,,the ,,atlantic ,,monthly4    ,a       
,,magazine ,,of ,,literature1 ,,art1    
,,and ,,politics4    ,,vol4             
,,vi--,,september1 #ahfj4--,,no4 ,,xxxv4
                ,,among ,,the ,,trees4  
,in our studies of ,trees1 we cannot    
fail to be impressed with their         
importance not only to the beauty of    
landscape1 but also in the economy  of  
life2 and we are convinced that in no   
other part of the vegetable  creation   
has ,nature done so much to provide at  
once for the comfort1 the  sustenance1  
and the protection of her creatures4    
,they afford the wild  animals their    
shelter and their abode1 and yield them 
the greater part  of their subsistence4 
,they are1 indeed1 so evidently         
indispensable to  the wants of man and  
brute1 that it would be idle to enlarge 
upon the  subject1 except in those      
details which are apt to be overlooked4 
,in a  state of ,nature man makes direct
 use of their branches for weaving his  
tent1 and he thatches it with their     

leaves4 ,in their recesses he hunts  the
 animals whose flesh and furs supply him
 with food and clothing1 and  from their
 wood he obtains the implements for     
capturing and subduing  them4 ,man's    
earliest farinaceous food was likewise  
the product of trees2  for in his       
nomadic condition he makes his bread    
from the acorn and the  chestnut3 he    
must become a tiller of the soil1 before
 he can obtain the  products of the     
cereal herbs4 ,the groves were likewise 
the earliest  temples for his worship1  
and their fruits his first offerings    
upon the  divine altar4    ,as man      
advances nearer to civilization1 trees  
afford him the additional  advantage    
which is derived from their timber4 ,the
 first houses were  constructed of wood1
 which enables him by its superior      
plastic  nature1 compared with stone1 to
 progress more rapidly in his ideas of  
architecture4 ,wood facilitates his     
endeavors to instruct himself in  art1  
by its adaptedness to a greater variety 

of purposes than any  other substance4  
,it is1 therefore1 one of the principal 
instruments of  civilization which man  
has derived from the material world4    
,though the  most remarkable works of   
the architect are constructed of stone1 
it  was wood that afforded man that     
early practice and experience which     
initiated him into the laws of mechanics
 and the principles of art1 and  carried
 him along gradually to perfection4     
,but as man is nomadic before he is     
agricultural1 and a maker of tents  and 
wigwams before he builds houses and     
temples1--in like manner he is  an      
architect and an idolater before he     
becomes a student of wisdom2 he  is a   
sacrificer in temples and a priest at   
their altars1 before he is a  teacher of
 philosophy or an interpreter of        
,nature4 ,after the attainment  of      
science1 a higher state of mental       
culture succeeds1 causing the mind  to  
see all ,nature invested with beauty and
 fraught with imaginative  charms1 which

 add new wonders to our views of        
creation and new dignity  to life4 ,man 
now learns to regard trees in other     
relations beside their  capacity to     
supply his physical and mechanical      
wants4 ,he looks upon them  as the      
principal ornaments of the face of      
creation1 and as forming the            
conservatories of ,nature1 in which she 
rears those minute wonders of  her      
skill1 the flowers and smaller plants   
that will flourish only under  their    
protection1 and those insect hosts that 
charm the student with  their beauty and
 excite his wonder by their mysterious  
instincts4  ,science1 too1 has built an 
altar under the trees1 and delivers     
thence  new oracles of wisdom1 teaching 
man how they are mysteriously wedded  to
 the clouds1 and are thus made the      
blessed instruments of their            
beneficence to the earth4    ,not       
without reason did the ancients place   
the ,naiad and her fountain in  the     
shady arbor of trees1 whose foliage     

gathers the waters of heaven  into her  
fount and preserves them from           
dissipation4 ,from their dripping       
shades she distributes the waters1 which
 she has garnered from the  skies1 over 
the plain and the valley3 and the       
husbandman1 before he has  learned the  
marvels of science1 worships the        
beneficent ,naiad1 who draws  the waters
 of her fountain from heaven1 and from  
her sanctuary in the  groves showers    
them upon the arid glebe and adds new   
verdure to the  plain4 ,after science   
has explained to us the law by which    
these supplies  of moisture are         
furnished by the trees1 we still worship
 the beneficent  ,naiad3 we would not   
remove the drapery of foliage that      
protects her  fountain1 nor drive her   
into exile by the destruction of the    
trees1  through whose leaves she holds  
mysterious commerce with the skies and  
saves our fields from drought4    ,it is
 in these relations1 leaving their uses 
in economy and the arts  untouched1 that

 ,i would now speak of trees4 ,i would  
consider them as  they appear to the    
poet and the painter1 as they are       
connected with  scenery1 and with the   
romance and mythology of ,nature1 and as
 serving  the purposes of religion and  
virtue1 of freedom and happiness1 of    
poetry  and science1 as well as those of
 mere taste and economy4 ,i am persuaded
  that trees are closely connected with 
the fate of nations1 that they are  the 
props of industry and civilization1 and 
that in all countries from  which the   
forests have disappeared the people have
 sunk into indolence  and servitude4    
,though we may not be close observers of
 ,nature1 we cannot fail to have        
remarked that there is an infinite      
variety in the forms of trees1 as  well 
as in their habits4 ,by those who have  
observed them as landscape  ornaments1  
trees have been classified according to 
their shape and  manner of growth4 ,they
 are round-headed or hemispherical1 like
 the ,oak  and the ,plane2 pyramidal1   

like the ,pine and the ,fir2 obeliscal1 
like the  ,arbor-,vit and ,lombardy     
,poplar2 drooping1 like the ,white ,elm 
and the  ,weeping ,willow2 and          
umbrella-shaped1 like the ,palm4 ,these 
are the  natural or normal varieties in 
the forms of trees4 ,there are others   
which may be considered accidental3 such
 are the tall and irregularly  shaped   
trees which have been cramped by growing
 in a dense forest that  does not permit
 the extension of their lateral         
branches2 such also are  the pollards   
which have been repeatedly cut down or  
dwarfed by the axe  of the woodman4     
,of the round-headed trees1 that extend 
their branches more or less at  wide    
angles from their trunk1 the ,oak is the
 most conspicuous and the  most         
celebrated4 ,to the mind of an          
,american1 however1 the ,oak is far     
less familiar than the ,elm1 as a       
way-side tree2 but in ,england1 where   
many      a cottage-chimney smokes      
,from betwixt two aged ,oaks1    this   

tree1 which formerly received divine    
honors in that country1 is now  hardly  
less sacred in the eyes of the          
inhabitants1 on account of their        
familiarity with its shelter and its    
shade1 and their ideas of its           
usefulness to the human family4 ,the    
history of the ,british ,isles is       
closely interwoven with circumstances   
connected with the ,oak1 and the  poetry
 of ,great ,britain has derived from it 
many a theme of inspiration4    ,the    
,oak is remarkable for the wide spread  
of its lower branches and its  broad    
extent of shade1--for its suggestiveness
 of power1 and consequent  expression of
 grandeur4 ,it is allied with the       
romance of early history2  it is        
celebrated by its connection with the   
religion and religious rites  of the    
,druids1--with the customs of the       
,romans1 who formed of its  green leaves
 the civic crown for their heroes1 and  
who planted it to  overshadow the temple
 of ,jupiter2 and many ancient          

superstitions give  its name a peculiar 
significance to the poet and the        
antiquary4 ,from its  timber marine     
architecture has derived the most       
important aid1 and it  has thereby      
become associated with the grandeur of  
commerce and the  exploits of a gallant 
navy1 and is regarded as the emblem of  
naval  prowess4 ,the ,oak1 therefore1 to
 the majority of the human race1 is1    
beyond all other trees1 fraught with    
romantic interest1 and invested  with   
classic and historical dignity4    ,the 
,american continent contains a great    
many species of ,oak in its  indigenous 
forest4 ,of these the ,white ,oak bears 
the most resemblance to  the classical  
tree1 in its general appearance1 in the 
contorted growth  of its branches1 and  
in the edible quality of its fruit4 ,but
 the ,red  ,oak1 the most northerly     
species1 exceeds all others in size4 ,no
 other  attains so great a height1 or   
spreads its branches so widely1 or      
surpasses it in regularity of form4 ,as 

we advance south1 the ,white ,oak  is   
conspicuous until we arrive at ,north   
,carolina1 where the forests and        
way-sides exhibit the beautiful         
,evergreen ,oak1 which1 with its slender
  undivided leaves1 the minute          
subdivisions of its branches1 and its   
general comeliness of form1 would be    
mistaken by a stranger for a  ,willow4  
,a close inspection1 however1 would soon
 convince him that it has  none of the  
fragility of the ,willow4 ,on the       
contrary1 it is the most  noted of all  
the genus for its hardness and          
durability1 being the  identical ,live  
,oak which has supplied our navy with   
the most valuable  of timber4 ,at the   
,south the ,evergreen ,oak is a common  
way-side tree1  mingling its hues with  
the lighter green of the ,cypress and   
the sombre  verdure of the ,magnolia4   
,the ,oak exceeds all other trees1 not  
only in actual strength1 but also  in   
that outward appearance by which this   
quality is manifested4 ,this  expression

 is due to the general horizontal spread
 of its principal  boughs1 the peculiar 
angularity of the unions of its small   
branches1 the  want of flexibility in   
its spray1 and its great size when      
compared with  its height1 all          
manifesting its power to resist the wind
 and the storm4  ,hence it is regarded  
as the monarch of trees1 surpassing all 
in those  qualities that indicate       
nobleness and capacity4 ,it is the      
emblem of  strength1 dignity1 and       
grandeur3 the severest hurricane cannot 
overthrow  it1 and1 by destroying some  
of its branches1 leaves it only with    
more wonderful proofs of its resistance4
 ,like the rock that rises in           
mid-ocean1 it becomes in its old age a  
just symbol of fortitude1 parting  with 
its limbs one by one1 as they are broken
 by the gale or withered by  decay2 but 
still retaining its many-centuried      
existence1 when1 like an  old patriarch1
 it has seen all its early companions   
removed4    ,standard ,oaks are         

comparatively rare in the ,new ,england 
,states1 and not  many adorn our        
way-sides and inclosures1 which are     
mostly shaded by  ,elms1 ,limes1        
,maples1 and ,ash-trees4 ,the scarcity  
of ,oaks in these places  is            
attributable in some degree to the      
peculiar structure of their roots1      
which extend downwards to a great depth 
in the soil1 causing them to be         
difficult of transplantation4 ,it is    
owing in still greater measure to  the  
value of ,oak-wood for                  
ship-timber1--especially as those       
full-grown  trees which have sprung up  
by the road-sides1 and the noble pasture
  ,oaks1 contain the greatest number of 
those joints which are in special       
demand for ship-building4 ,year after   
year1 therefore1 has witnessed the      
gradual disappearance of these venerable
 trees1 which the public should  have   
protected from the profane hands of the 
timberer1 by forcing him  to procure his
 materials from the forest4 ,the        

community needs to be  taught that a    
standard tree of good size and          
well-developed proportions  is of more  
value for its shade1 and as an object in
 the landscape1 than  a whole acre of   
trees in the middle of a wood4    ,one  
of the most majestic trees in the       
,american forest is the ,chestnut1      
remarkable1 like the ,oak1 for its broad
 extent of shade4 ,in some parts  of the
 country it is one of the most common   
standards in the field and  pasture1    
having been left unmolested on account  
of the value of its  fruit and the      
comparative inferiority of its timber4  
,the foliage of this  tree is dense and 
flowing1 and peculiar in its            
arrangement4 ,the leaves  are clustered 
in stars of from five to seven1 on short
 branches that  grow from one of greater
 length4 ,hence1 at a little distance1  
the whole  mass of foliage seems to     
consist of tufts1 each containing a     
tassel of  long pointed leaves1 drooping
 divergently from a common centre4 ,the 

flowers come out from the centre of     
these leaves in the same manner1  and by
 their silvery green lustre give a      
pleasing variety to the darker  verdure 
of the whole mass4 ,this is the tree1   
says ,gilpin1 which  graces the         
landscapes of ,salvator ,rosa4 ,in the  
mountains of ,calabria1  where ,salvator
 painted1 the ,chestnut flourished4     
,there he studied it  in all its forms1 
breaking and disposing of it in a       
thousand beautiful  shapes1 as the      
exigencies of his composition required4 
,the ,beech is one of the same class of 
trees1 but does not equal the  ,chestnut
 in magnitude4 ,it is distinguished by  
the beauty of its clean1  smooth shaft1 
which is commonly ribbed or fluted in a 
perceptible  degree2 and in a wood1     
where there is an assemblage of these   
columns1  rising without a branch to the
 height of thirty feet or more1 they are
  singularly beautiful4 ,a peculiarity  
often observed in the ,beech is a  sort 
of double head of foliage4 ,this is     

produced by the habit of the  tree of   
throwing out a whorl of imperfect       
branches just below the union  of the   
main branches with the trunk4 ,the      
latter1 taking more of an  upward       
direction1 cause an observable space a  
little below the middle  of the height  
of the tree4 ,this double tier of       
branches and foliage has  been noticed  
by painters in the ,european ,beech4 ,i 
have observed it in  several instances  
in the ,american tree4    ,standard     
,beech-trees are not numerous in this   
part of the country2  indeed1 they are  
seldom seen except in a wood1 or in     
clumps which have  originated from the  
root of some tree that has perished4 ,i 
think they  appear to better advantage  
in groups and small assemblages than    
when  single1 as there is nothing       
greatly attractive in the form of a     
standard  ,beech2 but there is a        
peculiar sweep of the lateral branches1 
when they  are standing in a group1     
which the student of trees cannot fail  

to  admire4 ,they send out their        
branches more in right lines than most  
other  trees1 and1 as their leaves and  
the extremities of their spray all have 
an upright tendency1 they give a        
beautiful airy appearance to the edge   
of a wood4 ,the foliage of other        
deciduous trees1 even when the branches 
tend upward1 is mostly of a drooping    
character4 ,the ,beech forms a  pleasing
 exception to this habit1 having leaves 
that point upward and  outwardly1       
instead of hanging loosely4 ,in most    
other trees the foliage  is so heavy and
 flowing1 that the courses of their     
branches are  concealed under their     
drapery of leaves2 but in the ,beech all
 the  lines produced by the branches and
 foliage are harmonious1 and may be     
distinctly traced4    ,by taking note of
 these peculiarities in their           
arborescent growth1 one  greatly        
magnifies his capacity for enjoying the 
beauties of trees4  ,without this       
observation1 their general appearance   

forms the chief  object of his          
attention3 he observes them only as a   
person of taste who  cannot distinguish 
tunes would listen to music4 ,he feels  
the agreeable  sensation which their    
forms and aspects produce2 but1 like one
 who  thinks without adequate language  
for his thoughts1 his ideas are vague   
and indefinite4 ,the ,beech is          
particularly worthy of study1 as in many
  points it differs characteristically  
from most other trees4 ,i am  acquainted
 with no tree in the forest that equals 
it1 when disrobed of  its foliage1 in   
the gracefulness of its spray4 ,there is
 an airiness  about its whole           
appearance1 at all seasons1 that gives  
an expression of  cheerfulness to the   
scene it graces1 whether it skirt the   
banks of a  stream or spread out its    
courteous arms over a sunny knoll or    
little  sequestered nook4    ,there are 
some trees which are peculiarly         
,american1 being confined to  the       
,western continent1 and unknown in other

 parts of the world4 ,among  these is   
the ,hickory1 a well-known and very     
common tree1 celebrated  rather for its 
usefulness than its beauty4 ,the        
different trees of this  family make an 
important feature in our landscape3 they
 are not abundant  in the forest1 but   
they are conspicuous objects in the open
 plain1 hill1  and pasture4 ,great      
numbers of them have become standards2  
we see them  following the lines of old 
stone walls that skirt the bounds and   
avenues  of the farm1 in company with   
the ,ash and the ,maple4 ,in these      
situations1  where they would not cumber
 the ground1 they have been allowed to  
grow1 without exciting the jealousy of  
the proprietor of the land4  ,accident1 
under these circumstances1 has reared   
many a beautiful tree1  which would in  
any other place have been cut down as a 
trespasser4 ,thus  ,nature is always    
striving to clothe with beauty those    
scenes which man  has despoiled2 and    
while the farmer is hoeing and grubbing1

 and thinking  only of his physical     
wants1 unseen hands are draping all his 
fences with  luxuriant vinery1 and      
bordering his fields with trees that    
shall gladden  the eyes of those who can
 understand their beauties4    ,the     
,hickory is not a round-headed tree2 it 
approaches a cylindrical  form1 somewhat
 flattened at the top1 but seldom       
attaining any strict  regularity of     
shape4 ,it does not expand into a full  
and flowing head1  but is often divided 
into distinct masses of foliage1        
separated by  vacant spaces of          
considerable size1 and presenting an    
appearance as if  a portion of the tree 
had been artificially removed4 ,these   
gaps do not  extend all round the tree2 
they are irregularly disposed1 some     
trees  having several of them1 others   
none or only one2 and they seem to have 
been caused1 when the tree was young1 by
 the dwindling of some principal        
branch4 ,the ,hickory throws out its    
branches at first very obliquely from   

the shaft2 afterwards the lower ones    
bend down as the tree increases in      
size1 and acquire an irregular and      
contorted shape2 for1 notwithstanding   
their toughness1 they bend easily to the
 weight of their fruit and  foliage4    
,this tree is celebrated in the ,united 
,states for the toughness of its  wood2 
and the term ,hickory is used as        
emblematical of a sturdy and  vigorous  
character4 ,it possesses some of the    
ruggedness1 without the  breadth and    
majesty of the ,oak1 though it exceeds  
even this tree  in braving the force of 
a tempest4 ,it is one of our most common
  pasture-trees1 and its deep-green     
foliage makes amends for the general    
want of comeliness in its outline4      
,as we are journeying through the older 
settlements of ,new ,england1  the      
melancholy forms of the ill-fated       
,plane-trees tower above the            
surrounding objects1 and attract our    
attention not only by their  magnitude1 
but also by the marks of decay which are

 stamped upon all4  ,this appearance is 
chiefly remarkable in the early part of 
summer3 for  the trees are not dead2 but
 their vitality is so far gone that they
 are  tardy in putting out their leaves1
 and seldom before ,july are they fully 
clad in verdure4 ,when they are not in  
leaf1 we may observe an unnatural       
growth of slender twigs in tufts at the 
ends of their branches4 ,this  is caused
 by the failure of the tree in          
perfecting its wood before the  growth  
of the branches is arrested by the      
autumnal frosts2 and this  accident has 
been repeated annually ever since the   
trees began to  be affected with their  
malady4 ,the ,plane was formerly a very 
common  way-side tree in ,new ,england1 
until the fatality occurred which has   
caused the greater number of them to    
perish4 ,it is a fact worthy of  notice1
 that all the trees of this species     
below the latitude of ,long  ,island    
have escaped the malady4    ,the        
,chenar-tree1 or ,oriental ,plane1 is   

celebrated in history1 having had  a    
place in all the public and private     
grounds of the ,greeks and ,romans1  as 
well as of the ,eastern nations4 ,the   
,american1 or ,western ,plane1  called  
in ,new ,england the ,buttonwood1 is not
 less remarkable for its  size and      
grandeur4 ,it is one of the loftiest    
trees1 and its lateral  branches1 being 
of great length1 give it extraordinary  
breadth4 ,it also  runs up to an unusual
 height1 compared with other trees1     
before it forms  a head1 so that its    
lower branches are sometimes elevated   
above the  roofs of the houses of common
 height ,hence it would be a valuable   
tree  for road-sides1 if it were        
healthy1 as it would allow the largest  
vehicles to pass freely under its       
boughs4    ,a far more beautiful tree1  
gracing equally the forest and the      
way-side1  is the ,ash1 charming our    
sight with the gracefulness of its      
proportions  in winter1 with its flowing
 drapery of verdure in summer1 and its  

variety of glowing tints in autumn4 ,the
 ,ash has been styled in ,europe  the   
painter's tree1--a fact which is worthy 
of notice1 inasmuch as  those writers   
who have theorized concerning the nature
 of beauty have  generally regarded     
trees of broken and irregular shapes1   
like the  ,hickory1 as more picturesque 
than those of prim and symmetrical      
habit1  like the ,ash4 ,the practice of 
the great masters in painting seems     
adverse to this idea1 since they have   
introduced the ,ash more frequently     
than other trees into their pictures2   
and it shows the futility of the        
attempt to draw a distinction between   
picturesque and beautiful  trees4 ,all  
trees1 indeed1 of every natural shape1  
may be considered  picturesque1 as1 in  
one situation or another1 every species 
may be  introduced to heighten the      
character of a picture or a landscape4  
,the ,ash never fails to attract        
attention by the peculiar beauty of its 
outlines1 the regular subdivision of its

 branches1 its fair proportions  and    
equal balance without any disagreeable  
formality4 ,nothing can exceed  the     
gracefulness of its pinnate foliage1    
hanging loosely from its  equally       
divergent spray1 easy of motion1 but not
 fluttering1 and always  harmonizing in 
its tints with the season of the year4  
,notwithstanding  the different         
character1 in regard to symmetry1 of the
 ,ash and the  ,hickory1 the two trees  
are often mistaken for each other1 and1 
when the  latter is evenly formed1 it is
 sometimes difficult at first sight to  
distinguish it4 ,they differ1 however1  
in all cases1 in the opposite           
arrangement of the leaves and small     
branches of the ,ash1 and their         
alternate arrangement in the ,hickory4  
,one of these branches invariably       
becomes abortive1 as the tree increases 
in size1 so that their opposite         
character is apparent only in the spray4
    ,in wet places which have never been
 subjected to the plough1 in grounds    

partly inundated a great portion of the 
year1 luxuriating in company  with the  
,northern ,cypress1 over an undergrowth 
of ,dutch ,myrtles and  ,button-bushes1 
we find the singular ,tupelo-tree4 ,this
 tree is the  opposite of the ,ash in   
all its characteristics4 ,there is no   
regularity  in any part of its growth1  
and no tree in the forest sports in such
 a  variety of grotesque and fantastic  
shapes4 ,sometimes it spreads out its   
branches horizontally1 forming a        
perfectly flat top1 as if it had grown  
under a platform2 again it forms an     
irregular pyramid1 most commonly        
leaning from an upright position4 ,it   
has usually no definable shape1  often  
sending out one or two branches greatly 
beyond the rest1 some  directed         
obliquely downwards1 others twisted and 
horizontal4 ,this tree1  if it had no   
other merit1 would be prized for its    
eccentricities2 but it  is not without  
beauty4 ,it possesses a fine glossy     
foliage1 unrivalled in  its verdure1 and

 every branch is fully clothed with it2 
and1 whatever  may be the age of the    
tree1 it never shows the marks of       
decrepitude4    ,the pyramidal trees are
 included chiefly among the coniferous  
evergreens1 embracing the ,pine1 the    
,fir1 the ,spruce1 and the ,cypress4    
,though many of the deciduous trees     
assume more or less of this outline1  it
 is the normal and characteristic form  
of the ,pines and their kindred         
species4 ,it is a peculiarity of the    
pyramidal trees1 with a few  exceptions1
 to remain always disfigured1 after the 
loss of an important  branch1 having no 
power to fill the vacant space by a new 
growth4 ,other  trees readily fill up a 
vacancy occasioned by the loss of a     
branch1 and  may suffer considerable    
mutilation without losing their beauty1 
because  an invariable proportion is not
 necessary to render them pleasing      
objects of sight4 ,on account of the    
symmetry of their forms1 the  pyramidal 
trees are made ugly by the loss of a    

limb1 as the porch of a  temple would be
 ruined by the removal of one of its    
pillars4 ,hence we  may understand the  
charm of that irregularity that prevails
 in the forms  of vegetation4 ,if we    
remove a branch from an ,elm or an ,oak1
 or even from  an ,ash1 we destroy no   
positive symmetry2 it is like removing a
 stone  from a loose stone wall2 we do  
but slightly modify its disproportions4 
,the ,white ,pine may be selected as the
 ,american representative of the        
pyramidal trees1 being the most         
important as well as the most striking  
in its appearance4 ,it is a ,northern   
tree1 not extending so far south as  the
 region of the ,cypress and ,magnolia1  
and attaining perfection only on  the   
northeastern part of the continent4 ,in 
the ,new ,england ,states1 it           
contributes more than any other species 
to the beauty of our landscapes1  where 
it is commonly seen in scattered groups1
 but not often as a  solitary standard4 
,we see it in our journeys1 projecting  

over eminences  that are skirted by old 
roads1 shading the traveller from the   
sun and  protecting him from the wind4  
,we have sat under its fragrant shade1  
in  our pedestrian tours1 when1 weary   
with heat and exercise1 we sought its   
gift of coolness1 and blessed it as one 
of the benign deities of the  forest4   
,we are familiar with it in all pleasant
 and solitary places2 and  in our       
afternoon rambles we have listened1     
underneath its boughs1 to the  plaintive
 note of the ,green ,warbler1 who       
selects it for his abode1 and  who has  
caught a melancholy tone from the winds 
that from immemorial  time have tuned to
 soft music its long sibilant leaves4   
,the ,white ,pine is a tree that        
harmonizes with all situations1 rude    
and cultivated1 level and abrupt4 ,on   
the side of the mountain it adds        
grandeur to the declivity1 and gives a  
look of sweeter tranquillity to  the    
green pastoral meadow4 ,it yields a     
darker frown to the projecting  cliff1  

and a more awful uncertainty to the     
mountain-pass or the hollow  ravine4    
,amid desolate scenery it spreads a     
cheerfulness that detracts  nothing from
 its power over the imagination1 while  
it relieves it of its  terrors by       
presenting a green bulwark to defend us 
from the elements4  ,nothing can be more
 cheerful in scenery than the occasional
 groups of  ,pines which have come up   
spontaneously on the bald hills near our
 coast1  elsewhere a dreary waste of    
gray rocks1 stunted shrubbery1 and      
prostrate  ,juniper4 ,in the forest the 
,white ,pine constitutes the very       
sanctuary of  ,nature1 its tall pillars 
extending into the clouds1 and its broad
 canopy  of foliage mixing with the     
vapors that descend in the storm4       
,such are its picturesque aspects3 but  
in a figurative light it may be         
regarded as a true symbol of            
benevolence4 ,under its outspread roof1 
thousands of otherwise unprotected      
animals1 nestling in the bed of dry     

leaves which it has spread upon the     
ground1 find shelter and repose4 ,the   
squirrel subsists upon the kernels      
obtained from its cones2 the rabbit     
browses upon the ,trefoil and the spicy 
foliage of the ,hypericum which  are    
protected in its conservatory of shade2 
and the fawn reposes on its  brown couch
 of leaves1 unmolested by the outer     
tempest4 ,from its green  arbors the    
quails may be roused in midwinter1 when 
they resort thither  to find the still  
sound berries of the ,mitchella and the 
,wintergreen4  ,nature1 indeed1 seems to
 have designed this tree to protect the 
animal  creation1 both in summer and    
winter1 and ,i am persuaded that she has
 not  conferred upon them a more        
beneficent gift4    ,as an object of    
sight1 the ,white ,pine is free from    
some of the defects  of the ,fir and    
,spruce1 having none of their stiffness 
of foliage and  inflexibility of spray1 
that cause them to resemble artificial  
objects4  ,it has the symmetry of the   

,fir1 joined with a certain flowing     
grace that  assimilates it to the       
deciduous trees4 ,with sufficient       
amplitude to  conceal a look of primness
 that often arises from symmetry1 we    
observe a  certain negligent flowing of 
its leafy robes that adds to its dignity
 a  grace which is apparent to all4 ,it 
seems to wear its honors like one who   
feels no constraint under their burden2 
and when smitten by a tempest1  it bids 
no defiance to the gale1 bending to its 
wrath1 but securely  resisting its      
power4    ,of the ,american coniferous  
trees1 the ,hemlock is of the next      
importance1  being1 perhaps1 in its     
perfection1 a more beautiful tree than  
the ,white  ,pine1 or than any other    
known evergreen4 ,it is far less formal 
in its  shape than other trees of the   
same family4 ,its branches1 being       
slender  and flexible1 do not project   
stiffly from the shaft2 they bend       
slightly  at their terminations1 and are
 easily moved by the wind2 and as they  

are  very numerous1 and covered with    
foliage1 we behold in the tree a dense  
mass of glittering verdure1 not to be   
seen in any other tree of the  forest4  
,the ,hemlock is unknown as a           
shade-tree2 it is seldom seen by the    
road-side1 except on the edge of a wood1
 and not often in cultivated  grounds4  
,the want of success usually attending  
the transplantation of it  from the     
woods has prevented the general adoption
 of it as an ornamental  tree4 ,the     
,hemlock1 when transplanted from the    
wood1 is almost sure to  perish2 for    
,nature will not allow it to be         
desecrated by any association  with     
,art4 ,she reserves it for her own      
demesnes2 and if you would possess  one1
 you must go to its native spot and     
plant your garden around it1  and take  
heed1 lest1 by disturbing its roots1 you
 offend the deity  who protects it4     
,some noble ,hemlocks are occasionally  
seen in rude  situations1 where the     
cultivator's art has not interrupted    

their  spontaneous growth2 and the poet 
and the naturalist are inspired with a  
more pleasing admiration of their       
beauty1 because they have seen them     
only where the solitary birds sing their
 wild notes1 and where the heart  is    
unmolested by the crowding tumult of    
human settlements4    ,the ,pitch ,pine 
has neither grace nor elegance1 and     
though it is allied  botanically to the 
pyramidal trees1 it approaches the shape
 of the  round-headed trees4 ,there is a
 singular ruggedness about it2 and when 
bristling all over with the stiff       
foliage that sometimes covers it from   
the extremities of the branches down    
almost to the roots1 it cannot fail  to 
attract observation4 ,trees of this     
species1 for the most part too  rough   
and homely to please the eye1 are not   
generally valued as objects  in the     
landscape2 but there is a variety in    
their shape that makes  amends for their
 want of comeliness1 and gives them a   
marked importance4  ,we do not in       

general sufficiently appreciate the     
value of homely objects  among the      
scenes of ,nature1--which are1 indeed1  
the ground-work of all  charming        
scenery1 and set off to advantage the   
beauty of more comely  things4 ,they    
prepare us1 by increasing our           
susceptibility1 to feel more  keenly the
 force of beauty in other objects4 ,they
 give rest and relief  to the eye1 after
 it has experienced the stimulating     
effects of  beautiful forms and colors1 
which would soon pall upon the sense2   
and  they are interesting to the        
imagination1 by leaving it free to dress
 the  scene with the wreaths of fancy4  
,it is from these reflections that ,i   
have been led to prize many a homely    
tree as possessing a high value1 by     
exalting the impressions of beauty      
which we derive from other trees1 and by
 relieving ,nature of that  monotony    
which would attend a scene of           
unexceptional beauty4 ,this  monotony is
 apparent in almost all dressed grounds 

of considerable  extent4 ,we soon become
 entirely weary of the ever-flowing     
lines of  grace and elegance1 and the   
harmonious blending of forms and colors 
introduced by art4 ,on the same         
principle we may explain the difficulty 
of reading with attention a whole volume
 on one subject1 written in  verse4 ,we 
are soon weary of luxuries2 and when we 
have been strolling in  grounds laid out
 with gaudy flower-beds1 the tired eye1 
when we go out  into the fields1 rests  
with serene delight upon rough pastures 
bounded  by stone walls1 and hills      
clothed with lichens and covered with   
boulders4    ,the homely ,pitch ,pine   
serves this important purpose of relief 
in the  landscapes of ,nature4 ,trees of
 this species are abundant in sandy     
levels1 in company with the slender and 
graceful ,white ,birch1 ,the ,lady  of  
the ,woods1 as the poet ,coleridge      
called it4 ,from these ,pines proceed   
those delightful odors which are wafted 
to our windows by a mild south  wind1   

not less perceptible in winter than in  
summer1 and which are in a  different   
manner as charming as a beautiful       
prospect4    ,the ,juniper1 or ,red     
,cedar1 known in some places as the     
,savin1 is another  homely tree that    
gives character to ,new ,england        
scenery4 ,it is one of  the most        
frequent accompaniments of the bald     
hills near certain parts  of our coast1 
giving them a peculiar aspect of        
desolation4 ,this tree  acquires larger 
dimensions and a fuller and fairer shape
 in the ,middle  and ,southern ,states4 
,there the ,junipers are beautiful      
trees1 having a  finer verdure than they
 ever acquire at the ,north4 ,but the   
,juniper1 with  all its imperfections1  
its rugged form1 and its inferior       
verdure1 is not  to be contemned2 and it
 possesses certain qualities and        
features which  ought to be prized      
hardly less than beauty4 ,its sombre    
ferruginous green  adds variety to our  
wood-scenery at all times1 and by       

contrast serves to  make the foliage of 
other trees the more brilliant and      
conspicuous4  ,in the latter part of    
summer1 when the woods have acquired a  
general  uniformity of verdure1 the     
,junipers enliven the face of ,nature by
  blending their duller tints with the  
fading hues of the fully ripened        
foliage4 ,thus will an assemblage of    
brown and gray clouds soften and at  the
 same time enliven the deep azure of the
 heavens4    ,in this sketch1 ,i have   
omitted to describe many important      
trees1  especially those which have but 
little individuality of character1      
leaving them to be the subject of       
another essay concerning ,trees in      
,assemblages4 ,i have likewise said     
nothing here of those species which  are
 commonly distinguished as flowering    
trees4 ,but ,i must not omit1  while    
speaking of the pyramidal trees1 to say 
a word concerning the  ,larch1 which has
 some striking points of form and habit4
 ,like the  ,southern ,cypress1 it      

differs in its deciduous character from 
other  coniferous trees3 hence both are 
distinguished by the brilliancy of      
their verdure in the early part of      
summer1 when the other evergreens are   
particularly sombre2 but they are       
leafless in the winter4 ,the ,larch is  
beautifully pyramidal in its shape when 
young4 ,in the vigor of its years  it   
tends to uniformity1 and to variety when
 it is old4 ,indeed1 an aged  ,larch is 
often as rugged and fantastic as an old 
,oak4 ,the ,american and  ,european     
,larches differ only in the longer      
flowing foliage and the  larger cones of
 the latter4 ,among the minor beauties  
of both species may  be mentioned the   
bright crimson cones that appear in     
,june and resemble  clusters of fruit4  
,the ,larch is a ,northern tree1 being  
in its perfection  in the latitude of   
,maine4 ,it seems to delight in the     
coldest situations1  and1 like the      
,southern ,cypress1 is found chiefly in 
low swamps4    ,there are not many trees

 that assume the shape of an obelisk1 or
 a long  spire2 but ,nature1 who        
presents to our eyes an ever-charming   
variety of  forms as well as hues1 in   
the objects of her creation1 has given  
us the  figure of the obelisk in the    
,chinese ,juniper1 in the ,balsam ,fir1 
in the  ,arbor-,vit1 and lastly in the  
,lombardy ,poplar1 which may be offered 
to  exemplify this class of forms4 ,the 
,lombardy ,poplar is interesting to     
thousands who were familiar with it in  
their youth1 as an ornament  to         
road-sides and village inclosures4 ,it  
was formerly a favorite  shade-tree1 and
 still retains its privileges in many   
old-fashioned  places4 ,a century ago   
great numbers of ,poplars were planted  
on the  village way-sides1 in front of  
dwelling-houses1 on the borders of      
public  grounds1 and particularly on the
 sides of lanes and avenues leading to  
houses situated at a short distance from
 the high-road4 ,hence a row  of these  
trees becomes suggestive at once of the 

approach to some old  mansion or        
country-seat1 which has now1 perhaps1   
been converted into a  farm-house1      
having exchanged its proud honors of    
wealth for the more  simple and         
delightful appurtenances of rustic      
independence4    ,some of these ancient 
rows of ,poplars are occasionally seen  
in old  fields1 where almost all traces 
of the habitation which they were       
intended to grace are obliterated4      
,there is a melancholy pleasure  in     
surveying these humble ruins1 whose     
history would illustrate the  domestic  
habits of our ancestors4 ,the cellar of 
the old house is now  a part of the     
pasture-land1 and its form can be traced
 by the simple  swelling of the turf4   
,sumachs and ,cornel-bushes have usurped
 the  place of the exotic shrubbery in  
the old garden2 and the only ancient    
companions of the ,poplars1 now         
remaining1 are here and there a         
straggling ,lilac or ,currant-bush1 a   
tuft of ,houseleek1 and perhaps1  under 

the shelter of some dilapidated wall1   
the ,white ,star of ,bethlehem  is seen 
meekly glowing in the rude society of   
the wild-flowers4    ,the ,lombardy     
,poplar1 which was formerly a favorite  
way-side ornament1  a sort of idol of   
the public1 and1 like many another idol1
 exalted to  honors that exceeded its   
merits1 fell suddenly into unpopularity 
and  disgrace4 ,after having been       
admired and valued as if its leaves were
 all  emeralds and its buds apples of   
gold1 it was spurned and ridiculed and  
everywhere cut down as a cumberer of the
 ground4 ,the faults attributed  to it  
did not belong to the tree1 but were the
 effects of the climate  into which it  
had been removed4 ,it was brought from  
the sunny vales of  ,italy1 where it had
 been delicately reared by the side of  
the ,orange and  the ,myrtle1 and       
transplanted into the cold climate of   
,new ,england4 ,the  tender constitution
 of this tree could not endure our rude 
winters2  and every spring witnessed the

 decay of a large portion of its small  
branches4 ,hence it became prematurely  
aged1 and in its decline carried  with  
it the marks of its infirmities4        
,but1 with all these imperfections1 the 
,lombardy ,poplar was more worthy  of   
the honors it received from our         
predecessors than of its present        
disrepute4 ,it is one of the fairest of 
trees1 in the vigor of its health  and  
the greenness of its youth4 ,but nearly 
all the old ,poplars are  extirpated1   
and but few young trees are coming up to
 supply their  places4 ,while ,i am now 
writing1 ,i see from my window the      
graceful spire  of one solitary tree1   
towering above the surrounding objects  
in the  landscape1 and yielding to the  
view something of an indescribable      
charm4  ,there it stands1 the symbol of 
decayed reputation1 in its old age still
  retaining the primness of its youth2  
neither drooping in its infirmities     
under the weight of their burden1 nor   
losing in its desertedness the  fine    

lustre of its foliage2 and in its       
disgrace still bearing itself  proudly1 
as if conscious that its former honors  
were deserved1 and  not forgetting that 
dignity which becomes one who has fallen
 without  dishonor4    ,there is no     
other tree that so pleasantly adorns the
 sides of narrow  lanes and avenues1 or 
so neatly accommodates itself to limited
  inclosures4 ,its foliage is dense and 
of the liveliest green1 tremulous1  and 
making delicate music to the light      
fingers of every breeze2 its            
terebinthine odors scent the soft vernal
 wind that enters your open  windows    
with the morning sunshine2 its branches1
 always tending upward1  closely        
gathered together1 and slenderly formed1
 afford a harbor to the  singing-birds1 
who revel among them as a favorite      
resort2 and its long  tapering spire1   
that points to heaven1 gives an air of  
cheerfulness and  religious tranquillity
 to village scenery4    ,of the drooping
 trees1 the ,weeping ,willow is the most

 conspicuous  example1 unless we except 
the ,american ,elm2 but a remarkable    
difference  may be observed in the      
drooping character of these two trees4  
,in the ,elm  we perceive a general     
arching or curvature of all its         
branches1 from  their points of junction
 with the tree to their extremities2 so 
that two  rows of ,elms1 meeting over an
 avenue1 would represent1 more nearly   
than  any other trees disposed in the   
same manner1 the vault of a ,gothic     
arch4  ,a double row of ,weeping        
,willows would make no such figure by   
the meeting  of their branches4 ,the    
,weeping ,willow extends its long arms  
in lines  more nearly straight1 not     
originating1 as in the ,elm1 for the    
most part1  from one common centre of   
junction1 but joining the shaft of the  
tree at  different points2--hence the   
drooping character of this tree is      
observed  only in its long1 slender1 and
 terminal spray4    ,the ,weeping       
,willow is one of the most poetical of  

trees1 being  consecrated to the ,muse  
by the part which has been assigned it  
in many  a scene of romance1 and by its 
connection with events recorded in      
,holy ,writ4 ,it is invested with a     
poetical interest by its symbolical     
representation of sorrow in the         
pendulous character of its spray1 by    
its fanciful uses as a garland for      
disappointed lovers1 and by the         
employment of it in burying-grounds1 and
 in pictures as drooping over  graves4  
,we remember it in sacred history by its
 association with the  rivers of        
,babylon1 with the tears of the         
,children of ,israel1 and with  the     
forsaken harps of their sorrowing       
minstrels1 who hung them upon its       
branches4 ,it is distinguished by the   
graceful beauty of its outlines1  its   
light-green delicate foliage1 its       
sorrowing attitude1 and its gently      
waving spray1 all in sweet accordance   
with its picturesque1 poetic1 and       
,scriptural associations4    ,hence the 

,weeping ,willow never fails to give    
pleasure to the sight even  of the most 
insensible observer4 ,there are not many
 whose minds are so  obtuse as to be    
blind to its peculiarly graceful        
attitude and motions1  and every one is 
familiar with its history1 as recorded  
in poetry and  romance1 all the         
incidents of which have served to       
elevate it above any  association with  
fashion or vulgarity4 ,when we see it   
waving its long  branches neatly over   
some private inclosure1 overshadowing   
the gravelled  walk and the             
flower-garden1--or watching pensively   
over the graves of  the dead1 where the 
light hues of its foliage help to soften
 the glowing  fancies which are apt to  
arise from our meditations among the    
tombs1--or  on some wide common1 giving 
solace to the passing traveller1 and    
inviting the playful children to its    
shade1--or trailing its sweeping  spray1
 like the tresses of a ,naiad1 over some
 silvery pond or gently  flowing        

stream1--it is in all cases a delightful
 object1 always  picturesque1 always    
soothing1 inspiring1 and sacred to      
memory1 and  serving1 by its alliance   
with what is hallowed in literature1 to 
bind us  more closely to ,nature4       
,above all the trees of the ,new ,world1
 the ,elm deserves to be considered  the
 sovereign tree of ,new ,england4 ,it is
 abundant both in field and  forest1 and
 forms the most remarkable feature in   
our cleared and  cultivated grounds4    
,though the ,elm is found in almost all 
parts of the  country1 in no other is it
 so conspicuous as in the ,northeastern 
,states1  where1 from the earliest      
settlement of the country1 it has been  
planted  as a shade-tree1 and has been  
valued as an ornament above the proudest
  importations from a foreign clime4 ,it
 is the most remarkable of the  drooping
 trees except the ,willow1 which it     
surpasses in stateliness and  in the    
variety of its growth4    ,when ,i look 
upon a noble ,elm1--though ,i feel no   

disposition to contemn  the studies of  
those who examine its flowers and fruit 
with the  scrutinizing eye of science1  
or the calculations of those who        
consider  only its practical use--it is 
to me an object of pleasing veneration4 
,i  look upon it as the embodiment of   
some benign intention of ,providence1   
who has adapted it in numerous ways to  
the wants of his creatures4 ,while      
admiring its grace and its majesty1 ,i  
think of the great amount of human      
happiness and of comfort to the inferior
 animals of which it has been  the      
blessed instrument4 ,how many a happy   
assemblage of children and  young       
persons has been1 during the past       
century1 repeatedly gathered  under its 
shade1 in the sultry noons of summer6   
,how many a young  ,may-queen has been  
crowned under its roof1 when the        
greensward was just  daisied with the   
early flowers of spring6 ,and how many a
 weary traveller  has rested from his   
journey in its benevolent shade1 and    

from a state of  weariness and vexation1
 when o'erspent by heat and length of   
way1 has  subsided into one of quiet    
thankfulness and content6    ,though the
 ,elm has never been consecrated by the 
,muse1 or dignified  by making a figure 
in the paintings of the old masters1 the
 native  inhabitant of ,new ,england    
associates its varied forms with all    
that is  delightful in the scenery of   
his own land or memorable in its        
history4  ,he has beheld many a noble   
avenue formed of ,elms1 when standing in
 rows  in the village1 or by the rustic 
road-side4 ,he has seen them extending  
their broad and benevolent arms as a    
protection over many a spacious old     
farm-house and many an humble cottage1  
and equally harmonizing with all4  ,they
 meet his sight in the public grounds of
 the city1 with their ample  shade and  
flowing spray1 inviting him to linger   
under their pleasant  umbrage in summer2
 and in winter he has beheld them among 
the rude hills  and mountains1 like     

spectral figures keeping sentry among   
their passes1  and1 on the waking of the
 year1 suddenly transformed into towers 
of  luxuriant verdure and beauty4 ,every
 year of his life has he seen the       
beautiful ,hang-,bird weave his pensile 
habitation upon the long and  flexible  
branches of the ,elm1 secure from the   
reach of every living  creature4 ,from  
its vast dome of interwoven branches and
 foliage he has  listened to the songs  
of the earliest and the latest birds2   
and under  its shelter he has witnessed 
many a merry-making assemblage of       
children1  employed in the sportive     
games of summer4    ,to a native of ,new
 ,england1 therefore1 the ,elm has a    
value more nearly  approaching that of  
sacredness than any other tree4 ,setting
 aside the  pleasure derived from it as 
an object of visual beauty1 it is       
intimately  associated with the familiar
 scenes of home and the events of his   
early life4 ,in my own mind it is       
pleasingly allied with those old        

dwelling-houses which were built in the 
early part of the last century1  and    
form one of the marked features of ,new 
,england home architecture  during that 
period4 ,they are known by their broad  
and ample1 but  low-studded rooms1 their
 numerous windows with small panes1     
their single  chimney in the centre of  
the roof that sloped down to the lower  
story in  the back part1 and in their   
general unpretending appearance1        
reminding  one vividly of that          
simplicity of life which characterized  
our people  before the ,revolution4     
,their very homeliness is delightful1 by
 leaving  the imagination free to dwell 
upon their pleasing suggestions4 ,not   
many  of these charming old houses are  
now extant3 but whenever we see one1  we
 are almost sure to find it accompanied 
by its ,elm1 standing upon the  green   
open space that slopes up to it in      
front1 and waving its long  branches in 
melancholy grandeur over the venerable  
habitation which it  seems to have taken

 under its protection1 while it droops  
with sorrow  over the infirmities of its
 old companion of a century4    ,the    
,elm is remarkable for the variety of   
forms which it assumes in  different    
situations4 ,often it has a drooping    
spray only when it has  attained a large
 size2 but it almost invariably becomes 
subdivided  into several equal branches1
 diverging from a common centre1 at a   
considerable elevation from the ground4 
,one of these forms is that of a  vase3 
the base being represented by the roots 
of the tree that project  above the soil
 and join the trunk1--the middle by the 
lower part of  the principal branches1  
as they swell out with a graceful curve1
 then  gradually diverge1 until they    
bend downward and form the lip of the   
vase1 by their circle of terminal       
branches4 ,another of its forms is that 
of a vast dome1 as represented by those 
trees that send up a single  shaft to   
the height of twenty feet or more1 and  
then extend their  branches at a wide   

divergency and to a great length4 ,the  
,elms which are  remarkable for their   
drooping character are usually of this  
shape4  ,at other times the ,elm assumes
 the shape of a plume1 presenting a     
singularly fantastical appearance4 ,it  
rises upwards1 with an undivided  shaft1
 to the height of fifty feet or more1   
without a limb1 and bending  over with a
 gradual curve from about the middle of 
its height to its  summit1 which is     
sometimes divided into two or three     
terminal branches4  ,the whole is       
covered from its roots to its summit    
with a fringe  of vine-like twigs1      
extremely slender1 twisted and          
irregular1 and  resembling a parasitic  
growth4 ,sometimes it is subdivided at  
the usual  height into three or four    
long branches1 which are wreathed ,in   
the same  manner1 and form a compound   
plume4    ,these fantastic forms are    
very beautiful1 and do not impress one  
with  the idea of monstrosity1 as we are
 affected by the sight of a ,weeping    

,ash4 ,though the ,elm has many defects 
of foliage1 and is destitute of  those  
fine autumnal tints which are so        
remarkable in some other trees1  it is  
still almost without a rival in the     
,american forest4 ,it presents a        
variety in its forms not to be seen in  
any other tree1--possessing the  dignity
 of the ,oak without its ruggedness1 and
 uniting the grace of the  slender      
,birch with the lofty grandeur of the   
,palm and the majesty of the  ,cedar of 
,lebanon4    ,of the parasol-trees the  
,north furnishes no true examples1 which
 are  witnessed only in the ,palms of   
the tropics4 ,not many of our           
inhabitants  have seen these trees in   
their living beauty2 but all have become
 so  familiar with them1 as they are    
represented in paintings and engravings1
  that they can easily appreciate their 
effect in the sunny landscapes of  the  
,south4 ,there they may be seen bending 
over fields tapestried with             
,passion-,flowers and verdurous with    

,myrtles and ,orange-trees1 and         
presenting their long shafts to the     
tendrils of the ,trumpet ,honeysuckle   
and the palmate foliage of the ,climbing
 ,fern4 ,but the slender ,palms1  when  
solitary1 afford but little shade4 ,it  
is when they are standing in  groups1   
their lofty tops meeting and forming a  
uniform umbrage1 that  they afford any  
important protection from the heat of   
the sun4    ,in pictures of tropical    
scenery we see these trees standing on  
the  banks of a stream1 or in the       
vicinity of the sea1 near some rude hut 
constructed of ,bamboo and thatched with
 the broad leaves of the ,fan  ,palm4   
,in some warm countries ,nature affords 
the inhabitants an almost  gratuitous   
subsistence from the fruit of the       
different ,palms1--a  plantation of     
,dates and ,cocoa-nuts supplying the    
principal wants of the  owner and his   
family1 during the life of the trees4   
,but the ,palm is not  suggestive of the
 arts1 for the ,south is not the region 

of the highest  civilization4 ,man's    
intelligence is greatest in those       
countries in which  he is obliged to    
struggle with difficulties sufficient to
 require the  constant exercise of the  
mind and body to overcome them4 ,science
 and ,art  have built their altars in   
the region of the ,oak1 and in valleys  
which  are annually whitened with snow1 
where labor invigorates the frame1 and  
where man's contention with the         
difficulties presented by the elements  
sharpens his ingenuity and strengthens  
all his facilities4 ,hence1 while  the  
,oak is the symbol of hospitality and of
 the arts to which it has  given its    
aid1 the ,palm symbolizes the           
voluptuousness of a tropical  clime and 
the indolence of its inhabitants4    ,i 
have said that the ,north produces no   
parasol-trees2 but it should be         
remarked that all kinds of trees        
occasionally approximate to this shape1 
when they have grown compactly in a     
forest4 ,the general shape which they   

assume under these conditions is what ,i
 have termed accidental1 because  that  
shape cannot be natural which a growing 
body is forced to take  when cramped in 
an unnatural or constrained position4   
,trees when thus  situated become       
greatly elongated2 their shafts are     
despoiled of the  greater part of their 
lateral branches1 and the tree has no   
expansion  until it has made its way    
above the level of the wood4 ,the trees 
that  cannot reach this level will in a 
few years perish2 and this is the  fate 
of the greater number in the primitive  
forest4 ,but after they have  attained  
this level1 they spread out suddenly    
into a head4 ,many such  trees are seen 
in recent clearings2 and when their     
termination is a  regular hemisphere of 
branches and foliage1 the tree exhibits 
a shape  nearly approaching that of a   
parasol4    ,the ,elm1 under these      
circumstances1 often acquires a very    
beautiful  shape4 ,unlike other trees   
that send up a single undivided shaft1  

the  ,elm1 when growing in the forest as
 well as in the open plain1 becomes     
subdivided into several slightly        
divergent branches1 running up almost   
perpendicularly until they reach the    
level of the wood1 when they  suddenly  
spread themselves out1 and the tree     
exhibits the parasol shape  more nearly 
even than the ,palm4 ,when one of these 
forest ,elms is left by  the woodman1   
and is seen standing alone in the       
clearing1 it presents  to our sight one 
of the most graceful and beautiful of   
all arborescent  forms4    ,the rows of 
,willows1 so frequent by the way-side   
where the road passes  over a wet       
meadow1 afford the most common examples 
of the pollard forms4  ,some of these   
willows1 having escaped the periodical  
trimming of the  woodcutter1 have become
 noble standards1 emulating the ,oak in 
the sturdy  grandeur of their giant arms
 extending over the road4 ,most of them1
  however1 from the repeated cropping   
which they have suffered1 exhibit a     

round head of long1 slender branches1   
growing out of the extremity of  the    
beheaded trunk4    ,my remarks thus far 
relate to trees considered as individual
 objects2  but ,i must not tire the     
patience of the reader by extending them
  farther1 though there are many other  
relations in which they may be  treated4
 ,in whatever light we regard them1 they
 will be found to deserve  attention as 
the fairest ornaments of ,nature1 and as
 objects that should  be held sacred    
from their importance to our welfare and
 happiness4 ,the  more we study them1   
the more desirous are we of their       
preservation1 and  the more convinced of
 the necessity of using some active     
means to  effect this purpose4 ,he takes
 but a narrow view of their importance  
who  considers only their value in the  
economy of animal and vegetable life4   
,the painter has always made them a     
particular branch of his study2 and  the
 poet understands their advantage in    
increasing the effect of his            

descriptions1 and believes them to be   
the blessed gifts of ,providence to     
render the earth a beautiful abode and  
sanctify it to our affections4  ,the    
heavenly bodies affect the soul with a  
deeper sense of creative  power2 but    
trees1 like flowers1 serve to draw us   
more closely to the  bosom of ,nature1  
by exemplifying the beauties of her     
handiwork1 and the  wonders of that     
,wisdom that operates unseen1 and       
becomes1 in our search  for it1 a source
 of perpetual delight4          ,,victor
 ,,and ,,jacqueline4    ,concluded4     
,,vii4      ,the three days passed away4
 ,and every hour's progress was marked  
as it  passed over the citizens of      
,meaux4 ,leclerc1 and the doctrines for 
which  he suffered1 filled the people's 
thought2 he was their theme of speech4  
,wonder softened into pity2 unbelief was
 goaded by his stripes to  cruelty2     
faith became transfigured1 while he1    
followed by the hooting  crowd1 endured 
the penalty of faith4 ,some men looked  

on with awe that  would become adoring2 
some with surprise that would take      
refuge in study  and conviction4 ,there 
were tears as well as exultation1 solemn
 joy as  well as execration1 in his     
train4 ,the mother of ,leclerc followed 
him with her undaunted testimony1       
,blessed be ,jesus ,christ and ,his     
,witnesses6    ,by day1 in the field1   
,jacqueline ,gabrie thought over the    
reports she  heard through the          
harvesters1 of the city's feeling1 of   
its purpose1 of  its judgment2 by night 
she prayed and hoped1 with the mother of
 ,leclerc2  and wondrous was the growth 
her faith had in those days4    ,on the 
evening of the third day1 ,jacqueline   
and ,elsie walked into ,meaux  together4
 ,this was not invariably their habit4  
,elsie had avoided too  frequent        
conversation with her friend of late4   
,she knew their paths were  separate1   
and was never so persuaded of the fact  
as this night1 when1 of  her own will1  
she sought to walk with ,jacqueline4    

,the sad face of her  friend troubled   
her2 it moved her conscience that she   
did not deeply  share in her anxiety4   
,when they came from ,domrmy1 she had   
relied on  ,jacqueline3 there was safety
 in her counsel1--there was wisdom in   
it3  but now1 either8    ,it made me    
scream outright1 when ,i saw the play1  
said she2 but it is  worse to see your  
face nowadays1--it is more terrible1    
,jacqueline4    ,jacqueline made no     
reply to this1--and ,elsie regarded the 
silence as  sufficient provocation4     
,you seem to think ,i have no feeling1  
said she4 ,i am as sorry about  the poor
 fellows as you can be4 ,but ,i cannot  
look as if ,i thought the  day of       
judgment close at hand1 when ,i don't1  
,jacqueline4    ,very well1 ,elsie4 ,i  
am not complaining of your looks4       
,but you are1--or you might as well4    
,let not that trouble you1 ,elsie4 ,your
 face is smooth1 at least2 and  your    
voice does not sound like the voice of  
one who is in grief4  ,rejoice1--for1 as

 you say1 you have a right to yourself1 
with which ,i  am not to interfere4 ,we 
are old friends1--we came away from     
,lorraine  together4 ,do not forget     
that4 ,i never will forget it4    ,but  
you are done with me4 ,you say nothing  
to me4 ,i might as well be  dead1 for   
all you care4    ,let us not talk of    
such things in this manner1 said        
,jacqueline1  mildly4 ,but the dignity  
of her rebuke was felt1 for ,elsie      
said1--    ,but ,i seem to have lost    
you1--and now we are alone together1 ,i 
may say  it4 ,yes1 ,i have lost you1    
,jacqueline6    ,this is not the first  
time we have been alone together in     
these  dreadful three days4    ,but now 
,i cannot help speaking4    ,you could  
help it before4 ,why1 ,elsie8 ,you had  
not made up your mind4  ,but now you    
have1 or you would not speak1 and insist
 on speaking4 ,what  have you to say1   
then8    ,jacqueline6 ,are you          
,jacqueline8    ,am ,i not8    ,you seem
 not to be4    ,how is it1 ,elsie8      

,you are silent and stern1 and ,i think 
you are very unhappy1  ,jacqueline4     
,i do not know1--not unhappy1 ,i think4 
,perhaps ,i am silent1--,i have been  so
 busy4 ,but for all it is so            
dreadful--no6 not unhappy1 ,elsie4      
,thinking of ,leclerc all the while8    
,of him8 ,oh1 no6 ,i have not been      
thinking of him1--not constantly4 ,jesus
  ,christ will take care of him4 ,his   
mother is quiet1 thinking that4 ,i1  at 
least1 can be as strong as she4 ,i'm not
 thinking of the shame and              
cruelty1--but of what that can be worth 
which is so much to him1 that  he counts
 this punishment1 as they call it1 as   
nothing1 as hardly pain1  certainly not 
disgrace4 ,the ,truth1 ,elsie6--if ,i   
have not as much to say1  it is because 
,i have been trying to find the ,truth4 
,but if you have found it1 then ,i hope 
,i never shall1--if it is the  ,truth   
that makes you so gloomy4 ,i thought it 
was this business in  ,meaux4           
,gloomy8 when it may be ,i have found1  

or shall find--    ,here ,jacqueline    
hesitated1--looked at ,elsie4 ,grave    
enough was that look  to expel every    
frivolous feeling from the heart of     
,elsie1--at least1  so long as she      
remained under its influence4 ,it was   
something to trust  another as          
,jacqueline intended now to trust her   
friend4 ,it was a  touching sight to see
 her seeking her old confidence1 and    
appearing  to rely on it1 while she knew
 how frail the reed was4 ,but this girl1
  frivolous as was her spirit1 this girl
 had come with her from the  distant    
native village2 their childhood's       
recollections were the same4  ,and      
,jacqueline determined now to trust her4
 ,for in times of blasting  heat the    
shadow even of the gourd is not to be   
despised4    ,you know what ,i have     
looked for so long1 ,elsie1 she said1   
you ought  to rejoice with me4 ,i need  
work for that no longer4    ,what is    
that1 ,jacqueline8    ,even this        
question1 betraying no such apprehension

 as ,jacqueline's words  seemed to      
intimate1 did not disturb the girl4 ,she
 was in the mood when1  notwithstanding 
her show of dependence1 she was really  
in no such  necessity4 ,never was she   
stronger than now when she put off all  
show  of strength4 ,elsie stood before  
her in place of the opposing world4 ,to 
,elsie's question she replied as readily
 as though she anticipated the  word1   
and had no expectation of better        
recollection1--not to speak of  better  
apprehension4    ,to bring him out of   
suffering he has never been made to     
endure1 as  surely as ,god lives4 ,as if
 the ,almighty judged men so6 ,i shall  
send back  no more money to ,father ,la 
,croix4 ,it is not his prayer1 nor my   
earnings1  that will have to do with the
 eternity of ,john ,gabrie4--,do you    
hear me1  ,elsie8    ,i seem to1        
,jacqueline4    ,have ,i any cause for  
wretched looks1 then8 ,i am in sight of 
better  fortune than ,i ever hoped for  
in this world4    ,then don't look so   

fearful4 ,it is enough to scare one4    
,you are not a  girl to choose to be a  
fright1--unless this dreadful city has  
changed  you altogether from what you   
were4 ,you would frighten the ,domrmy   
children with such a face as that2 they 
used not to fear ,jacqueline4    ,i     
shall soon be sailing on a smoother sea4
 ,as it is1 do not speak of my  looks4  
,that is too foolish4    ,but1 oh1 ,i   
feel as if ,i must hold you1--hold      
you6--you are leaving  me6    ,come on1 
,elsie6 exclaimed ,jacqueline1 as though
 she almost hoped this  of her dear     
companion4    ,but where8 asked ,elsie1 
not so tenderly4    ,where ,god leads4  
,i cannot tell4    ,i do not understand4
    ,you would not think the ,truth     
worth buying at the price of your life8 
,my life8    ,or such a price as he pays
 who--has been branded to-day8    ,it   
was not the truth to your mother1--or to
 mine4 ,it was not the truth  to any one
 we ever knew1 till we came here to     
,meaux4    ,it is true to my heart1     

,elsie4 ,it is true to my conscience4 ,i
 know that  ,i can live for it4 ,and it 
may be--    ,hush6--do not6 ,oh1 ,i wish
 that ,i could get you back to ,domrmy6 
,what is  going to come of this8        
,jacqueline1 let us go home4 ,come1 let 
us start  to-night4 ,we shall have the  
moon all night to walk by4 ,there is    
nothing  in ,meaux for us4 ,oh1 if we   
had never come away6 ,it would have been
  better for you to work there for--what
 you wanted1--for what you came  here to
 do4    ,no1 let ,god's ,truth triumph6 
,what am ,i8 ,less than that rush6 ,but 
if ,his  breath is upon me1 ,i will be  
moved by it1--,i am not a stone4        
,then they walked on in silence4 ,elsie 
had used her utmost of persuasion1  but 
,jacqueline not her utmost of           
resistance4 ,her companion knew this1   
felt her weakness in such a contest1 and
 was silent4    ,on to town they went   
together4 ,they walked together through 
the streets1  passing constantly knots  
of people who stood about the corners   

and among  the shops1 discussing what   
had taken place that day4 ,they crossed 
the  square where the noonday sun had   
shone on crowds of people1 men and      
women1 gathered from the four quarters  
of the town and the neighboring         
country1 assembled to witness the       
branding of a heretic4 ,they entered    
their court-yard together1--ascended the
 stairway leading to their  lodging4    
,but they were two1--not one4           
,elsie's chief desire had been to get   
,jacqueline safely into the house  ere  
she could find opportunity for          
expression of what was passing in her   
mind4 ,her fear was even greater than   
her curiosity4 ,she had no desire to    
learn1 under these present              
circumstances1 the arguments and        
incidents  which the knots of men and   
women were discussing with so much      
vehemence  as they passed by4 ,she could
 guess enough to satisfy her4 ,so she   
had  hurried along1 betraying more      
eagerness than was common with her to   

get  out of the street4 ,not often was  
she so overcome of weariness1--not      
often so annoyed by heat and dust4      
,jacqueline1 without remonstrance1      
followed her4 ,but they were two1--not  
one4    ,once safe in their upper room1 
,elsie appeared to be1 after all1 not so
  devoid of interest in what was passing
 in the street as her hurried  walk     
would seem to betoken4 ,she had not     
quite yet lost her taste for  excitement
 and display4 ,for immediately she      
seated herself by the  window1 and was  
all eye and ear to what went on outside4
    ,jacqueline's demonstrations also   
were quite other than might have been   
anticipated4 ,each step she took in her 
chamber gave an indication that  she had
 a purpose1--and that she would perform 
it4    ,she removed from her dress the  
dust and stain of toil1 arranged her    
hair1 made herself clean and decent1 to 
meet the sober gaze of others4  ,then   
she placed upon the table the remains of
 their breakfast1--but she  ate nothing4

