,,the ,,atlantic ,,monthly4    ,a       
,,magazine ,,of ,,literature1 ,,art1    
,,and ,,politics4    ,,vol4             
,,iii4--,,march1 #ahei4--,,no4 ,,xvii4  
,,holbein ,,and ,,the ,,dance ,,of      
,,death4      ,at the northwest corner  
of ,switzerland1 just on the turn of the
 ,rhine  from its westward course       
between ,germany and ,switzerland1 to   
run  northward between ,germany and     
,france1 stands the old town of ,ble4   
,it is  nominally ,swiss2 but its       
situation on the borders of three       
countries1  and almost in them all1 has 
given to the place itself and to its    
inhabitants a somewhat heterogeneous    
air4 ,it looks1 says one  traveller1    
like a stranger lately arrived in a new 
colony1 who1  although he may have      
copied the dress and the manner of those
 with whom  he has come to reside1 wears
 still too much of his old costume to   
pass  for a native1 and too little to be
 received as a stranger4 ,perhaps we    
may get a better idea of the mixed      

nationality of the place by imagining  a
 ,swiss who speaks ,french with a       
,german accent4    ,ble is an ancient   
city2 though ,rome was bending under the
 weight of  more than a thousand years  
when the ,emperor ,valentinian built at 
this  angle of the river a fortress     
which was called the ,basilia4 ,houses  
soon  began to cluster round it upon the
 ruins of an old ,helvetian town1 and   
thus ,basel or ,ble obtained its        
existence and its name4 ,ble suffered   
many calamities4 ,war1 pestilence1 and  
earthquake alternately made it          
desolate4 ,whether we must enumerate    
among its misfortunes a ,grand          
,ecclesiastical ,council which assembled
 there in #adca1 and sat for  seventeen 
years1 deposing one infallible ,pope1   
and making another  equally infallible1 
let theological disputants decide4 ,but 
the  assembling of this ,council was of 
some service to us2 for its ,secretary1 
,aeneas ,sylvius1 7who1 like the saucy  
little prima donna1 was one of  the     

noble and powerful ,italian family1 the 
,piccolomini1 and afterward1  as ,pope  
,pius ,,ii41 wore the triple crown which
 ,st4 ,peter did not wear17  in his     
,latin dedication of a history of the   
transactions of that body  to the       
,cardinal ,st4 ,angeli1 has left a      
description of ,ble as it was in  #adcf4
    ,after telling us that the town is  
situated upon that excellent river1  the
 ,rhine1 which divides it into two      
parts1 called ,great ,ble and ,little   
,ble1 and that these are connected by a 
bridge which the river rising  from its 
bed sometimes carries off1 he1 naturally
 enough for an  ecclesiastic and a      
future ,pope1 goes on to say1 that in   
,great ,ble1  which is far more         
beautiful and magnificent than ,little  
,ble1 there are  handsome and commodious
 churches2 and he naively adds1 that1   
although  these are not adorned with    
marble1 and are built of common stone1  
they  are much frequented by the people4
 ,the women of ,ble1 following the      

devotional instincts of their sex1 were 
the most assiduous attendants  upon     
these churches2 and they consoled       
themselves for the absence of  marble1  
which the good ,aeneas ,sylvius seems to
 imply would partly have  excused them  
for staying away1 by an arrangement in  
itself as odd as in  ,roman ,catholic   
places of worship--to their honor--it   
is1 and ever was1  unusual4 ,each of    
them performed her devotions in a kind  
of inclosed  bench or solitary pew4 ,by 
most of these the occupant was concealed
  only to the waist when she stood up at
 the reading of the ,gospel2 some       
allowed only their heads to appear2 and 
others of the fair owners were  at once 
so devout1 so cruel1 and so self-denying
 as to shut out the  eyes of the world  
entirely and at all times4 ,but         
instances of this  remorseless          
mortification of the flesh1 seem to have
 been exceedingly  rare4 ,queer enough  
these structures were1 and sufficiently 
gratifying  to the pride and provocative

 of the envy which the beauties of ,ble 
7avowedly7 went to churches in which    
there was no marble to mortify4 ,for    
they were of different heights1         
according to the rank of the occupant4  
,a simple burgher's wife took but a step
 toward heaven when she went to  pray2 a
 magistrate's of the lower house1 we    
must suppose1 took two2 a  magistrate's 
of the upper house1 three2 a lady1 four2
 a baroness1 five2  a countess1 six2 and
 what a duchess1 if one ever appeared   
there1 did to  maintain her dignity in  
the eyes of ,god and man1 unless she    
mounted into  the pulpit1 it is quite   
impossible to conjecture4 ,aeneas       
,sylvius gives  it as his opinion that  
these things were used as a protection  
against  the cold1 which to his ,italian
 blood seemed very great4 ,but that     
notion  was surely instilled into the   
courtly churchman by some fair1 demure  
,bloise2 for had it been well-founded1  
the sentry-boxes would have risen  and  
fallen with the thermometer1 and not    

with the rank of the occupant4    ,the  
walls of the churches were hung around  
with the emblazoned shields  of knights 
and noblemen1 and the roofs were richly 
painted in various  colors1 and glowed  
with splendor when the rays of the sun  
fell upon  them4 ,storks built their    
nests upon these roofs1 and hatched     
their young  there unmolested2 for the  
,blois believed1 that1 if the birds were
  disturbed1 they would fire the houses4
    ,the dwellings of men of any wealth 
or rank were very curiously planned1    
elaborately ornamented1 richly painted1 
and adorned with magnificent  tapestry4 
,the tables were covered with vessels of
 wrought silver1 in  which ,sylvius     
confesses that the ,blois surpassed even
 the skilful  and profuse ,italians4    
,fountains1 those sources of fantastic  
and  ever-changing beauty1 were         
numerous1--so numerous1 says our        
afterward-to-be-infallible authority1   
that the town of ,viterbo1 in  ,tuscany1
 had not so many1--and ,viterbo was     

noted for its beauty1 and for  being    
surrounded with the villas of wealthy   
,italians1 who have always  used water  
freely in the way of fountains4    ,ble1
 although it then--four hundred and     
twenty years ago--acknowledged  the     
,emperor for its sovereign1 was a free  
town1 as it is now2 that is1  it had no 
local lord to favor or oppress it at his
 pleasure1 but was  governed by laws    
enacted by representatives of the       
people4 ,the spirit of  a noble         
independence pervaded the little ,canton
 of which it was and  is the capital4   
,though it was fortified1 its stone     
defences were not  strong2 but when     
,sylvius tells us that the ,blois       
thought that the  strength of their city
 consisted in the union of its          
inhabitants1 who  preferred death to    
loss of liberty1 we see what stuff its  
men were made  of1 and why the town was 
free4    ,among its peculiarities1 ,ble 
had no lawyers1--this happy and united  
,ble4 ,the ,blois did not trouble       

themselves about the ,imperial law1     
says ,sylvius2 but when disputes or     
accusations were brought before the     
magistrates1 they were decided according
 to custom and the equity of  each case4
 ,they were nevertheless inexorably     
severe in administering  justice4 ,a    
criminal could not be saved either by   
gold1 or by  intercession1 or by the    
authority and influence of his family4  
,he  who was guilty must be punished2   
and the punishments were terrible4      
,criminals were banished1 hung1         
beheaded1 broken on the wheel1 drowned  
in  the ,rhine1 7a bad use to which to  
put that excellent river17 left to      
starve on a gradually diminished supply 
of bread and water4 ,to compel          
confessions1 tortures inconceivably     
horrible were used1 to which the        
alternative of death would have been a  
boon2 and yet there were not  wanting   
those among the ,blois who would endure 
these torments rather  than utter their 
own condemnation4    ,they were devoted 

to religion1 and held in great reverence
 the pictures  and images of the        
,saints2 but not on account of any      
admiration of the  skill of painter or  
sculptor2 for they cared little for the 
arts1 and  were so ignorant of          
literature that no one of them had ever 
heard of  ,cicero or of any other       
orator4    ,the men of ,ble were of     
noble presence1 and dressed well1       
although they  avoided magnificence4    
,only those of knightly rank wore       
purple2 the  wealthy burghers confined  
themselves to black velvet2 but their   
wives1  on fte-days1 blazed in splendid 
silk and satin and jewels4 ,the boys    
went with naked feet1 and1 adds the     
reverend divine1 the women wore upon    
their white legs only shoes4 ,there was 
no distinction of age by costume1  among
 the women1--a very great singularity in
 those days1 when every  stage and rank 
of life was marked by some peculiar     
style of dress2 but  in ,ble the face   
alone distinguished the young girl from 

the matron  of mature years4 ,it may1   
however1 be doubted by some1 whether    
this is  peculiar to the town of ,ble or
 to the time of ,sylvius4 ,the men were 
addicted to voluptuous pleasures2 they  
lived sumptuously1 and passed a  long   
time at table4 ,in the words of our     
churchman1 ,they were too much  devoted 
to ,father ,bacchus and ,dame           
,venus1--faults which they deemed       
venial4 ,but he adds1 that they were    
jealous of their honor1 and held to     
what they promised2 they would rather be
 upright than merely seem to be  so4    
,though provident1 they were content1   
unless very poor4    ,another           
peculiarity of ,ble3 its clocks were one
 hour ahead of all  others1 and so      
continued at least till the middle of   
the last century4  ,this of course      
depended on no difference of time2 it   
was merely that  when1 for instance1 at 
mid-day1 the clocks of neighboring towns
 struck  twelve1 the clocks of ,ble     
struck one4 ,the origin of this seeming 

effort  to hasten him who usually moves 
rapidly enough for us all is lost in    
obscurity4    ,and now why is it that1  
we have gone back four hundred years and
 more1  to linger thus long with the    
,secretary of the ,great ,ecclesiastical
  ,council of ,ble1 in that quaint and  
queer old town1 with its half  ,french1 
half ,german look1 its grand1 grotesque 
old churches1 hung round  with knightly 
shields and filled with women1 each in a
 pulpit of her  own1 its stork-crowned  
roofs1 its houses blazing with wrought  
gold and  silver1 its threescore        
fountains1 and the magnificence in      
which1 without  a court1 it rivalled the
 richest capitals of ,italy1 its        
noble-spirited  and pleasure-loving1 but
 simple-minded and unlearned burghers1  
its  white-limbed beauties1 and its     
deceitful clocks8 ,it is not because    
that  town is now one of the principal  
ribbon-factories of the world1 and      
exports to this country alone over      
#a1bjj1jjj worth yearly2 although  some 

fair readers may suppose that an        
all-sufficient reason1--and some  of    
their admirers and protectors1 too1 for 
that matter4 ,think of it6  nearly one  
million two hundred and fifty thousand  
dollars' worth of  ribbons coming to us 
every year from a single town in        
,switzerland6 ,the  statement is enough 
to carry horror and dismay to the heart 
and the  pocket of every father and     
brother1 and above all1 of every        
husband1  actual or possible1 who hears 
of it4 ,it is a godsend to the          
protectionists1 who might redify their  
party on the basis of a  prohibitory    
tariff against ribbons4 ,if they were   
successful1 their  success would be     
brilliant2 for if our fair tyrants could
 not get  ribbons--those necessaries of 
life--from ,ble in ,switzerland1 they   
would tease and coax us to build them a 
,ble in ,america2 and we should  do it4 
,we have gone back to the old ,ble of   
four hundred and twenty years ago1      
because there1 and not long after that  

time1--about #adih1--;according  to     
general belief1 ,hans ,holbein was born2
 because these were the  surroundings   
under the influence of which he grew to 
manhood2 and  because there1 about sixty
 years before his birth1 a ,dance of    
,death was  painted1 the most ancient   
and important of which we have any      
remaining  memorial4 ,this ,dance was   
painted upon the wall of the churchyard 
of the  ,dominican ,convent in ,great   
,ble1 by order of the very              
,ecclesiastical  ,council of which our  
,aeneas ,sylvius was ,secretary1 and in 
commemoration  of a plague which visited
 the town during the sitting of that    
,council1  and carried off many of its  
members4    ,what is a ,dance of ,death8
 and why should ,death be painted       
dancing8  ,some readers may think of it 
as a frantic revel of grim skeletons1 or
  perhaps--like me in my boyish         
musings--imagine nameless shapes with   
,death and ,hell gleaming in their      
faces1 each clasping a mortal beguiled  

to its embrace1 all flitting and        
floating round and round to unearthly   
music1 and gradually receding through   
vast mysterious gloom till they  are    
lost in its horrible obscurity4    ,but 
neither of these notions is near the    
truth4 ,the ,dance of ,death is  not a  
revel1 and in it ,death does not dance  
at all4 ,a ,dance of ,death1 or  a      
,dance ,macabre1 as it was called1 is a 
succession of isolated pictures1  all   
informed with the same motive1 it is    
true1 but each independent of  the      
others1 and consisting of a group1      
generally of but two figures1 one  of   
which is the representative of ,death4  
,the second always represents  a class2 
and in this figure every rank1 from the 
very highest to the  lowest1 finds its  
type4 ,the number of these groups or    
pictures varies  considerably in the    
different dances1 according to the      
caprice of the  artist1 or1 perhaps1 to 
the expense of his time and labor which 
he  thought warranted by the payment he 

was to receive4 ,but all express1  with 
sufficient fulness1 the idea that ,death
 is the common lot of  humanity1 and    
that he enters with impartial feet the  
palace and the  cottage1 neither pitying
 youth nor respecting age1 and waiting  
no  convenient season4    ,the figure of
 ,death in these strange religious works
 of ,art1--for they  were as purely     
religious in their origin as the ,holy  
,families and  ,madonnas of the same and
 a subsequent period1--this figure of   
,death is  not always a skeleton4 ,it is
 so in but one of the forty groups in   
the  ,dance at ,ble1 which was the germ 
of ,holbein's1 and which1 indeed1 until 
very recently1 was attributed to him1   
although it was painted more  than half 
a century before he was born4 ,it is    
generally assumed that a  skeleton has  
always been the representative of       
,death1 but erroneously2  for1 in fact1 
,holbein was the first to fix upon a    
mere skeleton for the  embodiment of    
that idea4    ,the ,hebrew ,scriptures1 

which furnish us with the earliest      
extant  allusion to ,death as a         
personage1 designate him as an angel or 
messenger  of ,god1--as1 for instance1  
in the record of the destruction of the 
,assyrian host in the ,second ,book of  
,kings 7xix4 #ce74 ,the ancient         
,egyptians1 too1 in whose strange system
 of symbolism may be found the  germ1 at
 least1 of most of the types used in the
 religion and the arts  of more modern  
nations1 had no representation of ,death
 as an individual  agent4 ,they         
expressed the extinction of life very   
naturally and simply  by the figure of a
 mummy4 ,such a figure it was their     
custom to pass  round among the guests  
at their feasts2 and the ,greeks and    
,romans  imitated them1 with slight     
modifications1 in the form of the image 
and  the manner of the ceremony4 ,some  
scholars have found in this custom a    
deep moral and religious significance1  
akin to that which certainly  attached  
to the custom of placing a slave in the 

chariot of a ,roman  conquering general 
to say to him at intervals1 as his      
triumphal  procession moved with pomp   
and splendor through the swarming       
streets1  ,remember that thou art a man4
 ,but this is too subtile a conjecture4 
,the ceremony was but a silent way of   
saying1 ,let us eat and drink1 for      
to-morrow we die1 which1 as ,paul's     
solemn irony makes but too plain1  must 
be the philosophy of life to those who  
believe that the dead rise  not1 which  
was the case with the ,egyptians and the
 ,greeks1 and the  ,hebrews also4 ,an   
old ,french epitaph expresses to the    
full this  philosophy3--        ,ce que 
j'ai mang1        ,ce que j'ai bu1      
,ce que j'ai dissip1    ,je l'ai        
maintenant avec moi4      ,ce que j'ai  
laiss1        ,je l'ai perdu1           
,what ,i ate1        ,what ,i drank1    
,what ,i dissipated1        ,i have with
 me4        ,that which ,i left         
,i lost4    ,the figure of the sad youth
 leaning upon an inverted torch1 in     

which  the ,greeks embodied their idea  
of ,death1 is familiar to all who have  
examined ancient ,art4 ,the ,etruscan   
,death was a female1 with wings upon    
the shoulders1 head1 and feet1 hideous  
countenance1 terrible fangs and  talons1
 and a black skin4 ,no example of the   
form attributed to him by  the early    
,christians has come down to us1 that ,i
 can discover2 but we  know that they1  
as well as the later ,hebrews1          
considered ,death as the  emissary of   
the ,evil ,one1 if not identical with   
him1 and called him  impious1 unholy4   
,it was in the ,dark ,ages1 that the    
figure of a dead body  or a skull was   
first used as a symbol of ,death2 but   
even then its office  appears to have   
been purely symbolic1 and not           
representative2--that is1  these figures
 served to remind men of their          
mortality1 or to mark a  place of       
sepulture1 and were not the embodiment  
of an idea1 not the  creation of a      
personage1--,death4 ,it is not until the

 thirteenth or  fourteenth century that 
we find this embodiment clearly defined 
and  generally recognized2 and even then
 the figure used was not a skeleton1    
but a cadaverous and emaciated body4    
,among the remains of ,greek and ,roman 
,art1 only two groups are known in      
which a skeleton appears2 and it is     
remarkable that in both of these the    
skeletons are dancing4 ,in one group of 
three1 the middle figure is a  female4  
,its comparative breadth at the         
shoulders and narrowness at the  hips   
make at first a contrary impression2 but
 the position of the body  and limbs is1
 oddly enough1 too like that of a female
 dancer of the  modern ,french school to
 leave the question in more than a      
moment's  doubt4 ,thus the artists who  
did not embody their idea of death in a 
skeleton were the first to conceive and 
execute a real ,dance of ,death4  ,in   
both the groups referred to1 the motive 
is manifestly comic2 and  neither of    
them has any similarity to the ,dances  

of ,death of which  ,holbein's has      
become the grand representative4 ,these 
had their origin1  we can hardly tell   
with certainty how1 or when1 or where2  
although the  subject has enlisted the  
investigating labors of such            
accomplished  scholars and profound     
antiquaries as ,douce and ,ottley in    
,england1  and ,peignot and ,langlois in
 ,france4 ,but a story with which they  
are  intimately connected1 even if it is
 not their germ1 has been discovered2   
ancient customs which must have aided in
 their development are familiar  to all 
investigators of ancient manners1 and   
especially of ancient  amusements2 and  
the motives which inform them all1 and  
the moral  condition of ,christendom of 
which they were the result1 are plain   
enough4    ,we have seen before1 that   
this ,dance consisted of several groups 
of two  or more figures1 one of which   
was always ,death in the act of claiming
 a  victim2 and for the clear           
comprehension of what follows1 it is    

necessary  to anticipate a little1 and  
remark1 that there is no doubt that the 
,dance was first represented by living  
performers4 ,strange as this seems  to  
us1 it was but in keeping with the      
spirit of the time1 which we call1      
perhaps with some presumption1 the ,dark
 ,ages4    ,the story which is probably 
the germ of this ,dance was called ,les 
,trois  ,morts et les ,trois            
,vifs1--,the ,three ,dead and the ,three
 ,living4 ,it is  of indefinable        
antiquity and uncertain origin4 ,it is  
said1 that three  noble youths1 as they 
returned from hunting1 were met in the  
gloom of  the forest by three hideous   
spectres1 in the form of decaying human 
corpses2 and that1 as they stood rooted 
to the ground by this appalling  sight1 
the figures addressed them solemnly upon
 the vanity of worldly  grandeur and    
pleasure1 and admonished them1 that1    
although in the heyday  of youth1 they  
must soon become as they 7the spectres7 
were4 ,this story1  or dit1 saying1 as  

it was called in ,french1 was           
exceedingly popular  through-out ,europe
 five or six hundred years ago4 ,it is  
found in the  language of every         
,christian nation of the period1 and1   
extended by means  of accessory         
incidents and much moralizing1 is made  
to cover several  pages in more than one
 old illuminated manuscript4 ,in the    
,arundel ,,mss41  in ,england1 there is 
one of the many versions of the legend  
written  in ,french so old that it is   
quite as difficult for ,frenchmen as for
  ,englishmen to read it4 ,but over an  
illuminated picture of the incident1  in
 which three kings are shown meeting the
 three skeletons1 are these  lines in   
,english1 as old1 but less obsolete3--  
,over the ,kings4      ,ich am afert    
,lo whet ich see    ,methinketh hit be  
develes thre4      ,over the ,skeletons4
      ,ich wes wel fair    ,such schel  
tou be    ,for ,godes love be wer by me4
    ,in these rude lines is the whole   
moral of the legend1 and of the ,dance  

of ,death which grew out of it4 ,that   
growth was simple1 gradual1 and         
natural4 ,in the versions and in the    
pictorial representations of the  legend
 there soon began to be much variety in 
the persons who met the  spectres4 ,at  
first three noble youths1 they became   
three kings1 three  noble ladies1 a     
king1 a queen1 and their son or         
daughter1 and so  on1--the rank of the  
persons1 however1 being always high4    
,for1 as we  shall have occasion to     
notice hereafter more particularly1 the 
mystery  of the ,dance had a democratic 
as well as a religious significance2 and
  it served to bring to mind1 not only  
the irresistible nature of ,death's     
summons1 but the real equality of all   
men2 and this it did in a manner  to    
which those of high condition could not 
object4    ,the legend was made the     
subject of a fresco1 painted about      
#acej1 by the  eminent ,italian painter 
and architect1 ,orcagna1 upon the walls 
of the  ,campo ,santo at ,pisa1--which  

some readers may be glad to be reminded 
was  a cemetery1 so called because it   
was covered with earth brought from  the
 ,holy ,land4 ,it is remarkable1        
however1 that in this work the artist   
embodied ,death not in the form commonly
 used in his day1 but in the old        
,etruscan figure before mentioned4      
,orcagna's ,death is a female1 winged   
like a bat1 and with terrible claws4    
,armed with a scythe1 she swoops  down  
upon the earth and reaps a promiscuous  
harvest of popes1 emperors1  kings1     
queens1 churchmen1 and noblemen4 ,in the
 rude manner of the time1  ,orcagna has 
divided his picture into compartments4  
,in one of these we  see ,st4 ,macarius1
 one of the first ,christian hermits1 an
 ,egyptian1  sitting at the foot of a   
mountain2 before him are three kings1   
who have  returned from the chase       
accompanied by a gay train of           
attendants4 ,the  ,saint calls the      
attention of the kings to three         
sepulchres in which lie  the bodies of  

three other kings1 one of which is much 
decomposed4 ,the  three living kings are
 struck with horror2 but the painter has
 much  diminished the moral effect of   
his work1 for this century1 at least1 by
  making one of them hold his           
nose2--which is regarded by ,mr4 ,ruskin
 as  an evidence of ,orcagna's devotion 
to the truth2 but in this case that     
brilliant writer1 but most unsafe       
critical guide1 commits an error of a   
kind not uncommon with him4 ,the        
representation of so homely an action1  
in such a composition1 merely shows that
 the painter had not arrived at  a just 
appreciation of the relative value of   
the actual1--and that he  failed to see 
that by introducing this unessential    
incident he diverted  attention from his
 higher purpose1 dragged his picture    
from a moral to  a material plane1 and  
went at a bound far over the narrow     
limit between  the horrible and the     
ludicrous4    ,st4 ,macarius is         
frequently introduced in the pictures of

 this subject2  and some antiquaries    
suppose that hence the ,dance of ,death 
derived the  name1 ,dance ,macabre1 by  
which it used to be generally known4    
,others  derive it from the ,arabic     
mac-bourah1--a cemetery4 ,neither       
derivation  is improbable2 but it is of 
little consequence to us which is       
correct4    ,it may seem strange that   
such a legend as this of ,the ,three    
,dead and  the ,three ,living1 with such
 a moral1 should become the origin of a 
dance4 ,but we should remember that in  
many countries dancing has been a       
religious ceremony4 ,it was so with the 
,greeks and ,romans1 and also with  the 
,hebrews1 among whom1 however1 saltatory
 worship seems1 on most  occasions1 to  
have been performed spontaneously1 and  
by volunteers4 ,all  will remember the  
case of ,miriam1 who thus danced to the 
sound of her  timbrel after the passage 
of the ,red ,sea2 and who that has read 
it can  forget the account of the dance 
which ,king ,david executed before the  

ark1 dancing with all his might1 and    
girded only with a linen ephod8         
,dancing has always seemed to us to be  
an essentially ridiculous               
transaction1--for a man1 at least2 and  
we confess that we sympathize  with     
,david's wife1 ,michal1 who1 seeing this
 extraordinary pas seul  from her       
window1 despised ,david in her heart1   
and treated him to a  little conjugal   
irony when he came home4 ,what would the
 lovely ,eugnie  have thought1 if1 after
 the fall of ,sebastopol1 she had seen  
his  ,majesty1 the ,emperor of the      
,french1 cutting it down1 in broad      
daylight1 before the towers of ,notre   
,dame1 girded only with a linen         
ephod1--though that's not exactly the   
name we give the garment  now-a-days8   
,but ,david was master1 not only in     
,israel1 but in his own  household1     
7which is not the case with all kings   
and great men17 and  he said to         
,michal1--,it was before the ,lord1     
which chose me before thy  father and   

before all his house24444 therefore will
 ,i play before the  ,lord24444 and of  
the maid-servants which thou hast spoken
 of1 of them  shall ,i be had in honor4 
,and ,michal all her life repented      
bitterly the  offence that she had given
 her husband4    ,but dancing was not   
one of the regular ceremonies of the    
,christian  ,church1 even in its        
corruptest days2 and yet dances were    
performed four  hundred years ago in the
 churches and in church-yards1 as a part
 of1 or  an appendage to1 entertainments
 of a religious character4 ,these were  
the  ,mysteries and ,moralities1 which  
are the origin of our drama2--and it is 
remarkable that in all countries the    
drama has been at first a religious     
ceremony4 ,these ,mysteries and         
,moralities were religious plays of the 
rudest kind3 the ,mysteries being a     
representation1 partly by dumb show  and
 partly by words1 of some well-known    
incident related in the ,bible2  and the
 ,moralities1 a kind of discussion and  

enforcement of religious  doctrine or   
moral truth by allegorical personages4  
,they were performed  at first almost   
entirely in the churches1 upon scaffolds
 erected for the  purpose4    ,in a     
,mystery called ,candlemas ,day1 or the 
,killing of the ,children of  ,israel1  
which represented the ,massacre of the  
,innocents1 and in which  ,herod1       
,simeon1 ,joseph1 the ,virgin ,mary1    
,watkin1 a comic character1 and  ,anna  
the ,prophetess1 appeared1 there was a  
general dance of all the  characters    
after the ,prologue2 and at the close of
 the play1 there is  a stage-direction  
for another1 in response to a command of
 ,anna the  ,prophetess1 who says1--    
,shewe ye sume plesur as ye can    ,in  
the worship of ,jesu1 our ,lady1 and    
,st4 ,anne4    ,and thereupon ,king     
,herod1 ,simeon1 ,joseph1 the ,virgin   
,mary1 ,watkin the  funny man1 and the  
,prophetess well stricken in years1     
proceed to forward  four1 and end with a
 promenade all around4 ,indeed1 our     

ancestors seem to  have found it        
edifying1 not to say entertaining1 to go
 to a cathedral to  see ,satan and an   
,archbishop dance a hornpipe with the   
,seven ,deadly ,sins  and the ,five     
,cardinal ,virtues4    ,a ,morality     
called ,every ,man1 written about #adej1
 has a direct  connection with the      
subject which we are considering4 ,every
 ,man1 the  principal personage of the  
piece1 is an allegorical representation 
of  all mankind2 and the purpose of the 
play is told in this sentence1 which    
introduces it3--    ,here begynneth a   
,treatyse how the ,hye ,fader of ,heven 
sendeth ,dethe  to somon every creature 
to come  gyve a count of theyr lyves in 
this  worlde1  is in maner of a ,morall 
,playe4    ,on the title-page of an     
edition printed in #aejj1 only one copy 
of which  exists1 is a very rude        
wood-cut1 in which an individual1 who is
 labelled  ,every ,man1 is startled at  
the sight of ,death standing at the door
 of  a church and summoning him4 ,in    

this ,moral ,play1 ,fellowship1 ,good   
,deeds1  ,worldly ,goods1 ,knowledge1   
,beauty1 ,strength1 ,discretion1 and    
,five ,wittes  are characters2 and they 
cannot interpose between ,every ,man and
 the  summons of ,death1 nor will any of
 them1 except ,good ,deeds1 go with him4
  ,the representation of this play was a
 kind of ,dance of ,death1 and from  the
 acting of ,every ,man to the execution 
of that ,dance was but a short  step4   
,but the ,dance of ,death had been      
performed before ,every ,man was        
written2 and dances in churches and     
churchyards were of yet greater         
antiquity4 ,for1 by an order of a ,roman
 council under ,pope ,pius ,,ii4 in  the
 tenth century1 priests were directed to
 admonish men and women not  to dance   
and sing in the churches on feast-days1 
like ,pagans4 ,the evil  increased1     
however1 until1 according to the old    
chroniclers1 a terrible  punishment fell
 upon a party of dancers4 ,one of them1 
,ubert1 tells the  story4 ,it was on    

,christmas ,eve1 in the time of the     
,emperor ,henry ,,ii41  who assumed the 
imperial diadem in the year #ajjb1 that 
a company of  eighteen men and women    
amused themselves by dancing and singing
 in the  churchyard of ,st4 ,magnus1 in 
the diocese of ,magdeburg1 to the       
annoyance  of a priest who was saying   
mass in the church4 ,he ordered them to 
desist2 but they danced on in reckless  
mirth4 ,the holy father then  invoked   
,god and ,st4 ,magnus to keep them      
dancing for a whole year2 and  not in   
vain4 ,for twelve months they danced in 
spite of themselves4  ,neither dew nor  
rain fell upon them2 and their shoes and
 their clothes  were not worn away1     
although by their dancing they buried   
themselves  waist-high4 ,yet1 fatigued  
and famished beyond human endurance1    
they  danced on1 unable to stop an      
instant for rest or food4 ,the priest's 
own  daughter was among the dancers2    
and1 unable to undo what the ,saint had 
done1 he sent his son to drag her out of

 the dance4 ,but when her brother  pulls
 her by the arm it comes off in his     
hand1 and he in horror takes it  to his 
father4 ,no blood flows from the wound4 
,the priest buries the arm1  and the    
next morning he finds it upon the top of
 the grave4 ,he repeats  the burial1 and
 with the same result4 ,he makes a third
 attempt1 and the  grave casts out the  
limb with violence before his eyes4     
,meanwhile the  girl and her companions 
continue dancing1 and the ,emperor1     
having heard  of this strange           
occurrence1 travels from ,rome to see so
 sad a sight4 ,he  orders carpenters to 
inclose the dancers in a building1 but  
in vain2 for  that which is built in the
 day falls down in the night4 ,the      
dancers have  neither rest nor          
mitigation of their curse until the     
expiration of the  year1 when they all  
rush into the church and fall before the
 altar in  a swoon1 from which they are 
not recovered for three days4 ,then they
  immediately flee each other's faces1  

and wander solitary through the  world1 
still dancing at times in spite of      
themselves4 ,in the olden time  this was
 believed to be the origin of ,st4      
,vitus's dance2 but we can now  see that
 the dance is the origin of the story4  
,the ,dance of ,death was performed by a
 large company dressed in the  costumes 
of various classes of society1 which    
were then very marked in  their         
difference4 ,one by one the dancers     
suddenly and silently slipped  off1 thus
 typifying the departure of all mankind 
at ,death's summons4  ,that this ,dance 
was performed1 not only with the        
consent1 but by the  procurement of the 
clergy1 is made certain by the          
discovery1 in the  archives of the      
,cathedral of ,besanon1 of the account  
of the payment of  four measures of wine
 by the seneschal to those persons who  
performed  the ,dance ,macabre on the   
#ajth of ,july1 #adec4    ,the moral    
lesson conveyed by this strange pastime 
or ceremony seems  hardly calculated to 

secure for it a noteworthy popularity in
 any age2  but for a long time it was1  
either as a ceremony or as a picture1   
very  popular throughout ,europe4 ,we   
know of forty-four places in which it   
was  painted or sculptured in some large
 public building1 the oldest example    
being that at ,little ,ble1 which was   
painted in #acab4 ,this1 like that  in  
,great ,ble1 and most of the others1 has
 been destroyed by time or  violence4   
,the ,dance was made the ornament of    
books of devotion1 and the  subject of  
ornamental initial-letters2 groups from 
it were engraved  repeatedly by those   
fantastic designers and exquisite       
workmen known as  the ,little ,masters  
of ,germany2 a single group was assumed 
as a device1  or trademark1 by more than
 one printer2 and it was sung in popular
  ballads4 ,there is now at             
,aix-la-,chapelle a huge                
state-bed-stead1 on the  posts1 sides1  
and footboards of which it is           
elaborately carved1 in the  manner of   

the sixteenth century2 and it was even  
made the ornament of  ladies' fans4     
,the reasons for this popularity were a 
certain strange fascination in  the     
subject1--yet not so strange at a time  
when women would crowd to see  men      
burned or hanged and quartered2--but    
chiefly1 the grand democratic           
significance of the dance4 ,death has   
ever been1 and ever will be1  the       
greatest leveller2 and at a time when   
rank had an importance and  bestowed    
advantages of which we can form little  
idea1 while at the same  time men had   
begun to ask why this should be1 such a 
satire as this  ,dance of ,death1       
sanctioned by the ,church1 that great   
protector of  established rights and    
dignities1 and yet sparing neither noble
 nor  hierarch1 not even the ,pope      
himself1 satisfied an eager craving in  
the  breast of poor1 envious1           
self-asserting human nature4 ,in one of 
those  ornamental initial-letters above 
mentioned1 the date of which was some   

years prior to the execution of         
,holbein's ,dance1 ,death appears as a  
grave-digger1 and lifts on his spade1   
out of the grave which he is  making1   
two skulls1 one crowned1 the other      
covered with a peasant's hat4  ,he grins
 with savage glee at seeing these       
remnants of the two extremes  of society
 side by side2 and underneath them1 on  
the shovel1 is written  ,idem1--,the    
,same4 ,in this word is the key to the  
popularity of the  ,dance4    ,the most 
important and interesting of these      
pictured ,dances of ,death  were those  
at ,ble1 at ,strasbourg1 and at ,rouen4 
,that at ,ble consisted  of thirty-nine 
groups1 in the first three of which     
appear a ,pope1 an  ,emperor1 and a     
,king4 ,these were portraits of ,pope   
,felix ,v41 the ,emperor  ,sigismund1   
and ,king ,albert ,,ii41 of ,rome1 all  
of whom were present at the  ,council1  
by whose order1 as we have seen1 the    
,dance was painted4 ,the  last group of 
this ,dance shows the seizure of the    

painter's child by  ,death4 ,it having  
been almost destroyed by time1 the wall 
on which it was  painted was torn down  
about a hundred years ago2 but          
engravings had been  made of it in the  
latter part of the seventeenth century4 
,the ,dance at  ,strasbourg1 like that  
at ,ble1 and many others1 was on the    
wall of  a ,dominican convent4 ,it was  
painted in arched compartments1 and is  
peculiar in that its groups consist of  
many figures1 among whom ,death         
intrudes1 and carries off one1 generally
 the principal personage of the         
company4 ,it was painted about #adej1   
and probably by the eminent ,german     
painter1 ,martin ,schongauer2 but having
 been utterly neglected and  forgotten1 
it was finally plastered over1 no one   
knows when4 ,in  repairing the church in
 #ahbd1 it was accidentally discovered1 
and  carefully exposed2 but it was so   
much injured that it fell into decay    
soon after drawings had been made from  
it4    ,the ,dance at ,rouen was in the 

still existing ,cemetery of ,st4        
,maclou1 and  was not a painting1 but a 
sculpture4 ,it was not entirely         
completed  until #aebf4 ,the cemetery is
 surrounded by a covered gallery open on
 the  inside1 where it was supported by 
thirty-nine columns1 distant about      
eleven feet from each other4 ,thirty-one
 of these still exist2 and upon  the    
shaft of all but four of them1 on the   
side facing the court of the  cemetery1 
is sculptured1 in high relief1 a group  
of two figures1--one a  living          
personage1 and the other the cadaverous 
body by which ,death was  represented4  
,on the remainder were sculptured the   
,christian ,virtues  and the            
,fates1--two on each column4 ,the       
capitals of these columns are  decorated
 with figures quite in another manner4  
,cupids1 naked female  figures1         
grotesque masks1 and shapes--human and  
bestial--are ingeniously  substituted   
for the foliage usually found on that   
part of a column4 ,the  execution of    

these figures is of quite a high order4 
,they have all been  sadly mutilated2   
but1 fortunately1 that which has        
suffered least is a  beautiful figure of
 ,eve4 ,her head is gone2 but the       
flowing lines of the  lovely torso are  
unbroken1 and the round and graceful    
limbs are almost  as perfect as when    
they came from the sculptor's chisel4   
,this figure is  so like the ,venus de  
,medici that it might have been copied  
from it4    ,but what is ,eve doing in a
 ,dance of ,death8 ,alas6 she took the  
first step  of that dance in ,paradise1 
and the artists of the olden time did   
not  deprive her of her due precedence4 
,she leads the ,dance1 but with this    
difference from those who follow        
her3--they1 cowering and muffled1  go   
off the scene with ,death2 she1 upright 
in her naked innocence and  beauty1     
brings him on4 ,poor ,eve6 she had her  
punishment and made her  atonement to   
man for leading him to death1 in        
becoming the source and  the joy and    

solace of his life2 but it was not for  
the artists of the  ,dance of ,death to 
embody this phase of her existence4 ,so 
essential a  part of the ,dance is the  
temptation of ,eve1 that the whole      
subject was  concentrated into the      
representation of that event by a       
,german engraver1  in this singular     
manner3--,adam and ,eve stand by the    
,tree of ,knowledge1  around which      
twines the serpent1 from whom ,eve is   
receiving the apple2  but the trunk of  
the tree is formed by the twisted legs  
and the ribs of  a skeleton1 from the   
head and the outstretched arms of which 
spring the  branches and the foliage4   
,it is worthy of remark1 that many      
painters1  the greatest of them         
7,raphael7 at their head1 have          
represented the  tempter of ,eden as a  
beautiful woman1 whose body terminates  
in a  serpent4 ,it was a mistake on     
their part to do so4 ,they knew how much
 of  the ,devil a woman might have in   
her1 and how irresistible a temptress   

she is2 but they forgot1 that1 on this  
occasion1 woman1 not man1 was  tempted4 
,there was a ,dance of ,death in ,old   
,st4 ,paul's ,church1 in ,london1--the  
one burned down in the ,great ,fire2 and
 another in the beautiful little  parish
 church of ,stratford-on-,avon1--but    
this1 too1 has disappeared4 ,it  is     
interesting to know that they were      
there1 and that ,shakspeare saw  them2  
for he has woven some of the thoughts   
that they awakened in his  mind into a  
noble passage in one of his historical  
plays4 ,we shall recur  to it in        
examining ,holbein's ,dance4    ,the    
,dance was represented1 and still       
exists1 in one very singular place4  ,at
 ,lucerne1 in ,switzerland1 it appears  
upon a covered bridge1 in the  triangles
 formed by the beams which support the  
roof4 ,the groups1 of  which there are  
thirty-six1 are double1 looking away    
from each other1  and are so arranged1  
that the passenger1 on entering the     
bridge1 has  before him a long array of 

these grotesque and gloomy pictures4    
,the  motive for placing the ,dance in  
such a place is unknown1 and it is      
difficult to conjecture what it was4 ,it
 could hardly have been to  enforce the 
old adage1--,speak well of the bridge   
that carries you over4           99     
99       99       99       99    ,while 
we have been thus endeavoring to        
discover the origin of the ,dance  of   
,death1 what it was1 and what it meant1 
,holbein has been waiting more          
patiently than he was wont1 for us to   
see who he was1 and why the ,dance1     
which was known three hundred years at  
least before he was born1 is now        
universally spoken of as his4    ,hans  
,holbein1 the greatest painter of the   
,german school1 came honestly  by his   
talent and his name4 ,he was the son of 
,hans ,holbein1 a painter1  who was the 
son of another ,hans ,holbein1 also a   
painter4 ,the first ,hans  was a poor   
painter2 the second a good one2 and the 
third so great1 that  the world1 when it

 speaks their common name1 means only   
him4 ,the father  and grandfather were  
born at ,augsburg1 in ,bavaria1 and of  
late years  it has been asserted by     
mousing antiquaries that the grandson   
was born  there too2 but this1 perhaps1 
is not quite certain2 and it is much    
pleasanter to adhere to the ancient     
faith1 and believe that he was  born at 
that strange old ,ble1 in sight of that 
great ,dance1 the  reproduction1 or     
rather recreation1 of which was to make 
so great a part  of his                 
fame1--especially as he was quite surely
 an inhabitant of the  town at such     
tender years1 that the veriest          
,know-,nothing in the place  would not  
have deprived him of his citizenship4   
,of ,holbein's life we unfortunately    
know very little4 ,he showed his  talent
 early1 as all the great painters have  
done4 ,conscious of his  abilities1 he  
devoted himself eagerly to the study of 
the profession to  which his genius     
urged him4 ,he learned not only         

painting1 but engraving1  the sculpture 
of metals1 and architecture2 and of all 
these1 it will be  remembered1 ,ble     
offered him facilities for study1 in    
examples which  must have stimulated    
both his imagination and his ambition4  
,he did not  lack encouragement2 for the
 nobles and burghers of ,ble had begun  
to  acquire a taste for the arts1 which 
their ruder fathers contemned2 and  they
 had1 at this time1 a university in     
their city1 which made them  acquainted 
with ,cicero and the orators1 of whom   
,aeneas ,sylvius found  them so         
ignorant4    ,but ,holbein1 although    
eminent and well employed1 did not      
thrive4 ,he had  some ,blois failings1  
and1 as ,aeneas ,sylvius would have     
said1 worshipped  ,father ,bacchus and  
,dame ,venus with too much              
devotion2--not that he was  a drunkard  
or a debauchee2 but he sought in        
conviviality with men of  talent1 and in
 the company of beautiful women1 too    
happy in the caresses  of the great     

painter1 who was generous with his      
florins1 that happiness  which he could 
not find at home4 ,for poor ,hans was   
afflicted with what  has been the moral 
and social ruin of many a better1 if not
 greater man  than he--a froward1       
shrill-tongued wife4 ,luckily1 however1 
the great  scholar and philosopher1     
,erasmus1 went into retirement at ,ble1 
in #aeba2  and he soon recognized the   
genius of ,holbein1 and became his      
admirer and  friend4 ,by his advice1 and
 at the solicitation of an ,english     
nobleman1  and1 poor fellow1 seeking    
refuge from the temper of his wife1 whom
 even  the sweet cares of maternity     
could not mollify1 ,holbein determined  
to  leave ,ble for ,england4 ,what was  
the great cause of ,frau ,holbein's     
tantrums1--whether ,hans's ears were    
pierced with conjugal clamors1 as  poor 
,albert ,drer's1 the other great ,german
 painter's1 were1 because  he could not 
supply all his wife's demands for money1
 to enable her1  perhaps1 to exhibit    

herself at church on holy days in one of
 those  precious pulpits1 splendid in   
velvet and jewels1 to the discomfiture  
of  the other painters' wives1--we do   
not know2 but whatever was the cause  of
 her oft-recurring outbreaks1 they made 
him not unwilling to put  ,france and   
the ,english ,channel between himself   
and her1 his children1  and the home of 
his childhood4    ,he gave out1 at      
first1 that his absence from ,ble would 
be  temporary1--only for the purpose of 
raising the value of his works1 by      
making them more difficult to obtain4   
,before he went1 he finished and  sent  
home a portrait on which he was engaged4
 ,it was one of his best  pictures2 and 
the person for whom it was painted1 lost
 for a while in  admiration of its      
beauty1 noticed at last that a fly1     
which had settled  upon the forehead1   
remained there motionless4 ,he stepped  
up to brush the  insect away1 and found 
that it was a part of the picture4 ,this
 story  has1 since ,holbein's time1 been

 told of many painters1--among others1  
of  ,benjamin ,west4 ,such a piece of   
mere imitation should have added nothing
  to the reputation of a painter of     
,holbein's powers2 but the story was    
soon told all over ,ble1 and orders were
 given to prevent the loss  to the city 
of so great an artist4 ,but ,holbein had
 quietly gone off1  furnished with      
letters of introduction from ,erasmus1  
who wrote in one of  them that in ,ble  
the arts were chilled2 which might well 
be true of a  place where so much ado   
was made about the painting of a fly4   
,in ,england1 ,holbein found a friend   
and patron in ,sir ,thomas              
,more1--,henry  the ,eighth's great     
,lord ,chancellor2 and a sight of some  
of his works won  him1 ere long1 the    
favor of the ,king himself4 ,he was     
appointed ,court  ,painter1 with        
apartments at the palace1 and a yearly  
salary of two  hundred florins1 7or     
thirty pounds1 equal to about two       
hundred pounds  now17 which he received 

in addition to the price of his         
pictures4 ,after  about three years of  
prosperity he went home to his wife and 
children2  but as he soon returned to   
,england1 we may safely conclude that   
his  visit was to provide for the       
latter1 and with no hope of living with 
the  former4 ,some years after1 in      
#aech1 when his fame was still          
increasing1  the city of ,ble1 proud of 
its son1 offered him a handsome annuity1
  in the hope that that might induce him
 to return to his country1 his          
children1 and his wife4 ,but he could   
not be tempted4 ,though not the  wisest 
of men1 he was ,solomon enough to know  
that it is better to dwell  in a corner 
of the house-top than with a brawling   
woman and in a wide  house2 and as he   
was successful and held in honor in     
,england as well as  ,ble1 he contented 
himself with a corner of ,king ,henry's 
palace4    ,but although he fled from   
his wife1 he painted her portrait2 and  
we need  no testimony to warrant the    

likeness4 ,she is the very type of one  
of  those meek shrews1 alternately a    
martyr and a fury1 that drive a man to  
madness when they speak and to despair  
when they are silent4 ,we might         
reasonably wonder that he would paint so
 vivid a representation of that  which  
he so sedulously shunned4 ,but poor     
,hans1 who probably had some  lingering 
remains of his early love1 knew1 that1  
although he should  make a speaking     
likeness1 it would be a silent one1 and 
that this ,frau  ,holbein must keep the 
look which he chose to summon to her    
face4 ,that1  indeed1 was knowledge that
 was power6 ,how he must have chuckled  
as he  saw his wife looking at him more 
natural than life and yet without the   
power to worry him6 ,his own portrait   
shows us a broad1 good-natured1  ruddy  
face1 in which we see marks of talent   
when we know that it is  ,holbein's4    
,but in spite of its strength1 its      
bronze1 and its beard1 it  has a        
somewhat sad and subdued air2 and its   

heavy-lidded1 pensive eyes  look        
deprecatingly at a ,frau ,holbein in the
 distance4    ,while he lived at        
,greenwich palace1 an incident occurred 
which may not  be known to all our      
readers1 and which is a striking        
illustration of the  esteem in which he 
was held by ,henry4 ,it is not a little 
to the honor  of that monarch1 who1     
arbitrary and sensual as he was1 had    
some noble  traits of character4 ,one   
day1 as ,holbein was painting a lady's  
portrait  in his private studio1 a      
nobleman intruded upon him rudely4      
,holbein  resented the discourtesy1 and1
 as it was doggedly persisted in1       
finally  threw my lord downstairs4      
,there was an outcry2 and the painter1  
bolting  his door on the inside1 escaped
 from his window along the eaves of the 
roof1 and1 making his way directly to   
the ,king1 threw himself before  him and
 begged a pardon1 without telling his   
offence4 ,henry promised  forgiveness on
 condition of a full confession1 which  

the painter began4  ,but meantime the   
nobleman arrived1 and ,henry1 in        
deference to his rank1  gave him        
precedence1 and stepped into another    
apartment to hear  his story4 ,he       
accused ,holbein of the violence1 but   
suppressed the  provocation2 whereat    
,henry broke into a towering ,tudor     
rage1 and1 after  reproaching the       
nobleman for his prevarication1 said1   
,you have to do  with me1 ,sir4 ,i tell 
you1 that of seven peasants ,i could    
make seven  earls like you2 but of seven
 earls ,i could not make one ,holbein4  
,do not  molest him1 if you value your  
head4 ,and as second-hand heads1 though 
plentiful about those days1 were found  
to be of no value1 even to the  original
 owner1 ,holbein remained unmolested4   
,holbein is known chiefly by his        
portraits4 ,he painted some historical  
and sacred pictures2 but though they all
 bear witness to his genius1 it  can    
hardly be denied that they also show    
that that genius was not suited  to such

 works4 ,holbein had an objective       
perception2--that is1 his mind  received
 impressions entirely uninfluenced by   
its own character or  condition2 and his
 pictures1 therefore1 seem like literal 
transcripts  of what was before his     
eyes4 ,he nowhere shows that he had an  
idea of  abstract beauty1 or the power  
of generalizing from individuals1 or    
that  he was at all discontented with   
the subjects which he painted2 so that  
his works leave an impression of        
absolute faithfulness4 ,but to suppose1 
therefore1 that his portraits have      
merely the merit of reproducing the     
external facts of ,nature1 like         
photographs1 would do him wrong2 for he 
was faithful to expression as well as   
form1 and has perpetuated upon  his     
canvas the voluptuous sweetness of ,anne
 ,boleyn1 the courtliness and  manly    
grace of ,wyatt1 and the severity1 the  
energy1 and the penetrating  judgment of
 ,sir ,thomas ,more4 ,his portrait of   
the last is one of the  greatest        

portraits ever painted4 ,some competent 
critics consider it the  greatest4 ,it  
is so real1 so human1 that we might be  
well content1 if one  in twenty of the  
actual men we meet were half as real and
 human2 and it  expresses1 with equal   
strength and subtilty1 the large and    
noble nature  of the man4 ,holbein was a
 great colorist1 and imitated all the   
rich  and tender hues of ,nature1 in    
their delicate and almost imperceptible 
gradations1 with a minute truthfulness  
which is quite marvellous4    ,this     
being the character of his mind1 it     
would hardly be supposed that  he could 
produce such a work as the great ,dance 
of ,death1 which has  caused all others 
to be forgotten1 except by antiquarians4
 ,for this  ,dance is the most          
remarkable embodiment in ,art of that   
fantastic and  grotesque idealism which 
has found its best expression in the    
works of  ,german poets and painters2   
and the preminence of ,holbein's over   
all the  other representations of the   

same subject consists in this1--that1   
while  they are but a dull and formal   
succession of mere costumed figures     
seized by a corpse and shrinking away   
from its touch1 ,holbein's groups  are  
instinct with life1 character1 and      
emotion4 ,in particular is this  true of
 the figure of ,death1 although it is a 
mere skeleton1--the face  without a     
muscle1 and for the eye but a rayless   
cavern4 ,death is not one  whom a limner
 would love to paint or a lady to look  
upon2 but ,holbein  has given a strange 
and fascinating interest to the figure1 
which in all  other hands is merely     
repulsive4 ,the grim monarch sat to a   
painter who  not only added to the      
truthfulness of his portrait the charm  
of poetic  feeling1 but the magic touch 
of whose pencil made his dry bones live4
    ,the insignificance of the material 
in which the painter worked1 when       
compared with the effect which he       
produced1 is also remarkable in this    
unique work of ,art4 ,for ,holbein's    

,dance of ,death is not1 like the       
others1 either a great fresco painting1 
or a series of sculptures2 it  is not a 
painting at all1--but merely a series of
 very small woodcuts1  fifty-three in   
number1 forty-six of which were         
published at ,lyons  in #aech1 and the  
whole afterwards at ,ble in #aeed1 under
 the title1  ,simulachres de la ,mort1  
,icones ,mortis3 that is1 in ,french and
 ,latin1  ,images of ,death1--for the   
title ,dance of ,death is of recent     
origin4  ,the leaves on which the cuts  
are printed make but part of a little   
book  not so large as a child's primer2 
but a copy of it is now worth ten  times
 its weight in gold4 ,it was copied and 
republished in numberless  editions1 as 
a popular book1 merely for the sake of  
the subject1 and  the great lesson      
taught by it1--each print being         
accompanied by an  admonitory stanza1   
and a quotation from the ,bible4 ,beside
 these  editions1 endeavors have been   
made of later years to imitate it       

satisfactorily as a work of ,art1--but  
in vain4 ,great as we think our         
advancement in the arts has been1--the  
mechanical part of them1 at  least1--all
 the efforts of the lithographer1 the   
wood-cutter1 and even  the              
line-engraver1 to reproduce the spirit  
or the very lines of this  work1 have   
been but partially successful4 ,there is
 as much difference  between the most   
carefully-executed and costliest copies 
and good  impressions of the original   
wood-cuts1 made three hundred years ago1
 and  sold for a franc or two1 as there 
is between pinchbeck and gold4    ,any  
attempt to reproduce the effect of those
 groups in words can hardly  fail to    
fall equally short of the mark2 but we  
will tell our readers  what they are1   
and endeavor to give some notion of     
their purpose and  spirit4    ,the first
 shows the ,creation of ,woman2--we have
 seen before why she is  made thus      
prominent in the ,dance4 ,the           
composition is crowded with the         

denizens of the earth1 the air1 and the 
water2 the sun1 the moon1 and  the stars
 all appear2 the four winds of heaven   
issue from the laboring  cheeks of      
figures that impersonate them4 ,the     
,creator1 in the form of  an aged man in
 royal robes1 and wearing the imperial  
crown1 lifts ,eve  bodily from the side 
of the sleeping ,adam4    ,the second   
represents the ,temptation4 ,eve        
reclines upon the ground1 and  shows    
,adam the fruit which she has plucked4  
,adam stands grasping the  tree with his
 left hand1 and raises his right to     
gather for himself4 ,the  serpent1 who  
looks down upon ,eve1 has the face and  
body of a woman4 ,the  forms in this    
group are fine2 ,adam's is remarkable   
for its symmetry and  grace2 but ,eve's 
face is ignoble4 ,indeed1 ,holbein1 like
 ,rembrandt1 seems  to have been        
incapable of an idea of female beauty4  
,in the third we see the ,expulsion from
 ,paradise2 and here the ,dance  begins4
 ,our guilty parents fly before the     

flaming sword1--poor ,eve  cowering1 and
 her hair streaming in a wavy flood upon
 the wind2 and  before them1 but unseen1
 ,death leaps and curvets to the sound  
of a  vielle or rote1--an old musical   
stringed instrument1--which he has hung 
about his neck4 ,his glee1 as he leads  
forth his victims into the valley  where
 his shadow lies1 is perceptible in     
every line of his angular  anatomy2 his 
very toes curl up like those of a baby  
in its merriment4    ,in the fourth1    
,adam has begun to till the ground4 ,the
 pioneer of his  race1 he is uprooting a
 huge tree1 all unconscious that another
 figure  is laboring at his side4 ,it is
 not ,eve1 who sits in the background   
with  her first-born at her breast and  
her distaff by her side1--but ,death1   
who1 with a huge lever in his bony      
gripe1 goes at his work with a fierce   
energy which puts the efforts of his    
muscular companion to shame4 ,the       
people of ,holbein's day not only saw in
 this subject the beginning of  that    

toil which is the lot of humankind1 but1
 as they looked upon the  common        
ancestors of all men1 laboring for the  
means of life1 they asked1  in the words
 of an old distich1--      ,when ,adam  
delved and ,eve span1    ,where was then
 the gentleman8    ,the fifth           
composition seems to represent a general
 rejoicing over the  ,triumph of ,death4
 ,it shows a churchyard and porch filled
 with skeletons1  who blow trumpets of  
all sorts and sizes2 one beats          
frantically upon a  pair of             
kettle-drums1 and another1 wearing a    
woman's nightcap1 with a  broad frill   
border1 plays the hurdy-gurdy4    ,in   
the sixth1 a ,pope1 the highest earthly 
potentate1 is in the act of  crowning an
 ,emperor1 who kneels to kiss his toe4  
,but the successor of  ,st4 ,peter does 
not see1 as he sits upon his throne1    
giving authority and  sanction to the   
ruler of an empire1 that a skeleton     
leans from behind  that throne1 and     
grins in his face1 and that another in a

 cardinal's hat  mingles with the throng
 before him4    ,the seventh is one of  
the finest of the series4 ,an ,emperor  
is enthroned1  with his courtiers round 
him4 ,he is threatening one with his    
sword for  some act of injustice from   
which a poor peasant who kneels before  
him  has suffered4 ,but1 unseen by all1 
a skeleton bestrides the shoulders of   
the monarch and lays his hand upon his  
very crown4 ,there can be no doubt  that
 ,shakspeare had this subject in his    
mind when he wrote that fine  passage in
 ,king ,richard the ,second1--          
,within the hollow crown      ,that     
rounds the mortal temples of a king     
,keeps ,death his court2 and there the  
antic sits1      ,scoffing his state and
 grinning at his pomp2      ,allowing   
him a breath1 a little scene      ,to   
monarchize1 be feared1 and kill with    
looks2      ,infusing him with self and 
vain conceit1      ,as if this flesh    
which walls about our life      ,were   
brass impregnable2 and humored thus1    

,comes at the last1 and with a little   
pin      ,bores through his castle wall1
 and--farewell1 ,king6    ,in the eighth
 we see a ,king 7it is unmistakably     
,francis ,i47 dining under  a canopy1   
and served by a splendid retinue4 ,he   
stretches out his hand to  receive a    
wine-cup2 for he does not see that      
,death is filling it4    ,a ,cardinal   
appears in the ninth1 selling an        
indulgence for a heavy  bribe2 and we   
all rejoice to see that ,death has laid 
hands upon his  hat1--the symbol of his 
rank1--and is about to tear it from his 
head4    ,in the tenth1 an ,empress1    
passing through her palace-yard1        
attended by  her ladies1 is led by the  
favorite on whom she leans1 and who she 
does  not see is ,death1 into an open   
grave4    ,death1 in the next1 has      
assumed the guise of a ,court ,fool1 and
 has  seized a ,queen at the very gate  
of her palace4 ,she recognizes him1 and 
struggles1 shrieking1 to free herself   
from his grasp2 but in vain4 ,with  a   

grin of fierce delight1 he lifts up his 
hour-glass before her1 and1  in spite of
 her resistance and that of a gentleman 
who attends her1 is  about to bear her  
off4 ,every line of this composition is 
instinct with  life4    ,in the twelfth1
 ,death carries off a ,bishop from his  
flock4    ,in the thirteenth1 an        
,elector of the ,empire1 surrounded by  
his retinue1  is approached by a poor   
woman1 who begs his aid in behalf of    
herself and  her child2 he repulses her 
scornfully2 for he does not see that    
,death1  the avenger of the oppressed   
poor1 and who is here crowned with      
oak-leaves1 has laid his gripe upon him4
 ,holbein has put such an  expression of
 power into the arm and of wrath into   
the face of this  skeleton1 that we     
expect to see his victim haled off into 
the air before  our very eyes4    ,the  
,abbot and the ,abbess are the subjects 
of the next two cuts4 ,in the  former1  
,death has assumed the mitre and the    
crosier of his victim1 and  drags him   

off with such an expression of fun and  
burlesque pomp as we  sometimes see in  
the face of a mischievous boy who mocks 
his betters4  ,in the companion group   
his look is that of a demon2 and with   
his head  fantastically dressed1 he     
drags the ,abbess off by the scapulary  
which  hangs from her neck4    ,a       
,nobleman and a ,canon are his prey in  
the sixteenth and seventeenth  groups4  
,we lack space to describe any but the  
most remarkable with  particularity4    
,the satire of the next three is        
levelled against the ,lawyers1 who were 
held in such little respect in ,ble4    
,they show a ,judge who takes a bribe   
from a rich to wrong a poor suitor1 and 
a ,counsellor and an ,advocate who  lend
 their talents to wealthy clients1 but  
turn their backs upon the  poor victims 
of the oppressor's wrong4 ,in one1 a    
demon is blowing  suggestions into the  
,counsellor's ear from a pair of        
bellows1 which he  has doubtless used   
elsewhere for other purposes2 in all1   

