, and arrived in Southampton about two, + without meeting with anything very remarkable on the way. We put up at + Chapple's Castle Hotel, which is one of the class styled "commercial," + and, though respectable, not such a one as the nobility and gentry usually + frequent. I saw little difference in the accommodation, except that young + women attended us instead of men,—a pleasant change. It was a + showery day, but J——- and I walked out to see the shore and + the town and the docks, and, if possible, the ship in which S——- + was to sail. The most noteworthy object was the remains of an old castle, + near the water-side; the square, gray, weed grown, weird keep of which + shows some modern chimney-pots above its battlements, while remaining + portions of the fortress are made to seem as one of the walls for + coal-depots, and perhaps for small dwellings. The English + characteristically patch new things into old things in this manner, + materially, legally, constitutionally, and morally. Walking along the + pier, we observed some pieces of ordnance, one of which was a large brass + cannon of Henry VIII.'s time, about twelve feet long, and very finely + made. The bay of Southampton presents a pleasant prospect, and I believe + it is the great rendezvous of the yacht-club. Old and young seafaring + people were strolling about, and lounging at corners, just as they do on + Sunday afternoons in the minor seaports of America. + </p> + <p> + From the shore we went up into the town, which is handsome, and of a + cheerful aspect, with streets generally wide and well paved,—a + cleanly town, not smoke-begrimed. The houses, if not modern, are, at least + with few exceptions, new fronted. We saw one relic of antiquity,—a + fine mediaeval gateway across the principal street, much more elevated + than the gates of Chester, with battlements at the top, and a spacious + apartment over the great arch for the passage of carriages, and the + smaller one on each side for foot-passengers. There were two statues in + armor or antique costume on the hither side of the gateway, and two old + paintings on the other. This, so far as I know, is the only remnant of the + old wall of Southampton. + </p> + <p> + On Monday the morning was bright, alternating with a little showeriness. U——, + J——-, and I went into the town to do some shopping before the + steamer should sail; and a little after twelve we drove down to the dock. + The Madeira is a pleasant-looking ship enough, not very large, but + accommodating, I believe, about seventy passengers. We looked at my wife's + little stateroom, with its three berths for herself and the two children; + and then sat down in the saloon, and afterwards on deck, to spend the + irksome and dreary hour or two before parting. Many of the passengers + seemed to be Portuguese, undersized, dark, mustachioed people, smoking + cigars. John Bull was fairly represented too. . . . U—— was + cheerful, and R——- seemed anxious to get off. Poor Fanny was + altogether cast down, and shed tears, either from regret at leaving her + native land, or dread of sea-sickness, or general despondency, being a + person of no spring of spirits. I waited till the captain came on board, + —a middle-aged or rather elderly man, with a sensible expression, + but, methought, with a hard, cold eye, to whom I introduced my wife, + recommending her to his especial care, as she was unattended by any + gentleman; and then we thought it best to cut short the parting scene. So + we bade one another farewell; and, leaving them on the deck of the vessel, + J——- and I returned to the hotel, and, after dining at the + table d'hote, drove down to the railway. This is the first great parting + that we have ever had. + </p> + <p> + It was three o'clock when we left Southampton. In order to get to + Worcester, where we were to spend the night, we strode, as it were, from + one line of railway to another, two or three times, and did not arrive at + our journey's end till long after dark. + </p> + <p> + At Worcester we put ourselves into the hands of a cabman, who drove us to + the Crown Hotel,—one of the old-fashioned hotels, with an entrance + through an arched passage, by which vehicles were admitted into the + inn-yard, which has also an exit, I believe, into another street. On one + side of the arch was the coffee-room, where, after looking at our + sleeping-chambers on the other side of the arch, we had some cold + pigeon-pie for supper, and for myself a pint of ale. + </p> + <p> + It should be mentioned, that, in the morning, before embarking S——- + and the children on board the steamer, I saw a fragment of a rainbow among + the clouds, and remembered the old adage bidding "sailors take warning." + In the afternoon, as J——- and I were railing from Southampton, + we saw another fragmentary rainbow, which, by the same adage, should be + the "sailor's delight." The weather has rather tended to confirm the first + omen, but the sea-captains tell me that the steamer must have gone beyond + the scope of these winds. + </p> + <h3> + WORCESTER. + </h3> + <p> + October 14th.—-In the morning of Tuesday, after breakfast in the + coffee-room, J——- and I walked about to see the remarkables of + Worcester. It is not a particularly interesting city, compared with other + old English cities; the general material of the houses being red brick, + and almost all modernized externally, whatever may be the age of their + original framework. We saw a large brick jail in castellated style, with + battlements,—a very barren and dreary-looking edifice; likewise, in + the more central part of the town, a Guildhall with a handsome front, + ornamented with a statue of Queen Anne above the entrance, and statues of + Charles I. and Charles II. on either side of the door, with the motto, + "Floreat semper civitas fidelis." Worcester seems to pride itself upon its + loyalty. We entered the building, and in the large interior hall saw some + old armor hanging on the wall at one end,— corselets, helmets, + greaves, and a pair of breeches of chain mail. An inscription told us that + these suits of armor had been left by Charles I. after the battle of + Worcester, and presented to the city at a much later date by a gentleman + of the neighborhood. On the stone floor of the hall, under the armor, were + two brass cannon, one of which had been taken from the French in a naval + battle within the present century; the other was a beautiful piece, + bearing, I think, the date of 1632, and manufactured in Brussels for the + Count de Burgh, as a Latin inscription testified. This likewise was a + relic of the battle of Worcester, where it had been lost by Charles. Many + gentlemen—connected with the city government, I suppose—were + passing through the hall; and, looking through its interior doors, we saw + stately staircases and council-rooms panelled with oak or other dark wood. + There seems to be a good deal of state in the government of these old + towns. + </p> + <p> + Worcester Cathedral would have impressed me much had I seen it earlier; + though its aspect is less venerable than that of Chester or Lichfield, + having been faithfully renewed and repaired, and stone-cutters and masons + were even now at work on the exterior. At our first visit, we found no + entrance; but coming again at ten o'clock, when the service was to begin, + we found the door open, and the chorister-boys, in their white robes, + standing in the nave and aisles, with elder people in the same garb, and a + few black-robed ecclesiastics and an old verger. The interior of the + cathedral has been covered with a light-colored paint at some recent + period. There is, as I remember, very little stained glass to enrich and + bedim the light; and the effect produced is a naked, daylight aspect, + unlike what I have seen in any other Gothic cathedral. The plan of the + edifice, too, is simple; a nave and side aisles, with great clustered + pillars, from which spring the intersecting arches; and, somehow or other, + the venerable mystery which I have found in Westminster Abbey and + elsewhere does not lurk in these arches and behind these pillars. The + choir, no doubt, is richer and more beautiful; but we did not enter it. I + remember two tombs, with recumbent figures on there, between the pillars + that divide the nave from the side aisles, and there were also mural + monuments,—one, well executed, to an officer slain in the Peninsular + war, representing him falling from his horse; another by a young widow to + her husband, with an inscription of passionate grief, and a record of her + purpose finally to sleep beside him. He died in 1803. I did not see on the + monument any record of the consummation of her purpose; and so perhaps she + sleeps beside a second husband. There are more antique memorials than + these two on the wall, and I should have been interested to examine them; + but the service was now about to begin in the choir, and at the far-off + end of the nave the old verger waved his hand to banish us from the + cathedral. At the same time he moved towards us, probably to say that he + would show it to us after service; but having little time, and being so + moderately impressed with what I had already seen, I took my departure, + and so disappointed the old man of his expected shilling or half-crown. + The tomb of King John is somewhere in this cathedral. + </p> + <p> + We renewed our rambles through the town, and, passing the Museum of the + Worcester Natural History Society, I yielded to J——-'s wish to + go in. There are three days in the week, I believe, on which it is open to + the public; but this being one of the close days, we were admitted on + payment of a shilling. It seemed a very good and well-arranged collection + in most departments of Natural History, and J——-, who takes + more interest in these matters than I do, was much delighted. We were left + to examine the hall and galleries quite at our leisure. Besides the + specimens of beasts, birds, shells, fishes, minerals, fossils, insects, + and all other natural things before the flood and since, there was a stone + bearing a Roman inscription, and various antiquities, coins, and medals, + and likewise portraits, some of which were old and curious. + </p> + <p> + Leaving the museum, we walked down to the stone bridge over the Severn, + which is here the largest river I have seen in England, except, of course, + the Mersey and the Thames. A flight of steps leads from the bridge down to + a walk along the river-side, and this we followed till we reached the spot + where an angler was catching chubs and dace, under the walls of the + bishop's palace, which here faces the river. It seems to be an old + building, but with modern repairs and improvements. The angler had pretty + good success while we were looking at him, drawing out two or three + silvery fish, and depositing them in his basket, which was already more + than half full. The Severn is not a transparent stream, and looks + sluggish, but has really movement enough to carry the angler's float along + pretty fast. There were two vessels of considerable size (that is, as + large as small schooners) lying at the bridge. We now passed under an old + stone archway, through a lane that led us from the river-side up past the + cathedral, whence a gentleman and lady were just emerging, and the verger + was closing the door behind them. + </p> + <p> + We returned to our hotel, and ordered luncheon,—some cold chicken, + cold ham, and ale, and after paying the bill (about fifteen shillings, to + which I added five shillings for attendance) we took our departure in a + fly for the railway. The waiter (a young woman), chambermaid, and boots, + all favored us with the most benign and deferential looks at parting, + whence it was easy to see that I had given them more than they had any + claim to receive. Nevertheless, this English system of fees has its good + side, and I never travel without finding the advantage of it, especially + on railways, where the officials are strictly forbidden to take fees, and + where, in consequence, a fee secures twice as much good service as + anywhere else. Be it recorded, that I never knew an Englishman to refuse a + shilling,—or, for that matter, a halfpenny. + </p> + <p> + From Worcester we took tickets to Wolverhampton, and thence to Birkenhead. + It grew dark before we reached Chester, and began to rain; and when we got + to Birkenhead it was a pitiless, pelting storm, under which, on the deck + of the steamboat, we crossed the detestable Mersey, two years' trial of + which has made me detest it every day more and more. It being the night of + rejoicing for the taking of Sebastopol and the visit of the Duke of + Cambridge, we found it very difficult to get a cab on the Liverpool side; + but after much waiting in the rain, and afterwards in one of the + refreshment-rooms, on the landing stage, we took a Hansom and drove off. + The cloudy sky reflected the illuminations, and we saw some gas-lighted + stars and other devices, as we passed, very pretty, but much marred by the + wind and rain. So we finally arrived at Mrs. Blodgett's, and made a good + supper of ham and cold chicken, like our luncheon, after which, wet as we + were, and drizzling as the weather was, and though it was two hours beyond + his bedtime, I took J——- out to see the illuminations. I + wonder what his mother would have said. But the boy must now begin to see + life and to feel it. + </p> + <p> + There was a crowd of people in the street; such a crowd that we could + hardly make a passage through them, and so many cabs and omnibuses that it + was difficult to cross the ways. Some of the illuminations were very + brilliant; but there was a woful lack of variety and invention in the + devices. The star of the garter, which kept flashing out from the + continual extinguishment of the wind and rain,—V and A, in capital + letters of light,—were repeated a hundred times; as were loyal and + patriotic mottoes,—crowns formed by colored lamps. In some instances + a sensible tradesman had illuminated his own sign, thereby at once + advertising his loyalty and his business. Innumerable flags were suspended + before the houses and across the streets, and the crowd plodded on, + silent, heavy, and without any demonstration of joy, unless by the + discharge of pistols close at one's ear. The rain, to be sure, was quite + sufficient to damp any joyous ebullition of feeling; but the next day, + when the rain had ceased, and when the streets were still thronged with + people, there was the same heavy, purposeless strolling from place to + place, with no more alacrity of spirit than while it rained. The English + do not know how to rejoice; and, in their present circumstances, to say + the truth, have not much to rejoice for. We soon came home; but I believe + it was nearly, if not quite, eleven. + </p> + <p> + At Mrs. Blodgett's, Mr. Archer (surgeon to some prison or house of + correction here in Liverpool) spoke of an attorney who many years ago + committed forgery, and, being apprehended, took a dose of prussic acid. + Mr. Archer came with the stomach-pump, and asked the patient how much + prussic acid he had taken. "Sir," he replied, attorney-like, "I decline + answering that question!" He recovered, and afterwards arrived at great + wealth in New South Wales. + </p> + <p> + November 14th.—At dinner at Mr. Bright's, a week or two ago, Mr. + Robertson Gladstone spoke of a magistrate of Liverpool, many years since, + Sir John ———. Of a morning, sitting on the bench in the + police court, he would take five shillings out of his pocket and say, + "Here, Mr. Clerk, so much for my fine. I was drunk last night!" Mr. + Gladstone witnessed this personally. + </p> + <p> + November 16th.—I went to the North Hospital yesterday, to take the + deposition of a dying man as to his ill treatment by the second and third + mates of the ship Assyria, on the voyage from New Orleans. This hospital + is a very gloomy place, with its wide bleak entries and staircases, which + may be very good for summer weather, but which are most congenial at this + bleak November season. I found the physicians of the house laughing and + talking very cheerfully with Mr. Wilding, who had preceded me. We went + forthwith, up two or three pairs of stairs, to the ward where the sick man + lay, and where there were six or eight other beds, in almost each of which + was a patient,—narrow beds, shabbily furnished. The man whom I came + to see was the only one who was not perfectly quiet; neither was he very + restless. The doctor, informing him of my presence, intimated that his + disease might be lethal, and that I was come to hear what he had to say as + to the causes of his death. Afterwards, a Testament was sought for, in + order to swear him, and I administered the oath, and made him kiss the + book. He then (in response to Mr. Wilding's questions) told how he had + been beaten and ill-treated, hanged and thwacked, from the moment he came + on board, to which usage he ascribed his death. Sometimes his senses + seemed to sink away, so that I almost thought him dead; but by and by the + questions would appear to reach him, and bring him back, and he went on + with his evidence, interspersing it, however, with dying groans, and + almost death rattles. In the midst of whatever he was saying, he often + recurred to a sum of four dollars and a half, which he said he had put + into the hands of the porter of the hospital, and which he wanted to get + back. Several times he expressed his wish to return to America (of which + he was not a native), and, on the whole, I do not think he had any real + sense of his precarious condition, notwithstanding that he assented to the + doctor's hint to that effect. He sank away so much at one time, that they + brought him wine in a tin cup, with a spout to drink out of, and he + mustered strength to raise himself in his bed and drink; then hemmed, with + rather a disappointed air, as if it did not stimulate and refresh him, as + drink ought to do. When he had finished his evidence (which Mr. Wilding + took down in writing from his mouth), he marked his cross at the foot of + the paper, and we ceased to torment him with further question. His + deposition will probably do no good, so far as the punishment of the + persons implicated is concerned; for he appears to have come on board in a + sickly state, and never to have been well during the passage. On a pallet, + close by his bed, lay another seaman of the same ship, who had likewise + been abused by the same men, and bore more ostensible marks of ill usage + than this man did, about the head and face. There is a most dreadful state + of things aboard our ships. Hell itself can be no worse than some of them, + and I do pray that some New-Englander with the rage of reform in him may + turn his thoughts this way. The first step towards better things—the + best practicable step for the present—is to legalize flogging on + shipboard; thereby doing away with the miscellaneous assaults and + batteries, kickings, fisticuffings, ropes'-endings, marline-spikings, + which the inferior officers continually perpetrate, as the only mode of + keeping up anything like discipline. As in many other instances, + philanthropy has overshot itself by the prohibition of flogging, causing + the captain to avoid the responsibility of solemn punishment, and leave + his mates to make devils of themselves, by habitual and hardly avoidable + ill treatment of the seamen. + </p> + <p> + After I left the dying sailor, his features seemed to contract and grow + sharp. Some young medical students stood about the bed, watching death + creep upon him, and anticipating, perhaps, that in a day or two they would + have the poor fellow's body on the dissecting-table. Dead patients, I + believe, undergo this fate, unless somebody chooses to pay their funeral + expenses; but the captain of the Assyria (who seems to be respectable and + kind-hearted, though master of a floating hell) tells me that he means to + bury the man at his own cost. This morning there is a note from the + surgeon of the hospital, announcing his death, and likewise the dangerous + state of his shipmate whom I saw on the pallet beside him. + </p> + <p> + Sea-captains call a dress-coat a "claw-hammer." + </p> + <p> + November 22d.—I went on board the ship William Lapscott, lying in + the river, yesterday, to take depositions in reference to a homicide + committed in New York. I sat on a sofa in the cabin, and Mr. Wilding at a + table, with his writing-materials before him, and the crew were summoned, + one by one,—rough, piratical-looking fellows, contrasting strongly + with the gewgaw cabin in which I received them. There is no such finery on + land as in the cabin of one of these ships in the Liverpool trade, + finished off with a complete panelling of rosewood, mahogany, and + bird's-eye maple, polished and varnished, and gilded along the cornices + and the edges of the panels. It is all a piece of elaborate cabinet-work; + and one does not altogether see why it should be given to the gales, and + the salt-sea atmosphere, to be tossed upon the waves, and occupied by a + rude shipmaster in his dreadnaught clothes, when the fairest lady in the + land has no such boudoir. A telltale compass hung beneath the skylight, + and a clock was fastened near it, and ticked loudly. A stewardess, with + the aspect of a woman at home, went in and out of the cabin, about her + domestic calls. Through the cabin door (it being a house on deck) I could + see the arrangement of the ship. + </p> + <p> + The first sailor that I examined was a black-haired, powerful fellow, in + an oil-skin jacket, with a good face enough, though he, too, might have + been taken for a pirate. In the affray in which the homicide occurred, he + had received a cut across the forehead, and another slantwise across his + nose, which had quite cut it in two, on a level with the face, and had + thence gone downward to his lower jaw. But neither he nor any one else + could give any testimony elucidating the matter into which I had come to + inquire. A seaman had been stabbed just before the vessel left New York, + and had been sent on shore and died there. Most of these men were in the + affray, and all of then were within a few yards of the spot where it + occurred; but those actually present all pleaded that they were so drunk + that the whole thing was now like a dream, with no distinct images; and, + if any had been sober, they took care to know nothing that could inculpate + any individual. Perhaps they spoke truth; they certainly had a free and + honest-like way of giving their evidence, as if their only object was to + tell all the truth they knew. But I rather think, in the forecastle, and + during the night-watches, they have whispered to one another a great deal + more than they told me, and have come to a pretty accurate conclusion as + to the man who gave the stab. + </p> + <p> + While the examination proceeded, there was a drawing of corks in a side + closet; and, at its conclusion, the captain asked us to stay to dinner, + but we excused ourselves, and drank only a glass of wine. The captain + apologized for not joining us, inasmuch as he had drunk no wine for the + last seventeen years. He appears to be a particularly good and trustworthy + man, and is the only shipmaster whom I have met with, who says that a crew + can best be governed by kindness. In the inner closet there was a cage + containing two land-birds, who had come aboard him, tired almost to death, + three or four hundred miles from shore; and he had fed them and been + tender of them, from a sense of what was due to hospitality. He means to + give them to J——-. + </p> + <p> + November 28th.—I have grown wofully aristocratic in my tastes, I + fear, since coming to England; at all events, I am conscious of a certain + disgust at going to dine in a house with a small entrance-hall and a + narrow staircase, parlor with chintz curtains, and all other arrangements + on a similar scale. This is pitiable. However, I really do not think I + should mind these things, were it not for the bustle, the affectation, the + intensity, of the mistress of the house. It is certain that a woman in + England is either decidedly a lady or decidedly not a lady. There seems to + be no respectable medium. Bill of fare: broiled soles, half of a roast + pig, a haricot of mutton, stewed oysters, a tart, pears, figs, with sherry + and port wine, both good, and the port particularly so. I ate some pig, + and could hardly resist the lady's importunities to eat more; though to my + fancy it tasted of swill,—had a flavor of the pigsty. On the parlor + table were some poor editions of popular books, Longfellow's poems and + others. The lady affects a literary taste, and bothered me about my own + productions. + </p> + <p> + A beautiful subject for a romance, or for a sermon, would be the + subsequent life of the young man whom Jesus bade to sell all he had and + give to the poor; and he went away sorrowful, and is not recorded to have + done what he was bid. + </p> + <p> + December 11th.—This has been a foggy morning and forenoon, snowing a + little now and then, and disagreeably cold. The sky is of an inexpressibly + dreary, dun color. It is so dark at times that I have to hold my book + close to my eyes, and then again it lightens up a little. On the whole, + disgustingly gloomy; and thus it has been for a long while past, although + the disagreeableness seems to be very near the earth, and just above the + steeples and house-tops very probably there may be a bright, sunshiny day. + At about twelve there is a faint glow of sunlight, like the gleaming + reflection from a not highly polished copper kettle. + </p> + <p> + December 26th.—On Christmas eve and yesterday, there were little + branches of mistletoe hanging in several parts of the house, in the + kitchen, the entries, the parlor, and the smoking-room,—suspended + from the gas-fittings. The maids of the house did their utmost to entrap + the gentlemen boarders, old and young; under the privileged places, and + there to kiss them, after which they were expected to pay a shilling. It + is very queer, being customarily so respectful, that they should assume + this license now, absolutely trying to pull the gentlemen into the kitchen + by main force, and kissing the harder and more abundantly the more they + were resisted. A little rosy-checked Scotch lass—at other times very + modest —was the most active in this business. I doubt whether any + gentleman but myself escaped. I heard old Mr. S——— + parleying with the maids last evening, and pleading his age; but he seems + to have met with no mercy, for there was a sound of prodigious smacking + immediately afterwards. J——- was assaulted, and fought, most + vigorously; but was outrageously kissed,—receiving some scratches, + moreover, in the conflict. The mistletoe has white, wax-looking berries, + and dull green leaves, with a parasitical stem. + </p> + <p> + Early in the morning of Christmas day, long before daylight, I heard music + in the street, and a woman's voice, powerful and melodious, singing a + Christmas hymn. Before bedtime I presume one half of England, at a + moderate calculation, was the worse for liquor. + </p> + <p> + The market-houses, at this season, show the national taste for heavy + feeding,—carcasses of prize oxen, immensely fat, and bulky; fat + sheep, with their woolly heads and tails still on, and stars and other + devices ingeniously wrought on the quarters; fat pigs, adorned with + flowers, like corpses of virgins; hares, wild-fowl, geese, ducks, turkeys; + and green boughs and banners suspended about the stalls,—and a great + deal of dirt and griminess on the stone floor of the market-house, and on + the persons of the crowd. + </p> + <p> + There are some Englishmen whom I like,—one or two for whom I might + say I have an affection; but still there is not the same union between us + as if they were Americans. A cold, thin medium intervenes betwixt our most + intimate approaches. It puts me in mind of Alnaschar and his princess, + with the cold steel blade of his scimitar between them. Perhaps if I were + at home I might feel differently; but in a foreign land I can never forget + the distinction between English and American. + </p> + <p> + January 1st, 1856.—Last night, at Mrs. Blodgett's, we sat up till + twelve o'clock to open the front door, and let the New Year in. After the + coming guest was fairly in the house, the back door was to be opened, to + let the Old Year out; but I was tired, and did not wait for the latter + ceremony. When the New Year made its entrance, there was a general shaking + of hands, and one of the shipmasters said that it was customary to kiss + the ladies all round; but to my great satisfaction, we did not proceed to + such extremity. There was singing in the streets, and many voices of + people passing, and when twelve had struck, all the bells of the town, I + believe, rang out together. I went up stairs, sad and lonely, and, + stepping into J——-'s little room, wished him a Happy New Year, + as he slept, and many of them. + </p> + <p> + To a cool observer, a country does not show to best advantage during a + time of war. All its self-conceit is doubly visible, and, indeed, is + sedulously kept uppermost by direct appeals to it. The country must be + humbugged, in order to keep its courage up. + </p> + <p> + Sentiment seems to me more abundant in middle-aged ladies in England than + in the United States. I don't know how it may be with young ladies. + </p> + <p> + The shipmasters bear testimony to the singular delicacy of common sailors + in their behavior in the presence of women; and they say that this good + trait is still strongly observable even in the present race of seamen, + greatly deteriorated as it is. On shipboard, there is never an indecorous + word or unseemly act said or done by sailors when a woman can be cognizant + of it; and their deportment in this respect differs greatly from that of + landsmen of similar position in society. This is remarkable, considering + that a sailor's female acquaintances are usually and exclusively of the + worst kind, and that his intercourse with them has no relation whatever to + morality or decency. For this very reason, I suppose, he regards a modest + woman as a creature divine and to be reverenced. + </p> + <p> + January 16th.—-I have suffered wofully from low spirits for some + time past; and this has not often been the case since I grew to be a man, + even in the least auspicious periods of my life. My desolate bachelor + condition, I suppose, is the cause. Really, I have no pleasure in + anything, and I feel my tread to be heavier, and my physical movement more + sluggish, than in happier times. A weight is always upon me. My appetite + is not good. I sleep ill, lying awake till late at night, to think sad + thoughts and to imagine sombre things, and awaking before light with the + same thoughts and fancies still in my mind. My heart sinks always as I + ascend the stairs to my office, from a dim augury of ill news from Lisbon + that I may perhaps hear,—of black-sealed letters, or some such + horrors. Nothing gives me any joy. I have learned what the bitterness of + exile is, in these days; and I never should have known it but for the + absence of "Remote, unfriended, melancholy, slow,"—I can perfectly + appreciate that line of Goldsmith; for it well expresses my own torpid, + unenterprising, joyless state of mind and heart. I am like an uprooted + plant, wilted and drooping. Life seems so purposeless as not to be worth + the trouble of carrying it on any further. + </p> + <p> + I was at a dinner, the other evening, at Mr. B———'s, + where the entertainment was almost entirely American,—New York + oysters, raw, stewed, and fried; soup of American partridges, particularly + good; also terrapin soup, rich, but not to my taste; American pork and + beans, baked in Yankee style; a noble American turkey, weighing thirty-one + pounds; and, at the other end of the table, an American round of beef, + which the Englishmen present allowed to be delicious, and worth a guinea + an ounce. I forget the other American dishes, if there were any more,—O + yes! canvas-back ducks, coming on with the sweets, in the usual English + fashion. We ought to have had Catawba wine; but this was wanting, although + there was plenty of hock, champagne, sherry, madeira, port, and claret. + Our host is a very jolly man, and the dinner was a merrier and noisier one + than any English dinner within my experience. + </p> + <p> + February 8th.—I read to-day, in the little office-Bible (greasy with + perjuries) St. Luke's account of the agony, the trial, the crucifixion, + and the resurrection; and how Christ appeared to the two disciples, on + their way to Emmaus, and afterwards to a company of disciples. On both + these latter occasions he expounded the Scriptures to them, and showed the + application of the old prophecies to himself; and it is to be supposed + that he made them fully, or at least sufficiently, aware what his + character was,—whether God, or man, or both, or something between, + together with all other essential points of doctrine. But none of this + doctrine or of these expositions is recorded, the mere facts being most + simply stated, and the conclusion to which he led them, that, whether God + himself, or the Son of God, or merely the Son of man, he was, at all + events, the Christ foretold in the Jewish Scriptures. This last, + therefore, must have been the one essential point. + </p> + <p> + February 18th.—On Saturday there called on me an elderly + Robinson-Crusoe sort of man, Mr. H———, shipwright, I + believe, of Boston, who has lately been travelling in the East. About a + year ago he was here, after being shipwrecked on the Dutch coast, and I + assisted him to get home. Again, I have supplied him with five pounds, and + my credit for an outside garment. He is a spare man, with closely cropped + gray, or rather white hair, close-cropped whiskers fringing round his + chin, and a close-cropped white mustache, with his under lip and a portion + of his chin bare beneath,—sunburnt and weather-worn. He has been in + Syria and Jerusalem, through the Desert, and at Sebastopol; and says he + means to get Ticknor to publish his travels, and the story of his whole + adventurous life, on his return home. A free-spoken, confiding, hardy, + religious, unpolished, simple, yet world-experienced man; very talkative, + and boring me with longer visits than I like. He has brought home, among + other curiosities, "a lady's arm," as he calls it, two thousand years old,—a + piece of a mummy, of course; also some coins, one of which, a gold coin of + Vespasian, he showed me, and said he bought it of an Arab of the desert. + The Bedouins possess a good many of these coins, handed down immemorially + from father to son, and never sell them unless compelled by want. He had + likewise a Hebrew manuscript of the Book of Ruth, on a parchment roll, + which was put into his care to be given to Lord Haddo. + </p> + <p> + He was at Sebastopol during the siege, and nearly got his head knocked off + by a cannon-ball. His strangest statement is one in reference to Lord + Raglan. He says that an English officer told him that his Lordship shut + himself up, desiring not to be disturbed, as he needed sleep. When fifteen + hours had gone by, his attendants thought it time to break open the door; + and Lord Raglan was found dead, with a bottle of strychnine by the + bedside. The affair, so far as the circumstances indicated suicide, was + hushed up, and his death represented as a natural one. The English officer + seems to have been an unscrupulous fellow, jesting thus with the fresh + memory of his dead commander; for it is impossible to believe a word of + the story. Even if Lord Raglan had wished for death, he would hardly have + taken strychnine, when there were so many chances of being honorably shot. + In Wood's Narrative of the Campaign, it is stated that he died surrounded + by the members of his staff, after having been for some time ill. It + appears, however, by the same statement, that no serious apprehensions had + been entertained, until, one afternoon, he shut himself in, desiring not + to be disturbed till evening. After two or three hours he called Lord + Burghersh,—"Frank, Frank!" and was found to be almost in a state of + collapse, and died that evening. Mr. H———'s story might + very well have been a camp rumor. + </p> + <p> + It seems to me that the British Ministry, in its notion of a life-peerage, + shows an entire misunderstanding of what makes people desire the peerage. + It is not for the immediate personal distinction; but because it removes + the peer and his consanguinity from the common rank of men, and makes a + separate order of them, as if they should grow angelic. A life-peer is but + a mortal amid the angelic throng. + </p> + <p> + February 28th.—I went yesterday with Mrs. ——— and + another lady, and Mr. M———, to the West Derby Workhouse. + . . . + </p> + <p> + [Here comes in the visit to the West Derby Workhouse, which was made the + subject of a paper in Our Old Home, called "Outside Glimpses of English + Poverty." As the purpose in publishing these passages from the private + note-books is to give to those who ask for a memoir of Mr. Hawthorne every + possible incident recorded by himself which shows his character and + nature, the editor thinks it proper to disclose the fact that Mr. + Hawthorne was himself the gentleman of that party who took up in his arms + the little child, so fearfully repulsive in its condition. And it seems + better to quote his own words in reference to it, than merely to say it + was he. + </p> + <p> + Under date February 28, 1856. + </p> + <p> + "After this, we went to the ward where the children were kept, and, on + entering this, we saw, in the first place, two or three unlovely and + unwholesome little imps, who were lazily playing together. One of them (a + child about six years old, but I know not whether girl or boy) immediately + took the strangest fancy for me. It was a wretched, pale, half-torpid + little thing, with a humor in its eyes which the Governor said was the + scurvy. I never saw, till a few moments afterwards, a child that I should + feel less inclined to fondle. + </p> + <p> + "But this little, sickly, humor-eaten fright prowled around me, taking + hold of my skirts, following at my heels, and at last held up its hands, + smiled in my face, and, standing directly before me, insisted on my taking + it up! Not that it said a word, for I rather think it was underwitted, and + could not talk; but its face expressed such perfect confidence that it was + going to be taken up and made much of, that it was impossible not to do + it. It was as if God had promised the child this favor on my behalf, and + that I must needs fulfil the contract. I held my undesirable burden a + little while; and, after setting the child down, it still followed me, + holding two of my fingers and playing with them, just as if it were a + child of my own. It was a foundling, and out of all human kind it chose me + to be its father! We went up stairs into another ward; and, on coming down + again, there was this same child waiting for me, with a sickly smile round + its defaced mouth, and in its dim red eyes. . . . I never should have + forgiven myself if I had repelled its advances."—ED.] + </p> + <p> + After leaving the workhouse, we drove to Norris Green; and Mrs. ——— + showed me round the grounds, which are very good and nicely kept. O these + English homes, what delightful places they are! I wonder how many people + live and die in the workhouse, having no other home, because other people + have a great deal more home than enough. . . . We had a very pleasant + dinner, and Mr. M——— and I walked back, four miles and a + half, to Liverpool, where we arrived just before midnight. + </p> + <p> + Why did Christ curse the fig-tree? It was not in the least to blame; and + it seems most unreasonable to have expected it to bear figs out of season. + Instead of withering it away, it would have been as great a miracle, and + far more beautiful, and, one would think, of more beneficent influence, to + have made it suddenly rich with ripe fruit. Then, to be sure, it might + have died joyfully, having answered so good a purpose. I have been + reminded of this miracle by the story of a man in Heywood, a town in + Lancashire, who used such horribly profane language that a plane-tree in + front of his cottage is said to have withered away from that hour. I can + draw no moral from the incident of the fig-tree, unless it be that all + things perish from the instant when they cease to answer some divine + purpose. + </p> + <p> + March 6th.—Yesterday I lunched on board Captain Russell's ship, the + Princeton. These daily lunches on shipboard might answer very well the + purposes of a dinner; being, in fact, noontide dinners, with soup, roast + mutton, mutton-chops, and a macaroni pudding,—brandy, port and + sherry wines. There were three elderly Englishmen at table, with white + heads, which, I think, is oftener the predicament of elderly heads here + than in America. One of these was a retired Custom-House officer, and the + other two were connected with shipping in some way. There is a + satisfaction in seeing Englishmen eat and drink, they do it so heartily, + and, on the whole, so wisely,—trusting so entirely that there is no + harm in good beef and mutton, and a reasonable quantity of good liquor; + and these three hale old men, who had acted on this wholesome faith for so + long, were proofs that it is well on earth to live like earthly creatures. + In America, what squeamishness, what delicacy, what stomachic + apprehension, would there not be among three stomachs of sixty or seventy + years' experience! I think this failure of American stomachs is partly + owing to our ill usage of our digestive powers, and partly to our want of + faith in them. + </p> + <p> + After lunch, we all got into an omnibus, and went to the Mersey Iron + Foundry, to see the biggest piece of ordnance in the world, which is + almost finished. The overseer of the works received us, and escorted us + courteously throughout the establishment; which is very extensive, giving + employment to a thousand men, what with night-work and day-work. The big + gun is still on the axle, or turning-machine, by means of which it has + been bored. It is made entirely of wrought and welded iron, fifty tons of + which were originally used; and the gun, in its present state, bored out + and smoothed away, weighs nearly twenty-three tons. It has, as yet, no + trunnions, and does not look much like a cannon, but only a huge iron + cylinder, immensely solid, and with a bore so large that a young man of + nineteen shoved himself into it, the whole length, with a light, in order + to see whether it is duly smooth and regular. I suppose it will have a + better effect, as to the impression of size, when it is finished, + polished, mounted, aid fully equipped, after the fashion of ordinary + cannon. It is to throw a ball of three hundred pounds' weight five miles, + and woe be to whatever ship or battlement shall bear the brunt! + </p> + <p> + After inspecting the gun we went through other portions of the + establishment, and saw iron in various stages of manufacture. I am not + usually interested in manufacturing processes, being quite unable to + understand them, at least in cotton-machinery and the like; but here there + were such exhibitions of mighty strength, both of men and machines, that I + had a satisfaction in looking on. We saw lumps of iron, intensely + white-hot, and in all but a melting state, passed through rollers of + various size and pressure, and speedily converted into long bars, which + came curling and waving out of the rollers like great red ribbons, or like + fiery serpents wriggling out of Tophet; and finally, being straightened + out, they were laid to cool in heaps. Trip-hammers are very pleasant + things to look at, working so massively as they do, and yet so accurately; + chewing up the hot iron, as it were, and fashioning it into shape, with a + sort of mighty and gigantic gentleness in their mode of action. What great + things man has contrived, and is continually performing! What a noble + brute he is! + </p> + <p> + Also, I found much delight in looking at the molten iron, boiling and + bubbling in the furnace, and sometimes slopping over, when stirred by the + attendant. There were numberless fires on all sides, blinding us with + their intense glow; and continually the pounding strokes of huge hammers, + some wielded by machinery and others by human arms. I had a respect for + these stalwart workmen, who seemed to be near kindred of the machines amid + which they wrought,—mighty men, smiting stoutly, and looking into + the fierce eyes of the furnace fearlessly, and handling the iron at a + temperature which would have taken the skin off from ordinary fingers. + They looked strong, indeed, but pale; for the hot atmosphere in which they + live cannot but be deleterious, and I suppose their very strength wears + them quickly out. But I would rather live ten years as an iron-smith than + fifty as a tailor. + </p> + <p> + So much heat can be concentrated into a mass of iron, that a lump a foot + square heats all the atmosphere about it, and burns the face at a + considerable distance. As the trip-hammer strikes the lump, it seems still + more to intensify the heat by squeezing it together, and the fluid iron + oozes out like sap or juice. + </p> + <p> + "He was ready for the newest fashions!"—this expression was used by + Mrs. Blodgett in reference to Mr. ——— on his first + arrival in England, and it is a very tender way of signifying that a + person is rather poorly off as to apparel. + </p> + <p> + March 15th.—Mr. ———, our new ambassador, arrived + on Thursday afternoon by the Atlantic, and I called at the Adelphi Hotel, + after dinner, to pay him my respects. I found him and his family at + supper. . . . They seem to be plain, affable people. . . . The ambassador + is a venerable old gentleman, with a full head of perfectly white hair, + looking not unlike an old-fashioned wig; and this, together with his + collarless white neckcloth and his brown coat, gave him precisely such an + aspect as one would expect in a respectable person of pre-revolutionary + days. There was a formal simplicity, too, in his manners, that might have + belonged to the same era. He must have been a very handsome man in his + youthful days, and is now comely, very erect, moderately tall, not + overburdened with flesh; of benign and agreeable address, with a pleasant + smile; but his eyes, which are not very large, impressed me as sharp and + cold. He did not at all stamp himself upon me as a man of much + intellectual or characteristic vigor. I found no such matter in his + conversation, nor did I feel it in the indefinable way by which strength + always makes itself acknowledged. B———, though, somehow, + plain and uncouth, yet vindicates himself as a large man of the world, + able, experienced, fit to handle difficult circumstances of life; + dignified, too, and able to hold his own in any society. Mr. ——— + has a kind of venerable dignity; but yet, if a person could so little + respect himself as to insult him, I should say that there was no innate + force in Mr. ——— to prevent it. It is very strange that + he should have made so considerable a figure in public life, filling + offices that the strongest men would have thought worthy of their highest + ambition. There must be something shrewd and sly under his apparent + simplicity; narrow, cold, selfish, perhaps. I fancied these things in his + eyes. He has risen in life by the lack of too powerful qualities, and by a + certain tact, which enables him to take advantage of circumstances and + opportunities, and avail himself of his unobjectionableness, just at the + proper time. I suppose he must be pronounced a humbug, yet almost or quite + an innocent one. Yet he is a queer representative to be sent from brawling + and boisterous America at such a critical period. It will be funny if + England sends him back again, on hearing the news of ———'s + dismissal. Mr. ——— gives me the impression of being a + very amiable man in his own family. He has brought his son with him, as + Secretary of Legation,—a small young man, with a little mustache. It + will be a feeble embassy. + </p> + <p> + I called again the next morning, and introduced Mrs. ———, + who, I believe, accompanied the ladies about town. This simplicity in Mr. + ———'s manner puzzles and teases me; for, in spite of it, + there was a sort of self-consciousness, as if he were being looked at,—as + if he were having his portrait taken. + </p> + <h3> + LONDON. + </h3> + <p> + March 22d.—Yesterday,—no, day before yesterday,—I left + Liverpool for London by rail, from the Lime Street station. The journey + was a dull and monotonous one, as usual. Three passengers were in the same + carriage with me at starting; but they dropped off; and from Rugby I was + alone. We reached London after ten o'clock; and I took a cab for St. + James's Place, No. 32, where I found Mr. B——— expecting + me. He had secured a bedroom for me at this lodging-house, and I am to be + free of his drawing-room during my stay. We breakfasted at nine, and then + walked down to his counting-room, in Old Broad Street, in the city. It + being a dim, dingy morning, London looked very dull, the more so as it was + Good Friday, and therefore the streets were comparatively thin of people + and vehicles, and had on their Sunday aspect. If it were not for the human + life and bustle of London, it would be a very stupid place, with a heavy + and dreary-monotony of unpicturesque streets. We went up Bolt Court, where + Dr. Johnson used to live; and this was the only interesting site we saw. + After spending some time in the counting-room, while Mr. ——— + read his letters, we went to London Bridge, and took the steamer for + Waterloo Bridge, with partly an intent to go to Richmond, but the day was + so damp and dusky that we concluded otherwise. So we came home, visiting, + on our way, the site of Covent Garden Theatre, lately burnt down. The + exterior walls still remain perfect, and look quite solid enough to admit + of the interior being renewed, but I believe it is determined to take them + down. + </p> + <p> + After a slight lunch and a glass of wine, we walked out, along Piccadilly, + and to Hyde Park, which already looks very green, and where there were a + good many people walking and driving, and rosy-faced children at play. + Somehow or other the shine and charm are gone from London, since my last + visit; and I did not very much admire, nor feel much interested in + anything. We returned (and I, for my part, was much wearied) in time for + dinner at five. The evening was spent at home in various talk, and I find + Mr. ——— a very agreeable companion, and a young man of + thought and information, with a self-respecting character, and I think him + a safe person to live with. + </p> + <p> + This St. James's Place is in close vicinity to St. James's Palace, the + gateway and not very splendid front of which we can see from the corner. + The club-houses and the best life of the town are near at hand. Addison, + before his marriage, used to live in St. James's Place, and the house + where Mr. Rogers recently died is up the court, not that this latter + residence excites much interest in my mind. I remember nothing else very + noteworthy in this first day's experience, except that on Sir Watkins + Williams Wynn's door, not far from this house, I saw a gold knocker, which + is said to be unscrewed every night lest it should be stolen. I don't know + whether it be really gold; for it did not look so bright as the generality + of brass ones. I received a very good letter from J——- this + morning. He was to go to Mr. Bright's at Sandhays yesterday, and remain + till Monday. + </p> + <p> + After writing the above, I walked along the Strand, Fleet Street, Ludgate + Hill and Cheapside to Wood Street,—a very narrow street, insomuch + that one has to press close against the wall to escape being grazed when a + cart is passing. At No. 77 I found the place of business of Mr. Bennoch, + who came to see me at Rock Ferry with Mr. Jerdan, not long after my + arrival in England. I found him in his office; but he did not at first + recognize me, so much stouter have I grown during my residence in England,—a + new man, as he says. Mr. Bennoch is a kindly, frank, very good man, and + was bounteous in his plans for making my time pass pleasantly. We talked + of ———, from whom he has just received a letter, and who + says he will fight for England in case of a war. I let Bennoch know that + I, at least, should take the other side. + </p> + <p> + After arranging to go to Greenwich Fair, and afterwards to dine with + Bennoch, I left him and went to Mr. ———'s office, and + afterwards strayed forth again, and crossed London Bridge. Thence I + rambled rather drearily along through several shabby and uninteresting + streets on the other side of the Thames; and the dull streets in London + are really the dullest and most disheartening in the world. By and by I + found my way to Southwark Bridge, and so crossed to Upper Thames Street, + which was likewise very stupid, though I believe Clenman's paternal house + in "Little Dorrit" stands thereabouts. . . . Next, I got into Ludgate + Hill, near St. Paul's, and being quite foot-weary, I took a Paddington + omnibus, and rode up into Regent Street, whence I came home. + </p> + <p> + March 24th.—Yesterday being a clear day for England, we determined + upon an expedition to Hampton Court; so walked out betimes towards the + Waterloo station; but first crossed the Thames by Westminster Bridge, and + went to Lambeth Palace. It stands immediately on the bank of the river, + not far above the bridge. We merely walked round it, and saw only an old + stone tower or two, partially renewed with brick, and a high connecting + wall, within which appeared gables and other portions of the palace, all + of an ancient plan and venerable aspect, though evidently much patched up + and restored in the course of the many ages since its foundation. There is + likewise a church, part of which looks old, connected with the palace. The + streets surrounding it have many gabled houses, and a general look of + antiquity, more than some other parts of London. + </p> + <p> + We then walked to the Waterloo station, on the same side of the river; and + at twenty minutes past one took the rail for Hampton Court, distant some + twelve or fifteen miles. On arriving at the terminus, we beheld Hampton + Palace, on the other side of the Thames,—an extensive structure, + with a front of red brick, long and comparatively low, with the great Hall + which Wolsey built rising high above the rest. We crossed the river (which + is here but a narrow stream) by a stone bridge. The entrance to the palace + is about half a quarter of a mile from the railway, through arched gates, + which give a long perspective into the several quadrangles. These + quadrangles, one beyond another, are paved with stone, and surrounded by + the brick walls of the palace, the many windows of which look in upon + them. Soldiers were standing sentinel at the exterior gateways, and at the + various doors of the palace; but they admitted everybody without question + and without fee. Policemen, or other attendants, were in most of the + rooms, but interfered with no one; so that, in this respect, it was one of + the pleasantest places to visit that I have found in England. A good many + people, of all classes, were strolling through the apartments. + </p> + <p> + We first went into Wolsey's great Hall, up a most spacious staircase, the + walls and ceiling of which were covered with an allegorical fresco by + Verrio, wonderfully bright and well preserved; and without caring about + the design or execution, I greatly liked the brilliancy of the colors. The + great Hall is a most noble and beautiful room, above a hundred feet long + and sixty high and broad. Most of the windows are of stained or painted + glass, with elaborate designs, whether modern or ancient I know not, but + certainly brilliant in effect. The walls, from the floor to perhaps half + their height, are covered with antique tapestry, which, though a good deal + faded, still retains color enough to be a very effective adornment, and to + give an idea of how rich a mode of decking a noble apartment this must + have been. The subjects represented were from Scripture, and the figures + seemed colossal. On looking closely at this tapestry, you could see that + it was thickly interwoven with threads of gold, still glistening. The + windows, except one or two that are long, do not descend below the top of + this tapestry, and are therefore twenty or thirty feet above the floor; + and this manner of lighting a great room seems to add much to the + impressiveness of the enclosed space. The roof is very magnificent, of + carved oak, intricately and elaborately arched, and still as perfect to + all appearance as when it was first made. There are banners, so fresh in + their hues, and so untattered, that I think they must be modern, suspended + along beneath the cornice of the hall, and exhibiting Wolsey's arms and + badges. On the whole, this is a perfect sight, in its way. + </p> + <p> + Next to the hall there is a withdrawing-room, more than seventy feet long, + and twenty-five feet high. The walls of this apartment, too, are covered + with ancient tapestry, of allegorical design, but more faded than that of + the hall. There is also a stained-glass window; and a marble statue of + Venus on a couch, very lean and not very beautiful; and some cartoons of + Carlo Cignani, which have left no impression on my memory; likewise, a + large model of a splendid palace of some East Indian nabob. + </p> + <p> + I am not sure, after all, that Verrio's frescoed grand staircase was not + in another part of the palace; for I remember that we went from it through + an immensely long suite of apartments, beginning with the Guard-chamber. + All these rooms are wainscoted with oak, which looks new, being, I + believe, of the date of King William's reign. Over many of the doorways, + or around the panels, there are carvings in wood by Gibbons, representing + wreaths of flowers, fruit, and foliage, the most perfectly beautiful that + can be conceived; and the wood being of a light hue (lime-wood, I + believe), it has a fine effect on the dark oak panelling. The apartments + open one beyond another, in long, long, long succession,— rooms of + state, and kings' and queens' bedchambers, and royal closets bigger than + ordinary drawing-rooms, so that the whole suite must be half a mile, or it + may be a mile, in extent. From the windows you get views of the + palace-grounds, broad and stately walks, and groves of trees, and lawns, + and fountains, and the Thames and adjacent country beyond. The walls of + all these rooms are absolutely covered with pictures, including works of + all the great masters, which would require long study before a new eye + could enjoy them; and, seeing so many of them at once, and having such a + nothing of time to look at them all, I did not even try to see any merit + in them. Vandyke's picture of Charles I., on a white horse beneath an + arched gateway, made more impression on me than any other, and as I recall + it now, it seems as if I could see the king's noble, melancholy face, and + armed form, remembered not in picture, but in reality. All Sir Peter + Lely's lewd women, and Kneller's too, were in these rooms; and the jolly + old stupidity of George III. and his family, many times repeated; and + pictures by Titian, Rubens, and other famous hands, intermixed with many + by West, which provokingly drew the eye away from their betters. It seems + to me that a picture, of all other things, should be by itself; whereas + people always congregate them in galleries. To endeavor really to see + them, so arranged, is like trying to read a hundred poems at once,—a + most absurd attempt. Of all these pictures, I hardly recollect any so well + as a ridiculous old travesty of the Resurrection and Last Judgment, where + the dead people are represented as coming to life at the sound of the + trumpet,—the flesh re-establishing itself on the bones, one man + picking up his skull, and putting it on his shoulders,—and all + appearing greatly startled, only half awake, and at a loss what to do + next. Some devils are dragging away the damned by the heels and on + sledges, and above sits the Redeemer and some angelic and sainted people, + looking complacently down upon the scene! + </p> + <p> + We saw, in one of the rooms, the funeral canopy beneath which the Duke of + Wellington lay in state,—very gorgeous, of black velvet embroidered + with silver and adorned with escutcheons; also, the state bed of Queen + Anne, broad, and of comfortable appearance, though it was a queen's,—the + materials of the curtains, quilt, and furniture, red velvet, still + brilliant in hue; also King William's bed and his queen Mary's, with + enormously tall posts, and a good deal the worse for time and wear. + </p> + <p> + The last apartment we entered was the gallery containing Raphael's + cartoons, which I shall not pretend to admire nor to understand. I can + conceive, indeed, that there is a great deal of expression in them, and + very probably they may, in every respect, deserve all their fame; but on + this point I can give no testimony. To my perception they were a series of + very much faded pictures, dimly seen (for this part of the palace was now + in shadow), and representing figures neither graceful nor beautiful, nor, + as far as I could discern, particularly grand. But I came to them with a + wearied mind and eye; and also I had a previous distaste to them through + the medium of engravings. + </p> + <p> + But what a noble palace, nobly enriched, is this Hampton Court! The + English government does well to keep it up, and to admit the people freely + into it, for it is impossible for even a Republican not to feel something + like awe—at least a profound respect—for all this state, and + for the institutions which are here represented, the sovereigns whose + moral magnificence demands such a residence; and its permanence, too, + enduring from age to age, and each royal generation adding new splendors + to those accumulated by their predecessors. If one views the matter in + another way, to be sure, we may feel indignant that such dolt-heads, + rowdies, and every way mean people, as many of the English sovereigns have + been, should inhabit these stately halls, contrasting its splendors with + their littleness; but, on the whole, I readily consented within myself to + be impressed for a moment with the feeling that royalty has its glorious + side. By no possibility can we ever have such a place in America. + </p> + <p> + Leaving Hampton Court at about four o'clock, we walked through Bushy Park,—a + beautiful tract of ground, well wooded with fine old trees, green with + moss, all up their twisted trunks,—through several villages, + Twickenham among the rest, to Richmond. Before entering Twickenham, we + passed a lath-and-plaster castellated edifice, much time-worn, and with + the plaster peeling off from the laths, which I fancied might be Horace + Walpole's toy-castle. Not that it really could have been; but it was like + the image, wretchedly mean and shabby, which one forms of such a place, in + its decay. From Hampton Court to the Star and Garter, on Richmond Hill, is + about six miles. After glancing cursorily at the prospect, which is + famous, and doubtless very extensive and beautiful if the English + mistiness would only let it be seen, we took a good dinner in the large + and handsome coffee-room of the hotel, and then wended our way to the + rail-station, and reached home between eight and nine o'clock. We must + have walked not far from fifteen miles in the course of the day. + </p> + <p> + March 25th.—Yesterday, at one o'clock, I called by appointment on + Mr. Bennoch, and lunched with him and his partners and clerks. This lunch + seems to be a legitimate continuation of the old London custom of the + master living at the same table with his apprentices. The meal was a + dinner for the latter class. The table was set in an upper room of the + establishment; and the dinner was a large joint of roast mutton, to which + ten people sat down, including a German silk-merchant as a guest besides + myself. Mr. Bennoch was at the head of the table, and one of his partners + at the foot. For the apprentices there was porter to drink, and for the + partners and guests some sparkling Moselle, and we had a sufficient dinner + with agreeable conversation. Bennoch said that G. G——— + used to be very fond of these lunches while in England. + </p> + <p> + After lunch, Mr. Bennoch took me round the establishment, which is quite + extensive, occupying, I think, two or three adjacent houses, and requiring + more. He showed me innumerable packages of ribbons, and other silk + manufactures, and all sorts of silks, from the raw thread to the finest + fabrics. He then offered to show me some of the curiosities of old London, + and took me first to Barber-Surgeons' Hall, in Monkwell Street. It was at + this place that the first anatomical studies were instituted in England. + At the time of its foundation, the Barbers and Surgeons were one company; + but the latter, I believe, are now the exclusive possessors of the Hall. + The edifice was built by Inigo Jones, and the principal room is a fine + one, with finely carved wood-work on the ceiling and walls. There is a + skylight in the roof, letting down a sufficient radiance on the long table + beneath, where, no doubt, dead people have been dissected, and where, for + many generations, it has been the custom of the society to hold its stated + feasts. In this room hangs the most valuable picture by Holbein now in + existence, representing the company of Barber-Surgeons kneeling before + Henry VIII., and receiving their charter from his hands. The picture is + about six feet square. The king is dressed in scarlet, and quite fulfils + one's idea of his aspect. The Barber-Surgeons, all portraits, are an + assemblage of grave-looking personages, in dark costumes. The company has + refused five thousand pounds for this unique picture; and the keeper of + the Hall told me that Sir Robert Peel had offered a thousand pounds for + liberty to take out only one of the heads, that of a person named Pen, he + conditioning to have a perfect fac-simile painted in. I did not see any + merit in this head over the others. + </p> + <p> + Beside this great picture hung a most exquisite portrait by Vandyke; an + elderly, bearded man, of noble and refined countenance, in a rich, grave + dress. There are many other pictures of distinguished men of the company, + in long past times, and of some of the kings and great people of England, + all darkened with age, and producing a rich and sombre effect, in this + stately old hall. Nothing is more curious in London than these ancient + localities and customs of the City Companies,—each trade and + profession having its own hall, and its own institutions. The keeper next + showed us the plate which is used at the banquets. + </p> + <p> + I should like to be present at one of these feasts. I saw also an old + vellum manuscript, in black-letter, which appeared to be a record of the + proceedings of the company; and at the end there were many pages ruled for + further entries, but none had been made in the volume for the last three + or four hundred years. + </p> + <p> + I think it was in the neighborhood of Barber-Surgeons' Hall, which stands + amid an intricacy of old streets, where I should never have thought of + going, that I saw a row of ancient almshouses, of Elizabethan structure. + They looked wofully dilapidated. In front of one of them was an + inscription, setting forth that some worthy alderman had founded this + establishment for the support of six poor men; and these six, or their + successors, are still supported, but no larger number, although the value + of the property left for that purpose would now suffice for a much larger + number. + </p> + <p> + Then Mr. Bennoch took me to Cripplegate, and, entering the door of a + house, which proved to be a sexton's residence, we passed by a side + entrance into the church-porch of St. Giles, of which the sexton's house + seems to be an indivisible contiguity. This is a very ancient church, that + escaped the great fire of London. The galleries are supported by arches, + the pillars of which are cased high upwards with oak; but all this oaken + work and the oaken pews are comparatively modern, though so solid and dark + that they agree well enough with the general effect of the church. + Proceeding to the high altar, we found it surrounded with many very + curious old monuments and memorials, some in carved oak, some in marble; + grim old worthies, mostly in the costume of Queen Elizabeth's time. Here + was the bust of Speed, the historian; here was the monument of Fox, author + of The Book of Martyrs. High up on the wall, beside the altar, there was a + black wooden coffin, and a lady sitting upright within it, with her hands + clasped in prayer, it being her awakening moment at the Resurrection. + Thence we passed down the centre aisle, and about midway we stopped before + a marble bust, fixed against one of the pillars. And this was the bust of + Milton! Yes, and Milton's bones lay beneath our feet; for he was buried + under the pew over the door of which I was leaning. The bust, I believe, + is the original of the one in Westminster Abbey. + </p> + <p> + Treading over the tombstones of the old citizens of London, both in the + aisles and the porch, and within doors and without, we went into the + churchyard, one side of which is fenced in by a portion of London Wall, + very solid, and still high, though the accumulation of human dust has + covered much of its base. This is the most considerable portion now + remaining of the ancient wall of London. The sexton now asked us to go + into the tower of the church, that he might show us the oldest part of the + structure, and we did so, and, looking down from the organ gallery, I saw + a woman sitting alone in the church, waiting for the rector, whose ghostly + consolation, I suppose, she needed. + </p> + <p> + This old church-tower was formerly lighted by three large windows,—one + of them of very great size; but the thrifty church-wardens of a generation + or two ago had built them up with brick, to the great disfigurement of the + church. The sexton called my attention to the organ-pipe, which is of + sufficient size, I believe, to admit three men. + </p> + <p> + From Cripplegate we went to Milton Street (as it is now called), through + which we walked for a very excellent reason; for this is the veritable + Grub Street, where my literary kindred of former times used to congregate. + It is still a shabby-looking street, with old-fashioned houses, and + inhabited chiefly by people of the poorer classes, though not by authors. + Next we went to Old Broad Street, and, being joined by Mr. B———, + we set off for London Bridge, turning out of our direct course to see + London stone in Watling Street. This famous stone appears now to be built + into the wall of St. Swithin's Church, and is so encased that you can only + see and touch the top of it through a circular hole. There are one or two + long cuts or indentations in the top, which are said to have been made by + Jack Cade's sword when he struck it against the stone. If so, his sword + was of a redoubtable temper. Judging by what I saw, London stone was a + rudely shaped and unhewn post. + </p> + <p> + At the London Bridge station, we took the rail for Greenwich, and, it + being only about five miles off, we were not long in reaching the town. It + was Easter Monday; and during the first three days of Easter, from time + immemorial, a fair has been held at Greenwich, and this was what we had + come to see. + </p> + <p> + [This fair is described in Our Old Home, in "A Loudon Suburb."] + </p> + <p> + Reaching Mr. Bennoch's house, we found it a pretty and comfortable one, + and adorned with many works of art; for he seems to be a patron of art and + literature, and a warm-hearted man, of active benevolence and vivid + sympathies in many directions. His face shows this. I have never seen eyes + of a warmer glow than his. On the walls of one room there were a good many + sketches by Haydon, and several artists' proofs of fine engravings, + presented by persons to whom he had been kind. In the drawing-room there + was a marble bust of Mrs. ———, and one, I think, of + himself, and one of the Queen, which Mr. Bennoch said was very good, and + it is unlike any other I have seen. It is intended as a gift, from a + number of subscribers, to Miss Nightingale. Likewise a crayon sketch of + ———, looking rather morbid and unwholesome, as the poor + lady really is. Also, a small picture of Mr. Bennoch in a military dress, + as an officer, probably of city-horse. By and by came in a young + gentleman, son of Haydon, the painter of high art, and one or two ladies + staying in the house, and anon Mrs. ———. And so we went + in to dinner. + </p> + <p> + Bennoch is an admirable host, and warms his guests like a household fire + by the influence of his kindly face and glowing eyes, and by such + hospitable demeanor as best suits this aspect. After the cloth was + removed, came in Mr. Newton Crosland, a young man who once called on me in + Liverpool,—the husband of a literary lady, formerly Camilla Toulmin. + The lady herself was coming to spend the evening. The husband (and I + presume the wife) is a decided believer in spiritual manifestations. We + talked of politics and spiritualism and literature; and before we rose + from table, Mr. Bennoch drank the health of the ladies, and especially of + Mrs. ———, in terms very kind towards her and me. I + responded in her behalf as well as I could, and left it to Mr. Bowman, as + a bachelor, to respond for the ladies generally,—which he did + briefly, toasting Mrs. B———. + </p> + <p> + We had heard the sound of the piano in the drawing-room for some time, and + now adjourning thither, I had the pleasure to be introduced to Mrs. Newton + Crosland,—a rather tall, thin, pale, and lady-like person, looking, + I thought, of a sensitive character. She expressed in a low tone and quiet + way great delight at seeing my distinguished self! for she is a vast + admirer of The Scarlet Letter, and especially of the character of Hester; + indeed, I remember seeing a most favorable criticism of the book from her + pen, in one of the London magazines. . . . + </p> + <p> + At eleven o'clock Mrs. Crosland entered the tiniest pony-carriage, and set + forth for her own residence, with a lad walking at the pony's head, and + carrying a lantern. . . . + </p> + <p> + March 26th.—Yesterday was not a very eventful day. After writing in + my journal I went out at twelve, and visited, for the first time, the + National Gallery. It is of no use for me to criticise pictures, or to try + to describe them, but I have an idea that I might acquire a taste, with a + little attention to the subject, for I find I already begin to prefer some + pictures to others. This is encouraging. Of those that I saw yesterday, I + think I liked several by Murillo best. There were a great many people in + the gallery, almost entirely of the middle, with a few of the lower + classes; and I should think that the effect of the exhibition must at + least tend towards refinement. Nevertheless, the only emotion that I saw + displayed was in broad grins on the faces of a man and two women, at sight + of a small picture of Venus, with a Satyr peeping at her with an + expression of gross animal delight and merriment. Without being aware of + it, this man and the two women were of that same Satyr breed. + </p> + <p> + If I lived in London, I would endeavor to educate myself in this and other + galleries of art; but as the case stands, it would be of no use. I saw two + of Turner's landscapes; but did not see so much beauty in them as in some + of Claude's. A view of the grand canal in Venice, by Canaletto, seemed to + me wonderful,—absolutely perfect,—a better reality, for I + could see the water of the canal moving and dimpling; and the palaces and + buildings on each side were quite as good in their way. + </p> + <p> + Leaving the gallery, I walked down into the city, and passed through + Smithfield, where I glanced at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. . . . Then I + went into St. Paul's, and walked all round the great cathedral, looking, I + believe, at every monument on the floor. There is certainly nothing very + wonderful in any of them, and I do wish it would not so generally happen + that English warriors go into battle almost nude; at least, we must + suppose so, from their invariably receiving their death-wounds in that + condition. I will not believe that a sculptor or a painter is a man of + genius unless he can wake the nobleness of his subject, illuminate and + transfigure any given pattern of coat and breeches. Nevertheless, I never + go into St. Paul's without being impressed anew with the grandeur of the + edifice, and the general effect of these same groups of statuary ranged in + their niches and at the bases of the pillars as adornments of the + cathedral. + </p> + <p> + Coming homeward, I went into the enclosure of the Temple, and near the + entrance saw "Dr. Johnson's staircase" printed over a doorway; so I not + only looked in, but went up the first flight, of some broad, well-worn + stairs, passing my hand over a heavy, ancient, broken balustrade, on + which, no doubt, Johnson's hand had often rested. It was here that Boswell + used to visit him, in their early acquaintance. Before my lunch, I had + gone into Bolt Court, where he died. + </p> + <p> + This morning there have been letters from Mr. Wilding, enclosing an + invitation to me to be one of the stewards of the anniversary dinner of + the Literary Fund. + </p> + <p> + No, I thank you, gentlemen! + </p> + <p> + March 27th.—Yesterday I went out at about twelve, and visited the + British Museum; an exceedingly tiresome affair. It quite crushes a person + to see so much at once, and I wandered from hall to hall with a weary and + heavy heart, wishing (Heaven forgive me!) that the Elgin marbles and the + frieze of the Parthenon were all burnt into lime, and that the granite + Egyptian statues were hewn and squared into building-stones, and that the + mummies had all turned to dust two thousand years ago; and, in fine, that + all the material relics of so many successive ages had disappeared with + the generations that produced them. The present is burdened too much with + the past. We have not time, in our earthly existence, to appreciate what + is warm with life, and immediately around us; yet we heap up these old + shells, out of which human life has long emerged, casting them off + forever. I do not see how future ages are to stagger onward under all this + dead weight, with the additions that will be continually made to it. + </p> + <p> + After leaving the Museum, I went to see Bennoch, and arrange with him our + expedition of to-day; and he read me a letter from Topper, very earnestly + inviting me to come and spend a night or two with him. Then I wandered + about the city, and was lost in the vicinity of Holborn; so that for a + long while I was under a spell of bewilderment, and kept returning, in the + strangest way, to the same point in Lincoln's Inn Fields. . . . + </p> + <p> + Mr. Bowman and I went to the Princess's Theatre in the evening. Charles + Kean performed in Louis XI. very well indeed,—a thoughtful and + highly skilled actor,—much improved since I saw him, many years ago, + in America. + </p> + <h3> + ALDERSHOTT CAMP. + </h3> + <p> + April 1st.—After my last date on Thursday, I visited the National + Gallery. At three o'clock, having packed a travelling-bag, I went to + Bennoch's office, and lunched with him; and at about five we took the rail + from the Waterloo station for Aldershott Camp. At Tamborough we were + cordially received by Lieutenant Shaw, of the North Cork Rifles, and were + escorted by him, in a fly, to his quarters. The camp is a large city, + composed of numberless wooden barracks, arranged in regular streets, on a + wide, bleak heath, with an extensive and dreary prospect on all sides. + Lieutenant Shaw assigned me one room in his hut, and Bennoch another, and + made us as comfortable as kind hospitality could; but the huts are very + small, and the rooms have no size at all; neither are they air-tight, and + the sharp wind whistles in at the crevices; and, on the whole, of all + discomfortable places, I am inclined to reckon Aldershott Camp the most + so. I suppose the government has placed the camp on that windy heath, and + built such wretched huts, for the very purpose of rendering life as little + desirable as may be to the soldiers, so that they should throw it away the + more willingly. + </p> + <p> + At seven o'clock we dined at the regimental mess, with the officers of the + North Cork. The mess-room is by far the most endurable place to be found + in camp. The hut is large, and the mess-room is capable of receiving + between thirty and forty guests, besides the officers of the regiment, + when a great dinner-party is given. As I saw it, the whole space was + divided into a dining-room and two anterooms by red curtains drawn across; + and the second anteroom seems to be a general rendezvous for the officers, + where they meet at all times, and talk, or look over the newspapers and + the army-register, which constitute the chief of their reading. The + Colonel and Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment received Bennoch and me + with great cordiality, as did all the other officers, and we sat down to a + splendid dinner. + </p> + <p> + All the officers of the regiment are Irishmen, and all of them, I believe, + men of fortune; and they do what they can towards alleviating their + hardships in camp by eating and drinking of the best that can be obtained + of all good things. The table service and plate were as fine as those in + any nobleman's establishment; the dishes numerous and admirably got up; + and the wines delectable and genuine,—as they had need to be; for + there is a great consumption of them. I liked these Irish officers + exceedingly;—not that it would be possible to live long among them + without finding existence a bore; for they have no thought, no + intellectual movement, no ideas, that I was aware of, beyond horses, dogs, + drill, garrisons, field-days, whist, wine, cigars, and all that kind of + thing; yet they were really gentlemen living on the best terms with one + another,—courteous, kind, most hospitable, with a rich Irish humor, + softened down by social refinements,—not too refined either, but a + most happy sort of behavior, as natural as that of children, and with a + safe freedom that made one feel entirely at my ease. I think well of the + Irish gentlemen, for their sakes; and I believe I might fairly attribute + to Lieutenant-Colonel Stowell (next whom I sat) a higher and finer + cultivation than the above description indicates. Indeed, many of them may + have been capable of much more intellectual intercourse than that of the + mess-table; but I suppose it would not have been in keeping with their + camp life, nor suggested by it. Several of the elder officers were men who + had been long in the army; and the Colonel—a bluff, hearty old + soldier, with a profile like an eagle's head and beak—was a veteran + of the Peninsula, and had a medal on his breast with clasps for three + famous battles besides that of Waterloo. + </p> + <p> + The regimental band played during dinner, and the Lieutenant-Colonel + apologized to me for its not playing "Hail Columbia," the tune not coning + within their musical accomplishments. It was no great matter, however; for + I should not have distinguished it from any other tune; but, to do me what + honor was possible, in the way of national airs, the band was ordered to + play a series of negro melodies, and I was entirely satisfied. It is + really funny that the "wood-notes wild" of those poor black slaves should + have been played in a foreign laud as an honorable compliment to one of + their white countrymen. + </p> + <p> + After dinner we played whist, and then had some broiled bones for supper, + and finally went home to our respective huts not much earlier than four + o'clock. But I don't wonder these gentlemen sit up as long as they can + keep their eyes open; for never was there anything so utterly comfortless + as their camp-beds. They are really worse than the bed of honor, no wider, + no softer, no warmer, and affording not nearly so sound sleep. Indeed, I + got hardly any sleep at all, and almost as soon as I did close my eyes, + the bugles sounded, and the drums beat reveille, and from that moment the + camp was all astir; so I pretty soon uprose, and went to the mess-room for + my breakfast, feeling wonderfully fresh and well, considering what my + night had been. + </p> + <p> + Long before this, however, this whole regiment, and all the other + regiments, marched off to take part in a general review, and Bennoch and I + followed, as soon as we had eaten a few mutton-chops. It was a bright, + sunshiny day; but with a strong east-wind, as piercing and pitiless as + ever blew; and this wide, undulating plain of Aldershott seemed just the + place where the east-wind was at home. Still, it acted, on the whole, like + an invigorating cordial; and whereas in pleasanter circumstances I should + have lain down, and gone to sleep, I now felt as if I could do without + sleep for a month. + </p> + <p> + In due time we found out the place of the North Cork Regiment in the + general battle-array, and were greeted as old comrades by the Colonel and + other officers. Soon the soldiers (who, when we first reached them, were + strolling about, or standing at ease) were called into order; and anon we + saw a group of mounted officers riding along the lines, and among them a + gentleman in a civilian's round hat, and plain frock and trousers, riding + on a white horse. This group of riders turned the front of the regiment, + and then passed along the rear, coming close to where we stood; and as the + plainly dressed gentleman rode by, he bent towards me, and I tried to + raise my hat, but did not succeed very well, because the fierce wind had + compelled me to jam it tightly upon my head. The Duke of Cambridge (for + this was he) is a comely-looking gentlemanly man, of bluff English face, + with a great deal of brown beard about it. Though a pretty tall man, he + appears, on horseback, broad and round in proportion to his height. I + looked at him with a certain sort of interest, and a feeling of kindness; + for one does feel kindly to whatever human being is anywise marked out + from the rest, unless it be by his disagreeable qualities. + </p> + <p> + The troops, from twelve to fifteen thousand, now fell into marching order, + and went to attack a wood, where we were to suppose the enemy to be + stationed. The sham-fight seemed to me rather clumsily managed, and + without any striking incident or result. The officers had prophesied, the + night before, that General K———, commanding in the camp, + would make a muddle of it; and probably he did. After the review, the Duke + of Cambridge with his attendant officers took their station, and all the + regiments marched in front of him, saluting as they passed. As each + colonel rode by, and as the banner of each regiment was lowered, the Duke + lifted his hat. + </p> + <p> + The most splendid effect of this parade was the gleam of the sun upon the + long line of bayonets,—the sheen of all that steel appearing like a + wavering fringe of light upon the dark masses of troops below. It was very + fine. But I was glad when all was done, and I could go back to the + mess-room, whither I carried an excellent appetite for luncheon. After + this we walked about the camp,—looked at some model tents, inspected + the arrangements and modes of living in the huts of the privates; and thus + gained more and more adequate ideas of the vile uncomfortableness of a + military life. Finally, I went to the anteroom and turned over the + regimental literature,—a peerage and baronetage,—an army and + militia register, a number of the Sporting Magazine, and one of the United + Service, while Bennoch took another walk. Before dinner we both tried to + catch a little nap by way of compensation for last night's deficiencies; + but, for my part, the attempt was fruitless. + </p> + <p> + The dinner was as splendid and as agreeable as that of the evening before; + and I believe it was nearly two o'clock when Bennoch and I bade farewell + to our kind entertainers. For my part I fraternized with these military + gentlemen in a way that augurs the very best things for the future peace + of the two countries. They all expressed the warmest sympathies towards + America and it was easy to judge from their conversation that there is no + real friendliness on the part of the military towards the French. The old + antipathy is just as strong as ever,—stronger than ever, perhaps, on + account of the comparatively more brilliant success of the French in this + Russian war. So, with most Christian sentiments of peace and brotherly + love, we returned to our hut, and lay down, each in his narrow bed. + </p> + <p> + Early in the morning the drums and bugles began the usual bedevilment; and + shortly after six I dressed, and we had breakfast at the mess-room, shook + hands with Lieutenant Shaw (our more especial host), and drove off to the + railway station at Ash. + </p> + <p> + I know not whether I have mentioned that the villages neighboring to the + camp have suffered terribly as regards morality from the vicinity of the + soldiers. Quiet old English towns, that till within a little time ago had + kept their antique simplicity and innocence, have now no such thing as + female virtue in them, so far as the lower classes are concerned. This is + expressing the matter too strongly, no doubt; but there is too much truth + in it, nevertheless; and one of the officers remarked that even ladies of + respectability had grown much more free in manners and conversation than + at first. I have heard observations similar to this from a Nova-Scotian, + in reference to the moral influence of soldiers when stationed in the + provinces. + </p> + <h3> + WOOTON. + </h3> + <p> + Wooton stands in a hollow, near the summit of one of the long swells that + here undulate over the face of the country. There is a good deal of wood + behind it, as should be the case with the residence of the author of the + Sylva; but I believe few, if any, of these trees are known to have been + planted by John Evelyn, or even to have been coeval with his time. The + house is of brick, partly ancient, and consists of a front and two + projecting wings, with a porch and entrance in the centre. It has a + desolate, meagre aspect, and needs something to give it life and stir and + jollity. The present proprietor is of the old Evelyn family, and is now + one of the two members of Parliament for Surrey; but he is a very shy and + retiring man, unmarried, sees little company, and seems either not to know + how to make himself comfortable or not to care about it. A servant told us + that Mr. ——— had just gone out, but Tupper, who is + apparently on intimate terms with him, thought it best that we should go + into the house, while he went in search of the master. So the servant + ushered us through a hall,—where were many family pictures by Lely, + and, for aught I know, by Vandyke, and by Kneller, and other famous + painters,—up a grand staircase, and into the library, the inner room + of which contained the ponderous volumes which John Evelyn used to read. + Nevertheless, it was a room of most barren aspect, without a carpet on the + floor, with pine bookcases, with a common whitewashed ceiling, with no + luxurious study-chairs, and without a fire. There was an open folio on the + table, and a sheet of manuscript that appeared to have been recently + written. I took down a book from the shelves (a volume of annals, + connected with English history), and Tupper afterwards told us that this + one single volume, for its rarity, was worth either two or three hundred + pounds. Against one of the windows of this library there grows a + magnolia-tree, with a very large stem, and at least fifty years old. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Tupper and I waited a good while, and then Bennoch and Tupper came + back, without having found Mr. ———. Tupper wished very + much to show the prayer-book used by King Charles at his execution, and + some curious old manuscript volumes; but the servant said that his master + always kept these treasures locked up, and trusted the key to nobody. We + therefore had to take our leave without seeing them; and I have not often + entered a house that one feels to be more forlorn than Wooton,—although + we did have a glimpse of a dining-room, with a table laid for three or + four guests, and looking quite brilliant with plate and glass and snowy + napery. There was a fire, too, in this one room. Mr. ——— + is making extensive alterations in the house, or has recently done so, and + this is perhaps one reason of its ungenial meagreness and lack of finish. + </p> + <p> + Before our departure from Wooton, Tupper had asked me to leave my card for + Mr. ———; but I had no mind to overstep any limit of + formal courtesy in dealing with an Englishman, and therefore declined. + Tupper, however, on his own responsibility, wrote his name, Bennoch's, and + mine on a piece of paper, and told the servant to show them to Mr. ———. + We soon had experience of the good effect of this; for we had scarcely got + back before somebody drove up to Tupper's door, and one of the girls, + looking out, exclaimed that there was Mr. ——— himself, + and another gentleman. He had set out, the instant he heard of our call, + to bring the three precious volumes for me to see. This surely was most + kind; a kindness which I should never have dreamed of expecting from a + shy, retiring man like Mr. ———. + </p> + <p> + So he and his friend were ushered into the dining-room, and introduced. + Mr. ——— is a young-looking man, dark, with a mustache, + rather small, and though he has the manners of a man who has seen the + world, it evidently requires an effort in him to speak to anybody; and I + could see his whole person slightly writhing itself, as it were, while he + addressed me. This is strange in a man of his public position, member for + the county, necessarily mixed up with life in many forms, the possessor of + sixteen thousand pounds a year, and the representative of an ancient name. + Nevertheless, I liked him, and felt as if I could become intimately + acquainted with him, if circumstances were favorable; but, at a brief + interview like this, it was hopeless to break through two great reserves; + so I talked more with his companion—a pleasant young man, fresh from + college, I should imagine—than with Mr. ——— + himself. + </p> + <p> + The three books were really of very great interest. One was an octavo + volume of manuscript in John Evelyn's own hand, the beginning of his + published diary, written as distinctly as print, in a small, clear + character. It can be read just as easily as any printed book. Another was + a Church of England prayer-book, which King Charles used on the scaffold, + and which was stained with his sacred blood, and underneath are two or + three lines in John Evelyn's hand, certifying this to be the very book. It + is an octavo, or small folio, and seems to have been very little used, + scarcely opened, except in one spot; its leaves elsewhere retaining their + original freshness and elasticity. It opens most readily at the + commencement of the common service; and there, on the left-hand page, is a + discoloration, of a yellowish or brownish hue, about two thirds of an inch + large, which, two hundred years ago and a little more, was doubtless red. + For on that page had fallen a drop of King Charles's blood. + </p> + <p> + The other volume was large, and contained a great many original letters, + written by the king during his troubles. I had not time to examine them + with any minuteness, and remember only one document, which Mr. ——— + pointed out, and which had a strange pathos and pitifulness in it. It was + a sort of due-bill, promising to pay a small sum for beer, which had been + supplied to his Majesty, so soon as God should enable him, or the + distracted circumstances of his kingdom make it possible,—or some + touching and helpless expression of that kind. Prince Hal seemed to + consider it an unworthy matter, that a great prince should think of "that + poor creature, small beer," at all; but that a great prince should not be + able to pay for it is far worse. + </p> + <p> + Mr. ——— expressed his regret that I was not staying + longer in this part of the country, as he would gladly have seen me at + Wooten, and he succeeded in saying something about my books; and I hope I + partly succeeded in showing him that I was very sensible of his kindness + in letting me see those relics. I cannot say whether or no I expressed it + sufficiently. It is better with such a man, or, indeed, with any man, to + say too little than too much; and, in fact, it would have been indecorous + in me to take too much of his kindness to my own share, Bennoch being + likewise in question. + </p> + <p> + We had a cup of coffee, and then took our leave; Tupper accompanying us + part way down the village street, and bidding us an affectionate farewell. + </p> + <h3> + BATTLE ABBEY. + </h3> + <p> + Bennoch and I recommenced our travels, and, changing from one railway to + another, reached Tunbridge Wells at nine or ten in the evening. . . . The + next day was spent at Tunbridge Wells, which is famous for a chalybeate + spring, and is a watering-place of note, most healthily situated on a + high, breezy hill, with many pleasant walks in the neighborhood. . . . + From Tunbridge Wells we transported ourselves to Battle,—the village + in which is Battle Abbey. It is a large village, with many antique houses + and some new ones; and in its principal street, on one side, with a wide, + green space before it, you see the gray, embattled, outer wall, and great, + square, battlemented entrance tower (with a turret at each corner), of the + ancient Abbey. It is the perfect reality of a Gothic battlement and + gateway, just as solid and massive as when it was first built, though + hoary and venerable with the many intervening centuries. There are only + two days in the week on which visitors are allowed entrance, and this was + not one of them. Nevertheless, Bennoch was determined to get in, and he + wished me to send Lady Webster my card with his own; but this I utterly + refused, for the honor of America and for my own honor; because I will not + do anything to increase the reputation we already have as a very forward + people. Bennoch, however, called at a bookshop on the other side of the + street, near the gateway of the castle; and making friends, as he has a + marvellous tact in doing, with the bookseller, the latter offered to take + in his card to the housekeeper, and see if Lady Webster would not relax + her rule in our favor. Meanwhile, we went into the old church of Battle, + which was built in Norman times, though subsequently to the Abbey. As we + entered the church door, the bell rang for joy at the news of peace, which + had just been announced by the London papers. + </p> + <p> + The church has been whitewashed in modern times, and does not look so + venerable as it ought, with its arches and pillared aisles. In the chancel + stands a marble tomb, heavy, rich, and elaborate, on the top of which lie + the broken-nosed statues of Sir Anthony Browne and his lady, who were the + Lord and Lady of Battle Abbey in Henry VIII.'s time. The knight is in + armor, and the lady in stately garb, and (save for their broken noses) + they are in excellent preservation. The pavement of the chancel and aisles + is all laid with tombstones, and on two or three of these there were + engraved brasses, representing knights in armor, and churchmen, with + inscriptions in Latin. Some of them are very old. On the walls, too, there + are various monuments, principally of dignitaries connected with the + Abbey. Two hatchments, in honor of persons recently dead, were likewise + suspended in the chancel. The best pew of the church is, of course, that + of the Webster family. It is curtained round, carpeted, furnished with + chairs and footstools, and more resembles a parlor than a pew; especially + as there is a fireplace in one of the pointed archways, which I suppose + has been bricked up in order to form it. On the opposite side of the aisle + is the pew of some other magnate, containing a stove. The rest of the + parishioners have to keep themselves warm with the fervor of their own + piety. I have forgotten what else was interesting, except that we were + shown a stone coffin, recently dug up, in which was hollowed a place for + the head of the corpse. + </p> + <p> + Returning to the bookshop, we found that Lady Webster had sent her + compliments, and would be very happy to have us see the Abbey. How + thoroughly kind these English people can be when they like, and how often + they like to be so! + </p> + <p> + We lost no time in ringing the bell at the arched entrance, under the + great tower, and were admitted by an old woman who lives, I believe, in + the thickness of the wall. She told us her room used to be the prison of + the Abbey, and under the great arch she pointed to a projecting beam, + where she said criminals used to be hanged. + </p> + <p> + At two of the intersecting points of the arches, which form the roof of + the gateway, were carved faces of stone, said to represent King Harold and + William the Conqueror. The exterior wall, of which this tower is the + gateway, extends far along the village street, and encloses a very large + space, within which stands the mansion, quite secluded from unauthorized + visitors, or even from the sight of those without, unless it be at very + distant eyeshot. + </p> + <p> + We rang at the principal door of the edifice (it is under a deep arch, in + the Norman style, but of modern date), and a footman let its in, and then + delivered us over to a respectable old lady in black. She was a + Frenchwoman by birth, but had been very long in the service of the family, + and spoke English almost without an accent; her French blood being + indicated only by her thin and withered aspect, and a greater gentility of + manner than would have been seen in an Englishwoman of similar station. + She ushered us first into a grand and noble hall, the arched and carved + oaken roof of which ascended into the gable. It was nearly sixty feet + long, and its height equal to its length,—as stately a hall, I + should imagine, as is anywhere to be found in a private mansion. It was + lighted, at one end, by a great window, beneath which, occupying the whole + breadth of the hall, hung a vast picture of the Battle of Hastings; and + whether a good picture or no, it was a rich adornment of the hall. The + walls were wainscoted high upward with oak: they were almost covered with + noble pictures of ancestry, and of kings and great men, and beautiful + women; there were trophies of armor hung aloft; and two armed figures, one + in brass mail, the other in bright steel, stood on a raised dais, + underneath the great picture. At the end of the hall, opposite the + picture, a third of the way up towards the roof, was a gallery. All these + things that I have enumerated were in perfect condition, without rust, + untouched by decay or injury of any kind; but yet they seemed to belong to + a past age, and were mellowed, softened in their splendor, a little dimmed + with time,—toned down into a venerable magnificence. Of all domestic + things that I have seen in England, it satisfied me most. + </p> + <p> + Then the Frenchwoman showed us into various rooms and offices, most of + which were contrived out of the old abbey-cloisters, and the vaulted cells + and apartments in which the monks used to live. If any house be haunted, I + should suppose this might be. If any church-property bring a curse with + it, as people say, I do not see how the owners of Battle Abbey can escape + it, taking possession of and dwelling in these holy precincts, as they + have done, and laying their kitchen hearth with the stones of overthrown + altars. The Abbey was first granted, I believe, to Sir Anthony Browne, + whom I saw asleep with his lady in the church. It was his first wife. I + wish it had been his second; for she was Surrey's Geraldine. The posterity + of Sir Anthony kept the place till 1719, and then sold it to the Websters, + a family of Baronets, who are still the owners and occupants. The present + proprietor is Sir Augustus Webster, whose mother is the lady that so + kindly let us into the Abbey. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Bennoch gave the nice old French lady half a crown, and we next went + round among the ruined portions of the Abbey, under the gardener's + guidance. We saw two ivied towers, insulated from all other ruins; and an + old refectory, open to the sky, and a vaulted crypt, supported by pillars; + and we saw, too, the foundation and scanty remains of a chapel, which had + been long buried out of sight of man, and only dug up within present + memory,—about forty years ago. There had always been a tradition + that this was the spot where Harold had planted his standard, and where + his body was found after the battle; and the discovery of the ruined + chapel confirmed the tradition. + </p> + <p> + I might have seen a great deal more, had there been time; and I have + forgotten much of what I did see; but it is an exceedingly interesting + place. There is an avenue of old yew-trees, which meet above like a + cloistered arch; and this is called the Monks' Walk. I rather think they + were ivy, though growing unsupported. + </p> + <p> + As we were retiring, the gardener suddenly stopped, as if he were alarmed, + and motioned to us to do the same, saying, "I believe it is my lady!" And + so it was,—a tall and stately lady in black, trimming shrubs in the + garden. She bowed to us very graciously,—we raised our hats, and + thus we met and parted without more ado. As we went through the arch of + the entrance tower, Bennoch gave the old female warder a shilling, and the + gardener followed us to get half a crown. + </p> + <h3> + HASTINGS. + </h3> + <p> + We took a fly and driver from the principal hotel of Battle, and drove off + for Hastings, about seven miles distant. Hastings is now a famous watering + and sea-bathing place, and seems to be well sheltered from the winds, + though open to the sea, which here stretches off towards France. We + climbed a high and steep hill, terraced round its base with streets of + modern lodging-houses, and crowned on its summit with the ruins of a + castle, the foundation of which was anterior to the Conquest. This castle + has no wall towards the sea, the precipice being too high and sheer to + admit of attack on that side. I have quite exhausted my descriptive + faculty for the present, so shall say nothing of this old castle, which + indeed (the remains being somewhat scanty and scraggling) is chiefly + picturesque and interesting from its bold position on such a headlong + hill. + </p> + <p> + Clambering down on another side from that of our ascent, we entered the + town of Hastings, which seems entirely modern, and made up of + lodging-houses, shops, hotels, parades, and all such makings up of + watering-places generally. We took a delightful warm bath, washing off all + weariness and naughtiness, and coming out new men. Then we walked to St. + Leonard's,—a part of Hastings, I believe, but a mile or two from the + castle, and there called at the lodgings of two friends of Bennoch. + </p> + <p> + These were Mr. Martin, the author of Bon Gaultier's ballads, and his wife, + the celebrated actress, Helen Faucett. Mr. Martin is a barrister, a + gentleman whose face and manners suited me at once; a simple, refined, + sincere, not too demonstrative person. His wife, too, I liked; a tall, + dark, fine, and lady-like woman, with the simplest manners, that give no + trouble at all, and so must be perfect. With these two persons I felt + myself, almost in a moment, on friendly terms, and in true accord, and so + I talked, I think, more than I have at any time since coming to London. + </p> + <p> + We took a pleasant lunch at their house; and then they walked with us to + the railway station, and there they took leave of Bennoch affectionately + and of me hardly less so; for, in truth, we had grown to be almost friends + in this very little while. And as we rattled away, I said to Bennoch + earnestly, "What good people they are!"—and Bennoch smiled, as if he + had known perfectly well that I should think and say so. And thus we + rushed onward to London; and I reached St. James's Place between nine and + ten o'clock, after a very interesting tour, the record of which I wish I + could have kept as we went along, writing each day's history before + another day's adventures began. + </p> + <h3> + END OF VOL. I. + </h3> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Passages From the English Notebooks, +Volume 1, by Nathaniel Hawthorne + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PASSAGES *** + +***** This file should be named 7876-h.htm or 7876-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/7/8/7/7876/ + +Produced by Tapio Riikonen and David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Passages From the English Notebooks, Volume 1 + +Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne + +Release Date: April, 2005 [EBook #7876] +[This file was first posted on May 29, 2003] +[Last updated on December 17, 2011] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PASSAGES *** + + + + +Produced by Tapio Riikonen and David Widger + + + + + + + +PASSAGES FROM THE ENGLISH NOTE-BOOKS + +OF + +NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE + + +VOL. I. + + + +To Francis Bennoch, Esq., + +The dear and valued friend, who, by his generous and genial hospitality +and unfailing sympathy, contributed so largely (as is attested by the +book itself) to render Mr. Hawthorne's residence in England agreeable and +homelike, these ENGLISH NOTES are dedicated, with sincere respect and +regard, by The Editor. + + + + +PREFACE + + +It seems justly due to Mr. Hawthorne that the occasion of any portion of +his private journals being brought before the Public should be made +known, since they were originally designed for his own reference only. + +There had been a constant and an urgent demand for a life or memoir of +Mr. Hawthorne; yet, from the extreme delicacy and difficulty of the +subject, the Editor felt obliged to refuse compliance with this demand. +Moreover, Mr. Hawthorne had frequently and emphatically expressed the +hope that no one would attempt to write his Biography; and the Editor +perceived that it would be impossible for any person, outside of his own +domestic circle, to succeed in doing it, on account of his extreme +reserve. But it was ungracious to do nothing, and therefore the Editor, +believing that Mr. Hawthorne himself was alone capable of satisfactorily +answering the affectionate call for some sketch of his life, concluded to +publish as much as possible of his private records, and even extracts +from his private letters, in order to gratify the desire of his friends +and of literary artists to become more intimately acquainted with him. +The Editor has been severely blamed and wondered at, in some instances, +for allowing many things now published to see the light; but it has been +a matter both of conscience and courtesy to withhold nothing that could +be given up. Many of the journals were doubtless destroyed; for the +earliest date found in his American papers was that of 1835. + +The Editor has transcribed the manuscripts just as they were left, +without making any new arrangement or altering any sequence,--merely +omitting some passages, and being especially careful to preserve whatever +could throw any light upon his character. To persons on a quest for +characteristics, however, each of his books reveals a great many, and it +is believed that with the aid of the Notes (both American and English) +the Tales and Romances will make out a very complete and true picture of +his individuality; and the Notes are often an open sesame to the artistic +works. + +Several thickly written pages of observations--fine and accurate +etchings--have been omitted, sometimes because too personal with regard +to himself or others, and sometimes because they were afterwards absorbed +into one or another of the Romances or papers in Our Old Home. It seemed +a pity not to give these original cartoons fresh from his mind, because +they are so carefully finished at the first stroke. Yet, as Mr. +Hawthorne chose his own way of presenting them to the public, it was +thought better not to exhibit what he himself withheld. Besides, to any +other than a fellow-artist they might seem mere repetitions. + +It is very earnestly hoped that these volumes of notes--American, +English, and presently Italian--will dispel an often-expressed opinion +that Mr. Hawthorne was gloomy and morbid. He had the inevitable +pensiveness and gravity of a person who possessed what a friend of his +called "the awful power of insight"; but his mood was always cheerful and +equal, and his mind peculiarly healthful, and the airy splendor of his +wit and humor was the light of his home. He saw too far to be +despondent, though his vivid sympathies and shaping imagination often +made him sad in behalf of others. He also perceived morbidness, wherever +it existed, instantly, as if by the illumination of his own steady cheer; +and he had the plastic power of putting himself into each person's +situation, and of looking from every point of view, which made his +charity most comprehensive. From this cause he necessarily attracted +confidences, and became confessor to very many sinning and suffering +souls, to whom he gave tender sympathy and help, while resigning judgment +to the Omniscient and All-wise. + +Throughout his journals it will be seen that Mr. Hawthorne is +entertaining, and not asserting, opinions and ideas. He questions, +doubts, and reflects with his pen, and, as it were, instructs himself. +So that these Note-Books should be read, not as definitive conclusions of +his mind, but merely as passing impressions often. Whatever conclusions +be arrived at are condensed in the works given to the world by his own +hand, in which will never be found a careless word. He was so extremely +scrupulous about the value and effect of every expression that the Editor +has felt great compunction in allowing a single sentence to be printed. +unrevised by himself; but, with the consideration of the above remarks +always kept in mind, these volumes are intrusted to the generous +interpretation of the reader. If any one must be harshly criticised, it +ought certainly to be the Editor. + +When a person breaks in, unannounced, upon the morning hours of an +artist, and finds him not in full dress, the intruder, and not the +surprised artist, is doubtless at fault. S. H. + +Dresden, April, 1870. + + + + + +PASSAGES FROM HAWTHORNE'S ENGLISH NOTE-BOOKS + + + + +Liverpool, August 4th, 1853.--A month lacking two days since we left +America,--a fortnight and some odd days since we arrived in England. I +began my services, such as they are, on Monday last, August 1st, and here +I sit in my private room at the Consulate, while the Vice-Consul and +clerk are carrying on affairs in the outer office. + +The pleasantest incident of the morning is when Mr. Pearce (the +Vice-Consul) makes his appearance with the account-books, containing the +receipts and expenditures of the preceding day, and deposits on my desk a +little rouleau of the Queen's coin, wrapped up in a piece of paper. This +morning there were eight sovereigns, four half-crowns, and a shilling,--a +pretty fair day's work, though not more than the average ought to be. +This forenoon, thus far, I have had two calls, not of business,--one from +an American captain and his son, another from Mr. H---- B----, whom I +met in America, and who has showed us great attention here. He has +arranged for us to go to the theatre with some of his family this +evening. + +Since I have been in Liverpool we have hardly had a day, until yesterday, +without more or less of rain, and so cold and shivery that life was +miserable. I am not warm enough even now, but am gradually getting +acclimated in that respect. + +Just now I have been fooled out of half a crown by a young woman, who +represents herself as an American and destitute, having come over to see +an uncle whom she found dead, and she has no means of getting back again. +Her accent is not that of an American, and her appearance is not +particularly prepossessing, though not decidedly otherwise. She is +decently dressed and modest in deportment, but I do not quite trust her +face. She has been separated from her husband, as I understand her, by +course of law, has had two children, both now dead. What she wants is to +get back to America, and perhaps arrangements may be made with some +shipmaster to take her as stewardess or in some subordinate capacity. My +judgment, on the whole, is that she is an English woman, married to and +separated from an American husband,--of no very decided virtue. I might +as well have kept my half-crown, and yet I might have bestowed it worse. +She is very decent in manner, cheerful, at least not despondent. + +At two o'clock I went over to the Royal Rock Hotel, about fifteen or +twenty minutes' steaming from this side of the river. We are going there +on Saturday to reside for a while. Returning, I found that, Mr. B., from +the American Chamber of Commerce, had called to arrange the time and +place of a visit to the Consul from a delegation of that body. Settled +for to-morrow at quarter past one at Mr. Blodgett's. + + +August 5th.--An invitation this morning from the Mayor to dine at the +Town Hall on Friday next. Heaven knows I had rather dine at the humblest +inn in the city, inasmuch as a speech will doubtless be expected from me. +However, things must be as they may. + +At a quarter past one I was duly on hand at Mr. Blodgett's to receive the +deputation from the Chamber of Commerce. They arrived pretty seasonably, +in two or three carriages, and were ushered into the drawing-room,--seven +or eight gentlemen, some of whom I had met before. Hereupon ensued a +speech from Mr. B., the Chairman of the delegation, short and sweet, +alluding to my literary reputation and other laudatory matters, and +occupying only a minute or two. The speaker was rather embarrassed, +which encouraged me a little, and yet I felt more diffidence on this +occasion than in my effort at Mr. Crittenden's lunch, where, indeed, I +was perfectly self-possessed. But here, there being less formality, and +more of a conversational character in what was said, my usual diffidence +could not so well be kept in abeyance. However, I did not break down to +an intolerable extent, and, winding up my eloquence as briefly as +possible, we had a social talk. Their whole stay could not have been +much more than a quarter of an hour. + +A call, this morning, at the Consulate, from Dr. Bowrug, who is British +minister, or something of the kind, in China, and now absent on a +twelvemonth's leave. The Doctor is a brisk person, with the address of a +man of the world,--free, quick to smile, and of agreeable manners. He +has a good face, rather American than English in aspect, and does not +look much above fifty, though he says he is between sixty and seventy. I +should take him rather for an active lawyer or a man of business than for +a scholar and a literary man. He talked in a lively way for ten or +fifteen minutes, and then took his leave, offering me any service in his +power in London,--as, for instance, to introduce me to the Athenaeum +Club. + + +August 8th.--Day before yesterday I escorted my family to Rock Ferry, two +miles either up or down the Mersey (and I really don't know which) by +steamer, which runs every half-hour. There are steamers going +continually to Birkenhead and other landings, and almost always a great +many passengers on the transit. At this time the boat was crowded so as +to afford scanty standing-room; it being Saturday, and therefore a kind +of gala-day. I think I have never seen a populace before coming to +England; but this crowd afforded a specimen of one, both male and female. +The women were the most remarkable; though they seemed not disreputable, +there was in them a coarseness, a freedom, an--I don't know what, that +was purely English. In fact, men and women here do things that would at +least make them ridiculous in America. They are not afraid to enjoy +themselves in their own way, and have no pseudo-gentility to support. +Some girls danced upon the crowded deck, to the miserable music of a +little fragment of a band which goes up and down the river on each trip +of the boat. Just before the termination of the voyage a man goes round +with a bugle turned upwards to receive the eleemosynary pence and +half-pence of the passengers. I gave one of them, the other day, a +silver fourpence, which fell into the vitals of the instrument, and +compelled the man to take it to pieces. + +At Rock Ferry there was a great throng, forming a scene not unlike one of +our muster-days or a Fourth of July, and there were bands of music and +banners, and small processions after them, and a school of charity +children, I believe, enjoying a festival. And there was a club of +respectable persons, playing at bowls on the bowling-green of the hotel, +and there were children, infants, riding on donkeys at a penny a ride, +while their mothers walked alongside to prevent a fall. Yesterday, while +we were at dinner, Mr. B. came in his carriage to take us to his +residence, Poulton Hall. He had invited us to dine; but I misunderstood +him, and thought he only intended to give us a drive. Poulton Hall is +about three miles from Rock Ferry, the road passing through some pleasant +rural scenery, and one or two villages, with houses standing close +together, and old stone or brick cottages, with thatched roofs, and now +and then a better mansion, apart among trees. We passed an old church, +with a tower and spire, and, half-way up, a patch of ivy, dark green, and +some yellow wall-flowers, in full bloom, growing out of the crevices of +the stone. Mr. B. told us that the tower was formerly quite clothed with +ivy from bottom to top, but that it had fallen away for lack of the +nourishment that it used to find in the lime between the stones. This +old church answered to my Transatlantic fancies of England better than +anything I have yet seen. Not far from it was the Rectory, behind a deep +grove of ancient trees; and there lives the Rector, enjoying a thousand +pounds a year and his nothing-to-do, while a curate performs the real +duty on a stipend of eighty pounds. + +We passed through a considerable extent of private road, and finally +drove over a lawn, studded with trees and closely shaven, till we reached +the door of Poulton Hall. Part of the mansion is three or four hundred +years old; another portion is about a hundred and fifty, and still +another has been built during the present generation. The house is two +stories high, with a sort of beetle-browed roof in front. It is not very +striking, and does not look older than many wooden houses which I have +seen in America. There is a curious stately staircase, with a twisted +balustrade much like that of the old Province House in Boston. The +drawing-room is a handsome modern apartment, being beautifully painted +and gilded and paper-hung, with a white marble fireplace and rich +furniture, so that the impression is that of newness, not of age. It is +the same with the dining-room, and all the rest of the interior so far as +I saw it. + +Mr. B. did not inherit this old hall, nor, indeed, is he the owner, but +only the tenant of it. He is a merchant of Liverpool, a bachelor, with +two sisters residing with him. In the entrance-hall, there was a stuffed +fox with glass eyes, which I never should have doubted to be an actual +live fox except for his keeping so quiet; also some grouse and other +game. Mr. B. seems to be a sportsman, and is setting out this week on an +excursion to Scotland, moor-fowl shooting. + +While the family and two or three guests went to dinner, we walked out to +see the place. The gardener, an Irishman, showed us through the garden, +which is large and well cared for. They certainly get everything from +Nature which she can possibly be persuaded to give them, here in England. +There were peaches and pears growing against the high brick southern +walls,--the trunk and branches of the trees being spread out perfectly +flat against the wall, very much like the skin of a dead animal nailed up +to dry, and not a single branch protruding. Figs were growing in the +same way. The brick wall, very probably, was heated within, by means of +pipes, in order to re-enforce the insufficient heat of the sun. It seems +as if there must be something unreal and unsatisfactory in fruit that +owes its existence to such artificial methods. Squashes were growing +under glass, poor things! There were immensely large gooseberries in the +garden; and in this particular berry, the English, I believe, have +decidedly the advantage over ourselves. The raspberries, too, were large +and good. I espied one gigantic hog-weed in the garden; and, really, my +heart warmed to it, being strongly reminded of the principal product of +my own garden at Concord. After viewing the garden sufficiently, the +gardener led us to other parts of the estate, and we had glimpses of a +delightful valley, its sides shady with beautiful trees, and a rich, +grassy meadow at the bottom. By means of a steam-engine and subterranean +pipes and hydrants, the liquid manure from the barn-yard is distributed +wherever it is wanted over the estate, being spouted in rich showers from +the hydrants. Under this influence, the meadow at the bottom of the +valley had already been made to produce three crops of grass during the +present season, and would produce another. + +The lawn around Poulton Hall, like thousands of other lawns in England, +is very beautiful, but requires great care to keep it so, being shorn +every three or four days. No other country will ever have this charm, +nor the charm of lovely verdure, which almost makes up for the absence of +sunshine. Without the constant rain and shadow which strikes us as so +dismal, these lawns would be as brown as an autumn leaf. I have not, +thus far, found any such magnificent trees as I expected. Mr. B. told me +that three oaks, standing in a row on his lawn, were the largest in the +county. They were very good trees, to be sure, and perhaps four feet in +diameter near the ground, but with no very noble spread of foliage. In +Concord there are, if not oaks, yet certainly elms, a great deal more +stately and beautiful. But, on the whole, this lawn, and the old Hall in +the midst of it, went a good way towards realizing some of my fancies of +English life. + +By and by a footman, looking very quaint and queer in his livery coat, +drab breeches, and white stockings, came to invite me to the table, where +I found Mr. B. and his sisters and guests sitting at the fruit and wine. +There were port, sherry, madeira, and one bottle of claret, all very +good; but they take here much heavier wines than we drink now in America. +After a tolerably long session we went to the tea-room, where I drank +some coffee, and at about the edge of dusk the carriage drew up to the +door to take us home. Mr. B. and his sisters have shown us genuine +kindness, and they gave us a hearty invitation to come and ramble over +the house whenever we pleased, during their absence in Scotland. They +say that there are many legends and ghost-stories connected with the +house; and there is an attic chamber, with a skylight, which is called +the Martyr's chamber, from the fact of its having, in old times, been +tenanted by a lady, who was imprisoned there, and persecuted to death for +her religion. There is an old black-letter library, but the room +containing it is shut, barred, and padlocked,--the owner of the house +refusing to let it be opened, lest some of the books should be stolen. +Meanwhile the rats are devouring them, and the damps destroying them. + + +August 9th.--A pretty comfortable day, as to warmth, and I believe there +is sunshine overhead; but a sea-cloud, composed of fog and coal-smoke, +envelops Liverpool. At Rock Ferry, when I left it at half past nine, +there was promise of a cheerful day. A good many gentlemen (or, rather, +respectable business people) came in the boat, and it is not unpleasant, +on these fine mornings, to take the breezy atmosphere of the river. The +huge steamer Great Britain, bound for Australia, lies right off the Rock +Ferry landing; and at a little distance are two old hulks of ships of +war, dismantled, roofed over, and anchored in the river, formerly for +quarantine purposes, but now used chiefly or solely as homes for old +seamen, whose light labor it is to take care of these condemned ships. +There are a great many steamers plying up and down the river to various +landings in the vicinity; and a good many steam-tugs; also, many boats, +most of which have dark-red or tan-colored sails, being oiled to resist +the wet; also, here and there, a yacht or pleasure-boat, and a few ships +riding stately at their anchors, probably on the point of sailing. The +river, however, is by no means crowded; because the immense multitude of +ships are ensconced in the docks, where their masts make an intricate +forest for miles up and down the Liverpool shore. The small black +steamers, whizzing industriously along, many of them crowded with +passengers, snake up the chief life of the scene. The Mersey has the +color of a mud-puddle, and no atmospheric effect, as far as I have seen, +ever gives it a more agreeable tinge. + +Visitors to-day, thus far, have been H. A. B., with whom I have arranged +to dine with us at Rock Ferry, and then he is to take us on board the +Great Britain, of which his father is owner (in great part). Secondly, +Monsieur H., the French Consul, who can speak hardly any English, and who +was more powerfully scented with cigar-smoke than any man I ever +encountered; a polite, gray-haired, red-nosed gentleman, very courteous +and formal. Heaven keep him from me! At one o'clock, or thereabouts, I +walked into the city, down through Lord Street, Church Street, and back +to the Consulate through various untraceable crookednesses. Coming to +Chapel Street, I crossed the graveyard of the old Church of St. Nicholas. +This is, I suppose, the oldest sacred site in Liverpool, a church having +stood here ever since the Conquest, though, probably, there is little or +nothing of the old edifice in the present one, either the whole of the +edifice or else the steeple, being thereto shaken by a chime of bells,-- +perhaps both, at different times,--has tumbled down; but the present +church is what we Americans should call venerable. When the first church +was built, and long afterwards, it must have stood on the grassy verge of +the Mersey; but now there are pavements and warehouses, and the thronged +Prince's and George's Docks, between it and the river; and all around it +is the very busiest bustle of commerce, rumbling wheels, hurrying men, +porter-shops, everything that pertains to the grossest and most practical +life. And, notwithstanding, there is the broad churchyard extending on +three sides of it, just as it used to be a thousand years ago. It is +absolutely paved from border to border with flat tombstones, on a level +with the soil and with each other, so that it is one floor of stone over +the whole space, with grass here and there sprouting between the +crevices. All these stones, no doubt, formerly had inscriptions; but as +many people continually pass, in various directions, across the +churchyard, and as the tombstones are not of a very hard material, the +records on many of them are effaced. I saw none very old. A quarter of +a century is sufficient to obliterate the letters, and make all smooth, +where the direct pathway from gate to gate lies over the stones. The +climate and casual footsteps rub out any inscription in less than a +hundred years. Some of the monuments are cracked. On many is merely cut +"The burial place of" so and so; on others there is a long list of +half-readable names; on some few a laudatory epitaph, out of which, +however, it were far too tedious to pick the meaning. But it really is +interesting and suggestive to think of this old church, first built when +Liverpool was a small village, and remaining, with its successive dead of +ten centuries around it, now that the greatest commercial city in the +world has its busiest centre there. I suppose people still continue to +be buried in the cemetery. The greatest upholders of burials in cities +are those whose progenitors have been deposited around or within the city +churches. If this spacious churchyard stood in a similar position in one +of our American cities, I rather suspect that long ere now it would have +run the risk of being laid out in building-lots, and covered with +warehouses; even if the church itself escaped,--but it would not escape +longer than till its disrepair afforded excuse for tearing it down. And +why should it, when its purposes might be better served in another spot? + +We went on board the Great Britain before dinner, between five and six +o'clock,--a great structure, as to convenient arrangement and adaptation, +but giving me a strong impression of the tedium and misery of the long +voyage to Australia. By way of amusement, she takes over fifty pounds' +worth of playing-cards, at two shillings per pack, for the use of +passengers; also, a small, well-selected library. After a considerable +time spent on board, we returned to the hotel and dined, and Mr. B. took +his leave at nine o'clock. + + +August 10th.--I left Rock Ferry for the city at half past nine. In the +boat which arrived thence, there were several men and women with baskets +on their heads, for this is a favorite way of carrying burdens; and they +trudge onward beneath them, without any apparent fear of an overturn, and +seldom putting up a hand to steady them. One woman, this morning, had a +heavy load of crockery; another, an immense basket of turnips, freshly +gathered, that seemed to me as much as a man could well carry on his +back. These must be a stiff-necked people. The women step sturdily and +freely, and with not ungraceful strength. The trip over to town was +pleasant, it being a fair morning, only with a low-hanging fog. Had it +been in America, I should have anticipated a day of burning heat. + +Visitors this morning. Mr. Ogden of Chicago, or somewhere in the Western +States, who arrived in England a fortnight ago, and who called on me at +that time. He has since been in Scotland, and is now going to London and +the Continent; secondly, the Captain of the Collins steamer Pacific, +which sails to-day; thirdly, an American shipmaster, who complained that +he had never, in his heretofore voyages, been able to get sight of the +American Consul. + +Mr. Pearce's customary matutinal visit was unusually agreeable to-day, +inasmuch as he laid on my desk nineteen golden sovereigns and thirteen +shillings. It being the day of the steamer's departure, an unusual +number of invoice certificates had been required,--my signature to each +of which brings me two dollars. + +The autograph of a living author has seldom been so much in request at so +respectable a price. Colonel Crittenden told me that he had received as +much as fifty pounds on a single day. Heaven prosper the trade between +America and Liverpool! + + +August 15th.--Many scenes which I should have liked to record have +occurred; but the pressure of business has prevented me from recording +them from day to day. + +On Thursday I went, on invitation from Mr. B., to the prodigious steamer +Great Britain, down the harbor, and some miles into the sea, to escort +her off a little way on her voyage to Australia. There is an immense +enthusiasm among the English people about this ship, on account of its +being the largest in the world. The shores were lined with people to see +her sail, and there were innumerable small steamers, crowded with men, +all the way out into the ocean. Nothing seems to touch the English +nearer than this question of nautical superiority; and if we wish to hit +them to the quick, we must hit them there. + +On Friday, at 7 P.M., I went to dine with the Mayor. It was a dinner +given to the Judges and the Grand Jury. The Judges of England, during +the time of holding an Assize, are the persons first in rank in the +kingdom. They take precedence of everybody else,--of the highest +military officers, of the Lord Lieutenants, of the Archbishops,--of the +Prince of Wales,--of all except the Sovereign, whose authority and +dignity they represent. In case of a royal dinner, the Judge would lead +the Queen to the table. + +The dinner was at the Town Hall, and the rooms and the whole affair were +all in the most splendid style. Nothing struck me more than the footmen +in the city livery. They really looked more magnificent in their +gold-lace and breeches and white silk stockings than any officers of +state. The rooms were beautiful; gorgeously painted and gilded, +gorgeously lighted, gorgeously hung with paintings,--the plate was +gorgeous, and the dinner gorgeous in the English fashion. + +After the removal of the cloth the Mayor gave various toasts, prefacing +each with some remarks,--the first, of course, the Sovereign, after which +"God save the Queen" was sung, the company standing up and joining in the +chorus, their ample faces glowing with wine, enthusiasm, and loyalty. +Afterwards the Bar, and various other dignities and institutions were +toasted; and by and by came the toast to the United States, and to me, as +their Representative. Hereupon either "Hail Columbia," or "Yankee +Doodle," or some other of our national tunes (but Heaven knows which), +was played; and at the conclusion, being at bay, and with no alternative, +I got upon my legs, and made a response. They received me and listened +to my nonsense with a good deal of rapping, and my speech seemed to give +great satisfaction; my chief difficulty being in not knowing how to pitch +my voice to the size of the room. As for the matter, it is not of the +slightest consequence. Anybody may make an after-dinner speech who will +be content to talk onward without saying anything. My speech was not +more than two or three inches long; and, considering that I did not know +a soul there, except the Mayor himself, and that I am wholly unpractised +in all sorts of oratory, and that I had nothing to say, it was quite +successful. I hardly thought it was in me, but, being once started, I +felt no embarrassment, and went through it as coolly as if I were going +to be hanged. + +Yesterday, after dinner, I took a walk with my family. We went through +by-ways and private roads, and saw more of rural England, with its +hedge-rows, its grassy fields, and its whitewashed old stone cottages, +than we have before seen since our arrival. + + +August 20th.--This being Saturday, there early commenced a throng of +visitants to Rock Ferry. The boat in which I came over brought from the +city a multitude of factory-people. They had bands of music, and banners +inscribed with the names of the mills they belong to, and other devices: +pale-looking people, but not looking exactly as if they were underfed. +They are brought on reduced terms by the railways and steamers, and come +from great distances in the interior. These, I believe, were from +Preston. I have not yet had an opportunity of observing how they amuse +themselves during these excursions. + +At the dock, the other day, the steamer arrived from Rock Ferry with a +countless multitude of little girls, in coarse blue gowns, who, as they +landed, formed in procession, and walked up the dock. These girls had +been taken from the workhouses and educated at a charity-school, and +would by and by be apprenticed as servants. I should not have conceived +it possible that so many children could have been collected together, +without a single trace of beauty or scarcely of intelligence in so much +as one individual; such mean, coarse, vulgar features and figures +betraying unmistakably a low origin, and ignorant and brutal parents. +They did not appear wicked, but only stupid, animal, and soulless. It +must require many generations of better life to wake the soul in them. +All America could not show the like. + + +August 22d.--A Captain Auld, an American, having died here yesterday, I +went with my clerk and an American shipmaster to take the inventory of +his effects. His boarding-house was in a mean street, an old dingy +house, with narrow entrance,--the class of boarding-house frequented by +mates of vessels, and inferior to those generally patronized by masters. +A fat elderly landlady, of respectable and honest aspect, and her +daughter, a pleasing young woman enough, received us, and ushered us into +the deceased's bedchamber. It was a dusky back room, plastered and +painted yellow; its one window looking into the very narrowest of +back-yards or courts, and out on a confused multitude of back buildings, +appertaining to other houses, most of them old, with rude chimneys of +wash-rooms and kitchens, the bricks of which seemed half loose. + +The chattels of the dead man were contained in two trunks, a chest, a +sail-cloth bag, and a barrel, and consisted of clothing, suggesting a +thickset, middle-sized man; papers relative to ships and business, a +spyglass, a loaded iron pistol, some books of navigation, some charts, +several great pieces of tobacco, and a few cigars; some little plaster +images, that he had probably bought for his children, a cotton umbrella, +and other trumpery of no great value. In one of the trunks we found +about twenty pounds' worth of English and American gold and silver, and +some notes of hand, due in America. Of all these things the clerk made +an inventory; after which we took possession of the money and affixed the +consular seal to the trunks, bag, and chest. + +While this was going on, we heard a great noise of men quarrelling in an +adjoining court; and, altogether, it seemed a squalid and ugly place to +live in, and a most undesirable one to die in. At the conclusion of our +labors, the young woman asked us if we would not go into another chamber, +and look at the corpse, and appeared to think that we should be rather +glad than otherwise of the privilege. But, never having seen the man +during his lifetime, I declined to commence his acquaintance now. + +His bills for board and nursing amount to about the sum which we found in +his trunk; his funeral expenses will be ten pounds more; the surgeon has +sent in a bill of eight pounds, odd shillings; and the account of another +medical man is still to be rendered. As his executor, I shall pay his +landlady and nurse; and for the rest of the expenses, a subscription must +be made (according to the custom in such cases) among the shipmasters, +headed by myself. The funeral pomp will consist of a hearse, one coach, +four men, with crape hatbands, and a few other items, together with a +grave at five pounds, over which his friends will be entitled to place a +stone, if they choose to do so, within twelve months. + +As we left the house, we looked into the dark and squalid dining-room, +where a lunch of cold meat was set out; but having no associations with +the house except through this one dead man, it seemed as if his presence +and attributes pervaded it wholly. He appears to have been a man of +reprehensible habits, though well advanced in years. I ought not to +forget a brandy-flask (empty) among his other effects. The landlady and +daughter made a good impression on me, as honest and respectable persons. + + +August 24th.--Yesterday, in the forenoon, I received a note, and shortly +afterwards a call at the Consulate from Miss H----, whom I apprehend to +be a lady of literary tendencies. She said that Miss L. had promised her +an introduction, but that, happening to pass through Liverpool, she had +snatched the opportunity to make my acquaintance. She seems to be a +mature lady, rather plain, but with an honest and intelligent face. It +was rather a singular freedom, methinks, to come down upon a perfect +stranger in this way,--to sit with him in his private office an hour or +two, and then walk about the streets with him, as she did; for I did the +honors of Liverpool, and showed her the public buildings. Her talk was +sensible, but not particularly brilliant nor interesting; a good, solid +personage, physically and intellectually. She is an English woman. + +In the afternoon, at three o'clock, I attended the funeral of Captain +Auld. Being ushered into the dining-room of his boarding-house, I found +brandy, gin, and wine set out on a tray, together with some little +spicecakes. By and by came in a woman, who asked if I were going to the +funeral; and then proceeded to put a mourning-band on my hat,--a +black-silk band, covering the whole hat, and streaming nearly a yard +behind. After waiting the better part of an hour, nobody else appeared, +although several shipmasters had promised to attend. Hereupon, the +undertaker was anxious to set forth; but the landlady, who was arrayed in +shining black silk, thought it a shame that the poor man should be buried +with such small attendance. So we waited a little longer, during which +interval I heard the landlady's daughter sobbing and wailing in the +entry; and but for this tender-heartedness there would have been no tears +at all. Finally we set forth,--the undertaker, a friend of his, and a +young man, perhaps the landlady's son, and myself, in the black-plumed +coach, and the landlady, her daughter, and a female friend, in the coach +behind. Previous to this, however, everybody had taken some wine or +spirits; for it seemed to be considered disrespectful not to do so. + +Before us went the plumed hearse, a stately affair, with a bas-relief of +funereal figures upon its sides. We proceeded quite across the city to +the Necropolis, where the coffin was carried into a chapel, in which we +found already another coffin, and another set of mourners, awaiting the +clergyman. Anon he appeared,--a stern, broad-framed, large, and +bald-headed man, in a black-silk gown. He mounted his desk, and read the +service in quite a feeble and unimpressive way, though with no lack of +solemnity. This done, our four bearers took up the coffin, and carried +it out of the chapel; but, descending the steps, and, perhaps, having +taken a little too much brandy, one of them stumbled, and down came the +coffin,--not quite to the ground, however; for they grappled with it, and +contrived, with a great struggle, to prevent the misadventure. But I +really expected to see poor Captain Auld burst forth among us in his +grave-clothes. + +The Necropolis is quite a handsome burial-place, shut in by high walls, +so overrun with shrubbery that no part of the brick or stone is visible. +Part of the space within is an ornamental garden, with flowers and green +turf; the rest is strewn with flat gravestones, and a few raised +monuments; and straight avenues run to and fro between. Captain Auld's +grave was dug nine feet deep. It is his own for twelve months; but, if +his friends do not choose to give him a stone, it will become a common +grave at the end of that time; and four or five more bodies may then be +piled upon his. Every one seemed greatly to admire the grave; the +undertaker praised it, and also the dryness of its site, which he took +credit to himself for having chosen. The grave-digger, too, was very +proud of its depth, and the neatness of his handiwork. The clergyman, +who had marched in advance of us from the chapel, now took his stand at +the head of the grave, and, lifting his hat, proceeded with what remained +of the service, while we stood bareheaded around. When he came to a +particular part, "ashes to ashes, dust to dust," the undertaker lifted a +handful of earth, and threw it rattling on the coffin,--so did the +landlady's son, and so did I. After the funeral the undertaker's friend, +an elderly, coarse-looking man, looked round him, and remarked that "the +grass had never grown on the parties who died in the cholera year"; but +at this the undertaker laughed in scorn. + +As we returned to the gate of the cemetery, the sexton met us, and +pointed to a small office, on entering which we found the clergyman, who +was waiting for his burial-fees. There was now a dispute between the +clergyman and the undertaker; the former wishing to receive the whole +amount for the gravestone, which the undertaker, of course, refused to +pay. I explained how the matter stood; on which the clergyman +acquiesced, civilly enough; but it was very strange to see the worldly, +business-like way in which he entered into this squabble, so soon after +burying poor Captain Auld. + +During our drive back in the mourning-coach, the undertaker, his friend, +and the landlady's son still kept descanting on the excellence of the +grave,--"Such a fine grave,"--"Such a nice grave,"--"Such a splendid +grave,"--and, really, they seemed almost to think it worth while to die, +for the sake of being buried there. They deemed it an especial pity that +such a grave should ever become a common grave. "Why," said they to me, +"by paying the extra price you may have it for your own grave, or for +your family!" meaning that we should have a right to pile ourselves over +the defunct Captain. I wonder how the English ever attain to any +conception of a future existence, since they so overburden themselves +with earth and mortality in their ideas of funerals. A drive with an +undertaker, in a sable-plumed coach!--talking about graves!--and yet he +was a jolly old fellow, wonderfully corpulent, with a smile breaking out +easily all over his face,--although, once in a while, he looked +professionally lugubrious. + +All the time the scent of that horrible mourning-coach is in my nostrils, +and I breathe nothing but a funeral atmosphere. + + +Saturday, August 27th.--This being the gala-day of the manufacturing +people about Liverpool, the steamboats to Rock Ferry were seasonably +crowded with large parties of both sexes. They were accompanied with two +bands of music, in uniform; and these bands, before I left the hotel, +were playing, in competition and rivalry with each other in the +coach-yard, loud martial strains from shining brass instruments. A prize +is to be assigned to one or to the other of these bands, and I suppose +this was a part of the competition. Meanwhile the merry-making people +who thronged the courtyard were quaffing coffee from blue earthen mugs, +which they brought with them,--as likewise they brought the coffee, and +had it made in the hotel. + +It had poured with rain about the time of their arrival, notwithstanding +which they did not seem disheartened; for, of course, in this climate, it +enters into all their calculations to be drenched through and through. +By and by the sun shone out, and it has continued to shine and shade +every ten minutes ever since. All these people were decently dressed; +the men generally in dark clothes, not so smartly as Americans on a +festal day, but so as not to be greatly different as regards dress. They +were paler, smaller, less wholesome-looking and less intelligent, and, I +think, less noisy, than so many Yankees would have been. The women and +girls differed much more from what American girls and women would be on a +pleasure-excursion, being so shabbily dressed, with no kind of smartness, +no silks, nothing but cotton gowns, I believe, and ill-looking bonnets,-- +which, however, was the only part of their attire that they seemed to +care about guarding from the rain. As to their persons, they generally +looked better developed and healthier than the men; but there was a woful +lack of beauty and grace, not a pretty girl among them, all coarse and +vulgar. Their bodies, it seems to me, are apt to be very long in +proportion to their limbs,--in truth, this kind of make is rather +characteristic of both sexes in England. The speech of these folks, in +some instances, was so broad Lancashire that I could not well understand +it. + + + +A WALK TO BEBBINGTON. + + +Rock Ferry, August 29th.--Yesterday we all took a walk into the country. +It was a fine afternoon, with clouds, of course, in different parts of +the sky, but a clear atmosphere, bright sunshine, and altogether a +Septembrish feeling. The ramble was very pleasant, along the hedge-lined +roads in which there were flowers blooming, and the varnished holly, +certainly one of the most beautiful shrubs in the world, so far as +foliage goes. We saw one cottage which I suppose was several hundred +years old. It was of stone, filled into a wooden frame, the black-oak of +which was visible like an external skeleton; it had a thatched roof, and +was whitewashed. We passed through a village,--higher Bebbington, I +believe,--with narrow streets and mean houses all of brick or stone, and +not standing wide apart from each other as in American country villages, +but conjoined. There was an immense almshouse in the midst; at least, I +took it to be so. In the centre of the village, too, we saw a +moderate-sized brick house, built in imitation of a castle with a tower +and turret, in which an upper and an under row of small cannon were +mounted,--now green with moss. There were also battlements along the +roof of the house, which looked as if it might have been built eighty or +a hundred years ago. In the centre of it there was the dial of a clock, +but the inner machinery had been removed, and the hands, hanging +listlessly, moved to and fro in the wind. It was quite a novel symbol of +decay and neglect. On the wall, close to the street, there were certain +eccentric inscriptions cut into slabs of stone, but I could make no sense +of them. At the end of the house opposite the turret, we peeped through +the bars of an iron gate and beheld a little paved court-yard, and at the +farther side of it a small piazza, beneath which seemed to stand the +figure of a man. He appeared well advanced in years, and was dressed in +a blue coat and buff breeches, with a white or straw hat on his head. +Behold, too, in a kennel beside the porch, a large dog sitting on his +hind legs, chained! Also, close beside the gateway, another man, seated +in a kind of arbor! All these were wooden images; and the whole +castellated, small, village-dwelling, with the inscriptions and the queer +statuary, was probably the whim of some half-crazy person, who has now, +no doubt, been long asleep in Bebbington churchyard. + +The bell of the old church was ringing as we went along, and many +respectable-looking people and cleanly dressed children were moving +towards the sound. Soon we reached the church, and I have seen nothing +yet in England that so completely answered my idea of what such a thing +was, as this old village church of Bebbington. + +It is quite a large edifice, built in the form of a cross, a low peaked +porch in the side, over which, rudely cut in stone, is the date 1300 and +something. The steeple has ivy on it, and looks old, old, old; so does +the whole church, though portions of it have been renewed, but not so as +to impair the aspect of heavy, substantial endurance, and long, long +decay, which may go on hundreds of years longer before the church is a +ruin. There it stands, among the surrounding graves, looking just the +same as it did in Bloody Mary's days; just as it did in Cromwell's time. +A bird (and perhaps many birds) had its nest in the steeple, and flew in +and out of the loopholes that were opened into it. The stone framework +of the windows looked particularly old. + +There were monuments about the church, some lying flat on the ground, +others elevated on low pillars, or on cross slabs of stone, and almost +all looking dark, moss-grown, and very antique. But on reading some of +the inscriptions, I was surprised to find them very recent; for, in fact, +twenty years of this climate suffices to give as much or more antiquity +of aspect, whether to gravestone or edifice, than a hundred years of our +own,--so soon do lichens creep over the surface, so soon does it blacken, +so soon do the edges lose their sharpness, so soon does Time gnaw away +the records. The only really old monuments (and those not very old) were +two, standing close together, and raised on low rude arches, the dates on +which were 1684 and 1686. On one a cross was rudely cut into the stone. +But there may have been hundreds older than this, the records on which +had been quite obliterated, and the stones removed, and the graves dug +over anew. None of the monuments commemorate people of rank; on only one +the buried person was recorded as "Gent." + +While we sat on the flat slabs resting ourselves, several little girls, +healthy-looking and prettily dressed enough, came into the churchyard, +and began to talk and laugh, and to skip merrily from one tombstone to +another. They stared very broadly at us, and one of them, by and by, ran +up to U. and J., and gave each of them a green apple, then they skipped +upon the tombstones again, while, within the church, we heard them +singing, sounding pretty much as I have heard it in our pine-built New +England meeting-houses. Meantime the rector had detected the voices of +these naughty little girls, and perhaps had caught glimpses of them +through the windows; for, anon, out came the sexton, and, addressing +himself to us, asked whether there had been any noise or disturbance in +the churchyard. I should not have borne testimony against these little +villagers, but S. was so anxious to exonerate our own children that she +pointed out these poor little sinners to the sexton, who forthwith turned +them out. He would have done the same to us, no doubt, had my coat been +worse than it was; but, as the matter stood, his demeanor was rather +apologetic than menacing, when he informed us that the rector had sent +him. + +We stayed a little longer, looking at the graves, some of which were +between the buttresses of the church and quite close to the wall, as if +the sleepers anticipated greater comfort and security the nearer they +could get to the sacred edifice. + +As we went out of the churchyard, we passed the aforesaid little girls, +who were sitting behind the mound of a tomb, and busily babbling +together. They called after us, expressing their discontent that we had +betrayed them to the sexton, and saying that it was not they who made the +noise. Going homeward, we went astray in a green lane, that terminated +in the midst of a field, without outlet, so that we had to retrace a good +many of our footsteps. + +Close to the wall of the church, beside the door, there was an ancient +baptismal font of stone. In fact, it was a pile of roughly hewn stone +steps, five or six feet high, with a block of stone at the summit, in +which was a hollow about as big as a wash-bowl. It was full of +rainwater. + +The church seems to be St. Andrew's Church, Lower Bebbington, built in +1100. + + +September 1st.--To-day we leave the Rock Ferry Hotel, where we have spent +nearly four weeks. It is a comfortable place, and we have had a good +table and have been kindly treated. We occupied a large parlor, +extending through the whole breadth of the house, with a bow-window, +looking towards Liverpool, and adown the intervening river, and to +Birkenhead, on the hither side. The river would be a pleasanter object, +if it were blue and transparent, instead of such a mud-puddly hue; also, +if it were always full to its brine; whereas it generally presents a +margin, and sometimes a very broad one, of glistening mud, with here and +there a small vessel aground on it. + +Nevertheless, the parlor-window has given us a pretty good idea of the +nautical business of Liverpool; the constant objects being the little +black steamers puffing unquietly along, sometimes to our own ferry, +sometimes beyond it to Eastham, and sometimes towing a long string of +boats from Runcorn or otherwhere up the river, laden with goods, and +sometimes gallanting a tall ship in or out. Some of these ships lie for +days together in the river, very majestic and stately objects, often with +the flag of the stars and stripes waving over them. Now and then, after +a gale at sea, a vessel comes in with her masts broken short off in the +midst, and with marks of rough handling about the hull. Once a week +comes a Cunard steamer, with its red funnel pipe whitened by the salt +spray; and, firing off cannon to announce her arrival, she moors to a +large iron buoy in the middle of the river, and a few hundred yards from +the stone pier of our ferry. Immediately comes poring towards her a +little mail-steamer, to take away her mail-bags and such of the +passengers as choose to land; and for several hours afterwards the Cunard +lies with the smoke and steam coming out of her, as if she were smoking +her pipe after her toilsome passage across the Atlantic. Once a +fortnight comes an American steamer of the Collins line; and then the +Cunard salutes her with cannon, to which the Collins responds, and moors +herself to another iron buoy, not far from the Cunard. When they go to +sea, it is with similar salutes; the two vessels paying each other the +more ceremonious respect, because they are inimical and jealous of each +other. + +Besides these, there are other steamers of all sorts and sizes, for +pleasure-excursions, for regular trips to Dublin, the Isle of Man, and +elsewhither; and vessels which are stationary, as floating lights, but +which seem to relieve one another at intervals; and small vessels, with +sails looking as if made of tanned leather; and schooners, and yachts, +and all manner of odd-looking craft, but none so odd as the Chinese junk. +This junk lies by our own pier, and looks as if it were copied from some +picture on an old teacup. Beyond all these objects we see the other side +of the Mersey, with the delectably green fields opposite to us, while the +shore becomes more and more thickly populated, until about two miles off +we see the dense centre of the city, with the dome of the Custom House, +and steeples and towers; and, close to the water, the spire of St. +Nicholas; and above, and intermingled with the whole city scene, the +duskiness of the coal-smoke gushing upward. Along the bank we perceive +the warehouses of the Albert dock, and the Queen's tobacco warehouses, +and other docks, and, nigher to us, a shipyard or two. In the evening +all this sombre picture gradually darkens out of sight, and in its place +appear only the lights of the city, kindling into a galaxy of earthly +stars, for a long distance, up and down the shore; and, in one or two +spots, the bright red gleam of a furnace, like the "red planet Mars"; and +once in a while a bright, wandering beam gliding along the river, as a +steamer cones or goes between us and Liverpool. + + + +ROCK PARK. + + +September 2d.--We got into our new house in Rock Park yesterday. It is +quite a good house, with three apartments, beside kitchen and pantry on +the lower floor; and it is three stories high, with four good chambers in +each story. It is a stone edifice, like almost all the English houses, +and handsome in its design. The rent, without furniture, would probably +have been one hundred pounds; furnished, it is one hundred and sixty +pounds. Rock Park, as the locality is called, is private property, and +is now nearly covered with residences for professional people, merchants, +and others of the upper middling class; the houses being mostly built, I +suppose, on speculation, and let to those who occupy them. It is the +quietest place imaginable, there being a police station at the entrance, +and the officer on duty allows no ragged or ill-looking person to pass. +There being a toll, it precludes all unnecessary passage of carriages; +and never were there more noiseless streets than those that give access +to these pretty residences. On either side there is thick shrubbery, +with glimpses through it of the ornamented portals, or into the trim +gardens with smooth-shaven lawns, of no large extent, but still affording +reasonable breathing-space. They are really an improvement on anything, +save what the very rich can enjoy, in America. The former occupants of +our house (Mrs. Campbell and family) having been fond of flowers, there +are many rare varieties in the garden, and we are told that there is +scarcely a month in the year when a flower will not be found there. + +The house is respectably, though not very elegantly, furnished. It was a +dismal, rainy day yesterday, and we had a coal-fire in the sitting-room, +beside which I sat last evening as twilight came on, and thought, rather +sadly, how many times we have changed our home since we were married. In +the first place, our three years at the Old Manse; then a brief residence +at Salem, then at Boston, then two or three years at Salem again; then at +Lenox, then at West Newton, and then again at Concord, where we imagined +that we were fixed for life, but spent only a year. Then this farther +flight to England, where we expect to spend four years, and afterwards +another year or two in Italy, during all which time we shall have no real +home. For, as I sat in this English house, with the chill, rainy English +twilight brooding over the lawn, and a coal-fire to keep me comfortable +on the first evening of September, and the picture of a stranger--the +dead husband of Mrs. Campbell--gazing down at me from above the +mantel-piece,--I felt that I never should be quite at home here. +Nevertheless, the fire was very comfortable to look at, and the shape of +the fireplace--an arch, with a deep cavity--was an improvement on the +square, shallow opening of an American coal-grate. + + +September 7th.--It appears by the annals of Liverpool, contained in +Gore's Directory, that in 1076 there was a baronial castle built by Roger +de Poictiers on the site of the present St. George's Church. It was +taken down in 1721. The church now stands at one of the busiest points +of the principal street of the city. The old Church of St. Nicholas, +founded about the time of the Conquest, and more recently rebuilt, stood +within a quarter of a mile of the castle. + +In 1150, Birkenhead Priory was founded on the Cheshire side of the +Mersey. The monks used to ferry passengers across to Liverpool until +1282, when Woodside Ferry was established,--twopence for a horseman, and +a farthing for a foot-passenger. Steam ferry-boats now cross to +Birkenhead, Monk's Ferry, and Woodside every ten minutes; and I believe +there are large hotels at all these places, and many of the business men +of Liverpool have residences in them. + +In 1252 a tower was built by Sir John Stanley, which continued to be a +castle of defence to the Stanley family for many hundred years, and was +not finally taken down till 1820, when its site had become the present +Water Street, in the densest commercial centre of the city. + +There appear to have been other baronial castles and residences in +different parts of the city, as a hall in old Hall Street, built by Sir +John de la More, on the site of which a counting-house now stands. This +knightly family of De la More sometimes supplied mayors to the city, as +did the family of the Earls of Derby. + +About 1582, Edward, Earl of Derby, maintained two hundred and fifty +citizens of Liverpool, fed sixty aged persons twice a day, and provided +twenty-seven hundred persons with meat, drink, and money every Good +Friday. + +In 1644, Prince Rupert besieged the town for twenty-four days, and +finally took it by storm. This was June 26th, and the Parliamentarians, +under Sir John Meldrum, repossessed it the following October. + +In 1669 the Mayor of Liverpool kept an inn. + +In 1730 there was only one carriage in town, and no stage-coach came +nearer than Warrington, the roads being impassable. + +In 1734 the Earl of Derby gave a great entertainment in the tower. + +In 1737 the Mayor was George Norton, a saddler, who frequently took, the +chair with his leather apron on. His immediate predecessor seems to have +been the Earl of Derby, who gave the above-mentioned entertainment during +his mayoralty. Where George's Dock now is, there used to be a battery of +fourteen eighteen-pounders for the defence of the town, and the old sport +of bull-baiting was carried on in that vicinity, close to the Church of +St. Nicholas. + + +September 12th.--On Saturday a young man was found wandering about in +West Derby, a suburb of Liverpool, in a state of insanity, and, being +taken before a magistrate, he proved to be an American. As he seemed to +be in a respectable station of life, the magistrate sent the master of +the workhouse to me, in order to find out whether I would take the +responsibility of his expenses, rather than have him put in the +workhouse. My clerk went to investigate the matter, and brought me his +papers. His name proves to be ---- ------, belonging to ------, +twenty-five years of age. One of the papers was a passport from our +legation in Naples; likewise there was a power of attorney from his +mother (who seems to have been married a second time) to dispose of some +property of hers abroad; a hotel bill, also, of some length, in which +were various charges for wine; and, among other evidences of low funds, a +pawnbroker's receipt for a watch, which he had pledged at five pounds. +There was also a ticket for his passage to America, by the screw steamer +Andes, which sailed on Wednesday last. The clerk found him to the last +degree incommunicative; and nothing could be discovered from him but what +the papers disclosed. There were about a dozen utterly unintelligible +notes among the papers, written by himself since his derangement. + +I decided to put him into the insane hospital, where he now accordingly +is, and to-morrow (by which time he may be in a more conversable mood) I +mean to pay him a visit. + +The clerk tells me that there is now, and has been for three years, an +American lady in the Liverpool almshouse, in a state of insanity. She is +very accomplished, especially in music; but in all this time it has been +impossible to find out who she is, or anything about her connections or +previous life. She calls herself Jenny Lind, and as for any other name +or identity she keeps her own secret. + + +September 14th.--It appears that Mr. ------ (the insane young gentleman) +being unable to pay his bill at the inn where he was latterly staying, +the landlord had taken possession of his luggage, and satisfied himself +in that way. My clerk, at my request, has taken his watch out of pawn. +It proves to be not a very good one, though doubtless worth more than +five pounds, for which it was pledged. The Governor of the Lunatic +Asylum wrote me yesterday, stating that the patient was in want of a +change of clothes, and that, according to his own account, he had left +his luggage at the American Hotel. After office-hours, I took a cab, and +set out with my clerk, to pay a visit to the Asylum, taking the American +Hotel in our way. + +The American Hotel is a small house, not at all such a one as American +travellers of any pretension would think of stopping at, but still very +respectable, cleanly, and with a neat sitting-room, where the guests +might assemble, after the American fashion. We asked for the landlady, +and anon down she came, a round, rosy, comfortable-looking English dame +of fifty or thereabouts. On being asked whether she knew a Mr. ------, +she readily responded that he had been there, but, had left no luggage, +having taken it away before paying his bill; and that she had suspected +him of meaning to take his departure without paying her at all. Hereupon +she had traced him to the hotel before mentioned, where she had found +that he had stayed two nights,--but was then, I think, gone from thence. +Afterwards she encountered him again, and, demanding her due, went with +him to a pawnbroker's, where he pledged his watch and paid her. This was +about the extent of the landlady's knowledge of the matter. I liked the +woman very well, with her shrewd, good-humored, worldly, kindly +disposition. + +Then we proceeded to the Lunatic Asylum, to which we were admitted by a +porter at the gate. Within doors we found some neat and comely +servant-women, one of whom showed us into a handsome parlor, and took my +card to the Governor. There was a large bookcase, with a glass front, +containing handsomely bound books, many of which, I observed, were of a +religious character. In a few minutes the Governor came in, a +middle-aged man, tall, and thin for an Englishman, kindly and agreeable +enough in aspect, but not with the marked look of a man of force and +ability. I should not judge from his conversation that he was an +educated man, or that he had any scientific acquaintance with the subject +of insanity. + +He said that Mr. ------ was still quite incommunicative, and not in a +very promising state; that I had perhaps better defer seeing him for a +few days; that it would not be safe, at present, to send him home to +America without an attendant, and this was about all. But on returning +home I learned from my wife, who had had a call from Mrs. Blodgett, that +Mrs. Blodgett knew Mr. ------ and his mother, who has recently been +remarried to a young husband, and is now somewhere in Italy. They seemed +to have boarded at Mrs. Blodgett's house on their way to the Continent, +and within a week or two, an acquaintance and pastor of Mr. ------, the +Rev. Dr. ------, has sailed for America. If I could only have caught +him, I could have transferred the care, expense, and responsibility of +the patient to him. The Governor of the Asylum mentioned, by the way, +that Mr. ------ describes himself as having been formerly a midshipman in +the navy. + +I walked through the St. James's cemetery yesterday. It is a very pretty +place, dug out of the rock, having formerly, I believe, been a +stone-quarry. It is now a deep and spacious valley, with graves and +monuments on its level and grassy floor, through which run gravel-paths, +and where grows luxuriant shrubbery. On one of the steep sides of the +valley, hewn out of the rock, are tombs, rising in tiers, to the height +of fifty feet or more; some of them cut directly into the rock with +arched portals, and others built with stone. On the other side the bank +is of earth, and rises abruptly, quite covered with trees, and looking +very pleasant with their green shades. It was a warm and sunny day, and +the cemetery really had a most agreeable aspect. I saw several +gravestones of Americans; but what struck me most was one line of an +epitaph on an English woman, "Here rests in peace a virtuous wife." The +statue of Huskisson stands in the midst of the valley, in a kind of +mausoleum, with a door of plate-glass, through which you look at the dead +statesman's effigy. + + +September 22d.--. . . . Some days ago an American captain came to the +office, and said he had shot one of his men, shortly after sailing from +New Orleans, and while the ship was still in the river. As he described +the event, he was in peril of his life from this man, who was an +Irishman; and he fired his pistol only when the man was coming upon him, +with a knife in one hand, and some other weapon of offence in the other, +while he himself was struggling with one or two more of the crew. He was +weak at the time, having just recovered from the yellow fever. The shots +struck the man in the pit of the stomach, and he lived only about a +quarter of an hour. No magistrate in England has a right to arrest or +examine the captain, unless by a warrant from the Secretary of State, on +the charge of murder. After his statement to me, the mother of the slain +man went to the police officer, and accused him of killing her son. Two +or three days since, moreover, two of the sailors came before me, and +gave their account of the matter; and it looked very differently from +that of the captain. According to them, the man had no idea of attacking +the captain, and was so drunk that he could not keep himself upright +without assistance. One of these two men was actually holding him up +when the captain fired two barrels of his pistol, one immediately after +the other, and lodged two balls in the pit of his stomach. The man sank +down at once, saying, "Jack, I am killed,"--and died very shortly. +Meanwhile the captain drove this man away, under threats of shooting him +likewise. Both the seamen described the captain's conduct, both then and +during the whole voyage, as outrageous, and I do not much doubt that it +was so. They gave their evidence like men who wished to tell the truth, +and were moved by no more than a natural indignation at the captain's +wrong. + +I did not much like the captain from the first,--a hard, rough man, with +little education, and nothing of the gentleman about him, a red face and +a loud voice. He seemed a good deal excited, and talked fast and much +about the event, but yet not as if it had sunk deeply into him. He +observed that he "would not have had it happen for a thousand dollars," +that being the amount of detriment which he conceives himself to suffer +by the ineffaceable blood-stain on his hand. In my opinion it is little +short of murder, if at all; but what would be murder on shore is almost a +natural occurrence when done in such a hell on earth as one of these +ships, in the first hours of the voyage. The men are then all drunk,-- +some of them often in delirium tremens; and the captain feels no safety +for his life except in making himself as terrible as a fiend. It is the +universal testimony that there is a worse set of sailors in these short +voyages between Liverpool and America than in any other trade whatever. + +There is no probability that the captain will ever be called to account +for this deed. He gave, at the time, his own version of the affair in +his log-book; and this was signed by the entire crew, with the exception +of one man, who had hidden himself in the hold in terror of the captain. +His mates will sustain his side of the question; and none of the sailors +would be within reach of the American courts, even should they be sought +for. + + +October 1st.--On Thursday I went with Mr. Ticknor to Chester by railway. +It is quite an indescribable old town, and I feel at last as if I had had +a glimpse of old England. The wall encloses a large space within the +town, but there are numerous houses and streets not included within its +precincts. Some of the principal streets pass under the ancient +gateways; and at the side there are flights of steps, giving access to +the summit. Around the top of the whole wall, a circuit of about two +miles, there runs a walk, well paved with flagstones, and broad enough +for three persons to walk abreast. On one side--that towards the +country--there is a parapet of red freestone three or four feet high. On +the other side there are houses, rising up immediately from the wall, so +that they seem a part of it. The height of it, I suppose, may be thirty +or forty feet, and, in some parts, you look down from the parapet into +orchards, where there are tall apple-trees, and men on the branches, +gathering fruit, and women and children among the grass, filling bags or +baskets. There are prospects of the surrounding country among the +buildings outside the wall; at one point, a view of the river Dee, with +an old bridge of arches. It is all very strange, very quaint, very +curious to see how the town has overflowed its barrier, and how, like +many institutions here, the ancient wall still exists, but is turned to +quite another purpose than what it was meant for,--so far as it serves +any purpose at all. There are three or four towers in the course of the +circuit; the most interesting being one from the top of which King +Charles the First is said to have seen the rout of his army by the +Parliamentarians. We ascended the short flight of steps that led up into +the tower, where an old man pointed out the site of the battle-field, now +thickly studded with buildings, and told us what we had already learned +from the guide-book. After this we went into the cathedral, which I will +perhaps describe on some other occasion, when I shall have seen more of +it, and to better advantage. The cloisters gave us the strongest +impression of antiquity; the stone arches being so worn and blackened by +time. Still an American must always have imagined a better cathedral +than this. There were some immense windows of painted glass, but all +modern. In the chapter-house we found a coal-fire burning in a grate, +and a large heap of old books--the library of the cathedral--in a +discreditable state of decay,--mildewed, rotten, neglected for years. +The sexton told us that they were to be arranged and better ordered. +Over the door, inside, hung two failed and tattered banners, being those +of the Cheshire regiment. + +The most utterly indescribable feature of Chester is the Rows, which +every traveller has attempted to describe. At the height of several feet +above some of the oldest streets, a walk runs through the front of the +houses, which project over it. Back of the walk there are shops; on the +outer side is a space of two or three yards, where the shopmen place +their tables, and stands, and show-cases; overhead, just high enough for +persons to stand erect, a ceiling. At frequent intervals little narrow +passages go winding in among the houses, which all along are closely +conjoined, and seem to have no access or exit, except through the shops, +or into these narrow passages, where you can touch each side with your +elbows, and the top with your hand. We penetrated into one or two of +them, and they smelt anciently and disagreeably. At one of the doors +stood a pale-looking, but cheerful and good-natured woman, who told us +that she had come to that house when first married, twenty-one years +before, and had lived there ever since; and that she felt as if she had +been buried through the best years of her life. She allowed us to peep +into her kitchen and parlor,--small, dingy, dismal, but yet not wholly +destitute of a home look. She said that she had seen two or three +coffins in a day, during cholera times, carried out of that narrow +passage into which her door opened. These avenues put me in mind of +those which run through ant-hills, or those which a mole makes +underground. This fashion of Rows does not appear to be going out; and, +for aught I can see, it may last hundreds of years longer. When a house +becomes so old as to be untenantable, it is rebuilt, and the new one is +fashioned like the old, so far as regards the walk running through its +front. Many of the shops are very good, and even elegant, and these Rows +are the favorite places of business in Chester. Indeed, they have many +advantages, the passengers being sheltered from the rain, and there being +within the shops that dimmer light by which tradesmen like to exhibit +their wares. + +A large proportion of the edifices in the Rows must be comparatively +modern; but there are some very ancient ones, with oaken frames visible +on the exterior. The Row, passing through these houses, is railed with +oak, so old that it has turned black, and grown to be as hard as stone, +which it might be mistaken for, if one did not see where names and +initials have been cut into it with knives at some bygone period. +Overhead, cross-beams project through the ceiling so low as almost to hit +the head. On the front of one of these buildings was the inscription, +"GOD'S PROVIDENCE IS MINE INHERITANCE," said to have been put there by +the occupant of the house two hundred years ago, when the plague spared +this one house only in the whole city. Not improbably the inscription +has operated as a safeguard to prevent the demolition of the house +hitherto; but a shopman of an adjacent dwelling told us that it was soon +to be taken down. + +Here and there, about some of the streets through which the Rows do not +run, we saw houses of very aged aspect, with steep, peaked gables. The +front gable-end was supported on stone pillars, and the sidewalk passed +beneath. Most of these old houses seemed to be taverns,--the Black Bear, +the Green Dragon, and such names. We thought of dining at one of them, +but, on inspection, they looked rather too dingy and close, and of +questionable neatness. So we went to the Royal Hotel, where we probably +fared just as badly at much more expense, and where there was a +particularly gruff and crabbed old waiter, who, I suppose, thought +himself free to display his surliness because we arrived at the hotel on +foot. For my part, I love to see John Bull show himself. I must go +again and again and again to Chester, for I suppose there is not a more +curious place in the world. + +Mr. Ticknor, who has been staying at Rock Park with us since Tuesday, has +steamed away in the Canada this morning. His departure seems to make me +feel more abroad, more dissevered from my native country, than before. + + +October 3d.--Saturday evening, at six, I went to dine with Mr. Aiken, a +wealthy merchant here, to meet two of the sons of Burns. There was a +party of ten or twelve, Mr. Aiken and his two daughters included. The +two sons of Burns have both been in the Indian army, and have attained +the ranks of Colonel and Major; one having spent thirty, and the other +twenty-seven years in India. They are now old gentlemen of sixty and +upwards, the elder with a gray head, the younger with a perfectly white +one,--rather under than above the middle stature, and with a British +roundness of figure,--plain, respectable, intelligent-looking persons, +with quiet manners. I saw no resemblance in either of them to any +portrait of their father. After the ladies left the table, I sat next to +the Major, the younger of the two, and had a good deal of talk with him. +He seemed a very kindly and social man, and was quite ready to speak +about his father, nor was he at all reluctant to let it be seen how much +he valued the glory of being descended from the poet. By and by, at Mr. +Aiken's instance, he sang one of Burns's songs,--the one about "Annie" +and the "rigs of barley." He sings in a perfectly simple style, so that +it is little more than a recitative, and yet the effect is very good as +to humor, sense, and pathos. After rejoining the ladies, he sang +another, "A posie for my ain dear May," and likewise "A man's a man for +a' that." My admiration of his father, and partly, perhaps, my being an +American, gained me some favor with him, and he promised to give me what +he considered the best engraving of Burns, and some other remembrance of +him. The Major is that son of Burns who spent an evening at Abbotsford +with Sir Walter Scott, when, as Lockhart writes, "the children sang the +ballads of their sires." He spoke with vast indignation of a recent +edition of his father's works by Robert Chambers, in which the latter +appears to have wronged the poet by some misstatements.--I liked them +both and they liked me, and asked me to go and see there at Cheltenham, +where they reside. We broke up at about midnight. + +The members of this dinner-party were of the more liberal tone of +thinking here in Liverpool. The Colonel and Major seemed to be of +similar principles; and the eyes of the latter glowed, when he sang his +father's noble verse, "The rank is but the guinea's stamp," etc. It +would have been too pitiable if Burns had left a son who could not feel +the spirit of that verse. + + +October 8th.--Coning to my office, two or three mornings ago, I found +Mrs. ------, the mother of Mr. ------, the insane young man of whom I had +taken charge. She is a lady of fifty or thereabouts, and not very +remarkable anyway, nor particularly lady-like. However, she was just +come off a rapid journey, having travelled from Naples, with three small +children, without taking rest, since my letter reached her. A son (this +proved to be her new husband) of about twenty had come with her to the +Consulate. She was, of course, infinitely grieved about the young man's +insanity, and had two or three bursts of tears while we talked the matter +over. She said he was the hope of her life,--the best, purest, most +innocent child that ever was, and wholly free from every kind of vice. +But it appears that he had a previous attack of insanity, lasting three +months, about three years ago. + +After I had told her all I knew about him, including my personal +observations at a visit a week or two since, we drove in a cab to the +Asylum. It must have been a dismal moment to the poor lady, as we +entered the gateway through a tall, prison-like wall. Being ushered into +the parlor, the Governor soon appeared, and informed us that Mr. ------ +had had a relapse within a few days, and was not now so well as when I +saw him. He complains of unjust confinement, and seems to consider +himself, if I rightly understand, under persecution for political +reasons. The Governor, however, proposed to call him down, and I took my +leave, feeling that it would be indelicate to be present at his first +interview with his mother. So here ended my guardianship of the poor +young fellow. + +In the afternoon I called at the Waterloo Hotel, where Mrs. ------ was +staying, and found her in the coffee-room with the children. She had +determined to take a lodging in the vicinity of the Asylum, and was going +to remove thither as soon as the children had had something to eat. They +seemed to be pleasant and well-behaved children, and impressed me more +favorably than the mother, whom I suspect to be rather a foolish woman, +although her present grief makes her appear in a more respectable light +than at other times. She seemed anxious to impress me with the +respectability and distinction of her connections in America, and I had +observed the same tendency in the insane patient, at my interview with +him. However, she has undoubtedly a mother's love for this poor +shatterbrain, and this may weigh against the folly of her marrying an +incongruously youthful second husband, and many other follies. + +This was day before yesterday, and I have heard nothing of her since. +The same day I had applications for assistance in two other domestic +affairs; one from an Irishman, naturalized in America, who wished me to +get him a passage thither, and to take charge of his wife and family +here, at my own private expense, until he could remit funds to carry them +across. Another was from an Irishman, who had a power of attorney from a +countrywoman of his in America, to find and take charge of an infant whom +she had left in the Liverpool work-house, two years ago. I have a great +mind to keep a list of all the business I am consulted about and employed +in. It would be very curious. Among other things, all penniless +Americans, or pretenders to Americanism, look upon me as their banker; +and I could ruin myself any week, if I had not laid down a rule to +consider every applicant for assistance an impostor until he prove +himself a true and responsible man,--which it is very difficult to do. +Yesterday there limped in a very respectable-looking old man, who +described himself as a citizen of Baltimore, who had been on a trip to +England and elsewhere, and, being detained longer than he expected, and +having had an attack of rheumatism, was now short of funds to pay his +passage home, and hoped that I would supply the deficiency. He had quite +a plain, homely, though respectable manner, and, for aught I know, was +the very honestest man alive; but as he could produce no kind of proof of +his character and responsibility, I very quietly explained the +impossibility of my helping him. I advised him to try to obtain a +passage on board of some Baltimore ship, the master of which might be +acquainted with him, or, at all events, take his word for payment, after +arrival. This he seemed inclined to do, and took his leave. There was a +decided aspect of simplicity about this old man, and yet I rather judge +him to be an impostor. + +It is easy enough to refuse money to strangers and unknown people, or +whenever there may be any question about identity; but it will not be so +easy when I am asked for money by persons whom I know, but do not like to +trust. They shall meet the eternal "No," however. + + +October 13th.--In Ormerod's history of Chester it is mentioned that +Randal, Earl of Chester, having made an inroad into Wales about 1225, the +Welshmen gathered in mass against him, and drove him into the castle of +Nothelert in Flintshire. The Earl sent for succor to the Constable of +Chester, Roger Lacy, surnamed "Hell," on account of his fierceness. It +was then fair-time at Chester, and the constable collected a +miscellaneous rabble of fiddlers, players, cobblers, tailors, and all +manner of debauched people, and led them to the relief of the Earl. At +sight of this strange army the Welshmen fled; and forever after the Earl +assigned to the constable of Chester power over all fiddlers, shoemakers, +etc., within the bounds of Cheshire. The constable retained for himself +and his heirs the control of the shoemakers; and made over to his own +steward, Dutton, that of the fiddlers and players, and for many hundreds +of years afterwards the Duttons of Dutton retained the power. On +midsummer-day, they used to ride through Chester, attended by all the +minstrels playing on their several instruments, to the Church of St. +John, and there renew their licenses. It is a good theme for a legend. +Sir Peter Leycester, writing in Charles the Second's time, copies the +Latin deed from the constable to Dutton; rightly translated, it seems to +mean "the magisterial power over all the lewd people . . . . in the whole +of Cheshire," but the custom grew into what is above stated. In the time +of Henry VII., the Duttons claimed, by prescriptive right, that the +Cheshire minstrels should deliver them, at the feast of St. John, four +bottles of wine and a lance, and that each separate minstrel should pay +fourpence halfpenny. . . . + +Another account says Ralph Dutton was the constable's son-in-law, and "a +lusty youth." + + +October 19th.--Coming to the ferry this morning a few minutes before the +boat arrived from town, I went into the ferry-house, a small stone +edifice, and found there an Irishman, his wife and three children, the +oldest eight or nine years old, and all girls. There was a good fire +burning in the room, and the family was clustered round it, apparently +enjoying the warmth very much; but when I went in both husband and wife +very hospitably asked me to come to the fire, although there was not more +than room at it for their own party. I declined on the plea that I was +warm enough, and then the woman said that they were very cold, having +been long on the road. The man was gray-haired and gray-bearded, clad in +an old drab overcoat, and laden with a huge bag, which seemed to contain +bedclothing or something of the kind. The woman was pale, with a thin, +anxious, wrinkled face, but with a good and kind expression. The +children were quite pretty, with delicate faces, and a look of patience +and endurance in them, but yet as if they had suffered as little as they +possibly could. The two elder were cuddled up close to the father, the +youngest, about four years old, sat in its mother's lap, and she had +taken off its small shoes and stockings, and was warming its feet at the +fire. Their little voices had a sweet and kindly sound as they talked in +low tones to their parents and one another. They all looked very shabby, +and yet had a decency about them; and it was touching to see how they +made themselves at home at this casual fireside, and got all the comfort +they could out of the circumstances. By and by two or three market-women +came in and looked pleasantly at them, and said a word or two to the +children. + +They did not beg of me, as I supposed they would; but after looking at +them awhile, I pulled out a piece of silver, and handed it to one of the +little girls. She took it very readily, as if she partly expected it, +and then the father and mother thanked me, and said they had been +travelling a long distance, and had nothing to subsist upon, except what +they picked up on the road. They found it impossible to live in England, +and were now on their way to Liverpool, hoping to get a passage back to +Ireland, where, I suppose, extreme poverty is rather better off than +here. I heard the little girl say that she should buy bread with the +money. There is not much that can be caught in the description of this +scene; but it made me understand, better than before, how poor people +feel, wandering about in such destitute circumstances, and how they +suffer; and yet how they have a life not quite miserable, after all, and +how family love goes along with them. Soon the boat arrived at the pier, +and we all went on board; and as I sat in the cabin, looking up through a +broken pane in the skylight, I saw the woman's thin face, with its +anxious, motherly aspect; and the youngest child in her arms, shrinking +from the chill wind, but yet not impatiently; and the eldest of the girls +standing close by with her expression of childish endurance, but yet so +bright and intelligent that it would evidently take but a few days to +make a happy and playful child of her. I got into the interior of this +poor family, and understand, through sympathy, more of them than I can +tell. I am getting to possess some of the English indifference as to +beggars and poor people; but still, whenever I come face to face with +them, and have any intercourse, it seems as if they ought to be the +better for me. I wish, instead of sixpence, I had given the poor family +ten shillings, and denied it to a begging subscriptionist, who has just +fleeced me to that amount. How silly a man feels in this latter +predicament! + +I have had a good many visitors at the Consulate from the United States +within a short time,--among others, Mr. D. D. Barnard, our late minister +to Berlin, returning homeward to-day by the Arctic; and Mr. Sickles, +Secretary of Legation to London, a fine-looking, intelligent, gentlemanly +young man. . . . With him came Judge Douglas, the chosen man of Young +America. He is very short, extremely short, but has an uncommonly good +head, and uncommon dignity without seeming to aim at it, being free and +simple in manners. I judge him to be a very able man, with the Western +sociability and free-fellowship. Generally I see no reason to be ashamed +of my countrymen who come out here in public position, or otherwise +assuming the rank of gentlemen. + + +October 20th.