      ,,viii4      ,it was nearly dark  
when ,jacqueline said to ,elsie1--    ,i
 am now going to see ,john and his      
mother4 ,i must see with my own eyes1   
and hear with my own ears4 ,i may be    
able to help them1--and ,i know they    
will be able to help me4 ,john's word   
will be worth hearing1--and ,i want  to 
hear it4 ,he must have learned in these 
days more than we shall ever  be able to
 learn for ourselves4 ,will you go with 
me8    ,no1 cried ,elsie1--as though she
 feared she might against her will  be  
taken into such company4 ,then1 not for 
her own sake1 but for  ,jacqueline's1   
she added1 almost as if she hoped that  
she might prove  successful in          
persuasion1 ,i remember my father and   
mother4 ,what they  taught me ,i        
believe4 ,and that ,i shall live by4 ,i 
shall never be wiser  than they were4   
,and ,i know ,i never can be happier4   
,they were good and  honest4            
,jacqueline1 we shall never be as happy 
again as we were in  ,domrmy1 when the  

pastor blessed us1 and we hunted flowers
 for the  altar1--never6--never6 ,and   
,elsie ,mril1 overcome by her           
recollections  and her presentiments1   
burst into tears4    ,it was the        
happiness of ignorance1 said            
,jacqueline1 after a solemn  silence    
full of hurried thought4 ,no1--,i1 for  
one1 shall never be as  happy as ,i was 
then4 ,but my joy will be full of peace 
and bliss4 ,it will  be full of         
satisfaction1--very different1 but such 
as belongs to me1  such as ,i must not  
do without4 ,god led us from ,domrmy1   
and with me  shall ,he do as seemeth    
good to ,him4 ,we were children then1   
,elsie2 but  now may we be children no  
longer6    ,i will be faithful to my    
mother4 ,go1 ,jacqueline1--let me alone4
    ,elsie said this with so much spirit
 that ,jacqueline answered quickly1  and
 yet very kindly1--    ,i did not mean  
to trouble you1 dear1--but--no matter   
now4    ,no sooner had ,jacqueline left 
the house than ,elsie went down to a    

church  near by1 where she confessed    
herself to the priest1 and received such
  goodly counsel as was calculated to   
fortify her against ,jacqueline in  the 
future4           99       99       99  
99       99    ,jacqueline went to the  
house of the wool-comber1 as of late had
 been her  nightly custom1--but not1 as 
heretofore1 to lighten the loneliness   
and anxiety of the mother of ,leclerc4  
,already she had said to the old        
woman1--    ,i need not work now for my 
father's redemption4 ,then ,i will work 
for  you1 if your son is disabled4 ,let 
us believe that ,god brought me here    
for this4 ,i am strong4 ,you can lean on
 me4 ,try it4    ,now she went to make  
repetition of the promise to ,leclerc1  
if1  perchance1 he had come back to his 
mother sick and sore and helpless4  ,for
 this reason1 when she entered the      
humble home of the martyr1 his  eyes    
fell on her1 and he saw her as she had  
been an angel2 how serene  was her      
countenance2 and her courage was        

manifestly such as no mortal  fear1 no  
human affliction1 could dismay4         
,already in that room faithful friends  
had gathered1 to congratulate the       
living man1 and to refresh their        
strength from the abounding richness of 
his4    ,martial ,mazurier1 the noted   
preacher1 was there1 and ,victor ,le    
,roy2  besides these1 others1 unknown by
 name or presence to ,jacqueline4       
,among them was the                     
wool-comber1--wounded with many stripes1
 branded1  a heretic6 ,but a man still1 
it appeared1--a living man1--brave as   
any  hero1 determined as a saint1--ready
 to proclaim now the love of ,god1 and  
from the couch where he was lying to    
testify to ,jesus and his ,truth4    ,it
 was a goodly sight to see the          
tenderness of these men here gathered2  
how they were forgetful of all          
inequalities of station1 such as        
worldlings live by1--meeting on a new   
ground1 and greeting one another  in a  
new spirit4    ,they had come to learn  

of ,john4 ,a halo surrounded him2 he was
  transfigured2 and through that cloud  
of glory they would fain penetrate4     
,perchance his eyes1 as ,stephen's1 had 
seen heaven open1 when men had  tried   
their torments4 ,at least1 they had     
witnessed1 when they followed  the      
crowd1 that his face1 in contrast with  
theirs who tormented1 shone1  as it had 
been the face of an angel4 ,they had    
witnessed his testimony  given in the   
heroic endurance of physical pain4      
,there was more to be  learned than the 
crowd were fit to hear or could hear4   
,broken strains  of the ,lord's song    
they heard him singing through the      
torture4 ,now they  had come longing for
 the full burden of that divinest       
melody4    ,jacqueline entered the room 
quietly1 scarcely observed4 ,she sat    
down by  the door1 and it chanced to be 
near the mother of ,leclerc1 near       
,victor  ,le ,roy4    ,to their         
conversation she listened as one who    
listens for his life1--to  the reading  

of the ,scripture1--to the singing of   
the psalm1--that grand  old version1--  
,out of the depths ,i cry to thee1      
,lord ,god6 ,oh1 hear my prayer6        
,incline a gracious ear to me1    ,and  
bid me not despair4    ,if thou         
rememberest each misdeed1    ,if each   
should have its rightful meed1    ,lord1
 who shall stand before thee8           
,lord1 through thy love alone we gain   
,the pardon of our sin3    ,the         
strictest life is but in vain1    ,our  
works can nothing win1    ,that man     
should boast himself of aught1    ,but  
own in fear thy grace hath wrought      
,what in him seemeth righteous4         
,wherefore my hope is in the ,lord1     
,my works ,i count but dust2    ,i build
 not there1 but on his word1    ,and in 
his goodness trust4    ,up to his care  
myself ,i yield2    ,he is my tower1 my 
rook1 my shield1    ,and for his help ,i
 tarry4    ,to the praying of the broken
 voice of ,john ,leclerc she listened4  
,in his  prayer she joined4 ,to the     

eloquence of ,mazurier1 whose utterances
 she  laid up in her heart1--to the     
fervor of ,le ,roy1 which left her eyes 
not  dry1 her soul not calm1 but strong 
in its commotion1 grasping fast the     
eternal truths which he1 too1 would     
proclaim1 she listened4    ,she was not 
only now among them1 she was of         
them1--of them forevermore4  ,though she
 should never again look on those faces1
 nor listen to those  voices1 of them1  
of all they represented1 was she        
forevermore4 ,their ,god  was           
hers1--their faith was hers2 their      
danger would she share1--their  work    
would aid4    ,their talk was of the    
,truth1 and of the future of the ,truth4
 ,well they  understood that the spirit 
roused among the people would not be    
quieted  again1--that what of ferocity  
in the nature of the bigot and the      
powerful had been appeased had but for  
the moment been satisfied4 ,there  would
 be unremitting watch for victims2      
everywhere the net for the  unwary and  

the fearless would be laid4             
,blood-thirstiness and lust and         
covetousness would make grand their     
disguises1--broad would their           
phylacteries be made1--shining with     
sacred gems1 their breast-plates4    ,of
 course it was of the great ,god's honor
 these men would be jealous4  ,this     
heresy must needs be uprooted1 or no    
knowing where would be the end  of the  
wild growth4 ,and1 indeed1 there was no 
disputing the fact that  there was      
danger in open acceptance of such       
doctrines as defied the  authority of   
priestcraft1--ay1 danger to falsehood1  
and death to  falsehood6    ,fanaticism1
 cowardice1 cruelty1 the spirit of      
persecution1 the spirit  of authority   
aroused1 ignorance and vanity and       
foolishness would make  themselves      
companions1 no doubt4 ,should ,truth    
succumb to these8 ,should  ,love retreat
 before the fierce onset of ,hate8      
,these brave men said not  so4 ,and they
 looked above them and all human aid for

 succor1--,jacqueline  with them4       
,when ,mazurier and ,victor ,le ,roy    
went away1 they left ,jacqueline with   
the wool-comber's mother1 but they did  
not pass by her without notice4         
,martial lingered for a moment1 looking 
down on the young girl4    ,she is one  
of us1 said the old woman4    ,then the 
preacher laid his hand upon her head1   
and blessed her4    ,continue in prayer1
 and listen to the testimony of the     
,holy ,ghost1  said he4 ,then shall you 
surely come deep into the blessed       
knowledge and  the dear love of ,jesus  
,christ4    ,when he had passed on1     
,victor paused in turn4    ,it is good  
to be here1 ,jacqueline1 said he4 ',this
 is the house of  ,god2 this is the gate
 of heaven4    ,and he also went forth1 
whither ,mazurier had gone4    ,then    
beside the bed of the poor wool-comber  
women like angels  ministered1 binding  
up his wounds1 and soothing him with    
voices soft as  ever spoke to man4 ,and 
from the peasant whose toil was in      

harvest-fields  and vineyards came      
offers of assistance which the poor can 
best give the  poor4    ,but the        
wool-comber did not need the hard-earned
 pence of ,jacqueline4  ,when she said1 
,let me serve you now1 as a daughter and
 a sister1 you  two1--he made no mistake
 in regard to her words and offer4 ,but 
he had  no need of just such service as 
she stood prepared to render4 ,in his   
toil he had looked forward to the       
seasons of adversity1--had provided  for
 a dark day's disablement2 and he was   
able now to smile upon his  mother and  
on ,jacqueline1 and to say1--    ,i     
will1 indeed1 be a brother to you1 and  
my mother will love you as if  you were 
her child4 ,but we shall not take the   
bread from your mouth to  prove it4 ,our
 daughter and our sister in the ,lord1  
we thank you and love  you1 ,jacqueline4
 ,i know what you have been doing since 
,i went away4  ,the ,lord love you1     
,jacqueline6 ,you will no longer be a   
stranger and  friendless in ,meaux1     

while ,john ,leclerc and his mother are 
alive1--nay1  as long as a true man or  
woman lives in ,meaux4 ,fear not4    ,i 
will not fear1 said ,jacqueline4    ,and
 she sat by the side of the mother of   
,leclerc1 and thought of her  own mother
 in the heavens1 and was tranquil1 and  
prepared1 she said to  herself1 to walk1
 if indeed she must1 through the valley 
of the shadow  of death1 and would still
 fear no evil4      ,,ix4               
,strengthened and inspired by the scenes
 of the last three days1 ,martial       
,mazurier began to preach with an       
enthusiasm1 bravery1 and eloquence      
unknown before to his hearers4 ,he threw
 himself into the work of  preaching1   
the new revelation of the ancient       
eternal ,truth1 with  an ardor that     
defied authority1 that scorned danger1  
and with a  recklessness that had its   
own reward4    ,victor ,le ,roy was his 
ardent admirer1 his constant follower1  
his  loving friend1 his servant4 ,day by
 day this youth was studying with       

indefatigable zeal the truths and       
doctrines adopted by his teacher4       
,enchanted by the wise man's eloquence1 
already a convert to the faith  he      
magnified1 he was prepared to follow    
wherever the preacher led4 ,the         
fascination of danger he felt1 and was  
allured by4 ,frowning faces had  for him
 no terrors4 ,he could defy evil4       
,jacqueline and he might be called most 
friendly students4 ,often in  the cool  
of the day the young man walked out from
 ,meaux along the  country-roads1 and   
his face was always toward the setting  
sun1 whence  towards the east           
,jacqueline at that hour would be       
coming4 ,the girls were  living in the  
region of the vineyards now1 and among  
the vines they  worked4    ,it began to 
be remarked by some of their companions 
how much ,jacqueline  ,gabrie and the   
young student from the city walked      
together4 ,but the  subject of their    
discourse1 as they rested under the     
trees that fringed  the river1 was not  

within the range of common speculation2 
far enough  removed from the ordinary   
use to which the peasants put their     
thought  was the thinking of ,le ,roy   
and ,jacqueline4    ,often ,victor went1
 carefully and with a student's         
precision1 over the  grounds of         
,martial's arguments1 for the           
satisfaction of ,jacqueline4  ,much     
pride as well as joy had he in the      
service2 for he reverenced his  teacher1
 and feared nothing so much1 in these   
repetitions1 as that this  listener1    
this animated1 thinking1 feeling        
,jacqueline1 should lose  anything by   
his transmission of the preacher's      
arguments and eloquence4    ,and        
sometimes1 on those special occasions   
which were now constantly  occurring1   
she walked with him to the town1 and    
hearkened for herself in  the           
assemblages of those who were now one in
 the faith4    ,elsie looked on and     
wondered1 but did not jest with         
,jacqueline1 as girls  are wont to jest 

with one another on such points as      
seemed involved in  this friendship     
between youth and youth1 between man and
 woman4    ,towards the conclusion of   
the girls' appointed labor in the       
vineyard1 a  week passed in which       
,victor ,le ,roy had not once come out  
from ,meaux in  the direction of the    
setting sun4 ,he knew the time when the 
peasants'  labor in the vineyard would  
be done2 ,jacqueline had told him2 and  
with  wonder1 and with trouble1 she     
lived through the days that brought no  
word from him4    ,at work early and    
late1 ,jacqueline had no opportunity of 
discovering  what was going on in       
,meaux4 ,but it chanced1 on the last day
 of the last  week in the vineyard1     
tidings reached her3 ,martial ,mazurier 
had been  arrested1 and would be tried1 
the rumor said1 as ,john ,leclerc had   
been  tried2 and sentence would be      
pronounced1 doubtless1 said conjecture1 
severe in proportion to the influence   
the man had acquired1 to the  position  

he held4    ,hearing this1 oppressed1   
troubled1 yet not doubting1 ,jacqueline 
determined that she would go to ,meaux  
that evening1 and so ascertain the      
truth4 ,she said nothing to ,elsie of   
her purpose4 ,she was careful in all    
things to avoid that which might involve
 her companion in peril in an  unknown  
future2 but at nightfall she had made   
herself ready to set  out for ,meaux1   
when her purpose was changed in the     
first steps by the  appearing of ,victor
 ,le ,roy4    ,he had come to           
,jacqueline1--had but one purpose in his
 coming2 yet it  was she who must say1--
    ,is it true1 ,victor1 that ,martial 
,mazurier is in prison8    ,his answer  
surprised her4    ,no1 it is not true4  
,but his countenance did not answer the 
glad expression of her face with  an    
equal smile4 ,his gravity almost        
communicated itself to her4 ,yet this   
rebound from her recent dismay surely   
might demand an opportunity4    ,i      
believe you1 said she4 ,but ,i was      

coming to see if it could be true4  ,it 
was hard to believe1 and yet it has cost
 me a great deal to persuade  myself    
against belief1 ,victor4    ,it will    
cost you still more1 ,jacqueline4       
,martial ,mazurier has  recanted4    ,he
 has been in prison1 then8    ,he has   
retracted1 and is free again1--has      
denied himself4 ,no more  glorious words
 from him1 ,jacqueline1 such as we have 
heard6 ,he has sold  himself to the     
,devil1 you see4    ,mazurier8          
,mazurier has thought raiment better    
than life4 ,he has believed a  man's    
life to consist in the abundance of the 
things he possesseth1  said the youth1  
bitterly4 ,he continued1 looking        
steadfastly at  ,jacqueline1--,probably 
,i must give up the ,truth also4 ,my    
uncle is dead3  must ,i not secure my   
possessions8--for ,i am no longer a poor
 man2 ,i  cannot afford to let my life  
fall into the hands of those wolves4    
,mazurier retracted8 ,i cannot believe  
it1 ,victor ,le ,roy6    ,believe1 then1

 that yesterday the man was in prison1  
and to-day he is  at large4 ,yes1 he    
says that he can serve ,jesus ,christ   
more favorably1  more successfully1 by  
complying with the will of the bishop   
and the  priests4 ,you see the force of 
his argument4 ,if he should be silenced1
 or  imprisoned long1 or his life should
 be cut off1 he would then be able  to  
preach no more at all in any way4 ,he   
only does not believe that  whosoever   
will save his life1 in opposition to the
 law of the  everlasting gospel1 must   
lose it4    ,oh1 do you remember what he
 said to ,john1--what he prayed in that 
room8  ,oh1 ,victor1 what does it mean8 
,it means what cannot be spoken1--what  
,i dare not say or think4    ,not that  
we are wrong1 mistaken1 ,victor8    ,no1
 ,jacqueline1 never6 it can never mean  
that6 ,whatever we may do with  the     
,truth1 we cannot make it false4 ,we may
 act like cowards1 unworthy1            
ungrateful1 ignorant2 but the ,truth    
will remain1 ,jacqueline4    ,victor1   

you could not desert it4    ,how can ,i 
tell1 ,jacqueline8 ,the last time ,i saw
 ,martial ,mazurier1 he  would have said
 nobler and more loving words than ,i   
can command4 ,but  with my own eyes ,i  
saw him walking at liberty in streets   
where liberty  for him to walk could be 
bought only at an infamous price4    ,is
 there such danger for all men who      
believe with ,john ,leclerc1 and        
with--with you1 ,victor8    ,yes1 there 
is danger1 such danger4    ,then you    
must go away4 ,you must not stay in     
,meaux1 she said1 quickly1  in a low1   
determined voice4    ,jacqueline1 ,i    
must remain in ,meaux1 he answered1 as  
quickly1 with  flushed face and flashing
 eyes4 ,the dignity of conscious        
integrity1 and  the fear of fear1 a     
beholder who could discern the tokens   
might have  perceived in him4    ,oh1   
then1 who can tell8 ,did he not pray    
that he might not be led into           
temptation8    ,yes1 ,victor replied1   
more troubled than scornful1--yes1 and  

allowed  himself to be led at last4     
,but if you should go away----    ,would
 not that be flying from danger8 he     
asked1 proudly4    ,nay1 might it not be
 doing with your might what you found to
 do1 that  you might not be led into    
temptation8    ,and you are afraid1     
that1 if ,i stay here1 ,i shall yield to
 them4    ,you say you are not certain1 
,victor4 ,you repeat ,mazurier's words4 
,yet shall ,i remain4 ,no1 ,i will never
 run away4    ,the pride of the young   
fellow1 and the consternation occasioned
 by the  recreancy of his superior1 his 
belief in the doctrines he had confessed
  with ,mazurier1 and the time-serving  
of the latter1 had evidently thrown     
asunder the guards of his peace1 and    
produced a sad state of confusion4      
,it were better to run away1 said       
,jacqueline1 not pausing to choose the  
word1--far better than to stay and defy 
the ,devil1 and then find that  you     
could not resist him1 ,victor4 ,oh1 if  
we could go1 as ,elsie said1  back to   

,domrmy1--anywhere away from this cruel 
,meaux6    ,have you1 then1 gained      
nothing1 ,jacqueline8    ,everything4   
,but to lose it1--oh1 ,i cannot afford  
that6    ,let us stand together1 then4  
,promise me1 ,jacqueline1 he exclaimed1 
eagerly1 as though he felt himself among
 defences here1 with her4    ,what shall
 ,i promise1 ,victor8 she asked1 with   
the voice and the look  of one who is   
ready for any deed of daring1 for any   
work of love4    ,i1 too1 have preached 
this word4    ,her only comment was1 ,i 
know you preached it well4    ,what has 
befallen others may befall me4    ,well4
    ,so strongly1 so confidently did she
 speak this word1 that the young man    
went on1 manifestly influenced by it1   
hesitating no more in his speech4       
,may befall me1 he repeated4            
',whosoever believeth in me1 though he  
were dead1 yet shall he live1'  she     
answered1 with lofty voice1 repeating   
the divine word4 ,what is our  life1    
that we should hold it at the expense of

 his ,truth8 ,mazurier was  wrong4 ,he  
can never atone for the wrong he has    
done4    ,i believe it6 exclaimed       
,victor1 with a brightening countenance4
 ,the  clouds of doubt rose from his    
face and floated away1 as we see the    
mists  ascending from the heights1 when 
we are so happy as to live in the wild  
hill-country4 ,you prize ,truth more    
than life4 ,stand with me in this1      
,jacqueline4 ,speak of this ,truth as it
 has come to me4 ,you are all that  ,i  
have left4 ,i have lost ,mazurier4      
,jacqueline1 you are a woman1 but you   
never1--yes6 yes6 though ,i dare not say
 as much of myself1 ,i dare say  it of  
you1--you never could have bought your  
liberty at such a price as  ,martial has
 paid4 ,i know not how1 even with the   
opportunity1 he will  ever gain the     
courage to speak of these things        
again1--those great  mysteries which are
 hidden from the eyes of the covetous   
and worldly and  unbelieving4 ,promise1 
stand with me1 ,jacqueline1 and ,i will 

rely on you4  ,forsake me not4          
,victor1 has ,he not said1 who can best 
say it1 ',i will never leave you  nor   
forsake you'8    ,but1 ,jacqueline1 ,i  
love you4    ,having said these words1  
the face of the young man emerged wholly
 from  the eclipse of the former shadow4
    ,what is this8 said the brave       
peasant from ,domrmy1 manifestly        
doubting  whether she had heard aright2 
and her clear pure eyes were gazing full
  on ,victor ,le ,roy1 actually looking 
for an explanation of his words4    ,i  
love you1 ,jacqueline1 he repeated4 ,and
 ,i do not involve you in  danger1 oh1  
my friend6 ,only let me have it to      
believe that my life is  dear to        
,jacqueline1 and ,i shall not be afraid 
then to lose it1 if that  testimony be  
required of me4 ,shall we not stand side
 by side1 soldiers  of ,christ1 stronger
 in each other than in all the world    
beside8 ,shall it  not be so1           
,jacqueline8 ,true heart1 answer me6    
,and if you will not love  me1 at least 

say1 say you are my friend1 you trust   
me4 ,i will hold your  safety sacred4   
,i am your friend1 ,victor4    ,say my  
wife1 ,jacqueline4 ,i honored you1 that 
you came from ,domrmy4  ,you are my very
 dream of ,joan1--as brave and as true  
as beautiful4  ,jacqueline1 it is not   
all for the ,truth's sake1 but for my   
love's sake4  ,is not our work one1     
moreover8 ,are we not one in heart and  
purpose1  ,jacqueline8 ,you are alone2  
let me protect you4    ,he needed no    
other answer than he had while his eyes 
constantly sought  hers4 ,her calm look1
 the dignity and strength of her        
composure1 assured  him of all he longed
 to learn1--assured him that their      
hearts1 even as  their purposes and     
faith1 were one4    ,but speak one word1
 he urged4    ,the word she spoke was1  
,i can be true to you1 ,victor4    ,won 
hardly by a word3 too easily1 you think8
 ,she loved the youth1 my  friends1 and 
she loved the ,truth for which he dared 
not say that he  could sacrifice        

himself4    ,we are one1 then1 said     
,victor ,le ,roy4 ,it concerned me above
 all  things to prove that1 ,jacqueline4
 ,so you shall have no more to do with  
these harvest-fields and vineyards      
henceforth1 except to eat of the        
fruits1 if ,god will4 ,you have borne   
all the burden and heat of labor you    
shall ever bear4 ,i can say that1 with  
,god's blessing4 ,we shall sit under    
our own vine4 ,death in one direction   
has prepared for life in another4  ,i   
inherit what my uncle can make use of no
 longer4 ,we shall look out  on our own 
fields1 our harvests2 for ,i think this 
city will keep us no  longer than may he
 needful4 ,we will go away into         
,picardy1 and ,i will  show you where   
our ,joan was a prisoner2 and we will go
 back to ,domrmy1  and walk in the      
places she loved1 and pray ,god to bless
 us by that  fountain1 and in the       
grave-yard where your father and mother 
sleep4 ,oh1  ,jacqueline1 is it not all 
blessed and all fair8    ,she could     

hardly comprehend all the brightness of 
this vision which  ,victor ,le ,roy     
would fain bring before her4 ,the paths 
he pointed out to  her were new and     
strange2 but she could trust him1 could 
believe that  together they might walk  
without stumbling4    ,she had nothing  
to say of her unfitness1 her            
unworthiness1 to occupy the  place to   
which he pointed4 ,not a doubt1 not a   
fear1 had she to express4  ,he loved    
her1 and that she knew2 and she had no  
thought of depreciating  his choice1 its
 excellency or its wisdom4 ,whatever    
excess of wonder she  may have felt was 
not communicated4 ,how know ,i that she 
marvelled at  her lover's choice1 though
 all the world might marvel8    ,then   
remembering ,mazurier1 and thinking of  
her strength of faith1 and  her         
high-heartedness1 he was eager that     
,jacqueline should appoint their        
marriage-day4 ,and more than he1        
perhaps1 supposed was betrayed by this  
haste4 ,he made his words profoundly    

good4 ,strong woman that she was1 he    
wanted her strength joined to his4 ,he  
was secretly disquieted1 secretly       
afraid to trust himself1 since this     
defection of ,martial ,mazurier4        
,what did hinder them8 ,they might be   
married on ,sunday1 if she would3  they 
might go down together to the estate1   
which he must immediately  visit4       
,through the hurry of thought1 and the  
agitation of heart1 and the rush  of    
seeming impossibilities1 he brought out 
at length in triumph her  consent4      
,she did consent4 ,it should all be as  
he wished4 ,and so they parted  outside 
that town of ,meaux on the fair summer  
evening4--plighted  lovers1--hopeful man
 and woman4 ,for them the evening sky   
was lovely with  the day's last light2  
for them the serene stars of night      
arose4    ,so they parted under the open
 sky3 he going forward to the city1     
strengthened and refreshed in faith and 
holy courage2 she1 adorned with  holy   
hopes which never until now had found   

place among her visions4  ,neither was  
she prepared for them2 until he brought 
them to a heart  which1 indeed1 could   
never be dismayed by the approach and   
claim of  love4    ,love was no strange 
guest4 ,fresh and fair as ,zephyrus1 he 
came from the  forest depths1 and she   
welcomed him1--no stranger1--though the 
breath  that bore him was all heavenly1 
and his aspiration was remote from      
earthly sources4 ,yes1 she so imagined4 
,she went back to the cottage where she 
and ,elsie lodged now1 to tell  ,elsie  
what had happened1--to thankfulness1--to
 gazing forward ,into a  new world1--to 
aspiration1 expectation1 joy1           
humility1--to wonder1 and  to           
praise1--to all that my best reader will
 perceive must be true of  ,jacqueline  
on this great evening of her life4      
,x4      ,that same night ,victor ,le   
,roy was arrested on charge of          
heresy1--arrested and imprisoned4       
,watchmen were on the look-out when the 
lover walked forward with triumphant    

steps to ,meaux4    ,this fellow also   
was among the wool-comber's disciples1  
said they2 and  their successful dealing
 with ,mazurier encouraged the          
authorities to  hope that soon all this 
evil would be overcome1--trampled in the
 dust3  this impudent insurrection of   
thought should certainly be stifled2    
youth  and age1 high station1 low1      
should be taught alike of ,rome4        
,tidings reached ,martial ,mazurier next
 day of what had befallen ,victor ,le   
,roy1 and he went instantly to visit him
 in prison4 ,it was an interview  which 
the tender-hearted officials would have 
invited1 had he not  forestalled them by
 inviting himself to the duty4 ,mazurier
 had something  to do in the matter of  
reconciling his conscience to the part  
he had  taken1 in his recent opportunity
 to prove himself equally a hero with   
,leclerc4 ,he had recanted1 done evil1  
in short1 that good might come2 and  was
 not content with having done this      
thing3 how should he be8 ,now that  his 

follower was in the same position1 he   
had but one wish1--that he  should      
follow his example4 ,he did not1        
perhaps1 entirely ascertain his  motive 
in this2 but it is hardly to be supposed
 that ,mazurier was so  persuaded of the
 justice of his course that he desired  
to have it  imitated by another under   
the same circumstances4    ,no6 he was  
forever disgraced in his own eyes1 when 
he remembered the  valiant ,john        
,leclerc2 and it was not to be permitted
 that ,victor ,le ,roy  should follow   
the example of the wool-comber in       
preference to that  he had given1--that 
politic1 wise1 blood-sparing1           
flesh--loving1  truth-depreciating1     
,god-defrauding example4    ,accordingly
 he lost no time in seeking ,victor in  
his cell4 ,it was the  very cell in     
which he himself had lately been        
imprisoned4 ,within those  narrow walls 
he had meditated1 prayed1 and made his  
choice4 ,there he had  stood face to    
face with fate1 with ,god1 with ,jesus1 

and had decided--not  in favor of the   
flogging1 and the branding1 and the     
glorious infamy4  ,there1 in spite of   
eloquence and fervor and devotion1 in   
spite of all  his past vows and his     
hopes1 he had decided to take the place 
and part  of a timeserver2--for he      
feared disgrace and pain1 and the       
hissing  and scoff and persecution1 more
 than he feared the blasting anger of   
insulted and forsaken ,truth4    ,he    
found ,victor within his cell1 his      
bright face not overcast with  gloom1   
his eyes not betraying doubts1 neither  
disappointed1 astonished1  nor in deep  
dejection4 ,the mood he deemed          
unfavorable for his special             
word1--poor1 deceived1 self-deceiving   
,mazurier6    ,he was not merely        
surprised at these indications1--he was 
at a loss4 ,a  little trepidation1      
doubt1 suspicion would have better      
suited him4 ,alas6  and was his hour the
 extremity of another's weakness1 not in
 the  elevation of another's spiritual  

strength8 ,once when he preached the    
,truth as moved by the ,holy ,ghost1 it 
was not to the prudence or the  worldly 
wisdom of his hearers he appealed1 but  
to the higher feelings  and the noblest 
powers of men4 ,then he called on them  
to praise ,god by  their faith in all   
that added to ,his glory and dominion4  
,but now his  eloquence was otherwise   
directed1--not full of the old fire and 
enthusiasm1--not trustful in ,god1 but  
dependent on prudence1 as though  all   
help were in man4 ,he had to draw from  
his own experience now1  things new and 
old1--and was not1 by confession of the 
result of such  experience1 humiliated6 
,you are under a mistake1 was his       
argument4 ,you have not gone deep  into 
these matters2 you have made            
acquaintance only with the agitated     
surface of them4 ,and he proceeded to   
make good all this assertion1 it  was so
 readily proven6 ,he also had been      
beguiled1--ah1 had he not8 ,he  had been
 beguiled by the rude eloquence1 the    

insensibility to pain1 the  pride of    
opposition1 the pride of poverty1 the   
pride of a rude nature1  exhibited by   
,john ,leclerc4    ,he acknowledged     
freely1 with a fatal candor1 that1 until
 he came to  consider these things in   
their true light1 when shut away from   
all  outward influences1 until compelled
 to quiet meditation beyond the reach   
and influence of mere enthusiasm1 he had
 believed with ,leclerc1 even as        
,victor was believing now4 ,he could    
have gone on1 who might tell to what    
fanatical length8 had it not been for   
that fortunate arrest which made a  sane
 man of him6    ,leclerc was not quite  
in the wrong1--not absolutely1--but     
neither was  he1 as ,mazurier had once  
believed1 gloriously in the right4 ,it  
was  clearly apparent to him1 that      
,victor ,le ,roy1 having now also like  
opportunity for calm reflection1 would  
come to like conclusions4    ,with such 
confident prophecy1 ,mazurier left the  
young man4 ,his visit was  brief and    

hurried2--no duty that could be waived  
should call him away  from his friend at
 such a time2 but he would return2 they 
would speak of  this again2 and he      
kissed ,victor1 and blessed him1 and    
went out to bid  the authorities delay  
yet before the lad was brought to trial1
 for he  was confident1 that1 if left to
 reflection1 he would come to his       
senses1  and choose wisely--between ,god
 and ,mammon8 ,mazurier expressed it in 
another way4           99       99      
99       99       99    ,in the street1 
,elsie ,mril heard of ,victor's arrest1 
and she brought the  news to            
,jacqueline4 ,they had returned to      
,meaux1 to their old lodging1  and a day
 had passed1 during which1 moment by    
moment1 his arrival was  anticipated4   
,elsie went out to buy a gift for       
,jacqueline1 a bit of fine  apparelling 
which she had coveted from the moment   
she knew ,jacqueline  should be a bride4
 ,she stole away on her errand without  
remark1 and  came back with the         

gift1--but also with that which made it 
valueless1  unmentionable1 though it was
 a costly offering1 purchased with the  
wages  of more than a week's labor in   
the fields4    ,it was almost dark when 
she returned to ,jacqueline4 ,her friend
 was  sitting by the                    
window1--waiting1--not for her2 and when
 she went in to  her1 it was silently1  
with no mention of her errand or her    
love-gift4  ,quietly she sat down1      
thankful that the night was falling1    
waiting for  its darkness before she    
should speak words which would make the 
darkness  to be felt4    ,he does not   
come1 said ,jacqueline1 at length4      
,did you think it was he1 when ,i came  
up the stairs8 inquired ,elsie1         
tenderly4    ,oh1 no6 ,i can tell your  
step from all the rest4    ,his1 too1 ,i
 think4    ,yes1 and his1 too4 ,my best 
friends4 ,strange1 if ,i could not6     
,oh1 ,i'm glad you said that1           
,jacqueline6    ,my best friends1       
repeated ,jacqueline1--not merely to    

please ,elsie4  ,love had opened wide   
her heart1--and ,elsie1 weak and foolish
 though  she might be1--,elsie1 her old 
companion1 her playmate1 her            
fellow-laborer1--,elsie1 who should be  
to her a sister always1 and share  in   
her good-fortune1--,elsie had honorable 
place there4    ,could anything have    
happened1 ,jacqueline8 said ,elsie1     
trembling3 her  tremulous voice betrayed
 it4    ,oh1 ,i think not1 was the      
answer4    ,but he is so fearless1--he  
might have fallen into--into trouble4   
,what have you heard1 ,elsie8    ,this  
question was quietly asked1 but it      
struck to the heart of the  questioned  
girl4 ,jacqueline suspected6--and yet   
,jacqueline asked so  calmly6           
,jacqueline could hear it1--and yet how 
could this be declared8    ,her         
hesitation quickened what was hardly    
suspicion into a conviction4    ,what   
have you heard8 ,jacqueline again       
questioned1--not so calmly as  before2  
and yet it was quite calmly1 even to the

 alarmed ear of ,elsie  ,mril4    ,they 
have arrested ,victor1 ,jacqueline4     
,for heresy8    ,i heard it in the      
street4    ,jacqueline arose1--she      
crossed the chamber1--her hand was on   
the latch4  ,instantly ,elsie stood     
beside her4    ,what will you do8 ,i    
must go with you1 ,jacqueline4    ,where
 will you go8 said ,jacqueline4    ,with
 you4 ,wait1--what is it you will do8   
,or1--no matter1 go on1 ,i will  follow 
you1--and take the danger with you4     
,is there danger8 ,for him there is6 and
 there might be for you1--but  none for 
me4 ,stay1 ,elsie4 ,where shall ,i go1  
in truth8    ,yet she opened the door1  
and began to descend the stairs even    
while she  spoke2 and ,elsie followed   
her4    ,first to the house of the      
wool-comber4 ,john was not at home1--and
 his  mother could tell them nothing1   
had heard nothing of the arrest of      
,victor4 ,then to the place which       
,victor had pointed out to her as the   
home of ,mazurier4 ,mazurier likewise   

they failed to find4 ,where1 then1  was 
the prison of ,le ,roy's captivity8     
,that no man could tell them2 so  they  
came home to their lodging at length in 
the dark night1 there to  wait through  
endless-seeming hours for morning4      
,on the ,sunday they had chosen for     
their wedding-day ,mazurier brought     
word of ,victor to ,jacqueline1--was    
really a messenger1 as he announced     
himself1 when she opened for him the    
door of her room in the fourth  story of
 the great lodging-house4 ,he had come  
on that day with a  message2 but it was 
not in all things--in little beside the 
love it was  meant to prove--the message
 ,victor had desired to convey4 ,in want
 of  more faithful1 more trustworthy    
messenger1 ,le ,roy sent word by this   
man  of his arrest1--and bade           
,jacqueline pray for him1 and come to   
him1 if  that were possible4 ,he        
desired1 he said1 to serve his          
,master1--and1 of  all things1 sought   
the ,truth4    ,to go to the prisoner1  

,mazurier assured ,jacqueline1 was      
impossible1 but  she might send a       
message2 indeed1 he was here to serve   
his dear friends4  ,ah1 poor girl1 did  
she trust the man by whom she sent into 
a prison  words like these8--    ,hold  
fast to the faith that is in you1       
,victor4 ,let nothing persuade you  that
 you have been mistaken4 ,we asked for  
light1--it was given us1--let  us walk  
in it2 and no matter where it           
leads1--since the light is from  heaven4
 ,do not think of me1--nor of           
yourself1--but only of ,jesus ,christ1  
who said1 ',whosoever would save his    
life shall lose it4'    ,mazurier took  
this message4 ,what did he do with it8  
,he tossed it to the  winds4    ,a week 
after1 ,le ,roy was brought to          
trial1--and recanted2 and so  recanting1
 was acquitted and set at liberty4      
,mazurier supposed that he meant all    
kindly in the exertion he made to  save 
his friend4 ,he would never have ceased 
from self-reproach1 had he  conveyed the

 words of ,jacqueline to ,victor1--for  
the effect of those  words he could     
clearly foresee4    ,and so far from    
attempting to bring about an interview  
between the pair1  he would have striven
 to prevent it1 had he seen a           
probability that it  would be allowed4  
,he set little value on such words as   
,jacqueline spoke1  when her conscience 
and her love rose up against each other4
 ,the  words she had committed to him he
 could account for by no supposition    
acceptable and reasonable to him4 ,there
 was something about the girl he  did   
not understand2 she was no fit guide for
 a man who had need of clear  judgment1 
when such a decision was to be made as  
the court demanded of  ,le ,roy4        
,elsie ,mril1 between hope and fear1 was
 dumb in these days2 but her  presence  
and her tenderness1 though not heroic in
 action nor wise in  utterance1 had a   
value of which neither she nor          
,jacqueline was fully  aware4    ,when  
,jacqueline learned the issue of the    

trial1 and that ,victor had  falsified  
his faith1 her first impulse was to fly1
 that she might never  see his face     
again4 ,for1 the instant she heard his  
choice1 her heart  told her what she had
 been hoping during these days of       
suspense4 ,she had  tried to see        
,martial ,mazurier1 but without success1
 since he conveyed1  or promised to     
convey1 her message to the prisoner4 ,of
 purpose he had  avoided her4 ,he       
guessed what strength she would by this 
time have  attained1 and he was         
determined to save both to each other1  
though it  might be against their will4 
,,xi4      ,victor ,le ,roy's first     
endeavor1 on being liberated1 was--of   
course to  find ,jacqueline8 ,not so4   
,that was far from his first design4    
,his impulse  was to avoid the girl he  
had dared to love4 ,mazurier had1       
indeed1  conveyed to his mind an        
impression that would have satisfied    
him1 if  anything of this character     
could do so4 ,but this was impossible4  

,the  secret of his disquiet was far too
 profound for such easy removal4    ,he 
had not in himself the witness that he  
had fulfilled the will of ,god4  ,he was
 disquieted1 humiliated1 wretched4 ,he  
could not think of ,leclerc1  nor upon  
his protestations1 except with shame and
 remorse1--remorse1  already4 ,in his   
heart1 in spite of the impression       
,mazurier had contrived  to convey1 he  
believed not that ,jacqueline would     
bless him to such  work as he could     
henceforth perform1 no longer a free    
man1--no longer  possessed of liberty of
 speech and thought4    ,he had no      
sooner renounced his liberty than he    
became persuaded1 by an  overwhelming   
reasoning1 as he had never been         
convinced before1 of  the pricelessness 
of that he had sacrificed4 ,when he went
 from the  court-room1 from the presence
 of his judges1 he was not a free man1  
though the dignitaries called him so4   
,martial ,mazurier walked arm in arm    
with him1 but the world was a den of    

horrors1 a blackened and accursed       
world1 to the young man who came from   
prison1 free to use his  freedom--as the
 priests directed6    ,he went home from
 the prison with ,mazurier4 ,the world  
had conquered4  ,love had               
conquered1--,love1 that in the conquest 
felt itself disgraced4  ,he had sold the
 divine1 he had received the human3 it  
was the old  pottage speculation over   
again4 ,this privilege of liberty from  
his  dungeon had looked so fair6--but   
now it seemed so worthless6 ,this       
prospect of life so priceless in        
contemplation of its loss1--oh1 the     
beggar who crept past him was an        
enviable man1 compared with young       
,victor ,le ,roy1 the heir of love and  
riches1 the heir of liberty and  life6  
,yes1--he went home with ,mazurier4     
,where else should he go8               
,congratulations attended him4 ,he was  
compelled to receive them with a        
countenance not too sombre1 and a grace 
not all thankless1 or--or--they  would  

say it was of cowardice he had saved his
 precious body from the  sentence of the
 judges1 and given his precious ,,life  
up to the sentence  of the ,,judge4     
,yes1--,martial took him home4 ,there   
they might talk at leisure of those     
things1--and ask a blessing on the      
testimony of ,jesus1 made and kept by   
them6    ,victor ,le ,roy was too proud 
to complain now4 ,he assented to all the
  preacher's sophistry4 ,he allowed     
himself to be cheered4 ,but this was  no
 such evening as had been spent in the  
room of the wool-comber1 when           
,leclerc's voice1 strong1 even through  
his weakness1 called on ,god1  and      
blessed and praised ,him1 and the spirit
 conquered the flesh  gloriously1--the  
old mother of ,leclerc sharing his joy1 
as she had also  shared his anguish4    
,here was no ,jacqueline to say to      
,victor1 ,thou hast  done well6 ',glory 
be to ,jesus ,christ1 and ,his          
witnesses6'    ,mazurier thanked ,god   
for the deliverance of ,his servant6 ,he

 dedicated  himself and ,victor anew to 
the service of ,truth1 which they had   
shrunk  from defending6 ,and his        
eloquence and fervor seemed to stamp the
 words  with sincerity4 ,he seemed not  
in the least to suspect or fear himself4
    ,with ,victor ,le ,roy such         
self-deception1 such sophistry1 was     
simply  impossible4           99        
99       99       99       99    ,not of
 purpose did he meet ,jacqueline that   
night4 ,she had heard that ,le  ,roy was
 at liberty1 and alone now she applied  
at the door of ,martial  ,mazurier for  
admittance1 but in vain4 ,the master had
 signified that his  evening was not to 
be interrupted4 ,therefore she returned1
 from waiting  near his door1 to the    
street where she and ,elsie lived4      
,should her woman's pride have led her  
to her lofty lodging1 and kept her      
there without a sign1 till ,victor      
himself came seeking her8 ,she knew     
nothing of such pride1--but much of     
love2 and her love took her back to  the

 post where she had waited many an hour 
since that disastrous arrest3  she would
 wait there till morning1 if she        
must1--at least1 till one  should enter1
 or come forth1 who might tell her of   
,victor ,le ,roy4    ,the light in the  
preacher's study she could see from the 
door-step in a  court-yard where she    
waited4 ,should ,mazurier come with     
,victor1 she would  let them pass2 but  
if ,victor came alone1 she had a right  
to speak4    ,it was after midnight when
 the student came down from the         
preacher's  study4 ,she heard his voice 
when the door opened1--by the           
street-lamp  saw his face4 ,and she     
recognized also the voice of ,mazurier1 
who1 till  the last moment of           
separation1 seemed endeavoring to       
dissuade his friend  from leaving him   
that night4    ,he heard footsteps      
following him1 as he passed along the   
pavement1--observed that they gained on 
him4 ,and could it be any other  than   
,jacqueline who touched his arm1 and    

whispered1 ,victor8    ,his fast-beating
 heart told him it was she4 ,he took her
 hand1 and  drew it within his arm1 and 
looked upon her face1--the face of his  
,jacqueline4    ,now where8 said he4 ,it
 is late4 ,it is after midnight4 ,why   
are you  alone in the street8           
,waiting for you1 ,victor4 ,i heard you 
were at liberty1 and ,i supposed  you   
were with him4 ,i was safe4             
,yes1--for you fear nothing4 ,that is   
the only reason4 ,you knew ,i was  with 
the preacher1 ,jacqueline4 ,why8        
,because--because ,i am with him1  of   
course4    ,yes1 she said4 ,i heard it  
was so1 ,victor4                        
,strange6--strange6--is it not8 ,a      
prison is a better place to learn the   
truth than the pure air of liberty1 it  
seems1 said he1 bitterly4    ,what is   
that8 she asked4 ,she seemed not to     
understand his meaning4    ,nothing4 ,i 
am acquitted of heresy1 you know4 ,it   
seems1 what we talked  so bravely       
meant--nothing4 ,oh1 ,i am safe1 now6   

,it was to preach none the less1--to    
hold the truth none the less4 ,but  if  
he lost his life1 there was an end of   
all2 or if he lost his  liberty1 it was 
as bad4 ,but he would keep both1 and    
serve ,god so1 said  ,jacqueline4       
,yes1 cried ,victor1 precisely what he  
said4 ,i have said the same1 you  think8
    ,if you are quite clear that        
,leclerc and the rest of us are all     
wrong1  ,victor4    ,jacqueline6        
,what is it1 ,victor8    ',the rest of  
us1' you say4 ,what would you have done 
in my place8    ,god knows4 ,i pretend  
not to know anything more4    ,but 'the 
rest of us1' you said4 ,you think that  
you at least are with  ,leclerc8        
,that was the truth you taught me1      
,victor4 ,but--,i have not yet been     
tried4    ,that is safe to say4 ,what   
makes you speak so prudently1           
,jacqueline8 ,why  do you not declare1  
',though all men deny ,thee1 yet will ,i
 never deny  ,thee'8 ,ah1 you have not  
been tried6 ,you are not yet in danger  

of the  judgment1 ,jacqueline6    ,do   
not speak so2 you frighten me2 it is not
 like you4 ,how can ,i tell8  ,i do not 
know but in this retirement1 in this    
thought you have been  compelled to1 you
 have obtained more light than any one  
can have until  he comes to just such a 
place4    ,ah1 ,jacqueline1 why not say 
to me what you are thinking8 ,have you  
lost  your courage8 ,say1 ',thou hast   
not lied unto men1 but unto ,god4'      
,no1--oh1 no6 ,how could ,i say it1 my  
poor ,victor8 ,how do you know8         
,surely you cannot know1 as you say4    
,but from where you stand1 that is  what
 you are thinking4 ,jacqueline1 confess6
 ,if you should speak your  mind1 it    
would be1 ',thou hast not lied unto men1
 but unto ,god1 poor  coward6' ,oh1     
,jacqueline1 ,mazurier may deceive      
himself6 ,i speak not for  him2 but what
 will you do with your poor ,victor1 my 
poor ,jacqueline8    ,she did not linger
 in the answer1--she did not sob or     
tremble1--he was  by her side4    ,love 

him to the end4 ,as ,he1 when ,he loved 
,his own4    ,your own1 poor girl8 ,no1 
no6    ,you gave yourself to me1 she    
answered straightway1 with resolute     
firmness clinging to the all she had4   
,i was a man then1 he answered4 ,but ,i 
will never give a liar and a  coward to 
,jacqueline ,gabrie4 ,everything but    
myself1 ,jacqueline6 ,take  the old     
words1 and the old memory4 ,but for this
 outcast1 him you shall  forget4 ,my    
,god6 thou hast not brought this brave  
girl from ,domrmy1 and  lighted her     
heart with a coal from ,thine altar1    
that she should turn  from ,thee to me6 
,if you love a liar and a coward1       
,jacqueline1 you cannot  help           
yourself1--he will make you one1 too4   
,and what ,i loved you for was  your    
truth and purity and courage4 ,i have   
given you a treasure which was  greater 
than ,i could keep4--,where is it that  
you live now1 ,jacqueline8 ,i  am not   
yet such a poltroon that ,i am afraid to
 conduct you4 ,i think that  ,i should  

have the courage to protect you         
to-night1 if you were in any  immediate 
danger4 ,come1 lead the way4    ,no1    
said ,jacqueline4 ,i am not going home4 
,i could not sleep2 and  a roof over my 
head--any save ,god's heaven--would     
suffocate me1 ,i  believe4    ,go1 then1
 as you will4 ,but where8    ,jacqueline
 did not answer1 but walked quietly on2 
and so they passed  beyond the          
city-borders to the river-bank1--far    
away into the country1  through the     
fields1 under the light of stars and of 
the waning moon4    ,if ,i had been     
true6 said ,victor1--if ,i had not      
listened to him6 ,but  him ,i will not  
blame4 ,for why should ,i blame him8 ,am
 ,i an idiot8 ,and his  influence could 
not have prevailed1 had ,i not so       
chosen1 when ,i stood  before my judges 
and they questioned me4 ,no1--,i acquit 
,mazurier4 ,perhaps  what ,i have denied
 never appeared to him so glorious as it
 did once to  me2 and so he was         
guiltless at least of knowing what it   

was ,i did4 ,but ,i  knew4 ,and ,i could
 not have been deceived for a moment4   
,no1--,i think it  impossible that for a
 moment ,i should have been deceived4   
,they would  have made a notable example
 of me1 ,jacqueline4 ,i am rich1--,i am 
a  student4--,oh1 yes6 ,jesus ,christ   
may die for me1 and ,i accept the       
benefit2 but when it comes to suffering 
for ,his sake1--you could not  have     
expected that of such a poltroon1       
,jacqueline6 ,we may look for it in     
brave men like ,leclerc1 whose very     
living depends on their ability to  earn
 their bread1--to earn it by daily      
sweat2 but men who need not  toil1 who  
have leisure and education1--of course  
you would not expect  such testimony to 
the truth of ,jesus from them6 ,bishop  
,briconnet  recants1--and ,martial      
,mazurier2 and ,victor ,le ,roy is no   
braver man1 no  truer man than these6   
,with bitter shame and self-scorning he 
spoke4--,poor ,jacqueline had not  a    
word to say4 ,she sat beside him4 ,she  

would help him bear his cross4          
,heavy-laden as he1 she awaited the     
future1 saying1 in the silence of her   
spirit's dismal solitude1 ,oh1 teach us6
 ,oh1 help us6 ,but she called  not on  
any name2 her prayer went out in search 
of a ,god whom in that  hour she knew   
not4 ,the dark cloud and shadow of      
,satan that overshadowed  him was also  
upon her4    ,mazurier is coming in the 
morning to take me with him1            
,jacqueline1  said ,victor4 ,we are to  
make a journey4    ,what is it1 ,victor8
 she asked1 quietly4    ,there was      
nothing left for her but patience1--that
 she clearly  saw1--nothing but         
patience1 and quiet enduring of the will
 of ,god4    ,he is afraid of me1--or of
 himself1--or of both1 ,i believe4 ,he  
thinks  a change of scene would be good 
for both of us1 poor lepers that we     
are4    ,i must go with you1 ,victor ,le
 ,roy1 said the resolute ,jacqueline4   
,wherefore8 asked he4    ,because1 when 
you were strong and happy1 that was your

 desire1 ,victor2  and now that you are 
sick and sorrowing1 ,i will not give you
 to another3  no6 not to ,mazurier1 nor 
to any one that breathes1 except myself1
 to  whom you belong4    ,i must stay   
here in ,meaux1 then8    ,that depends  
upon yourself1 ,victor4    ,we were to  
have been married4 ,we were going to    
look after our estate1  now that the    
hard summer and the hard years of work  
are ended4    ,yes1 ,victor1 it was so4 
,but ,i will not wrong you4 ,you were to
 be the wife of ,victor ,le ,roy4  ,you 
are his widow1 ,jacqueline4 ,for you do 
not think that he lives any  longer8    
,he lives1 and he is free6 ,if he has   
sinned1 like ,peter even1 he weeps      
bitterly4    ,like ,peter8 ,peter denied
 his ,lord4 ,but he did weep1 as you    
say1--bitterly4 ,peter confessed again4 
,and none served the ,master with truer 
heart or greater courage  afterward4    
,victor1 you remember4    ,even so1--oh1
 ,jacqueline6    ,victor6 ,victor6 it   
was only ,judas who hanged himself4     

,come1 ,jacqueline6    ,she arose and   
went with him4 ,at dawn they were       
married4 ,love did lead  and save them4 
,i see two youthful students studying   
one page4 ,i see two loving spirits     
walking through thick darkness4 ,along  
the horizon flicker the promises  of    
day4 ,they say1 ,o ,holy ,ghost1 hast   
thou forsaken thine own temples8  ,aloud
 they cry to ,god4    ,i see them       
wandering among ,domrmy woods and       
meadows1--around the castle  of         
,picardy1--talking of ,joan4 ,i see them
 resting by the graves they find  in two
 ancient villages4 ,i see them walk in  
sunny places2 they are not  called to   
toil2 they may gather all the blossoms  
that delight their  eyes4 ,their love   
grows beyond childhood1--does not die   
before it comes  to love's best estate4 
,happy bride and bridegroom6 ,but ,i see
 them as  through a cloud whose fair    
hues are transient4    ,from the        
meadow-lands and the vineyards and the  
dark forests of the  mountains1 from    

study and from rest1 ,i see them move   
with solemn faces  and calm steps4      
,brave lights are in their eyes1 and    
flowers that are  immortal they carry in
 their hands4 ,no distillation can      
exhaust the  fragrance of those blooms4 
,what dost thou here1 ,victor8 ,what    
dost thou here1 ,jacqueline8    ,this is
 the place of prisons4 ,here they light 
again1 as they have often  lighted1     
torch and fagot2--life must pay the     
cost6 ,angry crowds and  hooting        
multitudes love this dreary square4 ,oh1
 ,jacqueline and ,victor1  what is this 
,i behold8    ,they come together from  
their prison1 hand in hand4 ,the        
testimony  of ,jesus6 ,stand back1      
,mazurier6 ,retire1 ,briconnet6 ,here is
 not your  place1--this is not your     
hour6 ,yet here incendiaries fire the   
temples  of the ,holy ,ghost6    ,the   
judges do not now congratulate4         
,jacqueline waits not now at midnight   
for the coming of ,le ,roy4 ,bride and  
bridegroom1 there they stand2 they  face

 the world to give their testimony4     
,and a woman's voice1 almost ,i deem the
 voice of ,elsie ,mril1 echoes the      
mother's cry that followed ,john        
,leclerc when he fought the beasts at   
,meaux1--    ,blessed be ,jesus ,christ1
 and ,his witnesses4    ,so of the      
,truth were they borne up that day in a 
blazing chariot to meet  their ,lord in 
the air1 to be forever with their ,lord4
           99       99       99       99
       99      ,,on ,a                  
,,magnolia-,,flower4        ,memorial of
 my former days1    ,magnolia1 as ,i    
scent thy breath1    ,and on thy pallid 
beauty gaze1    ,i feel not far from    
death6      ,so much hath happened6 and 
so much    ,the tomb hath claimed of    
what was mine6    ,thy fragrance moves  
me with a touch    ,as from a hand      
divine3      ,so many dead6 so many wed6
    ,since first1 by this ,magnolia's   
tree1    ,i pressed a gentle hand and   
said1    ,a word no more for me6        
,lady1 who sendest from the ,south      

,this frail1 pale token of the past1    
,i press the petals to my mouth1    ,and
 sigh--as 'twere my last4      ,oh1     
love1 we live1 but many fell6    ,the   
world's a wreck1 but we survive6--      
,say1 rather1 still on earth we dwell1  
,but gray at thirty-five6               
,,some ,,notes ,,on ,,shakspeare4       
,in #ahdi1 the discovery by ,mr4 ,payne 
,collier of a copy of the ,works  of    
,shakspeare1 known as the folio of      
#afcb1 with manuscript notes and        
emendations of the same or nearly the   
same date1 created a great and  general 
interest in the world of letters4       
,the marginal notes were said to be in a
 handwriting not much later  than the   
period when the volume came from the    
press2 and ,shakspearian  scholars and  
students of ,shakspeare1 and the far    
more numerous class1  lovers of         
,shakspeare1 learned and unlearned1     
received with respectful  eagerness a   
version of his text claiming a date so  
near to the lifetime  of the master that

 it was impossible to resist the        
impression that the  alterations came to
 the world with only less weight of     
authority than if  they had been        
undoubtedly his own4    ,the general    
satisfaction of the literary world in   
the treasure-trove was  but little      
alloyed by the occasional cautiously    
expressed doubts of  some caviller at   
the authenticity of the newly discovered
 curiosity of  literature2 the daily    
newspapers made room in their crowded   
columns for  extracts from the volume2  
the weekly journals put forth more      
elaborate  articles on its history and  
contents2 and the monthly and quarterly 
reviews bestowed their longer and more  
careful criticism upon the new  readings
 of that text1 to elucidate which has   
been the devout industry  of some of    
,england's ripest scholars and          
profoundest thinkers2 while  the actors1
 not to be behindhand in a study        
especially concerning their  vocation1  
adopted with more enthusiasm than       

discrimination some of the  new         
readings1 and showed a laudable         
acquaintance with the improved  version1
 by exchanging undoubtedly the better   
for the worse1 upon the  authority of   
,mr4 ,collier's folio1 soon after the   
publication of which  ,i had the        
ill-fortune to hear a popular actress   
destroy the effect  and meaning of one  
of the most powerful passages in        
,macbeth by  substituting the new for   
the old reading of the line1--          
,what beast was it1 then1    ,that made 
you break this enterprise to me8    ,the
 cutting antithesis of ,what beast in   
retort to her husband's  assertion1 ,i  
dare do all that may become a man1 was  
tamely rendered  by the lady1 in        
obedience to ,mr4 ,collier's folio1     
,what boast was  it1 then1--a change    
that any one possessed of poetical or   
dramatic  perception would have         
submitted to upon nothing short of the  
positive  demonstration of the author's 
having so written the passage4          

,opinions were1 indeed1 divided as to   
the intrinsic merit of the  emendations 
or alterations4 ,some of the new        
readings were undoubted  improvements1  
some were unimportant1 and others again 
were beyond all  controversy inferior to
 the established text of the passages2  
and it  seemed not a little difficult to
 reconcile the critical acumen and      
poetical insight of many of the         
corrections with the feebleness and     
prosaic triviality of others4    ,again1
 it was observed by those conversant    
with the earlier editions1  especially  
with the little read or valued ,oxford  
edition1 that a vast  number of the     
passages given as emendations in ,mr4   
,collier's folio were  precisely the    
same in ,hanmer's text4 ,indeed1 it     
seems not a little  remarkable that     
neither ,mr4 ,collier nor his opponents 
have thought it  worth their while to   
state that nearly half1 and that        
undoubtedly the  better half1 of the    
so-called new readings are to be found  

in the finely  printed1 but little      
esteemed1 text of the ,oxford           
,shakspeare4 ,if1 indeed1  these        
corrections now come to us with the     
authority of a critic but  little       
removed from ,shakspeare's own time1 it 
is remarkable that ,sir  ,thomas        
,hanmer's1 or rather ,mr4 ,theobald's1  
ingenuity should have  forestalled the  
fiat of ,mr4 ,collier's folio in so many
 instances4 ,on  the other hand1 it may 
have been judged by others besides a    
learned  editor of ,shakspeare from whom
 ,i once heard the remark1 that the fact
 of  the so-called new readings being   
many of them in ,rowe and ,hanmer1 and  
therefore well known to the subsequent  
editors of ,shakspeare1 who             
nevertheless did not adopt them1 proved 
that in their opinion they were  of     
little value and less authority4 ,but1  
says ,mr4 ,collier1 inasmuch as  they   
are in the folio of #afcb1 which ,i now 
give to the world1 they are  of         
authority paramount to any other        

suggestion or correction that has       
hitherto been made on the text of       
,shakspeare4    ,thus stood the question
 in #ahec4 ,how stands it in #ahfj8     
,after a slow1  but gradual process of  
growth and extension of doubt and       
questionings1  more or less calculated  
to throw discredit on the authority of  
the  marginal notes in the folio1--the  
volume being subjected to the careful   
and competent examination of certain    
officers of the library of the  ,british
 ,museum1--the result seems to threaten 
a considerable reduction  in the        
supposed value of the authority which   
the public was called upon  to esteem so
 highly4    ,the ink in which the       
annotations are made has been subjected 
to chemical  analysis1 and betrays1     
under the characters traced in it1      
others made in  pencil1 which are       
pronounced by some persons of a more    
modern date than  the letters which have
 been traced over them4    ,here at     
present the matter rests4 ,much angry   

debate has ensued between  the various  
gentlemen interested in the             
controversy1--,mr4 ,collier not         
hesitating to suggest that pencil-marks 
in imitation of his handwriting  had    
been inserted in the volume1 and a      
fly-leaf abstracted from it1  while in  
the custody of ,messrs4 ,hamilton and   
,madden of the ,british  ,museum2 while 
the replies of these gentlemen would go 
towards  establishing that the          
corrections are forgeries1 and          
insinuating that  they are forgeries for
 which ,mr4 ,collier is himself         
responsible4    ,while the question of  
the antiquity and authority of these    
marginal  notes remains thus undecided1 
it may not be amiss to apply to them the
  mere test of common sense in order to 
determine upon their intrinsic  value1  
to the adequate estimate of which all   
thoughtful readers of  ,shakspeare must 
be to a certain degree competent4       
,the curious point1 of whose they are1  
may test the science of  decipherers of 

palimpsest manuscripts2 the more weighty
 one1 of what  they are worth1 remains1 
as it was from the first1 a matter on   
which  every student of ,shakspeare may 
arrive at some conclusion for himself4  
,and1 indeed1 to this ground of judgment
 ,mr4 ,collier himself appeals1 in  his 
preface to the ,notes and ,emendations1 
in no less emphatic terms  than the     
following3--,as ,shakspeare was         
especially the poet of common  life1 so 
he was emphatically the poet of common  
sense2 and to the  verdict of common    
sense ,i am willing to submit all the   
more material  alterations recommended  
on the authority before me4    ,i take  
,the ,tempest1 the first play in ,mr4   
,collier's volume of ,notes  and        
,emendations1 and1 while bestowing my   
principal attention on the  inherent    
worth of the several new readings1 shall
 point out where  they tally exactly    
with the text of the ,oxford edition1   
because that  circumstance has excited  
little attention in the midst of the    

other  various elements of interest in  
the controversy1 and also because ,i    
have  it in my power to give from a copy
 of that edition in my possession some  
passages corrected by ,john and ,charles
 ,kemble1 who brought to the study  of  
the text considerable knowledge of it   
and no inconsiderable ability  for      
poetical and dramatic criticism4    ,in 
the first scene of the first act of ,the
 ,tempest ,mr4 ,collier gives  the      
line1--      ,good ,boatswain1 have     
care1--    adding1 ,it may be just worth
 remark1 that the colloquial expression 
is  have a care1 and a is inserted in   
the margin of the corrected folio1      
#afcb1 to indicate1 probably1 that the  
poet so wrote it1 or1 at all  events1   
that the actor so delivered it4    ,in  
the copy of ,hanmer in my possession the
 a is also inserted in the  margin1 upon
 the authority of one of the eminent    
actors above mentioned4    ,,scene ,,ii4
      ,the sky4 it seems1 would pour    
down stinking pitch1    ,but that the   

sea1 mounting to the welkin's cheek1    
,dashes the fire out4    ,the manuscript
 corrector of the folio1 #afcb1 has     
substituted heat  for cheek1 which      
appears to me an alteration of no value 
whatever4  ,shakspeare was more likely  
to have written cheek than heat2 for    
elsewhere he uses the expression1       
,heaven's face1 the welkin's face1  and1
 though irregular1 the expression is    
poetical4    ,at ,miranda's             
exclamation1--      ,a brave vessel1    
,who had no doubt some noble creature in
 her1    ,dash'd all to pieces1--       
,mr4 ,collier does ,theobald the justice
 to observe1 that he1 as well as  the   
corrector of the folio1 #afcb1 adds the 
necessary letter s to the  word         
creature1 making the plural substantive 
agree with her other  exclamation of1   
,poor souls1 they perished6    ,where   
,mr4 ,collier1 upon the authority of his
 folio1 substitutes  prevision for      
provision in the lines of ,prospero1--  
,the direful spectacle of the wreck 4 4 