,death stands  ready to avenge the poor4
    ,in the twenty-first1 a ,preacher   
addresses a ,congregation1 whose        
interested attention the painter has    
portrayed with great skill1  knowledge  
of character1 and consequent variety and
 truth of expression4  ,behind the      
,preacher stands ,death1 and1 with a    
kind of grotesque  practical pun1 holds 
the jaw of a skeleton over his head1 as 
far more  eloquent than his own4    ,a  
,priest and a ,mendicant ,friar are the 
subjects of the twenty-second and       
twenty-third4    ,the twenty-fourth is  
of peculiar interest4 ,in it we see a   
youthful ,nun1  who1 it is clear1 has   
taken her vows too hastily1 kneeling    
before the  oratory in her cell4 ,but   
her heart is not in her devotions2 for  
the  lover whom she abandoned has made  
his way into the apartment1 and sits  on
 her bed singing to his lute4 ,her hands
 are clasped1 not in prayer1  but in an 
agony of love and apprehension4 ,she    
turns from the crucifix to  gaze at him2

 and we see how the interview will end3 
for an aged female  attendant1 in coif  
and scapulary1 leans over to extinguish 
the candles4  ,we see1 too1 what its    
consequence will be2 for that attendant 
is ,death4    ,among the remaining      
subjects1 which we cannot examine       
particularly1 or  in their order1 are   
those of the ,old ,man and ,old ,woman  
led by ,death1  each to the sound of a  
dulcimer2--the ,physician1 to whom in   
mockery  ,death himself brings a        
patient2--the ,astronomer1 to whom the  
skeleton  offers a skull in place of a  
celestial globe2--the ,miser1 from whom 
,death snatches his hoarded gold2 and   
the ,merchant1 whom the same  inexorable
 hand tears away from his ships and his 
merchandise2--the  storm-tossed ship1   
with ,death snapping the mast2--a       
,count1 dressed in  the extreme of      
courtly splendor1 who recognizes ,death 
in the disguise  of a peasant who has   
flung down his flail to seize his       
lordship's  emblazoned shield and dash  

it to pieces2--a ,duchess1 whom one     
skeleton  drags rudely from her canopied
 bed1 while another scrapes upon a      
violin2--a ,peddler2--a ,ploughman1 of  
whose four-horse team ,death is the     
driver2--,gamblers1 ,drunkards1 and     
,robbers1 all interrupted in their      
wickedness by ,death2--a ,wagoner1 whose
 wagon1 horse1 and load have been       
tumbled in a ruinous heap by a pair of  
skeletons2--a ,blind ,beggar1 who       
stumbles over a stony path after ,death1
 who is his deceitful leader1 and  who  
turns back with a look of malicious glee
 to see his bewilderment  and           
suffering2--and a ,court ,fool1 whom    
,death1 playing on bagpipes1 and        
dancing1 approaches1 and1 plucking him  
by the garment1 wins him1 with a        
coaxing leer1 to join his pastime4    ,a
 few others claim our more particular   
attention4 ,among them is a  ,knight1   
armed cap-a-pie1 who is run through and 
through1 from back to  front1 by ,death1
 himself half armed in mockery4 ,there  

is a concentrated  vigor in the thrust  
of the lance1 and a cool venom in the   
countenance  of the assailant1 that we  
may seek in vain in the works of famous 
battle-painters2 and it must always be  
remembered that ,holbein's figure  is   
entirely without those indications of   
muscular movement by which we  express  
our feelings1--in fact1 a mere          
bare-boned skeleton4    ,a ,bride at her
 wedding-toilet1 whom ,holbein has      
contrived to make almost  beautiful1    
receives a robe from one attendant2     
another clasps round her  neck a        
collar--of gold and jewels8 ,no1--of    
bones1 and with bony fingers4  ,and the 
next cut to this shows us the           
,bridegroom and ,bride walking  through 
an apartment hung with arras1 while     
before them dances ,death1  beating a   
tabor1 like a child beside himself with 
joy4    ,one of the finest and most     
touching conceptions in the whole series
  represents a dilapidated ,cottage1--a 
mere shanty1 so wretched that the  love 

of those who live in it is all their    
happiness1--nay1 all their  comfort4    
,the mother is preparing for two little 
children the simplest  and poorest of   
meals1 at a fire made of a few small    
sticks4 ,she finds  consolation in the  
very pranks that hinder her humble task4
 ,death  enters1--there is no door to   
keep him out1--and1 seizing the hand of 
the  younger child1 who turns and       
stretches out the other imploringly to  
his  mother1 carries him off1           
remorseless and exulting1 leaving her   
frantic  with grief4 ,we may look with  
comparative indifference1 and sometimes 
even with sympathy1 upon his other      
feats1--but who is there that does  not 
hate that grinning skeleton8--,and yet1 
perhaps1 he exults that he  has saved   
one soul1 yet pure1 from misery and     
crime4    ,for vigor of movement the    
group of ,death and the ,soldier is     
preminent4  ,the field is covered with  
the wounded and the slain1 in the midst 
of which the soldier encounters his last

 enemy4 ,the man is armed in  panoply1  
and wields a huge two-handed sword with 
a vigor unabated  by former struggles4  
,death has caught a shield from the arm 
of some  previous victim2 but his only  
offensive weapon is a huge thigh-bone1  
which we plainly see will bear down all 
before it4 ,in the distance  another    
figure of ,death flies madly over the   
hills1 beating a drum which  summons    
other soldiers to the field4 ,it is     
impossible to convey in words  the      
fierce eagerness of this figure1 minute 
as it is1 and composed of a  few lines4 
,the forty-seventh composition is one   
which has puzzled the critics  and      
antiquaries2 but it is not easy to      
conjecture why4 ,it shows us a  wretched
 ,beggar1 naked1 sick1 lame1--utterly   
destitute1 miserable1 and               
forsaken1--suffering at once all the    
ills that flesh is heir to4 ,he sits    
huddled together on some straw1 near a  
large building1 and lifts his  hands and
 face up piteously to heaven4 ,death is 

not there2 and the  antiquaries ask in  
wonder1 ,why is the subject introduced8 
,why1 but to  show that to him alone who
 would gladly welcome ,death1 ,death    
will not  come8    ,the work ends1 as a 
connected series1 with the ,last        
,judgment1 where  ,christ1 who conquered
 ,death1 appears seated on the bow of   
promise1--with  his feet resting on a   
celestial sphere1 attended by angels1   
and showing  to a throng of those who   
have risen from the grave the wounds by 
which  he redeemed them from its power4 
,to this is added an ornamental         
tail-piece called ,death's ,arms4 ,it   
shows  a skull in a battered shield1    
which has for a crest a regal helmet    
surmounted by an hour-glass and two bony
 arms grasping a stone4 ,the  supporters
 to the shield are a gentleman and lady 
richly dressed1--said  to represent     
,holbein and his wife4    ,it is not    
known1 positively1 when ,holbein drew   
these designs upon the  blocks 7for of  
course he did not engrave them72 and it 

has even been  disputed by one or two   
eminent antiquarian critics1 that he    
designed  them at all4 ,but there does  
not appear to be a single valid reason  
for  thus diminishing his fame4 ,he     
probably was engaged on them between    
#aeca1 the date of his first return to  
,ble1 and #aech1 when they were         
published1--the year in which he refused
 the solicitation of his  townsmen to   
return to the home of his childhood and 
the bosom of his  family4    ,holbein   
continued to live in ,london until the  
year #aeed1 when that city  suffered a  
visitation of the plague1 similar to    
that which was the  occasion of the     
painting of the ,great ,dance of ,death 
at ,ble4 ,holbein  was struck by the    
disease2 and ,death1 knowing gratitude  
as little as  remorse1 triumphed over   
him who had blazoned his triumphs4 ,upon
 the  painter's fame1 however1 and that 
of his great work1 ,death could not lay 
his hand2 but so long as the grim tyrant
 shall claim his victims1 so  long will 

he perpetuate the memory of ,hans       
,holbein4    ,though he was a royal     
favorite1 it is not known where he died2
 and the  place where lie the ashes of  
him who1 on a king's word1 was greater  
than  seven earls1 is equally unknown2  
there is not a line or a stone to mark  
it4 ,so soon after his death as in the  
reign of ,charles ,i41 7within  one     
hundred years17 a nobleman--noble by    
nature as well as by  birth--desirous of
 erecting a monument to him1 sought his 
grave1 but  in vain1 and was compelled  
to abandon his design4 ,and thus was    
,holbein  driven to live among          
strangers1 to die without a wife to     
console or  children to mourn him1 and  
to lay his bones in a nameless grave in 
a  foreign land4    ,such is an         
imperfect and brief account of the      
origin1 the various forms1  and the     
meaning of the ,dance of ,death1 and of 
the life and character of  him whose    
genius has caused it to be called by his
 name4 ,it may  smell too much of       

mortality and antiquity for this        
fast-living and  forward-looking age2   
for it is not only a monument of the    
past1 but an  exponent of its spirit4   
,we can look back at it1 through the    
mellowing  mist of centuries1 with      
curiosity not unmixed with admiration2  
but we  should turn with aversion from  
such a work1 coming from the hands of an
  artist of our own day4 ,we think1 and 
with some reason1 that we do not  need  
its teachings2 for we are freed from the
 thraldom that gave edge  to its        
democratic satire2 and we have learned  
to look with greater  calmness1 if not  
with higher hope1 upon the future1 to   
which the grave  is but the ever-open   
portal4 ,but we may yet profit by a     
thoughtful  consideration of the eternal
 truths embodied by ,holbein in his     
,dance of  ,death2 and in the story of  
his life there is a lesson for every    
man1 and  every woman too1 if they will 
but find it4          ,,lizzy           
,,griswold',s ,,thanksgiving4      ,so  

,john a'n't a-comin'1 ,miss ,gris'ld1   
squeaked ,polly ,mariner1 entering  the 
great kitchen1 where ,mrs4 ,griswold was
 paring apples and ,lizzy  straining    
squash4    ,isn't he8 quietly replied   
the lady addressed1 as the tailoress sat
  down in the flag-bottomed             
rocking-chair1 and began rocking        
vehemently1  all the time eyeing ,lizzy 
from the depths of her poke-bonnet with 
patient scrutiny4    ,no1 he a'n't1--so 
,mr4 ,gris'ld says1 went on ,polly4 ,you
 see1 ,i was  a-comin' up here from the 
,centre1 so's to see if ,sam couldn't   
wait for  his roundabout till arter     
,thanksgivin'2 for ,keziah ,perkins1 she
 't was  my sister's husband's fust     
wife's darter1 'n' finally married      
sister's  fust husband's son1 she's a   
real likely woman1 and she's wrote over 
from  ,taunton to ask me to go there to 
,thanksgivin'2 'n' to-day's ,monday2 'n'
  ,i was a-comin' here ,tuesday so's to 
make ,sam's roundabout2 'n' yesterday   
,miss ,luken's boy ,simon1 he 't a'n't  

but three year old1 he got my           
press-board1 when he was a-crawlin'     
round1 'n' laid it right onto the       
cookin'-stove1 and fust thing ,miss     
,lukens know'd it blazed right up1 'n'  
,i can't get another fixed afore        
,wednesday1 and then ,i'd ought to be to
  ,taunton1 'cause there a'n't no stage 
runs ,thursday1 and there hadn't        
oughter1 of course----    ,we have got a
 press-board1 said ,mrs4 ,griswold1     
quietly4    ,yes1 and ,i a'n't goin' to 
grandfather's in my old jacket1 ,miss   
,poll1  interposed ,sam1 one of the     
terrible children who are scattered here
  and there through this world4 ,catch  
me where all the folks are1 in that  old
 butternut suit6 added ,sam4    ,but    
here his father stepped in at the       
door1--a fine1 sturdy1 handsome  farmer1
 one of ,new ,england's model men1 whose
 honesty was a proverb1 and  whose      
goodness a reliance to every creature in
 ,greenfield4    ,john isn't coming1    
wife1 said ,mr4 ,griswold1 in a steady1 

sober tone4  ,he says business will     
delay him1 so that he can only get to   
,coventry  just as we do4    ,so you had
 a letter1 said ,mrs4 ,griswold1        
carefully avoiding a look at  ,lizzy4   
,yes1 said ,mr4 ,griswold1 in a very    
abrupt way4--,are you ready to go  back1
 ,miss ,polly8 for ,i've got to go down 
to the ,centre again with a  load of    
wheat4    ,well1 yes1 ,i don't know but 
,i be4 ,i ken stay over1 if you want    
help1  ,miss ,gris'ld4 ,i'm a-goin' to  
the minister's to help ,miss ,fletcher a
  little mite this afternoon1 but ,i    
guess she don't lot on it none2 'n'     
seein' it's you1 ,i ken stay1 if you    
want help4    ,lizzy looked quickly     
across the kitchen at her mother4       
,oh6 no1 thank you1 ,miss ,polly1 ,i    
know ,mrs4 ,fletcher would feel very    
badly to lose your help1 and ,i really  
don't need it until to-morrow4    ,then 
,i'll come round to the door as quick as
 ,i've loaded up1 said ,mr4  ,griswold2 
and ,miss ,polly settled back in her    

chair to wait comfortably2  a process   
much intensified by a large piece of    
,mrs4 ,griswold's  gingerbread and a    
glass of new cider1 both brought her by 
,lizzy's  hospitable hands1--readier    
even than usual just now1 in the vain   
hope of  stopping ,polly ,mariner's     
clattering tongue4 ,but neither         
gingerbread nor  cider was a specific to
 that end3 ,polly talked while she ate1 
and ate  while she talked4 ,but while   
she finishes her luncheon1 let us make  
known  to the patient reader whom and   
what the tailoress discusses4    ,john  
,boynton was a step-cousin of ,lizzy    
,griswold's4 ,her youngest aunt  had    
married a widower1 with one son1 some   
five years older than ,lizzy1  and had  
always lived in the old homestead at    
,coventry1 with her father2  while the  
other daughters and sons1 six in number1
 were scattered over  the ,state1       
returning once a year1 at ,thanksgiving1
 to visit their  birthplace1 and bring  
their children into acquaintance with   

each other4  ,eben ,griswold1 who lived 
at ,greenfield1 was nearer home than any
 of the  others1 and ,lizzy1            
consequently1 oftener at her            
grandfather's house than  her cousins4  
,she and ,john ,boynton were playmates  
from childhood1 and it  was not strange 
that ,john1 who had never known a       
pleasure unshared by  ,lizzy1 or        
suffered a pain without her consolation1
 should grow up in  the idea that he    
could not possibly live without her1 an 
idea also  entertained half-consciously 
by ,miss ,lizzy1 though neither of them 
ever  yet had expressed it2 for ,john   
was poor1 and had no home to offer any  
woman1 much less the petted child of a  
rich farmer4 ,so ,mr4 ,boynton1 ,jr41   
left home to teach school in ,roxbury1  
five years before the date of our       
story1 without making any confidences on
 the subject of his hopes  and fears to 
,miss ,griswold2 and she knit him       
stockings and hemmed                    
pocket-handkerchiefs for him with the   

most cold-blooded perseverance1  and    
nobody but the yarn and the needles knew
 whether she dropped any  tears on them 
or not4    ,now it had always been ,john
 ,boynton's custom to give his school   
,thanksgiving-week as a vacation1--to   
take the train on ,monday for           
,greenfield1 and stay there till        
,wednesday1 when the whole family set   
off  together for ,coventry1 to spend   
the next day1 according to time-honored 
precedent4    ,whatever ,john and ,lizzy
 did in those two dull ,november days1  
it never  has been made known to the    
present chronicler2 it is only          
understood  that no point-blank         
love-making went on2 yet the days always
 ran away1  instead of creeping2 and    
neither of the twain could believe it   
was  ,wednesday when ,wednesday came4   
,but this year those forty-eight hours  
were destined to drag past1 for ,john   
wasn't coming2 why1 we shall            
discover1--for ,polly ,mariner has      
finished the cider1 and the gingerbread 

is as much subject of inquiry as ,the   
,indians1--where are they8    ,so ,john 
,boynton a'n't a-comin'8 ,well6 ,hetty  
,maria ,clapp's jest got home  from     
,bunkertown1 that's tew mile from       
,roxbury1 'n' she told ,miss ,lucas     
that ,miss ,perrit1 whose sister's son  
keeps a grocer's store to ,roxbury1     
told that ,mr4 ,boynton1 their teacher  
to the ',cademy1 was waitin' on  ,miss  
,roxany ,sharp's cousin1 a dreadful     
pretty gal1 who'd come down from        
,boston to see ,roxany1 an' liked it so 
well she staid to ,roxbury all  through 
,october4 ,i do'no's ,i should ha'      
remembered it1 only 't ,i hed the       
dredfullest jumpin' toothache that ever 
you did1 'n' ,miss ,lucas1 she'd  jest  
come in to our house1 an' she run an'   
got the lodlum an' was  a-puttin' some  
on't onto some cotton so's to plug the  
hole1 while she  was tellin'2 'n' ,i    
remember ,i forgot all about the jumpin'
 while 't she  was talkin'1 so ,i ses1  
ses ,i1 ',miss ,lucas1 ,i guess your    

talkin's as good  as lodlum'2 'n' she   
bu'st out larfin'1 'n' ses she1 ',polly 
,mariner1 ,i  declare for't1 you do beat
 all6' ',well1' ses ,i1 ',i'd die       
content1 ef ,i  could beat ,john        
,boynton2 fur ef ever ,i see a feller   
payin' attention  to a gal1 he's been   
payin' on't to ,lizzy ,gris'ld this four
 year2  and 'ta'n't no wonder 't ,i     
think hard on't1 for there never was a  
prettier-behaved gal than her on        
,greenfield ,hill'2 an' ,i ses----      
,lizzy was on the point of freeing her  
mind just at this juncture1 when  ,mrs4 
,griswold interposed her quiet voice1-- 
,don't trouble yourself to defend       
,lizzy1 ,miss ,mariner2 you know ,john  
,boynton is her cousin1 and he has been 
here a good deal4 ,folks will  talk1 ,i 
suppose1 always2 but if ,john ,boynton  
marries well1 ,i don't think  anybody   
'll be more forward to shake hands with 
him than our ,lizzy4    ,of course ,i   
shall1 said the young lady1 with a most 
indignant toss of  her head4 ,pray1 keep

 your pity1 ,miss ,polly1 for somebody  
else4 ,i don't  need it4    ,h'm1       
sniffed the sagacious ,polly4 ,well1 ,i 
didn't suppose you'd allow  't you felt 
put out about it2 and ,i wouldn't1 if ,i
 was you4 ,besides1  there's as good    
fish in the sea as----,i declare for 't6
 there's ,mr4  ,gris'ld6 ,i'll come     
round early to-morrer4 ,good-day1 all on
 ye6    ,so ,polly departed4    ,i don't
 care1 if he is6 said ,lizzy1 flinging  
herself down on the  settle1 when the   
door closed behind ,polly's blue cloak4 
,mrs4 ,griswold said nothing1 but ,sam  
looked up from his whittling1 and       
coolly remarked1--    ,it looks as if   
you did1 though6    ,sam6 said his      
mother1 with--emphasis4    ,sam         
whistled1 and1 with his hands in his    
pockets1 having shut his  jack-knife    
with a click1 and kicked his shavings   
into the fire1  muttered something about
 feeding the pigs1 and beat an          
ignominious  retreat1--snubbed1 as the  
race of ,adam daily are1 and daily will 

be1 let  us hope1 for telling the truth1
 the whole truth1 and nothing but the   
truth4    ,for ,lizzy certainly did look
 as if she cared4 ,a pretty enough      
picture  she made1 too1 flung down on   
the old black settle1 one well-shaped   
hand pinching the arm as if it had      
been--,john ,boynton's6--the other as   
vigorously clenched on a harmless       
check-apron that showed no disposition  
to get away2 her bright red lips        
trembling a little1 and her gray eyes   
suspiciously shiny about the lashes1    
while her soft black hair had  fallen   
from part of its restraints on to the   
gay calico dress she wore1  and her foot
 beat time to some quick step that she  
didn't sing6    ,mrs4 ,griswold did not 
care for the picturesque1 just then2 she
 cared  much more for ,lizzy1 and her   
acute feminine instinct helped her to   
the  right word4    ,i don't believe it1
 dear6 said she2 you'd better finish    
straining  that squash1 or ,widow       
,peters won't have her pies for         

,thursday4    ,lizzy went to work1--work
 is a grand panacea1 even for           
sentimental  troubles1--and in doing    
battle with the obstinate squash1--which
 was not  as well cooked as it might    
have been1--,lizzy1 for the moment1     
looked  quite bright1 and forgot ,john1 
till her father came in to dinner4      
,somebody once said that ,mrs4 ,griswold
 was a lesser ,providence1 and  ,lizzy  
thought so now2 for scarce were they all
 seated at dinner1 when  she remarked1  
in a very unconcerned and natural way1--
    ,what keeps ,john in ,roxbury so    
long1 father8    ,he has business in    
,boston1 curtly answered ,mr4           
,griswold4--,sam1 did  you go over to   
the ,corners1 yesterday1 about those    
sheep8    ,sam answered1 and the        
conversation went on1 but ,john's name  
did not  enter it1 nor did ,mr4         
,griswold offer to show his letter      
either to mother  or ,lizzy4    ,now the
 latter lady1 not being a perfect woman1
 had sundry small faults2  she was      

proud1 after a certain fashion of her   
own2 slightly sentimental1  which is    
rather a failing than a fault2 but her  
worst trait was a  brooding1            
fault-seeing1 persevering tact at making
 herself miserable1  scarce ever        
equalled4 ,the smallest bit of          
vantage-ground was enough for  a start1 
and on that foundation ,lizzy took but a
 few hours of suspicion  and imagination
 to build up a whole ,castle ,doubting4 
,the cause she had  to-day was even     
greater than was necessary2 it was      
peculiar that  her father should be so  
reserved2 it was more strange that he so
  perseveringly withheld ,john's letter2
 and certainly he watched ,lizzy at  her
 work with unusually tender eyes1 that  
sometimes filled with a sort  of mist4  
,all these things heaped up evidence for
 the poor girl2 she  brooded over each  
separate item all night1 and added to   
the sum ,polly  ,mariner's gossip1 and  
looked forward to the day when everybody
 in  ,greenfield should say1 ,lizzy     

,griswold's had a disapp'intment of     
,john  ,boynton6 ,poor1 dear1 ,lizzy6 as
 if that were an unheard-of pang6 as if 
nine-tenths of her accusers were not    
disapp'inted themselves1--some  before1 
some after marriage1--some in           
themselves1 some in their  children1    
some in their wretched1 dreary lives6   
,but there was only one  ,john and only 
one heart-break present to her vision4  
,polly ,mariner came to breakfast next  
day1 and pervaded the kitchen  like a   
daily paper4 ,horrible murders1         
barn-burnings1 failures1 deaths1        
births1 marriages1 separations1         
lawsuits1 slanders1 and petty larcenies 
outran each other in her glib speech1   
and her fingers flew as fast on  ,sam's 
blue jacket as her tongue clappered     
above it4    ,lizzy's pride kept her up 
before the old woman2 she was in and out
 and  everywhere1 a pretty spot of      
crimson on either fair cheek1 her eyes  
as  sparkling and her step as light as  
any belle's in a ballroom1 and her      

whole manner so gay and charming that   
,polly inwardly pronounced ,john        
,boynton a mighty fool1 if he dodged    
such a pretty girl as that1 and one     
with means4    ,but night came1 and     
,polly went4 ,lizzy went to bed with a  
bad  headache1--convenient synonyme for 
aches of soul or body that one does  not
 care to christen6 ,sleep she certainly 
did that night1 for she  dreamed ,john  
was married to a rich ,boston girl with 
red hair and a  yellow flannel dress1   
and that ,polly ,mariner was bridesmaid 
in the  peculiar costume of a blue      
roundabout and pantaloons6 ,but sleep   
with  such dreams was scarcely a        
restorer2 and ,wednesday morning1 when  
,mrs4  ,griswold asked ,lizzy if she had
 put up her carpet-bag to go to         
,coventry1  she received for answer a   
flood of tears1 and a very earnest      
petition to  be left at home4    ,leave 
you1 ,lizzy6 ,why1 grandfather couldn't 
have ,thanksgiving without  you6 ,and   
,uncle ,boynton6 ,and ,aunt ,lizzy is   

coming up from ,stonington with  the new
 baby2--and--,john1 too6 ,you must go1  
,lizzy1 dear6    ,i can't1 mother6 ,i   
can't6 said the poor girl1 sobbing after
 every  word2 please don't ask me4 ,i   
can't6 ,i've got a headache2 oh1 dear6  
,here a fresh burst of tears followed1  
as ,lizzy buried her head in her        
mother's lap4    ,mrs4 ,griswold was    
both grieved and astonished2 she sat    
speechless1  stroking the soft hair that
 swept over her knee1 till ,lizzy's sobs
  quieted1 and then said1--    ,well1   
dear1 if you're set on staying at home1 
,i won't oppose it1 if  your father     
thinks best2 but ,i must ask him2 only  
what will you do1  ,lizzy1 here alone   
all night8    ,chloe and ,peter will be 
here1 mother2 and ,i'll make ,chloe     
sleep in  ,sam's room1 and leave the    
door open2 and when they go down to     
,dinah's1  ,i'll lock up1 and ,i shan't 
feel afraid in broad day4    ,mrs4      
,griswold shook her head doubtfully4    
,i'll see what father says1 said she4   

,so ,lizzy lifted her head1 and         
smoothed her hair1 while her mother went
 out to the barn to consult  father4    
,here she was1 if anything1 more        
puzzled4 ,mr4 ,griswold heard the       
proposal  with a rather misty look1 as  
if he didn't see why1 and when his wife 
finished1 said1 gravely1--    ,what is  
it1 ,susan8 ,anybody 't has lived as    
long as ,i have knows pretty  well that 
a woman's headache stands for a whole   
dictionary4    ,why1 you see1 said ,mrs4
 ,griswold1 twisting a little lock of   
hay in her  fingers1 and faintly        
blushing1 as if the question had been of
 herself  rather than ,lizzy1 she--well1
 the fact is1 husband1 she's kind of    
riled  about ,john's not coming2 you see
 we haven't been real particular about  
the children1 and so----    ,you needn't
 spell it1 ,susan1 said ,mr4 ,griswold1 
with a half smile2  ,polly ,mariner's   
tongue helped on1 ,i guess4 ,you let    
,lizzy stay1 if she  wants to2 'twon't  
hurt her2 when folks want to sulk1 ,i   

generally let  'em4 ,she can stay4      
,he began to whistle ,yankee ,doodle and
 pitch hay energetically1 while  ,susan 
was within hearing2 but how would that  
dear woman's soul have  floundered      
deeper and deeper in the fog that       
clouded it now1 had she  seen her grave 
husband sit down on one end of the      
hay-mow and laugh till  the tears stood 
in his keen eyes1 and then1 drawing his 
coat-sleeve  across the shaggy lashes1  
say to himself1 ,poor child6 and begin  
his  work with fresh strength6    ,so   
matters were all arranged4 ,after       
dinner1 the rusty1 dusty1 old  carriage 
appeared at the door1 with the          
farm-horses harnessed thereto1          
jingling1 and creaking1 and snapping1 as
 if oil and use were strange to  its dry
 joints and stiff straps4 ,mrs4         
,griswold mounted to the back seat1     
after kissing ,lizzy with hearty regret 
and tenderness1--her old gray  pelisse  
and green winter bonnet harmonizing with
 the useful age of her  conveyance4     

,father1 in a sturdy great-coat and     
buckskin mittens1 took  the reins2 and  
,sam1 whose blue jacket was at that     
moment crushing his  mother's ,sunday   
cap in a bandbox that sat where ,lizzy  
should have been1  clambered over the   
front wheel1 to the great detriment of  
the despised  butternut suit1 and1      
seizing the whip1 applied it so suddenly
 to ,tom  and ,jerry that they started  
off down the ,coventry road at a pace   
that  threatened a solution of          
continuity to bones and sinews1 as well 
as wood  and leather4    ,lizzy turned  
away sadly from the door4 ,who can say  
that just at that  minute she did not   
wish she had gone1 too8 ,but nobody     
heard her say so4  ,she went up-stairs  
to her room1 and tried to read1 but     
couldn't attach  any ideas to the words2
 she was half an hour over a page of a  
very good  book1 and then flung it upon 
the bed with an expression of disgust1  
as  if it were the book's fault4 ,poor  
authors6 toil your fingers off1 and     

spin your brains out6 be as wise as     
,solomon1 or witty as ,sheridan6 your   
work is vanity and vexation of spirit1  
unless the reader's brain choose  to    
receive and vivify the hieroglyphs of   
your ideas2 think yourselves  successful
 because a great man praises you1 and   
to-morrow that man is  twisted with     
dyspepsia1 or some woman passes him     
without a smile1 and  your sparkling    
sketch1 your pathetic poem are declared 
trash6 ,such is  fame6 ,of which little 
homily the moral is1--,write for money6 
,what a  thing it is to be worldly-wise6
 ,so was not ,lizzy2 if she had been1   
she  would now be at ,coventry1 kissed  
and caressed by grandfather1 aunts1     
uncles1 cousins1 and----,but we won't   
anticipate4    ,lizzy flung down the    
book1 and went to her closet for        
another2 but it  was as good 7or as bad7
 as ,bluebeard's closet1 for there hung 
the pretty  crimson merino1 with        
delicate lace at the throat and round   
the short  sleeves1 in which ,miss      

,lizzy ,griswold once intended to       
electrify ,mr4  ,john ,boynton this very
 evening4 ,true it is that short sleeves
 are not  the most sensible things for  
,november2 but ,lizzy was twenty1 and   
had  such round1 white arms1 that she   
liked to wear short sleeves1 as any     
girl would2 and who is going to blame   
her8 ,not ,i6 ,a girl doesn't know  her 
privileges who was never just a little  
vain1--just a little glad to  be pretty 
when ,john is by4 ,lizzy looked at the  
crimson merino1 and at  the smart       
slippers on the door with a shining     
black bow on each instep4  ,there1 too1 
on a little low table1 was a green box2 
somebody had left  it open1--mother1    
perhaps1--so she saw on its cotton bed a
 red coral  bracelet1 that came from    
,roxbury1 or thereabout1 last year at   
this time4  ,lizzy shut up the box1 and 
went down-stairs to get tea4    ,chloe  
was indignant to think ,miss ',lisbeth  
thought she couldn't get  supper without
 help1 and ,miss ',lisbeth was vexed    

with ,chloe for being  cross4 ,and then1
 when supper came1 the tea seemed to be 
very unwilling  to be swallowed1 and the
 new bread was full of large lumps that 
choked a  person1 and the lamps didn't  
burn clearly at all1--and--and--when    
,chloe1  still sulky1 had cleared the   
table1 ,lizzy sat down on a low cricket 
beside her mother's stuffed             
rocking-chair1 and had as good a cry as 
ever  she had in her life1 and felt much
 better for it4    ,so she sat there1   
with her head on the arm of the chair1  
rather tired  with the cry1 rather      
downhearted for want of the supper she  
hadn't  eaten1 and making pictures in   
the fire1 when all of a sudden it came  
into her head to wonder what they were  
doing at ,coventry4 ,there was          
grandfather1 no doubt1 in the           
keeping-room1 telling his never-tiring  
stories of ,little ,robby1 and ,old     
,bose1 and the ,babes in the ,wood2 of  
singing the ever-new ditty of      ,did 
you ever1 ever1 ever1 ever1 ever1 ever1 

ever1--    and so on1 ad infinitum1 till
 you got to--      ,see a man eat a     
whale8    to some half dozen children2  
while sweet ,aunt ,lizzy1 serenely      
smiling1  rocked the fair little baby   
that fifteen cousins had kissed for     
welcome  that day2 and ,uncle ,boynton  
trotted the baby's brother on his knee1 
inviting him persistently to go to      
,boston and buy a penny-cake1 greatly   
to little ,eben's aggravation1 who would
 end1 ,lizzy knew1 by crying for  the   
cake1 and being sent to bed4 ,then there
 were ,sam1 and ,lucy ,peters1  and ,jim
 ,boynton1 up to all sorts of mischief  
in the kitchen1--,susan  ,boynton and   
,nelly ,james cracking nuts and their   
fingers on the  hearth1--father and     
mother up-stairs in grandmother's room2 
for  grandmother was bedridden1 but     
kindly1 and good1 and humorous1 and     
patient1 even in her hopeless bed1 and  
nobody was dearer to the whole  family  
than she4 ,then1 of course1 there was a 
fire in the best parlor1  and there were

 all the older cousins1 telling         
conundrums and stories1  and playing    
grown-up games1 and some two1 or four1  
may-be1 looking out  in couples at the  
moonshine1 from behind the              
curtains1--,sue ,james1  perhaps1 and   
,john4 ,sue was so pretty6    ,lizzy's  
head bent lower on the arm of the chair2
 her thoughts travelled  back over a    
great many ,thanksgivings1--years ago1  
when she wore short  frocks1 and used to
 go with ,john to see the turkeys fed1  
and be  so scared when they gobbled and 
strutted with rage at her scarlet       
bombazette2--how they used to pick up   
frozen apples and thaw them in  the     
dish-kettle2 how she pounded her thumb1 
cracking butternuts with a  flat-iron1  
and ,john kissed it to make it          
well1--only it didn't6 ,and  then how   
they slid down-hill before church1 and  
sat a long two hours  thereafter in the 
square pew1 smelling of meetin'-seed1   
and dinted  with the kicks of weary boys
 in new boots2 and finally1 after the   

first  anthem and the two hymns and the 
three prayers and the long sermon were  
over1 came home to dinner1 where the    
children had their own table at the  end
 of the grown people's board1 and ,lizzy
 always took the head and  ,john the    
foot1--till1 exhausted by the good      
things they had eaten1 and  tantalized  
by the good things they couldn't eat1   
they crept away to the  fire and their  
picture-books for a quiet hour1 winding 
up the day with  all the plays that     
country and city children alike delight 
in4    ,then came recollections of later
 days1 when ,john was a young man1 and  
,lizzy still a little girl1--when long  
talks banished turkeys and apples  and  
sliding1--when new books or sleigh-rides
 crowded out the old  games1--when the  
two days of ,john's yearly visit were   
half-spent in the  leafless1 sunny      
woods1 gathering mosses and acorn-cups1 
delicate fern  leaves1 and clusters of  
fire-moss1 and red winter-green berries1
 for the  pretty frames and baskets     

,lizzy's skilful fingers                
fabricated1--when he  shook hands at    
coming and going1 instead of kissing    
her2--but it seemed  just the same1     
somehow4 ,dear me6 those days were all  
gone6 ,john didn't  care about her any  
more6 he was in love with a beautiful   
,boston lady4  ,why should he care about
 a homely little country cousin8 ,he    
would go to  live in ,boston in a great 
big house1 and he'd be a great man1 and 
people  would talk about him1 and she   
should see his name in the papers1 but  
he  never would come to ,coventry any   
more6 ,and he'd acted as if he did love 
her1 too6--that was men's               
way1--heartless things6 ,if ,john had a 
good  time1 what did he care if ,lizzy  
did grow into a gray-haired1 puckered-up
  old maid1 like ,miss ,case1 with      
nobody to love her1 or take care of her1
  or ask about her1 or--or--kiss        
her8--,the climax was too much for      
,lizzy2  great big tears ran down on the
 arm of the stuffed chair1 and she      

would have sobbed out loud1 only ,chloe 
opened the door1 to put up the          
tea-things1 ,i suppose1 and ,lizzy      
wouldn't cry before her4 ,but1 for all  
that1 she didn't hear ,chloe come to the
 fireplace2 she only felt her sit  down 
in the big chair1 and1 simultaneously1 a
 pair of strong arms lifted  ,miss      
,lizzy on to ,john ,boynton's knee1 and 
held her there4 ,it wasn't  ,chloe4     
,i declare1 one gets out of patience    
with these men6 they do astonish a      
person so sometimes1 one doesn't know   
what to do or say4 ,lizzy had been      
thinking to herself1 not two minutes    
ago1 with what cool and smiling  reserve
 she should meet ,john ,boynton1 how    
dignified and kindly distant  she would 
be to him1--and now1--well6 it was so   
sudden1--and then1 as  ,i said before1  
these men do get round one so1--if you  
happen to love  them4--,lizzy forgot1 ,i
 suppose2 at any rate1 she wasn't       
dignified1 or  reserved1 or proper1 or  
anything of the kind1 for she just hid  

her  pretty head on his square shoulder1
 and said1 ,oh1 ,john6--slowly1 and     
nothing more1--as ,mr4 ,tennyson remarks
 about cutting ,iphigenia's head  off   
with a sharp knife4    ,i don't know    
that ,john talked much1 either4 ,i      
rather think ,lizzy got  over the climax
 that had troubled her a little while   
ago4 ,presently1  she raised her head   
and gathered up her hair that had fallen
 down1 and  became painfully aware that 
she had on only a blue calico6 ,john    
never  knew it2 he knew somebody had a  
very sweet face1 full of cloudy blushes 
and sunshiny smiles1 and1 not being a   
,pre-,raphaelite1 the foreground was  of
 no consequence to him4    ,so1 after a 
time1 ,lizzy slipped down to her cricket
 again1 still leaning  on the arm--of   
the chair1--and ,john expounded to her  
the excellent  reason that had delayed  
his coming home4 ,he had been offered a 
large  salary to take the head of a     
public school in ,boston1 and those two 
days had been devoted to arranging the  

affair2 he had satisfied the            
school-committee as to his capacity1 and
 made up his mind on several  points of 
minor importance to them1--but1 perhaps1
 greater to him4 ,among  others1 he had 
found a house1 a tiny house1 with a     
little yard behind1  and a view of      
,boston ,harbor from the upper windows1 
all at a reasonable  rent1 prospect     
thrown in2 this house he had hired1 and 
now--he had come  to ,greenfield for a  
housekeeper4    ,lizzy suddenly         
discovered that she was hungry1 and     
invited ,john into the  kitchen to get a
 piece of pie2 but1 after all1 instead  
of eating hers  while he was eating his1
 she went up-stairs1 brushed out her    
hair  and coiled it up with a           
coral-topped comb1 that came to light1  
very  strangely1 just in time1--put on  
her merino frock1 her bracelet1 and her 
slippers1--rolled herself up in shawls  
and hoods and mittens1 and was  lifted  
into ,john's buggy1 to old ,chloe's     
great delight1 who held the  lamp1      

grinning like a lantern herself1 and    
tucking ,mr4 ,john's fox-skin  round his
 feet1 as if he had been ten years old4 
,so ,lizzy ,griswold did get to         
,coventry the night before              
,thanksgiving1  after all2 and when     
,uncle ,boynton met her at the door1 he 
called her my  dear daughter4 ,perhaps1 
as ,john had told ,lizzy1 on the drive  
over1 that  her father had heard all    
about his business and his intentions1  
in that  letter she did not see1 the    
young lady had decided to disinherit    
him1  and adopt ,uncle ,boynton in his  
place2 rather an unfair proceeding1 it  
is true1 since the letter was withheld  
by ,john's special request2 and1        
indeed1 ,lizzy didn't act like a cruel  
parient to her father1 when he  came1   
after uncle1 to give her a welcome4     
,they had a merry time at ,coventry that
 ,thanksgiving1--even merrier  than     
another smaller assemblage1 that took   
place at ,greenfield about  ,christmas1 
when ,polly ,mariner came over a week   

before-hand to make ,sam  a new suit    
throughout1 and ,lizzy looked prettier  
than anybody ever did  before1 in a     
fresh white dress1 and a white rose1 off
 grandmother's  tea-rose-bush1 in her   
hair4 ,it is on record1 that she behaved
 no better  than she did that evening   
when somebody found her crying in a blue
  calico2 for ,sam was overheard to say1
 as ,polly hustled him off to bed1      
that1 if ever he was married1 he guessed
 they wouldn't catch him makin'  a fool 
of himself by kissin' a girl right      
before the minister6--if he'd  have been
 ,lizzy1 ,john ,boynton's ears would    
have sung for one while2 but  girls were
 fools6    ,so ,john ,boynton got a     
housekeeper2 and ,lizzy had more than   
one  ,thanksgiving-day in her life1     
beside the ,governor's appointments4    
99       99       99       99       99  
,,achmed ,,and ,,his ,,mare4        ,an 
old ,arabian tale the truth conveys1    
,that1 honor's passion avarice          
outweighs4             99       99      

99       99       99      ,brave ,achmed
 owned a mare of wondrous speed2    ,he 
prized her much above his wife or creed4
      ,and lest some one should steal   
that precious mare1    ,he guarded her  
with unremitting care4      ,he tied her
 every night before his tent2    ,the   
fastening-cord then round his pillow    
went4      ,when all in slumber lay1 the
 robber crept1    ,unloosed the cord1   
and on the courser leapt4      ,wake up6
 he cries1--'tis ,i1 the thief1 who     
call2    ,see now if she in flight is   
chief of all6      ,mount ,achmed and   
his tribe in wrath and shame1    ,and   
chase him as a tempest chases flame4    
,hot ,achmed nearly to the robber came1 
,when thus he thought3 ,my mare will    
lose her fame4      ,if ,i o'ertake her1
 she is then outrun2    ,but if ,i reach
 her not1 ,i am undone4      ,oh1 better
 she were stolen before my face    ,than
 have her vanquished in this desperate  
race6      ,one secret sign his mare was
 taught to heed1    ,whenever she must  

try her utmost speed4      ,he to the   
robber screamed1 ,quick1 pinch her ear6 
,the sign she felt with answering love  
and fear4      ,as like a level         
thunderbolt she flew1    ,all chase was 
vain1 the vexed pursuers knew4          
,before this self-betrayal blank        
surprise    ,fills ,achmed's comrades1  
and their wondering cries      ,demand1 
,how shall thy foolish act be named8--  
,my mare is lost1 her glory is not      
shamed4      ,he says3 ,i knew1 that1 if
 her ear he nipped1    ,the darling     
prize could never be outstripped4       
,,charles ,,lamb ,,and ,,sydney ,,smith4
      ,there were in ,great ,britain1   
soon after the commencement of the      
present  century1 three remarkable      
groups of young men4 ,distinct schools  
of  thought1 like the philosophic       
schools of ,greece1 each of the groups  
was  marked by peculiar ideas1 tastes1  
and sympathies4 ,the ,french            
,revolution1  with its menace of        
fundamental changes1 clashing with      

sentiments and  convictions which ages  
had rendered habitual and dear1 called  
for an  inquiry into great principles   
and the grounds of things4 ,the         
,napoleonic  age had the terrific       
formlessness of chaos4 ,did it premonish
 the passing  away of old things1 and   
herald the birth of a new order and a   
new social  state8 or did the trouble   
spring from innate madness in the       
younger  strengths which were trying to 
overthrow the world's kingdoms8 ,should 
venerable ,royalty1 after howling in the
 wilderness and storm1 be again         
enthroned8 or should men attempt to     
realize the fair ideals which  the word 
,republic suggested8 ,should religion be
 supplanted8 should  ,protestantism be  
confirmed8 or should1 perchance1 the    
crosier of the ,old  ,church be again   
waved over ,europe8 ,these were the     
questions that were  mooted1 and they   
aroused unwonted activity and vigor of  
thought as well  in literature as in    
politics4    ,the old century left in   

,england few celebrated names to take   
part in the  literature of the new4 ,the
 men who made the poems1 romances1      
dramas1  reviews1 and criticisms for the
 first quarter of our century had almost
  all been in youth contemporaries of   
the ,reign of ,terror1 and had been     
tried in that unparalleled period as by 
a fiery furnace1 while their  opinions  
were in a formative state4 ,crabbe and  
,rogers were traditions of  the time of 
,goldsmith and ,johnson2 ,gilford wrote 
with a virulence and  ability which he  
might have learned in boyhood from      
,junius2 but with  these exceptions1    
,english literature fifty years ago was 
represented by  young men4    ,we       
mention1 as the first group of young    
thinkers1 the founders of the           
,edinburgh ,review1--,sydney ,smith1    
,francis ,jeffrey1 ,francis ,horner1 and
  ,henry ,brougham1--whose united ages1 
when the first number of that review    
appeared in #ahjb1 made one hundred and 
seven years4 ,members of the ,whig      

party1 possessing much learning and more
 vivacity and earnestness1  and having  
among them1 if not severally1 abundance 
both of daring and  prudence1 they      
startled conservative people1 evoked the
 best efforts of  authors by their      
brilliant castigations1 and inaugurated 
the discussion  of measures of reform   
which it took thirty years to get       
through  ,parliament4 ,the critic of the
 company was ,francis ,jeffrey1 whose   
happiness it was to live just when he   
was needed4 ,without capacity to  excel 
either in the realm of ideas or of      
facts1 he was unrivalled in the  power  
of discovering the relations between the
 two4 ,he was neither a  statesman1     
philosopher1 nor poet2 but while the    
heavens and the earth  threatened to    
rush in confusion together1 he was an   
admirable cicerone  to the troubled and 
wandering wits of men4 ,he had no       
inherent qualities1  and1 if other      
people had not existed1 would not have  
been alive himself2  his faculty was    

simply an eye for relations1 and his    
mental life began  when some one threw a
 series of thoughts across his line of  
vision4  ,he could tell all about those 
thoughts1--how large each was1 what     
complexion they had1 how they stood in  
order with each other1 and how  they    
compared with other thoughts which he   
remembered having seen  before4 ,such a 
mind might have achieved success among  
the technicalities  of the law1 but     
nowhere else1 had not the ,edinburgh    
,review been  created4 ,jeffrey's       
critical articles have little value when
 regarded  according to their aim and as
 integral compositions2 the arguments   
which  they contain are often           
insufficient1 and the literary judgments
 wrong4  ,but they are full of the      
scattered elements of thought4 ,many of 
the best  ideas of the books and men of 
which they treat are stated in them with
  admirable clearness and piquancy1 and 
they are1 therefore1 pleasant  secondary
 sources of information4    ,francis    

,horner died of consumption in ,italy   
before he was forty years of  age1 and  
there is nothing of surpassing          
brilliancy or power in any of  his      
writings4 ,yet he made a most           
extraordinary impression upon his       
contemporaries4 ,his name is never      
mentioned by his associates except  with
 unusual respect4 ,brougham1 when he    
alludes to him1 even in a  letter1 seems
 to check his pen into soberness1 and to
 be as cautious as  if he were speaking 
on a religious subject4 ,search through 
the published  correspondence of        
,jeffrey1 ,sydney ,smith1 and           
,mackintosh1 and ,horner is  found      
uniformly mentioned1 not with peculiar  
affection or kindness1 not  with any    
intention of doing him honor1 but as a  
man whose qualities were  quite superior
 to those of other men1 and whose       
destiny it was to be the  first         
statesman of his country4 ,lord         
,cockburn1 who was a schoolmate of      
,horner1 relates that the latter was at 

one time selected by his class to       
present a book to the master1 and adds3 
,as he stepped forward at  the close of 
a recitation1 and delivered the short   
,latin  presentation-address1 ,i thought
 him to be a god4 ,this fascination is  
hard to be explained4 ,the great        
seriousness of ,horner's character may  
in  part account for it4 ,he could not  
bear trifling on important subjects1    
and could not help frowning on all jests
 which were not more wise  than witty4  
,the calm determination1 the unvarying  
earnestness of his  character1 may aid  
in explaining it4 ,from a boy1 he never 
swerved from  great purposes1 pursued   
the most useful though difficult        
knowledge1 and  cultivated with equal   
zeal the ornaments of taste and those   
recondite  historical and statistical   
studies which are the roots of political
  science4 ,he was as far from being    
flighty as ,immanuel ,kant4 ,everything 
that he did was marked both by          
temperance and sagacity4                

,philosophically  speaking1 a           
personality1 any personal being1 is     
undoubtedly the most  mysterious thing  
in the universe4 ,how abstract ideas    
come together to  grow and bloom in a   
young bosom is wholly past the          
comprehension of  philosophy4 ,as       
personality in the abstract fascinates a
 philosopher  by its mystery1 so a      
personality of uncommon purity1         
intensity1 and  completeness fascinates 
all men1 and thus1 perhaps1 is explained
 the  high estimation in which ,horner  
was held4 ,he was regarded by those  who
 knew him1 as ,pythagoras was by his    
disciples1 with the deference  commanded
 by a superior person4    ,the          
indefatigable character of ,lord        
,brougham1 the only survivor of this    
group1 cannot yet be sketched in a      
paragraph4 ,to ,sydney ,smith we shall  
presently return4    ,the second group  
of young men was formed fifteen years   
later4 ,they were  the antagonists of   
the ,edinburgh reviewers1 the authors of

 the ,noctes  ,ambrosianae1 the main    
support of ,blackwood's ,magazine1      
almost from  its beginning4 ,their names
 were ,john ,wilson1 ,j4,g4 ,lockhart1  
,james ,hogg1  and1 for a time1 ,william
 ,maginn4 ,these were very high1 as well
 as1  excepting ,hogg1 very young       
,tories4 ,it would be an apotheosis of  
loyalty  to say that they were also     
eminently religious1 though they drank  
many  bumpers to their religion4 ,when  
they meet in the third of the ,noctes   
and have taken their places at the      
table1 ,north proposes3 ,a bumper6  ,the
 ,king6 ,god bless him6 and three times 
three are given4 ,then ,tickler         
proposes3 ,a bumper6 ,the ,kirk of      
,scotland6 and the rounds of cheers  are
 repeated4 ,these indispensable         
ceremonies being over1 the ,blackwood   
council proceeds to discuss men and     
things over nectar and ambrosia4        
,wilson was the centre and best         
representative of this group4 ,at       
,oxford1  he had been so democratic that

 he blacked his own boots on principle4 
,on leaving ,oxford1 he had roamed for a
 time as a wild man in a band of        
gypsies4 ,he next took a cottage in the 
lake district in the ,north of          
,england1 where he associated with      
,wordsworth1 and occupied himself       
alternately with desperate gymnastic    
exercises and composing slight          
descriptive poems4 ,even after          
connecting himself with the magazine and
  becoming the symposiarch of the       
,noctes1 and perhaps the greatest ,tory 
in all broad ,scotland1 he did not      
renounce his home among the lakes4 ,he  
was a lover of scenery1 and an          
enthusiast and master in manly sports4  
,he  is said to have fished in every    
trout-brook north of the ,clyde1 and  he
 wandered every season over the         
,highlands4 ,in his sportsman's         
accomplishments he took a truly ,english
 pride1 and made fun of the  ,edinburgh 
,whigs by representing a company of them
 as getting by chance  into the same    

room with himself and his associates1   
and then1 pipes and  tobacco being      
brought1 as being fairly smoked out1    
sickened1 and  obliged to retreat by the
 superior smoking capacities of the     
,tories4 ,he  ridiculed ,leigh ,hunt for
 fancying in one of his poems that he   
should  like a splendid life on a great 
estate1 when 7as ,wilson says7 he       
couldn't even ride without being thrown4
 ,yet1 of all the men of this  time1    
there was probably no one who had wider 
sympathies or more  delightful          
prejudices than ,professor ,wilson1 or  
who made more sagacious  reflections4   
,the centre of a literary clique1 he    
loved to associate  with all the other  
cliques1 and was one of the first to    
recognize and  proclaim the great merits
 of ,wordsworth4    ,the third group was
 larger than either of the preceding1   
retained its  esprit de corps longer1   
and may be most conveniently defined as 
the  associates of ,charles ,lamb4      
,beside ,lamb1 there were ,coleridge1   

,southey1  ,lovel1 ,dyer1 ,lloyd1 and   
,wordsworth1 among the earlier members  
of  it1--and ,hazlitt1 ,talfourd1       
,godwin1 ,de ,quincy1 ,bernard ,barton1 
,procter1  ,leigh ,hunt1 ,gary1 and     
,hood1 among the later4 ,this group1    
unlike the  others1 did not make        
politics1 but literature1 its leading   
object4 ,it  was composed of literary   
men1--a title of doubtful import1 but   
which  certainly in civilized society   
will always designate a class4          
,political  life has more of outward    
importance1 religious life is holier1   
but  literary life is the most humane of
 all the avocations4 ,it is to the      
professions what pastoral occupations   
are to the trades4 ,politics and        
religion both have something to do with 
institutions4 ,a mechanical  man can    
play a part in them not very well1 but  
passably well4 ,but  the literary man is
 sheer humanity1 with nothing to help   
him but his  thoughtfulness and         
sensibility4 ,he is the unfelled tree1  

not the timber  framed into the ship of 
state or carved into ecclesiastic grace4
 ,he  lives as ,nature lives1 putting on
 the splendor of green when the air  is 
sunny1 and of crystal when the blasts   
sweep by2 and while his roots  reach    
down into the earth1 there rises nothing
 above him but the  heavens4 ,past      
experience shows that he may be harsh1  
prejudiced1 and  unhappy2 but it shows  
also that the richest human juices are  
within him1  and that not only the most 
peculiar and most sensitive1 but also   
the  most highly-endowed characters are 
named in the list of authors4 ,the      
central and most admirable figure in    
this particular group of literary  men  
is ,charles ,lamb2 and as each of the   
other groups clustered around  an organ1
 so at a later period ,lamb and his     
associates supported the  ,london       
,magazine1 in which the ,essays of ,elia
 first appeared4    ,if it be asked what
 gave that strong coherence to these    
associates which  constituted them      

groups1 a wise man would                
answer1--congeniality of  character4 ,a 
wiser man1 however1 would not overlook  
the element of  suppers4 ,the ,edinburgh
 ,review seems to have been first       
suggested  over a quiet bottle of wine2 
and at a later day the ,edinburgh       
reviewers1  increased in number by the  
accession of ,mackintosh and one or two 
others1 formed an honored clique by     
themselves in the splendid society  of  
,holland ,house4 ,the ,noctes           
,ambrosianae is the enduring monument of
  the way in which the ,blackwood men   
passed their nights1 and not the less   
so from the fact that they were for the 
most part written out by ,wilson  in    
sober solitude4 ,charles ,lamb began his
 career of suppers with  ,coleridge1 as 
the latter came up to ,london from the  
,university to visit  him1 and the      
famous ,wednesday-evening parties given 
by him and his  sister ,mary would      
occupy a large space in the literary    
history of this  epoch4 ,it is a true   

proverb1 that people are but distant    
acquaintances  till they have eaten salt
 together4    ,the sketches which we    
have thus given will indicate the       
leading  tendencies that were operating 
in ,english literature1 though the      
groups  themselves did not include all  
the eminent literary men4  ,campbell1   
,shelley1 and ,byron were single lights1
 and did not form                       
constellations1--unless1 perhaps1       
,shelley and ,byron may be regarded as a
  wayward and quickly-disappearing      
,gemini4 ,sir ,walter ,scott1 and1 in   
their  later years1 ,southey1           
,wordsworth1 and ,coleridge1 were of a  
cosmopolitan  character1 and served as  
links between different parties4 ,and it
 may be  added1 that diplomatic         
relations and frequent                  
intercommunication existed  between all 
the groups4    ,passing from the general
 schedule to the characters and careers 
of  ,charles ,lamb and ,sydney ,smith1  
it will be our aim to show how these two

  most witty men were also intensely    
serious and dutiful1--how they  were    
both disciplined by a great sorrow1 and 
obedient to a noble  purpose1--and thus 
to relieve wit from the charge of having
 any natural  alliance with frivolity4  
,a thorn1 it needs not a sage to say1   
vexes the side of every human  being4   
,poetry laments the inadequacy of men to
 their ideals1 philosophy  declares an  
error in the figures which sum up life1 
religion reveals  the fall of the race4 
,the thorn is known which pierced the   
matchless  joyousness of ,charles ,lamb4
 ,his family1 highly gifted with wit1   
tenderness of feeling1 and mutual love1 
had a tinge of madness in the  blood4   
,at twenty years of age he was himself  
shut up six weeks in a  madhouse1 his   
imagination in a vagary4 ,he was not    
again affected2 but  the poison had sunk
 deeper into the veins of his sister4   
,the shadow of a  deed done in the dark 
ever pursued her4 ,charles devoted his  
life to  her whose life was an          

intermittent madness1 yet who1 in her   
months of  sanity1 was a worthy sister  
of such a brother4 ,his kindness to her 
knew  no bounds4 ,it was strange that   
she had premonition of the recurring    
fits  of her disorder2 and when the     
ghost of unreason beckoned1 ,charles    
took her by the hand and led her to the 
appointed home4 ,charles ,lloyd         
relates1 that1 at dusk one evening1 he  
met them crossing the field  together on
 their melancholy way toward the asylum1
 both of them in  tears4 ,in the smiles 
of ,charles ,lamb1 and they were many1  
his friends  always remarked a          
prevailing expression of sadness4 ,the  
fair-haired  maid1 who had been the     
theme of his first poetizing1 appears   
not again  in his verses or in his life4
 ,he and ,mary lived together1 received 
evening visitors together1 went to the  
theatre and picture-gallery  together1  
visited the lakes and the poets         
together2 and if he was ever  seen in   
public without her1 his friends knew    

there could be but one  reason for it1  
and did not ask4 ,when he left the      
,india ,house1 he had  reserved from his
 income a considerable sum for her      
support2 though the  liberality of his  
employers1 as it proved1 rendered this  
precaution  unnecessary4 ,she was his   
partner in writing the ,shakspearian    
tales1 and  he always affirmed that hers
 were better done than his own4 ,to her 
he dedicated the first poems that he    
published2 and she1 too1 was a  poetess1
 excellent in her simple way4 ,thus was 
,charles ,lamb's life  saddened by a    
great affliction ever impending over it1
 and sanctified by  a great duty which  
he never for a moment forgot4    ,it was
 his good-fortune1 while at school at   
,christ's ,hospital1 to become          
acquainted with ,samuel ,taylor         
,coleridge4 ,a timid boy1 creeping      
around  among his boisterous companions 
like a little monk1 it was that soaring 
spirit which first taught him to look   
up4 ,two men whose intellects more      

strongly contrasted could not be found4 
,coleridge suffered throughout  life    
from over-much speculation4 ,could he   
have had his eye less upon the  heavens 
and more upon the earth1 could he have  
been concentrated upon  some human duty1
 he would have been a much wiser and    
better man4 ,even in  his youth he was  
the rhapsodist of old philosophies1 had 
resolved social  life into its elements1
 and dreamed of putting it together     
again to suit  himself on the banks of  
the ,susquehannah4 ,though ,lamb        
wondered at the  speculations of        
,coleridge1 and1 loving him1 loved the  
metaphysics which  were a part of him1  
yet it was without changing his own     
essentially  opposite disposition4 ,lamb
 clung to the earth4 ,he cultivated the 
excellency of this life4 ,he was        
concrete1 and hugged the world as he    
did his sister4 ,he reverently followed 
the discourses of ,coleridge1  admiring1
 perhaps1 the beauty of the words1 but  
not the words  themselves2 but when the 