--One sees incidents in the streets here, occasionally, +which could not be seen in an American city. For instance, a week or two +since, I was passing a quiet-looking, elderly gentleman, when, all of a +sudden, without any apparent provocation, he uplifted his stick, and +struck a black-gowned boy a smart blow on the shoulders. The boy looked +at him wofully and resentfully, but said nothing, nor can I imagine why +the thing was done. In Tythebarne Street to-day I saw a woman suddenly +assault a man, clutch at his hair, and cuff him about the ears. The man, +who was of decent aspect enough, immediately took to his heels, full +speed, and the woman ran after him, and, as far as I could discern the +pair, the chase continued. + + +October 22d.--At a dinner-party at Mr. Holland's last evening, a +gentleman, in instance of Charles Dickens's unweariability, said that +during some theatrical performances in Liverpool he acted in play and +farce, spent the rest of the night making speeches, feasting, and +drinking at table, and ended at seven o'clock in the morning by jumping +leap-frog over the backs of the whole company. + +In Moore's diary he mentions a beautiful Guernsey lily having been given +to his wife, and says that the flower was originally from Guernsey. A +ship from there had been wrecked on the coast of Japan, having many of +the lilies on board, and the next year the flowers appeared,--springing +up, I suppose, on the wave-beaten strand. + +Wishing to send a letter to a dead man, who may be supposed to have gone +to Tophet,--throw it into the fire. + +Sir Arthur Aston had his brains beaten out with his own wooden leg, at +the storming of Tredagh in Ireland by Cromwell. + +In the county of Cheshire, many centuries ago, there lived a half-idiot, +named Nixon, who had the gift of prophecy, and made many predictions +about places, families, and important public events, since fulfilled. He +seems to have fallen into fits of insensibility previous to uttering his +prophecies. + +The family of Mainwaring (pronounced Mannering), of Bromborough, had an +ass's head for a crest. + +"Richard Dawson, being sick of the plague, and perceiving he must die, +rose out of his bed and made his grave, and caused his nephew to cast +straw into the grave, which was not far from the house, and went and laid +him down in the said grave, and caused clothes to be laid upon him, and +so departed out of this world. This he did because he was a strong man, +and heavier than his said nephew and a serving-wench were able to bury. +He died about the 24th of August. Thus was I credibly told he did, +1625." This was in the township of Malpas, recorded in the parish +register. + +At Bickley Hall, taken down a few years ago, used to be shown the room +where the body of the Earl of Leicester was laid for a whole +twelvemonth,--1659 to 1660,--he having been kept unburied all that time, +owing to a dispute which of his heirs should pay his funeral expenses. + + +November 5th.--We all, together with Mr. Squarey, went to Chester last +Sunday, and attended the cathedral service. A great deal of ceremony, +and not unimposing, but rather tedious before it was finished,--occupying +two hours or more. The Bishop was present, but did nothing except to +pronounce the benediction. In America the sermon is the principal thing; +but here all this magnificent ceremonial of prayer and chanted responses +and psalms and anthems was the setting to a short, meagre discourse, +which would not have been considered of any account among the elaborate +intellectual efforts of New England ministers. While this was going on, +the light came through the stained glass windows and fell upon the +congregation, tingeing them with crimson. After service we wandered +about the aisles, and looked at the tombs and monuments,--the oldest of +which was that of some nameless abbot, with a staff and mitre half +obliterated from his tomb, which was under a shallow arch on one side of +the cathedral. There were also marbles on the walls, and lettered stones +in the pavement under our feet; but chiefly, if not entirely, of modern +date. We lunched at the Royal Hotel, and then walked round the city +walls, also crossing the bridge of one great arch over the Dee, and +penetrating as far into Wales as the entrance of the Marquis of +Westminster's Park at Eaton. It was, I think, the most lovely day as +regards weather that I have seen in England. + +I passed, to-day, a man chanting a ballad in the street about a recent +murder, in a voice that had innumerable cracks in it, and was most +lugubrious. The other day I saw a man who was reading in a loud voice +what seemed to be an account of the late riots and loss of life in Wigan. +He walked slowly along the street as he read, surrounded by a small crowd +of men, women, and children; and close by his elbow stalked a policeman, +as if guarding against a disturbance. + + +November 14th.--There is a heavy dun fog on the river and over the city +to-day, the very gloomiest atmosphere that ever I was acquainted with. +On the river the steamboats strike gongs or ring bells to give warning of +their approach. There are lamps burning in the counting-rooms and +lobbies of the warehouses, and they gleam distinctly through the windows. + +The other day, at the entrance of the market-house, I saw a woman sitting +in a small hand-wagon, apparently for the purpose of receiving alms. +There was no attendant at hand; but I noticed that one or two persons who +passed by seemed to inquire whether she wished her wagon to be moved. +Perhaps this is her mode of making progress about the city, by the +voluntary aid of boys and other people who help to drag her. There is +something in this--I don't yet well know what--that has impressed me, as +if I could make a romance out of the idea of a woman living in this +manner a public life, and moving about by such means. + + +November 29th.--Mr. H. A. B. told me of his friend Mr. ------ (who was +formerly attache to the British Legation at Washington, and whom I saw at +Concord), that his father, a clergyman, married a second wife. After the +marriage, the noise of a coffin being nightly carried down the stairs was +heard in the parsonage. It could be distinguished when the coffin +reached a certain broad lauding and rested on it. Finally, his father +had to remove to another residence. Besides this, Mr. ------ had had +another ghostly experience,--having seen a dim apparition of an uncle at +the precise instant when the latter died in a distant place. The attache +is a credible and honorable fellow, and talks of these matters as if he +positively believed them. But Ghostland lies beyond the jurisdiction of +veracity. + +In a garden near Chester, in taking down a summer-house, a tomb was +discovered beneath it, with a Latin inscription to the memory of an old +doctor of medicine, William Bentley, who had owned the place long ago, +and died in 1680. And his dust and bones had lain beneath all the merry +times in the summer-house. + + +December 1st.--It is curious to observe how many methods people put in +practice here to pick up a halfpenny. Yesterday I saw a man standing +bareheaded and barelegged in the mud and misty weather, playing on a +fife, in hopes to get a circle of auditors. Nobody, however, seemed to +take any notice. Very often a whole band of musicians will strike up,-- +passing a hat round after playing a tune or two. On board the ferry, +until the coldest weather began, there were always some wretched +musicians, with an old fiddle, an old clarinet, and an old verdigrised +brass bugle, performing during the passage, and, as the boat neared the +shore, sending round one of their number to gather contributions in the +hollow of the brass bugle. They were a very shabby set, and must have +made a very scanty living at best. Sometimes it was a boy with an +accordion, and his sister, a smart little girl, with a timbrel,--which, +being so shattered that she could not play on it, she used only to +collect halfpence in. Ballad-singers, or rather chanters or croakers, +are often to be met with in the streets, but hand-organ players are not +more frequent than in our cities. + +I still observe little girls and other children barelegged and barefooted +on the wet sidewalks. There certainly never was anything so dismal as +the November weather has been; never any real sunshine; almost always a +mist; sometimes a dense fog, like slightly rarefied wool, pervading the +atmosphere. + +An epitaph on a person buried on a hillside in Cheshire, together with +some others, supposed to have died of the plague, and therefore not +admitted into the churchyards:-- + + "Think it not strange our bones ly here, + Thine may ly thou knowst not where." + Elizabeth Hampson. + +These graves were near the remains of two rude stone crosses, the purpose +of which was not certainly known, although they were supposed to be +boundary marks. Probably, as the plague-corpses were debarred from +sanctified ground, the vicinity of these crosses was chosen as having a +sort of sanctity. + +"Bang beggar,"--an old Cheshire term for a parish beadle. + +Hawthorne Hall, Cheshire, Macclesfield Hundred, Parish of Wilmslow, and +within the hamlet of Morley. It was vested at an early period in the +Lathoms of Irlam, Lancaster County, and passed through the Leighs to the +Pages of Earlshaw. Thomas Leigh Page sold it to Mr. Ralph Bower of +Wilmslow, whose children owned it in 1817. The Leighs built a chancel in +the church of Wilmslow, where some of them are buried, their arms painted +in the windows. The hall is an "ancient, respectable mansion of brick." + + +December 2d.--Yesterday, a chill, misty December day, yet I saw a woman +barefooted in the street, not to speak of children. + +Cold and uncertain as the weather is, there is still a great deal of +small trade carried on in the open air. Women and men sit in the streets +with a stock of combs and such small things to sell, the women knitting +as if they sat by a fireside. Cheap crockery is laid out in the street, +so far out that without any great deviation from the regular +carriage-track a wheel might pass straight through it. Stalls of apples +are innumerable, but the apples are not fit for a pig. In some streets +herrings are very abundant, laid out on boards. Coals seem to be for +sale by the wheelbarrowful. Here and there you see children with some +small article for sale,--as, for instance, a girl with two linen caps. A +somewhat overladen cart of coal was passing along and some small quantity +of the coal fell off; no sooner had the wheels passed than several women +and children gathered to the spot, like hens and chickens round a handful +of corn, and picked it up in their aprons. We have nothing similar to +these street-women in our country. + + +December 10th.--I don't know any place that brings all classes into +contiguity on equal ground so completely as the waiting-room at Rock +Ferry on these frosty days. The room is not more than eight feet, +square, with walls of stone, and wooden benches ranged round them, and an +open stove in one corner, generally well furnished with coal. It is +almost always crowded, and I rather suspect that many persons who have no +fireside elsewhere creep in here and spend the most comfortable part of +their day. + +This morning, when I looked into the room, there were one or two +gentlemen and other respectable persons; but in the best place, close to +the fire, and crouching almost into it, was an elderly beggar, with the +raggedest of overcoats, two great rents in the shoulders of it disclosing +the dingy lining, all bepatched with various stuff covered with dirt, and +on his shoes and trousers the mud of an interminable pilgrimage. Owing +to the posture in which he sat, I could not see his face, but only the +battered crown and rim of the very shabbiest hat that ever was worn. +Regardless of the presence of women (which, indeed, Englishmen seldom do +regard when they wish to smoke), he was smoking a pipe of vile tobacco; +but, after all, this was fortunate, because the man himself was not +personally fragrant. He was terribly squalid,--terribly; and when I had +a glimpse of his face, it well befitted the rest of his development,-- +grizzled, wrinkled, weather-beaten, yet sallow, and down-looking, with a +watchful kind of eye turning upon everybody and everything, meeting the +glances of other people rather boldly, yet soon shrinking away; a long +thin nose, a gray beard of a week's growth; hair not much mixed with +gray, but rusty and lifeless;--a miserable object; but it was curious to +see how he was not ashamed of himself, but seemed to feel that he was one +of the estates of the kingdom, and had as much right to live as other +men. He did just as he pleased, took the best place by the fire, nor +would have cared though a nobleman were forced to stand aside for him. +When the steamer's bell rang, he shouldered a large and heavy pack, like +a pilgrim with his burden of sin, but certainly journeying to hell +instead of heaven. On board he looked round for the best position, at +first stationing himself near the boiler-pipe; but, finding the deck damp +underfoot, he went to the cabin-door, and took his stand on the stairs, +protected from the wind, but very incommodiously placed for those who +wished to pass. All this was done without any bravado or forced +impudence, but in the most quiet way, merely because he was seeking his +own comfort, and considered that he had a right to seek it. It was an +Englishman's spirit; but in our country, I imagine, a beggar considers +himself a kind of outlaw, and would hardly assume the privileges of a man +in any place of public resort. Here beggary is a system, and beggars are +a numerous class, and make themselves, in a certain way, respected as +such. Nobody evinced the slightest disapprobation of the man's +proceedings. In America, I think, we should see many aristocratic airs +on such provocation, and probably the ferry people would there have +rudely thrust the beggar aside; giving him a shilling, however, which no +Englishman would ever think of doing. There would also have been a great +deal of fun made of his squalid and ragged figure; whereas nobody smiled +at him this morning, nor in any way showed the slightest disrespect. +This is good; but it is the result of a state of things by no means good. +For many days there has been a great deal of fog on the river, and the +boats have groped their way along, continually striking their bells, +while, on all sides, there are responses of bell and gong; and the +vessels at anchor look shadow-like as we glide past them, and the master +of one steamer shouts a warning to the master of another which he meets. +The Englishmen, who hate to run any risk without an equivalent object, +show a good deal of caution and timidity on these foggy days. + +December 13th.--Chill, frosty weather; such an atmosphere as forebodes +snow in New England, and there has been a little here. Yet I saw a +barefooted young woman yesterday. The feet of these poor creatures have +exactly the red complexion of their hands, acquired by constant exposure +to the cold air. + +At the ferry-room, this morning, was a small, thin, anxious-looking +woman, with a bundle, seeming in rather poor circumstances, but decently +dressed, and eying other women, I thought, with an expression of slight +ill-will and distrust; also, an elderly, stout, gray-haired woman, of +respectable aspect, and two young lady-like persons, quite pretty, one of +whom was reading a shilling volume of James's "Arabella Stuart." They +talked to one another with that up-and-down intonation which English +ladies practise, and which strikes an unaccustomed ear as rather +affected, especially in women of size and mass. It is very different +from an American lady's mode of talking: there is the difference between +color and no color; the tone variegates it. One of these young ladies +spoke to me, making some remark about the weather,--the first instance I +have met with of a gentlewoman's speaking to an unintroduced gentleman. +Besides these, a middle-aged man of the lower class, and also a +gentleman's out-door servant, clad in a drab great-coat, corduroy +breeches, and drab cloth gaiters buttoned from the knee to the ankle. He +complained to the other man of the cold weather; said that a glass of +whiskey, every half-hour, would keep a man comfortable; and, accidentally +hitting his coarse foot against one of the young lady's feet, said, "Beg +pardon, ma'am,"--which she acknowledged with a slight movement of the +head. Somehow or other, different classes seem to encounter one another +in an easier manner than with us; the shock is less palpable. I suppose +the reason is that the distinctions are real, and therefore need not be +continually asserted. + +Nervous and excitable persons need to talk a great deal, by way of +letting off their steam. + +On board the Rock Ferry steamer, a gentleman coming into the cabin, a +voice addresses him from a dark corner, "How do you do, sir?"--"Speak +again!" says the gentleman. No answer from the dark corner; and the +gentleman repeats, "Speak again!" The speaker now comes out of the dark +corner, and sits down in a place where he can be seen. "Ah!" cries the +gentleman, "very well, I thank you. How do you do? I did not recognize +your voice." Observable, the English caution, shown in the gentleman's +not vouchsafing to say, "Very well, thank you!" till he knew his man. + +What was the after life of the young man, whom Jesus, looking on, +"loved," and bade him sell all that he had, and give to the poor, and +take up his cross and follow him? Something very deep and beautiful +might be made out of this. + + +December 31st.--Among the beggars of Liverpool, the hardest to encounter +is a man without any legs, and, if I mistake not, likewise deficient in +arms. You see him before you all at once, as if he had sprouted halfway +out of the earth, and would sink down and reappear in some other place +the moment he has done with you. His countenance is large, fresh, and +very intelligent; but his great power lies in his fixed gaze, which is +inconceivably difficult to bear. He never once removes his eye from you +till you are quite past his range; and you feel it all the same, although +you do not meet his glance. He is perfectly respectful; but the +intentness and directness of his silent appeal is far worse than any +impudence. In fact, it is the very flower of impudence. I would rather +go a mile about than pass before his battery. I feel wronged by him, and +yet unutterably ashamed. There must be great force in the man to produce +such an effect. There is nothing of the customary squalidness of beggary +about him, but remarkable trimness and cleanliness. A girl of twenty or +thereabouts, who vagabondizes about the city on her hands and knees, +possesses, to a considerable degree, the same characteristics. I think +they hit their victims the more effectually from being below the common +level of vision. + + +January 3d, 1854.--Night before last there was a fall of snow, about +three or four inches, and, following it, a pretty hard frost. On the +river, the vessels at anchor showed the snow along their yards, and on +every ledge where it could lie. A blue sky and sunshine overhead, and +apparently a clear atmosphere close at hand; but in the distance a +mistiness became perceptible, obscuring the shores of the river, and +making the vessels look dim and uncertain. The steamers were ploughing +along, smoking their pipes through the frosty air. On the landing stage +and in the streets, hard-trodden snow, looking more like my New England +Home than anything I have yet seen. Last night the thermometer fell as +low as 13 degrees, nor probably is it above 20 degrees to-day. No such +frost has been known in England these forty years! and Mr. Wilding tells +me that he never saw so much snow before. + + +January 6th.--I saw, yesterday, stopping at a cabinet-maker's shop in +Church Street, a coach with four beautiful white horses, and a postilion +on each near-horse; behind, in the dicky, a footman; and on the box a +coachman, all dressed in livery. The coach-panel bore a coat-of-arms +with a coronet, and I presume it must have been the equipage of the Earl +of Derby. A crowd of people stood round, gazing at the coach and horses; +and when any of them spoke, it was in a lower tone than usual. I doubt +not they all had a kind of enjoyment of the spectacle, for these English +are strangely proud of having a class above them. + +Every Englishman runs to "The Times" with his little grievance, as a +child runs to his mother. + +I was sent for to the police court the other morning, in the case of an +American sailor accused of robbing a shipmate at sea. A large room, with +a great coal-fire burning on one side, and above it the portrait of Mr. +Rushton, deceased, a magistrate of many years' continuance. A long +table, with chairs, and a witness-box. One of the borough magistrates, a +merchant of the city, sat at the head of the table, with paper and pen +and ink before him; but the real judge was the clerk of the court, whose +professional knowledge and experience governed all the proceedings. In +the short time while I was waiting, two cases were tried, in the first of +which the prisoner was discharged. The second case was of a woman,--a +thin, sallow, hard-looking, careworn, rather young woman,--for stealing a +pair of slippers out of a shop: The trial occupied five minutes or less, +and she was sentenced to twenty-one days' imprisonment,--whereupon, +without speaking, she looked up wildly first into one policeman's face, +then into another's, at the same time wringing her hands with no theatric +gesture, but because her torment took this outward shape,--and was led +away. The Yankee sailor was then brought up,--an intelligent, but +ruffian-like fellow,--and as the case was out of the jurisdiction of the +English magistrates, and as it was not worth while to get him sent over +to America for trial, he was forthwith discharged. He stole a comforter. + +If mankind were all intellect, they would be continually changing, so +that one age would be entirely unlike another. The great conservative is +the heart, which remains the same in all ages; so that commonplaces of a +thousand years' standing are as effective as ever. + + +Monday, February 20th.--At the police court on Saturday, I attended the +case of the second mate and four seamen of the John and Albert, for +assaulting, beating, and stabbing the chief mate. The chief mate has +been in the hospital ever since the assault, and was brought into the +court to-day to give evidence,--a man of thirty, black hair, black eyes, +a dark complexion, disagreeable expression; sallow, emaciated, feeble, +apparently in pain, one arm disabled. He sat bent and drawn upward, and +had evidently been severely hurt, and was not yet fit to be out of bed. +He had some brandy-and-water to enable him to sustain himself. He gave +his evidence very clearly, beginning (sailor-like) with telling in what +quarter the wind was at the time of the assault, and which sail was taken +in. His testimony bore on one man only, at whom he cast a vindictive +look; but I think he told the truth as far as he knew and remembered it. +Of the prisoners the second mate was a mere youth, with long sandy hair, +and an intelligent and not unprepossessing face, dressed as neatly as a +three or four weeks' captive, with small, or no means, could well allow, +in a frock-coat, and with clean linen,--the only linen or cotton shirt in +the company. The other four were rude, brutish sailors, in flannel or +red-baize shirts. Three of them appeared to give themselves little +concern; but the fourth, a red-haired and red-bearded man,--Paraman, by +name,--evidently felt the pressure of the case upon himself. He was the +one whom the mate swore to have given him the first blow; and there was +other evidence of his having been stabbed with a knife. The captain of +the ship, the pilot, the cook, and the steward, all gave their evidence; +and the general bearing of it was, that the chief mate had a devilish +temper, and had misused the second mate and crew,--that the four seamen +had attacked him, and that Paraman had stabbed him; while all but the +steward concurred in saying that the second mate had taken no part in the +affray. The steward, however, swore to having seen him strike the chief +mate with a wooden marlinspike, which was broken by the blow. The +magistrate dismissed all but Paraman, whom I am to send to America for +trial. In my opinion the chief mate got pretty nearly what he deserved, +under the code of natural justice. While business was going forward, the +magistrate, Mr. Mansfield, talked about a fancy ball at which he had been +present the evening before, and of other matters grave and gay. It was +very informal; we sat at the table, or stood with our backs to the fire; +policemen came and went; witnesses were sworn on the greasiest copy of +the Gospels I ever saw, polluted by hundreds and thousands of perjured +kisses; and for hours the prisoners were kept standing at the foot of the +table, interested to the full extent of their capacity, while all others +were indifferent. At the close of the case, the police officers and +witnesses applied to me about their expenses. + +Yesterday I took a walk with my wife and two children to Bebbington +Church. A beautifully sunny morning. My wife and U. attended church, J. +and I continued our walk. When we were at a little distance from the +church, the bells suddenly chimed out with a most cheerful sound, and +sunny as the morning. It is a pity we have no chimes of bells, to give +the churchward summons, at home. People were standing about the ancient +church-porch and among the tombstones. In the course of our walk, we +passed many old thatched cottages, built of stone, and with what looked +like a cow-house or pigsty at one end, making part of the cottage; also +an old stone farm-house, which may have been a residence of gentility in +its day. We passed, too, a small Methodist chapel, making one of a row +of low brick edifices. There was a sound of prayer within. I never saw +a more unbeautiful place of worship; and it had not even a separate +existence for itself, the adjoining tenement being an alehouse. + +The grass along the wayside was green, with a few daisies. There was +green holly in the hedges, and we passed through a wood, up some of the +tree-trunks of which ran clustering ivy. + + +February 23d.--There came to see me the other day a young gentleman with +a mustache and a blue cloak, who announced himself as William Allingham, +and handed me a copy of his poems, a thin volume, with paper covers, +published by Routledge. I thought I remembered hearing his name, but had +never seen any of his works. His face was intelligent, dark, pleasing, +and not at all John-Bullish. He said that he had been employed in the +Customs in Ireland, and was now going to London to live by literature,-- +to be connected with some newspaper, I imagine. He had been in London +before, and was acquainted with some of the principal literary people,-- +among others, Tennyson and Carlyle. He seemed to have been on rather +intimate terms with Tennyson. We talked awhile in my dingy and dusky +Consulate, and he then took leave. His manners are good, and he appears +to possess independence of mind. + +Yesterday I saw a British regiment march down to George's Pier, to embark +in the Niagara for Malta. The troops had nothing very remarkable about +them; but the thousands of ragged and squalid wretches, who thronged the +pier and streets to gaze on them, were what I had not seen before in such +masses. This was the first populace I have beheld; for even the Irish, +on the other side of the water, acquire a respectability of aspect. John +Bull is going with his whole heart into the Turkish war. He is very +foolish. Whatever the Czar may propose to himself, it is for the +interest of democracy that he should not be easily put down. The +regiment, on its way to embark, carried the Queen's colors, and, side by +side with them, the banner of the 28th,--yellow, with the names of the +Peninsular and other battles in which it had been engaged inscribed on it +in a double column. It is a very distinguished regiment; and Mr. Henry +Bright mentioned as one of its distinctions, that Washington had formerly +been an officer in it. I never heard of this. + + +February 27th.--We walked to Woodside in the pleasant forenoon, and +thence crossed to Liverpool. On our way to Woodside, we saw the remains +of the old Birkenhead Priory, built of the common red freestone, much +time-worn, with ivy creeping over it, and birds evidently at hone in its +old crevices. These ruins are pretty extensive, and seem to be the +remains of a quadrangle. A handsome modern church, likewise of the same +red freestone, has been built on part of the site occupied by the Priory; +and the organ was sounding within, while we walked about the premises. +On some of the ancient arches, there were grotesquely carved stone faces. +The old walls have been sufficiently restored to make them secure, +without destroying their venerable aspect. It is a very interesting +spot; and so much the more so because a modern town, with its brick and +stone houses, its flags and pavements, has sprung up about the ruins, +which were new a thousand years ago. The station of the Chester railway +is within a hundred yards. Formerly the monks of this Priory kept the +only ferry that then existed on the Mersey. + +At a dinner at Mr. Bramley Moore's a little while ago, we had a +prairie-hen from the West of America. It was a very delicate bird, and a +gentleman carved it most skilfully to a dozen guests, and had still a +second slice to offer to them. + +Aboard the ferry-boat yesterday, there was a laboring man eating oysters. +He took them one by one from his pocket in interminable succession, +opened them with his jack-knife, swallowed each one, threw the shell +overboard, and then sought for another. Having concluded his meal, he +took out a clay tobacco-pipe, filled it, lighted it with a match, and +smoked it,--all this, while the other passengers were looking at him, and +with a perfect coolness and independence, such as no single man can ever +feel in America. Here a man does not seem to consider what other people +will think of his conduct, but only whether it suits his own convenience +to do so and so. It may be the better way. + +A French military man, a veteran of all Napoleon's wars, is now living, +with a false leg and arm, both movable by springs, false teeth, a false +eye, a silver nose with a flesh-colored covering, and a silver plate +replacing part of the skull. He has the cross of the Legion of Honor. + + +March 18th.--On Saturday I went with Mr. B---- to the Dingle, a pleasant +domain on the banks of the Mersey almost opposite to Rock Ferry. Walking +home, we looked into Mr. Thorn's Unitarian Chapel, Mr. B----'s family's +place of worship. There is a little graveyard connected with the chapel, +a most uninviting and unpicturesque square of ground, perhaps thirty or +forty yards across, in the midst of back fronts of city buildings. About +half the space was occupied by flat tombstones, level with the ground, +the remainder being yet vacant. Nevertheless, there were perhaps more +names of men generally known to the world on these few tombstones than in +any other churchyard in Liverpool,--Roscoe, Blanco White, and the Rev. +William Enfield, whose name has a classical sound in my ears, because, +when a little boy, I used to read his "Speaker" at school. In the vestry +of the chapel there were many books, chiefly old theological works, in +ancient print and binding, much mildewed and injured by the damp. The +body of the chapel is neat, but plain, and, being not very large, has a +kind of social and family aspect, as if the clergyman and his people must +needs have intimate relations among themselves. The Unitarian sect in +Liverpool have, as a body, great wealth and respectability. + +Yesterday I walked with my wife and children to the brow of a hill, +overlooking Birkenhead and Tranmere, and commanding a fine view of the +river, and Liverpool beyond. All round about new and neat residences for +city people are springing up, with fine names,--Eldon Terrace, Rose +Cottage, Belvoir Villa, etc., etc., with little patches of ornamented +garden or lawn in front, and heaps of curious rock-work, with which the +English are ridiculously fond of adorning their front yards. I rather +think the middling classes--meaning shopkeepers, and other +respectabilities of that level--are better lodged here than in America; +and, what I did not expect, the houses are a great deal newer than in our +new country! Of course, this can only be the case in places +circumstanced like Liverpool and its suburbs. But, scattered among these +modern villas, there are old stone cottages of the rudest structure, and +doubtless hundreds of years old, with thatched roofs, into which the +grass has rooted itself, and now looks verdant. These cottages are in +themselves as ugly as possible, resembling a large kind of pigsty; but +often, by dint of the verdure on their thatch and the shrubbery +clustering about them, they look picturesque. + +The old-fashioned flowers in the gardens of New England--blue-bells, +crocuses, primroses, foxglove, and many others--appear to be wild flowers +here on English soil. There is something very touching and pretty in +this fact, that the Puritans should have carried their field and hedge +flowers, and nurtured theme in their gardens, until, to us, they seem +entirely the product of cultivation. + + +March 16th.--Yesterday, at the coroner's court, attending the inquest on +a black sailor who died on board an American vessel, after her arrival at +this port. The court-room is capable of accommodating perhaps fifty +people, dingy, with a pyramidal skylight above, and a single window on +one side, opening into a gloomy back court. A private room, also lighted +with a pyramidal skylight, is behind the court-room, into which I was +asked, and found the coroner, a gray-headed, grave, intelligent, broad, +red-faced man, with an air of some authority, well mannered and +dignified, but not exactly a gentleman,--dressed in a blue coat, with a +black cravat, showing a shirt-collar above it. Considering how many and +what a variety of cases of the ugliest death are constantly coming before +him, he was much more cheerful than could be expected, and had a kind of +formality and orderliness which I suppose balances the exceptionalities +with which he has to deal. In the private room with him was likewise the +surgeon, who professionally attends the court. We chatted about suicide +and such matters,--the surgeon, the coroner, and I,--until the American +case was ready, when we adjourned to the court-room, and the coroner +began the examination. The American captain was a rude, uncouth +Down-Easter, about thirty years old, and sat on a bench, doubled and bent +into an indescribable attitude, out of which he occasionally straightened +himself, all the time toying with a ruler, or some such article. The +case was one of no interest; the man had been frost-bitten, and died from +natural causes, so that no censure was deserved or passed upon the +captain. The jury, who had been examining the body, were at first +inclined to think that the man had not been frostbitten, but that his +feet had been immersed in boiling water; but, on explanation by the +surgeon, readily yielded their opinion, and gave the verdict which the +coroner put into their mouths, exculpating the captain from all blame. +In fact, it is utterly impossible that a jury of chance individuals +should not be entirely governed by the judgment of so experienced and +weighty a man as the coroner. In the court-room were two or three police +officers in uniform, and some other officials, a very few idle +spectators, and a few witnesses waiting to be examined. And while the +case was going forward, a poor-looking woman came in, and I heard her, in +an undertone, telling an attendant of a death that had just occurred. +The attendant received the communication in a very quiet and +matter-of-course way, said that it should be attended to, and the woman +retired. + +THE DIARY OF A CORONER would be a work likely to meet with large popular +acceptance. A dark passageway, only a few yards in extent, leads from +the liveliest street in Liverpool to this coroner's court-room, where all +the discussion is about murder and suicide. It seems, that, after a +verdict of suicide, the corpse can only be buried at midnight, without +religious rites. + +"His lines are cast in pleasant places,"--applied to a successful angler. + +A woman's chastity consists, like an onion, of a series of coats. You +may strip off the outer ones without doing much mischief, perhaps none at +all; but you keep taking off one after another, in expectation of coming +to the inner nucleus, including the whole value of the matter. It proves +however, that there is no such nucleus, and that chastity is diffused +through the whole series of coats, is lessened with the removal of each, +and vanishes with the final one, which you supposed would introduce you +to the hidden pearl. + + +March 23d.--Mr. B. and I took a cab Saturday afternoon, and drove out of +the city in the direction of Knowsley. On our way we saw many +gentlemen's or rich people's places, some of them dignified with the +title of Halls,--with lodges at their gates, and standing considerably +removed from the road. The greater part of them were built of brick,--a +material with which I have not been accustomed to associate ideas of +grandeur; but it was much in use here in Lancashire, in the Elizabethan +age,--more, I think, than now. These suburban residences, however, are +of much later date than Elizabeth's time. Among other places, Mr. B. +called at the Hazels, the residence of Sir Thomas Birch, a kinsman of +his. It is a large brick mansion, and has old trees and shrubbery about +it, the latter very fine and verdant,--hazels, holly, rhododendron, etc. +Mr. B. went in, and shortly afterwards Sir Thomas Birch came out,--a very +frank and hospitable gentleman,--and pressed me to enter and take +luncheon, which latter hospitality I declined. + +His house is in very nice order. He had a good many pictures, and, +amongst them, a small portrait of his mother, painted by Sir Thomas +Lawrence, when a youth. It is unfinished, and when the painter was at +the height of his fame, he was asked to finish it. But Lawrence, after +looking at the picture, refused to retouch it, saying that there was a +merit in this early sketch which he could no longer attain. It was +really a very beautiful picture of a lovely woman. + +Sir Thomas Birch proposed to go with us and get us admittance into +Knowsley Park, where we could not possibly find entrance without his aid. +So we went to the stables, where the old groom had already shown +hospitality to our cabman, by giving his horse some provender, and +himself some beer. There seemed to be a kindly and familiar sort of +intercourse between the old servant and the Baronet, each of them, I +presume, looking on their connection as indissoluble. + +The gate-warden of Knowsley Park was an old woman, who readily gave us +admittance at Sir Thomas Birch's request. The family of the Earl of +Derby is not now at the Park. It was a very bad time of year to see it; +the trees just showing the earliest symptoms of vitality, while whole +acres of ground were covered with large, dry, brown ferns,--which I +suppose are very beautiful when green. Two or three hares scampered out +of these ferns, and sat on their hind legs looking about them, as we +drove by. A sheet of water had been drawn off, in order to deepen its +bed. The oaks did not seem to me so magnificent as they should be in an +ancient noble property like this. A century does not accomplish so much +for a tree, in this slow region, as it does in ours. I think, however, +that they were more individual and picturesque, with more character in +their contorted trunks; therein somewhat resembling apple-trees. Our +forest-trees have a great sameness of character, like our people,-- +because one and the other grow too closely. + +In one part of the Park we came to a small tower, for what purpose I know +not, unless as an observatory; and near it was a marble statue on a high +pedestal. The statue had been long exposed to the weather, and was +overgrown and ingrained with moss and lichens, so that its classic beauty +was in some sort gothicized. A half-mile or so from this point, we saw +the mansion of Knowsley, in the midst of a very fine prospect, with a +tolerably high ridge of hills in the distance. The house itself is +exceedingly vast, a front and two wings, with suites of rooms, I suppose, +interminable. The oldest part, Sir Thomas Birch told us, is a tower of +the time of Henry VII. Nevertheless, the effect is not overwhelming, +because the edifice looks low in proportion to its great extent over the +ground; and besides, a good deal of it is built of brick, with white +window-frames, so that, looking at separate parts, I might think them +American structures, without the smart addition of green Venetian blinds, +so universal with us. Portions, however, were built of red freestone; +and if I had looked at it longer, no doubt I should have admired it more. +We merely drove round it from the rear to the front. It stands in my +memory rather like a college or a hospital, than as the ancestral +residence of a great English noble. + +We left the Park in another direction, and passed through a part of Lord +Sefton's property, by a private road. + +By the by, we saw half a dozen policemen, in their blue coats and +embroidered collars, after entering Knowsley Park; but the Earl's own +servants would probably have supplied their place, had the family been at +home. The mansion of Croxteth, the seat of Lord Sefton, stands near the +public road, and, though large, looked of rather narrow compass after +Knowsley. + +The rooks were talking together very loquaciously in the high tops of the +trees near Sir Thomas Birch's house, it being now their building-time. +It was a very pleasant sound, the noise being comfortably softened by the +remote height. Sir Thomas said that more than half a century ago the +rooks used to inhabit another grove of lofty trees, close in front of the +house; but being noisy, and not altogether cleanly in their habits, the +ladies of the family grew weary of them and wished to remove them. +Accordingly, the colony was driven away, and made their present +settlement in a grove behind the house. Ever since that time not a rook +has built in the ancient grove; every year, however, one or another pair +of young rooks attempt to build among the deserted tree-tops, but the old +rooks tear the new nest to pieces as often as it is put together. Thus, +either the memory of aged individual rooks or an authenticated tradition +in their society has preserved the idea that the old grove is forbidden +and inauspicious to them. + +A soil of General Arnold, named William Fitch Arnold, and born in 1794, +now possesses the estate of Little Messenden Abbey, Bucks County, and is +a magistrate for that county. He was formerly Captain of the 19th +Lancers. He has now two sons and four daughters. The other three sons +of General Arnold, all older than this one, and all military men, do not +appear to have left children; but a daughter married to Colonel Phipps, +of the Mulgrave family, has a son and two daughters. I question whether +any of our true-hearted Revolutionary heroes have left a more prosperous +progeny than this arch-traitor. I should like to know their feelings +with respect to their ancestor. + + +April 3d.--I walked with J-----, two days ago, to Eastham, a village on +the road to Chester, and five or six miles from Rock Ferry. On our way +we passed through a village, in the centre of which was a small stone +pillar, standing on a pedestal of several steps, on which children were +sitting and playing. I take it to have been an old Catholic cross; at +least, I know not what else it is. It seemed very ancient. Eastham is +the finest old English village I have seen, with many antique houses, and +with altogether a rural and picturesque aspect, unlike anything in +America, and yet possessing a familiar look, as if it were something I +had dreamed about. There were thatched stone cottages intermixed with +houses of a better kind, and likewise a gateway and gravelled walk, that +perhaps gave admittance to the Squire's mansion. It was not merely one +long, wide street, as in most New England villages, but there were +several crooked ways, gathering the whole settlement into a pretty small +compass. In the midst of it stood a venerable church of the common red +freestone, with a most reverend air, considerably smaller than that of +Bebbington, but more beautiful, and looking quite as old. There was ivy +on its spire and elsewhere. It looked very quiet and peaceful, and as if +it had received the people into its low arched door every Sabbath for +many centuries. There were many tombstones about it, some level with the +ground, some raised on blocks of stone, on low pillars, moss-grown and +weather-worn; and probably these were but the successors of other stones +that had quite crumbled away, or been buried by the accumulation of dead +men's dust above them. In the centre of the churchyard stood an old +yew-tree, with immense trunk, which was all decayed within, so that it is +a wonder how the tree retains any life,--which, nevertheless, it does. +It was called "the old Yew of Eastham," six hundred years ago! + +After passing through the churchyard, we saw the village inn on the other +side. The doors were fastened, but a girl peeped out of the window at +us, and let us in, ushering us into a very neat parlor. There was a +cheerful fire in the grate, a straw carpet on the floor, a mahogany +sideboard, and a mahogany table in the middle of the room; and, on the +walls, the portraits of mine host (no doubt) and of his wife and +daughters,--a very nice parlor, and looking like what I might have found +in a country tavern at home, only this was an ancient house, and there is +nothing at home like the glimpse, from the window, of the church, and its +red, ivy-grown tower. I ordered some lunch, being waited on by the girl, +who was very neat, intelligent, and comely,--and more respectful than a +New England maid. As we came out of the inn, some village urchins left +their play, and ran to me begging, calling me "Master!" They turned at +once from play to begging, and, as I gave them nothing, they turned to +their play again. + +This village is too far from Liverpool to have been much injured as yet +by the novelty of cockney residences, which have grown up almost +everywhere else, so far as I have visited. About a mile from it, +however, is the landing-place of a steamer (which runs regularly, except +in the winter months), where a large, new hotel is built. The grounds +about it are extensive and well wooded. We got some biscuits at the +hotel, and I gave the waiter (a splendid gentleman in black) four +halfpence, being the surplus of a shilling. He bowed and thanked me very +humbly. An American does not easily bring his mind to the small measure +of English liberality to servants; if anything is to be given, we are +ashamed not to give more, especially to clerical-looking persons, in +black suits and white neckcloths. + +I stood on the Exchange at noon, to-day, to see the 18th Regiment, the +Connaught Rangers, marching down to embark for the East. They were a +body of young, healthy, and cheerful-looking men, and looked greatly +better than the dirty crowd that thronged to gaze at them. The royal +banner of England, quartering the lion, the leopard, and the harp, waved +on the town-house, and looked gorgeous and venerable. Here and there a +woman exchanged greetings with an individual soldier, as he marched +along, and gentlemen shook hands with officers with whom they happened to +be acquainted. Being a stranger in the land, it seemed as if I could see +the future in the present better than if I had been an Englishman; so I +questioned with myself how many of these ruddy-cheeked young fellows, +marching so stoutly away, would ever tread English ground again. The +populace did not evince any enthusiasm, yet there could not possibly be a +war to which the country could assent more fully than to this. I +somewhat doubt whether the English populace really feels a vital interest +in the nation. + +Some years ago, a piece of rude marble sculpture, representing St. George +and the Dragon, was found over the fireplace of a cottage near Rock +Ferry, on the road to Chester. It was plastered over with pipe-clay, and +its existence was unknown to the cottagers, until a lady noticed the +projection and asked what it was. It was supposed to have originally +adorned the walls of the Priory at Birkenhead. It measured fourteen and +a half by nine inches, in which space were the heads of a king and queen, +with uplifted hands, in prayer; their daughters also in prayer, and +looking very grim; a lamb, the slain dragon, and St. George, proudly +prancing on what looks like a donkey, brandishing a sword over his head. + +The following is a legend inscribed on the inner margin of a curious old +box:-- + + "From Birkenhead into Hilbree + A squirrel might leap from tree to tree." + +I do not know where Hilbree is; but all round Birkenhead a squirrel would +scarcely find a single tree to climb upon. All is pavement and brick +buildings now. + + +Good Friday.--The English and Irish think it good to plant on this day, +because it was the day when our Saviour's body was laid in the grave. +Seeds, therefore, are certain to rise again. + +At dinner the other day, Mrs. ------ mentioned the origin of Franklin's +adoption of the customary civil dress, when going to court as a +diplomatist. It was simply that his tailor had disappointed him of his +court suit, and he wore his plain one with great reluctance, because he +had no other. Afterwards, gaining great success and praise by his +mishap, he continued to wear it from policy. + +The grandmother of Mrs. ------ died fifty years ago, at the age of +twenty-eight. She had great personal charms, and among them a head of +beautiful chestnut hair. After her burial in the family tomb, the coffin +of one of her children was laid on her own, so that the lid seems to have +decayed, or been broken from this cause; at any rate, this was the case +when the tomb was opened about a year ago. The grandmother's coffin was +then found to be filled with beautiful, glossy, living chestnut ringlets, +into which her whole substance seems to have been transformed, for there +was nothing else but these shining curls, the growth of half a century in +the tomb. An old man, with a ringlet of his youthful mistress treasured +on his heart, might be supposed to witness this wonderful thing. + +Madam ------, who is now at my house, and very infirm, though not old, +was once carried to the grave, and on the point of being buried. It was +in Barbary, where her husband was Consul-General. He was greatly +attached to her, and told the pall-bearers at the grave that he must see +her once more. When her face was uncovered, he thought he discerned +signs of life, and felt a warmth. Finally she revived, and for many +years afterwards supposed the funeral procession to have been a dream; +she having been partially conscious throughout, and having felt the wind +blowing on her, and lifting the shroud from her feet,--for I presume she +was to be buried in Oriental style, without a coffin. Long after, in +London, when she was speaking of this dream, her husband told her the +facts, and she fainted away. Whenever it is now mentioned, her face +turns white. Mr. ------, her son, was born on shipboard, on the coast of +Spain, and claims four nationalities,--those of Spain, England, Ireland, +and the United States; his father being Irish, his mother a native of +England, himself a naturalized citizen of the United States, and his +father having registered his birth and baptism in a Catholic church of +Gibraltar, which gives him Spanish privileges. He has hereditary claims +to a Spanish countship. His infancy was spent in Barbary, and his lips +first lisped in Arabic. There has been an unsettled and wandering +character in his whole life. + +The grandfather of Madam ------, who was a British officer, once +horsewhipped Paul Jones,--Jones being a poltroon. How singular it is +that the personal courage of famous warriors should be so often called in +question! + + +May 20th.--I went yesterday to a hospital to take the oath of a mate to a +protest. He had met with a severe accident by a fall on shipboard. The +hospital is a large edifice of red freestone, with wide, airy passages, +resounding with footsteps passing through them. A porter was waiting in +the vestibule. Mr. Wilding and myself were shown to the parlor, in the +first instance,--a neat, plainly furnished room, with newspapers and +pamphlets lying on the table and sofas. Soon the surgeon of the house +came,--a brisk, alacritous, civil, cheerful young man, by whom we were +shown to the apartment where the mate was lying. As we went through the +principal passage, a man was borne along in a chair looking very pale, +rather wild, and altogether as if he had just been through great +tribulation, and hardly knew as yet whereabouts he was. I noticed that +his left arm was but a stump, and seemed done up in red baize,--at all +events it was of a scarlet line. The surgeon shook his right hand +cheerily, and he was carried on. This was a patient who had just had his +arm cut off. He had been a rough person apparently, but now there was a +kind of tenderness about him, through pain and helplessness. + +In the chamber where the mate lay, there were seven beds, all of them +occupied by persons who had met with accidents. In the centre of the +room was a stationary pine table, about the length of a man, intended, I +suppose, to stretch patients upon for necessary operations. The +furniture of the beds was plain and homely. I thought that the faces of +the patients all looked remarkably intelligent, though they were +evidently men of the lower classes. Suffering had educated them morally +and intellectually. They gazed curiously at Mr. Wilding and me, but +nobody said a word. In the bed next to the mate lay a little boy with a +broken thigh. The surgeon observed that children generally did well with +accidents; and this boy certainly looked very bright and cheerful. There +was nothing particularly interesting about the mate. + +After finishing our business, the surgeon showed us into another room of +the surgical ward, likewise devoted to cases of accident and injury. All +the beds were occupied, and in two of them lay two American sailors who +had recently been stabbed. They had been severely hurt, but were doing +very well. The surgeon thought that it was a good arrangement to have +several cases together, and that the patients kept up one another's +spirits,--being often merry together. Smiles and laughter may operate +favorably enough from bed to bed; but dying groans, I should think, must +be somewhat of a discouragement. Nevertheless, the previous habits and +modes of life of such people as compose the more numerous class of +patients in a hospital must be considered before deciding this matter. +It is very possible that their misery likes such bedfellows as it here +finds. + +As we were taking our leave, the surgeon asked us if we should not like +to see the operating-room; and before we could reply he threw open the +door, and behold, there was a roll of linen "garments rolled in blood,"-- +and a bloody fragment of a human arm! The surgeon glanced at me, and +smiled kindly, but as if pitying my discomposure. + +Gervase Elwes, son of Sir Gervase Elwes, Baronet, of Stoke, Suffolk, +married Isabella, daughter of Sir Thomas Hervey, Knight, and sister of +the first Earl of Bristol. This Gervase died before his father, but left +a son, Henry, who succeeded to the Baronetcy. Sir Henry died without +issue, and was succeeded by his sister's son, John Maggott Twining, who +assumed the name of Elwes. He was the famous miser, and must have had +Hawthorne blood in him, through his grandfather, Gervase, whose mother +was a Hawthorne. It was to this Gervase that my ancestor, William +Hawthorne, devised some land in Massachusetts, "if he would come over, +and enjoy it." My ancestor calls him his nephew. + + +June 12th.--Barry Cornwall, Mr. Procter, called on me a week or more ago, +but I happened not to be in the office. Saturday last he called again, +and as I had crossed to Rock Park he followed me thither. A plain, +middle-sized, English-looking gentleman, elderly, with short, white hair, +and particularly quiet in his manners. He talks in a somewhat low tone +without emphasis, scarcely distinct. His head has a good outline, and +would look well in marble. I liked him very well. He talked +unaffectedly, showing an author's regard to his reputation, and was +evidently pleased to hear of his American celebrity. He said that in his +younger days he was a scientific pugilist, and once took a journey to +have a sparring encounter with the Game-Chicken. Certainly, no one would +have looked for a pugilist in this subdued old gentleman. He is now +Commissioner of Lunacy, and makes periodical circuits through the +country, attending to the business of his office. He is slightly deaf, +and this may be the cause of his unaccented utterance,--owing to his not +being able to regulate his voice exactly by his own ear. He is a good +man, and much better expressed by his real name, Procter, than by his +poetical one, Barry Cornwall. . . . He took my hand in both of his at +parting. . . . + + +June 17th.--At eleven, at this season (and how much longer I know not), +there is still a twilight. If we could only have such dry, deliciously +warm evenings as we used to have in our own land, what enjoyment there +might be in these interminable twilights! But here we close the +window-shutters, and make ourselves cosey by a coal-fire. + +All three of the children, and, I think, my wife and myself, are going +through the hooping-cough. The east-wind of this season and region is +most horrible. There have been no really warm days; for though the +sunshine is sometimes hot, there is never any diffused heat throughout +the air. On passing from the sunshine into the shade, we immediately +feel too cool. + + +June 20th.--The vagabond musicians about town are very numerous. On +board the steam ferry-boats, I have heretofore spoken of them. They +infest them from May to November, for very little gain apparently. A +shilling a day per man must be the utmost of their emolument. It is +rather sad to see somewhat respectable old men engaged in this way, with +two or three younger associates. Their instruments look much the worse +for wear, and even my unmusical ear can distinguish more discord than +harmony. They appear to be a very quiet and harmless people. Sometimes +there is a woman playing on a fiddle, while her husband blows a wind +instrument. In the streets it is not unusual to find a band of half a +dozen performers, who, without any provocation or reason whatever, sound +their brazen instruments till the houses re-echo. Sometimes one passes a +man who stands whistling a tune most unweariably, though I never saw +anybody give him anything. The ballad-singers are the strangest, from +the total lack of any music in their cracked voices. Sometimes you see a +space cleared in the street, and a foreigner playing, while a girl-- +weather-beaten, tanned, and wholly uncomely in face and shabby in attire +dances ballets. The common people look on, and never criticise or treat +any of these poor devils unkindly or uncivilly; but I do not observe that +they give them anything. + +A crowd--or, at all events, a moderate-sized group--is much more easily +drawn together here than with us. The people have a good deal of idle +and momentary curiosity, and are always ready to stop when another person +has stopped, so as to see what has attracted his attention. I hardly +ever pause to look at a shop-window, without being immediately incommoded +by boys and men, who stop likewise, and would forthwith throng the +pavement if I did not move on. + + +June 30th.--If it is not known how and when a man dies, it makes a ghost +of him for many years thereafter, perhaps for centuries. King Arthur is +an example; also the Emperor Frederic, and other famous men, who were +thought to be alive ages after their disappearance. So with private +individuals. I had an uncle John, who went a voyage to sea about the +beginning of the War of 1812, and has never returned to this hour. But +as long as his mother lived, as many as twenty years, she never gave up +the hope of his return, and was constantly hearing stories of persons +whose description answered to his. Some people actually affirmed that +they had seen him in various parts of the world. Thus, so far as her +belief was concerned, he still walked the earth. And even to this day I +never see his name, which is no very uncommon one, without thinking that +this may be the lost uncle. + +Thus, too, the French Dauphin still exists, or a kind of ghost of him; +the three Tells, too, in the cavern of Uri. + + +July 6th.--Mr. Cecil, the other day, was saying that England could +produce as fine peaches as any other country. I asked what was the +particular excellence of a peach, and he answered, "Its cooling and +refreshing quality, like that of a melon!" Just think of this idea of +the richest, most luscious, of all fruits! But the untravelled +Englishman has no more idea of what fruit is than of what sunshine is; he +thinks he has tasted the first and felt the last, but they are both alike +watery. I heard a lady in Lord Street talking about the "broiling sun," +when I was almost in a shiver. They keep up their animal heat by means +of wine and ale, else they could not bear this climate. + + +July 19th.--A week ago I made a little tour in North Wales with Mr. +Bright. We left Birkenhead by railway for Chester at two o'clock; thence +for Bangor; thence by carriage over the Menai bridge to Beaumaris. At +Beaumaris, a fine old castle,--quite coming up to my idea of what an old +castle should be. A gray, ivy-hung exterior wall, with large round +towers at intervals; within this another wall, the place of the +portcullis between; and again, within the second wall the castle itself, +with a spacious green court-yard in front. The outer wall is so thick +that a passage runs in it all round the castle, which covers a space of +three acres. This passage gives access to a chapel, still very perfect, +and to various apartments in the towers,--all exceedingly dismal, and +giving very unpleasant impressions of the way in which the garrison of +the castle lived. The main castle is entirely roofless, but the hall and +other rooms are pointed out by the guide, and the whole is tapestried +with abundant ivy, so that my impression is of gray walls, with here and +there a vast green curtain; a carpet of green over the floors of halls +and apartments; and festoons around all the outer battlement, with an +uneven and rather perilous foot-path running along the top. There is a +fine vista through the castle itself, and the two gateways of the two +encompassing walls. The passage within the wall is very rude, both +underfoot and on each side, with various ascents and descents of rough +steps,--sometimes so low that your head is in danger; and dark, except +where a little light comes through a loophole or window in the thickness +of the wall. In front of the castle a tennis-court was fitted up, by +laying a smooth pavement on the ground, and casing the walls with tin or +zinc, if I recollect aright. All this was open to the sky; and when we +were there, some young men of the town were playing at the game. There +are but very few of these tennis-courts in England; and this old castle +was a very strange place for one. + +The castle is the property of Sir Richard Bulkely, whose seat is in the +vicinity, and who owns a great part of the island of Anglesea, on which +Beaumaris lies. The hotel where we stopped was the Bulkely Arms, and Sir +Richard has a kind of feudal influence in the town. + +In the morning we walked along a delightful road, bordering on the Menai +Straits, to Bangor Ferry. It was really a very pleasant road, overhung +by a growth of young wood, exceedingly green and fresh. English trees +are green all about their stems, owing to the creeping plants that +overrun them. There were some flowers in the hedges, such as we +cultivate in gardens. At the ferry, there was a whitewashed cottage; a +woman or two, some children, and a fisherman-like personage, walking to +and fro before the door. The scenery of the strait is very beautiful and +picturesque, and directly opposite to us lay Bangor,--the strait being +here almost a mile across. An American ship from Boston lay in the +middle of it. The ferry-boat was just putting off for the Bangor side, +and, by the aid of a sail, soon neared the shore. + +At Bangor we went to a handsome hotel, and hired a carriage and two +horses for some Welsh place, the name of which I forget; neither can I +remember a single name of the places through which we posted that day, +nor could I spell them if I heard them pronounced, nor pronounce them if +I saw them spelt. It was a circuit of about forty miles, bringing us to +Conway at last. I remember a great slate-quarry; and also that many of +the cottages, in the first part of our drive, were built of blocks of +slate. The mountains were very bold, thrusting themselves up abruptly in +peaks,--not of the dumpling formation, which is somewhat too prevalent +among the New England mountains. At one point we saw Snowdon, with its +bifold summit. We also visited the smaller waterfall (this is a +translation of an unpronounceable Welsh name), which is the largest in +Wales. It was a very beautiful rapid, and the guide-book considers it +equal in sublimity to Niagara. Likewise there were one or two lakes +which the guide-book greatly admired, but which to me, who remembered a +hundred sheets of blue water in New England, seemed nothing more than +sullen and dreary puddles, with bare banks, and wholly destitute of +beauty. I think they were nowhere more than a hundred yards across. But +the hills were certainly very good, and, though generally bare of trees, +their outlines thereby were rendered the stronger and more striking. + +Many of the Welsh women, particularly the older ones, wear black beaver +hats, high-crowned, and almost precisely like men's. It makes them look +ugly and witchlike. Welsh is still the prevalent language, and the only +one spoken by a great many of the inhabitants. I have had Welsh people +in my office, on official business, with whom I could not communicate +except through an interpreter. + +At some unutterable village we went into a little church, where we saw an +old stone image of a warrior, lying on his back, with his hands clasped. +It was the natural son (if I remember rightly) of David, Prince of Wales, +and was doubtless the better part of a thousand years old. There was +likewise a stone coffin of still greater age; some person of rank and +renown had mouldered to dust within it, but it was now open and empty. +Also, there were monumental brasses on the walls, engraved with portraits +of a gentleman and lady in the costumes of Elizabeth's time. Also, on +one of the pews, a brass record of some persons who slept in the vault +beneath; so that, every Sunday, the survivors and descendants kneel and +worship directly over their dead ancestors. In the churchyard, on a flat +tombstone, there was the representation of a harp. I supposed that it +must be the resting-place of a bard; but the inscription was in memory of +a merchant, and a skilful manufacturer of harps. + +This was a very delightful town. We saw a great many things which it is +now too late to describe, the sharpness of the first impression being +gone; but I think I can produce something of the sentiment of it +hereafter. + +We arrived at Conway late in the afternoon, to take the rail for Chester. +I must see Conway, with its old gray wall and its unrivalled castle, +again. It was better than Beaumaris, and I never saw anything more +picturesque than the prospect from the castle-wall towards the sea. We +reached Chester at 10 P. M. The next morning, Mr. Bright left for +Liverpool before I was awake. I visited the Cathedral, where the organ +was sounding, sauntered through the Rows, bought some playthings for the +children, and left for home soon after twelve. + + +Liverpool, August 8th.--Visiting the Zoological Gardens the other day +with J-----, it occurred to me what a fantastic kind of life a person +connected with them might be depicted as leading,--a child, for instance. +The grounds are very extensive, and include arrangements for all kinds of +exhibitions calculated to attract the idle people of a great city. In +one enclosure is a bear, who climbs a pole to get cake and gingerbread +from the spectators. Elsewhere, a circular building, with compartments +for lions, wolves, and tigers. In another part of the garden is a colony +of monkeys, the skeleton of an elephant, birds of all kinds. Swans and +various rare water-fowl were swimming on a piece of water, which was +green, by the by, and when the fowls dived they stirred up black mud. A +stork was parading along the margin, with melancholy strides of its long +legs, and came slowly towards us, as if for companionship. In one +apartment was an obstreperously noisy society of parrots and macaws, most +gorgeous and diversified of hue. These different colonies of birds and +beasts were scattered about in various parts of the grounds, so that you +came upon them unexpectedly. Also, there were archery and +shooting-grounds, and a sewing. A theatre, also, at which a rehearsal +was going on,--we standing at one of the doors, and looking in towards the +dusky stage where the company, in their ordinary dresses, were rehearsing +something that had a good deal of dance and action in it. In the open +air there was an arrangement of painted scenery representing a wide +expanse of mountains, with a city at their feet, and before it the sea, +with actual water, and large vessels upon it, the vessels having only the +side that would be presented to the spectator. But the scenery was so +good that at a first casual glance I almost mistook it for reality. +There was a refreshment-room, with drinks and cakes and pastry, but, so +far as I saw, no substantial victual. About in the centre of the garden +there was an actual, homely-looking, small dwelling-house, where perhaps +the overlookers of the place live. Now this might be wrought, in an +imaginative description, into a pleasant sort of a fool's paradise, where +all sorts of unreal delights should cluster round some suitable +personage; and it would relieve, in a very odd and effective way, the +stern realities of life on the outside of the garden-walls. I saw a +little girl, simply dressed, who seemed to have her habitat within the +grounds. There was also a daguerreotypist, with his wife and family, +carrying on his business in a shanty, and perhaps having his home in its +inner room. He seemed to be an honest, intelligent, pleasant young man, +and his wife a pleasant woman; and I had J-----'s daguerreotype taken for +three shillings, in a little gilded frame. In the description of the +garden, the velvet turf, of a charming verdure, and the shrubbery and +shadowy walks and large trees, and the slopes and inequalities of ground, +must not be forgotten. In one place there was a maze and labyrinth, +where a person might wander a long while in the vain endeavor to get out, +although all the time looking at the exterior garden, over the low hedges +that border the walks of the maze. And this is like the inappreciable +difficulties that often beset us in life. + +I will see it again before long, and get some additional record of it. + + +August 10th.--We went to the Isle of Man, a few weeks ago, where S----- +and the children spent a fortnight. I spent two Sundays with them. + +I never saw anything prettier than the little church of Kirk Madden +there. It stands in a perfect seclusion of shadowy trees,--a plain +little church, that would not be at all remarkable in another situation, +but is most picturesque in its solitude and bowery environment. The +churchyard is quite full and overflowing with graves, and extends down +the gentle slope of a hill, with a dark mass of shadow above it. Some of +the tombstones are flat on the ground, some erect, or laid horizontally +on low pillars or masonry. There were no very old dates on any of these +stones; for the climate soon effaces inscriptions, and makes a stone of +fifty years look as old as one of five hundred,--unless it be slate, or +something harder than the usual red freestone. There was an old Runic +monument, however, near the centre of the churchyard, that had some +strange sculpture on it, and an inscription still legible by persons +learned in such matters. Against the tower of the church, too, there is +a circular stone, with carving on it, said to be of immemorial antiquity. +There is likewise a tall marble monument, as much as fifty feet high, +erected some years ago to the memory of one of the Athol family by his +brother-officers of a local regiment of which he was colonel. At one of +the side-entrances of the church, and forming the threshold within the +thickness of the wall, so that the feet of all who enter must tread on +it, is a flat tombstone of somebody who felt himself a sinner, no doubt, +and desired to be thus trampled upon. The stone is much worn. + +The structure is extremely plain inside and very small. On the walls, +over the pews, are several monumental sculptures,--a quite elaborate one +to a Colonel Murray, of the Coldstreamn Guards; his military profession +being designated by banners and swords in marble.--Another was to a +farmer. + +On one side of the church-tower there was a little penthouse, or +lean-to,--merely a stone roof, about three or four feet high, and +supported by a single pillar, beneath which was once deposited the bier. + +I have let too much time pass before attempting to record my impressions +of the Isle of Man; but, as regards this church, no description can come +up to its quiet beauty, its seclusion, and its every requisite for an +English country church. + +Last Sunday I went to Eastham, and, entering the churchyard, sat down on +a tombstone under the yew-tree which has been known for centuries as the +Great Tree of Eastham. Some of the village people were sitting on the +graves near the door; and an old woman came towards me, and said, in a +low, kindly, admonishing tone, that I must not let the sexton see me, +because he would not allow any one to be there in sacrament-time. I +inquired why she and her companions were there, and she said they were +waiting for the sacrament. So I thanked her, gave her a sixpence, and +departed. Close under the eaves, I saw two upright stones, in memory of +two old servants of the Stanley family,--one over ninety, and the other +over eighty years of age. + +August 12th.--J----- and I went to Birkenhead Park yesterday. There is a +large ornamental gateway to the Park, and the grounds within are neatly +laid out, with borders of shrubbery. There is a sheet of water, with +swans and other aquatic fowl, which swim about, and are fed with dainties +by the visitors. Nothing can be more beautiful than a swan. It is the +ideal of a goose,--a goose beautified and beatified. There were not a +great many visitors, but some children were dancing on the green, and a +few lover-like people straying about. I think the English behave better +than the Americans at similar places. + +There was a camera-obscure, very wretchedly indistinct. At the +refreshment-room were ginger-beer and British wines. + + +August 21st.--I was in the Crown Court on Saturday, sitting in the +sheriff's seat. The judge was Baron ------, an old gentleman of sixty, +with very large, long features. His wig helped him to look like some +strange kind of animal,--very queer, but yet with a sagacious, and, on +the whole, beneficent aspect. During the session some mischievous young +barrister occupied himself with sketching the judge in pencil; and, being +handed about, it found its way to me. It was very like and very +laughable, but hardly caricatured. The judicial wig is an exceedingly +odd affair; and as it covers both ears, it would seem intended to prevent +his Lordship, and justice in his person, from hearing any of the case on +either side, that thereby he may decide the better. It is like the old +idea of blindfolding the statue of Justice. + +It seems to me there is less formality, less distance between the judge, +jury, witnesses, and bar, in the English courts than in our own. The +judge takes a very active part in the trial, constantly asking a question +of the witness on the stand, making remarks on the conduct of the trial, +putting in his word on all occasions, and allowing his own sense of the +matter in hand to be pretty plainly seen; so that, before the trial is +over, and long before his own charge is delivered, he must have exercised +a very powerful influence over the minds of the jury. All this is done, +not without dignity, yet in a familiar kind of way. It is a sort of +paternal supervision of the whole matter, quite unlike the cold awfulness +of an American judge. But all this may be owing partly to the personal +characteristics of Baron ------. It appeared to me, however, that, from +the closer relations of all parties, truth was likely to be arrived at +and justice to be done. As an innocent man, I should not be afraid to be +tried by Baron ------. + + + +EATON HALL. + + +August 24th.--I went to Eaton Hall yesterday with my wife and Mr. G. P. +Bradford, via Chester. On our way, at the latter place, we visited St. +John's Church. It is built of the same red freestone as the cathedral, +and looked exceedingly antique, and venerable; this kind of stone, from +its softness, and its liability to be acted upon by the weather, being +liable to an early decay. Nevertheless, I believe the church was built +above a thousand years ago,--some parts of it, at least,--and the surface +of the tower and walls is worn away and hollowed in shallow sweeps by the +hand of Time. There were broken niches in several places, where statues +had formerly stood. All, except two or three, had fallen or crumbled +away, and those which remained were much damaged. The face and details +of the figure were almost obliterated. There were many gravestones round +the church, but none of them of any antiquity. Probably, as the names +become indistinguishable on the older stones, the graves are dug over +again, and filled with new occupants and covered with new stones, or +perhaps with the old ones newly inscribed. + +Closely connected with the church was the clergyman's house, a +comfortable-looking residence; and likewise in the churchyard, with +tombstones all about it, even almost at the threshold, so that the +doorstep itself might have been a tombstone, was another house, of +respectable size and aspect. We surmised that this might be the sexton's +dwelling, but it proved not to be so; and a woman, answering our knock, +directed us to the place where he might be found. So Mr. Bradford and I +went in search of him, leaving S----- seated on a tombstone. The sexton +was a jolly-looking, ruddy-faced man, a mechanic of some sort, +apparently, and he followed us to the churchyard with much alacrity. We +found S----- standing at a gateway, which opened into the most ancient, +and now quite ruinous, part of the church, the present edifice covering +much less ground than it did some centuries ago. We went through this +gateway, and found ourselves in an enclosure of venerable walls, open to +the sky, with old Norman arches standing about, beneath the loftiest of +which the sexton told us the high altar used to stand. Of course, there +were weeds and ivy growing in the crevices, but not so abundantly as I +have seen them elsewhere. The sexton pointed out a piece of a statue +that had once stood in one of the niches, and which he himself, I think, +had dug up from several feet below the earth; also, in a niche of the +walls, high above our heads, he showed us an ancient wooden coffin, hewn +out of a solid log of oak, the hollow being made rudely in the shape of a +human figure. This too had been dug up, and nobody knew how old it was. +While we looked at all this solemn old trumpery, the curate, quite a +young man, stood at the back door of his house, elevated considerably +above the ruins, with his young wife (I presume) and a friend or two, +chatting cheerfully among themselves. It was pleasant to see them there. +After examining the ruins, we went inside of the church, and found it a +dim and dusky old place, quite paved over with tombstones, not an inch of +space being left in the aisles or near the altar, or in any nook or +corner, uncovered by a tombstone. There were also mural monuments and +escutcheons, and close against the wall lay the mutilated statue of a +Crusader, with his legs crossed, in the style which one has so often read +about. The old fellow seemed to have been represented in chain armor; +but he had been more battered and bruised since death than even during +his pugnacious life, and his nose was almost knocked away. This figure +had been dug up many years ago, and nobody knows whom it was meant to +commemorate. + +The nave of the church is supported by two rows of Saxon pillars, not +very lofty, but six feet six inches (so the sexton says) in diameter. +They are covered with plaster, which was laid on ages ago, and is now so +hard and smooth that I took the pillars to be really composed of solid +shafts of gray stone. But, at one end of the church, the plaster had +been removed from two of the pillars, in order to discover whether they +were still sound enough to support the building; and they prove to be +made of blocks of red freestone, just as sound as when it came from the +quarry; for though this stone soon crumbles in the open air, it is as +good as indestructible when sheltered from the weather. It looked very +strange to see the fresh hue of these two pillars amidst the dingy +antiquity of the rest of the structure. + +The body of the church is covered with pews, the wooden enclosures of +which seemed of antique fashion. There were also modern stoves; but the +sexton said it was very cold there, in spite of the stoves. It had, I +must say, a disagreeable odor pervading it, in which the dead people of +long ago had doubtless some share,--a musty odor, by no means amounting +to a stench, but unpleasant, and, I should think, unwholesome. Old +wood-work, and old stones, and antiquity of all kinds, moral and +physical, go to make up this smell. I observed it in the cathedral, and +Chester generally has it, especially under the Rows. After all, the +necessary damp and lack of sunshine, in such a shadowy old church as +this, have probably more to do with it than the dead people have; +although I did think the odor was particularly strong over some of the +tombstones. Not having shillings to give the sexton, we were forced to +give him half a crown. + +The Church of St. John is outside of the city walls. Entering the East +gate, we walked awhile under the Rows, bought our tickets for Eaton Hall +and its gardens, and likewise some playthings for the children; for this +old city of Chester seems to me to possess an unusual number of +toy-shops. Finally we took a cab, and drove to the Hall, about four +miles distant, nearly the whole of the way lying through the wooded Park. +There are many sorts of trees, making up a wilderness, which looked not +unlike the woods of our own Concord, only less wild. The English oak is +not a handsome tree, being short and sturdy, with a round, thick mass of +foliage, lying all within its own bounds. It was a showery day. Had +there been any sunshine, there might doubtless have been many beautiful +effects of light and shadow in these woods. We saw one or two herds of +deer, quietly feeding, a hundred yards or so distant. They appeared to +be somewhat wilder than cattle, but, I think, not much wilder than sheep. +Their ancestors have probably been in a half-domesticated state, +receiving food at the hands of man, in winter, for centuries. There is a +kind of poetry in this, quite as much as if they were really wild deer, +such as their forefathers were, when Hugh Lupus used to hunt them. + +Our miserable cab drew up at the steps of Eaton Hall, and, ascending +under the portico, the door swung silently open, and we were received +very civilly by two old men,--one, a tall footman in livery; the other, +of higher grade, in plain clothes. The entrance-hall is very spacious, +and the floor is tessellated or somehow inlaid with marble. There was +statuary in marble on the floor, and in niches stood several figures in +antique armor, of various dates; some with lances, and others with +battle-axes and swords. There was a two-handed sword, as much as six +feet long; but not nearly so ponderous as I have supposed this kind of +weapon to be, from reading of it. I could easily have brandished it. + +I don't think I am a good sight-seer; at least, I soon get satisfied with +looking at the sights, and wish to go on to the next. + +The plainly dressed old man now led us into a long corridor, which goes, +I think, the whole length of the house, about five hundred feet, arched +all the way, and lengthened interminably by a looking-glass at the end, +in which I saw our own party approaching like a party of strangers. But +I have so often seen this effect produced in dry-goods stores and +elsewhere, that I was not much impressed. There were family portraits +and other pictures, and likewise pieces of statuary, along this arched +corridor; and it communicated with a chapel with a scriptural +altar-piece, copied from Rubens, and a picture of St. Michael and the +Dragon, and two, or perhaps three, richly painted windows. Everything +here is entirely new and fresh, this part having been repaired, and never +yet inhabited by the family. This brand-newness makes it much less +effective than if it had been lived in; and I felt pretty much as if I +were strolling through any other renewed house. After all, the utmost +force of man can do positively very little towards making grand things or +beautiful things. The imagination can do so much more, merely on +shutting one's eyes, that the actual effect seems meagre; so that a new +house, unassociated with the past, is exceedingly unsatisfactory, +especially when you have heard that the wealth mud skill of man has here +done its best. Besides, the rooms, as we saw them, did not look by any +means their best, the carpets not being down, and the furniture being +covered with protective envelopes. However, rooms cannot be seen to +advantage by daylight; it being altogether essential to the effect, that +they should be illuminated by artificial light, which takes them somewhat +out of the region of bare reality. Nevertheless, there was undoubtedly +great splendor, for the details of which I refer to the guide-book. +Among the family portraits, there was one of a lady famous for her +beautiful hand; and she was holding it up to notice in the funniest way, +--and very beautiful it certainly was. The private apartments of the +family were not shown us. I should think it impossible for the owner of +this house to imbue it with his personality to such a degree as to feel +it to be his home. It must be like a small lobster in a shell much too +large for him. + +After seeing what was to be seen of the rooms, we visited the gardens, in +which are noble conservatories and hot-houses, containing all manner of +rare and beautiful flowers, and tropical fruits. I noticed some large +pines, looking as if they were really made of gold. The gardener +(under-gardener I suppose he was) who showed this part of the spectacle +was very intelligent as well as kindly, and seemed to take an interest in +his business. He gave S----- a purple everlasting flower, which will +endure a great many years, as a memento of our visit to Eaton Hall. +Finally, we took a view of the front of the edifice, which is very fine, +and much more satisfactory than the interior,--and returned to Chester. + +We strolled about under the unsavory Rows, sometimes scudding from side +to side of the street, through the shower; took lunch in a confectioner's +shop, and drove to the railway station in time for the three-o'clock +train. It looked picturesque to see two little girls, hand in hand, +racing along the ancient passages of the Rows; but Chester has a very +evil smell. + +At the railroad station, S----- saw a small edition of "Twice-Told +Tales," forming a volume of the Cottage Library; and, opening it, there +was the queerest imaginable portrait of myself,--so very queer that we +could not but buy it. The shilling edition of "The Scarlet Letter" and +"Seven Gables" are at all the book-stalls and shop-windows; but so is +"The Lamplighter," and still more trashy books. + + +August 26th.--All past affairs, all home conclusions, all people whom I +have known in America and meet again here, are strangely compelled to +undergo a new trial. It is not that they suffer by comparison with +circumstances of English life and forms of English manhood or womanhood; +but, being free from my old surroundings, and the inevitable prejudices +of home, I decide upon them absolutely. + +I think I neglected to record that I saw Miss Martineau a few weeks +since. She is a large, robust, elderly woman, and plainly dressed; but +withal she has so kind, cheerful, and intelligent a face that she is +pleasanter to look at than most beauties. Her hair is of a decided gray, +and she does not shrink from calling herself old. She is the most +continual talker I ever heard; it is really like the babbling of a brook, +and very lively and sensible too; and all the while she talks, she moves +the bowl of her ear-trumpet from one auditor to another, so that it +becomes quite an organ of intelligence and sympathy between her and +yourself. The ear-trumpet seems a sensible part of her, like the +antennae of some insects. If you have any little remark to make, you +drop it in; and she helps you to make remarks by this delicate little +appeal of the trumpet, as she slightly directs it towards you; and if you +have nothing to say, the appeal is not strong enough to embarrass you. +All her talk was about herself and her affairs; but it did not seem like +egotism, because it was so cheerful and free from morbidness. And this +woman is an Atheist, and thinks that the principle of life will become +extinct when her body is laid in the grave! I will not think so; were it +only for her sake. What! only a few weeds to spring out of her +mortality, instead of her intellect and sympathies flowering and fruiting +forever! + + +September 13th.--My family went to Rhyl last Thursday, and on Saturday I +joined them there, in company with O'Sullivan, who arrived in the Behama +from Lisbon that morning. We went by way of Chester, and found S----- +waiting for us at the Rhyl station. Rhyl is a most uninteresting place, +--a collection of new lodging-houses and hotels, on a long sand-beach, +which the tide leaves bare almost to the horizon. The sand is by no +means a marble pavement, but sinks under the foot, and makes very heavy +walking; but there is a promenade in front of the principal range of +houses, looking on the sea, whereon we have rather better footing. +Almost all the houses were full, and S----- had taken a parlor and two +bedrooms, and is living after the English fashion, providing her own +table, lights, fuel, and everything. It is very awkward to our American +notions; but there is an independence about it, which I think must make +it agreeable on better acquaintance. But the place is certainly +destitute of attraction, and life seems to pass very heavily. The +English do not appear to have a turn for amusing themselves. + +Sunday was a bright and hot day, and in the forenoon I set out on a walk, +not well knowing whither, over a very dusty road, with not a particle of +shade along its dead level. The Welsh mountains were before me, at the +distance of three or four miles,--long ridgy hills, descending pretty +abruptly upon the plain; on either side of the road, here and there, an +old whitewashed, thatched stone cottage, or a stone farm-house, with an +aspect of some antiquity. I never suffered so much before, on this side +of the water, from heat and dust, and should probably have turned back +had I not espied the round towers and walls of an old castle at some +distance before me. Having looked at a guide-book, previously to setting +out, I knew that this must be Rhyddlan Castle, about three miles from +Rhyl; so I plodded on, and by and by entered an antiquated village, on +one side of which the castle stood. This Welsh village is very much like +the English villages, with narrow streets and mean houses or cottages, +built in blocks, and here and there a larger house standing alone; +everything far more compact than in our rural villages, and with no +grassy street-margin nor trees; aged and dirty also, with dirty children +staring at the passenger, and an undue supply of mean inns; most, or many +of the men in breeches, and some of the women, especially the elder ones, +in black beaver hats. The streets were paved with round pebbles, and +looked squalid and ugly. + +The children and grown people stared lazily at me as I passed, but showed +no such alert and vivacious curiosity as a community of Yankees would +have done. I turned up a street that led me to the castle, which looked +very picturesque close at hand,--more so than at a distance, because the +towers and walls have not a sufficiently broken outline against the sky. +There are several round towers at the angles of the wall very large in +their circles, built of gray stone, crumbling, ivy-grown, everything that +one thinks of in an old ruin. I could not get into the inner space of +the castle without climbing over a fence, or clambering down into the +moat; so I contented myself with walking round it, and viewing it from +the outside. Through the gateway I saw a cow feeding on the green grass +in the inner court of the castle. In one of the walls there was a large +triangular gap, where perhaps the assailants had made a breach. Of +course there were weeds on the ruinous top of the towers, and along the +summit of the wall. This was the first castle built by Edward I. in +Wales, and he resided here during the erection of Conway Castle, and here +Queen Eleanor gave birth to a princess. Some few years since a meeting +of Welsh bards was held within it. + +After viewing it awhile, and listening to the babble of some children who +lay on the grass near by, I resumed my walk, and, meeting a Welshman in +the village street, I asked him my nearest way back to Rhyl. "Dim +Sassenach," said he, after a pause. How odd that an hour or two on the +railway should have brought me amongst a people who speak no English! +Just below the castle, there is an arched stone bridge over the river +Clwyd, and the best view of the edifice is from hence. It stands on a +gentle eminence, commanding the passage of the river, and two twin round +towers rise close beside one another, whence, I suppose, archers have +often drawn their bows against the wild Welshmen, on the river-banks. +Behind was the line of mountains; and this was the point of defence +between the hill country and the lowlands. On the bridge stood a good +many idle Welshmen, leaning over the parapet, and looking at some small +vessels that had come up the river from the sea. There was the frame of +a new vessel on the stocks near by. + +As I returned, on my way home, I again inquired my way of a man in +breeches, who, I found, could speak English very well. He was kind, and +took pains to direct me, giving me the choice of three ways, viz. the one +by which I came, another across the fields, and a third by the embankment +along the river-side. I chose the latter, and so followed the course of +the Clwyd, which is very ugly, with a tidal flow and wide marshy banks. +On its farther side was Rhyddlan marsh, where a battle was fought between +the Welsh and Saxons a thousand years ago. I have forgotten to mention +that the castle and its vicinity was the scene of the famous battle of +the fiddlers, between De Blandeville, Earl of Chester, and the Welsh, +about the time of the Conqueror. + + + +CONWAY CASTLE. + + +September 13th.