4    ,i have with such provision in mine
 art    ,so safely ordered1 etc41--     
,i do not agree to the value of the     
change4 ,it is very true that  prevision
 means the foresight that his art gave  
him1 but provision  implies the exercise
 of that foresight or prevision2 it is  
therefore  better1 because more         
comprehensive4    ,mr4 ,collier's folio 
gives as an improvement upon ,malone and
 ,steevens's  reading of the passage1-- 
,and thy father    ,was ,duke of ,milan2
 and his only heir    ,a princess2 no   
worse issued1--    the following3--     
,and thy father    ,was ,duke of        
,milan1--thou his only heir    ,and     
princess no worse issued4    ,supposing 
the folio to be ingenious rather than   
authoritative1 the  passage1 as it      
stands in ,hanmer1 is decidedly better1 
because clearer3--      ,and thy father 
,was ,duke of ,milan1--thou1 his only   
heir    ,a princess--no worse issued4   
,in the next passage1 given as emended  
by the folio1 we have what appears  to  

me one bad and one decidedly good       
alteration from the usual reading1      
which1 in all the editions given        
hitherto1 has left the meaning barely   
perceptible through the confusion and   
obscurity of the expression4      ,he   
being thus lorded1    ,not only with    
what my revenue yielded1    ,but what my
 power might else exact1--like one      
,who having unto truth by telling of it 
,made such a sinner of his memory    ,to
 credit his own lie1--he did believe    
,he was indeed the ,duke4    ,the folio 
says1--    ,he being thus loaded4       
,and to this change ,i object3 the      
meaning was obvious before2 lorded      
stands clearly enough here for made lord
 of or over1 etc42 and though  the      
expression is unusual1 it is less       
prosaic than the proposed word  loaded4 
,but in the rest of the passage the     
critic of the folio does  immense       
service to the text1 in reading         
,like one    ,who having to untruth by  
telling of it    ,made such a sinner of 

his memory    ,to credit his own        
lie1--he did believe    ,he was indeed  
the ,duke4    ,this change carries its  
own authority in its manifest good      
sense4    ,of the passage1--            
,whereon1    ,a treacherous army levied1
 one midnight    ,fated to the purpose1 
did ,antonio open    ,the gates of      
,milan1 and in the dead of darkness     
,the ministers for the purpose hurried  
thence    ,me and thy crying self1--    
,mr4 ,collier says that the iteration of
 the word purpose1 in the fourth  line1 
after its employment in the second1 is a
 blemish1 which his folio  obviates by  
substituting the word practice in the   
first line4 ,i think  this a manifest   
improvement1 though not an important    
one4    ,mr4 ,collier gives ,rowe the   
credit of having altered butt to boat1  
and have quit it to had quit it1 in the 
lines1--      ,where they prepar'd    ,a
 rotten carcase of a butt not rigg'd1   
,nor tackle1 sail1 nor mast1--the very  
rats    ,instinctively have quit it4    

,adding1 that in both changes he is     
supported by the corrector of the       
folio1 #afcb4 ,hanmer gives the passage 
exactly as the latter1 and as ,rowe     
does4    ,we now come to the            
stage-directions in the folio1 to which 
,mr4 ,collier  gives1 ,i think1 a most  
exaggerated value4 ,he says1 that1 where
 ,prospero  says1--      ,lend thy hand 
,and pluck my magic garment from me1--so
    ,lie there1 my art1--    the words1 
,lay it down1 are written over against  
the passage4 ,now this  really seems a  
very unnecessary direction1 inasmuch as 
the text very  clearly indicates that   
,prospero lays down as well as plucks   
off his  magic garment1--unless we are  
to suppose ,miranda holding it over her 
arm till he resumes it4 ,but still less 
do ,i agree with ,mr4 ,collier in       
thinking the direction1 ,put on robe    
again1 at the passage beginning1  ,now  
,i arise1 any extraordinary accession to
 the business1 as it is  technically    
called1 of the scene3 for ,i do not     

think that his resuming  his magical    
robe was in any way necessary to account
 for the slumber  which overcomes       
,miranda1 in spite of her interest in   
her father's  story1 and which ,mr4     
,collier says the commentators have     
endeavored to  account for in various   
ways2 but putting because of her        
interest in  her father's story1 instead
 of in spite of1 ,i feel none of the    
difficulty which beset the commentators1
 and which ,mr4 ,collier conjures  by   
the stage-direction which makes         
,prospero resume his magic robe at  a   
certain moment in order to put his      
daughter to sleep4 ,worthy ,dr4         
,johnson1 who was not among the puzzled 
commentators on this occasion1          
suggests1 very agreeably to common      
sense1 that ,experience proves that  any
 violent agitation of the mind easily   
subsides in slumber4 ,but ,mr4  ,collier
 says1 the ,doctor gives this very      
reasonable explanation of  ,miranda's   
sleep only because he was not acquainted

 with the folio  stage-direction about  
,prospero's coat1 and knew no better4   
,now we are  acquainted with this       
important addition to the text1 and yet 
know no  better than to agree with      
,doctor ,johnson1 that ,miranda's       
slumbers were  perfectly to be accounted
 for without the coat4 ,mr4 ,collier    
does not  seem to know that a deeper and
 heavier desire to sleep follows upon   
the  overstrained exercise of excited   
attention than on the weariness of a    
dull and uninteresting appeal to it4    
,but let us consider ,shakspeare's text1
 rather than the corrector's  additions1
 for a moment4 ,within reach of the wild
 wind and spray of  the tempest1 though 
sheltered from their fury1 ,miranda had 
watched the  sinking ship struggling    
with the mad elements1 and heard when   
rose from  sea to sky the wild farewell4
 ,amazement and pity had thrown her into
 a  paroxysm of grief1 which is hardly  
allayed by her father's assurance1  that
 there's no harm done4 ,after this      

terrible excitement follows the  solemn 
exordium to her father's story1--       
,the hour's now come2    ,the very      
minute bids thee ope thine ear4    ,obey
 and be attentive4    ,the effort she   
calls upon her memory to make to recover
 the traces  of her earliest impressions
 of life1--the strangeness of the events
  unfolded to her1--the duration of the 
recital itself1 which is                
considerable1--and1 above all1 the      
poignant personal interest of  its      
details1 are quite sufficient to account
 for the sudden utter  prostration of   
her overstrained faculties and feelings1
 and the profound  sleep that falls on  
the young girl4 ,perhaps ,shakspeare    
knew this1 though  his commentators1 old
 and new1 seem not to have done so2 and 
without a  professed faith1 such as some
 of us moderns indulge in1 in the       
mysteries  of magnetism1 perhaps he     
believed enough in the magnetic force of
 the  superior physical as well as      
mental power of ,prospero's nature over 

the nervous1 sensitive1 irritable female
 organization of his child to  account  
for the ,i know thou canst not choose   
with which he concludes  his observation
 on her drowsiness1 and his desire that 
she will not  resist it4 ,the magic gown
 may1 indeed1 have been powerful1--but  
hardly  more so1 we think1 than the     
nervous exhaustion which1 combined with 
the authoritative will and eyes of her  
lord and father1 bowed down the  child's
 drooping eyelids in profoundest sleep4 
,the strangest of all ,mr4 ,collier's   
comments upon this passage1 however1  is
 that where he represents ,miranda as1  
up to a certain point of her  father's  
story1 remaining standing eagerly       
listening by his side4 ,this  is not    
only gratuitous1 but absolutely contrary
 to ,shakspeare's text1--a  greater     
authority1 ,i presume1 than even that of
 the annotated folio4  ,prospero's words
 to his daughter1 when first he begins  
the recital of  their sea-sorrow1 are1--
      ,sit down6    ,for thou must now  

know further4    ,does ,mr4 ,collier's  
folio reject this reading of the first  
line8 or does  he suppose that ,miranda 
remained standing1 in spite of her      
father's  command8 ,moreover1 when he   
interrupts his story with the words1    
,now ,i  arise1 he adds1 to his         
daughter1 ,sit still1 which clearly     
indicates  both that she was seated and 
that she was about to rise 7naturally   
enough7 when her father did4 ,we say1   
,sit down1 to a person who is  standing2
 and1 ,sit still1 to a person seated who
 is about to rise2  and in all these    
minute particulars1 the simple text of  
,shakspeare1 if  attentively followed1  
gives every necessary indication of his 
intention  with regard to the attitudes 
and movements of the persons on the     
stage  in this scene2 and the highly    
commended stage-directions of the folio 
are here1 therefore1 perfectly          
superfluous4    ,the next alteration in 
the received text is a decided          
improvement4 ,in  speaking of the royal 

fleet dispersed by the tempest1 ,ariel  
says1--      ,they all have met again1  
,and are upon the ,mediterranean flote  
,bound sadly home for ,naples2--    for 
which ,mr4 ,collier's folio             
substitutes1--      ,they all have met  
again1    ,and all upon the             
,mediterranean float1    ,bound sadly   
back to ,naples4    ,mr4 ,collier       
notices1 that the improvement of giving 
the lines1      ,which any print of     
goodness will not take1    to ,prospero1
 instead of ,miranda1 dates as far back 
as ,dryden and  ,davenant's alteration  
of ,the ,tempest1 from which he says    
,theobald and  others copied it4    ,the
 corrected folio gives its authority to 
the lines of the song1--      ,foot it  
featly here and there1    ,and1 sweet   
sprites1 the burden bear1--    which    
stands so in ,hanmer1 and1 indeed is the
 usually received  arrangement of the   
song4    ,this is the last corrected    
passage in the first act1 in the course 
of  which ,mr4 ,collier gives us no     

fewer than sixteen1 altered1 emended1   
and  commented upon in his folio4 ,many 
of the emendations are to be found      
verbatim in the ,oxford and subsequent  
editions1 and three only appear  to us  
to be of any special value1 tried by the
 standard of common sense1  to which we 
agreed1 on ,mr4 ,collier's invitation1  
to refer them4    ,the line in          
,prospero's threat to ,caliban1--       
,i'll rack thee with old cramps1        
,fill all thy bones with aches1 make    
thee roar1--    occasioned one of ,mr4  
,john ,kemble's characteristic          
differences with the  public1 who       
objected1 perhaps not without reason1 to
 hearing the word  aches pronounced as a
 dissyllable1 although the line         
imperatively  demands it2 and           
,shakspeare shows that the word was not 
unusually so  pronounced1 as he         
introduces it with the same quantity in 
the prose  dialogue of ,much ,ado about 
,nothing1 and makes it the vehicle of a 
pun  which certainly argues that it was 

familiar to the public ear as ache  and 
not ake4 ,when ,hero asks ,beatrice1 who
 complains that she is sick1  what she  
is sick for1--a hawk1 a hound1 or a     
husband1--,beatrice replies1  that she  
is sick for--or of--that which begins   
them all1 an ache1--an  ,h4 ,indeed1    
much later than ,shakspeare's day the   
word was so  pronounced2 for ,dean      
,swift1 in the ,city ,shower1 has the   
line1--      ,old aches throb1 your     
hollow tooth will    rage4    ,the      
opening of this play is connected with  
my earliest recollections4 ,in  looking 
down the dark backward and abysm of     
time1 to the period when  ,i was but six
 years old1 my memory conjures up a     
vision of a stately  drawing-room on the
 ground-floor of a house1 doubtless long
 since swept  from the face of the earth
 by the encroaching tide of new houses  
and streets that has submerged every    
trace of suburban beauty1               
picturesqueness1 or rural privacy in the
 neighborhood of ,london1  converting it

 all by a hideous process of            
assimilation into more ,london1  till   
,london seems almost more than ,england 
can carry4    ,but in those years1 long 
enough ago1 to which ,i                 
refer1--somewhere  between ,lea and     
,blackheath1 stood in the midst of      
well-kept grounds a  goodly mansion1    
which held this pleasant room4 ,it was  
always light and  cheerful and warm1 for
 the three windows down to the broad    
gravel-walk  before it faced south2 and 
though the lawn was darkened just in    
front of  them by two magnificent       
yew-trees1 the atmosphere of the room   
itself1  in its silent1 sunny loftiness1
 was at once gay and solemn to my small 
imagination and senses1--much as the    
interior of ,saint ,peter's of ,rome    
has been since to them4 ,wonderful1     
large1 tall jars of precious old  china 
stood in each window1 and my nose was   
just on a level with the  wide necks1   
whence issued the mellowest smell of    
fragrant pot-pourri4  ,into this room1  

with its great crimson curtains and deep
 crimson carpet1  in which my feet      
seemed to me buried1 as in woodland     
moss1 ,i used to be  brought for        
recompense of having been very good1 and
 there ,i used to  find a lovely-looking
 lady1 who was to me the fitting        
divinity of this  shrine of pleasant    
awfulness4 ,she bore a sweet ,italian   
diminutive for  her ,christian name1    
added to one of the noblest old ducal   
names of  ,venice1 which was that of her
 family4    ,i have since known that she
 was attached to the person of1 and     
warmly  personally attached to1 the     
unfortunate ,caroline of ,brunswick1    
,princess  of ,wales1--then only        
unfortunate2 so that ,i can now guess at
 the drift  of much sad and passionate  
talk with indignant lips and tearful    
eyes1 of  which the meaning was then of 
course incomprehensible to me1 but which
 ,i  can now partly interpret by the    
subsequent history of that ill-used and 
ill-conducted lady4    ,the face of my  

friend with the great ,venetian name was
 like one of  ,giorgione's pictures1--of
 that soft and mellow colorlessness that
  recalls the poet's line1--      ,e    
smarrisce 'l bel volto in quel colore   
,che non  pallidezza1 ma candore1--     
or the ,englishman's version of the same
 thought1--      ,her face1--oh1 call it
 fair1 not pale6    ,it seemed to me1 as
 ,i remember it1 cream-colored2 and her 
eyes1 like  clear water over brown      
rocks1 where the sun is shining4 ,but   
though the  fair visage was like one of 
the great ,venetian master's portraits1 
her  voice was purely ,english1 low1    
distinct1 full1 and soft1--and in this  
enchanting voice she used to tell me the
 story of the one large picture  which  
adorned the room4    ,over and over     
again1 at my importunate beseeching1 she
 told  it1--sometimes standing before   
it1 while ,i held her hand and listened 
with upturned face1 and eyes rounding   
with big tears of wonder and pity1  to a
 tale which shook my small soul with a  

sadness and strangeness  far surpassing 
the interest of my beloved tragedy1 ,the
 ,babes in the  ,wood1--though at this  
period of my existence it has happened  
to me to  interrupt with frantic cries  
of distress1 and utterly refuse to hear1
  the end of that lamentable ballad4    
,but the picture4--,in the midst of a   
stormy sea1 on which night seemed  fast 
settling down1 a helmless1 mastless1    
sailless bark lay weltering  giddily1   
and in it sat a man in the full flower  
of vigorous manhood4  ,his attitude was 
one of miserable dejection1 and1 oh1 how
 ,i did long to  remove the hand with   
which his eyes were covered1 to see what
 manner of  look in them answered to the
 bitter sorrow which the speechless lips
  expressed6 ,his other hand rested on  
the fair curls of a girl-baby of  three 
years old1 who clung to his knee1 and1  
with wide1 wondering blue  eyes and     
laughing lips1 looked up into the       
half-hidden face of her  father4--,and  
that1 said the sweet voice at my side1  

was the good ,duke  of ,milan1          
,prospero1--and that was his little     
child1 ,miranda4    ,there was something
 about the face and figure of the       
,prospero that  suggested to me those of
 my father2 and this1 perhaps1 added to 
the  poignancy with which the           
representation of his distress affected 
my  childish imagination4 ,but the      
impression made by the picture1 the     
story1  and the place where ,i heard the
 one and saw the other1 is among the    
most  vivid that my memory retains4 ,and
 never1 even now1 do ,i turn the magic  
page that holds that marvellous history1
 without again seeing the lovely  lady1 
the picture full of sad dismay1 and my  
own six-year-old self  listening to that
 earliest ,shakspearian lore that my    
mind and heart ever  received4 ,i       
suppose this is partly the secret of my 
love for this1  above all other of the  
poet's plays2--it was my first          
possession in the  kingdom of unbounded 
delight which he has since bestowed upon

 me4           99       99       99     
99       99      ,,the ,,great          
,,arm-,,chair4      ,shall ,i not       
to-day1 ,estelle1 give you the history  
of this great  arm-chair1 the only      
historical piece of furniture in our    
house8 ,the  heavy oak frame was carved 
by an imprisoned poet4 ,they took away  
his  pen1 and in larger lines he carved 
this chair4 ,heavily moulded ,sphinxes  
form its arms2 the strong legs and feet 
of some wild beast its support2  the    
crest1 a winged figure with bandaged    
eyes1--a ,fate or ,fortune  we might    
call it1--that mild look not to be      
resisted in its gentle  strength4 ,but  
blind ,fortune could not so master him3 
his prison made for  him only a secure  
room1 in which to study1 to work out1   
the mysteries4    ,the rich covering was
 wrought long years ago1 in some ancient
 convent1  by a saintly nun4 ,holy1     
pious tears dropped on it as she        
wrought4 ,she  pricked out brave bright 
flowers with her needle1 though her own 

life  was pale and sad4 ,i cover this   
sacred work with housewifely care2 but  
it  makes our rest there more hallowed4 
,this old chair we call our             
dreaming-chair1--to borrow a name1 our  
,sleepy-,hollow4 ,it is so simple and   
grand in workmanship1 it should be  the 
seat of honor in a king's palace2 and   
yet it is in place in our  small parlor4
 ,perhaps some day ,i may tell you of   
the ancient dames and  knights who once 
possessed it2 but they have long since  
slept their last  sleep1--no            
summer-afternoon's nap1 but a sleep so  
long to last1 now  their long day's work
 is done4    ,not quite finished is the 
old man's work who this afternoon sat in
 the  chair and quietly dreamed back his
 youth4 ,i saw the hardened1 withered   
face soften1 as the bright light of     
childhood played around it2 the  meagre1
 hard old man forgot for a little the   
sharp want that pinched  him2 when he   
waked1 he still babbled of green fields4
    ,did ,robinson ,crusoe ever come    

back to his father and mother8 he says  
to me4 ,poor boy6 poor boy6 ,i went to  
sea when ,i was young4 ,father and      
mother didn't like it4 ,came back after 
a four-years' voyage1 and off  again1   
soon as the ship had unloaded1 on       
another trip up the ,channel3  took all 
my money to fit out4 ,might have had the
 ,custom-,house1 if there  had been     
anybody to speak for me2 would have done
 my work well1 and  maybe had kept it   
thirty or forty years4 ,should be glad  
to creep into a  hay-mow and pay        
somebody to feed me4 ,wish old ,uncle   
,jack was good for  somethin' besides   
work1 work1--nothin' but hard work6     
,wish he could talk  and say somethin'4 
,now that was good1 sensible poetry you 
were reading1 wasn't it8 ,good  stuff8  
,couldn't hear a word of it3 poor old   
fellow can't hear much now4  ,wish my   
father had lived longer2 he would have  
told me things2 he used  to be different
 to me4 ,i could have been a sight of   
comfort to him in  mathematics4 7,his   

father died when the son was fifty years
 old2 the  thirty years he had lived    
since seemed a long life to the old     
man47  ,mayn't ,i look at the poetry8   
,i found the place for him1--,new       
,england4    ,yes1 the farmer takes lots
 of comfort1 walking on the road1       
foddering  cattle1 cutting wood4        
,uncle ,jack believes heartily in ,new  
,england corn1 and in the planting  and 
hoeing of ,indian corn he takes great   
delight3 not to corn-laws1 but  to      
,indian corn1 the talk always drifts4   
,i hear you are going to plant a couple 
of acres of corn1 ,sir4 ,glad of  it4   
,this is an excellent dish of tea1      
,marm4 ,this bread tastes like my       
mother's bread2 baked in a bake-kettle4 
,these mangoes are nice1--such as  we   
used to have4    ,turning to ,aunt      
,sarah1 he says1--    ,did you ever     
notice a difference in eggs1 ,marm8     
,yes1 ,aunt thinks there is a difference
 between fresh and stale eggs4    ,but  
,i mean1 ,marm1 that some are           

thin-shelled1 some rough1 some  round1  
some peaked3 a hen lays 'em just so all 
her life4 ,ever see a  difference8      
,it is an open question4    ,then       
turning to the master of the house1--   
,do you like choc'late1 ,sir8 ,well1 how
 you going to fix it when you  haven't  
got any milk8 ,well1 you just beat up an
 egg1 and pour on the  choc'late1       
boiling hot1 stirring all the time1 and 
you won't want any  milk1 ,sir4 ,that   
was what kept me alive aboard the       
,ranger4    ,now comes the story of the 
,ranger4 ,he was getting in years1 he   
said1 and  wanted a home for his old    
age2 so he built him a boat4 ,he put a  
little  open stove in it1 because an    
open fire felt kind o' comfortable to   
his  toes4 ,he named it the ,ranger2    
because when he was a little boy he took
 a  long walk to the beach with his     
father1 the little ,iulus following with
  unequal steps1 and they saw a         
shipwrecked vessel1 named the ,ranger1  
and  he liked the name4 ,he kept that   

name in his heart many years4 ,when at  
last1 by dint of much saving and        
scraping together1 much hoeing of       
,indian corn1 the old stocking-foot was 
at last filled1 all the little  odd     
bits1 poured out and counted up1 came to
 enough to speak to the  ship-builder4  
,oh1 the model6 how the old man's brain 
worked over that6  ,then the            
timber1--each was a chosen piece2 oak1  
apple1 cherry1 pine1  each tree sent a  
stick4 ,the home was builded1 was       
launched1 was  christened3 ,the ,ranger4
 ,alas1 it was an ill-omened name to    
him6 ,brave  and young was he in heart1 
and loved right well his tossing1       
rolling  home2 and many a hard gale did 
he ride out in her alone1 old as he was4
    ,too old was he to be trusted on the
 treacherous deep2 and friends 787      
advised and counselled1 and the home of 
his old age was sold4 7,he never  got   
the pay67 ,now1 with restless1 wandering
 feet1 he makes long tramps1  trying to 
collect old debts4 ,kind-hearted old man

 that he is1 thinking  always he is hard
 on 'em when he gets a promise to pay6  
,a wife has been  sick2 perhaps he had  
better not ask for it now4 ,his ox has  
died2 maybe  he had better wait4        
,fumbling over old papers in his        
pocket-book1  muttering something about 
a pension3 he was on the list1 but was  
never  called out1 or somebody took his 
place4    ,poor old ,uncle ,jack1 with  
his dream of a pension1 his dream of an 
office1 his dream of a home in a boat6  
,with him many a dream has gone  down   
the stream4    ,may some friendly hand  
at last close his eyes to that last long
 sleep1  when his turn comes to heave   
down6    ,he is always finding ,indian  
arrowheads and hatchets and pestles4 ,he
  picks full pails of the nicest-looking
 huckleberries4 ,he is always  dressed  
in clean1 tidy clothes1 a little scant  
and well patched4 ,he pats  me on the   
head and says1 ,didn't know you were    
,evelyn's sister2 thought  it was a     
little three-year old4 ,about to tell me

 a sad story he had  read in the        
newspaper1 he stops suddenly and says1  
,believe ,i won't tell  you1 dear6 ,did 
you hear the newspipe has broke8 when   
the ,atlantic  ,telegraph ,cable parted4
 ,he had plans for shoving off the      
,leviathan when  it stuck4    ,shall ,i 
not tell you he brings me a little bunch
 of eels of his own  spearing8 that you 
must be careful at table he has enough  
to eat1 he  takes such small pieces8    
that he is altogether a sparse man8 has 
rows of  pins on his sleeve that he     
picks up8--an old-fashioned man1 whose  
type  is fast fading out from these     
fast1 steep times4 ,he tells a story of 
a stream of black flies which came so   
thick and so fast pouring on1 he  looked
 as long as he darst to4 ,yet he can    
tell a good1 big story yet1  and when   
somebody was talking of turtles of good 
size1 jumped up  suddenly1 ,did you ever
 see a terrapin1 ,sir8 and then walked  
round the  long dining-table to tell how
 big he was and how high he stood on his

  feet4 ,when ,i was in the ,west       
,indies1 ,sir----,wish ,i could creep   
into a  good ,english hay-mow and pay   
somebody to feed me6    ,do you         
remember1 ,estelle1 the story we read   
together once1 out of the  ,casket or   
,gem1 one of those old annuals1 where a 
certain princess  was sent to a desolate
 island1 whose maids of honor were all  
old crones1  once distinguished by their
 wonderful beauty8 ,her task was to     
discover  each especial grace1 long     
since buried by the rubbish which time  
and  folly had heaped upon it2 in each  
old1 yellow1 wrinkled hag to find  the  
charm which had once adorned her3 as she
 found the grace1 it was  transferred to
 her own youthful person4 ,slowly and   
patiently she unwound  those wrapped-up 
mummies1 and disclosed the gems hidden  
in those  burial-clothes2 and returned  
to her father's court enriched with all 
those long-buried graces1 now revived to
 their former youthful beauty1  and with
 the added charm which wisdom and       

patience give4    ,my task is not so    
difficult1--as ,i seek virtues1 not     
perishable stuffs4  ,we will learn the  
history of these thickly crossing       
wrinkles1 that1  checkering1 map out the
 face like the streets of a busy city4  
,we will  read the story that youth and 
observation copied there4 ,many sit in  
my  chair with weather-beaten looks1 but
 time and want and necessity have       
ploughed still deeper furrows4    ,it is
 not in vain1 this brave encounter with 
the elements1--this battle  to keep the 
wolf ,want outside the door1--the       
patient1 laborious building  up of the  
small house1 made almost a comfortable  
home by many years of  toil1--the       
sufficient meal snatched from ,nature by
 the line or the gun1  or wrung from her
 by hard labor of the hands4 ,is the    
face too thin and  hard1 the lips       
compressed8 ,would you turn away from so
 much patient  endurance of a hard lot8 
,turn again1 and read the story the     
clear eye  tells2 listen to the words of

 a deep religious experience which the  
thin1 cracked voice relates3 how in     
visions of the night the ,comforter  has
 come to them1 and henceforth the way of
 duty is clear1 and the  burden of life 
is lightened4 ,will you go with me1     
dear1 into those  homely houses1 sit    
with me by the firesides1 and hear the  
simple story  of ,new ,england's farmers
 and farmers' wives8 ,we cannot call    
those poor  who are so rich in all the  
manly virtues1 and in the deep          
experiences of  a faithful life4        
,uncle ,jack stops on his way1 going up 
to get the oxen1 and passes the         
night1--says1 ,other people can't find  
enough to do2 for his part1 he  should  
like to lie down in the hay-mow and     
rest1--all worn out1 used up4  ,now     
,josiah1 good1 conversable man1 knows   
about geography and the country  round4 
,well1 when you've got that1 got the    
best of him1--likes variety  too        
well1--goes off1 leaves the homestead   
like a dismantled ship4 ,now1  if a man 

only gets three good days down cellar1  
that's something4 ,don't  believe ',siah
 ever does it4 ,so many notions in's    
head bothers him4  7,uncle ,jack is     
quite right2 'tis not economical to have
 notions2  besides1 they are            
revolutionary1 they subvert the order of
 things47 ,got  a cunning little heifer 
used to have some manners4 ,lost some of
 our  lambs2 read in a book1 that1 take 
what care you might1 you would lose     
some lambs at times4--,to-day he has    
gone driving the oxen round by          
,perkins's4    ,had the rheumatism this 
winter1--guess ,jack ,frost pinched     
him4--,ah6  dear old man1 an older than 
,jack ,frost has got hold of your aged  
limbs6  ,harder pinches old ,time gives 
than any mortal man6    ,used to get a  
little bird1 ,harris and me1 and roast  
it1 and mother  would give us a little  
apple-sauce in a clam-shell1 and we     
would go off  back the island and eat   
it4 ,harris was sent to school up to    
,perkins's2  couldn't stay2 run away1   

and borrowed a boat1 and came home      
again2  afraid of his father1 and hid in
 the barn4 ,dug a well in the hay1  and 
they used to lower him down things to   
eat1 and water to drink in  scooped-out 
water-melon rinds4           99       99
       99       99       99      ,,the  
,,song ,,of ,,fatima4        ,on1 sad   
are they who know not love1    ,but1 far
 from passion's tears and smiles1       
,drift down a moonless sea1 and pass    
,the silver coasts of fairy isles6      
,and sadder they whose longing lips     
,kiss empty air1 and never touch    ,the
 dear warm mouth of those they love1    
,waiting1 wasting1 suffering much6      
,but clear as amber1 sweet as musk1     
,is life to those whose lives unite3    
,they walk in ,allah's smile by day1    
,and nestle in his heart by night6      
,,something ,,about ,,history4          
,there is no kind of writing which is   
undertaken so much from will and so     
little from instinct as ,history4 ,it   
seems the great resource of baffled     

ambition1 of leisure1 of minds          
disciplined rather than inspired1 of men
  with pecuniary means and without      
professional obligations4 ,sympathy     
with or opposition to an author prompts 
those thus situated to write  criticism2
 a dominant sentiment inspires poetical 
composition2 and  usually an impressive 
experience suggests adventure in the    
field of  fiction3 but we find educated 
men1 in independent circumstances1 not  
remarkable for sensibility to ,nature1  
acute critical perception1 or  dramatic 
talent1 whose literary aspirations are  
vague1 and who desire  to be occupied   
eligibly1 turn to ,history as the most  
available  vantage-ground1 busy         
themselves with wars and councils that  
happened  ages ago1--with kings and     
soldiers1 institutions and adventures1  
politics and dynasties1 so far removed  
from the associations and  interests of 
the hour1 that only a scholar's         
enthusiasm or ambition  could sustain   
the research or keep alive the          

enterprise thus voluntarily  assumed4   
,it is this objective method and motive 
that chiefly accounts  for the          
numberless inert and the few vital      
histories4 ,like any  intellectual task 
assumed without special fitness therefor
 or motive  thereto1--without a         
comprehensive grasp of mind that impels 
to  historic exploration1--without a    
patriotic zeal that warms to national   
heroism1--without1 especially1 a love of
 some principle1 a conviction  of some  
truth1 an admiration of some national   
development1 irresistibly  urging the   
cultivated and ardent mind to seek for  
the facts1 to  celebrate the persons1 to
 evolve the truth involved in and       
manifest  through public events1--the   
annals recorded are but dry             
chronology1--a  monotonous1 more or less
 authentic1 perhaps quite respectable1  
but far  from a very important or       
peculiarly interesting work4 ,thousands 
of  such cumber the shelves of libraries
 and fill the pages of                  

catalogues1--dusted once a year1        
perhaps1 to verify a date1 to           
authenticate the details of a treaty1 or
 fix the statistics of a war1  but never
 read consecutively and with zest1      
because there was no genuine  relation  
between the writer and his book4 ,he    
undertook the latter in  the spirit of a
 mechanical job2 industry and learning  
may be embodied  therein1 but no moral  
life1 no human charm2 yet the work is   
cited with  respect1 the author enrolled
 with honor2--whereas1 had he sought  in
 poetry or philosophy1 in a novel or a  
drama1 thus to occupy and  celebrate    
himself with literature1 the failure    
would have been signal1  the attempt    
ignominious4 ,there is1 indeed1 no safer
 investment for  middling literary      
abilities than ,history2 for1 if it fail
 to yield any  large harvest of renown1 
it is comparatively secure from the     
assaults  of ridicule1 such as make     
pretension in other spheres of writing  
conspicuous4    ,even in what are       

considered the successful exemplars in  
this department  of literature1 the     
errors incident to artificiality1 the   
conventional  forms of writing1 are     
patent4 ,only in passages do we         
recognize that  beauty or truth1 that   
reality and genuineness1 which so often 
wholly  pervade a poem1 a story1 a      
memoir1 or even a disquisition3 at some 
point1 the flow incident to wilful      
instead of soulful utterance becomes    
apparent2--ambition1 pride of opinion1  
love of display somewhere  manifest     
themselves4 ,it has been said that the  
chief element of ,hume's  mental power  
was skepticism2 and1 singular as it may 
appear1 his doubts  about what are      
deemed the vital interests of humanity  
gave a charm to  his record of her      
political vicissitudes2 while he made   
capital of  touching situations1 he     
displayed his own strength of intellect2
 but1  with all this1 did not write     
complete and authentic history4 ,and    
when  analyzed1 what was the animus of  

,gibbon's elaborate chronicle8 ,he      
spent his time1 his life1 his energy1   
says a severe1 but just critic1  in     
putting a polished gloss on human       
tumult1 a sneering gloss on human       
piety4 ,and who has not felt1 in        
following ,macaulay's animated periods  
and thorough exposition and illustration
 of some event1 trait1 or  economy1--in 
itself of little importance and limited 
value1--how much  better it would have  
been to reserve his brilliant           
descriptive and keen  analytical powers 
for the grand episodes1 the prolific    
crises1 and the  leading characters of  
history1 instead of indiscriminately    
devoting them  to a consecutive account 
of national incidents and persons1 both 
great  and small1 illustrious and       
insignificant8    ,a popular ,british   
author of our own day1 in order to      
demonstrate the  law of compensation1 as
 regards the literary vocation1 cites   
its  inexpensiveness1--arguing1 that1   
whereas the artist must invest capital1 

however small1 in colors1 marble1       
canvas1 and studio-hire1 and the        
professional man occupy a costly        
locality1 the author needs but a quire  
of foolscap and a pen and ink to set up 
in trade4 ,while there is literal  truth
 in this comparison1 the fact is not    
applicable to historical  writing1      
except in a very limited degree4 ,the   
preparation of the most  successful     
works in this department1 in modern     
times1 has been attended  with an outlay
 impossible to the poor scholar4 ,it has
 involved the  examination and          
reproduction of voluminous manuscript   
authorities1  distant travel1 the       
purchase of rare books and family       
papers1 and  sometimes years of busy    
reference1 observation1 and study1      
lucrative  only in prospect4 ,the same  
amount of culture and facile vigor of   
composition which less prosperous       
authors expend on a masterly review     
would suffice to make them famous       
historians1 if blessed with the         

pecuniary means to seek foreign sources 
of information1 or gather about  them   
scattered and rare materials wherewith  
to weave a chronicle of the  past4      
,hence1 not only has ,history become the
 chosen field of writers  with no       
special gift for more individually      
inspired kinds of literature1  but of   
the educated sons of fortune4           
,accordingly1 it is curious to  remark  
the contrast between the lives of       
historians and those of  poets2 and in  
the average circumstances of the former 
there is some  justification for the    
title of an aristocratic guild in       
letters4  ,compare ,cowper's humble home
 at ,olney with ,gibbon's elegant       
library at  ,lausanne1--the social      
environment of ,hallam1 ,grote1 or      
,macaulay with  the rustic isolation of 
,wordsworth1 the economies of ,shelley1 
or the  life-struggle of ,jerrold4 ,of  
course1 there can thence be inferred no 
general rule2 and the very differences  
in temperament between inventive  and   

reproductive writers suggest a          
consequent diversity of habits2 but  the
 very idea of historical composition1 on
 an extensive scale and as a  permanent 
occupation1 implies the leisure which   
competency alone yields1  the means     
indispensable for gradual literary      
achievement1 and more or  less of the   
luxury and social position which1 when  
education obtains1  usually attend upon 
these advantages4    ,it results from   
these considerations that there is no   
sphere of  literature which is so often 
the refuge of wealthy scholars1 idle men
 of  taste1 baffled politicians of      
independent means1 ambitious and        
well-read  but not specially gifted     
citizens who have inherited comfortable 
estates4 ,it is so dignified an         
employment1 that it gratifies pride1--so
  possible without trenchant opinions1  
that it does not alarm the              
conservative1--so thoroughly            
respectable1 safe1 and capable of being 
made illustrious1 so comparatively easy 

to the fluent but unoriginal  mind1 and 
practicable to follow1 when methodically
 carried out1 in  a stated1 regular     
manner1 that we can scarcely be         
astonished at  the alacrity with which  
such voluntary tasks are undertaken or  
the  steadiness with which they are     
followed2 at the same time1 it may be   
because so few are able to command the  
means and opportunity1 that  historical 
writing is so highly estimated4 ,as a   
test of intellectual  power1 a gauge of 
individual sentiment1 an evidence of    
original genius1  it is immeasurably    
inferior to dramatic1 philosophical1 or 
any of the  more personal forms of      
literature1 when inspired by deep       
convictions1  original ideas1 or        
creative imagination4 ,it requires more 
knowledge  than reflection1 more        
patience than earnestness1 more judgment
 than  sentiment2 and those who have    
raised it to a vital significance and   
profound beauty and interest have done  
so by virtue of endowments which1       

otherwise directed1 would have placed   
them high and firm on the roll of       
genius3 for it is possible to write     
history without this transcendent       
gift1--possible to write it respectably 
without the slightest grandeur  or grace
 of mind1--by virtue of command of      
words1 industry1 care1 and  good sense4 
,we cannot imagine ,shakspeare tracing  
out his conception  of ,hamlet1 or      
giving language to ,lear or ,miranda1   
without a soulful  experience as far    
above mere intellectual assiduity as    
humanity is above  mechanism2 we cannot 
think of ,milton elaborating his sublime
 epic1  without1 in fancy1 taking in the
 studious years1 the ,italian nights  of
 music1 starlight1 and high converse1   
the beautiful youth1 the                
self-sacrificing prime1 the blind old   
age1 the religious patriotism1  the     
pious loyalty1 the learning and love1   
and the isolated meditation1  cheered by
 grand symphonies and hoarded wisdom1   
through and by which1  concentrated into

 melodious expression1 the life of a    
noble mind thus  majestically expressed 
itself3 but we can easily fancy cold and
 cultured  ,gibbon returning from the   
,continent1 full of classic lore1       
disgusted  with his failure in public   
life1 not sympathetic enough to enjoy   
heartily a career either of pleasure or 
of society1 and so1 in his  dreams of   
scholarship1 seizing upon the idea of a 
long1 laborious1  erudite1 and elegant  
task2 and we can also well imagine      
,hume1 with his  love of speculation1   
turning gratefully to the records of the
 past for  subjects of reflection1      
analysis1 and inference4 ,in these and  
other  notable instances1 we feel it is 
more an accident than an inspiration1   
more from circumstances than from innate
 and absolute endowment and  impulse1   
that the historic ,muse is wooed4       
,within a brief period the grave has    
closed over one of the most             
irreproachable and assiduous of         
,american writers of ,history1--whose   

career signally illustrates the blessing
 of such a resource to  unoccupied and  
cultivated leisure1 and at the same time
 the fortuitous  circumstances which    
often originate and prolong this kind of
 literary  labor4 ,in a letter to a     
friend abroad1 written by ,prescott soon
 after  he found himself thus           
congenially occupied1 the case is most  
frankly  stated4 ,ennui crept over me1  
when ,i found myself a perfectly idle   
man1  with nothing to do1 and1 what made
 it worse1 with eyes so debilitated     
that ,i had no power of doing anything  
with them4 ,however1 'necessity is  the 
mother of invention1' and ,i resolved to
 turn author in spite of my  eyes2 and  
it is a great satisfaction to me to     
think that the volumes ,i  have put     
together for my own amusement should    
have afforded some to my  countrymen1   
and1 above all1 to my friends4,a        
,footnote ,a3 ,letter of ,w4 ,h4        
,prescott to ,miss ,preble1 dated       
,boston1  ,february #bh1 #ahde4 ,memoir 

of ,harriet ,preble1 by ,professor      
,r4,h4 ,,lee1 p4  #bhe-f4    ,this      
modest and candid estimate of his       
vocation indicates how much more  a     
thing of volition and opportunity1 and  
how much less a work of special         
endowment and intuitive recognition is  
the literature of ,history than  that of
 ,poetry1 ,psychology1 or ,philosophy1  
notwithstanding all these may  be fused 
therein4 ,whatever may be the use of    
this sort of composition  in itself and 
abstractedly1 observes a judicious      
critic1,b it is  certainly of great use 
relatively and to literary men4         
,consider the  position of a man of that
 species4 ,he sits beside a             
library-fire1 with  nice white paper1 a 
good pen1 a capital style1 every means  
of saying  everything1 but nothing to   
say4 ,what1 again1 if something would   
happen1  and then one could describe it8
 ,something has happened1 and that      
something is ,history4 ,to feel fully   
the difference between a formal1        

mechanical annalist and the revival of  
the past through poetic or  artistic    
sympathy1 it is only requisite to turn  
from some dry chronicle  of political   
vicissitudes1 duly registered by a dull1
 matter-of-fact1  conscientious         
antiquary1 to the fresh classical or    
colonial romance1 of  which such        
graceful and well-studied exemplars have
 been produced by  ,lockhart1 ,bulwer1  
,d',azeglio1 ,kingsley1 ,ware1          
,longfellow1 and other  bards and       
novelists4 ,while the attempt1 by       
intensity of description and  brilliant 
generalities1 to impart to veritable    
history the charm we  accept in the     
historical romance1 has caused many an  
old-school reader  to place ,macaulay's 
fascinating volumes1 called ,the        
,history of  ,england1 on the same shelf
 with works of fiction1--,aytoun1 ,hugh 
,miller1 and ,william ,penn's champions 
have given special meaning to  this     
principle or prejudice1 whichever it may
 be1 by challenging the  delightful     

author to the test of fact4    ,footnote
 ,b3 ,bagehot4    ,in statesmen1 or     
those who have excelled in political    
writing1 the  ambition to write history1
 the desire to illustrate and record    
national  events1 is not only a natural1
 but an auspicious feeling2 and so it is
  in educated poets in whom the         
sentiment of patriotism or the narrative
  art gives scope and glow to such an   
enterprise4 ,that ,fox and ,bacon1      
,milton and ,swift1 ,mackintosh1        
,schiller1 and ,lamartine1 should have  
partially adventured in this field seems
 but a legitimate result of  their      
endowments and experience1 however      
fragmentary or inadequate may  have been
 some of the fruits of their historic   
studies4    ,when an enlightened and    
executive or speculative man is an      
obvious part  of the history of his own 
times1 his chronicle must have a certain
  significance and value4 ,raleigh1 when
 he wrote the ,history of the  ,world in
 prison1 gave hints by which subsequent 

and less obsolete  annalists have wisely
 profited4 ,the scholar and the patriot 
coalesced in  the mind of ,camden1      
prompting him to rescue and conserve the
 materials  of ,english history and note
 the fading traditions1--a purely       
antiquarian  service1 which only those  
can appreciate who seek authentic data  
of  the far past4 ,such as cavil at the 
legal tone and crude arrangement  of    
,clarendon are none the less his debtors
 for specific memoirs1 the  personal    
element of history2 and while ,burnet   
has been vigorously  repudiated by      
standard historians1 he continues1 and  
justly1 to be a  prolific authority4 ,it
 is conceded by all candid explorers1   
that1 as far  as it goes1 the account of
 ,england by ,rapin is the best4        
,franklin's  old friend ,ralph was      
commended and quoted by ,fox4 ,as the   
enterprise of  historical writers       
enlarged and their style became         
elaborate1 these and  such as these lost
 in popularity what they gained in      

usefulness4 ,the  charm of rhetorical   
elegance and broad generalizations      
gradually usurped  the place of simple  
narrative and detailed statement4 ,in   
the very design  of ,gibbon there is a  
certain poetical attraction2 his work   
may aptly  be described as panoramic1   
unrolling a vast picture or succession  
of  pictures1 too vague in outline and  
too monotonous in color for minute      
impressions1 yet1 on this account1 the  
more remarkable for general  effect4    
,what ,europe was in the ,middle ,ages  
we find more specifically in  ,hallam2  
the ,moors in ,spain have been more     
vividly painted by subsequent  writers1 
whose aim was less comprehensive3 but   
how the imperial sway of  ,rome subsided
 into the ,christian era1 how a         
republican episode gleamed  athwart her 
waning power in the casual triumph of   
,rienzi1 the  later emperors1 and what  
occurred in their reign in ,jerusalem   
and  ,constantinople1 pass emphatically 
before us in the stately pages which    

once charmed readers of ,english as the 
model of historic eloquence1 and  now   
excite the admiration of scholars as a  
monument of erudition and  elaborate but
 artificial writing4 ,there was a new   
attraction in the  pleasing style of    
,robertson and the characterization of  
,hume2 the  winsome language of the one 
and the transparent diction of the other
  made historical reading not so much a 
task to cumber the memory as a  pastime 
to entertain the mind2 in the one       
chronicle we followed events  gracefully
 unfolded1 and in the other discussed   
persons with acuteness2  yet1 when to   
either was subsequently applied the test
 of absolute  accuracy and sound        
deduction1 large allowances were        
demanded for  inadequate research on the
 part of ,robertson and partial         
inferences on  that of ,hume4 ,the      
theories of the latter indicate why and 
how1 with  all his intellectual         
abilities1 the sympathies of his readers
 were  inevitably limited2 in his view  

of humanity we find the true cause  of  
all his deficiencies as an historian3   
,human life1 he somewhere  remarks1 is  
more governed by fortune than by reason1
 is to be regarded  more as a dull      
pastime than a serious occupation1 and  
is more influenced  by particular humor 
than by general principles4 ,yet1 in a  
philosophical  retrospect of ,english   
historians1 we can trace a progressive  
development  from the purely antiquarian
 researches of ,camden to the personal  
memoirs  of ,clarendon and ,burnet2     
thence to the comprehensive erudition   
and  majestic narrative of ,gibbon2     
onward to the reasoning1 lucid record of
  ,hume and the fascinating narrative of
 ,robertson2--all of which qualities  of
 industry1 characterization1 broad      
knowledge1 taste1 emphasis1  and        
reflection blend1 culminate1 and        
intensify along the copious1            
rhetorical1 and vivid page of ,macaulay4
    ,the ,italian historians prolong1 in
 style at least1 the method of their    

classic predecessors3 ,la ,storia del   
,guicciardini  considerata come  opera  
classica1--we are told by one of the    
critics of that nation2 who  adds1 ,his 
descriptions are always accurate1 clear1
 and expressed with  eloquence2 the     
causes of events and their consequences 
are enumerated  with rare acuteness2 and
 his personages are delineated in their 
true  characters1 the historian         
descending into the deepest penetralia  
of  their hearts3 but the most eminent  
merit of this ,history consists in the  
moral and political considerations with 
which it abounds2 it is like  ,tacitus4 
,in like manner1 ,machiavelli is        
compared to ,thucydides2 while          
,varchi's long periods1 adulation of the
 ,medici1 and municipal details  are    
condemned by the same authority3 yet one
 familiar with modern  literature in    
this department will1 despite this      
general commendation of  native critics1
 be apt to ascribe the conservative     
charm of the ,italian  historians to    

their style rather than their method or 
matter4    ,it is remarkable how late   
the ,french writers won laurels in the  
field  of historical composition1 and   
how long ,france1 with all her national 
vanity1 has lacked a complete and       
classical chronicle1--brilliant and     
invaluable fragments whereof abound4    
,according to the most esteemed  ,french
 critics1 until this century the nation 
actually knew nothing  of its own       
history2 and it is characteristic of    
their speculative  and methodical mind  
and taste1 that ,history became popular 
and  philosophical1 a novelty and a     
reform1 simultaneously4 ,guizot1        
,thierry1  ,sismondi1 and others1       
created a new era in this branch of     
letters2  ,thiers and ,michelet enlarged
 its sphere and increased its charms2   
and  yet1 while the graphic simplicity  
of ,froissart1 the critical insight and 
ingenious generalizations of ,guizot1   
and the poetical glow and richness  of  
,michelet have made the history of      

,france both highly suggestive as       
regards the development of civilization1
 and picturesque and dramatic as  a     
narrative1 the greatest allowance for   
brilliant theorizing1 political         
sympathies1 and an errant fancy are     
indispensable in order to attain to  a  
clear view of genuine facts and absolute
 principles4 ,it has been said  that    
leading ideas are fatal to accuracy of  
statement2 and these  dominate in the   
minds of ,french philosophical          
annalists2 while the more  sympathetic  
class are fond of rhetorical display and
 fanciful episodes4  ,a recent critic1  
after bestowing merited encomiums on    
,michelet1 gives  the following instance
 of his absurd generalizations1 which   
occur in the  midst of grave historical 
statements and descriptions3 ,wool and  
flesh  are the primitive foundations of 
,england and the ,english race2 ere     
becoming the world's manufactory of     
hardware and tissues1 ,england was a    
victualling-shop2 before they became a  

commercial1 they were a breeding  and a 
pastoral people1--a race fatted on beef 
and mutton2 hence their  freshness of   
tint1 their beauty and strength3 their  
greatest man1  ,shakspeare1 was         
originally a butcher4    ,less prominent
 and more recent names on the roll of   
historic literature  are as distinctly  
associated with special excellences and 
defects4 ,thus1  ,grote keeps attention 
more by the intelligence of his comments
 than by  the flow of his narration2 he 
is far more political than picturesque2 
and while he gives a masterly analysis  
of the ,athenian system of  government1 
so as to place it in a new light even to
 the scholar's  apprehension1 he        
discusses the arts and the literature so
 inspiring  to most cultivated minds1   
when describing ,greece1 with           
comparative  indifference4 ,those who   
would examine ,english annals unbiased  
by  ,protestant zeal1 and realize how   
the events and characters look to a     
,roman ,catholic vision1 may gather from

 ,lingard some views which may  not     
disadvantageously modify their          
interpretation of familiar men and      
occurrences4 ,two ,english writers have 
hastily compiled her annals  during     
certain epochs2 but while they are      
equally chargeable with  superficiality1
 the manner in which the work is done is
 by no means  similar4 ,smollet's       
continuation of ,hume was confessedly a 
bookseller's  job3 four octavo volumes  
in only ten times the number of months1 
even in  our days of locomotive         
celerity1 would be thought rather a     
suspicious  piece of literary handiwork2
 and besides the indecent haste1 so     
incompatible with thoroughness1 the     
misrepresentations of ,smollet are      
patent4 ,goldsmith1 as unambitious in   
research as he was genial in            
expression1 made so agreeable a story1  
that1 with all its imperfection1  his   
sketch still finds readers2 while the   
rarely quoted work of ,henry  most      
conveniently enumerates1 at the end of  

each reign1 details  economical and     
social which identify and illustrate    
both period and  progress in            
,anglo-,saxon civilization4 ,as a       
copious and consecutive  record of the  
salient incidents in modern ,continental
 history1--so  needful now for          
reference1 and the diverse phases of    
which are so widely  chronicled in the  
memoirs1 the journals1 the diplomatic   
correspondence1  and what may be called 
the incidental history of the           
period1--the plan  of ,alison's work    
might have achieved a triumph of        
industry and skill1  valuable as well as
 interesting to general readers and     
professional  writers3 but the political
 opinions1 with the partial feelings    
they  engender1 continually distort the 
view and influence the estimate of  this
 positive yet pleasant historian2 while 
his almost wilful blunders1  like the   
errors of ,lord ,mahon in regard to the 
,american ,war1 have  been repeatedly   
demonstrated4 ,mackintosh philosophized 

about events1  measures1 and men1 better
 than he described either4 ,sharon      
,turner nobly  illustrates the value of 
intrepid research and patient collation4
  ,mitford represents the aristocratic  
as ,grote the democratic element in     
,grecian history4 ,tytler wrote of the  
past in the life of nations with  the   
exclusive reliance on written proof that
 a conveyancer places upon  title-deeds1
 and beside the glowing and harmonious  
pictures of later  annalists such       
writing now appears obsolete4 ,napier   
describes battles  scientifically1 and  
,carlyle revolutions                    
melodramatically1--each with  original  
power1 in their respective              
methods1--while ,miss ,strickland       
brings to the record of queenly sorrows 
and duties a woman's sympathetic        
prepossessions4    ,since those quaintly
 simple and emphatic statements which1  
under the  name of ,froissart's         
,chronicles1 seem to perpetuate the     
instinctive  notion of ,history1 as an  

honest and earnest1 but unadorned and   
unelaborate narrative of military and   
political facts1--not only has  there   
been a continual refinement of style and
 enlargement of scope and  art1 but a   
greater complexity and subdivision in   
the historian's labors4  ,abstract      
political ideas1 purely intellectual    
phenomena1 have found  their annalists1 
as well as executive enterprise2 events 
have been  analyzed1 as well as         
described1--characters discussed1 as    
well as  pictured1--the elements of     
society laid bare with as much zeal and 
scrutiny as its development has been    
traced and delineated4 ,european        
historical students read anew the       
records of the past by the light  of    
philosophy2 more subtile divisions than 
the geographer indicates  organize the  
record2 events are narrated with        
reference to a dominant  idea2          
governments are chronicled through their
 ultimate results1 and  not exclusively 
with regard to their locality2 rulers   

are considered  in groups2 a faith is   
made the nucleus of an historical       
development1  instead of a nation4      
,thus1 we have ,ranke's ,popes and      
,d',aubigne's  ,reformation1 ,hallam's  
,middle ,ages and ,english              
,constitution2 ,de  ,quincey treats of  
,the ,caesars2 ,vico demonstrates that  
,history is a  science with positive    
laws2 ,gervinus illustrates it as a     
development of  certain inevitably      
progressive ideas2 ,niebuhr interprets  
it by fresh  tests and ordeals2 ,dr4    
,arnold teaches it by an original       
method2 ,humboldt  points out its       
naturalistic tendencies and origin2     
,herder and ,hegel1 ,de  ,tocqueville   
and ,guizot1 the eminent writers on     
,civilization1 on ,art1 on  ,education1 
,political ,economy1 ,literature1 and   
,natural ,history1 more  and more       
exhibit the facts of humanity and of    
time under such new  combinations1 by so
 many parallel truths and principles1   
that it is  difficult to conceive that  

,history1 as now understood by the      
educated  and the reflective1 is the    
same thing once crudely embodied in a   
ballad  or mystically conserved by an   
inscription4 ,to multiply relations is  
the  destiny of our age1 and to converge
 all that is discovered through the     
laws of ,science upon the records and   
relics of the past is a process now     
habitual and pervasive4    ,and yet how 
little positive satisfaction does the   
lover of truth1 the  aspirant for what  
is authentic and significant1 find in   
current and even  popular histories6    
,certain general notions of the         
character of nations  we1 indeed1       
distinctly and correctly attain3 that   
,chinese civilization  is stationary1   
the ,french instinctively a military    
race1 the ,swiss  mercenary1 and        
adventurous in engineering and religious
 reform1--that  modern ,german          
literature was as sudden as simultaneous
 in its  development1--that ,holland    
redeemed her foundations from the       

sea1--that  ,italy owes to art1 and     
,england to manufactures1 her growth and
 grandeur4  ,these and such as these are
 problems which the history of the      
respective  countries1 however          
inadequately told1 reveals with         
authenticity2 but  when we go beyond and
 below the patent facts of local        
civilization1 to  the analysis of       
character1 and1 through it1 of destiny1 
few and far  between are the            
satisfactory records whence we can draw 
legitimate  materials for inference and 
conjecture4 ,the most attractive method 
is apt to be that upon which least      
reliance can be placed4 ,we seldom      
consult ,sir ,walter's essays at serious
 history1 while the novels he  created  
out of historic material are as familiar
 as they are endeared2  but their       
imaginative charm is in the inverse     
ratio of their  authenticity4 ,with     
every new candidate for public favor in 
this sphere  of literature1 there arises
 a mooted question whereon the historian

  and his readers are irreconcilably    
divided4 ,the character of ,penn1 of    
,marlborough1 and of the facts of the   
,massacre at ,glencoe are still         
vehemently discussed1 whenever          
,macaulay's popular ,history is referred
  to4 ,froude advances a new and        
plausible theory of the character of    
,henry  ,,viii42 few of ,bancroft's     
,american readers accept his estimate of
 ,john  ,jay1 ,sam ,adams1 or ,dr4      
,johnson1 or of the political character 
of the  ,virginia ,colonists2 and       
,palfrey and ,arnold interpret quite    
diversely  the influence and career of  
,roger ,williams4 ,nor are such         
discrepancies  surprising1 when we      
remember how the history which          
transpires now and  here fails of       
harmonious report4 ,every battle1       
diplomatic arrangement1  political      
event1 nay1 each personal occurrence1   
which forms the staple  of to-day's     
journalism and talk1 is regarded from so
 many different  points of view1 and    

stated under so many modifying          
influences1 that only  judicial minds   
have a prospect of reaching the exact   
truth4 ,hence the  true way to profit by
 ,history is eclectic4    ,let the      
erudition of the ,german1 the genial    
animation of the ,french1  the ,saxon   
good sense1 the ,italian grace be       
enjoyed1 and whatsoever of  glamour or  
of inadequacy these charms hide be duly 
estimated2 reflection  and sympathy will
 often separate the gold of truth from  
the alloy of  prejudice or fantasy4     
,above all1 let this eclectic test be   
applied  beyond nominal history1--to the
 geological data on the ancient         
rock1--the handwriting of the ages upon 
race1 costume1 language1--the           
incidental1 but genuine history innate  
in all true literature1 vivid  elements 
whereof live in passages of ,milton's   
controversial writings1 in  ,petrarch's 
sonnets1 ,de ,foe's fictions1 our       
,revolutionary correspondence1  ,south's
 sermons1 ,swift's diaries1 ,burke's    

speeches1 ,french memoirs1  ,walpole's  
letters1 in the poems1 plays1 and       
epistles of the past1 and  every fact   
and person which society and life offer 
to our cognizance or  sympathy4    ,when
 we are much attached to our ideas1 we  
endeavor to attach  everything to them1 
says ,madame de ,stal4 ,the secret of   
writing well1  observes a ,scotch       
professor1 is to write from a full mind4
 ,these  two maxims seem to us to       
illustrate the whole subject of         
historical  composition2 an earnest     
votary thereof will instinctively find  
material  in every interest and         
influence that sways events or moulds   
character1  and from the assimilation of
 all these will educe a vital and       
harmonious  picture and philosophy4     
,there is an historical as well as a    
judicial or  poetic type of mind2 and to
 such there is no object too trifling1  
no  fact too remote1 not directly or    
indirectly to minister to the unwritten 
history which vaguely shapes itself to  

his intelligence4 ,in his reading  and  
travel it is by no means to the         
ostensible monuments and trophies of    
the past that his observation and       
inquiry are confined3 the ,letters of   
,madame de ,svign give him authentic    
hints for the social tendencies  of     
,france and their influence upon        
politics1 as the blood-stains at        
,holyrood identify the place of         
,rizzio's murder2 the ,edinburgh        
,review reveals the spirit of the       
,reform movement as clearly as the      
,parliamentary records its letter2 the  
,south-,sea ,house and the ,temple are  
as suggestive as ,whitehall and the     
,abbey1--for trade and jurisprudence1   
in the retrospect1 are as much a part of
 the by-gone life and present  character
 of a nation1 as the fate and the fame  
of her dead kings2 and a  ,spanish      
ballad is as valuable an illustration as
 a ,madrid state-paper2  while the life 
of ,harry ,vane vindicates the ,puritan 
nature as clearly  as the letter of a   