,opium-,eater also began to take        
speculative  flights before ,lamb1 the  
latter stopped him at once by jangling  
his  metaphysics into jokes4 ,it was in 
conversation with ,coleridge1 begun at  
school and continued afterward at       
frequent meetings1 that ,lamb first     
ventured to try his own powers and was  
prompted to literary activity4  ,but for
 a slight defect in his speech1 he would
 probably have followed  ,coleridge to  
the ,university with the intention of   
going into the ,church4  ,a delightful  
clergyman he would have been1 if he had 
duly undertaken the  office1 and one    
would have walked far to see him in the 
priestly robe1  to hear him chant the   
service1 to receive pastoral advice from
 him2 yet  we fear the ,essays of ,elia 
would have been less admirable than now4
 ,he  was roused by ,coleridge2 and     
though he could not put the aureole of  
the  latter about his own head1 he began
 to do the best he could in his own     
way4    ,life is a play between accident

 and purpose4 ,why was it1 that1 of all 
the books in the world1 ,charles ,lamb  
should have fixed his affections        
chiefly on the old ,english dramatists8 
,he might have turned to old  ,greece1  
admired the fruits of the classic ages1 
and become one of those  sparkling      
artistic ,hellenists that are           
occasionally seen in modern  times4 ,he 
might have turned to the mediaeval      
period4 ,he had an eye  for cloisters   
and nuns4 ,his fancy would have been    
struck with the  grotesqueness of many  
of the ideas and institutions of those  
times4  ,he would have got on finely    
with ,gurth the swineherd and ,burgundy 
the  tusk-toothed1 and one of his       
masterly witticisms would have upset    
,duns  ,scotus4 ,perhaps1 of all the    
mediaeval characters1 he would have been
  most smitten with the court fool1 and1
 if he could have been seated at  a     
princely table of the twelfth century1  
the bowl surely would not have  been    
round many times before he and the fool 

would have had a few passes  at each    
other4 ,there was enough in the ,middle 
,ages to have fascinated  him2 and could
 he1 like some romantic ,novalis1 have  
once penetrated  thither1 and tasted the
 fruit1 he would have found it a lotus1 
and  would have wished never to depart4 
,his soul would have clung to church    
architecture1--under which term may be  
included all the religious1  political1 
poetical1 moral1 and practical life of  
the ,middle ,ages4 ,the  accident in the
 case1 however1 was1 that his uncle's   
library did not  contain the ,greeks1   
nor the ,middle ,ages1 but did contain  
the old ,english  authors4 ,these he    
mastered2 and out of these he created   
his ideals4 ,in  the affluent vigor of  
the ,elizabethan age1 in the buoyant    
nglig of  the times of merry ,charles1  
he found people that he liked4 ,to every
  reflective and slightly scholastic    
mind1 there is a charm in looking  at   
things in the distance4 ,the perspective
 fits the eye4 ,this may have  helped   

the enthusiasm with which he looked upon
 the writers and heroes  of the old     
,english literature2 but its principal  
cause was their  open-heartedness1 their
 informality1 their stout and free      
humanity  underneath laces and uniform4 
,having thus found his place in         
literature1 he began also to be rich in 
friends1 and his life was devoted every 
moment to thought and affection4  ,the  
time that he passed at the desk of the  
,india ,house was time in which  he did 
not live2 or perhaps1 while he          
autographed the mercantile books1  there
 was a higher half-conscious life of the
 fancy which lightly  flitted round and 
round the steady course of his pen4 ,he 
thus exults1  after his emancipation    
from his clerkship upon a pension3--,i  
came  home ,,forever on ,tuesday in last
 week4 ,the incomprehensibleness of my  
condition overwhelmed me4 ,it was like  
passing from life into eternity4  ,every
 year to be as long as three2 that is1  
to have three times as much  time that  

is real time--time that is my own--in   
it4 ,i wandered about  thinking ,i was  
happy1 but feeling ,i was not4 ,but the 
tumultuousness is  passing off1 and ,i  
begin to understand the nature of the   
gift4 ,for this  one-third of his waking
 time1 to have and to hold unhampered by
 any  dependence1 he had most willingly 
consigned the rest to drudgery4 ,the    
value which he set upon it appears from 
the following answer which he  made to  
,bernard ,barton1 who thought of        
abandoning his place in a bank  and of  
relying upon literary labor for         
support3--,throw yourself on the  world 
without any rational plan of support    
beyond what the chance employ  of       
booksellers would afford you6 ,throw    
yourself1 rather1 my dear ,sir1  from   
the steep ,tarpeian rock1 slap-dash1    
headlong1 upon iron spikes4 ,if  you    
have but five consolatory minutes       
between the desk and the bed1 make  much
 of them1 and live a century in them1   
rather than turn slave to the           

booksellers4 ,hitherto you have been at 
arm's length from them1--come  not      
within their grasp4 ,i have known many  
authors want for bread1--some  repining1
 others enjoying the blessed security of
 a counting-house1  all agreeing that   
they would rather have been tailors1    
weavers1--what  not8--rather than the   
things they were4 ,i have known some    
starved1 some  go mad1 one dear friend  
literally dying in a madhouse4 ,oh6 you 
know  not--may you never know6--the     
miseries of subsisting by authorship4   
,thus he esteemed of priceless worth    
honestly-earned independent time for    
the pursuits that were dearest to him4  
,his literary and social avocations were
 so intimately blended that they  seem  
to have been almost the same4 ,he was as
 thoughtful in his evening  parties as  
he was in the act of composition1 and as
 gentle and kindly in  writing as he was
 to his friends4 ,he gathered about him 
not many of the  most famous1 but many  
of the most original and peculiar men of

 his time4  ,his ,wednesday-evening     
parties were assemblies of thinkers4    
,they were  composed in large part of   
men who were not balanced by a          
profession1 who  were devoted only to   
wit1 fancy1 or speculation1 who         
cultivated each a  peculiar field and   
cherished each peculiar tastes and      
opinions1 who  were interested in       
different quarters of the heavens1 and  
yet who came  together1 prompted by the 
spirit of sociality and kindliness1 to  
lay  perhaps the backs of their heads   
together1 and to talk always sincerely  
and wisely1 but in the form of sense or 
nonsense1 as the case might be4  ,lamb  
and his sister were always ready to     
appreciate every variety of  goodness1  
and doubtless their guests received an  
order something like  that which was    
addressed to the dwellers in ,thomson's 
enchanting  castle3--      ,ye sons of  
,indolence6 do what you will1    ,and   
wander where you list1 through hall or  
glade2    ,be no man's pleasure for     

another stayed3    ,let each as likes   
him best his hours employ1    ,and      
cursed be he who minds his neighbor's   
trade6    ,to these parties sometimes   
came ,coleridge1 who in conversation    
seems  to have been a happy mixture of a
 ,german philosopher and an ,italian    
improvvisatore4 ,here ,hazlitt learned  
to utter the philosophic  criticisms    
which he most passionately believed in2 
and ,lloyd1 whose  intellect was one of 
peculiar refinement1 discoursed modestly
 of  metaphysical problems1 analyzing to
 an extent that ,talfourd says was      
positively painful4 ,here the social    
reformer ,leigh ,hunt came1 and for  the
 moment forgot that social reforms were 
needed4 ,here the ,opium-,eater  came1  
and his cloudy abstract loves and hates 
and visions were exploded  by the sparks
 of ,elia's wit4 ,here the philosopher  
,godwin developed  philosophy out of    
whist4 ,here the pensive face of the    
,quaker poet1  ,bernard ,barton1 shed a 
mild light upon the scene2 and here the 

lawyer  ,thomas ,noon ,talfourd came to 
admire the finest characters that he    
knew  of4    ,having thus noticed the   
painful experience and unfaltering      
devotion to  noble aims which marked the
 career of ,charles ,lamb1 we leave him 
with  his friends1 and pass to notice   
the same elements in the life of his    
brother wit4    ,sydney ,smith preferred
 the legal profession1 and esteemed     
himself a  victim in entering the       
,church4 ,his practical wisdom informed 
him1 that1  from the beginning even     
until then1 qualities like his had not  
found a  happy sphere of action in the  
pulpit1 but1 on the contrary1 had rusted
  or grown ugly in it4 ,he had as much  
sentiment as ,sterne1 and perhaps as    
much political sagacity as ,swift1 yet  
the finest instincts within him         
recoiled from following in the path of  
either the one or the other4  ,with a   
subtile and exuberant wit1--he knew that
 wit touches not sacred  things4 ,with  
great practical prudence and a brilliant

 speculative  capacity1--in a clergyman1
 prudence is less than faith1 and       
brilliancy  of thought than the glow of 
the heart4 ,in his rich composite       
character  he had1 indeed1 the qualities
 which make the clergyman2 his          
disposition  was religious1 his heart   
was tender and ,christian1 he could give
 the  best advice to the people2 and    
though his appearance was not quite     
saint-like1 it was at least suggestive  
of a good man who was walking in  the   
way which he pointed out to others4 ,but
 these qualities were not  those with   
which he was most highly endowed4       
,energy and sterling  common-sense1     
which he had inherited from his father1 
an elastic1  mercurial1 and passionate  
nature1 which had come to him from his  
,huguenot mother1--these were the strong
 points in his character1 and it        
belongs to neither of them to take the  
lead in the ,church4 ,sydney had        
scanned the whole field4 ,having        
questioned well his desires1 examined   

well his blood1 derived what wisdom he  
could from history and  observation1 he 
deliberately chose the law4 ,why1 then1 
did he take  to theology8 ,we read that 
his father had incurred so much expense 
in  educating his eldest son for the    
legal profession1 and in fitting out    
two others for ,india1 that he could not
 well furnish the means for  ,sydney's  
education1 and strongly recommended him 
to go into the ,church2  and that the   
son sacrificed his own to his father's  
inclination4    ,we may imagine ,sydney 
,smith's reflections4 ,with his         
versatile talent1  honorable ambition1  
and consciousness that he could have    
made a shining  name in political life1 
his object now was to find a sufficient 
sphere  for the exercise of all his     
powers in the ,church4 ,it was no fault 
of his  that he was unwilling to settle 
as curate and have no aim beyond his    
parish except to go to heaven at last4  
,with his superfluity of human  nature1 
for him to become a saint was out of the

 question4 ,what then8  ,should he enter
 the realm of dogmatics1 and become a   
learned and  redoubted champion of the  
faith1 passing his life amid exegesis8  
,should  he renounce thorough thinking1 
and become a polished and popular       
pastor1  an ornament of the pulpit and  
of society8 ,should he signalize himself
  for gravity1 orthodoxy1 and ability1  
seek the earthly prizes of his          
profession1 and perhaps become          
,archbishop of ,canterbury8 ,should he  
become a jolly1 vinous1 and ,friar-,tuck
 sort of clergyman8 ,god forbid6 he     
said to each of these queries1 and      
rushed forward into his profession4     
,regarding himself as a lamb for the    
slaughter1 yet tremendously in  earnest 
not to be sacrificed1 he went into the  
,church groping and  fearing1 but       
resolute4 ,trembling lest he should not 
do his duty both to  himself and to his 
sacred office1 he yet determined to try4
 ,thus the  thorn which troubled ,sydney
 ,smith was not an affliction1 but was  

what he  regarded as a danger2 and1     
though less patent and pointed than that
  in the life of ,charles ,lamb1        
probably had not less influence in the  
discipline of character4    ,behold1    
then1 the long and venerable line of the
 clergy opening to  receive him1 and    
behold him entering it6 ,the clergy1 the
 priesthood1  the holy fathers1 the     
strong bishops1 the monks1 the ghostly  
race1 the  retired enthusiasts1 now     
melancholy1 now rapt1 now merry-making1 
the  consolers of sorrow1 the divine    
heroes in an earthly life1--even one  of
 this family does ,sydney propose to be4
 ,at the age of twenty-four  he becomes 
curate in the little hamlet of          
,salisbury ,plain1--the young  graduate 
of ,oxford sent into the country to be  
pastor to the inmates of  half-a-dozen  
hovels6 ,then he writes his description 
of a curate3--,the  poor working man of 
,god1--a learned man in a hovel1 good   
and patient1--a  comforter and a        
teacher1--the first and purest pauper of

 the hamlet2  yet showing that in the   
midst of worldly misery he has the heart
 of a  gentleman1 the spirit of a       
,christian1 and the kindness of a       
pastor4  ,he regards himself as almost  
excluded from his kind1 and quotes 7or  
originates7 the proverb1 that there are 
three sexes1 men1 women1 and  clergymen4
 ,he took long solitary walks over the  
plains of ,salisbury1  reflecting upon  
the manifold activities of the world1 in
 which he had no  part4 ,the only       
society that he had was during the      
occasional visits of  the squire to the 
neighborhood1 who1 surprised to find the
 curate so  interesting a person1 gave  
him frequent invitations to dinner4     
,thus  passed two years1 when the squire
 consigned his son to the curate to  be 
educated1 and ,sydney ,smith1 starting  
with the young man for the  ,continent1 
was driven by stress of war to          
,edinburgh4    ,there he met ,horner1   
,jeffrey1 ,brougham1 and others1 young  
thinkers and  full of matter1--,horner  

the philosopher1 ,jeffrey the critic1   
,brougham  the statesman1 and ,sydney   
,smith the divine1--and the divine was  
unsurpassed by any of the others in wit1
 energy1 or decision of  character4     
,while the events with which the times  
were rife were striking  fire in all    
their brains1 it was the divine who     
first turned their  thoughts to account 
by suggesting that they should start a  
review4  ,the suggestion was acted upon1
 and under his editorial care the  first
 numbers of the ,edinburgh ,review      
appeared4 ,his prudence and             
remonstrances saved it from manifold    
excesses2 for ,jeffrey was not a man  to
 be moderate in times like those4 ,the  
brilliant critic received not a  few    
such lectures as the following3--,i     
certainly1 my dear ,jeffrey1 in         
conjunction with the ,knight of the     
,shaggy ,eyebrows ,homer1 do protest    
against your increasing and unprofitable
 skepticism4 ,i exhort you to  restrain 
the violent tendency of your nature for 

analysis1 and to  cultivate synthetical 
propensities4 ,what is virtue8 ,what's  
the use  of truth8 ,what's the use of   
honor8 ,what's a guinea but a d--d      
yellow  circle8 ,the whole effort of    
your mind is to destroy4 ,because others
  build slightly and eagerly1 you employ
 yourself in kicking down their  houses1
 and contract a sort of aversion for the
 more honorable1 useful1  and difficult 
task of building well yourself4 ,it was 
the boast of  ,sydney ,smith in old age 
that he had very little to change in the
  opinions which he had at various times
 advanced1--that he had seen  every     
important measure which he had advocated
 passed and become  recognized as       
beneficent4 ,the variety of the review  
suited the  versatility of his talent2  
the problem1 ,what worthy thing shall ,i
 employ  myself in doing8 was solved2   
and an ample public career was opened to
  him4 ,when1 after five years1 he      
passes from ,edinburgh to ,london1 he is
  not only a poor clergyman1 but a      

famous ,edinburgh reviewer4 ,he becomes 
popular in society and as a preacher1   
and delivers pictures on ,moral         
,philosophy to crowded houses of the    
lite of the metropolis4    ,when he is  
again exiled as a curate1 his solitude  
is not unbroken1 but  he receives and   
returns the visits of the most eminent  
people4 ,his  neighbors ran to him one  
day1 shortly after his arrival1         
exclaiming1  --,please your honor1 a    
coach6 a coach6 a coach6 ,sydney saw in 
the  distance the equipage of ,lord     
,holland1 and challenged the admiration 
of  his parishioners by boldly          
answering1--,well1 my good friends1     
stand  firm2 never mind1 even if there  
should be a coach2 it will do us no     
harm2--let us see4 ,a simple pastor and 
an eminent man1 with flashing  energy he
 approves himself a good man4 ,sunday he
 preached1 ,monday he  doctored the     
sick1 ,tuesday ,sir ,james ,mackintosh  
visited him for a week1  ,wednesday he  
read ,ariosto1 ,thursday he began an    

article1 ,friday he  reviewed his       
patients1 ,saturday he repaired his     
barn4 ,now he is laying  down a rule    
that no day shall pass in which he will 
not make somebody  happy2 now he is     
fixing a bar whereon it shall be        
convenient for his  cows to scrape their
 backs2 now he is watching by the side  
of his  sleeping baby1 with a rattle in 
hand to wake the young spirit into      
joyousness the moment its sleep breaks4 
,he goes through the parish as  doctor1 
wit1 and priest1 guide1 philosopher1 and
 friend1 studying the  temper and needs 
of the simple congregation to which he  
preaches on  ,sunday1 while his brain is
 racking with great thoughts4 ,with     
these  higher thoughts he has to do as  
he sits at his desk and writes an       
article for the larger parish of the    
,united ,kingdom4 ,with a wild play of  
wit and fancy and laughter he graces the
 sturdy column of his virtue  and       
fidelity4 ,he lived in what was said to 
be the ugliest and most  comfortable    

house in ,england1 admired by every     
visitor for his  independence1          
manliness1 refinement1 and liveliness4  
,when he visited  ,london1 as he often  
did1 and when in later years he lived   
there and was  lionn1 his simplicity of 
character remained4 ,to the last he was 
one  of the sincerest and most active of
 clergymen and of men4    ,it is        
probable that there were not living at  
the time two more serious  men than the 
two wits whose careers we have outlined4
 ,indeed1 it is  quite a mistake to     
suppose that wit has anything to do with
 temper or  sentiment at all4 ,a man may
 be perpetually sulky1 and yet          
habitually  witty1--may smile1 and      
smile1 and smile1 and yet be a most     
melancholy  individual4 ,wit is simply a
 form of thought1 and is as intellectual
 as  scientific study4 ,it differs from 
other thought only in being a little    
outr1--a little in excess2 it overdoes  
the thing only because it has  so much  
energy in it4 ,it is what ,charles ,lamb

 said a pun was1--a sole  digest of     
wisdom4 ,all great thoughts are at first
 witty1 and afterward  come to be common
 and flat4 ,when ,pythagoras discovered 
the theorem of  the squares erected on  
the sides of a right-angled triangle1 it
 had the  effect on him of a most       
preposterous joke4 ,the apple dropping  
on the  head of ,newton struck him like 
a very far-fetched pun4 ,show a child   
the  picture of a wild ,tartar1 and his 
first motion will be to laugh at it4    
,we have seen a man while reading ,kant1
 the dryest of metaphysicians1  slap his
 knee1 leap upon his feet1 and swear1 in
 exuberance of mirth1  that ,kant had   
said a good thing4 ,if it were          
discovered to-morrow to be  a scientific
 truth that this world is wrong side    
out1 and if inventive  genius should    
discover a way to put the other side    
out1 we should all of  us think it a    
funny thing1 but our transversed        
descendants would  regard the matter as 
a commonplace4 ,new proposals in the    

arts1 and new  discoveries in the       
sciences are always at first laughed at4
 ,thus wit  is only thought that is     
beyond the present capacity of the      
listeners1  thought of whose meaning    
they can catch only a glimpse2 it is the
  forerunner of what our very stupid    
race1 which is always a little behind   
the times1 is wont to call wisdom4 ,if  
the race should ever become  completely 
sage1 nothing less than a joke would    
ever be uttered4    ,the likenesses of  
,charles ,lamb and ,sydney ,smith make  
them both very  severe-looking men4     
,like marble1 which in costume takes the
 appearance  of the finest lace1 so that
 it seems as if it would yield to the   
touch  of a finger1 their delicate      
fancies and sentiments were but the     
surface  of a solid and thorough        
character4    ,they lived in different  
spheres1 corresponding to the difference
 in  their genius4 ,sydney ,smith had   
the more versatile and fruitful mind4   
,with restless energy he supported      

various characters1 being equally       
famous as a wit1 ,whig1 ,edinburgh      
reviewer1 eloquent preacher1 brilliant  
man of society1 and canon of ,saint     
,paul's4 ,his biographer well describes 
him as a rough rider of subjects1 and   
with surpassing good sense he  overran  
every problem with which the public mind
 was occupied4 ,he was a  reformer1 but 
it was after the ,english and not the   
,french fashion4 ,he  had unbounded     
respect for existing human blessings1   
believed in things  substantially as    
they were1 and couldn't have been       
persuaded to try an  experiment that had
 much of hazard in it4 ,a ,frenchman is 
always at  home amid earthquakes and    
volcanoes and hurricanes1 and the       
immediate  prospect of an end to        
everything that is and a beginning of   
something  the like of which never has  
been4 ,the spirit of the great ,french  
,revolution was to exterminate all the  
results of time up to that point1  and1 
having made a clear field1 to begin over

 again4 ,hence heads went  off1 religion
 was proscribed1 thrones were burned1   
the calendar was  changed2 even the     
heavenly bodies should no longer bear   
down their  freight of old associations1
 and ,orion received the name of        
,napoleon4  ,could the earth have in any
 way been transformed1 could grass      
possibly  have been made blue and the   
heavens green1 or could man have been   
done  over into any other sort of       
animal1 there is not the slightest doubt
  that those ,frenchmen would have      
undertaken it4 ,in comparison with such 
men1 ,sydney ,smith sank into           
insignificance as a reformer4 ,he lived 
under  a religion1 government1 and      
system of manners1 all of which he was  
desirous to retain4 ,he did not wish for
 his children any institutions  very    
much more comfortable than ,england     
offered at the moment4 ,he  regarded the
 advantages of life with great          
complacency1 thinking1  doubtless1 that 
men had better opportunities than they  

availed  themselves of2 and the chief   
intensity of his purpose was not to make
  better opportunities1 but to improve  
them better4 ,he probably did not       
approve of all the men and customs that 
he saw1 was decidedly opposed  both to  
wickedness and stupidity2 but he did not
 propose1 like a  ,frenchman1 at the    
first fault1 to blot out the heavens and
 the earth4  ,he demonstrated in his    
life how genial1 under existing         
institutions1 a  clergyman could be1 how
 discreet a young enthusiast could be1  
how widely  active a curate could be1   
how acceptable in society an honest man 
could  be1 how brilliant a plain        
,englishman could be4 ,a great reformer 
he was1  --but the spirit of his reform 
consisted chiefly1 not in changing1 but 
in making better use of the blessings   
which we already possess4 ,compared     
with this prevailing spirit of personal 
reform1 the reformatory  public measures
 which he was prominent in advocating   
were of slight  consequence4 ,merry on  

the surface1 with an iron core of       
stubborn  resolution within1 he equally 
delighted his most homely and his most  
elegant friends1 and while he           
sympathized with humble life1 he had a  
profound respect for the technically    
best society4    ,charles ,lamb lived   
within a narrower and peculiar range4   
,with more of  concentration1 he had a  
less abounding energy than ,sydney      
,smith4 ,his  character was an odd and  
elegant miniature1 while that of ,sydney
 ,smith  was voluminous4 ,he loved a    
particular sort of men1 and that sort   
was  honest men2 while the merry divine 
could deal with politicians and even    
with ,talleyrand himself4 ,sydney was   
playing a part in the ,whig party1      
among the advocates of reforms2 the     
sympathies of ,elia went for  the reform
 of the ,united ,kingdom1 and of the    
universe1 too1 if  possible1--but he was
 more interested in a profound thought1 
brought  forth from the struggling      
breast of ,hazlitt1 than in any bill    

introduced  into ,parliament4 ,he was   
occupied with his old books1 his sincere
  friends1 his beloved sister4 ,he cared
 little for the beau monde1 would       
rather not look upon a duke or a duchess
 without a grating between2 but1        
turning from the current into an eddy1  
content with the many thoughtful  and   
original persons whom he had about him1 
he delighted to fish for the  shyest    
tenants of the stream and to dive for   
strange pearls4 ,he loved  remote       
thoughts1 quaint expressions1 fantastic 
ideas4 ,he especially  attached himself 
to any violent symptoms of human nature4
 ,being in a  picture-gallery1 he       
observed a stout sailor in towering     
disgust at one  of the old masters1 spit
 his tobacco-juice at it1 and swear1    
with an  expletive1 that he could do    
better himself4 ,the honest opinion     
honestly  expressed1 the truth and vigor
 of the man1 delighted ,lamb1 and he    
rushed  up to him to shake hands4       
,whenever the sailor1 after that1 wrote 

to  his friends in ,london1 he wished to
 be particularly remembered to ,mr4     
,charles ,lamb1 who wouldn't be         
humbugged about that old painting4      
,it was this strong sympathy with human 
character which made ,elia rather  a    
contemner of the worship of ,nature4 ,he
 liked things that were as  definite as 
the works of men1 and found great       
difficulty in sympathizing  with a      
landscape4 ,there was nothing on ,fleet 
,street for which he did not  feel a    
personal attachment2 all the hurry and  
majestic order of a great  city1 all the
 little by-ways and hedges of city life1
 the wealth1 the  poverty1 the splendor1
 the rags1 the men and women1 all acting
 under  the stern discipline of an      
immense society1 the boys1 the beggars1 
the  chimney-sweeps1 the hilarious and  
the sorrowful1 the fine ladies and      
noble lords1 were all duly appreciated  
by him4 ,if he had been taken  up to the
 pinnacle of a mountain1 instead of     
entertaining one of  ,wordsworth's      

sublime contemplations1 he would have   
been very likely to  flap his arms and  
crow like chanticleer4 ,indeed1 in      
middle age he was  accustomed to boast  
that he had never seen a mountain4 ,born
 in ,london1  and always residing in    
,london till the last years of his life1
 esteeming  man the crown and purpose of
 the universe1 he was much inclined  to 
regard the love of ,nature1 which       
figures so largely in modern            
literature1 as a popular delusion4 ,he  
would have sympathized with the  ,french
 philosopher who1 after accompanying a  
young lady to the ,highlands  of        
,scotland1 surprised her raptures by    
saying to her1--,aimez-vous les  beauts 
de la nature8 ,pour moi1 je les abhorre4
    ,the diverse religious character of 
these two men may be illustrated by  an 
allusion to their different habits with 
respect to ,art4 ,sydney ,smith1        
visiting ,paris1 satisfied himself by a 
fifteen-minutes' observation in  the    
galleries of the ,louvre4 ,his mind1    

almost orbicular in its various         
capacity1 took in the scene at a glance4
 ,there were pictures from almost  every
 country1 statues from almost every age1
 representations of the  finest         
imaginations of the mind and of the     
noblest labors of history4 ,he  was not 
a barbarian with respect to the ,louvre1
 but understood all about  it1 and knew 
its excellence and value2 yet he mingled
 his sentiment  and common-sense well   
together1 and took a rapid walk from    
chamber to  chamber4 ,he probably       
entertained large views of ,art during  
his impetuous  progress through the     
ages1 from battle-field to battle-field1
 from saint  to saint1 from philosopher1
 poet1 and hero1 to landscape1          
shepherdess1  and domestic scene4 ,he   
took in thought with lightning          
swiftness1 and  lived for fifteen       
minutes amid statues and paintings which
 collected  scenes from all the         
universe4 ,he went forth1 satisfied that
 the ,louvre  was a fine gallery of     

,art1 that ,art was a very fine thing1  
that painters  and sculptors ought to be
 encouraged1 and that he had been       
looking at  many things which were      
worthy a man's consideration4 ,if he had
 been  called upon at once to preach a  
sermon1 there is no doubt that he would 
have made very judicious reflections    
upon the spectacle which he had  beheld4
    ,charles ,lamb1 too1 visited ,paris1
 and though it is not recorded that he  
went into the ,louvre1 yet we can hardly
 be mistaken in conjecturing that  he   
did1 and the thoughts with which he     
went4 ,he would have entered those      
galleries with timid ecstasy4 ,he would 
at first have shrunk away from  the full
 splendor1 and made acquaintance with   
some modest painting in  a corner4      
,happy would some friend near him be to 
hear the half-tender1  half-witty1 yet  
most appreciative conceit which should  
first come  stammering from his lips4   
,he would have advanced slowly1 and only
 after  much delay would have ventured  

to stand before the great masters1 and  
to look up eye to eye at the spirit of  
the ,louvre4 ,after taking his          
departure1 he would never have thought  
familiarly of the scene1 but it  would  
have remained in his mind as terrible   
and sacred an episode as was  the       
descent into ,hades to ,virgil's hero4  
,not only in the ,louvre1 but in the    
world1 ,charles ,lamb was the more      
timid worshipper4 ,the whole character  
of his mind1 the intensity of his       
thought within a narrow sphere1 made him
 reverent of the ,infinite4 ,the        
thought of departure from the life which
 he now lived was to him a very  solemn 
one4 ,religious ideas were so sacred to 
him that he never referred  to them     
lightly1 and seldom at all4 ,when he did
 mention them1 it was  with peculiar    
impressiveness4 ,no one can read the    
account of his share  in a conversation 
on persons one would like to have seen1 
without  admiring the energy and pathos 
with which he alluded to one ,person1   

whose name1 however1 he did not utter4  
,discussions on religious subjects  he  
never tolerated in anybody but          
,coleridge4 ,one evening1 after he and  
,leigh ,hunt had returned from a visit  
to ,coleridge1 ,hunt began to express   
his surprise that a man of so much      
genius as the ,highgate sage should     
entertain such religious opinions as he 
did1 and mentioned one of his  doctrines
 for especial reprobation4 ,lamb1 who   
was preparing the second  bowl of punch1
 answered1 hesitatingly1 with a gentle  
smile1--,never mind  what ,coleridge    
believes2 he is full of fun4 ,he was an 
humble1 sinful  worshipper1 and while he
 bowed his head tremblingly before      
,heaven1 he  poured out the stream of   
his affections to his sister and his    
friends4    ,the religious character of 
,sydney ,smith was less peculiar than   
that of  ,elia4 ,an earnest ,christian1 
with a will too resolute to allow the   
aid  of the punch-bowl in vanquishing   
trouble1 professionally wielding the    

religious and moral ideas1 and          
habitually obeying them1 he stood erect 
and looked at the life to come with a   
firm eye4 ,the beauty of the  ,christian
 religion1 he says1 is that it carries  
the order and  discipline of heaven into
 our very fancies and conceptions1 and1 
by  hallowing the first shadowy notions 
of our minds1 from which actions        
spring1 makes our actions themselves    
good and holy4 ,this central and  vital 
beauty he had cultivated in a very      
diversified life1 and he looked  with   
confidence for the prize which is laid  
up for the well-doer4    ,probably1 if  
any successful life were examined1 it   
would be found to  consist of a series  
of hairbreadth escapes4 ,every movement 
would be the  crossing of the ,rubicon4 
,that man is of little account who at   
every step  that he has taken has not   
been weighing matters as nicely as if he
 were  matching diamonds4 ,how narrowly 
did ,coleridge escape being the greatest
  preacher1 philosopher1 poet1 or author

 of his time6 ,almost everything  was   
possible to him2 and one can but marvel 
how he went through life  avoiding in   
turn each of his highest possibilities4 
,it is the glory of  ,charles ,lamb and 
,sydney ,smith1 that1 as far as it can  
be said of any  men1 they did the best  
that was possible with their            
circumstances and  endowments4 ,the old 
fancy which says of every person1 that  
there is an  ideal character which he   
can attain1 in which he shall be        
peculiar and  unsurpassed1 was in their 
cases realized4    ,their characters    
were projected into literature1 where   
they remain as  permanent blessings4    
,the style of writing of both of them   
approaches to  the simplest way of      
saying things4 ,elia employed the       
choicest language  of the seventeenth   
century1 and the divine used the        
plainest ,english of  the day4 ,the     
perpetual danger of literature is of    
becoming rhetorical2  and hardly fares  
vigor of thought when long words and    

periods are  preferred to short ones1   
and when the native shape and properties
 of  ideas are less cared for than the  
abundant drapery4 ,the style of the     
,essays of ,elia is as admirable as     
their fancy4 ,the author hated a  formal
 sentence as much as he disliked stately
 and insipid society4  ,unlike ,thomas  
,carlyle1 in avoiding the faults of     
rhetorical culture1 he  did not become a
 literary barbarian4 ,in refusing to    
comb his hair like a  prig1 he did not  
go to the extreme of making himself     
horridly uncomely4  ,his sentences are  
unsurpassed for neatness1 are as        
graceful as they are  quaint and clear4 
,the writings of ,sydney ,smith rarely  
attain the  perfect grace which         
uniformly distinguishes ,elia2 yet he   
never attempts  magnificence1 and he so 
unites brilliancy and plainness as to   
make his  statements seem equally       
felicitous to the rude and the scholarly
 ear4  ,his ,peter ,plymley letters are 
remarkable examples of the way in which 

one yeoman speaks to another4 ,his      
literary bequest1 however1 is neither   
so valuable nor so charming as that of  
,charles ,lamb4 ,his powers were too    
various1 and he engaged in too many     
fields of labor1 to attain supreme      
success in any direction4 ,the best     
result of his life is his own  exuberant
 and unresting character1 which         
harmonized all the diversities  in his  
career2 and adequately to behold this   
there is needed a fuller  and more      
philosophical biography of him than has 
yet been written4          ,,bulls ,,and
 ,,bears4    ,continued4      ,,chapter 
,,xv4      ,on the morning of the day   
which brought the downfall of ,stearine 
and his  indorsers1 ,sandford and       
,fayerweather1 with the ,vortex1 whose  
funds  they had misappropriated1 ,monroe
 came to the counting-room unusually    
cheerful4 ,his anxiety respecting his   
little property was relieved1 for  he   
thought the monetary crisis was past1   
and that thenceforth affairs  would     

improve4 ,he had reasoned with himself  
that such a pressure could  not last    
always1 and that this had certainly     
reached its limit4 ,the  clear1 bracing 
air of the morning had its full         
influence over his  sensitive nature4   
,all ,nature seemed to rejoice1 and he1 
for the time1  forgot the universal     
distress1 and sympathized with it4 ,but 
the  thermometer fell rapidly as he     
caught the expression which the face  of
 his employer wore4 ,mr4 ,lindsay1 of   
the house of ,lindsay  ,co41 was        
usually a reserved1 silent man--in      
business almost a machine1 honest  both 
from instinct and habit1 and proud1 in  
his quiet way1 of his  position and his 
stainless name4 ,he had a wife and      
daughter1 and  therefore was presumed to
 have affections2 but those whom he met 
in the  market never thought of him1    
save as the systematic merchant4 ,well  
as  ,monroe knew him1 being his         
confidential clerk1 he never had seen   
more  than the case in which the buying1

 selling1 and note-paying machinery  was
 inclosed4 ,he respected the evident    
integrity and worth of the head  of the 
house1 but never dreamed of a different 
feeling2 he could as  easily have       
persuaded himself into cherishing an    
affection for the  counting-house clock4
    ,this morning1 ,mr4 ,lindsay's face 
wore an unusually sleepless1 anxious    
look4 ,the man of routine was but a man1
 after all1 and1 in his distress1  he   
longed for some intelligent1 friendly   
sympathy4 ,monroe recognized the  mute  
appeal1 but1 from long habits of        
reticence1 he was at a loss how  to     
approach his stately chief4 ,determined1
 however1 to give him an  opportunity to
 speak1 if he chose1 ,monroe asked after
 the news1 the  day's failures1 and the 
prospects of business4 ,the merchant    
needed only  a word1 and broke out at   
once1--    ,prospect8 there is no       
prospect but ruin4 ,if a whirlwind would
 bury the  city1 or a conflagration     
leave it a heap of ashes1 it would be   

better  for all of us4    ,but don't you
 think the darkest time has past8       
,not at all2 the pressure will continue 
until scores more are brought  down4    
,better fail at once than live in dread 
of it4    ,you surprise me6 ,why1 you   
are not in danger8    ,did you ever     
consider8 ,look at the bales of goods in
 our lofts1--goods  which nobody will   
buy and nobody can pay for4 ,and our    
acceptances have  been given to the     
manufacturers for them1--acceptances    
that are maturing  daily4 ,up to this   
time ,i have taken up all our paper1 as 
it became due2  but ,god knows how the  
next payments are to be made4    ,i had 
not thought of that4    ,the house of   
,lindsay  ,co4 has never known          
dishonor--    ,the merchant wiped his   
spectacles1--but it was the eyes that   
were dim1  not the glasses4 ,his lips   
quivered and his breath came hard1 as he
  continued1--    ,but the time has     
come2 the house must go down4    ,i hope
 not1 said ,monroe1 fervently4 ,can     

nothing be done8    ,nothing4 ,every    
resource has been used4 ,the banks won't
 discount2 and ,i  suppose they can't2  
they are fully as weak as their         
customers4    ,i don't know but the     
offer may be useless1 contemptible1     
even2 but ,i  have a small sum1 in good 
notes1 that may be available4    ,the   
merchant shook his head4    ,whatever it
 is1 you are welcome to it4 ,perhaps ten
 thousand dollars--    ,ten thousand    
dollars6 exclaimed ,mr4 ,lindsay1--you  
have that sum8    ,yes1--the little     
property that was my father's4 ,let me  
go and get the  notes1 and see if ,i    
can't get some money upon them4    ,mr4 
,lindsay rose and took the clerk's hand 
with a heartiness that  astonished him4 
,god bless you1 ,monroe1 he said4 ,i may
 be saved1 after all4 ,ten  thousand    
dollars will be enough for the present  
pinch1 and before the  next acceptance  
is due some relief may come4    ,don't  
speak of thanks4 ,i'll get the notes in 
a moment4    ,tears stole silently down 

the unaccustomed furrows2 the gateway of
  feeling was open1 but the tremulous   
lips refused to speak4 ,before he  could
 recover his self-possession1 ,monroe   
was gone4 ,mr4 ,lindsay tried to  read  
the newspapers1 but the print before his
 eyes conveyed no idea to  his          
preoccupied brain4 ,then his thoughts   
turned to his beautiful villa  in       
,brookline1 and he remembered how that  
morning his daughter stepped  lightly   
into the brougham with him at the back  
piazza1 rode down the  winding path     
between the evergreen-hedges1 and1 after
 giving him a kiss1  sprang out when    
they reached the gate4 ,he knew1 that1  
when he returned  in the evening1 he    
should find her in her place under the  
great  horse-chestnut1 at the foot of   
the hill1 ready to ride to the house4   
,how  could he meet her with the news he
 would have to carry8 how crush the     
spirits of his invalid wife8            
,humiliating as the idea of failure was 
when  considered in his relations with  

the mercantile world1 the thought of    
home1 with its changed feelings and     
circumstances1 and the probable         
deprivation of habitual indulgences1 was
 far more poignant4    ,it was not long 
before ,monroe returned1 but with a less
 buoyant air4 ,mr4  ,lindsay's spirits  
fell instantly4 ,i see it all1 said he1 
you can't do  anything4    ,perhaps ,i  
may1 yet4 ,the notes ,i spoke of1 though
 due to me1 are in the  hands of ,mr4   
,sandford1 ,secretary of the ,vortex    
,insurance ,company4 ,i have  been      
there1 and cannot see him4 ,his shutting
 himself up1 ,i am afraid1  bodes me no 
good4 ,however1 ,i'll go again an hour  
hence4    ,no harm in trying4 ,did you  
indorse the notes to him8    ,no4 ,they 
were merely left with him for           
convenience' sake1 as he was my  agent  
in loaning the money4    ,then he can't 
make way with them1--honestly4          
,monroe seemed hurt by the implied      
suspicion1 but did not reply1 thinking  
it best1 if possible1 to change the     

subject of conversation4    ,mr4        
,lindsay sat in silence1 a silence that 
was broken only once or twice  during   
the morning1 and then by some friend or 
business acquaintance  asking1 in       
hurried or anxious tones1 ,anything over
 to-day8 ,a mournful  shake of the head 
was the only answer1 and the merchant   
sunk into a  deeper gloom4    ,again    
,monroe went to see ,mr4 ,sandford1 but 
with no better success4 ,the  third time
 he naturally spoke in a peremptory     
tone1 and1 giving his name  and         
business1 said1 that he must and would  
see ,mr4 ,sandford1 or get the  notes4  
,the weight of his employer's trouble   
rested on him1 and gave an  unwonted    
force to his usually kind and modest    
temper4 ,the clerk1 not  daring to break
 his instructions1 and seeing that it   
was not far from  two o'clock1          
intimated1 in a half-confidential tone1 
that he would  do well to ask ,mr4      
,tonsor1 the broker1 about them4        
,nervous with  apprehension1 ,monroe    

walked swiftly to ,tonsor's office4 ,at 
the door he  met ,fletcher coming out   
with exultation in every feature4       
,within stood  ,bullion1 his legs more  
astride than usual1 his chin more       
confidently  settled over his collar1   
and the head of his cane pressed against
 his  mouth4 ,as ,monroe entered1       
,tonsor ceased the conversation1 and1   
looking  up1 said1 blandly1 ,my young   
friend1 can ,i do anything for you8     
,bullion  at the same time turned the   
eyes that might have been only          
glittering  petrifactions1 and pointed  
the long eyebrow at him inquiringly4    
,i hope so1 was the reply4 ,have you    
some notes in your possession  payable  
to ,walter ,monroe8    ,who asks the    
question8--very civilly4    ,my name is 
,monroe4    ,ah6 ,mr4 ,sandford is your 
agent1 ,i presume8    ,yes4 ,i left the 
notes with him4    ,and you wanted to   
raise some money on them8    ,yes1 that 
is what ,i wish4    ,then you'll be     
pleased to know that ,mr4 ,sandford has 

anticipated you4 ,i  loaned him eight   
thousand dollars upon them this morning4
    ,loaned him eight thousand dollars8 
,certainly4 ,is it extraordinary that   
your agent has done what you  desired8  
,i never asked him to borrow for me2 and
 ,i never authorized him to  transfer   
the notes4    ,he hasn't transferred    
them2 he has only pledged them4    ,he  
couldn't pledge them2 he had no legal   
right in them4    ,but he has pledged   
them1 and they are in my safe1 subject  
to the  repayment of the sum ,i loaned4 
,if you have loaned ,mr4 ,sandford      
money1 that is your affair4    ,and     
yours1 too1 my friend1 you will find1 if
 he doesn't pay it4    ,you haven't a   
right to detain the notes a moment4     
,i have the possession1 which will      
answer as well as the right4 ,and let   
me advise you1--don't get excited and   
conclude that everything is wrong4  ,you
 are not so well posted as you might be4
 ,go and see ,mr4 ,sandford1 and  ,i    
haven't a doubt you'll find the money   

ready for you4    ,i shall go4 ,but ,i  
wish you to understand1 that1 if ,i am  
not 'posted1'  as you say1 ,i do know my
 rights1 and ,i shall take proper       
measures to  get possession of my       
property4 ,you have no more hold upon it
 than a  pawnbroker has upon a stolen   
spoon4    ,trembling with the unusual   
excitement1 and despairing of being able
 to  aid his employer1 ,monroe did not  
wait for a reply1 but rushed to the     
,vortex again4 ,mr4 ,sandford had gone  
out on business1 was the answer4 ,he    
had not gone far1 if the truth were     
known2 for his position commanded  the  
office-door1 and he saw every visitor4  
,time did not lag that eventful day2 the
 hands seemed to sweep round the  dial  
on the ,old ,state ,house as though they
 had been swords in pursuit  of some    
dilatory debtor4 ,it now lacked only    
fifteen minutes of two1 and  ,monroe1   
sick at heart1 turned his steps towards 
,milk ,street1 to announce  the utter   
failure of his plan4 ,mr4 ,lindsay      

received the intelligence  with more    
firmness than might have been expected4 
,monroe1 my friend1--for ,i can truly   
call you so1--you have done what  you   
could4 ,it was not your fault that your 
agent deceived and swindled  you4 ,you  
generously offered me your all4 ,i shall
 never forget it4 ,i  can't say more    
now4 ,please stay and inform the notary1
 when he comes1  that he must take the  
usual course4 ,tell ,john1 when he comes
 with the  brougham1 that he may drive  
back4 ,i shall take the cars to-day1 and
  shall not be at home1 probably1 until 
after tea4 ,i pray ,god1 ,monroe1  that 
you may never go home as ,i do now4 ,o  
,clara1 my daisy1 my darling6  how can  
,i tell you8    ,still murmuring to     
himself1 ,mr4 ,lindsay slowly walked out
 of the  counting-room4    ,it was not  
strange1 that1 under the pressure of his
 own calamity1 ,mr4  ,lindsay had no    
thought for the losses of others4 ,he   
forgot that ,monroe  was really in a far
 worse position1 since1 if the ten      

thousand dollars  were lost1 it was his 
all4 ,neither did ,monroe1 at first1    
reflect upon  his own impending         
misfortune2 he had been so intent upon  
preserving the  credit of the house1    
that his own interest had been lost     
sight of4    ,presently the notary came 
with the inevitable demand4 ,he was a   
cheerful  fellow in his sorry business1 
blithe as an old stager of an undertaker
  at a first-class funeral4 ,he chatted 
about the crisis1 and1 as a matter  of  
course1 brought all the latest news from
 ,state ,street4 ,monroe  listened to   
one piece of news1 but had ears for no  
more4 ,sandford and  ,fayerweather had  
failed1 and the old ,vortex1 which they 
had managed1 was  dead broke1 cleaned   
out4    ,mr4 ,lindsay was not the only  
heart-stricken man who left the         
counting-room that day4      ,,chapter  
,,xvi4      ,monroe was walking         
sorrowfully homeward1 when he met       
,easelmann near the  corner of ,summer  
,street4 ,he was in no humor for        

conversation1 but he  could not civilly 
avoid the painter1 who evidently was    
waiting to speak  to him4    ,glad to   
see one man that isn't a capitalist4    
,you and ,i1 ,monroe1 are  independent  
of banks and brokers4    ,monroe faintly
 smiled4    ,this is a deadly time here 
in ,boston1--a horrible stagnation4     
,every  man avoids his neighbor as      
though he had the plague2 and we have no
  ,boccaccio to tell us stories while   
the dead-carts go by4    ,the dead-cart 
went through our street to-day4    ,you 
don't tell me6 ,who is the lucky corpse 
that is out of his misery8    ,mr4      
,lindsay4 ,our house is shut up1 and ,i 
am a vagrant4    ,a pair of us6 ,for the
 last month ,i have performed the       
,wandering ,jew all  by myself4 ,now ,i 
have company4 ,what shall we do to be   
jolly8    ,jolly6--with a tone of       
melancholy surprise4    ,when should a  
man be jolly1 if he can't when he's     
nothing to do8 ,i  am the slave of gold1
 you understand4 ,if any rich magician  

rubs his  double-eagles before me1 woe  
is me1 if ,i don't paint6 ,when the     
magicians  send their eagles on other   
errands1 ,i am free from their drudgery4
  ,meanwhile1 ,i live on air1 flattened 
out and packed away1 like a ,mexican    
horned-frog1 or a dreaming toad1 in a   
fissure of a preadamite rock4    ,i am  
sorry ,i haven't your art of making     
misfortune comfortable4    ,misfortune8 
,my philosophical friend1 there isn't   
any such thing4 ,the  true man is       
superior to circumstances or accidents4 
7,some old fellow1 ,i  believe1 has said
 that2 somebody always says my good     
things before me2  but no matter47      
,nothing can happen amiss to the wise   
and good4    ,then ,i am neither wise   
nor good1 for ,i have lost my all1 and  
it comes  confoundedly amiss to me4     
,your all8 ,that's what the shoemaker   
said2 but he bought a new one for       
six-pence4 ,but1 how happened it8    ,by
 my folly4    ,i knew that1 of course2  
but ,i wanted to know what folly in     

particular4    ,i trusted it to a man   
whom ,i thought not only honest1 but my 
friend1  and he has proved a scoundrel4 
,you shouldn't have led him into        
temptation4 ,you are particeps          
criminis1 and the partaker is as bad as 
the thief4 ,don't trust without  taking 
security1 my friend2 it's offering a    
premium to crime4 ,consider  your guilt 
now6 ,think of the family into whose    
innocent bosom you have  brought sin and
 remorse6 ,who is the luckless person8  
,sandford6    ,i knew it4 ,i expected   
it4 ,he was too good by half4 ,i didn't 
blame him  for his widow-and-orphan     
business2 somebody must do it2 but ,i   
made up my  mind some time ago that he  
would come to grief4    ,prophets are   
always plenty after the event4    ,true1
 my friend4 ,but just think6 ,he passed 
by my pictures in the  ,exhibition1 and 
bought the canvas of my friend          
,greenleaf1--a man of  genius1          
doubtless1 but young1 you understand1   
young4 ,can you conceive  of the        

wickedness8 ,i felt sure from that      
moment1 that1 if he were not  totally   
depraved1 he at least had a moral       
inability1 as the preachers  call it1   
that would be his ruin4    ,well1 he is 
ruined effectually2 but the worst of it 
is1 that he has  dragged innocent people
 down with him4    ',innocent1'--yes1   
you have the word4 ,a man that cares for
 money at all1  and trusts all he has   
without security to any fair-spoken     
financier1 is  an innocent1 truly4      
,well1 there is no use in lamenting1 and
 just as little in the  consolation of  
thinking how the loss might have been   
avoided4    ,i don't know4 ,i don't     
admit that4 ,i am not to be deprived of 
the rights  of a freeborn ,american4    
,the ',i told-you-so' is a fine balm for
 all sorts  of wounds1--rather more     
soothing to physician than patient1     
perhaps4  ,combined with the            
',you-might-have-known-it1' it gets up a
 wholesome  blister in the least        
possible time1 especially where 'a raw' 

has been  established previously4    ,i 
don't think ,i was prudent4    ,of      
course not2 if you had been1 you        
wouldn't have lost4 ,there are  no such 
things as mistakes in the world4--,but  
to look at affairs4                     
,imprimis4--,lindsay smashed1 house     
closed1 salary stopped4    ,i suppose   
so4    ,item1--private funds gone2 owner
 taken in by the patent-safe game4      
,item1--dwelling-house standing2 so much
 gain1--but    ,item1--the dweller is   
not alone1 having other mouths to feed4 
,but don't be discouraged4 ,i don't     
doubt you will find something to do  in 
good time4    ,but when is the good time
 coming8 ,i must earn something at once4
    ,the danger of being made to work   
isn't pressing4 ,ships will have time   
to get well rested4 ,truckmen are       
actually growing civil with a little    
starvation4 ,the beggars don't hold out 
their hands for coppers2 they  make more
 money by hauling out their old         
stockings and lending at five  per cent4

 a month4    ,you will laugh me out of  
my misery in spite of myself4    ,i hope
 so2 but ,i am not sure that a man can  
be laughed out of a thing  he wasn't    
laughed into4 ,now1 ,monroe1 ,i am going
 to surprise you4 ,i am  going to bore  
you1 annoy you2 for ,i am to see you    
every day for the  next week4 ,can you  
bear it8 ,i shall be worse than the balm
 of  ',i-told-you-so4'    ,monroe       
pressed his friend's hand4    ,come1 by 
all means4 ,and now we are near my      
house2 go in and take tea  with us4     
,no1 not to-day4 ,it is dies nefastus4  
,good-bye6    ,twirling his grizzly     
moustaches and humming to himself1      
,easelmann turned  back4 ,he did not go 
to his room1 however1 but went down a   
quiet street1  apparently guided by     
instinct1 and rang the bell at a        
well-known door4    ,is ,mr4 ,holworthy 
at home8    ,the servant-girl nodded and
 smiled1 and ,easelmann entered4 ,mr4   
,holworthy  was emphatically at home1   
for he was on all-fours1 his three      

children  riding cock-horse1 with merry 
shouts1 varied by harmless tumbles and  
laborious clamberings up4 ,mr4          
,holworthy rose with a flushed and happy
  face1 and the children rushed at once 
to clasp the knees of their  familiar   
old friend4    ,we all have to come down
 at times1 ,i believe1 said ,mr4        
,holworthy1  smoothing the few thin     
hairs on his handsomely arched crown4   
,certainly2 a man that can't be a boy   
with his children deserves to have      
none4 ,now the reason ,i am a bachelor  
is that ,i feared ,i could never        
unbend1 being somewhat remarkable for my
 perpendic--    ,the word was cut off by
 a sudden movement2 the children in     
their playful  struggles had1 in fact1  
thrown him down4 ,in a moment more they 
were on  his back and he trotting round 
the room with the grace of an elephant4 
,come1 children1 said the father1 that  
was a rough joke4 ,get off1 now1  and go
 for your bread and milk4    ,rather    
reluctantly they obeyed1 casting wishful

 glances backward to the  grown-up boy  
with whom they had hoped to have a      
frolic4    ,glad to see you1 said ,mr4  
,holworthy4 ,you have been unsocial1    
lately4    ,yes2 all the effect of the  
panic4 ,i am such a butterfly that ,i   
seem out  of place in a work-a-day      
community4 ,i am constantly advised1    
like the  volatile person in the fable1 
to learn wisdom from my aunt2 but ,i    
can't1  for the soul of me4    ,you     
ought to visit the more1 to cheer the   
wretched and downcast4    ,oh1 but it's 
a fearful waste of magnetism4 ,five     
minutes' talk with a  man who has notes 
to pay draws all the virtue out of me4  
,it lowers my  vital tone like standing 
in an ice-house4 ,you feel such a man   
from afar  like a coming iceberg4 ,you  
don't have notes to pay8 ,i thought not4
 ,i  should go at once4    ,no1 my      
little shop pays its way4 ,i buy for    
cash4 ,i pay my hands when  they bring  
in their work1 and ,i have customers    
enough who ask me for no  credit4       

,happy man6 most fortunate of           
tailors6--,i have been thinking1        
,holworthy1 among your many benevolent  
projects1 why you never devised  some   
means of relieving people who are       
supposed to be in good                  
circumstances1--a society for           
ameliorating the condition of the rich4 
,bless me6 the poor are quite numerous  
enough1 and are in unusual  straits just
 now4    ,i know1 and for that reason   
they are better off than usual4 ,people 
say1  ',how the poor must suffer in     
these pinching times6' ,so they double  
their  charities4    ,poverty is an     
ocean without bottom1 my friend4 ,all   
that is given is  like emptying stones  
into the sea2 the waves swallow them and
 sweep over  as before4    ,true1 you   
can't satisfy the beggars till you drown
 'em4 ,wouldn't  a gentle asphyxia by   
water1 now1 be the best thing for some  
of the  ,broad-,street cellarers8       
,very likely2 but they would probably   
object to the remedy4    ,but to return 

to my project4 ,i see some forms of     
distress that seem to  me far more      
painful than utter poverty4 ,i won't    
expatiate1 but state a  case4 ,i know a 
man of good sense and culture1 able and 
willing to do  his part in the world4   
,his employer has failed1 so that his   
salary will  stop4 ,he is unmarried1 but
 has a mother1 an invalid1 who never    
stirs out  of doors2 and besides has    
some poor relation or other to support4 
,he has  a house1 it is true2 so they   
needn't sleep in the street2 but how are
  the mouths to be fed1 the backs to be 
clothed8    ,let him sell his house and 
wait till better times for employment4  
,it is easy to say sell2 but who will   
buy8 ,a house won't fetch half  its     
value1 and there isn't any money to be  
had4 ,besides1--and this is  the        
hardship1--the pride and the feelings of
 association cling round a  house that  
has been consecrated by years of        
affection and by the memory  of the     
dead4--,i believe ,i am making an       

oration2 but ,i despair of  expressing  
myself4    ,i understand you perfectly2 
it is sad1 indeed4    ,excuse me1 you   
don't understand me4 ,some men put off  
old houses and put  on new ones1 like   
their clothes1 without a thought4       
,others grow into  their habitations and
 become a part of them4 ,you might as   
well say to  a lobster1 ',get out of    
your shell1' when you know that the poor
  wretch will die when his naked1       
quivering members are exposed to the    
sharp-edged stones4 ,a delicate nature1 
proud1 but gentle1 too sensitive  to    
accept charity1 and doubtful of a       
friendly service even1 suffers more     
anguish in one hour1 under such         
circumstances1 than your brazen beggar  
feels from his dirty cradle to his      
nameless grave4    ,mr4 ,holworthy      
mused4    ,he has nothing to do1 then8  
,nothing1 but to suck his thumbs4    ,is
 he willing to work1 even if the task   
should appear irksome8    ,i haven't a  
doubt4 ,he has no false pride4 ,anything

 honorable would be  welcome4           
,perhaps ,i can find something for him  
to do2 it will be temporary1 but  its   
continuance will depend upon himself4   
,and what is it8    ,in visiting the    
district which has been allotted to me1 
,i have found an  unusual number of     
ignorant1 vicious boys1 cared for by no 
one1 growing  up for the prison or the  
gallows4 ,i have thought of making some 
effort  to gather them together and     
start a ragged school4 ,some friends    
have  agreed to provide the means4 ,but 
the pay would necessarily be small1 and 
the labor and difficulty great4    ,a   
teacher of tatterdemalions6 ,it isn't an
 inviting field of labor4    ,no1 to a  
refined man it must be repulsive4       
,nothing but the idea of  doing good    
would make it a pleasure or even        
endurable4    ,i confess myself utterly 
without any such motive4 ,i hate poor   
people1  and ragged children1 and sick  
women1 the forlorn wives of drunken     
brutes4 ,i shut my eyes to all such     

odious sights4 ,they say1 in a hotel    
you must never go into the kitchen1 if  
you would keep your appetite2 and  ,i am
 sure one must avoid these wretches in  
the cellar1 if he would have  a cheerful
 view of life in his attic4    ,you are 
not so hard-hearted as you would have me
 believe4 ,somebody must  relieve their 
distresses4    ,somebody1 too1 must cut 
off legs1 and sew up spouting arteries1 
and  extirpate cancers4 ,ugh6 but ,i    
shan't4 ,i leave such jobs to the       
doctors1  whose ears are familiar with  
shrieks1 and whose appetites are not    
disturbed by the sight of blood4    ,so 
the ,levite left the wounded man by the 
wayside1 in disgust at his  bruises3 but
 still the good ,samaritan who helped   
him hadn't a doctor's  degree4    ,oh1  
,i know4 ,you have me1 ,i acknowledge4  
,but ,i can't change my temper1  and ,i 
shrink from suffering as from death4 ,i 
would rather bear it than  see it4      
,society always provides its good       
,samaritans2 and you are one  of them4  

,don't look modest4 ,i went once through
 some of those damnable  alleys near    
,half-,moon ,court1 the agreeable place 
where you spend so much  of your        
leisure4 ,i was looking for a subject to
 paint4 ,for curiosity1 ,i  asked an    
urchin if he knew you4 ,he flung his    
ragged cap twenty feet into  the air1   
turned a somerset1 and came up smiling  
as well as he could  through the        
dirt1--',don't ,i1 though8 ,he brung us 
meal an' 'taters when  dad broke his    
leg1 and he fetched oranges in his      
pocket when marm had  the fevers4 ,he's 
one of 'em1 he is4'--,don't interrupt   
me4--,an old  woman1 whom ,i asked1     
said1 ',do ,i know ,mister ',olworthy8  
,a blissed saint  in the flesh2 my poor 
ol' bones would 'ave hached many a cold 
night but  for the blankets he brought  
me4 ,god in 'eaven reward 'im for that  
same6'  ,i spare you the rest of the    
answers4 ,oh1 you are a saint1 without  
robe  or wings4    ,hadn't we better    
come back to the subject1 said ,mr4     

,holworthy1 in a  mild voice4 ,we shan't
 aid your friend in this way4    ,right1
 my considerate ,mentor4 ,but talk is   
tempting4 ,i believe ,i should  forget  
my errand and let a friend hang1 if ,i  
got into an argument with  the ,governor
 while he was filling out the pardon4   
,i hope the gentleman you speak of is   
not so much afraid of contact with  what
 is disagreeable as you are8    ,perhaps
 not2 he has an artistic temperament1   
and therefore loves what  is comely2 but
 he would go through fire to what he    
thought his duty4    ,and wouldn't you8 
,what a question6 ,go through fire8 ,no1
 ,i should bawl for the engine4    ,it's
 plain1 then1 that he will answer better
 than you for the place4    ,no doubt4  
,i shouldn't answer at all4 ,i tell you 
,i never talk with these  creatures4 ,i 
can't4 ,if an old woman stops me1 with  
her dried-apple face  and whining voice1
 ,i give her a sixpence and tell her to 
hush up and  go about her business4 ,i  
fling coppers to the boys with slit     

breeches  before they ask me1 for ,i    
know they will tell me of mothers sick  
with  consumption4 ,their devilish tears
 are contagious2 and ,i can't cry2 it   
chokes me4 ,so ,i buy apples and oranges
 from the imploring-looking  girls2 it's
 the easiest way of getting rid of them4
 ,the little change  don't amount to    
much in a day1 and ,i save my nerves and
 my digestion at  a cheap rate4    ,mr4 
,holworthy smiled at ,easelmann's notion
 of his own hard-heartedness1  and said1
 hesitatingly1--    ,i am afraid that   
some professedly charitable persons     
don't do so much4    ,of course they    
don't4 ,i don't mean that ,i do         
anything4 ,it's pure  selfishness on my 
part1 as ,i told you4 ,but you may feel 
pretty sure1  that1 if a man's name is  
always in the papers1 as 'our estimable 
fellow-citizen1 ,president ,this1       
,director ,that1 and ,treasurer         
,t'other1'  he 'does not give           
indiscriminate alms'3--,i believe that  
is the phrase4  ,perhaps he won't rob1  

like my friend ,sandford2 but his       
'disinterested  labors' are an          
economical substitute for substantial   
charity1 and his  desire for a place in 
the public eye is the mainspring of all 
his  actions4    ,most of the distress  
in the community is relieved by         
organized effort2  individual charities1
 however well meant1 would be entirely  
inadequate4  ,besides1 you should not be
 severe upon all because one prominent  
person  has proved unworthy4            
,sandford is a type of the class4 ,if   
there is anybody ,i hate worse than  a  
sick beggar1 it is a man who makes a    
trade of philanthropy4    ,and yet you  
are consenting to your friend's earning 
a living by  teaching a ragged school4  
,true1 one may stop at any place in a   
storm1 just for shelter4    ,and you can
 console yourself further with the      
assurance that your  friend won't make  
enough in this place to induce him to   
take up the  'trade1' as you call it4   
,i hope not4 ,starve him judiciously4   

,if he should come out1 after a  year or
 so1 with a white neckcloth1 spectacles1
 and a sanctified face1  soliciting aid 
for his school1 in ,pecksniffian tones1 
,i should regret  that ,i hadn't        
furnished him with a cord and a bag of  
stones to drop  himself into the dock   
with4    ,i don't know why a teacher or 
a street-missionary may not be a        
gentleman4    ,sure enough1 why not8    
,whatever ,walter ,monroe is1 he will   
always be a  gentleman4    ,suppose you 
bring him to see me to-morrow or next   
day2 we will talk  about this4    ,i    
will4 ,now1 good-bye6 ,my regrets to the
 children that we couldn't  finish our  
romp4    ,good-bye1 said ,holworthy4    
,come again2 the children will be glad  
to  see you4      ,,chapter ,,xvii4     
,as ,mr4 ,sandford walked homeward1 the 
streets seemed to close up behind  him2 
he was shut out from the scenes of his  
activity1 no more to return2  ,state    
,street was henceforth for him a thing  
of memory4 ,he had played his  game     

there1 while admirers and friends       
watched his far-seeing moves4 ,he  had  
lost2 and now1 after checkmate1 he must 
resign his place4 ,how he  struggled    
against the idea6 ,he could not bring   
himself to acknowledge  that the past   
was irretrievable4 ,his spirit seemed in
 prison1 shut in as  by the bars of a   
dungeon1 against which he might tug and 
rage in vain4    ,at home1 dinner was on
 the table1 waiting for him4 ,as he     
entered the  hall1 he met his           
sister-in-law4 ,she saw the fatal news  
in his face1 and  with a sinking heart  
gave him her usual greeting4 ,marcia    
took her place  at the table1 but with  
less animation than usual4 ,charles sat 
down with  his studied indifference4    
,each one seemed to be absorbed in      
separate  spheres of thought1 and the   
courses came on and were removed in     
painful  silence4 ,at last ,mr4         
,sandford spoke4    ,i suppose ,i need  
not tell you that it is all over4       
,all over6 exclaimed ,marcia4           

,yes1--,i have failed2 so has           
,fayerweather2 so has ,stearine4        
,failed8 said ,marcia1 in an incredulous
 tone4 ,i thought it was the  great     
people1--,i mean people in business1 or 
with estates1 that failed4    ,well1    
have ,i not been in business8           
,yes1--as secretary1 and you have a     
salary4 ,how can a man with a salary    
fail8    ,quite easily4 ,suppose the    
,vortex fails8 ,my salary would stop4   
,that isn't failing1 is it8 ,then       
,pompey might fail1 if he didn't get his
  pay for brushing your boots4    ,mr4  
,sandford gave a contemptuous look4     
,that shows how much you know about     
business4    ,i never did know about    
your business2 nor does anybody1 ,i     
believe4 ,i  never could understand how1
 with your little property1 you had     
these  'transactions1' as you call them1
 where you owed people and people owed  
you so many thousands4    ,it is not    
necessary for you to know4 ,women can't 
understand these  things4    ,but women 

feel their effects1 and it's a pity they
 could not learn  about what concerns   
them4    ,will it change your situation 
at once8 asked ,mrs4 ,sandford of her   
brother4    ,i can't say2 probably not  
at once2 but without some aid1 all ,i   
have  must go4    ,what6 the house8     
exclaimed ,marcia4    ,yes1--the house1 
,marcia1 and the furniture4 ,we shall be
 stripped4    ,the deuse6 said ,charles4
    ,heaven help us6 what shall we do8  
,i haven't had time to form any plan4 ,i
 trust1 indeed1 that ,heaven will  help 
us1 as you rather lightly wished4       
,his face wore a touching look of faith 
and resignation1 while at the  same time
 his hand rested with secret            
satisfaction upon his pocket-book4      
,the conversation was disagreeable to   
,charles1 and he sauntered off to  the  
drawing-room4    ,mrs4 ,sandford        
inwardly determined to return to her    
home1 or at least  to go elsewhere in   
the city1 so as not to be a burden to   
her  brother-in-law2 but she remained   

silent4 ,mr4 ,sandford balanced his     
knife1 sliced his bread into figures1   
then hummed and beat a tattoo upon  the 
table1--sure indications of             
forgetfulness in one so scrupulous  as  
he4 ,at length1 with a bland voice1 but 
a sharp1 inquiring eye1 he  said1--     
,how is it about this painter1 ,marcia8 
,are you going to marry him8    ,she    
looked fixedly1 as she replied1--       
,why do you ask8 ,you know ,i am going  
to marry him4    ,oh1 it's settled1 is  
it8 ,you know1 sister1 you have had     
similar  intentions before1--several    
times1 in fact1--intentions that haven't
  come to much4    ,she did not answer  
further2 a flush of anger came1 then    
went1 leaving  her pale face with a     
rather sterner expression4    ,while ,i 
was prosperous1 ,i was not disposed to  
be mercenary2 though ,i  did think you  
were not worldly-wise4 ,now that ,i am  
destitute1 you can  see that to marry a 
man not worth a dollar1 and with a      
precarious  profession1 is not what it  

would have been4    ,mr4 ,greenleaf     
earns a good income1 doesn't he8    ,he 
hasn't sold a picture1 except to friends
 whom ,i persuaded to buy4    ,you have 
friends and influence still8    ,i don't
 know2 a man's friends don't last long  
after his money is gone4  ,besides1     
nobody wants to buy now4 ,raphael       
himself couldn't sell a  picture here   
till times improve4 ,a painter is a     
pretty butterfly for  fine weather2 what
 is he to do with his flimsy wings in   
such a hurricane  as this8    ,i think  
,i understand you1 ,brother ,henry4 ,you
 begin afar off2 but ,i  know what you  
are coming to4 ,you want to bring up    
that odious ,denims  again1--a man whom 
,i hate1 and whom you yourself would    
show out of  doors1 like a vagrant1 if  
it were not for his money6    ,the      
effort exhausted her1 and she breathed  
painfully4    ,you think yourself quick4
 ,i haven't mentioned ,denims4 ,in fact1
 you have  treated him in such a way    
that ,i am quite sure he would never    

trouble  himself to be even civil to you
 again4    ,i am glad of it1--the fool6 
,sister ,marcia1 ,i have borne much from
 your turbulent temper4 ,you are a      
spoiled child4 ,fortune has let you have
 your own way hitherto2 so much  the    
worse for you4 ,but circumstances have  
changed4 ,i can no longer  supply you as
 though you were a duchess4 ,in fact1 ,i
 don't know what  may be before us4 ,i  
hope no actual want4 ,another grip of   
the  pocket-book4 ,but ,i advise you to 
consider whether it is for the  interest
 of a dependent woman to go out of her  
way to thwart and insult  me4    ,you   
would compel me1 then1 and threaten     
starvation as the alternative8    ,what 
odiously blunt language you use6    ,i  
only translated your roundabout phrases 
as ,i understood them4    ,you need not 
be violent4    ,you cannot cajole me by 
soft words1 when your purposes are so   
obvious4  ,you think ,denims may save   
the wreck of your fortune2 and you are  
willing  to sacrifice me1 if he were ten

 times the brute he is1 to further your 
ends4 ,but ,i shall marry ,greenleaf4   
,greenleaf will be a powerful protector6
 ,i doubt if he can raise money  enough 
to pay the clergyman for marrying you6  
,he will be without a  shilling in a    
month1 if he is not now4 ,go to him1    
,sister ,marcia4 ,i  would1 now4 ,you   
can live in his attic studio1 you know4 
,in such a  romantic place you would    
never be hungry1 of course4    ,mrs4    
,sandford interposed1--    ,don't1      
,henry6 ,this is not the way4           
,marcia's eyes flashed through her      
tears1 as she answered1--    ,you say   
you are ruined1--that the house and     
furniture must go4 ,how  much better off
 shall ,i be here8    ,well1 you have   
your choice4    ,and when the time      
comes1 ,i shall take it4    ,sobs and   
tears followed1 but her lips were firm  
and her hands clenched4    ,as you      
please1 sister4    ,you come home       
ill-tempered1 and the rage which you    
could not or dared  not give vent to in 

the street you pour out here4           
,perhaps you would have been pleased1 if
 ,i had not come home at all8    ,i'm   
sure we should have been quite as happy 
without you4    ,very well4 ,i may leave
 you1 yet4    ,i don't care how soon4   
,new sobs and a firmer pressure of the  
lips4    ,oddly enough1 at that moment1 
,mr4 ,sandford was summoned to the      
drawing-room1 where a man was waiting   
for him4 ,fearful of the result1 he     
went to his own room1 first1 and left   
the precious pocketbook1 and then       
descended to the hall4                  
,notwithstanding the words she had      
spoken1 ,marcia waited with breathless  
anxiety her brother's return2 for the   
sound of voices1 in earnest1 if  not    
angry1 conversation1 rose through the   
house4 ,presently he came back  with a  
look his face seldom wore1--a fierce    
look that transformed his  handsome     
features to a fiend's4    ,you have your
 wish1 ,sister ,marcia1--and the words  
were shot out like  fiery arrows1--,i am

 to leave you1 and go to jail4    ,to   
jail8 exclaimed both at once1 in terror4
    ,yes1--to jail4 ,gratifying to you1 
,i suppose4 ',tis to me1--very4    ,what
 is the meaning of this8 asked ,mrs4    
,sandford4    ,it means1 that one of my 
creditors pretends to believe that ,i am
 about  to abscond1 and has had me      
arrested1 that ,i may give bail not to  
run  away with an empty pocket4         
,can't you get out8    ,some time1      
undoubtedly2 but not till ,i give bail4 
,for how much8--    ,twenty thousand    
dollars4    ,can't you get some one to  
become security8    ,i don't know4      
,perhaps ,i might get ,greenleaf6       
,marcia winced1 but did not answer the  
taunt4    ,good-bye1 my dear and        
independent sister6    ,marcia turned   
her back upon him1 confounded between   
sorrow and  resentment4    ,crowding his
 hat over his eyes1 ,mr4 ,sandford left 
his house and walked  with the officer  
towards ,cambridge ,street4    ,gone to 
jail6 exclaimed ,charles1 returning1    