--On Monday we went with O'Sullivan to Conway by rail. +Certainly this must be the most perfect specimen of a ruinous old castle +in the whole world; it quite fills up one's idea. We first walked round +the exterior of the wall, at the base of which are hovels, with dirty +children playing about them, and pigs rambling along, and squalid women +visible in the doorways; but all these things melt into the +picturesqueness of the scene, and do not harm it. The whole town of +Conway is built in what was once the castle-yard, and the whole circuit +of the wall is still standing in a delightful state of decay. At the +angles, and at regular intervals, there are round towers, having half +their circle on the outside of the walls, and half within. Most of these +towers have a great crack pervading them irregularly from top to bottom; +the ivy hangs upon them,--the weeds grow on the tops. Gateways, three or +four of them, open through the walls, and streets proceed from them into +the town. At some points, very old cottages or small houses are close +against the sides, and, old as they are, they must have been built after +the whole structure was a ruin. In one place I saw the sign of an +alehouse painted on the gray stones of one of the old round towers. As +we entered one of the gates, after making the entire circuit, we saw an +omnibus coming down the street towards us, with its horn sounding. +Llandudno was its place of destination; and, knowing no more about it +than that it was four miles off, we took our seats. Llandudno is a +watering-village at the base of the Great Orme's Head, at the mouth of +the Conway River. In this omnibus there were two pleasant-looking girls, +who talked Welsh together,--a guttural, childish kind of a babble. +Afterwards we got into conversation with them, and found them very +agreeable. One of them was reading Tupper's "Proverbial Philosophy." On +reaching Llandudno, S----- waited at the hotel, while O'Sullivan, U----, +and I ascended the Great Orme's Head. There are copper-mines here, and +we heard of a large cave, with stalactites, but did not go so far as +that. We found the old shaft of a mine, however, and threw stones down +it, and counted twenty before we heard them strike the bottom. At the +base of the Head, on the side opposite the village, we saw a small church +with a broken roof, and horizontal gravestones of slate within the stone +enclosure around it. The view from the hill was most beautiful,--a blue +summer sea, with the distant trail of smoke from a steamer, and many +snowy sails; in another direction the mountains, near and distant, some +of them with clouds below their peaks. + +We went to one of the mines which are still worked, and boys came running +to meet us with specimens of the copper ore for sale. The miners were +not now hoisting ore from the shaft, but were washing and selecting the +valuable fragments from great heaps of crumbled stone and earth. All +about this spot there are shafts and well-holes, looking fearfully deep +and black, and without the slightest protection, so that we might just as +easily have walked into them as not. Having examined these matters +sufficiently, we descended the hill towards the village, meeting parties +of visitors, mounted on donkeys, which is a much more sensible way of +ascending in a hot day than to walk. On the sides and summit of the hill +we found yellow gorse,--heath of two colors, I think, and very +beautiful,--and here and there a harebell. Owing to the long-continued +dry weather, the grass was getting withered and brown, though not so much +so as on American hill-pastures at this season. Returning to the +village, we all went into a confectioner's shop, and made a good +luncheon. The two prettiest young ladies whom I have seen in England +came into the shop and ate cakes while we were there. They appeared to +be living together in a lodging-house, and ordered some of their +housekeeping articles from the confectioner. + +Next we went into the village bazaar,--a sort of tent or open shop, full +of knick-knacks and gewgaws, and bought some playthings for the children. +At half past one we took our seats in the omnibus, to return to Conway. + +We had as yet only seen the castle wall and the exterior of the castle; +now we were to see the inside. Right at the foot of it an old woman has +her stand for the sale of lithographic views of Conway and other places; +but these views are ridiculously inadequate, so that we did not buy any +of them. The admittance into the castle is by a wooden door of modern +construction, and the present seneschal is, I believe, the sexton of a +church. He remembered me as having been there a month or two ago; and +probably, considering that I was already initiated, or else because he +had many other visitors, he left us to wander about the castle at will. +It is altogether impossible to describe Conway Castle. Nothing ever can +have been so perfect in its own style, and for its own purposes, when it +was first built; and now nothing else can be so perfect as a picture of +ivy-grown, peaceful ruin. The banqueting-hall, all open to the sky and +with thick curtains of ivy tapestrying the walls, and grass and weeds +growing on the arches that overpass it, is indescribably beautiful. The +hearthstones of the great old fireplaces, all about the castle, seem to +be favorite spots for weeds to grow. There are eight large round towers, +and out of four of them, I think, rise smaller towers, ascending to a +much greater height, and once containing winding staircases, all of which +are now broken, and inaccessible from below, though, in at least one of +the towers, the stairs seemed perfect, high aloft. It must have been the +rudest violence that broke down these stairs; for each step was a thick +and heavy slab of stone, built into the wall of the tower. There is no +such thing as a roof in any part; towers, hall, kitchen, all are open to +the sky. One round tower, directly overhanging the railway, is so +shattered by the falling away of the lower part, that you can look quite +up into it and through it, while sitting in the cars; and yet it has +stood thus, without falling into complete ruin, for more than two hundred +years. I think that it was in this tower that we found the castle oven, +an immense cavern, big enough to bake bread for an army. The railway +passes exactly at the base of the high rock, on which this part of the +castle is situated, and goes into the town through a great arch that has +been opened in the castle wall. The tubular bridge across the Conway has +been built in a style that accords with the old architecture, and I +observed that one little sprig of ivy had rooted itself in the new +structure. + +There are numberless intricate passages in the thickness of the castle +walls, forming communications between tower and tower,--damp, chill +passages, with rough stone on either hand, darksome, and very likely +leading to dark pitfalls. The thickness of the walls is amazing; and the +people of those days must have been content with very scanty light, so +small were the apertures,--sometimes merely slits and loopholes, +glimmering through many feet of thickness of stone. One of the towers +was said to have been the residence of Queen Eleanor; and this was better +lighted than the others, containing an oriel-window, looking out of a +little oratory, as it seemed to be, with groined arches and traces of +ornamental sculpture, so that we could dress up some imperfect image of a +queenly chamber, though the tower was roofless and floorless. There was +another pleasant little windowed nook, close beside the oratory, where +the Queen might have sat sewing or looking down the river Conway at the +picturesque headlands towards the sea. We imagined her stately figure in +antique robes, standing beneath the groined arches of the oratory. There +seem to have been three chambers, one above another, in these towers, and +the one in which was the embowed window was the middle one. I suppose +the diameter of each of these circular rooms could not have been more +than twenty feet on the inside. All traces of wood-work and iron-work +are quite gone from the whole castle. These are said to have been taken +away by a Lord Conway in the reign of Charles II. There is a grassy +space under the windows of Queen Eleanor's tower,--a sort of outwork of +the castle, where probably, when no enemy was near, the Queen used to +take the open air in summer afternoons like this. Here we sat down on +the grass of the ruined wall, and agreed that nothing in the world could +be so beautiful and picturesque as Conway Castle, and that never could +there have been so fit a time to see it as this sunny, quiet, lovely +afternoon. Sunshine adapts itself to the character of a ruin in a +wonderful way; it does not "flout the ruins gray," as Scott says, but +sympathizes with their decay, and saddens itself for their sake. It +beautifies the ivy too. + +We saw, at the corner of this grass-plot around Queen Eleanor's tower, a +real trunk of a tree of ivy, with so stalwart a stem, and such a vigorous +grasp of its strong branches, that it would be a very efficient support +to the wall, were it otherwise inclined to fall. O that we could have +ivy in America! What is there to beautify us when our time of ruin +comes? + +Before departing, we made the entire circuit of the castle on its walls, +and O'Sullivan and I climbed by a ladder to the top of one of the towers. +While there, we looked down into the street beneath, and saw a +photographist preparing to take a view of the castle, and calling out to +some little girl in some niche or on some pinnacle of the walls to stand +still that he might catch her figure and face. I think it added to the +impressiveness of the old castle, to see the streets and the +kitchen-gardens and the homely dwellings that had grown up within the +precincts of this feudal fortress, and the people of to-day following +their little businesses about it. This does not destroy the charm; but +tourists and idle visitors do impair it. The earnest life of to-day, +however, petty and homely as it may be, has a right to its place +alongside of what is left of the life of other days; and if it be vulgar +itself, it does not vulgarize the scene. But tourists do vulgarize it; +and I suppose we did so, just like others. + +We took the train back to Rhyl, where we arrived at about four o'clock, +and, having dined, we again took the rail for Chester, and thence to Rock +Park (that is, O'Sullivan and I), and reached home at about eleven +o'clock. + +Yesterday, September 13th, I began to wear a watch from Bennet's, 65 +Cheapside, London. W. C. Bennet warrants it as the best watch which they +can produce. If it prove as good and as durable as he prophesies, J----- +will find it a perfect time-keeper long after his father has done with +Time. If I had not thought of his wearing it hereafter, I should have +been content with a much inferior one. No. 39,620. + + +September 20th.--I went back to Rhyl last Friday in the steamer. We +arrived at the landing-place at nearly four o'clock, having started at +twelve, and I walked thence to our lodgings, 18 West Parade. The +children and their mother were all gone out, and I sat some time in our +parlor before anybody came. The next morning I made an excursion in the +omnibus as far as Ruthin, passing through Rhyddlan, St. Asaph, Denbigh, +and reaching Ruthin at one o'clock. All these are very ancient places. +St. Asaph has a cathedral which is not quite worthy of that name, but is +a very large and stately church in excellent repair. Its square +battlemented tower has a very fine appearance, crowning the clump of +village houses on the hill-top, as you approach from Rhyddlan. The +ascent of the hill is very steep; so it is at Denbigh and at Ruthin,--the +steepest streets, indeed, that I ever climbed. Denbigh is a place of +still more antique aspect than St. Asaph; it looks, I think, even older +than Chester, with its gabled houses, many of their windows opening on +hinges, and their fronts resting on pillars, with an open porch beneath. +The castle makes an admirably ruinous figure on the hill, higher than the +village. I had come hither with the purpose of inspecting it, but as it +began to rain just then, I concluded to get into the omnibus and go to +Ruthin. There was another steep ascent from the commencement of the long +street of Ruthin, till I reached the market-place, which is of nearly +triangular shape, and an exceedingly old-looking place. Houses of stone +or plastered brick; one or two with timber frames; the roofs of an uneven +line, and bulging out or sinking in; the slates moss-grown. Some of them +have two peaks and even three in a row, fronting on the streets, and +there is a stone market-house with a table of regulations. In this +market-place there is said to be a stone on which King Arthur beheaded +one of his enemies; but this I did not see. All these villages were very +lively, as the omnibus drove in; and I rather imagine it was market-day +in each of them,--there being quite a bustle of Welsh people. The old +women came round the omnibus courtesying and intimating their willingness +to receive alms,--witch-like women, such as one sees in pictures or reads +of in romances, and very unlike anything feminine in America. Their +style of dress cannot have changed for centuries. It was quite +unexpected to me to hear Welsh so universally and familiarly spoken. +Everybody spoke it. The omnibus-driver could speak but imperfect +English; there was a jabber of Welsh all through the streets and +market-places; and it flowed out with a freedom quite different from the +way in which they expressed themselves in English. I had had an idea +that Welsh was spoken rather as a freak and in fun than as a native +language; it was so strange to find another language the people's actual +and earnest medium of thought within so short a distance of England. But +English is scarcely more known to the body of the Welsh people than to +the peasantry of France. However, they sometimes pretend to ignorance, +when they might speak it fairly enough. + +I took luncheon at the hotel where the omnibus stopped, and then went to +search out the castle. It appears to have been once extensive, but the +remains of it are now very few, except a part of the external wall. +Whatever other portion may still exist, has been built into a modern +castellated mansion, which has risen within the wide circuit of the +fortress,--a handsome and spacious edifice of red freestone, with a high +tower, on which a flag was flying. The grounds were well laid out in +walks, and really I think the site of the castle could not have been +turned to better account. I am getting tired of antiquity. It is +certainly less interesting in the long run than novelty; and so I was +well content with the fresh, warm, red hue of the modern house, and the +unworn outline of its walls, and its cheerful, large windows; and was +willing that the old ivy-grown ruins should exist now only to contrast +with the modernisms. These ancient walls, by the by, are of immense +thickness. There is a passage through the interior of a portion of them, +the width from this interior passage to the outer one being fifteen feet +on one side, and I know not how much on the other. + +It continued showery all day; and the omnibus was crowded. I had chosen +the outside from Rhyl to Denbigh, but, all the rest of the journey, +imprisoned myself within. On our way home, an old lady got into the +omnibus,--a lady of tremendous rotundity; and as she tumbled from the +door to the farthest part of the carriage, she kept advising all the rest +of the passengers to get out. "I don't think there will be much rain, +gentlemen," quoth she, "you'll be much more comfortable on the outside." +As none of us complied, she glanced along the seats. "What! are you all +Saas'uach?" she inquired. As we drove along, she talked Welsh with great +fluency to one of the passengers, a young woman with a baby, and to as +many others as could understand her. It has a strange, wild sound, like +a language half blown away by the wind. The lady's English was very +good; but she probably prided herself on her proficiency in Welsh. My +excursion to-day had been along the valley of the Clwyd, a very rich and +fertile tract of country. + +The next day we all took a long walk on the beach, picking up shells. + +On Monday we took an open carriage and drove to Rhyddlan; whence we sent +back the carriage, meaning to walk home along the embankment of the river +Clwyd, after inspecting the castle. The fortress is very ruinous, having +been dismantled by the Parliamentarians. There are great gaps,--two, at +least, in the walls that connect the round towers, of which there were +six, one on each side of a gateway in front, and the same at a gateway +towards the river, where there is a steep descent to a wall and square +tower, at the water-side. Great pains and a great deal of gunpowder must +have been used in converting this castle into a ruin. There were one or +two fragments lying where they had fallen more than two hundred years +ago, which, though merely a conglomeration of small stones and mortar, +were just as hard as if they had been solid masses of granite. The +substantial thickness of the walls is composed of these agglomerated +small stones and mortar, the casing being hewn blocks of red freestone. +This is much worn away by the weather, wherever it has been exposed to +the air; but, under shelter, it looks as if it might have been hewn only +a year or two ago. Each of the round towers had formerly a small +staircase turret rising beside and ascending above it, in which a warder +might be posted, but they have all been so battered and shattered that it +is impossible for an uninstructed observer to make out a satisfactory +plan of then. The interior of each tower was a small room, not more than +twelve or fifteen feet across; and of these there seem to have been three +stories, with loop-holes for archery and not much other light than what +came through them. Then there are various passages and nooks and corners +and square recesses in the stone, some of which must have been intended +for dungeons, and the ugliest and gloomiest dungeons imaginable, for they +could not have had any light or air. There is not, the least, splinter +of wood-work remaining in any part of the castle,--nothing but bare +stone, and a little plaster in one or two places, on the wall. In the +front gateway we looked at the groove on each side, in which the +portcullis used to rise and fall; and in each of the contiguous round +towers there was a loop-hole, whence an enemy on the outer side of the +portcullis might be shot through with an arrow. + +The inner court-yard is a parallelogram, nearly a square, and is about +forty-five of my paces across. It is entirely grass-grown, and vacant, +except for two or three trees that have been recently set out, and which +are surrounded with palings to keep away the cows that pasture in and +about the place. No window looks from the walls or towers into this +court-yard; nor are there any traces of buildings having stood within the +enclosure, unless it be what looks something like the flue of a chimney +within one of the walls. I should suppose, however, that there must have +been, when the castle was in its perfect state, a hall, a kitchen, and +other commodious apartments and offices for the King and his train, such +as there were at Conway and Beaumaris. But if so, all fragments have +been carried away, and all hollows of the old foundations scrupulously +filled up. The round towers could not have comprised all the +accommodation of the castle. There is nothing more striking in these +ruins than to look upward from the crumbling base, and see flights of +stairs, still comparatively perfect, by which you might securely ascend +to the upper heights of the tower, although all traces of a staircase +have disappeared below, and the upper portion cannot be attained. On +three sides of the fortress is a moat, about sixty feet wide, and cased +with stone. It was probably of great depth in its day, but it is now +partly filled up with earth, and is quite dry and grassy throughout its +whole extent. On the inner side of the moat was the outer wall of the +castle, portions of which still remain. Between the outer wall and the +castle itself the space is also about sixty feet. + +The day was cloudy and lowering, and there were several little +spatterings of rain, while we rambled about. The two children ran +shouting hither and thither, and were continually clambering into +dangerous places, racing along ledges of broken wall. At last they +altogether disappeared for a good while; their voices, which had +heretofore been plainly audible, were hushed, nor was there any answer +when we began to call them, while making ready for our departure. But +they finally appeared, coming out of the moat, where they had been +picking and eating blackberries,--which, they said, grew very plentifully +there, and which they were very reluctant to leave. Before quitting the +castle, I must not forget the ivy, which makes a perfect tapestry over a +large portion of the walls. + +We walked about the village, which is old and ugly; small, irregular +streets, contriving to be intricate, though there are few of them; mean +houses, joining to each other. We saw, in the principal one, the +parliament house in which Edward I. gave a Charter, or allowed rights of +some kind to his Welsh subjects. The ancient part of its wall is +entirely distinguishable from what has since been built upon it. + +Thence we set out to walk along the embankment, although the sky looked +very threatening. The wind, however, was so strong, and had such a full +sweep at us, on the top of the bank, that we decided on taking a path +that led from it across the moor. But we soon had cause to repent of +this; for, which way soever we turned, we found ourselves cut off by a +ditch or a little stream; so that here we were, fairly astray on Rhyddlan +moor, the old battle-field of the Saxons and Britons, and across which, I +suppose, the fiddlers and mountebanks had marched to the relief of the +Earl of Chester. Anon, too, it began to shower; and it was only after +various leaps and scramblings that we made our way to a large farm-house, +and took shelter under a cart-shed. The back of the house to which we +gained access was very dirty and ill-kept; some dirty children peeped at +us as we approached, and nobody had the civility to ask us in; so we took +advantage of the first cessation of the shower to resume our way. We +were shortly overtaken by a very intelligent-looking and civil man, who +seemed to have come from Rhyddlan, and said he was going to Rhyl. We +followed his guidance over stiles and along hedge-row paths which we +never could have threaded rightly by ourselves. + +By and by our kind guide had to stop at an intermediate farm; but he gave +us full directions how to proceed, and we went on till it began to shower +again pretty briskly, and we took refuge in a little bit of old stone +cottage, which, small as it was, had a greater antiquity than any mansion +in America. The door was open, and as we approached, we saw several +children gazing at us; and their mother, a pleasant-looking woman, who +seemed rather astounded at the visit that was about to befall her, tried +to draw a tattered curtain over a part of her interior, which she fancied +even less fit to be seen than the rest. To say the truth, the house was +not at all better than a pigsty; and while we sat there, a pig came +familiarly to the door, thrust in his snout, and seemed surprised that he +should be driven away, instead of being admitted as one of the family. +The floor was of brick; there was no ceiling, but only the peaked gable +overhead. The room was kitchen, parlor, and, I suppose, bedroom for the +whole family; at all events, there was only the tattered curtain between +us and the sleeping accommodations. The good woman either could not or +would not speak a word of English, only laughing when S----- said, "Dim +Sassenach?" but she was kind and hospitable, and found a chair for each +of us. She had been making some bread, and the dough was on the dresser. +Life with these people is reduced to its simplest elements. It is only a +pity that they cannot or do not choose to keep themselves cleaner. +Poverty, except in cities, need not be squalid. When the shower abated a +little, we gave all the pennies we had to the children, and set forth +again. By the by, there were several colored prints stuck up against the +walls, and there was a clock ticking in a corner and some paper-hangings +pinned upon the slanting roof. + +It began to rain again before we arrived at Rhyl, and we were driven into +a small tavern. After staying there awhile, we set forth between the +drops; but the rain fell still heavier, so that we were pretty well +damped before we got to our lodgings. After dinner, I took the rail for +Chester and Rock Park, and S----- and the children and maid followed the +next day. + + +September 22d.--I dined on Wednesday evening at Mr. John Heywood's, +Norris Green. Mr. Mouckton Mimes and lady were of the company. Mr. +Mimes is a very agreeable, kindly man, resembling Longfellow a good deal +in personal appearance; and he promotes, by his genial manners, the same +pleasant intercourse which is so easily established with Longfellow. He +is said to be a very kind patron of literary men, and to do a great deal +of good among young and neglected people of that class. He is considered +one of the best conversationists at present in society: it may very well +be so; his style of talking being very simple and natural, anything but +obtrusive, so that you might enjoy its agreeableness without suspecting +it. He introduced me to his wife (a daughter of Lord Crewe), with whom +and himself I had a good deal of talk. Mr. Milnes told me that he owns +the land in Yorkshire, whence some of the pilgrims of the Mayflower +emigrated to Plymouth, and that Elder Brewster was the Postmaster of the +village. . . . He also said that in the next voyage of the Mayflower, +after she carried the Pilgrims, she was employed in transporting a cargo +of slaves from Africa,--to the West Indies, I suppose. This is a queer +fact, and would be nuts for the Southerners. + +Mem.--An American would never understand the passage in Bunyan about +Christian and Hopeful going astray along a by-path into the grounds of +Giant Despair,--from there being no stiles and by-paths in our country. + + +September 26th.--On Saturday evening my wife and I went to a soiree given +by the Mayor and Mrs. Lloyd at the Town Hall to receive the Earl of +Harrowby. It was quite brilliant, the public rooms being really +magnificent, and adorned for the occasion with a large collection of +pictures, belonging to Mr. Naylor. They were mostly, if not entirely, of +modern artists,--of Turner, Wilkie, Landseer, and others of the best +English painters. Turner's seemed too ethereal to have been done by +mortal hands. + +The British Scientific Association being now in session here, many +distinguished strangers were present. + + +September 29th.--Mr. Monekton Milnes called on me at the Consulate day +before yesterday. He is pleasant and sensible. Speaking of American +politicians, I remarked that they were seldom anything but politicians, +and had no literary or other culture beyond their own calling. He said +the case was the same in England, and instanced Sir ------, who once +called on him for information when an appeal had been made to him +respecting two literary gentlemen. Sir ------ had never heard the names +of either of these gentlemen, and applied to Mr. Milnes as being somewhat +conversant with the literary class, to know whether they were +distinguished and what were their claims. The names of the two literary +men were James Sheridan Knowles and Alfred Tennyson. + + +October 5th.--Yesterday I was present at a dejeuner on board the James +Barnes, on occasion of her coming under the British flag, having been +built for the Messrs. Barnes by Donald McKay of Boston. She is a +splendid vessel, and magnificently fitted up, though not with consummate +taste. It would be worth while that ornamental architects and +upholsterers should study this branch of art, since the ship-builders +seem willing to expend a good deal of money on it. In fact, I do not see +that there is anywhere else so much encouragement to the exercise of +ornamental art. I saw nothing to criticise in the solid and useful +details of the ship; the ventilation, in particular, being free and +abundant, so that the hundreds of passengers who will have their berths +between decks, and at a still lower depth, will have good air and enough +of it. + +There were four or five hundred persons, principally Liverpool merchants +and their wives, invited to the dejeuner; and the tables were spread +between decks, the berths for passengers not being yet put in. There was +not quite light enough to make the scene cheerful, it being an overcast +day; and, indeed, there was an English plainness in the arrangement of +the festal room, which might have been better exchanged for the flowery +American taste, which I have just been criticising. With flowers, and +the arrangement of flags, we should have made something very pretty of +the space between decks; but there was nothing to hide the fact that in a +few days hence there would be crowded berths and sea-sick steerage +passengers where we were now feasting. The cheer was very good,--cold +fowl and meats; cold pies of foreign manufacture very rich, and of +mysterious composition; and champagne in plenty, with other wines for +those who liked them. + +I sat between two ladies, one of them Mrs. ------, a pleasant young +woman, who, I believe, is of American provincial nativity, and whom I +therefore regarded as half a countrywoman. We talked a good deal +together, and I confided to her my annoyance at the prospect of being +called up to answer a toast; but she did not pity me at all, though she +felt, much alarm about her husband, Captain ------, who was in the same +predicament. Seriously, it is the most awful part of my official duty,-- +this necessity of making dinner-speeches at the Mayor's, and other public +or semi-public tables. However, my neighborhood to Mrs. ------ was good +for me, inasmuch as by laughing over the matter with her came to regard +it in a light and ludicrous way; and so, when the time actually came, I +stood up with a careless dare-devil feeling. The chairman toasted the +president immediately after the Queen, and did me the honor to speak of +myself in a most flattering manner, something like this: "Great by his +position under the Republic,--greater still, I am bold to say, in the +Republic of letters!" I made no reply at all to this; in truth, I forgot +all about it when I began to speak, and merely thanked the company in +behalf of the President, and my countrymen, and made a few remarks with +no very decided point to them. However, they cheered and applauded, and +I took advantage of the applause to sit down, and Mrs. ------ informed me +that I had succeeded admirably. It was no success at all, to be sure; +neither was it a failure, for I had aimed at nothing, and I had exactly +hit it. But after sitting down, I was conscious of an enjoyment in +speaking to a public assembly, and felt as if I should like to rise +again. It is something like being under fire,--a sort of excitement, not +exactly pleasure, but more piquant than most pleasures. I have felt this +before, in the same circumstances; but, while on my legs, my impulse is +to get through with my remarks and sit down again as quickly as possible. +The next speech, I think, was by Rev. Dr. ------, the celebrated Arctic +gentleman, in reply to a toast complimentary to the clergy. He turned +aside from the matter in hand, to express his kind feelings towards +America, where he said he had been most hospitably received, especially +at Cambridge University. He also made allusions to me, and I suppose it +would have been no more than civil in me to have answered with a speech +in acknowledgment, but I did not choose to make another venture, so +merely thanked him across the corner of the table, for he sat near me. +He is a venerable-looking, white-haired gentleman, tall and slender, with +a pale, intelligent, kindly face. + +Other speeches were made; but from beginning to end there was not one +breath of eloquence, nor even one neat sentence; and I rather think that +Englishmen would purposely avoid eloquence or neatness in after-dinner +speeches. It seems to be no part of their object. Yet any Englishman +almost, much more generally than Americans, will stand up and talk on in +a plain way, uttering one rough, ragged, and shapeless sentence after +another, and will have expressed himself sensibly, though in a very rude +manner, before he sits down. And this is quite satisfactory to his +audience, who, indeed, are rather prejudiced against the man who speaks +too glibly. + +The guests began to depart shortly after three o'clock. This morning I +have seen two reports of my little speech,--one exceedingly incorrect; +another pretty exact, but not much to my taste, for I seem to have left +out everything that would have been fittest to say. + + +October 6th.--The people, for several days, have been in the utmost +anxiety, and latterly in the highest exultation about Sebastopol,--and +all England, and Europe to boot, have been fooled by the belief that it +had fallen. This, however, now turns out to be incorrect; and the public +visage is somewhat grim, in consequence. I am glad of it. In spite of +his actual sympathies, it is impossible for a true American to be +otherwise than glad. Success makes an Englishman intolerable; and, +already, on the mistaken idea that the way was open to a prosperous +conclusion of the war, The Times had begun to throw out menaces against +America. I shall never love England till she sues to us for help, and, +in the mean time, the fewer triumphs she obtains, the better for all +parties. An Englishman in adversity is a very respectable character; he +does not lose his dignity, but merely comes to a proper conception of +himself. It is rather touching to an observer to see how much the +universal heart is in this matter,--to see the merchants gathering round +the telegraphic messages, posted on the pillars of the Exchange +news-room, the people in the street who cannot afford to buy a paper +clustering round the windows of the news-offices, where a copy is pinned +up,--the groups of corporals and sergeants at the recruiting rendezvous, +with a newspaper in the midst of them and all earnest and sombre, and +feeling like one man together, whatever their rank. I seem to myself +like a spy or a traitor when I meet their eyes, and am conscious that I +neither hope nor fear in sympathy with them, although they look at me in +full confidence of sympathy. Their heart "knoweth its own bitterness," +and as for me, being a stranger and all alien, I "intermeddle not with +their joy." + + +October 9th.--My ancestor left England in 1630. I return in 1853. I +sometimes feel as if I myself had been absent these two hundred and +twenty-three years, leaving England just emerging from the feudal system, +and finding it, on my return, on the verge of republicanism. It brings +the two far-separated points of time very closely together, to view the +matter thus. + + +October 16th.--A day or two ago arrived the sad news of the loss of the +Arctic by collision with a French steamer off Newfoundland, and the loss +also of three or four hundred people. I have seldom been more affected +by anything quite alien from my personal and friendly concerns, than by +the death of Captain Luce and his son. The boy was a delicate lad, and +it is said that he had never been absent from his mother till this time, +when his father had taken him to England to consult a physician about a +complaint in his hip. So his father, while the ship was sinking, was +obliged to decide whether he would put the poor, weakly, timorous child +on board the boat, to take his hard chance of life there, or keep him to +go down with himself and the ship. He chose the latter; and within half +an hour, I suppose, the boy was among the child-angels. Captain Luce +could not do less than die, for his own part, with the responsibility of +all those lost lives upon him. He may not have been in the least to +blame for the calamity, but it was certainly too heavy a one for him to +survive. He was a sensible man, and a gentleman, courteous, quiet, with +something almost melancholy in his address and aspect. Oftentimes he has +come into my inner office to say good-by before his departures, but I +cannot precisely remember whether or no he took leave of me before this +latest voyage. I never exchanged a great many words with him; but those +were kind ones. + + +October 19th.--It appears to be customary for people of decent station, +but in distressed circumstances, to go round among their neighbors and +the public, accompanied by a friend, who explains the case. I have been +accosted in the street in regard to one of these matters; and to-day +there came to my office a grocer, who had become security for a friend, +and who was threatened with an execution,--with another grocer for +supporter and advocate. The beneficiary takes very little active part in +the affair, merely looking careworn, distressed, and pitiable, and +throwing in a word of corroboration, or a sigh, or an acknowledgment, as +the case may demand. In the present instance, the friend, a young, +respectable-looking tradesman, with a Lancashire accent, spoke freely and +simply of his client's misfortunes, not pressing the case unduly, but +doing it full justice, and saying, at the close of the interview, that it +was no pleasant business for himself. The broken grocer was an elderly +man, of somewhat sickly aspect. The whole matter is very foreign to +American habits. No respectable American would think of retrieving his +affairs by such means, but would prefer ruin ten times over; no friend +would take up his cause; no public would think it worth while to prevent +the small catastrophe. And yet the custom is not without its good side +as indicating a closer feeling of brotherhood, a more efficient sense of +neighborhood, than exists among ourselves, although, perhaps, we are more +careless of a fellow-creature's ruin, because ruin with us is by no means +the fatal and irretrievable event that it is in England. + +I am impressed with the ponderous and imposing look of an English legal +document,--an assignment of real estate in England, for instance,-- +engrossed on an immense sheet of thickest paper, in a formal hand, +beginning with "This Indenture" in German text, and with occasional +phrases of form, breaking out into large script,--very long and +repetitious, fortified with the Mayor of Manchester's seal, two or three +inches in diameter, which is certified by a notary-public, whose +signature, again, is to have my consular certificate and official seal. + + +November 2d.--A young Frenchman enters, of gentlemanly aspect, with a +grayish cloak or paletot overspreading his upper person, and a handsome +and well-made pair of black trousers and well-fitting boots below. On +sitting down, he does not throw off nor at all disturb the cloak. Eying +him more closely, one discerns that he has no shirt-collar, and that what +little is visible of his shirt-bosom seems not to be of to-day nor of +yesterday,--perhaps not even of the day before. His manner is not very +good; nevertheless, he is a coxcomb and a jackanapes. He avers himself a +naturalized citizen of America, where he has been tutor in several +families of distinction, and has been treated like a son. He left +America on account of his health, and came near being tutor in the Duke +of Norfolk's family, but failed for lack of testimonials; he is +exceedingly capable and accomplished, but reduced in funds, and wants +employment here, of the means of returning to America, where he intends +to take a situation under government, which he is sure of obtaining. He +mentioned a quarrel which he had recently had with an Englishman in +behalf of America, and would have fought a duel had such been the custom +of the country. He made the Englishman foam at the mouth, and told him +that he had been twelve years at a military school, and could easily kill +him. I say to him that I see little or no prospect of his getting +employment here, but offer to inquire whether any situation, as clerk or +otherwise, can be obtained for him in a vessel returning to America, and +ask his address. He has no address. Much to my surprise, he takes his +leave without requesting pecuniary aid, but hints that he shall call +again. He is a very disagreeable young fellow, like scores of others who +call on me in the like situation. His English is very good for a +Frenchman, and he says he speaks it the least well of five languages. He +has been three years in America, and obtained his naturalization papers, +he says, as a special favor, and by means of strong interest. Nothing is +so absolutely odious as the sense of freedom and equality pertaining to +an American grafted on the mind of a native of any other country in the +world. A naturalized citizen is HATEFUL. Nobody has a right to our +ideas, unless born to them. + + +November 9th.--I lent the above Frenchman a small sum; he advertised for +employment as a teacher; and he called this morning to thank me for my +aid, and says Mr. C------ has engaged him for his children, at a guinea a +week, and that he has also another engagement. The poor fellow seems to +have been brought to a very low ebb. He has pawned everything, even to +his last shirt, save the one he had on, and had been living at the rate +of twopence a day. I had procured him a chance to return to America, but +he was ashamed to go back in such poor circumstances, and so determined +to seek better fortune here. I like him better than I did,--partly, I +suppose, because I have helped him. + + +November 14th.--The other day I saw an elderly gentleman walking in Dale +Street, apparently in a state of mania; for as he limped along (being +afflicted with lameness) he kept talking to himself, and sometimes +breaking out into a threat against some casual passenger. He was a very +respectable-looking man; and I remember to have seen him last summer, in +the steamer, returning from the Isle of Man, where he had been staying at +Castle Mona. What a strange and ugly predicament it would be for a +person of quiet habits to be suddenly smitten with lunacy at noonday in a +crowded street, and to walk along through a dim maze of extravagances,-- +partly conscious of then, but unable to resist the impulse to give way to +them! A long-suppressed nature might be represented as bursting out in +this way, for want of any other safety-valve. + +In America, people seem to consider the government merely as a political +administration; and they care nothing for the credit of it, unless it be +the administration of their own political party. In England, all people, +of whatever party, are anxious for the credit of their rulers. Our +government, as a knot of persons, changes so entirely every four years, +that the institution has come to be considered a temporary thing. + +Looking at the moon the other evening, little R----- said, "It blooms out +in the morning!" taking the moon to be the bud of the sun. + +The English are a most intolerant people. Nobody is permitted, nowadays, +to have any opinion but the prevalent one. There seems to be very little +difference between their educated and ignorant classes in this respect; +if any, it is to the credit of the latter, who do not show tokens of such +extreme interest in the war. It is agreeable, however, to observe how +all Englishmen pull together,--how each man comes forward with his little +scheme for helping on the war,--how they feel themselves members of one +family, talking together about their common interest, as if they were +gathered around one fireside; and then what a hearty meed of honor they +award to their soldiers! It is worth facing death for. Whereas, in +America, when our soldiers fought as good battles, with as great +proportionate loss, and far more valuable triumphs, the country seemed +rather ashamed than proud of them. + +Mrs. Heywood tells me that there are many Catholics among the lower +classes in Lancashire and Cheshire,--probably the descendants of +retainers of the old Catholic nobility and gentry, who are more numerous +in these shires than in other parts of England. The present Lord +Sefton's grandfather was the first of that race who became Protestant. + + +December 25th.--Commodore P------ called to see me this morning,--a +brisk, gentlemanly, offhand, but not rough, unaffected and sensible man, +looking not so elderly as he ought, on account of a very well made wig. +He is now on his return from a cruise in the East Indian seas, and goes +home by the Baltic, with a prospect of being very well received on +account of his treaty with Japan. I seldom meet with a man who puts +himself more immediately on conversable terms than the Commodore. He +soon introduced his particular business with me,--it being to inquire +whether I would recommend some suitable person to prepare his notes and +materials for the publication of an account of his voyage. He was good +enough to say that he had fixed upon me, in his own mind, for this +office; but that my public duties would of course prevent me from +engaging in it. I spoke of Herman Melville, and one or two others; but +he seems to have some acquaintance with the literature of the day, and +did not grasp very cordially at any name that I could think of; nor, +indeed, could I recommend any one with full confidence. It would be a +very desirable task for a young literary man, or, for that matter, for an +old one; for the world can scarcely have in reserve a less hackneyed +theme than Japan. + +This is a most beautiful day of English winter; clear and bright, with +the ground a little frozen, and the green grass along the waysides at +Rock Ferry sprouting up through the frozen pools of yesterday's rain. +England is forever green. On Christmas day, the children found +wall-flowers, pansies, and pinks in the garden; and we had a beautiful +rose from the garden of the hotel grown in the open air. Yet one is +sensible of the cold here, as much as in the zero atmosphere of America. +The chief advantage of the English climate is that we are not tempted to +heat our rooms to so unhealthy a degree as in New England. + +I think I have been happier this Christmas than ever before,--by my own +fireside, and with my wife and children about me,--more content to enjoy +what I have,--less anxious for anything beyond it in this life. + +My early life was perhaps a good preparation for the declining half of +life; it having been such a blank that any thereafter would compare +favorably with it. For a long, long while, I have occasionally been +visited with a singular dream; and I have an impression that I have +dreamed it ever since I have been in England. It is, that I am still at +college,--or, sometimes, even at school,--and there is a sense that I +have been there unconscionably long, and have quite failed to make such +progress as my contemporaries have done; and I seem to meet some of them +with a feeling of shame and depression that broods over me as I think of +it, even when awake. This dream, recurring all through these twenty or +thirty years, must be one of the effects of that heavy seclusion in which +I shut myself up for twelve years after leaving college, when everybody +moved onward, and left me behind. How strange that it should come now, +when I may call myself famous and prosperous!--when I am happy, too! + + +January 3d, 1855.--The progress of the age is trampling over the +aristocratic institutions of England, and they crumble beneath it. This +war has given the country a vast impulse towards democracy. The nobility +will never hereafter, I think, assume or be permitted to rule the nation +in peace, or command armies in war, on any ground except the individual +ability which may appertain to one of their number, as well as to a +commoner. And yet the nobles were never positively more noble than now; +never, perhaps, so chivalrous, so honorable, so highly cultivated; but, +relatively to the rest of the world, they do not maintain their old +place. The pressure of the war has tested and proved this fact, at home +and abroad. At this moment it would be an absurdity in the nobles to +pretend to the position which was quietly conceded to them a year ago. +This one year has done the work of fifty ordinary ones; or, more +accurately, it has made apparent what has long been preparing itself. + + +January 6th.--The American ambassador called on me to-day and stayed a +good while,--an hour or two. He is visiting at Mr. William Browne's, at +Richmond Hill, having come to this region to bring his niece, who is to +be bride's-maid at the wedding of an American girl. I like Mr. ------. +He cannot exactly be called gentlemanly in his manners, there being a +sort of rusticity about him; moreover, he has a habit of squinting one +eye, and an awkward carriage of his head; hut, withal, a dignity in his +large person, and a consciousness of high position and importance, which +gives him ease and freedom. Very simple and frank in his address, he may +be as crafty as other diplomatists are said to be; but I see only good +sense and plainness of speech,--appreciative, too, and genial enough to +make himself conversable. He talked very freely of himself and of other +public people, and of American and English affairs. He returns to +America, he says, next October, and then retires forever from public +life, being sixty-four years of age, and having now no desire except to +write memoirs of his times, and especially of the administration of Mr. +Polk. I suggested a doubt whether the people would permit him to retire; +and he immediately responded to my hint as regards his prospects for the +Presidency. He said that his mind was fully made up, and that he would +never be a candidate, and that he had expressed this decision to his +friends in such a way as to put it out of his own power to change it. He +acknowledged that he should have been glad of the nomination for the +Presidency in 1852, but that it was now too late, and that he was too +old,--and, in short, he seemed to be quite sincere in his nolo +episcopari; although, really, he is the only Democrat, at this moment, +whom it would not be absurd to talk of for the office. As he talked, his +face flushed, and he seemed to feel inwardly excited. Doubtless, it was +the high vision of half his lifetime which he here relinquished. I +cannot question that he is sincere; but, of course, should the people +insist upon having him for President, he is too good a patriot to refuse. +I wonder whether he can have had any object in saying all this to me. He +might see that it would be perfectly natural for me to tell it to General +Pierce. But it is a very vulgar idea,--this of seeing craft and +subtlety, when there is a plain and honest aspect. + + +January 9th.--I dined at Mr. William Browne's (M. P.) last, evening with +a large party. The whole table and dessert service was of silver. +Speaking of Shakespeare, Mr. ------ said that the Duke of Somerset, who +is now nearly fourscore, told him that the father of John and Charles +Kemble had made all possible research into the events of Shakespeare's +life, and that he had found reason to believe that Shakespeare attended a +certain revel at Stratford, and, indulging too much in the conviviality +of the occasion, he tumbled into a ditch on his way home, and died there! +The Kemble patriarch was an aged man when he communicated this to the +Duke; and their ages, linked to each other; would extend back a good way; +scarcely to the beginning of the last century, however. If I mistake +not, it was from the traditions of Stratford that Kemble had learned the +above. I do not remember ever to have seen it in print,--which is most +singular. + +Miss L---- has an English rather than an American aspect,--being of +stronger outline than most of our young ladies, although handsomer than +English women generally, extremely self-possessed and well poised without +affectation or assumption, but quietly conscious of rank, as much so as +if she were an Earl's daughter. In truth, she felt pretty much as an +Earl's daughter would do towards the merchants' wives and daughters who +made up the feminine portion of the party. + +I talked with her a little, and found her sensible, vivacious, and +firm-textured, rather than soft and sentimental. She paid me some +compliments; but I do not remember paying her any. + +Mr. J-----'s daughters, two pale, handsome girls, were present. One of +them is to be married to a grandson of Mr. ------, who was also at the +dinner. He is a small young man, with a thin and fair mustache, . . . . +and a lady who sat next me whispered that his expectations are 6,000 +pounds per annum. It struck me, that, being a country gentleman's son, +he kept himself silent and reserved, as feeling himself too good for this +commercial dinner-party; but perhaps, and I rather think so, he was +really shy and had nothing to say, being only twenty-one, and therefore +quite a boy among Englishmen. The only man of cognizable rank present, +except Mr. ------ and the Mayor of Liverpool, was a Baronet, Sir Thomas +Birch. + + +January 17th.--S---- and I were invited to be present at the wedding of +Mr. J-------'s daughter this morning, but we were also bidden to the +funeral services of Mrs. G------, a young American lady; and we went to +the "house of mourning," rather than to the "house of feasting." Her +death was very sudden. I crossed to Rock Ferry on Saturday, and met her +husband in the boat. He said his wife was rather unwell, and that he had +just been sent for to see her; but he did not seem at all alarmed. And +yet, on reaching home, he found her dead! The body is to be conveyed to +America, and the funeral service was read over her in her house, only a +few neighbors and friends being present. We were shown into a darkened +room, where there was a dim gaslight burning, and a fire glimmering, and +here and there a streak of sunshine struggling through the drawn +curtains. Mr. G------ looked pale, and quite overcome with grief,--this, +I suppose, being his first sorrow,--and he has a young baby on his hands, +and no doubt, feels altogether forlorn in this foreign land. The +clergyman entered in his canonicals, and we walked in a little procession +into another room, where the coffin was placed. + +Mr. G------ sat down and rested his head on the coffin: the clergyman +read the service; then knelt down, as did most of the company, and prayed +with great propriety of manner, but with no earnestness,--and we +separated. + +Mr. G------ is a small, smooth, and pretty young man, not emphasized in +any way; but grief threw its awfulness about him to-day in a degree which +I should not have expected. + + +January 20th.--Mr. Steele, a gentleman of Rock Ferry, showed me this +morning a pencil-case formerly belonging to Dr. Johnson. It is six or +seven inches long, of large calibre, and very clumsily manufactured of +iron, perhaps plated in its better days, but now quite bare. Indeed, it +looks as rough as an article of kitchen furniture. The intaglio on the +end is a lion rampant. On the whole, it well became Dr. Johnson to have +used such a stalwart pencil-case. It had a six-inch measure on a part of +it, so that it must have been at least eight inches long. Mr. Steele +says he has seen a cracked earthen teapot, of large size, in which Miss +Williams used to make tea for Dr. Johnson. + +God himself cannot compensate us for being born for any period short of +eternity. All the misery endured here constitutes a claim for another +life, and, still more, all the happiness; because all true happiness +involves something more than the earth owns, and needs something more +than a mortal capacity for the enjoyment of it. + +After receiving an injury on the head, a person fancied all the rest of +his life that he heard voices flouting, jeering, and upbraiding him. + + +February 19th.--I dined with the Mayor at the Town Hall last Friday +evening. I sat next to Mr. W. J------, an Irish-American merchant, who +is in very good standing here. He told me that he used to be very well +acquainted with General Jackson, and that he was present at the street +fight between him and the Bentons, and helped to take General Jackson off +the ground. Colonel Benton shot at him from behind; but it was Jesse +Benton's ball that hit him and broke his arm. I did not understand him +to infer any treachery or cowardice from the circumstance of Colonel +Benton's shooting at Jackson from behind, but, suppose it occurred in the +confusion and excitement of a street fight. Mr. W. J------ seems to +think that, after all, the reconciliation between the old General and +Benton was merely external, and that they really hated one another as +before. I do not think so. + +These dinners of the Mayors are rather agreeable than otherwise, except +for the annoyance, in my case, of being called up to speak to a toast, +and that is less disagreeable than at first. The suite of rooms at the +Town House is stately and splendid, and all the Mayors, as far as I have +seen, exercise hospitality in a manner worthy of the chief magistrates of +a great city. They are supposed always to spend much more than their +salary (which is 2,000 pounds) in these entertainments. The town +provides the wines, I am told, and it might be expected that they should +be particularly good,--at least, those which improve by age, for a +quarter of a century should be only a moderate age for wine from the +cellars of centuries-long institutions, like a corporate borough. Each +Mayor might lay in a supply of the best vintage he could find, and trust +his good name to posterity to the credit of that wine; and so he would be +kindly and warmly remembered long after his own nose had lost its +rubicundity. In point of fact, the wines seem to be good, but not +remarkable. The dinner was good, and very handsomely served, with +attendance enough, both in the hall below--where the door was wide open +at the appointed hour, notwithstanding the cold--and at table; some +being in the rich livery of the borough, and some in plain clothes. +Servants, too, were stationed at various points from the hall to the +reception-room; and the last one shouted forth the name of the entering +guest. There were, I should think, about fifty guests at this dinner. +Two bishops were present. The Bishops of Chester and New South Wales, +dressed in a kind of long tunics, with black breeches and silk stockings, +insomuch that I first fancied they were Catholics. Also Dr. McNeil, in a +stiff-collared coat, looking more like a general than a divine. There +were two officers in blue uniforms; and all the rest of us were in black, +with only two white waistcoats,--my own being one,--and a rare sprinkling +of white cravats. How hideously a man looks in them! I should like to +have seen such assemblages as must have gathered in that reception-room, +and walked with stately tread to the dining-hall, in times past, the +Mayor and other civic dignitaries in their robes, noblemen in their state +dresses, the Consul in his olive-leaf embroidery, everybody in some sort +of bedizenment,--and then the dinner would have been a magnificent +spectacle, worthy of the gilded hall, the rich table-service, and the +powdered and gold-laced servitors. At a former dinner I remember seeing +a gentleman in small-clothes, with a dress-sword; but all formalities of +the kind are passing away. The Mayor's dinners, too, will no doubt be +extinct before many years go by. I drove home from the Woodside Ferry in +a cab with Bishop Burke and two other gentlemen. The Bishop is nearly +seven feet high. + +After writing the foregoing account of a civic banquet, where I ate +turtle-soup, salmon, woodcock, oyster patties, and I know not what else, +I have been to the News-room and found the Exchange pavement densely +thronged with people of all ages and of all manner of dirt and rags. +They were waiting for soup-tickets, and waiting very patiently too, +without outcry or disturbance, or even sour looks,--only patience and +meekness in their faces. Well, I don't know that they have a right to be +impatient of starvation; but, still there does seem to be an insolence of +riches and prosperity, which one day or another will have a downfall. +And this will be a pity, too. + +On Saturday I went with my friend Mr. Bright to Otterpool and to Larkhill +to see the skaters on the private waters of those two seats of gentlemen; +and it is a wonder to behold--and it is always a new wonder to me--how +comfortable Englishmen know how to make themselves; locating their +dwellings far within private grounds, with secure gateways and porters' +lodges, and the smoothest roads and trimmest paths, and shaven lawns, and +clumps of trees, and every bit of the ground, every hill and dell, made +the most of for convenience and beauty, and so well kept that even winter +cannot cause disarray; and all this appropriated to the same family for +generations, so that I suppose they come to believe it created +exclusively and on purpose for them. And, really, the result is good and +beautiful. It is a home,--an institution which we Americans have not; +but then I doubt whether anybody is entitled to a home in this world, in +so full a sense. + +The day was very cold, and the skaters seemed to enjoy themselves +exceedingly. They were, I suppose, friends of the owners of the grounds, +and Mr. Bright said they were treated in a jolly way, with hot luncheons. +The skaters practise skating more as an art, and can perform finer +manoeuvres on the ice, than our New England skaters usually can, though +the English have so much less opportunity for practice. A beggar-woman +was haunting the grounds at Otterpool, but I saw nobody give her +anything. I wonder how she got inside of the gate. + +Mr. W. J------ spoke of General Jackson as having come from the same part +of Ireland as himself, and perhaps of the same family. I wonder whether +he meant to say that the General was born in Ireland,--that having been +suspected in America. + + +February 21st.--Yesterday two companies of work-people came to our house +in Rock Park, asking assistance, being out of work and with no resource +other than charity. There were a dozen or more in each party. Their +deportment was quiet and altogether unexceptionable,--no rudeness, no +gruffness, nothing of menace. Indeed, such demonstrations would not have +been safe, as they were followed about by two policemen; but they really +seem to take their distress as their own misfortune and God's will, and +impute it to nobody as a fault. This meekness is very touching, and +makes one question the more whether they have all their rights. There +have been disturbances, within a day or two, in Liverpool, and shops have +been broken open and robbed of bread and money; but this is said to have +been done by idle vagabonds, and not by the really hungry work-people. +These last submit to starvation gently and patiently, as if it were an +every-day matter with them, or, at least, nothing but what lay fairly +within their horoscope. I suppose, in fact, their stomachs have the +physical habit that makes hunger not intolerable, because customary. If +they had been used to a full meat diet, their hunger would be fierce, +like that of ravenous beasts; but now they are trained to it. + +I think that the feeling of an American, divided, as I am, by the ocean +from his country, has a continual and immediate correspondence with the +national feeling at home; and it seems to be independent of any external +communication. Thus, my ideas about the Russian war vary in accordance +with the state of the public mind at home, so that I am conscious +whereabouts public sympathy is. + + +March 7th.--J----- and I walked to Tranmere, and passed an old house +which I suppose to be Tranmere Hall. Our way to it was up a hollow lane, +with a bank and hedge on each side, and with a few thatched stone +cottages, centuries old, their ridge-poles crooked and the stones +time-worn, scattered along. At one point there was a wide, deep well, +hewn out of the solid red freestone, and with steps, also hewn in solid +rock, leading down to it. These steps were much hollowed by the feet of +those who had come to the well; and they reach beneath the water, which +is very high. The well probably supplied water to the old cotters and +retainers of Tranmere Hall five hundred years ago. The Hall stands on +the verge of a long hill which stretches behind Tranmere and as far as +Birkenhead. + +It is an old gray stone edifice, with a good many gables, and windows +with mullions, and some of them extending the whole breadth of the gable. +In some parts of the house, the windows seem to have been built up; +probably in the days when daylight was taxed. The form of the Hall is +multiplex, the roofs sloping down and intersecting one another, so as to +make the general result indescribable. There were two sun-dials on +different sides of the house, both the dial-plates of which were of +stone; and on one the figures, so far as I could see, were quite worn +off, but the gnomon still cast a shadow over it in such a way that I +could judge that it was about noon. The other dial had some half-worn +hour-marks, but no gnomon. The chinks of the stones of the house were +very weedy, and the building looked quaint and venerable; but it is now +converted into a farm-house, with the farm-yard and outbuildings closely +appended. A village, too, has grown up about it, so that it seems out of +place among modern stuccoed dwellings, such as are erected for tradesmen +and other moderate people who have their residences in the neighborhood +of a great city. Among these there are a few thatched cottages, the +homeliest domiciles that ever mortals lived in, belonging to the old +estate. Directly across the street is a Wayside Inn, "licensed to sell +wine, spirits, ale, and tobacco." The street itself has been laid out +since the land grew valuable by the increase of Liverpool and Birkenhead; +for the old Hall would never have been built on the verge of a public +way. + + +March 27th.--I attended court to day, at St. George's Hall, with my wife, +Mr. Bright, and Mr. Channing, sitting in the High Sheriff's seat. It was +the civil side, and Mr. Justice Cresswell presided. The lawyers, as far +as aspect goes, seemed to me inferior to an American bar, judging from +their countenances, whether as intellectual men or gentlemen. Their wigs +and gowns do not impose on the spectator, though they strike him as an +imposition. Their date is past. Mr. Warren, of the "Ten Thousand a +Year," was in court,--a pale, thin, intelligent face, evidently a nervous +man, more unquiet than anybody else in court,--always restless in his +seat, whispering to his neighbors, settling his wig, perhaps with an idea +that people single him out. + +St. George's Hall--the interior hall itself, I mean--is a spacious, +lofty, and most rich and noble apartment, and very satisfactory. The +pavement is made of mosaic tiles, and has a beautiful effect. + + +April 7th.--I dined at Mr. J. P. Heywood's on Thursday, and met there Mr. +and Mrs. ------ of Smithell's Hall. The Hall is an old edifice of some +five hundred years, and Mrs. ------ says there is a bloody footstep at +the foot of the great staircase. The tradition is that a certain martyr, +in Bloody Mary's time, being examined before the occupant of the Hall, +and committed to prison, stamped his foot, in earnest protest against the +injustice with which he was treated. Blood issued from his foot, which +slid along the stone pavement, leaving a long footmark, printed in blood. +And there it has remained ever since, in spite of the scrubbings of all +succeeding generations. Mrs. ------ spoke of it with much solemnity, +real or affected. She says that they now cover the bloody impress with a +carpet, being unable to remove it. In the History of Lancashire, which I +looked at last night, there is quite a different account,--according to +which the footstep is not a bloody one, but is a slight cavity or +inequality in the surface of the stone, somewhat in the shape of a man's +foot with a peaked shoe. The martyr's name was George Marsh. He was a +curate, and was afterwards burnt. Mrs. ------ asked me to go and see the +Hall and the footmark; and as it is in Lancashire, and not a great way +off, and a curious old place, perhaps I may. + + +April 12th.--The Earl of ------, whom I saw the other day at St. George's +Hall, has a somewhat elderly look,--a pale and rather thin face, which +strikes one as remarkably short, or compressed from top to bottom. +Nevertheless, it has great intelligence, and sensitiveness too, I should +think, but a cold, disagreeable expression. I should take him to be a +man of not very pleasant temper,--not genial. He has no physical +presence nor dignity, yet one sees him to be a person of rank and +consequence. But, after all, there is nothing about him which it need +have taken centuries of illustrious nobility to produce, especially in a +man of remarkable ability, as Lord ------ certainly is. S-----, who +attended court all through the Hapgood trial, and saw Lord ------ for +hours together every day, has come to conclusions quite different from +mine. She thinks him a perfectly natural person, without any assumption, +any self-consciousness, any scorn of the lower world. She was delighted +with his ready appreciation and feeling of what was passing around him,-- +his quick enjoyment of a joke,--the simplicity and unaffectedness of his +emotion at whatever incidents excited his interest,--the genial +acknowledgment of sympathy, causing him to look round and exchange +glances with those near him, who were not his individual friends, but +barristers and other casual persons. He seemed to her all that a +nobleman ought to be, entirely simple and free from pretence and +self-assertion, which persons of lower rank can hardly help bedevilling +themselves with. I saw him only for a very few moments, so cannot put my +observation against hers, especially as I was influenced by what I had +heard the Liverpool people say of him. + +I do not know whether I have mentioned that the handsomest man I have +seen in England was a young footman of Mr. Heywood's. In his rich +livery, he was a perfect Joseph Andrews. + +In my Romance, the original emigrant to America may have carried away +with him a family secret, whereby it was in his power, had he so chosen, +to have brought about the ruin of the family. This secret he transmits +to his American progeny, by whom it is inherited throughout all the +intervening generations. At last, the hero of the Romance comes to +England, and finds, that, by means of this secret, he still has it in his +power to procure the downfall of the family. It would be something +similar to the story of Meleager, whose fate depended on the firebrand +that his mother had snatched from the flames. + + +April 24th.--On Saturday I was present at a dejeuner on board the Donald +McKay; the principal guest being Mr. Layard, M. P. There were several +hundred people, quite filling the between decks of the ship, which was +converted into a saloon for the occasion. I sat next to Mr. Layard, at +the head of the table, and so had a good opportunity of seeing and +getting acquainted with him. He is a man in early middle age,--of middle +stature, with an open, frank, intelligent, kindly face. His forehead is +not expansive, but is prominent in the perceptive regions, and retreats a +good deal. His mouth is full,--I liked him from the first. He was very +kind and complimentary to me, and made me promise to go and see him in +London. + +It would have been a very pleasant entertainment, only that my pleasure +in it was much marred by having to acknowledge a toast, in honor of the +President. However, such things do not trouble me nearly so much as they +used to do, and I came through it tolerably enough. Mr. Layard's speech +was the great affair of the day. He speaks with much fluency (though he +assured me that he had to put great force upon himself to speak +publicly), and, as he warms up, seems to engage with his whole moral and +physical man,--quite possessed with what he has to say. His evident +earnestness and good faith make him eloquent, and stand him instead of +oratorical graces. His views of the position of England and the +prospects of the war were as dark as well could be; and his speech was +exceedingly to the purpose, full of common-sense, and with not one word +of clap-trap. Judging from its effect upon the audience, he spoke the +voice of the whole English people,--although an English Baronet, who sat +next below me, seemed to dissent, or at least to think that it was not +exactly the thing for a stranger to hear. It concluded amidst great +cheering. Mr. Layard appears to be a true Englishman, with a moral force +and strength of character, and earnestness of purpose, and fulness of +common-sense, such as have always served England's turn in her past +successes; but rather fit for resistance than progress. No doubt, he is +a good and very able man; but I question whether he could get England out +of the difficulties which he sees so clearly, or could do much better +than Lord Palmerston, whom he so decries. + + +April 25th.--Taking the deposition of sailors yesterday, in a case of +alleged ill-usage by the officers of a vessel, one of the witnesses was +an old seaman of sixty. In reply to some testimony of his, the captain +said, "You were the oldest man in the ship, and we honored you as such." +The mate also said that he never could have thought of striking an old +man like that. Indeed, the poor old fellow had a kind of dignity and +venerableness about him, though he confessed to having been drunk, and +seems to have been a mischief-maker, what they call a sea-preacher,-- +promoting discontent and grumbling. He must have been a very handsome +man in his youth, having regular features of a noble and beautiful cast. +His beard was gray; but his dark hair had hardly a streak of white, and +was abundant all over his head. He was deaf, and seemed to sit in a kind +of seclusion, unless when loudly questioned or appealed to. Once he +broke forth from a deep silence thus, "I defy any man!" and then was +silent again. It had a strange effect, this general defiance, which he +meant, I suppose, in answer to some accusation that he thought was made +against him. His general behavior throughout the examination was very +decorous and proper; and he said he had never but once hitherto been +before a consul, and that was in 1819, when a mate had ill-used him, and, +"being a young man then, I gave him a beating,"--whereupon his face +gleamed with a quiet smile, like faint sunshine on an old ruin. "By many +a tempest has his beard been shook"; and I suppose he must soon go into a +workhouse, and thence, shortly, to his grave. He is now in a hospital, +having, as the surgeon certifies, some ribs fractured; but there does not +appear to have been any violence used upon him aboard the ship of such a +nature as to cause this injury, though he swears it was a blow from a +rope, and nothing else. What struck me in the case was the respect and +rank that his age seemed to give him, in the view of the officers; and +how, as the captain's expression signified, it lifted him out of his low +position, and made him a person to be honored. The dignity of his manner +is perhaps partly owing to the ancient mariner, with his long experience, +being an oracle among the forecastle men. + + +May 3d.--It rains to-day, after a very long period of east-wind and dry +weather. The east-wind here, blowing across the island, seems to be the +least damp of all the winds; but it is full of malice and mischief, of an +indescribably evil temper, and stabs one like a cold, poisoned dagger. I +never spent so disagreeable a spring as this, although almost every day +for a month has been bright. + + +Friday, May 11th.--A few weeks ago, a sailor, a most pitiable object, +came to my office to complain of cruelty from his captain and mate. They +had beaten him shamefully, of which he bore grievous marks about his face +and eyes, and bruises on his head and other parts of his person: and +finally the ship had sailed, leaving him behind. I never in my life saw +so forlorn a fellow, so ragged, so wretched; and even his wits seemed to +have been beaten out of him, if perchance he ever had any. He got an +order for the hospital; and there he has been, off and on, ever since, +till yesterday, when I received a message that he was dying, and wished +to see the Consul; so I went with Mr. Wilding to the hospital. We were +ushered into the waiting-room,--a kind of parlor, with a fire in the +grate, and a centre-table, whereon lay one or two medical journals, with +wood engravings; and there was a young man, who seemed to be an official +of the house, reading. Shortly the surgeon appeared,--a brisk, cheerful, +kindly sort of person, whom I have met there on previous visits. He told +us that the man was dying, and probably would not be able to communicate +anything, but, nevertheless, ushered us up to the highest floor, and into +the room where he lay. It was a large, oblong room, with ten or twelve +beds in it, each occupied by a patient. The surgeon said that the +hospital was often so crowded that they were compelled to lay some of the +patients on the floor. The man whom we came to see lay on his bed in a +little recess formed by a projecting window; so that there was a kind of +seclusion for him to die in. He seemed quite insensible to outward +things, and took no notice of our approach, nor responded to what was +said to him,--lying on his side, breathing with short gasps,--his +apparent disease being inflammation of the chest, although the surgeon +said that he might be found to have sustained internal injury by bruises. +he was restless, tossing his head continually, mostly with his eyes shut, +and much compressed and screwed up, but sometimes opening them; and then +they looked brighter and darker than when I first saw them. I think his +face was not at any time so stupid as at his first interview with me; but +whatever intelligence he had was rather inward than outward, as if there +might be life and consciousness at a depth within, while as to external +matters he was in a mist. The surgeon felt his wrist, and said that +there was absolutely no pulsation, and that he might die at any moment, +or might perhaps live an hour, but that there was no prospect of his +being able to communicate with me. He was quite restless, nevertheless, +and sometimes half raised himself in bed, sometimes turned himself quite +over, and then lay gasping for an instant. His woollen shirt being +thrust up on his arm, there appeared a tattooing of a ship and +anchor, and other nautical emblems, on both of them, which another +sailor-patient, on examining them, said must have been done years ago. +This might be of some importance, because the dying man had told me, when +I first saw him, that he was no sailor, but a farmer, and that, this +being his first voyage, he had been beaten by the captain for not doing a +sailor's duty, which he had had no opportunity of learning. These +sea-emblems indicated that he was probably a seaman of some years' +service. + +While we stood in the little recess, such of the other patients as were +convalescent gathered near the foot of the bed; and the nurse came and +looked on, and hovered about us,--a sharp-eyed, intelligent woman of +middle age, with a careful and kind expression, neglecting nothing that +was for the patient's good, yet taking his death as coolly as any other +incident in her daily business. Certainly, it was a very forlorn +death-bed; and I felt--what I have heretofore been inclined to doubt-- +that it might, be a comfort to have persons whom one loves, to go with us +to the threshold of the other world, and leave us only when we are fairly +across it. This poor fellow had a wife and two children on the other +side of the water. + +At first he did not utter any sound; but by and by he moaned a little, +and gave tokens of being more sensible to outward concerns,--not quite so +misty and dreamy as hitherto. We had been talking all the while--myself +in a whisper, but the surgeon in his ordinary tones--about his state, +without his paying any attention. But now the surgeon put his mouth down +to the man's face and said, "Do you know that you are dying?" At this +the patient's head began to move upon the pillow; and I thought at first +that it was only the restlessness that he had shown all along; but soon +it appeared to be an expression of emphatic dissent, a negative shake of +the head. He shook it with all his might, and groaned and mumbled, so +that it was very evident how miserably reluctant he was to die. Soon +after this he absolutely spoke. "O, I want you to get me well! I want +to get away from here!" in a groaning and moaning utterance. The +surgeon's question had revived him, but to no purpose; for, being told +that the Consul had come to see him, and asked whether he had anything to +communicate, he said only, "O, I want him to get me well!" and the whole +life that was left in him seemed to be unwillingness to die. This did +not last long; for he soon relapsed into his first state, only with his +face a little more pinched and screwed up, and his eyes strangely sunken. +And lost in his head; and the surgeon said that there would be no use in +my remaining. So I took my leave. Mr. Wilding had brought a deposition +of the man's evidence, which he had clearly made at the Consulate, for +him to sign, and this we left with the surgeon, in case there should be +such an interval of consciousness and intelligence before death as to +make it possible for him to sign it. But of this there is no +probability. + +I have just received a note from the hospital, stating that the sailor, +Daniel Smith, died about three quarters of an hour after I saw him. + + +May 18th.--The above-mentioned Daniel Smith had about him a bundle of +letters, which I have examined. They are all very yellow, stained with +sea-water, smelling of bad tobacco-smoke, and much worn at the folds. +Never were such ill-written letters, nor such incredibly fantastic +spelling. They seem to be from various members of his family,--most of +them from a brother, who purports to have been a deck-hand in the +coasting and steamboat trade between Charleston and other ports; others +from female relations; one from his father, in which he inquires how long +his son has been in jail, and when the trial is to come on,--the offence, +however, of which he was accused, not being indicated. But from the +tenor of his brother's letters, it would appear that he was a small +farmer in the interior of South Carolina, sending butter, eggs, and +poultry to be sold in Charleston by his brother, and receiving the +returns in articles purchased there. This was his own account of +himself; and he affirmed, in his deposition before me, that he had never +had any purpose of shipping for Liverpool, or anywhere else; but that, +going on board the ship to bring a man's trunk ashore, he was compelled +to remain and serve as a sailor. This was a hard fate, certainly, and a +strange thing to happen in the United States at this day,--that a free +citizen should be absolutely kidnapped, carried to a foreign country, +treated with savage cruelty during the voyage, and left to die on his +arrival. Yet all this has unquestionably been done, and will probably go +unpunished. + +The seed of the long-stapled cotton, now cultivated in America, was sent +there in 1786 from the Bahama Islands, by some of the royalist refugees, +who had settled there. The inferior short-stapled cotton had been +previously cultivated for domestic purposes. The seeds of every other +variety have been tried without success. The kind now grown was first +introduced into Georgia. Thus to the refugees America owes as much of +her prosperity as is due to the cotton-crops, and much of whatever harm +is to result from slavery. + + +May 22d.--Captain J------ says that he saw, in his late voyage to +Australia and India, a vessel commanded by an Englishman, who had with +him his wife and thirteen children. This ship was the home of the +family, and they had no other. The thirteen children had all been born +on board, and had been brought up on board, and knew nothing of dry land, +except by occasionally setting foot on it. + +Captain J------ is a very agreeable specimen of the American shipmaster, +--a pleasant, gentlemanly man, not at all refined, and yet with fine and +honorable sensibilities. Very easy in his manners and conversation, yet +gentle,--talking on freely, and not much minding grammar; but finding a +sufficient and picturesque expression for what he wishes to say; very +cheerful and vivacious; accessible to feeling, as yesterday, when talking +about the recent death of his mother. His voice faltered, and the tears +came into his eyes, though before and afterwards he smiled merrily, and +made us smile; fond of his wife, and carrying her about the world with +him, and blending her with all his enjoyments; an excellent and sagacious +man of business; liberal in his expenditure; proud of his ship and flag; +always well dressed, with some little touch of sailor-like flashiness, +but not a whit too much; slender in figure, with a handsome face, and +rather profuse brown beard and whiskers; active and alert; about +thirty-two. A daguerreotype sketch of any conversation of his would do +him no justice, for its slang, its grammatical mistakes, its mistaken +words (as "portable" for "portly"), would represent a vulgar man, whereas +the impression he leaves is by no means that of vulgarity; but he is a +character quite perfect within itself, fit for the deck and the cabin, +and agreeable in the drawing-room, though not amenable altogether to its +rules. Being so perfectly natural, he is more of a gentleman for those +little violations of rule, which most men, with his opportunities, might +escape. + +The men whose appeals to the Consul's charity are the hardest to be +denied are those who have no country,---Hungarians, Poles, Cubans, +Spanish-Americans, and French republicans. All exiles for liberty come +to me, if the representative of America were their representative. +Yesterday, came an old French soldier, and showed his wounds; to-day, a +Spaniard, a friend of Lopez,--bringing his little daughter with him. He +said he was starving, and looked so. The little girl was in good +condition enough, and decently dressed.--May 23d. + + +May 30th.--The two past days have been Whitsuntide holidays; and they +have been celebrated at Tranmere in a manner very similar to that of the +old "Election" in Massachusetts, as I remember it a good many years ago, +though the festival has now almost or quite died out. Whitsuntide was +kept up on our side of the water, I am convinced, under pretence of +rejoicings at the election of Governor. It occurred at precisely the +same period of the year,--the same week; the only difference being, that +Monday and Tuesday are the Whitsun festival days, whereas, in +Massachusetts, Wednesday was "Election day," and the acme of the +merry-making. + +I passed through Tranmere yesterday forenoon, and lingered awhile to see +the sports. The greatest peculiarity of the crowd, to my eye, was that +they seemed not to have any best clothes, and therefore had put on no +holiday suits,--a grimy people, as at all times, heavy, obtuse, with +thick beer in their blood. Coarse, rough-complexioned women and girls +were intermingled, the girls with no maiden trimness in their attire, +large and blowsy. Nobody seemed to have been washed that day. All the +enjoyment was of an exceedingly sombre character, so far as I saw it, +though there was a richer variety of sports than at similar festivals in +America. There were wooden horses, revolving in circles, to be ridden a +certain number of rounds for a penny; also swinging cars gorgeously +painted, and the newest named after Lord Raglan; and four cars balancing +one another, and turned by a winch; and people with targets and rifles,-- +the principal aim being to hit an apple bobbing on a string before the +target; other guns for shooting at the distance of a foot or two, for a +prize of filberts; and a game much in fashion, of throwing heavy sticks +at earthen mugs suspended on lines, three throws for a penny. Also, +there was a posture-master, showing his art in the centre of a ring of +miscellaneous spectators, and handing round his bat after going through +all his attitudes. The collection amounted to only one halfpenny, and, +to eke it out, I threw in three more. There were some large booths with +tables placed the whole length, at which sat men and women drinking and +smoking pipes; orange-girls, a great many, selling the worst possible +oranges, which had evidently been boiled to give them a show of +freshness. There were likewise two very large structures, the walls made +of boards roughly patched together, and rooted with canvas, which seemed +to have withstood a thousand storms. Theatres were there, and in front +there were pictures of scenes which were to be represented within; the +price of admission being twopence to one theatre, and a penny to the +other. But, small as the price of tickets was, I could not see that +anybody bought them. Behind the theatres, close to the board wall, and +perhaps serving as the general dressing-room, was a large windowed wagon, +in which I suppose the company travel and live together. Never, to my +imagination, was the mysterious glory that has surrounded theatrical +representation ever since my childhood brought down into such dingy +reality as this. The tragedy queens were the same coarse and homely +women and girls that surrounded me on the green. Some of the people had +evidently been drinking more than was good for them; but their +drunkenness was silent and stolid, with no madness in it. No ebullition +of any sort was apparent. + + +May 31st.--Last Sunday week, for the first time, I heard the note of the +cuckoo. "Cuck-oo--cuck-oo" it says, repeating the word twice, not in a +brilliant metallic tone, but low and flute-like, without the excessive +sweetness of the flute,--without an excess of saccharine juice in the +sound. There are said to be always two cuckoos seen together. The note +is very soft and pleasant. The larks I have not yet heard in the sky; +though it is not infrequent to hear one singing in a cage, in the streets +of Liverpool. + +Brewers' draymen are allowed to drink as much of their master's beverage +as they like, and they grow very brawny and corpulent, resembling their +own horses in size, and presenting, one would suppose, perfect pictures +of physical comfort and well-being. But the least bruise, or even the +hurt of a finger, is liable to turn to gangrene or erysipelas, and become +fatal. + +When the wind blows violently, however clear the sky, the English say, +"It is a stormy day." And, on the other hand, when the air is still, and +it does not actually rain, however dark and lowering the sky may be, they +say, "The weather is fine!" + + +June 2d.--The English women of the lower classes have a grace of their +own, not seen in each individual, but nevertheless belonging to their +order, which is not to be found in American women of the corresponding +class. The other day, in the police court, a girl was put into the +witness-box, whose native graces of this sort impressed me a good deal. +She was coarse, and her dress was none of the cleanest, and nowise smart. +She appeared to have been up all night, too, drinking at the Tranmere +wake, and had since ridden in a cart, covered up with a rug. She +described herself as a servant-girl, out of place; and her charm lay in +all her manifestations,--her tones, her gestures, her look, her way of +speaking and what she said, being so appropriate and natural in a girl of +that class; nothing affected; no proper grace thrown away by attempting +to appear lady-like,--which an American girl would have attempted,--and +she would also have succeeded in a certain degree. If each class would +but keep within itself, and show its respect for itself by aiming at +nothing beyond, they would all be more respectable. But this kind of +fitness is evidently not to be expected in the future; and something else +must be substituted for it. + +These scenes at the police court are often well worth witnessing. The +controlling genius of the court, except when the stipendiary magistrate +presides, is the clerk, who is a man learned in the law. Nominally the +cases are decided by the aldermen, who sit in rotation, but at every +important point there comes a nod or a whisper from the clerk; and it is +that whisper which sets the defendant free or sends him to prison. +Nevertheless, I suppose the alderman's common-sense and native shrewdness +are not without their efficacy in producing a general tendency towards +the right; and, no doubt, the decisions of the police court are quite as +often just as those of any other court whatever. + +June 11th.--I walked with J----- yesterday to Bebington Church. When I +first saw this church, nearly two years since, it seemed to me the +fulfilment of my ideal of an old English country church. It is not so +satisfactory now, although certainly a venerable edifice. There used +some time ago to be ivy all over the tower; and at my first view of it, +there was still a little remaining on the upper parts of the spire. But +the main roots, I believe, were destroyed, and pains were taken to clear +away the whole of the ivy, so that now it is quite bare,--nothing but +homely gray stone, with marks of age, but no beauty. The most curious +thing about the church is the font. It is a massive pile, composed of +five or six layers of freestone in an octagon shape, placed in the angle +formed by the projecting side porch and the wall of the church, and +standing under a stained-glass window. The base is six or seven feet +across, and it is built solidly up in successive steps, to the height of +about six feet,--an octagonal pyramid, with the basin of the font +crowning the pile hewn out of the solid stone, and about a foot in +diameter and the same in depth. There was water in it from the recent +rains,--water just from heaven, and therefore as holy as any water it +ever held in old Romish times. The aspect of this aged font is extremely +venerable, with moss in the basin and all over the stones; grass, and +weeds of various kinds, and little shrubs, rooted in the chinks of the +stones and between the successive steps. + +At each entrance of Rock Park, where we live, there is a small Gothic +structure of stone, each inhabited by a policeman and his family; very +small dwellings indeed, with the main apartment opening directly +out-of-doors; and when the door is open, one can see the household fire, +the good wife at work, perhaps the table set, and a throng of children +clustering round, and generally overflowing the threshold. The policeman +walks about the Park in stately fashion, with his silver-laced blue +uniform and snow-white gloves, touching his hat to gentlemen who reside +in the Park. In his public capacity he has rather an awful aspect, but +privately he is a humble man enough, glad of any little job, and of old +clothes for his many children, or, I believe, for himself. One of the +two policemen is a shoemaker and cobbler. His pay, officially, is +somewhere about a guinea a week. + +The Park, just now, is very agreeable to look at, shadowy with trees and +shrubs, and with glimpses of green leaves and flower-gardens through the +branches and twigs that line the iron fences. After a shower the +hawthorn blossoms are delightfully fragrant. Golden tassels of the +laburnum are abundant. + +I may have mentioned elsewhere the traditional prophecy, that, when the +ivy should reach the top of Bebbington spire, the tower was doomed to +fall. It lies still, therefore, a chance of standing for centuries. Mr. +Turner tells me that the font now used is inside of the church, but the +one outside is of unknown antiquity, and that it was customary, in +papistical time, to have the font without the church. + +There is a little boy often on board the Rock Ferry steamer with an +accordion,--an instrument I detest; but nevertheless it becomes tolerable +in his hands, not so much for its music, as for the earnestness and +interest with which he plays it. His body and the accordion together +become one musical instrument on which his soul plays tunes, for he sways +and vibrates with the music from head to foot and throughout his frame, +half closing his eyes and uplifting his face, as painters represent St. +Cecilia and other famous musicians; and sometimes he swings his accordion +in the air, as if in a perfect rapture. After all, my ears, though not +very nice, are somewhat tortured by his melodies, especially when +confined within the cabin. The boy is ten years old, perhaps, and rather +pretty; clean, too, and neatly dressed, very unlike all other street and +vagabond children whom I have seen in Liverpool. People give him their +halfpence more readily than to any other musicians who infest the boat. + +J-----, the other day, was describing a soldier-crab to his mother, he +being much interested in natural history, and endeavoring to give as +strong an idea as possible of its warlike characteristics, and power to +harm those who molest it. Little R----- sat by, quietly listening and +sewing, and at last, lifting her head, she remarked, "I hope God did not +hurt himself, when he was making him!" + + + +LEAMINGTON. + + +June 21st.