,venetian ambassador exhibits the       
domestic life of a  ,pope4    ,the      
redeeming influence of strong personal  
sympathy and earnest  conviction1 both  
in the choice of a subject and the      
method of its  treatment1 has been      
signally illustrated by a countryman of 
our own4  ,the interest of the general  
reader and the approbation of historical
  scholars were at once enlisted by     
,motley's ,rise and ,fall of the ,dutch 
,republic4 ,that work differs from and  
is superior to any ,american  historical
 composition by virtue of a certain     
fluent animation1 a  certain decided and
 sustained tone1 such as can be derived 
only from an  absolute relation between 
the author's mind and heart and his     
subject4  ,accordingly his record not   
only seizes upon the attention1 but wins
 the  sympathy of the reader1 who       
recognizes a vital and genuine spirit in
 the  work1 which gives it unity1       
completeness1 and a living style1       
whereby  its incidents1 characters1 and 

philosophy are unfolded1 not only with  
art1 but with nature1 and so made real1 
attractive1 and significant4  ,that we  
are right in ascribing these merits to  
the affinity between the  author and his
 work is amply evidenced by his own     
confession in a letter  called forth by 
the death of ,prescott1 in which he     
says1--    ,it seems to me but as       
yesterday1 though it must be now twelve 
years  ago1 that ,i was talking with our
 ever-lamented friend ,stackpole about  
my  intention of writing a history upon 
a subject to which ,i have since that   
time been devoting myself4 ,i had then  
made already some general studies  in   
reference to it1 without being in the   
least aware that ,prescott had  the     
intention of writing the history of     
,philip ,,ii4 ,stackpole had heard  the 
fact1 and that large preparations had   
already been made for the  work1        
although ',peru' had not yet been       
published4 ,i felt1 naturally1  much    
disappointed4 ,i was conscious of the   

immense disadvantage to myself  of      
making my appearance1 probably at the   
same time1 before the public1  with a   
work not at all similar in plan to      
',philip ,,ii41' but which must1  of    
necessity1 traverse a portion of the    
same ground4 ,my first thought  was1    
inevitably as it were1 only of myself4  
,it seemed to me that ,i had  nothing to
 do but to abandon at once a cherished  
dream1 and probably to  renounce        
authorship4 ,for ,i had not first made  
up my mind to write a  history1 and then
 cast about to take up a subject4 ,my   
subject had taken  up me1 drawn me on1  
and absorbed me into itself4 ,it was    
necessary for  me1 it seemed1 to write  
the book ,i had been thinking much      
of1--even if  it were destined to fall  
dead from the press1--and ,i had no     
inclination  or interest to write any   
other4    ,the same inspiration is      
partially obvious in those portions of  
every  history which come home to the   
writer's experience3 as1 for instance1  

some of the military episodes in        
,colletta's ,history of ,naples1 he     
having been a soldier1--and the         
descriptive phases of ,parkman's        
,history  of ,pontiac1 the author having
 been a ,prairie traveller1 and familiar
  with the woods and the bivouac4 ,in   
like manner1 it is the idiosyncrasy  of 
historians which gives original value to
 their labors3 ,botta's  knowledge of   
,american localities and civilization   
was meagre1 but his  sympathy with the  
patriots of the ,revolution was strong1 
and this gave  warmth and effect to his 
,guerra ,americana2 ,niebuhr was        
specially  gifted to develop what has   
been called the law of investigation1   
and  hence he penetrates the ,roman     
life1 and lays bare much of its         
unapparent  meaning and spirit4 ,so apt 
and patient are the ,germans in         
research1 that  they have been justly   
said to quarry out the past2 while so   
native are  rhetoric1 theorizing1 and   
fancifulness to the ,french1 that they  

make  history1 as they do life and      
government1 theatrical and picturesque1 
rather than gravely real and practically
 suggestive4    ,a peculiar feature in  
the labors of modern historians is the  
research  expended upon what the elder  
annalists regarded as purely incidental 
and extraneous4 ,the collation of       
archives1 official correspondence1 and  
state-papers is now but the rough basis 
of research2 memoirs are equally        
consulted1--localities minutely         
examined1--the art and literature of a  
given era analyzed1--the geography1     
climate1 and ethnology of the scene     
made to illustrate the life and         
polity1--social phases1 educational     
facts estimated as not less valuable    
than statistics of armies and  judicial 
enactments4 ,michelet has some charming 
rural pictures and  female portraits in 
his ,history of ,france2 ,macaulay      
thinks no custom  or economy of a reign 
insignificant in the great historical   
aggregate4  ,topography1 botany1        

artistic knowledge are not less parts of
 the  chronicler's equipment than       
philology1 rhetoric1 and philosophy2 a  
newspaper is not beneath nor a          
traveller's gossip beyond his scope2    
architecture reveals somewhat which     
diplomacy conceals2 an inscription  is  
not more historical than the average    
temperature or the staple  productions4 
,whatever affects national character and
 destiny1 whatever  accounts for        
national manners or confirms individual 
sway1 is brought  into the record4      
,diaries1 like those of ,pepys and      
,evelyn1 the tithe-book  of a county1   
the taste in portraiture1 the costume   
and the play-bill  yield authentic hints
 not less than the census1 the          
parliamentary  edicts1 or the royal     
signatures2 the popular poem1 the social
 favorite1  the cause clbre1 what       
pulpit1 bar1 peasant and beau1 doctor   
and lady   la mode do1 say1 and are1    
then and there1 must coalesce with  the 
battle1 the legislation1 and the        

treaty1--or these last are but          
technical landmarks1 instead of human   
interests4    ,even our most generalized
 historical ideas are made emphatic only
  through association and observation4  
,how the vague sense of ,roman  dominion
 is deepened as we trace the outline of 
a camp1 the massive  ranges of a        
theatre1 or the mouldy effigy on a coin1
 in some region  far distant from the   
,imperial centre1--as at ,nismes or     
,chester6 ,how  complete becomes the    
idea of mediaeval life1 contemplated    
from the  ramparts of a castle1 in the  
dim1 religious light of an old monastic 
chapel1 or amid the obsolete trappings  
and weapons of an armory6 ,what  a      
distinct and memorable revelation of    
ancient ,greece is the ,venus or        
,apollo1 a ,parthenon frieze or a       
fateful drama6 ,the best political      
essays  on the ,french ,revolution are  
based on the economical and social facts
  recorded in the ,travels of ,arthur   
,young4 ,the equivocal action of        

,massena1 when he commanded ,paris      
against the ,allies1 is explained in    
the recently published letter of ,joseph
 ,bonaparte1 wherein we learn his       
deficiency of muskets4 ,humboldt        
accounted for the defects of ,prescott's
  ,conquest of ,mexico by the fact that 
the historian had never visited  that   
country4 ,napoleon gave a key to the    
misfortunes of ,italy1 when he  said1   
,it is a peninsula too long for its     
breadth4 ,and the significance  of the  
,seven ,years' ,war is expressed in a   
single phrase by ,milton's last         
biographer1 when he defines it as the   
consummation politically and the        
attenuation spiritually of the movement 
begun in ,europe by the ,lutheran       
,reformation4    ,indeed1 so intimate is
 the connection between private life and
 public  events1 between political and  
social phenomena1 that the historical   
mind  finds material in all literature1 
and the very attempt to keep to a high  
strain and to bend facts to theory      

limits the authenticity of professed    
annalists4 ,what ,macaulay says of an   
eminent party-leader is modified to     
those who have studied the character    
through his memoirs or writings4  ,the  
charming narrative of ,robertson1 the   
characterization of ,hume1 the  stately 
periods of ,gibbon1 fail to win implicit
 confidence1 when the  scene1 the age1  
or the personages described are known to
 the reader  through original           
authorities4 ,when ,bancroft declares a 
treaty of  ,colonial governors against  
,indian ravages the germ of democratic  
government1 we know that it is his      
attachment to a theory1 and not the     
actual circumstances1 which leads to    
such an inference2 for the very         
authority he cites merely indicates a   
defensive alliance among rulers1  not a 
coalition of the ruled4 ,and so when to 
an account of the ,battle  of ,lexington
 he appends a rhetorical argument       
connecting that event1 so  meagre and   
simple in itself and so wonderful in its

 consequences1 with  the progress of    
truth and humanity in political science 
and reformed  religion1 we feel that the
 reasoning is forced and                
irrelevant1--more an  experiment in fine
 writing than an evolution of absolute  
truth4    ,thus continually is the      
independent reader of history taught    
eclecticism3 he makes allowance for the 
want of careful research in this        
writer1 for the love of effect in       
that1--for the skepticism of one1  and  
the credulity of another1--for          
enthusiasm here1 and fastidiousness     
there1--and especially for the greater  
or less attachment to certain  opinions1
 and the absence or presence of strong  
convictions and genuine  sympathies4    
,hence1 to read history aright1 we must 
read human nature as  well2 we must     
bring the light of philosophy and of    
faith1 the calmness  of judgment and the
 insight of love1 to the record2        
collateral  revelations drawn from our  
own experience1 modified acceptance of  

both  statement and inference1          
superiority to the blandishments of     
style1  are as needful for the right    
interpretation of a chronicle as of a   
scientific problem4 ,thus history is    
perpetually rewritten2 fresh  knowledge 
opens new vistas in the past as well as 
the future2 the  discovery of to-day may
 rectify1 in important respects1 the    
statement  which has been unchallenged  
for centuries2 one new truth leavens a  
thousand old formulas2 and nothing is   
more gradual than the elucidation  of   
historical events and characters4 ,even 
our own brief annals suggest  how large 
must be the historian's faith in time3  
only within a year or  two has it been  
possible to demonstrate the justice of  
,washington's  estimate of ,lee1 and how
 completely the sagacious provision of  
,schuyler  secured the capture of       
,burgoyne4 ,since the ,american         
,revolution1 one of  these men has been 
as much overrated as the other has      
failed of  just appreciation--because   

the documentary wisdom requisite for an 
enlightened judgment has not until now  
been patent4,c    ,footnote ,c3 ,see    
,lossing's ,life and ,correspondence of 
,general  ,schuyler1 and ,professor     
,moore's paper on ,charles ,lee4        
,with the imposing array of professed   
histories and historians in view1  it is
 curious to revert to the actual sources
 of our own historic  ideas1--those     
which are definite and pervasive4 ,the  
vast number of  intelligent readers1 who
 have made no special study of this kind
  of literature1 probably derive their  
most distinct and attractive            
impressions of the past from poetry1    
travel1 and the choicest works of  the  
novelist2 local association and         
imaginative sympathy1 rather than       
formal chronicles1 have enlightened and 
inspired them in regard to  ,antiquity  
and the great events and characters of  
modern ,europe4 ,this  fact alone       
suggests how inadequate for popular     
effect have been the  average labors of 

historians2 and so fixed is the opinion 
among scholars  that it is impossible   
for the annalist to be profound and     
interesting1  authentic and animated1 at
 the same time1 that a large class of   
the  learned repudiate as spurious the  
renown of ,macaulay1--although his      
research and his minuteness cannot be   
questioned1 and only in a few  instances
 has his accuracy been successfully     
impugned4 ,they distrust him  chiefly   
because he is agreeable1 doubt his      
correctness for the reason  that his    
style fascinates1 and deem admiration   
for him inconsistent with  their own    
self-respect1 because he is such a      
favorite as no historian  ever was      
before1 and his account of a parliament1
 a coinage1 or a feud  as winsome as a  
portraiture of a woman4 ,in one of his  
critical essays1  ,macaulay himself     
gives a partial explanation of this     
protest of the  minority in his own     
case4 ,people1 he remarks1 are very     
loath to admit  that the same man can   

unite very different kinds of           
excellence4 ,it is  soothing to envy to 
believe that what is splendid cannot be 
solid and  what is clear cannot be      
profound4 ,and it has been most justly  
said of  his own method of writing      
history1 ,he must make everything clear 
and  bright1 and bring it into the range
 of his analysis2 his exaggeration      
chiefly applies to individual           
characters1 not to general facts2 and   
the  reason given for the decided       
preference manifested for his vivid     
record  is not less true than           
philosophical1--,we learn so much from  
him  enjoyably4 ,it is precisely the    
lack of this pleasurable trait which    
makes the greater part of the annals of 
the past a dead letter to the  world1   
and wins to romance1 ballad1 epic1      
fiction1 relic1 and poetry the  keen    
attention which facts coldly set in a   
note-book never enlisted4  ,how many of 
us unconsciously have adopted the       
portraits of the early  ,english kings  

as ,shakspeare drew them6 ,to what a    
host of living souls is  the history of 
,scotland what the author of ,waverley  
makes it6 ,charles  ,i4 haunts the      
fancy1 not as drawn by ,hume1 but as    
painted by ,vandyck4  ,the institutions 
of the ,middle ,ages are realized to    
every reflective  tourist through the   
architecture of ,florence more than by  
the municipal  details of ,hallam4      
,pyramids1 obelisks1 mummies have       
brought home  ,egyptian civilization2   
the old masters1 that of ,europe in the 
fifteenth century2 the ruins of the     
,colosseum1 ,roman art and barbarism1   
as they never were by ,livy or ,gibbon4 
,lady ,russell's letters tell us of  the
 ,civil ,war in ,england1--,saint       
,mark's1 at ,venice1 of ,byzantine taste
  and ,oriental commerce1--the ,escurial
 and the ,alhambra1 ,versailles1 a      
castle on the ,rhine1 and a modest      
mansion on the banks of the ,potomac1   
of their respective eras and their      
characteristics1 social1 political1     

religious1--more than the most elaborate
 register1 muster-roll1 or  judicial    
calendar4 ,for around and within these  
memorials lingers the  life of          
,humanity2 they speak to the eye as well
 as to memory1--to the  heart as well as
 the intelligence2 they draw us by human
 associations  to the otherwise but     
technical statement2 they lure us to    
repeople  solitudes and reanimate       
shadows2 and having become intimate with
 the  scenes1 the effigies1 the         
monuments of the ,past1 we have1 as it  
were1 a  vantage-ground of actual       
experience an impulse from personal     
observation  and1 perhaps1 a sympathy   
born of local inspiration1 whereby the  
phantoms  of departed ages are once more
 clothed with flesh1 and their sorrows  
and  triumphs are renewed in the soul of
 enlightened contemplation4           99
       99       99       99       99    
,,my ,,neighbor1 ,,the ,,prophet4       
,the point of commencement for a story  
is altogether arbitrary4 ,some  writers 

stick to ,nature and go back to the     
,creation2 others take a few  dozen of  
the grandfatherly old centuries for     
granted2 others seize ,time  by the     
forelock and bounce into the middle of a
 narrative2 but1 as ,i  said before1 the
 beginning is a mere matter of taste and
 convenience4  ,i choose to open my tale
 with the day on which ,i took          
possession of my  newly purchased       
country-house4    ,it was a pretty      
little cottage1 wooden1 old-fashioned1 a
 story and a  half high1 with a long    
veranda1 a shady door-yard1 and a sunny 
garden4 ,i  bought it as it was1        
furniture included1 of a gentleman who  
was about  to remove southward on       
account of his wife's health1 or1 to    
speak  more exactly1 on account of her  
want of it4 ,i laugh here to think  how 
surprised you will be when you learn    
that these matters have no  connection  
with my story4 ,all the important events
 which ,i propose  to relate might have 
happened had this gentleman never sold  

nor ,i  purchased2 and1 as a proof of   
it1 ,i can adduce the fact that they    
actually did occur some years before we 
enjoyed the honor of each  other's      
acquaintance4 ,but ,i could not resist  
the temptation of the  episode4 ,i am as
 delighted at getting into my first     
house as was my  little son when he     
poked his chubby legs into his first    
trousers4    ,who is my nearest         
neighbor8 ,i asked of the former        
proprietor1 when he  made his parting   
call4    ,what1 the occupant of the new 
house just below you8 ,i can tell you   
very  little of him4 ,i haven't made his
 acquaintance1 and don't know his name4 
,we call him the ,mormon4    ,mercy on  
us6 ,you don't mean to hint at anything 
in the way of polygamy1  ,i hope4 ,he   
doesn't keep an omnibus with seats for  
twenty1 does he8    ,no1 not so bad as  
that4 ,in fact1 ,i don't know much about
 him4 ,i thought  you were aware of     
his--his style of living1 stammered my  
friend4 ,oh1  ,i dare say he is         

respectable enough4 ,but then we noticed
 three or four  women about the house1  
and only one man2 and so we clapped the 
title of  ,mormon on him4 ,nicknaming is
 funny work1 you know1--a short and easy
 way  to be witty4 ,i believe1 however1 
that he does pretend to be a prophet4   
,the ,pilgrim ,fathers protect us6 ,why1
 he may attempt to proselytize us  by   
force4 ,he may declare a religious war  
against us4 ,it would be no  joke1 if he
 should invade us with the sword in one 
hand1 and the ,koran1  or whatever he   
may call his revelation1 in the other4  
,oh1 don't be alarmed4 ,he is quite     
harmless1 and even unobtrusive4 ,a      
sad-faced1 pale1 feeble-looking1        
white-bearded old man4 ,he won't attack 
you1 or probably even speak to you4 ,i  
will tell you all ,i know of  him4 ,the 
house was built under his direction     
about six months ago4  ,i understand    
that the women own it1 and that they are
 not relatives  according to the flesh1 
but simply sisters in faith4 ,they have 

some  queer sort of religion which ,i am
 shamefully ignorant of4 ,at all events1
  they believe this old gentleman to be 
a prophet1 and consider it a duty  or a 
pleasure to support him4 ,that is the   
extent of my knowledge4 ,i hope  it     
doesn't disgust you with your           
neighborhood8    ,by no means4 ,may you 
find as pleasant a one1 wherever you    
settle6    ,thank you4 ,well1 it is     
nearly train-time1 and ,i suppose ,i    
must leave  you and my old place4 ,i    
wish you every happiness in it4    ,and 
so the old proprietor sighingly         
departed1 leaving the new one  smiling  
on the doorstep4 ,i was just thinking   
how nicely the world is  arranged1 so   
that one man's trouble may turn out     
another man's blessing1  7the illness in
 this gentleman's family1 for instance1 
being the cause  of my getting a neat   
country-house cheap17 when my attention 
was  arrested by the appearance of a    
thin1 feeble-looking1 white-bearded old 
man1 who passed down the street with    

head bent and hands joined behind  him4 
,i stared at him till he got by2 then ,i
 ran down to the gate and  looked after 
him earnestly2 and at last ,i darted    
forward1 hatless1 in  eager pursuit4 ,he
 heard my approaching steps1 and put his
 snowy beard  against his right shoulder
 in the act of taking a glance rearward4
 ,i now  recognized the profile         
positively1 and began conversation4     
,is it possible8 ,my dear ,doctor       
,potter1 how are you8 ,don't you know   
me8  ,your old friend ,elderkin4        
,sir8 ,elderkin8 ,oh6--ah6--yes6 ,how do
 you do1 ,mr4 ,elderkin8 he  stammered1 
seeming very awkward1 and hardly        
responding at all to my  vigorous       
hand-shaking4    ,i am delighted to see 
you again1 ,i continued4 ,i have had no 
news of  you these five years4 ,do you  
live in this neighborhood8    ,i--,i    
reside in the next house1 ,sir1 he      
replied1 not looking me in the  face1   
but glancing around uneasily1 as if he  
wanted to run away4    ,what6 are you   

the prophet8 ,i blurted out before ,i   
could stop myself4    ,i am1 ,mr4       
,elderkin1 he said1 blushing until ,i   
thought his white hair  would turn      
crimson4    ,we stared at each other in 
silence for ten seconds1 each wishing   
himself  or his interlocutor at the     
antipodes4    ,i congratulate you on    
your gift1 ,i remarked1 as soon as ,i   
could speak4  ,i will see you again     
soon1 and have a talk on the subject4   
,we have  discussed similar matters     
before4 ,good day1 ,doctor4    ,good    
day1 ,mr4 ,elderkin1 he replied1 drawing
 himself up with a poor  pretence at    
self-respect4    ,he was greatly        
changed4 ,heterodoxy had not been so    
fattening to him as  ,orthodoxy4 ,when  
,i knew him1 six years before1 as pastor
 of a flourishing  church1 ,doctor of   
,divinity1 and staunch ,calvinist1 he   
had a plump and  rosy face1 a portly    
form1 and vigorous carriage4 ,he was a  
great favorite  with the ladies1 as     
clergymen are apt to be1 and            

consequently never  lacked for delicate 
and appetizing sustenance4 ,he was      
esteemed1  self-respectful1 and happy2  
and all these things tend to good health
 and  good looks4 ,i propose to make    
myself famous as the ,gibbon of the     
decline  and fall of this reverend      
gentleman1 once so honorably established
 on  the everlasting hills of           
,orthodoxy1 and now so overthrown and   
trampled  under foot by the ,alaric of  
,spiritualism4 ,i do not expect1 indeed1
 that  anybody will take warning by my  
friend's sad history2 nor do ,i insist  
that people in general would find it    
advantageous to learn much wisdom  from 
the experience of others2 for it is very
 clear1 that1 if we  attempted only what
 our neighbors or our fathers had       
succeeded in doing1  we should kill all 
chance of variety or improvement4 ,it   
would be a  stupidly wise world2 there  
would be no sins1 and1 very possibly1 no
  virtues2 instead of ,everything       
happens1 it would be ,nothing happens4  

,believing and hoping1 therefore1 that  
,dr4 ,potter's calamities will not  be  
the smallest check upon any person who  
shall feel disposed to follow  in his   
footsteps1 ,i present the story to the  
public1 not at all as a  lesson1 but    
merely as an item of curious            
information4    ,oddly enough1 it was on
 that day of delusions1 the first of    
,april1 that  ,i stumbled into the      
,doctor's revival of the age of         
miracles4 ,i had been  engaged for three
 months on a geological survey in a     
,western ,territory1  during which time 
,i had received very brief and vague    
news from the  little city which was    
then my place of abode1 and had not even
 had  a hint of the signs and wonders   
which there awaited my astonished       
observation4 ,reaching home1 ,i made it 
my first business to call on my         
reverend friend2 for the ,doctor1 it    
must be known1 was one of my most       
valued intimates1 had baptized me1 had  
counselled me1 had travelled with  me in

 foreign lands2 we had many interests1  
many sympathies in common1  and no      
differences except with regard to the   
extent of the ,flood1 the  date of the  
,creation1 and other matters of small   
personal importance4  ,i found him in   
his study1 surrounded by those seven    
hundred and odd  volumes1 the learning  
and excellent spirit of which gave to   
his sermons  such a body of venerable   
divinity1 such a bouquet of savory      
eloquence4  ,he was walking to and fro  
rapidly1 studying a slip of manuscript  
with an  air of serious ecstasy4 ,he did
 not look up until ,i had seized his    
hand1  and even then he stared at me as 
a man might be supposed to stare who    
had been passing a fortnight with angels
 or other spiritual existences  and     
unexpectedly found himself among natural
 and reasonable beings  again4    ,ah1  
my dear ,elderkin1 he said at last1 ,i  
am glad to see you4 ,how are  you1 and  
how have you been8 ,excuse me for not   
recognizing you at once4 ,i  had just   

lost myself in the consideration of a   
mystery which ,i believe  to be of the  
sublimest importance4 ,oh1 my dear      
friend1 ,i hope you will  be brought to 
attend to these things6 ,they are above 
and beyond all your  geologies2 they    
preceded and will outlive them4         
,indeed6 ,i replied4 ,nothing in the way
 of chaos1 ,i hope8    ,look here at    
this sheet of foolscap1 he exclaimed1   
waving it  excitedly4 ,do you remember  
the belief which ,i have often expressed
 to  you1--the belief that the          
dispensation of miracles has never yet  
ceased  from earth1--that we have still 
a right to expect signs1 wonders1       
instantaneous healings1 and unknown     
tongues1--and that1 but for our         
wretched incredulity1 these things would
 constantly happen among us8 ,you  have 
disputed it and ridiculed it1 but here  
,i hold a proof of its truth4  ,a month 
ago this blessing was vouchsafed to me4 
,it was at one of our                   
,wednesday-evening exercises4 ,i had    

just been speaking of supernatural      
gifts1 and of the duty which we lie     
under of expecting and demanding  them4 
,the moment ,i sat down1 a stranger 7a  
gentleman whom ,i had  previously       
noticed at church7 rose up with a       
strangely beaming look and  broke out in
 a discourse of sounds that were wholly 
unintelligible4 ,you  need not smile4   
,it was a true language1 ,i am          
confident2 it flowed forth  with a      
moving warmth and fluency2 and the      
gestures which accompanied it  were     
earnest and most expressive4    ,that   
was fortunate1 said ,i2 otherwise you   
must have been very little  edified4    
,but isn't it rather odd that the man   
should use earthly  gestures with an    
unearthly language8    ,the ,doctor     
shook his head reprovingly1 and         
continued1--    ,deacon ,jones1 the     
editor of the ',patriot1' is a          
phonographer4 ,he took  down the close  
of the stranger's address1 and next day 
brought it to me  written out in the    

ordinary alphabet4 ,let me read it to   
you4 ,as you are  acquainted with       
several modern languages1 perhaps you   
can give me a key  to an interpretation4
    ,i don't profess to know the modern 
languages of the other world1 said  ,i4 
,however1 let us hear it4    ,isse ta   
sopon otatirem isais ka rabatar itos ma 
deok1 began the  ,doctor1 with a gravity
 which almost made me think him stark   
mad4 ,de  noton irbila orgonos ban      
orgonos amartalannen fi dunial maran ta 
calderak isais deluden homox berbussen  
carantar4 ,falla esoro anglas  emoden   
ebuntar ta diliglas martix yehudas      
sathan val caraman  mendelsonnen lamata 
yendos nix poliglor opos discobul       
vanitarok ken  laros ma dasta finomallo 
in salubren to mallomas4 ,isse on esto  
opos fi  sathan4    ,and so he read on  
through more than a page and a half of  
closely written  manuscript1 his eyes   
flashing brighter at each line1 and his 
right hand  gesturing as impressively as
 if he understood every syllable4       

,bless you1 it's nothing new1 said ,i4  
,there's an institution at  ,hartford   
where they cure people of talking that  
identical language4    ,just what ,i    
expected you to say1 he replied1        
flushing up4 ,i know  you1--you         
scientific men1--you materialists4 ,when
 you can't explain a  phenomenon1 you   
call it nonsense1 instead of throwing   
yourselves with  childlike faith into   
the arms of the supernatural4 ,that is  
the sum and  finality of your so-called 
science4 ,but1 come1 be rational now4   
,don't  you catch a single glimpse or   
suspicion of meaning in these remarkable
  words8    ,i am thankful to say that  
,i don't1 declared ,i4 ,if ever ,i go   
mad1 ,i  may change my mind4    ,well   
now1 ,i do he asseverated loudly4 ,there
 are words here that ,i  believe ,i     
understand1 and ,i am not ashamed to own
 it4 ,why1 look at it1  yourself1 he    
added1 pleadingly4 ,that word sathan1   
twice repeated1  can it be anything else
 than ,satan8 ,yehudas1 what is that but

  ,jews8 ,and then homox1 how very near 
to the ,latin homo6 ,i think1  too1 that
 ,i have even got a notion of some of   
the grammatical forms of  the language4 
,that termination of en1 as in deluden1 
salubren1 seems  to me the sign of the  
present tense of the plural form of the 
verb4 ,that  other termination of tar1  
as in ebuntar1 carantar1 ,i suppose to  
be  the sign of the infinitive4 ,depend 
upon it that this language is one  of   
absolute regularity1 undeformed by the  
results of human folly and  sorrow1 and 
as perfect as a crystal4    ,but not as 
clear1 ,i observed1--at least1 not to   
our apprehension4  ,well1 how was this  
extraordinary revelation received by the
 audience8    ,in dumb silence1 said the
 ,doctor4 ,faith was at too low an ebb  
among  us to reach and encircle the     
amazing fact4 ,i had to call out the    
astonished brethren by name2 and even   
then they responded briefly and         
falteringly4 ,but the leaven worked4 ,i 
went round the next day and  talked to  

all my leading men4 ,i found faith      
sprouting like a grain  of mustard-seed4
 ,i found my people waking up to the    
great idea of a  continuous1 deathless1 
present miracle-demonstration4 ,and     
these dim  suspicions1 these far-off    
longings and fearful hopes1 were1       
indeed1  precursors of such a movement  
of spirits1 such a shower of            
supernatural  mercies1 as the world has 
not perhaps seen for centuries4 ,yes1   
there  have been wonders wrought among  
us1 and there are1 ,i am persuaded1     
greater wonders still to come4 ,what do 
you think must be my feelings  when ,i  
see my worthiest parishioners rise in   
public and break out with  unknown      
tongues8    ,i should suppose you would 
rather see them break out with the      
small-pox1 ,i answered4    ,ah1         
,professor6 wait1 wait1 and soon you    
will not laugh1 said the  ,doctor1      
solemnly4    ,perhaps not4 ,i am a      
sincere friend of yours1 and a tolerably
  good-hearted sort of man1 ,i hope4 ,i 

shall probably feel more like  crying4  
,but the world may laugh long and loud1 
,doctor4 ,all who hate the  true        
revelation may laugh to see it mocked   
and caricatured by those who  profess   
and mean to honor it4 ,just consider1   
while it is yet time to  mend matters1  
how imprudent you are4 ,why1 what do you
 know of the man  who has been your     
,columbus in this sea of wonders8 ,are  
you sure that he  is not a sharper1 or  
an impostor1 or a lunatic8              
,impossible6 ,he brought letters to     
three of our most respectable  families4
 ,his name is ,riley1 ,john ,m4 ,riley1 
of ,new ,york2 and he is  son of the    
wealthy old merchant1 ,james ,m4 ,riley1
 who has been such a  generous donor to 
all good works4 ,as for his being a     
lunatic1 you shall  hear his            
conversation4    ,i should be a very    
poor judge of it1 if he always speaks in
 his unknown  tongues4    ,english6     
,english6 he talks ,english as good as  
your own4 ,a more  gentlemanly person1 a

 more intelligent mind1 a meeker and    
more believing  spirit1 ,i have not met 
this many a day4 ,he is still here1 and 
he is my  right hand in the work4 ,i    
shall soon have the pleasure of making  
you  acquainted with him4    ,thank you2
 ,i shall be delighted1 said ,i4 ,only  
be good enough to hint  to him that ,i  
like to understand what is said to me4  
,if he comes at me  with unknown        
tongues1 ,i shall wish him in unknown   
parts4 ,i can't stand  mysteries4 ,i am 
a geologist1 and believe that there are 
rocks all the  way down1 and that we had
 much better stand on them than wriggle 
in mere  chaotic space4 ,good morning1  
,doctor4 ,i shall come again soon2 ,i   
shall  keep a lookout on you4    ,good  
morning1 he replied1 kindly4 ,i hope to 
see you in a better frame  before many  
days4    ,i hurried back to my hotel1   
and questioned the landlord about this  
revival of the age of miracles4 ,he gave
 me a long account of the affair1  and  
then every neighbor who strolled in gave

 me another1 until by  dinner-time ,i   
had heard wonders and absurdities enough
 to make a new  ,book of ,mormon4 ,the  
lunacies of this ,riley had entered into
 ,dr4 ,potter  and his parishioners1    
like the legion of devils into the herd 
of swine1  and driven them headlong into
 a sea of folly4 ,there had been more   
tongues spoken during the past month in 
this little ,yankee city than  would    
have sufficed for our whole stellar     
system4 ,blockheads who were  not       
troubled with an idea once a fortnight1 
and who could neither write  nor speak  
their mother ,english decently1 had     
undertaken to expound  things which     
never happened in dialects which nobody 
understood4 ,people  who hitherto had   
been chiefly remarkable for their       
ignorance of the  past and the slowness 
of their comprehension of the present   
fell to  foretelling the future1 with a 
glibness which made ,isaiah and ,ezekiel
  appear like minor prophets1 and a     
destructiveness which nothing would     

satisfy out the immediate advent of the 
final conflagration4 ,gouty  brothers   
whose own toes were a burden to them1   
and dropsical sisters  with swelled     
legs1 hobbled from street to street1    
laying would-be  miraculous hands on    
each other1 on teething children1 on the
 dumb and  blind1 on foundered horses   
and mangy dogs even1 or whatsoever other
  sickly creature happened to get under 
their silly noses4 ,the doctors  lost   
half their practice in consequence of   
the reliance of the people on  these    
spiritual methods of physicking4        
,children were taken out of school  in  
order that they might attend the        
prophesyings and get all knowledge  by  
supernatural intuition4 ,logic and other
 worldly methods of arriving  at truth  
were superseded by dreams1 discernings  
of spirits1 and similar  irrational     
processes4 ,the public madness was      
immense1 tempestuous1 and  unequalled by
 anything of the kind since the jerks   
which appeared in  the early part of    

this century under the thundering       
ministrations of  ,peter ,cartwright4   
,that nothing might be lacking to make  
the movement a  fact in history1 it had 
acquired a name4 ,as its disciples used 
the word  dispensation freely1 the      
public called them ,dispensationists1   
and  their faith ,dispensationism1 while
 their meetings received the whimsical  
title of ,dispensaries4    ,amid this   
clamor of daft delusion1 ,dr4 ,potter   
congratulated his people  on the        
resurrection of the age of miracles1 and
 preached in furtherance  of the work   
with a fervid sincerity and eloquence   
rarely surpassed by  men who support the
 claims of true religion and right      
reason4 ,had he  brought the same zeal  
to bear against mathematics1 it seems to
 me he  might have shaken the popular   
faith in the multiplication-table4 ,the 
wonders transacting in his church being 
noised abroad1 the town was soon        
crowded with curious strangers1 mostly  
laymen1 but several clergymen1  some    

anxious to believe1 others ready to     
sneer1 but all resolute to see4  ,as    
might have been expected1 the nature of 
the excitement alarmed the  wiser       
pastors of the vicinity for the cause of
 ,orthodoxy4 ,they saw that  several of 
the asserted miracles were simply hoaxes
 or delusions2 they  suspected that the 
unknown tongues might be nothing but the
 senseless  bubbling of overheated      
brainpans2 they perceived that the      
,doctor in  his enthusiastic flights was
 soaring clear into the murky clouds of 
,spiritualism2 and they dreaded lest the
 scoffing world should make a  weapon   
out of these absurdities for an attack  
upon the ,christian faith4  ,they began 
to preach against the fanaticism2 and1  
of course1 my friend  denounced them as 
infidels4 ,high war ensued among the    
principalities and  powers of theology  
in all that portion of ,yankeedom4      
,the reaction roused by the unbelieving 
clergymen reached the ,doctor's         
congregation1 and emboldened all the    

sensible members to combine into  an    
anti-miracle party4 ,at a meeting of    
these persons a committee was  appointed
 to wait upon the pastor and            
respectfully request him to  dismiss    
,riley1 to cease his efforts after the  
supernatural1 and to  return to his     
former profitable manner of             
ministration4 ,dr4 ,potter was  amazed  
and indignant2 he replied1 that he      
should preach the truth as it  was      
revealed to himself2 he scouted the     
dictation of the committee1 and  fell   
back upon the solemn duty of his office2
 he ended by informing the  gentlemen   
that they were unbelievers and          
materialists4 ,naturally the  dissenters
 grew all the more fractious for this   
currying1 and held  another meeting1 in 
which the reaction kicked up higher than
 ever4 ,being  resolved now to proceed  
to extremities1 and1 if necessary1 to   
form a new  congregation1 they drew up  
the following recantation and sent it to
 ,dr4  ,potter1--not with any hope that 

he would put his name to it1 but for the
  purpose of ridiculing his infatuation1
 and driving him to resign his  pulpit4 
,i1 the undersigned1 pastor of the      
,first ,church in ,troubleton1 having   
been led far from the truth by the      
absurdities of modern miracleism  and   
spiritualism1 and having seen the error 
of my ways1 do penitently  subscribe to 
the accompanying articles4    #ast4 ,i  
promise to cease all intercourse with a 
blasphemous blockhead  named ,john ,m4  
,riley1 who has been the human cause of 
my downfall4    #b;d4 ,i promise to     
avoid in future all rhapsodies1         
ecstasies1 frenzies1  and whimseys which
 throw ridicule on true religion by     
caricaturing its  influences4    #c;d4  
,i promise to regard with the           
profoundest contempt and indifference   
both my own dreams or somnambulisms and 
those of other people4    #dth4 ,i      
promise not to unveil the secret things 
of ,infinity1 nor to  encourage others  
to unveil them1 but to mind my own      

finite business1 and  to rest satisfied 
with the revelations that are contained 
in the ,bible4    #eth4 ,i promise not  
to speak unknown tongues as long as ,i  
can speak  ,english1 and not to listen  
to other people who commit the like     
absurdity1 unless ,i know them to be    
,frenchmen or ,dutchmen or other        
foreigners of some human species4       
#fth4 ,i promise not to heal the sick by
 any unnatural and miraculous  means1   
but rather to call in for their aid     
properly educated physicians1  giving   
the preference to those of the          
allopathic persuasion4    #gth4 ,i      
promise not to work signs in heaven nor 
wonders on earth1 but  to let all things
 take the course allotted to them by a  
good and wise  ,providence4    ,of      
course ,dr4 ,potter looked upon this    
production as the height of  irreverence
 and irreligion1 and proposed to        
excommunicate the authors  of it4 ,hence
 the dissenters declared themselves     
seceders1 and took  immediate steps to  

form a new society4    ,it was at this  
stage of the excitement that ,i returned
 to ,troubleton and  made my call upon  
the ,doctor4 ,i felt anxious to save my 
old friend and  worthy pastor4 ,i saw1  
that1 if he continued in his present    
courses1  he would strip himself1 one   
after the other1 of his influence1 his  
position1 his religion1 and his reason4 
,that very evening1 after the  usual    
conference-meeting was over1 ,i called  
again on him1 and found him  in a truly 
lyrical frame of spirit4    ,ah1 my dear
 friend1 there is no end to it6         
exclaimed he4 ,the doors  are opening1  
one beyond another4 ,wonder shows forth 
after wonder1  miracle after miracle4   
,behind the veil6 behind the veil6      
,indeed6 said ,i1 rather vexed4 ,you'll 
find yourself behind a grate  some day4 
,there is now no question of the        
physical value as well as the spiritual 
sublimity of these revelations1 he      
continued1 without observing my  sneer4 
,life and death1 the sparing of precious

 blood1 the prevention of  crime1 the   
punishment of the guilty1--you can      
appreciate these things1 ,i  presume4   
,when ,i am in my senses1 returned ,i4  
,but what is the row8 if ,i may use     
that worldly expression4 ,has ,mr4 ,john
 ,m4 ,riley been brought to confess  any
 state-prison offences8    ,ah1         
,elderkin6 sighed the ,doctor1 letting  
go my hand with a look of sad  reproach4
 ,but no3 you cannot remain forever in  
this skepticism2 you  will be brought   
over to us before long4 ,let me tell you
 what has  happened4 ,but1 remember1 you
 must keep the secret until to-morrow1  
as  you value precious lives4 ,mr4      
,riley has just left me4 ,he has made me
 a  revelation1 a prophecy1 which will  
be proof to all men of the origin  of   
our present experiences4 ,he has had a  
vision1 thrice repeated4 ,it  foretold  
that this very night a robbery and      
murder would be attempted in  the city  
of ,new ,haven4 ,the evil drama will    
open between two and three  o'clock4    

,there will be three burglars4 ,the     
house threatened is situated  in the    
suburbs1 to the east of the city1 and   
about a mile from the  colleges4    ,is 
it8 ,and what are you going to do about 
it8--telegraph8    ,no4 ,we will be     
there in person4 ,we will ourselves     
prevent the crime and  seize the        
criminals4 ,i shall have a word in      
season for that family1 ,sir4  ,i wish  
to improve the occasion for its         
conversion to a full belief in  these   
sublime mysteries4 ,mr4 ,riley1 with    
three of my people1 will meet  me at the
 station4 ,we shall be in ,new ,haven by
 eleven1 stay an hour or  two in some   
hotel1 and at half past one go to the   
house4    ,my dear ,sir1 ,i remonstrate1
 exclaimed ,i4 ,you will get laughed at4
 ,you  will get shot at4 ,you will get  
into disgrace4 ,you will get into jail4 
,for pity's sake1 give up this quixotic 
expedition1 and grant me an  absolution 
before the fact for kicking ,riley out  
of doors4    ,the ,doctor turned his    

face away from me and walked to a       
window4 ,his air  of profound1 yet      
uncomplaining grief1 struck me with     
compunction1 and1  following him1 ,i    
held out my hand4    ,come1 excuse me1  
said ,i4 ,look here1--if this comes     
true1 ,i'll quit  geology and go to     
working miracles to-morrow4 ,i'll come  
over to your  faith1 if ,i have to wade 
through my reason4    ,will you8 he     
responded1 joyfully4 ,you will never    
repent it4 ,there1  shake hands4 ,i am  
not angry4 ,your unbelief is natural1   
though saddening4  ,to-morrow night1    
then1 come and see me again and ,i will 
tell you the  whole adventure4 ,i must  
be off to the train now4 ,excuse me for 
leaving  you4 ,would you like to sit    
here awhile and look at ,humby's        
',modern  ,miracles'8    ,no1 thank you4
 ,prefer to look at your miracles4 ,i am
 going with you4    ,going with me8 ,are
 you8 ,i'm delighted6 he cried1 not in  
the least  startled or embarrassed by   
the proposition4 ,now you shall see with

 your  own eyes4    ,yes1 if it isn't   
too dark1 ,i will1--word of a geologist4
 ,well1 shall we  start8    ,but won't  
you have a weapon8 ,we go armed1 of     
course1 inasmuch as the  scoundrels may 
show fight when we come to arrest them4 
,i don't want it1 said ,i1 gently       
pushing away a pocket-pistol1 about as  
dangerous as a squirt4 ,all the burglars
 you see to-night may shoot at  me1 and 
welcome4    ,we walked to the station1  
and found our party waiting for the     
,boston  train4 ,the ,doctor introduced 
me1 with much affectionate effusion and 
many particulars concerning my family   
and early history1 to the man of        
unearthly lingoes4 ,he was a tall1 lean1
 flat-chested1 cadaverous being1  of    
about forty1 his sandy hair nicely      
sleeked1 thin yellow whiskers  spattered
 on his hollow cheeks1 his nose short   
and snub1 his face  small1 wilted1 and  
so freckled that it could hardly be said
 to have  a complexion4 ,in short1 by   
its littleness1 by its yellowness1 by   

its  appearance of dusty dryness1 this  
singular physiognomy reminded me so     
strongly of a pinch of snuff1 that ,i   
almost sneezed at sight of it4 ,his     
diminutive green eyes were fringed with 
ragged flaxen lashes1 and seemed  to be 
very loose in their reddened lids1 as if
 he could cry them out at  the shortest 
notice4 ,i observed that he never looked
 his interlocutors  in the face1 but    
stared chiefly at their feet1 as if     
surmising whether  they would kick1 or  
gazed into remote distance1 as if trying
 to see  round the world and get a view 
of his own back4 ,his dress was a full  
suit of black1 fine in texture1 but     
bagging about him in a way that made    
you wonder whether he had not lost a    
hundred-weight or so in training  for   
his spiritual battles4 ,his manners were
 quiet1 and would not have  been        
disagreeable1 but for an air of         
uncomfortably stiff solemnity1  which   
draped him from head to foot like a robe
 of moral oilcloth1 and  might almost be

 said to rustle audibly4 ,whether he was
 a practical  joker1 a swindler1 a      
fanatic1 or a madman1 my spiritual      
vision was not  keen enough to discover 
at first sight4 ,beside him and         
ourselves the  party consisted of a     
butcher1 a baker1 and a                 
candlestick-maker1  all members of the  
,doctor's church and indefatigable      
workers of  miracles1--plain men and    
foolish1 but respectable in standing and
  sincere in their folly4 ,mr4 ,riley   
was so commonplace as to address me in  
,english1 probably because he wanted an 
answer4    ,do you accompany us1 ,sir1  
on this blessed crusade against crime   
and  unbelief8 he asked4    ,my friend1 
,dr4 ,potter1 has granted me that       
inestimable privilege1  responded ,i4   
,i hope--in fact1 ,i firmly             
believe--that ,providence will aid us1  
he  continued4    ,i hope so1 too1 said 
,i4 ,but wouldn't it be advisable to    
have a  policeman1 too8    ,by no means6
 ,certainly not6 he returned1 with      

considerable excitement4  ,all we want  
is a band of saints1 of justified souls1
 of men fitted for  the martyr's crown4 
,oh1 that's all1 is it1 ,sir8 ,well1    
shall we get into the cars8 ,there  they
 are4    ,the train was full1 and our   
party had to scatter1 but ,mr4 ,riley   
and ,i  got seats together4    ,i have  
not seen you at our meetings1 ,sir1 he  
continued4 ,allow me to  ask1 are you a 
believer in ,dispensationism8    ,not so
 strong as ,i might be4 ,however1 ,i    
have been absent from  ,troubleton for  
three months1 and only returned         
yesterday4    ,ah6 you have lost        
precious opportunities4 ,you must lose  
no more4 ,life  is short4    ,and       
uncertain1 ,i added4 ,especially in     
railroad travelling4    ,my dear ,sir1  
,i hope this road is prudently          
conducted1 he said1 with a  look of some
 little anxiety4    ,not many accidents1
 ,i answered4 ,and then1 you know1 we   
are always  in the hands of ,providence4
 ,no fear of slipping through the       

fingers  unnoticed4    ,no1 ,sir1       
certainly not1 he remarked1 wrapping his
 moral oilcloth about  him again4 ,have 
you felt any extraordinary spiritual    
impressions since  you returned8        
,nothing lasting1 ,i think4 ,nothing    
that a night's sleep wouldn't take  off 
the edge of4    ,no desire to lay hands 
on some sin-stricken wretch and cure him
 of the  evil that is in him8    ,now ,i
 did feel a strong desire to lay hands  
on this very ,riley and pull  out his   
snub nose for him2 but ,i forbore to say
 so1 and simply shook my  head          
despondently4    ,i know1 that1 if you  
would come to our ,dispensaries and join
 in our  exercises1 you would be        
sensible of a softening1 he observed4   
,yes1 in the brain1 thought ,i2 but ,i  
still remained silent4    ,you should   
meditate upon the value of              
manifestations1 unknown tongues1  the   
laying on of hands1 visions1 ecstasies1 
and such like matters1 he  continued4   
,so ,i have1 said ,i4    ,and with no   

result8    ,nothing that particularly   
astonishes me4 ,i think that ,i hate    
humbug  more than ,i did4    ,that's a  
good sign1 he replied1 after a brief1   
sharp glance of inquiry  at me4 ,this   
vain world is a humbug1 as you phrase   
it4 ,dead ,orthodoxy is  a humbug4      
,human reason is a humbug4 ,we are all  
humbugs1 unless we are  made true by    
,dispensation4 ,this age will be a      
humbug1 unless it can  be wrought into  
an age of miracles4 ,if you could be    
brought to hate  earnestly all these    
things1 it would be a hopeful sign4     
,i was on the point of disputing the    
hypothesis1 but prudently checked       
myself4 ,suddenly he removed my hat and 
put his broad1 hard palm upon my  organs
 with an impudent dexterity which made  
me doubt whether he had not  been a     
pickpocket or a phrenological lecturer4 
,i lay my hand upon your head and desire
 you to note the effect1 said  he4 ,can 
no life come into these dry bones8      
,shall they not live8  ,yea1 they shall 

live6 ,do you feel no irrepressible     
emotion1 ,sir1--no  shaking8    ,not a  
shake1 replied ,i1--unless it be from   
the bad grading4    ,evil is mighty1 but
 the good must eventually prevail1 he   
observed1  impertinently cocking his    
snub nose toward heaven4    ,i believe  
you are quite right in both             
propositions1 ,i admitted4  ,cardinal   
points of mine4 ,but excuse me1 ,sir1 if
 you could spare my hat1  ,i should like
 to put it on my head4    ,i had lost   
patience with the man1 partly because it
 irks me to have  strangers take        
liberties with my person1 and also      
because ,i had reached  the conclusion  
that he was simply a shallow dissembler 
and rascal4 ,in  a minute more ,i had   
cause to reconsider my charge of        
hypocrisy1 and to  question whether he  
might not lay claim to the nobler       
distinction of  lunacy4 ,the conductor  
came down the car1 picking out          
,troubletonians with  his undeceivable  
eye1 and leaned toward us with          

outstretched fingers4  ,mr4 ,riley rose 
to his whole gaunt height at a jerk1 and
 laid his hand on  the official's arm   
with a fierce1 bony gripe1 which seemed 
to startle  him as if it were the clutch
 of a skeleton4    ,there is my ticket1 
said he4 ,where is yours8 ,have you one 
for the  ,holy ,city8 ,none8 ,then you  
are lost1 lost1 lost6    ,the last words
 rose to a high1 clear shriek1 which    
pierced the heavy  rumble of the train  
and rang throughout the car4 ,the       
conductor1 in spite  of the coolness    
which becomes second nature to men of   
his profession1  turned slightly pale   
and shrank back before this wild        
apostrophe1 with  a thrill of spiritual 
horror at the solemn meaning of the     
words1 7,i  thought17 and not because he
 considered the man a maniac4 ,the      
fanaticism  of ,troubleton had already  
flown far and cast a vague shadow of    
dread  over a large community4          
,turning abruptly from the conductor1 my
 companion flung out his long  arms     

toward the staring passengers1 and      
continued in his strident1  startling   
tenor3--,i have warned him4 ,i call you 
all to witness that ,i  have warned this
 man of his fearful peril4 ,his blood be
 on his own head6  ,the blood of your   
souls will be upon your heads1 unless   
you turn to  ,dispensationism4 ,i have  
said it4 ,amen6    ,before he had sat   
down again ,i was in the alley on my way
 to another  car1 not anxious to become 
known as the intimate of this           
extraordinary  apostle4 ,i found an     
empty seat by the ,doctor1 dropped into 
it1 and told  my story4    ,my dear     
friend1 give the fellow up1 ,i          
concluded4 ,he's as mad as he  can      
possibly be4    ,so ,festus thought of  
,paul1 returned my poor comrade1 with   
hopeless  fatuity4    ,festus be d----d6
 said ,i1 losing my temper1 and swearing
 for the first  time since ,i graduated4
    ,i fear he was so1 remarked the     
,doctor1 severely4 ,let me urge you to  
take warning from his fate4    ,i beg   

your pardon1 and that of ,festus1 ,i    
apologized4 ,but when ,i see  you losing
 your reason1 ,i can't keep my patience1
 and don't wish to4    ,you will wonder 
at these feelings before many hours1 he 
responded  gently4 ,to-morrow you will  
be a believer4    ,that makes no        
difference with me now1 said ,i4 ,i am  
just as skeptical  as if ,i hadn't a    
chance of conversion4 ,why1             
,doctor1--well1 come  now1--,i'll argue 
the case with you4 ,in the first place1 
all ,church  history is against you4    
,there isn't a respectable author who   
upholds the  doctrine of modern         
miracles4    ,mistake6 he exclaimed4 ,i 
wish ,i had you in my library4 ,i could 
face  you with writer on writer1 fact on
 fact1 all supporting my views4 ,i can  
prove that miracles have not ceased for 
eighteen centuries2 that they  appeared 
abundantly in the days of the venerable 
,catholic fathers2 that  a stream of    
prophecies and healings and tongues ran 
clear through the  ,dark ,ages down to  

the ,reformation2 that the superhuman   
influence flamed  in the dreams of      
,huss1 the ecstasies of ,xavier1 and the
 marvels of ,fox  and ,usher4 ,look at  
the ,french ,prophets1 or ,tremblers of 
the ,cevennes1  who had prophesyings and
 healings and discoverings of spirits   
and  tongues and interpretations4 ,look 
at the ecstatic ,jansenists1 or         
,convulsionists of ,st4 ,mdard1 who were
 blessed with the same holy gifts4      
,look at the ,quakers1 from ,fox        
downward1 who have held it as a constant
  principle to expect powers1           
revelations1 discernings of spirits1 and
  instantaneous healings of diseases4   
,why1 here we are in our own days2  here
 we are with our chain of miracles still
 unbroken2 here we are in  the midst of 
this geological and unbelieving         
nineteenth century4    ,yes1 here we    
are1 said ,i2 and we must make the best 
of it4 ,it's a bad  affair1 of course1  
to live in scientific times2 and it's a 
great pity  that we were not born in the

 ,dark ,ages2 but it is too late to try 
to  help it4    ,ah6 you answer with a  
sneer2 you are materialistic and        
infidel4    ,stop1 ,doctor6 ,let me make
 a bargain with you4 ,if you won't call 
me  names1 ,i won't call you names4 ,you
 are not in the pulpit now1 and you     
have no right to domineer over me4      
,but what do you say to all these signs 
and wonders which ,i have  mentioned8   
,what do you say to the ,rochester      
knockings and the ,stratford mysteries  
and the ,mormon miracles8    ,all       
deceptions1 or works of the ,devil1     
affirmed the ,doctor1 without a         
moment's hesitation4    ,excuse me for  
smiling1 ,i replied ,it is pleasant to  
observe what a  quick spirit you have   
for discerning the true wonders from the
 false4    ,you will see1 you will see1 
he answered1 and relapsed into a grave  
silence4    ,we reached ,new ,haven and 
took rooms at the ,new ,haven ,hotel4 ,i
 had  anticipated a little nap before   
going out on our expedition2 but ,i had 

not made allowance for the proselyting  
zeal of ,dispensationists4 ,my poor     
bewildered friend ,potter uttered       
something which he sincerely meant to   
be a prayer1 but which sounded to me    
painfully like blasphemy4 ,next they    
sang a queer hymn of theirs in          
discordant chorus4 ,after that1 ,mr4    
,riley  rolled up his sleeves and his   
eyes1 flung his arms about1 wept and    
shrieked unknown tongues for twenty     
minutes4 ,then the butcher1 the  baker1 
and candlestick-maker had a combined    
convulsion on the floor1  rolling over  
each other and upsetting furniture4 ,by 
this time the hotel  was roused and the 
landlord made us a call4    ,what the   
,old ,harry are you about8 he demanded1 
angrily4 ,don't you  know it's after    
midnight8    ,we are holding a          
,dispensary1 said ,mr4 ,riley1 solemnly4
    ,well1 ,i'll dispense with your     
company1 if you don't stop it1 returned 
mine host4 ,there's a nervous lady in   
the next room1 and you've worried  her  

into fits4    ,let me see her1 cried the
 ,doctor1 eagerly4 ,it may be that the  
power  of our faith is upon her4 ,which 
is her door8    ,you're drunk1 ,sir1    
returned the landlord1 severely4 ,keep  
quiet now1  or ,i'll have you put to bed
 by the porters4    ,so saying1 he shut 
the door and went muttering down-stairs4
 ,this  untoward incident put an end to 
our exercises4 ,a whispered palaver on  
,dispensationism followed1 during which 
,i tilted my chair back against  the    
wall and stole a pleasant little nap4   
,it was about half past one when the    
,doctor shook me up and said1 ,it is    
time4 ,we slipped down-stairs in our    
stockinged feet1 got the front-door     
open without awakening the porter1 shut 
it carefully after us1 and put  on our  
boots outside4 ,mr4 ,riley immediately  
started up ,college ,street1  which1 as 
all the world is aware1 runs northerly  
to the ,canal ,railroad1  where it      
changes to ,prospect ,street and goes   
off in a half-wild state up  country4   

,at the end of ,college ,street we left 
the city behind us1 struck  the         
rail-track1 forsook that presently for a
 desert sort of road known  as ,canal   
,street1 and kept on in a northwesterly 
direction for half a  mile farther4 ,it 
was a dark1 cool1 and blustering night1 
such as the ,new  ,englanders are very  
apt to have on the second of ,april4    
,the wind blew  violently down the open 
country1 shaking the scattered trees as 
if  it meant to wake them instantly out 
of their winter's slumber1 and          
screeching in the murky distances like a
 tomcat of the housetops1 or  rather    
like a continent of tomcats4 ,the       
,doctor lost his hat1 chased it a  few  
rods1 and then gave it up1 lest he      
should miss his burglars4 ,once ,i      
halted and watched1 thinking that ,i saw
 two or three dark shapes dogging  us   
not far behind1 but concluded that ,i   
had been deceived by the  black-art of  
magical ,night1 and hastened on after my
 crazy comrades4  ,presently ,riley     

stopped1 pointed to a dark mass on our  
right which  seemed about large enough  
to be a story-and-a-half cottage1 and   
whispered1 ,here we are1 brethren4      
,no doubt about that1 said ,i4 ,but what
 the mischief is to come of it8    ,oh6 
let's go back and call the police1 urged
 the baker1 in a tremulous  gurgle4     
,too late6 returned ,riley4 ,it is given
 to me to see the burglars4 ,they  are  
inside4 ,they are taking the silver out 
of the closet4 ,there will be  murder in
 five minutes4    ,if there must be     
murder1 why1 of course we ought to have 
a hand in it1  ,i suggested4 ,our       
motives at least will be good4          
,right6 said ,riley4 ,come on1 brethren6
 ,we must prove our faith by our  works4
    ,but the baker hung back in a most  
dough-faced fashion1 while the butcher  
and the candlestick-maker encouraged him
 in his cowardice4 ,at last it  was     
agreed that this unheroic trio should   
wait in the yard as a reserve1  while   
,riley1 the ,doctor1 and ,i went in to  

worry the burglars4 ,leaving  the weaker
 brethren in a clump of evergreen       
shrubbery1 we1 the  forlorn-hope1 stole 
around the house to get at a back-door  
which ,prophet  ,riley had plainly seen 
in his dream1 and which he foretold us  
we should  find unlocked4 ,i was not    
much amazed to discover a back-door1    
inasmuch  as most houses have one1 but  
,i really was surprised to learn that it
 was  unfastened4 ,my astonishment at   
this circumstance1 however1 was over-   
balanced by my alarm at finding that the
 ,doctor still persisted in his         
intention of entering2 for ,i had hoped 
that at the last moment his  faith would
 give way1 and let him slide down from  
the elevation of his  ridiculous and    
reckless purpose4    ,but you are not   
really going in8 ,i whispered1 jerking  
at his  coat-tails4    ,certainly1 he   
replied4 ,the robbers are surely there4 
,the door was  unlocked4    ,mere       
carelessness of the servants4 ,stop6    
,come back6 ,nonsense6 ,madness6        

,you'll get into a scrape4 ,respectable 
family4 ,good gracious1 what a pack  of 
fools6    ,while ,i was rapidly         
muttering these observations1 he was    
pulling away  from me and stealing into 
the house after his prophet4 ,finding   
that  there was no stopping him1 ,i     
followed1 in obedience1 perhaps1 to that
  great and no doubt beneficent1 but as 
yet unexplained1 instinct which  causes 
sheep to leap after their bellwether4   
,we were in a basement1 or              
semi-subterranean story4 ,i felt the    
walls of a narrow passage on  either    
side of me1 and can swear to a kitchen  
near by1 for ,i smelt its               
cooking-range4 ,i walked on the foremost
 end of my toes1 and would have  paid   
five dollars for a pair of list         
slippers4 ,rather than take another     
such little promenade as ,i had in that 
passage1 ,i would submit to be  placed  
on the middle sleeper of a              
railroad-bridge1 with an express-train  
coming at me without a cowcatcher4      

,presently ,i overtook the ,doctor's    
coat-tails again1 and found that they   
were ascending a staircase4 ,at the  top
 of the stairs was a door1 and on the   
other side of the door was a  room1 the 
uses of which ,i won't undertake to     
swear to1 for ,i never saw  it1 although
 ,i was in it longer than ,i wanted to  
be4 ,all ,i know is  that it seemed to  
be as full of chairs1 and tables1 and   
sofas1 and  sideboards1 and stoves1 and 
crickets1 as if it had been a shop for  
second-hand furniture4 ,i was just      
rubbing my shins after an encounter     
with a remarkably solid object1 nature  
uncertain1 when somebody near me  fell  
over something with a crash and a groan4
 ,immediately somebody else  seized me  
by the cravat and began to throttle me4 
,whoever it was1 ,i  floored him with a 
right-hander1 and sent him across the   
other person1  as ,i judged by the      
combined grunt1 and the desperate1      
though dumb  struggle which followed4   
,now there were two of them down1 and   

how many  standing ,i could not guess4  
,an instant afterward1 a muffled voice1 
like  that of a man only half awake1    
shouted from a room behind me1 ,who's   
there8 ,get out6 ,i'm a-coming6 ,this   
seemed to encourage the individuals  who
 were having a rough-and-tumble on the  
carpet1 for they commenced  roaring     
simultaneously1 ,help6 murder6 thieves6 
fire6 without1 however1  relaxing       
hostilities for a moment4    ,the next  
pleasant incident was a pistol-shot1 the
 ball of which whizzed  so near my head 
that it made me dodge1 although ,i have 
not the least  notion who fired it or   
whom it was aimed at4 ,female screams   
and  masculine shouts now sounded from  
various directions4 ,thinking that  ,i  
had done all the good in my power1 ,i   
concluded to get out of this  confusion2
 but either the doorway by which we     
entered had suddenly  walled itself up1 
or else ,i had lost my reckoning2 for1  
stumble where ,i  would1 feel about as  
,i would1 ,i could not find it4 ,i did1 

indeed1 come  to an opening in the wall1
 but there was no staircase the other   
side of  it1 and it simply introduced me
 to another invisible apartment4 ,i had 
no  chance to reflect upon the matter   
and decide of my own free will whether  
,i would go in or not4 ,a sudden rush of
 fighting1 howling persons swept  me    
along1 jammed me against a pillar1      
pushed me over a table1 and forced  me  
to engage in a furious struggle1        
exceedingly awkward by reason of the    
darkness and the extraordinary amount of
 furniture4 ,a tremendous punch  in the 
side of the head upset me and made me   
lose my temper4 ,rising in a  rage1 ,i  
grappled some man1 tripped up his heels1
 got on his chest1 and  never left off  
belaboring him until ,i felt pretty sure
 that he would  keep quiet during the   
rest of the soiree4 ,i hope sincerely   
that this  suffering individual was ,mr4
 ,john ,m4 ,riley2 but1 from the        
rotundity of  stomach which ,i bestrode1
 ,i very much fear that it was the      