,how doosid awkward6 ,what  a jolly wow 
it will make when it gets about town6   
,by gwacious1 if you  aren't cwying6 ,go
 to bed1 both of you2 ,i'll go to the   
club4    ,he went accordingly2 and the  
women1 who could ill console each other1
  were about to go to their own rooms   
when the door-bell rang again4    ,what 
next1 ,i wonder8 asked ,marcia1 in      
despair4    ,please1 ,ma'am1 said the   
servant1 there's a man at the door1 who 
looks  quare1 and says1 if he can't see 
,mr4 ,sandford1 he must see you4        
,tell him ,i am ill1--and besides1 ,i   
don't transact my brother's  business4  
,yes'm4    ,but she soon returned with a
 new message4 ,the man would not go4    
,mrs4  ,sandford at once went to the    
hall to learn what was the matter1      
leaving  ,marcia trembling in every     
limb4 ,the conversation was not carried 
on in  whispers2 in fact1 ,marcia heard 
every word4    ,sorry to disturb you1   
,ma'am1 especially as ,mr4 ,sandford    
isn't at home2  but duty is duty1 and   

must be 'tended to4 ,my orders is1 to   
'tach the  furnitur'1 and stay till ,i  
git a receipter4    ,mrs4 ,sandford's   
reply was inaudible4 ,the voice         
proceeded3--    ,can't help it1 ,ma'am4 
,won't be back to-night1 won't he8 ,bad1
 cert'in4  ,but duty is duty1 as ,i said
 afore4 ,i'll bunk here on the sofy1 an'
  to-morror we'll see what's to be done4
    ,another pause4    ,oh1 you won't   
run off 'ith anythin'8 ,i s'pose not4   
,but duty is duty1  as ,i said afore1   
and ,i must mind orders4 ',stick by till
 you git a  receipter1' sez he4 ',i     
will1' sez ,i1--an' ,i must4--,never    
mind about  bedclose4 ,i c'n sleep jest 
ez ,i be4 ,you jest go up-stairs4 ,i'll 
make  myself 't home4    ,glad to be out
 of the society of the officer1 ,mrs4   
,sandford started to  go upstairs1 but  
was recalled by the voice4    ,i say1   
,ma'am6 ,a long night afore a chap1 all 
by himself4    ,mrs4 ,sandford trembled 
with mingled terror and rage4    ,no    
'bjection to light the gaas1 ,i 'spose1 

so's't a feller can read a  paper8      
,thought o' that1 and brought the ',york
 ,herald' and ',clipper4' ,if  you don't
 like tobarker1 you c'n shet your doors 
and the smell won't git  in4    ,do what
 you like4 ,i can't prevent you4    ,oh1
 well1 no 'fence1 ,i hope8 ,good-night1 
,ma'am4    ,mrs4 ,sandford found ,marcia
 walking about the room in great        
excitement4    ,the odious wretch6      
exclaimed ,marcia4 ,if ,henry were only 
here1 or even  ,charles1 he should be   
horsewhipped1 pitched out of the house4 
,to sleep  with his dirty clothes on my 
sofa6 ,i'm glad it's to be sold4 ,i     
never  could touch the filthy thing     
again4 ,then his pipe6 ,good heavens1   
what is  to be done8 ,the abominable    
wretch6 ,i smell the tobacco now1 worse 
than  an ,irishman's4 ,the smoke will be
 all through the house4 ,faugh6 it      
suffocates1 nauseates me6    ,be calm1  
,marcia4 ,we will go to the upper       
chambers1 shut the doors1 and  open the 
windows for fresh air4 ,it's only for   

one night4 ,we can't go  away1 you know2
 and we can't get the fellow away1 of   
course4    ,i wish ,i had died when ,i  
was sick4 ,this disgrace1 this infamy1  
this  shocking barbarity1 is worse than 
death4 ,what are we to do8 and where    
are we to go8 ,ruin is a light thing to 
talk about1 ,i have read of ruin  in the
 papers1 until it has become a matter of
 course2--,i begin to know  what it     
means4    ,it was a changeful1 terrible 
beauty that beamed on her face4 ,she    
looked  like an inspired priestess      
before the altar1--then like ,norma in  
her despair1--then like the maddened    
,medea in ,rachel's thrilling           
impersonation4 ,then disgust and fright 
overcame her1 and her sensitive  womanly
 nature bore sway4 ,it was more than she
 could bear1 this  accumulation of      
misfortune1 disgrace1 and insult4 ,her  
soul rebelled1  contended desperately   
with fate1 till1 overcome1 she sank into
 her  chair1 and suffered herself to be 
led to her room4    ,shut up in their   

retreat1 the women waited for the       
morning with  sleepless eyes1 or with   
only transient lapses of consciousness4 
,sometime  after midnight1 they were    
startled by the sound of a body falling 
heavily in the hall1 and1 an instant    
after1 by the shout of ,burglars6       
thieves6 ,they rushed to the staircase  
in extreme fright1 and soon  learned the
 cause4 ,the wary officer evidently did 
not believe the tale  that had been told
 him respecting the absence of ,mr4     
,sandford2 and1 that  nobody should go  
out or in without his knowledge1 he had 
drawn the sofa  across the hall1        
completely cutting off all passage4 ,a  
small jet of gas  was left burning4     
,charles1 returning late from the club  
in a mild stage  of inebriation1 entered
 the house by means of his latch-key1   
not without  difficulty1 and at once    
fell headlong over the sofa1 and the    
worthy  official sleeping thereon4 ,when
 he heard the cry of ,burglars6 it      
occurred to him that he must have been  

knocked down by one of the gang2  and he
 joined his own voice to the uproar1--  
,bugg,l,a,r,s6 bugg,l,a,r,s6    ,an     
instant after1 there was a grip on his  
collar4    ,now ,i got ye1 ye vill'in6  
,what ye doin' on here8    ,what you    
doin' on1 you rasc'l1                   
inagen'l'm'n'shouse thistim'o'night8    
,arnswer me1 you scoundrel1 breakin'    
into a peaceful dwellin'6               
,tha'swhat,iwan'to know4--,how'd        
youcom'ere8 ,what'syerbusiness8         
,le'gomycollar4 ,i'lsen'forp'lice4      
,le'go6    ,tipsy as he was1 he managed 
to give his assailant a pretty          
substantial  token of regard under the  
ear1 with his knuckles4    ,now         
young'un1 you're drunk6 ,i won't hit you
 back1 'cause a case for  manslaughter  
might be expensive4 ,how'd you break in 
here1 when you are  so drunk you can't  
stand8 ,i don't see how you could get in
 with the door  open4                   
,noneo'yerimp'r'ence6 ,cl'out6          
,adecen'bugglar'sbad'nough2             

yousmokerot'nt'baccah4 ,g'off6          
youdirtybugglar6    ,young chap1 it's   
time to stop this nonsense1 or ,i'll    
have you in the  watch-house in no time4
 ,who are you8 and how came you here8   
,tha'sit2 who are you8                  
tha'swhat,iwan'know4    ,charles6 7from 
above47    ,whocalls,ch'rl's8 ,here,iam4
 ,igott'afellah1 the bugglar4           
,callp'lice6  ,p',,lice6    ,charles6   
7once more47    ,do you belong here1    
young chap8    ,b'long'ere8             
'vcourse,ido2 wherethedevilsh'd,ib'long8
    ,you are not ,mr4 ,sandford8        
,howd'yeknow,ia'n't8 ,i am              
,mis'rr-,sanf'd4    ,you are ,mr4       
,sandford's brother1 are you8    ,no1   
,mis'rr ,sanf'd's my bro'rr4    ,well1  
if you've got brains enough to          
understand1 listen to me4    ,i'm all   
'tensh'n1 's ,balaam said to th'ass4    
,g'on1 ol' fellah6--an' then  g'off6    
,i am an officer1 sent to 'tach your    
brother's furnitur' and stuff2 and  as  
there's nobody here to go bail1 ,i hed  

to stay and look arter things4          
,h'mushbailyewant8 ,i'llgi'bail4 ,an'   
,i'll plankzemoney4                     
,i'vegotsev'ndollars'n'alf4    ,charles6
 7the third time47    ,wha'nyewant8     
,they want you to go to bed1 where you  
b'long4    ,gotobed8 'llseeyoudam'f'st6 
,leave'nofficer'nth'ouse8 ,guessnot6    
,young'un1 ,i say1 take your hand out of
 my neckhan'kercher6 ,hold up6  ,none o'
 yer chokin' games6 ,quit1 ,i say6 or1  
by hokey1 ,i'll settle ye6              
,thoughtsh'dmakeyesquawk1               
ol't'bacc'worm6 ,go'n'tocl'out8         
,go'n'tovacateprem'scs8                 
,ooo-arr-awkk6 said the man1 under the  
pressure of a tightening cravat1  at the
 same time giving the assailant a       
settler1 as he had threatened4  ,the two
 unfortunate women had hitherto looked  
down upon the conflict1 as  celestial   
beings might upon the affairs of men1   
with no small degree of  interest1 but  
clad in robes too ethereal to descend4  
,but when they saw  ,charles felled to  

the floor1 and a deathlike silence      
ensued1 they forgot  their fears1 and   
rushed down the stairs4 ,the officer had
 already raised  ,charles up4 ,he was   
stunned1 senseless1 and his face was    
covered with  blood4    ,you brute6 you 
have murdered him6 exclaimed ,marcia4   
,guess not1 ,ma'am4 ,wet his head in    
col' water1 put him to bed1 an' he'll   
sleep it off4    ,it's useless to talk  
to such a fellow1 whispered ,mrs4       
,sandford2  besides1 we want his aid to 
carry ,charles upstairs4    ,ye see1 ,i 
couldn't help it1 ,ma'am4 ,he nigh about
 choked me to death1  and ,i give him   
fair warnin'4    ,never mind now about  
the quarrel1 said ,mrs4 ,sandford2 you  
help him  upstairs to his room1 and     
we'll bathe his head4    ,while the     
officer was carrying the young man      
up-stairs1 ,mrs4 ,sandford  put on a    
shawl1 and1 by the time he had reached  
the second flight1 she  opened a door1  
and lighted the gas with a taper1       
saying1--    ,in here1 if you please4   

,my brother ,henry's room is the most   
convenient4    ,the officer's eyes      
twinkled4    ,so this is ,mr4           
,sandford's room8    ,yes1 but he is    
absent1 as you were told before4 ,lay   
,charles on the bed1  if you please4    
,there1 that will do4 ,i will attend to 
him now4 ,you can  return to the lower  
story4    ,in a minit1 ,ma'am4 ,duty is 
duty1 and this 'ere accident saves some 
trouble1 casting sharp glances around   
the room4    ,the facts1 that ,sandford 
had drawn from the bank1 and that he had
  borrowed from ,tonsor1 were known to  
the creditors4 ,the officer had         
determined1 therefore1 to make what     
search he could for the money4 ,the     
unlooked-for accident had given him the 
opportunity he wanted4    ,what do you  
mean1 ,sir8 ,go back to your place4     
,softly1 ,ma'am1 softly6 ,duty is duty2 
an' 'f any damage is done1 ,i'm         
responsible4    ,his eyes fastened upon 
a dressing-case that lay on a table near
 the  mirror1--apparently the last      

article handled by the occupant of the  
room4    ,no robbery1 ,ma'am1 said he1  
opening the case1 and taking out its    
contents4 ,razors and brushes1 and such 
like1 is personal1 and not  subject to  
levy2 but these1 ,ma'am1 you see1 air4  
,he held up a pocket-book full of       
bank-notes4    ,i'll count 'em before   
you1 ,ma'am1 if you please1 so's        
there'll be no  mistake4 ,thirteen      
thousand6 ,a pretty good haul6 ,i'll go 
down1 now4 ,if  anythin's wantin' for   
the chap when he comes to1 jest le'me   
know4    ,with a gleam of intense       
satisfaction on his sharp and vulgar    
features1  the officer descended the    
stairs4      ,,chapter ,,xviii4         
,john ,fletcher sat by his fireside1    
reading the evening papers4 ,the        
failures of the day1 of course1 engaged 
his attention2 among them1 those  of    
,sandford and his associates were not   
unexpected4 ,his little wife sat  by    
him1 fondling the weakly baby4    ,old  
,sandford has gone by the board1 ducky4 

,good enough for him6 ,he's  come to    
grief1 as he deserved4 ,he'll never     
trouble me any more4    ,i'm afraid a   
good many more'll come to grief1 as you 
say1 before this  panic is over4        
,some1 of course2 the dead trees1 and   
the worm-eaten1 powder-posted  ones1    
will fall in the high winds1 naturally4 
,but old ,bullion is  safe4 ,no rotten  
hollow in his old white-oak             
trunk2--sound as a ship's  mainmast4    
,is it ,bullion who owes you8    ,yes4  
,i have his notes for ten thousand      
dollars2 and our next  settlement1 ,i   
calculate1 will give me as much more4   
,why don't you get your pay8    ,what   
should ,i do with it1 my duck8 ,i       
couldn't lend it to anybody safer4  ,if 
,i deposit1 the bank is as likely to    
fail as he4 ,as long as he has the      
whole capital to swing1 he will make the
 more for us both4    ,i would rather   
have the money4    ,that shows how      
little you know about it4    ,i know1 if
 you had it1 and didn't lend it nor     

speculate with it1 you  couldn't lose   
it4    ,now1 ducky1 don't interfere4    
,you take care of babies nicely4 ,let me
  manage my own affairs4    ,you always 
treat me like a child that has to be    
petted with  sugar-plums4    ,that's    
because you are a child4 ,what the devil
 does a woman know about  business8     
,the ducky cried a little1 and was quite
 sure that ,john would go on and  risk  
what he had1 till he lost all4          
,little woman1 none of your blubbering6 
,it annoys me4 ,am ,i to be  harassed by
 business all day1 and have no peace    
when ,i come home8    ,he settled       
himself to read the papers1 once more1  
and the wife picked up  the fretful1    
puny infant1 and retreated to the       
kitchen1 where she could  indulge her   
sorrow without rebuke or interruption4  
,presently1 ,bullion entered1 though not
 unexpected2 for he had given  ,fletcher
 an intimation1 that1 in order to have a
 private interview1 he  would endeavor  
to see him at home4    ,nice little box1

 said the capitalist1 looking around4   
,any babies8    ,one1 said ,fletcher4   
,boy or girl8    ,a girl4    ,bad4      
,girls always an expense4 ,dress1 piano1
 parties1 and d--d nonsense4  ,boys1 you
 put 'em into harness and work 'em till 
they're willing to  eat their wild oats2
 he6 he6    ,the eyebrow flourished over
 the jocose idea2 the stony eye         
glittered a  moment like a revolving    
light1 and then relapsed into darkness4 
,however1 ,i have but one1 and ,i think 
,i can make her comfortable4    ,yes1 my
 boy1 quite comfortable4 ,let me see1 ,i
 owe you ten thousand4 ,how  does the   
new account stand8    ,here are the     
figures1 taken from ,tonsor's book1 said
 ,fletcher4  ,seventy-nine thousand     
eight hundred and forty-three4 ,ten per 
cent4 to  me is seven thousand nine     
hundred and eighty-four4    ,a big pile 
of money1 ,fletcher4    ,yours1 you     
mean8 ,yes1 seventy thousand and odd is 
a big pile4    ,yours1--,i meant yours4 
,why1 yes1 replied ,fletcher1           

indifferently1 a good fair sum1 for a   
man  that hadn't any before4    ,don't  
you think1 now1 ,fletcher1 that the ten 
thousand pays you for all  you've done8 
,isn't it enough for a month or two's   
work8    ,i think ,i am paid when ,i get
 what was agreed on1 replied ,fletcher1 
stoutly4    ,the eyebrow was raised with
 a deprecatory1 inquiring look4    ,why1
 ,fletcher1 sharp's the word1 is it8    
,that's what you said1 when we started4 
,suppose ,i pay you the notes and a     
thousand or two more1 and we call it    
square8 ,then you salt down what you    
got4    ,and you propose to haul off    
from operating8    ,well1 no1 ,i can't  
say ,i do4 ,i may try the bulls another 
fall or two4  ,but you haven't anything 
else4 ,if we lose1 you are smashed4 ,i  
have other  property to fall back on4   
,so it's merely to do me a kindness and 
make me safe and snug that you  propose 
to keep back the six thousand that      
belong to me8    ,you put it rather     
strong1 youngster4 ,i didn't agree to   

pay till the  scheme was carried out4   
,but we've done better than we 'xpected1
 and1 to  take you out of danger1 ,i    
offered to pay part down4 ,in a business
 as  ticklish as stocks1 you don't      
expect a man to come down with the ready
  without a consideration8    ,you know 
you could never have kept the run of the
 market1 if it hadn't  been for me2 and 
the ten per cent4 is no more than a fair
 share4 ,this  isn't a matter of dollars
 altogether1 though dollars are useful1 
but of  information1 activity1 brains4  
,well1 remember1 young man1 ,i offer you
 now twelve thousand4 ,if anything      
happens1 don't squawk nor play baby4    
,why1 you're not going to fail8         
,no1--not if the world don't tip over4  
,and you're going on with your          
operations8    ,yes1--till the wind     
shifts4 ,it's due east yet4    ,well1 ,i
 think the ship that carries you is safe
 enough for me4 ,make me  the notes1 and
 let the operations go on another week4 
,with an increased respect for his      

agent1 when he found that he could      
neither humbug nor frighten him1        
,bullion filled out and signed the      
notes4 ,next they reviewed the          
stock-market1 and decided upon the      
course  to be pursued4 ,bullion then    
fell into a profound meditation1 and did
 not  speak for five minutes1 though the
 busy eyebrow showed that his mind was  
not lost in vacancy4 ,at last he started
 up1 saying1--    ,i must go4 ,but1     
,fletcher1 any reason why you           
particularly wanted to  pay ,sandford   
that thousand1 to-day8    ,fletcher     
turned pale1 and his heart rose in his  
mouth4    ,no1--no reason1--that is--he 
wanted it--,i--,i was willing to        
oblige--    ,no matter about reasons1   
said ,bullion1 with a quiet air4 ,i     
never  tread on people's corns4 ,only   
when it's wanted let me know4 ,you see  
he  went by the board4 ,he begged me to 
save him4 ,how could ,i8 ,i've done     
enough for other people4 ,must take care
 of number one1 now4 ,kerbstone1  he    

begs1 too4 ,i shan't help him4          
,fletcher felt relieved2 at the same    
time he determined without delay to     
make a new effort to get the fatal      
evidence of his former crime into his   
own possession4    ,oh1 said ,bullion1  
as if he had forgotten something1 the   
wife and  baby1 let's see 'em4          
,fletcher called his wife1 who came in  
timidly1 and shrank from the  fierce    
look of the man of money4    ,how d'e   
do1 ,ma'am8 ,your servant1 ,ma'am4 ,glad
 to see you4 ,but the baby8    ,fetch   
the baby1 lovey1 said ,fletcher4        
,baby was brought1 smiling with as      
little reason as possible1 and winking  
very hard in the light4    ,pretty dear6
 said ,bullion1 chucking her under the  
chin4    ,i wonder what the devil this  
means1 thought ,fletcher4    ,how was   
his surprise increased when1 after a    
moment1 ,bullion inquired1--    ,teeth  
cut yet8 ,some of 'em1 ,i see4 ,more to 
come4 ,want something to  bite1 little  
one8    ,he pulled out his purse and    

gave the child three or four large gold 
pieces4 ,the little hands could not hold
 them1 and they fell on the  carpet1    
rolling in different directions4        
,bullion left hastily1 with a  quick nod
 and a clipped ,good-bye4    ,well1 ,i  
vow6 said ,fletcher1 with a long breath4
 ,it's well he didn't  stay to pick 'em 
up2 they'd 'ave stuck to his fingers    
like wax4 ,he  couldn't have let 'em    
alone4    ,what a good man he is6 said  
the overjoyed little woman4    ,good    
man6 ,he's crazy4 ,old ,bullion giving  
away gold pieces to a baby6  ,he's lost 
his wits1 sure4 ,he never gave away a   
sixpence before in his  life4 ,oh1 he's 
cracked1 without a doubt4 ,i must keep  
watch of him4 ,when  he grows generous1 
there's something wrong4    ,to be      
continued4          ,,the ,,waterfall4  
,down across the green and sunny meadow1
      ,where the grass hangs thick with 
glistening dew1--    ,in the            
birch-wood's flickering light and       
shadow1      ,where1 between green      

leaves1 the sun shines through1--       
,plunging deeper in the wood's dark     
coolness1      ,where the path grows    
rougher and more steep1    ,where the   
trees stand thick in leafy fulness1     
,and the moss lies green in shadows     
deep3--      ,hark6 the wind amid the   
tree-tops rushing      ,in a sudden gust
 along the hills6--    ,no1--the leaves 
are still1--'tis water gushing          
,from some hidden haunt of              
mountain-rills4      ,upward through the
 rugged pathway struggling1      ,loud  
and louder yet the music grows2    ,near
 and nearer still1 the water's gurgling 
,guides me where o'er moss-grown rocks  
it flows4      ,breathless1 for its     
welcome coolness thirsting1      ,on ,i 
haste1 led by the rushing sound1        
,till upon my full sight sudden         
bursting1      ,lo1 the forest's hidden 
treasure found6      ,see the gathered  
waters madly leaping1      ,plunging    
from the rocks in headlong chase1       
,boiling1 eddying1 whirling1 downward   

sweeping      ,all that meets them in   
their foaming race6      ,from the      
broken waters riseth ever1      ,fresh  
and cool1 a soft and cloud-like spray2  
,and where through the boughs slant     
sunbeams quiver1      ,on the mist the  
sudden rainbows play4      ,on a branch 
high o'er the torrent swinging          
,sits a bird1 with joyful-swelling      
throat2--    ,only to the eye and heart 
he's singing2      ,through the roar    
below ,i hear no note4      ,all the    
forest seems as if enchanted1           
,seems to lie in wondrous stillness     
bound2    ,hushed its voices1 silenced  
and supplanted1      ,interwoven with   
this ceaseless sound4      ,gazing on   
the whirl of waters meeting1      ,dizzy
 with its rush1 ,i stand and dream1     
,till it almost seems my own heart's    
beating1      ,and no more the voice of 
mountain-stream4          ,,the         
,,winter-,,birds4      ,we are prone to 
set an extraordinary value upon all     
sources of pleasure  that arrive in a   

season when they are few and unexpected4
 ,hence the  peculiar charm of the early
 flowers of spring1 and of those equally
  delightful flowers that come up to    
cheer the short and melancholy days  of 
,november4 ,the winter-birds1 though    
they do not sing1 are1 on the same      
account1 particularly interesting4 ,the 
,chicadees and the little speckled      
,woodpeckers1 that tarry with us in     
midwinter1 and make the still cold  days
 lively and cheerful by their merry     
voices1 are1 in animated nature1  what  
flowers would be in inanimate nature1 if
 they were found blooming  under the    
snow4 ,nature does not permit1 at any   
season1 an entire dearth  of those      
sources of enjoyment that spring from   
observation of the  external world2 and 
as there are evergreen mosses and ferns 
that supply  in winter the places of the
 absent flowers1 in like manner there   
are  chattering birds that linger in the
 wintry woods2 and ,nature has          
multiplied the echoes at this season1   

that their few and feeble voices  may be
 repeated by their lively responses     
among the hills4    ,to those who look  
upon ,nature with the feelings of a poet
 or a painter1  we need not speak of the
 value of the winter-birds as enliveners
 of the  landscape4 ,any circumstance   
connected with scenery1 that exercises  
our  feelings of benevolence1 adds to   
the picturesque charms of a prospect2   
and no man can see a little bird1 or any
 other animal1 at this time1  without   
feeling a lively interest in its        
welfare4 ,the sight of a flock  of      
,snow-,buntings descending1 like a      
shower of meteors1 upon a field  of     
grass1 and eagerly devouring the seeds  
contained in its drooping  pannicles    
that extend above the snow-drifts1--of a
 company of ,crows  rejoicing with noisy
 sociability over some newly-discovered 
feast in the  pine-wood1--of the        
party-colored ,woodpeckers winding round
 the trees  and hammering upon their    
trunks1--all these1 and many other      

sights  and sounds1 are associated with 
our ideas of the happiness of these     
creatures2 and while our benevolent     
feelings are thus agreeably  exercised1 
the objects that cause our emotions add 
a positive charm to  the dreary aspects 
of winter4 ,these reflections have      
always led me to  regard the birds and  
other interesting animals as having a   
value to  mankind not to be estimated in
 dollars and cents1 and which is        
entirely  independent of any services   
they may render to the farmer or the    
orchardist by preventing the            
over-multiplication of noxious insects4 
,the greater number of small birds that 
remain in northern latitudes  during    
winter1 except the ,woodpeckers and     
their congeners1 are such as  subsist   
chiefly upon seeds4 ,those insectivorous
 species that gather  their food chiefly
 from the ground are under a particular 
necessity of  migrating4 ,hence the     
common ,robin1 living entirely on       
insects and a  little fruit1 that serves

 him rather as a dessert than as        
substantial  fare1 a bird that never    
feeds upon grain or seeds of any kind1  
but  devours the insects that are found 
upon the surface of the soil1 cannot    
subsist in our latitude1 except in open 
winters4 ,during such favorable         
seasons1 the ,robins are able to collect
 vast quantities of dormant  insects    
from the open ground4 ,these birds      
always endeavor to keep on the  outside 
of extensive snows2 and if in any year1 
very early in ,november1  a large       
quantity of snow should fall in the     
latitude of ,new ,jersey and            
,pennsylvania1 while north of it the    
ground remained uncovered1 the  ,robins 
would be retarded in their journey and  
tarry with us in unusual  numbers4 ,a   
great many of them must perish of       
hunger1 or be reduced to  the necessity 
of feeding on the berries of the        
,viburnum and ,juniper1  should they be 
overtaken by an extensive and enduring  
snow that cuts off  their journey of    

emigration4    ,the ,woodpeckers and    
their allied species1 though            
insectivorous1 are not  thus affected by
 the winter4 ,gathering all their food1 
consisting of  larvae and insects1 from 
the bark and wood of trees1 the snow    
cannot  conceal it or place it beyond   
their reach4 ,the quantity of this kind 
of  food is less than in summer1 but the
 birds can obtain it with about  the    
same facility at all times1 because     
other species of birds are  diminished1 
which in summer divide with them this   
spoil4 ,hence1  ,woodpeckers1 ,creepers1
 and ,tomtits do not migrate4 ,they     
simply scatter  more widely over the    
country1 instead of keeping in the      
woods1 and thus  accommodate themselves 
to their more limited supplies of food4 
,the  ,swallow tribes1 that catch their 
food in the air1 are the first to       
migrate1 because the swarms of insects  
are vastly diminished by the  early     
frosts of autumn4    ,it is not often   
that we are led to reflect upon the     

extreme loneliness  that would prevail  
in all solitary places in winter1 were  
all the birds  to migrate at this season
 to a warmer climate1 or to sink into a 
state  of torpidity1 like frogs1        
dormice1 and other small animals4 ,but  
,nature1  to preserve the pleasantness  
of this season1 has endowed certain     
birds with power to endure the severest 
cold1 and with the faculty of  providing
 for their wants at a time when it would
 seem that there was  not sustenance    
enough among the hidden stores of the   
season to keep them  from starvation4   
,the woodman1 however insensible he may 
be to the charms  of all such objects1  
is gladdened and encouraged in his toils
 by the  sight of these sprightly       
creatures1 some of which1 like the ,jay 
and the  ,woodpecker1 are adorned with  
the most beautiful plumage1 and are all 
pleasantly garrulous1 filling the       
otherwise silent woods with constant    
and vociferous merriment4    ,in my     
early days1 for the supposed benefit of 

my health1 ,i passed a  winter in       
,tennessee1 and1 being unoccupied1      
except with my studies1 ,i  spent a     
great portion of my time in botanical   
and zological excursions  in the woods  
adjoining the city of ,nashville4 ,it   
was during that season  ,i experienced  
the full power of the winter-birds to   
give life and beauty  to the scenes of  
,nature2 for1 though not one was heard  
to sing1 they  seemed as active and as  
full of merriment as in the early       
summer4 ,the  birds that most           
particularly attracted my attention at  
this time  were the ,woodpeckers1 of    
which several species were very         
numerous4  ,conspicuous among them was  
the ,pileated ,woodpecker1 7,picus      
pilcaius17  a bird with rusty-black     
plumage1 a red crest and moustaches1 and
 a white  stripe on each side of the    
neck1--one of the largest of the tribe4 
,his  loud croaking note was heard at   
all times in the deep woods1 and his    
great size and his frequent hammering   

upon the resounding boles of the  trees 
attracted every one's attention4    ,a  
more beautiful1 but smaller species1 was
 the ,redheaded ,woodpecker1  7,p4      
erythrocephalus17 with head1 neck1 and  
throat of crimson1 and  other parts of  
his plumage variously marked with white 
and changeable  blue4 ,this species1    
though never seen in ,eastern           
,massachusetts1 is a  common resident in
 this latitude1 west of the             
,green-,mountain range4 ,the  birds of  
this species were very numerous1 during 
my excursions1 and the  woods were      
constantly flushing with their bright   
colors as they flitted  among the trees4
 ,they were sometimes joined by another 
species1 hardly  less beautiful1 the    
,redbreasted ,woodpecker 7,p4           
,caroliniensis74    ,it is impossible to
 describe the charm which these birds   
afforded to  the otherwise solitary     
woods4 ,the loud croaking of the        
,log-cock1 the  cackling screams of the 
,redheaded ,woodpecker1 and the solemn1 

tolling note of the ,redbreast1 blended 
with the occasional cooing of           
,turtle-doves1 formed a sylvan charm1   
that made my winter-rambles1 at  this   
period1 as interesting as any ,i ever   
pursued in summer or autumn4    ,in our 
latitude1 after the first flight of snow
 has covered the ground1  the           
winter-birds1 pressed by hunger1 are    
compelled to make extensive  forages in 
quest of food4 ,hence our attention is  
more closely  attracted to them at this 
time1 as many parties of them will visit
 our  neighborhood in the course of the 
day1 when if no snow had fallen1 they   
would have confined themselves to a more
 limited range4 ,one of the  most       
attractive sights on such occasions is  
caused by the flocks of                 
,snow-,buntings1 which are particularly 
gregarious in their habits4 ,in  ,sweden
 they are called ,bad-,weather-,birds1  
because they are mostly seen  when the  
fallen snow has caused them to roam from
 place to place1 in  quest of their     

subsistence4 ,they are far from being   
birds of ill-omen1  however1 as we see  
them commonly when the storm is past4   
,few sights are  more picturesque than  
these flocks of ,snow-,buntings1        
whirling with the  subsiding winds1 and 
moving as if they were guided by an     
eddying breeze1  now half-concealed by  
the direction in which they meet the    
rays of the  sun1 then suddenly flashing
 with a simultaneous turn they present  
the  under white side of their wings to 
the light of heaven4 ,the power which   
these diminutive creatures seem to      
possess1 of enduring the cold of        
winter1 and of contending with the      
storm1 attaches to their appearance  a  
quality which is allied to sublimity4 ,i
 cannot look upon them1  therefore1 in  
any other view than as important parts  
in that  ever-changing picture of light1
 motion1 and beauty1 with which ,nature 
benevolently consoles for those evils   
which are assigned by fate to all  the  
inhabitants of the earth4    ,the common

 ,snow-,birds 7,fringilla nivalis7 are  
more interesting as  individuals1 but   
they are never seen in compact flocks4  
,they go usually  in scattered parties1 
and appear in ,massachusetts about the  
middle of  autumn1 arriving from ,canada
 and ,labrador1 where they spend the    
summer4  ,they have many of the habits  
of the common ,hair-,bird1 7,fringilla  
socialis17 assembling around our houses 
and barns1 and picking up  crumbs of    
bread and other fragments of food4 ,they
 differ entirely  from the ,buntings in 
their appearance1 the latter being      
called  ,white ,snow-,birds1 to         
distinguish them from the others1 which 
are  slate-colored4 ,these birds are    
quite as remarkable1 however1 for their 
power of enduring the cold1 and of      
sustaining the force of the tempest4    
,in the midst of a snow-storm1 they may 
often be seen sporting1 as it  were1 in 
the very whirlpool of the driving snows1
 and alighting upon the  tall sedges and
 weeds1 and eagerly gathering the       

produce4 ,the ,hemp-,bird  often joins  
their parties1 and his cheerful and     
well-known twitter may  be heard1 as he 
hurriedly flits from one bush to        
another1 hunting for  the seeds of the  
golden-rods and asters4    ,the cause of
 the migration of these birds from their
 native northern  latitudes is not1     
probably1 the severe cold of those      
regions1 but the  deep snows that bury  
up their cereal stores at a very early  
period4 ,but  even if the grounds in    
those cold latitudes were only partially
 covered1  these birds must scatter     
themselves over a wide extent of        
territory1 in  proportion as their food 
becomes less abundant4 ,they live       
principally  upon seeds1 and hence their
 forages are made chiefly in the tilled 
lands1 where the weeds afford them an   
abundance of food4 ,the negligence  of  
the tiller of the soil is1 therefore1 a 
great gain to the small  birds1 by      
leaving a supply of seeds in the annual 
grasses that grow  thriftily with his   

crops4    ,among these flocks of        
,snow-,birds1 a few individuals of the  
common  ,hair-,bird 7,fringilla         
socialis7 may frequently be seen4 ,the  
majority of  this species migrate to a  
more open clime2 but sufficient numbers 
remain  to entitle them to be included  
with other ,snow-,birds of the ,finch   
tribe4  ,he is one of the smallest of   
the ,sparrows1 of a brownish ash color  
above1 and grayish white beneath4 ,he   
wears a little cap or turban of  brown  
velvet on his head1 and by this mark he 
is readily distinguished  from his      
kindred ,sparrows4 ,relying on his      
diminutive size for his  security1 he   
comes quite up to our door-step1        
mindless of the people who  are         
assembled round it1 and1 fearless of    
danger1 picks up the crumbs  that are   
scattered there4 ,he may be seen at all 
seasons of the year1  though his voice  
is not heard in the spring so early as  
that of the  ,song-,sparrow or the      
,blue-,bird4 ,he lives chiefly on seeds1

 though1  like other granivorous birds1 
he feeds his young with grubs and small 
insects4 ,this is a general practice    
with the granivorous tribes1 in  order  
to provide their young with soft and    
digestible food before they  are strong 
enough to digest the hard1 coriaceous   
seed4 ,nature has formed  an exception  
in the ,pigeon tribe2 but has           
compensated them by providing  that the 
parent bird shall soften the food in her
 own crop before it is  given to the    
tender young4 ,from the peculiar manner 
in which the young  are fed comes the   
epithet1 sucking doves4    ,it is common
 to speak disparagingly of the little   
,hair-,bird1 as if he  were good for    
nothing1 without beauty and without     
song1 and1 what is of  still more       
consequence in the eyes of the sordid   
epicure1 too small to  be eaten1 his    
weight of flesh not being worth a charge
 of powder and  shot4 ,we can never     
sufficiently rejoice that there are some
 birds  too small to excite the         

avaricious feelings of these knights of 
the  fowling-piece and the rifle4 ,the  
,hair-,bird is not to be despised1      
except by epicures4 ,though he is       
contemptuously styled the               
,chipping-,sparrow1--a name which ,i    
will never consent to apply to          
him1--his voice is no mean accompaniment
 to the general chorus which may  be    
heard every still morning before        
sunrise1 during ,may and ,june4 ,his    
continued trilling note is to this      
warbling band what the octave flute  is 
to a grand concert of artificial        
instruments4 ,the voices of numbers  of 
these birds1 which are the very first to
 be heard and the last to  become silent
 in the morning1 serve to fill up the   
pauses in this sylvan  anthem1 like a   
running appoggiatural accompaniment in  
certain admired  musical compositions4  
,how little soever the ,hair-,bird may  
generally be  valued as a songster1 his 
voice1 ,i am sure1 would be most sadly  
missed1  were it never more to be heard 

charmingly blending with the other      
louder  voices of the feathered         
choristers4    ,how often1 on still1    
sultry nights in ,july1 when scarcely a 
breath of  air is stirring among the    
foliage of the trees1 when the humming  
of the  ,moth might be plainly heard1 as
 it glided by my open window1 have ,i   
been  charmed with the voice of this    
little bird1 uttered in a low1 trilled  
note1 from the branch of some           
neighboring tree6 ,he seems to be the   
sentinel whom ,nature has appointed to  
watch for the first gleam of dawn1      
which he always faithfully announces    
before any other bird has begun to      
stir4 ,two or three strains from his    
octave pipe are the signal for a        
general awakening of the birds1 and one 
by one they join the song1  until the   
whole air resounds with an harmonious   
medley of voices4  ,the ,hair-,bird has 
a singular habit of sitting upon the    
ground1 while  chirping in the early    
morning4 ,his nest is placed commonly   

upon an  apple-tree1 sometimes in a     
bush1 but never on the ground4 ,it is   
very  neatly constructed of the fibres  
of roots closely woven together1 and    
beautifully lined with fine soft hair1  
whence he has obtained his name4  ,it is
 not surpassed in neatness and beauty by
 the nest of any other  bird4    ,i will
 leave the granivorous birds to speak of
 another class1 equally  hardy1 but of  
habits more like those of the           
,woodpecker4 ,i allude to the           
,chicadees1 to whose lively notes we are
 indebted for a great part of the       
cheerfulness of a winter's walk4 ,these 
notes are not a song2 but there  is a   
liveliness in their sound1 most         
frequently uttered during a  pleasant   
winter-day1 causing them to be          
associated with these agreeable  changes
 in the weather4 ,the ,chicadees are not
 seen1 like ,snow-,birds1  most numerous
 during a snow-storm1 or after a fall of
 snow4 ,their habits  are nearly the    
same in all weathers1 except that they  

are more prone to  be noisy and         
loquacious on pleasant1 sunny days4     
,the sounds from which the ,chicadee has
 derived his name appear to be his      
call-notes1 like the crowing of a ,cock 
or the gobbling of a ,turkey1 and  are  
probably designed by ,nature to enable  
the birds1 while scattered  singly over 
the forest1 to signalize their presence 
to others of the  same species4 ,hence  
it may be observed1 that1 when the call 
is rapidly  repeated1 a multitude of his
 kindred will immediately assemble      
around  the one that gave the alarm4    
,when no alarm is intended to be given1 
the  bird utters these notes but seldom1
 and only as he passes from one tree  to
 another4 ,he is probably accustomed to 
hearing a response1 and1 if one  is not 
soon heard1 he will repeat his call     
until it is answered2 for as  these     
birds do not forage the woods in flocks1
 this continual hailing  is carried on  
between them to satisfy their desire for
 each other's  company4 ,a similar      

conversation passes between the         
individuals of a  flock of ,chickens1   
when scattered over a farmyard2 one1 on 
finding  itself alone1 will chirp until 
it hears a response1 when it seems      
immediately satisfied4 ,the call-notes  
of the ,chicadee are very lively1  with 
a mixture of querulousness in their     
tone1 that renders them the  more       
pleasing4    ,the ,chicadee is the      
smallest of the birds that remain with  
us during the  winter4 ,he is a         
permanent resident1 and everybody knows 
him4 ,he is a  lively chatterer and an  
agreeable companion2 and as he never    
tarries  long in one place1 he does not 
tire one with his garrulity4 ,he is our 
attendant in all our pleasant           
winter-walks1 in the orchard or the     
wood1  in the garden or by the rustic   
wayside4 ,we have seen him1 on still    
winter-days1 flitting from tree to tree1
 with the liveliest motions and  in the 
most engaging attitudes1 examining every
 twig and branch1 and  winding over and 

under and in and out among them1 and1   
after a  few lively notes1 hopping to   
another tree to pass through the same   
manoeuvres4 ,even those who are confined
 to the house are not excluded  from a  
sight of these birds2 one cannot open a 
window1 on a bright  winter's morning1  
without a greeting from one of them on  
the nearest  tree4    ,beside the note  
from which the ,chicadee derives his    
name1 he sometimes  utters two very     
plaintive notes1 which are separated by 
a regular  musical interval1 making a   
fourth on the descending scale4 ,they   
slightly  resemble those of the ,pewee1 
and are often supposed to come from some
  other bird1 so different are they from
 the common note of the ,chicadee4  ,i  
have not been able to ascertain the     
circumstances under which the bird      
repeats this plaintive strain1 but it is
 uttered both in summer and  winter4    
,indeed1 there is such a variety in the 
notes uttered at  different times by    
this bird1 that1 if they were repeated  

in  uninterrupted succession1 they would
 form one of the most agreeable of      
woodland melodies4    ,the ,chicadee is 
not a singing-bird4 ,he utters his usual
 notes at all  times of the year2 but in
 the early part of summer he is addicted
 to a  very low but pleasant kind of    
warbling1 considerably varied1 and      
wanting  only more loudness and         
precision to entitle him to a rank with 
the  singing-birds4 ,this warbling does 
not seem intended to cheer his  partner1
 but it is rather a sort of             
soliloquizing for his own amusement4    
,if it was uttered by the young birds   
only1 we might suppose them to be       
taking lessons in music1 and that this  
was a specimen of their first  attempts4
 ,i have often heard the ,golden ,robin 
warbling in a similar  manner4    ,in   
company with the ,chicadees in their    
foraging excursions1 we often see  two  
,speckled ,woodpeckers1 differing       
apparently only in size1 each having  a 
sort of red crest4 ,the smaller of the  

two 7,picus pubescens7 is the  ,downy   
,woodpecker4 ,the birds of this species 
are called ,sap-,suckers1  from their   
habit of making perforations in the     
sound branches of trees  through the    
bark without penetrating the wood1 as if
 they designed only  to obtain the sap4 
,these perforations are often made in a 
circle round  the branch1 and it is     
highly probable that they follow the    
path of a  grub that is concealed       
underneath the bark4 ,our farmers1 who  
suspect  every bird of some mischievous 
designs1 accuse them of boring into the 
tree for the purpose of drinking the    
sap4    ,the ,woodpecker is a more      
restless1 though not a more industrious 
bird than the ,chicadee1 and seldom     
gives the branches so thorough an       
examination as the latter4 ,he searches 
for grubs that are concealed in  the    
wood of the tree2 he examines those     
spots only where he hears their         
scratchings1 bores the wood to obtain   
them1 and then flies off4 ,but the      

,chicadee looks for insects on or near  
the surface1 and does not confine  his  
search to trees4 ,he examines fences1   
the under part of the eaves of  houses1 
and the woodpile1 and destroys1 in the  
course of his foraging1  many an embryo 
moth and butterfly which would otherwise
 become the  parent of noxious larvae4  
,the ,woodpecker is often represented as
 the  emblem of industry2 but the       
,chicadee is more truly emblematical of 
this  virtue1 and the ,woodpecker of    
perseverance1 as he never tires when    
drilling into the wood of a tree in     
quest of his prey4    ,another of the   
companions of the ,chicadee is the      
,brown ,creeper1  7,certhia familiaris17
 of similar habits1 and commonly seen   
moving in a  spiral direction around the
 trunks and branches of trees1 and1 when
  he is conscious of being observed1    
keeping on the further side of the      
branch4 ,he is more frequently seen in  
the winter than in the summer1  when he 
confines himself to the seclusion of the

 pine forest4 ,the  different birds     
which ,i have named1 as companions of   
the ,chicadee1 often  assemble by       
seeming accident in large numbers upon  
one tree1 and meeting  with more company
 than is agreeable to them1 they will   
often on these  occasions make the wood 
resound with their noisy disputes4 ,they
 may  have been assembled by some       
accidental note of alarm1 and on finding
  no particular cause for it1 they raise
 a shout that reminds one of the        
extraordinary vociferation with which   
young men and boys conclude a  false    
alarm of fire in the early part of the  
night4 ,these different  birds1 though  
evidently social1 are not gregarious1   
and seldom1 without  vexation1 endure   
the presence of more than two or three  
companions4    ,the ,nut-,hatch 7,sitta 
,caroliniensis7 is often found among    
these  assemblages1 and may be          
recognized by his piercing trumpet-like 
note4  ,this bird resembles the         
,woodpeckers in the shape of the bill1  

but has  only one hinder toe1 instead of
 two2 and is said to have derived its   
name from a habit of breaking open or   
hatching nuts1 to obtain the  kernel4   
,he is a permanent inhabitant of the    
cold parts of the ,american  continent1 
resembling the ,titmouse in his         
diligence and activity1 and in  the     
various manoeuvres he performs while in 
quest of his insect-food4    ,there are 
times when even this class of birds1    
that collect their food  from the bark  
and wood of trees1 are driven to great  
extremities4 ,when  the trees are       
incased with ice1 which1 though not     
impenetrable by their  strong bills1    
prevents their laying hold of the bark  
with their claws  for support1 they are 
in some danger of starving4 ,it is at   
such times  that the gardens and        
barnyards are frequented by large       
numbers of  ,woodpeckers1 ,creepers1 and
 ,nut-,hatches1 driven by this necessity
 from  their usual haunts4 ,a piece of  
suet fastened to the branch of a tree1  

at any time of the winter1 would soon be
 discovered by these birds and  afford  
them a grateful repast4 ,i have         
frequently assembled them under my      
windows by this allurement4    ,i will  
leave the ,chicadees and their          
companions to speak of another  class of
 birds of different character and       
habits3 these are the ,jays1  and their 
sable-plumed congeners of the ,crow     
family4 ,in all parts of  the country   
that abound in woods of any description1
 we are sure to be  greeted by the loud 
voice of the ,blue ,jay1 one of the most
 conspicuous  tenants of the forest4 ,he
 has a beautiful outward appearance1    
under  which he conceals an unamiable   
temper and a propensity to mischief4    
,indeed1 there is no other bird in our  
forest that is arrayed in equal         
splendor4 ,his neck of fine purple1 his 
pale azure crest and head  with silky   
plumes1 his black crescent-shaped       
collar1 his wings and  tail-feathers of 
bright blue with stripes of white and   

black1 and his  elegant form and        
vivacious manners1 combine to render him
 attractive to  all observers4    ,but  
with all this beauty1 he has1 like the  
,peacock1 a harsh voice2 he is  a thief1
 and a disturber of the peace4 ,he is a 
sort of ,ishmael among the  sylvan      
tribes1 who are startled at the sound of
 his voice1 and fear him  as a bandit4  
,the farmer1 who is well acquainted with
 his habits1 is no  friend to him2 for  
he not only takes what is required for  
his immediate  wants1 but hoards a      
variety of articles in large quantities 
for future  use4 ,it would seem as if he
 were aware when he was engaged in an   
honest  and when in a dishonest         
expedition2 for while searching for food
 in the  the wood or open field1 he is  
extremely noisy1--but when he ventures  
into a barn1 to take what does not      
belong to him1 he is silent and         
stealthy1 and exhibits all the peculiar 
manners of a thief4    ,it would be no  
mean task to enumerate all the acts of  

mischief  perpetrated by this bird2 and 
,i cannot but look upon him as one the  
most guilty of the feathered tribe4 ,he 
plunders the cornfield both  at         
seed-time and harvest2 he steals        
everything that is eatable1 and         
conceals it in his hoarding-places2 he  
destroys the eggs of smaller  birds and 
devours their young2 he quarrels with   
all other species1 and  his life is a   
constant scene of contentions4 ,he is   
restless1 pugnacious1  and irascible1   
and always seems like one who is out on 
some expedition4  ,yet1 though a pest to
 other birds1 he is a watchful parent   
and a  faithful guardian of his         
off-spring4 ,it is dangerous to venture 
near  the nest of a pair of ,jays1 as   
they immediately attack the adventurer1 
aiming their blows at his face and eyes 
with the most savage  determination4    
,like the ,magpie1 the ,jay has         
considerable talent for mimicry1 and in 
a  state of domestication may be taught 
to articulate words like a ,parrot4  ,at

 certain times ,i have heard this bird  
utter a few notes resembling the  tinkle
 of a bell1 and which1 if syllabled1    
might form such a word as  dilly-lily2  
but it is not a musical strain4 ,indeed1
 there is no music  in his nature1 and  
in all his imitations of other sounds he
 prefers the  harsh to the melodious1   
such as the voice of the ,hawk1 the     
,owl1 and  other unmusical birds4       
,the ,blue ,jay is a true ,american2 he 
is known throughout this continent1  and
 never visits any other country4 ,at no 
season is he absent from our  woods1 and
 he is an industrious consumer of the   
larger insects and  grubs1 atoning in   
this way for some of his evil deeds4 ,in
 this respect1  however1 his services   
are not to be compared to those of the  
,robin and  the ,blue-,bird4 ,yet ,i am 
not prepared to say that ,i would       
consent to his  banishment1 for he is   
one of the most cheering tenants of the 
groves1 at  a season when they have but 
few inhabitants2 and ,i never listen to 

his  voice without recalling a crowd of 
charming reminiscences of pleasant      
winter excursions and adventures at an  
early period of my life4 ,the very      
harshness of his voice has caused it to 
be impressed more forcibly upon  the    
memory1 in connection with these scenes4
    ,the common ,crow may be considered 
the representative1 in ,america1 of  the
 ,european ,rook1 which he resembles in 
many of his habits1 performing  similar 
services1 and being guilty of the same  
mischievous deeds4 ,it  is remarkable   
that in ,europe1 where land is more     
valuable than in this  country1 and     
where agriculture is carried on with an 
amount of skill and  nicety that would  
astonish an ,american farmer1 the people
 are not  so jealous of the birds4 ,in  
,great ,britain rookeries are regular   
establishments1 and the ,rooks1         
notwithstanding the mischief they do1   
are  protected1 on account of their     
services to agriculture4 ,the farmers of
  ,europe1 having learned by repeated   

observation1 that1 without the aid  of  
mischievous birds1 the work of the      
farmer would be sacrificed to  the more 
destructive insect-race1 forgive them   
their trespasses1 as we  forgive the    
trespasses of cats and dogs4 ,the       
respect shown to birds by  any people   
seems to bear a certain ratio to the    
antiquity of the nation4  ,hence the    
sacredness with which they are regarded 
in ,japan1 where the  population is so  
dense that the inhabitants would feel   
that they could  ill afford to divide   
the produce of their fields with the    
birds1 unless  they were convinced of   
their usefulness4    ,the ,crow is one  
of the most unfortunate of the feathered
 tribe in his  relations to man2 for by 
almost all nations he is regarded with  
hatred1  and every man's hand is against
 him4 ,he is protected neither by custom
  nor superstition2 the sentimentalist  
cares nothing for him as an object  of  
poetical regard1 and the utilitarian is 
blind to his services as a  scavenger4  

,the farmer considers him as the very   
ringleader of mischief1  and uses all   
means he can invent for his destruction2
 the friend of the  singing-birds bears 
him a grudge as the destroyer of their  
eggs and  young2 and even the moralist  
is disposed to condemn him for his      
cunning  and dissimulation4    ,hence he
 is everywhere hated and persecuted1 and
 the expedients used for  his           
destruction are numerous and revolting  
to the sensibilities4 ,he  is outlawed  
by acts of ,parliament and other        
legislative bodies2 he is  hunted with  
the gun2 he is caught in crow-nets2 he  
is hoodwinked with  bits of paper       
smeared with bird-lime1 in which he is  
caught by means of  a bait2 he is       
poisoned with grain steeped in hellebore
 and strychnine2  the reeds in which he 
roosts are treacherously set on fire2 he
 is  pinioned by his wings1 on his back1
 and is made to grapple his             
sympathizing companions who come to his 
rescue2 like an infidel1 he is  not     

allowed the benefit of truth to save his
 reputation2 and children1  after       
receiving lessons of humanity1 are      
taught to regard the ,crow as  an       
unworthy subject when they carry their  
precepts into practice4 ,every          
government has set a price upon his     
head1 and every people holds him up  to 
public execration4    ,as an apology for
 these atrocities1 might be enumerated a
 long catalogue  of misdemeanors of     
which he is guilty4 ,he pillages the    
cornfield1 and  pulls up the young      
shoots of maize to obtain the kernels   
attached to  their roots2 he destroys   
the eggs and the young of innocent birds
 which  we should like to preserve2 he  
purloins fruit from the garden and      
orchard1 and carries off young ducks and
 chickens from the farmyard4  ,beside   
his mischievous propensities and his    
habits of thieving1 he is  accused of   
cunning1 and of a depraved disposition4 
,he who would plead  for the ,crow will 
not deny the general truth of these     

accusations1 but1  on the other hand1   
would enumerate certain special benefits
 which he  confers upon man4    ,in the 
catalogue of the services of this bird  
we find many details  which should lead 
us to pause before we consent to his    
destruction4 ,he  consumes1 in the      
course of the year1 vast quantities of  
grubs1 worms1  and noxious vermin2 he is
 a valuable scavenger1 and clears the   
land  of offensive masses of decaying   
animal substances2 he hunts the         
grass-fields1 and pulls out and devours 
the underground caterpillars1  wherever 
he perceives the signs of their         
operations1 as evinced by the  wilted   
stalks2 he destroys mice1 young rats1   
lizards1 and the smaller  serpents2     
lastly1 he is a volunteer sentinel about
 the farm1 and drives  the ,hawk from   
its inclosures1 thus preventing greater 
mischief than  that of which he himself 
is guilty4 ,it is chiefly during        
seed-time and  harvest that the         
depredations of the ,crow are committed2

 during the  remainder of the year we   
witness only his services2 and so highly
 are  these services appreciated by     
those who have written of birds1 that ,i
  cannot name an ornithologist who does 
not plead in his behalf4    ,let us turn
 our attention1 for a moment1 to his    
moral qualities4 ,in vain  is he accused
 of cunning1 when without this quality  
he could not live4  ,his wariness is    
really a virtue1 and1 under the         
circumstances in which  he is placed1 it
 is his principal means of              
self-preservation4 ,he has no  moral    
principles1 no creed1 to which he is    
under obligations to offer  himself as a
 martyr4 ,his cunning is his armor2 and 
,i am persuaded that  the persecutions  
to which he has always been subjected   
have caused the  development of an      
amount of intelligence that elevates him
 many degrees  above the majority of the
 feathered race4    ,there are few birds
 that equal the ,crow in sagacity4 ,he  
observes many  things that would seem to

 require the faculties of a rational    
being4 ,he  judges with accuracy1 from  
the deportment of the person approaching
 him1  if he is prepared to do him an   
injury2 and seems to pay no regard to   
one  who is strolling the fields in     
search of flowers or for recreation4 ,on
  such occasions1 one may get so near   
him as to observe his manners1 and  even
 to note the varying shades of his      
plumage4 ,but in vain does the          
sportsman endeavor to approach him4 ,so 
sure is he to fly at the right  moment  
for his safety1 that one might suppose  
he could measure the  distance of       
gunshot4    ,the voice of the ,crow is  
like no other sound uttered by the      
feathered  race2 it is harsh and        
unmelodious1 and though he is capable1  
when  domesticated1 of imitating human  
speech1 he cannot sing4 ,but ,aesop     
mistook the character of this bird when 
he represented him as the dupe  of the  
fox1 who gained the bit of cheese he    
carried in his mouth by  inducing him to

 exhibit his musical powers4 ,the ,crow 
could not be fooled  by any such appeals
 to his vanity4    ,the ,crow is        
commonly regarded as a homely bird2 yet 
he is not without  beauty4 ,his coat of 
glossy black with violet reflections1   
his dark eyes  and sagacious expression 
of countenance1 his stately and graceful
 gait1  and his steady and equable      
flight1 combine to give him a proud and 
dignified appearance4 ,the ,crow and the
 ,raven have always been celebrated  for
 their gravity1 a character that seems  
to be the result of their  black        
sacerdotal vesture1 and of certain      
manifestations of intelligence  in their
 ways and general deportment4 ,indeed1  
any one who should watch  the motions of
 the ,crow for the space of five        
minutes1 either when he is  stalking    
alone in the field1 or when he is       
careering with his fellows  around some 
tall tree in the forest1 would          
acknowledge that he deserves  to be     
called a grave bird4    ,setting aside  

the services rendered by the ,crow to   
agriculture1 ,i esteem  him for certain 
qualities which are agreeably associated
 with the charms  of ,nature4 ,it is not
 the singing-birds alone that contribute
 by their  voices to gladden the        
husbandman and cheer the solitary       
traveller4 ,the  crowing of the ,cock at
 the break of day is as joyful a sound1 
though not  so musical1 as the voice of 
the ,robin who chants his lays at the   
same  early hour4 ,to me the cawing of  
the ,crow is cheering and delightful1   
and  it is heard long before the        
majority of birds have left their perch4
 ,if  not one of the melodies of morn1  
it is one of the most notable sounds    
that herald its approach4 ,and how      
intimately is the voice of this bird    
associated with the sunshine of calm    
winter-days1--with our woodland         
excursions during this inclement        
season1--with the stroke of the         
woodman's axe1--with open doors in      
bright and pleasant weather1 when the   

eaves are dripping with the melting     
snow1--and with all those cheerful      
sounds that enliven the groves during   
that period when every object  is       
valuable that relieves the silence or   
softens the dreary aspect of  ,nature6  
,if we leave the open fields and woods1 
and ramble near the coast to some       
retired and solitary branch of the sea1 
our meditations may be suddenly         
startled by the harsh voice of the      
,kingfisher1 like the sound of a        
watchman's rattle4 ,this bird is seldom 
seen in winter in the interior2  most of
 his species migrate southwardly and to 
the sea-coast1 just so  far as to be    
within reach of the open waters4 ,as    
they subsist on the  smaller kinds of   
fishes1 they would perish with hunger1  
after the waters  are frozen1 if they   
did not migrate4 ,but the ,kingfisher   
often remains on  the coast during open 
winters1 and may therefore be considered
 one of  our winter-birds4    ,this bird
 is the celebrated ,alcedo1 or ,halcyon1

 of the ancients1 who  attributed to him
 many apparently supernatural powers4   
,he was supposed  to construct his nest 
upon the waves1 on which it was made to 
float like  a skiff4 ,but as the        
turbulence of a storm would be likely to
 cause its  destruction1 ,nature had    
gifted him with the extraordinary power 
of  stilling the motions of the winds   
and waves1 during the period of         
incubation4 ,hence the serene weather   
that accompanies the summer  solstice   
was supposed to be occasioned by the    
benign influence of this  bird1 and the 
term halcyon days was applied to this   
period4 ,it is  remarkable that the     
fable should add to these supernatural  
gifts the  power of song1 as one of the 
accomplishments of the ,kingfisher4     
,these  superstitions must have been    
very general among the ancients1 and    
were  not confined to the ,greeks and   
,romans4 ,some of the ,asiatic nations  
still  wear the skin of the ,kingfisher 
about their persons1 as a protection    

against both moral and physical evils2  
the feathers are used as  love-charms2  
and it is believed1 that1 if the body of
 the ,kingfisher be  evenly fixed upon a
 pivot1 it will turn its head to the    
north1 like the  magnetic needle4       
,this bird is singularly grotesque in   
his appearance1 though not without      
beauty of plumage4 ,with his long1      
straight1 and quadrangular bill1 his    
short and diminutive feet and legs1 and 
his immense head1 his plumage  of a     
handsome dusky blue1 with a bluish band 
on the breast and a white  collar around
 the neck1--when this mixture of the    
grotesque and the  beautiful is         
considered in connection with the       
singularity of his  habits1 we need not 
marvel at the superstitions connected   
with his  history4 ,he sits patiently1  
like an angler1 on a post at the head of
 a  wharf1 or on a branch of a tree that
 extends over the bank1 and1 leaning    
obliquely1 with extended head and beak1 
he watches for his finny prey4  ,there1 

with the light blue sky above him and   
the dark blue waves  beneath1 nothing on
 the surface of the water can escape his
 penetrating  eyes4 ,quickly1 with a    
sudden swoop1 he seizes a single fish   
from an  unsuspecting shoal1 and        
announces his success by the peculiar   
sound of  his rattle4    ,it may not    
have been observed by all that the most 
interesting periods  or situations for  
rambling are not those which most abound
 with exciting  scenes and objects4     
,there must be a certain dearth of      
individual objects  that draw the       
attention1 intermingled with occasional 
remarkable or  mysterious sights and    
sounds1 to yield an excursion its       
greatest  interest4 ,the hunter 7unless 
he be a purveyor for the market7        
understands this philosophy1 and knows  
that there is more pleasure  in chasing 
a single deer or a solitary fox over    
miles of pasture  and moorland1 than in 
hunting where these animals are         
abundant1 and  slaughtering them as fast

 as one can load his gun4 ,the pleasures
  attending a rural excursion in the    
winter are founded on this fact1 and    
may be explained by this principle4     
,there1 amid the general silence1  every
 sound attracts attention and is        
accompanied by its echo2 and since  the 
trees and shrubs have lost their leafy  
garniture1 every tree and  other object 
has its own distinct shadow1 and we fix 
our attention  more easily upon anything
 that excites our interest than when it 
is  distracted by the confusion of      
numbers4    ,hence it is in the winter  
that the picturesque character of the   
flight  of birds is particularly        
noticeable4 ,in summer1 and in autumn1  
before  the fall of the leaf1 birds are 
partially concealed by the foliage of   
trees1 so that the manner of their      
flight does not become so readily       
apparent4 ,but in winter1 if we start a 
flock of birds from the ground1  we can 
hardly avoid taking notice of all the   
peculiarities of their  movements4 ,i   

have alluded to the descent of          
,snow-,buntings upon the  landscape as  
singularly picturesque2 but the motions 
of a flock of  ,quails1 when suddenly   
aroused from a thicket1 are not less so4
 ,when a  ,pigeon1 or any other bird    
with strong and large wings1 takes      
flight1 the  motions of its wings are   
not vibratory1 and its progress through 
the air  is so rapid as to injure the   
pleasing effect of its motions1 because 
we  obtain no distinct perception of the
 bird during its flight4 ,it is quite   
otherwise with the ,quail4 ,the body of 
this bird is plump and heavy1 and  his  
wings are short1 and have a peculiar    
concavity of the under surface  when    
expanded2 their motions are very rapid1 
and1 having but little  sweep1 the bird 
seems to sail on the air1 carried along 
by a gentle but  rapid vibration of the 
wings1 which describe only a very small 
arc of a  circle4 ,hence we observe the 
entire shape of the bird during its     
flight4  ,the ,partridge1 and other     

gallinaceous birds1 fly in a similar    
manner2  but1 on account of their larger
 size1 their motions are less           
attractive4    ,the ,humming-,bird has  
proportionally larger wings than the    
,quail1 and1  when flying1 his wings    
describe almost a complete circle in    
their rapid  vibrations4 ,if we look    
upon one during his flight1 he seems to 
have no  wings1 but rather to be        
encircled by a semi-transparent halo4   
,there  are other birds that seem to be 
wings only1 their bodies being hardly   
perceptible1 on account of their small  
proportional size2 such are the         
,swallow1 the ,pigeon1 the ,cuckoo1 and 
the ,night-,hawk4    ,birds of prey are 
remarkable for their steady and graceful
 flight2 the  motion of their wings is  
slow1 while1 like the ,pigeon1 they are 
capable  of propelling themselves       
through the air with great rapidity4    
,the  circumgyrations of a ,hawk1 when  
reconnoitring far aloft in the air1 are 
singularly graceful4 ,the flight of the 