--We left Rock Ferry and Liverpool on Monday the 18th by the +rail for this place; a very dim and rainy day, so that we had no pleasant +prospects of the country; neither would the scenery along the Great +Western Railway have been in any case very striking, though sunshine +would have made the abundant verdure and foliage warm and genial. But a +railway naturally finds its way through all the common places of a +country, and is certainly a most unsatisfactory mode of travelling, the +only object being to arrive. However, we had a whole carriage to +ourselves, and the children enjoyed the earlier part of the journey very +much. We skirted Shrewsbury, and I think I saw the old tower of a church +near the station, perhaps the same that struck Falstaff's "long hour." +As we left the town I saw the Wrekin, a round, pointed hill of regular +shape, and remembered the old toast, "To all friends round the Wrekin!" +As we approached Birmingham, the country began to look somewhat +Brummagemish, with its manufacturing chimneys, and pennons of flame +quivering out of their tops; its forges, and great heaps of mineral +refuse; its smokiness and other ugly symptoms. Of Birmingham itself we +saw little or nothing, except the mean and new brick lodging-houses, on +the outskirts of the town. Passing through Warwick, we had a glimpse of +the castle,--an ivied wall and two turrets, rising out of imbosoming +foliage; one's very idea of an old castle. We reached Leamington at a +little past six, and drove to the Clarendon Hotel,--a very spacious and +stately house, by far the most splendid hotel I have yet seen in England. +The landlady, a courteous old lady in black, showed my wife our rooms, +and we established ourselves in an immensely large and lofty parlor, with +red curtains and ponderous furniture, perhaps a very little out of date. +The waiter brought me the book of arrivals, containing the names of all +visitors for from three to five years back. During two years I estimated +that there had been about three hundred and fifty persons only, and while +we were there, I saw nobody but ourselves to support the great hotel. +Among the names were those of princes, earls, countesses, and baronets; +and when the people of the house heard from R-----'s nurse that I too was +a man of office, and held the title of Honorable in my own country, they +greatly regretted that I entered myself as plain "Mister" in the book. +We found this hotel very comfortable, and might doubtless have made it +luxurious, had we chosen to go to five times the expense of similar +luxuries in America; but we merely ordered comfortable things, and so +came off at no very extravagant rate,--and with great honor, at all +events, in the estimation of the waiter. + +During the afternoon we found lodgings, and established ourselves in them +before dark. + +This English custom of lodgings, of which we had some experience at Rhyl +last year, has its advantages; but is rather uncomfortable for strangers, +who, in first settling themselves down, find that they must undertake all +the responsibility of housekeeping at an instant's warming, and cannot +get even a cup of tea till they have made arrangements with the grocer. +Soon, however, there comes a sense of being at home, and by our exclusive +selves, which never can be attained at hotels nor boarding-houses. Our +house is well situated and respectably furnished, with the dinginess, +however, which is inseparable from lodging-houses,--as if others had used +these things before and would use them again after we had gone,--a +well-enough adaptation, but a lack of peculiar appropriateness; and I +think one puts off real enjoyment from a sense of not being truly fitted. + + +July 1st.--On Friday I took the rail with J----- for Coventry. It was a +bright and very warm day, oppressively so, indeed; though I think that +there is never in this English climate the pervading warmth of an +American summer day. The sunshine may be excessively hot, but an +overshadowing cloud or the shade of a tree or of a building at once +affords relief; and if the slightest breeze stirs, you feel the latent +freshness of the air. + +Coventry is some nine or ten miles from Leamington. The approach to it +from the railway presents nothing very striking,--a few church-towers, +and one or two tall steeples; and the houses first seen are of modern and +unnoticeable aspect. Getting into the interior of the town, however, you +find the streets very crooked, and some of them very narrow. I saw one +place where it seemed possible to shake hands from one jutting storied +old house to another. There were whole streets of the same kind of +houses, one story impending over another, such as used to be familiar to +me in Salem, and in some streets of Boston. In fact, the whole aspect of +the town--its irregularity and continual indirectness--reminded me very +much of Boston, as I used to see it, in rare visits thither, when a +child. + +These Coventry houses, however, many of them, are much larger than any of +similar style that I have seen elsewhere, and they spread into greater +bulk as they ascend, by means of one story jutting over the other. +Probably the New-Englanders continued to follow this fashion of +architecture after it had been abandoned in the mother country. The old +house built, by Philip English, in Salem, dated about 1692; and it was in +this style,--many gabled, and impending. Here the edifices of such +architecture seem to be Elizabethan, and of earlier date. A woman in +Stratford told us that the rooms, very low on the ground-floor, grew +loftier from story to story to the attic. The fashion of windows, in +Coventry, is such as I have not hitherto seen. In the highest story, a +window of the ordinary height extends along the whole breadth of the +house, ten, fifteen, perhaps twenty feet, just like any other window of a +commonplace house, except for this inordinate width. One does not easily +see what the inhabitants want of so much window-light; but the fashion is +very general, and in modern houses, or houses that have been modernized, +this style of window is retained. Thus young people who grow up amidst +old people contract quaint and old-fashioned manners and aspect. + +I imagine that these ancient towns--such as Chester and Stratford, +Warwick and Coventry--contain even a great deal more antiquity than meets +the eye. You see many modern fronts; but if you peep or penetrate +inside, you find an antique arrangement,--old rafters, intricate +passages, and ancient staircases, which have put on merely a new outside, +and are likely still to prove good for the usual date of a new house. +They put such an immense and stalwart ponderosity into their frameworks, +that I suppose a house of Elizabeth's time, if renewed, has at least an +equal chance of durability with one that is new in every part. All the +hotels in Coventry, so far as I noticed them, are old, with new fronts; +and they have an archway for the admission of vehicles into the +court-yard, and doors opening into the rooms of the building on each side +of the arch. Maids and waiters are seen darting across the arched +passage from door to door, and it requires a guide (in my case, at least) +to show you the way to the coffee-room or the bar. I have never been up +stairs in any of them, but can conceive of infinite bewilderment of +zigzag corridors between staircase and chamber. + +It was fair-day in Coventry, and this gave what no doubt is an unusual +bustle to the streets. In fact, I have not seen such crowded and busy +streets in any English town; various kinds of merchandise being for sale +in the open air, and auctioneers disposing of miscellaneous wares, pretty +much as they do at musters and other gatherings in the United States. +The oratory of the American auctioneer, however, greatly surpasses that +of the Englishman in vivacity and fun. But this movement and throng, +together with the white glow of the sun on the pavements, make the scene, +in my recollection, assume an American aspect, and this is strange in so +antique and quaint a town as Coventry. + +We rambled about without any definite aim, but found our way, I believe, +to most of the objects that are worth seeing. St. Michael's Church was +most magnificent,--so old, yet enduring; so huge, so rich; with such +intricate minuteness in its finish, that, look as long as you will at it, +you can always discover something new directly before your eyes. I +admire this in Gothic architecture,--that you cannot master it all at +once, that it is not a naked outline; but, as deep and rich as human +nature itself, always revealing new ideas. It is as if the builder had +built himself and his age up into it, and as if the edifice had life. +Grecian temples are less interesting to me, being so cold and +crystalline. I think this is the only church I have seen where there are +any statues still left standing in the niches of the exterior walls. We +did not go inside. The steeple of St. Michael's is three hundred and +three feet high, and no doubt the clouds often envelop the tip of the +spire. Trinity, another church with a tall spire, stands near St. +Michael's, but did not attract me so much; though I, perhaps, might have +admired it equally, had I seen it first or alone. We certainly know +nothing of church-building in America, and of all English things that I +have seen, methinks the churches disappoint me least. I feel, too, that +there is something much more wonderful in them than I have yet had time +to know and experience. + +In the course of the forenoon, searching about everywhere in quest of +Gothic architecture, we found our way into St. Mary's Hall. The doors +were wide open; it seemed to be public,--there was a notice on the wall +desiring visitors to give nothing to attendants for showing it, and so we +walked in. I observed, in the guide-books, that we should have obtained +an order for admission from some member of the town council; but we had +none, and found no need of it. An old woman, and afterwards an old man, +both of whom seemed to be at home on the premises, told us that we might +enter, and troubled neither themselves nor us any further. + +St. Mary's Hall is now the property of the Corporation of Coventry, and +seems to be the place where the Mayor and Council hold their meetings. +It was built by one of the old guilds or fraternities of merchants and +tradesmen The woman shut the kitchen door when I approached, so that I +did not see the great fireplaces and huge cooking-utensils which are said +to be there. Whether these are ever used nowadays, and whether the Mayor +of Coventry gives such hospitable banquets as the Mayor of Liverpool, I +do not know. + +We went to the Red Lion, and had a luncheon of cold lamb and cold +pigeon-pie. This is the best way of dining at English hotels,--to call +the meal a luncheon, in which case you will get as good or better a +variety than if it were a dinner, and at less than half the cost. Having +lunched, we again wandered about town, and entered a quadrangle of gabled +houses, with a church, and its churchyard on one side. This proved to be +St. John's Church, and a part of the houses were the locality of Bond's +Hospital, for the reception of ten poor men, and the remainder was +devoted to the Bablake School. Into this latter I peered, with a real +American intrusiveness, which I never found in myself before, but which I +must now assume, or miss a great many things which I am anxious to see. +Running along the front of the house, under the jut of the impending +story, there was a cloistered walk, with windows opening on the +quadrangle. An arched oaken door, with long iron hinges, admitted us +into a school-room about twenty feet square, paved with brick tiles, blue +and red. Adjoining this there is a larger school-room which we did not +enter, but peeped at, through one of the inner windows, from the +cloistered walk. In the room which we entered, there were seven +scholars' desks, and an immense arched fireplace, with seats on each +side, under the chimney, on a stone slab resting on a brick pedestal. +The opening of the fireplace was at least twelve feet in width. On one +side of the room were pegs for fifty-two boys' hats and clothes, and +there was a boy's coat, of peculiar cut, hanging on a peg, with the +number "50" in brass upon it. The coat looked ragged and shabby. An old +school-book was lying on one of the desks, much tattered, and without a +title; but it seemed to treat wholly of Saints' days and festivals of the +Church. A flight of stairs, with a heavy balustrade of carved oak, +ascended to a gallery, about eight or nine feet from the lower floor, +which runs along two sides of the room, looking down upon it. The room +is without a ceiling, and rises into a peaked gable, about twenty feet +high. There is a large clock in it, and it is lighted by two windows, +each about ten feet wide,--one in the gallery, and the other beneath it. +Two benches or settles, with backs, stood one on each side of the +fireplace. An old woman in black passed through the room while I was +making my observations, and looked at me, but said nothing. The school +was founded in 1563, by Thomas Whealby, Mayor of Coventry; the revenue is +about 900 pounds, and admits children of the working-classes at eleven +years old, clothes and provides for them, and finally apprentices them +for seven years. We saw some of the boys playing in the quadrangle, +dressed in long blue coats or gowns, with cloth caps on their heads. I +know not how the atmosphere of antiquity, and massive continuance +from age to age, which was the charm to me in this scene of a +charity school-room, can be thrown over it in description. After noting +down these matters, I looked into the quiet precincts of Bond's Hospital, +which, no doubt, was more than equally interesting; but the old men were +lounging about or lolling at length, looking very drowsy, and I had not +the heart nor the face to intrude among them. There is something +altogether strange to an American in these charitable institutions,--in +the preservation of antique modes and customs which is effected by them, +insomuch that, doubtless, without at all intending it, the founders have +succeeded in preserving a model of their own long-past age down into the +midst of ours, and how much later nobody can know. + +We were now rather tired, and went to the railroad, intending to go home; +but we got into the wrong train, and were carried by express, with +hurricane speed, to Bradon, where we alighted, and waited a good while +for the return train to Coventry. At Coventry again we had more than an +hour to wait, and therefore wandered wearily up into the city, and took +another look at its bustling streets, in which there seems to be a good +emblem of what England itself really is,--with a great deal of antiquity +in it, and which is now chiefly a modification of the old. The new +things are based and supported on the sturdy old things, and often +limited and impeded by them; but this antiquity is so massive that there +seems to be no means of getting rid of it without tearing society to +pieces. + + +July 2d.--To-day I shall set out on my return to Liverpool, leaving my +family here. + + + +TO THE LAKES. + + +July 4th.--I left Leamington on Monday, shortly after twelve, having been +accompanied to the railway station by U---- and J-----, whom I sent away +before the train started. While I was waiting, a rather gentlemanly, +well-to-do, English-looking man sat down by me, and began to talk of the +Crimea, of human affairs in general, of God and his Providence, of the +coming troubles of the world, and of spiritualism, in a strange free way +for an Englishman, or, indeed, for any man. It was easy to see that he +was an enthusiast of some line or other. He being bound for Birmingham +and I for Rugby, we soon had to part; but he asked my name, and told me +his own, which I did not much attend to, and immediately forgot. + +[Here follows a long account of a visit to Lichfield and Uttoxeter, +condensed in "Our Old Home."] + + +July 6th.--The day after my arrival, by way of Lichfield and Uttoxeter, +at Liverpool, the door of the Consulate opened, and in came the very +sociable personage who accosted me at the railway station at Leamington. +He was on his way towards Edinburgh, to deliver a course of lectures or a +lecture, and had called, he said, to talk with me about spiritualism, +being desirous of having the judgment of a sincere mind on the subject. +In his own mind, I should suppose, he is past the stage of doubt and +inquiry; for he told me that in every action of his life he is governed +by the counsels received from the spiritual world through a medium. I +did not inquire whether this medium (who is a small boy) had suggested +his visit to me. My remarks to him were quite of a sceptical character +in regard to the faith to which he had surrendered himself. He has +formerly lived in America, and had had a son born there. He gave me a +pamphlet written by himself, on the cure of consumption and other +diseases by antiseptic remedies. I hope he will not bore me any more, +though he seems to be a very sincere and good man; but these enthusiasts +who adopt such extravagant ideas appear to one to lack imagination, +instead of being misled by it, as they are generally supposed to be. + + + +NEWBY BRIDGE.--FOOT OF WINDERMERE. + + +July 13th.--I left Liverpool on Saturday last, by the London and +Northwestern Railway, for Leamington, spent Sunday there, and started on +Monday for the English lakes, with the whole family. We should not have +taken this journey just now, but I had an official engagement which it +was convenient to combine with a pleasure-excursion. The first night we +arrived at Chester, and put up at the Albion Hotel, where we found +ourselves very comfortable. We took the rail at twelve the next day, and +went as far as Milnethorpe station, where we engaged seats in an +old-fashioned stage-coach, and came to Newby Bridge. I suppose there are +not many of these coaches now running on any road in Great Britain; but +this appears to be the genuine machine, in all respects, and especially +in the round, ruddy coachman, well moistened with ale, good-natured, +courteous, and with a proper sense of his dignity and important position. +U----, J-----, and I mounted atop, S-----, nurse, and R----- got inside, +and we bowled off merrily towards the hearts of the hills. It was more +than half past nine when we arrived at Newby Bridge, and alighted at the +Swan Hotel, where we now are. + +It is a very agreeable place: not striking as to scenery, but with a +pleasant rural aspect. A stone bridge of five arches crosses the river +Severn (which is the communication between Windermere Lake and Morecambe +Bay) close to the house, which sits low--and well sheltered in the lap of +hills,--an old-fashioned inn, where the landlord and his people have a +simple and friendly way of dealing with their guests, and yet provide +them with all sorts of facilities for being comfortable. They load our +supper and breakfast tables with trout, cold beef, ham, toast, and +muffins; and give us three fair courses for dinner, and excellent wine, +the cost of all which remains to be seen. This is not one of the +celebrated stations among the lakes; but twice a day the stage-coach +passes from Milnethorpe towards Ulverton, and twice returns, and three +times a little steamer passes to and fro between our hotel and the head +of the lake. Young ladies, in broad-brimmed hats, stroll about, or row +on the river in the light shallops, of which there are abundance; +sportsmen sit on the benches under the windows of the hotel, arranging +their fishing-tackle; phaetons and post-chaises, with postilions in +scarlet jackets and white breeches, with one high-topped boot, and the +other leathered far up on the leg to guard against friction between the +horses, dash up to the door. Morning and night comes the stage-coach, +and we inspect the outside passengers, almost face to face with us, from +our parlor-windows, up one pair of stairs. Little boys, and J----- among +them, spend hours on hours fishing in the clear, shallow river for the +perch, chubs, and minnows that may be seen flashing, like gleams of light +over the flat stones with which the bottom is paved. I cannot answer for +the other boys, but J----- catches nothing. + +There are a good many trees on the hills and roundabout, and pleasant +roads loitering along by the gentle river-side, and it has been so sunny +and warm since we came here that we shall have quite a genial +recollection of the place, if we leave it before the skies have time to +frown. The day after we came, we climbed a high and pretty steep hill, +through a path shadowed with trees and shrubbery, up to a tower, from the +summit of which we had a wide view of mountain scenery and the greater +part of Windermere. This lake is a lovely little pool among the hills, +long and narrow, beautifully indented with tiny bays and headlands; and +when we saw it, it was one smile (as broad a smile as its narrowness +allowed) with really brilliant sunshine. All the scenery we have yet met +with is in excellent taste, and keeps itself within very proper bounds,-- +never getting too wild and rugged to shock the sensibilities of +cultivated people, as American scenery is apt to do. On the rudest +surface of English earth, there is seen the effect of centuries of +civilization, so that you do not quite get at naked Nature anywhere. And +then every point of beauty is so well known, and has been described so +much, that one must needs look through other people's eyes, and feels as +if he were seeing a picture rather than a reality. Man has, in short, +entire possession of Nature here, and I should think young men might +sometimes yearn for a fresher draught. But an American likes it. + + + +FURNESS ABBEY. + + +Yesterday, July 12th, we took a phaeton and went to Furness Abbey,--a +drive of about sixteen miles, passing along the course of the Leam to +Morecambe Bay, and through Ulverton and other villages. These villages +all look antique, and the smallest of them generally are formed of such +close, contiguous clusters of houses, and have such narrow and crooked +streets, that they give you an idea of a metropolis in miniature. The +houses along the road (of which there are not many, except in the +villages) are almost invariably old, built of stone, and covered with a +light gray plaster; generally they have a little flower-garden in front, +and, often, honeysuckles, roses, or some other sweet and pretty rustic +adornment, are flowering over the porch. I have hardly had such images +of simple, quiet, rustic comfort and beauty, as from the look of these +houses; and the whole impression of our winding and undulating road, +bordered by hedges, luxuriantly green, and not too closely clipped, +accords with this aspect. There is nothing arid in an English landscape; +and one cannot but fancy that the same may be true of English rural life. +The people look wholesome and well-to-do,--not specimens of hard, dry, +sunburnt muscle, like our yeomen,--and are kind and civil to strangers, +sometimes making a little inclination of the head in passing. Miss +Martineau, however, does not seem to think well of their mental and moral +condition. + +We reached Furness Abbey about twelve. There is a railway station close +by the ruins; and a new hotel stands within the precincts of the abbey +grounds; and continually there is the shriek, the whiz, the rumble, the +bell-ringing, denoting the arrival of the trains; and passengers alight, +and step at once (as their choice may be) into the refreshment-room, to +get a glass of ale or a cigar,--or upon the gravelled paths of the lawn, +leading to the old broken walls and arches of the abbey. The ruins are +extensive, and the enclosure of the abbey is stated to have covered a +space of sixty-five acres. It is impossible to describe them. The most +interesting part is that which was formerly the church, and which, though +now roofless, is still surrounded by walls, and retains the remnants of +the pillars that formerly supported the intermingling curves of the +arches. The floor is all overgrown with grass, strewn with fragments and +capitals of pillars. It was a great and stately edifice, the length of +the nave and choir having been nearly three hundred feet, and that of the +transept more than half as much. The pillars along the nave were +alternately a round, solid one and a clustered one. Now, what remains of +some of them is even with the ground; others present a stump just high +enough to form a seat; and others are, perhaps, a man's height from the +ground,--and all are mossy, and with grass and weeds rooted into their +chinks, and here and there a tuft of flowers, giving its tender little +beauty to their decay. The material of the edifice is a soft red stone, +and it is now extensively overgrown with a lichen of a very light gray +line, which, at a little distance, makes the walls look as if they had +long ago been whitewashed, and now had partially returned to their +original color. The arches of the nave and transept were noble and +immense; there were four of them together, supporting a tower which has +long since disappeared,--arches loftier than I ever conceived to have +been made by man. Very possibly, in some cathedral that I have seen, or +am yet to see, there may be arches as stately as these; but I doubt +whether they can ever show to such advantage in a perfect edifice as they +do in this ruin,--most of them broken, only one, as far as I recollect, +still completing its sweep. In this state they suggest a greater majesty +and beauty than any finished human work can show; the crumbling traces of +the half-obliterated design producing somewhat of the effect of the first +idea of anything admirable, when it dawns upon the mind of an artist or a +poet,--an idea which, do what he may, he is sure to fall short of in his +attempt to embody it. + +In the middle of the choir is a much-dilapidated monument of a +cross-legged knight (a crusader, of course) in armor, very rudely +executed; and, against the wall, lie two or three more bruised and +battered warriors, with square helmets on their heads and visors down. +Nothing can be uglier than these figures; the sculpture of those days +seems to have been far behind the architecture. And yet they knew how to +put a grotesque expression into the faces of their images, and we saw +some fantastic shapes and heads at the lower points of arches which would +do to copy into Punch. In the chancel, just at the point below where the +high altar stands, was the burial-place of the old Barons of Kendal. The +broken crusader, perhaps, represents one of them; and some of their +stalwart bones might be found by digging down. Against the wall of the +choir, near the vacant space where the altar was, are some stone seats +with canopies richly carved in stone, all quite perfectly preserved, +where the priests used to sit at intervals, during the celebration of +mass. Conceive all these shattered walls, with here and there an arched +door, or the great arched vacancy of a window; these broken stones and +monuments scattered about; these rows of pillars up and down the nave; +these arches, through which a giant might have stepped, and not needed to +bow his head, unless in reverence to the sanctity of the place,--conceive +it all, with such verdure and embroidery of flowers as the gentle, kindly +moisture of the English climate procreates on all old things, making them +more beautiful than new,--conceive it with the grass for sole pavement of +the long and spacious aisle, and the sky above for the only roof. The +sky, to be sure, is more majestic than the tallest of those arches; and +yet these latter, perhaps, make the stronger impression of sublimity, +because they translate the sweep of the sky to our finite comprehension. +It was a most beautiful, warm, sunny day, and the ruins had all the +pictorial advantage of bright light and deep shadows. I must not forget +that birds flew in and out among the recesses, and chirped and warbled, +and made themselves at home there. Doubtless, the birds of the present +generation are the posterity of those who first settled in the ruins, +after the Reformation; and perhaps the old monks of a still earlier day +may have watched them building about the abbey, before it was a ruin at +all. + +We had an old description of the place with us, aided by which we traced +out the principal part of the edifice, such as the church, as already +mentioned, and, contiguous to this, the Chapter-house, which is better +preserved than the church; also the kitchen, and the room where the monks +met to talk; and the range of wall, where their cells probably were. I +never before had given myself the trouble to form any distinct idea of +what an abbey or monastery was,--a place where holy rites were daily and +continually to be performed, with places to eat and sleep contiguous and +convenient, in order that the monks might always be at hand to perform +those rites. They lived only to worship, and therefore lived under the +same roof with their place of worship, which, of course, was the +principal object in the edifice, and hallowed the whole of it. We +found, too, at one end of the ruins, what is supposed to have been a +school-house for the children of the tenantry or villeins of the abbey. +All round this room is a bench of stone against the wall, and the +pedestal also of the master's seat. There are, likewise, the ruins of +the mill; and the mill-stream, which is just as new as ever it was, still +goes murmuring and babbling, and passes under two or three old bridges, +consisting of a low gray arch overgrown with grass and shrubbery. That +stream was the most fleeting and vanishing thing about the ponderous and +high-piled abbey; and yet it has outlasted everything else, and might +still outlast another such edifice, and be none the worse for wear. + +There is not a great deal of ivy upon the walls, and though an ivied wall +is a beautiful object, yet it is better not to have too much,--else it is +but one wall of unbroken verdure, on which you can see none of the +sculptural ornaments, nor any of the hieroglyphics of Time. A sweep of +ivy here and there, with the gray wall everywhere showing through, makes +the better picture; and I think that nothing is so effective as the +little bunches of flowers, a mere handful, that grow in spots where the +seeds have been carried by the wind ages ago. + +I have made a miserable botch of this description; it is no description, +but merely an attempt to preserve something of the impression it made on +me, and in this I do not seem to have succeeded at all. I liked the +contrast between the sombreness of the old walls, and the sunshine +falling through them, and gladdening the grass that floored the aisles; +also, I liked the effect of so many idle and cheerful people, strolling +into the haunts of the dead monks, and going babbling about, and peering +into the dark nooks; and listening to catch some idea of what the +building was from a clerical-looking personage, who was explaining it to +a party of his friends. I don't know how well acquainted this gentleman +might be with the subject; but he seemed anxious not to impart his +knowledge too extensively, and gave a pretty direct rebuff to an honest +man who ventured an inquiry of him. I think that the railway, and the +hotel within the abbey grounds, add to the charm of the place. A +moonlight solitary visit might be very good, too, in its way; but I +believe that one great charm and beauty of antiquity is, that we view it +out of the midst of quite another mode of life; and the more perfectly +this can be done, the better. It can never be done more perfectly than +at Furness Abbey, which is in itself a very sombre scene, and stands, +moreover, in the midst of a melancholy valley, the Saxon name of which +means the Vale of the Deadly Nightshade. + +The entrance to the stable-yard of the hotel is beneath a pointed arch of +Saxon architecture, and on one side of this stands an old building, +looking like a chapel, but which may have been a porter's lodge. The +Abbot's residence was in this quarter; and the clerical personage, before +alluded to, spoke of these as the oldest part of the ruins. + +About half a mile on the hither side of the abbey stands the village of +Dalton, in which is a castle built on a Roman foundation, and which was +afterwards used by the abbots (in their capacity of feudal lords) as a +prison. The abbey was founded about 1027 by King Stephen, before he came +to the throne; and the faces of himself and of his queen are still to be +seen on one of the walls. + +We had a very agreeable drive home (our drive hither had been +uncomfortably sunny and hot), and we stopped at Ulverton to buy a pair of +shoes for J----- and some drawing-books and stationery. As we passed +through the little town in the morning, it was all alive with the bustle +and throng of the weekly market; and though this had ceased on our +return, the streets still looked animated, because the heat of the day +drew most of the population, I should imagine, out of doors. Old men +look very antiquated here in their old-fashioned coats and breeches, +sunning themselves by the wayside. + +We reached home somewhere about eight o'clock,--home I see I have called +it; and it seems as homelike a spot as any we have found in England,--the +old inn, close by the bridge, beside the clear river, pleasantly +overshadowed by trees. It is entirely English, and like nothing that one +sees in America; and yet. I feel as if I might have lived here a long +while ago, and had now come back because I retained pleasant +recollections of it. The children, too, make themselves at home. J----- +spends his time from morning to night fishing for minnows or trout, and +catching nothing at all, and U---- and R----- have been riding between +fields and barn in a hay-cart. The roads give us beautiful walks along +the river-side, or wind away among the gentle hills; and if we had +nothing else to look at in these walks, the hedges and stone fences would +afford interest enough, so many and pretty are the flowers, roses, +honeysuckles, and other sweet things, and so abundantly does the moss and +ivy grow among the old stones of the fences, which would never have a +single shoot of vegetation on them in America till the very end of time. +But here, no sooner is a stone fence built, than Nature sets to work to +make it a part of herself. She adopts it and adorns it, as if it were +her own child. A little sprig of ivy may be seen creeping up the side, +and clinging fast with its many feet; a tuft of grass roots itself +between two of the stones, where a little dust from the road has been +moistened into soil for it: a small bunch of fern grows in another such +crevice; a deep, soft, green moss spreads itself over the top and all +along the sides of the fence; and wherever nothing else will grow, +lichens adhere to the stones and variegate their lines. Finally, a great +deal of shrubbery is sure to cluster along its extent, and take away all +hardness from the outline; and so the whole stone fence looks as if God +had had at least as much to do with it as man. The trunks of the trees, +too, exhibit a similar parasitical vegetation. Parasitical is an unkind +phrase to bestow on this beautiful love and kindness which seems to exist +here between one plant and another; the strong thing--being always ready +to give support and sustenance, and the weak thing to repay with beauty, +so that both are the richer,--as in the case of ivy and woodbine, +clustering up the trunk of a tall tree, and adding Corinthian grace to +its lofty beauty. + +Mr. W------, our landlord, has lent us a splendid work with engravings, +illustrating the antiquities of Furness Abbey. I gather from it that the +hotel must have been rebuilt or repaired from an old manor-house, which +was itself erected by a family of Prestons, after the Reformation, and +was a renewal from the Abbot's residence. Much of the edifice probably, +as it exists now, may have been part of the original one; and there are +bas-reliefs of Scripture subjects, sculptured in stone, and fixed in the +wall of the dining-room, which have been there since the Abbot's time. +This author thinks that what we had supposed to be the school-house (on +the authority of an old book) was really the building for the reception +of guests, with its chapel. He says that the tall arches in the church +are sixty feet high. The Earl of Burlington, I believe, is the present +proprietor of the abbey. + + + +THE LAKES. + + +July 16th.--On Saturday, we left Newby Bridge, and came by steamboat up +Windermere Lake to Lowwood Hotel, where we now are. The foot of the lake +is just above Newby Bridge, and it widens from that point, but never to +such a breadth that objects are not pretty distinctly visible from shore +to shore. The steamer stops at two or three places in the course of its +voyage, the principal one being Bowness, which has a little bustle and +air of business about it proper to the principal port of the lake. There +are several small yachts, and many skiffs rowing about. The banks are +everywhere beautiful, and the water, in one portion, is strewn with +islands; few of which are large enough to be inhabitable, but they all +seem to be appropriated, and kept in the neatest order. As yet, I have +seen no wildness; everything is perfectly subdued and polished and imbued +with human taste, except, indeed, the outlines of the hills, which +continue very much the same as God made them. As we approached the head +of the lake, the congregation of great hills in the distance became very +striking. The shapes of these English mountains are certainly far more +picturesque than those which I have seen in Eastern America, where their +summits are almost invariably rounded, as I remember them. They are +great hillocks, great bunches of earth, similar to one another in their +developments. Here they have variety of shape, rising into peaks, +falling in abrupt precipices, stretching along in zigzag outlines, and +thus making the most of their not very gigantic masses, and producing a +remarkable effect. + +We arrived at the Lowwood Hotel, which is very near the head of the lake, +not long after two o'clock. It stands almost on the shore of Windermere, +with only a green lawn between,--an extensive hotel, covering a good deal +of ground; but low, and rather village-inn-like than lofty. We found the +house so crowded as to afford us no very comfortable accommodations, +either as to parlor or sleeping-rooms, and we find nothing like the +home-feeling into which we at once settled down at Newby Bridge. There +is a very pretty vicinity, and a fine view of mountains to the northwest, +sitting together in a family group, sometimes in full sunshine, sometimes +with only a golden gleam on one or two of them, sometimes all in a veil +of cloud, from which here and there a great, dusky head raises itself, +while you are looking at a dim obscurity. Nearer, there are high, green +slopes, well wooded, but with such decent and well-behaved wood as you +perceive has grown up under the care of man; still no wildness, no +ruggedness,--as how should there be, when, every half-mile or so, a +porter's lodge or a gentleman's gateway indicates that the whole region +is used up for villas. On the opposite shore of the lake there is a +mimic castle, which I suppose I might have mistaken for a real one two +years ago. It is a great, foolish toy of gray stone. + +A steamboat comes to the pier as many as six times a day, and +stage-coaches and omnibuses stop at the door still oftener, communicating +with Ambleside and the town of Windermere, and with the railway, which +opens London and all the world to us. We get no knowledge of our +fellow-guests, all of whom, like ourselves, live in their own circles, +and are just as remote from us as if the lake lay between. The only +words I have spoken since arriving here have been to my own family or to +a waiter, save to one or two young pedestrians who met me on a walk, and +asked me the distance to Lowwood Hotel. "Just beyond here," said I, and +I might stay for months without occasion to speak again. + +Yesterday forenoon J----- and I walked to Ambleside,--distant barely two +miles. It is a little town, chiefly of modern aspect, built on a very +uneven hillside, and with very irregular streets and lanes, which +bewilder the stranger as much as those of a larger city. Many of the +houses look old, and are probably the cottages and farm-houses which +composed the rude village a century ago; but there are stuccoed shops and +dwellings, such as may have been built within a year or two; and three +hotels, one of which has the look of a good old village inn; and the +others are fashionable or commercial establishments. Through the midst +of the village comes tumbling and rumbling a mountain streamlet, rushing +through a deep, rocky dell, gliding under an old stone inch, and turning, +when occasion calls, the great block of a water-mill. This is the only +very striking feature of the village,--the stream taking its rough +pathway to the lake as it used to do before the poets had made this +region fashionable. + +In the evening, just before eight o'clock, I took a walk alone, by a road +which goes up the hill, back of our hotel, and which I supposed might be +the road to the town of Windermere. But it went up higher and higher, +and for the mile or two that it led me along, winding up, I saw no traces +of a town; but at last it turned into a valley between two high ridges, +leading quite away from the lake, within view of which the town of +Windermere is situated. It was a very lonely road, though as smooth, +hard, and well kept as any thoroughfare in the suburbs of a city; hardly +a dwelling on either side, except one, half barn, half farm-house, and +one gentleman's gateway, near the beginning of the road, and another more +than a mile above. At, two or three points there were stone barns, which +are here built with great solidity. At one place there was a painted +board, announcing that a field of five acres was to be sold, and +referring those desirous of purchasing to a solicitor in London. The +lake country is but a London suburb. Nevertheless, the walk was lonely +and lovely; the copses and the broad hillside, the glimpses of the lake, +the great misty company of pikes and fells, beguiled me into a sense of +something like solitude; and the bleating of the sheep, remote and near, +had a like tendency. Gaining the summit of the hill, I had the best view +of Windermere which I have yet attained,--the best, I should think, that +can be had, though, being towards the south, it brings the softer instead +of the more striking features of the landscape into view. But it shows +nearly the whole extent of the lake, all the way from Lowwood, beyond +Newby Bridge, and I think there can hardly be anything more beautiful in +the world. The water was like a strip and gleam of sky, fitly set among +lovely slopes of earth. It was no broader than many a river, and yet you +saw at once that it could be no river, its outline being so different +from that of a running stream, not straight nor winding, but stretching +to one side or the other, as the shores made room for it. + +This morning it is raining, and we are not very comfortable nor +contented, being all confined to our little parlor, which has a broken +window, against which I have pinned The Times to keep out the chill damp +air. U---- has been ill, in consequence of having been overheated at +Newby Bridge. We have no books, except guide-books, no means of +amusement, nothing to do. There are no newspapers, and I shall remember +Lowwood not very agreeably. As far as we are concerned, it is a +scrambling, ill-ordered hotel, with insufficient attendance, wretched +sleeping-accommodations, a pretty fair table, but German-silver forks +and spoons; our food does not taste very good, and yet there is really no +definite fault to be found with it. + +Since writing the above, I have found the first volume of Sir Charles +Grandison, and two of G. P. R. James's works, in the coffee-room. The +days pass heavily here, and leave behind them a sense of having answered +no very good purpose. They are long enough, at all events, for the sun +does not set till after eight o'clock, and rises I know not when. One of +the most remarkable distinctions between England and the United States is +the ignorance into which we fall of whatever is going on in the world the +moment we get away from the great thoroughfares and centres of life. In +Leamington we heard no news from week's end to week's end, and knew not +where to find a newspaper; and here the case is neither better nor worse. +The rural people really seem to take no interest in public affairs; at +all events, they have no intelligence on such subjects. It is possible +that the cheap newspapers may, in time, find their way into the cottages, +or, at least, into the country taverns; but it is not at all so now. If +they generally know that Sebastopol is besieged, it is the extent of +their knowledge. The public life of America is lived through the mind +and heart of every man in it; here the people feel that they have nothing +to do with what is going forward, and, I suspect, care little or nothing +about it. Such things they permit to be the exclusive concern of the +higher classes. + +In front of our hotel, on the lawn between us and the lake, there are two +trees, which we have hitherto taken to be yews; but on examining them +more closely, I find that they are pine-trees, and quite dead and dry, +although they have the aspect of dark rich life. But this is caused by +the verdure of two great ivy-vines, which have twisted round them like +gigantic snakes, and, clambering up and throttling the life out of them, +have put out branches, and made crowns of thick green leaves, so that, at +a little distance, it is quite impossible not to take them for genuine +trees. The trunks of the ivy-vines must be more than a foot in +circumference, and one feels they have stolen the life that belonged to +the pines. The dead branches of one of the pines stick out horizontally +through the ivy-boughs. The other shows nothing but the ivy, and in +shape a good deal resembles a poplar. When the pine trunks shall have +quite crumbled away, the ivy-stems will doubtless have gained sufficient +strength to sustain themselves independently. + + +July 19th.--Yesterday S----- went down the lake in the steamboat to take +U----, baby, and nurse to Newby Bridge, while the three rest of us should +make a tour through the lake region. After mamma's departure, and when I +had finished some letters, J----- and I set out on a walk, which finally +brought us to Bowness, through much delightful shade of woods, and past +beautiful rivulets or brooklets, and up and down many hills. This chief +harbor of the lakes seemed alive and bustling with tourists, it being a +sunny and pleasant day, so that they were all abroad, like summer +insects. The town is a confused and irregular little place, of very +uneven surface. There is an old church in it, and two or three large +hotels. We stayed there perhaps half an hour, and then went to the pier, +where shortly a steamer arrived, with music sounding,--on the deck of +which, with her back to us, sat a lady in a gray travelling-dress. +J----- cried out, "Mamma! mamma!" to which the lady deigned no notice, +but, he repeating it, she turned round, and was as much surprised, no +doubt, to see her husband and son, as if this little lake had been the +great ocean, and we meeting each other from opposite shores of it. We +soon steamed back to Lowwood, and took a car thence for Rydal and +Grasmere, after a cold luncheon. At Bowness I met Miss Charlotte +Cushman, who has been staying at the Lowwood Hotel with us since Monday, +without either party being aware of it. + +Our road to Rydal lay through Ambleside, which is certainly a very pretty +town, and looks cheerfully in a sunny day. We saw Miss Martineau's +residence, called "The Knoll," standing high up on a hillock, and having +at its foot a Methodist chapel, for which, or whatever place of Christian +worship, this good lady can have no occasion. We stopped a moment in the +street below her house, and deliberated a little whether to call on her; +but concluded we would not. + +After leaving Ambleside, the road winds in and out among the hills, and +soon brings us to a sheet (or napkin, rather than a sheet) of water, +which the driver tells us is Rydal Lake! We had already heard that it +was but three quarters of a mile long, and one quarter broad; still, it +being an idea of considerable size in our minds, we had inevitably drawn +its ideal, physical proportions on a somewhat corresponding scale. It +certainly did look very small; and I said, in my American scorn, that I +could carry it away easily in a porringer; for it is nothing more than a +grass-bordered pool among the surrounding hills which ascend directly +from its margin; so that one might fancy it, not, a permanent body of +water, but a rather extensive accumulation of recent rain. Moreover, it +was rippled with a breeze, and so, as I remember it, though the sun +shone, it looked dull and sulky, like a child out of humor. Now, the +best thing these small ponds can do is to keep perfectly calm and smooth, +and not attempt to show off any airs of their own, but content themselves +with serving as a mirror for whatever of beautiful or picturesque there +may be in the scenery around them. The hills about Rydal Water are not +very lofty, but are sufficiently so as objects of every-day view,-- +objects to live with; and they are craggier than those we have hitherto +seen, and bare of wood, which indeed would hardly grow on some of their +precipitous sides. + +On the roadside, as we reach the foot of the lake, stands a spruce and +rather large house of modern aspect, but with several gables and much +overgrown with ivy,--a very pretty and comfortable house, built, adorned, +and cared for with commendable taste. We inquired whose it was, and the +coachman said it was "Mr. Wordsworth's," and that "Mrs. Wordsworth was +still residing there." So we were much delighted to have seen his abode, +and as we were to stay the night at Grasmere, about two miles farther on, +we determined to come back and inspect it as particularly as should be +allowable. Accordingly, after taking rooms at Brown's Hotel, we drove +back in our return car, and, reaching the head of Rydal Water, alighted +to walk through this familiar scene of so many years of Wordsworth's +life. We ought to have seen De Quincey's former residence and Hartley +Coleridge's cottage, I believe, on our way, but were not aware of it at +the time. Near the lake there is a stone-quarry, and a cavern of some +extent, artificially formed, probably by taking out the stone. Above the +shore of the lake, not a great way from Wordsworth's residence, there is +a flight of steps hewn in a rock and ascending to a rock seat where a +good view of the lake may be attained; and, as Wordsworth has doubtless +sat there hundreds of times, so did we ascend and sit down, and look at +the hills and at the flags on the lake's shore. + +Reaching the house that had been pointed out to us as Wordsworth's +residence, we began to peer about at its front and gables, and over the +garden wall, on both sides of the road, quickening our enthusiasm as much +as we could, and meditating to pilfer some flower or ivy-leaf from the +house or its vicinity, to be kept as sacred memorials. At this juncture +a man approached, who announced himself as the gardener of the place, and +said, too, that this was not Wordsworth's house at all, but the residence +of Mr. Ball, a Quaker gentleman; but that his ground adjoined +Wordsworth's, and that he had liberty to take visitors through the +latter. How absurd it would have been if we had carried away ivy-leaves +and tender recollections from this domicile of a respectable Quaker! The +gardener was an intelligent man, of pleasant, sociable, and respectful +address; and as we went along he talked about the poet, whom he had +known, and who, he said, was very familiar with the country people. He +led us through Mr. Ball's grounds, up a steep hillside, by winding, +gravelled walks, with summer-houses at points favorable for them. It was +a very shady and pleasant spot, containing about an acre of ground, and +all turned to good account by the manner of laying it out; so that it +seemed more than it really is. In one place, on a small, smooth slab of +slate, let into a rock, there is an inscription by Wordsworth, which I +think I have read in his works, claiming kindly regards from those who +visit the spot after his departure, because many trees had been spared at +his intercession. His own grounds, or rather his ornamental garden, is +separated from Mr. Ball's only by a wire fence, or some such barrier, and +the gates have no fastening, so that the whole appears like one +possession, and doubtless was so as regarded the poet's walks and +enjoyments. We approached by paths so winding that I hardly know how the +house stands in relation to the road; but, after much circuity, we really +did see Wordsworth's residence,--an old house with an uneven ridge-pole, +built of stone, no doubt, but plastered over with some neutral tint,--a +house that would not have been remarkably pretty in itself, but so +delightfully situated, so secluded, so hedged about with shrubbery, and +adorned with flowers, so ivy-grown on one side, so beautified with the +personal care of him who lived in it and loved it, that it seemed the +very place for a poet's residence; and as if, while he lived so long in +it, his poetry had manifested itself in flowers, shrubbery, and ivy. I +never smelt such a delightful fragrance of flowers as there was all +through the garden. In front of the house there is a circular terrace of +two ascents, in raising which Wordsworth had himself performed much of +the labor; and here there are seats, from which we obtained a fine view +down the valley of the Rothay, with Windermere in the distance,--a view +of several miles, and which we did not suppose could be seen, after +winding among the hills so far from the lake. It is very beautiful and +picture-like. While we sat here, S----- happened to refer to the ballad +of little Barbara Lewthwaite, and J----- began to repeat the poem +concerning her, and the gardener said that "little Barbara" had died not +a great while ago, an elderly woman, leaving grown-up children behind +her. Her marriage-name was Thompson, and the gardener believed there was +nothing remarkable in her character. + +There is a summer-house at one extremity of the grounds, in deepest +shadow, but with glimpses of mountain views through trees which shut it +in, and which have spread intercepting boughs since Wordsworth died. It +is lined with pine-cones, in a pretty way enough, but of doubtful taste. +I rather wonder that people of real taste should help Nature out, and +beautify her, or perhaps rather prettify her so much as they do,--opening +vistas, showing one thing, hiding another, making a scene picturesque, +whether or no. I cannot rid myself of the feeling that there is +something false--a kind of humbug--in all this. At any rate, the traces +of it do not contribute to my enjoyment, and, indeed, it ought to be done +so exquisitely as to leave no trace. But I ought not to criticise in any +way a spot which gave me so much pleasure, and where it is good to think +of Wordsworth in quiet, past days, walking in his home-shadow of trees +which he knew, and training flowers, and trimming shrubs, and chanting in +an undertone his own verses up and down the winding walks. + +The gardener gave J----- a cone from the summer-house, which had fallen +on the seat, and S----- got some mignonette, and leaves of laurel and ivy, +and we wended our way back to the hotel. Wordsworth was not the owner of +this house; it being the property of Lady Fleming. Mrs. Wordsworth still +lives there, and is now at home. + +Five o'clock.---All day it has been cloudy and showery, with thunder now +and then; the mists hang low on the surrounding hills, adown which, at +various points, we can see the snow-white fall of little streamlets +("forces" they call them here) swollen by the rain. An overcast day is +not so gloomy in the hill-country as in the lowlands; there are more +breaks, more transfusion of skylight through the gloom, as has been the +case to-day, and as I found in Lenox; we get better acquainted with +clouds by seeing at what height they be on the hillsides, and find that +the difference betwixt a fair day and a cloudy and rainy one is very +superficial, after all. Nevertheless, rain is rain, and wets a man just +as much among the mountains as anywhere else; so we have been kept within +doors all day, till an hour or so ago, when J----- and I went down to the +village in quest of the post-office. + +We took a path that leads from the hotel across the fields, and, coming +into a wood, crosses the Rothay by a one-arched bridge and passes the +village church. The Rothay is very swift and turbulent to-day, and +hurries along with foam-specks on its surface, filling its banks from +brim to brim,--a stream perhaps twenty feet wide, perhaps more; for I am +willing that the good little river should have all it can fairly claim. +It is the St. Lawrence of several of these English lakes, through which +it flows, and carries off their superfluous waters. In its haste, and +with its rushing sound, it was pleasant both to see and hear; and it +sweeps by one side of the old churchyard where Wordsworth lies buried,--- +the side where his grave is made. The church of Grasmere is a very plain +structure, with a low body, on one side of which is a small porch with a +pointed arch. The tower is square and looks ancient; but the whole is +overlaid with plaster of a buff or pale yellow hue. It was originally +built, I suppose, of rough shingly stones, as many of the houses +hereabouts are now, and, like many of them, the plaster is used to give a +finish. We found the gate of the churchyard wide open; and the grass was +lying on the graves, having probably been mowed yesterday. It is but a +small churchyard, and with few monuments of any pretension in it, most of +them being slate headstones, standing erect. From the gate at which we +entered, a distinct foot-track leads to the corner nearest the riverside, +and I turned into it by a sort of instinct, the more readily as I saw a +tourist-looking man approaching from that point, and a woman looking +among the gravestones. Both of these persons had gone by the time I came +up, so that J----- and I were left to find Wordsworth's grave all by +ourselves. + +At this corner of the churchyard there is a hawthorn bush or tree, the +extremest branches of which stretch as far as where Wordsworth lies. +This whole corner seems to be devoted to himself and his family and +friends; and they all lie very closely together, side by side, and head +to foot, as room could conveniently be found. Hartley Coleridge lies a +little behind, in the direction of the church, his feet being towards +Wordsworth's head, who lies in the row of those of his own blood. I +found out Hartley Coleridge's grave sooner than Wordsworth's; for it is +of marble, and, though simple enough, has more of sculptured device about +it, having been erected, as I think the inscription states, by his +brother and sister. Wordsworth has only the very simplest slab of slate, +with "William Wordsworth" and nothing else upon it. As I recollect it, +it is the midmost grave of the row. It is or has been well grass-grown, +but the grass is quite worn away from the top, though sufficiently +luxuriant at the sides. It looks as if people had stood upon it, and so +does the grave next to it, which I believe is one of his children. I +plucked some grass and weeds from it, and as he was buried within so few +years they may fairly be supposed to have drawn their nutriment from his +mortal remains, and I gathered them from just above his head. There is +no fault to be found with his grave,--within view of the hills, within +sound of the river, murmuring near by,--no fault except that he is +crowded so closely with his kindred; and, moreover, that, being so old a +churchyard, the earth over him must all have been human once. He might +have had fresh earth to himself; but he chose this grave deliberately. +No very stately and broad-based monument can ever be erected over it +without infringing upon, covering, and overshadowing the graves, not only +of his family, but of individuals who probably were quite disconnected +with him. But it is pleasant to think and know--were it but on the +evidence of this choice of a resting-place--that he did not care for a +stately monument. + +After leaving the churchyard, we wandered about in quest of the +post-office, and for a long time without success. This little town of +Grasmere seems to me as pretty a place as ever I met with in my life. It +is quite shut in by hills that rise up immediately around it, like a +neighborhood of kindly giants. These hills descend steeply to the verge +of the level on which the village stands, and there they terminate at +once, the whole site of the little town being as even as a floor. I call +it a village; but it is no village at all,--all the dwellings standing +apart, each in its own little domain, and each, I believe, with its own +little lane leading to it, independently of the rest. Most of these are +old cottages, plastered white, with antique porches, and roses and other +vines trained against them, and shrubbery growing about them; and some +are covered with ivy. There are a few edifices of more pretension and of +modern build, but not so strikingly so as to put the rest out of +countenance. The post-office, when we found it, proved to be an ivied +cottage, with a good deal of shrubbery round it, having its own pathway, +like the other cottages. The whole looks like a real seclusion, shut out +from the great world by these encircling hills, on the sides of which, +whenever they are not too steep, you see the division lines of property, +and tokens of cultivation,--taking from them their pretensions to savage +majesty, but bringing them nearer to the heart of man. + +Since writing the above, I have been again with S----- to see +Wordsworth's grave, and, finding the door of the church open, we went in. +A woman and little girl were sweeping at the farther end, and the woman +came towards us out of the cloud of dust which she had raised. We were +surprised at the extremely antique appearance of the church. It is +paved with bluish-gray flagstones, over which uncounted generations have +trodden, leaving the floor as well laid as ever. The walls are very +thick, and the arched windows open through them at a considerable +distance above the floor. There is no middle aisle; but first a row of +pews next either wall, and then an aisle on each side of the pews, +occupying the centre of the church,--then, two side aisles, but no +middle one. And down through the centre or the church runs a row of +five arches, very rude and round-headed, all of rough stone, supported +by rough and massive pillars, or rather square, stone blocks, which +stand in the pews, and stood in the same places probably, long before +the wood of those pews began to grow. Above this row of arches is +another row, built upon the same mass of stone, and almost as broad, but +lower; and on this upper row rests the framework, the oaken beams, the +black skeleton of the roof. It is a very clumsy contrivance for +supporting the roof, and if it were modern, we certainly should condemn +it as very ugly; but being the relic of a simple age it comes in well +with the antique simplicity of the whole structure. The roof goes up, +barn-like, into its natural angle, and all the rafters and cross-beams +are visible. There is an old font; and in the chancel is a niche, +where (judging from a similar one in Furness Abbey) the holy water used +to be placed for the priest's use while celebrating mass. Around the +inside of the porch is a stone bench, against the wall, narrow and +uneasy, but where a great many people had sat, who now have found +quieter resting-places. + +The woman was a very intelligent-looking person, not of the usual English +ruddiness, but rather thin and somewhat pale, though bright, of aspect. +Her way of talking was very agreeable. She inquired if we wished to see +Wordsworth's monument, and at once showed it to us,--a slab of white +marble fixed against the upper end of the central row of stone arches, +with a pretty long inscription, and a profile bust, in bas-relief, of his +aged countenance. The monument, is placed directly over Wordsworth's +pew, and could best be seen and read from the very corner seat where he +used to sit. The pew is one of those occupying the centre of the church, +and is just across the aisle from the pulpit, and is the best of all for +the purpose of seeing and hearing the clergyman, and likewise as +convenient as any, from its neighborhood to the altar. On the other side +of the aisle, beneath the pulpit, is Lady Fleming's pew. This and one or +two others are curtained, Wordsworth's was not. I think I can bring up +his image in that corner seat of his pew--a white-headed, tall, spare +man, plain in aspect--better than in any other situation. The woman said +that she had known him very well, and that he had made some verses on a +sister of hers. She repeated the first lines, something about a lamb, +but neither S----- nor I remembered them. + +On the walls of the chancel there are monuments to the Flemings, and +painted escutcheons of their arms; and along the side walls also, and on +the square pillars of the row of arches, there are other monuments, +generally of white marble, with the letters of the inscription blackened. +On these pillars, likewise, and in many places in the walls, were hung +verses from Scripture, painted on boards. At one of the doors was a +poor-box,--an elaborately carved little box, of oak, with the date 1648, +and the name of the church--St. Oswald's--upon it. The whole interior of +the edifice was plain, simple, almost to grimness,--or would have been +so, only that the foolish church-wardens, or other authority, have washed +it over with the same buff color with which they have overlaid the +exterior. It is a pity; it lightens it up, and desecrates it greatly, +especially as the woman says that there were formerly paintings on the +walls, now obliterated forever. I could have stayed in the old church +much longer, and could write much more about it, but there must be an end +to everything. Pacing it from the farther end to the elevation before +the altar, I found that it was twenty-five paces long. + +On looking again at the Rothay, I find I did it some injustice; for at +the bridge, in its present swollen state, it is nearer twenty yards than +twenty feet across. Its waters are very clear, and it rushes along with +a speed which is delightful to see, after an acquaintance with the muddy +and sluggish Avon and Leam. + +Since tea I have taken a stroll from the hotel in a different direction +from heretofore, and passed the Swan Inn, where Scott used to go daily to +get a draught of liquor, when he was visiting Wordsworth, who had no wine +nor other inspiriting fluid in his house. It stands directly on the +wayside,--a small, whitewashed house, with an addition in the rear that +seems to have been built since Scott's time. On the door is the painted +sign of a swan, and the name "Scott's Swan Hotel." I walked a +considerable distance beyond it, but, a shower cooling up, I turned back, +entered the inn, and, following the mistress into a snug little room, was +served with a glass of bitter ale. It is a very plain and homely inn, +and certainly could not have satisfied Scott's wants if he had required +anything very far-fetched or delicate in his potations. I found two +Westmoreland peasants in the room, with ale before them. One went away +almost immediately; but the other remained, and, entering into +conversation with him, he told me that he was going to New Zealand, and +expected to sail in September. I announced myself as an American, and he +said that a large party had lately gone from hereabouts to America; but +he seemed not to understand that there was any distinction between Canada +and the States. These people had gone to Quebec. He was a very civil, +well-behaved, kindly sort of person, of a simple character, which I took +to belong to the class and locality, rather than to himself individually. +I could not very well understand all that he said, owing to his +provincial dialect; and when he spoke to his own countrymen, or to the +women of the house, I really could but just catch a word here and there. +How long it takes to melt English down into a homogeneous mass! He told +me that there was a public library in Grasmere to which he has access in +common with the other inhabitants, and a reading-room connected with it, +where he reads The Times in the evening. There was no American smartness +in his mind. When I left the house, it was showering briskly; but the +drops quite ceased, and the clouds began to break away before I reached +my hotel, and I saw the new moon over my right shoulder. + + +July 21st.--We left Grasmere yesterday, after breakfast; it being a +delightful morning, with some clouds, but the cheerfullest sunshine on +great part of the mountainsides and on ourselves. We returned, in the +first place, to Ambleside, along the border of Grasmere Lake, which would +be a pretty little piece of water, with its steep and high surrounding +hills, were it not that a stubborn and straight-lined stone fence, +running along the eastern shore, by the roadside, quite spoils its +appearance. Rydal Water, though nothing can make a lake of it, looked +prettier and less diminutive than at the first view; and, in fact, I find +that it is impossible to know accurately how any prospect or other thing +looks, until after at least a second view, which always essentially +corrects the first. This, I think, is especially true in regard to +objects which we have heard much about, and exercised our imagination +upon; the first view being a vain attempt to reconcile our idea with the +reality, and at the second we begin to accept the thing for what it +really is. Wordsworth's situation is really a beautiful one; and Nab +Scaur behind his house rises with a grand, protecting air. We passed +Nab's cottage, in which De Quincey formerly lived, and where Hartley +Coleridge lived and died. It is a small, buff-tinted, plastered stone +cottage, immediately on the roadside, and originally, I should think, of +a very humble class; but it now looks as if persons of taste might some +time or other have sat down in it, and caused flowers to spring up about +it. It is very agreeably situated under the great, precipitous hill, and +with Rydal Water close at band, on the other side of the road. An +advertisement of lodgings to let was put up on this cottage. + +I question whether any part of the world looks so beautiful as England-- +this part of England, at least--on a fine summer morning. It makes one +think the more cheerfully of human life to see such a bright universal +verdure; such sweet, rural, peaceful, flower-bordered cottages,--not +cottages of gentility, but dwellings of the laboring poor; such nice +villas along the roadside, so tastefully contrived for comfort and +beauty, and adorned more and more, year after year, with the care and +after-thought of people who mean to live in them a great while, and feel +as if their children might live in them also, and so they plant trees to +overshadow their walks, and train ivy and all beautiful vines up against +their walls, and thus live for the future in another sense than we +Americans do. And the climate helps them out, and makes everything +moist, and green, and full of tender life, instead of dry and arid, as +human life and vegetable life is so apt to be with us. Certainly, +England can present a more attractive face than we can; even in its +humbler modes of life, to say nothing of the beautiful lives that might +be led, one would think, by the higher classes, whose gateways, with +broad, smooth gravelled drives leading through them, one sees every mile +or two along the road, winding into some proud seclusion. All this is +passing away, and society most assume new relations; but there is no harm +in believing that there has been something very good in English life,-- +good for all classes while the world was in a state out of which these +forms naturally grew. + +Passing through Ambleside, our phaeton and pair turned towards Ullswater, +which we were to reach through the Pass of Kirkstone. This is some three +or four miles from Ambleside, and as we approached it the road kept +ascending higher and higher, the hills grew more bare, and the country +lost its soft and delightful verdure. At last the road became so steep +that J----- and I alighted to walk. This is the aspiring road that +Wordsworth speaks of in his ode; it passes through the gorge of +precipitous hills,--or almost precipitous,--too much so for even the +grass to grow on many portions, which are covered with gray smugly +stones; and I think this pass, in its middle part, must have looked just +the same when the Romans marched through it as it looks now. No trees +could ever have grown on the steep hillsides, whereon even the English +climate can generate no available soil. I do not know that I have seen +anything more impressive than the stern gray sweep of these naked +mountains, with nothing whatever to soften or adorn them. The notch of +the White Mountains, as I remember it in my youthful days, is more +wonderful and richly picturesque, but of quite a different character. + +About the centre and at the highest point of the pass stands an old stone +building of mean appearance, with the usual sign of an alehouse, +"Licensed to retail foreign spirits, ale, and tobacco," over the door, +and another small sign, designating it as the highest inhabitable house +in England. It is a chill and desolate place for a residence. They keep +a visitor's book here, and we recorded our names in it, and were not +too sorry to leave the mean little hovel, smelling as it did of +tobacco-smoke, and possessing all other characteristics of the humblest +alehouse on the level earth. + +The Kirkstone, which gives the pass its name, is not seen in approaching +from Ambleside, until some time after you begin to descend towards +Brothers' Water. When the driver first pointed it out, a little way up +the hill on our left, it looked no more than a bowlder of a ton or two in +weight, among a hundred others nearly as big; and I saw hardly any +resemblance to a church or church-spire, to which the fancies of past +generations have likened it. As we descended the pass, however, and left +the stone farther and farther behind, it continued to show itself, and +assumed a more striking and prominent aspect, standing out clearly +relieved against the sky, so that no traveller would fail to observe it, +where there are so few defined objects to attract notice, amid the naked +monotony of the stern hills; though, indeed, if I had taken it for any +sort of an edifice, it would rather have been for a wayside inn or a +shepherd's hut than for a church. We lost sight of it, and again beheld +it more and more brought out against the sky, by the turns of the road, +several times in the course of our descent. There is a very fine view of +Brothers' Water, shut in by steep hills, as we go down Kirkstone Pass. + +At about half past twelve we reached Patterdale, at the foot of +Ullswater, and here took luncheon. The hotels are mostly very good all +through this region, and this deserved that character. A black-coated +waiter, of more gentlemanly appearance than most Englishmen, yet taking a +sixpence with as little scruple as a lawyer would take his fee; the +mistress, in lady-like attire, receiving us at the door, and waiting upon +us to the carriage-steps; clean, comely housemaids everywhere at hand,-- +all appliances, in short, for being comfortable, and comfortable, too, +within one's own circle. And, on taking leave, everybody who has done +anything for you, or who might by possibility have done anything, is to +be feed. You pay the landlord enough, in all conscience; and then you +pay all his servants, who have been your servants for the time. But, to +say the truth, there is a degree of the same kind of annoyance in an +American hotel, although it is not so much an acknowledged custom. Here, +in the houses where attendance is not charged in the bill, no wages are +paid by the host to those servants--chambermaid, waiter, and boots--who +come into immediate contact with travellers. The drivers of the cars, +phaetons, and flys are likewise unpaid, except by their passengers, and +claim threepence a mile with the same sense of right as their masters in +charging for the vehicles and horses. When you come to understand this +claim, not as an appeal to your generosity, but as an actual and +necessary part of the cost of the journey, it is yielded to with a more +comfortable feeling; and the traveller has really option enough, as to +the amount which he will give, to insure civility and good behavior on +the driver's part. + +Ullswater is a beautiful lake, with steep hills walling it about, so +steep, on the eastern side, that there seems hardly room for a road to +run along the base. We passed up the western shore, and turned off from +it about midway, to take the road towards Keswick. We stopped, however, +at Lyulph's Tower, while our chariot went on up a hill, and took a guide +to show us the way to Airey Force,--a small cataract, which is claimed as +private property, and out of which, no doubt, a pretty little revenue is +raised. I do not think that there can be any rightful appropriation, as +private property, of objects of natural beauty. The fruits of the land, +and whatever human labor can produce from it, belong fairly enough to the +person who has a deed or a lease; but the beautiful is the property of +him who can hive it and enjoy it. It is very unsatisfactory to think of +a cataract under lock and key. However, we were shown to Airey Force by +a tall and graceful mountain-maid, with a healthy cheek, and a step that +had no possibility of weariness in it. The cascade is an irregular +streak of foamy water, pouring adown a rude shadowy glen. I liked well +enough to see it; but it is wearisome, on the whole, to go the rounds of +what everybody thinks it necessary to see. It makes me a little ashamed. +It is somewhat as if we were drinking out of the same glass, and eating +from the same dish, as a multitude of other people. + +Within a few miles of Keswick, we passed along at the foot of Saddleback, +and by the entrance of the Vale of St. John, and down the valley, on one +of the slopes, we saw the Enchanted Castle. Thence we drove along by the +course of the Greta, and soon arrived at Keswick, which lies at the base +of Skiddaw, and among a brotherhood of picturesque eminences, and is +itself a compact little town, with a market-house, built of the old +stones of the Earl of Derwentwater's ruined castle, standing in the +centre,--the principal street forking into two as it passes it. We +alighted at the King's Arms, and went in search of Southey's residence, +which we found easily enough, as it lies just on the outskirts of the +town. We inquired of a group of people, two of whom, I thought, did not +seem to know much about the matter; but the third, an elderly man, +pointed it out at once,--a house surrounded by trees, so as to be seen +only partially, and standing on a little eminence, a hundred yards or so +from the road. + +We went up a private lane that led to the rear of the place, and so +penetrated quite into the back-yard without meeting anybody,--passing a +small kennel, in which were two hounds, who gazed at us, but neither +growled nor wagged their tails. The house is three stories high, and +seems to have a great deal of room in it, so as not to discredit its +name, "Greta Hall,"--a very spacious dwelling for a poet. The windows +were nearly all closed; there were no signs of occupancy, but a general +air of neglect. S-----, who is bolder than I in these matters, ventured +through what seemed a back garden gate, and I soon heard her in +conversation with some man, who now presented himself, and proved to be a +gardener. He said he had formerly acted in that capacity for Southey, +although a gardener had not been kept by him as a regular part of his +establishment. This was an old man with an odd crookedness of legs, and +strange, disjointed limp. S----- had told him that we were Americans, and +he took the idea that we had come this long distance, over sea and land, +with the sole purpose of seeing Southey's residence, so that he was +inclined to do what he could towards exhibiting it. This was but little; +the present occupant (a Mr. Radday, I believe the gardener called him) +being away, and the house shut up. + +But he showed us about the grounds, and allowed us to peep into the +windows of what had been Southey's library, and into those of another of +the front apartments, and showed us the window of the chamber in the +rear, in which Southey died. The apartments into which we peeped looked +rather small and low,--not particularly so, but enough to indicate an old +building. They are now handsomely furnished, and we saw over one of the +fireplaces an inscription about Southey; and in the corner of the same +room stood a suit, of bright armor. It is taller than the country-houses +of English gentlemen usually are, and it is even stately. All about, in +front, beside it and behind, there is a great profusion of trees, most of +which were planted by Southey, who came to live here more than fifty +years ago, and they have, of course, grown much more shadowy now than he +ever beheld them; for he died about fourteen years since. The grounds +are well laid out, and neatly kept, with the usual lawn and gravelled +walks, and quaint little devices in the ornamental way. These may be of +later date than Southey's time. The gardener spoke respectfully of +Southey, and of his first wife, and observed that "it was a great loss to +the neighborhood when that family went down." + +The house stands directly above the Greta, the murmur of which is audible +all about it; for the Greta is a swift little river, and goes on its way +with a continual sound, which has both depth and breadth. The gardener +led us to a walk along its banks, close by the Hall, where he said +Southey used to walk for hours and hours together. He might, indeed, get +there from his study in a moment. There are two paths, one above the +other, well laid out on the steep declivity of the high bank; and there +is such a very thick shade of oaks and elms, planted by Southey himself +over the bank, that all the ground and grass were moist, although it had +been a sunny day. It is a very sombre walk; not many glimpses of the sky +through those dense boughs. The Greta is here, perhaps, twenty yards +across, and very dark of hue, and its voice is melancholy and very +suggestive of musings and reveries; but I should question whether it were +favorable to any settled scheme of thought. The gardener told us that +there used to be a pebbly beach on the margin of the river, and that it +was Southey's habit to sit and write there, using a tree of peculiar +shape for a table. An alteration in the current of the river has swept +away the beach, and the tree, too, has fallen. All these things were +interesting to me, although Southey was not, I think, a picturesque man, +--not one whose personal character takes a strong hold on the +imagination. In these walks he used to wear a pair of shoes heavily +clamped with iron; very ponderous they must have been, from the +particularity with which the gardener mentioned them. + +The gardener took leave of us at the front entrance of the grounds, and, +returning to the King's Arms, we ordered a one-horse fly for the fall of +Lodore. Our drive thither was along the banks of Derwentwater, and it is +as beautiful a road, I imagine, as can be found in England or anywhere +else. I like Derwentwater the best of all the lakes, so far as I have +yet seen them. Skiddaw lies at the head of a long even ridge of +mountains, rising into several peaks, and one higher than the rest. On +the eastern side there are many noble eminences, and on the west, along +which we drove, there is a part of the way a lovely wood, and nearly the +whole distance a precipitous range of lofty cliffs, descending sheer down +without any slope, except what has been formed in the lapse of ages by +the fall of fragments, and the washing down of smaller stones. The +declivity thus formed along the base of the cliffs is in some places +covered with trees or shrubs; elsewhere it is quite bare and barren. The +precipitous parts of the cliffs are very grand; the whole scene, indeed, +might be characterized as one of stern grandeur with an embroidery of +rich beauty, without lauding it too much. All the sternness of it is +softened by vegetative beauty wherever it can possibly be thrown in; and +there is not here, so strongly as along Windermere, evidence that human +art has been helping out Nature. I wish it were possible to give any +idea of the shapes of the hills; with these, at least, man has nothing to +do, nor ever will have anything to do. As we approached the bottom of +the lake, and of the beautiful valley in which it lies, we saw one hill +that seemed to crouch down like a Titanic watch-dog, with its rear +towards the spectator, guarding the entrance to the valley. The great +superiority of these mountains over those of New England is their variety +and definiteness of shape, besides the abundance everywhere of water +prospects, which are wanting among our own hills. They rise up +decidedly, and each is a hill by itself, while ours mingle into one +another, and, besides, have such large bases that you can tell neither +where they begin nor where they end. Many of these Cumberland mountains +have a marked vertebral shape, so that they often look like a group of +huge lions, lying down with their backs turned toward each other. They +slope down steeply from narrow ridges; hence their picturesque seclusions +of valleys and dales, which subdivide the lake region into so many +communities. Our hills, like apple-dumplings in a dish, have no such +valleys as these. + +There is a good inn at Lodore,--a small, primitive country inn, which has +latterly been enlarged and otherwise adapted to meet the convenience of +the guests brought thither by the fame of the cascade; but it is still a +country inn, though it takes upon itself the title of hotel. + +We found pleasant rooms here, and established ourselves for the night. +From this point we have a view of the beautiful lake, and of Skiddaw at +the head of it. The cascade is within three or four minutes' walk, +through the garden gate, towards the cliff, at the base of which the inn +stands. The visitor would need no other guide than its own voice, which +is said to be audible sometimes at the distance of four miles. As we +were coming from Keswick, we caught glimpses of its white foam high up +the precipice; and it is only glimpses that can be caught anywhere, +because there is no regular sheet of falling water. Once, I think, it +must have fallen abruptly over the edge of the long line of precipice +that here extends along parallel with the shore of the lake; but, in the +course of time, it has gnawed and sawed its way into the heart of the +cliff,--this persistent little stream,--so that now it has formed a rude +gorge, adown which it hurries and tumbles in the wildest way, over the +roughest imaginable staircase. Standing at the bottom of the fall, you +have a far vista sloping upward to the sky, with the water everywhere as +white as snow, pouring and pouring down, now on one side of the gorge, +now on the other, among immense bowlders, which try to choke its passage. +It does not attempt to leap over these huge rocks, but finds its way in +and out among then, and finally gets to the bottom after a hundred +tumbles. It cannot be better described than in Southey's verses, though +it is worthy of better poetry than that. After all, I do not know that +the cascade is anything more than a beautiful fringe to the grandeur of +the scene; for it is very grand,--this fissure through the cliff,--with a +steep, lofty precipice on the right hand, sheer up and down, and on the +other hand, too, another lofty precipice, with a slope of its own ruin on +which trees and shrubbery have grown. The right-hand precipice, however, +has shelves affording sufficient hold for small trees, but nowhere does +it slant. If it were not for the white little stream falling gently +downward, and for the soft verdure upon either precipice, and even along +the very pathway of the cascade, it would be a very stern vista up that +gorge. + +I shall not try to describe it any more. It has not been praised too +much, though it may have been praised amiss. I went thither again in the +morning, and climbed a good way up, through the midst of its rocky +descent, and I think I could have reached the top in this way. It is +remarkable that the bounds of the water, from one step of its broken +staircase to another, give an impression of softness and gentleness; but +there are black, turbulent pools among the great bowlders, where the +stream seems angry at the difficulties which it meets with. Looking +upward in the sunshine, I could see a rising mist, and I should not +wonder if a speck of rainbow were sometimes visible. I noticed a small +oak in the bed of the cascade, and there is a lighter vegetation +scattered about. + +At noon we took a car for Portinscale, and drove back along the road to +Keswick, through which we passed, stopping to get a perhaps of letters at +the post-office, and reached Portinscale, which is a mile from Keswick. +After dinner we walked over a bridge, and through a green lane, to the +church where Southey is buried. It is a white church, of Norman +architecture, with a low, square tower. As we approached, we saw two +persons entering the portal, and, following them in, we found the sexton, +who was a tall, thin old man, with white hair, and an intelligent, +reverent face, showing the edifice to a stout, red-faced, self-important, +good-natured John Bull of a gentleman. Without any question on our part, +the old sexton immediately led us to Southey's monument, which is placed +in a side aisle, where there is not breadth for it to stand free of the +wall; neither is it in a very good light. But, it seemed to me a good +work of art,--a recumbent figure of white marble, on a couch, the drapery +of which he has drawn about him,--being quite enveloped in what may be a +shroud. The sculptor has not intended to represent death, for the figure +lies on its side, and has a book in its hand, and the face is lifelike, +and looks full of expression,--a thin, high-featured, poetic face, with a +finely proportioned head and abundant hair. It represents Southey +rightly, at whatever age he died, in the full maturity of manhood, when +he was strongest and richest. I liked the statue, and wished that it lay +in a broader aisle, or in the chancel, where there is an old tomb of a +knight and lady of the Ratcliffe family, who have held the place of honor +long enough to yield it now to a poet. Southey's sculptor was Lough. I +must not forget to mention that John Bull, climbing on a bench, to get a +better view of the statue, tumbled off with a racket that resounded +irreverently through the church. + +The old, white-headed, thin sexton was a model man of his class, and +appeared to take a loving and cheerful interest in the building, and in +those who, from age to age, have worshipped and been buried there. It is +a very ancient and interesting church. Within a few years it has been +thoroughly repaired as to the interior, and now looks as if it might +endure ten more centuries; and I suppose we see little that is really +ancient, except the double row of Norman arches, of light freestone, that +support the oaken beams and rafters of the roof. All the walls, however, +are venerable, and quite preserve the identity of the edifice. There is +a stained-glass window of modern manufacture, and in one of the side +windows, set amidst plain glass, there is a single piece, five hundred +years old, representing St. Anthony, very finely executed, though it +looks a little faded. Along the walls, on each side, between the arched +windows, there are marble slabs affixed, with inscriptions to the +memories of those who used to occupy the seats beneath. I remember none +of great antiquity, nor any old monument, except that in the chancel, +over the knight and lady of the Ratcliffe family. This consists of a +slab of stone, on four small stone pillars, about two feet high. The +slab is inlaid with a brass plate, on which is sculptured the knight in +armor, and the lady in the costume of Elizabeth's time, exceedingly well +done and well preserved, and each figure about eighteen inches in length. +The sexton showed us a rubbing of them on paper. Under the slab, which, +supported by the low stone pillars, forms a canopy for them, lie two +sculptured figures of stone, of life size, and at full length, +representing the same persons; but I think the sculptor was hardly equal +in his art to the engraver. + +The most-curious antique relic in the church is the font. The bowl is +very capacious, sufficiently so to admit of the complete immersion of a +child of two or three months old. On the outside, in several +compartments, there are bas-reliefs of Scriptural and symbolic subjects, +--such as the tree of life, the word proceeding out of God's mouth, the +crown of thorns,--all in the quaintest taste, sculptured by some hand of +a thousand years ago, and preserving the fancies of monkish brains, in +stone. The sexton was very proud of this font and its sculpture, and +took a kindly personal interest, in showing it; and when we had spent as +much time as we could inside, he led us to Southey's grave in the +churchyard. He told us that he had known Southey long and well, from +early manhood to old age; for he was only twenty-nine when he came to +Keswick to reside. He had known Wordsworth too, and Coleridge, and +Lovell; and he had seen Southey and Wordsworth walking arm in arm +together in that churchyard. He seemed to revere Southey's memory, and +said that he had been much lamented, and that as many as a hundred people +came to the churchyard when he was buried. He spoke with great praise of +Mrs. Southey, his first wife, telling of her charity to the poor, and how +she was a blessing to the neighborhood; but he said nothing in favor of +the second Mrs. Southey, and only mentioned her selling the library, and +other things, after her husband's death, and going to London. Yet I +think she was probably a good woman, and meets with less than justice +because she took the place of another good woman, and had not time and +opportunity to prove herself as good. As for Southey himself, my idea +is, that few better or more blameless men have ever lived; but he seems +to lack color, passion, warmth, or something that should enable me to +bring him into close relation with myself. The graveyard where his body +lies is not so rural and picturesque as that where Wordsworth is buried; +although Skiddaw rises behind it, and the Greta is murmuring at no very +great distance away. But the spot itself has a somewhat bare and bold +aspect, with no shadow of trees, no shrubbery. + +Over his grave there is a ponderous, oblong block of slate, a native +mineral of this region, as hard as iron, and which will doubtless last +quite as long as Southey's works retain any vitality in English +literature. It is not a monument fit for a poet. There is nothing airy +or graceful about it,--and, indeed, there cannot be many men so solid and +matter-of-fact as to deserve a tomb like that. Wordsworth's grave is +much better, with only a simple headstone, and the grass growing over his +mortality, which, for a thousand years, at least, it never can over +Southey's. Most of the monuments are of this same black slate, and some +erect headstones are curiously sculptured, and seem to have been recently +erected. + +We now returned to the hotel, and took a car for the valley of St. John. +The sky seemed to portend rain in no long time, and Skiddaw had put on +his cap; but the people of the hotel and the driver said that there would +be no rain this afternoon, and their opinion proved correct. After +driving a few miles, we again cane within sight of the Enchanted Castle. +It stands rather more than midway adown the declivity of one of the +ridges that form the valley to the left, as you go southward, and its +site would have been a good one for a fortress, intended to defend the +lower entrance of this mountain defile. At a proper distance, it looks +not unlike the gray dilapidation of a Gothic castle, which has been +crumbling and crumbling away for ages, until Time might be supposed to +have imperceptibly stolen its massive pile from man, and given it back to +Nature; its towers and battlements and arched entrances being so much +defaced and decayed that all the marks of human labor had nearly been +obliterated, and the angles of the hewn stone rounded away, while mosses +and weeds and bushes grow over it as freely as over a natural ledge of +rocks. It is conceivable that in some lights, and in some states of the +atmosphere, a traveller, at the entrance of the valley, might really +imagine that he beheld a castle here; but, for myself, I must acknowledge +that it required a willing fancy to make me see it. As we drew nearer, +the delusion did not immediately grow less strong; but, at length, we +found ourselves passing at the foot of the declivity, and, behold! it was +nothing but an enormous ledge of rock, coming squarely out of the +hillside, with other parts of the ledge cropping out in its vicinity. +Looking back, after passing, we saw a knoll or hillock, of which the +castled rock is the bare face. There are two or three stone cottages +along the roadside, beneath the magic castle, and within the enchanted +ground. Scott, in the Bridal of Triermain, locates the castle in the +middle of the valley, and makes King Arthur ride around it, which any +mortal would have great difficulty in doing. This vale of St. John has +very striking scenery. Blencathra shuts it in to the northward, lying +right across the entrance; and on either side there are lofty crags and +declivities, those to the west being more broken and better wooded than +the ridge to the eastward, which stretches along for several miles, +steep, high, and bare, producing only grass enough for sheep pasture, +until it rises into the dark brow of Helvellyn. Adown this ridge, seen +afar, like a white ribbon, comes here and there a cascade, sending its +voice before it, which distance robs of all its fury, and makes it the +quietest sound in the world; and while you see the foamy leap of its +upper course a mile or two away, you may see and hear the selfsame little +brook babbling through a field, and passing under the arch of a rustic +bridge beneath your feet. It is a deep seclusion, with mountains and +crags on all sides. + +About a mile beyond the castle we stopped at a little wayside inn, the +King's Head, and put up for the night. This, I believe, is the only inn +which I have found in England--the only one where I have eaten and slept +--that does not call itself a hotel. It is very primitive in its +arrangements,--a long, low, whitewashed, unadorned, and ugly cottage of +two stories. At one extremity is a barn and cow-house, and next to these +the part devoted to the better class of guests, where we had our parlor +and chambers, contiguous to which is the kitchen and common room, paved +with flagstones,--and, lastly, another barn and stable; all which +departments are not under separate roofs, but under the same long +contiguity, and forming the same building. Our parlor opens immediately +upon the roadside, without any vestibule. The house appears to be of +some antiquity, with beams across the low ceilings; but the people made +us pretty comfortable at bed and board, and fed us with ham and eggs, +veal-steaks, honey, oatcakes, gooseberry-tarts, and such cates and +dainties,--making a moderate charge for all. The parlor was adorned with +rude engravings. I remember only a plate of the Duke of Wellington, at +three stages of his life; and there were minerals, delved, doubtless, out +of the hearts of the mountains, upon the mantel-piece. The chairs were +of an antiquated fashion, and had very capacious seats. We were waited +upon by two women, who looked and acted not unlike the countryfolk of New +England,--say, of New Hampshire,--except that these may have been more +deferential. + +While we remained here, I took various walks to get a glimpse of +Helvellyn, and a view of Thirlmere,--which is rather two lakes than one, +being so narrow at one point as to be crossed by a foot-bridge. Its +shores are very picturesque, coming down abruptly upon it, and broken +into crags and prominences, which view their shaggy faces in its mirror; +and Helvellyn slopes steeply upward, from its southern shore, into the +clouds. On its eastern bank, near the foot-bridge, stands Armboth House, +which Miss Martineau says is haunted; and I saw a painted board at the +entrance of the road which leads to it advertising lodgings there. The +ghosts, of course, pay nothing for their accommodations. + +At noon, on the day after our arrival, J----- and I went to visit the +Enchanted Castle; and we were so venturesome as to turn aside from the +road, and ascend the declivity towards its walls, which indeed we hoped +to surmount. It proved a very difficult undertaking, the site of the +fortress being much higher and steeper than we had supposed; but we did +clamber upon what we took for the most elevated portion, when lo! we +found that we had only taken one of the outworks, and that there was a +gorge of the hill betwixt us and the main walls; while the citadel rose +high above, at more than twice the elevation which we had climbed. +J----- wished to go on, and I allowed him to climb, till he appeared to +have reached so steep and lofty a height that he looked hardly bigger +than a monkey, and I should not at all have wondered had he come rolling +down to the base of the rock where I sat. But neither did he get +actually within the castle, though he might have done so but for a high +stone fence, too difficult for him to climb, which runs from the rock +along the hillside. The sheep probably go thither much oftener than any +other living thing, and to them we left the castle of St. John, with a +shrub waving from its battlements, instead of a banner. + +After dinner we ordered a car for Ambleside, and while it was getting +ready, I went to look at the river of St. John, which, indeed, flows +close beside our inn, only just across the road, though it might well be +overlooked unless you specially sought for it. It is a brook brawling +over the stones, very much as brooks do in New England, only we never +think of calling them rivers there. I could easily have made a leap from +shore to shore, and J----- scrambled across on no better footing than a +rail. I believe I have complained of the want of brooks in other parts +of England, but there is no want of them here, and they are always +interesting, being of what size they may. + +We drove down the valley, and gazed at the vast slope of Helvellyn, and +at Thirlmere beneath it, and at Eagle's Crag and Raven's Crag, which +beheld themselves in it, and we cast many a look behind at Blencathra, +and that noble brotherhood of mountains out of the midst of which we +came. But, to say the truth, I was weary of fine scenery, and it seemed +to me that I had eaten a score of mountains, and quaffed as many lakes, +all in the space of two or three days,--and the natural consequence was a +surfeit. There was scarcely a single place in all our tour where I +should not have been glad to spend a month; but, by flitting so quickly +from one point to another, I lost all the more recondite beauties, and +had come away without retaining even the surface of much that I had seen. +I am slow to feel,--slow, I suppose, to comprehend, and, like the +anaconda, I need to lubricate any object a great deal before I can +swallow it and actually make it my own. Yet I shall always enjoy having +made this journey, and shall wonder the more at England, which +comprehends so much, such a rich variety, within its narrow bounds. If +England were all the world, it still would have been worth while for the +Creator to have made it, and mankind would have had no cause to find +fault with their abode; except that there is not room enough for so many +as might be happy here. + +We left the great inverted arch of the valley behind us, looking back as +long as we could at Blencathra, and Skiddaw over its shoulder, and the +clouds were gathering over them at our last glimpse. Passing by Dummail +Raise (which is a mound of stones over an old British king), we entered +Westmoreland, and soon had the vale of Grasmere before us, with the +church where Wordsworth lies, and Nab Scaur and Rydal Water farther on. +At Ambleside we took another car for Newby Bridge, whither we drove along +the eastern shore of Windermere. The superb scenery through which we had +been passing made what we now saw look tame, although a week ago we +should have thought it more than commonly interesting. Hawkshead is the +only village on our road,--a small, whitewashed old town, with a +whitewashed old Norman church, low, and with a low tower, on the same +pattern with others that we have seen hereabouts. It was between seven +and eight o'clock when we reached Newby Bridge, and heard U----'s voice +greeting us, and saw her head, crowned with a wreath of flowers, looking +down at us, out of the window of our parlor. + +And to-day, July 23d, I have written this most incomplete and +unsatisfactory record of what we have done and seen since Wednesday last. +I am pretty well convinced that all attempts at describing scenery, +especially mountain scenery, are sheer nonsense. For one thing, the +point of view being changed, the whole description, which you made up +from the previous point of view, is immediately falsified. And when you +have done your utmost, such items as those setting forth the scene in a +play,--"a mountainous country, in the distance a cascade tumbling over a +precipice, and in front a lake; on one side an ivy-covered cottage,"-- +this dry detail brings the matter before one's mind's eyes more +effectually than all the art of word-painting. + + +July 27th.