,doctor4    ,all this while the house   
resounded with outcries of1 ,who's      
there8  ,what's the matter8 ,father6    
,henry6 ,jenny6 ,maria6 ,thieves6       
,murder6 ,police6 and so forth4 ,of     
course ,i did not feel disposed to  tell
 who was there2 and in actual fact ,i   
could not have explained  what was the  
matter4 ,accordingly ,i left all these  
inquisitive people  unsatisfied1 and    
busied myself solely with my fallen     
antagonist4  ,quitting him at last in a 
state of quiescence1 ,i knocked over a  
person  who had been attacking me in the
 rear1 and then blundered into a        
passage1 which ,i suppose to have been  
the front-hall1 just as a light         
glimmered up in the rooms behind me4 ,it
 gives one a very odd sensation  to     
tread on a prostrate body1 not knowing  
whether it is dead or alive1  whether it
 is a man or a woman4 ,i had that       
sensation in ascending a  stairway which
 seemed to be the only egress from the  
aforesaid passage4  ,the individual made

 no movement1 and ,i did not stop to    
count his or her  pulses4 ,without      
feeling at all disposed to take my oath 
on the matter1 ,i  rather suspect that a
 negro servant-girl had fainted away    
there in the  act of trying to run off  
in her nightgown4 ,upstairs ,i tumbled1 
resolved  to get upon the roof and slide
 down the lightning-rod1 or else jump   
from  a window4 ,pushing open a door1   
which ,i fell against1 ,i found myself  
in  a pretty little bedroom lighted by a
 single candle1 articles of female      
costume banging across chairs and       
scattered over dressing-tables1 while   
on the floor1 just as she had swooned in
 her terror1 lay a blonde girl  of      
nineteen or twenty1 pale as marble1 but 
beautiful4 ,right through my  alarm     
jarred a throb of mingled self-reproach 
and pity and admiration4 ,i  tossed a   
pile of bedclothes over her1 kissed the 
long light-brown hair  which rippled on 
the straw matting1 daguerreotyped the   
face on my memory  with a glance1 blew  

out the light1 opened a window1 and     
slipped out of  it4 ,it is unpleasant to
 drop through darkness1 not knowing how 
far you  will fall1 nor whether you will
 not alight on iron pickets4            
,fortunately1  ,i came down in a fresh  
flower-bed1 with no unpleasant result1  
except a  sensation of having nearly    
bitten my tongue off4 ,i had scarcely   
steadied  myself on my feet1 when a tall
 figure made a rush from some near      
ambuscade and seized me by the collar4  
,supposing him to be one of our  reserve
 force1 ,i quietly suffered him to lead 
me forward1 and was on the  point of    
whispering my name1 when my eye caught a
 glimmer of metal1 and  ,i knew that ,i 
was in the hands of a policeman4        
,come in and help1 said ,i4 ,the house  
is full of rascals4    ,thinking me one 
of the family1 he loosed his hold on my 
broadcloth and  hurried away to the     
back-door4 ,whoever reads this story has
 already  taken it for granted that ,i  
did not follow him1 but that ,i did1 on 

the  contrary1 make for the city and    
never cease travelling until ,i had     
reached the hotel4 ,let no man reproach 
me with forsaking my friend1 the        
,doctor1 in his extremity4 ,i was       
brought up to reverence the law and to  
entertain a virtuous terror of          
policemen2 and1 besides1 what could ,i  
have effected in that horrible labyrinth
 of dark rooms and multitudinous        
furniture8 ,i rang up the porter1 went  
to bed1 and lay awake alt the rest  of  
the night1 listening for the return of  
my companions4 ,no one came3  no        
,doctor1 no ,riley1 no butcher1 no      
baker1 no candlestick-maker4 ,i was     
apparently the sole survivor of our     
little army4 ,in the morning ,i walked  
over to the police-station1 peeped      
cautiously through the grated door of  a
 long room where the night's gatherings 
are lodged1 and discovered my  five     
friends1 tattered and bruised1 but      
holding a lively ,dispensary in  one    
corner4 ,from that moment ,i despaired  

of the ,doctor and resolved to  let him 
manage his own monomania4 ,i was still  
peeping when two of the  police and a   
sly-looking man in citizen's dress came 
up and stared  boldly at the prisoners4 
,well1 ,old ,cock1 do you see your game8
 asked one of the force4    ,thaht's    
him1 returned the ,old ,cock1 speaking  
with the soft drawl of  the ,new ,york  
cockney4 ,tall fellah thah with thah    
black eye1 thaht's  a-goin' it now4     
,thundah1 what a roarah6    ,well1 what 
is he8 inquired the second of the       
,new-,haveners4    ,joseph ,hull1       
'ligious lunatic1 said the ,old ,cock4  
,was in thah  ,bloomingdale ,asylum4    
,cut off one night about foah months ago
 and stole a  suit o' clothes that      
belonged to ,john ,m4 ,riley1 with a lot
 o' money and  papahs and lettahs in    
thah pockets4 ,how'd you get hold of    
him8    ,broke into a house eout here   
last night1 related the first           
,new-,havener4 ,he and them other       
fellers1 and one more that we ha'n't    

found4 ,i was on my beat 'bout one      
o'clock1 and see 'em puttin' up         
,college ,street full chisel4 ,i thought
 they looked kinder dangerous4 ,so ,i   
called ,doolittle here1 and ,jarvis1 and
 ,jacobs1 and we after 'em4 ,chased  'em
 'bout a mild and treed 'em at ,square  
,russoll's1 way up ,canal1 eout  in the 
country4 ,three was in the yard and gin 
right up without doublin'  a fist1      
though they had their pockets chuck full
 o' little pistols4 ,we  locked 'em into
 the cellar1 and then1 went upstairs1   
where there was a  devil of a yellin'   
and fightin'4 ,hanged if ,i know what   
they come there  for4 ,they'd been      
pitchin' into one another and knockin'  
one another's  heads off1 besides       
smashin' furnichy and chimbly crockery1 
but hadn't  stole a thing4 ,the fat one 
and the long one--them two with white   
chokers--was lyin' on the floor pootty  
much used up4 ,there was another  that  
got up-stairs and jumped out a winder4  
,jarvis was outside and  collared him1  

but thought he was ,russell's           
son-in-law1--ho1 ho1 ho6--and  let him  
off1--ho1 ho1 ho6 ,tell ye1 ,jarvis     
feels thunderin' small 'bout  it4       
,ha'n't been reound this mornin'4       
,well1 ,i'll leave my warrant with your 
big-wigs1 and come after my man  when   
they've got through with him1 said the  
,new ,york detective1 turning  away4    
,fearing the return of the enlightened  
,jarvis1 ,i now left1 and1  taking the  
first train to ,troubleton1 informed    
some of the leading  ,dispensationists  
concerning their pastor's calamity4 ,by 
dint of heavy  bail and strong          
representations they saved him1 together
 with the  butcher and baker and        
candlestick-maker1 from the disgrace of 
prison and  the lunatic asylum4 ,but the
 adventure was the ruin of              
,dispensationism4  ,mr4 ,joseph ,hull   
had to give up ,mr4 ,john ,m4 ,riley's  
valuables1 and return  to his seclusion 
at ,bloomingdale4 ,deprived of the      
apostle who had set  them on fire1 and  

overwhelmed by public ridicule1 the     
,dispensationists  lost their faith1 got
 ashamed of their minister1 and turned  
him adrift4  ,he disappeared in the     
great whirl of men and other            
circumstances which  fills this         
wonderful country4 ,from time to time1  
during five years1 ,i  had made         
inquiries concerning him of             
mineralogists1 botanists1 and  other    
vagrant characters1 without getting the 
smallest hint as to his  whereabouts4   
,at last he had turned up as the private
 prophet of three  middle-aged widows4  
,jenny1 said ,i to my wife1 do you      
remember the night ,i frightened you  so
 and kissed you as you lay in a         
fainting-fit8    ,you always say you    
kissed me1 but ,i don't believe it1     
returned that  dear woman whom ,i love1 
honor1 and cherish4 ,yes1 ,i remember   
the night  well enough4    ,well1 that  
poor ,doctor ,potter1 who was my        
,mahomet on that occasion1  and led me  
to victory in your parlor1 and was the  

indirect means of my  getting my        
houri1--,i have heard from him4 ,he is  
our next neighbor4    ,mercy on us1     
,frederic6 ,i hope not6 ,what mischief  
won't he do to people  who are so handy8
    ,don't be worried1 my dear1 said ,i4
 ,i sha'n't go over to his religion     
again1--unless1 indeed1 you should      
insist upon it4 ,but here he is1 and    
still a supernaturalist4 ,i am anxious  
to know just how mad he is4 ,i  shall   
call on him in a day or two4    ,so ,i  
did4 ,one of the three widows met me    
with a tearful countenance and  told me 
that ,doctor ,potter had disappeared4   
,so he had4 ,i think that he  was       
ashamed to meet me again1 and therefore 
ran away4 ,the widows thought  not4     
,they came to the conclusion1 that1 like
 ,enoch and ,elijah before  him1 he had 
been translated4 ,they cried for him a  
good deal more than he  was worth1      
quarreled scandalously among themselves1
 sold their house at  a loss1 and       
dispersed4 ,i know nothing more of them4

 ,neither do ,i know  anything further  
of my neighbor1 the prophet4            
99       99       99       99       99  
,,the ,,pilot',s ,,story4      ,i4      
,it was a story the pilot told1 with his
 back to his hearers1--    ,keeping his 
hand on the wheel and his eye on the    
globe of the jack-staff1    ,holding the
 boat to the shore and out of the sweep 
of the current1    ,lightly turning     
aside for the heavy logs of the         
drift-wood1    ,widely shunning the     
snags that made us sardonic obeisance4  
,,ii4      ,all the soft1 damp air was  
full of delicate perfume    ,from the   
young willows in bloom on either bank of
 the river1--    ,faint1 delicious      
fragrance1 trancing the indolent senses 
,in a luxurious dream of the river and  
land of the lotus4    ,not yet out of   
the west the roses of sunset were       
withered2    ,in the deep blue above    
light clouds of gold and of crimson     
,floated in slumber serene1 and the     
restless river beneath them    ,rushed  

away to the sea with a vision of rest in
 its bosom4    ,far on the eastern shore
 lay dimly the swamps of the cypress2   
,dimly before us the islands grew from  
the river's expanses1--    ,beautiful1  
wood-grown isles1--with the gleam of the
 swart inundation    ,seen through the  
swaying boughs and slender trunks of    
their willows2    ,and on the shore     
beside its the cotton-trees rose in the 
evening1    ,phantom-like1 yearningly1  
wearily1 with the inscrutable sadness   
,of the mute races of trees4 ,while     
hoarsely the steam from her             
'scape-pipes    ,shouted1 then whispered
 a moment1 then shouted again to the    
silence1    ,trembling through all her  
frame with the mighty pulse of her      
engines1    ,slowly the boat ascended   
the swollen and broad ,mississippi1     
,bank-full1 sweeping on1 with nearing   
masses of drift-wood1    ,daintily      
breathed about with hazes of silvery    
vapor1    ,where in his arrowy flight   
the twittering swallow alighted1    ,and

 the belated blackbird paused on the way
 to its nestlings4    ,,iii4      ,it   
was the pilot's story3--,they both came 
aboard there1 at ,cairo1    ,from a ,new
 ,orleans boat1 and took passage with us
 for ,saint ,louis4    ,she was a       
beautiful woman1 with just enough blood 
from her mother1    ,darkening her eyes 
and her hair1 to make her race known to 
a trader3    ,you would have thought she
 was white4 ,the man that was with      
her1--you       see such1--    ,weakly  
good-natured and kind1 and weakly       
good-natured and vicious1    ,slender of
 body and soul1 fit neither for loving  
nor hating4    ,i was a youngster then1 
and only learning the river1--    ,not  
over-fond of the wheel4 ,i used to watch
 them at monte1    ,down in the cabin at
 night1 and learned to know all of the  
gamblers4    ,so when ,i saw this weak  
one staking his money against them1     
,betting upon the turn of the cards1 ,i 
knew what was coming3    ,they never    
left their pigeons a single feather to  

fly with4    ,next day ,i saw them      
together1--the stranger and one of the  
gamblers3    ,picturesque rascal he was1
 with long black hair and moustaches1   
,black slouch hat drawn down to his eyes
 from his villanous forehead3    ,on    
together they moved1 still earnestly    
talking in whispers1    ,on toward the  
forecastle1 where sat the woman alone by
 the gangway4    ,roused by the fall of 
feet1 she turned1 and1 beholding her    
master1    ,greeted him with a smile    
that was more like a wife's than        
another's1    ,rose to meet him fondly1 
and then1 with the dread apprehension   
,always haunting the slave1 fell her eye
 on the face of the gambler1    ,dark   
and lustful and fierce and full of      
merciless cunning4    ,something was    
spoken so low that ,i could not hear    
what the words were2    ,only the woman 
started1 and looked from one to the     
other1    ,with imploring eyes1         
bewildered hands1 and a tremor    ,all  
through her frame3 ,i saw her from where

 ,i was standing1 she shook so4         
',say6 is it so8' she cried4 ,on the    
weak1 white lips of her master    ,died 
a sickly smile1 and he said1--',louise1 
,i have sold you4'    ,god is my judge6 
,may ,i never see such a look of        
despairing1    ,desolate anguish1 as    
that which the woman cast on her master1
    ,griping her breast with her little 
hands1 as if he had stabbed her1        
,standing in silence a space1 as fixed  
as the ,indian woman1    ,carved out of 
wood1 on the pilot-house of the old     
,pocahontas6    ,then1 with a gurgling  
moan1 like the sound in the throat of   
the dying1    ,came back her voice1     
that1 rising1 fluttered1 through wild   
incoherence1    ,into a terrible shriek 
that stopped my heart while she         
answered3--    ',sold me8 sold me8      
sold----,and you promised to give me my 
freedom6--    ,promised me1 for the sake
 of our little boy in ,saint ,louis6    
,what will you say to our boy1 when he  
cries for me there in ,saint ,louis8    

,what will you say to our ,god8--,ah1   
you have been joking6 ,i see it6--      
,no8 ,god6 ,god6 ,he shall hear it1--and
 all of the angels in heaven1--    ,even
 the devils in hell6--and none will     
believe when they hear it6    ,sold     
me6'--,fell her voice with a thrilling  
wail1 and in silence    ,down she sank  
on the deck1 and covered her face with  
her fingers4    ,,iv4      ,in his story
 a moment the pilot paused1 while we    
listened    ,to the salute of a boat1   
that1 rounding the point of an island1  
,flamed toward us with fires that seemed
 to burn from the waters1--    ,stately 
and vast and swift1 and borne on the    
heart of the current4    ,then1 with the
 mighty voice of a giant challenged to  
battle1    ,rose the responsive whistle1
 and all the echoes of island1          
,swamp-land1 glade1 and brake replied   
with a myriad clamor1    ,like wild     
birds that are suddenly startled from   
slumber at midnight2    ,then were at   
peace once more1 and we heard the harsh 

cries of the       peacocks    ,perched 
on a tree by a cabin-door1 where the    
white-headed settler's    ,white-headed 
children stood to look at the boat as it
 passed them1    ,passed them so near   
that we heard their happy talk and their
 laughter4    ,softly the sunset had    
faded1 and now on the eastern horizon   
,hung1 like a tear in the sky1 the      
beautiful star of the evening4      ,v4 
,still with his back to us standing1 the
 pilot went on with his story3--        
,instantly1 all the people1 with looks  
of reproach and compassion1    ,flocked 
round the prostrate woman4 ,the children
 cried1 and their mothers    ,hugged    
them tight to their breasts2 but the    
gambler said to the       captain1--    
',put me off there at the town that lies
 round the bend of the river4    ,here1 
you6 rise at once1 and be ready now to  
go with me4'    ,roughly he seized the  
woman's arm and strove to uplift her4   
,she--she seemed not to heed him1 but   
rose like one that is dreaming1    ,slid

 from his grasp1 and fleetly mounted the
 steps of the gangway1    ,up to the    
hurricane-deck1 in silence1 without     
lamentation4    ,straight to the stern  
of the boat1 where the wheel was1 she   
ran1 and       the people    ,followed  
her fast till she turned and stood at   
bay for a moment1    ,looking them in   
the face1 and in the face of the        
gambler4    ,not one to save her1--not  
one of all the compassionate people6    
,not one to save her1 of all the pitying
 angels in heaven6    ,not one bolt of  
,god to strike him dead there before    
her6    ,wildly she waved him back1 we  
waiting in silence and horror4    ,over 
the swarthy face of the gambler a pallor
 of passion    ,passed1 like a gleam of 
lightning over the west in the          
night-time4    ,white1 she stood1 and   
mute1 till he put forth his hand to     
secure her2    ,then she turned and     
leaped1--in mid air fluttered a         
moment1--    ,down1 there1 whirling1    
fell1 like a broken-winged bird from a  

tree-top1    ,down on the cruel wheel1  
that caught her1 and hurled her1 and    
crushed her1    ,and in the foaming     
water plunged her1 and hid her forever4 
,,vi4      ,still with his back to us   
all the pilot stood1 but we heard him   
,swallowing hard1 as he pulled the      
bell-rope to stop her4 ,then1 turning1--
    ,this is the place where it         
happened1 brokenly whispered the pilot4 
,somehow1 ,i never like to go by here   
alone in the night-time4    ,darkly the 
,mississippi flowed by the town that lay
 in the starlight1    ,cheerful with    
lamps4 ,below we could hear them        
reversing the engines1    ,and the great
 boat glided up to the shore like a     
giant exhausted4    ,heavily sighed her 
pipes4 ,broad over the swamps to the    
eastward    ,shone the full moon1 and   
turned our far-trembling wake into      
silver4    ,all was serene and calm1 but
 the odorous breath of the willows      
,smote like the subtile breath of an    
infinite sorrow upon us4          ,a    

,,day ,,with ,,the ,,dead4      ,good   
morning6 said the old custodian1 as he  
stood in the door of the  lodge1        
brushing out with his knuckles the      
cobwebs of sleep entangled in  his      
eyelashes1 and ventilating the          
apartments of his fleshly tabernacle    
with prolonged oscitations4 ,you are on 
hand early this time1 a'n't  you8       
,you're the first live man ,i've seen   
since ,i got up4    ,so saying1 he      
vanished1 and reappearing in a moment   
with a huge brass  key1 entered the     
arch1 unlocked the gate which closed the
 aperture  fronting the east like the   
cover of a porthole1 and sent it with a 
heavy  push wide open4    ,wading       
through the flood of sunlight which     
poured into the  passage-way----,but    
stop6 ,i was about1--who knows8--in     
imitation of  divers admired models1 to 
tell the reader in choicest poetic      
diction how  the ,city of the ,dead1    
with its magnificent streets1 shining   
palaces1 and  lofty monuments1 burst    

upon my dazzled vision1--how ,i walked  
for half a  mile along a spacious       
avenue1 beneath an arcade of giant elms 
hung with  wreaths of mist and vocal    
with singing1 feathery fruit1--past     
marble  tombs whose yards were filled   
with bright and fragrant flowers1--     
among waving grassy knolls spread with  
the silver nets of spiders and          
sparkling dew1--through vales of cool   
twilight and ravines of sombre          
dusk1--and so on for more than a page1  
until finally1 step by step1  through   
laboriously elegant sentences1 ,i worked
 my way up to the top  of a lofty hill1 
the view from which to be graphically   
described as a  picture and a poem      
dissolved together into mingled glory   
and mirage1 and  inundating with a      
billowy sea of beauty the landscape     
below2--and then  further depicting to  
the delighted fancy of the reader1 how  
on one  side was a most remarkable      
river1--such as was never heard of      
before1  probably1--in fact1 a web of   

water framed between the hills1 its     
rushing  warp-currents1 as it rolled    
along1 woven by smoking steam-shuttles  
with  a woof of foam1--how1 at the      
entrance of a bay1 flocks of snowy      
sails1  with black1 shining beaks1 and  
sleek1 unruffled plumage1 were swimming 
out to sea1--how another river1 not     
quite so unique as the last1 was  also  
in sight1 coiling among emerald steeps  
and crags and precipices  and           
forest1--while beyond1 green woodlands1 
checkered fields1 groves1  orchards1    
villages1 hills1 farms1 and villas1 all 
glowed in an  exceedingly charming      
manner in the morning sun2--and then1   
still  further1 to say something as     
brilliant as possible about a certain   
city1 designated as the ,great          
,metropolis1--how it resembled1 perhaps1
  a ,cyclopean type-form1 with blocks of
 buildings for letters1 domes1  turrets1
 and towers for punctuation-points1     
church-spires for  interrogation and    
exclamation marks1 and squares and      

avenues for  division-spaces between the
 paragraphs1 set up and leaded with     
streets into a vast editorial page of   
original matter on ,commerce and        
,manufactures1 rolled every morning with
 the ink of toil1 and printing  before  
night an edition of results circulated  
to the remotest quarters  of the globe4 
,and the tall chimneys yonder were to be
 called--let me  see--oh1 the smoking   
cathedral-towers of the ,holy ,catholic 
,church of  ,labor1 islanding the air   
with clouds of incense more grateful to 
the  ,deity than the fume of            
priest-swung censers4 ,all this1 and    
much more of  a similar nature1         
including an eloquent address to the    
ocean hard by1  it is possible ,i was   
about to say4 ,but1 unwilling to smother
 the reader  beneath a mountain of      
rhetorical flowers1--which accident     
might happen1  should ,i resolve to be  
equal to the occasion1--,i shall contain
 myself1  and state1 in the way of a    
curt preface1 in plain prose1 and       

directly to  the point1 that ,i entered 
a remarkably large and populous         
cemetery1  no matter where1 very early  
one morning1--in fact1 you have the     
gate-keeper's word for it that ,i was   
the first person there1--that ,i        
climbed to the summit of a high hill and
 enjoyed the view of a beautiful        
landscape1 just after sunrise2 and with 
this finally said and done1 let  us     
proceed4    ,as ,i stood listening to   
the music of the sea-breeze in the      
pine-forests  below1 and watching the   
ships sinking into the ocean from view  
or  dropping through the sky into sight 
at the rim of the horizon1 and the      
clouds changing their picturesque       
sunrise-dress for a uniform of sober    
white1 forming into rank and file1      
marching and countermarching1 sending   
off scouts into the far distance and    
foraging-parties to scour the  yellow   
fields of air1 pitching their tents and 
placing sentinels on  guard around the  
camp1--amusing myself with fashioning   

quaint1 arabesque  fancies1--a sort of  
intellectual whittling-habit ,i have    
when idle1--,i  was roused from my      
reverie by the creaking of an iron gate4
    ,descending a few steps into a      
cluster of trees1 ,i saw through their  
leafy lattice-work1 in an inclosure     
ornamented with rose-bushes and  other  
flowering shrubs1 a young woman1 richly 
dressed in black1 kneeling  by the side 
of a new-made grave4 ,the mound1        
evidently covering a  full-grown person1
 was nicely laid at the top with        
carefully cut sods1  the dark edges of  
which projected a little over the       
lighter-colored  gravel that sloped     
gradually down to the greensward4 ,i was
 not long in  becoming satisfied that   
the person ,i saw was a young widow at  
the grave  of her husband1 now three or 
four weeks dead1 hither on her          
accustomed  morning visit to display her
 love and affection for his memory4     
,bowing her head1 for a few moments she 
gave way to sobs and weeping1 and  then1

 removing the cover from a little willow
 basket1 which stood by her  side1 she  
took from it handfuls of bright flowers1
 and began to adorn  the table of sods  
upon the top of the mound4    ,as ,i    
regard her thus employed1 weaving the   
tokens of her affection into  garlands1 
chaplets1 and fanciful devices1         
arranging their symbolic  characters    
into interpretable monograms and        
hieroglyphs1 matching their  colors and 
blending their hues and shades with the 
skill of an artist1  she becomes more   
and more absorbed in her work1 the tears
 disappear from  her eyes1 and the      
morning light flushes her pale and      
beautiful face4 ,is  she thinking now1  
,i wonder1 of the dead husband1 or of   
something else8  ,what has she found    
among the flowers so consoling8 ,do they
 suggest  pleasant fancies1 or recall   
the memories of happy days8 ,have they1 
perhaps1 a double meaning1--souvenirs of
 felicity as well as symbols  of sorrow8
 ,are they opiates obliterating actual  

suffering1 or prophets  uttering hopeful
 predictions8 ,or is it none of these   
things1 and does  she find her work     
pleasant only because duty makes its    
performance  cheerful labor8 ,i cannot  
say what it is1 but something has       
assuaged  her grief2 for ,i see her     
smiling now1 as she holds a rosebud in  
her  fingers1 and gazes at it           
abstractedly2 and her thoughts and      
feelings1  whatever they may be1 are    
indubitably not of a mournful           
character2--in  fact1 ,i am sure that   
she never was happier in her life than  
she is at  this moment4    ,happy1 do   
you say8    ,yes1 ,i say happy4    ,the 
nature of woman1 it is conceded by all  
men1 is a curious1  interesting1 and    
perplexing1 if not1 in respect of       
positive practical  results1 a most     
unsatisfactory study4 ,but nothing      
puzzles us so much  to comprehend as the
 fact just alluded to4 ,the tenderest   
female  constitution will sustain a     
burden of grief which would crush a     

robust  and iron-nerved man1 and drive  
him to despair and suicide4 ,a woman    
rarely succumbs to a calamity2 however  
sudden and overwhelming the  initial    
shock may be1 she revives and grows     
cheerful and happy under it  in a way   
and to a degree marvellous to behold4   
,what singular secret is  there among   
the psychological mysteries of her      
nature which is able to  account for    
this phenomenon8--,a gentle1 timid girl 
of sixteen1 whom the  sight of a spider 
or a live snake would have frightened   
into hysterics1  ,i had once an         
opportunity1 on a tour through ,italy1  
to observe1 while  she took little or no
 notice of other works of art1 would    
gaze1 as if  fascinated1 at the         
writhings of ,laocon and his sons in the
 folds and  fangs of the serpents1 at   
the sculptured death of the ,gladiator1 
and  even at the ghastly1 repulsive     
pictures of martyrdoms and barbaric     
mutilations and tortures1--the hideous  
monstrosities of a diseased and         

degraded imagination found in the       
churches and convents of ,rome1 which   
made others turn their backs with a     
shivering of the bones and a  creeping  
of the flesh4 ,on expressing surprise at
 such a singular  exhibition of taste1  
,i received this innocent1              
unpremeditated  reply3--,why1 ,i don't  
like them2 the sight of them almost     
freezes my  blood2 but--somehow ,i do   
like to look at them1 for ,i always feel
 better  after it6 ,now is there not    
involved in this artless answer a       
possible  explanation of the            
above-mentioned fact8 ,has not woman1   
hidden somewhere  among her other 7of   
course angelic7--affections1 a positive 
love of  sickness1 death1 sorrow1 and   
suffering1 which man does not possess8  
,is  not the pain they cause1 in her    
case1 qualified by actual pleasure8  ,do
 they not act as a stimulus upon her    
sensitive nervous system1 and  produce1 
somehow1 a delightfully intoxicated     
state of the feelings8  ,would not this 

explain her otherwise unaccountable     
fondness for  witnessing the execution  
of murderers1 for the horrible in novels
  and the deaths and catastrophes in the
 newspapers1 that she has a             
constitutional relish for such horrid   
things1 and that she enjoys them1  not  
because they are in se productive of    
pleasure1 but just1 as is the  case with
 her crying1 because she feels better   
after it8 ,and ,i think  it would be    
found1 if an investigation of the       
subject were instituted1  that a        
foreknowledge of this inevitable result1
 derived from intuition  or experience1 
is the agent which breaks up the clouds 
of her sorrow3  so that1 while the grief
 of a man stricken down by misfortune is
 an  equinoctial storm1 dark and dismal1
 which lasts for weeks and months1  the 
grief of woman is a succession of       
refreshing ,april showers1 each of      
brief duration1 and the spaces between  
them filled with sunshine and  rainbows4
    ,but the sweets of that widow's     

present sorrow will be soon extracted4  
,how many weeks will she find it a      
pleasure to make morning visits here    
and plait pretty flowers on the grave of
 her husband8--,the grave in the  next  
inclosure furnishes an answer to the    
question4 ,a few months ago1  it1 too1  
was tended at sunrise by just such a    
tearful woman2 but now the  wreaths of  
evergreen are yellow1 and the weeds are 
springing up among  the withered        
garlands4 ,the living partner has       
visited already the  mitigated grief    
department of the mourning store1 and   
the severed  cords of her affections    
have been spliced and made almost as    
good as  new4 ,not that ,i would not    
have it so2 not that ,i believe the     
grief of  woman to be less real and     
sincere than man's1 though it be        
enjoyed2  not that ,i would have her    
thrum a long mournful threnody on the   
harpstrings of her heart1 and waste on  
the dead1 who need them not1  affections
 which1 ,heaven knows1 the living need  

too much4    ,retracing my steps1 and   
descending the opposite slope of the    
hill1 ,i  entered a beautiful vale      
covered with stately tombs and          
containing a  little lake1 in the middle
 of which a fountain was springing high 
into  the air4 ,in a spot so much       
frequented at a later hour of the day   
only a  single human being was in       
sight1--a young man1 perhaps            
five-and-twenty  years of age1 jauntily 
dressed1 and his upper lip adorned with 
a long  moustache1 who was leaning      
lazily upon a marble balustrade1 and    
staring1  with a stupid1 vacant look1 at
 the massive monument it surrounded4 ,as
  nothing appeared at the moment more   
attractive to my eyes1 ,i fixed them    
upon him4 ,no great skill in deciphering
 human character is required to  tell   
his past or foretell his future history1
 or even to read the few  poor spent    
thoughts that flicker in his brain4 ,his
 father--some city  merchant--died last 
year1 and left him a man of leisure1    

with a fortune  on his hands to spend in
 idleness and dissipation4 ,this is the 
first  anniversary of the old           
gentleman's decease and departure to    
another and  better world1 and the      
hopeful heir of his bank-stock and      
buildings has1  as a matter of          
etiquette1 come out here from the city  
this morning to  pass an hour of solemn 
meditation--as he calls the sixty       
minutes in  which he does not smoke or  
swear--by the old man's grave4 ,i       
observe him  every moment forming a firm
 resolution to fix his feeble thoughts  
upon  sober things and his latter end1  
and breaking it the second afterwards3  
the effort is too much for the exhausted
 condition of his mind1 and  results in 
a total failure4 ,he is evidently well  
pleased that any  attention is directed 
towards him1 and fancies that ,i regard 
him as a  very dutiful son1 and his     
appearance here1 so early in the morning
  and long before breakfast1 a          
remarkable example of posthumous filial 

affection4 ,to intensify1 if possible1  
this sentiment in my breast1 he  has    
just now pulled out a white cambric     
handkerchief and pretends to be  wiping 
tears from his eyes4 ,poor fellow6 you  
have no natural talent for  the solemn  
parts in acting1 or you would know that 
the expression  which your face now     
wears is not that of sorrow1 solemnity1 
meekness1  gentleness1 humility1 or any 
other sober ,christian grace or virtue4 
,but  ,i leave you1 for ,i see something
 more attractive now4 ,stand thy hour   
out1 young man6 we shall meet again4    
,in the other world8    ,no3 to-morrow  
evening1 as ,i am taking my accustomed  
walk into the  country1 ,i shall be     
wellnigh run over by a swiftly driven   
team2 ,i shall  spring suddenly aside1  
when thou wilt pass1 ,o bogus son of    
,jehu1 with  thy dog-cart and two-forty 
span of bays1 dashing down the road1 thy
  thoughts fixed on horse-flesh instead 
of eternity1 and thy soul bounded1      
north by thy cigar1 east and west by the

 wheels thy vehicle1 and south  by the  
dumb beasts that drag thee along4       
,but1 not to introduce the reader to    
more solemn scenes of affliction and    
sorrow which are witnessed here during  
the first vigil of the day1 we  pass to 
a later hour4 ,the mourners who come    
hither in the early morning  to decorate
 the graves of the recent dead1 and to  
weep over them  undisturbed by visitors1
 have now departed4 ,the sun is already 
high1 the  dew has disappeared from the 
trees and the shrubs1 and the paths and 
walks and avenues begin to be thronged  
with loungers and sight-seers  from the 
city4    ,i had stopped at the forks of 
a lane and was hesitating which branch  
to take and what to do with myself1 when
 a tall and beautiful ,willow1  standing
 upon a knoll a few rods distant1 with  
thick drooping boughs  sweeping the     
ground on every side1 beckoned to me4   
,on approaching him1  he extended a     
branch1 shook me cordially by the hand1 
and invited me  to accept the shelter   

and hospitality of his roof4 ,the       
proposal so  generously made was at once
 accepted with profuse thanks1 and1     
parting  the boughs1 ,i entered the tent
 and threw myself upon the soft grass4  
,do you ever talk with trees8 ,it is a  
custom of mine1 and ,i usually find     
their conversation much more            
entertaining and profitable than that of
  most men ,i know4 ,good morning6 ,i   
say to an acquaintance4 ,fine day1  he  
replies2 how's business8 ,and so on for 
an hour1 over themes of  every nature1  
the current of conversation rippled with
 trite truisms1  and whirling in the    
surface-eddies of ,tupper's ,proverbial 
,philosophy4  ,but the tree takes the   
whole of the ,tupperian philosophy for  
granted at  the start1 and the truisms  
which most men utter1 and takes you for 
granted likewise1--supposing neither    
half of your eyeballs blind1  and that  
you have a soul as well as a body1--and 
enters at once into  conversation upon  
the high table-land of science1 reason1 

and poetry4  ,the entire talk of a      
fashionable tea-party1 strained from its
 lees of  scandal1 filtered through a   
sober reflection of the following       
morning1  is not equal in value to the  
quivering of a single leaf4 ,a tree will
  discourse with you upon botany1       
physiology1 music1 painting1 philosophy1
  and a dozen arts and sciences besides1
 none of which it simply chats  about1  
but all of which it is3 and if you do   
not understand its  language and        
comprehend what it tells you about them1
 so much the worse  for you2 it is not  
the fault of the tree4    ,i say1 ,i    
talk with trees for this                
reason1--because their wisdom is so     
much greater than that of my ordinary   
acquaintances1--and further1  7to put   
the major after the minor premise17     
because they are virtually  living      
beings1 endowed with instinct1 feeling1 
reason1 and display every  essential    
attribute of sentient creatures1--in    
fact1 because they have  souls as well  

as men1 only they are clothed in        
vegetable flesh4    ,that is            
transcendental moonshine1 and you don't 
believe a word of it6    ,well1 my      
friend1 allow me1 then1 to tell you1 in 
all charity and with  bowels of         
compassion1 that you hold dangerous and 
fatal views respecting  one of the      
cardinal doctrines of mythology1--yes1  
to be plain1 you are a  ,joveless       
infidel1 and in fearful danger of being 
locked out of ,elysium2  and ,i shall   
offer up a smoking sacrifice1 the next  
time ,i get a sirloin1  and pour out a  
solemn libation1 in the presence of my  
whole family  seated around the domestic
 altar early in the morning1 for your   
speedy  conversion4    ,know1 then1 ,o  
obtuse1 faithless1 and perverse skeptic1
 that these  things are so3 that ocular 
and auricular evidence1 indubitable and 
overwhelming1 exists1 that the arboreal 
and human natures are in  substance one4
 ,know that once on a time1 as ,daphne1 
the lovely daughter  of ,peneus1 was    

amusing herself with a bow and arrows in
 a forest of  ,thessaly1 she was        
surprised by a rude musician named      
,phoebus4 ,timid and  bashful1 as most  
young ladies are1 she turned and fled as
 fast as her  ,greek3 skelae could carry
 her4 ,after running1 closely pursued by
 the  eager ,delphian1 for several      
miles1 and becoming very much fatigued1 
she  felt inclined to yield3 but wishing
 to faint in a reputable manner1 she    
lifted up her hands and asked the gods  
to help her4 ,her call was heard  in a  
jiffy1 and quicker than you could say1  
,presto3 change6 she was a              
,laurel-tree1 which ,phoebus married on 
the spot4 ,this was the ,eve of the     
,laurel family1 so that all these trees 
you meet in the world at present  must  
be rational beings1 since they are the  
descendants of the beautiful  ,greek    
maiden ,daphne4 ,and to satisfy you that
 this is no foolish legend1  but1 on the
 contrary1 a well-authenticated fact1   
clinched and riveted  in the boiler-head

 of historical truth1 permit me to      
assure you1--for ,i  have seen it       
myself1--that in the ,villa ,borghese1  
near ,rome in ,italy1  is an exact      
representation of the wonderful         
incident1 cut in ,carrara  marble1--the 
bark of the ,laurel growing over the    
vanishing girl1 and her  hands and      
fingers sprouting into branches and     
leaves1--supposed to  have been copied  
from a photograph taken on the          
spot1--for there is a  photograph in    
existence exactly like the marble       
statue4    ,we know positively--for we  
have an equally minute account of the   
transaction--that the ,cypress          
originated in a similar way4 ,and is it 
not reasonable to infer1 therefore1     
though we may not find the facts  stated
 in every case1 that all trees were     
created out of men and  women1 their    
bodies being miraculously clothed in    
woody tissue8 ,in the  time of ,virgil  
this was certainly the established      
orthodox belief2 for  he relates an     

anecdote1 expressing no doubt whatever  
of its truth1 of a  party of travellers 
who commenced one day in a forest the   
indiscriminate  destruction of some     
young trees1 when their roots forthwith 
began  to bleed1 and voices proceeded   
from them1 begging to be spared from    
laceration4 ,and1 in fact1 hundreds of  
instances1 similarly weighty as         
evidence1 from equally veracious and    
trustworthy classic authors1 might  be  
cited to the point1 did time and space  
permit4 ,but we hasten to the  other    
proof of their essential humanity1 which
 ,i set out with assuming  as an        
undoubted fact1 and which is already    
foreshadowed in the adventure  of the   
,trojan wanderers just related1--namely1
 that they possess the  faculty of      
speech4    ,tasso1 the author of a      
well-known metrical history1 states     
distinctly1  as you shall see in half a 
moment1 that a tree upon one occasion   
discoursed with ,major ,general         
,tancred1--      ,pur tragge alfin la   

spada e con gran forza    ,percuote l'  
alta pianta4 ,oh1 maraviglia6           
----quasi di tomba1 uscir ne sente      
,un indistinto gemito dolente1    ,che  
poi distinto in voci4    ,and then it   
goes on to tell the ,general how it once
 rejoiced in  extensive hoops1 wore a   
coal-scuttle on its head1 and rubbed its
 face  with prepared chalk1--7w-w-w-hy6 
what was ,i saying8 such a mistake6 ,i  
should say7--was a woman by the name of 
,clorinda1 and is still animated  and   
sentient both in trunk and limbs1 and   
that he will presently be  guilty of    
murder1 if he continues to hack her with
 his sword4    ,the celebrated explorer1
 ,sir ,john ,mandeville1 relates in the 
history  of his discoveries that he     
heard whole groves of trees talking to  
one  another4 ,and when we come down to 
the present day1 ,r4,w4 ,emerson1 of    
,concord1 asseverates that trees have   
conversed with him1--that they  speak   
,italian1 ,english1 ,german1 ,basque1   
,castilian1 and several other  languages

 perfectly1--      ,mountain speech to  
,highlanders1    ,ocean tongues to      
islanders1--    and that he himself was 
on one occasion transformed into a ,pine
 7,pinus  rigida7 and talked quite a    
large volume of philosophy while in that
  condition4 ,walter ,whitman1 ,esq41   
author of ,leaves of ,grass1 relates    
similar personal experience4 ,tennyson1 
7,alfred17 now the ,laureate of         
,england1 and upon whom the ,university 
of ,oxford1 a few years ago1  conferred 
the title of ,doctor of ,laws1 gives us 
a long conversation he  once held with  
an ,oak1 reporting the exact words it   
said to him3 they  are excellent        
,english1 and corroborate what ,i said  
above respecting the  wisdom of trees4  
,if all this evidence1 and ,i might add 
much more equally conclusive1 did  ,i   
think it necessary1 does not1 ,o        
skeptic1 convince you of the humanity   
of trees1 why1 let me say that you hold 
for true a hundred things not  based    
upon half so good testimony as          

this1--that ,i have seen juries         
persuaded of facts1 and bring in        
verdicts in accordance with them1 not   
nearly so well authenticated as         
these1--and that ,i have heard clergymen
  preach sermons two hours long1        
constructed out of arguments which they 
positively persisted you should regard  
as decisive1 that were1 to say  the     
least1 no better than those here        
advanced4 ,and now1 if these  things be 
so1 in the words of the great ,grecian1 
,john ,p41 what are you  going to do    
about it8    ,trees1 like animals1 are  
righteously sacrificed only when        
required to  supply our wants4 ,a man   
does not go out into the fields and     
mutilate or  destroy his horses and     
oxen3 let him treat the oaks and the    
elms with  the same humanity4 ,i would  
that enough of the old mythology to     
which ,i  have alluded1 and which our   
fathers called religion1 still lived    
among  us to awaken a virtuous          
indignation in our breasts when we      

witnessed the  wanton destruction of    
trees4 ,i once remonstrated with a cruel
 wretch  whom ,i saw engaged in taking  
the life of some beautiful elms         
inhabiting  a piece of pasture-land4 ,he
 replied1 that in the hot days of summer
 the  cattle did nothing but lie under  
them and chew their cud1 when they      
should be at work feeding on the        
grass1--that his oxen did not get fat   
fast enough1 nor his cows give as much  
milk as they should give1--and  so1 said
 he1 ,i'm goin' to fix 'em1--and down   
came every one of the  hospitable old   
trees4 ,we are not half so humane in our
 conduct towards  the inferior races and
 tribes as the old ,romans whom we      
calumniate with  the epithet of ,pagans4
 ,the ,roman ,senate degraded one of its
 members for  putting to death a bird   
that had taken refuge in his bosom3     
would not  the ,senate of the ,united   
,states look pretty1 undertaking such a 
thing8  ,a complete ,christian believes 
not only in the dogmas of the ,bible1   

but  also in the mythology1 or religion 
of ,nature1 which teaches us1 no  less  
than it taught our fathers1 to regard   
wanton cruelty towards any  vegetable or
 animal creature which lives in the     
breath and smile of the  ,creator1 as a 
sin against ,heaven4    ,having in the  
above paragraph got into the parson's   
private preserve1  as ,i shall be liable
 anyhow to an action for trespass1 ,i am
 tempted to  commit the additional      
transgression of poaching1 and to give  
you a  few extracts from a sermon a     
friend of mine once delivered4 ,it was  
addressed to a small congregation of    
,monothelites in a village out  ,west1  
just after the annual spring freshet1   
when half the inhabitants  of the place 
were down with the chills and fever4 ,it
 was his maiden  effort1--he having just
 left the ,seminary1--and did not take  
at  all1 as he learned the next day1    
when ,deacon ,jenners 7the pious        
philanthropist of the place7 called to  
tell him that his style of  preaching   

would never do1 that his thoughts were  
altogether of too  worldly a nature1 and
 his language1 decidedly unfit for the  
sacred  desk4 ,besides1--though he would
 not assume the responsibility  of      
deciding that point before he had       
consulted with the ,standing            
,committee1--he did not think his       
sentiments exactly orthodox4 ,my friend 
was disgusted on the spot1 and1 being   
seized with a chill shortly  afterwards1
 concluded not to accept the call1 and1 
packing his  trunk1 started in quest of 
a healthier locality and a more         
enlightened  congregation4    ,and here 
permit me to add a word or two for the  
purpose of correcting a  very prevalent 
error4    ,most men1 ,i find1 suppose   
that this earth belongs to them1--to the
  human race alone4 ,it does not1--no   
more than the ,united ,states belong to 
,rhode ,island4 ,human life is not a    
ten-thousand-millionth of the life on   
the planet1 nor the race of men more    
than an infinitesimal fraction of  the  

creatures which it nourishes4 ,a swarm  
of summer flies on a field of  clover1  
or the grasshoppers in a patch of       
stubble1 outnumber the men  that have   
lived since ,adam4 ,and yet we assume   
the dignity of lords and  masters of the
 globe6 ,is not this a flagrant delusion
 of self-conceit8  ,let a pack of hungry
 wolves surround you here in the forest1
 and who is  master8 ,let a cloud of    
locusts descend upon a hundred square   
miles  of this territory1 and what means
 do you possess to arrest their         
ravages8444    ,as a matter of fact1    
then1 we do not own the world4 ,and now 
let  me say1 that1 as a matter of right1
 we ought not3 man was the last  created
 of creatures4 ,when our race appeared  
on the earth1 it had been  for millions 
of years in quiet1 exclusive1 undisputed
 possession of the  birds1 beasts1      
fishes1 and insects3 it was their world 
then1 and we  were intruders and        
trespassers upon their domain4444       
,if1 then1 the other races have a right 

to exist on the planet as much  as we1  
what follows8 ,surely1 that they have a 
right to their share and  proportion of 
the ground and its fruits1 and the      
blessings of ,heaven by  which life here
 is sustained3 man has no right to      
expect a monopoly of  them4 ,if we get a
 week of sunshine which supplies our    
wants1 we have no  reason to complain of
 the succeeding week of rain which      
supplies the  wants of other races4 ,if 
we raise a crop of wheat1 and the insect
  foragers take tithes of it1 we have no
 right to find fault3 a share of  it    
belongs to them4 ,if you plant a field  
with corn1 and the weeds spring  up also
 along with it1 why do you complain8    
,have not the weeds as much  right there
 as the corn8 ,if you encamp in one of  
the numberless swamps  which surround   
this settlement1 and get assailed by    
countless millions  of robust           
mosquitoes1 why do you rave and swear   
7as ,i know most of you  would do under 
such circumstances7 and want to know    

'what in the ----  mosquitoes were made 
for'8 ,why1 to puncture the skin of     
blockheads and  blasphemers like you1   
and suck the last drop of blood from    
their veins4  ,why1 let me ask you1 did 
you go out there8 ,that place belonged  
to the  mosquitoes1 not to you2 and you 
knew you were trespassing upon their    
land4 ,the mosquitoes exist for         
themselves1 and were created for the    
enjoyment of their own mosquito-life4   
,why was man created8 ,the ,bible  does 
not answer the question directly2 the   
divines in the ,catechism say1  ',to    
glorify ,god4' ,now ,i should like to   
know if a ,westminster ,catechism  of   
the mosquitoes would'nt make as good an 
answer for them8    ,and here ,i am just
 in the act of annihilating with a      
logical stroke  a multitude of grumblers
 and croakers4 ,if this world does not  
belong  exclusively to man1 and the     
other races have as much right here as  
he1  and1 consequently1 a claim to their
 proportion of land1 water1 and sky1    

and their share of food for the         
sustenance of life1 what follows8    ,a 
great many men1 taking northeast storms1
 bleak winds1  thunder-showers1 flies1  
mosquitoes1 ,canada thistles1 hot       
sunshine1 cold  snows1 weeds1 briers1   
thorns1 wild beasts1 snakes1 alligators1
 and such  like things1 which they don't
 happen to like1 and putting them all   
together1 attempt to persuade you that  
this green earth is a complete  failure1
 a wreck and blasted ruin4 ,don't you   
believe that1 for it's  wicked          
infidelity4 ,i tell you the world is not
 all so bad as ,indiana1  and especially
 that part of the ,state which you1     
unfortunately1 inhabit4  ,i have seen1  
my friends1 a large portion of the      
planet1 and if there is  another spot   
anywhere quite so infernal as           
,wabashville1 why1 ,i solemnly  assure  
you ,i never found it4--,and now for the
 point which shall prick  your          
conscience and penetrate your           
understanding6 ,do the bears and        

wolves1 the coons and foxes1 the owls   
and wild-geese1 find this region        
unhealthy1 and get the chills and fever1
 and go around grumbling and  cursing8  
,don't they find this climate especially
 salubrious and suited  exactly to their
 constitutions8 ,well1 then1 that's     
because they belong  here1 and you      
don't4 ,this region was never intended  
for the habitation  of man3 it belongs  
exclusively to the wild beasts and the  
fowls of the  air1 and you have no      
business here4 ,manifest signs of       
disapprobation  on part of ,deacon      
,taylor1 an extensive owner of          
town-lots4 ,and if you  persist in      
remaining here1 what moral right have   
you to complain of  ,god8444            
,remember1 then1 in conclusion1 that1   
for millions of years before our  race  
existed1 mosquitoes1 weeds1 briers1     
thorns1 thistles1 snow-storms1  and     
northeast winds prevailed upon this     
planet1 and that during all this  time  
it was pronounced by the ,deity himself 

to be 'very good4' ,if1  then1 the earth
 appears to be evil1 is it not because  
'thine eye is  evil'8 ,we share this    
world1 my friends1 with other races1    
whose wants  are different from ours2   
and we are all of equal importance in   
the eyes  of our ,maker1 who distributes
 to each its share of blessings--man and
  monster both alike--with impartial    
favor4 ,is not thus the fallacy of the  
corruption of ,nature exposed1 and the  
lie against our ,creator's wisdom1      
love1 and goodness dragged into noonday 
light8           99       99       99   
99       99    ,but it is time to       
recommence our rambles through the ,city
 of the ,dead4    ,right here ,i come   
across on a tombstone1--,all our        
children4 ,emma1 aged  #a mo4 #bc days4 
,john1 #c years #e days4 ,anna1 aged #a 
year #a mo4 ,as a  physiologist1 ,i     
might make some very instructive        
comments upon this2 but  ,i forbear4    
,and here1 upon another1 a few rods     
farther on1 is an epitaph in verse3--   

7,,first ,,verse47      ,calm be her    
slumbers near kindred are sighing1    ,a
 husband deplores in deep anguish of    
heart1    ,beneath the cold earth       
unconsciously lying1    ,no murmur can  
reach her1 no tempest can start4        
7,,second ,,verse47      ,calm be her   
sleep as the silence of even    ,when   
hearts unto deep invocation give birth4 
,with a prayer she has knelt at the     
portal of heaven    ,and found the      
admission she hoped for on earth4       
,not to speak of the poetry just here1  
how charmingly consistent with  each    
other are the ideas contained in the    
passages ,i have italicized6 ,in  the   
first verse1 you observe1 the inmate is 
sleeping unconscious beneath  the       
ground3 in the second verse1 she has    
ascended to heaven and  found admittance
 to mansions in the skies6--,a similar  
confusion and  contradiction of ideas   
occur in most of the epitaphs ,i see4   
,does our  theology furnish us with no  
clear conception of the state of the    

soul  after death8 ,the ,catholic       
,church teaches that the spirit at death
  descends into the interior of the     
earth to a place called ,hades1 where   
it is detained until the day of         
judgment1 when it is reunited with the  
dust of the body1 and ascends to a      
heaven in the sky4 ,this doctrine  has  
the merit of being positive1 clear1 and 
comprehensible1 and1  consequently1     
whenever expressed1 it always means     
something exact and  well-defined4 ,has 
the ,protestant ,church equally definite
 notions on the  subject1 or1 in fact1  
any fixed opinions respecting it        
whatever8 ,if not1  why1 as a matter of 
good taste1 for no weightier reason1 in 
records  almost imperishable like these1
 leave the matter alone6 ,silence  is   
better than nonsense4 ,suppose a few    
thousand years hence our  civilization  
to have become extinct1 and that some   
antiquary from the  antipodes should    
visit this desolate hill to excavate1   
like ,layard at  ,nineveh1 for relics of

 the old ,americans4 ,suppose1 having   
collected a  ship-load of broken        
tombstones1 he should forward them to   
the ,polynesian  ,museum1 and set the   
savans of the age at work deciphering   
their  inscriptions1 what sense would be
 made out of these epitaphs8 ,how would 
they interpret our notions of a future  
state8 ,taking our own monuments1  cut  
with our own hands1 inscribed with our  
own signs-manual1 what would  they infer
 our system of religion to have been8   
,if the ,egyptians were as  vague and   
careless as we in this matter1 our      
archaeologists must have  made some     
amusing blunders4    ,here are two      
epitaphs which suggest something else3--
      ,no4 ,i4      ,i loved him in his 
beauty1    ,a mother boy while here1    
,i knew he was an angel bright          
,formed for another sphere4      ,no4   
,,ii4      ,farewell my wife and        
children dear    ,god calls you home to 
rest4    ,still ,angels wisper in my ear
    ,we'll meet in heavenly bliss4    ,i

 want to make two annotations upon      
these4 ,in ,no4 #a you will notice that 
a possessive 's is wanting1 and in ,no4 
#b that the h is omitted from  whisper4 
,a marble-cutter told me once1 that a   
,pennsylvania ,dutchman  came to him one
 day to have an inscription cut upon a  
gravestone for his  daughter1 whose name
 was ,fanny4 ,the father1 upon learning 
that the price  of the inscription would
 be ten cents a letter1 insisted that   
,fanny  should be spelt with one n1 as  
he should thereby save a dime6 ,the     
marble-cutter1 unable to overcome the   
obstinacy of the frugal ,teuton1  and   
unwilling to set up such a monument of  
his ignorance of spelling1  compromised 
the matter by conforming to the current 
orthography1 and  inserted the          
superfluous consonant for nothing4 ,and 
my second annotation  shall consist of  
an inquiry3 ,what is there in corrupt   
and diseased human  nature which makes  
persons prefer such execrable rhyme as  
that quoted  above1 and that which ,i   

find upon two-thirds of the tombstones  
here1 to  decent ,english prose1 which  
one would suppose might have been       
produced  at a much less expenditure of 
intellectual effort8 ,but since it is an
  unquestionable fact that we are thus  
totally depraved in taste and  feeling1 
why don't some of our bards1 to whom the
 ,muse has not been  propitious in other
 departments of metrical composition1   
and who1 to be  blunt1 are good for     
nothing else1 such as ----1 or ----1 and
 many  others you know1 come out here   
among the marble-cutters and open an    
epitaph-shop8 ,mournful stanzas might   
then be procured of every size  and     
pattern1 composed with decent reverence 
for the rules of grammar1  respect for  
the feet and limbs of the linear        
members1 and possibly some  regard for  
consistency in the ideas they might     
chance occasionally to  express4 ,genin 
the hatter1 and ,cockroach ,lyon1 each  
keeps a poet4 ,why  cannot the          
marble-cutters procure some of the      

,heliconian fraternity as  partners8    
,bards would thus serve the cause of    
education1 benefit future  antiquaries1 
and earn more hard dimes ten times over 
than they do in  writing lines for the  
blank corners of newspapers and the     
waste spaces  between articles in       
magazines4 ,i throw this hint out of the
 window of  the ,atlantic1 in the       
fervent hope that it will be seen1      
picked up1  and pocketed by some        
reformer who is now out of business2 and
 ,i would  earnestly urge such          
individual to agitate the question with 
all his  might1 and wake up the         
community to the vital importance1 by   
making use  of poetic fire and inspired 
frenzy now going to waste1 or some other
  instrumentality1 of a reformation in  
epitaphic necrology4    ,seriously1     
modern epitaphs are a burlesque upon    
religion1 a caricature  of all things   
holy1 divine1 and beautiful1 and an     
outrage upon the  common sense and      
culture of the community4 ,a collection 

of comic  churchyard poetry might be    
made in this place which would eclipse  
the  productions of ,mr4 ,k4,n4 ,pepper1
 and cause a greater army of readers to 
explode than his ,noad to a ,whealbarrer
 or the ,grek ,slaiv has done4          
99       99       99       99       99  
,during our rambles among the tombstones
 the sun has long since passed  the     
meridian1 and the streets and avenues of
 the cemetery are crowded  with         
carriages and thronged with pedestrians1
 the tramping of horses'  feet1 the     
rumbling of wheels1 and the voices of   
men fill the air1 and  the place which  
was so silent and deserted this morning 
is now as noisy  and bustling as the    
metropolis yonder4 ,and soon begin to   
arrive thick  and fast the funeral      
trains4 ,many of the black-plumed       
hearses are  followed by only a single  
hired coach or omnibus1 others by long  
trails  of splendid equipages4 ,upon the
 broad slope of a hill1 whither the     
greater number of the processions move1 

entirely destitute of trees  and flooded
 with sunshine1 many thousand graves1   
mostly unmarked by  headstones1 lie     
close together1 resembling in appearance
 a corn-field  which has been permitted 
to run to grass unploughed4 ,standing   
upon an  elevated point near the summit1
 and looking down those acres of        
hillocks  to where the busy laborers are
 engaged in putting bodies into the     
ground1 covering them with earth1 and   
rounding the soil over them1 one  is    
perhaps struck for the first time with  
the full force1 meaning1  and beauty of 
the language of ,paul in his first      
letter to the  ,corinthians3--,that     
which thou sowest is not that body which
 shall be1  but bare grain4 ,it the     
human body is sown in corruption1 is    
sown in  dishonor1 is sown in weakness4 
,it is sown a natural body2 it is raised
  or springs up1 to complete the figure 
a spiritual body4 ,flesh  and blood     
cannot inherit the kingdom of           
heaven4--,i once heard a  distinguished 

botanist dispute the accuracy of this   
simile1 inasmuch1 he  said1 as the seed1
 when it is sown in the ground1 does not
 die1 but in  fact then first begins to 
live and to display the vital force     
which  was previously asleep in it2     
while the human body decays and is      
resolved  into its primitive gaseous1   
mineral1 and vegetable elements1 the    
particles of which1 disseminated        
everywhere1 and transferred through     
chemical affinities into other and new  
organisms1 lose all traces of  their    
former connection4--,in answer to such a
 finical criticism as this1  intended to
 invalidate the authority of the great  
,apostolic ,theologian1  ,i replied1    
that ,paul was not an inspired          
botanist1--in fact1 that  he probably   
knew nothing whatever about botany as a 
science1--but an  inspired religious    
teacher1 who employed the language of   
his people and  the measure of knowledge
 to which his age had attained1 to      
expound to  his contemporaries the      

principles of his ,master's religion4 ,i
 am not  familiar with the nicer points 
of strict theological orthodoxy1 but1   
from modern sermons and commentaries1 ,i
 should infer that few doctors  of even 
the most straitest school of divinity   
hold to the doctrine of  verbal         
inspiration4 ,that the ,prophets and    
,apostles were acquainted with  botany1 
chemistry1 geology1 or any other modern 
science1 is a notion  as unfounded in   
truth as it is hostile and foreign to   
the object and  purpose of ,revelation1 
which is strictly confined to religion  
and  ethics4 ,those persons1 therefore1 
7and they are a numerous class17 who    
resort to the ,bible1 assuming that it  
professes to be an inspired manual  of  
universal knowledge1 and then1 because  
they find in its figurative  ,oriental  
phraseology1 or in its metaphors and    
illustrations1 some  inaccuracies of    
expression or misstatements of          
scientific facts1 would  throw discredit
 upon the essential religious dogmas and

 doctrines which  it is its object to   
state and unfold1 are1 to say the least1
 extremely  disingenuous1 if not        
deficient in understanding4    ,but a   
much more prolific source of injury to  
the character of the ,bible  than that  
just mentioned is the injudicious and   
impertinent labors of  many who         
volunteer in its defence4 ,oh1 save me  
from my friends6 might  the ,prophets   
and ,apostles1 each and all1 too often  
exclaim of their  supporters4--,it is   
said that all men are insane upon some  
point3 so are  classes and communities4 
,the popular monomania which at present 
prevails  among a class of persons whose
 zeal surpasses their prudence and      
knowledge is a foolish fear and         
trembling lest the tendencies of science
  should result in the overthrow of the 
,bible4 ,they seem1 somehow1 to be      
fully persuaded that the inspired word  
of ,god has no inherent power to  stand 
alone1--that it has fallen among thieves
 and robbers1--is being  pelted with    

fossil coprolites1 suffocated with      
fire-mist and primitive  gases1 or      
beaten over the head with the           
shank-bones of ,silurian  monsters1 and 
is bawling aloud for assistance4        
,therefore1 not stopping  to dress1 they
 dash out into the public notice without
 hat or coat1 in  such unclothed        
intellectual condition as they happen to
 be in1--in their  shirt1 or stark naked
 often1--and rush frantically to its    
aid4    ,the most melancholy case of    
this intellectual delirium tremens  that
 probably ever came under the notice of 
any reader is found in a  professed     
apology for the ,scriptures1 recently   
published1 under  the pompous and       
bombastic title of ,,cosmogony1 ,,or    
,,the ,,mysteries ,,of  ,,creation4--,a 
volume of such puerile trash1 such      
rubbish1 twaddle1  balderdash1 and crazy
 drivelling,a as this1 was never before 
vomited  from the press of any land1 and
 beside it the ,,revelations of ,andrew 
,jackson ,davis1 the ,poughkeepsie      

,seer1 rises to the lofty grandeur of   
the ,novum ,organon1--a sight that makes
 one who really respects the  ,bible    
hang his head for shame4    ,footnote   
,a3 ,as the reader may never have seen  
this unique volume1 and  will be amused 
by a specimen of its grammar1 rhetoric1 
wisdom1 and  learning1 let him take a   
morceau or two from the commencement of 
a chapter entitled1                     
,naturalists4--,their ,classification of
 ,man and  ,beasts4--,we look upon the  
animal in no different light from that  
of  a vegetable1 a plant1 or a          
rock-crystal1 which forms under the     
,creative  hand1 performs its part for  
the use of man1 dissolves and reproduces
 by  its parts another comfort for him4 
,the animal bears no resemblance to     
man1 not even in his brain4--,one tree  
may bear apples1 and another  acorns1   
but they are not to be compared1 the one
 as bearing a relation  to the other1   
because they have each a body and limbs4
 ,they are distinct  trees1 and one will

 always produce apples and the other    
acorns1 as long  as they produce        
anything4 7,indeed67--,the usual        
classification of  animals1 is that of  
,vertebrata1 ,articulata1 ,mollusca1 and
 ,radiata4  ,this is not only offensive 
to man1--but is impiety towards ,god4   
7,why87--,we are told by these          
naturalists that man belongs to the     
class  called ',vertebrata4' ,so does   
the snake1 the monkey1 the lizard and   
crocodile1 and many other low and mean  
animals4--,have these creatures  the    
reasoning faculties of man8 ,do they    
walk erect like man8 ,have they  feet1  
hands1 legs1 arms1 hair upon their      
heads1 or beards upon their  faces8 ,do 
they speak languages and congregate and 
worship at the  altar8 7667--,those who 
are ambitious of such relations1 may    
plant  their heraldic coat-of-arms in   
the serpent1 the lizard1 the crocodile1 
or the monkey1 but we disclaim such     
relationship--we do not think it  good  
taste or good morals to place the fair  

daughters of ,eve on  a level with      
horrid and hideous animals1 simply from 
some apparent  similarity1 which we are 
certain never existed4    ,the          
belligerent pundit who has flung in the 
face of peaceful geologists  this octavo
 camouflet of his scientific            
lucubrations professes to  have scoured 
the surface and ravaged the bottom 7in a
 suit of patent  sub-marine ,scriptural 
armor7 of a no less abysmal subject than
 the  cryptology of ,genesis1--to have  
undermined with his sapping intellect   
and blown up with his explosive wisdom  
the walled secrets of time and          
eternity1 carrying away with him in the 
shape of plunder a whole cargo  of the  
plans and purposes of the ,omnipotent in
 the ,creation4 ,i have not  the least  
doubt1 if he were respectfully          
approached and interrogated  upon the   
subject1 he would answer with the       
greatest ease and accuracy  the famous  
question with which ,dean ,swift posed  
the theological tailor4  ,the man who   

can tell us all about the institution of
 the law of gravity1  how the inspired  
prophet thought and felt while writing  
his history1 and  who knows everything  
respecting affinity and attraction when 
they  were in ,creation's womb1 could   
not hesitate a moment to measure an     
arch-angel for a pair of breeches4--,but
 ,i was talking of funerals4            
99       99       99       99       99  
,a friend once assured me that the      
heartiest laugh of which he was ever    
guilty on a solemn occasion occurred at 
a funeral4 ,a trusty ,irish  servant1   
who had lived with him for many years1  
and for whom he had  great affection1   
died suddenly at his house4 ,as he was  
attending the  funeral in the ,catholic 
burial-place1 and stood with his wife   
and  children listening to the service  
which the priest was reading1 his  heart
 filled with grief and his eyes moist   
with tears1 the inscription  on a       
gravestone just before him happened to  
attract his attention4 ,it  was         

this3--,gloria in ,excelsis ,deo6       
,patrick ,donahoe died ,july #ab4       
#ah--4 ,now the exclamation-point after 
,deo and the statement of  the fact of  
,mr4 ,d4's demise following immediately 
thereafter made the  epitaph to read1   
,glory to ,god in the highest6 ,patrick 
is dead4 ,this1  which at another time  
would perhaps have caused no more than a
 smile1  struck him as irresistibly     
funny1 and drove in a moment every trace
  of sadness from his face and sorrow   
from his heart1--to give place to       
violent emotions of another nature1     
which his utmost exertions could not    
conceal4    ,i beg your pardon6 ,i've   
been afloat1 was the graceful           
parenthetical  apology which a          
distinguished naval officer used to     
make1 when by  mistake he let drop one  
of those big words which lie at the     
bottom of  the best man's vocabulary1 in
 conversation with sensitive persons    
whose  ears he feared it might offend4  
,i ought possibly1 at the end of the    

following anecdote1 to make some such   
excuse to the scrupulous reader1  whose 
notions of propriety it will perhaps    
slightly infringe3 ,i beg  your pardon6 
,i couldn't help telling it4    ,an     
eminent divine once described to me a   
scene he witnessed at a  funeral1 which 
he said nearly caused him to expire     
with--well1 you shall  see4 ,an intimate
 acquaintance of his1 who belonged to a 
neighboring  parish1 having died1 he was
 naturally induced to assist at the     
burial-service4 ,the rector of this     
parish was a man who1 though  sensitive 
in the extreme to the absurdities of    
others1--being1 in fact1  a regular son 
of ,momus1--was entirely unconscious of 
his own amusing  eccentricities4 ,among 
these1 numerous and singular1 he had the
 habit  of suddenly stopping in the     
middle of a sentence1 while preaching1  
and  calling out to the sexton1 across  
the church1 ,dooke1 turn on more gas6   
or ,dooke1 shut that window6 or ,dooke1 
do--something else which  was pretty    

sure to be wanting itself done during   
the delivery of his  discourse4 ,nearly 
every ,sunday1 strangers not acquainted 
with his ways  were startled out of     
their propriety by some such unexpected 
behavior4    ,on the occasion referred  
to1 the funeral procession having       
entered the  churchyard1 and my         
informant and the officiating clergyman 
having taken  their places at the head  
of the grave1 the undertaker and his    
assistants  having removed the coffin   
from the hearse1 and the mourners1 of   
whom  there was a large crowd1 having   
gathered into a circular audience1 the  
,reverend ,doctor ---- began the        
service4    ',man that is born of a     
woman'--,oh1 stop those carriages6 don't
 you see  where they are going to8 7he  
suddenly broke out1 rushing from the    
place  where he stood1 frantically1     
among the bystanders2 and then returning
 to  his former position1               
continued17--'hath but a short time to  
live1 and  is full of misery4 ,he cometh

 up'--,oh1 don't let that coffin down   
yet6 wait till ,i tell you to1          
7addressed to the undertaker1 who was   
anticipating the proper place in the    
service17--'and is cut down like a      
flower2 he fleeth as it were a          
shadow1'--,please to hold the umbrella  
a little further over my head1 7sotto   
voce to the man who was  endeavoring to 
protect his head from the sun17-'and    
never continueth in  one stay4'--,hold  
the umbrella a little higher1 will you8 
7sotto voce  again to the man holding   
the umbrella47--',in the midst of life  
we are  in death4'--,stand down from    
there1 boys1 and be quiet6 7addressed to
  some urchins who were crowding and    
pushing one another about the grave1  in
 their efforts to look at the coffin47  
,at length he had proceeded  without    
further interruptions as far as the     
sentence1 ',we therefore  commit his    
body to the ground2 earth to earth1     
ashes to ashes1 dust to  dust1'--when   
,dooke1 the sexton1--a queer1 impetuous 

fellow1--who was  vainly endeavoring to 
keep the boys away from the edge of the 
grave1  seized suddenly the rope with   
which the coffin had just been lowered  
down1 and1 stooping forward1 laid it    
like a whip-lash1 cut6 across the  shins
 of a dozen youngsters1 making them leap
 with ,oh6 oh6 oh6 a  foot from the     
ground1 and scatter in short            
order1--'looking for  the'--7turning to 
my friend1 as he witnessed the          
successful exploit of  his favorite     
sexton1 and whispering in his ear17     
,dooke made 'em hop  that time1 didn't  
he6--'general resurrection in the last  
day1 and the  life of the world to      
come4'    ,dooke's mode of dispersing   
the boys1 and the officiating           
clergyman's  comment upon it1           
parenthesized into the middle of the    
most solemn  sentence of the            
burial-service1 were too much for the   
usual stern  gravity of my clerical     
friend1 and1 under pretence of shedding 
tears1 he  buried his face in his       

handkerchief and his handkerchief in his
 hat and  shook with laughter4          
,speaking of funerals reminds me of a   
congenial subject4--,nothing in ,new    
,york astonishes visitors from the      
country so much as the magnificent      
coffin-shops1 rivalling1 in the         
ostentatious and tempting display of    
their wares1 the most elegant stores on 
,broadway4 ,model coffins1 of the       
latest style and pattern1 are set up on 
end in long rows and protected  by      
splendid show-cases1 with the lids      
removed to exhibit their rich  satin    
lining4 ,fancy coffins1 decorated with  
glittering ornaments1 are  placed       
seductively in bright plate-glass       
windows1 and put out for  baiting       
advertisements upon the side-walks3 as  
much as to say1 ,walk in1  walk in1     
ladies and gentlemen6 ,now's your       
chance6 here's your fine1 nice          
coffins6--while in ornamental letters   
upon extensive placards hung  about the 
doors1 ,,iron ,,coffins1 ,,rosewood     