,crow and the ,raven is slow and        
apparently difficult1 and they are      
easily overtaken and annoyed by the     
,king-,bird and other small birds4 ,they
 are not formed1 like the ,falcon1  to  
catch their prey upon the wing1 and1    
though their wings are large and        
powerful1 they are incapable of         
performing those graceful and difficult 
evolutions which we observe in the      
flight of birds of prey4 ,the flight  of
 ,herons resembles that of the ,raven4  
,small birds1 with the exception of a   
few species1 move in an undulating      
course1 alternately rising and sinking4 
,birds that move in this manner  are1 ,i
 believe1 incapable of making a long    
journey on the wing without  rest1 and  
commonly perform their migrations by    
short daily stages4    ,the flight of   
the little ,sand-,pipers1 which frequent
 the salt marshes in  numerous flocks1  
is particularly worthy of study4 ,it is 
not unlike the  flight of ,quails1 but  
more evenly sustained1 on account of the

 greater  length and power of their     
wings4 ,these birds are capable of      
holding an  even flight in a perfectly  
horizontal line1 only a few inches above
 the  surface of the ground4 ,when they 
alight1 they seldom make a curve or     
gyration1 but descend in a straight and 
oblique course4 ,snow-,buntings  usually
 turn about1 just before they reach the 
ground2 and ,i have  seen them perform  
the most intricate changes1 like the    
movements of a  cotillon-party1 executed
 with the rapidity of arrows1 when      
suddenly  checked in their flight by the
 discovery of a good tract of forage4   
,with these observations1 which might be
 indefinitely extended1 ,i take  leave  
of the subject1 simply remarking1 that  
to the motions of birds1 no  less than  
to their beauty of plumage and the      
sounds of their voices1  are we indebted
 for a great part of the picturesque    
attractions of  landscape2 and the more 
we study them1 the more are we          
convinced1 that1  in whatever direction 

we turn our observations1 we may extend 
them to  infinity4 ,there is no limit to
 any study of ,nature1 and even one so  
apparently insignificant as the flight  
of birds leads to an endless  series of 
interesting facts1 and opens the eyes to
 new beauties in the  aspect of ,nature 
and new sources of rational delight4    
,,the ,,new ,,life ,,of ,,dante4        
,concluded4      ,,iii4      ,the year  
#abhi was one marked in the annals of   
,florence and of ,italy by  events which
 are still famous1 scored by the genius 
of ,dante upon the  memory of the world4
 ,it was in this year that ,count       
,ugolino and his sons  and grandsons    
were starved by the ,pisans in their    
tower prison4 ,a few  months later1     
,francesca da ,rimini was murdered by   
her husband4 ,between  the dates of     
these two terrible events the           
,florentines had won the great  victory 
of ,campaldino2 and thus1 in this short 
space1 the materials had  been given to 
the poet for the two best-known and most

 powerful stories  and for one of the   
most striking episodes of the ,divina   
,commedia4    ,in the great and         
hard-fought battle of ,campaldino ,dante
 himself took  part4 ,i was at first    
greatly afraid1 he says1 in a letter of 
which  but a few sentences have been    
preserved1,a--but at the end ,i felt the
  greatest joy1--according to the       
various chances of the battle4 ,when the
  victorious army returned to ,florence1
 a splendid procession1 with the  clergy
 at its head1 with the arts of the city 
each under its banner1 and  with all    
manner of pomp1 went out to meet it4    
,there were long-continued  feasts and  
rejoicings4 ,the battle had been fought 
on the #aath of ,june1  the day of ,st4 
,barnabas1 and the ,republic1 though    
already engaged in  magnificent works of
 church-building1 decreed that a new    
church should  be erected in honor of   
the ,saint on whose day the victory had 
been won4    ,footnote ,a3 ,see         
,lionardo ,aretino's ,vita di ,dante4   

,a little later in that summer1 ,dante  
was one of a troop of ,florentines  who 
joined the forces of ,lucca in levying  
war upon the ,pisan territory4  ,the    
stronghold of ,caprona was taken1 and   
,dante was present at its  capture2 for 
he says1 7,inferno1 xxi4 #id-if17 ,i saw
 the foot-soldiers1  who1 having made   
terms1 came out from ,caprona1 afraid   
when they beheld  themselves among so   
many enemies4,b    ,footnote ,b3        
,landino1 and most of the commentators  
after him1 state that  ,dante refers in 
this passage to the fear of the garrison
 taken in  the place when it was        
recaptured the next year by the ,pisans4
 ,but as  ,florence and ,pisa continued 
at desperate enmity1 ,dante could hardly
 have  witnessed this latter scene4     
,thus1 during a great part of the summer
 of #abhi1 ,dante was in active  service
 as a soldier4 ,he was no lovesick      
idler1 no mere home-keeping  writer of  
verses1 but was already taking his part 
in the affairs of the  state which he   

was afterwards to be called on for a    
time to assist in  governing1 and he was
 laying up those stores of experience   
which were to  serve as the material out
 of which his vivifying imagination was 
to form  the great national poem of     
,italy4 ,but of this active life1 of    
these  personal engagements1 of these   
terrible events which took such strong  
possession of his soul1 there is no     
word1 no suggestion even1 in the  book  
of his ,new ,life4 ,in it there is no   
echo1 however faint1 of those  storms of
 public violence and private passion    
which broke dark over  ,italy4 ,in the  
midst of the tumults which sprang from  
the jealousies of  rival states1 from   
the internal discords of cities1 from   
the divisions  of parties1 from the     
bitterness of domestic quarrels1--this  
little book  is full of tenderness and  
peace1 and tells its story of love as if
 the  world were the abode of           
tranquillity4 ,no external excitements  
could  break into the inner chambers of 

,dante's heart to displace the love that
  dwelt within them4 ,the contrast      
between the purity and the serenity of  
the ,vita ,nuova and the coarseness and 
cruelty of the deeds that were  going on
 while it was being written is complete4
 ,every man in some sort  leads a double
 life1--one real and his own1 the other 
seeming and the  world's1--but with few 
is the separation so entire as it was   
with  ,dante4    ,but in these troubled 
times the ,new ,life was drawing to its 
close4  ,the spring of #abij had come1  
and the poet1 now twenty-five years old1
  sixteen years having passed since he  
first beheld ,beatrice1 was engaged  in 
writing a poem to tell what effect the  
virtue of his lady wrought  upon him4   
,he had written but the following       
portion when it was broken  off1 never  
to be resumed3--      ,so long hath     
,love retained me at his hest1    ,and  
to his sway hath so accustomed me1      
,that as at first he cruel used to be1  
,so in my heart he now doth sweetly     

rest4    ,thus when by him my strength  
is dispossessed1    ,so that the spirits
 seem away to flee1    ,my frail soul   
feels such sweetness verily1    ,that   
with it pallor doth my face invest4     
,then ,love o'er me such mastery doth   
seize1    ,he makes my sighs in words to
 take their way1    ,and they unto my   
lady go to pray    ,that she to give me 
further grace would please4    ,where'er
 she sees me1 this to me occurs1    ,nor
 can it be believed what humbleness is  
hers4    ',quomodo sedet sola civitas   
plena populo6 facta est quasi vidua     
domina  gentium6' ,how doth the city sit
 solitary that was full of people6 how  
is she become as a widow1 she that was  
great among the nations6,c    ,footnote 
,c3 ,lamentations1 ,i4 #a4    ,i was yet
 engaged upon this ,canzone1 and had    
finished the above stanza1  when the    
,lord of justice called this most gentle
 one unto glory under  the banner of    
that holy ,queen ,mary whose name was   
ever spoken with  greatest reverence by 

this blessed ,beatrice4,d    ,footnote  
,d3 ,there is among the ,canzoni of     
,dante one beginning1      ,morte poich'
 io non truovo a cui mi doglia1    which
 seems to have been written during the  
illness of ,beatrice1 in view  of her   
approaching death4 ,it is a beautiful   
and touching poem4 ,death is  besought  
to spare that lady1 who of every good is
 the true gate4--,if  thou extinguishest
 the light of those beautiful eyes1     
which were wont to  be so sweet a guide 
to mine1 ,i see that thou desirest my   
death4      ,o ,death1 delay not mercy1 
if 'tis thine6    ,for now ,i seem to   
see the heavens ope1    ,and ,angels of 
the ,lord descending here1    ,intent to
 bear away the holy soul    ,of her     
whose honor there above is sung4    ,and
 although it might give pleasure1 were  
,i now to tell somewhat of her          
departure from us1 it is not my         
intention to treat of it here for three 
reasons4 ,the first is1 that it is no   
part of the present design1 as may  be  

seen in the proem of this little book4  
,the second is1 that1 supposing  it were
 so1 my pen would not be sufficient to  
treat of it in a fitting  manner4 ,the  
third is1 that1 supposing both the one  
and the other1 it  would not be becoming
 in me to treat of it1 since1 in doing  
so1 ,i  should be obliged to praise     
myself1--a thing altogether blameworthy 
in  whosoever does it1--and therefore ,i
 leave this subject to some other       
narrator4    ,nevertheless1 since in    
what precedes there has been occasion to
 make  frequent mention of the number   
nine1,e and apparently not without      
reason1 and since in her departure this 
number appeared to have a large  place1 
it is fitting to say something on this  
point1 seeing that it  seems to belong  
to our design4 ,wherefore ,i will first 
tell how it had  place in her departure1
 and then ,i will assign some reason why
 this  number was so friendly to her4 ,i
 say1 that1 according to the mode of    
reckoning in ,italy1 her most noble soul

 departed in the first hour of  the     
ninth day of the month2 and according to
 the reckoning1 in ,syria1  she departed
 in the ninth month of the year1 since  
the first month there  is ,tismim1 which
 with us is ,october2 and according to  
our reckoning1 she  departed in that    
year of our indiction1 that is1 of the  
years of the  ,lord1 in which the       
perfect number,f was completed for the  
ninth time in  that century in which she
 had been set in the world2 and she was 
of the  ,christians of the thirteenth   
century4,g    ,footnote ,e3 ,in the     
earlier part of the ,vita ,nuova there  
are many  references to this number4 ,we
 translate in full the passage given    
above1  as one of the most striking     
illustrations of ,dante's youthful      
fondness  for seeking for the mystical  
relations and inner meanings of things4 
,the  attributing such importance to the
 properties of the number nine1 though  
it might at first seem puerile and an   
indication of poverty of feeling1  was a

 portion of the superstitious belief of 
the age1 in which ,dante  naturally     
shared4 ,the mysterious properties of   
numbers were a subject of  serious      
study1 and were connected with various  
branches of science and  of life4       
,themistius vero1 et ,boethius1 et      
,averrois ,babylonius1 cum ,platone1 sic
  numeros extollunt1 ut neminem absque  
illis posse recte philosophari  putent4 
,loquuntur autem de numero rationali et 
formali1 non de  materiali1 sensibili1  
sive vocali numero mercatorum4444 ,sed  
intendunt ad  proportionem ex illo      
resultantem1 quem numerum naturalem et  
formalem et  rationalem vocant2 ex quo  
magna sacramenta emanant1 tam in        
naturalibus  quam divinis atque         
coelestibus4444 ,in numeris itaque      
magnam latere  efficaciam et virtutem   
tam ad borum quam ad malum1 non modo    
splendidissimi philosophi unanimiter    
docent1 sed etiam doctores              
,catholici4--,cornelii ,agrippae ,de    
,occulta ,philosophia1 ,liber ,secundus1

  cc4 #b1 #c4    ,footnote ,f3 ,the     
perfect number is ten4    ,footnote ,g3 
,thus it appears that ,beatrice died on 
the #ith of ,june1  #abij4 ,she was a   
little more than twenty-four years old4 
,one reason why this number was so      
friendly to her may be this3 since1     
according to ,ptolemy and the ,christian
 truth1 there are nine heavens  which   
move1 and1 according to the common      
astrological opinion1 these  heavens    
work effects here below according to    
their relative positions1  this number  
was her friend1 to the end that it might
 be understood that  at her generation  
all the nine movable heavens were in    
most perfect  conjunction4,h ,this is   
one reason2 but considering more        
subtilely and  according to infallible  
truth1 this number was she herself1--,i 
speak in  a similitude1 and ,i mean as  
follows4 ,the number three is the root  
of  nine1 since1 without any other      
number1 multiplied by itself1 it makes  
nine1--as we see plainly that three     

times three are nine4 ,then1 if  three  
is the factor by itself of nine1 and the
 ,author of ,miracles,i  by himself is  
three1--,father1 ,son1 and ,holy        
,spirit1 who are three and  one1--this  
lady was accompanied by the number nine 
that it might be  understood that she   
was a nine1 that is1 a miracle1 whose   
only root is  the marvellous ,trinity4  
,perhaps a more subtle person might     
discover some  more subtile reason for  
this2 but this is the one that ,i see   
for it1 and  which pleases me the best4 
,footnote ,h3 ,compare with this passage
 ,ballata v41      ,io mi son pargoletta
 bella e nova1    and ,sonnet xlv41     
,da quella luce che ',i suo corso gira2 
the latter probably in praise of        
,philosophy4    ,footnote ,i3 ,the point
 is here lost in a translation1--factor 
and  author being expressed in the      
original by one word1 fattore4    ,after
 thus treating of the number nine in its
 connection with ,beatrice1  ,dante goes
 on to say1 that1 when this most gentle 

lady had gone from  this world1 the city
 appeared widowed and despoiled of every
 dignity2  whereupon he wrote to the    
princes of the earth an account of its  
condition1 beginning with the words of  
,jeremiah which he quoted at the        
entrance of this new matter4 ,the       
remainder of this letter he does not    
give1 because it was in ,latin1 and in  
this work it was his intention1  from   
the beginning1 to write only in the     
vulgar tongue2 and such was the         
understanding of the friend for whom he 
writes1--that friend being1 as  we may  
suppose1 ,guido ,cavalcanti1 whom       
,dante1 it may be remembered1  has      
already spoken of as the chief among his
 friends4 ,then succeeds  a ,canzone    
lamenting the death of ,beatrice1 which1
 instead of being  followed by a verbal 
exposition1 as is the case with all that
 have gone  before1 is preceded by one1 
in order that it may seem1 as it were1  
desolate and like a widow at its end4   
,and this arrangement is preserved  in  

regard to all the remaining poems in the
 little volume4 ,in this poem  he says  
that the ,eternal ,sire called ,beatrice
 to himself1 because he saw  that this  
world was not worthy of such a gentle   
thing2 and he says of  his own life1    
that no tongue could tell what it has   
been since his lady  went away to       
heaven4    ,among the sonnets ascribed  
to ,dante is one which1 if it be his1   
must  have been written about this time1
 and which1 although not included in    
the ,vita ,nuova1 seems not unworthy to 
find a place here4 ,its imagery1  at    
least1 connects it with some of the     
sonnets in the earlier portion of  the  
book4      ,one day came ,melancholy    
unto me1      ,and said1 ',with thee ,i 
will awhile abide'2      ,and1 as it    
seemed1 attending at her side1          
,anger and ,grief did bear her company4 
',depart6 ,away6' ,i cried out eagerly4 
,then like a ,greek she unto me replied2
      ,and while she stood discoursing  
in her pride1      ,i looked1 and ,love 

approaching us ,i see4      ,in cloth of
 black full strangely was he clad1      
,a little hood he wore upon his head1   
,and down his face tears flowing fast he
 had4      ',poor little wretch6 what   
ails thee8' then ,i said4      ,and he  
replied1 ',i woful am1 and sad1         
,sweet brother1 for our lady who is     
dead4'    ,about this time1 ,dante tells
 us1 a person who stood to him in       
friendship  next to his first friend1   
and who was of the closest relationship 
to his  glorious lady1 so that we may   
believe it was her brother1 came to  him
 and prayed him to write something on a 
lady who was dead4 ,dante1  believing   
that he meant the blessed ,beatrice1    
accordingly wrote for him  a sonnet2 and
 then1 reflecting that so short a poem  
appeared but a poor  and bare service   
for one who was so nearly connected with
 her1 added to  it a ,canzone1 and gave 
both to him4    ,as the months passed   
on1 his grief still continued fresh1 and
 the memory  of his lady dwelt          

continually with him4 ,it happened1     
that1 on that day  which completed a    
year since this lady was made one of the
 citizens of  eternal life1 ,i was      
seated in a place where1 remembering    
her1 ,i drew  an ,angel upon certain    
tablets4 ,and while ,i was drawing it1  
,i turned  my eyes1 and saw at my side  
certain men to whom it was becoming to  
do  honor1 and who were looking at what 
,i did2 and1 as was afterward told  me1 
they had been there now some time before
 ,i perceived them4 ,when ,i  saw them1 
,i rose1 and1 saluting them1 said1      
',another was just now with  me1 and on 
that account ,i was in thought4' ,when  
these persons had gone1  ,i returned to 
my work1 that is1 to drawing figures of 
,angels2 and while  doing this1 a       
thought came to me of saying words in   
rhyme1 as for an  anniversary poem for  
her1 and of addressing them to those who
 had come  to me4 ,then ,i said this    
sonnet1 which has two beginnings3--     
,,first ,,beginning4      ,unto my mind 

remembering had come      ,the gentle   
lady1 with such pure worth graced1      
,that by the ,lord ,most ,high she had  
been placed      ,within the heaven of  
peace1 where ,mary hath her home4       
,,second ,,beginning4      ,unto my mind
 had come1 indeed1 in thought1          
,that gentle one for whom ,love's tears 
are shed1      ,just at the time when1  
by his power led1      ,to see what ,i  
was doing you were brought4      ,love1 
who within my mind did her perceive1    
,was roused awake within my wasted      
heart1      ,and said unto my sighs1    
',go forth6 depart6'      ,whereon each 
one in grief did take its leave4        
,lamenting they from out my breast did  
go1      ,and uttering a voice that     
often led      ,the grievous tears unto 
my saddened eyes4      ,but those which 
issued with the greatest woe1      ',o  
noble soul1' they in departing said1    
',to-day makes up the year since thou to
 heaven didst rise4'    ,the preceding  
passage is one of the many in the ,vita 

,nuova which are  of peculiar interest1 
as illustrating the personal tastes of  
,dante1 and  the common modes of his    
life4 ,i was drawing1 he says1 the      
figure of  an ,angel2 and this statement
 is the more noticeable1 because        
,giotto1  the man who set painting on   
its modern course1 was not yet old      
enough  to have exercised any influence 
upon ,dante4,j ,the friendship which    
afterwards existed between them had its 
beginning at a later period4 ,at  this  
time ,cimabue still held the field4 ,he 
often painted angels around  the figures
 of the ,virgin and her ,child2 and in  
his most famous picture1  in the ,church
 of ,sta4 ,maria ,novella1 there are    
certain angels of which  ,vasari says1  
with truth1 that1 though painted in the 
,greek manner1 they  show an approach   
toward the modern style of drawing4     
,these angels may  well have seemed     
beautiful to eyes accustomed to the hard
 unnaturalness  of earlier works4 ,the  
love of ,art pervaded ,florence1 and a  

nature so  sensitive and so sympathetic 
as ,dante's could not but partake of it 
in the fullest measure4 ,art was then no
 adjunct of sentimentalism1 no          
encourager of idleness4 ,it was         
connected with all that was most serious
  and all that was most delightful in   
life4 ,it is difficult1 indeed1 to      
realize the delight which it gave1 and  
the earnestness with which it was       
followed at this period1 when it seemed1
 as by a miracle1 to fling off  the     
winding-sheet which had long wrapped its
 stiffened limbs1 and to  come forth    
with new and unexampled life4           
,footnote ,j3 ,in this year1 #abia1     
,giotto was but fifteen years old1  and 
probably a student with ,cimabue4       
,benvenuto da ,imola1 who lectured      
publicly at ,bologna on the ,divina     
,commedia in the year #acgh1 reports1   
that1 while ,giotto1 still a young man1 
was painting at ,padua1 ,dante  visited 
him4 ,and ,vasari says1 that it was a   
tradition1 that ,giotto had  painted1 in

 a chapel at ,naples1 scenes out of the 
,apocalypse1 from  designs furnished him
 by the poet4 ,if we may believe another
 tradition1  which there seems indeed   
little reason to doubt1 ,giotto went to 
,ravenna  during the last years of      
,dante's life1 that he might spend there
 some  time in company with his exiled  
friend4    ,the strength and the        
intelligence of ,dante's love of ,art   
are shown in  many beautiful passages   
and allusions in the ,divina ,commedia4 
,there  was something of universality1  
not only in his imagination1 but also in
  his acquisitions4 ,of the sources of  
learning which were then open1 there    
was not one which he had not visited2 of
 the fountains of inspiration1  not one 
out of which he had not drunk4 ,all the 
arts--poetry1 painting1  sculpture1 and 
music--were alike dear to him4 ,his     
,canzoni were written  to be sung2 and  
one of the most charming scenes in the  
great poem is  that in which is         
described his meeting with his friend   

,casella1 the  musician1 who sang to him
 one of his own ,canzoni so sweetly1    
that the  sweetness still within me     
sounds4,k    ,footnote ,k3 ,this        
,canzone1 to the exposition of which the
 third ,trattato  of the ,convito is    
devoted1 has been inimitably translated 
by the  ,reverend ,charles ,t4 ,brooks4 
,we believe it to be the happiest       
version  of one of ,dante's minor poems 
that exists in our language1--and every 
student of the poet will recognize the  
success with which very great           
difficulties have been overcome4 ,it    
appeared in the ,crayon1 for  ,february1
 #ahec4    ,dante took great delight in 
music1 and was an excellent draughtsman1
  says ,aretino1 his second biographer2 
and ,boccaccio reports1 that in his     
youth he took great pleasure in music1  
and was the friend of all the  best     
musicians and singers of his time4      
,there is1 perhaps1 in the  whole range 
of literature1 no nobler homage to ,art 
than that which is  contained in the    

tenth and twelfth cantos of the         
,purgatory1 in which  ,dante represents 
the ,creator himself as using its means 
to impress the  lessons of truth upon   
those whose souls were being purified   
for the  final attainment of heaven4    
,the passages are too long for extract1 
and  though their wonderful beauty      
tempts us to linger over them1 we must  
return to the course of the story of    
,dante's life as it appears in the      
concluding pages of the ,new ,life4     
,many months had passed since           
,beatrice's death1 when ,dante happened 
to  be in a place which recalled the    
past time to him1 and filled him with   
grief4 ,while standing here1 he raised  
his eyes and saw a young and  beautiful 
lady looking out from a window          
compassionately upon his sad  aspect4   
,the tenderness of her look touched his 
heart and moved his  tears4 ,many times 
afterwards he saw her1 and her face was 
always full  of compassion1 and pale1 so
 that it reminded him of the look of his

 own  most noble lady4 ,but at length   
his eyes began to delight too much in   
seeing her2 wherefore he often cursed   
their vanity1 and esteemed  himself as  
vile1 and there was a hard battle within
 himself between the  remembrance of his
 lady and the new desire of his eyes4   
,at length1 he says1 ,the sight of this 
lady brought me into so new  a          
condition1 that ,i often thought of her 
as of one who pleased me                
exceedingly1--and ,i thought of her     
thus3 ',this is a gentle1 beautiful1    
young1 and discreet lady1 and she has   
perhaps appeared by will of  ,love1 in  
order that my life may find repose4'    
,and often ,i thought more  amorously1  
so that my heart consented in it1 that  
is1 approved my  reasoning4 ,and after  
it had thus consented1 ,i1 moved as if  
by reason1  reflected1 and said to      
myself1 ',ah1 what thought is this that 
in so vile  a way seeks to console me1  
and leaves me scarcely any other        
thought8'  ,then another thought rose up

 and said1 ',now that thou hast been in 
so  great tribulation of ,love1 why wilt
 thou not withdraw thyself from such    
bitterness8 ,thou seest that this is an 
inspiration that sets the desires  of   
,love before thee1 and proceeds from a  
place no less gentle than  the eyes of  
the lady who has shown herself so       
pitiful toward thee4'  ,wherefore1 ,i1  
having often thus combated with myself1 
wished to say some  words of it4 ,and   
as1 in this battle of thoughts1 those   
which spoke for  her won the victory1 it
 seemed to me becoming to address her1  
and ,i said  this sonnet1 which begins1 
',a gentle thought'2 and ,i called it   
gentle  because ,i was speaking to a    
gentle lady1--but otherwise it was most 
vile4      ,a gentle thought that of you
 holds discourse      ,cometh now       
frequently with me to dwell1      ,and  
in so sweet a way of ,love doth tell1   
,my heart to yield unto him he doth     
force4    ',who1 then1 is this1' the    
soul says to the heart1      ',who      

cometh to bring comfort to our mind8    
,and is his virtue of so potent kind1   
,that other thoughts he maketh to       
depart8'    ',o saddened soul1' the     
heart to her replies1      ',this is a  
little spirit fresh from ,love1         
,whose own desires he before me brings2 
',his very life and all his power doth  
move      ,forth from the sweet         
compassionating eyes      ,of her so    
grieved by our sufferings4'    ,one day1
 about the ninth hour1 there arose      
within me a strong  imagination opposed 
to this adversary of reason4 ,for ,i    
seemed to see  the glorified ,beatrice  
in that crimson garment in which she had
 first  appeared to my eyes1 and she    
seemed to me young1 of the same age as  
when  ,i first saw her4 ,then ,i began  
to think of her1 and1 calling to mind   
the  past time in its order1 my heart   
began to repent bitterly of the desire  
by which it had so vilely allowed itself
 for some days to be possessed1         
contrary to the constancy of reason4    

,and this so wicked desire being        
expelled1 all my thoughts returned to   
their most gentle ,beatrice1 and  ,i say
 that thenceforth ,i began to think of  
her with my heart possessed  utterly by 
shame1 so that it was often manifested  
by my sighs2 for  almost all of them1 as
 they went forth1 told what was         
discoursed of in  my heart1--the name of
 that gentlest one1 and how she had gone
 from  us4444 ,and ,i wished that my    
wicked desire and vain temptation might 
be  known to be at an end2 and that the 
rhymed words which ,i had before        
written might induce no doubt1 ,i       
proposed to make a sonnet in which ,i   
would include what ,i have now told4    
,with this sonnet ,dante ends the story 
in the ,vita ,nuova of the  wandering of
 his eyes1 and the short faithlessness  
of his heart2 but  it is retold with    
some additions in the ,convito or       
,banquet1 a work  written many years    
afterward2 and in this later version    
there are some  details which serve to  

fill out and illustrate the earlier     
narrative4,l  ,the same tender and      
refined feeling which inspires the ,vita
 ,nuova  gives its tone to all the      
passages in which the poet recalls his  
youthful days and the memory of         
,beatrice in this work of his sorrowful 
manhood4 ,in the midst of its serious   
and philosophic discourse this  little  
story winds in and out its thread of    
personal recollection and of  sweet     
romantic sentiment4 ,it affords new     
insight into the recesses of  ,dante's  
heart1 and exhibits the permanence of   
the gracious qualities of  his youth4   
,footnote ,l3 ,the differences in the   
two accounts of this period of  ,dante's
 experience1 and the view of ,beatrice  
presented in the ,convito1  suggest     
curious and interesting questions1 the  
solution of which has  been obscured by 
the dulness of commentators4 ,we must1  
however1 leave  the discussion of these 
points till some other opportunity4     
,its opening sentence is full of the    

imagery of love4 ,since the death of    
that blessed ,beatrice who lives in     
heaven with the angels1 and on  earth   
with my soul1 the star of ,venus had    
twice shone in the different  seasons1  
as the star of morning and of evening1  
when that gentle lady1  of whom ,i have 
made mention near the close of the ,new 
,life1 first  appeared before my eyes   
accompanied by ,love1 and gained some   
place in my  mind4 444 ,and before this 
love could become perfect1 there arose a
  great battle between the thought that 
sprang from it and that which was       
opposed to it1 and which still held the 
fortress of my mind for the  glorified  
,beatrice4,m    ,footnote ,m3 ,convito1 
,tratt4 ii4 c4 #c4    ,and so hard was  
this struggle1 and so painful1 that     
,dante took  refuge from it in the      
composition of a poem addressed to the  
,angelic  ,intelligences who move the   
third heaven1 that is1 the heaven of    
,venus2  and it is to the exposition of 
the true meaning of this ,canzone that  

the second book or treatise of the      
,convito is directed4 ,in one of the    
later chapters he says1 7and the passage
 is a most striking one1 from  its own  
declaration1 as well as from its        
relation to the vision of the  ,divina  
,commedia17--,the life of my heart was  
wont to be a sweet and  delightful      
thought1 which often went to the feet of
 the ,lord of those  to whom ,i speak1  
that is1 to ,god1--for1 thinking1 ,i    
contemplated the  kingdom of the        
,blessed4 ,and ,i tell in my poem the   
final cause of my  mounting thither in  
thought1 when ,i say1 ',there ,i beheld 
a lady in  glory'2 and ,i say this in   
order that it may be understood that ,i 
was  certain1 and am certain1 through   
her gracious revelation1 that she was   
in heaven1 whither ,i in my thought     
oftentimes went1--as it were1 seized    
up4 ,and this made me desirous of death1
 that ,i might go there where she       
was4,n ,following upon the chapter in   
which this remarkable passage  occurs is

 one which is chiefly occupied with a   
digression upon the  immortality of the 
soul1--and with discourse upon this     
matter1 says  ,dante1 it will be        
beautiful to finish speaking of that    
living and  blessed ,beatrice1 of whom  
,i intend to say no more in this        
book4444 ,and  ,i believe and affirm and
 am certain that ,i shall pass after    
this to  another and better life1 in    
which that glorious lady lives of whom  
my  soul was enamored4,o    ,footnote   
,n3 ,convito1 ,tratt4 ii4 c4 #h4        
,footnote ,o3 ,id4 c4 #i4    ,but it is 
not from the ,convito alone that this   
portion of the ,vita  ,nuova receives   
illustration4 ,in that passage of the   
,purgatory in  which ,beatrice is       
described as appearing in person to her 
lover the  first time since her death1  
she addresses him in words of stern     
rebuke  of his fickleness and his       
infidelity to her memory4 ,the whole    
scene is1  perhaps1 unsurpassed in      
imaginative reality2 the vision appears 

to have  an actual existence1 and the   
poet himself is subdued by the power of 
his  own imagination4 ,he tells the     
words of ,beatrice with the same feeling
  with which he would have repeated     
them1 had they fallen on his mortal     
ear4 ,his grief and shame are real1 and 
there is no element of feigning  in     
them4 ,that in truth he had seemed to   
himself to listen to and to  behold what
 he tells1 it is scarcely possible to   
doubt4 ,beatrice says1--      ,some     
while at heart my presence kept him     
sound2      ,my girlish eyes to his     
observance lending1    ,i led him with  
me on the right way bound4      ,when of
 my second age the steps ascending1     
,i bore my life into another sphere1    
,then stole he from me1 after others    
bending4    ,when ,i arose from flesh to
 spirit clear1    ,when beauty1         
worthiness1 upon me grew1    ,i was to  
him less pleasing and less dear4,p      
,footnote ,p3 ,purgatory1 c4 xxx4 vv4   
#aah-abf4--;,,cayley',s ,translation4   

,but although ,beatrice only gives      
utterance to the self-reproaches of     
,dante1 we have seen already how fully  
he had atoned for this first and        
transient unfaithfulness of his heart4  
,the remainder of the ,vita ,nuova      
shows how little she had lost of her    
power over him1 how reverently he       
honored her memory1 how constant was his
 love of her whom he should see  never  
again with his earthly eyes4 ,returning 
to the ,new ,life1--    ,after this     
tribulation1 he says1 at that time when 
many people were  going to see the      
blessed image which ,jesus ,christ left 
to us as the  likeness of his most      
beautiful countenance1,q which my lady  
now beholds  in glory1 it happened that 
certain pilgrims passed through a street
  which is almost in the middle of that 
city where the gentlest lady was  born1 
lived1 and died1--and they went along1  
as it seemed to me1 very  pensive4 ,and 
thinking about them1 ,i said to myself1 
',these appear to me  to be pilgrims    

from a far-off region1 and ,i do not    
believe that they  have even heard speak
 of this lady1 and they know nothing of 
her2 their  thoughts are rather of other
 things than of her2 for1 perhaps1 they 
are  thinking of their distant friends1 
whom we do not know4' ,then ,i said to  
myself1 ',i know1 that1 if these persons
 were from a neighboring country1  they 
would show some sign of trouble as they 
pass through the midst of  this grieving
 city4' ,then again ,i said1 ',if ,i    
could hold them awhile1 ,i  would indeed
 make them weep before they went out    
from this city2 for ,i  would say words 
to them which would make whoever should 
hear them weep4'  ,then1 when they had  
passed out of sight1 ,i proposed to make
 a sonnet in  which ,i would set forth  
that which ,i had said to myself2 and in
 order  that it might appear more       
pity-moving1 ,i proposed to say it as if
 ,i had  spoken to them1 and ,i said    
this sonnet1 which begins1 ',o          
pilgrims4'    ,footnote ,q3 ,the most   

precious relic at ,rome1 and the one    
which chiefly  attracted pilgrims1      
during a long period of the ,middle     
,ages1 was the  ,veronica1 or           
representation of the ,saviour's face1  
supposed to have been  miraculously     
impressed upon the handkerchief with    
which he wiped his  face on his way to  
,calvary4 ,it was preserved at ,st4     
,peter's and shown  only on special     
occasions4 ,compare with this passage   
the lines in the  ,paradiso1 c4 xxxi4   
#ajc-h3--      ,as one that haply from  
,croatia came        ,to see our        
,veronica1 and no whit      ,could be   
contented with its olden fame1          
,who in his heart saith1 when they're   
showing it1      ',o ,jesu ,christ6 ,o  
very ,lord ,god mine6        ,does truly
 this thy feature counterfeit8'         
,,cayley4    ,g4 ,villani says1 that in 
#acjj1 the year of jubilee1 for the     
consolation  of ,christian pilgrims1 the
 ,veronica was shown in ,st4 ,peter's   
every  ,friday1 and on other solemn     

festivals4 viii4 #cf4    ,i called them 
pilgrims in the wide sense of that word2
 for pilgrims  may be understood in two 
ways1--one wide1 and one narrow4 ,in the
 wide1  whoever is out of his own       
country is so far a pilgrim2 in the     
narrow  use1 by pilgrim is meant he only
 who goes to or returns from the house  
of ,st4 ,james4,r ,moreover1 it is to be
 known that those who travel in  the    
service of the ,most ,high are called by
 three distinct terms4 ,those  who go   
beyond the sea1 whence often they bring 
back the palm1 are called  palmers4     
,those who go to the house of ,galicia  
are called pilgrims1  because the       
burial-place of ,st4 ,james was more    
distant from his country  than that of  
any other of the ,apostles4 ,and those  
are called romei who  go to ,rome1 where
 these whom ,i call pilgrims were going4
    ,footnote ,r3 ,the shrine of ,st4   
,james1 at ,compostella1 7contracted    
from  ,giacomo ,apostolo17 in ,galicia1 
was a great resort of pilgrims during   

the ,middle ,ages1--and ,santiago1 the  
military patron of ,spain1 was one of   
the most popular saints of ,christendom4
 ,chaucer says1 the ,wif of ,bathe      
,had passed many a straunge streem2     
,at ,rome sche hadde ben1 and at        
,boloyne1    ,in ,galice at ,seynt      
,jame1 and at ,coloyne4    ,and         
,shakspeare1 in ,all's ,well that ,ends 
,well1 makes ,helena represent  herself 
as ,st4 ,jacques's pilgrim4      ,o     
pilgrims1 who in pensive mood move      
slow1    ,thinking perchance of those   
who absent        are1      ,say1 do ye 
come from land away so far      ,as your
 appearance seems to us to show8        
,for ye weep not1 the while ye forward  
go      ,along the middle of the        
mourning town1      ,seeming as persons 
who have nothing        known           
,concerning the sad burden of her woe4  
,if1 through your will to hear1 your    
steps ye        stay1      ,truly my    
sighing heart declares to me      ,that 
ye shall afterwards depart in tears4    

,for she,s her ,beatrice hath lost3 and 
ye      ,shall know1 the words that man 
of her        may say      ,have power  
to make weep whoever        hears4      
,footnote ,s3 ,the city4    ,some time  
after this sonnet was written1 two      
ladies sent to ,dante1  asking him for  
some of his rhymes4 ,that he might honor
 their request1 he  wrote a new sonnet  
and sent it to them with two that he had
 previously  composed4 ,in his new      
sonnet1 he told how his thought mounted 
to heaven1  as a pilgrim1 and beheld his
 lady in such condition of glory as     
could  not be comprehended by his       
intellect2 for our intellect1 in regard 
to  the souls of the blessed1 is as weak
 as our eyes are to the sun4 ,but       
though he could not clearly see where   
his thought led him1 at least he        
understood that his thought told of his 
lady in glory4      ,beyond the sphere  
that widest orbit hath      ,passeth the
 sigh that issues from my      heart1   
,while weeping ,love doth unto him      

impart      ,intelligence which leads   
him on his path1      ,when at the      
wished-for place his flight he          
stays1      ,a lady he beholds1 in honor
 dight1      ,and shining so1 that1     
through her splendid        light1      
,the pilgrim spirit upon her doth gaze4 
,he sees her such that his reporting    
words      ,i understand not1 for he    
speaketh low      ,and strange to the   
sad heart which makes        him tell2  
,he speaketh of that gentle one1 ,i     
know1      ,since oft he ,beatrice's    
name records2      ,so1 ladies dear1 ,i 
understand him well4    ,this was the   
last of the poems which ,dante composed 
in immediate honor  and memory of       
,beatrice1 and is the last of those     
which he inserted in  the ,vita ,nuova4 
,it was not that his love grew cold1 or 
that her image  became faint in his     
remembrance2 but1 as he tells us in a   
few concluding  and memorable words1    
from this time forward he devoted       
himself to  preparation for a work in   

which the earthly ,beatrice should have 
less  part1 while the heavenly and      
blessed spirit of her whom he had loved 
should receive more becoming honors4    
,the lover's grief was to find no  more 
expression2 the lamentations for the    
loss which could never be made  good to 
him were to cease2 the exhibition of a  
personal sorrow was at an  end4 ,love   
and grief1 in their double ministry1 had
 refined1 enlarged1  and exalted his    
spirit to the conception of a design    
unparalleled in its  nature1 and of     
which no intellectual genius1 unpurged  
by suffering1 and  impenetrated in its  
deepest recesses by the spiritualizing  
heats of  emotion1 would have been      
capable of conceiving4 ,moreover1 as    
time wore  on1 its natural result was   
gradually to withdraw the poet from the 
influence of temporary excitements of   
feeling1 resulting from his  experience 
of love and death1 and to bring him to  
the contemplation  of life as affected  
by the presence and the memory of       

,beatrice in its  eternal and universal 
relations4 ,he tells us in the ,convito1
 that1  after some time1 my mind1 which 
neither such consolation as ,i could    
give it1 nor that offered to it by      
others1 availed to comfort1  determined 
to turn to that method by which others  
in grief had consoled  themselves4 ,and 
,i set myself to read that book1 but    
little known1 of  ,boethius1 in which in
 prison and exile he had consoled       
himself4 ,and  hearing1 likewise1 that  
,tully had written a book1 in which1    
treating  of friendship1 he had offered 
some words of comfort to ,laelius1 a    
most  excellent man1 on the death of    
,scipio1 his friend1 ,i read this also4 
,and  although at first it was hard for 
me to enter into their meaning1 ,i at   
length entered into it so far as my     
knowledge of language1 and such  little 
capacity as ,i had1 enabled me2 by means
 of which capacity1 ,i had  already1    
like one dreaming1 seen many things1 as 
may be seen in the ',new  ,life4' ,and  

as it might happen that a man seeking   
silver should1 beyond  his expectation1 
find gold1 which a hidden chance        
presents to him1 not1  perhaps1 without 
,divine direction1 so ,i1 who sought for
 consolation1  found not only a remedy  
for my tears1 but also acquaintance with
  authors1 with knowledge1 and with     
books4    ,nor did these serious and    
solitary studies withdraw him from the  
pursuit  of wisdom among men and in the 
active world4 ,year by year1 he entered 
more fully into the affairs of state1   
and took a larger portion of their      
conduct upon himself4    ,his heart kept
 fresh by abiding recollections of love1
 his faith  quickened by and            
intermingled with the tenderest hopes1  
his imagination  uplifted by the        
affection which overleaped the          
boundaries of the  invisible world1 and 
his intellect disciplined by study of   
books and  of men1 his experience       
enlarged by constant occupation in      
affairs1 his  judgment matured by the   

quick succession of important events in 
which  he was involved1--every part of  
his nature was thus prepared for the    
successful accomplishment of that great 
and sacred design which he set  before  
himself now in his youth4 ,heaven had   
called and selected him for  a work     
which even in his own eyes partook      
somewhat of the nature of a  prophetic  
charge4 ,his strength was to be tested  
and his capacity to be  approved4 ,life 
was ordered for the fulfilment of his   
commission4 ,the men  to whom ,god      
intrusts a message for the world find   
the service to  which they are appointed
 one in which they must be ready to     
sacrifice  everything4 ,dante looked    
forward1 even at the beginning1 to the  
end1 and  saw what lay between4    ,the 
pages of the ,new ,life fitly close with
 words of that life in which  all things
 shall be made new1 and there shall be  
no more death1 neither  sorrow1 nor     
crying1 neither shall there be any more 
pain2 for the former  things are passed 

away4 ,the little book ends thus3--     
,soon after this1 a wonderful vision    
appeared to me1 in which ,i saw  things 
which made me purpose to speak no more  
of this blessed one until  ,i could more
 worthily treat of her4 ,and to attain  
to this1 ,i study to  the utmost of my  
power1 as she truly knoweth4 ,so that1  
if it shall  please ,him through whom   
all things live1 that my life be        
prolonged for  some years1 ,i hope to   
speak of her as never was spoken of any 
woman4 ,and  then may it please ,him who
 is the ,lord of ,grace1 that my soul   
may go to  behold the glory of its lady1
 the blessed ,beatrice1 who in glory    
looks  upon the face of ,him1 qui est   
per omnia saecula benedictus who is     
,blessed forever6    ,in #acbj1 or      
perhaps not till #acba1 the ,paradiso   
was finished2 in #acba1  ,dante died4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,,the ,,double-,,headed ,,snake ,,of    
,,newbury4        ,concerning ye        
,amphisbaena1 as soon as ,i received    

your commands1 ,i made    diligent      
inquiry3 he assures me y't it had really
 two heads1 one at each    end1 two     
mouths1 two stings or tongues4          
,rev4 ,christopher ,toppan to ,cotton   
,mather4        ,far away in the        
twilight time    ,of every people1 in   
every clime1    ,dragons and griffins   
and monsters dire1    ,born of water1   
and air1 and fire1    ,or nursed1 like  
the ,python1 in the mud    ,and ooze of 
the old ,deucalion flood1    ,crawl and 
wriggle and foam with rage1    ,through 
dusk tradition and ballad age4    ,so   
from the childhood of ,newbury town     
,and its time of fable the tale comes   
down    ,of a terror which haunted bush 
and brake1    ,the ,amphisbaena1 the    
,double ,snake6      ,thou who makest   
the tale thy mirth1    ,consider that   
strip of ,christian earth    ,on the    
desolate shore of a sailless sea1       
,full of terror and mystery1            
,half-redeemed from the evil hold    ,of
 the wood so dreary and dark and old1   

,which drank with its lips of leaves the
 dew    ,when ,time was young and the   
world was new1    ,and wove its shadows 
with sun and moon    ,ere the stones of 
,cheops were squared and hewn2    ,think
 of the sea's dread monotone1    ,of the
 mournful wail from the pine-wood blown1
    ,of the strange1 vast splendors that
 lit the ,north1    ,of the troubled    
throes of the quaking earth1    ,and the
 dismal tales the ,indian told1    ,till
 the settler's heart at his hearth grew 
cold1    ,and he shrank from the tawny  
wizard's boasts1    ,and the hovering   
shadows seemed full of ghosts1    ,and  
above1 below1 and on every side1    ,the
 fear of his creed seemed verified2--   
,and think1 if his lot were now thine   
own1    ,to grope with terrors nor named
 nor known1    ,how laxer muscle and    
weaker nerve    ,and a feebler faith thy
 need might serve2    ,and own to       
thyself the wonder more    ,that the    
snake had two heads and not a score6    
,whether he lurked in the ,oldtown fen1 

,or the gray earth-flax of the ,devil's 
,den1    ,or swam in the wooded         
,artichoke1    ,or coiled by the        
,northman's ,written ,rock1    ,nothing 
on record is left to show2    ,only the 
fact that he lived1 we know1    ,and    
left the cast of a double head    ,in   
the scaly mask which he yearly shed4    
,for he carried a head where his tail   
should be1    ,and the two1 of course1  
could never agree1    ,but wriggled     
about with main and might1    ,now to   
the left and now to the right2          
,pulling and twisting this way and that1
    ,neither knew what the other was at4
      ,a snake with two heads1 lurking  
so near6--    ,judge of the wonder1     
guess at the fear6    ,think what       
ancient gossips might say1    ,shaking  
their heads in their dreary way1        
,between the meetings on ,sabbath-day6  
,how urchins1 searching at day's decline
    ,the ,common ,pasture for sheep or  
kine1    ,the terrible double-ganger    
heard    ,in leafy rustle or whirr of   

bird6    ,think what a zest it gave to  
the sport    ,in berry-time of the      
younger sort1    ,as over pastures      
blackberry-twined    ,reuben and        
,dorothy lagged behind1    ,and closer  
and closer1 for fear of harm1    ,the   
maiden clung to her lover's arm2    ,and
 how the spark1 who was forced to stay1 
,by his sweetheart's fears1 till the    
break of day1    ,thanked the snake for 
the fond delay6      ,far and wide the  
tale was told1    ,like a snowball      
growing while it rolled4    ,the nurse  
hushed with it the baby's cry2    ,and  
it served1 in the worthy minister's eye1
    ,to paint the primitive ,serpent by4
    ,cotton ,mather came posting down   
,all the way to ,newbury town1    ,with 
his eyes agog and his ears set wide1    
,and his marvellous inkhorn at his side2
    ,stirring the while in the shallow  
pool    ,of his brains for the lore he  
learned at school1    ,to garnish the   
story1 with here a streak    ,of ,latin1
 and there another of ,greek3    ,and   

the tales he heard and the notes he     
took1    ,behold6 are they not in his   
,wonder-,book8      ,stories1 like      
dragons1 are hard to kill4    ,if the   
snake does not1 the tale runs still     
,in ,byfield ,meadows1 on ,pipestone    
,hill4    ,and still1 whenever husband  
and wife    ,publish the shame of their 
daily strife1    ,and1 with mad         
cross-purpose1 tug and strain    ,at    
either end of the marriage-chain1       
,the gossips say1 with a knowing shake  
,of their gray heads1 ,look at the      
,double ,snake6    ,one in body and two 
in will1    ,the ,amphisbaena is living 
still6          ,a ,,plea ,,for ,,the   
,,fijians2    ,,or1 ,,can ,,nothing ,,be
 ,,said ,,in ,,favor ,,of ,,roasting    
,,one',s ,,equals8      ,it is with a   
feeling of no mean satisfaction1 that1  
in this year of  #ahei1 the philosopher 
can calmly propose the investigation of 
a subject1  the mere mention of which   
would have created universal disgust1   
and even  horror1 at a period not long  

past4 ,thanks to the progress of liberal
  ideas and sound criticism1 we are     
able1 in the middle of the              
ever-memorable ,nineteenth ,century1    
serenely to examine anew those          
questions which for entire centuries    
stolid prejudice and narrow  dogmatism  
considered settled1 and adjudicated in  
the ,high ,court of  ,humanity for all  
times to come4 ,however signal the      
progress of our age  may be in the      
useful arts and in aesthetics1          
especially in upholstery1  in chemistry1
 in the government of large cities1 and 
in the purity of  commerce1 in pottery1 
pills1 and poetry1 and in the dignity of
 politics1  nothing1 we may venture to  
say1 will so distinctly and so broadly  
characterize the period in which we     
happily live1 when the future  historian
 shall sweep with his star-seeker over  
the past1 as the  joyful fact1 that we1 
above all others1 have divested         
ourselves of  long-cherished errors1    
hugged by our forefathers as truths full

 of life  and vigor1 and have1 indeed1  
so to speak1 founded a ,novum ,organon  
in  fact and reality1 while the great   
,bacon proposed one in mind and theory4 
,to our enlightened age it was reserved 
to return to polygamy1 after  nearly    
three thousand dragging years of dull   
adhesion of our race to  tiresome       
monogamy1 leaping back by one bound over
 the whole ,european  ,past into ancient
 and respectable ,asia4 ,ex ,oriente    
lux2 ex ,oriente  gaudia seraglii6 ,it  
is in our blessed epoch that atheism1 by
 some1 and  pantheism1 by others1 are   
boldly taught and vindicated1 as once   
they  were by ,greeks or ,orientals1 and
 with an earnestness and enthusiasm very
  different from the sneer with which   
,encyclopaedists of ,voltaire's time    
attacked ,christianity and ,deism4 ,to  
prove1 however1 the magnificent         
many-sidedness of our noble times1 it is
 we that have returned once more  to    
pictures of the ,virgin ,mary with      
winking and with weeping eyes1 or  to   

her apparitions talking patois1 as that 
of ,la ,valette1 and to a  hundred      
things in the ,church1 cautiously passed
 over sub silentio in  the last century1
 but now joyously proclaimed and        
sustained with defiant  erudition by    
,english and ,german doctores graces1   
and by the ,parisian  ,univers1 which1  
openly rejoicing in the ,english blood  
spilt by  the ,sepoys1--for it is but   
,protestant blood1 and that of hateful  
freemen1--heralds the second or third   
advent of universal love  and ,papacy4  
,it is in our age that representative1  
and indeed all  institutional           
government1 for the first time1 is      
called effete  parliamentarism1 a       
theatrical delusion1 for which1         
according to the  requirements of       
advanced civilization1 the beneficent1  
harmonious1 and  ever-glorious          
,caesarism1 pur et simple1 must be      
substituted1 as it  was once sublimely  
exhibited in the attractive ,caesars of 
,rome1 those  favorites of ,history and 

very pets of ,clio4 ,in the time of     
,tiberius1 as  ,president ,troplong     
beautifully and officially expressed it1
 ,democracy  at last seated herself on  
the imperial throne1 embodied in the    
,caesars1--those worshipful incarnations
 of democracy1 brought to our  view in  
the tableaux of ,suetonius and by the   
accounts of ,tacitus4 ,we  have at last 
returned to ,caesarism1 or ,asiatic     
absolutism1 improved by  modern light1  
and making the emperor a ,second        
,providence1 opening and  shutting the  
mouths of the universal-suffrage people1
 for words or  bread1 as imperial       
divinity finds best4 ,this is the       
progress of our age  in ,europe1 while  
we1 in this hemisphere1 have taken1 for 
the first  time in history1 a rational  
view of party strife1 and with unclouded
  intelligence maintain that judges and 
presidents are1 and ought to be1  party 
exponents1 doing away with those once   
romantic1 but certainly  superannuated  
ideas of ,country1 ,justice1 ,truth1 and

 ,patriotism4 ,all real  progress tends 
toward simplification2 and how simple   
are the idea of  party and the          
associations clustering around this     
sacred word1 compared  with the         
confusing and embarrassing unreality of 
those ideas and  juvenile feelings we   
have mentioned last6    ,but we have not
 done yet with the glory of our age4 ,it
 is this1 the  decennium we are soon    
going to close1 that has risen to that  
enviable  eminence whence slavery is    
declared a precious good of itself1  a  
hallowed agent of civilization1 an      
indispensable element of  conservatism1 
and a foundation of true socialism4     
,from this lofty  eminence the          
seer-statesman--rising far above the    
philosophical sagacity  displayed by    
,aristotle and ,varro1 when they        
discussed the sacred  topic--proclaims  
that ,capital ought to own1 and has a   
divine right to  own1 and always more or
 less does own1 ,labor2 and that1 since 
,labor  constitutes the whole humanity  

of the laboring man1 it clearly follows 
that he himself must be owned1 if his   
labor be owned4 ,would you own the  bird
 without its cage8 ,generous gospel of  
the rich6 ,blessed are the  wealthy6    
,it is the destiny of the middle of the 
nineteenth century--well may  we be     
forgiven1 if we pronounce it with some  
pride--unhesitatingly  to defend the    
,african slave-trade1 and to smile at   
what sickly  philanthropists used to    
consider the unutterable woe1 the       
unmeasured  crime1 and the diabolical   
hard-heartedness of that traffic4 ,we   
have  changed all this2 and1 to say the 
truth1 it was high time to discover     
that the negro-trade forms a charming   
chapter in the history of ,europe1  and 
that the protracted efforts to put it   
down were unchristian and               
unstatesmanlike4 ,pitt1 ,roscoe1        
,wilberforce1 ,burke1 ,washington1      
,franklin1  ,madison1 ,adams1           
,lowndes1--puny names6 short-sighted    
men6 ,by the ,african  slave-trade1     

creatures that are hardly deserving the 
name of men1 on  account of organic1    
intellectual1 and moral incapacity1 are 
forcibly  carried into the regions of   
,christian religion and civilization1   
there  to become civilized in spite of  
their unfitness for civilization4 ,the  
mariners1 usually occupied in risking   
life or health merely for the  sake of  
base traffic and filthy lucre1 are      
suddenly transformed into  ministering  
agents of civilization and religion4 ,it
 gives a priestly  character to the     
captain of a slave-ship1--to him that is
 willing to  break the laws of his      
country1 even daring the gallows1 for   
the benefit  of the sable brother1 and  
of his law-abiding conservative society4
 ,how  different from those dark times  
when the poet could say1 --,homo ignoto 
homini lupus est6 ,the missionary only  
endeavors to carry the ,church to       
,africa2 the slave-trader carries       
,africa to the ,church1 to civilization1
  and to the auction-table4    ,there   

are but two more returns to truth and   
justice necessary1--the  ,inquisition   
and the ,witch-,trials4 ,these restored1
 we may safely  congratulate ourselves  
on having regained the ground on which  
our race  stood before the ,reformation1
 that untoward event1 whence all the    
mischief dates that has befallen man in 
the shape of human rights1  liberty1 and
 other deplorable things1 as lately a   
grave writer--not a  ,catholic1 nor a   
,jew either--gravely assured us4 ,gentle
 readers1 let us  not be impatient4     
,progress has been of late so rapid1    
that many of you1  it is to be hoped1   
will yet have an opportunity of hailing 
the return of  those two noble          
institutions1 pro majore glori ,dei1 for
 which they  always existed1 as long as 
chill and misty skepticism did not      
extinguish  their glowing poetry4 ,ah6  
happy times6 poetic age6 when there     
existed  not only words that burn1 but  
also laws that burned6    ,in the mean  
time1 it may not be inappropriate to    

commence the  consideration of a topic  
somewhat farther removed from us1 but   
which1  according to our humble opinion1
 ought not to remain wholly beyond the  
limits of a candid1 liberal1 and        
unprejudiced examination1--we mean the  
important question1 ,whether the        
choicest of all substances1 the most    
delicate of all muscular texture1 that  
substance of which kings1  philosophers1
 policemen1 and supporters of crinoline 
are fashioned  by the plastic hand of   
,nature1 ought forever to be excluded   
from the  reproductive process of wasted
 energy and proportionably consumed     
nervous and cerebral fibre4 ,reader1 do 
not shrink2 grant us a patient  ear4    
,you do not know how rapidly you may    
change your own opinion and  feelings4  
,do you not remember with what awe we   
first read in the  ,almanach des        
,gourmands1 that a certain sauce        
piquante was so fine  that with it a man
 would eat his own mother8 ,this was    
only twenty years  ago2 yet all of us1  

now1 are helping a high-bred gentleman1 
trading1 on  a gigantic scale1 in the   
bones of his great ancestor4 ,what      
sublimity of  peddling6    ,to those who
 say1 ,it is unnatural to eat our       
friends1 we would answer1  that it is   
the office of civilization to remove us 
farther and farther  from ,nature4      
,analyze the present magnitude called   
,lady1 and you can  arithmetically state
 it1 how little of it is nature-woman1  
and how  much is hoop-civilization4 ,to 
those1 again1 who object1 that it is too
  primitive1 we would reply1 that the   
highest civilization is always a  return
 to ,nature1 which is likewise          
exemplified by many of our ladies in    
the ball-room1--we mean by their upper  
portion4    ,but revenons  nos moutons4 
,the ,rev4 ,messrs4 ,williams and       
,calvert1  missionaries1 for many long  
years1 among the ,fijians1 state1 in    
their  recently published work1 that    
those unsophisticated children of       
,nature  eat long pig1--as they call1   

with graceful humor1 roast-man1 in      
contradistinction to short-pig1 by which
 they designate our squealing           
fellow-roasters1--from three different  
motives4--,when a chief has a  gala-day1
 or desires to signal his arrival by a  
right royal feast1 it is  considered    
befitting to slaughter some men1 to let 
the blood run in  the path of royalty1  
and to have on the table some           
roast-homme4 ,our  ,captain ,wilkins    
told us1 years ago1 that1 for this      
roast-homme1 a  plump ,fijiana1 of some 
twelve or thirteen years1 is preferred4 
,they know  very well what is           
good6--,the second motive is hatred4    
,when a ,fijian  mortally hates a       
person1 he endeavors to kill him2 and   
having killed the  enemy1 why should the
 victim not be eaten8--,lastly1 it would
 seem that  affectionate regard1        
especially for a favorite wife1         
sometimes rises  to a mordant passion   
and an unconquerable longing for        
material  assimilation1--so much so1    

that the loving husband roasts his      
,penelope1  and neighbors are invited to
 participate in his better fourth or    
fifth1  as the polygamic case may be4   
,perhaps1 years after1 when with less   
demonstrative nations the memory of the 
beloved one would have passed  away1 the
 ,fijian ,fidelio may smack his lips1   
and exclaim1 with  ,petrarch's fervor1--
                ,perch ,morte fura      
,prima i migliori1 e lascia star i rei3 
,questa aspettata al regno degli ,dei   
,cosa bella mortal passa e non dura4    
,now we are very anxious not to be      
misunderstood by our readers4 ,in       
writing this paper1 we do not mean to   
urge the reintroduction of  ,cannibalism
 among us at once4 ,the public mind may 
not yet be ripe for  it2 but we desire  
to assist in placing the subject in its 
proper light1  and in showing that an   
enlightened impartiality can find very  
much in  defence of the ,fijians1--more1
 indeed1 than the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,froude has
 been  able to accumulate in favor of   

his wife-devouring hero1--or than ,mr4  
,spratt can say in favor of humanization
 in general1 and the breaking-up  of the
 ,union in particular1 by the reopening 
of the ,african  slave-trade1--or than  
our venerable chief-justice has         
contrived to say  in favor of           
reintroducing slavery in conquered      
territory1 where positive  law had      
abolished or excluded it1 by the        
abstract ,constitution itself1  proprio 
vigore1 7not quite unlike a wagoner1 it 
seems to us1 that  carries the soil of  
distant parts1 ips adhesione1 as it     
sticks to  his boots1 into the          
tavern-room17 without special law1 which
 even the  ancient civilians very       
stupidly declared to be necessary4      
,first1 you  will remember1 it was      
passionately maintained that the        
,constitution of  the ,united ,states   
does not know the ,common ,law2 and now 
it is insisted  that ,common ,law 7so   
far as slavery is concerned7 is as      
inherent in the  ,constitution as the   

black pigment is in the negro4 ,you     
cannot wash it  out2 it inheres         
physiologically in the ,constitution4 ,i
 tell you1 reader1  we are fast people  
indeed2 we travel fast in our opinions1 
with now  and then a somerset for the   
delectation of the philosopher4    ,let 
us sit down1 and have a philosophical   
conversation2 above all1 let  us discard
 sentiment1 feeling1--what you call     
heart1 and all that sort  of thing4 ,you
 know how much mischief ,las ,casas has 
done by allowing his  feelings to       
interfere when the ,spaniards roasted   
,indians1 from what he  chose to call   
diabolical lust of gold1 and sheer1     
abstract cruelty4 ,poor  ,bishop6 ,he   
belonged to the softs4 ,let us be       
philosophers1 economists1  and1 above   
all1 ,constitutionalists4 ,some         
philosophers1 indeed1 have  said that   
all idea of ,right and ,wrong1 and the  
idea that there is  a difference between
 the two1 must needs1 first of all1     
start from  sentiment2 but leave1 ,i    

implore you1 such philosophic fogyism   
behind  you4    ,first1 then1 as to the 
principle of ,right4 ,it is a fact1 that
 most  tribes and races1 probably all   
nations in their earliest days1  have   
killed old and useless parents1 and have
 eaten enemies1 once  slain1--perhaps   
friends1 too4 ,some nations carried the 
eating of human  flesh far down into    
their civilized periods and into recent 
times4 ,the  ,spaniards found the       
civilized ,aztecs enjoying their petits 
soupers  of babes  la ,tartare1 or      
gorgeous dinners on fattened heroes aux 
truffes4 ,have you forgotten that from  
that fine ,introduction to  ,prescott's 
,conquest of ,mexico a flavor of roast  
long pig steams into  our nostrils as   
from a royal kitchen8 ,eating our       
equals1 therefore1  is sound ,common    
,law of all mankind1 even more so than  
slavery1 for it  exists before slavery  
can be introduced4 ,slavery is          
introduced when the  prisoner of war may
 be made to work1--when the tilling of  

the soil has  commenced2 though then not
 always2 for we now know that slavery   
was  introduced among the ,greeks at a  
comparatively late period3 but killing  
parents and eating enemies exists in the
 hunter's state1 and at those  periods  
when people find it hard work to obtain 
food1 each one for  himself1 to keep    
even a starved body and a little bit of 
soul together4  ,chewing our neighbor is
 even better1 for it is older ,common   
,law1 than  the universal buying of a   
wife and consequent selling of daughters
 which  exists even now over far the    
greater portion of the globe4 ,we take  
it  that our species began with eating  
itself without paying for the fare4     
,partaking of our neighbor precedes all 
lex scripta1 all statute law1  all      
constitutions4 ,as to ourselves in      
particular1 whose law is the  ,english  
law1 we know that the ,druids sacrificed
 human beings to their  gods2 and every 
one knows full well1 that man1 when in  
gastronomic  contact with the gods1     

always appropriates the most savory     
morsels  and the largest portions of the
 sacrifice to himself1 leaving to the   
ethereal taste of ,jove or ,tezcatlipoca
 the smell of some burnt bones or       
inwards4 ,yet there is no law on record 
abolishing human sacrifices4 ,we  know1 
indeed1 that some ,teutonic tribes1 when
 they adopted ,christianity1  positively
 prohibited the eating of horse-flesh1  
but no law ever forbade  to honor our   
fathers and mothers by making them parts
 of our feasts2 so  that no lawyer of   
the true sort will deny1 that1 to this  
day1 the right  of sacrificing          
fellow-men1 and the reasonable          
concomitant of eating the  better       
portion of the sacrifice1 still exists4 
,greeks and ,romans have  sacrificed    
men2 why should not we8 ,that men have  
their individual rights  is no valid    
objection4 ,rights depend exclusively   
upon the law2 and the  law1 we have     
shown1 does not grant equal rights 7at  
least1 not equal  destinations7 to the  