--We are still at Newby Bridge, and nothing has occurred of +remarkable interest, nor have we made any excursions, beyond moderate +walks. Two days have been rainy, and to-day there is more rain. We find +such weather as tolerable here as it would probably be anywhere; but it +passes rather heavily with the children,--and for myself, I should prefer +sunshine. Though Mr. White's books afford me some entertainment, +especially an odd volume of Ben Jonson's plays, containing "Volpone," +"The Alchemist," "Bartholomew Fair," and others. "The Alchemist" is +certainly a great play. We watch all arrivals and other events from our +parlor window,--a stage-coach driving up four times in the twenty-four +hours, with its forlorn outsiders, all saturated with rain; the steamer, +from the head of the lake, landing a crowd of passengers, who stroll up +to the hotel, drink a glass of ale, lean over the parapet of the bridge, +gaze at the flat stones which pave the bottom of the Liver, and then +hurry back to the steamer again; cars, phaetons, horsemen, all damped and +disconsolate. There are a number of young men staying at the hotel, some +of whom go forth in all the rain, fishing, and come back at nightfall, +trudging heavily, but with creels on their backs that do not seem very +heavy. Yesterday was fair, and enlivened us a good deal. Returning from +a walk in the forenoon, I found a troop of yeomanry cavalry in the +stable-yard of the hotel. They were the North Lancashire Regiment, and +were on their way to Liverpool for the purpose of drill. Not being old +campaigners, their uniforms and accoutrements were in so much the finer +order, all bright, and looking span-new, and they themselves were a body +of handsome and stalwart young men; and it was pleasant to look at their +helmets, and red jackets and carbines, and steel scabbarded swords, and +gallant steeds,--all so martial in aspect,--and to know that they were +only play-soldiers, after all, and were never likely to do nor suffer any +warlike mischief. By and by their bugles sounded, and they trotted away, +wheeling over the ivy-grown stone bridge, and disappearing behind the +trees on the Milnethorpe road. Our host comes forth from the bar with a +bill, which he presents to an orderly-sergeant. He, the host, then tells +me that he himself once rode many years, a trooper, in this regiment, and +that all his comrades were larger men than himself. Yet Mr. Thomas White +is a good-sized man, and now, at all events, rather overweight for a +dragoon. + +Yesterday came one of those bands of music that seem to itinerate +everywhere about the country. It consisted of a young woman who played +the harp, a bass-viol player, a fiddler, a flutist, and a bugler, besides +a little child, of whom, I suppose, the woman was the mother. They sat +down on a bench by the roadside, opposite the house, and played several +tunes, and by and by the waiter brought them a large pitcher of ale, +which they quaffed with apparent satisfaction; though they seemed to be +foreigners by their mustachios and sallow hue, and would perhaps have +preferred a vinous potation. One would like to follow these people +through their vagrant life, and see them in their social relations, and +overhear their talk with each other. All vagrants are interesting; and +there is a much greater variety of them here than in America,--people who +cast themselves on Fortune, and take whatever she gives without a +certainty of anything. I saw a travelling tinker yesterday,--a man with +a leather apron, and a string of skewers hung at his girdle, and a pack +over his shoulders, in which, no doubt, were his tools and materials of +trade. + +It is remarkable what a natural interest everybody feels in fishing. An +angler from the bridge immediately attracts a group to watch his luck. +It is the same with J-----, fishing for minnows, on the platform near +which the steamer lands its passengers. By the by, U---- caught a minnow +last evening, and, immediately after, a good-sized perch,--her first +fish. + + +July 30th.--We left Newby Bridge, all of us, on Saturday, at twelve +o'clock, and steamed up the lake to Ambleside; a pretty good day as to +weather, but with a little tendency to shower. There was nothing new on +the lake, and no new impressions, as far as I can remember. At +Ambleside, S----- and nurse went shopping, after which we took a carriage +for Grasmere, and established ourselves at Brown's Hotel. I find that my +impressions from our previous sight of all these scenes do not change on +revision. They are very beautiful; but, if I must say it, I am a little +weary of them. We soon tire of things which we visit merely by way of +spectacle, and with which we have no real and permanent connection. In +such cases we very quickly wish the spectacle to be taken away, and +another substituted; at all events I do not care about seeing anything +more of the English lakes for at least a year. + +Perhaps a part of my weariness is owing to the hotel-life which we lead. +At an English hotel the traveller feels as if everybody, from the +landlord downward, united in a joint and individual purpose to fleece +him, because all the attendants who come in contact with him are to be +separately considered. So, after paying, in the first instance, a very +heavy bill, for what would seem to cover the whole indebtedness, there +remain divers dues still to be paid, to no trifling amount, to the +landlord's servants,--dues not to be ascertained, and which you never can +know whether you have properly satisfied. You can know, perhaps, when +you have less than satisfied them, by the aspect of the waiter, which I +wish I could describe, not disrespectful in the slightest degree, but a +look of profound surprise, a gaze at the offered coin (which he +nevertheless pockets) as if he either did not see it, or did not know it, +or could not believe his eyesight;--all this, however, with the most +quiet forbearance, a Christian-like non-recognition of an unmerited wrong +and insult; and finally, all in a moment's space indeed, he quits you and +goes about his other business. If you have given him too much, you are +made sensible of your folly by the extra amount of his gratitude, and the +bows with which he salutes you from the doorstep. Generally, you cannot +very decidedly say whether you have been right or wrong; but, in almost +all cases, you decidedly feel that you have been fleeced. Then the +living at the best of English hotels, so far as my travels have brought +me acquainted with them, deserves but moderate praise, and is especially +lacking in variety. Nothing but joints, joints, joints; sometimes, +perhaps, a meat-pie, which, if you eat it, weighs upon your conscience, +with the idea that you have eaten the scraps of other people's dinners. +At the lake hotels, the fare is lamb and mutton and grout,--the latter +not always fresh, and soon tired of. We pay like nabobs, and are +expected to be content with plain mutton. + +We spent the day yesterday at Grasmere, in quiet walks about the hotel; +and at a little past six in the afternoon, I took my departure in the +stage-coach for Windermere. The coach was greatly overburdened with +outside passengers,--fifteen in all, besides the four insiders, and one +of the fifteen formed the apex of an immense pile of luggage on the top. +It seems to me miraculous that we did not topple over, the road being so +hilly and uneven, and the driver, I suspect, none the steadier for his +visits to all the tap-rooms along the route from Cockermouth. There was +a tremendous vibration of the coach now and then; and I saw that, in case +of our going over, I should be flung headlong against the high stone +fence that bordered most of the road. In view of this I determined to +muffle my head in the folds of my thick shawl at the moment of overturn, +and as I could do no better for myself, I awaited my fate with +equanimity. As far as apprehension goes, I had rather travel from Maine +to Georgia by rail, than from Grasmere to Windermere by stage-coach. + +At Lowwood, the landlady espied me from the window, and sent out a large +packet that had arrived by mail; but as it was addressed to some person +of the Christian name of William, I did not venture to open it. She +said, also, that a gentleman had been there, who very earnestly desired +to see me, and I have since had reason to suppose that this was +Allingham, the poet. We arrived at Windermere at half past seven, and +waited nearly an hour for the train to start. I took a ticket for +Lancaster, and talked there about the war with a gentleman in the +coffee-room, who took me for an Englishman, as most people do nowadays, +and I heard from him--as you may from all his countrymen--an expression +of weariness and dissatisfaction with the whole business. These fickle +islanders! How differently they talked a year ago! John Bull sees now +that he never was in a worse predicament in his life; and yet it would +not take much to make him roar as bellicosely as ever. I went to bed at +eleven, and slept unquietly on feathers. + +I had purposed to rise betimes, and see the town of Lancaster before +breakfast. But here I reckoned without my host; for, in the first place, +I had no water for my ablutions, and my boots were not brushed; and so I +could not get down stairs till the hour I named for my coffee and chops; +and, secondly, the breakfast was delayed half an hour, though promised +every minute. In fine, I had but just time to take a hasty walk round +Lancaster Castle, and see what I could of the town on my way,--a not very +remarkable town, built of stone, with taller houses than in the middle +shires of England, narrow streets up and down an eminence on which the +castle is situated, with the town immediately about it. The castle is a +satisfactory edifice, but so renovated that the walls look almost +entirely modern, with the exception of the fine old front, with the +statue of an armed warrior, very likely John of Gaunt himself, in a niche +over the Norman arch of the entrance. Close beside the castle stands an +old church. + +The train left Lancaster at half past nine, and reached Liverpool at +twelve, over as flat and uninteresting a country as I ever travelled. I +have betaken myself to the Rock Ferry Hotel, where I am as comfortable as +I could be anywhere but at home; but it is rather comfortless to think of +hone as three years off, and three thousand miles away. With what a +sense of utter weariness, not fully realized till then, we shall sink +down on our own threshold, when we reach it. The moral effect of being +without a settled abode is very wearisome. + +Our coachman from Grasmere to Windermere looked like a great beer-barrel, +oozy with his proper liquor. I suppose such solid soakers never get +upset. + + + +THE LAUNCH. + + +August 2d.--Mr. ------ has urged me very much to go with his father and +family to see the launch of a great ship which has been built for their +house, and afterwards to partake of a picnic; so, on Tuesday morning I +presented myself at the landing-stage, and met the party, to take passage +for Chester. It was a showery morning, and looked wofully like a rainy +day; but nothing better is to be expected in England; and, after all, +there is seldom such a day that you cannot glide about pretty securely +between the drops of rain. This, however, did not turn out one of those +tolerable days, but grew darker and darker, and worse and worse; and was +worst of all when we had passed about six miles beyond Chester, and were +just on the borders of Wales, on the hither side of the river Dee, where +the ship was to be launched. Here the train stopped, and absolutely +deposited our whole party of excursionists, under a heavy shower, in the +midst of a muddy potato-field, whence we were to wade through mud and +mire to the ship-yard, almost half a mile off. Some kind Christian, I +know not whom, gave me half of his umbrella, and half of his cloak, and +thereby I got to a shed near the ship, without being entirely soaked +through. + +The ship had been built on the banks of the Dee, at a spot where it is +too narrow for her to be launched directly across, and so she lay +lengthwise of the river, and was so arranged as to take the water +parallel with the stream. She is, for aught I know, the largest ship in +the world; at any rate, longer than the Great Britain,--an iron-screw +steamer,--and looked immense and magnificent, and was gorgeously dressed +out in flags. Had it been a pleasant day, all Chester and half Wales +would have been there to see the launch; and, in spite of the rain, there +were a good many people on the opposite shore, as well as on our side; +and one or two booths, and many of the characteristics of a fair,--that +is to say, men and women getting intoxicated without any great noise and +confusion. + +The ship was expected to go off at about twelve o'clock, and at that +juncture all Mr. ------'s friends assembled under the bows of the ship, +where we were a little sheltered from the rain by the projection of that +part of the vessel over our heads. The bottle of port-wine with which +she was to be christened was suspended from the bows to the platform +where we stood by a blue ribbon; and the ceremony was to be performed by +Mrs. ------, who, I could see, was very nervous in anticipation of the +ceremony. Mr. ------ kept giving her instructions in a whisper, and +showing her how to throw the bottle; and as the critical moment +approached, he took hold of it along with her. All this time we were +waiting in momentary expectation of the ship going off, everything being +ready, and only the touch of a spring, as it were, needed to make her +slide into the water. But the chief manager kept delaying a little +longer, and a little longer; though the pilot on board sent to tell him +that it was time she was off. "Yes, yes; but I want as much water as I +can get," answered the manager; and so he held on till, I suppose, the +tide had raised the river Dee to its very acme of height. At last the +word was given; the ship began slowly to move; Mrs. ------ threw the +bottle against the bow with a spasmodic effort that dashed it into a +thousand pieces, and diffused the fragrance of the old port all around, +where it lingered several minutes. I did not think that there could have +been such a breathless moment in an affair of this kind. + +The ship moved majestically down toward the river; and unless it were +Niagara, I never saw anything grander and more impressive than the motion +of this mighty mass as she departed from us. We on the platform, and +everybody along both shores of the Dee, took off our hats in the rain, +waved handkerchiefs, cheered, shouted,--"Beautiful!" "What a noble +launch!" "Never was so fair a sight!"--and, really, it was so grand, +that calm, majestic movement, that I felt the tears come into my eyes. +The wooden pathway adown which she was gliding began to smoke with the +friction; when all at once, when we expected to see her plunge into the +Dee, she came to a full stop. Mr. ------, the father of my friend, a +gentleman with white hair, a dark, expressive face, bright eyes, and an +Oriental cast of features, immediately took the alarm. A moment before +his countenance had been kindled with triumph; but now he turned pale as +death, and seemed to grow ten years older while I was looking at him. +Well he might, for his noble ship was stuck fast in the land of the Dee, +and without deepening the bed of the river, I do not see how her vast +iron hulk is ever to be got out. + +[This steamer was afterwards successfully floated off on the 29th of the +same month.] + +There was no help for it. A steamboat was hitched on to the stranded +vessel, but broke two or three cables without stirring her an inch. So, +after waiting long after we had given up all hope, we went to the office +of the ship-yard, and there took a lunch; and still the rain was pouring, +pouring, pouring, and I never experienced a blacker affair in all my +days. Then we had to wait a great while for a train to take us back, so +that it was almost five o'clock before we arrived at Chester, where I +spent an hour in rambling about the old town, under the Rows; and on the +walls, looking down on the treetops, directly under my feet, and through +their thick branches at the canal, which creeps at the base, and at the +cathedral; walking under the dark intertwining arches of the cloisters, +and looking up at the great cathedral tower, so wasted away externally by +time and weather that it looks, save for the difference of color between +white snow and red freestone, like a structure of snow, half dissolved by +several warm days. + +At the lunch I met with a graduate of Cambridge (England), tutor of a +grandson of Percival, with his pupil (Percival, the assassinated +minister, I mean). I should not like this position of tutor to a young +Englishman; it certainly has an ugly twang of upper servitude. I +observed that the tutor gave his pupil the best seat in the railway +carriage, and in all respects provided for his comfort before thinking of +his own; and this, not as a father does for his child, out of love, but +from a sense of place and duty, which I did not quite see how a gentleman +could consent to feel. And yet this Mr. C------ was evidently a +gentleman, and a quiet, intelligent, agreeable, and, no doubt, learned +man. K------ being mentioned, Mr. C------ observed that he had known him +well at college, having been his contemporary there. He did not like +him, however,--thought him a "dangerous man," as well as I could gather; +he thinks there is some radical defect in K------'s moral nature, a lack +of sincerity; and, furthermore, he believes him to be a sensualist in his +disposition, in support of which view he said Mr. K------ had made +drawings, such as no pure man could have made, or could allow himself to +show or look at. This was the only fact which Mr. C------ adduced, +bearing on his opinion of K------; otherwise, it seemed to be one of +those early impressions which a collegian gets of his fellow-students, +and which he never gets rid of, whatever the character of the person may +turn out to be in after years. I have judged several persons in this +way, and still judge them so, though the world has cone to very different +conclusions. Which is right?--the world, which has the man's whole +mature life on its side; or his early companion, who has nothing for it +but some idle passages of his youth? + +Mr. M------ remarked of newspaper reporters, that they may be known at +all celebrations, and of any public occasion, by the enormous quantity of +luncheon they eat. + + +August 12th.--Mr. B------ dined with us at the Rock Ferry Hotel the day +before yesterday. Speaking of Helvellyn, and the death of Charles Cough, +about whom Wordsworth and Scott have both sung, Mr. B------ mentioned a +version of that story which rather detracts from the character of the +faithful dog. + +But somehow it lowers one's opinion of human nature itself, to be +compelled so to lower one's standard of a dog's nature. I don't intend +to believe the disparaging story, but it reminds me of the story of the +New-Zealander who was asked whether he loved a missionary who had been +laboring for his soul and those of his countrymen. "To be sure I loved +him. Why, I ate a piece of him for my breakfast this morning!" + +For the last week or two I have passed my time between the hotel and the +Consulate, and a weary life it is, and one that leaves little of profit +behind it. I am sick to death of my office,--brutal captains and brutal +sailors; continual complaints of mutual wrong, which I have no power to +set right, and which, indeed, seem to have no right on either side; calls +of idleness or ceremony from my travelling countrymen, who seldom know +what they are in search of at the commencement of their tour, and never +have attained any desirable end at the close of it; beggars, cheats, +simpletons, unfortunates, so mixed up that it is impossible to +distinguish one from another, and so, in self-defence, the Consul +distrusts them all. . . . + +At the hotel, yesterday, there was a large company of factory people from +Preston, who marched up from the pier with a band of military music +playing before them. They spent the day in the gardens and ball-room of +the hotel, dancing and otherwise merry-making; but I saw little of them, +being at the Consulate. Towards evening it drizzled, and the assemblage +melted away gradually; and when the band marched down to the pier, there +were few to follow, although one man went dancing before the musicians, +flinging out his arms, and footing it with great energy and +gesticulation. Some young women along the road likewise began to +dance as the music approached. + +Thackeray has a dread of servants, insomuch that he hates to address +them, or to ask them for anything. His morbid sensibility, in this +regard, has perhaps led him to study and muse upon them, so that he may +be presumed to have a more intimate knowledge of this class than any +other man. + +Carlyle dresses so badly, and wears such a rough outside, that the +flunkies are rude to him at gentlemen's doors. + +In the afternoon J----- and I took a walk towards Tranmere Hall, and +beyond, as far as Oxton. This part of the country, being so near +Liverpool and Birkenhead, is all sprinkled over with what they call +"Terraces," "Bellevues," and other pretty names for semi-detached villas +("Recluse Cottage" was one) for a somewhat higher class. But the old, +whitewashed stone cottage is still frequent, with its roof of slate or +thatch, which perhaps is green with weeds or grass. Through its open +door, you see that it has a pavement of flagstones, or perhaps of red +freestone; and hogs and donkeys are familiar with the threshold. The +door always opens directly into the kitchen, without any vestibule; and, +glimpsing in, you see that a cottager's life must be the very plainest +and homeliest that ever was lived by men and women. Yet the flowers +about the door often indicate a native capacity for the beautiful; but +often there is only a pavement of round stones or of flagstones, like +those within. At one point where there was a little bay, as it were, in +the hedge fence, we saw something like a small tent or wigwam,--an arch +of canvas three or four feet high, and open in front, under which sat a +dark-complexioned woman and some children. The woman was sewing, and I +took them for gypsies. + + +August 17th.--Yesterday afternoon J----- and I went to Birkenhead Park, +which I have already described. . . . It so happened that there was a +large school spending its holiday there; a school of girls of the lower +classes, to the number of a hundred and fifty, who disported themselves +on the green, under the direction of the schoolmistresses and of an old +gentleman. It struck me, as it always has, to observe how the lower +orders of this country indicate their birth and station by their aspect +and features. In America there would be a good deal of grace and beauty +among a hundred and fifty children and budding girls, belonging to +whatever rank of life. But here they had universally a most plebeian +look,--stubbed, sturdy figures, round, coarse faces, snub-noses,--the +most evident specimens of the brown bread of human nature. They looked +wholesome and good enough, and fit to sustain their rough share of life; +but it would have been impossible to make a lady out of any one of them. +Climate, no doubt, has most to do with diffusing a slender elegance over +American young-womanhood; but something, perhaps, is also due to the +circumstance of classes not being kept apart there as they are here: they +interfuse, amid the continual ups and downs of our social life; and so, +in the lowest stations of life, you may see the refining influence of +gentle blood. At all events, it is only necessary to look at such an +assemblage of children as I saw yesterday, to be convinced that birth and +blood do produce certain characteristics. To be sure, I have seen no +similar evidence in England or elsewhere of old gentility refining and +elevating the race. + +These girls were all dressed in black gowns, with white aprons and +neckerchiefs, and white linen caps on their heads,--a very dowdyish +attire, and well suited to their figures. I saw only two of their +games,--in one, they stood in a circle, while two of their number chased +one another within and without the ring of girls, which opened to let the +fugitive pass, but closed again to impede the passage of the pursuer. +The other was blind-man's-buff on a new plan: several of the girls, +sometimes as many as twenty, being blinded at once, and pursuing a single +one, who rang a hand-bell to indicate her whereabouts. This was very +funny; the bell-girl keeping just beyond their reach, and drawing them +after her in a huddled group, so that they sometimes tumbled over one +another and lay sprawling. I think I have read of this game in Strutt's +"English Sports and Pastimes." + +We walked from the Park home to Rock Ferry, a distance of three or four +miles,--a part of which was made delightful by a foot-path, leading us +through fields where the grass had just been mown, and others where the +wheat harvest was commenced. The path led us into the very midst of the +rural labor that was going forward; and the laborers rested a moment to +look at us; in fact, they seemed to be more willing to rest than American +laborers would have been. Children were loitering along this path or +sitting down beside it; and we met one little maid, passing from village +to village, intent on some errand. Reaching Tranmere, I went into an +alehouse, nearly opposite the Hall, and called for a glass of ale. The +doorstep before the house, and the flagstone floor of the entry and +tap-room, were chalked all over in corkscrew lines,--an adornment that +gave an impression of care and neatness, the chalked lines being +evidently freshly made. It was a low, old-fashioned room ornamented with +a couple of sea-shells, and an earthen-ware figure on the mantel-piece; +also with advertisements of Allsop's ale, and other drinks, and with a +pasteboard handbill of "The Ancient Order of Foresters"; any member of +which, paying sixpence weekly, is entitled to ten shillings per week, and +the attendance of a first-rate physician in sickness, and twelve pounds +to be paid to his friends in case of death. Any member of this order, +when travelling, is sure (says the handbill) to meet with a brother +member to lend him a helping hand, there being nearly three thousand +districts of this order, and more than a hundred and nine thousand +members in Great Britain, whence it has extended to Australia, America, +and other countries. + +Looking up at the gateway of Tranmere Hall, I discovered an inscription +on the red freestone lintel, and, though much time-worn, I succeeded in +reading it. "Labor omnia vincit. 1614." There were likewise some +initials which I could not satisfactorily make out. The sense of this +motto would rather befit the present agricultural occupants of the house +than the idle gentlefolks who built and formerly inhabited it. + + + +SMITHELL'S HALL. + + +August 25th.--On Thursday I went by invitation to Smithell's Hall in +Bolton le Moors to dine and spend the night. The Hall is two or three +miles from the town of Bolton, where I arrived by railway from Liverpool, +and which seems to be a pretty large town, though the houses are +generally modern, or with modernized fronts of brick or stucco. It is a +manufacturing town, and the tall brick chimneys rise numerously in the +neighborhood, and are so near Smithell's Hall that I suspect the +atmosphere is somewhat impregnated with their breath. Mr. ------ can +comfort himself with the rent which he receives from the factories +erected upon his own grounds; and I suppose the value of his estate has +greatly increased by the growth of manufactories; although, unless he +wish to sell it, I do not see what good this can do him. + +Smithell's Hall is one of the oldest residences of England, and still +retains very much the aspect that it must have had several centuries ago. +The house formerly stood around all four sides of a quadrangle, enclosing +a court, and with an entrance through an archway. One side of this +quadrangle was removed in the time of the present Mr. ------'s father, +and the front is now formed by the remaining three sides. They look +exceedingly ancient and venerable, with their range of gables and lesser +peaks. The house is probably timber-framed throughout, and is overlaid +with plaster, and its generally light line is painted with a row of +trefoils in black, producing a very quaint effect. The wing, forming one +side of the quadrangle, is a chapel, and has been so from time +immemorial; and Mr. ------ told me that he had a clergyman, and even a +bishop, in his own diocese. The drawing-room is on the opposite side of +the quadrangle; and through an arched door, in the central portion, there +is a passage to the rear of the house. It is impossible to describe such +an old rambling edifice as this, or to get any clear idea of its plan, +even by going over it, without the aid of a map. Mr. ------ has added +some portions, and altered others, but with due regard to harmony with +the original structure, and the great body of it is still mediaeval. + +The entrance-hall opens right upon the quadrangular court; and is a +large, low room, with a settle of carved old oak, and other old oaken +furniture,--a centre-table with periodicals and newspapers on it,--some +family pictures on the walls,--and a large, bright coal-fire in the +spacious grate. The fire is always kept up, throughout summer and +winter, and it seemed to me an excellent plan, and rich with cheerful +effects; insuring one comfortable place, and that the most central in the +house, whatever may be the inclemency of the weather. It was a cloudy, +moist, showery day, when I arrived; and this fire gave me the brightest +and most hospitable smile, and took away any shivery feeling by its mere +presence. The servant showed me thence into a low-studded dining-room, +where soon Mrs. ------ made her appearance, and, after some talk, brought +me into the billiard-room, opening from the hall, where Mr. ------ and a +young gentleman were playing billiards, and two ladies looking on. After +the game was finished, Mr. ------ took me round to see the house and +grounds. + +The peculiarity of this house is what is called "The Bloody Footstep." +In the time of Bloody Mary, a Protestant clergyman--George Marsh by name +--was examined before the then proprietor of the Hall, Sir Roger Barton, +I think, and committed to prison for his heretical opinions, and was +ultimately burned at the stake. As his guards were conducting him from +the justice-room, through the stone-paved passage that leads from front +to rear of Smithell's Hall, he stamped his foot upon one of the +flagstones in earnest protestation against the wrong which he was +undergoing. The foot, as some say, left a bloody mark in the stone; +others have it, that the stone yielded like wax under his foot, and that +there has been a shallow cavity ever since. This miraculous footprint is +still extant; and Mrs. ------ showed it to me before her husband took me +round the estate. It is almost at the threshold of the door opening from +the rear of the house, a stone two or three feet square, set among +similar ones, that seem to have been worn by the tread of many +generations. The footprint is a dark brown stain in the smooth gray +surface of the flagstone; and, looking sidelong at it, there is a shallow +cavity perceptible, which Mrs. ------ accounted for as having been worn +by people setting their feet just on this place, so as to tread the very +spot, where the martyr wrought the miracle. The mark is longer than any +mortal foot, as if caused by sliding along the stone, rather than sinking +into it; and it might be supposed to have been made by a pointed shoe, +being blunt at the heel, and decreasing towards the toe. The +blood-stained version of the story is more consistent with the appearance +of the mark than the imprint would be; for if the martyr's blood oozed +out through his shoe and stocking, it might have made his foot slide +along the stone, and thus have lengthened the shape. Of course it is all +a humbug,--a darker vein cropping up through the gray flagstone; but, it +is probably a fact, and, for aught I know, may be found in Fox's Book of +Martyrs, that George Marsh underwent an examination in this house [There +is a full and pathetic account of the examination and martyrdom of George +Marsh in the eleventh section of Fox's Book of Martyrs, as I have just +found (June 9, 1867). He went to Smithell's hall, among other places, to +be questioned by Mr. Barton.--ED.]; and the tradition may have connected +itself with the stone within a short time after the martyrdom; or, +perhaps, when the old persecuting knight departed this life, and Bloody +Mary was also dead, people who had stood at a little distance from the +Hall door, and had seen George Marsh lift his hand and stamp his foot +just at this spot,--perhaps they remembered this action and gesture, and +really believed that Providence had thus made an indelible record of it +on the stone; although the very stone and the very mark might have lain +there at the threshold hundreds of years before. But, even if it had +been always there, the footprint might, after the fact, be looked upon as +a prophecy, from the time when the foundation of the old house was laid, +that a holy and persecuted man should one day set his foot here, on the +way that was to lead him to the stake. At any rate, the legend is a good +one. + +Mrs. ------ tells me that the miraculous stone was once taken up from the +pavement, and flung out of doors, where it remained many years; and in +proof of this, it is cracked quite across at one end. This is a pity, +and rather interferes with the authenticity, if not of the stone itself, +yet of its position in the pavement. It is not far from the foot of the +staircase, leading up to Sir Roger Barton's examination-room, whither we +ascended, after examining the footprint. This room now opens sideways on +the Chapel, into which it looks down, and which is spacious enough to +accommodate a pretty large congregation. On one of the walls of the +Chapel there is a marble tablet to the memory of one of the present +family,--Mr.------'s father, I suppose; he being the first of the name +who possessed the estate. The present owners, however, seem to feel +pretty much the same pride in the antiquity and legends of the house as +if it had come down to them in an unbroken succession of their own +forefathers. It has, in reality, passed several times from one family to +another, since the Conquest. + +Mr. ------ led me through a spacious old room, which was formerly +panelled with carved oak, but which is converted into a brew-house, up a +pair of stairs, into the garret of one of the gables, in order to show me +the ancient framework of the house. It is of oak, and preposterously +ponderous,--immense beams and rafters, which no modern walls could +support,--a gigantic old skeleton, which architects say must have stood a +thousand years; and, indeed, it is impossible to ascertain the date of +the original foundation, though it is known to have been repaired and +restored between five and six centuries ago. Of course, in the lapse of +ages, it must continually have been undergoing minor changes, but without +at all losing its identity. Mr. ------ says that this old oak wood, +though it looks as strong and as solid as ever, has really lost its +strength, and that it would snap short off, on application of any force. + +After this we took our walk through the grounds, which are well wooded, +though the trees will bear no comparison with those which I have seen in +the midland parts of England. It takes, I suspect, a much longer time +for trees to attain a good size here than in America; and these trees, I +think Mr. ------ told me, were principally set out by himself. He is +upwards of sixty,--a good specimen of the old English country-gentleman, +sensible, loving his land and his trees and his dogs and his game, doing +a little justice-business, and showing a fitness for his position; so +that you feel satisfied to have him keep it. He was formerly a member of +Parliament. I had met him before at dinner at Mrs. H------'s. . . . He +took pleasure in showing me his grounds, through which he has laid out a +walk, winding up and down through dells and over hillocks, and now and +then crossing a rustic bridge; so that you have an idea of quite an +extensive domain. + +Beneath the trees there is a thick growth of ferns, serving as cover for +the game. A little terrier-dog, who had hitherto kept us company, all at +once disappeared; and soon afterwards we heard the squeak of some poor +victim in the cover, whereupon Mr. ------ set out with agility, and ran +to the rescue.--By and by the terrier came back with a very guilty look. +From the wood we passed into the open park, whence we had a distant view +of the house; and, returning thither, we viewed it in other aspects, and +on all sides. One portion of it is occupied by Mr. ------'s gardener, +and seems not to have been repaired, at least as to its exterior, for a +great many years,--showing the old wooden frame, painted black, with +plaster in the interstices; and broad windows, extending across the whole +breadth of the rooms, with hundreds of little diamond-shaped panes of +glass. Before dinner I was shown to my room, which opens from an ancient +gallery, lined with oak, and lighted by a row of windows along one side +of the quadrangle. Along this gallery are the doors of several +sleeping-chambers, one of which--I think it is here--is called "The Dead +Man's Chamber." It is supposed to have been the room where the corpses +of persons connected with the household used to be laid out. My own room +was called "The Beam Chamber," from am immense cross-beam that projects +from the ceiling, and seems to be an entire tree, laid across, and left +rough-hewn, though at present it is whitewashed. The but of the tree +(for it diminishes from one end of the chamber to the other) is nearly +two feet square, in its visible part. + +We dined, at seven o'clock, in a room some thirty-five or forty feet +long, and proportionably broad, all panelled with the old carved oak +which Mr. ------ took from the room which he had converted into a +brew-house. The oak is now of a very dark brown hue, and, being highly +polished, it produces a sombre but rich effect. It is supposed to be of +the era of Henry the Seventh, and when I examined it the next morning, I +found it very delicately and curiously wrought. There are carved +profiles of persons in the costume of the times, done with great skill; +also foliage, intricate puzzles of intersecting lines, sacred devices, +anagrams, and, among others, the device of a bar across a tun, indicating +the name of Barton. Most of the carving, however, is less elaborate and +intricate than these specimens, being in a perpendicular style, and on +one pattern. Before the wood grew so very dark, the beauty of the work +must have been much more easily seen than now, as to particulars, though +I hardly think that the general effect could have been better; at least, +the sombre richness that overspreads the entire square of the room is +suitable to such an antique house. An elaborate Gothic cornice runs +round the whole apartment. The sideboard and other furniture are of +Gothic patterns, and, very likely, of genuine antiquity; but the +fireplace is perhaps rather out of keeping, being of white marble with +the arms of this family sculptured on it. + +Though hardly sunset when we sat down to dinner, yet, it being an +overcast day, and the oaken room so sombre, we had candles burning on +the table; and, long before dinner was over, the candle-light was all the +light we had. It is always pleasanter to dine by artificial light. +Mrs. ------'s dinner was a good one, and Mr. ------'s wines were very +good. I had Mrs. ------ on one side, and another lady on the other +side. . . . + +After dinner there were two card-parties formed in the dining-room, at +one of which there was a game of Vingt-et-un, and at the other a game of +whist, at which Mrs. ------ and I lost several shillings to a Mrs. Halton +and Mr. Gaskell. . . . After finishing our games at cards, Mrs. Halton +drove off in a pony-chaise to her own house; the other ladies retired, +and the gentlemen sat down to chat awhile over the hall fire, +occasionally sipping a glass of wine-and-water, and finally we all went +off to our rooms. It was past twelve o'clock when I composed myself to +sleep, and I could not have slept long, when a tremendous clap of thunder +woke me just in time to see a vivid flash of lightning. I saw no ghosts, +though Mrs. ------ tells me there is one, which makes a disturbance, +unless religious services are regularly kept up in the Chapel. + +In the morning, before breakfast, we had prayers, read by Mr. ------, in +the oak dining-room, all the servants coming in, and everybody kneeling +down. I should like to know how much true religious feeling is indicated +by this regular observance of religious rites in English families. In +America, if people kneel down to pray, it is pretty certain that they +feel a genuine interest in the matter, and their daily life is supposed +to be in accordance with their devotions. If an American is an infidel, +he knows it; but an Englishman is often so without suspecting it,--being +kept from that knowledge by this formality of family prayer, and his +other regularities of external worship. . . . + +There was a parrot in a corner of the dining-room, and, when prayers were +over, Mrs. ------ praised it very highly for having been so silent; it +being Poll's habit, probably, to break in upon the sacred exercises with +unseemly interjections and remarks. While we were at breakfast, Poll +began to whistle and talk very vociferously, and in a tone and with +expressions that surprised me, till I learned that the bird is usually +kept in the kitchen and servants' hall, and is only brought into the +dining-room at prayer-time and breakfast. Thus its mouth is full of +kitchen talk, which flows out before the gentlefolks with the queerest +effect. + +After breakfast I examined the carvings of the room. Mr. ------ has +added to its decorations the coats of arms of all the successive +possessors of the house, with those of the families into which they +married, including the Ratcliffes, Stanleys, and others. From the +dining-room I passed into the library, which contains books enough to +make a rainy day pass pleasantly. I remember nothing else that I need to +record; and as I sat by the hall fire, talking with Mr. Gaskell, at about +eleven o'clock, the butler brought me word that a fly, which I had +bespoken, was ready to convey me to the railway. I took leave of +Mrs. ------, her last request being that I would write a ghost-story +for her house,--and drove off. + + + +SHREWSBURY + + +September 5th.--Yesterday we all of us set forth from Rock Ferry at half +past twelve, and reached Shrewsbury between three and four o'clock, and +took up our quarters at the Lion Hotel. We found Shrewsbury situated on +an eminence, around which the Severn winds, making a peninsula of it, +quite densely covered by the town. The streets ascend, and curve about, +and intersect each other with the customary irregularity of these old +English towns, so that it is quite impossible to go directly to any given +point, or for a stranger to find his way to a place which he wishes to +reach, though, by what seems a singular good fortune, the sought-for +place is always offering itself when least expected. On this account I +never knew such pleasant walking as in old streets like those of +Shrewsbury. And there are passages opening under archways, and winding +up between high edifices, very tempting to the explorer, and generally +leading to some court, or some queer old range of buildings or piece of +architecture, which it would be the greatest pity to miss seeing. There +was a delightful want of plan in the laying out of these ancient towns. +In fact, they never were laid out at all, nor were restrained by any plan +whatever, but grew naturally, with streets as eccentric as the pathway of +a young child toddling about the floor. + +The first curious thing we particularly noticed, when we strolled out +after dinner, was the old market-house, which stands in the midst of an +oblong square; a gray edifice, elevated on pillars and arches, and with +the statue of an armed knight, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, in a +central niche, in its front. The statue is older than the market-house, +having been moved thither from one of the demolished towers of the city +wall in 1795. The market-house was erected in 1595. There are other +curious sculptures and carvings and quirks of architecture about this +building; and the houses that stand about the square are, many of them, +very striking specimens of what dwelling-houses used to be in Elizabeth's +time, and earlier. I have seen no such stately houses, in that style, as +we found here in Shrewsbury. There were no such fine ones in Coventry, +Stratford, Warwick, Chester, nor anywhere else where we have been. Their +stately height and spaciousness seem to have been owing to the fact that +Shrewsbury was a sort of metropolis of the country round about, and +therefore the neighboring gentry had their town-houses there, when London +was several days' journey off, instead of a very few hours; and, besides, +it was once much the resort of kings, and the centre-point of great +schemes of war and policy. One such house, formerly belonging to a now +extinct family, that of Ireland, rises to the height of four stories, and +has a front consisting of what look like four projecting towers. There +are ranges of embowered windows, one above another, to the full height of +the house, and these are surmounted by peaked gables. The people of +those times certainly did not deny themselves light; and while +window-glass was an article of no very remote introduction, it was +probably a point of magnificence and wealthy display to have enough of +it. One whole side of the room must often have been formed by the +window. This Ireland mansion, as well as all the rest of the old houses +in Shrewsbury, is a timber house,--that is, a skeleton of oak, filled up +with brick, plaster, or other material, and with the beams of the timber +marked out with black paint; besides which, in houses of any pretension, +there are generally trefoils, and other Gothic-looking ornaments, +likewise painted black. They have an indescribable charm for me,--the +more, I think, because they are wooden; but, indeed, I cannot tell why it +is that I like them so well, and am never tired of looking at them. A +street was a development of human life, in the days when these houses +were built, whereas a modern street is but the cold plan of an architect, +without individuality or character, and without the human emotion which a +man kneads into the walls which he builds on a scheme of his own. + +We strolled to a pleasant walk under a range of trees, along the shore of +the Severn. It is called the Quarry Walk. The Severn is a pretty river, +the largest, I think (unless it be such an estuary as the Mersey), that I +have met with in England; that is to say, about a fair stone's-throw +across. It is very gentle in its course, and winds along between grassy +and sedgy banks, with a good growth of weeds in some part of its current. +It has one stately bridge, called the English Bridge, of several arches, +and, as we sauntered along the Quarry Walk, we saw a ferry where the boat +seemed to be navigated across by means of a rope, stretched from bank to +bank of the river. After leaving the Quarry Walk, we passed an old tower +of red freestone, the only one remaining of those formerly standing at +intervals along the whole course of the town wall; and we also went along +what little is now left of the wall itself. And thence, through the +irregular streets, which gave no account of themselves, we found our way, +I know not how, back to our hotel. It is an uncheerful old hotel, which +takes upon itself to be in the best class of English country hotels, and +charges the best price; very dark in the lower apartments, pervaded with +a musty odor, but provided with a white-neckclothed waiter, who spares no +ceremony in serving the joints of mutton. + +J----- and I afterwards walked forth again, and went this time to the +castle, which stands exactly above the railway station. A path, from its +breadth quite a street, leads up to the arched gateway; but we found a +board, giving notice that these are private grounds, and no strangers +admitted; so that we only passed through the gate a few steps, and looked +about us, and retired, on perceiving a man approaching us through the +trees and shrubbery. A private individual, it seems, has burrowed in +this old warlike den, and turned the keep, and any other available +apartment, into a modern dwelling, and laid out his pleasure-grounds +within the precincts of the castle wall, which allows verge enough for +the purpose. The ruins have been considerably repaired. This castle was +built at various times, the keep by Edward I., and other portions at an +earlier period, and it stands on the isthmus left by the Severn in its +wandering course about the town. The Duke of Cleveland now owns it. I +do not know who occupies it. + +In the course of this walk, we passed St. Mary's Church,--a very old +church indeed, no matter how old, but say, eight hundred or a thousand +years. It has a very tall spire, and the spire is now undergoing +repairs; and, seeing the door open, I went into the porch, but found no +admission further. Then, walking around it, through the churchyard, we +saw that all the venerable Gothic windows--one of them grand in size-- +were set with stained glass, representing coats of arms and ancient +armor, and kingly robes, and saints with glories about their heads, and +Scriptural people; but all of these, as far as our actual perception was +concerned, quite colorless, and with only a cold outline, dimly filled +up. Yet, had we been within the church, and had the sunlight been +streaming through, what a warm, rich, gorgeous, roseate, golden life +would these figures have showed! + +In the churchyard, close upon the street, so that its dust must be +continually scattered over the spot, I saw a heavy gray tombstone, with a +Latin inscription, purporting that Bishop Butler, the author of the +Analogy, in his lifetime had chosen this as a burial-place for himself +and his family. There is a statue of him within the church. From the +top of the spire a man, above a hundred years ago, attempted to descend, +by means of a rope, to the other side of the Severn; but the rope broke, +and he fell in his midway flight, and was killed. It was an undertaking +worthy of Sam Patch. There is a record of the fact on the outside of the +tower. + +I remember nothing more that we saw yesterday; but, before breakfast, +J----- and I sallied forth again, and inspected the gateway and interior +court of the Council House,--a very interesting place, both in itself and +for the circumstances connected with it, it having been the place where +the councillors for the Welsh marches used to reside during their annual +meetings; and Charles the First also lived here for six weeks in 1612. +James II. likewise held his court here in 1687. The house was originally +built in 1501,--that is, the Council House itself,--the gateway, and the +house through which it passes, being of as late date as 1620. This +latter is a fine old house, in the usual style of timber architecture, +with the timber lines marked out, and quaint adornments in black paint; +and the pillars of the gateway which passes beneath the front chamber are +of curiously carved oak, which has probably stood the action of English +atmosphere better than marble would have done. Passing through this +gateway, we entered a court, and saw some old buildings more or less +modernized, but without destroying their aged stateliness, standing round +three sides of it, with arched entrances and bow-windows, and windows in +the roofs, and peaked gables, and all the delightful irregularity and +variety that these houses have, and which make them always so fresh,--and +with so much detail that every minute you see something heretofore +unseen. It must have been no unfit residence for a king and his court, +when those three sides of the square, all composing one great fantastic +house, were in their splendor. The square itself, too, must have been a +busy and cheerful scene, thronged with attendants, guests, horses, etc. + +After breakfast, we all walked out, and, crossing the English Bridge, +looked at the Severn over its parapet. The river is here broader than +elsewhere, and very shallow, and has an island covered with bushes, about +midway across. Just over the bridge we saw a church, of red freestone, +and evidently very ancient. This is the Church of the Holy Cross, and is +a portion of the Abbey of St. Peter and St. John, which formerly covered +ten acres of ground. We did not have time to go into the church; but the +windows and other points of architecture, so far as we could discern +them, and knew how to admire them, were exceedingly venerable and +beautiful. On the other side of the street, over a wide space, there are +other remains of the old abbey; and the most interesting was a stone +pulpit, now standing in the open air, seemingly in a garden, but which +originally stood in the refectory of the abbey, and was the station +whence one of the monks read to his brethren at their meals. The pulpit +is much overgrown with ivy. We should have made further researches among +these remains, though they seem now to be in private grounds; but a large +mastiff came nut of his kennel, and, approaching us to the length of his +iron chain, began barking very fiercely. Nor had we time to see half +that we would gladly have seen and studied here and elsewhere about +Shrewsbury. It would have been very interesting to have visited +Hotspur's and Falstaff's battle-field, which is four miles from the town; +too distant, certainly, for Falstaff to have measured the length of the +fight by Shrewsbury clock. There is now a church, built there by Henry +IV., and said to cover the bones of those slain in the battle. + +Returning into the town, we penetrated some narrow lanes, where, as the +old story goes, people might almost shake hands across from the top +windows of the opposite houses, impending towards each other. Emerging +into a wider street, at a spot somewhat more elevated than other parts of +the town, we went into a shop to buy some Royal Shrewsbury cakes, which +we had seen advertised at several shop windows. They are a very rich +cake, with plenty of eggs, sugar, and butter, and very little flour. + +A small public building of stone, of modern date, was close by; and +asking the shopwoman what it was, she said it was the Butter Cross, or +market for butter, eggs, and poultry. It is a remarkable site, for here, +in ancient times, stood a stone cross, where heralds used to make +proclamation, and where criminals of state used to be executed. David, +the last of the Welsh princes, was here cruelly put to death by Edward +I., and many noblemen were beheaded on this spot, after being taken +prisoners in the battle of Shrewsbury. + +I can only notice one other memorable place in Shrewsbury, and that is +the Raven Inn, where Farquhar wrote his comedy of "The Recruiting +Officer" in 1701. The window of the room in which he wrote is said to +look into the inn yard, and I went through the arched entrance to see if +I could distinguish it. The hostlers were currying horses in the yard, +and so stared at me that I gave but the merest glance. The Shrewsbury +inns have not only the customary names of English inns,--as the Lion, the +Stag,--but they have also the carved wooden figures of the object named, +whereas, in all other towns, the name alone remains. + +We left Shrewsbury at half past ten, and arrived in London at about four +in the afternoon. + + + +LONDON. + + +September 7th.--On Wednesday, just before dusk, J----- and I walked +forth, for the first time, in London. Our lodgings are in George Street, +Hanover Square, No. 21; and St. George's Church, where so many marriages +in romance and in fashionable life have been celebrated, is a short +distance below our house, in the same street. The edifice seems to be of +white marble, now much blackened with London smoke, and has a Grecian +pillared portico. In the square, just above us, is a statue of William +Pitt. We went down Bond Street, and part of Regent Street, just +estraying a little way from our temporary nest, and taking good account +of landmarks and corners, so as to find our way readily back again. It +is long since I have had such a childish feeling; but all that I had +heard and felt about the vastness of London made it seem like swimming in +a boundless ocean, to venture one step beyond the only spot I knew. My +first actual impression of London was of stately and spacious streets, +and by no means so dusky and grimy as I had expected,--not merely in the +streets about this quarter of the town, which is the aristocratic +quarter, but in all the streets through which we had passed from the +railway station. If I had not first been so imbued with the smoke and +dinginess of Liverpool, I should doubtless have seen a stronger contrast +betwixt dusky London and the cheerful glare of our American cities. +There are no red bricks here; all are of a dark hue, and whatever of +stone or stucco has been white soon clothes itself in mourning. + +Yesterday forenoon I went out alone, and plunged headlong into London, +and wandered about all day, without any particular object in view, but +only to lose myself for the sake of finding myself unexpectedly among +things that I had always read and dreamed about. The plan was perfectly +successful, for, besides vague and unprofitable wanderings, I saw, in the +course of the day, Hyde Park, Regent's Park, Whitehall, the two new +Houses of Parliament, Charing Cross, St. Paul's, the, Strand, Fleet +Street, Cheapside, Whitechapel, Leadenhall Street, the Haymarket, and a +great many other places, the names of which were classic in my memory. I +think what interests me most here, is the London of the writers of Queen +Anne's age,--whatever Pope, The Spectator, De Foe, and down as late as +Johnson and Goldsmith, have mentioned. The Monument, for instance, which +is of no great height nor beauty compared with that on Bunker Hill, +charmed me prodigiously. St. Paul's appeared to me unspeakably grand and +noble, and the more so from the throng and bustle continually going on +around its base, without in the least disturbing the sublime repose of +its great dome, and, indeed, of all its massive height and breadth. +Other edifices may crowd close to its foundation, and people may tramp as +they like about it; but still the great cathedral is as quiet and serene +as if it stood in the middle of Salisbury Plain. There cannot be +anything else in its way so good in the world as just this effect of St. +Paul's in the very heart and densest tumult of London. I do not know +whether the church is built of marble, or of whatever other white or +nearly white material; but in the time that it has been standing there, +it has grown black with the smoke of ages, through which there are +nevertheless gleams of white, that make a most picturesque impression on +the whole. It is much better than staring white; the edifice would not +be nearly so grand without this drapery of black. + +I did not find these streets of the old city so narrow and irregular as I +expected. All the principal ones are sufficiently broad, and there are +few houses that look antique, being, I suppose, generally modern-fronted, +when not actually of modern substance. There is little or no show or +pretension in this part of London; it has a plain, business air,--an air +of homely, actual life, as of a metropolis of tradesmen, who have been +carrying on their traffic here, in sober earnest, for hundreds of years. +You observe on the sign-boards, "Established ninety years in Threadneedle +Street," "Established in 1109,"--denoting long pedigrees of silk-mercers +and hosiers,--De Foe's contemporaries still represented by their +posterity, who handle the hereditary yardstick on the same spot. + +I must not forget to say that I crossed the Thames over a bridge which, I +think, is near Charing Cross. Afterwards, I found my way to London +Bridge, where there was a delightful density of throng. The Thames is +not so wide and majestic as I had imagined,--nothing like the Mersey, for +example. As a picturesque object, however, flowing through the midst of +a city, it would lose by any increase of width. + +Omnibuses are a most important aid to wanderers about London. I reached +home, well wearied, about six o'clock. In the course of the day, I had +seen one person whom I knew,--Mr. Clarke, to whom Henry B------ +introduced me, when we went to see the great ship launched on the Dee. +This, I believe, was in Regent Street. In that street, too, I saw a +company of dragoons, beautifully mounted, and defensively armed, in brass +helmets and steel cuirasses, polished to the utmost excess of splendor. +It was a pretty sight. At one of the public edifices, on each side of +the portal, sat a mounted trooper similarly armed, and with his carbine +resting on his knee, just as motionless as a statue. This, too, as a +picturesque circumstance, was very good, and really made an impression on +me with respect to the power and stability of the government, though I +could not help smiling at myself for it. But then the thought, that for +generations an armed warrior has always sat just there, on his war-steed, +and with his weapon in his hand, is pleasant to the imagination,-- +although it is questionable whether his carbine be loaded; and, no doubt, +if the authorities had any message to send, they would choose some other +messenger than this heavy dragoon,--the electric wire, for instance. +Still, if he and his horse were to be withdrawn from their post, night or +day (for I suppose the sentinels are on duty all night), it seems as if +the monarchy would be subverted, and the English constitution crumble +into rubbish; and, in honest fact, it will signify something like that, +when guard is relieved there for the last time. + + +September 8th.--Yesterday forenoon S-----, the two eldest children, and I +went forth into London streets, and proceeded down Regent Street, and +thence to St. James's Park, at the entrance of which is a statue of +somebody,--I forget whom. On the very spacious gravel-walks, covering +several acres, in the rear of the Horse Guards, some soldiers were going +through their exercise; and, after looking at them awhile, we strolled +through the Park, alongside of a sheet of water, in which various kinds +of ducks, geese, and rare species of waterfowl were swimming. There was +one swan of immense size, which moved about among the lesser fowls like a +stately, full-rigged ship among gunboats. By and by we found ourselves +near what we since have discovered to be Buckingham Palace,--a long +building, in the Italian style, but of no impressiveness, and which one +soon wearies of looking at. The Queen having gone to Scotland the day +before, the palace now looked deserted, although there was a one-horse +cab, of shabby aspect, standing at the principal front, where doubtless +the carriages of princes and the nobility draw up. There is a fountain +playing before the palace, and water-fowl love to swim under its +perpetual showers. These ducks and geese are very tame, and swim to the +margin of the pond to be fed by visitors, looking up at you with great +intelligence. + +S----- asked a man in a sober suit of livery (of whom we saw several +about the Park), whose were some of the large mansions which we saw, and +he pointed out Stafford House, the residence of the Duke of Sutherland, +--a very noble edifice, much more beautiful than the palace, though not +so large; also the house of the Earl of Ellesmere, and residences of +other noblemen. This range of mansions, along the park, from the spot +whence we viewed them, looks very much like Beacon Street, in Boston, +bordering on the Common, allowing for a considerable enlargement of +scale in favor of the Park residences. The Park, however, has not the +beautiful elms that overshadow Boston Common, nor such a pleasant +undulation of surface, nor the fine off-view of the country, like that +across Charles River. I doubt whether London can show so delightful a +spot as that Common, always excepting the superiority of English lawns, +which, however, is not so evident in the London parks, there being less +care bestowed on the grass than I should have expected. + +From this place we wandered into what I believe to be Hyde Park, +attracted by a gigantic figure on horseback, which loomed up in the +distance. The effect of this enormous steed and his rider is very grand, +seen in the misty atmosphere. I do not understand why we did not see St. +James's Palace, which is situated, I believe, at the extremity of the +same range of mansions of which Stafford House is the opposite end. From +the entrance of Hyde Park, we seem to have gone along Piccadilly, and, +making two or three turns, and getting bewildered, I put S----- and the +children into a cab, and sent them home. Continuing my wanderings, I +went astray among squares of large aristocratic-looking edifices, all +apparently new, with no shops among them, some yet unfinished, and the +whole seeming like a city built for a colony of gentlefolks, who might be +expected to emigrate thither in a body. It was a dreary business to +wander there, turning corner after corner, and finding no way of getting +into a less stately and more genial region. At last, however, I passed +in front of the Queen's Mews, where sentinels were on guard, and where a +jolly-looking man, in a splendidly laced scarlet coat and white-topped +boots, was lounging at the entrance. He looked like the prince of grooms +or coachmen. . . . + +The corner of Hyde Park was within a short distance, and I took a Hansom +at the cab-stand there, and drove to the American Despatch Agency, 26 +Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, having some documents of state to be +sent by to-day's steamer. The business of forwarding despatches to +America, and distributing them to the various legations and consulates in +Europe, must be a pretty extensive one; for Mr. Miller has a large +office, and two clerks in attendance. + +From this point I went through Covent Garden Market, and got astray in +the city, so that I can give no clear account of my afternoon's +wanderings. I passed through Holborn, however, and I think it was from +that street that I passed through an archway (which I almost invariably +do, when I see one), and found myself in a very spacious, gravelled +square, surrounded on the four sides by a continuous edifice of dark +brick, very plain, and of cold and stern aspect. This was Gray's Inn, +all tenanted by a multitude of lawyers. Passing thence, I saw +"Furnival's Inn" over another archway, but, being on the opposite side of +the street, I did not go thither. In Holborn, still, I went through +another arched entrance, over which was "Staples Inn," and here likewise +seemed to be offices; but, in a court opening inwards from this, there +was a surrounding seclusion of quiet dwelling-houses, with beautiful +green shrubbery and grass-plots in the court, and a great many sunflowers +in full bloom. The windows were open; it was a lovely summer afternoon, +and I have a sense that bees were humming in the court, though this may +have been suggested by my fancy, because the sound would have been so +well suited to the scene. A boy was reading at one of the windows. +There was not a quieter spot in England than this, and it was very +strange to have drifted into it so suddenly out of the bustle and rumble +of Holborn; and to lose all this repose as suddenly, on passing through +the arch of the outer court. In all the hundreds of years since London +was built, it has not been able to sweep its roaring tide over that +little island of quiet. In Holborn I saw the most antique-looking houses +that I have yet met with in London, but none of very remarkable aspect. + +I think I must have been under a spell of enchantment to-day, connecting +me with St. Paul's; for, trying to get away from it by various avenues, I +still got bewildered, and again and again saw its great dome and +pinnacles before me. I observe that the smoke has chiefly settled on the +lower part of the edifice, leaving its loftier portions and its spires +much less begrimed. It is very beautiful, very rich. I did not think +that anything but Gothic architecture could so have interested me. The +statues, the niches, the embroidery, as it were, of sculpture traced +around it, produced a delightful effect. In front of St. Paul's there is +a statue of Queen Anne, which looks rather more majestic, I doubt not, +than that fat old dame ever did. St. Paul's churchyard had always been a +place of immense interest in my imagination. It is merely the not very +spacious street, running round the base of the church,--at least, this +street is included in the churchyard, together with the enclosure +immediately about the church, sowed with tombstones. I meant to look for +the children's book-shop, but forgot it, or neglected it, from not +feeling so much interest in a thing near at hand as when it seemed +unattainable. + +I watched a man tearing down the brick wall of a house that did not +appear very old; but it surprised me to see how crumbly the brick-work +was, one stroke of his pick often loosening several bricks in a row. It +is my opinion that brick houses, after a moderate term of years, stand +more by habit and courtesy than through any adhesive force of the old +mortar. + +I recommenced my wanderings; but I remember nothing else particularly +claiming to be mentioned, unless it be Paternoster Row,--a little, +narrow, darksome lane, in which, it being now dusk in that density of the +city, I could not very well see what signs were over the doors. In this +street, or thereabouts, I got into an omnibus, and, being set down near +Regent's Circus, reached home well wearied. + + +September 9th.--Yesterday, having some tickets to the Zoological Gardens, +we went thither with the two eldest children. It was a most beautiful +sunny day, the very perfection of English weather,--which is as much as +to say, the best weather in the world, except, perhaps, some few days in +an American October. These gardens are at the end of Regent's Park, +farthest from London, and they are very extensive; though, I think, not +quite worthy of London,--not so good as one would expect them to be,--not +so fine and perfect a collection of beasts, birds, and fishes, as one +might fairly look for, when the greatest metropolis of the world sets out +to have such a collection at all.--My idea was, that here every living +thing was provided for, in the way best suited to its nature and habits, +and that the refinement of civilization had here restored a garden of +Eden, where all the animal kingdom had regained a happy home. This is +not quite the case; though, I believe, the creatures are as comfortable +as could be expected, and there are certainly a good many strange beasts +here. The hippopotamus is the chief treasure of the collection,--an +immense, almost misshapen, mass of flesh. At this moment I do not +remember anything that interested me except a sick monkey,--a very large +monkey, and elderly he seemed to be. His keeper brought him some +sweetened apple and water, and some tea; for the monkey had quite lost +his appetite, and refused all ordinary diet. He came, however, quite +eagerly, and smelt of the tea and apple, the keeper exhorting him very +tenderly to eat. But the poor monkey shook his head slowly, and with the +most pitiable expression, at the same time extending his hand to take the +keeper's, as if claiming his sympathy and friendship. By and by the +keeper (who is rather a surly fellow) essayed harsher measures, and +insisted that the monkey should eat what had been brought for him, and +hereupon ensued somewhat of a struggle, and the tea was overturned upon +the straw of the bed. Then the keeper scolded him, and, seizing him by +one arm, drew him out of his little bedroom into the larger cage, upon +which the wronged monkey began a loud, dissonant, reproachful chatter, +more expressive of a sense of injury than any words could be. + +Observing the spectators in front of the cage, he seemed to appeal to +them, and addressed his chatter thitherward, and stretched out his long, +lean arm and black hand between the bars, as if claiming the grasp of any +one friend he might have in the whole world. He was placable, however; +for when the keeper called him in a gentler tone, he hobbled towards him +with a very stiff and rusty movement, and the scene closed with their +affectionately hugging one another. But I fear the poor monkey will die. +In a future state of being, I think it will be one of my inquiries, in +reference to the mysteries of the present state, why monkeys were made. +The Creator could not surely have meant to ridicule his own work. It +might rather be fancied that Satan had perpetrated monkeys, with a +malicious purpose of parodying the masterpiece of creation! + +The Aquarium, containing, in some of its compartments, specimens of the +animal and vegetable life of the sea, and, in others, those of the fresh +water, was richly worth inspecting; but not nearly so perfect as it might +be. Now I think we have a right to claim, in a metropolitan +establishment of this kind, in all its departments, a degree of +perfection that shall quite outdo the unpractised thought of any man on +that particular subject. + +There were a good many well-dressed people and children in the gardens, +Saturday being a fashionable day for visiting them. One great amusement +was feeding some bears with biscuits and cakes, of which they seemed +exceedingly fond. One of the three bears clambered to the top of a high +pole, whence he invited the spectators to hand him bits of cake on the +end of a stick, or to toss them into his mouth, which he opened widely +for that purpose. Another, apparently an elderly bear, not having skill +nor agility for these gymnastics, sat on the ground, on his hinder end, +groaning most pitifully. The third took what stray bits he could get, +without earning them by any antics. + +At four o'clock there was some music from the band of the First +Life-Guards, a great multitude of chairs being set on the greensward in +the sunshine and shade, for the accommodation of the auditors. Here we +had the usual exhibition of English beauty, neither superior nor +otherwise to what I have seen in other parts of England. Before the +music was over, we walked slowly homeward, along beside Regent's Park, +which is very prettily laid out, but lacks some last touch of richness +and beauty; though, after all, I do not well see what more could be done +with grass, trees, and gravel-walks. The children, especially J-----, +who had raced from one thing to another all day long, grew tired; so we +put them into a cab, and walked slowly through Portland Place, where are +a great many noble mansions, yet no very admirable architecture; none +that possessed, nor that ever can possess, the indefinable charm of some +of those poor old timber houses in Shrewsbury. The art of domestic +architecture is lost. We can rear stately and beautiful dwellings +(though we seldom do), but they do not seem proper to the life of man, in +the same way that his shell is proper to the lobster; nor, indeed, is the +mansion of the nobleman proper to him, in the same kind and degree, that +a hut is proper to a peasant. + +From Portland Place we passed into Regent Street, and soon reached home. + + +September 10th.--Yesterday forenoon we walked out with the children, +intending for Charing Cross; but, missing our way, as usual, we went down +a rather wide and stately street, and saw before us an old brick edifice +with a pretty extensive front, over which rose a clock-tower,--the whole +dingy, and looking both gloomy and mean. There was an arched entrance +beneath the clock-tower, at which two Guardsmen, in their bear-skin caps, +were stationed as sentinels; and from this circumstance, and our having +some guess at the locality, we concluded the old brick building to be St. +James's Palace. Otherwise we might have taken it for a prison, or for a +hospital, which, in truth, it was at first intended for. But, certainly, +there are many paupers in England who live in edifices of far more +architectural pretension externally than this principal palace of the +English sovereigns. + +Seeing other people go through the archway, we also went, meeting no +impediment from the sentinels, and found ourselves in a large paved +court, in the centre of which a banner was stuck down, with a few +soldiers standing near it. This flag was the banner of the regiment of +guards on duty. The aspect of the interior court was as naked and dismal +as the outside, the brick being of that dark hue almost universal in +England. On one side of the court there was a door which seemed to give +admission to a chapel, into which several persons went, and probably we +might have gone too, had we liked. From this court, we penetrated into +at least two or three others; for the palace is very extensive, and all +of it, so far as I could see, on the same pattern,--large, enclosed +courts, paved, and quite bare of grass, shrubbery, or any beautiful +thing,--dark, stern, brick walls, without the slightest show of +architectural beauty, or even an ornament over the square, commonplace +windows, looking down on those forlorn courts. A carriage-drive passes +through it, if I remember aright, from the principal front, emerging by +one of the sides; and I suppose that the carriages roll through the +palace, at the levees and drawing-rooms. There was nothing to detain us +here any long time, so we went from court to court, and came out through +a side-opening. The edifice is battlemented all round, and this, with +somewhat of fantastic in the shape of the clock-tower, is the only +attempt at ornament in the whole. + +Then we skirted along St. James's Park, passing Marlborough House,--a red +brick building,--and a very long range of stone edifices, which, whether +they were public or private, one house or twenty, we knew not. We +ascended the steps of the York column, and soon reached Charing Cross and +Trafalgar Square, where there are more architectural monuments than in +any other one place in London; besides two fountains, playing in large +reservoirs of water, and various edifices of note and interest. + +Northumberland House, now, and for a long while, the town residence of +the Percys, stands on the Strand side,--over the entrance a lion, very +spiritedly sculptured, flinging out his long tail. On another side of +the square is Morley's Hotel, exceedingly spacious, and looking more +American than anything else in the hotel line that I have seen here. + +The Nelson monument, with Lord Nelson, in a cocked hat, on its top, is +very grand in its effect. All about the square there were sundry +loungers, people looking at the bas-reliefs on Nelson's Column, children +paddling in the reservoirs of the fountains; and, it being a sunny day, +it was a cheerful and lightsome, as well as an impressive scene. On +second thoughts, I do not know but that London should have a far better +display of architecture and sculpture than this, on its finest site, and +in its very centre; for, after all, there is nothing of the very best. +But I missed nothing at the time. + +In the afternoon S----- and I set out to attend divine service in +Westminster Abbey. On our way thither we passed through Pall Mall, which +is full of club-houses, and we were much struck with the beauty of the +one lately erected for the Carleton Club. It is built of a buff-colored +or yellowish stone, with pillars or pilasters of polished Aberdeen +granite, wonderfully rich and beautiful; and there is a running border of +sculptured figures all round the upper part of the building, besides +other ornament and embroidery, wherever there was room or occasion for +it. It being an oblong square, the smooth and polished aspect in this +union of two rich colors in it,--this delicacy and minuteness of finish, +this lavish ornament--made me think of a lady's jewel-box; and if it +could be reduced to the size of about a foot square, or less, it would +make the very prettiest one that ever was seen. I question whether it +have any right to be larger than a jewel-box; but it is certainly a most +beautiful edifice. We turned down Whitehall, at the head of which, over +the very spot where the Regicides were executed, stands the bronze +equestrian statue of Charles I.,--the statue that was buried under the +earth during the whole of Cromwell's time, and emerged after the +Restoration. We saw the Admiralty and the Horse-Guards, and, in front of +the latter, the two mounted sentinels, one of whom was flirting and +laughing with some girls. On the other side of the street stands the +Banqueting-House, built by Inigo Jones; from a window of which King +Charles stepped forth, wearing a kingly head, which, within a few minutes +afterwards, fell with a dead thump on the scaffold. It was nobly done,-- +and nobly suffered. How rich is history in the little space around this +spot! + +I find that the day after I reached London, I entirely passed by +Westminster Abbey without knowing it, partly because my eyes were +attracted by the gaudier show of the new Houses of Parliament, and partly +because this part of the Abbey has been so much repaired and renewed that +it has not the marks of age. Looking at its front, I now found it very +grand and venerable; but it is useless to attempt a description: these +things are not to be translated into words; they can be known only by +seeing them, and, until seen, it is well to shape out no idea of them. +Impressions, states of mind, produced by noble spectacles of whatever +kind, are all that it seems worth while to attempt reproducing with the +pen. + +After coming out of the Abbey, we looked at the two Houses of Parliament, +directly across the way,--an immense structure, and certainly most +splendid, built of a beautiful warm-colored stone. The building has a +very elaborate finish, and delighted me at first; but by and by I began +to be sensible of a weariness in the effect, a lack of variety in the +plan and ornament, a deficiency of invention; so that instead of being +more and more interested the longer one looks, as is the case with an old +Gothic edifice, and continually reading deeper into it, one finds that +one has seen all in seeing a little piece, and that the magnificent +palace has nothing better to show one or to do for one. It is wonderful +how the old weather-stained and smoke-blackened Abbey shames down this +brand-newness; not that the Parliament houses are not fine objects to +look at, too. + +Yesterday morning we walked to Charing Cross, with U---- and J-----, and +there took a cab to the Tower, driving thither through the Strand, Fleet +Street, past St. Paul's, and amid all the thickest throng of the city. I +have not a very distinct idea of the Tower, but remember that our cab +drove within an outer gate, where we alighted at a ticket-office; the old +royal fortress being now a regular show-place, at sixpence a head, +including the sight of armory and crown-jewels. We saw about the gate +several warders or yeomen of the guard, or beefeaters, dressed in scarlet +coats of antique fashion, richly embroidered with golden crowns, both on +the breast and back, and other royal devices and insignia; so that they +looked very much like the kings on a pack of cards, or regular trumps, at +all events. I believe they are old soldiers, promoted to this position +for good conduct. One of them took charge of us, and when a sufficient +number of visitors had collected with us, he led us to see what very +small portion of the Tower is shown. + +There is a great deal of ground within the outer precincts; and it has +streets and houses and inhabitants and a church within it; and, going up +and down behind the warder, without any freedom to get acquainted with +the place by strolling about, I know little more about it than when I +went in,--only recollecting a mean and disagreeable confusion of brick +walls, barracks, paved courts, with here and there a low bulky turret, of +rather antique aspect, and, in front of one of the edifices, a range of +curious old cannon, lying on the ground, some of them immensely large and +long, and beautifully wrought in brass. I observed by a plan, however, +that the White Tower, containing the armory, stands about in the centre +of the fortress, and that it is a square, battlemented structure, having +a turret at each angle. We followed the warder into the White Tower, and +there saw, in the first place, a long gallery of mounted knights, and men +at arms, which has been so often described that when I wish to recall it +to memory I shall turn to some other person's account of it. I was much +struck, however, with the beautiful execution of a good many of the suits +of armor, and the exquisite detail with which they were engraved. The +artists of those days attained very great skill, in this kind of +manufacture. The figures of the knights, too, in full array, undoubtedly +may have shown a combination of stateliness and grace which heretofore I +have not believed in,--not seeing how it could be compatible with iron +garments. But it is quite incomprehensible how, in the time of the +heaviest armor, they could strike a blow, or possess any freedom of +movement, except such as a turtle is capable of; and, in truth, they are +said not to have been able to rise up when overthrown. They probably +stuck out their lances, and rode straight at the enemy, depending upon +upsetting him by their mass and weight. In the row of knights is Henry +VIII.; also Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, who must have been an +immensely bulky man; also, a splendid suit of armor, gilded all over, +presented by the city of London to Charles I.; also, two or three suits +of boys' armor, for the little princes of the House of Stuart. They +began to wear these burdens betimes, in order that their manhood might be +the more tolerant of them. We went through this gallery so hastily that +it would have been about as well not to have seen it at all. + +Then we went up a winding stair to another room, containing armor and +weapons, and beautiful brass cannon, that appeared to have been for +ornament rather than use, some of them being quite covered with embossed +sculpture, marvellously well wrought. In this room was John of Gaunt's +suit, indicating a man seven feet high, and the armor seems to bear the +marks of much wear; but this may be owing to great scrubbing, throughout +the centuries since John of Gaunt died. There, too, we saw the cloak in +which Wolfe fell, on the Plains of Abraham,--a coarse, faded, threadbare, +light-colored garment, folded up under a glass case. Many other things +we might have seen, worthy of being attended to, had there been time to +look at them. + +Following into still another room, we were told that this was Sir Walter +Raleigh's apartment, while confined in the Tower, so that it was within +these walls that he wrote the History of the World. The room was +formerly lighted by lancet windows, and must have been very gloomy; but, +if he had the whole length of it to himself, it was a good space to walk +and meditate in. On one side of the apartment is a low door, giving +admittance, we were told, to the cell where Raleigh slept; so we went in, +and found it destitute of any window, and so dark that we could not +estimate its small extent except by feeling about. At the threshold of +this sleeping-kennel, there were one or two inscriptions, scratched in +the wall, but not, I believe, by Raleigh. + +In this apartment, among a great many other curious things, are shown the +devilish instruments of torture which the Spaniards were bringing to +England in their Armada; and, at the end of the room, sits Queen +Elizabeth on horseback, in her high ruff and faded finery. Very likely +none of these clothes were ever on her actual person. Here, too, we saw +a headsman's block,--not that on which Raleigh was beheaded, which I +would have given gold to see, but the one which was used for the Scotch +Lords Kilmarnock, Lovat, and others, executed on account of the Rebellion +of 1745. It is a block of oak, about two feet high, with a large knot in +it, so that it would not easily be split by a blow of the axe; hewn and +smoothed in a very workmanlike way, and with a hollow to accommodate the +head and shoulders on each side. There were two or three very strong +marks of the axe in the part over which the neck lay, and several smaller +cuts; as if the first stroke nearly severed the head, and then the +chopping off was finished by smaller blows, as we see a butcher cutting +meat with his cleaver. A headsman's axe was likewise shown us,--its date +unknown. + +In the White Tower we were shown the Regalia, under a glass, and within +an iron cage. Edward the Confessor's golden staff was very finely +wrought; and there were a great many pretty things; but I have a +suspicion, I know not why, that these are not the real jewels,--at least, +that such inestimable ones as the Koh-i-noor (or however it is spelt) are +less freely exhibited. + +The warder then led us into a paved court, which he said was the place of +execution of all royal personages and others, who, from motives of fear +or favor, were beheaded privately. Raleigh was among these, and so was +Anne Boleyn. We then followed to the Beauchamp Tower, where many state +prisoners of note were confined, and where, on the walls of one of the +chambers, there are several inscriptions and sculptures of various +devices, done by the prisoners,--and very skilfully done, too, though +perhaps with no better instrument than an old nail. These poor wretches +had time and leisure enough to spend upon their work. This chamber is +lighted by small lancet windows, pierced at equal intervals round the +circle of the Beauchamp Tower; and it contains a large, square fireplace, +in which is now placed a small modern stove. We were hurried away, +before we could even glance at the inscriptions, and we saw nothing else, +except the low, obscure doorway in the Bloody Tower, leading to the +staircase, under which were found the supposed bones of the little +princes; and lastly, the round, Norman arch, opening to the water +passage, called the Traitor's Gate. Finally, we ate some cakes and buns +in the refreshment-room connected with the ticket-office, and then left +the fortress. The ancient moat, by the way, has been drained within a +few years, and now forms a great hollow space, with grassy banks, round +about the citadel. + +We now wished to see the Thames, and therefore threaded our way along +Thames Street, towards London Bridge, passing through a fish-market, +which I suppose to be the actual Billingsgate, whence originated all the +foul language in England. Under London Bridge there is a station for +steamers running to Greenwich and Woolwich. We got on board one of +these, not very well knowing, nor much caring, whither it might take us, +and steamed down the river, which is bordered with the shabbiest, +blackest, ugliest, meanest buildings: it is the back side of the town; +and, in truth, the muddy tide of the Thames deserves to see no better. +There was a great deal of shipping in the river, and many steamers, and +it was much more crowded than the Mersey, where all the ships go into +docks; but the vessels were not so fine. By and by we reached Greenwich, +and went ashore there, proceeding up from the quay, past beer-shops and +eating-houses in great numbers and variety. Greenwich Hospital is here a +very prominent object, and after passing along its extensive front, +facing towards the river, we entered one of the principal gates, as we +found ourselves free to do. + +We now left the hospital, and steamed back to London Bridge, whence we +went up into the city, and, to finish the labors of the day, ascended the +Monument. This seems to be still a favorite adventure with the cockneys; +for we heard one woman, who went up with us, saying that she had been +thinking of going up all her life, and another said that she had gone up +thirty years ago. There is an iron railing, or rather a cage, round the +top, through which it would be impossible for people to force their way, +in order to precipitate themselves, as six persons have heretofore done. +There was a mist over London, so that we did not gain a very clear view, +except of the swarms of people running about, like ants, in the streets +at the foot of the Monument. + +Descending, I put S----- and the children into a cab, and I myself +wandered about the city. Passing along Fleet Street, I turned in through +an archway, which I rightly guessed to be the entrance to the Temple. It +is a very large space, containing many large, solemn, and serious +edifices of dark brick, and no sooner do you pass under the arch than all +the rumble and bustle of London dies away at once; and it seems as if a +person might live there in perfect quiet, without suspecting that it was +not always a Sabbath. People appear to have their separate residences +here; but I do not understand what is the economy of their lives. Quite +in the deepest interior of this region, there is a large garden, +bordering on the Thames, along which it has a gravel-walk, and benches +where it would be pleasant to sit. On one edge of the garden, there is +some scanty shrubbery, and flowers of no great brilliancy; and the +greensward, with which the garden is mostly covered, is not particularly +rich nor verdant. + +Emerging from the Temple, I stopped at a tavern in the Strand, the waiter +of which observed to me, "They say Sebastopol is taken, sir!" It was +only such an interesting event that could have induced an English waiter +to make a remark to a stranger, not called for in the way of business. + +The best view we had of the town--in fact, the only external view, and +the only time we really saw the White Tower--was from the river, as we +steamed past it. Here the high, square, battlemented White Tower, with +the four turrets at its corners, rises prominently above all other parts +of the fortress. + + +September 13th.