,,coffins1 ,,air-,,tight  ,,coffins1    
,,mahogany ,,coffins1 ,,patent          
,,sarcophagi1 address the eyes  and     
appeal to the purses of the passers-by4 
,and ,i saw in one of these  places1 the
 other day1 painted on glass and        
inclosed in an elegant gilt  frame1     
,,ice ,,coffins1 which struck me as     
queer enough4 ,as though it were  not   
sufficiently cool to be dead6    ,it    
seems to me1 that1 in this matter1 the  
undertakers1 digging a little  too deep 
below the surface of the present age1   
have thrown out some of  the mystical   
and grotesque remains of a very antique 
religious faith1  which look as singular
 just now to the eyes of common people  
as would an  ,egyptian temple with its  
sacred ,apis in ,broadway1 or a ,sphinx 
on ,boston  ,common4 ,to the eyes of an 
old ,egyptian1 no object could be more  
grateful  than the sarcophagus in which 
he was to repose at death4 ,he purchased
 it  as early in life as he could raise 
the means1 and displayed it in his      

parlor as an attractive and costly      
ornament4 ,indeed1 ,i do not know but   
it was useful as well1 and the children 
kept their playthings in it1 or  the    
young ladies their knitting-work and    
embroidery4    ,are we not1 in this     
class of our tastes and feelings1       
becoming rapidly  ,egyptianized8 ,why1  
,i expect in a year or two to see       
coffins introduced  into the parlors of 
the ,fifth ,avenue1 and to find them1   
when their  owners fail or absquatulate1
 advertised for sale at auction1 with   
the  rest of the household furniture1 at
 a great sacrifice on the original      
cost4    -- ,,one ,,superb ,,coffin ,,of
 ,,elegant ,,pattern ,,and ,,superior   
,,workmanship1 ,,as  ,,good ,,as ,,new4 
,,two ,,ditto1 ,,slightly ,,damaged4    
,and then the fashion will become       
popular with the less aristocratic      
portion of the community1 and you will  
see crowds of servant-girls and         
street-loungers around the windows of   
our magnificent coffin-bazaars1  and    

hear from them such exclamations as     
these3 ,oh6 do look here1  ,matilda6    
,wouldn't you like to have such a nice  
coffin as that8 or1  ,what a dear1 sweet
 sarcophagus that one is there6 or1     
,faith1 ,i should  like to own that     
air-tight6           99       99        
99       99       99    ,but the day is 
now far advanced4 ,the funeral          
processions have ceased to  arrive1 and 
the husbandmen1 having sown the immortal
 seed furnished by  the metropolis1 with
 shovels and empty dinner-pails1 are on 
their way1  whistling and talking in    
groups1 homeward4 ,the number of        
loungers and  sight-seers is rapidly    
diminishing as the light in the more    
thickly  shaded walks becomes dim1 and  
the clock at the gateway indicates the  
near approach of the hour when the      
portals will be closed4    --,alone with
 the dead6 ,alone in the night among    
tombs and graves6 ,how  many readers do 
not at the sight of these words feel an 
involuntary  soupon of a shudder8 ,would

 not the cause of this indefinable      
secret  dread of the darkness which     
covers a graveyard be a curious matter  
of inquiry8 ,let one ever so cultivated 
and skeptical1 familiar as a  physician 
or a soldier with the spectacle of      
death1 ever so full of  mental and      
physical courage1 passing alone late at 
night through a  graveyard1 hear the    
least sound among the graves1 or see a  
moving object  of any kind1 especially a
 white one1 and he will instantly feel  
an  alloverishness foreign to ordinary  
experience1 and ,i will not answer  for 
him that his hair does not stand on end 
and his flesh grow rough as  a          
nutmeg-grater4 ,a company of three or   
four persons would feel far less        
disturbed4 ,this proves the emotion to  
be genuine fear4 ,and with this         
recognized as a fact1 ask the question1 
,of what are you afraid8 ,what  makes   
your feet stick to the ground so fast1  
or inspires you to take to  your legs   
and run for your life8 ,a ridiculous1   

foolish superstition1  reason answers4  
,i do not intend by this to intimate    
that you1 reader1 bold and  courageous  
person that ,i know you to be1 would not
 dare to go through a  graveyard at     
night4 ,by no means4 ,i only predicate  
the existence within  you of this       
ridiculous1 foolish superstition1 and   
maintain that you  would do so under all
 circumstances with peculiar feelings   
which you  did not possess before you   
entered it and which you will not       
possess  as soon as you have left it1   
and under certain circumstances with a  
trembling of the nerves and a           
palpitation of the heart1 and that the  
occasion might occur when you would be  
still more strongly and  strangely      
affected4 ,to illustrate the latter case
 ,i have an anecdote  -propos4    ,a    
college class-mate1 7,poor ,b----6 the  
shadows of the ,pyramids now fall  upon 
his early grave67 a young man easily    
agitated1 to be sure1 and  possibly     
timid1 on his way home1 late one autumn 

night1 from the  house of a relative in 
the country1 was hurrying past a dismal 
old  burying-yard in the midst of a     
gloomy wood1 when he was suddenly       
startled by a strange noise a short     
distance from the road4 ,turning  his   
head1 alarmed1 in the direction whence  
it proceeded1 he was  horror-struck at  
seeing through the darkness a white     
object on the  ground1 struggling as if 
in the grasp of some terrible monster4  
,instantly the blood froze in his veins2
 he stood petrified1--the  howlings of  
the wind1 clanking of chains1 and groans
 of agony1 filling  his ears1--with his 
eyes fixed in terror upon the white     
shape rolling  and plunging and writhing
 among the tombs4 ,attempting to run1   
his feet  refused to move1 and he       
swooned and fell senseless in the road4 
,a party  of travellers1 happening      
shortly to pass1 stumbled over his body4
  ,raising him upon his feet1 they      
succeeded by vigorous shakes in         
restoring him to a state of             

consciousness4    ,while explaining to  
them the cause of his fright1 the noise 
was renewed4  ,the men1 although        
somewhat alarmed1 clubbed their         
individual courage1  climbed the wall1  
and found--nearly in the centre of the  
graveyard--an  old white horse thrown   
down by his fetters and struggling      
violently to  regain his feet4    ,b----
 assured me1 the explanation of the     
spectacle instinctively  occurring to   
his mind at the moment as indubitable   
was that some  reprobate had just been  
buried there1 and that the ,devil1      
coming for  his body1 was engaged in    
binding his unwilling limbs1 preparatory
 to  carrying him away6    ,the reader  
may smile at the weakness and folly     
displayed in this case1  but the        
assertion may nevertheless be safely    
ventured1 that there is not  one person 
in a hundred who would not under the    
same circumstances have  been greatly   
disturbed1 or would have invented a much
 less frightfully  absurd solution of   

the phenomenon than poor ,b----'s4    ,i
 think the singular feelings associated 
with graveyard darkness1 which  the     
wisest and bravest of men find          
slumbering beneath all their courage    
and philosophy1 would be found upon     
investigation to proceed principally    
from two sources1--a constitutional     
inclination to religious  superstition1 
and an acquired educational belief in   
the reality of the  dreams and fancies  
of poets1 mingled1 of course1 with some 
natural  cowardice4    ,the dryest and  
hardest men have more poetry in them    
than they or we  begin to suspect4      
,indeed1 if we could take our individual
 or collective  culture to pieces and   
award to each separate influence its due
 and just  share of results1 ,i should  
not be surprised at finding that the    
poet had  done more in the way of       
fashioning our education than the       
scientist  or any other teacher4        
,milton1 to give but a single example1  
with his  speculations concerning the   

,fall1--its effects upon humanity1 the  
brute  creation1 and physical           
nature1--and his imaginary conflicts    
between  the hostile armies of heaven1  
and his celestial and ,satanic          
personifications1 has had so much       
influence in ,anglo-,saxon culture1 that
  nine-tenths of the people believe1    
without knowing it1 as firmly in        
,paradise ,lost as in the text of the   
,bible4 ,the ,governor of ,texas1       
citing in his proclamation a familiar   
passage in ,shakspeare as emanating     
from the inspired pen of the ,psalmist1 
is not to so great extent  an example of
 ignorance as an illustration of the    
lofty peerage  instinctively assigned   
the great dramatist in the ordinary     
associations  of our thoughts4 ,this    
faith in the visionary world of poets is
 instilled  into us 7and it is for this 
reason that ,rousseau1 in his masterly  
work on education1 the mile1 reprobates 
the custom as promotive of              
superstition7 in early infancy by our   

parents and nurses with their  stories  
of nymphs1 fairies1 elves1 dwarfs1      
giants1 witches1 hobgoblins1  and the   
like fabulous beings1 and1 as soon as we
 are able to read1 by  the tales of     
genii1 sorcerers1 demons1 ghouls1       
enchanted caves and  castles1 and       
monsters and monstrosities of every     
name4 ,the exceedingly  impressible and 
poetical nature of children 7for all    
children are poets  and talk poetry as  
soon as they can lisp7 appropriates and 
absorbs with  intense relish these      
fanciful myths1 and for years they      
believe more  firmly in their truth than
 in the realities of the actual world4  
,and ,i  more than suspect that this    
child-credulity rather slumbers in the  
grown  man1 smothered beneath           
superimposed skepticisms and cognitions1
 than is  ever eradicated from his mind1
 and thus1 upon the shock of an         
emergency  disturbing him suddenly to   
the foundation1 is ready to burst up    
through  the crevices of his shattered  

practical experience and appear on the  
surface of his judgment and             
understanding4    ,in addition1 then1 to
 an instinctive tendency to religious   
superstition1  7of which ,i shall here  
say nothing17 to the fairy mythology of 
the  nursery1 and the phantom machinery 
invented by poets to clothe with the    
semblance of reality their dreams and   
fancies1 can be traced in a great       
measure the existence in the mind of the
 credulity which renders the  fear in   
question possible1 opening an           
introduction for it into the  heart     
excited by inexplicable phenomena or    
circumstanced where such  phenomena     
might1 according to our superstitious   
beliefs1 easily occur4    ,without      
entering into an analysis of the fear   
itself1 beyond the  remark that any     
extraordinary sight or sound not        
immediately explicable  by the eye or   
ear to the understanding 7as a steamboat
 to the ,indians or  a comet to our     
ancestors7 is a legitimate cause of the 

emotion1 as well  as the possibility of 
the occurrence of such sights and       
sounds1  for believing which we have    
seen man prepared1 first by natural     
superstitious inclination1 and secondly 
by a peculiar education1--,i will  only 
further add1 for the purpose of a brief 
introduction to an anecdote  ,i wish to 
relate1 that there is another fountain  
of knowledge1 from  which we drink at a 
later period than childhood1 as well as 
then1 whose  waters are strongly        
impregnated with this superstitious1    
fear-provoking  credulity3 ,i mean the  
stories of ghosts which have been seen  
and heard  in all ages and countries1   
revealing important secrets1 pointing   
out  the places where murder has been   
committed or treasure concealed1        
foretelling deaths and calamities1 and  
forewarning men of impending  dangers4  
,hundreds of books familiar to all have 
been written upon this  subject and form
 an extensive department of our         
literature1 especially  of our older    

literature4    ,the philosopher attempts
 to account for such phenomena by       
referring them  to optical illusions or 
a disordered condition of the brain1    
making them  subjective semblances      
instead of objective realities4 ,but one
 is  continually being puzzled and      
perplexed with evidence contradicting   
this  hypothesis1 which1 upon any other 
subject a priori credible to the  reason
 and judgment1 would be received as     
satisfactory and decisive  without a    
moment's hesitation4 ,in truth1 with all
 the light which  science is able to    
shed upon it1 and all the resolute      
shutting of the  eyes at points which no
 elucidating theory is available to     
explain1  there are facts in this       
department of supernaturalism which     
stagger the  unbelief of the stoutest   
skeptic4    ,it is constantly urged1    
among other objections to the           
credibility  of supernatural            
apparitions1 that the names of the      
witnesses have  singularly and          

suspiciously disappeared1--that you find
 them1 upon  investigation1             
substantiated thus3 ,a very worthy      
gentleman told another  very worthy     
gentleman1 who told a very intelligent  
lady1 who told  somebody else1 who told 
the individual who finally communicated 
the  incident to the world4 ,there are1 
however1 as just intimated1 instances   
in which such ambiguity is altogether   
wanting4 ,among these is one so  well   
authenticated by well-known witnesses of
 undoubted veracity1 that1  having never
 before been published1 ,i venture to   
relate it here4    ,my informant was    
,professor ,tholuck1 of ,halle          
,university1 the most  eminent living   
theologian in ,germany1 and the         
principal ecclesiarch of  the ,prussian 
,church4 ,he prefaced the account by    
assuring me that it  was received from  
the lips of ,de ,wette himself1         
immediately after the  occurrence1--that
 ,de ,wette was an intimate personal    
friend1 a plain1  practical man1 of     

remarkably clear and vigorous intellect1
 with no more  poetry and imagination in
 his nature than just sufficient to keep
 him  alive1--in a word1 that he would  
rely upon his coolness of judgment  and 
accuracy of observation1 under any      
possible combination of  circumstances1 
as confidently as upon those of any man 
in the world4    ,dr4 ,de ,wette1 the   
famous ,german ,biblical critic1        
returning home one  evening between nine
 and ten o'clock1 was surprised1 upon   
arriving  opposite the house in which he
 resided1 to see a bright light burning 
in  his study4 ,in fact1 he was rather  
more than surprised2 for he distinctly  
remembered to have extinguished the     
candles when he went out1 an hour or    
two previously1 locked the door1 and put
 the key in his pocket1 which1  upon    
feeling for it1 was still there4        
,pausing a moment to wonder by  what    
means and for what purpose any one could
 have entered the room1 he  perceived   
the shadow of a person apparently       

occupied about something in  a remote   
corner4 ,supposing it to be a burglar   
employed in rifling his  trunk1 he was  
upon the point of alarming the police1  
when the man  advanced to the window1   
into full view1 as if for the purpose of
 looking  out into the street4 ,it was  
,de ,wette himself6--the scholar1       
author1  professor1--his height1 size1  
figure1 stoop1--his head1 his face1 his 
features1 eyes1 mouth1 nose1 chin1 every
 one1--skullcap1 study-gown1  neck-tie1 
all1 everything3 there was no mistaking 
him1 no deception  whatever3 there stood
 ,dr4 ,de ,wette in his own library1 and
 he out in  the street3--why1 he must be
 somebody else6 ,the ,doctor            
instinctively  grasped his body with his
 hands1 and tried himself with the      
psychological tests of                  
self-consciousness and identity1        
doubtful1 if  he could believe his      
senses and black were not white1 that he
 longer  existed his former self1 and   
stood1 perplexed1 bewildered1 and       

confounded1 gazing at his other likeness
 looking out of the window4 ,upon  the  
person's retiring from the window1 which
 occurred in a few moments1  ,de ,wette 
resolved not to dispute the possession  
of his study with  the other ,doctor    
before morning1 and ringing at the door 
of a house  opposite1 where an          
acquaintance resided1 he asked          
permission to remain  over night4       
,the chamber occupied by him commanded a
 full view of the interior of  his      
library1 and from the window he could   
see his other self engaged  in study and
 meditation1 now walking up and down the
 room1 immersed in  thought1 now sitting
 down at the desk to write1 now rising  
to search  for a volume among the       
book-shelves1 and imitating in all      
respects  the peculiar habits of the    
great ,doctor engaged at work and busy  
with  cogitations4 ,at length1 when the 
cathedral clock had finished striking   
through first four and then eleven      
strokes1 as ,german clocks are wont  to 

do an hour before twelve1 ,de ,wette    
,number ,two manifested signs of        
retiring to rest1--took out his watch1  
the identical large gold one the  other 
,doctor in the other chamber felt sure  
was at that moment safe  in his         
waistcoat-pocket1 and wound it up1      
removed a portion of his  clothing1 came
 to the window1 closed the curtains1 and
 in a few moments  the light            
disappeared4 ,de ,wette ,number ,one1   
waiting a little time until  convinced  
that ,number ,two had disposed himself  
to sleep1 retired also  his-self to bed1
 wondering very much what all this could
 mean4    ,rising the next morning1 he  
crossed the street1 and passed up-stairs
 to  his library4 ,the door was         
fastened2 he applied the key1 opened it1
 and  entered4 ,no one was there2       
everything appeared in precisely the    
same  condition in which he had left it 
the evening before1--his pen lying  upon
 the paper as he had dropped it on going
 out1 the candles on the  table and the 

mantel-piece evidently not having been  
lighted1 the  window-curtains drawn     
aside as he had left them2 in fine1     
there was not  a single trace of any    
person's having been in the room4 ,had  
he been  insane the night before8 ,he   
must have been4 ,he was growing old2    
something was the matter with his eyes  
or brain2 anyhow1 he had been  deceived1
 and it was very foolish of him to have 
remained away all  night4 ,endeavoring  
to satisfy his mind with some such      
reflections  as these1 he remembered he 
had not yet examined his bed-room4      
,almost  ashamed to make the search1 now
 convinced it was all an hallucination  
of  the senses1 he crossed the narrow   
passageway and opened the door4 ,he  was
 thunderstruck4 ,the ceiling1 a lofty1  
massive brick arch1 had fallen  during  
the night1 filling the room with rubbish
 and crushing his bed  into atoms4 ,de  
,wette the ,apparition had saved the    
life of the great  ,german scholar4     
,tholuck1 who was walking with me in the

 fields near ,halle when relating  the  
anecdote1 added1 upon concluding1 ,i do 
not pretend to account  for the         
phenomenon2 no knowledge1 scientific or 
metaphysical1 in my  possession1 is     
adequate to explain it2 but ,i have no  
more doubt it  actually1 positively1    
literally did occur1 than ,i have of the
 existence  of the sun im ,himmel da4   
,,culture4      ,the word of ambition at
 the present day is ,culture4 ,whilst   
all the world  is in pursuit of power1  
and of wealth as a means of power1      
culture  corrects the theory of success4
 ,a man is the prisoner of his power4 ,a
  topical memory makes him an almanac2 a
 talent for debate1 a disputant2  skill 
to get money makes him a miser1 that is1
 a beggar4 ,culture reduces  these      
inflammations by invoking the aid of    
other powers against the  dominant      
talent1 and by appealing to the rank of 
powers4 ,it watches  success4 ,for      
performance ,nature has no mercy1 and   
sacrifices the  performer to get it     

done1--makes a dropsy or a tympany of   
him4 ,if she  wants a thumb1 she makes  
one at the cost of arms and legs1 and   
any  excess of power in one part is     
usually paid for at once by some defect 
in a contiguous part4    ,our efficiency
 depends so much on our concentration1  
that ,nature  usually1 in the instances 
where a marked man is sent into the     
world1  overloads him with bias1        
sacrificing his symmetry to his working 
power4  ,it is said1 no man can write   
but one book2 and if a man have a       
defect1  it is apt to leave its         
impression on all his performances4 ,if 
she create  a policeman like ,fouch1 he 
is made up of suspicions and of plots to
  circumvent them4 ,the air1 said       
,fouch1 is full of poniards4 ,the       
physician ,sanctorius spent his life in 
a pair of scales1 weighing his  food4   
,lord ,coke valued ,chaucer highly1     
because the ,canon ,yeman's ,tale       
illustrates the ,statute ,hen4 ,v4      
,chap4 #d1 against ,alchemy4 ,i saw a   

man  who believed the principal         
mischiefs in the ,english state were    
derived  from the devotion to musical   
concerts4 ,a freemason1 not long since1 
set  out to explain to this country1    
that the principal cause of the success 
of ,general ,washington was the aid he  
derived from the freemasons4    ,but1   
worse than the harping on one string1   
,nature has secured  individualism by   
giving the private person a high conceit
 of his weight  in the system4 ,the pest
 of society is egotists4 ,there are dull
 and  bright1 sacred and profane1 coarse
 and fine egotists4 ',tis a disease     
that1 like influenza1 falls on all      
constitutions4 ,in the distemper  known 
to physicians as chorea1 the patient    
sometimes turns round  and continues to 
spin slowly on one spot4 ,is egotism a  
metaphysical  varioloid of this malady8 
,the man runs round a ring formed by his
 own  talent1 falls into an admiration  
of it1 and loses relation to the world4 
,it is a tendency in all minds4 ,one of 

its annoying forms is a craving  for    
sympathy4 ,the sufferers parade their   
miseries1 tear the lint from  their     
bruises1 reveal their indictable crimes1
 that you may pity them4  ,they like    
sickness1 because physical pain will    
extort some show of  interest from the  
bystanders2 as we have seen children1   
who1 finding  themselves of no account  
when grown people come in1 will cough   
till they  choke1 to draw attention4    
,this distemper is the scourge of       
talent1--of artists1 inventors1 and     
philosophers4 ,eminent spiritualists    
shall have an incapacity of putting     
their act or word aloof from them1 and  
seeing it bravely for the nothing  it   
is4 ,beware of the man who says1 ,i am  
on the eve of a revelation6 ,it  is     
speedily punished1 inasmuch as this     
habit invites men to humor it1  and1 by 
treating the patient tenderly1 to shut  
him up in a narrower  selfism1 and      
exclude him from the great world of     
,god's cheerful fallible  men and women4

 ,let us rather be insulted1 whilst we  
are insultable4  ,religious literature  
has eminent examples2 and if we run over
 our  private list of poets1 critics1   
philanthropists1 and philosophers1 we   
shall find them infected with this      
dropsy and elephantiasis1 which we      
ought to have tapped4    ,this goitre of
 egotism is so frequent among notable   
persons1 that we  must infer some strong
 necessity in ,nature which it          
subserves1--such as  we see in the      
sexual attraction4 ,the preservation of 
the species was a  point of such        
necessity1 that ,nature has secured it  
at all hazards by  immensely overloading
 the passion1 at the risk of perpetual  
crime and  disorder4 ,so egotism has its
 root in the cardinal necessity by which
  each individual persists to be what he
 is4    ,this individuality is not only 
not inconsistent with culture1 but is   
the  basis of it4 ,every valuable nature
 is there in its own right2 and the     
student we speak to must have a         

mother-wit invincible by his culture1   
which uses all books1 arts1 facilities1 
and elegancies of intercourse1  but is  
never subdued and lost in them4 ,he only
 is a well-made man who  has a good     
determination4 ,and the end of culture  
is1 not to destroy  this1--,god         
forbid6--but to train away all          
impediment and mixture1  and leave      
nothing but pure power4 ,our student    
must have a style and  determination1   
and be a master in his own specialty4   
,but1 having this1  he must put it      
behind him4 ,he must have a catholicity1
 a power to see  with a free and        
disengaged look every object4 ,yet is   
this private  interest and self so      
overcharged1 that1 if a man seeks a     
companion  who can look at objects for  
their own sake1 and without affection   
or self-reference1 he will find the     
fewest who will give him that           
satisfaction2 whilst most men are       
afflicted with a coldness1 an           
incuriosity1 as soon as any object does 

not connect with their  self-love4      
,though they talk of the object before  
them1 they are thinking  of themselves1 
and their vanity is laying little traps 
for your  admiration4    ,but after a   
man has discovered that there are limits
 to the interest  which his private     
history has for mankind1 he still       
converses with his  family1 or a few    
companions1--perhaps with half a dozen  
personalities  that are famous in his   
neighborhood4 ,in ,boston1 the question 
of life is  the names of some eight or  
ten men4 ,have you seen ,mr4 ,allston1  
,doctor  ,channing1 ,mr4 ,adams1 ,mr4   
,webster1 ,mr4 ,greenough8 ,have you    
heard ,everett1  ,garrison1 ,father     
,taylor1 ,theodore ,parker8 ,have you   
talked with ,messieurs  ,turbinewheel1  
,summitlevel1 and ,lacofrupees8 ,then   
you may as well die4 ,in  ,new ,york1   
the question is of some other eight1 or 
ten1 or twenty4 ,have  you seen a few   
lawyers1 merchants1 and brokers1--two or
 three scholars1  two or three          

capitalists1 two or three editors of    
newspapers8 ,new  ,york is a sucked     
orange4 ,all conversation is at an end1 
when we have  discharged ourselves of a 
dozen personalities1 domestic or        
imported1  which make up our ,american  
existence4 ,nor do we expect anybody to 
be  other than a faint copy of these    
heroes4    ,life is very narrow4 ,bring 
any club or company of intelligent men  
together again after ten years1 and if  
the presence of some penetrating  and   
calming genius could dispose them to    
frankness1 what a confusion  of         
insanities would come up6 ,the causes to
 which we have sacrificed1  ,tariff or  
,democracy1 ,whiggism or ,abolition1    
,temperance or ,socialism1  would show  
like roots of bitterness and dragons of 
wrath3 and our  talents are as          
mischievous as if each had been seized  
upon by some bird  of prey1 which had   
whisked him away from fortune1 from     
truth1 from the  dear society of the    
poets1 some zeal1 some bias1 and only   

when he was  now gray and nerveless was 
it relaxing its claws1 and he awaking to
  sober perceptions4    ,culture is the 
suggestion from certain best thoughts1  
that a man has a  range of affinities1  
through which he can modulate the       
violence of any  master-tones that have 
a droning preponderance in his scale1   
and succor  him against himself4        
,culture redresses his balance1 puts him
 among his  equals and superiors1       
revives the delicious sense of sympathy1
 and warns  him of the dangers of       
solitude and repulsion4    ',tis not a  
compliment1 but a disparagement1 to     
consult a man only on  horses1 or on    
steam1 or on theatres1 or on eating1 or 
on books1 and1  whenever he appears1    
considerately to turn the conversation  
to the  bantling he is known to fondle4 
,in the ,norse heaven of our            
forefathers1  ,thor's house had five    
hundred and forty floors3 and ,man's    
house has five  hundred and forty       
floors4 ,his excellence is facility of  

adaptation1  and of transition through  
many related points to wide contrasts   
and  extremes4 ,culture kills his       
exaggeration1 his conceit of his village
 or  his city4 ,we must leave our pets  
at home when we go into the street1 and 
meet men on broad grounds of good       
meaning and good sense4 ,no performance 
is worth loss of geniality4 ',tis a     
cruel price we pay for certain fancy    
goods called fine arts and philosophy4  
,in the ,norse legend1 ,allfadir did    
not get a drink of ,mimir's spring1 7the
 fountain of wisdom17 until he  left his
 eye in pledge4 ,and here is a pedant   
that cannot unfold his  wrinkles1 nor   
conceal his wrath at interruption by the
 best1 if their  conversation do not fit
 his impertinency1--here is he to       
afflict us with  his personalities4     
',tis incident to scholars1 that each of
 them fancies  he is pointedly odious in
 his community4 ,draw him out of this   
limbo of  irritability4 ,cleanse with   
healthy blood his parchment skin4 ,you  

restore  to him his eyes which he left  
in pledge at ,mimir's spring4 ,if you   
are  the victim of your doing1 who cares
 what you do8 ,we can spare your  opera1
 your gazetteer1 your chemic analysis1  
your history1 your  syllogisms4 ,your   
man of genius pays dear for his         
distinction4 ,his head  runs up into a  
spire1 and1 instead of a healthy man1   
merry and wise1 he  is some mad dominie4
 ,nature is reckless of the individual4 
,when she has  points to carry1 she     
carries them4 ,to wade in marshes and   
sea-margins is  the destiny of certain  
birds2 and they are so accurately made  
for this1  that they are imprisoned in  
those places4 ,each animal out of its   
habitat would starve4 ,to the physician1
 each man1 each woman1 is an            
amplification of one organ4 ,a soldier1 
a locksmith1 a bank-clerk1 and  a dancer
 could not exchange functions4 ,and thus
 we are victims of  adaptation4    ,the 
antidotes against this organic egotism  
are--the range and variety  of          

attractions1 as gained by acquaintance  
with the world1 with men of  merit1 with
 classes of society1 with travel1 with  
eminent persons1 and  with the high     
resources of philosophy1 art1 and       
religion3 books1 travel1  society1      
solitude4    ,the hardiest skeptic1 who 
has seen a horse broken1 a pointer      
trained1 or  who has visited a          
menagerie1 or the exhibition of the     
,industrious ,fleas1  will not deny the 
validity of education4 ,a boy1 says     
,plato1 is the  most vicious of all wild
 beasts2 and1 in the same spirit1 the   
old  ,english poet ,gascoigne says1 ,a  
boy is better unborn than untaught4 ,the
  city breeds one kind of speech and    
manners2 the back-country a different   
style2 the sea another2 the army a      
fourth4 ,we know that an army which  can
 be confided in may be formed by        
discipline1--that by systematic         
discipline all men may be made heroes4  
,marshal ,lannes said to a ,french      
officer1 ,know1 ,colonel1 that none but 

a poltroon will boast that he  never was
 afraid4 ,a great part of courage is the
 courage of having done  the thing      
before4 ,and1 in all human action1 those
 faculties will be  strong which are    
used4 ,robert ,owen said1 ,give me a    
tiger1 and ,i will  educate him4 ',tis  
inhuman to want faith in the power of   
education1  since to meliorate is the   
law of ,nature2 and men are valued      
precisely as  they exert onward or      
meliorating force4 ,on the other hand1  
poltroonery  is the acknowledging an    
inferiority to be incurable4            
,incapacity of melioration is the only  
mortal distemper4 ,there are people  who
 can never understand a trope1 or any   
second or expanded sense given  to your 
words1 or any humor1--but remain        
literalists1 after hearing the  music   
and poetry and rhetoric and wit of      
seventy or eighty years4 ,they  are past
 the help of surgeon or clergy4 ,but    
even these can understand  pitchforks   
and the cry of ,fire6--and ,i have      

noticed in some of this  class a marked 
dislike of earthquakes4    ,let us make 
our education brave and preventive4     
,politics is an  after-work1 a poor     
patching4 ,we are always a little late4 
,the evil is  done1 the law is passed1  
and we begin the up-hill agitation for  
repeal  of that of which we ought to    
have prevented the enacting4 ,we shall  
one day learn to supersede politics by  
education4 ,what we call our            
root-and-branch reforms of slavery1 war1
 gambling1 intemperance1 is only        
medicating the symptoms4 ,we must begin 
higher up1--namely1 in ,education4      
,our arts and tools give to him who can 
handle them much the same  advantage    
over the novice as if you extended his  
life ten1 fifty1 or a  hundred years4   
,and ,i think it the part of good sense 
to provide every  fine soul with such   
culture1 that it shall not1 at thirty or
 forty  years1 have to say1 ,this which 
,i might do is made hopeless through my 
want of weapons4    ,but it is conceded 

that much of our training fails of      
effect1--that all  success is hazardous 
and rare1--that a large part of our cost
 and pains  is thrown away4 ,nature     
takes the matter into her own hands1    
and1 though  we must not omit any jot of
 our system1 we can seldom be sure that 
it  has availed much1 or that as much   
good would not have accrued from a      
different system4    ,books1 as         
containing the finest records of human  
wit1 must always enter  into our notion 
of culture4 ,the best heads that ever   
existed1 ,pericles1  ,plato1 ,julius    
,caesar1 ,shakspeare1 ,goethe1 ,milton1 
were well-read1  universally educated   
men1 and quite too wise to undervalue   
letters4  ,their opinion has weight1    
because they had means of knowing the   
opposite  opinion4 ,we look that a great
 man should be a good reader1 or in     
proportion to the spontaneous power     
should be the assimilating power4  ,good
 criticism is very rare1 and always     
precious4 ,i am always happy to  meet   

persons who perceive the transcendent   
superiority of ,shakspeare  over all    
other writers4 ,i like people who like  
,plato4 ,because this love  does not    
consist with self-conceit4    ,but books
 are good only as far as a boy is ready 
for them4 ,he sometimes  gets ready very
 slowly4 ,you send your child to the    
schoolmaster2 but  'tis the schoolboys  
who educate him4 ,you send him to the   
,latin  class2 but much of his tuition  
comes on his way to school1 from the    
shop-windows4 ,you like the strict rules
 and the long terms2 and he finds  his  
best leading in a by-way of his own1 and
 refuses any companions but  of his     
choosing4 ,he hates the grammar and     
,gradus1 and loves guns1  fishing-rods1 
horses1 and boats4 ,well1 the boy is    
right2 and you are not  fit to direct   
his bringing-up1 if your theory leaves  
out his gymnastic  training4 ,archery1  
cricket1 gun and fishing-rod1 horse and 
boat1 are all  educators1 liberalizers2 
and so are dancing1 dress1 and the      

street-talk2  and--provided only the boy
 has resources1 and is of a noble and   
ingenuous strain--these will not serve  
him less than the books4 ,he  learns    
chess1 whist1 dancing1 and theatricals4 
,the father observes that  another boy  
has learned algebra and geometry in the 
same time4 ,but the  first boy has      
acquired much more than these poor games
 along with them4  ,he is infatuated for
 weeks with whist and chess2 but        
presently will find  out1 as you did1   
that1 when he rises from the game too   
long played1 he  is vacant and forlorn1 
and despises himself4 ,thenceforward it 
takes  place with other things1 and has 
its due weight in his experience4 ,these
  minor skills and accomplishments--for 
example1 dancing--are tickets of        
admission to the dress-circle of        
mankind1 and the being master of them   
enables the youth to judge intelligently
 of much on which otherwise he  would   
give a pedantic squint4 ,landor said1 ,i
 have suffered more from my  bad dancing

 than from all the misfortunes and      
miseries of my life  put together4      
,provided always the boy is teachable1  
7for we are not  proposing to make a    
statue out of punk17 football1 cricket1 
archery1  swimming1 skating1 climbing1  
fencing1 riding1 are lessons in the art 
of  power1 which it is his main business
 to learn1--riding specially1 of  which 
,lord ,herbert of ,cherbury said1 ,a    
good rider on a good horse is as  much  
above himself and others as the world   
can make him4 ,besides1 the  gun1       
fishing-rod1 boat1 and horse constitute1
 among all who use them1  secret        
freemasonries4    ,they are as if they  
belonged to one club4    ,there is also 
a negative value in these arts4 ,their  
chief use to the  youth is1 not         
amusement1 but to be known for what they
 are1 and not to  remain to him         
occasions of heartburn4 ,we are full of 
superstitions4 ,each  class fixes its   
eyes on the advantages it has not3 the  
refined1 on rude  strength2 the         

democrat1 on birth and breeding4 ,one of
 the benefits of a  college-education   
is1 to show the boy its little avail4 ,i
 knew a leading  man in a leading city1 
who1 having set his heart on an         
education at the  university and missed 
it1 could never quite feel himself the  
equal  of his own brothers who had gone 
thither4 ,his easy superiority to       
multitudes of professional men could    
never quite countervail to him this     
imaginary defect4 ,balls1 riding1       
wine-parties1 and billiards pass to a   
poor boy for something fine and         
romantic1 which they are not2 and a free
  admission to them on an equal footing1
 if it were possible1 only once or      
twice1 would be worth ten times its     
cost1 by undeceiving him4    ,i am not  
much an advocate for travelling1 and ,i 
observe that men run  away to other     
countries because they are not good in  
their own1 and run  back to their own   
because they pass for nothing in the new
 places4 ,for  the most part1 only the  

light characters travel4 ,who are you   
that have  no task to keep you at home8 
,i have been quoted as saying captious  
things about travel2 but ,i mean to do  
justice4 ,i think there is a            
restlessness in our people which argues 
want of character4 ,all educated        
,americans1 first or last1 go to        
,europe1--perhaps because it is their   
mental home1 as the invalid habits of   
this country might suggest4 ,an  eminent
 teacher of girls said1 ,the idea of a  
girl's education is  whatever qualifies 
them for going to ,europe4 ,can we never
 extract this  tape-worm of ,europe from
 the brain of our country-men8 ,one sees
 very  well what their fate must be4 ,he
 that does not fill a place at home     
cannot abroad4 ,he only goes there to   
hide his insignificance in a larger     
crowd4 ,you do not think you will find  
anything there which you have  not seen 
at home8 ,the stuff of all countries is 
just the same4 ,do you  suppose there is
 any country where they do not scald    

milkpans1 and  swaddle the infants1 and 
burn the brushwood1 and broil the fish8 
,what is  true anywhere is true         
everywhere4 ,and let him go where he    
will1 he can  find only so much beauty  
or worth as he carries4    ,of course1  
for some men travel may be useful4      
,naturalists1 discoverers1  and sailors 
are born4 ,some men are made for        
couriers1 exchangers1  envoys1          
missionaries1 bearers of despatches1 as 
others are for farmers  and working-men4
 ,and if the man is of a light and      
social turn1 and  ,nature has aimed to  
make a legged and winged creature1      
framed for  locomotion1 we must follow  
her hint1 and furnish him with that     
breeding  which gives currency as       
sedulously as with that which gives     
worth4 ,but  let us not be pedantic1 but
 allow to travel its full effect4 ,the  
boy  grown up on the farm which he has  
never left is said in the country to    
have had no chance1 and boys and men of 
that condition look upon work  on a     

railroad or drudgery in a city as       
opportunity4 ,poor country-boys of      
,vermont and ,connecticut formerly owed 
what knowledge they had to their        
peddling-trips to the ,southern ,states4
 ,california and the ,pacific ,coast    
are now the university of this class1 as
 ,virginia was in old times4 ,to  have  
some chance is their word4 ,and the     
phrase1 to know the world1  or to       
travel1 is synonymous with all men's    
ideas of advantage and  superiority4 ,no
 doubt1 to a man of sense travel offers 
advantages4 ,as  many languages as he   
has1 as many friends1 as many arts and  
trades1  so many times is he a man4 ,a  
foreign country is a point of comparison
  where-from to judge his own4 ,one use 
of travel is1 to recommend the  books   
and works of home2 7we go to ,europe to 
be ,americanized27 and  another1 to find
 men4 ,for as ,nature has put fruits    
apart in latitudes1  a new fruit in     
every degree1 so knowledge and fine     
moral quality she  lodges in distant    

men4 ,and thus1 of the six or seven     
teachers whom each  man wants among his 
contemporaries1 it often happens that   
one or two of  them live on the other   
side of the world4    ,moreover1 there  
is in every constitution a certain      
solstice1 when the  stars stand still in
 our inward firmament1 and when there is
 required  some foreign force1 some     
diversion or alternative1 to prevent    
stagnation4 ,and1 as a medical remedy1  
travel seems one of the best4 ,just  as 
a man witnessing the admirable effect of
 ether to lull pain1 and1  meditating on
 the contingencies of wounds1 cancers1  
lockjaws1 rejoices  in ,dr4 ,jackson's  
benign discovery1 so a man who looks at 
,paris1 at  ,naples1 or at ,london1     
says1 ,if ,i should be driven from my   
own home1  here1 at least1 my thoughts  
can be consoled by the most prodigal    
amusement and occupation which the human
 race in ages could contrive and        
accumulate4    ,akin to the benefit of  
foreign travel1 the aesthetic value of  

railroads  is to unite the advantages of
 town and country life1 neither of which
 we  can spare4 ,a man should live in or
 near a large town1 because1 let his    
own genius be what it may1 it will repel
 quite as much of agreeable and         
valuable talent as it draws1 and1 in a  
city1 the total attraction of all  the  
citizens is sure to conquer1 first or   
last1 every repulsion1 and  drag the    
most improbable hermit within its walls 
some day in the  year4 ,in town he can  
find the swimming-school1 the gymnasium1
 the  dancing-master1 the               
shooting-gallery1 opera1 theatre1 and   
panorama1--the  chemist's shop1 the     
museum of natural history1 the gallery  
of fine arts1  the national orators in  
their turn1 foreign travellers1 the     
libraries1  and his club4 ,in the       
country he can find solitude and        
reading1 manly  labor1 cheap living1 and
 his old shoes1--moors for game1 hills  
for  geology1 and groves for devotion4  
,aubrey writes1 ,i have heard ,thomas   

,hobbes say1 that1 in the ,earl of      
,devon's house1 in ,derbyshire1 there   
was  a good library and books enough for
 him1 and his ,lordship stored the      
library with what books he thought fit  
to be bought4 ,but the want  of good    
conversation was a very great           
inconvenience1 and1 though he  conceived
 he could order his thinking as well as 
another1 yet he found  a great defect4  
,in the country1 in long time1 for want 
of good  conversation1 one's            
understanding and invention contract a  
moss on them1  like an old paling in an 
orchard4    ,cities give us collision4  
',tis said1 ,london and ,new ,york take 
the  nonsense out of a man4 ,a great    
part of our education is sympathetic and
  social4 ,boys and girls who have been 
brought up with well-informed and       
superior people show in their manners an
 inestimable grace4 ,fuller says1  that 
,william1 ,earl of ,nassau1 won a       
subject from the ,king of ,spain  every 
time he put off his hat4 ,you cannot    

have one well-bred man  without a whole 
society of such4 ,they keep each other  
up to any  high point4 ,especially      
women3 it requires a great many         
cultivated  women1--saloons of bright1  
elegant1 reading women1 accustomed to   
ease  and refinement1 to spectacles1    
pictures1 sculpture1 poetry1 and to     
elegant society1--in order that you     
should have one ,madame de ,stal4  ,the 
head of a commercial house1 or a leading
 lawyer or politician1 is  brought into 
daily contact with troops of men from   
all parts of the  country1--and those1  
too1 the driving-wheels1 the            
business-men of each  section1--and one 
can hardly suggest for an apprehensive  
man a  more searching culture4 ,besides1
 we must remember the high social       
possibilities of a million of men4 ,the 
best bribe which ,london offers  to-day 
to the imagination is1 that1 in such a  
vast variety of people  and conditions1 
one can believe there is room for       
persons of romantic  character to exist1

 and that the poet1 the mystic1 and the 
hero may hope  to confront their        
counterparts4    ,i wish cities could   
teach their best lesson1--of quiet      
manners4 ,it is  the foible especially  
of ,american youth1--pretension4 ,the   
mark of the  man of the world is absence
 of pretension4 ,he does not make a     
speech2 he  takes a low business-tone1  
avoids all brag1 is nobody1 dresses     
plainly1  promises not at all1 performs 
much1 speaks in monosyllables1 hugs his 
fact4 ,he calls his employment by its   
lowest name1 and so takes from evil     
tongues their sharpest weapon4 ,his     
conversation clings to the weather  and 
the news1 yet he allows himself to be   
surprised into thought1 and  the        
unlocking of his learning and           
philosophy4 ,how the imagination is     
piqued by anecdotes of some great man   
passing incognito1 as a king in  gray   
clothes6--of ,napoleon affecting a plain
 suit at his glittering  levee6--of     
,burns1 or ,scott1 or ,beethoven1 or    

,wellington1 or ,goethe1  or any        
container of transcendent power1 passing
 for nobody6--of  ,epaminondas1 who     
never says anything1 but will listen    
eternally6--of  ,goethe1 who preferred  
trifling subjects and common expressions
 in  intercourse with strangers1 worse  
rather than better clothes1 and to      
appear a little more capricious than he 
was6 ,there are advantages in the  old  
hat and box-coat4 ,i have heard1 that1  
throughout this country1 a  certain     
respect is paid to good broadcloth3 but 
dress makes a little  restraint2 men    
will not commit themselves4 ,but the    
box-coat is like  wine2 it unlocks the  
tongue1 and men say what they think4 ,an
 old poet  says1--      ,go far and go  
sparing2    ,for you'll find it certain1
    ,the poorer and the baser you       
appear1    ,the more you'll look through
 still4,a    ,footnote ,a3 ,beaumont and
 ,fletcher3 ,the ,tamer ,tamed4    ,not 
much otherwise ,milnes writes1 in the   
,lay of the ,humble3--      ,to me men  

are for what they are1    ,they wear no 
masks with me4    ',tis odd that our    
people should have--not water on the    
brain1--but  a little gas there4 ,a     
shrewd foreigner said of the ,americans1
 that  whatever they say has a little   
the air of a speech4 ,yet one of the    
traits down in the books1 as            
distinguishing the ,anglo-,saxon1 is a  
trick  of self-disparagement4 ,to be    
sure1 in old1 dense countries1 among a  
million of good coats1 a fine coat comes
 to be no distinction1 and you  find    
humorists4 ,in an ,english party1 a man 
with no marked manners or  features1    
with a face like red dough1 unexpectedly
 discloses wit1  learning1 a wide range 
of topics1 and personal familiarity with
 good men  in all parts of the world1   
until you think you have fallen upon    
some  illustrious personage4 ,can it be 
that the ,american forest has refreshed 
some weeds of old ,pictish barbarism    
just ready to die out1--the love of  the
 scarlet feather1 of beads1 and tinsel8 

,the ,italians are fond of  red clothes1
 peacock-plumes1 and embroidery2 and ,i 
remember1 one rainy  morning in the city
 of ,palermo1 the street was in a blaze 
with scarlet  umbrellas4 ,the ,english  
have a plain taste4 ,the equipages of   
the grandees  are plain4 ,a gorgeous    
livery indicates new and awkward        
city-wealth4 ,mr4  ,pitt1 like ,mr4     
,pym1 thought the title of ,mister good 
against any king  in ,europe4 ,they have
 piqued themselves on governing the     
whole world in  the poor1 plain1 dark   
committee-room which the ,house of      
,commons sat in  before the fire4       
,whilst we want cities as the centres   
where the best things are found1  cities
 degrade us by magnifying trifles4 ,the 
countryman finds the town  a chop-house1
 a barber's shop4 ,he has lost the lines
 of grandeur of the  horizon1 hills and 
plains1 and1 with them1 sobriety and    
elevation4 ,he  has come among a supple1
 glib-tongued tribe1 who live for show1 
servile  to public opinion4 ,life is    

dragged down to a fracas of pitiful     
cares and  disasters4 ,you say the gods 
ought to respect a life whose objects   
are their own2 but in cities they have  
betrayed you to a cloud of              
insignificant annoyances3--             
,mirmidons1 race fconde1    ,mirmidons1 
,enfins nous commandons2    ,jupiter    
livre le monde    ,aux mirmidons1 aux   
mirmidons4,b      ,footnote ,b3         
,branger4      ',tis heavy odds         
,against the gods1    ,when they will   
match with myrmidons4    ,we spawning1  
spawning myrmidons1    ,our turn to-day2
 we take command3    ,jove gives the    
globe into the hand    ,of myrmidons1 of
 myrmidons4    ,what is odious but      
noise1 and people who scream and        
bewail8--people  whose vane points      
always east1 who live to dine1 who send 
for the  doctor1 who raddle themselves1 
who toast their feet on the register1   
who intrigue to secure a padded chair   
and a corner out of the draught8        
,suffer them once to begin the          

enumeration of their infirmities1 and   
the  sun will go down on the unfinished 
tale4 ,let these triflers put us out  of
 conceit with petty comforts4 ,to a man 
at work1 the frost is but a  color2 the 
rain1 the wind1 he forgot them when he  
came in4 ,let us learn  to live         
coarsely1 dress plainly1 and lie hard4  
,the least habit of  dominion over the  
palate has certain good effects not     
easily estimated4  ,neither will we be  
driven into a quiddling abstemiousness4 
',tis a  superstition to insist on a    
special diet4 ,all is made at last of   
the  same chemical atoms4    ,a man in  
pursuit of greatness feels no little    
wants4 ,how can you mind  diet1 bed1    
dress1 or salutes or compliments1 or the
 figure you make in  company1 or wealth1
 or even the bringing things to pass1   
when you think  how paltry are the      
machinery and the workers8 ,wordsworth  
was praised to  me1 in ,westmoreland1   
for having afforded to his country      
neighbors an  example of a modest       

household1 where comfort and culture    
were secured  without display4 ,and a   
tender boy who wears his rusty cap and  
outgrown  coat1 that he may secure the  
coveted place in college and the right  
in the library1 is educated to some     
purpose4 ,there is a great deal of      
self-denial and manliness in poor and   
middle-class houses1 in town and        
country1 that has not got into          
literature1 and never will1 but that    
keeps the earth sweet1--that saves on   
superfluities1 and spends on            
essentials1--that goes rusty1 and       
educates the boy1--that sells the       
horse1 but builds the school1--works    
early and late1 takes two looms in  the 
factory1 three looms1 six looms1 but    
pays off the mortgage on the  paternal  
farm1 and then goes back cheerfully to  
work again4    ,we can ill spare the    
commanding social benefits of cities2   
they must be  used1--yet cautiously1 and
 haughtily1--and will yield their best  
values  to him who best can do without  

them4 ,keep the town for occasions1 but 
the habits should be formed to          
retirement4 ,solitude1 the safeguard of 
mediocrity1 is to genius the stern      
friend1 the cold1 obscure shelter  where
 moult the wings which will bear it     
farther than suns and stars4 ,he  who   
should inspire and lead his race must be
 defended from travelling  with the     
souls of other men1--from living1       
breathing1 reading1 and  writing in the 
daily1 time-worn yoke of their opinions4
 ,in the morning1  solitude1 said       
,pythagoras1--that ,nature may speak to 
the imagination1  as she does never in  
company1 and that her favorite may make 
acquaintance with those divine strengths
 which disclose themselves to  serious  
and abstracted thought4 ',tis very      
certain that ,plato1 ,plotinus1         
,archimedes1 ,hermes1 ,newton1 ,milton1 
,wordsworth did not live in a crowd1    
but descended into it from time to time 
as benefactors3 and the wise  instructor
 will press this point of securing to   

the young soul1 in the  disposition of  
time and the arrangements of living1    
periods and habits  of solitude4 ,the   
high advantage of university-life is    
often the mere  mechanical one1 ,i may  
call it1 of a separate chamber and      
fire1--which  parents will allow the boy
 without hesitation at ,cambridge1 but  
do not  think needful at home4 ,we say  
solitude1 to mark the character of the  
tone of thought2 but if it can be shared
 between two1 or more than two1  it is  
happier1 and not less noble4 ,we four1  
wrote ,neander to his  sacred friends1  
will enjoy at ,halle the inward         
blessedness of a  civitas ,dei1 whose   
foundations are forever friendship4 ,the
 more ,i know  you1 the more ,i         
dissatisfy and must dissatisfy all my   
wonted companions4  ,their very presence
 stupefies me4 ,the common understanding
 withdraws  itself from the one centre  
of all existence4    ,solitude takes off
 the pressure of present importunities1 
that more  catholic and humane relations

 may appear4 ,the saint and poet seek   
privacy to ends the most public and     
universal3 and it is the secret of      
culture1 to interest the man more in his
 public than in his private  quality4   
,here is a new poem1 which elicits a    
good many comments in  the journals and 
in conversation4 ,from these it is easy1
 at last1 to  eliminate the verdict     
which readers passed upon it2 and that  
is1 in the  main1 unfavorable4 ,the     
poet1 as a craftsman1 is interested only
 in the  praise accorded to him1 and not
 in the censure1 though it be just2 and 
the poor little poet hearkens only to   
that1 and rejects the censure1 as       
proving incapacity in the critic4 ,but  
the poet cultivated becomes a           
stockholder in both companies1--say ,mr4
 ,curfew1--in the ,curfew stock1  and in
 the humanity stock2 and1 in the last1  
exults as much in the  demonstration of 
the unsoundness of ,curfew as his       
interest in the former  gives him       
pleasure in the currency of ,curfew4    

,for the depreciation of  his ,curfew   
stock only shows the immense values of  
the humanity stock4  ,as soon as he     
sides with his critic against himself1  
with joy1 he is a  cultivated man4      
,we must have an intellectual quality in
 all property and in all action1  or    
they are nought4 ,i must have children1 
,i must have events1 ,i must  have a    
social state and history1 or my thinking
 and speaking want body  or basis4 ,but 
to give these accessories any value1 ,i 
must know them as  contingent and rather
 showy possessions1 which pass for more 
to the  people than to me4 ,we see this 
abstraction in scholars1 as a matter  of
 course3 but what a charm it adds when  
observed in practical men6  ,bonaparte1 
like ,caesar1 was intellectual1 and     
could look at every object  for itself1 
without affection4 ,though an egotist   
l'outrance1 he  could criticize a play1 
a building1 a character1 on universal   
grounds1  and give a just opinion4 ,a   
man known to us only as a celebrity in  

politics or in trade gains largely in   
our esteem1 if we discover that he  has 
some intellectual taste or skill3 as    
when we learn of ,lord ,fairfax1  the   
,long ,parliament's general1 his passion
 for antiquarian studies2 or  of the    
,french regicide ,carnot1 his sublime   
genius in mathematics2 or of  a living  
banker1 his success in poetry2 or of a  
partisan journalist1  his devotion to   
ornithology4 ,so1 if1 in travelling in  
the dreary  wildernesses of ,arkansas or
 ,texas1 we should observe on the next  
seat a  man reading ,horace1 or         
,martial1 or ,calderon1 we should wish  
to hug him4  ,in callings that require  
roughest energy1 soldiers1 sea-captains1
 and  civil engineers sometimes betray a
 fine insight1 if only through a        
certain gentleness when off duty3 a     
good-natured admission that there  are  
illusions1 and who shall say that he is 
not their sport8 ,we only  vary the     
phrase1 not the doctrine1 when we say   
that culture opens the  sense of beauty4

 ,a man is a beggar who only lives to   
the useful1 and1  however he may serve  
as a pin or rivet in the social machine1
 cannot be  said to have arrived at     
self-possession4 ,i suffer1 every day1  
from the  want of perception of beauty  
in people4 ,they do not know the charm  
with  which all moments and objects can 
be embellished1--the charm of manners1  
of self-command1 of benevolence4 ,repose
 and cheerfulness are the badge  of the 
gentleman1--repose in energy4 ,the      
,greek battle-pieces are calm2  the     
heroes1 in whatever violent actions     
engaged1 retain a serene  aspect3 as we 
say of ,niagara1 that it falls without  
speed4 ,a cheerful1  intelligent face is
 the end of culture1 and success enough2
 for it  indicates the purpose of       
,nature and wisdom attained4    ,when   
our higher faculties are in activity1 we
 are domesticated1  and awkwardness and 
discomfort give place to natural and    
agreeable  movements4 ,it is noticed    
that the consideration of the great     

periods and  spaces of astronomy induces
 a dignity of mind and an indifference  
to death4 ,the influence of fine        
scenery1 the presence of mountains1     
appeases our irritations and elevates   
our friendships4 ,even a high dome1  and
 the expansive interior of a cathedral1 
have a sensible effect  on manners4 ,i  
have heard that stiff people lose       
something of their  awkwardness under   
high ceilings and in spacious halls4 ,i 
think sculpture  and painting have an   
effect to teach us manners and abolish  
hurry4    ,but1 over all1 culture must  
reinforce from higher influx the        
empirical  skills of eloquence1 or of   
politics1 or of trade and the useful    
arts4  ,there is a certain loftiness of 
thought and power to marshal and  adjust
 particulars1 which can come only from  
an insight of their whole  connection4  
,the orator who has once seen things in 
their divine order  will never quite    
lose sight of this1 and will come to    
affairs as from a  higher ground1 and1  

though he will say nothing of           
philosophy1 he will  have a certain     
mastery in dealing with them1 and an    
incapableness of  being dazzled or      
frighted1 which will distinguish his    
handling from that  of attorneys and    
factors4 ,a man who stands on a good    
footing with the  heads of parties at   
,washington reads the rumors of the     
newspapers and  the guesses of          
provincial politicians with a key to the
 right and  wrong in each statement1 and
 sees well enough where all this will   
end4  ,archimedes will look through your
 ,connecticut machine at a glance1 and  
judge of its fitness4 ,and much more1 a 
wise man who knows not only what        
,plato1 but what ,saint ,john can show  
him1 can easily raise the affair  he    
deals with to a certain majesty4 ,plato 
says1 ,pericles owed this  elevation to 
the lessons of ,anaxagoras4 ,burke      
descended from a higher  sphere when he 
would influence human affairs4          
,franklin1 ,adams1  ,jefferson1         