,eater and the ,eatee2 for it seems to  
be one thing  to eat1 and another to be 
eaten4 ,it was a very silly maxim of the
  ancient ,civil ,law1 ,that the law1   
the regula1 is derived from the right   
7jus71 not the jus from the law4 ,has   
not a ,supreme ,court in one of  our    
,states lately denied to a negro even   
the right to choose between  liberty and
 slavery1--the choice being left to him 
by his deceased  master1--because the   
creature 7which1 when doing wrong1 is   
responsible  and has a will imputed to  
him7 has no will to choose1 because it  
cannot  have any1 says the ,supreme     
,court of that ,state8    ,however1 it  
will doubtless be objected by some1 that
 it is simply  disgusting to eat our    
fellow-creatures of the same            
species1--that it is  unnatural and     
against our religion1--and that so      
remarkable a diversity  of taste can be 
explained only on the ground of our     
belonging to  different races4 ,we do   
not believe that the ,fijians belong to 

a  different race4 ,fijian1 or          
,fijician1 results1 by a slight change  
of  letters1 from the word ,phoenician2 
and there can be no doubt that  the     
,fijians are descendants of those       
,phoenicians who1 according to          
,herodotus1 sailed1 in the reign of the 
,egyptian ,king ,necho1 from the        
,persian ,gulf round the ,cape of ,good 
,hope1 and entered the ,mediterranean   
through the ,pillars of ,hercules4 ,how 
they came to be wafted to the  opposite 
hemisphere is not for us to explain1 nor
 do we know it4 ,suffice  it to say1    
that ,fijician and ,phoenician are the  
same word4 ,possibly old  ,admiral      
,hanno preceded ,captain ,cook4 ,who can
 prove the contrary8    ,as to the first
 of these objections1 we admit that some
 people may  feel a degree of aversion  
to roast-homme2 but so does the         
,mahometan  abominate roast short pig2  
and a ,brahmin1 taken to ,cincinnati and
 its  environs1 at the sanguinary       
hog-murder time1 would die outright1 of 

horror4 ,we almost died1 ourselves1 at  
the sickening sight of that  porcian    
massacre4 ,de gustibus non est          
disputantibus1 as our colonel  used to  
say4 ,disgust1 is the result of a       
special treaty of amity and  reciprocity
 between the stomach and the            
imagination1 differing according  to    
difference in the contracting parties4  
,we have known many persons  who would  
not touch mutton1 and others who would  
rather starve than eat  oysters2 while  
we ourselves revolt at sourkrout1 which1
 nevertheless1  millions of ,germans1   
,french1 and ,americans consider        
delicious4 ,disgust  is arbitrary2 it   
does not furnish us with a philosophical
 ground for  argumentation4 ,the ,fijian
 does not feel disgust at the flavor of 
a  well-roasted white sailor2 and as    
long as he does not insist upon our     
relishing his fare1 what right have we  
to ask him to feel disgusted8  ,when the
 panther-tailed ,aztec priest fattened  
his prisoner1 or carried  along the     

children decked with wreaths1 soon to be
 smothered in their  own juice1 he      
cannot have felt disgust1 any more than 
the ,malay1 of whom  ,sir ,thomas       
,stamford ,raffles tells us1 that1 with 
epicurean refinement1  he cut the       
choicest bits from his living prisoner1 
in order to baste  them to a turn and   
season them with choice pepper4    ,is  
it unnatural8 ,we have once seen1 with  
our own eyes1 a very large  unroasted   
small pig devour one of her own piglets1
 whilst the others  lustily drew        
nourishment from the grunting mother4   
,it look our appetite  away for         
forty-eight hours2 yet it was nature2   
and in some portions of  ,europe1 people
 express the highest degree of fondness 
by the expressive  phrase1--,i could eat
 you4 ,we may rely upon it1 that1 as    
,mr4 ,agassiz  says1--,there is no      
difference in kind1 but only in degree4 
,with reference to religion1 we readily 
acknowledge that dining  la  ,fijienne  
does not appear exactly to be a divine  

institution1 as slavery  has recently   
been discovered to be4 ,from olden times
 it used to be the  belief of           
superstitious man that there was a      
divine afflatus in liberty2  but our    
profound theological scholars and       
,biblical critics have found  out that  
the divinity is on the other side4      
,neither ,tertullian nor  ,austin1      
neither ,st4 ,bernard nor any ,pope1    
good or bad1 neither ,luther1  ,bossuet1
 ,calvin1 nor ,baxter1 no commentator1  
exegetist1 or preacher1  ever found out1
 what these profoundest inquirers have  
at length  discovered1 that slavery is  
divine1 like matrimony4 ,had they       
discovered  this great truth before the 
,catholic ,church settled the number of 
sacraments1 there must have been eight  
instead of seven4 ,why was their  advent
 so late8    ,possibly these grave and  
candid1 deep and fervent theologians1   
whose  opinions on theology are quoted  
everywhere1 whose works are spread over 
the globe1 and whose lore is stupendous1

 may yet discover that there is  a      
divine flavor even in a soup  la        
,mexicaine4 ,one thing1 however1  is    
quite certain1 namely1--that there is no
 prohibition of digestively             
assimilating our neighbor with          
ourselves1 from one end of the ,bible to
  the other4 ,was not ,fielding's parson
 logical1 who preferred punch to  wine1 
because it is nowhere spoken ill of in  
,scripture8 ,when ,baron  ,viereck was  
rebuked by a friend for having given his
 daughter in  marriage to the ,king of  
,denmark1 the ,queen1 undivorced1       
continuing to  occupy the throne1 the   
shrewd father replied1 that he had found
 no  passage in the ,bible that         
prohibits a ,king of ,denmark from      
having two  wives2 and has not the      
democratic ,fijian as good a right to   
that logic  as the noble ,baron had8    
,to say the truth1 all these objections 
are founded mainly upon  sentiment1 and 
we trust that morbid sentimentality will
 have no weight  in an age which        

ridicules the horror of the ,british    
,commons at the  descriptions of the    
middle passage1 and demands calm        
judgment when the  question arises1 how 
to increase the number of               
representatives and the  profits on     
sugar and cotton1--in our poetic age1 in
 which republican  senators have openly 
declared their chivalrous allegiance to 
the  sovereign substance of which       
night-caps are made1 and petticoats1--to
  ,his ,majesty1 ,king ,cotton1--not a  
very merry king1 it must be owned1 as   
young ,king ,charles was1 or old ,king  
,cole1 but still a worthy sovereign2    
for1 after all1 he is but a new and most
 bulky avatar of ,almighty  ,dollar4    
,no objection whatsoever can be made to 
the deglutinatio ,fijiana on the  score 
of utility4 ,the islands of the ,fijians
 are but small2 no ,fijian  ,attila can 
lead forth his hosts into neighboring   
countries2 no ,fijian  ,goths can pour  
down from ,polynesian ,alps into an     
,oceanic ,italy2 no  ,athenians can     

there send sons and gods to a ,coreyra3 
and no ,fijian ,miles  ,standish can    
there walk up and down before his       
pipe-clayed bandoleers in  foreign      
colonies4 ,how1 then1 can an            
over-increase of population be more     
harmoniously prevented than by making   
the young and sleek furnish the         
starving with a plump existence8 ,is it 
not1 economically viewed1  the principle
 of ,dr4 ,franklin's smoke-consuming    
pipe applied to the  infinitely more    
important sphere of human existence8    
,the festive table1  to which1 according
 to the great ,malthus1 ,nature declines
 inviting a  large portion of every     
well-peopled country1 will never be     
known by  the happy ,fijian ,say or     
,senior1 so long as wise conservatism   
shall not  change its old and sacred    
laws1 and shall allow ,nature to invite 
one  happy portion as guests1 and       
another happy portion as savory dishes4 
,it  is ,nature in modest simplicity1 as
 it is exhibited in half-a-dozen mice   

in a deep kettle1 of whom one survivor  
and material representative  remains4   
,the ,chinese expose female infants1 and
 lawful infanticide has  been abolished 
in some districts of the ,british ,east 
,indies within these  thirty years only4
 ,would it not be wiser to reassimilate 
the tender dear  ones1 and think of them
 ever after with smacking memory8    ,it
 is true1 indeed1 that1 upon the whole1 
,fijian gastronomy leers more  toward   
the tender sex than toward that which in
 our country wears the  trousers        
uncrinolined4 ,but1 we submit1 is this a
 fair objection8 ,why  is the tender sex
 more tender8 ,lately1 when an orator   
had strongly  expressed himself against 
the maxim of patriotic                  
office-hunters1--,to  the victor belong 
the spoils1 he was very logically       
asked1--,and pray1  ,sir1 to whom should
 the spoils belong1 if not to the       
victor8 ,so we  would ask1 should any   
one complain of girls being thus        
economized by  men1--,who1 in the name  

of common sense1 should1 if not men8    
,would you  have them perform that      
sacrificial duty for one another8       
,but whatever may be thought1 by some of
 our lovely readers1 of this last       
argument1 7which henceforth may be      
termed argumentum marcianum17 and       
which1 in the case before us1 will      
always be an ex parte argument1 all     
will agree that no objection can be     
taken to making repasts on porcus       
longus once fairly killed1--for         
instance1 on heroes stretched on the    
battle-field4 ,this was the cogent      
argument of the ,new ,zealander1 after  
baptism1--used in discussing the topic  
with the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,yale4 ,willing  to 
give up slaughtering fellow-men for the 
sake of eating them1 he could  not see  
why it was not wicked to waste so much  
good food4    ,if it were objected1     
that1 admitting the making of your      
enemy's  flesh flesh of your own flesh  
would necessarily lead to skirmishes1   
surprise-parties1 and battles for the   

sole purpose of getting a  dinner1--to a
 sort of pre-prandial exercise1 as in   
fishing1--we would  simply answer1 ,too 
late6 ,our friends who desire the       
reopening of the  ,african slave-trade  
declare that they wish to buy slaves    
only4 ,when  statesmen1 and             
missionaries1 and simple people with    
simple sense and  simple hearts1 cry out
 to them1 ,stop6 for the sake of our    
common  ,father1 stop6 ,by reopening the
 slave-trade1 you revive the vilest     
crimes1 and1 for every negro ultimately 
sold to you on the coast1 you  cause the
 murder of at least ten in the interior1
 not to speak of those  that are coolly 
massacred in the barracoon1 when no     
demand exists1--the  satisfactory reply 
is3 ,we have nothing to do with all     
that2 we do not  travel beyond the      
record4 ,we buy the negro who is a      
slave2 what made him  a slave we do not 
care to know4 ,the pearl in the market  
does not show  the toil of the fisher4  
,and so the ,fijian would properly      

reply3 ,do not  mix up different        
subjects4 ,i rescue my departed brother 
from ignominious  decay1 and remake a   
man of him4 ,how he came to             
depart1--that belongs to  quite a       
different chapter4    ,this utilitarian 
view acquires a still greater importance
 when applied  to criminals under       
sentence of capital punishment4 ,soon   
after ,beccaria1  it was asked1 if we   
mistake not1 by ,voltaire3 ,of what use 
is the  dead body of a criminal8 ,you   
cannot restore the victim to life by the
  execution of the murderer4 ,and many  
pardons in ,america have been  granted  
on the assumption that no satisfactory  
answer could be given to  the           
philosophical question3 ,what use can   
the swinging body of the poor  creature 
be to any one8 ,the ,fijian alone has a 
perfectly satisfactory  reply4    ,the  
missionaries1 already named in this     
paper1 give a long account of  the      
execution of a supposed ,fijian         
conspirator1 which ends with these      

words3 ,at last he was brought down to  
the ground by a club2 after which  he   
was eaten4    ,we can discern many      
advantages to be derived from the       
introduction of  what we will call pts  
penitentiaires4    ,there would be no   
waste of food4    ,the sentence of the  
judge would sound more civilized2 for1  
instead of  hearing the odious words1   
,you shall be hanged by the neck until  
you  are dead1 words would be pronounced
 somewhat like these3 ,you shall be     
taken to ,delmonico1 and there and by   
him be served up on such a day1 as      
sclrat en papillotes4    ,there would be
 a greater readiness in jurors to       
convict interesting  criminals1 who     
now-a-days cannot be found              
guilty1--especially were a law  passed  
that the jury should have the criminal4 
,we read in the ,scottish  ,criminal    
,trials1 that a woman1 clearly convicted
 of an atrocious  murder1 was1          
nevertheless1 found not guilty4 ,the    
astonished lord  justiciary asked the   

foreman1 how it was possible to find the
 prisoner  not guilty1 with such        
overwhelming evidence1 and was answered3
 ,becaase1  my laird1 she is purty4     
,would not the delicacy of the prisoner 
have  been an additional reason for     
finding her guilty with ,fijian jurors8 
,fourthly1 there would be an obvious    
national advantage in some  countries1  
in which the government is at one and   
the same time busily  engaged in finding
 cheap food for the people1 and in      
transporting  annually many hundreds of 
political suspects to killing colonies4 
,it  is1 indeed1 surprising1 that so    
sagacious and parental a government as  
that of ,napoleon the ,third1--may ,his 
,majesty be long preserved for the      
civilization of ,france1 the peace of   
,europe1 and the glory of mankind in    
general6--it is surprising1 that his    
all-providing and all-foreseeing        
government has not long ago discovered  
how the craving of the national  stomach
 for food1 and of the popular mind for  

political purification1  might be       
stilled by no longer transporting       
political offenders and  suspects to    
,french ,guiana or ,lambessa1 where they
 uselessly and  ignobly perish1 but by  
sentencing them1 instead1 to the        
enviable lot of  making a feast for     
their brethren4 ,would not every        
,socialist1 receiving  permission thus  
to help feed society1 exclaim3 ,c'est   
magnifique6 mais  c'est sublime6        
,when ,robespierre was in the zenith of 
his guillotinacious glory1 the  bonnes  
would sit around the scaffold1 minding  
children and knitting  stockings1 to see
 the head of a marquis or of a shoemaker
 fall4 ,we leave  it to every reader1   
whether there would not be more historic
 unity and  poetic completeness in the  
tableau1 were we to read that these good
  creatures dined upon the ci-devant1   
after the execution4    ,imperial ,rome 
is the beau idal of the present         
government of la belle  ,france2 and we 
must own1 that1 when perusing the       

exhilarating pages of  ,suetonius1 it   
has often occurred to our mind that     
there is something  wanting in the list 
of high deeds related of those superb   
specimens of  humanity exhibited in the 
,caligulas and ,heliogabali4 ,they did  
so much  for cookery6 ,yet they seem    
never to have risen above an indirect   
consumption of their subjects1 by       
feeding their lobsters with ignoble     
slaves2 never did they directly bestow  
upon ,roman freemen the honor of  being 
served up for the imperial table4 ,nero 
murdered his mother and  bade his       
teacher open his own veins4 ,would it   
not read much more  civilized1 if the   
annals of the empire were telling us3   
,nero1 jam  divus1 leniter dixit3 ,o    
,seneca1 ,pundit delectabilis et        
philosophe laute1  quis dubitet te      
libentissime mihi hodie proferre        
artocreatem stoicum8    ,strange as it  
may appear to some readers1 that thus   
the polished ,romans  might have learned
 a lesson of civilization from the      

,fijians1 they will  not reject our     
suggestion1 when they reflect1 that1    
only a short time  ago1 they were1      
probably1 as much surprised at finding  
the government  of so great a country as
 ,france adopting imperial ,rome as a   
model  body-politic4 ,familiarize your  
mind with the idea1 and all difficulties
  vanish4 ,it is only the last step     
which costs1--not the first4    ,there  
are many more reasons that might be     
urged in favor of the  ,fijians4 ,we are
 not aware that the reverend            
missionaries have given  any statistical
 tables1 showing a regularity in the    
annual numbers of  consumed persons1    
male and female1 classed according to   
the reasons why  consumed2 but no one   
can doubt that such tables might be     
given1 and if  so1 the whole question of
 anthropophagism could be very easily   
buckled  up in a tidy little valise4    
,the ,fijians1 in the plural1 we take   
it1  have little or nothing to do with  
it2 it is the abstract1 will-less1      

impersonal ,fijian--who1 according to   
the learned ,ferrari1,a would be        
called1 now1 ,podesta ,fijian1 now      
,consul ,fijian1 now ,papa              
,fijianus--that  snuffs the flavor of   
his own dear natural pot  feu2 and      
,right  or ,wrong1 ,just or ,unjust1    
,commendable or ,revolting1 are         
schoolboy  distinctions1 no longer      
recognized by the philosophical         
historian1 who  treats all moral        
questions and national movements like   
questions of  natural philosophy1--like 
social chemistry1 in which so puerile a 
word  as poison has no place4 ,arsenic  
is arsenic with certain effects1 and    
nothing more2 and society poisons itself
 annually to such an amount1            
arithmetically expressed4    ,footnote  
,a3 ,histoire des ,revolutions          
d',italie1 ou ,guelf's et  ,gibelins4   
,par ,j4 ,ferrari4 ,paris1 #aheh4    ,we
 ask leave to add two suggestions in    
favor of the ,fijians1 both1 it  would  
seem1 of philosophic importance4 ,if you

 do not like the ,fijian  national      
dish1--national in more than one        
sense1--have the dear  sons of ,nature1 
as ,carlyle probably would call them1   
not the right to  reply1--,we do not    
like your sauerkraut1 if you are a      
,german2 your  polenta1 if you are an   
,italian2 your olla podrida1 if you are 
a  ,spaniard2 nor your grit1 if you are 
a ,dane2 your bacon and greasy  greens1 
if you are a ,southerner2 nor your baked
 beans1 if you are a  ,northerner2 nor  
any other stuff called national         
dishes1--all of which  are vile1 except 
,english roast beef and plum-pudding1   
and ,neapolitan  maccaroni4    ,the     
other suggestion is this3 ,is it likely 
that ,nature has placed the  ,fijians   
exactly in the same meridian with       
,greenwich1 which in some  measure may  
be called the meridian of civilization1 
for nothing8--is it  likely that all the
 solar and cosmic influences which must 
result from  this fact have really left 
the ,fijian in that state of            

hyper-brutality  which you think is     
proved by his menage8 ,is it1 we ask1   
fairly to be  supposed8 ,we think not4  
,we do not presume to know whether we   
have carried conviction to the  minds of
 our readers2 but even if we have       
not1--if we have only been  sufficiently
 fortunate to give the first impulse to 
the great inquiry1  we shall be         
satisfied4 ,if we consider the history  
of some opinions now  openly preached   
and vehemently maintained1--how timidly 
they were  first hinted at1 within our  
own recollection1 and with what         
surprising  rapidity they have risen to 
an unblushing amplitude1 rustling and   
sweeping proudly and defiantly along the
 ,broadway of human events  and         
opinions1--how that which but a lustre  
ago was wicked is now  virtuous1--we see
 no reason for despair2 and our century 
may yet witness  the time when it will  
be considered the highest mixture of    
philosophic  courtesy and ,christian    
urbanity to make the most graceful      

semi-lateral  bow1 as you pass your     
friend in the street1 and1 kissing the  
tip of your  finger1 to lisp1 with      
bending head and smiling eye1--    ,may 
,i never disagree with you6             
,,the ,,professor ,,at ,,the            
,,breakfast-,,table4    ,,what ,,he     
,,said1 ,,what ,,he ,,heard1 ,,and      
,,what ,,he ,,saw4      ,the ,professor 
talks with the ,reader4 ,he tells a     
,young ,girl's ,story4    ,when the     
elements that went to the making of the 
first man1 father of  mankind1 had been 
withdrawn from the world of unconscious 
matter1 the  balance of creation was    
disturbed4 ,the materials that go to the
 making  of one woman were set free by  
the abstraction from inanimate nature of
  one man's-worth of masculine          
constituents4 ,these combined to make   
our  first mother1 by a logical         
necessity involved in the previous      
creation  of our common father4 ,all    
this1 mythically1 illustratively1 and by
 no  means doctrinally or polemically4  

,the man implies the woman1 you will    
understand4 ,the excellent gentleman    
whom ,i had the pleasure of setting     
right in a trifling matter a few  weeks 
ago believes in the frequent occurrence 
of miracles at the present  day4 ,so do 
,i4 ,i believe1 if you could find an    
uninhabited coral-reef  island1 in the  
middle of the ,pacific ,ocean1 with     
plenty of cocoa-palms  and bread-fruit  
on it1 and put a handsome young fellow1 
like our  ,marylander1 ashore upon it1  
if you touched there a year afterwards1 
you  would find him walking under the   
palm trees arm in arm with a pretty     
woman4    ,where would she come from8   
,oh1 that's the miracle6    ----,i was  
just as certain1 when ,i saw that fine1 
high-colored youth at  the upper        
right-hand corner of our table1 that    
there would appear some  fitting        
feminine counterpart to him1 as if ,i   
had been a clairvoyant1  seeing it all  
beforehand4    ----,i have a fancy that 
those ,marylanders are just about near  

enough to  the sun to ripen well4--,how 
some of us fellows remember ,joe and    
,harry1  ,baltimoreans1 both6 ,joe1 with
 his cheeks like lady-apples1 and his   
eyes  like black-heart cherries1 and his
 teeth like the whiteness of the flesh  
of cocoa-nuts1 and his laugh that set   
the chandelier-drops rattling  overhead1
 as we sat at our sparkling banquets in 
those gay times6 ,harry1  champion1 by  
acclamation1 of the ,college            
heavyweights1 broad-shouldered1         
bull-necked1 square-jawed1 six feet and 
trimmings1 a little science1  lots of   
pluck1 good-natured as a steer in peace1
 formidable as a  red-eyed bison in the 
crack of hand-to-hand battle6 ,who      
forgets the  great muster-day1 and the  
collision of the classic with the       
democratic  forces8 ,the huge butcher1  
fifteen stone1--two hundred and ten     
pounds1--good weight1--steps out like   
,telamonian ,ajax1 defiant4 ,no words   
from ,harry1 the ,baltimorean1--one of  
the quiet sort1 who strike first1  and  

do the talking1 if there is any1        
afterwards4 ,no words1 but1 in the      
place thereof1 a clean1 straight1 hard  
hit1 which took effect with a  spank    
like the explosion of a percussion-cap1 
knocking the slayer of  beeves down a   
sand-bank1--followed1 alas6 by the too  
impetuous youth1 so  that both rolled   
down together1 and the conflict         
terminated in one of  those inglorious  
and inevitable ,yankee clinches1        
followed by a general  mele1 which make 
our native fistic encounters so         
different from such  admirably-ordered  
contests as that which ,i once saw at an
 ,english fair1  where everything was   
done decently and in order1 and the     
fight began and  ended with such grave  
propriety1 that a sporting parson need  
hardly have  hesitated to open it with a
 devout petition1 and1 after it was     
over1  dismiss the ring with a          
benediction4    ,i can't help telling   
one more story about this great         
field-day1 though  it is the most wanton

 and irrelevant digression4 ,but all of 
us have a  little speck of fight        
underneath our peace and goodwill to    
men1--just  a speck1 for revolutions and
 great emergencies1 you know1--so that  
we  should not submit to be trodden     
quite flat by the first heavy-heeled    
aggressor that came along4 ,you can tell
 a portrait from an ideal head1 ,i      
suppose1 and a true story from one spun 
out of the writer's invention4  ,see    
whether this sounds true or not4        
,admiral ,sir ,isaac ,coffin sent out   
two fine blood-horses1 ,barefoot and    
,scrab by name1 to ,massachusetts1      
something before the time ,i am talking 
of4 ,with them came a ,yorkshire groom1 
a stocky little fellow1 in velvet       
breeches1 who made that mysterious      
hissing noise1 traditionary in  ,english
 stables1 when he rubbed down the       
silken-skinned racers1 in great         
perfection4 ,after the soldiers had come
 from the muster-field1 and  some of the
 companies were on the village-common1  

there was still some  skirmishing       
between a few individuals who had not   
had the fight taken  out of them4 ,the  
little ,yorkshire groom thought he must 
serve out  somebody4 ,so he threw       
himself into an approved scientific     
attitude1 and1  in brief1 emphatic      
language1 expressed his urgent anxiety  
to accommodate  any classical young     
gentleman who chose to consider himself 
a candidate  for his attentions4 ,i     
don't suppose there were many of the    
college boys  that would have been a    
match for him in the art which          
,englishmen know  so much more of than  
,americans1 for the most part4 ,however1
 one of the  ,sophomores1 a very quiet1 
peaceable fellow1 just stepped out of   
the  crowd1 and1 running straight at the
 groom1 as he stood there1 sparring     
away1 struck him with the sole of his   
foot1 a straight blow1 as if it  had    
been with his fist1--and knocked him    
heels over head and senseless1  so that 
he had to be carried off from the field4

 ,this ugly way of  hitting is the great
 trick of the ,french savate1 which is  
not  commonly thought able to stand its 
ground against ,english pugilistic      
science4--,these are old recollections1 
with not much to recommend them1        
except1 perhaps1 a dash of life1 which  
may be worth a little something4    ,the
 young ,marylander brought them all up1 
you may remember4 ,he recalled  to my   
mind those two splendid pieces of       
vitality ,i told you of4 ,both  have    
been long dead4 ,how often we see these 
great red flaring flambeaux  of life    
blown out1 as it were1 by a puff of     
wind1--and the little1  single-wicked   
night-lamp of being1 which some         
white-faced and attenuated  invalid     
shades with trembling fingers1          
flickering on while they go out  one    
after another1 until its glimmer is all 
that is left to us of the  generation it
 belonged to6    ,i told you that ,i was
 perfectly sure1 beforehand1 we should  
find some  pleasing girlish or womanly  

shape to fill the blank at our table and
  match the dark-haired youth at the    
upper corner4    ,there she sits1 at the
 very opposite corner1 just as far off  
as accident  could put her from this    
handsome fellow1 by whose side she      
ought1 of  course1 to be sitting4 ,one  
of the positive blondes1 as my friend1  
you may remember1 used to call them4    
,tawny-haired1 amber-eyed1              
full-throated1 skin as white as a       
blanched almond4 ,looks dreamy to me1   
not self-conscious1 though a black      
ribbon round her neck sets it off as  a 
,marie-,antoinette's diamond-necklace   
could not do4 ,so in her dress1  there  
is a harmony of tints that looks as if  
an artist had run his eye  over her and 
given a hint or two like the finishing  
touch to a picture4  ,i can't help being
 struck with her1 for she is at once    
rounded and fine  in feature1 looks     
calm1 as blondes are apt to1 and as if  
she might run  wild1 if she were trifled
 with4--,it is just as ,i knew it would 

be1--and  anybody can see that our young
 ,marylander will be dead in love with  
her  in a week4    ,then if that little 
man would only turn out immensely rich  
and have the  good-nature to die and    
leave them all his money1 it would be as
 nice as  a three-volume novel4         
,little ,boston is in a flurry1 ,i      
suspect1 with the excitement of having  
such a charming neighbor next him4 ,i   
judge so mainly by his silence and  by a
 certain rapt and serious look on his   
face1 as if he were thinking  of        
something that had happened1 or that    
might happen1 or that ought to          
happen1--or how beautiful her young life
 looked1 or how hardly ,nature  had     
dealt with him1 or something which      
struck him silent1 at any rate4 ,i  made
 several conversational openings for    
him1 but he did not fire up as  he often
 does4 ,i even went so far as to indulge
 in a fling at the ,state  ,house1      
which1 as we all know1 is in truth a    
very imposing structure1  covering less 

ground than ,st4 ,peter's1 but of       
similar general effect4  ,the little man
 looked up1 but did not reply to my     
taunt4 ,he said to  the young lady1     
however1 that the ,state ,house was the 
,parthenon of our  ,acropolis1 which    
seemed to please her1 for she smiled1   
and he reddened a  little1--so ,i       
thought4 ,i don't think it right to     
watch persons who are  the subjects of  
special infirmity1--but we all do it4   
,i see that they have crowded the chairs
 a little at that end of  the table1 to 
make room for another new-comer of the  
lady sort4 ,a  well-mounted1 middle-aged
 preparation1 wearing her hair without  
a cap1--pretty wide in the parting1     
though1--contours vaguely               
hinted1--features very quiet1--says     
little as yet1 but seems to keep her    
eye on the young lady1 as if having some
 responsibility for her4--           99 
99       99       99       99    ,my    
record is a blank for some days after   
this4 ,in the mean time ,i have         

contrived to make out the person and the
 story of our young lady1  who1         
according to appearances1 ought to      
furnish us a heroine for a              
boarding-house romance before a year is 
out4 ,it is very curious that  she      
should prove connected with a person    
many of us have heard of4  ,yet1 curious
 as it is1 ,i have been a hundred times 
struck with the  circumstance that the  
most remote facts are constantly        
striking each  other2 just as vessels   
starting from ports thousands of miles  
apart pass  close to each other in the  
naked breadth of the ocean1 nay1        
sometimes  even touch1 in the dark1 with
 a crack of timbers1 a gurgling of      
water1 a  cry of startled sleepers1--a  
cry mysteriously echoed in warning      
dreams1  as the wife of some ,gloucester
 fisherman1 some coasting skipper1 wakes
  with a shriek1 calls the name of her  
husband1 and sinks back to uneasy       
slumbers upon her lonely pillow1--a     
widow4    ,oh1 these mysterious         

meetings6 ,leaving all the vague1 waste1
 endless  spaces of the washing desert1 
the ocean-steamer and the fishing-smack 
sail straight towards each other as if  
they ran in grooves ploughed for  them  
in the waters from the beginning of     
creation6 ,not only things and  events1 
but our own thoughts1 are so full of    
these surprises1 that1 if  there were a 
reader in my parish who did not         
recognize the familiar  occurrence of   
what ,i am now going to mention1 ,i     
should think it a case  for the         
missionaries of the ,society for the    
,propagation of ,intelligence  among the
 ,comfortable ,classes4    ,there are   
about as many twins in the births of    
thought as of children4  ,for the first 
time in your lives you learn some fact  
or come across some  idea4 ,within an   
hour1 a day1 a week1 that same fact or  
idea strikes  you from another quarter4 
,it seems as if it had passed into space
 and  bounded back upon you as an echo  
from the blank wall that shuts in the   

world of thought4 ,yet no possible      
connection exists between the two       
channels by which the thought or the    
fact arrived4 ,let me give an           
infinitesimal illustration4    ,one of  
the ,boys mentioned1 the other evening1 
in the course of a very  pleasant poem  
he read us1 a little trick of the       
,commons table-boarders1  which ,i1     
nourished at the parental board1 had    
never heard of4 ,young  fellows being   
always hungry----,allow me to stop      
dead-short1 in order  to utter an       
aphorism which has been forming itself  
in one of the blank  interior spaces of 
my intelligence1 like a crystal in the  
cavity of a  geode4           99        
99       99       99       99           
,aphorism by the ,professor4    ,in     
order to know whether a human being is  
young or old1 offer it food of          
different kinds at short intervals4 ,if 
young1 it will eat anything at  any hour
 of the day or night4 ,if old1 it       
observes stated periods1 and  you might 

as well attempt to regulate the time of 
high-water to suit a  fishing-party as  
to change these periods4    ,the crucial
 experiment is this4 ,offer a bulky and 
boggy bun to the  suspected individual  
just ten minutes before dinner4 ,if this
 is eagerly  accepted and devoured1 the 
fact of youth is established4 ,if the   
subject  of the question changes color  
and expresses surprise and incredulity1 
as  if you could not possibly be in     
earnest1 the fact of maturity is no less
  clear4           99       99       99 
99       99    ----,excuse me1--,i      
return to my story of the               
,commons-table4--,young  fellows being  
always hungry1 and tea and dry toast    
being the meagre fare  of the evening   
meal1 it was a trick of some of the     
,boys to impale a  slice of meat upon a 
fork1 at dinner-time1 and stick the fork
 holding it  beneath the table1 so that 
they could get it at tea-time4 ,the     
dragons  that guarded this table of the 
,hesperides found out the trick at last1

  and kept a sharp look-out for missing 
forks2--they knew where to find  one1 if
 it was not in its place4--,now the odd 
thing was1 that1 after  waiting so many 
years to hear of this college trick1 ,i 
should hear it  mentioned a second time 
within the same twenty-four hours by a  
college  youth of the present           
generation4 ,strange1 but true4 ,and so 
it has  happened to me and to every     
person1 often and often1 to be hit in   
rapid  succession by these twinned facts
 or thoughts1 as if they were linked    
like chain-shot4    ,i was going to     
leave the simple reader to wonder over  
this1 taking it as  an unexplained      
marvel4 ,i think1 however1 ,i will turn 
over a furrow of  subsoil in it4 ,the   
explanation is1 of course1 that in a    
great many  thoughts there must be a few
 coincidences1 and these instantly      
arrest  our attention4 ,now we shall    
probably never have the least idea of   
the  enormous number of impressions     
which pass through our consciousness1   

until in some future life we see the    
photographic record of our thoughts  and
 the stereoscopic picture of our        
actions4 ,there go more pieces to  make 
up a conscious life or a living body    
than you think for4 ,why1  some of you  
were surprised when a friend of mine    
told you there  were fifty-eight        
separate pieces in a fiddle4 ,how many  
swimming  glands--solid1 organized1     
regularly formed1 rounded disks1 taking 
an  active part in all your vital       
processes1 part and parcel1 each one of 
them1 of your corporeal being--do you   
suppose are whirled along1 like  pebbles
 in a stream1 with the blood which warms
 your frame and colors  your cheeks8--,a
 noted ,german physiologist spread out a
 minute drop  of blood1 under the       
microscope1 in narrow streaks1 and      
counted the  globules1 and then made a  
calculation4 ,the counting by the       
micrometer  took him a week4--,you have1
 my full-grown friend1 of these little  
couriers in crimson or scarlet livery1  

running on your vital errands day  and  
night as long as you live1 sixty-five   
billions1 five hundred and  seventy     
thousand millions4 ,errors              
excepted4--,did ,i hear some gentleman  
say1 ,doubted8--,i am the ,professor4 ,i
 sit in my chair with a petard  under it
 that will blow me through the skylight 
of my lecture-room1 if ,i  do not know  
what ,i am talking about and whom ,i am 
quoting4    ,now1 my dear friends1 who  
are putting your hands to your          
foreheads1 and  saying to yourselves    
that you feel a little confused1 as if  
you had been  waltzing until things     
began to whirl slightly round you1 is it
 possible  that you do not clearly      
apprehend the exact connection of all   
that ,i  have been saying1 and its      
bearing on what is now to come8 ,listen1
 then4  ,the number of these living     
elements in our bodies illustrates the  
incalculable multitude of our thoughts2 
the number of our thoughts  accounts for
 those frequent coincidences spoken of2 

these coincidences  in the world of     
thought illustrate those which we       
constantly observe in  the world of     
outward events1 of which the presence of
 the young girl now  at our table1 and  
proving to be the daughter of an old    
acquaintance some  of us may remember1  
is the special example which led me     
through this  labyrinth of reflections1 
and finally lands me at the commencement
 of  this young girl's story1 which1 as 
,i said1 ,i have found the time and     
felt the interest to learn something of1
 and which ,i think ,i can tell  without
 wronging the unconscious subject of my 
brief delineation4           99       99
       99       99       99      ,,iris4
      ,you remember1 perhaps1 in some   
papers published awhile ago1 an odd poem
  written by an old ,latin tutor8 ,he   
brought up at the verb amo1 ,i love1  as
 all of us do1 and by and by ,nature    
opened her great living dictionary  for 
him at the word filia1 a daughter4 ,the 
poor man was greatly  perplexed in      

choosing a name for her4 ,lucretia and  
,virginia were the  first that he       
thought of2 but then came up those      
pictured stories of  ,titus ,livius1    
which he could never read without       
crying1 though he had  read them a      
hundred times4    --,lucretia sending   
for her husband and her father1 each to 
bring one  friend with him1 and awaiting
 them in her chamber4 ,to them her      
wrongs  briefly4 ,let them see to the   
wretch1 she will take care of herself4  
,then  the hidden knife flashes out and 
sinks into her heart4 ,she slides  from 
her seat1 and falls dying4 ,her husband 
and her father cry  aloud4--,no1--not   
,lucretia4    --,virginius1--a brown old
 soldier1 father of a nice girl4 ,she   
engaged  to a very promising young man4 
,decemvir ,appius takes a violent fancy 
to  her1--must have her at any rate4    
,hires a lawyer to present the arguments
  in favor of the view that she was     
another man's daughter4    ,there used  
to be lawyers in ,rome that would do    

such things4--,all right4  ,there are   
two sides to everything4 ,audi alteram  
partem4 ,the legal  gentleman has no    
opinion1--he only states the            
evidence4--,a doubtful  case4 ,let the  
young lady be under the protection of   
the ,honorable  ,decemvir until it can  
be looked up thoroughly4--,father thinks
 it best1  on the whole1 to give in4    
,will explain the matter1 if the young  
lady and  her maid will step this way4  
,that is the explanation1--a stab with a
  butcher's knife1 snatched from a      
stall1 meant for other lambs than this  
poor bleeding ,virginia6    ,the old man
 thought over the story4 ,then he must  
have one look at the  original4 ,so he  
took down the first volume and read it  
over4 ,when he  came to that part where 
it tells how the young gentleman she was
 engaged  to and a friend of his took up
 the poor girl's bloodless shape and    
carried it through the street1 and how  
all the women followed1 wailing1  and   
asking if that was what their daughters 

were coming to1--if that was  what they 
were to get for being good girls1--he   
melted down into his  accustomed tears  
of pity and grief1 and1 through them    
all1 of delight at  the charming ,latin 
of the narrative4 ,but it was impossible
 to call his  child ,virginia4 ,he could
 never look at her without thinking she 
had a  knife sticking in her bosom4     
,dido would be a good name1 and a fresh 
one4 ,she was a queen1 and the  founder 
of a great city4 ,her story had been    
immortalized by the greatest  of        
poets1--for the old ,latin tutor clove  
to ,virgilius ,maro1 as he  called him1 
as closely as ever ,dante did in his    
memorable journey4 ,so  he took down his
 ,virgil1--it was the smooth-leafed1    
open-lettered quarto  of                
,baskerville1--and began reading the    
loves and mishaps of ,dido4 ,it         
wouldn't do4 ,a lady who had not learned
 discretion by experience1 and  came to 
an evil end4 ,he shook his head1 as he  
sadly repeated1      --misera ante diem1

 subitoque accensa       furore2    but 
when he came to the lines1      ,ergo   
,iris croceis per coelum roscida pennis 
,mille trahens varios adverso ,sole     
colores1    he jumped up with a great   
exclamation1 which the particular       
recording  angel who heard it pretended 
not to understand1 or it might have gone
  hard with the ,latin tutor some time  
or other4    ,iris shall be her         
name6--he said4 ,so her name was ,iris4 
--,the natural end of a tutor is to     
perish by starvation4 ,it is only a     
question of time1 just as with the      
burning of college libraries4 ,these    
all burn up sooner or later1 provided   
they are not housed in brick or  stone  
and iron4 ,i don't mean that you will   
see in the registry of deaths  that this
 or that particular tutor died of       
well-marked1 uncomplicated  starvation4 
,they may1 even1 in extreme cases1 be   
carried off by a  thin1 watery kind of  
apoplexy1 which sounds very well in the 
returns1  but means little to those who 

know that it is only debility settling  
on  the head4 ,generally1 however1 they 
fade and waste away under various       
pretexts1--calling it dyspepsia1        
consumption1 and so on1 to put a decent 
appearance upon the case and keep up the
 credit of the family and the           
institution where they have passed      
through the successive stages of        
inanition4    ,in some cases it takes a 
great many years to kill a tutor by the 
process in question4 ,you see1 they do  
get food and clothes and fuel1 in       
appreciable quantities1 such as they    
are4 ,you will even notice rows of      
books in their rooms1 and a picture or  
two1--things that look as if  they had  
surplus money2 but these superfluities  
are the water of  crystallization to    
scholars1 and you can never get them    
away till  the poor fellows effloresce  
into dust4 ,do not be deceived4 ,the    
tutor  breakfasts on coffee made of     
beans1 edulcerated with milk watered to 
the  verge of transparency2 his mutton  

is tough and elastic1 up to the  moment 
when it becomes tired out and tasteless2
 his coal is a sullen1  sulphurous      
anthracite1 which rusts into ashes1     
rather than burns1 in  the shallow      
grate2 his flimsy broadcloth is too thin
 for winter and too  thick for summer4  
,the greedy lungs of fifty hot-blooded  
boys suck the  oxygen from the air he   
breathes in his recitation-room4 ,in    
short1 he  undergoes a process of gentle
 and gradual starvation4    --,the      
mother of little ,iris was not called   
,electra1 like hers of the old  story1  
neither was her grandfather ,oceanus4   
,her blood-name1 which she  gave away   
with her heart to the ,latin tutor1 was 
a plain old ,english  one1 and her      
water-name was ,hannah1 beautiful as    
recalling the mother of  ,samuel1 and   
admirable as reading equally well from  
the initial letter  forwards and from   
the terminal letter backwards4 ,the poor
 lady1 seated  with her companion at the
 chess-board of matrimony1 had but just 

pushed  forward her one little white    
pawn upon an empty square1 when the     
,black  ,knight1 that cares nothing for 
castles or kings or queens1 swooped down
  upon her and swept her from the larger
 board of life4    ,the old ,latin tutor
 put a modest blue stone at the head of 
his late  companion1 with her name and  
age and ,eheu6 upon it1--a smaller one  
at her feet1 with initials2 and left her
 by herself1 to be rained and  snowed   
on1--which is a hard thing to do for    
those whom we have cherished  tenderly4 
,about the time that the lichens1       
falling on the stone1 like drops of     
water1 had spread into fair1 round      
rosettes1 the tutor had starved into  a 
slight cough4 ,then he began to draw the
 buckle of his black pantaloons  a      
little tighter1 and took in another reef
 in his never-ample waistcoat4  ,his    
temples got a little hollow1 and the    
contrasts of color in his  cheeks more  
vivid than of old4 ,after a while his   
walks fatigued him1 and  he was tired   

and breathed hard after going up a      
flight or two of stairs4  ,then came on 
other marks of inward trouble and       
general waste1 which he  spoke of to his
 physician as peculiar1 and doubtless   
owing to accidental  causes2 to all     
which the doctor listened with          
deference1 as if it had  not been the   
old story that one in five or six of    
mankind in temperate  climates tells1 or
 has told for him1 as if it were        
something new4 ,as  the doctor went out1
 he said to himself1--,on the rail at   
last4  ,accommodation train4 ,a good    
many stops1 but will get to the station 
by  and by4 ,so the doctor wrote a      
recipe with the astrological sign of    
,jupiter before it1 7just as your own   
physician does1 inestimable reader1  as 
you will see1 if you look at his next   
prescription17 and departed1  saying he 
would look in occasionally4 ,after this1
 the ,latin tutor began  the usual      
course of getting better1 until he got  
so much better that  his face was very  

sharp1 and when he smiled1 three        
crescent lines  showed at each side of  
his lips1 and when he spoke1 it was in a
 muffled  whisper1 and the white of his 
eye glistened as pearly as the purest   
porcelain1--so much better1 that he     
hoped--by spring--he----might be        
able--to--attend----to his class        
again4--,but he was recommended not  to 
expose himself1 and so kept his chamber1
 and occasionally1 not having  anything 
to do1 his bed4 ,the unmarried sister   
with whom he lived took  care of him2   
and the child1 now old enough to be     
manageable1 and even  useful in trifling
 offices1 sat in the chamber1 or played 
about4    ,things could not go on so    
forever1 of course4 ,one morning his    
face was  sunken and his hands very1    
very cold4 ,he was better1 he whispered1
 but  sadly and faintly4 ,after a while 
he grew restless and seemed a little    
wandering4 ,his mind ran on his         
classics1 and fell back on the ,latin   
grammar4    ,iris6 he said1--filiola    

mea6--,the child knew this meant my dear
  little daughter as well as if it had  
been ,english4--,rainbow6--for he  would
 translate her name at times1 come to   
me1--veni--and his lips  went on        
automatically1 and murmured1 vel        
venito6--,the child came  and sat by his
 bedside and took his hand1 which she   
could not warm1 but  which shot its rays
 of cold all through her slender frame4 
,but there she  sat1 looking steadily at
 him4 ,presently he opened his lips     
feebly1 and  whispered1 ,moribundus4    
,she did not know what that meant1 but  
she saw  that there was something new   
and sad4 ,so she began to cry2 but      
presently  remembering an old book that 
seemed to comfort him at times1 got up  
and  brought a ,bible in the ,latin     
version1 called the ,vulgate4 ,open it1 
he  said1--,i will read1--segnius       
irritant1--don't put the light          
out1--ah6 haeret lateri1--,i am         
going1--vale1 vale1 vale1 good-bye1     
good-bye1--the ,lord take care of my    

child6--,domine1 audi--vel  audito6 ,his
 face whitened suddenly1 and he lay     
still1 with open eyes  and mouth4 ,he   
had taken his last degree4              
----,little ,miss ,iris could not be    
said to begin life with a very          
brilliant rainbow over her1 in a worldly
 point of view4 ,a limited  wardrobe of 
man's attire1 such as poor tutors       
wear1--a few good books1  especially    
classics1--a print or two1 and a plaster
 model of the  ,pantheon1 with some     
pieces of furniture which had seen      
service1--these1  and a child's heart   
full of tearful recollections and       
strange doubts and  questions1          
alternating with the cheap pleasures    
which are the anodynes  of childish     
grief2 such were the treasures she      
inherited4--,no1--,i  forgot4 ,with that
 kindly sentiment which all of us feel  
for old men's  first                    
children1--frost-flowers of the early   
winter season1--the old  tutor's        
students had remembered him at a time   

when he was laughing and  crying with   
his new parental emotions1 and running  
to the side of the  plain crib in which 
his alter ego1 as he used to say1 was   
swinging1  to hang over the little heap 
of stirring clothes1 from which looked  
the  minute1 red1 downy1 still1 round   
face1 with unfixed eyes and working     
lips1--in that unearthly gravity which  
has never yet been broken by a  smile1  
and which gives to the earliest         
moon-year or two of an infant's  life   
the character of a first old age1 to    
counterpoise that second  childhood     
which there is one chance in a dozen it 
may reach by and by4  ,the boys had     
remembered the old man and young father 
at that tender  period of his hard1 dry 
life4 ,there came to him a fair1 silver 
goblet1  embossed with classical        
figures1 and bearing on a shield the    
graven  words1 ,ex dono pupillorum4 ,the
 handle on its side showed what use the 
boys had meant it for2 and a kind letter
 in it1 written with the best of        

feeling1 in the worst of ,latin1 pointed
 delicately to its destination4  ,out of
 this silver vessel1 after a long1      
desperate1 strangling cry1  which marked
 her first great lesson in the realities
 of life1 the child  took the blue milk1
 such as poor tutors and their children 
get1 tempered  with water1 and sweetened
 a little1 so as to bring it nearer the 
standard established by the touching    
indulgence and partiality of            
,nature1--who has mingled an extra      
allowance of sugar in the blameless     
food of the child at its mother's heart1
 as compared with that of its  infant   
brothers and sisters of the bovine race4
    ,but a willow will grow in baked    
sand wet with rain-water4 ,an air-plant 
will grow by feeding on the winds4 ,nay1
 those huge forests that  overspread    
great continents have built themselves  
up mainly from the  air-currents with   
which they are always battling4 ,the oak
 is but a  foliated atmospheric crystal 
deposited from the arial ocean that     

holds  the future vegetable world in    
solution4 ,the storm that tears its     
leaves  has paid tribute to its         
strength1 and it breasts the tornado    
clad in the  spoils of a hundred        
hurricanes4    ,poor little ,iris6 ,what
 had she in common with the great oak in
 the  shadow of which we are losing     
sight of her8--,she lived and grew like 
that1--this was all4 ,the blue milk ran 
into her veins and filled them  with    
thin1 pure blood4 ,her skin was fair1   
with a faint tinge1 such as  the white  
rosebud shows before it opens4 ,the     
doctor who had attended  her father was 
afraid her aunt would hardly be able to 
raise  her1--delicate child1--hoped she 
was not consumptive1--thought there  was
 a fair chance she would take after her 
father4    ,a very forlorn-looking      
person1 dressed in black1 with a white  
neckcloth1 sent her a memoir of a child 
who died at the age of two years  and   
eleven months1 after having fully       
indorsed all the doctrines of the       

particular persuasion to which he not   
only belonged himself1 but  thought it  
very shameful that everybody else did   
not belong4 ,what with  foreboding looks
 and dreary deathbed stories1 it was a  
wonder the child  made out to live      
through it4 ,it saddened her early      
years1 of course1--it  distressed her   
tender soul with thoughts which1 as they
 cannot be fully  taken in1 should be   
sparingly used as instruments of torture
 to break  down the natural cheerfulness
 of a healthy child1 or1 what is        
infinitely  worse1 to cheat a dying one 
out of the kind illusions with which the
  ,father of ,all has strewed its       
downward path4    ,the child would have 
died1 no doubt1 and1 if properly        
managed1 might  have added another to   
the long catalogue of wasting children  
who have  been as cruelly played upon by
 spiritual physiologists1 often with the
  best intentions1 as ever the subject  
of a rare disease by the curious        
students of science4    ,fortunately for

 her1 however1 a wise instinct had      
guided the late ,latin  tutor in the    
selection of the partner of his life1   
and the future mother  of his child4    
,the deceased tutoress was a tranquil1  
smooth woman1 easily  nourished1 as such
 people are1--a quality which is        
inestimable in a  tutor's wife1--and so 
it happened that the daughter inherited 
enough  vitality from the mother to live
 through childhood and infancy and fight
  her way towards womanhood1 in spite of
 the tendencies she derived from  her   
other parent4    ----,two and two do not
 always make four1 in this matter of    
hereditary  descent of qualities4       
,sometimes they make three1 and         
sometimes five4 ,it  seems as if the    
parental traits at one time showed      
separate1 at another  blended1--that    
occasionally the force of two natures is
 represented in  the derivative one by a
 diagonal of greater value than either  
original  line of living movement1--that
 sometimes there is a loss of vitality  

hardly to be accounted for1 and again a 
forward impulse of variable  intensity  
in some new and unforeseen direction4   
,so it was with this child4 ,she had    
glanced off from her parental           
probabilities at an unexpected angle4   
,instead of taking to classical         
learning like her father1 or sliding    
quietly into household duties like  her 
mother1 she broke out early in efforts  
that pointed in the direction  of ,art4 
,as soon as she could hold a pencil she 
began to sketch outlines  of objects    
round her with a certain air and spirit4
 ,very extraordinary  horses1 but their 
legs looked as if they could move4      
,birds unknown to  ,audubon1 yet flying1
 as it were1 with a rush4 ,men with     
impossible legs1  which did yet seem to 
have a vital connection with their most 
improbable  bodies4 ,by-and-by the      
doctor1 on his beast1--an old man with a
 face  looking as if ,time had kneaded  
it like dough with his knuckles1 with a 
rhubarb tint and flavor pervading       

himself and his sorrel horse and all    
their appurtenances4 ,a dreadful old    
man6 ,be sure she did not forget  those 
saddlebags that held the detestable     
bottles out of which he used  to shake  
those loathsome powders which1 to virgin
 childish palates that  find heaven in  
strawberries and peaches1 are----,well1 
,i suppose ,i had  better stop4 ,only   
she wished she was dead sometimes when  
she heard him  coming4 ,on the next leaf
 would figure the gentleman with the    
black coat  and white cravat1 as he     
looked when he came and entertained her 
with  stories concerning the death of   
various little children about her age1  
to encourage her1 as that wicked ,mr4   
,arouet said about shooting ,admiral    
,byng4 ,then she would take her pencil  
and with a few scratches there  would be
 the outline of a child1 in which you   
might notice how one  sudden sweep gave 
the chubby cheek1 and two dots darted at
 the paper  looked like real eyes4      
,by-and-by she went to school1 and      

caricatured the schoolmaster on the     
leaves of her grammars and geographies1 
and drew the faces of her  companions1  
and1 from time to time1 heads and       
figures from her fancy1  with large     
eyes1 far apart1 like those of          
,raffaelle's mothers and  children1     
sometimes with wild floating hair1 and  
then with wings and  heads thrown back  
in ecstasy4 ,this was about twelve1 as  
the dates of  these drawings show1 and1 
therefore1 three or four years before   
she came  among us4 ,soon after this    
time1 the ideal figures began to take   
the  place of portraits and caricatures1
 and a new feature appeared in her      
drawing-books in the form of fragments  
of verse and short poems4    ,it was    
dull work1 of course1 for such a young  
girl to live with an old  spinster and  
go to a village school4 ,her books bore 
testimony to this2  for there was a look
 of sadness in the faces she drew1 and a
 sense of  weariness and longing for    
some imaginary conditions of blessedness

 or  other1 which began to be painful4  
,she might have gone through this       
flowering of the soul1 and1 casting her 
petals1 subsided into a sober1  human   
berry1 but for the intervention of      
friendly assistance and  counsel4    ,in
 the town where she lived was a lady of 
honorable condition1 somewhat  past     
middle age1 who was possessed of pretty 
ample means1 of cultivated  tastes1 of  
excellent principles1 of exemplary      
character1 and of more  than common     
accomplishments4 ,the gentleman in black
 broadcloth and white  neckerchief only 
echoed the common voice about her1 when 
he called her1  after enjoying1 beneath 
her hospitable roof1 an excellent cup of
 tea1  with certain elegancies and      
luxuries he was unaccustomed to1 ,the   
,model  of all the ,virtues4    ,she    
deserved this title as well as almost   
any woman4 ,she did really  bristle with
 moral excellences4 ,mention any good   
thing she had not done2  ,i should like 
to see you try6 ,there was no handle of 

weakness to take  hold of her by3 she   
was as unseizable1 except in her        
totality1 as a  billiard-ball2 and on   
the broad1 green1 terrestrial table1    
where she had  been knocked about1 like 
all of us1 by the cue of ,fortune1 she  
glanced  from every human contact1 and  
caramed from one relation to another1   
and rebounded from the stuffed cushion  
of temptation1 with such exact  and     
perfect angular movements1 that the     
,enemy's corps of ,reporters had  long  
given up taking notes of her conduct1 as
 there was no chance for  their master4 
,what an admirable person for the       
patroness and directress of a slightly  
self-willed child1 with the lightning   
zigzag line of genius running like  a   
glittering vein through the marble      
whiteness of her virgin nature6 ,one  of
 the lady-patroness's peculiar virtues  
was calmness4 ,she was resolute  and    
strenuous1 but still4 ,you could depend 
on her for every duty2 she  was as true 
as steel4 ,she was kind-hearted and     

serviceable in all  the relations of    
life4 ,she had more sense1 more         
knowledge1 more  conversation1 as well  
as more goodness1 than all the partners 
you have  waltzed with this winter put  
together4    ,yet no man was known to   
have loved her1 or even to have offered 
himself  to her in marriage4 ,it was a  
great wonder4 ,i am very anxious to     
vindicate my character as a philosopher 
and an observer of ,nature by           
accounting for this apparently          
extraordinary fact4    ,you may remember
 certain persons who have the misfortune
 of presenting  to the friends whom they
 meet a cold1 damp hand4 ,there are     
states of  mind in which a contact of   
this kind has a depressing effect on the
  vital powers that makes us insensible 
to all the virtues and graces of  the   
proprietor of one of these              
life-absorbing organs4 ,when they touch 
us1 virtue passes out of us1 and we feel
 as if our electricity had been  drained
 by a powerful negative battery1 carried

 about by an overgrown  human torpedo4  
,the ,model of all the ,virtues had a   
pair of searching eyes as clear as      
,wenham ice2 but they were slower to    
melt than that fickle jewelry4 ,her     
features disordered themselves slightly 
at times in a surface-smile1 but  never 
broke loose from their corners and      
indulged in the riotous tumult  of a    
laugh--which1 ,i take it1 is the mob-law
 of the features1--and  propriety the   
magistrate who reads the riot-act4 ,she 
carried the  brimming cup of her        
inestimable virtues with a cautious1    
steady hand1  and an eye always on them1
 to see that they did not spill4 ,then  
she  was an admirable judge of          
character4 ,her mind was a perfect      
laboratory  of tests and reagents2 every
 syllable you put into breath went into 
her intellectual eudiometer1 and all    
your thoughts were recorded on          
litmus-paper4 ,i think there has rarely 
been a more admirable woman4  ,of       
course1 ,miss ,iris was immensely and   

passionately attached  to               
her4----,well1--these are two highly    
oxygenated adverbs1--grateful1--        
suppose we say1--yes1--grateful1        
dutiful1 obedient to her wishes for  the
 most part1--perhaps not quite up to the
 concert pitch of such a  perfect       
orchestra of the virtues4    ,we must   
have a weak spot or two in a character  
before we can love it  much4 ,people    
that do not laugh or cry1 or take more  
of anything than  is good for them1 or  
use anything but dictionary-words1 are  
admirable  subjects for biographies4    
,but we don't always care most for those
  flat-pattern flowers that press best  
in the herbarium4    ,this immaculate   
woman1--why couldn't she have a fault or
 two8 ,isn't  there any old whisper     
which will tarnish that wearisome       
aureole of  saintly perfection8 ,doesn't
 she carry a lump of opium in her       
pocket8  ,isn't her cologne-bottle      
replenished oftener than its legitimate 
use  would require8 ,it would be such a 

comfort6    ,not for the world would a  
young creature like ,iris have let such 
words  escape her1 or such thoughts pass
 through her mind4 ,whether at the      
bottom of her soul lies any uneasy      
consciousness of an oppressive          
presence1 it is hard to say1 until we   
know more about her4 ,iris sits  between
 the little man and the ,model of all   
the ,virtues1 as the  black-coated      
gentleman called her4--,i will watch    
them all4    ----,here ,i stop for the  
present4 ,what the ,professor said has  
had to make  way this time for what he  
saw and heard4           99       99    
99       99       99    ----,and now you
 may read these lines1 which were       
written for gentle  souls who love      
music1 and read in even tones1 and1     
perhaps1 with  something like a smile   
upon the reader's lips1 at a meeting    
where these  musical friends had        
gathered4 ,whether they were written    
with smiles or  not1 you can guess      
better after you have read them4        

,,the ,,opening ,,of ,,the ,,piano4     
,in the little southern parlor of the   
house you         may have seen    ,with
 the gambrel-roof1 and the gable looking
         westward to the green1    ,at  
the side toward the sunset1 with the    
window         on its right1    ,stood  
the ,london-made piano ,i am dreaming   
of to-night4      ,ah me6 how ,i        
remember the evening when it            
came6    ,what a cry of eager voices1   
what a group of          cheeks in      
flame1    ,when the wondrous box was    
opened that had           come from over
 seas1    ,with its smell of            
mastic-varnish and its flash            
of ivory keys6      ,then the children  
all grew fretful in the restlessness    
of joy1    ,for the boy would push his  
sister1 and the           sister crowd  
the boy1    ,till the father asked for  
quiet in his grave           paternal   
way1    ,but the mother hushed the      
tumult with the           words1 ,now1  
,mary1 play4      ,for the dear soul    

knew that music was a very              
sovereign balm2    ,she had sprinkled it
 over ,sorrow and seen its              
brow grow calm1    ,in the days of      
slender harpsichords with tapping       
tinkling quills1    ,or carolling to her
 spinet with its thin metallic          
thrills4      ,so ,mary1 the household  
minstrel1 who always           loved to 
please1    ,sat down to the new         
,clementi1 and struck           the     
glittering keys4    ,hushed were the    
children's voices1 and every            
eye grew dim1    ,as1 floating from lip 
and finger1 arose the           ,vesper 
,hymn4      --,catharine1 child of a    
neighbor1 curly and           rosy-red1 
7,wedded since1 and a widow--something  
like           ten years dead17         
,hearing a gush of music such as none   
before1    ,steals from her mother's    
chamber and peeps        at the open    
door4      ,just as the ,jubilate in    
threaded whisper        dies1    --,open
 it6 open it1 lady6 the little maiden   

cries    7,for she thought 'twas a      
singing creature        caged in a box  
she heard17    ,open it6 open it1 lady6 
and let me see the        bird6         
,,the ,,utah ,,expedition2    ,,its     
,,causes ,,and ,,consequences4      ,if 
,general ,henry ,knox1 of ,revolutionary
 memory1 the first ,secretary of  ,war  
of the ,republic1 had dreamed that the  
successor to his portfolio1  after an   
interval of seventy years1 would        
recommend to ,congress the  purchase of 
a thousand camels for military purposes1
 he would have  attributed the fancy to 
excited nerves or a too hearty dinner4  
,had he  dreamed1 further1 that the     
grotesque mounted corps was to be       
employed  in regions two thousand miles 
beyond the frontier of the ,anglo-,saxon
  pioneer of #aghi1 to guard travel to  
an actual ,el ,dorado1 the vision  would
 have appeared still more extraordinary4
 ,and its absurdity would  have seemed  
complete1 if he had fancied the high    
road of this travel  as leading through 

a community essentially ,oriental in its
 social and  political life1 which was  
nevertheless ripening into a ,state of  
the  ,american ,union4 ,yet if ,general 
,knox could be roused from his grave at 
,thomaston1 he would see the dream      
realized4 ,on the ,pacific lies ,el     
,dorado2 among the fastnesses of the    
,rocky ,mountains there is a community  
which blends the voluptuousness of      
,bagdad with the economy of ,cape ,cod2 
and within two years a regiment of      
camel-riders will be scouring the       
,great ,american ,plains after          
,cheyennes1 ,navajoes1 and ,camanches4  
,the propagation of the religion of     
which ,joseph ,smith was the prophet    
has just begun to attract the notice its
 extraordinary success  deserves4 ,so   
long as the head of the ,mormon ,church 
was considered a kind  of ,mahometan    
,sam ,slick1 and his associates a crazy 
rabble1 it was vain  to expect that the 
whole sect could be treated with more   
attention than  any of the curiosities  

in a popular museum4 ,but a juster      
appreciation of  the constitution of the
 ,mormon community begins to prevail1   
and with it  comes a conviction that    
questions are involved in its relations 
to the  parent government which are not 
exceeded in importance by any that have 
ever been agitated at ,washington4      
,brigham ,young no longer seems to the  
,american public a religious mountebank1
 only one grade removed from the  man   
,orr1 who claimed to be the veritable   
,angel ,gabriel1 and was killed  in a   
popular commotion which he had himself  
excited in ,dutch ,guiana4 ,on  the     
contrary1 he begins to appear as a man  
of great native strength and  scope of  
mind1 who understands the phases of     
human character and knows  how to avail 
himself of the knowledge1 and who has   
acquired spiritual  dominion over one   
hundred and fifty thousand souls1       
combined with  absolute temporal        
supremacy over fifty thousand of the    
number4    ,the situation of the ,mormon

 community in ,utah has been peculiarly 
adapted1 heretofore1 to the             
eccentricities of its inhabitants4      
,isolated  from ,christendom on the east
 and west by plains incapable of        
settlement  for generations to come1 and
 encompassed by mountain-ranges1 the    
line  of whose summits runs above the   
boundary of eternal snow1 it was        
independent of the influences of        
,christian civilization4 ,no missionary 
of any ,christian sect ever attempted to
 propagate his doctrines in             
,utah1--nor1 perhaps1 would any such    
propagation have been tolerated1 had  it
 been attempted4 ,the ,mormon religion  
was free to run its own course  and     
develop whatever elements it possessed  
of good and evil4 ,when  ,brigham ,young
 and his followers from ,nauvoo         
descended the ,wahsatch range  in the   
summer of #ahdg1 and took up their abode
 around the ,great ,salt  ,lake1 the    
avowed creed of the ,church was         
different from that proclaimed  to-day4 

,the secret doctrines entertained by its
 leaders were perhaps  the same as at   
present1 but the religion of the people 
was a species of  mysticism which it is 
not impossible to conceive might commend
 itself  even to a refined mind4 ,the   
existence of polygamy was officially    
denied  by the highest ecclesiastical   
authority1 although we know to-day that 
the denial was a shameless lie1 and that
 ,joseph ,smith1 during his  lifetime1  
had a plurality of wives1 and at his    
death bequeathed them to  his successor1
 who already possessed a harem of his   
own4 ,property was  almost equally      
distributed among the people1 the       
leaders being as poor  as their         
disciples4 ,in this respect at that time
 they were accustomed  exultantly to    
compare their condition with that of the
 early ,christians4    ,ten years       
passed1 and the change was              
extraordinary4 ,the doctrines  of       
,mormonism1 if plainly stated1 are no   
longer such as can commend  themselves  

to a mind not perverted nor naturally   
prurient4 ,polygamy is  inculcated as a 
religious duty1 without which dignity in
 the ,celestial  ,kingdom is impossible1
 and even salvation hardly to be        
obtained4  ,property is distributed     
unjustly1 the bulk of real and personal 
estate  in the ,territory being vested  
in the ,church and its directors1       
between  whom and the mass of the       
population there exists a difference in 
social  welfare as wide as between the  
,russian nobleman and his serf4 ,in     
brief1  the ,mormons no longer claim to 
be a ,christian sect1 but assert1 and   
truly1 that their religion is as        
distinct from ,christianity as that is  
from ,mahometanism4 ,many of the        
doctrines whispered in #ahdg only to    
those who had been admitted to the      
penetralia of the ,nauvoo ,temple are   
proclaimed unblushingly in #aheg from   
the pulpit in the ,tabernacle at  ,salt 
,lake ,city4 ,a system of polytheism has
 been ingrafted on the creed1  according

 to which there are grades among the    
,gods1 there being no  ,supreme ,ruler  
of all1 but the primeval ,adam of       
,genesis being the deity  highest in    
spiritual rank1 and ,christ1 ,mahomet1  
,joseph ,smith1 and1  finally1 ,brigham 
,young1 partaking also of divinity4 ,the
 business of  these deities in the      
,celestial ,kingdom is the propagation  
of souls to  people bodies begotten on  
earth1 and the sexual relation is made  
to  permeate every portion of the creed 
as thoroughly as it pervaded the        
religions of ancient ,egypt and ,india4 
,in the ,endowment ,house at ,salt      
,lake ,city1 secret rites are practised 
of a character similar to the  mysteries
 of the ,nile1 and presided over by     
,young and ,kimball1 two  ,vermont      
,yankees1 with all the solemnity of     
priests of ,isis and ,osiris4  ,in these
 rites1 which are symbolical of the     
mystery of procreation1 both  sexes     
participate1 clad in loose flowing robes
 of white linen1 with  cleansed bodies  

and anointed hair4 ,since the revelation
 of the processes  of the ,endowment1   
which was first fully made by a young   
apostate named  ,john ,hyde1 other      
dissenters1 real and pretended1 have    
attempted to  impose on the public      
exaggerated accounts of these           
ceremonies2 but in  justice to the      
,mormon ,church it ought to be said1    
that there is no  foundation for the    
reports that they are such as would     
outrage decency4  ,to be sure1 an       
assemblage of members of both sexes1    
clad in white  shifts1 with oiled and   
dishevelled hair1 in a room fitted up in
  resemblance of a garden1 to witness a 
performance of the allegory of  ,adam   
and ,eve in ,eden1 which is conducted so
 as to be sensually symbolic1  is not   
suggestive of refined ideas2 but it is  
necessary to take into  consideration   
the character both of performers and    
witnesses1 which is  not distinguished  
in any way by delicacy4 ,according to   
their standard of  morality and taste1  

the rites of the ,endowment are devoid  
of immodesty4    ,in their political    
bearing1 however1 they are more         
important1 and justly  liable to the    
severest censure4 ,it is established    
beyond question1 that  the initiated1   
clad in the preposterous costume before 
described1 take  an oath1 in the        
presence of their ,spiritual ,head1 to  
cherish eternal  enmity towards the     
government of the ,united ,states until 
it shall have  avenged the death of     
their prophet1 ,joseph ,smith4 ,and this
 ceremony is  not a mere empty form of  
words4 ,it is an oath1 the spirit of    
which the  ,endowed carry into their    
daily life and all their relations with 
the ,gentile world4 ,in it lies the root
 of the evasion1 and finally            
subversion1 of ,federal authority which 
occasioned the recent military          
expedition to ,utah4    ,when the       
,territory was organized in #ahej1 the  
government at ,washington1  acting on an
 imperfect knowledge of the nature of   