--Mr. ------, the American Minister, called on me on +Tuesday, and left his card; an intimation that I ought sooner to have +paid my respects to him; so yesterday forenoon I set out to find his +residence, 56 Harley Street. It is a street out of Cavendish Square, in +a fashionable quarter, although fashion is said to be ebbing away from +it. The ambassador seems to intend some little state in his +arrangements; but, no doubt, the establishment compares shabbily enough +with those of the legations of other great countries, and with the houses +of the English aristocracy. A servant, not in livery, or in a very +unrecognizable one, opened the door for me, and gave my card to a sort of +upper attendant, who took it in to Mr. ------. He had three gentlemen +with him, so desired that I should be ushered into the office of the +legation, until he should be able to receive me. Here I found a clerk or +attache, Mr. M------, who has been two or three years on this side of the +water; an intelligent person, who seems to be in correspondence with the +New York Courier and Enquirer. By and by came in another American to get +a passport for the Continent, and soon the three gentlemen took leave of +the ambassador, and I was invited to his presence. + +The tall, large figure of Mr. ------ has a certain air of state and +dignity; he carries his head in a very awkward way, but still looks like +a man of long and high authority, and, with his white hair, is now quite +venerable. There is certainly a lack of polish, a kind of rusticity, +notwithstanding which you feel him to be a man of the world. I should +think he might succeed very tolerably in English society, being heavy and +sensible, cool, kindly, and good-humored, with a great deal of experience +of life. We talked about various matters, politics among the rest; and +he observed that if the President had taken the advice which he gave him +in two long letters, before his inauguration, he would have had a +perfectly quiet and successful term of office. The advice was, to form a +perfectly homogeneous cabinet of Union men, and to satisfy the extremes +of the party by a fair distribution of minor offices; whereas he formed +his cabinet of extreme men, on both sides, and gave the minor offices to +moderate ones. But the antislavery people, surely, had no representative +in the cabinet. Mr. ------ further observed, that he thought the +President had a fair chance of re-nomination, for that the South could +not, in honor, desert him; to which I replied that the South had been +guilty of such things heretofore. Mr. ------ thinks that the next +Presidential term will be more important and critical, both as to our +foreign relations and internal affairs, than any preceding one,--which I +should judge likely enough to be the case, although I heard the sane +prophecy often made respecting the present term. + +The ambassador dined with us at Rock Park a year or two ago, and I then +felt, and always feel, as if he were a man of hearty feeling and +simplicity, and certainly it would be unjust to conclude otherwise, +merely from the fact (very suspicious, it is true) of his having been a +life-long politician. After we had got through a little matter of +business (respecting a young American who has enlisted at Liverpool), the +Minister rang his bell, and ordered another visitor to be admitted; and +so I took my leave. In the other room I found the Secretary of +Legation,--a tall, slender man of about forty, with a small head and +face,--gentlemanly enough, sensible, and well informed, yet I should +judge, not quite up to his place. There was also a Dr. B------ from +Michigan present, and I rather fancy the ambassador is quite as much +bored with visitors as the consul at Liverpool. Before I left the +office, Mr. ------ came in with Miss Sarah Clarke on his arm. She had +come thither to get her passport vised; and when her business was +concluded, we went out together. + +She was going farther towards the West End, and I into the city; so we +soon parted, and I lost myself among the streets and squares, arriving at +last at Oxford Street, though even then I did not know whether my face +were turned cityward or in the opposite direction. Crossing Regent +Street, however, I became sure of my whereabout, and went on through +Holborn, and sought hither and thither for Grace Church Street, in order +to find the American Consul, General Campbell; for I needed his aid to +get a bank post-bill cashed. But I could not find the street, go where I +would; so at last I went to No. 65 Cheapside, and introduced myself to +Mr. ------, whom I already knew by letter, and by a good many of his +poems, which he has sent me, and by two excellent watches, which I bought +of him. This establishment, though it has the ordinary front of dingy +brick, common to buildings in the city, looks like a time-long stand, the +old shop of a London tradesman, with a large figure of a watch over the +door, a great many watches (and yet no gorgeous show of them) in the +window, a low, dark front shop, and a little room behind, where there was +a chair or two. Mr. ------ is a small, slender young man, quite +un-English in aspect, with black, curly hair, a thin, dark, colorless +visage, very animated and of quick expression, with a nervous +temperament. . . . He dismounted from a desk when my card was handed +to him, and turned to me with a vivid, glad look of recognition. + +We talked, in the first place, about poetry and such matters, about +England and America, and the nature and depth of their mutual dislike, +and, of course, the slavery question came up, as it always does, in one +way or another. Anon, I produced my bank post-bill; and Mr. ------ +kindly engaged to identify me at the bank, being ready to swear to me, he +said, on the strength of my resemblance to my engraved portrait. So we +set out for the Bank of England, and, arriving there, were directed to +the proper clerk, after much inquiry; but he told us that the bill was +not yet due, having been drawn at seven days, and having two still to +run,--which was the fact. As I was almost shillingless, Mr. ------ now +offered to cash it for me. He is very kind and good. . . . Arriving at +his shop again, he went out to procure the money, and soon returned with +it. At my departure he gave me a copy of a new poem of his, entitled +"Verdicts," somewhat in the manner of Lowell's satire. . . . Mr. ------ +resides now at Greenwich, whither he hoped I would come and see him on my +return to London. Perhaps I will, for I like him. It seems strange to +see an Englishman with so little physical ponderosity and obtuseness of +nerve. + +After parting from him, it being three o'clock or thereabouts, I resumed +my wanderings about the city, of which I never weary as long as I can put +one foot before the other. + +Seeing that the door of St. Paul's, under one of the semicircular +porches, was partially open, I went in, and found that the afternoon +service was about to be performed; so I remained to hear it, and to see +what I could of the cathedral. What a total and admirable contrast +between this and a Gothic church! the latter so dim and mysterious, with +its various aisles, its intricacy of pointed arches, its dark walls and +columns and pavement, and its painted glass windows, bedimming even what +daylight might otherwise get into its eternal evening. But this +cathedral was full of light, and light was proper to it. There were no +painted windows, no dim recesses, but a wide and airy space beneath the +dome; and even through the long perspective of the nave there was no +obscurity, but one lofty and beautifully rounded arch succeeding to +another, as far as the eye could reach. The walls were white, the +pavement constructed of squares of gray and white marble. It is a most +grand and stately edifice, and its characteristic stems to be to continue +forever fresh and new; whereas such a church as Westminster Abbey must +have been as venerable as it is now from the first day when it grew to be +an edifice at all. How wonderful man is in his works! How glad I am +that there can be two such admirable churches, in their opposite styles, +as St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey! + +The organ was played while I was there, and there was an anthem +beautifully chanted by voices that came from afar off and remotely above, +as if out of a sunny sky. Meanwhile I looked at such monuments as were +near; chiefly those erected to military or naval men,--Picton, General +Ponsonby, Lord St. Vincent, and others; but against one of the pillars +stands a statue of Dr. Johnson,--a noble and thoughtful figure, with a +development of muscle befitting an athlete. I doubt whether sculptors do +not err in point of taste, by making all their statues models of physical +perfection, instead of expressing by them the individual character and +habits of the man. The statue in the market-place at Lichfield has more +of the homely truth of Johnson's actual personality than this. + +St. Paul's, as yet, is by no means crowded with monuments; there is, +indeed, plenty of room for a mob of the illustrious, yet to come. But it +seems to me that the character of the edifice would be injured by +allowing the monuments to be clustered together so closely as at +Westminster, by incrusting the walls with them, or letting the statues +throng about the pedestals of columns. There must be no confusion in +such a cathedral as this, and I question whether the effect will ever be +better than it is now, when each monument has its distinct place, and as +your eye wanders around, you are not distracted from noting each marble +man, in his niche against the wall, or at the base of a marble pillar. +Space, distance, light, regularity, are to be preserved, even if the +result should be a degree of nakedness. + +I saw Mr. Appleton of the Legation, and Dr. Brown, on the floor of the +cathedral. They were about to go over the whole edifice, and had engaged +a guide for that purpose; but, as I intend to go thither again with +S-----, I did not accompany them, but went away the quicker that one of +the gentlemen put on his hat, and I was ashamed of being seen in company +with a man who could wear his hat in a cathedral. Not that he meant any +irreverence; but simply felt that he was in a great public building,--as +big, nearly, as all out of doors,--and so forgot that it was a +consecrated place of worship. The sky is the dome of a greater cathedral +than St. Paul's, and built by a greater architect than Sir Christopher +Wren, and yet we wear our hats unscrupulously beneath it. + +I remember no other event of importance, except that I penetrated into a +narrow lane or court, either in the Strand or Fleet Street, where was a +tavern, calling itself the "Old Thatched House," and purporting to have +been Nell Gwyn's dairy. I met with a great many alleys and obscure +archways, in the course of the day's wanderings. + + +September 14th.--Yesterday, in the earlier part of the day, it poured +with rain, and I did not go out till five o'clock in the afternoon; nor +did I then meet with anything interesting. I walked through Albemarle +Street, for the purpose of looking at Murray's shop, but missed it +entirely, at my first inquisition. The street is one of hotels, +principally, with only a few tradesmen's shops, and has a quiet, +aristocratic aspect. On my return, down the other sidewalk, I did +discover the famous publisher's locality; but merely by the name +"Mr. Murray," engraved on a rather large brass plate, such as doctors +use, on the door. There was no sign of a book, nor of its being a place +of trade in any way; and I should have taken the house to be, if not a +private mansion, then a lawyer's office. + +At seven o'clock S-----, U----, and I went to dine with Mr. R---- S------ +in Portland Place. . . . Mr. S------'s house is a very fine one, and he +gave us a very quiet, elegant, and enjoyable dinner, in much better taste +and with less fuss than some others we have attended elsewhere. Mr. +S------ is a friend of Thackeray, and, speaking of the last number +of The Newcomes,--so touching that nobody can read it aloud without +breaking down,--he mentioned that Thackeray himself had read it to James +Russell Lowell and William Story in a cider-cellar! I read all the +preceding numbers of The Newcomes to my wife, but happened not to have +an opportunity to read this last, and was glad of it,--knowing that my +eyes would fill, and my voice quiver. Mr. S------ likes Thackeray, and +thinks him a good fellow. Mr. S------ has a--or I don't know but I ought +better to say the--beautiful full-length picture of Washington by Stuart, +and I was proud to see that noblest face and figure here in England. The +picture of a man beside whom, considered physically, any English nobleman +whom I have seen would look like common clay. + +Speaking of Thackeray, I cannot but wonder at his coolness in respect to +his own pathos, and compare it with my emotions, when I read the last +scene of The Scarlet Letter to my wife, just after writing it,--tried to +read it rather, for my voice swelled and heaved, as if I were tossed up +and down on an ocean as it subsides after a storm. But I was in a very +nervous state then, having gone through a great diversity of emotion, +while writing it, for many months. I think I have never overcome my own +adamant in any other instance. + +Tumblers, hand-organists, puppet-showmen, bagpipers, and all such vagrant +mirth-makers, are very numerous in the streets of London. The other day, +passing through Fleet Street, I saw a crowd filling up a narrow court, +and high above their heads a tumbler, standing on his head, on the top of +a pole, that reached as high as the third story of the neighboring +Houses. Sliding down the pole head foremost, he disappeared out of my +sight. A multitude of Punches go the mounds continually. Two have +passed through Hanover Street, where we reside, this morning. The first +asked two shillings for his performance; so we sent him away. The second +demanded, in the first place, half a crown; but finally consented to take +a shilling, and gave us the show at that price, though much maimed in its +proportions. Besides the spectators in our windows, he had a little +crowd on the sidewalk, to whom he went round for contributions, but I did +not observe that anybody gave him so much as a halfpenny. It is strange +to see how many people are aiming at the small change in your pocket. In +every square a beggar-woman meets you, and turns back to follow your steps +with her miserable murmur. At the street-crossings there are old men or +little girls with their brooms; urchins propose to brush your boots; and +if you get into a cab, a man runs to open the door for you, and touches +his hat for a fee, as he closes it again. + + +September 15th.--It was raining yesterday, and I kept within doors till +after four o'clock, when J----- and I took a walk into the city. Seeing +the entrance to Clement's Inn, we went through it, and saw the garden, +with a kneeling bronze figure in it; and when just in the midst of the +Inn, I remembered that Justice Shallow was of old a student there. I do +not well understand these Inns of Court, or how they differ from other +places. Anybody seems to be free to reside in them, and a residence does +not seem to involve any obligation to study law, or to have any +connection therewith. Clement's Inn consists of large brick houses, +accessible by narrow lanes and passages, but, by some peculiar privilege +or enchantment, enjoying a certain quiet and repose, though in close +vicinity to the noisiest part of the city. I got bewildered in the +neighborhood of St. Paul's, and, try how I might to escape from it, its +huge dusky dome kept showing itself before me, through one street and +another. In my endeavors to escape it, I at one time found myself in St. +John's Street, and was in hopes to have seen the old St. John's gate, so +familiar for above a century on the cover of the Gentleman's Magazine. +But I suppose it is taken down, for we went through the entire street, I +think, and saw no trace of it. Either afterwards or before this we came +upon Smithfield, a large irregular square, filled up with pens for +cattle, of which, however, there were none in the market at that time. I +leaned upon a post, at the western end of the square, and told J----- how +the martyrs had been burnt at Smithfield in Bloody Mary's days. Again we +drifted back to St. Paul's; and, at last, in despair of ever getting out +of this enchanted region, I took a Hansom cab to Charing Cross, whence we +easily made our way home. + + + +LIVERPOOL. + + +September 16th.--I took the ten-o'clock train yesterday morning from the +Euston station, and arrived at Liverpool at about five, passing through +the valley of Trent, without touching at Birmingham. English scenery, on +the tracks, is the tamest of the tame, hardly a noticeable hill breaking +the ordinary gentle undulation of the landscape, but still the verdure +and finish of the fields and parks make it worth while to throw out a +glance now and then, as you rush by. Few separate houses are seen, as in +America; but sometimes a village, with the square, gray, battlemented +tower of its Norman church, and rows of thatched cottages, reminding one +of the clustered mud-nests of swallows, under the eaves of a barn; here +and there a lazy little river, like the Trent; perhaps, if you look +sharply where the guide-book indicates, the turrets of an old castle in +the distance; perhaps the great steeple and spires of a cathedral; +perhaps the tall chimney of a manufactory; but, on the whole, the +traveller comes to his journey's end unburdened with a single new idea. +I observe that the harvest is not all gathered in as yet, and this +rainy weather must look very gloomy to the farmer. I saw gleaners, +yesterday, in the stubble-fields. There were two gentlemen in the same +railway-carriage with me, and we did not exchange half a dozen words the +whole day. + +I am here, established at Mrs. Blodgett's boarding-house, which I find +quite full; insomuch that she had to send one of her sea-captains to +sleep in another house, in order to make room for me. It is exclusively +American society: four shipmasters, and a doctor from Pennsylvania, who +has been travelling a year on the Continent, and who seems to be a man of +very active intelligence, interested in everything, and especially in +agriculture. . . . He asserted that we are fifty years ahead of England +in agricultural science, and that he could cultivate English soil to far +better advantage than English farmers do, and at vastly less expense. +Their tendency to cling to old ideas, which retards them in everything +else, keeps them behindhand in this matter too. Really, I do not know +any other place in England where a man can be made so sensible that he +lives in a progressive world as here in Mrs. Blodgett's boarding-house. + +The captains talk together about their voyages, and how they manage with +their unruly mates and crews; and how freights are in America, and the +prospects of business; and of equinoctial gales, and the qualities of +different ships, and their commanders, and how crews, mates, and masters +have all deteriorated since their remembrance. . . . But these men are +alive, and talk of real matters, and of matters which they know. The +shipmasters who come to Mrs. Blodgett's are favorable specimens of their +class; being all respectable men, in the employ of good houses, and +raised by their capacity to the command of first-rate ships. In my +official intercourse with them, I do not generally see their best side; +as they are seldom before me except as complainants, or when summoned to +answer to some complaint made by a seaman. But hearing their daily talk, +and listening to what is in their minds, and their reminiscences of what +they have gone through, one becomes sensible that they are men of energy +and ability, fit to be trusted, and retaining a hardy sense of honor, and +a loyalty to their own country, the stronger because they have compared +it with many others. Most of them are gentlemen, too, to a certain +extent,--some more than others, perhaps; and none to a very exquisite +point, or, if so, it is none the better for them as sailors or as men. + + +September 17th.--It is singular to feel a sense of my own country +returning upon me with the intercourse of the people whom I find +here. . . . + +The doctor is much the most talkative of our company, and sometimes bores +me thereby; though he seldom says anything that is not either instructive +or amusing. He tells a curious story of Prince Albert, and how he avails +himself of American sharp-shooting. During the doctor's tour in +Scotland, which he has just finished, he became acquainted with one of +the Prince's attaches, who invited him very earnestly to join his Royal +highness's party, promising him a good gun, and a keeper to load it for +him, two good dogs, besides as many cigars as he could smoke and as much +wine as he could drink, on the condition that whatever game he shot +should be the Prince's. "The Prince," said the attache, "is very fond of +having Americans in his shooting-parties, on account of their being such +excellent shots; and there was one with him last year who shot so +admirably that his Royal Highness himself left off shooting in utter +astonishment." The attache offered to introduce the doctor to the +Prince, who would be certain to receive him very graciously. . . . + +I think, perhaps, we talk of kings and queens more at our table than +people do at other tables in England; not, of course, that we like them +better, or admire them more, but that they are curiosities. Yet I would +not say that the doctor may not be susceptible on the point of royal +attentions; for he told us with great complacency how emphatically, on +two or three occasions, Louis Napoleon had returned his bow, and the last +time had turned and made some remark (evidently about the doctor) to the +Empress. . . . + +I ought not to omit mentioning that he has been told in France that he +personally resembles the Emperor, and I suspect he is trying to heighten +the resemblance by training his mustache on the pattern of that which +adorns the imperial upper lip. He is a genuine American character, +though modified by a good deal of travel; a very intelligent man, full of +various ability, with eyes all over him for any object of interest,--a +little of the bore, sometimes,--quick to appreciate character, with a +good deal of tact, gentlemanly in his manners, but yet lacking a deep and +delicate refinement. Not but that Americans are as capable of this last +quality as other people are; but what with the circumstances amid which +we grow up, and the peculiar activity of our minds, we certainly do often +miss it. By the by, he advanced a singular proposition the other +evening, namely, that the English people do not so well understand +comfort, or attain it so perfectly in their domestic arrangements, as we +do. I thought he hardly supported this opinion so satisfactorily as some +of his other new ideas. + +I saw in an American paper yesterday, that an opera, still unfinished, +had been written on the story of The Scarlet Letter, and that several +scenes of it had been performed successfully in New York. I should think +it might possibly succeed as an opera, though it would certainly fail as +a play. + + + +LONDON. + + +September 24th.--On Saturday, at half past three o'clock, I left +Liverpool by the London and Northwest Railway for London. Mrs. +Blodgett's table had been thinned by several departures during the +week. . . . My mind had been considerably enlivened, and my sense of +American superiority renewed, by intercourse with these people; and there +is no danger of one's intellect becoming a standing pool in such society. +I think better of American shipmasters, too, than I did from merely +meeting them in my office. They keep up a continual discussion of +professional matters, and of all things having any reference to their +profession; the laws of insurance, the rights of vessels in foreign +ports, the authority and customs of vessels of war with regard to +merchantmen, etc.,--with stories and casual anecdotes of their +sea-adventures, gales, shipwrecks, icebergs, and collisions of vessels, +and hair-breadth escapes. Their talk runs very much on the sea, and on +the land as connected with the sea; and their interest does not seem to +extend very far beyond the wide field of their professional concerns. + +Nothing remarkable occurred on the journey to London. The greater part +of the way there were only two gentlemen in the same compartment with me; +and we occupied each our corner, with little other conversation than in +comparing watches at the various stations. I got out of the carriage +only once, at Rugby, I think, and for the last seventy or eighty miles +the train did not stop. There was a clear moon the latter part of the +journey, and the mist lay along the ground, looking very much like a +surface of water. We reached London at about ten, and I found S----- +expecting me. + +Yesterday the children went with Fanny to the Zoological Gardens; and, +after sending them off, S----- and I walked to Piccadilly, and there took +a cab for Kensington Gardens. It was a delightful day,--the best of all +weather, the real English good weather,--more like an Indian summer than +anything else within my experience; a mellow sunshine, with great warmth +in it,--a soft, balmy air, with a slight haze through it. If the sun +made us a little too warm, we had but to go into the shade to be +immediately refreshed. The light of these days is very exquisite, so +gently bright, without any glare,--a veiled glow. In short, it is the +kindliest mood of Nature, and almost enough to compensate for chill and +dreary months. Moreover, there is more of such weather here than the +English climate has ever had credit for. + +Kensington Gardens form an eminently beautiful piece of artificial +woodland and park scenery. The old palace of Kensington, now inhabited +by the Duchess of Inverness, stands at one extremity; an edifice of no +great mark, built of brick, covering much ground, and low in proportion +to its extent. In front of it, at a considerable distance, there is a +sheet of water; and in all directions there are vistas of wide paths +among noble trees, standing in groves, or scattered in clumps; everything +being laid out with free and generous spaces, so that you can see long +streams of sunshine among the trees, and there is a pervading influence +of quiet and remoteness. Tree does not interfere with tree; the art of +man is seen conspiring with Nature, as if they had consulted together how +to make a beautiful scene, and had taken ages of quiet thought and tender +care to accomplish it. We strolled slowly along these paths, and +sometimes deviated from them, to walk beneath the trees, many of the +leaves of which lay beneath our feet, yellow and brown, and with a +pleasant smell of vegetable decay. These were the leaves of +chestnut-trees; the other trees (unless elms) have yet, hardly begun to +shed their foliage, although you can discern a sober change of line in +the woodland masses; and the trees individualize themselves by assuming +each its own tint, though in a very modest way. If they could have +undergone the change of an American autumn, it would have been like +putting on a regal robe. Autumn often puts one on in America, but it is +apt to be very ragged. + +There were a good many well-dressed people scattered through the +grounds,--young men and girls, husbands with their wives and children, +nursery-maids and little babes playing about in the grass. Anybody might +have entered the gardens, I suppose; but only well-dressed people were +there not, of the upper classes, but shop-keepers, clerks, apprentices, +and respectability of that sort. It is pleasant to think that the people +have the freedom, and therefore the property, of parks like this, more +beautiful and stately than a nobleman can keep to himself. The extent of +Kensington Gardens, when reckoned together with Hyde Park, from which it +is separated only by a fence of iron rods, is very great, comprising +miles of greensward and woodland. The large artificial sheet of water, +called the Serpentine River, lies chiefly in Hyde Park, but comes +partly within the precincts of the gardens. It is entitled to +honorable mention among the English lakes, being larger than some that +are world-celebrated,--several miles long, and perhaps a stone's-throw +across in the widest part. It forms the paradise of a great many ducks +of various breeds, which are accustomed to be fed by visitors, and come +flying from afar, touching the water with their wings, and quacking +loudly when bread or cake is thrown to them. I bought a bun of a little +hunchbacked man, who kept a refreshment-stall near the Serpentine, and +bestowed it pied-meal on these ducks, as we loitered along the bank. We +left the park by another gate, and walked homeward, till we came to +Tyburnia, and saw the iron memorial which marks where the gallows used to +stand. Thence we turned into Park Lane, then into Upper Grosvenor +Street, and reached Hanover Square sooner than we expected. + +In the evening I walked forth to Charing Cross, and thence along the +Strand and Fleet Street, where I made no new discoveries, unless it were +the Mitre Tavern. I mean to go into it some day. The streets were much +thronged, and there seemed to be a good many young people,--lovers, it is +to be hoped,--who had spent the day together, and were going innocently +home. Perhaps so,--perhaps not. + + +September 25th.--Yesterday forenoon J----- and I walked out, with no very +definite purpose; but, seeing a narrow passageway from the Strand down to +the river, we went through it, and gained access to a steamboat, plying +thence to London Bridge. The fare was a halfpenny apiece, and the boat +almost too much crowded for standing-room. This part of the river +presents the water-side of London in a rather pleasanter aspect than +below London Bridge,--the Temple, with its garden, Somerset House,--and +generally, a less tumble-down and neglected look about the buildings; +although, after all, the metropolis does not see a very stately face in +its mirror. I saw Alsatia betwixt the Temple and Blackfriar's Bridge. +Its precincts looked very narrow, and not particularly distinguishable, +at this day, from the portions of the city on either side of it. At +London Bridge we got aboard of a Woolwich steamer, and went farther down +the river, passing the Custom-House and the Tower, the only prominent +objects rising out of the dreary range of shabbiness which stretches +along close to the water's edge. + +From this remote part of London we walked towards the heart of the city; +and, as we went, matters seemed to civilize themselves by degrees, and +the streets grew crowded with cabs, omnibuses, drays, and carts. We +passed, I think, through Whitechapel, and, reaching St. Paul's, got into +an omnibus, and drove to Regent Street, whence it was but a step or two +home. + +In the afternoon, at four o'clock, S----- and I went to call on the +American Ambassador and Miss L------. The lady was not at home, but we +went in to see Mr. ------ and were shown into a stately drawing-room, the +furniture of which was sufficiently splendid, but rather the worse for +wear,--being hired furniture, no doubt. The ambassador shortly appeared, +looking venerable, as usual,--or rather more so than usual,--benign, and +very pale. His deportment towards ladies is highly agreeable and +prepossessing, and he paid very kind attention to S-----, thereby quite +confirming her previous good feeling towards him. She thinks that he is +much changed since she saw him last, at dinner, at our house,--more +infirm, more aged, and with a singular depression in his manner. I, too, +think that age has latterly come upon him with great rapidity. He said +that Miss L------ was going home on the 6th of October, and that he +himself had long purposed going, but had received despatches which +obliged him to put off his departure. The President, he said, had just +written, requesting him to remain till April, but this he was determined +not to do. I rather think that he does really wish to return, and not +for any ambitious views concerning the Presidency, but from an old man's +natural desire to be at home, and among his own people. + +S----- spoke to him about an order from the Lord Chamberlain for +admission to view the two Houses of Parliament; and the ambassador drew +from his pocket a colored silk handkerchief, and made a knot in it, in +order to remind himself to ask the Lord Chamberlain. The homeliness of +this little incident has a sort of propriety and keeping with much of +Mr. ------'s manner, but I would rather not have him do so before English +people. He arranged to send a close carriage for us to come and see him +socially this evening. After leaving his house we drove round Hyde Park, +and thence to Portland Place, where we left cards for Mrs. Russell +Sturgis; thence into Regent's Park, thence home. U---- and J----- +accompanied us throughout these drives, but remained in the carriage +during our call on Mr. ------. In the evening I strolled out, and walked +as far as St. Paul's,--never getting enough of the bustle of London, +which may weary, but can never satisfy me. By night London looks wild +and dreamy, and fills me with a sort of pleasant dread. It was a clear +evening, with a bright English moon,--that is to say, what we Americans +should call rather dim. + + +September 26th.--Yesterday, at eleven, I walked towards Westminster +Abbey, and as I drew near the Abbey bells were clamorous for joy, chiming +merrily, musically, and, obstreperously,--the most rejoicing sound that +can be conceived; and we ought to have a chime of bells in every American +town and village, were it only to keep alive the celebration of the +Fourth of July. I conjectured that there might have been another victory +over the Russians, that perhaps the northern side of Sebastopol had +surrendered; but soon I saw the riddle that these merry bells were +proclaiming. There were a great many private carriages, and a large +concourse of loungers and spectators, near the door of the church that +stands close under the eaves of the Abbey. Gentlemen and ladies, gayly +dressed, were issuing forth, carriages driving away, and others drawing +up to the door in their turn; and, in short, a marriage had just been +celebrated in the church, and this was the wedding-party. The last time +I was there, Westminster was flinging out its great voice of joy for a +national triumph; now, for the happy union of two lovers. What a mighty +sympathizer is this old Abbey! + +It is pleasant to recognize the mould and fashion of English features +through the marble of many of the statues and busts in the Abbey, even +though they may be clad in Roman robes. I am inclined to think them, in +many cases, faithful likenesses; and it brings them nearer to the mind, +to see these original sculptures,--you see the man at but one remove, as +if you caught his image in a looking-glass. The bust of Gay seemed to me +very good,--a thoughtful and humorous sweetness in the face. Goldsmith +has as good a position as any poet in the Abbey, his bust and tablet +filling the pointed arch over a door that seems to lead towards the +cloisters. No doubt he would have liked to be assured of so conspicuous +a place. There is one monument to a native American, "Charles Wragg, +Esq., of South Carolina,"--the only one, I suspect, in Westminster Abbey, +and he acquired this memorial by the most un-American of qualities, his +loyalty to his king. He was one of the refugees leaving America in 1777, +and being shipwrecked on his passage the monument was put up by his +sister. It is a small tablet with a representation of Mr. Wragg's +shipwreck at the base. Next to it is the large monument of Sir +Cloudesley Shovel, which I think Addison ridicules,--the Admiral, in a +full-bottomed wig and Roman dress, but with a broad English face, +reclining with his head on his hand, and looking at you with great +placidity. I stood at either end of the nave, and endeavored to take in +the full beauty and majesty of the edifice; but apparently was not in a +proper state of mind, for nothing came of it. It is singular how like an +avenue of overarching trees are these lofty aisles of a cathedral. + +Leaving the Abbey about one o'clock, I walked into the city as far +as Grace Church Street, and there called on the American Consul, +General ------, who had been warmly introduced to me last year by a +letter from the President. I like the General; a kindly and honorable +man, of simple manners and large experience of life. Afterwards I called +on Mr. Oakford, an American connected in business with Mr. Crosby, from +whom I wanted some information as to the sailing of steamers from +Southampton to Lisbon. Mr. Crosby was not in town. . . . + +At eight o'clock Mr. ------ sent his carriage, according to previous +arrangement, to take us to spend the evening socially. Miss L------ +received us with proper cordiality, and looked quite becomingly,--more +sweet and simple in aspect than when I have seen her in full dress. +Shortly the ambassador appeared, and made himself highly agreeable; not +that he is a brilliant conversationist, but his excellent sense and +good-humor, and all that he has seen and been a part of, are sufficient +resources to draw upon. We talked of the Queen, whom he spoke of with +high respect; . . . . of the late Czar, whom he knew intimately while +minister to Russia,--and he quite confirms all that has been said about +the awful beauty of his person. Mr. ------'s characterization of him was +quite favorable; he thought better of his heart than most people, and +adduced his sports with a school of children,--twenty of whom, perhaps, +he made to stand rigidly in a row, like so many bricks,--then, giving one +a push, would laugh obstreperously to see the whole row tumble down. He +would lie on his back, and allow the little things to scramble over him. +His Majesty admitted Mr. ------ to great closeness of intercourse, and +informed him of a conspiracy which was then on foot for the Czar's +murder. On the evening, when the assassination was to take place, the +Czar did not refrain from going to the public place where it was to be +perpetrated, although, indeed, great precautions had been taken to +frustrate the schemes of the conspirators. Mr. ------ said, that, in +case the plot had succeeded, all the foreigners, including himself, would +likewise have been murdered, the native Russians having a bitter hatred +against foreigners. He observed that he had been much attached to the +Czar, and had never joined in the English abuse of him. His sympathies, +however, are evidently rather English than Russian, in this war. +Speaking of the present emperor, he said that Lord Heytebury, formerly +English ambassador in Russia, lately told him that he complimented the +Czar Nicholas on the good qualities of his son, saying that he was +acknowledged by all to be one of the most amiable youths in the world. +"Too amiable, I fear, for his position," answered the Czar. "He has too +much of his mother in him." + + +September 27th.--Yesterday, much earlier than English people ever do such +things, General ------ made us a call on his way to the Consulate, and +sat talking a stricken hour or thereabouts. Scarcely had he gone when +Mrs. Oakford and her daughter came. After sitting a long while, they +took U---- to their house, near St. John's Wood, to spend the night. I +had been writing my journal and official correspondence during such +intervals as these calls left me; and now, concluding these businesses, +S-----, J-----, and I went out and took a cab for the terminus of the +Crystal Palace Railway, whither we proceeded over Waterloo Bridge, and +reached the palace not far from three o'clock. It was a beautifully +bright day, such as we have in wonderful succession this month. The +Crystal Palace gleamed in the sunshine; but I do not think a very +impressive edifice can be built of glass,--light and airy, to be sure, +but still it will be no other than an overgrown conservatory. It is +unlike anything else in England; uncongenial with the English character, +without privacy, destitute of mass, weight, and shadow, unsusceptible of +ivy, lichens, or any mellowness from age. + +The train of carriages stops within the domain of the palace, where there +is a long ascending corridor up into the edifice. There was a very +pleasant odor of heliotrope diffused through the air; and, indeed, the +whole atmosphere of the Crystal Palace is sweet with various +flower-scents, and mild and balmy, though sufficiently fresh and cool. +It would be a delightful climate for invalids to spend the winter in; and +if all England could be roofed over with glass, it would be a great +improvement on its present condition. + +The first thing we did, before fairly getting into the palace, was to sit +down in a large ante-hall, and get some bread and butter and a pint of +Bass's pale ale, together with a cup of coffee for S-----. This was the +best refreshment we could find at that spot; but farther within we found +abundance of refreshment-rooms, and John Bull and his wife and family at +fifty little round tables, busily engaged with cold fowl, cold beef, ham, +tongue, and bottles of ale and stout, and half-pint decanters of sherry. +The English probably eat with more simple enjoyment than any other +people; not ravenously, as we often do, and not exquisitely and +artificially, like the French, but deliberately and vigorously, and with +due absorption in the business, so that nothing good is lost upon +them. . . . It is remarkable how large a feature the refreshment-rooms +make in the arrangements of the Crystal Palace. + +The Crystal Palace is a gigantic toy for the English people to play with. +The design seems to be to reproduce all past ages, by representing the +features of their interior architecture, costume, religion, domestic +life, and everything that can be expressed by paint and plaster; and, +likewise, to bring all climates and regions of the earth within these +enchanted precincts, with their inhabitants and animals in living +semblance, and their vegetable productions, as far as possible, alive and +real. Some part of the design is already accomplished to a wonderful +degree. The Indian, the Egyptian, and especially the Arabian, courts are +admirably executed. I never saw or conceived anything so gorgeous as the +Alhambra. There are Byzantine and mediaeval representations, too,-- +reproductions of ancient apartments, decorations, statues from tombs, +monuments, religious and funereal,--that gave me new ideas of what +antiquity has been. It takes down one's overweening opinion of the +present time, to see how many kinds of beauty and magnificence have +heretofore existed, and are now quite passed away and forgotten; and to +find that we, who suppose that, in all matters of taste, our age is the +very flower-season of the time,--that we are poor and meagre as to many +things in which they were rich. There is nothing gorgeous now. We live +a very naked life. This was the only reflection I remember making, as we +passed from century to century, through the succession of classic, +Oriental, and mediaeval courts, adown the lapse of time,--seeing all +these ages in as brief a space as the Wandering Jew might glance along +them in his memory. I suppose a Pompeian house with its courts and +interior apartments was as faithfully shown as it was possible to do it. +I doubt whether I ever should feel at home in such a house. + +In the pool of a fountain, of which there are several beautiful ones +within the palace, besides larger ones in the garden before it, we saw +tropical plants growing,--large water-lilies of various colors, some +white, like our Concord pond-lily, only larger, and more numerously +leafed. There were great circular green leaves, lying flat on the water, +with a circumference equal to that of a centre-table. Tropical trees, +too, varieties of palm and others, grew in immense pots or tubs, but +seemed not to enjoy themselves much. The atmosphere must, after all, be +far too cool to bring out their native luxuriance; and this difficulty +can never be got over at a less expense than that of absolutely stewing +the visitors and attendants. Otherwise, it would be very practicable to +have all the vegetable world, at least, within these precincts. + +The palace is very large, and our time was short, it being desirable to +get home early; so, after a stay of little more than two hours, we took +the rail back again, and reached Hanover Square at about six. After tea +I wandered forth, with some thought of going to the theatre, and, passing +the entrance of one, in the Strand, I went in, and found a farce in +progress. It was one of the minor theatres, very minor indeed; but the +pieces, so far as I saw them, were sufficiently laughable. There were +some Spanish dances, too, very graceful and pretty. Between the plays a +girl from the neighboring saloon came to the doors of the boxes, offering +lemonade and ginger-beer to the occupants. A person in my box took a +glass of lemonade, and shared it with a young lady by his side, both +sipping out of the same glass. The audience seemed rather heavy,--not +briskly responsive to the efforts of the performers, but good-natured, +and willing to be pleased, especially with some patriotic dances, in +which much waving and intermingling of the French and English flags was +introduced. Theatrical performances soon weary me of late years; and I +came away before the curtain rose on the concluding piece. + + +September 28th.--8---- and I walked to Charing Cross yesterday forenoon, +and there took a Hansom cab to St. Paul's Cathedral. It had been a +thick, foggy morning, but had warmed and brightened into one of the +balmiest and sunniest of noons. As we entered the cathedral, the long +bars of sunshine were falling from its upper windows through the great +interior atmosphere, and were made visible by the dust, or mist, floating +about in it. It is a grand edifice, and I liked it quite as much as on +my first view of it, although a sense of coldness and nakedness is felt +when we compare it with Gothic churches. It is more an external work +than the Gothic churches are, and is not so made out of the dim, awful, +mysterious, grotesque, intricate nature of man. But it is beautiful and +grand. I love its remote distances, and wide, clear spaces, its airy +massiveness; its noble arches, its sky-like dome, which, I think, should +be all over light, with ground-glass, instead of being dark, with only +diminutive windows. + +We walked round, looking at the monuments, which are so arranged, at the +bases of columns and in niches, as to coincide with the regularity of the +cathedral, and be each an additional ornament to the whole, however +defective individually as works of art. We thought that many of these +monuments were striking and impressive, though there was a pervading +sameness of idea,--a great many Victorys and Valors and Britannias, and a +great expenditure of wreaths, which must have cost Victory a considerable +sum at any florist's whom she patronizes. A very great majority of the +memorials are to naval and military men, slain in Bonaparte's wars; men +in whom one feels little or no interest (except Picton, Abercrombie, +Moore, Nelson, of course, and a few others really historic), they having +done nothing remarkable, save having been shot, nor shown any more brains +than the cannonballs that killed them. All the statues have the dust of +years upon then, strewn thickly in the folds of their marble garments, +and on any limb stretched horizontally, and on their noses, so that the +expression is much obscured. I think the nation might employ people to +brush away the dust from the statues of its heroes. But, on the whole, +it is very fine to look through the broad arches of the cathedral, and +see, at the foot of some distant pillar, a group of sculptured figures, +commemorating some man and deed that (whether worth remembering or not) +the nation is so happy as to reverence. In Westminster Abbey, the +monuments are so crowded, and so oddly patched together upon the walls, +that they are ornamental only in a mural point of view; and, moreover, +the quaint and grotesque taste of many of them might well make the +spectator laugh,--an effect not likely to be produced by the monuments in +St. Paul's. But, after all, a man might read the walls of the Abbey day +after day with ever-fresh interest, whereas the cold propriety of the +cathedral would weary him in due time. + +We did not ascend to the galleries and other points of interest aloft, +nor go down into the vaults, where Nelson's sarcophagus is shown, and +many monuments of the old Gothic cathedral, which stood on this site, +before the great fire. They say that these lower regions are comfortably +warm and dry; but as we walked round in front, within the iron railing of +the churchyard, we passed an open door, giving access to the crypt, and +it breathed out a chill like death upon us. + +It is pleasant to stand in the centre of the cathedral, and hear the +noise of London, loudest all round this spot,--how it is calmed into a +sound as proper to be heard through the aisles as the tones of its own +organ. If St. Paul's were to be burnt again (having already been bunt +and risen three or four times since the sixth century), I wonder whether +it would ever be rebuilt in the same spot! I doubt whether the city and +the nation are so religious as to consecrate their midmost heart for the +site of a church, where land would be so valuable by the square inch. + +Coming from the cathedral, we went through Paternoster Row, and saw Ave +Mary Lane; all this locality appearing to have got its nomenclature from +monkish personages. We now took a cab for the British Museum, but found +this to be one of the days on which strangers are not admitted; so we +slowly walked into Oxford Street, and then strolled homeward, till, +coming to a sort of bazaar, we went in and found a gallery of pictures. +This bazaar proved to be the Pantheon, and the first picture we saw in +the gallery was Haydon's Resurrection of Lazarus,--a great height and +breadth of canvas, right before you as you ascend the stairs. The face +of Lazarus is very awful, and not to be forgotten; it is as true as if +the painter had seen it, or had been himself the resurrected man and felt +it; but the rest of the picture signified nothing, and is vulgar and +disagreeable besides. There are several other pictures by Haydon in this +collection,--the Banishment of Aristides, Nero with his Harp, and the +Conflagration of Rome; but the last is perfectly ridiculous, and all of +them are exceedingly unpleasant. I should be sorry to live in a house +that contained one of them. The best thing of Haydon was a hasty dash of +a sketch for a small, full-length portrait of Wordsworth, sitting on the +crag of a mountain. I doubt whether Wordsworth's likeness has ever been +so poetically brought out. This gallery is altogether of modern +painters, and it seems to be a receptacle for pictures by artists who can +obtain places nowhere else,--at least, I never heard of their names +before. They were very uninteresting, almost without exception, and yet +some of the pictures were done cleverly enough. There is very little +talent in this world, and what there is, it seems to me, is pretty well +known and acknowledged. We don't often stumble upon geniuses in obscure +corners. + +Leaving the gallery, we wandered through the rest of the bazaar, which is +devoted to the sale of ladies' finery, jewels, perfumes, children's toys, +and all manner of small and pretty rubbish. . . . In the evening I +again sallied forth, and lost myself for an hour or two; at last +recognizing my whereabouts in Tottenham Court Road. In such quarters of +London it seems to be the habit of people to take their suppers in the +open air. You see old women at the corners, with kettles of hot water +for tea or coffee; and as I passed a butcher's open shop, he was just +taking out large quantities of boiled beef, smoking hot. Butchers' +stands are remarkable for their profuse expenditure of gas; it belches +forth from the pipes in great flaring jets of flame, uncovered by any +glass, and broadly illuminating the neighborhood. I have not observed +that London ever goes to bed. + + +September 29th.--Yesterday we walked to the British Museum. A sentinel +or two kept guard before the gateway of this extensive edifice in Great +Russell Street, and there was a porter at the lodge, and one or two +policemen lounging about, but entrance was free, and we walked in without +question. Officials and policemen were likewise scattered about the +great entrance-hall, none of whom, however, interfered with us; so we +took whatever way we chose, and wandered about at will. It is a +hopeless, and to me, generally, a depressing business to go through an +immense multifarious show like this, glancing at a thousand things, and +conscious of some little titillation of mind from them, but really taking +in nothing, and getting no good from anything. One need not go beyond +the limits of the British Museum to be profoundly accomplished in all +branches of science, art, and literature; only it would take a lifetime +to exhaust it in any one department; but to see it as we did, and with no +prospect of ever seeing it more at leisure, only impressed me with the +truth of the old apothegm, "Life is short, and Art is long." The fact +is, the world is accumulating too many materials for knowledge. We do +not recognize for rubbish what is really rubbish; and under this head +might be reckoned very many things one sees in the British Museum; and, +as each generation leaves its fragments and potsherds behind it, such +will finally be the desperate conclusion of the learned. + +We went first among some antique marbles,--busts, statues, terminal gods, +with several of the Roman emperors among them. We saw here the bust +whence Haydon took his ugly and ridiculous likeness of Nero,--a foolish +thing to do. Julius Caesar was there, too, looking more like a modern +old man than any other bust in the series. Perhaps there may be a +universality in his face, that gives it this independence of race and +epoch. We glimpsed along among the old marbles,--Elgin and others, which +are esteemed such treasures of art;--the oddest fragments, many of them +smashed by their fall from high places, or by being pounded to pieces by +barbarians, or gnawed away by time; the surface roughened by being rained +upon for thousands of years; almost always a nose knocked off; sometimes +a headless form; a great deficiency of feet and hands,--poor, maimed +veterans in this hospital of incurables. The beauty of the most perfect +of them must be rather guessed at, and seen by faith, than with the +bodily eye; to look at the corroded faces and forms is like trying to see +angels through mist and cloud. I suppose nine tenths of those who seem +to be in raptures about these fragments do not really care about them; +neither do I. And if I were actually moved, I should doubt whether it +were by the statues or by my own fancy. + +We passed, too, through Assyrian saloons and Egyptian saloons,--all full +of monstrosities and horrible uglinesses, especially the Egyptian, and +all the innumerable relics that I saw of them in these saloons, and among +the mummies, instead of bringing me closer to them, removed me farther +and farther; there being no common ground of sympathy between them and +us. Their gigantic statues are certainly very curious. I saw a hand and +arm up to the shoulder fifteen feet in length, and made of some stone +that seemed harder and heavier than granite, not having lost its polish +in all the rough usage that it has undergone. There was a fist on a +still larger scale, almost as big as a hogshead. Hideous, blubber-lipped +faces of giants, and human shapes with beasts' heads on them. The +Egyptian controverted Nature in all things, only using it as a groundwork +to depict, the unnatural upon. Their mummifying process is a result of +this tendency. We saw one very perfect mummy,--a priestess, with +apparently only one more fold of linen betwixt us and her antique flesh, +and this fitting closely to her person from head to foot, so that we +could see the lineaments of her face and the shape of her limbs as +perfectly as if quite bare. I judge that she may have been very +beautiful in her day,--whenever that was. One or two of the poor thing's +toes (her feet were wonderfully small and delicate) protruded from the +linen, and, perhaps, not having been so perfectly embalmed, the flesh had +fallen away, leaving only some little bones. I don't think this young +woman has gained much by not turning to dust in the time of the Pharaohs. +We also saw some bones of a king that had been taken out of a pyramid; a +very fragmentary skeleton. Among the classic marbles I peeped into an +urn that once contained the ashes of dead people, and the bottom still +had an ashy hue. I like this mode of disposing of dead bodies; but it +would be still better to burn them and scatter the ashes, instead of +hoarding them up,--to scatter them over wheat-fields or flowerbeds. + +Besides these antique halls, we wandered through saloons of antediluvian +animals, some set up in skeletons, others imprisoned in solid stone; also +specimens of still extant animals, birds, reptiles, shells, minerals,-- +the whole circle of human knowledge and guess-work,--till I wished that +the whole Past might be swept away, and each generation compelled to bury +and destroy whatever it had produced, before being permitted to leave the +stage. When we quit a house, we are expected to make it clean for the +next occupant; why ought we not to leave a clean world for the next +generation? We did not see the library of above half a million of +volumes; else I suppose I should have found full occasion to wish that +burnt and buried likewise. In truth, a greater part of it is as good as +buried, so far as any readers are concerned. Leaving the Museum, we +sauntered home. After a little rest, I set out for St. John's Wood, and +arrived thither by dint of repeated inquiries. It is a pretty suburb, +inhabited by people of the middling class. U---- met me joyfully, but +seemed to have had a good time with Mrs. Oakford and her daughter; and, +being pressed to stay to tea, I could not well help it. Before tea I sat +talking with Mrs. Oakford and a friend of hers, Miss Clinch, about the +Americans and the English, especially dwelling on the defects of the +latter,--among which we reckoned a wretched meanness in money +transactions, a lack of any embroidery of honor and liberality in their +dealings, so that they require close watching, or they will be sure to +take you at advantage. I hear this character of them from Americans on +all hands, and my own experience confirms it as far as it goes, not +merely among tradespeople, but among persons who call themselves +gentlefolks. The cause, no doubt, or one cause, lies in the fewer +chances of getting money here, the closer and sharper regulation of all +the modes of life; nothing being left to liberal and gentlemanly +feelings, except fees to servants. They are not gamblers in England, as +we to some extent are; and getting their money painfully, or living +within an accurately known income, they are disinclined to give up so +much as a sixpence that they can possibly get. But the result is, they +are mean in petty things. + +By and by Mr. Oakford came in, well soaked with the heaviest shower that +I ever knew in England, which had been rattling on the roof of the little +side room where we sat, and had caught him on the outside of the omnibus. +At a little before eight o'clock I came home with U---- in a cab,--the +gaslight glittering on the wet streets through which we drove, though the +sky was clear overhead. + + +September 30th.--Yesterday, a little before twelve, we took a cab, and +went to the two Houses of Parliament,--the most immense building, +methinks, that ever was built; and not yet finished, though it has now +been occupied for years. Its exterior lies hugely along the ground, and +its great unfinished tower is still climbing towards the sky; but the +result (unless it be the riverfront, which I have not yet seen) seems not +very impressive. The interior is much more successful. Nothing can be +more magnificent and gravely gorgeous than the Chamber of Peers,--a large +oblong hall, panelled with oak, elaborately carved, to the height of +perhaps twenty feet. Then the balustrade of the gallery runs around the +hall, and above the gallery are six arched windows on each side, richly +painted with historic subjects. The roof is ornamented and gilded, and +everywhere throughout there is embellishment of color and carving on the +broadest scale, and, at the same time, most minute and elaborate; statues +of full size in niches aloft; small heads of kings, no bigger than a +doll; and the oak is carved in all parts of the panelling as faithfully +as they used to do it in Henry VII's time,--as faithfully and with as +good workmanship, but with nothing like the variety and invention which I +saw in the dining-room of Smithell's Hall. There the artist wrought with +his heart and head; but much of this work, I suppose, was done by +machinery. Be that as it may, it is a most noble and splendid apartment, +and, though so fine, there is not a touch of finery; it glistens and +glows with even a sombre magnificence, owing to the rich, deep lines, and +the dim light, bedimmed with rich colors by coming through the painted +windows. In arched recesses, that serve as frames, at each end of the +hall, there are three pictures by modern artists from English history; +and though it was not possible to see them well as pictures, they adorned +and enriched the walls marvellously as architectural embellishments. The +Peers' seats are four rows of long sofas on each side, covered with red +morocco; comfortable seats enough, but not adapted to any other than a +decorously exact position. The woolsack is between these two divisions +of sofas, in the middle passage of the floor,--a great square seat, +covered with scarlet, and with a scarlet cushion set up perpendicularly +for the Chancellor to lean against. In front of the woolsack there is +another still larger ottoman, on which he might be at full length,--for +what purpose intended, I know not. I should take the woolsack to be not +a very comfortable seat, though I suppose it was originally designed to +be the most comfortable one that could be contrived, in view of the +Chancellor's much sitting. + +The throne is the first object you see on entering the hall, being close +to the door; a chair of antique form, with a high, peaked back, and a +square canopy above, the whole richly carved and quite covered with +burnished gilding, besides being adorned with rows of rock crystals,-- +which seemed to me of rather questionable taste. + +It is less elevated above the floor than one imagines it ought to be. +While we were looking at it, I saw two Americans,--Western men, I should +judge,--one of them with a true American slouch, talking to the policeman +in attendance, and describing our Senate Chamber in contrast with the +House of Lords. The policeman smiled and ah-ed, and seemed to make as +courteous and liberal responses as he could. There was quite a mixed +company of spectators, and, I think, other Americans present besides the +above two and ourselves. The Lord Chamberlain's tickets appear to be +distributed with great impartiality. There were two or three women of +the lower middle class, with children or babies in arms, one of whom +lifted up its voice loudly in the House of Peers. + +We next, after long contemplating this rich hall, proceeded through +passages and corridors to a great central room, very beautiful, which +seems to be used for purposes of refreshment, and for electric +telegraphs; though I should not suppose this could be its primitive and +ultimate design. Thence we went into the House of Commons, which is +larger than the Chamber of Peers, and much less richly ornamented, though +it would have appeared splendid had it come first in order. The +speaker's chair, if I remember rightly, is loftier and statelier than the +throne itself. Both in this hall and in that of the Lords, we were at +first surprised by the narrow limits within which the great ideas of the +Lords and Commons of England are physically realized; they would seem to +require a vaster space. When we hear of members rising on opposite sides +of the House, we think of them as but dimly discernible to their +opponents, and uplifting their voices, so as to be heard afar; whereas +they sit closely enough to feel each other's spheres, to note all +expression of face, and to give the debate the character of a +conversation. In this view a debate seems a much more earnest and real +thing than as we read it in a newspaper. Think of the debaters meeting +each other's eyes, their faces flushing, their looks interpreting their +words, their speech growing into eloquence, without losing the +genuineness of talk! Yet, in fact, the Chamber of Peers is ninety feet +long and half as broad, and high, and the Chamber of Commons is still +larger. + +Thence we went to Westminster Hall, through a gallery with statues on +each side,--beautiful statues too, I thought; seven of them, of which +four were from the times of the civil wars,--Clarendon, Falkland, +Hampden, Selden, Somers, Mansfield, and Walpole. There is room for more +in this corridor, and there are niches for hundreds of their marble +brotherhood throughout the edifice; but I suppose future ages will have +to fill the greater part of them. Yet I cannot help imagining that this +rich and noble edifice has more to do with the past than with the future; +that it is the glory of a declining empire; and that the perfect bloom of +this great stone flower, growing out of the institutions of England, +forbodes that they have nearly lived out their life. It sums up all. +Its beauty and magnificence are made out of ideas that are gone by. + +We entered Westminster Hall (which is incorporated into this new edifice, +and forms an integral part of it) through a lofty archway, whence a +double flight of broad steps descends to the stone pavement. After the +elaborate ornament of the rooms we had just been viewing, this venerable +hall looks extremely simple and bare,--a gray stone floor, gray and naked +stone walls, but a roof sufficiently elaborate, its vault being filled +with carved beams and rafters of chestnut, very much admired and wondered +at for the design and arrangement. I think it would have pleased me more +to have seen a clear vaulted roof, instead of this intricacy of wooden +points, by which so much skylight space is lost. They make (be it not +irreverently said) the vast and lofty apartment look like the ideal of an +immense barn. But it is a noble space, and all without the support of a +single pillar. It is about eighty of my paces from the foot of the steps +to the opposite end of the hall, and twenty-seven from side to side; very +high, too, though not quite proportionately to its other dimensions. I +love it for its simplicity and antique nakedness, and deem it worthy to +have been the haunt and home of History through the six centuries since +it was built. I wonder it does not occur to modern ingenuity to make a +scenic representation, in this very hall, of the ancient trials for life +or death, pomps, feasts, coronations, and every great historic incident +in the lives of kings, Parliaments, Protectors, and all illustrious men, +that have occurred here. The whole world cannot show another hall such +as this, so tapestried with recollections of whatever is most striking in +human annals. + +Westminster Abbey being just across the street, we went thither from the +hall, and sought out the cloisters, which we had not yet visited. They +are in excellent preservation,--broad walks, canopied with intermingled +arches of gray stone, on which some sort of lichen, or other growth of +ages (which seems, however, to have little or nothing vegetable in it), +has grown. The pavement is entirely made of flat tombstones, inscribed +with half-effaced names of the dead people beneath; and the wall all +round bears the marble tablets which give a fuller record of their +virtues. I think it was from a meditation in these cloisters that +Addison wrote one of his most beautiful pieces in the Spectator. It is a +pity that this old fashion of a cloistered walk is not retained in our +modern edifices; it was so excellent for shelter and for shade during a +thoughtful hour,--this sombre corridor beneath an arched stone roof, with +the central space of richest grass, on which the sun might shine or the +shower fall, while the monk or student paced through the prolonged +archway of his meditations. + +As we came out from the cloisters, and walked along by the churchyard of +the Abbey, a woman came begging behind us very earnestly. "A bit of +bread," she said, "and I will give you a thousand blessings! Hunger is +hard to bear. O kind gentleman and kind lady, a penny for a bit of +bread! It is a hard thing that gentlemen and ladies should see poor +people wanting bread, and make no difference whether they are good or +bad." And so she followed us almost all round the Abbey, assailing our +hearts in most plaintive terms, but with no success; for she did it far +too well to be anything but an impostor, and no doubt she had breakfasted +better, and was likely to have a better dinner, than ourselves. And yet +the natural man cries out against the philosophy that rejects beggars. +It is a thousand to one that they are impostors, but yet we do ourselves +a wrong by hardening our hearts against them. At last, without turning +round, I told her that I should give her nothing,--with some asperity, +doubtless, for the effort to refuse creates a bitterer repulse than is +necessary. She still followed us a little farther, but at last gave it +up, with a deep groan. I could not have performed this act of heroism on +my first arrival from America. + +Whether the beggar-woman had invoked curses on us, and Heaven saw fit to +grant some slight response, I know not, but it now began to rain on my +wife's velvet; so I put her and J----- into a cab, and hastened to +ensconce myself in Westminster Abbey while the shower should last. +Poets' Corner has never seemed like a strange place to me; it has been +familiar from the very first; at all events, I cannot now recollect the +previous conception, of which the reality has taken the place. I seem +always to have known that somewhat dim corner, with the bare brown +stone-work of the old edifice aloft, and a window shedding down its light +on the marble busts and tablets, yellow with time, that cover the three +walls of the nook up to a height of about twenty feet. Prior's is the +largest and richest monument. It is observable that the bust and +monument of Congreve are in a distant part of the Abbey. His duchess +probably thought it a degradation to bring a gentleman among the beggarly +poets. + +I walked round the aisles, and paced the nave, and came to the conclusion +that Westminster Abbey, both in itself and for the variety and interest +of its monuments, is a thousand times preferable to St. Paul's. There is +as much difference as between a snow-bank and a chimney-corner in their +relation to the human heart. By the by, the monuments and statues in the +Abbey seem all to be carefully dusted. + +The shower being over, I walked down into the city, where I called on Mr. +B------ and left S-----'s watch to be examined and put in order. He told +me that he and his brother had lately been laying out and letting a piece +of land at Blackheath, that had been left them by their father, and that +the ground-rent would bring them in two thousand pounds per annum. With +such an independent income, I doubt whether any American would consent to +be anything but a gentleman,--certainly not an operative watchmaker. How +sensible these Englishmen are in some things! + +Thence I went at a venture, and lost myself, of course. At one part of +my walk I came upon St. Luke's Hospital, whence I returned to St. Paul's, +and thence along Fleet Street and the Strand. Contiguous to the latter +is Holywell Street,--a narrow lane, filled up with little bookshops and +bookstalls, at some of which I saw sermons and other works of divinity, +old editions of classics, and all such serious matters, while at stalls +and windows close beside them (and, possibly, at the same stalls) there +were books with title-pages displayed, indicating them to be of the most +indecent kind. + + +October 2d.--Yesterday forenoon I went with J----- into the city to 67 +Grace Church Street, to get a bank post-note cashed by Mr. Oakford, and +afterwards to the offices of two lines of steamers, in Moorgate Street +and Leadenhall Street. The city was very much thronged. It is a marvel +what sets so many people a going at all hours of the day. Then it is to +be considered that these are but a small portion of those who are doing +the business of the city; much the larger part being occupied in offices +at desks, in discussions of plans of enterprise, out of sight of the +public, while these earnest hurriers are merely the froth in the pot. + +After seeing the steam-officials, we went to London Bridge, which always +swarms with more passengers than any of the streets. Descending the +steps that lead to the level of the Thames, we took passage in a boat +bound up the river to Chelsea, of which there is one starting every ten +minutes, the voyage being of forty minutes' duration. It began to +sprinkle a little just as we started; but after a slight showeriness, +lasting till we had passed Westminster Bridge, the day grew rather +pleasant. + +At Westminster Bridge we had a good view of the river-front of the two +Houses of Parliament, which look very noble from this point,--a long and +massive extent, with a delightful promenade for the legislative people +exactly above the margin of the river. This is certainly a magnificent +edifice, and yet I doubt whether it is so impressive as it might and +ought to have been made, considering its immensity. It makes no more +impression than you can well account to yourself for, and you rather +wonder that it does not make more. The reason must be that the architect +has not "builded better than he knew." He felt no power higher and wiser +than himself, making him its instrument. He reckoned upon and contrived +all his effects with malice aforethought, and therefore missed the +crowning glory,--that being a happiness which God, out of his pure grace, +mixes up with only the simple-hearted, best efforts of men. + + +October 3d.--I again went into the city yesterday forenoon, to settle +about the passages to Lisbon, taking J----- with me. From Hungerford +Bridge we took the steamer to London Bridge, that being an easy and +speedy mode of accomplishing distances that take many footsteps through +the crowded thoroughfares. After leaving the steamer-office, we went +back through the Strand, and, crossing Waterloo Bridge, walked a good way +on to the Surrey side of the river; a coarse, dingy, disagreeable suburb, +with shops apparently for country produce, for old clothes, second-hand +furniture, for ironware, and other things bulky and inelegant. How many +scenes and sorts of life are comprehended within London! There was much +in the aspect of these streets that reminded me of a busy country village +in America on an immensely magnified scale. + +Growing rather weary anon, we got into an omnibus, which took us as far +as the Surrey Zoological Gardens, which J----- wished very much to see. +They proved to be a rather poor place of suburban amusement; poor, at +least, by daylight, their chief attraction for the public consisting in +out-of-door representations of battles and sieges. The storming of +Sebastopol (as likewise at the Cremorne Gardens) was advertised for the +evening, and we saw the scenery of Sebastopol, painted on a vast scale, +in the open air, and really looking like miles and miles of hill and +water; with a space for the actual manoeuvring of ships on a sheet of +real water in front of the scene, on which some ducks were now swimming +about, in place of men-of-war. The climate of England must often +interfere with this sort of performance; and I can conceive of nothing +drearier for spectators or performers than a drizzly evening. Convenient +to this central spot of entertainment there were liquor and refreshment +rooms, with pies and cakes. The menagerie, though the ostensible staple +of the gardens, is rather poor and scanty; pretty well provided with +lions and lionesses, also one or two giraffes, some camels, a polar +bear,--who plunged into a pool of water for bits of cake,--and two black +bears, who sat on their haunches or climbed poles; besides a wilderness +of monkeys, some parrots and macaws, an ostrich, various ducks, and other +animal and ornithological trumpery; some skins of snakes so well stuffed +that I took them for living serpents till J----- discovered the +deception, and an aquarium, with a good many common fishes swimming among +sea-weed. + +The garden is shaded with trees, and set out with greensward and +gravel-walks, from which the people were sweeping the withered autumnal +leaves, which now fall every day. Plaster statues stand here and there, +one of them without a head, thus disclosing the hollowness of the trunk; +there were one or two little drizzly fountains, with the water dripping +over the rock-work, of which the English are so fond; and the buildings +for the animals and other purposes had a flimsy, pasteboard aspect of +pretension. The garden was in its undress; few visitors, I suppose, +coming hither at this time of day,--only here and there a lady and +children, a young man and girl, or a couple of citizens, loitering about. +I take pains to remember these small items, because they suggest the +day-life or torpidity of what may look very brilliant at night. These +corked-up fountains, slovenly greensward, cracked casts of statues, +pasteboard castles, and duck-pond Bay of Balaclava then shining out in +magic splendor, and the shabby attendants whom we saw sweeping and +shovelling probably transformed into the heroes of Sebastopol. + +J----- thought it a delightful place; but I soon grew very weary, and +came away about four o'clock, and, getting into a city omnibus, we +alighted on the hither side of Blackfriar's Bridge. Turning into Fleet +Street, I looked about for a place to dine at, and chose the Mitre +Tavern, in memory of Johnson and Boswell. It stands behind a front of +modern shops, through which is an archway, giving admittance into a +narrow court-yard, which, I suppose, was formerly open to Fleet Street. +The house is of dark brick, and, comparing it with other London edifices, +I should take it to have been at least refronted since Johnson's time; +but within, the low, sombre coffee-room which we entered might well +enough have been of that era or earlier. It seems to be a good, plain, +respectable inn; and the waiter gave us each a plate of boiled beef, and, +for dessert, a damson tart, which made up a comfortable dinner. After +dinner, we zigzagged homeward through Clifford's link passage, Holborn, +Drury Lane, the Strand, Charing Cross, Pall Mall, and Regent Street; but +I remember only an ancient brick gateway as particularly remarkable. I +think it was the entrance to Lincoln's Inn. We reached home at about +six. + +There is a woman who has several times passed through this Hanover +Street, in which we live, stopping occasionally to sing songs under the +windows; and last evening, between nine and ten o'clock, she came and +sang "Kathleen O'Moore" richly and sweetly. Her voice rose up out of the +dim, chill street, and made our hearts throb in unison with it as we sat +in our comfortable drawing-room. I never heard a voice that touched me +more deeply. Somebody told her to go away, and she stopped like a +nightingale suddenly shot; but, finding that S----- wished to know +something about her, Fanny and one of the maids ran after her, and +brought her into the hall. It seems she was educated to sing at the +opera, and married an Italian opera-singer, who is now dead; lodging in a +model lodging-house at threepence a night, and being a penny short +to-night, she tried this method, in hope of getting this penny. She +takes in plain sewing when she can get any, and picks up a trifle about +the street by means of her voice, which, she says, was once sweet, but +has now been injured by the poorness of her living. She is a pale woman, +with black eyes, Fanny says, and may have been pretty once, but is not so +now. It seems very strange, that with such a gift of Heaven, so +cultivated, too, as her voice is, making even an unsusceptible heart +vibrate like a harp-string, she should not have had an engagement among +the hundred theatres and singing-rooms of London; that she should throw +away her melody in the streets for the mere chance of a penury, when +sounds not a hundredth part so sweet are worth from other lips purses of +gold. + + +October 5th.--It rained almost all day on Wednesday, so that I did not go +out till late in the afternoon, and then only took a stroll along Oxford +Street and Holborn, and back through Fleet Street and the Strand. +Yesterday, at a little after ten, I went to the ambassador's to get my +wife's passport for Lisbon. While I was talking with the clerk, +Mr. ------ made his appearance in a dressing-gown, with a morning +cheerfulness and alacrity in his manner. He was going to Liverpool with +his niece, who returns to America by the steamer of Saturday. She has +had a good deal of success in society here; being pretty enough to be +remarked among English women, and with cool, self-possessed, frank, and +quiet manners, which look very like the highest breeding. + +I next went to Westminster Abbey, where I had long promised myself +another quiet visit; for I think I never could be weary of it; and when I +finally leave England, it will be this spot which I shall feel most +unwilling to quit forever. I found a party going through the seven +chapels (or whatever their number may be), and again saw those stately +and quaint old tombs,--ladies and knights stretched out on marble slabs, +or beneath arches and canopies of stone, let into the walls of the Abbey, +reclining on their elbows, in ruff and farthingale or riveted armor, or +in robes of state, once painted in rich colors, of which only a few +patches of scarlet now remain; bearded faces of noble knights, whose +noses, in many cases, had been smitten off; and Mary, Queen of Scots, had +lost two fingers of her beautiful hands, which she is clasping in prayer. +There must formerly have been very free access to these tombs; for I +observed that all the statues (so far as I examined them) were scratched +with the initials of visitors, some of the names being dated above a +century ago. The old coronation-chair, too, is quite covered, over the +back and seat, with initials cut into it with pocket-knives, just as +Yankees would do it; only it is not whittled away, as would have been its +fate in our hands. Edward the Confessor's shrine, which is chiefly of +wood, likewise abounds in these inscriptions, although this was esteemed +the holiest shrine in England, so that pilgrims still come to kneel and +kiss it. Our guide, a rubicund verger of cheerful demeanor, said that +this was true in a few instances. + +There is a beautiful statue in memory of Horace Walpole's mother; and I +took it to be really a likeness, till the verger said that it was a copy +of a statue which her son had admired in Italy, and so had transferred it +to his mother's grave. There is something characteristic in this mode of +filial duty and honor. In all these chapels, full of the tombs and +effigies of kings, dukes, arch-prelates, and whatever is proud and +pompous in mortality, there is nothing that strikes me more than the +colossal statue of plain Mr. Watt, sitting quietly in a chair, in St. +Paul's Chapel, and reading some papers. He dwarfs the warriors and +statesmen; and as to the kings, we smile at them. Telford is in another +of the chapels. This visit to the chapels was much more satisfactory +than my former one; although I in vain strove to feel it adequately, and +to make myself sensible how rich and venerable was what I saw. This +realization must come at its own time, like the other happinesses of +life. It is unaccountable that I could not now find the seat of Sir +George Downing's squire, though I examined particularly every seat on +that side of Henry VII's Chapel, where I before found it. I must try +again. . . . + + +October 6th.--Yesterday was not an eventful day. I took J----- with me +to the city, called on Mr. Sturgis at the Barings' House, and got his +checks for a bank post-note. The house is at 8 Bishopsgate Street, +Within. It has no sign of any kind, but stands back from the street, +behind an iron-grated fence. The firm appears to occupy the whole +edifice, which is spacious, and fit for princely merchants. Thence I +went and paid for the passages to Lisbon (32 pounds) at the Peninsular +Steam Company's office, and thence to call on General ------. I forgot +to mention, that, first of all, I went to Mr. B------'s, whom I found +kind and vivacious as usual. It now rained heavily, and, being still +showery when we came to Cheapside again, we first stood under an archway +(a usual resort for passengers through London streets), and then betook +ourselves to sanctuary, taking refuge in St. Paul's Cathedral. The +afternoon service was about to begin, so, after looking at a few of the +monuments, we sat down in the choir, the richest and most ornamented part +of the cathedral, with screens or partitions of oak, cunningly carved. +Small white-robed choristers were flitting noiselessly about, making +preparations for the service, which by and by began. It is a beautiful +idea, that, several times in the course of the day, a man can slip out of +the thickest throng and bustle of London into this religious atmosphere, +and hear the organ, and the music of young, pure voices; but, after all, +the rites are lifeless in our day. We found, on emerging, that we had +escaped a very heavy shower, and it still sprinkled and misted as we went +homeward through Holborn and Oxford Street. + + + +SOUTHAMPTON + + +October 11th.--We all left London on Sunday morning, between ten and +eleven, from the Waterloo station, and arrived in Southampton about two, +without meeting with anything very remarkable on the way. We put up at +Chapple's Castle Hotel, which is one of the class styled "commercial," +and, though respectable, not such a one as the nobility and gentry +usually frequent. I saw little difference in the accommodation, except +that young women attended us instead of men,--a pleasant change. It was +a showery day, but J----- and I walked out to see the shore and the town +and the docks, and, if possible, the ship in which S----- was to sail. +The most noteworthy object was the remains of an old castle, near the +water-side; the square, gray, weed grown, weird keep of which shows some +modern chimney-pots above its battlements, while remaining portions of +the fortress are made to seem as one of the walls for coal-depots, and +perhaps for small dwellings. The English characteristically patch new +things into old things in this manner, materially, legally, +constitutionally, and morally. Walking along the pier, we observed some +pieces of ordnance, one of which was a large brass cannon of Henry +VIII.'s time, about twelve feet long, and very finely made. The bay of +Southampton presents a pleasant prospect, and I believe it is the great +rendezvous of the yacht-club. Old and young seafaring people were +strolling about, and lounging at corners, just as they do on Sunday +afternoons in the minor seaports of America. + +From the shore we went up into the town, which is handsome, and of a +cheerful aspect, with streets generally wide and well paved,--a cleanly +town, not smoke-begrimed. The houses, if not modern, are, at least with +few exceptions, new fronted. We saw one relic of antiquity,--a fine +mediaeval gateway across the principal street, much more elevated than +the gates of Chester, with battlements at the top, and a spacious +apartment over the great arch for the passage of carriages, and the +smaller one on each side for foot-passengers. There were two statues in +armor or antique costume on the hither side of the gateway, and two old +paintings on the other. This, so far as I know, is the only remnant of +the old wall of Southampton. + +On Monday the morning was bright, alternating with a little showeriness. +U----, J-----, and I went into the town to do some shopping before the +steamer should sail; and a little after twelve we drove down to the dock. +The Madeira is a pleasant-looking ship enough, not very large, but +accommodating, I believe, about seventy passengers. We looked at my +wife's little stateroom, with its three berths for herself and the two +children; and then sat down in the saloon, and afterwards on deck, to +spend the irksome and dreary hour or two before parting. Many of the +passengers seemed to be Portuguese, undersized, dark, mustachioed people, +smoking cigars. John Bull was fairly represented too. . . . U---- was +cheerful, and R----- seemed anxious to get off. Poor Fanny was +altogether cast down, and shed tears, either from regret at leaving her +native land, or dread of sea-sickness, or general despondency, being a +person of no spring of spirits. I waited till the captain came on board, +--a middle-aged or rather elderly man, with a sensible expression, but, +methought, with a hard, cold eye, to whom I introduced my wife, +recommending her to his especial care, as she was unattended by any +gentleman; and then we thought it best to cut short the parting scene. +So we bade one another farewell; and, leaving them on the deck of the +vessel, J----- and I returned to the hotel, and, after dining at the +table d'hote, drove down to the railway. This is the first great +parting that we have ever had. + +It was three o'clock when we left Southampton. In order to get to +Worcester, where we were to spend the night, we strode, as it were, from +one line of railway to another, two or three times, and did not arrive at +our journey's end till long after dark. + +At Worcester we put ourselves into the hands of a cabman, who drove us to +the Crown Hotel,--one of the old-fashioned hotels, with an entrance +through an arched passage, by which vehicles were admitted into the +inn-yard, which has also an exit, I believe, into another street. On one +side of the arch was the coffee-room, where, after looking at our +sleeping-chambers on the other side of the arch, we had some cold +pigeon-pie for supper, and for myself a pint of ale. + +It should be mentioned, that, in the morning, before embarking S----- and +the children on board the steamer, I saw a fragment of a rainbow among +the clouds, and remembered the old adage bidding "sailors take warning." +In the afternoon, as J----- and I were railing from Southampton, we saw +another fragmentary rainbow, which, by the same adage, should be the +"sailor's delight." The weather has rather tended to confirm the first +omen, but the sea-captains tell me that the steamer must have gone beyond +the scope of these winds. + + + +WORCESTER. + + +October 14th.