,washington1 stood on a fine humanity1  
before which the brawls  of modern      
senates are but pot-house politics4     
,but there are higher secrets of        
culture1 which are not for the          
apprentices1 but for proficients4 ,these
 are lessons only for the brave4  ,we   
must know our friends under ugly masks4 
,the calamities are our  friends4 ,ben  
,jonson specifies in his address to the 
,muse3--      ,get him the time's long  
grudge1 the court's ill-will1    ,and1  
reconciled1 keep him suspected still1   
,make him lose all his friends1 and1    
what is worse1    ,almost all ways to   
any better course2    ,with me thou     
leav'st a better ,muse than thee1       
,and which thou brought'st me1 blessed  
,poverty4    ,we wish to learn          
philosophy by rote1 and play at heroism4
 ,but the wiser  ,god says1 ,take the   
shame1 the poverty1 and the penal       
solitude that  belong to truth-speaking4
 ,try the rough water1 as well as the   
smooth4  ,rough water can teach lessons 

worth knowing4 ,when the state is       
unquiet1  personal qualities are more   
than ever decisive4 ,fear not a         
revolution  which will constrain you to 
live five years in one4 ,don't be so    
tender  at making an enemy now and then4
 ,be willing to go to ,coventry         
sometimes1  and let the populace bestow 
on you their coldest contempts4 ,the    
finished  man of the world must eat of  
every apple once4 ,he must hold his     
hatreds  also at arm's length1 and not  
remember spite4 ,he has neither friends 
nor  enemies1 but values men only as    
channels of power4    ,he who aims high 
must dread an easy home and popular     
manners4 ,heaven  sometimes hedges a    
rare character about with ungainliness  
and odium1 as  the burr that protects   
the fruit4 ,if there is any great and   
good thing  in store for you1 it will   
not come at the first or the second     
call1 nor  in the shape of fashion1     
ease1 and city drawing-rooms4           
,popularity is for  dolls4 ,steep and   

craggy1 said ,porphyry1 is the path of  
the gods4  ,open your ,marcus           
,antoninus4 ,in the opinion of the      
ancients1 he was the  great man who     
scorned to shine1 and who contested the 
frowns of ,fortune4  ,they preferred the
 noble vessel too late for the tide1    
contending with  winds and waves1       
dismantled and unrigged1 to her         
companion borne into  harbor with colors
 flying and guns firing4 ,there is none 
of the social  goods that may not be    
purchased too dear1 and mere amiableness
 must not  take rank with high aims and 
self-subsistency4    ,bettine replies to
 ,goethe's mother1 who chides her       
disregard of  dress1--,if ,i cannot do  
as ,i have a mind1 in our poor          
,frankfort1 ,i shall  not carry things  
far4 ,and the youth must rate at its    
true mark the  inconceivable levity of  
local opinion4 ,the longer we live1 the 
more we  must endure the elementary     
existence of men and women3 and every   
brave  heart must treat society as a    

child1 and never allow it to dictate4   
,all that class of the severe and       
restrictive virtues1 said ,burke1 are   
almost too costly for humanity4 ,who    
wishes to be severe8 ,who wishes  to    
resist the eminent and polite1 in behalf
 of the poor and low and  impolite8 and 
who that dares do it can keep his temper
 sweet1 his frolic  spirits8 ,the high  
virtues are not debonair1 but have their
 redress in  being illustrious at last4 
,what forests of laurel we bring1 and   
the  tears of mankind1 to those who     
stood firm against the opinion of their 
contemporaries6 ,the measure of a master
 is his success in bringing all  men    
round to his opinion twenty years later4
    ,let me say here1 that culture      
cannot begin too early4 ,in talking with
  scholars1 ,i observe that they lost on
 ruder companions those years of        
boyhood which alone could give          
imaginative literature a religious and  
infinite quality in their esteem4 ,i    
find1 too1 that the chance for          

appreciation is much increased by being 
the son of an appreciator1 and  that    
these boys who now grow up are caught   
not only years too late1 but  two or    
three births too late1 to make the best 
scholars of4 ,and ,i think  it a        
presentable motive to a scholar1 that1  
as1 in an old community1 a  well-born   
proprietor is usually found1 after the  
first heats of youth1  to be a careful  
husband1 and to feel an habitual desire 
that the estate  shall suffer no harm by
 his administration1 but shall be       
delivered  down to the next heir in as  
good condition as he received it1--so1  
a considerate man will reckon himself a 
subject of that secular  melioration by 
which mankind is mollified1 cured1 and  
refined1 and will  shun every           
expenditure of his forces on pleasure or
 gain1 which will  jeopardize this      
social and secular accumulation4    ,the
 fossil strata show us that ,nature     
began with rudimental forms1  and rose  
to the more complex as fast as the earth

 was fit for their  dwelling-place1--and
 that the lower perish1 as the higher   
appear4 ,very  few of our race can be   
said to be yet finished men4 ,we still  
carry  sticking to us some remains of   
the preceding inferior quadruped        
organization4 ,we call these millions   
men2 but they are not yet men4          
,half-engaged in the soil1 pawing to get
 free1 man needs all the music  that can
 be brought to disengage him4 ,if ,love1
 red ,love1 with tears  and joy1--if    
,want with his scourge1--if ,war with   
his cannonade1--if  ,christianity with  
its charity1--if ,trade with its        
money1--if ,art with  its               
portfolios1--if ,science with her       
telegraphs through the deeps of  space  
and time1 can set his dull nerves       
throbbing1 and by loud taps on  the     
tough chrysalis can break its walls and 
let the new creature emerge  erect and  
free1--make way1 and sing paean6 ,the   
age of the quadruped is  to go out1--the
 age of the brain and of the heart is to

 come in4  ,the time will come when the 
evil forms we have known can no more be 
organized4 ,man's culture can spare     
nothing1 wants all the material4 ,he  is
 to convert all impediments into        
instruments1 all enemies into power4    
,the formidable mischief will only make 
the more useful slave4 ,and if one      
shall read the future of the race hinted
 in the organic effort of ,nature  to   
mount and meliorate1 and the            
corresponding impulse to the ,better in 
the human being1 we shall dare affirm   
that there is nothing he will not       
overcome and convert1 until at last     
culture shall absorb the chaos and      
gehenna4 ,he will convert the ,furies   
into ,muses1 and the hells into         
benefit4          ,,the ,,children',s   
,,hour4        ,between the dark and the
 daylight1    ,when the night is        
beginning to lower1    ,comes a pause in
 the day's occupations    ,that is known
 as the ,children's ,hour4      ,i hear 
in the chamber above me    ,the patter  

of little feet1    ,the sound of a door 
that is opened1    ,and voices soft and 
sweet4      ,from my study ,i see in the
 lamplight1    ,descending the broad    
hall-stair1    ,grave ,alice1 and       
laughing ,allegra1    ,and ,edith with  
golden hair4      ,a whisper1 and then a
 silence3    ,yet ,i know by their merry
 eyes    ,they are plotting and planning
 together    ,to take me by surprise4   
,a sudden rush from the stairway1    ,a 
sudden raid from the hall6    ,by three 
doors left unguarded    ,they enter my  
castle wall6      ,they climb up into my
 turret    ,o'er the arms and back of my
 chair2    ,if ,i try to escape1 they   
surround me2    ,they seem to be        
everywhere4      ,they almost devour me 
with kisses1    ,their arms about me    
entwine1    ,till ,i think of the       
,bishop of ,bingen    ,in his           
,mouse-,tower on the ,rhine6      ,do   
you think1 ,o blue-eyed banditti1       
,because you have scaled the wall1      
,such an old moustache as ,i am    ,is  

not a match for you all8      ,i have   
you fast in my fortress1    ,and will   
not let you depart1    ,but put you down
 into the dungeons    ,in the           
round-tower of my heart4      ,and there
 will ,i keep you forever1    ,yes1     
forever and a day1    ,till the walls   
shall crumble to ruin1    ,and moulder  
in dust away6          ,,three-,,mile   
,,cross4      ,it seems but yesterday1  
although more than thirteen years have  
gone  by1 since ,i first opened the     
little garden-gate and walked up the    
path  leading to ,mary ,russell         
,mitford's cottage at ,three-,mile      
,cross4 ,a friend  in ,london had given 
me his card to the writer of ,our       
,village1 and ,i  had promised to call  
on my way to ,oxford1 and have a        
half-hour's chat  over her geraniums    
with the charming person whose sketches 
,i had read  with so much interest in my
 own country4 ,her cheerful voice at the
  head of the stairs1 telling her little
 maid to show me the way to her         

sitting-room1 sounded very musically1   
and ,i often observed in later          
interviews how like a melody her tones  
always appeared in conversation4  ,once 
when she read a lyrical poem1 not her   
own1 to a group of friends  assembled at
 her later residence1 in ,swallowfield1 
of which number it  was my good-fortune 
to be one1 the verses came from her lips
 like an  exquisite chant4 ,her laugh   
had a ringing sweetness in it1 rippling 
out  sometimes like a beautiful chime of
 silver bells2 and when she told  a     
comic story1 which she often did with   
infinite tact and grace1 she  joined in 
with the jollity at the end1 her eyes   
twinkling with delight  at the pleasure 
her narrative was always sure to bring4 
,her enjoyment of  a joke was something 
delicious1 and when she heard a good    
thing for  the first time her exultant  
mirth was unbounded4 ,as she sat in her 
easy-chair1 listening to a ,yankee story
 which interested her1 her ,dear  me6   
dear me6 dear me6 7three times repeated 

always7      ,rang like a golden jewel  
down a golden stair4    ,the sunny      
summer-day was falling full on her      
honeysuckles1 lilies1 and  roses1 when  
,i first saw her face in the snug       
cottage at ,three-,mile  ,cross4 ,as we 
sat together at the open casement1      
looking down on the  flowers that sent  
up their perfumes to her latticed window
 like fragrant  tributes from a fountain
 of distilled sweet waters1 she pointed 
out1  among the neighboring farm-houses 
and villas1 the residences of her       
friends1 in all of whom she seemed to   
have the most affectionate  interest4 ,i
 noticed1 as the village children went  
by her window1 they  all stopped to bow 
and curtsy4 ,one curly-headed urchin    
made bold to take  off his well-worn cap
 and wait to be recognized as little    
,johnny1--no  great scholar1 said the   
kind-hearted old lady to me1 but a sad  
rogue  among our flock of geese4 ,only  
yesterday1 the young marauder was       
detected by my maid with a plump gosling

 stuffed half-way into his  pocket6     
,while she was thus discoursing of      
,johnny's peccadilloes1 the  little     
fellow looked up with a knowing         
expression1 and very soon caught  in his
 cap a gingerbread dog1 which the old   
lady threw to him from the  window4 ,i  
wish he loved his book as well as he    
relishes sweet cake1  sighed she1 as the
 boy kicked up his heels and disappeared
 down the  lane4    ,full of anecdote1  
her conversation that afternoon ran on  
in a perpetual  flow of good-humor1     
until it was time for me to be on my way
 toward the  ,university ,city4 ,from   
that time till she died1 our friendship 
continued1  and1 during other visits to 
,england1 ,i saw her frequently1 driving
 about  the country with her in her     
pony-chaise1 and spending many happy    
hours  under her cottage-roof4 ,she was 
always the same cheerful spirit1        
enlivening our intercourse with shrewd  
and pertinent observations and          
reminiscences1 some of which it may not 

be out of place to reproduce  here4     
,country life1 its scenery and manners1 
she was never tired of  depicting2 but  
not infrequently she loved to talk of   
those celebrities  in literature and art
 whom she had known intimately1 with a  
vivacity and  sweetness of temper       
never-failing and delightful4 ,i well   
remember1 one  autumn evening1 when half
 a dozen friends were sitting in her    
library  after dinner1 talking with her 
of ,tom ,taylor's ,life of ,haydon1 then
  lately published1 how graphically she 
described to us the eccentric  painter1 
whose genius she was among the fore-most
 to recognize4  ,the flavor of her      
discourse ,i cannot reproduce2 but ,i   
was too much  interested in what she was
 saying to forget the main incidents she
 drew  for our edification1 during those
 pleasant hours now far away in the     
past4    ,i am a terrible forgetter of  
dates1 she used to say1 when any one    
asked her of the time when2 but for the 
manner how she was never at a  loss4    

,poor ,haydon6 she began4 ,he was an old
 friend of mine1 and ,i am  indebted to 
,sir ,william ,elford1 one of my dear   
father's correspondents  during my      
girlhood1 for a suggestion which sent me
 to look at a picture  then on          
exhibition in ,london1 and thus was     
brought about my knowledge of  the      
painter's existence4 ,he1 ,sir ,william1
 had taken a fancy to me1 and  ,i became
 his child-correspondent4 ,few things   
contribute more to that  indirect       
after-education1 which is worth all the 
formal lessons of the  school-room a    
thousand times told1 than such          
good-humored condescension  from a      
clever man of the world to a girl almost
 young enough to be his  granddaughter4 
,i owe much to that correspondence1 and1
 amongst other  debts1 the acquaintance 
of ,haydon4 ,sir ,william's own letters 
were most  charming1--full of           
old-fashioned courtesy1 of quaint humor1
 and  of pleasant and genial criticism  
on literature and on art4 ,an           

amateur-painter himself1 painting       
interested him particularly1 and  he    
often spoke much and warmly of the young
 man from ,plymouth1 whose  picture of  
the ',judgment of ,solomon' was then on 
exhibition in ,london4  ',you must see  
it1' said he1 'even if you come to town 
on purpose4'--,the  reader of ,haydon's 
,life will remember that ,sir ,william  
,elford1 in  conjunction with a         
,plymouth banker named ,tingecombe1     
ultimately  purchased the picture4 ,the 
poor artist was overwhelmed with        
astonishment  and joy when he walked    
into the exhibition-room and read the   
label1  ,sold1 which had been attached  
to his picture that morning before  he  
arrived4 ,my first impulse1 he says in  
his ,autobiography1 was  gratitude to   
,god4    ,it so happened1 continued     
,miss ,mitford1 that ,i merely passed   
through  ,london that season1 and1 being
 detained by some of the thousand and   
one  nothings which are so apt to detain
 women in the great city1 ,i arrived  at

 the exhibition1 in company with a still
 younger friend1 so near the  period of 
closing1 that more punctual visitors    
were moving out1 and the  doorkeeper    
actually turned us and our money back4  
,i persisted1 however1  assuring him    
that ,i only wished to look at one      
picture1 and promising  not to detain   
him long4 ,whether my entreaties would  
have carried  the point or not1 ,i      
cannot tell2 but half a crown did2 so we
 stood  admiringly before the ',judgment
 of ,solomon4' ,i am no great judge of  
painting2 but that picture impressed me 
then1 as it does now1 as  excellent in  
composition1 in color1 and in that great
 quality of telling  a story which      
appeals at once to every mind4 ,our     
delight was sincerely  felt1 and most   
enthusiastically expressed1 as we kept  
gazing at the  picture1 and seemed1     
unaccountably to us at first1 to give   
much pleasure  to the only gentleman who
 had remained in the room1--a young and 
very  distinguished-looking person1 who 

had watched with evident amusement our  
negotiation with the doorkeeper4 ,beyond
 indicating the best position to  look  
at the picture1 he had no conversation  
with us2 but ,i soon surmised  that we  
were seeing the painter1 as well as his 
painting2 and when1 two  or three years 
afterwards1 a friend took me by         
appointment to view the  ',entry into   
,jerusalem1' ,haydon's next great       
picture1 then near its  completion1 ,i  
found ,i had not been mistaken4         
,haydon was1 at that period1 a          
remarkable person to look at and listen 
to4 ,perhaps your ,american word bright 
expresses better than any other  his    
appearance and manner4 ,his figure1     
short1 slight1 elastic1 and  vigorous1  
looked still more light and youthful    
from the little  sailor's-jacket and    
snowy trousers which formed his painting
 costume4  ,his complexion was clear and
 healthful4 ,his forehead1 broad and    
high1 out of all proportion to the lower
 part of his face1 gave an  unmistakable

 character of intellect to the finely   
placed head4 ,indeed1  he liked to      
observe that the gods of the ,greek     
sculptors owed much of  their elevation 
to being similarly out of drawing6 ,the 
lower features  were terse1 succinct1   
and powerful1--from the bold1 decided   
jaw1 to the  large1 firm1 ugly1         
good-humored mouth4 ,his very spectacles
 aided the  general expression2 they had
 a look of the man4 ,but how shall ,i   
attempt  to tell you of his brilliant   
conversation1 of his rapid1 energetic   
manner1 of his quick turns of thought1  
as he flew on from topic to  topic1     
dashing his brush here and there upon   
the canvas8 ,slow and quiet  persons    
were a good deal startled by this       
suddenness and mobility4 ,he  left such 
people far behind1 mentally and bodily4 
,but his talk was so  rich and varied1  
so earnest and glowing1 his anecdotes so
 racy1 his  perception of character so  
shrewd1 and the whole tone so           
spontaneous and  natural1 that the want 

of repose was rather recalled afterwards
 than  felt at the time4 ,the alloy to  
this charm was a slight coarseness of   
voice and accent1 which contrasted      
somewhat strangely with his constant    
courtesy and high breeding4 ,perhaps    
this was characteristic4 ,a defect  of  
some sort pervades his pictures4 ,their 
great want is equality and              
congruity1--that perfect union of       
qualities which we call taste4 ,his     
apartment1 especially at that period    
when he lived in his painting-room1  was
 in itself a study of the most          
picturesque kind4 ,besides the great    
picture itself1 for which there seemed  
hardly space between the walls1  it was 
crowded with casts1 lay figures1 arms1  
tripods1 vases1 draperies1  and costumes
 of all ages1 weapons of all nations1   
books in all tongues4  ,these cumbered  
the floor2 whilst around hung smaller   
pictures1 sketches1  and drawings1      
replete with originality and force4     
,with chalk he could do  what he chose4 

,i remember he once drew for me a head  
of hair with nine  of his sweeping1     
vigorous strokes6 ,among the studies ,i 
remarked that  day in his apartment was 
one of a mother who had just lost her   
only  child1--a most masterly rendering 
of an unspeakable grief4 ,a sonnet1     
which ,i could not help writing on this 
sketch1 gave rise to our long           
correspondence1 and to a friendship     
which never flagged4 ,everybody feels   
that his life1 as told by ,mr4 ,taylor1 
with its terrible catastrophe1 is  a    
stern lesson to young artists1 an awful 
warning that cannot be set  aside4 ,let 
us not forget that amongst his many     
faults are qualities  which hold out a  
bright example4 ,his devotion to his    
noble art1 his  conscientious pursuit of
 every study connected with it1 his     
unwearied  industry1 his love of beauty 
and of excellence1 his warm family      
affection1 his patriotism1 his courage1 
and his piety1 will not easily  be      
surpassed4 ,thinking of them1 let us    

speak tenderly of the ardent  spirit    
whose violence would have been softened 
by better fortune1 and  who1 if more    
successful1 would have been more gentle 
and more humble4    ,and so with her    
vigilant and appreciative eye she saw1  
and thus in her  own charming way she   
talked of the man1 whose name1 says     
,taylor1 as a  popularizer of art1      
stands without a rival among his        
brethren4           99       99       99
       99       99    ,her passion for  
the ,drama continued through life1 and  
to see a friend's  play would take her  
up to ,london when nothing else would   
tempt her to  leave her cottage4 ,it was
 delightful to hear her talk of the old 
actors1  many of whom she had known4    
,she loved to describe ,john ,kemble1   
,mrs4  ,siddons1 ,miss ,o',neill1 and   
,edmund ,kean1 as they were wont to     
electrify  the town4 ,elliston was a    
great favorite1 and she had as many good
 things  to tell of him as ,elia ever   
had4 ,one autumn afternoon she related  

all  the circumstances attending the    
first play she ever saw1--which1 by  the
 way1 was a tragedy enacted in a barn   
somewhere in the little town of         
,alresford1 where she was born4 ,the    
winking candles dividing the stage  from
 the audience1 she used to say1 were    
winking now in her memory1  although    
fifty years had elapsed since her father
 took her1 a child of  four years1 to   
see ,othello4 ,her talent at mimicry    
made her always most  interesting1 when 
she spoke of ,munden and his pleasant   
absurdities on  the stage4 ,for         
,bannister1 ,johnstone1 ,fawcett1 and   
,emery she had a most  exquisite relish1
 and she said they had made comedy to   
her a living art  full of laughter and  
tears4 ,her passion for the stage1 and  
overclouded  prospects for the future1  
led her in early youth to write a play4 
,she  had already written a considerable
 number of verses which had been        
printed1 and were honored by being      
severely castigated by ,gifford in the  

,quarterly4    ,i didn't mind the great 
reviewer's blows at all1 she used to    
say4 ,my  poems had been republished in 
,america2 and ,coleridge had prophesied 
that  ,i should one day write a tragedy4
    ,talfourd was then1 though a young  
man1 a most excellent critic1 and lent  
a helping hand to the young authoress4  
,her anxieties attending the first      
representation of her play at ,covent   
,garden she was always fond of          
relating1 and in such a manner that we  
who listened fell into such  boisterous 
merriment with her1 that ,i have known  
carriages stop in front  of her window1 
and their inmates put out anxiously     
inquiring heads1 to  learn1 if possible1
 what it all meant inside the cottage4  
,she never forgot the warm grasp of     
,mrs4 ,charles ,kemble's hand1 when she 
saw her1 all life and heartiness1 at her
 house in ,soho ,square1--or the        
excellent acting of ,young and ,kemble  
and ,macready1 who did everything       
actors could do to secure success for   

her4    ,these are the things1 she once 
wrote1 one thinks of1 when sitting  calm
 and old by the light of a country fire4
    ,the comic and the grotesque that   
were mingled up with her first          
experiences of the stage as a dramatic  
author were inimitably rendered  by     
herself1 whenever she sat down to relate
 the story of that visit to  ,london for
 the purpose of bringing out her        
tragedy4 ,the rehearsals1  where the    
only grave person present was ,mr4      
,liston6--the tragic  heroines          
sauntering languidly through their parts
 in bonnets and thick  shawls1--the     
untidy ballet-girls 7there was a dance  
in ,foscari7  walking through their     
quadrille to the sound of a solitary    
fiddle1--she was never weary of calling 
up for the amusement of her  listeners4 
,the old dramatists she had grown up to 
worship1--,shakspeare first1 as in  all 
loyalty bound1 and after him ,fletcher4 
,affluent1 eloquent1 royally  grand1 she
 used to call both ,beaumont and        

,fletcher2 and whole scenes  from       
favorite plays she knew by heart4 ,dr4  
,valpy was her neighbor1 he  being in   
the days of her youth headmaster of     
,reading ,school4 ,a family  intimacy of
 long standing had existed between her  
father's household and  that of the     
learned and excellent scholar1 so that  
his well-known taste  for the ,english  
dramatists had no small influence on    
,doctor ,mitford's  studious daughter4  
,he helped me also1 she said1 to enter  
into the  spirit of those mighty masters
 who dealt forth the stern ,tragedies of
  ,destiny4    ,one of the dearest      
friends of her youth was ,miss ,porden1 
7afterwards  married1 as his first wife1
 to ,sir ,john ,franklin17 and at her   
suggestion  ,miss ,mitford wrote        
,rienzi4 ,i have heard her say1 that1   
going up  to ,london to bring out that  
play1 she saw her old friend1 then ,mrs4
  ,franklin1 working a flag for the     
captain's ship1 then about to sail on   
one of his early adventurous voyages4   

,the agitation of parting with  her     
husband was too great for her delicate  
temperament1 and before the  expedition 
was out of the ,channel ,mrs4 ,franklin 
was dead4           99       99       99
       99       99    ,often and often1 
when the ,english lanes were white with 
blossoms1 ,i  have sat by her side while
 her faithful servant guided her        
low-wheeled  pony-chaise among the      
pleasant roads about ,reading and       
,swallowfield4  ,once we went to a      
cricket-ground together1 and as we sat  
under the  trees1 looking on as the game
 proceeded1 she1 who fell in love with  
,nature when a child1 and had studied   
the landscape till she knew  familiarly 
every flower and leaf that grows on     
,english soil1 assembled  all that was  
best in poesy from her memory to        
illustrate the beautiful  scene before  
us1 and to prove how much better and    
more truly the great  end of existence  
is answered in a rural life than in the 
vexatious cares  of city occupation4 ,as

 we sat looking at the vast lawn1       
magnificent in  its green apparel1 she  
quoted ,irving as one who had understood
 ,english  country-life perhaps more    
deeply and fully than any other foreign 
author  who had ever written4           
,speaking1 one day1 of the slowness of  
poetical fame1 she said1--    ,it always
 takes ten years to make a poetical     
reputation in ,england2 but  ,america is
 wiser and bolder1 and dares say at     
once1 ',this is fine6'    ,she rejoiced 
greatly in several of the ,american     
poets1 and was never  weary of quoting  
certain ringing couplets which she has  
celebrated in  her ,notes of a ,literary
 ,life4 ,is there anything under the    
sun1 she  exclaims1 that ,dr4 ,holmes   
cannot paint8    ,during the last six   
years of her life she became a great    
invalid and  moved about only with      
severe pain4 ,it is not age1 she said1  
that has  thus prostrated me1 but the   
hard work and increasing anxieties of   
thirty  years of authorship1 during     

which my poor labors were all that my   
dear  father and mother had to look to2 
besides which1 for the greater part of  
that time ,i was constantly called upon 
to attend the sick bed1 first of  one   
parent1 and then of the other4 ,i have  
only to be intensely thankful  that the 
power of exertion did not fail until the
 necessity for such  exertion was       
removed4    ,i love poetry and people as
 well at sixty as ,i did at sixteen1 she
  said one day1 when ,i gave her a new  
volume by an ,american friend1 and  can 
never be sufficiently grateful to ,god  
for having permitted me to  retain the  
two joy-giving faculties of admiration  
and sympathy4 ,the  ,ballad of          
,cassandra ,southwick she esteemed as   
one of the finest things  of our time2  
and of ,astrea she said1--,nobody in    
,england can write  the glorious        
resonant metre of ,dryden like that     
strain1 nowadays4    ,pope was a great  
favorite with her1 and she took me one  
morning to an  old house where he was a 

frequent guest1 and where ,arabella     
,fermor1 the  heroine of the ,rape of   
the ,lock1 passed her married life4 ,on 
the way  she often quoted the poet1     
whose works she seemed to know by heart4
  ,returning at sunset1 she was very    
anxious that ,i should hear my first    
nightingale among the woody lanes of her
 pretty country2 but we were  both      
disappointed4 ,we listened long1 but1   
although the air was full of  birdsongs 
that evening1 the sweet-voiced warbler  
was not of the choir4  ,she talked much1
 as we rode along1 of ,kingsley and     
,ruskin1 both of whom  she loved as     
friends as well as authors4 ,john       
,ruskin1 she said1 is  good and kind1   
and charming beyond the common lot of   
mortals1 and there  are pages of his    
prose1 to my thinking1 more eloquent    
than any thing out  of ,jeremy ,taylor4 
,speaking of ,humor1 she said1--,between
 ourselves1 ,i always have a little     
doubt of genius1 when there is none of  
that quality3 certainly1 in the  very   

highest poetry1 the two go together4    
,she greatly admired ,branger1 and often
 spoke of him as the beautiful  old man1
 the truest and best type of perfect    
independence4 ,hazlitt she  ranked      
highly as an essayist1 and she mentioned
 that she had heard both  ,charles ,lamb
 and ,talfourd praise him as not only   
the most brilliant1 but  the soundest of
 critics4    ,among modern romances1    
those by the author of ,the ,scarlet    
,letter  seemed to impress her almost   
more than any others2 and when ,the     
,house  of the ,seven ,gables was       
translated into ,russian1 she was filled
 with  delight4 ,indeed1 she was always 
among the first to cry1 ,bravo6 over    
any good words for ,american literature4
    ,do coax ,mr4 ,hawthorne and ,dr4   
,holmes1 she said one day1 into visiting
  ,england4 ,i want them to be welcomed 
as they deserve1 and as they are  sure  
to be4    ,her interest in the ,french  
,emperor's career amounted to           
enthusiasm1 and  one day she told us a  

very pretty story about him which she   
knew to  be true4 ,she said1 when he was
 in ,england after ,strasbourg and      
before  ,boulogne1 he spent a           
twelvemonth at ,leamington1 living in   
the quietest  manner4 ,one of the       
principal persons in that town1 ,mr4    
,h41 a very  liberal and accomplished   
man1 made a point of showing every      
attention in  his power to the ,prince2 
and they very soon became intimate4     
,there  was in the town an old officer  
of the ,emperor's ,polish ,legion1 who1 
compelled to leave ,france after        
,waterloo1 had taken refuge in ,england1
  and1 having a natural talent for      
languages1 maintained himself by        
teaching ,french1 ,italian1 and ,german 
in different families4 ,the old  exile  
and the young one found each other out1 
and the language-master  was soon an    
habitual guest at the ,prince's table1  
where he was treated  with the most     
affectionate attention4 ,at last ,louis 
,napoleon was obliged  to repair to     

,london1 but before he went he called on
 his friend ,mr4 ,h4  to take leave4    
,after warm thanks to him for all the   
pleasure he had  experienced in his     
society1 the ,prince said1--    ,i am   
about to prove to you my entire reliance
 upon your unfailing  kindness by       
leaving you a legacy4 ,i wish to ask    
that you would transfer  to my poor old 
friend the goodness you have lavished on
 me4 ,his health  is failing1--his means
 are small2 pray1 call upon him         
sometimes1 and see  that the            
lodging-house people do not neglect him4
 ,draw upon me for what  may be wanting 
for his needs or for his comforts4      
,mr4 ,h4 promised1 and faithfully       
replaced the ,prince in his kind        
attentions to his old friend4 ,the poor 
old man grew ill at last1 and  died1    
,mr4 ,h4 defraying all the charges of   
his illness and of his  funeral4 ,i     
would willingly have paid them myself1  
said he1 but ,i knew  that would have   
offended and grieved the ,prince4 ,i    

found that provision  had been made at  
his banker's to answer my drafts to a   
much larger  amount than the actual     
debt4    ,miss ,mitford used to say that
 she kept this anecdote for non-admirers
 of  the ,emperor4    ,one day she came 
limping into the room1 with her dog     
,fanchon following  in the same lame    
plight1--she laughing heartily at their 
similarity of  gait1 and holding up a   
letter just in from the post4    ,here1 
said she1 is an epistle from my dear old
 friend1 ,lady ,m41  7,gibbon's         
correspondent17 who at the age of       
eighty-three is caught  by new books1   
and is as enthusiastic as a girl4 ,she  
commissions me to  inquire of you all   
about your new authoress1 the writer of 
',uncle ,tom's  ,cabin1' who she is1 and
 all you know of her4 ,so let me hear   
what you  have to say about the lady4   
,during a brief visit to her cottage not
 long before she died1 the chase  was   
started one evening to find1 if         
possible1 the origin of the line  quoted

 by ,byron1--    ,a fellow-feeling makes
 one wondrous kind4    ,in vain we      
searched among the poets1 and at last   
all the party gave up  in despair4 ,i   
went up to ,london soon after1 thinking 
no more of the lost  line4 ,in a few    
days1 however1 came a brief note1 as    
follows3--    ,hurrah1 dear friend6 ,i  
have found the line without any other   
person's  aid or suggestion6 ,last night
 it occurred to me that it was in some  
prologue or epilogue2 and my little     
book-room being very rich in the  drama1
 ,i have looked through many hundreds of
 those bits of rhyme1 and  at last made 
a discovery1 which1 if it have no other 
good effect1 will  at least have        
'emptied my head of ,corsica1' as       
,johnson said to ,boswell2  for never   
was the great biographer more haunted by
 the thought of ,paoli  than ,i by that 
line4 ,it occurs in an epilogue by      
,garrick1 on quitting  the stage1 ,june1
 #aggf1 when the performance was for the
 benefit of sick  and aged actors4      

,not finding it quoted in ,johnson      
convinced me that it would probably     
have been written after the publication 
of the ,dictionary1 and  ultimately     
guided me to the right place4 ,it is    
singular that epilogues  were just      
dismissed at the first representation of
 one of my plays1  ',foscari1' and      
prologues at another1 ',rienzi4'        
,ever most affectionately yours1        
,m4,r4 ,,mitford4    ,p4,s4 ,i am still 
a close prisoner in my room4 ,but when  
fine weather  comes1 ,i will get down in
 some way or other1 and trust myself to 
that  which never hurts anybody1 the    
honest open air4 ,spring1 and even the  
approach of spring1 sets me dreaming4 ,i
 see leafy hedges in my sleep1  and     
flowery banks1 and then ,i long to make 
the vision a reality4  ,i remember that 
my dog ,flush1 ,fanchon's father1 who   
was a famous  sporting-dog1 used1 at the
 approach of the covering season1 to    
hunt in  his sleep1 doubtless by the    
same instinct that works in me4 ,so1 as 

soon  as the sun tells the same story   
with the primroses1 ,i shall make a     
descent after some fashion1 and1 no     
doubt1 aided by ,sam's stalwart arm1    
successfully4           99       99     
99       99       99    ,after leaving  
,three-,mile ,cross for ,swallowfield1  
her health1 never of  late years robust1
 seemed failing4 ,in one of her letters 
to me she gives  this pleasant picture  
of her home3--    ,ill as ,i am1 my     
spirits are as good as ever2 and just at
 this moment ,i  am most comfortably    
seated under the acacia-tree at the     
corner of the  house1--the beautiful    
acacia literally loaded with its snowy  
chains4 ,the  flowering-trees this      
summer1 the lilacs1 laburnums1 and      
rhododendrons1  have been one mass of   
blossoms1 but none are so graceful as   
this  waving acacia4 ,on one side is a  
syringa1 smelling and looking like an   
orange-tree1--a jar of roses on the     
table before me1--fresh gathered        
roses1--the pride of my gardener's      

heart4 ,little ,fanchon is at my  feet1 
too idle to eat the biscuits with which 
,i am trying to tempt  her1--biscuits   
from ,boston1 sent to me by kind ,mrs4  
,s41 and which  ,fanchon ought to like2 
but you know her laziness of old1 and   
she  improves in it every day4    ,it   
was about this period that ,walter      
,savage ,landor sent to her these       
exquisite lines3--      ,the hay is     
carried2 and the ,hours    ,snatch1 as  
they pass1 the linden-flowers2    ,and  
children leap to pluck a spray    ,bent 
earthward1 and then run away4           
,park-keeper6 catch me those grave      
thieves1    ,about whose frocks the     
fragrant leaves1    ,sticking and       
fluttering here and there1    ,no false 
nor faltering witness bear4      ,i     
never view such scenes as these    ,in  
grassy meadow girt with trees1    ,but  
comes a thought of her who now    ,sits 
with serenely patient brow    ,amid deep
 sufferings3 none hath told    ,more    
pleasant tales to young and old4        

,fondest was she of ,father ,thames1    
,but rambled to ,hellenic streams2      
,nor even there could any tell    ,the  
country's purer charms so well    ,as   
,mary ,mitford4      ,verse6 go forth   
,and breathe o'er gentle hearts her     
worth4    ,needless the task3 but should
 she see    ,one hearty wish from you   
and me1    ,a moment's pain it may      
assuage1--    ,a rose-leaf on the couch 
of ,age4    ,in the early days of the   
year #ahee she sent1 in her own         
handwriting1  kind greetings to her old 
friends only a few hours before she     
died4  ,sweetness of temper and         
brightness of mind1 her never-failing   
characteristics1 accompanied her to the 
last2 and she passed on in her  usual   
cheerful and affectionate mood1 her     
sympathies uncontracted by  age1 narrow 
fortune1 and pain4          ,,the       
,,professor',s ,,story4      ,,chapter  
,,xvii4    ,,old ,,sophy ,,calls ,,on   
,,the ,,reverend ,,doctor4      ,the two
 meeting-houses which faced each other  

like a pair of  fighting-cocks had not  
flapped their wings or crowed at each   
other for a  considerable time4 ,the    
,reverend ,mr4 ,fairweather had been    
dyspeptic and  low-spirited of late1 and
 was too languid for controversy4 ,the  
,reverend  ,doctor ,honeywood had been  
very busy with his benevolent           
associations1  and had discoursed       
chiefly on practical matters1 to the    
neglect of  special doctrinal subjects4 
,his senior deacon ventured to say to   
him  that some of his people required to
 be reminded of the great fundamental   
doctrine of the worthlessness of all    
human efforts and motives4 ,some of     
them were altogether too much pleased   
with the success of the ,temperance     
,society and the ,association for the   
,relief of the ,poor4 ,there was a      
pestilent heresy about1 concerning the  
satisfaction to be derived from  a good 
conscience1--as if anybody ever did     
anything which was not to be  hated1    
loathed1 despised1 and condemned4       

,the old minister listened gravely1 with
 an inward smile1 and told his  deacon  
that he would attend to his suggestion4 
,after the deacon had  gone1 he tumbled 
over his manuscripts1 until at length he
 came upon his  first-rate old sermon on
 ,human ,nature4 ,he had read a great   
deal of  hard theology1 and had at last 
reached that curious state which is so  
common in good ministers1--that1 namely1
 in which they contrive to  switch off  
their logical faculties on the narrow   
side-track of their  technical dogmas1  
while the great freight-train of their  
substantial  human qualities keeps in   
the main highway of common-sense1 in    
which  kindly souls are always found by 
all who approach them by their human    
side4    ,the ,doctor read his sermon   
with a pleasant1 paternal interest3 it  
was  well argued from his premises4     
,here and there he dashed his pen       
through  a harsh expression4 ,now and   
then he added an explanation or         
qualified  a broad statement4 ,but his  

mind was on the logical side-track1 and 
he  followed the chain of reasoning     
without fairly perceiving where it would
  lead him1 if he carried it into real  
life4    ,he was just touching up the   
final proposition1 when his             
granddaughter1  ,letty1 once before     
referred to1 came into the room with her
 smiling face  and lively movement4     
,miss ,letty or ,letitia ,forrester was 
a city-bred  girl of some fifteen or    
sixteen years old1 who was passing the  
summer  with her grandfather for the    
sake of country air and quiet4 ,it was a
  sensible arrangement2 for1 having the 
promise of figuring as a belle          
by-and-by1 and being a little given to  
dancing1 and having a voice which  drew 
a pretty dense circle around the piano  
when she sat down to play  and sing1 it 
was hard to keep her from being carried 
into society before  her time1 by the   
mere force of mutual attraction4        
,fortunately1 she had  some quiet as    
well as some social tastes1 and was     

willing enough to pass  two or three of 
the summer months in the country1 where 
she was much  better bestowed than she  
would have been at one of those         
watering-places  where so many          
half-formed girls get prematurely       
hardened in the vice of                 
self-consciousness4    ,miss ,letty was 
altogether too wholesome1 hearty1 and   
high-strung a young  girl to be a model1
 according to the flat-chested and      
cachectic pattern  which is the         
classical type of certain excellent     
young females1 often  the subjects of   
biographical memoirs4 ,but the old      
minister was proud of  his granddaughter
 for all that4 ,she was so full of life1
 so graceful1 so  generous1 so          
vivacious1 so ready always to do all she
 could for him and  for everybody1 so   
perfectly frank in her avowed delight in
 the pleasures  which this miserable    
world offered her in the shape of       
natural beauty1  of poetry1 of music1 of
 companionship1 of books1 of cheerful   

cooperation  in the tasks of those about
 her1 that the ,reverend ,doctor could  
not  find it in his heart to condemn her
 because she was deficient in those     
particular graces and that signal       
other-worldliness he had sometimes      
noticed in feeble young persons         
suffering from various chronic diseases 
which impaired their vivacity and       
removed them from the range of          
temptation4    ,when ,letty1 therefore1 
came bounding into the old minister's   
study1  he glanced up from his          
manuscript1 and1 as his eye fell upon   
her1  it flashed across him that there  
was nothing so very monstrous and       
unnatural about the specimen of         
congenital perversion he was looking at1
  with his features opening into their  
pleasantest sunshine4 ,technically1     
according to the fifth proposition of   
the sermon on ,human ,nature1 very  bad1
 no doubt4 ,practically1 according to   
the fact before him1 a very  pretty     
piece of the ,creator's handiwork1 body 

and soul4 ,was it not a  conceivable    
thing that the divine grace might show  
itself in different  forms in a fresh   
young girl like ,letitia1 and in that   
poor thing he had  visited yesterday1   
half-grown1 half-colored1 in bed for the
 last year  with hip-disease8 ,was it to
 be supposed that this healthy young    
girl1  with life throbbing all over her1
 could1 without a miracle1 be good      
according to the invalid pattern and    
formula8    ,and yet there were         
mysteries in human nature which pointed 
to some  tremendous perversion of its   
tendencies1--to some profound1 radical  
vice  of moral constitution1 native or  
transmitted1 as you will have it1 but   
positive1 at any rate1 as the leprosy1  
breaking out in the blood of  races1    
guard them ever so carefully4 ,did he   
not know the case of a young  lady in   
,rockland1 daughter of one of the first 
families in the place1  a very beautiful
 and noble creature to look at1 for     
whose bringing-up  nothing had been     

spared1--a girl who had had governesses 
to teach her at  the house1 who had been
 indulged almost too kindly1--a girl    
whose father  had given himself up to   
her1 he being himself a pure and        
high-souled  man8--and yet this girl was
 accused in whispers of having been on  
the  very verge of committing a fatal   
crime2 she was an object of fear to all 
who knew the dark hints which had been  
let fall about her1 and there  were some
 that believed--,why1 what was this but 
an instance of the total  obliquity and 
degeneration of the moral principle8 and
 to what could it  be owing1 but to an  
innate organic tendency8    ,busy1      
grandpapa8 said ,letty1 and without     
waiting for an answer  kissed his cheek 
with a pair of lips made on purpose for 
that little  function1--fine1 but richly
 turned out1 the corners tucked in with 
a  finish of pretty dimples1 the rosebud
 lips of girlhood's ,june4    ,the old  
gentleman looked at his granddaughter4  
,nature swelled up from  his heart in a 

wave that sent a glow to his cheek and a
 sparkle to his  eye4 ,but it is very   
hard to be interrupted just as we are   
winding up a  string of propositions    
with the grand conclusion which is the  
statement  in brief of all that has gone
 before3 our own starting-point1 into   
which  we have been trying to back our  
reader or listener as one backs a horse 
into the shafts4    ,video meliora1     
proboque1--,i see the better1 and       
approve it2  deteriora sequor1--,i      
follow after the worse3 'tis that       
natural  dislike to what is good1 pure1 
holy1 and true1 that inrooted           
selfishness1 totally insensible to the  
claims of--    ,here the worthy man was 
interrupted by ,miss ,letty4    ,do     
come1 if you can1 grandpapa1 said the   
young girl2 here is a poor  old black   
woman wants to see you so much6    ,the 
good minister was as kind-hearted as if 
he had never groped in the  dust and    
ashes of those cruel old abstractions   
which have killed out so  much of the   

world's life and happiness1 ,with the   
heart man believeth  unto righteousness2
 a man's love is the measure of his     
fitness for good  or bad company here or
 elsewhere4 ,men are tattooed with their
 special  beliefs like so many          
,south-,sea ,islanders2 but a real human
 heart1 with  ,divine love in it1 beats 
with the same glow under all the        
patterns of  all earth's thousand       
tribes6    ,the ,doctor sighed1 and     
folded the sermon1 and laid the ,quarto 
,cruden on  it4 ,he rose from his desk1 
and1 looking once more at the young     
girl's  face1 forgot his logical        
conclusions1 and said to himself that   
she was  a little angel1--which was in  
violent contradiction to the leading    
doctrine of his sermon on ,human        
,nature4 ,and so he followed her out of 
the study into the wide entry of the    
old-fashioned country-house4    ,an old 
black woman sat on the plain oaken      
settle which humble visitors  waiting to
 see the minister were wont to occupy4  

,she was old1 but how  old it would be  
very hard to guess4 ,she might be       
seventy4 ,she might be  ninety4 ,one    
could not swear she was not a hundred4  
,black women remain at  a stationary age
 7to the eyes of white people1 at least7
 for thirty  years4 ,they do not appear 
to change during this period any more   
than  so many ,trenton trilobites4 ,bent
 up1 wrinkled1 yellow-eyed1 with long   
upper-lip1 projecting jaws1 retreating  
chin1 still meek features1 long  arms1  
large flat hands with uncolored palms   
and slightly webbed fingers1  it was    
impossible not to see in this old       
creature a hint of the  gradations by   
which life climbs up through the lower  
natures to the  highest human           
developments4 ,we cannot tell such old  
women's ages because  we do not         
understand the physiognomy of a race so 
unlike our own4  ,no doubt they see a   
great deal in each other's faces that we
  cannot1--changes of color and         
expression as real as our own1 blushes  

and  sudden betrayals of feeling1--just 
as these two canaries know what  their  
single notes and short sentences and    
full song with this or that  variation  
mean1 though it is a mystery to us      
unplumed mortals4    ,this particular   
old black woman was a striking specimen 
of her  class4 ,old as she looked1 her  
eye was bright and knowing4 ,she wore a 
red-and-yellow turban1 which set off her
 complexion well1 and hoops of  gold in 
her ears1 and beads of gold about her   
neck1 and an old funeral  ring upon her 
finger4 ,she had that touching stillness
 about her which  belongs to animals    
that wait to be spoken to and then look 
up with a  kind of sad humility4        
,why1 ,sophy6 said the good minister1 is
 this you8    ,she looked up with the   
still expression on her face4 ,it's old 
,sophy1  she said4    ,why1 said the    
,doctor1 ,i did not believe you could   
walk so far as this  to save the ,union4
 ,bring ,sophy a glass of wine1 ,letty4 
,wine's good for  old folks like ,sophy 

and me1 after walking a good way1 or    
preaching a  good while4    ,the young  
girl stepped into the back-parlor1 where
 she found the  great pewter flagon in  
which the wine that was left after each 
communion-service was brought to the    
minister's house4 ,with much toil  she  
managed to tip it so as to get a couple 
of glasses filled4 ,the  minister tasted
 his1 and made old ,sophy finish hers4  
,i wan' to see you 'n' talk wi' you all 
alone1 she said presently4    ,the      
minister got up and led the way towards 
his study4 ,to be sure1 he  said2 he had
 only waited for her to rest a moment   
before he asked her  into the library4  
,the young girl took her gently by the  
arm1 and helped  her feeble steps along 
the passage4 ,when they reached the     
study1 she  smoothed the cushion of a   
rocking-chair1 and made the old woman   
sit  down in it4 ,then she tripped      
lightly away1 and left her alone with   
the  minister4    ,old ,sophy was a     
member of the ,reverend ,doctor         

,honeywood's church4  ,she had been put 
through the necessary confessions in a  
tolerably  satisfactory manner4 ,to be  
sure1 as her grandfather had been a     
cannibal  chief1 according to the common
 story1 and1 at any rate1 a terrible    
wild  savage1 and as her mother retained
 to the last some of the prejudices  of 
her early education1 there was a heathen
 flavor in her ,christianity1  which had
 often scandalized the elder of the     
minister's two deacons4  ,but the good  
minister had smoothed matters over3 had 
explained that  allowances were to be   
made for those who had been long sitting
 without  the gate of ,zion1--that1 no  
doubt1 a part of the curse which        
descended  to the children of ,ham      
consisted in having the understanding   
darkened1  as well as the skin1--and so 
had brought his suspicious senior deacon
 to  tolerate old ,sophy as one of the  
communion of fellow-sinners4            
99       99       99       99       99  
----,poor things6 ,how little we know   

the simple notions with which these     
rudiments of souls are nourished by the 
,divine ,goodness6 ,did not ,mrs4       
,professor come home this very blessed  
morning with a story of one of her  old 
black women8    ,and how do you feel    
to-day1 ,mrs4 ,robinson8    ,oh1 my     
dear1 ,i have this singing in my head   
all the time4 7,what  doctors call      
tinnitus aurium47    ,she's got a cold  
in the head1 said old ,mrs4 ,rider4     
,oh1 no1 my dear6 ,whatever ,i'm        
thinking about1 it's all this singing1  
this music4 ,when ,i'm thinking of the  
dear ,redeemer1 it all turns into  this 
singing and music4 ,when the clark came 
to see me1 ,i asked him if  he couldn't 
cure me1 and he said1 ,no1--it was the  
,holy ,spirit in me1  singing to me2 and
 all the time ,i hear this beautiful    
music1 and it's  the ,holy ,spirit      
a-singing to me4----           99       
99       99       99       99    ,the   
good man waited for ,sophy to speak2 but
 she did not open her lips as  yet4     

,i hope you are not troubled in mind or 
body1 he said to her at length1  finding
 she did not speak4    ,the poor old    
woman took out a white handkerchief1 and
 lifted it to her  black face4 ,she     
could not say a word for her tears and  
sobs4    ,the minister would have       
consoled her2 he was used to tears1 and 
could in  most cases withstand their    
contagion manfully2 but something choked
 his  voice suddenly1 and when he called
 upon it1 he got no answer1 but a       
tremulous movement of the muscles1 which
 was worse than silence4    ,at last she
 spoke4    ,oh1 no1 no1 no6 ,it's my    
poor girl1 my darling1 my beauty1 my    
baby1  that's grown up to be a woman2   
she will come to a bad end2 she will do 
something that will make them kill her  
or shut her up all her life4 ,oh1       
,doctor1 ,doctor1 save her1 pray for    
her6 ,it a'n't her fault4 ,it a'n't  her
 fault4 ,if they knew all that ,i know1 
they wouldn't blame that poor  child4 ,i
 must tell you1 ,doctor3 if ,i should   

die1 perhaps nobody else  would tell    
you4 ,massa ,venner can't talk about it4
 ,doctor ,kittredge won't  talk about   
it4 ,nobody but old ,sophy to tell you1 
,doctor2 and old ,sophy  can't die      
without telling you4    ,the kind       
minister soothed the poor old soul with 
those gentle1 quieting  tones which had 
carried peace and comfort to so many    
chambers of  sickness and sorrow1 to so 
many hearts overburdened by the trials  
laid  upon them4    ,old ,sophy became  
quiet in a few minutes1 and proceeded to
 tell her  story4 ,she told it in the   
low half-whisper which is the natural   
voice  of lips oppressed with grief and 
fears2 with quick glances around the    
apartment from time to time1 as if she  
dreaded lest the dim portraits on  the  
walls and the dark folios on the shelves
 might overhear her words4    ,it was   
not one of those conversations which a  
third person can report  minutely1      
unless by that miracle of clairvoyance  
known to the readers  of stories made   

out of authors' brains4 ,yet its main   
character can be  imparted in a much    
briefer space than the old black woman  
took to give  all its details4    ,she  
went far back to the time when ,dudley  
,venner was born1--she being  then a    
middle-aged woman4 ,the heir and hope of
 a family which had been  narrowing down
 as if doomed to extinction1 he had been
 surrounded with  every care and trained
 by the best education he could have in 
,new  ,england4 ,he had left college1   
and was studying the profession which   
gentlemen of leisure most affect1 when  
he fell in love with a young girl  left 
in the world almost alone1 as he was4   
,the old woman told the story  of his   
young love and his joyous bridal with a 
tenderness which had  something more1   
even1 than her family sympathies to     
account for it4 ,had  she not hanging   
over her bed a small paper-cutting of a 
profile--jet  black1 but not blacker    
than the face it represented--of one who
 would  have been her own husband in the

 small years of this century1 if the    
vessel in which he went to sea1 like    
,jamie in the ballad1 had not sailed    
away and never come back to land8 ,had  
she not her bits of furniture  stowed   
away which had been got ready for her   
own wedding1--two  rocking-chairs1 one  
worn with long use1 one kept for him so 
long that it  had grown a superstition  
with her never to sit in it1--and might 
he not  come back yet1 after all8 ,had  
she not her chest of linen ready for her
  humble house-keeping1 with store of   
serviceable huckaback and piles of      
neatly folded kerchiefs1 wherefrom this 
one that showed so white against  her   
black face was taken1 for that she knew 
her eyes would betray her in  the       
presence8    ,all the first part of the 
story the old woman told tenderly1 and  
yet  dwelling upon every incident with a
 loving pleasure4 ,how happy this  young
 couple had been1 what plans and        
projects of improvement they had        
formed1 how they lived in each other1   

always together1 so young and  fresh and
 beautiful as she remembered them in    
that one early summer when  they walked 
arm in arm through the wilderness of    
roses that ran riot in  the garden1--she
 told of this as loath to leave it and  
come to the woe  that lay beneath4      
,she told the whole story2--shall ,i    
repeat it8 ,not now4 ,if1 in the  course
 of relating the incidents ,i have      
undertaken to report1 it tells  itself1 
perhaps this will be better than to run 
the risk of producing a  painful        
impression on some of those susceptible 
readers whom it would be  ill-advised to
 disturb or excite1 when they rather    
require to be amused  and soothed4 ,in  
our pictures of life1 we must show the  
flowering-out of  terrible growths which
 have their roots deep1 deep            
underground4 ,just  how far we shall lay
 bare the unseemly roots themselves is a
 matter of  discretion and taste1 in    
which none of us are infallible4    ,the
 old woman told the whole story of      

,elsie1 of her birth1 of her            
peculiarities of person and disposition1
 of the passionate fears and  hopes with
 which her father had watched the course
 of her development4  ,she recounted all
 her strange ways1 from the hour when   
she first tried  to crawl across the    
carpet1 and her father shrank from her  
with an  involuntary shudder as she     
worked her way towards him4 ,with the   
memory  of ,juliet's nurse she told the 
story of her teething1 and how1 the     
woman  to whose breast she had clung    
dying suddenly about that time1 they    
had to struggle hard with the child     
before she would learn the              
accomplishment of feeding with a spoon4 
,and so of her fierce plays and  fiercer
 disputes with that boy who had been her
 companion1 and the whole  scene of the 
quarrel when she struck him with those  
sharp white teeth1  frightening her1 old
 ,sophy1 almost to death2 for1 as she   
said1 the boy  would have died1 if it   
hadn't been for the old ,doctor's       

galloping over  as fast as he could     
gallop and burning the places right out 
of his arm4  ,then came the story of    
that other incident1 sufficiently       
alluded to  already1 which had produced 
such an ecstasy of fright and left such 
a  nightmare of apprehension in the     
household4 ,and so the old woman came   
down to this present time4 ,that boy she
 never loved nor trusted was  grown to a
 dark1 dangerous-looking man1 and he was
 under their roof4 ,he  wanted to marry 
our poor ,elsie1 and ,elsie hated him1  
and sometimes she  would look at him    
over her shoulder just as she used to   
look at that  woman she hated2 and she1 
old ,sophy1 couldn't sleep for thinking 
she  should hear a scream from the white
 chamber some night and find him in     
spasms such as that woman came so near  
dying with4 ,and then there was         
something about ,elsie she did not know 
what to make of3 she would sit  and hang
 her head sometimes1 and look as if she 
were dreaming2 and she  brought home    

books they said a young gentleman up at 
the great school  lent her2 and once she
 heard her whisper in her sleep1 and she
 talked as  young girls do to themselves
 when they're thinking about somebody   
they  have a liking for and think nobody
 knows it4    ,she finished her long    
story at last4 ,the minister had        
listened to it in  perfect silence4 ,he 
sat still even when she had done        
speaking1--still1  and lost in thought4 
,it was a very awkward matter for him to
 have a hand  in4 ,old ,sophy was his   
parishioner1 but the ,venners had a pew 
in the  ,reverend ,mr4 ,fairweather's   
meeting-house4 ,it would seem that he1  
,mr4  ,fairweather1 was the natural     
adviser of the parties most interested4 
,had  he sense and spirit enough to deal
 with such people8 ,was there enough    
capital of humanity in his somewhat     
limited nature to furnish sympathy  and 
unshrinking service for his friends in  
an emergency8 or was he too  busy with  
his own attacks of spiritual neuralgia1 

and too much occupied  with taking      
account of stock of his own thin-blooded
 offences1 to forget  himself and his   
personal interests on the small scale   
and the large1  and run a risk of his   
life1 if need were1 at any rate give    
himself up  without reserve to the      
dangerous task of guiding and           
counselling these  distressed and       
imperilled fellow-creatures8    ,the    
good minister thought the best thing to 
do would be to call and talk  over some 
of these matters with ,brother          
,fairweather1--for so he would  call him
 at times1 especially if his senior     
deacon were not within  earshot4 ,having
 settled this point1 he comforted ,sophy
 with a few words  of counsel and a     
promise of coming to see her very soon4 
,he then called  his man to put the old 
white horse into the chaise and drive   
,sophy back  to the mansion-house4      
,when the ,doctor sat down to his sermon
 again1 it looked very differently  from
 the way it had looked at the moment he 

left it4 ,when he came to  think of it1 
he did not feel quite so sure           
practically about that  matter of the   
utter natural selfishness of everybody4 
,there was ,letty1  now1 seemed to take 
a very unselfish interest in that old   
black woman1  and indeed in poor people 
generally2 perhaps it would not be too  
much to  say that she was always        
thinking of other people4 ,he thought he
 had  seen other young persons naturally
 unselfish1 thoughtful for others2 it   
seemed to be a family trait in some he  
had known4    ,but most of all he was   
exercised about this poor girl whose    
story ,sophy  had been telling4 ,if what
 the old woman believed was true1--and  
it  had too much semblance of           
probability1--what became of his theory 
of  ingrained moral obliquity applied to
 such a case8 ,if by the visitation  of 
,god a person receives any injury which 
impairs the intellect or the  moral     
perceptions1 is it not monstrous to     
judge such a person by our  common      

working standards of right and wrong8   
,certainly1 everybody will  answer1 in  
cases where there is a palpable organic 
change brought about1  as when a blow on
 the head produces insanity4 ,fools6    
,how long will it be  before we shall   
learn that for every wound which betrays
 itself to the  sight by a scar1 there  
are a thousand unseen mutilations that  
cripple1  each of them1 some one or more
 of our highest faculties8 ,if what     
,sophy  told and believed was the real  
truth1 what prayers could be agonizing  
enough1 what tenderness could be deep   
enough1 for this poor1 lost1  blighted1 
hapless1 blameless child of misfortune1 
struck by such a doom  as perhaps no    
living creature in all the sisterhood of
 humanity shared  with her8    ,the     
minister thought these matters over     
until his mind was bewildered  with     
doubts and tossed to and fro on that    
stormy deep of thought heaving  forever 
beneath the conflict of windy dogmas4   
,he laid by his old sermon4  ,he put    

back a pile of old commentators with    
their eyes and mouths and  hearts full  
of the dust of the schools4 ,then he    
opened the book of  ,genesis at the     
eighteenth chapter and read that        
remarkable argument  of ,abraham's with 
his ,maker1 in which he boldly appeals  
to first  principles4 ,he took as his   
text1 ,shall not the ,judge of all the  
earth  do right8 and began to write his 
sermon1 afterwards so famous1--,on the  
,obligations of an ,infinite ,creator to
 a ,finite ,creature4    ,it astonished 
the good people1 who had been accustomed
 so long to repeat  mechanically their  
,oriental hyperboles of self-abasement1 
to hear their  worthy minister          
maintaining that the dignified attitude 
of the old  ,patriarch1 insisting on    
what was reasonable and fair with       
reference to  his fellow-creatures1 was 
really much more respectful to his      
,maker1 and  a great deal manlier and   
more to his credit1 than if he had      
yielded the  whole matter1 and pretended

 that men had not rights as well as     
duties4  ,the same logic which had      
carried him to certain conclusions with 
reference to human nature1 this same    
irresistible logic carried him  straight
 on from his text until he arrived at   
those other results1 which  not only    
astonished his people1 as was said1 but 
surprised himself4 ,he  went so far in  
defence of the rights of man1 that he   
put his foot into  several heresies1 for
 which men had been burned so often1 it 
was time1  if ever it could be1 to      
acknowledge the demonstration of the    
argumentum  ad ignem4 ,he did not       
believe in the responsibility of idiots4
 ,he did  not believe a new-born infant 
was morally answerable for other        
people's  acts4 ,he thought a man with a
 crooked spine would never be called to 
account for not walking erect4 ,he      
thought1 if the crook was in his  brain1
 instead of his back1 he could not      
fairly be blamed for any  consequence of
 this natural defect1 whatever lawyers  

or divines might  call it4 ,he argued1  
that1 if a person inherited a perfect   
mind1 body1  and disposition1 and had   
perfect teaching from infancy1 that     
person  could do nothing more than keep 
the moral law perfectly4 ,but supposing 
that the ,creator allows a person to be 
born with an hereditary or  ingrafted   
organic tendency1 and then puts this    
person into the hands of  teachers      
incompetent or positively bad1 is not   
what is called sin or  transgression of 
the law necessarily involved in the     
premises8 ,is not  a ,creator bound to  
guard his children against the ruin     
which inherited  ignorance might entail 
on them8 ,would it be fair for a parent 
to put  into a child's hands the        
title-deeds to all its future           
possessions1 and  a bunch of matches8   
,and are not men children1 nay1 babes1  
in the eye of  ,omniscience8--,the      
minister grew bold in his questions4    
,had not he as  good right to ask       
questions as ,abraham8    ,this was the 

dangerous vein of speculation in which  
the ,reverend ,doctor  ,honeywood found 
himself involved1 as a consequence of   
the suggestions  forced upon him by old 
,sophy's communication4 ,the truth was1 
the good  man had got so humanized by   
mixing up with other people in various  
benevolent schemes1 that1 the very      
moment he could escape from his old     
scholastic abstractions1 he took the    
side of humanity instinctively1  just as
 the ,father of the ,faithful did1--all 
honor be to the noble old  ,patriarch   
for insisting on the worth of an honest 
man1 and making the  best terms he could
 for a very ill-conditioned metropolis1 
which might  possibly1 however1 have    
contained ten righteous people1 for     
whose sake  it should be spared6    ,the
 consequence of all this was1 that he   
was in a singular and seemingly         
self-contradictory state of mind when he
 took his hat and cane and went  forth  
to call on his heretical brother4 ,the  
old minister took it for  granted that  

the ,reverend ,mr4 ,fairweather knew the
 private history of  his parishioner's  
family4 ,he did not reflect that there  
are griefs  men never put into          
words1--that there are fears which must 
not be  spoken1--intimate matters of    
consciousness which must be carried1 as 
bullets that have been driven deep into 
the living tissues are sometimes        
carried1 for a whole                    
life-time1--encysted griefs1 if we may  
borrow the  chirurgeon's term1 never to 
be reached1 never to be seen1 never to  
be  thrown out1 but to go into the dust 
with the frame that bore them about     
with it1 during long years of anguish1  
known only to the sufferer and  his     
,maker4 ,dudley ,venner had talked with 
his minister about this child  of his4  
,but he had talked cautiously1 feeling  
his way for sympathy1  looking out for  
those indications of tact and judgment  
which would  warrant him in some partial
 communication1 at least1 of the origin 
of  his doubts and fears1 and never     

finding them4    ,there was something   
about the ,reverend ,mr4 ,fairweather   
which repressed  all attempts at        
confidential intercourse4 ,what this    
something was1  ,dudley ,venner could   
hardly say2 but he felt it distinctly1  
and it sealed  his lips4 ,he never got  
beyond certain generalities connected   
with  education and religious           
instruction4 ,the minister could not    
help  discovering1 however1 that there  
were difficulties connected with this   
girl's management1 and he heard enough  
outside of the family to convince  him  
that she had manifested tendencies1 from
 an early age1 at variance  with the    
theoretical opinions he was in the habit
 of preaching1 and in  a dim way of     
holding for truth1 as to the natural    
dispositions of the  human being4       
,about this terrible fact of congenital 
obliquity his new beliefs began  to     
cluster as a centre1 and to take form as
 a crystal around its  nucleus4 ,still1 
he might perhaps have struggled against 

them1 had it not  been for the little   
,roman ,catholic chapel he passed every 
,sunday1 on his  way to the             
meeting-house4 ,such a crowd of         
worshippers1 swarming into the  pews    
like bees1 filling all the aisles1      
running over at the door like  berries  
heaped too full in the measure1--some   
kneeling on the steps1  some standing on
 the side-walk1 hats off1 heads down1   
lips moving1 some  looking on devoutly  
from the other side of the street6 ,oh1 
could he  have followed his own         
,bridget1 maid of all work1 into the    
heart of that  steaming throng1 and     
bowed his head while the priests intoned
 their  ,latin prayers6 could he have   
snuffed up the cloud of frankincense1   
and  felt that he was in the great ark  
which holds the better half of the      
,christian world1 while all around it   
are wretched creatures1 some  struggling
 against the waves in leaky boats1 and  
some on ill-connected  rafts1 and some  
with their heads just above water1      

thinking to ride out  the flood which is
 to sweep the earth clean of sinners1   
upon their own  private1 individual     
life-preservers6    ,such was the       
present state of mind of the ,reverend  
,chauncy ,fairweather1  when his        
clerical brother called upon him to talk
 over the questions to  which old ,sophy
 had called his attention4              
,,chapter ,,xviii4    ,,the ,,reverend  
,,doctor ,,calls ,,on ,,brother         
,,fairweather4      ,for the last few   
months1 while all these various matters 
were going on  in ,rockland1 the        
,reverend ,chauncy ,fairweather had been
 busy with the  records of ancient      
councils and the writings of the early  
fathers4 ,the  more he read1 the more   
discontented he became with the platform
 upon  which he and his people were     
standing4 ,they and he were clearly in  
a minority1 and his deep inward longing 
to be with the majority was  growing    
into an engrossing passion4 ,he yearned 
especially towards the  good old        

unquestioning1 authoritative ,mother    
,church1 with her articles  of faith    
which took away the necessity for       
private judgment1 with her  traditional 
forms and ceremonies1 and her whole     
apparatus of stimulants  and anodynes4  
,about this time he procured a breviary 
and kept it in his desk under  the loose
 papers4 ,he sent to a ,catholic        
bookstore and obtained a small  crucifix
 suspended from a string of beads4 ,he  
ordered his new coat to be  cut very    
narrow in the collar and to be made     
single-breasted4 ,he began  an informal 
series of religious conversations with  
,miss ,o',brien1 the  young person of   
,irish extraction already referred to as
 ,bridget1 maid  of all work4 ,these not
 proving very satisfactory1 he managed  
to fall in  with ,father ,mc,shane1 the 
,catholic priest of the ,rockland       
church4 ,father  ,mc,shane encouraged   
his nibble very scientifically4 ,it     
would be such  a fine thing to bring    
over one of those ,protestant heretics1 

and a  liberal one too6--not that there 
was any real difference between  them1  
but it sounded better to say that one of
 these rationalizing  free-and-equal    
religionists had been made a convert    
than any of those  half-way ,protestants
 who were the slaves of catechisms      
instead of  councils and of commentators
 instead of popes4 ,the subtle priest   
played  his disciple with his finest    
tackle4 ,it was hardly necessary3 when  
anything or anybody wishes to be caught1
 a bare hook and a coarse line  are all 
that is needed4    ,if a man has a      
genuine1 sincere1 hearty wish to get rid
 of his liberty1  if he is really bent  
upon becoming a slave1 nothing can stop 
him4 ,and  the temptation is to some    
natures a very great one4 ,liberty is   
often a  heavy burden on a man4 ,it     
involves that necessity for perpetual   
choice  which is the kind of labor men  
have always dreaded4 ,in common life  we
 shirk it by forming habits1 which take 
the place of  self-determination4 ,in   