,mormonism1 conferred  the office of    
,governor upon ,brigham ,young4 ,for    
this act ,mr4 ,fillmore has  been       
unjustly censured4 ,it appeared to him1 
at the time1 a proper1 as  well as      
politic1 appointment4 ,but before the   
succession of ,general  ,pierce to the  
,presidency1 its evil results became    
apparent1 in the  expulsion of civil    
officers from the ,territory and the    
subversion of  all law4 ,a feeble1 and  
of course unsuccessful1 attempt was then
 made to  supplant ,young with          
,lieutenant-,colonel ,steptoe1 a        
meritorious1 but too  amiable officer of
 the regular army1--the same whose      
defeat by the  ,cayuses1 ,spokans1 and  
,coeur d',alnes1 last ,may1 occasioned  
the ,indian  war in ,washington         
,territory4 ,during the summer of #ahee1
 he led a  battalion overland1 wintering
 in ,salt ,lake ,city4 ,it was at his   
option1  at any time during his sojourn1
 to have claimed the supreme executive  
authority4 ,he did not do so1 but even  

headed a recommendation to  ,president  
,pierce for the reappointment of        
,brigham ,young4 ,this was the  result  
of his winter's residence1 during which 
he and some of his  fellow-officers were
 feasted to their stomachs' content1 and
 entirely  careless concerning the      
political condition of the ,territory4  
,late in  the spring1 he marched away to
 ,california1 after having expressed to 
the ,president that it was his          
unqualified opinion1 based on personal  
acquaintance1 that ,brigham ,young is   
was the most suitable person for  the   
office of ,governor4 ,brigham's views of
 the winter's proceedings1 on  the other
 hand1 were expressed in a sermon       
preached in the ,tabernacle1  the       
,sunday after the departure of the      
,lieutenant-,colonel1 in which he       
repeated his declaration of three years 
previous3--    ,i am1 and will be1      
governor1 and no power can hinder it1   
until the ,lord  ,almighty says1        
',brigham1 you need not be governor any 

longer4' ,and he  added1--,i do not know
 what ,i shall say next winter1 if such 
men make  their appearance here as some 
last winter4 ,i know what ,i think ,i   
shall  say2 if they play the same game  
again1 let the women be ever so bad1 so 
help me ,god1 we will slay them4        
,most of the other civil officers who   
were commissioned about the same  time  
with ,colonel ,steptoe arrived the      
,august after he had departed4  ,within 
eighteen months their lot was the same  
as that of their  predecessors4 ,in     
,april1 #aheg1 before the snow had begun
 to melt on the  mountains1 all of them1
 in a party led by ,surveyor-,general   
,burr1 were on  their way to the        
,states1 happy in having escaped with   
life4 ,during the  previous ,february1  
the ,united ,states ,district ,court had
 been broken up  in ,salt ,lake ,city4  
,a mob had invaded the courtroom1 armed 
with pistols  and bludgeons1 a knife was
 drawn on the judge in his private room1
  and he was ordered to adjourn his     

court sine die1 and yielded4            
,indian-,agent ,hurt was the only       
,gentile official who remained in the   
,territory4    ,in the mean while1      
however1 a change of national           
administration had  taken place1 and    
,general ,pierce had been succeeded by  
,mr4 ,buchanan4 ,for  nearly three years
 the country had been convulsed by an   
agitation of the  ,slavery question1    
originating with ,senator ,douglas1     
which culminated in  the ,presidential  
election of #ahef4 ,the ,utah question1 
grave though it  was1 was forgotten in  
the excitement concerning ,kansas1 or   
remembered  only by the ,republican     
party1 as enabling them to stigmatize   
more  pungently the political theories  
of the ,illinois ,senator1 by coupling  
polygamy and slavery1 twin relics of    
barbarism1 in the resolution of  their  
,philadelphia ,platform against         
,squatter ,sovereignty4 ,in the lull    
which succeeded the election1 ,mr4      
,buchanan had leisure1 at ,wheatland1 to

  draft a programme for his incoming    
administration4 ,his paramount idea  was
 to gag the ,north and induce her to    
forget that she had been robbed  of her 
birthright1 by forcing on the attention 
of the country other  questions of      
absorbing interest4 ,one of the most    
obvious of these was  supplied by the   
condition of affairs in ,utah4 ,it had  
been satisfactorily  established1 that  
the ,mormons1 acting under the influence
 of leaders  to whom they seemed to have
 surrendered their judgment1 refused to 
be  controlled by any other authority2  
that they had been often advised to     
obedience1 and these friendly counsels  
had been answered with defiance2  that  
officers of the ,federal ,government had
 been driven from the  ,territory for no
 offence except an effort to do their   
sworn duty1 while  others had been      
prevented from going there by threats of
 assassination2  that judges had been   
interrupted in the performance of their 
functions1  and the records of their    

courts seized1 and either destroyed or  
concealed2 and1 finally1 that many other
 acts of unlawful violence had  been    
perpetrated1 and the right to repeat    
them openly claimed by the  leading     
inhabitants1 with at least the silent   
acquiescence of nearly  all the rest of 
the population4 ,in view of these facts1
 ,mr4 ,buchanan  determined to supersede
 ,brigham ,young in the office of       
,governor1 and to  send to ,utah a      
strong military force to sustain the new
 appointee in the  exercise of his      
authority4    ,the rumors of the        
impending expedition reached the        
,mormons at the very  moment they were  
prepared to apply to ,congress for      
admission as a ,state4  ,a ,constitution
 had been framed by a ,convention       
assembled without the  sanction of an   
enabling act1 and was intrusted to      
,george ,a4 ,smith and  ,john ,taylor1  
two of the ,twelve ,apostles of the     
,church1 for presentation  to ,congress4
 ,these men1 both of them of more than  

ordinary ability1  helped to present the
 ,mormon side of the question to the    
country through  the newspapers1 during 
the winter of #ahef-g4 ,the essence of  
their  vindication was1 that the        
character of some of the ,federal       
officers who  had been sent to ,utah was
 objectionable in the extreme2 but1     
granting  the truth of all their        
statements on this subject1 they        
supplied no  excuse for the utter       
subversion of ,federal authority in the 
,territory4  ,their narrative1 however1 
formed a most spicy chapter in the      
annals of  official scandal4 ,the three 
,united ,states judges1 ,kinney1        
,drummond1  and ,stiles1 were presented 
to the public stripped of all judicial  
sanctity2--,kinney1 the ,chief ,justice1
 as the keeper of a grocery-store1      
dance-room1 and boarding-house1         
enforcing the bills for food and lodging
  against his brethren of the law by    
expulsion from the bar in case of       
non-payment1 and so tenacious of life1  

that1 before departing from the         
,territory1 he solicited and received   
from ,brigham ,young a patriarchal      
blessing2 ,drummond1 as an amorous      
horse-jockey1 who had taken to ,utah1   
as his mistress1 a drab from            
,washington1 and seated her beside him  
once  upon the bench of the court2      
,stiles as himself a ,mormon1 so far as 
the  possession of two wives could make 
him one4 ,from the early days of        
,joseph ,smith1 his disciples have never
 minced their language1 and they        
expended their whole vocabulary now on  
such themes as have been cited1         
proving1 to the satisfaction of         
everybody1 that1 in respect to the      
judiciary1 they had indeed had just     
cause for complaint4 ,the mission of    
,smith and ,taylor failed1 as might have
 been expected1--the ,chairman of  the  
,committee on ,territories1 ,mr4 ,grow1 
of ,pennsylvania1 refusing even  to     
present their ,constitution to the      
,house1--and they prepared to return  to

 ,utah4    ,a month or two later1 ,mr4  
,buchanan was inaugurated1 and          
preparations for  the ,utah ,expedition 
were immediately ordered4 ,in the first 
place1 an  opinion was solicited from   
,general ,scott as to the feasibility of
 the  undertaking until the next year4  
,that distinguished soldier gave a      
decision adverse to the immediate       
dispatch of the expedition4 ,he         
considered that the arrangements        
necessary to be made were so extensive1 
and the distances from which the        
regiments must be concentrated so       
great1 that the wiser plan was to       
consume the year in getting everything  
in readiness for the troops to march    
from the frontier early in the  spring  
of #aheh4 ,it would have been well1 had 
his advice prevailed2  but it was       
overruled1 and the preparations for the 
expedition were  commenced4 ,the troops 
detailed for the service were the ,fifth
 ,infantry1  then busy fighting ,billy  
,bowlegs among the everglades of        

,florida1--the  ,tenth ,infantry1 which 
was stationed at the forts in ,upper    
,minnesota1--the ,second ,dragoons1     
which was among the forces assembled  at
 ,fort ,leavenworth1 to be used1 if     
necessary1 in ,kansas1 at the           
requisition of ,governor ,walker1--and  
,phelps's light-artillery battery1  the 
same which so distinguished itself at   
,buena ,vista1 under the command  of    
,captain ,washington4 ,an               
ordnance-battery1 also1 was organized   
for the  purposes of the expedition4    
,brevet ,brigadier-,general ,harney was 
assigned  to the command-in-chief1 an   
officer of a rude force of character1   
amounting often to brutality1 and       
careless as to those details of         
military duty which savor more of the   
accountant's inkstand than of  the drum 
and fife1 but ambitious1 active1 and    
well acquainted with the  character of  
the service for which he was detailed4  
,he was1 at the time1  in command in    
,kansas1 subject in a measure to the    

will of ,governor  ,walker4    ,the     
whole number of troops under orders for 
the expedition was hardly  twenty-five  
hundred1 but from this total no estimate
 can be predicated  of the enormous     
quantities of commissary stores and     
munitions of war  necessary to be       
dispatched to sustain it4 ,it was       
thought advisable  to send a supply for 
eighteen months1 so that the trains     
exceeded in  magnitude those which would
 accompany an army of twenty thousand in
  ordinary operations on the ,european  
continent1 where dpts could be          
established along the line of march4 ,to
 appreciate such preparations1 it  is   
necessary to understand the character of
 the country to be traversed  between   
the ,missouri ,river and the ,great     
,salt ,lake4    ,the route selected for 
the march was along the emigrant road   
across  the ,plains1 first defined fifty
 years ago by trappers and voyageurs    
following the trail by which the buffalo
 crossed the mountains1  described by   

,lieutenant-,colonel ,fremont1 in the   
reports of his earlier  explorations1   
and subsequently adopted by all the     
overland emigration  across the         
continent4 ,it is1 perhaps1 the most    
remarkable natural road  in the world4  
,the hand of man could hardly add an    
improvement to the  highway along which1
 from the ,missouri to the ,great       
,basin1 ,nature has  presented not a    
single obstacle to the progress of the  
heaviest loaded  teams4 ,from the       
frontier1 at ,fort ,leavenworth1 it     
sweeps over a broad  rolling prairie to 
the ,platte1 a river shallow1 but of    
great width1  whose course is as        
straight as an arrow4 ,pursuing the     
river-bottom more  than three hundred   
miles1 to the ,black ,hills1 steep      
mounds dotted with  dark pines and      
cedars1 it enters the broad belt of     
mountainous country  which terminates in
 the rim of the ,basin4 ,following      
thence the ,north  ,fork of the ,platte1
 and its tributary1 the ,sweetwater1--so

 named by an  old ,french trapper1 who  
had the misfortune to upset a load of   
sugar into  the stream1--it emerges from
 the ,black ,hills into scenery of a    
different  character4 ,on the northern  
bank of the ,sweetwater are the         
,rattlesnake  ,mountains1 huge          
excrescences of rock1 blistering out of 
an arid plain2  on the southern bank1   
the hills which bear the name of the    
river1 and  are only exaggerations of   
the bluffs along the ,platte4 ,the      
dividing  ridge between the waters of   
the ,atlantic and ,pacific is reached in
 the  ,south ,pass1 at the foot of a    
spur of the ,wind ,river range1 a group 
of  gigantic mountains1 whose peaks     
reach three thousand feet above the line
  of perpetual snow4 ,there the emigrant
 strikes his tent in the morning  on the
 banks of a rivulet which finds its way1
 through the ,platte1  ,missouri1 and   
,mississippi1 into the ,gulf of         
,mexico1--and pitches it1 at  his next  
camp1 upon a little creek which trickles

 into ,green ,river1 and  at last1      
through the ,colorado1 into the ,gulf of
 ,california4 ,not far  distant spring  
the fountains of the ,columbia4 ,a level
 table-land extends  to the fords of    
,green ,river1 a clear and rapid stream1
 whose entire  course has never yet been
 mapped by an intelligent explorer4     
,here the  road becomes entangled again 
among mountains1 and winds its way over 
steep ridges1 across foaming torrents1  
and through caons so narrow that  only  
noonday sunshine penetrates their       
depths1 until it emerges1 through  a    
rocky gate in the great barrier of the  
,wahsatch range1 upon the bench  above  
,salt ,lake ,city1 twelve hundred miles 
from ,fort ,leavenworth4 ,the  view at  
this point1 from the mouth of           
,emigration ,caon1 is enchanting4  ,the 
sun1 sinking through a cloudless western
 sky1 silvers the long line  of the     
lake1 which is visible twenty miles     
away4 ,beyond the city the  ,river      
,jordan winds quietly through the plain4

 ,below the gazer are roofs  and        
cupolas1 shady streets1 neat gardens1   
and fields of ripening grain4  ,the     
mountains1 which bound the horizon on   
every side1 except where a  wavering    
stream of heated air shows the beginning
 of the ,great ,desert1  are tinged with
 a soft purple haze1 in anticipation of 
the sunset1 but  every patch of green   
grass on their slopes glows through it  
like an  emerald1 while along the       
summits runs an undulating thread of    
snow4    ,throughout this vast line of  
road1 the only white inhabitants are the
  garrisons of the military posts1 the  
keepers of mail-stations1 and  voyageurs
 and mountaineers1 whose cabins may be  
found in every  locality favorable to   
,indian trade4 ,these last are a        
singular race  of men1 fast             
disappearing1 like the ,indian and the  
buffalo1 their  neighbors4 ,most of them
 are of ,french extraction1 and some    
have died  without having learned to    
speak a word of ,english4 ,their wealth 

consists  in cattle and horses1 and     
little stocks of goods which they       
purchase  from the sutlers at the forts 
or the merchants at ,salt ,lake ,city4  
,some  of the more considerable among   
them have the means of sending to the   
,states for an annual supply of         
blankets1 beads1 vermilion1 and other   
stuff for ,indian traffic2 but the most 
are thriftless1 and all are  living in  
concubinage or marriage with squaws1 and
 surrounded by troops  of unwashed1     
screeching half-breeds4 ,once in from   
three to six years1  they will make a   
journey to ,st4 ,louis1 and gamble away 
so much of their  savings since the last
 visit as has escaped being wasted over 
greasy  card-tables during the long     
winter-evenings among the mountains4    
,the  ,indian tribes along the way are  
numerous and formidable1 the road       
passing through country occupied by     
,pawnees1 ,cheyennes1 ,sioux1           
,arapahoes1 ,crows1 ,snakes1 and ,utahs4
 ,with the ,cheyennes war had been      

waged by the ,united ,states for more   
than two years1 which interfered        
seriously with the expedition2 for1     
during the month of ,june1 a  war-party 
from that tribe intercepted and         
dispersed the herd of  beef-cattle      
intended for the use of the army4       
,the natural characteristics of the     
entire route are as unpromising as      
those of its inhabitants4 ,at the       
distance of about two hundred miles     
from the ,missouri frontier the soil    
becomes so pervaded by sand1 that  only 
scientific agriculture can render it    
available4 ,along the ,platte  there is 
no fuel4 ,not a tree is visible1 except 
the thin fringe of  cottonwoods on the  
margin of the river1 all of which upon  
the south  bank1 where the road runs1   
were hewed down and burned at every     
convenient camp1 during the great       
,california emigration4 ,when the ,rocky
  ,mountains are entered1 the only      
vegetation found is bunch-grass1 so     
called because it grows in tufts1--and  

the artemisia1 or wild sage1 an  odorous
 shrub1 which sometimes attains the     
magnitude of a tree1 with a  fibrous    
trunk as thick as a man's thigh1 but is 
ordinarily a bush  about two feet in    
height4 ,the bunch-grass1 grown at such 
an elevation1  possesses extraordinary  
nutritive properties1 even in midwinter4
 ,about  the middle of ,january a new   
growth is developed underneath the snow1
  forcing off the old dry blade that    
ripened and shed its seed the  previous 
summer4 ,from ,fort ,kearney to ,fort   
,laramie1 almost the only  fuel to be   
obtained is the dung of buffalo and     
oxen1 called1 in the  vocabulary of the 
region1 chips1--the argal of the ,tartar
 deserts4  ,among the mountains the sage
 is the chief material of the           
traveller's  fire4 ,it burns with a     
lively1 ruddy flame1 and gives out an   
intense  heat4 ,in the settlements of   
,utah all the wood consumed is hauled   
from  the caons1 which are usually lined
 with pines1 firs1 and cedars1 while    

the broadsides of the mountains are     
nothing but terraces of volcanic  rock4 
,the price of wood in ,salt ,lake ,city 
is from twelve to twenty  dollars a     
cord4    ,from this brief review of the 
natural features of the country1 some   
idea  may be formed of the intensity of 
the religious enthusiasm which has      
induced fifty thousand ,mormon converts 
to traverse it1 many of them on  foot   
and trundling handcarts1 to seek a home 
among the valleys of  ,utah1 in a region
 hardly more propitious2 and some idea1 
also1 of the  difficulties which were to
 attend the march of the army4          
,during the spring of #aheg1 the        
preparations for the expedition were    
hurried forward1 and in ,june the whole 
force was collected at ,fort            
,leavenworth4 ,all ,western ,missouri   
was in a ferment4 ,the river foamed     
with steamboats freighted with military 
stores1 and the levee at  ,leavenworth  
,city was covered all summer long with  
the frames of wagons4  ,between the     

#ahth and the #bdth of ,july1 all the   
detachments of the little  army were on 
the march1 except a battalion of two    
companies of infantry1  which had been  
unable to join their regiment at the    
time it moved from  ,minnesota1 and the 
,second ,dragoons1 which ,governor      
,walker retained in  ,kansas to overawe 
the uneasy people of the town of        
,lawrence4 ,general  ,harney also       
tarried in ,kansas1 intending to wait   
until after the ,october  election      
there1 at which disturbances were       
anticipated that it might be  necessary 
to quell by force4    ,at ,washington1  
movements of equal importance were      
taking place4 ,the                      
,postmaster-,general1 in ,june1 annulled
 the contract held by certain  ,mormons 
for the transportation of the monthly   
mall to ,utah1 ostensibly  on account of
 non-performance of the service within  
the stipulated time1  but really because
 he was satisfied that the mails were   
violated1 either  en route or after     

arrival at ,salt ,lake ,city4 ,the      
office of ,governor  of the ,territory  
was offered by the ,president to various
 persons1 and  finally accepted1 ,july  
#aath1 by ,alfred ,cumming1 a brother of
 the ,cumming  of ,georgia who fought   
multitudinous duels with ,mc,duffie of  
,south  ,carolina1 all of which both    
parties survived4 ,mr4 ,cumming had been
 a  sutler during the ,mexican ,war1 and
 more recently a ,superintendent of     
,indian ,affairs on the ,upper          
,missouri4 ,he was reputed to be a      
gentleman  of education1 ambition1 and  
executive ability4 ,the office of ,chief
  ,justice was conferred on ,judge      
,d4,r4 ,eckels1 of ,indiana1 a person   
well  fitted for the position by the    
circumstances of his early life1 of the 
utmost determination1 and whose judicial
 integrity was above suspicion4    ,the 
news of the stoppage of the mail reached
 ,salt ,lake ,valley ,july #bdth1  an   
eventful anniversary in the history of  
,mormonism4 ,it was on the #bdth  of    

,july1 #ahdg1 that ,brigham ,young      
entered the ,valley from the ,east1 and 
the day had always afterwards been kept 
as a holiday of the ,church4 ,on  this  
occasion1 the celebration was held in   
,cottonwood ,caon1 one of the  wildest  
and grandest gorges among the ,wahsatch 
,mountains1 opening at  the foot of the 
,twin ,peaks1 about twenty miles        
southeast from ,salt ,lake  ,city4      
,thither more than twenty-five hundred  
people had flocked from the  city on the
 previous day1 and prepared to hold     
their festival under  bowers built of   
fragrant pines and cedars around a      
little lake far up  among the mountains4
 ,during the afternoon of the #bdth1    
while they were  engaged in music1      
dancing1 and every manner of lively     
sport1 two dusty  messengers rode up the
 caon1 bringing from the ,states the    
news of the  stoppage of the mail and of
 the approaching march of the troops4   
,this  mode of announcement was probably
 preconcerted with ,brigham ,young1 who 

was undoubtedly aware of the facts on   
the preceding day4 ,a scene of  the     
maddest confusion ensued1 which was     
heightened by the inflammatory  speeches
 of the ,mormon leaders4 ,young reminded
 the fanatical throng1  that1 ten years 
ago that very day1 he had said1 ,give us
 ten years of  peace and we will ask no 
odds of the ,united ,states2 and he     
added1  that the ten years had passed1  
and now they asked no odds1--that they  
constituted henceforth a free and       
independent state1 to be known no       
longer as ,utah1 but by their own       
,mormon name of ,deseret4 ,kimball1 the 
second in authority in the ,church1     
called on the people to adhere to       
,brigham1 as their prophet1 seer1 and   
revelator1 priest1 governor1  and king4 
,the sun set on the first overt act in  
the rebellion4 ,the  fanatics1 wending  
their way back to the city1 across the  
broad plain1 in  the moonlight1 were    
ready to follow wherever ,brigham ,young
 might choose  to lead4    ,on the      

succeeding ,sundays the spirit of       
rebellion was breathed from the  pulpit 
in language yet more intemperate1 and   
often profane and obscene4  ,military   
preparations were made with the greatest
 bustle2 and the ,nauvoo  ,legion--under
 which name1 transplanted from          
,illinois1 the militia were             
organized--was drilled daily in the     
streets of the city4 ,the martial       
fervor ran so high that even the boys   
paraded with wooden spears and  guns1   
and the little ragamuffins were         
inspected and patted on the head  by    
venerable and veritable ,fathers of the 
,church4    ,in total ignorance that the
 standard of rebellion had already been 
raised1 ,general ,harney1 in the        
beginning of ,august1 detached ,captain 
,van  ,vliet1 the ,quarter-master on his
 staff1 to proceed rapidly to ,utah to  
make arrangements for the reception of  
the army in the ,valley4 ,he passed  the
 troops in the vicinity of ,fort        
,laramie4 ,about thirty miles west  of  

,green ,river he was met by a party of  
,mormons1 who escorted him1  accompanied
 only by his servant1 to the city4      
,there he was politely  treated1 but    
informed that his mission would be      
fruitless1 for the  ,mormon people were 
determined to resist the ingress of the 
troops4 ,at  a meeting in the           
,tabernacle1 at which the ,captain was  
present on the  platform1 when ,brigham 
,young called on the audience for an    
expression of  opinion1 every hand was  
raised in favor of the policy of        
resistance1 and  in expression of       
willingness1 if it should become        
necessary1 to abandon  harvest and      
homestead1 retreat with the women to the
 mountains1 and wage  there a war of    
extermination4 ,they took pains to      
conduct the ,captain  through the       
well-kept gardens and blooming fields1  
to show him their  household comforts1  
the herds of cattle1 the stacks of hay  
and grain1  and all their public        
improvements1 in order to present a     

contrast  between such plenty and       
prosperity and such a scene of          
desolation as  they depicted4           
,profoundly impressed by the devotion of
 the people to  their leaders1 he       
started on his return1 accompanied by   
,mr4 ,bernhisel1  the ,mormon delegate  
to ,congress4 ,two days after he left   
the city1 a  proclamation was issued by 
,young1 in his capacity of ,governor1 in
 which  the army was denounced as a mob 
and forbidden to enter the ,territory1  
and the people of ,utah were summoned to
 arms to repel its advance4    ,when    
this document reached the troops1 they  
had already crossed the  ,territorial   
line1 and were prepared for its         
reception by the report of  ,captain    
,van ,vliet as he passed them on his    
return to the ,states4 ,their  position 
was embarrassing4 ,in the absence of    
,general ,harney1 each  separate        
detachment constituted an independent   
command4 ,the senior  officer present   
was ,colonel ,alexander1 of the ,tenth  

,infantry1 a thorough  soldier in the   
minutiae of his profession1 and         
distinguished by  gallantry during the  
,mexican ,war4 ,he resolved1 very       
properly1 in view  of his seniority1 to 
assume the command-in-chief until       
,general ,harney  should arrive from the
 ,east4 ,on the #bgth of ,september1    
before the  proclamation was received1  
the first division of the army crossed  
,green  ,river1 having accomplished a   
march of a thousand miles in little more
  than two months4 ,that same night it  
hastened forwards thirty miles to       
,ham's ,fork1--a confluent of ,black's  
,fork1 which empties into ,green        
,river1--where several supply-trains    
were gathered1 upon which there  was    
danger that the ,mormons would make an  
attack4 ,the other divisions  followed  
within the week1 and the whole force was
 concentrated4 ,on the  night of        
,october #eth1 after the last division  
had crossed the river1 two              
supply-trains1 of twenty-five wagons    

each1 were captured and burned just  on 
the bank of the stream1 by a party of   
mounted ,mormons led by a man  named    
,lot ,smith1 and the next morning       
another train was destroyed by  the same
 party1 twenty miles farther east1 on   
the ,big ,sandy1 in ,oregon  ,territory4
 ,the teamsters were disarmed and       
dismissed1 and the cattle  stolen4 ,no  
blood was shed2 not a shot fired4       
,immediately upon the news  of this     
attack reaching ,ham's ,fork1 ,colonel  
,alexander1 who had then  assumed the   
command-in-chief1 dispatched ,captain   
,marcy1 of the ,fifth  ,infantry1 with  
four hundred men1 to afford assistance  
to the trains1 and  punish the          
aggressors1 if possible4 ,but when the  
,captain reached ,green  ,river1 all    
that was visible near the little ,french
 trading-post was two  broad1 black     
rings on the ground1 bestrewn with iron 
chains and bolts1  where the wagons had 
been burned in corral4 ,he was able to  
do  nothing except to send orders to the

 other trains on the road to halt1      
concentrate1 and await the escort of    
,brevet ,colonel ,smith1 of the ,tenth  
,infantry1 who had started from the     
frontier in ,august with the two        
companies mentioned as having been left 
behind in ,minnesota1 and by  rapid     
marches had already reached the         
,sweetwater4 ,the condition of  affairs 
at this moment was indeed critical4 ,by 
the folly of ,governor  ,walker's       
movements in ,kansas the expedition was 
deprived of its mounted  force1 and     
consisted entirely of infantry and      
artillery4 ,the ,mormon  marauding      
parties1 on the contrary1 which it now  
became evident were  hovering on every  
side1 were all well mounted and         
tolerably well armed4  ,the loss of     
three trains more would reduce the      
troops to the verge  of starvation      
before spring1 in case of inability to  
reach ,salt ,lake  ,valley4 ,nothing was
 heard from ,general ,harney1 and in his
 absence no one  possessed instructions 

adequate to the emergency4    ,to       
understand the movements which followed1
 it is necessary to describe  briefly   
the topography of the country between   
,green ,river and the ,great  ,salt     
,lake4 ,the entire interval1 one hundred
 and fifty miles in breadth1  is filled 
with groups and chains of mountains1 the
 direct route through  which to ,salt   
,lake ,city lies along water-courses1   
following them through  caons so narrow 
that little science is necessary to     
render the natural  defences            
impregnable4 ,in this respect1 and in   
the general character of  the scenery1  
it bears much resemblance to the ,tyrol4
 ,in the narrowest of  these gorges1    
,echo ,caon1 twenty-five miles in       
length1 whose walls of  rock often      
approach within a stone's throw of each 
other1 it became  known that the        
,mormons were erecting breastworks and  
digging ditches1  by means of which they
 expected to be able to submerge the    
road to the  depth of several feet1 for 

miles4 ,the only known mode of avoiding 
a  passage through this gorge was by a  
circuitous route1 following the  eastern
 slope of the rim of the ,great ,basin  
northward1 more than a  hundred miles1  
to ,soda ,springs1 at the northern bend 
of ,bear ,river1 the  principal         
tributary of the ,salt ,lake1--then     
crossing the rim along the  course of   
the river1 and pursuing its valley      
southward1 and that of the  ,roseaux or 
,malade1 into ,salt ,lake ,valley4 ,the 
distance of ,salt ,lake  ,city from the 
camp on ,ham's ,fork was by this route  
nearly three hundred  miles1--while the 
distance by the road past ,fort         
,bridger1 through the  caons1 was less  
than one hundred and fifty miles4 ,at   
that fort1 about  twenty miles west from
 the encampment of the army1 the ,mormon
 marauding  parties had their           
head-quarters and principal dpt4 ,it was
 there that  ,colonel ,alexander was    
ordered1 about this time1 by ,brigham   
,young1  to surrender his arms to the   

,mormon ,quartermaster-,general1 on     
which  condition and an agreement to    
depart eastward early the following     
spring1 he and his troops should be fed 
during the winter2 otherwise1  ,young   
added1 they would perish from hunger and
 cold1 and rot among the  mountains4 ,in
 his perplexity1 ,colonel ,alexander    
called a council of  war1 and1 with its 
approval1 resolved to commence a march  
towards ,soda  ,springs1 leaving ,fort  
,bridger unmolested on his left4 ,for   
more than  a fortnight the army toiled  
along ,ham's ,fork1 cutting a road      
through  thickets of greasewood and wild
 sage1 incumbered by a train of such    
unwieldy length that often the          
advance-guard reached its camp at night 
before the rear-guard had moved from the
 camp of the preceding day1 and         
harassed by ,mormon marauding parties   
from the ,fort1 which hung about the    
flanks out of the reach of rifle-shot1  
awaiting opportunities to descend  on   
unprotected wagons and cattle4 ,the     

absence of dragoons prevented a         
dispersion of these banditti4 ,some     
companies of infantry were1 indeed1     
mounted on mules1 and sent to pursue    
them1 but these only excited their      
derision4 ,the ,mormons nicknamed them  
jackass cavalry4 ,their only  exploit   
was the capture of a ,mormon major and  
his adjutant1 on whose  person were     
found orders issued by ,d4,h4 ,wells1   
the ,commanding ,general of  the ,nauvoo
 ,legion1 to the various detachments of 
marauders1 directing  them to burn the  
whole country before the army and on its
 flanks1 to  keep it from sleep by night
 surprises1 to stampede its animals and 
set  fire to its trains1 to blockade the
 road by felling trees and destroying   
river-fords1 but to take no life4 ,on   
the #acth of ,october1 eight hundred    
oxen were cut off from the rear of the  
army and driven to ,salt ,lake  ,valley4
 ,thus the weary column toiled along    
until it reached the spot  where it     
expected to be joined by ,colonel       

,smith's battalion1 about fifty  miles  
up ,ham's ,fork4 ,the very next day snow
 fell to the depth of more  than a foot4
 ,disheartened1 vacillating1 and        
perplexed1 ,colonel ,alexander  called  
another council of war1 and1 acting on  
its judgment1 resolved to  retrace his  
steps4 ,an express reached him that same
 day1 from ,colonel  ,smith1 by which he
 was informed of the approach of        
,colonel ,albert ,s4  ,johnston1 of the 
,second ,cavalry1 who had been detailed 
to take command  of the expedition in   
the place of ,general ,harney1 and now  
sent orders  that the troops should     
return to ,black's ,fork1 where he      
proposed to  concentrate the entire     
army4    ,during the month of ,august1  
it having become evident that ,general  
,harney  was reluctant to proceed to    
,utah1 anticipating a brighter field for
  military distinction in ,kansas1      
,colonel ,johnston was summoned from    
,texas to ,washington and there ordered 
to hasten to take command of the        

expedition4 ,on the #agth of ,september1
 he left ,fort ,leavenworth1 and by     
rapid travel overtook ,colonel ,smith   
while he was engaged in collecting  the 
trains which he intended to escort to   
the main body4 ,on the #bgth of         
,october1 the column moved forwards4    
,the escort had been reinforced by a    
squadron of dragoons from ,fort         
,laramie1 but its entire strength was   
less  than three hundred men1 a number  
obviously insufficient to defend a line 
of wagons six miles in length4 ,an      
attack by the ,mormons was expected     
every day1 but none was made2 and on the
 #c;d of ,november1 the whole army1     
with its munitions1 supplies1 and       
commander1 was concentrated on ,black's 
,fork4 ,colonel ,alexander had arrived  
at the place of rendezvous some days    
previously1 being no nearer ,salt ,lake 
,city ,november #c;d than he had been  a
 month before4 ,the country was covered 
with snow1 winter having fairly  set in 
among the mountains1 the last pound of  

forage was exhausted1 and  the cattle   
and mules were little more than animated
 skeletons4    ,colonel ,johnston had   
already determined1 while in the ,south 
,pass1 that  it would be impracticable  
to cross the ,wahsatch range until      
spring1  and shaped his arrangements    
accordingly4 ,he resolved to establish  
winter-quarters in the vicinity of ,fort
 ,bridger1 and on the #fth of  ,november
 the advance towards that post          
commenced4 ,the day was memorable  in   
the history of the expedition4 ,sleet   
poured down upon the column from        
morning till night4 ,on the previous    
evening1 five hundred cattle had  been  
stampeded by the ,mormons1 in           
consequence of which some trains  were  
unable to move at all4 ,after struggling
 along till nightfall1 the  regiments   
camped wherever they could find shelter 
under bluffs or among  willows4 ,that   
night more than five hundred animals    
perished from  hunger and cold1 and the 
next morning the camp was encircled by  

their  carcasses1 coated with a film of 
ice4 ,it was a scene which could be     
paralleled only in the retreat of the   
,french from ,moscow4 ,had there been   
any doubt before concerning the         
practicability of an immediate advance  
beyond ,fort ,bridger1 none existed any 
longer4 ,it was the #afth of  ,november 
when the vanguard reached that post1    
which the ,mormons had  abandoned the   
week before4 ,nearly a fortnight had    
been consumed in  accomplishing less    
than thirty miles4    ,it is time to    
return to the ,states and record what   
had been transpiring  there1 in         
connection with the expedition1 while   
the army was staggering  towards its    
permanent winter-camp4 ,the only one of 
the newly-appointed  civil officials who
 was present with the troops was ,judge 
,eckels1  who had left his home in      
,indiana immediately after receiving his
  appointment1 and started across the   
,plains with his own conveyance4 ,near  
,fort ,laramie he was overtaken by      

,colonel ,smith1 whom he accompanied in 
his progress to the main body4 ,governor
 ,cumming1 in the mean while1           
dilly-dallied in the ,east1 travelling  
from ,st4 ,louis to ,washington and     
back again1 begging for an increase of  
salary1 for a sum of money to be  placed
 at his disposal for secret service1 and
 for transportation  to the             
,territory1--all which requests1 except 
the last1 were denied4  ,towards the    
close of ,september1 he arrived at ,fort
 ,leavenworth4 ,governor  ,walker had1  
by this time1 released his hold on the  
dragoons1 and1  notwithstanding the     
advanced period of the season1 they were
 preparing  to march to ,utah4 ,the     
,governor and most of the other civil   
officers  delayed until they started1   
and travelled in their company4 ,the    
march  was attended with the severest   
hardships4 ,when they reached the ,rocky
  ,mountains1 the snow lay from one to  
three feet deep on the loftier  ridges  
which they were obliged to cross4 ,the  

struggle with the elements1  during the 
last two hundred miles before gaining   
,fort ,bridger1 was  desperate4 ,nearly 
a third of the horses died from cold1   
hunger1 and  fatigue2 everything that   
could be spared was thrown out to       
lighten the  wagons1 and the road was   
strewn with military accoutrements from 
the  ,rocky ,ridge to ,green ,river4 ,on
 the #bjth of ,november1 ,colonel ,cooke
  reached the camp with a command       
entirely incapacitated for active       
service4    ,the place selected by      
,colonel ,johnston for the              
winter-quarters of  the army was on the 
bank of ,black's ,fork1 about two miles 
above ,fort  ,bridger1 on a spot        
sheltered by high bluffs which rise     
abruptly from the  bottom at a distance 
of five or six hundred yards from the   
channel of  the stream4 ,the banks of   
the ,fork were fringed with willow brush
 and  cottonwood trees1 blasted in some 
places where the ,mormons had attempted 
to deprive the troops of fuel4 ,the     

trees were fortunately too green to     
burn1 and the fire swept through acres1 
doing no more damage than to  consume   
the dry leaves and char the bark4 ,the  
water of the ,fork1 clear  and pure1    
rippled noisily over a stony bed between
 two unbroken walls  of ice4 ,the civil 
officers of the ,territory fixed their  
quarters in  a little nook in the wood  
above the military camp4 ,the ,colonel1 
anticipating a change of encampment1    
determined not to construct  quarters of
 logs or sod for the army4 ,a new       
species of tent1 which had  just been   
introduced1 was served out for its      
winter dwellings4 ,an iron  tripod      
supported a pole from the top of which  
depended a slender but  strong hoop4    
,attached to this1 the canvas sloped to 
the ground1 forming  a tent in the shape
 of a regular cone4 ,the opening at the 
top caused a  draught1 by means of which
 a fire could be kept up beneath the    
tripod  without choking the inmates with
 smoke4 ,an ,indian lodge had evidently 

been the model of the inventor4 ,most of
 the civil officers1 however1 dug       
square holes in the ground1 over which  
they built log huts1 plastering  the    
cracks with mud4 ,their little town they
 named ,eckelsville1 after the  ,chief  
,justice4 ,a dpt for all the military   
stores was established at  ,fort        
,bridger1 where a strong detachment was 
encamped4 ,at the time of its           
occupation1 the ,fort consisted merely  
of two stone walls1 one twenty1  the    
other about ten feet in height1         
inclosing quadrangles fifty paces  long 
and forty broad4 ,these walls were built
 of cobble-stones cemented  with mortar4
 ,half-a-dozen cannonballs would have   
knocked them to pieces1  although they  
constituted a formidable defence against
 infantry4 ,when  the ,mormons evacuated
 the post1 they burned all the buildings
 inside  these quadrangles4 ,colonel    
,johnston proceeded to set up additional
  defences for the dpt1 and within a    
month two lunettes were completed  with 

ditches and chevaux-de-frise1 in each of
 which was mounted a  piece of          
artillery4    ,the work of unloading the
 trains commenced1 and after careful    
computation the ,chief ,commissary      
determined1 that1 by an abridgment of   
the ration1 diminishing the daily issue 
of flour1 and issuing bacon only  once a
 week1 his supplies would last until the
 first of ,june4 ,all the  beef cattle  
intended for the use of the army having 
been intercepted by  the ,cheyennes1 it 
became necessary to kill those draught  
oxen for beef1  which had survived the  
march4 ,shambles were erected1 to which 
the poor  half-starved animals were     
driven by hundreds to be butchered4 ,the
 flesh  was jerked and stored carefully 
in cabins built for the purpose4    ,the
 business of loading the trains had been
 carelessly performed at ,fort          
,leavenworth4 ,in this respect the      
quartermaster who superintended the     
work might have learned a lesson from   
the experience of the ,british in  the  

,crimea4 ,but1 unwilling to take the    
trouble to assign to each train  a      
proportionate quantity of all the       
articles to be transported1 he had      
packed one after another with just such 
things as lay most conveniently  at     
hand4 ,the consequence was1 that in the 
wagons which were burned  were contained
 all the mechanics' implements1         
stationery1 and  horse-medicines1       
although the loss of the latter was not 
to be  regretted4 ,the rest of their    
contents was mostly flour and bacon4    
,had  the ,mormons burned the next three
 trains upon the road1 they would have  
destroyed all the clothing intended for 
the expedition4 ,as it was1 upon        
searching those trains1 only one hundred
 and fifty pairs of boots and  shoes and
 six hundred pairs of stockings were    
found provided for an army  of two      
thousand men1 and some of the soldiers  
already had nothing but  moccasins to   
cover their feet1 with the thermometer  
at #af degrees below  zero1--while there

 were found one thousand leather        
neck-stocks and three  thousand         
bed-sacks1 articles totally useless4    
,how not to do it had  evidently been   
the motto of the ,quarter-master's      
,department4 ,the ample  supplies of    
some articles were rendered unavailable 
by deficiencies in  other articles      
equally necessary4 ,in some of its      
arrangements it seemed  to have         
proceeded on the presumption that there 
would be an armed  collision1 while in  
others the probability of such an event 
was entirely  disregarded4 ,one wagon   
was loaded wholly with boiling-kettles1 
but there  was no brine to boil1 and at 
the close of ,november not a pound of   
salt  remained in the camp4    ,one of  
the first and most important of ,colonel
 ,johnston's duties was  to provide for 
the keeping1 during the winter1 of the  
mules and horses  which survived4 ,on   
,black's ,fork there was no grass for   
their support4 ,it  had either been     
burned by the ,mormons or consumed by   

their cavalry4 ,he  decided to send them
 all to ,henry's ,fork1 thirty-five     
miles south of  ,fort ,bridger1 where he
 had at one time designed to encamp with
 the whole  army4 ,the regiment of      
dragoons was detailed to guard them4 ,a 
supply of  fresh animals for            
transportation in the spring was his    
next care4 ,the  settlements in ,new    
,mexico are less than seven hundred     
miles distant from  ,fort ,bridger1 and 
to them he resolved to apply4 ,captain  
,marcy was  the officer selected to lead
 in the arduous expedition4 ,he had been
  previously distinguished in the       
service by a thorough exploration of the
  ,red ,river of ,louisiana4            
,accompanied by only thirty-five picked 
men1 all  volunteers1 and by two guides1
 he started for ,taos1 ,november        
#bgth1--an  undertaking from which1 at  
that season of the year1 the most       
experienced  mountaineers would have    
shrunk4 ,a party was dispatched at the  
same  time to the ,flathead country1 in 

,oregon and ,washington ,territories1 to
  procure horses to remount the         
dragoons1 and to induce the traders in  
that region to drive cattle down to     
,fort ,bridger for sale4    ,on the day 
of ,captain ,marcy's departure1         
,governor ,cumming issued a             
proclamation1 declaring the ,territory  
to be in a state of rebellion1  and     
commanding the traitors to lay down     
their arms and return to their  homes4  
,it announced1 also1 that proceedings   
would be instituted against  the        
offenders1 in a court to be organized in
 the county by ,judge ,eckels1  which   
would supersede the necessity of        
appointing a military commission  for   
that purpose4 ,this document was sent to
 ,salt ,lake ,city by a ,mormon         
prisoner who was released for the       
purpose4 ,the ,governor sent also1 by   
the same messenger1 a letter to ,brigham
 ,young1 in which there were            
expressions that indicated a disposition
 to temporize4    ,the whole camp1 at   

this time1 was a scene of confusion and 
bustle4 ,some  of the stragglers around 
the tents were ,indians belonging to a  
band of  ,pah-,utahs1 among whom ,dr4   
,hurt1 already mentioned as the only    
,federal  officer who did not abandon   
the ,territory in the spring of #aheg1  
had  established a farm upon the banks  
of the ,spanish ,fork1 which rises among
  the snows of ,mount ,nebo1 and flows  
into ,lake ,utah from the ,east4        
,shortly  after the issue of ,brigham   
,young's proclamation of ,september     
#aeth1 the  ,mormons resolved to take   
the ,doctor prisoner4 ,no official was  
ever more  obnoxious to the ,church than
 he2 for by his authority over the      
tribes  he had been able to counteract  
in great measure the influences by which
  ,young had endeavored to alienate both
 ,snakes and ,utahs from the control  of
 the ,united ,states4 ,on the #bgth of  
,september1 two bands of mounted men    
moved towards the farm from the         
neighboring towns of ,springville and   

,payson4 ,warned by the faithful        
,indians of his danger1 the ,doctor fled
 to  the mountains1 and twenty          
,pah-,utahs and ,uinta-,utahs escorted  
him to the  ,south ,pass1 where he      
joined ,colonel ,johnston on the #bc;d  
of ,october4 ,it  was an act of devotion
 which has rarely been excelled in      
,indian history4  ,the sufferings of his
 naked escort on the journey were       
severe4 ,they  crossed the ,green ,river
 ,mountains1 breaking the crust of the  
snow and  leading their animals1 being  
reduced at the time to tallow and roots 
for  their own sustenance4 ,on the      
advance of the army towards ,fort       
,bridger1  they accompanied its march4  
,another class of stragglers1 and one   
most dangerous to the peace of the      
camp1 was composed of the thousand      
teamsters who were discharged from      
employment on the supply-trains4 ,many  
of these men belonged to the scum  of   
the great ,western cities1--a class more
 dangerous1 because more  intelligent   

and reckless1 than the same class of    
population in ,new ,york4  ,others had  
sought to reach ,california1 not        
anticipating a state of  hostilities    
which would bar their way4 ,now1 thrown 
out of employment1  with slender means1 
a great number became desperate4        
,hundreds attempted  to return to the   
,states on foot1 some of whom died on   
the way1--and  nine-tenths of them would
 have perished1 had they encountered the
 storms  of the preceding winter among  
the mountains4 ,but the majority hung   
around the camp4 ,to some of these the  
,quartermaster was able to furnish      
work1 but he was obviously incapable of 
affording this assistance to  all4      
,thefts and assaults became frequent1   
and promised to multiply as  the season 
advanced4 ,to remedy this trouble1      
,colonel ,johnston assumed  the         
responsibility of organizing a volunteer
 battalion4 ,the term of  service for   
which the men enlisted was nine months4 
,for their pay they  were to depend on  

the action of ,congress4 ,the four      
companies which the  battalion comprised
 selected for their commander an officer
 from the  regular army1 ,captain ,bee1 
of the ,tenth ,infantry4    ,the        
organization of a ,district ,court1 by  
,judge ,eckels1 helped quite as         
essentially to enforce order4 ,its      
convicts were received by ,colonel      
,johnston and committed to imprisonment 
in the guard-tents of the army4  ,the   
grand jury1 impanelled for the purposes 
of the court1 were obliged  to take     
cognizance of the rebellion1 and1 after 
thoroughly investigating  the facts of  
the case1 they returned bills of        
indictment against ,brigham  ,young and 
sixty of his principal associates4      
,during the campaign of ,ham's ,fork1 as
 ,colonel ,alexander's march up and     
down that stream was facetiously called 
by the ,mormons1 he had been in         
constant receipt of communications from 
,young1 of a character similar to  the  
letter in which the army was commanded  

to surrender its arms at ,fort          
,bridger4 ,this correspondence was now  
abruptly terminated by ,colonel         
,johnston4 ,two messengers came to the  
camp from ,salt ,lake ,city at the      
beginning of ,december1 escorted by a   
party of ,mormon militia1 and  bringing 
four pack-mules loaded with salt1 which 
a letter from ,young  offered as a      
present1 with assurances that it was not
 poisoned4 ,this  letter contained1     
besides1 certain threats concerning the 
treatment  of prisoners1 and reminded   
,colonel ,johnston that the ,mormons    
also had  prisoners in their power1 on  
whom anything which might befall those  
in  camp should be retaliated4 ,the     
,colonel returned no other answer to    
this  epistle than to dismiss its       
bearers with their salt1 informing them 
that he could accept no favors from     
traitors and rebels1 and that any       
communication which they might in future
 hold with the army must be  under a    
flag of truce1 although as to the manner

 in which they might  communicate with  
the ,governor it was not within his     
province to  prescribe4 ,a week or two  
later1 a thousand pounds of salt were   
forced  through to the camp from ,fort  
,laramie1 thirty out of the forty-six   
mules  on which it was packed perishing 
on the way4    ,thus the long and dreary
 winter commenced in the camp of the    
army of  ,utah4 ,it mattered not that   
the rations were abridged1 that         
communication  with the ,states was     
interrupted1 and that every species of  
duty at such  a season1 in such a       
region1 was uncommonly severe4          
,confidence and even  gayety were       
restored to the camp1 by the            
consciousness that it was  commanded by 
an officer whose intelligence was       
adequate to the  difficulties of his    
position4 ,every additional hardship was
 cheerfully  endured4 ,as the animals   
failed1 all the wood used in camp was   
obliged to  be drawn a distance of from 
three to six miles by hand1 but there   

were  few gayer spectacles than the long
 strings of soldiers hurrying the       
wagons over the crunching snow4 ,they   
built great pavilions1 decorated  them  
with colors and stacks of arms1 and     
danced as merrily on ,christmas  and    
,new ,year's ,eves to the music of the  
regimental bands1 as if they had  been  
in cozy cantonments1 instead of in a    
camp of fluttering canvas1  more than   
seven thousand feet above the level of  
the sea4 ,in the  pavilion of the ,fifth
 ,infantry1 there drooped over the      
company the flags  which that regiment  
had carried1 ten years before1 up the   
sunny slopes  of ,chapultepec1 and which
 were torn in a hundred places by the   
storm of  bullets at ,molinos del ,rey4 
,meanwhile1 how hearts were beating in  
the ,states with anxious  apprehension  
for the safety of kindred and friends1  
those who felt that  anxiety1 and not   
those who were the objects of it1 best  
know4    ,perhaps the disposition of the
 camp would have been more in harmony   

with the scenery and the season1 if the 
army had dreamed that the               
administration1 which had launched it so
 recklessly into circumstances  of such 
privation and danger1 was about to turn 
its labors and  sufferings into a farce1
 and to claim the approval of the       
country for  an act of mistaken         
clemency1 which was1 in reality1 a grave
 political  error4    ,to be continued4 
99       99       99       99       99  
,,the ,,minister',s ,,wooing4           
,continued4      ,,chapter ,,viii4      
,,which ,,treats ,,of ,,romance4        
,there is no word in the ,english       
language more unceremoniously and       
indefinitely kicked and cuffed about1 by
 what are called sensible  people1 than 
the word romance4 ,when ,mr4 ,smith or  
,mr4 ,stubbs has  brought every wheel of
 life into such range and order that it 
is one  steady1 daily grind1--when they 
themselves have come into the habits and
  attitudes of the patient donkey1 who  
steps round and round the endlessly     

turning wheel of some machinery1 then   
they fancy that they have gotten  the   
victory that overcometh the world4      
,all but this dead grind1 and the       
dollars that come through the mill1  is 
by them thrown into one waste catch-all 
and labelled romance4  ,perhaps there   
was a time in ,mr4 ,smith's youth1--he  
remembers it  now1--when he read poetry1
 when his cheek was wet with strange    
tears1  when a little song1 ground out  
by an organ-grinder in the street1 had  
power to set his heart beating and bring
 a mist before his eyes4 ,ah1 in  those 
days he had a vision6--a pair of soft   
eyes stirred him strangely2  a little   
weak hand was laid on his manhood1 and  
it shook and trembled2  and then came   
all the humility1 the aspiration1 the   
fear1 the hope1  the high desire1 the   
troubling of the waters by the depending
 angel of  love1--and a little more and 
,mr4 ,smith might have become a man1    
instead  of a banker6 ,he thinks of it  
now1 sometimes1 as he looks across the  

fireplace after dinner and sees ,mrs4   
,smith asleep1 innocently shaking  the  
bouquet of pink bows and ,brussels lace 
that waves over her placid  red         
countenance4    ,mrs4 ,smith wasn't his 
first love1 nor1 indeed1 any love at    
all2 but they  agree reasonably well4   
,and as for poor ,nellie1--well1 she is 
dead and  buried1--all that was stuff   
and romance4 ,mrs4 ,smith's money set   
him up  in business1 and ,mrs4 ,smith is
 a capital manager1 and he thanks ,god  
that  he isn't romantic1 and tells      
,smith ,junior not to read poetry or    
novels1  and to stick to realities4     
,this is the victory that overcometh the
 world1--to learn to be fat and         
tranquil1 to have warm fires and good   
dinners1 to hang your hat on the  same  
peg at the same hour every day1 to sleep
 soundly all night1 and  never to       
trouble your head with a thought or     
imagining beyond4    ,but there are many
 people besides ,mr4 ,smith who have    
gained this  victory1--who have         

strangled their higher nature and buried
 it1 and  built over its grave the      
structure of their life1 the better to  
keep it  down4    ,the fascinating ,mrs4
 ,t41 whose life is a whirl between ball
 and opera1  point lace1 diamonds1 and  
schemings of admiration for herself1 and
 of  establishments for her             
daughters1--there was a time1 if you    
will believe  me1 when that proud1      
worldly woman was so humbled1 under the 
touch of  some mighty power1 that she   
actually thought herself capable of     
being a  poor man's wife4 ,she thought  
she could live in a little1 mean house  
on  no-matter-what-street1 with one     
servant1 and make her own bonnets  and  
mend her own clothes1 and sweep the     
house ,mondays1 while ,betty            
washed1--all for what8 ,all because she 
thought that there was a man  so noble1 
so true1 so good1 so high-minded1 that  
to live with him in  poverty1 to be     
guided by him in adversity1 to lean on  
him in every rough  place of life1 was a

 something nobler1 better1 purer1 more  
satisfying1  than ,french laces1        
opera-boxes1 and even ,madame ,roget's  
best gowns4    ,unfortunately1 this was 
all romance1--there was no such man4    
,there  was1 indeed1 a person of very   
common1 self-interested aims and worldly
  nature1 whom she had credited at sight
 with an unlimited draft on all  her    
better nature2 and when the hour of     
discovery came1 she awoke  from her     
dream with a start and a laugh1 and ever
 since has despised  aspiration1 and    
been busy with the realities of life1   
and feeds poor  little ,mary ,jane1 who 
sits by her in the opera-box there1 with
 all the  fruit which she has picked    
from the bitter tree of knowledge4      
,there is  no end of the epigrams and   
witticisms which she can throw out1 this
  elegant ,mrs4 ,t41 on people who marry
 for love1 lead prosy1 worky lives1  and
 put on their best cap with pink ribbons
 for ,sunday4 ,mary ,jane shall  never  
make a fool of herself2 but1 even as she

 speaks1 poor ,mary ,jane's  heart is   
dying within her at the vanishing of a  
pair of whiskers from an  opposite      
box1--which whiskers the poor little    
fool has credited with a  rsum drawn    
from her own imaginings of all that is  
grandest and  most heroic1 most         
worshipful in man4 ,by-and-by1 when     
,mrs4 ,t4 finds the  glamour has fallen 
on her daughter1 she wonders2 she has   
tried to keep  novels out of the girl's 
way1--where did she get these notions8  
,all prosaic1 and all bitter1           
disenchanted people talk as if poets    
and novelists made romance4 ,they       
do1--just as much as craters make       
volcanoes1--no more4 ,what is romance8  
whence comes it8 ,plato spoke to  the   
subject wisely1 in his quaint way1 some 
two thousand years ago1 when  he said1  
,man's soul1 in a former state1 was     
winged and soared among the  gods2 and  
so it comes to pass1 that1 in this life1
 when the soul1 by the  power of music  
or poetry1 or the sight of beauty1 hath 

her remembrance  quickened1 forthwith   
there is a straggling and a pricking    
pain as of  wings trying to come        
forth1--even as children in teething4   
,and if an  old heathen1 two thousand   
years ago1 discoursed thus gravely of   
the  romantic part of our nature1 whence
 comes it that in ,christian lands  we  
think in so pagan a way of it1 and turn 
the whole care of it to  ballad-makers1 
romancers1 and opera-singers8    ,let us
 look up in fear and reverence and say1 
,,god is the great maker  of romance4   
,,he1 from whose hand came man and      
woman1--,,he1 who strung the  great harp
 of ,existence with all its wild and    
wonderful and manifold  chords1 and     
attuned them to one another1--,,he is   
the great ,poet of life4  ,every impulse
 of beauty1 of heroism1 and every       
craving for purer love1  fairer         
perfection1 nobler type and style of    
being than that which closes  like a    
prison-house around us1 in the dim1     
daily walk of life1 is  ,god's breath1  

,god's impulse1 ,god's reminder to the  
soul that there is  something higher1   
sweeter1 purer1 yet to be attained4     
,therefore1 man or woman1 when thy ideal
 is shattered1--as shattered a  thousand
 times it must be1--when the vision     
fades1 the rapture burns  out1 turn not 
away in skepticism and bitterness1      
saying1 ,there is  nothing better for a 
man than that he should eat and drink1  
but rather  cherish the revelations of  
those hours as prophecies and           
foreshadowings  of something real and   
possible1 yet to be attained in the     
manhood1 of  immortality4 ,the scoffing 
spirit that laughs at romance is an     
apple of  the ,devil's own handing from 
the bitter tree of knowledge2--it opens 
the  eyes only to see eternal nakedness4
    ,if ever you have had a romantic1   
uncalculating friendship1--a boundless  
worship and belief in some hero of your 
soul1--if ever you have so  loved1 that 
all cold prudence1 all selfish worldly  
considerations have  gone down like     

drift-wood before a river flooded with  
new rain from  heaven1 so that you even 
forgot yourself1 and were ready to cast 
your  whole being into the chasm of     
existence1 as an offering before the    
feet  of another1 and all for           
nothing1--if you awoke bitterly betrayed
 and  deceived1 still give thanks to    
,god that you have had one glimpse of   
heaven4 ,the door now shut will open    
again4 ,rejoice that the noblest        
capability of your eternal inheritance  
has been made known to you2  treasure   
it1 as the highest honor of your being1 
that ever you could so  feel1--that so  
divine a guest ever possessed your soul4
    ,by such experiences are we taught  
the pathos1 the sacredness of life2  and
 if we use them wisely1 our eyes will   
ever after be anointed to see  what     
poems1 what romances1 what sublime      
tragedies lie around us in the  daily   
walk of life1 written not with ink1 but 
in fleshly tables of the  heart4 ,the   
dullest street of the most prosaic town 

has matter in it for  more smiles1 more 
tears1 more intense excitement1 than    
ever were written  in story or sung in  
poem2 the reality is there1 of which the
 romancer is  the second-hand recorder4 
,so much of a plea we put in boldly1    
because we foresee grave heads          
beginning to shake over our history1 and
 doubts rising in reverend and  discreet
 minds whether this history is going to 
prove anything but a  love-story1 after 
all4    ,we do assure you1 right        
reverend ,sir1 and you1 most discreet   
,madam1 that  it is not going to prove  
anything else2 and you will find1 if you
 will  follow us1 that there is as much 
romance burning under the snow-banks  of
 cold ,puritan preciseness as if ,dr4   
,h4 had been brought up to attend       
operas instead of metaphysical          
preaching1 and ,mary had been nourished 
on  ,byron's poetry instead of ,edwards 
on the ,affections4    ,the innocent    
credulities1 the subtle deceptions1 that
 were quietly at  work under the grave1 

white curls of the ,doctor's wig1 were  
exactly of  the kind which have beguiled
 man in all ages1 when near the         
sovereign  presence of her who is born  
for his destiny2--and as for ,mary1 what
 did  it avail her that she could say   
the ,assembly's ,catechism from end to  
end without tripping1 and that every    
habit of her life beat time to          
practical realities1 steadily as the    
parlor clock8 ,the wildest ,italian     
singer or dancer1 nursed on nothing but 
excitement from her cradle1  never was  
more thoroughly possessed by the awful  
and solemn mystery of  woman's life than
 this ,puritan girl4    ,it is quite    
true1 that1 the next morning after      
,james's departure1  she rose as usual  
in the dim gray1 and was to be seen     
opening the  kitchen-door just at the   
moment when the birds were giving the   
first  little drowsy stir and           
chirp1--and that she went on setting the
  breakfast-table for the two hired men1
 who were bound to the fields with  the 

oxen1--and that then she went on        
skimming cream for the butter1  and     
getting ready to churn1 and making up   
biscuit for the ,doctor's  breakfast1   
when he and they should sit down        
together at a somewhat later  hour2 and 
as she moved about1 doing all these     
things1 she sung various  scraps of old 
psalm-tunes2 and the good ,doctor1 who  
was then busy with  his early exercises 
of devotion1 listened1 as he heard the  
voice1 now  here1 now there1 and thought
 about angels and the ,millennium4      
,solemnly  and tenderly there floated in
 at his open study-window1 through the  
breezy lilacs1 mixed with low of kine   
and bleat of sheep and hum of  early    
wakening life1 the little silvery       
ripples of that singing1  somewhat      
mournful in its cadence1 as if a gentle 
soul were striving to  hush itself to   
rest4 ,the words were those of the rough
 old version of  the ,psalms then in    
use3--        ,truly my waiting soul    
relies        ,in silence ,god upon2    