---In the morning of Tuesday, after breakfast in the +coffee-room, J----- and I walked about to see the remarkables of +Worcester. It is not a particularly interesting city, compared with +other old English cities; the general material of the houses being red +brick, and almost all modernized externally, whatever may be the age of +their original framework. We saw a large brick jail in castellated +style, with battlements,--a very barren and dreary-looking edifice; +likewise, in the more central part of the town, a Guildhall with a +handsome front, ornamented with a statue of Queen Anne above the +entrance, and statues of Charles I. and Charles II. on either side of the +door, with the motto, "Floreat semper civitas fidelis." Worcester seems +to pride itself upon its loyalty. We entered the building, and in the +large interior hall saw some old armor hanging on the wall at one end,-- +corselets, helmets, greaves, and a pair of breeches of chain mail. An +inscription told us that these suits of armor had been left by Charles I. +after the battle of Worcester, and presented to the city at a much later +date by a gentleman of the neighborhood. On the stone floor of the hall, +under the armor, were two brass cannon, one of which had been taken from +the French in a naval battle within the present century; the other was a +beautiful piece, bearing, I think, the date of 1632, and manufactured in +Brussels for the Count de Burgh, as a Latin inscription testified. This +likewise was a relic of the battle of Worcester, where it had been lost +by Charles. Many gentlemen--connected with the city government, I +suppose--were passing through the hall; and, looking through its interior +doors, we saw stately staircases and council-rooms panelled with oak or +other dark wood. There seems to be a good deal of state in the +government of these old towns. + +Worcester Cathedral would have impressed me much had I seen it earlier; +though its aspect is less venerable than that of Chester or Lichfield, +having been faithfully renewed and repaired, and stone-cutters and masons +were even now at work on the exterior. At our first visit, we found no +entrance; but coming again at ten o'clock, when the service was to begin, +we found the door open, and the chorister-boys, in their white robes, +standing in the nave and aisles, with elder people in the same garb, and +a few black-robed ecclesiastics and an old verger. The interior of the +cathedral has been covered with a light-colored paint at some recent +period. There is, as I remember, very little stained glass to enrich and +bedim the light; and the effect produced is a naked, daylight aspect, +unlike what I have seen in any other Gothic cathedral. The plan of the +edifice, too, is simple; a nave and side aisles, with great clustered +pillars, from which spring the intersecting arches; and, somehow or +other, the venerable mystery which I have found in Westminster Abbey and +elsewhere does not lurk in these arches and behind these pillars. The +choir, no doubt, is richer and more beautiful; but we did not enter it. +I remember two tombs, with recumbent figures on there, between the +pillars that divide the nave from the side aisles, and there were also +mural monuments,--one, well executed, to an officer slain in the +Peninsular war, representing him falling from his horse; another by a +young widow to her husband, with an inscription of passionate grief, and +a record of her purpose finally to sleep beside him. He died in 1803. I +did not see on the monument any record of the consummation of her +purpose; and so perhaps she sleeps beside a second husband. There are +more antique memorials than these two on the wall, and I should have been +interested to examine them; but the service was now about to begin in the +choir, and at the far-off end of the nave the old verger waved his hand +to banish us from the cathedral. At the same time he moved towards us, +probably to say that he would show it to us after service; but having +little time, and being so moderately impressed with what I had already +seen, I took my departure, and so disappointed the old man of his +expected shilling or half-crown. The tomb of King John is somewhere in +this cathedral. + +We renewed our rambles through the town, and, passing the Museum of the +Worcester Natural History Society, I yielded to J-----'s wish to go in. +There are three days in the week, I believe, on which it is open to the +public; but this being one of the close days, we were admitted on payment +of a shilling. It seemed a very good and well-arranged collection in +most departments of Natural History, and J-----, who takes more interest +in these matters than I do, was much delighted. We were left to examine +the hall and galleries quite at our leisure. Besides the specimens of +beasts, birds, shells, fishes, minerals, fossils, insects, and all other +natural things before the flood and since, there was a stone bearing a +Roman inscription, and various antiquities, coins, and medals, and +likewise portraits, some of which were old and curious. + +Leaving the museum, we walked down to the stone bridge over the Severn, +which is here the largest river I have seen in England, except, of +course, the Mersey and the Thames. A flight of steps leads from the +bridge down to a walk along the river-side, and this we followed till we +reached the spot where an angler was catching chubs and dace, under the +walls of the bishop's palace, which here faces the river. It seems to be +an old building, but with modern repairs and improvements. The angler +had pretty good success while we were looking at him, drawing out two or +three silvery fish, and depositing them in his basket, which was already +more than half full. The Severn is not a transparent stream, and looks +sluggish, but has really movement enough to carry the angler's float +along pretty fast. There were two vessels of considerable size (that is, +as large as small schooners) lying at the bridge. We now passed under an +old stone archway, through a lane that led us from the river-side up past +the cathedral, whence a gentleman and lady were just emerging, and the +verger was closing the door behind them. + +We returned to our hotel, and ordered luncheon,--some cold chicken, cold +ham, and ale, and after paying the bill (about fifteen shillings, to +which I added five shillings for attendance) we took our departure in a +fly for the railway. The waiter (a young woman), chambermaid, and boots, +all favored us with the most benign and deferential looks at parting, +whence it was easy to see that I had given them more than they had any +claim to receive. Nevertheless, this English system of fees has its good +side, and I never travel without finding the advantage of it, especially +on railways, where the officials are strictly forbidden to take fees, and +where, in consequence, a fee secures twice as much good service as +anywhere else. Be it recorded, that I never knew an Englishman to refuse +a shilling,--or, for that matter, a halfpenny. + +From Worcester we took tickets to Wolverhampton, and thence to +Birkenhead. It grew dark before we reached Chester, and began to rain; +and when we got to Birkenhead it was a pitiless, pelting storm, under +which, on the deck of the steamboat, we crossed the detestable Mersey, +two years' trial of which has made me detest it every day more and more. +It being the night of rejoicing for the taking of Sebastopol and the +visit of the Duke of Cambridge, we found it very difficult to get a cab +on the Liverpool side; but after much waiting in the rain, and afterwards +in one of the refreshment-rooms, on the landing stage, we took a Hansom +and drove off. The cloudy sky reflected the illuminations, and we saw +some gas-lighted stars and other devices, as we passed, very pretty, but +much marred by the wind and rain. So we finally arrived at Mrs. +Blodgett's, and made a good supper of ham and cold chicken, like our +luncheon, after which, wet as we were, and drizzling as the weather was, +and though it was two hours beyond his bedtime, I took J----- out to see +the illuminations. I wonder what his mother would have said. But the +boy must now begin to see life and to feel it. + +There was a crowd of people in the street; such a crowd that we could +hardly make a passage through them, and so many cabs and omnibuses that +it was difficult to cross the ways. Some of the illuminations were very +brilliant; but there was a woful lack of variety and invention in the +devices. The star of the garter, which kept flashing out from the +continual extinguishment of the wind and rain,--V and A, in capital +letters of light,--were repeated a hundred times; as were loyal and +patriotic mottoes,--crowns formed by colored lamps. In some instances a +sensible tradesman had illuminated his own sign, thereby at once +advertising his loyalty and his business. Innumerable flags were +suspended before the houses and across the streets, and the crowd plodded +on, silent, heavy, and without any demonstration of joy, unless by the +discharge of pistols close at one's ear. The rain, to be sure, was quite +sufficient to damp any joyous ebullition of feeling; but the next day, +when the rain had ceased, and when the streets were still thronged with +people, there was the same heavy, purposeless strolling from place to +place, with no more alacrity of spirit than while it rained. The English +do not know how to rejoice; and, in their present circumstances, to say +the truth, have not much to rejoice for. We soon came home; but I +believe it was nearly, if not quite, eleven. + +At Mrs. Blodgett's, Mr. Archer (surgeon to some prison or house of +correction here in Liverpool) spoke of an attorney who many years ago +committed forgery, and, being apprehended, took a dose of prussic acid. +Mr. Archer came with the stomach-pump, and asked the patient how much +prussic acid he had taken. "Sir," he replied, attorney-like, "I decline +answering that question!" He recovered, and afterwards arrived at great +wealth in New South Wales. + + +November 14th.--At dinner at Mr. Bright's, a week or two ago, Mr. +Robertson Gladstone spoke of a magistrate of Liverpool, many years since, +Sir John ------. Of a morning, sitting on the bench in the police court, +he would take five shillings out of his pocket and say, "Here, Mr. Clerk, +so much for my fine. I was drunk last night!" Mr. Gladstone witnessed +this personally. + + +November 16th.--I went to the North Hospital yesterday, to take the +deposition of a dying man as to his ill treatment by the second and third +mates of the ship Assyria, on the voyage from New Orleans. This hospital +is a very gloomy place, with its wide bleak entries and staircases, which +may be very good for summer weather, but which are most congenial at this +bleak November season. I found the physicians of the house laughing and +talking very cheerfully with Mr. Wilding, who had preceded me. We went +forthwith, up two or three pairs of stairs, to the ward where the sick +man lay, and where there were six or eight other beds, in almost each of +which was a patient,--narrow beds, shabbily furnished. The man whom I +came to see was the only one who was not perfectly quiet; neither was he +very restless. The doctor, informing him of my presence, intimated that +his disease might be lethal, and that I was come to hear what he had to +say as to the causes of his death. Afterwards, a Testament was sought +for, in order to swear him, and I administered the oath, and made him +kiss the book. He then (in response to Mr. Wilding's questions) told how +he had been beaten and ill-treated, hanged and thwacked, from the moment +he came on board, to which usage he ascribed his death. Sometimes his +senses seemed to sink away, so that I almost thought him dead; but by and +by the questions would appear to reach him, and bring him back, and he +went on with his evidence, interspersing it, however, with dying groans, +and almost death rattles. In the midst of whatever he was saying, he +often recurred to a sum of four dollars and a half, which he said he had +put into the hands of the porter of the hospital, and which he wanted to +get back. Several times he expressed his wish to return to America (of +which he was not a native), and, on the whole, I do not think he had any +real sense of his precarious condition, notwithstanding that he assented +to the doctor's hint to that effect. He sank away so much at one time, +that they brought him wine in a tin cup, with a spout to drink out of, +and he mustered strength to raise himself in his bed and drink; then +hemmed, with rather a disappointed air, as if it did not stimulate and +refresh him, as drink ought to do. When he had finished his evidence +(which Mr. Wilding took down in writing from his mouth), he marked his +cross at the foot of the paper, and we ceased to torment him with further +question. His deposition will probably do no good, so far as the +punishment of the persons implicated is concerned; for he appears to have +come on board in a sickly state, and never to have been well during the +passage. On a pallet, close by his bed, lay another seaman of the same +ship, who had likewise been abused by the same men, and bore more +ostensible marks of ill usage than this man did, about the head and face. +There is a most dreadful state of things aboard our ships. Hell itself +can be no worse than some of them, and I do pray that some New-Englander +with the rage of reform in him may turn his thoughts this way. The +first step towards better things--the best practicable step for the +present--is to legalize flogging on shipboard; thereby doing away with +the miscellaneous assaults and batteries, kickings, fisticuffings, +ropes'-endings, marline-spikings, which the inferior officers continually +perpetrate, as the only mode of keeping up anything like discipline. As +in many other instances, philanthropy has overshot itself by the +prohibition of flogging, causing the captain to avoid the responsibility +of solemn punishment, and leave his mates to make devils of themselves, +by habitual and hardly avoidable ill treatment of the seamen. + +After I left the dying sailor, his features seemed to contract and grow +sharp. Some young medical students stood about the bed, watching death +creep upon him, and anticipating, perhaps, that in a day or two they +would have the poor fellow's body on the dissecting-table. Dead +patients, I believe, undergo this fate, unless somebody chooses to pay +their funeral expenses; but the captain of the Assyria (who seems to be +respectable and kind-hearted, though master of a floating hell) tells me +that he means to bury the man at his own cost. This morning there is a +note from the surgeon of the hospital, announcing his death, and likewise +the dangerous state of his shipmate whom I saw on the pallet beside him. + +Sea-captains call a dress-coat a "claw-hammer." + + +November 22d.--I went on board the ship William Lapscott, lying in the +river, yesterday, to take depositions in reference to a homicide +committed in New York. I sat on a sofa in the cabin, and Mr. Wilding at +a table, with his writing-materials before him, and the crew were +summoned, one by one,--rough, piratical-looking fellows, contrasting +strongly with the gewgaw cabin in which I received them. There is no +such finery on land as in the cabin of one of these ships in the +Liverpool trade, finished off with a complete panelling of rosewood, +mahogany, and bird's-eye maple, polished and varnished, and gilded along +the cornices and the edges of the panels. It is all a piece of elaborate +cabinet-work; and one does not altogether see why it should be given to +the gales, and the salt-sea atmosphere, to be tossed upon the waves, and +occupied by a rude shipmaster in his dreadnaught clothes, when the +fairest lady in the land has no such boudoir. A telltale compass hung +beneath the skylight, and a clock was fastened near it, and ticked +loudly. A stewardess, with the aspect of a woman at home, went in and +out of the cabin, about her domestic calls. Through the cabin door (it +being a house on deck) I could see the arrangement of the ship. + +The first sailor that I examined was a black-haired, powerful fellow, in +an oil-skin jacket, with a good face enough, though he, too, might have +been taken for a pirate. In the affray in which the homicide occurred, +he had received a cut across the forehead, and another slantwise across +his nose, which had quite cut it in two, on a level with the face, and +had thence gone downward to his lower jaw. But neither he nor any one +else could give any testimony elucidating the matter into which I had +come to inquire. A seaman had been stabbed just before the vessel left +New York, and had been sent on shore and died there. Most of these men +were in the affray, and all of then were within a few yards of the spot +where it occurred; but those actually present all pleaded that they were +so drunk that the whole thing was now like a dream, with no distinct +images; and, if any had been sober, they took care to know nothing that +could inculpate any individual. Perhaps they spoke truth; they certainly +had a free and honest-like way of giving their evidence, as if their only +object was to tell all the truth they knew. But I rather think, in the +forecastle, and during the night-watches, they have whispered to one +another a great deal more than they told me, and have come to a pretty +accurate conclusion as to the man who gave the stab. + +While the examination proceeded, there was a drawing of corks in a side +closet; and, at its conclusion, the captain asked us to stay to dinner, +but we excused ourselves, and drank only a glass of wine. The captain +apologized for not joining us, inasmuch as he had drunk no wine for the +last seventeen years. He appears to be a particularly good and +trustworthy man, and is the only shipmaster whom I have met with, who +says that a crew can best be governed by kindness. In the inner closet +there was a cage containing two land-birds, who had come aboard him, +tired almost to death, three or four hundred miles from shore; and he had +fed them and been tender of them, from a sense of what was due to +hospitality. He means to give them to J-----. + + +November 28th.--I have grown wofully aristocratic in my tastes, I fear, +since coming to England; at all events, I am conscious of a certain +disgust at going to dine in a house with a small entrance-hall and a +narrow staircase, parlor with chintz curtains, and all other arrangements +on a similar scale. This is pitiable. However, I really do not think I +should mind these things, were it not for the bustle, the affectation, +the intensity, of the mistress of the house. It is certain that a woman +in England is either decidedly a lady or decidedly not a lady. There +seems to be no respectable medium. Bill of fare: broiled soles, half of +a roast pig, a haricot of mutton, stewed oysters, a tart, pears, figs, +with sherry and port wine, both good, and the port particularly so. I +ate some pig, and could hardly resist the lady's importunities to eat +more; though to my fancy it tasted of swill,--had a flavor of the pigsty. +On the parlor table were some poor editions of popular books, +Longfellow's poems and others. The lady affects a literary taste, and +bothered me about my own productions. + +A beautiful subject for a romance, or for a sermon, would be the +subsequent life of the young man whom Jesus bade to sell all he had and +give to the poor; and he went away sorrowful, and is not recorded to have +done what he was bid. + + +December 11th.--This has been a foggy morning and forenoon, snowing a +little now and then, and disagreeably cold. The sky is of an +inexpressibly dreary, dun color. It is so dark at times that I have to +hold my book close to my eyes, and then again it lightens up a little. +On the whole, disgustingly gloomy; and thus it has been for a long while +past, although the disagreeableness seems to be very near the earth, and +just above the steeples and house-tops very probably there may be a +bright, sunshiny day. At about twelve there is a faint glow of sunlight, +like the gleaming reflection from a not highly polished copper kettle. + + +December 26th.--On Christmas eve and yesterday, there were little +branches of mistletoe hanging in several parts of the house, in the +kitchen, the entries, the parlor, and the smoking-room,--suspended from +the gas-fittings. The maids of the house did their utmost to entrap the +gentlemen boarders, old and young; under the privileged places, and there +to kiss them, after which they were expected to pay a shilling. It is +very queer, being customarily so respectful, that they should assume this +license now, absolutely trying to pull the gentlemen into the kitchen by +main force, and kissing the harder and more abundantly the more they were +resisted. A little rosy-checked Scotch lass--at other times very modest +--was the most active in this business. I doubt whether any gentleman +but myself escaped. I heard old Mr. S------ parleying with the maids +last evening, and pleading his age; but he seems to have met with no +mercy, for there was a sound of prodigious smacking immediately +afterwards. J----- was assaulted, and fought, most vigorously; but was +outrageously kissed,--receiving some scratches, moreover, in the +conflict. The mistletoe has white, wax-looking berries, and dull green +leaves, with a parasitical stem. + +Early in the morning of Christmas day, long before daylight, I heard +music in the street, and a woman's voice, powerful and melodious, singing +a Christmas hymn. Before bedtime I presume one half of England, at a +moderate calculation, was the worse for liquor. + +The market-houses, at this season, show the national taste for heavy +feeding,--carcasses of prize oxen, immensely fat, and bulky; fat sheep, +with their woolly heads and tails still on, and stars and other devices +ingeniously wrought on the quarters; fat pigs, adorned with flowers, like +corpses of virgins; hares, wild-fowl, geese, ducks, turkeys; and green +boughs and banners suspended about the stalls,--and a great deal of dirt +and griminess on the stone floor of the market-house, and on the persons +of the crowd. + +There are some Englishmen whom I like,--one or two for whom I might say I +have an affection; but still there is not the same union between us as if +they were Americans. A cold, thin medium intervenes betwixt our most +intimate approaches. It puts me in mind of Alnaschar and his princess, +with the cold steel blade of his scimitar between them. Perhaps if I +were at home I might feel differently; but in a foreign land I can never +forget the distinction between English and American. + + +January 1st, 1856.--Last night, at Mrs. Blodgett's, we sat up till twelve +o'clock to open the front door, and let the New Year in. After the +coming guest was fairly in the house, the back door was to be opened, to +let the Old Year out; but I was tired, and did not wait for the latter +ceremony. When the New Year made its entrance, there was a general +shaking of hands, and one of the shipmasters said that it was customary +to kiss the ladies all round; but to my great satisfaction, we did not +proceed to such extremity. There was singing in the streets, and many +voices of people passing, and when twelve had struck, all the bells of +the town, I believe, rang out together. I went up stairs, sad and +lonely, and, stepping into J-----'s little room, wished him a Happy New +Year, as he slept, and many of them. + +To a cool observer, a country does not show to best advantage during a +time of war. All its self-conceit is doubly visible, and, indeed, is +sedulously kept uppermost by direct appeals to it. The country must be +humbugged, in order to keep its courage up. + +Sentiment seems to me more abundant in middle-aged ladies in England than +in the United States. I don't know how it may be with young ladies. + +The shipmasters bear testimony to the singular delicacy of common sailors +in their behavior in the presence of women; and they say that this good +trait is still strongly observable even in the present race of seamen, +greatly deteriorated as it is. On shipboard, there is never an +indecorous word or unseemly act said or done by sailors when a woman can +be cognizant of it; and their deportment in this respect differs greatly +from that of landsmen of similar position in society. This is +remarkable, considering that a sailor's female acquaintances are usually +and exclusively of the worst kind, and that his intercourse with them has +no relation whatever to morality or decency. For this very reason, I +suppose, he regards a modest woman as a creature divine and to be +reverenced. + + +January 16th.---I have suffered wofully from low spirits for some time +past; and this has not often been the case since I grew to be a man, even +in the least auspicious periods of my life. My desolate bachelor +condition, I suppose, is the cause. Really, I have no pleasure in +anything, and I feel my tread to be heavier, and my physical movement +more sluggish, than in happier times. A weight is always upon me. My +appetite is not good. I sleep ill, lying awake till late at night, to +think sad thoughts and to imagine sombre things, and awaking before light +with the same thoughts and fancies still in my mind. My heart sinks +always as I ascend the stairs to my office, from a dim augury of ill news +from Lisbon that I may perhaps hear,--of black-sealed letters, or some +such horrors. Nothing gives me any joy. I have learned what the +bitterness of exile is, in these days; and I never should have known it +but for the absence of "Remote, unfriended, melancholy, slow,"--I can +perfectly appreciate that line of Goldsmith; for it well expresses my own +torpid, unenterprising, joyless state of mind and heart. I am like an +uprooted plant, wilted and drooping. Life seems so purposeless as not to +be worth the trouble of carrying it on any further. + +I was at a dinner, the other evening, at Mr. B------'s, where the +entertainment was almost entirely American,--New York oysters, raw, +stewed, and fried; soup of American partridges, particularly good; also +terrapin soup, rich, but not to my taste; American pork and beans, baked +in Yankee style; a noble American turkey, weighing thirty-one pounds; +and, at the other end of the table, an American round of beef, which the +Englishmen present allowed to be delicious, and worth a guinea an ounce. +I forget the other American dishes, if there were any more,--O yes! +canvas-back ducks, coming on with the sweets, in the usual English +fashion. We ought to have had Catawba wine; but this was wanting, +although there was plenty of hock, champagne, sherry, madeira, port, and +claret. Our host is a very jolly man, and the dinner was a merrier and +noisier one than any English dinner within my experience. + + +February 8th.--I read to-day, in the little office-Bible (greasy with +perjuries) St. Luke's account of the agony, the trial, the crucifixion, +and the resurrection; and how Christ appeared to the two disciples, on +their way to Emmaus, and afterwards to a company of disciples. On both +these latter occasions he expounded the Scriptures to them, and showed +the application of the old prophecies to himself; and it is to be +supposed that he made them fully, or at least sufficiently, aware what +his character was,--whether God, or man, or both, or something between, +together with all other essential points of doctrine. But none of this +doctrine or of these expositions is recorded, the mere facts being most +simply stated, and the conclusion to which he led them, that, whether God +himself, or the Son of God, or merely the Son of man, he was, at all +events, the Christ foretold in the Jewish Scriptures. This last, +therefore, must have been the one essential point. + + +February 18th.--On Saturday there called on me an elderly Robinson-Crusoe +sort of man, Mr. H------, shipwright, I believe, of Boston, who has +lately been travelling in the East. About a year ago he was here, after +being shipwrecked on the Dutch coast, and I assisted him to get home. +Again, I have supplied him with five pounds, and my credit for an outside +garment. He is a spare man, with closely cropped gray, or rather white +hair, close-cropped whiskers fringing round his chin, and a close-cropped +white mustache, with his under lip and a portion of his chin bare +beneath,--sunburnt and weather-worn. He has been in Syria and Jerusalem, +through the Desert, and at Sebastopol; and says he means to get Ticknor +to publish his travels, and the story of his whole adventurous life, on +his return home. A free-spoken, confiding, hardy, religious, unpolished, +simple, yet world-experienced man; very talkative, and boring me with +longer visits than I like. He has brought home, among other curiosities, +"a lady's arm," as he calls it, two thousand years old,--a piece of a +mummy, of course; also some coins, one of which, a gold coin of +Vespasian, he showed me, and said he bought it of an Arab of the desert. +The Bedouins possess a good many of these coins, handed down immemorially +from father to son, and never sell them unless compelled by want. He had +likewise a Hebrew manuscript of the Book of Ruth, on a parchment roll, +which was put into his care to be given to Lord Haddo. + +He was at Sebastopol during the siege, and nearly got his head knocked +off by a cannon-ball. His strangest statement is one in reference to +Lord Raglan. He says that an English officer told him that his Lordship +shut himself up, desiring not to be disturbed, as he needed sleep. When +fifteen hours had gone by, his attendants thought it time to break open +the door; and Lord Raglan was found dead, with a bottle of strychnine by +the bedside. The affair, so far as the circumstances indicated suicide, +was hushed up, and his death represented as a natural one. The English +officer seems to have been an unscrupulous fellow, jesting thus with the +fresh memory of his dead commander; for it is impossible to believe a +word of the story. Even if Lord Raglan had wished for death, he would +hardly have taken strychnine, when there were so many chances of being +honorably shot. In Wood's Narrative of the Campaign, it is stated that +he died surrounded by the members of his staff, after having been for +some time ill. It appears, however, by the same statement, that no +serious apprehensions had been entertained, until, one afternoon, he shut +himself in, desiring not to be disturbed till evening. After two or +three hours he called Lord Burghersh,--"Frank, Frank!" and was found to +be almost in a state of collapse, and died that evening. Mr. H------'s +story might very well have been a camp rumor. + +It seems to me that the British Ministry, in its notion of a +life-peerage, shows an entire misunderstanding of what makes people +desire the peerage. It is not for the immediate personal distinction; +but because it removes the peer and his consanguinity from the common +rank of men, and makes a separate order of them, as if they should grow +angelic. A life-peer is but a mortal amid the angelic throng. + + +February 28th.--I went yesterday with Mrs. ------ and another lady, and +Mr. M------, to the West Derby Workhouse. . . . + +[Here comes in the visit to the West Derby Workhouse, which was made the +subject of a paper in Our Old Home, called "Outside Glimpses of English +Poverty." As the purpose in publishing these passages from the private +note-books is to give to those who ask for a memoir of Mr. Hawthorne +every possible incident recorded by himself which shows his character and +nature, the editor thinks it proper to disclose the fact that Mr. +Hawthorne was himself the gentleman of that party who took up in his arms +the little child, so fearfully repulsive in its condition. And it seems +better to quote his own words in reference to it, than merely to say it +was he. + +Under date February 28, 1856. + +"After this, we went to the ward where the children were kept, and, on +entering this, we saw, in the first place, two or three unlovely and +unwholesome little imps, who were lazily playing together. One of them +(a child about six years old, but I know not whether girl or boy) +immediately took the strangest fancy for me. It was a wretched, pale, +half-torpid little thing, with a humor in its eyes which the Governor +said was the scurvy. I never saw, till a few moments afterwards, a child +that I should feel less inclined to fondle. + +"But this little, sickly, humor-eaten fright prowled around me, taking +hold of my skirts, following at my heels, and at last held up its hands, +smiled in my face, and, standing directly before me, insisted on my +taking it up! Not that it said a word, for I rather think it was +underwitted, and could not talk; but its face expressed such perfect +confidence that it was going to be taken up and made much of, that it was +impossible not to do it. It was as if God had promised the child this +favor on my behalf, and that I must needs fulfil the contract. I held my +undesirable burden a little while; and, after setting the child down, it +still followed me, holding two of my fingers and playing with them, just +as if it were a child of my own. It was a foundling, and out of all +human kind it chose me to be its father! We went up stairs into another +ward; and, on coming down again, there was this same child waiting for +me, with a sickly smile round its defaced mouth, and in its dim red +eyes. . . . I never should have forgiven myself if I had repelled its +advances."--ED.] + +After leaving the workhouse, we drove to Norris Green; and Mrs. ------ +showed me round the grounds, which are very good and nicely kept. O +these English homes, what delightful places they are! I wonder how many +people live and die in the workhouse, having no other home, because other +people have a great deal more home than enough. . . . We had a very +pleasant dinner, and Mr. M------ and I walked back, four miles and a +half, to Liverpool, where we arrived just before midnight. + +Why did Christ curse the fig-tree? It was not in the least to blame; and +it seems most unreasonable to have expected it to bear figs out of +season. Instead of withering it away, it would have been as great a +miracle, and far more beautiful, and, one would think, of more beneficent +influence, to have made it suddenly rich with ripe fruit. Then, to be +sure, it might have died joyfully, having answered so good a purpose. I +have been reminded of this miracle by the story of a man in Heywood, a +town in Lancashire, who used such horribly profane language that a +plane-tree in front of his cottage is said to have withered away from +that hour. I can draw no moral from the incident of the fig-tree, unless +it be that all things perish from the instant when they cease to answer +some divine purpose. + + +March 6th.--Yesterday I lunched on board Captain Russell's ship, the +Princeton. These daily lunches on shipboard might answer very well the +purposes of a dinner; being, in fact, noontide dinners, with soup, roast +mutton, mutton-chops, and a macaroni pudding,--brandy, port and sherry +wines. There were three elderly Englishmen at table, with white heads, +which, I think, is oftener the predicament of elderly heads here than in +America. One of these was a retired Custom-House officer, and the other +two were connected with shipping in some way. There is a satisfaction in +seeing Englishmen eat and drink, they do it so heartily, and, on the +whole, so wisely,--trusting so entirely that there is no harm in good +beef and mutton, and a reasonable quantity of good liquor; and these +three hale old men, who had acted on this wholesome faith for so long, +were proofs that it is well on earth to live like earthly creatures. In +America, what squeamishness, what delicacy, what stomachic apprehension, +would there not be among three stomachs of sixty or seventy years' +experience! I think this failure of American stomachs is partly owing to +our ill usage of our digestive powers, and partly to our want of faith in +them. + +After lunch, we all got into an omnibus, and went to the Mersey Iron +Foundry, to see the biggest piece of ordnance in the world, which is +almost finished. The overseer of the works received us, and escorted us +courteously throughout the establishment; which is very extensive, giving +employment to a thousand men, what with night-work and day-work. The big +gun is still on the axle, or turning-machine, by means of which it has +been bored. It is made entirely of wrought and welded iron, fifty tons +of which were originally used; and the gun, in its present state, bored +out and smoothed away, weighs nearly twenty-three tons. It has, as yet, +no trunnions, and does not look much like a cannon, but only a huge iron +cylinder, immensely solid, and with a bore so large that a young man of +nineteen shoved himself into it, the whole length, with a light, in order +to see whether it is duly smooth and regular. I suppose it will have a +better effect, as to the impression of size, when it is finished, +polished, mounted, aid fully equipped, after the fashion of ordinary +cannon. It is to throw a ball of three hundred pounds' weight five +miles, and woe be to whatever ship or battlement shall bear the brunt! + +After inspecting the gun we went through other portions of the +establishment, and saw iron in various stages of manufacture. I am not +usually interested in manufacturing processes, being quite unable to +understand them, at least in cotton-machinery and the like; but here +there were such exhibitions of mighty strength, both of men and machines, +that I had a satisfaction in looking on. We saw lumps of iron, intensely +white-hot, and in all but a melting state, passed through rollers of +various size and pressure, and speedily converted into long bars, which +came curling and waving out of the rollers like great red ribbons, or +like fiery serpents wriggling out of Tophet; and finally, being +straightened out, they were laid to cool in heaps. Trip-hammers are very +pleasant things to look at, working so massively as they do, and yet so +accurately; chewing up the hot iron, as it were, and fashioning it into +shape, with a sort of mighty and gigantic gentleness in their mode of +action. What great things man has contrived, and is continually +performing! What a noble brute he is! + +Also, I found much delight in looking at the molten iron, boiling and +bubbling in the furnace, and sometimes slopping over, when stirred by the +attendant. There were numberless fires on all sides, blinding us with +their intense glow; and continually the pounding strokes of huge hammers, +some wielded by machinery and others by human arms. I had a respect for +these stalwart workmen, who seemed to be near kindred of the machines +amid which they wrought,--mighty men, smiting stoutly, and looking into +the fierce eyes of the furnace fearlessly, and handling the iron at a +temperature which would have taken the skin off from ordinary fingers. +They looked strong, indeed, but pale; for the hot atmosphere in which +they live cannot but be deleterious, and I suppose their very strength +wears them quickly out. But I would rather live ten years as an +iron-smith than fifty as a tailor. + +So much heat can be concentrated into a mass of iron, that a lump a foot +square heats all the atmosphere about it, and burns the face at a +considerable distance. As the trip-hammer strikes the lump, it seems +still more to intensify the heat by squeezing it together, and the fluid +iron oozes out like sap or juice. + +"He was ready for the newest fashions!"--this expression was used by Mrs. +Blodgett in reference to Mr. ------ on his first arrival in England, and +it is a very tender way of signifying that a person is rather poorly off +as to apparel. + + +March 15th.--Mr. ------, our new ambassador, arrived on Thursday +afternoon by the Atlantic, and I called at the Adelphi Hotel, after +dinner, to pay him my respects. I found him and his family at +supper. . . . They seem to be plain, affable people. . . . The +ambassador is a venerable old gentleman, with a full head of perfectly +white hair, looking not unlike an old-fashioned wig; and this, together +with his collarless white neckcloth and his brown coat, gave him +precisely such an aspect as one would expect in a respectable person of +pre-revolutionary days. There was a formal simplicity, too, in his +manners, that might have belonged to the same era. He must have been a +very handsome man in his youthful days, and is now comely, very erect, +moderately tall, not overburdened with flesh; of benign and agreeable +address, with a pleasant smile; but his eyes, which are not very large, +impressed me as sharp and cold. He did not at all stamp himself upon me +as a man of much intellectual or characteristic vigor. I found no such +matter in his conversation, nor did I feel it in the indefinable way by +which strength always makes itself acknowledged. B------, though, +somehow, plain and uncouth, yet vindicates himself as a large man of the +world, able, experienced, fit to handle difficult circumstances of life; +dignified, too, and able to hold his own in any society. Mr. ------ has +a kind of venerable dignity; but yet, if a person could so little respect +himself as to insult him, I should say that there was no innate force in +Mr. ------ to prevent it. It is very strange that he should have made so +considerable a figure in public life, filling offices that the strongest +men would have thought worthy of their highest ambition. There must be +something shrewd and sly under his apparent simplicity; narrow, cold, +selfish, perhaps. I fancied these things in his eyes. He has risen in +life by the lack of too powerful qualities, and by a certain tact, which +enables him to take advantage of circumstances and opportunities, and +avail himself of his unobjectionableness, just at the proper time. I +suppose he must be pronounced a humbug, yet almost or quite an innocent +one. Yet he is a queer representative to be sent from brawling and +boisterous America at such a critical period. It will be funny if +England sends him back again, on hearing the news of ------'s dismissal. +Mr. ------ gives me the impression of being a very amiable man in his own +family. He has brought his son with him, as Secretary of Legation,--a +small young man, with a little mustache. It will be a feeble embassy. + +I called again the next morning, and introduced Mrs. ------, who, I +believe, accompanied the ladies about town. This simplicity in +Mr. ------'s manner puzzles and teases me; for, in spite of it, there was +a sort of self-consciousness, as if he were being looked at,--as if he +were having his portrait taken. + + + +LONDON. + + +March 22d.--Yesterday,--no, day before yesterday,--I left Liverpool for +London by rail, from the Lime Street station. The journey was a dull and +monotonous one, as usual. Three passengers were in the same carriage +with me at starting; but they dropped off; and from Rugby I was alone. +We reached London after ten o'clock; and I took a cab for St. James's +Place, No. 32, where I found Mr. B------ expecting me. He had secured a +bedroom for me at this lodging-house, and I am to be free of his +drawing-room during my stay. We breakfasted at nine, and then walked +down to his counting-room, in Old Broad Street, in the city. It being a +dim, dingy morning, London looked very dull, the more so as it was Good +Friday, and therefore the streets were comparatively thin of people and +vehicles, and had on their Sunday aspect. If it were not for the human +life and bustle of London, it would be a very stupid place, with a heavy +and dreary-monotony of unpicturesque streets. We went up Bolt Court, +where Dr. Johnson used to live; and this was the only interesting site we +saw. After spending some time in the counting-room, while Mr. ------ +read his letters, we went to London Bridge, and took the steamer for +Waterloo Bridge, with partly an intent to go to Richmond, but the day was +so damp and dusky that we concluded otherwise. So we came home, +visiting, on our way, the site of Covent Garden Theatre, lately burnt +down. The exterior walls still remain perfect, and look quite solid +enough to admit of the interior being renewed, but I believe it is +determined to take them down. + +After a slight lunch and a glass of wine, we walked out, along +Piccadilly, and to Hyde Park, which already looks very green, and where +there were a good many people walking and driving, and rosy-faced +children at play. Somehow or other the shine and charm are gone from +London, since my last visit; and I did not very much admire, nor feel +much interested in anything. We returned (and I, for my part, was much +wearied) in time for dinner at five. The evening was spent at home in +various talk, and I find Mr. ------ a very agreeable companion, and a +young man of thought and information, with a self-respecting character, +and I think him a safe person to live with. + +This St. James's Place is in close vicinity to St. James's Palace, the +gateway and not very splendid front of which we can see from the corner. +The club-houses and the best life of the town are near at hand. Addison, +before his marriage, used to live in St. James's Place, and the house +where Mr. Rogers recently died is up the court, not that this latter +residence excites much interest in my mind. I remember nothing else very +noteworthy in this first day's experience, except that on Sir Watkins +Williams Wynn's door, not far from this house, I saw a gold knocker, +which is said to be unscrewed every night lest it should be stolen. I +don't know whether it be really gold; for it did not look so bright as +the generality of brass ones. I received a very good letter from J----- +this morning. He was to go to Mr. Bright's at Sandhays yesterday, and +remain till Monday. + +After writing the above, I walked along the Strand, Fleet Street, Ludgate +Hill and Cheapside to Wood Street,--a very narrow street, insomuch that +one has to press close against the wall to escape being grazed when a +cart is passing. At No. 77 I found the place of business of Mr. Bennoch, +who came to see me at Rock Ferry with Mr. Jerdan, not long after my +arrival in England. I found him in his office; but he did not at first +recognize me, so much stouter have I grown during my residence in +England,--a new man, as he says. Mr. Bennoch is a kindly, frank, very +good man, and was bounteous in his plans for making my time pass +pleasantly. We talked of ------, from whom he has just received a +letter, and who says he will fight for England in case of a war. I let +Bennoch know that I, at least, should take the other side. + +After arranging to go to Greenwich Fair, and afterwards to dine with +Bennoch, I left him and went to Mr. ------'s office, and afterwards +strayed forth again, and crossed London Bridge. Thence I rambled rather +drearily along through several shabby and uninteresting streets on the +other side of the Thames; and the dull streets in London are really the +dullest and most disheartening in the world. By and by I found my way to +Southwark Bridge, and so crossed to Upper Thames Street, which was +likewise very stupid, though I believe Clenman's paternal house in +"Little Dorrit" stands thereabouts. . . . Next, I got into Ludgate +Hill, near St. Paul's, and being quite foot-weary, I took a Paddington +omnibus, and rode up into Regent Street, whence I came home. + + +March 24th.--Yesterday being a clear day for England, we determined upon +an expedition to Hampton Court; so walked out betimes towards the +Waterloo station; but first crossed the Thames by Westminster Bridge, and +went to Lambeth Palace. It stands immediately on the bank of the river, +not far above the bridge. We merely walked round it, and saw only an old +stone tower or two, partially renewed with brick, and a high connecting +wall, within which appeared gables and other portions of the palace, all +of an ancient plan and venerable aspect, though evidently much patched up +and restored in the course of the many ages since its foundation. There +is likewise a church, part of which looks old, connected with the palace. +The streets surrounding it have many gabled houses, and a general look of +antiquity, more than some other parts of London. + +We then walked to the Waterloo station, on the same side of the river; +and at twenty minutes past one took the rail for Hampton Court, distant +some twelve or fifteen miles. On arriving at the terminus, we beheld +Hampton Palace, on the other side of the Thames,--an extensive structure, +with a front of red brick, long and comparatively low, with the great +Hall which Wolsey built rising high above the rest. We crossed the river +(which is here but a narrow stream) by a stone bridge. The entrance to +the palace is about half a quarter of a mile from the railway, through +arched gates, which give a long perspective into the several quadrangles. +These quadrangles, one beyond another, are paved with stone, and +surrounded by the brick walls of the palace, the many windows of which +look in upon them. Soldiers were standing sentinel at the exterior +gateways, and at the various doors of the palace; but they admitted +everybody without question and without fee. Policemen, or other +attendants, were in most of the rooms, but interfered with no one; so +that, in this respect, it was one of the pleasantest places to visit that +I have found in England. A good many people, of all classes, were +strolling through the apartments. + +We first went into Wolsey's great Hall, up a most spacious staircase, the +walls and ceiling of which were covered with an allegorical fresco by +Verrio, wonderfully bright and well preserved; and without caring about +the design or execution, I greatly liked the brilliancy of the colors. +The great Hall is a most noble and beautiful room, above a hundred feet +long and sixty high and broad. Most of the windows are of stained or +painted glass, with elaborate designs, whether modern or ancient I know +not, but certainly brilliant in effect. The walls, from the floor to +perhaps half their height, are covered with antique tapestry, which, +though a good deal faded, still retains color enough to be a very +effective adornment, and to give an idea of how rich a mode of decking a +noble apartment this must have been. The subjects represented were from +Scripture, and the figures seemed colossal. On looking closely at this +tapestry, you could see that it was thickly interwoven with threads of +gold, still glistening. The windows, except one or two that are long, do +not descend below the top of this tapestry, and are therefore twenty or +thirty feet above the floor; and this manner of lighting a great room +seems to add much to the impressiveness of the enclosed space. The roof +is very magnificent, of carved oak, intricately and elaborately arched, +and still as perfect to all appearance as when it was first made. There +are banners, so fresh in their hues, and so untattered, that I think they +must be modern, suspended along beneath the cornice of the hall, and +exhibiting Wolsey's arms and badges. On the whole, this is a perfect +sight, in its way. + +Next to the hall there is a withdrawing-room, more than seventy feet +long, and twenty-five feet high. The walls of this apartment, too, are +covered with ancient tapestry, of allegorical design, but more faded than +that of the hall. There is also a stained-glass window; and a marble +statue of Venus on a couch, very lean and not very beautiful; and some +cartoons of Carlo Cignani, which have left no impression on my memory; +likewise, a large model of a splendid palace of some East Indian nabob. + +I am not sure, after all, that Verrio's frescoed grand staircase was not +in another part of the palace; for I remember that we went from it +through an immensely long suite of apartments, beginning with the +Guard-chamber. All these rooms are wainscoted with oak, which looks new, +being, I believe, of the date of King William's reign. Over many of the +doorways, or around the panels, there are carvings in wood by Gibbons, +representing wreaths of flowers, fruit, and foliage, the most perfectly +beautiful that can be conceived; and the wood being of a light hue +(lime-wood, I believe), it has a fine effect on the dark oak panelling. +The apartments open one beyond another, in long, long, long succession,-- +rooms of state, and kings' and queens' bedchambers, and royal closets +bigger than ordinary drawing-rooms, so that the whole suite must be half +a mile, or it may be a mile, in extent. From the windows you get views +of the palace-grounds, broad and stately walks, and groves of trees, and +lawns, and fountains, and the Thames and adjacent country beyond. The +walls of all these rooms are absolutely covered with pictures, including +works of all the great masters, which would require long study before a +new eye could enjoy them; and, seeing so many of them at once, and having +such a nothing of time to look at them all, I did not even try to see any +merit in them. Vandyke's picture of Charles I., on a white horse beneath +an arched gateway, made more impression on me than any other, and as I +recall it now, it seems as if I could see the king's noble, melancholy +face, and armed form, remembered not in picture, but in reality. All Sir +Peter Lely's lewd women, and Kneller's too, were in these rooms; and the +jolly old stupidity of George III. and his family, many times repeated; +and pictures by Titian, Rubens, and other famous hands, intermixed with +many by West, which provokingly drew the eye away from their betters. It +seems to me that a picture, of all other things, should be by itself; +whereas people always congregate them in galleries. To endeavor really +to see them, so arranged, is like trying to read a hundred poems at +once,--a most absurd attempt. Of all these pictures, I hardly recollect +any so well as a ridiculous old travesty of the Resurrection and Last +Judgment, where the dead people are represented as coming to life at the +sound of the trumpet,--the flesh re-establishing itself on the bones, one +man picking up his skull, and putting it on his shoulders,--and all +appearing greatly startled, only half awake, and at a loss what to do +next. Some devils are dragging away the damned by the heels and on +sledges, and above sits the Redeemer and some angelic and sainted people, +looking complacently down upon the scene! + +We saw, in one of the rooms, the funeral canopy beneath which the Duke of +Wellington lay in state,--very gorgeous, of black velvet embroidered with +silver and adorned with escutcheons; also, the state bed of Queen Anne, +broad, and of comfortable appearance, though it was a queen's,--the +materials of the curtains, quilt, and furniture, red velvet, still +brilliant in hue; also King William's bed and his queen Mary's, with +enormously tall posts, and a good deal the worse for time and wear. + +The last apartment we entered was the gallery containing Raphael's +cartoons, which I shall not pretend to admire nor to understand. I can +conceive, indeed, that there is a great deal of expression in them, and +very probably they may, in every respect, deserve all their fame; but on +this point I can give no testimony. To my perception they were a series +of very much faded pictures, dimly seen (for this part of the palace was +now in shadow), and representing figures neither graceful nor beautiful, +nor, as far as I could discern, particularly grand. But I came to them +with a wearied mind and eye; and also I had a previous distaste to them +through the medium of engravings. + +But what a noble palace, nobly enriched, is this Hampton Court! The +English government does well to keep it up, and to admit the people +freely into it, for it is impossible for even a Republican not to feel +something like awe--at least a profound respect--for all this state, and +for the institutions which are here represented, the sovereigns whose +moral magnificence demands such a residence; and its permanence, too, +enduring from age to age, and each royal generation adding new splendors +to those accumulated by their predecessors. If one views the matter in +another way, to be sure, we may feel indignant that such dolt-heads, +rowdies, and every way mean people, as many of the English sovereigns +have been, should inhabit these stately halls, contrasting its splendors +with their littleness; but, on the whole, I readily consented within +myself to be impressed for a moment with the feeling that royalty has its +glorious side. By no possibility can we ever have such a place in +America. + +Leaving Hampton Court at about four o'clock, we walked through Bushy +Park,--a beautiful tract of ground, well wooded with fine old trees, +green with moss, all up their twisted trunks,--through several villages, +Twickenham among the rest, to Richmond. Before entering Twickenham, we +passed a lath-and-plaster castellated edifice, much time-worn, and with +the plaster peeling off from the laths, which I fancied might be Horace +Walpole's toy-castle. Not that it really could have been; but it was +like the image, wretchedly mean and shabby, which one forms of such a +place, in its decay. From Hampton Court to the Star and Garter, on +Richmond Hill, is about six miles. After glancing cursorily at the +prospect, which is famous, and doubtless very extensive and beautiful if +the English mistiness would only let it be seen, we took a good dinner in +the large and handsome coffee-room of the hotel, and then wended our way +to the rail-station, and reached home between eight and nine o'clock. We +must have walked not far from fifteen miles in the course of the day. + + +March 25th.--Yesterday, at one o'clock, I called by appointment on Mr. +Bennoch, and lunched with him and his partners and clerks. This lunch +seems to be a legitimate continuation of the old London custom of the +master living at the same table with his apprentices. The meal was a +dinner for the latter class. The table was set in an upper room of the +establishment; and the dinner was a large joint of roast mutton, to which +ten people sat down, including a German silk-merchant as a guest besides +myself. Mr. Bennoch was at the head of the table, and one of his +partners at the foot. For the apprentices there was porter to drink, and +for the partners and guests some sparkling Moselle, and we had a +sufficient dinner with agreeable conversation. Bennoch said that +G. G------ used to be very fond of these lunches while in England. + +After lunch, Mr. Bennoch took me round the establishment, which is quite +extensive, occupying, I think, two or three adjacent houses, and +requiring more. He showed me innumerable packages of ribbons, and other +silk manufactures, and all sorts of silks, from the raw thread to the +finest fabrics. He then offered to show me some of the curiosities of +old London, and took me first to Barber-Surgeons' Hall, in Monkwell +Street. It was at this place that the first anatomical studies were +instituted in England. At the time of its foundation, the Barbers and +Surgeons were one company; but the latter, I believe, are now the +exclusive possessors of the Hall. The edifice was built by Inigo Jones, +and the principal room is a fine one, with finely carved wood-work on the +ceiling and walls. There is a skylight in the roof, letting down a +sufficient radiance on the long table beneath, where, no doubt, dead +people have been dissected, and where, for many generations, it has been +the custom of the society to hold its stated feasts. In this room hangs +the most valuable picture by Holbein now in existence, representing the +company of Barber-Surgeons kneeling before Henry VIII., and receiving +their charter from his hands. The picture is about six feet square. The +king is dressed in scarlet, and quite fulfils one's idea of his aspect. +The Barber-Surgeons, all portraits, are an assemblage of grave-looking +personages, in dark costumes. The company has refused five thousand +pounds for this unique picture; and the keeper of the Hall told me that +Sir Robert Peel had offered a thousand pounds for liberty to take out +only one of the heads, that of a person named Pen, he conditioning to +have a perfect fac-simile painted in. I did not see any merit in this +head over the others. + +Beside this great picture hung a most exquisite portrait by Vandyke; an +elderly, bearded man, of noble and refined countenance, in a rich, grave +dress. There are many other pictures of distinguished men of the +company, in long past times, and of some of the kings and great people of +England, all darkened with age, and producing a rich and sombre effect, +in this stately old hall. Nothing is more curious in London than these +ancient localities and customs of the City Companies,--each trade and +profession having its own hall, and its own institutions. The keeper +next showed us the plate which is used at the banquets. + +I should like to be present at one of these feasts. I saw also an old +vellum manuscript, in black-letter, which appeared to be a record of the +proceedings of the company; and at the end there were many pages ruled +for further entries, but none had been made in the volume for the last +three or four hundred years. + +I think it was in the neighborhood of Barber-Surgeons' Hall, which stands +amid an intricacy of old streets, where I should never have thought of +going, that I saw a row of ancient almshouses, of Elizabethan structure. +They looked wofully dilapidated. In front of one of them was an +inscription, setting forth that some worthy alderman had founded this +establishment for the support of six poor men; and these six, or their +successors, are still supported, but no larger number, although the value +of the property left for that purpose would now suffice for a much larger +number. + +Then Mr. Bennoch took me to Cripplegate, and, entering the door of a +house, which proved to be a sexton's residence, we passed by a side +entrance into the church-porch of St. Giles, of which the sexton's house +seems to be an indivisible contiguity. This is a very ancient church, +that escaped the great fire of London. The galleries are supported by +arches, the pillars of which are cased high upwards with oak; but all +this oaken work and the oaken pews are comparatively modern, though so +solid and dark that they agree well enough with the general effect of the +church. Proceeding to the high altar, we found it surrounded with many +very curious old monuments and memorials, some in carved oak, some in +marble; grim old worthies, mostly in the costume of Queen Elizabeth's +time. Here was the bust of Speed, the historian; here was the monument +of Fox, author of The Book of Martyrs. High up on the wall, beside the +altar, there was a black wooden coffin, and a lady sitting upright within +it, with her hands clasped in prayer, it being her awakening moment at +the Resurrection. Thence we passed down the centre aisle, and about +midway we stopped before a marble bust, fixed against one of the pillars. +And this was the bust of Milton! Yes, and Milton's bones lay beneath our +feet; for he was buried under the pew over the door of which I was +leaning. The bust, I believe, is the original of the one in Westminster +Abbey. + +Treading over the tombstones of the old citizens of London, both in the +aisles and the porch, and within doors and without, we went into the +churchyard, one side of which is fenced in by a portion of London Wall, +very solid, and still high, though the accumulation of human dust has +covered much of its base. This is the most considerable portion now +remaining of the ancient wall of London. The sexton now asked us to go +into the tower of the church, that he might show us the oldest part of +the structure, and we did so, and, looking down from the organ gallery, I +saw a woman sitting alone in the church, waiting for the rector, whose +ghostly consolation, I suppose, she needed. + +This old church-tower was formerly lighted by three large windows,--one +of them of very great size; but the thrifty church-wardens of a +generation or two ago had built them up with brick, to the great +disfigurement of the church. The sexton called my attention to the +organ-pipe, which is of sufficient size, I believe, to admit three men. + +From Cripplegate we went to Milton Street (as it is now called), through +which we walked for a very excellent reason; for this is the veritable +Grub Street, where my literary kindred of former times used to +congregate. It is still a shabby-looking street, with old-fashioned +houses, and inhabited chiefly by people of the poorer classes, though not +by authors. Next we went to Old Broad Street, and, being joined by +Mr. B------, we set off for London Bridge, turning out of our direct +course to see London stone in Watling Street. This famous stone appears +now to be built into the wall of St. Swithin's Church, and is so encased +that you can only see and touch the top of it through a circular hole. +There are one or two long cuts or indentations in the top, which are said +to have been made by Jack Cade's sword when he struck it against the +stone. If so, his sword was of a redoubtable temper. Judging by what I +saw, London stone was a rudely shaped and unhewn post. + +At the London Bridge station, we took the rail for Greenwich, and, it +being only about five miles off, we were not long in reaching the town. +It was Easter Monday; and during the first three days of Easter, from +time immemorial, a fair has been held at Greenwich, and this was what we +had come to see. + +[This fair is described in Our Old Home, in "A Loudon Suburb."] + +Reaching Mr. Bennoch's house, we found it a pretty and comfortable one, +and adorned with many works of art; for he seems to be a patron of art +and literature, and a warm-hearted man, of active benevolence and vivid +sympathies in many directions. His face shows this. I have never seen +eyes of a warmer glow than his. On the walls of one room there were a +good many sketches by Haydon, and several artists' proofs of fine +engravings, presented by persons to whom he had been kind. In the +drawing-room there was a marble bust of Mrs. ------, and one, I think, of +himself, and one of the Queen, which Mr. Bennoch said was very good, and +it is unlike any other I have seen. It is intended as a gift, from a +number of subscribers, to Miss Nightingale. Likewise a crayon sketch of +------, looking rather morbid and unwholesome, as the poor lady really +is. Also, a small picture of Mr. Bennoch in a military dress, as an +officer, probably of city-horse. By and by came in a young gentleman, +son of Haydon, the painter of high art, and one or two ladies staying in +the house, and anon Mrs. ------. And so we went in to dinner. + +Bennoch is an admirable host, and warms his guests like a household fire +by the influence of his kindly face and glowing eyes, and by such +hospitable demeanor as best suits this aspect. After the cloth was +removed, came in Mr. Newton Crosland, a young man who once called on me +in Liverpool,--the husband of a literary lady, formerly Camilla Toulmin. +The lady herself was coming to spend the evening. The husband (and I +presume the wife) is a decided believer in spiritual manifestations. We +talked of politics and spiritualism and literature; and before we rose +from table, Mr. Bennoch drank the health of the ladies, and especially of +Mrs. ------, in terms very kind towards her and me. I responded in her +behalf as well as I could, and left it to Mr. Bowman, as a bachelor, to +respond for the ladies generally,--which he did briefly, toasting +Mrs. B------. + +We had heard the sound of the piano in the drawing-room for some time, +and now adjourning thither, I had the pleasure to be introduced to Mrs. +Newton Crosland,--a rather tall, thin, pale, and lady-like person, +looking, I thought, of a sensitive character. She expressed in a low +tone and quiet way great delight at seeing my distinguished self! for she +is a vast admirer of The Scarlet Letter, and especially of the character +of Hester; indeed, I remember seeing a most favorable criticism of the +book from her pen, in one of the London magazines. . . . + +At eleven o'clock Mrs. Crosland entered the tiniest pony-carriage, and +set forth for her own residence, with a lad walking at the pony's head, +and carrying a lantern. . . . + + +March 26th.--Yesterday was not a very eventful day. After writing in my +journal I went out at twelve, and visited, for the first time, the +National Gallery. It is of no use for me to criticise pictures, or to +try to describe them, but I have an idea that I might acquire a taste, +with a little attention to the subject, for I find I already begin to +prefer some pictures to others. This is encouraging. Of those that I +saw yesterday, I think I liked several by Murillo best. There were a +great many people in the gallery, almost entirely of the middle, with a +few of the lower classes; and I should think that the effect of the +exhibition must at least tend towards refinement. Nevertheless, the only +emotion that I saw displayed was in broad grins on the faces of a man and +two women, at sight of a small picture of Venus, with a Satyr peeping at +her with an expression of gross animal delight and merriment. Without +being aware of it, this man and the two women were of that same Satyr +breed. + +If I lived in London, I would endeavor to educate myself in this and +other galleries of art; but as the case stands, it would be of no use. I +saw two of Turner's landscapes; but did not see so much beauty in them as +in some of Claude's. A view of the grand canal in Venice, by Canaletto, +seemed to me wonderful,--absolutely perfect,--a better reality, for I +could see the water of the canal moving and dimpling; and the palaces and +buildings on each side were quite as good in their way. + +Leaving the gallery, I walked down into the city, and passed through +Smithfield, where I glanced at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. . . . Then I +went into St. Paul's, and walked all round the great cathedral, looking, +I believe, at every monument on the floor. There is certainly nothing +very wonderful in any of them, and I do wish it would not so generally +happen that English warriors go into battle almost nude; at least, we +must suppose so, from their invariably receiving their death-wounds in +that condition. I will not believe that a sculptor or a painter is a man +of genius unless he can wake the nobleness of his subject, illuminate and +transfigure any given pattern of coat and breeches. Nevertheless, I +never go into St. Paul's without being impressed anew with the grandeur +of the edifice, and the general effect of these same groups of statuary +ranged in their niches and at the bases of the pillars as adornments of +the cathedral. + +Coming homeward, I went into the enclosure of the Temple, and near the +entrance saw "Dr. Johnson's staircase" printed over a doorway; so I not +only looked in, but went up the first flight, of some broad, well-worn +stairs, passing my hand over a heavy, ancient, broken balustrade, on +which, no doubt, Johnson's hand had often rested. It was here that +Boswell used to visit him, in their early acquaintance. Before my lunch, +I had gone into Bolt Court, where he died. + +This morning there have been letters from Mr. Wilding, enclosing an +invitation to me to be one of the stewards of the anniversary dinner of +the Literary Fund. + +No, I thank you, gentlemen! + + +March 27th.--Yesterday I went out at about twelve, and visited the +British Museum; an exceedingly tiresome affair. It quite crushes a +person to see so much at once, and I wandered from hall to hall with a +weary and heavy heart, wishing (Heaven forgive me!) that the Elgin +marbles and the frieze of the Parthenon were all burnt into lime, +and that the granite Egyptian statues were hewn and squared into +building-stones, and that the mummies had all turned to dust two thousand +years ago; and, in fine, that all the material relics of so many +successive ages had disappeared with the generations that produced them. +The present is burdened too much with the past. We have not time, in our +earthly existence, to appreciate what is warm with life, and immediately +around us; yet we heap up these old shells, out of which human life has +long emerged, casting them off forever. I do not see how future ages are +to stagger onward under all this dead weight, with the additions that +will be continually made to it. + +After leaving the Museum, I went to see Bennoch, and arrange with him our +expedition of to-day; and he read me a letter from Topper, very earnestly +inviting me to come and spend a night or two with him. Then I wandered +about the city, and was lost in the vicinity of Holborn; so that for a +long while I was under a spell of bewilderment, and kept returning, in +the strangest way, to the same point in Lincoln's Inn Fields. . . . + +Mr. Bowman and I went to the Princess's Theatre in the evening. Charles +Kean performed in Louis XI. very well indeed,--a thoughtful and highly +skilled actor,--much improved since I saw him, many years ago, in +America. + + + +ALDERSHOTT CAMP. + + +April 1st.--After my last date on Thursday, I visited the National +Gallery. At three o'clock, having packed a travelling-bag, I went to +Bennoch's office, and lunched with him; and at about five we took the +rail from the Waterloo station for Aldershott Camp. At Tamborough we +were cordially received by Lieutenant Shaw, of the North Cork Rifles, and +were escorted by him, in a fly, to his quarters. The camp is a large +city, composed of numberless wooden barracks, arranged in regular +streets, on a wide, bleak heath, with an extensive and dreary prospect on +all sides. Lieutenant Shaw assigned me one room in his hut, and Bennoch +another, and made us as comfortable as kind hospitality could; but the +huts are very small, and the rooms have no size at all; neither are they +air-tight, and the sharp wind whistles in at the crevices; and, on the +whole, of all discomfortable places, I am inclined to reckon Aldershott +Camp the most so. I suppose the government has placed the camp on that +windy heath, and built such wretched huts, for the very purpose of +rendering life as little desirable as may be to the soldiers, so that +they should throw it away the more willingly. + +At seven o'clock we dined at the regimental mess, with the officers of +the North Cork. The mess-room is by far the most endurable place to be +found in camp. The hut is large, and the mess-room is capable of +receiving between thirty and forty guests, besides the officers of the +regiment, when a great dinner-party is given. As I saw it, the whole +space was divided into a dining-room and two anterooms by red curtains +drawn across; and the second anteroom seems to be a general rendezvous +for the officers, where they meet at all times, and talk, or look over +the newspapers and the army-register, which constitute the chief of their +reading. The Colonel and Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment received +Bennoch and me with great cordiality, as did all the other officers, and +we sat down to a splendid dinner. + +All the officers of the regiment are Irishmen, and all of them, I +believe, men of fortune; and they do what they can towards alleviating +their hardships in camp by eating and drinking of the best that can be +obtained of all good things. The table service and plate were as fine as +those in any nobleman's establishment; the dishes numerous and admirably +got up; and the wines delectable and genuine,--as they had need to be; +for there is a great consumption of them. I liked these Irish officers +exceedingly;--not that it would be possible to live long among them +without finding existence a bore; for they have no thought, no +intellectual movement, no ideas, that I was aware of, beyond horses, +dogs, drill, garrisons, field-days, whist, wine, cigars, and all that +kind of thing; yet they were really gentlemen living on the best terms +with one another,--courteous, kind, most hospitable, with a rich Irish +humor, softened down by social refinements,--not too refined either, but +a most happy sort of behavior, as natural as that of children, and with a +safe freedom that made one feel entirely at my ease. I think well of the +Irish gentlemen, for their sakes; and I believe I might fairly attribute +to Lieutenant-Colonel Stowell (next whom I sat) a higher and finer +cultivation than the above description indicates. Indeed, many of them +may have been capable of much more intellectual intercourse than that of +the mess-table; but I suppose it would not have been in keeping with +their camp life, nor suggested by it. Several of the elder officers were +men who had been long in the army; and the Colonel--a bluff, hearty old +soldier, with a profile like an eagle's head and beak--was a veteran of +the Peninsula, and had a medal on his breast with clasps for three famous +battles besides that of Waterloo. + +The regimental band played during dinner, and the Lieutenant-Colonel +apologized to me for its not playing "Hail Columbia," the tune not coning +within their musical accomplishments. It was no great matter, however; +for I should not have distinguished it from any other tune; but, to do me +what honor was possible, in the way of national airs, the band was +ordered to play a series of negro melodies, and I was entirely satisfied. +It is really funny that the "wood-notes wild" of those poor black slaves +should have been played in a foreign laud as an honorable compliment to +one of their white countrymen. + +After dinner we played whist, and then had some broiled bones for supper, +and finally went home to our respective huts not much earlier than four +o'clock. But I don't wonder these gentlemen sit up as long as they can +keep their eyes open; for never was there anything so utterly comfortless +as their camp-beds. They are really worse than the bed of honor, no +wider, no softer, no warmer, and affording not nearly so sound sleep. +Indeed, I got hardly any sleep at all, and almost as soon as I did close +my eyes, the bugles sounded, and the drums beat reveille, and from that +moment the camp was all astir; so I pretty soon uprose, and went to the +mess-room for my breakfast, feeling wonderfully fresh and well, +considering what my night had been. + +Long before this, however, this whole regiment, and all the other +regiments, marched off to take part in a general review, and Bennoch and +I followed, as soon as we had eaten a few mutton-chops. It was a bright, +sunshiny day; but with a strong east-wind, as piercing and pitiless as +ever blew; and this wide, undulating plain of Aldershott seemed just the +place where the east-wind was at home. Still, it acted, on the whole, +like an invigorating cordial; and whereas in pleasanter circumstances I +should have lain down, and gone to sleep, I now felt as if I could do +without sleep for a month. + +In due time we found out the place of the North Cork Regiment in the +general battle-array, and were greeted as old comrades by the Colonel and +other officers. Soon the soldiers (who, when we first reached them, were +strolling about, or standing at ease) were called into order; and anon we +saw a group of mounted officers riding along the lines, and among them a +gentleman in a civilian's round hat, and plain frock and trousers, riding +on a white horse. This group of riders turned the front of the regiment, +and then passed along the rear, coming close to where we stood; and as +the plainly dressed gentleman rode by, he bent towards me, and I tried to +raise my hat, but did not succeed very well, because the fierce wind had +compelled me to jam it tightly upon my head. The Duke of Cambridge (for +this was he) is a comely-looking gentlemanly man, of bluff English face, +with a great deal of brown beard about it. Though a pretty tall man, he +appears, on horseback, broad and round in proportion to his height. I +looked at him with a certain sort of interest, and a feeling of kindness; +for one does feel kindly to whatever human being is anywise marked out +from the rest, unless it be by his disagreeable qualities. + +The troops, from twelve to fifteen thousand, now fell into marching +order, and went to attack a wood, where we were to suppose the enemy to +be stationed. The sham-fight seemed to me rather clumsily managed, and +without any striking incident or result. The officers had prophesied, +the night before, that General K------, commanding in the camp, would +make a muddle of it; and probably he did. After the review, the Duke of +Cambridge with his attendant officers took their station, and all the +regiments marched in front of him, saluting as they passed. As each +colonel rode by, and as the banner of each regiment was lowered, the Duke +lifted his hat. + +The most splendid effect of this parade was the gleam of the sun upon the +long line of bayonets,--the sheen of all that steel appearing like a +wavering fringe of light upon the dark masses of troops below. It was +very fine. But I was glad when all was done, and I could go back to the +mess-room, whither I carried an excellent appetite for luncheon. After +this we walked about the camp,--looked at some model tents, inspected the +arrangements and modes of living in the huts of the privates; and thus +gained more and more adequate ideas of the vile uncomfortableness of a +military life. Finally, I went to the anteroom and turned over the +regimental literature,--a peerage and baronetage,--an army and militia +register, a number of the Sporting Magazine, and one of the United +Service, while Bennoch took another walk. Before dinner we both tried to +catch a little nap by way of compensation for last night's deficiencies; +but, for my part, the attempt was fruitless. + +The dinner was as splendid and as agreeable as that of the evening +before; and I believe it was nearly two o'clock when Bennoch and I bade +farewell to our kind entertainers. For my part I fraternized with these +military gentlemen in a way that augurs the very best things for the +future peace of the two countries. They all expressed the warmest +sympathies towards America and it was easy to judge from their +conversation that there is no real friendliness on the part of the +military towards the French. The old antipathy is just as strong as +ever,--stronger than ever, perhaps, on account of the comparatively more +brilliant success of the French in this Russian war. So, with most +Christian sentiments of peace and brotherly love, we returned to our hut, +and lay down, each in his narrow bed. + +Early in the morning the drums and bugles began the usual bedevilment; +and shortly after six I dressed, and we had breakfast at the mess-room, +shook hands with Lieutenant Shaw (our more especial host), and drove off +to the railway station at Ash. + +I know not whether I have mentioned that the villages neighboring to the +camp have suffered terribly as regards morality from the vicinity of the +soldiers. Quiet old English towns, that till within a little time ago +had kept their antique simplicity and innocence, have now no such thing +as female virtue in them, so far as the lower classes are concerned. +This is expressing the matter too strongly, no doubt; but there is too +much truth in it, nevertheless; and one of the officers remarked that +even ladies of respectability had grown much more free in manners and +conversation than at first. I have heard observations similar to this +from a Nova-Scotian, in reference to the moral influence of soldiers when +stationed in the provinces. + + + +WOOTON. + + +Wooton stands in a hollow, near the summit of one of the long swells that +here undulate over the face of the country. There is a good deal of wood +behind it, as should be the case with the residence of the author of the +Sylva; but I believe few, if any, of these trees are known to have been +planted by John Evelyn, or even to have been coeval with his time. The +house is of brick, partly ancient, and consists of a front and two +projecting wings, with a porch and entrance in the centre. It has a +desolate, meagre aspect, and needs something to give it life and stir and +jollity. The present proprietor is of the old Evelyn family, and is now +one of the two members of Parliament for Surrey; but he is a very shy and +retiring man, unmarried, sees little company, and seems either not to +know how to make himself comfortable or not to care about it. A servant +told us that Mr. ------ had just gone out, but Tupper, who is apparently +on intimate terms with him, thought it best that we should go into the +house, while he went in search of the master. So the servant ushered us +through a hall,--where were many family pictures by Lely, and, for aught +I know, by Vandyke, and by Kneller, and other famous painters,--up a +grand staircase, and into the library, the inner room of which contained +the ponderous volumes which John Evelyn used to read. Nevertheless, it +was a room of most barren aspect, without a carpet on the floor, with +pine bookcases, with a common whitewashed ceiling, with no luxurious +study-chairs, and without a fire. There was an open folio on the table, +and a sheet of manuscript that appeared to have been recently written. I +took down a book from the shelves (a volume of annals, connected with +English history), and Tupper afterwards told us that this one single +volume, for its rarity, was worth either two or three hundred pounds. +Against one of the windows of this library there grows a magnolia-tree, +with a very large stem, and at least fifty years old. + +Mrs. Tupper and I waited a good while, and then Bennoch and Tupper came +back, without having found Mr. ------. Tupper wished very much to show +the prayer-book used by King Charles at his execution, and some curious +old manuscript volumes; but the servant said that his master always kept +these treasures locked up, and trusted the key to nobody. We therefore +had to take our leave without seeing them; and I have not often entered a +house that one feels to be more forlorn than Wooton,--although we did +have a glimpse of a dining-room, with a table laid for three or four +guests, and looking quite brilliant with plate and glass and snowy +napery. There was a fire, too, in this one room. Mr. ------ is making +extensive alterations in the house, or has recently done so, and this is +perhaps one reason of its ungenial meagreness and lack of finish. + +Before our departure from Wooton, Tupper had asked me to leave my card +for Mr. ------; but I had no mind to overstep any limit of formal +courtesy in dealing with an Englishman, and therefore declined. Tupper, +however, on his own responsibility, wrote his name, Bennoch's, and mine +on a piece of paper, and told the servant to show them to Mr. ------. We +soon had experience of the good effect of this; for we had scarcely got +back before somebody drove up to Tupper's door, and one of the girls, +looking out, exclaimed that there was Mr. ------ himself, and another +gentleman. He had set out, the instant he heard of our call, to bring +the three precious volumes for me to see. This surely was most kind; a +kindness which I should never have dreamed of expecting from a shy, +retiring man like Mr. ------. + +So he and his friend were ushered into the dining-room, and introduced. +Mr. ------ is a young-looking man, dark, with a mustache, rather small, +and though he has the manners of a man who has seen the world, it +evidently requires an effort in him to speak to anybody; and I could see +his whole person slightly writhing itself, as it were, while he addressed +me. This is strange in a man of his public position, member for the +county, necessarily mixed up with life in many forms, the possessor of +sixteen thousand pounds a year, and the representative of an ancient +name. Nevertheless, I liked him, and felt as if I could become +intimately acquainted with him, if circumstances were favorable; but, at +a brief interview like this, it was hopeless to break through two great +reserves; so I talked more with his companion--a pleasant young man, +fresh from college, I should imagine--than with Mr. ------ himself. + +The three books were really of very great interest. One was an octavo +volume of manuscript in John Evelyn's own hand, the beginning of his +published diary, written as distinctly as print, in a small, clear +character. It can be read just as easily as any printed book. Another +was a Church of England prayer-book, which King Charles used on the +scaffold, and which was stained with his sacred blood, and underneath are +two or three lines in John Evelyn's hand, certifying this to be the very +book. It is an octavo, or small folio, and seems to have been very +little used, scarcely opened, except in one spot; its leaves elsewhere +retaining their original freshness and elasticity. It opens most readily +at the commencement of the common service; and there, on the left-hand +page, is a discoloration, of a yellowish or brownish hue, about two +thirds of an inch large, which, two hundred years ago and a little more, +was doubtless red. For on that page had fallen a drop of King Charles's +blood. + +The other volume was large, and contained a great many original letters, +written by the king during his troubles. I had not time to examine them +with any minuteness, and remember only one document, which Mr. ------ +pointed out, and which had a strange pathos and pitifulness in it. It +was a sort of due-bill, promising to pay a small sum for beer, which had +been supplied to his Majesty, so soon as God should enable him, or the +distracted circumstances of his kingdom make it possible,--or some +touching and helpless expression of that kind. Prince Hal seemed to +consider it an unworthy matter, that a great prince should think of "that +poor creature, small beer," at all; but that a great prince should not be +able to pay for it is far worse. + +Mr. ------ expressed his regret that I was not staying longer in this +part of the country, as he would gladly have seen me at Wooten, and he +succeeded in saying something about my books; and I hope I partly +succeeded in showing him that I was very sensible of his kindness in +letting me see those relics. I cannot say whether or no I expressed it +sufficiently. It is better with such a man, or, indeed, with any man, to +say too little than too much; and, in fact, it would have been indecorous +in me to take too much of his kindness to my own share, Bennoch being +likewise in question. + +We had a cup of coffee, and then took our leave; Tupper accompanying us +part way down the village street, and bidding us an affectionate +farewell. + + + +BATTLE ABBEY. + + +Bennoch and I recommenced our travels, and, changing from one railway to +another, reached Tunbridge Wells at nine or ten in the evening. . . . +The next day was spent at Tunbridge Wells, which is famous for a +chalybeate spring, and is a watering-place of note, most healthily +situated on a high, breezy hill, with many pleasant walks in the +neighborhood. . . . From Tunbridge Wells we transported ourselves to +Battle,--the village in which is Battle Abbey. It is a large village, +with many antique houses and some new ones; and in its principal street, +on one side, with a wide, green space before it, you see the gray, +embattled, outer wall, and great, square, battlemented entrance tower +(with a turret at each corner), of the ancient Abbey. It is the perfect +reality of a Gothic battlement and gateway, just as solid and massive as +when it was first built, though hoary and venerable with the many +intervening centuries. There are only two days in the week on which +visitors are allowed entrance, and this was not one of them. +Nevertheless, Bennoch was determined to get in, and he wished me to send +Lady Webster my card with his own; but this I utterly refused, for the +honor of America and for my own honor; because I will not do anything to +increase the reputation we already have as a very forward people. +Bennoch, however, called at a bookshop on the other side of the street, +near the gateway of the castle; and making friends, as he has a +marvellous tact in doing, with the bookseller, the latter offered to take +in his card to the housekeeper, and see if Lady Webster would not relax +her rule in our favor. Meanwhile, we went into the old church of Battle, +which was built in Norman times, though subsequently to the Abbey. As we +entered the church door, the bell rang for joy at the news of peace, +which had just been announced by the London papers. + +The church has been whitewashed in modern times, and does not look so +venerable as it ought, with its arches and pillared aisles. In the +chancel stands a marble tomb, heavy, rich, and elaborate, on the top of +which lie the broken-nosed statues of Sir Anthony Browne and his lady, +who were the Lord and Lady of Battle Abbey in Henry VIII.'s time. The +knight is in armor, and the lady in stately garb, and (save for their +broken noses) they are in excellent preservation. The pavement of the +chancel and aisles is all laid with tombstones, and on two or three of +these there were engraved brasses, representing knights in armor, and +churchmen, with inscriptions in Latin. Some of them are very old. On +the walls, too, there are various monuments, principally of dignitaries +connected with the Abbey. Two hatchments, in honor of persons recently +dead, were likewise suspended in the chancel. The best pew of the church +is, of course, that of the Webster family. It is curtained round, +carpeted, furnished with chairs and footstools, and more resembles a +parlor than a pew; especially as there is a fireplace in one of the +pointed archways, which I suppose has been bricked up in order to form +it. On the opposite side of the aisle is the pew of some other magnate, +containing a stove. The rest of the parishioners have to keep themselves +warm with the fervor of their own piety. I have forgotten what else was +interesting, except that we were shown a stone coffin, recently dug up, +in which was hollowed a place for the head of the corpse. + +Returning to the bookshop, we found that Lady Webster had sent her +compliments, and would be very happy to have us see the Abbey. How +thoroughly kind these English people can be when they like, and how often +they like to be so! + +We lost no time in ringing the bell at the arched entrance, under the +great tower, and were admitted by an old woman who lives, I believe, in +the thickness of the wall. She told us her room used to be the prison of +the Abbey, and under the great arch she pointed to a projecting beam, +where she said criminals used to be hanged. + +At two of the intersecting points of the arches, which form the roof of +the gateway, were carved faces of stone, said to represent King Harold +and William the Conqueror. The exterior wall, of which this tower is the +gateway, extends far along the village street, and encloses a very large +space, within which stands the mansion, quite secluded from unauthorized +visitors, or even from the sight of those without, unless it be at very +distant eyeshot. + +We rang at the principal door of the edifice (it is under a deep arch, in +the Norman style, but of modern date), and a footman let its in, and then +delivered us over to a respectable old lady in black. She was a +Frenchwoman by birth, but had been very long in the service of the +family, and spoke English almost without an accent; her French blood +being indicated only by her thin and withered aspect, and a greater +gentility of manner than would have been seen in an Englishwoman of +similar station. She ushered us first into a grand and noble hall, the +arched and carved oaken roof of which ascended into the gable. It was +nearly sixty feet long, and its height equal to its length,--as stately a +hall, I should imagine, as is anywhere to be found in a private mansion. +It was lighted, at one end, by a great window, beneath which, occupying +the whole breadth of the hall, hung a vast picture of the Battle of +Hastings; and whether a good picture or no, it was a rich adornment of +the hall. The walls were wainscoted high upward with oak: they were +almost covered with noble pictures of ancestry, and of kings and great +men, and beautiful women; there were trophies of armor hung aloft; and +two armed figures, one in brass mail, the other in bright steel, stood on +a raised dais, underneath the great picture. At the end of the hall, +opposite the picture, a third of the way up towards the roof, was a +gallery. All these things that I have enumerated were in perfect +condition, without rust, untouched by decay or injury of any kind; but +yet they seemed to belong to a past age, and were mellowed, softened in +their splendor, a little dimmed with time,--toned down into a venerable +magnificence. Of all domestic things that I have seen in England, it +satisfied me most. + +Then the Frenchwoman showed us into various rooms and offices, most of +which were contrived out of the old abbey-cloisters, and the vaulted +cells and apartments in which the monks used to live. If any house be +haunted, I should suppose this might be. If any church-property bring a +curse with it, as people say, I do not see how the owners of Battle Abbey +can escape it, taking possession of and dwelling in these holy precincts, +as they have done, and laying their kitchen hearth with the stones of +overthrown altars. The Abbey was first granted, I believe, to Sir +Anthony Browne, whom I saw asleep with his lady in the church. It was +his first wife. I wish it had been his second; for she was Surrey's +Geraldine. The posterity of Sir Anthony kept the place till 1719, and +then sold it to the Websters, a family of Baronets, who are still the +owners and occupants. The present proprietor is Sir Augustus Webster, +whose mother is the lady that so kindly let us into the Abbey. + +Mr. Bennoch gave the nice old French lady half a crown, and we next went +round among the ruined portions of the Abbey, under the gardener's +guidance. We saw two ivied towers, insulated from all other ruins; and +an old refectory, open to the sky, and a vaulted crypt, supported by +pillars; and we saw, too, the foundation and scanty remains of a chapel, +which had been long buried out of sight of man, and only dug up within +present memory,--about forty years ago. There had always been a +tradition that this was the spot where Harold had planted his standard, +and where his body was found after the battle; and the discovery of the +ruined chapel confirmed the tradition. + +I might have seen a great deal more, had there been time; and I have +forgotten much of what I did see; but it is an exceedingly interesting +place. There is an avenue of old yew-trees, which meet above like a +cloistered arch; and this is called the Monks' Walk. I rather think they +were ivy, though growing unsupported. + +As we were retiring, the gardener suddenly stopped, as if he were +alarmed, and motioned to us to do the same, saying, "I believe it is my +lady!" And so it was,--a tall and stately lady in black, trimming shrubs +in the garden. She bowed to us very graciously,--we raised our hats, and +thus we met and parted without more ado. As we went through the arch of +the entrance tower, Bennoch gave the old female warder a shilling, and +the gardener followed us to get half a crown. + + + +HASTINGS. + + +We took a fly and driver from the principal hotel of Battle, and drove +off for Hastings, about seven miles distant. Hastings is now a famous +watering and sea-bathing place, and seems to be well sheltered from the +winds, though open to the sea, which here stretches off towards France. +We climbed a high and steep hill, terraced round its base with streets of +modern lodging-houses, and crowned on its summit with the ruins of a +castle, the foundation of which was anterior to the Conquest. This +castle has no wall towards the sea, the precipice being too high and +sheer to admit of attack on that side. I have quite exhausted my +descriptive faculty for the present, so shall say nothing of this old +castle, which indeed (the remains being somewhat scanty and scraggling) +is chiefly picturesque and interesting from its bold position on such a +headlong hill. + +Clambering down on another side from that of our ascent, we entered +the town of Hastings, which seems entirely modern, and made up of +lodging-houses, shops, hotels, parades, and all such makings up of +watering-places generally. We took a delightful warm bath, washing off +all weariness and naughtiness, and coming out new men. Then we walked to +St. Leonard's,--a part of Hastings, I believe, but a mile or two from the +castle, and there called at the lodgings of two friends of Bennoch. + +These were Mr. Martin, the author of Bon Gaultier's ballads, and his +wife, the celebrated actress, Helen Faucett. Mr. Martin is a barrister, +a gentleman whose face and manners suited me at once; a simple, refined, +sincere, not too demonstrative person. His wife, too, I liked; a tall, +dark, fine, and lady-like woman, with the simplest manners, that give no +trouble at all, and so must be perfect. With these two persons I felt +myself, almost in a moment, on friendly terms, and in true accord, and so +I talked, I think, more than I have at any time since coming to London. + +We took a pleasant lunch at their house; and then they walked with us to +the railway station, and there they took leave of Bennoch affectionately +and of me hardly less so; for, in truth, we had grown to be almost +friends in this very little while. And as we rattled away, I said to +Bennoch earnestly, "What good people they are!"--and Bennoch smiled, as +if he had known perfectly well that I should think and say so. And thus +we rushed onward to London; and I reached St. James's Place between nine +and ten o'clock, after a very interesting tour, the record of which I +wish I could have kept as we went along, writing each day's history +before another day's adventures began. + + +END OF VOL. 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