politics party-organization saves us the
 pains of  much thinking before deciding
 how to cast our vote4 ,in religious    
matters  there are great multitudes     
watching us perpetually1 each           
propagandist  ready with his bundle of  
finalities1 which having accepted we may
 be  at peace4 ,the more absolute the   
submission demanded1 the stronger the   
temptation becomes to those who have    
been long tossed among doubts and       
conflicts4    ,so it is that in all the 
quiet bays which indent the shores of   
the great  ocean of thought1 at every   
sinking wharf1 we see moored the hulks  
and the razees of enslaved or           
half-enslaved intelligences4 ,they rock 
peacefully as children in their cradles 
on the subdued swell that comes  feebly 
in over the bar at the harbor's mouth1  
slowly crusting with  barnacles1 pulling
 at their iron cables as if they really 
wanted to be  free1 but better contented
 to remain bound as they are4 ,for these
 no  more the round unwalled horizon of 

the open sea1 the joyous breeze  aloft1 
the furrow1 the foam1 the sparkle that  
track the rushing keel6  ,they have     
escaped the dangers of the wave1 and lie
 still henceforth1  evermore4 ,happiest 
of souls1 if lethargy is bliss1 and     
palsy the chief  beatitude6    ,america 
owes its political freedom to religious 
,protestantism4 ,but  political freedom 
is reacting on religious prescription   
with still  mightier force4 ,we wonder1 
therefore1 when we find a soul which was
  born to a full sense of individual    
liberty1 an unchallenged right  of      
self-determination on every new alleged 
truth offered to its  intelligence1     
voluntarily surrendering any portion of 
its liberty to  a spiritual dictatorship
 which always proves to rest1 in the    
last  analysis1 on a majority vote1     
nothing more nor less1 commonly an old  
one1 passed in those barbarous times    
when men cursed and murdered each  other
 for differences of opinion1 and of     
course were not in a condition  to      

settle the beliefs of a comparatively   
civilized community4    ,in our disgust1
 we are liable to be intolerant4 ,we    
forget that weakness  is not in itself a
 sin4 ,we forget that even cowardice may
 call for our  most lenient judgment1 if
 it spring from innate infirmity4 ,who  
of us  does not look with great         
tenderness on the young chieftain in the
 ,fair  ,maid of ,perth1 when he        
confesses his want of courage8 ,all of  
us love  companionship and sympathy2    
some of us may love them too much4 ,all 
of us  are more or less imaginative in  
our theology4 ,some of us may find the  
aid of material symbols a comfort1 if   
not a necessity4 ,the boldest  thinker  
may have his moments of languor and     
discouragement1 when he  feels as if he 
could willingly exchange faiths with the
 old beldame  crossing herself at the   
cathedral-door1--nay1 that1 if he could 
drop  all coherent thought1 and lie in  
the flowery meadow with the brown-eyed  
solemnly unthinking cattle1 looking up  

to the sky1 and all their simple        
consciousness staining itself blue1 then
 down to the grass1 and life  turning to
 a mere greenness1 blended with confused
 scents of herbs1--no  individual       
mind-movement such as men are teased    
with1 but the great  calm cattle-sense  
of all time and all places that know the
 milky smell  of herds1--if he could be 
like these1 he would be content to be   
driven  home by the cow-boy1 and share  
the grassy banquet of the king of       
ancient  ,babylon4 ,let us be very      
generous1 then1 in our judgment of those
  who leave the front ranks of thought  
for the company of the meek             
non-combatants who follow with the      
baggage and provisions4 ,age1 illness1  
too much wear and tear1 a half-formed   
paralysis1 may bring any of us to  this 
pass4 ,but while we can think and       
maintain the rights of our own          
individuality against every human       
combination1 let as not forget to       
caution all who are disposed to waver   

that there is a cowardice which is      
criminal1 and a longing for rest which  
it is baseness to indulge4 ,god  help   
him over whose dead soul in his living  
body must be uttered the sad            
supplication1 ,requiescat in pace6      
99       99       99       99       99  
,a knock at the ,reverend ,mr4          
,fairweather's study-door called his    
eyes  from the book on which they were  
intent4 ,he looked up1 as if expecting a
  welcome guest4    ,the ,reverend      
,pierrepont ,honeywood1 ,d4,d41 entered 
the study of the  ,reverend ,chauncy    
,fairweather4 ,he was not the expected  
guest4 ,mr4  ,fairweather slipped the   
book he was reading into a half-open    
drawer1  and pushed in the drawer4 ,he  
slid something which rattled under a    
paper  lying on the table4 ,he rose with
 a slight change of color1 and welcomed1
  a little awkwardly1 his unusual       
visitor4    ,good evening1 ,brother     
,fairweather6 said the ,reverend        
,doctor1 in a  very cordial1            

good-humored way4 ,i hope ,i am not     
spoiling one of those  eloquent sermons 
,i never have a chance to hear4    ,not 
at all1 not at all1 the younger         
clergyman answered1 in a languid  tone1 
with a kind of habitual                 
half-querulousness which belonged to    
it1--the vocal expression which we meet 
with now and then1 and which  says as   
plainly as so many words could say it1  
,i am a suffering  individual4 ,i am    
persistently undervalued1 wronged1 and  
imposed upon by  mankind and the powers 
of the universe generally4 ,but ,i      
endure all4 ,i  endure you4 ,speak4 ,i  
listen4 ,it is a burden to me1 but ,i   
even approve4  ,i sacrifice myself4     
,behold this movement of my lips6 ,it is
 a smile4    ,the ,reverend ,doctor knew
 this forlorn way of ,mr4               
,fairweather's1 and was  not troubled by
 it4 ,he proceeded to relate the        
circumstances of his  visit from the old
 black woman1 and the fear she was in   
about the young  girl1 who being a      

parishioner of ,mr4 ,fairweather's1 he  
had thought it  best to come over and   
speak to him about old ,sophy's fears   
and fancies4    ,in telling the old     
woman's story1 he alluded only vaguely  
to those  peculiar circumstances to     
which she had attributed so much        
importance1  taking it for granted that 
the other minister must be familiar with
  the whole series of incidents she had 
related4 ,the old minister was          
mistaken1 as we have before seen4 ,mr4  
,fairweather had been settled in  the   
place only about ten years1 and1 if he  
had heard a strange hint now  and then  
about ,elsie1 had never considered it as
 anything more than  idle and ignorant1 
if not malicious1 village-gossip4 ,all  
that he fully  understood was that this 
had been a perverse and unmanageable    
child1 and  that the extraordinary care 
which had been bestowed on her had been 
so  far thrown away that she was a      
dangerous1 self-willed girl1 whom all   
feared and almost all shunned1 as if she

 carried with her some malignant        
influence4    ,he replied1 therefore1   
after hearing the story1 that ,elsie had
 always  given trouble4 ,there seemed to
 be a kind of natural obliquity about   
her4 ,perfectly unaccountable4 ,a very  
dark case4 ,never amenable to good      
influences4 ,had sent her good books    
from the ,sunday-school library4        
,remembered that she tore out the       
frontispiece of one of them1 and kept   
it1 and flung the book out of the       
window4 ,it was a picture of ,eve's     
temptation2 and he recollected her      
saying that ,eve was a good  woman1--and
 she'd have done just so1 if she'd been 
there4 ,a very sad  child1--very sad2   
bad from infancy4--,he had talked       
himself bold1 and  said all at once1--  
,doctor1 do you know ,i am almost ready 
to accept your doctrine of the          
congenital sinfulness of human nature8  
,i am afraid that is the only  thing    
which goes to the bottom of the         
difficulty4    ,the old minister's face 

did not open as approvingly as ,mr4     
,fairweather  had expected4    ,why1    
yes1--well1--many find comfort in       
it1--,i believe2--there is much  to be  
said1--there are many bad people1--and  
bad children1--,i can't  be so sure     
about bad babies1--though they cry very 
malignantly at  times1--especially if   
they have the stomach-ache4 ,but ,i     
really don't  know how to condemn this  
poor ,elsie2 she may have impulses that 
act  in her like instincts in the lower 
animals1 and so not come under the      
bearing of our ordinary rules of        
judgment4    ,but this depraved         
tendency1 ,doctor1--this unaccountable  
perverseness4  ,my dear ,sir1 ,i am     
afraid your school is in the right about
 human nature4  ,oh1 those words of the 
,psalmist1 'shapen in iniquity1' and the
 rest6  ,what are we to do with         
them1--we who teach that the soul of a  
child is  an unstained white tablet8    
,king ,david was very subject to fits of
 humility1 and much given to            

self-reproaches1 said the ,doctor1 in a 
rather dry way4 ,we owe you and  your   
friends a good deal for calling         
attention to the natural graces1  which1
 after all1 may1 perhaps1 be considered 
as another form of  manifestation of the
 divine influence4 ,some of our writers 
have pressed  rather too hard on the    
tendencies of the human soul toward evil
 as such4  ,it may be questioned whether
 these views have not interfered with   
the  sound training of certain young    
persons1 sons of clergymen and others4  
,i am nearer of your mind about the     
possibility of educating children so    
that they shall become good ,christians 
without any violent transition4  ,that  
is what ,i should hope for from bringing
 them up 'in the nurture and  admonition
 of the ,lord4'    ,the younger minister
 looked puzzled1 but presently          
answered1--    ,possibly we may have    
called attention to some neglected      
truths2 but1  after all1 ,i fear we must
 go to the old school1 if we want to get

 at the  root of the matter4 ,i know    
there is an outward amiability about    
many  young persons1 some young girls   
especially1 that seems like genuine     
goodness2 but ,i have been disposed of  
late to lean toward your view1  that    
these human affections1 as we see them  
in our children1--ours1 ,i  say1 though 
,i have not the fearful responsibility  
of training any of my  own1--are only a 
kind of disguised and sinful            
selfishness4    ,the old minister       
groaned in spirit4 ,his heart had been  
softened by  the sweet influences of    
children and grandchildren4 ,he thought 
of  a half-sized grave in the           
burial-ground1 and the fine1 brave1     
noble-hearted boy he laid in it thirty  
years before1--the sweet1  cheerful     
child who had made his home all sunshine
 until the day when he  was brought     
home1 his long curls dripping1 his fresh
 lips purpled in  death1--foolish dear  
little blessed creature to throw himself
 into the  deep water to save the       

drowning boy1 who clung about him and   
carried him  under6 ,disguised          
selfishness6 ,and his granddaughter too1
 whose disguised  selfishness was the   
light of his household6    ,don't call  
it my view6 he said1 ,abstractly1       
perhaps1 all ,nature may  be considered 
vitiated2 but practically1 as ,i see it 
in life1 the divine  grace keeps pace   
with the perverted instincts from       
infancy in many  natures4 ,besides1 this
 perversion itself may often be disease1
 bad  habits transmitted1 like          
drunkenness1 or some hereditary         
misfortune1 as  with this ,elsie we were
 talking about4    ,the younger minister
 was completely mystified4 ,at every    
step he made  towards the ,doctor's     
recognized theological position1 the    
,doctor took  just one step towards his4
 ,they would cross each other soon at   
this  rate1 and might as well exchange  
pulpits1--as ,colonel ,sprowle once     
wished they would1 it may be remembered4
    ,the ,doctor1 though a much         

clearer-headed man1 was almost equally  
puzzled4 ,he turned the conversation    
again upon ,elsie1 and endeavored  to   
make her minister feel the importance of
 bringing every friendly  influence to  
bear upon her at this critical period of
 her life4 ,his  sympathies did not seem
 so lively as the ,doctor could have    
wished4  ,perhaps he had vastly more    
important objects of solicitude in his  
own  spiritual interests4    ,a knock at
 the door interrupted them4 ,the        
,reverend ,mr4 ,fairweather rose  and   
went towards it4 ,as he passed the      
table1 his coat caught something1  which
 came rattling to the floor4 ,it was a  
crucifix with a string of  beads        
attached4 ,as he opened the door1 the   
,milesian features of ,father  ,mc,shane
 presented themselves1 and from their   
centre proceeded the  clerical          
benediction in ,irish-sounding ,latin1  
,pax vobiscum6    ,the ,reverend ,doctor
 ,honeywood rose and left the priest and
 his disciple  together4           99   

99       99       99       99           
,,reviews ,,and ,,literary ,,notices4   
,autobiographical ,recollections4 ,by   
the late ,,charles ,,robert ,,leslie1   
,r4,a4 ,edited1 with a ,prefatory ,essay
 on ,leslie as an ,artist1 and          
,selections from his ,correspondence1 by
 ,,tom ,,taylor1 ,esq41 ,editor of the  
,autobiography of ,haydon4 ,with        
,portrait4 ,boston3 ,ticknor  ,fields4  
#ahfj4 pp4 lviii41 #cfc4    ,those who  
remember the excellent judgment with    
which ,mr4 ,taylor selected  his        
material for the ,autobiography of      
,haydon from the papers left by  that   
artist need not be told that this work  
is executed with spirit and             
discrimination4 ,it is a delicate task  
to publish just so much of the  letters 
and reminiscences of a man lately dead  
as shall consist with  good taste and   
gentlemanly feeling1 to discriminate    
between legitimate  anecdote and what at
 second-hand becomes tale-bearing       
gossip1 and not to  break faith with the

 dead by indiscreet confidences about   
the living4  ,if the dead have any      
privilege1 it ought to be that of       
holding their  tongues2 yet an unseemly 
fashion has prevailed lately of making  
them gabble for years in ,diaries1      
,remains1 ,correspondences1 and         
,recollections1 perpetuating in a solid 
telltale record all they may  have said 
and written thoughtlessly or in a       
momentary pet1 giving to a  fleeting    
whim the printed permanence of a settled
 opinion1 and robbing  the grave of what
 is sometimes its only consoling        
attribute1 the dignity  of reserve4 ,we 
know of no more unsavory calling than   
this1 unless it be  that of the         
,egyptian dealers in mummy1 peddling out
 their grandfathers  to be ground into  
pigment4 ,obsequious to the last moment1
 the jackal  makes haste to fill his    
belly from the ribs of his late lion    
almost  before he is cold4    ,mr4      
,taylor is too manly and well-bred to be
 guilty of any indiscretions1  much more

 of any indecencies4 ,he let ,haydon    
tell his own story1 nor  assumed the    
function of a judge4 ,and wisely1 as we 
think2 for1 commonly1  when men take it 
upon themselves uncalled1 their         
inability to conceive  the special      
weakness that is not theirs1 7and which1
 perhaps1 was but  the negative of a    
strength equally alien to them47 their  
humanly narrow  and often professionally
 back-attic view of character and       
circumstance1  their easy after-dinner  
superiority to what was perhaps a       
loathing  compromise with famine and the
 jail1 fit them rather for the office of
  advocatus diaboli than of the justice 
which must be all-seeing that it  may be
 charitable4 ,it is so hard to see that 
a sin is sometimes but a  thwarted and  
misdirected virtue6 ,when ,burns sighed 
that the light that  led astray was     
light from ,heaven1 he was but          
unconsciously repeating  what a poet who
 of all men least needed the apology had
 said centuries  before4    ,we do not  

admit1 that1 because a man has published
 a volume or a  picture1 he has         
published himself1 excommunicated his   
soul from the  sanctuary of privacy1 and
 made his life as common as a           
tavern-threshold  to every blockhead in 
the parish1--or that any ,pharisee who  
kept  carefully to windward of his      
virtues1 out of the way of infection1   
has  thereby earned the right to        
mismoralize his failings after he is    
dumbly  defenceless4 ,the moral         
compasses that are too short for the    
aberration  may be1 must be1 unequal to 
the orbit4 ,we would not deny that      
,burns was  a chamberer and a drunkard  
because he was a great poet2 but we     
would not  admit that whiskey and       
wenches made him any the less the most  
richly  endowed genius of his century1  
with just title to the love and         
admiration of men4 ,it is not for us to 
decide whether he1 who1 by  doubling the
 suggestive and associative power of any
 thought1 fancy1  feeling1 or natural   

object1 has so far added permanently to 
the sum of  human happiness1 is not as  
sure of a welcome and a well-done from  
the  ,infinite ,fatherliness as he that 
has turned an honest penny by printing  
a catechism2 but we are sure that it is 
a shallow cant which holds up  the      
errors of men of genius as if they were 
especial warnings1 and  proofs of how   
little the rarest gifts avail4 ,is it   
intended to put men  on their guard     
against being geniuses8 ,that is        
scarcely called for till  those who     
yield to the temptation become more     
numerous4 ,do they mean1  ,we1 too1     
might have been geniuses1 but we chose  
rather to be good and  dull8            
,self-denial is always praiseworthy1 and
 we reconcile ourselves to  the ,ovid   
lost in consideration of the ,deacon    
gained4 ,but if it be meant  that the   
danger was in the genius1 we deny it    
altogether4 ,burns's genius  was the one
 good thing he had1 and it was always1  
as it always must be1  good1 and only   

good1 the leaven of uncontaminate heaven
 in him that  would not let him sink    
contentedly into the sty of oblivion    
with the  million other tipplers and    
loose-livers of his century4 ,it was his
  weakness of character1 and not his    
strength or pride of intellect1 that    
betrayed him2 and to call his faults    
errors of genius is a mischievous       
fallacy4 ,if they were1 then they were  
no lesson for the rest of us2 if  they  
were not1 to call them so is to         
encourage certain gin-and-water         
philosophers who would fain extenuate   
their unpleasant vices by the plea  that
 they are the necessary complement of   
unusual powers1--as if the  path to     
immortality were through the kennel1 and
 fine verses were to be  written only at
 the painful sacrifice of bilking your  
washerwoman4    ,we are over-fond of    
drawing monitory morals from the lives  
of gifted  persons1 tacking together our
 little ten-by-twelve pinfolds to       
impound  breachy human nature in1 but it

 is only because we know more than we   
have any business to know of the private
 concerns of such persons  that we have 
the opportunity4 ,we are thankful that  
the character of  ,shakspeare is wrapped
 safely away from us in un-,boswellable 
night4  ,samuel ,taylor ,coleridge the  
man stood forever in the way of ,samuel 
,taylor ,coleridge the poet and         
metaphysician1 and the fault of the     
poppy-juice in his nature is laid at the
 door of the laudanum he bought  of the 
apothecary4 ,yet all the drowsy juices  
of ,circe's garden could not  hinder ,de
 ,quincey from writing his twenty-five  
volumes4 ,to us nothing is  more        
painful1 and nothing seems more cruelly 
useless1 than the parading  of mortal   
weaknesses1 especially of those to whom 
we are indebted  for delight and        
teaching4 ,for an inherent weakness has 
no lesson of  avoidance in it1 being    
helpless from the first1 and by the doom
 of its  own nature growing more and    
more helpless to the last1 not more so  

in  the example than in him who is to   
profit by it1 and who is more likely  to
 have his appetite flattered by good    
company than his fear aroused by  the   
evil consequence4 ,because the swans    
have a vile habit of over-eating        
themselves1 shall we nail them to the   
barn-door as a moral lesson to the      
crows8    ,there is1 doubtless1 a great 
deal to be taught by biography2 but it  
is  by the mistakes of men that we      
learn1 and not by their weaknesses4 ,to 
see clearly an error of judgment and its
 consequences may be of positive        
service to us in the conduct of life1   
while a vice of temperament  concerns us
 not at all in private men1 and only so 
far in statesmen  and rulers as it may  
have been influential in history as a   
modifier of  action1 or is essential to 
an understanding of it as an explainer  
of  motive4    ,the ,autobiography of   
,leslie seems to us in some sort the    
complement  of ,haydon's1 and throws the
 defiant struggle of that remarkable    

self-portraiture into stronger relief by
 the contrast of its equable            
good-fortune and fireside tranquillity4 
,the causes of the wide  difference in  
the course and the result of these two  
lives are on the  surface and are       
instructive4 ,comparing the two men at  
the outset1 we  should have said that   
all the chances were on ,haydon's side4 
,if he had  not genius1 he had at least 
the temperament and external            
characteristics  that go along with it4 
,he had what is sometimes wanting to it 
in its  more purely aesthetic           
manifestation1 the ambition that spurs  
and the  unflagging energy that seemed a
 guerdon of unlimited achievement4  ,yet
 the ambition fermented into love of    
notoriety and soured into a  fraudulent 
self-assertion1 that grew boastful as it
 grew distrustful of  its claims and    
could bring less proof in support of    
them2 the energy  degenerated into      
impudence1 evading the shame of         
spendthrift bankruptcy  to-day by shifts

 that were sure to bring a more         
degrading exposure  tomorrow2 and the   
whole ended at last in a suicide whose  
tragic pang  is deadened to us by the   
feeling that so much of the mixed motive
 that  drove him to it as was not       
cowardice was a hankering after         
melodramatic  effect1 the last throb of 
a passion for making his name the theme 
of  public talk1 and his fate the centre
 of a ,london day's sensation4          
,chatterton makes us lenient to a life  
of fraud by the dogged and cynical      
uncomplainingness of the despair that   
drove him to cut it short2 but  ,haydon 
continues his self-autopsy to the last  
moment1 and in pulling the  trigger     
seems to be only firing the train for an
 explosion that shall  give him a week  
longer of posthumous notoriety4 ,the    
egotism of ,pepys was  but a suppressed 
garrulity1 which habitual caution1      
fostered by a period  of political      
confusion and the mystery of office1    
drove inward to a kind  of soliloquy in 

cipher2 that of ,montaigne was          
metaphysical1--in studying  his own     
nature and noting his observations he   
was studying man1 and that  with a      
singular insouciance of public opinion2 
but ,haydon appears to  have written his
 journals with a deliberate intention of
 their some day  advertising himself1   
and his most private aspirations are    
uttered with  an eye to the world4 ,yet 
it was a genuine instinct that led him  
to the  pen1 and his lifelong succession
 of half-successes that are worse than  
defeats was due to the initial error of 
mistaking a passion for a power4  ,a    
fine critic1 a vivid sketcher of        
character1 and a writer of singular     
clearness1 point1 and eloquence was     
spoiled to make an artist1 sometimes    
noble in conception1 but without sense  
of color1 and utterly inadequate  to any
 but the most confused expression of    
himself by the pencil4 ,his  very sense 
of the power which he was conscious of  
somewhere in himself  harassed and      

hampered him1 as time after time he     
refused to see that his  failure was    
due1 not to injustice or insensibility  
on the part of the  world1 but to his   
having chosen the wrong means of making 
his ability  felt and acknowledged4 ,his
 true place would have been that of     
,professor  and ,lecturer in the ,royal 
,academy4 ,the world is not insensible  
or  unjust1 but it knows what it wants1 
and will not long be put off with  less4
 ,there is always a public for success2 
there never is1 and never  ought to be1 
for inadequacy4 ,haydon was in some     
respects a first-rate  man1 but the     
result of his anxious1 restless1 and    
laborious life was  almost zero1 as far 
as concerned its definite aims4 ,it does
 not convey  the moral of neglected     
genius1 or of loose notions of          
money-obligations1  ending in suicide1  
but simply of a mischosen vocation1     
leading sooner or  later to utter and   
undeniable failure4 ,pas mme acadmicien6
 ,plenty of  neglected geniuses have    

found it good to be neglected1 plenty of
 ,jeremy  ,diddlers 7in letters and     
statesmanship as often as in            
money-matters7  have lived to a serene  
old age1 but the man who in any of the  
unuseful  arts insists on doing what    
,nature never asked him to do has no    
place in  the world4 ,leslie1 a         
second-rate man in all respects1 but    
with a genuine  talent rightly directed1
 an obscure ,american1 with few friends1
 no  influential patrons1 and a modesty 
that would never let him obtrude his    
claims1 worked steadily forward to      
competence1 to reputation1 and the      
,council of the ,academy4 ,the only     
blunder of his life was his accepting   
the ,professorship of ,drawing at ,west 
,point1 a place for which he was        
unsuited4 ,but this blunder he had the  
good sense and courage to correct  by   
the frank acknowledgment of resignation4
 ,altogether his is a career  as        
pleasant as ,haydon's is painful to     
contemplate1 the more so as we  feel    

that his success was fairly won by      
honest effort directed by  a contented  
consciousness of the conditions and     
limitations of his  faculty4    ,nothing
 can be more agreeable than the career  
of a successful artist4  ,his employment
 does not force upon him the solitude of
 an author2 it  is eminently            
companionable2 from its first design1   
through all the  processes that bring   
his work to perfection1 he is not shut  
out from the  encouragement of sympathy2
 his success is definite and immediate2 
he  can see it in the crowd around his  
work at the exhibition2 and his very    
calling brings him into pleasant contact
 with beauty1 taste1 and 7if a          
portrait-painter7 with eminence in every
 department of human activity4          
,leslie's passage through the world was 
of that equal temper which is  happiest 
for the man and unhappiest for the      
biographer4 ,with no dramatic  surprises
 of fortune1 and no great sorrows1 his  
life had scarce any  other alternation  

than that it went round with the earth  
through night  and day1 and would have  
been tame but for his necessary labor in
 an  art which he loved wisely and with 
the untumultuous sentiment of  an       
after-honey-moon constancy4 ,we should  
say that his leading  characteristic was
 ,taste1 an external quality1 it is     
true1 but one which  is often the       
indication of more valuable ones lying  
deeper4 ,in the  conduct of life it     
insures tact1 and in ,art a certain     
gentlemanlike  equipoise1 incapable of  
what is deepest and highest1 but secure 
also  from the vulgar1 the grotesque1   
and the extravagant4 ,leslie1 we think1 
was more at home with ,addison than with
 ,cervantes4    ,his autobiographical   
reminiscences are very entertaining1    
especially  that part of them which     
describes a voyage home to ,america1    
varied by  a winter in ,portugal1 during
 the early part of his life4 ,the       
,scotch  captain1 who1 with his scanty  
merchant-crew1 beats off a ,bordeaux    

privateer1 and then1 crippled and       
half-sinking1 clears for action with    
what he supposes to be a ,french        
frigate1 but which turns out to be      
,english1 is a personage whose          
acquaintance it is pleasant to make4    
,the  sketches of life in ,lisbon1 too1 
are very lively1 and the picture of  the
 decayed ,portuguese nobleman's family1 
for whose pride of birth an  imaginary  
dinner-table was set every day in the   
parlor with the remains  of the         
hereditary napery and plate1 the        
numerous covers hiding nothing  but the 
naked truth1 while their common         
humanity1 squatting on the floor  in the
 kitchen1 fished its scanty meal from an
 earthen pot with pewter  spoons1 is    
pathetically humorous and would have    
delighted ,caleb  ,balderstone4 ,in     
after-life1 ,leslie's profession made   
him acquainted with  some of the best   
,london life of his time1 and the volume
 is full of  agreeable anecdotes of     
,scott1 ,irving1 ,turner1 ,rogers1      

,wilkie1 and  many more4 ,it contains   
also several letters of ,irving1 of no  
special  interest1 and some from a sort 
of ,lesmahago of a room-mate of         
,leslie's1  named ,peter ,powell1 so    
queer1 individual1 and shrewd1 that we  
are sorry  not to have more of them and 
their writer4 ,altogether the book is   
one of  the pleasantest we have lately  
met with4      ,the ,old                
,battle-,ground4 ,by ,j4,t4             
,,trowbridge1 ,author of ,father        
,brighthopes1 ,neighbor ,jackwood1 etc4 
,new ,york3 ,sheldon  ,company4  #ahfj4 
pp4 #bgf4    ,mr4 ,trowbridge's previous
 works have made him known to a large   
circle of  appreciating readers as a    
writer of originality and promise4 ,his 
,father  ,brighthopes we have never     
read1 but we have heard it spoken of as 
one  of the most wholesome children's   
books ever published in ,america1 and   
our knowledge of the author makes us    
ready to believe the favorable  opinion 
a just one4 ,parts of ,neighbor         

,jackwood we read with sincere  relish  
and admiration2 they showed so true an  
eye for ,nature and so  thorough an     
appreciation of the truly humorous      
elements of ,new ,england  character1 as
 distinguished from the vulgar and      
laughable ones4 ,the  domestic interior 
of the ,jackwood family was drawn with  
remarkable truth  and spirit1 and all   
the working characters of the book on a 
certain  average level of well-to-do    
rusticity were made to think and talk   
naturally1 and were as full of honest   
human nature as those of the            
conventional modern novel are empty of  
it4 ,an author who puts us in the  way  
to form some just notion of the style of
 thought proper to so large  a class as 
our ,new ,england country-people1 and of
 the motives likely to  influence their 
social and political conduct1 does us a 
greater service  than we are apt to     
admit4 ,and the power to conceive the   
leading  qualities that make up an      
average representative and to keep them 

always clearly in view1 so as to swerve 
neither toward tameness nor             
exaggeration1 is by no means common4    
,this power1 it seems to us1 ,mr4       
,trowbridge possesses in an unusual     
degree4 ,the late ,mr4 ,judd1 in his    
remarkable romance of ,margaret1 gave   
such a picture as has never been        
equalled for truth of color and poetry  
of conception1 of certain phases  of    
life among a half-gypsy family in the   
outskirts of a remote village1  and     
growing up in the cold penumbra of our  
civilization and material  prosperity4  
,but his scene and characters were      
exceptional1 or1 if  typical1 only so of
 a very limited class1 and his book1    
full of fine  imagination as it is1 is  
truly a romance1 an ideal and artistic  
representation1 rather a poem than a    
story of manners general and  familiar  
enough to be called real4    ,mr4       
,trowbridge1 we think1 fails in those   
elements of 7we had almost said         
creative7 power in which ,mr4 ,judd was 

specially rich4 ,if the latter had      
possessed the shaping spirit as fully as
 he certainly did the essential         
properties of imagination1 he would have
 done for the actual1 prosaic  life of  
,new ,england what ,mr4 ,hawthorne has  
done for the ideal essence  that lies   
behind and beneath it4 ,but1 with all   
his marvellous fidelity  of dialect1    
costume1 and landscape1 and his firm    
clutch of certain  individual instincts 
and emotions1 his characters are wanting
 in any  dramatic unity of relation to  
each other1 and seem to be moving about 
in worlds not realized1 each a vivid    
reality in itself1 but a very  shadow in
 respect of any prevailing intention of 
the story4 ,with the  innate sentiments 
of a kind of aboriginal human nature    
,mr4 ,judd was  at home2 with the       
practical working of every-day motives  
he seemed  strangely unfamiliar4 ,it is 
just here that ,mr4 ,trowbridge's       
strength  and originality lie2 but1 with
 that not uncommon tendency to overvalue

  qualities that we do not possess1 and 
to attempt their display1 to the        
neglect1 and sometimes at the cost1 of  
others quite as valuable1 but  which    
seem cheap1 because their exercise is   
easy and habitual1--and  therefore1 we  
may be sure1 natural and pleasing1--he  
insists on being a  little metaphysical 
and over-fine4 ,what he means for his   
more  elevated characters are tiresome  
with something of that melodramatic     
sentimentality with which ,mr4 ,dickens 
has infected so much of the  lighter    
literature of the day4 ,here and there  
the style suffers from  that            
overmuchness of unessential detail and  
that exaggeration of  particulars which 
,mr4 ,dickens brought into fashion and  
seems bent on  wearing out of it1--a    
style which is called graphic and       
poetical by  those only who do not see  
that it is the cheap substitute1 in all 
respects equal to real plate1 7till you 
try to pawn it for lasting  fame17      
introduced by writers against time1 or  

who forget that to be  graphic is to    
tell most with fewest penstrokes1 and to
 be poetical is  to suggest the         
particular in the universal4 ,we        
earnestly hope1 that1  instead of trying
 to do what no one can do well1 ,mr4    
,trowbridge will  wisely stick close to 
what he has shown that no one can do    
better4    ,the ,old ,battle-,ground1   
whose name bears but an accidental      
relation to  the story1 is an           
interesting and well-constructed tale1  
in which ,mr4  ,trowbridge has          
introduced what we believe is a new     
element in ,american  fiction1 the      
,french ,canadian4 ,the plot is simple  
and not too improbable1  and the        
characters well individualized4 ,here1  
also1 ,mr4 ,trowbridge  is most         
successful in his treatment of the less 
ambitiously designed  figures4 ,the     
relation between the dwarf ,hercules    
fiddler and the  heroine ,marie seems to
 be a suggestion from ,victor ,hugo's   
,quasimodo and  ,esmeralda1 though the  

treatment is original and touching4     
,indeed1 there  is a good deal of pathos
 in the book1 marred here and there with
 the  sentimental extract of            
,dickens-flowers1 unpleasant as         
patchouli4  ,generally1 however1 it has 
the merit of unobtrusiveness1--a rare   
piece  of self-denial nowadays1 when    
authors have found out1 and the public  
has  not1 how very easy it is to make   
the public cry1 and how much the simple 
creature likes it1 as if it had not     
sorrows enough of its own4 ,but it is   
in his more ordinary characters that    
,mr4 ,trowbridge fairly shows himself   
as an original and delightful author4   
,his boys are always masterly4  ,nothing
 could be truer to ,nature1 more nicely 
distinguished as to  idiosyncrasy1 while
 alike in expression and in limited     
range of ideas1  or more truly comic1   
than the two that figure in this story4 
,nick  ,whickson1 too1 the good-natured 
ne'er-do-well1 who is in his own and    
everybody's way till he finds his       

natural vocation as an aid to a dealer  
in horses1 is a capital sketch4 ,the    
hypochondriac ,squire ,plumworthy  is   
very good1 also1 in his way1 though he  
verges once or twice on the  heavy      
father1 with a genius for the damp      
handkerchief and long-lost  relative    
line4    ,we are safe in assigning to   
,mr4 ,trowbridge a rank quite above that
 of  our legion of washy novelists2 he  
seems to have a definite purpose and  an
 ambition for literary as well as       
popular success1 and we hope that  by   
study and observation he will be true to
 a very decided and peculiar  talent4   
,we violate no confidence in saying that
 the graceful poem1 ,at  ,sea1 which    
first appeared in the ,atlantic1 and    
which1 under the name  of now one1 now  
another author1 has been deservedly     
popular1 was written  by ,mr4           
,trowbridge4          ,,july ,,reviewed 
,,by ,,september4      ,the ,editors of 
the ,atlantic1 of course1 have universal
 knowledge  7with few exceptions7 at    

their fingers' ends1--that is1 they     
possess  an ,encyclopaedia1 gapped here 
and there by friends fond of portable   
information and familiar with that      
hydrostatic paradox in which the  motion
 of solids up a spout is balanced by a  
very slender column of the  liquidating 
medium4 ,the once goodly row of quartos 
looks now like a set  of mineral teeth  
that have essayed too closely to        
simulate ,nature by  assaulting a       
,boston cracker2 and the intervals of   
vacuity among the  books1 as among the  
incisors1 deprive the owner of his      
accustomed  glibness in pronouncing     
himself on certain topics4 ,among the   
missing  volumes is one of those in ,m1 
and accordingly our miss-information ,a 
on all subjects from ,mabinogion to     
,mustard is not to be entirely relied   
upon4 ,under these painful              
circumstances1 and with the chance of   
still  further abstractions from our    
common stock of potential learning1 we  
have engaged a staff of consulting      

engineers1 who contract1 for certain    
considerations1 to know every useless   
thing from ,a to ,z1 and every  obsolete
 one from ,omega to ,alpha4 ,in these   
gentlemen we repose unlimited           
confidence in proportion to their       
salaries2 for a considerable  experience
 of mankind has taught us that          
omniscience is a much commoner  and     
easier thing than science1 especially in
 this favored country and  under        
democratic institutions1 which give to  
every man the inestimable  right of     
knowing as much as he pleases4          
,everything was going on well  when our 
,man of ,science unaccountably          
disappeared1 and our ,aesthetic  ,editor
 experienced in all its terrors the     
,scriptural doom of being left  to      
himself4 ,this latter gentleman is      
tolerably shady in scientific  matters1 
nay1 to say sooth1 light-proof1 or only 
so far penetrable as  to make darkness  
visible4 ,between science and nescience 
the difference  seems to his mind       

little1 if n e1 and he would accept as  
perfectly  satisfactory a statement that
 the ponderability of air in a vitreous 
table-tipping medium 7the abnormal      
variation being assumed as  x-b         
4#jjjjjja7 is exactly proportioned to   
the squares of the circumambient        
distances1 provided the perihelia are   
equal1 and the evolution of  nituretted 
carbogen in the boomerang be carefully  
avoided during  evaporation2 the power  
of the parallax being represented1 of   
course1 according to the well-known     
theorem of ,rabelais1 by ,h4,u4,m4      
,hemsterhuysius seems to have been      
familiar with this pretty experiment4   
,the above sentence being shown to the  
,aesthetic ,editor aforesaid1 he        
acknowledges that he sees nothing more  
absurd than common in it1 and  that the 
theory seems to him as worthy of trial  
as ,hedgecock's quadrant1  which he took
 with him once on a journey to ,new     
,york1 arriving safely  with a single   
observation of the height of the        

steamer's funnel4    ,footnote ,a3      
,,miss-,,information4 ,a                
higgledy-piggledy want of intelligence  
acquired by young misses at             
boarding-schools4--,supplement to       
,johnson's  ,dictionary4    ,this       
premised1 it naturally follows that the 
,aesthetic ,editor 7the ,july  number   
falling to his turn7 must take advantage
 of the absence of  his ,guardian ,man  
of ,science to publish an article on    
,meteorology4 ,a  condition of things in
 which the omne scibile was left        
entirely at his  disposal1 to be knocked
 about as he pleased1 appeared to him no
 small  omen of a near millennium2 and  
what subject could be more suitable to  
begin with than the weather1 a topic of 
general interest1 7since we have  no    
choice of weather or no17 in which exact
 knowledge is comfortably  impossible1  
and in which he felt himself at home    
from his repeated  experiments in       
raising the wind in order to lower the  
due-point8 7,see  ,the ,weathercock1 an 

,essay on ,rotation in ,office1 by ,sir 
,airy ,vane47    ,meanwhile1 after the  
mischief was all done and a ,provisional
 ,government  of ,chaos ,redux          
comfortably established in ,physics1 the
 ,man of ,science  turns up suddenly in 
the following communication4 ,a council 
was called  on the spot1 the ,autocrat  
in the chair1 and it was decided1 with  
only  one dissenting voice1 that the    
communication should be printed as a    
lesson to the peccant ,editor1 who1 for 
the future1 was laid under a  strict    
interdict in respect of all and singular
 the onomies and ologies1  and directed 
to consider the weather a matter        
altogether unprophetable1  except to    
almanac-makers1--the said ,editor to    
superintend such  publication1 and to be
 kept on a diet of corn-cob for the body
 and  ,sylvanus ,cobb 7or his own works1
 at his option7 for the mind1 till it   
be done4 ,the chairman added1 that for a
 second offence he should do  penance1  
according to ancient usage1 in a blank  

sheet of the ,magazine1  7a contribution
 of his own being to that end           
suppressed17--a form of  punishment     
likely to be as irksome to himself as   
grateful to the readers  of that        
incomparable miscellany4                
,abercwmdwddhwm ,mine1 #bhth ,july1     
#ahfj4    ,,well-,,meaning1 ,,but       
,,misguided1 ,,friend6    ,an unexpected
 opportunity of personally investigating
 a highly nauseous  kind of mephitic    
vapor drew me and ,jones suddenly hither
 without time  to say farewell or make  
explanations4 ,i made the journey       
in--#aj' by  electric telegraph1 and am 
delighted that ,i came1 for anything    
more  unpleasant never met my nostrils1 
and ,i am almost sure of adding a new   
element to the enjoyment of the         
scientific world4    ,i have already    
secured several bottles-full1 and shall 
exhibit it at the  next meeting of the  
,association3 of course you shall have a
 sniff in  advance4 ,i should have      
returned before this1 but unhappily the 

chain by  which we descended gave way a 
few days ago near the top1 in hoisting  
out the first series of my observations1
 and as yet there has been no           
opportunity of replacing it4            
,communication with the upper world is  
kept  up by means of a small cord1      
however1 and in this way we are supplied
  with food for body and mind4 ,as good 
luck would have it1 our butter came     
down wrapped in a half-sheet of your    
last volume of poems1 containing my  old
 favorites1 ',modern ,greece1' and the  
',ode to a ,deserted ,churn4' ,these  ,i
 read aloud several times to the miners1
 and their longing to return  sooner to 
a world where they could get the rest of
 the volume became so  strong1 that1 as 
,i was about to begin my fifth reading1 
they consented  to an expedient of      
escape which ,i had already proposed    
once or twice in  vain4 ,this was to    
blow us out by means of the fire-damp4  
,the result of  the experiment ,i cannot
 yet fully report1 as some confusion    

ensued4  ,jones has disappeared1 having 
been1 as ,i hope and believe1 discharged
  upward1 and ,i have found the remains 
of only one miner1 so that it seems  to 
have been a tolerable success1 though ,i
 myself was blown inward1  owing to the 
premature explosion of the train4 ,in   
one respect the result  was highly      
satisfactory to me personally4 ,jones   
had all along insisted  that the vapor  
was antiphlogistic4 ,whichever way he   
went1 ,i think  7fair-minded as he is7  
he must be by this time convinced of his
 error1  and ,i shall accordingly enter 
him in my ,report as discharged cured4  
,i may add1 as an interesting scientific
 fact1 that his ascent was  accompanied 
by such a sudden and violent fall of the
 barometer 7which he  had in his lap7   
that the instrument was broken4 ,this   
would seem to prove  a considerable     
decrease in the weight of the atmosphere
 at the moment  of explosion4 ,the      
darkness was oppressive at first2 but a 
happy thought  occurred to me4 ,you know

 ,jones's poodle1 and how obese he is8  
,well1 he  was shot into my lap1 where  
he lay to all appearance dead4 ,i had   
some  matches in my pocket and at once  
kindled the end of his tail1 which      
makes a very good candle1 quite as good 
as average dips1 tales1  quales4 ,by the
 light of this ,i proceed to note down  
my first series  of comments as a       
tail-piece to your meteorological       
article in the ,july  ',atlantic1' of   
which we received a copy in due course1 
as the magazine  has a large circulation
 among our friars miner down here4      
,,meteorology ',,made ,,easy4'    ,in   
glancing at the article on              
',meteorology' in the ,july number of   
the  ',atlantic ,monthly1' ,i was so    
struck by the dashing style in which the
  writer presents what he calls the     
'leading principles' of the science1    
that1 in spite of portentous errors1 ,i 
was tempted to follow his  diversified  
flight to its very close4 ,reading      
pencil in hand1 ,i gathered  up a long  

list of mistakes in fact and in         
philosophy1 of which the  following     
specimens1 although but the first fruits
 of a not very  critical examination1   
may serve to illustrate the             
carelessness--shall  ,i not say         
ignorance8--of the writer on the topics 
in regard to which he  proposes to      
enlighten the general reader4    #a4    
,according to our essayist1 the weight  
of the atmosphere is about  #dc_/ajjjths
 that of the globe1--in other words1    
#a_/bc;d part4 ,now a simple            
calculation1 or a reference to one of   
the standard works on ,physics1  should 
have taught him that the weight of the  
entire air is less than  one-millionth  
part of that of the earth1--that is1    
fifty thousand times  less than he      
states it to be4    ,we are quite sure  
that our 7tor-7,mentor is mistaken in   
assuming a  uniform weight for the      
atmosphere4 ,it differs in different    
places4  ,during our lecturing-tours1 we
 have frequently observed an involuntary

  depression of the eyelids 7producing  
almost an appearance of sleep7 in  a    
part of the audience1 which we were at a
 loss to attribute to anything  but the 
weight of the atmosphere4 ,water varies 
in the same way4 ,it is  hardly         
necessary to say that ,lake ,wetter     
derives its name from the  superior     
quality of its dampness4    #b4 ,of the 
specific gravity of the air he seems to 
be amusingly  uncertain1--making it     
first #hcc times and afterwards #ggj    
times less than  that of water2 and in  
the same connection he says1 in chosen  
phrase1 that 'density1 or closeness1 is 
another quality of the  atmosphere1'--as
 if it were its characteristic1 and not 
common to all  ponderable matter4    ,a 
very neat way of arriving at specific   
gravity in its densest form is  to      
distil the funny column of a weekly     
newspaper4 ,to arrive at the  desired   
result in the speediest way1 let the    
operation be performed in  what is known
 among bucolic journalists as a humorous

 retort4 ,density  and closeness should 
not be spoken of as equivalent terms4   
,the former is  a common quality of the 
human skull1 rendering it impervious2   
whereas a  man may be very close and yet
 capable of being stuck1--with bad      
paper1  for example4    #c4 ,in         
mentioning the constituents of the      
atmosphere1 he adopts  without          
explanation the loose statement of some 
of the books1 placing  carburetted      
hydrogen on the same footing as to      
constancy and amount with  carbonic     
acid1 and making no allusion to nitric  
acid4 ,yet chemistry has  shown1 that1  
except in special localities1           
carburetted hydrogen occurs  only as a  
slight trace1 the existence of which in 
most cases is rather  inferred than     
actually demonstrated1 and that it has  
no important  office to perform1--while 
nitric acid shares with ammonia in the  
grand  function of the nourishment of   
plants4 ,in a later paragraph the error 
is  aggravated by the assertion1 that   

'no chemical combination of oxygen and  
nitrogen has ever been detected in the  
atmosphere1 and it is presumed  none    
will be1'--as if every flash of         
lightning did not produce a notable     
quantity of this compound1 which1 washed
 down by the rain1 may be  detected in  
almost every specimen of rain-water we  
meet4 ,what would  ,johnstone1          
,boussingault1 ,liebig1 and the other   
agricultural chemists say  to this8     
,for complete proof on this head1 be    
struck by lightning4 ,for  ourselves1 we
 are convinced1 and would rather have   
some other head  taken for an experiment
 by way of illustration4 ,but any of our
  readers who is unsatisfied has only to
 place himself in front of a            
lightning-express-train with an ordinary
 conductor4 ,to insure being  struck1   
let the experimenter provide himself    
amply with patent  safety-rods4 ,at     
least1 this result is pretty sure in    
houses1 and is  worth trying out of     
doors4    ,in the same connection he    

characterizes nitrogen as a substance   
'not  condensible under fifty           
atmospheres1' leaving the reader to     
infer  that the preceding ingredient on 
the list1 oxygen1 is condensible        
7liquefiable7 within that limit of      
pressure1 and that nitrogen becomes     
liquid at or above it2 whereas neither  
oxygen nor nitrogen has ever yet  been  
compressed into a liquid1 although a    
force of more than fifty  times fifty   
atmospheres has been brought to act upon
 them4    ,we consider an experiment    
requiring twenty-five hundred           
atmospheres1  when the thermometer marks
 #ic in the shade1 indictable at common 
law4  ,to desire more than one1 under   
such circumstances1 is unreasonable1 and
  even wicked4    #d4 ,in referring to  
the ,thermo-barometer as a means of     
measuring  heights1 the writer confounds
 the late ,professor ,edward ,forbes    
with  ,professor ,james ,d4 ,forbes1    
recently of ,edinburgh1 but now ,provost
 of  the ,university of ,st4 ,andrews4  

,the former was a great ,zologist and   
,botanist1 and did not occupy himself   
with investigations in ,physics2  the   
latter is an eminent ,physicist1 the    
author of the viscous theory of         
,glaciers2 and it is he who made the    
observations here ascribed to the       
',professor ,forbes1 whose untimely     
death the friends of science have  had  
so much reason to deplore4' ,the author 
adds the further mistake  of supposing  
that the numerical constant1 #edi feet  
for each degree1  determined by ,james  
,forbes for ,scotland1 is equally       
correct for all  latitudes4    ,this    
hardly needed confutation4 ,no          
university requires any numerical       
constant of height as qualification for 
a degree2 and if they did1 #edi  feet   
would be excessive1 unless1 perhaps1 at 
,warsaw1 where everybody is  tall enough
 to end in ski4    #e4 ,our essayist    
discloses but an imperfect inkling of   
knowledge on the  subject of capillarity
 in barometers1 when he speaks of this  

complex  action as equivalent to the    
attraction between the mercury and the  
glass tube2 and he commits a yet graver 
mistake1 practically speaking1  in      
reiterating the long exploded error1    
that 'the weight of the  atmosphere at  
the level of the sea is the same all    
over the world4' ,no  fact in           
,meteorology is better established than 
that the mean pressure at  the sea-level
 is different for different latitudes4  
,in the vicinity of  ,cape ,horn the    
barometer is three-fourths of an inch   
lower than at the  ,equator1 and        
according to ,schouw the pressure       
increases from the ,equator  up to a    
certain latitude 7#ch7 in both          
hemispheres1 and diminishes  thence     
towards the ,poles4    ,the connection  
between capillarity and the fat of the  
common bear is  well known to all       
manufacturers of trycoverus compounds1  
and they are  probably right in         
advertising that grease of this         
description restores  tone to the       

hair1--of course a fine beary tone4 ,as 
the weight of the  bear depends on his  
fat1 the inference to a bear-ometer is  
obvious4 ,it  is a familiar fact that   
the bear supports life during           
hibernation by  sucking his paws2 but it
 may not be so generally known that the 
waste  thus induced in the anterior     
extremities is restored by the moral    
consciousness of the animal that the fat
 he is so carefully hoarding is  to     
confer a posthumous blessing on mankind4
 ,this is a touching example  of the    
adaptation of means to end1 and         
,shakspeare1 the great natural          
philosopher1 has made use of it for one 
of his most striking metaphors1  where  
he says1 that the thought of something  
after death must give us  paws4    #f4  
,discoursing on the elasticity of the   
air1 the writer styles it  'the most    
compressible of bodies1'--as if it had  
any advantage in this  respect over the 
numerous other species of gaseous       
matter4 ,as to the  illustration which  

he gives1 namely1 that 'a glass vessel  
full of air1  placed under a receiver   
and then exhausted by the air-pump1 will
 burst  into atoms1' we can only say1   
what every schoolboy knows1 that the    
bursting would be inwards1 unless1      
indeed1 our meteorologist means  that   
the external receiver was to be         
exhausted1 and in that case he  should  
so have expressed himself4    ,the      
theory of exhausted receivers is1 in our
 opinion1 worthy only of  the childhood 
of science1 when chemistry and astronomy
 were alchemy and  astrology1 and people
 would believe anything4 ,in this       
enlightened age of  the universal       
subscription-paper1 exhausted givers are
 familiar objects1  but a receiver who  
finds the labors of his calling         
excessive is as  non-existent as the    
harpy1 his mythological prototype4      
#g4 ,in regard to the extent to which   
the compression of air has been         
actually carried1 he tells us that      
',brockhaus says that air has as yet    

been compressed only into one-eighth of 
its original bulk4' ,is  it possible    
that a writer on ,meteorology is        
unacquainted with the  well-known       
experiments of ,dulong and ,arago1 and  
the more recent ones  of ,regnault1 in  
which the compression was three times   
the amount here  stated1 or that he     
requires to be referred to those of     
,natterer1 who1 by  a powerful          
condensing apparatus1 has lately        
compressed seven hundred  and twenty-six
 volumes of air into a single volume8   
,any man who has succeeded in condensing
 seven hundred and twenty-six  volumes  
into one deserves the applause of the   
reading public4 ,we  trust ,m4 ,natterer
 will extend his benevolent labors to   
all the great  libraries4 ,with the most
 perfect apparatus of compression1      
however1 we  doubt if contemporary      
literature will yield anything like so  
high an  average as #a in #gbf4    #h4  
,in the paragraphs devoted to the       
optical relations of the  atmosphere1   

our author has shown a happy faculty for
 making his subject  obscure4 ,after    
suggesting that the refraction of the   
rays in the  atmosphere may be due to   
what he calls its 'lenticular outline1' 
he  defines refraction to be 'the       
bending of a ray passing obliquely from 
a  rarer into a denser medium1'--a good 
enough popular definition1 but for  its 
sad defectiveness4 ,is he not aware that
 the light is also bent in  penetrating 
obliquely from a denser into a rarer    
medium1 as in passing  from the surface 
of a low plain to the eye of a spectator
 on a  neighboring mountain1 and that   
the bending is just as great in this    
direction of its motion as in the other8
 ,and does he not know that it  changes 
its course whenever it passes from a    
vacuum into any ponderable  medium or in
 the opposite direction8 ,in future     
attempts to make  science easy1 let him 
remember that these are all equally     
instances of  refraction1 and should be 
included in its definition4    ,under   

the same head1 we are led to infer that 
it is only in 'the warm  and moist      
nights of summer1' that 'the moon1 as   
she rises above the  horizon1 appears   
much larger than when at the zenith'2   
and we are  taught1 in connection with  
the origin of the mirage and the spectre
  of the ,bracken1 that 'rainbows are   
due to this condition of the            
atmosphere4' ,if1 instead of rainbows1  
we may be allowed to read halos1  we can
 understand the writer1 who1 instead of 
thinking of summer  showers1 appears to 
have had a haze in his mind while       
penning this and  other paragraphs4     
,the dictum of our correspondent in     
regard to light passing from  a         
ponderable medium into a vacuum requires
 some qualification4 ,an  exception     
should be made of ,spiritual ,mediums1  
who1 being flesh and  blood1 are of     
course ponderable4 ,now1 if we represent
 the ,medium by ,a1  and the head of any
 one consulting her by ,b1 there can be 
no doubt that  the latter is an absolute

 vacuum2 but it is demonstrable that    
nothing  like light ever passed from the
 former to the latter4 ,there is a      
closer analogy between refracted light  
and a ,brocken spectre than our         
scientific friend seems willing to      
admit4 ,for what follows we refer our   
readers to the remarkable essay of      
,alderman ,moon1 ,on the ,identity of   
,halocination and ,lunacy4    #i4 ,as   
our author advances in this branch of   
his subject1 he grows far  too profound 
for our scientific apprehension4 ,giving
 him all credit for  wishing to be      
clear1 we confess to a sad mystification
 as to what he  calls the ',polarity of 
,light1' where a beam is described as   
'revolving  around poles peculiar to    
itself' and as producing 'beautiful     
spectres1' and we want new illumination 
from him as to his theory of  colors4   
,we agree to the statement that 'each   
object has a particular  reflecting     
surface of its own1' as we cannot see   
how its particular  surface could be the

 property of another1--but why this     
should make the  surface 'throw back    
light at its own angle' we do not       
exactly fathom1  and we are puzzled to  
know which is the owner of the said     
angle1  the light or the surface4 ,no   
one doubts that 'the modest blush which 
crimsons the cheek of beauty1' to use   
the author's words1 is caused by a  rush
 of blood to the skin2 but how this     
produces 'a corresponding change  in its
 angle of reflection1' and what such a  
change has to do with the  result1 are  
problems too transcendental for the     
exact sciences4    ,on all questions    
relating to the ,poles we reserve our   
opinion till the  return of ,dr4        
,hayes's expedition4 ,but we think they 
have little to hope  from any future    
attempt at revolution1 especially with  
such insufficient  weapons as their     
axes1 which1 though they keep up a      
constant stir about  them1 have been    
long superseded by the improvements of  
modern military  science4 ,we think our 

correspondent hasty in admitting that   
each object  has a particular reflecting
 surface of its own4 ,a little inquiry  
among  his neighbors would have         
satisfied him that the human brain      
seldom  possesses anything of the kind4 
,but these specimens must suffice as    
indications of the general  character of
 this attempt at popularizing science4  
,to do this without  misleading and     
confounding the general reader is a task
 which claims  the largest and most     
exact knowledge1 and the greatest       
perspicuity of  statement1 no less than 
a flowing style and felicitous          
illustration4  ,it is a task in which   
true success1 though apparently         
frequent1 is in  reality extremely rare4
    ,p4,s4 ,i had written thus far1 when
 the fire suddenly penetrating1 ,i      
suppose1 to the nervous system of the   
poodle1 he ran off1 leaving me  in total
 darkness and with no hope that his tail
 7like too many in the  ',atlantic'7    
would be continued4 ,by the brief candle

 of a match ,i manage  to add this1 and 
to subscribe myself    ,yours ever4     
99       99       99       99       99  
,,recent ,,american ,,publications      
,,received ,,by ,,the ,,editors ,,of    
,,the ,,atlantic ,,monthly4      ,ida   
,randolph1 of ,virginia4 ,a ,poem in    
,three ,cantos4 ,philadelphia4 ,hazard4 
#afmo4 pp4 #fj4 #ej cts4    ,science a  
,witness for the ,bible4 ,by ,rev4      
,w4,n4 ,pendleton1 ,d4,d4               
,philadelphia4 ,lippincott  ,co4 #afmo4 
pp4 #cej4 #a4jj4    ,map of the         
,mountain and ,lake ,region of ,new     
,hampshire4 ,concord4 ,e4,c4  ,eastman4 
#cbmo4 #be cts4    ,lichen ,tufts1 from 
the ,alleghanies4 ,by ,elizabeth ,c4    
,wright4 ,new ,york4  ,doolady4 #abmo4  
pp4 #cbh4 #ge cts4    ,the ,rock of     
,ages2 or1 ,scripture ,testimony to the 
,one ,eternal ,godhead  of the ,father1 
and of the ,son1 and of the ,holy       
,ghost4 ,by ,edward ,henry              
,bickersteth1 ,m4,a41 ,incumbent of     
,christ ,church1 ,hampstead4 ,with an   

,introduction by the ,rev4 ,f4,d4       
,huntington1 ,d4,d41 ,late ,preacher to 
the  ,university and ,plummer ,professor
 of ,christian ,morals in ,harvard      
,college2  ,rector of ,emmanuel ,church1
 ,boston4 ,boston4 ,dutton  ,co4 #afmo4 
pp4 #bad4  #ge cts4    ,the ,words of   
,jesus4 ,by the ,author of ,the ,morning
 and ,night ,watches1  ,the ,faithful   
,promiser1 etc4 ,boston4 ,dutton  ,co4  
#ahmo4 pp4 #abh4 #be  cts4    ,how to   
,enjoy ,life2 or1 ,physical and ,mental 
,hygiene4 ,by ,william ,m4  ,cornell1   
,m4,d4 ,philadelphia4 ,challen  ,son4   
#abmo4 pp4 #cfj4 #ge cts4    ,god1      
,religion1 and ,immortality4 ,an        
,oration delivered at the ,paine        
,celebration in ,cincinnati1 ,january   
#bith1 #ahfj4 ,by ,joseph ,weat4        
,cincinnati4 ,published for the ,author4
 #hvo4 paper1 pp4 #fc4 #be cts4         
,books and ,reading4 ,a ,lecture4 ,by   
,w4,p4 ,atkinson4 ,published by         
,request4  ,boston4 ,crosby1 ,nichols1  
,lee1  ,co4 #afmo4 paper1 pp4 #fj4 #bj  

cts4    ,bracebridge ,hall2 or1 ,the    
,humorists4 ,a ,medley4 ,by ,geoffrey   
,crayon4 ,gent4  ,author's ,revised     
,edition4 ,complete in ,one ,volume4    
,new ,york4 ,putnam4 #hvo4  pp4 #dfe4   
#a4ej4    ,the ,adventures of ,james    
,capen ,adams1 ,mountaineer and ,grizzly
 ,bear  ,hunter1 of ,california4 ,by    
,theodore ,s4 ,hittell4 ,illustrated4   
,boston4  ,crosby1 ,nichols1 ,lee1  ,co4
 #abmo4 pp4 #cgh4 #a4be4    ,course of  
,ancient ,geography4 ,arranged with     
,special ,reference to  ,convenience of 
,recitation4 ,by ,h4,j4 ,schmidt1       
,d4,d41 ,professor in ,columbia         
,college1 ,author of ,history of        
,education1 ,plan of ,culture and       
,instruction1 etc4 ,new ,york4 ,appleton
  ,co4 #abmo4 pp4 xii41 #cbh4 #a4jj4    
,count ,filippo2 or1 ,the ,unequal      
,marriage4 ,a ,drama in ,five ,acts4 ,by
 the  ,author of ,saul4 ,montreal4      
,printed for the ,author4 #hvo4 pp4     
#aec4 #ej  cts4    ,memorials of ,thomas
 ,hood4 ,collected1 arranged1 and edited

 by his  ,daughter4 ,with a ,preface and
 ,notes by his ,son4 ,illustrated with  
,copies  from his own ,sketches4 ,in    
,two ,volumes4 ,boston4 ,ticknor        
,fields4 #afmo4  pp4 xviii41 #caj2      
viii41 #cbg4 #a4ge4    ,the ,lady of    
,lyons4 ,a ,drama in ,five ,acts4 ,by   
,sir ,k4 ,bulwer ,lytton4 ,with         
,introductory ,notes1 etc41 by ,o4,j4   
,victor4 ,new ,york4 ,j4 ,emmons  ,co4  
#ahmo4 paper1 pp4 #ei4 #aj cts4         
,appleton's ,companion ,hand-,book of   
,travel3 ,containing a full ,description
  of the ,principal ,cities1 ,towns1 and
 ,places of ,interest1 together with    
,hotels and ,routes of ,travel1         
throughout the ,united ,states and the  
,canadas4 ,with ,colored ,maps4 ,edited 
by ,t4 ,addison ,richards4 ,new ,york4  
,appleton  ,co4 #afmo4 paper1 pp4 #bhh4 
#ej cts4    ,ethica2 an ,outline of     
,moral ,science for ,students and       
,reflecting ,men4 ,by  ,john ,h4        
,stinson4 ,new ,york4 ,a4,b4 ,kitson4   
#afmo4 pp4 #ajb4 #ej cts4    ,history1  

,theory1 and ,practice of the ,electric 
,telegraph4 ,by ,george ,b4  ,prescott4 
,boston4 ,ticknor  ,fields4 #abmo4 pp4  
#dfh4 #a4ge4    ,la ,question           
,irlandaise4 ,by ,jean de ,paris4       
,boston4 ,p4 ,donahoe4 #hvo4  paper1 pp4
 #ab4 #aj cts4    ,a ,journey in the    
,back ,country4 ,by ,frederick ,law     
,olmsted4 ,new ,york4 ,mason  ,brothers4
 #abmo4 pp4 #dib4 #a4be4    ,studies in 
,animal ,life4 ,by ,george ,henry       
,lewes4 ,new ,york4 ,harper   ,brothers4
 #afmo4 pp4 #adf4 #dj cts4    ,the      
,queens of ,society4 ,by ,grace and     
,philip ,wharton4 ,illustrated by       
,charles ,altamont ,doyle and the       
,brothers ,dalziel4 ,new ,york4 ,harper 
,brothers4 #abmo4 pp4 #dhh4 #a4ej4    ,a
 ,run through ,europe4 ,by ,erastus ,c4 
,benedict4 ,new ,york4 ,appleton  ,co4  
#abmo4 pp4 #eeb4 #a4bf4    ,centennial  
,anniversary of the ,foundation of      
,germantown ,academy4 #ahfj4            
,philadelphia4 ,c4 ,sherman  ,son4 #hvo4
 paper1 pp4 #eh4 #be cts4    ,currents  

and ,counter-,currents in ,medical      
,science4 ,an ,address delivered  before
 the ,massachusetts ,medical ,society at
 their ,annual ,meeting1 ,may  #cj1     
#ahfj4 ,by ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes1    
,m4,d4 ,boston4 ,ticknor  ,fields4 #hvo4
  paper1 pp4 #dh4 #be cts4              
,chambers's ,encyclopaedia2 a           
,dictionary of ,universal ,knowledge for
  the ,people4 ,on the ,basis of the    
,latest ,edition of the ,german         
,conversations-,lexicon4 ,illustrated   
with ,wood ,engravings and ,maps4 ,parts
  ,,xvi4 and ,,xvii4 ,new ,york4        
,appleton  ,co4 #hvo4 each part pp4 #fd4
 #ae cts4