,because from him there doth arise      
,all my salvation4    ,and then came the
 busy patter of the little footsteps    
without1 the  moving of chairs1 the     
clink of plates1 as busy hands were     
arranging the  table2 and then again    
there was a pause1 and he thought she   
seemed  to come near to the open window 
of the adjoining room1 for the voice    
floated in clearer and sadder3--        
,o ,god1 to me be merciful1        ,be  
merciful to me6      ,because my soul   
for shelter safe        ,betakes itself 
to thee4        ,yea1 in the shadow of  
thy wings        ,my refuge have ,i     
placed1      ,until these sore          
calamities        ,shall quite be       
overpast4    ,the tone of life in ,new  
,england1 so habitually earnest and     
solemn1  breathed itself in the grave   
and plaintive melodies of the tunes then
  sung in the churches2 and so these    
words1 though in the saddest minor  key1
 did not suggest to the listening ear of
 the auditor anything more  than that   

pensive religious calm in which he      
delighted to repose4 ,a  contrast indeed
 they were1 in their melancholy         
earnestness1 to the  exuberant          
carollings of a robin1 who1 apparently  
attracted by them1  perched himself hard
 by in the lilacs1 and struck up such a 
merry  roulade as quite diverted the    
attention of the fair singer2--in fact1 
the intoxication breathed in the strain 
of this little messenger1 whom  ,god had
 feathered and winged and filled to the 
throat with ignorant  joy1 came in      
singular contrast with the sadder notes 
breathed by that  creature of so much   
higher mould and fairer clay1--that     
creature born  for an immortal life4    
,but the good ,doctor was inly pleased  
when she sung1--and when she  stopped1  
looked up from his ,bible wistfully1 as 
missing something1 he  knew not what2   
for he scarce thought how pleasant the  
little voice  was1 or knew he had been  
listening to it1--and yet he was in a   
manner  enchanted by it1 so thankful and

 happy that he exclaimed with fervor1   
,the lines are fallen unto me in        
pleasant places2 yea1 ,i have a goodly  
heritage4    ,so went the world with    
him1 full of joy and praise1 because the
 voice  and the presence wherein lay his
 unsuspected life were securely near1 so
  certainly and constantly a part of his
 daily walk that he had not even  the   
trouble to wish for them4 ,but in that  
other heart how was it8--how  with the  
sweet saint that was talking to herself 
in psalms and hymns and  spiritual      
songs8    ,the good child had remembered
 her mother's parting words the night   
before1--,put your mind upon your       
duties1--and had begun her first        
conscious exercise of thought with a    
prayer that grace might be given  her to
 do it4 ,but even as she spoke1 mingling
 and interweaving with that  golden     
thread of prayer was another            
consciousness1 a life in another  soul1 
as she prayed that the grace of ,god    
might overshadow him1 shield  him from  

temptation1 and lead him up to heaven2  
and this prayer so got  the start of the
 other1 that1 ere she was aware1 she had
 quite forgotten  self1 and was feeling1
 living1 thinking in that other life4   
,the first discovery she made1 when she 
looked out into the fragrant  orchard1  
whose perfumes steamed in at her window1
 and listened to the  first chirping of 
birds among1 the old apple-trees1 was   
one that has  astonished many a person  
before her2 it was this3 she found that 
all  that had made life interesting to  
her was suddenly gone4 ,she herself had 
not known1 that1 for the month past1    
since ,james came from sea1 she had     
been living in an enchanted land1--that 
,newport harbor1 and every rock  and    
stone1 and every mat of yellow seaweed  
on the shore1 that the  two-mile road   
between the cottage and the white house 
of ,zebedee ,marvyn1  every             
mullein-stalk1 every juniper-tree1 had  
all had a light and a charm  which were 
suddenly gone4 ,there had not been an   

hour in the day for the  last four weeks
 that had not had its unsuspected       
interest1--because he  was at the white 
house1 because1 possibly1 he might be   
going by1 or  coming in2 nay1 even in   
church1 when she stood up to sing1 and  
thought  she was thinking only of ,god1 
had she not been conscious of that tenor
  voice that poured itself out by her   
side8 and though afraid to turn her     
head that way1 had she not felt that he 
was there every moment1--heard  every   
word of the sermon and prayer for him8  
,the very vigilant care  which her      
mother had taken to prevent private     
interviews had only served  to increase 
the interest by throwing over it the    
veil of constraint  and mystery4 ,silent
 looks1 involuntary starts1 things      
indicated1 not  expressed1 these are the
 most dangerous1 the most seductive     
aliment of  thought to a delicate and   
sensitive nature4 ,if things were said  
out1  they might not be said            
wisely1--they might repel by their      

freedom1 or  disturb by their unfitness2
 but what is only looked is sent into   
the  soul through the imagination1 which
 makes of it all that the ideal         
faculties desire4    ,in a refined and  
exalted nature1 it is very seldom that  
the feeling of  love1 when once         
thoroughly aroused1 bears any sort of   
relation to the  reality of the object4 
,it is commonly an enkindling of the    
whole power  of the soul's love for     
whatever she considers highest and      
fairest2 it  is1 in fact1 the love of   
something divine and unearthly1 which1  
by a  sort of illusion1 connects itself 
with a personality4 ,properly speaking1 
there is but ,one true1 eternal ,object 
of all that the mind conceives1 in  this
 trance of its exaltation4              
,disenchantment must come1 of course2   
and  in a love which terminates in happy
 marriage1 there is a tender and        
gracious process1 by which1 without     
shock or violence1 the ideal is         
gradually sunk in the real1 which1      

though found faulty and earthly1 is     
still ever tenderly remembered as it    
seemed under the morning light of  that 
enchantment4    ,what ,mary loved so    
passionately1 that which came between   
her and ,god in  every prayer1 was not  
the gay1 young1 dashing sailor1--sudden 
in anger1  imprudent of speech1 and1    
though generous in heart1 yet worldly in
 plans  and schemings1--but her own     
ideal of a grand and noble man1--such a 
man  as she thought he might become4 ,he
 stood glorified before her1 an image   
of the strength that overcomes things   
physical1 of the power of command  which
 controls men and circumstances1 of the 
courage which disdains  fear1 of the    
honor which cannot lie1 of constancy    
which knows no shadow  of turning1 of   
tenderness which protects the weak1 and1
 lastly1 of  religious loyalty which    
should lay the golden crown of its      
perfected  manhood at the feet of a     
,sovereign ,lord and ,redeemer4 ,this   
was the man  she loved1 and with this   

regal mantle of glories she invested the
 person  called ,james ,marvyn2 and all 
that she saw and felt to be wanting she 
prayed for with the faith of a believing
 woman4    ,nor was she wrong2--for1 as 
to every leaf and every flower there is 
an  ideal to which the growth of the    
plant is constantly urging1 so is there 
an ideal to every human being1--a       
perfect form in which it might appear1  
were every defect removed and every     
characteristic excellence stimulated  to
 the highest point4 ,once in an age1    
,god sends to some of us a friend  who  
loves in us1 not a false imagining1 an  
unreal character1 but1  looking through 
all the rubbish of our imperfections1   
loves in us the  divine ideal of our    
nature1--loves1 not the man that we are1
 but the  angel that we may be4 ,such   
friends seem inspired by a divine gift  
of  prophecy1--like the mother of ,st4  
,augustine1 who1 in the midst of the    
wayward1 reckless youth of her son1     
beheld him in a vision1 standing1       

clothed in white1 a ministering priest  
at the right hand of ,god1--as he  has  
stood for long ages since4 ,could a     
mysterious foresight unveil to us  this 
resurrection form of the friends with   
whom we daily walk1 compassed  about    
with mortal infirmity1 we should follow 
them with faith and  reverence through  
all the disguises of human faults and   
weaknesses1  waiting for the            
manifestation of the sons of ,god4      
,but these wonderful soul-friends1 to   
whom ,god grants such perception1  are  
the exceptions in life2 yet sometimes   
are we blessed with one who  sees       
through us1 as ,michel ,angelo saw      
through a block of marble1 when he      
attacked it in a divine fervor1         
declaring that an angel was imprisoned  
within it2--and it is often the resolute
 and delicate hand of such a  friend    
that sets the angel free4    ,there be  
soul-artists1 who go through this world1
 looking among their  fellows with      
reverence1 as one looks amid the dust   

and rubbish of old  shops for hidden    
works of ,titian and ,leonardo1 and1    
finding them1  however cracked or torn  
or painted over with tawdry daubs of    
pretenders1  immediately recognize the  
divine original1 and set themselves to  
cleanse  and restore4 ,such be ,god's   
real priests1 whose ordination and      
anointing  are from the ,holy ,spirit2  
and he who hath not this enthusiasm is  
not  ordained of ,god1 though whole     
synods of bishops laid hands on him4    
,many such priests there be among       
women2--for to this silent ministry     
their nature calls them1 endowed1 as it 
is1 with fineness of fibre1 and  a      
subtile keenness of perception          
outrunning slow-footed reason2--and she 
of whom we write was one of these4      
,at this very moment1 while the crimson 
wings of morning were casting  delicate 
reflections on tree1 and bush1 and rock1
 they were also  reddening innumerable  
waves round a ship that sailed alone1   
with a wide  horizon stretching like an 

eternity around it2 and in the advancing
  morning stood a young man thoughtfully
 looking off into the ocean1 with  a    
book in his hand1--,james ,marvyn1--as  
truly and heartily a creature of  this  
material world as ,mary was of the      
invisible and heavenly4    ,there are   
some who seem made to live2--life is    
such a joy to them1  their senses are so
 fully en rapport with all outward      
things1 the  world is so keenly         
appreciable1 so much a part of          
themselves1 they are  so conscious of   
power and victory in the government and 
control of  material things1 that the   
moral and invisible life often seems to 
hang  tremulous and unreal in their     
minds1 like the pale1 faded moon in the 
light of a gorgeous sunrise4 ,when      
brought face to face with the great     
truths of the invisible world1 they     
stand related to the higher wisdom  much
 like the gorgeous1 gay ,alcibiades to  
the divine ,socrates1 or like  the young
 man in ,holy ,writ to ,him for whose   

appearing ,socrates longed2--  they     
gaze1 imperfectly comprehending1 and at 
the call of ambition or  riches turn    
away sorrowing4    ,so it was with      
,james2--in full tide of worldly energy 
and ambition1  there had been forming   
over his mind that hard crust1 that     
skepticism  of the spiritual and        
exalted1 which men of the world delight 
to call  practical sense2 he had been   
suddenly arrested and humbled by the    
revelation of a nature so much nobler   
than his own that he seemed  worthless  
in his own eyes4 ,he had asked for love2
 but when such love  unveiled itself1 he
 felt like the disciple of old in the   
view of a  diviner tenderness1--,depart 
from me1 for ,i am a sinful man4    ,but
 it is not often that all the current of
 a life is reversed in one  hour2 and   
now1 as ,james stood on the ship's deck1
 with life passing  around him1 and     
everything drawing upon the strings of  
old habits1 ,mary  and her religion     
recurred to his mind as some fair1      

sweet1 inexplicable  vision4 ,where she 
stood he saw2 but how he was ever to get
 there  seemed as incomprehensible as   
how a mortal man should pillow his form 
on  sunset clouds4    ,he held the      
little ,bible in his hand as if it were 
some amulet charmed  by the touch of a  
superior being2 but when he strove to   
read it1 his  thoughts wandered1 and he 
shut it1 troubled and unsatisfied4 ,yet 
there  were within him yearnings and    
cravings1 wants never felt before1 the  
beginning of that trouble which must    
ever precede the soul's rise to a       
higher plane of being4    ,there we     
leave him4 ,we have shown you now our   
three different  characters1 each one in
 its separate sphere1 feeling the force 
of that  strongest and holiest power    
with which it has pleased our great     
,author  to glorify this mortal life4   
,,chapter ,,ix4    ,,which ,,treats ,,of
 ,,things ,,seen4      ,as1 for example1
 the breakfast4 ,it is six o'clock1--the
 hired men and  oxen are gone1--the     

breakfast-table stands before the open  
kitchen-door1  snowy with its fresh     
cloth1 the old silver coffee-pot        
steaming up a  refreshing perfume1--and 
the ,doctor sits on one side1 sipping   
his coffee  and looking across the table
 at ,mary1 who is innocently pleased at 
the kindly beaming in his placid blue   
eyes1--and ,aunt ,katy ,scudder         
discourses of housekeeping1 and fancies 
something must have disturbed  the      
rising of the cream1 as it is not so    
thick and yellow as wont4    ,now the   
,doctor1 it is to be confessed1 was apt 
to fall into a way  of looking at people
 such as pertains to philosophers and   
scholars  generally1 that is1 as if he  
were looking through them into the      
infinite1--in which case1 his gaze      
became so earnest and intent that it    
would quite embarrass an uninitiated    
person2 but ,mary1 being used to  this  
style of contemplation1 was only quietly
 amused1 and waited till  some great    
thought should loom up before his mental

 vision1--in which  case1 she hoped to  
hear from him4    ,the good man         
swallowed his first cup of coffee and   
spoke3--    ,in the ,millennium1 ,i     
suppose1 there will be such a fulness   
and plenty  of all the necessaries and  
conveniences of life1 that it will not  
be  necessary for men and women to spend
 the greater part of their lives in     
labor in order to procure a living4 ,it 
will not be necessary for each  one to  
labor more than two or three hours a    
day1--not more than will  conduce to    
health of body and vigor of mind2 and   
the rest of their time  they will spend 
in reading and conversation1 and such   
exercises as  are necessary and proper  
to improve their minds and make progress
 in  knowledge4    ,new ,england        
presents probably the only example of a 
successful  commonwealth founded on a   
theory1 as a distinct experiment in the 
problem of society4 ,it was for this    
reason that the minds of its great      
thinkers dwelt so much on the final     

solution of that problem in this  world4
 ,the fact of a future ,millennium was a
 favorite doctrine of the  great leading
 theologians of ,new ,england1 and ,dr4 
,h4 dwelt upon it with  a peculiar      
partiality4 ,indeed1 it was the solace  
and refuge of his soul1  when oppressed 
with the discouragements which always   
attend things  actual1 to dwell upon and
 draw out in detail the splendors of    
this  perfect future which was destined 
to glorify the world4    ,nobody1       
therefore1 at the cottage was in the    
least surprised when there  dropped into
 the flow of their daily life these     
sparkling bits of ore1  which their     
friend had dug in his explorations of a 
future ,canaan1--in  fact1 they served  
to raise the hackneyed present out of   
the level of  mere commonplace4    ,but 
how will it be possible1 inquired ,mrs4 
,scudder1 that so much less  work will  
suffice in those days to do all that is 
to be done8    ,because of the great    
advance of arts and sciences which will 

take  place before those days1 said the 
,doctor1 whereby everything shall  be   
performed with so much greater          
ease1--also the great increase of       
disinterested love1 whereby the skill   
and talents of those who have much      
shall make up for the weakness of those 
who have less4    ,yes1 he continued1   
after a pause1--all the careful ,marthas
 in those  days will have no excuse for 
not sitting at the feet of ,jesus2 there
  will be no cumbering with much        
serving2 the ,church will have only     
,maries  in those days4    ,this remark1
 made without the slightest personal    
intention1 called a  curious smile into 
,mrs4 ,scudder's face1 which was        
reflected in a  slight blush from       
,mary's1 when the crack of a whip and   
the rattling of  wagon-wheels disturbed 
the conversation and drew all eyes to   
the door4    ,there appeared the vision 
of ,mr4 ,zebedee ,marvyn's farm-wagon1  
stored  with barrels1 boxes1 and        
baskets1 over which ,candace sat throned

  triumphant1 her black face and        
yellow-striped turban glowing in the    
fresh morning with a hearty1 joyous     
light1 as she pulled up the reins1  and 
shouted to the horse to stop with a     
voice that might have done  credit to   
any man living4    ,dear me1 if there   
isn't ,candace6 said ,mary4    ,queen of
 ,ethiopia1 said the ,doctor1 who       
sometimes adventured a very  placid     
joke4    ,the ,doctor was universally   
known in all the neighborhood as a sort 
of  friend and patron-saint of the negro
 race2 he had devoted himself to  their 
interests with a zeal unusual in those  
days4 ,his church numbered  more of them
 than any in ,newport2 and his hours of 
leisure from study  were often spent in 
lowliest visitations among them1 hearing
 their  stories1 consoling their        
sorrows1 advising1 and directing their  
plans1  teaching them reading and       
writing1 and he often drew hard on his  
slender  salary to assist them in their 
emergencies and distresses4    ,this    

unusual condescension on his part was   
repaid on theirs with all the  warmth of
 their race2 and ,candace1 in           
particular1 devoted herself to the      
,doctor with all the force of her being4
    ,there was a legend current in the  
neighborhood1 that the first efforts  to
 catechize ,candace were not eminently  
successful1 her modes of  contemplating 
theological tenets being so peculiarly  
from her own  individual point of view  
that it was hard to get her subscription
 to  a received opinion4 ,on the        
venerable clause in the ,catechism1 in  
particular1 which declares that all men 
sinned in ,adam and fell with  him1     
,candace made a dead halt3--    ,i      
didn't do dat ar'1 for one1 ,i knows4   
,i's got good mem'ry1--allers  knows    
what ,i does1--nebber did eat dat ar'   
apple1--nebber eat a bit ob  him4 ,don't
 tell me6    ,it was of no use1 of      
course1 to tell ,candace of all the     
explanations of  this redoubtable       
passage1--of potential presence1 and    

representative  presence1 and           
representative identity1 and federal    
headship4 ,she met all  with the        
dogged1--    ,nebber did it1 ,i knows2  
should 'ave 'membered1 if ,i had4 ,don't
 tell  me6    ,and even in the          
catechizing class of the ,doctor        
himself1 if this answer  came to her1   
she sat black and frowning in stony     
silence even in his  reverend presence4 
,candace was often reminded that the    
,doctor believed the ,catechism1 and    
that she was differing from a great and 
good man2 but the argument made  no     
manner of impression on her1 till1 one  
day1 a far-off cousin of hers1  whose   
condition under a hard master had often 
moved her compassion1 came  in overjoyed
 to recount to her how1 owing to ,dr4   
,h4's exertions1 he had  gained his     
freedom4 ,the ,doctor himself had in    
person gone from house  to house1       
raising the sum for his redemption2 and 
when more yet was  wanting1 supplied it 
by paying half his last quarter's       

limited salary4    ,he do dat ar'8 said 
,candace1 dropping the fork wherewith   
she was  spearing doughnuts4 ,den ,i'm  
gwine to b'liebe ebery word he does6    
,and accordingly1 at the next           
catechizing1 the ,doctor's astonishment 
was  great when ,candace pressed up to  
him1 exclaiming--    ,de ,lord bress    
you1 ,doctor1 for opening de prison for 
dem dat is bound6  ,i b'liebes in you   
now1 ,doctor4 ,i's gwine to b'liebe     
ebery word you say4  ,i'll say de       
,catechize now1--fix it any way you     
like4 ,i did eat dat ar'  apple1--,i eat
 de whole tree1 an' swallowed ebery bit 
ob it1 if you say  so4    ,and this very
 thorough profession of faith was       
followed1 on the part of  ,candace1 by  
years of the most strenuous orthodoxy4  
,her general mode of  expressing her    
mind on the subject was short and       
definitive4    ,law me6 what's de use8  
,i's set out to b'liebe de ,catechize1  
an' ,i'm  gwine to bliebe it1--so6      
,while we have been telling you all this

 about her1 she has fastened her  horse1
 and is swinging leisurely up to the    
house with a basket on either  arm4     
,good morning1 ,candace1 said ,mrs4     
,scudder4 ,what brings you so early8    
,come down 'fore light to sell my       
chickens an' eggs1--got a lot o' money  
for 'em1 too4 ,missy ,marvyn she sent   
,miss ,scudder some turkey-eggs1 an'  ,i
 brought down some o' my doughnuts for  
de ,doctor4 ,good folks must lib1  you  
know1 as well as wicked ones1--and      
,candace gave a hearty1 unctuous  laugh4
 ,no reason why ,doctors shouldn't hab  
good tings as well as  sinners1 is      
dere8--and she shook in great billows1  
and showed her white  teeth in the      
abandon of her laugh4 ,lor bress ye1    
honey1 chile6 she  said1 turning to     
,mary1 why1 ye looks like a new rose1   
ebery bit6 ,don't  wonder somebody was  
allers pryin' an' spyin' about here6    
,how is your ,mistress1 ,candace8 said  
,mrs4 ,scudder1 by way of changing  the 
subject4    ,well1 porly1--rader porly4 

,when ,massa ,jim goes1 'pears like     
takin' de  light right out her eyes4    
,dat ar' boy trains roun' arter his     
mudder like  a cosset1 he does4 ,lor'1  
de house seems so still widout          
him6--can't a  fly scratch his ear but  
it starts a body4 ,missy ,marvyn she    
sent down1  an' says1 would you an' de  
,doctor an' ,miss ,mary please come to  
tea dis  arternoon4    ,thank your      
mistress1 ,candace1 said ,mrs4 ,scudder2
 ,mary and ,i will  come1--and the      
,doctor1 perhaps1 looking at the good   
man1 who had  relapsed into meditation1 
and was eating his breakfast without    
taking  note of anything going on4 ,it  
will be time enough to tell him of it1  
she said to ,mary1 when we have to wake 
him up to dress2 so we won't  disturb   
him now4    ,to ,mary the prospect of   
the visit was a pleasant one1 for       
reasons which  she scarce gave a        
definite form to4 ,of course1 like a    
good girl1 she had  come to a fixed and 
settled resolution to think of ,james as

 little as  possible2 but when the path 
of duty lay directly along scenes and   
among  people fitted to recall him1 it  
was more agreeable than if it had lain  
in another direction4 ,added to this1 a 
very tender and silent friendship       
subsisted between ,mrs4 ,marvyn and     
,mary2 in which1 besides similarity of  
mind and intellectual pursuits1 there   
was a deep1 unspoken element of         
sympathy4    ,candace watched the light 
in ,mary's eyes with the instinctive    
shrewdness  by which her race seem to   
divine the thoughts and feelings of     
their  superiors1 and chuckled to       
herself internally4 ,without ever having
 been  made a confidante by any party1  
or having a word said to or before  her1
 still the whole position of affairs was
 as clear to her as if  she had seen it 
on a map4 ,she had appreciated at once  
,mrs4 ,scudder's  coolness1 ,james's    
devotion1 and ,mary's perplexity1--and  
inly resolved1  that1 if the little     
maiden did not think of ,james in his   

absence1 it  should not be her fault4   
,laws1 ,miss ,scudder1 she said1 ,i's   
right glad you's comin'2 'cause you     
hasn't seen how we's kind o' splendified
 since ,massa ,jim come home4 ,you      
wouldn't know it4 ,why1 he's got mats   
from ,mogadore on all de entries1  and a
 great big 'un on de parlor2 and ye     
ought to see de shawl he  brought       
,missus1 an' all de cur'us kind o' tings
 to de ,squire4 ',tell  ye1 dat ar' boy 
honors his fader and mudder1 ef he don't
 do nuffin  else1--an' dat's de fus'    
commandment wid promise1 ,ma'am2 an' to 
see him  a-settin' up ebery day in      
prayer-time1 so handsome1 holdin'       
,missus's  han'1 an' lookin' right into 
her eyes all de time6 ,why1 dat ar' boy 
is  one o' de 'lect1--it's jest as clare
 to me2 and de 'lect has got to come    
in1--dat's what ,i say4 ,my faith's     
strong1--real clare1 'tell ye1  she     
added1 with the triumphant laugh which  
usually chorused her  conversation1 and 
turning to the ,doctor1 who1 aroused by 

her loud and  vigorous strain1 was      
attending with interest to her4         
,well1 ,candace1 he said1 we all hope   
you are right4    ,hope1 ,doctor6--,i   
don't hope1--,i knows4 ',tell ye1 when  
,i pray for  him1 don't ,i feel         
enlarged8 ',tell ye1 it goes wid a rush4
 ,i can feel it  gwine up like a        
rushin'1 mighty wind4 ,i feels strong1  
,i do4    ,that's right1 ,candace1 said 
the ,doctor1 keep on2 your prayers stand
  as much chance with ,god as if you    
were a crowned queen4 ,the ,lord is no  
respecter of persons4    ,dat's what he 
a'n't1 ,doctor1--an' dere's where ,i    
'gree wid him1 said  ,candace1 as she   
gathered her baskets vigorously         
together1 and1 after  a sweeping curtsy1
 went sailing down to her wagon1 full   
laden with  content1 shouting a hearty  
,good mornin'1 ,missus1 with the full   
power  of her cheerful lungs1 as she    
rode off4    ,as the ,doctor looked     
after her1 the simple1 pleased          
expression with  which he had watched   

her gradually faded1 and there passed   
over his  broad1 good face a shadow1 as 
of a cloud on a mountain-side4    ,what 
a shame it is1 he said1 what a scandal  
and disgrace to the  ,protestant        
religion1 that ,christians of ,america  
should openly practise  and countenance 
this enslaving of the ,africans6 ,i have
 for a long time  holden my peace1--may 
the ,lord forgive me6--but ,i believe   
the time is  coming when ,i must utter  
my voice4 ,i cannot go down to the      
wharves or  among the shipping1 without 
these poor dumb creatures look at me so 
that  ,i am ashamed1--as if they asked  
me what ,i1 a ,christian minister1 was  
doing1 that ,i did not come to their    
help4 ,i must testify4    ,mrs4 ,scudder
 looked grave at this earnest           
announcement2 she had  heard many like  
it before1 and they always filled her   
with alarm1  because--,shall we tell you
 why8    ,well1 then1 it was not because
 she was not a thoroughly indoctrinated 
anti-slavery woman4 ,her husband1 who   

did all her thinking for her1 had  been 
a man of ideas beyond his day1 and never
 for a moment countenanced  the right of
 slavery so far as to buy or own a      
servant or attendant  of any kind2 and  
,mrs4 ,scudder had always followed      
decidedly along the  path of his        
opinions and practice1 and never        
hesitated to declare the  reasons for   
the faith that was in her4 ,but if any  
of us could imagine an  angel dropped   
down out of heaven1 with wings1 ideas1  
notions1 manners1  and customs all fresh
 from that very different country1 we   
might easily  suppose that the most     
pious and orthodox family might find the
 task of  presenting him in general     
society and piloting him along the      
courses of  this world a very delicate  
and embarrassing one4 ,however much they
 might  reverence him on their own      
private account1 their hearts would     
probably  sink within them at the idea  
of allowing him to expand himself       
according  to his previous nature and   

habits in the great world without4 ,in  
like  manner1 men of high1 unworldly    
natures are often reverenced by those   
who  are somewhat puzzled what to do    
with them practically4    ,mrs4 ,scudder
 considered the ,doctor as a superior   
being1 possessed by a  holy helplessness
 in all things material and temporal1   
which imposed  on her the necessity of  
thinking and caring for him1 and        
prevising the  earthly and material     
aspects of his affairs4    ,there was   
not in ,newport a more thriving and     
reputable business at that  time than   
the slave-trade4 ,large fortunes were   
constantly being turned  out in it1 and 
what better ,providential witness of its
 justice could  most people require8    
,beside this1 in their own little       
church1 she reflected with alarm1 that  
,simeon ,brown1 the richest and most    
liberal supporter of the society1 had   
been1 and was then1 drawing all his     
wealth from this source2 and rapidly    
there flashed before her mind a picture 

of one and another1 influential         
persons1 who were holders of slaves4    
,therefore1 when the ,doctor  announced1
 ,i must testify1 she rattled her       
tea-spoon uneasily1 and  answered1--    
,in what way1 ,doctor1 do you think of  
bearing testimony8 ,the subject1 ,i     
think1 is a very difficult one4         
,difficult8 ,i think no subject can be  
clearer4 ,if we were right in our  war  
for liberty1 we are wrong in making     
slaves or keeping them4    ,oh1 ,i did  
not mean1 said ,mrs4 ,scudder1 that it  
was difficult to  understand the        
subject2 the right of the matter is     
clear1 but what to  do is the thing4    
,i shall preach about it1 said the      
,doctor2 my mind has run upon it  some  
time4 ,i shall show to the house of     
,judah their sin in this matter4    ,i  
fear there will be great offence given1 
said ,mrs4 ,scudder4 ,there's  ,simeon  
,brown1 one of our largest              
supporters1--he is in the trade4    ,ah1
 yes1--but he will come out of it1--of  

course he will1--he is all  right1 all  
clear4 ,i was delighted with the        
clearness of his views  the other night1
 and thought then of bringing them to   
bear on this  point1--only1 as others   
were present1 ,i deferred it4 ,but ,i   
can show him  that it follows logically 
from his principles2 ,i am confident of 
that4    ,i think you'll be disappointed
 in him1 ,doctor2--,i think he'll be    
angry1  and get up a commotion1 and     
leave the church4    ,madam1 said the   
,doctor1 do you suppose that a man who  
would be  willing even to give up his   
eternal salvation for the greatest good 
of  the universe could hesitate about a 
few paltry thousands that perish in  the
 using8    ,he may feel willing to give 
up his soul1 said ,mrs4 ,scudder1       
navely1  but ,i don't think he'll give  
up his ships1--that's quite another     
matter1--he won't see it to be his duty4
    ,then1 ,ma'am1 he'll be a hypocrite1
 a gross hypocrite1 if he won't1  said  
the ,doctor4 ,it is not ,christian      

charity to think it of him4 ,i  shall   
call upon him this morning and tell him 
my intentions4    ,but1 ,doctor1        
exclaimed ,mrs4 ,scudder1 with a start1 
pray1 think a  little more of it4 ,you  
know a great many things depend on him4 
,why6 he  has subscribed for twenty     
copies of your ',system of ,theology4'  
,i hope  you'll remember that4    ,and  
why should ,i remember that8 said the   
,doctor1--hastily turning  round1       
suddenly enkindled1 his blue eyes       
flashing out of their usual  misty      
calm1--what has my ',system of          
,theology' to do with the matter8       
,why1 said ,mrs4 ,scudder1 it's of more 
importance to get right views of  the   
gospel before the world than anything   
else1 is it not8--and if1 by  any       
imprudence in treating influential      
people1 this should be prevented1  more 
harm than good would be done4    ,madam1
 said the ,doctor1 ,i'd sooner my system
 should be sunk in the  sea than it     
should be a millstone round my neck to  

keep me from my duty4  ,let ,god take   
care of my theology2 ,i must do my duty4
    ,and as the ,doctor spoke1 he       
straightened himself to the full dignity
 of  his height1 his face kindling with 
an unconscious majesty1 and1 as he      
turned1 his eye fell on ,mary1 who was  
standing with her slender figure        
dilated1 her large blue eye wide and    
bright1 in a sort of trance of  solemn  
feeling1 half smiles1 half tears1--and  
the strong1 heroic man  started1 to see 
this answer to his higher soul in the   
sweet1 tremulous  mirror of womanhood4  
,one of those lightning glances passed  
between his  eyes and hers which are the
 freemasonry of noble spirits1--and1 by 
a sudden impulse1 they approached each  
other4 ,he took both her  outstretched  
hands1 looked down into her face with a 
look full of  admiration1 and a sort of 
nave wonder1--then1 as if her inspired  
silence had been a voice to him1 he laid
 his hand on her head1 and  said1--     
,god bless you1 child6 ',out of the     

mouth of babes and sucklings hast  thou 
ordained strength because of thine      
enemies1 that thou mightest  still the  
enemy and the avenger6'    ,in a moment 
he was gone4    ,mary1 said ,mrs4       
,scudder1 laying her hand on her        
daughter's arm1 the  ,doctor loves you6 
,i know he does1 mother1 said ,mary1    
innocently2 and ,i love                 
him1--dearly6--he is a noble1 grand man6
    ,mrs4 ,scudder looked keenly at her 
daughter4 ,mary's eye was as calm as a  
,june sky1 and she began1 composedly1   
gathering up the teacups4    ,she did   
not understand me1 thought the mother4  
,to be continued4           99       99 
99       99       99      ,,review4     
,the ,new ,testament4 ,translated from  
the ,original ,greek1 etc4 ,by          
,,leicester ,,ambrose ,,sawyer4 ,boston3
 ,john ,p4 ,jewett  ,co4 #aheh4         
,few books merit the criticism which    
they receive2 fewer receive all they    
merit4 ,here is a work1 a translation1  
which is more likely than most to  get  

its deserts1 because its circle of      
critics will be unusually large4  ,it   
purports to be a new and improved       
version of the ,book of ,books1  and    
puts forth claims which will be conceded
 only after it shall have  sustained the
 most extensive1 minute1 and even       
prejudiced scrutiny4 ,the  ,bible has   
more readers than any other book2 and   
that which claims to be  an improved    
,bible must1 if it secure anything like 
a general attention1  meet with         
criticisms from all quarters4 ,mr4      
,sawyer is fortunate in one  respect3   
his work will be examined and judged by 
multitudes who never  undertook to      
criticize any other book2 he will have1 
therefore1  ultimately1 a popular       
judgment of his task and its            
performance4 ,but he  is unfortunate in 
another point3 for he must meet that    
popular sentiment  which at the outset  
looks with disfavor upon anything that  
has even the  appearance of meddling    
with the commonly received and almost   

universally  approved version of the    
,holy ,scriptures4 ,let us1 in a brief  
space and  with as little of formal and 
scholastic criticism as possible1       
examine  ,mr4 ,sawyer's translation4    
,a work of such a character as this     
should be judged not more by its        
absolute or intrinsic merits than by a  
comparison of them with the  design     
avowed and the claims advanced by the   
author4 ,in a task of such  magnitude we
 ought not to expect to find everything 
perfect4 ,if the  completed structure   
have a symmetry of proportions and      
excellence of  finish approaching       
reasonably near to the plan proposed1 we
 should not  too severely censure minor 
defects4 ,critics rarely accord all that
  authors claim2 the former measure the 
actual achievement1--the latter  look to
 the ideal conception2 if the one be in 
a reasonable degree  commensurate with  
the other1 we should be lenient toward  
the faults of  the performance4    ,with
 this charitable substratum for our     

critical structure1 let us test  ,mr4   
,sawyer's new version by contrasting it 
with his own avowed design  and the     
claims with which he introduces his     
completed task4 ,in the  ,preface he    
says1--    ,this is not a work of       
compromises1 or of conjectural          
interpretations  of the ,sacred         
,scriptures1 neither is it a paraphrase1
 but a strict  strictly literal         
rendering4 ,it neither adds nor takes   
away2 but aims  to express the original 
with the utmost clearness and force1 and
 with  the utmost precision4    ,this is
 a somewhat pretentious claim4 ,a       
strictly literal rendering of  any      
language into another is by no means    
always an easy task2 and it is          
especially difficult to couple1 as the  
translator in this case asserts  he has 
done1 the utmost clearness1 force1 and  
precision in the  expression of the     
thought1 with minute exactness of       
version4 ,we  are surprised that ,mr4   
,sawyer should have rested his claim for

 the  excellence and superiority of his 
translation mainly upon this quality  of
 literalism1 for it is often the case   
that the closest literalist is  the     
worst translator4 ,it is often          
impossible to render the thoughts       
expressed in the peculiar idioms of one 
tongue into exactly  corresponding      
idioms of another4 ,there are idiomatic 
forms1 especially  in the ,greek1 which 
have no precisely correspondent forms in
 the  ,english1 and yet these are not   
unfrequently the most forcible          
expressions of any to be found in the   
original2 any attempt to render  these  
literally must be abortive2 and a       
literal rendering1 or as nearly  literal
 as possible1 is the worst translation1 
because it sacrifices  the clearness1   
force1 and precision1 to say nothing of 
the grace and  delicacy1 of the         
original4 ,the ,french language abounds 
in words and  phrases the literal       
translation of which into ,english      
perverts the  meaning and destroys the  

force of the original4 ,still more is a 
strictly  literal rendering incompatible
 with the preservation and transference 
of  the beauties of style and the       
strength of diction4 ,the widest range  
of  the thought1 its more delicate      
shades and subtiler connections1 often  
depend in great part upon the peculiar  
forms of the language in which  they are
 first clothed2 and by a strictly       
literal translation the scope  of the   
thought is narrowed1 its finer lines    
obscured1 and that which  is of more    
importance than all else1 the fitness of
 the expression1 is  altogether lost4   
,the utmost strictness of literal       
translation is a poor  compensation for 
the resultant poverty of language and   
dilution of  thought2 and by as much as 
the original is more impressive in its  
rich  and fitting garb1 by so much the  
more is it made to appear mean and      
unlike itself when forced to clothe     
itself in scanty second-hand            
habiliments4    ,we have said thus much 

on this point for two reasons3 first1   
because it  is on this chiefly that ,mr4
 ,sawyer appeals to the public for a    
verdict  in favor of his translation2   
and secondly1 because it is a common and
  popular notion1 that1 the more literal
 a translation can be made1  especially 
in the case of the ,bible1 the better   
and more trustworthy  it will be4 ,and  
we are willing to admit1 that1 in       
translating the ,holy  ,scriptures1 the 
greatest degree of strictness in literal
 rendering1  compatible with the full   
and correct expression of the thought1  
is and  should be a first consideration2
 the translator should take no liberties
  with the text1 by way either of       
omission1 alteration1 or compromise2 he 
must in no way vitiate the thought2 and 
if he keep within this rule1  he will   
have escaped just criticism1 and may    
claim the merit of  faithfulness to his 
task4 ,has ,mr4 ,sawyer1 then1 in his   
,new ,testament1  given a strictly      
literal rendering8 and is it an         

improvement on  the common version8 ,we 
have space for only a few specimens of  
his  translation1 and we have taken some
 of the first that attracted our        
notice2 it will be observed that they   
are none of them abstruse or  disputed  
passages4    ,,common ,,version4        
,matt4 ii4 #af4    ,then ,herod1 when he
 saw that he was mocked of the wise men1
 was  exceeding wroth1 and sent forth   
and slew all the children that were in  
,bethlehem and in all the coasts        
thereof1 from two years old and under1  
according to the time which he had      
diligently inquired of the wise  men4   
,,sawyer',s ,,version4    ,chap4 ii4    
verse #d4    ,then ,herod seeing that he
 was despised by the ,magi1 was         
exceedingly  angry1 and sent and        
destroyed all the children1 in          
,bethlehem1 and in  all its borders1    
from two years old and under1 according 
to the precise  time which he had       
learned of the ,magi4    ,here is a     
comparison of the two translations of a 

simple narrative text  taken at random4 
,the essential changes 7improvements87  
made by ,mr4  ,sawyer are in the words  
which we have ,italicized4 ,two of these
 changes1  the substitution of ,magi for
 wise men1 and of destroyed for  slew1  
we shall pass with the single           
observation1 that the rendering  of the 
common version is in both instances the 
more accurate and better  expressed4    
,mr4 ,sawyer substitutes despised for   
mocked1 as the  translation of ,greek3  
henepaichthae4 ,is this literal8 or is  
it an  improvement8 ,the ,greek verb    
,greek3 hemaiso has the signification   
primarily to deride1 to mock1 to scoff  
at1 and secondarily to delude1  to      
deceive1 to disappoint1 but it has not  
the meaning to despise4 ,the  word mock 
is used in our language in both these   
significations1--in  the secondary sense
 when it refers to men's hopes or       
expectations1--as1  to mock one's hopes1
 that is1 to delude or disappoint one's 
expectations4 ,in this sense1 and in    

this alone1 it is obviously used in     
this passage4 ,the wise men did not     
scoff at ,king ,herod1 but they did     
delude him2 they mocked his expectation 
of their return1 and went back  to their
 own country without returning to report
 to him1 because they  had been warned  
of ,god in a dream1 not because they    
despised the  king4 ,to say1 as ,mr4    
,sawyer does1 that they despised him1 is
 neither  warranted by the meaning of   
,greek3 enepaichthae1 nor is such a     
rendering accordant with the facts of   
the story or the connections of  the    
thought4 ,it is a forced and far-fetched
 translation1 and a change  from the    
common version much for the worse4 ,the 
same word is of frequent  occurrence in 
the ,scriptures4 ,in the ,septuagint1   
,jer4 x4 #ad1 it is used  in the same   
sense as in ,matt4 ii4 #af4 ,it is      
worthy of note that in no  other        
instance does ,mr4 ,sawyer render it by 
despised4 ,in ,luke xviii4  #cb and     
xxii4 #fc1 and ,matt4 xx4 #ai1 he       

translates it mocked1 like the  common  
version4 ,mr4 ,sawyer should be more    
consistent1 if he would have  us put    
faith in his scholarly pretensions and  
literal accuracy4 ,the  passage in which
 he indulges in this variation from his 
own rule is the  one of all the list    
where such a translation is particularly
 fitting1  and where neither force1     
clearness1 nor precision is gained by   
the  substitution4    ,mr4 ,sawyer      
renders ,greek3 katha thov chrinon du   
haekribose thus3  according to the      
precise time which he had learned4--,is 
this literal  or correct8 ,greek3       
',akriboo signifies to inquire          
diligently1  assiduously1 or accurately1
 and has no such signification primarily
 as  to learn4 ,if the reader will now  
turn to ,mr4 ,sawyer's translation of   
the #gth verse of the same chapter of   
,matthew1 he will there find that  he   
translates ,greek3 haekribose asked6    
,and yet it stands in that  passage in  
precisely the same connection of thought

 as in the #afth  verse2 so that we have
 our translator1 who gives us only      
strictly  literal renderings1           
translating the same word1 occurring in 
the same  relative connection1 in the   
one instance by asked1 and in the other 
by had learned1--neither of them        
legitimate translations1 and neither    
precisely expressing the thought4 ,the  
rendering asked falls as far  short of  
the full and forcible meaning of ,greek3
 haekribose1 in  the one case1 as had   
learned varies from its strictly literal
  signification in the other4    ,we    
will now examine another passage        
illustrating ,mr4 ,sawyer's consistent  
fidelity to literal renderings4 ,he     
translates the word ,greek3  phuchae1   
,luke xii4 #ai1 #bj1 and #bc1 soul2     
thus1 ,i will say to my  soul1 find ,is 
not the soul more than the              
food8--agreeing with  the common version
 in the first instance1 and differing   
from it in the  second4 ,but he renders 
,greek3 phuchae in ,mark viii4 #cf1 #cg1

 ,luke  xvii4 #cc1 and ,matt4 xvi4 #bf1 
life2 thus1 ,for what is a man profited1
  if he shall gain the whole world and  
lose his life8 ,for whoever  wishes to  
save his life shall lose it4 ,in these  
cases he seems to  have made his choice 
between the renderings soul and life    
according  to no rule of translation or 
of criticism in philology1 but as his   
fancy  dictated4 ,how shall we explain  
these inconsistencies1 and1 at the same 
time1 grant ,mr4 ,sawyer his claim to   
literalness of rendering8    ,luke ix4  
#bd1 #be1 ,mr4 ,sawyer translates       
,greek3 phuchae life1 and  then renders 
,greek3 eauthon de apolesas ae          
zaemiotheis and destroys  himself or    
loses his life4 ,the common version is  
and lose himself or  be cast away1 which
 is not only more strictly literal1 but 
far more  forcible4 ,greek3 ',apollumi  
conveys the strongest idea of total1    
irremediable ruin2 and ,greek3 zaemioo1 
when used1 as in this  passage1 in the  
aorist tense1 has the signification of  

bringing loss  or ruin upon one's self4 
,both these thoughts are lost in ,mr4   
,sawyer's  translation2 and a more tame1
 insufficient1 and tautological         
rendering  than his could scarcely be   
imagined4    ,another instance of ,mr4  
,sawyer's singular choice of renderings1
 in his  zeal for improvement1 is found 
in ,luke viii4 #df1 which he translates1
  ,some one touched me2 for ,i perceived
 a power going from me4 ,the  common    
version1 ,somebody touched me2 for ,i   
perceive that virtue is  gone out of me1
 is clear and precise2 ,mr4 ,sawyer's   
version1 a power1  is more indefinite   
and less forcible4 ,any intelligent     
reader will at  once perceive that the  
common version is the better1 and that  
,mr4  ,sawyer's improved rendering is   
almost meaningless4    ,one more example
 of these strictly literal renderings   
must suffice1 ,john  iii4 #d4 common    
version1--,nicodemus saith unto him1    
',how can a man be  born when he is old8
 can he enter the second time into his  

mother's womb  and be born8' ,sawyer's  
version1--,nicodemus said to him1 ',how 
can a man  be born when he is old8 can  
he become an unborn infant of his mother
 a  second time1 and be born8' ,the     
absurdity of the form of language put   
into the mouth of ,nicodemus by ,mr4    
,sawyer is obvious at a glance2 no  such
 thought was ever so expressed by any   
speaker in any language2 it is  wholly  
forced and unnatural2 and upon comparing
 ,mr4 ,sawyer's translation  with the   
original1 we find that he has           
paraphrased the passage with a          
vengeance1 altogether omitting to       
translate the clause ,greek3 eis  thaen 
koilian 444 eiselthein kai              
gennaethaenai1 and interpolating an     
expression1 instead1 which is neither in
 the original text nor in the  thought4 
,probably ,mr4 ,sawyer's motive for     
taking this extraordinary  liberty was a
 false delicacy1 amounting to prudery2  
but it ill assorts  with his assertion1 
that his work is not a paraphrase1 nor  

one of  compromises1 or of conjectural  
interpretations4    ,we might proceed   
with numerous illustrations' exhibiting 
the weakness of  ,mr4 ,sawyer's claim of
 an improved and strictly literal       
rendering1 but  these are enough4       
,before he claims much on the score of  
scholarly  accuracy or critical         
rendering1 he must explain these        
inconsistencies  and remove these       
blemishes4 ,but if such faults are      
patent in the  simplest narrative       
passages1 what confidence can we place  
in ,mr4 ,sawyer  as a translator of     
difficult1 abstruse1 doctrinal1 and     
disputed texts8  ,in every instance in  
which we have tested his translation of 
the  original1 the changes which he has 
made from the common version not  only1 
in our judgment1 are no improvements1   
but positively render the  expression   
less clear1 less forcible1 and less     
precise2 of course1 as  the language is 
made worse1 the thought is1 in the same 
proportion1  obscured4    ,another      

peculiarity of ,mr4 ,sawyer's           
translation1 which we suppose he  claims
 as an improvement1 does not meet our   
approval4 ,in all cases where  there is 
no word in our language which expresses 
the signification  of the ,greek1 as in 
the names of weights and measures1 ,mr4 
,sawyer  substitutes for the language of
 the common version the foreign word of 
the original1--sometimes merely giving  
the orthography of the ,greek in        
,english letters1 sometimes affixing a  
termination1--and frequently he  adds1  
in brackets1 an explanation of his      
rendering4 ,as examples of this1  we    
quote the following3--    ,neither do   
men light a candle1 and put it under a  
modius #a4iaf  gallon measure4    ,i    
tell you that you shall not go out      
thence till you have paid even the  last
 lepton #b mills4    ,it is like leaven 
which a woman took and hid in three sata
 #cc  quarts of flour4    ,and there    
were six stone water-jars there1 placed 
for the purification  of the ,jews1     

containing two or three metretes #af4ge 
or #be4abe  gallons each4    ,and he    
desired to fill his stomach with the    
carob pods which the  swine eat4    ,and
 one poor widow came and cast in two    
lepta1 which is a quadrans  #d mills4   
,it requires no knowledge of the        
original to pass judgment on such       
changes as are here made from the common
 version4 ,the practice which  ,mr4     
,sawyer here introduces and sanctions is
 a vicious one in any  translation1 and 
is especially so in the case of the     
,holy ,scriptures1  which are to be read
 by the unlearned and ignorant as well  
as by the  scholar and the critic4 ,mr4 
,sawyer's translation of such words as  
we  have noted above conveys no idea to 
the mind of the common reader1 and      
requires a glossary to make it          
intelligible4 ,there is in his choice of
  words a pedantry and affectation of   
learning that are in bad taste4  ,but in
 this1 as in his other strictly literal 
renderings1 he is  inconsistent1 and    

does not adhere to his own rule4 ,he    
translates ,matt4  vi4 #cj1--;,and if   
,god so clothes the grass of the field1 
which to-day is1  and tomorrow is cast  
into the oven1 etc4 ,if he were         
consistent in his  practice1 he would   
have rendered the word oven klibanon1   
and then1  in parenthesis1 explained    
that it signifies a large round pot1 of 
earthen or other material1 two or three 
feet high1 narrowing towards  the top1  
on the sides of which the dough was     
spread to be baked in thin  cakes4      
,probably ,mr4 ,sawyer was deterred from
 following his rule in this  case by the
 formidableness of the necessary        
parenthesis2 but there is as  much      
reason why he should have written       
klibanon instead of oven1  as there is  
for substituting lepton for farthing1 or
 modius for  bushel1 or carob pods for  
husks1--and in fact more reason1        
because the word oven1 which he indorses
 and uses1 conveys a far more  imperfect
 idea of the original1 ,greek3 klibanon1

 than those words of  the common version
 which he has rejected do of their      
originals4 ,all such  changes as those  
instanced above1 in our judgment1 mar   
the simplicity  and obscure the meaning 
of the passages where they occur4       
,but we will now notice what appears to 
us a more serious defect than  any of   
those already mentioned4 ,mr4 ,sawyer   
throughout his translation  substitutes 
vulgar ,latinisms and circumlocutions   
for the vigorous  phrases of the        
received version4 ,sometimes this is    
done at the expense  of homely ,saxon   
words which are the very sinews of our  
language2 and  wherever such words are  
sacrificed for ,latinisms1 the beauty   
and force  of the whole are impaired or 
destroyed4 ,again1 the translator seems 
to  have a peculiar antipathy to        
everything like poetical expressions or 
the  euphonious arrangement of          
sentences4 ,he has evidently fallen into
 the  error of supposing that the most  
prosaic rendering is necessarily  the   

most exact2 whereas the fact is1 that   
the most poetical form of  expression of
 which a passage is susceptible is often
 the most clear1  forcible1 and precise4
 ,the best method of giving the reader  
an idea of  the justice of this portion 
of our criticism of ,mr4 ,sawyer's      
version is  to quote some passages in   
contrast with the common version4       
,,common ,,version4    ,if thou wilt1   
let us make here three tabernacles4     
,so when they had dined1 ,jesus saith to
 ,simon ,peter1 ,simon1 son of  ,jonas1 
lovest thou me more than these8 ,he     
saith unto him1 ,yea1 ,lord3  thou      
knowest that ,i love thee4    ,god be   
merciful to me a sinner4    ,give us    
this day our daily bread4    ,and       
therefore ,i cannot come4    ,and to    
whom men have committed much1 of him    
they will ask the more4    ,i give      
tithes of all that ,i possess4    ,for  
which of you intending to build a tower 
sitteth not down first and  counteth the
 cost8    ,and upon this rock ,i will   

build my church4    ,if thy brother     
trespass against thee1 rebuke him2 and  
if he repent1  forgive him4    ,and when
 he cometh home1 he calleth together his
 friends and neighbors1  saying unto    
them1 ,rejoice with me1 for ,i have     
found my sheep which was  lost4    ,and 
he arose1 and rebuked the wind1 and said
 unto the sea1 ,peace1 be  still4    ,as
 we were driven up and down in ,adria1  
about midnight the shipmen  deemed that 
they drew near to some country4         
,enter ye in at the strait gate2 for    
wide is the gate and broad is the  way  
that leadeth to destruction1 and many   
there be which go in thereat2  because  
strait is the gate and narrow is the way
 which leadeth unto  life1 and few there
 be that find it4    ,consider the      
lilies of the field1 how they grow2 they
 toil not1  neither do they spin4       
,,sawyer',s ,,version4    ,if you       
please1 we will make here three         
tabernacles4    ,when therefore they had
 breakfasted1 ,jesus said to ,simon     

,peter1 ,simon1  son of ,john1 do you   
love me more than these8 ,he said to    
him1 ,yes1 ,lord1  you know that ,i am a
 friend to you4    ,god1 be propitious  
to me a sinner4    ,give us to-day our  
essential bread4    ,on this account ,i 
cannot come4    ,and of him with whom   
men have deposited much1 they will ask  
more4    ,i tithe all ,i acquire4       
,for what man of you wishing to build a 
tower1 does not first sit down  and     
estimate the expense8    ,and upon this 
rock will ,i build my assembly4    ,if  
your brother sins1 reprove him2 and if  
he changes his mind1  forgive him4      
,and coming to the house1 he calls      
together his friends and neighbors1     
saying1 ,congratulate me2 for ,i have   
found my sheep that was lost4    ,and he
 arose1 and rebuked the wind1 and said  
to the lake1 ,hush6 ,be  still6    ,when
 we were borne along in the ,adriatic1  
at about midnight the sailors  suspected
 that some land was approaching them4   
,enter in through the narrow gate1 for  

wide is the gate1 and spacious  the way 
which leads to destruction1 and many are
 they that enter in by  it2 for narrow  
is the gate1 and compressed the way     
which leads to  life1 and few are those 
who find it4    ,consider the lilies of 
the field1 how they grow2 they perform  
no hard  labor1 neither do they spin4   
,these must suffice4 ,we cannot extend  
our quotations1 nor is there  occasion  
to do so4 ,we think we have seen enough 
of ,mr4 ,sawyer's use of  words and     
phrases1 enough of his improvements on  
the common version of  the ,bible1 to   
convince any candid mind that his is    
neither a literal nor  a correct        
translation2 that so far from having    
improved the version1  by adding        
clearness1 force1 or precision1 he has  
injured it in each  of these respects2  
and that the world would be immensely   
the loser  by accepting him as a        
substitute for the forty-seven          
translators who  composed the famous    
,council of ,king ,james in #afaa4 ,we  

are informed that  ,mr4 ,sawyer has     
completed his improved version of the   
,old ,testament1 and  will soon publish 
it4 ,we almost shudder in anticipation  
of the sounds  which he has probably    
evoked from the harp of ,judah's        
minstrel king1 of  the colors which he  
has put on the canvas where are painted 
the glowing  visions of ,isaiah1 and of 
the rude matter-of-fact method in which 
he  has doubtless used the modern       
telescope to penetrate and scatter the  
glorious and solemn mysteries of the    
cloud-land of prophecy out of which     
spake the ,god of ,daniel4 ,but we      
forbear1 and must wait till we have the 
remainder of this magnum opus before we 
venture to hazard an opinion  of its    
merits4           99       99       99  
99       99      ,,recent ,,american    
,,publications4      ,notes from        
,plymouth ,pulpit2 ,a ,collection of    
,memorable ,passages from the           
,discourses of ,henry ,ward ,beecher4   
,by ,augusta ,moore4 ,new ,york4 ,derby 

,jackson4 #abmo4 #a4jj4    ,history of  
,new ,england during the ,stuart        
,dynasty4 ,vol4 #a4 ,by ,john ,gorham   
,palfrey4 ,boston4 ,little1 ,brown1     
,co4 #hvo4 #b4be4    ,the ,land and the 
,book2 or ,biblical ,illustrations      
,drawn from the ,manners  and ,customs1 
the ,scenes and ,scenery of the ,holy   
,land4 ,by ,w4,m4 ,thomson1  ,d4,d41 a  
,missionary for ,twenty ,years4 ,maps1  
,engravings1 etc4 #b vols4 ,new  ,york4 
,harper  ,brothers4 #abmo4 #c4ej4       
,the ,poetical ,works of ,james         
,montgomery4 #e vols4 ,boston4 ,little1 
,brown1   ,co4 #afmo4 #c4ge4    ,english
 and ,scottish ,ballads4 ,collected and 
edited by ,francis ,james  ,child4      
,vols4 #e to #h1 inclusive4 ,boston4    
,little1 ,brown1  ,co4 #afmo4 #ge  cts4 
per vol4    ,poetry of the ,bells4      
,collected by ,samuel ,batchelder1 ,jr4 
,riverside  ,press4 ,printed in ,aid of 
the ,cambridge ,chime4 ,by ,h4,o4       
,houghton  ,co4  #afmo4 #ge cts4        
,street ,thoughts4 ,by ,rev4 ,henry ,m4 

,dexter1 ,pastor of the ,pine ,street   
,church4 ,with ,illustrations by        
,billings4 ,boston4 ,crosby1 ,nichols1  
,co4  #abmo4 #ge cts4    ,the ,great    
,day of ,atonement1 or ,meditations and 
,prayers1 etc41 etc4  ,translated from  
the ,german of ,charlotte ,elizabeth    
,nebelin1 ,edited by  ,mrs4 ,colin      
,mc,kenzie4 ,boston4 ,gould  ,lincoln4  
#abmo4 #ge cts4    ,pope or ,president8 
,startling ,disclosures of ,romanism as 
,revealed by its  own ,writers4 ,facts  
for ,americans4 ,new ,york4 ,r4,l4      
,delisser4 #abmo4 #a4jj4    ,the        
,stratford ,gallery1 or the ,shakspeare 
,sisterhood2 comprising  ,forty-five    
,ideal ,portraits4 ,described by        
,henrietta ,lee ,palmer4  ,illustrated4 
,new ,york4 ,d4 ,appleton  ,co4 #hvo4   
morocco4 #ab4jj4    ,a ,gallery of      
,famous ,english and ,american ,poets1  
with an ,introductory  ,essay4 ,by      
,henry ,coppee1 ,a4,m4 ,richly          
,illustrated4 ,philadelphia4 ,e4,h4     
,butler  ,co4 #hvo4 morocco4 #ab4jj4    

,women of ,beauty and ,heroism4 ,from   
,semiramis to ,eugnie4 ,a ,portrait     
,gallery of ,female ,loveliness1        
,achievement1 and ,influence4           
,illustrated  with ,nineteen ,engravings
 on ,steel4 ,by ,frank ,b4 ,goodrich4   
,new ,york4 ,derby   ,jackson4 #hvo4    
morocco4 #ab4jj4    ,wild ,sports in the
 ,far ,west4 ,by ,frederick             
,gerstaecker4 ,translated from  the     
,german4 ,boston4 ,crosby1 ,nichols1    
,co4 #abmo4 #a4jj4    ,our ,charley1 and
 ,what shall we ,do with ,him8 ,by ,mrs4
 ,h4,b4 ,stowe4 ,boston4  ,phillips1    
,sampson1  ,co4 #afmo4 #ej cts4    ,the 
,mathematical ,monthly4 ,edited by ,j4  
,d4 ,runkle4 ,for ,december and         
,january4 ,cambridge4 ,john ,bartlett4  
#b ,nos4 #dto4 #be cts4 each4    ,sylvan
 ,holt's ,daughter4 ,by ,holme ,lee4    
,new ,york4 ,harper  ,brothers4 #abmo4  
#a4jj4    ,an ,account of ,donati's     
,comet of #aheh4 ,by ,george ,p4 ,bond4 
,extracted from  the ,mathematical      
,monthly4 ,cambridge4 ,john ,bartlett4  

#dto4 #ej cts4    ,what will ,he ,do    
with ,it8 ,by ,pisistratus ,caxton4 ,a  
,novel4 ,by ,sir ,e4  ,bulwer ,lytton1  
,bart4 ,new ,york4 ,harper  ,brothers4  
#hvo4 #a4jj4    ,the ,comedies of       
,terence4 ,literally ,translated into   
,english ,prose1 with  ,notes4 ,by      
,henry ,thomas ,riley1 ,b4,a4 ,to which 
is added the ,blank ,verse  ,translation
 of ,george ,colman4 ,new ,york4 ,harper
  ,brothers4 ,reprinted  from ,bohn's   
,classical ,library4 #abmo4 #ge cts4    
,a ,critical ,dictionary of ,english    
,literature1 and ,british and ,american 
,authors1 ,living and ,deceased4 ,from  
the ,earliest ,accounts to the ,middle  
of the ,nineteenth ,century4 ,containing
 ,thirty ,thousand ,biographies and     
,literary ,notices1 with ,forty ,indexes
 of ,subjects4 ,by ,s4 ,austin          
,allibone4  ,vol4 #a4 ,philadelphia4    
,childs  ,peterson4 ,imperial #hvo4     
#e4jj4    ,the ,ladies' ,manual of      
,fancy ,work2 a ,complete ,instructor in
 ,every ,variety  of ,ornamental        

,needlework4 ,by ,mrs4 ,pullan4         
,illustrated with over ,three  ,hundred 
,engravings4 ,new ,york4 ,dick          
,fitzgerald4 #abmo4 #a4be4    ,the      
,afternoon of ,unmarried ,life4 ,from   
the ,last ,london ,edition4 ,new ,york4 
,rudd  ,carleton4 #abmo4 #a4jj4    ,the 
,rainbow ,side2 a ,sequel to ,the       
,itinerant4 ,by ,mrs4 ,c4,m4 ,edwards4  
,new  ,york4 ,carlton  ,porter4 #afmo4  
#ge cts4    ,biographies of             
,distinguished ,scientific ,men4 ,by    
,francis ,arago1 ,member of  the        
,institute4 ,translated by ,admiral     
,w4,h4 ,smyth1 ,d4,c4,l41 ,f4,r4,s41    
etc31  ,rev4 ,baden ,powell1 ,m4,a41    
,f4,r4,s41 ,robert ,grant1 ,esq41       
,m4,a41 ,f4,r4,a4,s4  ,boston4 ,ticknor 
,fields4 #abmo4 #a4jj4    ,the ,scouring
 of the ,white ,horse2 or the ,long     
,vacation ,ramble of a ,london  ,clerk4 
,by the ,author of ,tom ,brown's ,school
 ,days4 ,illustrated by  ,richard       
,doyle4 ,boston4 ,ticknor  ,fields4     
#abmo4 #a4jj4    ,the ,ballad of ,babie 

,bell1 and other ,poems4 ,by ,thomas    
,bailey ,aldrich4 ,new  ,york4 ,rudd    
,carleton4 #abmo4 #ge cts4    ,the      
,history of the ,state of ,rhode ,island
 and ,providence ,plantations4 ,by      
,samuel ,greene ,arnold4 ,vol4 #a4      
#afcf-agjj4 ,new ,york4 ,d4 ,appleton   
,co4  #hvo4 #b4ej4    ,ichnology of ,new
 ,england4 ,a ,report on the ,sandstone 
of the ,connecticut  ,valley1 especially
 its ,fossil ,footmarks1 made to the    
,government of the  ,commonwealth of    
,massachusetts4 ,by ,edward ,hitchcock1 
,professor in ,amherst  ,college4       
,plates1 etc4 ,boston4 ,william ,white1 
,printer to the ,state4 #dto4  #e4jj4   
,life of ,robert ,burns4 ,mostly by     
,thomas ,carlyle4 ,new ,york4 ,delisser 
,proctor4 #cbmo4 #ej cts4    ,the       
,american ,almanac and ,repository of   
,useful ,knowledge for the ,year  #ahei4
 ,boston4 ,crosby1 ,nichols1  ,co4      
#abmo4 paper1 #a4jj2 half bound1  #a4be4
    ,kansas in ,eighteen ,hundred ,fifty
 ,eight4 ,being chiefly a ,history of   

the  ,recent ,troubles in the           
,territory4 ,by ,william ,p4 ,tomlinson4
 ,new ,york4 ,h4  ,dayton4 #abmo4 #a4jj4
    ,ethel's ,love-,life4 ,a ,novel4 ,by
 ,margaret ,j4,m4 ,sweat4 ,new ,york4   
,rudd   ,carleton4 #abmo4 #a4jj4    ,the
 ,adventures of ,oliver ,twist4 ,by     
,charles ,dickens4 ,library ,edition4   
,boston4 ,ticknor  ,fields4 #abmo4      
#a4be4    ,the ,household ,edition of   
the ,waverley ,novels4 ,count ,robert of
 ,paris4 #b  vols4 ,boston4 ,ticknor    
,fields4 #abmo4 #a4ej4    ,travels and  
,discoveries in ,north and ,central     
,africa4 ,being a ,journal of  an       
,expedition undertaken under the        
,auspices of ,h4,b4,m4's ,government1 in
  the ,years #ahdi-ahee4 ,by ,henry     
,barth1 ,ph4,d41 ,d4,c4,l41 etc4 ,vol4  
#c4 ,new  ,york4 ,harper  ,brothers4    
#hvo4 #b4ej4    ,father and ,daughter2 a
 ,portraiture from the ,life4 ,by       
,frederika ,bremer4  ,translated by     
,mary ,howitt4 ,philadelphia4 ,t4,b4    
,peterson  ,brother4 #abmo4  #a4be4     

,the ,crescent and ,french ,crusaders4  
,by ,g4,l4 ,ditson4 ,new ,york4 ,derby  
,jackson4 #abmo4 #a4jj4    ,curiosities 
of ,natural ,history4 ,by ,francis ,t4  
,buckland1 ,m4,a41 etc4 ,from  the      
,fourth ,london ,edition4 ,new ,york4   
,rudd  ,carleton4 #abmo4 #a4be4    ,the 
,manual of ,chess2 containing the       
,elementary ,principles of the  ,game4  
,illustrated with ,numerous ,diagrams of
 ,recent ,games and ,original           
,problems4 ,by ,charles ,kenney4 ,new   
,york4 ,d4 ,appleton  ,co4 #ahmo4 #ej   
cts4    ,the ,pioneers2 or the ,sources 
of the ,susquehanna4 ,a ,descriptive    
,tale4  ,by ,j4 ,fenimore ,cooper4      
,illustrated from ,drawings by ,f4,o4,c4
 ,darley4 ,new  ,york4 ,w4,a4 ,townsend 
,co4 ,crown #hvo4 #a4ej4